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Dommengang Post New Song “Color Out of Space”; Love Jail Due in January

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

dommengang

It’s only two and a half minutes long, but the new Dommengang track doesn’t need any more than that to set its vibe in laid back boogie and classic heavy rock. “Color Out of Space” is the first audio to come from Love Jail, which the Los Angeles-based trio will issue as their second full-length through Thrill Jockey Records on Jan. 26, and yeah, if you want to add a bit of sunshine to your day, look no further than the warm and fuzzy guitar tone of Dan “Sig” Wilson as featured here amid the easy-flowing groove from bassist Brian Markham and drummer Adam Bulgasem, brought to bear with naturalist underpinnings by the production of The Fucking Champs‘ own Tim Green. It’s an instant mood-setter in the best way possible. I hope I get to hear the rest of the record from which it comes.

Love Jail can be preordered from Thrill Jockey now, and you’ll find “Color Out of Space” at the bottom of this post. Dig in and enjoy:

dommengang love jail

Dommengang returns with the desert cruiser’s dream album Love Jail

Out Jan. 26th, 2018

Dommengang, guitarist Dan “Sig” Wilson, bassist Brian Markham, and drummer Adam Bulgasem, recorded their sophomore album Love Jail shortly after relocating to Los Angeles. It was not just a coast shift for two of the members, but the first time the band were together in one city. The sophomore album reflects the openness of their new surroundings as well as the energy and experience of being reunited and playing together in the same place. Dommengang have adapted to the arid climates, and imbued their particular brand of rock with a heavy dose of the best of 1970’s rock aesthetics, including at least one ballad. The album was produced by The Fucking Champs guitarist and engineer Tim Green (Joanna Newsom, Howlin’ Rain, Sleepy Sun, Fresh and Onlys) who perfectly captured the band’s sound while creating the space of older analog recordings. Love Jail includes Dommengang’s most melodic and lyric-heavy songs to date – a great road trip record, and a dynamic listen that is of the moment, organic and earthy with a heavy nod to the clear, lean recordings of a time long before any of its members were born.

Over the course of ten songs, Dommengang draw widely from the American rock music lexicon, primarily influenced by electric blues. The band draws from the guitar-driven sounds of the blues as much its energy and sense of freedom. The clash of Sig Wilson’s psychedelic roots and the punk-tinged backgrounds of Markham and Bulgasem, gives Love Jail its grit. From the earth-scorching passages of “Pastel City” to the spaced-out flourishes of “Dave’s Boogie,” to the dirty funk of “I’m Out Mine,” the album is a desert driver’s dream. The guitar and vocal interplay of “Color Out of Space,” or the anthemic choruses of “Going Down Fast” are rock the way it used to be: no heavy effects, just bass, drums, and guitar, great songs of love and lust, all with a healthy dose of guitar solos. In short Love Jail is Dommengang at their catchiest. Shimmering with the clarity of Tim Green’s engineering, the album’s live, in-the-room energy perfectly translates Dommengang’s core ethos: rock and roll will never die.

Dommengang tour dates
Nov. 29 – Portland, OR – Stumptown Cafe
Nov. 30 – Los Angeles, CA – Hi Hat

Dommengang – Love Jail
1. Pastel City
2. Lovely Place
3. Lone Pine
4. Stealing Miles
5. Love Jail
6. I’m Out Mine
7. Going Down Fast
8. Dave’s Boogie
9. Color Out Of Space
10. Stay Together

Pre-order Love Jail: http://thrilljockey.com/products/love-jail

https://www.facebook.com/dommengang/
https://dommengang.bandcamp.com/
http://www.thrilljockey.com/thrill/Dommengang/

Dommengang, “Color Out of Space”

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Brass Hearse Post Debut Single “Living for the Grave”

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

I made no secret of being a fan of Boston-based experimentalist garage doomers and occasional psychedelic rockers Ice Dragon, whose prolific run between 2011 and 2015 produced no fewer than nine full-lengths in addition to numerous other singles, splits and short releases, and who, despite issuing an EP in 2016 called Broken Life (review here) and a single at the start of this year in “Into the Wasteland (Of Self),” seem to have dialed way back on output generally speaking.

