Oviedo, Spain, heavy rockers Green Desert Water released their third album, Black Harvest, last month on Small Stone Records and Kozmik Artifactz, celebrating fuzzy songcraft and a vision of groove that manages to sound like “nothin’ too fancy” while bridging decades of influence as only quality heavy can. In their ’70s-meets’90s riff-driven heavy blues vibe, they are the quintessential Small Stone act; it is an international stock and trade the label has engaged since Halfway to Gone and Dixie Witch roamed the land — not to mention Kozmik Artifactz with more than a decade under its belt in Europe — and certainly Green Desert Water‘s 2018 offering, The Deepest Sea (review here), fit that bill as well. If anything, the steady AC/DC roll of “The Whale” and the catchier hook of “Too Many Wizards” (video premiering below) and the too-clearheaded-in-structure-to-be-psychedelic-but-still-kind-of-trippy pairing of “Sacred Tree” and “Dead Sacred Tree” at the record’s outset only show the trip of guitarist/vocalist Kike Sanchís, bassist Juan Arias García and drummer Dani Barcena as having refined their approach and songwriting.
That’s true of Black Harvest‘s shorter and longer songs alike. In total, the album runs seven tracks and 38 minutes — a tidy LP length — but it divides that almost on a per-track basis between longer and shorter pieces, gradually evening out as side B closes. “Sacred Tree” and “Dead Sacred Tree” — which run directly one into the other — are both about four minutes long, but if one takes them as a single entity as they’d essentially be on vinyl, then the shift to “Too Many Wizards” becomes even more striking, even though “Dead Sacred Tree” works just fine on its own anyhow, bringing its weighted riff to a post-Sabbath shuffle with organic ’70s shove. “Too Many Wizards” is the shortest inclusion at 3:36, but has fuzz and swagger both in supply to last much longer, and gives itself over to the more methodical title-track, which tops seven minutes and caps side A with due ebbs and flows, a guest-spot on guitar from Wo Fat‘s Kent Stump doing nothing to hurt their deceptively patient cause.
“The Whale,” “Shelter of Guru” and “Soul Blind” — five, eight and six minutes long, respectively — continue the pattern somewhat, but by the time the first of them picks up from the drop at the end of “Black Harvest,” Green Desert Water are long since locked into the full-album flow that carries them through the remainder of the outing. Without making a show of largesse, “The Whale” brings a plodding first half into a shuffling second marked by highlight basswork from García beneath Sanchís‘ guitar and a quick flash of cowbell from Barcena snuck in there as well. The drums begin “Shelter of Guru” as well, but it’s the riff that ultimately leads the procession into its nod and extended solo section, finding gallop late but making the speed count for something in selling the energy built up over the course of the song prior, leaving “Soul Blind” a natural place to start mellow and work its way into its own thrusts of volume, one, then another, before closing out the proceedings with a last lick of guitar and some residual lower hum.
Which is as fitting as anything, because like the rest of Black Harvest before it, “Soul Blind” makes complex songwriting ideas sound easy. Some bands just know how to put together a record. Green Desert Water sound utterly natural doing so, as if it could not and would not be something other than it is. All the more fortunate, then, for anyone who’d take the record on.
The clip for “Too Many Wizards” premieres below, and the full album stream for Black Harvest is down near the bottom of the post. You’ll find it above all the copious links. You know the way.
Enjoy:
Green Desert Water, “Too Many Wizards” video premiere
“Too Many Wizards” is the third track from Green Desert Water’s 2021 LP called Black Harvest.
Black Harvest is available on CD and digital formats via Small Stone and limited edition LP (deluxe gatefold) via Kozmik Artifactz. Find ordering options HERE where the record can be streamed in full:https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/black-harvest
GREEN DESERT WATER: Juan Arias García – fuzz bass Dani Barcena – drums, percussion Kike Sanchís – guitars, vocals
Guests: Kent Stump – additional guitar on “Black Harvest” Alvaro Barcena – backing vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Spanish heavy psych blues rockers Green Desert Water have set a Nov. 5 release for their new album, Black Harvest. To herald the opening of preorders, Small Stone is streaming “Too Many Wizards” from the record now, which will also see vinyl release in Kozmik Artifactz in the continuing partnership between the two labels. Not to be confused with the Green Lung record of the same name due in October on Svart, this Black Harvest is the follow-up to the band’s 2018 offering, Solar Plexus (review here), and rocks in an entirely different way.
