I thought we’d start the week off with something upbeat, and since German retro rockers Kadavar posted this video the other day for “All Our Thoughts” from their self-titled 2012 debut, the fit was too good to ignore. So too is the track itself, which was the most memorable from the album, setting the tone for much of it with a distinct snare sound and ultra-natural tonality.

The video follows stylized suit, filmed on what looks like Super 8 but was actually an iPhone on cliffs in Sardinia, presumably while Kadavar was there last year playing Duna Jam. As you can see with the cliffs and the beach, the setting is gorgeous. A distinct lack of mics would seem to indicate this clip wasn’t actually filmed during their set, but the audio from Kadavar‘s performance at Duna Jam is also available for streaming if you want to check it out:

Lots of stuff coming up this week. I’m about to post some Deville tour news in a bit, and then it’s time to dig in on a review of the Enslaved/Pallbearer/Royal Thunder/Ancient VVisdom show last Friday. Tomorrow I’ll have a writeup and pics from Acid King/Kings Destroy/Blackout in Brooklyn, and before this week is over, I’ll have a review of the new Clutch album, so much to keep an eye open for. I’m also slated to interview Paul Major from Endless Boogie tomorrow about their new album, Long Island (review here), so that should hopefully be up this week or next.

Also hoping to get a Buried Treasure post about up about Serpentine Path and talk about Rabbits‘ innovative package for their latest single, so yeah, lots and lots to come. If my head doesn’t explode before then, I’m also going to Samothrace on Friday in Brooklyn, so yeah, one thing leads to the next to the next. You know how it is.

I hope your week is off to an excellent start and that the kickassery remains for the duration. If you’re bored at work, I might suggest the Mystery Science Theater 3000 thread on the forum as a way to destroy productivity, and I don’t know if you’ve checked in, but The Obelisk Radio is up and running smoothly since we switched hosts. Think of it like Pandora that doesn’t just play the same 10 songs. Awesome.

Have a great week. Time to get to it.

True, if you read the recent interview with Arthur Seay, you already knew that House of Broken Promises would be playing Desertfest this year, but it’s nice to have confirmation, anyway. Official announcements have dropped from both the London and Berlin Desertfest camps, and it seems like every time I stop and think the lineups can’t get any stronger, they go ahead and do precisely that. I think we might be looking at a landmark in the making.

Here’s word from the Desertfest folks:

London

What’s better than having one of the all-time grand masters of desert rock, head-honchos of stoner-metal, chief cactus-cultivators of the underground, Unida playing live on our humble little island as part of

DesertFest 2013? Well, how’s about three quarters of them playing AGAIN as part of their ‘other’ band in House of Broken Promises for a start!!

Formed during Unida’s many years of inactivity, HOBP are simply the urban coyotes very own guitarist Arthur Seay, bassist/vocalist Eddie Plascencia and drummer Mike Cancino, and collectively they kick more ass with their crunching, metallic hard rock than Chuck Norris surrounded by a strikeforce of ninja donkeys. Although igniting their flame as far back as 2004, the band’s debut album Using the Useless didn’t rupture out of the outer-Californian consciousness until 2009 via (who else!) Small Stone Records. Although not as widely celebrated as their peers in COC, Fu Manchu, Clutch and Monster Magnet, HOBP blaze their own trail whilst at the same time encapsulating the best of desert rock, sledgehammer blues, swaggering hard rock and grooving biker-punk into their offer of purist, unadulterated, riffed-up fury. With Arthur’s E-string-butchering chops and solos hot enough to cause a mirage, Mike’s metronomic tub-thumping and Eddie’s cap-down, foot-on-monitor frontman approach, there are few power trios who could match this tour-de-force of heavy metal thunder.

When it comes to the sounds of the sand, it’s the guys who made it happen in the first place back at Sky Valley HQ who still play it harder and louder than anyone else on earth, and HOBP are no exception to The Law. So don’t just write them off as “just another side-project”, get down the front, soak your shirt in beer and party like you’re on Dave Wyndorf’s stag-do on Jupiter in 1995. And if nothing else, just go check them out simply as a way to get a second glimpse of Arthur’s beard! Seriously, have you seen that beard?!! It’s fucking righteous!