Their members, particularly vocalist Ron Rochondo, have gone on to start numerous other experimental projects in vibes ranging from psych-lounge to freak folk, and with the new four-piece Brass Hearse, Rochondo unites with members of Wolfmen of MarsL. Liberty, J. Clapp and N. Merryweather — to unveil the first single “Living for the Grave” with a blown-out take on classic grunge that, if you can make it past the initial bluster, reveals a synth-laden hook that’s at once metallic and expansive. The verse reminds of Snail, which may or may not be sonic coincidence, but one can hear shades of Sabbath and more progressive fare in the guitar work as well, particularly in the clarity of the solo in the song’s second half before the final chorus.

Most of all, “Living for the Grave” makes me look forward to and hope that Brass Hearse will have more material to come soon. One would never dare to predict anything even vaguely Ice Dragon-related as this outfit is — that’s not to downplay the contributions of the three members from Wolfmen of Mars in any way, I’m just trying to measure X-factors — but yeah, hopefully this first single is just the beginning of a new exploration and it gets a follow-up of some form or other in short order.

You can hear the track at the bottom of this post. Artwork, links and preliminary info follow:

brass hearse living for the grave

Our first song… LIVING FOR THE GRAVE

Artwork by the incredible DoryWhynot

BRASS HEARSE
+++++++++++++
R Rochondo
L Liberty
J Clapp
N Merryweather

https://www.facebook.com/brasshearse/
https://instagram.com/brasshearse
https://twitter.com/brasshearse
https://brasshearse.bandcamp.com/releases
http://playingrecords.bandcamp.com

Brass Hearse, “Living for the Grave”

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Doomstress Premiere Video for “Bitter Plea”

Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

doomstress

Texas heavy doom rockers Doomstress filmed their new video on one of the several cleverly-named tours they undertook in 2016, playing as the four-piece of bassist/vocalist Doomstress Alexis, guitarists Brandon Johnson (lead) and Joe Fortunato (rhythm) and drummer Tomasz Scull. Fortunato, whose pedigree includes tenure alongside Scull in Sparrowmilk and Venomin James, also directed and edited the clip for “Bitter Plea,” and the song represents the newest work to come from the Houston-based outfit, featured on their new EP, Supernatural Kvlt Sounds: The Second Rite, a follow-up and apparent sequel to their 2016 debut, Supernatural Kvlt Sounds (video premiere here).

Aside from new mixes of “Way of the Mountain” and “Sleep Among the Dead” from the original EP, The Second Rite boasts the Uriah Heep cover “Rainbow Demon” (premiered here) and “Bitter Plea,” and indeed, it’s the latter that shows where the band is truly at in their development. I’m not sure if Fortunato is a permanent member or not at this point, but either way, the 4:26 track swings with a sense of classic metal coming through its dual guitars and finds a balance in its mix that outshines even the redux versions of the original EP cuts, as well as a confidence in presentation obviously born of the band’s significant time on the road. Even with an underlying darkness in the lyrics, Alexis and company keep a firm sense of momentum moving forward in the track as well as across the entirety of the 22-minute offering from which it comes, and though they seem to be taking their time crafting songs rather than working to try to bang out a first album simply for the sake of doing so, the results that come through on “Bitter Plea” are hard to argue with in terms of their sense of being fully realized and engaging. Proof? The hook and guitar solo. The arrangement of vocals. The return to the central riff at the end. It’s all there, waiting to be heard in “Bitter Plea.”

Also, as it happens, seen. Captured live on stage and on the shores of Lake Erie, the video gives an unpretentious representation of the song while adding in its style a sense of drama befitting to the lyrics. The underlying message is Doomstress are continuing to take shape as a band, progressing in their songwriting processes and becoming all the more capable of manifesting a style that resides someplace between doom, metal and heavy rock and makes its mark in memorable choruses and choice grooves.

