The self-titled debut EP from Melbourne, Australia’s Motherslug arrives in a CD jewel case with green artwork on the front and a fuzzy black and white band pic on back, over which the four component songs — “Symptoms,” “Rollin’,” “Devils Rise” and “Space Man” — are listed in the Scorpions logo font. Some records just bleed stoner rock, and Motherslug‘s first outing is most assuredly that, moving from an initial Sleep reference at the very start of “Symptoms” — think the beginning of “Dragonaut” — all the way to a bigtime ride-this-riff slowdown at the end of the eight-and-a-half-minute closer. If nothing else becomes clear at the end of the EP’s 26 minutes, you can at least say Motherslug know what they like.

But in fact, a lot becomes clear by the EP’s end, and it’s not so much about seeking out hidden breadth — though to that end, I’d note the psychedelic break in “Rollin’,” which thankfully was not a Limp Bizkit cover — as it is about approaching Motherslug on the level of their intent. Having been a band for just over a year now, not even a year when they put these cuts to tape, there’s a lot about Motherslug that sounds exploratory, feeling out different ideas to see what works in their songwriting, but Cam (vocals), Fergus and Matt (both guitar), Cyn (bass) and Nick (drums) come out of the gate with a solid presentation of their genre and a clear idea, basking in the glow of Sabbath‘s “Hole in the Sky” in the early verses of “Rollin'” even as they push their thickened riffs into churning crash later in the track before putting the second half of the riffy bookend in place. Cam‘s singing reminds mostly of middle-era Alabama Thunderpussy or any number of other stoner singers, but he shows some drive toward fleshing out his approach as well on “Devils Rise” with a Cathedral-style cadence, and though high in the mix, his vocals don’t grate like so many heavy rock singers’ do.

And Motherslug are hardly the first nascent heavy rock unit to put their frontman out front, but with a song like “Devils Rise” — a little slower, a little more on the doom end of stoner doom — one really does want that sense of being swallowed whole by the riffs, and burying the vocals under the guitars and bass is how that happens. Again though, I’m not about to hold that against a self-releasing band on their first EP. By and large, the sound on Motherslug‘s Motherslug is crisp and professional — not too clean, but clean enough to display some will toward accessibility on their part. The closer, longer by two full minutes than anything else on the EP, keeps to a middle pace between the more shuffling “Rollin'” and “Devils Rise,” beginning with winding guitar and quickly locking in its central groove. Cyn provides the bridge between the opening run and the aforementioned final slowdown of the track with viscous, satisfying low end that pushes air en route to the rest of the band joining back in just past the five-minute mark.

That slowdown lasts for about the last three and a half minutes of the song, and though Motherslug have left themselves some room to grow, they’ve also made their intentions thunderously apparent. For listeners long inducted into the realm of stone, the tracks on the Motherslug EP should more or less feel like coming home, and though the band live quite literally on the other side of the planet, I can still just imagine the pint glasses raised in their honor in some darkened venue. Not revolutionary, not aiming for revolutionary, but a thoroughly enjoyable listen for the converted and something to build from should Motherslug seek further development.

Motherslug on Thee Facebooks

Motherslug on Bandcamp

However long it had been since Acid King hit NYC for a show, it was too long. Probably long enough that the last time they did, it was Manhattan they were playing and not Brooklyn. We’re talking pre-economic collapse, possibly around the time the San Francisco trio (ding ding!) put out their latest album to date, III, on Small Stone in 2005. If that’s the case, and I think it might be, then golly, that’s a long time. That would mean that the last time Acid King came through NYC, neither of the bands who opened for them — Blackout and Kings Destroy — nor the venue they played — the St. Vitus bar — existed yet. Pretty wild.

And Brooklyn was excited to see them, at least judging from the packed house at the sold-out Vitus bar and the people outside who couldn’t get tickets. I had a feeling it might work out like that, and wanting to catch Blackout for not having seen them before, got there early and headed almost immediately to the front of the stage where I’d remain for the duration. It wasn’t long before Blackout went on and recognizing Justin Sherrell of Bezoar (who play the same venue with Samothrace this coming Friday), was surprised to find him handling bass in the trio, which also includes drummer Taryn Waldman and guitarist/vocalist Christian Gordy.

I was thinking of Blackout as a new band, but they’ve been kicking around Brooklyn since 2011, so I guess it isn’t a surprise they were as tight as they were, playing a thick, riff-led heavy psych that blended Sleep‘s stoner heyday and classic Melvins stomp with a touch of Rob Crow‘s vocal compression in Goblin Cock and even, when Sherrell joined in, some of Fu Manchu‘s inherent movement to go along with that Naam-style Brooklyny Brooklyness. You know, the kind you get in Brooklyn? Riffs were familiar and steady, well-punctuated by Waldman‘s drums, and straightforward enough that they never really departed from their central groove despite changes in pace and volume and shifts into and out of verses. They didn’t seem so much concerned with breaking new ground, as with bringing something of their own to an established form.

