It’s been a full 18 years since Stoner Witch was released as the second of three albums the Melvins would put out through Atlantic Records, and I still feel like there’s just no keeping up with it. The quick turns in “Sweet Willy Rollbar,” the immediate throwoff of “Skweetis,” the before-it-was-cool Morricone whistles of “Roadbull,” the Side Two weirdness of “Shevil,” and “Lividity.” It’s probably not the best album from this era of the band — I’d give that title to 1993’s Houdini — but Stoner Witch is one of those records that has a language all its own, an album that you can walk up to someone, go, “Dude, Stoner Witch!” and know immediately by their reaction if you’ve got a new friend.

Listening to Stoner Witch on tape — similar I suppose to listening to it on vinyl, but cheaper and boxier — it’s easy to lose track of the parts, so that as you come around to the slow progression and creepy whispers of “At the Stake” at the end of Side One, it’s from a mash of early ’90s avant heavy rock. The tape, which is clear — awesome — was worth the five bucks I paid before I even put it on, and though I’ve owned Stoner Witch on CD for many years now, the inherent compression of the format makes a big difference in the actual listening experience, as the high and low ends seem pushed together as King Buzzo‘s vocals, zit-like, are forced to the surface of the songs.

I guess this is “commercial” Melvins as much as something like that ever existed, but let’s face it, without the push Atlantic gave them and the work they did supporting Houdini, Stoner Witch and 1996’s Stag, they wouldn’t be the band they are today, touring 50 states with a new live record out what seems like every six weeks or so. That’s not to say the Melvins weren’t working on their own terms at all times — to think that the abrasive noise at the start of “Magic Pig Detective” came out on a major label is fucking astounding — but these full-lengths, along with others along the way in their massive discography and 30-year tenure, helped define the band they’d become. Whichever you pick as your favorite, and whichever format your hear it on, Stoner Witch is a classic.

And should you happen to stumble into the tape as I did, hopefully you also enjoy getting lost in it all over again. If the future’s more your taste, here’s this:

Melvins, Stoner Witch (in full)

I’m pretty sure the world isn’t gonna end, the poles aren’t gonna reverse and the ancient aliens won’t be coming back at the end of this week, but if all that did happen, I think Larman Clamor would make an excellent endtimes soundtrack — or at very least a good way to screw with our new/old martian overlords. Just yesterday, the one-man German psych-blues alter ego of visual artist Alexander von Wieding issued a new single called “Gorgon’s Gold (Shallow Gloom all Round Me),” dropping it as a pay-what-you-want download over at the project’s Bandcamp page.

Von Wieding brings his abiding affection for weirdness to the track, a “regular” version — such as it is — of which appeared on this year’s Frogs full-length (review here), yowling out raw blues over loose acoustic guitar strings. Also included in the download is an instrumental take on the song, decidedly less frenetic and ending with some contemplative sustained notes, that shows how much the vocals really add to Larman Clamor‘s bizarre sensibility and threatening atmosphere. Now in rotation, here’s the Bandcamp stream as well:

Someday I’m gonna see this band…

There’s a lot of footage swiped from a lot of places that shows up in the new Groan video, for the ultra-catchy “Gods of Fire” from their The Divine Right of Kings sophomore full-length (review here), including some out of one of the Star Trek movies and the classic Chris Holmes interview from Decline of Western Civilization Pt. 2: The Metal Years, but Groan also manage to work in some snitched from classic ’70s horror, as they have in the past. Wherever they’ve grown from their roots, those roots are still here.