Supernatural Kvlt Sounds: The Second Rite is out on CD now via NoSlip Records and will be released as a split with Sparrowmilk in November via DHU Records. More info at the links following the video below.

Please enjoy:

Doomstress, “Bitter Plea” official video premiere

Doomstress – “Bitter Plea” official video ©2017
From the ep “Supernatural Kvlt Sounds-The Second Rite”
CD on NoSlip Records (USA) available late September 2017
12″ vinyl split w/Sparrowmilk on DHU Records (Netherlands) available November 2017

Live footage filmed @ The Foundry in Cleveland, OH on the Wicked Summer Tour in August 2016.

Scenic footage filmed at the sand dunes of Lake Erie in Ohio in late August or early September 2016.

Video concept by Doomstress Alexis

Directed & edited by Joe Fortunato

Band members on this tour:
Doomstress Alexis – bass & vox
Brandon Johnson – lead guitar
Tomasz Scull – drums
Joe Fortunato – rhythm guitar

Doomstress website

Doomstress on Bandcamp

Doomstress webstore

Doomstress on Thee Facebooks

Doomstress on Instagram

Doomstress on Twitter

DHU Records webstore

NoSlip Records webstore

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Øresund Space Collective, Hallucinations Inside the Oracle: Ever Explorers

Posted in Reviews on October 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

oresund space collective hallucinations inside the oracle

For those who’d enter the vast, dense and nebular quadrant of the galaxy occupied by the ever-expanding catalog of Øresund Space Collective, Hallucinations Inside the Oracle makes for a decidedly convenient jumping off point. Sure, its four tracks and 82 minutes are comprised of massive, improvised works of spacefaring heavy psychedelia, marked out on pieces like “The Oracle Pt. 2” by hypnotizing waves of slowly unfolding and undulating particle drift, a kosmiche cascade that those familiar with the amorphously-comprised outfit spearheaded by synthmaster Scott “Dr. Space” Heller will tell you is just how it goes, but it’s also marked out by a pretty accessible core concept, whereas some of the ultra-prolific outfit’s other recent work, whether that’s 2016’s Visions Of… (review here) and the drone-driven Ode to a Black Hole (review here, 2015’s 3LP Different Creatures (review here) or 2014’s we-made-you-look-up-a-word Music for Pogonologists (review here), might be more difficult to easily grasp.

Recorded in Nov. 2016, Hallucinations Inside the Oracle is nonetheless rich in context in that it would seem to be a logical follow-up to/expansion on two other Øresund Space Collective-related offerings — namely the full-lengths crafted by the trio of former Siena Root sitarist KG WestmanHeller and Siena Root drummer Love Forsberg under the moniker West, Space and Love: 2012’s self-titled (discussed here), recorded in 2009, and last year’s West, Space and Love II (review here).

Though Forsberg doesn’t make an appearance on Hallucinations Inside the Oracle, the release does bring Westman into the fold of Øresund Space Collective proper, and his presence on sitar, synth and guitar is quickly felt in the opener “Reflections in the Mind’s Eye,” which at 21:51 is the first of the four side-consuming jams featured, followed by “ESP (Extreme Spatial Perspective)” (19:35), “The Oracle Pt. 1” (22:24) and “The Oracle Pt. 2” (18:27), and it’s Westman‘s contributions that most stand Hallucinations Inside the Oracle out as a place for newcomers to Øresund Space Collective to dive into. The sitar, which isn’t the first thing we hear on “Reflections in the Mind’s Eye” but is pretty close to it and certainly leading the way, presents an organic core that holds together beneath the inevitable swirl that takes hold from the surrounding lineup of Dr. Space, guitarist/synthesist Magnus, bassist Jiri, drummer Tim, bassist/percussionist Hasse, and guitarist/bassist/violinist/etc. Jonathan, and as far out as the Collective go in these tracks, that core helps set a mood that has a classic East-meets-West (pun maybe 25 percent intended) psychedelic vibe that only makes the surrounding fare more immersive.

