Holy macaroni. After four years of sporadic live appearances and rumors of a release impending, Goatsnake have confirmed that they’ll release a new studio full-length in 2015. Did I already say “Holy macaroni?”

Goatsnake only put out two albums in their original run, from 1996 until 2001, but both I and Flower of Disease have become essential works of heavy rock. Their last offering was 2004’s Trampled under Hoof EP, which introduced Scott Reeder to the band on bass. Scott Renner (Sourvein) will fill the position this time out, working alongside Greg Rogers, Greg Anderson and Pete Stahl.

Just off the PR wire:

Goatsnake reveal initial details of an impending new album, due for release in 2015

Los Angeles, California’s Goatsnake are back in a big way – having spent the summer at Rock Falcon studios in Franklin, Tennessee they are gearing up to release their first new full-length album since 2000’s Flower Of Disease.

The new album, due for a release on Southern Lord next year, will feature the familiar faces of Greg Rogers (The Obsessed, Sonic Medusa), providing drums, Greg Anderson of Sunn O))) taking care of the riffs, Pete Stahl (Scream, Wool, Earthlings?) on vocals, and new bassist Scott Renner (Sonic Medusa, Sourvein). Joining them again on production duties is Nick Raskulinecz, who, since being introduced to Dave Grohl during the recording sessions of Flower of Disease, has gone on to work with seminal artists such as Rush, Alice in Chains, Deftones and Ghost, and has won Grammys with the Foo Fighters. United again, he and the band are sure to serve a menacing cut of the time-honoured ultra-heavy rock they are infamous for.

Goatsnake began life in 1996, and released two EPs, two LPs, two 7″ records and a split during the years 1998-2000. In 2010 they returned as a live band, playing a handful of well-received shows in the U.S, the UK and Europe in the years since.

More details of the upcoming album will be announced soon. For now, take comfort in the news that fans will definitely be able to catch Goatsnake live next year at Temples Festival, taking place in Bristol, May 29-31st, alongside acts including Sunn O))), Today Is The Day and Martyrdöd. Fans in North America needn’t wait that long as Goatsnake shall be playing the following two shows this October:

15/10/2014 @ Southern Lord Showcase, Los Lobos LA (also featuring Excel, Xibalba, Obliterations, Baptists, Torch Runner)
17/10/2014 @ Southwest Terror Fest, Tucson AZ

http://www.southernlord.com
http://southernlord.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/SLadmin

Goatsnake, Live at Hellfest 2011

Next Monday, Sept. 29, marks the release of the fifth Larman Clamor album, Beetle Crown and Steel Wand. The one-man outfit of Hamburg-based artist Alexander von Wieding has been something of a fixture around these parts the last few years, and over that time, the project’s progression has only become more evident, von Wieding taking Larman Clamor from swampy surrealism to an intricate potion of blues, psychedelia, heavy rock and gritty Southern-style twang. It’s been a satisfying and primarily weird journey, and I doubt very much if von Wieding would have it any other way.

The last couple Larman Clamor outings have come out courtesy of Small Stone Records — von Wieding has also provided art to numerous Small Stone artists from Wo Fat to Lo-Pan and so on — but Beetle Crown and Steel Wand sidesteps the collaboration for a limited self-release, 500 CDs available direct. One doubts it’s the last the two entities will join forces, as von Wieding is reportedly already at work on the sixth Larman Clamor album, but his one-year-one-record clip has been rolling for the last three or four years at this point, and there’s no slowing down now.

What that rate has given those who’ve followed him for that stretch is basically a blow-by-blow account of the creative evolution at play, and Beetle Crown and Steel Wand is the latest step in that clearly ongoing process, branching further out from the project’s bluesed-out roots and into an earthy psychedelia that belongs solely to von Wieding. He’s still got an edge of Delta blues to the sound — as the banjo-plucking and slide guitar on “Bleak Heart’s Night Waltz” will attest — but his depth of arrangement, rhythmic stomp and melodic scope continue to flourish.

