METALISE

It was a dark and stormy night... and I’m kinda over it. At least there’s the prospect of a tonne of great shows and albums coming out; more so with each passing day. Let’s kick things off with albums, shall we?

Locals Witchskull scored a very impressive #5 on the internationally renowned Doom Charts with their new slab The Serpent Tide. And to further cement the magnitude of this achievement, you need but look at their fellow top-end chart dwellers.

At #4 was a resurgent Queens of the Stone Age and their In Times New Roman... long-player.

Countrymen King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard took the #3 spot with their 27,000th album, Petrodragonic Apocalypse

Born Under A Mad Sign from ‘Skull label mates Church of Misery came in at a well deserved #2. I’m digging it a lot.

And topping the Doom Charts was Norwegian rockers

Saint Karloff with their latest collection of stoner jams that is Paleolithic War Crimes. Whilst slickly produced and expertly played, the whole fare is a bit lacking in the ol’ Satan and drugs for me.

I feel this way in light of the new Khanate record that dropped last month, completely out of the blue. Well, more like conjured forth from a sulphuric pit of pure viciousness. To Be Cruel is their first album in 20 years, and it is NOT an easy listen.

Just as it should be.

For something a bit quicker, I’ve also been digging USA’s Danava and their Nothing But Nothing album. It’s a storming blend of Killers-era Maiden with lashings of Sir Lord Baltimore and Budgie, with a hearty dedication to shredding and dual guitar harmo and nies.

Other mid-year records that stand out include:

Mournful Congregation - The Exuviae of Gods - Part II

Enforced - War Remains

Kruelty - Untopia

Isua - Abandon

The Arson Project - God Bless

The Ending - Drowned

Torture Rack - Primeval Onslaught

Lo! - The Gleaners

Drop past the Metalise Facebook page and let me know what’s hitting your audio device of choice this year so far.

If Christmas can happen in July, so too can Christmas villainy. And who knew Krampus was local?

Yes, Canberra band Krampus have a record coming out called Blacknd Xmas and are hitting Smith’s Alternative with Project: Ultimate Satan and Nicodemus Delatovic. You can check their video Santa is an Anagram of Satan on their Facebook page. Continuing the Doom Chart’s relevence to this issue’s column, Yawning Man also festooned the June Doom list with their new album Long Walk of the Navajo.

Which is timely, as the band are back for a second Oz tour this decade, with Canberra on the itinerary once again. The Pot Belly plays host on Thursday, 24 August with a KILLER bill including Frozen Planet 1969, Pilots of Baalbek, and The Absentee.

Such a unique band, and it’s cool to get another show from them not too long after their last visit.

And we finish with a flurry of great incoming visit bulletins. Cattle Decapitation are no strangers to our shores, and they must have talked it up enough to bring Fallujah along for the ride. Tix are already on sale thanks to promoters Destroy All Lines with The Basement hosting on Sunday, 17 September

Also at The Basement - Thursday, 12 October - come Canada’s Archspire. The band have established a rep for blistering tempos and breathtaking technicality, and head up a massive tour including the UK’s absolutely brutal Ingested and Melbourne’s Werewolves. The technical death twists and turns suit the Tech Trek Australia moniker for the tour and you will want to get in early to secure your ticket.

So ends this Metalise. Hopefully catch you in warmer climes.