Pittsburgh-based underground festival Descendants of Crom has announced its first annual rRitual showcase for April 5. The night will feature six acts — three locals, three out-of-towners — and will get a still-probably-gonna-finish-late early start at 7:30.

If you saw that post a little over a week ago about the Temptress and Thunderchief tour, yeah, this is a stop on it and an occasion for the tour itself. The darkly progressive Axioma from Cleveland are the third import outfit, while the hometeam will be represented by Funerals, with former members of Horehound, as well as Altar and the Bull and Gloom Doom.

Yes, I realize this is next week. No, I’m not necessarily thinking everyone who sees this is going to drop whatever they’re doing and fly to Western PA next weekend. But maybe you are going there, or maybe someone you know is, or maybe you haven’t heard these bands before and it’s a name to chase down next time you’re bored. I don’t know, but it’s a thing that’s happening and apparently the intent is to make it an annual event to complement Descendants of Crom, which is Blackseed Services‘ prior-established festival offering. This may then be the first  — I can’t help but roll the ‘r’ — rRitual of many to come.

Maybe I’m just happy I get to spend my days sitting at the computer listening to music and writing about it and so something like this comes along and I’m like “Oh so that wasn’t a spelling mistake in that Thunderchief post” and then one post leads to another leads to another and all of a sudden it’s been like 16 years and here you are. I had a friend send me a letter the other day. He signed it, “keep writing.” Shit, man. I can’t seem to stop.

If you do go, I hope it’s a blast. Here’s the info, ticket link and such:

rRitual: First Annual Descendants of Crom Showcase

Ticket link: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/blackseed-services/rRITUAL

Presented by Blackseed Services, this special event will be an annual showcase mixer, focusing on the darker, atmospheric styles. Doom/Stoner/Sludge/Blackened.

Featuring:
Temptress (NC/TX)
Thunderchief (Richmond)
Axioma (Cleveland)
with local support:
Funerals
Altar and the Bull
Gloom Doom

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2829481017232579

21+w/ID
Doors 7 | Music Starts 7:30 Promptly
$15 Advanced Online
$20 Day of/Door (cash)

descendants-of-crom.com
blackseedservices.com

Temptress, See (2023)

Axioma, Live Totality (2024)

Tomorrow, March 28, marks the release of the second Smoke Mountain full-length, The Rider, through Argonauta Records. With it, the Floridian three-piece bring into focus the gothic atmosphere somewhat obscured by the low fuzz of their debut, 2020’s Queen of Sin (review here), while saving room in the final three tracks for the band to do a complete revisit to the initial self-titled demo/EP (review here) that set them forth with such ceremony upon its arrival in 2017.

Those three songs appear in their original order, even, so if you told Smoke Mountain at any point in the last eight years or so you liked them, it would seem your voice was heard. The path the band take to get there makes up the heart of what The Rider have on offer, and as they take the chug of Type O Negative‘s verse riff to “Black No. 1” and revamp it for opener “Hell or Paradise,” they do so with a clearly conveyed intent to bridge the (imaginary) gap between doom, goth and heavy rock. This journey culminates in the likeminded march of “The Sun and Heavens Fall,” rich in presence and correspondingly lo-fi in its buzz, as is the procession through “The Way to Heaven” — faster, like late 1970s catchy heavy punk gone cult stoner, so yeah, a little Misfitsy as it gets swallowed by the noise of its own making — the big-on-crash “Bringer of Doom,” and the title-track, which runs under three minutes and has a “Neon Knights” or “Turn up the Night” kind of tension to it its verse.

