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

Kind Premiere “Burn Scar”; Announce Close Encounters Due Aug. 11

Posted in audiObelisk, Whathaveyou on June 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

kind

Boston’s Kind will release their third album, Close Encounters, this August through Ripple Music. The band — comprised of guitarist Darryl Shepard (ex-Milligram, The Long Wait, Blackwolfgoat, Hackman, etc.), bassist Tom Corino (Rozamov), drummer Matt Couto (ex-Elder) and vocalist Craig Riggs (Roadsaw, also drums for Sasquatch, etc.) — are about as heavy on riffs as they are on pedigree, and having been fortunate enough to have heard the full album at this point I’ll tell you two things about it. First, it’s their best work to-date. Second, if you’re the end-of-year-best-of-list type, you’re going to want to save room. I’ll review the record down the line, but just a heads up. It’s one to keep an ear out for.

Lucky enough, you don’t have to keep that ear out for it for very long since the first single is premiering below. “Burn Scar” doesn’t account for every move the band make on the Alec Rodriguez-recorded offering, which hits hard and stretches out over some pretty vast distances as well, but it’s enough to give you a basic idea of where they’re at in terms of tone and melody, though if you caught 2020’s Mental Nudge (review here) you know they’re not shy about changing things up as they make their way through a collection. I’ll reiterate, Close Encounters is their best record yet, and please know that I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t genuinely believe it. The rest we can handle later.

One note and I’ll let you go. This is the first single from Close Encounters, but it’s not the first track to be released. “Favorite One,” track two of nine, was featured on the Nebula Ripples benefit compilation to support Nebula bassist Tom Davies in his struggle against cancer (on Bandcamp here). Put the two together and you’ve got almost a third of the record to go on already. Not too shabby. That track is also streaming at the bottom of the post, along with a full live set (same show from which the picture above seems to have been taken) from New Hampshire this past December that also has some new material. Because MAXIMALISM.

For now, enjoy “Burn Scar.” Preorder links and PR wire info follow below:

Kind, “Burn Scar” track premiere

kind close encounters

Preorder: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/kind-close-encounters

Close Encounters is the third KIND full length, following their debut Rocket Science (2015) and sophomore album Mental Nudge (2020), all released on venerable underground heavy rock label Ripple Music. Once again, KIND recorded with engineer Alec Rodriguez at Mad Oak Studios, and the eye-catching cover art was created by renowned artist Alexander Von Wieding in his lair in Germany. Close Encounters contains nine songs of heavy stoner/doom/psych rock with some additional elements, furthering the scope of KIND’s musical vision. Prog-rock leaning opener “Burn Scar”, the almost-but-not-quite pop of “Snag” and the Krautrock inspired closer “Pacino” bring some variety to the proceedings, with additional percussion, Mellotron and synth blended into the mix.

The locked-in rhythm section of drummer Matt Couto and bassist Tom Corino and the heavy-as-bricks riffing of guitarist Darryl Shepard are topped off with the powerful and melodic vocals of Craig Riggs throughout, creating a cohesive sound regardless of where the band ventures musically. KIND never stray from their mission, which is to write and perform top-shelf heavy rock. Mental Nudge ended up on several year-end best-of lists and topped the Doom Charts in September of 2020. Close Encounters ups the ante in several ways, showing the versatility of these four seasoned musicians who have performed with KIND and previous bands at festivals such as Roadburn, Hellfest, Desertfest and many more. But as the saying goes, “writing about music is like dancing about architecture”. The best thing to do is to throw on a copy of Close Encounters and turn the volume way up.

About the album, guitarist Darryl Shepard says: “When we started recording Close Encounters the pandemic was still going on, and then Russia started bombing Ukraine the week before, so the war was just starting and nobody knew what the hell was going to happen with that. Was it going to turn into World War III or something? Nobody knew at that time. And I remember just feeling that everything going on was very heavy and we were in the studio recording while Russia was invading another country and nuclear facilities in Ukraine were burning. All of that definitely seeped into my playing on this album. It was absolutely on my mind, and Alec and I were talking about it while setting up to record. It was definitely a heavy period and I think some of that is in this record.

Album credits:
All songs written & arranged by KIND, copyright 2023 (BMI)
All lyrics by Craig Riggs
Synths – Craig and Darryl
Additional percussion – Craig
Piano – Darryl

Produced by KIND & Alec Rodriguez
Recorded & mixed by Alec Rodriguez
Recorded at Mad Oak Studios, Allston, MA between March and July of 2022
Mixed thereafter by Alec Rodriguez
Mastered by Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studios

Artwork, layout & logo by Alexander von Wieding, zeichentier.com

KIND lineup:
Tom Corino – Bass
Matt Couto – Drums
Craig Riggs – Vocals
Darryl Shepard – Guitars

https://www.facebook.com/KINDtheband
https://www.instagram.com/therockbandkind/
https://kindrocks.bandcamp.com/

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

Kind, Close Encounters (2023)

Kind, Live at the Stone Church, New Market, NH, 12.03.22

Tags: , , , , ,

Blood Lightning Post “Blankets” Video; Self-Titled Debut Due in October

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

As tempting as it might be to liken Blood Lightning to fellow Bostonian unit Kind in terms of being a band comprised of dudes from other bands — in Blood Lightning‘s case, that’s Gozu, Black Thai, We’re all Gonna Die, Sam Black Church and Worshipper — but that and having standalone frontmen able to belt out hooks with the best of ’em is about where the similarities end. Blood Lightning signed to Ripple Music early last month and the intention toward a self-titled debut full-length was announced with that, and with their new video for “Blankets,” they offer the first audio to come from the album. Unsurprisingly, it’s a banger.

