Posted in Whathaveyou on September 5th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Having recently engaged with Orango‘s upcoming album, it feels inevitable that, when it comes to Wizrd‘s autocorrect-defying classic-heavy-informed, harmony-prone and patiently wrought material as represented by “Lessons” — the opener and first streaming single from Wizrd‘s Karisma Records debut, Seasons — that’s kind of where my head goes, but the difference of what Wizrd offer is down to the specifically prog take “Lessons” would seem to demonstrate. The band — who will release the album on Oct. 21, preorders now, blah blah — boast connections to the likes of Spidergawd, Krokofant, Soft Ffog, and in the production end, Jaga Jazzist, and if those names mean nothing to you, that’s your next week’s worth of exploration sorted, but while you’re here, you may as well check out the song posted below.
If you’re learning about who these people are and what they’ve done in the past and what they’re doing now, in other words, “Lessons” can be a good way to start.
And while you’re processing the emotional trauma of that play on words, I’ll direct you to the smoothly executed copy of the PR wire for refuge:
Norwegian Rockers WIZRD Reveal Details and Single from Upcoming Album Seasons!
Having learned their craft at the Jazz Conservatory in Trondheim, WIZRD have completed work on their new album Seasons, and Karisma Records have today released the track Lessons from the album.
Lessons is a track that gives an insight into what we can expect from the debut album from this talented Norwegian quartet, consisting of Hallvard Gaardløs (SPIDERGAWD, DRAKEN and more) on bass and lead vocals, Karl Bjorå (MEGALODON COLLECTIVE and more) on guitar and vocals, Vegard Lien Bjerkan (SOFT FFOG and more) on keyboards and vocals and Axel Skalstad (KROKOFANT, SOFT FFOG and more) on drums.
The band’s Hallvard Gaardløs explains: “Lessons is somewhat the quintessential WIZRD song, at least for me. It is a good representation of what we intend to do on this album, mixing progressive and improvisational elements with rock & pop sensibilities. The lyrics are about the New Age movement, and the fact that I find it rather silly. I’m kind of just making fun of it all, comparing yoga to a sacrificing ritual for Satan. With that said, I practice yoga sometimes myself, so I guess that makes me a demon worshipper.. Oh well, why not! Hail Satan!”
The single Lessons can be downloaded or streamed from a variety of services:
Seasons itself, is set for release on the 21st October, and showcases how WIZRD are more than happy to test their limits with a sound that encompasses Rock and Indie to Jazz and Prog, whilst breaking a few rules along the way. The end result is a masterclass in how to produce a catchy album that is filled with beautiful vocal harmonies, stunning melodies, quirky jazz grooves and a rock’n’roll drive to die for.
Produced by Norwegian film score composer and JAGA JAZZIST drummer Martin Horntveth, Seasons was recorded at the Studio Paradiso in Oslo by Marcus Forsgren (BROR FORSGREN, JAGA JAZZIST) and Horntveth, and mixed by Bergen based musician and producer Matias Tellez (YOUNG DREAMS, GIRL IN RED).
With artwork by Steph Hope, Seasons will be available in CD, Digital and a Limited Edition LP in transparent magenta vinyl formats, and can now be pre-ordered from: https://www.karismarecords.no/shop/
Tracklist 1. Lessons 2. Free Will 3. Spitfire 4. All Is As It Should Be 5. Show Me What You Got 6. Fire & Water 7. Divine 8. When You Call
WIZRD are: Hallvard Gaardløs (SPIDERGAWD, DRAKEN and more) – bass/lead vocals Karl Bjorå (MEGALODON COLLECTIVE and more) – guitar/vocals Vegard Lien Bjerkan (SOFT FFOG and more) – keys/vocals Axel Skalstad (KROKOFANT, SOFT FFOG and more) – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 8th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
When last heard from, South African trio Ruff Majik were getting ready to hit the studio in September to track a quick-turnaround sophomore album to answer their 2018 debut, Seasons (review here). They did shows throughout the country last month following up on two European tours earlier this year, and I’d have to imagine the new record is at least finished in terms of the actual recording process, if not mixed or yet mastered. Their eye was on an early 2019 release, so hopefully that actually comes together.
In the meantime, they’ll play four shows in Cape Town to close out the year, two of which are free. That in itself is pretty nifty, but kudos the band on getting four bookings in the same city on four consecutive nights. It’s not every group in every town who could make that happen, even with a variety of openers. Clearly there’s some respect there, so right on.
