Day two, feeling good after coming in hot yesterday after the weekend of writing. Have I ever told you about my fantasy QR? No? I write reviews of stuff all along, every day, then when it’s QR time I just roll it all out and take an actual week off. Wouldn’t it enhance your enjoyment knowing that somewhere, sometime, I’m sitting on ass and not frantically trying to finish the next day’s reviews?

I haven’t ever been able to manifest that reality, so here I am, yesterday, maybe two days before, trying to put it together. Same as every other QR I’ve done in the past 12 or 13 years, however long I’ve been doing these. Long enough to know when one feels good. Yesterday was cool. I have high hopes accordingly for today’s batch. I try to do myself favors in putting these together as best I can.

Quarterly Review #11-20:

Spirit Adrift, Infinite Illumination

Led for the last decade by Nate Garrett initially as a solo-project and then as a full, touring and working band, Spirit Adrift come to a reported close with Infinite Illumination, the Austin outfit’s sixth album. Melancholia and metal intertwine on songs like “Window Within,” the chuggy ’90s groover “Born in a Bad Way,” and “White Death,” which resolves with a massive nod. The band have always tipped the balance of metal and doom, so these are fitting sounds on which to go out, if in fact Garrett (also Neon Nightmare) is done with it. “Where Once There Was an Ocean” unfolds slowly at the end of the album, and stately in its intro and very much in that place between, what with the shredding solo and chugging center riff progression, but it’s all part of the identity the band carved during their time, keeping ’90s Hellhound Records-style doom alive and carried forward for the next generation. Excited for what Garrett does next, but Spirit Adrift earned this farewell in the interim.

Spirit Adrift website

20 Buck Spin website

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The Mon, Songs of Embrace

‘Embrace’ doesn’t necessarily mean accessibility as Ufomammut‘s Urlo puts the finishing stamp on the two-LP ‘Embrace the Abandon’ cycle with his solo-project The Mon‘s Songs of Embrace. What he calls ’embrace,’ I would generally consider immersion. Drone is a big part of it through this 10-track answer to 2025’s Songs of Abandon (review here), textures of synth and guitar, some jangling keys before the static push in “Ritual of Night Violence.” There’s beauty to be had, whether it’s in the more direct guitar of “Incantation” or “Embers of Calendula,” but neither is “Ritual of Night Violence” the only foray into abrasion, with the penultimate “Echoes of the Drowned” and opener “Invocation of the Abyss” also harnessing these textures. “Embrace the Abandon,” a title-track for two records, closes with shimmery synth, noise, a machine that goes ‘bing!’ and other echoing noises. Texture, in other words. You knew it was going to be out there. Hoping Urlo keeps developing this project as an outlet for such weirdness.

The Mon website

Supernatural Cat Records website

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Hällas, Panorama

The fourth album from Sweden’s dramatic progressive kraut rockers Hällas — also their first self-release through Äventyr Records — Panorama opens with its longest track (immediate points) in the 21-minute, side-A-consuming “Above the Continuum,” and as a single track, it indeed goes down like the half an album it is. Packed with twists, vocal and tonal changes, shifts in arrangement, that spoken piece in the second half and each new part seeming like a different stage in the dynamic procession leading toward a somehow-not-overblown finish, it’s a triumph of their craft, to say the least of it. Side B brings four cuts starting with “Face of an Angel,” which might be yacht prog but for the Nazgûl wails, while “The Emissary” is more sweeping in its scope and works into a headspinning tizzy before it’s done, giving over to the penultimate “Bestiaus,” which in itself is voice and keyboard but also has a waveform static intro to closer “At the Summit,” begun with classical guitar as they make ready to blow-out a six-minute finish that feels duly epic in its reach. This is a band who’ve made their own place by fitting nowhere else. Panorama feels earned.

Hällas website

Hällas on Bandcamp

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Okay You Win, End of Days

London heavy rockers Okay You Win give a couple different looks on their debut album, End of Days, on Blues Funeral. Underlying it all across the eight-song/52-minute offering is a sense of songwriting and intention in how each track unfolds, but to that, there is a longform modus and what feels like a complementary immediacy to offset some of the digging in of songs like “Beat Me Down” or “The Greatest Lie.” End of Days somewhat turns expectation on its head by putting the more expansive material up front, and cuts like “This Damned Place,” closer “Own It” and the abovementioned — all of which top seven minutes in length — present a scope informed by desert heavy and dual-guitar metal, feeling a bit like a complement to labelmates Solace in that regard. The shorter (sub-five minutes) title-track and “Red Flag” land with a more direct take, and what comes across most of all is a nascent malleability between the two sides that feels like it will eventually be bridged in their sound. Taken as a whole, the album is elemental, which is to say, this is a strong and ambitious initial showing, and how they grow from here will be the ultimate story of the band.

Okay You Win on Bandcamp

Blues Funeral Recordings website

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Bong Voyage, Hedonistic Hard Rock

You would not call Bong Voyage subtle in opening cut “Saturday Rite Special” (get it?) as they quickly toss out “Hail Satan and Iron Maiden!” among the fervent declarations of self and purpose. That’s not the last time they’ll make that rhyme. The Oslo heavy party rockers, true to form, have plenty of metal in their foundations and the namedrops to prove it, but are here for a good time, and even a comparative letup like “UFOria” or the ’80s-tastic take on Billy Idol in “Enabler” ahead of the big-roller “Wizard of Ozlo” stand testament to the point, never mind the shouty shenanigans of “Large and In Charge,” “Outer Space Freebase” or “In Possession” at the finish. If you’re at the show, they’ve already spilled (poured?) beer on you, but that’s to be expected for material of such physicality, songs written with movement and audience engagement central to their ideology. They’re not reinventing the wheel, but they’re bending the frames to make it roll like it’s drunk and never hungover.