The band cast themselves as metal, and maybe they are, but “Blankets” isn’t hyper-aggressive in its groove or melody, but you can hear everyone pushing. Not struggling to keep up with the song, because it’s not like they’re trying to thrash or anything, but pushing themselves to hit harder, play and sing with impact in mind, and while they’re still led by riffs and they’re still produced by Benny Grotto at Mad Oak — the only one of their other bands I’m not sure he’s recorded before is Sam Black Church, and maybe Worshipper now that I think of it? — there’s a twist in the intention that comes through in “Blankets,” which was also released audio-only as a single last summer.

Now it comes accompanied by a video recorded this past Spring in Cambridge that you can see at the bottom of this post. I haven’t seen a solid release date for Blood Lightning‘s Blood Lightning yet, but Ripple‘s Todd Severin had some comment on the video from social media, and if he’s stoked on it, that’s usually a good sign, even if he is the guy running the label:

blood lightning

The video for Blood Lightning’s “Blankets” was shot live at ZuZu in Cambridge MA on April 19th, 2023 by Frank Pino and Shawn Reilly of Doghouse East.

The song is the first release from our debut record on Ripple Music.

We are excited to share this tune and video and can’t wait for you to hear the rest of the album! (Due in October 2023)

Come catch Blood Lightning live at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge MA on Friday June 23, 2023 with Catching Hell and Scissorfight.

We are incredibly excited to be part of the Ripple Music family and are stoked to share this video with you!

Says Ripple Music’s Todd Severin: Damn, am I excited about this project. Blood Lightning, a Boston supergroup featuring members of Gozu, Worshipper, Sam Black Church, Black Thai, and others. They’ve already been nominated for several Boston Music awards, and here’s why. Proud to present to you the new video for Blankets, a song off their forthcoming Ripple Music debut.

BLOOD LIGHTNING are:
Jim Healey – Vocals
Doug Sherman – Guitars
Bob Maloney – Bass
J.R. Roach – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/bloodlightning
https://bloodlightning.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzK8wKH5BET_4DWg_2Hp3hw

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

Blood Lightning, “Blankets” official video

Tags: , , , , ,

Album Review: Gozu, Remedy

Posted in Reviews on May 18th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

GOZU REMEDY

The first 10 seconds of “Tom Cruise Control” are pretty telling in that they remind the listener just how little Gozu actually need to make a hook. It’s just the guitar, then the bass and drums pick up and are swept along with the immediate momentum garnered. This has been Gozu‘s method for seven years now, to take the tones, grooves and, particularly in the vocals of guitarist Marc “Gaff” Gaffney, the soul of heavy rock and recontextualize them with a force of impact born of heavy metal. As the Boston four-piece offer the nine songs and 48 minutes of Remedy as their first studio LP since 2018’s Equilibrium (review here), they not only welcome drummer Seth Botos to the lineup alongside Gaffney, lead guitarist Doug Sherman and bassist Joe Grotto, but they reaffirm and refine the aesthetic stance they initially took on Equilibrium‘s predecessor, 2016’s Revival (review here).

That record, issued in a stopover through Ripple Music before they were picked up by Metal Blade imprint Blacklight Media, first united Gozu with producer Dean Baltulonis at Wild Arctic Studios in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. None of their work before that — 2013’s The Fury of a Patient Man (review here), 2010’s Locust Season (discussed here; review here), or their 2008 self-titled demo — had the same purposeful, directed punch. Make no mistake, Gozu always hit hard, but rounded edges turned into sharp corners right around the middle of the last decade and they’ve been riding those crisp orange lines ever since. Their collaboration with Baltulonis — who has produced records for Primitive WeaponsSick of it AllHatebreed, and it’s safe to say is no stranger to the aurally aggro — is part of what lets them so quickly establish themselves on Remedy. They are as sure in their method of delivery as they are in their songwriting, and they’re not wrong about either one.

But of course, there’s more to any Gozu record than just the shove, though it’s somewhat comforting to know that five years and two drummers after their last record the shove is still ready to go. Second cut “CLDZ” takes its name from a cannabis-infused beverage company part-owned by Baltulonis, so one imagines the recording was a good time, but it’s also the longest inclusion save for nine-minute closer “The Handler,” its two halves split by a solo united by a richly layered melodic chorus from Gaffney, a casually shredded solo from Sherman providing the transition as Grotto — who would be a secret weapon were it not for the consuming thickness of the bass running alongside the guitars; not a new aspect of Gozu‘s sound but universally effective — blends intricacy and fluidity to complement the riffy core of the material, there and in the dare-you-rockers-to-mosh procession of the subsequent “Rambo 2” and side B’s penultimate “Ash,” the latter a declarative stomp that can’t help but feel like Boston hardcore.

