When last we left them, Kansas heavy blues rockers were deep into the Pacific Northwest on their current US tour. This past week has taken them further south, through California and into the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. Last night they played in Albuquerque, and today, guitarist/vocalist Steve Moss — joined in the band by bassist Mike Boyne and drummer Brandon Burghart — continues his “Mea Culpa” tour diary for The Obelisk.

The Midnight Ghost Train‘s third album, Cold was the Ground is out now as their debut on Napalm Records. Their tour runs until May 16, at which point apparently Moss will undergo surgery. More in the diary:

Mea Culpa 2

Driving through the desert right now towards Albuquerque, NM. The past few nights have been excellent shows and good times. Like I said in the last post we went to the Giants and Dodgers game on our day off. That was a lot of fun and relaxing. But relaxing never lasts long. I like it that way. I don’t like to stand still for long. If you have seen us on stage I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.

The other night in San Diego we had a great show. It was a last-minute add but it was a blast. I think they put something in the drinks in there though ’cause everyone was insanely wasted. Made for an interesting night. I don’t drink so it’s always quite amusing to see the insanely drunk ones at the shows. But it can also get a bit annoying especially at the merch table. One guy wanted to buy all three of our vinyls, a hoodie, two shirts, a tote bag, a hat, a poster and two bottles of our TMGT hot sauce. I get everything out, all ready for him. The price is somewhere around $150 and he opened his wallet and only had $20. Then he actually tried to see if I would let him go with all that stuff only paying $20. No way in hell. He would not let it go, started yelling, “Why can’t I just pay $20, this is bullshit I thought you guys were cool. I promise if you let me go with all this stuff for $20 I’ll tell everyone I know about your band.” Absolutely not. We need to make our money.

For those of you that are unaware, this is how we make our living. This is our job. So we don’t give anything out for free, ever, and don’t make deals. I don’t care how cute of a girl you are, I don’t care how uncool it makes me, you pay full price. If you really like a band enough that you want to buy their merch, than you should respect them enough to pay for it, and pay the price that they ask. We go through that every night. But this guy just for some reason got under my skin. Maybe because he held up the merch line for 10 minutes while he was bitching and arguing. “Sorry you gotta go, there are people with money behind you trying to buy stuff.” I guess some people just don’t get it. I’m sure other bands out there feel that frustration.

So I’ve got some bad news. I’ve been battling with some pain the past few months that has made life very uncomfortable. I went to the doctor and found out I have two hernias that have to be surgically repaired immediately. So as soon as this tour is over I’m going in for surgery. Not excited about that. After this tour, we have one month off before we go back over to Europe. So I just hope that during that month off I can fully recover from the surgery, and there are no complications so I can be rip-roaring and ready to go for our European tour. In the meantime, I’m not able to lift anything. Doctors said I can’t lift anything over five pounds during this tour. Now that’s just crazy. But I have been staying away from lifting amps and really heavy stuff.

The guys have been a huge help moving stuff around for me. It sucks. I feel worthless and helpless. But I was warned that my hernias are at risk of becoming strangled, which can kill me, so I’m taking it as easy as possible. What really sucks is the uncomfortable pain that I’m in the entire time on stage. But I’m a fighter and I get through it night after night. Just hope that after this surgery I recover quick and well enough for our European tour. I’m so thankful I got good band members to help and pick up the slack for me. We still get off stage in less than two minutes, and we still get everything done quick and on time. It’s just tough to have to adjust to not carrying anything. Hope this surgery is as easy and as quick with recovery time as they say. ‘Cause there is much more rocking left to do.

The Midnight Ghost Train, Cold was the Ground (2015)

The Midnight Ghost Train on Thee Facebooks

The Midnight Ghost Train at Napalm Records

The first Argonauta Fest is set for May 10 at Live23 in Alessandria, Italy. Confirmed for the lineup are Nibiru, Infection Code, Varego, Last Minute to Jaffna, Deaf Eyes and Kayleth, and there’s free CD samplers to be on hand and much more slated for the inaugural event, which is put on by Argonauta Records, who explain their motivations as bringing their taste in music — from vicious sludge to far-ranging psych — to life on stage. Probably getting everyone together and turning the volume all the way up and partying and all the rest of it don’t hurt either, but you know, it doesn’t necessarily need to be one or the other.

Info for the fest came down the PR wire, if you’d care to peruse the links and so on:

ARGONAUTA Records present: ARGONAUTA FEST first edition!

