We’re just 10 days out from the fist-ever Bayou Doom Fest, set to take place May 11 in Houston, Texas, with a killer lineup of native and regional acts who run a gamut of heaviness from the thrashing Warbeast all the way to the heavy rock of Orthodox Fuzz with no shortage of doom in between. I know Las Cruces have been working on new material — they’ll also play Doom in June 3 in a couple weeks — so maybe they’ll have something on tap for the setlist, and with Wo Fat just back from Europe and Mothership just off the road with Gypsyhawk, you know these guys are going to deliver an awesome night.

Details came down the PR wire:

Warbeast and Venomous Maximus to Headline Inaugural Bayou Doom Fest

Presented by the Houston Doom Brigade, the inaugural Bayou Doom Fest, to be held at Fitzgerald’s in Houston, TX on May 11, 2013, will be headlined by DFW thrash-masters Warbeast and Houston’s occult metal kings, Venomous Maximus.  The show marks the first time that Warbeast and Venomous Maximus have shared the stage since a run of shows in January supporting the legendary Down.  The show will also be Warbeast’s first since returning from a successful tour supporting GWAR and Venomous Maximus’ first hometown appearance since signing to Napalm Records.  Making the festival even more special is the fact that it will be a free event for those 21 and up ($10 under 21).

Joining Warbeast and Venomous Maximus on the bill are psychedelic fuzz rockers Wo Fat (fresh off appearances at Roadburn and Desertfest), Maligno (Mexico), Sanctus Bellum (Houston), Mothership (DFW), Las Cruces (San Antonio), Project Armageddon (Houston), Orthodox Fuzz (DFW), and Serpent Sun (Houston).

Houston Doom Brigade Presents:  Bayou Doom Fest I
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Fitzgerald’s
2706 White Oak, Houston, TX
Doors, 5:00 – Show 5:15
Free for 21+ (under 21: $10)

Warbeast (Housecore Records)
Venomous Maximus (Napalm Records)
Wo Fat (Small Stone Records)
Mothership (Ripple Music)
Las Cruces (Brainticket Records)
Maligno
Sanctus Bellum
Project Armageddon
Orthodox Fuzz
Serpent Sun

Las Cruces, “Cocaine Wizard Woman”

Straightforward, heavy and almost making a billboard of their Texan-ness, the trio Mothership gleefully meld AC/DC stomp with ZZ Top boogie on their self-titled debut. Brothers Kyle (bass/vocals) and Kelley (guitar/vocals) Juett beat out a boozy but melodic rock classicism, taking a familiar approach in a familiar format and updating it with a crisp, engaging mark of their own, and following its initial release (short review here), Ripple Music stepped up to give Mothership‘s Mothership its due in the form of a full release. As Mothership — the lineup completed by drummer Judge Smith – are currently embroiled in a tour with Gypsyhawk (dates in the flyer below), I thought I’d take an opportunity to give the record another look for anyone who may not have had the chance to catch it the first time out.

At eight tracks and 45 minutes, Mothership give their material plenty of time to flesh out. What are essentially classically-structured heavy rock tunes, that more than half of them should reach over five minutes long can come across as somewhat surprising, but I wouldn’t call Mothership‘s time misspent. Kelley‘s shredding solos are bluesy and rife with the kind of unscripted energy of someone who’s honed a natural talent, and when both brothers come together around a central riff with Smith behind, as on the side A closer “Angel of Death” — even the Ripple CD is broken into sides, as was the initial self-release — the groove is undeniable. They’re prone to swagger, but no more than is appropriate or called for by the songs, and with touches of classic metal and a crisp production by Wo Fat guitarist/vocalist Kent Stump, who also makes a guest appearance in the former capacity on the eight-minute finale “Lunar Master,” Mothership was basically an album waiting to be picked up.

In my original review, I said that the album grew redundant after a while. I remember listening to it for the first time, in the car en route to Michigan ahead of hitting up the Days of the Doomed II fest last year, and thinking that the formula got stale as side B started to wind down. Revisiting the Ripple Music version now, I don’t necessarily disagree (lot of good it would do), though I think the issue might actually stem more from the initial impression made by opening instrumental “Hallucination,” which does little to pave the way for the intensity to come even with the relatively staid (again, relative to some of the shenanigans that ensue) beginning of second track “Cosmic Rain,” and which, by the time it picks up its tempo, has spent three of its five minutes undercutting a momentum and sense of immediacy Mothership do so well otherwise to present.