Between those two songs, a forward sprint like the three-minute “Joe Don Baker” or even the verses of “Tom Cruise Control,” the spirit of Remedy is charged and metallic, but that isn’t all it is. In doubling as the first single, “Tom Cruise Control” and its standout chorus did more than hint at a career performance vocally from Gaffney, and the rest of the album bears that out in striking fashion. A scream sneaks into the end of the verse in “Rambo 2.” The effects-laced layers backing “The Magnificent Muraco” add to the confident and soulful presence of the can-sing-lead-singerism happening at the forefront — that Gaffney holds it down live while playing rhythm guitar is not a minor achievement, either — which gives over to falsetto soon enough. And amid the open strumming of “The Handler,” which crushes with repetition in a way that reminds of The Fury of a Patient Man capper “The Ceaseless Thunder of Surf,” Gaffney goes there again as the lumbering nod moves through its middle.

gozu

Even in the dual-personality of “Ben Gazzara Loves No One,” with a penetrating build of feedback at its start, a thud of kickdrum and a dust-covered tone of riff that reminds of Author & Punisher more than Fu Manchu that turns very much toward boogie after three minutes into its total five and a half, Gaffney is there to emphasize the dance after Sherman‘s solo reorients the song to its second movement. One could just as easily cite the way “Ash” opens up from its crunch in the verse and sweeps through its own chorus, or any number of other examples in the material to make the point. The overarching message there applies to the band as a whole as well. Some 15 years past their first release, Gozu sound comfortable in their skin as a group, like they know who they are and what they want their sound to be, but have not given up pushing themselves creatively, or — as comes across in the brash start of “CLDZ,” the intensity of “Joe Don Baker” imagining what would happen if ‘thrash rock’ existed, or the largesse in the rollout of “Ben Gazzara Loves No One” — physically.

Part of that might be due to the shift in dynamic that comes from bringing in Botos on drums, but Gozu have been delving further into kinetic surge for the last decade or more. And while Remedy can be read as the deepest they’ve gone in that regard, it might just as easily be noted for the hypnotic melody and nod at the end of “CLDZ” or the dreamy fade in “Rambo 2,” “The Magnificent Muraco,” or even the ‘ooh-aah’ stretch in “Ben Gazzara Loves No One,” or the consuming atmospherics of the last stretch in “The Handler.” The truth is that Gozu are a more complex group than can be summarized through one person, performance, or song, and Remedy is a reminder of the greater strength that arises as the sum of its parts.

It is not a revolution in sound for them, but it is theirs entirely — one does not hear it and mistake it for somebody else — and if they’re offering it as a cure either for modern ills, a statement that the band itself is the cure for the members, or something else related to either the pandemic years or whathaveyou, their catharsis is easy (and fun!) to internalize as a listener. That roll at the end of “The Handler” sure feels like a big exhale, and that’s suitable after some of the clenched-teeth surges that Remedy has presented. If one wants to extrapolate from that to the rest of what surrounds, then the album title makes sense. The song titles, well, that’s always been a thing for Gozu and if you can’t Google the references or don’t care or think the songs are a joke because they’re named that way, maybe you’re the one with the problem. Sorry. If you want to talk about it, I’m available and have been where you are.

For the rest, Gozu‘s steady growth along their charted path should serve as comfort enough, let alone the character of these songs, which can be propulsive or meditative without losing either their expressive intent or underlying structures and are drawn together as a group through tone without leaning on that same tone as a stylistic crutch. They are, in concept and execution, all in. On RemedyGozu come across like they’re holding nothing back, like each song, each part, each contribution is there for a reason in service to the LP as a whole and the individual pieces, and like they’re putting everything they have into these tracks and recordings. That’s not really anything new for them either, but five records deep, the dedication to the cause feels all the more noteworthy for the lack of stagnation that accompanies.

Arriving as veterans, they use their fifth album to reaffirm the progression they’ve taken on over their time and to demonstrate clearly their commitment to it as an ongoing factor in their makeup. That Remedy is an utter triumph for them in this should be no surprise to those who’ve heard them before, and for new listeners, these songs should serve as prime immersion. All these guys do, have ever done, is kick ass. Kudos to them on the consistency here.

Gozu, Remedy (2023)

Gozu, “CLDZ” visualizer

Gozu, “Tom Cruise Control” official video

Gozu on Facebook

Gozu on Bandcamp

Gozu on Instagram

Blacklight Media website

Blacklight Media on Facebook

Blacklight Media on Instagram

Metal Blade Records website

Tags: , , , , , ,

Blood Lightning Sign to Ripple Music; Self-Titled Debut Due in October

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Cheers to Blood Lightning and Ripple Music on joining forces for the greater good of heavy rock and roll. The Boston-based pretty-gosh-darn-super-group came about in 2020 and thus far have posted two singles in “The Dying Starts” (posted here) and “Blankets” (posted here), and they’ll release their helmed-by-BennyGrotto (who’s also pretty super) self-titled debut this October.

So who’s in the band? Check out Jim Healey and Doug Sherman, respectively known for their work in We’re All Gonna Die (also Black Thai, Set Fire, Shatner, solo, etc.) and Gozu (whose new record stands among 2023’s best and is out this month) collaborating. That’s a marquee match up from Boston in itself, but neither drummer J.R. Roach (Sam Black Church) nor bassist Bob Maloney (Worshipper) have anything to prove in my mind. It’s a band of dudes from other bands. You’ve been down this road before. But, in addition to the aggro vibes they’ve shown this far, there’s not a doubt in my mind they’ve got some tricks up their collective sleeve for the LP, and I’ll be completely honest and tell you that any album Healey is belting it out on is one I want to hear. Seriously. Dude could be singing over a 40-minute sample of the T running late and make it sound good. Throw Sherman‘s shred on there, Maloney‘s bass, Roach‘s drums, and, well, you get the idea.

More to come, is what I’m saying.

Ripple posted the following on socials:

Blood Lightning ripple

Ripple is extremely proud to welcome to our family, the Boston supergroup, Blood Lightning!

Formed in December 2020, Blood Lightning brings together the talents of Jim Healey (We’re All Gonna Die), vocals; Doug Sherman (GOZU), guitar; Bob Maloney (Worshipper), bass; and J.R. Roach (Sam Black Church).