“Too Many Wizards” has more in common sonically with All Them Witches, for example, and you know there’s nothing wrong with that either, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you. Note also the guest appearance on the record from Kent Stump of Small Stone alums Wo Fat, should you require further enticement.
The PR wire sent the following the other day and I’m late on it because I suck at this, even though I did the update for the band’s bio:
GREEN DESERT WATER: Black Harvest Full-Length From Spanish Psychedelic Blues Rock Trio To See Release November 5th Via Small Stone Records; “Too Many Wizards” Now Playing + Preorders Available
Oviedo, Spain-based psychedelic blues rock trio GREEN DESERT WATER will release their third full-length, Black Harvest, on November 5th via Small Stone Records!
Black Harvest is inarguably the band’s most cohesive, classic, and vibe-ready work yet. With the introduction of new drummer Dani Barcena, guitarist/vocalist Kike Sanchís and bassist Juan Arias García unite in classic power trio fashion, building upon the significant accomplishments of 2018’s Solar Plexus with even more flash of heavy blues, psychedelia, and weighted riffery. Can you hang? Of course you can!
Wo Fat’s own Kent Stump sits in on the title-track, which is a fitting centerpiece rife with AC/DC-vs.- Sabbath vitality, following behind the opening salvo of “Sacred Tree” and “Dead Sacred Tree,” which set a tone figuratively and literally for what follows with a focus on melody and songwriting – the catchy “Too Many Wizards” could easily be a state-of-the-union for the heavy rock underground – tempos no less comfortable careening than they are crashing, and a classic sensibility filtered through modern production that leaves the songs full and engaging for the most fickle of attention spans. Later, to be snared by “Shelter Of Guru” is to take a ride in a traditionalist caravan, and both journey and destination satisfy ahead of the capper boogie in “Soul Blind.” Rest assured, you’re about to spend 38 minutes in the presence of masters. Roll with it and be glad you did.
In advance of the release of Black Harvest, GREEN DESERT WATER is streaming “Too Many Wizards” noting, “when the old masters speak, the apprentice wizards must shup up, close their eyes, and open their minds…”
Black Harvest will be available on CD and digital formats via Small Stone and limited edition LP (deluxe gatefold) via Kozmik Artifactz.
I always say the same thing on the Wednesday of the Quarterly Review. Day 3. The halfway point. I say it every time. The fact is, doing these things kind of takes it out of me. All of it. It’s not that I don’t enjoy listening to all these records — well, I don’t enjoy all of them, but I’m talking more about the process — just that it’s a lot to take in and by the time I’m done each day, let alone at the end of the week, I’m fairly exhausted. So every time we hit the halfway point of a Quarterly Review, I feel somewhat compelled to note it. Cresting the hill, as it were. It’s satisfying to get to this point without my head falling off.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
Khemmis, Desolation
Continuing their proclivity for one-word titles, Denver doom forerunners Khemmis take a decisive turn toward the metallic with their third album for 20 Buck Spin, the six-track/41-minute Desolation. Songs like opener “Bloodletting” and its side B counterpart “The Seer” are still tinged with doom, but the NWOBHM gallop in “Isolation” and “Maw of Time” – as well as the sheer force of the latter – is an unexpected twist. Khemmis showed classic metal elements on 2016’s was-a-very-big-deal Hunted (review here) and 2015’s debut, Absolution (review here), but it’s a question of balance, and as they’ve once again worked with producer Dave Otero, one can only read the shift as a conscious decision. The harder edge suits them – certainly suits the screams in “Maw of Time” and side A finale/album highlight “Flesh to Nothing” – and as Khemmis further refine their sound, they craft its most individualized manifestation to-date. There’s no hearing Desolation and mistaking Khemmis for another band. They’ve come into their own.
