Holy shit, Roadburn. Where the hell are you putting all these bands?

I knew there were a few more adds to come from Roadburn 2015, but to get another 20-plus in a single shot is something of a surprise. Take it as a reminder of the scale of this thing and of the beast that Roadburn 2015 has become and how, with five stages across three venues, it seems ever more on the march to consume the whole town center of Tilburg in the Netherlands. To call it astounding feels like underselling it.

Today, in addition to posting this massive round of adds to Roadburn 2015, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be covering the festival for the seventh time and, for the second year in a row, serving as editor of the in-fest ‘zine, the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, working with The Sleeping Shaman’s Lee Edwards as in 2014 to bring a daily publication to life for each day of the fest. I’m thrilled to be involved in the Roadburn crew in this small way again and can’t wait to get to work again with Lee and a host of writers way more talented than myself at putting this thing together. In fact, I think I’ll get started now.

While I do that, here’s the latest from Roadburn. If you’re wondering why I grabbed the Moaning Cities Bandcamp stream for the bottom of the post out of all the bands added today — Abrahma, BardSpec, Death Penalty, Robert Hampson of Loop, the entire nation of Belgium, etc. — it’s because every year there’s one band at Roadburn that I wind up kicking myself in the ass for missing, and going by what I’ve checked out so far of Moaning Cities‘ Pathways through the Sail, I don’t want it to be them. Call it a reminder to myself.

Okay, here’s that info:

New additions announced including ‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ act, and artists for curated event

Roadburn Festival is pleased to announce new additions to the 20th edition of the festival. The festival will take place April 9th-12th in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Both day tickets and weekend tickets are currently on sale.

More details confirmed for curated event

Roadburn 2015’s curators Wardruna’s Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik and Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson have almost completed the line up for their event on Friday April 10. Loop main man, Robert Hampson and Swedish psych heroes, Agusa will both perform alongside Focus, Death Hawks, Sólstafir and others. BardSpec – the Ambient project/band from Enslaved composer/guitarist Ivar – will also perform at the event. Einar will present a workshop which will delve into his approach to music and the extensive creative concept behind Wardruna´s ongoing ‘Runaljod’ trilogy as well as his approach and study of the runes and other Norse esoteric arts. He will demonstrate a selection of the oldest Nordic instruments, play fully accoustic Wardruna music and there will also be time for questions from the audience.

For information on Robert Hampson, CLICK HERE
For information on Agusa, CLICK HERE
For information on BardSpec, CLICK HERE
For information on Einar Selvik, CLICK HERE

‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ & Belgium focus

This year, ‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ will focus on Belgium. Over the years, Belgium has become a hotbed of musical creativity, ranging from indie to garage rock, and virtually everything in between. Whether it’s a dark, psychedelic slant, an insatiable need to worship thee riff, or even developing a cult of their own, only to lure us into their spiraling-netherworld… there’s something about these bands that embodies the spirit of Roadburn.
The mysterious and yet bizarre Belgian band, Briqueville, will connect with the Roadburn community at the 013 on Saturday, April 11th.

In keeping with the Belgian theme, Brussels-based Moaning Cities, will bring their fuzzed-out, and sitar-driven psychedelia to Stage01 on Thursday, April 9th.
In collaboration with one of Belgium’s foremost bookings agencies, RuffStuffMusic, we offer Your Highness, King Hiss, Tangled Horns, Ashtoreth, and Miava an outlet in front of the receptive and open-minded Roadburn crowd on Saturday, April 11th at Cul de Sac. These up and coming talents richly deserve their place in the Roadburn line up and we’re thrilled to host such exciting, cutting edge bands as these alongside Roadburn’s established acts.

For more information on Briqueville, CLICK HERE
For more information on Moaning Cities, CLICK HERE
For more information on RuffStuffMusic: Your Highness, King Hiss, Tangled Horns, Ashtoreth, and Miava, CLICK HERE

New Additions to Line Up

The lineup for for Cul de Sac, the intimate music cafe, and Roadburn’s official fifth stage, located across from the 013 venue, is shaping up very nicely. We’re aiming to present four to five bands on each of the four days, Thursday through Sunday.