Bong Voyage on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

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King Potenaz, Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2

Unflinching in their exploration of the darker side of heavy rock and roll and dungeon-style metal, Fasano, Italy’s King Potenaz follow 2025’s Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 1 (review here) as the core trio of guitarist/vocalist Giuseppe Guarini, bassist Francesco Pensato and drummer Piero Schiavone mirror that album’s structure in a likewise adventurous complement. Whether it’s the grim desert expanse of “Sumerian Nights” or the lumbering psychedoomic jam “A Crack in the Void (The Empty Hand Pt. 2),” King Potenaz remain unto themselves in intention, fostering a fuzzy but still post-punk shove in “Lord of the Rust” — think stonergoth — while “The Nothingness” feels as much like a ritual as a song, the band putting the listener into the proceedings as much as itself. Not redundant of the prior album, but pushing farther from it, Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2 reaffirms the individual nature of what King Potenaz do. They aren’t quite like anything else out there, and more, they seem to know it.

King Potenaz on Bandcamp

Majestic Mountain Records webstore

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Cowboys & Aliens, Finis Temporum

Celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2026, Cowboys & Aliens unveil Finis Temporum, a front-to-back six-song/32-minute banger that’s as righteous an argument in favor of classic-style, turn-of-the-century European heavy rock as one could ask from a band who was there and part of making it. Closer “Asteroid Blast” reminds of that, remade as it was from 2000’s A Trip to the Stonehenge Colony, but I’ll be damned if the opening salvo of “Life Tree” and “Rabbit Hole” doesn’t kick ass out of the gate, backed by the reachout in “Vengeance of the Weird” and the big hook in “Ordinary Bliss” ahead of the fuzzstrutter “Icy Grip.” I suppose that’s to say momentum gets on their side early and the shove that ensues is rad. Melodies soar over tonally and rhythmically vibrant riffing, and though they’re never far removed from the root verse/chorus trades of the material, the excitement level runs high across the span without sounding redundant at any point. If you’re not on board by the end of “Life Tree,” consult your primary care physician.

Cowboys & Aliens on Bandcamp

Polderrecords website

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Endless Floods, Passages

Endless Floods retain an experimentalist feel despite the outward solidity of their post-metallic take on Passages. With resonant vocals from Louise Dehaye (also sax), the largesse and sway of the full-band sound behind conjured by Stéphane Miollan (bass, guitar, vocals, synth) and Benjamin Sablon (drums, guitars, vocals, percussion) feels expansive and puporseful in a way that ‘experimental’ rarely captures. What’s happening across the four mostly-extended inclusions on the 37-minute outing, however, is a construction of form that is Endless Floods‘ own, able to slide or lumber or crunch through a piece like “Visions” or the lead single “Dieuxième Monde,” which are lush and gorgeous and still feel like a setup for the glory reached in the 10-minute linear build of “Liminal” and the synthy bleed toward closer “Primordial,” wherein the onslaught one might expect is subverted in favor of heavy post-rock ambience, contemplative melody and expansive soundscaping. If you never believed heavy metal could be beautiful, first of all, what are you doing here, and second, Passages serves as a convincing argument. It is engrossing.

Endless Floods on Bandcamp

Endless Floods on Instagram

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Duncan Park, Prana

Wooden clackychimes mark the beginning of Duncan Park‘s “Chöd” at the outset of the four-song Prana EP, soon complemented by resonant hand-drumming that gradually comes forward as the clacky-clacky recedes. This subdued moment is not misspent, but rather essential to the procession, shifting to standalone guitar on “BEBEBe” in the flavor of something Ben Chasny might elicit from the instrument in serene pastoralism, exploratory but grounded and accessible. Voice is an instrument in “Surfing the Bardo,” and that presence isn’t to be underestimated, but it’s still the guitar in focus, and the way the movement comes apart (before realigning) in the second half reminds of Beatles Esher demos and is correspondingly organic. Same could be said of the tape hiss behind the guitar of the title-track, which noodles around its central figure and sounds joyful in the doing, without getting lost even as it seems to rewind itself back for another listen. A quiet embrace from the Johannesburg-based Park, whose work remains evocative and escapist.

LINK

LINK

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Luxury Weapons, The Light in a Low Place

Richmind, Virginia’s Luxury Weapons is the trio of Trevor Thomas (Human Thurma, etc.), Bill Badgley (Federation X, etc.) and Erik Josephson (Hex Machine, etc.), and you can just take all that ‘etc.’ as meant to convey lifetimes’ worth of experience making music and playing in bands. The songwriting here is noise rock-sharp, but where the aggression to coincide with the chug might otherwise be is a rousing melodic sensibility, bolstered by the Kyle Spence (Harvey Milk) recording job and present in the spacious “Surrender” and the precision turns of “Been Gone” or “All We Knew.” This record came out over a year ago — yeah, it’s damn near June and I’m still sneaking in 2025 releases; wait until you hear about the decades of recorded music that existed before last month — so if you want to take this is me making a note to myself on something cool, I’m fine with that. There’s enough character in Luxury Weapons‘ sound to stand them out regardless of the last 13 months, and I certainly don’t hear anything on their debut that sounds like it’s about to expire now. If you haven’t heard it — and I know you have because you’re cooler than me — perhaps a word to the wise.

Luxury Weapons on Bandcamp

Luxury Weapons on Soundcloud

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Welcome to the Quarterly Review. I’m not sure which quarter it is, and actually it’s been less than two full months since the last time we did this, but I had this crazy idea to NOT fall 50 records even further behind in covering stuff, so I decided to run one now. Maybe I’ll do another in July. Maybe a piano will fall on my head.

You know the drill by now. 10 releases per day covered. I think I’m going to keep this to 50 total, but I might tack on another day or two if I get through it and still have a bunch more on the docket. We’ll see. But time’s a crunch, so we gotta move.

