The Spring 2021 Quarterly Review begins here, and as our long winter of plague-addled discontent is made glorious spring by this son of York Beach, I can hardly wait to dig in. You know the drill. 50 records between now and Friday, 10 per day. It’s a lot. It’s always a lot. That’s the point.

Words on the page. If I have a writing philosophy, that’s it. Head down, keep working. And that’s the challenge here. Can you get over your own crap and say what you need to say about 10 records every day for five days straight out? I’ll be exhausted by the end of the week for sure. I’ll let you know when we get there if it feels any different. Till then, let’s roll.

Quarterly Review #1-10:

Wolvennest, Temple

The second full-length offering — and I mean that: ‘offering’ — from Belgium’s Wolvennest is an expansive and immersive follow-up to their 2018 debut, Void, as the Brussels six-piece offers next-stage extreme cult rock. Across 77 willfully-unmanageable and mind-altering minutes, the troupe caroms between (actual) psychedelic black metal and sheer sonic ritualism, and the intent is made plain from 12:26 opener/longest track (immediate points) “Mantra” onward. Wolvennest are enacting a ceremony and it’s up to the listener to be willing to engage with the material on that level. Their command is unwavering as the the heft and wash of “Alecto” and the ethereal swirl and dual vocal arrangement of “All that Black” show, but while King Dude himself shows up on “Succubus,” and that’s fun, especially followed by the penultimate downward march of “Disappear,” the greatest consumption is saved for “Souffle de Mort” (“breath of death,” in English; it’s not about eggs). In that 10-minute finale, marked out by the French-language declarations of Shazzula Vultura, Wolvennest not only make it plain just how far they’ve brought you, but that they intend to leave you there as well.

Wolvennest on Thee Facebooks

Ván Records website

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Lammping, New Jaws EP

A 15-minute playful jaunt into the funk-grooving max-fuzzed whatever-works garage headtrip if Toronto’s Lammping is right on the money. The four-piece start channel-spanning and mellow with “Jaws of Life” — which is a righteous preach, even though I don’t know the lyrics — and follow with the complementary vibe of “The Funkiest,” which would seem to be titled in honor of its bassline and conjures out-there’est Masters of Reality in its face-painted BlueBoy lysergics over roughly traditional songwriting. Is “Neverbeen” weirder? You know it. Dreamily so, and it’s followed by the genuinely-experimental 40 seconds of “Big Time the Big Boss” and the closer “Other Shoe,” which if it doesn’t make you look forward to the next Lammping album, I’m sorry to say it, but you might be dead. Sorry for your loss. Of you. This shit is killer and deserves all the ears it can get with its early ’90s weirdness that’s somehow also from the late ’60s and still the future too because what is time anyway and screw it we’re all lost let’s ride.

Lammping on Instagram

Nasoni Records website

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Lykantropi, Tales to Be Told

Tales to Be Told is the late-2020 third long-player from Swedish classicists Lykantropi, following 2019’s Spirituosa (review here) with a warmth of tone that’s derived from ’70s folk rock and vaguely retro in its tones and drum sounds, but remains modern in its hookmaking and it’s not exactly like they’re trying to hide where they’re coming from when they break out the flute sounds. Harmonies in “Mother of Envy” make that song a passionate highlight, while the respective side-endings in “Kom Ta Mig Ut” and “Världen Går Vidare” add to the exploratory and roots-proggy listening experience, the album’s finale dropping its drums before the three-minute mark to allow for a drifting midsection en route to a class finish that answers the choruses of “Spell of Me” and “Axis of Margaret” earlier with due spaciousness. Clean and clear and wanting nothing aesthetically or emotionally, Tales to Be Told is very much a third album in how realized it feels.

Lykantropi on Thee Facebooks

Despotz Records website

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Mainliner, Dual Myths

Japanese trio Mainliner — comprised of guitarist Kawabata Makoto (Acid Mothers Temple), bassist/vocalist Kawabe Taigen (Bo Ningen) and drummer Koji Shimura (Acid Mothers Temple) — are gentle at the outset of Dual Myths but don’t wait all that long before unveiling their true freak-psych intention in the obliterating 20 minutes of “Blasphemy Hunter,” the opener/longest track (immediate points) that’s followed by the likewise side-consuming left-the-air-lock-behind-and-found-antimatter-was-made-of-feedback “Hibernator’s Dream” (18:38), the noisier, harsher fuckall spread of “Silver Guck” (19:28) and the gut-riffed/duly scorched jazz shredder “Dunamist Zero” (20:08), which culminates the 2LP beast about as well as anything could, earning the gatefold with sheer force of intent to be and to harness the far-out into some loosely tangible thing. Stare into the face of the void and the void doesn’t so much stare back as turn your lungs into party balloons.

Mainliner on Thee Facebooks

Riot Season Records website

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DayGlo Mourning, Dead Star

On a certain level, what you see is what you get with the Orion slavegirl warriors, alien mushrooms and caithan beast that adorn DayGlo Mourning‘s debut album, the six-song/35-minute Dead Star, in that they’re suitably nestled into the sonic paraphernalia of stoner-doom as well as the visual. With bassist Jerimy McNeil and guitarist Joseph Mills sharing vocal duties over Ray Miner‘s drums, variety of melody and throatier shouts are added to the deep-toned largesse of riff, and the Atlanta trio most assuredly have their heads on when it comes to knowing what they want to do sound-wise. The hard-hit hi-hat of “Faithful Demise” comes with some open spaces after the fuzzy lumber that caps “Bloodghast,” and as “Ashwhore” and “Witch’s Ladder” remind a bit of the misogyny inherent in witchy folklore — at the end of the day it was all about killing pretty girls — the grooves remain fervent and the forward potential on the part of the band likewise. It’s a sound big enough that there isn’t really any room left for bullshit.

