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

Up in Smoke 2018 Completes Lineup; Witchcraft, Glanville, The Well, Farflung & The New Death Cult Added

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 17th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

up in smoke 2018 final banner

That’s a wrap on the lineup for Up in Smoke 2018, and it’s a doozy. Up and coming acts like MessaHumulus and Glanville meet with established purveyors in Acid KingThe WellElder and Sasquatch, newbie psych lords Naxatras, scumriffers Dopethrone and a slew of others across a stylistic swath that should be well enough to hold even the most fickle of feet in place over the two-day stretch in Switzerland. Plus Ancestors are gonna be there. And Farflung. Looks like a solid way to spend a weekend and then some.

Sound of Liberation, which puts on this fest and numerous others, has a last batch of bands added in one more round, and it’s Witchcraft near the top of the bill as well as the aforementioned GlanvilleFarflungThe Well and The New Death Cult, the latter of whom I know absolutely nothing but who seem to be on the right page mission-wise.

Announcement came down the PR wire:

up in smoke 2018 final poster

UP IN SMOKE 2018 – WITCHCRAFT & 4 MORE BANDS COMPLETE THE LINE-UP!

Yes, it’s true, you read it right, and we are very excited to share this great news with you all today!

UP IN SMOKE, Switzerland’s annual and finest Stoner, Fuzz, Doom and Heavy Psychedelic Rock Festival, has announced the final bands for 2018! The following highclass acts have just been added to close this year’s festival edition:

Sweden’s Heavy Rock legends WITCHCRAFT will perform an exclusive show at UP in SMOKE at Z7 in Pratteln! The band has barely played any live shows in the last years, so it’s more than a great honor to have them at this year’s UP IN SMOKE Festival VOL VI next month!

Some more sweet acts are added to the bill as well:

The outstanding spacerock cult band FARFLUNG, Texas finest heavy psych blues combo THE WELL and heavy hard rockers GLANVILLE will join Switzerland’s most heavy rocking party of the year. Last but not least UP IN SMOKE has added another surprise act! THE NEW DEATH CULT is here to crush hate, injustice, environmental destruction and greed with universal peace & love. Join the cult at UP IN SMOKE!

The line-up is now complete and features 20 amazing bands! Day Split will be unveiled within 10 days, but you should grab your 2-day pass while you still can! Taking place at the famous Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland, between October 5 – 6th 2018, tickets are available HERE!

Join the cult at UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL VOL VI.

The line-up is now complete and features 20 amazing bands! Day Split will be unveiled within 10 days, but you should GRAB YOUR 2-DAY PASS while you still can!

www.upinsmoke.de
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7/
https://www.sol-tickets.com/produkte
https://soundofliberation.com

Witchcraft, “The Outcast”

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Glanville and Galactic Superlords Announce Oct. Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

glanville

galactic superlords

Classic hard rock? Heavy heavy metal? Wherever you might think Glanville and Galactic Superlords respectively reside on the genre spectrum, I think it’s safe to assume the shows are going to be a good time. The Germany/UK and just-Germany-based five-pieces — that’s one crowded-ass van, if they’re sharing — head out together beginning Oct. 2 in Darmstadt and will seven shows throughout Germany, hitting Galactic Superlords‘ native Köln along the way.

Galactic Superlords go supporting their 2018 self-titled debut full-length, and Glanville head out on the heels of their debut EP, First Blood (review here), and the pairing couldn’t be more appropriate, since in addition to whatever sonic elements they might have in common, Glanville frontman René Hofmann (also of Wight) recorded the Galactic Superlords album. It’s nice to have friends, or so I hear.

To the PR wire:

glanville galactic superlords tour

GLANVILLE AND GALACTIC SUPERLORDS TEAM UP FOR TOUR THIS FALL!

A bit of Thin Lizzy, a bit of Iron Maiden, with hints of Dio. GLANVILLE sounds like Rob Halford wearing Dennis Hopper’s leather jacket in Easy Rider. An introduction of exciting things to come: After the critically acclaimed debut EP ‘First Blood’ released in May 2018, GLANVILLE have teamed up with the GALACTIC SUPERLORDS for a tour this Fall!

