For anyone who wasn’t on hand to witness it the first time, Virulence might just seem like a couple kids screwing around with SST worship West Coast hardcore. So aside maybe from Greg Anderson having dug them way back in the mysterious period of history known as the “mid-‘80s,” what’s the deal with Southern Lord releasing the compilation If This Isn’t a Dream… 1985-1989 now?

The deal is that Virulence, aside from rolling in at the tail end of their scene’s golden age, were the direct predecessor of Fu Manchu, featuring original Fu members Scott Hill, Greg McCaughey, Mark Abshire and Ruben Romano (the latter two who would also go on to Nebula) as well as vocalist Ken Pucci, who according to the extensive liner notes included with the CD, went to college. He now has a new group with Abshire called No More Saints. For those who haven’t heard the band — talking about Virulence — their sound took the raucous hardcore of Black Flag and wound up blending it with thicker tones, particularly in the guitar, and spreading it out over tracks both extended and not. By the end of their short time together, it was pretty clear they were progressing past their simplistic, innocent beginnings into a different kind of band entirely.

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I’ll be perfectly honest, I haven’t gone back to Raise the Red Lantern‘s self-titled At a Loss debut once since reviewing it. I don’t know if that’s more of a statement about the busyness of my schedule or the mediocrity of that record, but it’s the truth one way or another. Nonetheless, if the Chicago act are willing to brutalize their egos and collective well-being with even a short Midwestern tour in January, they at least have my respect. Here’s what the PR wire has to say about it:

At A Loss Recordings metallians Raise the Red Lantern hit the road this week on their way to join the later half of the ongoing Translation Loss Records Tour with Battlefields and City of Ships. The band also meet up with killer acts including Racebannon, Struck by Lightning, Chord and Mouth of the Architect along the way.

1/25/2010 Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH w/ Battlefields, City of Ships
1/26/2010 Carabar – Columbus, OH w/ Battlefields, City of Ships, Struck by Lightning
1/27/2010 Beat Kitchen – Chicago, IL w/ Chord, Battlefields
1/28/2010 The Afterdark – Steven’s Point, WI w/ Battlefields, City of Ships
1/29/2010 Eagles Nest – Milwaukee, WI w/ Mouth of the Architect, Northless, Savior for a Fallen Hero
1/30/2010 The Picador – Iowa City, IA w/ Snow Demon, Identity Crisis
2/13/2010 Elva’s – South Bend, IN w/ Mouth of the Architect

Raise the Red Lantern‘s self-titled full-length was released in October via At a Loss Recordings. Recorded in their hometown by Sanford Parker (Minsk, Nachtmystium), the unit have unleashed their most blistering release yet. A bombardment of metallic rock and roll riff shredding and distorted, low-end thunder, all topped with utterly savage throat-shredding bellows.

Young Baltimore rockers The Flying Eyes offer bag-packed voyage-ready psychedelia amid one of the world’s most potent and vibrant doom scenes. If this makes them stand out, they hardly seem concerned. Their recent collection of two EPs, released as a self-titled full-length through Trip in Time, shows heavy blues American melancholy mixed with smart and urgent rock. They groove well beyond their years.

The story (as seen after the jump) goes that drummer Elias Schutzman, guitarist Adam Bufano and bassist/vocalist Mac Hewitt still considered themselves incomplete until vocalist/guitarist Will Kelly came along. Perhaps it’s that unwillingness to be — like so many others — a trio without a frontman that sets The Flying Eyes apart from their rocking peers. Whatever it is, the energy and vibrancy of their music stands testament to the success of the “getting together” process. When it’s the right people, it just sounds better.

Schutzman took time out recently for a Q&A exchange that’s available for checking out immediately after the jump. Hope you dig and thanks for reading.

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Well, there was enough of a response last time that I decided to go ahead and make another podcast. You’ll note the new banner in the sidebar and the one above, and yes, it’s Transmission 002 from the audiObelisk. And in case it’s not clear, the title is, “An Ode to Fuzz.”

aOT2

We can get to the tracklisting in a second, but first, the disclaimers:

? These songs are all my rips.
? With the exception of Sasquatch, they were ripped directly from physical media (CDs) to wav form, compiled in Sony SoundForge 10 and then converted to 256k bitrate mp3 for better sound quality than standard iPodular fare. Sasquatch was converted from an aiff file to wav, then to mp3.
? The file is 287mb, and there is just over two and a half hours’ worth of music.
? I once again chose not to inject myself into the proceedings in some kind of DJ form. I still reserve the right to do so in the future.

As you’ve probably guessed, it’s a collection of some of the best fuzz rock has to offer, from the doom of Electric Wizard to the high desertry of Kyuss and Natas. Some obvious, some obscure. It features new songs from Asteroid and Sasquatch. I don’t think there’ll be many complaints with the song selection.

