With a limited CD version of their Wood and Wire split with acoustic alter ego project Coma Wall forthcoming, morose UK doomers Undersmile have released a new video for the track “Soil” from the release. Wood and Wire (track premiere here) came out on Shaman Recordings earlier this year and the CD will be released by Future Noise with Coma Wall reinterpreting the Undersmile track “Big Wow.”
No word yet on preorders for the CD version, but check out the “Soil” clip below directed by M. Arthur Wickson and the PR wire info that follows:
Undersmile, “Soil” official video
UNDERSMILE Premier New Video For The Track ‘Soil’ On The Sleeping Shaman
UNDERSMILE and director M. Arthur Wickson are very happy to present the music video for the song “Soil” taken from the band’s recent split EP ‘Wood & Wire’, released on beautiful transparent purple 12” vinyl by Shaman Recordings.
The video was filmed in the spring of 2013 at various locations, but primarily in and around Shaken Oak Farm where the band recorded their half of the split with acoustic alter-egos COMA WALL. Directed and edited by M. Arthur Wickson (who also produced the band’s previous music video for “Milk”), the “Soil” video attempts to capture more of the band’s live energy – apt for a song that has recently become a staple of their live set. Check out the premierover on The Sleeping Shaman.
In other news, UNDERSMILE are also extremely pleased to announce that a limited edition CD of ‘Wood & Wire‘ is to be released in June/July on Future Noise Recordings, the label which also released last year’s ‘Narwhal‘. The CD will feature an exclusive bonus track in the form of COMA WALL’s take on UNDERSMILE’s “Big Wow,” as well as more artwork (the original concept sketches) from the talented Craig Bryant. Pre-orders will be available soon via Future Noise Recordings.
The CD tracklisting is: 1. Coma Wall – Summer 2. Coma Wall – You Are My Death 3. Coma Wall – Big Wow (bonus track) 4. Coma Wall – Cutter’s Choice 5. Undersmile – Soil 6. Undersmile – Killer Bob 7. Undersmile – Hives
UNDERSMILE and COMA WALL only have a handful of live dates left in 2013 as both bands will be taking a break, with UNDERSMILE soon to be recording a song for a 12” split with Nottingham’s titanic duo Bismuth and COMA WALL beginning to make plans for their next release. Their upcoming dates are as follows:
1st June – Gullivers in Manchester – Undersmile with Ishmael, Grimpen Mire and Bastard of the Skies *this may be Ishmael’s last ever gig 29th June – Summer Sizzler all-dayer @ the Windmill, Brixton – Undersmile & Coma Wall will be performing with a great line-up of other bands *Undersmile’s final gig of the year 21st July – The Racehorse, Northampton – Coma Wall with M E R R I N and Nick Hudson – a night of music and improvised video 9th – 11th August – SUPERNORMAL FESTIVAL @ Brazier’s Park, Oxford – Coma Wall.
‘Wood & Wire’ will be available on vinyl at all of the above dates, and the CD will hopefully be available from the Summer Sizzler onwards.
In his first Spine of Overkill column since the passing of Jeff Hanneman, Chris “Woody High” MacDermott pays homage to the late Slayer guitarist and recalls the glory days of Haunting the Chapel and Hell Awaits. It’s as fitting a tribute as I could imagine.
Should you happen to be in the area, Woody‘s band, Mighty High, have a gig this Friday in Brooklyn. The show is at The Grand Victory and Black Thai, Infernal Overdrive and Tarpit Boogie share the bill. More info on Thee Facebooks.
Enjoy:
The death of Jeff Hanneman hit every metal fan hard. Fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR are one of the few bands that all metal heads agree on. When it was announced earlier this month that Jeff had passed away from liver failure everyone was reaching for their favorite fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR album to blast at maximum volume. For most, it’s the 1986 classic Reign in Blood, one of the greatest metal albums of all time for sure. But when old dudes like me want to get nostalgic, we reach for the ones that came before the Reign.
