Harbinger of D.O.O.M. Compilation Album Artwork Reveal!

Howdy! To celebrate my 100^th blog post, I’m doing an album cover art reveal! As you might have read or heard, the Harbinger of D.O.O.M. blog will be releasing a compilation featuring some of today’s best Doom/Heavy/Stoner/Psych/Prog Rock/Metal bands around September 20^th on Bandcamp as a “Name Your Price” release. Below is a list of the bands included as well as their song contribution (when available) in no particular order. You can look forward to more info and a link to pre-order it on Bandcamp in the weeks to come. In the meantime, let me know your thoughts on the artwork: it’s a picture I took of a dock on a foggy morning while on a road trip at the beginning of the summer. My girlfriend did a drawing of a cloaked figure which we edited into the photo.

Band lineup for Doom Comes Knocking:

AAWKS – “All is Fine”

Titanosaur – "Escape Velocity (2022)"

Indus Valley Kings – “Sky King”

VAZUM – "Skooge"

Mos Eisley Spaceport – “Laika”

Book of Wyrms – “Hollergoblin”

HAZEMAZE – “Ethereal Disillusion”

Infinity Dream – “Circle in Time”

Doctor Smoke – “Dreamers and the Dead”

Las Cruces – “Stay”

Alunah – “Over the Hills”

Genie Cries – “Verbrennen” 

Musings: Morlock – The Outcasts

Morlock is a two-piece prog rock/space rock/synthwave band out of London, England featuring Andrew Prestidge on drums and synths with Roland Scriver on guitar (with a few guests along the way). Their sophomore album, The Outcasts, was released a couple of weeks ago. Let’s take a look at it, shall we?

This is an instrumental album with some spoken words sprinkled on a couple of songs. Andy Prestidge has a diversified background in music and it shows throughout the album. Primarily a drummer, he plays with 40 Watt Sun, as well as doing all the reformed shows with British band Warning. He also drummed for the NWOBHM band Angel Witch and toured with The Oath and Lucifer, as well as recording with Electric Wizard. His own bands, Zoltan and the Osiris Club, tend to go in a more proggy, synth-heavy direction and have led to this musical project that is Morlock. Right off the bat with “Vulpine Megaliths”, the tone is set for what follows and the proggy vibes are strong. “Flower Fiends” might be my favorite track on the record with its infectious rhythm and retro qualities. “Host Roots” reminded me at times of Yes’s keyboardist extraordinaire Rick Wakeman’s solo output back in his heyday. Definitely a highlight of the album. “The Prodigal” features a haunting narration, a kind of flash fiction as an intro, it starts out strong but tends to get a bit repetitive in the end. The short title track contains a vocoder chorus and is full of synth goodness. “Dream Harvesters”, clocking in at over seven minutes, is the lengthiest track here. It’s all about variations on a motif and a great bridge of guitars, but in the end suffers a bit from its long runtime, losing some of its momentum. “Geologic Crustaceans” brings things to a close in a quiet yet memorable way. Its retro electronic vibe with hints of prog channels classic Tangerine Dream and Yes. It’s a wonderful throwback to the ‘70s.

Fans of Krautrock, synthwave, retrowave, prog rock, and electronic music in general will get a kick out of The Outcasts. It’s a dreamy and mysterious record and fits perfectly with its Lovecraftian cover art (done by Prestidge himself who also did Obiat’s Indian Ocean album cover, by the way). The Morlock duo have delivered a terrific record that amalgamates old and new seamlessly.

Morlock on Bandcamp: https://morlock1.bandcamp.com/album/the-outcasts 

Musings: Obiat - Indian Ocean

Obiat is a quartet hailing from London, UK. After a thirteen-year hiatus, they return with their fourth LP, a sludge doom metal record filled with psychedelic and proggy textures titled Indian Ocean. Just like the real Indian Ocean, it features a unique mix of ethnic flavours and influences.

Whenever a band takes this long between albums, you either get one of two results: a crappy attempt at recapturing their former glory or a stunning work that establishes them as a legit force to be reckoned with.  Thankfully, it’s the latter in this case. Obiat has been around for twenty years already, and while I wasn’t familiar with them until Indian Ocean landed in my lap, I am now. From what I’ve sampled, they’ve evolved and grown tremendously, having gone through lineup changes (including different lead singers). The end result was well worth the wait, as cliché as it sounds.

