You can pretty much file Finnish outfit Dark Buddha Rising in the camp of bands who I never thought I’d be able to see in my lifetime who I’ll now be able to catch thanks to Roadburn. If you’ve never heard them, they’re heavy heavy (that’s twice as heavy). Also added to the bill are folkish fellow Finns Hexvessel and Virus, who I now consider a homework assignment that needs to be done before April. Good fun.

Here’s the latest, straight from Walter:

Avant-garde rock maestros Virus, led by former Ved Buens Ende mastermind Carl-Michael Eide (a.k.a Czral), are one of the finest, most exquisite musical exports Norway has to offer at this very moment. Its very hard to describe the musical universe of Virus… think a vast spectrum of genres, ranging from psychedelic to krautrock and from rock via jazz to avant-metal, but all weird and trippy in an inexplicably elegant way… and then at the same time it’s really catchy, too!

Virus either smothers your inner demons, or gives them new life, as they pull you in all different directions. Their latest album, The Agent That Shapes the Desert, ranks amongst the very best metal albums of the year. To hell with the term progressive, what Virus does is beyond even futuristic — they are otherworldly, sublime. Virus will appear on Thursday, 12 April at the 013 venue, Tilburg, Holland.

Finland’s psychedelic, haunting, folk rock band Hexvessel (Friday, 13 April) and Finnish drone occult metalnecromancers Dark Buddha Rising (Saturday, 14 April) have also been confirmed for Roadburn 2012.

Ticket pre-sales will start Saturday, 26 November, 2011.

For more info, please visit www.roadburn.com.

The carton from which Lo-Pan frontman Jeff Martin is drinking in the candid picture above reads “Boxed Water is Better.” There’s a life lesson in there somewhere, but mark my words, I have no clue what it might be.

After bolting from a school obligation in Newark and stopping only to grab sushi takeout on my way to Brooklyn for the BrooklynVegan/The Obelisk-presented gig at Union Pool with The Brought Low, Lo-Pan and Suplecs. I was excited to see the bands and glad it had stopped raining from earlier in the day, but more than either of those, I was just in a hurry to get there.

Being involved in booking and promoting shows is nerve-wracking work, and to those who do it on a regular basis — and that includes Fred from BrooklynVegan, who invited me to be a part of the show out of the blue and the kindness of his heart — much respect. I can’t imagine being responsible for making people show up somewhere, trying to draw a crowd. I have a hard enough time getting my own ass off the couch, let alone anyone else’s.

That said, if e’er a rock bill in Brooklyn was going to do it, it was this one. With the two-day Small Stone Records showcase in Philadelphia this weekend featuring all three of these bands (and many others), I was thinking of the show as an unofficial warm-up, a kind of unofficial mini-showcase — but really, however you phrase it, it was a killer night. The Brought Low went on at 9:30, and if you looked back from there, you wasted your time.

I don’t know how many times I’ve said it at this point, but every time I see them affirms my opinion that The Brought Low are the best rock band in New York. They played a set that felt short, but pulled probably the night’s biggest crowd. The two faster cuts from their recent Coextinction Recordings EP, “Army of Soldiers” and “Black River” — on which bassist Bob Russell took lead vocals from guitarist Ben Smith — sounded great, and the material from last year’s Third Record was no less thrilling than when I heard it the last time I saw them in December. Nick Heller‘s drumming behind Smith‘s come-a-creepin’ guitar line on “My Favorite Waste of Time” gave me a newly-revitalized appreciation for that song.

That was about as subdued as they got. The rest of their time was devoted to energetic, upbeat songs like “Blues for Cubby” off of 2006’s Right on Time, which was another highlight. They were probably the perfect way to kick off the show, and set a high bar for Lo-Pan, who I don’t even know how many times I’ve seen this year at this point (another to come Friday in Philly). Union Pool‘s sound suited them well as they ran through tracks from the instantly classic Salvador, released earlier this year.