A rumbling entry into London’s Heavy Generation, the four-piece Morag Tong unfold voluminous ritual on their debut full-length, Last Knell of Om. Largely slow and largely toned, the work of guitarists Alex Clarke and Lewis Crane brings the low end to the forefront along with the bass of James Atha while drummer Adam Asquith pushes the lurch forward on cuts like “New Growth” and “To Soil,” the band seemingly most comfortable when engaged in crawling tempos and weighted pummel. Asquith also adds semi-shouted vocals to the mire, which, surrounded by distortion as they are, only make the proceedings sound even more massive. There’s an ambience to “We Answer” and near-13-minute closer “Ephemera: Stare Through the Deep,” which gives the record a suitably noisy finish, but much of what Morag Tong are going for in sound depends on the effectiveness of their tonality, and they’ve got that part down on their debut. Coupled with the meditative feel in some of this material, that shows marked potential on the band’s part for future growth.
Working quickly to follow-up their earlier-2018 sophomore long-player, Moon (review here), Spain’s Holy Mushroom present Blood and Soul, an EP comprised of two songs recorded live in the studio. I’m not entirely sure why it’s split up at all, as the two-minute “Introito” – sure enough, a little introduction – feeds so smoothly into the 19-minute “Blood and Soul” itself, but fair enough either way as the trio shift between different instrumentation, incorporating sax, piano and organ among the guitar, bass, drums and vocals, and unfold a longform heavy psychedelic trip that not only builds on what they were doing with Moon but is every bit worthy of being released on its own. I don’t know if it was recorded at the same time as the record or later – both were done at Asturcon Studios – but it’s easy to see why the band would want to highlight “Blood and Moon.” Between the deep-running mix, the easy rhythmic flow into and out from drifting spaciousness, and the turn in the middle third toward more expansive arrangement elements, it’s an engaging motion that makes subtly difficult shifts seem utterly natural along the way. And even if you didn’t hear the latest full-length, Blood and Soul makes for a fitting introduction to who Holy Mushroom are as a band and what they can do.
Sludge-infused noise rock serves as the backdrop for lyrical shenanigans on the three-song Rejoinder EP from Sheffield, UK, trio Naisian. Running just 12 minutes, it’s a quick and thickened pummel enacted by the band, who work in shades of post-metal for “90 ft. Stone,” “Mantis Rising” and “Lefole,” most especially in the middle cut, but even there, the focus in on harsh vocals and lumbering sonic heft. It’s now been seven years since the band sort-of issued their debut album, Mammalian, and six since they followed with the Monocle EP, and the time seems to have stripped down their sound to a degree. “Lefole” is the longest track on Rejoinder at 5:18 and it’s still shorter than every other song Naisian have put out to-date. Their crunch lacks nothing for impact, however, and to go with the swing of “Lefole,” everybody seems to contribute to a vocal assault that only adds to the punishing but thoughtful vibe.
The effects-laden vocal swirl at the outset of Haunted’s “Mourning Sun” and moments in the Italian act’s longer-form material, “Waterdawn” or “Orphic,” for example, will invariably lead some listeners to point to a Windhand influence, but the character of the band’s second album, Dayburner (on Twin Earth, DHU and Graven Earth all), follows their 2016 self-titled (review here) by holding steady to a developing identity of its own. To be sure, vocalist Christina Chimirri, guitarists Francesco Bauso and Francesco Orlando, bassist Frank Tudisco and drummer Dario Casabona make their way into a deep, murky swamp of modern doom in “Dayburner” (video posted here), but in the crush of their tones amid all that trance-inducing riffing, they cast themselves as an outfit seeking to express individuality within the set parameters of style. Their execution, then, is what it comes down to, and with “Orphic” (12:46) and “Vespertine” (13:19) back to back, there’s plenty of doom on the 66-minute 2LP to roll that out. And they do so in patient and successful form, with marked tonal vibrancy and a sense of controlling the storm they’re creating as they go.
So, the aesthetic is different. Pabst play a blend of noise, post-punk, heavy rock and grunge, but with the ready pop influence — to wit, the outright danceability of “Shits,” reminiscent in its bounce of later Queens of the Stone Age – and persistent melodicism, there’s just a twinge of what Mars Red Sky did for heavy rolling riffs happening on Chlorine, their Crazysane Records debut. It’s in that blend of dense low-end fuzz and brighter vocal melodies, but again, Pabst, hailing from Berlin, are on their own trip. Weird but almost more enjoyable than it seems to want to be, the 12-track/35-minute outing indulges little and offers singalong-ready vibes in “Catching Feelings” and “Waterslide” while “Waiting Loop” chills out before the push of “Accelerate” and the angularity of “Cheapskate” take hold. Chrlorine careens and (blue) ribbons its way to the drive-fast-windows-open stylization of “Summer Never Came” and the finale “Under Water,” a vocal effect on the latter doing nothing to take away from its ultra-catchy hook. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a record someone with just the right kind of open mind can come to love.
