Three Eyes Left - (2015) Asmodeus

Three dancing eyes chasing the night idol, a sound bending at the magical sphinxes of times ready to explode in millions of vivid and dying butterflies. A needles storm enveloping more distant minds’ sleep to fecundate the first handmaid’s ancient womb. A psychic and interrupted rock, a multitude of words weaved together with a string made of stones and gems. Three eyes left is the dance before the word and the word before del colour, and now waits for the harvest refulgence to gather and offer the livid germ of its roots. Dance incestuous sons! At the sickle light, find the chosen ones, show them what they will receive in gift. A mass of mothers and sisters, of eyes consecrated to the black light of the oblivion, an ethereal mastodons and solar flares’ Danse Macabre. A music box made of tendon and blood from which rolls itself the inception silence, the virgin the offers herself for another smile, the planet that fears a light that isn’t its own. From the Stones’ Gardens up to the never born dreams, through the Third Stone, to the solitude of mud beyond the discriminating mind’s hell, Three Eyes Left is sludge and psych, now more than ever.

Three Eyes Left are a heavy-psyche-doom band from Italy, hailing from Bologna. After a demo and a couple of EP's they released their first album "La Danse Macabre" in 2013 on Go Down Records. Receiving good praise from the underground metal fans and critics alike. The band has toured relentlessly, opening for bands such as Misfits, Wino, Dead Meadows, Church of Misery, Void of Sleep, OJM and Veracrash... to name a few. In October they recorded their second full-length, that will be released in March. Entitled "Asmodeus", again on Go Down Records. This new offering is sure to please the lovers of heavy rock once more.

Having heard this new album a few times now, I can honestly say Three Eyes Left haven't lightened up any on "Asmodeus", in fact it's safe to say... they've honed their chops and crafted an masterful salute to doom within the eight tracks. So many bands follow what Black Sabbath has done since the 70's. And deservedly so (Sabbath being one of my favorite bands ever), but it seems done to death. Three Eyes Left obviously love their Sabbath without question. However, Instead of being just another clone, they take what Sabbath started and build upon it with even more heaviness and clever song writing. 

With over an hour of music on "Asmodeus", you really get more bang for your buck. While most songs clock in around eight minutes, there are a couple tracks that break the 10 minute mark ("Lucifer Brightest in the Sky" and "Into the Red Light of Sabbath"), not once sounding forced or getting boring. Rest assured "Asmodeus" will be one of the highlights this year for doom-heads around the world.

The album will be available on vinyl (black, orange and green), a limited edition compact disc (50 copies) and digital download. So get them before they are gone. They are taking pre-orders right now on their Bandcamp page. Or buy the vinyl directly from Go Down Records.      -AW

Forsaken Memoriam - (2014) Forsaken Memoriam

"Forsaken Memoriam is a heavy rock band formed in mid-2011 in Heraklio, Greece. Influences include 70s hard rock, heavy metal and psychedelic rock creating a unique mix. Since then they have played numerous gigs in Greece gaining an underground following and have shared the stage with many bands from the stoner rock scene in Greece including Nightstalker and Planet of Zeus. In July 2013 George joined the band as a bassist and Adonald focused solely on vocals due to medical reasons."

I've been wanting to give this band some kudos for awhile now, but it seems I've got no time to do anything, especially sit and type up some long winded analysis of this album. I do have a bit of free time today to make a post... and give some props.

When I first caught wind of this album I thought it was some sort of extreme dark metal band with growling, cookie monster vocals or some such thing. Purely judging by the bands logo and album art. Having a very short attention span like most people these days, that almost was enough for me to disregard it. However, I was intrigued that they hail from Greece so I dug in a bit (so many great bands have come from there in the past). I'm glad  I did, what I found was something interesting. "Forsaken Memoriam" aren't an easy band to pigeon-hole into a specific genre, and I like that. There's a lot going on within their self-titled debut album's eight tracks. Wearing their influences on their sleeves, they take cues from Prog-Metal, Grunge, Doom, Psyche, Southern Metal... you name it, it's in there somewhere. Even obscure nods to 70's rock, and of course the more modern Stoner Rock sounds run throughout the album. When you combine all those things sometimes something magical happens.

Albums that keep me interested throughout the whole duration and returning for more, are more and more a rare occurrence these days. This being a debut from a relatively young band, I for one, am interested and curious where these guys will go from here. For fans of everything heavy, this is a keeper. Available on compact disc and digital download. 
-AW

Murcielago - (2014) Murcielago

Murcielago, a new band outta Portland, Maine have just released their self-titled debut album. And I'll be damned if this one didn't creep up on me and grab me by the short and curlies. From the production down to the little nuances and little acoustic intros this album hits my sweet-spot.

I'm guessing Murcielago is named after the Lamborghini, which is a fitting name. Polished, high quality testosterone fueled rock is what you get here. The guitar tones emanating on this recording, mixed with the In-your-face drumming is what does it for me. Tons of fuzz is apparent, Truckfighters and Fu Manchu fans will eat this up.

It's clear that this album is meant to be heard as a complete piece, and every track flows stupendously into the other with precision and finesse. Sure this has the new stoner rock sounds running amok, but it also has some cool Hendrixy guitar solos and grungy bits and pieces as well. Borrowing from every decade of music and mixing it all up into a great modern rock album.

-AW