Posted in Whathaveyou on June 7th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
That’s some stomp in the leadoff track from Gone Cosmic‘s new album, Send for a Warning, The Future’s Calling. You can hear even in the snare sound of “Crimson Hand,” for example, that the band are trying to distinguish themselves, and that’s before you get to the fun of the start-stop solo in the second half of the hard-boogie, three-and-a-half-minute, got-no-time-for-your-nonsense rhythm. I guess the irony here is that the follow-up to 2019’s Sideways in Time (review here) was recorded in 2020, which now is the past even before it can come out heralding its warning about the future — do you think it’s about gas prices? — but that was going to be the case anyway, even if perhaps in other circumstances it wouldn’t have taken as long for it to get out.
So it goes. Note that like its predecessor, Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling references time in the title if not mentioning it directly. Curious to hear how the rest of the record is produced and just how deep Gone Cosmic go in finding a niche for themselves. And also to see whether or not the album was held back in part so the band could tour and if, where, when that might happen.
Maybe asking more questions than I’m answering, but that’s hype in the age of no-sleep. The PR wire takes it from here:
Canadian hard blues rockers GONE COSMIC to issue new album “Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling” this fall; stream new track “Crismon Hand”!
Calgary, Alberta’s psychedelic hard rockers GONE COSMIC announce the release of their new album ‘Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling’, due out September 2nd on Grand Hand Records. Listen to their raucous new single “Crimson Hand.”!
About this new song, vocalist Abbie Thurgood comments: “People are complex entities on their own individual paths and it’s important to determine which people in your life may actually be a detriment to you. I have been in multiple situations where people have been very comfortable to take, so they took until there wasn’t much left for me to give. There’s an ignorance in these situations, on my part, in being too trusting and giving the benefit of the doubt. Crimson Hand is a reflection on these types of relationships and the importance of self-awareness and self-worth.”
Featuring nine progressive psych-blues anthems designed to upgrade your sonic synapsis. GONE COSMIC’s sophomore album “Send for a Warning, the Future’s Calling” was recorded in November 2020 at OCL Studios. It was produced, mixed and recorded by Josh Rob Gwilliam (Ghosts of Modern Man, JJ Shiplet, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald), and mastered by Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Brian “Big Bass” Gardner (Dr. Dre, David Bowie, Outkast, The Melvins, Rush).
TRACKLIST: 1. Crimson Hand 2. For Sabotage 3. Envy Thrives 4. Causeway 5. The Wrong Side of Righteous 6. Endless 7. To Refuse Compromise 8. Taste for Tragic 9. The Future’s Calling
A blood (orange)-scented breeze that bows the trees, GONE COSMIC chases the infinite haze from the skies and puts it right back in your eyes. Groove-mining breakdowns become the stuff of legend as the four pieces’ floor-thudding tail kick and hellfire halo holler originates a whole that is far more potent than the sum of its individual elements.
Pivoting on the acute juxtaposition of Abbie Thurgood’s soulful vocals and the galvanizing dexterity of Devin (Darty) Purdy’s promethean guitar runs, GONE COSMIC’s sidereal style is emboldened by an equally accomplished and inventive rhythm section, comprising bassist Brett Whittingham and percussionist Marcello Castronuovo. Issuing a universal invitation to emerge from the suspended animation of quarantine and share in their lusty deconstructive discoveries, Gone Cosmic’s stunning future dispatches are set to transmute that which is set in stone back into primordial lava. Their debut album “Sideways In Time” was released in 2019 through Kozmik Artifactz.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 12th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Calgary, Alberta, two-piece Drug Sauna allegedly recorded their late-2020 three-song EP, 2% Saunic, in their van. Is that true? Does it matter? Maybe, and no, in that order. The resultant in-your-head claustrophobia of the eponymous “Drug Sauna” brings enough ultra-stoned consciousness consumption that, wherever it was made, it was made well to suit its purposes. Likewise, opener “Space Druggin'” (get it?) and the closing take on Nazareth‘s “Razamanaz” are no less nod-melting, the twisted low end of bassist Deano and the raw drums of Cory hypnotic despite their lo-fi presentation even on the uptempo finale.
