All told, Suck were a band for less than a year. Obviously they were hoping someone would take notice of them — their name and album title cloying at controversy — but I guess it didn’t work out. Time to Suckwas issued in 1971, and then where there was a band, there wasn’t a band. That’s how it goes sometimes. It couldn’t have been easy to play heavy rock in Johannesburg, South Africa, without the interwebs for distribution. As I understand it, the 2009 reissue of Time to Suckwas also its first official release in the US. They cover both King Crimson — giving “21st Century Schizoid Man” a good dirtying up — and Black Sabbath, so if nothing else, they had their ears to the ground. Couldn’t have been so many people on top of “War Pigs” as to cover it on a studio release the same year it first came out.
—
Well no, this week wasn’t so mind-bogglingly terrible, thank you for asking. Happy to report that I didn’t lose any more jobs. I did get a brushoff from a bar owner when I inquired about buying his place, but it was hardly the same kind of burn as watching half my already-plenty-meager income go down the toilet in the course of an email. Other than that, a few resumes sent out, a few non-responses, and me, just plugging away because what the hell else can I do? Tonight I cooked sausages. That always helps.
Thanks to everyone who downloaded the podcast this week or otherwise listened to it, shared the link, and so on, and thanks to everyone in general for reading. I’m really happy with where this site is at right now and I’m enjoying the writing and putting the time into it. Other than my marriage, I think I can safely say this is the most rewarding endeavor I’ve ever undertaken. So yes, thanks again.
Next week, reviews of Mansion and the new Trippy Wicked EP, and I’m gonna try my damnedest to get that Vista Chino interview with Brant Bjork up. It was a good one, him talking about the desert and spirituality and whatnot. I dug it, anyway. That record is good, and I’m pretty sure it’s out now. If you haven’t given it one yet, it deserves a fair chance, however you feel about the whole Kyuss reunion thing. You’ll either dig it or you won’t, but it seems better to me to at least not like something for what it is rather than how it came about. Easier said than done sometimes, I know it well.
Might also go see that Fistula and Nightstick show in Allston on Monday on that tour that was just posted. That would probably be the sludgiest show I’ve seen in a while, but sounds like a good way to spend Labor Day, blow out my ears before the week actually starts. Could be worse.
Whatever you’re up to on this long weekend (I may or may not post on Monday, we’ll see), I hope you have a great and safe time.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 30th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
If you see a trail of slime across the Northeastern portion of the United States at the end of next week — I’ve no doubt it will be visible from space — don’t sweat it, it’s just Fistula and Nightstick touring. The two bands will start out at O’Brien’s in Allston, Massachustts, on Labor Day and wind up in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, leaving I’m sure a slew of blown eardrums and feedback echo behind when they’re done. If it clues you in any further, they’re calling it “Rock ‘n’ Roll Vermin.”
Fistula will make the trip out from Ohio to support a slew of splits and EPs released over the last couple years, while Nightstick will be out behind their 2012 At War with False Noise full-length, Rock ‘n’ Roll Weymouth, named in honor of their hometown of Weymouth, MA, which I’m pretty sure is the next town over from me. If that makes it seem like I don’t know for sure whether or not it is, then please rest assured, I don’t.
Here’s the news off the PR wire:
FISTULA: Cleveland Sludge Kingpins To Kick Off Shows With Nightstick Next Week
Long-running Cleveland ministers of sludge, FISTULA, are preparing to spread their aural disease along the East Coast with a short stretch of live assaults. Scheduled to commence on Monday September 2, the Rock ‘N’ Roll Vermin Tour 2013 will filthify its way through Allston, Providence, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Allentown. FISTULA will be joined by their diseased brethren, Nightstick. Hearing will be damaged. Feelings will be hurt.
FISTULA – Rock ‘N’ Roll Vermin Tour 2013
w/ Nightstick 9/02/2013 Obrien’s – Allston, MA 9/04/2013 Dusk – Providence, RI 9/05/2013 Acheron – Brooklyn, NY 9/06/2013 The Mill Creek Tavern – Philadelphia, PA 9/07/2013 Sportsman’s Café – Allentown PA
In other FISTULA activities, the band has a host of resinated new offerings on the rise including the brand new Vermin Prolificus LP set to detonate via To Live A Lie early next year. FISTULA will be crash-test driving the tunes “Smoke Cat Hair and Toe Nails,” “Pig Funeral” and “Goat Brothel” throughout next week’s live takeover. Additionally, FISTULA will appear on a split cassette with Radiation Sickness to be unleashed through Die Song this October as well as a split 12″ with Ravens Creed through Doomentia in 2014. Finally, the band will be featured on the forthcoming release from XXX-rated funk legend Blowfly. Dubbed Black in the Sack, the eight track offering marks Blowfly’s first studio album in seven years and includes a curious collaboration with team FISTULA, Dave Szulkin (Blood Farmers) and Tesco Vee (The Meatmen) on the track “Dick Stabbath.” Black in the Sack will see release via PATAC Records this Fall.
Posted in Reviews on August 30th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
There’s really no getting around it: Beelzefuzz have a silly name. It’s a silly name that’s been kicking around the heart of the Maryland doom scene for the last couple years, and across two demos and appearances at fests like Stoner Hands of Doom, Eye of the Stoned Goat and Days of the Doomed, as well a regular host of other gigs in and around the Frederick, MD, sphere, it’s a silly name that has come with an increasingly potent reputation. The trio of guitarist/vocalist Dana Ortt, bassist Pug Kirby and drummer Darin McCloskey (the latter also of Pale Divine) have quickly hit on an individual approach, rooted in a deeply melodic, progressive wizard doom that’s brought to life on stage through live double-tracking of Ortt‘s vocals and a range of effects that show up on the album as well, from the dense classic-heavy fuzz of Kirby‘s bass to compression on the singing and some manner of alchemy in the guitar that turns it into a Hammond organ. All of this enriches and deepens the atmosphere live as well as on Beelzefuzz‘s self-titled debut full-length, released by The Church Within Records, and quickly into the album, it becomes clear that Beelzefuzz are offering something different from the standard post-TheObsessed/Pentagram riff-and-chug of Maryland doom.