DayGlo Mourning on Thee Facebooks

Black Doomba Records webstore

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Chamán, Maleza

Issued in the waning hours of Dec. 2020, Chamán‘s 70-minute, six-song debut album, Maleza, is a psicodelico cornucopia of organic-toned delights, from the more forward-fuzz of “Poliforme” — which is a mere six and a half minutes long but squeezes in a drum solo — to the 13-plus-minute out-there salvo that is “Malezo,” “Concreto” and “Temazcal,” gorgeously trippy and drifting and building on what the Mendozza, Argentina, three-piece conjure early in the proceedings with “Despierta” and “Ganesh,” each over 10 minutes as well. Even in Maleza‘s most lucid moments, the spirit of improv and live recording remains vibrant, and however these songs were built out to their current form, I’m just glad they were. Whether you put it on headphones and bliss out for 70 minutes or you end up using it as a backdrop for whatever your day might bring, Chamán‘s sprawling and melted soundscapes are ready to embrace and enfold you.

Chamán on The Facebooks

Chamán on Bandcamp

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Sonic Demon, Vendetta

Italian duo Sonic Demon bring a lethal dose of post-Electric Wizard grit fuzz and druggy echoed snarl to their debut full-length, Vendetta, hitting a particularly nasty low end vibe early on “Black Smoke” and proving willing to ride that out for the duration with bouts of spacier fare in “Fire Meteorite” and side A capper “Cosmic Eyes” before the second half of the 40-minute outing renews the buzz with “FreakTrip.” Deep-mixed drums make the guitar and bass sound even bigger, and such is the morass Sonic Demon make that even their faster material seems slow; that means “Hxxxn” must be extra crawling to feel as nodded-out as it does. Closing duo “Blood and Fire” and “Serpent Witch” don’t have much to say that hasn’t already been said, style-wise, but they feel no less purposeful in sealing the hypnosis cast by the songs before them. If you can’t hang with repetition, you can’t hang, and the filth in the speedier-ish last section of “Serpent Witch” isn’t enough to stop it from being catchy.

Sonic Demon on Thee Facebooks

The Swamp Records on Bandcamp

Forbidden Place Records website

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Sow Discord, Quiet Earth

Sow Discord is the solo industrial doom/experimentalist project of David Coen, also known for his work in Whitehorse, and the bleak feel that pervades his debut full-length under the moniker, Quiet Earth, is resonant and affecting. Channeling blowout beats and speaker-throbbing crush on “Ruler,” Coen elsewhere welcomes Many Blessings (aka Ethan Lee McCarthy, also of Primitive Man) and The Body as guests for purposefully disturbing conjurations. Cuts like “Desalination” and “Functionally Extinct” churn with an atmosphere that feels born of a modern real-world apocalypse, and it’s hard to tell ultimately whether closer “The World Looks on with Pity and Scorn” is offering condolence or condemnation, but either way you go, the bitter harshness that carries over is the thread that weaves all this punishment together, and as industrial music pushes toward new extremes, even “Everything Has Been Exhausted” manages to feel fresh in its pummel.

David Coen on Instagram

AR53 Productions on Bandcamp

Tartarus Records on Bandcamp

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Cerbère, Cerbère

Formed by members of Lord Humungus, Frank Sabbath and Carpet Burns, Cerbère offer three tracks of buried-alive extreme sludge on their self-titled debut EP, recorded live in the band’s native Paris during a pandemic summer when it was illegal to leave the house. Someone left the house, anyhow, and the resultant three cuts are absolutely unabashed in their grating approach, enough so to warrant in-league status with masters of misanthropy like Grief or Khanate, even if Cerbère move more throughout the 15-minute closing title-track, and dare to add some trippy guitar later on. The two prior cuts, “Julia” — the sample at the beginning feels especially relevant in light of the ongoing Notre Dame rebuild — and “Aliéné” are no less brutal if perhaps more compact. I can’t be sure, because I just can’t, but it’s entirely possible “Aliéné” is the only word in the song that bears its name. That wouldn’t work in every context. Here it feels earned, along with the doomier lead that follows.

Cerbère on Thee Facebooks

Cerbère on Bandcamp

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Dali’s Llama, Dune Lung

They’ve cooled down a bit from the tear they were on for a few years there, but Dali’s Llama‘s new Dune Lung EP is no less welcome for that. The desert-dwelling four-piece founded by guitarist/vocalist Zach and bassist Erica Huskey bring a laid back roll to the nonetheless palpably heavy “Nothing Special,” backing the opener with the fuzzy sneer of “Complete Animal,” the broader-soundscape soloing of “Merricat Blackwood,” and the more severe groove of “STD (Suits),” all of which hit with a fullness of sound that feels natural while giving the band their due as a studio unit. Dali’s Llama have been and continue to be significantly undervalued when it comes to desert rock, and Dune Lung is another example of why that is and how characteristic they are in sound and execution. Good band, and they’re edging ever closer to the 30-year mark. Seems like as good a time as any to be appreciated for the work they’ve done and do.

