Bucky’s Bandcamp Bonanza – Bracket Busters




On this round of recommendations once again digging near the top of my recently added albums over at bandcamp and finding a good mix of brand spanking new albums with some older material that I have finally gotten the balls enough to kick down and add them to the shrine. I also kept the diversity in tact ranging from doom metal to Americana to folk rock. Hopefully a little something, something for everyone. Enjoy!

Willhorse – Willhorse
This has been in my wish list far too long! Super refreshing alt/country/southern rock flavor. Sweet, southern strumming with a mild bluesy twang and soulfully ragged yet soothing vocal chops! For fans ranging from Kings of Leon to Lynyrd Skynyrd and on over to The Heavy Company. New material apparently in the works!

Monsterworks - The Existential Codex
Talk about a wild ride! Monsterworks slays together a mixture of progressive metal, death metal, stoner riffs, and experimental soundscapes. A concept album band by trade, this is their 8th concept album and 14 album overall, apparently. I haven’t listened to all of them only the last two to be honest so far. This is progressive metal at heart, at times containing soft deathly growls and others loaded with tripped out monster riffs and mind bending vocal chants. Song #2 is even titled Ripple Effect! Ha. This is an excellent album. Don’t let my description scare you. You’re going to have to take a listen for yourself because it’s some pretty damn intense stuff.

Kafka Rex - Eugenics Anonymous
I was turned onto these guys by an artist I featured just last round, Boris Randall. This is some truly genuine doom and gloom. Adding a grungy layer of skin to the murky groove on the surface, Kafka Rex bulldozes the airwaves with undisputed riffage leveled out with immaculately metallic solos. The band apparently prefers to stay in secrecy, but I’m trying to expose them to the masses of the underground because they are that cool. As if Alice in Chains and Church of Misery hooked up for a jam session.

Magnolia Mountain – Beloved
“Bouncing between passionate, rootsy Americana and straight up alt-country rock and roll, this soulful bluesy band brings the goods. Wonderfully sung lyrics by both male and female singers give this whiskey driven, heart-aching, and ball-breaking record the diversity and strength to sit amongst the heavy hitters in the genre. “
 I up and grabbed the entire fleet of vinyl from this artist. Check out everything Mark Utley delivers. Something a little bit different to find on each record.

Top Dead Celebrity – High Horse
“Most under rated album of the year? Easily makes its way into my top 5 so far. High Horse stands tall above the rest of the crowd as I see it. For fans of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster but with a bit more Southwestern psychedelic flair than shear dirty Southern hardcore.”

Bohannons – Unaka Rising
Brilliant mix of punky licks and psyched out that infectious blues rock we all love. Throw in an indie garage twang and you have Bohannons! This is gold!

Howling Giant  -  Howling Giant EP
Wow folks, this one took a minute to understand. The problem was it was too soothing and enjoyable right off the bat to wonder if they were for real or not. Slightly reverberated and charismatic vocals set to an astonishing stoned out groove. Take a look to what the others had to say. It’s stirring up some dust in the stoner scene and makes for some high expectations of what more is to come.

Leather Nun America - Buddha Knievel
I was a huge fan of their last album, and the news this morning coming out of nowhere of this new one really brightened my day. Monstrous doom chalked to the brim with scorching solos and melodic groove. It's like Wino and Iommi had a kid. Winommi? Buddha Knievel definitely fires on all cylinders with ethereal vocals enveloped by a range of acoustic beauty to elegantly progressive doom. Fantastic! For fans of Wino, Sabbath, Dawnbringer, Beastwars...

Dorthia Cottrell – S/T
We’ll save the best for last. I read about this earlier in the year and finally got around to listening to the full stream on bandcamp, which immediately prompted me to seek out a vinyl purchase. Dorthia is the singer of the doom/sludge band Windhand. Her solo effort is a wonderfully dark and epic journey through folk and country twang. Dorthia’s mesmerizing vocal is led by a haunting acoustic strum with a pleasantly sinister vibe. The riveting audio aroma erects your arm and neck fuzz on end throughout the entire duration. Pick up the physical copy here if there are any copies left.

Let us know which ones you like best and be sure to stick around for the best music you're not listening to, reviews of lost classics and obscure titles, unheralded bands and songwriters and new bands deserving of greater attention. It's all here, on the Ripple Effect and the Bonanza feature has some fun ideas coming down the pipeline!

-The Huntsman

Comments