To answer your first question, yes, I do a little bit regret not buying an LP copy of The Obsessed‘s Live in Köln whilst at Roadburn this year. If, like me, you were unable for whatever reason to get your hands on a copy, the PR wire informs of an Outer Battery Records limited vinyl issue out as of, well, right now, that will probably be of interest.

Observe:

THE OBSESSED – Live in Köln collectors vinyl release streets TODAY!

Outer Battery Records is proud to announce the release of The Obsessed Live In Köln collectable vinyl LP.  The album hits stores today.  In collaboration with Roadburn, a limited pressing of 800 pieces on grey vinyl with new artwork designed by Guy Pinhas, is out now. An additional run of only 200 copies pressed on blood red vinyl is exclusively available from the Outer Battery website.  Outer Battery Records is distributed by The Orchard.  Sub distributors include CTD, Revolver and Cobraside.

Recorded in 1992 the album features the band’s line-up from The Church Within-era (Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich on guitar and vocals; Greg Rogers on drums; Guy Pinhas on bass).  The concert took place at Live Music Hall in Cologne, Germany on December 29, 1992.  The recording is being released now to celebrate the band’s long awaited live performance earlier this year at Roadburn Festival. Wino has been active with St. Vitus, Conny Ochs, his solo material and now performing again with Greg Rogers (Goatsnake, Sonic Medusa) and Guy Pinhas (Goatsnake, Acid King and Beaver). Mastered by James Plotkin (Sunn O))), ISIS, Pelican and Earth) this record features nine tracks:

1.  “Mourning”
2.  “Hiding Mask”
3.  “The Way She Fly”
4.  “Forever Midnight”
5.  “Streamlined”
6.  “Brother Blue Steel”
7.  “Blind Lightning”
8.  “Neatz Brigade”
9.  “River Of Soul”

“There were also 300 copies of the super limited Saturday Night Special 7″ that came with the first few copies of the European version,” Outer Battery Records elaborates about the release.  “We had our Dutch friends at Roadburn hold back 25 copies of the single for us, numbered for the American pressing, and they are available as a special add-on with the record.  We sold out of this package in the first hour!”

http://www.outerbatteryrecords.com/products/the-obsessed-live-in-koln-grey-vinyl

What’s the plural of “pig fetus” anyway? “Pig feti?” So hard to nail down the grammar there.

As it happens, Casper Haugegaard, who directed the video below for Rwake‘s track “It was Beautiful but Now it’s Sour” from last year’s brilliant Rest resurgence, seems to have had a much easier time actually nailing the pig fetuses themselves, or so the clip demonstrates. Don’t worry though. Real or not, everything it lacks in conveying the bleak gorgeousness of the song itself, it more than makes up for in needless “eww, gross” factor.

Apparently it’s already been pulled from YouTube, so here it is from Vimeo, who I guess are less squeamish about this kind of thing. PR wire info follows:

The 12 minute short film, directed Danish horror aficionado Casper Haugegaard, features devastating slow motion close-ups of actual pig fetuses being absolutely annihilated by a variety of implements.  RWAKE frontman C.T. commented on the video:

Caspercame to us about a year ago with this idea.  He said he had “certain” subject matter he knew he had to film and that it would fit to our music perfectly.  He probably knew no other band in its right mind who would agree to this footage and believe me the original test shootings he sent were way sicker.  This fits Rwake perfectly and we are honored to have such an artist like this think of us in the way that it inspires him to make such a beautifully, disturbing short film accompanied to our music.”

RWAKE released Rest, their first album in over four years, last year to immense critical acclaim.  The harrowingly beautiful progressive/doom/sludge masterpiece is currently available for streaming here.