Check out “Bleak Heart’s Night Waltz” on the player below, followed by the bio I wrote for the album, and enjoy:

[mp3player width=480 height=200 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=larman-clamor-bleak-hearts-night-waltz.xml]

Tales of brown-leafed mystery. Unseen threats lurking in high weeds. Something not quite human, not quite there, out of some other place. Feet stomping on wood porches. This is all familiar terrain for Larman Clamor’s blues, but with Beetle Crown and Steel Wand, it’s just another piece in an increasingly complicated puzzle of psychedelic experimentation.

It is the fourth Larman Clamor full-length in three years, the prolific heart of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/artist Alexander Von Wieding proving relentless in its creativity, and while Beetle Crown and Steel Wand fits in line with 2013’s Alligator Heart, 2012’s Frogs, 2011’s Altars to Turn Blood and the preceding 2011 self-titled debut EP, no question it’s also the next step in an ongoing evolution of Von Wieding’s songwriting. Each Larman Clamor outing has developed from the last, and Beetle Crown and Steel Wand is no exception. It is Von Wieding’s most rhythmic, most expansive statement to date.

One can hear it in the familiar dirt boogie of “My Lil’ Ghost,” sure – how comfortable Von Wieding sounds in this form compared to just two years ago (he’s had plenty of practice) – but where Beetle Crown and Steel Wand really distinguishes itself is in the arrangements. In short movements like “Eggs in the Sand” and “Tangerine Nightfall” and the album’s apex, “Her Majesty, the Mountain,” Von Wieding pushes Larman Clamor into psychedelic spaces more than he ever has, and particularly in the case of the latter, into heavier tonal weight than he’s ever conjured before. Larman Clamor doesn’t just sound like a solo-project here, but a full band.

At the same time, the opening title-track offers layers of percussive sway, “We Shine Alright” ticks away on pots and pans jangling chains, and “Bleak Heart’s Night Waltz” taps into forgotten woodsman tribalisms. Von Wieding takes us far away from past minimalism on “Caravan of Ghouls,” with a full, ritualized sound, and could it be that he’s presenting us with a companion for Larman in “Aurora Snarling?” It seems too early to speculate, but if Aurora is another character in Larman’s dizzying tale, she’s bound to show up again.

What’s certain is that Beetle Crown and Steel Wand is Larman Clamor’s farthest-ranging album yet. Von Wieding is still loyal to the muddy waters from which the project first emerged, but in no way is he restrained by them, and if the last couple years have proved anything, it’s that this development is only going to keep moving forward. Now that Larman Clamor is out of the swamps, it seems more and more like it can go just about anywhere.

Larman Clamor on Thee Facebooks

Larman Clamor on Bandcamp

Larman Clamor on CDBaby

I’ve only seen Wovenhand once. They’ve come through New York a few times, but I never went because I didn’t want to deal with the crowd. When I caught them though, they were staggeringly good, and that was before Refractory Obdurate (review here), which is their latest album. I guess the point I’m trying to make is if you get the chance and you can put yourself in a place where they’re going to be, you should give it a shot. Particularly now since the new record is so unbelievable, though I’d probably have told you the same thing with the last one too.

Okay:

WOVENHAND ANNOUNCES U.S. TOUR DATES IN NOVEMBER WITH PONTIAK

New Album Refractory Obdurate Available Now from Deathwish Inc.

Wovenhand is a band led by dedicated life-musician and lyricist, David Eugene Edwards. Over the last two decades, his prolific work in both Wovenhand and the legendary 16 Horsepower has influenced and inspired a generation of musicians throughout the expansive alternative music world. Wovenhand cannot be described in traditional terms. Its sound is an organic, weavework of neo-folk, post rock, punk, old-time, and alternative sounds, all coming together as a vehicle for David’s soulful expression and constant spiritual self exploration. Sometimes sad and sorrowed and at other times uplifting, Wovenhand is always unforgettable in spirit and sound.

Wovenhand released its landmark effort Refractory Obdurate this past April via a partnership between Deathwish Inc. and Glitterhouse Records. Refractory Obdurate is a moving masterwork that shows Wovenhand exploring louder roots hinted at on prior albums.