If you’ve got a dank basement full of skinny college kids, chances are Lansdale, Pennsylvania’s L.M.I. are ready to tear their faces off. The sludge-thickened riff punkers run abut 11 minutes with their five-song release, L.M.I. IV, and that’s well enough time to get their message across. Actually, by the end of “Neck of Tension” and “Weaning Youth,” roughly four and half minutes in, the statement of intent is pretty clear. L.M.I. present furious but grooving hardcore punk more given to scathe than pummel, and their inclusions on L.M.I. IV bring that to life with due sense of controlled chaos. Centerpiece “Lurking Breath” gives way to “First to Dark” – the longest cut at a sprawling 2:55 – and they save a bit of grunge guitar scorch and lower-register growling for closer “June was a Test,” there isn’t really time in general for any redundancy to take hold. That suits the feeling of assault well, as L.M.I. get in and get out on the quick and once they’re gone, all that’s left to do is clean the blood off the walls.
Released one way or another through Discos Macarras, Odio Sonoro, Spinda Records and Red Sun Records, the eight-song/43-minute debut album from Barcelona’s Fuzz Forward, Out of Nowhere, has earned acclaim from multiple corners for its interpretation of grunge-era melodies through a varied heavy rock filter. Indeed, the vocals of Juan Gil – joined in the band by guitarist Edko Fuzz, bassist Jordi Vaquero and drummer Marc Rockenberg – pull the mind directly to a young Layne Staley, and forces one to realize it’s been a while since that low-in-the-mouth approach was so ubiquitous. It works well for Gil in the laid back “Summertime Somersaults” as well as the swinging, cowbell-infused later cut “Drained,” and as the band seems to foreshadow richer atmospheric exploration on “Thorns in Tongue” and “Torches,” they nonetheless maintain a focus on songwriting that grounds the proceedings and will hopefully continue to serve as their foundation as they move forward. No argument with the plaudits they’ve thus far received. Seems doubtful they’ll be the last.
The kind of record you’re doing yourself a favor by hearing – a visionary cast of progressive psychedelia that teems with creative energy and is an inspiration even in the listening. Frankly, the only thing I’m not sure about when it comes to Oulu, Finland, outfit Onségen Enseble’s second album, Duel, is why it isn’t being released through Svart Records. It seems like such a natural fit, with the adventurous woodwinds on opener “Think Neither Good Nor Evil,” the meditative sprawl of the title-track (video posted here), the jazz-jam in the middle of “Dogma MMXVII,” the tribalist percussion anchoring the 12-minute “Three Calls of the Emperor’s Teacher,” which surely would otherwise float away under its own antigravity power, and the free-psych build of closer “Zodiacal Lights of Onségen,” which shimmers in otherworldly fashion and improvised-sounding spark. On Svart or not, Duel is one of the best albums I’ve heard this year, and one the creativity of which puts it in a class of its own, even in the vast reaches of psychedelic rock. Whether it means to or not, it tells a story with sound, and that story should be heard.
Since so much of The Heavy Eyes’ studio presentation has consistently been about crispness of sound and structured songwriting, it’s kind of a relief to hear them knock into some feedback at the start of “Mannish Boy” at the outset of Live in Memphis (on Kozmik Artifactz). The three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Tripp Shumake, bassist Wally Anderson and drummer Eric Garcia are still tight as hell, of course, and their material – drawn here from the band’s LPs, 2015’s He Dreams of Lions (review here), 2012’s Maera, 2011’s self-titled, as well as sundry shorter offerings – is likewise. They’ve never been an overly dangerous band, nor have they wanted to be, but the stage performance does add a bit of edge to “Iron Giants” from the debut, which is followed by singing “Happy Birthday” to a friend in the crowd. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Live in Memphis is hearing The Heavy Eyes loosen up a bit on stage, and hearing them sound like they’re having as good a time playing as the crowd is watching and hearing them do so. That sense of fun suits them well.