The only thing that’s ever been guaranteed when it comes to Texas-based classic heavy rockers Blood of the Sun is quality. Granted, if you have to make a guarantee, that’s a good place to start, but throughout the band’s decade-long tenure, they’ve been through lineup changes enough for three bands, the only constants being the obvious love of ‘70s heavy that bleeds through the work of founders Henry Vasquez (drums) and Dave Gryder (keys). Some will no doubt recognize Vasquez from his role as drummer for the ongoing Saint Vitus revival, but Blood of the Sun is his band, and Gryder’s as well. The two have previously joined forces with a number of players – including Derek St. Holmes from Ted Nugent’s band – and on their first album in four years, Burning on the Wings of Desire (also their Listenable Records debut), it’s vocalist John O’Daniel and guitarist Rusty Burns of ‘70s Southern rockers Point Blank who’ve come aboard, as well as Mos Generator/Stone Axe/HeavyPink (ahem) guitarist, vocalist and producer Tony Reed, who contributed to the songwriting here, played guitar and bass, and recorded. Reed’s stamp on songs like “Rock Your Station” and “Can’t Stop My Heart” makes Burning on the Wings of Desire something of an upbeat companion to Mos Generator’s recently-released Nomads, also their first studio outing after a number of years spent focusing on other projects. With the added profile of Vasquez’s time in Vitus – Scott “Wino” Weinrich also makes a guest appearance here on vocals and guitar for closer “Good and Evil” – as well as their having signed to Listenable, no doubt Burning on the Wings of Desire will be the most resoundingly received Blood of the Sun yet, but in truth, it’s just the latest in a string of underrated albums, be it 2008’s Death Ride, the previous year’s In Blood We Rock or 2004’s self-titled debut, all of which saw their initial release through Brainticket Records, the imprint helmed by John Perez of Solitude Aeturnus. Whether all of this is enough for their boogie to get the recognition it has long deserved remains to be seen. More importantly from a listening standpoint, Burning on the Wings of Desire is a collection of top notch American-style classic heavy rock that modernizes its influences rather than trying to duplicate their production and never sacrifices its good-time feel for pretense.

As one might expect, the list of influences reads like thumbing through a collection of kickass vinyl: Humble Pie, ZZ Top, Nugent, Cactus, Mountain, probably 30 or 35 others. Prominent as it is, Gryder’s organ work invariably leads to Deep Purple comparisons, but Blood of the Sun’s riffs are bluesier in their construction than the bulk of Richie Blackmore’s, and follow the shuffle of “Good and Evil” and the earlier title-track with a fluid, natural feel. But for the closer, all of Burning on the Wings of Desire’s tracks fall into the 4:00 to 4:30 range, chorus-based and ready for a radio scene that’s no longer ready for them. It’s a work of genre in the sense that there are musical references and methods at play that heavy rockers will pick up on and others simply won’t, but taken at their own level, the tracks make for accessible listening, rife with friendly motion and enough of an edge and variety of mood to keep monotony at bay. Curiously, they don’t seem to be purposefully locked into a vinyl structure. Even at the album’s midway point, as the slower “Brings Me Down” leads into the burst of energy that arrives with “Rock Your Station,” one could see a break there to switch LP sides, but the contrast between the two works better in a linear – i.e. CD or digital – medium, so that there’s no interruption to the overall flow. It’s splitting hairs after a point, because a catchy song is a catchy song, and Blood of the Sun are full of them. Nonetheless, aesthetically, the band are entirely geared toward that era, and the performances on the album are strong, from O’Daniel’s verses over shuffle of opener “Let it Roll” to the building tension in “The Snitch,” in which Vasquez’s double-kick provides another surprisingly modern element. “Burning on the Wings of Desire” boasts some of the album’s best guitar work from Burns, and some of Burns’ best interplay with Gryder, but really, these guys know who they are musically, know what their mission is and know what the band is all about, and the results aren’t so much old man rock as what old man rock is trying to be when its energy level so often falls too short. After a riotous beginning with “Let it Roll” and the title-track, “Can’t Stop My Heart” keeps the momentum forward and forceful with some head-down chugging in its second half, and if the brash grooving and memorable choruses have you hooked, there’s little in the remainder of the album to be called a let up.

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My intent when I started putting questions together for an email interview with Boston-based trio Ice Dragon was to keep it to the usual six, but then something happened. I realized it wasn’t enough. For a band who’ve already released three full-lengths this year — greyblackfalconhawk, Dream Dragon and Tome of the Future Ancients — there was just more I wanted to know than Six Dumb Questions could hold. Nine seems to have done the trick.

