I had a terrible thought yesterday: What if this one… went to 11? That is, what if, after 10 days of Quarterly Review ending today with a grand total of 100 records reviewed since last Monday, I did another batch of 10? Like a bonus round? Like I said, terrible thought.

Pretty sure it won’t happen. I’ve already got a review and a video premiere booked for next Monday, but I definitely had the thought. It was easy, of course, to fill out another 10 slots, and who knows, maybe this weekend for the first time ever I wind up with some extra time and energy on my hands? Could happen, right?

Again, I’m fairly certain it won’t. Let’s proceed with the assumption today’s the last day. Thank you for reading. I hope you have found something cool in all of this that has really hit home. I certainly have. We cap very much in last-but-not-least fashion, and if nothing’s resonated with you yet, don’t count yourself completely out. You might just get there after all. Thanks again.

Quarterly Review #91-100:

Surya Kris Peters, Ego Therapy

Those feeling technical will note the full title of the album is Surya Kris Peters’ Ego Therapy, but the point gets across either way. And even as Christian Peters — also guitarist/vocalist for Samsara Blues Experiment — acknowledges the inherent self-indulgence of the proverbial “solo-project” that his exploration of synth and classically progressive textures under the moniker of Surya Kris Peters has become, with Ego Therapy as his second full-length of 2018, he branches out in including drums from former Terraplane bandmate Jens Vogel. The 10-song/53-minute outing opens with its longest cut (immediate points) in the 15-minute “Angels in Bad Places,” a spaced-out and vibrant atmosphere more cohesive than psychedelia but still trippy as all hell, and moves through a bluesy key/guitar interplay in “Wizard’s Dream” following the dancey thriller soundtrack “Beyond the Sun” and into the Blade Runner-style grandeur of “Sleeping Willow” and the video game-esque “A Fading Spark” before bookending with the sci-fi “Atomic Clock” at the close. I don’t know how ultimately therapeutic Peters‘ solo offerings might be, but he only seems to grow bolder each time out, and that certainly applies here.

Surya Kris Peters on Thee Facebooks

Electric Magic Records on Bandcamp

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Lewis and the Strange Magics, The Ginger Sessions

How are you not gonna love a release that starts with a song called “Sexadelic Galactic Voyage?” Barcelona vamp rockers Lewis and the Strange Magics embrace their inner funk on the 23-minute self-released EP, The Ginger Sessions, finding the place where their uptempo ’70s fusion meets oldschool The Meters-style rhythm, digging into the repetitions of “Candied Ginger” after the aforementioned instrumental opening burst and then holding the momentum through “Her Vintage Earrings.” Some departure happens on what might be side B of the 10″, with “The Shadow of Your Smile” turning toward pastoral psychedelia, still rhythmic thanks to some prominent wood block and xylophone sounds, but much calmer despite a consistency of wah and keys. “Suzy’s Room II” follows in fuzzy fashion, bridging the earlier cologne-soaked, chest-hair-out vibes with garage buzz and a heavier low end beneath the synthesized experimentation. Mellotron shows up and continues to hold sway in closer “Witch’s Brew,” playing the band outward along with layers of drifting guitar for about two and a half minutes of bluesy serenity that feel cut short, as does the release on the whole. One hopes they don’t lose that funky edge going into their next album.

Lewis and the Strange Magics on Thee Facebooks

Lewis and the Strange Magics on Bandcamp

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Lair of the Minotaur, Dragon Eagle of Chaos

Once upon the mid-aughts, Chicago’s Lair of the Minotaur roamed the land as the long-prophesied American answer to Entombed, as much classic, dirt-covered death metal as they were laden with heavy groove. Their tones filthy, their assault brutal all the while, war metal, ultimate destroyers. The whole nine. They released their last album, Evil Power (review here), in 2010. The two-songer Dragon Eagle of Chaos follows a 2013 single, and was released to mark the occasion of perhaps a return to some measure of greater activity. I don’t know if that’ll happen, but as both “Dragon Eagle of Chaos” and “Kunsult the Bones” affirm in about seven minutes between them, Lair of the Minotaur remain a wrecking ball made of raw meat when it comes to their sound. The madness that seemed to always underline their material at its most effective is present and accounted for in “Dragon Eagle of Chaos,” and the stripped-down production of the single actually helps its violent cause. Will they do another record? Could go either way, but if they decide to go that route, they clearly still have the evil power within.