If your ears don’t automatically perk up on hearing the phrases ‘classic-style heavy rockers’ and ‘on Small Stone Records‘ in the same sentence, well, to put it mildly they should. Thus we find Spanish classic-style heavy rockers Green Desert Water making their debut on Small Stone Records with their second album overall, Solar Plexus. Quick to make an impression and earn immediate points with the opener and longest track “Open Your Wings,” the band trio channels earliest AC/DC on the swinging heavy blues of “Souls of the Woodland,” and offers a fluid dose of fuzz in “Chaman,” demonstrating a propensity both for hooks and for adding modern flair to the core heavy ’70s influence. The shuffle that emerges near the midsection of “Chaman,” for example, or the tambourine-laced jam in the penultimate “Mother Moon.” These are well-established methods, but as Small Stone has endeavored in recent years to demonstrate, a balance can surely be struck between the classic and the modern. Green Desert Water do this exceptionally well.
Solar Plexus breaks neatly into two vinyl halves, with three cuts on either side: two longer and one shorter to finish. Side B concludes with the title-track, only about a minute shorter than “Souls of the Woodland” or “Mother Moon” before it, but the difference is more striking on Side A, where “The Deepest Sea,” which is the shortest inclusion overall at 4:44, follows “Open Your Wings” and “Chaman,” both of which are more extended. “The Deepest Sea,” however, is an effective condensation of many of the record’s other impulses, with a strong hook, a perfect tempo, and an easy rhythmic swing that’s neither forced nor overstated. It engages quickly and asks little of the listener in terms of indulgences. These traits it shares in common with its surroundings, and while it may not be as long as “Open Your Wings” or “Mother Moon,” there’s no question the song accomplishes its task and represents the album well for its natural-sounding structure, modern production style and energetic delivery.
The three-piece is comprised of guitarist/vocalist Kike Sanchís, bassist Juan Arias García and drummer/backing vocalist Javi Gonzalez and Solar Plexus is out April 27, once again on Small Stone, which has preorders up now. Below, you can see the video premiere for “The Deepest Sea” and get some more background on the band from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Green Desert Water, “The Deepest Sea” official video premiere
After getting their feet wet in a molten pool of heavy blues on their 2012 self-titled debut EP, GREEN DESERT WATER is ready for their next conquest. The Oviedo, Spain-based three-piece have been making a name for themselves as one of the best-kept-secrets of the Iberian heavy underground, and with Solar Plexus – their second LP – they’ve never sounded readier to let the cat out of the proverbial bag. And by “cat out of the bag,” we mean unleashing classic power trio grooves – all primo, all soul, but heavier and thicker and more modern than the first record.
Solar Plexus was recorded and mixed by Pablo Martínez Pérez at Ovni Estudio, mastered by Kike Sanchís at Green Desert Mastering and comes wrapped in the cover art of Héctor Castañón. The six-track offering will see release on CD, digital, and limited edition vinyl formats on April 27th via Small Stone.
GREEN DESERT WATER: Juan Arias García – fuzz bass Javi González – drums, percussion, backing vocals Kike Sanchís – guitars, vocals Additional guitar on “The Deepest Sea” by Pablo Martínez Pérez.
I’m pretty sure this Quarterly Review — life eater that it is — is going to wind up being six days long. That means next Monday look for sixth installment, another batch of 10 records, which were not hard to come by among everything that’s come in lately for review. I do my best to keep up, often to little avail — some random act’s Bandcamp page starts trending and all of a sudden they’re the best band ever, which hey, they’re probably not and that’s okay too. Anyhowzer, I’m trying is the point. Hopefully another 10 records added into this Quarterly Review underscores that notion.
More coffee. More albums. Let’s rock.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Eagle Twin, The Thundering Heard (Songs of Hoof and Horn)
Consuming tones, throat-sung blues, a wash of lumbering doom – yes, it’s quite a first three minutes on Eagle Twin’s The Thundering Heard (Songs of Hoof and Horn). Released by Southern Lord, it’s the Salt Lake City duo’s first outing since 2012’s The Feather Tipped the Serpent’s Scale (discussed here), which arrived three years after their 2009 debut, The Unkindness of Crows (review here). Once again, the four-song outing finds guitarist/vocalist Gentry Densley and drummer Tyler Smith exploring the natural order and the natural world the 11-minute “Quanah un Rama” and the 14-minute “Antlers of Lightning” bookend “Elk Wolfv Hymn” (8:22) and album highlight “Heavy Hood” (7:21), creating an ever-more immersive and grit-laden flow across the album’s span. It’s hard to know if Densley and Smith are the hunters or the hunted here, but the tones are massive enough to make YOB blush, the rhythms are hypnotic and the use they’re both put to is still unlike anything else out there, ending after the chaos and assault of low end on “Antlers of Lightning” with a moment of contemplative guitar lead, as if to remind us of our solitary place in imagining ourselves at the top of the food chain.