Quarterly Review #1-10:

Abrams, Loon

When the postmortem is done on this generation of heavy rock and roll, Abrams might be among its most underrated bands in terms of songwriting. The Denver unit led by guitarist/vocalist Zachary Amster offer the taut 10-song/37-minute run of Loon as further argument in their favor, basking in a heavy and post-hardcore blend and working with Godcity Studio and Kurt Ballou (Converge, High on Fire, etc.) to foster a more aggressive sound in pieces like “Glass House,” “While Walls,” “Said and Done,” and so on, bordering on noise rock while bringing grunge melody to “A State of Mind” and blasting double-kick drumming to closer “Remains.” At this point, I’m wondering if they’re too good. Are they too polished, is Amster too capable a singer? Is the songwriting too tight? In the immortal words of Will Ferrell, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Once again, Abrams do nothing wrong. One hopes the added charge wakes up more ears to what they’re doing. Or even better, instead of snagging jaded oldheads, put this shit on TikTok and let the 17 year olds learn about melody from it. That’s how it works now, right?

Abrams on Bandcamp

Blues Funeral Recordings website

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Buzzard, Take the Tyrant Down (Acoustic) b/w Hunchback, Vicar & Wizard

Two cuts from Massachusetts solo artist Buzzard, aka Christopher Thomas Elliott, whose voice and point of view for me personally has been salve in terrible times and for that a marker of the era. Late last year, Elliott released the EP Everything is Not Going to Be Alright (review here) with a plugged version of “Take the Tyrant Down,” which is stripped down here of its later chug and “Down down down/Sic semper tyrannis” vocal bridge. Perhaps too heavyhanded? It becomes a quiter contemplation of overcoming oppression, and its ultimate victory is no less sweet. The (digital) B-side is “Hunchback, Vicar and Wizard,” which wraps itself in an acoustic central line like “Doom Folk Fury” from the EP (which has also been expanded to an LP this year, heads up) but is less of a chorus surge, letting the Mellotron bring atmospheric backing to the lyrical tale of cathartic justice for the abuse victims of clergy. Yes, I’m talking about killing priests who rape children. Or Elliott is anyhow, in his increasingly solidified and yet malleable doom-folk aesthetic, with craft likewise prolific and purposeful.

Buzzard on Bandcamp

Buzzard on Instagram

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Masheena, Let the Spiders In

As I understand it, Masheena have traded out half their lineup since recording Let the Spiders In with producer Machine (Clutch, etc.) in early 2024, but either way, the Bergen, Norway, heavy rocking four-piece bring expansive melodies to sharp structures in hooky cuts like “Going to the Mountain” and “One Good Eye,” taking bluesy energy in pieces like “Been Waiting” and “Don’t Tell Her” and the chug of the penultimate “Riffy” and fostering a sound that’s straightforward and accessible while not lacking at all in variety. It’s their second LP, and though on “Sara Lost Her Way,” they edge close to the big-stage energy of countrymen Spidergawd, the thickness in “Riffy” and the subsequent, nonetheless shuffling closer “You Owe Me,” as well as the generally bluesier foundations, aid in distinction. The album is paced comfortably at 34 minutes but never in any danger of overstaying its welcome. Can’t help but be curious how the dynamic has changed with the new lineup. It’s certainly solid in this material.

Masheena website

Majestic Mountain Records store

Ripple Music website

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Sergio Ch., Last Dance of a Dying Man

As Buenos Aires-based singer-songwriter Sergio Chotsourian (aka Sergio Ch., of Los Natas, Ararat, Soldati, etc.) has developed his solo approach, it’s satisfying to hear him working with a drum machine on “Last Dance,” the first cut on this two-song EP, paired with the 12-minute “The Journey.” It highlights a modernized bedroom-folk intimacy that’s always been in his experimentalist craft, and lets the guitar become the source of tension in the piece, which it does righteously. “The Journey” is more synth-based and is instrumental for most of its stretch, but there are late-arriving vocals. He also seems to be trying something new with his voice, though that might just be a result of returning to English-language lyrics after however long it’s been since last time. Note the guitar figure consistent beneath the keys of “The Journey” as well. Last Dance of a Dying Man is Sergio being Sergio, but part of that is pushing his own boundaries, and that can clearly be heard in these songs.

Sergio Ch. on Instagram

South American Sludge Records on Bandcamp

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Vestjysk Ørken, LSDREI

LSDREI, a combination of LSD and ‘drei,’ as in ‘three,’ is indeed the third LP from Danish jammers Vestjysk Ørken, and it begins with a long monologue over foreboding backing drone spoken by the drug itself, maybe from an old propaganda film? In any case, this first eight minutes set the mood before a burst-in of heavy fuzz after the eight-minute mark starts what’s presumed to be ‘Violets and Yellow’ in the six-parts-presented-as-a-single-36-minute-track of the LP. The full course is listed as “The Traveler / Violets & Yellow / Drei / Running My Head / (Backwards) Like A Mirror / Lovely Colours Shimmering,” and though immersion has always been a top priority for the Esbjerg outfit — theirs and yours both — they’ve never sounded quite so intentional in their exploration. The lumber gives way to shimmering lead guitar, more speech and a light but bassy boogie as they pass the halfway point, and plays back and forth from there between airy verses, ebbs and flows, more samples and, in the last few minutes, both shove and a massive concluding roll finishing with vague but angry shouts of a populace. It gets weird, kids. Actually, starts weird and gets weirder. For best results, recommend you do likewise.