During Covid lockdown. The guys decided to riff around remotely, eventually coming together to flesh out their ideas into songs.

Blood Lightning was formed with one thing in mind: Get back to the real essence of heavy metal. That’s it. Nothing fancy. No pretense. No subgenres to fit into. Just badass, straightforward, hard-hitting heavy metal with a nod to old school NWOBHM, with a bunch of contemporary firepower.

Award-winning producer/engineer, Benny Grotto (Rolling Stones, Aerosmith) and mastering legend, Alan Douches (Motörhead, Mastodon, High On Fire), recorded/mixed and mastered their self-titled debut.

Album release, vinyl, CD, and digital hitting you worldwide this October

Please give them a big waverider welcome!

BLOOD LIGHTNING are:
Jim Healey – Vocals
Doug Sherman – Guitars
Bob Maloney – Bass
J.R. Roach – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/bloodlightning
https://bloodlightning.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzK8wKH5BET_4DWg_2Hp3hw

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

Blood Lightning, “The Dying Starts”

Blood Lightning, “Blankets”

Tags: , , ,

Gozu Announce New Album Remedy Out May 19; Video for “Tom Cruise Control” Posted; Touring in May and June

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan

GOZU 2023

Would it be funny if I said I didn’t get the reference in ‘Tom Cruise Control?’ Probably not. “What’s a ‘danger zone’?,” and so on. Meh.

The news is still good, as Boston heavy rockers Gozu send first word of their upcoming album, Remedy, which will be out May 19 through Blacklight Media. It is their second full-length for the label — which is an imprint of Metal Blade Records — behind 2018’s Equilibrium (review here), as well as their third to be recorded with Dean Baltulonis, who also helmed 2016’s Revival (review here). The PR wire has it as their fifth long-player overall, and my count is six, but I guess it depends on how you situate their 2008 self-titled. Well, I just checked the band’s Bandcamp and they call it a demo, so there you go. Remedy is number five.

In case you’re looking at the tracklisting and curious, I looked up “CLDZ” and it’s a cannabis-infused drink company — whose beverages look lovely — owned in part by Baltulonis. I bet that’s a good-ass song. Sadly, I haven’t heard the record yet to confirm for myself. There’s time.

And until then, the four-piece have a video up for Remedy‘s first single, the aforementioned “Tom Cruise Control,” and it’s a riffer for all seasons, topped with a career performance from Marc Gaffney on vocals. The chorus hits with harmonies that are a technology I don’t understand and so can only think of as magic, the kick is heavy and aggro in the verses, and Doug‘s fuck-it noise shred is on point, while Joe Grotto joegrottos it on bass, holding the nod as they build toward the finish past the four-minute mark. Hot shit. It’s a fuckin’ burner. Sign me up.

Today started out pretty rough. This made it better:

GOZU REMEDY

GOZU ANNOUNCE FIFTH ALBUM ‘REMEDY’ OUT MAY 19 BLACK LIGHT MEDIA/METAL BLADE

BAND SHARES “TOM CRUISE CONTROL” VIDEO

Boston’s GOZU — Marc Gaffney (vocals and guitar); Joseph Grotto (bass); Doug Sherman (lead guitar); and Seth Botos (drums) — return riffing and screaming with their fifth full-length Remedy.

It arrives via Black Light Media/Metal Blade on May 19. Pre-order it here: blacklightmediarecords.com/gozu

Today, the band has shared the video for “Tom Cruise Control.” Watch it here.

“‘Tom Cruise Control’ will take you riding into the danger zone,” the band shares. “It will take you right into the danger zone! Turn ‘n Burn.”

The record was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Dean Baltulonis (Death Ray Vision, The Hope Conspiracy) at Wild Arctic studios in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The album will be available via Digital/Streaming, CD, and vinyl. The U.S. vinyl variant will be Blue/White Melt, while the European vinyl variant will be Red/Black Melt.

About the album Gozu says, “A wise man said, ‘To rock is human, to roll is divine. Gozu’s Remedy should be cranked at full volume, all the time.”

REMEDY TRACK LISTING:
“Tom Cruise Control”
“CLDZ”
“Rambo 2”
“Joe Don Baker”
“Pillow Talk”
“The Magnificent Muraco”
“Ben Gazzara Loves No One”
“Ash”
“The Handler”

Gozu will also hit the road this May. “On May 19, Gozu hit the road with some serious BGVs. Get ready to stop, drop, and open up shop! See you all at a club near you. Woooo.”

GOZU ON TOUR:
5/19 — Brooklyn, NY — Saint Vitus
5/20 — Philadelphia, PA — Kung Fu Necktie
5/21 — Pittsburgh, PA — Green Beacon Gallery
5/23 — Indianapolis, IN — Black Circle *
5/24 — Columbus, OH — Ace of Cups *
5/25 — Newport, KY — Southgate House/Revival Room *
5/26 — Chicago, IL — Reggies / Music Joint *
5/27 — Lincoln, NE — Cosmic Eye Brewery
5/28 — Denver, CO —The Crypt
5/30 — Houston, TX — Black Magic Social Club
5/31 — Austin, TX — The Lost Well
6/1 — Arlington, TX — Division
6/2 — New Orleans, LA — Gasa Gasa
6/3 — Nashville, TN — Springwater *
6/4 — Atlanta, GA — Boggs Social & Supply *
6/5 — West Columbia, SC — New Brookland Tavern *
6/7 — Raleigh, NC — The Pour House *
*With Ancient Days