Words courtesy Pete Green

Berlin

Formed from the ashes of Unida, desert trio HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES composed of righteously-bearded guitarist Arthur Seay, bassist/vocalist Eddie Plasciencia and drummer Mike Cancino will play at DesertFest 2013 !!

HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES is no-holds-barred double shot of classic, pure and hot desert rock whose songs are clearly based around the riffs. The rhythm section mounts a considerable presence with downright huge guitar sounds, equally massive bass and drumming, and catchy refrains that move along in a very dynamic way due to several tempo changes.

After their “Death in Pretty Wrapping” four-song demo and their split with Duster 69, both in 2007, Small Stone Records released their full-length debut “Using the Useless” in 2009, which should have been followed by an European Tour in 2010… but an Icelandic volcano decided it differently, and the tour was cancelled !!.

But this year, working on a new album, they will be in Europe to play at DesertFest !!

House of Broken Promises, “Obey the Snake” Official Video

Whatever else German retro heavy specialists Kadavar do, they take a good picture. Fortunately they also rock, so you can imagine that once Abra Kadavar, their Nuclear Blast label debut and second offering behind last year’s self-titled, drops, it’ll live up to the high standard set by their facial hair below. If such a thing is possible. The album cover was unveiled today, and it goes a little something like this:

Kadavar, “Black Sun” Official Video

After already being announced for Roadburn and Days of the Doomed III, the word came through today that Victor Griffin‘s new project In~Graved will make a showing at Desertfest in both London and Berlin. Griffin is hitting it pretty hard to start out with his many-bassed new band, but he’s working with some awesome people (anytime Guy Pinhas is slated to show up, you’re already winning) and I’m really looking forward to what he’s got going on with this new band. Judging from the pic above, he’s pretty relaxed in the face of all the work ahead. Right on.

Here are the Desertfest announcements, courtesy of the Desertfest London website and the Desertfest Berlin website, respectively:

London

As if Pentagram wasn’t enough for you lucky devils, along comes an extra slab of US doom classicism! Having respectfully stepped down from his recent two-year stint with Bobby Liebling’s rabble, Victor Griffin has rounded up a US doom super-group in support of his new album, ‘In-Graved’, which has been in gestation since 2011 and will be released in March.

Desertfest 2013 is honoured to play host to the London round of his exclusive tour and there’s plenty to look forward to; along for the ride is Guy Pinhas (The Obsessed, Acid King, Goatsnake), Pete Campbell (60 Watt Shaman, Mighty Nimbus, Place Of Skulls) and Jeff ‘Oly’ Olson (founding member of Trouble). These names, and a lot of others, contributed to recording the album which also includes the skills of Ron Holzner of Trouble fame, Marty Swaney (Death Row, Pentagram) and Dan Lively (Sweet Cicada).

Watch out for a new addition to Vic’s sound, with In-Graved he has pursued a long-held ambition to add the dynamic of keyboards. After involving Orodruin’s keys-man Mike Puleo in recording, live hammond-organ duties are to be carried out by Jeff Olson and are sure to add a welcome classic rock element to proceedings! It’s early days for Vic’s latest project, but with pedigree’s such as those that are involved, a memorable performance is guaranteed. Don’t you dare miss out!

Words Courtesy of Rich after Sabbath

Berlin

It is with great honour that we announce Victor Griffin’s IN-GRAVED will taking part in Desertfest 2013 !!

IN-GRAVED, the new band led by former Pentagram and Place of Skulls guitarist Victor Griffin, will release their self-titled debut in Europe and the UK on Friday, March 22 via Finnish label Svart Records and in the US on Tuesday, March 26 via Veritas Vinyl. This album was recorded and produced at Lakeside Studios in Knoxville, Tennessee, by Travis Wyrick (Place of Skulls) and founding guitarist/vocalist Victor Griffin.

