Michigan heavy rockers BoneHawk have issued their debut album, Albino Rhino, via Ripple Music. The awaited offering follows behind a late-2014 self-released edition and a limited vinyl run through Hornacious Wax Records. There was a second pressing of that, but like the first one, it went quickly. No word on a third for the LP, but Ripple‘s CD edition is out now, and to the best of my knowledge it’s the first compactular discus edition, and no doubt its reception will be as here-and-gone as was the vinyl.

The PR wire brings copious background for those who’d dig in:

BoneHawk: Share brand new album from hard hitting Michigan quartet, out now on Ripple Music

The story of BoneHawk is one that started as early as third grade, in an unassuming Kalamazoo school, where guitarist/vocalist Matt Helt and guitarist Chad Houts first met and bonded instantly over a shared appreciation of video games, pizza, poster girls and rock and roll. At the age of fourteen, Helt, already an accomplished drummer would jam along with Houts in the family’s basement to songs handpicked from the pair’s ever growing record collections. As the years passed by with each feeding the other on a steady diet of thrash metal and classic rock, when Helt eventually succumbed to the bug and traded in his drum set for a guitar, the duo quickly discovered that being in a band meant everything.

After toiling in various local outfits for years, around 2006 Helt and Houts formed Mesa with close friend Joel Wick (Quixote, Jihad), with the three deciding to put together something that paid homage to the heavy riffs they discovered as teens growing up in the mid 90s. Specifically, that beguiling breed of heavy rock directly influenced by the mighty Black Sabbath. The band would only release one record during this period, a 7” on Michigan’s UFO Dictator Records before breaking up to clear a path for the official formation of BoneHawk in 2011.

Helt and Houts envisioned combining Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy-esque harmonies with the straight-up grooves of Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and the twin guitar assault of Judas Priest and Kiss. Enlisting old band mate Chris Voss on bass, after the departure of Wick the trio set about recording their debut album Albino Rhino, with Helt taking on vocal duties and returning to the drum stool.

Recorded and mixed by Jim Diamond at Ghetto Recorders in Detroit and initially released as a limited run of ‘Albino vinyl’ through Hornacious Wax Records in 2014, with newly appointed personnel in the form of drummer Jay Rylander and bassist Taylor Wallace (formerly of Wilson) the band played packed out local shows in support of the record. In less than two months all double LP copies of Albino Rhino had sold out, calling for a second ‘Ultraviolet Purple’ pressing and leaving Ripple Music boss Todd Severin in no doubt about the band’s true potential.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Bonehawk,” explains Severin. “From the moment I heard their two guitar blitz I was hooked on their sound. Albino Rhino is a masterwork of modern harmony guitar and post NWOBHM heaviness, with real stoner grit. A true gem of an album and we’re excited to be involved in the worldwide release of this CD.”

To order a copy of BoneHawk’s Albino Rhino on CD visit Ripple Music:
http://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/product/bonehawk-albino-rhino-cd

https://bonehawk.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/bonehawkkzoo/
https://www.instagram.com/bonehawk_band/
https://twitter.com/bonehawkmusic
http://www.ripple-music.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Ripple-Music-369610860064/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/

BoneHawk, Albino Rhino (2014/2016)

New Jersey-based heavy rockers Dinosaur Eyelids are currently in their seventh year and working on their fifth album. Their last offering, Bypass to Nowhere — even as I know the exact bypass they’re talking about I can’t help but wonder why it always comes back to highways with New Jersey — was released in 2014 and among its featured tracks is the spacey, jammy “Vernal Equinox.” And it just so happens that Dinosaur Eyelids have a new video for that song put together with satellite/ISS views from space, performance footage that I’m pretty sure comes from the Court Tavern in New Brunswick, some cool sunspots and so on.

Point is I doubt it’s anything you’d see paired with the track itself and think it’s out of place. While I think I’ll always hear an underlying edge of aggression in anything from my formerly beloved Garden State, Dinosaur Eyelids are at very least toning it way down here, I guess leaving the crunchier vibes for album cuts like “Halo Judgment” and “Talkin’ to Me” while the bulk of the record basks in a post-grunge alternamelodic looseness, and if it’s disaffection, well, at least it’s disaffection in the summertime humidity. These guys have always been right on the line between what I think fits around here and what doesn’t, and I won’t speak for their currently-in-progress next record, but at least this song works.

Find the “Vernal Equinox” video below, and enjoy:

Dinosaur Eyelids, “Vernal Equinox” official video

Official music video from the album “Bypass to Nowhere”

We’d like to take a moment to clear up some of the rumors currently circulating in the media. Yes, we are in the studio working on our fifth album. Yes, it is better than anything we’ve ever done. Yes, we are working with music legend Ed Wilson as our producer. Yes, Mark has impregnated all of the Kardashians.

