Sword & Sorcery Roundup – January 2024

Time to get the year rolling with a Sword & Sorcery Roundup focusing on a bunch of cool stuff that’s either been recently published or will see the light of day within the next six months. There are plenty of amazing books, audiobooks, and comic books about to be released in the near-future in the realm of S&S. Let’s have a chronological look at it, shall we?

First, our friends over at Whetstone, the Amateur Magazine of Pulp Sword and Sorcery, released issue 8 of their fantastic S&S magazine back in December of 2023. They publish two issues a year and it’s absolutely free! Sadly, the good folks at Spiral Tower Press who publish the mag will be putting Whetstone on hold for a while, at least for the entirety of 2024. The magazine’s first issue was published in the summer of 2020. This last issue (for now) and all previous issues are still available for download on their blog. This one serves up a dozen short stories jam-packed into an 84-page PDF. The authors featured are R.M. Gulaya, J.D. Harlock, Marcos Miotti, Michael Burke, B. Harlan Crawford, K.T. Booker, Robert Webb, Mitchell Hyde, Rab Foster, Liam Q.D. Hall, Shephard McIlveen, and Jim Reddy. If you missed it, just head over to their blog and download your copy today.

Second, frequent visitors of the blog are aware of my love for Savage Realms Monthly, especially the Audible version of their awesome magazine. Almost every month, they deliver a solid book featuring three different authors who pen old school Sword & Sorcery tales in the tradition of Robert E. Howard, Karl Edward Wagner, and Lin Carter. On the audiobook side, Moose Matson plays the role of S&S Cryptkeeper of sorts, handling narrative duties with panache. There aren’t any new Audible SRM issues out per se, but I have it on good authority that there are two issues coming our way very soon. In the meantime, you can browse through the dozen audiobooks (reviewed by yours truly) that they’ve already released up to now. They also publish Kindle and print versions of the book, of course. The latest book, SRM #25, was the Holiday issue published earlier in January this year. It features the talents of Matthew X. Gomez, Mark Mellon, and Rab Foster. You can pick it up on Amazon.

Third, what will most likely be the biggest Sword & Sorcery anthology of 2024 is about to be published on January 26^th for the eBook versions and just in time for Valentine’s Day for its print counterpart. I’m talking about a gorgeous book titled Neither Beg Nor Yield: Stories with S&S Attitude from the fine folks at Rogue Blades Entertainment. The book is edited by Jason M. Waltz and features a stellar lineup of some of the best writers writing today. Here’s the list of scribes who contribute a total of 20 tales to the book: Eadwine Brown, Adrian Cole, Glen Cook, Steve Dilks, Chuck Dixon, Phil Emery, Steven Erikson, John R. Fultz, Steve Goble, John C. Hocking, Howard Andrew Jones, William King, Joe R. Lansdale, David C. Smith, Jeff Stewart, Keith J. Taylor, Eric Turowski, Frederick Tor & Bill Ward, Lawrence A. Weinstein, and C.L. Werner. This is a massive book at almost 500 pages in length; I’ve had the pleasure of perusing an ARC and it is a thing of beauty! It showcases a diverse crop of S&S tales and every story has its own gorgeous illustration. I can’t wait to dig into it. I’ll do a proper review of it once I get around to reading the whole thing, time-permitting, with the hectic couple of months I have ahead of me, but hopefully some time this spring. In the meantime, head over to Rogue Blades’ Website and pre-order your copy today!

Fourth, Titan Comics hit it out of the park in 2023 with their new monthly Conan comic book series. In 2024, they’re bringing back The Savage Sword of Conan in its original black-and-white magazine format. Issue #1 features a new Conan epic from John Arcudi and Max Von Fafner, the rousing return of Solomon Kane written and drawn by Patch Zircher, an electric prose story from Jim Zub, spectacular art pin-ups, and more. It will be published on February 28^th. You can pick it up at your local comic book shop or at Titan Comics’ Website.

Fifth, a new D&D novel series begins on March 5^th with the publication of Dungeons & Dragons: The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin by Jaleigh Johnson. She’s no stranger to D&D, having penned the excellent D&D: Honor Among Thieves prequel novel The Road to Neverwinter last year. I, for one, am eager to read the adventures of this new batch of heroes. It’ll be available as a hardback, Kindle, and to my delight, as an audiobook on Audible. Head over to Amazon’s page for the book to read the synopsis and pre-order your copy today. Of course, I’ll have a review of the audiobook shortly after its release.