Vestjysk Ørken Linktr.ee

Vestjysk Ørken on Bandcamp

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Liminal Sky, All Tomorrow’s Darkness

Liminal Sky is presented as an extension of the work drummer, guitarist and keyboardist Jaime Gomez Arellano (also a noted producer in London) and guitarist, bassist, keyboardist Daniel Knight did together in the band Messenger, but the debut album All Tomorrow’s Darkness takes on an identity of its own, thanks in no small part to vocal collaborations with Mat McNerny (Hexvessel, Grave Pleasures), Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver) and Karin Park (Årabrot), as well as a slew of instrumental contributors too many to list in this space. This amalgam results in an emotionally resonant, post-genre melancholia, kin to the beauty in darkness in pieces like “Algebra of Unknowing,” “Penance” and “Forget Me Not,” the latter of which hits into a satisfying crescendo without giving up its core expressive purpose. It is not a minor undertaking in the substance of its songs, but Arellano and Knight create an entire world for this material, and the listener, to dwell in.

Liminal Sky on Bandcamp

Karisma Records website

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The Quill, Master of the Skies

Professional-grade delivery from a professional band. Master of the Skies is the 11th album in the 35-plus-year tenure of Sweden’s The Quill, and if they’re exploring themes of mastery, you could hardly find a better theme to coincide with their sound. With expert hand and worldly care, they gracefully guide the listener through a diverse 45-minute collection, with rockers and ballads and acoustic numbers and the nine-minute volume-trade sprawl of the penultimate “Mastodon,” part Sabbath as they go, but more of a decades-meld of heavy rock ideologies so that “You Can Not Kill My Soul” hits with triumphant melody and side B opener “If Tomorrow Never Comes” wraps itself up in chugging largesse. The band — vocalist Magnus Ekwall, guitarist Christian Carlsson, bassist Roger Nilsson and drummer Jolle Atlagic — are unflinching in the refinement of their approach, but even when they reprise lead cut “Master of the Skies” to finish, there’s no pretense, just some of the most solid craft a band could hope to stand on.

The Quill website

Metalville Records website

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Greenthrone, The Greenthrone EP

Unearthed from the depths of Columbus, Ohio’s underground, Greenthrone‘s The Greenthrone EP was put to tape in 2010 and 2011 as a series of demos from what was then the bombastic duo of Danny Bays (guitar/vocals) and Lisa Bella Donna (drums/production), the latter also of much-missed progressive heavy explorers EYE. A five-song collection, it is brash and raw and finds Bays‘ vocal delivery somewhere between Matt Pike and Chuck Schuldiner on “The Sentinel” and “Beyond the Veil,” and that’s before they get into the sludgy push/roll of centerpiece “Hidden in Plain Sight” or the righteously-tin-can “Brujo,” and “Feather Crown” to close. There’s an audible shift in sound there ahead of the last two tracks, but there was point of view in the band even 15 years ago. Bays got a new lineup going at some point, a trio, and hopefully there’s more to follow sooner or later.

Greenthrone Linktr.ee

Greenthrone on Bandcamp

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Dave Heumann, Chimes of Freedom // Further Adventures of Big Ten

Two at least semi-covers; one straight up take on Bob Dylan, the latter transmogrified reportedly from The Grateful Dead and David Crosby, and either make a fitting place for Arbouretum frontman Dave Heumann to dwell in for a while. The fragility of his voice in Dylan‘s lyrics on “Chimes of Freedom” makes that song feel all the more like a song for the people — in both the folk music and political senses, because they’re linked — while “Further Adventures of Big Ten” feels more like an exploration, being instrumental and set atop a drone and backed with hand-percussion as it is. “Chimes of Freedom” is the more straightforward, I guess, but its organ line and way-back-there gentle drums feel emblematic of the 1964 original, captured at the precipice of the birth of the psychedelic era. You could say a lot about the choices one way or the other, but from where I sit it’s five more minutes of Heumann singing and about 11 of him playing and I’ll take what I can get, thanks. He’s like if you gave the National Park System a voice.

Dave Heumann website

Dave Heumann on Bandcamp

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A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers, Towers of Silence

Most of all, Towers of Silence sounds like the beginning of a rich and creative plunge into sound. Netherlands-based four-piece A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers take a sludgy angle on post-metallic lurch on this three-songer, and as “The Massacre of Flour” unfolds, it seems like it’s going to be all-onslaught until they hang a louie into a psychedelic midsection framed on the other side by a punishing return. “I Fuck People” follows and is noisier and more chaotic, but still manages to find room for saxophone in its second half, while the nine-minute title-track wraps by flipping the script into volume trades between meditative melodic contemplation and heavier bashing-away. The message that comes through is A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers aren’t restrained by genre ideology. Breaking out of it on three songs, they’re at the starting point in developing the individual creative expression one hears in this material. The prospects for where their journey might take them are exciting.

A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers on Bandcamp

Lay Bare Recordings website

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Is it too soon to talk about The Return of Tomorrow (review here) in hindsight? Probably. The album turns two next month (it was released June 14, 2024). Two years is a long time in pop, but in heavy rock circles it might as well have been on Wednesday. They’re still touring for it, though really it’s not like the San Clemente four-piece whose journey we’ve now charted from about 41 years ago to now need an excuse to get on the road. But you understand what I’m saying. This album remains their latest, and of course, as always, I stand by the review. I’ll do my best to retread it as little as possible, but if I make the same point over again — “duh, Fu Manchu are heavy and fuzzy,” or somesuch landmark insight — I beg your forgiveness.

In the context of the band’s discography, one might count The Return of Tomorrow as album number 13. The staggered release of the three Fu30 EPs (discussed here) between 2020 and 2023 assured that as dark as times got, the band was never completely absent, and about as soon as they could get back on the road, as I recall, that’s what they did.