Original drummer of doom metal legends Trouble, Jeff “Oly” Olson, will play the Hammond organ on this forthcoming debut album which also feature drummer Pete Campbell (60 Watt Shaman, Place of Skulls), bassists Guy Pinhas (The Obsessed, Acid King, Goatsnake), Ron Holzner (Trouble, Earthen Grave, Debris Inc), Greg Turley (Pentagram), Marty Swaney (Death Row, Pentagram), and Dan Lively (Sweet Cicada), as well as keyboardist Mike Puleo (Orodruin).

IN-GRAVED will perform at the DesertFest Berlin for a memorable performance ! Don’t miss this opportunity to witness this doom metal All Star new band !

Touring line up is as follows :

Victor Griffin – Guitar/Vocals
Guy Pinhas – Bass
Pete Campbell – Drums
Jeff “Oly” Olson – Hammond Organ

Congratulations to German retro powerhouse Kadavar on signing with Nuclear Blast. The trio will reportedly issue a new album in 2013 through the venerable imprint, also home to Graveyard, Witchcraft, Orchid and fast becoming a monolith of riffy heaviness. Dig it:

KADAVAR Sign with Nuclear Blast/Reveal Album Details!

Nuclear Blast Records are more than happy to announce the signing of Germany’s most authentic and passionate psychedelic hard rock combo of  our day – KADAVAR! It was with 2012’s eponymous debut album Kadavar that the three-piece from Berlin cast a spell on all fans of solid riff-driven yet doom-like 70’s hard rock à la BLACK SABBATH or PENTAGRAM. Marrying this with the spacy psychedelic approach of early HAWKWIND, and mixing in a distinct own touch while preserving their icon’s warm vintage charm, can be considered the trio’s key to success – astoundingly high vinyl sales and support shows for bands such as SLEEP, SAINT VITUS, PENTAGRAM and ELECTRIC WIZARD as well as stunning festival gigs at Stoned From The Underground, Yellowstock and Fusion Festival, among others, underline KADAVAR’s status as one of the scene’s most exciting acts to watch in 2013!

Nuclear Blast’s Head of A&R Andy Siry comments on the signing: “We’re delighted to bid KADAVAR welcome to the Nuclear Blast family! It was with great interest that we’ve watched their first steps from the founding of the band to the release of their debut record. Eventually, the last-mentioned tipped the balance and led us to offering them a record deal, as we truly believe that these three gentlemen are masters of their craft and can righteously be considered the leaders of the German occult rock movement. We’re looking forward a lot to seeing what the future will bring for KADAVAR!”

Regarding the signing with the Swabian label, drummer Tiger states with a wink: “Even though the relationship between people from Berlin and Swabians is usually considered rather… uneasy, we’re taking the first step to reconciliation: We’re very happy that our second studio album will be released via Nuclear Blast, who can look back on an impressive history. After an eventful year, we’ve locked ourselves up in the studio for the past two months in order to work on said record. The result elates us – we can’t wait ‘til the release date has finally come!”  

KADAVAR’s upcoming new album was recorded in drummer Tiger’s studio, where he also took care of the production, mixing and mastering. It’s set for a release this Spring and will be entitled Abra Kadavar. As far as the album recordings are concerned, the multi-talent explains:
“After last year’s final show had been played in mid-December, we started writing new songs. We’ve already had a couple of finished tracks in May 2012, but those were eventually released on a split-LP with AQUA NEBULA OSCILLATOR in November 2012, which is why we started at square one again. As we knew that there was no procrastination and no going back for us, we sat down for two weeks straight to finish composing with total commitment. We’re perfectly happy with the outcome – I’d even say that Abra Kadavar comprises the best compositions we’ve created to date. The songs are more diversified, the ideas feel more spontaneous. Moreover, we’ve tried to capture much more of our live energy, which is why we’ve recorded almost everything all together in one room, with the amps turned up to the max – solely the vocals and a handful of guitar solos were added afterwards.”

KADAVAR are
Lupus Lindemann – vocals & guitar
Mammut – bass
Tiger – drums

It hasn’t been that long since I last posted Samsara Blues Experiment news, and it hasn’t been that long since I last posted lineup news for Desertfest in Berlin, but when the two come together, frankly I’ve got little choice in the matter. Native to the fest’s home city, Samsara Blues Experiment will bring their trippy riff bliss to the Austra Kulturhaus the last weekend of April.

