By way of a confession, I?ll admit that before I listened to Culted?s Relapse Records debut, Below the Thunders of the Upper Deep, I first checked out the self-titled three-song EP from Howl in a kind of, ?Who?s that doom band on Relapse again?? brain fart. After hearing the two side by side, there?s pretty much no question. Howl complement their Ginsbergian name with Lamb of God-style riffing and Culted viciously bite off pieces of Khanate atmospherics while popping pills of half-speed Nachtmystium psychedelia. No real question which is the doom band.

But if there was one to start with, it?s only because Culted — a four-piece with three members in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and only vocalist Daniel Jansson in the correspondingly northern climes of Sweden — are so frickin? new. Below the Thunders of the Upper Deep is Culted?s debut, as in, no EPs, nothing. Just one self-released demo and this. Information apart from a narrative of mutual appreciation leading to collaboration on the part of Jansson and multi-instrumentalist Michael Klassen (credited with guitar, bass, percussion and noise) is sparse as to when they actually got together and made the record happen, and for the most part, the six mostly extended tracks are left to speak for themselves.

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In whatever fancy browser you use, go type the words “The Obelisk” into Google and look at the first entry. That’s right, you’re right back here. Number one. I feel like I finally accomplished something in my life.

To celebrate, I’m thinking of maybe getting a new logo. How about this one?

As ever, I wish I’d been there. Here be the set list from Eugene, OR‘s most mighty, Yob, from El Corazon in Seattle, where they shared the stage with Brothers of the Sonic Cloth and Lesbian. Feel free to tour the east coast anytime you’re ready, guys.

1. Ball of Molten Lead
2. Catharsis
3. Burning the Altar
4. Grasping Air

Mmm, that sounds good, I’ll have that. Anything that involves “Catharsis” is a good idea as far as I’m concerned. If this was an mp3 blog, I’d probably have the show posted. It isn’t, so I don’t. Just stare at the flier and drool like you’re supposed to.

Thanks: StonerRock.com forum.

I never got around to writing up the official Buried Treasure entry for my first trip to Red Scroll Records on N. Colony St. in Wallingford, CT (it seems like everything in Wallingford is on N. Colony). The standouts in my mind now — and I’ll allow this is perhaps because I’m staring directly at that section on my CD rack — are an original issue of Saint Vitus‘ V on Roadrunner that may or may not be a European import, the Brownhouse release of Welcome to the Western Lodge by Masters of Reality and Acid King‘s Zoroaster. They also had a $15 copy of Dozer‘s In the Tail of a Comet, which I almost bought on principle even though I already owned it. There were many others.

It’s my wife’s family on the shore of the Long Island Sound in Connecticut, which is why I leave the valley so often on weekends and head up there, and in between my sister-in-law’s house and my grandmother-in-law’s house — wouldn’t you know it, just a short detour away — is Red Scroll Records. It was two Saturdays ago, maybe. Whenever the Clutch show wasn’t and not this past weekend. Come to think of it, it might have been a Tuesday. “Is this a weekday? What day is this?”

Regardless, the stipulation from The Patient Mrs. was that I had no longer than 13 minutes to do my shopping. Red Scroll Records is not especially large, but 13 minutes isn’t enough to properly peruse even the barest of used sections. Something is better than nothing. I issued myself the challenge: if I could find one CD in 13 minutes, I’d buy it.

So what the hell is challenging about that?

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Bellowing viscous slabs of meaty stoner riffs and psychedelic itineraries, Dallas trio Wo Fat have little in common with the sly Hawaii 5-0 villain from whom they take their name. Nonetheless, the Brainticketed brainchild of songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and engineer Kent Stump sees the countdown through to zero and blasts strings first into ’70s space like something out of a Monster Magnet video on their second full-length, the aptly journeying Psychedelonaut, turning cuts like “Analog Man” and “Two the Hard Way” into bloozy (we all know which words combine to make that one) anthems of nonconformity and defiance. Floating helpless into the depths of “The Spheres Beyond,” no one can hear you scream for more.