Now, Wovenhand is gearing up to play a three-week-long tour of the Western United States with Pontiak (Thrill Jockey) throughout November. The bands will make a stop at Fun Fun Fun Nites in Austin, TX on November 7th, as well as play an amazing show with a lineup including King Dude and Spencer Moody with DJ Chelsea Wolfe in Los Angeles on November 12th – check out the full routing below.

Wovenhand – On Tour With Pontiak
Tue 11/4/2014 Santa Fe, NM- Skylight (no Pontiak)
Thur 11/6/2014 Lubbock, TX- Bash Riprock’s
Fri 11/7/2014 Austin, TX- FFF Nites, Venue TBA // Free Show
Sat 11/8/2014 Dallas, TX- City Tavern
Mon 11/10/2014 El Paso, TX- Lowbrow Palace
Tue 11/11/2014 Phoenix, AZ- Pub Rock Live
Wed 11/12/2014 Los Angeles, CA- Jewel’s Catch One ** ^^
Thur 11/13/2014 Atascadero, CA- Molly Pitcher // Free Show
Fri 11/14/2014 San Francisco, CA- Bottom of the Hill
Sat 11/15/2014 Arcata, CA- The Alibi
Mon 11/17/2014 Portland, OR- Hawthorne Theatre
Tues 11/18/2014 Bellingham, WA- The Shakedown
Wed 11/19/2014 Vancouver, BC
Thur 11/20/2014 Seattle, WA- Highline **
Fri 11/21/2014 Boise, ID- Neurolux
Sat 11/22/2014 Salt Lake City, UT- The Garage

** w/King Dude
^^ w/Spencer Moody, DJ Chelsea Wolfe

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wovenhand-official/189495264425563
http://www.deathwishinc.com/
http://deathwishinc.bandcamp.com/album/refractory-obdurate

Wovenhand, Refractory Obdurate (2014)

There was one ticket left when I arrived at the Great Scott in Allston to see Earth on tour supporting their new album, Primitive and Deadly. Much to the venue’s credit, the show was sold out but not oversold, Plenty warm up front, but in back by the end of the night one could claim some semblance of personal space if desired and still see Seattle’s droniest on stage. Doors were at nine with just two bands on the bill — Earth and fellow Seattleites King Dude opening — and it would be over an hour before anyone went on. So, if you were looking to drink or, say, stare at inane bullshit on your phone, there was plenty of time to do it.

In the studio, King Dude is a solo-project of Book of Black Earth guitarist/vocalist TJ Cowgill, but live he led a trio dressed in a look that might appear in a catalog as “Heartland Gestapo,” matching black button-downs with collar pins, black pants, short hair calling to mind Baptist righteousness and fascist regimentation as was likely the intent as they played in front of a backdrop of a painted-black and tattered American flag. The songs were Americana-derived neofolk, tales of fire and brimstone and drinking out of some alternate universe USA, guitar, keys, cello, drums. I’m not sure where Cowgill got his Southern accent, but he was enough of a charmer on stage to get two whiskys, one bought from the bar and a mini someone else had apparently snuck in. Well enough earned.

If you’ll permit me a minute to wax critical, one of the most respectable aspects of Earth‘s long tenure — their first demo surfaced in 1990 and but for a stretch between 1997-2003, they’ve been going since — is the relentlessness of their pursuit. Go see Earth for one album and then another and you’ll get two different shows. Guitarist Dylan Carlson, as the founder and driving force, has in the last decade built and continued to refine a legacy that seems no more solidified now than it was nine years ago when they released their landmark comeback full-length, Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method. It is a constant work in progress, shifting and remaking itself each time out. And perhaps because their music can be so raw — the repetition of riff cycles, steady drum plod of Adrienne Davies and the steadiness of their instrumental flow — that progression is all the more evocative and encompassing.