Lair of the Minotaur website

Lair of the Minotaur on Bandcamp

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Sonic Wolves, Sonic Wolves

Eight tracks/34 minutes of smoothly-arranged and well-executed doom rock brought to bear with an abiding lack of pretense and a developing sense of songcraft and dynamic — there’s very little not to dig about Sonic Wolves‘ self-titled LP (on Future Noise and DHU), from the Sabbathian stretch of “Ascension” down through the bouncing low-key-psych-turns-to-full-on-wah-overdose-swirl in the penultimate “Heavy Light.” Along the way, bassist/vocalist Kayt Vigil (ex-Pentagram, etc.) — joined by guitarists Jason Nealy and Enrico “Ico” Aniasi and drummer Gianni “Vita” Vitarelli (also Ufomammut) — gallop through the traditional metal of “Red Temple” and ride a fuzzy roll in “Tide of Chaos,” leaving the uptempo shuffle of “You’ll Climb the Walls” to close out by tapping into a “Wicked World”-style vision of heavy blues that casts off many of the tropes of what’s become the subgenre in favor of a darker approach. If their self-titled is Sonic Wolves declaring who they are as a band after making their debut in 2016, the results are only encouraging.

Sonic Wolves on Thee Facebooks

DHU Records webstore

Future Noise Recordings webstore

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Spacelord, Indecipher

There is an immediate sensibility drawn from classic heavy rock to the vocals on Spacelord‘s second record, Indecipher, like Shannon Hoon fronting Led Zeppelin, maybe? Something like that, definitely drawn from a ’70s/’90s blend. Produced, mixed and mastered by guitarist Rich Root, with Chris Cappiello on bass, Kevin Flynn on drums and Ed Grabianowski on vocals, the four-piece’s sophomore LP is comprised of a neatly-constructed eight songs working around sci-fi themes on bruiser cuts like “Super Starship Adventure” and the particularly righteous “Zero Hour,” as opener and longest track (immediate points) “For the Unloved Ones” sets forth the classic vibe amid the first of the record’s impressive solos and resonant hooks. Something about it makes me want them to go completely over the top in terms of production their next time out — layers on layers on layers, etc. — but the kind of false start Grabianowski brings to the ultra-Zepped “New Machine” has a charm that I’m not sure it would be worth sacrificing.

Spacelord on Thee Facebooks

Kozmik Artifactz website

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Nauticus, Disappear in Blue

Six years after the release of their second album, The Wait (review here), Finnish atmospheric progressive metallers Nauticus effect a return with the 78-minute Disappear in Blue, which following the relatively straightforward opening with “Magma” casts out a vast sprawl in accordance with its oceanic theme. Longer tracks like “Claimed by the Sea,” “Strange Sequences/Lost Frequencies,” “Arrival” and “Hieronymus” are complex and varied but united through a deep instrumental dynamic that’s brought to light even in the three-minute ambient post-rocker “Desolation,” which is something of an interlude between “Strange Sequences/Lost Frequencies” and the tense build of “Singularity.” Other ambient spaces “Jesus of Lübeck” and the later “Whale Bones” complement and add reach to the longer-form works, but it’s hardly as though Nauticus‘ material lacks character one way or the other. Overwhelming in its length, Disappear in Blue might take some time to wade through, but what a way to go.

