As they continue to support their new album, Acolyte (review here), Tucson duo Methra have unveiled a new video for the track “Dead Ram.” The clip is apparently a prequel to their last video, which was for the song “Hartley’s Cult,” the title derived from their purported obsession with Peavey amps — something you can see manifest in the wall of them that appears to be in the band’s practice space. It’s a tale of heartbreak, murder, wandering and death-sludge, and front to back it looks like it was an absolute blast to make. Which is as it should be.

That is the prevailing impression I get from Methra at this point, and it was true of the record as well: They sound like they’re having fun. The music lacks nothing for grit — it’s raw, nasty all over the place, even when they touch on a cleaner vocal here or a melodic part there, as indeed they do in “Dead Ram” — but it’s a very specific kind of fun that guitarist Nick Genitals and drummer Andy Kratzenberg are having throughout, like every time the cameras are shut off or the recording equipment is paused, everyone starts laughing. In a realm of music that sometimes seems so averse to enjoying itself on any level, it’s refreshing to see a band doing so with such brazen abandon.

You can check out the video below, followed by some comment from the band. Acolyte is out now on Battleground Records.

Enjoy:

Methra, “Dead Ram” official video

METRHA informs viewers, “Upon completion of our ‘Hartley’s Cult’ music video, we realized the story was not complete. We asked ourselves, ‘WWGLD’ (what would George Lucas do)? The answer was simple; a prequel, with even better(worse) effects. Who was the Acolyte? What drives Him?”

METHRA’s new lo-fi visual production is the unsettling tale of one man’s descent into madness, and rebirth into The Acolyte. In the “Dead Ram” video, a crazed drifter can somehow hear METHRA practice on the other side of town….and he hates it. He’ll take an absurd trek through Tucson’s lesser known architectural wonders on a deadly mission to silence the grating sounds of disgusting music inside his head. This prequel to the “Hartley’s Cult” will horrify you. All stunts were performed with actual landmarks and operational firearms. You have been warned.

Methra on Thee Facebooks

Methra on Bandcamp

Battleground Records website

Battleground Records on Thee Facebooks

[Methra release Acolyte July 4 via Battleground Records. Click play above to stream the album in full.]

For all the fuckall Methra proffer in the 10 songs on their Acolyte debut full-length, it’s not like they haven’t put in any thought to their presentation. The Tucson-based duo of guitarist Nick Genitals and drummer Andy Kratzenberg (the latter also of Godhunter) reportedly recorded an overwhelming, and in my limited understanding of modern recording methods completely unnecessary, 69 guitar tracks, likely just so they could say they did it, and from their Peavey-style logo and art and the self-aware, tongue-in-cheek nature of many of the songs, from the falsetto chanting at the end of “Hartley’s Cult” — another Peavey reference — to the way opening duo “Silverbar” and “If Everything is Terrible, then Nothing Is” take on Electric Wizard, “Creeper” Pentagram and “Pike Warship” High on Fire, the Battleground Records release ends up as much about personality and quirk as its sonic impact, though that’s not to be understated either.

What they do best of all, however, is change up their approach. The longest of the tracks, the aforementioned “Hartley’s Cult,” is just over five minutes long and most others are two-to-three, so the record’s done in a half-hour, but during that time, the two-piece run through a gamut of different sounds and feel no reservation about blending elements of doom, stoner metal or grind riffing and vocals, as on the penultimate “Heshlaw” or “Pike Warship” or “S.P.S.,” which may or may not be a sequel to the similarly-named “S.B.S.” from Methra‘s 2014 EP, IV – Ronkonkoma (review here). Their doing so seemingly by whim’s dictate gives Acolyte a punkish spirit, but its tones are thick and while it moves periodically, the focus throughout is more about exploring these different styles and expressing appreciation for varied forms.