The Rider, then, isn’t without its sense of dynamic, but it leaves little question that Smoke Mountain know what they’re about in terms of mood and songwriting, and the aesthetic they’re exploring here, continuing on from the first LP, is deceptive in its complexity owing in part to the rawness of the production and the live, in-the-room feel of the performances. And much to the band’s credit, they revisit their origins in such a way as to convey the progression they’ve undertaken since, whether that’s the hypnotic chorus of “Demon” or the stomp of “Violent Night” snapping you back to reality, or the eponymous “Smoke Mountain,” which remains a filthy delight of crunch and march while still letting the vocal cut through. The closing trilogy are distinct, but I don’t think so far out of character with the new material prior as to be incongruous. The tones are there. The structure, the melody. Groove is groove. You split hairs, I’ll nod out.

A suitably blasphemous thematic gives a metallic aftertaste, something dark and seething, and there’s a level of harshness intended in the recording itself, but for experienced heads, nothing on The Rider should be such a challenge as to be completely inaccessible. This is an asset on the band’s part, and something one hopes they’ll carry forward as they move toward the potential realizations of a third record, learning from the meld they undertake in these songs and bringing that experience to the studio as they did after the first outing going into this one. If you’d take on the whole album — awesome; it’s streaming below — keep an ear for the goth vibes and the malleable way the band speak to the different facets of their sound both before and after they dive back to retell their origin story.

And however you go, and wherever you end up, I hope you enjoy.

PR wire info follows:

Smoke Mountain, The Rider album premiere

The Rider combines elements of the past, present, and future of Smoke Mountain. In addition to featuring the three songs from our debut EP, The Rider contains five powerful new tracks that provide a glimpse into the direction the band is heading. We’re very happy with the final product.

Smoke Mountain, the celebrated doom trio hailing from Tallahassee, Florida, is thrilled to announce the release of their highly anticipated new album, The Rider, out March 28th, 2025, via Argonauta Records.

Formed in 2015, Smoke Mountain quickly carved out a place in the doom metal scene with their self-titled debut EP in 2017, which garnered widespread acclaim and set the stage for their first full-length album. Released via Italy’s Argonauta Records in 2020, Queen of Sin earned critical praise for its haunting melodies, crushing riffs, and atmospheric depth.

With The Rider, Smoke Mountain builds upon this legacy while exploring new sonic territories. The album remains true to the band’s doom roots, showcasing their signature blend of occult themes, heavy grooves, and evocative lyrics. At the same time, it reveals a matured approach to melody, arrangement, and production.

Tracklisting:
1. Hell or Paradise
2. The Way to Heaven
3. Bringer of Doom
4. The Rider
5. The Sun and Heavens Fall
6. Demon
7. Violent Night
8. Smoke Mountain

Smoke Mountain on Facebook

Smoke Mountain on Instagram

Smoke Mountain on Bandcamp

Argonauta Records on Facebook

Argonauta Records on Instagram

Argonauta Records on Bandcamp

Argonauta Records store

Who doesn’t dig a comeback? Actually, I’m not sure this counts as one — though they do say “we are back” — but it’s a revamp just the same for Swedish heavy blues/classic rockers Snowy Dunes. As the five-piece detail below, they have been through some lineup changes in the four years since their second album, Sastrugi (review here), and they emerge as you see configured them below. Doesn’t everybody look thrilled.

If you managed to finish reading the headline or follow the band on socials (not a bad idea), you already know they’re working on the follow-up to Sastrugi now. Curious what that will bring in light of the fact that Stefan Jakobsson was on the first LP and EP and they’ll have two guitars, I think for the first time. Spacier? More effects? More solos? I don’t know.

There’s room for a lot in Snowy Dunes‘ sound, though, as their heavy blues foundation can coincide with anything from psychedelic shimmer to proto-doom crunch. Sastrugi certainly offered both, and had the 11-minute roll of “Helios” tucked away at the end for good measure. It’s at the bottom of this post, if you’d like a revisit.

And if you don’t come out of that also curious what’s in store for Snowy Dunes as 2025 rolls on and 2026 gradually comes to loom, well, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe go eat a sandwich and try again later.

From social media:

Snowy Dunes 2025
We are back.