And as you’ll see in the clip, so is the band’s palpable sense of charm. Touting their new(est) slogan marking them as “67% true doom,” they unleash a video for “Gods of Fire” that once you’ve started you can’t help but finish. To wit:

Half a decade after issuing their excellent sophomore outing in the form of Estampida de Trombones, Andalusian heavy rockers Viaje a 800 emerge a much different band on the follow-up, Coñac Oxigenado. Not necessarily sonically – their sound is still very much defined by an encompassing, moody tonal weight and the lower register vocals of bassist Alberto “Poti” Mota – however, Mota has revamped Viaje a 800’s lineup and shifted the songwriting process, going from a four-piece to a trio and writing some of the longest songs the band had ever put on an album. Where Estampida de Trombones had shorter pieces like “Nicosia” or “Zé,” none of Coñac Oxigenado’s five tracks clocks in at under six minutes, and the album as a whole is a full 51 minutes long. I’d say that the band had a lot on their minds after not issuing a record in five years, but the break between their 2001 Diablo Roto De debut and Estampida de Trombones was six years, and the second album was the shorter of the two. In any case, Viaje a 800 – who release the full-length, as always, via Alone Records – are well suited to the more extended form, and the album is clearly organized to showcase the longer cuts, with the three that run over 10 minutes positioned as the opener, centerpiece and closer. Those are “Oculi Omnium in Te Sperant Domine,” “Eterna Soledad” and “What’s Going On,” respectively, and each of them as well as “Ni Perdón Ni Olvido” and “Tagarnina Blues” between have something different to offer the listener who would take them on. The closer is notable for the departure from the band’s native Spanish to English lyrics, but even so, Viaje a 800 still sound like Viaje a 800 more than they sound like anyone else, and anyone who got into either or both of their other albums will recognize elements still present in their sound, whether it’s the insistent rhythms, vague Monster Magnet influence or choice riffing. Given that Mota is joined by two new players – J. Angel on guitar/backing vocals and Andres on drums – I don’t know and won’t presume to say how much of the songwriting was his to start with, but as Viaje a 800 came into their third with a strong sound developed over two prior outings, that they’d develop the sound rather than depart from it in spite of lineup shifts can only be a good thing. Particularly given how much Coñac Oxigenado rocks.

On either of their past albums, “Oculi Omnium in Te Sperant Domine” might have been more than one song. Viaje a 800 open with a driving riff that soon leads into the hook of a verse – Mota wasting no time in establishing a straightforward push – and soon Angel takes the fore with a couple leads offset by vocals here and there around the central figure carried across on rhythm guitar, bass and drums. Just past three minutes in, however, the pace cuts and flourishes of percussion and a descending stair progression lead the way out to a psychedelic interlude. Mellotron sounds underscore a sparse bluesy guitar before Andres ups the snare punctuation and Mota returns on vocals for a still-slowed verse. In turn, this gives way to a faster bass-introduced section topped with fuzz guitar that veers into flamenco claps and rhythmic intricacy. The guitar eventually comes back alongside Mota’s steady bassline and Andres’ consistent snare march, but Viaje a 800 never quite get back to the initial verse progression, ending instead what started out as a simply structured song with a lengthy instrumental jam. Whether or not it was their intent to catch their audience off guard, I don’t know, but the disorienting effect persists and it feels purposeful. The shorter “Ni Perdón Ni Olvido” starts out more metallic with a guitar like from Angel that feels culled from the playbook of Countdown to Extinction-era Megadeth – of course the context is different – that immediately grounds Coñac Oxigenado’s flow and sets the course for the next seven-plus minutes, most of which is derived from that initial distorted verse line. Angel’s lead work proves a highlight throughout the record, but as “Ni Perdón Ni Olvido” branches out so specifically from the guitar line, it seems especially notable on the second track. As “Eterna Soledad” gets underway with an organic-feeling mandolin groove, he becomes all the more a standout factor in Viaje a 800’s current incarnation.

Read more »

Very much looking forward to this one. 2013’s already got a few releases I’m dying to hear on the docket, but I don’t think I’m looking forward to anything quite as much as Clutch‘s Earth Rocker, because you know that no matter what turns the band makes, they’re going to deliver. The album art just came down the PR wire and I wanted to post it right away, so you’ll find it below, followed by their first round of North American tour dates to support it. You know there’ll be plenty more of those coming.

Dig it:

CLUTCH Reveal Album Artwork for Earth Rocker

Announce Initial North American Tour Dates

First Taste of New Music to Come on Christmas Eve!

With a little bit more than three months left before the release of CLUTCH’s highly anticipated new studio effort Earth Rocker, the band has officially unveiled the album’s artwork and has announced the initial dates for the first leg of the North American Earth Rocker world tour.

