Posted in Whathaveyou on November 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Philly’s High Reeper have signed to Heavy Psych Sounds and will release their debut full-length through the Italian imprint early next year. Since the tracks have been pulled down from Bandcamp and YouTube since the record was reviewed here a couple months back, I’m going to assume the debut in question is the same self-titled offering the band had put out themselves earlier this year, which was marked out by cuts like “Friend of Death,” “Weed and Speed” and “Soul Taker,” a live version of which you can watch at the bottom of this post. I don’t have confirmation that it’s the same record and not something else entirely, so don’t go quoting me on that, but it makes sense in terms of timing and on the general principle of those songs having kicked ass that Heavy Psych Sounds would step in to put them out.
The PR wire doesn’t really go into much detail on the subject, but here’s what I’ve got to work from:
Philadelphia stoner rockers HIGH REEPER to release debut album through Heavy Psych Sounds next year!
Heavy Psych Sounds Records is stoked to announce the signing of Philly-based stoner doom rockers HIGH REEPER, for the release of their debut album in the beginning of 2018 on the label.
Formed in 2016, HIGH REEPER is made up of Zach Thomas, Napz Mosley, Andrew Price, Pat Daly and Shane Trimble. Originally started as a studio band, it rapidly became apparent that these songs were meant to be heard live and loud. The band made their debut in the Philly stoner rock scene in early 2017 with success, which was followed up by the recording of their self-titled debut in May.
With a sound deeply rooted in modern stoner rock, while still giving a nod to the earliest Sabbath records, HIGH REEPER’s first offering is driven by pounding rhythms, thick guitars and soaring, screeching vocals. Running from uptempo straightforward rock to slowed-down, heavy, early doom, with a rhythm section throwing down grooves that are deeper than the darkest abyss and guitars big enough to put a hole in your chest, HIGH REEPER is meant to be played loud and on repeat!
High Reeper is: Pat Daly Zach Thomas Andrew Price Napz Mosley Shane Trimble
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Hope you’ve been doing your noddercizing, because Argentinian three-piece Mephistofeles don’t stop once they get going, and otherwise you might pull something in your neck. The trio have signed to Cursed Tongue Records following a booming response to their second long-player, I’m Heroin — or, if you’d prefer it more spacious: ( ( ( I ‘ M H E R O I N ) ) ) — and have been confirmed for a 2018 vinyl release through the label. If you’re asking yourself, “Gee, wasn’t it just like last week that Cursed Tongueannounced they’d signed somebody?” Yeah, it was. That’s how you know a label is up and coming.
What I’m most enjoying about this bevvy of pickups from the imprint thus far, however, is a diversity of sound. To wit, Mephistofeles are post-Electric Wizard scumriffers of the highest order, dropping out, nodding off, reveling in grainy porn and a generally addled haze. Hey, it’s an aesthetic. Deeply problematic on a number of levels, but an aesthetic nonetheless. Plus, Tony Reed did the mastering! That’s always a win.
As is Cursed Tongue‘s wont, they’ve got a full announcement with background and so forth to get listeners introduced, and if you haven’t heard it yet, you can stream the seven-tracker in its entirety at the bottom of this post. I’m digging the stomp in “Trash Lord,” personally, but you’ll no doubt find your own path through the mire.
Fog on:
MEPHISTOFELES SIGNS TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS TO UNLEASH THE “CTR-666”
( ( ( I ‘ M H E R O I N ) ) ) SEES A WORLD WIDE RELEASE ON VINYL IN SPRING 2018
This time we at Cursed Tongue Records have gotten our hands stained by the vilest filth this side of the Andes. It is with the utmost thrill we can announce the inclusion of Mephistofeles to the CTR family. We are very happy to welcome this black sheep of doom and its hate-infused debauchery extravaganza. Cursed Tongue Records look forward to drop a thick slab of wax right in the face of a festering vinyl collecting horde of sonic-drug-hungering stoner heads.
