Nebulous as it is, the blend of influences at work on Vancouver sludge metallers Mendozza’s 2012 self-released, self-titled album still pales in comparison to the band’s backstory when it comes to a sense of mystery. Sure, elements show up in the tracks that take the Melvins-style drive the band showed on their 2007 White Rhino outing (reissued in 2009; review here) and make them way the hell spacious, feeding echoes in from who knows where amid Celtic Frost cavern yells emanated by way of mid-paced High on Fire belch, but most of that is easy to peg. On the other hand, Mendozza’s two earliest albums, 2005’s HMCS Uganda and 2006’s Illuminarius were well received enough to get the band included on the soundtrack to the second Underworld movie, but after White Rhino hit in ’07, they dropped their successive-year release pattern and waited three before putting out the ultra-scuffed Billy Anderson-produced Cobra Noche in 2010. Most startling of all, however, is that Mendozza, which was mixed by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis, etc.), seems to be going for an entirely different sludged-out feel, and where “Testament of Hate” from that album was so head-down mechanized-sounding it bordered on Ministry, in comparison, the songs this time around are slower, riffier and more esoteric, unspeakably loud but still deep in the mix, so that however much metallic chugging it has in its verse, “Ayahuasca” opens up to a genuine stoner rock riff in its chorus, satisfying even as it confuses.

Couple that with the noms de guerre the trio has adopted for themselves – Deuce on vocals/guitar, The Judge on bass and Master Beater (get it?) on drums – and the plot thickens further, almost fattened to the point of the lumbering groove that commences Mendozza’s Mendozza with “Ligature.” Deuce starts Melvins-style on the vocals, but soon shows diversity of approach with screams, playing the one off the other smoothly for the remainder of the song and even managing to work some melody in the guitar as Master Beater’s cymbals flesh out the mix. “Ayahuasca” is faster, but however much Mendozza change up the tempo, they never seem to lose their crushing sensibility – and for that, although it’s not nearly as dirty-sounding, Mendozza is a heavier record than was Cobra Noche, its nearest comparison point. To wit, “Spirit Horse” couples post-Neurosis churn as interpreted by Mastodon with a Zoroaster-style wash, sounding not so much like any of those three bands particularly as a result, but delightfully massive all the same. The main riff in “Spirit Horse” is more angular than, say, the intro of “Ayahuasca,” but that only winds up adding to its effectiveness as it’s remade into a building stoner jam in the song’s second half. As the second longest cut at 8:43 behind closer “Wishful Drinking”’s 8:57, “Spirit Horse” is also one of the most immersive tracks on Mendozza, with Master Beater keeping time on her ride cymbal and punctuating riff cycles with crashes while The Judge pockets the low end and Deuce rips what feels like an endlessly fading solo. When in doubt, go heavy. Mendozza don’t sound like they’re in doubt here, but they went heavy anyway.

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A well-suited pairing between Finnish and Canadian outfits, Eyes Like Snow’s recently-issued split between Lord Vicar and Funeral Circle is doom for traditional doomers. It’s available in a variety of vinyl editions as well as CD, and with a total runtime of 22 minutes across three tracks, it’s a decent opportunity for anyone who hasn’t yet to get to know either band. Lord Vicar, with former members of Reverend Bizarre and Saint Vitus/Count Raven, is obviously the higher-profile act of the two, but Funeral Circle, who formed in 2007 in Vancouver, give a solid showing of themselves and even cover Witchfinder General to add memorability to their side of the record. It’s over quick, either way, but both Funeral Circle and Lord Vicar have something to offer doom heads: Namely, doom.

For Lord Vicar, this split with Funeral Circle follows one from this past winter with Swedish act Griftegård and will lead into one with Maryland doomers Revelation and the follow-up to 2008’s Fear No Pain debut full-length, reportedly titled Signs of Osiris. One thing that should be abundantly clear right away, then, is that Lord Vicar likes to keep busy. And why not? Guitarist Peter Inverted has been able to maintain the steady momentum of limited releases that helped Reverend Bizarre’s cult and sphere of influence grow as wide as they did and continue to do, and his pairing with vocalist Christian “Lord Chritus” Lindersson – who sang on Saint Vitus’ underrated C.O.D. album after fronting Count Raven for their 1990 debut, Storm Warning – has led to one of the most formidable partnerships in the current European scene. Here, Lord Vicar offers the 13:50 woeful epic “The Fear of Being Crushed,” which unsurprisingly finds Peter taking the lead on guitar with bassist Jussi “Iron Hammer” Myllykoski and drummer Gareth Millsted (ex-Centurions Ghost) adding righteous thickness behind. The song weaves its way, slowly, through longer heavy sections and offsetting acoustic breaks that do more to complement the atmosphere than detract from it, also – in the case of the middle one as opposed to the song’s intro or outro – allowing for Lindersson to show his emotional range in a kind of existential “how low can you go?” verse before the driving electric riff kicks back in with the bass and drums. Even without the context of Lord Vicar’s pedigree, it’s easy to hear in “The Fear of Being Crushed” why they’re among European trad doom’s forerunners; their overall melodic sensibility, Peter’s riffing, the tonal strength of Myllykoski’s bass (as heard when everything else cuts out 12 minutes in), Millsted’s steady plod and Lindersson’s sparse but effective vocals are not only paying homage to the foundational principles of their genre, but are helping to refine them as well. With crisp, clear production and the stateliness of their approach, the “duh” factor is high, as in, “Well, of course it rules. Duh.”