The artwork was created by Nick Lakiotes, long time CLUTCH art director, who has worked on previous efforts including: Robot Hive/Exodus and Strange Cousins From the West.

CLUTCH has announced the initial dates for the first leg of the North American Earth Rocker world tour. The dates kick off March 8th in Cincinnati, OH and are currently slated to run through March 24th in Anaheim, CA. Support on these dates will be provided by Orange Goblin, Lionize and Kyng. Tickets for fan club members go on sale today via Pro-Rock.com and tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday December 21st. Look for more dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

Before they hit the road for their annual Holiday run, CLUTCH will be headlining the KBPI “When Hell Freezes Over” show this Friday night December 21st in Denver, CO at the Fillmore Auditorium. To get more information on the show and to purchase tickets visit http://bit.ly/SyLxpD.

CLUTCH’s Holiday tour dates kick off December 26th in Washington, DC and conclude with a special New Year’s Eve performance in Worcester, MA at The Palladium.

Fans can keep up on the progress of Earth Rocker by visiting the new website www.earthrocker.com. The website is a hub dedicated to all things Earth Rocker. This Christmas Eve www.earthrocker.com will debut a live video of the title track Earth Rocker, which was recorded live at The Machine Shop. Fans can expect to see frequent updates including photos, videos from the studio, song title announcements and samples of new songs.

In addition to the new website CLUTCH has joined the world of twitter. Follow CLUTCH on Twitter @ClutchOfficial.

KBPI “When Hell Freezes Over” Radio Show
12/21: Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium

Holiday Tour With Mondo Generator, Saviors and Wino
12/26: Washington DC @ 9:30 Club SOLD OUT!
12/27: Asheville NC @ The Orange Peel
12/28: Lexington KY @ Buster’s Billiards & Backroom
12/29: Columbus OH @ Newport Music Hall
12/30: Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock on Sale Friday
12/31: Worcester MA @ The Palladium

Earth Rocker European Tour
1/21: Press Day in London, UK
1/22: London, UK @ Koko SOLD OUT!
1/23: Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
1/24: Press Day in Paris, FR
1/25: Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie SOLD OUT!
1/26: Stuttgart, GER @ Universum
1/27: Munchen, GER @ Backstage Club
1/28: Press Day in Berlin, GER
1/29: Berlin, GER @ Lido
1/30: Press Day in Cologne, GER
1/31: Cologne, GER @ Luxor
2/1: Brussels, BE @ VK
2/2: Hamburg, GER @ Logo SOLD OUT!
2/3: Copenhagen, DK @ Amager Bio
2/4: Press Day in Oslo, NO
2/5: Oslo, NO @ Parkteateret
2/6: Press Day in Stockholm, SWE
2/7: Stockholm, SWE @ Tyrol

Earth Rocker North American World Tour
3/8: Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
3/9: Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
3/10: Sauget, IL @ Pop’s
3/11: Little Rock, AR @ Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom
3/12: Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
3/14: Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
3/18: Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep
3/19: Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
3/21: Los Angeles, CA @ House of Blues
3/22: Tempe, AZ @ The Marquee
3/23: Las Vegas, NV @ Hard Rock Café Las Vegas
3/24: Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues

I guess the first question here is, “Did High on Fire actually ever need to make a comeback?” Here’s how I see it: After signing with E1 in 2009 following a long tenure on Relapse Records, the Oakland, CA, trio released Snakes for the Divine (review here) in 2010. Song-wise, you could hardly call the album a dip in quality from what Matt Pike (guitar/vocals), Des Kensell (drums) and Jeff Matz (bass) brought to bear on 2007’s thunderous Death is this Communion, but the difference was in the production and presentation of the album. The songs were as thrashing as ever, but all of a sudden, they were also irrevocably, undeniably clean. And if there’s one thing High on Fire had never sounded before, it’s clean.