VIDEO CREDITS:
Director, Editor, Animation & VFX: Shawn Reilly
PunchDance Studios
Studio Manager- Frank Pino JR
Grip: Alex Fiorentino

GOZU is:
Marc Gaffney – guitar and vocals
Joe Grotto – bass
Doug Sherman – lead guitar
Seth Botos – drums

https://www.facebook.com/GOZU666
http://gozu.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/gozu666

https://www.instagram.com/blacklightmediaofficial/
https://www.facebook.com/BlacklightMediaOfficial/
http://www.blacklightmediarecords.com/

Gozu, “Tom Cruise Control” official video

Tags: , , , , , ,

Morne Sign to Metal Blade; New Album Later This Year

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan

In the ever-present question of “crunch or crush,” Boston’s Morne realize that it in no way needs to be one or the other. The doom-tinged aggressors have signed to Metal Blade Records — congrats on that, by the way; pretty much the dream — and are currently dig into the recording process for their next full-length, to be released hopefully sometime before the end of the year. Honestly, if it’s November or even early December, I think that makes sense for Morne‘s sound, which to me speaks of cold Massachusetts winters where the sky is just grey from late Fall until, oh, May or so, and you never see the sun and everybody gets even angrier at each other and the only thing stopping the masses from rioting at any given moment is the continued success of the local sports franchises. It’s an intense season, the northern winter. I’m surprised everybody doesn’t play black metal up there, but I suppose that’s a different conversation. In any case, in 2015, Morne put out The Coming of Winter, so they would seem to know it as well.

I was fortunate enough to catch Morne at the 2019 Roadburn Festival (review here) as they supported their 2018 LP, To the Night Unknown, which was released by the band in collaboration with Armageddon Shop. Their next outing is being recorded with the esteemed Kurt Ballou, a parenthetical snippet of whose pedigree you can see below, which is no doubt a promise of continued bludgeonry. So much the better. The four-piece will also travel to Germany for Hell Over Hammaburg, where they’ll play with the likes of SanhedrinThe Ruins of BeverastHigh Spirits and others. Good fun.

The PR wire tells the tale:

morne (Photo by Hillarie Jason)

Metal Blade Records Announce the Signing of Morne

Metal Blade Records is proud to announce the signing of Boston, Massachusetts’ MORNE who are adding their brand of crusty and ethereal doom to the label’s celebrated roster. The band is currently recording a new album with Kurt Ballou (Converge, Cave In, High On Fire) for release in late 2023.

“We are wrapping up the recording session at GodCity Studio with Kurt Ballou in Salem, Massachusetts. This will be our fifth studio album and we are very excited that a legendary label like Metal Blade is releasing it to the universe.” comments MORNE vocalist Milosz adding that “music and words for this album were written during stressful and challenging times and life changing moments and I hope people will find something for themselves in this album and enjoy it. I’m very grateful that Metal Blade helped us put it all together.”

Metal Blade GmbH Label Manager, Markus Grasseck, had this to say about the signing: “We’re very excited to welcome MORNE to our Metal Blade family. Being a fan of the band since their Demo 2008, it’s a great honor to finally work together for the years to come. The band’s unique blend of atmospheric Doom with Crust attitude is unparalleled and we can’t wait to get this out to as many people as possible. Brace yourself for their new album due out this fall!”

In other news, MORNE will be heading over to Hamburg, Germany to perform at this year’s Hell Over Hammaburg Festival in March. More festival details can be found here: helloverhammaburg.blogspot.com

MORNE is:
Miłosz Gassan – vocals, guitars
Paul Rajpal – guitars
Morgan Coe – bass
Billy Knockenhauer – drums

About the band:
Formed in 2005, MORNE blends doom metal and classic British crust but stretches beyond those boundaries, combining a bleak lyrical style with driving riffs. Four studio albums have been released to date with the band currently recording material for their 5th studio album. Their first, Untold Wait, was on Feral Ward Records in 2009 then in 2011, the band signed with Profound Lore Records and released Asylum that same year, followed by Shadows, in 2013. Their latest, To the Night Unknown, was released in September of 2018 on Armageddon Label and the band’s own Morne Records. The band has toured the US, Canada and Europe, where they have been part of large festivals such as Roadburn, Hellfest, Quebec Deathfest, Psycho Las Vegas, Into the Void and Blow Up the Gramaphone.

https://www.facebook.com/mornecrust
https://www.instagram.com/morneband
https://twitter.com/morneband
https://morneband.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/metalbladerecords
https://www.instagram.com/metalbladerecords/
https://www.metalblade.com/

Morne, Live at Roadburn 2019 (2020)

Tags: , , ,

Quarterly Review: Crippled Black Phoenix, Chat Pile, Early Moods, Larman Clamor, The Necromancers, Les Lekin, Highbay, Sound Animal, Warcoe, DONE

Posted in Reviews on September 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

See you back here Monday, huh? Yeah. If onslaughts of new music are your thing and you’ve been following along throughout this week — first, thank you — and second, we’ll pick up after the weekend with another 50 albums in this double-wide Fall 2022 Quarterly Review. This was a good week though. Yesterday had some genuine killers, and I’ve added a few to my best-of lists for the end-of-year stuff to come. There’ll be another Quarterly Review then too. Never any trouble filling slots with new releases. I’ve already started, in fact.

