I dug the hell out of The Sleeping Wizard, the first album from UK über-stoners Groan (review here, if you doubt me), so it’s good news come in that they’re going to record the follow-up, the name of which you can see below, toward the end of this summer, and tour in the meantime before its release. The band sent this info in while I was away at Roadburn, but I wanted to make sure it got put up anyhow, in case anyone missed it.

The PR wire has it like this:

UK doom ‘n’ rollers Groan are scheduled to record their second album in mid-August. The four-piece, based in different parts of the UK, will record their second album, tentatively titled The Divine Right of Kings, in Mid-Wales’ Foel Studios with Chris Fielding (Electric Wizard, Napalm Death, Serpent Venom) with an anticipated release towards the end of 2011. Among curren t tracks being worked on for the album are “Gods of Fire,” “Sacrificial Virgins” and “Dissolution.”

Bass player, Forest-Dwelling Fuzz Creature says: “We’re trying to get a good balance between classic hard rock and traditional doom for the songs we record for this album. In writing these new songs, I think we’ve really found our voice. We hope to emulate our heroes by recording and releasing an album which is meant to be played from start to finish as opposed to today’s culture of disposable, individual mp3 files; all whilst off our tits.”

Groan’s debut album, The Sleeping Wizard, was released in October 2010 through Doomanoid Records to vast critical praise. A split EP with Finnish doom rockers Vinum Sabbatum is to be released this summer through Doomanoid Records (release date TBC).

After recording The Divine Right of Kings, Groan will hit the road for a short co-headlining tour of the UK with another highly-regarded up-and-coming English band. Details of this tour to be announced at a later date.

In the interest of continuing to use On the Radar to spread the word on cool and interesting new acts I actually dig, I humbly present Hamburg, Germany, duo Larman Clamor, whose project seems to be drawing the long line between drunken gospel and heavy rock, injecting some demented psych and garage blues along the way. Their first, self-released, self-titled EP is available now for listening on Bandcamp, on Facebook, and most conveniently, on the player below.

Comprised of the singly-lettered R (drums, organ and engineer) and V (guitar, vocals and art), Larman Clamor‘s sound is both busy and subdued. A drunken preacher stumbling down a rain-soaked road in the middle of the night might start belting out Larman Clamor opener “Ghost Daze & Rhythm,” which is one of two tracks on the demo with handclaps. The songs are diverse in their approach, but consistent in atmosphere, and there’s even a bit of humor (there just has to be) driving the vocals on “Drone Embassy.” It’s a quick release, and there’s an awful lot going on stylistically, but Larman Clamor‘s warped sensibility makes the EP fascinating from the start.

Fans of the experimental and terminally weird will want to check out the tracks, and consider yourself as doing so with my recommendation. Another cool band taking disparate genre elements and making something of their own from them, I look forward to hearing what Larman Clamor do next.

That Small Stone is headed back to Philly for another showcase that falls on the weekend of my wedding anniversary isn’t much of a surprise, but that the label is packing up the show and taking it to Chicago the next weekend is. Info is nebulous as of yet, but the label sent over some preliminaries via the ever-trusty PR wire and I wanted to get them posted right away, because I know these shows are going to rule.

Check it out:

We are busy planning two Small Stone showcase events for you in September/October 2011.

On September 23 and 24, we will be taking over the Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia, PA, as a part of the Philadelphia Film and Music Festival… And, on September 30 and October 1, will be heading on over to the Double Door in Chicago, IL.

We do not have a final lineup confirmed yet, but each city will get a combination of 12 of the following acts from the list below:
Backwoods Payback
The Brought Low
Five Horse Johnson
Freedom Hawk
Gozu
Halfway to Gone
House of Broken Promises
Lo-Pan
Luder
Ironweed
The Might Could
Red Giant
Solace
Sun Gods in Exile
Suplecs
Throttlerod
Tia Carrera

And for you folks in Europe, we did not forget about you either, as Dixie Witch, Roadsaw and Sasquatch will be starting their tour across the pond on September 23.

Not to be confused with either the ‘80s/’90s British indie act or the T.S. Eliot poem from which both bands presumably take their name, hard rocking Dutch four-piece-turned-trio The Hollow Men mark their first offering in five years with the self-released Food Chain. At seven tracks/30 minutes, it skirts the line between EP and full-length, but what’s more certain is The Hollow Men’s penchant for penning catchy, well-structured songs, as demonstrated here. Because of that “demonstration” feel, I’m liable to call Food Chain an EP, and in that case, it’s the band’s third, following 2004’s The Hollow Men and 2006’s Music for Every Occasion and Every Mood, and after the departure of their lead guitarist in 2008, no doubt the result of some restructuring of approach. There’s a clean ‘90s style in the arrangement of the vocals, which prove to be what carries over most of the songs as effectively as they are carried over, and though the production is rough, there’s an accessibility shining through the material nonetheless. It’s more hard rock than heavy rock, but there are some particularly riffy moments for those craving that, and guitarist/vocalist Remko, bassist Robbert and drummer/vocalist Martin manage to convey a range of atmospheres in a relatively short amount of space.

