I was fortunate enough to catch Triptykon‘s debut live performance at Roadburn 2010 — guitarist/vocalist Tom G. Warrior (interview here) curated that day — and let me tell you, they were fucking bleak. I mean, I’ve seen the main room at 013 in Tilburg go pretty lightless, but they were a singularity absorbing light, let alone giving any off. Warrior‘s first outing after leaving Celtic Frost, Eparistera Daimones (review here), gave some inkling of what to expect, but live it was even darker. Challenging to say the least.

Triptykon are currently at work on the follow-up to their debut, and the plan seems to be for the album to hit right around the time of their return to Roadburn in 2014. Hope it works out. Triptykon released an EP called Shatter late in 2010 that rounded out the sessions that produced their album, and as Warrior moves further beyond Celtic Frost and into this new collaboration, I’m looking forward to hearing what kind of devastation might ensue.

Here’s the announcement, courtesy of Roadburn:

Triptykon Returns To Roadburn Festival 2014

We’re extremely honoured to report that Triptykon will return to Roadburn Festival on Sunday, April 13th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

There’s a significant bond between Roadburn and Triptykon founder Tom Gabriel Warrior (already legendary for his work as a founding member of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost). Not only did he curate the 2010 Roadburn Festival, personally inviting the lineup for his highly acclaimed ‘Only Death Is Real event,’ Triptykon also played their first official live show at the festival in support of their then newly-released debut album, Eparistera Daimones.

The stunningly dark and deeply personal Eparistera Daimones showed an inspirational rebirth for Tom Gabriel Warrior after the riotous days of Celtic Frost, and placed Triptykon squarely in the vanguard of avant-garde metal. Many stunning shows followed, but Roadburn is proud to have brought them to the stage for that very special first performance. Their return to Roadburn will herald the release of their long-awaited new full-length album.

We’re very proud about our continued collaboration with Tom Gabriel Warrior and Triptykon, and can’t wait to welcome them at the 2014 festival. Coming heavily armed with crushing new material, the band is sure to plunge Roadburn back into a dark abyss of all-consuming heaviness.

Tom Gabriel Warrior: “Roadburn is very likely the most extraordinary, daring, and vigorous festival in what has otherwise largely become a blandly repetitive and overly commercialized heavy rock scene. Moreover, anybody who has ever attended Roadburn can confirm that no other festival exudes such a unique feeling of radiance and creativity among audience and performers alike. Triptykon’s return to Roadburn in 2014 signifies yet another truly unique chapter in a long affiliation with the festival, dating back to the riotous days of Celtic Frost. I am deeply grateful to Roadburn’s artistic director Walter Hoeijmakers for his extraordinary friendship and his continued faith in the path we are pursuing with Triptykon. In return, we shall duly transform Roadburn into a church of darkness.”

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th, 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Triptykon, “Procreation (of the Wicked)” Live at Wacken Open Air 2011

Their tenure was not long at all. Videos of Wino jamming in an instrumental two-guitar four-piece called Premonition began to surface around 2010. Early in 2011, a debut 7″ from Premonition 13 was released (review here) and that was followed soon enough by their first full-length, 13 (review here), on Volcom. They toured that fall with The Gates of Slumber and by the time they got around to releasing a song on a three-way split with Earthless and Radio Moscow (streamed here) last year, they weren’t a band anymore. Quick. A year together, maybe a little more, and then gone.

It’s still something of a mystery what happened on their last European tour in 2011 that led to them finishing that run as a trio, but that was the end of it. Guitarist/vocalist Jim Karow, who shared those duties with Wino, was out and I guess at that point, with Saint Vitus‘ reunion running concurrent, there was no reason to find someone else to fill that slot, since the Wino/Karow collaboration was the core of the group. They had some cool songs though, and it was interesting to hear another guitar alongside Wino‘s after his standing alone for so long in The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan and The Hidden Hand. The only other times I can think of when he was joined by another guitarist (in a non-guesting situation) was on the Heavy Kingdom album with Conny Ochs and on the similarly brief Shrinebuilder run, which paired Wino with his soon-to-be unplugged tourmate Scott Kelly of Neurosis. Both pretty recent examples.