More Desertfest news to come later this week:

SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT (GER)

Here is the time for us to, and we are glad to introduce another band for the DesertFest 2013 line-up, our dear SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT !!

SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT is a Berlin based band founded in 2007, playing a blend of heavy psych, stoner and space rock, dominated by a playful dual guitar work, and a repetitive hypnotic touch in the tradition of krautrock. They allow the music to escape their control and lead them to wherever it may flow.

The band produced two appetizer EP’s during their first years, but they reached their potential with their long awaited first full-length album “Long Distance Trip” in 2010 thanks to World in Sound Records, which also released their second one “Revelation & Mystery” in 2011. This year, in April, they will release on Electric Magic Records a live record of their show at Rockpalast (October 24, 2012).

SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT is a very demanded live band in the meanwhile and participate at many European festivals such as the Roadburn, Yellowstock, Burg Herzberg and now at the DesertFest !

Get ready for a journey as you have never experimented before !

Doubly stoked for this news about a new Samsara Blues Experiment live Rockpalast Crossroads CD, and here’s why: First, I continue to dig the fuzz-laden heavy psych the Berlin four-piece emit, and having seen them live last year at Desertfest and at Roadburn before that, I can tell you they bring it live. Second, the disc — which is to be released on SBE guitarist/vocalist Christian Peters‘ own Electric Magic Records — is also set to include an acoustic version of “Singata Mystic Queen,” a blissfully psychedelic jam that I’m curious to hear how they’ve reworked.

So there you go. I believe I’ve stated my case fully and clearly. In summation, these guys rule. Here’s word they sent over about the release and a link to watch the performance in its entirety prior to the April release:

New CD: SBE at Rockpalast

As some of you already witnessed Samsara Blues Experiment teaching folks at WDR Rockpalast a lesson of what the Blues can be beside those shiny icons blurring them muddy waters these days. Electric Magic Records will release the concert on CD garnished with an acoustic version of “Singata Mystic Queen” which has recently been recorded at Big Snuff Studio Berlin. The whole package will be adorned by amazing new livepictures by Thomas Lang. The release of this CD is set for April 2013 and will be limited to 500 pieces.

Alternatively you can watch the whole gig as well on the website of WDR Rockpalast.

www.samsarabluesexperiment.com
www.electricmagic.de

It’s no coincidence that just about every time I post something about UK doomers Alunah, it’s good news. The band, who issued the most chorus-rich White Hoarhound (review here) on CD through PsycheDOOMelic and subsequently signed to Napalm Records heavy imprint Spinning Goblin Productions, have today released the album on vinyl and been added to the lineup for the 2013 Berlin Desertfest. I had the chance to catch Alunah live last year in London and they were right on. Always killer to see cool stuff happen to good bands.

Desertfest sends over word of their addition. Dig it:

ALUNAH (UK)

Today, January 25, is a great day for the English band ALUNAH ! First Napalm Records officially release their 2nd album in vinyl. And then, they are confirmed for the DESERTFEST BERLIN 2013 !! Birmingham based ALUNAH is a Psyche/Stoner/Doom band which unleashes an incredible paganistic sound characterized by thick guitars, a punishing rhythm section, and earthy and hypnotic vocal melodies. Sometimes groovy, oppressive, or downright grimy depending on what the situation calls for, the songs are dark and slow without being downers !

Billed as the “Future of Doom” by Terrorizer Magazine, ALUNAH’s “White Hoarhound”, their 2nd full-length album was released in September 2012 on PsycheDOOMelic Records, and is now officially available on vinyl on Napalm Record !This album is the follow-up to their debut “Call of Avernus” released in late 2010, and their EP “Fall to Earth” in 2008.

Consisting of Soph Day (vocals and guitar), Dave Day (guitar), Gaz Imber (bass) and Jake Mason (drums), ALUNAH have spent the last 6 years building up a reputation for being one of the most hardworking and consistent live bands by playing national dates and festivals (Desertfest London, Desert Storm Birmingham) with international artists such as Fu Manchu, Orange Goblin, Karma to Burn, Acid King, Witchcraft, Graveyard, The Storm and shortly High on Fire !

