Search
1000 results for “quite_adept”
-
new qa art exclusively for my qa-trons who follow me on qa-stodon
medium :: digital collage in photoshop
date :: 2024-05-16
artist :: quite adept
title :: "The Look Neptune Gives Me When My Minimum Wage Ass Screws Up His Wendy's Order"
#MastoArt #DigitalArt #Photoshop #Artist #Collage #Colorful #Neptune #PhoneBackground #FediArt #art #weird
-
#BearGrylls is quite adept at avoiding any discussions of politics but reactions to him at the #tory party conference are too funny to simply ignore.
As baden powell before him tried to convince hitler to invest in the youth, so Bear is here convincing the tories of the need for the same.
Unlike Powell, founder of scout movement, at least bear hasn't exceeded his orders and summarily executed any zulus... that we know of anyway :)
https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2017/10/03/corbyn-grime-conservatives-have-bear-grylls/
-
"So, in the middle of our government shutdown and our own struggling economy, Donald has decided to give $40 billion of our money to a foreign country simply because the Argentinian president likes him and is quite adept at kissing his ass. When asked about this bizarre turn of events and its potentially negative impact on American cattle ranchers, Donald said:"
#Trump #Argentina #Milei #authoritarianism #economy #shutdown #beef #agriculture #ranchers #farmers #groceries #prices #food
/2 -
📍: Lock 11, Napton
ℹ️: lock
🗺: https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=52.2377639722156&mlon=-1.33220070403933#map=17/52.2377639722156/-1.33220070403933
📸: Photo by Quite Adept on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/20451498@N00/27130346201#canal #river #narrowboat #barge #gongoozler #england #uk #flickr #holiday #john #spring #may #russ #2016
-
📍: Winding Hole, Slapton
ℹ️: winding hole
🗺: https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=51.8726331018053&mlon=-0.650323749499782#map=17/51.8726331018053/-0.650323749499782
📸: Photo by Quite Adept on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/20451498@N00/4692903127#canal #river #narrowboat #barge #gongoozler #england #uk #flickr #summer #holiday #june #lock #slapton #2010 #grandunioncanal #grandunion
-
📍: Bridge 120, Rowton Bridge
ℹ️: road bridge
🗺: https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=53.1799887620797&mlon=-2.83339072683051#map=17/53.1799887620797/-2.83339072683051
📸: Photo by Quite Adept on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/20451498@N00/50686796912#canal #river #narrowboat #barge #gongoozler #england #uk #flickr #september #autumn #2020 #shropshireunioncanal #bridge
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
3 Minutes with George Conway, Candidate for #Congress (NY)
A former staunch Republican, litigator, [and ex-husband of KellyAnne, inventor of Trump's "alternative facts"] here he is today, May 7, 2026, recapping his personal journey.
Clearly, George Conway has 'evolved', and is now a #mindful, clear-eyed advocate for #truth & #law. A foe of #TrumpVirus.
As I've said, he is also quite adept at understanding the #psychology of #TrumpVirus and the #GQP / #media enablers.
-
"You haven't blocked any users yet."
Must we make it sound so inevitable, a task not accomplished?
Tempting trolls & fate here, but
You folks are alright.
Not going outta my way to hide any of the #fediverse users' words. #TurnsOut, you can just scroll right on by em, let em be lost to the endless stream.
As a software engineer all these years, I've become quite adept at sifting and sorting, and the first filter is for garbage. It's quite refined and efficient at this point. So your mileage will obviously vary.
But truth is, the mods on at least this instance (@stux & co) the folks I've chosen to interact with xverse make for a welcoming hang. You have this stranger's gratitude for a nice place to scroll through the park
Thanks y'all
&
thanks to everybody else for not being so obnoxiously toxic & harmful it becomes a full time job to block, mute and report.