And if that seems like nitpicking, yeah, it probably is. Take the minute nature of that critique as a sign of how otherwise solid Mothership‘s Mothership is, both in terms of the tightness of the performances of the Juetts and Smith and in the trio’s ready-to-roll grip on their aesthetic — all the more impressive when you consider this is their debut album. There remains room to grow in their sound, in terms of vocal arrangements and the overall dynamics there, but doubtless Mothership are undertaking the work of that growth on stage every night on their current tour — even if they are getting loaded in the process — and they’ll hopefully emerge even more of a force than they were when they hit the studio with Stump to put these songs to tape. It’s an easy bunch of songs to get excited about, and the potential Mothership show here is outshined only their obvious love of what they’re doing.

In the interview posted last summer with the band, the Juett brothers credited their father (who also plays drums on some of these songs) for instilling them with a love of classic heavy rock. That love is all over the self-titledMothership, and if they’re looking for something to build on for their next time out, that’s a better starting point than most.

Mothership, “City Nights” Official Video

Mothership on Thee Facebooks

Ripple Music

One listen to the driving classic American bikerisms of Mothership‘s self-titled debut (review here) and it was pretty obvious it wouldn’t be long before someone picked them up. So kudos to the band (interviewed here) and to Ripple Music for joining forces. The label — already home to powerhouses like Grifter, Mos Generator and Mighty High — will unleash a reissue of the first Mothership on vinyl next year before handling the follow-up, presumably shortly thereafter.

Badass news all around. Congrats to the band and the label. Here are the details:

MOTHERSHIP Signs World-wide Record Deal With Ripple Music

You could feel it coming. The excitement was palpable as Mothership took the stage on Day 1 of the first annual Metroplex Heavyfest in Dallas. Hometown boys and hometown crowd and the atmosphere was electric!

To say Mothership decimated the audience that night would be an understatement. Between Kyle Juett’s “Lemmy-biker toughness” on bass and vocals, younger brother, Kelley Juett’s “Rory Gallagher meets Brian Robertson” guitar magic, and Judge Smith’s propulsive drums, the audience’s fists never stopped pumping and the head’s never stopped bobbing. An encore call of “Ace of Spades” with legendary Dave Sherman (Earthride/Spirit Caravan) on vocals was all it took to shoot the collective audience over the top.

Dallas had found their new local legends.

Ripple Music is chuffed to announce the signing of 70′s-tinged U.S. hard rock band, Mothership, for a two album deal that will start with the world-wide release of the band’s self-titled debut. Expect to see this raging slab of incendiary hard rock on CD, digital, and never-before released vinyl early in 2013 on Ripple Music.

Mothership was formed in 2010 by hard-rock loving brothers, Kyle and Kelley Juett, infused by a love of all that is retro-heavy from years of influence under their father John’s record collection. Originally bereft of a drummer, father John learned how to play and filled in for practice and gigs until permanent skin pounder Judge Smith took over the drummer’s throne. Since then, there’s been no looking back. Already one of Texas’s hottest live bands, word of the Mothership’s rock and roll prowess has leaked far across the country and is already gathering steam in Europe. With a sound that satisfies like a steaming hot stew of UFO and Iron Maiden, blended with the southern swagger of Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top, Mothership’s goal from the beginning has been to carry on the tradition of the classic rock style of the ’70′s, updated and amped up for the modern day. That hard-rocking sound is filled out by the true legend-in-the-making axeman, Kelley Juett, who seamlessly builds upon guitar heroes of the past with his own fiery licks.

Having already shared the stage with such revered bands as Prong, Red Fang, Lo-Pan, Dixie Witch, Venomous Maximus, and Wo Fat, their 2012 self-released debut was brought to the attention of Ripple Music who instantly knew this was a band to reckon with. One ingestion of their combustible live show at the Metroplex Heavyfest convinced Ripple that a partnership was inevitable After a family dinner of Italian cuisine, beer and whiskey, both Label and band knew they’d found kindred brothers.

