MangoWave

Picture Credit: EgoTherapie   EgoTherapie - Hope Release: August 28. 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 28:17 Genre: Singer Songwriter / Acoustic  / Anti-Folk Origin: Franconia, Germany Since my last reviews on releases by EgoTherapie were written in German, I think a little re-introduction might be adequate. Lee  played in plenty of Metal, Hardcore, Stoner Rock, etc band. His solo project went parallel to all those bands for quiate some time and it combined many of the musical influences Lee  made in and outside the Anti-Folk / Singer Songwriter scene. With close contact to the amiable weirdo collective Folk's Worst Nightmare EgoTherapie played shows in numerous venues, bars, cafés, precincts and living room, presenting his idiosyncratic mixture of Acoustic Rock and Metal, Anti-Folk and nihilism. But enough for that, here's the newest release: "Hope". "Hope" might be the darkest album EgoTherapie has released in recent times. Thus, joayful d...

  Picture Credit: Wake the Blind Wake the Blind - Bulls on Parade Release: August 28, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 03:40 Genre: Metalcore / Rapcore Origin: Melbourne , Australia Yes, this is a RATM cover. And it's a very good one. About six weeks after they released their EP " Broken Casket ", Wake the Blind are back with another banger. For this very contemporary version of a song that unforunately has regained topicality, the quintet from Victoria has teamed up with Steven Cannatelli . Wake the Blind's Version of Rage against the Machine's song is a brachially stomping hymn for those who are opposing oppression. A powerful mixture of Metalcore and Rapcore for the resistance. Different to the bands recent releases, the impact of Nu Metal is not as strong. I am not going to do any "who played it better" bollocks here - "Bulls on Parade" is a powerload, and Wake the Blind perform it their own way, and that's awesome. Wake...

  Picture Credit: Renegade Angel Renegade Angel - Journey into Madness Release: August 28, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 04:43 Genre: Heavy Metal "Journey into Madness" is way more than a one-way ticket to insanity. The song takes us on a journey back to the 1970s and then back in spiral forms. Driving and colurful Heavy Metal with some influence by 80s Hard Rock and a psychedelic attitude creates huge pictures of colour, dark and... madness. And once you think, you have grasped some sort of linearity in the song, then suddenly the funky bass solo makes you go wow! Behind this colourful expedition through time and the human's mind stands songwriter Jani Pöysä . Further, the song features bass player Charles Berthoud , guitar player Lukky Sparxx , and vocalist Alejandro Fernandez . Are you ready for some mid-tempo groove and glittering psychedlic harmonies? Renegade Angel Online: Facebook YouTube Spotify Looking for affordable and high quality promotion f...

  Picture Credit: Motorpsycho Artwork:  Håkon Gullvåg Motorpsycho - The all is one Release: August 28, 2020 Label: Stickman Records / Noisolution / Soulfood Format: Vinyl / CD / Digital Length: 84:47 Genre: Prog Rock Origin: Trondheim , Norway "The all is one" is the final part of the Gullvåg trilogy. A giant opus of almost one and a half hours of Progressive and Psychedelic Rock. Wrapped up in a fantastic artwork by  Håkon Gullvåg , 13 songs fill either two CDs or two LPs. And there is much more. "The all is one" is not just an album; it actually contains the journey to extraterrestial spheres "N.O.X. ∞” which fills the B- and the C-Side while the album itself frames the work. Bent Sæther  (vocals, bass, guitar, keys, drums), Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan  (vocals, guitar, bass, mandolin, keys, violin) and Thomas Järmyr  (vocals, drums) create finest and timeless Psychedelic Prog. A timeless masterpiece that makes the audience travel thrugh space, ti...

  Picture Credit: Bladed Bladed - The Ballad of the Hammer and the Nail Release: August 28, 2020 Label: Crispin Glover Records / Noisolution Format: CD / Digital Length: 41:08 Genre: Folk / Jazz / Neo Classic Origin: Oslo , Norway "The Ballad of the Hammer and the Nail" is the fourth album by Norway's extravagant artist  Anita Kaasbøll , also known as Bladed. The musician has in the meantime moved from her hometown Trondheim to the capital Oslo and has written, recorded and released nine new songs full of mesmerizing atmospheric and sophisticatedly beauitful music for us. Kaasbøll 's music is artistic, avantgardistic and not easy to describe by using common genre or stylistic devices. Jazzy structures merge with Nordic Folk, acoustic Rock and Modern Classicism with the elegance of a fairy and the strength of an elk. Bladed enchants the whole mind with the extraordinary worlds of sound she creates on her new album. In the past  Kaasbøll  was sometimes compare...