Gordy came across more as a rhythm player than one to kick out a showy solo, but I could see at one point he was just on the verge of breaking out a stoner rock softshoe while riding a particularly funky line. Go for it, man. No way to lose on that one. Blackout‘s last song, “Seven,”  had their most potent start-stop and a memorable one-two shout to go along with it, repeated early and repeated often in a killer jam. They were a cool band and a good fit for the bill, since you could just as easily point to Acid King as an influence for their driving, tone-minded roll. If that left Kings Destroy as the odd men out, they were just fine with that.

The thing I enjoy most about seeing Kings Destroy at this point — and I enjoy a good bit about them and I’ve had plenty of occasions to enjoy it — is watching them demolish people’s expectations. Whether people in the crowd heard them through picking up their And the Rest Will Surely Perish debut (a Maple Forum release) or just from checking out random videos along the way, there’s little that can prepare either for the focused intensity in their performance at this point — not so much a holdover from the members’ NYHC days as an evolution of it — or the free aesthetic range of the newer, post-debut material from their forthcoming second LP. However they manage to do it, Kings Destroy are always catching someone off guard.

I’m hardly an impartial observer, but fun is fun. Despite throwing in weirdo cuts like “Blood of Recompense” and the closing “Turul” from the new album, due out this year on whichever label is bold enough to pick it up, Kings Destroy also went back to their roots, playing both sides of their initial 7″ single with “Old Yeller” and “Medusa.” The blend was right on, and if they had it in mind to play the simpler, more directly riffy material for the heads out to see Acid King, they probably weren’t wrong in doing so. The room was more or less full from what I could tell as they kicked off with “Old Yeller,” and the crowd was already drunk and already rowdy. Or at least a couple dudes were who decided to spread it around after already being led forcefully to but apparently not through the door once during Blackout.

My pick of the Kings Destroy set? Well, I’m a sucker for “The Toe” and a sucker for “The Mountie,” so take your pick. From the start of “Old Yeller” on down, the band showed how far they’ve come, adding a dangerous sense of energy to the older songs. Both cuts from the 7″ also appeared on the album, so “The Mountie” wasn’t alone, but the push was still clearly geared toward the newer stuff, and rightly so. While I love that record as much as you’d think someone would have to in order to decide to put their “label” stamp on it — and if they came to me today with it, I’d still be up for helping to put it out — Kings Destroy 2013 are miles ahead of where Kings Destroy 2010 were, bolstered by road-time in Europe, more songwriting and a greater sense of what influences they want to bring into the band. Their confidence bleeds through everything they do, and they don’t just know they’re kicking your ass on stage, they actually kick your ass too. It had been a couple months since I last saw them (review here), so the refresher was appreciated.

Vocalist Steve Murphy hopped off the stage into the crowd during the quiet ending of “Blood of Recompense” and stood on some kind of box on the side of the stage during part of the oddly progressive “Turul,” marching in isolated place while guitarists Carl Porcaro and Chris Skowronski, bassist Aaron Bumpus and drummer Rob Sefcik locked in the chugging chorus that brought the set to a finish, so even to the presentation of the songs itself, there was a sense of not knowing what the hell might come next.

What was next, however, was Acid King.

And I’ll say this about Acid King: That is a band who are ready to let the riffs do the talking. The case was roughly the same when I last saw them at Roadburn in 2011, but perhaps accentuated all the more for a headlining set in Brooklyn. Still, even without whooping up the crowd, the crowd was in their pocket… and all over the floor of the St. Vitus bar. Moshing during Acid King? Really? The songs have like 30 beats per minute. Q: How do you mosh to that? A: Sauced. I stayed up front the whole show, and for most of Acid King‘s set, my side of the stage didn’t seem to be getting it as bad as the other one, but really, I didn’t expect that kind of thing to happen. It’s fucking stoner rock, not Converge.

But I’m old, and the generation has shifted, so if Acid King inspire enough devotion in a Saturday night Brooklyn crowd despite not having put out a new album in eight years to result in moshing at their show, well, that bit of “this is fun because I’m wasted” goonery and “let me cover you in my shirtless man-sweat” latent homoeroticism I guess is the price to pay for seeing the three-piece in the flesh. It’s a small one in the long run as compares to actually watching Acid King play (though I can’t help but wonder if the girl on the other side of the stage who kept getting grabbed on by Dipshit McGee would argue), who arrived on the stage with as little sense of fucking around as they’d soon bring to their set, which covered mostly III songs and classics from 1999’s genre landmark Busse Woods but left room for new material as well in the form of “Coming Down from Outer Space,” “Red River” and a third yet untitled.

