Ape Machine
War to Head
Ape Machine Music

Contrary to the metal scene that’s sprung up around them in Portland, Oregon, Ape Machine prefer to — ahem — ape the psychedelic blues of the 70s when delivering their heavy brand of smoke n’ roll. Their debut, This House Has Been Condemned, was full of slow burning, seven minute jams over top of which vocalist Caleb Heinze howled at the moon, and kind of reminded me of a laid back Zen Guerrilla, man. Well, not ones to rest on their cosmic laurels, Ape Machine have embraced the more metal aspects of the 70s hard rock sound on their latest album, War to Head, which means the riffs are mightier and the dynamics are retro-fried, giving ‘em a tighter, bolder, Deep Purple push with some fuzzy Gothenburg gusto thrown in for good measure. They still manage to find occasion to slip into their former ways however, as evidenced by the quick shot of soul that is “No Sugar in My Coffee,” the groove and noodling of “What’s Up Stanley?” and the electric slide throughout “The Sun,” “Downtrodden,” and “Please Do Not Use Red Ink and Do Not Erase,” but it’s songs like “Hold Your Tongue,” “Can’t Cure Deceit,” “Death of the Captain,” and “Black Night” that flex a wicked Sabbath muscle and propel Ape Machine into the stoner realm on the wings of bell bottoms and dirty blues.

Listen to “Can’t Cure Deceit” from War to Head!

Lord Dying
Demo
Self-Released

Five-song demo of onslaught metal from Portland, Oregon’s Lord Dying, who take a doom-based tempo and kick it into a higher gear, ultimately landing somewhere between Acid Bath sludge and Slayer thrash. And that’s pretty much the gist of it, friends; my pick of the bunch has to be “Greed is Your Horse” but every song rips, and there’s enough double-bass and corrosive riffs to fuel your downward descent into whatever madness and hell awaits you.

Listen to the entire Lord Dying demo here!

Red Fang
Murder the Mountains
Relapse

When the calender turns over, I like to look ahead at what albums are coming out, and one of ‘em, above all others, usually ends up in my sights. This year’s most anticipated release for me was Red Fang’s Murder the Mountains, simply because their 2009 self-titled full-length debut was a real rager and, two years later, its scuzz still won’t wash off. Well, Murder the Mountains is finally here, which means it’s time to peel the crust off the ol’ denim vest, unearth your favourite beer cozy, and lock in for a blazin’ good time, right? Well, unfortunately, this one’s not quite the same party Red Fang was, and it seems that the Portland, Oregon band, once capable of delivering killing blows with homemade warhammers and toasting victory with pints of mead, are now doing all they can just to hold their torn and tattered banner high as they march wearily on home. The crux of Murder the Mountains is its thicker density, the majority of the songs taking on a much sludgier vein (“Malverde,” “Throw Up,” “Number Thirteen,” “Into the Eye,” “The Undertow”), making the Melvins and Big Business obvious influences this time around. Because of that, however, the album kind of lumbers lazily along, and stoner metal stand-outs like “Hank is Dead,” “Dirt Wizard,” “Painted Parade,” and “Human Herd” can’t seem to gather any kind of epic momentum. And “Wires,” the album’s single and hook, an interesting mix of desert-pop, encapsulates the production work done by Chris Funk of The Decemberists and has a “Prehistoric Dog” vibe to it, but “Prehistoric Dog” it ain’t. Listen, Murder the Mountains isn’t bad, it’s just not amazing. I still believe mightily in Red Fang and their place alongside their metal contemporaries like Baroness, Torche, The Sword, Priestess, etc., but this one just didn’t live up to my own hype.

Listen to “Dirt Wizard” from Murder the Mountains!