(*cough :googleplus: , :facebook: , :twitter: )Find myself wondering
🤔 how long I can keep this empty? -
Restless Spirit – Restless Spirit Review By Steel DruhmWhen one thinks of Long Island, stoner doom may not be the first musical variant that comes to mind. Restless Spirit have been out to change that since 2015, dropping several EPs and 3 long players of massive, weighty music with toes in the pools frequented by Mastodon, C.O.C., and The Sword. 2023s Afterimage was a great album crushed beneath a disastrous production that made enjoyment nigh impossible. Now comes their self-titled 4th album and a bit of a course correction. It’s a lighter, more rocking effort with a sense of brightness and wistfulness embedded in the burly, beefy sound. It’s still something entirely well-suited for a biker bar, but what Restless Spirit does is put them in the same ballpark as acts like Clutch, Fireball Ministry, and Freedom Hawk, and just in time for summer sun and outdoor beer drinking. How could that be a bad thing?
The things I love about Restless Spirit are still here, as opening track “The Burning Need” ably illustrates. It’s slick, bluesy, hard rock in the vein of C.O.C. with big riffs and feedback backing up Paul Alosio’s big, soulful bellows. It’s groovy, crunchy stuff with balls aplenty and a chorus that really pops and sticks in the craw, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this came from some southern crew rather than 3 guys from New York. The goods keep coming on “Hallowed,” which is a bit more spacey and moody, but the hooks are there, and the riffs do most of the talking, as they should. There’s a vintage Monster Magnet vibe in its DNA, and the guitar work is quite agile and interesting, with moments of introspective melancholy effectively stirred into the brew. “Desolations Wake” is a big moment, taking a rocked-out, rowdy approach to entertainingly punchy places with hard-charging guitar work that reminds a lot of Freedom Hawk. It’s got enough machismo to put extra hair on your nethers and make you want to punch a boulder. This one is heading right to my fun in the sun playlist with a bullet.
Unfortunately, not everything Restless Spirit attempts is a home run, and while nothing here is bad, cuts like “Red in Tooth and Claw” feel a bit more generic and safe. While the nearly 7 minutes of “Time and Distance” pass pretty well thanks to the powerhouse guitar work and forceful vocals, it does feel a bit overlong by the end. The nearly 9-minute closer, “Phantom Pain,” features a 70s psych-rock flavor that reminds me of Wino’s solo material, and the laid-back, emotive guitars pair well with the rougher, heavy riffs. But the length isn’t entirely justified, and by the 6th minute, things start to feel too stretched out. At just over 40 minutes, tracks like these make Restless Spirit feel longer than it really is, despite a good amount of interesting ideas and solid performances across the board. On the good side, the production is vastly better than last time, feeling warm and bright. The guitars have the proper weight, and the drum sound is satisfyingly deep.
The center of the Restless Spirit universe is Paul Alosio. His riffs and emotive fretboarding provide the foundation for everything, and he’s quite adept at crafting powerful, sinuous leads that grab your attention. Since this kind of music lives and dies by the riffs, he’s the prime mover, and move you he will as he dabbles in 70s rock and borrows from the expected wellsprings like Black Sabbath and Kyuss. He pairs his leads with an effectively rough but melodic vocal approach, and he’s at his best here, delivering with gravitas and soul. Marc Morello backs him up with thick, fat basslines that rumble and quake in all the best ways, while kitman Jon Gusman pounds away with abandon and a keen sense of groove. This is a talented trio, but their mostly good works get partially undermined by occasionally inconsistent writing and a bloat outbreak on the album’s ass-end.
Restless Spirit is a lesser creature than Afterimage and Blood of the Old Gods, but when it hits the mark, it will leave a deep impression on your ears. It’s worth checking out though, and I’m still a big believer in what the future holds for Restless Spirit. Talent abides, and spirits lurk endlessly, after all. Hail the Isle of Long!
Rating: 3.0/5.0
#2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #CorrosionOfConformity #DoomMetal #FreedomHawk #MagneticEyeRecords #May26 #RestlessSpirit #Review #Reviews #StonerRock
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye
Websites: restlessspirit.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/restlessspiritny | instagram.com/restlessspirit
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026 -
Restless Spirit – Restless Spirit Review By Steel DruhmWhen one thinks of Long Island, stoner doom may not be the first musical variant that comes to mind. Restless Spirit have been out to change that since 2015, dropping several EPs and 3 long players of massive, weighty music with toes in the pools frequented by Mastodon, C.O.C., and The Sword. 2023s Afterimage was a great album crushed beneath a disastrous production that made enjoyment nigh impossible. Now comes their self-titled 4th album and a bit of a course correction. It’s a lighter, more rocking effort with a sense of brightness and wistfulness embedded in the burly, beefy sound. It’s still something entirely well-suited for a biker bar, but what Restless Spirit does is put them in the same ballpark as acts like Clutch, Fireball Ministry, and Freedom Hawk, and just in time for summer sun and outdoor beer drinking. How could that be a bad thing?