Furthermore, our original drummer (S/T and Atlantis), band co-founder and force of nature Stefan Jakobsson is also back behind the kit which we think is fantastic!

Jonathan Wårdsäter is switching to guitar duties alongside Christoffer Kingstedt which already has expanded our vision – we look forward to sharing more with you guys.

Carl Oredson is still Carl Oredson

New record in the works.

First show announcement in the coming days.

See you soon!

Photo: Mary Atim

https://www.facebook.com/Snowydunes/
https://www.instagram.com/snowydunesofficial/
https://snowydunesofficial.bandcamp.com/
http://www.snowydunes.com/

Snowy Dunes, Sastrugi (2021)

You know how many of these they’re making? Well, probably not yet if you haven’t read the info below, but the answer is 60. Sixty.

That’d be fine if “Lakeland Storm” — the single song broken up across two sides of the notably limited collaborative 7″ from Melbourne weirdo-folky Trappist Afterland and New Zealand psych-folk experimentalist Lamp of the Universe — wasn’t so gosh darn encompassing, but it is, pulling from both sides of its component songwriter team, growing tripper in the A side as it plays out while easing on acoustic strum into a Mellotron-laced contemplation after its soft verses have subsided.

Look. I don’t know that either party will see this — I’m in touch with Craig LOTU sometimes about records and stuff but I wouldn’t presume either he or Roger from Trappist Afterland necessarily catch everything written about their projects — but I’ll say regardless that what comes through most from Lakeland Storm is potential. If I was the bigwig industry fatcat calling the shots on such things, I’d send them back into the studio to come up with six more songs plus a solo interlude from each of them, take the best four or five plus whatever other weirdo noises happened in the process and make an LP. I’m not in charge of that stuff, however. Mostly these days I do the dishes.

But let the potential here be your takeaway, and golly, I hope they do more. The full stream from Trappist Afterland‘s Bandcamp is below, as well as info on how to order if you’re feeling lucky:

Lamp Of The Universe & Trappist Afterland
Lakeland Storm
Transluscent Red Vinyl 7″ Lathe Cut
60 Copies
(Future Grave FG 32)
PREORDER

It a delight to announce this superb collaboration from Lamp Of The Universe and Trappist Afterland.

This one had been on the cards for a while and I was really excited to hear the finished results which are really superb. Here we have one long psychedlically enhanced folk track which perfectly blends both artists’ stylings. The track has been split into two parts to fit onto a 7″ 45rpm lathe cut.

Cut onto transluscent red vinyl in an edition of 60 numbered copies.
The cover image has a old photograph of Anzacs in the trenches in Gallipoli.
Covers printed onto cream 300gsm hammered finish card.
Lathes cut by Phil Macy @ 345 RPM.
ONE COPY PER PERSON PLEASE.
++++THIS IS A PREORDER WHICH WILL BE HOPEFULLY POSTED/SHIPPED OUT TOWARDS THE END OF APRIL.

Cost as follows:
The lathe cut costs £15.00 plus the following additional postage/shipping cost:
UK = £3.00
Europe = £5.50 GBP
USA & ROW = £7.50 GBP
Australia = £8.75 GBP
Paypal to roger.linney@btinternet.com
PLEASE CONTACT ME BEFORE ORDERING

Head over to the Reverb Worship group to pre-order.

Trappist Afterland
Roger Linney

https://www.reverbworship.com/

https://www.facebook.com/lampoftheuniverse/
https://www.instagram.com/craig.lotu/
https://lampoftheuniverse.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/trappistafterland
https://www.instagram.com/trappistafterland/
https://trappistafterland.bandcamp.com/

Lamp of the Universe & Trappist Afterland, Lakeland Storm

Wight‘s founding guitarist/vocalist and psych-funk-grunge visionary René Hofmann is right when he says it’s been a while since he wrote a newsletter. The last one I have is from Sept. 2023, which since they’re numbered I know is the latest one until the below.