The Dregs Records, who it would seem have an affinity for that which may have emerged from an especially dank humidor, has signed the band to release 2% Saunic on tape, which, yes, should fit its fuckall nicely. Preorders are open as of today and run until March 15, and to be on the safe side an April 1 release date has been set.
The announcement follows here. I leave you to it and wish you well:
Drug Sauna – The Dregs Records
The Dregs Records is stoked to welcomes Calgary’s dirtiest duo, Drug Sauna, to the family. After seeing a one-minute video in 2019 of these pasty party animals Shane (of TDR) fell head over heels for what the band was all about. They truly capture the sense of freedom of the hesher lifestyle.
We have a few projects lined up for 2021. First up is getting 2% Saunic on cassette tapes. With boogie vans pre loaded with them suckers, it seems like a total no brainer. There will also be a special “doom” edit of their Nazareth cover Razamanaz exclusive to the tapes. This run is limited to 100 units and will be split between the band and label and will be released on April 1.
Are they using that date as a joke just in case there are delays due to covid? You’ll have to wait and see!
Pre orders start today and will ship once they are received. By their calculations this could be mid March (wink wink). Pre Orders end March 15th and the fashionably late will have to wait to party till the actual release date in April.
Posted in Features on April 24th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.
Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.
Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan
Days of Rona: Turner Midzain of Woodhawk (Calgary, Alberta)
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How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?
We’re dealing with it the best we can. We had to unfortunately postpone a lot of touring, which is the only real way a band like ours makes any money. We also had a couple of members laid off amidst this.
We’re trying to rebook our Canadian tour for August, but we’re being cautious as it could get cancelled again depending on the circumstances. But other than that, we’re all healthy and talk every day.
What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?
No groups over five [as of April 6]. But honestly a little too relaxed for the situation. Other provinces in Canada have locked down or shut down more business and limited outings, but it seems like bigger heads in Alberta are a little more concerned about other issues other than the pandemic…
How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?
Definitely. Most of our peers had to cancel tours or shows. Also, most of them aren’t rehearsing the way they used to. So I think it’s putting a strain on artists in many ways. But we’re a resilient community that will prevail. Like a lot of us, we fear the toll it will take on the music venues all over the world that are closed and have no funds to maintain existence without any revenue.
So I hope as many as possible stay open. But we’re unlikely to see a resurgence of patrons rushing to the pubs or venues as this pandemic settles. So even if a venue is able to reopen, it may not have the same income it used to.
What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?
If you can support artists or local businesses in your city, do it. Walmart will be fine at the end of this. But your local economy and business owners are going to take the biggest hit. Donate where possible, and buy local. Support where and when you can. Be nice to one and other. This sucks and we’re all going through it together.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 2nd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
When you’re doing it right, you put out a record, then you tour. Sometimes you tour first. That’s cool too, so long as you tour again later. Point is, if you’re going to be the kind of band who tours, you frickin’ get up and you tour.
That’s what Woodhawk are doing and while I’m running my mouth in generalizations, I’ll say that I have no idea why more bands don’t tour Canada. Yes, Woodhawk are from Calgary, so its home turf, but why the hell aren’t more acts from the US hitting Sudbury? Or Winnipeg? Or Saskatoon? I see lists of shows from bands in the States and they play the same room three times in a year? Why not go see someplace new? Meet new people? Who maybe haven’t already seen you three times? Go tour Canada, is what I’m saying. Whether you’re Canadian or not. And hell’s bells, tour Mexico too.
Woodhawk head out supporting later-2019’s Violent Nature (review here) beginning March 26. Dates follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:
Riff Wizards WOODHAWK Announce “Violent Nature Canadian Tour”
New Album “Violent Nature” Out Now
Calgary’s riff wizards Woodhawk announce they will be trekking across Canada once again in support of their latest album “Violent Nature” released this past November. The tour will kick off in Vancouver on March 26th and wrap up in Nelson, BC on May 23rd (dates listed below).
The band comments:
“We’re thrilled to be hitting the road in Canada again. This will be our largest Canadian tour yet, going from coast to coast. Always happy to get to some new places and meet some new people, and return to our favourite places. We were thrilled with how well our latest record ‘Violent Nature’ did in Canada, so it only felt natural to roll into as many cities as possible. See you at the gig!”