The thing about Ice Dragon — Ron on vocals/synth/drums/theremin, Carter on guitars/backing vocals and Joe on bass/guitar/etc. (also pictured above is Werner; the fluffy one) — is that not only do they put out all this stuff, but each album is a different stylistic blend as well. Plenty of bands who record themselves release a lot of albums, and with material as lo-fi as Ice Dragon‘s and the fact that they don’t seem to have an interest in large-scale touring, it’s not unreasonable for them to focus on songwriting at such a rate. What makes it fascinating is that the material on each record seems to stem from a musical or conceptual thematic. They’re all different to some degree, but still identifiably Ice Dragon‘s own, and they’re strikingly cohesive.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, they’ve got a new digital single. Season of Decay/The Humble Titan finds Ice Dragon once more pushing into new sonic territory, offsetting late ’60s/early ’07s folk influences and acoustics with bizarre in-studio noise experimentation. Each of the two songs on the new release has its own progression, “Season of Decay” filtering a blown-out rehearsal room dirge march through airy Neil Young-style acoustic/electric interplay, and “The Humble Titan” taking sweet Eurofolk topped with psych swirls and echoed vocals and marrying it to tense and cinematic electronic beats, rising to a disturbing culmination before cutting short at the end of the song. The band’s willingness to throw caution and convention to the wind is all-consuming.

Still, though the sounds are loose and the production, well, minimal, you don’t get to the point of issuing three full-lengths in a year — even digitally — if you’re not severely dedicated to what you do. Today, I’ve got the pleasure of premiering the Season of Decay/The Humble Titan single in its entirety, and you’ll find it below, followed by the interview questions, as fielded by Ron.

Please enjoy:

[mp3player width=470 height=230 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=ice-dragon-season.xml]

1. How did Ice Dragon first get together? What first got you going and how has the relationship between you all changed over time? How many releases have you actually put out, and at what point did you realize you wanted to be so prolific?

Me and Carter started it pretty much by accident after recording two tracks for a shitty blues project we were working on. The tracks didn’t fit at all for that project so we figured we’d just start something new and recruited Joe to help us out. Everything is way better now, musically speaking. I think we’ve really hit our stride in terms of knowing exactly what we want a song to sound like and then making that happen. It used to just be dumb luck, or experimentation until we got something worthwhile. Ryan was our drummer for the Burl album, but he got mad at me and took off. I get drunk and yell at people, but isn’t that what all lead singers do? I think it’s a rule. You have to have a troubled soul in order to write anything good, let alone sing it at the top of your lungs and not care what people think, and that comes with all the baggage of being an asshole sometimes. Oh well. Everything we’ve put out is on the Bandcamp, I can’t even remember what it’s up to now, like five albums and three splits, I think? We’ve always worked fast, and I think having three people who can/do write songs makes things get out of hand even more. Haha.

2. What are your five favorite crappy and/or cult horror movies and why?

Excellent question. My favorites change a lot from day to day, but here’s what I’m thinking off the top of my head.

1. The Thing, mostly due to MacReady’s hat.

2. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, a beautifully made, truly haunting film, with a great soundtrack to boot. 3. The Abominable Dr. Phibes, amazing in every way, I could watch it over and over again.

4. Definitely a Jean Rollin film, toward the arty side – The Nude Vampire, the cheesier side – The Grapes of Death. Though all his movies are fantastic I think.

5. The Mummy’s Tomb, best of the series I think. The way the old high priest has the shaky hands in the beginning, so good. And Lon Chaney Jr. is bad fucking ass.

3. Ice Dragon albums vary so much from the one to the next. Do you have a specific sound in mind when you approach making a record? Thinking of the difference between Dream Dragon and Greyblackfalconhawk, did you know when you started writing those records how you wanted them to sound?

We definitely knew how we wanted each of those to sound as we were going into them. Those were the first two like that really – the others weren’t as thought out in terms of overall sound. Dream Dragon was supposed to just be a fun summertime rock album, no pretentiousness, no worrying about how heavy it was, etc. Going for that ‘60s kinda vibe. Greyblackfalconhawk was supposed to be a full-on drone album, but then ended up getting a little more “involved” sounding as it went on. Just kinda naturally from all of our influences on it, and it sounds better because of that anyway. From a lyrical point of view I wanted to make something more like what I listen to when I’m alone. I like very dark, depressing lyrics and songs in general, but not these so-called “doom,” “black,” or “evil” songs you hear about wizards and warriors or fantasy shit. REAL doom, that comes from a man’s heart and soul and the pain of existence. People find it easy to talk about killing other things, or death when it’s this sort of distant idea. But try and get one of these same people to talk about how they felt like ending it all that one time, or how lonely they are, or the sadness they feel from day to day. That is true pain, and most people won’t talk about it. Or they are afraid to talk about it because of what their friends and relatives and whoever else will say. I don’t know, I’m rambling, but hopefully making some sort of sense here. We do our fair share of fantasy bullshit too, but for this one I wanted it to be as sincere as possible.

