I think what I like best about the news of The Roller‘s impending second album, Wasted Heritage, is that there are only four songs listed and nowhere does the press release even think about calling it less than a full-length album. We can only hope that one of the four songs is two minutes long and the rest are 13 or more. Hey, I like long songs.

What I remember about The Roller‘s debut: Cool art, sounded like Sourvein. Figure if they keep those two things up, it’s a win. Here’s the news off the PR wire:

Austin hesh-masters The Roller have been creating and honing their craft of riff mongering since the beginning of 2006. The band recorded their first demo that year and replaced their original guitarist Matt Sodeman with Theron Rhoten shortly after. The debut LP was released in 2008 and was praised by reviewers and metalheads alike. This year marks the release of their new LP, Wasted Heritage, an offering of earth-shaking, uncompromisingly grim doom metal.

With the edition of Miguel Veliz (Graves at Sea, Sub Oslo, Sourvein) in 2009, the band set out to write a follow up to 2008’s well received debut LP on Monofonus Press. After playing steadily in their hometown and across the country for the next two years, The Roller was ready to begin writing their new record. What came about is a massive, lumbering beast of an album. Four new songs spanning 40 minutes, recorded by Bryan Richie (The Sword) and dedicated to a limited vinyl pressing of 500 gatefold LPs.

Wasted Heritage is a ritual in abrasive meditation, an arrangement of riffs that become keys to a new dimension, for those seeking a heavier trip than most.

Wasted Heritage tracklist:
1. Candle Back
2. Of Feather and Bone
3. Passage
4. White Wing

This is one of the hardest questions in all the doomly realm to answer: “Where do I start with Cathedral?” The reason it’s so hard is because the UK outfit, led by vocalist Lee Dorrian and guitarist Gary “Gaz” Jennings, vary so much from album to album. Even up to this year’s The Guessing Game, Cathedral have constantly kept their sound in flux, from their death/doom beginnings all the way to the ’70s prog experimentation of the latest offering. There’s a good chance it’ll rock, but beyond that, you never know what you’re going to get from a Cathedral record.

Which brings us around to the question at hand. Where to start with Cathedral depends almost entirely on what you’re looking for from the band. They veered into stonerisms arguably most on Supernatural Birth Machine, and were at their invariably most doomed on their first album, 1991’s Forest of Equilibrium. The 2001/2002 duo of albums, Endtyme and VIIth Coming, were heavy but not as memorable, and 2005’s The Garden of Unearthly Delights was solid and had a couple standout tracks, but not necessarily groundbreaking in its blend of influences.

For that reason, I think 1995’s The Carnival Bizarre is the place to start. It’s the first full-length on which Dorrian and Jennings were joined by bassist Leo Smee and drummer Brian Dixon, and it saw them begin to work away from the deathly presence of Forest of Equilibrium and 1993’s The Ethereal Mirror, and with tracks like “Hopkins (The Witchfinder General)” and the Tony Iommi-infused “Utopian Blaster,” it’s bound to leave an impression on you when you hear it. In terms of meshing production and style, plus the performances of the band at their best and most innovative, it’s the way to go.

Agreements? Arguments? Any The Ethereal Mirror fans want to give me the business? Well, that’s why there are comments. Have at it.

How there wasn’t already a band called Ride the Sun before these San Diego stoner bruisers came along, I’ll never know, but I guess they hit on the right niche name-wise. Guitarist/vocalist Lydell A. seems to have a streak going in that regard, as he was in Countach and Red Desert while living in Minnesota. Given his proclivity toward all things sandy and expansive, I’m sure he’s more at home in San Diego, which may not be Indio, but is sure as shit a lot closer in both climate and proximity than Minneapolis.

You may have heard the name Ride the Sun in association with the Doom in June fest that happened earlier this year (I think it was sometime around April…). The band play a straightforward and heavy style of stoner rock. The desert’s definitely an influence — you can hear no shortage of Kyuss influence in Lydell‘s vocals — but musically they’re more in line with early Fireball Ministry. Big guitar, big bass, big drums. Their self-titled EP is available for previewing on MySpace in suitable preview quality, and though the digital hypercompression makes some of Dominic Caltagirone‘s drum sounds hard to take and Kip Page‘s bass just hard to find, songs like “Livin’ Wrong” and “Compadre” should still give some idea of what Ride the Sun is all about: the rock, by all accounts.

They recently took part in the praiseworthy Cowbells and Cobwebs compilation from Planetfuzz, and their Ride the Sun EP is available now on something called iTunes (never heard of it). As they’ve already played what’s arguably the biggest American stoner fest of the year, I don’t know when we’ll be hearing from Ride the Sun again, but from what I can tell of these five tracks, they’re definitely worth keeping on the radar for the days you’re feeling like something extra-beardly but still accessible.

