Rocket Recordings Vinyl & CDs

Review: Russia's Gnoomes (aka Sasha Painkov and his wife Masha Piankova) have really overcome some hefty odds to get out their new album Ax Ox - the pandemic, illness, depression and of course turmoil back home. But it was worth the graft as they offer up a potent and moving mix of melancholia and strident optimism. The mix up the hope of dream pop with the drive of Krautrock, the vidid melodies of transcendent music with plenty of great narratives about the troubled relationship the band has with their home country. This is an eye-opening and thought-provoking record that is very much reflective of the troubled global times in which we love.

Review: Porcine quintet Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs laugh in the face of fate with Death Hilarious, a brutal and energetic offering of sadistically calculated aggression embroiled in knowingly self-destructive lyrics. The band have broken through the immersive approach basked in on 2023's Land Of Sleeper, now shredding any sense of hope for contentment held out for erstwhile. Allegedly inspired by an intense touring schedule, the band felt the need to reflect the superhuman biopower required of them in LP form: and in light of frontman Matt Baty's anxiety, the lyrics exorcise self-doubt, and critique neoliberalism and forced optimism in close step. Enlisting El-P of Run The Jewels on 'Glib Tongued', here's also a diverse mix of doom, noise rock, and post-metal, with surprise gothic synth solos garnishing an otherwise punishing mire of rock sludge.

Review: The fifth album from Newcastle's finest heavy riff providers Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs is a must for those moved by the band's live shows over the past few years. Black Sabbath-inspired crashing riffs, growling vocals and body lurching songs that are served up with ease as the band give the listener the intended 'slap in the face' producer and guitarist Sam Grant promised. Early release 'Stitches' comes just over a year since their previous album Land of Sleeper and Death Hilarious continues the frantic momentum the band have set themselves. An Exhilarating album that sounds even angrier than ever leaving the listener gasping for breath by the end. Run the Jewels EI-P features on 'Glib Tongued', a track the band felt had a hip-hop feel to it when presented to them by bassist John-Michael Hedley. Anyone that has been fortunate to witness the band's incendiary live shows will be satisfied that this collection of huge sounding songs is a great representation of the live experience, one which will soon be available to all to witness.

Review: Ahhhh. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs don't miss a trick, do they? Kings of grinding guitar riffs, and probably the loudest thing to roar out of Newcastle since The Wildhearts were upstarts, 2025's follow up to the stunning Land of Sleeper breaks from it predecessor's focus on headphone listening and launches itself into the real world with the snarling ferocity of a wolf that was injured, got nursed back to health, and now wants some revenge. Death Hilarious certainly tastes sweet enough, although it's anything but cold. Guaranteed to make you sweat like a pig - you get the point... this is dense, thick, unrelenting psyche-metal that owes plenty to pioneers like Sabbath and Motorhead, but makes no secret of the fact these North Easterners are looking to nobody for their sound. An original powerhouse.

Review: The Newcastle five-piece double down on doom, derision and distortion in their most scathing record yet. Death Hilarious flails between cosmic thrash, anxious noise rock and Sabbath-sized sludge, driven by Matt Baty's sneering vocals and a rhythm section that sounds like it's eating itself alive. 'Blockage' bursts out the gates like an angry sermon, while 'Toecurler' stretches into hypnotic, post-metal territory. 'Stitches' has a twisted glam feel, like a battered Motorhead tape rewound with cheap synths, and 'Glib Tongued' throws a curveball: a blistering feature from El-P over jagged guitar loops. The band's sharpest move here is restraintipiano motifs and synth lines creep in under the wreckage, giving moments like 'Carousel' and 'The Wyrm' a strange solemnity. It's unrelentingly heavy but never cartoonish, embracing dread with clarity, and proof Pigs x7 are still levelling up, even as they gnaw at their own nerves.