Yeah, that’s right, new Acid King. They’ve been kicking around “Red River” for a while — also happens to be the name of the street in Austin, Texas, where I first saw them in 2004, half-passed out sitting on the upstairs balcony at Room 710 while they headlined the Small Stone showcase at SXSW — but everything’s relative. Really, they could’ve played just about anything and I don’t think anyone would have complained. The place was just excited to see they were there, and the band — guitarist/vocalist Lori S., drummer Joey Osbourne and bassist Mark Lamb — were well into it as well, not thrashing around or anything but ensuring the delivery of the tightest set possible of some of heavy rock’s most underrated riffage.

If you were so inclined, you could probably write a dissertation on Lori‘s guitar tone. Under the red lights at the St. Vitus, she led the band through the fuzz of “Busse Woods” and “2 Wheel Nation” like it was a guided tour, Lamb’s own low end providing a fitting answer back, resulting in a consuming wave of groove that was, I shit you not, right up there with the heaviest sounds I’ve ever heard come through that Vitus P.A. It was clear immediately that it would be a great set, and as they nestled into the pocket of riff after riff, not overly animated but not still-life-with-fuzz either, Acid King reminded Brooklyn of just what it had been missing in the time since they last stopped through.

When the crowd got unruly between songs, shouting requests or nonsensicalities like, “You’re in Brooklyn now,” as though they (1:) didn’t know or (2:) were concerned they’d set up their gear in Queens instead, Lori simply hit her foot pedal on for the next song and all the rest disappeared in a hum of feedback, Osbourne smiling behind. “Silent Circle” was a highlight, but “Electric Machine” — which followed the unnamed new song and “Coming Down from Outer Space” — made the whole set for me personally. That’s a song I’m lucky I get through a day without it showing up stuck in my head at some point anyway. To be that close to it was something special.

Their regular set wrapped with III closer “Sunshine and Sorrow,” on which I’d apparently never properly appreciated Osbourne‘s drum fills, as Lori put her guitar down and adjourned to the side of the stage — nowhere else to go — to watch Lamb and Osbourne finish off the song and nod on the groove. They couldn’t leave before the encore, so after a minute or so, they launched into an encore of “Teen Dusthead” and the extended, hypnotic “War of the Mind,” finishing huge, sick and unpretentiously righteous as they’d started. It was a monument to riff-paganism equal parts huge and awe-inspiring, and I felt dazed when they were done.

Consciousness returned on the slow march out enough to get me to my car and back to Jersey, whereupon I crashed out so thoroughly that three days later I’ve yet really to come fully awake. Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. One thing’s for sure: If Acid King came to the East Coast for the first time in more than half a decade — one show, not even touring — it probably wasn’t without a reason, and if they were testing the waters for a new album prior to recording, the interest and the fanbase is definitely there. Acid King were welcomed to the St. Vitus like the stoner royalty they are, and though I might stand in back next time around, my only hope after this show is that there is one.

More pics after the jump. Thanks for reading.

Read more »

Book, saddle and go! Clutch know full well that nothing goes with a tour like another tour, so to complement the first leg of their US dates in support of the forthcoming Earth Rocker (which will be reviewed here before the week is out) they’ve announced another run of shows, this time with Lionize and The Sword opening.

All this and then they go to Europe. Behold their schedule and be exhausted by it:

The Earth Rocker World Tour Heats Up!

With less than a month remaining before the release of CLUTCH’s highly anticipated new album Earth Rocker the band is pleased to announce the second leg of the Earth Rocker North American tour! Leg two kicks off May 1st in Richmond, VA and will run through May 26th in San Antonio, TX. Support on this run comes from The Sword and Lionize.

Tickets go on sale to fan club members Wednesday February 27th and for the general public Friday March 1st and Saturday March 2nd. Tickets for the first leg of the tour are beginning to sell out, make sure you get yours while you still can!

CLUTCH will kick off the first leg of the Earth Rocker North American tour March 8th in Cincinnati, OH and it runs through April 20th in Baltimore, MD. Support on the first leg will come from Orange Goblin, Lionize and Scorpion Child.

CLUTCH will also appear at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. Exact info on show times and locations will be released soon. Make sure to stay tuned to http://pro-rock.com for the latest info.

As the summer season draws near, new European tour dates for CLUTCH are starting to be announced. A full list of dates including numerous high profile festival appearances can be seen below.

