Pinched this update about Grand Magus from Blabbermouth since the news is of the Swedish and ass-kicking variety. Best to let the band spill the beans:

“Ever since the release of Iron Will, we have been on what seems like and endless roller coaster ride, filled with great gigs, awesome response from magazines and most importantly from you, our listeners. We never knew there were so many of you out there. Especially gratifying is the fact that you all seem to fucking understand what we want to put across, which makes it worth so much more. It has been a fantastic year and a half! Our goal now is to top this for 2010. We aim to make an even better album and gigs. We can’t wait to get the metal out there to you.?

“At the moment we are writing new songs and generally spending a lot of time locked in our rehearsal space. The atmosphere when we get together is electric and we have already come up with some killer stuff. We feel strong and confident.”

Though it’s been a while since the interview with Van Conner, I find myself more and more these days with VALIS songs from their new album, Dark Matter (Small Stone), stuck in my head. In particular, “Under Satan’s Will” is catchy beyond catchy and a near constant in my mental jukebox. Looking for a clip on the YuberTubers to represent the song, I stumbled on a home-made video for it by Conner himself that’s actually pretty cool. If you haven’t heard the track yet, you’ll soon come to understand why there’s no escape from it.

Although I was a fan of My Dying Bride?s latest offering, For Lies I Sire, which Peaceville released this past March, I haven?t found myself going back to it for repeat listens. Entirely possible this is because some of the songs seemed samey and the standouts were few and far between, but more likely I think the album as a whole just didn?t stick with me like I?d anticipated it would. That happens sometimes.

All this, of course, isn?t a comment on the band. My Dying Bride are legends whose track record far surpasses whatever judgments I find myself making one way or the other. The UK doomers have been together since 1990, and they?re still going strong, vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe and guitarist Andrew Craighan (and, since 2000, guitarist Hamish Glencross) crafting lineup after lineup and never managing to lose sight of the melancholic mission of the band. On the stopgap release, Bring Me Victory, that mission is reaffirmed through singling out the title track and accompanying it by some tidbits fans will be thrilled to receive.

?Bring Me Victory? was a highlight of For Lies I Sire, and it works well on its own here, but it was more the cover of traditional English ballad ?Scarborough Fair? that I was excited to hear, wondering if Stainthorpe would tackle the harmonies Simon and Garfunkel brought to the song on their 1966 interpretation of it. He doesn?t, but the song is perfect for his clean vocals nonetheless, and gives new violinist Shaun MacGowan ample opportunity to show why he was included in the band to replace the short-tenured Katie Stone.

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I’ve decided not to give it a full review, because it’s been out for a while already and because I paid for it (with my blood, sweat and pseudo-intellectualism), but God is Good, Om‘s first record for Drag City is worth some comment anyway. The digipak came to me in my latest All that is Heavy order, and I’ve been grooving on its moody sensibilities and stoned spirituality ever since. Turns out I was right to look forward to hearing it.

Of course, the big story here is that it’s the first Om record without Chris Hakius on drums. When bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros announced Hakius was out of the band, I scoffed, said there was no way they’d be any good. Mostly because I’m a cynical dick and that’s usually the way things work. As I’ve said several times on this site and elsewhere, Om are better with Grails‘ Emil Amos behind the kit. I don’t know if it’s his experimental tendencies or just that Hakius had gotten bored with Om‘s breadth, but God is Good surpasses 2007’s Pilgrimage in every way possible.

More than that, it shows Om expanding its horizons. Not necessarily lyrically — Cisneros is sticking to his guns there — but with a tamboura from Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe on 19-minute opener “Thebes,” and later on the much shorter “Cremation Ghat I” (3:11) and “Cremation Ghat II” (4:58), Om‘s sound is undergoing a subtle progression that is well suited to what fans have come to expect from them. God is Good presented Cisneros with a great chance to change things up since so much was already going to be different with 50 percent of the band brand new.

“Meditation is the Practice of Death” (6:51) boasts a flute and solid musical conversation between Cisneros and Amos. More even than the expansive “Thebes,” it’s here the chemistry between the two players can be heard. Doubtless Steve Albini‘s production had something to do with bringing that out, but even he wouldn’t be able to fake that if it wasn’t there in the first place.

The point, since it’s about time to get there, is if you’ve been sitting on your hands and waiting to hear God is Good, it’s worth checking out. I’ve come across complaints that the “Cremation Ghat” tracks are too short, but every Om record since their 2005 debut, Variations on a Theme, has been under 35 minutes, and this is right in there. If people are longing for more, take that as a sign of the general success of the work and don’t deny yourself the chance to hear it.