Guitarist Brian Fristoe played probably the best and most engaged set I’ve seen from him — Lo-Pan‘s stage configuration puts the instruments out front and the aforementioned Jeff Martin in the rear, and Fristoe is usually pretty subdued compared to drummer Jesse Bartz and bassist Skot Thompson, seemingly preferring to let the fuzz and the riffs do the talking — but it didn’t wind up doing him any favors. Late in the set, he broke a string and the considerable momentum Lo-Pan had built coming off “Bird of Prey” took a substantial hit.

It didn’t stop them. Jokes were tossed back and forth in the break while Fristoe changed out the string, and Lo-Pan was tight enough that when they picked back up and closed out with “Generations,” I didn’t hear another word about the string. In talking to the band before and after they played, they said they were well rested, and they played like it. Comparing it to a few weeks back at Stoner Hands of Doom XI, they were pretty great then, but better last night. Clearly just a band at the top of their game making the most of their time on the road. It’s exciting to watch them.

And what to say about Suplecs? The New Orleans trio’s bassist Danny Nick mentioned from the stage that it was the band’s first time in Brooklyn since opening for Clutch and The Hidden Hand at L’Amour in 2004. Last time I saw them was right around then as well, at South by Southwest that year. So seven years and two albums later, they loaded onto the Union Pool stage and let loose with songs from across their discography. I missed the start, but came back in shortly thereafter in time for the anthemic punk chorus of “Stand Alone” from 2011’s Mad Oak Redux, which carried even more heft live, Nick and guitarist Durel Yates sharing vocal duties and driving the rhythms nailed down by the stellar drumming of Andrew Preen.

“White Devil” from 2001’s Sad Songs… Better Days made my night, plain and simple. And that Suplecs followed it up with their take on The Beatles “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” which was included on the same album tacked to the more shuffling “Unstable” was even more righteous, but what was most striking about their performance wasn’t even how tight the band was — 15 years of a solid lineup will do that — but just how much diversity there is in their material.

Maybe it’s harder to hear on their records (though I would and have argued that their studio stuff has much to offer in terms of personality), but throughout the course of their time, it occurred to me just how many different roads Suplecs was taking the audience, from the hardcore punk of “Stand Alone” to the ultra-stonerly riffing of “White Devil” and “Dope Fu,” to the extended jams and solos they fused into the latter half of their set, to the off-the-cuff take on early Metallica — I think it was “Four Horsemen” — they threw into their finale. Yates, Nick and Preen made all these changes and shifts work, so that if you weren’t paying attention, you hardly even noticed the movement from one to the next.

On a night of impressive feats, that of Suplecs was as appropriate a finish as The Brought Low‘s was a start, and for that, and for the utterly transcendent fuzz of Lo-Pan in between (yeah, yeah, I know, I’m a nerd for Lo-Pan), the show was perfect. The crowd was filled with good people, Union Pool‘s sound is killer, and I even managed to make it back to my foggy river valley in New Jersey without running out of gas. I couldn’t possibly have asked more from the show than I got.

And for that, I owe Fred from BrooklynVegan thanks. I’m no promoter, and I don’t know squat about putting on shows, but Fred was cool enough to ask me if I wanted to be involved and it was hugely appreciated. Thanks too to everyone who came out and made it as special as it was. If I needed another reason to be stoked for Philly this weekend (I didn’t), this was it.

Extra pics after the jump, as always.

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Of all the records I’ve encountered thus far into 2011, Wizard’s Beard‘s Pure Filth might be the most aptly named. It’s more of a mission statement for the Leeds four-piece, and they live up to it every bit of the way. The outfit’s first full-length, initially self-released, was picked up for wider issue through the respectable PsycheDOOMelic Records.

That in itself is a worthy endorsement for the ethic of Wizard’s Beard, but their extreme sludge earns respect on its own the whole way across Pure Filth. They don’t veer from their approach in any significant way, instead challenging the listener with a nastiness of sound that few approach, as if to find out just how much you can take before you give into their assault. Their songs don’t swagger so much as they stab.