My last Spine of Overkill column was all about picking sides in 1983. Great bands were beginning to get stale and a new breed were emphasizing everything faster, louder and more intense. Fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR‘s debut Show No Mercy came out in December 1983 and there was no turning back for me. Show No Mercy was a great album of Venom-fueled Satanic panic but there was a lot of competition out there. Every month there was at least one new demo tape of blasphemous speed arriving in my mailbox, not to mention the deluge hitting the racks at the record stores. How was fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR going to keep my attention and avoid getting confused with another band called Slayer from San Antonio? The answer arrived in June 1984, when Metal Blade issued the three-song Haunting the Chapel 12″ single. EPs (extended plays) were kind of unusual for metal, even more so in America. British bands like Motörhead, Iron Maiden, Saxon, etc., had a tradition of releasing singles in both 7″ and 12″ formats with great artwork and killer jams on the B-side, usually one unreleased song or exclusive live versions. Diehards would buy both versions but if you could only afford one, it was always the 12″. In early ’84, Metallica put out a 12″ of “Jump in the Fire” with supposedly live versions of “Seek and Destroy” and “Phantom Lord” on the flip side. The cover art was cool even if it was kind of an unexciting release. Later in ’84, Metallica would put out a 12″ of “Creeping Death” from their forthcoming Ride the Lightning album with great covers of Diamond Head‘s “Am I Evil?” and Blitzkrieg‘s “Blitzkrieg” on the back. Still one of the best things they ever put out and my blue vinyl version is one of my prize possessions.
But fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR‘s Haunting the Chapel was a totally different story. This was three brand new songs and no mention anywhere on the sleeve of “from the forthcoming album…” It was also in a legit cardboard album cover, not one of those flimsy, top loading sleeves that 12″ import singles came in. As usual, I waited to read what Bob Muldowney had to say about it in his essential zine Kick*Ass. He gave it a rave review and I picked it up immediately. As great as Show No Mercy was, fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR made a huge leap forward on this release. The six minute “Chemical Warfare” was the only song on side A. The first thing I thought of was of the Dead Kennedy‘s song with the same title. As soon as I dropped the needle down, I instantly forgot it. With “Chemical Warfare” fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR also made me forget about most bands. Holy shit. I knew right away that any band bragging about being the fastest and heaviest was now full of shit. After playing “Chemical Warfare” a few times in a row I decided to give the other side a try, figuring it probably wouldn’t be as good. Turns out I was wrong. “Captor of Sin” starts off with a drumstick count off and someone yelling in the background before launching into a frenzied Mercyful Fate-inspired romp. The pounding chorus is still one of my favorites to yell along with – “Hot! Wings of hell! Burns! In my wake! Death! Is what you pray! BEHOLD! Captor of Sin!” The Venom-inspired title-track wraps up the blasphemy. Apparently, recording engineer Bill Metoyer was a religious sort and the opening lyrics of “the holy cross, symbol of lies” made him question his career path. Another fun fact is that while recording this EP, DaveLombardo‘s drums were sliding around on the floor. I guess no cinder blocks were around so Dark Angel drummer and fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR roadie Gene Hoglan held the kit together while Dave bashed the skins.
The Haunting the Chapel EP only made impatient headbangers like me want more fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR. Luckily there were new albums from Venom, Exciter, CelticFrost and VoiVod to keep me happy when I wasn’t blasting Motörhead’s No Remorse for the rest of 1984. Fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR threw us a bone later in the year with another EP, this one a picture disc called Live Undead. Side one had three songs from Show No Mercy recorded live in a New York studio — “Black Magic,” “Die by the Sword” and “Show No Mercy.” The performances were definitely live but the people screaming in the background sounded like they were added later. The other side had the same studio versions of “Captor of Sin” and “Haunting the Chapel” from the EP as well as “The Final Command” from Show No Mercy. I had heard it was going to include a cover of Judas Priest‘s “Dissident Aggressor” but that didn’t get recorded until 1988’s South of Heaven. Live Undead was cool to have for the artwork but only made me want new fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR as soon as possible.
Thankfully, the wait wasn’t too long and in the spring I got my hands on Hell Awaits. I had trouble finding it at first but a dude I was tape trading with on Long Island grabbed a copy for me at Slipped Disc in Valley Stream and mailed it to me. Can’t remember the dude’s name but whoever you are, wherever you are, thanks again. Hell Awaits is still my favorite fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR album. The front cover is low budget but scary. The back cover is even cooler with all the live photos of the band. No more raccoon eye makeup for fuckin’ SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR. Kerry’s armband full of nails immediately made me think of the one Richie Stotts wears on the cover of Coup D’Etat by the Plasmatics. Someone should ask Kerry if that’s where he got his inspiration. The full band shot is awesome. They’re all headbanging, there are upside down crosses on the amps and a huge cloud of smoke so you can’t see the drummer just like on Priest‘s Unleashed in the East. I interviewed Reed Mullin of Corrosion of Conformity for my high school newspaper right around this time and we were both really psyched that Jeff was wearing a C.O.C. shirt on the back cover.