The things I love about Restless Spirit are still here, as opening track “The Burning Need” ably illustrates. It’s slick, bluesy, hard rock in the vein of C.O.C. with big riffs and feedback backing up Paul Alosio’s big, soulful bellows. It’s groovy, crunchy stuff with balls aplenty and a chorus that really pops and sticks in the craw, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this came from some southern crew rather than 3 guys from New York. The goods keep coming on “Hallowed,” which is a bit more spacey and moody, but the hooks are there, and the riffs do most of the talking, as they should. There’s a vintage Monster Magnet vibe in its DNA, and the guitar work is quite agile and interesting, with moments of introspective melancholy effectively stirred into the brew. “Desolations Wake” is a big moment, taking a rocked-out, rowdy approach to entertainingly punchy places with hard-charging guitar work that reminds a lot of Freedom Hawk. It’s got enough machismo to put extra hair on your nethers and make you want to punch a boulder. This one is heading right to my fun in the sun playlist with a bullet.
Unfortunately, not everything Restless Spirit attempts is a home run, and while nothing here is bad, cuts like “Red in Tooth and Claw” feel a bit more generic and safe. While the nearly 7 minutes of “Time and Distance” pass pretty well thanks to the powerhouse guitar work and forceful vocals, it does feel a bit overlong by the end. The nearly 9-minute closer, “Phantom Pain,” features a 70s psych-rock flavor that reminds me of Wino’s solo material, and the laid-back, emotive guitars pair well with the rougher, heavy riffs. But the length isn’t entirely justified, and by the 6th minute, things start to feel too stretched out. At just over 40 minutes, tracks like these make Restless Spirit feel longer than it really is, despite a good amount of interesting ideas and solid performances across the board. On the good side, the production is vastly better than last time, feeling warm and bright. The guitars have the proper weight, and the drum sound is satisfyingly deep.
The center of the Restless Spirit universe is Paul Alosio. His riffs and emotive fretboarding provide the foundation for everything, and he’s quite adept at crafting powerful, sinuous leads that grab your attention. Since this kind of music lives and dies by the riffs, he’s the prime mover, and move you he will as he dabbles in 70s rock and borrows from the expected wellsprings like Black Sabbath and Kyuss. He pairs his leads with an effectively rough but melodic vocal approach, and he’s at his best here, delivering with gravitas and soul. Marc Morello backs him up with thick, fat basslines that rumble and quake in all the best ways, while kitman Jon Gusman pounds away with abandon and a keen sense of groove. This is a talented trio, but their mostly good works get partially undermined by occasionally inconsistent writing and a bloat outbreak on the album’s ass-end.
Restless Spirit is a lesser creature than Afterimage and Blood of the Old Gods, but when it hits the mark, it will leave a deep impression on your ears. It’s worth checking out though, and I’m still a big believer in what the future holds for Restless Spirit. Talent abides, and spirits lurk endlessly, after all. Hail the Isle of Long!
Rating: 3.0/5.0
#2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #CorrosionOfConformity #DoomMetal #FreedomHawk #MagneticEyeRecords #May26 #RestlessSpirit #Review #Reviews #StonerRock
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye
Websites: restlessspirit.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/restlessspiritny | instagram.com/restlessspirit
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026 -
Restless Spirit – Restless Spirit Review By Steel DruhmWhen one thinks of Long Island, stoner doom may not be the first musical variant that comes to mind. Restless Spirit have been out to change that since 2015, dropping several EPs and 3 long players of massive, weighty music with toes in the pools frequented by Mastodon, C.O.C., and The Sword. 2023s Afterimage was a great album crushed beneath a disastrous production that made enjoyment nigh impossible. Now comes their self-titled 4th album and a bit of a course correction. It’s a lighter, more rocking effort with a sense of brightness and wistfulness embedded in the burly, beefy sound. It’s still something entirely well-suited for a biker bar, but what Restless Spirit does is put them in the same ballpark as acts like Clutch, Fireball Ministry, and Freedom Hawk, and just in time for summer sun and outdoor beer drinking. How could that be a bad thing?