Madness. Didn’t I say something yesterday about one thing at a time? Ha.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Crippled Black Phoenix, Banefyre

crippled black phoenix banefyre

There are times where I wonder if Crippled Black Phoenix aren’t just making fun of other bands, their audience, themselves, and everything, and then there are times when I’m pretty sure they are. To wit, their latest outing for Season of Mist, Banefyre, is nearly an hour into its 90-plus-minute runtime before they offer up the 10-minute “Down the Rabbit Hole,” and, well, if we’re not down it by then, where the hell are we? See also “Wyches and Basterdz” near the outset. Whatever else they may be, the long-running, dynamic, progressive, dark heavy rock troupe surrounding founding songwriter and guitarist Justin Greaves are like nothing else. They offer shades of influences, discernable elements from this or that style, this or that band — “The Reckoning” has a bit of The Cure, “Blackout77” filters that through Katatonia, etc. — but are never working to be anyone but themselves. Accordingly, the thoroughly British depressive triumphs throughout Banefyre — looking at you, “I’m OK, Just Not Alright” — are part of an ongoing narrative of creative development that will hit its 20th year in 2024 and has offered listeners an arc of emotive and stylistic depth that, in whatever genre you want to try to confine it, is only ever going to escape. The only real tragedy of Banefyre is that they’ll probably have another record out before this one can be properly digested. That’ll take a few years at least.

Crippled Black Phoenix on Facebook

Season of Mist website

 

Chat Pile, God’s Country

Chat Pile God's Country

An Oklahoma hardcore-born circus of sludge-toned tragedies personal, cultural and socioeconomic played out across nine songs/42 minutes held together at times seemingly most of all by their disenchantment, Chat Pile‘s debut album, God’s Country is arthouse angularity, raw aggression and omnidirectional intensity. As the UK’s post-industrial waste once birth’d Godflesh, so now come vocalist Raygun Busch, guitarist Luther Manhole, bassist Stin and electronic-drummer Cap’n Ron with brilliantly constructed tales of drugs, murder, suicide, loss, violence, misery, and general wretchedness of spirit, presented instrumentally with quick turns that draw from hardcore as noted, but also death metal, sludge, industrial doom, and so on. The lyrics are masterful drug poetry and delivered as such, semi-spoken, shouted, some singing, some acting out, such that you never know from what direction the next punch is coming. “Why” tackles homelessness, “Pamela” demonstrates the impossibility of coping with loss, “Slaughterhouse” is what it says, and closer “Grimace_Smoking_Weed.jpeg” resolves its nine minutes in long-held feedback and crashes as Busch frantically screams with decreasing intelligibility until it’s even words anymore. A perfect finish to a stunning, terrifying, moving first album. Don’t go into it expecting listenability. Even as “I Don’t Care if I Burn” offers some respite, it does so while describing a murder fantasy. It’s not the only one.

Chat Pile on Instagram

The Flenser store

 

Early Moods, Early Moods

Early Moods Early Moods

Fuck yes Gen-Z doom. Yes. Yes. Yes. Show the old men how it’s done. Please. Not a gray hair in the bunch, or a bullshit riff, or a lazy groove. Early Moods got their influences in line with their 2020 debut EP, Spellbound (review here), and you can still hear some Candlemass in “Broken,” but their self-titled debut LP stamps its foot to mark their arrival as something new and a fresh take on classic ideas. Vocalist Alberto Alcaraz is a distinct presence atop the hard-distorted guitars of Eddie Andrade and Oscar Hernandez, while Elix Feliciano‘s bass fuzz-rumbles through the interlude “Memento Mori” and Chris Flores‘ big-room-ready kick counts in the Trouble‘d early highlight “Live to Suffer.” Later on, “Curse of the Light” leans into the metal end of classic doom metal ahead of the chugging roll of “Damnation” and the finisher “Funeral Macabre,” but Early Moods have already put these things in play by then, as demonstrated with the eponymous title-track. Songs are tight, crisply produced, and executed to style with a promise of more growth to come. It’s an easy record to get excited about, and one of 2022’s best albums. I might just buy the tape and the CD.

Early Moods on Facebook

RidingEasy Records store

 

Larman Clamor, With a Deadly Hiss

Larman Clamor With a Deadly Hiss

Less than a year after a return born of celebrating the project’s 10th anniversary with the Ink fo’ Blood (review here) full-length, prolific visual artist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and singer Alexander von Wieding returns with Larman Clamor‘s latest, With a Deadly Hiss. As ever, formalities are dispensed with in favor of deceptively intricate arrangements of slide acoustic and electric guitar, whatever’s-around-style percussion and von Wieding‘s telltale throaty vocals, which on “Swamp Jive” and even a bit of the six-minute finale “Eleventh Spell to Cast” draw back the throaty grit in favor of a more melodic, somewhat less performative delivery that suits the material well. Songs are mostly short — there are 11 of them and the aforementioned closer is the longest by about three minutes — but each is a blinking glimpse into the humid, climbing-vine world of von Wieding‘s creation, and in instrumentals like the manic percussion of “Monkey and the Trash Goblins” and the distortion-backed algae-delica of “Iguana at the Fountain,” the brashness of “Tortuga” and the playful falsetto of the leadoff title-track are expanded in such a way as to hint of future paths to be explored. One way or the other, Larman Clamor remains an entity unto itself in concept, craft and delivery, and if With a Deadly Hiss is just another forward step en route to the next stop on down the road, even better.