4. Does the writing process change at all depending on the aesthetic of the album? Are you ever working on more than one record at one time? 

Sometimes we’ll have a song that doesn’t really fit with the vibe of an album we’re working on, so we tuck it away for a rainy day, but mostly we try and work on album stuff straight through so we get a more cohesive feel to everything. The process is definitely different for say a dark kind of song/album, to a more psych/happy/rocker kind of song. Usually the latter is more fun to make and gets done easier and quicker, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily more rewarding in the end.

5. With Greyblackfalconhawk, how did the bird theme come about, and what was behind putting the names of the tracks together into one word?

I’ve always been really into Native American culture and philosophy, so I think it sort of bled out from that a bit, but other things as well. We definitely didn’t want it to be overly that kind of vibe or anything. I liked the sound of it more than anything else. greyblackfalconhawk. It feels good to say. With that title in place, we thought that it just made sense to run the titles together into one word. Sort of a language of its own, specific to this album. It is set away from our other albums in that way, in sound, in language, and in philosophy.

6. How does the recording process work? How long are you in the studio and how much freedom does self-recording allow? Has the process changed at all since the self-titled?

We record in a basement, with a washing machine and dryer in the same room. Haha. It’s not very fancy. We have it all decorated up and everything, and sexy lighting. We get together every Friday and shoot the shit for a bit, go down to the liquor store and chat with the guys down there, get a pizza or subs and then finally get recording around 7PM or so. Usually go until about 10 or 11 and then go upstairs to listen to records and argue over pointless nonsense (see my answer to question one for more on that). The process has pretty much always been the same, only we used to record in various living rooms of other apartments we’ve had. We always record basics on tape, either the 4-track or an old 1/4” 2-track. Then we dump that into the computer and do overdubs in there. We have like 4 mics, nothing very fancy, and no condensers at all. A bunch of beat up old amps, mostly Peavey. It doesn’t take much, and people shouldn’t get hung up on the gear when recording, it’s all in how you use it.

7. What goes into selecting the cover art for each release, and how important is it to find an appropriate cover when the album is released digitally? What does the cover say about the album?

Basically we try and get a cover that expresses the overall feel of the album in picture form. We’ve been very lucky working with some great artists so far. A few of the albums have sort of “placeholder” art up there right now. Tome of the Future Ancients is going to be done by Josh McAlear and the sketches we’ve seen are incredibly cool. So I guess that kind of says how important they are in the digital realm, not very, at least to us. We like to get the music out there first and foremost. When it comes time to getting things put to a physical format then we definitely want it looking exactly how it should. The only other one at this point is the self-titled and Adam Burke is working on something for that too. I’m very happy with the covers we have thus far.

8. With material that’s so diverse and with all three of you doing so much on each record, what are Ice Dragon shows like? Do you pull songs from different albums and mix it up, or will you do a show that’s all one record? It seems like recording and releasing is more important to the band, but will Ice Dragon ever tour?

We used to just do stripped down versions of songs, just get the basics of it and make it rock. There’s definitely certain songs that will just never work live. We don’t really care too much about playing live, there’s very little creativity in it, and we’re into creating songs a lot more than just playing them. I’m sure at some point we’ll play out again, not sure when, but we will I think.

9. What’s in the works next for you guys and are there any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

We just finished a song for a compilation ThrashHead is putting out, and another that Joe wrote that came out really amazing. Total opposites, the first one is a heavy ripper old-school metal style and the other is a dreamy classic rock kinda thing. We’re always making something. Hopefully no one is getting sick of us, or thinks I’m too much of a dickhead. Have a margarita and be yourself.

Ice Dragon on Bandcamp

Ice Dragon on Thee Facebooks

Bit of a media blitz on this one, so bear with me. The Grand Astoria released the track “To Whom it May Concern” on a split with U.S. Christmas at the beginning of last month. The St. Petersburg, Russia, outfit went all out on it. The song is a 19-minute sprawl of psychedelic experimentation, rife with samples, winding riffs and ethereal flourishes and swirls. Don’t just take my word for it, though. They’ve put it up on their Bandcamp, so you can check it out here:

Pretty wild stuff. Over the course of their three albums — last year’s Omnipresence (review here), 2010’s II (review here) and 2009’s self-titled (On the Radar’ed here) — the band have quickly grown to cast a wide stylistic berth, but I think “To Whom it May Concern” is the farthest out The Grand Astoria have gone yet. Should be interesting to see what they do with it on tour, whether they strip it down or jam out on its space rocking elements. They hit the road on Friday, dates below (click to enlarge):