More shows are expected to be added in the coming weeks.

Earth Rocker 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
3/15: Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/16: Austin, TX @ SXSW
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 Strip
3/24: Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
3/26: San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
3/27: Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
3/29: Seattle, WA @ Showbox at the Market
3/30: Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
3/31: Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory Concert House
4/1: Missoula, MT @ The Wilma Theater
4/2: Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
4/3: Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom – SOLD OUT!
4/5: Calgary, AB @ Flames Central
4/6: Saskatoon, SK @ Odeon Events Centre
4/7: Edmonton, AB @ Union Hall
4/9: Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick Centre
4/10: Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
4/11: Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s
4/12: Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
4/13: Grand Rapids, MI @ The Orbit Room
4/15: Syracuse, NY @ Westcott Theater
4/16: New Haven, CT @ Toad’s Place
4/18: Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy
4/19: Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE – Indoor
4/20: Baltimore, MD @ Rams Head Live – SOLD OUT!

Earth Rocker North American Tour Leg 2
5/1: Richmond, VA @ The National
5/2: New York, NY @ Terminal 5
5/3: Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
5/4: Portland, ME @ State Theater
5/5: Boston, MA @ House of Blues
5/7: Charlotte, NC @ Amos Southend
5/9: Tampa, FL @ State Theater
5/10: Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
5/11: Orlando, FL @ House of Blues
5/12: Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
5/14: New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
5/15: Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
5/17: Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
5/18: Columbus, OH @ Rock on the Range*
5/19: Indianapolis, IN @ The Vogue
5/21: Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hill Ballroom
5/22: Fargo, ND @ The Venue
5/23: Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theater
5/24: Pryor, OK @ Rocklahoma*
5/25: Houston, TX @ House of Blues
*Denotes Festival Date*

European Tour Dates:
6/7: Zeppenlinfeld, Germany @ Rock im Park*
6/8: Nurburgring, Germany @ Rock Am Ring*
6/13: Madrid, Spain @ Gloos Club
6/14: Barcelona, Spain @ Music Hall Barcelona
6/15: Bilbao, Spain @ Sala Santana*
6/17: Bordeaux, France @ Le Krakatoa
6/18: Lyon, France @ Transbo Club (at Le Transbordeur)
6/19: Milan, Italy @ Flame Festival*
6/20: Zurich, Switzerland @ Earshakerdays @ Volkhaus*
6/23: Clisson, France @ Hellfest*
6/26: Thessaloniki, Greece @ Principal Club Theater
6/27: Athens, Greece @ VOX IERA Odos
6/30: Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting*
7/4: Hisingen, Sweden @ Metaltown*
7/13: Stavern, Norway @ Stavern Festival*
*Denotes Festival Date*

This one should be interesting. It’s been three years since Savannah, Georgia, metallers Kylesa released Spiral Shadow (review here), their first album for Season of Mist and easily their most progressive outing to date, pushing their intricate, dually-drummed arrangements further than ever while also showing periodic affinity for a strong pop chorus. What will Ultraviolet bring three years later? As I haven’t yet had a second to check out the new track “Unspoken” via the link below, I haven’t the foggiest, but with this as the first word that the album is coming May 28, I’m excited to find out.

One thing about Kylesa records though is that no two are ever the same. Not knowing what to expect only makes it more fun.

The PR wire takes it from here:

Kylesa is set to release Ultraviolet, one of the most anticipated hard rock releases of the year and the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed album Spiral Shadow, on May 28 via Season of Mist (May 24 in Europe).

“Whereas Spiral Shadow was a warm album suggesting concepts of hope, Ultraviolet is a bit colder and darker,” explains songwriter/guitar player Laura Pleasants. “All of our studio albums have their own unique identity and we’ve always been a band who strives for something different than what current fads suggest. With Ultraviolet, we took a step inward and wrote music that we felt we had to write; this album centers around the multiple themes of loss and you can feel it in the music. Everyone goes through it during their lifetime and this record reflects that experience.”

“Unspoken,” a new song from the eleven-track album is available now for Season of Mist newsletter subscribers (www.season-of-mist.com/news/kylesa-2013-02-26).

The Savannah-based quintet recorded Ultraviolet at The Jam Room in Columbia, SC with the band’s guitar player/songwriter, and sought-after producer, Phillip Cope (Baroness, Black Tusk) once again overseeing production.

Kylesa released a rarities collection in November titled “From The Vaults, Vol. 1,” which featured unreleased, new and alternate versions of songs spanning the band’s catalogue as well as one new song titled “End Truth.” Cope and Pleasants spent over a year going through their archives preparing the release.

Kylesa will return to the road in May with more details forthcoming.