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This one speaks for itself. Or at least the PR wire speaks for it:

Canadian stoner metallers Bison B.C., who were scheduled to play a special one-off show at Seattle‘s El Corazon this past weekend with NOLA sludge heathens Eyehategod, were unable to cross the border and thus, did not play the gig.

Comments guitarist/vocalist James Farwell of the ordeal: “Due to our vicious plot to undermine the American economy and to destroy the citizens of the United States of America‘s belief in freedom and baseball or whatever, we weren’t allowed to cross that fascinating imaginary line. More likely due to a fucking clerical error somewhere in Corporate America, the fine people at Homeland Security had no choice but to keep Americans secure from us dirty fucking Canadians. But fear not my fellow poser Canadians, we will get our fucking paper work in order soon enough and be down destroying things before you can say, ‘Does Celine Dion shit in the fucking woods?!,’ — and yes indeed she does. Peace on Earth.”

From the same fertile and aggressive Vancouver soil from which sprouted stoner metallers Bison B.C. and the crushingly Melvins-esque Mendozza come oppressive sludgekateers Haggatha. The band, who issued their self-titled debut EP in 2009, now follow with the appropriately-dubbed Haggatha II full-length on vinyl through Choking Hazard Records. It’s probably not going to catchy anyone off guard in terms of overall style or affect, but the thickened sound of its seven tracks offers a fuller presentation than most of the sludge-core end of the genre while also shunning much of the “we play really fast and just pretend it’s slow” ethic that seems to typify this generation’s take. Even on the short “These Grey Days,” just 2:37, Haggatha shows a restraint that many of the beardo-abrasion types either can’t or simply refuse to grasp, and Haggatha II is a stronger album for it. Their tactics are certainly familiar, but sometimes you just want sludge to sound like sludge, not black or death metal.

Haggatha II (also referred to as “Second Self-Titled”) opens with the seven-minute “Circle of Salt,” getting its push from quiet guitar lines later echoed in the beginning stages of “Eremozoic” and elsewhere. Braden DeCorby (guitar) and Phil (bass) share vocal duties – though it could just as easily be Terry Weight on bass and vocals; the lineup info is nebulous — lending metallic screams and growls to the sizable riffage of the former and fellow guitarist Trevor Logan. “Gulag” is especially tortured in the throat-area, but the guitars contain suitable drama to add to the affect, and the drums of first-name-only percussionist Matt, who starts off and features on late-album cut “Acquiesce,” have a consistency and professional feel that helps Haggatha II come off as a record to be taken seriously. Cymbals matter. Matt’s interplay with the bass and chugging guitars is huge in filling out the sound of these songs. On second track, “Hogtide,” they practically make the piece on their own – not as blown-out as, say, early Church of Misery, but definitely up front and cutting through the other instrumentation.

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Hey, it’s Friday. You want to let off a little steam at the office. All of a sudden, here comes your favorite stoner blog The Obelisk with two tracks from Bison B.C.‘s awesome Dark Ages, and next thing you know, you’ve got your little computer speakers turned up all the way, your shirt ripped open and you’re swinging your work chair around like a lion tamer to fend off security as they try to escort your wild-eyed ass out of the building. So it goes, my friends.

Dark Ages was released earlier this year on Metal Blade, and to support it, the Canuck four-piece has already toured with High on Fire, Black Cobra and Helmet, and on Sunday, they start a month-long European run with Coliseum that’s bound to be a blast. In honor of the tour and just because the record rules and needs sweet love, I’ve been authorized to stream the songs below. Dig ‘em and try not to get too violent.

