Posted in Whathaveyou on March 27th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
In addition to the dates the Spokane, Washington-based trio Merlock will do in April — including a stopthrough at Rocky Mountain Riff Fest in Kalispell, Montana — this May tour sees them dig deeper into the Midwestern region and follows a West Coast tour last summer in support of their debut LP, Onward Strides Colossus (review here). They’re calling it the ‘Calamities Tour,’ and as they note below, it’s the longest stretch of road time they’ve yet undertaken. I’m pretty sure that’s how ‘touring bands’ happen — by bands touring — so right on.
The tour is 16 dates with two days off. I don’t know that they have any intention of doing so, but between this and the prior July excursion, they’ll have covered the West Coast and Midwest, which leaves the eastern portion of the US as the last region to cover — unless you want to count Texas as its own region, which I think at least Texas probably does — in heralding their first record. Not a minor trip for a DIY band, even after a tour like this, but if you’re wondering what’s next, that doesn’t seem the least likely among the infinite possibilities.
Their announcement follows, as seen on social media:
Tour Announcement!
Proud to announce our upcoming conquest: The Calamities Tour this May. We’ll be heading through the Mid-US and a bit of the Mountains on our biggest tour to date. We’re also proud to have the support of some of our favorite brands on this one — lots of love and prep went into this and we’re so excited to be venturing forth. Thanks to everyone who has helped get this tour put together and we can’t wait to get out and meet y’all.
We’ve also got some rad stuff in April you won’t wanna miss. We’ve got a weekend with the mighty @empress_bc and an appearance and @rockymtnrifffest
MERLOCK is: Taylor D. Waring – Guitar / Vox Andrew Backes – Bass Lucas Barrey – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 2nd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
You can see in the lineup for Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2024 that the festival, which is set for April 20 in Kalispell, Montana, is expanding its reach. Yes, Wizzerd, Sorcia, Merlock, The Gray Goo and Spliffripper have played before — The Old Ones played Erosion Festival in 2016; I remember thinking that looked awesome and it did — but returning parties are accompanied by newcomers like Lord Velvet, Chokesetter and Hot Milk and the Flower Pallets, who play the pre-show, and I think they’ll have two stages going and Mos Generator are popping eastward from their home in Port Orchard, Washington, which is probably like a 40-hour drive or something, to headline. I’d go to this in a second, man. That’s a good way to spend a day, and you’re in Kalispell, which looks gorgeous.
The full lineup was announced on social media — I know, crazy, right? — and notes a venue change that looks like it’ll actually be pretty cool having it all in one place. Dig:
FULL LINEUP HAS ARRIVED!
We’re excited to reveal the lineup for #rmrf2024! We are welcoming back some heavy hitters, and introducing some bands to the Flathead valley for the first time.
-MOS GENERATOR- -SORCIA- -LORD VELVET- -MERLOCK- -CHOKESETTER- -WIZZERD- -GREASE CULT- -THE GRAY GOO- -THE OLD ONES- -SURFBAT- -SCHTICKY- -SPLIFFRIPPER- -FREE DRUGS- -HOT MILK AND THE FLOWER PALLETS-
In years past, Riff Fest has been a block party between the legendary @oldschoolrecords134 and the Eagles in downtown Kalispell. Facing the closure of the 1st Street location of OSR, we are now taking over two levels of the Eagles! It’s going to be a party in the whole building, with our traditional free pre-party at the Glacier Park VFW.
We are also proud to bring on some local sponsors who are stoked to help bring some killer music to the valley!
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 21st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
I guess if you don’t follow Merlock on the social medias — and I would encourage you to do so — you might look at the below all about ‘tru zoinked warriors’ and a crusade against ‘Big Riff,’ and have no idea what’s going on. The best advice I can give you is roll with it. The band, and particularly founding guitarist/vocalist Taylor D. Waring, have dug out a kind of niche-language about cranked mids — I actually had to look up what that means, it’s a guitar-recording thing — and I tried to join their Facebook group but I think they called me a cop, so I left because I’m insecure. Whatever ‘Big Riff’ is, I have no doubt I’m more part of the problem than the solution. So it goes.
