The way Baltimore‘s Mopar Mountain Daredevils have set up their debut EP, Mopar Bloody Mopar (El Suprimo! Records), it’s like a trip that keeps going further out. Emitting four rays of molten, swirling stonerdelia each more lysergic than the last, the 25-minute collection offers the listener a gradual expansion; from the comparatively unassuming opening title track to nine-minute closer “Tiger’s Pause,” which deforms and oozes concepts over a canyon of reverb.

Put to tape and mixed over the course of just two days less than a month ago from this writing (Feb. 26-27, 2009, to be exact) by Rob Girardi at Lord Baltimore Recording, Mopar Bloody Mopar doesn’t sound at all haphazard or sloppy beyond intent, but the songs to retain a live spontaneity about them that brings the disc an energy often voided by layering in modern psych albums. I have no doubt that when I go see them open for Ya Ho Wa 13 at the Knitting Factory in NYC on Saturday, they’ll sound just like the EP — and yes, that is a good thing.

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Come to think of it, there were as many bands who were supposed to play Europa in Brooklyn last night who didn’t as there were who did. It’s a three-to-three tie! Outlaw Order, If He Dies He Dies and Pristina were nowhere to be found, but When the Deadbolt Breaks, Negative Reaction and Sourvein picked up the slack, and though we standing in the club held our breath awaiting the arrival of the latter, there was a collective exhale when frontman T-Roy Medlin walked in during Negative Reaction‘s set. They’d apparently gotten lost on the way and it had been back and forth as to whether or not they’d make it the whole night.

Driving from the valley to Brooklyn is a daunting task, and not just because of the traffic. With Manhattan between me and that most “Howya doin’?” of boroughs, it’s like climbing a mountain just to get there. When I showed up and saw the room largely empty save for a sampling of the NYC stoner rock faithful, I was glad I’d made the trip. In a town of eight million people and so few heads around, one is not only just as conspicuous by one’s absence as one’s presence, but also it’s just good to show up and support your friends’ bands.

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In a stroke of sheer awesomeness, Swedish doom legends Candlemass have posted their entire new album, Death Magic Doom (Nuclear Blast), for streaming over on their MySpace.

One assumes they’re doing this in advance of the European release date of the album, which is the first week in April, but for those of us in the US (where it’s not out until May 5), we get to hear it an extra month early! Sometimes the internet is pretty kickass. Like when it has new Candlemass albums on it.

As someone who followed Long Island booze hounds Dirty Rig from their Blood, Sweat and Beer inception to their unfortunate fizzling out, I was glad to see bassist Steve “Buckshot” Seabury emerge with a new band in record time. The yet-instrumental trio Moth Eater — in which Buckshot is joined by former Scar Culture guitarist John Conley and ex-‘Rig bandmate Dave Ardolina on drums — boasts a darker sound than the lighthearted, Kory Clarke (Warrior Soul, Trouble) fronted outfit Dirty Rig became by their end, with sludge-covered Southern riffs basking in the traditions of New Orleans and the Southeastern set that gave birth to acts like Alabama Thunderpussy, Weedeater and Beaten Back to Pure. The music is still drunk, but it’s a more aggressive kind of drunk.

With three demos posted on their MySpace page and a rehearsal video to their credit, Moth Eater are clearly just getting going, but The Obelisk is proud to be the first to discuss the trio with Buckshot and introduce them to the scene at large. After the jump, the bassist discusses Moth Eater‘s formation, putting together his own label — Giddy Up! Records — where to find half-price Blue Moon for a pre-practice ritual and when we can expect a debut release. Crack open a beer and enjoy.

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Taken from the DVD Such Hawks, Such Hounds and posted by the good hardworking folks at the Malleus Rock Art Lab comes this clip focusing on the visuals of modern psychedelia and stoner rock. In it we get to see Malleus, Arik Roper, Stephen O’Malley and more. Pretty killer. Enjoy, and when you’re done, head over to suchhawkssuchhounds.com and buy a copy of the movie. It’s all about education, man.

Here’s some good news for vinyl heads who may have missed it about recent Obelisk interviewees, Elder from Electric Earth Records via StonerRock.com:

[EARTH.05]?ELDER ? Self Titled LP
Announced earlier to be a March release, but due to some artwork issues, we have to delay this album to May. Downtuned psychedelic stoner doom, not unlike the overlords Sleep. MeteorCity handles the CD and we do the exclusive vinyl edition wrapped in a nice gatefold sleeve. Expected May ’09.

Just because I don’t buy vinyl doesn’t mean I can’t encourage others to. Support young stoner rockers. There’s not too many kids out there making music like this, and all us old farts are bound to die off sooner or later.

Let’s get this out of the way first: anyone who goes into this record expecting the team of Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Vinny Appice and Ronnie James Dio to come out with a new Heaven and Hell or Mob Rules is out of their minds. 1980 was 29 years ago. It’s like asking Al Pacino to be Michael Corleone from the first Godfather movie again, or doing a sequel to Dr. Strangelove. The first two albums Black Sabbath released with Dio on vocals captured a special moment in time, one that couldn’t even be revisited on 1992’s reunion album, Dehumanizer. To think they’d pull it off 17 years after that is just ridiculous. They’re simply not those people anymore.

To their credit, they know it, and rather than try to recreate something from their past as Black Sabbath, the band Heaven and Hell are moving forward. The Devil You Know (Rhino) meets every reasonable expectation that could possibly be placed on it. It’s never going to be as influential or top albums that have already had 30 years of deifying, but it sounds modern, heavy and like the four legendary players in the band are enjoying making music together. We all know Iommi‘s been itching to do another Sabbath record for years. This is his opportunity, and he makes the most of it.

The band has hinted that The Devil You Know has the most in common with Dehumanizer, and to a certain extent, it’s true, but thankfully, the early ’90s production that now makes that album sound so dated where its two Dio-fronted predecessors are timeless is nowhere to be found. This is a modern album with classic players, and though that can be an awkward fit, Dio, Iommi, Butler and even Appice pull it off sounding fresh and not overly overproduced.

After the jump is the track-by-track breakdown…

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Though the mills of God grind slowly,
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness grinds he all.
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Longfellow was right; Mills of God grind really fucking slowly. The German instrumental trio’s first full-length, Call of the Eastern Moon (Modus Operandi), is like a dopesmoking Jerusalem-bound pilgrimmage led by Yob and Ufomammut marching to the beat of half-speed Earthless, and with bonus cut “The Seed” included on the CD version — the vinyl only has the title track and the aptly-named “Monolith” — there’s over an hour’s worth of riffed out psychedelic doom to expand (and blow) your mind.

Just to reiterate the math in that last sentence: three tracks, an hour-plus. “Call of the Eastern Moon” clocks in at 21:25 (hell, it’s barely begun until seven minutes in!), “Monolith” is 21:51 and “The Seed” is a measly 19:57. If you’ve ever gotten down with some long-format doom, I highly suggest you start paying attention to these dudes right now.

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