https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Demons My Friends Premiere “Inner Slay”; Demons Seem to Gather Out Sept. 8

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on August 18th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Based in Austin, Texas, and Mexico City, heavy rocking three-piece Demons My Friends make their full-length debut on Sept. 8 through Gravitoyd Heavy Music with Demons Seem to Gather. The band have been trickling out singles leading up to the release for nearly a year, and as a singe “Inner Slay” (premiering below) follows behind “Ghosts of You,” “Bring the Night,” the closer “We Are the Resistance” and the hooky side B leadoff “Make Them Pay,” so it’s probably safe to say they’re looking to grab attention of an underground listenership, otherwise maybe five singles (so far) from your first record probably isn’t the way you’re going to go.

Taking some cues in atmosphere on “We Are the Resistance,” the crunch of “Fire Mountain” and in the ’90s creep of guitar in verse of “Your Bones” prior from Alice in Chains, the trio bring ideas together from modern emotive doom à la Pallbearer on “Inner Slay,” a broad vocal hook assuring that the vocal stands up to the riffing on display throughout, opener “The Tower Falls” having started out on solid ground rhythm-wise but found room in the mix for an Elephant Tree-style harmony in opener “The Tower Falls” before the start-stop angularity of “Bring the Night” — the chorus delivering the album’s title line — hinting at the metallic underpinning of the project while also sounding more derived from ’00s era punk and post-hardcore. Thus it is that Demons My Friends — guitarist/vocalist Pablo Anton, bassist/vocalist Lu Salinas, drummer Tarro Martinez — stave off the threat of doing just one thing, and instead lay out a creative reach that one expects they’ll continue to refine as they move forward.

Demons My Friends Demons Seem to GatherWhile the eight-song/36-minute offering is varied in its approach, the band are consistent in tone and their willingness to veer toward more doomed ends, “Inner Slay” serving as a ready example leading into “Ghosts of You,” which caps side A and pushes further along similar lines, with a central progression to its back half that touches almost on commercial hard rock without losing its foundation in heavy riffing. The production of Duel‘s Jeff Henson assures that fullness of sound and gives the melodic complexity of some of the arrangements — looking at you, chorus-over-solo in “Fire Mountain” — a dimensionality it would otherwise run the risk of lacking, but while Demons My Friends is a new exploration and Demons Seem to Gather is a debut album from a band who as the narrative tells us (blessings and peace upon it) jammed before they were really together, the experience of the players involved assures they’re not flailing in the end product.

Instead, songwriting is at the core of Demons My Friends‘ approach, and whatever original riff-blocks these pieces were carved from, they have been shaped with care and thought, which is something that even the lines topping the apex of “We Are the Resistance” bear out, the band purposefully meeting the largesse of that moment head-on, even as they’re still unfolding it. The proverbial encouraging beginning? Yeah, pretty much. The kind of record you might see five singles released from. It’ll be interesting to hear as Demons My Friends plunge further into the places between rock and doom, the classic and modern and in-between. But one of Demons Seem to Gather‘s strengths is that it knows the field is wide open and it stakes a number of stylistic claims. Maybe they’re settling in for a longer-term evolution, thinking ahead an album, two albums, three. Some bands do that, and if Demons My Friends go that route and build on this backdrop, they’re starting out working from a high standard of craft.

PR wire info follows the player below, on which “Inner Slay” premieres. Please enjoy:

Demons My Friends is an unlikely collaboration between members of Mexican alt-metal band QBO and Washington, DC desert rockers Fellowcraft. The stoner/doom metal trio — Lu Salinas (bass/vocals), Tarro Martinez (drums), Pablo Anton (guitar/vocals)—embarked on their creative endeavor via an impromptu recording session at the SXSW music festival in Austin, TX in 2022 and have consummated the relationship with an upcoming full-length titled Demons Seem to Gather.