As they took the stage at the Great Scott, Carlson provided the news that Primitive and Deadly (review here), which came out Sept. 1 on Southern Lord, took only a week to become their highest-selling release to date. He thanked the crowd and then began the set with “Badger’s Bane” and “Even Hell has its Heroes” from that record, the album’s weightier production translating excellently live through Carlson‘s tone, Davies‘ swinging-arm march and the fills of bassist Don McGreevy, also of Master Musicians of Bukkake, who doesn’t play on the new full-length but took part in 2008’s The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull (discussed here) and had no trouble making the parts his own or fitting in alongside Davies as the rhythmic complement to Carlson‘s swaying guitar work.

Of course, a major distinguishing factor of Primitive and Deadly is the inclusion of vocals — Mark Lanegan and Rabi Shabeen Qazi (Rose Windows) guest — and while he had a mic on stage for thanking the crowd, they kept “There is a Serpent Coming” instrumental, that song coming out of “Old Black” from 2011’s Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I (review here) and moving into “The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull,” which Carlson noted was their prior highest-seller and especially popular with female fans. I wondered how or why that might be the case as Carlson, Davies and McGreevy continued their droneout, the groove of the older material hitting not quite as heavy as that of the newer, reminding that whatever weight might reside in their tones or evocations, Earth is still far from being a “metal” band.

The new album’s opener, “Torn by the Fox of the Crescent Moon” served as the first installment of a closing duo with “Ouroboros is Broken” as the finisher, Carlson noting that they were the band’s newest and oldest songs, respectively. They paired together well, with the latter being somewhere between the reinvented textures of its appearance on 2007’s Hibernaculum EP and the original from 1991’s Extra-Capsular Extraction. Whatever version it was, it made a rolling cap on a set that didn’t so much celebrate the entire scope of Earth‘s career — at some point, particularly as they’re hinging on their 25th year, one imagines a retrospective live set of one form or another will happen — but emphasized the vitality of the work they’re doing now, their continued relevance and expanding influence. Given the expanse of time they’ve covered and the years and decades their growth has encompassed, it’s even easier to appreciate the restlessness underlying their evolution and the irony that so much of their reputation is for the stillness in their material. Still maybe, but never stagnant.

I had no line of sight to Davies, but there are a couple more pics after the jump. Thanks for reading.

Read more »

Battleground Records will release a split seven-inch between Fuzz Evil and Chiefs on Oct. 21. The 300-copies-only vinyl features one song from each band, and is pressed to gray/white splatter 7″, with preorders also serving as a contest entry to win a test pressing. It will mark the first physical release from Chiefs and I think for Fuzz Evil as well, who are an offshoot of Arizona heavy rockers Powered Wig Machine. No audio yet — with two songs there’s not much to give away — but info on the split came down the PR wire along with some Fuzz Evil live dates.

It goes like this:

FUZZ EVIL & CHIEFS Split 7-Inch EP To See October Release Via Battleground Records

The Battleground Records roster continues to rapidly expand, with another new release on the horizon for October, in the form of a split 7″ from FUZZ EVIL and CHIEFS.

On the A-side, the FUZZ EVIL trio delivers a nearly five-and-a-half minute, solid, groove-laden, heavy psych rock track, “Glitterbones.” Hailing from Sierra Vista, Arizona, the band is comprised of Wayne and Joey Rudell of Powered Wig Machine on vocals/guitar and vocals/bass, respectively, and drummer Marlin Tuttle. Flip to the B-side, and the more than five-and-a-half minute big time jam of CHIEFS’ fiery “Stone Bull” lets loose. The California-based outfit, on this recording consisting of Paul Valle on vocals/guitar and Stephen Varns on drums, delivers prime, hard-hitting desert rock, as declared from the opening riff of their side of the shared release.

Battleground will release the FUZZ EVIL / CHIEFS split 7″ on October 21st. Limited to 300 copies, the heavy grey vinyl with white splatters is cut at 45 RPM and features artwork by David Paul Seymour. For a limited time, every preorder via Battleground receives an entry to win a test pressing of the 7″ – place orders HERE.