Based in Paraná, Entre Ríos, Argentina since mid-2015 Mephistofeles compels a three piece power group that worships an early seventies prototype of doom metal with tints of psychedelia. Mephistofeles’ music goes hand in hand with graphics that tend to be trashy, including elements from sexual abuse, nazi exploitation and dreary dark scenarios.
The band fulfilled its faith when releasing the debut album called “Whore” (2016), which prompted a ton of public attention during this past year, achieving a little well known place in the international underground stoner music scene. Moving away from the cleaner production on Whore, they have managed to unveil the true sleazy sound on “( ( ( I ‘ M H E R O I N ) ) )”, the kind of dirty and sloppy sound that this record needed to attain. In other words, the band arrive at what they like to call “The true sound of hate”. A sound that most bands nowadays have forgotten how to achieve.
“( ( ( I ‘ M H E R O I N ) ) )” was straight out recorded in just one session during Argentinian summer of 2017 and mixed during the entirety of the following winter. The record does not go that much further from the “Whore” equation, but definitely has an evolution in the sound and brew of the songs. On the new record the compositions have a wider dynamic that take the listener from: heavy acid repetitive riffing nightmares into another different stage of electricness with songs as “The Rogue” and ‘Addicted To Satan’. “( ( ( I ‘ M H E R O I N ) ) )” sees the band branch out and experiment even further with the song compositions, extending the jams to give them time to properly unfold resulting in the ultimative mind-fuck. The album closes with ‘Into The Night’; a truly psyche-eroding extemporary spaced-out excursion to the brain’s deepest abyss and as the song progresses it slowly starts to dissapear between the trees of the darkest forests that Transylvania has to offer. There’s no no hope of surviving this Hendrixian heroin spree!
“( ( ( I ‘ M H E R O I N ) ) )” has already garnered some significant notion by some of the scene’s heavy weight icons and rightfully so as their sophomore album expands Mephistofeles’ expression on several levels; the production is sleazier, the instrumentation and play is markedly enhanced, the lyrics and graphic content more bleak, the hate is untamed. There’s no doubt that Mephistofeles didn’t come here to win your heart, they are here to corrupt your mind and drain your soul. For what’s left after all when it’s over…
The band responds to the commotion by stating:
“We are really happy to be experimenting this kind of stuff right now with our music. We are kids in our early 20’s, we can’t ask for anything more. We believe that there’s just death afterwards in our future.”
The new album will see ligt of day on limited heavy weight vinyl via Cursed Tongue Records in the spring of 2018 sporting a wide array of truly x-rated graphical content pushing the borders of what’s widely accepted. Tongue in cheek – literally.
CTR-666, Mephistofeles – “( ( ( I ‘ M H E R O I N ) ) )”, official release date: 2018
Mephistofeles is: Ismael Dimenza on bass, Gabriel Ravera on guitar and vocals, Iván Sachar on drums
Julián Millen on general mixing Enrique Lopez as mixing assistant Aitor Aramberry as mixing assistant & digital mastering Mastering for optimal vinyl playback by Tony Reed Artwork, layout & design by Wizard Of Meth
I don’t do podcasts that often at this point. I figure between the radio stream — which runs 24/7 — and the sundry track streams and other media, video premieres, and so on, there’s not much need. But every now and then I feel completely overwhelmed by the onslaught of music and the chance to put together a compilation of tracks is just too good to pass up. Most of the time, nobody complains. It being the internet, I generally take that as a good sign. If it sucked or was a crappy idea, for sure someone would be telling me to screw off.
So is there a running theme for this latest podcast transmission? Nope, not really. If you’re looking for something to tie it all together, it’s just stuff that I’ve been listening to lately. Some of it has already been covered — Low Orbit, T.G. Olson, 3rd Ear Experience — and some of it has coverage pending — Bong Wish, The Discussion, Arcadian Child, Zong, etc. — but basically this is all what that might be coming out of my speakers over the last however long. Couldn’t be any simpler than that, but for what it’s worth, I think it came together really well, whether it’s Telescope moving into Bong Wish or the transition into the second hour, which is ultra-tripped out, as usual.
As always, I hope you enjoy.
