The circumstances by which I found myself in the Tri-State Area were complex enough that I feel no need to recount them, but the point is, if you’re in town anyway, and Ufomammut are rolling through Brooklyn to hit the Saint Vitus Bar on their first US tour ever, supported by Portland’s Usnea and locals Mountain God opening, the obvious choice is to go. Yes, I was at a show in Boston on Sunday, but that seemed like long enough ago that it didn’t matter. It’s fucking Ufomammut. You show up.

I missed the three-piece at Roadburn in 2011, but saw them there in 2009, and even six years later, the impression they left behind was resonant enough that I could see them clearly on the Main Stage bludgeoning the room with their cosmic mastery. The image is vivid. They’ll play Maryland Deathfest this weekend and are out supporting their 2015 Neurot Recordings outing, Ecate (review here), the latest in a line of records a decade long proving their utter supremacy of sound. I felt fortunate to have the planets align in such a way as to allow me to make it to the show.

As I understand it, Mountain God were something of a late addition to the bill. Cool by me. Playing as the trio of guitarist/vocalist Ben Ianuzzi, bassist Nikhil Kamineni and drummer/backing vocalist Ryan Smith (also Thera Roya), they had new material on offer and included two cuts from their 2013 Experimentation on the Unwilling demo (review here), so yeah, sign me up. Their particular brand of atmospheric sludge has only become more visceral over the last couple years, and as expansive as their 2015 single-song Forest of the Lost EP (review here) is, its churn still seems to stir the guts. So it was on stage as well.

Worth noting that for all three bands, the stage was d-a-r-k dark. Most of all for Mountain God and Usnea, but even for Ufomammut the only real light was toward the back of the stage, and there wasn’t much of that. Might as well have been taking pictures in Boston, it was so fucking dark. So it goes. Mountain God‘s new songs, “Nasca Lines” and “Taxidermist,” pushed the limits of their extremity well, Ianuzzi‘s blown-out vocals cutting through his and Kamineni‘s rumbling tonal morass — a heft that would become a theme for the night. The interplay of Ianuzzi and Smith proved especially effective throughout, but either way, ambience remained thick and the effect remained crushing.

They finished out with “Experimentation on the Unwilling” itself, a memorable pummel of a riff at its center, and received greetings and well-earned congratulations at the front of the stage while breaking down their gear to make way for Usnea, touring with Ufomammut from their base of operations in Oregon. It was my first exposure to the death-doom four-piece, who made their debut on Relapse last year with their second full-length, Random Cosmic Violence, and I found they were a completely different band from what I expected them to be. As in, I thought they were another band. It was a pleasant surprise when their ultra-nodding brutality held sway for the duration, both guitars tuned to the key of slow-motion destruction as drums and bass stood center-stage to punctuate and foster feel-it-in-your-stomach resonance. Can’t claim to have known the material, but the first impression was a positive one.

And by positive, I mean overwhelmingly negative — the downer vibes so dense they couldn’t seem to let any light escape. Right on. I knew Ufomammut would be headed for more psychedelic terrain, and indeed they were, so to have Usnea follow Mountain God‘s tectonics with their own lumbering doom was a solid fit and welcome complement to the bill. If I’d had any cash, I probably would’ve picked up a CD of Random Cosmic Violence, but the water bottle I had in my camera bag I bought with quarters and I didn’t think I had that much change on hand. Maybe next time. Their closer was “Detritus,” the 15-minute finisher from their sophomore outing, and it was as vehement an endorsement of their wares as anything I might recount in a review, plodding and stomping en route to a building finish that left nothing else to say when it was done. Many bands would have trouble following it.

Ufomammut, however, are a different breed. I’m almost surprised this was their first US tour. It’s easy to imagine them — as so many of their contemporaries from around Europe did — coming to the States and playing to upwards of 20 people at The Continental in Manhattan a decade ago before any of this stuff caught on and it was suddenly reasonable to be positioned in front of the stage at the Vitus Bar next to a photographer from The New York Times (“Uh, I run a blog,” was my barely-stammered response when she asked who I was shooting for) at a sold-out show. As if the experience wasn’t surreal enough, Ufomammut — guitarist Poia, drummer Vita and bassist/vocalist Urlo arranged left to right — played off a setlist that seemed to be written in code, with notations for synths and the mysterious light-up samplers and effects they had on foot-switches while a video screen projected behind.