It is with enormous pride that Roadburn gets to announce a truly unique performance as Gnaw Their Tongues will bring their groundbreaking noise/doom/black metal assault to the festival on Sunday April 12th. Joining them will be torchbearers of French heavy rock, Paris-based Abrahma, Tilburg’s very own IZAH, and high octane Swedish rockers, Hypnos.

Today, we’re also excited to report that Verbum Verus, the Dutch black metal band, known for their intense live performances, will shroud Roadburn Festival in darkness with their hymns of praise on Thursday, April 9. We’re very pleased to announce that Big Naturals, Salope, City of Ships and Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell will complete the Friday lineup at Cul de Sac. And, given how fond we are of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, we’ve invited them to do two performances; they will also play the Green Room on Sunday, April 12.

Back over at the 013, we will have the riff-heavy Death Penalty playing on Saturday, April 11th – featuring ex-members of Cathedral and Serpentcult, this is going to be one show you don’t want to miss.

For more information on Gnaw Their Tongues, CLICK HERE
For more information on Abrahma, IZAH & Hypnos, CLICK HERE
For more information on Verbum Verus, CLICK HERE
For more information on City of Ships, Big Naturals etc, CLICK HERE
For more information on Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, CLICK HERE
For more information on Death Penalty, CLICK HERE

http://www.roadburn.com/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival

Moaning Cities, Pathways through the Sail (2014)

While the title immediately evokes connotations for the band itself, the fact remains that Torche‘s Restarter could just as easily refer to an interpersonal relationship or someone who decides to go back and beat Super Mario 3 again. The lyrics for the song itself, which closes out Torche‘s 10-track/39-minute Relapse Records debut, are minimal and vague, just a couple lines amid nine minutes of steady riffing that carry the record to its finish. Like most of everything, it’s more likely not relegated to a single idea, but if the title provokes intrigue, so too does the album itself. Torche‘s fourth overall, Restarter follows 2012’s Harmonicraft (review here), which, while engaging as ever in Torche‘s blend of heavy tonality and melodic or harmonized vocals and irresistible hooks, was shortly and perhaps too easily upstaged by the subsequent single, Harmonslaught, which promised heavier things to come. It’s only been three years since Harmonicraft, but it feels like a long three years, with guitarist/vocalist Steve Brooks having released the Oblation full-length (review here) in 2014 with the reactivated trio Floor and toured to support it and Torche guitarist/vocalist Andrew Elstner, bassist Jonathan Nuñez and drummer Rick Smith having also pursued other projects in the interim (Shitstorm, Tilts). I wouldn’t say Torche were ever really inactive or too far from public consciousness, but between the members coming back together to make this record and the signing to Relapse — a fitting home for a group so respected and prone to extended touring — it’s an easy enough argument to make that they’re trying to make a fresh start.

If that’s the case, they’re in a tough position. Like many acts with such a distinctly individual, almost singular style — think Slayer, Napalm Death, SunnO))), or even to a certain extend Torche‘s recent tourmates, Clutch — Torche can’t veer too far from their signature blend of pop and heft without coming across as a completely different band. Restarter has a few bolder steps in songs like the slower groove of the ultra-catchy call to arms “Minions” and the near-brooding “No Servants,” Smith using half-time drums to make the material sound even more spacious than the tones he’s punctuating, but the sound is still unmistakable for anyone who’s heard Torche since 2008’s Meanderthal sophomore outing, their process having been refined and tightened after a transitional (in bridging Brooks from Floor to Torche) but clarion 2005 self-titled debut, and while opener “Annihilation Affair” absolutely crushes and caps with about a minute and a half of vicious feedback and noise backed by plodding toms, once “Bishop in Arms” kicks in with Brooks and Elstner in harmony, Torche are very much Torche. Nonetheless, the variety and energy they bring to the progression here gives Restarter a particularly mature feel while still remembering to have a good time in the post-“Minions” midsection trio of “Loose Men,” “Undone” and “Blasted.” Three shorter tracks — Torche are no strangers to songs under three minutes — they’re a familiar but welcome rush of hooks, melody and dense riffing, “Loose Men” a hook-fueled blast, “Undone” a tonal push that presages “Barrier Hammer” still to come and “Blasted” a righteous showing of form that ends the side A on a high note both in mood and tempo.