Certainly those elements are there, but whether it’s the gallop that begins the album with opener and highlight “Reborn” or the more stoner shuffle that drives “Sirens Song,” Beelzefuzz present their material in such a way as to create an aesthetic of their own from these familiar parts — as much as one could reasonably hope for from a single record and more than one could generally ask of a debut. Across a relatively brief eight-track/36-minute span, the band casts a richly melodic ambience that’s somewhat thicker tonally than they have been live in my experience, but recorded largely by the venerable Chris Koslowski, it still represents the quirk in their turns and the breadth of their influence well, Ortt emerging as a frontman presence even without the benefit of the widened eyes with which he often regards his audience from the stage. There are flashes of complex brilliance, as “Hypnotize” and “Lonely Creatures” can attest, and even in the shorter, more straightforward pieces like “Lotus Jam” and “Sirens Song,” Beelzefuzz don’t sound quite like anyone or anything else out there. Silly name or not, they’re something special.
While that’s true, there’s also very little about them that’s flashy, or that seems intent on reinventing the genre from whence they come. Because of the deeply developed aesthetic and because of how strong their grip on it is as they play through what it’s somewhat shocking to think of as their first album, I’m inclined not to think they’re not aware of what they’re doing musically, but perhaps Beelzefuzz‘s goal isn’t innovation so much as having a good time and this is simply how they do it. If that’s the case, it bodes doubly well going forward, but in the meantime, with their self-titled the three-piece keeps to a consistent atmosphere that’s both dense and doomly but still somewhat hopeful, a dark, dank room that lets light in when the sun hits just the right position. Ortt can’t resist a medieval-drinking-song rhythm for the verses of “All the Feeling Returns” and I hear nothing in the track that would make me want him to, and by the time they get around to the penultimate “Lunar Blanco,” the brooding transitions and tension-release chorus seem to be a methodology they’ve long since mastered.
Several of these songs appeared on their demos — “Reborn,” “Lotus Jam,” “All the Feeling Returns,” “Lunar Blanco” and closer “Light that Blinds” — but the professional production adds heft and the band’s subsequent gigging experience shows itself in an overarching confidence audible from the earliest thrust of “Reborn,” which gets underway started by McCloskey as the guitar and bass feedback and soon opens to an immediate mover of a verse. An otherworldly feel — not psychedelic, but far from terrestrial — pervades immediately and is maintained over the course of the record, but what really stands “Reborn” out from its surroundings and makes is such an effective opener is the strength and resonance of its hooks, which arrive in both verse and chorus resulting in a whole that, with lyrics nodding at Spirit Caravan (“I wanted to experience the elusive truth…”), immerses the listener in the environment that Beelzefuzz have crafted: A dewy pre-dawn set in shades of blue and grey and green. The album isn’t short on memorable stretches, but they picked the right one to put first, and “Lotus Jam” follows well with interwoven layers of guitar and bass over a steady beat, Ortt‘s vocals taking a commanding tone for the chorus, “Your wicked warriors turn to dust/The sands of time would never wait/The metal legions lie in rust/Mortality accept your fate.”
Best of all on Beelzefuzz, “Lotus Jam” emphasizes the band’s ability to turn a straightforward verse/chorus structure into something that’s both classic sounding and fresh. They show a weirder side in “All the Feeling Returns,” foreshadowing some of the shifts they’ll make soon enough on “Hypnotize” and “Lonely Creatures,” and had I not seen them live, I’d probably credit the depth of tone and layering in Ortt‘s vocals to studio flash, but it’s not. With Kirby and McCloskey holding together a build in the chorus, the music suddenly cuts out mid-“yeah,” which Ortt cuts sharply to allow for instrumental resurgence. It’s one of those moments on the record — and there are a few — that’s a small thing that goes a long way in cluing the listener in to how developed Beelzefuzz already are; no doubt so many vocalists would’ve held that “yeah” till their voices gave out. Ortt serves the song better by cutting it, allowing for a full pause before the next verse starts. In its midsection, “All the Feeling Returns” transitions to a dreamier break, the title-line delivered along the way, and though it doesn’t return to the verse and chorus it came from, the turn is still flowing enough to make sense.
The line “Softly we fell through the sky” ends with an effect that seems to make the final word shine, and a section of chugging guitar and more subdued vocals ensues, McCloskey opening up on his crash as Kirby keeps his bass in lockstep march with the guitar until the ending cymbal wash and rumble carries into the slide that starts the quiet intro to “Sirens Song.” Kirby feels more present in the mix initially because the guitar is softer and the vocals, when they come in, match, but as the track approaches the minute mark and its shuffle takes hold, a balance is struck. Vocally, Ortt puts off some of the soulful belting-it-out he’s shown thus far in favor of a quieter take that lends depth to the band’s aesthetic overall — neither he nor they need to do the same thing all the time. Once the groove arrives, Beelzefuzz stick to it in both verses and choruses for most of the remainder, but some choice prog soloing late into the track adds flair and, again, depth as they wind down to the final crashes, a full stop giving “Hypnotize” a bed of silence on which to unwind its creepy introduction.