The things I love about Restless Spirit are still here, as opening track “The Burning Need” ably illustrates. It’s slick, bluesy, hard rock in the vein of C.O.C. with big riffs and feedback backing up Paul Alosio’s big, soulful bellows. It’s groovy, crunchy stuff with balls aplenty and a chorus that really pops and sticks in the craw, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this came from some southern crew rather than 3 guys from New York. The goods keep coming on “Hallowed,” which is a bit more spacey and moody, but the hooks are there, and the riffs do most of the talking, as they should. There’s a vintage Monster Magnet vibe in its DNA, and the guitar work is quite agile and interesting, with moments of introspective melancholy effectively stirred into the brew. “Desolations Wake” is a big moment, taking a rocked-out, rowdy approach to entertainingly punchy places with hard-charging guitar work that reminds a lot of Freedom Hawk. It’s got enough machismo to put extra hair on your nethers and make you want to punch a boulder. This one is heading right to my fun in the sun playlist with a bullet.
Unfortunately, not everything Restless Spirit attempts is a home run, and while nothing here is bad, cuts like “Red in Tooth and Claw” feel a bit more generic and safe. While the nearly 7 minutes of “Time and Distance” pass pretty well thanks to the powerhouse guitar work and forceful vocals, it does feel a bit overlong by the end. The nearly 9-minute closer, “Phantom Pain,” features a 70s psych-rock flavor that reminds me of Wino’s solo material, and the laid-back, emotive guitars pair well with the rougher, heavy riffs. But the length isn’t entirely justified, and by the 6th minute, things start to feel too stretched out. At just over 40 minutes, tracks like these make Restless Spirit feel longer than it really is, despite a good amount of interesting ideas and solid performances across the board. On the good side, the production is vastly better than last time, feeling warm and bright. The guitars have the proper weight, and the drum sound is satisfyingly deep.
The center of the Restless Spirit universe is Paul Alosio. His riffs and emotive fretboarding provide the foundation for everything, and he’s quite adept at crafting powerful, sinuous leads that grab your attention. Since this kind of music lives and dies by the riffs, he’s the prime mover, and move you he will as he dabbles in 70s rock and borrows from the expected wellsprings like Black Sabbath and Kyuss. He pairs his leads with an effectively rough but melodic vocal approach, and he’s at his best here, delivering with gravitas and soul. Marc Morello backs him up with thick, fat basslines that rumble and quake in all the best ways, while kitman Jon Gusman pounds away with abandon and a keen sense of groove. This is a talented trio, but their mostly good works get partially undermined by occasionally inconsistent writing and a bloat outbreak on the album’s ass-end.
Restless Spirit is a lesser creature than Afterimage and Blood of the Old Gods, but when it hits the mark, it will leave a deep impression on your ears. It’s worth checking out though, and I’m still a big believer in what the future holds for Restless Spirit. Talent abides, and spirits lurk endlessly, after all. Hail the Isle of Long!
Rating: 3.0/5.0
#2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #CorrosionOfConformity #DoomMetal #FreedomHawk #MagneticEyeRecords #May26 #RestlessSpirit #Review #Reviews #StonerRock
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye
Websites: restlessspirit.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/restlessspiritny | instagram.com/restlessspirit
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026 -
Restless Spirit – Restless Spirit Review By Steel DruhmWhen one thinks of Long Island, stoner doom may not be the first musical variant that comes to mind. Restless Spirit have been out to change that since 2015, dropping several EPs and 3 long players of massive, weighty music with toes in the pools frequented by Mastodon, C.O.C., and The Sword. 2023s Afterimage was a great album crushed beneath a disastrous production that made enjoyment nigh impossible. Now comes their self-titled 4th album and a bit of a course correction. It’s a lighter, more rocking effort with a sense of brightness and wistfulness embedded in the burly, beefy sound. It’s still something entirely well-suited for a biker bar, but what Restless Spirit does is put them in the same ballpark as acts like Clutch, Fireball Ministry, and Freedom Hawk, and just in time for summer sun and outdoor beer drinking. How could that be a bad thing?