With a follow-up to Pure Filth already recorded — no word on whether it’s called Riffy Fuckall in keeping with the “doing what they say and saying what they do” idea of the debut — the time seemed right to learn more about Wizard’s Beard‘s origins, plans, and European tour where they sold seats in their van to anyone who wanted to join them on the road. Guitarist Craig Jackson was kind enough to field the interview.

Wizard’s Beard is Jackson alongside vocalist Chris Hardy, bassist/backing vocalist Neil Travers and drummer Dan Clarke. Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:

1.Tell me about how the band got together. Where did the name Pure Filth come from for the record, and how did you wind up signing to PsycheDOOMelic?

Well, me and Trav used to be in another band together, and when we called it a day the two of us decided we wanted to stick together and start something new. We both had the same idea to do something slower and dirtier than before…. so that’s exactly what we did.

We shouted around for a drummer and Dan was quick to offer his services.

Then all we needed was vocals. I’d been a huge fan of Agent of the Morai when they were around and I knew Chris hadn’t been doing anything since then. I got a fairly enthusiastic response when I asked him to join us… I think he’d been getting withdrawal symptoms from being a lunatic with a microphone!

Pure Filth came about simply because that’s what we set out to do. Make slow horrible filthy music. We have no intention of bringing in any beautiful melodies or wanky guitar solos. We’re here to play big fat dirty riffs, that’s it.

The PsycheDOOMelic thing came out of the blue to be honest. We were putting the album out ourselves so I’d been shouting about it all over the forums and wherever I could, and putting the track “Paint the Skies” up everywhere. When it had been out for about four days, [Hegedus] Mark from PsycheDOOMelic got in touch to ask if he could stock it. When he found out we’d released it ourselves he asked if we’d consider releasing it through PsycheDOOMelic, and that was that!

2. How did the writing process for the album go, and how was the time in the studio? When were the songs written? How long were you in the studio?

I already had all the songs written for the album with exception of “The Albatross.” They’d been written for a while and were just waiting to be used. “Albatross,” was differently based and came about when we just started jamming in the rehearsal room. As we were jamming the main riff I started coming up with small variants on it in my head and start to work out an idea for the structure. I went home and finalised it all and we went back in and put it together. It turned out to be my favourite song on the album too. We recorded demos for each of the songs beforehand and passed them to Chris and he wrote his lyrics away from rehearsals. When Trav was doing his backing vocals in the studio he was learning them there and then.

We were only in the studio for two days on this one so we had to blast through it. Out of 48 hours in the weekend, we were in the studio for 26. It was fairly intense but we all picked our poison to help us through (whisky, beer, cigarettes, pot noodles… cake!). Ross [Halden] at Ghost Town put some serious time and effort in to help us get it done, he’s a major part in how that recording turned out.

3. I thought I read you have a follow-up already written? How does it compare to the first album?

Not only is it written, but it is now officially recorded. Just with Fragment Mastering getting finished off now! It’s due for release around March 2012, more details to follow in October with an announcement regarding who’s releasing it, too.

It’s quite a bit darker than the last. It runs around 50 minutes too, so it’s a good chunk longer than the other, despite only having one track more. We had it around the hour mark but cut a song in the studio, as it just didn’t sit right at the time. The album flows a lot better as it is. I’d say it’s a hell of a lot heavier than Pure Filth too.

First two days in the studio we’re a living hell, but I reckon that’s added to the mood, ha ha! The album is called Four Tired Undertakers, keep your ear to the ground for more info.

4. Tell me about the upcoming tour of Europe. You’re bringing people along with you in the van? Is this just some evil trick to get them to work your merch table?

Ha ha! Well it was more out of necessity, but in the end it’s shaping up pretty damn good. Essentially, we had to hire a van for the European leg of the tour. The van and driver is £100 a day. Now I’m not sure if you realise how much money we make doing this, but it’s somewhere in the region of nothing and less than nothing! So the £700 was a lot to us, on top of petrol and ferry fees… So, we figured, three extra seats, who wants to chip in and come on holiday with a set of idiots like us! Turned out Matt [Faragher] from Tree of Sores, Sam [Read] from Foetal Juice and our good friend and regular cameraman Jez (we may have to supervise any camera related goings on while on this adventure!). So we’ve got a good bunch.