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST The Islays - I can't breathe (Alternative Rock from London, England)  Shaash Beats - Oasis (Electronic/Soundtrack from Atlanta (Georgia), USA)  Anton Vezuv - Easy Love (Alternative Pop from Budapest, Hungary)  Bird Dreams - Metro Dream (Indie Pop from Berlin, Germany)  Madison Fiorenza - Fever Dream (Dream Pop from Derby, England) Skatta - Hardships (Rap/Grime from Coventry, England)  Polemics - Conflict (Post-Punk from Bristol, England)  Alpha Signal - Milking a Deadman (Alternative Rock from Glasgow, Scotland)  Emerald Sunday - Harlem Green (Alternative Rock from Kirriemuir, Scotland)  Amaury Laurent Bernier - Groundhog May (Indie Pop from Hamburg, Germany)  BLAB - R.I.P. (Grunge/Indie from Rayleigh, England)  Blue Stragglers - All Mine (Sometimes) (Indie Rock from Brighton, England)  Laura Mustard - Eager (Soul/Folk from Nashville (Tennesee), USA)  Rabies Babies - Rape is rape, even if the rapist is in a ban...

Picture Credit: SteelSwarm SteelSwarm - Aspects of Dissonance Release: August 06, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 36:55 Genre: Prog Metal / Djent Origin: Sydney , Australia Back 2012, SteelSwarm was formed by brothers Dane  (guitars and vocals) and Jamie Simms (bass) to create unconventional, progressive and intense music. The band was completed by drummer and synthie player   Zac Stewart , and in early August the first full-length "Aspects of Dissonance" saw the light of the world. The debut features eight tracks,of which 'Everything lasts forever' and 'Twilight Harbour' were released as singles way before the album dropped. The music on "Aspects of Dissonance" is rough, smooth, dynamic, complex, and catchy at the same time. Hard to grasp what SteelSwarm exactly did, but it is amazing. Shifted beats and dynamic drumming creates a complex carpet on which the sound is founded. Jamie 's bass picking is sheer astonishing. The bass l...

  Picture Credit: Steps of Odessa Steps of Odessa - Obsidian Skies Release: August 07, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 30:44 Genre: Metalcore / Djent Origin: Orlando (Florida), USA Fasten your seatbelts, a storm is a-coming. Steps of Odessa, probably neighbours of Disney World and Universal Studios, have released their first longplayer "Obsidian Skies". Three years ago the band premiered with their EP " Wasteland ", now they're shooting their aggressive and progressive Metalcore at us again. The recipe Steps of Odessa work with contains stomping Metalcore with harsh breaks, a strong impact by Djent, plenty of atmospheric synthesizers beneath the rough surface, and anger. Certain proportions of Math Rock can be spotted, but I would rather say, there are several Math Rock motifs while the majority of the album is defined byMetalcore. Picture Credit: Steps of Odessa The band exhibit's their whole talent on the track 'Clouds'. Introduce...

  Picture Credit: Sigouss Sigouss - Achievement Hunter Release: August 15, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 52:02 Genre: Jazz / Funk / Electronica / Prog Metal Origin: Slovenia And now, something completely different. Slovenian artists Sigouss (also known as ZIGI) has created the ten songs on "Achievement Hunter" in 2010 and before. Since the 2020 is a bit weird, why not master and mix the old songs? The outcome is this 52-minute work of Electronic-Prog-Jazz-Funk-Fusion. The title of the album speaks a clear voice - it's about gaming. Or let's better say, the interchangeable sphere that exists between video games and our reality. Achievements are made, growth and expansion go hand in hand with experience and success. If you see connections to neoliberalism here, I recommend you to read the works by Byung-Chul Han . Sigouss though creates a colourful atmosphere between Petrucci -like Prog Metal and the beautiful horizons of an 8bit world. Jazzy and fu...