The first spin of Hell Awaits is something I’ll never forget. The long intro with the chanting seemed to go on forever. It sounded like they were saying “synot” over and over but I knew this was a backwards message just like at the start of Venom‘s “In League with Satan.” When I stopped the turntable and began spinning it back I was thrilled to discover they were saying “join us!” Hell yeah, I knew this was gonna be good. Once the music kicked in, it was exactly what I had hoped for. Seven long songs that were totally heavy, totally fast, totally Satanic, drowning in reverb. It sounded like they had snuck into a cathedral and recorded it there under a full moon. I loved every song but side one with “Hell Awaits,” “Kill Again” and “At Dawn They Sleep” remains my favorite SLLLAAAAYYYEEERRR side to this day. The photo collage on the lyric sheet is still fun to look at. There’s a shot of all four members of VoiVod wearing Show No Mercy shirts. There’s another cool photo of them partying with Mercyful Fate. Every tiny photo is jam packed with stuff that I wanted to do back then — snort giant rails off the bar, harass a life size MichaelJackson cutout, hold a can of beer and scream, etc. A fun fact about Hell Awaits is that it was mixed by Ron Fair, who would later go on to be a big pop music producer for the Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls, etc. Only in Hollywood!
Farewell, Jeff. Thank you for helping to accelerate my bad habits and antisocial behavior the last 30 years. Kill again!
Rarely does a young guitarist blend acoustic resonance and droning textures and come across sounding anything other than self-indulgent, but when it comes to Floridian six-and-12-stringer Sean Proper (aka Sean Wrubel), the balance sounds easy. With a variety of fingerpicking methods, Proper is able to evoke surprisingly rich atmospherics using what seem like simple and even minimalist methods on the new 28-minute self-release, Canal Machinery. The drama is immediate from the start of the first track, “1.”
All five of Canal Machinery‘s pieces follow that numerical course in their titling, which doesn’t do much to highlight the differences between them — like the dense weaving of notes that “2” brings about, vaguely Western in its feel but not at all countrified, or the sprawl of “4” and the tension it builds, or the wandering sensibility of “3” or the final contemplations of “5” — but the songs, such as they are, stand up on their own in terms of mood and ambience. As the last of them, “5” stands out as particularly resonant, the 12-string guitar arriving at what feels like a thick riff given punctuation by harder strums and plucks, resulting in a layered feel that holds its intrigue to the very end.
Wrubel has a couple releases under his belt using the Sean Proper moniker, all released this year. FFScompiles earlier recordings from 2005-2009, and Live at Newcollege 2/15 is, as the title would indicate, a live recording, so to get an idea for the kinds of textures the project is aiming to achieve, Canal Machineryseems like it’s the way to go. And if three releases within the span of five months hints at anything, it’s that it probably won’t be all that long before Sean Proper has a follow-up in the works. All the better.
You can hear Sean Proper‘s Canal Machinerynow as part of the regular rotation on The Obelisk Radio as well as check it out and grab a free download from the Bandcamp player below. Either way, enjoy:
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 29th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Quick to shirk expectation, London trio Vodun are a band for the jaded bastard in us all. Their recently-released debut Eat up the Sun draws a line somewhere between the stirring wails that stand out front of an act like Witch Mountain and the Kuti-worship that has arisen in the neo-psych theatrics of Swedish mongers Goat, only with Vodun it’s heavier and peppered by start-stop intricacies and off-time rhythmic complexities that make good on the threat that anything can happen at any time. Psychedelic soul metal? Yeah, maybe. Certainly on “Aida Wedo.”
The announcement came down the PR wire today that Vodun will follow-up Eat up the Sun with a single called OYA on Superhot Records that will be out on June 10. Behold words and free downloads for the brazen of spirit:
Superhot Records to release single, OYA by heavy psych soul trio Vodun on 10th June
Vodun, the ex-Invasion heavy-psych-soul trio from London have teamed up with Superhot Records to release their upcoming single OYA, on 10th June 2013. The band are hosting a release party on 7th June at The Victoria in Dalston, London where they will also show an exclusive screening of the video for OYA. The video and digital single will be available direct from Superhot Records, Vodun, iTunes and Spotify from Monday 10th.