Bison B.C., “Stressed Elephant” from Dark Ages
Stressed Elephant

Bison B.C., “Melody, This is for You” from Dark Ages
Melody, This is For You

Want more info? Well, there’s a review here and an interview here. Have at it.

Trails Out of Gloom, the fourth album by Vancouver, British Columbia-based proggers Fen is my first experience with the band. Their first record for Ripple Music, it’s a collection of melancholic, graceful, sincere melodies, in the vein of some of what Opeth reaches toward from time to time, but more in line with Judgement-era Anathema in its scope and casual straddling of the borders between different aspects of its sound, able to switch from heaviness to a more subtle presentation as smoothly as going one measure to the next. I get the sense this isn’t a sudden development for Fen, who’ve been together since 1998, and that their making it sound easy on Trails Out of Gloom is actually the result of years of work and growth. That’s usually how it goes, anyway.

The band is centered around its two founding guitarists, David Samuel Levin and Douglas Alan Harrison, who also provides the multiple layers of vocals that pop up on tracks like the Katatonia-esque “Find That One” and “The World is Young,” which reminds of Porcupine Tree’s darker moments without being entirely derivative. Trails Out of Gloom starts off with its title track, showing off the acoustic roots of Levin and Harrison’s songwriting and giving Harrison a chance to show off his formidable vocal range. It’s also one of the album’s first missteps, as Harrison reaches at times to a kind of falsetto wail that stands out awkwardly from the soothing music behind, not helped at all by being pushed so far forward in the mix. It doesn’t come up all the time, that is, he doesn’t do it on every song, but it holds back the otherwise driving later cut “End of the Dream” as well, and for a band four albums into their career, it’s a kind of surprising issue to take on, and I don’t doubt it’s one that could turn a lot of people off to Fen altogether.

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…Of course, they’re taking the scenic route, on a tour that will go up and down the West Coast and into Canada for a couple dates. I can only imagine good times will be had by all and that Bison B.C. will demolish audiences are they are apt to do.

As you peruse the PR wire info and tour dates below, make sure you get a look at the description of Helmet‘s sound. I never thought of them as being particularly Zeppelin-esque. Am I wrong on that one? Check it out:

The Vancouver-based band Bison B.C. have just confirmed a two-week plus tour with legendary alternative metal band Helmet, who are known for fusing Zeppelin-esque riffing with a vehement post-hardcore precision, augmented by dense chords and offbeat time signatures. Bison B.C. will join Helmet when the tour kicks off on Wednesday September 8th in Sacramento, CA at Harlow’s Night Club. The tour finishes up on Sunday September 26th at BriXton in Redondo Beach, CA.

Guitarist and vocalist James Farwell comments, “I first started listening to Helmet when I was doing bonelesses and acid drops wasted in back alleys with big pants and small wheels; a long fucking time ago. Now my body is a jerk, but I still think of them when I drop tune — it is a fucking god damn honor to tour with Helmet.”

Sept. 8 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s Night Club
Sept. 10 Oakland, CA The Uptown
Sept. 11 San Jose, CA The Blank Club
Sept. 13 Portland, OR Dante’s
Sept. 14 Seattle, WA Showbox at The Market
Sept. 16 Vancouver, BC Venue
Sept. 18 Edmonton, AB The Starlite Room
Sept. 19 Calgary, AB Dickens Pub
Sept. 21 Casper, WY Downtown Grill & Venue
Sept. 23 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse
Sept. 24 Santa Ana, CA Galaxy Theatre
Sept. 25 San Diego, CA The Casbah
Sept. 26 Redondo Beach, CA BriXton

Vancouver bud metallers Bison B.C. show some shocking maturity on their sophomore outing for Metal Blade, Dark Ages. There’s still plenty of the hellraising atmosphere that so deeply permeated 2008’s Quiet Earth, but the band is beginning to sit back a little and feel out song dynamics, allowing tracks to develop more fully. They haven’t lost any of their heaviness (which I feel is unfortunately implied when discussing a band’s maturity), but they’re just starting to approach that heaviness in a new way, and Dark Ages captures the four-piece at this fascinating moment in their development.

Opener “Stressed Elephant” tops eight minutes, boasts complex melodies and arrangements and still somehow manages to leave a black eye when it’s done. It’s this duality that Dark Ages does such a good job of framing. Even when Bison B.C. are at their most Mastodon-ish, arguably the early moments of “Two-Day Booze,” they’ve begun to retain their own personality, and that comes through in the riffs and rhythms. The vocal tradeoffs between guitarists James Farwell and Dan And sound more plotted out in “Melody, This is for You” (after the three-minute heavy jam that precedes the vocals, anyway), but that only seems to enhance the overall affect of the song, which is a Dark Ages highlight.