Or, more likely, the focus is having a good time. That’s the prevailing impression Acolyte leaves as the drum-led shuffle of closer “Organ Trail” — based on visual assessment of Nick and Andy‘s ages, I’m going to guess that’s a reference to the PC game Oregon Trail — boogies quietly into its fadeout. That doesn’t say much about the music, but the work as a whole is a demented, at times extreme kind of fun, and for all its jumps in sound, swapping out clean vocals for harsh ones and so on, there is a flow to it that starts with the roll of “Silverbar,” the band doing their best Jus Osborn and pulling it off en route to following up with a Vincent Price nod in “If Everything is Terrible, then Nothing Is,” which riffs through two verses and a chugging instrumental chorus and then rides that groove through a long fade into the more manic “Hartley’s Cult.”

Hard to say any one track on Acolyte sums up what Methra are doing across the whole album, because that changes almost song by song, but the slow start of “Hartley’s Cult,” the way it incorporates out-of-nowhere blown-out screams and growls before its cleaner chorus, the pickup in pace toward the end and the already-noted chanting at the finish go a pretty long way in conveying both the attitude and the versatility Methra are working with across the album’s span. So of course the next track, the 1:45 “Creeper,” is a complete left turn, delving into parody Pentagram-style doom rock that’s sincere in its reverence as much as satire of the current cult rock movement that band has in large part inspired. It’s also catchy, with a satisfying rhythmic bounce and horror-minded feel.

One might expect “Dead Ram” to follow suit à la the stylistic complement between “Silverbar” and “If Everything is Terrible, then Nothing Is,” but no dice. Rather, “Dead Ram” starts off a four-track run of growling sludge rock, finding out what happens when the likes of Repulsion or Napalm Death is thrown into the pot with some of the previously noted doom. A clean chorus emerges late in “Dead Ram,” but the bulk of the song is grunted forth, and “Pike Warship” follows suit after its opening scream, “Bow to Pike!” Of course, the riff is in the style of Matt Pike‘s work in High on Fire, but with the low growl vocals, the vibe is more grinding than High on Fire ever have been and pushes through to “S.P.S.,” which splits itself into two parts with a first half that mostly holds the form of “Pike Warship” and “Dead Ram” and a second more spacious, sort of raw, moldy basement psychedelia, like if you had a swirl but all the colors were shades of brown. The riff is what holds the two pieces together, and I guess you could probably say the same for much of Acolyte.

A sample about buying machetes ends “S.P.S.” and then it’s time for Methra to lay down the “Heshlaw,” a song for which the lyrics — I’m sure unfortunately — are just about indecipherable as they’re growled out over a steady roll that serves in some ways as a closer before “Organ Trail,” rounding out the album’s most extreme portion with a solidified approach. I don’t know if it’s keys or guitar on “Organ Trail,” but the volume and impact of tone is way pulled back and the drums march Acolyte to its finish with one more context-expanding stretch that seems to come from nowhere but somehow still work. What Methra basically accomplish on their first LP is to set themselves up to go anywhere they want stylistically. The previous EP had some of these elements at play, but the will that Andy and Nick show in swapping one approach out for another and the humor with which they execute those turns only highlights the consciousness of what they’re doing. I’d expect, and hope, they only get weirder from here.

Methra on Thee Facebooks

Methra on Bandcamp

Battleground Records website

Battleground Records on Thee Facebooks

I’m just going by what I see in the photo and read in the PR wire info below, but it seems fair enough to expect Methra‘s forthcoming Acolyte long-player to sound somewhat… bigger… than their preceding EP, IV: Ronkonkoma (review here), which the Tucson-based duo released in 2014. The new full-length, which is also their debut on Battleground Records, is out July 4, and based around an apparent affection for Peavey amps and a concept of secret murder conspiracies and upwards of 69 guitar tracks, sounds like it’s going to be weird as hell, which I kind of dig. I wouldn’t dare speculate as to how it might actually come across without hearing it, but “big” seems like a safe enough bet. So I’ll roll with that.