Larman Clamor on Facebook

Larman Clamor on Bandcamp

 

The Necromancers, When the Void Rose

The Necromancers When the Void Rose

Recorded in 2021, The Necromancers‘ third album would seem to have a mind toward picking up where the Poitiers, France-based four-piece left off pre-pandemic with 2018’s Of Blood and Wine (review here). Can hardly blame them, frankly. Now self-releasing (their first two albums were on Ripple), the semi-cult heavy rockers bring an air of classic metal to the proceedings but are remarkably cohesive in their craft, with guitarist/vocalist Basile Chevalier-Coudrain fronting the band even in the studio as demonstrated on the ’80s metal roller “The Needle,” which follows the eight-minute doom-adjacent unfolding of “Crimson Hour” — and that “adjacent” is a compliment, by the way; The Necromancers are less concerned with playing to genre than with it — wherein guitarist Robin Genais adds a short but classy solo to underscore the willful grandiosity. Bassist Simon Evariste and drummer Benjamin Rousseau underscore the grooves, prominent in the verse of the title-track, and while it’s guitars up front in traditionalist fashion, the truth is all four players are critical here, and it’s the overarching affect of the whole that makes When the Void Rose such an engaging listen, rather than the individual parts. That is to say, listen front to back for best results.

The Necromancers on Facebook

The Necromancers on Bandcamp

 

Les Lekin, Limbus

Les Lekin Limbus

Though instrumental across its vast stretches, Les Lekin‘s Limbus — their first full-length since 2017’s Died with Fear, also on Tonzonen, and third overall — begins with a verbal message of hope, lyrics in German, in the beginning intro “Licht.” That gives a specifically covid-era context to the proceedings, but as the subsequent three massive sans-vocal pieces “Ascent” (14:14), “Unknown” (8:18) and closer “Return” (22:00), unfold, they do so with a decidedly otherworldly, deeply-weighted psychedelic verve. The narrative writes itself in the titles, so I’ll spare you the pretense of insight (on my part there), but note that if it was escapism through music being sought on the part of the meditative Salzburg three-piece, the richness of what’s on offer throughout Limbus is generous enough to share that experience with the audience as well. “Ascent” swells and builds as it moves duly upward, and in “Unknown,” the trio explores post-metallic atmospherics in a crunching midsection without ever losing sight of the ambience so central to what they’re doing, while it would be hard for “Return” not to be the highlight, drums and initial bass rumble giving way to a huge sounding, engrossing procession of atmospheric density. Les Lekin have been a critical favorite for a while now, and it’s easy to hear why, but their work here holds far more than academic appeal or to-genre conformity. They embody the release they would seem to have sought and still carry an exploratory spirit despite the clearly charted course of their songs.

Les Lekin on Facebook

Tonzonen Records store

 

Highbay, LightShower

highbay lightshower

LightShower is the fourth session from Hungarian jammers Highbay to see release in the last year-plus, and it arrives with the immediately noteworthy backing of Psychedelic Source Records. In the vein of many of that collective’s offerings, it is live recorded, probably improvised, and wholly instrumental, the trio vibing their way into a groove early on “Walking on Bubbles” and holding gently to that locked-in, entranced feel across the following five jams. The shimmering guitar tone, particuly as “Miracle Under Water” moves into the more extended “Spaceship” and the pleasantly funky “FunKing Dragons Above Fissure Mountains,” is a highlight, but the intention here is a full set, and I won’t take away from the fuzzier, riffier emergence later on in “FunKing Dragons” either, or, for that matter, the ready-to-wander post-rock float of closer “3D(ays) Trippin’.” It’s a big universe, and Highbay have their work cut out for them if they want to feel their way through all of it, but “Spaceship” mellows its way off into a greater beyond, and even “Hungover Sadness (’90s Romance)” manages to not be a drag as filtered through the trio’s chemistry. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t be the last time Highbay are heard from this year, but they’re yet another name to add to the list of Psychedelic Source-associated acts whose jammy sensibilities are helping manifest a new generation of Eastern European lysergic rock and roll.

Psychedelic Source Records on Facebook

Psychedelic Source Records on Bandcamp

 

Sound Animal, Yes, Yes, You

Sound Animal Yes Yes You

Think of this as less of a review and more of a general reminder to throw a follow in the direction of Berkeley, California’s dug-in-as-hell Sound Animal, or at very least let your ears pay a visit every now and again to soak up some of the weirdo drone, dance, psych electronics and whatever else might be had on any given afternoon from the prolific solo-project. “Yes, Yes, You” is the latest single, but likely not for long, and it plays out across 3:33 of keyboardian ambience and recitations of the titular reassurance that would be soul-pop were they not so definitively experimental and part of such an ongoing creative splurge. Tucked away in a corner of the Bandcamp dimension, Sound Animal comes across as an outlet for ideas as much as sonics, and with the persistent thud of a beat beneath, one, two, three, four, the melodic serenity of the wash feels like direct conversation, with the listener, the self, or, more likely, both. It is beautiful and brief, as I’m told life also is, and it may just be the thing that came after one thing and before the next, but if you stop for a minute or three and let it sink in, you just might find a more substantial place to reside. Not gonna be for everyone, but the fact that “Yes, Yes, You” is so vague and yet so clearly encouraging rather than accusatory speaks to the artistic purpose writ large throughout Sound Animal‘s e’er expanding catalog. Wouldn’t be surprised or sad to find a subsequent single going somewhere else entirely, but again, just a reminder that it’s worth finding that out.