We hope this clears things up.

Thanks to everyone who came out to our ALS Benefit Show at John in Peter’s (New Hope, PA) in December! We raised almost $1,000 for a very good cause. Thank you also to everyone who came to our big return to the Court Tavern (New Brunswick, NJ) on March 4th. It was our 20th show in the basement and definitely one of the best.

Dinosaur Eyelids on Thee Facebooks

Dinosaur Eyelids on Bandcamp

Dinosaur Eyelids website

Formerly a trio, now a four-piece, Richmond, Virginia’s Sinister Haze offered up addled doom with touches of psychedelia and boogie. The band, which now features drummer Eli Pizzuto, formerly of Brooklyn space rockers Naam, have solidified a May 7 release for their debut full-length, Laid Low in the Dust of Death, on limited vinyl through respected purveyor STB Records. Of course, in keeping with STB‘s tradition of such things, Laid Low in the Dust of Death will be available in low quantities and high qualities in a number of different versions to sate the hungry collector.

Find those, as well as new song “Chains to Dust,” below, courtesy of the PR wire:

STB Records Presents SINISTER HAZE: Release Info and Song Stream

STB Records is proud to announce the upcoming limited vinyl release of “Laid Low In The Dust Of Death” from Richmond, Virginia’s SINISTER HAZE! A a magma-filled, heavy-psych romp that will leave fans of Blue Cheer and St. Vitus begging for another fix. Featuring members of “Cough” and “NAAM”!!

The limited vinyl release will be on Saturday, May 7th at 12pm EST through the STB Records webstore at:
http://stbrecords.bigcartel.com.

For a taste of the haze, check out “Chains to Dust”, the first song released from the album. It is streaming now on the band’s Bandcamp page: https://sinisterhaze.bandcamp.com/album/laid-low-in-the-dust-of-death

Vinyl Info:
• Die Hard Edition – Limited to 75. 180g half green/half black vinyl
• OBI Edition – Limited to 100. 180g clear vinyl with green and black splatter
• Standard Edition – Limited to 130. 180g green and black swirl vinyl
• World Wide Edition – (200) Green 180g vinyl available through Kozmik Artifactz and other international distributors, we may or may not have a small amount available on May 7th through the webstore.

The band says:
“Laid Low in the Dust of Death. A hallucinogenic trip of misery and psychedelia recorded in 3 days within the Appalachian hills of North Carolina by Chad Davis. Sinister Haze brings 6 songs that will leave the listener laid low in a drugged out haze. Gather ‘round witchfinders, the hunt begins May 7th.”

Cover Art by Niki Urban
Mastered by Collin Jordan at the Boiler Room
Design by Joshua Wilkinson @TheCompanyDesign

Sinister Haze:
Guitar/Vocals – Brandon Marcey (Cough)
Bass/Vocals – Sam Marsh (Dry Spell)
Drums/Madness – Joe Dillon (Balaclava)

Sinister Haze has just announced the additions of Eli Pizzuto (Naam) and Jk (Lost Tribe) to the band.

“As our brightest stars fall into the darkness of night…. Dawn brings the rising sun… Changin’ ways upon the horizon. Welcome our good friends Eli Pizzuto (Naam) and Jk (Lost Tribe) to the fold. We couldn’t be more excited and inspired by their talent. What they’ve brought to the haze is a deeper, more enveloping layer of sonic attack. Expect the unexpected, don’t take more than you can eat, and join us voyagers… as we travel beyond the void!”

https://www.facebook.com/SinisterHazeBand/
https://sinisterhaze.bandcamp.com/album/laid-low-in-the-dust-of-death
http://stbrecords.bigcartel.com

Sinister Haze, “Chains to Dust”

It’s much to The Golden Grass‘ credit that their second album, Coming Back Again, retains the ‘g’ at the end of the word “coming.” The Brooklynite trio seem to have a sense of just where the line is that would put them over-the-top, beyond belief, and they walk that line carefully throughout their sophomore long-player and Listenable Records debut as they did on their 2014 self-titled first outing (review here), released on Svart. That record’s primary contribution came via its overarching positivity — its material dared to be sweet, melodic, graceful, friendly and warm in a climate that reads authenticity mostly via the miserable, even as regards underground heavy music. The Golden Grass‘ boogie worked in direct opposition to that, and much to their credit at their beginning, they had the songwriting to back up their stylization. Fortunately, that remains true on Coming Back Again.