Track details follow:
First Hour:
0:00:00 Son of the Morning, “Left Hand Path” from Son of the Morning EP
0:05:08 All Souls, “Silence” from All Souls
0:09:15 Telescope, “With Your Truth” from Telescope EP
0:13:06 Bong Wish, “My Luv” from Bong Wish EP
0:15:29 Torso, “Mirror of My Mind” from Limbs
0:20:17 The Discussion, “Surf Jesus” from European Tour EP 2017
0:24:14 Arcadian Child, “Electric Red” from Afterglow
0:27:01 Comacozer, “Nystagmus” from Kalos Eidos Scopio
0:39:23 Deadly Vipers, “Dead Summer” from Fueltronaut
0:45:20 Low Orbit, “Dead Moon” from Spacecake
0:51:31 T.G. Olson, “On a High Like a Mountain” from Searching for the Ur-Plant
0:55:28 Jesus the Snake, “Karma” from Jesus the Snake
Second Hour:
1:03:31 Zong, “Cosmic Embryo” from Zong
1:16:18 Les Lekin, “Morph” from Died with Fear
1:29:50 3rd Ear Experience, “Infinite Unmanifest (Warm-up Jam Day One)” from Stoned Gold
1:46:34 Sleeping Pandora, “Sunrizer” from Quiet Pass
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 23rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
By the time it lands in February, A Keen Eye for the Obviouswill be arriving upwards of 13 years after its most recent predecessor from Norwegian heavy rockers Thulsa Doom, which was 2005’s Keyboard, Oh Lord! Why Don’t We?. Needless to say, anyone with a keen eye for the obvious can tell you that’s plenty long enough. Near as I can tell, it’s a release through Duplex Records with distribution from Stickman, though it could be a direct release through Stickman as well — I’m not really sure. Either way, it’s coming out, and the band have a new video for opening track “Lady Nina” playing now that’s rife with boozy themes and Thin Lizzy bounce, and you’re not going to hear me complain about that in the slightest. These guys were always a good time, and one is glad to see that the intervening decade-plus hasn’t changed that core aspect of their sound.
This weekend they play Caliban Sessions alongside Black Debbath and a host of others. There’s more info at their Thee Facebooks page, which is linked below.
Dig it:
Thulsa Doom – A Keen Eye for the Obvious
European release distributed by Stickman Records!
We are proud to announce that «A Keen Eye for the Obvious” will be released in Europe, february 16th, 2018.
The release is in the best of hands, distributed through legendary German label Stickman Records who has been, and will always be, a true friend of quality music from Norway.
We look forward to a new chapter in the Thulsa Doom story through Rolf and Stickman, and are really happy to, from now on, be associated with many of our favourite bands from past and present, including Fireside, The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Radio Birdman, Motorpsycho and Elder, just to name a few.
We hope to see you on the road next year as well.
Tracklisting: 1 Lady Nina 2 Eloquent Profanity 3 Wrap the Bad up 4 Shadows on the X-rays 5 Consider Me 6 Bag of Fries 7 Quest for Fire 8 Magazine 9 In Italics and Bold 10 Baby, Hate IT
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 23rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Fresh off the heels of releasing their Man is Myth – Early Demos collection on Napalm Records, UK rifflords Conan have announced a run of Japanese dates in March 2018. Support will come from UK compatriots Kurokuma and Tokyo’s Granule, and the tour is being presented under the banner of ‘Doomed Japan,’ which, if you can think of something better to call it, you’ll just have to let me know because from where I sit that about sums it up. Conan do not often go to a place and leave it unflattened, and as they look to hit Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo, they’ll also be perhaps on the heels of a new album release expected sometime early next year, so all the more reason to watch out.
The PR wire brings copious info about that and more background on the tour in general:
Doomed Japan – Conan, Kurokuma & Granule Japan Tour 2018
UK attack extends to Japan as caveman battle doom trio, Conan announce three shows in the Land of the Rising Sun in March 2018. They will be supported by psychedelic sludge crew, Kurokuma and Tokyo blackened sludge project, Granule.