Demons Seem to Gather was recorded, mixed and produced by Jeff Henson at Red Nova Ranch, Austin, TX. It was mastered by Alberto de Icaza. It’s set for release on September 8 on vinyl, CD and digitally via Gravitoyd Heavy Music. In the meantime you can stream the band’s singles on all digital platforms

Tracklisting:
01. The Tower Falls
02. Bring The Night
03. Inner Slay
04. Ghosts of You
05. Make Them Pay
06. Fire Mountain
07. Your Bones
08. We Are The Resistance

Shows coming up for Demons My Friends:
October 20th at Valhalla (Austin TX)
October 21st at Black Magic Social Club (Houston TX)

Demons My Friends is:
Pablo Anton – guitar/vox
Lu Salinas – Bass/vox
Tarro – Drums

Demons My Friends on Facebook

Demons My Friends on Instagram

Demons My Friends on Bandcamp

Demons My Friends Linktr.ee

Gravitoyd Heavy Music on Facebook

Gravitoyd Heavy Music on Instagram

Gravitoyd Heavy Music on Bandcamp

Tags: , , , , , , ,

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Pablo Anton from Demons My Friends

Posted in Questionnaire on August 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Pablo Anton from Demons My Friends

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Pablo Anton from Demons My Friends

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I play guitar and sing for Demons My Friends, a Stoner/Doom project based in Austin TX that I founded with two close friends from Mexico City who are seasoned musicians. I’ve been playing in bands since I was 12, and I’ve been an avid extreme music collector since around the same age. I’ve always been enamored with strange sounds and obscure bands from all over the globe.

Describe your first musical memory.

My dad spinning records for me on Saturday afternoons when I was a kid. He was into progressive rock, and I distinctly remember the time he played “No Earthly Connection” for me, by Rick Wakeman. The vinyl had a distorted image in the cover that became clear if you held a mirror towards it at the right angle. For some reason that stuck with me.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

In 2018 I got a chance to perform with my former band at a metal festival near the pyramids in Teotihuacan Mexico at night, under heavy rain, right before Alice In Chains and System of a Down. That was a great night. The crowd had an energy that was unlike anything I’ve ever experience before or since.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

When I became a father. Everything I thought I wanted in life was forever changed. I always thought this was a cliché, but it turned out to be true (for me, at least).

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

For me, artistic progression has led me to the darkest corners of my mind. It has enabled me to release and let go of traumatic memories and feelings that I had been unable to process before by other means. The more time I spend creating music, the more I get to know myself, forgive myself and heal myself.

How do you define success?

I personally define success as an artist as being able to materialize all the dreams and hopes I had for myself when I was a teenager. That’s all I’m trying to do, really. Chase the excitement and deep emotions I felt when I was 15, sitting alone in my room listening to deeply complex and emotional music from the likes of bands like Opeth, Katatonia, Borknagar and many others, and dreaming of being able to one day be at their level. All the “successful” moments that I can think of as a musician relate to moments where I’ve been able to connect with those raw emotions from my past and feel them with equal intensity again.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

“Two Girls, One Cup”. Eww.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A concept album, but every time I’ve tried, I’ve struggled with stretching a plot long enough to last me for multiple songs.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Art has the ability of connecting people and bounding us together, while at the same time meaning something completely different and unique to each of us. I don’t think there’s anything else that exists in this life that can achieve that.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I always look forward to spending time with my family, whenever I am away from them.

https://www.facebook.com/demonsmyfriends
https://www.instagram.com/demons_my_friends/
https://www.tiktok.com/@demonsmyfriends
https://demonsmyfriends.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/demonsmyfriends

https://www.facebook.com/gravitoyd/
https://www.instagram.com/gravitoyd/
https://gravitoydheavymusic.bandcamp.com/

Demons My Friends, “Make Them Pay” official video

Tags: , , ,

Duel to Tour Europe This Fall; Playing Desertfest Belgium & Heavy Psych Sounds Fests

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 24th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

With both their paperwork and riffs in order, Austin, Texas, brash heavy rockers Duel will return to Europe this Fall, hitting Antwerp’s Desertfest Belgium and the two German Heavy Psych Sounds Fests in Berlin and Dresden, as well as sundry club dates and so on. I feel like I’ve gone on at some length at the force this band brings to the stage, and if you are in a position to see them, I urge you to do so.

Their studio work has plenty of attitude — their most recent full-length, 2021’s In Carne Persona (review here), certainly didn’t skimp on threat with its human-as-meat implications — and the live show pushes with even more and obviously much louder aggression. I’m just trying to make your day better. Go see a band.

Heavy Psych Sounds shipped the following down the PR wire, including a couple open slots between Western and Eastern Europe. Help if you can, as always:

Duel euro fall 2023

DUEL – European Tour 2023

We are stoked to announce DUEL Euro Tour 2023!!

Our Texas based rocknrollerz DUEL will smash Europe in October including the mighties Desert Fest Antwerp and HPS Fests Dresden and Berlin + many other shows!!