The aforementioned photo and announcement from the PR wire:

METHRA: Battleground Records Confirms Impending Acolyte Debut LP From Tucson Sludge Degenerates

Tucson, Arizona-based marauders METHRA have completed their arduous Acolyte LP for Summer release through Battleground Records, the record sure to prove itself as one of the most bafflingly gnarly sludge metal releases of the year.

METHRA is comprised two self-proclaimed fat weirdos who believe in making heavy music for heavy people, drummer Andy Kratzenberg (Godhunter) and guitarist Nick Genitals (Limbless Torso) recorded the bulldozing Acolyte in late 2015 at Arcane Digital (North Side Kings, Unruh, Landmine Marathon) with Ryan Butler who complained of physical and mental anguish due the bands’ unorthodox recording demands. The band used only incredibly large speakers to record a behemoth load of sixty-nine guitar tracks – for a total of ten songs that is — including 15″ and 18″ speakers, and a 21″subwoofer.

The rough concept of Acolyte is based on persistent online rumors that a cabal of top amplifier manufacturers had Hartley Peavey killed and replaced with a doppelganger in the late 80s to stop the company from collapsing the industry due to low price points on the highest quality original amplifiers in the world.

In deference to the great glory of this nation and the announcement of a sequel to the game-changing blockbuster film Independence Day, METHRA has decided to give a very special 4th of July release to Acolyte, which will happen through the regulation of Battleground Records on colored vinyl and digital deliveries. Album art, audio samples including two videos, preorders, live dates, and other propaganda will be issued in the coming days.

http://www.facebook.com/methratucson
http://methra.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/battlegroundrecords
http://www.battlegroundrnr.com
http://www.twitter.com/battlegroundrnr
http://battlegroundrecords.bandcamp.com

Methra, IV: Ronkonkoma (2014)

Sharing a base of operations with the Southwest Terror Fest in Tucson, Arizona, the upcoming Borderland Fuzz Fiesta will make its initial showing in 2015 an impressive round of acts including Fireball Ministry — as seen on Motörhead‘s Motörboat above, with none other than Scott Reeder on bass — Wo Fat, Mos Generator, Powered Wig Machine and plenty of others, plus a light show from the venerable Mad Alchemy to add visual psychedelia to what’s sure to be a well-distorted evening Feb. 21 at The Rock. Not a bad way to start out, if you’re starting out.

Put together by Wayne and Joseph Rudell of Powered Wig Machine, the whole deal was announced via the PR wire as follows:

BORDERLAND FUZZ FIESTA: Tucson, Arizona’s First Annual Riff Party Reveals 2015 Lineup Including FIREBALL MINISTRY, WO FAT, MOS GENERATOR & More

The desert city of Tucson, AZ is host to a wide array of annual events in the musical realm and this coming February will see the addition of a still another: The Borderland Fuzz Fiesta. Conceived and curated by the Rudell brothers of regional desert rockers Powered Wig Machine and Fuzz Evil, the inaugural show will take place on February 21st at The Rock.

Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2015 Official Lineup:

Fireball Ministry
Wo Fat
Mos Generator
Powered Wig Machine
Goatroper
Skulldron
Asimov
Yeti Ender
Conqueror Worm
Methra

When: February 21, 2015
Where: The Rock, 136 North Park Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719

“My brother and I have always wanted to put together a stoner rock themed fest and we’re definitely excited about this first year’s lineup,” comments an enthusiastic Wayne Rudell. The bill for the event certainly serves up ample helpings of the stoner genre with its fine mix of bands from the Southwest region and beyond, including Fireball Ministry, Wo Fat, Mos Generator, Powered Wig Machine, Skulldron, Asimov, Goatroper, Yeti Ender, Conquerer Worm, Methra and the Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show.

While the lineup is definitely under the wider umbrella of the stoner rock genre, there is a great diversity of sounds among the bands, from sprinklings of the psychedelic to slabs of doom and scorching thrash riffs, or pretty much something for every pair of ears inclined towards heavy music. Mr. Rudell certainly believes so: “We really feel that fans of this music would appreciate this event and will hopefully get behind it in the time to come, we’re going to be striving to make the Borderland Fuzz Fiesta bigger and better every year.”

Tickets for Borderland Fuzz Fiesta are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and are available now RIGHT HERE.

Sponsored by Eminence Speakers, Lace Pickups, Hovercraft Amplifiers, Greeson Custom Guitars, Tucson Maidens of Metal, Electric Beard of Doom, Radio, Sludged.com, and Wildcat Screen Repair.

Links:
facebook.com/borderlandfuzzfiesta
rocktucson.com
therocktucson.ticketleap.com/borderland-fuzz-fiesta-2015

Fireball Ministry, “Butcher, Faker, Policy Maker” official video

As the title hints, IV: Ronkonkoma is the fourth short release from Tucson, Arizona, duo Methra. After bustling their lineup over the course of the last few years and putting out material on 7″ and 10″, a split with Godhunter, and digital, they’ve arrived at the duo of guitarist/vocalist Nick Genitals and drummer Andy Kratzenburg and the latest five-track outing, which clocks in at just over 21 minutes, finds them exploring the line between deathly sludge and more traditionally riffed doom, Nick switching his vocals between low-register guttural growling, raw-throated screams and Sabbathian cleaner singing following opener “Breatharian (Supreme Master Ascending),” which unfolds the start of side one with a thickened lumber stood out all the more by the use of a sample talking about breatharianism, which has its roots in Hindu philosophy but is essentially the practice of staring at the sun for nourishment.

The subsequent “Blessings” showcases more of the variety in Nick‘s vocals, with a chorus that’s made almost sneaky in how catchy it is by the viscous tones surrounding. Particularly for a duo, the sound throughout IV: Ronkonkoma is full and demented more in the manner of Midwestern sludge — think Fistula and the many deeply troubled branches on their family tree, though I acknowledge the “meth” part of the duo’s moniker might be a factor there — than Methra‘s more metallized Tucson countrymen and drummer-sharers Godhunter, but particularly on tape a sense of rawness is maintained in “Honest Men” and perhaps most of all on side one finisher “Slumscraper,” which builds to a punkish noisy fuckall sudden stop leading to another sample, this one talking about slicing heads off with a cutlass. It’s a long way from charmingly dopey New Age spiritualism, but by then, Methra have indeed made it a journey.

Most curious about the tape is that “SBS” occupies side two all by itself. Listening first to the digital version, I wondered if maybe the one on the tape was extended somehow, if Nick and Kratzenburg just rode that chugging riff for 20 minutes to even it up, or if there was a long sample to make up for that time, or something to draw side two out to match side one, but nope, the cassette of IV: Ronkonkoma is the same as the mp3, and though “SBS” fakes its ending on both before crashing back in for a few more measures, the tape has a long silence following. If it was Methra‘s intent to single the song out — it’s not like you actually have to sit there and listen to all that nothing, what with this modern age of fast-forwarding and whatnot — they did it, and “SBS,” with its anti-having-a-job lyrics and air-pushing groove, earns its place well with a modus consistent with “Blessings” and “Honest Men,” only pushed further with a longer runtime and a sense of build added to by Kratzenburg‘s frantic snare work and Nick‘s vocal tradeoffs.

If the way they want to go is to keep belting out shorter offerings, then IV: Ronkonkoma seems to set them up well. Methra weren’t far off from putting the pieces together on 2012’s self-titled digital release, but the latest installment builds on that in a way that makes them sound even more solidified, and if Nick and Kratzenburg choose to continue as a duo, they’ve given themselves ground on which to progress while also establishing a style that smoothly bridges subgenre gaps and comes across as inherently their own. The edges are rough, but that’s the idea. Don’t be fooled. Methra know what they’re doing. And if they want to take on the task of a debut full-length, they’re ready for that too.

