Space God Ritual.

I had been 'aware' of Space God Ritual for quite a while, but truth be told hadn't been all that impressed. Strangely enough, even the album they released only months prior didn't really engage me either. But it's a whole other story with Eldritch Tales. Space God Ritual are essentially a one-man band with singer - Brendan Butler handling all instrumentation with recent addition Alexander Olaff on vocals. The latter has good range, with a nasally tone which brings to mind Phil Swanson, Terry Jones or Eric Wagner. Remember the name though, because he his vocal performance really is outstanding.

The music also is of particularly note, even though it's one guy, the chemistry feels right! [This also seems an appropriate time to wedge in Tony Reed (Mos Generator/Stone Axe) doing a kick-ass solo cover of Forever My Queen by Pentagram.] Anyway, the album has a retro-doom feel, not unlike Uncle Acid but definitely more traditional. This is to no detriment of SGR however, with all the songs proving to be both catchy and distinct. This one has the ASTRAL DOOM seal of approval. Nothing beats the feeling of hearing new music and just knowing it's in line for some heavy rotation.

2013 - Eldritch Tales 

March The Desert.

Still a little rough around the edges but displaying enough potential to emerge as one of the finer exports of British Doom, we have today the new release by Brighton's March The Desert. You'll hear strong hints of Sleep, with a little Kyuss thrown in. But more characteristically, there is a pop doom vibe (y'know like Torche) in regards to the really warm, vibrant sound they achieve.

And in non-music related news, if you have an iOS device, you wanna be checking out Rymdkapsel. Very addictive "meditative space" puzzle/strategy game.

2013 - Waves On The Moon [EP]