Almost immediately, though, the production is an issue. Remko and Martin have a clean vocal interplay and are skilled at crafting vocal harmonies and catchy hooks. That comes across perhaps most of all on the first two Food Chain tracks, “Euphoria” and “Top of the Food Chain,” but the music backing them has a much rougher feel, most especially in Martin’s drums, but also in Robbert’s bass, which is present enough, but lacking a thickness and warmth of feel it should have to go as well with Remko’s guitar, also thin of tone and lifelessly recorded on the otherwise energetic rocker “Out in the Cold.” That’s not easy to get past, but if there’s anything that’s going to do it, it’s the vocals, which show surprising Alice in Chains and Danzig influences on that track and prove to be The Hollow Men’s most potent asset throughout Food Chain. As the EP plays out, increasingly it’s the vocals I want to focus on and not the instrumentation, and because the trio aren’t playing pure riff/stoner rock, that’s fine – I mean, I don’t think in listening one is supposed to follow the riff to the exclusion of everything else – but I still want the songs to be heavier in the production than they are, and louder almost universally.

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Today, The Obelisk is thrilled to bring you an exclusive premiere of the new video from heavy ’70s lost classics, JPT Scare Band. The clip is for the song “Long Day” from the trio’s 2011 album, Acid Blues is the White Man’s Burden (review here), and like the best of things, it combines rocking out in the living room with righteous psychedelic imagery.

Check it out below, followed by some info courtesy of the good people at Ripple Music:

After more than three solid months of Acid Blues is the White Man’s Burden holding down a top five spot in CDBaby.com’s “Extended Jam” category, legendary acid rockers, JPT Scare Band come roaring back with a blitzing assault on their newest single, “Long Day.” Featuring the sizzling guitar work of Terry Swope, “Long Day,” tears through more than eight minutes of searing guitar leads, massive bass riffs, and mammoth drum jamming, all in the definitive JPT Scare Band style.

“Long Day” will be available as a digital single from CDBaby and all fine digital music emporiums. Meanwhile, Acid Blues is the White Man’s Burden is still available in limited quantities from Ripple Music in two-toned, gatefold, double-LP with two bonus tracks, deluxe digipak CD, or digital at www.ripple-music.com.

I’ve got a boatload of press releases to catch up on since I’ve been away, and the first is from Italian doomers Doomraiser, letting it be known that their new album, Mountains of Madness, will be out next month. I don’t think there’s been a true-doom fest in Europe in the last three years that these guys haven’t played, so fans of the dark and heavy should definitely keep an eye and ear out for this one.

The PR wire relieves itself:

Born out of an obsession with and a tribute to doom and occult psych rock, Italy’s Doomraiser builds their altar to the heavy bands of yesteryear and today, fusing doom metal, psychedelic rock and acid roll. They combine the doom of Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Goatsnake with a psychedelic touch and a ‘70s progressive rock charm into a very tasty concoction.

On one hand, the new album acknowledges previous recordings… On the other hand, there have been some significant changes which have given birth to yet another new sound. Mountains of Madness is an unholy invocation of gritty, sprawling psycho doom. Five tracks that will bring you to the total freaked-out madness.

Mountains of Madness track listing:
1. Mountains of Madness
2. Phoenix
3. Re-Connect
4. Vampires of the Sun
5. Like a Ghost

Mountains of Madness will be available on CD and LP via Bloodrock Records/Black Widow Records on May 13.

Additionally, Doomraiser have also just confirmed a release party to unveil the material on Mountains of Madness to the public. The live ritual is on May 27 at Init Club, Rome. Opening bands the amazing space doom travelers Ira Del Baccano and the occult groovy doom crushers Misantropus.

Front to back, the first demo from stoner rockers Witchasaurus Hex is all about charm. Appropriately titled Our First Demo, from the band’s name on down to the hand-drawn cover and the Sharpie marker smell of the track list to the two tracks themselves that comprise it, everything about Witchasaurus Hex has an almost childlike appeal to it, and the songs themselves, “The Great Wolf Lodge” and “Country Fried Snake” bear that out in easygoing riffs and grooves. The Eugene, Oregon (known chiefly as the home of YOB), four-piece dial into nod-worthy stoner vibes and simple structures too make songs that are unquestionably for the converted and stylistically basic, but again, built on that charm, I’m more inclined to roll with it than pan them for not reinventing the stoner rock formula, especially on a release that, as noted, is their first demo.