Methra, IV: Ronkonkoma EP (2014)

Methra on Thee Facebooks

Methra on Bandcamp

Acid Reflux Records

If you’re gonna book your flight to get to Tucson for the Southwest Terror Fest, you might want to get on it. There are only a few hours left till the four-dayer kicks off and time’s a wastin’! There’s a good chance this’ll be the only all-ages show some of these bands play this year,  so for the kids, all the better, but even for an aged cave ogre such as myself, an assemblage that culls toghether Kylesa, Ancestors (one day I will bring them East for a show and it will be glorious; mark my words), SubRosa and Red Fang is worthy of note. In just their second year out, the Southwest Terror Fest crew have not only outdone what they were able to make happen last year, but set the bar pretty high for 2014. Would be nice to make the trip to the desert one of these days…

Until then, I live vicariously through the PR wire:

SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST – Year Of The Snake; Four Days Of Mayhem Takes Over Tucson Tonight

SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snake, the second annual installment of the Tucson-based extreme underground music gathering featuring over sixty bands in four days, begins tonight.

A fully DIY undertaking, envisioned and organized by Tucson-based sludgecore instigators GODHUNTER, the SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST is a low-cost event for all ages and brings a one-of-a-kind festival to the Southwestern sector of America. Following the dominant 2012 debut of SWTF, this year’s installment of the now annual outing has more than doubled in duration and has expanded to include a more sizable roster of national acts and dozens more crushing newcomers.

Beginning tonight, October 10th, and running through Sunday the 13th at The Rock, the SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snake lineup features Sacred Reich Vehemence, Kylesa, Red Fang, Demon Lung, Ancestors, Subrosa, Landmine Marathon, Early Graves, Theories, Transient, Pinkish Black, Helms Alee, Dog Shredder, Children Of God, ACxDC and literally dozens of other acts hailing from across the vast extreme music subgenre spectrum.

SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snakeis sponsored by Earsplit PR, Moon Smoke Shops, Lace Pickups, Cvlt Nation, Zombie Effects Lab, Ear/Splitters, Axe Of Contrition, Acid Reflux Records, Violent Resonance.com, Lindy’s on 4th, Black Rose Tattoo and Sticks N’ Strings Music Center

Any metalhead with an internet connection can stay current with the fest action via Cvlt Nation who will be running day-to-day coverage throughout the entire ordeal.

SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snake
10/10-13/2013 The Rock – Tucson, AZ

Thursday, October 10th: Kylesa, Pinkish Black, Sierra, Ancestors, Demon Lung, Godhunter, Anakim, Vanish Twin, Goatroper

Friday, October 11th: Sacred Reich, Landmine Marathon, Vehemence, Transient, Magguts, Cave Dweller, Angelic To Ashes, Necrambulant, Sovereign, Our Daily Trespasses, Lethal Dosage, Casket Birth, Kvasura, Evasion, Eight Legged Horse, Napalm Strike

Saturday, October 12th: Red Fang, Helms Alee, Dog Shredder, Subrosa, Deathkings, Crankbait, Aseethe, Thorncaster, North, Sorxe, Goya, Ladybird, Oryx, Skulldron, Bhorelord, Acidalia, Funerary, Methra, Conqueror Worm, Destroy Her

Sunday, October 13th: Early Graves, Children Of God, Theories, ACxDC, Lost Lands, GAT ROT, Territory, Inoculara, Magnum Force, Sex Prisoner, Seas Will Rise, Sorrower, American Standards, Biocidio, Berith, Freedom Assault, Swamp Wolf, Wookiee Rage, Get A Grip, SLUG

http://southwestterrorfest.bigcartel.com
https://www.facebook.com/southwestterrorfest

Godhunter, Wolves (2011)