Side B is a different animal altogether. Where four out of the six tracks on Restarter‘s first half are under three minutes long, the second half breathes a little more, with “No Servants,” “Believe It” and the aforementioned “Barrier Hammer” hovering around four minutes each before the nine-minute closing title cut. A feedback-laden start brings about a grandiose stomp for “No Servants” that feels somewhat in conversation with “Minions” in its riff, but gives way to the even-bigger-sounding “Believe It,” which meshes understated vocals with one of the album’s more furious instrumental progressions, the contrast effective in conveying both a sonic and emotional lumbering, lead guitar getting the last word in a long-ish fadeout perhaps meant to lull the listener away from consciousness so that “Barrier Hammer” can thunder in with that much more impact. Frankly, it doesn’t hurt, but the song doesn’t need the help. In addition to being the best use of Brooks‘ bomb-tone guitar since “Tarpit Carnivore” from the 2007 In Return EP, the track brims with purpose and stews in its righteousness. Two verses, a quick, gruff recitation of the title line and they get out of the way and let the riff have its space. One imagines it would be a beast coming through a P.A. of decent size, but on Restarter, it also serves to pick up from “Believe It” and transition into the vitality uptick of “Restarter” itself, which is comprised only of one or two riffs and the already-noted minimal lyrics, but proves hypnotic in its extended repetitions and smoothly river-currents the record to its end without losing focus on the way to its own deconstruction, the last minute-plus given to feedback, sustained guitar echo and swirl.

It’s a gorgeous and somewhat surprising finish. Torche have had extended closers since Meanderthal, but again, there’s an edge to “Restarter” and its method that underscores the band’s success in giving fresh edge to their established modus. I don’t know if Restarter is meant in reference to the band starting over or not, but they’ve made a record that, if that were the case, would make for a solid (new) beginning. This year marks a decade since their first album was released, and they’ve accomplished no small amount in that time, but if Restarter signifies anything at all, it’s that Torche‘s creative progression is ongoing and that while there are elements that will always reoccur, we haven’t yet encountered the full dynamic breadth of what they have to offer.

Torche, Restarter (2015)

Torche on Thee Facebooks

Restarter at Relapse Records

I’d ask you what has two thumbs and is very much looking forward to hearing what Wino & Conny Ochs have in store for their second collaborative record, Freedom Conspiracy, but I think you already know the punchline. The first Wino & Conny Ochs record, Heavy Kingdom (review here), was a joy, reveling in its own “Labour of Love” as the German singer-songwriter and the frontman of Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, etc., each seemed to sincerely appreciate what the other was bringing to the duo. They’ve been talking about “the next record” more or less since the debut came out on Exile on Mainstream, and on March 31, the label will release Freedom Conspiracy with US vinyl exclusive to Earsplit Distro.

The PR wire tells the tale:

WINO & CONNY OCHS: Exile On Mainstream Confirms Details For Second Collaborative LP From Iconic Singer/Songwriter Duo

Earsplit Distro To Carry Vinyl Exclusively For The US

It is with extreme pleasure for Germany’s Exile On Mainstream to announce the label’s next priority release, with the second collaborative album by one of the most strikingly natural singer/songwriter duos of these troubled modern times, SCOTT “WINO” WEINRICH and CONNY OCHS.

To backtrack a bit, the union of these two gritty, passionate musicians took place in 2010, as American doom/rock legend, WINO (Saint Vitus, The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand) was touring Europe on his own first full solo album, Adrift, which had just been released by Exile On Mainstream. Simultaneously, contemporary German solo vocalist/guitarist, CONNY OCHS, was preparing to release his debut solo album, Raw Love Songs, through the same label which saw the two artists billed together on this European trek. From there, an instant bond was formed, both as musicians as well as just like-minded humans. Instantaneously, musical ideas formed within this new brotherhood, which quickly grew into a courageous collaborative full-length studio album entitled Heavy Kingdom, released by Exile On Mainstream in 2012. The album showcased the organic songwriting skills through an incredibly passionate delivery. Heavy Kingdom elevated both artists as top-notch contemporary singer/songwriters in the eyes of the media and fans alike, and saw the duo taking their songcraft to the road heavily across Europe as well as North America.

