The 2003 Saint Vitus reunion has been made curious by the years since. It’s almost like the band — guitarist Dave Chandler, vocalist Scott “Wino” Weinrich, bassist Mark Adams and drummer Armando Acosta — came back together, played this show, waited to see if the world was ready for them yet, and finding it wasn’t, went back into hibernation for a few more years. What exactly the change was that led the band to be able to re-reform in 2009 and go on to produce an album as stellar as this year’s Lillie: F-65 (just picked as my favorite of the first half of 2012, if you missed it), I don’t know, but it’s hard to argue with results as killer as those, and I’m inclined not to try.

But that reunion, short-lived as it was, was documented in the limited edition Reunion 2003: Live in Chicago DVD. At the time, Chandler was working with Trouble bassist Ron Holzner in Debris Inc. (they went through an array of drummers as well), and they played this show at the Double Door as well, but it became a blip in the history of the band that, until 2009, seemed to be the last they’d be heard from. The DVD is long gone, but there are a couple tracks up on TouYube, and being in a generally Vitus-type mood this week, “Clear Windowpane” couldn’t be a better fit. Wino‘s madman scowl is great throughout.

Please enjoy and have a happy (also doomed) Wino Wednesday.

Last time we heard from them, Wisconsin rockers Droids Attack were persevering through a burst appendix to open for Floor in Chicago. That was just over two years ago now, and guitarist/vocalist Brad Van has sent over word that the band are headed to the East Coast for a round of dates next month. Van also dropped hints that the band has a new record in the works with plans to record this fall, so hopefully the live shows will be a chance for them to tighten up their new songs on stage. If you don’t recall, 2010’s Must Destroy (review here) was a charmer.

Here are the dates:

07/04 Joe’s Place w/ Snow Demon and TBA (Iowa City, IA)
07/05 The Replay Lounge w/ The Leotards (Lawrence, KS)
07/06 The Railhead Saloon w/ TBA (Lawton, OK)
07/07 The 29th Street Ballroom w/ Sky Crawler, Rust, and The Blood Royale (Austin, TX)
07/09 The Nick w/ Cousin Sleaze, and Jerolyn (Birmingham, AL)
07/10 The Landshark w/ Rojo Diablo (Jacksonville, FL)
07/11 Chapel Hill Underground w/ Ruscha, Self Inflicted, and Blood Red Sky (Chapel Hill, NC)
07/12 The Bell Foundry w/ Curse, Insane Clown Pussy, and Sprayer (Baltimore, MD)
07/13 Saint Vitus Bar w/ The Giraffes, and Cinema Cinema (Brooklyn, NY)
07/14 Mojo 13 w/ TBA (Wilmington, DE)
07/15 Cedars w/ Trust Mission, and RNRCP (Youngstown, OH)
07/16 Bourbon Street w/ TBA (Columbus, OH)
07/17 Corktown Tavern w/ Minus 9 and TBA (Detroit, MI)
07/18 Liar’s Club w/ TBA (Chicago, IL)

An unpretentious three-piece from the rocking pile of rubble known as Philadelphia, PA, The Company Corvette embark on heavy naturalism with their second full-length, End of the Summers. The follow-up to last year’s The Company Meeting and self-released through their own The Company Records (wow, somebody should really get them on the bill with The Company Band and make a theme night of it), the album offers few frills, the guitar of Alexei, the bass/vocals of Ross and the drums of Peter being as traditional in what they are as they are in what they do. The eight songs are laid back, not boring, but will be immediately familiar to anyone with experience in heavy or stoner rock, Ross’ vocals periodically weaving into and out of a Fu Manchu-style delivery while Alexei’s guitar – which seems to want to be fuzzier than it is; an issue of production more than tone – ignites friendly, accessible riffage behind. They’ve been together since 2008, and they have two records out, but The Company Corvette as they appear here seem to still be getting their bearings on what they want their sound to be, though at this point the recordings are nearly two years old (not that I knew when I got it for review, but the album came out last year). The results on their sophomore outing come across as wanting in production and direction, but the album still has a share of catchy songs, tracks like “Something New,” in which Ross wastes no time delivering the album’s title line, and “Blame it all on Me” clearly having been put up front on purpose to maximize the initial impression, and “One Over” following shortly with a bluesy groove in his verse. Once one goes deeper into End of the Summers’ 42 minutes, however, it’s easy to find material that stands out less from what’s around it, though the descending bass line on “Henry,” the third track, is probably the album’s best. If it seems like I’m back and forth on The Company Corvette, I am.