The three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Michael Rafalowich, drummer/vocalist Adam Kriney and newcomer bassist/vocalist Frank Caira present six tracks/38 minutes conveniently split across two sides, tracked by Jeff Berner at Galuminum Foil Productions, and geared to be as friendly, welcoming and accessible as possible, while also retaining a sense of heft to the tones and rhythmic push — if you want people to dance, give them a shove — and exploring a newfound progressive flourish in the instrumental chemistry that marks a clear, mindful step forward from the debut two years ago. That answers a big question coming into the album, since it was plain from the effort the band put into their presentation that they had no intention of standing still creatively, but it was up in the air how that progression would manifest. It’s manifested as progress. Go figure.

Crucially, as Coming Back Again moves The Golden Grass‘ sound ahead from where it was, that doesn’t come at the expense of the feelgood atmosphere or the melodic richness overall. If anything, even as the emotional context broadens with some more wistful lyrics, it deepens both the atmosphere and level of performance, as opener “Get it Together” (video premiere here) launches with an immediate rhythmic movement leading to a call and response verse from Rafalowich and Kriney, whose harmonies have only become more engaging. Psychedelic lead guitar in a quick break prefaces jams to come, but the band is looking to start out with earthier fare, and the boogie is as strong as the hook in “Get it Together.” It’s not until the break after about four minutes in that the guitar and drums begin to signal some of the sonic shift Coming Back Again will really present, building to a psych-prog swirl atop Caira‘s rock-solid bassline before Rafalowich‘s dream-tone lead takes hold, shifting back to ground in a tambourine-inclusive gallop that finishes the song. That’s a lot of ground to cover in about two minutes’ time, but The Golden Grass masterfully guide “Get it Together” to a sunshiny melodic finish and the tones fade just in time to let the jazzier “Reflections in the Glass” take hold with a smooth entrance.

Caira shines in the transition between verses, along with some keys and interwoven layers of acoustic and electric guitar — the band once again making complex ideas sound simple — and Rafalowich and Kriney execute a thoughtful vocal arrangement to add to the lushness, both easing back for a more gentle delivery than the harder rocking “Get it Together,” but still finding resolution in the last moments of “Reflections in the Glass,” guitar, bass and drums rounding out deceptively complex turns that meet head on with the launch of side A finale, “Shadow Traveler,” more immediately psychedelic. As one of two cuts on Coming Back Again over eight minutes, one might expect full-on prog exploration, but at least in its early going, “Shadow Traveler” is some of the rawest boogie here on offer, Rafalowich calling out both himself and Kriney in the lyrics — “Hey now here comes Adzo/He gonna show you how to swing” — and so he does, in one of the album’s most resonant choruses and subsequent grooves.

Much of the second half of the song is given to an extended psych jam, Rafalowich and Kriney trading lines back and forth referencing other songs on the album — “Get it Together,” “Reflections in the Glass,” the forthcoming “Down the Line” and closer “See it Through” — in a manner classic and brilliant in how it positions the first-time listener with an immediate familiarity with what they’ve just heard. After a finishing wash and crash, side B begins with the interlude “Hazy Daybreak”; two and a half-minutes interplay between far-back airy electric and progressive acoustic guitar, quiet drums, finger snaps, shaker, etc., that, sadly, doesn’t meet with any vocal harmonies on its brief path. I would not be surprised if next time, i.e., on the next album, the case turns out to be different, but if The Golden Grass are telegraphing future experimentation, they’re no less clearheaded about it than they are with their more established movements on Coming Back Again, such as the building tension of the opening to “Down the Line,” which becomes a defining piece for the album in more than just its 9:45 runtime, an early chug and vocal harmonies giving due sense of motion to the chorus “Going down the line.”

After the initial Kriney-led verses, Rafalowich takes the fore through a section past three and a half minutes in that is the departure point for an extended jam careening through psychedelic lead work and rumbling into quiet bass, drums and sparse guitar noise as it moves into the song’s midsection — the foundation of a subdued dream-prog sequence that moves back to reality via Kriney‘s toms and eventually, skillfully, brings back the verse and chorus to close out with emphasis on the control that was never lost. That makes closer “See it Through” something of a victory lap, though a subtly moodier take in the lyrics — plus another noteworthy performance from Caira — also serve as distinguishing factors. And they find room for a boogie jam as well, pushing toward the last hook with handclaps, interspliced layers of fuzz and bass, cowbell, snare and so on as they execute one final round of deceptively tight rhythmic turns while sounding like they’re smiling all the while. The push ends with a “woo!” and that’s about all that needs to be said.