Devastatingly heavy? Why yes, they were, but that’s really just one component of the experience. Watching Ufomammut play is like being stirred in a cauldron of something thick and molten. Somehow, it swirls, but on the surface level it doesn’t even seem like it should be able to move at all. Each song seemed to take them deeper into space, the entirety of Ecate rearranged for stage presentation and followed by “Oroboros” from Oro: Opus Alter (review here), “Stigma” from 2008’s Idolum and, finally, “God” from 2004’s Snailking, which was brought to a brutal finish as though the trio were trying to pull apart the remnants of the galaxy on a molecular level, some great cosmic code punched in to result in the end of all things in multi-dimensions. It was like that. Sound as force. Senses colliding, and Urlo headbanging with his entire body the whole time. The further they went the more righteous they became, and the room — sweltering, dark, vibrating — went with them all the while, that great cauldron made flesh. To call it breathtaking would be speaking literally.

There was a moment after they were done that required a return to earth, more of a snap back than a gentle release, and you could feel it from others in the room as much as from yourself. An exhale and realization of the impressionist galaxial scope just witnessed, blurred lines fitting for the summer’s haze that seemed to be settling over the Manhattan skyline on the way into the city. Even having seen the band before, I did it too. People made their way to the bar and out blissfullly stunned, and I did likewise, almost tempted to call Ufomammut‘s arrival on North American shores overdue if they hadn’t rendered things like space and time so irrelevant.

A couple more pics after the jump. Thanks for reading.

Read more »

The line that Stockholm four-piece Sideburn seem so easily content to cross between heavy rock and roll and classic heavy metal on their upcoming fifth full-length, Evil or Divine, might seem strange to American ears, coming from a place where the lines between the two are more drawn in thick, seemingly permanent marker, but the Swedish outfit are part of a long history of stylistic melding that goes back about as far as when the other sprang from the one in the first place. If that’s confusing, think about countrymen acts like Grand Magus or The Awesome Machine and the context might become clearer. Sideburn, who formed in 1997, are contemporaries of these bands, and their latest outing seamlessly pulls together epic grandiosity and heavy grooves, bolstered by strong traditional songwriting and fistpump-ready righteousness.

Evil or Divine see will North American release June 9 via Metalville Records, and it’s the foursome’s first outing for the label and first with Dimitri Keiski on vocals and guitar alongside guitarist Morgan Zocek, bassist Martin Karlsson (also Mangrove) and drummer Fredrik Haake, whose commanding forwardness makes longer pieces like “The Day the Sun Died” and linear-building closer “Presence” all the more engaging. Keiski is a powerful frontman in the Dioist vein, and from the start of opener “Masters and Slaves,” he takes the reins of Evil or Divine and steers the band across flowing movements touching on doom, heavy rock and metal — as much Rainbow as Sabbath, as “Sea of Sins” demonstrates, the “Gates of Babylon” looming large in the distance — finding a niche between and among them while keeping a natural atmosphere as the brooding “When Darkness Calls” and “The Seer (Angel of Death)” play out.

“Sea of Sins” stands as one of the record’s most fervent rockers, a stomping kick drum and winding riff opening into a progression somewhere between shuffle and headbang that seems to capture the vibrancy of both, and gets a late-album complement in “Evil Ways” before the acoustic guitar that starts “Presence” kicks in to set the stage for that drama to unfold. It’s my pleasure today to host the premiere of “Sea of Sins” ahead of the album’s release. You can find the track on the YouTube embed below — if you’re wondering where the Soundcloud is, that site’s weirdo copyright policy will be its undoing as the industry standard for hosting — followed by the PR wire info on the album.

Enjoy:

Sideburn, “Sea of Sins”

Stockholm’s own SIDEBURN, featuring Dimitri Keiski (vocals, guitar), Morgan Zocek (guitar), Martin Karlsson (bass, organ), and Fredrik Haake (drums), will release their fifth full-length album titled Evil Or Divine in North America June 9 via Metalville Records.