I wasn’t instantly taken with the record but it rapidly grew on me with every track as it progressed. I kid you not, the first side of the album kept getting better with each song. “Ulysses”, the opening cut, is a decent song that goes through multiple stages and the presence (and good use) of a bamboo flute got my attention. “Eyes and Soul”, an almost entrancing number with its distorted vocals kept my attention. “Acid Wake” is a doomy song that reeled me in completely and the recurring bamboo flute is lovely here. I wasn’t prepared for what came next in the form of “Nothing Above”: this song absolutely blew me away! It features guest vocalist Sofia DeVille and is a slower, saxophone-infused song. It’s the most haunting piece I’ve heard in quite a while and my favourite track on the record. The kind of song you immediately press repeat to hear again. It’s followed by “Sea Burial” which is on-par with the previous track, an intricate and masterful sludgy metal tune. “Ad Meliora” is eclectic and reminiscent of Tool, which is always a good thing in my book. “Beware the North Star” is the lengthiest track, running a little over ten minutes long. Its atmosphere feels epic, it starts off gently and bursts like a supernova. A gorgeous song that is runner-up for my favourite off of this Indian Ocean. The curtain comes down with “Lightness of Existence”, a lovely Japanese spoken word poem/song set against soft accompanying music where the bamboo flute, drums and keys play a major role. An unexpected, yet perfect way to cap off this wonderful journey to the Indian Ocean.

A lengthy record clocking in at an hour for eight songs where not a moment is wasted, Indian Ocean takes the listener through the whole gamut of human emotions. With this album, Obiat proves that they’re here to stay and that they master all areas of their craft, from lyric composition to musicianship that is second to none in a plethora of music genres. It’s a stellar album from top to bottom—let’s just hope we don’t have to wait another decade for a follow-up!

Obiat’s Bandcamp page: https://obiat.bandcamp.com/album/indian-ocean 

Canuck Spotlight: Ian Blurton

Some musicians are around for years yet release a new project that sounds so fresh that the newer generation of music fans are under the impression this “new band” they’ve just discovered has only been formed in recent years. Such seems to be the case with Ian Blurton, a Canuck musician/singer/producer worthy of recognition on the Harbinger’s Canuck Spotlight. Blurton has been a part of the Canadian music scene since the early ‘80s, believe it or not. He was even the drummer for one of my favorite indie Canadian folk bands back in the day, Cowboy Junkies.

He went on to become lead singer/guitarist and songwriter for the alternative band Change of Heart from 1982 to 1997. From that point forward, Ian formed a number of bands including Blurtonia and C’mon, also releasing a solo album in 2009. He produced albums for bands such as The Lowest of the Low, Rheostatics, and Cursed, among many others. One of the most interesting bands he was a part of was/is the Toronto hard rock outfit Public Animal (Bandcamp link below) which was active from 2013 until at least early 2019—and might still be around today. Check them out if you get a chance, their music is well worth your time. In the summer of 2019, Ian released another tremendous solo record, Signals Through the Flames, which blends proto rock and all the best parts of ‘80s glam and hair rock/metal.

Fast forward to now, July 2022, and Mr. Blurton is back with another awesome band under the moniker Ian Blurton's Future Now. Their new record is titled Second Skin and it couldn’t have been more appropriately titled, feeling like a very natural evolution of everything that came beforehand musically from this uber-talented musician. It feels like a Blue Oyster Cult-influenced sludge/proto/hard rock album, to give you an idea of what to expect. Just in time for the warm weather so you can blast it at barbecues and pool parties or when you’re driving long stretches of road and you need some old school rock to set you at ease and keep you going.

Whether it’s at the helm of a new project in one of the many subgenres of rock or working on a solo record, you can rest assured that Ian Blurton won’t cease to surprise and delight us with some terrific music for many more years to come. Whatever kind of rock you dig, I’m sure you’ll find something in Blurton’s discography to your liking, so give his albums a spin, you’ll be glad you did!

