Black Sabbath : Sabotage(2021 Remaster)

My first big dive into the world of Black Sabbath was when I was 13. For Christmas my parents bought me my first major stereo system, an all-in-one Soundesign stereo with turntable, AM/FM receiver, dual cassette deck and 10-band graphic equalizer. It was all encased in a faux wood cabinet(on wheels no less) with two […]

Hunter Complex : Dead Sea

I think one of the biggest musical discoveries for me in the last couple years has been Hunter Complex. The one-man music project of Lars Meijer has been a constant soundtrack in my head and ears since I first heard his Death Waltz Originals release Open Sea in late 2018/early 2019. That album for me […]

Salvatore Mercatante : Tre Sfere

Before the ink could dry on his last release, New York-based musician and composer Salvatore Mercatante has released a new album. Right off the heels of his Soundtracking The Void album Presents Pistacchio Sessions, Mercatante now presents us with Tre Sfere which is being released by Woodford Halse. Where PPS concentrated on more dance floor […]

“Louvered ribcage, gills rise metamorph”

I’ve gotten stoned just a handful of times in my life. Weed was never really my jam, honestly. There was maybe two times that it clicked for me, and one of those times was getting high in my cousin’s Nova as we drove around the Amish countryside waxing ecstatic about Steely Dan. Besides that, most […]

Alone 1980 : Vol. 1-3

Alone 1980 captures a certain kind of horror claustrophobia in their music. The Sweden-based imagined soundtrack provocateur builds sonic nightmares with vintage equipment, retro vibes, and a sense that you’ve stepped into some long lost video nasty on late night cable TV in the early 80s. Though the music varies from sweat-inducing panic to almost […]

Gojira : Fortitude

You know you’ve hit a milestone of some sort when your kids start hipping you to new bands. It seems like it was only yesterday I was reliving my youth by purchasing classic OG pressings of thrash and speed metal albums on vinyl, and sharing that nostalgia with my then 10-year old son. We’d jam […]

Sparkle Teeth : Sparkle Teeth EP

On Dan Kinnaley’s debut EP as Sparkle Teeth, he locks into this sonically-rich musical world where early 90s fuzz intermingles with shoegaze pop and post-hardcore grit. In other words, if you grew up on bands like Polvo, Dino Jr, Lush, and find those vibes in modern bands like Protomartyr, Cloakroom, and Whirr, then Sparkle Teeth […]

Complex Distractions Presents : Long Story Short

I get to hear a lot of great music. So much great music I don’t always have the time to write in-depth reviews for everything. So in order to continue to share the musical love I’m going to start these ‘Long Story Short’ spots once every week or two. I’ll share four or five thoughts […]

Alessandro Cortini : Scuro Chiaro

Alessandro Cortini is an Italian-born musician who came to the US to study guitar at the Musicians Institute. He turned to keyboards and synths after graduating and never looked back. He’s the guy bands bring in when they need someone versatile to take on tour, or to help in the studio. He’s worked with Muse, […]

Colleen : The Tunnel and the Clearing

Cécile Schott builds intricate worlds in her music. Sparse songs that seem somewhat simple at first, but reveal complex and emotional pieces that balance on melancholy and dream-like atmospheres. Schott creates these worlds on her own as a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, and has been making records for around 20 years now. Her last album, 2017s excellent […]