I’m talking about unchecked aggression, dude. That’s what Midlands trio Volume Death Riot have to say about it. Theirs is a therapeutic, noisy kind of riff metal, like AmRep gone mo-dern; a little mellower than Unsane at their angriest, but aren’t we all? You might hear some Houdini, but you might not. One’s as likely as the other.

I’ve been grooving on the two tracks on Volume Death Riot‘s MySpace page for the last week or so, and the energy they emit is every bit as frantic and unchained as the paragraph above. Everything about them is choppy except the songwriting. “Buer,” at a surprisingly quick seven minutes, is riffy without being cliche, and the kind of song you’d expect to be instrumental, but for the vocals. “Hell to Pay” is shorter, crunchier and more aggressive vocally, but still basically in the noise-rock mold. Of the two I’ll take the latter, as far as personal preference goes, and though I don’t know what the three-piece’s plans are as far as more recording, I’d sure like to see them play a gig with On the Radar veterans Dopefight.

Noise is about as unpretentious a sound as you can get, and Volume Death Riot definitely make good use of that workingman feel in their two present tracks. Hopefully they’ll be able to keep that kind of atmosphere going forward, as both “Hell to Pay” and “Buer” have a sincerity to their anger that’s not easily faked. They’re not changing the world, but they’ve got a cool sound, decent production, and potential. It’s worth keeping an eye on the MySpace to see where they go from here.

Released via Aurora Borealis in a limited edition of 1,000 copies, Conan’s thematic Horseback Battle Hammer is every bit as heavy as the title suggests. This kind of lumbering über-doom I like to call brown metal, because it rumbles so low you could shit your pants from the vibrations. Seriously, listening to the UK band’s EP – you might recall their Battle in the Swamp demo was on their MySpace not so long ago – is like having your head squashed by a boulder-wielding giant, and I’m not usually one for cheesy hyperbolic imagery, so you know Horseback Battle Hammer is heavy.

Conan, comprised of guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis, bassist/vocalist John McNulty and drummer Paul O’Neill, present four tracks on Horseback Battle Hammer, centering their work largely around the writings of Robert E. Howard. They’re true to their namesake, to say the least. Opener “Krull” is slow and devastating, reaching over nine minutes before offering any kind of major tempo shift or payoff. It’s a great opener for Horseback Battle Hammer, because it sets up a half-speed Melvins vibe that Conan build on with the speedier and more active “Satsumo.” You could say there’s a Torche influence, but what the two bands really have in common is a mega-thickness of guitar tone, and where Torche uses it as a go-to for heavy parts, Conan bases more or less the band’s whole sound around it. Davis’ guitar is monstrous, both when affecting the doomed pace of  “Krull” or the more middling speed of “Satsumo,” which at 5:32 is also the shortest song on Horseback Battle Hammer by nearly a full two minutes.

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I was surprised to learn The Kings of Frog Island were releasing the third installment of their purported trilogy, not because two years after II was so soon, but just because I haven’t yet finished listening to that album. Nonetheless comes III, released like 2005’s self-titled and the 2008 follow-up through Germany’s Elektrohasch Schallplatten and a further development of the UK outfit’s fuzz-laden style. At the center of the attack are vocalist/guitarists Mark Buteux and Mat Bethancourt (the latter ex-Josiah and current Dexter Jones Circus Orchestra) and drummer Roger “Dodge” Watson, though Gavin Searle adds vocals, Gregg Hunt plays bass and there are numerous guests throughout. The Kings of Frog Island are what early Desert Sessions jams might have been had they happened in London in the winter instead of, well, the desert.