One wonders what it might’ve been like to see Wight on the 2015 tour on which the Bilocation Records-issued vinyl-only Fusion Rock Invasion: Live Over Europe was captured. Still a year out from releasing their third album, Love is Not Only What You Know (review here), the former trio had already become a four-piece with guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist René Hofmann, bassist Peter-Philipp Schierhorn and drummer Thomas Kurek bringing in percussionist Steffen Kirchpfening and already undertaken the funkier aesthetic turn that LP would represent coming off of 2012’s Through the Woods into Deep Water (review here). At least I’d think it would be something of a surprise as the band hit into “Helicopter Mama” and “The Muse & the Mule” and “Kelele,” which comprise side A of Fusion Rock Invasion, but by all appearances listening to the crowd response between songs, they seem into it. Who could argue? Wight’s groove in those songs as well as the older “Master of Nuggets” and Love is Not Only What You Know finale “The Love for Life Leads to Reincarnation” on side B, are infectious in their grooves and the soul put into them is genuine and unmistakable. One more reason I wouldn’t have minded being there, I suppose.
Name your bet someone picks up Sundrifter’s Visitations for a proper release. The Boston three-piece of vocalist/guitarist Craig Peura, bassist Paul Gaughran and drummer Patrick Queenan impress in performance, aesthetic and craft across the nine songs and 48 minute of their for-now-self-released debut long-player, and whether it’s Queenan dipping into blastbeats on “Targeted” or Gaughran’s rumble on the Soundgarden-gone-doom “Fire in the Sky” or the fuzz that leads the charge on the Queens of the Stone Age-style “Hammerburn,” Peura doing a decent Josh Homme along the way, each member proves to add something to a whole greater than the sum of its parts and that is able to take familiar elements and use them to hone an individualized atmosphere. In the wake of melodically engaged Boston acts like Gozu, Sundrifter would seem to be a focused newcomer with a solidified mindset of who they are as a group. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised either if they kept growing their sound. Something about the psychedelic distance in “Fire in the Sky” and “I Want to Leave,” says there’s forward movement yet to be had.
Serenity and presence. There’s no shortage of either on the second Holy Mushroom full-length, Moon. Incorporating the prior-issued digital single “Éufrates,” the five-track/43-minute excursion is rife with natural-toned psychedelic resonance, marked out by organ/piano working alongside the guitar (see “Birdwax Blues”), as well as guest contributions of double bass and saxophone, and other sundry moments of depth-creating flourish. Their trance-effect is palpable, and Moon is an easy album to get lost in, especially as the Spanish three-piece make their way through 12:35 centerpiece “The Preacher,” moving from a dreamy opening line of guitar into funk-laden heft that only pushes forward with Hendrixian abandon through a massive jam before rounding out sweetly with vocals over background organ and sweetly-strummed guitar. “Éufrates” would seem to start the same way, but varies the structure in more of a back and forth format before closer “Grand Finale in the Blind Desert” brings both Holy Mushroom’s most patient execution and their most vibrant jam (sax included), essentially building from the one into the other to end the album in energetic fashion. To say it works for them would be underselling it.
A debut long-player of no-pretense, no-nonsense sludge-infused doom, Petrichor (on Backbite Records) shows German five-piece Iron and Stone as ready to follow where the riff will lead them. The late 2017 album is a solidly-delivered 10 tracks and 43 minutes that strikes mostly in monochrome intent, save perhaps for the acoustic “Interlude” near the midpoint. Their 2015 EP, Old Man’s Doom (review here), was similarly upfront in its purposes, but carrying across a full-length – especially a debut – is a different beast from a shorter outing. Their heavier push on “Monolith” is welcome and the break-then-chug of “Deserts” does plenty to satisfy, but Petrichor might require a couple concerted listens to really sink in on its audience, though as I’ve said time and again, if you can’t handle repetition, you can’t handle doom. Iron and Stone effectively balance traditional doom and rawer sludge groove, playing fluidly to whichever suits their purposes at a given moment.