At 7:09, “Hypnotize” accounts for the longest track on Beelzefuzz, and a decent portion of its additional runtime comes from the introduction, which lasts roughly two minutes before the guitar starts the riff that will lead through the verse. The intro probably could have been its own track, but the conceptual weight it adds to “Hypnotize” works well in the context of the song itself — the arrival of that riff really feels like an arrival — and in the midsection they refer back to the oozing, suitably hypnotic beginnings. In terms of the overall effectiveness of “Hypnotize,” it stands with “Reborn” and the subsequent “Lonely Creatures” as one of the high points of Beelzefuzz, and though it’s been around for a while and they’ve been playing it live since 2011, in its studio form it is marked out for both the confidence of its delivery and the fact that it seems generally to hit harder, particularly in terms of McCloskey‘s drums, which create more of a wash with the cymbals and more direct thud with the kick drum during the winding, chugging verse. All that is not to mention its two-part chorus, each piece of which would be a landmark on its own and when taken one into the next provide the album’s moment of greatest infectiousness, Ortt‘s vocals soaring both in the lines of the chorus proper and “whoa”s that follow. Breaking to single hits measured out by McCloskey on the bell of his ride, Beelzefuzz once again call back to the intro, albeit in a manner much, much heavier.
That stomp also serves to set the tone for “Lonely Creatures,” which bases its core around heavy-landing, insistent instrumental push — bam. bam. bam. — with a bit of swing thrown in for good measure, resulting in a demented kind of almost-waltz, Ortt moving his voice to a lower register initially; part carnival barker and part snake oil salesman. The nod is irresistible. “Lonely Creatures” might be Beelzefuzz at their most progressively weird, but even here they don’t lose sight of the overarching feel of the album, and as the stomp opens up to the chorus, it’s easy to follow the band. McCloskey gives a sub-military snare march to a short, quiet break as Kirby introduces the next phase and Ortt plucks quietly, and a chorus gives way to the same break, this time topped with an intricate, classical-sounding solo. The chorus returns and trades off again with the solo, but “Lonely Creatures” makes its triumph in the reentry of the stomping progression with which it opened and has, by this time, come so far. As one almost couldn’t help but to do, they slam each hit as Ortt tops with eerie “oooh”s and the album finds a brief but righteous apex.
Through its slower, more definitively doomed opening and into a descending verse, “Lunar Blanco” inevitably feels like a comedown from “Lonely Creatures,” and that seems to be the band’s intent, but the subtlety with which the penultimate song on Beelzefuzz unfolds its verse and chorus and the fluidity of its changes nonetheless further underscores just how little Beelzefuzz are beholden to one sonic ideology over another. That chorus is also a sleeper, and particularly after repeat listens, imprints itself, the lines, “That’s the promise that we have made/Locked in cages left entombed/And the secrets that we keep inside/The empty canvas of the moon,” reminding that there may yet come a day when a member of our species might be able to bring up that celestial body in a rock song without being immediately relatable to or derivative of Pink Floyd. Atmospherically, its subdued heaviness also marks it out from the other cuts on the album, whether it’s the more rocking “Reborn” and “All the Feeling Returns” or the grooving post-intro chug of “Hypnotize.” So while it’s a comedown in adrenaline from “Lonely Creatures,” stylistically Beelzefuzz are still expanding their reach. With the finale in “Light that Binds,” the soloing begins almost immediately and the concluding feel is palpable. Faster paced than “Lunar Blanco,” it’s also more upbeat in terms of mood, and its two-line chorus of “Let the haunting cries of your truth/Ring on forevermore” finds the last line sustained over more engaging lead work.
All this doesn’t necessarily lead to a lighthearted feel, like Beelzefuzz are ending off clowning around so as to undo some of the heavy-handedness of the album preceding, but there’s a definite contrast in vibe between “Lunar Blanco” and the closer. In short, it sounds like the Ortt, Kirby and McCloskey are leading the way out of that place, that environment they’ve made — the sun coming up higher to turn the pre-dawn blues and greens to more vibrant yellows and sepia. With by-now familiar “ooh”s for melodic embellishments, Ortt gives a last-minute burst of soul in the final verses, layering on top of the solo that eventually rises to pied-piper the way out of the track and album as a whole, Kirby and McCloskey holding firmly to the chorus progression that’s also served as an outro no less fitting as that of “Reborn” was to open. Between the symmetry of its bookends, the flow within and between the tracks, the memorable songwriting, confident, assured performances and heavy, crisp and natural production, Beelzefuzz is among the most promising debuts I’ve heard in American doom for some time. It was one I was greatly anticipating, and it has more than surpassed my expectations, leaving me with little doubt its appeal will stand as one of the year’s best outings, and more importantly than some place on some list, a record that will continue to deliver a unique listening experience for years to come. Had I not seen them live several times beforehand or heard their demo material, I might not have had the context to fully appreciate it, but ultimately, I don’t care how about how everyone else comes aboard or how silly the band’s name is. This shit is awesome. Recommended.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 30th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Following up on their 2009 self-titled debut EP, Los Angeles doomers Yidhra (also stylized YIDHRa) will issue their first full-length, Hexed, on Sept. 13. The band takes its name from a shapeshifting Lovecraftian goddess, and if you missed their EP, all four of its tracks have also made their way to the long-player, which was produced by Bill Metoyer and makes an immediately burly impression with the eight-minute “Witch Queen,” which is about as close as Yidhra come to an eponymous song. There’s a considerable undercurrent of extreme metal to a lot of what Yidhra does on the album — like at any moment the tension they build might explode into death growls and blastbeats — but their interests seem to rest in weighted grooves and chugging riffs, resulting in a potent brew that at times gives an impression of what Orange Goblin might sound like at three-quarter speed.
The entirety of Hexedhas been made available via Yidhra‘s Bandcamp, and you’ll find it on the player beneath the album info below:
“Hexed”, the first full length studio album from Los Angeles’ doom-metal wizards YIDHRA, is set to be released through all major digital outlets on Friday the 13th of September 2013. A vinyl release is slated for winter 2013. “Hexed” is the long awaited 9-song follow-up to 2009’s critically acclaimed self-titled EP and was recorded at Skull Seven Studios in North Hollywood, CA by legendary producer Bill Metoyer (SLAYER, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, TROUBLE, ARMORED SAINT, DARK ANGEL, SACRED REICH, CRYPTIC SLAUGHTER, D.R.I.) Metoyer had this to say about working with YIDHRA, “Not since TROUBLE have I worked with a band in this genre so talented. YIDHRA! I have no clue what the name means, but to me it means DOOM!”