The main comparison point for The Kings of Frog Island has always been Queens of the Stone Age, and that holds true on III. After the opening intro “In Memoriam,” on which a list of condemned is read out over beating drums, there comes “Glebe Street Whores,” which has shades of “Regular John” from the Queens of the Stone Age 1998 self-titled release in its insistent rhythm and catchy riff. The vocals come on strong, somewhat overblown, and seem to rest on top of the instruments in the mix rather than cut through them, which can make them seem loud. That comes up again later in the album, but if you can find just the right volume and adjust your equalizer to fill out the sound, it’s not an issue. One of III’s catchiest tracks, “Bride of Suicide,” follows “Glebe Street Whores,” and is pushed along at a good clip by steady snare hits from Watson and a good balance of cleaner and fuzz-soaked guitars over a long opening lead section. On first listen, III will sound like The Kings of Frog Island have abandoned some of the warmth of II, and maybe they have, I don’t know, but these songs are still plenty hairy.

There’s a sonic shift with “Dark on You,” on which the album begins to move slower, more deliberately, and with a moodier (and not surprisingly, given the title) darker feel. Longing takes the fore as the central emotion during the oft-repeated memorable chorus, and some lightly strummed guitar from either Buteux or Bethancourt – or maybe someone else, The Kings of Frog Island aren’t  exactly forthcoming with the credits – reminds that the band is up to more than simple stoner rock songwriting. That’s reinforced on “The Keeper Of…,” which is longer, more feedback-centric and reminiscent somewhat of II’s more meandering moments. The opening segment reminds me too of the intro to the title track of Los Natas’ Nuevo Orden de la Libertad, but that’s more likely sonic coincidence than anything else, and there’s certainly more to the track than its beginning; the open jam feels recorded live and added to, filled out, by later studio work, which is not a side III has yet shown.

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Have I had seven beers? Yes. Does that mean this Uriah Heep video isn’t the best thing ever? Absolutely not. Do I understand the double-negative I just perpetrated? No dice. Enjoy “The Wizard” from 1972′s Demons and Wizards:

Modern psychedelia would not be what it is without Hawkwind. In fact, it’s debatable whether it would be at all. The UK outfit, now in its 41st year of interstellar sonic exploration, so much embody the genre of space rock that their name is practically interchangeable with it. You do not have space rock without Hawkwind. It is that simple. Everyone who’s come since has been influenced by them, and they all know it.

Blood of the Earth (on Plastic Head; review here) is the first Hawkwind studio release in half a decade. Kind of a big deal. The band, centered around lone original member Dave Brock on vocals, guitar and keyboards, consists of drummer Richard Chadwick, bassist/vocalist Mr. Dibs, guitarist/bassist Nial Hone and keyboardist Tim Blake replacing Jason Stuart, who died of a sudden brain hemorrhage in 2008. On Blood of the Earth, their will to push deeper into rock and roll’s uncharted galaxies remains strong, and it was a thrill and an honor to be able to discuss the band, the album and how Hawkwind has changed over the years with Dave Brock.

After the jump, please find the ensuing Brock Q&A. Special thanks to Jon Freeman for making this happen, and, you know, to Hawkwind for kicking ass lo these many years.

Amidst barking dogs, shoddy international lines and a newly rebuilt home studio, we find Brock in jovial spirits, eager to share a laugh…

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In the spirit of the other day’s Buried Treasure post, I thought I’d make it known that after initial dejection and first encounters tainted by prejudice against it, I’ve finally and officially come to make peace with UK melodic proggers Anathema‘s latest album, We’re Here Because We’re Here.

This has been an emotionally charged process. First they didn’t tell me the album was coming, I had to find out and order it on Amazon and wait weeks for it to arrive, then I had to get over the fact that it’s neither A Fine Day to Exit nor A Natural Disaster, but rather a different, brighter sound altogether. We’re Here Because We’re Here is unrepentantly not the album I wanted and hoped it would be, and while it’s true I don’t know Anathema and they don’t owe me notice or anything else and it’s been seven years since the last album came out, you bet your ass I took it personally. But, I put the disc on while I was in the car last week on a trip I knew would be long enough to sustain a full sitting, and after that, I’m not ready to say I’m a full-blown convert, but I’m not holding a grudge either.

I’m sure everyone reading this and the band themselves will sleep better for knowing, so I just thought I’d share.

