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For the last two years, I’ve done a Buried Treasure report (see here, and here) on the return from Roadburn specifically related to the CDs purchased there, either from the bands or the labels with distro setups. Both of those posts were titled “The Tilburg Haul.” This time, I thought I’d do something a little different and use the discs I bought to put together the latest installment of the audiObelisk podcasts. The name, as you can see above, stayed the same.

Admittedly, it’s not all stuff I bought at Roadburn 2011. The Black Pyramid, Blood Farmers, Candlemass and Ramesses I already owned, but I thought they were worth including anyway, since those performances were highlights of the fest experience. Things like Quest for Fire and Samsara Blues Experiment I had promos of and was happy to nab full-artwork copies, and then there’s bands like Slough Feg, Mercyful Fate, Samavayo, Pontiak and Tia Carrera, who didn’t play at all, but whose albums I nonetheless was able to pick up.

Like the rest of Roadburn, the record shopping there is one of a kind. I picked up a lot of stuff on Nasoni (you’ll see it in the track list), because even in the Euro it’s cheaper than paying import prices for it here, and the version of Goatsnake‘s first album I bought just because it’s on Rise Above (as opposed to the Man’s Ruin original American release or the Southern Lord reissue). I bought On Trial and Dragontears discs from Lorenzo Woodrose directly, White Hills from White Hills, and a limited disc of Michael Gira home recordings  from which a couple of the tracks on last year’s Swans full-length, My Father Will Guide Me up a Rope to the Sky, were culled. That’s signed too.

That’s a special inclusion here, and throughout, you’ll also hear new music from Pentagram from their Last Rites album (review here) and The Gates of Slumber, who were selling their new record, The Wretch, for a measly 10 Euro. I was also thrilled to pick up the original issue of the first Dead Meadow, and live at Roadburn offerings from Bong and Year of No Light, tracks from both of which show up here.

There might not be as many songs here as last month, but with a couple cuts over 20 minutes and plenty of other spacious pieces besides, we still come close to three and a half hours, and I figure that’s plenty long enough. You’ll notice some abrupt transitions and some smooth transitions, which I thought was appropriate to the nature of Roadburn itself, where you can be watching Coffins one minute and Place of Skulls the next. In any case, I hope you enjoy listening, as always.

Full track listing is after the jump. Click here or the image above to download the file, or stream audiObelisk Transmission 015: The Tilburg Haul on the player above.

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The day kind of got away from me yesterday, so I didn’t get to close out the week proper like I wanted to or normally would on a Friday. It’s the end of the semester and work has been balls-kickingly unpleasant the last couple weeks surrounding the Roadburn trip, but that too should be cleared up by the time May hits, so I’m just counting down the days more or less. Until then, my therapy:

THERE IS A NEW PODCAST COMING THIS WEEKEND.

I’ll have it up tomorrow, and no, it’s not Easter themed. I hope to rip some tracks today, some tomorrow and get it all posted by tomorrow night, but yeah, it should be a good one. Kind of a personal theme, but fun all the same, and what the hell is the point anyway if I’m not enjoying myself. You’ll note I didn’t put a question mark at the end of that sentence, because I realize there’s no question there at all.

But I thought we’d close out this week with some under-appreciated Ian Gillan-fronted Black Sabbath from the Born Again album. I saw a post on the forum about the impending re-release (looks sweet), and it kind of put me onto listening to it again. I know it catches hell because of the mix or whatever, but I think this record rules. Wouldn’t trade either Ozzy or Dio Sabbath for it, but it’s a completely unique item in the band’s catalog and certainly better than any of the Tony Martin-era stuff.

Plus, Deep Purple‘s touring (of course with Gillan singing), so it’s semi-relevant on that level as well. They’re bringing an orchestra out with them for the first time in the US this summer. Should be fun. I always thought “Space Truckin'” needed some extra strings.

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday and tomorrow as well. Next week I’ll have my interview with Graveyard posted and reviews of Bong, El Hijo de la Aurora and that podcast too. Much fun to be had.

At just over five and a half minutes long, the gorgeously-packaged Menace of the Universe 5” from Providence, Rhode Island, bash and thrashers Megasus is over almost before it starts. Where their 2009 20 Buck Spin self-titled full-length offered a few minutes here and there of respite, on such a small vinyl, there’s barely time for the songs themselves, let alone a breather, so you’re in, you’re out, all of a sudden you have a black eye, and that’s it. Time is not wasted, either theoretically or practically, as Megasus up the intensity on both of the included tracks, “Menace of the Universe” and the b-side “Damned Hammer,” enough so that I wondered in my first time hearing it if I wasn’t listening at the wrong speed. I wasn’t. Megasus bring out the thrash and let it run roughshod all over Menace of the Universe.