Following two albums on SPV, New Jersey stalwarts Monster Magnet have made a new home for themselves on Napalm Records for the release of their new album, Mastermind. It’s the band’s eighth album overall (they’ve been on a regimented every-three-years schedule since 1995’s Dopes to Infinity), and if you’ve followed the course frontman/guitarist/singer Dave Wyndorf has taken in his songwriting over the last decade in the band on albums like 2004’s Monolithic Baby! and 2007’s 4-Way Diablo, you probably won’t find too many surprises on Mastermind in terms of style. Rather, what sticks out immediately about the new collection is how much livelier the production sounds, particularly in relation to 4-Way Diablo, which was practically flat across the board. This is still a modern, professional production in every sense (pretty sure those are drum samples), and as Matt Hyde also helmed the last album, I can only imagine it was a specific change frontman/guitarist Dave Wyndorf — common understanding is it’s his band in terms of songwriting and direction, etc. — wanted to make in terms of overall approach. It was the right choice.

Mastermind begins strong with the rumble of Jim Baglino (also of Riotgod)’s bass on what’s arguably the album’s strongest song, “Hallucination Bomb.” The song itself is slower in pace than previous Monster Magnet hits, built on a huge riff from guitarists Ed Mundell and Phil Caivano, but is an effective way to start the record nonetheless. Wyndorf’s vocals are fire and brimstone, apocalyptic and loaded with effects that give him an “on the mountain” kind of feel. Drummer Bob Pantella (also Riotgod) matches the riff well, though I do wish it was more of his playing personality and less sampled snare hits. Hazards of the times in which we live, I guess. At least there are some killer dueling guitar solos to drown my sorrows in, and the hard-hitting chorus groove alone is one of Mastermind’s high points.

That’s a double-edged sword. I understand the band wanting to put their best foot forward, and I don’t disagree with the approach, but the tradeoff is the listener is spending the rest of the album waiting for something to match up. “Hallucination Bomb” is an instant comparison touchstone. Subsequent songs “Bored with Sorcery” and “Dig that Hole” (is that the N-word I heard in there?) rock with a more driven punk rock pace and riffy/catchy choruses, respectively, Wyndorf and Company again toying with the pace as they go. Wyndorf’s vocals come on in multiple layers especially on “Dig that Hole,” which isn’t really new for Monster Magnet either, but always works because of his charisma as a vocalist. Even the ultra-Magnetic “Gods and Punks” holds up stylistically, especially in the guitar — late-era Monster Magnet specialize in a kind of pop-minded “stoner rock by any other name” — and the chorus of Wyndorfs that shows up on the chorus to let us know how much they rule the planet from high to low both sets that track apart from the three before it and provides listeners with an memorable hook. In lieu of “Hallucination Bomb,” I wouldn’t be surprised to find the band opening with “Gods and Punks” live.

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If you’ve never been, the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn is to hipsters what the Ent forest is to orcs. They seem to just spring up out of the ground. It’s a nonstop fashion show of apathy, misdirected misogynist irony, and expensive beer. Good sushi, but you pay for it in more than just dollars. It’s like a theme park. Hipster Disneyland.

Nonetheless, for Mighty High, Cortez and The Crimson Electric, I’d gladly hoist my fat ass off the couch to brave such unwelcoming climes. Some band no one ever heard of opened the show at The Charleston, to which I’d only been once prior, to see Kings Destroy. It was now as it was a couple months ago: a basement with surprisingly good sound. Kind of like Lit Lounge in that way, but if dank and moist isn’t your thing, you probably weren’t going to the show anyway.

Mighty High gave the Stooges a stoner boot to the ass, debuting their new lineup, vocalist/guitarist Woody High and drummer Jesse D’Stills joined by new guitarist Kevin Overdose and bass player Labatts Santoro. The foursome ran through probably twice as many songs as anyone else played that night, hitting high marks with “Cable TV Eye,” “Breakin’ Shit” and the “prog rock epic,” “Yes Sucks.” It was the first time I’d ever seen them, and they didn’t disappoint in the slightest. Their music and their presentation is completely without pretense. They don’t dress up, don’t bullshit around, just play their songs and have a good time. Amazing that in a borough so full of assholes, there’s any room on the other end of the spectrum for Mighty High.

Loud in that basement, too. Kevin Overdose and Woody High split some vocal duties, but for the most part it was straight-ahead motion the whole time. And there was some motion. They had the best crowd of the night (being the hometown heroes) and you just can’t watch them and not enjoy yourself if you have anything even close to a sense of humor. This won’t be the last set of theirs I catch.

It had been a while since I’d seen Boston‘s Cortez — long enough for drummer Jeremy Hemond (also of Roadsaw) to get a haircut, anyway — and as always, it was a pleasure. Not only are they some of the nicest guys on earth, but they riff with an energy and crispness that makes me think of what it must have been like to see stoner rock when stoner rock was young. Their sound and style is more solid than ever, and as they said a new album was in the works, I can’t wait to hear it. I wonder who’s going to put it out…

They put a couple older songs in the mix, among them “Stone the Bastards” from the 2007 Thunder in a Forgotten Town EP, which I managed to capture for the video you can see below. It was kind of dark, but I think you can still get the idea. Scotty Fuse‘s riffs, Hemond‘s giant cymbals, Matt Harrington‘s vocals and Jay‘s bass all managed to balance out pretty well down there (though admittedly, there’s an awful lot of cymbal on that video), and their set, as always, was a highlight of the night.