*** DUEL *** EUROPEAN TOUR 2023
WE 11/10/2023 FR MARSEILLE – LE MOLOTOV
TH 12/10/2023 FR LYON – LE FARMER
FR 13/10/2023 IT TORINO – BLAH BLAH
SA 14/10/2023 IT BOLOGNA – FREAKOUT
SU 15/10/2023 IT TRIESTE – KULTURNI DOM PROSEK
MO 16/10/2023 IT TREVISO – ALTROQUANDO
TU 17/10/2023 AT KUFSTEIN – VIBES
WE 18/10/2023 DE MANNHEIM – 7ER CLUB
TH 19/10/2023 NL TILBURG – LITTLE DEVIL
FR 20/10/2023 NL ROTTERDAM – BAROEG
SA 21/10/2023 ***OPEN SLOT***
SU 22/10/2023 BE ANTWERP – DESERT FEST
MO 23/10/2023 ***OPEN SLOT***
TU 24/10/2023 ***OPEN SLOT***
WE 25/10/2023 CZ PRAGUE – CLUB KASARNA KARLIN
TH 26/10/2023 CZ BILINA – ROCK PUB MOSKVA
FR 27/10/2023 DE DRESDEN – HPS FEST
SA 28/10/2023 DE BERLIN – HPS FEST
SU 29/10/2023 DE TUBINGEN – NULL08-15

DUEL is:
TOM FRANK – GUITARS/VOCALS
JEFF HENSON – GUITARS/VOCALS
ALEX WEIN – BASS
PATRICK PASCUCCI – DRUMS

https://www.facebook.com/DUELTEXAS/
https://www.instagram.com/dueltexas/
https://duel3.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/

Duel, In Carne Persona (2021)

Tags: , , ,

High Desert Queen Announce Southwest Tour Dates & Beerumentary

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 11th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

The thing you’re gonna want to note here is ‘Part 1,’ as in, more touring is coming. Also, seems like a pretty safe bet that ‘we love beer and we’re going to make a documentary about drinking beer on tour’ is going to result in some watch-worthy shenanigans. What isn’t mentioned below, however, is that Austin-based go-go-go heavy rockers High Desert Queen have also been in the studio since they got back from their massive UK/Euro jaunt alongside Fatso Jetson and/or The Rubber Snake Charmers, recording new material, one assumes for the follow-up to their 2021 debut, Secrets of the Black Moon (review here).

Since that record came out, High Desert Queen have done precious little other than work their collective ass off touring, and that’s before you get to the fact that frontman Ryan Garney runs the completely-overwhelming-but-in-the-best-way-possible-looking RippleFest Texas. And already this year, the band paired with New Mexico’s Blue Heron for Turned to Stone Ch. 8 (review here), another installment in Ripple‘s ongoing series. Their tracks on there were held over from the sessions for the debut, however, so I’m looking all the more forward to hearing what’s coming next from High Desert Queen. A band doesn’t play live that much, tour that much, drink that much beer, and come out of it without some sort of creative growth. I bugged Garney for some comment on the recording process, and he was kind enough to oblige.

Probably won’t be 2024 before the album is out — just timing that guess based on seeing release announcements for October now and High Desert Queen aren’t there yet — but I bet that by whenever it shows up, the band have another tour or two under their collective belt, even after this one.

With the caveat of more to come, this from socials:

High Desert Queen tour

HIGH DESERT QUEEN – “BREWERY AND DIVE TOUR: PART 1”

We are getting back on the road! In case you didn’t know we love beer, and we will be filming a documentary where we be tasting beer at breweries all along our tour, including the ones we are playing! We can’t wait to get back on the road, meet new people and of course taste all that delicious beer! What city will you be having a beer with is?

Says Ryan Garney: “We are in love with getting on the road and after our 6 week European tour we are excited for our Brewery and Dive tour in the US. This will be the first part in a series of Brewery tours where we film a documentary of us trying beers and playing live. These brewery tours are essentially our dream tours as we love beer as much as we love playing live.

After our latest European tour we went straight into the studio. We recorded everything live, with no click track, and no punch-ins at an amazing studio in Texas called Yellow Dog. We created several new songs from scratch and can’t wait to share it so people can see what direction we’ve taken. This will be a heavy rock and roll record with plenty of Texas dirt mixed in!”