“Hexed” track listing:
01. Witch Queen 02. Oath Breaker 03. Blood is the Harvest 04. Raven’s Flight 05. Ancient Ones 06. Conquest for Nova 07. Mai-cob 08. The Lament of Longinus 09. Dagon
YIDHRA are streaming the entire “Hexed” album on their bandcamp page. Check them out using the link below.
Says YIDHRA founder and guitarist Dave Krocker: “Working with Bill was awesome. Just the thought of his history, and reading his name on all those influential records, it was kind of crazy. He knows his stuff and he’s super easy going. It was great!”
Comments vocalist Ted Venemann: “We went in the studio with a plan to make a record that ebbed and flowed. One that would organically segue, like our live shows, from one powerful emotion to the next and Bill helped us capture all of that intensity and more. “Hexed” is a super heavy and grooving album and we are really proud of what Bill and us accomplished.”
Bassist Thomas Harris says: “We’ve developed a far more solid musical bond as a band since the EP. Honing and refining our sound and having a master of the craft such as Bill capture it is fantastic!”
Drummer Chris Hannan adds: “Bill, is an absolute pro. He has the gift of understanding your band’s sound & purpose. He’s extremely patient, and really knows how to capture the feel of each song.”
Here’s the story of how I came into possession of over 250 audio and video bootlegs all at once:
A few weeks ago, when I could still consider myself gainfully employed and not go into some kind of simultaneous laugh-cry about it, I got an email from a dude who reads the site. Knowing I’d almost certainly post about it later, he asked pretty early on not to be named. He said he had a bunch of live stuff from Wino he was looking to get rid of, that he’d been a big CDR and DVDR trader for bootlegs over the years and had got together a good collection. Needless to say, my interest was piqued.
He wrote that he wanted it to go to “a good home.” I said I was happy to provide one and to send over his list. I’ve never traded boots, but I know that in the days when physical trading was a thing, you were your list. He sent it over and I read it in slow motion. As advertised, there was a ton of Wino, from The Obsessed playing in 1983 and Warhorse at their high school in 1978 up to Saint Vitus in New Orleans in 2009, with a healthy dose of Shine/Spirit Caravan and The Hidden Hand stuff in between, audio and video. I found a video of a show from TheHidden Hand that I went to at the Khyber Pass in Philly, Feb. 5, 2004. I’m pretty sure you can see my big goofy head in the shot.
But the Winory is just the start of it. From The Atomic Bitchwax live at Roadburn in 2003 to shows from Warning, Valkyrie and a slew of sets recorded at Emissions from the Monolith (there’s a lot of “Live in Youngstown, OH” in late May 2003 and 2004), there are gigs from Revelation, Solace, Blood Farmers, YOB, Buried at Sea, Goatsnake, Test-Site and Acid King, Iron Man and Paul Chain. I said to the guy that I’d take everything on the list, and that’s just what I did. For $100 to cover the cost of discs, sleeves and shipping, I got 266 discs, some with more than one show included on them.
Here’s the full list:
Live & Demo CDs
35007, Roadburn Festival 2003
Abdullah, Cleveland, OH 10/18/01
Acid King, Baltimore, MD 10/2/00
Acid King, San Francisco, CA 7/16/01
Acid Mothers Temple, Chicago, IL 10/20/02 (2 CDs)
Agony Bag, Piss Out Your Trash Demo
Asylum, Demos 1986-88 (3 CDs)
Asylum, Baltimore, MD 4/13/07
Atomic Bitchwax, New Jersey 9/10/99 Atomic Bitchwax, Roadburn Festival 2001
Atomic Bitchwax, Berlin, Germany 5/11/04
Atomic Bitchwax, Switzerland 5/6/05
Dax Riggs, The Skeletal Circus Derails – Demo
Dead Meadow, Peel Sessions 2002
Deadboy & The Elephantmen, Demos
Deadboy & The Elephantmen, 10/9/03 Lafayette, La
Debris Inc., Cincinnati, OH 5/27/04
The Dictators, Asbury Park, NJ 6/8/91
The Dictators, Philadelphia, PA 5/30/98
Fu Manchu, Sweden 6/18/99
Grand Magus, Demo + Live 3/30/02 London
Helmet, Compilation (Rare, B-Sides Etc.)
Helmet, Blacktop 2/28/91
Helmet, New Orleans, La 8/5/91
High Rise, NYC, New York 3/14/00
House Of Large Sizes, I.O.W.A. – Live
House Of Large Sizes, Iowa City, IA 8/11/90
House Of Large Sizes, Davenport, IA 2/9/91 (2 CDs)
House Of Large Sizes, Cedar Falls, IA 8/16/90
House Of Large Sizes, Cedar Falls, IA 2/16/91 (2 CDs)
Internal Void, Frederick, MD 6/13/98
Internal Void, Indianapolis, IN 6/19/04
Iron Boss, Baltimore, MD 12/31/02
Iron Man, Force (Pre Iron Man)
Iron Man, Frederick, MD 12/31/07
Iron Man, Cincinnati, OH 3/14/00
Kyuss, Black Jeweler (B-Sides Etc)
Kyuss, San Francisco, CA 11/12/94
Kyuss, Desert Heavies
Kyuss, Desert Storm
Kyuss, Live At Bizzare Fest
Kyuss, Mercurious Pools
Kyuss, Norfolk, VA 12/18/92
Kyuss, To Infinity And Beyond
Kyuss, “Sons Of Kyuss “”Demo”” 39 Mins.”
Kyuss, Muchas Gracias
Nebula, Sweden 6/15/00
Opeth, Chicago, IL 10/02
Orange Goblin, Osaka, Japan 6/11/99
Orange Goblin, Austin, TX 5/10/02
Orange Goblin, Cincinatti, OH 5/27/04
Pale Divine, Frederick, MD 6/13/98
Pale Divine, Wheaton, MD 6/18/99
Paul Chain, Rimini, Italy 4/10/82
Paul Chain, Milan, It 1/15/90 (2 CDs)
Saint Vitus, First Album Demos
Saint Vitus, Koln, Germany 3/12/95
Saint Vitus, Firburgo, Swi 3/17/89
Saint Vitus, Torino 12/02/90 + L.A. 1984 (2 CDs)
Saint Vitus, Brain Sabbath – Boot
Saint Vitus, Washington, D.C. – 4/2/86 (2 CDs)
Saint Vitus, (Tyrant) Rehearsal 1978
Saint Vitus, Torino, Italy (2 CDs) 3/29/89
Saint Vitus, Tilburg, Holland (2 CDs) 4/24/09
Shine, Washington, D.C.2/13/98
Shine, Hagerstown, MD 5/14/98
Shine, Powertime E.P. + 3 Live + 9/20/97
Shine, Dallas 5/21/98 + Interview
Shine, Live 1997
Shine, Wheaton, MD 12/31/98
Shine, Washington, D.C. 12/13/97 (2 CDs)
Shine, NYC, NY 8/15/98 (Cuts)
Shine, Wheaton, MD 12/31/97
Shine, Washington, D.C. 8/10/97 (Slight Glitches)
Shine, Washington, D.C. 10/29/98
Shine, Baltimore, MD 8/16/98
Shine, Frederick, MD 9/20/97
Shine, College Park, MD 8/21/98
Shine, Washington, D.C. 6/6/97
Sixty Watt Shaman, 6/26/99
Solstice, Demos 1992-93
Spirit Caravan, Long Branch, N.J. 7/8/99
Spirit Caravan, Chicago, IL 4/26/02
Spirit Caravan, San Francisco, CA 7/16/01 (Glitches)
Spirit Caravan, St. Louis, MO 4/23/02
Spirit Caravan, U.K. 12/1/01
Spirit Caravan, Philadelphia, PA 8/3/01
Spirit Caravan, Baltimore, MD 5/15/99
Spirit Caravan, Wheaton, MD 8/14/99 (39 Min)
Spirit Caravan, Baltimore, MD 7/27/00
Spirit Caravan, Maryland 5/18/01
Spirit Caravan, Baltimore, MD 5/4/02
Spirit Caravan, Chicago, IL 7/26/01
Spirit Caravan, Brooklyn, NY 5/2/02
Spirit Caravan, New York City, NY 1/16/00
Spirit Caravan, Old Bridge, NJ 1/21/01
Spirit Caravan, Long Branch, NJ 2/18/00
Spirit Caravan, Cambridge, MA 8/1/01
Spirit Caravan, Munich, Germany 9/14/99
Spirit Caravan, Denmark 9/22/00
Spirit Caravan, Baltimore, MD 5/3/99
Spirit Caravan, Baltimore, MD 7/22/00
Spirit Caravan, Baltimore, MD 10/02/00
Spirit Caravan, Wheaton, MD 12/31/98
Spirit Caravan, Wheaton, MD 1/12/00
Spirit Caravan, Toledo, OH 1/14/01
Spirit Caravan, Youngstown, OH 9/3/00
Spirit Caravan, Youngstown, OH 5/27/01
Spirit Caravan, Toledo, OH 4/27/02
Spirit Caravan, Washington, D.C. 10/4/00 (Gaps)
The Hidden Hand, Pittsburgh, PA 2/12/07
The Obsessed, History Of Vol. 1 (Doom Records)
The Obsessed, History Of Volume 2 (Doom Recs)
The Obsessed, Live At The Wax Museum (Doom Recs)
The Obsessed, Washington, D.C. 3/14/85
The Obsessed, 9 Song Demo
The Obsessed, Various ’80’s Live
The Obsessed, Tucson, AZ 7/31/92
The Obsessed, Tucson, AZ 10/15/92
The Obsessed, Columbia Studio Session
The Obsessed, FM Broadcast December 1992
The Obsessed, Stuttgart, Germany 12/28/92
The Obsessed, Carrboro, NC 4/19/94
Trouble, Stuttgart, Germany 1/2/93
Trouble, One For The Road
Trouble, Aurora, IL 5/4/02 (2 CDs)
Trouble, South Barrington, IL 5/18/02 (2 CDs)
Unida, Chico, CA 5/24/00
Unida, Vienna 11/5/00
Unida, Unreleased 2002
Unorthodox, Asylum Demos 12/15/90
Unorthodox, Frederick, MD 10/14/00
Unorthodox, Frederick, MD 12/31/07
Unorthodox, Baltimore, MD 4/14/07
Wino, Tilberg, Holland 4/26/09
Wino, Athens, Greece 10/12/10
DVDs
Acid Mothers Temple, 4/22/07 Charlottesville, VA 80 Min Alabama Thunderpussy, 11/4/06 Richmond, VA 62 Min
Asylum, 6/26/88 College Park, MD 115 Min
Atomic Bitchwax, 1/12/99 New York City, NY 64 Min
Atomic Bitchwax, 7/8/05 Baltimore, MD 63 Min
Atomic Bitchwax, 11/23/05 Washington, D.C. 54 Min
Blood Farmers, 4/15/07 Baltimore, MD 57 Min
Brant Bjork & The Bros, 5/21/05 Washington, D.C. 78 Min
Buried at Sea, 5/29/04 Youngstown, OH 30 Min
Clearlight, 8/14/99 Wheaton, MD 49 Min
Dead Meadow, 6/16/06 Washington, D.C. 46 Min
Debris Inc. – 5/29/04 Youngstown, OH 45 Min
Delicious, 5/27/04 Youngstown, OH 33 Min
Dixie Witch, 5/27/06 Youngstown, OH 42 Min
Doomed Nation, Volume 1 2004 65 Min
Doomed Nation, Volume 2 2005 85 Min
Dragon Ass, 9/5/03 Baltimore, MD 38 Min
Earthride, 9/3/05 Frederick, MD 18 Min
Earthride, 11/23/05 Washington, D.C. 34 Min
Fu Manchu, 1/30/96 Los Angeles, CA 38 Min
Goatsnake – 5/24/99 – Eindhoven, Germany 55 Min
Grief, 5/27/06 Youngstown, OH 57 Min
High On Fire, 12/15/04 Richmond, VA 65 Min
Hounds Of Hasselvander, 3/14/08 Washington, D.C. 65 Min
Internal Void, 8/28/04 Washington, D.C. 60 Min
Internal Void, 3/4/05 Baltimore, MD 28 Min
Internal Void, 9/3/05 Frederick, MD 69 Min
Internal Void, 11/23/05 Washington, D.C. 48 Min
Internal Void / Kelly Carmichael, 12/10/05 Frederick, MD 101 Min
Iron Man, 12/31/99 Wheaton, MD 68 Min
Iron Man, 4/15/07 Baltimore, MD 57 Min
King Valley, 9/5/03 Baltimore, MD 31 Min
King Valley, 8/28/04 Washington, D.C. 32 Min
King Valley, 3/4/05 Baltimore, MD 39 Min
King Valley, 5/26/05 Youngstown, OH 27 Min
King Valley, 6/25/05 Newark, DE 36 Min
King Valley, 9/3/05 Frederick, MD 34 Min
King Valley, 2/3/06 Leesburg, VA 40 Min
Kramer, Wayne, 7/13/02 Baltimore, MD 70 Min
MC5 / DKT, 6/18/04 Washington, D.C. 81 Min
Nebula, 6/2/02 Baltimore, MD 50 Min
Nitroseed, 6/2/05 Washington, D.C. 39 Min
Ogre, 4/14/07 Baltimore, MD 46 Min
Ostinato, 5/26/04 Washington, D.C. 48 Min
Ostinato, 10/29/04 Washington, D.C. 40 Min
Pearls & Brass / The Amoeba Men, 1/29/06 Richmond, VA 80 Min
Penance, 4/14/07 Baltimore, MD 63 Min
Revelation I, 4/14/07 Baltimore, MD 63 Min
Revelation II, 4/15/07 Baltimore, MD 57 Min
Revelation, 3/14/08 Washington, D.C. 65 Min
Rwake, 5/29/04 Youngstown, OH 40 Min
Saint Vitus, 7/21/87 Albany, NY 53 Min
Saint Vitus, 1987 Indianapolis, IN 42 Min Saint Vitus, 1993 Florida 100 Min
Saint Vitus, 7/1/03 Chicago, IL 56 Min
Saint Vitus, 4/11/09 New Orleans, LA
Shine, 12/29/96 Columbus, OH 27 Min
Shine, 2/14/97 Baltimore, MD 31 Min
Shine, 4/12/97 Washington, D.C. 54 Min
Shine, 8/15/97 Wheaton, MD 75 Min
Shine, 10/18/97 Wheaton, MD 65 Min
Solace, 5/28/04 Youngstown, OH 51 Min
Solace, 7/3/04 Baltimore, MD 30 Min
Solace, 9/5/04 Youngstown, OH 44 Min
Spirit Caravan, 7/8/99 Long Branch, NJ 61 Min
Spirit Caravan, 7/10/99 Richmond, VA 55 Min
Spirit Caravan, 8/14/99 Wheaton, MD 84min
Spirit Caravan, 2/2/00 Richmond, VA 59 Min
Spirit Caravan, 2/14/00 Cleveland, OH 67 Min
Spirit Caravan, 4/15/00 Youngstown, OH 53 Min
Spirit Caravan, 7/22/00 Baltimore, MD 28 Min
Spirit Caravan, 12/12/00 Hungary 68 Min
Spirit Caravan, 2/9/01 Springfield, VA 42 Min
Spirit Caravan, 5/18/01 Baltimore, MD 70 Min
Spirit Caravan, 8/1/01 Cambridge, MA 65 Min
Spirit Caravan, 1/19/02 Baltimore, MD 50 Min
Spirit Caravan, 5/2/02 Philadelphia, PA 60 Min
Spirit Caravan, 5/4/02 Baltimore, MD 56 Min
Stinking Lizaveta, 5/29/04 Youngstown, OH 40 Min
Suzukiton, 12/15/04 Richmond, VA 35 Min
Suzukiton – 5/29/07 Charlottesville, VA 38 Min
Test Site, 9/5/04 Youngstown, OH 35 Min
Test-Site, 6/1/05 Washington, D.C. 39 Min
The Hidden Hand, 12/31/02 Baltimore, MD 37 Min
The Hidden Hand- 2/22/03 Washington, D.C. 48 Min
The Hidden Hand, 6/24/03 Baltimore, MD 47 Min
The Hidden Hand, 8/29/03 Washington, D.C. 63 Min
The Hidden Hand, 1/16/04 Baltimore, MD 50 Min
The Hidden Hand, 2/5/04 Philadelphia, PA 60 Min
The Hidden Hand, 2/10/04 Baltimore, MD 45 Min
The Hidden Hand, 2/12/04 Lancaster, PA 30 Min
The Hidden Hand, 2/13/04 Washington, D.C. 45 Min
The Hidden Hand, 5/25/04 Washington, D.C. 54 Min
The Hidden Hand, 5/26/04 Washington, D.C. 52 Min
The Hidden Hand, 5/29/04 Youngstown, OH 42 Min
The Hidden Hand, 10/28/04 Philadelphia, PA 56 Min
The Hidden Hand, 10/29/04 Washington, D.C. 67 Min
The Hidden Hand, 1/15/05 Washington, D.C. 52 Min
The Hidden Hand, 2/12/05 Gaithersburg, MD 45 Min
The Hidden Hand, 4/16/05 Washington, D.C. 51 Min
The Hidden Hand, 5/20/05 Hartford, CT 48 Min
The Hidden Hand, 6/25/05 Newark, DE 52 Min
The Hidden Hand, 7/2/05 Washington, D.C. 47 Min
The Hidden Hand, 12/29/06 Washington, D.C. 56 Min
The Hidden Hand, 2/9/07 St. Paul, MN 60 Min
The Hidden Hand, 5/13/07 London, England 60 Min
The Obsessed, 1993 Fort Worth, TX 27 Min
The Obsessed, 4/18/94 Hampton, VA 36 Min
The Obsessed, 4/19/94 Carrboro, NC 40 Min