Conan (UK) are as heavy as interplanetary thunder amplified through the roaring black hole anus of Azathoth. Remember that sentence, for it is writ large in virgin blood on the walls of the forgotten temple of Bol-Krastor, deep in the steaming forests of forgotten Lemuria. Conan, a monumentally brutal three piece (in the grand tradition of all the hallowed three pieces through time) hold a sinew-tight line and an iron-grip command over the uber-synchronised powerchord changes and tempo-shifts of the anti-holy trio of bass, drums and guitar.
Two weary yet defiant men have the task of vocalising wretched thoughts over the turgid weight of Conan’s metalized bombast. They bear it well, for the task is immense. Hear the roar of battle. Smell the stench of spilt blood. A thousand heads piled high like a grim mound of suffering – a blasphemy to nature. Hail Conan!
Forming in 2006, Conan released their earth-flatteningly heavy debut, Horseback Battle Hammer in 2010. Having revitalised the UK’s slow/heavy scene, they are now signed to Napalm Records and currently recording their fourth album set for release in 2018. They released the Man Is Myth demos earlier this year.
Masters of shamanic, hypnotic sludge, Kurokuma (UK) is Jacob Mazlum (guitar/vocals), George Ionita (bass/vocals) and Joe Allen (drums).
After spending a year in the cold reaches of northern Japan and inspired by his time playing the taiko drum, Joe returned to the UK to start a shadowy three-piece that combined the unassailable power of doom with exotic percussion and an enchanting energy. Taking their name from Kurokuma Falls in Aomori, Kurokuma was born.
Kurokuma’s 2014 demo and the 2016 EP, Advorsus (Medusa Crush Recordins) along with savage live performances have been enough to see them establish a reputation as one of metal’s most potent new forces. In 2018 they will release their Dope Rider concept EP, as well as playing Brutal Assault festival in Czech Republic.
Featuring former members of legendary Tokyo band, BOMBORI, Granule formed in 2017. The five piece soon released AURORA on cassette (w/ zine), this being a rapid crystallisation of the band’s cutting, oppressive sludge sound. More recently they released DEMO #2, an all-out, raw, auditory assault representative of the band’s live show. Granule head up the booking/organisation of the Doomed Japan tour.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 22nd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Their second album for Listenable Records and their fourth overall, Black Wizards will release their new long-player, Livin’ Oblivion, sometime in Feb. 2018. The Vancouver-based outfit — who are not to be confused with The Black Wizards, from Portugal — made their debut on Listenable with Feb. 2016’s New Waste (review here), so they would seem to be right on schedule for somewhere in the middle of the month. Punctuality in heavy rock and roll is vastly underrated. I consider myself a reasonably responsible person and it’s a total crapshoot if I can show up anywhere on time. Hit or miss, completely.
Anyhoozle, Black Wizard have shown up in plenty of places since New Waste landed — copious touring and whatnot — and it looks like they’ll make their way back to Europe to support Livin’ Oblivion as well. The PR wire brings the preliminary album announcement:
BLACK WIZARD: Heavy Metal/Stoner Rock Collective To Release Livin’ Oblivion Full-Length This February Via Listenable Records; Artwork And Track Listing Revealed
Canadian heavy metal/stoner rock collective BLACK WIZARD will release their brand new full-length Livin’ Oblivion this February via France’s Listenable Records. Their second release on Listenable and fourth album overall was produced and engineered by Michael Kraushaar in Vancouver, BC, and comes sheathed in the cover art of renowned Berlin, Germany-based illustrator Eliran Kantor (Testament, Crowbar, Satan).
Livin’ Oblivion centers itself on the obliteration or slow decay of one’s self, morals, and life as we know it. “We are living in an age where the powers of the World are taking steps backwards and moving away from a positive future,” the band elaborates. “There is a large number of disenfranchised youth and young adults that would rather live their lives in oblivion — drinking, drugs, partying etc. — than chasing any kind of future or dreams, simply because the rest of the world seems to be falling apart around them.”
Further info on BLACK WIZARD’s Livin’ Oblivion, including final release date, teaser tracks, and preorders, to be released in the coming weeks. Stand by.