If you count their beginnings as Our Haunted Kingdom, Orange Goblin have been together for over 15 years, and they’re an interesting case for beginners, because you could almost find yourself listening to three different bands, all with essentially the same personnel. More even than most cases where bands really develop over the course of their albums, one must be careful and know what they want when taking on Orange Goblin for the first time.

By way of advice: DO NOT start with 2002′s Coup de Grace, because you’ll just be confused. You’ll put on the disc and say to yourself, “What the hell? All I ever heard about this band was how heavy and doomed they are and this is like biker punk.” That is a direct quote, from you, in an alternate reality. You said it. I have the tapes.

When it comes to Orange Goblin, I usually think of Coup de Grace as a transition point. The three albums before it — Frequencies from Planet Ten (1997), Time Travelling Blues (1998) and The Big Black (2000) — were all released in the States on The Music Cartel, and all follow a course of heavy psychedelic doom rock. The two albums since — Thieving from the House of God (2005) and Healing Through Fire (2007) — have a more barroom feel, but it’s basically the baddest-ass bar you’ve ever seen. The one pub that locks the doors after “closing time” and feeds you drinks (every third one being on the house) until the sun’s up and they can legally open again.

So, when you’re deciding how to take on Orange Goblin for the first time (and we all know it should be special the first time), you have to decide what you want. I’d argue in favor of the later, single-guitar era material, because then you can go back and appreciate the changes the band has undergone over time. Healing Through Fire was fucking excellent, and if you start there you’ll find it a stronger, more memorable release than Thieving from the House of God, though that’s also quite good.

The three early records are trickier, but to make it easy, Time Travelling Blues is a masterpiece of stoner rock. Songs like “The Man Who Invented Time” and “Shine” will quickly become part of the fabric of your frontal cortex, and you’ll wonder how you ever survived without them. I previously recommended The Big Black, and I stand by that in the sense of if you’re only going to get one album, that encompasses a little more of both sides of the band, but Time Travelling Blues is the epitome of the band’s psych/stoner period.

Only question then is which do you want? Healing Through Fire or Time Travelling Blues? The real answer is to just get both, because after you hear one, you’re going to want the other. Start with these two, then pick up The Big Black, Frequencies from Planet Ten, Thieving from the House of God and Coup de Grace, in that order. You’ll be good to go, rocking out to “Aquatic Fanatic” like a pro in no time at all.

If I were to sit you down and tell you Hawkwind’s latest studio album, Blood of the Earth (Plastic Head) is an uncharted journey into synthed out psych-osis, would you be the least bit surprised? Not if you were aware that the Dave Brock-led band has been bringing listeners on similar journeys for over 40 years now, having started in 1969 and never looked back as they sped through the cosmos, endlessly trading in members, endlessly documenting their course through studio albums, live records and archival releases, resulting in a discography well past 75 entries and showing no signs of slowing and an influence nearly as far reaching as the Milky Way itself. To be blunt: if Zeus, God of Gods, were a band, he’d probably be Hawkwind.

Joining Brock who vocals, guitar and more on Hawkwind’s first studio album in half a decade is longtime drummer Richard Chadwick, bassist/vocalist Mr. Dibs, keyboardist/vocalist Tim Blake and guitarist/keyboardist Niall Hone. Dibs, Blake and Hone represent a newer contingent in Hawkwind, the latter two brought aboard in 2008 to help fill the void of Jason Stuart, who died that year following a brain hemorrhage but appears recorded on Blood of the Earth nonetheless. The band sound dynamic and lively across the 10 tracks of the album, songs loaded with synth flourishes and psychedelia but still brought occasionally to earth with solid riffs and vocal structures, and though it’s clear Brock is leading the expedition, each member contributes ably to the material. As for what it sounds like, well, it’s Hawkwind, isn’t it?