Ever ones for multi-media, they’ve also put together a video flyer for the run of shows, which they posted on the ol’ TubesofYou:

Now, they don’t really highlight it in there — presumably out of humility — but on this tour, The Grand Astoria will be taking part in Mudfest, which is happening Nov. 9-10 in Venlo, in the Netherlands, at Peron55. They’ll be playing with the likes of Sungrazer, Wheelfall, Kadavar, Black Bombaim, Glowsun and Belzebong on a stacked two-day bill. Here’s the poster for that one:

They’ve also announced they’ll play Roskilde Festival next year in Denmark. One would think this flurry of activity and the recently-issued split would be enough to keep The Grand Astoria busy, but according to a pic they recently posted on their Thee Facebooks, they’re also looking to have a new album out next spring. It may or may not be titled Punkadelica Supreme (though I certainly hope it is), and if you squint, you can check out the maybe-tracklisting below:

The really crazy part is, there’s probably more. I’m sure as we get closer to 2013 and the new album release, there’ll be further updates on The Grand Astoria and their manifold adventures, but that’s all my limited research skills could muster for the moment. In any case, plenty to look forward to, and if you want to check out more of their records, they’re all up on Bandcamp. Right on.

Pivotal grindcore foursome Pig Destroyer released their last album, Phantom Limb, in 2007. Following the troubling masterpiece that was 2004’s Terrifyer, the full-length showed growth in the increased attention to atmosphere thanks to adding noise/sample specialist Blake Harrison to the lineup alongside founders Scott Hull (guitar; also of Agoraphobic Nosebleed) and vocalist J.R. Hayes and drummer Brian Harvey. That addition fit well with Pig Destroyer‘s attack, which was just as much about the underlying psychological violence in the songs and in Hayes‘ lyrics as much as it was about any sonic pummel, and Phantom Limb, though not as outwardly biting as Terrifyer before it, was massively well received.

That was five years ago. In 2012, Pig Destroyer‘s Book Burner reads like a victory lap taken while wearing the skins of all who would oppose them. Their fourth album for Relapse and fifth overall, the tradeoff between cuts like “Totaled” (an endgame highlight at 0:43) and the alternately twisting/twisted chug of the earlier “The Diplomat” gives a sense of the four-piece’s sonic breadth. Having replaced Harvey with Adam Jarvis (Misery Index), they’ve given no ground where they haven’t meant to, but Pig Destroyer do more with the 1:46 of “Iron Drunk” than most bands do on a whole record, the way one track plays into the next on the 19-song release being no less thought out than any of the music actually contained within them.

Hype throughout the years for Pig Destroyer has been massive, whether it was the unchecked violence of 2001’s Prowler in the Yard or the cinematic scope of 2008’s 37-minute Natasha EP — a single track that, actually released as a second disc with Terrifyer, is nonetheless longer than any Pig Destroyer full-length — and Book Burner isn’t like to change that. Nonetheless, the sense of mood and atmosphere they bring to a still-frenetic track like “Valley of the Geysers” speaks to exactly how they got to be the most important grind band since Napalm Death and the Henry Miller quote they use to open “The Bug” is given a disturbing context by the building malevolence behind it.

Make no mistake, this is violent music. It always has been. The difference between Pig Destroyer and a lot of other violent music, however, is the difference between Hannibal Lecter and Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Pig Destroyer maintain that psychopathic sense of calm, as though the storm they create is effecting everything around but their own collective cerebellum. The blasting pummel of “Kamikaze Heart” and “King of Clubs” gives way to the many-faced groove of “Permanent Funeral” — a culminating mid-paced breakdown rhythm that seems to suggest Meshuggah should be ashamed of themselves — to end Book Burner with a final blow as efficient at a sprawling 4:16 as the title-track had been at 41 seconds.

They’ve matured over the course of their 15 years, as one would hope they would, but Pig Destroyer continue to pursue rarely-trod avenues of psychic trauma, tapping into primal insecurities on Book Burner as few acts can. Longtime fans will delight — if that can be the right word — in the brutality of opener “Sis” (an immediate highlight, and not only for the “dangerously angry one minute, rockin’ and rollin’ the next” sample that starts it) and the subsequent “The American’s Head,” and those who either caught on after the success of Phantom Limb or are yet inexperienced with them will find these songs a visceral listen like no other.

