Back catalogue: Rock (All)

Review: So what happens when a European post-punk outfit meets an American 'ambient country ensemble'? The answer: A Nanocluster. In fact, three. This being the third. Immersion first met SUSS in September 2021, and the results were mesmerising. Three years on and the impact was no less staggering. Originally landing in September 2024, part tres takes us into the kind of musical places we're used to finding Spiritualized or Mogwai, and even then the references are misleading. For as many times as Nanocluster Vol. 3 sucks us into a thick soup of ambient and atmosphere, inviting us to get lost in opiate cloud formations, it also asks us to jump on board a stream train of rolling and driving rhythms, juggernauts gathering depth and complexity as they forge ahead. A stunning collection of highly evocative and incredible musical instrumentals.

Review: Dark Entries takes it back to New York City in around 1982 for this previously unreleased record from Ike Yard. This cult crew was made up of Stuart Argabright, Michael Diekmann, Kenneth Compton, and Fred Szymanski and they worked in their own realm somewhere between proto-body music and No Wave peers in New York. They disbanded just a year after forming having dropped an EP on Les Disques du Crepuscule in 1981 and then a self-titled album for Factory in 1982. Using the Korg MS-20 and the Roland TR-808 they cook up plenty of hybrid electro-acoustic sounds and ramshackle rhythms that are underpinned by moody baselines and perfect to get bodies moving in the club. Whether you're a post-punk fan or lover of weird electronics, this is well worth checking out.

Review: Immersion is the epitome of collaboration. Comprising Colin Newman, of legendary UK post punk outfit Wire, and his life partner Malka Spigel, the two first came together in 1985, former producing the latter's band, and have since fallen in love and combined creative forces countless times. Growing out of their Immersion project, a series of pop up gigs took place at the Rosehill, Brighton, with a cast of influential and cutting edge musicians getting involved. Songs were written and rehearsed before each show, and an album, Nanocluster Vol.1, soon materialised. Now we have the follow up. Disc one is centred on Thor Harris, percussion doyen of Swans, while the second half refocuses our attention on Cubzoa, AKA Jack Wolter of Penelope Isles, with Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck) also involved. The result is a psyche-tinged ride through swaggering indie, dream pop, chill, and surreal rock, nodding to names from Beta Band to King of Woolworths and beyond.

Review: Heaven In Hiding is the fourth studio album from Imminence, a Swedish metalcore band with an imposing presence in the modern day scene. They formed in 2009, and at this point their prominence can't be argued with. The album was foreshadowed by the title-track as the lead single, and it's a staggering track which flips between protracted moments of frosty balladry and blistering screamo explosions. The production is striking and modern, not least on album opener 'I Am Become A Name' and the composition reaches epic, orchestral heights. This deluxe edition comes as a box set with a necklace and feather included - one for the collectors.

Review: Quebec duo, Incandescence, are one of the most vital contributors to the burgeoning Canadian black metal scene. Comprised of drumming virtuoso and multi-instrumentalist Philippe Boucher (Beyond Creation, Chthe'ilist) and vocalist, Louis-Paul Gauvreau; the pair conjure macabre soundscapes that dance between nihilistic dread and despondent serenity. Following on from 2019's acclaimed, Ascension, their fourth full-length Le Coeur de L'Homme, continues their ethos of horrific despair, performed with meticulous calculation and organic synergy.

Review: Inner Cop Avoidance is a cult supergroup that is already surrounded by plenty of discussion and conspiracy despite only having played their first gig in 2022. Made up of Krisitan Poulsen on guitar, Mathias Saedrup guitar, Sebastian von der Heide on drums and percussion, Max Stocklosa on synth, xylophone and vocals, this self-titled album from the group lands as the inaugural drop on their own label. It is a brilliantly cacophony of electronics and percussion with twisted rhythms, post-rock guitars and a fiercely experimental approach that results in brilliantly beguiling music that somehow combines the futuristic and avant garde with bird calls and ancient shamanic ritual.

Review: Rhode Island post-metal avant-garde duo The Body have made a name for themselves due to their caustic maelstrom of harsh, brutalist experimentalism as well as their prolific output and collaborative nature, releasing collab albums with the likes of Full Of Hell, Thou, Uniform, and most recently, Dis Fig. Their latest endeavour sees the pair link up with another duo of musical extremity, Toronto, Canada's recently reformed industrial two-piece Intensive Care. Was I Good Enough? has been on the cards since the artists first began making plans as far back as 2018, trading, warping and ruining mutual sessions with layers of loops, distortion, samples and even dubs, constantly striving to find the ideal haunting balance between both of their sonically hideous, oppressive worlds. For all of our ears' sakes, they just might have succeeded.

Review: The third full-length from Los Angeles-based progressive, jazz-tinged post-metal giants Intronaut was originally released in 2010 and celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Further embracing the fretless bass, jazzgazing style of its 2008 predecessor Prehistoricisms, the material found on Valley Of Smoke was the first from the band to slightly eschew the use of exclusively harsh vocals and instead utilise the harmonious cadences of dual vocalist/guitarists Sacha Dunable and Dave Timnick, conjuring a hypnotic balancing act reminiscent of the synergetic fusion of Alice In Chains' Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell. Featuring Tool bassist Justin Chancellor on the epic title-track, providing double bass flourishes, as well as the pitched glitching vocal processing similar to that of progressive death metal legends Cynic (both of whom the band would subsequently tour with), Intronaut have always deserved to be spoken of within the same breath as the likes of Mastodon, Baroness, Deftones, Hum, and any other respected boundary pushing group connecting the mercurial dots between grandiose, conflicting sonics.

