Desert Storm - Death Rattle (APF Records) [Matt Bladen]
After 15 years of doggedly touring and recording four piece riff masters Desert Storm are now considered to be leaders in their field. The Oxford natives are a key part of numerous APF Records signees but it's Desert Storm that is the mothership for many of these bands, becoming the keystone of the Oxford scene. Having started life as grooving stoner rock band, Desert Storm now inhabit a denser, more progressive musical space, layered with space rock textures, sludge heaviness but always enslaved by a great riff.
Starting with 2018's Sentinels and then becoming more pronounced on 2020's Omens the band have shifted their sound into something uniquely there own, casting off comparisons to bands such as Orange Goblin, Desert Storm now sound like Desert Storm and on Death Rattle they have again solidified their position on the UK metal hierarchy. Direct and to the point but with hidden layers that become audible with frequent plays Death Rattle is the most personal journey for the band yet but fuses this with some eclectic compositions.
Perhaps more experimental than Omens, the break in their touring activities meant that the writing stage was both forward looking and retrospective as there's plenty of the 'new' Desert Storm but also some stompers that have been born from their early years, Matthew Ryan using both his snarling bellow and his cleaner warmer tones to great effect. The potent bottom end of Matthew Dennett (bass) and Elliot Cole (drums) untied together in groove, steering the tracks through their changes, as well as keeping things locked down tight when needed. Elliott's brother Ryan peels off the riffs, taking flight into orbit before grounding things again with lots of fuzz.
The progressive nature of this particular beast means that nothing is off limits but they always root themselves in the stoner sound, just branching off it instead of detaching completely. As far as favourite songs go, personally I love the way Bad Trip uses repetition to hammer home it's riff, while Druid's Heath and the final part of Insomniac bring psychedelic wanderings, Melatone meanwhile has Floydian tendencies in the lead guitars.
It's hard to imagine how Desert Storm will better this album as it's about as perfect as it gets for fans of proggy stoner metal. Death Rattle is nowhere near their last breath, it's proof that Desert Storm are still bursting with life! 9/10
Isaak - Hey (Heavy Psych Sounds) [Rich Piva]The Italian stoner rock band Isaak is back and is bringing the riffs and songwriting on their third album, Hey. You don’t hear a ton about these guys, but their first two records are killer and now teaming with the monster stoner label Heavy Psych Sounds it’s time for the band to take it to the next level, and Hey delivers on that. The production on Hey is excellent and perfect for the band’s riff attack, which starts off right away with the instrumental stoner kick in the head Miracle B, which is an excellent track musically but inexplicably is three minutes of the Mircale Blade infomercial over said rock. I didn’t really get the joke, but sometimes I am slow...but what is not slow is the real killer opening track.
Heezer - Sungrinder (Argonauta Records) [Rich Piva]
There is no shortage of really good to great stoner/desert/grunge bands out there today and Fins from Heezer fall into this category for sure. Their debut EP from 2021 was excellent, so anticipation was high for me for their debut full length, Sungrinder. Well, the band did not disappoint, giving us nine catchy as hell 90s leaning alt/grunge with stoner leaning tunes that will leave folks who dig that vibe wanting more. I say 90s leaning but I think I mean more like 90s worshipping. I hear hints of STP, Gruntruck, Bush, Foos, and some of the other bands of that ilk, while incorporating some of the stoner elements and even some more of the straight-ahead alt rock of that time. A perfect example of this is the song 2009, where you get a bit of all those things listed above in above tied up in a nice three minute bow.
So why is this not higher than an eight? To me this record is a bit too 90s, in that it is too clean production wise. I would love some more filth from the band, because when they bring the heavy I really dig it, but this is a personal preference as I think every album released could turn down the production a notch or two for the most part. Sungrinder is going to be loved by many, given fans of what I listed above are always looking for more of what they loved back in the day. Heezer is not here for a retro party; these guys have put their own spin on some classic styles and produced a real winner with Sungrinder. Good stuff for sure. 8/10
Wasted Death - The Prequel To Evil EP (APF Records) [Matt Bladen]