oresund space collective

Such is demonstrated when “Reflections in the Mind’s Eye” devolves late into a wash of synth noise ahead of the more Tangerine Dream-style synthesized beatmaking on “ESP (Extreme Spatial Perspective).” There’s no sitar on the second piece from what I can discern, but the synth-fueled thruster fire is complemented by fuzzy guitar and layers of various other lysergic noises, swelling in volume and falling back into the depths of the mix, the very sound of a solar system taking shape from gravity’s pull and the condensation of stellar matter. Circa six minutes, “ESP (Extreme Spatial Perspective)” seems to suddenly come apart, but Øresund Space Collective are able to regroup and salvage the jam, redirecting toward a linear build that pays off with surprising thickness as it approaches and passes its 18th minute, thoroughly living up to and beyond its title. And when it’s over? It’s that synth line that remains as the final element to fade out, ending side B with a message of underlying cohesion — a cosmic plan at work.

And so there is. That plan further shows itself as Westman‘s sitar returns for “The Oracle Pt. 1,” his utter mastery of the instrument once more on display in graceful, gradual surroundings that indeed divide naturally as they’re split up — which is to say, it’s not like the jam was just cut in half in a random place; there’s a lull there where the drums seem to end the first part and begin the second, which also finds Westman moved off sitar onto synth and/or guitar. It’s a noteworthy change because it mirrors the dynamic between “Reflections in the Mind’s Eye” and “ESP (Extreme Spatial Perspective)” back on the first LP, though admittedly, “The Oracle Pt. 2” is less beat-driven than the side B inclusion. Still, the complementary nature of one piece into the next isn’t to be understated, and that it essentially happens twice over the course of Hallucinations Inside the Oracle, albeit in different forms, only makes the album an easier foothold for listeners less familiar with the group’s work or the generally massive scope it encompasses. For those less indoctrinated, it is as much about process as outcome, at least from the point of view of one hearing it.

Øresund Space Collective, as ever, are propelled toward and their music seems to emanate from the very moment of creation itself, the live-captured improvisation serving to represent the root of that moment, the first spark of the Big Bang and all the galaxies it set in motion. “The Oracle Pt. 1” and “The Oracle Pt. 2” represent this as perfectly as any Øresund Space Collective piece I’ve heard since the 45-minute “20 Steps Towards the Invisible Door” from Different Creatures (on which Westman also appeared), because as flowing as they are, they’re also incredibly open, given to whatever the moment of their crafting might bring, whether that’s a sitar lead in the first part or the drone-backed guitar exploration in the midsection of the second.

By following these impulses, Øresund Space Collective continue to hone their singular sonic identity and the resonance of their output continues to thrill and entrance in like measure. Indeed, no matter who seems to be involved in a given release, Øresund Space Collective never fail to offer something nuanced amid their overarchingly raw process, and Hallucinations Inside the Oracle is no exception for its progressive and gorgeously executed, extended course. It’s another check-in from a place in the galaxy that teems with such vibrancy and yet seems to only have a single inhabitant — which is to say, they’re in a space all their own.

Øresund Space Collective, Hallucinations Inside the Oracle (2017)

Øresund Space Collective on The Facebooks

Øresund Space Collective on Bandcamp

Øresund Space Collective website

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Jupiter Zeus Post “Eyes on the Prize” Video; New EP out Now

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Jupiter Zeus Rachael Barrett

If by calling their new EP Eyes on the Prize, Australian heavy progressive metallers Jupiter Zeus meant to say they’re focused in their intentions, then yeah, I’d certainly say the release lives up to it. Peppered with a threat of deeper growling, the foundation of the songcraft seems to be in charged guitar riffing and clear, crisply-presented vocal melodicism. The tracks, of which there are six and which range between three and four minutes apiece, are sharply edged and feel tightly knit, allowing for a no-nonsense feel to permeate even as “Read it and Weep” makes use of sampled crowd noise and closer “Broken Plates” offers a somewhat calmer, more atmospheric take.

The band made their debut in 2014 via Magnetic Eye with the full-length On Earth (discussed here), and they have a new video posted now for the title-track from Eyes on the Prize that you can check out here, along with the EP in its entirety.