And as someone who uses the level of reaction an album provokes as well as the reaction itself to factor into the final analysis, that End of the Summers would leave me cold, even on repeat listens, doesn’t inspire confidence, whatever else might be playing out on my end that might also contribute to that being the case. But still, The Company Corvette is a relatively new band, obviously recording their stuff on a budget, and releasing it on their own. Ragging on the recording for not properly playing up the inherent dynamics in their verses and choruses seems like kind of a dick move – and if that makes writing this review like pulling the proverbial teeth, so be it. On a performance level, there’s pretty much nothing in these eight songs to argue with. Ross’ vocals vary in their level of effectiveness – nothing new for singers in this genre – but structurally, he follows the riff almost exclusively, and with next to no if not no variation from that pattern, there’s a feeling of redundancy that comes up by the time the later track “Bear in Mind” leads into closer “Third I.” If he’s going for that Scott Hill, “I surf in the mornings and then I go record in the afternoons” vibe, he’s touching on it, but it might be a confidence question, or at least some self-consciousness, holding him back from ranging in either approach or emotionality. That’s something that comes with time. To contrast, Alexei’s guitar is crisply presented and well layered next to the bass, but except in cases where the guitar is soloing, both Alexei, Ross and Peter are all moving in the same direction and a lot of the danger that the whole thing might derail that seems rooted in the best power trios is absent here – it’s almost too safe. Even when Alexei steps aside for a solo and takes something of a sonic chance, he’s not really shifting the atmosphere, and if the songs are going to wind up as showcases for his leads, I’m left wondering what it is that I’m supposed to take away from “Regular Skip” in the first place.

Read more »

Roadburn audio stream season continues today with the next batch of sets recorded at this year’s fest at the 013 popcentrum and Het Patronaat in gorgeous Tilburg, the Netherlands. Any excuse to relive those four days back in April and I’ll take it. Thanks as always to Walter and the Roadburn crew and to Marcel van de Vondervoort for overseeing the recording process.

Please enjoy:

AUN – Roadburn 2012

Dark Buddha Rising – Roadburn 2012

Dopethrone – Roadburn 2012

End of Level Boss – Roadburn 2012

Necros Christos – Roadburn 2012

Saturnalia Temple – Roadburn 2012

Spiders – Roadburn 2012

The Wounded Kings – Roadburn 2012

Read The Obelisk’s coverage of Roadburn 2012 here.

…Actually, it’s probably somewhat less than 200 by now. Leeds sludge metallers Wizard’s Beard sent over word today that they’re offering 200 free downloads through Bandcamp of their first album, last year’s Pure Filth (review here). The silhouette-ready foursome released the blistering Four Tired Undertakers (review here) earlier in 2012 on Altsphere, but if you haven’t heard the first record yet, there’s nothing like a free download to help get caught up. Here’s what they had to say about it:

Our first album Pure Filth is now available for free download from Bandcamp. There is however only 200 downloads available…..so be quick!

Go here to download: http://wizardsbeard.bandcamp.com/album/pure-filth

The last couple years, I’ve done a top five of the first half, and that’s cool, but as I sat down the other day to make the list that follows, I realized the numbers didn’t work. If I’m going to finish 2012 off with a top 20 — which unless a piano falls on my head between now and then I am — then half of that is 10. Half a year, half a top 20. I was never much for math, folks.

But the important thing is I got there in the end, and with a full top 10, I have a little more room to nerd out on what I think are some (not all) of the best releases of the last six months. And just so I can say I said it twice, these are my personal picks, based on what I’ve listened to most as much as whatever estimation of aesthetic value I might make. Let’s get to it:

10. Witch Mountain, Cauldron of the Wild

If you’re asking yourself, “Hey, wasn’t Witch Mountain‘s Cauldron of the Wild just reviewed the other day?” you’re right, it was. That’s why it’s number 10 — because I know it’s a really good record, but I’m not sure yet what the replay value will be as the year progresses. Let it say something that I didn’t want to make this list without including the third album from the Portland doom bluesers, but without the benefit of a little distance from the songs (I still have “Shelter” stuck in my head from reviewing it, though that may prove a permanent scenario), I thought it better to play it cautious than be overly excited. Sometimes it’s hard to restrain the geek within, and I know I’m not the only one Cauldron of the Wild has had that effect on.