That said, The Return of Tomorrow was a breath of fresh Fu in the six-year LP dearth since 2018’s Clone of the Universe (discussed here, review here), and it revealed a new trajectory for the course the San Clemente four-piece — the continuing lineup of founding guitarist/vocalist Scott Hill, bassist/sometimes-backing-vocalist Brad Davis, lead guitarist Bob Balch and drummer Scott Reeder; the latter three of whom by this point were awash in solo/side/other projects — that began a decade earlier with 2014’s Gigantoid (discussed here, review here), departing somewhat from the rolling largesse of the prior 2009 outing, Signs of Infinite Power (discussed here), and finding a production style able to speak to the multiple facets in their sound between punk, heavy metal and the riff-led shove-‘n’-groove they themselves helped pioneer.

The Return of Tomorrow is on the longer end of Fu Manchu records at 49:12. It’s second only to 1997’s The Action is Go (discussed here) in runtime, which clocked in at a peak-CD-era 55 minutes, aided in part by the lengthy “Saturn III” and a good bit of silence. The Return of Tomorrow, however, uses all of its time, and in a way that the band never had before, with a stated intent toward 2LP experience.

So, in that regard, it’s actually short. The way Hill explained the structure of the album in the advance promo was as follows:

When I listen to music, it’s either all heavy stuff with no mellow stuff mixed in or just softer stuff with no heavy stuff. I know a lot of bands like to mix it up and we have done that before, but I always tend to listen to all of one type of thing or the other. So, I figured we should do a double-record with seven heavy fuzzy songs on one record and the other record six mellow(er) songs, fully realizing that maybe I’m the only person that likes to listen to stuff that way.

We kept both the records to around 25-30 minutes each as to make it a full-length release, but not have each record be too long. We don’t write a lot of mellow(er) stuff in Fu Manchu, but a lot of the riffs worked minus the fuzz. If you’re a vinyl person, both records are pressed at 45rpm to give it the best sound quality. If you’re a digital person, can make your own playlist and mix both the records together.

This quote is especially telling in light of what I’ll call the most overlooked aspect of The Return of Tomorrow — at least by me; I don’t read anybody else’s reviews — which is the flexibility of approach. The emergent willingness in the band to mess around with their own forms, structures and processes. “Lifetime Waiting” opens that ‘mellower’ second mini-LP and you wouldn’t say it’s not heavy, but there is absolutely a shift in intent from “Loch Ness Wrecking Machine,” or “Dehumanize” at the outset, or even the slower but still brash “Haze the Hides” earlier on. “Solar Baptized” and “What I Need” bring psychedelic flourish and continued drawl.

The title-track appears in the latter section, ahead of the signature start-stoppage in “Liquify” and quiet, brief jam-out in “High Tide” that finishes the collection. Unless, of course, it doesn’t, because even Hill notes that for someone listening on a digital format, if they want to they can move the songs around however they like to change their own experience.

Understand for a second what that really says. Here’s someone who’s been playing in bands for over 40 years, and who has been instrumental in developing one of the most recognizable sounds in the six-plus decade history of heavy rock and roll. There is no other Fu Manchu and there never has been, and at least going by outward appearances, I don’t think anything happens in the band without Hill‘s ultimate approval. And what he’s telling you is the order doesn’t matter. 30 years on from their first record, with a string of classics along the way, where Fu Manchu arrived was like this third-eye-open album presentation. Make it what you want, if you want. How many artists exhibit that kind of flexibility, at any point, ever, let alone after so many years of steering their own creations?

Next week I’m wrapping up this Fu Manchu catalog series, as we’ll be caught up from the beginning to now, so I’ll save any conclusions or extrapolated life-lessons for that, but what The Return of Tomorrow most emphasizes to me specifically is the undervalued creativity and dynamic in the band. Part of that stems from having such a defined sound, but while they were not engaging any radical aesthetic changes in these 13 songs, they nonetheless offered them to their listenership in a way they never had before and made something new from them as well as within them. I don’t know of another outfit who could’ve done the same thing and pulled it off so well.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

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Next week: Quarterly Review. You tell The Patient Mrs. so I don’t have to.

It’s the week I have, so I’m going with it. There won’t be much else posted, and again, we close out the Fu Manchu catalog series next week with the live album that followed this studio release. I didn’t get to review it last year when it came out, so I’m looking forward to engaging with it. After that I’ll probably do Claypool Lennon Delirium or Nine Inch Noize. I’ve got a backlog of Friday Full-Lengths at this point before I think about another discography. Though, to that: Acid King? Orange Goblin? Thinking about that too, I suppose.

Before I go further I want to wish the very best to T.R. Morton of Freedom Hawk, who revealed this week his pancreatic cancer diagnosis as the band canceled their appearance at next week’s Cosmic Sonic Rendezvous in NYC, where I was looking forward to seeing them again. I hope to see him back onstage having freshly kicked cancer’s ass as soon as humanly possible, and in the meantime, send strength and love to help him get there and encourage you reading this to do the same.

The Patient Mrs.’ mother, whom I love dearly, came down yesterday to facilitate some backyard planting, which they did this morning while I worked on the above. We also last night had my family over to celebrate one of my oldest nephew’s friend’s birthdays — I was outside with The Pecan and my cousin playing wiffe ball for most of it, when I wasn’t picking up the food — and so that was busy. I don’t know if the kid enjoyed himself or not, but I said happy birthday anyhow and got stared at weirdly by teenagers. Like why would you even?

This weekend is Desertfest London and Berlin. Having been at Oslo last weekend, I’m jealous of those partying down in either city. Oslo was amazing, a killer trip. I was tired coming back, but I recovered a bit this week and feel good about how it all went down. I’m looking forward to Freak Valley in a few weeks.

Zelda update: I did the Water Temple in the ‘Ship of Harkinian’ PC port of Ocarina of Time the other evening. It took the entire evening. And I was using a walkthrough, albeit in stonerly fashion. The Pecan wants to do Bottom of the Well, so I might let her handle that after she gets home from Girl Scouts. Her mom is out for a bit anyhow, I think. I don’t know if she wants to do the Spirit Temple or not. But that’s where I’m at with that.