Structured though it may be, Dark Ages is far from rigid. Humor and not taking itself too seriously was central to the success of Quiet Earth, and that remains true for the follow-up. In particular, “Take the Next Exit” gives the impression there’s definitely a story behind it, if only that the GPS in the tour van got a little too repetitive for the band’s tastes. And the doomiest song on the album is called “Fear Cave,” so you know Bison B.C. aren’t trying to include any kind of pomposity in their approach. Yes, that is as refreshing as it sounds.

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Vancouver riff mongers Bison B.C. are gearing up to release their new album, Dark Ages, next month, and as we all know, the new way to roll out singles and album highlight tracks is by putting them on websites that aren’t The Obelisk. It’s an important marketing move for any act looking to make themselves known.

Accordingly, the song “Stressed Elephant” premiered via something called ExploreMusic, whose standing in the heavy rock underground I’m sure is unquestionable and who make a wholly appropriate outlet for music as riffy and bastardly as that of Bison B.C.

“Bitter?” you ask? Yes. Here’s “Stressed Elephant,” because I can:

…Places like all over everywhere. The Canadian riffy stalwarts are heading out from their peaceful post-Olympic home in Vancouver and are set to take North America by storm in support of their new album, Dark Ages (not to be confused with the Soulfly album of the same name), which is out April 13. I haven’t heard the record yet, but if it’s half as destructive as was their Metal Blade debut, Quiet Earth, it’ll be well worth the time when I do.

Until then, speaketh the PR wire:

Vancouver‘s Bison B.C. is getting set to release their third album (second for Metal Blade), Dark Ages. This will hit streets on April 13, right in the middle of the biggest tour of the band’s career — High on Fire, Priestess, Black Cobra. Before that tour starts, Bison B.C. will be playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY on 3/13. If you haven’t seen this band live, this will be a great opportunity to see how these guys decimate crowds in a small club.

Bison B.C.
Tour w/ Shadows Fall, Baptized in Blood
03/04 Toronto, ON     Opera House
03/05 London, ON     Music Hall
03/07 Ottawa, ON     Mavericks
03/08 Montreal, QC     National
03/09 Quebec City, QC    Imperial
End Tour
3/13  Brooklyn, NY     Music Hall of Williamsburg w/Priestess
3/14  Greenville, SC    Earshot
3/15  Atlanta, GA     PS Warehouse
3/17  Austin, TX      The Mohawk SXSW w/ High on Fire
3/24  St. Louis, MO     The Fubar
3/25  Indianapolis, IN    The Tip Top Tavern
3/26  Pittsburgh, PA    31st Street Pub
Tour w/ High on Fire, Priestess, Black Cobra
03/31 Minneapolis, MN   Triple Rock Social Club
04/01 Madison, WI     High Noon Saloon
04/02 Chicago, IL     Lincoln Hall
04/03 Columbus, OH    Skully’s Music Diner
04/05 Morgantown, WV   123 Pleasant Street
04/06 Philadelphia, PA    First Unitarian Church
04/07 Cambridge, MA    The Middle East
04/08 Milford, CT     Daniel Street
04/09 New York, NY    Gramercy Theater
04/11 Washington DC    Black Cat
04/13 Charlotte, NC     Tremont Music Hall
04/14 Atlanta, GA     Masquerade
04/15 New Orleans, LA   One Eyed Jacks
04/16 Houston, TX     Walters on Washington
04/17 Austin TX      Emo’s
04/18 Dallas, TX      The Loft
04/20 Boulder, CO     Fox Theater
04/22 Tempe AZ      The Clubhouse
04/23 Los Angeles, CA    El Rey Theater
04/24 Costa Mesa, CA    Detroit Bar
04/25 San Diego, CA    The Casbah
04/27 Fresno, CA     Audies Olympic/Club Fred
04/28 Santa Cruz, CA    Blue Lagoon
04/30 Boise, ID      Neurolux Inc
05/01  Spokane, WA    The Boulevard
05/02  Bellingham, WA   The Nightclub
05/04 Seattle, WA     Chop Suey
05/05 Portland, OR     Dante’s
05/07 Eureka, CA     Nocturnum
05/08 Oakland, CA     The Fox Theater

You might remember the interview with Bison B.C.‘s James Farwell (aka Gnarwell) this site did toward the end of the last decade. Well, things are officially gearing up for the release of that anticipated second Metal Blade full-length, and it looks like as the band gets ready to hit the road, they’re helping out fans in their home and native land — true patriot love if e’er I saw it — by giving away tickets to their shows. The PR wire has the scoop:

Vancouver, British Columbia-based doom metal band Bison B.C. have teamed up with digital music download site LoudTrax.com for a contest on the bands upcoming tour with Shadows Fall throughout Canada. LoudTrax.com will be giving away two tickets for every show of the Shadows Fall, Bison B.C., Goatwhore and Baptized in Blood tour.