Hofmann points out that doesn’t mean the band have been inactive. In that 2023 post, for a tour celebrating the band’s 15th anniversary, the stated intention was to play more live in 2024. Apparently that happened and bassist Peter-Philipp Schierhorn started a family besides. Good news, even if it means he won’t play the six-show run the band have lined up for next month. Lara Fischer of ’80s-style AOR hard rockers Meloi steps into the bassist role for the tour.

Wight‘s last full-length was 2020’s Spank the World (review here), and especially with the band working at their own pace, exploring in Hofmann‘s Wasted Life Studio perhaps or feeling out new sounds in the rehearsal space and at shows, I’m curious what they might have in the works, whatever stage of ‘in the works’ that actually means.

Until the next newsletter? You never know:

Wight on tour in Switzerland, Austria and Italy!

It’s been a while since I wrote a newsletter. That’s ok, because first: I really don’t wanna fill your inbox with unnecessary shit! I think we all got enough of that 😅 and second: We really did not have much to say. We are still a very active band but during the years it all got a bit slower… let’s say without pressure. Nevertheless we played quite a lot of shows in 2024 and I personally have to say this was my best year with Wight on stage ever and I am grateful to say that after 17 years of band history. Our bassist Peter became a father by the end of the year and decided to take a break, so we got our friend Lara Fischer on Bass for the upcoming tour in Switzerland, Austria and our first ever appearance in Italy.

Unfortunately our gig in Basel got cancelled so we head back to Germany to play in Frankfurt which will be our “home base gig” in 2025. I think this might be the only chance to see us with Lara if you are reading this and you are coming from Rhein-Main Area like we do. See you soon, enjoy life and spring 😘

– René

The dates:

Friday April 11th LUZERN (CH) – Sedel
Saturday April 12th FRANKFURT (DE) – The Cave
Thursday April 17th SALZBURG (AT) – Rockhouse Bar
Friday April 18th GRAZ (AT) – Club Wakuum
Saturday April 19th LINZ (AT) – Kapu
Sunday April 20th ZERO BLANCO (IT) – Atroquando

https://www.facebook.com/wightism
https://instagram.com/wightism/
https://wight.bandcamp.com/

Wight, Spank the World (2020)

Starting with a slot at Desertfest London 2025, Earthless guitarist Isaiah Mitchell (also known for touring with The Black Crowes, Golden Void, that time he taught an entire San Diegan psych scene how to play guitar, and so on) will embark on a tour that’s being called ‘CHÖD’ in honor of the Buddhist ritual it’s intended to convey. Mitchell will be touring with graphics and video courtesy of the likewise-esteemed Arik Roper, and while it’s not the biggest run you’ll ever see Mitchell do — Earthless have a tendency to tour like bastards, and he’s got plenty going on besides — it seems like something special for fans in a few cities in Iberia to get to have the chance to see.

Do I know for sure that anyone in any of these places is going to see this on the site and go to the show and have their life changed for the better by an interpersonal interaction with creative work being made in the moment? Nope. But there’s always the off-chance, and from where I sit it’s just good to keep in mind cool things are happening somewhere on the planet.

I’ve included video from a different Mitchell solo performance below. No idea if it has anything musically to do with what ‘CHÖD’ will be or not, but it seemed relevant nonetheless and one has a habit of putting these things in posts, so whatever. Check it out or don’t but this sounds awesome to me, and if you’re in the NY area, heads up Mitchell will be doing a show April 5. More on that is at this external link.