The Obsessed – Documentary 27 Min
Trephine, 12/11/04 Baltimore, MD 28 Min
Unorthodox, 6/19/04 Tradesmen Party 22 Min
Unorthodox, 7/31/04 Washington, D.C. 44 Min
Unorthodox – 9/4/04 Youngstown, OH 48 Min
Unorthodox, 4/14/07 Baltimore, MD 74 Min
Valkyrie, 3/4/05 Baltimore, MD 39 Min
Valkyrie, 11/4/06 Richmond, VA 37 Min
Valkyrie, 3/9/07 Richmond, VA 41 Min
Valkyrie, 4/14/07 Baltimore, MD 37 Min
Valkyrie, 5/29/07 Charlottesville, VA 37 Min
Warning, 4/16/05 Goppingen, Germany 64 Min
Wino, 1/28/09 Washington, D.C. 25 Min
Wino, 2/7/09, Washington, D.C. 57 Min
Witchcraft, 5/28/05 Youngstown, OH 66 Min
Witchcraft, 11/11/06 Washington, D.C. 45 Min
Wooly Mammoth, 6/16/06 Washington, D.C. 36 Min
Wooly Mammoth, 10/29/04 Washington, D.C.41 Min
Wooly Mammoth, 12/29/06 Washington, D.C. 36 Min
Wretched, 8/28/04 Washington, D.C. 30 Min
Wretched, 9/4/04 Youngstown, OH 24 Min
Wretched, 4/15/07 Baltimore, MD 42 Min
YOB, 5/20/05 Hartford, CT 45 Min
Warhorse, 1978 Rockville, MD 28 Min
The Obsessed, 3/80 Rockville, MD 106 Min (2 DVDs)
The Obsessed, 7/3/82 Washington, D.C. 74 Min (2 DVDs)
The Obsessed, 11/83 Kensington, MD 45 Min
The Obsessed, 2/11/84 New York City, NY 35 Min
The Obsessed, 6/16/84 Long March, PA 40 Min
The Obsessed, 4/17/94 Washington, D.C. 45 Min
Shine, 9/29/96 Wheaton, MD 45 Min
The Hidden Hand, 5/25/03 Youngstown, OH (Bass Heavy)
I’ve taken to calling it The Megabox.
It’s been here more than a week now and I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it contains. A Spirit Caravan show here, some Acid King there. At that rate, it’ll probably be years before I get through everything — if I ever do — and I have no idea how to organize it, because it can’t stay in the Megabox forever, but screw it, there was no way I was going to let an opportunity to own such a collection pass me by, even if it is CDRs in sleeves. Someone poured their heart into getting all of this. I was flattered even to be asked if I wanted it.
Yeah, some of it is available on YouTube or whatever blog or forum group, but considering I spent less than 50 cents for each of these shows and especially considering the human element in the media and the passion that clearly went into putting the collection together, I’m still ready to call it the bargain of the year.
Nebula, “All the Way” Live at the Ottobar, Baltimore, MD, 06.02.02
As posted on the forum, Iron Man will issue their new album, South of the Earth, on Oct. 1 in North America via Metal Blade. Rise Above is handling the UK and Europe, and the Metal Blade match is a good one, since guitarist “Iron” Al Morris III‘s previous band, Force — out of which Iron Man gradually emerged — released their only EP in 1981, a year before the label formed. Both have been through some pretty significant changes since then, but they’re still going strong, and if the megafuzz on Morris‘ guitar on the track “Hail to the Haze” is anything to go by, Iron Man might just be going their strongest yet.
South of the Earth is the band’s first long-player withDee Calhoun up front. And as advertised, he’s right out there. Pipes for days and the song has a hook to match. But as ever, a goodly portion of Iron Man‘s power resides in its rhythm section, whether it’s the punch of Louis Strachan‘s bass or the straightforward thrust of Jason “Mot” Waldmann‘s drumming, “Hail to the Haze” is a mover and it’s no mystery why. As much of the focus will reside (rightly) with Morris‘ tone and however much Calhoun‘s more-steel-than-your-favorite-skyscraper vocals will demand the attention of anyone listening, it’s the complete package that results in the fistpump-worthy doom metal of “Hail to the Haze.”
That’s not even to mention the production on the track, which is leaps and bounds ahead of even where Iron Man were with I Have Returned in terms of overall fullness. And I thought that record sounded pretty good. This only makes me look forward to hearing South of the Earth more and getting to know the material better live.