  Picture Credit: Drastic Park Drastic Park - Imposter Syndrome Release: August 21, 2020 Label: selfrelease Length: 15:58 Genre: Skate Punk / Melodic Punk Rock Origin: Melbourne , Australia One day we will hopefully say something like "aw, remember 2020? With the COVID and the lockdown and crap?", and then someone will put on some music reporting about these days. One of these works indirectly giving us the Zeitgeist of the pandemic is Drastic Park's new EP "Imposter Syndrome". I reviewed the Melbourne-based trio's debut in February this year and I was very happy to receive a message by Maddii Nghtmre  telling me about their second release. The sophomore EP features six tracks. All of them were recorded in the musicians' homes individually. So, not even had they to stay at home for writing and recoding, neither could they do it together and thus had to makeshift three individual homerecording studios and use the ways of our digital world. Zeitgeist as ...

  Picture Credit: Circus Electric Circus Electric - Circus Electric Release: August 21, 2020 Label: selfrelease / Noisolution Format: Vinyl / CD / Digital Length: 37:29 Genre: Blues Rock / Alternative Origin: Berlin , Germany Circus Electric were formed in 2019 by Adrian Dehn  (guitar and vocals), Leo Vaessen  (drums) and Oscar Pursche  (bass). The three musicians from Berlin are deeply connected by a strong love for honest Blues, Soul and Rock music. As their affection was often disturbed by the mechanisms of music industry, a new approach had to be made. The answer is DIY. Thus, Circus Electric's selftitled debut album is a handmade independent release, distributed via Berlin's label Noisolution . On a dozen of tracks Circus Electric are clearing space on a wide spectre from Americana, Soul, Blues over to Country Rock and Rock'n'Roll. Their feet on the ground or on the clamps of their motorbikes, the trio accelerates and smoothly races over track and road. Minimal...

  Picture Credit: Daily Thompson Daily Thompson - Oumuamua Release: August 21, 2020 Label: Noisolution / Soulfood Format: Vinyl / CD / Digital Length: 50:25 Genre: Space Rock / Desert Rock Origin: Dortmund , Germany The first time, Daily Thompson were featured on this site was last summer when I reviewed their third album "Thirst" . Some days have passed since, and the trio from Dortmund has gone through some immense progress. In the meantime, Daily Thompson has also joined the Noisolution family. And now, we can finally listen to their fourth longplayer "Oumuamua". The astronomers amongst you will know that Oumuamua is the name of an interstellar object that was discovered through a telescope on Hawaii. The linguists and Hawaiians amongst you will know that Oumuamua is the Hawaiian word for "scout". And those, who didn't know either, don't worry. You are not alone. "Oumuamua" features seven songs lasting between three and twelve minut...

Spotify Playlist Frances and the Majesties - Three Dogs (Garage Rock/Psychedelic Rock from London, England)  Ettie - Hello, I've got Anxiety (Acoustic Pop Punk from London, England)  Onism E - My America (Folk Rock from New York City (New York), USA)  Tony Goff & The Broken Colours - Rearrange (Funk Rock from Buckinghamshire, Engand)  The Institutes - Heal in Time (Indie Rock from Coventry, England)  Luvanga - Botomboki (Jazz/Funk from Geneva, Switzerland)  Amity - Dreamchaser (Hip Hop/Rap from Brisbane, Australia)  Goldray - How do you know (Psychedelic Rock/Prog Rock from London, England)  Young Israelites - Stay by my Side (Reggae from Tel Aviv, Israel)  Sami Simon - Morning Sun (Singer Songwriter from Berlin, Germany)  MIN t - Rhythm of your Blues (Synth Pop from Berlin, Germany)  YugonaughtY - Sljivotok (Balkan Rock from Hann Münden, Germany)  The Midnight Shower - Dogs are not allowed (Garage Rock from Berlin, Germany...

  Picture Credit: Deimler Deimler - Zero One Release: August 18, 2020 Label: Awakening Records Format: CD/Digital Length: 22:10 Genre: (Old School) Death Metal Origin: Cáceres , Spain Deimler from Cáceres in Extremadura are back from a long break. The band was originally formed in 1998 and experienced their resurrection in 2018. Today, we gladly listen to the newest release: the five-track EP "Zero One" - available via Awakening Records. Bass player Luisma Romero , drummer Oscar Trigger , guitar player Toto Castelló , and  Pako “Funedëim” Deimler on guitar and vocals present 22 minutes of brutal force, overwhleming atmosphere, and a giant hail of lethal shots. So, pure fucking Death Metal?, one might ask. The answer is both, yes and no. The music on "Zero One" is mostly influenced by Northern European Death Metal from the era around the last millenium. But Deimler also implement themes of more contemporary Death Metal to their stunning soundscapes - and even some ...