With new live shows expected to be confirmed from both FUZZ EVIL and CHIEFS over the coming weeks, FUZZ EVIL has already confirmed several new Fall gigs including release shows for the 7″ in both their hometown of Sierra Vista as well as Tucson.

FUZZ EVIL / CHIEFS Split 7″ Track Listing:
A. FUZZ EVIL “Glitterbones
B. CHIEFS “Stone Bull”

FUZZ EVIL shows:
10/02/2014 Flycatcher – Tucson, AZ
10/21/2014 JR’s – Sierra Vista, AZ – 7″ release show
11/07/2014 Flycatcher – Tucson, AZ – 7″ release show
11/08/2014 Superbrawler – Benson, AZ

https://www.facebook.com/FuzzEvil
https://www.facebook.com/wearechiefs
https://www.facebook.com/battlegroundrecords
http://battlegroundrecords.bigcartel.com

Fuzz Evil, Live at the Yucca Tap Room

This week marks three full years of Wino Wednesday. It is Wino Wednesday #156. In that time, I feel like we’ve just about covered the man’s entire career, from his days playing with Warhorse in high school on down through Spirit Caravan‘s 2014 reunion. In and out of bands like The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, The Hidden Hand, Place of Skulls, Premonition 13, his own Wino band and on and on with more guest appearances live and recorded than I think anyone can count, it’s been a three-year investigation into one of doom’s most storied and most accomplished figures. I don’t think when I started out that I imagined this feature would go on for so long, but I’ve yet to run out of things to post, so I guess until that happens, onward we go.

“Look Behind You” appeared on 1987’s three-song Thirsty and Miserable EP, sharing the B-side with the titular Black Flag cover. Tough bill, since when one thinks of that release, it’s the radical slowdown of the Black Flag song that invariably comes to mind first, but “Look Behind You” has been a live staple for Saint Vitus more or less since. It showed up on their 1990 Live album, and it has been a regular feature of sets since their reunion in 2009, its Motörhead-style rush made to turn on its head by Dave Chandler‘s transitions and thickened by his inimitable tone. The song goes back further than Thirsty and Miserable, though. In 1979, Tyrant (the original Vitus lineup under its first name) included it on their demo, so it’s clearly been around even longer than Thirsty and Miserable, and as you can see in the version below, which was taped live in Portland, Oregon, at the Satyricon in June 2010, it wears its age well.

Here’s to three years of Wino Wednesday and more to come. Enjoy:

Saint Vitus, “Look Behind You” Live in Portland, OR, June 26, 2010

Last we left them, Florida sludge poppers Torche were preparing to hit the road on a September tour and had dropped word that their next album and Relapse debut would be out in 2015. They’re on that tour now, playing in Ohio tonight and tomorrow, and as they gear up for the new record, word has just come out they’ll join forces with Clutch on the latter’s annual holiday run in December, which seems longer than usual this year, and, interestingly, doesn’t actually include New Year’s Eve, taking a break on Dec. 30 after the Philly show and picking back up on Jan. 3. Can’t do the same thing every time, I guess.

Here are the current dates and a refresher on the album status:

…The band, who recently signed to Relapse Records, completed recording their newest full-length earlier this year at Pinecrust Studio in Miami, with bassist Jonathan Nunez behind the boards. The album was then mixed by Converge’s Kurt Ballou and will see a release in early 2015 via Relapse.

Sep 23 Columbus, OH Ace of Cups
Sep 24 Akron, OH Musica
Sep 25 Chicago, IL The Promontory
Sep 26 Pittsburgh, PA The Smiling Moose
Sep 27 Brooklyn, NY St. Vitus
Sep 29 Chapel Hill, NC Cat’s Cradle Back Room
Sep 30 Tampa, FL The Orpheum
Oct 01 Orlando, FL Backbooth

Torche will join the mighty Clutch on tour this winter along with LIONIZE. Check out a full list of dates below…