Please enjoy the stream above or download the file. Full tracklist is after the jump, comments are more than welcome.

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New Orleans trio Suplecs are back playing shows in their hometown, but the status of their fourth album, which they said they were recording in 2008, remains unknown. The band was among the population devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and for a time, they lived in Arizona, so what the status is of that is anyone’s best guess. Here’s hoping the record materializes soon. Their MySpace had this nifty Katrina-related video on it, which I thought you might enjoy. Have a great weekend.

With Ancestors, there seems to have awakened a whole new generation of American heavy psychedelia, and for the most part that’s a very good thing. I’m sure that will be the case when the band heads over to Europe for a run of dates in April alongside Los Angeles cohorts Night Horse and makes a stop at the mighty Roadburn festival. Hate to say it, but I’m jealous they get to go.

Dates and updates courtesy of the PR wire:

Los Angeles based progressive rock collective Ancestors have announced April, 2010 UK and European tour dates in support of its critically acclaimed new album Of Sound Mind. The trek will launch on April 9 in Essen, Germany and will include a high profile appearance as part of the 2010 Roadburn Festival in Tilburg, Netherlands on April 15.

Joining Ancestors on both the UK/Euro tour and at Roadburn will be Los Angeles-based rock quintet Night Horse. The band shares in common with Ancestors guitarist Justin Maranga and have caught the ears and eyes of critics and fans alike with their unique ability to blend the greater aspects of rock music with a much needed breath of contemporary fresh air. Night Horse will enter L.A.’s Infrasonic Sound with producer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis, Murder City Devils) later this month to record its sophomore LP, due for a summer release via Tee Pee Records.

Ancestors tour dates:
January 28 – Hollywood, CA – Ultra Violet Social Club (w/ Saint Vitus, Saviours)
February 19 – Los Angeles, CA – Spaceland (w/ Intronaut, Black Math Horseman)

European tour with Night Horse:
April 9 – Essen, Germany – Cafe Nova
April 10 – Belgium – TBC
April 11 – Segrate, Italy – Magnolia
April 13 – Wien, Austria – Arena
April 14 – München, Germany – Sunny Red
April 15 – Tilburg, Netherlands – 013 (As part of the 2010 Roadburn Festival w/ Astra, John Garcia, The Gates of Slumber, YOB, Magnus Pelander, Church of Misery, etc.)
April 16 – London, UK – South of the Border
April 17 – Plymouth, UK – White Rabbit

In case you missed it, the band recently posted new song “Antler Wings” from a split 7″ with Swedish labelmates Graveyard. Here it is again:

Kin of Ettins member and all around supporter of Texas heaviness Jötun has announced April 16-18 as the dates for the third installment of the Dallas Doom Daze fest. According to reports (and by “reports” I mean his post on StonerRock.com), DDDIII will take place at Reno’s Chop Shop in Deep Ellum. Bands are to be announced shortly.

Anyone not familiar with the fest, it’s a host of TX doom luminaries and road bands. Over the last two years, the likes of Wo Fat, Las Cruces, Elliott’s Keep, Orthodox Fuzz, Pillcrusher and Mala Suerte were featured. As we all know, once you put on a festival twice, it’s officially annual, so it’ll be interesting to see what Jötun and co. come up with for this year’s go round. Obviously, more info to come.

What I’m quickly discovering about his band I’m going to call the “Asteroid process.” It happened with the Swedish group’s self-titled Fuzzorama debut, and the same seems to be holding true for the numerical follow-up, II, as well. It happens like this: you listen to an Asteroid album, and while you’re in it, the music relaxes you to a barely conscious state. You hear the laid back fuzz tones and feel as though you might melt in them. Maybe you do. And when it’s over, you say to yourself, “Golly, that was pretty good,” and you go about your day.

Little do you know, though, that there are riffs and lines that are going to stick with you. That more and more you’re going to find yourself humming different parts of different songs until you feel you have to listen to the album again. And again. And again. Next thing you know, you’re out to lunch with your wife and all you can do is sing the refrain of “Disappear” over and over again, or think about that one riff in “Fire” that seems to sum up all of II in a matter of seconds. Resistance, as they say, is futile.

Asteroid’s infectious style is in full force on their sophomore album, but their growth is also readily apparent. Listening to a song like “Karma,” it feels as though some of the rigidity of the first record, which maybe kept a song like “The Big Trip Beyond” strictly adhered to a verse/chorus methodology, has spread out. “Karma” opens with a softly building jam, and opens up to some of the warmest tones this side of Colour Haze with a riff that soothes as much as it rocks. II seems less focused on structure on the surface, but it isn’t, the manner of execution has simply evolved. The guitars of Robin Hirse have taken the musical fore in a big way, leading most of the jams and often competing for dominance in the mix along Hirse’s own vocals and those of bassist Johannes Nilsson.

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