Date/City/Venue
7/26 Houston, TX Equal Parts Brewing
7/27 College Station, TX 101 Bar
7/28 Arlington, TX Division Brewing
7/29 San Angelo, TX The Deadhorse
7/30 Lubbock, TX Jake’s Sports Cafe & Backroom
8/1 Fort Collins, CO The Coast*
8/2 Colorado Springs, CO Vultures*
8/3 Denver, CO Skylark Lounge*
8/4 Albuquerque, NM The Historic El Rey Theater
8/5 Phoenix, AZ The Blooze Bar
*w/ Blue Heron

Poster by F1ca Studio

https://www.facebook.com/highdesertqueen/
http://www.instagram.com/highdesertqueen
http://highdesertqueen.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

High Desert Queen & Blue Heron, Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake (2023)

Tags: , , ,

Suspiriorum Premiere Video for Blue Öyster Cult Cover “I Love the Night”

Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 29th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Suspiriorum

Austin, Texas-based cult horror rockers Suspiriorum released their three-song self-titled debut EP — yes, it’s streaming below — in March, and this Fall they’ll look to offer it pressed to CD with the extra track “I Love the Night” added. The EP is the first outing from the cult-minded project drawing together members of WitchcryerDestroyer of Ligtht and others, and was recorded by Duel‘s Jeff Henson with a particularly striking depth of mix. One might think of it has having three dimensions such that, if each song is a room, there’s plenty of space within them for something to be lurking in whichever corner is darkest.

Opener “Regina di Sangue” begins with a sample from 1960’s Black Sunday, also known as The Mask of Satan, and is a dying curse delivered by Barbara Steele, promising torment “throughout the nights of time” before unfolding its patiently-paced, prog-toned riff and the first layered, resonant melody from vocalist Suzy Bravo. The delivery of the lyrics partially in Italian tops a doomly roll soon contrasted by the swinging uptempo classic heavy rock and lush, cinematic prog of the whisper-complemented “Mother Suspiriorum,” closing with the declaration “I am she” either sampled or spoken. It sounds newer, and the new Suspiria came out in 2018, but I wouldn’t want to presume Suspiriorum‘s position on remakes.

Suspiriorum album artworkThe capstone of the original release, “The Dark Knows” is arguably the heaviest of the three originals, but that’s splitting hairs and more important than the weight of a given song is the mood created. In that, the closer is perhaps sharper in tone, the guitar more forward than on “Regina di Sangue,” but still consistent in being mindful of a progressive construction, dancing and swirling a bit like The Devil’s Blood with the threat of death lurking nearby. That is, the love of classic/obscure horror cinema and its soundtracks that drives the opener is still very much present in the closer about 10 minutes later. Maybe not such a surprise when you think of it on those terms, but they lean toward different sides from one track to the next and come across as very much aware of the aesthetic they’re building.

And well they should be. The four-piece of Bravo (also Witchcryer, Temple of Love), bassist/synthesist Joseph Maniscalco (ex-Hinayasa), rhythm guitarist Steve Colca (Destroyer of LightTemple of Love, etc.) and lead guitarist Tim Driscoll (also Runescarred, A Good Rogering, etc.) — note the lack of a drummer; Adrian Voorhees (also Cortége) plays on the EP — provide ample context in the three originals for the arrival of “I Love the Night,” and it is to the nascent band’s credit that they’ve managed to take on a Blue Öyster Cult song in a cult rock-informed modern context without sounding like Ghost. Not a minor feat when one considers the influences Suspiriorum are working under. They end up with more in common with the modern incarnation of Coven and in “The Dark Knows” even have hints of Tool in the rhythm layer under the finishing guitar solo, but all of it — including the mellow reconciliation of the cover — serves the stylistic intent at the fore, and in that, they set their own course for future growth, whatever direction they might ultimately end up taking sound-wise.

The video for “I Love the Night” premieres below, followed by PR wire details and the aforementioned EP stream.

Please enjoy:

Suspiriorum, “I Love the Night” (Blue Öyster Cult cover) video premiere

Our rendition of the song I love the night by Blue Oyster Cult presented in this dark relaxing lyric video. Stock footage obtained from “Free Stock Footage Archive”.

Taking cues from groups like Goblin who pioneered a brand of prog rock fitting exclusively in soundtracks, and expanding the sound a bit further to include inspiration from pioneers from classic rock like Blue Öyster Cult (who were no strangers to occult and weird subject matter), Coven (who pioneered satanic ritual and aesthetic before Black Sabbath), and Opeth (a celebration of all that is prog and throwback). Ranging sounds from organ-driven classic rock to ominous synth driven passages, and adept lead guitar work and catchy riffs. The imagery comes from classic Italian horror films by Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Mario Bava, and Lamberto Bava, and adopts themes of occult ritual, zombies, and Giallo killers in one big celebration of the mastery and exploitation of the history of Italian horror films.