Even though their reputation as a great live band is already built, they never played beyond UK… Damn !… so many of us have never seen them !

Fortunately, the DESERTFEST BERLIN is here to fix that lack ! Be there !!

More good news out of the Desertfest Berlin camp in that Witch Mountain and Cough will be hitting up the Austra Kulturhaus on their European run as a part of the fest. The two forward-thinking American acts will also play Desertfest London and Roadburn, representing some of the best doom the opposite US coasts have to offer. Desertfest sent over the following announcements:

WITCH MOUNTAIN (USA)

On tour from April with COUGH, we are thrilled to announce that WITCH MOUNTAIN is added to the DESERFEST 2013 line-up !! WITCH MOUNTAIN is classic doom metal band delivering a magic potion of massive and rumbling riffs that bore you skull, and bluesy, ballsy, and sensual vocals that attract everything with their seductive wildness.

From Portland, Oregon, WITCH MOUNTAIN was formed in 1997. The band self-released a demo “Homegrown Doom” in 1999, and their first full-length album “Come the Mountain” in 2001. But after a 2002 tour with Eternal Elysium, the band slowed activity for several years…

A July 2009 show opening for Pentagram, with guest singer Uta Plotkin, marked a revival of the band. Uta brought the necessary ingredient that Witch Mountain founders Rob Wrong and Nate Carson had been seeking since they initially formed the group.

She was asked to join the band as main vocalist, and Witch Mountain recorded their second full-length album, “South of Salem” six months later. Produced by master “engine-ear” Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis, Melvins), it was unleashed in April 2011 through their own label Mountastic Recrods. In November 2011, WITCH MOUNTAIN was signed with Profound Lore Records and released their third full-length album, “Cauldron of the Wild”, in June 2012.

Just after, an invitation to play the main stage at Scion Rock Fest 2012 along with Sleep, Saint Vitus, and Down gave the band an opportunity to return to US stages, successfully headlining in the US and Canada for most of June. This fall, Scion sponsored the band’s most extensive tour to date — a 5-week headlining trek around the US and Canada with witchy friends Castle in support.

They will be in Europe from April, with COUGH, for their first European shows ever!! The DesertFest couldn’t miss this occasion, and you either!!

COUGH (USA)

On tour from April with WITCH MOUNTAIN, we are thrilled to announce that COUGH is added to the DESERFEST 2013 line-up !!

Formed in Richmond, Virginia, in 2005, COUGH is a sludge/doom metal band delivering thoroughly massive, epic and impenetrable walls of sound and volume, at points suffocating and claustrophobic, at others warped and hallucinogenic.

The band self-released an EP, “The Kingdom”, in 2007, and followed it quickly with their first proper full-length “Sigillum Luciferi” in 2008, recorded with acclaimed producer Sanford Parker (Minsk, Rwake, Pelican, Nachtmystium). Sporadic gigging followed the release before the band holed up in a Richmond warehouse to write the follow up, but the band slowly laboured forward with the writing. By winter 2009/2010, the band had signed to Relapse Records and returned to Chicago, Illinois, enlisting Parker once again to record the long awaited “Ritual Abuse”, released in October 2010.

Upon its release the band embarked on two epic North American and European tours lasting almost four months ! In 2012, COUGH performed another US headline run, and their first ever Australian and New Zealand tours. They will be back in Europe in 2013 for a seven-week tour starting from April, stopping at the DESERTFEST Berlin to deliver their impressive monolith of sound !

German psychedelic jammers Electric Moon have issued two live recordings from 2012, aptly dubbed Live 2012 One and Live 2012 Two. Each of the separately-issued jewel case CDRs (limited to 150 copies each) comes with artwork by bassist Komet Lulu and finds release through guitarist Dave “Sula Bassana” Schmidt‘s Sulatron Records imprint. The songs — six on Live 2012 One and four on Live 2012 Two – are named only for their runtime, and only the last track on each disc is under 10 minutes, while others range from 10:43 to 29:04. The implication is that the band, already prolific in terms of having multiple releases per year for the last few years, will add to the series as they go on, keeping and solidifying their penchant for limited live releases into a cohesive level of self-sustaining output.