If my details are foggy, you’ll have to forgive me as I’ve only known this band existed for a couple hours. Zun is a new trio from the Californian desert that features Sera Timms (Black Math Horseman/Ides of Gemini/Black Mare) on vocals, Gary Arce (Yawning Man, etc.) on guitar and bass, and Bill Stinson (Yawning Man) on drums. Not to be confused with the Zune, which was Microsoft’s mismarketed attempt at competing with the iPod, Zun have just released the first audio from the collaboration, the sweetly toned and dreamy “Come through the Water.”

The track was recorded by Harper Hug at Thunder Underground, and if the statement put out through Yawning Man‘s Thee Facebooks page — which also updates on some new stuff from that band, including a split with fellow desert types Fatso Jetson — is anything to go by, it’s the first of several installments to come:

Behold, we have GREAT news! Songs from an upcoming 7″ split with FATSO JETSON and ZUN are hot off the mixing board, and will be available soon! ZUN is Gary Arce’s latest endeavor, and it features the revered Sera Beth Timms (Black Math Horseman), whose intense and haunting vocals meld alongside Gary’s signature guitar and lapsteel tones- and bass lines. The one and only thunderous Bill Stinson is on Drums.

Thanks to Harper Hug who engineered this project, which was recorded at Thunder Underground (http://thunder-underground.com/). Artwork by Christina Bishop.

AND if that isn’t exciting enough, get ready for ANOTHER killer release to come…another split EP with songs from your favorite Desert Rock Godfathers Fatso Jetson AND Yawning Man! More news about that to come. For now, stay tuned to hear sounds from ZUN. We will be sharing that within the next few days. Cheers, and thanks for your continued support!

Being a dork for Arce‘s inimitable guitar tone, it means something when I say that in Timms, Arce has a suitable complement. To wit, on “Come through the Water,” how both vocals and guitar are enhanced as they rise together just before the two-minute mark. The track, as does much of Arce‘s work, has a predilection toward wandering, echoing, and sliding into a wash of heavy psychedelic melody, but Timms also grounds the song with verse lines as Stinson provides the direction on the drums. I was not yet through the full five and a half minutes of the song before I decided I liked it a lot.

I’d love to hear and hope to hear how Zun might develop these ideas and change things up over the course of a full-length, but that’s probably a long ways off. Until then, the desert expanse portrayed in “Come through the Water” offers plenty to dig into, as you can hear on the stream below, hoisted from Soundcloud:

Something Roadburn continues to deliver year after year is a variety of performances you can’t find anywhere else. Whether it’s a curated set, or an exclusive full-album reunion — hello, Godflesh doing all of Pure — each year at Roadburn, chances are you’re going to find something in the lineup that you’ll probably never see again. A once-in-a-lifetime show, or at very least, something at its genesis point, just happening for the first time in Tilburg.

News came down a bit ago that John Baizley of Baroness and Nate Hall of U.S. Christmas were teaming up for a set of their bands’ material plus Townes Van Zandt covers, and it’s the kind of thing that, who knows what it might lead to, maybe nothing, but whatever comes of it, the beginnings will have been something that only Roadburn managed to make come together.

Dig the word:

ROADBURN FESTIVAL 2013 PRESENTS JOHN BAIZLEY (BARONESS), NATE HALL (U.S. CHRISTMAS) + SPECIAL GUEST FOR EXCLUSIVE PERFORMANCE

We are elated to announce the exclusive performance of John Baizley (Baroness) and Nate Hall (U.S. Christmas) for coming Roadburn Festival 2013. Both will play songs of Townes Van Zandt as well as Baroness and other material from Nate Hall’s highly acclaimed solo record “A Great River”. John Baizley recorded his songs of Towns Van Zandt together with Katie Jones who will be performing with him and brings in some Violin, Cello, and other instruments as well.

John Baizley: “I am thrilled to be coming back to Roadburn to perform this year, it has been one of the supreme highlights of European tours in the past years. Roadburn is a refreshing change of pace amongst the turgid waters of European heavy-music festivals, many of which have gone the way of rampant commercialism. Roadburn remains one of the good-guys, a volunteer driven effort purely for the love and devotion to music. Earlier this year, My Proud Mountain label approached me about contributing some tracks to the second “Songs of Townes Van Zandt” covers collection. I will be sharing the stage at Roadburn this year with some of the other contributors from that upcoming release. While Baroness is preparing to resume touring, I am excited to come to Tilburg and play music that our audience may be unfamiliar with me performing. I have always been an admirer and devotee of Townes, and I hope I can come and do some of his songs justice. This will be a unique opportunity for me, as I will be holding an exhibition at Gust van Dijk Gallery in Tilburg as well.”