From the PR wire:

jupiter zeus eyes on the prize

JUPITER ZEUS’ ‘Eyes on the Prize’ EP Out Now and Streaming / Official Video Released

Perth’s (Australia) JUPITER ZEUS have returned to the world stage in all their riff-immersed, haunting metallic glory with new EP Eyes on the Prize. The official video for the title track is available at https://youtu.be/IHzYJaZeSak.

Arriving three years since the release of 2014 full-length On Earth, the new EP captures in succinct, yet sonically enveloping, form what their countrymen have known since the beginning: JUPITER ZEUS is the real Heavy Rock deal. Get in and get hooked; simple as that.

Stream/Purchase: https://jupiterzeus.bandcamp.com/album/eyes-on-the-prize

Tucked away in Perth, Western Australia, JUPITER ZEUS are the very definition of a band who seem to have come from nowhere… but their arrival – laden with walls of guitar, hypnotic rhythms and almost psychedelic vocals – is far from quiet.

Debuting with the stunning Green Mosquito EP, it’s quite apparent that JUPITER ZEUS aren’t exactly first timers. Their previous incarnation, Nebula, boasted a similarly cosmic slant to the heavier side of rock, and the band were pioneering in breaking ground in South East Asia, earning solid fan-bases in Indonesia and Malaysia. With a similarly global scope, but the advantage of experience at their disposal, JUPITER ZEUS are looking past the horizon of the Indian Ocean to a big world of endless possibilities.

At its heart, the band’s music is about songs… epic, soaring and teaming with hooks. The decorations they put on these songs – tastes of the last 30 years of rock music – identify and define the band on a more specific, potent level. Atoms of worlds colliding, exploding into new compounds and creating new life. A self-evolving universe of sound. From the stage or simply blasting in your car; the sound of JUPITER ZEUS is as monolithic and grand as their namesakes.

Track List:
1. Eyes on the Prize
2. Saviour with Destruction
3. Read it and Weep
4. Midnight Renegade
5. Arise
6. Broken Plates

Line-up:

Aaron Smith – Drums
Simon Staltari – Guitar/Vocals
Jeremy Graham – Bass
Michael Lawson – Guitar

http://www.jupiterzeus.com/
https://jupiterzeus.bandcamp.com/
www.facebook.com/jupiterzeusrock
https://twitter.com/jupiterzeus

Jupiter Zeus, “Eyes on the Prize” official video

Jupiter Zeus, Eyes on the Prize (2017)

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The Obelisk Presents: Benthic Realm, Clamfight & More, Dec. 2 in Worcester, MA

Posted in The Obelisk Presents on October 23rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan

I’ve been fortunate enough to be asked to present some killer shows of late — seriously, check it out — but when it’s friends playing a gig, that’s all the more special to me. This one? Yeah, it’s a no-brainer. Good show. You should go. But the truth is that in addition to appreciating what Benthic Realm and Clamfight do as artists, I know these people. They’re good people. Isn’t life that much better when you can be sure the people you’re supporting aren’t assholes?

The gig has been dubbed the “Mid Atlantic Invasion” — because regionalism — and pits two Massachusetts acts of significant pedigree in Benthic Realm (members of Second Grave and Conclave) and Z/28 (members of Mourne and Grief against Clamfight from Philly and Pennsylvania’s Brain Candle. With Clamfight signed to Argonauta as of this Summer and the release of their new album, III, impending for early 2018, and Benthic Realm having brought in Conclave drummer Dan Blomquist since putting out their self-titled demo (review here) this Spring, it should be a significant battle indeed, and by that I mean way less a battle than bands from different areas getting together and putting on a really good show for those fortunate enough to witness it.

To that end, let me add that Ralph’s Rock Diner in Worcester is, in the now-four-years that I’ve lived in Massachusetts, hands down the best place I’ve found to see a show, and that along with MT Booking, I’m happy to have this site associated with goings on in that space once again. Great sound, cool vibe, good lighting, comfortable space, and burgers downstairs. They’ll even make you coffee if you ask nicely, though they won’t necessarily be happy about it.

