Warlung – The Poison Touch Review

By Steel Druhm

What better way to bounce back from a week of depressive, melancholic doom than to marinate oneself in a hard-rocking retro stoner/occult release by an act totally unknown to me? Texas-based Warlung boast a spectacular name and though The Poison Touch is their 5th album, they’ve managed to evade my metal detector until now. Their sound is a mix of 70s rock, stoner doom, and occult metal with flashes of NWoBHM-inspired rowdiness sprinkled throughout. It’s highly riff-centric and the band has a certain carefree charm and likeablity factor. Over the course of The Poison Touch, you’ll be reminded of acts like Ghost, Doctor Smoke, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, and of course, Black Sabbath. That’s not the worst recipe to work from and the band has chops. That should be enough to keep you breathing, right?

Warlung coughs up a solid first impression on opener “Digital Smoke” which is a raucous, groovy rocker that reminds me equally of Cauldron and Doctor Smoke. It’s catchy as fook and easy to like with meaty riffs churning away as George Baba and Phillip Bennet swap vocal lines. One of them (I’m not sure which) sounds a lot like Doctor Smoke’s Matt Tluchowski and his nasally delivery is upbeat and pleasant. This one got stuck in my brain on the first spin and I can’t seem to dislodge the smoke. “White Light Seeker” delivers a lead riff that sounds like it was “borrowed” from Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and the song delivers hooky, groovy retro rock with a strong 70s doom edge. It’s an instant winner that sticks like Alien Tape™. Album set piece “Spell Speaker” is a nearly 9-minute odyssey that starts life sounding a lot like Iron Butterfly’s immortal classic “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” before drifting into lazy hazy 70s hard rock and veering into Sabbath and Ghost territories. It’s a sprawling, unhurried saga that takes as much time as it wants to set the mood, with side quests into trippy guitar noodling. Surprisingly, it all works very well and the minutes fly by before you realize it. A very cool tune.

The back half of The Poison Touch is less adventurous, opting for more direct stoner rock attacks, but they generally hit pay dirt. “Holy Guide” reminds of Freedom Hawk and Uncle Acid, and closer “29th Scroll, 6th Verse” goes hard on the same kind of fuzzy bounce and groove Uncle Acid made their name with. The band’s agile songcraft makes things entertaining and memorable and they bring real chops to the execution, especially in the fretboard department. While no track feels completely unworthy, short interlude “Mourning Devils” doesn’t add much, and “Rat Bastard” is a bit too goofy, though the riffs are there in abundance. At a trim 36 minutes, the album flows past in a flash, and even “Spell Speaker” doesn’t interrupt the rocking momentum.

Baba and Bennett share axe work as well as vocal duties and they do a fine job on both fronts. The guitar tandem loads the material with sharp riffs of various eras and styles and it’s a pleasure to hear them playing off one another as they move from hard-charging riffs to 70s psych rock, doom, and bong-fueled noodle sessions. They borrow from all the right sources and keep things interesting most of the time. The vocals are good too, vibrant and quirky, sometimes sounding a lot like Papa Emeritus. There’s a playfulness to them that works well with the music and throughout the album Baba and Bennett remind me of roughly 10 other stoner and doom vocalists, so variety is not an issue here.

Warlung bring a sense of joy and just enough inventiveness to the stoner/retro rock genre to make a lasting impression and what they do on The Poison Touch is mighty tough to dislike. It’s the kind of album that grows on you with every spin and there are some slick, killer tunes camping out here. I almost gave it a higher score and I’m enjoying it enough to start examining their back catalog, so they’re doing something right. If you need a fun, mindless palate cleanser of an album that pairs well with beers, buds, and other buds, catch yourself a nasty case of Warlung. Cough, cough, cough, cough DA-DA, DA-DA-DA!

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 302 kbps mp3
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Websites: facebook.com/warlungband | instagram.com/warlung
Releases Worldwide: February 14th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #BlackSabbath #Cauldron #DoctorSmoke #Feb25 #FreedomHawk #Ghost #HeavyPsychSoundsRecords #OccultRock #Review #Reviews #StonerRock #UncleAcidAndTheDeadbeats

Amethyst – Throw Down the Gauntlet Review

By Steel Druhm

Following hot on the heels of the one-man NWoBHM avalanche led by Brian Ross of Satan and Blitzkrieg, Swiss retro rockers Amethyst throw their chrome dueling glove into the arena with their rollicking, rocking debut Throw Down the Gauntlet. With tongue-in-cheek cover art and a logo ripped straight from 1979, these chaps mean serious throwback business and aim their sound at a time when metal was just beginning to coalesce into something distinct from hard rock and punk. They borrow inspiration from early Iron Maiden, Angel Witch, and Thin Lizzy, which means bouncing, buoyant gallops, swirling dual guitar harmonies, bubbling bass lines, and writing designed to stick in your head craw. But is it even possible to extract any more precious metal from this era? Thousands of bands have already scoured and strip-mined that territory, so what could be left?

