Not to be Mr. Jadedsawitcomingdickhead or anything, but it wasn’t really among the universe’s biggest surprises when Ripple Music announced earlier this summer that it had picked up Oakland-based heavy rockers War Cloud for the release of their debut album. Not only is the four-piece local to the label’s own home-base, but their brand of high-energy straightforward thrust — as previously demonstrated on their 2016 Vulture City digital single (discussed here) — is a pretty dead-on fit for what’s become a core sound fostered by Ripple over the last few years. It makes sense, in other words. I’m sure if it wasn’t Ripple that got them, it would’ve been someone, but that it’s Ripple, yeah, it works. It doesn’t need to be shocking to be a good match.

War Cloud‘s self-titled hits next month, and the band has a song called “Chopper Wired” streaming now that you can check out. That and more info follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:

WAR CLOUD: Bay Area quartet bring the heavy with new album on Ripple Music | Stream and share new song ‘Chopper Wired’

War Cloud is released on 8th September 2017 on Ripple Music

Originally erupting out of Oakland, War Cloud have been steadily shredding Northern Californian ear drums since their formation in 2014. Founded by vocalist, guitar player and former Baltimore resident Alex Wein, after immediately planting down his amps he wasted no time in recruiting a solid four-man crew. Setting out to create an aural ash cloud of volcanic rock ‘n’ roll, Wein was soon joined by Bay Area natives Joaquin Ridgell on drums, guitarist Tony Campos, and later, Los Angeles transplant Sean Nishi on bass.

Despite their youth War Cloud are far from wide-eyed innocents. Their musical history comes drenched in molten riffs inspired across a timeline that spans the spectrum of heavy metal. Their name alone originates from a Wicked Lady song of the same title and their collective roots show through, with Tony’s tenure in San Francisco’s thrash band Hell Fire, Sean’s melding of hard rock rhythms and old-school grooves, and Joaquin’s monolithic beats possessed wholesale by the ghost of John Bonham.

War Cloud’s take on metal is a dish best served heavy and those that have dined on the likes of Pentagram, UFO, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath in the past will no doubt appreciate the hard rock sophistication, dipped deep in ’70’s fuzz.

Track Listing:
1. Give’r
2. Chopper Wired
3. Divide And Conquer
4. Hurricane
5. No Man’s Land
6. Red Witch
7. Speed Demon
8. Vulture City

War Cloud:
Alex Wein – Vocals/Guitar
Tony Campos – Guitar
Sean Nishi – Bass
Joaquin Ridgell – Drums

http://facebook.com/WarCloudisComing
http://warcloudiscoming.bandcamp.com/
http://warcloud.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ripple-Music/369610860064
https://twitter.com/RippleMusic
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

I think maybe more than ever it might be fair to think of Chicago’s I Klatus as a North American answer to the dug-in sludge cultism of UK outfits Ramesses and/or 11Paranoias. From the extremity they show on their new album, Nagual Sun, in the blackened genre-spanning reaches of “Sorcerer’s Gaze,” for which you can see a new video below, to the dirt-caked early-Crowbarism of a song like “Serpent Cults,” I Klatus seem to have found a similar wavelength to the UK troupe. Neither band pokes their head up all that often — I Klatus‘ last outing was 2013’s Kether (discussed here) — but you can rest assured that when they do, there’s some seriously disaffected, post-industrial-collapse doom about to play out that, apart perhaps from itself, shares its sonic space with just about nobody.

My hope is to have more on this one before Oct. 13 gets here, but we’ll see how that goes. Either way, keep an eye out for it if you’re looking for a litmus test for how much punishment you can take:

Chicago Doom/Sludge Eclectics I KLATUS to Release ‘Nagual Sun’ on October 13

Chicago Doom/Sludge eclectics I KLATUS will release Nagual Sun October 13 on digital and analog (cassette) formats. The highly anticipated follow-up to 2012’s Kether is the band’s third full-length album (and fifth release overall). An official video for album track “Sorcerer’s Gaze” is available at this location.