René Hofmann and Philipp Michel started playing music together as teenagers but at such a young age nobody knows what will happen the next day, much less in the far future. 13 years later Hofmann is a music producer in Darmstadt and Michel is an active touring guitar player and songwriter, still based in the Hessian hinterland. After all these years the two decide to start a new project together, a classic duo like Page and Plant. The search for the rest of the band GLANVILLE took more than a year, but finally a line-up of experienced musicians was completed: Peter-Philipp Schierhorn on bass, Thomas Hoffmann on drums, and Chris West on second guitar. After a quick and dirty pre-production the band met at a studio in Darmstadt, with most members never having played together and some even meeting each other for the first time. Everyone’s prepared and focused. Two days of rehearsals, two days of recording. Live, real and with passion for the music.
Catch GLANVILLE live and real on the following dates this Fall, with GALACTIC SUPERLORDS on the bill:

02.10.18 DE – Darmstadt – HoffART Theater
03.10.18 DE – Berlin – Toast Hawaii
04.10.18 DE – Hamburg – Bar227
05.10.18 DE – Leipzig – Black Label
06.10.18 DE – Pratteln – Up In Smoke
12.10.18 DE – Köln – Museum
13.10.18 DE – Heidelberg – Beatfabrik

“When meeting Superlords drummer Carsten for the first time, sharing a cigarette at Desertfest Berlin, I immediately noticed that both of us are slightly crazy in a very similar way. And of course we found out that our respective bands also had something in common – fucking heavy metal! Over the years, we have grown to be good friends, and both our bands have become great teams, but still, nobody has ever heard of either one. So we decided to organize a DIY tour under the name “Your New Favourite Metal Bands You’ve Never Heard Of.” We are really looking forward to deliver some serious heavy metal together, real rock music on real stages, without playbacks, modelling amps or macbooks.” – René Hofmann, vocalist of Glanville

Glanville is:
René Hofmann (vocals)
Philipp Michel (lead guitar)
Peter-Philipp Schierhorn (bass)
Thomas Hoffmann (drums)
Chris West (rhythm guitar)

Galactic Superlords is:
Vocals: Katharina Heldt
Vocals/Guitars: Dennis Sennekamp
Guitars: Alex Miller
Bass: Christian Lantin
Drums: Carsten Krohn

https://www.facebook.com/SirGlanville/
https://glanville.bandcamp.com/
http://www.glanvilleofficial.com
https://fatandholy.bigcartel.com/

https://www.facebook.com/galacticsuperlords/
https://galacticsuperlords.bandcamp.com/
http://superlords.com/
http://www.rockfreaks.de/

Glanville, First Blood EP (2018)

Galactic Superlords, Galactic Superlords (2018)

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Quarterly Review: Glanville, Destroyer of Light, The Re-Stoned, Ruff Majik, Soldat Hans, High Priestess, Weed Demon, Desert Storm, Ancient Altar, Black Box Warning

Posted in Reviews on July 17th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

quarterly-review-CALIFORNIA-LANDSCAPE-Julian-Rix-1851-1903

So Day 1’s done and it’s time to move on to Day 2. Feeling stressed and totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff still to be done? Why yes, I am. Thanks for asking. In the past, I used to handle the Quarterly Review well ahead of time. It’s always a lot to get through, but the week before, I’d be setting up back ends, chasing down links and Bandcamp players, starting reviews, etc., so that when it came time, all I had to do was the writing and plug it all into a post and I was set.

There was some prep-work done this past weekend, but especially this time, with my old laptop having been stolen in May, it’s all been way more jazz-improv. I was still adding releases as of last Friday, and writing beforehand? Shit. With the baby having just figured out how to climb? Not bloody likely. Accordingly, here we are, with much to do.