But, Merlock released their debut album, Onward Strides Colossus (review here), earlier this year, and it remains among the best first-records I’ve heard in 2023, so their doing a West Coast tour to support it is right on, regardless of my constabular status (still testing negative for being a cop, by the way). If you didn’t hear that mids-cranked sludgebeast of a long-player, it’s down below because you can do that in the future — used to be way less of an option; ask me about it sometime and I’ll tell you a grandpa story about physical media — and because it’s worth hearing if you haven’t. If you can make it to a show, so much the better. They’ll be out with Robots of the Ancient World, who are also awesome.
From Facebook:
Tru Z0inked Warriors!!! Soon, we ride again to crank our mids and battle the sound-cops in YOUR town (assuming you live in one of nine West Coast locations).
But wait, there’s more! We’ll be joined by fellow warriors Robots of the Ancient World in our CRUSADE against Big Riff.
We trust we will see you there.
MERLOCK live: 07/15 Olympia WA Cryptatropa 07/16 Eureka CA Sirens Song 07/17 TBA 07/18 Las Vegas NV The Griffin 07/19 Tempe AZ Yucca Tap Room 07/20 Oceanside CA Pour House 07/21 San Francisco CA Thee Parkside 07/22 Crescent City CA Enoteca
MERLOCK is: Taylor D. Waring – Guitar / Vox Andrew Backes – Bass Lucas Barrey – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 14th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
You had me at Loin Hammer. That’s gotta be one of the best band names I’ve seen in the last couple years, at least. They’re somewhat thrashier than one might expect given the riffy foundations of many of the other bands, but they’re still called Loin Hammer, which is enough to make it an automatic win if you see them live. Imagine being able to say, “yeah, I’ve seen Loin Hammer.” If you’re the type to get a tattoo, that’d be a good one.
You’ll note return appearances from Merlock, Wizzerd, Swamp Ritual and The Gray Goo from last year’s Rocky Mountain Riff Fest. That says to me that in addition to an all-dayer-plus-pre-show-the-night-before, this is also a party and a reunion of friends. Pulling from the Pacific Northwest, the native Montana underground, Las Vegas and beyond, the lineup looks right on for a killer day of up and coming acts.
I looked back at what I said about the 2022 edition, and my impression was largely the same; it’s an intimate enough event that by the time it’s over everybody is going to know everybody. That kind of thing creates a sense of community which sticks as a defining factor as festivals expand — the return performances slated for 2023 are another element in establishing that — and I don’t know if you’ve ever done an image search to see what Kalispell looks like, but if you’re traveling to this one you will probably not regret booking an extra day just to take in some of the surrounding scenery, which is stunning even in Chamber of Commerce photos.
And, as noted, Loin Hammer will be there. So there’s that.
From socials:
Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2023
April 22 at Old School Records & Eagles, Kalispell, MT
(free pre-party April 21 at Glacier Park VFW Post 2252)
Very pleased to announce the lineup for this year’s edition of Rocky Mountain Riff Fest!
Epic art by @isaacpasswaterillustration
Lineup April 22:
Tigers on Opium Sorcia Sonolith Grail Twin Void Wizzerd Swamp Ritual The Gray Goo Loin Hammer Lacoro
Posted in Reviews on February 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Spokane, Washington’s Merlock tell the listener early to keep an open mind on “Sovereign Throne,” the opening track of their self-released debut album, Onward Strides Colossus. That four-and-a-half-minute leadoff is one of two songs under five minutes on the six-track/40-minute long-player, and it moves from dreamy guitar float and open crash into minimal vocals-and-bass verse lines before the swirl revives, solidifies, and moves into more fervent push in its midsection, solo layers spread overtop and feedback held as Lucas Barrey‘s drums shift into speedier, more particularly Sabbathian push. Founding guitarist/vocalist Taylor D. Waring gives hints of some of the post-Mike Scheidt soulful belting-out of vocals to come in the later reaches of second cut “Sunnbarrenn” (9:18) as well as in the penultimate “Somniloquy” (3:51) and the closing title-track (10:02), if not the harsher, sludgier barks that offset, and it’s in Andrew Backes‘ raw punch and rumble of low end on bass that the song’s weight comes from.