The overall sound of Nagual Sun maintains the gritty roots for which I KLATUS is known, while at the same time launches the group into new and more fully fleshed-out dimensions of weirdness. Tom Denney is the primary soothsayer behind I KLATUS. Denney, whose background is steeped in the visual arts, has provided artwork and monsters for a laundry list of signed metal acts in the community (KYLESA, BLACK COBRA, SAMOTHRACE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, CEPHALIC CARNAGE and RWAKE just to name a few). His guitar squalls hard against the shores of this stoner metal effort, but also manages to rise above the storm in melodic hymns. Denney trades growling vocals with bass player, John E. Bomher, Jr. (BURY THE MACHINES, YAKUZA), who keeps things grinding nicely, while also providing some sweeter tones when they let songs open up and sweep across more ethereal planes.

Bomher doubles as the band’s producer with his extensive experience in the studio; his work on the album sets this release head and shoulders above their previous efforts in terms of production quality. The drums are championed by Chris Wozniak (LAIR OF THE MINOTAUR, EARTHEN GRAVE, SERPENT CROWN) who metes out doom in guttural timing. Wozniak just pounds and pounds, hitting that sonic-pocket, which gives the stoner/doom genre its feeling of lift and expansiveness. Some noises and textures by former member, Robert Bauwens, are also tucked into the nooks and crannies of these tracks. Last by not least, special thanks goes to author Ryan Sean O’Reilly for his contributions to the press release.

Track Listing:

Side A
Beneath the Waves
Serpent Cults
Sorcerer’s Gaze
Moment of Devastation

Side B
The Alivist
Jaws of the Shark
Father John Thomas (The Penitent)
Final Communion

https://iklatus.bandcamp.com/releases
www.facebook.com/iklatus
www.twitter.com/i_klatus
www.instagram.com/iklatus

I Klatus, “Sorcerer’s Gaze” official video

Vision Éternel‘s ‘Pièce No. Trois’ is precisely that: a piece. It comes from 2015’s Echoes from Forgotten Hearts (review here), which is the latest release from the ambient solo-project of Montreal-based texture-weaver Alexandre Julien — formerly of psychedelic black metallers Vision Lunar, among others — and is one of seven pièces to be included on the offering. Each one works in a roughly similar vein of minimalist cinematic drama, something vague but hopeful in Julien‘s shimmering guitar tonality and gentle approach, but they remain distinctive with pauses between and, short as they are and short as the whole outing is, never get lost or too caught up in any individual moment. One might think of each Vision Éternel track as fleeting, and that would seem to be the intent.

Atmosphere over impact. Impression over reality. Evocation over direct narrative. Though it’s been two years since Echoes from Forgotten Hearts came out, and for a solo-project like this, that can be a long time, Vision Éternel has a considerable back catalog amassed of these headphone-ready meditations, and as “Pièce No. Trois” explores layering in strum and drone guitar, the depths Julien brings to bear so quickly in a 90-second video impress all the more for the efficiency that both matches the scope of the band and doesn’t make the material feel rushed or overblown in terms of arrangement. There’s a grace to Vision Éternel‘s output across Echoes from Forgotten Hearts that carries into the mood and has a melancholy effect on the listener. It asks little for indulgence and delivers much in immersion.

The project has been celebrating its 10th anniversary throughout 2017, and along with new merchandise and an impending box set collecting past material together in one place, the occasion has called for a revisit to Echoes from Forgotten Hearts and a video that’s apparently been years in the making. Like the song itself, the visual accompaniment for “Pièce No. Trois” is deeply atmospheric, featuring strung together clips of Julien giving what essentially might be taken as a kind of sightseeing tour of Montreal — but, you know, an artsy sightseeing tour. No double-decker bus or anything. Nonetheless, he passes by landmarks subtly placed throughout that, if you happen to be familiar with places like the John Young Monument or the old railroad tracks, you might catch a glimpe of them here or there.

And even if not, it’s 90 seconds long. What the hell do you have to lose? Jeez. Included below is some more background from Abridged Pause Recordings on the video, copious links, and the full stream of Echoes from Forgotten Hearts from Vision Éternel‘s Bandcamp, in case you’d like to dig further.

Please enjoy:

Vision Éternel, “Pièce No. Trois” official video

As part of Vision Éternel’s 10-year anniversary celebration, it is with extreme pleasure that we are releasing a brand new music video for “Pièce No. Trois”. It’s been seven and a half years since Vision Éternel last released a music video, for “Season In Absence” in March of 2010. “Pièce No. Trois” is one of seven songs that appears on the concept EP “Echoes From Forgotten Hearts”, released through Abridged Pause Recordings on February 14th of 2015. This music video is long overdue after having its fair share of disasters and lost footage over the years.