Nate Hall: “I have known John for years now, and we are both excited about this show. I love playing solo, and I love collaborating with my friends. I’m sure this show will be special, and will bring out the best in both of us.”

The performance is scheduled for Thursday April 18 at The Patronaat during Roadburn Festival.

JOHN BAIZLEY ART EXHIBITION ANNOUNCED

SEA Foundation in cooperation with Roadburn Festival are proud to announce: “The Virgin Spring: the Process and Work of John Dyer Baizley”. An exclusive John Baizley exhibition at gallery Gust van Dijk in Tilburg.

This will be Baizley’s first ever exhibition in Europe which will be dedicated to his process as an artist as well as a presentation of images and printed work from the past and present.

John Baizley says: “I am excited to have been given an offer to exhibit my work for the first time in Europe at Gust van Dijk Gallery in Tilburg, Netherlands this April in conjunction with Roadburn Festival. It will be the first time many of these works have been shown in public, and the show will offer a brief glimpse into my process as an artist. I’ll be giving a small presentation on the images as well, and showing a few examples of my printed work. Furthermore, this will be the first time many of these images have been seen outside their commercial context (without logos, text, or barcodes) as I’ve always believed they were meant to be seen. This is a very unique opportunity for me, as I will be showcasing a set of music at Het Patronaat stage at Roadburn Festival 2013 as well.”

The exhibition will be held from April 18 – June 1
(opening Thursday April 18 from 16-17hrs/ 4-5pm CET)
At
Gallery Gust van Dijk, Home to Contemporary Art,
Tivolistraat 22, 5017 HP Tilburg, The Netherlands
www.seafoundation.eu/Programme.html

Background info John Baizley:

Known by most as the singer and guitarist for the acclaimed band Baroness, John Dyer Baizley is also an accomplished fine artist. Responsible for nearly all the artwork and graphic design surrounding Baroness, John has also created memorable album art for bands such as Kvelertak, Kylesa, Gillian Welch, Torche and many others. Combining Art Nouveau influences like Alphonse Mucha and Aubrey Beardsley along with an encyclopedic knowledge of primitive mysticism, Pagan rites and Jungian archetypes, John arrives at a very different place with his album design than has been typically expected from the world of extreme music like Heavy Metal and Punk rock. While still embracing the seminal teenage icons like Pushead and Raymond Pettibon, John has created an alternative dialect of imagery with his work, taking us the viewer on a new path.

Roadburn Festival 2013 will run for four days from Thursday, April 18th to Sunday, April 21st, 2013 (the traditional Afterburner event) at the 013 venue and Het Patronaat in Tilburg, Holland.

Tickets for the Roadburn 2013 Afterburner are still available: http://www.roadburn.com/roadburn-2013/tickets

Please visit www.roadburn.com for more info.

Work kept me late, but as soon as I could, I hauled ass into Manhattan and got downtown to Bowery Ballroom. Parking right across the street from the venue was nothing short of a miracle — it’s embarrassing how much time I think about traffic and parking as relates to going to shows — but I still missed a decent portion of Austin, Texas, natives Ancient VVisdom‘s set opening for Royal Thunder, Pallbearer and Norwegian progressive black metal stalwarts, Enslaved. When I got there, the shenanigans were already well under way.

And I do mean shenanigans. It was the last night of the tour and all four bands had been on the road for a solid month together, so at times it felt less like a show and more like a blowout, but though the crowd hadn’t actually spent a month on the road with Enslaved (ah, to dream), the lighthearted atmosphere was infectious. When I walked in, Ancient VVisdom had been invaded by Enslaved drummer Cato Bekkevold and keyboardist Herbrand Larsen, who were holding up signs with synonyms for the band’s name. My favorite was “Early Medieval Know-How,” but then, I’ve always been a sucker for linguistic humor.

That continued throughout the night, culminating in a free-for-all late into Enslaved‘s set, but there was actually some music played as well. Though I’ve heard their stuff and certainly seen their name around the last few years, I’d never actually seen Ancient VVisdom before, and from the stand-up drums/percussion to frontman Nathan Opposition‘s charismatic delivery, what I saw of their time intrigued. On a basic level, they’re playing metal, but blending acoustic and electric guitar, they revel in a folkish tradition that adjusts the form. I don’t know how much I missed, but I wouldn’t shy away from seeing them again sometime if the occasion should arise.