The Crimson Electric were down a bass player as of about two weeks ago, and they struggled some because of it. Their solution to the issue was to run one of the guitars through a bass and guitar cabinet both to fill out the low end, and it actually worked pretty well to thicken the sound, but there were some technical issues that took some momentum out of their set. I don’t doubt they did the best they could with what they had, and they still rocked, so I’m certainly not about to complain.

That said, being the last band on stage at a show like that has one distinct disadvantage: you’ve already done a full night’s drinking when you start, and you still have to get through the material. There was some shit-talking from the stage and it very nearly crossed the fine line between friendly joshing and dickery, but everyone in the crowd, myself included, knew the deal, and at the end of the show, The Crimson Electric still sounded killer. I remembered how great they were at last year’s Stoner Hands of Doom in Maryland, and I’m sure once they get their lineup nailed down again they’ll have no trouble getting back there.

I got back to my humble river valley shortly after three and was up for maybe another hour. I’d managed (somehow) to stay sober, though I’d swear I saw some dudes taking beers out of their socks at the club. A little recession-special espionage. You do what you have to, I guess.

Good people, good tunes, good times. It’s nights like this, when the “scene” and the inherent politics thereof stay at the bar upstairs, that remind me why I love this music so much.

A while back I purchased a promo of the Man’s Ruin release of High on Fire‘s first album, The Art of Self-Defense, and posted the bio included with that. It didn’t get much of a response, but when I received the promo of Brant Bjork‘s Jalamanta (which I’m certain is exactly the same as the final Man’s Ruin release sonically, though the wah-guitar on “Automatic Fantastic” sounded higher in the mix when I listened this morning), I was interested to read how the album was pitched to the press at the time.

Of course, we think of desert rock now as a given, but in 1999, the idea was still pretty new, at least to those outside the geographic locale. So in coming up with a description for Bjork‘s unique blend of soul, funk, punk and classic rock, the record gets called “12 tracks of ghetto vibe wonder,” which is just awesome. Plus, it’s got different cover art than either the final Man’s Ruin release or the subsequent Duna Records reissue. That’s gotta be worth $15 in itself.

So here’s the bio for your perusal. Click the image to view full-size:

I hate to be that guy who listens to the band he’s going to see that night before he actually goes to see them, but Mighty High covering the anthemic “Kick Out the Jams” is just too cool to resist. If anyone’s around, they’re playing The Charleston tonight in their native Brooklyn with the formidable likes of Cortez, The Crimson Electric and some band no one’s ever heard of. Should be a good time.

At some point in the next week, I’m going to have a new podcast up. Keep an eye out. I’ll also have an interview with UK doom-thunderers Conan, and maybe the chat I had with Man’s Gin‘s Erik Wunder if I’m feeling fancy. Which I am. Always.

Toward the end of next week we’ll close out September, so stay tuned for that. If you’re headed to the Small Stone showcase in Philadelphia tonight, have a great time and drive safe if you’re driving. Be sure to tell Keith from Sasquatch some schmuck on the internet says hi.

Enjoy the weekend. We’ll see you back here Monday for more adventures.

They’ve been in the business of instrumental stoner prog since 1998, and on their aptly-titled fourth album, 4, the Berlin trio Rotor (which might also be found written as RotoR) show no signs of slowing with age or growing lazy in their songwriting. If anything, 4 (released through Elektrohasch Schallplatten) is their most progressive offering yet, with quickly turning riffs and dynamics that run somewhere between raucous and tight-woven, the band themselves sounding remarkably crisp while forgoing almost entirely the bombast that’s associated these days with terms like “prog” and “stoner.” Though many would argue those words are inherently a contradiction, Rotor have no trouble putting them together to create an album that relies on overarching groove even as it indulges technical prowess.

You can hear it on a track like “Karacho/Heizer,” toward the end as the drums do a timing shift under an angular but still nod-worthy riff. Rotor sound confident in all aspects of their approach, and even in the brash starts and stops of “Derwisch,” on which the bass notably takes the fore, there is a balance to be found in what 4 offers. The band has grown over time to embrace their prog side more and more, but neither do they shy away from driving a riff home, as they do both on “Derwisch” and the less-overtly active later cut “Die Weisse Angst.” Guitarist/vocalist André “An3” Dietrich of countrymen noisemakers Dÿse shows up on the chemically-formulated track “An3R4,” donating one of the two vocal appearances to 4 and adding an aggression to the song that’s both surprising and a little undercutting of what Rotor does otherwise, but that’s an effective change from the rest of the record anyway.

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