A key filming location was the former Dalhousie Station where pre-production pictures had been snapped a month prior. Additional scenes were filmed nearby, above and under the Notre-Dame overpass and with the former Viger Station in the distance. Another shot was set up in the Saint-Dizier alleyway in the Old Port of Montreal which has old cobblestone paving and was wet from the melting snow and grainy from the salt, sand and rock pebbles used to deal with ice in the winter.

Vasily Atutov directed the music video for “Pièce No. Trois” from July 22nd to July 23rd of 2017. You can see more of Vasily Autotuv’s photography on Flickr and Instagram. He is now open to work with musicians on artwork and video editing, so get in touch with him at epicmap@gmail.com.

It took ten years to happen but Vision Éternel finally has band t-shirts available! The first set of shirts feature Jeremy Roux’s “classic” Vision Éternel logo, which he designed in the summer of 2008. The second batch of shirts feature Christophe Szpajdel’s “10-year anniversary” logo, which he drew in the spring of 2017. This logo honours the black metal origins of Vision Éternel; Alexandre Julien founded Vision Éternel as a side-project while playing in two black metal bands: Throne Of Mortality and Vision Lunar.

Vision Éternel, Echoes from Forgotten Hearts (2015)

Vision Éternel website

Vision Éternel on Thee Facebooks

Vision Éternel on Twitter

Vision Éternel on Instagram

Vision Éternel on Soundcloud

Vision Éternel on Spotify

Vision Éternel on Bandcamp

[Click play above to stream ‘A.S.F.E.’ from Motorpsycho’s The Tower. Album is out Sept. 8 via Stickman Records and Rune Grammofon.]

Maybe remaining Motorpsycho founders Bent Sæther and Hans Magnus “Snah” Ryan feel they have something to prove with their latest long-player, The Tower. For what it’s worth, they’re probably mistaken about that. The Trondheim natives are already in Norway’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and since first getting together in 1989, they’ve become a crucial influence in progressive, heavy and psychedelic rock across Scandinavia and greater Europe. They’ve scored plays, collaborated with orchestras, written commissioned works and been heralded by audiences and critics alike. Though they’re viciously under-known in the US, they’ve released upwards of 20 LPs, plus other singles and short releases, at a blazingly prolific rate, and constantly offered their listeners sonic development while retaining an identity that is unmistakably their own. Books have been written about them. Films made. To put it another way, they’re a big frickin’ deal, and they have been for quite some time.

In 2016, Sæther (who handles lead vocals, bass, guitar, keys and drums and also played in Spidergawd for their first three records) and Ryan (guitar, vocals, keys, bass and various other strings) said goodbye to longtime drummer Kenneth Kapstad (also and still of Spidergawd) following the particularly proggy Here be Monsters full-length, and with The Tower (released by Rune Grammofon in Norway and Stickman Records for the rest of Europe), they’ve redirected their efforts toward sounding fully reenergized. No doubt the acquisition of drummer Tomas Järmyr has something to do with that — the infusion of fresh blood seems to have brought a restorative effect even to the pacing of serene, drumless moments like the harmonies of the Mellotron-laced “Stardust” — but however it got there, The Tower comes across as a burst of creativity from Motorpsycho, continuing the progressive, forward march of Here be Monsters while also landing with a considerably heavier tonal impact on songs like the opening salvo of the title-track and “Bartok of the Universe,” as well as “In Every Dream Home (There’s a Dream of Something Else),” and the closing pair of “The Cuckoo” and “Ship of Fools.”

Now, it can be a fine line, because The Tower still shares plenty of the post-Greg Lake-era King Crimsoned progadelic pastoralism of its predecessor, but to put it in terms of that band, it’s like the difference between “The Court of the Crimson King” and “21st Century Schizoid Man,” where Here be Monsters is the former and The Tower is the latter. Still in the same vein, but by seamlessly integrating Järmyr into the trio, Motorpsycho can remain as intricate in their composition and arrangements as they were with Kapstad behind the kit, while offering more thrust behind The Tower in cuts like “A.S.F.E.” (an acronym for “a song for everyone”), which seems to imagine what would happen if “Weird Al” Yankovic decided to go space rock — hint: it would be awesome — and the subsequent “Intrepid Explorer,” which builds in a patient swell of melody to one of the album’s most satisfying payoffs before receding into the folkish “Stardust.” Of course, Motorpsycho are still very much Motorpsycho, but as they have all along, during Kapstad‘s 10-plus years with the band and before that as well, they’re making efforts to reshape that definition for themselves and their followers.