The PR wire brings the dates and the whatnot:
Ruff Majik Reveal Cape Town Tour Dates for December
Pretoria’s sludge n rollers Ruff Majik have announced a couple dates for Cape Town shows in December. They’ll be joined by Cape Town based hardcore heroes Peasant for two shows along with a host of the city’s finest heavy bands including MA-AT, Monstroid, Behest, Blood Ret, Pooch, The Man Motels and more.
Pieter Jordaan from Peasant comments on the tour “Cape Town is often starved of the doomy goodness that a band like Ruff Majik can provide, so we are very stoked to have them pull through for the long weekend! With Peasant joining on two dates, and some of the best garage, fuzz and hardcore the city has to offer, the tour will be the best way to start off the holiday season right!”
Ruff Majik guitarist and vocalist Johni Holiday does on to add “Cape Town is always such a magic experience. The crowds are always intensely invested in the music, and we get the best green when we visit! This time around, we’re really excited to be joined by the dudes of Peasant and some of the finest doom, garage and hardcore bands that CPT has to offer!”
THUR 13 DEC – Black Irish – 1 Scher Street, Durbanville R40 ENTRANCE FRI 14 DEC – Prison – 28 Somerset Rd, Green Point, Cape Town FREE ENTRANCE SAT 15 DEC – Scary Canary – 225 Long St, Cape Town City Centre R50 ENTRANCE SUN 16 DEC – Surfarosa – 61a Harrington St, Zonnebloem FREE ENTRANCE
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 7th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
South African heavy psych trio Ruff Majik are set to enter the studio to record the follow-up to their 2018 debut album, Seasons (review here), for an early 2019 release. I won’t claim to have any insight on the band’s processes, but given the live sound of the last record and the series of EPs that preceded it, it doesn’t seem out of line to expect they’ll get their sophomore full-length to tape with all good speed. That’s all the better since at the end of the month they’ll take stage at the Krank’d Up festival in Johannesburg, as one of a select round of live dates they’ll do in their home country to correspond with the European tour they undertook this past Spring following Seasons‘ release. You’ll note in the announcement below for the shows it says they’ve never played in their hometown of Lydenburg. Even knowing nothing about urban populations and demographics in South Africa, that seems astonishing to me. Smaller town, I guess? Still fascinating.
Gotta figure they’ll be back in Europe supporting the new album whenever it arrives. Hopefully that happens sooner than later.
From the PR wire:
Pretoria’s Ruff Majik Divulge Details for their “Season of the Witch” tour.
Coming off the back of 2 very successful European tours, South Africa’s sludge n roll kings Ruff Majik have revealed dates and details for their Season of The Witch tour.
Kicking off on the 29th September with their mainstage appearance at this year’s chapter of the mighty Krank’d Up Music Festival, the tour will see them play in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and for the very 1st time in their home town of Lydenburg.
“We’re extremely excited to be hitting the road for a few select dates with some good friends! Each show will be an entirely different experience with these line-ups, so we can’t wait!” – Johni Holiday, vocals / guitar
29 September // JHB // Krank’d Up Music Festival 12 October // PTA // The Grind Bar // with from Apocalypse Later, Wolkberg 13 October // JHB // Sundowners // with Them Dirty Shrikes, Caution Boy 20 October // DBN // Winston // with Pollinator, Mad God 26 October // LYD // Jam Jar Lounge // with Wolkberg, Them Dirty Shrikes
The band released their debut full length album Seasons on the 20th April 2018 which was well received by the local and international metal and rock media.
Seasons available now on all digital platforms including BandCamp Apple Music Spotify Deezer and on CD and cassette via Forbidden Place Records
The band will be in studio in September 2018 recording the follow up to Seasons with the aim of releasing early in 2019.
So Day 1’s done and it’s time to move on to Day 2. Feeling stressed and totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff still to be done? Why yes, I am. Thanks for asking. In the past, I used to handle the Quarterly Review well ahead of time. It’s always a lot to get through, but the week before, I’d be setting up back ends, chasing down links and Bandcamp players, starting reviews, etc., so that when it came time, all I had to do was the writing and plug it all into a post and I was set.
There was some prep-work done this past weekend, but especially this time, with my old laptop having been stolen in May, it’s all been way more jazz-improv. I was still adding releases as of last Friday, and writing beforehand? Shit. With the baby having just figured out how to climb? Not bloody likely. Accordingly, here we are, with much to do.