Sound Animal on Facebook

Sound Animal website

 

Warcoe, The Giant’s Dream

Warcoe The Giant's Dream

Somewhere between classic metal and doom, heavy rock’s riff-led impulses and cultish atmospheres there resides the Pesaro, Italy, trio Warcoe and their debut album, The Giant’s Dream. Led by guitarist/vocalist Stefano — who also plays bass on some of the later tracks — with bassist Carlo and drummer Francesco proffering thickened roll and punctuating rhythm all the while save for the early acoustic interlude “Omega Sunrise,” the band nestle smoothly into a modern-via-not-at-all-modern sphere, yet neither are they retro or aping ’70s methodologies. Maybe that moment has passed and it’s the ascent of the ’80s metal and doom we’re seeing here — or maybe I just slated Warcoe and Early Moods the same day and both bands dig Trouble and Death Row/Pentagram, I won’t pretend to know — but the bass in “Fire and Snow” is more of a presence than bass was pretty much ever 40 years ago, so to call The Giant’s Dream anything but ‘now’ is inaccurate. They lean into rock on “Thieves, Heretics and Whores” and manifest grim but stately lurch before the fade of the penultimate “Scars Will Remain,” but wherever each piece might end up, the impression is abidingly dark and offers a reminder that Italy’s history of cult doom goes farther back than most. Paul Chain, Steve Sylvester, your legacy is in good hands.

Warcoe on Facebook

Forbidden Place Records on Bandcamp

 

DONE, Aged and Untreated

DONE Aged & Untreated

Hard to find info on the Boston or Boston-adjacent extreme-metal-inflected, sludge-toned dark hardcore outfit DONE — and that may just as well be anti-social-media mystique creation as the fact that their name is ungooglable — but the tape slays. Aged and Untreated hammers 15 scathing tracks into its 28 minutes, and dies on a hill of wintry black metal and barking hardcore mostly but not completely summarized in the turns of “Soulsplitter.” The fun part is when they bounce back and forth, throw in some grind on “To Curt on Waverly,” scratch your eyes out with “Dance for Them” — the second cut behind says-it-all-in-a-minute opener “Nah” — and willfully crash into a wall on the comparatively sprawling 2:35 “I Fucking Hate Thinking About You.” Haven’t seen a lyric sheet and probably won’t if my success rate in tracking down relevant factoids is anything to go by, but shit, I lived on the South Shore for seven years, including the record-breaking winter of 2014, and it sure felt a lot like this. Maybe they’re from Arizona, and if they are, I’m sure some hack would say the same thing, but hell’s bells Aged and Untreated is an intense listen, and its wreck-your-shit violence is meted out such that even the slightly-slower punch in the first half of “Hope Trickle” makes the song feel sarcastic. I wouldn’t put it on every day, but yeah. Righteously pissed.

Tor Johnson Records on Bandcamp

Tor Johnson Records store

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Gozu Finish Recording New Album; European Tour Impending

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Gozu have finished recording their new album. Their sixth full-length, the yet untitled outing continues the Boston-based heavy rockers’ collaboration with producer Dean Baltulonis at Wild Arctic Studio in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, who also helmed 2018’s Equilibrium (review here) and 2016’s Revival (review here), released on Metal Blade Records imprint Blacklight Media and Ripple Music, respectively.

As of now, the next LP is reportedly slated for a May 2023 release, also on Blacklight Media, and will also mark the first on-record appearance of drummer Seth Botos, who joined last fall. And I’m not saying I’ve heard any of the unmastered tracks or anything like that, but if you’ve been on board with the aggressive turn the last couple albums have taken, bringing metallic shove to coincide with the heavy rock groove and soul-bent melodicism. Dudes have only been on a tear for, I don’t know, a decade. No big deal. Also, there’s a song called “Joe Don Baker,” so anyone who’s ever watched the ‘Mitchell’ episode of MST3K should be immediately pleased.

More news to come on the album, of course, but in the meantime, Gozu‘s October tour is coming up, with more dates added since it was first announced in August. Have riffs, will travel. Find those show dates below, including stops at Desertfest Belgium and Heavy Psych Sounds Fest:

Gozu eu poster

Our Euro tour kicks off in 3 weeks!! Couple of open dates on here so reach out to @heavypsychsounds_records if interested!! Giddy Up!! Poster by @hellespont_alhambra

Says Gaff: “We are extremely excited to get back over to Europe after this sensitive hiatus. New songs, new outlook and new attitude! What’s that delicious sound you hear? Sounds like more. Giddy up!”

FRI 14.10 2022 ANTWERPEN-DESERTFEST
SA 15.10.2022 SAARBRUCKEN- HORST
SU 16.10.2022 OPEN SLOT
MO 17.10.2022. LJUBLJANA CHANNEL ZERO
TU 18.10.2022 VIENNA ARENA BEISL
WE 19.10.2022 OLDENBURG MTS RECORDS W/ NICK OLIVERI
TH 20.10.2022 KIEL-SCHAUBUDE
FR 21.10.2022 BERLIN-HPS FEST
SA 22.10.2022 DRESDEN-HPS FEST
SU 23.10.2022 SALZBURG ROCKHOUSE
MO 24.10.2022 OPEN SLOT
TU 25.10.2022 OPEN SLOT
WE 26.10.2022 BASEL IRRSINN BAR
TH 27.10.2022 ZURICH-SAFARI BAR
FR 28.10.2022 FONTANAFREDDA-ASTRA
SA 29.10.2022 ZEROBRANCO SIDRO

GOZU is:
Marc Gaffney – guitar and vocals
Joe Grotto – bass
Doug Sherman – lead guitar
Seth Botos – drums

https://www.facebook.com/GOZU666
http://gozu.bandcamp.com
instagram.com/gozu666
https://www.instagram.com/blacklightmediaofficial/
https://www.facebook.com/BlacklightMediaOfficial/
http://www.blacklightmediarecords.com/

Gozu, Equilibrium (2018)

Tags: , , ,