Livin’ Oblivion Track Listing: 1. Two Of These Nights 2. Feast Or Famine 3. James Wolfe 4. Livin Oblivion 5. Cascadia 6. Portraits 7. Poisoned Again 8. Heavy Love 9. Eternal Illusion
Since their first Listenable album release, New Waste, in early 2016, the band has toured non-stop including a Canadian mini-tour with Red Fang, a six-week stadium tour with Killswitch Engage and Volbeat, a month-long US tour supporting Brant Bjork and Royal Thunder, a month-long North American tour supporting Weedeater, and so much more. At home on the road, BLACK WIZARD is ready to take to the streets again kicking 2018 off with their fourth European run.
BLACK WIZARD is: Adam Grant – vocals/guitar Eugene Parkomenko – drums Danny Stokes – guitar Evan Joel – bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 22nd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Who doesn’t like a last-minute release before the holidays? Sure, Argentinian heavy psych naturalists Hijo de la Tormenta could probably wait until sometime early in 2018 to give the official vinyl version of their 2016 outing, El Manto de la Especie (review here), its public unveiling via Necio Records, but screw that. Everyone’s broke after the holidays anyhow. You might as well take advantage while the money’s already being spent. Plus there’s always way more coming out in January than December, because of everyone who decided to wait till the New Year.
And in most cases, if we’re being serious, that’s probably the way to go, but El Manto de la Especie came out last February, so while awesome that it’s getting a vinyl run of 300 copies and all that, it’s hardly the first time it’s being released. Still an occasion worth marking, and all the more if you’re into preorders, which are available now from the band’s Bandcamp page, linked below.
Also note the good news that they’re touring and will be recording their third long-player sometime in 2018. One to keep an ear open for, to be sure:
Hijo de la Tormenta – El Manto de la Especie – Vinyl
Hijo de la Tormenta announces the release date for the vinyl edition of their latest album, El Manto de la Especie (2016). Fruit of the collaboration between the band’s independent work and Peruvian label Necio Records, the 180 gr vinyl edition will be available starting on December 20th. International shipments can be arranged via the band’s Facebook, Bandcamp or E-mail: hijodelatormenta.rock@gmail.com.
Hijo de la Tormenta will finish their year with a release party at their hometown of Córdoba in Argentina, and will then tour Chile in January of 2018. The band will then proceed to hit the studios for their forthcoming third album sometime during the next year.
El Manto de la Especie tracklisting: 1. Rock para huir de una ciudad 04:57 2. 53 cosechas 03:40 3. El Abuelo 06:06 4. Manifiesto al Sol 08:36 5. Un mañana aún más glorioso nos espera 12:31 6. Recibimiento 02:04
Hijo de la Tormenta is: Juan Cruz Ledesma: Guitarra y voces Santiago Ludueña: Batería Guido Di Carlo: Bajo Fabricio Morás: Teclas
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 22nd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
I know I said as much around the time they were putting the album out this past Spring, and before that as they took to touring and doing shows again after a couple years’ absence, but the resurgence of German psych rockers Samsara Blues Experiment stands among my favorite heavy happenings of 2017. Doesn’t at all hurt either that their fourth long-player, One with the Universe (review here), wound up as one of the strongest releases of the year — or will wind up among them when list-time hits next month, anyhow — or that the band has continued to tour on multiple continents. Even if I didn’t get to see them, the Berlin trio’s continued thriving only makes the European heavy underground as a whole stronger. And yes, I mean that.
Samsara Blues Experiment just took part this week in Dutch outfit The Machine‘s 10th anniversary show, and the news that they’ll once again hit the road come next March couldn’t be more welcome, as it will see them carry over the active streak from 2017 to 2018. They promise more to come as well, so I’ll be keeping an eye out to the best of my ability. Till then, dates in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Germany follow here, as presented by Sound of Liberation and posted by the band:
PS: We know you want us in Italy, UK & Ireland, Spain, the East, and North of the wall of snow and everywhere else, and we are somehow working on it too.