Below, Clamfight drummer Andy Martin offers a bit of comment on the gig, and the preliminaries follow. It’s eight bucks. What the hell more could you possibly ask?

benthic-realm-clamfight-show

Andy Martin on the “Mid Atlantic Invasion”:

Allow me to peel back the curtain on how I book most Clamfight shows: Can we make it to work on Monday and is there someone there I want to hug? Whether we think it’ll be a good show is like a distant fourth.

Luckily, Woostah fulfills all of those criterion.

It’s close, and we’ve (finally) got a record to flog, so that takes care of criteria one, and two, it’s home base for a lot of our favorite people.

From our brothers in Conclave, to Faces of Bayon, and our Boston homies who often make the trip out, Massachusetts and particularly Worcester have been really good to us so we are stoked to return, laden with riffs and hugs. Personally, I’m really looking forward to jamming with Benthic Realm for the first time too, and all the more now that they’ve snagged one of my favorite people on Earth, Dan Blomquist as their drummer.

As an added bonus we’ve got Philly shredders Braincandle with us in Worcester and the night before in Brooklyn, so it’s going to be a solid weekend of riffs and shenanigans, and well worth the pain we’ll all be in come Monday.

The Obelisk and MT Booking Present::
A night of Mid Atlantic meets Massachusetts Metal!

Ralph’s Rock Diner
148 Grove St., Worcester, MA
Saturday December 2, 2017
Doors @ 9PM
$8 At the door
21+ With valid I.D.

Benthic Realm (ex-Second Grave/Conclave)
https://benthicrealm.bandcamp.com/

Clamfight (Traveling from NJ/PA)
https://clamfight.bandcamp.com/

Brain Candle (Traveling from PA)
https://braincandlemusic.bandcamp.com/

Z/28 (ex-Grief/Mourne)
https://nobodyridesforfree.bandcamp.com/

Thee Facebooks event page

Benthic Realm on Thee Facebooks

Clamfight on Thee Facebooks

Brain Candle on Thee Facebooks

Z/28 on Thee Facebooks

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Weed Priest Premiere “Vampyr” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 23rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan

weed priest

Irish sludge nasties Weed Priest issue their four-song full-length, Consummate Darkness, on Halloween via Cursed Monk Records. There is a moment toward the chug-mad ending of album opener “Witch’s Curse” that, somehow fittingly to the title, conveys a sense of the genuinely unhinged. I don’t know if the idea was that, as his own guitar and that of Sean “The Tormentor” Sullivan and the bass of Ragas Iscariot devolve into crackling amp noise, the vocals of Adam Diavol — points all around on the names, guys; lest we forget Micheál Dúlachán on drums — shift from the lower-register extreme growing to a higher-pitched cackle. Is this the witch in “Witch’s Curse” speaking directly to the listener? I don’t know, but it sounds utterly fucked, and I’m pretty sure that’s the point. Point taken.

Weed Priest issued their thick-rolling self-titled debut long-player (review here) in 2013 and brought with their volume worship a sense of grim-hued ritualizing. Consummate Darkness feels more about rawer scathe. Set up across two vinyl sides on which a shorter track leads into a longer one —weed priest consummate darkness “Witch’s Curse” (8:04) into “Vampyr” (10:33) on side A; “SkyDaddy” (6:36) into “The Mass” (14:29) on side B — the record isn’t without a sense of structure, but as the horror sample leads to the plodding, post-Electric Wizard launch of “Vampyr,” Weed Priest find themselves engaging a grittier form of extremity, less outwardly crushing and more about the overarching filth conjured through the riffs and the rhythmic nod, the theme taking shape really in “Vampyr” and finding catchier foothold in the speedier “SkyDaddy” before “The Mass” brings about a last push into rumbling oblivion, grueling and mirroring the viciousness of “Witch’s Curse” early while finding spaciousness later in its extended solo section.