That was just the beginning, as, since Heavy Kingdom was just seeing release, the pair had already began talking about “what was to come” in reference to new material they’d began plotting together. The time is now, as the second chapter from WINO & CONNY OCHS has recently been completed, the project actually having remained virtually unannounced and taking place behind closed doors over the past few years. With the artists being based on two different continents and remaining busy with their own solo endeavors, an opportune time to convene for some songwriting time never arrived, and the pair began trading ideas via email. This was not something that at all brought forth the magic and mastery which took place the first time, and after months of writing, the idea was scrapped, and last year, WINO voyaged back to Berlin to rendezvous with OCHS.

Recorded again at Kabumm Studio with producer Thommy Krawallo, as was their Heavy Kingdom LP, the newest collection of ambitious, harrowing and beautiful music created by WINO & CONNY OCHS not only brings forth the same quality of organically conceived folk/rock fans of the previous album should expect, it simply excels in every imaginable aspect, and now awaits release in early 2015 through their trusted alliance with Exile On Mainstream. Bearing the title Freedom Conspiracy, the record was written and recorded entirely with WINO & CONNY OCHS performing all instruments together, the approach slightly different from Heavy Kingdom as it has been created in a much more organic way with rudimentary ideas brought in by each and then carved into songs by both together. Fusing acoustic and electric guitars and with both artists’ standout vocal styles searing through these thirteen well-crafted brand new hymns, the initial recordings of the album date back to over a year ago, but even though the songs were done and recorded, these protagonists felt it had been rushed a bit in the end and final touches couldn’t be made with both together in the same room for reasons of other obligations. So it was put to rest and matured several months. Earlier in 2014 both went back in and basically stripped everything down to the bare bones, started from scratch, arranging the tracks differently and all of a sudden it clicked and brought forth forty-five minutes of some of the most refined, dynamic and unforgettable folk/rock music in years.

When asked what the album meant to the artists themselves, CONNY OCHS states: “Freedom Conspiracy means companionship. It means to have each other’s back. This album is about losing and finding belief. And fighting for it.” Adds WINO on the album: “Shits changin’ fast. With war on every corner, political theatre becoming increasingly more offensive, and Big Brother and the Globalists intensifying their slow takeover, we offer sounds and vibrations of love, death, happiness and pain! With this music and verse we hope the songs will inspire and uplift, and hopefully unite our searching spirits.”

With cover art by WINO & CONNY OCHS, Freedom Conspiracy will see deliverance on CD, LP and digital download in the US on March 31st, 2015, both LP and CD versions to be available from Earsplit Distro for wholesale and retail purchase (the LP exclusively) The release will be followed by international touring from the duo to be announced throughout the year. Fans of Woodie Guthrie, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Bob Dylan, The Black Crowes, Scott Kelly, Mike Scheidt and the like should make sure this duo is on your radar.

Stand by for audio samples and further release/tour info from WINO & CONNY OCHS’ Freedom Conspiracy campaign all year.

Freedom Conspiracy Track Listing:
1. Drain
2. Sound Of Blue
3. Foundation Chaos
4. Crystal Madonna
5. Shards
6. Time Out Blackout
7. Timeless Spirit
8. Freedom Conspiracy
9. Dirt Floor
10. Heavy Heart
11. Forever Gone
12. Invisible Bullets
13. The Great Destroyer

http://www.scottweinrich.com
http://www.facebook.com/ScottWeinrich
http://www.connyochs.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Conny-Ochs/112536815501097
http://www.mainstreamrecords.de
http://www.earsplitdistro.com

Wino & Conny Ochs, “Crystal Madonna” Live in L.A., Aug. 8, 2012

Two more adds to Eye of the Stoned Goat 5 this afternoon, and they expand the festival’s reach just about as far as it can go and still be in the continental US. The fest, which is set for June 12 and 13 in Amityville, Long Island, has just announced that Seattle’s Wounded Giant will make their first appearance and that Connecticut’s Curse the Son will return for their second time to the Eye of the Stoned Goat‘s migratory stage after taking part in Eye of the Stoned Goat 4 last May in Worcester, Massachusetts (review here).