And by that I mean Hawkwind is space rock, by definition. Very nearly every act in the genre who has come since them has worshipped – some more plagiaristically than others – at their altar. From the sweet classical keyboard and lead guitar melodies of “Green Machine” to the ambient noise of the title track and tripnotic freak out of “Wraith” or the vaguely Eastern vibe of highlight cut “Prometheus,” on which the vocals seem to be standing in triumph over both the music and our minds, Blood of the Earth is essential, elemental Hawkwind. It’s true their days of hard-line innovation are most likely behind them, but listening to the interplay between what’s commonly regarded as electronica and synth washes on “Inner Visions,” it’s clear the spirit to create and influence is still as prevalent in Hawkwind as it ever was.

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The grimmest doom I’ve heard yet this year has come from Ramesses. The UK trio boasting ex-members of Electric Wizard have tapped the mainline of cult horror and turned it into Take the Curse (review here), a startlingly heavy crusher of an album that feels pulled straight from the nightmares of Yvonne Monlaur. Even in its quiet moments, it is furious and foreboding in equal measure.

Ramesses is comprised of bassist/vocalist Adam Richardson, guitarist Tim Bagshaw and drummer Mark Greening. Take the Curse is their second album (first through their management’s label, Ritual Productions), and the band has previously done splits with the likes of Negative Reaction and Unearthly Trance. Their last full-length, 2007′s Misanthropic Alchemy, was also a monster, and it’s no surprise they call themselves The Ram Family — which I imagine is like The Manson Family, except instead of peace, love and murder, it’s Hammer horror, the occult and weed — when you take into account how much this music feels like it’s brainwashing you to obey it.

Since Ramesses recently played the album release show for Take the Curse at Rough Trade East in London, that seemed an appropriate-as-any place to start my email exchange with Adam Richardson, who was kind enough to enlighten me on how Take the Curse came together, how the band captured such aural sickness, their tour plans, relationship with Electric Wizard and more.

You’ll find the Q&A after the jump. Please enjoy.

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[NOTE: New posts will appear underneath this post for the rest of the week. You know the deal.]

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Truth be told, I was planning a special UK-only podcast even before Chris and Pete from Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight were so hospitable to me in April. There’s been a Post-It on my desk with a list of bands on it since February. Pretty sad, I know.

But it’s all the more appropriate that it goes live today, when Germany‘s psychic octopus proved correct and England was knocked out the World Cup. Having watched the US succumb to the unstoppable force known as the Ghanaian team yesterday, I can empathize. We bleed as one, except, you know, it matters to England.

As always, this audiObelisk Transmission is culled from my own rips, made with love in honor of the UK‘s many contributions to the heavy underground. Making your way through it, you’ll notice a couple glaring omissions, among them Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Iron Maiden. I wanted to keep it focused on stoner rock and doom (apart from the bonus track), and while I know these bands are vastly influential, I’d rather spend that time listening to Uriah Heep, Leaf Hound and Atomic Rooster. Yeah, there’s Deep Purple and Black Sabbath on the playlist. It’s a pretty fine line.

We start off (following a Snuff Box sample) with London‘s Kings of Frog Island, and I think it’s a pretty good flow of songs and styles thereafter. The UK has had so much diversity, sound wise, it was all I could do to hold it together. In my most trying moments, I thought of England.

Playlist is after the jump…

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I’ve been on a real Black Sabbath kick lately, which is about as close as I come to religion. You know how it is, you come and go with those records. You know them front and back, and it’s almost like you don’t have to put them on to hear them in your head. Well, lately I’ve been putting them on anyway, so when I stepped into one of Jersey‘s premiere indie stores (I’m not going to name which), the first place I went was the Sabbath section to see if there were any good looking bootlegs.

There were. I guess since Ronnie James Dio died last month the market has called for an upswing in material with him on it, because I was able to grab two discs from the 1980 Heaven and Hell tour. Yeah, it’s a little crass, but I had the demand before they had supply, so I don’t really feel all that bad feeding the machine on this one. Both Angel and Demon (live in Tokyo, Nov. 18, 1980) and We Blind the Sky (live in Sydney, Nov. 27, 1980) are CDR/inkjet jobs, but the covers are quality prints, the recordings are soundboards and they were only $15 a pop. I’ll pay that. $20′s pushing it, but I’ll go $15.