From the label: “We are proud to announce that May 10, 2015 will take place the first official Argonauta Records Fest! An event created primarily as a need to represent “on stage” our musical taste, giving a “live” vent to our first years of life as a label, enhanced by many feedbacks both nationally and abroad. Six bands of our roster will create an evening that will move into Stoner, Post Metal, Noisecore and Sludge territories. A fine opportunity to share with us what will be a feast made of extreme sounds and great bands. Stay tuned on our official sites (www.facebook.com/argonautarecords – www.argonautarecords.com) for more details about the bands on the program and on further initiatives related to the event to be held in Alessandria (Italy) at LIVE23”.

ARGONAUTA Fest 2015 features the following bands:

NIBIRU (Psych Ritual Sludge)
https://www.facebook.com/nibiruritual
INFECTION CODE (Noisecore)
https://www.facebook.com/infectioncode
VAREGO (Post Metal/Stoner)
https://www.facebook.com/varego
LAST MINUTE TO JAFFNA (Post Metal)
https://www.facebook.com/jaffnatominutelast
DEAF EYES (Instrumental Post Metal)
https://www.facebook.com/deafeyesband
KAYLETH (Space Stoner Rock)
https://www.facebook.com/KAYLETHBand

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1376440029345838

For more infos:
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords
https://www.facebook.com/argonautafest

Varego, “Hesperian” official video

One hesitates uniformly to toss out words like “definitive,” but it’s hard to imagine a descriptor more accurate for Minotauro Records‘ recent reissues of the first two albums — 2003’s Dawn of the Proto-Man and 2006’s Seven Hells — by Portland, Maine, traditional doomers Ogre. The Sabbathian trio called it quits for the second time last year, but far from bitter, these thick-stock LP-style gatefold digipaks carry an air of celebration for what was always an underrated band, and prove to be archive-worthy versions of what were arguably Ogre‘s two most landmark contributions to doom.

Both are limited to 500 copies. Dawn of the Proto-Man, the debut, includes an obi-strip, a CD sleeve liner, vertical gatefold art by drummer Will Broadbent and a two-sided foldout poster that includes a larger version of the gatefold art with characters from Ogre‘s lyrics all the way up to their 2014 swan song, The Last Neanderthal (review here), the album itself, of course, plus three bonus tracks, separate liner notes written by guitarist Ross Markonish, a sticker, credits and more art on the CD sleeve. All of which can be housed in the digipak that itself fits in a protective plastic sleeve.

Packaged similarly, Seven Hells is even more expansive. A six-panel gatefold houses the CD of the album as well as a DVD with two live shows, from 2007 and 2006, filmed at Geno’s in their hometown of Portland, plus a two-sided poster with photos from throughout the band’s tenure, including the 2008 tour that took them to Japan alongside Blood Farmers and Church of Misery, as well as pics from the studio, equipment shots, and so on. It also has an obi strip proclaiming its limited edition, liner notes from Markonish and art and info on the CD sleeve expanded from the Gustave Doré cover, as well as — like on the debut — the advice to “Listen to this album as loud as humanly possible!” which is about as sagely as wisdom gets when it comes to experiencing an Ogre record, whichever one it might happen to be.

They are, in short, gorgeous, and it’s rare to see a band in doom get their due in such a fitting manner. Bassist/vocalist Ed Cunningham, Markonish and Broadbent were as much ahead of their time in their Sabbath worship as they were behind it, and each of these discs seems to be heralding these records for the special documents that they are.

To wit:

Dawn of the Proto-Man (2003)

What’s most striking about Ogre‘s first album 12 years on isn’t how well it holds up — it does, make no mistake — but how raw it is. Ogre‘s brand of doom on Dawn of the Proto-Man is about as barebones as you can get. Guitar, bass and drums are topped off with Cunningham‘s vocals, which veer into madman shouts of various sorts on “The Jaded Beast” and “Black Death,” but for the most part retain an Ozzy-style cadence. And maybe context has something to do with this, but listening to it now, Ogre don’t sound tentative through the first record at all. They’re completely willing to stand on this sans-frills foundation. Opener “Ogre” is a clarion of classic riffery, and the swing of “Colossus” and the faster, bass-led boogie of “78” showcase all the breadth Ogre would need, each track offering something distinct from the one before it, but serving an overarching album flow. The tones aren’t overly thick, but the groove they enact is, and between doom and classic heavy rock, Ogre carved their place in stone with a sense of poise that one rarely finds credited to bands who sing about monsters, invaders from the East, etc. Its epics, “The Jaded Beast” and “Black Death” branch out smoothly with Broadbent‘s steady roll and Markonish‘s righteous leads, and already one can hear the power trio dynamic at the heart of what Ogre would accomplish together. What was a 50-minute record here stretches to 79 with the three bonus tracks, which were recorded in 2000, and have a demo feel and rougher recording, but still show that Ogre knew where they wanted to take their sound even in their earliest going.