The things I love about Restless Spirit are still here, as opening track “The Burning Need” ably illustrates. It’s slick, bluesy, hard rock in the vein of C.O.C. with big riffs and feedback backing up Paul Alosio’s big, soulful bellows. It’s groovy, crunchy stuff with balls aplenty and a chorus that really pops and sticks in the craw, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this came from some southern crew rather than 3 guys from New York. The goods keep coming on “Hallowed,” which is a bit more spacey and moody, but the hooks are there, and the riffs do most of the talking, as they should. There’s a vintage Monster Magnet vibe in its DNA, and the guitar work is quite agile and interesting, with moments of introspective melancholy effectively stirred into the brew. “Desolations Wake” is a big moment, taking a rocked-out, rowdy approach to entertainingly punchy places with hard-charging guitar work that reminds a lot of Freedom Hawk. It’s got enough machismo to put extra hair on your nethers and make you want to punch a boulder. This one is heading right to my fun in the sun playlist with a bullet.
Unfortunately, not everything Restless Spirit attempts is a home run, and while nothing here is bad, cuts like “Red in Tooth and Claw” feel a bit more generic and safe. While the nearly 7 minutes of “Time and Distance” pass pretty well thanks to the powerhouse guitar work and forceful vocals, it does feel a bit overlong by the end. The nearly 9-minute closer, “Phantom Pain,” features a 70s psych-rock flavor that reminds me of Wino’s solo material, and the laid-back, emotive guitars pair well with the rougher, heavy riffs. But the length isn’t entirely justified, and by the 6th minute, things start to feel too stretched out. At just over 40 minutes, tracks like these make Restless Spirit feel longer than it really is, despite a good amount of interesting ideas and solid performances across the board. On the good side, the production is vastly better than last time, feeling warm and bright. The guitars have the proper weight, and the drum sound is satisfyingly deep.
The center of the Restless Spirit universe is Paul Alosio. His riffs and emotive fretboarding provide the foundation for everything, and he’s quite adept at crafting powerful, sinuous leads that grab your attention. Since this kind of music lives and dies by the riffs, he’s the prime mover, and move you he will as he dabbles in 70s rock and borrows from the expected wellsprings like Black Sabbath and Kyuss. He pairs his leads with an effectively rough but melodic vocal approach, and he’s at his best here, delivering with gravitas and soul. Marc Morello backs him up with thick, fat basslines that rumble and quake in all the best ways, while kitman Jon Gusman pounds away with abandon and a keen sense of groove. This is a talented trio, but their mostly good works get partially undermined by occasionally inconsistent writing and a bloat outbreak on the album’s ass-end.
Restless Spirit is a lesser creature than Afterimage and Blood of the Old Gods, but when it hits the mark, it will leave a deep impression on your ears. It’s worth checking out though, and I’m still a big believer in what the future holds for Restless Spirit. Talent abides, and spirits lurk endlessly, after all. Hail the Isle of Long!
Rating: 3.0/5.0
#2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #CorrosionOfConformity #DoomMetal #FreedomHawk #MagneticEyeRecords #May26 #RestlessSpirit #Review #Reviews #StonerRock
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye
Websites: restlessspirit.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/restlessspiritny | instagram.com/restlessspirit
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026 -
Restless Spirit – Restless Spirit Review By Steel DruhmWhen one thinks of Long Island, stoner doom may not be the first musical variant that comes to mind. Restless Spirit have been out to change that since 2015, dropping several EPs and 3 long players of massive, weighty music with toes in the pools frequented by Mastodon, C.O.C., and The Sword. 2023s Afterimage was a great album crushed beneath a disastrous production that made enjoyment nigh impossible. Now comes their self-titled 4th album and a bit of a course correction. It’s a lighter, more rocking effort with a sense of brightness and wistfulness embedded in the burly, beefy sound. It’s still something entirely well-suited for a biker bar, but what Restless Spirit does is put them in the same ballpark as acts like Clutch, Fireball Ministry, and Freedom Hawk, and just in time for summer sun and outdoor beer drinking. How could that be a bad thing?