Ian Blurton on Bandcamp: https://ianblurton.bandcamp.com/

Public Animal on Bandcamp: https://publicanimal.bandcamp.com/

Ian Blurton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ianblurton 

Musings: Planet of the 8s & Duneeater – Turned to Stone Chapter 5

Hot on the heels of last spring’s Higher Selves featuring two bands from Spain, Saturna and Electric Monolith, the fourth chapter in the series, Ripple Music will unleash the fifth chapter of their popular Turned to Stone split albums on August 5^th.  This time around, it’s a double assault of Aussie bands in the form of Duneeater and Planet of the 8s. I’d heard of both of these bands but had never sampled them until now. My bad. This is a really smooth and cool set of tunes that fits the split format like a shiny glove.

While I’ve listened to this album in its digital version, I believe its vinyl counterpart played on repeat will bring an even richer experience to the listener. Let me explain. It starts off on Side A with five tracks from the Duneeater quintet, followed on Side B by four tunes from the Planet of the 8s trio followed by Side A of Duneeater followed by Side B of Planet of the 8s and so on and so forth. What I mean by that is what we have here is an immersive collaboration between the two bands. Duneeater starts off with the instrumental “Dusk Part 2” which is a direct continuation of the last track on Side B of the Planet of the 8s instrumental “Dusk Part 1”. Side A ends with “Dawn Part 1” and Side B opens with “Dawn Part 2”, each band putting their own spin on the songs. So, there you go again, with songs that have the same motif. You can listen to it any way you want and it’ll always feel like a cohesive record as if you were listening to a well-crafted, joint musical endeavour. It really enhances the overall record, which would already be great regardless ‘cause there’re plenty of groovy tunes to be found here. If I had to pick a favourite song, it’d be Duneeater’s “Pleather Sex”. Vocalist Diesel Doleman channels Rob Zombie and it gives the songs even more bite. I also prefer Duneeater’s side to Planet of the 8s’, but to be fair, they only have three songs and an instrumental to represent them. For me, Duneeater’s shorter, catchier songs won me over, but they are a terrific pairing with the trio’s power and harmonized vocals reminiscent of Alice in Chains at times.

If you dig desert rock, stoner with an attitude, or Kyuss’s music particularly, then there’s no doubt you’ll absolutely love this new chapter of the Turned to Stone series. This is the kind of album you put on while you drive on a desert road or on lost highways. It can also be enjoyed among friends with a couple of cases of cold beers under the sun. In short, the ideal summer album chock-full of jams and riffs. So, pre-order your copy now and enjoy the fuzz!

Ripple Music’s Bandcamp page for Turned to Stone Chapter 5: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-5 

Musings: Animalize – Meat We're Made Of

Thanks to the Netflix series Stranger Things’ latest season, there’s been a resurgence of interest for Metallica’s classic Master of Puppets record. If you dig ‘Tallica from back in the days when they used to play thrash metal, then you’ll most likely get a kick out of Animalize, a thrash metal band from Lyon, France.

After a really fun EP in 2020, Animalize are back with their full-length debut, Meat We’re Made Of, and it will kick your ass into next week! Songs influenced by cemeteries, horror and sci-fi movies from the ‘80s, glam and thrash, but also synthwave and new wave, it’s a smorgasbord of retro goodness. Three of the nine tracks are sung in French (which I have a penchant for since French is my first language) and it’s always fun to hear French metal, but they also happen to be the best songs on the album, in my humble opinion. From the get-go, I was hooked. The first track, “Samourai de l’univers” (translates to “Samourai of the Universe”), is a catchy, blistering tune loaded with riffs. The standouts apart from the opener for me are “Eternal Second”, a terrific choice as their second single, with riffs and licks straight out of the ‘80s. If you haven’t played air guitar in a while, this song is sure to get you reacquainted with your air G. Then I’d pick “Escorte funèbre” (“Funeral Escort”), which I believe to be the masterpiece of this record, clocking in at a little over six minutes. And the third French track, “Esprit de l’asile” (“Spirit of the Asylum”), is the perfect closer to cap off this 36-minute metal fest.