Mixed/Produced by Jonas Edler with Morgan Zocek and SIDEBURN at B.A.S. Studio and mastered by Mats “Limpan” Lindfors (Meshuggah, Katatonia, Opeth) at Cutting Room studios in Stockholm, with a sound that as much is rooted in the past as it is heading for the future, fans can expect more of what they’ve come to know and enjoy from the band – heavy guitar attacks blended with intense solos backed by a steady rhythm section.

Sideburn on Thee Facebooks

Metalville Records

Metalville on Thee Facebooks

In just under a week’s time, Bordeaux heavy psych rollers Mars Red Sky will make a return trip to South America for shows in Argentina and Brazil. The latter, of course, is where they wound up recording their second album and Listenable Records debut, Stranded in Arcadia (review here), after their original plan to track in the California desert was scrapped by US customs in what I’ve since considered an embarrassing international incident caused by the ignorance of my countrymen to quality fuzz. No doubt somebody went home that day and thought they’d done a good job. Wrong-o, chief.

Those issues are easy enough to put aside because Stranded in Arcadia, which was recorded at Estúdio Superfuzz by Gabriel Zander, turned out so well. The trio of guitarist/vocalist Julien Pras, bassist Jimmy Kinast and drummer Matgaz crafted not only a progressive step froward from their 2011 self-titled debut (review here), but a highly individualized blend of sonic weight and psychedelia, the melodies, the riffs and heft all their own. It was a gorgeous record, whatever the circumstances of its making, and even as they’ve recently announced intentions toward a third album, they’re still supporting Stranded in Arcadia both on the road — that stopover in South America will be followed by another European tour — and with a new video, this one for the opening cut “The Light Beyond.”

It’s one of the most singularly gorgeous tracks on Stranded in Arcadia and the video is their most elaborate production to date. They’re known for sort of compiling clips through manipulated footage, maybe blending live shots with old movie clips and things like that, but “The Light Beyond” is a more traditional music video approach, the band staged on a sandbar as a giant manta ray made of shadow flies over head and a mysterious shaman wanders the desert. Fun note: From what I hear, the drone used for filming the band actually crashed in that lake. Hazards of working with robots, I guess.

As always, hope you enjoy:

Mars Red Sky, “The Light Beyond” official video

Taken from 2014’s critically acclaimed ‘Stranded In Arcadia’ album, the gallic power trio rockers stay true to their roots. Shot on location in France and Australia, ‘The Light Beyond’ features downtuned fuzzed up guitars, blues soaked doom laden riffage, wandering shaman, flying manta rays and deserts as far as the eye can see. 

The band will be off for a their « Soviet Attack tour » in South America next week, which will be quickly followed by a full European tour, including a special guest slot in London with Eyehategod at Desertscene Festival, among other nice events this summer:

26.05 BUENOS AIRES (Ar) Uniclub
27.05 PORTO ALLEGRE (Br) Signos Pub
28.05 SANTA MARIA (Br) Boteco do Rosário
29.05 PETROPOLIS (Br) Gypsy Bar
30.05 RIO DE JANEIRO (Br) Rio Rock & Blues
31.05 SAO PAULO (Br) Inferno Club
25.06 CARDIFF (UK) Moon Club
26.06 MILTON KEYNES (UK) Crauford Arms
27.06 LONDON (UK) The Dome (w/ Eyehategod)
28.06 PARIS – Deep #2 – Péniche Antipode
03.07 BRESCIA (It) Somen Fest
04.07 JESI (It) Field Fest
05.07 ROMA (It) Sinister Noise
17.07 MIRAMONT DE GUYENNE (47) Abracada’Sons
18.07 DOUR (Bel) Dour Festival
19.07 NIJMEGEN (NL) Valkhof Festival
29.07 KIEV (Ukr) Open Air
14.08 SAINT NOLFF (56) Motocultor Festival
15.08 VERDUN (55) Musiques & Terrasses
29.08 THONES (74) Backwoods Festival
25.09 SAINT PETERSBURG (RU) Zoccolo 2.0
26.09 MOSCOW (RU) Depressive Fest – Volta

Mars Red Sky on Thee Facebooks

Mars Red Sky’s Bandcamp

Listenable Records

Suffolk, UK, trio Old Man Lizard have signed to Heavy Psych Sounds and will release their sophomore, self-titled full-length through the Italian label this fall. Their debut, Lone Wolf vs. Brown Bear, arrived in Sept. 2014 after a demo, a debut EP, a single and a split with Earthmass and found the band merging sludge, hardcore punk, twanging guitar and bruiser Southern heavy to raise blisters across a nine-track span. In addition to the new album, they’ll be touring with Black Rainbows for five shows in the UK next month.