During the album cycle for Snakes for the Divine, I recall catching a High on Fire show in NYC and thinking that the band were done with the underground entirely, and that in time, strong>Snakes would be the turning point when they went from a visceral experience, influential even as they were still driving towards some yet-unknown creative apex, to a watered down and more accessible version of what they once were. Doubtless they could pull off such a transition and grow a wider audience for themselves, but for the fans who’d been with them since their earlier days when Pike, began to feel out this brash new musical direction after ending his time in Sabbathian legends Sleep, it wouldn’t ever be the same again.

That’s just not the way it turned out. At all.

With this year’s De Vermis Mysteriis (review here), High on Fire didn’t so much return to form as they did break the mold, smashing it on a sharply executed bed of thickened thrash extremity. The songs managed to capture every potential appeal of Snakes for the Divine — whether it was the opening catchiness of “Serums of Laio,” the rhythmic intensity of “Madness of an Architect,” searing turns of “Spiritual Rites” or the epic storytelling of powerful closing duo “Romulus and Remus” and “Warhorn” — and coupled with the production of Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at his Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts, they brimmed with tonal largesse and a sense of danger that hinted at a method behind High on Fire’s madness that had never been there before. To put a point on it, De Vermis Mysteriis didn’t just happen by mistake.

Somewhere along the line, the band decided that their sixth album was indeed going to be a turn, not to a more commercial direction but instead away from it, and while the rough edges and post-stonerisms of early records The Art of Self-Defense (2000) and Surrounded by Thieves (2002) were gone, the progression came across naturally, not contrived. High on Fire were tighter, meaner than ever, and the songs the wrote, the presentation and the vague-but-characteristic narrative showed that. In the best case scenario of any long-running outfit’s latest album, everything they’d done before felt like it was leading up to the newest triumph.

All wasn’t well in the band, and dropping off the touring Mayhem festival this summer, Pike entered rehab. It was a move that significantly derailed their momentum, given the breadth of new audience they would’ve reached on the road alongside the likes of Slipknot and Slayer, but when High on Fire returned to the road for a headlining tour this fall alongside extreme metal stalwarts Goatwhore as well as Primate and Lo-Pan (review here) just wrapping up this week, the difference in the band was readily apparent. This too was a kind of comeback, even if the span of time was relatively short. They were focused, driven and delivering a performance that matched the severity of the album while also showcasing a conscious mastery of their environment — i.e. the stage — that even at their most crazed, they’d never had before.

Where High on Fire go from here is anyone’s best guess. European headlining dates set for February 2013 will lead into festival spots at Roadburn and doubtless others, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get another shot at Mayhem next summer — but what matters is that whatever heights High on Fire reach in the next several years, they will have done so on their own terms and by continuing to push themselves forward creatively. They will arrive not bowing to pressure to be something they’ve never been, but as the conquering marauders, axes in hand and blood dripping from their mouths. Nothing could be truer to their spirit.

It can’t be an easy thing for Cathedral to put the cap on their 20-plus-year career, either from a personal standpoint or musically. They covered such a wide swath in their time, from the landmark and influential doom of their Forest of Equilibrium debut in 1991 to the excursions into psychedelic rock that the latter part of that decade brought with Caravan Beyond Redemption and Supernatural Birth Machine. Not all that glittered was gold, but even up to 2010’s classically progressive The Guessing Game (review here), Cathedral never ceased to forge ahead stylistically, and given the grimness of the track names for The Last Spire — what will reportedly be their final studio outing — that will perhaps remain true until the end.

Notable that they’re issuing the release through frontman Lee Dorrian‘s own Rise Above Records. This will mark the first time Cathedral handled one of their own records, and I’m hard pressed to think of a better way to go out than completely on your own terms. Here’s the album info:

Cathedral – The Last Spire scheduled for release in April. New video coming soon.

Yes, Cathedral are currently putting the finishing touches to what will be the last ever album from these British Doom legends. Produced by Lee Dorrian and Garry Jennings, with assistance from Jaime Gomez Arellano, The Last Spire is scheduled for an April 2013 release via Rise Above Records. Tracklisting is as follows;

01. Entrance to Hell
02. Pallbearer
03. Cathedral of the Damned
04. Tower of Silence
05. Infestation of Grey Death
06. An Observation
07. This Body, Thy Tomb.