Does it work? Yes, it does. The Tower is a significant climb, and well past the standards of manageability with its 10-track and nearly 85-minute runtime. But the final three tracks, the dreamy-into-percussive “A Pacific Sonata” and the aforementioned “The Cuckoo” and “Ship of Fools” consume more than 37 minutes of that on their own, and a clear 2LP structure to the placement of the songs — with “The Tower,” “Bartok of the Universe” and “A.S.F.E.” as side A, “Intrepid Explorer,” “Stardust” and “In Every Dream Home (There’s a Dream of Something Else)” as side B, the mood-setting psych-folk of “The Maypole” moving into “A Pacific Sonata” for side C and “The Cuckoo” and “Ship of Fools” as a final immersion on side D — makes it that much easier for the listener to put their trust in Sæther, Ryan and Järmyr for the duration. A clear shift in purpose between the first and second platters, from the harder prog of the earlier cuts to the peaceful vibes of “The Maypole” and “Pacific Sonata” — prefaced somewhat by “Stardust” — and the okay-now-it’s-time-to-get-swallowed-in-this closing statement of “The Cuckoo” and “Ship of Fools” (despite the memorable hook of the latter), only reinforces the message to those who’d engage with the material:

Relax. You’re in the hands of professionals.

Maybe it is that overarching sense of command that lets Motorpsycho not only introduce Järmyr without missing a beat (pun totally intended; why even ask?), but do so with a consuming double-LP nearly twice as long as its predecessor and arriving just a year later. If that’s the case, then Ryan and Sæther‘s many years working together are a context from which The Tower can’t and shouldn’t be divorced, but if they’re motivated by a need to reinforce their own will to keep going despite the lineup change or if they’ve simply hit a creative burst, the results are a triumph in these songs. Whether it’s in the longer-form explorations of “A Pacific Sonata” and “Ship of Fools” — the keys alone of which make it a highlight, let alone all the torrential churn surrounding at its apex — the quirky craftsmanship of “Bartok of the Universe” and “A.S.F.E.,” the brief acoustic excursions of “Stardust” and “The Maypole” or the arc-defining prog of the title-track, “Intrepid Explorer,” “In Every Dream Home (There’s a Dream of Something Else)” and “The Cuckoo,” there isn’t a moment that doesn’t earn its place, and as few 2LPs can, The Tower brings forth coherent realization without giving up on the varied nature of its delivery.

That is to say, Motorpsycho chart a difficult course for themselves and then navigate it with enviable ease. Longtime listeners would expect no less of them, but The Tower remains a marked achievement in a discography crowded with them, and if it’s signaling the start of a new era for the band, one can only look forward to the growth Motorpsycho will continue to foster as they inch closer to 30 years on from their beginning. They sound, and are, vital.

Motorpsycho on Thee Facebooks

Motorpsycho on Twitter

Motorpsycho on Instagram

Motorpsycho website

Stickman Records website

Stickman Records on Thee Facebooks

Stickman Records on Twitter

Rune Grammofon on Thee Facebooks

Rune Grammofon on Instagram

Rune Grammofon website

Just days after the announcement that frontman Nathan Opposition‘s new project, Vessel of Light, would make their debut this Fall on Argonauta Records comes word that Opposition‘s main outfit, the darkly, doomly and folkish Ancient VVisdom, have also aligned to the same imprint for the release of their impending fourth album, 33. The follow-up to 2014’s Sacrificial will also be out digitally through Magic Bullet Records and on vinyl through DHU Records, and there’s a quick glimpse of the band’s moody approach to be sampled as of today in the new track “Light of Lucifer,” which you can hear at the bottom of this post.

Opposition offers comment on the signing and the upcoming record below, via the PR wire. Dig it:

US Occult Rockers ANCIENT VVISDOM inked a deal with ARGONAUTA Records to release their highly anticipated new album “33”, following their previous paths “A Godlike Inferno” (2011), “Deathlike” (2013) and “Sacrificial” (2014).