The EP was recorded and mixed at Red Nova Ranch by Jeff Henson (Clutch, High On Fire, Spirit Adrift, Duel), keys and synth recorded at Arbor Eden Studios by Alex Moran, mastering by Alberto De Icaza (Clutch, Dead Cross, Crobot). Session drums were performed by Adrian Voorhees of Cortege. Album cover art was done by David Paul Seymour (Conan, Municipal Waste, High On Fire) with CD layout and additional photography and art done by Erik Bredthauer of Necroblanca Photography and Design.

Suspiriorum are:
Suzy Bravo
Joseph Maniscalco
Tim Driscoll
Steve Colca

Suspiriorum, Suspiriorum (2023)

Suspiriorum on Facebook

Suspiriorum on Instagram

Suspiriorum on YouTube

Suspiriorum on Bandcamp

Tags: , , , ,

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol Announce July Touring; Playing Big Dumb Fest on June 4

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 25th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

True, a goodly portion of these dates has already been posted. With the same picture of the band, no less. In my defense, Austin heavy party doomers Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol have added dates to their West Coast run in the interim, and announced that on June 4 in Austin they’ll host the inaugural Big Dumb Fest, playing alongside Eagle Claw, the always-delightful Tia Carrera and a host of others as they continue to support 2022’s Doom-Wop (review here) with steady live work. In addition, that album’s vinyl release is coming up in June, and that’s like next week, so there’s relevant info here regardless of the repeated data/photography. I sincerely doubt that, had I not mentioned it already, anyone else would. Alas.

I’ve yet to see this band live — and I’ve spoken before about how I haven’t really formed an opinion on them yet in part because of that; again, nobody cares, I know — but they’re touring with Crobot, and they play Crobot at my gym, so that would seem to hint that they’re looking to find a broader audience than one might encounter on strictly underground heavy tours, even as they step into headlining on the upcoming West Coast run. As to how that will all shake out, it’ll probably be two more album cycles before it’s determined either way, but one cannot accuse them of not putting in the work. They already came East to herald Doom-Wop and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did so again before Europe inevitably beckons with its promises of stuff like food backstage and maybe a place to sleep, unheard of as those generally are in the States.

The PR wire has it like this:

Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol to tour with Crobot in July, headlining Western US tour begins June 4th

Austin trio Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol just completed the first leg of their summer U.S. tour dates and today added July shows with Crobot. Before that, the band headlines the West Coast in June following the first-ever RBBP Big Dumb Fest event in their hometown on June 4th. Please see all dates below. Ticket links HERE: https://taplink.cc/rickshawbillie

Rickshaw Billie’s Big Dumb Fest features 7 bands and 4 food vendors for the ultimate meeting of the ears, eyes and taste buds! Sunday, June 4th, 2023 – at Mohawk Austin – 4pm

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol
w/ Eagle Claw, Tia Carrera, Billy Glitter, Gus Baldwin & The Sketch, Buzz Electro, Pinko
Eats by: Chilly’s Philly’s, Bad Larry Burger Club, Jim Jam’s Biscuits, Chef’s Kiss

With their 5th studio release, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol is putting a name to the style of fuzzed out, overdriven, melodic, groovy music they have been making since 2016. In 9 concise, no bullshit songs, RBBP demonstrates their ability to blend the merciless low end of Leo Lydon’s 8-String guitar, Aaron Metzdorf’s masterful chordwork on the bass, and Sean St.Germain’s driving drumwork. Lydon and Metzdorf’s vocal melodies cut through the high frequencies to deliver fresh layers to the hooks that RBBP fans have come to love.

As the name implies, Doom Wop is a heavy, melody-driven, party metal album. With riffs as big and dumb as ever, and lyrics that stab at the worst members of society and ourselves (while keeping tongue firmly in cheek), listeners will find all the elements that make up the soul of RBBP on this record.

Doom Wop is available on CD and download, released on September 23rd, 2022. Vinyl LP coming in June.