What the bands have in common — besides riffs — is an allegiance with New Jersey-based STB Records. The label oversaw a long-awaited vinyl issue of Curse the Son‘s spectacularly stoned 2012 outing, Psychache (review here), last year, and a second pressing is already in the works for Wounded Giant‘s newly-released-and-gone split with Goya (review here) through STB, which as ever is giving the heavy due treatment in an assortment of limited pressings and special editions.

Wounded Giant will so far be traveling the farthest to attend Eye of the Stoned Goat 5, the lineup of which also features East Coast acts like Lord Fowl, White Dynomite, John Wilkes Booth, Weed is Weed, Gozu, Kingsnake and It’s Not Night: It’s Space, but I wouldn’t be surprised if fest organizer Brendan Burns has a couple tricks up his sleeve still to come for the two-day event. We’ll see what comes, I guess.

Announcements came through thusly:

You people ready for some more heavy hitters..?

Of course you are…

It’s a honor to have with us on this years fest, the blistering monstrous sounds of Seattle Washington’s very own Wounded Giant!!! Also on board for their second ‘Stoned Goat is Connecticut’s own, and STB Records stalwarts Curse the Son!!!

https://www.facebook.com/TheEyeOfTheStonedGoat
https://www.facebook.com/cursetheson
http://cursetheson.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wounded-Giant/156290301123402
http://woundedgiant.bandcamp.com/

Wounded Giant, Lightning Medicine (2013)

Curse the Son, Psychache (2012)

Among other things, no doubt, Minsk‘s first album in more than half a decade, The Crash and the Draw, continues Orion Landau‘s streak of righteous cover art. Details of the record are beginning to surface, including that side A boasts a progression spanning the length of four-tracks and that Sanford Parker, who’s no longer actually playing in the band, nonetheless helmed much of the recording. It’s been six years since With Echoes in the Movement of Stone (review here), and Minsk‘s lineup has been considerably revamped, so I’m not even sure that record can serve as any indicator of what to expect from a new outing, but damn I’m looking forward to finding out.

Minsk also tour Europe this Spring with Floor on a run that includes stops at Roadburn and Desertfest (dates here). The PR wire brings word about the record:

MINSK: Long-Running Sound Alchemists To Release First Full-Length In Six Years This Spring Via Relapse Records

Following a six-year slumber, Illinois enigmatic sound conjurors, MINSK, are readying to unveil the otherworldly fruit of their long-anticipated new studio creation, The Crash & The Draw.

Scattered between the sleepy city of Peoria and metropolis of Chicago and drawing inspiration from a remote Belarusian city that has been burned to the ground only to be rebuilt like a phoenix rising from its own ashes, MINSK has been cultivating sonic exploration and alchemical outpourings since 2002. Rooted in the post-metal landscape that brought forth visionaries like Neurosis and Isis, with their latest offering, The Crash & The Draw, MINSK step out of the shadows of the giants of their genre to create a psychedelic blend of melodic, trance-inducing heaviness. Recorded almost exclusively in The Prairie State, The Crash & The Draw was captured by the band alongside Sanford Parker (Twilight, Voivod, Eyehategod, Yob etc.) at Earth Analog in Tolono, mixed by Parker and MINSK at Hypercube in Chicago and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room in Chicago with additional vocal tracking by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Old Man Gloom, Floor etc.) at Antisleep Audio in Oakland, California and further tracking, editing, and mixing by Kevin Rendleman at Trash Rocket Audio and Aaron Austin at We Know Who You Are, both in Peoria. The record includes the striking cover creation of Orion Landau (Yob, Inter Arma, Red Fang etc.).

