In Memory of Joe LaCaze of Eyehategod

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 24th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Joe LaCaze, 1971-2013

He was the only drummer I ever saw snort something on stage. Word started coming through last night on Facebook of the passing of Eyehategod drummer Joe LaCaze. Details at this point are sketchy, and by that I mean nil, but tributes have begun pouring in for LaCaze, who had more than ably handled the task of solidifying the chaos of Eyehategod’s sonic malevolence since 1989, playing on their four studio full-lengths and sundry other releases and touring the world with the groundbreaking sludge five-piece.

Eyehategod just wrapped a 15-date UK and European stint in Toulouse, France, on Aug. 20 and were scheduled to play three special shows in September to mark their 25th anniversary as a band, including a return to the Rocks Off Concert Cruise in Manhattan and an appearance at Phil Anselmo’s Housecore Horror Film Fest in Austin, Texas. Word of a new album had also begun to spread again with the release last year of the new single “New Orleans is the New Vietnam,” which had been Eyehategod’s first non-compilation studio output since 2004. Their last full-length was 2000’s Confederacy of Ruined Lives.

Again, there is nothing really made public at this point about the circumstances of his passing or any official word from the band (I’ll update when I see some), but LaCaze — who also drummed in Eyehategod offshoots Outlaw Order and The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight — leaves behind a formidable presence within what’s inarguably sludge’s greatest influence. In his attitude and his style, he was the swinging rudder steering a tornado and across classic albums like 1992’s In the Name of Suffering, 1993’s Take as Needed for Pain, and 1996’s Dopesick, he solidified a legacy that few can match.

The Obelisk sends heartfelt condolences to the friends, family, bandmates and anyone else who knew LaCaze. He will be missed.

UPDATE 08.28.13

Eyehategod released this statement today:

Joseph M. LaCaze, New Orleans native and drummer for Eyehategod, Mystick Krewe of Clearlight and Outlaw Order passed away on Aug. 23rd in New Orleans after a very successful five week UK and European tour with EHG.

He also performed ceremonial voodoo drumming and in numerous solo experimental electronic projects. Doctors confirmed to family members the cause as respiratory failure. He also suffered from severe long term asthma.

An account is set up for the benefit of his daughter Lilith LaCaze. Checks can be made payable to the Lilith LaCaze or Joseph LaCaze donation fund at any Capital One Bank in any city.

Eyehategod, In the Name of Suffering (1992)

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Friday Full-Length: Snail, All Channels are Open EP

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 23rd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Snail, All Channels are Open EP (1994)

Snail released the All Channels are Open EP in 1994 on Big Deal Records to serve as the follow-up to their 1993 self-titled debut full-length (reissue review here). It would be the last outing the former and once again West Coast trio would have prior to calling it quits after demoing songs for an album that wouldn’t greet the riff-worshiping public for another 16 years. That record was 2009’s Blood (review here), and Snail have been going strong since. Their 2012 self-released Terminus CD (review here) was a winner all the way, they played Doom in June this year and are reportedly working on another new long-player perhaps even as I type this. Right on.

I make no bones about being a fan of the band, so when I saw on their Thee Facebooks that they made All Channels are Open a for-cheap download ($3) on the Snail Bandcamp, I took it as an excuse to revisit the druggy five-track outing, which I picked up on CD a while ago but haven’t given nearly as many spins as either of the two recent albums or even the self-titled. Basically, I wanted to end the week with something I knew I liked and saw from them this was up. Here’s what they had to say about it:

Some of you were asking where to get this. We don’t have physical copies but here’s a high-quality download if you’re into it. Otherwise, there are old copies floating around out there, just starting to get expensive due to being out of print. Buy digital and support us instead!

http://snailhq.bandcamp.com/album/all-channels-are-open-ep

Good stuff. I continue to dig Snail, their unassuming vibe, their fascinating story, their excellent, laid back grooves and even their more aggressive moments, which never quite lose sight of the melody underneath. Looking forward to their new one.

Holy fucking shit. I don’t at all mind saying this was the worst week I’ve had in four years. Even worse than when we didn’t get that house up here because of the fucking gas leak about a month ago — and that was plenty terrible for my tastes. Started out pretty strong with that Truckfighters show on Monday. Then Tuesday I got a note from The Aquarian that they were cutting my already embarrassingly low salary in half because it’s print media and they don’t make any money. I managed to keep most of my income from them, and then on Wednesday, my other job — the website-management thing I’ve been doing for four-plus years that’s been the only job I’ve ever had where I’ve felt the compensation is remotely commensurate for the work put in — pulled the rug out from under me out of the blue. Shitcanned for absolutely no reason. “Blah blah blah corporate buzzwords.” I’ve been “streamlined” more times than I care to fucking count. “Nothing to do with your performance, your work is excellent, but, well, we’ve fucked over everyone else on our staff and it’s your turn. By the way, how about you keep working for us for less than a quarter of what we were paying you before?”

Bottom line is I’m 31 years old. I have made several truly, truly terrible life choices. I’ve made one good one, and that’s The Patient Mrs., but just about everything else, ever, has been shit. And it continues to be shit. I have no idea what I’m going to do for work — because The Aquarian salary isn’t enough to live on in this place that I just signed a lease on three fucking weeks ago — no idea how it’s going to affect this site, no idea of anything. I’m at a complete fucking loss. Tonight I throw my hands up in the air, shake my head and say I simply don’t fucking know. I don’t know.

So yes, this is a week I’m very glad to see come to an end. Whatever happens from here, it can’t possibly get much worse. The only way to go is up. And telling myself that is how I’ll get through without having my skull collapse on itself like a neutron fucking star.

Next week: I wanna review Argus. I don’t know yet what else, but definitely that. Renate/Cordate have waited like five months for a review too, so look for something on them. And there’s a Swedish band called Signo Rojo who I wanted to write about today but ran out of time (I have family in from out of town this weekend and had to get the place ready this afternoon), so look for that Monday. As to the rest, I’ll gladly refer you to the part above where I said I had no idea. I interviewed Brant Bjork the other day. Maybe I’ll put that up. Guess I’m going to have some time to transcribe shit now at least.

Ugh.

Wishing you a great and safe weekend.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

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Saint Vitus Announce East Coast Tour Dates for October

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 23rd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

The fact that Saint Vitus are heading out in October to tour the East Coast with a couple dates in the Midwest as well is excellent enough. Frankly, I’m just glad these dudes got enough of a response from 2012’s triumphant return album, Lillie: F-65 (review here), that they still want to be a band at all, let alone one that hits the road multiple times a year, either in support of that record or otherwise. Mark it down again, Saint Vitus touring is fucking awesome.

That said, we already know they started writing new material back at the beginning of last month, and we know from past experience that when guitarist Dave Chandler works, he doesn’t waste any time putting things together. You can see where this is going. My question is whether or not Saint Vitus could possibly be road-testing new material for a possible 2014 follow-up to Lillie: F-65. I know that seems like a pretty quick turnaround, but records like Born too Late, Mournful Cries, V and the recently-reissued C.O.D. all had two years from one to the next, so they’d be right on pace.

I’ll be keeping my doomed fingers crossed for a new song or two in the set while I mark the calendar and start nerding out at the chance to see Vitus again. Here are the dates:

SAINT VITUS October 2013 U.S. headlining tour dates

with PALLBEARER, ZOROASTER & THE HOOKERS
https://www.facebook.com/saintvitusofficial
Oct. 4 San Antonio TX @ Korova
Oct. 5 Norman OK @ The Opolis
Oct. 6 St Louis MO @ Firebird
Oct. 7 Minneapolis MN @ 7th St Entry
Oct. 8 Chicago IL @ Reggies
Oct. 9 Grand Rapids @ Pyramid Scheme
Oct. 10 Detroit MI @ Magic Stick
Oct. 11 Cleveland OH @ Grog Shop
Oct. 12 Pittsburgh PA @ Rex Theater
Oct. 13 Baltimore MD @ Metro Gallery
Oct. 14 Upstate NY @ Bogie’s
Oct. 15 Boston MA @ Middle East
Oct. 17 West Chester PA @ The Note
Oct. 18 Brooklyn NY @ Europa
Oct. 19 TBA
Oct. 20 Springfield VA @ Empire
Oct. 21 Richmond VA @ Strange Matter
Oct. 22 Asheville NC @ The Orange Peel
Oct. 23 Nashville TN @ Exit / In
Oct. 24 Atlanta GA @ The EARL
Oct. 25 New Orleans LA @ One Eyed Jacks

Saint Vitus, “The Waste of Time” Live at Sweden Rock 2012

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Live Review: Olde Growth, Balam and Keefshovel in Somerville, 08.22.13

Posted in Reviews on August 23rd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

The woman tending the bar at P.A.’s Lounge in Somerville when I — accompanied by The Patient Mrs. in her second rare public appearance in a week (she had also come to Truckfighters in Brooklyn) — was quick to call it “thirsty Thursday” upon our arrival. I’m fairly certain that’s code for “buy a drink,” but I tip my hat to the marketing nonetheless. It was my first time at the bar, essentially a townie kind of place, but with a more than decent beer selection and a dimly lit stage on the open side of the room in what I suspect was at one point an adjacent business before they took the wall down. It was early yet. Shrew, about whom I won’t pretend to know the first thing, were slated to open the show, but had dropped off, leaving Keefshovel, Balam and Olde Growth on the bill, which was obviously plenty enough to get me out to it.

I was particularly interested to see Keefshovel after the Elder show last week, as the two bands share drummer Matt Couto‘s ear-ringing crash, though they set it to different contexts between them. A double-guitar four-piece, Keefshovel dug into straightforward, sludgy grooves. Guitars ran through Sovtek and Sunn to come out in thick, bowel-troubling tones that only gained mass when taken in kind with the bass, and though the riffs they played were steadily familiar, they were delivered with conviction enough to be the band’s own; screams and shouts from either side of the stage arising periodically, though they seemed to have plenty of longer instrumental stretches as well. I don’t know how long Keefshovel have been playing together, but they reportedly have a tape release in the works and they’ve playing out a few more times over the next month or so, so I doubt this first time seeing them will be the last they’re heard from, and that suits me. They seemed to be still feeling out where they wanted to be musically, but were on their way.

Imported from Rhode Island, Balam had no scruples about their doomly aesthetic. With a standalone singer in Alexander Carellas who seemed to be following the what-would-BobbyLiebling-do model of frontmanship (hopefully in everything other than his choices of narcotics), Balam started off in rocking form and at one point sounded enough like early-Soundgarden-via-Roadsaw as to make me wonder if Boston’s long-established rock scene was beginning to influence a subsequent generation of acts, but the five-piece turned gradually to more trad-doom material, to which Carellas‘ voice was perfectly suited in a classic metal kind of way, nodding at Pagan Altar and Witchfinder General and however many other NWOBHM obscurities while guitarists Zack Wilding and Jonathan Janis led a riffy charge that at times seemed to be culling a Cathedral influence into its churn of varying tempo downerisms. They were an easy band to dig.

One new song that went unnamed seemed particularly promising, but “Soul Scour” from their 2012 demo — which they had for sale on CD and tape at the merch table; I figured better to buy both to be safe and explained same to the sweet, ever-rolling eyes of The Patient Mrs. — provided a grim ending through an effective blend of stoner riffs and doomed plod, the groove anchored by bassist Nick Arruda and drummer Zigmond Coffey, culminating in a change to a faster progression for an amply energetic finish. The room hadn’t been packed by any means, but by the time Balam were about halfway through, there was a good crowd that had rolled in, and Olde Growth took stage after a break to play a set also comprised in good proportion of new material. Well, sort of.

When bassist/vocalist Stephen LoVerme announced onstage a song or two in that he and drummer Ryan Berry‘s next project would be an album of Neil Young covers, he got a chuckle from the audience. Then they played three in a row, including a thickened punk-noise take on “Heart of Gold.” Berry confirmed afterwards as well that yes, that’s really their plan. In the time since their 2010 self-titled got picked up for issue via MeteorCity in 2011 (review here), the two have clearly grown melodically, which the subsequent Owl EP (radio add here) — initially released on tape as the Tour EP 2012 — as well as LoVerme‘s increased comfort in singing clean live demonstrates, but to take on Neil Young for what will reportedly be a mix of deep cuts and hits is a bold move for them. No word on what the timing or plan for the release is, but it’s a fascinating prospect that will no doubt turn the head of anyone who heard the self-titled and thought all there was to them was low-end crush, High on Fire influence and songs about Lord of the Rings. Maybe that’s the idea.

That’s not to say that even the rawest moments of that self-titled don’t have an enduring appeal. They certainly do. But there’s a creative progression underway with Olde Growth that was palpable even in the darkness at P.A.’s Lounge and as interesting as a record of Neil Young covers is in terms of seeing the band as being willing to take risks in the name of doing what they want to do as artists, I’ll be even more interested to hear how doing that affects their next batch of original material, whenever that might surface — what kinds of atmospheres they might discover and how the already-dynamic chemistry between LoVerme and Berry might continue to develop. At this point, they’re already a better band than people know. Closing out with “Tears of Blood,” Olde Growth gave a last-minute reminder of their ability to craft a potent hook as well as bludgeon with noisy bass riffs and drum crash — Berry‘s fills seeming especially cathartic — and while they still clearly feel they have growing to do, I take their lack of compromise as a sign of an overarching awareness of where they want to be and how they want to get there. It had been a rough couple days. They were encouraging to watch.

People seemed to be hanging out afterwards to take fuller advantage of the opportunity to quench their Thursday thirst. All the better for them. I had to work in the morning, so The Patient Mrs. and I headed out after a few quick goodnights to make the drive back to the South Shore for some high grade crashing out. No regrets on any front.

More pics after the jump. Thanks for reading.

Read more »

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The Fuzz Drivers Take to the Woods in New Video for “Carved Time”

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 22nd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Portuguese riffers The Fuzz Drivers recently announced they’d signed to Ripple Music. The four-piece have just unveiled a new video for the song “Carved Time,” which comes off their self-titled debut, released earlier this year. I’m not quite sure if Ripple will be reissuing that album or just moving forward with them on the next, but either way, the clip finds the band doing what heavy rock bands do best in videos — playing in the woods. Also a room though, so there’s some changing it up.

For as stoner rocking as their name is, “Carved Time” isn’t exactly pure Kyuss worship or really anything of the sort, instead residing in a kind of Southern hard/heavy rock that relies pretty heavily on its chorus. The Fuzz Drivers will head out on a European tour next weekend and you can check out the dates under the video below.

Enjoy:

The Fuzz Drivers, “Carved Time” official video

THE FUZZ DRIVERS Debut New Video in Preparation For Their European Tour

RIPPLE MUSIC is still pumped over the addition of Portuguese Southern-vibed, heavy rockers, Fuzz Drivers, to the Ripple Music family. Now, they’re even more thrilled to announce the release of The Fuzz Drivers new video with an exclusive premiere at Melodicrock.com!

“Carved Time” is the third single from heavy rockers The Fuzz Drivers. The video comes shortly after the announcement of their worldwide deal with Ripple Music. The band will be appearing live in Spain, UK, Scotland, Belgium and Germany throughout August and September. Their self-titled debut is available for free at www.thefuzzdrivers.com

The Fuzz Drivers are gearing up to hit the road with King Lizard and The Scams.

Dates are as follows:
August 30th – ES – Leon, Taberna Belfast
August 31th – ES – Irún, Sala Tunk
September 11th – UK – Grimsby, Yardbirds
September 12th – UK – Edinburgh, Bannerman’s
September 13th – UK – Bradford, Gasworks
September 14th – UK – Southampton, ROXX
September 15th – UK – London, The Underworld
September 16th – B – Tongeren, Club Sodom
September 18th – GER – Hamburg, Rock Café St. Pauli
September 19th – GER – Cologne, MTC
September 20th – GER – Hamminkeln, KuBa

www.thefuzzdrivers.com
www.facebook.com/thefuzzdrivers
www.ripple-music.com

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Nik Turner of Hawkwind to Release Space Gypsy Sept. 24

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 22nd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Former Hawkwind space rock pioneer Nik Turner is set to issue the new album Space Gypsy at the end of next month. To coincide, Nik Turner’s Space Ritual will embark on a full US tour starting Oct. 9, including a stop at the Fall into Darkness fest. The album release is fascinating enough, but the different versions of it make Space Gypsy an even more interesting prospect. Hard not to want to have a look at that box set version with the extra improvs from Turner and so on.

The PR wire has it like this:

Hawkwind Legend Nik Turner Returns To His Intergalactic Roots On New CD ‘Space Gypsy’ and Upcoming US Tour

Founding member of pioneering space-rock band Hawkwind returns to his intergalactic roots with his soon-to-be-released mind-blowing new CD titled ‘Space Gypsy’! Featuring all new material, ‘Space Gypsy’ boasts guest appearances by fellow Hawkwind alumnus violinist Simon House, and Gong guitar legend Steve Hillage, along with Nicky Garratt of the UK Subs, Jurgen Engler of German industrial band Die Krupps, and Jeff Piccinini of ’70s punk icons Chelsea. Making the CD release even more exciting, Nik Turner has released a dark, hypnotic new video called “Time Crypt featuring Simon House”. This is the second video Nik has released in support of ‘Space Gypsy’, the first being “Fallen Angel STS-51-L”; from the album’s first single about the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Nik Turner’s Space Ritual Tour runs in the US from October 9th through November 17th in support of the new CD.

Nik Turner was a founding member of Hawkwind during what has been considered their most commercially successful and critically acclaimed period for the band from 1970 to 1976. He wrote/co-wrote some of the group’s most popular songs such as “Brainstorm” and“Master Of The Universe”. Hawkwind’s 4th and possibly most popular album ‘The Space Ritual Alive in Liverpool and London’ was recorded in 1972 (released in May 1973). Reaching #9 in the UK album charts and #179 in the Billboard Top 200, the double-record was recorded during the tour to promote the band’s ‘Doremi Fasol Latido’ (third) release. The Space Ritual show attempted to create a full audio-visual experience. The performances featured dancers, lightshow by Liquid Len and poetry recitations by Robert Calvert. Nik Turner recently brought his version of the historic show to the US shores, recreating the magic once again!

Says Nik Turner, “This single ‘Fallen Angel STS-51-L’ is the epitome of epiphanic, orgasmic, cathartic embodiment of my space dreams, become one man’s reality, exploding into space. Expect lots more on this awesome album”.

Nik Turner’s ‘Space Gypsy’ will be released in three different formats: A regular CD release packaged in an attractive digipak with original artwork; a limited edition gatefold vinyl with bonus etched 7-inch single; and for the ultimate collector – the complete experience! A special limited edition deluxe box version of ‘Space Gypsy’, which includes a bonus CD of rough mixes and instrumental versions that feature additional flute and saxophone improvisations from Nik not included on the album. Also included are 4 postcards, a gorgeous full color patch and collectible pin.

NIK TURNER’S SPACE RITUAL – US Fall 2013 Tour w/Hederselben
Wed 10.9 Eureka, CA at The Shanty w/White Manna
Thu 10.10 Portland, OR at Mississippi Studios – Fall Into Darkness VII Fest w/White Manna, Billions & Billions
Tickets: https://secure-public.ticketbiscuit.com/MississippiStudios/Ticketing/173962
Sat 10.12 Seattle, WA at Chop Suey w/Master Musicians of Bukkake
Tickets: http://www.strangertickets.com/events/8951457/nik-turners-space-ritual-ex-hawkwind
Wed 10.16 Salt Lake City, UT at Urban Lounge w/Secret Chiefs 3*
Tickets: http://www.24tix.com/event.html?show_id=KT3234616035323461603539
Sat 10.19 St Paul, MN at Turf Club w/Thunderbolt Pagoda
Sun 10.20 Milwaukee, WI at Cactus Club w/Moss Folk
Tickets: http://cactusclub.tickets.musictoday.com/TheCactusClub/calendar.aspx
Mon 10.21 Chicago, IL at Reggie’s
Tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/356437?wrKey=C26E3C5040D9B2033B3E786E3C1B13A3
Thu 10.24 Pittsburgh, PA at Brillo Box w/The Sicks
Fri 10.25 Toronto, ON at Mod Club w/Sons of Otis
Tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/356441
Tue 10.29 Boston, MA at Middle East Upstairs w/Ghost Box Orchestra
Wed 10.30 New Haven, CT at BAR (free show)
Thu 10.31 Easthampton, MA at Flywheel
Sat 11.2 Philadelphia, PA at Philamoca w/Stinking Lizaveta
Sun 11.3 Brooklyn, NY at Saint Vitus Bar w/NAAM
Tue 11.5 Charlotte, NC at Tremont Music Hall
Thu 11.7 Atlanta, GA at The Earl
Tickets: http://www.ticketalternative.com/Events/24971.aspx
Sun 11.10 Austin, TX at Fun Fun Fun Nites
Thu 11.14 Phoenix, AZ at Rhythm Room
Tickets: http://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/356365?utm_medium=bks&wrKey=2FC89A22D41BE9843766B211AF84AB1A
Fri 11.15 San Diego, CA at The Casbah
Sun 11.17 Oakland, CA at TheUptown w/Carlton Melton
*no Hedersleben

To purchase Nik Turner ‘Space Gypsy’:
http://www.amazon.com/Space-Gypsy-Nik-Turner/dp/B00E4V0D4Y
http://www.amazon.com/Space-Gypsy-Deluxe-Box-Edition/dp/B00E4V0DH6

To purchase ‘Fallen Angel STS-51-L’ single on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fallen-angel-sts-51-l-single/id652712834

Nik Turner’s official website: http://nikturner.com/

Nik Turner, “Time Crypt”

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Earthless, From the Ages: Call of Uluru

Posted in Reviews on August 22nd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

It hasn’t been as long as it can seem since last we heard from instrumental San Diego trio Earthless, whose last studio full-length was 2007’s Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky. The next year, they released Live at Roadburn (arguably their high-water mark to date), and since then, between a rerelease of 2005’s Sonic Prayer Jam, a 10th anniversary jam EP in 2012 and splits with Witch in 2008, Premonition 13/Radio Moscow in 2012 and While Hills in 2013, they haven’t been completely absent leading up to the issue of their third LP, From the Ages (Tee Pee Records), but there can be little doubt that the greater accomplishments of the band’s members during that stretch have taken place outside of Earthless itself. Notably, drummer Mario Rubalcaba joined forces with former Black Flag vocalist Keith Morris and members of Burning Brides and Redd Kross in OFF!, and also played in punk outfit Spider Fever, while guitarist Isaiah Mitchell made a stunning debut in 2012 with the self-titled Golden Void (review here), also taking on a vocal role that was new to those who knew him solely from his work in Earthless. All this led to speculation that Earthless were finished, but in terms of From the Ages, that just seems to mean that it arrives with all the more fanfare surrounding it; even as the first announcements were being made, the excitement was palpable that Mitchell and Rubalcaba had once again joined forces with bassist Mike Eginton for a studio offering. Comprised of four tracks totaling a solid hour of ripping classic rock jams, From the Ages says in a big way that in fact not only are Earthless not done, but that the vibrant spirit that rested at the heart of the original 2005 Sonic Prayer and the terrifying chemistry that showed itself on Live at Roadburn and put Earthless on the fast track to stoner-rock-legends status are well intact and still very much at the core of what the trio does. They remain instrumental for the duration (in case anyone was wondering if Mitchell might throw in some vocals post-Golden Void), and tap into a rare prowess and classic rock versatility throughout the four mostly-extended cuts, culminating in the 31-minute epic title-track.

I’m rarely one for double LPs, though Earthless have been consistent all along in their flair for the sonically and structurally grandiose, so it’s not at all unexpected that From the Ages would arrive in that form, and to be fair, there isn’t really a way the album could work without all four of its pieces and still accomplish the same immersive feel. A double it is, then. Helping their case is the fact that each song leading up to the concluding “From the Ages” presents a personality of its own, whether it’s the solo-laden swirl of opener “Violence of the Red Sea” (14:46), the more restrained heavy psych of “Uluru Rock” (14:08), the exploratory vibing of shorter “Equus October” (5:43) or of course “From the Ages” (30:56) itself, which both ties the others together and expands the soundscape in much the way an earthquake might turn plains into mountains. Mitchell‘s guitar leads for most of the album’s duration — seeming especially forward as he rock-shreds solos on “Violence of the Red Sea” and “From the Ages” — but the story of From the Ages isn’t about any one of the three players nearly as much as it is about the exciting music they make in combination. As “Violence of the Red Sea” gets started, Earthless seem to be shaking off the dust of the years since Rhythms from a Cosmic Sky, almost winding themselves up, but they quickly lock in a groove brilliantly underscored by classy fills from Eginton and by the time they’re past the minute mark, so is the hook. The tones of Mitchell and Eginton, as captured by producer Phil Manley, are organic but not at the expense of clarity, and Rubalcaba‘s drums come through with a suitable wash of cymbal and pop in the snare, giving From the Ages a fresh, still-punkish jam room feel. Effects are layered in, but the course is set, and the album carries on from the Red Sea to the other side of the world with “Uluru Rock,” named for the sandstone mass also known as Ayers Rock in Australia’s Northern Territory. As “Equus October” refers to a Roman ritual sacrifice to Mars, the God of War, and “From the Ages” is as grand in scale and scope as the jump from the Mideast to Australia is geographically, it should be clear that Earthless are thinking big in multiple dimensions — time and space, specifically. The music mirrors that. Eight minutes in, “Violence of the Red Sea” turns somewhat chaotic, but the course resumes with upbeat fervor, wah and riff colliding as the rhythm section holds firm to the ground its has established, keeping the whole thing from going off the rails of whatever means of interstellar conveyance it might be using for its journey. As the listener would have to expect, they finish in monumental style.

Read more »

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Pilgrim to Support Windhand on European Tour

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 22nd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

As they make ready to enter the studio to record the follow-up to their 2012 Misery Wizard full-length debut, Rhode Island doom upstarts Pilgrim have announced that they’ll join Windhand on a Fall 2013 European run. The two bands are no strangers, having done US dates together last year, and of course, Pilgrim played at Roadburn in 2013 as well, so this will be their second time on the continent this year. Still, good news all around for the band and for anyone who might find themselves in their destructive path.

Sayeth the PR wire:

PILGRIM coming back to Europe in November to support WINDHAND for a full tour!

Ready to enter studio next month!

Rhode Island Doom disciples PILGRIM have made an astonishing impact with the release of their debut album Misery Wizard and their European shows including a slot at this years Roadburn festival.

PILGRIM will return to Europe in November for a full tour with Windhand. Comments vocalist/guitarist The Wizard: “THIS IS GOING TO BE A TOUR WORTHY OF SONG AND LEGEND. Not only is it our first lengthy European venture, but we get to share it with our incredibly talented friends WINDHAND (whose music we worship). This is honestly a dream come true for us. We are will be featuring a new bass player for the excursion, whose identity shall remain a mystery for the moment. Unfortunately, we had planned to be supporting the release of our new record this tour, but due to various complications with our studio we were not able to meet our deadline. However, we just confirmed today that the recording of our second record will begin next month at Moonlight Mile Studios! And with that, so begins the next chapter of our pilgrimage. We have worked UNFATHOMABLY hard to make this tour come together. Blood, sweat, and tears. DO NOT MISS THIS TOUR!”

Windhand
+ PILGRIM
01/11/13 BE – Ghent – Charlatan

02/11/13 NL – Venlo – Mudfest
03/11/13 FR – Paris – t.b.a.
04/11/13 UK – Birmingham – Asylum
05/11/13 UK – Manchester – Star & Garter
06/11/13 UK – London – Our Black Heart
08/11/13 ES – Barcelona – Rocksound
09/11/13 ES – Madrid – Rock & Pop
10/11/13 ES – Bilbao – Sentinel Rock Bar
11/11/13 FR – Clermont Ferrand – t.b.a.
12/11/13 FR – Strasbourg – t.b.a.
14/11/13 NL – Groningen – t.b.a.
15/11/13 DK – Aalborg – 1000 Fryd
16/11/13 SE – Gothenburg – Truckstop Alaska
17/11/13 DK – Copenhagen – KB18
18/11/13 DE – Hamburg – Rote Flora
19/11/13 DE – Berlin – Cassiopeia
20/11/13 DE – Leipzig – Zoro
21/11/13 AT – Wien – Vrena
22/11/13 DE – Günzburg – Donaustüble
23/11/13 DE – Köln – MTC
24/11/13 NL – Amsterdam – Occii

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Pilgrim, Misery Wizard (2012)

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