Sixth, Conan will also return in novel-length adventures in the highly-anticipated Conan: City of the Dead by John C. Hocking, courtesy of Titan Books. The book combines the classic Conan and the Emerald Lotus initially published in 1995, with the all-new, original Conan and the Living Plague. The latter is the long-awaited follow-up to the former, also written by Hocking. It will be published as a hardcover and on Kindle, but I’m bummed out that there doesn’t seem to be an audiobook planned for this one. What gives, Titan Books? Us folks with poor vision and eye conditions who love a good audiobook demand a release on Audible! Anyhow, the book will be published on June 18^th and you can pre-order this bad boy over at Amazon.

Seventh and last for now, fan-favourite Red Sonja comic book scribe Gail Simone returns to the title in novel form this time around. Red Sonja: Consumed is slated to be published on July 16^th through Orbit Books. This will be a massive 480-page book where Red Sonja, the iconic, fiery, she-devil with a sword, is reinvented for a new generation of readers in an action-packed epic fantasy. I’ve loved the Red Sonja character ever since I watched the Brigitte Nielsen and Arnold Schwarzenegger movie back in 1985. I’ve read some of Ms. Simone’s Red Sonja comics and enjoyed them greatly, so I look forward to going along for a ride with the red-headed warrior. The novel will be published in hardcover, Kindle, and, yes, on Audible (thank you Orbit!). You can pre-order a copy in the format of your choice over at Amazon.

There you have it, folks! Another edition of Sword & Sorcery Roundup is in the books. I hope you’ll find some S&S material to your liking here. Drop by again for more news and reviews of Sword & Sorcery stuff right here on the Harbinger of D.O.O.M. Blog. Until next time, happy reading! 

Rapid Fire Reviews: Slower

Supergroups often yield interesting albums that allow musicians to deviate from what they would usually do within their respective bands. Slower is such a supergroup. The concept is to play slower, sludged-out covers of legendary thrash metal band Slayer, hence the name Slower. Comprised of Esben Willems from Monolord on drums, Peder Bergstrand from Lowrider on bass, Amy Barrysmith from Year of the Cobra on lead vocals, and Bob Balch from Fu Manchu on guitars for the first four songs. For the final song, “South of Heaven”, we switch bassists/singers with Scott Reeder from Kyuss on bass and Laura Pleasants from Kylesa on lead vocals. The eponymous album will be released on January 26^th via boutique label Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

Whether you’re a Slayer fan or not is irrelevant to enjoy this LP. If you like Slayer, you’ll get a bigger kick out of it, but it’s not required as the band gives the songs a new lease on life with these reinterpretations. For my part, I’m not the biggest Slayer fan, but I absolutely love their Seasons in the Abyss LP, so since three of the five songs covered here are from that album, I really dug them. The album kicks off with a thick and heavy, epic rendition of “War Ensemble” featuring a driving riff and terrific guitar solos. “The Antichrist” has a Sabbathian vibe and a darker edge to it. Amy’s vocals are perfect for this song. Speaking of Amy Barrysmith; I can’t wait for a new LP/EP from Year of the Dragon. If you’re not familiar with that duo, seek them out—they are powerful purveyors of doom metal. On to “Blood Red”, which may just be the catchiest track on here. Slower delivers “Dead Skin Mask” in a haunting fashion with its hypnotic evil riff. The final track happens to be my favourite, sung by Laura Pleasants, whom I wasn’t familiar with. It’s got a dangerous riff paired with a killer overall musical atmosphere. A great song to close this record.

Slower’s Slower is a superb collection of reimagined Slayer classics. The five-track, 39-minute album delivers on its promise of sludgier, heavier versions of Slayer tunes. It’s an awesome project and one can only hope we’ll see more from this group of musicians. Fans and non-fans of Slayer will appreciate this offering as long as they’re into doom, heavy psych, heavy metal or any similar music genre. Slower is a fantastic way to start the new year. More please!

Slower on Bandcamp: https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/slower-slower 

Short Story Time: The Chilling Hour

Happy New Year! It's the first Saturday of the year, so it's time for a FREE short story! This is one of my personal favourites, starring Nick Kubrick, one of my fave characters that I've created. Nick is a horror DJ who investigates and debunks supernatural myths in his spare time in the foggy city of Bitternest, Louisiana. He would go on to star in his own novel, Nocturnal Offerings, a few years later. Originally published in 2008 in the 9 of Swords e-zine and reprinted in my first collection, The Bitternest Chronicles, in 2010, I give you "The Chilling Hour." You can download the free PDF right here.