Sardinian doom cult Black Capricorn push well beyond the limits of the manageable with their 95-minute fourth album, Omega (released Nov. 2017 on Stone Stallion Rex), and that’s clearly the idea. The three-piece of bassist Virginia, drummer Rakela and guitarist/vocalist Kjxu offer grim ambience and tempos that sound slow regardless of their actual speed. That said, the 17-minute “Antartide” is an accomplishment as regards crawl. After a sweetly melancholic opening of guitar, it lurches and lumbers out its miserable heft until a return to that intro bookends. Even shorter tracks like “Flower of Revelation” or “Stars of Orion” hold firm to the tenet of plod, and though the results are obviously a lot to take in, the idea that it should be a slog seems all the more appropriate to Black Capricorn’s style. The band, which hits the decade mark in 2018, churn out one last bit of wretchedness in the nine-minute closing title-track before giving way to an acoustic finish, as if to remind that Omega’s sorrows are conveyed as much through atmosphere as actual sonic heft.
Guitarist/vocalist Simon Tuozzoli, also of malevolent doomers Vestal Claret, leads the new trio Owl Maker, and in the company of bassist Jessie May and drummer Chris Anderson, he embarks on a heavy rock push of six tracks with the debut EP, Paths of the Slain, still holding to some elements of metal, whether it’s the double-kick in opener “Ride with Aileen” or the backing vocals and guitar solo of the subsequent “99.” Songwriting is clearheaded across the EP’s 23 minutes, and in terms of first impressions, “Mashiara” shows a focus on melody that retains a metallic poise without losing its riff-driven edge. The balance shifts throughout “Freya’s Chariot” and the all-go “Witches,” the latter of which touches on black metal in its first half before turning on a dime to mid-paced heavy rock, and closer “Lady Stoneheart” nods in its back end to NWOBHM gallop, as Owl Maker seem to tip their audience to the fact that they’re just getting started on their exploration of the many interpretations of heavy.
When one considers the multiple connotations of the word, Portland’s Troll are definitely going more for “lives under a bridge” than “meddling in elections” when it comes to their sound. Their self-titled debut EP, issued in 2017 before being picked up by respected purveyor Shadow Kingdom Records for a 2018 CD/tape release, is a highlight offering of classic-style doom worthy of Orodruin and Pilgrim comparisons and headlined by the vocal performance of John, who carries songs like opener “The Summoning” and the later, more swinging “Infinite Death” in a manner impressive in both frontman presence and melodic range. His work is only bolstered by the riffs of guitarist Lou and the consistent groove held together by bassist Wayne and drummer Ryan, whose drive in centerpiece “An Eternal Haunting” is neither overdone nor incongruous with the wall its tempo hits, and who meld shuffle and plod on closer “Savage Thunder” with naturalist ease. Potential abounds, and they reportedly already have new material in the works, so all the better.
Some bands, you just have to accept the fact that they’re on a different wavelength and that’s all there is to it. Magma. Master Musicians of Bukkake. Circle. Enter Oakland, California’s Malditos, whose sophomore outing, II: La Réve, arrives via Svart Records. From bizarre psychedelic chants to ritualized repetitions that seems to be daring you to play them backwards on your turntable, the spiritual freakout to songs like “Azadeh” and the penultimate “Momen” is palpable. Reach out and touch it and it will ripple like water in front of you. A sense of space is filled with elements alternatingly horrifying and engrossing, and after they make their way through “Le Passage” and centerpiece “Disparu” and wind up in the title-track to close out, the journey to the final wash of noise gives the distinct impression that for neither the listener nor the band is there any coming back. High order head trippery. Will simply be too much for some, will gloriously expand the minds of others.
