Rocket 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: The mysterious Gothenburg based collective have apparently styled this as their 'folk' album yet this is less than half the story - indeed, 'Requiem' stands as an adventurous travail through styles and headspaces, moving from the vibrant psychedelic jams of their earlier work to ritualistic acoustic interludes, and with hi-life wave-ups rubbing shoulders with grage rock grit. Their ceremonial splendour is only enhanced by this all-encompassing outlook, with the more understated moments effortlessly hitting the same revelatory dimensions as the third-eye-cleansing moments of drama. And any band who can manage to make the panpipes sound thrilling and vibrant as an ingredient in their mystical brew would appear to have strange magick indeed on their side.

Review: If you're in the mood for heavy, fuzz-drenched guitar riffs, psychedelic intent, bass-heavy grooves and gnarled, echo-laden vocals, Geordie outfit Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs has you covered. They're at their weighty, intense and intoxicating best of 'Land of Sleeper', their first studio album for three years. They set the tone with the exceptionally dense, atmospheric and intense 'Ultimate Hammer', which evokes the grand heavy rock/proto-metal of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Led Zepellin. The album continues in that vein, with a dash of punkish, late '70s/early '80s 'new wave of heavy metal' thrown in. A few critics have already suggested that it may end of being the best heavy rock album of 2023; while it's too early to tell, it's certainly a fantastic full-length excursion.