Ripple will re-release Mothership’s debut album on CD and 12” vinyl, including an extremely limited run of 100 multi-colored, splattered 12” with autographed posters. The album also features the production, mastering, and guest guitar contributions of Kent Stump from Texas heavy rock heroes, Wo Fat.

Texas is famous for its hard rock. Mothership is the next step in that legendary lineage. Get ready to jump aboard the Mothership for an overdose of vintage hard rock!

Comprised of brothers Kelley Juett (guitar/vocals) and Kyle Juett (bass/vocals) along with drummer Judge Smith, the Dallas, Texas, trio Mothership self-released their self-titled debut back in June. The album (review here) was recorded by Wo Fat‘s Kent Stump and puts Orange-amped fuzz to work in classic heavy homage, ballsing up the tone of Grand Funk boogie and winding it around scorching Sabbathian riffage.

It’s a formula for success in heavy rock, and while they may not be the first to employ it, I dug Mothership‘s Mothership enough that I wanted to find out more about how the band came to be and where the brothers Juett got their love of rock and roll from. I had a sneaking suspicion it was their father — not an unreasonable assumption when you’ve got two brothers so clearly on the same page influence-wise in a band together — but it was great to get that confirmed from the Juetts themselves.

And in that, this is a little more than the usual six dumb questions, since after the answers came back from Kyle, I asked if he’d get a couple quotes from their dad as well. You’ll find John “Big J” Juett‘s quotes after the Q&A, which is below. Please enjoy.

1. Tell me about getting the band together. What was the timeline on bringing Judge Smith in on drums, and when were the songs for the self-titled written?

We (Kelley and Kyle) started Mothership back in 2010 after the breakup of our previous band. We literally took all of our shit from our old practice spot, drove to our dad’s house and began writing what became Mothership tunes that very same day. A blessing in disguise, if you ask me. We wrote for a few months together before asking our dad to start playing with us. We were tired of sitting around, not playing shows and more importantly looking for a drummer. Since our dad kicks some serious ass on the skins we figured what the hell let’s do it. We had a great time playing biker bars doing four-hour sets covering classic rock and blues songs (tons of B-side shit that really lit up the party), as well as playing original shows all over the state of Texas. We did a one-week tour with Gypsyhawk with our dad on drums – that’s pretty bitchin’ this day in time to have your dad out there jamming with you on the road.

I (Kyle) met Judge around the same time Mothership started in 2010 I would say, maybe a little earlier or later can’t really remember much that far back lol. We met in a bar in Lewisville, TX, shared a common interest in music. We got along, had some of the same friends, took shots, drank beers, had a damn good time every time we hung out. I always watched Judge play drums at this bar with multiple bands some original and some playing covers. He kicked ass every time I saw him play and I could really get a sense that he was hungry for something new.

The dude has an incredible amount of drive and dedication and that really stood out to me. We started heavily talking about Mothership I would say around October of last year during the baseball playoffs. We would go get drunk as piss yelling at TVs and talking about writing records, touring the world, etc., etc. I had some good talks with Kelley and even my dad about bringing Judge on board and they were both very excited to see where the next step would take us. Judge came out to many shows in the previous months leading up to his arrival in the band always very vocal about giving him a chance to show us what he’s got.

Judge joined the band in December 2011 I think our first show with him was January 2012 and we recorded the debut album a month later. We hit the ground kicking ass when Judge joined the band with very little downtime during the transition of drummers, we wrote a couple of songs on the record the first day we ever practiced with him.

As for the songs on the record, four of them were written with our dad on drums (“City Nights,” “Angel of Death,” “Eagle Soars,” and “Win or Lose”) and the other four songs (“Hallucination,” “Cosmic Rain,” “Elenin,” and “Lunar Master”) were written with Judge. “Lunar Master,” the last track on the album, was written in the studio with help from everyone on board including help from Kent Stump, who recorded the album. He came up with some killer vocal arrangement ideas. That was an awesome experience to only have music written for a song and watch it come to life in the studio in that moment, watching all the band members and engineer come together to help write lyrics and vocal melodies was a unifying experience.