Matt has offered to man the merch table for us though. I think it’s mainly so he can sell Tree of Sores merch!

5. Do you know yet when and where you’ll record the next album, and when it’ll be out?

With regards to the release, we can’t really reveal anything at the moment, but details should come out in October and it will be released early next year (sorry, I can’t be more specific right now).

As for where, that was never in doubt. We went back to Ghost Town Studios to record again. We recorded with Ross last time and we couldn’t ask for anymore. He went out of his way for us last time and his knowledge is second to none. He’s always coming up with ideas to try and help us improve what we’re already doing and he just seems to get what we’re trying to do. It’s now with Fragment Mastering to get to be finished off. There’s never any problems with Fragment, always quick too.

We genuinely can’t wait to get this one out there. There won’t be quite as quick a turnaround after this album, we’ll be taking more time to tour on it and just play a lot more gigs and enjoy being a live band! Recording two albums in the space of seven months is not as much fun as it sounds!

6. Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

Well we’ve got quite a few gigs lined up besides the tour, including supporting Ufomammut who are without a doubt one of the best live bands I’ve ever seen, so that really is a pleasure.

I’d just like to thank everyone who’s bought any merch or being to see us live, we really do appreciate the support and we’ve had a lot of it.
The doom/sludge scene over here at the moment is thriving and there’s so many good bands about. Undersmile are a band you’ve really got to check out, they have such a unique and creepy sound! Our friends in Wiht and Tree of Sores need to be given a listen too. Then there’s all the other quality bands on these shores like Slabdragger, Conan, Dopefight, Dead Existence, Wet Nuns and of course the amazing Palehorse. We’re playing ‘Kin Hell Fest in Leeds in November and the lineup is ridiculous (Ingested, Astrohenge, Khuda, The Afternoon Gentlemen, Diascorium, Foetal Juice, The Atrocity Exhibit and more!), for those of you over here, get down! Filth Fest in October too is just a monstrous day of sludge/doom and whatever other filth is going on.

We’ve so much to look forward to and we hope to see as many of you as possible when we’re out and about.

Wizard’s Beard on Thee Facebooks

PsycheDOOMelic Records

There isn’t much live footage of Premonition 13 out there, because, unlike every other project Scott “Wino” Weinrich has ever been involved in, he hasn’t had the chance to tour the hell out of it yet. As the PR wire informed yesterday, though, that’s about to change, and Premonition 13 — which released its debut, 13, on Volcom earlier this year (review here) — have announced their first two runs of North American shows with Witch Mountain and The Gates of Slumber. Right on.

What’s most interesting about Premonition 13 in comparison to the slew of Wino‘s projects is the inclusion of guitarist Jim Karow, a friend of Weinrich‘s going back to the days of The Obsessed, for whom Karow‘s wife served as the first manager. What Karow brings to Premonition 13, though, is a sense of being a co-headliner. Where in Shrinebuilder, there’s the formidable likes of Al Cisneros and Scott Kelly to play off of, in the realm of “Wino bands,” it’s always been Wino up front. Now he’s playing off of Karow. The elements of Wino‘s playing and songwriting are there as they’re always going to be, but it’s different.

To wit, the clip below for “Modern Man” from the 13 album with Karow on lead vocals. One of my favorite tunes from this record and I thought a great way to change it up this Wino Wednesday. Make sure to check out the tour dates under the player. Hope you dig:

Premonition 13 on tour:
10/04 Monterey, CA Jose’s Underground Lounge (w/Wino solo acoustic opening)
10/06 Seattle, WA El Corazon*
10/07 Bellingham, WA Shakedown*
10/08 Portland, OR Branx (Fall into Darkness Fest)*
10/09 Arcata, CA Alibi*
10/10 San Francisco, CA Elbo Room*
10/11 Los Angeles, CA Handbag Factory*
10/12 San Diego, CA The Shakedown Bar*
11/04 Providence, RI AS220=
11/05 Newark, DE Mojo Main=
11/06 Baltimore, MD Sonar=
11/07 Richmond, VA Strange Matter (w/Wino solo acoustic opening)=
11/09 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall=
11/10 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn=
11/11 Nashville, TN The Muse=
11/12 Indianapolis, IN Melody Inn=
11/13 Chicago, IL Cobra Lounge=
11/15 Pittsburgh, PA 31st St Pub=
11/17 Brooklyn, NY St. Vitus=
* w/ Witch Mountain
= w/ The Gates of Slumber