I came pretty close to 100-percenting Echoes of Wisdom, which is low-key and unabashed fun, low intensity in a way I very much enjoy, and I did play a bit of Tears of the Kingdom on the plane on the way to Norway, though not as much as I’d have liked because I didn’t have a plug under the seat. I also this week downloaded the Dusk or Dusklight as I’m seeing it called fan port of Twilight Princess, and I might try to play through that next.

I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Thank you for reading and for keeping up with the site however much you do. Fuck fascism, capitalism and white supremacy forever and ever and ever.

FRM.

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The 2026 edition of Seattle’s Rain City Doom Fest will be held Dec. 18-19 at the appointed El Corazon and Funhouse, and the first four bands confirmed at YOB, King Woman, Earthless and Christian Mistress. Obviously a lot to like there as far as initial reveals for an independently-run festival go. It doesn’t say so, but one assumes at least YOB will be among the headliners if not YOB and King Woman both, but this is just the first reveal, so you can figure on context to follow as the festival actually takes shape. Righteous start, is the point I’m making.

Who’ll fill out the remainder of the lineup is of course still to be announced, but in years past, Rain City Doom Fest has hosted rad regional outfits like Hippie Death Cult, Merlock and Sorcia, so while you’re waiting for the next round of news from the festival, you can perhaps have some sense of where they might be headed or the kinds of bands who play — sludge, doom, rock, whathaveyou — but as a first-four this also kind of feels like forward growth in getting bigger bands to take part. I honestly don’t know if that’s the message Rain City Doom Fest are looking to send, but last year was headlined by Ragana and Acid King with Electric Citizen and Mizmor next on the poster. Maybe I’m splitting hairs with this entire train of thought.

Barring a miracle, I won’t be there to see it, but Rain City Doom Fest will doubtless be a banger regardless, and if you’re having the kind of afternoon I am thus far, maybe daydreaming about something, even that simple act of pretending to look forward to a thing, will help.

So here you go:

RAIN CITY DOOM FEST 2026!

YOB
KING WOMAN
EARTHLESS
CHRISTIAN MISTRESS

+ many more TBA

December 18 + 19 at @elcorazonseattle / @funhouseseattle
Seattle, WA

2 stages | 18 bands | 2 nights of DOOM

2-day passes on sale NOW! 🎟️🔗 https://app.opendate.io/e/rain-city-doom-fest-2026-december-18-2026-709054

This event is 21+

Poster by @_brainkim

https://app.opendate.io/e/rain-city-doom-fest-2026-december-18-2026-709054
https://www.instagram.com/raincitydoomfest/
https://www.facebook.com/raincitydoomfest

YOB, Live at Doom City 2026

Well, in Belgium’s Cowboys & Aliens, you have one of 2026’s best records — they released Finis Temporum (review forthcoming) in March — and in Howling Giant, you have my pick for what was the best album of 2025, Crucible & Ruin (review here). Putting them all on the bill for Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII next Jan. in Las Vegas, is two for two. No letup here.

The lineup already includes Greenleaf, Mothership, Steak, Siena Root, Black Rainbows, Child, Droids Attack, Shun, Sundrifter, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Carson, Humulus, Brimstone Coven and Winds of Neptune. Packed, right? Adding these two to that mix means a total of nine-so-far international acts — Child are from Australia, the rest are EU and UK — and while frankly that’s insane given the cost of anything and everything in this day and age, thank your lucky stars it’s also part of the reality you’re living in. I don’t know how much you do or don’t have to look forward to between now and the start of 2027, but this for sure is on my list. Unbefuckinglievable.

Announcement came down the PR wire from fest honcho/mad genius John Gist as follows:

Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII – Cowboys & Aliens & Howling Giant

Vegas Rock Revolution has the pleasure of announcing two very good bands to the Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII 2027 in Las Vegas lineup!

Howling Giant will finally be joining us and wow is it going to be special!! They will be playing their side of the Ripple Music split that they did with fellow PDRW players Sergeant Thunderhoof “Turned to Stone Chapter 2: Masamune & Muramasa”. This will be the 1st time ever!!

As a band Howling Giant has continuously put out excellent releases including their recent album “Crucible & Ruin” that landed #1 on The Doom Charts for October 2025. And oh will we be hearing …. “Rooster” ???

Cowboys & Aliens a will be beaming over for the first time to the USA!! This Belgian band has been rocking since the late 90s and recently dropped a killer release “Finis Temporum” on Polderrecorders that landed #11 on the March Doom Charts as voted on my worldwide insiders. As a long time part of the heavy underground we are super honored to have these gents join us for our annual rock and roll party in Sin City!!

We have multiple ticket options for PDRW VII and even a few early bird options on some of them so make your plans while they last! It’s always an amazing time with super cool rockers from around the globe and a uniquely curated event like no other. Remember it’s evening only sets so you can enjoy Las Vegas during the day!

Tickets available now: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planet-desert-rock-weekend-vii-january-28-31-2027-tickets-1983056894554?aff=oddtdtcreator

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/share/171CqcorKR/

https://www.facebook.com/VRRProductions/
https://www.facebook.com/vegasrockrevolution/

Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII Playlist

Miami’s Bleeth release their three-songer Lázara EP on May 29. The mini-collection follows the trio’s 2025 sophomore full-length, Marionette, and continues their path of brash and atmospheric, crunch-laden heavy/noisy sludge rock. And much as that album explored themes of intersecting identity fluidities, how to be multitudes and still a single person, meeting oppressive trauma with strength and a sonic blend that’s snarling and crushing but still emotionally resonant, well, is not like things suddenly got easier this year. Lázara runs all of eight minutes and the first song is a cover, so that would be a lot to ask of this little EP to stand up to in terms of concept and whole-work realizations, but Bleeth hit it hard on this subsequent studio visit, taking on Hole‘s “Pretty on the Inside,” which is almost sadly relevant 35 years later, and two originals “Bent” and “Porcelain,” with guitarist/vocalist Lauren Palma, bassist/vocalist Ryan Rivas and drummer Hector Mojena fostering a sound that, even to my uninitiated ears (because, to be clear, this is my first exposure to the band; late to all parties), comes across as immediately and pointedly individual.