But Premonition 13 was more a “Wino band” than either the supergroup Shrinebuilder or the acoustic Ochs collaboration, with his tone, songwriting and vocals as a major factor in the draw, so though it was brief, Premonition 13 remains something unique within Wino‘s canon. And with The Gates of Slumber having announced their breakup this week as well, that tour was on my mind, so it seemed even more appropriate to find this live Premonition 13 full set from Richmond, Virginia, from that stint.

Filmed Nov. 7, 2011, by TubeVisionDotCom, here’s Premonition 13‘s gig at Strange Matter in its entirety. Enjoy and have a great Wino Wednesday:

Premonition 13, Live in Richmond, VA, 11/07/11

Been a quick decade since Finnish doomers Swallow the Sun released their debut full-length, The Morning Never Came. I recall the album came out in the States on the now-defunct Olympic Records, which at the time was an imprint of Century Media, and it was a killer atmospherically from the word go. Probably you could debate back and forth how influential the band has been since, and that might be fun, but I know that album certainly left an impression on me when I heard it. Enough so that I haven’t let one of Swallow the Sun‘s albums pass unbought since, even as they’ve moved on from their doomly beginnings to a more melancholic brand of dark, progressive metal.

Apparently I’m not the only one to have been caught in The Morning Never Came‘s wake, since Swallow the Sun will perform the album from to back as part of a 10th anniversary celebration this Thursday at Klubi in Tampere, streaming the whole thing live as well. If that sounds like your glass of lonkero, check out the details below, courtesy of the PR wire:

SWALLOW THE SUN TO LIVESTREAM SEPTEMBER 26 SHOW IN FINLAND

DOOM LEGENDS TO PERFORM DEBUT ALBUM THE MORNING NEVER CAME IN FULL

Iconic Finnish doom merchants Swallow the Sun are embarking on a fall tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their landmark debut album The Morning Never Came.

The band’s show, scheduled for Thursday, September 26 in Tampere in their native Finland, will be livestreamed globally (10PM UTC/6PM EDT).

Swallow the Sun will perform the album in full, adding other tracks to the encore.

Stream the event here and feel like you are front and center without ever having to leave the house!

Swallow the Sun tour dates
26.9.2013 Klubi, Tampere
27.9.2013 On the Rocks, Helsinki
28.9.2013 Lutakko, Jyväskylä

w/ Antimatter & The Foreshadowing
25.10.2013 Kiff, Aarau, Switzerland
26.10.2013 Rock & Roll Arena, Milan, Italy
27.10.2013 Backstage, Munich, Germany
28.10.2013 Nova Chmelnice, Prague, Czech Republic
29.10.2013 Steinbruch Theater, Darmstadt, Germany
30.10.2013 Grünspan, Darmstadt, Germany
31.10.2013 Helvete, Oberhausen, Germany
1.11.2013 Nouveau Casino, Paris, France
2.11.2013 Brainstorm Festival, Apeldoorn, Netherlands
3.11.2013 Biebob, Vosselaar, Belgium
4.11.2013 Underworld, London, UK

http://www.livemusicstage.com/events/132/swallow-the-sun/6
http://www.swallowthesun.net

Swallow the Sun, The Morning Never Came (2003)

Continuing to shore up the dates for his first solo tour next month, Michael Rudolph Cummings has also announced that his full-length — from which you can hear a rough version of the song “Maybe Time” below — will be titled Get Low. There is a date or two yet to be filled in for the solo run from the Backwoods Payback guitarist/frontman, but already he’s tapped some good company for the shows, including Erik Larson (formerly of Alabama Thunderpussy), Ben Smith from The Brought Low, Jim Healy of Black Thai and Helena Goldberg of Akris. If you’ve got to travel, it’s better to have friends.

Tour dates, the poster and more info on Get Low follow:

Michael Rudolph Cummings is the vocalist/guitarist for the Small Stone Recordings band Backwoods Payback. After years of playing in hardcore bands, Cummings sat down with a four-track and a love of Neil Young, Black Flag, and Black Sabbath to create the outline of Backwoods Payback. Years later, and after relentless touring around the world, Backwoods Payback are at the top of their fuzzed-out, riff worship game. Cummings’s solo material is equally dark but subdued in volume and temperance, recalling the ditch-trilogy era of Neil Young and the slower moments of Townes Van Zandt.

Self releasing a number of solo acoustic EPs throughout the last decade, this tour marks the first time MRC will be journeying outside of the Philadelphia region and supporting a solo record “GET LOW” on his own.

“GET LOW” features contributions from a who’s who of the east coast underground music scene.

Members of Hoots & Hellmouth, Heavy Temple, All Else Failed, Monty Are I, The Boils, and of course Backwoods Payback add individual nuances to a number of the tracks, making for record that recalls the subtleties of classics ranging from “Harvest” to “Pink Moon” all while staying true to MRCs do it yourself roots.

OCTOBER
23 – Hanks Saloon – Broooklyn NY w/ Ben (The Brought Low), Keith R. Montgomery
24 – Radio (downstairs) – Somerville MA w/ Jim Healy (Black Thai), Jess & Keith (Mellow Bravo)
25 – Café Nine – New Haven CT (early show 5pm)
27 – Dogpatch Tavern – Frederick MD w/ Helena Goldberg (Akris)
28 – The Blue Nile – Harrisonburg VA w/ Helena Goldberg (Akris)
29 – Longbranch Saloon – Knoxville TN
30 – The Station – Carrboro NC

NOVEMBER
1 – TBA – Richmond VA w/ Erik Larson (Alabama Thunderpussy)
2 – Rancho Del Rudo – West Chester PA

http://michaelrudolphcummings.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/598341646875466/

Michael Rudolph Cummings, “Maybe Time (Rough Mix)” (2013)

Though in the minds of many listeners there’s no doubt that Southern sludge is an aesthetic with set associations. Bands playing or even dabbling in the style are hard-pressed to emerge without being saddled with the inevitable Eyehategod comparison, and to their credit, Floridian four-piece Hollow Leg work in a more nuanced approach than most. Their second full-length, Abysmal, finds them working within and beyond the usual stylistic constraints, here and there touching on Sourvein-style nod while offsetting that with Earthride‘s rolling stoner-doom groove. The riffs of guitarist/backing vocalist Brent Lynch are a driving force, as one might imagine, but Abysmal (released on Last Anthem Records) showcases a songwriting acumen that goes beyond focusing on any single member of the band and is most effective when Lynch, bassist Tom Crowther, drummer Tim Creter and vocalist Scott Angelacos are all pushing in the same direction. Moreover, with the strength of several landmark choruses behind it — namely those of “Blissful Nothing,” “Ride to Ruin,” “Lord Annihilation” and closer “Cry Havoc” — Abysmal also tests out the boundaries of melody. While Angelacos‘ vocals are largely unipolar in their throaty, shouting approach, Lynch provides suitable accompaniment and also works in some flourish on guitar, making the material across the album’s eight tracks/35 minutes that much more complex. What on first listen sounds like it might be “another sludge record” gradually emerges as a display of character that, while utilizing some familiar elements, ultimately shows Hollow Leg as having more to them than Take as Needed for Pain rehash and/or derivative antiestablishmentism.

At their core, Hollow Leg are riotously heavy. Recorded by Jeff McAlear at High Five Audio in Deland, FL, and mastered by Collin Jordan, the album’s mix leans toward the metallic, but stays true to a sludgy nature by not sacrificing tonal weight in the name of speed or showy play. That Hollow Leg would turn out to be crafters of memorable songs should be less of a surprise to those who caught the not so subtle hints on their 2010 full-length debut, Instinct — also recorded by McAlear  — but it’s a distinguishing factor on their second album and the growth they show proves demonstrative of their progress overall. Abysmal creeps to a start with the fade in of its title-track, a song that shows little of the breadth that comes across over time, but establishes several key factors in Hollow Leg‘s approach all the same, from the fluid rhythms proffered by Crowther and Creter, to the weighted chug of Lynch‘s guitar and vicious rasp from Angelacos at the forefront. Angelacos seems at first to be very much in the T-Roy Medlin spirit of screamers, and “Abysmal” suits that form, though deviations emerge both in the chorus layering and in his tradeoffs with Lynch, and as the slower, more subdued “8 Dead (in a Mobile Home)” takes hold, Hollow Leg immediately build on the straightforward thrust of the album’s beginning to toy with heavy/soft dynamics, the guitars adding melody at the end to hint at some more of what’s to come. Between the two songs, a good portion of Abysmal‘s course is set, but I’d argue that the most resonant hooks are still to come, and “Blissful Nothing” settles into an easy groove with a dually-layered vocal in the chorus, shout-along ready, essentially proving the argument.

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It’s been more than two years since I stood before Sea of Bones‘ wall of cabinets for the Fuzz Fest (review here) at Cherry Street Station in Wallingford, Connecticut, but I still feel like my ears are ringing. Theirs was one of those rumbles that not only shook the venue, but vibrated the earplugs in your head, rendering them moot. The New Haven crushers’ debut long-player was 2007’s The Harvest (review here), and the trio will issue their sophomore full-length, The Earth Wants us Dead, before the end of the year. Opening cut “The Stone, the Slave and the Architect” from the album is streaming now for your skull-caving needs below.

The PR wire takes it from here:

SEA OF BONES: Atmospheric Doom Metal Miscreants To Unleash First Full-Length In Six Years

Connecticut atmospheric doom metal miscreants, SEA OF BONES, are pleased to soil the masses with their latest slab of slow motion desolation in the form of The Earth Wants Us Dead.

Their first offering in six years, the crushing full-length serves as a true testament to the band’s impenetrable determination. Having weathered all manners of hell both collectively and personally, from a tour-ending van crash and personnel changes to two scrapped recordings, trashed songs, and a near breakup, The Earth Wants Us Dead could have, quite easily, not been. However SEA OF BONES returns triumphantly to their original three-piece lineup, bruised, gnarlier and more determined than ever before.

Recorded with guitarist Tom Mucherino and longtime friend David Lutz at a secret underground location (aka Tom’s cellar) and mastered by Mell Dettmer (Earth, Kayo Dot, Thou), The Earth Wants Us Dead heaves forth a cataclysmic wall of soul-rumbling distortion. Crowned, “beautifully agonizing,” in an early review by Verbicide, who furthers, “pure, uncut ugly, cooked up on a bloody spoon, and slowly shot into your ear hole…with a railroad spike,” the six track offering is unapologetically severe; an introspective outpouring of sound and emotion that is at once morose yet infuriated. SEA OF BONES’ The Earth Wants Us Dead is the thick, sordid resonance of true despair and includes a near forty-minute soul-swallowing, droney, instrumental improv piece (the title track) recorded at InnerSpaceSoundLabs with Scott Amore.

Elaborates the band, “This album is more than just music to us, it is a testament to our friendship and the chemistry we have with each other. This album was made for the three of us but we hope you all will enjoy it as much as we do.”

The Earth Wants Us Dead will be unleashed later this year. Further info, including live assaults, to be announced in the weeks to follow.

The Earth Wants Us Dead Track Listing:
1. The Stone The Slave And The Architect
2. Black Arm
3. Failure Of Light
4. Beneath The Earth
5. The Bridge
6. The Earth Wants Us Dead

SEA OF BONES:
Gary Amedy – bass, vocals
Tom Mucherino – guitar, vocals
Kevin Wigginton – drums, vocals

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-of-Bones/35253450819
http://seaofbones.bandcamp.com

Sea of Bones, “The Stone, the Slave and the Architect”

Iron Man, “The Worst and Longest Day” from South of the Earth (2013)

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Press play above to hear “The Worst and Longest Day” from Iron Man‘s new album, South of the Earth. Set for release on Oct. 1 through Metal Blade in North America and Sept. 30 on Rise Above in Europe, Iron Man‘s fifth full-length overall and first for the two mentioned imprints re-teams them with producer Frank “The Punisher” Marchand, who recorded 2009’s I Have Returned. Though the two outings have that in common and they’re united by the inimitable, smoke-on-the-finish tone of guitarist and band founder “Iron” Alfred Morris III, they’re nonetheless vastly different offerings from the long-running and long-underappreciated Maryland doom stalwarts.