This is a kind of transposed take on classic power trio methodology that Merlock employ as they follow their two prior EPs, 2021’s You Cannot Be Saved EP (review here) and 2020’s That Which Speaks EP (review here), and set themselves to the task of crafting a style that is malleable enough to border on caustic at times while holding a steady commitment to atmosphere, Waring‘s guitar all the more able to work around and outside the Sleep-y march at the beginning of “Sunnbarrenn” for the strong foundation of groove in the drums and bass and the breadth that resides in the recording/mix by Nic Wilbur (indie weirdos Slashed Tires, moody punks Alien Boy, and so on), not necessarily playing to largesse as much as they could as it is creating the space in which immersion can happen and letting the layers captured ensure that it does. It’s almost not until the drums and bass drop out, the guitar sets up the next riff and Waring breaks into the album’s first real harsher post-metallic roar that one realizes just how successful they’ve been in that immersive task.
Rawness becomes an essential part of Onward Strides Colossus‘ character. As “Sunnbarrenn” proceeds with a chug like earliest High on Fire and an echoing mid-register growl from Waring to suit it, the nod shifts, flows from one part to the next with purposefully over-the-top squeals and crash, resolving in an especially stomping roll before beginning the cycle anew, clearing the air as it hits into its seventh minute and finding Backes‘ bass leading the transition into the more open payoff, Waring going back to cleaner singing before the upward swirl of the final solo, preceding an even more fervent delivery in the last verse and a few measures of comedown before a short wind-noise transition into “Behold! The Sword of Lock,” which is more immediately nasty and cavernous, clearly picking up the more aggressive aspects of “Sunnbarrenn” and pushing them further in its five-and-a-half minutes, the back and forth pattern of shorter and longer songs established for those listening digitally or on CD while the two-sided experience (currently tape, presumably modeled as well for vinyl at some point) finds the brashness of “Behold! The Sword of Lock” at the end of side A, lending it a personality perhaps more immediate than that of the second half of Onward Strides Colossus to come, although at a certain point it all might start to feel like being bashed over the head by fog, which I think is the point.
Nonetheless, “Behold! The Sword of Lock” twists and gnashes at its outset, darkly thrash but consistent with the ambience Merlock have thus far honed in the use of guitar and vocal effects, etc. At two minutes in, it slams on the brakes and nods out only to find itself winding and careening again as the vocals turn declarative over what in many contexts would be black metal, until the tension finally gives out after about another two minutes, vocals turning melodic, drums and bass stretching wider, the delay guitar casting itself into the open to close, pretty as it is punishing and delivering the listener directly into “Where No One Goes” (7:44), which is more directly post-metal and cosmic doom at once, layered vocals a part of the churning fray before the chug-march turns more brutal and makes its way toward and through the midsection.
Just past the five-minute mark, “Where No One Goes” finds its own release, echoing into the void it’s made with a return of melody as setup for a shining solo which in turn sets up the next verse lines of the payoff before the extended slowdown finish, like earliest YOB in its sheer revelry for that which is sonically massive and planetary. To complement, “Somniloquy” is more substantial than an interlude, but with the drums resting at the outset and a patient unfurling over its span, gives the listener a moment to breathe early before building into a more intense midsection with the vocals serene overhead, a wave cresting and soon enough to recede into more sublime guitar on its way out and a stretch of silence before the drone marks the turn into “Onward Strides Colossus” itself, the only piece of the record that shares its name to top 10 minutes and a song clearly positioned as a culmination of aural themes.
Like much of what precedes, the title-track feels nascent in terms of an overarching and hopefully ongoing progression, but is of marked depth, some low-register brooding vocals obscured by drones over the first couple minutes before more terrestrial guitar rises up and the slow roll begins in earnest. As with “Sunnbarrenn,” and to some extent “Behold! The Sword of Lock,” “Onward Strides Colossus” signals its changes in pace and is led by the guitar, but moves fluidly through a faster middle before at 5:40, it crashes to silence, guitar ambience and the bass once more tasked with holding it together, which it does ably. They’ll come back — they know it and you know it — but the build to get there is the point, and with a deep figurative inhale, “Onward Strides Colossus” rears up at 6:50 and transitions into its last wash of psychedelic sludge, almost encouraging the listener to dig through and find the different elements at play, whether it’s the layers of rhythm guitar under the solo or the somewhat buried tom runs from Barrey, and so on. The last procession is duly doomed, and even as “Onward Strides Colossus” ends in feedback and residual noise, the impression is both that it’s complete — nothing is missing — but that it still doesn’t necessarily want to go. It is the longest song Merlock have written to-date. Much as I hesitate at predictions, I do not think it will be their last time in the wilds north of the 10-minute mark.