As soon as “Embers on the Loose” kicks in with a rumbling drum cannonade reminiscent of Metallica’s “Hit the Lights,” metal nostalgia infects every square inch of your Soundsystem. As a classic metal gallop erupts and the entirely vintage vocals of Fredric Ekbørg make their grand entrance, you’re warped back to the days of parachute pants and leg warmers. Instantly loveable sounds are in ample supply and there’s something very earnest in Amethyst’s approach that rings all the bells and rocks you right to Hell. It’s ebullient, hard-charging fun with a joyous sense of release and devil-may-care charm. The guitar work is so period and the riffs and harmonies stick like molten back wax. “Stand Up and Fight” follows with a Cirith Ungol-meets-Budgie sound that’s impossible to resist. Ekbørg’s vocals mesh so well with the simple but elegant riffs, and the chorus is an anthemic wonder. Heavy Maiden-isms hit with “Won’t Do It Again” with so many riff lines reminiscent of their debut that it smacks of Grand Theft Eddie. It’s so much fun though that even Steve Harris himself would throw horns and slam a room-temperature beer in appreciation.

Throw Down the Gaunlet benefits from consistently engaging songwriting and a sense that Amethyst don’t take themselves too seriously. You’d expect a song titled “Rock Knights” to be the dumbest shit you’ve heard in forever, but it’s a winner pairing The Ramones’ punk swagger with NWoBHM noodling. Likewise, “Queen of a Thousand Burning Hearts” shouldn’t be as enjoyable as it is, finding a rudimentary groove and decorating it with upbeat harmonies that get into your bloodstream no matter how jaded of a curmudgeon you may be. The piece de resistance is closer “Serenade (Under the Rising Moon)” where Amethyst use all their weapons to craft the ultimate retro rocker without the slightest trace of modernity. Like the best potato chip, you can’t have just one spin of this monsterpiece of throwback metaldom. It’s one of my favorite songs of 2024 and it reminds me of Tanith in good ways. The songs are all fairly tight and only “Running out of Time” feels slightly underbaked. At 41 minutes, Gaunlet is an effortless spin and the production suits the target era with a warm, organic sound that gives the guitars more nostalgic twang than actual menace.

Because riffs and harmonies are the lifeblood of the NWoBHM sound, success depends heavily on the fretboard heroics of Ramon S. and Yves B. They’re up to the challenge, diving deep into the playbooks of legends to craft an album full of raucous, cheerful leads and a country ton of righteous harmonizing that coats the brain with endorphins. These cats sound like they’re actually from 1981 and Fredric Ekbørg’s vocals couldn’t be more pitch-perfect for the style. He sounds like a cross between Angel Witch’s Kevin Heybourne and Cauldron’s Jason Decay, and though his slightly high-pitched twangy delivery won’t bowl you over with power, it’s endearing as fook and reeks of authenticity. Miguel S. also delivers with busy, bubbling basswork. He’s everywhere in a bouncy Steve Harris way and that’s a good thing.

Throw Down the Gauntlet is tons of fun but it also hits like a cotton candy sugar high. It’s easy to digest and jacks you up but it’s hard to say how long and strong the high will be. I’ve spun it a bunch but will I be in another week? At its core, it’s gateway metal for kids in 1981, and it’s been done a million times, mostly by bands led by Brian Ross. That said, Amethyst are very good at this and ready to win over fans of the olde. Now pick up the Gauntlet and see what happens.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: No Remorse
Websites: facebook.com/amethystrockknights | instagram.com/amethyst_hardnheavy
Releases Worldwide: September 27th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AngelWitch #Cauldron #HeavyMetal #IronMaiden #NoRemorseRecords #NWOBHM #RetroMetal #Review #Reviews #Sep24 #SwissMetal #Tanith #ThinLizzy