HERSCHER – Herscher

herscherHerscher are practicioners of a rather mean and lo-fi brand of doom metal, the kind that’s so intense that makes your average doom band sound like they’re gearing up to play a few Boney M covers and then bed down for a late night at about 7pm. On the bulk of this third release, this French trio are so frighteningly robust, it’s a genuine challenge to get through the near forty minute playing time in one hit. Depending on how much you love your doom and sludge, of course, this could turn out to a be a very positive thing.

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The REAL GONE ARCHIVES, Vol. 1 (2009-2014)

On 16th November 2015, Real Gone celebrates its 6th birthday.  In some ways, it’s not an important anniversary – it has none of the milsetone charm of a fifth anniversary, or reaching a decade of creativity – but on the other hand, every year Real Gone exists it’s a milestone, nonetheless.  People are still reading; bands are still hitting us up for review and we’re still attempting to open people’s ears to a world of cult music.

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ALL THAT’S LEFT – All That’s Left EP

all that's left epFrom Ontario, All That’s Left are a five piece rock band who clearly carry within them a restless spirit. The three songs on their debut EP present the work of a very talented band, while simultaneously sounding like a bunch of guys whom haven’t quite found their niche. That said, all three songs are enjoyable if listened to in isolation – they just don’t necessarily belong together.

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NIC ARMSTRONG & THE THIEVES – Negative Slant EP

nic armstrongToe Rag studios will be familiar to many as the place where studio founder Liam Watson recorded The White Stripes’ ‘Elephant’ album. Rather less famously, he also used the studio to record ‘The Greatest White Liar’, the full length debut by Newcastle born singer-songwriter Nic Armstrong. From there, Armstrong scored support slots with Paul Weller and Oasis, while his career has also seen him share a stage with the legendary Pretenders and appear at the US’s favourite hipster-fest, Coachella. A long gap after that debut saw the Geordie songwriter relocate to Texas. From there, he released an EP, ‘Pocketless Shirt’, in 2013 and continued to play live. Despite these career highs chances are, though, you’ve still never heard Nic Armstrong and his band The Thieves. If relatively lo-fi sounds are your bag, it’s time you did, especially as his third release, 2015’s ‘Negative Slant’, really captures his lightning in a bottle sound.

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