An instant contender for one of the most forward-thinking metal records of the year, The Crash & The Draw is a thematic continuation of the group’s long standing fascination with alchemical and esoteric ideologies, with marked nods toward the thought and writings of perennial inspiration, Kahlil Gibran, and the espoused words of Hermes Trismegistus, the fabled author of the Corpus Hermeticum and other sacred texts. The album boasts eleven arresting movements that transcend the confines of post-metal, sludge and psychedelia. A crucial sonic passage through dark and light that’s at once crushing, hallucinatory and at times, spiritually illuminating, tracks ebb and flow with a pastoral elegance and tangible urgency. A fitting audio soundscapade for those souls devoted to the manifestations of Neurosis, Rwake, Yob, Isis and the like.

The Crash & The Draw Track Listing:
1. To The Initiate
2. Within And Without
3. Onward Procession I. These Longest Of Days
4. Onward Procession II. The Soil Calls
5. Onward Procession III. The Blue Hour
6. Onward Procession IV. Return, The Heir
7. Conjunction
8. The Way Is Through
9. To You There Is No End
10. To The Garish Remembrance Of Failure
11. When The Walls Fell

The Crash & The Draw will be released via Relapse Records in North America on April 7th, 2015, April 3rd, 2015 in Germany, Benelux and Finland and April 6th, 2015 in the UK and rest of the world and will come available on CD, double LP and digitally. Further info including track teasers and preorder links to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

MINSK:
Aaron Austin – guitar, vocals
Christopher Bennett – guitar, vocals
Zachary Livingston – bass, vocals
Timothy Mead – vocals, keyboards
Kevin Rendleman – drums

http://www.facebook.com/Minsk
http://www.thesoundofminsk.com
http://www.relapse.com
http://www.facebook.com/relapserecords

Minsk, With Echoes in the Movement of Stone (2009)

Seattle trio Serial Hawk have a new album coming soon. Last year, before releasing their Lying in Wait 7″ in the fall, the three-piece made the trip to Portland, Oregon, to take part in the Ceremony of Sludge festival, along with Lamprey, Holy Grove, Blackwitch Pudding, Sioux, Disenchanter and others. Over the last couple months, parts of each act’s set have been premiered here. Serial Hawk played the first night of the fest, March 7, with Lamprey, Towers, and Beard of Bees at Club 21 in Portland, and the video was filmed by Cole Boggess and Justin Anderson with audio by Tim Burke.

The song is called “Desolate,” and it comes as a preview of what the new Serial Hawk LP holds in store in following up the 2014 single, 2012’s Buried in the Gray EP and the band’s first demo, released in 2011. Drummer Sean Bulkley, who was announced as the band’s drummer at the end of last Jan., does the honors in starting the song with a persistent tom rhythm that holds firm as the guitar and bass rumble to life. By 90 seconds in, a heavy foundation is established, and the rolling riffery that takes hold from there is both massive and open, guitarist Will Bassin topping the crash and distortion with raw shouts while bassist Adam Holbrook drives home a groove to which even the camera can’t seem to resist nodding.

A big slowdown brings about some choice feedback-laden deconstruction as Serial Hawk build the track up only to tear it apart again. Their appearance at Ceremony of Sludge was the first night of a West Coast tour that lasted two weeks (they did a full US tour in the Fall as well), and it seems pretty safe to say that run got off to a good start.

More on the new Serial Hawk album hopefully to come as we near the release. Enjoy “Desolate” in the meantime, with thanks to Justin Brown and Ceremony of Sludge:

Serial Hawk, “Desolate” Live at Ceremony of Sludge 2014 in Portland, OR

Serial Hawk on Thee Facebooks

Serial Hawk on Twitter

Serial Hawk on Instagram

Serial Hawk on Bandcamp

Ceremony of Sludge on Thee Facebooks

Ukrainian heavy rockers Stoned Jesus will have their third album, The Harvest, out by the time they hit the road on their European tour. The arrival of that record is something to look forward to — it has plenty of company this year, but is a standout nonetheless — and it will also mark the trio’s first US gig as part of the Psycho California fest in May. This tour happens before that, however, and it will include stops at the Mars Red Sky-affiliated Make it Sabbathy in Bordeaux at a whole host of festivals, among them Sky High and Riff Ritual. Something tells me we’re working on a theme.