In case you missed the previous entries in Short Story Time, you can download them at the links below. Enjoy and drop me a line to let me know what you think of them!

“The Errand” is a tale about a man who goes through the woods of Bitternest to run an errand and will see the course of his life altered forever.

“Hershell’s Motel” is a strange tale about an unusual motel where, you guessed it, bizarre things happen.

“The Rattling Man” is a coming of age Halloween tale. Do you believe in the bogeyman? Do you believe in the Rattling Man? Find out who or what he is!

“Crimson Nightmares” is my take on the “Halloween” movie series. Written and initially published digitally back in 2011, this 106-page novella picks up 33 years after the events of the second "Halloween" film from 1981, the night when Michael Myers terrorized Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and the residents of Haddonfield, Illinois. It follows little Lindsey Wallace, the little girl Laurie Strode babysat in the first “Halloween” (1978) film, who is all grown-up now and bears the scars of that terrible night to this day. She has moved to my fictitious town of Bitternest, Louisiana to get away from her past and has been leading a quiet life, that is until something inside Michael Myers snaps and he comes looking for her on Halloween. Add to that a killer clown with an agenda of his own and it’s a Halloween you won’t soon forget. It’ll be a showdown for the ages when Michael Myers comes to the eerie city of Bitternest.

“The Bypassed Mind”, a romantic suspense/fantasy story with some hypnosis thrown in for good measure that was directly inspired by the late, great Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return also adapted as the film "Somewhere in Time".

“Breaking and Entering”, the story of a man who enters people’s homes just for kicks, never stealing anything, just to see what goes on behind close doors. One day he’ll stumble upon something that will change his life forever…

“Scapegoat”, a tale about the Curse of the Cubs, the love of baseball, some time travel, and a whole lot of nostalgia. Even if you're not into baseball, this fantasy tale filled with mystery is sure to entertain you.

Last but not least, fans of Conan and Dungeons & Dragons can also download a PDF of the first two tales of the ongoing adventures of my Sword & Sorcery character AMOK right here. 

2023: The Year of Conan

Robert E. Howard’s Conan has been around since 1932. One hundred years later, the barbarian is even more relevant than he was during Howard’s lifetime. He’s enjoyed a tremendous revival in comics and books in 2023 and will continue to do so in 2024. I thought I’d take a moment to look back on all things Conan that have graced bookshelves in the past year.

On the tail end of 2022, Titan Books published the first novel in a new series of Conan books, Blood of the Serpent, written by S.M. Stirling. That story takes place shortly before the events of Robert E. Howard’s beloved Red Nails novella. It was a pretty good way to get the ball rolling and made me eager to see what the publisher had in store for future books. You can read the Audiobook Showcase I did on it over here.

Fast forward ten months or so to late October and we saw the re-release of the classic 1982 novelization of the Conan The Barbarian film which put Arnold Schwarzenegger on the map back in the day. The novel was penned by legendary pulp writers L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter, two of the best Conan scribes of that era. You can find my Audiobook Showcase on it right here. Both of those Conan novels were published in print, eBook, and as audiobooks on Audible.

Perhaps what was the most exciting Conan-related event of 2023 was the new monthly comic book series from Titan Comics and Heroic Signatures. Kicking off on Free Comic Book Day back in May, this phenomenal Conan series is done in the spirit of the classic Marvel comic books from the ‘70s and ‘80s while injecting new blood into our favourite barbarian. Writer Jim Zub and artist Robert De La Torre delivered a spectacular first story arc and have whetted our appetites to see what they’re concocting for 2024. You can check out what the fuss is about over at Titan Comics’ Website.

For fans of the medium that got Conan his start, the short story format, we got you covered as well. Started this past September and ongoing until September 2024, The Heroic Legends Series features today’s best authors taking a crack at writing stories set in Robert E. Howard’s universe including Conan, Solomon Kane, Belit, Bran Mak Morn, and El Borak. Every month, a new short story is on sale exclusively on Kindle at a bargain price. So far, the four stories that saw the light of day in 2023 were all amazing. Visit Amazon to start reading now!