Animalize proudly wear their influences on their sleeve and Meat We’re Made Of is an instant favorite. If you love old Metallica, Megadeth, and W.A.S.P. among others, then you’re bound to have a total blast with this high-energy record. From beginning to end, there’s never a dull moment: sometimes dark, often funny lyrics, guitar solos abound, drum and bass are relentless, and the vocals soar like a phoenix. Definitely one of the albums with the most replay value of the summer. So, get ready to bang your head and pick up this bad boy at your earliest convenience, it’s what the doctor ordered for your metal health!

Animalize on Bandcamp: https://animalizeband.bandcamp.com/

Dying Victims Records’ Animalize Bandcamp page: https://dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/animalize-meat-were-made-of 

The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades!

As the old saying goes, the future is so bright at the Harbinger of D.O.O.M. blog that I gotta wear shades! Summer has finally arrived and I’ve finished a lot of things that I had to take care of in order to have more time to focus on the blog. Leading up to the blog’s second anniversary in September, I will have plenty of stuff in store for my readers and listeners.

First off, there will be a few changes. Traditional reviews will make way for “Musings”, a different form of review. Instead of reviewing albums, I’ll put an emphasis on articles that give my stamp of approval for a certain album/record and share my thoughts on said album. I will no longer do track by track reviews (or at least I’ll do them very rarely) and will only shine the light on albums that I truly enjoy. Over the course of the last year, submissions for review have increased tremendously and I’ve also been added to some awesome labels’ mailing lists with the privilege of listening/reviewing albums early. It would be impossible for me to review them all, nor do I want to spend my time only listening to music for the sake of reviewing. I will always continue what I set out to do in the first place with the blog, which is to help shine a spotlight on up-an-coming bands, whether they’re just a few months old or seasoned pros. I know what I like and if it’s something I dig, it’ll get featured in “Musings” so keep sending those submissions in.

The popular “Canuck Spotlight” feature focusing on Canadian artists will of course remain. I’m a proud Canadian and I always take pleasure in discovering and spreading the word about bands from the Great White North. I love audiobooks and while those are the least popular articles here on the blog, I will keep talking about them. In fact, I’ll feature even more of them going forward, ranging from comic book prose novels to sci-fi, fantasy, horror and anything that could have some appeal to the Doom/Stoner/Metal community. They’ll be rebranded as “Audiobook Showcase” and as with album reviews, it’ll be less of a review and more of a recommendation for an audiobook I loved that I want to share. I also intend to write more articles about music and bands in general, which is something that’s been lacking due to lack of time. The highly popular Bandcamp Friday roundup (Harbinger Friday when BC Friday is on leave) will absolutely continue. Band interviews, “A Conversation with”, will go forward and I’ll do my best to have a chat with bands more often.

And last but certainly not least, to celebrate the Harbinger’s second anniversary in mid-September, the project I’ve been teasing about from time to time can finally be revealed. The Harbinger of D.O.O.M. blog will become a digital record label of sorts (maybe it’ll be a one-time thing, who knows) and if successful, it might become a yearly tradition. September will see the release of a Bandcamp “Name Your Price” compilation (similar to Weedian and Doomed and Stoned’s comps) curated by yours truly featuring a dozen bands in the realms of Doom/Metal/Stoner/Heavy Psych/Prog Rock. The lineup is almost complete and I’ll announce the final rundown over the weeks to come but among the bands included are HAZEMAZE, Alunah, Doctor Smoke, Las Cruces, Indus Valley Kings, AAWKS, VAZUM, Titanosaur, Infinity Dream, Genie Cries, Mos Eisley Spaceport, and a couple more to be confirmed. How’s that for some cool news?

As you can see, I have plenty in store for my faithful followers. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers, the Twitter Metal/Stoner Rock family, all the bands and labels who have submitted/continue to submit phenomenal music and anyone who has contributed to this blog in some shape or form. If you enjoy the blog, please spread the word and tell your friends! THANK YOU!! You can expect a ton of content going forward that will hopefully enhance your listening experience of all things Doom/Metal. Have a fantastic weekend and the Harbinger will see you very soon! 