Non-album track Vengeance of the Blind Dead will appear as a flexi disc on the front cover of Decibel magazine in their March issue (on sale February 7th).

The band also recently shot a fantastic promo for new track Tower of Silence,which will be available to view some time in January. The track will appear on an exclusive Rise Above Records CD sampler to be given away with Classic Rock Magazine towards the end of the same month.

In related news, Septic Tank, a band featuring Cathedral members Scott Carlson, Garry Jennings and Lee Dorrian will make their debut live appearance at The Garage, Highbury & Islington on Friday 3rd May.

They will be opening for Carlson’s legendary institution of grind, Repulsion, who will be make their debut headline UK performance. Special guests are Necrophagia. Tickets here.
http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/event/repulsion-tickets/23067

Septic Tank will release a very limited vinyl only EP titled The Slaughter via MCR Records, Japan, to coincide with the show. They will have a limited number of colour copies on sale exclusively at the event.

Tracklisting as follows;
Side A
01. Fatal Eclipse
02. Forest of Bones
Side B
01. Gotesque Cavalry of Mankind
02. The Slaughter

Influences for Septic Tank range from Crucifix to Seige to Slaughter (Canada). More info soon.

My intent was to catch Columbus, Ohio, psych rockers EYE when they hit Brooklyn the night before, but a yes-that-late workday prevented me from making it to the show in time. As such, there was a tinge of stubbornness that came with the decision to head down to Philly on Friday night and see EYE at Johnny Brenda‘s on a bill that also included opener Randall of Nazareth and local heroes Serpent Throne as headliners. Even if I wasn’t doing it partly out of frustration, that’s a pretty killer lineup and I figured that if I’m going to refuse to miss EYE rolling through, that’s the show to refuse to miss.

Everything was fine until, just as I was getting on I-95 and approaching downtown Philly, the Google Maps app on my phone shit the bed. I wound up finding Frankford Ave., but going the wrong way down it — after going the right way and then turning around to be wrong; a very me way of getting lost — and having no idea what the hell I was doing. I called The Patient Mrs. and wound up calling out street names as I passed by them until she could figure out where I was and get me turned back around the right way. Which was the way I’d gone initially. Ugh.

Even with getting all turned around, it was early when I got to Johnny Brenda’s. Early enough so that the upstairs room above the bar/restaurant that serves as the venue proper wasn’t open yet. The woman at the door looked at me, asked me if I was in a band, and when I said no, sent me on my way. I wasn’t drinking, had nowhere to be, so I sat down at a table, took out a notebook and ordered a caesar salad to help pass the time. It arrived some moments later a whole wedge of iceberg lettuce resting on a generous dollop of dressing, topped with a grilled breast of chicken — all the ingredients of a caesar salad waiting to be chopped up and turned into one. I was happy to kill another two or three minutes obliging my dinner its construction.

These are the hazards of going to shows alone, I thought to myself as I made my way up to the balcony to do some more writing. Downstairs the DJ was just beginning to spin heavy ’70s rock — familiarities from Blue Cheer and early Pentagram met with modern derivatives from Graveyard and Kadavar — and there were still about 40 minutes to pass before Randall of Nazareth took the stage. They went slow. I wrote, screwed around on the internet, loaded this site to make sure the radio stream was still up, then did it again, looked over to the bar, waited. Waited. Finally, tired of being in that spot at that table on the balcony, I went downstairs and waited there, stood in the back for a while went through the same routine all over.

It’s not that the show was late, I was just early. Randall of Nazareth — AKA guitarist/vocalist Randall Huth of underrated PA pastoralists Pearls and Brass — went on at about 9:20PM, maybe a couple minutes after, but that was hardly off the scheduled start time, I’m just awkward. Huth put out an album under the Randall of Nazareth moniker on Drag City in 2007, and though I was always curious as to what it might sound like, it eluded me. I’d hoped for a copy at the merch table, or better, something newer, an independently released CDR or something like that, but no dice.