Presented by BrooklynVegan in conjunction with The Obelisk, three of Small Stone Records‘ finest will lay waste to Union Pool in Brooklyn this evening. Doors open at 9PM. Hope to see you there.

The well-received Norwegian four-piece Spirits of the Dead released their self-titled debut in 2010 to what was – if the extensive collection of press quotes is anything to go by – considerable fanfare. The follow-up to said debut arrives in the form of The Great God Pan (North American release by The End Records), a short but memorable full-length collection of six engaging tracks that hones in on early-‘70s pagan folk with just a hint of dark undercurrent lurking beneath the melodic sweetness. Unlike many other retro acts, Spirits of the Dead aren’t just trying to ape a specific style or one band in particular’s aesthetic – i.e. the way early Witchcraft so directly took on Pentagram. Rather, The Great God Pan is traceable on a more vague level, culling some of its layered lead work from Tony Iommi in its final moments, but progressing as a whole along altogether different lines, and most importantly, taking the retro or otherwise familiar elements of which it’s composed and creating something fresh from them. There is a calmness to The Great God Pan that comes through in its bright tonality, and like the best of their genre, these songs are viewed as though from a grainy, sun-flared photograph.

But though they obviously dwell in a secret forest of krautrock LPs and obscure folkadelia (they have secret forests in Oslo, right?), Spirits of the Dead aren’t limited to retro posturing either. The ringing clarity of the acoustics that begin The Great God Pan opener “Mighty Mountain” and the ensuing distorted guitar revving both sound entirely modern. Guitarist Ole Øvstedal shows restraint throughout the album, and “Mighty Mountain” is just the first instance of it, as the electric guitar again cuts out to acoustic sway, coming back only for a simple start-stop progression in the chorus. Frontman Ragnar Vikse leads the drama of the verses, and proves to be more than capable of taking charge of a song in the classic tradition of the standalone singer. Even with Øvstedal playing a multi-layered lead under, it’s his repetition of the titular chorus line – he’s almost chanting it by then; far back in the mix and echoing – that has the listener enraptured. Drummer Geir Thorstensen keeps to rim shots and jazzy hi-hat/ride interplay for most of “Leaves of Last Year’s Fall,” which is among the more woodland psych of The Great God Pan’s tracks in terms of its atmosphere. Vikse’s voice is deft and almost molten in its ability to jump from note to note, and with the subtle fills of bassist Kristian Hultgren playing out under Øvstedal’s gorgeous leads, there’s a touch of class brought into the song that’s complemented – not undercut – by the somewhat foreboding progression of the bridge. Spirits of the Dead affect a decent build and chaotic payoff, but never meander too far from the straightforward structures on which their material is built.

It’s with “Pure as the Lotus” that The Great God Pan gets its first real injection of ritual. The cut – second in length only to the closer at 6:22 – begins with hard thuds from Thostensen topped with a fuzzy riff from Øvstedal and incantation ah’ing from Vikse, and it’s a clear change in atmosphere from first two songs, the underlying darker vibe of “Leaves of Last Year’s Fall” coming to the fore for the introduction. The single hits of percussion remain a focus and the melody is rounded out by sustained organ in the verse, and the chorus opens more widely into forest worshiping grace. There’s a development to the track that the insistence of Thorstensen and Hultgren’s rhythm helps highlight, but Vikse’s melody seems to be in a world of its own, which helps set up a duality that joins back together as the intro is revived in the song’s back half, leading to a hypnotic, guitar-led instrumental break that eventually fades out on the chorus. Like a lot of The Great God Pan, “Pure as the Lotus” is built around melodic quirk and a heavy dose of personality, but there’s a solid structural foundation underneath. That remains true for the softly-cooed exclamatory title-track, “The Great God Pan!”