A quick changeover and Royal Thunder were underway. I probably didn’t give enough attention to the Atlanta natives’ 2012 Relapse Records debut, CVI, but I was glad to finally get the chance to see them, having missed their roll-through with Pallbearer last year. Royal Thunder and Ancient VVisdom would keep on for another week after the Enslaved tour ended, so they were still well into the business end of a show, playing a crisp, tight set of tracks from CVI that culminated in the extended moodiness of “Blue,” which was hypnotic enough to convince me I need to buy the album and dig in further.

They performed as a trio, bassist/vocalist/eschewer-of-vowels Mlny Parsonz, founding guitarist Josh Weaver and drummer Evan DiPrima, and brought a subdued progressive sense to the show, not entirely unaware of their own pop leanings when they came up, but actively avoiding simpler approaches in favor of a headier take while making the complex sound easy. My impression might have been totally different had I spent more significant time with the album, but at very least seeing them made me want to rectify that situation. When they were done, “Blue” having exhausted its course, I wondered how much of Ancient VVisdom I’d actually missed, since the first two of the four bands had blasted through so quickly. It wasn’t yet 10PM by my Casio (yeah, that’s right), and the night was half over. I’d gotten word beforehand that Enslaved were due at about 10:45, so Pallbearer still had a decent amount of room to work with.

No doubt there were a few in the crowd who thought of the gig as a Pallbearer show with Enslaved headlining, and though I wasn’t one of them — sorry, my heart belongs to Norway — such was the level of impact of Pallbearer‘s Profound Lore debut, Sorrow and Extinction (review here), when it hit last year. The Little Rock, Arkansas, four-piece have been through a couple times since then and their NYC fanbase seems only to have grown since I caught them at a packed-out St. Vitus bar last spring. No secret why, with the viscosity of their tones, psychedelic flourish and mournful emotionality.

I stood in front of guitarist/vocalist Brett Campbell, who did well in balancing the melancholy of the songs with a sense that he still wanted to be playing them. Might’ve helped that on the other side of the stage, guitarist Devin Holt and bassist Joseph D. Rowland (interview here) were having a contest to see who could headbang hardest, or that drummer Mark Lierly kept such propulsive time, but though Pallbearer‘s music is inherently contemplative, regretful and lumbering, they weren’t boring to watch as they played it. Even Campbell, who was hardly thrashing around, gave a physical sense of performance to what he played, and it went a long way. The end-of-tour pranking continued when Enslaved bassist Grutle Kjellson came out wearing a Mastodon shirt with a giant fake joint and proceeded to play paddleball by Lierly‘s kit. The band did about as well as one could hope in holding it together.

From what I could see, the room was more or less full by the time Pallbearer started, and the crowd was as interesting a blend as the lineup of acts playing. Metal dudes, rockers and doomers might occupy roughly the same subcultural niche, but I’ll be damned if you could pick out who was who in the audience at Bowery Ballroom. All things considered, everybody got along well enough while Pallbearer wrapped with an unnamed new song that was long, heavy and bleak, making a solid follow-up to Sorrow and Extinction highlight “An Offering of Grief,” the rise and crash of which is nothing if not tidal. Presumably they’d been playing it the whole tour — which would make it decidedly less new from their perspective — but it should say something that even after the reception of their last album, they still believed enough in the strength of their latest work to end with it.

My intent had been at some point during the week prior to give myself an Enslaved refresher, running through the last four or five albums in their catalog in preparation for seeing them for the first time in I don’t know how long — they last came through NYC with Dimmu Borgir in 2011 and I arrived at Terminal 5 just as they were announcing the last song in their set as the title-track to 2004’s Isa; I also missed them at Roadburn in 2010 — but time didn’t permit such luxuries. Not that I don’t know those records, just that Enslaved have a dozen and I’d been immersed in the most recent of them, last year’s Riitiir (review here), to exclusion of everything else and Vertebrae (2008) and Ruun (2006) were ripe for a revisit. Forget it. I don’t have to justify my pre-show rituals to anyone. Point is, I wanted to listen to more Enslaved last week than I actually did. It’s kind of a common affliction for me.

Early into their time, Kjellson said that on the tour they’d been beset by blizzards, power outages and a number of other obstacles to cut them short, but on the last night, they were doing a full set, and they followed through. Most of the material was from their Nuclear Blast era — the last three albums: Riitiir, 2010’s Axioma Ethica Odini (review here) and Vertebrae — but earlier material was sprinkled throughout, beginning with the title cut from Ruun, with followed “Riitiir” at the very start of the setlist. The intricate, proggy rhythm patterning was welcomed by the crowd, well familiar with its twists and turns, and leading to the grand chorus of “The Watcher,” Enslaved did well immediately to show the diversity in their sound more than 20 years on from their beginnings.