They began their waltz down the riff-hand path with The Gathering Dark, but Psychedelonaut is a next-level effort the dynamism of which is slow to reveal itself and willingly reverential of the lords of both classic guitar muscle-building and any and all waves of stoner rock. You got your Fus all Manchued and your Goblins are all Orange. Amps too on that last one.

Stump‘s adjoining rhythm section, bassist Tim Wilson and drummer Michael Walter, propel the huge side B jam of “Not of this Earth,” making their presence fully known among the blues-becued licks, but it was the guitarist himself who was kind enough to answer some questions via email about the inspirations behind Wo Fat‘s psych turn, whether or not they’re stoner rock and what can be expected from them in the future (hint: it involves vinyl). Interview and some listening music are after the jump.

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It’s been said before, and not just by me, that stoner rock is what happens when punk kids grow up. If that case isn’t yet proven, I humbly submit York, PA/Baltimore, MD sludge rockers Swamp Vulture, whose two-song SP (when was the last time you saw those initials for a release?), Hunter-Gatherer has just seen digital release via upstart label, Eleventh Key. The trio of bassist/vocalist Toddst, guitarist Sean and drummer Chris — you know they’re young because they don’t have last names yet — offer densely packed, mid-paced Sleep-style Gretsch and Gibson grooves with some angrier doom flourishes, by and large keeping their sound stripped down and staying away from too much ambiance or atmospheric chicanery.

If Hunter-Gatherer was a DIY cassingle — which, I admit, is how I’ve been thinking of it — side one would be devoted entirely to the title track, which wastes no time with flashy intros, instead starting with the main verse riff and pounding it into the ground. Sean‘s tone is not overly fuzzed, but thick nonetheless and Toddst‘s bass does much to beef up the Swamp Vulture approach. There are a few pace changes, well done, and a requisite slow, heavy-as-balls part, but “Hunter-Gatherer” mostly shows that if nothing else, these dudes have their influences in line: Sleep, Goatsnake, Melvins.

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In a situation that has become near and dear to my heart these last several weeks, drummer Jason Corley has decided to withdraw himself from the ranks of revived L.A. noise metallers 16. As reported by Blabbermouth, the band had this to say:

“After his second and most recent stint behind the drum kit for 16, Jason Corley has announced he’s moving on to explore other opportunities. We wish him luck. Filling Jason‘s shoes is none other than Mateo Pinkerton. You may have seen him as a touring member of the legendary Buzzov*en or as a member of Los Angeles ‘ very own Crom. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome such a great drummer and cool individual into the band. In a twist of numerological fate, Mateo is the 16th (and hopefully final) member of 16. His live debut will be at the Viper Room with Mondo Generator [on] August 7. 16 will also be performing at the Knockout Bar in San Francisco on September 8 with Black Cobra.”

If the creative purpose behind Neurosis is a distillation and that of the solo material guitarist/vocalist Steve Von Till releases under his own name is a reverential composition, then the noise-laden drone and effects of Harvestman can really only be a deconstruction. Though the songs on the second Harvestman outing, In a Dark Tongue, aren’t completely obliterated — elemental, often simple melodies remain in many of the tracks, delivered via acoustic or electric guitar — the rye is well lashed and it is plain to see the experimental vision is the driving force of the project. Armed with a home studio, The Crow’s Nest, Von Till is free to fill out these songs with multiple layers and sounds, balancing the creation and destruction against each other.

Don’t be mistaken, this isn’t outwardly violent music. The closest Harvestman comes to straightforward songwriting is probably the 13-minute “By Wind and Sun,” and though Von Till is joined by what’s essentially a full band behind him, the brand of “heaviness” the song presents is more like a Tee Pee Records-style psychedelic drone jam than anything as crushing as Neurosis. Not a complaint. Of the many experiments on In a Dark Tongue, most seem to be setting instrumentation and loops and modulations and manipulations in opposing positions, and with the hypnotic repetition of “By Wind and Sun,” everything becomes intertwined. At the same time, the contrast in “Karlsteine” between the Appalachian dulcimer and the noises and guitar wails that eventually eat it alive is a big part of what makes the song such an interesting listen.

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