From the band, Nathan Opposition says: “Forging ahead, I have kept the all seeing eye on the fallen angel to keep my faith in his works. This album is a work made of worship songs to our Lord and Master Satan. The collective efforts of our unholy Trinity Lucifer, Satan and The Devil. In light of darker times, I find it necessary to express myself in a way that teaches on a higher level.”

On the record deal: “I’m very excited to release Ancient VVisdom’s 4th album “33” with 3 different amazing record labels! Argonauta Records in Italy for CD version, Magic Bullet Records out of Oceanside California doing our digital release, and DHU Records from the Netherlands is going to be doing some sick vinyl colors. It’s a collective. All excellent people, working hard to release underground and independent music. I’m a fan of many different artists and musicians, it’s quite rewarding to see everyone in an underground culture take the initiative and make things fucking happen for all of us, as fans of music and for the ones making music as well.

About the new album: “33 is a master number. It is also the age Christ was crucified. 33 is the age of the peak of existence. It is the age I am. 33 is the answer. I’ve been fortunate enough to do the devils work and continue to spread the message to the masses. This album is very important to us. It has symbolic meaning and melody that serves the words purposefully. My brother Michael and I are grateful and are pleased to give you “33”. This is our favorite offering to date and we hope you all enjoy it.”

The first single “Light of Lucifer” is out today and available here.

ANCIENT VVISDOM “33” will be released worldwide on CD edition by ARGONAUTA Records and available from October 13th, 2017. Preorders run here: http://bit.ly/2wPAOUV

TRACK-LIST:
1. Ascending eternally
2. Light of Lucifer
3. In The Name Of Satan
4. True Will
5. The Infernal One
6. Summoning Eternal Light
7. Rise Fallen Angel
8. 33
9. The Great Beast
10. Lux
11. Dispelling Darkness

https://www.facebook.com/AVVFB/
https://twitter.com/ancientvvisdom
https://www.instagram.com/officialancientvvisdom/
https://ancient-vvisdom.bandcamp.com/
http://bit.ly/2wPAOUV
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/
https://twitter.com/argonautarex
argonautarecords.com

Ancient VVisdom, “Light of Lucifer”

Ancient VVisdom, Sacrificial (2014)

Snowy Dunes, Snowy Dunes (2015)

It does not take long for Snowy Dunes‘ 2015 self-titled debut to demonstrate why it has been so continuously well-received by the heavy rock underground in and beyond Europe. Released by the band digitally and issued via Rock Freaks Records as a gatefold 2LP, the nine-track/51-minute first offering from the Stockholm, Sweden, feels like something special at the outset, and the fact that the four-piece of guitarist Christoffer Kingstedt, bassist Carl Oredson, drummer Stefan Jakobsson and vocalist Niklas Eisen traveled to Los Angeles to record with Dead Meadow bassist Steve Kille only reinforces this position. Their psychedelic blues, whether portrayed in the 90-second harmonica-and-voice of “Watch out for Snakes,” the ultra-Hendrixian purple-haze-all-in-the-brain funk of “Electric Love,” or the nine-minute swaggering jam that follows on “Diablo” and finds Eisen calling out the moves the band will make in the second half of the song — “Alright we’re gonna do this for you, do some harmonies,” and then they do — is a right-on-target preach to the converted, and the sense of righteousness it finds in its execution is even more prevalent for the live-sounding feel behind it. That is, Snowy Dones‘ Snowy Dunes goes far out — way far out — and all the while it sounds like, hey man, these songs just happened. Could’ve been different on any other day. The vague possibility that that’s actually the case would seem to make the record something even more vital, but it’s really just the starting point of an ultra-organic breadth that unfurls across its extended but immersive runtime.