Pig Destroyer on Thee Facebooks

Relapse Records

You’d have to figure that in order to be Earth‘s longest tour since the band got together in 1990, it would have something like 137 dates scheduled. Nope, 25. Still a solid month on the road though, so kudos to the band for pushing themselves 22 years later to go farther and continue exploring new ground, sonic and geographic.

Aligned with the likes of Eagle Twin, Stebmo and The Body along the way, it’s kind of like a tour of Earth playing with acts influenced by Earth. Can’t imagine that’s anything new for them at this point.

They’re still out supporting Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II (review here), and the shows start this week, so keep an eye out:

EARTH Prepare For American Fall Tour

Following bursts of worldwide touring in support of their two-part Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light album series, Seattle’s EARTH will embark on their newest tour this week, with a nearly month of live performances confirmed across America.

The most extensive American tour EARTH have planned since their 1990 inception, the Seattle purveyors of the slow-motion riff will traverse the country and back on a twenty-five date run, kicking off this Wednesday, October 24th in Portland, Oregon. Along the way the quartet will take part in the massive annual Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas alongside literally dozens of international artists of all genres. This will be the first U.S. tour since they hit the road in support of Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I in 2011, the band’s set for the tour confirmed to contain a majority of the material from Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II.

While the band is touring in support of the Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light albums, the EARTH lineup for this voyage will be the touring lineup from the band’s lauded 2008 LP The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull, comprised of Steve Moore on keys and trombone, Don McGreevy on bass, Adrienne Davies on drums and founder Dylan Carlson on guitar. Support will be provided by Stebmo (featuring members of Earth and more) as well as Southern Lord labelmates Eagle Twin and Fontanelle throughout the journey.

EARTH Fall Tour:
10/24/2012 Rotture – Portland, OR w/ Fontanelle, Stebmo
10/26/2012 Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock – Los Angeles, CA w/ Fontanelle, Stebmo
10/28/2012 Great American Music Hall – San Francisco, CA w/ Fontanelle, Stebmo
10/29/2012 Soda Bar – San Diego, CA w/ Stebmo
10/31/2012 Rhythm Room – Phoenix, AZ w/ Balmorehea, Stebmo
11/02/2012 Auditorium Shores – Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Festival
11/03/2012 Bryan Street Tavern – Dallas, TX w/ Stebmo
11/04/2012 One Eyed Jacks – New Orleans, LA w/ Stebmo
11/06/2012 Will’s Pub – Orlando, FL w/ Stebmo
11/07/2012 The Earl – Atlanta, GA w/ Daughn Gibson, Stebmo
11/08/2012 Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC w/ Stebmo
11/09/2012 Rock and Roll Hotel – Washington, DC w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/10/2012 Littlefield – Brooklyn, NY w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/11/2012 TT the Bears – Cambridge, MA w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/12/2012 Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/13/2012 Altar Bar – Pittsburgh, PA w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/14/2012 Grog Shop – Cleveland, OH w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/15/2012 Taft Ballroom – Cincinnati, OH w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/16/2012 Township – Chicago, IL w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/17/2012 Township – Chicago, IL w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/18/2012 Triple Rock Social Club – Minneapolis, MN w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/19/2012 The Record Bar – Kansas City, MO w/ Eagle Twin, Stebmo
11/21/2012 Marquis Theatre, Denver, CO w/ Stebmo
11/24/2012 The Shakedown – Bellhingham, WA w/ The Body, Low Hums
11/25/2012 The Crocodile – Seattle, WA w/ The Body, Stebmo

Berlin heavy rockers Samavayo have a pretty good streak going at this point. They’ve issued an album a year for each of the last three years. One Million Things dropped through Sector B Records in 2010, and last year, Cosmic Knockout followed on Setalight. On Oct. 12, the four-piece issued their latest full-length, Soul Invictus, once again through Setalight, in a limited 500 vinyl run — 100 white copies, 400 black. Their fourth album overall — their debut was 2005’s Deathmarchmelodies! on Nasoni — it’s rife with traditional stonerisms, and in the case of the track “Nightmare,” for which the band recently posted the video that follows here, a strange sense of aggression.

Say whatever you want to about lyrical ambiguity, there’s no mistaking the message when the band starts beating each other in the woods with their guitars. Actually, yeah, there kind of is some mistaking the message. I’m not sure what it’s all about, but a catchy chorus is a catchy chorus, and “Nightmare” certainly has that, as you can both see and hear for yourself:

More info on Samavayo at their website.