Beginning with a riff that says “follow me” right from its start, “The Great Wolf Lodge” keeps a middle pace throughout, giving the fuzz from Tristan Tower’s guitars time to sink in as complemented by Andy Ritenour’s bass before the drums or the vocals kick in. Our First Demo was recorded and mixed by Sam Wartenbee (Take 92), and Dylan Ferguson’s drums are a little far back in the mix as compared to Tower’s guitar (at least in the solo sections of “The Great Wolf Lodge”), but it’s the guitar leading the song anyway. Vocalist Brian Michael Cooper has a high-in-the-mouth tenor to his voice, reminiscent of some of the higher-register vocals in Asteroid, or if you want to trace it back to doom, Apostle of Solitude or any number of the oldschool acts who influenced them. His voice too is a little high in the mix, but again, this being Witchasaurus Hex’s first time out, and the grooves they elicit being so formidable, I’m more than willing to let it slide. Cooper fits the music well, in any case, and I think bringing Ritenour up in any subsequent mixes would probably resolve a lot of the issues sound-wise on Our First Demo. I’m a sucker for a warm bass sound, though, so take that for what it’s worth.

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1:54PM – Monday – Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam

If you look at the frontpage of this site right now, scroll all the way down to the bottom, the whole thing is Roadburn posts. A full week’s worth of posting on the fest, this one being the keystone to fill the page. I didn’t plan it that way, but damn if it isn’t satisfying to have that be how it worked out.

I’m sitting at the gate where in a few hours my flight will take off to London, then onward to Newark. If all goes to plan, I’ll get in at approximately 9:15PM Jersey time. I look forward to that. I can feel the impatience of travel and anticipation working its way into my attitude in dealing with people already. I muttered to myself when the woman at the check-in for the flight made me go to the self-check-in machine and then I had to get on the line I wanted to get on anyway because the robot couldn’t do it. I don’t remember the exact quote, but it was something like, “What the fuck? Spend hundreds of dollars to go somewhere, why should you be able to go five minutes without being made to feel like a jackass?” Perhaps a bit strong for what the situation warranted, even just under my breath to myself. I must want to go home.

More amazing than that, and the fact that I’m not the only one at the gate more than an hour early, is that I’m listening to music. I’ve got Goatsnake on my CD player – that’s right, a CD player – and it’s fair enough for people-watching, but you’d think after four days solid of nothing but music and writing, they’d be the furthest thing from what I’d want to engage in, and yet here I am. I should be at the bar.

That same insatiability – a kind of greed – is what got me to Roadburn in the first place. A gluttony for experience and the need to do that thing. I’m not Johnny Livesthelife or anything like that — I don’t climb mountains — but fuck if I’m not lucky to be where I am. I was thinking on the train ride to Schiphol about how it all ends, where all this is going, what the finale will be. I don’t think there’s a retirement plan for what I do, and since I can’t seem to do anything else, I’m curious.

I got to sleep at about six this morning and was up a bit before 10, so maybe I’ll sleep on the flight. More likely I’ll just power through it and sleep tonight. In a way, I never left the six-hours-behind time zone, at least as regards sleeping, so I don’t expect it’ll be much of an adjustment getting back to it. Strange to think that it’s only been a couple days.

But Roadburn. Roadburn was amazing yet again. One might think after doing this three times, some of the wonder would have faded, the deeper novelty of it, but it hasn’t yet. Only difference is now I know where I’m going. I still feel like I’ve made memories this weekend that I’ll take with me for as long as I can carry them. Imagine seeing Candlemass with Johan Lundquist. Or watching The Machine and being able to compare it to last year. Bearing witness to Black Pyramid‘s European invasion. Being so up front to Stone Axe that I could see the booze in Dru Brinkerhoff’s eyes – although perhaps I could have seen that from farther away as well. This is the stuff I live for. I don’t know how much of a life it is, as far as the traditional definition goes, but here I am. Somehow I can’t help but think the weirdo who just walked by also wearing a Saint Vitus shirt knows what I’m talking about.

And the word I keep going back to is one I’ve already said: “Lucky.” I’m lucky to have been in a position to come here, lucky to see the things I’ve seen, lucky to have The Patient Mrs. and our dog waiting to pick me up at the airport when I land, and if I’m really lucky, an empty seat next to me on the long flight. We’ll see how that last one plays out once I get to Heathrow, but here’s hoping.

Gratitude hoisted to Walter and Roadburn, to Pete Tsakiris, to Jack, Pete and Chris from Stubb, as well as the dudes from Evoken, StevhanTI, to everyone who’s been reading and commenting here and on the forum, and most of all, to The Patient Mrs. for booking the flight and the rest. I could go on at length about how much the support and friendship means to me, but I’d cry and you’d be bored out of your mind, so instead I’ll just say cheers and get back to homework. Cheers.

End transmission Roadburn 2011 Adventure.