Nauticus on Thee Facebooks

Nauticus on Bandcamp

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Yuxa, Yuxa

As the greater part of anything related to post-metal invariably does, UK outfit Yuxa have their “Stones from the Sky” moment in “Founder in Light,” the opening cut from their self-titled debut EP, that most formative of progressions making itself known in modified form to suit the double-guitar four-piece’s intent with dramatic screams and shouts cutting through an ably-conjured surge of noisy adrenaline resolving in winding chug and crash en route to “Exiled Hand,” the seven-minute cut that follows and serves as centerpiece of the three-tracker. “Founder in Light,” “Exiled Hand” and nine-minute closer “Peer” are arranged shortest to longest, and the effect is to draw the listener in such that by the time the angular, purposeful lurch of the finale begins to unfold, Yuxa‘s rhythmic hypnosis is already well complete. Still, the straightforward arrangements of guitar, bass, drums and vocals give them a rawer edge than many synth- or sample-laden post-metallic cohorts, and that suits the atmospheric sludge with which they close out, harnessing chaos without giving themselves over to it. A quick sample of a creative development getting underway, though it’s telling as well that Yuxa ends with a sudden buzz of amp noise.

Yuxa on Thee Facebooks

Yuxa on Bandcamp

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Forktie, EP

The first EP release from Forktie — who stylize their moniker and titles all-lowercase: forktie — is untitled, but contains five tracks that tap into proto-emo post-hardcore and ’90s alt rock sensibilities, finding a place between heavy rock and grunge that allows for Aarone Victorine‘s bass to lead toward the hook of centerpiece “Decomposition Book” with a smooth presence that’s well complementary the vocals from guitarist Dom Mariano, their presence low in the mix only adding to the wistful feel of “Anywhere but Here” and “September Morning,” before the shorter “Spores” lets loose some more push from drummer Corey LeBlanc and closer “Ph.D. in Nothing” reinforces the underlying melancholy beneath the thicker exterior tones. It’s a new project, but Forktie have worked their way into a niche that suits their songwriting well, and given themselves a space to grow within their sound. Members experience in bands like UXO, Test Meat and textbookcopilot will serve them in that effort.

Forktie on Thee Facebooks

Forktie on Bandcamp

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Ohhms, Exist

As a fan generally of bands opening albums with the longest song included, I can get on board with UK heavy progressive metallers Ohhms opening Exist with the 22-minute “Subjects.” Immediate points and all that. Far more consequential, however, is the substance of that launch for the four-song/43-minute Holy Roar LP, which is the band’s fourth in four years. It’s a vast, broad and complex offering unto itself, consuming side A as vocalist Paul Waller embodies various entities, “I am wolf” (preceding a Duran Duran reference, perhaps inadvertent), “I am child,” and so on. Those proclamations are just the culmination of a progression that, frankly, is an album unto itself, let alone a side, and maybe should’ve been released as such, though the absolute post-metallic crush of “Shambles,” the seething of “Calves” and the heavy post-rock reach of “Lay Down Your Firearms” need no further justification than a simple listen provides, the last of them pummeling side B to a then-sudden stop. Ohhms are no strangers to longform work, and it suits them well enough to make one wonder if they couldn’t be headed toward a single-song LP in the near future.

Ohhms on Thee Facebooks

Holy Roar Records on Bandcamp

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Blue Dream, Volume Blue

Chicago four-piece Blue Dream issued their first LP, Volume Won, early in 2018 and follow with Volume Blue — as opposed to “two”; could ‘Volume Tree’ be in the works? ‘Volume Free?’ — which collects nine neo-psych-mit-der-funky-grooves cuts chic enough to be urbane but fuzzed out enough to make the freakouts more than just a come on. They open peaceful enough with “Delta,” before the hook of “9,000 lb. Machine” defines the course and cuts like “Thank You for Smoking” and the almost woefully catchy “She’s Hot” expand the parameters. I’ll take the dream-tone shimmer of “Kingsbury Goldmine” any day in a kind of self-aware reflection of British folk and/or the garage rock of “Shake the Shake,” but the dense roll of “Viper Venom” that immediately follows reimagines grunge as more than just an influence from three popular bands and something that could genuinely move forward from the perspective of a new generation. Hearing Blue Dream close out with the boogie of “The Glide,” one hopes they do precisely that, though I’d by no means limit them to one avenue of expression. They’re clearly able to harness multiple vibes here.

Blue Dream on Thee Facebooks

Blue Dream on Bandcamp

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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.