Seven Hells (2006)

Launching with “Dogmen (of Planet Earth),” which is one of Ogre‘s most signature tracks, their 2006 sophomore outing, Seven Hells expands on the debut’s straight-ahead doomly drive by proffering more classic fuzz in Markonish‘s tone and by and large longer, jammier tracks. They’re not out of “Dogmen” before an extended ripper of a solo has made an impression following the initial swing of the verses, Cunningham‘s vocals still by and large dry and forward in the mix, but even more assured. More than Dawn of the Proto-Man, Seven Hells carries the feel of a guitar album, but I won’t take away from the low-end heft or punctuating snare of “The Gas” either, though after the jams in “Dogmen” and the 10-minute “Soldier of Misfortune,” which follows, there’s plenty that would seem ground — though, to Ogre‘s credit, even “Soldier of Misfortune” gets reigned in for a final verse before continuing on its howling, classically-metallized over-the-top way. The notable Pentagram cover “Review Your Choices” is the only cut on Seven Hells under six minutes long, so wherever Ogre might be headed at any given moment, they give themselves plenty of time to get there, but the growth in chemistry and the personality they bring to the established tenets of classic doom throughout Seven Hells, even on that cover or in a choice rocker like “Woman on Fire,” which boasts Broadbent‘s best drum performance as well as a fluid tempo shift into a second-half slowdown, would make the album a standout even if the songs weren’t so memorable. They still had plenty of their Sabbathian core intact at this point — as they would for their whole career — but were clearly looking to make their own stamp as well, as shown in the strange stoner vibes late in “Sperm Whale” or the noise wash that takes hold as closer “Flesh Feast” draws down. The DVD, which present the two sets in reverse chronological order, has a host of selections from the two albums, as well as a killer take on Saint Vitus‘ “Mystic Lady” to close out the 2007 one. Maybe not for casual fans, but again, as a document of where they were at the time, of unquestionable value.

—

Minotauro released The Last Neanderthal in a similar style package, and whether or not that will actually prove to be Ogre‘s final offering, only time can show. With just their third album, 2008’s Plague of the Planet (review here), left unissued by the label, it seems likely it will show up sooner or later, though whether Cunningham, Markonish and Broadbent will make a return at that time, well, you get the idea. Whatever the future does or doesn’t bring, there’s little about Dawn of the Proto-Man or Seven Hells that these reissues leave unsaid, and for the obvious passion that went into producing them as well as for the songs themselves, they’re deeply admirable outings that deserve every bell and whistle they’ve been given.

Ogre, Dawn of the Proto-Man (2003)

Ogre, Seven Hells (2006)

Ogre on Thee Facebooks

Ogre on Bandcamp

Minotauro Records

It is a busy few months ahead of New York blues rockers Geezer. Already this year, the trio oversaw the CD release through Ripple Music of their 2014 full-length, Gage (review here), the vinyl of which came out through STB and blew through its pressing more or less immediately following its going on sale in the Fall, and they’re soon to issue a split with Washington D.C. heavy riffers Borracho, also through Ripple, as the opening chapter of the label’s The Second Coming of Heavy series of multi-band vinyls, stepping in to replace Volume IV in that capacity. That’s not to mention working on new material with their recently-added bassist Richie Touseull, including a trip to the studio not so long ago to record a Hendrix cover as part of Magnetic Eye Records‘ forthcoming The Best of James Marshall Hendrix compilation.

Show-wise, 2015 seems to be likewise packed. Having just this past weekend done a couple gigs with Borracho that included a filmed, soon-to-be-unveiled set at The Living Room in Stroudsburg, PA, Geezer will take off in late May for a round of dates alongside Bison Machine (who opened the latest podcast), playing with Sinister Haze, The Golden Grass, Wizard Eye and others — AND — finally I’m getting here, do you think it was built up enough??? — the trio have just been added to the Eye of the Stoned Goat 5 fest in June as a replacement for Weed is Weed, where they’ll play as direct support for Mos Generator as they headline the second of the festival’s two nights at Amityville Music Hall in Long Island, NY.