Here’s this from socials:

I am very excited to announce that my artistic collaboration with @arikroper and @doc_kelley will be travelling to Europe for a handful of dates in Spain and Portugal this coming May!!! This performance is an interpretation of the Tibetan Buddhist Ritual CHÖD, which means roughly “to sever” or “cut through” the attachment to our ego and clingings to reality and embrace impermenance by facing our fears. I will be performing music arranged specifically for this practice and the art and animation of Arik Roper will be accompanying the music as to take you on an immersive cerebral journey to the depths of our self in hopes of transcending all that is unreal and awaken to our true nature. A huge thank you to @ @thunderricky at @swampbooking for setting these shows up for us, to @cbruno1983 for the use of his amazing photographs and to my wonderful wife @hathamartahatha for making this awesome poster. See you all at the shows🙏🙏🙏🙏 @psychedelic_sangha @dharma_art_productions

https://www.facebook.com/earthlessrips
www.instagram.com/earthlessrips
https://earthless.bandcamp.com/

Isaiah Mitchell, “Infinity as a Sphere” live at Tasty Wax Records, Nov. 29, 2024

Well, the headline tells you what you need to know. Congrats to Portland, Oregon’s Breath on signing to Argonauta Records for a presumed full-length to come. Formerly a duo, the now-four-piece were last heard from with the semi-redux of their debut LP, Primeval Transmissions (Remixed and Remastered) (review here), in 2023. That second look at a first record broadened the scope in a way the band have obviously been chasing as they’ve added members in the last couple years around the core bass-and-drums configuration. The willingness to think beyond themselves shows in the audio as well, as you can hear at the bottom of this post.

More on the album if and when there is an album on which to have more. The signing announcement came down the PR wire:

Portland’s Meditative Doom Seekers BREATH Sign with Argonauta Records

Portland, Oregon’s meditative doom seekers BREATH have found a new home with Italy’s Argonauta Records! Their sound is a cultivated vehicle of stillness, riding the churning white water of doom metal flow. Beginning with a solid foundation of bass and drums, the duo is joined by keys and guitar, with collaborator Rob Wrong of Witch Mountain engineering the project, ushering in a new dawn of verdant growth.

Known for their immersive and transcendent take on doom metal, BREATH crafts a sound that merges meditative stillness with crushing sonic waves. They draw inspiration from bands like Earth, OM, Grails, as well as the timeless influence of Black Sabbath and Ravi Shankar.

Founded by childhood friends Steven O’Kelly and Ian Caton, BREATH evolved from years of collaboration as an inseparable rhythm section. This bond led them to explore their own unique voice. Their debut album, Primeval Transmissions, was originally released in 2021 via Desert Records, featuring the masterful engineering of Rob Wrong (Witch Mountain) and mastering by the legendary Tad Doyle. Wrong also contributed guitar work to key tracks, including Halls of Amenti, which was re-released in a remixed and remastered edition in 2023.

With an expansive musical vision that blends high-decibel doom, hypnotic Eastern influences, and dynamic rhythmic textures, BREATH has continued to evolve, incorporating Lauren Hatch on keys in 2023 and Justin Acevedo on guitar in 2024.

Now, as they embark on the next chapter of their journey with Argonauta Records, BREATH is ready to bring their unique sonic meditations to a global audience. Stay tuned for more details on their upcoming releases!

https://www.facebook.com/Breathpdx
https://www.instagram.com/breathpdx/
https://inbreath.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/BreathPDX

www.argonautarecords.com
www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords
https://www.instagram.com/argonautarecords/
https://argonautarecords.bandcamp.com/

Breath, Primeval Transmissions (Remixed and Remastered) (2023)

Dutch now-trio Komatsu are set to issue their fifth full-length, A Breakfast for Champions, on April 11 through Heavy Psych Sounds. Starting with the rush of its title-track, shimmering bright, heavy in the undertone and with a fervent sweep, it’s not a record that gives you a lot of options. You can go with it or be bowled over. “A Breakfast for Champions” revels in dynamic and tonal weight, bringing the ’90s post-hardcore script of its cover art to bear in a sound that is nonetheless charged in its delivery, malleable and progressive in construction, able to call to mind Floor as the Eindhoven three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Mo Truijens, bassist/backing vocalist and hold-my-beer-it’s-time-for-a-quick-solo-in-the-opener drummer Jos Roosen, who pushes the crescendo in the leadoff with a foreshadow of crash, unfurl an increasingly complex procession.