9. Caltrop, Ten Million Years and Eight Minutes

Deceptively progressive and study on repeat visits, the newest full-length from North Carolina’s Caltrop, Ten Million Years and Eight Minutes, is an album that doesn’t bow to accessibility but gets there naturally on its own anyway. The music the four-piece makes is technically complex, but the use they put that complexity to is warm and inviting, where so much prog feels cold and showy. Maybe that’s the Southern heat working its way into the tracks, but either way, with the varied work of multiple songwriters and a consistency of atmosphere running throughout, Ten Million Years and Eight Minutes helped me make the transition out of winter and into the warmer weather. I continue to think of Caltrop as a woefully underrated band.

8. Stubb, Stubb

The self-titled Superhot Records debut from London-based trio Stubb (review here) was a simple case of fuzz done right. The rhythm section here also had a strong outing on Superhot in the form of Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight‘s Going Home (review here), but partnered up with guitarist/vocalist Jack Dickinson, the bass/vocals of Pete Holland and drums of Chris West formed a power trio inspired by classic rock but not imitating it, which is increasingly rare. Their stoner groove was straightforward and heartfelt and the songwriting on tracks like “Mountain” and “Hard Hearted Woman” left absolutely nothing to be desired. I consider myself lucky for having seen them live, and doing so only increased my appreciation for the album.

7. Ararat, II

Sergio Chotsourian‘s second album in post-Los Natas project Ararat (review here) was both more cohesive than its 2009 predecessor, Musica de la Resistencia (review here), and thicker. Indeed, it was his bass tone that made the rumble in extended tracks like “Caballos” and “La Ira del Dragon (Uno)” so indispensable. Ararat has a different dynamic than did Los Natas, but hearing the beginning of what will hopefully be a long process of development has been part of the fun of listening to the band so far. Still, it’s the songs themselves more than their context that stand out, and every time I listen to “Lobos de Guerra y Cazadores de Elefantes,” I swear it seems like my brain is going to turn into liquid and start seeping out of my ears. It’s hard not to dig a record that makes you feel that way.

6. Ufomammut, Oro: Opus Primum

I’ll admit, this one’s a bit of a running gag I have with myself. Ever since I put Ufomammut‘s Eve as the number six on my top 10 of 2010, I’ve regretted it, and the thing about Oro: Opus Primum is (review here) that it’s only half the album, with Oro: Opus Alter still to come as the second part of their Neurot Recordings debut. So when I was wondering where to stick this thing on the list, the number that immediately came to my head was six and there it stands. Amazing to think that we’ll get another Ufomammut record before the year’s out. I look forward to hearing that, and in the meantime, there have been several occasions for which nothing has seemed quite doomed enough that Oro: Opus Primum has fit just right. Ufomammut have been and continue to be something really special.

5. Orange Goblin, A Eulogy for the Damned

What’s not to like about the prospect of a new Orange Goblin record? Nothing, that’s what. With killer songs like “Acid Trial,” “The Fog,” “The Filthy and the Few” and blistering leadoff single “Red Tide Rising,” A Eulogy for the Damned (review here) was the first highlight of 2012 and a fitting summation of much of what’s always been awesome about the band, who’ve become godfathers of the British heavy underground. The production on the album is cleaner than the band comes off live, but the energy in the tracks is undeniable, and it’s with that that Orange Goblin justify the five-year wait since 2007’s Healing through Fire last tore the heavy rock scene a new arsehole. They might be real rock ‘n’ roll’s best kept secret at this point, and their seventh album sends the damned out with a fitting tribute from some of their own kind.