The things I love about Restless Spirit are still here, as opening track “The Burning Need” ably illustrates. It’s slick, bluesy, hard rock in the vein of C.O.C. with big riffs and feedback backing up Paul Alosio’s big, soulful bellows. It’s groovy, crunchy stuff with balls aplenty and a chorus that really pops and sticks in the craw, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this came from some southern crew rather than 3 guys from New York. The goods keep coming on “Hallowed,” which is a bit more spacey and moody, but the hooks are there, and the riffs do most of the talking, as they should. There’s a vintage Monster Magnet vibe in its DNA, and the guitar work is quite agile and interesting, with moments of introspective melancholy effectively stirred into the brew. “Desolations Wake” is a big moment, taking a rocked-out, rowdy approach to entertainingly punchy places with hard-charging guitar work that reminds a lot of Freedom Hawk. It’s got enough machismo to put extra hair on your nethers and make you want to punch a boulder. This one is heading right to my fun in the sun playlist with a bullet.
Unfortunately, not everything Restless Spirit attempts is a home run, and while nothing here is bad, cuts like “Red in Tooth and Claw” feel a bit more generic and safe. While the nearly 7 minutes of “Time and Distance” pass pretty well thanks to the powerhouse guitar work and forceful vocals, it does feel a bit overlong by the end. The nearly 9-minute closer, “Phantom Pain,” features a 70s psych-rock flavor that reminds me of Wino’s solo material, and the laid-back, emotive guitars pair well with the rougher, heavy riffs. But the length isn’t entirely justified, and by the 6th minute, things start to feel too stretched out. At just over 40 minutes, tracks like these make Restless Spirit feel longer than it really is, despite a good amount of interesting ideas and solid performances across the board. On the good side, the production is vastly better than last time, feeling warm and bright. The guitars have the proper weight, and the drum sound is satisfyingly deep.
The center of the Restless Spirit universe is Paul Alosio. His riffs and emotive fretboarding provide the foundation for everything, and he’s quite adept at crafting powerful, sinuous leads that grab your attention. Since this kind of music lives and dies by the riffs, he’s the prime mover, and move you he will as he dabbles in 70s rock and borrows from the expected wellsprings like Black Sabbath and Kyuss. He pairs his leads with an effectively rough but melodic vocal approach, and he’s at his best here, delivering with gravitas and soul. Marc Morello backs him up with thick, fat basslines that rumble and quake in all the best ways, while kitman Jon Gusman pounds away with abandon and a keen sense of groove. This is a talented trio, but their mostly good works get partially undermined by occasionally inconsistent writing and a bloat outbreak on the album’s ass-end.
Restless Spirit is a lesser creature than Afterimage and Blood of the Old Gods, but when it hits the mark, it will leave a deep impression on your ears. It’s worth checking out though, and I’m still a big believer in what the future holds for Restless Spirit. Talent abides, and spirits lurk endlessly, after all. Hail the Isle of Long!
Rating: 3.0/5.0
#2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #CorrosionOfConformity #DoomMetal #FreedomHawk #MagneticEyeRecords #May26 #RestlessSpirit #Review #Reviews #StonerRock
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye
Websites: restlessspirit.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/restlessspiritny | instagram.com/restlessspirit
Releases Worldwide: May 8th, 2026 -
By Steel Druhm
Steel Druhm Himself and Holdeneye see eye to…eye on many metal-related issues. We gravitate toward the same styles and share an appreciation for plenty of bands across the metal spectrum. It’s not all Kumbaya though, no Sireebob. I could not have agreed less with his loving review of cheese-tastic faux-Manometal act All for Metal. They’re like an even more ridiculous version of the already super ludicrous Brothers of Metal, and I couldn’t stomach the lactose overload their music flung in all directions like cheap beer at an 80s thrash-fest. Imagine then my primal shock when I grabbed the latest album from German battle metal purveyors Asenblut only to find it’s helmed by one of the vocalists of All for Metal. Yep, Tim “Tetzel” Schmidt is the main mountain of power here, delivering course, rough death vocals over a churning sea of very familiar riffs and gallops. You see, Asenblut are like a big ole’ bucket-load of recycled Amon Amarth riffs propped up with the occasional use of traditional metal muscle and power chugs. Turns out they’ve been doing this for a long time too, as Entfesselt is their fifth album, and the second we’ve reviewed here.1 So how much real raiding can a knockoff act like Asenblut pull off in a marketplace saturated with similar, better-known battle metal acts? Let us test their metal then.