Review: While not officially released until 2004, as the title suggests The 1996 DEP Sessions were originally recorded in 1996 by Black Sabbath guitar wizard Tony Iommi and mid-80s frontman for the band Glenn Hughes in the DEP International Studios in Digbeth, Birmingham. Leaked and bootlegged that same year under the title Eighth Star by eager fans (a nod to the previous collab between the pair known as Seventh Star although it was attempted to be passed off as a Sabbath release), that version missed two final cuts and included a random Jethro Tull cover of 'To Cry You A Song' that didn't feature Iommi. Now as 2005's Fused LP receives a long overdue remastered repress, The 1996 DEP Sessions receive the same treatment, having been lovingly restored and remastered one lush limited translucent black ice vinyl.

Review: Originally released in 2005, and considered to be the second solo full-length from nine-fingered metal guitar pioneer Tony Iommi, Fused celebrates its 20th anniversary just a tad early with these revitalised remasters pressed to wax for the first time ever. Written in collaboration with vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (former Black Sabbath frontman during the mid-80s who would assume vocal duties on 1986's Seventh Star; released under the band moniker but long perceived as Iommi's first solitary creative endeavour), and legendary session drummer Kenny Aronoff (The Smashing Pumpkins, Bob Seger, Willie Nelson, John Fogerty, Bon Jovi etc), this limited translucent cobalt blue vinyl 2xLP pressing comes complete with three sporadically dispersed bonus cuts finally locked down onto own complete home.

Review: Although Senjutsu is the 17th studio album from Iron Maiden, it's really not everyday you get to pen words about the legendary British heavy metal outfit, so let's make the most of this moment. Starting with one fundamental point - if you weren't into Iron Maiden, or the 16 full length records that have come along since, this one is probably not going to change your mind.

If, however, you love the iconic operatic tones of Bruce Dickinson and the guitar searing riffs this lot are known for, then buckle up for a thrill ride through some classic Maiden business. Highlights including the epic, searing guitar solos of 'Hell On Earth', the slow-but-heavy chorus on 'Darkest Hour', and 'Days of Future Past', which is packed with enough atmosphere to fill any of the stadiums the band still relentlessly play, several times over.

Review: Iron Maiden are one of the world's most successful bands. They clocked up numerous hits, sold-out world tours, and chart-topping singles and were no slouches in the live area. Proving that beyond doubt is the highly collectable and limited edition picture disc which saw them deliver an electrifying performance in this concert broadcast on Dutch radio back almost a quarter of a century ago in the year 2000. The show captures the band's remarkable ability to energise and captivate live audiences with their powerful and dynamic presence across many of their most well-loved hits.

Review: 1984's Powerslave is often referred to by the members of Iron Maiden as the album that made them "really famous", as the fifth full-length from the iconic metal heroes saw them filling out larger arenas than ever previously imagined, while the World Slavery Tour would ultimately lead to their longest time ever out on the road. Featuring the iconic hit single '2 Minutes to Midnight' as well as the galloping 'Aces High', the album is most noteworthy for its epic near fourteen-minute musical re-telling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', with the band even confessing to it being their favourite song to play live. This would also serve as the first Maiden record to consist of the same line up as its predecessor (1983's Piece Of Mind), with this stable going on to record two more full-lengths with Somewhere In Time (1986 ) and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (1988). Celebrating its 40th anniversary, this reissue lands on limited edition zoetrope picture disc vinyl..

Review: Originally released in 1984, Powerslave would serve as the fifth full-length from homegrown metal giants Iron Maiden and is often considered to be the project that finally catapulted the band to mega stardom. Filling out larger arenas than ever before, the World Slavery Tour undertaken in support has gone on to become well known as the band's longest and most arduous jaunt across the globe. Boasting some of their most iconic hits such as '2 Minutes to Midnight' and 'Aces High', as well as the fan (and band) favourite musical re-telling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner', the project is also notable for being the first Iron Maiden album at that time to consist of the exact same line up as its predecessor (1983's Piece Of Mind) while this stable would stay in place for both 1986's Somewhere In Time and 1988's Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.

Review: Mosquito Control and The Red Sea served as the first two officially released EPs from Boston post-metal outfit Isis. While the band had recorded two early demos prior, these projects marked the first formative material before settling into their unique brand of atmospheric, heaving prog-sludge by the arrival of their full-length debut Celestial. While somewhat rough around the proverbial edges when compared to their later works, this collection still teems with nuanced aggression and an artistic finesse that put their contemporaries to shame. Originally released in 1998 and 1999 respectively, this compilation offers longtime followers and newcomers alike a chance to experience these vital experiments more than two decades after the fact in their most undiluted form.

Review: Italia 90, named after Italy's football team in the 1990 World Cup, are a post-punk band from London. Their debut album 'Living Human Treasure', released on Brace Yourself, showcases the band's politically charged lyrics and taste for wonky rhythms, channelling the band's anarchic, no-effs-given influences such as The Fall and Gang of Four. Fans of angular guitars and ironic '80s not-stalgia will appreciate this debut, and one could easily make comparisons to Still House Plants or Gentle Stranger.

Review: Oli Heffernan's ever-evolving project, Ivan The Tolerable, joins Riot Season for two captivating albums that explore the beauty of entropic drift. Recorded swiftly as a quintet, Heffernan enlisted Christian Alderson on drums, John Pope on double bass, Kevin Nickles on flute and saxophone and Ben Hopkinson on electric piano. The first album was Vertigo, a dense and disorienting work reminiscent of Sun Ra meets Exploding Star Orchestra. In contrast, Water Music evokes serene landscapes with sounds of waves, creaking hulls, and gentle winds, blending influences from Laraaji and Natural Information Society. Bob Fischer of Electronic Sound Magazine describes Water Music as a "beautifully soothing psychedelic jazz album" perfect for a summer daydream.