If anything was missing, it was “Fusion of Sense and Earth” from Ruun, but the varying textures of “Ruun” and “The Watcher” covered a lot of ground, guitarists Ivar Bjørnson and Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal creating a wash of distortion through which Larsen‘s clean vocals and Kjellson‘s signature rasp cut with little difficulty. When “The Watcher” gave way to “Thoughts Like Hammers,” the Royal Thunder crew came out dressed in a Halloween costume holding up a sign that said “Thor Likes Hammers,” and that was a good bit of fun to go along with the Riitiir opener, though whichever dude it was — nothing against him — hardly made for an attractive valkyrie. “Ethica Odini” led to Riirtiir highlight “Roots of the Mountain,” which alone was worth the drive into Manhattan, and though by then more people had come out on stage — some in their underwear, Royal Thunder‘s Weaver spitting beer on the crowd — Enslaved played through it all coolly.

Bekkevold led the way into “Materal” from the new album, and the shenanigans subsided for a time, though the energy in Enslaved‘s set was consistent throughout. After “Roots of the Mountain,” and more particularly after having beer spit on me, I headed toward the back to watch the rest of the show from a fuller vantage, and while I never considered “Materal” one of Riitiir‘s more engaging tracks, it was different from everything else Enslaved played, and made a good setup for their dip more than a decade back to 2001’s Monumension for “Convoys to Nothingness” and even further to 1993’s Hordanes Land EP for “Slaget I Skogen Bortenfor,” which Kjellson seemed to note would probably be lost on the crowd but clearly enjoyed playing nonetheless. Their regular set capped with a cover of Led Zeppelin‘s “Immigrant Song,” arranged as Kjellson noted, by Ice Dale — and that’s pretty much when all hell broke loose.

In addition to a joke from Bjørnson and a few words from Ice Dale making fun of Kjellson, the bassist also opined while drinking that cognac was France’s only contribution to world cuisine — good for a laugh and a toast from the crowd, whose spirits were likewise high — “Immigrant Song” brought forth members of Ancient VVisdom, Royal Thunder and Pallbearer all, who took to the stage for a brodown the likes of which I’ve rarely seen at a gig. Weaver jumped on Bjørnson‘s back as the band jammed out, and Pallbearer‘s Campbell hit up a Robert Plant falsetto while “sharing” Larsen‘s mic. The chicanery continued on and I don’t think Enslaved were fooling anyone when they took a bow and left the stage, though they were gone a while, presumably doing pre-encore shots. Time well spent and hooch well earned.

“Fenris” from 1994’s Frost and the title-track of 2004’s Isa — “One more short one,” said Kjellson — made for a substantial encore, the raw raging of the former leading to the still-brutal hook of the latter, and when the show and their month-long North American tour was over, Enslaved took a boozy bow and split. Lights came up, house music came on, and I shuffled my way out of the Bowery Ballroom with everyone else who’d stuck it out through the encore, maybe not feeling the same sense of job-well-done accomplishment as the bands, but at very least feeling lucky to have been able to catch the final night of a tour that was clearly so special to everyone involved.

Extra pics after the jump. Thanks for reading.

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Leading to a performance at this year’s Desertfest in London, Swedish heavy rockers Deville have announced a run of shows that will take them around Western Europe in support of their new album, Hydra. Their debut on Small Stone (third album overall), Hydra also reportedly has a vinyl issue coming from the Detroit imprint, which sent over the dates and info below:

Sweden’s Deville will be hitting the road starting April 9th in Berlin Germany @ White Trash. The three week tour will also include stops in Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands, and a UK date at Desertfest London on April 26th. In the meantime, do yourself a favor an go get their brand new album Hydra, It is rather fantastic. And yes, there will also be 180g ltd vinyl version available in a few months, but the cd and digital download versions are now available.

Deville on tour
04/09 Berlin, Germany White Trash
04/10 Vienna, Austria The Shelter
04/11 Hohenems, Austria ProKonTra
04/12 Sull’arno, Italy Santa Croce Rock City
04/13 Vercelli, Italy Officine Meccaniche
04/14 Treviso, Italy Punkyreggae pub
04/15 Torino, Italy United Club
04/16 Bologna, Italy Distilleria
04/17 Pescara, Italy Qube
04/18 Milano, Italy Ligera
04/19 Lyon, France Trokson
04/20 Aix-en-Provence, France Le Korigan
04/21 Barcelona, Spain Rock Sound
04/22 Madrid, Spain Sala Barracudas
04/23 Iluntz Taberna Guipuzcoa, Spain
04/24 Paris, France Le KLub
04/25 La Louviere, Belgium La Taverne du Theatre
04/26 London, UK Desertfest UK
04/27 Den Helder, The Netherlands De Engel