Badass? Yes, it is. That’s why I hounded Geezer guitarist/vocalist Pat Harrington (Obelisk Questionnaire here) this weekend for some comment on the matter. This will be Geezer‘s third appearance at the Stoned Goat, having played the last two editions of the fest in Worcester, Massachusetts, and in Brooklyn, and you can find Harrington‘s words, Geezer’s tour dates with Bison Machine and the announcement from the fest following the poster below:

Once again, due to unforeseen circumstances, Weed is Weed will be unable to join us at this year’s event… but fear not folks, we have managed to actually fill the slot with a fucking sonic wrecking ball of a band. I give you the incomparable heavy blues of… Geezer!!!

Says Geezer‘s Pat Harrington:

“Geezer is stoked to once again be a part of the Eye Of The Stoned Goat! This will be our third one and it looks to be the best one yet! So many killer bands to see and friends to catch up with. We’ll be fresh off our tour with Bison Machine and expect to be hitting on all cylinders with plenty of new tunes to get everyone grooving. Can’t wait!”

Geezer: Mind Over Mountain Tour with Bison Machine
Tuesday May 26th @ 31st St Pub, Pittsburg, PA w/ Sinister Haze & Old Dream
Wednesday May 27th @ Small’s, Detroit, MI w/ Wild Savages & SLO (Bison Machine: Hoarfrost vinyl release party)
Thursday May 28th @ Blind Bob’s, Dayton, OH w/ Grand Mammoth & Zuel
Friday May 29th @ The Living Room, Stroudsburg PA w/ Wizard Eye
Saturday May 30th @ Lucky 13 Saloon, Brooklyn, NY w/ The Golden Grass & Wolf Blood

https://geezertown.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/853840991328849/
https://www.facebook.com/TheEyeOfTheStonedGoat

Geezer, Gage (2014)

For Hamilton, New Zealand’s Lamp of the Universe, the line between self, spirit and cosmos seems to have dissipated. Now 14 years on from its debut release, The Cosmic Union, the project has surged back to activity after a few years’ absence, resulting in 2013’s Transcendence (review here), splits in 2014 with Krautzone (streamed here) and Trip Hill, and now, the eighth full-length, The Inner Light of Revelation, released by Clostridium Records in conjunction with Astral Projection. Multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/producer Craig Williamson, as ever, is the auteur. A principle figure in establishing heavy rock and psychedelia in New Zealand during his days in Datura, who started in 1993 and released their last album in 1999, Williamson had shifted his focus from 2010 to 2012 onto Arc of Ascent, a trio whose two albums, 2010’s Circle of the Sun (review here) and 2012’s The Higher Key (review here), remain an engaging extension of Williamson‘s songwriting into the more grounded grooves hinted at on Lamp of the Universe‘s 2009 outing, Acid Mantra (review here). One thing leads to the next and to the next. Since Arc of Ascent‘s apparent disbanding, Williamson‘s work as Lamp of the Universe has had a sort of homecoming feel, but both the material he’s contributed to the splits and the two long-players are expansive and progressive, and The Inner Light of Revelation is nothing if not forward-minded. Comprised of eight tracks totaling 51 minutes, it harnesses both the lushness of sound and intimacy of vibe that has made Lamp of the Universe a singularly entity for the last decade-plus, and finds Williamson hinting toward a balance between the full-band and solo-project impulses. Less even than Acid Mantra or Transcendence, both of which were plenty laid back, The Inner Light of Revelation feels unconcerned with direction, and that peacefulness radiates outward from the very beginnings of opener “Trance of the Pharaohs.”