It’ll get done. I haven’t flubbed a Quarterly Review yet, and if I took an extra day to get there, I’m under no delusion that anyone else would care. So there you go. Let’s hit it for Day 2:
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Glanville, First Blood
First Blood is the aptly-titled five-song debut EP from Glanville, a newcomer dual-guitar outfit with established players Philip Michel (The Earwix) on lead and Christopher West (Named by the Sun, ex-Stubb, etc.) on rhythm, Wight’s Peter-Philipp Schierhorn on bass and René Hofmann on vocals, and Thomas Hoffman (ex-Bushfire) on drums. Based in Germany and the UK, the group present 23 minutes of material on their first outing, drawing from the guitar-led likes of Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest to capture early metal and present it with a heavy rocking soulfulness and modern production. The most raucous of the cuts might be centerpiece “Durga the Great,” but neither “God is Dead” nor “Dancing on Fire” before nor “Demons” and “Time to Go” after want for action, and especially the latter builds to a furious head to close out the release. Hofmann as a standalone singer wants for nothing in range or approach, and the band behind him obviously build on their collective experience to dig into a stylistic nuance rarely executed with such confidence. They’ve found a place willfully between and are working to make it theirs. Can’t ask for more than that.
Having just recently signed to Argonauta Records for a new album in 2019, Austin doomers Destroyer of Light follow their 2017 long-player, Chamber of Horrors (review here), with a further auditory assault in the lumbering Hopeless. Psychedelic and yet still somehow traditional doom lingers in the brain after “Nyx” and “Drowned” have finished – the latter with an Alan Watts sample discussing alcoholism – and the band moves into demos for Chamber of Horrors cuts “Into the Smoke,” “Lux Crusher” and “Buried Alive.” Between the two previously unreleased songs and those three demos, Hopeless pushes to 39 minutes, but it’s probably still fair to call it an EP because of the makeup. Either way, from the miserable plod of “Nyx,” in which each chug in the riff cycle seems to count another woe, to the rolling nod early and surprising melody late in “Drowned,” Hopeless is anything but. Anticipation was already pretty high for Destroyer of Light’s next record after the last one, but all Hopeless does is show further depth of approach and more cleverly-wielded atmospheric murk. And the more it sounds like there’s no escape, the more Destroyer of Light seem to be in their element.
The inevitable question is “Why a lizard?” and if you make it four minutes into 11-minute opener “Fractal Panorama” and don’t have your answer, go back ad start over. Moscow heavy psych instrumentalists The Re-Stoned intend the reptile as a spirit guide for their new outing Stories of the Astral Lizard (on Oak Island Records), which follows quickly behind their late-2017 offering, Chronoclasm (review here), and given the ultra-patient desert vibes in the opener, the acoustic-laced folk-prog of “Mental Print for Free,” the languid meander of “A Companion from the Outside,” the swirling sprawl of the 16-minute “Two Astral Projections” and the final cowpoke drift of “The Heather Carnival,” one might indeed just find a lizard sunning its belly amid all the atmospheric evocations and hallucinatory vibes. I’ll take “Two Astral Projections” as the highlight, but mostly because the extra length allows the band to really dig in, but really the whole album feeds together gorgeously and is a new level of achievement when it comes to atmosphere for The Re-Stoned, who were already underappreciated and find themselves only more so now.
Right on fuzz, right on groove, right on vibe – there isn’t much else one might say about Ruff Majik’s Seasons (on Rock Freaks Records and Forbidden Place Records) beyond “right on.” Heavy rock with twists of psychedelia, the Pretoria, South Africa, three-piece of Johni Holliday, Jimi Glass and Benni Manchino make their home on the lines of various subgenres, but wherever they go, the proceedings remain decisively heavy. To wit, a cut like “Breathing Ghosts” or the later “Birds Stole My Eyes” might dig into shuffle boogie or extreme-metal-derived thrust, but there’s a chemistry between the members and a resonant looseness that ties the material together, and as the last 14 of the total 66 minutes are dedicated to “Asleep in the Leaves,” there’s plenty of progressive weirdness in which to bask, one song moving through the next such that neither “Hanami Sakura (And the Ritual Suicide” nor the semi-doom-plodding “The Deep Blue” nor the funky twists of “Tar Black Blood” come across as predictable. Seasons might take a few listens to sink in, but it’s easily worth that effort.
