From the state that brought forth the slogan “Live Free or Die,” a mountain shaped like an old man’s face, Laconia Bike Week and Scissorfight come the burly grooves of Skrogg. They have some post-Clutch riff-led beard-fodder – think Omegalord, Sugar Daddie, Borracho – in common with the Granite State Destroyers, or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part. Either way, the rock on Skrogg’s five-song Raw Heat EP (Drug Rug Records) is mean but fun and thoroughly boozed. At 29 minutes, it gives a firm showing of what will probably later seem like Skrogg’s rudimentary beginnings, but shows them as having the basics down when it comes to thick and heavy rock. The “These go to 11” This is Spinal Tap sample that precedes opening cut “Cajun Lady” acts as an immediate indicator that their hearts are in the right place, and the wah guitar of “Reverend” Jeff Maxfield (Tractorass) that kicks on to introduce the bouncing riff is steady confirmation. Mostly the material covers familiar ground thematically, with witches, space, motorcycles, etc., but Maxfield, who also handles vocals, seems well aware of the fact that these ideas have been presented before. For Skrogg on their first outing, it seems to be more about the riff and the nod than any kind of grandstanding.

And that suits Skrogg well on these five tracks, which are unpretentious enough to last longer than the half-hour listening to them requires. The “Cajun Lady” and “Anita Ride” follow similar structures and make the most of a catchy chorus, with bassist Jason “Jasper” Lawrence and drummer Felix Whitty filling out and nailing home the groove. “Anita Ride” cuts out after the solo section at about halfway through its 5:37 and moves back into its verse in a way that leaves the impression that Skrogg just weren’t sure how to make the transition, but the song’s strengths remain nonetheless, and Lawrence’s bass tone is definitely among them, adding wah funk to the central riff and veering into fills here and there while Whitty crashes behind. Maxfield’s vocals – he’s got a touch of the “stoner rock voice” going – are mixed high, and that holds true on Raw Heat’s bluesy title and centerpiece track, which takes a 12-bar structure and gives it a ride in Fu Manchu’s boogie van. At over seven minutes, it breaks following the third verse/chorus tradeoff into a long instrumental riff jam that culminates with a surprising smoothness (they could just as easily have let it fall apart and no one would think twice) that’s worthy of any next-gen stoner rock comparison you want to make of it. Maxfield takes a pronounced solo that cuts through the rough production surrounding, and comes back in time to meet Lawrence and Whitty for a single riff cycle that speaks to the precision and thought put into the arrangement of “Raw Heat,” no matter how jammed and loose it might otherwise feel.

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This July 4, I decided to honor one of the most vibrant and enduring American scenes, namely that of New England. As the fireworks begin to sound, the vision begins to blur and the “USA! USA!” chants commence, I can’t think of any better way to celebrate Independence Day than sitting around listening to bands from Boston and the surrounding region. So that’s pretty much what I did.

It’s an area whose hardcore/punk rock anger grew up well, and you can still hear the deep-seated aggression in the riffs of Roadsaw and the ’70s-loving rockers of their ilk. There’s a lot of that kind of stuff in this playlist, I guess because that’s mostly what I think of when I think of the New England scene — straightforward, unpretentious heavy rock. But that’s by no means the beginning and the end of it.

What I discovered as I picked out acts to include was that there’s a vast array of styles and sounds that have come out of the Northeast over the last couple decades. Being south of it myself, the most I can say I’ve had is a tertiary experience — that is, I didn’t grow up in this scene — and though I by no means consider this audiObelisk Transmission a complete document of it, I think it’s made for a pretty good mix.

You get the ultra-hateful sludge of Grief, the organ-infused country rock of Antler, Phantom Glue‘s thrashing rhythms, the crushing despair of Warhorse and the avant weirdness of The Body. Save for Vermont, every state in New England is represented — Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine — and as a Yankee fan, I’d like it to be known that the title “Such Sawks, Such Sounds” is meant with the utmost respect and reverence for the Boston Red Sox. My alternate name for it was “The Green Monstah,” but I liked this better.

Everything but The Body was culled from a direct physical source — i.e. my rips — and the total winds up at 33 tracks, 3:21:44 runtime. If you’ve been curious what Blackwolfgoat sounds like, I put the track “Fear of Stars” in there, which is one of my favorites from Dronolith, and there’s recent selections as well from the aforementioned Roadsaw, as well as Black Thai, Curse the Son and Olde Growth.

Listening back to it, I dig the overall flow and I hope you do too. To listen, click play above, and to get the file, click the header image, click here, or follow the link in the sidebar. Complete playlist is after the jump.

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