Month: February 2025

Artist: Turtle Skull
Title: Being Here
Format: LP, CD, Digital
Label: Art As Catharsis (AUS/ NZ)/ Copper Feast Records (UK/EU)
Genre: Neo-Psych Rock
Release Date: 23/05/2025

Turtle Skull’s new album Being Here is a lush and gritty exploration of neo-psych with indie and alt-pop sensibility.

With Being Here, Turtle Skull have evolved. A new lineup. A fresh approach. A leap forward. While the album builds on the sonic foundations of 2020’s Monoliths, it’s a different beast. Still hefty and considered but more immediate. Made for the moment. A record that values gut instinct over perfection.

Tracked live at NoWave in Mullumbimby, with a paired-back approach to studio tweaking, Being Here captures that ‘lightning in a bottle’ energy that happens when a band fully locks in. New member Ally Gradon’s synths inject fresh energy, swirling around meaty riffs and driving rhythms. It’s expansive yet raw, drawing from the likes of Black Moth Super Rainbow, Idles and Cause Sui with a nod to the cinematic sprawl of Spiritualized and The Flaming Lips. A heavy, heady blend of melody and atmosphere.

“Being Here was much more about good songs that we had freshly written being captured live in the moment” says Drummer Charlie Gradon. “No click, no excessive layering, no studio trickery. The only thing that wasn’t captured live was the vocals. Choosing to self-produce and mix the album gave us the chance to preserve our initial vision, even if it nearly did kill me.“

The album puts a spotlight on songwriting, covering weighty subject matter, from the life-force drain of social media to the relentless march of time. But it does so with a call to stay connected, empathetic and grounded. In this way, Being Here isn’t just an album title. It’s a philosophy. A mantra. A demand to be fully present, to embrace the chaos, the beauty, the weight of it all.

No strangers to sold-out headline shows across Sydney and Melbourne, Turtle Skull have a reputation for epic live performances. They’ve graced festival stages at Camp A Low Hum (NZ), The Gumball (NSW), Vivid (NSW) and Ninchfest (VIC)and supported the likes of Frankie and the Witch Fingers (USA), Earthless (USA) and Stonefield. 

With Being Here set for release, the band is gearing up for another wave of touring, kicking off with a 7 March show at the Bergy Bandroom in Melbourne as part of the Brunswick Music Festival ahead of rumoured festival appearances later in the year. Keep your eyes peeled for gig announcements and make sure to catch one of Australia’s most electrifying live acts.

Tracklist
1. Being Here   
2. Apathy   
3. Into The Sun   
4. Bourgeoisie   
5. It Starts With Me   
6. Heavy As Hell   
7. Modern Mess
8. Moon & Tide

Links  
Official: https://turtleskull.com
Bandcamp: https://turtleskullmusic.bandcamp.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/turtleskullmusic
Facebook: https://facebook.com/turtleskullmusic
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@TurtleSkullMusic
Art As Catharsis: http://www.artascatharsis.com
Copper Feast Records: https://copperfeastrecords.com

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Artist: OAK
Title: The Third Sleep
Format: LP, CD, Digital
Label: Karisma Records
Distribution: Plastic Head Distribution
Genre: Progressive Rock
Release Date: 25/04/2025

With their highly anticipated fourth album, The Third Sleep, Norwegian progressive rock band Oak delivers a striking exploration of societal complacency and the struggle of the individual. The album contrasts light and darkness, both thematically and musically, seamlessly blending folk-inspired acoustic passages with the raw intensity of progressive metal, evoking echoes of Opeth and beyond.

Expanding on the lyrical themes of The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise, The Third Sleep ventures deeper into the subconscious, weaving suggestive and poetic storytelling with sharp social commentary. More outward-looking than its introspective predecessor, the album invites the listener to engage, interpret, and reflect.

With a rich musical foundation that spans classical piano, electronica, progressive and hard rock, Oak has carved out a distinctive sound—both captivating and challenging in equal measure.

Recorded in Ljugekroken (Oslo), the album was mixed by David Castillo (Katatonia, Leprous, Opeth) and mastered by Jacob Holm-Lupo (White Willow, Donner) at Dude Ranch Studio, Sandøya.

Prepare to experience The Third Sleep, a thought-provoking journey through sound and emotion. 