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It’s becoming more and more interesting to watch the generations shift, different influences arise and get put to different uses. For example, though it was once the scourge of both the rock and the metal underground, grunge is in the process of coming full-circle in terms of influencing underground bands. To wit, British foursome Gouranga take the rudimentary, crusty approach that shoveled dirt into Nirvana‘s sound for their Bleach record and inject it with punkishly upbeat rhythms.

The result, on Gouranga‘s self-released Keep Your Colours EP (and one wonders if we’re keeping them because they’ve been bleached out), is nonetheless drivingly heavy. And true to the narrative that grunge was a reaction to the excesses of glam, so too is Gouranga‘s material simple almost to the point of minimalism. What’s most striking about it is the blending of hardcore punk with the filthy tonality that carries a song like “Rife Machine,” which, you know, was probably pretty striking the first time around too.

So, in the world where what’s old is perennially new again, Gouranga played their first show late last year and have their EP and t-shirts for sale on the cheap at their BigCartel store. You can also check out their tracks via their Bandcamp and get in touch with them on Thee Facebooks. Good to know they’re not stuck in 1991 when it comes to social networking, which I think would just involve mailing out a lot of home-dubbed cassettes.

Probably easier to just stream the tracks here:

It must be showcase season, because New York imprint Tee Pee Records has announced a slew of label nights as they always do. And as per usual, they’ve put together a couple killer evenings of heavy psych and rock, which will take place as part of the Montreal Pop and CMJ fests. Fortunately, as you can see below, most of the bands playing the CMJ showcases in Brooklyn don’t have to travel too far to get there.

Here’s the news off the PR wire:

New York City-based independent rock label Tee Pee Records has announced plans to showcase at two of North America‘s most celebrated music festivals in the coming weeks. On Thursday, Sept. 22, Tee Pee will proudly showcase an array of its artists at the 10th annual Pop Montreal festival, an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec. Artists slated to appear include Canadian psychedelic rockers Quest for Fire, fast-rising Brooklyn stargazers Naam, Toronto hardcore punks Burning Love and Brooklyn “astral metal” band Elks.

The following evening (Sept. 23), Tee Pee will bring the family to Toronto, ON, with a supercharged show at The Silver Dollar Room. Quest for Fire and Elks will bring the rock and the whole shebang will conclude with a (super loud) performance from Naam.

Tee Pee will follow the Pop Montreal showcase and Toronto show with not one, but TWO showcases at the 32nd annual CMJ Music Marathon, set to take place Oct. 18-22 in NYC. Tee Pee will host the first of its CMJ showcases on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at Brooklyn‘s Saint Vitus Bar and follow with a second evening of diverse Rock ‘N’ Roll on Friday, Oct. 21 at Union Pool.

The lineups for Tee Pee Records‘ 2011 CMJ showcases are as follows (check it out!):

Tee Pee Records CMJ (Night 1)
Wednesday Oct. 19 at Saint Vitus Bar
(1120 Manhattan Ave (between Clay St & Box St), Brooklyn, NY 11222
Featuring:
Hopewell (Brooklyn, NY)
Weird Owl (Brooklyn, NY)
The Main Street Gospel (Columbus, OH)
Nordic Nomadic (Feat. Chad Ross of Quest for Fire, Toronto, ON)
Dead Stars (Brooklyn, NY)

Tee Pee Records CMJ (Night 2)
Friday, Oct. 21 at Union Pool
(484 Union Ave. # A, Brooklyn, NY 11211-3440)
Featuring:
Naam (Brooklyn, NY)
Very Special Guest TBA (Brooklyn, NY)
The Fucking Wrath (Montalvo, CA)
Elks (Brooklyn, NY)
Mirror Queen (Brooklyn, NY)
Unstoppable Death Machines (Brooklyn, NY)