2. Where does the family love of classic rock come from?

Our Dad, John “Big J” Juett, without a doubt. The man has boxes upon boxes of vinyl, shit that makes your jaw drop and shit that you have never heard of before but will damn sure make you an instant fan after one pass through. He has a wide variety of different types of music… Blues, classic rock, hard rock, metal, Southern rock you name it he’s either got it or had it.

Most all of the bands we know today come from knowledge that was passed down from him. There are a ton of newer bands coming out so it’s fun to show him new shit and kinda go back and forth. There really is a lot of good music coming out these days from all over there world. Mothership was started on the sole purpose of bringing back rock ‘n’ roll, and with the knowledge passed down from our pops we have come to understand a good amount of the history of where rock n roll began and the direction that it can go from here.

“The gleam of the Mothership in the distant galaxy promised a future to music and mankind alike. Without the intergalactic journey, the legacy of rock music dies.”

3. How was your time in the studio with Kent from Wo Fat? How long did it take to record the album and what was the atmosphere in the studio like?

Kent Stump is not only a talented musician and engineer but one of the nicest and easiest people to work with. An all around awesome dude with great visions, ideas, and really knows how to capture the sound that encompasses who you are as a band. We sent out about seven or eight emails to local producers in the area to see if anyone would show the slightest bit of interest in working with us. The email basically laid it all on the line and we got back a lot of one word responses. Kent however wrote back a two or three page email breaking down why he would be the best candidate, an entire gear list, his credentials, and more importantly why he wanted to take on this project.

We had played with Wo Fat two or three times before recording the album so Kent really had a solid idea of who were as a band, our tones, our energy, and overall direction of the album just from seeing us play live. He had everything mic’d and set up in record time on our first day of recording, the energy and vibes were laid back and very relaxed. Tons of laughing, drinking cold beer, and listening back to the tracks really loud in the playback room. He always gave great feedback and input on certain parts where he knew we needed a little direction. He even laid down a killer solo at the end of the album, just an all around awesome experience!

We practiced for multiple days in a row before entering the studio to capture that “on the road” live sound that we really got on this record. This record is us setting up our gear and playing live with each other in one room. No click tracks, no isolated individual tracks. We had very, very limited time to record this album and we knew we didn’t have a lot of time to fuck around. We recorded all the music in one weekend eight-hour days on a Friday and Saturday, and came back the following weekend to finish up vocals and mix the album. The album is alive and breathes from start to finish, a true journey of where we were that moment in time when you listen to it. We recorded all the music for each of the songs on one take except for “City Nights,” all the solos were recorded live as well.

For a debut record, we think people really get the idea of what we are trying to do and the direction we are headed in. That’s the point of a debut album: “Hey you don’t know who we are, but here is our first album and this is what we’re about. Turn that shit up and climb aboard.”

4. How was the Metroplex Heavy Fest for you guys? It looked like a great weekend. How was your set and what were some of the other highlights for you?

What an awesome weekend indeed, why can’t all weekends be like that? Where to begin… Two nights with 14 bands from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area playing heavy rock ‘n’ roll and loving what they do. So much fun to watch each band perform and show the crowd their brand of heavy rock. We got to see a few bands we had been hearing about but never seen play live, so that was really cool. We met a lot of awesome people that weekend including Pope John The Enforcer and Todd “Racer” from Ripple Music. They are two down-to-earth, dedicated men with out of this world visions that truly love what they do. Really looking forward to running into them again in the future. Jay Brockington put the whole damn thing together, many cheers to him for all the hard work and dedication that went into this thing going off without a hitch.

The crowd during our set was explosive, we were really channeling some awesome vibes coming in our direction. Those types of shows are always the most fun to play, you give us the energy we will bottle that shit up and blast it right back at you. Five or 5,000 people, we play the same show every night, but having a roaring crowd surrounding the stage is hands down one of the best feelings in the world. We brought Dave Sherman up to sing “Ace of Spades” with us on the last song of our set. We really didn’t know how it was gonna go over, we never practiced with Dave let alone met the dude and damn he nailed it! What an awesome way to end the set on a very special night.