Brutal? Why yes it fucking is. That would seem to be the point. One can hear a dynamic shift between the more “rock”-based songcraft of “SkyDaddy” and “The Mass,” certainly, but Weed Priest are far less about showing off their range than they are about bludgeoning their audience with it, and that suits them. “The Mass” ends Consummate Darkness on a long-fading drum march and the funereal vibe is noteworthy; a dirge undertaken with a relished sense of dismemberment, flayed skin and any number of other medieval cruelties having been brought to bear through volume and tempo-be-damned sonic terror.

Today I have the pleasure of hosting the video premiere for “Vampyr” from Consummate Darkness, which can be preordered now via the links below. Please find it on the player here, followed by more info from the PR wire, and if you think your personal constitution is up to it, enjoy.

Here we go:

Weed Priest, “Vampyr” official video premiere

Weed Priest’s second much anticipated full length album “Consummate Darkness” is coming out on Samhain (31th of October) 2017 as vinyl, cd and digital via Cursed Monk Records.

“Lo and behold! From the depths of the smoke filled dungeons, from the tops of the mountains of madness, the priest is coming back with the new opus. Four hymns depicting the unholy ceremonies of union with darkness, four sermons of crawling doom, four spits into the face of conformity and meekness.”

Adam (guitar, vocals), Ragas (bass) and Adrian (drums) were brought together by the love of classic Black Sabbath sound, seventies psychedelic rock, doom/sludge metal and their interest in occultism in 2009. In 2011 Weed Priest released a well received demo CD. A grandiose debut self-titled full length album came out in 2013 and is now sold out. It was followed by “Worship” EP (2014). In 2014 the drum throne was taken over by Michael. Second guitar player Sean also joined. Two split releases followed: split single with Northern Irish doom brothers Astralnaut (February 2015) and split EP with Italian doomsters Black Capricorn (September 2016).

WEED PRIEST:
Adam Diavol – lead guitar/vox
Ragas Iscariot – bass
San “Balor” Sullivan – guitar
Micheál Dúlachán – drums

Weed Priest on Thee Facebooks

Weed Priest on Bandcamp

Weed Priest BigCartel store

Cursed Monk Records on Thee Facebooks

Cursed Monk Records on Bandcamp

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Tuber, Out of the Blue: Beyond the Desert

Posted in Reviews on October 23rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan

tuber out of the blue

As part of a countrywide surge in heavy productivity in Greece taking place over, say, the last five years, instrumentalist four-piece Tuber issued their debut full-length, Desert Overcrowded, late in 2013 as the follow-up to their 2012 self-titled EP (discussed here), and with the longer release, seemed to be making a statement of individualized intent, positioning themselves outside the genre of heavy rock while at the same time being very much of the style and its influence. It was a lot to say for a band without lyrics, but as the Serres-based outfit, comprised of Nickos Gerostathos, Paris Fragkos, Yannis Gerostathos and Yannis Artzoglou, offer their second long-player, Out of the Blue, through NEDA Records, they would seem all the more to manifest the ethic that drove its predecessor while also taking a significant step forward in sound.

There is still a root within heavy rock, to be sure, but to listen to a track like “Cat Class,” which its darker guitar chug and running keyboard line, Tuber appear to have shifted into a much more progressive take on the style. Psychedelic elements remain and can be heard elsewhere in the guitar of the penultimate “Moon Rabbit,” but Out of the Blue even takes these more to a place of post-Russian Circles heavy post-rock in terms of their balance between airiness of tonal drift and underlying crunch, and thereby only provides a richer feel for the prog edge overall. It’s not an easy transition to make, and it’s not every band who could make it and still come across as fluidly as Tuber do in these six songs, but they successfully manipulate established styles to their own ends throughout, and so are able to provide an emotional crux as well as aesthetic intrigue to a piece the eight-minute “Norman.”