I like where this is going.

Where is it going? Well, it’s going toward a catalog of live Electric Moon discs issued by the band on their own terms. Their music, their recordings, their label, their art. Even more, it’s going toward the very heart of what the trio of Schmidt, Lulu and drummer Michael Orloff are searching for musically. Where one segment of European heavy rock seems bent on capturing retro vibes of the early ’70s and another hints at a commercial vision of melodic heavy metal, Electric Moon are after something different altogether, their often-improvised jams reaching toward the very foundations of songwriting. Electric Moon on Live 2012 One and Live 2012 Two are stripping heavy psychedelia down to its essential core of three players on a stage, a massive range of effects and an ever-expanding sense of open space.

On the back of both discs, along with trippy fractals and the tracklisting, is the bold-letter message, “Underground will never die! Fuck the system!” That’s just about the most aggressive thing Electric Moon have to say with either of the releases — the band is instrumental and their music never approaching caustic in its explorations — both of which top 72 minutes long. That does make for a lot of material to dig into for followers of the band or anyone who might be so bold as to take them on for the first time, but the idea here is to be lost in the music, and once you are, it really doesn’t matter how long it goes for. On Live 2012 Two, which was recorded at the 2012 Rockt Den See Festival, Lulu leads the charge on “18:06″ with a running bassline while Schmidt trips out psychedelic swirling and Orloff keeps a fast tempo on drums while also changing up his fills and cymbal hits to match the changes. Even for those who haven’t had a studio primer for Electric Moon or who might be new listeners, most of what they do no matter how it’s recorded is live, and both of these albums capture their vibe excellently, sounding full in the low end and rich across the spectrum.

The highlight of Live 2012 Two is “29:04,” third of the four included jams, which starts off quiet and bursts to life as it embarks on a massive cosmic sprawl, Schmidt noodling echoed tones into oblivion while the rhythm section holds it together across what could’ve easily accounted for a full-album flow on its own. By seven minutes in, it’s huge, but the tide recedes and rises again, and it’s perhaps the best showing of the trio’s chemistry here — no coincidence it’s also the longest; Electric Moon have since their inception been given to developing ideas over their more extended pieces. Live 2012 One, recorded at Zytanien Festival, is longer overall at over 78 minutes, but its six tracks have a shorter average runtime and so might come off as the more varied of the two, but understand, we’re still talking about gradually unfolding builds and lengthy repetitions. Even thought closer “7:07″ feels more plotted in its progression than a lot of what precedes it on Live 2012 One, it’s not exactly like Electric Moon are breaking out the hit radio singles.

And it’s for that reason largely that I consider them an “extreme” band. They’re not extreme in the heavy metal sense of depicting graphic violence lyrically or blastbeating their audience to a pulp, but there’s no perceptible effort either at meeting anyone halfway or sacrificing any aspect of their creative process to crowd capitulation. Perhaps it’s a very specific extremity, of psychedelic or space rock, but it’s an extremity all the same of those genres, and Electric Moon seem only more comfortable with their format over time. Because of that almost as much as because of the interplay between guitar, bass and drums, Live 2012 One and Live 2012 Two fill a specific niche for anyone who might look at the laid back end of European heavy psych and wonder what it would be to take the jammed songwriting basis to its limits. If it’s those limits that Electric Moon are searching for, they haven’t found them yet, and the more immersive their material gets, the more I hope they keep looking.

Electric Moon on Thee Facebooks

Sulatron Records

Formed in 2011, the German five-piece Carrion Mother made their debut this fall with the self-released rumble of Koronis, a full-length demo recorded in their rehearsal space — obviously they’ve got one of those pro-type setups, since the three extended tracks sound better than a lot of records I get around here — in Regensburg. “Earth,” “Giver of Warmth,” and “Venus, Goddess” are embroiled in post-metal tonal crush and doomly lumber, driven by the dual guitars of Raffael D. and Julius K. and the varied screams and clean vocals of Aris S., who affects melodies and rhythmic shouts with apparent ease and knows when to step back and let the ambience hold sway.