Woodhawk – “Violent Nature – Canadian Tour” March 26 – Vancouver, BC – The Astoria March 27 – Victoria, BC – Upstairs Cabaret March 28 – Kelowna, BC – Doc Willoughbys April 1 – Calgary, AB – Ship and Anchor April 2 – Lethbridge, AB – The Owl Acoustic Lounge April 3 – Regina, SK – The German Club April 4 – Winnipeg, MB – The Handsome Daughter April 6 – Sudbury, ON – The Asylum April 7 – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge April 8 – Hamilton, ON – The Casbah April 9 – Toronto, ON – The Monarch April 10 – Ottawa, ON – House of TARG April 11 – Montreal, QC – Turbo Haus April 14 – Quebec City, QC – L’Anti April 15 – Saint John, NB – Taco Pica April 16 – Fredericton, NB – The Capital Complex April 17 – Halifax, NS – Gus’ Pub April 18 – Moncton, NB – The Caveau April 20 – Oshawa, ON – TBD April 21 – Sault Ste Marie, ON – Loplops April 22 – Thunder Bay, ON – Black Pirates Pub April 23 – Brandon, MB – The 40 April 24 – Saskatoon, SK – Amigos Cantina April 25 – Edmonton, AB – The Aviary May 22 – Invermere, BC – Ullr Bar May 23 – Nelson, BC – The Royal
WOODHAWK: Turner Midzain – Vocals, Guitar Mike Badmington – Bass, Vocals Kevin Nelson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 12th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Last time, when The Electric Highway 2020 called out its preliminary lineup, I decided to roll with calling it the inaugural-ish edition of the Calgary-based festival, as it’s grown out of the 420 Music & Arts Festival of years prior, but still, there’s no question they’re doing it up for the occasion of the new name and presentation. Poster art by none other than David Paul Seymour has been unveiled, Mothership have joined on with Sasquatch, Wo Fat and Duel near the top of a Texas-dominant lineup — Sasquatch being the outlier geographically — and a pre-show has been announced with Seattle’s Year of the Cobra crossing the border to headline. These updates would seem to complete the proceedings as they’ll proceed, but of course April’s still a couple months out and you know, subject to change and all that. Still, it looks like a pretty badass time if you can make it.
Info came down the PR wire:
Festival Line-Up Announced! All Roads Lead To The Electric Highway In Calgary, AB, Canada!
Buckle up for The Electric Highway Festival, two days of killer bands, rad artists and fuzzy vibes April 17 & 18, 2020 at the historic Royal Canadian Legion #1 in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
The Electric Highway Festival has completed its lineup with the addition of the mighty Mothership from Dallas, Texas. The Supersonic Intergalactic Heavy Rock trio’s goal from the beginning has been to carry on the tradition of the classic rock style of the ’70s, updated and amped up for the modern-day. Mothership have created a unique sound that satisfies like a steaming hot stew of UFO and Iron Maiden, blended with the southern swagger of Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top, paired with a deadly chalice of Black Sabbath. Do not miss this chance to hop on board and join Mothership as they tear across the Universal Cosmos!
The Electric Highway Festival has also added Vancouver’s Empress to the lineup. Both Mothership and Empress will be performing at the festival on Saturday, April 18, 2020. That brings the total number of bands performing during the festival to 22.
The Electric Highway Festival is excited to release its official artwork created by the renowned dark surreal artist David Paul Seymour. David Paul Seymour is an internationally known illustrator based in Minneapolis, MN who has created artwork for Municipal Waste, Conan, Mastodon as well as Shadow Weaver and Wo Fat who are both performing at The Electric Highway Festival in 2020. David Paul Seymour is also a driving force behind The Planet of Doom, an Animated Tale of Metal and Art and the creator of the Kumasan comic series.
The rest of the 2020 lineup brings an electric offering of North American bands featuring headliners Sasquatch and Wo Fat laying down their brand of fuzzy, kick-ass Desert Rock & Heavy Psych. Duel from Austin, Texas will be playing Canada for the 1st time at The Electric Highway Festival along with Hippie Death Cult & LáGoon both from Portland, Oregon. Festival favorites La Chinga return from Vancouver for their 4th appearance and Calgary’s Gone Cosmic & Buzzard from Victoria, BC are just a few more of the wicked bands that will be playing on two stages over the two days of The Electric Highway Festival, the full lineup below.