Acoustic guitar and e-bow hum set the foundation for Williamson‘s vocals, echoing a subtly memorable chorus, ritualized, very much in his own style — someone less familiar with his work and the fact that he was doing it first might hear shades of latter day Al Cisneros — and later gong wash provides Eastern sensibility further explored via percussion roll and insistent strumming. Arrangement has always been a central feature of Lamp of the Universe‘s work, but Williamson‘s songwriting and the sense of mood he sets and develops over the course of an album remains the core of the outfit. As a multi-instrumentalist, he builds a song like “God of One” with Mellotron, bass, guitar, sitar, percussion, drums, tambourine, multiple layers of vocals, resulting in a gorgeous psychedelic wash all the more hypnotic for the fact that it’s one person constructing it layer by layer. Of course, 14 years on, one would expect him to have a solid foundation from which to develop his ideas, but the loose swing he brings to “God of One” only underscores how special this project is. Tonal buzz, a quicker pace, sweet melody and one of The Inner Light of Revelation‘s more infectious hooks make the track a standout — it’s also the longest on the record at 8:52, though closer “Celestial Forms” is a near second — and it’s followed by “The Guiding Light,” a shorter movement centered around acoustic guitar, vocals and percussion. A folkier stretch, there’s still room for a dreamy acoustic solo in the second half, which sets the stage well for the Mellotron and sitar vibing of “Levitation,” the drums and percussion also returning as Williamson makes solid use of a relatively straightforward rhythm to enact a steady nod through the verse and a winding chorus that answers the Mellotron line with a move into swirling fuzz guitar. Transitions are fluid, the feel equal parts beautiful and lysergic, and Williamson‘s command over his sound manages only to enhance, not detract, from the psychedelic spiritual engagement of the material.

The two halves of the album break more or less evenly, no doubt with a Clostridium vinyl release in mind, and the acoustic/wah-electric finish of “Levitation” proves a resonant end to what would be side A. Side B, then, begins with the gradual ease of “Utopian Seed”‘s fade-in, harnessing some of the drone and backing swirl ideology of Williamson‘s 2014 splits but setting it to more grounded, less extended purpose. A bassline and guitar figure emerges, but percussion-wise, “Utopian Seed” uses only quiet, far-back tom hits to keep its beat, and the difference between that and “Levitation” or “God of One” is palpable in the ultra-molten soundscape crafted. Even here, amid the experimentalist wash, Williamson works in a chorus, though the intent is more mantra than hook, and that’s precisely the level on which it works. “Ancient Path” returns to a base of acoustic guitar and tambourine, sitar and percussion arriving soon after amid tanpura drone, expanding perhaps on what “The Guiding Light” suggested, with vocals compressed and otherworldly. The sitar and vocals lead the way out, bringing “Ancient Path” to a still-quiet apex, which gives way to the immediately rhythmic “Beyond the Horizon,” the shortest and most minimal of The Inner Light of Revelation‘s tracks. Also the shortest at 3:07, it’s the easiest to imagine in a live setting, even as a Mellotron line and echoing vocals move beyond the foot-tap timekeeping and strummed central figure. As expansive as Williamson gets here, the penultimate cut is a reminder of how effective and intimate Lamp of the Universe can be, and helps strike that balance between band-sound and solo-sound. With “Celestial Forms,” the Mellotron once again takes a central presence, ambient tones circling above the acoustic guitar and sitar and percussion and vocals. The closer recalls some of “God of One” and “Levitation”‘s movements, but is far dreamier, less drummed, and as it moves through an electrified solo to the long-fading wash of an ending, even more cosmic.

Particularly after “Beyond the Horizon,” it ties The Inner Light of Revelation together smoothly, which I suppose remains one of the most pivotal aspects of Williamson‘s work in Lamp of the Universe — that no matter how far out he goes sound-wise, there’s never any doubt of a plan at work, and even when he lets go and the song seems to carry him rather than the other way around, it’s abundantly clear he and the material are headed in the same direction. In psychedelia, Lamp of the Universe remains a blissful singular entity, and a project special for both how it has developed over time and the output that has resulted from that development. The quality of songwriting and balance of The Inner Light of Revelation should not be understated, and if there’s a singular truth being searched for here, then it seems to be found precisely in that place where self, spirit and cosmos unite.

Lamp of the Universe, The Inner Light of Revelation (2015)

Lamp of the Universe on Thee Facebooks

Lamp of the Universe on Bandcamp

Clostridium Records

San Francisco heavy metallers Castle are headed overseas this week to start a European tour this Thursday at Heavy Days in Doomtown in Copenhagen. To mark the occasion, they have a new Billy Anderson-recorded 7″ out on Ván Records with the rather foreboding title Deadhand Hexagram that features former Witch Mountain vocalist Uta Plotkin on viola for the B-side in what I’m pretty sure is her first recorded performance since leaving the aforementioned Portland outfit. I’m not sure how many copies of the single have been pressed, but word is “limited,” so, you know, probably a limited number. Circa “not that many.”