Participants will be able to select the date and city of the show they wish to win tickets for. Winners will be announced five days prior to each concert via email.

Feb. 23 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory*
Feb. 24 – Calgary, AB – Republik*
Feb. 25 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite*
Feb. 27 – Regina, SK – The District*
Mar. 01 – Winnipeg, MB – WECC*
Mar. 02 – Thunder Bay, ON – The Roxy*
Mar. 04 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
Mar. 05 – London, ON – Music Hall
Mar. 07 – Ottawa, ON – Mavericks
Mar. 08 – Montreal, QC – National
Mar. 09 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial
*With Goatwhore

Bison B.C. are gearing up to release their highly anticipated second album, Dark Ages, this spring on Metal Blade Records. The band will also be joining the High on Fire tour with Priestess and Black Cobra starting on March 31st in Minneapolis, MN.

To enter the contest, you can visit the LoudTrax.com website.

As far as I’m concerned, one of the highlights of this year’s inaugural Planet Caravan festival was getting the chance to see Bison B.C. at what was essentially a club show. Just down the block at The Orange Peel was the main stage, but at Mo Daddy’s, the vibe was less festival and more killer bar night. Since Bison are from Vancouver, it’s not like they get to Jersey much, and after grooving on their 2008 Metal Blade debut, Quiet Earth, the tectonic riffage and beery/beardy good times were most welcome in Asheville.

A short while ago, it was brought to my attention that the four-piece — James Gnarwell and Dan And on vocals/guitar, Masa Anzai on bass and Brad MacKinnon on drums — are currently in the studio working on the follow up to Quiet Earth, and it seemed like a cool idea to check in with them to get some quick thoughts on the new material and how everything was/is coming together. Gnarwell was kind enough to field the email interview, and the resulting Q&A is after the jump. Enjoy.

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As I assume was the case for a lot of people, Vancouver‘s Bison B.C. hit my radar with the release of their Metal Blade debut full-length, Quiet Earth, last year. After hearing that and rocking euphorically through “These are My Dress Clothes” more times than I care to reveal, I became interested in hearing Quiet Earth‘s predecessor, a 2007 EP called Earthbound.

Admittedly, it was a passive interest. I could have gone online and bought it any time I wanted, but it wasn’t until I saw the band at Planet Caravan in North Carolina that I finally picked up the Forest Records release, and it wasn’t until just today that I finally opened it.

Why the delay? Well, there was no way any of these six songs were going to be “These are My Dress Clothes,” so although I’d paid good money for the EP, the priority level was low. And as is often the case, I feel like an ass because the EP rules. A little more so than on the full-length, Bison (they hadn’t yet added their B.C. at the time) rock with an Entombed-type furor and match it against ballsy Lifesblood-era Mastodon flex noodling. And then there’s “The Curse,” which comes out of nowhere as the fourth track with a shoulder-shimmy riff that could get Satan Himself swing dancing. Good times.

“Dark Skies Above” plods with a monster lock step beast stink and the closing title track (longest of the bunch at 6:19) speeds along nicely while showing off some melodic tendencies and heavily bearded grooves. Earthbound, like Quiet Earth, isn’t about to change my perception of metal — it’s still pretty much in the modern, post-Leviathan vein — but it’s still a plenty enjoyable listen that I probably should have dug into before now. Lesson (probably not) learned.

I’m glad to see someone making better use of a Simpsons reference in their band name than Fall Out Boy, who I personally blame for the last two or three crappy seasons of the show. These Vancouver beast metal bastards come right out of the gate with a Billy Anderson-mixed (translation: “hello guitars”) collection of Melvins-style bombast with vocals pushed out by the same stomach muscles as Scott Kelly‘s and feedback so liberally strewn about the place you’d think it was part of a universal healthcare package.

Anyone who caught wind of Bison B.C.‘s quietly-released record on Metal Blade toward the back end of last year will be pleased to have White Rhino as a companion; the two bands easily fit into the mold of post-Mastodon ’00s stoner metal, even if Mendozza strikes with more aggression and a generally more grizzly approach. There isn’t much musically on the record that’s going to catch a Sleep fan off guard, but if derivative, Mendozza is no less enjoyable with that acknowledged. Read more »