The Electric Highway Official Lineup: Sasquatch (Los Angeles, CA) Wo Fat (Dallas, TX) Mothership (Dallas, TX) Duel (Austin, TX) La Chinga (Vancouver, BC) Gone Cosmic (Calgary, AB) Hippie Death Cult (Portland, OR) LáGoon (Portland, OR) Buzzard (Victoria, BC) Chunkasaurus (Victoria, BC) Bazaraba (Calgary, AB) Shadow Weaver (Calgary, AB) Father Moon (Calgary, AB) Set & Stoned (Crossfield, AB) Row of Giants (Calgary, AB) Hemptress (Kamloops, BC) Pink Cocoon (Montreal, QC) The Sleeping Legion (Winnipeg, MB) The Basement Paintings (Saskatoon, SK) Empress (Vancouver, BC) Locutus (Calgary, AB) The Worst (Calgary, AB)
The Electric Highway Festival is also getting the whole thing started with a Kick-Off Party on Thursday, April 16th, 2020 at The Palomino Smokehouse & Social Club. This killer line up features Seattle powerhouse psychedelic doom duo Year of the Cobra as they return to Calgary. They will be joined by Calgary’s Bloated Pig, Outlaws of Ravenhurst, and newcomers Falcotron along with Red Deer’s Smoothsayer.
2 Day Festival Pass holders can pick up their wristbands a day early at The Electric Highway Festival Kick-Off Party. This event will be free for festival pass holders or $13 at the door for non-pass holders. (Space is limited so make sure to get their early!) Pre-order merch sales will also be available for pick up at this event too. Beat the lineup and come for some bands, beer & BBQ at the Pal!
Posted in Reviews on January 10th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Hey all, we made it to the final day of the Winter 2020 Quarterly Review, so congrats to ‘us’ and by us I mean myself and anyone still reading, which is probably about two or three people. On my end today is completely manic in terms of real-life, offline logistics — much to do — but no way I’m letting one last batch of 10 reviews fall by the wayside, so rest assured, by the time this goes live, it’ll be complete, even though I’ve had to swap things out as some stuff has been locked into other coverage since I first slated it. Plenty around waiting to be written up. Perpetually, it would seem.
But before we dive in, thank you for reading if you’ve caught any part of this QR. I hope your 2020 is off to an excellent start and that finding new music to love is as much a part of your next 12 months as it can possibly be.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
Sunn O))), Pyroclasts
The narrative — because of course there’s a narrative; blessings and peace upon it — is that drone-metal progenitors Sunn O))), while in the studio recording earlier-2019’s Life Metal (review here) with Steve Albini, began each day doing a 12-minute improvised modal drone working in a different scale. They used a stopwatch to keep time. Thus the four tracks of Pyroclasts were born. They all hover around 11 minutes after editing, which settles neatly onto two vinyl sides, and it’s the rawer vision of Sunn O))), with just Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley‘s guitars, rather than some of the more elaborate arrangements which they’ve been known to undertake. That they’d put out two studio records in the same year is striking considering it had been four years since 2015’s Kannon (review here), but I think the truth of the matter is they had these tapes and decided they were worth preserving with a popular release. I wouldn’t say they were wrong, and the immersion here is a good reminder of the core appeal of Sunn O)))‘s conjured depths.
Traditional doom rarely sounds as vital as it does in the hands of Crypt Sermon. The Philly five-piece return with The Ruins of Fading Light on Dark Descent Records as an awaited follow-up to 2015’s Out of the Garden (review here) and thereby bring forth classic metal with all the urgency of thrash and the poise of the NWOBHM. Frontman Brooks Wilson — also responsible for the album art — is in command here and with the firm backing of bassist Frank Chin and drummer Enrique Sagarnaga, guitarists Steve Jannson and James Lipczynski offer sharpened-axe riffs and solo scorch offset by passages of keyboard for an all the more epic vibe. The rolling “Christ is Dead” is pure Candlemass, but the galloping “The Snake Handler” might be the highlight of the 10-track/55-minute run, though that’s not to take away either from the Dehumanizer chug of “Key of Solomon” or the melodic reach of the closing title-track either. Take your pick, really. It’s all metal as fuck and glorious for that. If they don’t sell denim jackets, they should.