RBBP LIVE 2023:
06/04 Austin, TX – Mohawk Austin – BIG DUMB FEST
06/05 Marfa, TX – Bad Larry
06/06 El Paso, TX – 101
06/08 Tempe, AZ – The Beast
06/09 Los Angeles, CA – Permanent Records Roadhouse
06/10 San Francisco, CA – The Kilowatt
06/11 Sacramento, CA – Old Ironsides
06/13 Seattle, WA – Substation
06/14 Portland, OR – High Water Mark
06/15 Boise, ID – CRLB
06/16 Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High Saloon
06/17 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
06/19 Tulsa, OK – Soundpony
07/22 Lititz, PA – Micket’s Black Box *
07/25 Greensboro, NC – Hangar 1819 *
07/26 Greenville, SC – Radio Room *
07/27 Summerville, SC – Trolly Pub *
07/28 Ft Myers, FL – Buddha Live *
07/29 Orlando, FL – Conduit *
07/30 Tampa, FL – Orpheum *
08/01 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade *
08/03 Corpus Christi, TX – Mesquite Street South *
08/04 Houston, TX – Scout Bar *
* w/ Crobot

https://www.facebook.com/rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol
https://www.instagram.com/rickshawbillieandtheboys
https://twitter.com/RickshawBillie
https://rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.bandcamp.com/
http://www.rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.com/

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Doom Wop (2022)

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, “Heel” official video

Tags: , , , , ,

Cortége Announce Summer Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 24th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Cortége

In between the last time I posted about a Cortége tour and this time, the Austin trio updated their lineup, not in terms of the personnel, but who’s doing what, and if you need an example of the consistently evolving creativity of the band, there you go. Sure, they’ve got their thing, nestled into the heavy Western style as they are, but I by no means expect that the EP they’ve got up next will be a carbon copy of what they did on Legends of the Desert Vol. 2 (review here), issued in 2021 through Desert Records and that’s more than just in arrangement.

No release date on the EP, and I’m not sure if a four-part EP means it’s four songs being released one at a time that will be compiled as an EP, or four EPs are themselves staggered, or what. Four seven-inches sold in a box? Hell if I know, but it’ll be fun to find out.

Until then, here’s the tour dates, courtesy of I think the PR wire:

Cortége

Experience The Magic of CORTÉGE’s Summer Tour 2023: Get Ready to be Transported!

Post-Western, bootgaze trio Cortége are hitting the trails for the summer touring season with dates throughout the West Coast and Southwest! Fresh off recording a four-part EP to be released this year, as well as a Nathan Carson/Billy Anderson co-produced full-length album slated for 2024, Cortége is set to deliver another series of transportive musical experiences!

Dates for Summer Tour 2023 are as follows:
6/28 Tulsa, OK @ The Whittier
6/29 Wichita, KS @ Nortons Brewing Company
6/30 Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge
7/1 Denver, CO @ Squire Lounge
7/2 Fort Collins, CO @ Carnage V Fest
7/5 Boise, ID @ Neurolux
7/6 Spokane, WA @ Lucky You Lounge
7/7 Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
7/8 Tacoma, WA @ The Plaid Pig
7/9 Seattle, WA @ Substation
7/11 Portland, OR @ The Six Below Midnight
7/12 Portland, OR @ Bridge City Sessions
7/13 Eugene, OR @ John Henry’s
7/14 Pacifica, CA @ Winters Tavern
7/15 Lancaster, CA @ The Britisher
7/16 San Diego, CA @ The Bancroft
7/18 Las Vegas, NV @ The Griffin
7/19 Tucson, AZ @ Subspace
7/20 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
7/21 Juarez, MX @ Anexo Centenario
7/22 San Antonio, TX @ Faust Tavern
7/23 Austin, TX @ High Noon

The Austin, Texas-based ensemble. consisting of bass VI, trumpet, drums, tubular bells and lots of synthesizers, put out two twang drenched, chrome plated offerings on the independent Desert Records in 2022. Combining elements of drone, progressive rock and old school Western film score music, the band’s unique take on what could be considered the soundtrack to a high stakes shoot out on an otherworldly desert planet is not to be missed.

Desert Records released Cortége EP Chasing Daylight EP in early 2021. Legends of the Desert: Volume 2, a split release with The Penitent Man, hit the streets in June of 2021.

Cortége is:
Mike Swarbrick: Bass VI, Moog, Mellotron, Tubular Bells
Adrian Voorhies: Drums
April Schupmann: Trumpet, Percussion

cortege.bandcamp.com/
facebook.com/cortegeatx/
instagram.com/cortegeatx/

https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/

The Penitent Man & Cortége, Legends of the Desert: Vol. 2 (2021)

Tags: , ,

Full Album Premiere & Review: High Desert Queen & Blue Heron, Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on May 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan

high desert queen blue heron turned to stone chapter 8 the wake

[Click play above to stream High Desert Queen and Blue Heron’s Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake split LP in full. Album is out Friday on Ripple Music and available to preorder here for the US, here for Europe, and here on Bandcamp.]

