Some might hear the echoes of legends like Rush and Blue Öyster Cult in these chimerical serenades, but this is a record that sounds like no one but Spell. With Opulent Decay, the band marks their own delirious and affecting journey towards musical nirvana, above and beyond any spurious notions of retro-chic. "After being obsessed with heavy metal our whole lives, we feel entitled to take it in our own direction and decide what that looks like," elucidates Cam. "We’ve taken the heavy metal sounds we know and pushed them to the most exciting places we can. Whatever people choose to call it, this is a heavy metal record as much as anything else — hypnotizing heavy metal."
LP $30.00
07/30/2021
CD $19.75
07/30/2021
Over the past near-decade, Lancashire’s medieval metal phenomenon Wytch Hazel have been honing an uncommonly wholesome, rustic and devotional brand of timewarped hard rock that’s all their own, with 2016’s Prelude and 2018’s II: Sojourn summoning to mind fevered images of Robin Hood and his Merry Men grooving to Jethro Tull and Thin Lizzy. Yet within moments of pressing play on their third LP, III: Pentecost, the musty mystical minstrelsy takes a back seat in favour of a rich, sumptuous, anthemic late-night drivetime vibe, passionately embracing the most high-end smash-hit classic rock and metal circa its late 1970s heyday.
LP $30.00
07/30/2021
CD $19.75
07/30/2021
Approaching a full forty years on from 1980—arguably the greatest year in metal history—it can be vanishingly difficult in the here and now to find bands who can summon up the true elixir of traditional heavy metal in all its gory glory. Certainly, there have been manifold variants of this supernatural force in the last four decades, yet for all the power-metal diversions and Pro-Tooled machinations that have crossed Riding Easy’s transom, the blood-simple formula of steel-plated grandeur and street-level grit remains mystifyingly elusive. Lucky for everyone therefore, that the Cypriot denizens of darkness Mirror have returned. The brainchild of former Electric Wizard and Satan’s Wrath bassist Tas Danazoglou, Mirror’s second album sees them building on the heroic vibrations of their self-titled 2015 debut, summoning forth nine triumphant anthems that are equal parts lethal and life-affirming. Deftly avoiding the lure of pastiche and parody, Pyramid Of Terror arrives once again at the cusp of an audial era in which the widescreen sweep of late-’70s rock, á la the cinematic splendor of Dio-era Rainbow, crosses swords with the stripped-down panache of the NWOBHM—somewhere akin to a danger zone between first-two-albums Iron Maiden and the occultist allure of debut Angel Witch—to set passions dramatically ablaze.
LP $20.25
07/19/2019
CD $12.00
07/19/2019
The Vancouver-based power trio Spell have wasted little time proving themselves the new masters of the metaphysical. Their first record for Bad Omen For None And All sent shockwaves across the metal underground with its mystical and malevolent brand of metallic witchcraft, in which seventies-styled atmosphere and eighties-damaged drama undertook a dark marriage with satisfyingly timeless results. Yet this was the second chapter in this band’s life proper, and the first—the band’s debut and their rawest, hungriest statement of intent—has gone unreleased in its intended form. Until now, that is. Comprising ten wild and electrifying ditties informed equally by savage finesse and gung-ho intensity, Full Moon Sessions—which was originally released as a six song mini-album in 2014—chronicles an era where these three devotees of the transformative power of heavy amplification (comprising Cam Mesmer on vocals / bass guitar, guitarist Graham McVie, and drummer Lester Spectre) had recently evolved from their earlier incarnation as the thrasher Stryker, henceforth allowing their dreams and passion to run rampant in abundance, which summarily resulted in a document with irresistible anthemic bravura to match its jagged attack. “These songs are born from our youthful struggle to survive, to make ends meet, and to find our place in the world,” reveals Mesmer, “We created this album on almost no budget while working full-time minimum wage jobs and scraping by. It was a labour of love and inspired by hardship—countless late night rehearsals after evening work shifts, followed by early morning shifts on a few hours of...
LP $19.75
12/21/2018
CD $12.00
12/21/2018
Upon recovering from being steamrolled over by the onslaught of Satan’s Satyrs’ new album, The Lucky Ones, one’s likely to wonder just what exactly it was that just hit them. A punky, sleaze rock groove (perhaps even a whiff of ’70s glam) meets NWOBHM melodic fury, Blue Cheer mass and volume, and Ozzy’s dramatic charisma condensed into a sound all its own, perhaps. At its core is an unstoppable, unpretentious exorcism of rock ’n’ roll exuberance. A significant difference on this album from the band’s previous releases is the addition of second guitarist Nate Towle, which expands the band’s steamrolling capacity tenfold. Bassist / vocalist Clayton Burgess (Electric Wizard), Towle, guitarist Jarrett Nettnin and drummer Stephen Fairfield convened at the Richmond, VA studio of Windhand guitarist Garrett Morris, working in fits and starts over several months, first quickly capturing the raw energy of a band firing on all cylinders, then fine-tuning the sounds and experimenting to get everything massive. Likewise, Burgess’ lyrics show new levels of achievement. The twin guitar assault begins from the very first beat of the album and never relents until the last second of the nine track, thirty-five minute album. Opener “Thrill of the City” wastes no time launching into soaring harmonized riffs and swaggering rhythms setting the scene for a debauched good time. The title track, perhaps the most personal song on the album, is also the most unabashedly melodic. “Trampled By Angels” pits a swinging T Rex-vibe against dizzy, noisy guitars and lyrics about...
LP $19.75
10/26/2018
CD $12.00
10/26/2018