The Neptune Power Federation, Memoirs of a Rat Queen
“Can you dig what the Imperial Priestess is laying down?” is the central question of Memoirs of a Rat Queen, the first album from Sydney, Australia’s The Neptune Power Federation to be released through Cruz Del Sur Music, and it arrives over an ELO “Don’t Bring Me Down”-style arena rock beat on leadoff “Can You Dig?” as an intro to the rest of the LP. Strange, epic, progressive, traditional, heavy and cascading rock and roll follows, as intricate as it is immediately catchy, and whether it’s “Watch Our Masters Bleed” or “I’ll Make a Man out of You,” the Imperial Priestess Screaming Loz Sutch and company make it easy to answer in the affirmative. Arrangements are willfully over the top as “Bound for Hell” and “The Reaper Comes for Thee” engage a heavy rocker take on heavy metal’s legacy, maddened laughter and all in the latter track, which closes, and the affect on the listener is nothing less than an absolute blast — a reminder of the empowering sound of early metal on a disaffected generation in the late ’70s and early ’80s and how that same fist-pump-against-the-world has become timeless. No doubt the costumes and all that make The Neptune Power Federation striking live, but as Memoirs of a Rat Queen readily steps forward to prove, the songs are there as well.
Have Chron Goblin been here before? The title of their album speaks to a kind of creepy deja vu feeling, and that’s emblematic of the Canadian band’s move away from the party rock of their past offerings, their last LP having been Backwater (review here) 2015. Fortunately, while they seek out some new aesthetic ground, the 11 tracks of Here Before do maintain Chron Goblin‘s penchant for straight-ahead songcraft and unpretentious execution — and frankly, that wasn’t at all broken. Neither, perhaps was the let’s-get-drunk-and-bounce-around spirit of their prior work, but they sound more mature in a song like the six-minute “Ghost” and “Slipping Under” (premiered here) successfully melds the shift in presentation with the energy of their prior output. Maybe it’s still a party but we watch horror movies? I don’t know. They’ve still got “Giving in to Fun” early in the tracklisting — worth noting it follows the swaying “Oblivion” — so maybe I’m misreading the whole thing, or maybe it’s more complex than being entirely one thing or the other might allow for. Perish the thought. Either way, can’t mess with the songs.
Ukrainian heavy rockers Ethereal Riffian make a pointed sonic shift with their Legends album (on Robustfellow), keeping some of the grunge spirit in their melodies as the eight-minute “Moonflower” and closer “Ethereal Path” show, but in songs like “Unconquerable” and the early salvo of “Born Again,” “Dreamgazer” and “Legends” and even the second half of “Kosmic” and “Pain to Wisdom,” they let loose from some of the more meditative aspects of their past work with a fiery drive and a theme of enlightenment through political and social change. A kind of great awakening of the self. There’s still plenty of “ethereal” to go with all that “riffian” in the intro “Sage’s Alchemy,” or the first half of “Kosmic” or the CD bonus “Yeti’s Hide,” but no question the balance has tipped toward the straightforward, and the idea seems to be that the electrified feel is as much a part of the message as the message itself. The only trouble is that since putting Legends out, Ethereal Riffian called it quits to refocus their energies elsewhere in the universe. Are they really done? I’m skeptical, but if so, then at least they went out trying new things, which always seemed to be a specialty, and on a note of directly positive attitude.
A second long-player behind 2015’s Para Solem, the eight-song/35-minute Nemesis is not only made for vinyl, but it’s made for rockers. Specifically, heavy rockers. And it’s heavy rock, for heavy rockers. Based in Linz, Austria, the double-guitar four-piece Parasol Caravan have their sound and style on lockdown, and their work, while not really keeping any secrets in terms of where it’s coming from in its ’70s-via-’90s modern take, is brought to bear with a clarity that seems particularly derived from the European heavy rock tradition. Para Solem was longer and somewhat fuzzier in tone, but the stripped down approach of the title-track at the outset and its side B counterpart, “Serpent of Time” still unfold to a swath of ground covered, whether it’s in the subdued instrumental “Acceptance” or “Transition,” which follows the driving “Blackstar” and closes the LP with a bit of a progressive metal edge. Even that has its hook, though, and that’s ultimately the point.