As you can see, Conan experienced a stellar rebirth in 2023 and it’s only the beginning! I’ll have more news on upcoming Conan projects for 2024 in my forthcoming Sword & Sorcery Roundup article around the third week of January, so be on the lookout for that. Until then, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy New Year and a fantastic 2024 in great health and filled with Conan adventures of all kinds! 

Harbinger of D.O.O.M.’s Top 10 Albums of 2023

Another year is almost over. Once again, it’s been a terrific year for music and the race to make it to the Top Ten Albums of the Year List was closer than ever. As usual, it strictly contains LPs of albums released in 2023 in the genres and subgenres of Metal and Rock. I have not included any Synthwave, Pop, Classical, or Jazz releases on this list. So, without further ado, here are my ten favourite albums of 2023 with a link to my review for each one:

10. Grand Design - Rawk

9. Hail The Void – Memento Mori

8. Mos Eisley Spaceport - Further

7. Spectre – Lonesome Gambler (9-Track Edition)

6. Angelus Apatrida - Aftermath

5. Extreme - Six

4. Overkill - Scorched

3. H.e.a.t - Extra Force

2. Savage – Glory Riders

1. Metallica – 72 Seasons

And that’s all she wrote, folks! I hope my list will make you discover an album that you’d overlooked or not given a spin yet. I know a lot of you will roll your eyes at my choice of Metallica for the top spot, but it was Metallica’s year from top to bottom for me. I got back into the band in a major way after not giving a damn about them for twenty years. Their album 72 Seasons was the one I enjoyed the most since the Black Album all the way back in 1991. I had a blast attending the album launch in a packed theatre. The live broadcasts later in the summer of two shows from Texas once more in a packed theater for two nights are memories that I will cherish for a very long time. And to be able to own the two shows that they performed in my hometown of Montreal as MP3 albums—shows that I skipped going to due to them being at the Olympic Stadium where the acoustics are terrible—as part of their live recordings is the perfect way to immortalize the phenomenal No Repeat M72 Tour. I’ll see you again for one final blog post before the New Year. Until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! 

Audiobook Showcase: Aliens - Bishop

The Alien franchise has been one I’ve loved ever since I was a teenager. Ridley Scott’s original 1979 film remains my favourite and is firmly planted in my personal top ten best sci-fi films of all-time. In an alternate universe where David Fincher would’ve had his way with Alien³ (1992), it would most likely be my second fave, followed by James Cameron’s Aliens (1986). The third film left a big impression on me as it was the first Alien movie I experienced in theatres during its opening weekend. The Assembly Cut improves the film, adding an extra 30 minutes, but it’s still not the movie Fincher had envisioned. I’m not a big fan of military sci-fi, so in spite of it being a fun and wild ride, Aliens is the chapter of the saga I’ve seen the least in the original film trilogy. I didn’t care for Alien: Resurrection (1997) or Alien: Covenant (2017), but I enjoyed Prometheus (2012) quite a bit.

When it comes to Alien comics and books, I’ve read plenty of them, going back to the Dark Horse comics and Bantam books of the ‘90s and the more recent wave of Alien novels of the last decade or so. Of those recent books, the ones I’ve enjoyed the most are Alien: Out of the Shadows (Tim Lebbon), Alien: Sea of Sorrows (James A. Moore), Alien: River of Pain (Christopher Golden), Alien: The Cold Forge (Alex White), and Aliens: Infiltrator (Weston Ochse). I have to say that in the course of the past two years, though, I’ve lost faith in the book franchise after a series of disappointing novels (to me anyway) like Alien: Into Charybdis, Alien: Colony War, Alien: Inferno's Fall, and Aliens: Vasquez. Just as I was about to give up on the Aliens prose books, Aliens: Bishop was announced for early December from a sci-fi writer by the name of T. R. Napper who’d garnered a lot of praise for his debut novel and short story collection. That got my hopes up and I was really excited to listen/read what this new book had to offer. The audiobook is read by various narrators and has a runtime of ten hours and fifty-five minutes. Here is the official synopsis:

“A direct sequel to Aliens and Alien 3—Weyland-Yutani, the Colonial Marines, and Bishop’s creator all pursue the android for the deadly Xenomorph data contained in his brain. Written by T. R. Napper, author of the acclaimed 36 Streets, whose explosive work explores the artificial intelligence and what it is to be human.