4. Conan, Monnos

Try though I may — and I should probably say here that I haven’t tried — I still can’t get the riff to “Grim Tormentor” from Conan‘s Monnos (review here) out of my head. The album, which was the follow-up to 2011’s split with Slomatics and 2010’s mighty Horseback Battle Hammer debut, found the British trio bringing their songwriting up to a level to match Jon Davis‘ monstrous guitar tone, furthering their dual vocal approach between Davis and bassist Phil Coumbe while upping the pace somewhat on the album’s first half lend fleetness to the stomp in Paul O’Neil‘s drums. Monnos‘ second half was more ethereal, slower, swampier, with the morose “Golden Axe” paving the way for “Headless Hunter” and “Invincible Throne” to level everything in their path with atmosphere as dense as their musical weight. Easily the heaviest album I’ve heard so far this year.

3. Greenleaf, Nest of Vipers

Whenever I do these lists, I hit a point where on a given day they’re all number one. Sometimes it’s just between two albums. In 2010, it was six. This list, so far into 2012, it’s three, and Swedish heavy rock supergroup Greenleaf‘s Nest of Vipers (review here) is the first of them. I’ve been stoked on this record since before I heard it, and while that probably doesn’t do much to argue for my impartiality on the matter, I also don’t give a crap, because Greenleaf fucking rules. I’ll have an interview in the weeks to come with guitarist Tommi Holappa (also ex-Dozer) about the band, and once again, this is definitely one that is going to reappear on the top 20 come December. Not a doubt in my mind. I wasn’t sure the band would be able to live up to 2007’s landmark Agents of Ahriman, but the more I listen to Nest of Vipers, the clearer it becomes that they did precisely that.

2. Ancestors, In Dreams and Time
Brilliantly melodic, rife with complexity of emotion and execution, Los Angeles-based Ancestors‘ third album, In Dreams and Time, was the full-length answer to last year’s blissfully melancholic Invisible White EP. Finding the band mature, progressive and worshiping the song rather than the form, they transcended genre as easily as they embarked on it, crafting a wash of melody in Moog, synth, organ, guitar and vocals alike in their richest arrangements yet, culminating in what’s probably the single best extended guitar solo I’ve heard in the last five years on 19-minute closer “First Light,” a song that’s got so many ups and downs contained within its runtime that it’s practically an album unto itself. A gorgeous record and one that has enriched my excitement for Ancestors as they continue to throw creativity in the face of expectation and not look back either on what they’ve done before or what others think they should be doing.

1. Saint Vitus, Lillie: F-65

I’m more than happy to confess that part of my enduring affection for Lillie: F-65 comes from the fact that it’s Saint Vitus‘ first album in 17 years. If you want to tell me which part of that isn’t a totally valid reason to make it number one on this list, I’ll listen. It might not change my mind about the album, which arrives following three successfully reunited years touring and doing shows together. Led as ever by the stripped-down songwriting of guitarist Dave Chandler (interview here), Saint Vitus perfectly reinvigorated their most classic methods on Lillie: F-65 (review here) without sounding like they were wearing a suit that didn’t fit. The Tony Reed-produced album was the first to be fronted by Scott “Wino” Weinrich since 1990’s V, and proved that the chemistry between he and Chandler is a huge part of what has made the band legendary in American doom these last several decades. Together with bassist Mark Adams and drummer Henry Vasquez, Chandler and Wino issued the greatest of 2012’s doom triumphs so far, and in a mere fucked-up, feedback-soaked 33 minutes silenced every reunion naysayer with ears to hear their distant scream. Saint Fucking Vitus.

Wouldn’t be a list without a fair bit of honorable mentions. First to Snail, whose Terminus will probably end up on the year-end list when the time for that arrives, and also to C.O.C., High on Fire, Les Discrets, Wino & Conny Ochs and Electric Moon. Been a pretty good year so far. Here’s to the next six months of it.

Leap of Faith is the second full-length from Austin, Texas-based multi-instrumentalist Danny Grochow – aka Danny G. His first outing was 2010’s Ocean of Stars. Like its follow-up, Ocean of Stars was recorded over the course of February’s 28 days with Grochow as a participant in the RPM Challenge to create an album from scratch in a month’s time. No word on whether the extra day he got from 2012 being a leap year gave him a leg up on Leap of Faith, or whether the title is a reference to that, but the fact remains that for being put down on a digital eight-track in a month and for Grochow having played guitar, bass and drums as well as recorded himself and done the full art layout on his own, it’s an impressive feat. That’s not to say it’s perfect, but I don’t think perfection is the idea in the first place, and for what Grochow is playing on Leap of Faith’s six tracks, the kind of self-contained, humble production actually fits really well. Something too overblown wouldn’t work, but the atmosphere on even more active material like “Rare Earth Metals” is intimate, and while the flirtations with psychedelia on opener “Leap of Faith: Symphony in D Standard” don’t really come across with the swirl reaching as far into space as it otherwise might, Grochow is more than able to get his point across, his effectively layered guitar leading the way there and almost at every other point on the entirely instrumental album.