When one thinks of the generational surge of heavy psychedelia throughout Europe that’s taken place over the last five or 10 years, it’s usually the post-Colour Haze bringers of tonal warmth who come to mind, or the slew of groups embroiled in even jammier fare, improvised or not. Lately, neo-psych influenced by space rock has emerged to converse with the Californian post-Earthless swirl set and the massive influence of Australia’s King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard, and that will no doubt continue to reshape the underground in the next few years to come, but Snowy Dunes set themselves apart with their self-titled. While they for sure have their psychedelic aspects, and their jammy side comes to such a prevalence particularly later in the record that one wonders if Eisen isn’t making up his lines on the spot for a song like “Bad Wolf,” and whether he is or not is ultimately secondary since that’s the vibe the band are giving off. In terms of modern comparison points, Snowy Dunes have way more in common with Australia’s Child or a super-slowed-down Radio Moscow than they do the bulk of what’s coming from even the bluesiest corners of Europe, let alone Sweden, although one could just as easily argue that the classic mentality behind “Tranquil Mountain Lake” or “Dawn” is born just as much of Swedish retro rockism as of any outsider heavy blues. At a certain point, this becomes splitting hairs and the important factor — the deep sense of identity imbued within Snowy Dunes‘ material on their debut album — is lost. If it’s one or the other, I’d rather listen to the songs.

And Snowy Dunes certainly make that easy. Whether you’re flipping the vinyl platters over as you go or making your way through digitally, their Snowy Dunes brings its tracks to life with a rare level of flow, and while at 51 minutes, it borders on what one would generally think of as unmanageable — or at least less-manageable than standard single-LP length — there’s no more redundancy in “Turn Around,” “Watch out for Snakes” or “Desert Cold” — the latter as close as they come to naming a song after the band — than is intended, and the bring-the-listener-into-the-studio feel of the tracks as the recording progresses becomes one of the greatest assets with which Snowy Dunes works, though I won’t discount Eisen‘s easy-flowing soul or the bass tone Oredson uses to anchor the material without actually holding Kingstedt‘s wah-laced tonality down from meandering where it will (worth noting that the last thing you hear on the record is Oredson being introduced by Eisen). That dynamic emerges almost immediately on “Tranquil Mountain Lake” and remains firm across the bulk of the tracks, but amid the ebbs and swells of “Desert Cold,” and the blowout at the end of “Turn Around,” there’s plenty of heft brought to bear as well; Snowy Dunes just keep it baked perfectly so that whether they want to boogie on “Bad Wolf” or let loose one more time in closer “The Light” with starts and stops filled out by a croaking voice from Eisen, they can. Hell, by the time they get to that point, Snowy Dunes have shown pretty clearly that, wherever they’re looking to travel in a given path, they know just how they want to get there.

Snowy Dunes got a mention in my list of the best debut albums of 2015, but especially having had the chance recently to revisit the vinyl edition, it’s held up remarkably well. Early 2016 brought word of a concept album follow-up, Atlantis, and a 19-minute first installment thereof streaming at their Bandcamp page. Updates have trickled out since, including cover art this past May, but I’ve yet to catch wind of a firm release date for it. Part of that, perhaps, is Snowy Dunes sorting out a label situation for the release, but either way, whenever it arrives, Atlantis has a considerable task ahead of it in following-up Snowy Dunes, which has only continued to flourish where many of the other “best debut albums” on that list linked above have fallen by the wayside. Some records just grow on you over time, I guess.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading and listening.

—

Spent a pretty decent portion of this week out of my head, and not really in a good way. You might recall last Friday, my wonderful, now 32-weeks-pregnant wife The Patient Mrs. and I headed to New Jersey because my 102-year-old grandmother had been taken to the hospital. No one ever found out how she broke her hip, but it wound up requiring surgery. They put in two rods, like she was gonna get up and start running laps afterward. They said physical therapy. Uh huh. Then the lady had a stroke the next night and that put the kibosh on that.

As of this writing, she’s still alive. I guess you don’t get to be 102 and then just drop dead suddenly — clearly at that point you’re working on your own scale as regards time. She can’t swallow water, won’t eat, but took in some ice cream the day before yesterday — so fucking typical for my family — and yesterday she was moved to a hospice facility out of the hospital. They’re not going to do any physical therapy for the hip. They’re not going to think she’s really coming back to full consciousness at any point from here on out. They’re going to let her be, give her as much ice cream as she wants/is willing to take, and wait. We’re all waiting. Death limbo.