The PR wire tells it like it is:

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS Records is stoked to announce the signing of a new awesome band ***OLD MAN LIZARD*** (UK)

Formed in 2011, Suffolk sludge/stoner outfit Old Man Lizard are Jack Newnham, Gav Senior and Dan Beales.

They sounds like Kyuss, Baroness, Earth, Mastodon and Sleep all in one band!

Shared the stage with bands as Dead Meadow, Dopethrone, Conan plus a mini UK tour with Black Rainbows begin of June 2015, they already toured their country several times, and invited at Desert Fest Belgium and Hard Rock Hell.

Heavy Psych Sounds Records is going to release their second, selftitled album. Six brand new songs slow doomy melodic stoner tunes.

Out mid september 2015 in vinyl, ltd vinyl, cd and digital

Black Rainbows & Old Man Lizard UK tour:
Thursday 4th June – Bristol, Stag & Hounds
Friday 5th June – Northampton, Labour Club
Saturday 6th June – Oxford, The Wheatsheaf
Sunday 7th June – Basingstoke, The Sanctuary
Monday 8th June – London, The Macbeth

Bio:
Formed in Autumn 2011, Old Man Lizard wasted no time in recording and self-releasing a five track EP showcasing their uniquely heavy and majestic sound. Complete with beautiful artwork from Michael Dicken, the EP quickly gathered attention and critical praise leading to a slew of invitations to play venues all over the country – from converted churches to the legendary Underworld, London.

In their short time as a band, Old Man Lizard have shared stages with seminal bands Dead Meadow, Arabrot, and Honky to name just a few, and have already been booked to play alongside heavyweights Conan and Dopethrone this year. Made up of Jack Newnham (also of Meadows – Superfi Records, Head of Crom Records), Gav Senior, and Dan Beales; Old Man Lizard are a power trio in the same vein as Cream or Blue Cheer, but the influences of contemporary bands from Taint to Yawning Man set Old Man Lizard apart from the often crowded and unvaried sludge and stoner scenes. Not content to retread the same old tired ground, Old Man Lizard make exciting and original heavy music without compromising the art of the riff.

https://www.facebook.com/oldmanlizard
https://oldmanlizard.bandcamp.com/
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/

Old Man Lizard, Lone Wolf vs. Brown Bear (2014)

Two weeks after the initial announcement of their awaited fifth album’s Summer release date, Dutch heavy rock trio The Machine unveil a new video from Offblast!, for the song “Coda Sun.” Directed by guitarist/vocalist David Eering, it’s a trippy performance clip captured at Elektra in Sliedrecht and is the premiere audio to be made public from the upcoming full-length, which will be out on Elektrohasch and finds the three-piece of Eering, bassist Hans van Heemst and drummer Davy Boogaard grooving easily around a fuzzed-out central riff, watery vocals trailing the turns as a jammy vibe pervades following an initial verse/chorus split, an extended guitar solo taking hold and carrying the track through the better part of its second half before a quick return to the verse provides a neat bookend reminding of the songwriting still at work no matter how far out The Machine are willing to let their wanderings roam.

I’ll have a review of the album at some point soon, but “Coda Sun” is a welcome first look from The Machine, whose evolution beyond 2012’s Calmer than You Are (review here) stands them out from the heavy psychedelic pack in terms of their chemistry and the fluidity of their jams. I don’t at all mind telling you I’ve been looking forward to the album for some time, and between its lengthy jams at the front and back and the flowing earliest Queens of the Stone Age vibes that persist between, it’s one that’s been well worth looking forward to. So, with the June 1 release date solidified and the promise of more to come, please find the video for “Coda Sun” below, and enjoy:

The Machine, “Coda Sun” official video

There were some technical difficulties during the mixing stage (a.k.a. the phasing phase), a number of various things had to be sorted out, band members were having babies, etc. In other words: it took a while but it’s finished. Needless to say, we’re very proud to present you the final details of Offblast!.