Massively damaged in Aliens and Alien 3, the synthetic Bishop asked to be shut down forever. His creator, Michael Bishop, has other plans. He seeks the Xenomorph knowledge stored in the android’s mind and brings Bishop back to life—but for what reason? No longer an employee of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, Michael tells his creation that he seeks to advance medical research for the benefit of humanity. Yet where does he get the resources needed to advance his work. With whom do his new allegiances lie?

Bishop is pursued by Colonial Marines Captain Marcel Apone, commander of the Il Conde and younger brother of Master Sergeant Alexander Apone, one of the casualties of the doomed mission to LV-426. Also on his trail are the “Dog Catchers,” commandos employed by Weyland-Yutani.

Who else might benefit from Bishop’s intimate knowledge of the deadliest creatures in the galaxy?”

Napper is a damn fine writer and his knowledge and passion for the franchise comes through clearly in his writing. My biggest gripe is that we didn’t get enough of Bishop. He’s supposed to be the central character of the book, isn’t he? What we got instead were the usual protagonists, the Colonial Marines, which I think has been overdone in Aliens books as of late. It also could’ve used more “black demons” as well—it is after all an Aliens novel! The first half of the book dragged a bit in places, but once it got going, it was captivating enough to keep me listening until the end. It was fun to see Michael Bishop, the creator, once more as we’d gotten a peek of him at the end of the third film and I always thought it would make for a great story to get inside his head for a bit. Here we do get to see how the man behind the machines thinks and what his objectives are in the grand scheme of things. Is he good or evil? How does Bishop, the synthetic, interact with his maker? It was interesting to witness their relationship on the page.

One of the pluses of getting the audiobook version as opposed to the print/eBook is the fact that it’s narrated by numerous narrators including Alex Boyles, Eunice Wong, Shiromi Arserio, Nancy Wu, Pun Bandhu, and Tim Campbell. Since the story unfolds mostly from different character viewpoints each getting turns at their own chapters, it keeps the narrative flowing at a good pace. For the most part, the narrators do a stellar job of portraying the characters.

In the end, Aliens: Bishop was a mixed bag for me. Although, I think Alien fans who enjoy Colonial Marines tales will most likely get a big kick out of this book. Being a fiction writer myself, I would’ve gone a completely different direction had I been tasked with writing a Bishop novel. For starters, there wouldn’t have been a single Marine to be seen, but that’s neither here nor there. The audiobook elevates the experience, in my opinion, and makes Aliens: Bishop a more compelling read/listen. If you’re an Aliens fan or simply a sci-fi fan, I think you’ll find something to like in T. R. Napper’s take on the Alien franchise.  

Rating: Three stars out of five

Get your copy on Audible 

Short Story Time: The Errand

Greetings to all wherever you are! It's the first Saturday of December, so it's time for a final FREE short story for 2023! This one is titled “The Errand” and it’s a tale about a man who goes through the woods of Bitternest to run an errand and will see the course of his life altered forever. It was first published in 2008 in the Darkened Horizons Vol. 4 anthology and later reprinted in my first collection, The Bitternest Chronicles, in 2010. You can download it as a PDF right here.

In case you missed them, you can download the previous entries in Short Story Time below. Enjoy and drop me a line to let me know what you think of those tales!

“Hershell’s Motel” is a strange tale about an unusual motel where, you guessed it, bizarre things happen.

“The Rattling Man” is a coming of age Halloween tale. Do you believe in the bogeyman? Do you believe in the Rattling Man? Find out who or what he is!

“Crimson Nightmares” is my take on the “Halloween” movie series. Written and initially published digitally back in 2011, this 106-page novella picks up 33 years after the events of the second "Halloween" film from 1981, the night when Michael Myers terrorized Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) and the residents of Haddonfield, Illinois. It follows little Lindsey Wallace, the little girl Laurie Strode babysat in the first “Halloween” (1978) film, who is all grown-up now and bears the scars of that terrible night to this day. She has moved to my fictitious town of Bitternest, Louisiana to get away from her past and has been leading a quiet life, that is until something inside Michael Myers snaps and he comes looking for her on Halloween. Add to that a killer clown with an agenda of his own and it’s a Halloween you won’t soon forget. It’ll be a showdown for the ages when Michael Myers comes to the eerie city of Bitternest.

“The Bypassed Mind”, a romantic suspense/fantasy story with some hypnosis thrown in for good measure that was directly inspired by the late, great Richard Matheson's novel Bid Time Return also adapted as the film "Somewhere in Time".