102 years old. There is no dignity at the end of life. You can die in a famous glorious battle and still shit your pants when you go. I’m not looking her to have a righteous, graceful departure. Wouldn’t be her style anyway. But she’s 102, and her body, acting on the purest, most unthinking of instinct, still can’t bring itself to let go and not squeeze every single last second out of her life. The arrangements are made, everything’s in order. It’s like she’s late to her own party. Obviously I’m sad to see her die — she’s been a major presence in my life for my 35-plus years and especially when I lived in NJ and after I got married and was a bit more of an adult, we got to be pretty close — but I also know there’s no way in her conscious mind she’d want to go on the way she is. And my poor mother. Ugh.

The Patient Mrs. and I came back to Massachusetts last weekend, said our goodbye and made our way back north, but I’ve been in touch with my family all week and gotten a steady string of updates, been conferenced in with doctors and so on. We wait. Excruciating. And I feel guilty for living five hours away from them, which I do anyway, but even more in situations like this.

Anyway, that’s my vent. Thanks for letting me have my moment.

This weekend is the baby shower in CT for The Pecan, who again, is due in October near to my own birthday. I don’t know who’s coming, but I know we’ll be there. Then on Wednesday I fly to Ireland for the Emerald Haze fest (info here) that I still can’t believe I’ll be fortunate enough to attend. The Patient Mrs. is also traveling this week — to San Francisco for a conference; she’s not even going to have time to go to Amoeba Music, much to my vicarious dismay — so plenty of chaos abounds. I’ve got a couple extra days on the back end of my trip to see Dublin slated as well, so I’m not sure how much I’ll be posting, but there are reviews to write so I’ll get stuff done anyway.

What will I do if Gramma dies in the interim or while I’m away? Cross that bridge when I come to it.

To put it another way, the notes for next week? They’re even more “subject to change” than usual. Here they are anyhow:

Mon.: Motorpsycho track premiere; Vision Éternel video premiere.
Tue.: Ruby the Hatchet review; new video from Cosmic Fall.
Wed.: Six Dumb Questions with Destroyer of Light; Ufomammut review.
Thu.: Biblical track premiere.
Fri.: Emerald Haze coverage.
Sat./Sun.: Emerald Haze coverage.

Much to do, much to do. The Obelisk stuff has been good because it’s given me something to focus on and deflect stress into. Gotta listen to this, gotta write about that, etc. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate you reading and being a part of this site, how much it means to me to have this be a conversation. Thanks to everyone who checked out that Ozzy piece earlier this week, or shared the Earthless news, or who commented on the Queens of the Stone Age review on Thee Facebooks, or who entered the Vokonis giveaway. Turned out to be a pretty killer week, even if I was distracted for most of it. If you’re reading, that’s on you, so yeah, thanks.

Please have a great and safe weekend, and please check out the forum and radio stream.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

Denver-based classic heavy rock rippers Cloud Catcher are mere days away from embarking on a string of shows alongside San Diego’s Earthless, arguably the standard bearers of the West Coast’s heavy boom, and arguably the biggest gigs Cloud Catcher have yet played. I don’t think there’s a soul who heard their 2017 second album, Trails of Kozmic Dust (review here), or who’s ever seen them demolish a stage, who wouldn’t say they were ready for the task. Cloud Catcher have hit the road multiple times already throughout 2017, and they’ll do so again following the run with Earthless, this time for a West Coast stint that will take up the bulk of October and that also includes a few nights alongside former tourmates Slow Season.

The band just announced the latter batch of shows, and you’ll find those as well as the Earthless dates below:

CLOUD CATCHER – West Coast Tour

We are absolutely stoked to be returning back to California and Texas this October for our Fall 2017 tour! It’s been too long… an updated tour poster will be available soon, but while you wait on that here are the dates. Thanks to HiWattage booking and @fuzzfamily for helping us book the gigs. See you all soon!