And as one might expect for three tracks and a total 48:47, there’s no shortage of ambience. Carrion Mother aren’t as directly indebted to the Neurosis school of riffing, but one can hear a bit of Cult of Luna or maybe even some of Burst‘s thinking-man’s post-hardcore in the latter stretches of “Earth.” It’s largely the guitars responsible for setting the mood, while Fabian B.‘s bass and Joe W.‘s drums lock into complex but still flowing grooves behind. This frees up Raffael and Julius to meander as they will, and Aris to come and go in the manner of Rosetta‘s Mike Armine, able to both convey emotion and scream his lungs out when the song calls for it.

Each of the three tracks starts out soft before unveiling its full brunt, and as the longest, the opener would seem to show the most patience, but once it gets going — just before three minutes in — the intensity of riffing in “Venus, Goddess” more than makes up for any wanting ease in the transition. They build a tower out of that riff, Aris‘ vocals resting further back to let the unified chug come to the fore, and even when they break into the chorus, they hold onto the momentum propelling them forward. “Venus, Goddess” turns what seems like a bridge into a seven minute groove, adding on leads, slowdowns and rhythmic insistence to the core figure only to cap their debut outing with final comedown noodling, symmetrical to the start of each song, but hardly as adrenaline-inducing as the rush they hone at their most active.

Still, especially for a first release and a band who’s been around for a year, Carrion Mother‘s Koronis shows a more than firm grip on aesthetic and sets them up with any number of avenues for growth their next time out. At very least, it’s certainly worth a listen to the Bandcamp stream and all the instant gratification that might provide:

I have good reason to believe this clip of Wino joining Rotor on stage for a rendition of The Obsessed‘s classic “Neatz Brigade” was filmed at the 2010 South of Mainstream festival, which is put on every year by the label Exile on Mainstream — purveyors of such Wino-ly provisions as the Adrift acoustic record and Heavy Kingdom collaboration with Conny Ochs, among others — but I don’t have confirmation on that. For what it’s worth, it’s Rotor‘s YubeTou channel that put it up. Either way, it’s Wino joining the Berlin-native instrumentalists on stage in 2010, and that’s definitely “Neatz Brigade,” so that’s enough for me. The South of Mainstream banner in the background of the clip could also be a clue. Ha.

Rotor are no strangers to the song, having included it on their aptly-titled 2010 fourth album, 4 (review here), on which it was Nico Kozik handling vocal duties. Nothing quite like going to the source, however, and as one might expect, Wino kills it on the track, which comes from The Obsessed‘s 1994 major label flirtation, The Church Within. I’ll be the first to admit the sound is less than optimal here, but the video itself is pretty excellent visually. You won’t often hear me advocate for listening to Obsessed songs with the volume low — or Rotor, for that matter — but that might help too in this case.

Either way, it’s a cool curio for the last Wino Wednesday of 2012, and I hope you dig it:

A bit of news before we all split out for the weekend: I’ve signed on as an online promotional partner once again for the Desertfest Berlin! Basically that means that we’ll have a lot more news about both this one and Desertfest London as we get into the New Year and closer to that weekend itself — set for April 25-27. Wild times, and it seems like some bands are already slated to do one and then the other — looking at you, Unida and Lowrider — but the lineup looks awesome and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be associated again with Desertfest as the multinational brand continues to grow. If anyone wants to set up an East Coast franchise, let me know.

And here’s the latest lineup and ticket links for Desertfest Berlin. California-based retro punkers The Shrine have been added. Word also just came down the PR wire that The Shrine will be joining Graveyard on their upcoming US run, also not to be missed.

THE SHRINE confirmed for the DesertFest 2013 !

Check it here : www.desertfest.de

And get your ticket right here :

www.desertfest.de/index.php/tickets.html

If you already got it, make some rocking gifts to your friends !