As much as it affirms what The Golden Grass accomplished their first time out, Coming Back Again also leaves that record behind in terms of its ambition and the chemistry in development between Rafalowich, Kriney and Caira, who by no means sounds as new to the band in these tracks as he was when they were recorded. With a grander scope that still sounds definitively natural, The Golden Grass strike a rare balance between accessibility and progressive drive in cuts like “Shadow Traveler,” “Reflections in the Glass” and “See it Through” that, along with “Hazy Daybreak,” set a context for future growth while giving their audience songs that, in the present, are worth returning to the way one enjoys visiting good friends. They’re working toward forward movement sonically, but The Golden Grass remain a band with a deeply individual take on heavy rock, and there’s nothing else out there quite like them.

The Golden Grass, Coming Back Again (2016)

The Golden Grass on Thee Facebooks

The Golden Grass on Bandcamp

The Golden Grass at Listenable Records

Now based in Berlin and hot on the heels of releasing their umpteenth studio outing, Sv, last month on Essence Music, dronegaze duo Nadja will return to North American shores in May and June for a handful of shows. The only one in the US will be at Brooklyn’s Saint Vitus Bar, obviously, and one imagines that playing other dates around Canada, where their roots are, will probably include stuff like seeing family, friends, bit of a homecoming and so on. If you can work in some live dates in that process, all the better.

Sv, which is comprised of the single, 41-minute track “Sievert,” is available now to stream in full and features companion artwork by Seldon Hunt. Info and show dates follow:

Nadja North Am Tour Dates

Essence Music is proud to announce the release of Nadja’s new full-length album “Sv” or “Sievert” in full, which is a derived unit used to measure the ionizing radiation on the human body.

The much anticipated follow-up to the dreamgaze masterpiece “Queller”, was originally composed to be performed at a pair of music festivals in Berlin and is comprised of a long, single 42-minute track combining Nadja’s layered, textured noise ambiences with polyrhythmic drum patterns that, in structure, approach an industrial, almost danceable sound. Pounding, punishing machine-like hypnotic pulses, harsh cymbals and caustic textures grow together and collide in a massive metallic maelstrom of fierce doom-dirge heaviness. A surprising, yet rewarding departure from your typical Nadja dose of slow-blooming, nuanced ambient guitar constructions.

Featuring the stunning artwork of Seldon Hunt (Neurosis, Earth, Jesu, Isis, etc…) and mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate, OLD, etc…) “Sv” came out worldwide March 14th on limited-edition CD.

Nadja on tour:
26-05-16: Obey Convention, Halifax, NS
28-05-16: Le Ritz, Montreal, QC
29-05-16: St Vitus, New York, NY
03-06-16: The Garrison, Toronto, ON
05-06-16: The Handlebar, Toronto, ON (AB solo)

Aidan Baker – guitars, drum machine, piano
Leah Buckareff – bass

http://facebook.com/LuvNadja
http://www.nadjaluv.ca/
https://nadja.bandcamp.com/album/sv
www.essence-music.com

Nadja, SV (2016)

Finnish garage rockers Lost Boots will release their debut album via Svart Records on May 13. The record is titled Come Cold, Come Wind and preceded by the release of the track “Outdated,” which you can hear below, the band with vintage push of some fuller sound than many of the janglier/rawer garage variety, but still an overarching commitment to natural vibes that suits the classic structure of “Outdated” pretty well. I haven’t heard the complete album yet, so can’t comment on the rest of it, but if there’s any relation to members’ former project, Sweatmaster, in terms of style, I can see why an imprint like Bad Afro would have been on board.

Get a load of that track under the album art and PR wire info below:

LOST BOOTS set release date for SVART debut, reveal first track

Today, Svart Records sets May 13th as the international release date for Lost Boots’ debut album, Come Cold, Come Wind. Lost Boots, consists of a trio of musicians previously performing as Sweatmaster, plus extra guitarist Tomi Helomaa. Sweatmaster were well on their way to fame earlier this millennium, with a deal with the cult garage label Bad Afro and European tours with The Darkness and the like. Somewhere along the way, action-rocking garage fare no longer appealed to the sweaty threesome, and they ended up calling it a day, only to resurrect as Lost Boots a couple of years later.

“After Sweatmaster, we tried playing a bit of everything, even Finnish language prog rock, but nothing seemed to click. It was only after Tomi [Helomaa, guitar] came along that we really had a band together,” says guitarist/vocalist Sasu Mykkänen.