Although we had a lot of positive reactions after posting the April Fools version of the artwork, we still decided to proceed with Jakob Skøtt’s beautiful piece. Wait until you see the fold out vinyl cover. Speaking of vinyl: due to a popular demand for wax discs, the production time for the LP will take a couple of months. But hey, it will be summer by then so we’ll take it easy.

The Machine – Offblast!
Elektrohasch Records
CD – June 1, 2015
LP – August XX, 2015

01 – Chrysalis (J.A.M.) [16:25]
02 – Dry End [03:05]
03 – Coda Sun [05:34]
04 – Gamma [06:48]
05 – Off Course [06:36]
06 – Come To Light [12:11]

Recorded and produced again by David, we’re super happy with the final result. It is by far our best sounding album to date. And we’re most certainly not done yet.

The Machine on Thee Facebooks

The Machine’s BigCartel store

Elektrohasch Schallplatten

The prospect of a new Goatsnake full-length has loomed large over heavy rock since the widely-influential four-piece got back together half a decade ago for their first reunion show at Roadburn 2010. Their two albums, 1999’s Goatsnake I and 2000’s Flower of Disease have cast a wide shadow over the riffery that emerged in their wake, the soulful vocals of Pete Stahl (earthlings?) a blueprint that few since have been able to follow and the contributions of guitarist Greg Anderson in the years that followed widely varied through his output with SunnO))) and at the helm of Southern Lord Recordings, which has helped shape underground tastes for well over the last decade. Fifteen years after the release of their last album, 11 since the Trampled Under Hoof EP surfaced, Stahl, Anderson, drummer Greg Rogers (The Obsessed) and newcomer bassist Scott Renner (Sourvein) return with Black Age Blues, on Southern Lord, and the impression they seem to be trying to give is they’re picking up right where they left off. In fact, they do. Opener “Another River to Cross” begins with the ending of Flower of Disease closer “The River” fading in as an intro before a bluesy acoustic guitar line introduces the nodding central figure that, when Stahl and backing vocalists Dem Preacher’s Daughters — Wendy Moten, Gale Mayes and Andrea Merrit — hit into the chorus with gospel fervor, will serve as one of the album’s defining and course-setting moments. In four words? Heavy, blues, soul, riffs. Rogers and Renner provide the heavy, Anderson has the riffs, Stahl is the soul and the entire rolling nine-track/47-minute span is blue as blue gets. It seems like an easy enough formula to work with, but if that’s the case then why the hell have Goatsnake endured for 15 years without a record while so many others have come and gone?

No question Black Age Blues became one of 2015’s most anticipated releases immediately upon its announcement. Hell, even before then. And sure enough, it carries its “event” spirit into the material itself, moving from “Another River to Cross” into a one-two punch of the ultra-catchy “Elevated Man,” as clarion a hook as one could ask, though the harmonica sounds somewhat shoehorned in where a guitar solo might otherwise be, and the so-stuck-in-your-head-it’s-almost-obnoxious “Coffee and Whiskey,” the latter preceded by a recorded goof-around with Stahl singing the chorus, reminiscent of any number of studio-captured off-the-cuff moments that wound up on blues records. It’s a righteous, stunning opening salvo, and while Anderson‘s tone is invariably cleaner than it was a decade and a half ago, the method and the heft are retained via the Nick Raskulinecz production (yes, he also produced Flower of Disease, for those who’d note the continuity), and there’s still plenty of weight being thrown around behind Stahl, who’s forward in the mix at first on “Another River to Cross” but seems to step back over the next couple tracks before the title cut offers a shift away from the sub-five-minute straightforward rollers and into a classic upbeat stoner shuffle that moves in its second half to bigger riffing via a well-timed slowdown that deconstructs as the foursome shove it toward its 6:19 finish. Obviously it’s meant to be broken into halves for vinyl sides, but if one takes Black Age Blues in thirds — three sets of three tracks — it provides a fascinating sprawl as well, between its hook-laden opening trio, the middle third which branches out and the final third to tie it all together. “House of the Moon,” which follows “Black Age Blues,” is the centerpiece of the tracklist and also toys some with back and forth pacing swaps, but also brings back Dem Preacher’s Daughters for a welcome return and rightly brings them forward alongside Stahl, who makes his way to the final chorus with the lines, “We will shine on/Third time’s a charm.” And so it might just be. The revival atmosphere as the backing vocals refrain “shine on” is as pervasive on “House of the Moon” as it is anywhere on the album, but Goatsnake haven’t hit their apex yet, and it’s not where one would think.

Hard to imagine “Jimi’s Gone” being about anyone other than Hendrix, with the opening lyric “Guitar-slinging gypsy,” and so on, but it’s the boogie front and center and thick, so they’re not falling into the trap of aping an artist’s sound while paying them tribute, though Stahl does layer in a bit of call and response with some Hendrixian “hey man” and “yeah man” before Dem Preacher’s Daughters announce the move into the song’s midsection with choral whoa-ing, leading to a torn out guitar solo and eventually back to the verse and chorus, some more harmonica tossed in — a bit more naturally this time — for good measure as the track rounds out leading to the tense thudding that starts the doomly “Graves,” which lurches like the best of classic The Obsessed but is overshadowed immediately by “Grandpa Jones,” the high point of the album, bringing together the infectiousness of the opening trio, the roll of the title-track and the church-hat testimony of “House of the Moon” — essentially pulling together all the righteous elements spread throughout into one huge four-and-a-half-minute stretch — Stahl and Dem Preacher’s Daughters hitting their best meld over Rogers and Renner‘s finest swing and Anderson‘s riff at the core of the whole thing. It is fucking beautiful, and with all due respect to “Slippin’ the Stealth,” “IV,” “Easy Greasy” and other high points from their first two records, it might be the best song they’ve ever written. The chorus of “You can’t decide what to do with your life/Grandpa Jones/Break it down” is perfectly arranged, the effect is heavy bliss, and it’s on “Grandpa Jones” that the listener really gets the sense of the blues record that Goatsnake have made here and how rather than trying to recapture their sound as it was, they’ve let it become this new and exciting beast while still retaining its most pivotal vibe. A call and response after the second chorus meets with complementary slams from Rogers and they finish with a turn into a particularly Sabbathian finish that’s as much about the fun they’re having as the heft they’re conjuring while doing so. That leaves “A Killing Blues” to close out, the momentum carrying from the end of “Grandpa Jones” to the beginning of the 7:35 finale, also the longest inclusion here. An open, nodding groove pervades the early going, but “A Killing Blues” is more about the jam that takes hold just past the three-minute mark, which starts with a quiet boogie as the foundation for the last build, falsetto repetitions of the title line ringing out over plotted, siren-style guitar lead and cymbal crash, a final rumble holding sway for a time until the rains start in and lead the album out.

In a way, the cover tells the whole story: Clouds of doom hang heavy over an old church in a sparse landscape and the air itself seems to be tinted blue, maybe with twilight or maybe just the darkness of the storm coming. One can’t help but wonder if that church might also be used as a schoolhouse, since that’s basically where Goatsnake are taking the entire genre of heavy rock and roll with their return full-length. Again, on paper the patterns are simple, but what the band does with them is nothing short of breathtaking, even aside from the simple appeal the album carries with it for fans through the simple fact of its existence. Sounds like hyperbole, but the blessings Black Age Blues bestows are not to be undervalued either for their heaviness or the individual presence at work behind them, and five years after their first reunion set, 15 years after their last album, Goatsnake may be the most vital they’ve ever been. Recommended.

Goatsnake, Black Age Blues album teaser

Goatsnake at Southern Lord Recordings

Goatsnake webstore

Southern Lord on Thee Facebooks

A genuine bummer. Sixty Watt Shaman were working against a considerable geographic spread, with members in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, but for a while there it looked like they were going to be able to pull it off. They were slated to appear at the inaugural Maryland Doom Fest and later this month at subsequent shows alongside Karma to Burn and drummer Chuck Dukehart‘s other band, Foghound, but of course the real loss here is the promise of new material which was said to be in the works over the last several months, first as an EP, then as a full-length, now as nothing. Tabula Rasa, which was to be the title of their fourth album, was due this winter on Ripple Music.