Dali’s Llama on Thee Facebooks

Dali’s Llama on Bandcamp

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The Pinx‘s exclamatory five-track Electric! EP, out now, puts guitarist/vocalist Adam McIntyre (also now of StoneRider) back in the drivers seat as regards production after relinquishing the helm for the band’s 2019 third full-length, Sisters and Brothers. The Atlanta-based four-piece offer five new tracks on the quick-turnaround short release — they also put out a couple holiday singles last December — and whether it’s the opener “Victimless Crime,” the pointedly catchy “Bad Behavior,” the semi-psychedelic centerpiece “Hammer of the Dogs” or the rushing “It’s Electric” or the turn to ’70s Southern fluidity in the double-lead guitar and harmonies of “See You Later,” McIntyre and the band around him comprised of guitarist/vocalist Chance McColl, bassist Charles Wiles and drummer Cayce Buttrey bring efficiency right to the forefront of the work they’re doing. Stylistic turns are quick and unannounced but a pleasure to follow. Pretense is nowhere to be found. The material is well written, well performed, well produced. It sounds like rock and roll to me.

That’s almost a novelty in an age of genre-minded hyper-specialization, but The Pinx comport themselves with a classic methodology while letting the recording itself carry across the energy of the band to which the EP’s title is so clearly alluding. Electric! is something of a stripping down as compares to Sisters and Brothers, and that’s reportedly the idea, but if you had to pick a time to go to ground, reset, and push yourself to do something kind of new in the studio, well, it’s not like there’s a show to play instead. Not to be glib or anything, but if the cathartic burst of these tracks is productive for McIntyre — also a prolific solo artist — and the group as a whole, then so be it. “See You Later” brings in some of the embellishment of the band’s more Southern rocking work, as noted, but even that is more about drive than pastoralism, and whether it’s a one-off or an entire realignment of purpose, it suits The Pinx well. Electric! is engaging while asking shockingly little of the listener other maybe than that they keep up, and frankly, doing so is what makes the thing fun in the first place.

The EP is out and you can stream the full thing below. “It’s Electric” is the second video collaboration between The Pinx and esteemed psychotropic-oil-duder Lance Gordon of The Mad Alchemy Liquid Lightshow, who gets his hands dirty so you can get your mind dirty. Of course I’m going to tell you to watch the video — colors are pretty and it’s premiering below — but you should know in so doing that Electric! takes on a number of directions, and the push here is just one of them.

You got three and a half minutes for rock and roll? Of course you do.

Enjoy:

The Pinx, “It’s Electric” official video premiere

Adam McIntyre on “It’s Electric”:

“I met Lance of Mad Alchemy when my other band Stonerider opened for Graveyard and Radio Moscow. They had this fellow working lights doing that old-school Fillmore West projection and I just started asking him questions. I liked the idea that the ‘light guy’ wasn’t pushing buttons and faders, but actually putting his hands into this stew of colors and bathing the bands in his magical creations. Lance and I just clicked. I saw the possibilities for connecting with the crowd in a different way, and it took a while and a pandemic, but I found the card he gave me back in 2013 and finally started working with him. It wasn’t live shows, as I’d always expected we’d do, but making videos instead. I gave very little direction to him. He’s playing off of the music, so I’ve already given him the music as my direction. His visual interpretation is his own.”

The Pinx are back with another collaboration with visual artists Mad Alchemy, whose dynamic, psychedelic oil projection backgrounds have graced the stages of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Temples, Radio Moscow, Graveyard, Circles Around The Sun and many more. This video showcases a few new editing tricks to bring out the dynamics in the music. Oil Projection by Lance Gordon, Titles and editing by Ryne Freed.

As for the song, it says what it does, does what it says. This is The Pinx in pure, sweaty and electrifying ROCK mode.

Recorded and mixed at Bear Pause by Adam McIntyre
Mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering

The Pinx are:
Adam McIntyre – Lead Vocals & Lead Guitar
Chance McColl – Lead Guitar and Vocals
Charles Wiles – Bass & Backing Vocals
Cayce Buttrey – Drums & Backing Vocals

The Pinx, Electric! (2020)

The Pinx website

The Pinx on Thee Facebooks

The Pinx on Instagram

The Pinx on Bandcamp

Netherlands-based heavy jammers Atlanta release their second album, Nugrybauti, this week through Lay Bare Recordings. The band features the guitar work of Pieter Holkenborg, who took part in Gary Arce‘s one-time European incarnation of Ten East — a Yawning Man jam that wasn’t, but it resulted in a cool album in 2016 — as well as drummer Bob Hogenelst of Birth of Joy and now Molassess, and bassist Sebas van Olst of Typhoon and Cool Genius, so that these dudes would get it together and know what they’re doing when jamming shouldn’t really be a surprise. Atlanta, however, have more than a pedigree of as-yet-underrated bands to offer. Having made their debut in 2018 with the 50-tapes-pressed Flamingo, they resurface through Lay Bare with a cohesive set of six-plus-one instrumental progressions, some longer, some shorter, all exploratory in an at least semi-improvised fashion. The bass or the guitar or the drums start off, the others join in, and they go until the going’s done. It should be a familiar process to those whose heads have been blown out once or twice by modern heavy psychedelia, but there’s again, there’s more here than superficially meets the ear.

Because Nugrybauti — the title of which translates from Lithuanian to mean “to go wandering in search of mushrooms,” according to the band — does more than meander. Particularly driven by Hogenelst‘s drumming, a cut like the later “Lu Li” has a jazzy underpinning to coincide with its spacious guitar work (the echoes bringing to mind, yes, an Arce connection), and as the opening salvo shifts from “Marabou Blues” to “Honolulu Strut” and “Deventer Kunstweg,” the former referencing an African stork, the middle a seeming nod to its for-a-walk drum pattern if not the volcanic lava roll of tone that consumes its second half, and the latter an art walk in the city of Deventer, the Netherlands, there’s an immediate sense of Atlanta inviting the listener to interact with the material on more than just an auditory level. It’s not necessarily Google-this-while-listening, which is what I did — yeah that’s right, I had to translate “kunstweg” — but the beginning point of a conversation in which the band hopes its audience will take part, as well as a conversation among the players themselves. That second conversation is the most vivid throughout Nugrybauti, but as Atlanta go wandering, they still find ways to add flourish to what would otherwise be raw jams.

