EXA – Left In Shards

From the early years of Sodom and Kreator, through to latter day revival sounds with Dust Bolt, the Germans have always had a great ability when it comes to thrash metal. Here’s another band that really should be on your radar. Formed in 2016 when the musicians were still at school, EXA’s music carries all the ferocity of your 80s favourites, tempered by a production sound that’s a little more modern.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #43

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore the various individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. It’s a strong selection this time, with a brilliant soul influenced tune, a great track that melds an almost indie sound with an undercurrent of electronica, some massive rock riffs, and the return of a Real Gone favourite, Bad Mary. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy. If so, why not drop by and tell us? It’s always a pleasure to hear from our readers!

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COSMIC JAGUAR – The Order Of The Jaguar Knights EP

Ukraine’s Cosmic Jaguar conjure some amazing riffs on their 2023 EP ‘The Order of The Jaguar Knights’. The four songs mix classic thrash – played at the high octane speeds set by bands like Exciter and Exodus in the early 80s – with lop-sided prog metal breakdowns, and the bulk of the music is joined by abrasive vocals that appear not to fit squarely with either genre. What this means, of course, is that Cosmic Jaguar are capable of summoning a hefty sound throughout.

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GOAT MAJOR – Ritual

During the dying days of 2023, Welsh stoner/doom band Goat Major made some huge musical waves with their debut EP ‘Evil Eye’. Although its three tracks didn’t really set out to offer genre fans anything especially new, it was clear these lads had a massive set of talents, and clearly understood that taking a well liked style and reworking it flawlessly would be, in many ways, more beneficial than adding new twists and somehow missing the mark. Whichever way you approached it, the EP sounded superb. The riffs were incredibly weighty, the filtered vocal added a Sabbathy ‘Planet Caravan’-esque strangeness, and the rhythm section sounded like a truck. In DIY terms, ‘Evil Eye’ was absolutely peak stoner/doom – a download not to be missed, and a release that set up enormous hopes for an equally good follow up.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #41

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time around, we bring you the return of some ska legends, a remix from a cult dream pop act, something with a huge electronica/dance core, some massive stoner/doom riffs…and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy!

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