It’s a better headphone listen, as proximity of volume seems to push the songs more to the forefront of consciousness, but part of what makes Leap of Faith work through speakers is the chill factor, that you can put it on and let it zone you out while you listen. That may not be the most in-your-face approach, but the Brant Bjork-style grooves on “Leap of Faith: Symphony in D Standard” or the later “Give us the Key” make it seem like laid back was Grochow’s intent all along, and it’s something these songs have in common with Ocean of Stars. It’s not that the music doesn’t get heavy – “Rare Earth Metals” has more dynamic range on both ends than it might immediately seem following the skillfully played nylon acoustics of “Luna en Sombra” – but that even when it does, the production allows for a consistency of atmosphere. There’s only so far it’s going to go, and indeed, only so far it wants to go. Grochow, whose main gig is playing bass with the blues rocking Eric Tessmer Band, shows a clear love of guitar. Maybe that’s a way for him to shake up his routine, but he’s obviously capable of using the instrument, electrically or acoustic, to set and build ambience. Leap of Faith is solo without being self-indulgent and engaging without losing its underlying lonely sensibility – a surprising balance that deepens the listen. It’s not definitively rock, or heavy rock, but vaguely progressive and an honest-sounding exploration. Somewhere else, some other context, a drumless song like “Krim: The Sound of Kali” might be bedroom-type neo folk.

Read more »

[mp3player width=480 height=140 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=aot27-beaches-of-the-middle-coast.xml]

Download Here.

It wasn’t when I was standing in Ramalama Records in Toledo, or when I took my stack of goodies up to the counter at Flat, Black and Circular in Lansing, but by the time I left Days of the Doomed II in Wisconsin, I knew I had enough to make a new podcast from all the assembled bits of Buried Treasure. I guess it’s not so dissimilar from the last podcast, but instead of covering two weeks in Europe, it covers about three days in the Midwest. Wow. Say it like that and the trip seems pretty intense.

And so it was. The resulting podcast follows suit. You’ll find it heavy on the doom — perhaps somewhat predictably — with tracks from fest performers like Blizaro, Orodruin, Sanctus Bellum and Earthen Grave, and there’s a lot of newer stuff featured from what I picked up. If you missed the Apostle of Solitude stream the other day, their “Die Vicar Die” from the new Demo 2012 shows up here, but even some of the stuff I picked up record shopping falls under a doomier mindset — see new Candlemass, which starts us off, as well as Paradise Lost, Unorthodox, Saturnalia Temple and Solitude Aeturnus. Must have just been the kind of headspace I was in.

Either way, listening back to it now, I think it’s a cool mix. How many times in your life are you going to go from Amebix to Pelican in a one-two punch? Six? Well, let this be one of them. You might notice that around the two-hour mark, things start to get a little tripped out, with Diagonal, Funkadelic, Hawkwind, Six Organs of Admittance, Amon Düül II and Master Musicians of Bukkake. That’s on purpose. By the time I was about three hours out on my drive home, I was so doomed out that all I wanted to listen to was psych and drone and weirdo stuff, so those were the records I put on. As that was something of the trip I hadn’t yet covered — about the only thing — I wanted to make sure that side of things was represented. Total coverage, dude.

But whether you’re mired in psychedelic indulgences or doomly woes, I hope you enjoy listening. The final tally was 26 songs in two hours and 51 minutes, which is fitting, since I didn’t actually want it to be long enough for a 15-hour drive.

Please stream audiObelisk Transmission 027 on the player above and download by following the link embedded in the flyer at the top of this post, or by clicking here to go to the archive.org download page. Full tracklist with timestamps is after the jump.

Read more »