Review: Comic Book - Maurice and the Metal

This will be a first for the blog, a review of a comic book/graphic novel. It’s no secret that I used to collect comic books back in the day, from the mid- ‘80s to late ‘90s. I even owned a comic book store for a brief period of time in the mid- ‘90s. One of the first things you see upon browsing the blog is my love for Marvel’s Doctor Doom. He is in my opinion, the greatest villain in comic book history. Anyhow, I haven’t followed comic books in over twenty years but every now and then something catches my eye and I get into a title for a story arc or purchase a graphic novel. When it was brought to my attention that there was a comic book about a teenager who gets incredible strength whenever he listens to metal and that it took place in the ‘80s, it piqued my curiosity. The comic book is called Maurice and the Metal and it started out as a Kickstarter project from writer/creator Aaron Sammut. The first two issues were illustrated by Marvel/DC/Dark Horse alumni Jesse Hamm who sadly passed away last year. It’s now at issue number 3 and artist Nicola Izzo has taken over penciling duties.

Maurice and the Metal follows the titular Maurice’s adventures as a drummer for a thrash metal band that is seemingly going nowhere. Something will happen to Maurice and he’ll realize that listening to metal gives him impossible strength. He’ll be guided by a Walkman possessed by the soul of a Black Sabbath roadie who’ll serve as a kind of Mr. Miyagi on his journey. The villains are called gloomers and they’re the opposite of metalheads. I won’t say more not to spoil anything, but it’s an age-old battle akin to the one that was fought in the ‘70s between rockers and people who listened to disco music.

There’s a lot to like about this comic book series! Sammut is a terrific writer and has an ear for dialogue. His love for all things metal from the 1980s leaps off almost every page. There are tons of music references throughout the three issues showing love to the heydays of heavy/thrash metal. It’s a beautifully-illustrated black & white comic and I find the fact that it’s not in colour actually adds to the story. It creates a different vibe and gives the story a tone that suits it like a glove. Hamm’s artwork and use of shadows is gorgeous and the panel layout conveys the story effortlessly. Izzo picks up in issue number 3 and continues in a similar style as his predecessor, and while I really enjoy his art, I must say that I’m a tad more partial to Hamm’s pencils. Nevertheless, this ongoing series is so much fun that you’ll be craving the next issue as soon as you’re finished with issue 3.

Maurice and the Metal is a super fun heavy metal comic full of original ideas with metal references galore that never feel forced. I love the way Maurice has to deal with his family life which reminded me of Peter Parker’s dilemmas first with Aunt May and then his wife Mary Jane (at least, back when I used to read Amazing/Spectacular Spider-Man in the ‘80s/’90s). If you’re into comic books, indie graphic novels, doom/heavy metal music, are a musician in any genre of music or just like to read well-written/well-made stories, then I’m sure you’ll have a blast with Maurice and the Metal.

You can uncover all the details about Maurice and the Metal, its Kickstarter campaign for future issues, where to shop for its digital and print comics, and to pick up some cool merch at their official Website: https://maurice-and-the-metal.com/ 

Hot July Brings Cool Music and the Harbinger’s Your Guide

In the absence of Bandcamp Friday, Harbinger Friday will serve as your guide to good music to spend your money wisely. So, as usual, for the first Friday of the month, here are the harbinger’s Top Five picks:

First off, released ten days ago, one-man army Titanosaur is back with a powerful and very personal double single with “Eater of Death” / “The Time is Now”. You can pick it up here.

Second, a week ago, one of my personal favourites, deathgaze duo VAZUM, put out another fantastic song titled “Angel”. You can grab it here. 

Third, another band that is close to my heart returns after a hiatus of a year and a half, Mos Eisley Spaceport. Formerly a trio, they’re now a duo, but you wouldn’t know it by listening to the outstanding two-song assault that is “Laika” and “Raised by a Lioness”. Get the two songs here. 

Fourth, France’s Animalize has just unleashed Meat We're Made Of and it’s an absolute blast if you’re a fan of thrash metal. You can buy the album here. 

Fifth, no list would be complete without a title from the mighty Ripple Music and this month it’s Righteous Fool’s self-titled debut out today! Fans of Corrosion of Conformity rejoice, there’s something for everyone on this terrific record! You can get that bad boy right here. 

And that’s all she wrote, folks! If you’re a fellow Canuck, I wish you a safe Canada Day. Take time to recharge the battery and maybe bask in the summer sun. Support those indie artists, show them so love and get some awesome tunes in the process. Crank it up and have a wonderful weekend filled with excellent music. Until next time, the Harbinger bids you farewell.