The title Fimbultýr translates to “mighty god” and is listed among the alternative names of Odin, which would seem to be who Oslo’s Golden Core have in mind in the leadoff title-track of their second album. Issued through Fysisk Format, it is not necessarily what one thinks of as “Viking metal” in the post-Amon Amarth or post-Enslaved context, but instead, the eight-song collection unfolds a biting modern sludge taking an edge of the earlier Mastodon lumber and bringing it to harshly-vocalized rollout. The 11-minute “Runatal” and only-seconds-shorter “Buslubben” are respective vocal points around which sides A and B of the release center, and each finds a way to give like emphasis to atmosphere and extremity, to stretch as well as pummel, and much to Golden Core‘s credit, they seem not only aware of the changes they’re presenting in their material, but in control of how and when they’re executed. The resulting linear flow of Fimbultýr, given the shifts within, isn’t to be understated as a victory on the part of the band.
Harbinger may well be just that — a sign of things to come. The debut offering from Black Smoke Omega wraps progressive death-doom and gothic piano-led atmospherics around a thematic drawing from science-fiction, and while I’m not certain of the narrative being told by the Dortmund, Germany-based band, their method for telling it is fascinating. It’s not entirely seamless in its shifts, and it doesn’t seem like the band — seemingly spearheaded by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Jack Nier, though Ashley James (The Antiquity) plays guitar on “A Man without a Heart” and Michael Tjanaka brings synth/piano to “Kainé” — want it to be, but there’s no denying that by the time “Falling Awake” seems to provide some melodic resolution to the often-slow-motion tumult prior, it’s doing so by bringing the different sides together. It’s a significant journey from the raw, barking shouts on “The Black Scrawl” and the lurching-into-chug-into-lurch of “The Man without a Heart” to get there, however. But this, too, seems to be on purpose. How it all might shake out feels like a question for the next release, but Black Smoke Omega seem poised here to leave heads spinning.
While on the surface, Liquid Orbit might be on familiar enough ground with Game of Promises for anyone who has encountered the swath of up-and-comers working in the wake of Blues Pills, the Bremen, Germany, five-piece distinguish themselves through not just the keyboard work of Anders alongside Andree‘s guitar, Ralf‘s bass, Steve‘s drums and Sylvia‘s vocals, but also the shifts between funk, boogie, and edges of doom that play out in songs like “Shared Pain” and “Please Let Her Go,” as well as the title-track, which starts side B of the Nasoni Records-issued vinyl with a highlight guitar solo and an insistent snare tap beneath that works to bring movement to what’s still one of Game of Promises‘ shorter tracks at six and a half minutes, as opposed to the earlier eight-minute-toppers on side A or the psych-prog finale “Verlorene Karawane,” which translates in English to “lost caravan” and indeed basks in some Mideastern vibe and backward-effects vocal swirl. Bottom line, if you go into it thinking you know everything you’re getting, you’re probably selling it short.
As the title hints, the name-your-price Black Volume III is the third EP release from Toronto’s Sun Below. All three have been issued over roughly a year’s span, and the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Jason Craig, drummer/backing vocalist Will Adams, bassist/backing vocalist Garrison Thordarson — who as far as I’m concerned wins this entire Quarterly Review when it comes to names; that’s an awesome name — and two have featured covers. On their debut, they took on “Dragonaut” by Sleep, and on Black Volume III, in following up the 12-minute nod-roller “Solar Burnout,” they thicken and further stonerize the catchy jaunt that is “Wires” by Red Fang. They’ve got, in other words, good taste. Black Volume III opens with “Green Visions” and thereby takes some righteous fart-fuzz for a walk both that and “Solar Burnout” show plenty of resi(n)dual Sleep influence, but honestly, it’s a self-releasing band with three dudes who sound like they’re having a really good time figuring out where they want to be in terms of sound after about a year from their first release, and if you ask anything else of Black Volume III than what it gives, you’re obviously lacking in context. Which is to say you’re fucking up. Don’t fuck up. Dig riffs instead.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 6th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
A little bit of Cali, a little bit of Texas, a little bit of Portland, Oregon, and a whole lot of locals — the first lineup for The Electric Highway has been unveiled and the Calgary-based festival’s mission would seem to be directed toward kickass heavy and stoner rock. Thus, Sasquatch and Wo Fat headlining with Nebula and Duel also on board. And hey man, if you threw any kind of heavy rock and roll party in the entire nation of Canada — and Canada if frickin’ huge — and you didn’t at least invite La Chinga let alone actually have them play, your ass would just be negligent. That’s a band that’s never gonna do anything but make a strong rock bill stronger.