The entire set was recorded, the entire fest was recorded so we look forward to taking a listen when it becomes available. Feels really great to have had the honor to share the stage with such kickass musicians in this area and to be a part of such a righteous festival event. Here’s to hoping there will be a round two next year!

5. What exactly does a music video party entail? You’re filming a video August 17, but you’re not the only band on the bill. Is the plan just to rage for a few hours, film it, and let the editor sort it out afterwards? What song will the video be for?

The plan for the music video came out of nowhere, really. One day we just decided, hey, let’s do a video. The album has been out a few months and so we figured why they hell not. This video is going to showcase who we really are and what we are all about in our hometown. We are doing a very basic video with only a few cameras showcasing our live show and our loyal fans right here in the heart of Dallas, TX, at one of the most legendary venues in this area, The Curtain Club. The perfect storm of a night to bust out the cameras and hit record.

We are gonna shoot as much video footage as possible and then have fun editing the footage and placing the audio track over it. The video will be for “City Nights,” the third track on our album, a party song geared towards bands living life on the road and a little of the lifestyle we all three lead in our daily lives here. Hopefully people will really get an honest taste of not only where we come from with this video, but hopefully get a sense of the resurgence of rock ‘n’ roll in this area that has been dormant for far too long.

6. What’s next for the band after the new video? Have you started writing yet for the follow-up to the self-titled, and do you have any idea yet what the next batch of material might sound like?

We are currently working on a good amount of new material for what may or may not be on the next album. We have really raised our level of playing in the past couple of months and have found a great sense of who we are and the sound that has become Mothership. We have an awesome unspoken fourth member of the band, Chris “Ohm” Galt, who is our sound man/engineer. He is currently coming out to all of our practices and recording all of our jams and ideas for new material. He’s our brother and we are very thankful to have him on board with us along this journey.

We take the CDs he makes after every practice home with us and really listen to what we like and don’t like and go from there. Being able to jam at practice and not force riffs down people’s throats in the band really eases the mood at practice and makes writing new material a lot of fun. We all have been in those bands where you have members say “play this, don’t play that,” learn how to jam and others will follow your lead when you have a good riff in mind. I’d say we have a very good mix currently of some heavy groove songs and some psychedelic/blues take you on a journey-type songs which is right in line with what we all love most. That happy balance of heaviness and soul mixed with a little dash of some Texas rock n roll.

John “Big J” Juett on playing drums with Mothership: This has been a very fulfilling experience for me. What started out as a way to spend time with my sons doing what we all enjoy—making or listening to music—turned out to be something much better that I had imagined. It is rare for parents to be able to actually participate in activities that your adult children participate in. I think it speaks to our family relationship, the mutual respect we have for the roles in each other’s life, the similar influences we have share, and the passion for music. For me, it is a late-life endeavor, a second chance to really prepare for something physically demanding, and be able execute live. I constantly play to their tracks, as well as thousands of others on my iPod, just to keep my chops up on a chance that we can find the time to jam, or even play live again in a different light. They are just so good, it’s a challenge to keep bringing it at their level. Once Judge came on board, we all agreed we would still try to find the time to family-jam and experiment with old classics live, just as we have done for last two years. But, the demand for their shows and the phenomenal writing they are doing just takes up all of their time. I’m in a more traditional parental role now of supporter, drum/road tech…and interim financier… ha ha.