The Amon Amarth-isms hit the shores fast and hard on opener “Das Ende der Götter,” which sounds like something from With Oden on Our Side, but the early, roughed-out pre-studio version before all polishing and tweaking. Burly battle riffs pump away as Mr. Tetzel does a remarkable job imitating Johan Hegg’s rough death roars and higher-pitched screeching. It’s completely serviceable to get your blood up and your battle face on, but it’s derivative enough to be unsettling, and that’s all of Entfesselt in an elevator pitch. The title track is so AA it actually dares a lawsuit from the angry Swedes. It’s anthemic and just epic enough to trigger pec flexage and sword hand cramping and it’s not bad. “Unbesiegbar” introduces some welcome Brainstorm / Mystic Prophecy influence courtesy of big, meaty riffs, and these pair well with the shameless Swede pillaging.
Tracks like “Wölfe des Meeres” and “Blut und Sand” are solid, steeped in macho bravado and barbarian rage, heavy enough to get you hostile but memorable too. Closer “Nox Nostra Est” is extra blackened and blast-happy with an epic vibe carrying the chest-thumping machismo to a higher plane. While Asenblut clearly love the sound and style laid down by their favorite act and prove quite adept at imitating them, an album’s worth of such flattering imitation can offer challenges for the listener. You start to hear bits and pieces of their target influence’s work product and wonder if the similarities are intentional or happenstance. “Arm in Arm” sounds a lot like AA’s “Victorious March,” and while I dearly love that song, this offshoot time line is less endearing. “Hexengericht” reminds me of sillier AA fare like “Raise Your Horns,” fun but throw-away. It’s nearly impossible to listen to this album and not make these mental comparisons, and I really tried. And that’s a shame since a lot of Entfesselt is enjoyable enough. Nothing Asenblut do has a trace of their own unique identity, but they sure are good mimics with impressive bench stats.
Guitarists Alex and Chris do a solid job crafting bruising battle riffs to stir the loins and put you on the the warpath. Yes, they are following a specific blueprint not their own, and sometimes their creations veer too close to their progenitors, but they get the job done nonetheless. Big Time Tim Tetzel has a respectable death roar, more raw and rough-around-the-edge than Johan Hegg, yet still similar. He provides the berserker energy and muscle, and he’s convincing as he screams of battles and glory (the lyrics are all in German so I’m making an educated guess here). The band has enough talent to pull off this style, though the compositions often feel like washed-out versions of songs you already heard on some forgotten battlefield.
As much as I hate All for Metal, I can’t bring myself to feel the same way about Asenblut. The individual parts work well enough and the songs are mostly entertaining if often rote. The real issue is whether the world needs such a blatant copycat of a better-known act. If you want more battle metal in your life and aren’t picky how much it sounds like someone else, you’ll likely get Longship mileage from Entfesselt. All others may want to wait for an authentic Viking cruise.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Massacre
Websites: asenblut.de | facebook.com/asenblutband
Releases Worldwide: August 2nd, 2024#25 #2024 #AllForMetal #AmonAmarth #Asenblut #Aug24 #Brainstorm #Entfesselt #GermanMetal #MassacreRecords #MelodicDeathMetal #MysticProphecy #Review #Reviews
-
By Steel Druhm
Steel Druhm Himself and Holdeneye see eye to…eye on many metal-related issues. We gravitate toward the same styles and share an appreciation for plenty of bands across the metal spectrum. It’s not all Kumbaya though, no Sireebob. I could not have agreed less with his loving review of cheese-tastic faux-Manometal act All for Metal. They’re like an even more ridiculous version of the already super ludicrous Brothers of Metal, and I couldn’t stomach the lactose overload their music flung in all directions like cheap beer at an 80s thrash-fest. Imagine then my primal shock when I grabbed the latest album from German battle metal purveyors Asenblut only to find it’s helmed by one of the vocalists of All for Metal. Yep, Tim “Tetzel” Schmidt is the main mountain of power here, delivering course, rough death vocals over a churning sea of very familiar riffs and gallops. You see, Asenblut are like a big ole’ bucket-load of recycled Amon Amarth riffs propped up with the occasional use of traditional metal muscle and power chugs. Turns out they’ve been doing this for a long time too, as Entfesselt is their fifth album, and the second we’ve reviewed here.1 So how much real raiding can a knockoff act like Asenblut pull off in a marketplace saturated with similar, better-known battle metal acts? Let us test their metal then.