And that they perhaps have more to say in “Onward Strides Colossus” is emblematic of the band on the whole at this point. As much as the soul of Onward Strides Colossus works to make the recording a part of its story, the underlying sound of Merlock is more nebulous, and that’s a big part of why it’s exciting since it seems to incorporate much without either pretense or self-ceremony. On their face, the six tracks here are as dense as they are willfully dissolute, and the impression they give is that as they continue to grow and move forward from prior lineup changes and so on, much of what’s contained in this material will be the foundation of their progress in a way not unlike how the drums and bass groove on the ground while the guitar soars over. It is a fascinating first chapter, reminiscent of much but not entirely loyal to any single microgenre, and the potential is there for Merlock over time to carve a niche of their own within the various strains of capital ‘h’ Heavy. If Onward Strides Colossus is a beginning for that process, so much the better.
Posted in Radio on February 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Yeah, I realize that I say the same shit every time I post a Gimme Metal playlist, but this is a good god damn show. New Simple Forms to start, new Sandrider, Merlock, Acid King, Polymoon, REZN, some WyndRider and Strider — both reviewed in the last week or so — then on to Enslaved as a shift into meaner fare with Tribunal, These Beasts, They Grieve, Fuzzy Grapes and Mammoth Caravan touching on various points in gruff doom and sludge before I come on again to mouthfart or whatever it is I do around saying ‘thanks for listening’ and turn it over to an 18-minute finish from Clouds Taste Satanic, who’ll head to Europe this Spring to support the 2LP record they released today on Majestic Mountain. Good god damn show.
There’s a flow to it that I like, from the Pacific Northwestern takes of Simple Forms and Sandrider at the outset to the lumbering of Mammoth Caravan before that last voice track, it has a groove. Because it airs at 5PM on a Friday evening, I’m not always able to blast out the show while I try to keep up with the chat — that’s Sesame Street time, these days, and all volume conflicts are resolved by my being yelled at and turning down the music, putting my phone on the lowest volume and holding it to my left ear or stepping out to the back yard to get stoned and listening there for a bit — but Dean Rispler, who actually assembles the thing from the playlist I turn in, is a genius and I always know that he’s got it down when it comes to conveying the flow from one song to the next. I rely on that, and he nails it every time. It honestly makes me look forward to these Fridays more.
If you listen, I hope you dig it. Thanks for reading either way.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 02.03.23 (VT = voice track)
Simple Forms
Unprecedented Uncertainty
Unprecedented Uncertainty
Sandrider
Alia
Enveletration
Merlock
Onward Strides Colossus
Onward Strides Colossus
VT
Acid King
Beyond Vision
Beyond Vision
Polymoon
Set the Sun
Chrysalis
REZN
Possession
Solace
WyndRider
Creator
WyndRider
Strider
Midnight Zen
Midnight Zen
Enslaved
Forest Dweller
Heimdal
Tribunal
The Path
The Weight of Remembrance
These Beasts
Code Name
Cares, Wills, Wants
They Grieve
Wither
To Which I Bore Witness
Fuzzy Grapes
Sludge Fang
Volume 1
Mammoth Caravan
Petroglyphs
Ice Cold Oblivion
VT
Clouds Taste Satanic
Flames and Demon Drummers
Tales of Demonic Possession
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Feb. 17 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The prospect of a solidified Merlock should only be concerning if you don’t like having your bones rattled. The Spokane, Washington, outfit led by guitarist/vocalist Taylor D. Waring — who writes expressively and efficiently and whose social media game is ever on point — have announced a Feb. 24 release date for Onward Strides Colossus, their awaited debut album following behind last year’s You Cannot Be Saved EP (review here) and 2020’s That Which Speaks EP (review here).
This material would seem to have been in the works for a while, since even before You Cannot Be Saved was released, the band had a live-ish video of a set (it’s at the bottom of this post) which included “Where No One Goes,” a lumbering psych-sludge rocker like YOB covered in mud and angry about it. That song — starting at 21:12 in the video, if you’re looking for it — will feature on Onward Strides Colossus, and I look forward to hearing the proper studio version of its duly soaring culmination and overarching chaotic vibe.
