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Picture Credit: Christopher James Cunnane Artwork: Tony Fantastic Christopher James Cunnane - Electric Tiger Release Date: June 26, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 32:45 Genre: Stoner Rock / Heavy Rock Origin: Toronto , Canada "Electric Tiger" is the solo debut album by Toronto's Christopher James Cunnane  aka Starboy. And actually, this is Cunnane 's second appearance on this site as he was featured as a guest musician on Sweetwood Amber Remedy's " Tilt N' Shake ". Now, the cover artwork says Christopher James Cunnane  who is the major central figure on "Electric Tiger" since he wrote all songs and plays the guitars, bass, synths, organ, percussion, piano, and also is responsible for majority of the vocals. You can nevertheless consider this album of a "Toronto's Finest" release. Featured artists on Christopher James Cunnane 's debut are: Ky Anto  - additional songwriting for 'Takin me back in Time...

Picture Credit: Just Look Around Just Look Around - Freedom Remains Release Date: September 22, 2020 (digital) / February 02, 2021 (Cassette) Label: Modern Illusion Records Format: Cassette / Digital Length: 13:01 Genre: Hardcore Origin: Höxter , Germany The number plates in the German town of Höxter begin with "HX-". Thus, it is very likely that there are a lot of cars having "HX-C" as their tags. And consequently, I can only imagine that Christopher  (drums), Timothy  (bass), Sebastian  (guitar), and Pekka  (vocals) drive some of those very cars. These four lads from Höxter have formed the band Just Look Around in 2019, and now their 2020 debut EP "Freedom Remains" has been released on cassette via the new Hardcore label Modern Illusion Records. The style Just Look Around present on their EP is typical East Coast Hardcore with a a certain punk attitude. Apart from vocal samples, Just Look Around do not beat about the bush and get straight into action ins...

Picture Credit: Pedigree Pedigree - Funeral Child Release Date: December 13, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: CD / Digital Length: 49:33 Genre: Post Metal / Industrial Origin: Estonia Estonian band Pedigree has been around for quite some time. Since at least the year 2000 the quartet has constantly provided us with musicked darkness and extravagant compositions. The reason, this band has not caught my attention yet, might be because music from Estonia does not have a great lobby in Central and Western Europe. I hope that will change. On their newest work, Pedigree create claustrophobic, metallic and dark soundscapes that can predominantly defined as a mix of Post Metal, Alternative Metal and Industrial. Synthetic layers of noise create whole atmospheric patterns of cold and desparation. Around these layers, halting Post Metal and dark Alternative Metal produce an air of gloomy reflections. The lyrics are shouted, sung in choirs, whispered, and almost support the claustrophobia of the s...

Chip Roberts and Kurtis Skinner from Seattle, Washington are Dual Analog. Since 2019, the duo has released four singles that merge electronic and analogue sounds. The style of Dual Analog combines the sounds of the 80s and early 90s with contemporary dance music. More precise, you can hear Synthwave, Darkwave and Prog Metal enveloped in a modern EDM fashion. Therefore, Dual Analog produce electronic tunes with moog synthesizers and decorate them with catchy and rolling bass lines. The footwork is provided by dynamic polyrhythms from the drum machine. And those rhythms are intense! Dual Analog give you the choice whether you prefer eclectically dancing in an EDM manner or if you prefer to bang your head. The latter is due to the Prog and Heavy Metal guitar riffs that stand above the electronic synthie patterns. The mixture of Wave and Metal is completed by the clean vocals atop this exciting soundscape. Hence, a gloomy dark atmosphere is created that reminds of the early days of Alt...

Picture Credit: Da oide Schlog Da oide Schlog - Mit voia Wucht Release Date: January 31, 2021 Label: selfrelease Format: CD / Digital Length: 50:07 Genre: Bavarian Rock / Rock'n'Roll Origin: Essenbach , Germany Language-wise, this might be ne of my biggest challenges on this blog since reviewing " Goißa, Mofas, Brodwuschdkeck " by Los Bressackos from the Donau-Ries area in Western Bavaria. Da oide Schlog are from Essenbach near Landshut and thus they speak Lower Bavarian (or: niederboarisch). Textbooks say, that Lower Bavarian is a dialect of the German language. I say that Lower Bavarian is a dialect of the Bavarian language. So much for that. My first language is German and thus, I must confess I do not understand everything Da oide Schlog sing. Nevertheless, the band name can be translated to "Old School" and "Mit voia Wucht" means "With full Force". Let's start with the music. Da oide Schlog mostly play classic Rock'n'Rol...

Kavrila - Sunday Release Date: January 28, 2021 Length: 04:08 Genre: Doom Metal / Post Hardcore / Sludge Origin: Hamburg , Germany From their upcoming EP "III" (March 26, 2021, Narshardaa Records ) Kavrila Online: Facebook Instagram Bandcamp YouTube Spotify Looking for affordable and high quality promotion for your music? Here's MusoSoup! Follow MangoWave on Telegram DONATE

Picture Credit: Hvalross Hvalross - Cold Dark Rain Release Date: October 16, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: Vinyl / Digital Length: 34:26 Genre: Stoner Rock / Heavy Metal Origin: Roosendaal , Netherlands Roosendaal is located in the Southwest of the Netherlands, somewhere between Rotterdam and Belgian town Antwerp. The 80,000 inhabitants town is home to Gerben , Barry , Maarten , and Tristan  who have played Heavy Metal, Punk Rock, Prog and other rock-related genres in a huge number of formations and bands. In early 2018 the quartet decided to group up once more. This was the birth of the band Hvalross. The name actually is Norwegian for walrus. In autumn 2020, Hvalross released their first longplayer "Cold Dark Rain". The album is a strong representation of the different styles and genres the four members have adapted over the last decades. Hence, a clear definition of the music on "Cold Dark Rain" is complicated by using basic categories. That alone is a reason ...

Picture Credit: Han Gan Han Gan - The Time Past Release Date: July 01, 2020 Label: selfrelease Format: CD / Cassette / Digital Length: 09:03 Genre: Post Hardcore / Post Punk Origin: Alexandria ( Virginia ), USA Are you ready for some futuristic and dystopian sound? Here's Han Gan from Alexandria, Virginia. Their newest release "The Time Past" is a short but intense display of modern Post Punk and Post Hardcore. Crunchy riffs stride across galopping drums in mid-tempo while synthies, keys and xylophones create an atmospheric surrounding. Imagine Hüsker Dü teaming up with Black Flag and Human Tetris. "The Time Past" is a political release in several ways. The lyrics openly attack patriarchs, racists, sexists, and neo-liberals. Also, all the sales will be donated to the Community Justice Exchange to help them support the BLM movement and a COVID-19 emergency fund. So you can listen to good music and  do something good. Han Gan's "The Time Past" is a...

MAZOHA -  Ένας Ίσον Κανένας Release Date: January 29, 2021 Length: 04:08 Genre: Synthwave Origin: Thessaloniki , Greece From their upcoming album " ΠΡΤΘΛΤΣ" (February 12, 2021, Inner Ear Records ) MAZOHA Online: Facebook Bandcamp Spotify Looking for affordable and high quality promotion for your music? Here's MusoSoup! Follow MangoWave on Telegram DONATE

Picture Credit: Darklore Darklore - The Evil of Man Release Date: January 29, 2021 Label: selfrelease Format: CD / Digital Length: 70:07 Genre: Melodic Black Metal / Folk Metal Origin: Brisbane , Australia Fans of fantasy fiction, listen up! Brisbane's Sarklore might have came out with the album you all were longing for. "The Evil of Man" is a folky and melodic journey through some of the most famous places in fantasy narratives. Thus, the band pledges their oath to Saruman  in the song 'The White Hand' and concerns the major form of communication among the seven kingdoms in "The Ravens Return". Fitting the fantasy-themed narratives, the music is very melodic and atmospheric. Darklore play an epic version of Melodic Black Metal with a certain Death Metal input and an omnipresent Nordic Folk theme. You might categorize the music on "The Evil of Man" somewhere between Katamenia, Amon Amarth, Falkenbach, SuidakrA, and Ensiferum. Lyric-wise, the a...

Picture Credit: Escarion Artwork: St. Chaos Art Escarion - Pillars of the Faith Release Date: January 29, 2021 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 56:46 Genre: Death Metal Origin: Melbourne , Australia "Pillars of the Faith" is the name of the first full-length release by Melbourne's Escarion. Back in 2017, the quartet came out with their EP " Pinnacle of Neglect ", and since then they provided us with some appetizers for the album. And here it is, a nine-track album containing almost one hour of Death Metal. According to their Instagram profile, Escarion play Blackened and Melodic Death Metal. I tend to disagree with those terms. Elements of Melodic Death Metal can be spotted here and there, but apart from some staccati and the lead guitar in 'Wrath' the Black Metal influence is rather nonexistent. Instead, I would say that Escarion show a strong tendency towards Technical Death Metal à la Death or Suffocation. The album's theme is a very com...

Picture Credit: Niffiz Niffiz - Speaking Silence Release Date: January 03, 2021 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 30:06 Genre: Darkwave / Glitch / Ambient Origin: Moscow , Russia Niffiz is the project by Nataliya Yanitskaya. The artist from Russian capital Moscow has studied at Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography where she finished her degree in sound engineering. Nataliya Yanitskaya combines over ten years of experience in the field of motion pictures and multimedia arts with her passion for contemporary electronic music. Being deeply interested in cross-media arrangements, the artist uses her skills to create the link between the visual and the auditive perception. With her project Niffiz, Nataliya Yanitskaya composes the sounds for images, sequences of film, or moods. The artist says she adores looking at pictures, psychological states or plots and then imagines what they might sound like. The work of Niffiz is hence to compose and music those sounds.  “Speaking Sil...

Picture Credit: Chaos Over Cosmos Artwork: Joshua Ratcliff Chaos Over Cosmos - The Ultimate Multiverse Release Date: June 20, 2020 Label: Narcoleptica Productions Format: CD / Digital Length: 41:48 Genre: Progressive Metal / Melodic Death Metal Origin: Poland / Australia Chaos Over Cosmos are a duo from two different spots on our planet that could not be more far away from each other. The band was founded in 2017 by  Rafał Bowman from Poland and Joshua Ratcliff  from Australia. And actually, the two members have not met in person,yet. But through the power of the world wide web, these two great musicians could join forces. The release on hand is their newest album "The Ultimate Universe" which actually is the combined version of their first two EPs " Chaos Over Chosmos " and " II ". But to make it a bit more interesting, they changed the order of the songs on the new releases which is available via Narcoleptica Productions. The music by Chaos Over Cosmo...

Picture Credit: Locked In Locked In - Not Dead Yet Release Date: December 25, 2020 Label: Epidemic Records Format: Digital Length: 14:49 Genre: Hardcore Origin: Perugia , Italy For seven years it was quite around Perugia’s Hardcore band Locked In. Now, with a changed line up and new power, the five-piece squad has joined forces with Brescia’s label Epidemic Records. With this new-found strength Locked In are sharply shooting back and they obviously show that they are “Not Dead Yet”. The new EP features five tracks of massive Hardcore, some pieces of Punk Rock and a certain influence from Thrash Metal. Melody is not the strongest element on this release that reminds of the Hardcore Punk from the American East Coast. This is raging and powerful music for fans of Agnostic Front, Madball or German bands Act the Fool and Punishable Act. Locked In wrap their honest and strong announcements up in a rustling and metallic envelope and shout them out without stepping back. It is a dark and ...

  SPOTIFY PLAYLIST Riot Sun - Panglossian (Punk Rock / Alternative Rock from Copenhagen, Denmark) Panem - Face Tomorrow (Prog Rock / Alternative Rock from Nantes / Tours, France) Nene's Butler - Love (Synthwave from Pernegg, Australia) Stranger Girl - Bad Side (Indie Rock from Brighton, England) Unknown Voidz - Pathetic Excuse (Punk Rock / Garage Rock from Toronto, Canada) Mike and Mandy - Are you now (Indie Folk from Los Angeles (California), USA) Volk - Welcome to Cashville (Country Rock from Nashville (Tennessee), USA) Prïnceps - Today is a Day (Alternative Rock / Screamo / Drum&Bass from London, England) BackTalk - Lesson Learned (Post Hardcore / Modern Metal from Fort Worth (Texas), USA) Euan McLaughlin - Southside (Indie Folk from Glasgow, Scotland) Cristy and her Lovers - Contact High (Funk / R&B from Boston (Massachusetts), USA) Cave Suns - Sloop John Dee (Psychedelic Rock from Newcastle upon Tyne, England) Valhalla Kid - Maybe this is the Norm (Post Punk / Trip Hop...

Vermilia - Sanattomat Laulut Release Date: January 24, 2021 Length: 05:19 Genre: Black Metal / Pagan Metal Origin: Finland From her debut album "Kätkyt" (2018) Vermilia Online: Homepage Facebook Twitter Instagram Bandcamp SoundCloud YouTube Spotify Looking for affordable and high quality promotion for your music? Here's MusoSoup! Follow MangoWave on Telegram DONATE

Enigma Experience - Equilibrium Release Date: January 25, 2021 Length: 03:58 Genre: Alternative Rock / Stoner Rock Origin: Sweden / Norway From their debut album "Question Mark" (2020, Fuzzorama ) Enigma Experience Online: Homepage Facebook Twitter Instagram Bandcamp  (Fuzzorama) Spotify Looking for affordable and high quality promotion for your music? Here's MusoSoup! Follow MangoWave on Telegram DONATE