You might hear Fugazi or Jesus Lizard or Melvins or something else ’90s and harrowing in “Bent” or “Porcelain,” and Bleeth‘s take on “Pretty on the Inside” is a pummeler through and through, certainly more than it would’ve been outside the confines of extreme metal circa ’91, and Palma‘s voice answers respectfully the cryout of Courtney Love and the volatility that made the original feel so fresh and anti-bullshit at the time. In Bleeth‘s care, the song is revitalized and modernized, heavier and more forceful for times that are the same, and no less of a shove, and while it’s in “Bent” that the point of view is most plainly laid out in the lyrics — “You’re not the type of person they built this world for” is a hell of an opening line — “Pretty on the Inside” says something similar in its own way. And while the chug in “Porcelain” is less of a forward shove than the bassy boogie of the cut before, the way it opens into the chorus is enough to remind you of Miami’s sludge lineage, bands like Cavity and Floor, and the family trees thereof still spreading their branches. Bleeth commune with this regional influence but aren’t held to it anymore than they’re held to being ‘metal’ or ‘punk.’

This aesthetic dwelling-in-a-place-between is mirrored in the overarching themes of Marionette and Lázara — the latter was recorded at the end of last year, so not the same sessions, but not far removed in sound or style either — and on a meta level, the band itself becomes an answer to the question of what happens when you’ve been told your whole life that there’s an ideal (in this case a straight, cisgendered, white supremacist one) and you’re not it. Palma and Rivas trade lead vocal duties on “Porcelain,” and in addition to feeling like a showcase of what the band can do, the change is a reminder of how powerful expression can become when we push outside imaginary limits. The closer — also the longest inclusion at 3:46 — moves from chug to lurch to roll to push before it’s done, and if it feels restless at any and all points, I have to think that’s intentional on the band’s part. Unsettled, maybe. That becomes part of the appeal, and Bleeth‘s exploration of sound is a reminder that life, for anyone who isn’t a total asshole, largely works the same way. We found out who we are as we go.

Bleeth have been at it for over a decade, so I’ve got a little homework to do. While I’m at it, enjoy “Pretty on the Inside” below. Copious narrative follows the player, courtesy of the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Drive around any neighborhood in Miami, and you’ll see it. The statue of a single saint dotting the many manicured lawns of southwest Dade — San Lázaro.

Often, you see him standing alone out in the sun or encased within a glass enclosure full of fronds and flowers. Always positioned somewhere eerily between life and death, the divine and the mundane.

For Miami-based queer sludge noise band Bleeth, the origin of their latest release, Lazara, traces back to one of those statues in particular. While writing in a cramped side room of guitarist Lauren Palma’s home, a human-sized figure of San Lázaro would stare back at the members of Bleeth.

At first, it was all just a joke. A funny — and creepy — visitor gazing in on their sessions. But eventually, the image of Lazarus himself became a sort of talisman — a quiet presence that worked its way into the fabric of their latest EP, Lázara.

That shift didn’t happen in a vacuum.

The stretch between their 2021 EP Harbinger and their most recent full-length Marionette (Seeing Red Records, 2025) tested the band in ways that would have sidelined most. Label disputes. Job losses. The departure of their original drummer just ahead of a planned 2023 tour.

And it wasn’t just these personal trials that weighed on the members either.

In a world where the rights of LGBTQIAAP+ people are more precarious than ever, the songwriting sessions became an outlet to channel their collective rage at the ills of the Trump administration and the far-right grandstanding gaining mass acceptance in the world. A way to process anger, uncertainty, and everything building beneath the surface.

Somewhere in that mix, the figure of Lazarus took on new meaning. Not just as a religious symbol, but something refracted through a queer lens — a figure marked, cast aside, and brought back to life.

That tension — between collapse and renewal, death and resurrection — runs through Lázara.

And that’s really what this whole new set is about. A new start after a period of turbulence that might’ve destroyed any other band — wrapped up in some of the most eclectic, heaviest, and left-of-center songs Bleeth have ever recorded.

Recorded quickly with Ryan Haft in the winter of 2025, the new material is also their most focused — a lean, three-song statement that wastes no space.

From a visceral reworking of Hole’s “Pretty On The Inside” to the churning, slow burn of “Porcelain” and “Bent,” Lázara is a fresh restart that shows this 10-year strong Miami institution is still hungry for blood.

Recorded and mixed by Ryan Haft at Sunburn Sound

Mastered by Adam Matza at Magic Ears mastering

Tracklist:
1. Pretty On The Inside (Hole cover) (2:44)
2. Bent (2:15)
3. Porcelain (3:46)

Bleeth is:
Lauren Palma – Guitar, Vocal
Ryan Rivas – Bass, Vocal
Hector Mojena – Drums

Bleeth Linktr.ee

Bleeth website

Bleeth on Bandcamp

Bleeth on Instagram

Bleeth on Facebook

I’m kind of assuming this tour’s been announced for a bit since it’s starting in a couple weeks, but cool to see Colorado classic heavy rockers Love Gang hitting the road hard and supporting an outfit like Wolfmother. A tour that I’ve no doubt will win them some new fans, in other words. As you can see in the photo on the tour poster, Love Gang are down to a three-piece after drummer Shaun Goodwin (also The Munsens) relocated to my beloved Garden State. I’m not sure who’ll be handling drum duties for this tour or going forward, but obviously somebody or it likely wouldn’t be happening. A quick bit of research — by which I mean going to their Bandcamp — shows Xavier Cruz in the role alongside guitarist/vocalist Kam Wentworth, bassist Luigi Muñoz and organist/flutist Leo Muñoz. Score one for investagative journalism.