Sound of Liberation sent the dates for the full run down the PR wire:

STONED JESUS – “The Harvest” Release Tour – March 13th to April 4th!

Ukrainian outstanding trio STONED JESUS will hit the European roads again from MARCH 13TH to APRIL 4TH, three weeks during witch they will spread a brand new load of tunes picked from their upcoming (and long awaited) album, “THE HARVEST”!!

To be released in March, “THE HARVEST” is Kiev’s outfit’s third album, and features 6 awesome tracks (believe us!) including their already famous “Here Comes The Robots”! Do not miss this song’s video premiere: subscribe now to their new official YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

Then, check-out the dates and the stunning tour poster, buy your tickets, and get ready to be reaped!

13.03.15 (D) Esslingen – Hell Over Hesslingen Festival
14.03.15 (D) Frankfurt – Sky High Festival
15.03.15 (D) Freiburg – White Rabbit
17.03.15 (D) Karlsruhe – Alte Hackerei
18.03.15 (D) Würzburg – Immerhin
19.03.15 (D) Jena – Kulturbahnhof
20.03.15 (D) Kiel – Schaubude
21.03.15 (D) Berlin – Heavy Spring Equinox Sessions
23.03.15 (D) Hamburg – Rock Cafe
24.03.15 (D) Dresden – Ost Pol
25.03.15 (D) Lichtenfels – Paunchy Cats
26.03.15 (It) Milano – Lo Fi
27.03.15 (Ch) Olten – Coq D’or
28.03.15 (It) Vicenza – E20 Underground
30.03.15 (F) Bordeaux – Make It Sabbathy
31.03.15 (F) Clermont Ferrand – Raymond Bar
01.04.15 (F) Chambery – Brin De Zinc
02.04.15 (F) Nice – Caught By The Fuzz
03.04.15 (Sp) Barcelona – Riff Ritual Festival
04.04.15 (Sp) Madrid – Stoner Fest

More info and Updates on WWW.SOUNDOFLIBERATION.COM
http://stonedjesus.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/stonedjesusband
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqwd9UqASVV38g-3iqbusfQ

Stoned Jesus, “Here Come the Robots”

Spirit Caravan‘s reunion last year earned them no shortage of love on both their US and European tours, and while that will no doubt continue in 2015 as the band comes together to headline gigs like the inaugural Maryland Doom Fest this June (info here) along with The Skull. The prospect of new material looms pretty large when it comes to Spirit Caravan. Their most recent outing, such as it is, is the 2003 MeteorCity compilation The Last Embrace, which culled together the bulk of their discography from their early singles as Shine on through to their final recorded tracks. That was, however, 12 years ago, and we’re even further removed from Spirit Caravan‘s classic 1999 debut, Jug Fulla Sun. What would become a landmark in Maryland-style heavy will be 16 this year — old enough to drive in some states — and while Wino certainly showed with Saint Vitus‘ 2012 reunion album, Lillie: F-65, that such outings can produce righteous results, particularly with Vitus/Spirit Caravan drummer Henry Vasquez propelling them, it remains to be seen whether Spirit Caravan will even get to the point of writing new material.

And it was three years before Vitus got to that point as well, so even if they do, there’s no guarantee such a thing would happen in 2015 or even 2016. That’s not to say it can’t — Wino‘s certainly a prolific enough cat, and one imagines bassist Dave Sherman would be on board despite his commitments with Weed is Weed and Earthride — but I’d rather err on the side of caution and call it unlikely than expect it and not have it show up. Fortunately, there’s enough documentation of both Spirit Caravan‘s reunion tours and their original run to get by in the meantime. We turn to the latter for this week’s Wino Wednesday, and find the original Spirit Caravan trio — Wino on guitar/vocals, Sherman on bass and Gary Isom on drums — live on stage at The 8×10 in Baltimore, Maryland. We don’t get the full set, or at least it looks that way since they’re tuning at the end of the video as opposed to breaking down the backline, but it’s certainly enough time for them to get their point across in cuts like “Black Flower,” “Dreamwheel” and “Retroman.”

Enjoy:

Spirit Caravan, Live at The 8×10, Baltimore, Maryland, July 22, 2000