Cloud Catcher with Earthless:
9/1 Ft. Collins, CO Hodi’s Half Note
9/2 Denver, CO Marquis Theatre
9/3 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad
9/4 Tempe, AZ Yucca Taproom

Cloud Catcher on tour:
10/12- BOISE, ID- SHREDDER
10/13- SEATTLE, WA- SUBSTATION
10/14- PORTLAND, OR- HIGH WATER MARK
10/15- EUGENE, OR- OLD NICKS
10/16- REDDING, CA- THE DIP
10/17- ARCATA, CA- THE ALIBI
10/19- SACRAMENTO, CA- BLUE LAMP*
10/20- NEVADA CITY, CA- COOPERS*
10/21- RENO, NV- JUB JUBS THIRST PARLOR*
10/22- LOS ANGELES, CA- VIPER ROOM*
10/23- TBA
10/24- SAN DIEGO, CA- BRICK BY BRICK
10/25- TEMPE, AZ- YUCCA TAPROOM
10/26- ALBUQUERQUE, NM- LAUNCHPAD
10/27- SAN ANTONIO, TX- LIMELIGHT
10/28- AUSTIN, TX- SWAN DIVE
10/29- FORT WORTH, TX- THE GROTTO
10/30- OKLAHOMA CITY, OK- BLUE NOTE LOUNGE
*WITH SLOW SEASON

#DenverIsHeavier #CloudCatcher

Cloud Catcher is:
Rory Rummings – Guitar and Vocals
Kam Wentworth – Bass and Vocals
Jared Soloman Handman – Drums

https://cloud-catcher.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/cloudcatcherco

Cloud Catcher, Trails of Kozmic Dust (2017)

Austin, Texas, heavy rockers Duel have already been to Europe once this year. They went in Spring to herald the arrival of their second album, Witchbanger (review here), via Heavy Psych Sounds. Now that the record’s been out long enough to sink in, I guess they decided it was time for a second Euro leg, and beginning Nov. 10, the brash-as-hell four-piece will make their way through a pretty significant swath of the continent on a month-long run that — while it still has a few dates TBA; help out if you can — looks like it’s going to be as great a time as it is substantial. I wouldn’t mind bouncing around from Madrid to Eindhoven to Berlin to Sofia for a few weeks, anyhow. Seems like fun. And all the rock and roll? Bonus.

Dates came through the PR wire, and here they are:

DUEL EUROPEAN TOUR 2017

Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is really proud to present ***DUEL EUROPEAN TOUR 2017***

The Austin based, mighty, rockers Duel are ready to start their forth full european tour!

They are gonna kick your asses in Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and Bulgaria promoting their latest release Witchbanger.

10.11.2017 IT Pisa-Albatross
11.11.2017 IT Reggio Emilia
12.11.2017 IT Milan
13.11.2017 FR Chambery-Le Brin Du Zinc
14.11.2017 Tba
15.11.2017 SP Barcellona-Rocksound
16.11.2017 SP Madrid
17.11.2017 SP Bilbao
18.11.2017 NL Eindhoven TBC
19.11.2017 FR Tba
20.11.2017 FR Lyon-Le Farmer
21.11.2017 DE Mannheim-7 er
22.11.2017 DE Lichtenfels-Paunchy Cats
23.11.2017 AT Innsbruck-PMK
24.11.2017 IT Bozen-Sudwerk
25.11.2017 DE Siegen-Vortex
26.11.2017 DE Osnabruck-Dirty + Dancing
27.11.2017 DE Berlin-Urban Spree
28.11.2017 DE Dresden-Chemiefabrik
29.11.2017 AT Wien-Viper Room
30.11.2017 CH Kreuzlingen-Horst
01.12.2017 AT Blundenz-Villa K
02.12.2017 CH Basel-Hirschneck
03.12.2017 IT Castel D’ario-Hostaria
04.12.2017 IT Zerobranco-Altroquando
05.12.2017 Slovenia
06.12.2017 IT Trieste-Tetris
07.12.2017 IT Pescara-Scumm
08.12.2017 BG Sofia
09.12.2017 IT Roma-Whishlist

We are also stoked to announce that Heavy Psych Sounds Records will repress the Duel sold out debut album Fears of the Dead !!!

DUEL is heavy psychedelic stoner doom metal from Austin, Texas. Hugely influenced by the darker sounds of early 70’s Proto-metal. Features two ex Scorpion Child (Nuclear Blast)members. Their sound is menacing and brutally old school. Total purists, their tunes cut right to the bone with heavy, deep groove and blistering tone. Tough and Loud! Hard rock as it should be!

DUEL are:
Tom Frank Guitars / Vocals
Shaun Avants Bass / Vocals
JD Shadowz Drums
Jeff Henson Guitars

https://www.facebook.com/DUELTEXAS/
https://duel3.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/

Duel, Witchbanger (2017)