Hyperbole-worthy post-ism from Switzerland’s Soldat Hans makes their sophomore outing, Es Taut – on Wolves and Vibrancy Records as a 2LP – a forward thinking highlight. As rich in atmosphere as Crippled Black Phoenix and as lethal as Converge or Neurosis or anyone else you might dare to put next to them, the six-piece made their debut with 2014’s Dress Rehearsal (review here) and served notice of their cross-genre ambitiousness. Es Taut finds them four years later outclassing themselves and most of the rest of the planet across three extended tracks – “Story of the Flood” (26:15), “Schoner Zerbirst, Part I” (8:03) and “Schoner Zerbirst, Part II” (18:56) – that sprawl out with a confidence, poise and abrasion that is nothing short of masterful. Es Taut may be a case of a band outdoing their forebears, but whatever their legacy becomes and however many people take notice, Soldat Hans singlehandedly breathe life into the form of post-metal and prove utterly vital in so doing, not only making it their own, but pushing forward into something new in ambience and heft. This is what a band sounds like while making themselves indispensable.
Calling to order a nod that’s immersive from the opening strains of leadoff/longest-track “Firefly” (still immediate points), Los Angeles trio High Priestess build out the psych-doom ritualizing of their 2017 demo (review here) to make their self-titled full-length debut through Ripple Music. The difference between the demo and the album in terms of what’s included comes down to artwork and the track “Take the Blame,” which adds its bell-of-the-ride swing between the atmosphere and melodic focus of “Banshee” and the spacious roller “Mother Forgive Me.” Potential is writ large throughout from guitarist/vocalist Katie Gilchrest, bassist/vocalist Mariana Fiel and drummer Megan Mullins, as it was on their demo, and even the harsh growls/screams on “Despise” seem to have found their place within the proceedings. As they wrap with the guitar-led jam of “Earth Dive,” High Priestess put the finishing touch on what’s hands-down one of 2018’s best debut albums and offer a reminder that as much potential as there is in their sound for future development, the accomplishments here are considerable unto themselves.
Four tracks of gurgling riffy plunder pervade Astrological Passages, the 41-minute – longer if you get the digital version or the tape/CD, which includes the 7:24 “Dominion of Oblivion” – debut album from Columbus, Ohio’s Weed Demon. Delivered on vinyl through Electric Valley Records, the nodder/plodder carves out a cave for itself within a mountain of tonally thick stoner metal riffing, infusing a sense of sludge with shouted and growled vocals from guitarists Andy and Brian and bassist Jordan – only drummer Chris doesn’t get a mic – and an overarching sense of bludgeoning that’s Sleep-derived if not Sleep-adjacent in terms of its actual sound. Nasty? Why, yes it is, but as “Sigil of the Black Moon” heads toward the midpoint of its 10-minute run, the repetitive groove assault makes the band’s intention plain: worship weed, worship riff. They get faster on “Primordial Genocide” and even sneak a bit of speed in amidst the crawl before the banjo takes hold in the second half of 12-minute closer “Jettisoned” – more Americana sludge please; thank you – but they never lose sight of their mission, and it’s the uniting factor that makes their debut hit like the brick to the head that it is.
With Sentinels, Oxford, UK, five-piece Desert Storm pass a decade since making their self-titled debut in 2008. They followed that with 2010’s Forked Tongues (review here), 2013’s Horizontal Life and 2014’s Omniscient (review here), and though they had a single out in 2014 on H42 Records as a split with Suns of Thunder (review here) in 2016, Sentinels is their first outing on APF Records and their first long-player in four years. Burl has always been an important factor in what they do, and the High on Fire-meets-Orange Goblin slamming of “The Brawl” backs that up, but Desert Storm have left much of the hyper-dudeliness behind in favor of a more complex approach, and while Sentinels isn’t a minor undertaking at 10 songs and 51 minutes, longer cuts like “Kingdom of Horns” and “Convulsion” demonstrate the maturity they’ve brought to bear, even as the one-two punch of “Drifter” and “The Extrovert” offer swinging-fist hooks and beard-worthy chug that assures any and all testosterone quotas are met.
