HYPNOS - Cold Winds - New album out this month!

Swedish heavy rockers, HYPNOS, release the official teaser for their 2nd album Cold Winds, which is set to be released on April 29, 2016, via Crusher Records. 

Cold Winds was recorded in Gothenburg, Sweden, at KUST Studio with Henrik Magnusson.
The band comments: "We are really excited our new album "Cold Winds" will be released on April 29th! The album is packed with stuff that makes us who we are blended with where we might be going. The album was recorded at Studio Kust here in Gothenburg with the amazing Henrik Magnusson at the helm and we've had a blast. Now we can barely wait for this new album to be released and hit the road again to play these songs for you. Until then, don't let the cold winds catch you, watch out for evil hands and beware your nightmares!"- Hypnos

"Cold Winds" will be released on vinyl, CD and digital download - click here to pre-order your copy. here:   

Killer Boogie - Detroit

Put your hands up for Detroit! Italian fuzz-rockers tribute to Rock City.

Detroit has long been recognized as the spiritual home for all things gritty, dirty and deranged in rock 'n' roll. Ever since The Stooges and MC5 burst on the the global scene after formulating their sounds in the Motor City there's been a steady stream of bands in their wake carrying on that legacy. From Alice Cooper to The Gories, Suzi Quattro to The White Stripes, they've all shared a love for stripped-to-the-bone hard rock delivered with humour and intelligence. Ditto Killer Boogie, whose blues-rock roots are souped up like a custom muscle car.

Killer Boogie don't hail from Detroit but they would make good adopted sons. Instead they hail from Rome, a city more renowned for its Colosseum and Sistene Chapel than it is for hard riffing rock music. The three-piece band are something of a supergroup, featuring Gabriele Fiori on guitars and vocals (Black Rainbows), Luigi Costanzo on drums (The Wisdoom), and Matteo Marini on bass (though Eduardo Mancini played bass on these studio recordings.)

This cross fertilization of bands from the Heavy Psych Sounds roster results in an album that fits perfectly with the label's ethos and aesthetic. HPS is already a label with a strongly defined identity, one that this record reinforces via its proto-grunge and metal. Detroit may be a record of very fixed genre but that's most certainly the point. After all, you don't go to a pizzeria and ask for sushi! So expect some hard rock with a distinctly early '70s hue.

Much like the almost fabled city of the album's title, the record's spirit is one of rebellion, fused with a separateness from the wider musical world. Economically Detroit has been on the decline since its car producing heyday, a city that's both proud and haunted by its golden era. Similarly rock music's purple patch is commonly thought to be the early '70s, so it's in some way fitting that Killer Boogie echo those classic sounds.

That era saw the beginning of rock's love affair with guitar pedals, when pushing the limits of volume, speed and virtuosity was at the forefront of most denim clad musician's minds. Detroit shares all those fascinations and then some. Busy guitar solos and fuzzed-up riffs abound. It says much about the state of contemporary music when such sonic time travel can reward more than today's state of the art releases.

No wonder then that each new generation eventually discovers the music made by Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy et al. Thank goodness there's a new breed of contemporary bands making music that carries a similarly heavy punch. Hats off to Killer Boogie and Heavy Psych Sounds for flying the flag for all things heavy!

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Pint Size Hero - Like A Hurricane

South coast rockers second album gives proves UK rock is alive and well.

Just when you think British indie music is dead in the water due to fey indentikit bands (usually with a London postcode) along come Pint Size Hero with an album that promises a bright future for UK rock. Though rock has almost become a dirty word on these shores in the last few years with American bands such as Foo Fighters and QOTSA carrying its torch, perhaps now the time is right for British bands to reclaim some ground.

It may be time for the yanks to hand back their crowns however. Brighton based trio Pint Size Hero have just released their second album Like A Hurricane, a record that gives weight to such hopes. The band have cherry-picked the best bits of contemporary indie rock; the bombast and swagger of Kasabian, the intelligence and nouse of the Arctic Monkeys along with the Jack White's visceral bite and attack, putting this patchwork together into something of their own.

The roots of their sound go right back to the late '60s blues rock scene, through the '70s with Led Zeppelin, right up to today's mainly American fuzz rockers. Often with these bands the sonic attack comes at the expense of good songs and tunes but that's not something we need to worry about here - all the bruising riffs and solos are matched with melodies and choruses big enough to fire up any decent size arena.

The band are not afraid to show their softer side with late album track “Discover” providing a well sequenced break to the full on rock. The largely acoustic tune shows the band have as much a knack for a canny tune as they do for mangling riffs from a fuzzed-up Les Paul. Similarly album closer “Spin The Wheel” is the acoustic calm after the electric storm.

It's the rockier tracks however that make up the bulk of the album and give it its overall flavour. With plenty of pedal-to-the-metal driving rock, and intuitive ensemble playing. Check out the heavy but soulful groove on “No Love In The Fire” or the anthemic chorus of lead-single “Hunger”. Any justice and the trio may soon need to upgrade from pint size to stadium size.

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