The two songs, released via Brutal Panda Records, run 2:48 and 2:46, respectively. “Menace of the Universe” is a quick kick in the ass, guitarist Ryan Lesser’s tone reminding of Entombed and drummer Brian Gibson hitting a bright, punkish snare to accent the riff. Jason Kendall’s vocals are far back and similarly effected here as they were on the self-titled, but he screams maniacally on the first track, and is no less appropriate in doing so than he is the subtle, sub-psychedelic melody he throws in later on before Lesser’s solo brings the song to a close. Bassist Paul Lyons has more of a role to play on “Damned Hammer,” which is slower (still not as slow as some of the Megasus material was) and offers more room for him to run counter to Lesser’s riffing. The Motörheaded aspect of “Menace of the Universe” is all but gone from “Damned Hammer,” and Megasus show more of their doom side in the shorter track, still managing to keep the immediacy of the a-side, just cutting the pace.

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A little over a year ago, I did an On the Radar profile series on the Polish stoner scene, and one of the acts highlighted was the goat-obsessed instrumental five-piece Belzebong. Of all the bands (and you can find them at that link, so I don’t need to retread the list) I wrote about over the course of however many weeks it was, Belzebong might have been the most stoned. All riffs, all the time, just locked-in grooves, amp fuzz and heady jams. No claim to anything more than that.

The demos were kind of rough from what I recall, but Belzebong‘s first album, which they released this past Wednesday — 4/20, in case you missed it — is clear and big-sounding, an excellent showcase for the band’s riffy focus. They named the record Sonic Scapes and Weedy Grooves, and despite the grammar, that’s about as apt a description as I could come up with for what they have on offer with the four tracks.

Sonic Scapes and Weedy Grooves is available for free download at Belzebong‘s Bandcamp page, and anyone looking for a riff-fix this Friday afternoon will want also to direct their attention to the player below, where the whole record can be streamed:

A little while back, this site premiered three demo tracks from North Carolinian doomers Hour of 13 with their new singer, whose identity was then a mystery. In the comments section of that post, you’ll find word from members of The Might Could that it was, in fact, Beaten Back to Pure, Birds of Prey and Plague the Suffering vocalist Ben Hogg filling the shoes vacated by Phil Swanson, and as a show at the Cake Shop in NYC proved early in March, they were right.

Hogg was a surprise to take that role, as Hour of 13‘s vocals have heretofore been clean exclusively and through his work in his other bands, Hogg has always proved to be almost entirely a growler/screamer, but as the demos demonstrated, he’s more than capable of matching key for key with Hour of 13‘s material, adding elements of his own personality to the songwriting of guitarist Chad Davis. The band has already started work on new material, it seems, and though there isn’t a release set for anything yet — Hour of 13‘s second album with Swanson, The Ritualist, was recently reissued by Earache — Hogg assures good things are afoot.

Even today, that’s proven to be the case, as it was announced Hour of 13 will join Kylesa for a week-long tour of the Southern US at the end of May into June, and in our interview, Ben Hogg leaked some info about more road time to come in July. Hour of 13, apparently, are about to become a full-on touring act, and as Hogg says several times over, that suits him just fine.

We spoke on opening day of baseball season (March 31) as the Cardinals were in extra innings, but Hogg was nonetheless forthcoming about how he came to be involved with Hour of 13, the nervousness he felt before making his debut with the band at the Cake Shop, the trials of owning your own wedge monitor, the band’s plans writing, touring, and much, much more. There were some phone-line issues, but I got everything transcribed the best I could, and the ensuing conversation was over 4,100 words, so there should be plenty to work with.

On a personal note, before I turn it over to the interview proper, I want to underscore my previous congratulations to Ben Hogg on landing this vocalist spot. The dude’s a lifer if there ever was one, and in this scene, that’s not easy. We’ve been in touch periodically over the years and he’s never been anything but cool to me and if the excitement he shows here is any indication, he’s genuinely glad to be a part of Hour of 13, and I wish both him and the band all the best going forward. Can’t wait to hear how it all comes together on the next record.

Complete Q&A with Ben Hogg is after the jump. Please enjoy.

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Guitarist Steve Mills of UK-based cult doomers The Wounded Kings checked in with an update on the band, who are getting ready to record their third album (second for Sweden‘s I Hate Records) in June. Busy times for Foel Studios, it seems. Conan‘s new split was done there, as will be their next album, and Groan are headed in come mid-August for their second record, as reported yesterday. Makes me wonder who’s there in July.

Also of note in the realm of The Wounded Kings is a new lineup, which Mills details below. He has this:

We now have our new lineup complete with new members Alex Kearney (guitar) Jim Willumsen (bass) Sharie Neyland (vox) and Mike Heath (drums).

We will be entering Foel Studios (Electric Wizard, Napalm Death and Conan) in June to record the five tracks that will make up our third album, In The Chapel of The Black Hand, which will be released through I Hate Records once again.