To wit, the piano and backwards guitar on “Honolulu Strut” or the surfy echo on “Marabou Blues” and the fuzzy solo burn on as “Deventer Kunstweg” propels through its apex. Side B offers a likeminded trio of delights in “Dog Whistle Concert No. 5 in E Minor,” the aforementioned “Lu Li” and comparatively mellow closer “Firefly Lullaby” before the noise-laden bonus track “Postzegel Kwijt” takes hold to salt the earth around it and ensure those subdued free jazz vibes at the end of the song before get duly roughed up before they send listeners on their way. That’s hardly the first example of willful abrasion — “Dog Whistle Concert No. 5 in E Minor” could very well take its title from the pitch of the lead guitar in its back half, and the lumber of “Honolulu Strut” gives way to a ready-set-go freakout that seems to carry over into “Deventer Kunstweg” even as that song starts out with its steady and stately drumming before the next round of noodling begins. The bass might be the anchor to it all, or maybe that’s the drums, or maybe there is no anchor and their mushroom-bound journey is out there on its own, floating and diving in various directions as it goes.

That’s a fun thought, but the truth of Atlanta‘s sophomore LP is it’s more focused than that paints it, and just because they’re improvising doesn’t necessarily mean the three-piece don’t have an idea of where they want a given piece to end up. Still, they carry across their sound with a marked dynamic, expanding on live energy without sacrificing it, crafting material that is raw at the same time it demonstrates breadth and a colorful scope that, like each subtle turn of bass or each ghost pop of a snare, is just waiting for the listener to take hold it and be carried off who knows where. In the end, did they find the mushrooms? Yeah, it seems pretty clear they did.

You can check out the entirety of Nugrybauti on the player below, courtesy of Lay Bare Recordings. More PR wire background follows.

Please enjoy:

https://soundcloud.com/user-720981007/sets/nugrybauti/s-TaU5bf2DVdW

NUGRYBAUTI (Lithuanian): to become distracted during a task, literally to get lost wandering in search of mushrooms.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic drew a lethal amount of blood out of this year’s festivals and publicly attended live music performances ATLANTA planned to release their second recording (this time in the form of an LP vinyl album) at the infamous Mañana Mañana festival in The Netherlands.

Lay Bare Recordings was steadfast on not waiting and releasing it despite our hopes to present our fully improvised music live in front of curious and eager audience.
Because; well yeah, who knows what the future holds.

However intuitive, elementary and free spirited (the source of) our music and inspired our three separate musical energies are in a live setting, we decided to go along with the expertise of this kindred spirit.

Because now more than ever we DO feel the urge of bringing our drifting soundscapes in a time where every movement is restricted.

Misprints and off-centric vinyl could not distract us from getting our fans TOP NOTCH music and vinyl. So we acted and were eagerly waiting on a new batch of 250 pcs heavy weight coloured vinyl.

We finally can reveal what was kept under wraps!

So for you to walk, sit, stumble, float and/or lay along the travels of “Nugrybauti” the release of Atlanta’s 2nd (but first label endorsed) recording is out there NOW and purchasable here: https://laybarerecordings.com/release/nugrybauti-by-atlanta-lbr030

ATLANTA is:
Bob Hogenelst (Birth Of Joy/Molasses) – Drums
Sebas van Olst (Typhoon/Cool Genius) – Bass
Pieter Holkenborg (Automatic Sam/Ten East) – Guitar

Atlanta on Thee Facebooks

Atlanta on Bandcamp

Lay Bare Recordings website

Based in Miami and Atlanta, the Southeastern two-piece of Juan Montoya (ex-Torche) and Evan DiPrima (ex-Royal Thunder) form the core of Moon Destroys, and their mission, at least judging by the bit of their aptly-titled debut EP, Maiden Voyage, that I’ve had the chance to hear, would seem to be to further blur the line between heavy and prog, which is a barrier that over the last several years has only become increasingly obscure. Inevitably that will lead to a snap-back/regression sooner or later, but that’s years away, frankly, and in the interim, an outfit like Moon Destroys, which brings shades of Montoya‘s brighter-tinged guitar work along with guest vocals from Cynic‘s Paul Masvidal and Mastodon‘s Troy Sanders — working that prog angle — makes for a fascinating as well as head-spinning listen. You can stream “Blue Giant” below, which is the cut with Sanders, and it’s one to keep up with, but it proves worth the effort to do so.

Something cool to check out that doesn’t sound like everything else? Yeah, I’ll give that upwards of four minutes out of my day, thanks. Preorders are also a thing.

Dig:

MOON DESTROYS (ex-TORCHE, ex-ROYAL THUNDER): Announce Debut EP Maiden Voyage coming March 27th

MOON DESTROYS is the brainchild of guitarist Juan Montoya (ex-Torche) and drummer Evan Diprima ( Brother Hawk, ex-Royal Thunder). Having written together in various configurations for over a decade, they now come together under the auspices of celestial forces with a new project to unveil their mesmerizing debut EP Maiden Voyage.