“Deadhand Hexagram” itself is streamable on the player below, and the band sent the news of the new release and complete tour dates down the PR wire:

CASTLE Announce European Tour / Premiere New Single

San Francisco doom tinged heavy metallers CASTLE have announced a string of European dates including appearances at Heavy Days in Doomtown Fest in Copenhagen, Denmark on April 30 and Van Records Acherontic Arts Fest in Oberhausen, Germany on May 1.

Following a busy winter and spring touring Stateside in support of last year’s ‘Under Siege’, including an appearance at the 2015 SXSW Festival in Austin, TX, CASTLE are returning to Europe in support of their upcoming single “Deadhand Hexagram” b/w “Be My Ghost (Reprise)” scheduled for release via Van Records for the beginning of the tour on April 30th.

Recorded by Billy Anderson at Everything Hz in Portland in November 2014, the limited edition 7” features the new track, “Deadhand Hexagram” along with a re-working of their song ‘Be My Ghost (Reprise)’ using only guitar, vocal and viola, supplied courtesy of former Witch Mountain vocalist, Uta Plotkin.

The single ‘Deadhand Hexagram’ can be heard at the link

https://soundcloud.com/heavycastle/deadhand-hexagram

30/4 Copenhagen, DK – Heavy Days In Doomtown Fest
01/5 Oberhausen, GER – Acherontic Arts Fest
02/5 Leiden, NL – Gebr. de Nobel
03/5 Tilburg, NL – Little Devil
04/5 Freiburg, GER – Slow Club
06/5 Mungia, SP – Mungiarocks
08/5 Udine, IT – Cas’aupa
09/5 Nasice, HR – Moby Dick
10/5 Bucharest, RO – Club Fabrica
11/5 Budapest, HU – Dürer Kert
13/5 Prague, CZ – Exit Us
14/5 Wroclaw, PL – Liverpool
15/5 Zielona Gora, PL – 4 Róze dla Lucienne
16/5 Poznan, PL – Pod Minoga
17/5 Szczecin, PL – Rocker
18/5 Hamburg, GER – Hafenklang
19/5 Berlin, GER – Cortina Bob
22/5 Horst, NL – Babouche
23/5 London, UK – Underworld
19/6 Salt Lake City, US, Crucial Fest

https://heavycastle.bandcamp.com/album/deadhand-hexagram-b-w-be-my-ghost-reprise
www.heavycastle.com
www.facebook.com/CastleSF

Castle, “Deadhand Hexagram”

Orange Goblin, The Big Black (2000)

They weren’t the first stoner rock band to come from the UK, but with their third album, 2000’s The Big Black, London outfit Orange Goblin more or less perfected the form. Produced by Billy Anderson and released through Rise Above and The Music Cartel, it produced a couple of classics for the Orange Goblin canon, the band — who were then a five-piece with guitarist Pete O’Malley alongside the steady-to-this-day lineup of vocalist Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, bassist Martyn Millard and drummer Chris Turner — still regularly featuring “Scorpionica” and “Quincy the Pigboy” at, well, certainly at every show I’ve seen them play. These songs are quintessential Orange Goblin, and as a one-two punch at the start of The Big Black, the album sets itself a high standard to meet, but to ignore “Cozmo Bozo,” “Alcofuel” and “The Big Black” itself is to ignore the axe swinging down on the back of your neck. Front to back, Orange Goblin‘s third is all the whisky stomp and riffly righteousness that has come to define them in the years since, and a record that, at 15 years old, sounds more vital today than when it was released.

It closes the week with Desertfest in mind, the festivals in London and Berlin held this weekend. Orange Goblin played The Big Black in full last night in Berlin, and they’ll do the same tonight in London before a hometown crowd that’s the center from which their influence has spread out worldwide. I can only imagine the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town going off to “Hot Magic, Red Planet” as the band storms through the album, and yeah, I’ll cop to a bit of jealousy for those who are there or were in Berlin to see it. I haven’t been to Desertfest in two years, and the festival has grown substantially in that time in terms of the names they bring in, but to have Orange Goblin nail down The Big Black for all to see shows their roots are strong in heavy, and however they may have expanded — geographically or stylistically — that continues to be an essential part of what they do. And The Big Black is nothing if not essential heavy. Seems like a good fit to me. Wish I was there.

Hope you enjoy.