Calling this the inaugural The Electric Highway is fair enough, since it seems to be working under its own concept — pinball tournament! — but it formerly operated under the banner of the 420 Music and Arts Festival, and had a few years to its credit in that form. Still, a new name is a new name, so alright. Maybe “inaugural” with an asterisk. “Inaugural-ish.”
The PR wire has details. The fest has a hashtag that’s probably good advice anyway:
All Roads Lead To The Electric Highway Festival In Calgary, AB, Canada!
#BuckleUp baby, The Electric Highway is excited to announce our inaugural lineup! We wanted to put something special together for our first trip on the Highway and with over 20 bands in two daze, we think we have done exactly that…
Day One, Friday, April 17th Wo Fat from Dallas, Texas will be returning with their brand of Psychedelic Heavy Blues to headline night one, and we are flying in their bro’s in DUEL to share the stage with them that night too! Also laying waste to Friday night are BC’s Buzzard & CHUNKASAURUS, coming all the way from Portland, Oregon we have Hippie Death Cult & LáGoon, joining us from Montreal is PINK COCOON, and representing our amazing local scene will be Father Moon, Locutus, Row of Giants and The WORST.
Then on Day Two, Saturday, April 18th bringing the fuzz from California, we are STOKED AF to welcome back the mighty Sasquatch to headline our whole party and are psyched to have their buds Nebula along for the ride! As for the rest of Saturday, it just wouldn’t be a party without Vancouver’s La Chinga on the bill, along with local faves Gone Cosmic, Bazaraba, and Shadow Weaver from Calgary, Crossfield, Alberta’s Set & Stoned, Hemptress from Kamloops, BC, The Sleeping Legion from Winnipeg and rounding out our first lineup, from Saskatoon, The Basement Paintings.
The Electric Highway is taking place at the Royal Canadian Legion #1 in downtown Calgary, AB, Canada on April 17 & 18, 2020. Tickets go on sale at 10am MDT on Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at https://theelectrichighway.ecwid.com/.
The Electric Highway Official Lineup: Sasquatch (Los Angeles, CA) Wo Fat (Dallas, TX) Nebula (Los Angeles, CA) Duel (Austin, TX) La Chinga (Vancouver, BC) Gone Cosmic (Calgary, AB) Hippie Death Cult (Portland, OR) LáGoon (Portland, OR) Buzzard (Victoria, BC) Chunkasaurus (Victoria, BC) Bazaraba (Calgary, AB) Shadow Weaver (Calgary, AB) Father Moon (Calgary, AB) Set & Stoned (Crossfield, AB) Row of Giants (Calgary, AB) Hemptress (Kamloops, BC) Pink Cocoon (Montreal, QC) The Sleeping Legion (Winnipeg, MB) The Basement Paintings (Saskatoon, SK) Locutus (Calgary, AB) The Worst (Calgary, AB)
Posted in audiObelisk on October 17th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Calgary heavy rockers Woodhawk will release their second full-length, Violent Nature, on Nov. 1. Like their 2017 debut, Beyond the Sun (review here), it’s a self-release, and also like their 2017 debut, it’s rife with maddeningly catchy tracks of high-grade straightforward, weighted riffing and rhythmic drive. “Snake in the Grass,” the previously-posted single “Weightless Light” and “Dry Blood” in the opening salvo set the tone for what follows as a showcase of material that feels crafted to the point of having chiseled away the frills, extras and inefficiencies to get to the essential core of what matters most in terms of the songs themselves. At 44 minutes and nine tracks, the new collection is somewhat longer than its predecessor, but as guitarist/vocalist Turner Midzain, bassist/vocalist Mike Madmington and drummer Kevin Nelson return to the studio with Jesse Gander at the helm of the recording and mix (Alan Douches mastered), there’s a sonic consistency between those two outings.