Crucial factors throughout Out of the Blue are tension and the keyboards. Tuber issued the album at the end of May very much in the manner of its title — it wasn’t on Bandcamp and then it was; blamo — and I’ll admit that part of my months-long delay in giving it a proper review has been down to processing their methods. I won’t claim to have a total grasp on what they’re doing — I’d just about never claim that about anyone — but there’s no question that from the opening title-track onward, the keyboards play a huge role in setting the mood and establishing the range with which the band is working overall. Synthesized beats are the first thing one hears as “Out of the Blue” begins, and though by the first minute drums and guitar have joined in and the song is soon to take off on a bit of deceptively angular riffing, it’s still the keys that have charted the course ahead.

tuber

The shortest inclusion, “Russian” (5:40), follows and is more guitar led, but retains a complex structure of its own. It doesn’t move as patiently into a drifting midsection (again, filled out by keyboards, bass and guitar in balance) like the opener before it, or hit into the same kind of payoff wash, but with a focus more on the heads-down business of riffing, Tuber offer a charge late in the song born of progressive metal à la Tool or the aforementioned Russian Circles leading into the drum start of “Cat Class” and thereby emphasizing the dynamic manner in which they’re able to play to one side or another within their sound even as they expand the parameters of where that sound can go. After “Russian,” the underlying chug of “Cat Class” seems to have a different context as opposed to being taken on its own — one rarely expects to have their mind drawn to mid-period Rammstein by a heavy rock record — but here the key element of tension emerges in the note-to-note bounce and the upbeat drumming, and once more the keyboards are essential to conveying that vibe as they complement the guitar, flesh out the arrangement, and starting at about three minutes in, make their own statement of melodicism rightly featured at the fore of the mix before the next push of thicker riffing takes hold.

“Cat Class” is a standout for bringing to mind a new wave-meets-heavy prog sensibility that’s almost definitively Tuber‘s own, but it’s still just a fraction of what they offer on Out of the Blue as “Norman” answers back with an oddly-timed start of drums and keys, letting the guitar ease its way in more gradual fashion on the album’s most subtle linear build taking place over first two-plus minutes. It’s not until about 2:45 that “Norman” takes flight, and by then the listener is duly hypnotized; an old trick as far as instrumentalist heavy is concerned, but a level of engagement on which Tuber haven’t relied before and so feeling fresh within the sphere of these cuts, and they recede no less smoothly only to mount an even more tense apex the second time around before finally crashing out and letting “Moon Rabbit” come in as an answer to “Russian” back on side A that once again puts the focus more on guitar than keys — drums and bass, as ever, the foundation on which all of this interaction is taking place, it’s worth emphasizing — but nonetheless retains a heavy post-rocking texture and patience, for which the second track ultimately had little time.

This varied and gracefully executed depth has to find resolution somewhere, and one looks immediately to closer “Luckily Dead” to provide that very thing. In following “Moon Rabbit,” which efficiently capped with what feels by the end of the song like its chorus in the sense of an instrumental hook, the finale starts with a darker, lower keyboard line and a slower drum beat, the guitar entering like a tinted mirror of “Norman” but marked out by the immediate shift in mood. “Luckily Dead” indeed sets itself to the task of paying off the tension mounted all across the record before it — whether it was written specifically for that purpose or just well placed, I couldn’t say — but the flow of the seven-plus-minute piece casts itself as yet another significant factor in what makes Out of the Blue so successful on the whole, since while Tuber clearly aren’t shooting for the same kind of raw, live feel in their recording style as many psychedelic bands, instead leaning more toward a crisp, prog-style production with Fragkos at the helm as engineer/mixer, they still retain and demonstrate a level of chemistry among themselves as players that simply can’t and shouldn’t be ignored.

It’s what allows them to foster such a multifaceted take while holding firm to their underlying sonic persona, and it’s what has allowed them to develop that sonic persona in the first place. One can only hope as they continue to move forward — which it’s safe to bet that barring disaster they will; there’s little here that shows any interest in stagnation on any level — they are able to maintain that aspect as well as to press ahead with their approach, because with Out of the Blue it has resulted in a work as distinct as it is distinguished. If Tuber found the desert too crowded for their liking, they’ve definitely moved into a space more completely to themselves.

Tuber, Out of the Blue (2017)

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