Since the third offering from Boston heavy psych aggressors Ichabod was intended for release last year, one can only imagine they didn?t know it would wind up coming out the same month as a John Cusack movie of the same name. I looked back in the archives, and such a phenomenon is a first. No one was nearly as timely with a record called Better off Dead.

2012 follows four years behind 2005?s Reaching Empyrean, and the growth in the band is palpable. There?s still the roots of sludge aggression, but the band have progressed to the point of incorporating more clean vocals and more complex structures. Listening to ?Giving up the Ghost,? the verse riff is undeniably stoner, and the later bridge is straight out of Sabbath?s ?Iron Man? — though put to good use — but Ichabod encase these influences in a multifaceted context that?s bound to surprise more than a few listeners expecting something simple and straightforward.

The album was recorded at Mad Oak Studios by Devin Charette, and the production is crisp and sharp despite some issues with Phil MacKay?s snare drum, which sounds flat compared to what?s around it. Greg Dellaria?s bass is lively and present in the mix, adding much-appreciated thickness to the songs. Dave Iverson?s guitar, rarely appearing in a single layer, is rich and the root of many of 2012?s successes — not to take anything away from Ken MacKay?s vocals, which in their clean incarnation vary between a Facelift-era Layne Staley and a From Bliss to Devastation-style Tim Williams and when screamed come on with an intonation and cadence reminiscent of Devin Townsend?s work in Strapping Young Lad. MacKay?s ability to adjust his approach to the music is a tremendous asset to the band, as a track like their cover Pink Floyd?s ?Nile Song? simply would have been impossible to pull off otherwise.

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I don’t know why Boston rockers Cortez aren’t signed to Small Stone, especially with the Roadsaw connection (drummer Jeremy Hemond splits his time in both bands). Their debut EP, Thunder in a Forgotten Town, was killer, they rule live and if their recently-posted re-recording of the track “The High Life” is any indicator, they’re better than ever with Matt Harrington on vocals. They’ve got the song up on their MySpace for you to check out, so have at it. Here’s some PR wire info to accompany:

After a much talked about performance at this years Stoner Hands of Doom festival, Boston stoner rock shamans, Cortez have recorded a brand new version of their much revered track “The High Life.” This marks the first official recording to feature new vocalist, Matt Harrington. Recorded at the infamous New Alliance Studios, the re-recorded track is slated for inclusion on a soon to be disclosed soundtrack.

Currently Cortez is playing select live dates while focusing on preproduction work for their highly anticipated follow-up to Thunder in a Forgotten Town.

For more info and to hear “The High Life 09′” go to… Myspace.com/CortezBoston

Down at the Loop Lounge, the band on stage when I walked in ended their set by saying, “Stick around for The Ribeye Boys!” Another Friday night in Jersey. Outside it was pissing rain miserably, and inside a Newcastle cost an inexplicable five bucks. I paid it, several times over (and a special thanks to The Patient Mrs. for driving home), but never with a smile on my face.

The Loop Lounge is in Passaic, a little over the border from Clifton. And quite a border it is. Where Clifton is a middle-class haven, Passaic is more akin to Paterson in terms of places white kids go to buy drugs. Fortunately they’re all pretty close, right there in Clifton, so it’s not a long trip. I haven’t been there in years, and the last time I was, it was to go to a show at the Loop, where I unceremoniously got tanked by myself and felt miserable about it.

I was neither alone nor miserable this past Friday night (tanked, maybe), and the timing of when I got to the bar gave just enough pre-gaming to allow for joviality when The Ribeyes took stage at 11PM or somewhere thereabouts. They had an hour-long set of ’60s-inspired self-deprecating garage rock which, if it came from a bunch of 20 year olds with fancy haircuts, I’d find utterly intolerable. As it was, however, The Ribeye Bros. channeled oldies boogie with just a slice of modern, capital-h heavy and were a damn good time.

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Between the prior-posted streaming track, live review and interview, it ought to be pretty clear that Brooklyn trio Naam‘s self-titled debut is alright by me. Hence no disc review. I know it’s the intertubes, but there’s still such a thing as overkill (they’re from Jersey and they have 15 albums). Nonetheless, using the magic of streaming, Revolver has made available the song “Black Ice” from Naam, which I here present for your listening pleasure. Naam‘s self-titled debut is available now on Tee Pee Records.

Naam – Black Ice