It’ll get done. I haven’t flubbed a Quarterly Review yet, and if I took an extra day to get there, I’m under no delusion that anyone else would care. So there you go. Let’s hit it for Day 2:

Quarterly Review #11-20:

Glanville, First Blood

glanville first blood

First Blood is the aptly-titled five-song debut EP from Glanville, a newcomer dual-guitar outfit with established players Philip Michel (The Earwix) on lead and Christopher West (Named by the Sun, ex-Stubb, etc.) on rhythm, Wight’s Peter-Philipp Schierhorn on bass and René Hofmann on vocals, and Thomas Hoffman (ex-Bushfire) on drums. Based in Germany and the UK, the group present 23 minutes of material on their first outing, drawing from the guitar-led likes of Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest to capture early metal and present it with a heavy rocking soulfulness and modern production. The most raucous of the cuts might be centerpiece “Durga the Great,” but neither “God is Dead” nor “Dancing on Fire” before nor “Demons” and “Time to Go” after want for action, and especially the latter builds to a furious head to close out the release. Hofmann as a standalone singer wants for nothing in range or approach, and the band behind him obviously build on their collective experience to dig into a stylistic nuance rarely executed with such confidence. They’ve found a place willfully between and are working to make it theirs. Can’t ask for more than that.

Glanville on Thee Facebooks

Glanville on Bandcamp

 

Destroyer of Light, Hopeless

destroyer of light hopeless

Having just recently signed to Argonauta Records for a new album in 2019, Austin doomers Destroyer of Light follow their 2017 long-player, Chamber of Horrors (review here), with a further auditory assault in the lumbering Hopeless. Psychedelic and yet still somehow traditional doom lingers in the brain after “Nyx” and “Drowned” have finished – the latter with an Alan Watts sample discussing alcoholism – and the band moves into demos for Chamber of Horrors cuts “Into the Smoke,” “Lux Crusher” and “Buried Alive.” Between the two previously unreleased songs and those three demos, Hopeless pushes to 39 minutes, but it’s probably still fair to call it an EP because of the makeup. Either way, from the miserable plod of “Nyx,” in which each chug in the riff cycle seems to count another woe, to the rolling nod early and surprising melody late in “Drowned,” Hopeless is anything but. Anticipation was already pretty high for Destroyer of Light’s next record after the last one, but all Hopeless does is show further depth of approach and more cleverly-wielded atmospheric murk. And the more it sounds like there’s no escape, the more Destroyer of Light seem to be in their element.

Destroyer of Light on Thee Facebooks

Destroyer of Light on Bandcamp

 

The Re-Stoned, Stories of the Astral Lizard

the re-stonEd stories of the astral lizard

The inevitable question is “Why a lizard?” and if you make it four minutes into 11-minute opener “Fractal Panorama” and don’t have your answer, go back ad start over. Moscow heavy psych instrumentalists The Re-Stoned intend the reptile as a spirit guide for their new outing Stories of the Astral Lizard (on Oak Island Records), which follows quickly behind their late-2017 offering, Chronoclasm (review here), and given the ultra-patient desert vibes in the opener, the acoustic-laced folk-prog of “Mental Print for Free,” the languid meander of “A Companion from the Outside,” the swirling sprawl of the 16-minute “Two Astral Projections” and the final cowpoke drift of “The Heather Carnival,” one might indeed just find a lizard sunning its belly amid all the atmospheric evocations and hallucinatory vibes. I’ll take “Two Astral Projections” as the highlight, but mostly because the extra length allows the band to really dig in, but really the whole album feeds together gorgeously and is a new level of achievement when it comes to atmosphere for The Re-Stoned, who were already underappreciated and find themselves only more so now.

The Re-Stoned on Thee Facebooks

Oak Island Records on Thee Facebooks

 

Ruff Majik, Seasons

Ruff Majik Seasons

Right on fuzz, right on groove, right on vibe – there isn’t much else one might say about Ruff Majik’s Seasons (on Rock Freaks Records and Forbidden Place Records) beyond “right on.” Heavy rock with twists of psychedelia, the Pretoria, South Africa, three-piece of Johni Holliday, Jimi Glass and Benni Manchino make their home on the lines of various subgenres, but wherever they go, the proceedings remain decisively heavy. To wit, a cut like “Breathing Ghosts” or the later “Birds Stole My Eyes” might dig into shuffle boogie or extreme-metal-derived thrust, but there’s a chemistry between the members and a resonant looseness that ties the material together, and as the last 14 of the total 66 minutes are dedicated to “Asleep in the Leaves,” there’s plenty of progressive weirdness in which to bask, one song moving through the next such that neither “Hanami Sakura (And the Ritual Suicide” nor the semi-doom-plodding “The Deep Blue” nor the funky twists of “Tar Black Blood” come across as predictable. Seasons might take a few listens to sink in, but it’s easily worth that effort.

Ruff Majik on Thee Facebooks

Ruff Majik at Rock Freaks Records webstore

Forbidden Place Records on Bandcamp

 

Soldat Hans, Es Taut

SOLDAT HANS ES TAUT-750

Hyperbole-worthy post-ism from Switzerland’s Soldat Hans makes their sophomore outing, Es Taut – on Wolves and Vibrancy Records as a 2LP – a forward thinking highlight. As rich in atmosphere as Crippled Black Phoenix and as lethal as Converge or Neurosis or anyone else you might dare to put next to them, the six-piece made their debut with 2014’s Dress Rehearsal (review here) and served notice of their cross-genre ambitiousness. Es Taut finds them four years later outclassing themselves and most of the rest of the planet across three extended tracks – “Story of the Flood” (26:15), “Schoner Zerbirst, Part I” (8:03) and “Schoner Zerbirst, Part II” (18:56) – that sprawl out with a confidence, poise and abrasion that is nothing short of masterful. Es Taut may be a case of a band outdoing their forebears, but whatever their legacy becomes and however many people take notice, Soldat Hans singlehandedly breathe life into the form of post-metal and prove utterly vital in so doing, not only making it their own, but pushing forward into something new in ambience and heft. This is what a band sounds like while making themselves indispensable.

Soldat Hans on Thee Facebooks

Wolves and Vibrancy Records website

 

High Priestess, High Priestess

high priestess high priestess

Calling to order a nod that’s immersive from the opening strains of leadoff/longest-track “Firefly” (still immediate points), Los Angeles trio High Priestess build out the psych-doom ritualizing of their 2017 demo (review here) to make their self-titled full-length debut through Ripple Music. The difference between the demo and the album in terms of what’s included comes down to artwork and the track “Take the Blame,” which adds its bell-of-the-ride swing between the atmosphere and melodic focus of “Banshee” and the spacious roller “Mother Forgive Me.” Potential is writ large throughout from guitarist/vocalist Katie Gilchrest, bassist/vocalist Mariana Fiel and drummer Megan Mullins, as it was on their demo, and even the harsh growls/screams on “Despise” seem to have found their place within the proceedings. As they wrap with the guitar-led jam of “Earth Dive,” High Priestess put the finishing touch on what’s hands-down one of 2018’s best debut albums and offer a reminder that as much potential as there is in their sound for future development, the accomplishments here are considerable unto themselves.

High Priestess on Thee Facebooks

Ripple Music website

 

Weed Demon, Astrological Passages

weed demon astrological passages

Four tracks of gurgling riffy plunder pervade Astrological Passages, the 41-minute – longer if you get the digital version or the tape/CD, which includes the 7:24 “Dominion of Oblivion” – debut album from Columbus, Ohio’s Weed Demon. Delivered on vinyl through Electric Valley Records, the nodder/plodder carves out a cave for itself within a mountain of tonally thick stoner metal riffing, infusing a sense of sludge with shouted and growled vocals from guitarists Andy and Brian and bassist Jordan – only drummer Chris doesn’t get a mic – and an overarching sense of bludgeoning that’s Sleep-derived if not Sleep-adjacent in terms of its actual sound. Nasty? Why, yes it is, but as “Sigil of the Black Moon” heads toward the midpoint of its 10-minute run, the repetitive groove assault makes the band’s intention plain: worship weed, worship riff. They get faster on “Primordial Genocide” and even sneak a bit of speed in amidst the crawl before the banjo takes hold in the second half of 12-minute closer “Jettisoned” – more Americana sludge please; thank you – but they never lose sight of their mission, and it’s the uniting factor that makes their debut hit like the brick to the head that it is.

Weed Demon on Thee Facebooks

Electric Valley Records website

 

Desert Storm, Sentinels

desert storm sentinels

With Sentinels, Oxford, UK, five-piece Desert Storm pass a decade since making their self-titled debut in 2008. They followed that with 2010’s Forked Tongues (review here), 2013’s Horizontal Life and 2014’s Omniscient (review here), and though they had a single out in 2014 on H42 Records as a split with Suns of Thunder (review here) in 2016, Sentinels is their first outing on APF Records and their first long-player in four years. Burl has always been an important factor in what they do, and the High on Fire-meets-Orange Goblin slamming of “The Brawl” backs that up, but Desert Storm have left much of the hyper-dudeliness behind in favor of a more complex approach, and while Sentinels isn’t a minor undertaking at 10 songs and 51 minutes, longer cuts like “Kingdom of Horns” and “Convulsion” demonstrate the maturity they’ve brought to bear, even as the one-two punch of “Drifter”  and “The Extrovert” offer swinging-fist hooks and beard-worthy chug that assures any and all testosterone quotas are met.

Desert Storm on Thee Facebooks

APF Records on Bandcamp

 

Ancient Altar, Cosmic Purge/Foie Gras

ancient altar cosmic purge foie gras

Based in Los Angeles, Ancient AltarScott Carlson (bass/vocals), Barry Kavener (guitar/vocals), Jesse Boldt (guitar) and Etay Levy (drums) – were last heard from on 2015’s dug-in atmosludger Dead Earth (review here), and they return lo these several years later with the two-tracker Cosmic Purge/Foie Gras, pushing into more extreme crush-of-riff with an abandon that’s anything but reckless. On the contrary, there’s some clear development in the 10-minute “Cosmic Purge” and 13-minute “Foie Gras,” rolling out oppressive grooves with blended screams/shouts and cleaner vocals. As with the last album, a drive toward individuality is central here, and Ancient Altar get there in tone while bringing forth a sense of scope to a sound so regularly thought of as closed off or off-putting in general. In its early going, “Foie Gras” hypnotizes with echoing melody and spaciousness only to resolve itself in a deeply weighted dirge march, furthering the pummel of “Cosmic Purge” itself. I don’t know if the EP – on vinyl through Black Voodoo Records, CD on Transcendental Void Records – will lead toward another album or not, but the sense of progression in Ancient Altar’s style is right there waiting to be heard, so here’s hoping.

Ancient Altar on Thee Facebooks

Black Voodoo Records on Thee Facebooks

 

Black Box Warning, Attendre la Mort

black box warning attendre la mort

Listen to it on headphones and the kickdrum on Black Box Warning’s Attendre la Mort is downright painful. Next-level blown-out aggro pulsations. Brutal in a physical sense. The rest of the band doesn’t follow far behind in that regard. Riffs are viscous and violent in noise rock tradition, but denser in their tone despite some underlying punkishness, and the vocals are likewise distorted and abrasive. The five-song/23-minute EP’s title translates to “Waiting for Death,” and each of the tracks is a dose: Opener “5 mg” is followed by “4 mg,” “1 mg,” “2 mg” and “3 mg.” Unsurprisingly, pills are a theme, particularly on “4 mg,” and the sense of violent threat is clear in “2 mg” and 3 mg,” which boast lines like, “Watch them all scream/Watch your enemy bleeded,” and “You are the pig/I am the butcher,” respectively. Between the lyrical and the general aural cruelty, the dis-ease is consuming and unmitigated, sludge becoming a slow-motion grindcore, and that’s clearly the point. Not stabbing, but gouging.

Black Box Warning on Thee Facebooks

Black Box Warning on Bandcamp

 

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Glanville Post “Dancing on Fire” Live Clip from EP Release Show

Posted in Bootleg Theater on May 25th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

glanville (Photo by Jo Henker)

On April 14, Glanville played the release show for their debut EP, First Blood, in Darmstadt, Germany, from whence frontman René Hofmann hails. Hofmann is of course best known for his guitarist/vocalist role in the ever-evolving Wight, and that band’s bassist, Peter-Philipp Schierhorn, also features in the new group, along with lead guitarist Philipp Michel (The Earwix) and rhythm guitarist Chris West (Named by the Sun, ex-Stubb) and drummer Thomas Hoffman (ex-Bushfire), comprising an experienced lineup with a definite mission in mind to bask in the glories of the metal of yore. As the title line is delivered in the live clip below for “Dancing on Fire,” if your mind doesn’t readily link to “Living After Midnight,” well, it should.

First Blood, which is out via Fat & Holy Records, brings that mission to life in ready fashion, but still carries an unmistakable current of heavy rock as well. It can be heard in the riffs of the prior video clip for “God is Dead” as well as in “Dancing on Fire” as the band seems to find a balance drawing from ’70s groove and ’80s NWOBHM-style soloing, not entirely dissimilar in the basic math from Chicago’s Bible of the Devil — yes, that’s a compliment — though Hofmann‘s soaring vocals are a distinguishing factor. As Wight moved from heavy psychedelia toward funkier jams, his voice showed likewise progression in confidence and range, and in Glanville he seems to take another step forward as a standalone guitar-less frontman.

And for being a new group if one comprised of veteran players, the band shows itself as being remarkably tight behind him. The dual-leads and gallop in the bridge parts are noteworthy, but even in the shifts from verses to the chorus, there’s a smoothness that, along with the tonality, is perhaps the element most drawn from heavy rock. There isn’t a rough transition. Even live, “Dancing on Fire” is aware of its flow and how crucial it is to maintain it. The vibe is right on, and as much as the grainy visual aesthetic of the “God is Dead” clip — which you can see at the bottom of this post, because one likes to be thorough — tells the story, I think the live show maybe even one-ups it in giving a representation of what Glanville are all about.

Check it out below, followed by more info about the EP and the five-piece’s sundry vices, and enjoy:

Glanville, “Dancing on Fire” live in Darmstadt

Glanville performing “Dancing On Fire” live at Oetinger Villa Darmstadt April 14th 2018.

Glanville was formed by childhood friends Philipp Michel (Jack Daniels) and René Hofmann (Marijuana) who wrote 5 great heavy metal songs and decided they needed to be played by a real band. Hofmann, who previously played guitar, had this to say about the experience:

“As an unsuccessful guitarist screaming and complaining all the time about my playing, I found out that my my tongue works better than my fingers so I became a singer. Finding the right musicians for the band was hard. It took over a year… like diggin’ in the bargain bin and only finding the leftover bruised apples“.

The lineup is completed by bass player Peter-Philipp Schierhorn (Cocaine), rhythm guitar player Chris West (Cheeseburgers) and Thomas Hoffmann (Heroin) on drums. Bass player extraordinaire Schierhorn describes joining the fast-paced band:

“Having grown up on a strict diet of Judas Priest, I just had to hop on board. But now my right hand constantly hurts.”

Get their EP “First Blood” digital:
Amazon – https://amzn.to/2rPHrCM
iTunes – https://apple.co/2rOFoiX
Spotify – https://spoti.fi/2KzUYGn
Apple Music – https://apple.co/2rOFoiX

CD and LP: https://fatandholy.bigcartel.com

Audio recorded by Matze Wörnle.
Mixed and mastered by René Hofmann.
Camera by Gabriel Sahm, Johanna Amberg, Jonas Eichhorn.
Edited by Johanna Amberg.
Color Grading by Gabriel Sahm.

Glanville is:
René Hofmann (vocals)
Philipp Michel (lead guitar)
Peter-Philipp Schierhorn (bass)
Thomas Hoffmann (drums)
Chris West (rhythm guitar)

Glanville, “God is Dead” official video

Glanville on Thee Facebooks

Glanville website

Fat & Holy Records webstore

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