An experiment of truly galactic proportions, MOON DESTROYS blend heavy riffage with psychedelic flourishes and vivid imagery across two intricately designed centerpiece tracks; “Blue Giant” along with “Stormbringer” featuring the gorgeous vocals of Paul Masvidal (Cynic) and layers of synths from Bryan Richie (The Sword). Three instrumental bursts connect the pieces together to create one mind-melting trip across the cosmic highway! Maiden Voyage is an absorbing, dynamic and forward-thinking debut that explores the new frontiers of heavy music in the 21st century.

Maiden Voyage will be released on March 27th on LP/Digital via Brutal Panda Records and is available for pre-order at this LOCATION.

Tracklisting:
1. At The End Of Time
2. Blue Giant (feat. Troy Sanders)
3. The Shores Of The Cosmic Ocean
4. Stormbringer (feat. Paul Masvidal)
5. The Edge Of Forever

https://www.facebook.com/moondestroys/
https://www.instagram.com/moondestroys/
https://www.moondestroys.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BrutalPandaRecords
http://instagram.com/brutalpandarecords
http://www.brutalpandarecords.com

Moon Destroys, “Blue Giant”

Mastodon, Leviathan (2004)

Later this summer will mark 15 years since the release of Mastodon‘s second album, Leviathan. No doubt there will be something down to celebrate the anniversary, either by the band itself or by the label, Relapse Records, who put it out, and one could hardly argue. What was one of the best heavy albums of the aughts remains infectious in its energy right from the outset of “Blood and Thunder,” the tense riff paying off in a guest vocal appearance from Clutch‘s Neil Fallon as the Atlanta four-piece of Troy Sanders (bass, vocals), Brent Hinds (guitar, vocals), Bill Kelliher (guitar) and Brann Dailor (drums) crafted a tempest befitting the song and album’s seafaring, Moby Dick-derived theme. “White whale, holy grail,” and so on. Across 10 tracks and 46 minutes, Mastodon demonstrated a dynamic approach that not only took a leap forward from their 2002 debut, Remission, but was essentially a leap forward for heavy metal, striking out in a direction that saw no reason to compromise between impact and progressivism, driven by Dailor‘s snare-overload mania on drums to conjure an urgency that by then was lacking in the dominant creative staleness of metalcore, and that hit with a diversity of songwriting, a balance of melody and burl, and a winding course that every bit sounded like the future. Leviathan‘s impact was immediate and a decade and a half later, it is ongoing.

I got married in a Leviathan t-shirt. Relapse still sells it — it’s the one with the whale from the incredible Paul A. Romano cover art on front — and it felt classy enough to go with a tuxedo. Like Metallica before them and Conan after, Mastodon had their time as a band who, when you saw someone else wearing their shirt, it said something about them. Around the time of Leviathan, it was safe to assume that person knew what was up. Radio had largely abandoned metal unless you had a satellite account. Social media existed if you were willing to sit in front of a computer to get it — and plenty people were — and file-sharing had largely gone underground from the Napster fallout. Print media existed but was unmistakably in decline, and the sphere of digital outlets was nowhere near as broad as it was today. Still everyone, seemed to agree on this record. Granted, Mastodon were a big enough band to divide opinion — people either actively liked or actively disliked them — but consensus generally was Mastodon had created something special in the furies of “Ísland,” “Iron Tusk” and “I am Ahab,” the surprising Southern rock departure in “Megalodon,” the sprawling crescendo of the 13-minute “Hearts Alive” and the more melodic and catchy “Naked Burn” and the righteous preach of the second guest vocal spot, this one from Neurosis‘ Scott Kelly — who’d join Mastodon in the studio and tour with them on more than one occasion — and it was their ability to control it that truly made their sound so powerful. Yeah, they were absolutely putting on a clinic in terms of technicality, but whether it was the throaty moans of “I am Ahab” or the acoustic comedown in closer “Joseph Merrick,” there was nothing Mastodon did that loosened their grasp on the material. I once heard Tom Araya or Kerry King from Slayer — can’t remember which — describe Dave Lombardo‘s drumming by saying that it sounds like the whole song is going to crash and come flying apart at all times, but it never does. With Mastodon during the Leviathan era, that was the whole band. They struck at the perfect generational moment to spearhead a new wave of progressive metal, and the impact of their work in doing that is continuing to flesh out. At this point, they’re a band other bands grew up listening to.

Was Leviathan the Millennial Master of Puppets? I don’t know, but it was definitely the Leviathan, and that seems like enough.

There have been continual vinyl pressings done since the release, and my only issue with that would be it would preclude listening at such a volume as to vibrate the stylus over the platter, but for me, Leviathan has always worked best in linear form. A 46-minute CD, front to back. I won’t discount the appeal of a side flip as a moment to catch one’s breath — arguably necessary after “Aqua Dementia” — but the way the songs tie together while still providing standout moments, and the breadth of the album as a whole, it just seems to function as one larger piece. Even the way “Ísland” ends and “Iron Tusk” picks up on the next beat, or the way “Blood and Thunder” seems to cut with just the slightest stutter into “I am Ahab.” With the recording of Matt Bayles, Mastodon were able to capture a blend of nuance and pummel that, no matter how many others would try to pick up on what they were doing, remains largely unmatched by whatever measurement you care to use.