No audio yet, but here’s the album announce courtesy of the PR wire:
MERLOCK Announce New Album Onward Strives Colossus
Exploring gloomy realms, MERLOCK produce imposing soundscapes that embrace the murky depths. Seeing multiple genres converge, MERLOCK manifest a compelling doom, psychedelic and stoner mix in the new record Onward Strives Colossus.
“Onward Strides Colossus is a sort of “hero’s journey” set in a posthuman, postdoom atmosphere. Sonically and lyrically, it explores cycles of death and rebirth, notions of hell, and of self-actualization. Seeking truth is the primary urge of the album, and that urge becomes, at times, colossal, which is where the name comes from. Heady pretension aside, the album is also very much about the three of us building this monstrosity that is Merlock. Writing albums, touring, failure & victory — all of those intense experiences that continually shape and reshape us as people. We all had to grow into new, more powerful versions of ourselves to create this album. We know the colossus doesn’t stop here.” — Taylor D. Waring
Introducing the release is “Sovereign Throne”, a groove rhythm powered track with a bluesy side. Lead guitars emerge out of the shadows with bright intricate solos that interweave. An injection of energy sees the pace increase and elevates the music as the vocals soar above. “Behold the Sword of Lock” brings an aggressive onslaught seeing harsh vocals combined with noisy guitar tones to unleash a fully immersive sound. MERLOCK pull out all the stops with the album’s title track. Eerie, droning fuzz and wandering vocals evoke a haunting, otherworldly air. Playing with dynamics, the tracks builds up into explosive rhythmic guitars and percussion — “Onward Strides Colossus” delivers a powerful and impressive impact.
About MERLOCK:
Described by critics as “gloomy and semi-mystical”, “shadowy and mysterious”, and “epic and ever-climbing”, MERLOCK melds stoner doom with heavy psychedelic sounds to create heavy post-doom atmospheres. Formed in 2017 in Spokane, Washington, MERLOCK has self-released 2 EPs and toured the West Coast while continuously demonstrating their willingness to evolve a songwriters and performers. Having weathered line-up changes and the ever-evolving music scene in the post-COVID world, MERLOCK continues to look for new paths forward.
Tracklisting: 1. Sovereign Throne 2. Sunnbarren 3. Behold! The Sword of Lock 4. Where No One Goes 5. Somniloquy 6. Onward Strides Colossus
Album Credits: Album Art – Leoncio Harmr Album Layout – Taylor D. Waring Engineering and Mixing – Nic Wilbur Mastering – Adam Tucker
MERLOCK is: Taylor D. Waring – Guitar / Vox Andrew Backes – Bass Lucas Barrey – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
A two-stage all-dayer with a killer pre-party the night before, Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2022 looks like a gem. I know nothing about the Flathead Valley in Montana, or historic downtown Kalispell, where the event will take place, but they’ve put together a cool lineup with the likes of Mountain Tamer and Kadabra on board, and while I might not know all that much about Ncroflchr (from parts unknown) or Schticky, homegrown Montana acts like Swamp Ritual, Spliffripper and Wizzerd, along with Witch Bitch, ThroneStower and The Gray Goo, who’ll also play, speak to a burgeoning scene, and with LáGoon coming east from Oregon and Merlock doing the same from Washington, cutting across Idaho while Throne of Iron head north from Indiana, the fest is using its geography smartly to pull from the different regions surrounding. There’s a lot to dig here, and I bet the show(s) will be a good time.
I bet you go to this, you leave with new friends. If you’re traveling for it, I mean. This seems like the kind of thing where there’s going to be a bunch of people who already know each other, but I bet if you were to show up and be like, “Hi, I think your bands are cool,” you’d probably end up feeling like family by the end of the day. Sounds pretty nice, if you ask me. Also heavy. It’s a 37-hour drive for me, so I don’t think I’ll get there, but they make the prospect enticing.
Here’s the lineup, as per social media:
Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2022
Rocky Mountain Riff Fest Returns!!
Our 2022 lineup! Stoked to have so many friends joining us this year. The party goes down April 22 and 23 – see everybody there!
LINEUP: Main day 4/23: Mountain Tamer (CA) Throne of Iron (IN) LáGoon (OR) Merlock (WA) Wizzerd (MT) Witch Bitch (MT) ThroneStower (MT) The Gray Goo (MT) Schticky (MT) Ncroflchr (???)
Eagles 234 and Old School Records – $20 for all day