DESERTFEST LINE UP (in progress)
Pentagram
Unida
Fatso Jetson
Yawning Man
Dozer
Lowrider
Radio Moscow
Naam
Kadavar
Belzebong
Gentlemans Pistols
Lonely Kamel
The Shrine

With a potent and natural-sounding mixture of desert groove and classic rock jangle, the mostly-German four-piece Iguana debuted earlier this year with Get the City Love You, a 10-track LP steeped in love of ’90s melodicism and post-Queens of the Stone Age lumber. That influence shows up particularly on cuts like “Vague as a Mirage” and “Get the City Love You,” which have some of the style of low-end push that made British outfit Crystal Head‘s first album so engaging earlier this year, but it’s only a sliver of the whole breadth of Iguana‘s work. Even the title-track isn’t so limited, winding up in a start-stop that reminds of Primus‘ “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” as well as the aforementioned desert thud.

Helping any grunge comparison you might want to make, vocalist Alexander Lörinczy (also guitar) boasts elements of classic Chris Cornell in his style, and though it’s an easy comparison to make, that winds up adding to the individuality of Iguana, since the music surrounding moves from the dreamy laid-back psych of “Morning Eve” to the Easternisms of “Madinat al Yasmin,” the early central figure of which I’d swear I’ve come across before either from Master Musicians of Bukkake or in one of Siena Root‘s endearing raags. “Madinat al Yasmin” moves into vaguely-doomed stomp, with Alexander May‘s bass featuring heavily in the mix alongside psychedelic leads and insistent riffing from Lörinczy and guitarist Thomas May. Even with two guitars, though, Get the City Love You doesn’t feel thicker than it should, keeping some space in the recording from the start of opener “New Moon Flyby,” which barely hints at the stylistic complexity to come, despite being a solid execution of Alice in Chains-style harmonizing.

There’s a lot to soak in on the 48-minute album, and after the eight-minute “Fukushima 50″ — which boasts a circuitous rhythm that would make Fatso Jetson proud — the ensuing “Über-Idolizer” has a difficult task in distinguishing itself through a slower tempo. Nonetheless, Lörinczy‘s easy moves into and out of falsetto and drummer Robert Meier‘s bluesy kick drum make the track more than an afterthought, and a layered chorus in the penultimate “Down on You” ensure that the momentum carries into understated closer “Freshly Tranquilized,” which caps the promising debut with a warm instrumental build, no more or less sweetly-toned than anything Iguana has had on offer prior.

Get the City Love You was released in June on Sweet Home Records. Were it not for the fact that the two bands have already toured together, and so he’d obviously be aware of them, I might have sent their stuff on to Christian Peters from Samsara Blues Experiment for consideration of Iguana as a fit on his Electric Magic imprint. In any case, Iguana – who also had an EP out in 2008 — give themselves a solid foundation creatively here from which to cohere and build their next time out, and show a noteworthy range in their songwriting in the meantime.

They’re all over the internets — be it Thee Facebooks, Spotify, SoundCloud, their own site, iTunes, etc. — but I thought the video for “Morning Eve” from the album would be a good first impression for anyone not yet introduced. And wouldn’t you know it you can put videos on the internet now? What’s next, electronic mail?

Hope you dig it:

I’m pretty sure the world isn’t gonna end, the poles aren’t gonna reverse and the ancient aliens won’t be coming back at the end of this week, but if all that did happen, I think Larman Clamor would make an excellent endtimes soundtrack — or at very least a good way to screw with our new/old martian overlords. Just yesterday, the one-man German psych-blues alter ego of visual artist Alexander von Wieding issued a new single called “Gorgon’s Gold (Shallow Gloom all Round Me),” dropping it as a pay-what-you-want download over at the project’s Bandcamp page.

Von Wieding brings his abiding affection for weirdness to the track, a “regular” version — such as it is — of which appeared on this year’s Frogs full-length (review here), yowling out raw blues over loose acoustic guitar strings. Also included in the download is an instrumental take on the song, decidedly less frenetic and ending with some contemplative sustained notes, that shows how much the vocals really add to Larman Clamor‘s bizarre sensibility and threatening atmosphere. Now in rotation, here’s the Bandcamp stream as well: