jblumensheid

My generation’s musical trends baffle me. How some kids resist listening to anything past their parents’ record collection is beyond my understanding. Unless, of course, these parents munched on a ’70s brunch of hot Saint Vitus cakes, savory Captain Beyond patties, and ripe Witchfinder General tarts. If this image were true for most, my generation […]

Referencing the notorious San Francisco district Haight Ashbury, Bongripper relishes another opportunity to smash the hippie mold. Hate Ashbury re-affirms the Chicago quartet’s slogan, “The only good hippie is a dead hippie.” A hostile illustration plasters Hate Ashbury with anti-beatnik animosity. All peace, love, and happiness vanish as the fingers of the peace sign are […]

Few bands can transmit the occult like Moss. They douse their albums with thick, dark themes that ooze into bottomless pits of doom. Unlike their last full-length Cthonic Rites, Sub Templum tingles the nose unfamiliarly. This album doesn?t only bring genuine occult to life, it also smells more realistic. A cryptic cover of a coffin, […]

This album must be played loud, very loud. Goosebumps should pierce surfaces after feeling Monarch?s 2007 release melt from blaring speakers. The French quartet return with their crushing Crucial Blast compilation Dead Men Tell No Tales. This album refurnishes and compiles Monarch?s two previous full-lengths, Speak of the Sea and Die Tonight. A comfortable chair […]