“Breaking and Entering”, the story of a man who enters people’s homes just for kicks, never stealing anything, just to see what goes on behind close doors. One day he’ll stumble upon something that will change his life forever…

“Scapegoat”, a tale about the Curse of the Cubs, the love of baseball, some time travel, and a whole lot of nostalgia. Even if you're not into baseball, this fantasy tale filled with mystery is sure to entertain you.

Last but not least, fans of Conan and Dungeons & Dragons can also download a PDF of the first two tales of the ongoing adventures of my Sword & Sorcery character AMOK right here.

December Brings the Final Bandcamp Friday of 2023!

It’s the final Bandcamp Friday of the year! For one last time in 2023, Bandcamp waives its revenue share and all the money goes directly to the artists and labels for a full 24 hours. It’s been another terrific year for independent and underground music. For the occasion, here are my Top Five picks of the month to help you find some great songs and albums for the snowy month of December.

First, something old getting a new release, the partial soundtrack to the 1984 horror flick Rocktober Blood, featuring the music of Sorcery. RidingEasy Records is the label behind it and it’s a 4-song EP that’s a total blast to listen to if you’re into classic rock, hard rock or heavy metal. You can pick it up right here.

Second, an album that came out completely unexpected, released on Thanksgiving Day: Mos Eisley Spaceport’s follow-up to their 2020 debut EP, a full-length album titled Further. This one is ten shades of awesome and a definite contender for those Top Albums of the Year lists. You can read my thoughts on this psychedelic, bluesy, proggy, desert rock masterpiece over here and you can pick up the “Name your price” LP right here.

Third, the mighty Ripple Music has pulled out all the stops for their phenomenal CCR Tribute album titled Burn on the Bayou. The star-studded double LP is set to be released next Friday, December 8^th and features Bone Church, Horseburner, La Chinga, Thunder Horse, War Cloud, and Great Electric Quest to name a few of the bands included. You can read what I think of it here and pre-order it here.

Fourth, also on December 8^th, fuzzy psychedelic Canuck trio AAWKS will release their follow-up to last year’s Heavy on the Cosmic, a 4-track EP titled Luna. It’s another trippy set of tunes that’s sure to please fans and newcomers alike. Read my thoughts on it here and pre-order it here.

Fifth and final, indie metal boutique label Dying Victims Productions will release Krautrock/prog rock quintet (formerly known as Vvlva) now named Ritvs’ newest LP, entirely sung in German, titled Der Tag naht. The album comes out on December 15^th and is a great throwback to classic ’70 prog rock. You can pre-order it here.

And that’s all she wrote! Dig into your wallet and show those hard-working bands and labels some love. Where would we be without music? As we bid goodbye to 2023 and are getting ready to greet 2024, spread some generosity around and get some cool tunes in the process. Tune back in throughout the month for some cool articles including my Top Ten Albums of the Year list. 

Musings: Mos Eisley Spaceport - Further

It’s been a minute since the space rock/desert rock trio from Bremen, Germany released an album. Imagine my surprise this past Thursday when out of the blue, I got an email from Bandcamp to notify me that Mos Eisley Spaceport had not only released some new songs but a full LP consisting of 9 songs, roughly 58 minutes worth of tunes! I love this band. Their debut EP, The Best of Their Early Year, was the second review I ever did on the blog, back in September of 2020. They were kind enough to join me for the blog’s very first conversation and even contribute a new song to the Doom Comes Knocking compilation I curated back in 2022. Needless to say, I was stoked to see that not only had they just put out new music, but a whole album at that!

Let me start by spoiling it for you by telling you that the long wait has been entirely worth it. Man, this new LP, the appropriately-titled Further, is a horse of a different colour! Further sees the band adding a more proggy feel to their already unique desert/space rock and heavy psych sound as they welcome new member Björn Groos on keys/organ. The band had bid farewell to one of their founding members, vocalist/guitarist Daniel, sometime in the spring of 2022 and had become a duo (Sebastian Reimann on vocals/bass VI/guitar/synthesizer along with Guido Hanslik on drums/percussion/vocals). Now they’re back to being a trio and they’ve really refined their sound, delivering a more polished record than on their first outing. This next chapter in the band’s evolution is an exciting one.