Based in Los Angeles, Ancient Altar — Scott Carlson (bass/vocals), Barry Kavener (guitar/vocals), Jesse Boldt (guitar) and Etay Levy (drums) – were last heard from on 2015’s dug-in atmosludger Dead Earth (review here), and they return lo these several years later with the two-tracker Cosmic Purge/Foie Gras, pushing into more extreme crush-of-riff with an abandon that’s anything but reckless. On the contrary, there’s some clear development in the 10-minute “Cosmic Purge” and 13-minute “Foie Gras,” rolling out oppressive grooves with blended screams/shouts and cleaner vocals. As with the last album, a drive toward individuality is central here, and Ancient Altar get there in tone while bringing forth a sense of scope to a sound so regularly thought of as closed off or off-putting in general. In its early going, “Foie Gras” hypnotizes with echoing melody and spaciousness only to resolve itself in a deeply weighted dirge march, furthering the pummel of “Cosmic Purge” itself. I don’t know if the EP – on vinyl through Black Voodoo Records, CD on Transcendental Void Records – will lead toward another album or not, but the sense of progression in Ancient Altar’s style is right there waiting to be heard, so here’s hoping.
Listen to it on headphones and the kickdrum on Black Box Warning’s Attendre la Mort is downright painful. Next-level blown-out aggro pulsations. Brutal in a physical sense. The rest of the band doesn’t follow far behind in that regard. Riffs are viscous and violent in noise rock tradition, but denser in their tone despite some underlying punkishness, and the vocals are likewise distorted and abrasive. The five-song/23-minute EP’s title translates to “Waiting for Death,” and each of the tracks is a dose: Opener “5 mg” is followed by “4 mg,” “1 mg,” “2 mg” and “3 mg.” Unsurprisingly, pills are a theme, particularly on “4 mg,” and the sense of violent threat is clear in “2 mg” and 3 mg,” which boast lines like, “Watch them all scream/Watch your enemy bleeded,” and “You are the pig/I am the butcher,” respectively. Between the lyrical and the general aural cruelty, the dis-ease is consuming and unmitigated, sludge becoming a slow-motion grindcore, and that’s clearly the point. Not stabbing, but gouging.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 17th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
A conceptual work wherein each batch of three songs was actually written in a different season, the suitably titled Seasons was self-released by Pretorian trio Ruff Majik digitally on April 20. As the band is set to tour Europe this summer twice, making stops first at Freak Valley and then at SonicBlast Moledo, and, you know, as the album kicks ass, it’s not a huge surprise that it’s been picked up for physical release. And it’s all the more telling that rather than trickle out one format at a time over a period of years (or seasons, for that matter), Ruff Majik are taking care of it all in one shot. The limited 2LP will be out through the Freak Valley-associated Rock Freaks Records in a variety of editions, and the CD and tape versions will arrive through US imprint Forbidden Place.
Both labels have the album up for preorder now. Here’s the PR wire to tell you pretty much exactly what I just told you using different words:
Ruff Majik Reveal Details to Release SEASONS on CD, Cassette and Vinyl
2018 is turning out to be an incredible year for South African Sludge n Rollers Ruff Majik. With two European tours booked that will see them playing Freak Valley Festival and SonicBlast as well as a host of club shows.
They also released their debut full-length album Seasons on the 20th April to widespread critical acclaim. The guys are happy to announce that they have signed deals with US label Forbidden Place Records to release and distribute Seasons on CD and cassette, while German label Rock Freaks Records will be releasing three versions of the double LP: classic black, coloured (still a secret) and die-hard (very limited).
Vocalist and guitarist Johni Holiday commented on the news “Ruff Majik is immensely excited to take the next step in furthering our career by bringing out physical copies. With the backing of Rock Freaks and Forbidden Place, we’re making a lifelong dream come true!”
Pre-order Seasons on CD or Cassette here and on Vinyl here.
Tracklisting: 1. Harpy 04:49 2. Gone down in the woods today 05:15 3. Breathing ghosts 04:20 4. Last of the witches 03:53 5. It flies at night 03:48 6. Hanami Sakura (and the ritual suicide) 04:26 7. The deep blue 08:04 8. Hammered are the gods 04:42 9. Birds stole my eyes 04:17 10. Tar black blood 03:15 11. Come all ye druids 05:04 12. Asleep in the leaves 14:10
Posted in audiObelisk on March 21st, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Come this Spring/early Summer, Pretorian heavy psych trio Ruff Majik will embark on a European tour for the first time. They do so supporting their upcoming new album, Seasons, and in addition to a Sound of Liberation showcase on May 26 in Wiesbaden that also includes My Sleeping Karma and Colour Haze in the lineup — not too shabby — they’ll be appearing at Freak Valley 2018 in Germany and SonicBlast Moledo 2018 in Portugal. Clearly the plan is to get around.
Fair enough. Imagine Goatsnake jamming a blowout tapped on mushrooms while backpacking during a semester abroad and you might be somewhere near the swing and sneer of Ruff Majik‘s new streaming single, “Come all Ye Druids,” which is premiering below. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing Seasons — which is out April 20 and may or may not bear the subtitle A Stag in the Leaves— in its entirety, but the South African trio three-piece have put out three prior “chapters” under the Seasonsbanner in last June’s Seasons 1, Chapter 1: The Hare and the Hollow, last September’s Seasons 1, Chapter 2: A Finch in a Cherry Tree and last December’s Seasons 1, Chapter 3: A Dragon and His Hoard, so whether the impending Seasons is part of the same overarching storyline — i.e., if it’s “Chapter 4” — or some next step in the cycle, I couldn’t say, but the mystery only adds intrigue to the track itself, which as intimated above, brims with riffy and tripped-out groove.
The tones are thick but not immobile, and guitarist/vocalist Johni Holidayis right when he asserts below that the band is getting heavier. What they haven’t done, at least going by “Come all Ye Druids,” is abandon the spirit of spontaneity that comes from jam-based songcraft, and so whether it’s Holiday‘s riffs, the washing crash of drummer Ben Manchino or the air-pushing low end from bassist Jimmy Glass, the four-minute track wants nothing for momentum as it pushes its way through its drity, sludge-infused nod. The hook arrives over toms and the central riff picks back up even more infectious than when it left, the swagger of the verse at once dangerous and immersive. A fuzzed out so fights for dominance in the second half of the track, but it seems nothing can overcome the main riff, which takes hold again and seems to override everything else as the track fades just past the four-minute mark.
As to just how much of what Ruff Majik are doing on Seasons might be represented in “Come all Ye Druids,” I couldn’t say. Given how loose-swinging the single is, I’d believe you if you told me the record went just about anywhere. Take a listen below and see if you can guess. A quote from Holiday and PR wire info follows.
Please enjoy:
Johni Holiday on Seasons:
With this release, Ruff Majik decided to set sail into newer, sludgier directions. We decided long ago that we wouldn’t be that band that people would complain about, saying ‘they used to be heavier.’ Hell no, every time we bring out new music we want to move forward, become heavier, more intense. We still like to include bluesy bits, sure. But this song is made to be filthy, heavy, oily sludge ‘n’ roll. Next time we might do something a bit more doom again, who knows hahaha. All I know is that right now, Ruff Majik is becoming a groove machine, and we like it.
The band embark on their 1st European tour in June 2018 which sees them play Freak Valley Festival in Germany along with a host of club shows supporting the likes of Colour Haze, My Sleeping Karma and The Devil and the Almighty Blues. They’ll be back in Europe in August to play SonicBlast in Portugal.
Ruff Majik live: Support for The Devil and the Almighty Blues: 24 May, Stuttgart, Goldmarks 28 May, Munich, Feierwerk 29 May, Vienna, Arena 30 May, Leipzig, Werk 2
Supporting Colour Haze and My Sleeping Karma: 26 May, Wiesbaden, Schlachthoff 31 May, Freak Valley Festival, Netphen 2 June, Dresden, Beatpol (supporting Mars Red Sky)
In a small, secluded mining town in rural South Africa, three friends heard the call of the void, and spat fuzz back at it. Thus, Ruff Majik was formed, and the boys decided it was time to move to the city to spread their gospel of riff worship and sound sorcery.
Ruff Majik moved to Pretoria, South Africa, where they’ve become infamous for their lively shows and aggressive on-stage persona. With their brand of what they call “stoner rock / sludge ‘n roll” they move between slow grooves and breakneck speeds in the blink of an eye, with live shows being described as ‘whiplash inducing’.
The band surfaced in 2015 with the release of their first 6 track, The Bear. This got them lots of attention from reviewers all over the world. They quickly followed up with The Fox in 2016. In 2017 Ruff Majik released The Swan, The Hare and the Hollow, A Finch in a Cherry Tree and A Dragon and his Hoard, the latter three being part of upcoming full-length Seasons.
The members are Johni Holiday (guitar/vocals), Jimmy Glass (bass guitar) and Ben Manchino (drums).