Before Blood Mountain surfaced in 2006, Mastodon departed Relapse for Warner Bros. subsidiary Reprise Records. I remember their statement about the signing was almost apologetic. They’d go on to do what many consider their greatest work in 2008’s Crack the Skye, but to be honest, by then they’d pretty much lost me. I’ve still never really sat with that record or anything they’ve done since, though I’ve seen them live on several occasions between then and now. The Hunter in 2011 and Once More ‘Round the Sun in 2014 garnered mixed reviews, but 2017’s Emperor of Sand seemed to do well for them, which is fine. They always have a good showing in the year-end polls here. Once Blood Mountain came out, the balance of impact and intensity against melody and progginess shifted, and once that happens on such a scale, there’s no real going back. I’m sure I’ve missed out, but somehow I don’t think Mastodon are exactly hurting without my ultra-fandom. I continue to appreciate Leviathan and Remission, and even the earlier Lifesblood EP and split with American Heritage — plus that time they covered Thin Lizzy‘s “Emerald”; that was fun — to a lesser extent, for the landmark accomplishments they were. Are. Will continue to be. That’s probably enough.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

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I have a cold. Fuckers. The baby gave it to me, which, yes, I take personally. No doubt he meant to do it. Malicious intent behind it and all that. He’s been letting me know via boogers all week what he thinks of my pitiful attempts at parenting. Can’t say I’d do different were I in his position. I am pretty awful at being a dad.

Next week we’re down in Jersey for a good portion of the time. Kind of a surprise jaunt south, but we’ll be there long enough for me to go see YOB, Voivod and Amenra in Brooklyn and that’ll be fun assuming I can remember to bring my camera. The show is at Warsaw, which I’m not sure I’ve ever actually been to, but has been doing shows for a long time. Keeping my fingers crossed for a photo pit so I can actually go and both take pictures and enjoy the show. We’ll see.

This weekend is a new episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio. Sunday, 7PM EDT. Listen at http://gimmeradio.com. Please. It covers some cool stuff from the Quarterly Review and other odds and ends that have been kicking my ass lately, like the new Valley of the Sun, which is easily their best work to-date.

Notes for next week? Yeah, I’ve got some. Hang on.

Okay Subject to change, of course:

MON 04/01 THE DRUIDS REVIEW; CEGVERA VIDEO PREMIERE; KANDODO VIDEO
TUE 04/02 THE DEVIL AND THE ALMIGHTY BLUES REVIEW; MORASS OF MOLASSES PREMIERE
WED 04/03 STONE MACHINE ELECTRIC VIDEO PREMIERE
THU 04/04 THE DRY MOUTHS ALBUM STREAM
FRI 04/05 YOB LIVE REVIEW

Busy busy. Probably for the best. Even with this cold, which I’m very much hoping will dissipate over the weekend and both I and the baby can leave bastard-mode go back to our non-boogery selves. We shall see.

In the meantime, slept poorly last night. I went to bed after picking The Patient Mrs. up at work, circa 5PM, but was reading a Deep Space Nine book (Ascendance, if you’re curious) and didn’t get to sleep, so came back downstairs for Pecan bedtime ritual and subsequent delicious leftovers dinner, then did my own futz ritual and went back to bed. I was asleep around 8PM maybe, or before that, and the alarm went off at 4AM to get up and come do this. Was up around 10:30 though, my head reeling and congested. Always forget about that with colds. You have to find just the right angle so the mucus drains and doesn’t drown you while you sleep. Shit is difficult.

And yet there are people who believe humans were intelligently designed, like your snot was made in the image of god. Even if you want to believe humans were “designed,” intelligence would not seem to have been a factor in the slightest. If it were, people probably wouldn’t believe in things like intelligent design.

But hey, how ’bout that Mueller report though, huh? Turns out no one’s coming to save us.

At least it’s baseball season.

I hope you have a great and safe weekend. I’m gonna go grab the baby, who’s awake, and start the day. Please check out Forum, Radio and merch at Dropout.

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A full 170 years after their last release, Atlanta heavy space rockers Telestrion return with a new one worthy of the distance from its predecessor. Okay, so maybe not 170 years, but Telestrion issued the vinyl-only EP, Molecule (review here), in 2012, and that certainly feels like two lifetimes ago. To the four-piece’s credit, they began recording the double-LP Blazing in the Sky way back when, it’s just only now coming to fruition. What sort of temporal loop may have occurred between then and now to cause the delay, I don’t know, but with a brisk 90-minute stretch its two platters, one can hardly accuse them of lacking productivity. Led by guitarist/vocalists Andy Samford and Brian Holcomb, who also handle a variety of other instruments from synth and theremin to sitar and Mellotron and “wind” between them, Blazing in the Sky features bassists Jonathan Lee and Stephen Carrington (the latter also guitar), synthesist/backing vocalist Karl Kendrick, percussionist Billy Reeves and drummer Ric Parnell, best known for his portrayal of Mick Shrimpton in This is Spinal Tap — an incendiary performance if ever there was one.

This assemblage and their purposes vary from track to track throughout the 15-song release, and while the format of a 2LP is necessary for the extended runtime, it also feeds into the concept behind the release, which is comprised of traditionally structured songs on its first 12″ and five mostly-extended jams on its second. As to which end of the offering might be more spaced out, it’s a judgment call, of course, but listening to the 15-minute penultimate cut “Midnight Never Ends,” freakery certainly abounds in a way that makes earlier three-minute hooks like “The Peak” and “Paperclip” seem positively straightforward. And to a degree, they are. The album begins with the more than slightly funky vibe of “Electric Ball” and embarks on a space-rock-via-grunge mission of aesthetic purpose that’s smoothly produced but still natural sounding. If some of the recordings are six years old — Telestrion went back into the studio in 2017 — they hardly show their age, and along with some decided Rush fandom, Telestrion show an affinity for the cosmic things in life that coincides with their still-weighted tonality and classic Sabbathian spirit.

That spirit perhaps shows itself most in the vocal cadence of “The Peak,” but it hardly departs on the slower, longer “Manifestations,” which follows, and it comes to a head on the seven-minute “A Storm is Comin'” later on, dosed as well with a good hit of psychedelia also at the forefront for “Oasis” of souls while “Paperslip” and “Nothing Left” speak more to the grunge side of Telestrion‘s sound, “Out in the Hills” seems to directly call to Spirit Caravan and the title-track is left to pull in a variety of elements — percussion among them — in some form of summary of the scope of the release. That’s a challenge in itself, but as side B closer “I Ain’t Got Time for Time” wraps with an upbeat kick following the space-doom conclusion of “A Storm is Comin’,” the vibe has long since been set for such turns. What allows Telestrion to make these turns as they go is an underlying foundation of songwriting. Their material is strong enough to support the stylistic shifts and still come across as catchy as intended and as strong in performance as it is in structure. LP1 is tight to such a degree as to be making a point of it, and accordingly it’s all the more of a surprise when they depart onto the second LP of all-out jamming.

Blazing in the Sky isn’t really just a double-album. It’s two albums. One follows one tradition, the other another. They’re connected via “I Ain’t Got Time for Time,” a reprise of which opens the second platter, but by and large, sides C and D are on their own wavelength as compares to the material before them. Whether it’s the Mellotron-soaked “Kykeon” or the theremin swirl of “What’s Not On” or the bass and drum pulsations beneath them both holding them together, the jams are of marked and distinct personality, and they tell a different story of who Telestrion as a band. To wit, if they had actually released Blazing in the Sky as two separate LPs over the course of however long, one might simply say, “Oh yeah, this is the record where they jam. Fine.” As it is, with the two methods positioned right next to each other, one experiences the scope of Blazing in the Sky different context. There’s no ignoring the band’s vision and tease with which they move from tight-knit pieces to wide-open, go-where-they-will jams.

I don’t know how much of “What’s Not On,” “Kykeon,” “Midnight Never Ends” and closer “The Law of Averages” — which would seem to be titled in homage to Parnell — is improvised versus being plotted out beforehand, but a sense of spontaneity pervades anyhow thanks to the inclusion of various percussive elements, keys, synth, Mellotron, etc., giving a progressive edge to the longer-form works and allowing Telestrion to convey and exploratory sensibility, resulting in an unwavering commitment to reverb and echo and a spaciousness that, as far out as they went, the earlier tracks on Blazing in the Sky could hardly hope to approach. As someone who’s a persistent sucker for heavy jams, the drift that Telestrion bring to “Kykeon” and the proggy sprawl of “Midnight Never Ends” are boons ahead of the heavier, fuzzy freakout in “The Law of Averages,” which ends the record on its most chaotic note. However it was recorded, whenever it was recorded, Blazing in the Sky marks Telestrion as a band that still has plenty to offer not just in content, but in method, and the departure from accomplished songcraft into the jams from whence that songcraft emerges is an admirable one not only for what it says about their process, but for their knowing when a song is finished and needs to be what it is. The life they breathe into these tracks is only a part of their appeal, but it’s a big one, and if it’s another half-decade-plus until they give a follow-up, there’s plenty here to chew on for the interim.

Telestrion on Thee Facebooks

Telestrion on Bandcamp

Telestrion website

Kind of hard to argue with the melodic noise rock Dead Now bring forth with their new single, particularly for anyone who’s ever shown concussion symptoms following a bout with the riffing of Torche. That band’s former guitarist, Andrew Elstner, features in Dead Now as the frontman alongside bassist Derek Schulz and drummer Bobby Theberge, who double as the exploratory duo Day Old Man, also based in Atlanta, Georgia. And while they may join the family tree of Cavity/Floor/Torche that seems to stem upward from Miami, they do so with their own take on noise rock and melodic vocals, pulling back on some of the poppier elements in favor of more crunching fare, catchy as it is.

Dead Now will be on tour with Red Fang and Big Business in September, which, frankly, is about the best place I can think of them to be, and you can stream the song “Ritchie Blackmourning” at the bottom of this post. Info follows courtesy of the PR wire:

DEAD NOW: Announce Debut Album; Premiere First Single “Ritchie Blackmourning”

Self-Titled Debut coming Sept 7th via Brutal Panda Records

See them on tour with Red Fang and Big Business 9/7 – 9/28

Brutal Panda Records is proud to announce the signing of Atlanta, GA’s DEAD NOW. Consisting of current and former members of Torche, Riddle of Steel, Tilts and Day Old Man, DEAD NOW are a veritable power-trio who play dynamic, melodic heavy rock that is best enjoyed LOUD!

The group recently recorded their self-titled debut with Who Cares at None Of Your Business with album art designed by Orion Landau (Red Fang, YOB). The self-titled debut will see a September 7th release on LP/Digital formats via Brutal Panda just in time for their upcoming tour with Red Fang, Big Business and Monolord. Additionally, a record release show in Atlanta with noise rockers Metz has been announced. A complete listing of dates is available below.

Physical pre-orders are available at this LOCATION with digital pre-orders at Bandcamp HERE. The song can be heard via all streaming outlets HERE.

DEAD NOW frontman Andrew Elstner commented on the signing and new material:

“Myself, Derek and Bobby couldn’t be more hyped for this. Killer label, amazing people and now we’re desperate to get the jams in front of some faces and just crush. Things came together so quickly, it feels like the Gods are pleased.”

Stay tuned for more info and music from DEAD NOW.

DEAD NOW TOUR DATES:
— All Dates Sep 11 – 28 w/ Red Fang & Big Business —
Sep 07 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Music Hall *
Sep 08 Richmond, VA Capital Ale House *
Sep 09 Washington, DC Rock & Roll Hotel
Sep 11 Pittsburgh, PA Spirit Hall
Sep 12 Columbus, OH A&R Music Bar
Sep 13 St. Louis, MO Firebird
Sep 14 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room
Sep 15 St. Paul, MN Turf Club +
Sep 16 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon
Sep 18 Harrisburg, PA Stage on Herr @ HMAC
Sep 19 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg
Sep 20 Hamden, CT Space Ballroom
Sep 21 Boston, MA The Sinclair
Sep 22 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts
Sep 24 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Sep 25 Grand Rapids, MI Pyramid Scheme
Sep 26 Detroit, MI El Club
Sep 27 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
Sep 28 Indianapolis, IN The Hi-Fi
Sep 30 Atlanta, GA 529^

* w/ Monolord, No Big Business
+ w/ Cro-Mags, Dillinger Four, Blind Approach; No Big Business & Dead Now
^w/ Metz

DEAD NOW IS:
Bobby Theberge – Drums (Day Old Man)
Derek Schulz – Bass (Day Old Man)
Andrew Elstner – Vocals / Guitar (Ex-Torche, Tilts, Riddle of Steel)

Dead Now Tracklist:
1. Brunette
2. Ritchie Blackmourning
3. Bird Leaf
4. Powershapes
5. Motorekt

http://www.facebook.com/deadnowband
http://www.instagram.com/dead_now_band
http://www.deadnow.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/BrutalPandaRecords/
https://brutalpandarecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.brutalpandarecords.com/products/dead-now-dead-now

Dead Now, Dead Now (2018)

Okay, so Telestrion‘s Blazing in the Sky has been out for a minute or two. Sometimes a thing comes to my attention after it’s been a while. It’s not like the record’s a year old, so, you know, stuff it. The span of the thing is more important than time anyway — though while we’re quibbling dates, I’ll note it’s been six years since the Atlanta natives released their last EP, Molecule (review here) — and maybe making up for lost time is part of the reason they’ve gone to a double-LP with Blazing in the Sky, though listening to the four jams that would comprise the second platter of a vinyl release, they don’t really need any justification for being included. They’re there, and awesome. That should be and is enough.

Blazing in the Sky is Telestrion‘s second full-length behind 2007’s self-titled debut, though the band also trace their roots back to the lone 2004 outing from another outfit called Qualone. I still have my CD of that record. Cool stuff. It’s on Telestrion‘s Bandcamp if you get through the new album and are up for digging back. Ah hell, you’ve got time. You know you do.

I don’t know if they’re doing a physical pressing at this time or waiting to get a label involved in such an endeavor, but either way, Blazing in the Sky is certainly lit up. Details follow from the PR wire:

Atlanta Cosmic Rockers Telestrion release “Blazing in the Sky” featuring Spinal Tap/Atomic Rooster Drummer, Ric Parnell

The music of Telestrion is an assault on the senses with their brand of own brand psychedelic acid fuzz rock. Think Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and Hawkwind and you’ll be in the ballpark, however Telestrion have a sound that is uniquely their own. Telestrion’s performances meander back and forth between tightly rehearsed songs and loose free form improvisational jams, depending on the state of the players and the moment.

In April of 2018, Telestrion released their long awaited double album, Blazing in the Sky. The album was produced by Telestrion and Jeff Tomei and features legendary Spinal Tap/Atomic Rooster drummer Ric Parnell. Blazing in the Sky is a 15 song cosmic journey that covers all of the bases from the short and sweet “Nothing Left” to the 15 minute epic “Midnight Never Ends.” Telestrion’s music is definitely food for the mind and is something to not just be heard but to be experienced as well.

Founding member/singer/guitarist/songwriter Andy Samford had this to say about working with the legendary Ric Parnell (aka. Mick Shrimpton in Spinal Tap):

“He was amazing, he would listen to a demo, I’d walk him through the arrangement and then he’d create and perform a perfect part in one or two takes. Genius, really. We’d give him some direction and I’d call out changes but other than that it was pretty spontaneous and in the moment. Sides 3 and 4 are all improv and were made up on the spot with zero discussion.” – Andy Samford

Tracklisting:
1. Electric Ball 03:08
2. The Peak 03:15
3. Manifestations 04:55
4. Oasis Of Souls 05:23
5. Paperclip 03:38
6. Blazing In The Sky 05:15
7. Nothing Left 02:37
8. Out In The Hills 04:39
9. A Storm Is Comin 07:22
10. I Ain’t Got Time For Time 04:03
11. I Ain’t Got Time For Time (Reprise) 03:59
12. What’s Not On 08:02
13. Kykeon 10:22
14. Midnight Never Ends 15:33
15. The Law Of Averages 07:44

Telestrion is:
Andy Samford – Guitar, Vocals, Synth, Piano, M-Tron, Percussion
Brian Holcomb – Guitar, Vocals, Theremin, Vocoder, Sitar, Maracas, Wind, Arpanoid
Ric Parnell – Drums
Stephen Carrington – Bass, Guitar
Jonathan Lee – Bass
Karl Kendrick – Synth, Backing Vocals
Billy Reeves – Percussion
Allen Beaver – Allen Holcomb’s Dragster

https://www.facebook.com/TELESTRION
https://telestrion1.bandcamp.com/
http://telestrion.net/

Telestrion, Blazing in the Sky (2018)