John “Big J” Juett on his influences: I remember vividly the beginning of my love of music. I had many 45 singles from the psychedelic ‘60s as a kid. But in the late ‘60s, Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida came out, and closely thereafter, I bought Creedence’s Born on the Bayou, and Grand Funk Railroad’s Live album. I was lost in music from that point on. That was a whole different level, dude. Throughout the decades I have continued to follow major trends in music. As the original Mothership jam sessions began, my grooves from those early periods came through in my play, and I believe helped influence the sounds you hear today in the first Mothership tunes like “City Nights,” “Eagle Soars,” and “Win or Lose.” For a while in 2010 before band really formed, Kelley was living at home for a brief period, and every day after work, he and I honed our chops together, working up our takes on great classic tunes from Johnny Winter, Alvin Lee & Ten Years After, Steppenwolf, Freddie King, Skynard, Jimi Hendrix, Pat Travers, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Sabbath, Ted Nugent, etc. Those bands that were my early influences. Mothership now have about 25 tunes roughed out that my sons and I have performed regularly on extended sets, beyond the original material. Judge knows several more too. The music I love is the music they love… I really dig heavier music, Pantera, Hellyeah, Metallica too, but I’m gonna have to let Judge bring the Vinnie f’n Paul fury on those, haha… I’m just proud we have something in common to share with my sons and Judge, and to look forward to enjoying as we all grow older. Music is our common denominator! These are three very talented, dedicated guys, and great, great, respectful and considerate gentlemen, a character trait which my wife and I are also extremely proud of!

Mothership on Thee Facebooks

Mothership’s Bandcamp page

About six weeks ago, I had a major change in my work situation, and what was a part-time job that took up very little of my day-to-day became a much bigger factor in terms of how I spend my time. I’ve mentioned it here in bitching posts mostly on Fridays, but it’s been a big shift that’s meant a lot of late nights working and still trying to keep up with The Obelisk and still see The Patient Mrs. every now and again.

I tell you this because in an effort to catch up with the humongous backlog of reviews I have, I’ve decided to tackle 10 at once. Whether or not this is the most responsible use of my limited time, I don’t know, but it’s something I’m trying and hoping it works out. It’s going to be a challenge (how many different ways are there to say “heavy?”), but these are records that I don’t really have the time I thought I did to dedicate when I said I’d review them, and that were sent to me in physical form. If they were digital, I’d probably just let them go and say screw it.

And I know this isn’t going to be the deepest analysis I’ve ever done, but hopefully it’ll be enough to convey what’s going on with each release. Thanks to the bands for submitting their hard work, and as ever, to you for reading. Deep breath and dive in:

Demon Lung, Pareidolia

For being named after an Electric Wizard song, Las Vegas foursome Demon Lung aren’t nearly as weedian as one might expect. Rather, the band (who formed last year) keep to a pretty traditional-type doom style on the four tracks of their self-released debut EP. The guitars are high in the mix, but they’ve more or less got the formula down here — riff out and do it slowly. “Death Mask” has a satisfying chug in its closing moments and the more ambient finish the EP gets with its title-track speaks well of where they might go from here. No complaints. Demon Lung on Bandcamp.

 

Elmi, From the Ground

An experimental/noise/drone Norwegian duo who are short neither on volume nor tone, Elmi take bass indulgences and mash them headfirst into Hammond and mellotron. Extended pieces like the 19-minute “Nyaraladronetep” and 14-minute “Unhappy is He to Whom the Memories of Childhood Bring Only Fear and Sadness” are unrepentantly abrasive, but the experiments vary. In comparison, the sample-led “Maciara’s Revenge” is almost sweet. Limited to a physical pressing of 121 copies in honor of its vocal-droning closing track, the From the Ground has already been followed up by a live album of which only five CD copies remain. Elmi on Bandcamp.

 

Large Marge, Large Marge

It’s ass-kicking Southern heavy grooves, dual-riffing, screams and yowls and no shortage of feedback to dirty it up, and the more I hear Large Marge’s self-titled, self-released debut full-length, the more it earns its Johnny Weills-era Alabama Thunderpussy comparison. That’s a good thing. The dudely Louisiana-based foursome are pro-produced and do right by the mix to keep Aaron Myers’ vocals subsumed beneath his and Luke Duke’s guitars, making them sound even bigger. “Black Coffee” isn’t a Black Flag cover, but by the time they get around to the psychedelically ranging “Stoned Waltz” and “Up in Smoke,” I’ve forgotten that and the rest of my woes. Large Marge on Facebook.

 

Lavagoat, Monoliths of Mars

Their 2010 full-length (review here) also impressed with its complexity, and Saskatoon four-piece Lavagoat’s second outing, Monoliths of Mars, greatly expands the scope. Four tracks and 45 minutes, the crush of “Forge of Vulcan” is offset by spaced-out atmospheric noise and a continuation of the Cathedral-style vocal cadences that showed up last time out on “Planet of the Dead.” Wonderfully varied in its approach and monstrously heavy, the album culminates with the 21-minute title-track, which unfortunately drops to feedback and drones after seven minutes in, but revives near the end for a bit of psychedelic exploration. Recommended. Lavagoat on Twitter.