“Ashes to Ashes” is a superb proggy opener, epic in scope. The organ is a welcome addition and complements the band perfectly, often adding shades of Deep Purple in the process. Next up is “Drop Out”, which was a very catchy tune on Early Year but this new version is more fine-tuned and once again one of the highlights of the record. Turn on, tune in, drop out, join in and sing along! “Space Shift” is the other song that’s been revised from the debut EP, but this time, we get a much-expanded interpretation of it, almost doubling its length, improving on an already terrific tune. This may very well be my favourite track on Further. The hits keep on coming; “Raised by a Lioness”, the awesome song from their sole 2022 release—the double single pairing of “Raised by a Lioness” / “Laika”—also gets fresh coat of paint. This newer version is more accomplished and sounds quite hypnotic at times, with Björn’s organ adding cool layers to the proceedings. “Cocaine Blues” is a groovy, organ-driven track that’s sure to stick in your head (in a good way) for a long time after the record’s done spinning. The afore-mentioned “Laika” from the double single and the band’s contribution to my Doom Comes Knocking comp gets the redux treatment as well. It’s a longer, more energetic version than the original. Both this and “Lioness” are alternate versions of the originals and while they do sound more polished on Further, I have a fondness for the originals and will always treasure them. “Scattle Cat” has a killer head-bobbing riff with a punk-rock edge. It’s a fabulous tune with a healthy dose of heavy psych. We get a sequel to “Laika” in the form of “Laika II” and we don’t even have to wait for the next album! It’s a short number that feels like listening to echoes in the cosmos with its spacey and foreboding vibe. The LP ends with track 9, “I’m a Robot Dancer”, a song reminiscent of “My Bicycle Won’t Fly”, the closer on Early Year. The acoustic guitar and bassline are a beauty on this song! It’s got a nice prog rock feel to it that sounds kind of like Supertramp.

Further brings us the further adventures of this Star Wars-loving trio and it’s one hell of a fun ride. I’ve already gone through multiple listens and I can safely say that this LP belongs on my Top Ten Albums of the Year list. It’s like visiting old friends you haven’t heard from in a long while. Mos Eisley Spaceport have honed their craft and proven that they have staying power with this album. In terms of space/desert rock, heavy psych, classic rock, and stoner rock, Further is a stellar record that’s just as unique in 2023 as their debut was back in 2020. In a landscape of bands that struggle to differentiate themselves from the pack, Mos Eisley Spaceport rises above the masses and are some of the most refreshing purveyors of music out there. Let’s just hope we won’t have to wait another three years for their next LP!

Mos Eisley Spaceport on Bandcamp: https://moseisleyspaceport.bandcamp.com/album/further 

Rapid Fire Reviews: AAWKS

AAWKS are back with a new 4-track EP titled Luna set to be released on December 8^th via Black Throne Productions. It’s no secret that I love this Canuck trio whose phenomenal debut album, Heavy on the Cosmic, still gets regular spins in my headphones. Luna—the goddess of the moon in Roman mythology, is a very fitting title for this EP that uses a darker palette musically than Cosmic did.

The new single, “The Figure”, kicks things off with its psychedelic and fuzzy tones turned up to eleven. This is one of their absolute best songs. Then we run off to a brilliant cover of the 1982 new wave classic “I Ran” from A Flock of Seagulls. It gets the heavy psych treatment and AAWKS puts their stamp all over it, making it their own. From new wave to the psychedelic ‘60s to cover a lesser known Pink Floyd tune from 1968, “Julia Dream”. Back then it was the first Floyd song to feature David Gilmour on lead vocals. Once again, AAWKS put their spin on it and make this slower tempo song even more trippy than the original. The fourth and final track is a dynamic live rendition of what is probably my favourite song of theirs, “All Is Fine”, recorded at the Poolhaus in February 2022. It gives the listeners a taste of the energy this band brings to their live shows. I’ve seen them in concert and they are ten shades of awesome, playing like a well-oiled machine. They’re so tight, it feels like they’ve been jamming together for a decade!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: AAWKS are gonna be huge in the near future (they’re already pretty big!). Luna continues where Heavy on the Cosmic left off and sees the band transitioning from a quartet to a trio and delivering another stellar space rock/psychedelic fuzzy delight of an album. If you’re already a fan of the band, you’re gonna love Luna. If you’re new to AAWKS, this is an excellent starting point and when you’re done listening to it, make sure to pick up their debut LP as well to get the whole picture.

AAWKS on Bandcamp: https://aawks.bandcamp.com/