The band defines Lost Boots as being a more manly, slower-playing, and a tad more melodic unit than their sweat-covered predecessor. There is an electric “live” feel to the music, with edges not too heavily polished. It owes as much to classic hard guitar rock as it does to garage rock. Hear for yourself with the first track to be premiered from the album, “Outdated,” exclusively HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Lost Boots’ Come Cold, Come Wind
1. Another Brick In The Wind
2. Come Cold
3. Outdated
4. The Steam Rolled In
5. Brave
6. Widow Lover
7. Bangatan

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/lostboots
www.svartrecords.com
www.facebook.com/svartrecords
www.youtube.com/svartrecords
www.twitter.com/svartrecords

Lost Boots, “Outdated”

Over the last several weeks in Madrid, Nooirax Producciones has celebrated its eighth anniversary with a series of festival-type showcases featuring the likes of Atavismo, Wooly Mammoth Rebellion and Arabrot. The promotion company/record label continues to thrive with new offerings and a rich scope of bands from Spain and beyond, and for Atavismo, it gave the Algeciras trio an outlet to show off some new material as they make ready to follow-up their 2014 debut Desintegración (review here), which continues to offer sunshiny warmth regardless of the actual listening conditions.

Not much is known about Atavismo‘s second album at this point — things like its title, when it’s going to be recorded or if it already has, how many songs will be on it — the debut had four, each one a gem — and when or if it will be out before the end of the year, but listening to “El Sueño” those things matter far less than they otherwise might. What the three-piece of guitarist/synthesist/vocalist Jose “Pot” Moreno, bassist/backing vocalist Mateo and drummer/backing vocalist Sandri Pow affirm with the new clip is that the hypnotic motion of the debut remains intact and that the chemistry of that material has only grown in the two years since Desintegración first came out (it was also released on LP last June).

That’s invariably good news to anyone who, like me, was and continues to be a nerd for that record, and with the space rock-style push Atavismo had for their recent split with Grajo in the song “Haribo” (info here), I’m intrigued to find out how it all ties together with the progressive, lush psychedelia on offer last time around. I have the vague feeling it’s going to be an impatient wait for their second album, and it seems like it’s time to get that wait started.

Congrats to Nooirax on eight years and thanks to them and to Atavismo for allowing me to host the premiere of this live version of “El Sueño” below.

Please enjoy:

Atavismo, “El Sueño” Live at Nooirax Eighth Anniversary

“El Sueño” (The Dream) is the name of this song that will be part of the second opus from the andusian power trio that will be released next year. Triana meets Motorpsycho and Camel in this easy-driven prog-groovie melting pot…

Atavismo on Thee Facebooks

Nooirax Producciones on Bandcamp

Few and far between are the debut albums that make the kind of impact that did the 2014 self-titled offering from Blues Pills (review here), which seemed to inspire followers as soon as it arrived. The band has toured heavily in Europe since that release, even headlining at Freak Valley last year, and have announced they’ll issue their second long-player this summer via Nuclear Blast. It’s been dubbed Lady in Gold, and while the artwork and obviously audio and an exact release date remain forthcoming, the mere news that such a thing exists and will exist is enough to make note of. I wouldn’t be surprised to find Blues Pills make their US live debut for Lady in Gold sometime over the next year, though of course a lot depends on the response to the record. Which I guess is true all around.

So the pressure’s on Blues Pills. Guess we’ll see how it all works out when the album arrives. Until then, the PR wire:

BLUES PILLS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM!

Multi-national newcomer sensation BLUES PILLS have announced the title of their eagerly awaited second album. Lady In Gold is expected to be released during the summer of 2016 and will contain 10 brand new tracks (see full track list below).

Commented singer Elin Larsson on the choice of the album’s title: “Lady gold is a character who symbolizes death. We wanted a twist on the typical stereotype of death being the grim reaper. So instead we made her a lady in gold.”

Lady In Gold track list:
01. Lady In Gold
02. Little Boy Preacher
03. Burned Out
04. I Felt A Change
05. Gone So Long
06. Bad Talkers
07. You Gotta Try
08. Won’t Go Back
09. Rejection
10. Elements And Things

Just as it’s highly successful predecessor Lady In Gold was once again produced by Don Alsterberg (GRAVEYARD, DIVISION OF LAURA LEE, JOSÉ GONZÁLEZ, JERRY WILLIAMS). More info to be revealed soon!

www.BLUESPILLS.com
www.facebook.com/BLUESPILLS
http://twitter.com/BLUESPILLS
www.youtube.com/BLUESPILLS
http://smarturl.it/BLUES-PILLS-NB

Blues Pills, “High Class Woman” official video