Sat/Dec-27 Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
Sun/Dec-28 Cleveland, OH @ House Of Blues
Mon/Dec-29 Sayreville, NJ @ Starland Ballroom
Tue/Dec-30 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Sat/Jan-03 Atlanta, GA @ Center Stage
Sun/Jan-04 Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House Of Blues
Tue/Jan-06 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
Wed/Jan-07 Houston, TX @ House of Blues
Thu/Jan-08 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
Fri/Jan-09 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
Sat/Jan-10 Austin, TX @ Emo’s

https://www.facebook.com/torcheofficial
http://www.torchemusic.com/
http://torche.bigcartel.com/

Torche, Live at St. Vitus Bar, Brooklyn, NY

With their self-released, self-titled full-length debut, Argentinian three-piece Hijo de la Tormenta embark on what they like to call “forest psychedelia,” or “psicodelia del monte” (“mountain psychedelia”). I think the latter might be a more apt desciptor for the Córdoba unit’s sound itself, which balances gracefully wandering passages with dense tonal largesse — big riffs and open spaces brought to bear with a patient sensibility that impresses all the more considering Hijo del la Tormenta‘s Hijo de la Tormenta arrives preceded only by a 2012 EP, Simple 5/12. There isn’t as much a feeling either of foreboding or nature worship that “forest” brings to mind in a musical context, but frankly, wherever Hijo de la Tormenta are spending their time outside, in the forest, the mountains, both or neither, it’s clearly working for them. Their first full-length is engaging and immersive, creating a rich flow early on and running a wide scope in their largely-instrumental material that one gets the sense is only going to get wider as time goes on. Nor do they forget to kick a bit of ass, as songs like “Alienación” and second cut “Dilusiva” showcase.

The latter is about as straightforward and immediate as the trio of guitarist/vocalist Juan Cruz Ledesma, bassist Guido di Carlo and drummer Santi Ludueña get, but even their jammiest and most meandering stretches — a song like nine-minute opener “Viaje de Ida/Viaje de Vuelta” (reportedly based on a poem by Roberto Bolaño) or the two-parter “Desde la Espesura,” which sandwiches “Dilusiva” on the other side — retain a feeling of motion. A big part of that stems from the fervency of their grooving in a song like “Alienación,” the opening sample of which jars a bit but not enough to really be a misstep, each successive track on Hijo de la Tormenta drawing the listener further into the linear course of the album as a whole. “Desde la Espesura (Lado A)” and “Desde la Espesura (Lado B)” both do an excellent job of that, departing from some of “Viaje de Ida/Viaje de Vuelta”‘s bigger sound to a more hypnotic vibe, and though it has a build, “Sierras del Paiman” continues in this fashion en route to the return to longer-form songwriting on “Alienación,” lead guitar dominating the mix in the second half for an extended, bluesy solo that pushes the song into highlight territory, a rumbling fuzz remaining after the rest of the elements seem to recede.

“Alienación” is paired with “Desalienación,” which opens with Hijo de la Tormenta‘s most forceful riffing since “Dilusiva” and shifts fluidly into a slower, more subdued bass-led groove. That, in turn, progresses smoothly into jazzy snare work, airy guitar strums — offset, of course, by dense fuzz — and late-arriving vocals providing the album’s most singularly Los Natasian moment. That band’s Gonzalo Villagra mastered, and the bulk of Hijo de la Tormenta‘s sound is less Natas-derived than many I’ve encountered in Argentina’s well-populated heavy scene, but it’s also worth noting that the band’s moniker was used as the opening line of the title-track lyrics to Los Natas‘ 2006 album, El Hombre Montaña. Still, the simple fact that Hijo de la Tormenta would position themselves in a heavy rock landscape other than the desert speaks to a burgeoning drive toward individualism, and as they finish out with the psychedelic “Postales del Fin del Mundo” with a heady jam topped by ethereal layers of guest vocals from Laura Dalmasso it seems less like they’ve shown their complete range on what’s nonetheless a cohesive and engaging first long-player. As they continue to refine their sound, expect the geography likewise to come more into focus.

Hijo de la Tormenta, Hijo de la Tormenta (2014)

Hijo de la Tormenta on Thee Facebooks

Hijo de la Tormenta on Bandcamp