Tracklist
1. No Such Place
2. London
3. Run Into the Sun
4. Shimmer
5. Shapeshifter
6. Borders
7. Sensory Overload

Links
Bandcamp: https://oakinoslo.bandcamp.com/album/the-third-sleep
Instagram: https://instagram.com/oakinoslo
Facebook: https://facebook.com/oakinoslo
Label: https://karismarecords.no

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Artist: Rulaman 
Title: Death Whistle
Format: LP, Digital
Label: Tonzonen Records
Distribution: Cargo
Genre: Psychedelic/ Stoner Rock
Release Date: 11/04/2025

Rulaman stands for floating, psychedelic soundscapes, woven from an earthy and analogue sound. Founded in 2015, they quickly celebrated local success under the name The Hace. At that time still as a quartet, they played everywhere they could – and the audience grew steadily. 

After a successful crowdfunding campaign, they released their EP Peacemaker in 2019. Shortly after, Lukas Neubert left the band and was replaced by Nils Kunze, who, together with Joel Büttner on bass, forms the groovy foundation for Rulaman‘s sound.

After a turbulent start in 2020, the band began to reflect on their work, which prompted them to change the line-up from a quartet to a trio. Under the new name Rulaman and with vocals now in the hands of guitarist Felix Berns, the band set to work writing new material. 

With their self-titled EP (2021), the band released a concept EP for the first time, taking their listeners on a journey through forest, desert, swamp and their own minds. In 2023, the first album To Serve The Dune was released via Tonzonen Records. The album’s idiosyncratic sound was extremely well received by both the press and fans, garnering much praise. 

After two years of creating, writing and composing, the second album Death Whistle is ready to be released. The current sound is dark, combining doom, stoner and classic rock. Heavy riffs that are easy on the ear, brutal basses followed by dancing percussions.

Lyrically, Rulaman explore the depths of human existence and the lure of false promises. In the search for happiness and belonging, the promises of unscrupulous sects and cults sound all too tempting. Everything you think is true is questioned. Do I know myself? Do I really know the people around me? Isn’t it easier to sacrifice yourself completely for the common good and give up on yourself? Until the mind and everything around it has dried up.

Tracklist
1. Death Whistle
2. Simple Offerings
3. Valley Pt. II
4. Goblin Liver King
5. We Can’t Be
6. Run Your River Dry
7. Below The Light (digital only)

Links
Official: https://rulamanmusic.com
Bandcamp: https://rulaman.bandcamp.com/album/death-whistle
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rulaman_band
Facebook: https://facebook.com/RulamanBand
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@rulamanband
Label: https://www.tonzonen.de  

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Artist: Biollante
Title: J’Espère que tu danseras quelque part (Redux)
Format: Digital, CD
Label: Non Serviam Collective / Atypeek Music
Distribution: The Orchard
Genre: Industrial/ Noise/ Trap Metal
Release Date: 14/03/2025 (EU)

Three years ago, the Biollante project was born with the release of its first album J’espère que tu danseras quelque part, initially self-released, then on the now-defunct and iconic UK label Trepanation Recordings, and finally with Atypeek Music. This album tackled difficult and complex subjects in French, such as child suicide, revolt and care, psychiatry, prison, and confinement. 

Influenced by Death Grips, IC3PEAK, Techno Animal, The Bug, and Scorn, the group emerged from the fusion of the experimental Black Metal project Non Serviam and a collective of young rappers, Gobscrew. With enthusiastic critical feedback and the creation of a solid fanbase, the album gained a certain level of esteem within the metal/ industrial scenes and among experimental hip hop fans, as it quickly sold out in all formats. 

Now, as as the second album is about to be released, it was time to give new life to this wild, violent, emotional first album that remained too underground. This Redux version contains the entire first album remixed by Void (Biollante, Non Serviam, Hiverlucide, Néant) and remastered by Yaref Ben Hazim, along with 3 instrumentals and a bonus track the band composed in solidarity with their friend Serge, who was in a coma following the clashes at Sainte Soline. The package includes new artwork and a new booklet. For those who missed it, we hope you enjoy the discovery. And for those who already know the first edition, trust us, Redux will hit differently.

Tracklist
1. Trigger Warming (Redux) 
2. Biollante (Redux)  
3. Le Monde Me Revient Crié (Redux)  
4. Penser les Plaies (Redux)  
5. ビオランテ 花獣形態 (Redux)
6. Pourquoi Pas (Redux)
7. Biollante (Instrumental Version) 
8. Le Monde Me Revient Crié (Instrumental Version)
9. Penser les Plaies (Instrumental Version) 
10. Que le soleil est froid, que la colère est noire (Bonus Track) 

Links 
Bandcamp: https://biollanterising.bandcamp.com/album/j-esp-re-que-tu-danseras-quelque-part-redux
Label: https://instagram.com/nonserviamcircle
Label: https://atypeekmusic.com

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