So it goes. Glad I got to see them at The Eye of the Stoned Goat last year and glad I bought a shirt while shirts were available for the buying. Hopefully sooner or later they pick it back up, but it looks like they’ll be keeping busy in Serpents of Secrecy and King Giant, Foghound, etc., so these dudes will still be around.

Here’s the announcement:

Hey guys, we didn’t know what to expect when we first started this group many years ago. And then again when we regrouped a little over a year ago with just the idea to have fun and go play a few shows.

We have had a blast doing it, and the response from you guys has been awesome! We are extremely thankful for all the opportunities to play on some pretty great heavy music fests and on shows with so many amazing bands!

At this time, due to scheduling conflicts, family commitments, and not being able to commit as much time as is needed to keep going as a full time group again, we are going to be taking a hiatus.

Unfortunately that means we won’t be working on new music or playing the few upcoming shows that we had on the books, and we regretfully apologize for that.

We will be taking some time off as Sixty Watt Shaman, and no one knows what lies ahead in the foreseeable future.

We would like to thank each and every one of you all so much for all of your overwhelming support through the years, it really means the world to us!

As for the immediate future, Rev Jim, Chuckrock and T.I. will be continuing on as SERPENTS OF SECRECY, the project they started before the Sixty Watt reunion was even a thought.

This page will remain active, and we look forward to sharing our other projects and music with all you guys real soon!

Cheers!

https://www.facebook.com/SixtyWattShaman
http://twitter.com/sixtywattshaman
http://sixtywattshaman.com/

Sixty Watt Shaman, Live at Saint Vitus Bar, Brooklyn, Dec. 28, 2014

The first sign that all is not as it seems comes toward the end of the opening title-track of Melbourne fuzz-rock trio River of Snakes‘ new EP, I Wanna be Your Baby. The punk-infused three-piece launch the release with about as poppy a movement as one can get, taking cues from the unabashed sunshine of post-grunge ’60s revivalism, but right at the end there’s a moment where another sound kicks in and you wonder if another song just started playing at the same time. Then, of course, they shift into the droned-out “Lightning Rod,” with builds waves of guitar over its 15-minute course that culminate in Earthless-style grandstanding before a cave-in brings silence and a return to noise, the theme seeming to continue into closer “Spill,” even as that song returns to verse/chorus structures in a grittier take than “I Wanna be Your Baby” itself.

Worth the asking price — which is whatever you want it to be — alone for the turn from the first track to the second and then into the third, the breadth of sound River of Snakes show in such a short time without sounding like the material is disconnected, the I Wanna be Your Baby EP is available now to download from the band’s Bandcamp. Announcement of its arrival follows, along with some more bio background:

Good Morning freaks!! Here is a free give away EP with two previously unreleased tracks, one is 15 minute epic noise freak out with Ben Wrecker on drums, Recorded at RMIT, the other is a track that we did for “Black Noise” that well, got left aside for this give-away! We will be playing some shows soon, stay tuned. Thanks!!

Two cranked up Fender Bassman amps, two Big-muff pedals on full and aggressive powerhouse drums make up River of Snakes sonic core. This fuzz-demented three piece have been tearing apart stages and splintering ears for over two years now in their hometown of Melbourne, as well as trekking thousands of kilometres to play any (and every) interstate city and regional centre in Australia that will have them. This is a band that thrives on raw spirit and DIY attitude.

The band is made up of Raul Sanchez, best known for his role as guitarist in Magic Dirt and Midnight Woolf, Elissa Rose from the powerful and grungy The Loveless and Ben Wrecker from Hotel Wrecking City Traders. The result is a three-pronged attack of wild punk-rock laced with feedback, noise and pop-hooks.

https://www.facebook.com/riverofsnakes/
www.riverofsnakes.tumblr.com
www.riverofsnakes.bandcamp.com
www.youtube.com/riverofsnakes
http://www.brofidelity.bigcartel.com/

River of Snakes, I Wanna be Your Baby EP (2015)