Dig it:
Iron Man, “Hail to the Haze” from South of the Earth (2013)
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 29th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Blackfinger‘s self-titled debut has been a while in the making for sure. Former Trouble and current The Skull frontman Eric Wagner discussed the project’s first album in an interview late in 2011, saying then that it was being mixed, so unless that took more than year — which is possible, certainly — the record has probably sat for a bit while the circumstances of its release were sorted. To that end, the band has signed with The Church Within Records (see also Serpent Venom, Seamount, Beelzefuzz, etc.) out of Germany for the physical, CD/LP editions, and while an exact issue date has yet to be announced, for sure that’s progress. Between Blackfinger, Earthen Grave, The Skull and the actual new Trouble record, 2013-2014 is shaping up to be quite an era for Chicago’s most legendary doom export, its current and former members.
The PR wire had this to say:
Eric Wagner’s BLACKFINGER Sign Worldwide Deal; Reveal New Teaser Video
From Mercyful Mike Management & Production:
“We are extremely pleased to announce that BLACKFINGER, featuring former TROUBLE vocalist Eric Wagner, has signed a worldwide deal with Germany’s prestigious Church Within Records. The mastered album is being delivered to Church Within as we speak, and the CD and Vinyl versions are expected out by the end of the year. An exact release date will be announced soon. A full tour in the support of the album is being discussed, and will be reported on as things fall into place. Until then, be sure to check out the new BLACKFINGER promo video from Kathy Reeves Productions below.”
As reported earlier, Dark Star Records will be handling the digital release of the BLACKFINGER debut, which will be available on the official release date of the CD/LP.
The debut album, with its many peaks and valleys of heaviness and melancholy, along with Wagner’s signature vocals, will mark the singer’s first recorded output since Trouble’s 2007 release “Simple Mind Condition.”
The track listing of “Blackfinger” is as follows: I Am Jon Yellowood Why God On Tuesday Morning As Long As I’m With You Here Comes The Rain My Many Colored Days For One More Day All The Leaves Are Brown Til Death Do Us Part Keep Fallin’ Down
Keep updated with all BLACKFINGER news by visitingwww.blackfinger.net. Stay tuned!
Posted in Reviews on August 29th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Although at its most expansive, Monomyth‘s Monomyth ranges well into a cosmos of Krautrock-infused progadelia, there isn’t one moment of the album that feels like happenstance. Rather, the den Haag instrumental five-piece put an immediate sense of purpose into their Burning World Records self-titled debut — which is bound as well to grab extra attention owing to the involvement of drummer Sander Evers, formerly of Dutch heavy psych groundbreakers 35007 — and each of the five extended cuts on the 57-minute outing offers a complete individual journey while also flowing directly one to the next, so that the whole of the album is built up around these at times breathtakingly cohesive parts. The exception to that rule of flow is the 17-minute closer, “Huygens,” which comes on following silence at the end of the penultimate “Loch Ness,” but even that seems to have been a conscious decision on the part of the band — Evers on drums, Selwyn Slop on bass, Thomas van den Reydt on guitar, Peter van der Meer on keys and Tjerk Stoop credited with “synthesis and processing” in the album’s liner, which I assume means laptop — and certainly “Huygens” doesn’t detract from the overall liquidity of Monomythfor its slow fade in from the aforementioned silence, only adding to it a grand payoff patiently built toward that justifies the song’s position as the finale without losing sight of the progressive vibe. One could spend a lifetime immersed in the heavy prog spectrum of the early and mid ’70s, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that one or more of the members of Monomyth has, but in truly progressive form, the production here is modern-sounding to its very core. Modern-sounding, but not over-produced, it’s worth pointing out, and Monomyth walk just as careful a line in their presentation of their self-titled as they do in the intricate sense of composition and technicality that rests at the core of “Vanderwaalskrachten” (11:26), “Vile Vortices” (8:28), “The Groom Lake Engine” (10:06), “Loch Ness” (10:24) and “Huygens” (17:04) — all the titles coming together to blend into a theme of something unknown, scientific and otherworldly.
Whichever came first, those titles or the songs themselves, the pieces are clearly meant to be taken in a complete listen with how each feeds into the one following. Still, there doesn’t seem to be a narrative at work across them, or at least not in the sense of “Jack runs here, Jack goes there.” “Vanderwaalskrachten” begins with sparse guitar and synth hum, setting up a swirl and lushness of sound that will prove almost constant but for a few purposeful moments of minimalism. Setting a patient tone, the drums kick in around two minutes in with the bass and the dynamic at the core of Monomyth‘s Monomythis established; the rhythm section holds pieces together so that the guitar, keys and other elements are free to explore, which they do, again, not without a pervasive sense of purpose. The initial impression is similar in its smoothness and moody underpinnings to Germany’s My Sleeping Karma, but as “Vanderwaalskrachten” — named for the attractions between molecules and intermolecular forces — hits a pre-midpoint peak of heavy guitar riffing later to reemerge as a kind of instrumental chorus, it’s that much clearer that the band haven’t yet played their entire hand. A solo follows topping space rock pulsations and carries into a quiet bridge marked out by some funky organ work, only to find that chorus return again late in the track, giving all the more an impression of structure. Actually, “Vanderwaalskrachten” winds up rather traditional at its heart, just presented in a much different form than a phrase like “verse/chorus structure” might conjure in the mind of the listener. Likewise careful not to get underway too quickly, “Vile Vortices” — aka the Devil’s Graveyards; the Bermuda Triangle, Indus Valley, Algerian Megaliths, et. al. — unfolds to Floydian leads punctuated by xylophone-sounding percussion given flourish by jazzy keys before bass and organ introduce the crux of the build, Evers holding steady on drums behind. Those leads return, but structurally, “Vile Vortices” is different from its predecessor, more linear, and after five minutes in, it breaks to introduce a heavier riff that acts as the foundation for the build over the remainder of the track, which rounds out with a drone leading right into “The Groom Lake Engine,” the centerpiece of Monomyth.