Only not really, since I’m not sure what that means about who’s going on this run since there are still only three dudes in the photo below. I’m doing my best here, folks, I promise.

Love Gang‘s most recent outing was 2023’s Meanstreak (review here), and surely a full run of the US keeping company with a band who’ve been an audience draw for over two decades would be a killer way to work out new material on the road, so hopefully that’s how it goes. I haven’t heard news about new material in progress, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any. They’ve got shows on their own for the tour’s off-nights, and you’ll see those noted with the rose emoji below.

From social media:

Less than a month until we hit the road with @officialwolfmother! We also added a few solo shows in New Orleans, Nashville, and Chicago! Catch us at one of these dates below and buy your tickets while they last! Cheers and we’ll see ya soon 🍻

Jun 07 • Austin, TX • Emo’s
Jun 08 • Houston, TX • House of Blues
Jun 09 • Dallas, TX • Granada Theater
Jun 10 • New Orleans, LA • No Dice 🌹
Jun 12 • Nashville, TN • American Legion Post 82 🌹
Jun 13 • Atlanta, GA • Buckhead Theatre
Jun 15 • Asheville, NC • The Orange Peel
Jun 16 • Charlotte, NC • The Fillmore Charlotte
Jun 17 • Norfolk , VA • The NorVa
Jun 19 • Washington, DC • 9:30 Club
Jun 20 • Philadelphia, PA • Union Transfer
Jun 21 • Boston, MA • House of Blues
Jun 23 • Brooklyn, NY • Brooklyn Steel
Jun 24 • Toronto, ON • History 4.6k miles
Jun 26 • Detroit, MI • Saint Andrew’s Hall
Jun 27 • Chicago, IL • Live Wire 🌹
Jun 28 • Minneapolis, MN • First Avenue
Jun 30 • Denver, CO • Ogden Theatre
Jul 01 • Salt Lake City, UT • The Union Event Center
Jul 03 • Portland, OR • Revolution Hall
Jul 04 • Vancouver, BC • The Commodore Ballroom
Jul 05 • Seattle, WA • The Showbox
Jul 08 • San Francisco, CA • Great American Music Hall
Jul 11 • Los Angeles, CA • The Wiltern
Jul 12 • San Diego, CA • The Observatory North Park
LOVE GANG ONLY SHOWS: 🌹

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

www.heavypsychsounds.com
heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Love Gang, Meanstreak (2023)

Last year around this time, Austin landscape-psych rockers Lord Buffalo were in the process of canceling their European tour following the detention of drummer Yamal Said on account of some warrant of whatever it was, or, more likely, wasn’t. It’s nice to see 2026 be demonstrably better in comparison for anyone on any level, and as Lord Buffalo announce the July summer tour that will follow their June appearance at Austin Noise Fest, they’re for sure in a preferable place.

Their 2024 album, Holus Bolus (review here), offered deep resonance of mood and atmospherics that could grow intene when called upon to do so. I’m glad to see them getting out, because the record remains worth supporting, and even a Midwestern stint is something for a band who should probably be in more ears than they are, considering the potential for growth still in their sound.

They’ve also apparently been writing, which is a win. As per the PR wire:

LORD BUFFALO: summer shows announced!

Austin-based purveyors of dark psych and Americana Lord Buffalo have announced a run of US shows for the summer of 2026, marking the band’s first live performances since the release of their acclaimed album “Holus Bolus” on Blues Funeral Recordings and their Western US tour in 2024.

Since the 2024 release of their acclaimed album Holus Bolus on Blues Funeral Recordings, Lord Buffalo have only deepened their grip on the liminal spaces between genres. Still defying easy categorization, their sound offers an evocative blend of droning violin, layered guitars, rhythmic intensity and haunting vocals. Drawing from influences as varied as Morricone, Badalamenti, Black Sabbath and Swans, the band is set to bring their compelling darkness and songwriting to the stage. Their upcoming 2026 US run promises to be a full immersion into a soundscape where the mystical meets the visceral.

“After a long hiatus, we’re excited to get back out and play shows,” says multi-instrumentalist Garrett Hellman. “We’ve spent the past few months in writing mode, and it feels good to kick the dirt off our live set. In addition to our summer Midwest dates, we’re planning a handful of fall shows and hoping to wrap up some recordings. It’s been a long year, and we’re grateful to be doing this again — we look forward to seeing you out there.”

US summer shows 2026 — Tickets and info
June 13 – Austin, TX – Austin Noise Fest
July 23 – Dallas, TX – Ruins
July 24 – OKC, OK – Resonant Head
July 25 – Iowa City, IA – Gabe’s
July 26 – Minneapolis, MN – Cloudland Theater
July 28 – Milwaukee, WI – MKEUltra
July 29 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s
July 30 – Louisville, KY – Portal
July 31 – Chattanooga, TN – JJ’s Bohemia
Aug 1 – Memphis, TN – Hi-Tone Cafe

LORD BUFFALO is:
Daniel Pruitt – guitar, bass, piano, vocals, melodica
Garrett Hellman – guitar, sub-bass, piano, synths
Patrick Patterson – violin
Yamal Said – drums, percussion

http://www.lordbuffalo.com/
https://lord-buffalo.bandcamp.com/
http://instagram.com/lordbuffalo
https://www.facebook.com/lord.buffalo.band/

bluesfuneral.com
https://bluesfuneralrecordings.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/blues.funeral/
https://www.facebook.com/bluesfuneral/

Lord Buffalo, Holus Bolus (2024)