It’s a quick listen to be sure at just 28 minutes, but Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake, which follows a lineage of Ripple Music splits that goes back eight years to the beginning of a series called The Second Coming of Heavy that focused on then-up-and-coming acts like Geezer and Borracho, Red Mesa, Kingnomad, and so on. That series boasted 10 releases and Turned to Stone began in earliest 2020 with Mr. Bison and Spacetrucker (review here) and has continued to roll out two or three split LPs per year since, the latest bringing together Albuquerque desert grunge sludgers Blue Heron and Austin, Texas, purveyors of plus-sized riffs and melody High Desert Queen.

The reason the lineage is relevant — yea, one split begat another split and that split begat another split, on into biblical perpetuity — is that Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake reminds distinctly of the prior series’ specific intent to bolster newer bands; a mission that it directly inherited. Both High Desert Queen (side A) and Blue Heron (side B) present three songs that arrive subsequent to their debut full-lengths, Blue Heron having released Ephemeral (review here) a year ago this week through Seeing Red Records and Kozmik Artifactz and High Desert Queen having made a justified splash on Ripple (pun absolutely intended) with late 2021’s Secrets of the Black Moon (review here), the recording sessions of which birthed the three songs included here.

Cohesion between the two bands in terms of sound isn’t hard to come by. Both are straightforward in their arrangements, putting weighted fuzz out front in their mix and backing it with mostly mid-tempo grooves, more nod than shove, and both have frontmen involved behind-the-scenes in the heavy underground, whether it’s Blue Heron‘s Jadd Shickler serving as a label manager for Ripple as well as Magnetic Eye Records (also under the SPKR Media umbrella, along with labels like Prophecy Productions, Testimony Records and others) and Blues Funeral Recordings (responsible for the PostWax series and releases this year alone from Dozer and Acid King, among others) or High Desert Queen‘s Ryan Garney heading the booking concern Lick of My Spoon Productions, putting on RippleFest Texas and slating shows and tours for his own band and others.

The fourth-wall-breaking, multi-tiered ‘scene’ contributions of Shickler and Garney give another dimension to Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake — emblematic of the DIY manner in which heavy rock and roll has become what it is today; a worldwide subcultural phenomenon most people know nothing about — but none of it would matter as regards this split LP if the songs weren’t there. I’ll confess there was part of me hoping the High Desert Queen tracks — the mega-hooky “Black Moon,” the shorter, floating-but-not-an-interlude “Drift Into the Sun” and the telltale stoner boogie “Roll the Dice” — would be newer recordings, but one takes what one can get, and having “Black Moon” as a late-arriving semi-title-track from that album is welcome, the song fading in on feedback before its forward roll begins in earnest, a somewhat foreboding groove that turns out to be thick enough for everyone to ride opening up in the verse before the layered melody of the chorus.

high desert queen blue heron

Like the album from which they (didn’t) come, “Black Moon” and “Roll the Dice” — the lyrics in the latter seem to be the band asking themselves ‘should we go for it?,’ which is laughable with the hindsight of the two years they’ve spent mostly on tour in the US and Europe, where they’re touring even as this split is released — aren’t trying to play coy in their appeal. They make a space and fill it. “Roll the Dice” has an edge of metal in its post-solo finish, but never crosses over to outright aggression, and is much more a standout single in its impression than a leftover. “Black Moon,” with an even stronger hook at the outset, functions similarly, while “Drift Into the Sun” connects the two to create a sense of fluidity between them, strengthening and broadening the whole as a mini-EP on one side. Don’t be surprised when they show up as bonus tracks on the 10th anniversary reissue of Secrets of the Black Moon eight years from now.

Answering back with “Able Baker” (a Richard Scarry reference?), “Day of the Comet” and “Superposition,” Blue Heron run a thread between first-record-era Queens of the Stone Age in tone and oldschool sludge rock burl as guitarist Mike Chavez (who, like Shickler, was also in Spiritu), bassist Steve Schmidlapp and drummer Ricardo Sanchez smoothly establish themselves on side B. Immersion and atmosphere are prevalent as “Able Baker” runs through its five minutes, with a tonal-highlight of a solo in its second half answering the leads in its first, and melody met with due rhythmic force. “Day of the Comet” is deceptive in feeling looser but maintaining the strong grip on structure, and like High Desert Queen before them, Blue Heron cap with the speedier nod of “Superposition,” a righteous showcase that transposes Facelift-era Alice in Chains onto a foundation of modern heavy.

High Desert Queen and Blue Heron offer further complement to each other in the depth and apparent reach of their mix. Both bands sound big without being overblown or sacrificing craft to studio-born largesse. For committed heavy rockers or those who’ve followed along with the series, Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake is a no-brainer. The kind of release you can pick up and see where it takes you. To those who are unfamiliar or have seen the names around but have yet to check out the songs, the sampler-style encapsulation of what they do is likewise convenient and actually-good. While they’re coming off their respective debuts, as noted, Blue Heron and High Desert Queen share a knowledge of what they want to accomplish in songwriting and performance, and that sense of control makes it that much easier as a listener to roll along to where the riffs are leading.

That destination might be the desert, if we want to talk about aesthetic, but the direction is forward, as both clearly have more to say than has been said here or on their respective first LPs. Ultimately stronger for its relative brevity, Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake leaves the audience wanting more from one band and then the other, engaging with new takes on classic methods with a realized intent toward quality and fullness of sound. The only way to lose is by missing it.

Quotes from the bands, PR wire info, preorder and social links, etc., follow in blue:

High Desert Queen Blue Heron Turned to Stone Chapter 8 The Wake vinyl

Ryan Garney on Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake:

“It’s an honor to share a split with Blue Heron. From the first time we saw this band play live we were immediately happy to do anything with these musical juggernauts. Incredible musicians and even better people. It’s also great to be able resurrect three songs from the dead. These 3 tracks didn’t make our debut record and we are happy they get to see the light of day in conjunction with three powerful songs from Blue Heron.”

Jadd Shickler on Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake:

“Split releases work best when there’s a reason for them to exist. It’s easy to slap two bands on a record to fill up the album sides, but when there’s something to connect them, that’s when a split makes sense. Blue Heron and High Desert Queen are both from the Southwest, we’ve both got a shared love of massive desert rock and, whether we intend it or not, a lot of grunge influences. We also dig them as people and as musicians. We welcomed them for their first out-of-state show at our 7-inch release gig in 2021, and they hosted us at Ripplefest Texas last year. We respect the hell out of their ambition, their musicality, and their dedication to huge riffs, so it’s a real pleasure to share this record with them. As for the songs, we put a bit of pressure on ourselves. Our debut album came out just a year ago, and we wanted to follow that with a batch of new tunes that are compact and fairly straightforward, but still show our love for starting a song in one place and ending up somewhere radically different.”

HIGH DESERT QUEEN / BLUE HERON
“Turned To Stone Chapter 8: The Wake”
Out May 26th on Ripple Music
US preorder – https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/products

European preorder – https://en.ripple.spkr.media/

Bandcamp – https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-8-the-wake

Pairing up two highly esteemed bands of the Southwest underground scene, “Turned To Stone Chapter 8” is a gigantic masterclass of heavy rock, with six tracks that will take you on a riff-fueled journey with no further ado! Between HIGH DESERT QUEEN’s versatile and massive-sounding heavy and BLUE HERON’s raucous and desert-shaped songcraft, it is no understatement to say that we are in presence of true forces of nature, an alliance between two up-and-coming greats of the US stoner and desert rock scene.

“Turned To Stone Chapter 8” will be available on May 26th in various vinyl formats as well as digitally, with preorders available now on Ripple Music. The artwork was created by award-winning comic and poster artist Johnny Dombrowski.

TRACKLIST:
1. High Desert Queen – Black Moon
2. High Desert Queen – Drift Into The Sun
3. High Desert Queen – Roll The Dice
4. Blue Heron – Able Baker
5. Blue Heron – Day Of The Comet
6. Blue Heron – Superposition

High Desert Queen:
Morgan Miller – Bass
Phil Hook – Drums
Ryan Garney – Vocals
Rusty Miller – Guitar

Blue Heron:
Mike Chavez – Guitar
Ricardo Sanchez – Drums
Steve Schmidlapp – Bass
Jadd Shickler – Vocals

High Desert Queen on Facebook

High Desert Queen on Instagram

High Desert Queen on Bandcamp

Blue Heron on Instagram

Blue Heron on Facebook

Blue Heron on Bandcamp

Ripple Music on Facebook

Ripple Music on Instagram

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,