Primarily in lineup. A change in the frontman position back in 2011 saw “Screaming Mad” Dee Calhoun enter the fold in place of the departed Joe Donnelly, and though it was clear from the first searing high notes of the 2011 Dominance EP that Calhoun lived up to his name as a singer of Halfordian power, it wasn’t until Iron Man brought drummer Jason “Mot” Waldmann into the rhythm section alongside longtime bassist Louis Strachan that the South of the Earth lineup would be complete. Taking to the stage almost immediately, Iron Man soon became a new force in the live setting, also releasing the Att hålla dig över EP as the first output with the Morris, Strachan, Calhoun and Waldmann lineup to keep their momentum going into the recording of the new long-player.

But the differences on South of the Earth go well beyond the simple matter of personnel. Full in sound and crisply professional, Iron Man‘s latest serves as an arrival point for Morris‘ years of riff-slinging. With the validation of a release through Metal Blade/Rise Above behind them, Iron Man stand poised to take their place at the forefront of the American doom consciousness as a band that have never wavered from their purpose or, no matter who’s involved, sacrificed their loyalty to the Sabbathian traditionalism that served as their founding principle when they emerged out of Morris‘ prior outfit, Force, in the late ’80s. Top quality riffs, undeniable grooves and Calhoun‘s glass-shattering pipes make South of the Earth unlike anything Iron Man has released in years gone by — and their other records, whether it’s the 1993 Black Night debut, 1994’s The Passage, 1999’s Generation Void or I Have Returned, already kicked considerable ass. As a band, they’re simply at another level.

And they know it. In the interview that follows, Morris speaks with confidence about their stage presence, the writing and recording of “The Worst and Longest Day” and the rest of South of the Earth, Iron Man‘s impending UK debut this December at the two-day Rise Above 25th anniversary party in London and much more, giving the impression not of arrogance, but of someone whose decades of experience bleeds into everything he and his band does. Whatever notoriety or attention Iron Man are able to gain as a result of the new album upon its release, it will be well earned, by both past and current efforts.

As it happens, Iron Man are doing a track-by-track through the album this week on their Thee  Facebooks page, and today’s is “The Worst and Longest Day.” You’d almost think it was planned out (it wasn’t). Here’s what they had to say about the track:

“I left you alone long enough for your guard to die…”

TRACK FOUR: THE WORST AND LONGEST DAY

Another track that is swampy and mean, “The Worst and Longest Day” is as unsettling in subject as it is heavy in delivery. Heavy guitars and soaring vocals ride atop a bouncy rhythm section, and drag you through a cold monologue, delivered by the thing that vexes you.

Special thanks to Metal Blade and to Rise Above for allowing me to premiere “The Worst and Longest Day.” Please find the Q&A after the jump and enjoy.

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An album that legitimately deserves to be heard by as much of its target audience as possible, Curse the Son‘s sophomore outing, Psychache (review here), has been brewing since this past winter in terms of actually getting a physical release. The Hamden, Connecticut, trio has busted its collective ass in an effort to give it a fitting home, and with the announcement today that STB Records will do a limited vinyl version of the album, it seems their work has finally paid off.

Remains to be seen when STB will release Psychache, and indeed whether or not the vinyl format can stand up to the formidable rumble the band brings to their sound, but for today, it’s good to see Curse the Son — guitarist/vocalist Ron Vanacore, bassist Cheech Weeden, and drummer Michael Petrucci — finding an outlet for what’s really one of the year’s most satisfying unabashed stoner doom records. STB previously released Doctor Doom‘s DoomO (review here) in a limited, glow-in-the-dark LP, and have worked with Dopethrone, Spelljammer, Druglord and others.

Says the label:

BIG NEWS!! STB Records and Curse The Son have joined forces to release the brand new record “Psychache”.. I can not be more please[d] and pumped to do this album for them!

Says the band:

All you folks that have been asking for vinyl……It is HAPPENING! STB Records is going to be putting out a limited edition of ‘Psychache’ on vinyl. More details to come soon.

That settles it. Good news from a cool band. Congrats to Curse the Son and here’s looking forward to the Psychache release date and where they go from there. For now, the album is still also available as a pay-what-you-want download through Bandcamp, so if you’re yet unacquainted, there’s time. Time which will inevitably slow down once you start listening.

Curse the Son, Psychache (2013)