The setlists on Angel and Demon and We Blind the Sky (a bootleg formerly known as Burning the Cross because of a stage gimmick you can hear on the disc) are identical save for replacing “Lady Evil” on the former with “Die Young” on the latter, which also ends with “Paranoid” instead of “Iron Man,” and the mix sounds better on Angel and Demon, but you really can’t beat having Dio forget the words to the end of “Children of the Sea” as he does on We Blind the Sky. Other highlights include the sundry vocal effects that crop up and Geezer Butler‘s bass tone. Yes, on everything.

I know I’ve had some issues in the past with buying Black Sabbath bootlegs, so it seemed only fair to report an experience as positive as this one has proven to be. I also got Deep Purple, Made in Japan, and the 2CD version of the new Karma to Burn, the former used and the latter John Garcia-fied. All in all, chalk up a win, and for bonus points I’ll note they were playing Goatsnake when I walked into the store. Good things are bound to happen when you stumble on that.

If you’re looking for info on Sabbath bootlegs, there’s only one place to go: black-sabbath.de. They’re helpful in the way only true obsessives can be and they make the rest of us fanboys look like lightweights.

You’ll notice I specified “studio album” in the above headline, because I’m pretty sure space rock progenitors Hawkwind — whose career spans 40 years and whose discography could, when placed end to end, circle the Earth twice — will have at least three live records out by then.

Yes, my friends, gather ’round and hear tales from the PR wire of Blood of the Earth (as opposed to Blood of the Sun, who are a different topic entirely), the first non-live Hawkwind album in five years. Or gather round and read, anyway. And it’s pretty much only one tale. Oh forget it, here’s the press release:

Plastic Head North America confirms August 10 as the North American release date for Blood of the Earth, the new studio album from Hawkwind. The album contains 11 songs and features special appearances from violinist Jon Sevink (The Levellers), BBC personality Matthew Wright, and a posthumous performance from the band’s late keyboardist Jason Stuart. It is the band’s first new album in five years.

Among Blood of the Earth‘s new selections, the album includes re-recordings of songs “You’d Better Believe It” (originally appearing on 1974′s Hall of the Mountain Grill), and “Sweet Obsession” (originally released on Dave Brock‘s 1984 solo album Earthed to the Ground). Guitarist Niall Hone recalls, “The creative process behind this album was an explosive concoction of technology and sheer human endeavor resonating in the mould of space rock legend.”

The band’s current lineup features vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Dave Brock, drummer Richard Chadwick, with guitarist Hone, bassist Dibs and keyboardist Tim Blake.

Confirmed track listing for Blood of the Earth is:

1.) Seahawks
2.) Blood of the Earth
3.) Wraith
4.) Green Machine
5.) Inner Visions
6.) Sweet Obsession
7.) Comfey Chair
8.) Prometheus
9.) You’d Better Believe It
10.) Sentinel
11.) Starshine

Blood of the Earth will be available for North American fans on CD and limited-edition 180-gram clear double-LP that includes a vinyl-only bonus track. Hawkwind are planning to tour later this year in support of Blood of the Earth.

If you’re a fan of that which doesn’t cost money to obtain, then British riff rockers Grifter have good news for you in the form of their High Unholy Mighty Rollin’ EP, which is now available for free listening on Bandcamp. Vocalist/guitarist Ollie Stygall checks in with the following update:

First and foremost we’ll be hitting London again on Saturday June 19th for a night of rock and roll noise at The Unicorn, 227 Camden Road in the very able company of Sons of Merrick and Alternative Carpark. Entry is completely free so hopefully we’ll see a few people down there for a pint and some random shouting!!!

Secondly we’ve decided to stick out first EP, High Unholy Mighty Rollin’ up on Bandcamp as we’ve run out of copies ourselves. Please feel free to download it. The cheapskates can have it for free but if you feel generous you have the option to make a donation.

In the future we may well put the original Elephantine demo up there as well as that’s also long out of print.

In the meantime, we’ve been writing some new stuff and pretty much have all the tracks ready to go in and record our debut album. We’re just waiting for the nod from the studio for dates then once it’s complete we’ll be hassling unsuspecting labels for a release. More news as we have it.

Hey, what gives, Anathema? How’re you gonna go ahead and put out an album TWO WHOLE WEEKS ago and not tell me about it? I thought we were friends (and by “friends,” I mean I worship everything you do and you have no idea who I am)! What, my three copies of Alternative 4 aren’t good enough for you anymore? I know maybe I didn’t take out A Natural Disaster as much as I should have this winter, but give me a break, it’s been seven years! And now this???

Well fine, Anathema. Have it your way. Out of sheer annoyance, I just put in an order on Amazon for We’re Here Because We’re Here. So congratulations. Now, after having to find out on The Metal Archives (of all places!) about the existence of this record, I’m going to have to wait another two weeks minimum to hear it while it’s shipped from Switzerland or god knows where because I’m too afraid Vintage Vinyl won’t have the import. I’m feeling more than a little betrayed here, Anathema.

I mean, seriously, would a phone call have been too much to ask? An email? Just a quick, “Hey there guy, we know you’ve been waiting seven years for a new Anathema CD and we just wanted to let you know it’s finally coming out.” I don’t think that’s unreasonable.

Fair enough. You want to go ahead and put out albums and not tell me, that’s just great. We’ll see if you get included in the all-British podcast to come later this month (you probably will). I’m hurt, Anathema. Deeply hurt. It’s gonna take a while to get over this one. If only I had some super-melancholic melodic rock to act as sonic accompaniment for my woes. Oh well, I guess there’s always Paradise Lost…

If you listen closely, you can hear the head on Rick Contini’s bass drum shiver during the hits that kick off UK rockers Wiht’s self-titled, self-released debut EP, as if to signify the natural feel that will permeate the three tracks to come. The Leeds trio have only been around for about a year, starting in April 2009, but their first output – which they call an EP, but actually stretches over 40 minutes – already shows them with a considerable grasp on their sound, an organic vibe, and the patience to let parts breathe as much as necessary to lock into a hazy, near-psychedelic hypnosis.

Production wise, Wiht sounds like it was recorded onto a computer in a room with a low ceiling. Whether or not that’s the case, I don’t know, but the stone-happy grooves are carried across smoothly either way, so though that might come off as a dig on the recording job, it’s really not. It’s a wonder of the modern age that a band like Wiht can go into a studio on the cheap and come out with a clear, crisp recording. 15 years ago, they’d be doing this in the garage on a four-track, and probably poorly. Their EP might not have the professional sheen it would from a major studio, but I think it works for their sound and where their songs go, drifting into and out of long psych/drone passages only to envelop the listener in heaviness again as does the raucous 16-minute opener “Into Ruin.”

Some stoner rockers come to it from punk, but there’s a heavier, more metallic edge to Wiht’s output that you can hear in the guitar work of Chris Wayper. With the entirety of Wiht instrumental, it’s the guitars that usually take the lead, and as “Into Ruin” passes its halfway point and comes to an angular, crushing movement, it’s metal, not punk, that seems the dominant influence. Almost the last five minutes of the song are just Wayper’s guitar with well-placed accents from bassist Joe Hall, but the atmosphere is darker than it was at the beginning of the track, which serves as a suitable lead-in for “And the Thunder Rolls.” The second song, it’s shorter by seven minutes, and starts faster, with Contini’s crash cymbal deep back in the mix and compressed, and Hall’s bass a fuzzy undertone for Wayper’s riffing. Wiht are quick to show of their dynamics, and though I think that given a more professional production setting it could be brought out even more, the character of this material is plain to hear and makes for an enjoyable listen nonetheless. It’s not that something is missing, understand, but as Wayper takes an airy solo midway through “And the Thunder Rolls,” I can’t help but feel there could be less separation among the instruments, and the bass could be higher, and so forth.

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