The Amon Amarth-isms hit the shores fast and hard on opener “Das Ende der Götter,” which sounds like something from With Oden on Our Side, but the early, roughed-out pre-studio version before all polishing and tweaking. Burly battle riffs pump away as Mr. Tetzel does a remarkable job imitating Johan Hegg’s rough death roars and higher-pitched screeching. It’s completely serviceable to get your blood up and your battle face on, but it’s derivative enough to be unsettling, and that’s all of Entfesselt in an elevator pitch. The title track is so AA it actually dares a lawsuit from the angry Swedes. It’s anthemic and just epic enough to trigger pec flexage and sword hand cramping and it’s not bad. “Unbesiegbar” introduces some welcome Brainstorm / Mystic Prophecy influence courtesy of big, meaty riffs, and these pair well with the shameless Swede pillaging.
Tracks like “Wölfe des Meeres” and “Blut und Sand” are solid, steeped in macho bravado and barbarian rage, heavy enough to get you hostile but memorable too. Closer “Nox Nostra Est” is extra blackened and blast-happy with an epic vibe carrying the chest-thumping machismo to a higher plane. While Asenblut clearly love the sound and style laid down by their favorite act and prove quite adept at imitating them, an album’s worth of such flattering imitation can offer challenges for the listener. You start to hear bits and pieces of their target influence’s work product and wonder if the similarities are intentional or happenstance. “Arm in Arm” sounds a lot like AA’s “Victorious March,” and while I dearly love that song, this offshoot time line is less endearing. “Hexengericht” reminds me of sillier AA fare like “Raise Your Horns,” fun but throw-away. It’s nearly impossible to listen to this album and not make these mental comparisons, and I really tried. And that’s a shame since a lot of Entfesselt is enjoyable enough. Nothing Asenblut do has a trace of their own unique identity, but they sure are good mimics with impressive bench stats.
Guitarists Alex and Chris do a solid job crafting bruising battle riffs to stir the loins and put you on the the warpath. Yes, they are following a specific blueprint not their own, and sometimes their creations veer too close to their progenitors, but they get the job done nonetheless. Big Time Tim Tetzel has a respectable death roar, more raw and rough-around-the-edge than Johan Hegg, yet still similar. He provides the berserker energy and muscle, and he’s convincing as he screams of battles and glory (the lyrics are all in German so I’m making an educated guess here). The band has enough talent to pull off this style, though the compositions often feel like washed-out versions of songs you already heard on some forgotten battlefield.
As much as I hate All for Metal, I can’t bring myself to feel the same way about Asenblut. The individual parts work well enough and the songs are mostly entertaining if often rote. The real issue is whether the world needs such a blatant copycat of a better-known act. If you want more battle metal in your life and aren’t picky how much it sounds like someone else, you’ll likely get Longship mileage from Entfesselt. All others may want to wait for an authentic Viking cruise.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Massacre
Websites: asenblut.de | facebook.com/asenblutband
Releases Worldwide: August 2nd, 2024#25 #2024 #AllForMetal #AmonAmarth #Asenblut #Aug24 #Brainstorm #Entfesselt #GermanMetal #MassacreRecords #MelodicDeathMetal #MysticProphecy #Review #Reviews
-
Sufjan Stevens Minecraft Parody
-
Sufjan Stevens Minecraft Parody
-
Sufjan Stevens Minecraft Parody
-
Sufjan Stevens Minecraft Parody
-
Sufjan Stevens Minecraft Parody