The Freak Folk of Mangrovia, Sonic Meditations: Live @ Palach
I don’t know how much improvisation is a factor in the sound of The Freak Folk of Mangrovia, but the Croation collective bring an ultra-organic presence to their perhaps-debut release, Sonic Meditations: Live @ Palach. The group, which seems also to have gone under the names Marko Mushan & the Mangrovian Orchestra and The Free Folk of Mangrovia, was opening for Acid Mothers Temple that night, and Sonic Meditations mostly breaks down into parts – “Sonic Meditation I,” “II,” “III” and “IV” – before the band closes out with “’Mangrovian Summer,” all the while with The Freak Folk of Mangrovia making their way through progressive dreamscapes, dripping with effects and spacious enough to house an entire Mangrovian village, however big that might be. It is otherworldly and jazzy and moves with such fluidity that the entire “Sonic Meditation” becomes one overarching piece, complemented by the closing “Mangrovian Summer,” which ebbs and flows through louder, more active jamming before capping in a wash of noise.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 13th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
The eight-minute psychedelic swirly ‘Open Your Wings’ is the leadoff cut on Green Desert Water‘s second long-player and first for Small Stone Records, April’s gonna-be-here-before-you-know-it Solar Plexus. Not that I’ve heard it or anything — actually, I don’t think it matters in this case, since I also wrote the bio below, so yeah, I’ve heard it — but the record is an excellent blend of classic rock and psychedelic impulses, and like the best of what Small Stone over the label’s many years, its sound is modern nonetheless. Pretense is nowhere to be found, the basstone is gotta-hear-it, and there’s a resonant sense of soul that comes through from vocalist Kike Sanchís that recalls a heavy blues spirit without being directly attributable to one influence or another.
That’s my little take, anyhow. Again, I also wrote the bio below, but here it is circled back through the PR wire:
GREEN DESERT WATER: Iberian Stoner Rockers To Release Solar Plexus Via Small Stone; New Track Streaming + Preorders Available
With the purple sun, the hermit was introduced into the wild, through the mountains and the long desert to back home….
After getting their feet wet in a molten pool of heavy blues on their 2012 self-titled debut EP, GREEN DESERT WATER is ready for their next conquest. The Oviedo, Spain-based three-piece have been making a name for themselves as one of the best-kept-secrets of the Iberian heavy underground, and with Solar Plexus – their second LP – they’ve never sounded readier to let the cat out of the proverbial bag. And by “cat out of the bag,” we mean unleashing classic power trio grooves – all primo, all soul, but heavier and thicker and more modern than the first record.
Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Kike Sanchís, bassist Juan Arias García, and drummer/backing vocalist Javi González, GREEN DESERT WATER sinks its teeth into hellacious boogie on songs like “Open Your Wings” and find the place where Black Sabbath and Mountain could’ve met on “Souls Of The Woodland” – and when it comes to the title-track? Well, at least you know where they’re going to hit you. With six songs split up over two glorious vinyl sides, GREEN DESERT WATER’s Solar Plexus indeed puts itself right in the center of attention – refusing to commit to one single vibe or another as it captures the best energy of classic heavy rock and brings it forward to a modern era where it’s so desperately needed.
Solar Plexus was recorded and mixed by Pablo Martínez Pérez at Ovni Estudio, mastered by Kike Sanchís at Green Desert Mastering and comes wrapped in the cover art of Héctor Castañón. The six-track offering will see release on CD, digital, and limited edition vinyl formats on April 27th via Small Stone.
Solar Plexus Track Listing: 1. Open Your Wings 2. Chaman 3. The Deepest Sea 4. Souls Of The Woodland 5. Mother Moon 6. Solar Plexus
GREEN DESERT WATER: Juan Arias García – fuzz bass Javi González – drums, percussion, backing vocals Kike Sanchís – guitars, vocals Additional guitar on “The Deepest Sea” by Pablo Martínez Pérez.
per-track basis between longer and shorter pieces, gradually evening out as side B closes. “Sacred Tree” and “Dead Sacred Tree” — which run directly one into the other — are both about four minutes long, but if one takes them as a single entity as they’d essentially be on vinyl, then the shift to “Too Many Wizards” becomes even more striking, even though “Dead Sacred Tree” works just fine on its own anyhow, bringing its weighted riff to a post-Sabbath shuffle with organic ’70s shove. “Too Many Wizards” is the shortest inclusion at 3:36, but has fuzz and swagger both in supply to last much longer, and gives itself over to the more methodical title-track, which tops seven minutes and caps side A with due ebbs and flows, a guest-spot on guitar from Wo Fat‘s Kent Stump doing nothing to hurt their deceptively patient cause.