Featuring two members of one London’s finest underground bands, Invasion, who disbanded in 2011, Vodun have taken the basic blueprint of that band, added a huge West African voodoo influence and ramped up the intensity across the board. Chan (vocals) and Zel (drums) found a kindred spirit in Oli (guitar) and emerged as a more technically accomplished, musically aggressive and energetic band.
OYA follows on from the self released EP Eat up the Sun; 7 songs recorded over 2 days at Holy Mountain studios. The EP was launched in April earlier this year at a sold out show in London which also doubled as their first live outing as a band. The EP showcases their particularly original blend of shredding guitars, forceful drumming and soulful vocals and is currently available direct from the band’s own Bandcamp:http://vodun.bandcamp.com/.
Sandwiched in the rather considerable Stage 1 lineup by Weedeater and the Melvins, with Down headlining, The Obsessed played Maryland Deathfest XI this past Saturday as part of a far reaching roster of talent that found them joined on other stages by acts like Aosoth, Weekend Nachos and Broken Hope. Just in case you had any idea what to expect, ever, I guess.
The footage below was filmed by Frank Huang, whose venerable dedication over the years has resulted in a staggering catalog of clips you can check out here (among other places), and who caught The Obsessed just as they were starting into “Hiding Mask” from 1991’s Lunar Womb. I don’t know where that was in the set, and if he was just using the fest’s backline — one of these years I’ll get to an MDF, I swear it — but it’s kind of cool to see and hear Wino playing through Emperor heads and cabs, which capture the low end of his fuzz really well. “Hiding Mask” has that quintessential mid-paced groove that a lot of The Obsessed‘s stuff nestled into, and though the vocals are down in the video, you can still get a feel for what the trio were getting up to this weekend.
Speaking of “the trio,” you might note bassist Reid Raley in place of Guy Pinhas, who’s currently playing with Victor Griffin in In~Graved, who recently returned from a European tour that included stops at both Desertfests, Roadburn and Doom Shall Rise and who will also be playing Days of the Doomed III next month in Wisconsin — so yeah, plenty busy. Raley you might recognize from Arkansas’ Rwake, but he fits in well with Wino and drummer Greg Rogers, both of whom kill it on “Hiding Mask” and “Mourning” from 1994’s The Church Within, which follows immediately.
This video has been making the rounds on Thee Facebooks — unless my feed is just unusually Wino-centric, which is possible — but as it’s so brandy new, I thought it was worth including it here for Wino Wednesday as well. Enjoy:
The Obsessed, “Hiding Mask” & “Mourning” at MDF XI, May 25, 2013
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 29th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
I know some questions were going around regarding what happened to the live High on Fire recordings from New York last year. Well, the PR wire has the answer:
HIGH ON FIRE TO RELEASE TWO LIVE ALBUMS
Pre-Orders Available Now!
Bay area titans HIGH ON FIRE will release “Spitting Fire” Volumes 1 & 2 on June 18th, 2013. The track list spans the course of the band’s history with hits like “Fertile Green,” “Frost Hammer” and “10,000 Years.”
“Spitting Fire” was recorded live in two marquee New York City venues; The Music Hall Of Williamsburg and The Bowery Ballroom. It was later mixed by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios in Oakland, CA with additional engineering by Kurt Ballou.
Multiple pre-order options are now available including limited edition vinyl bundles and iTunes .
High On Fire cannot be defined by their sound on tape alone. “Spitting Fire” is a vivid snapshot of the band’s massive sounding live show, which for fans who have yet to witness, are clearly missing out.
Volume 1. 1. Serums Of Liao 2. Frost Hammer 3. 10,000 Years 4. Devolution 5. Last 6. Fertile Green 7. Speedwolf
Volume 2. 1. Rumors Of War 2. DII 3. Fury Whip 4. Madness Of An Architect 5. Face Of Oblivion 6. Hung Drawn and Quartered 7. Blood From Zion 8. Snakes For The Divine
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 28th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
If the response to the track streamed here is anything to go by, the Neurot debut from Arkansas-based Iron Tongue, The Dogs Have Barked, the Birds Have Flown, arrives with no shortage of advance fanfare, but might still prove a creeper to the general public. Catching immediate attention because of Rwake‘s Chris “CT” Terry in the frontman role, the moody Southern grooves and heavy vibes nonetheless carve out their own identity across the album’s seven cuts, and it was for that reason I thought the record was worth a release date plug. The Dogs Have Barked, the Birds Have Flown is out now.
PR wire info and a live clip of opener “Ever After” follow here:
IRON TONGUE Debut Out Today Via Neurot!
Neurot Recordings is pleased to release the debut from Arkansas southern rock collective IRON TONGUE! Fronted by Chris “CT” Terry, the founding frontman of sludge legion Rwake, IRON TONGUE formed when a group of veteran players with diverse musical backgrounds found a common interest in the need to get down and dirty and way, way gone.
Churning a soulful blend of girthy, heavily amped, blues-based rock, IRON TONGUE aren’t singing of magical moonlit escapades. The band offer up songs of pain, regret and heartache that recall everything from the proto-metal stomp of Blue Cheer and Grand Funk to the darkest hours of Kiss, Deep Purple, Buddy Guy and ‘Skynyrd. Having spent over three years performing steadily throughout the South, IRON TONGUE has traversed the Midwest and East Coast with Memphis kindred spirits The Dirty Streets, in addition to sharing bills with the likes of Black Tusk, Scott Kelly, The Sword, High on Fire, Crowbar, The Body, Lita Ford and fellow Arkansans Pallbearer. A split 7” with The Dirty Streets, featuring a ballsy version of KISS’s “Two Timer” served as a precursor to the creation their debut full-length for Neurot.
Titled The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown, the seven track offering was recorded and produced by soundsmith Billy Anderson (Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis, etc) at IRON TONGUE guitarist Jason Tedford’s Wolfman Studios. Called “a solid slab of balls to the wall shameless rock, with a power and an edge and soul that rarely exists in music today,” by Neurosis’ Steve Von Till, The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown is set for release via Neurot Recordings on May 27th in Europe and May 28th in North America.
Comments drummer Stan James of joining the Neurot family: “IRON TONGUE is excited and honored to be a part of the Neurot team! We are looking forward to working hard every step of the way and we are committed to making music that everyone will be proud of.”
IRON TONGUE: Jason Tedford – Guitar Mark Chiaro – Guitar Andy Warr – Bass Stan James – Drums CT – Vocals JR Top – Keyboards Stephanie Smittle – Backing Vocals
Posted in On the Radar on May 28th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Honing classic tonality and a sense of fluid experimentalism, desert rock upstarts Fever Dog make a strong statement of intent on their new single Lady Snowblood, proffering organic burl and power-trio chemistry offset by synth drama and stonerly boogie. The are only two tracks on the thing, but both “Lady Snowblood/Child of the Netherworlds” and “Hats off to Andrew Bowen (Live Version)” go a long way in hinting that Fever Dog have more going on than fuzz riffs and Kyuss-derivative idolatry.
“Hats off to Andrew Bowen” particularly owes much more to Hendrix than anything commonly belonging to the desert genre, but even “Lady Snowblood/Child of the Netherworlds” show the young outfit as capable of enacting a strikingly natural, jammy groove that brings the listener along to the extent that, when it breaks into the bizarro Floydian synth, one is hardly jarred at all by the change. Indeed, the second of the two extended cuts has its freakout on both ends, going from the instrumental push to theremin-inclusive guitar vibing that results in headphone-worthy psychedelic atmospherics. The three piece of guitarist/vocalist Danny Graham (also theremin), bassist Nathan Wood (also noise) and drummer Josh Adams (also synth) made their full-length debut with the aptly-titled CD Volume One on Interstellar Overlord Records, which was no less ably riffed or stylistically intriguing, a cut like “Since I Met You” blending Melvins-style vocal snarl with the bell-bottomed garage fuckall that inspired that band in the first place — a break of fuzzy noise thrown in just to throw off, it would seem — but the single shows them working in longer form than the vast majority of the full-length, and they’re suited to it, both in the moodier blues stretches and the unexpected turns that answer them.
Both the single and the full-length have the vocals pretty forward in the mix — obviously it’s less of an issue on “Hats off to Andrew Bowen,” which is instrumental — resulting on “Lady Snowblood” in a kind of younger Alice Cooper sneer, but when it comes to the guitar, bass and drums and the extras Fever Dog have working in favor of their material, there’s little about the Lady Snowblood single I can find to take issue with, and it would seem that as much as the notion of “desert rock” conjures a specific notion in the mind of the listener, there are still some around intent on expanding that definition even as they continue to refine it. Very cool sound, lots of places they could go sonically. One to watch for sure.