—

Had that job interview Wednesday, and I have no problem admitting it has utterly consumed my consciousness since. Sleep’s a respite, and I’ve been working hard to keep working hard both because there’s stuff to do (already behind for Monday, thanks) and because I’ve needed the distraction from waiting to find out if I got the gig or not. I don’t know, incidentally. Another phone interview Tuesday and then hopefully some word. Apparently it’s down to me and one other person. I want the job. I mean, I need a job. I want this one. I can do this one. Fingers crossed for the next 90 hours or so, and then probably a while afterwards as well.

Next week kind of depends on how that turns out, but I’ve got an EP stream slated for Sinister Haze and reviews due for Lamp of the Universe, Samurai and Cigale, and golly it would be nice to get through all of them. Tuesday’s actually kind of a special deal as well because I’ve got an interview going up with the guys from Death Alley that was really cool. Whole-band interviews are kind of a crapshoot, could go either way, but this was one of the best interviews of any sort I’ve done in a long time. I’ll be transcribing it this weekend and it should go live with a stream of the title-track to their upcoming debut LP, Black Magick Boogieland, which is also awesome.

That’ll be up in the afternoon, probably, so keep an eye out, and if you’re interested (or if you’re not), I’ll probably give some update on my professional situation when I have an update to give. The last couple days have been full-on hurry-up-and-wait, and I expect this weekend will be more of the same. At least baseball’s on.

I put a thing out on Thee Facebooks earlier today, but worth noting here as well that The Obelisk Radio hit a new high for the amount of people listening at once this week, more or less blowing the last one out of the water, and that is thoroughly appreciated. If you’ve listened at all, thanks.

Have a great and safe weekend. Enjoy and we’ll see you back here Monday. Please check out the forum and the radio stream.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

Like they do, Dallas trio Mothership are once more headed out on tour. They’re continuing to support last year’s Mothership II (review here), which came out last fall on Ripple Music, and for what’s been dubbed the “Spring Odyssey Tour,” they’re partnered up with underrated Memphis blues jammers The Dirty Streets. The tour will carry Mothership to their appearance at Psycho California alongside Sleep, Pentagram, Kylesa and many, many others (info here) and cover a decent swath of the West Coast and the Midwest, including Chicago, St. Paul, Boise, Denver, and so on.

Shows start one week from today. Here’s the official tour announcement off the PR wire:

Mothership announce Spring Odyssey Tour with The Dirty Streets across the USA this May

After a storming 2014 following the rerelease of their momentous second album through Ripple Music and European debut at The Freak Valley Festival, supersonic/intergalactic Dallas band Mothership return for what promises to be another busy year for the hard rocking Texan trio.

This May, brothers Kyle and Kelly Juett along with Judge Smith take to the road to recreate live their steaming hot stew of UFO and Iron Maiden inspired metal; southern Molly Hatchet and ZZ Top swagger, and deathly Sabbathian rock. A concoction that for some might prove too heavy to handle on record, those brave enough to bear witness to the full Mothership experience will soon discover exactly what it means to party hard.

Since 2013 the band has travelled non-stop to play live across the USA, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe; taking to festival stages, nightclubs, and under the sun at whatever motorcycle parties they could find. They are for all intents and purposes a heavy rock juggernaut that has only just begun to tear a hole in the cosmos. And guess what? They have no plans of slowing down for anyone.

For the full list of dates on Mothership’s Spring Odyssey Tour with Memphis band The Dirty Streets see below.

1st May – St. Louis, MO – Fubar
2nd May – Dubuque, IA – Vintage Torque Festival*
3rd May – Milwaukee, WI – Metal Grill
4th May – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s
5th May – St. Paul, MN – Big V’s Saloon
6th May – Kansas City, MO – The Scene
7th May – Denver, CO – Moon Room
9th May – Boise, ID – Crazy Horse
10th May – Vancouver, BC – Hindenburg*
11th May – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
13th May – Bend, OR – Volcanic Theatre Pub
15th May – South Lake Tahoe, CA – Whiskey Dicks
17th May – Orange County, CA – Psycho California*
*Mothership Only

Mothership is Kelley Juett (guitars/vocals), Kyle Juett (bass/vocals) and Judge Smith (drums).

http://www.mothershiphaslanded.com/
https://www.facebook.com/mothershipusa
https://twitter.com/mothershipusa
http://www.ripple-music.com/

Mothership, Mothership II (2014)