That stands up even as Woodhawk refine their methods toward conveying an emotional undercurrent most especially in songs like the organ-laced “Old Silence” and “Clear the Air” — Gander played keys on the debut and one assumes does here as well — and the later finale duo “As a Friend” and “Our Greatest Weakness,” both of which confront loss and issues of mental health, depression, etc., in a way no less honest and upfront lyrically than the accompanying riffs are musically. The chuggy “Heartstopper” and mid-paced winding groove of the title-track do much to bolster the emotional confrontationalism happening in the songs surrounding, and even as the latter veers into mellow Truckfighters-style bass-and-vocals spaciousness in its second half, there’s a strong sense of sonic purpose to everything Woodhawk do. Violent Nature is very much a gathering of individual pieces, but they’re smoothly arranged with a flow in mind, and the sharpened corners of the song structures only seem to increase the overall impact made.
Quiet moments like the beginning stretch of “Our Greatest Weakness” — not to spoil it, but our greatest weakness is love — and the build across the first half of “Clear the Air” offset some of Violent Nature‘s more frenetic moments, like the shredding solo in “Heartstopper” or the initial barrage of hooks at the record’s outset, but Woodhawk‘s priority is without a doubt conveying a strong sense of songwriting. This is not a band who put together an album while pretending to do something else, like, “Oh yeah, we’ll just write some songs and see what happens.” No. Woodhawk‘s tracks are too clear and firm in their intent for such things, and further, for the kind of heavy rock they play — modern, informed by traditions of more commercial fare but not beholden to them in style — they make ideas like that seem silly. If a band could write songs like this and make an album of them, why the hell would they do anything else?
The underlying implication there is that not every band can write songs like this, and that’s true as well, let alone carry them across with genuine-feeling emotion as Woodhawk do here. That is, with material so structured and so obviously worked through and hammered out, the risk the band might run is to dull the heart behind them, but with upfront lyrics and dynamic performance, the trio and Gander are able to find a sweet spot between professionalism and expression that serves the material first on all levels. As they mark five years since the arrival of their self-titled debut EP — released Halloween 2014 — Violent Nature not only reaffirms the idea that they’ve known what they’re doing all along, but makes it no less plain to hear that they’ve found a way to grow and progress, and indeed get tighter, as they move forward from one offering to the next. What that might mean for them going forward, I wouldn’t guess as to specifics of theme or anything like that, but in terms of a foundation, one couldn’t ask for ground much more solid than that which Woodhawk are building on throughout Violent Nature. It’s no less method than madness.
Woodhawk have a new beer coming out in collaboration with New Level Brewing, and they’ll play a release show for that the night after Violent Nature arrives on Nov. 1. It’s one of several dates lined up for this Fall that you can see under the premiere of “Heartstopper” below, which is also followed immediately by some background on the track courtesy of Midzain.
Please enjoy:
Woodhawk, “Heartstopper” official track premiere
Turner Midzain on “Heartstopper”:
“Heartstopper was the first song we wrote for the album, and was definitely reworked more than anything else on the record. Usually we scrap the first few we write until we find our groove. But this one just stuck. It tells the tale of how I have friends who live in completely different worlds and live totally different lives. One on side, I have this friend who has faced every major health complication someone their age should ever have faced and perceived. But still has the most positive outlook on life. On the other side, the friends who abuse substances and cheat death to the closest point and have no true appreciation for their own life. The juxtaposition in this situation just kind of hit home with all of us.”
Heartstopper off the forthcoming album, Violent Nature 2019.
Written and Performed by Woodhawk Recorded by Jesse Gander Mixed by Jesse Gander Mastered by Alan Douches Art by Mark Kowalchuck Animation by Felix von Liska
New album ‘Violent Nature’ out everywhere Nov/1/2019
Woodhawk live: Oct 25- Vancouver, BC – Railway Club Oct 26 – Kamloops, BC – Pogue Mahones Nov 2 – Beer Launch Party – New Level Brewing in Calgary (New Level Brewing and Woodhawk have teamed up to make a Violent Nature Beer! Come down to New Level Brewing, for the beer launch. Woodhawk will be down there all day spinning records, selling merch and drinking the fine nectars they’ve created with New Level Brewing.) Nov 8 – Calgary, AB – Palomino (Album Release Show) Nov 9 – Edmonton, AB – Temple w/ The Wild!
WOODHAWK: Turner Midzain – Vocals, Guitar Mike Badmington – Bass, Vocals Kevin Nelson – Drums