Still, Huth brought to his acoustic solo set much the same sense of town fair twang he brings to the sepia blues-worship of Pearls and Brass — it was mostly the context was different. He had two acoustics with him and his vocals were suited to the material, soft and sometimes barely there and never really hitting more than a bluesman’s garble. Perhaps an affectation, but one well used, in any case, and his presence on stage matched. Cutting a humble figure in the spotlight while EYE‘s not-inconsiderable Moog setup loomed in the darkness just a few feet adjacent, Huth played his songs banjo-fast — adding impressive neo-folk fingerpicked noodling to his semi-countrified moodiness on the acoustic guitar — but gave off no perceptible sense of anxiousness. As he turned after his first or second song, he listened to the strings and said, “This is gonna be terrible.” It wasn’t.

As will happen to the acoustic opener at the rock show, a swell of conversational volume gradually took hold the longer he played. In addition to his other songs, he did two instrumentals, one which closed the set, and one cover, and then was gone as quick as he’d gotten started once he took the stage. EYE arrived shortly thereafter and started into their first song I think before anyone actually realized they were beginning with a jam that sort of gradually took shape as a classic progressive space rocking thrust, very much indebted to Hawkwind but more visceral necessarily than their 2011 full-length, Center of the Sun (review here) — re-released by Kemado earlier this year — might have you believe. The Moog, handled by Adam Smith, played a major role in the band’s sound, and Smith added his vocals to those of drummer Brandon Smith — it was reportedly his birthday — and guitarist Matt Auxier for three-part post-lysergic ritual paeans to the cosmos. They were an easy band to dig.

Almost immediately, I was glad to have made the trip. Bassist Matt Bailey locked into the groove with Brandon, which allowed Matt to explore a solar system of effects while Adam tore into a raging solo or two of his own. Parts of songs I recognized from Center of the Sun, but some of the material seemed to be new as well, or at least more loosely constructed for a live setting, the band using the space afforded them by the Moog to wander where and when they willed. Their repetitions proved almost hypnotic, but were very definitely headed in that direction, and if 2013 is to bring new recordings from EYE, they’ll be welcome by me. They had space rock down, and the crowd that had been growing at a steady clip since the show started only agreed more as time went on.

When it was Serpent Throne‘s time to take the stage, I realized just how much of the room was their audience. They conquered Johnny Brenda’s before playing a single note as only the best of local noteworthies can, inspiring a particular devotion for their instrumental sonic niche somewhere ’70s motor groove, doomly stomp, classic dual guitar metal and devil-loving stoner rock. The brotherly duo of guitarist Demian Fenton and drummer Sean-Paul Fenton dominated the room, but neither bassist Colin Smith or by-no-means-second guitarist Don Argott gave any ground of their own real estate — and it was theirs but the time they actually started playing. The place lit up for “Rock Formation” from 2009’s The Battle of Old Crow and continued the enthusiasm for cuts like “Controlled by Lunar Forces” or the title-track from 2010’s White Summer – Black Winter, which Demian preceded with a warning that, “it was a long one.”

He had a mic, despite the band’s being instrumental-only, and the between-song banter showed his familiarity with the room and the people in it. New cut “Foxtrot” from a forthcoming release reportedly titled Brother Lucifer was advanced with a dedication to “any Vietnam vets in the room,” which drew a couple laughs, and afterwards the guitarist apologized to Vietnam vets everywhere before Serpent Throne launched into “Wheels of Satan” from their 2007 debut, Ride Satan Ride, the classic biker riffing of which earned the night’s most vehement response. By then, I was sitting at the bar — again, not drinking — but watching from there I could find no argument against what they had on offer nor with “yes” vote the rifferendum gleaned. Johnny Brenda’s had packed out pretty well and when Serpent Throne were done, the staff of the place came through and said they were towing cars outside, which may or may not have been a load, but having already gotten lost once, I wasn’t about to risk having to look for a city tow yard. I cut out on the quick like I do.

Still without GPS, the ride back was pulled off successfully by memory, and the act of mental engagement was enough to keep me awake, as if the day’s news reports weren’t enough. Nothing makes your shit feel trivial faster than dead kids, and rightly so. I was glad for the opportunity to get out of my head for a little while, and I don’t think I was the only one.

Extra pics after the jump. Thanks for reading.

Read more »