I don’t really buy into the whole Record Store Day thing. It’s cool that the website has a map I can find stores on wherever I go, but honestly, I don’t buy vinyl and just about every payday is “record store day” for me. As an institution, I think the record store is something worth saving, which is why I go to record stores and spend my money on a regular basis. Well, that and the records, anyway.

As I’ve been out of the country three Record Store Days in a row, I thought I’d do a little pre-shopping this year and while I was in Connecticut for the weekend earlier this month, I swung by my favorite shop in the state, Redscroll Records in Wallingford. It’s always good to know you’re on friendly ground, and when I walked in, they were playing Black Pyramid‘s self-titled album, so I immediately felt at home. Time before last, if you’ll recall, it was Sleep‘s Dopesmoker.

It doesn’t quite match the batch of discs I pulled in last time I was there in the fall, but I still managed to find some good stuff. I grabbed yet another Monster Magnet promo CD — it’s amazing how many there are floating around — called Five Reasons to Testify that has the awful God Says No shot of them with Dave Wyndorf‘s metal codpiece on the front (I’m not even going to show it), as well as the first Firebird record, the first Quest for Fire and the 1999 Bong Load Custom Records issue of Fireball Ministry‘s Où est la Rock? Not a bad haul, all told.

The Firebird I’d picked up at the band’s merch table at Roadburn 2009, but that was the European reissue and this was the original on The Music Cartel, so I couldn’t resist. When I reviewed the second Quest for Fire album, Lights from Paradise, I said that I’d have to go back and buy the first, and it was good to do that, although I think I prefer the second anyway. I couldn’t remember if I owned the Fireball Ministry or not, but decided to take the chance anyway and it paid off. The record kind of rules. Very Fu Manchu, except maybe for the Obsessed-esque “Death Dealer,” which actually features Guy Pinhas on bass, but enjoyable throughout. Probably the most stoner rock of all their albums, which suits me just fine.

There’s a hole punched in the UPC of the Fireball Ministry, which means it was probably someone’s promo, and I always think that’s interesting, and wonder who got the record initially, what they did or didn’t do with it and how they came to sell it. Every time I get emailed another link to download a new release, I get that “born too late” feeling. I’ve gotten plenty in my day, don’t get me wrong, but when I think of the shit that could have come in my mail (all those Monster Magnet promos, for one) and all the silver-backed bootleg CDs I could have bought in the pre-CDR era, I get a little sad. I guess we make the most with what we’ve got. It’s fun hunting this stuff down, anyway.

Most likely I’ll be back at Redscroll before too long, but just figured I’d share anyway, since it’s a quality store and deserves to have the word spread about it as much as possible. Check them out here if you haven’t yet, or find them on that Facebook the kids love so much.

New York City is always wanting for bullshit-free rock and roll, and joining the thin ranks of those trafficking in it is the trio Thinning the Herd, whose debut full-length, Oceans Rise, is a quick eight tracks of sans-frills doom rock. Led by guitarist/vocalist Gavin Spielman – who seems as ready at any given moment to unleash a killer riff as he is to rip a solo – Thinning the Herd transcend the C.O.C.-isms that made up so much of their prior Devil Mask EP, keeping the groove but putting a more individual stamp on it. Bassist Nick Lee throws exceptional fills in to complement Spielman’s playing, and drummer Ben Proudman lands heavy on his snare to ground the material and keep the pacing fluid. As a trio, they work well together across the album, and at a quick 34-plus minutes, Oceans Rise (released via St. Mark’s Records) has a few standout tracks of which anyone hungering for a break from the onslaught of hipstamatic Big Apple indie rockers calling themselves psychedelic should be aware.

There’s a darker edge in Spielman’s guitar tone, not so much fuzz, and it’s mostly for that reason that I hesitate to call Thinning the Herd a stoner band, but there’s no mistaking that they’re both heavy and riff-led – which is more than enough for many to make the designation. Oceans Rise launches with its title-track, a slower, doomier number that hints some at the band’s songwriting prowess. Lee gives one of several really strong bass performances (he also proves his abilities as a member of tech-weirdos Exemption), and Spielman’s gruff-but-clean vocals set a pattern that continues throughout the ensuing cuts. It’d be easy to liken it to Deliverance or Wiseblood-era Pepper Keenan, but even comparing Oceans Rise to Devil Mask, it’s clear he’s growing into his voice and becoming more of his own singer. Doubtless confidence is a part of that and he’ll continue to develop over future Thinning the Herd releases, but there’s plenty engaging about his work on the catchy “Look Behind” and the even-riffier “Defiler,” which is a highlight not only for Spielman’s layering, but Lee’s running lines as well and the conviction that seems to be in Proudman’s mashing of his hi-hat. As “Chill in the Air” wraps the first half of Oceans Rise, it’s with more strong rhythm section interplay and another well-crafted chorus.

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