 

Mammoth Grove, Taste of What’s to Come

A bit of a sampler EP from this Calgary outfit, but still worth a look for the quality of songcraft and raw but still lush feel the four tracks elicit. Mammoth Grove inhabit a pastoral sphere and without forcing one second of what they do on Taste of What’s to Come, manage to engulf the listener before the 2:47 of instrumental opener “Hazey Wave” is over. “Talon” and “Million Miles” are more classically progressive than was some of their also-humble 2011 self-titled EP, and rawly produced with the vocals high in the mix of closer “Emerald,” but it’s still enough to get the titular taste of where they’re headed, and I continue to be intrigued. Mammoth Grove on Bandcamp.

 

Misty Morning, Saint Shroom

Released on limited-to-250 transparent red 12” vinyl by Doomanoid Records, the Saint Shroom 22-minute EP by Roman doomers Misty Morning offers two extended tracks of ceremonial doom, thick riffs and gruff vocals peppered with synth flourish and deft tempo shifts. Both “Saint Shroom” and “Jellotron” work in a similar vein (the latter is most post-Cathedral, vocally), but the release is really too short for the formula to get tired. I wonder how it would hold up on a full-length, and I wonder if there isn’t a way to play up the weirdness that shows up at the end of “Jellotron” more in the songwriting. Misty Morning on Bandcamp.

 

Mothership, Mothership

The self-titled and self-released full-length debut from Texas trio Mothership was recorded by Kent Stump of Wo Fat and holds much of the same fuzzy appeal as that band, if put to a use more directed at early metal than heavy rock. It’s balls-out, either way. Righteous solos from Kelley Juett well complemented by Kyle Juett’s bass and Judge Smith’s drumming, the songs get somewhat redundant after a while, but I might be single-minded too if I was this good at one thing. Cool shit, professional production from Stump and a bastard of a groove on “Elenin.” And everywhere else. Mothership on Bandcamp.

 

Muffler Men, Trigger and Fly

A pop-minded Belgian threesome heavily indebted to Queens of the Stone Age, Ghent’s Muffler Men have a highlight for their first LP, Trigger and Fly, in opener “Daily Taste of Summer,” and the only trouble with that is that then you have the rest of the record to get through. Fortunately a track like “Mistakes” offers a landmark, but by the time the horns kick in on closer “All Dressed Up,” it’s so “I Think I Lost My Headache” that I’m wondering why I’m not listening to that song in the first place. Not bad for what it is, and crisply executed, but there’s room to grow stylistically. Muffler Men on Facebook.

 

Nauticus, The Wait

Kudos to Finnish progressive metallers Nauticus for making an album that’s as rich visually as it is sonically. The Wait’s art is striking, and the music of the double-guitar five-piece follows suit, bending a Tool influence ever so slightly to make it more their own. At 59 minutes, it’s an album that requires full attention to be really appreciated, though it should say something that after listening to it for an hour I’d still be up for such a thing. They broadcast their self-indulgence, but a slew of guest appearances and complex arrangements make each song as fascinating on its own as when taken together as a whole. Nauticus on Bandcamp.

 

Thunderfist, Thunderfist

With songs so simple they’re like AC/DC on amphetamines – which I guess is how heavy metal was made in the first place – boozy, sleazy rockers Thunderfist hail from the serenity of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. That may or may not account for the havoc they wreak on this self-titled outing through ECG Records, but their upbeat, unironic fuckall is appreciated in any case. Tracks are short and sweet and unafraid to leave bruises. A bit of classic rock ‘n’ roll misogyny takes away from the charm, but that kind of thing is apparently inevitable. I’ll take the rolling groove of “The Wizard’s Lament” over the more forced-sounding “None of Your Business,” but that’s me. You may feel differently. Thunderfist on Facebook.

Thanks again for indulging me. Back to normal tomorrow.