The course is set, and across eight songs and 37 minutes, A Breakfast for Champions goes on to earn whatever ‘hearty meal’ pun you want to throw at it, each song offering something to help paint a more intricate, interesting, and heavier portrait of the band as they are today. “Savage” and the bluesier “The Devil’s Cut” somehow grow spacier one into the next, which sets up the crushing return of “Release the Flies,” the presumed side A finale premiering below which offsets its chorus density of march with spacious verses and a low-key stoner-meander jam past the midpoint. A bit of storytelling as they build back and the roll resumes, surely disrupting local traffic with its sheer largesse.

“Release the Flies” caps with an immersive crescendo and, on the album, gives over to the side B starter “Fatcamp Workout” — just in case you were wondering, still okay to casually hate fat people — with a somewhat mathier turn still mirroring the title-track in its intensity. “What Lies Underneath” and “Welcome to the Underworld” would seem to have some connection with all the ‘under’-ing between the two of them, but if there’s a thematic line to draw, it accompanies a starker turn in sound from the broader melody and nod of the former to the latter’s rougher vocal and uptick in chugging tension. The momentum of that shift carries into the finale “Climb the Vines,” with some influence from the Elderian school of heavyprog with its own persona and departure into wash, and they end with residual cosmic resonance on a fade.

Was it a dream? Was it breakfast? Could be a bit of both, I guess. The varied approach Komatsu take on their fifth full-length demonstrates an ongoing progression of sound and songwriting, showing them as mature but still exploring as the band mark their 15th anniversary this year. Continuing to record with Pieter Kloos and Peter van Elderen and apparently robust pre- and post-production processes have resulted in an album that’s been shaped to seem familiar while offering its own perspective on occasionally crushing craft.

Don’t expect “Release the Flies” to stand-in for the whole record — it has its ebbs and flows, sure — but it’s got a big ol’ riff that it’s about to lower down upon your until-now unsuspecting person, and if it’s your first impression of A Breakfast for Champions, it’s a hell of one for the album to make.

PR wire info follows. Please enjoy:

Komatsu, “Release the Flies” track premiere

Komatsu’s 5th album is no fluffy pancake! 8 heavy, filling and delicious tracks will blow your mind and boost your immune system. Now as a three-piece band, their sound has opened up to show new layers of fuzz, rhythm and groove. Lyrics range from deep topics like the universe, rebirth and dystopia to fatcamps and female parts. Komatsu is proud to add some extra grease, grit and crunch to your morning oatmeal so you can face anything the world throws at you!

1. A Breakfast for Champions
2. Savage
3. The Devil’s Cut
4. Release the Flies
5. Fatcamp Workout
6. What Lies Underneath
7. Welcome to the Underworld
8. Climb the Vines

Credits
All songs written by Mo Truijens.
Publishing: NFL/BMG Rights Management (Benelux) B.V.
“What Lies Underneath” lyrics by Mo Truijens and Ronny Dijksterhuis. “Devil‘s Cut” lyrics by Mo Truijens and Mathijs Bodt. “Welcome To the Underworld” music by Mo Truijens and Mathijs Bodt.

All music recorded at Tarwesound by Pieter Kloos.
Vocals recorded at Bootleg Recordings by Peter van Elderen. Mixed and mastered at The Void Studio by Pieter Kloos.
Pre-production by Komatsu and Peter van Elderen. Post-production by Komatsu and Pieter Kloos.
Artwork and design by Lotte Voorhoeve. Photography by Tessa-Viola Kloep.

Komatsu:
Mo Truijens – Guitars / Vocals
Martijn Mansvelders – Bass / Backing Vocals
Jos Roosen – Drums

Komatsu, A Breakfast for Champions (2025)

Komatsu on Facebook

Komatsu on Instagram

Komatsu on Bandcamp

Komatsu website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds website