Posted in Whathaveyou on June 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Cleveland doom rockers Frayle have announced two physical pressings for their debut EP, The White Witch. The four-songer is available now for preorder on vinyl through Lay Bare Recordings, and Seeing Red Records will also have it out on CD. Originally released in April, it’s a sharp-edged first sampling of the band’s wares, competent and aware of aesthetic and the genre it’s playing toward, but also clearly working to establish its own presence and that of the band.
The CD version seems to be out now I’d assume the vinyl is soon to follow as well.
Her’es info and background from the PR wire:
Lay Bare Recordings is excited to present the White Witch EP from Frayle on white vinyl.
Self-released on the 1st of April, FRAYLE have been turning a lot of heads with their unique approach of Witch Doom. Lay Bare Recordings (vinyl) and Seeing Red Records (cd) are excited to collaborate on releasing this EP in physical format.
Vinyl pre-order from 22th June 2018
Bio:
Doom/Stoner Duo Frayle was formed in Cleveland in 2017 by Sean Bilovecky and Gwyn Strang. Frayle’s “lullabies over chaos” approach to songwriting allows them the freedom to explore what is possible with heavy music. They strive to balance the heaviest of riffs with the approachability of Gwyn’s haunting vocal melodies. Complex layering and tone stacking is a hallmark of their music. Each musical element is thoughtfully composed resulting in a unique combination of midrange-heavy guitars, syncopated rhythms, and unexpected vocal progressions.
Gwyn tells stories of heart break, anger, hypocrisy and resolution, asking the audience for empathy, and in turn inspiring vulnerability. Frayle will embark on a European tour in October. In support of this ep and the 1st full length record which is recorded as we write this news letter. Some days are booked and will be revealed in due time.
Tracklisting: 1. Let The Darkness In 2. The White Witch 3. Wandering Star 4. Things That Makes Us Bleed
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
On July 12, instrumental desert rock legends Yawning Man will play the release show for their new album, The Revolt Against Tired Noises, which officially lands next week via Heavy Psych Sounds. The gig is at Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, California. Out in the desert, which is about right. It’s the last of a couple shows in California around the release date for the record, two of which will be with Dead Meadow and all of which precede an utterly massive European tour set to kick off on July 25 in the Netherlands. Seven weeks. Not a minor stint. They’ve got killer dates lined up with slots at Lake on Fire, Riff Ritual and a whole bunch of other festival-type doings, but of particular note as well are some of the UK dates like Bristol, where Yawning Man will hook up with instrumentalist compatriots Sons of Alpha Centauri, with whom guitarist Gary Arce has collaborated in the past as Yawning Sons.
Does that mean it’s going to happen this time? Not necessarily, but Sons of Alpha Centauri might bring Arce out on stage during their set or something like that. It’s an intriguing possibility, in any case.
Updated dates for the tour follow here, as posted by Sound of Liberation on the social medias. Still a couple TBAs in there, so there might be another update before they head over:
Desert-rock legends Yawning Man will hit the European roads for a 7-week tour! They will be supporting their upcoming album “The Revolt Against Tired Noises”, which will be released in July via HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS!
New dates have been added lately, so check-out the updated list below:
YAWNING MAN in California: 7/5 CASBAH, San Diego CA with Dead Meadow 7/6 CAFE NELA, Cypress Park LA 7/7 TERAGRAM BALLROOM, LA with Dead Meadow 7/12 PAPPY and HARRIETS, Pioneertown CA
YAWNING MAN in Europe: 25.07 (NL) Utrecht – Db’s 27.07 (UK) Manchester – The Rebellion 28.07 (UK) Bristol – The Louisiana 29.07 (UK) London – The Black Heart 30.07 (FR) Paris – Glazart (NEW DATE!) 31.07 (D) Wiesbaden – Schlachthof 03.08 (IT) Osoppo – Pietra Sonica Festival 04.08 (A) Waldhausen – Lake On Fire Festival 05.08 (PL) Chorzow – Red & Black 06.08 (PL) Warsaw – Chmury 07.08 (D) Berlin – Toast Hawaii (NEW DATE!) 08.08 (SWE) Malmö – Norra Gränges (NEW DATE!) 09.08 (DK) Copenhagen – KB 18 (NEW DATE!) 11.08 (A) Döbriach – Sauzipf Rocks 13.08 (IT) Brescia – Festa Radio Onda D’Urto 14.08 (IT) Treviso – Benicio Live Gigs (NEW DATE!) 15.08 (IT) Porto Recanati – Copacabana Pulp Beach 16.08 (IT) Pescara – Frantic Fest 17.08 (IT) Molfetta – Eremo Club (NEW DATE!) 18.08 (IT) Galatone – Sagra Del Diavolo 19.08 (IT) Potenza – Pipistrello Pub (NEW DATE!) 21.08 (IT) Savignano – Sidro Club (NEW DATE!) 22.08 (IT) Como – TBA (NEW DATE!) 23.08 (IT) Vinadio – Balla Coi Cinghiali Festival (NEW DATE!) 24.08 (CH) Luzern – Sedel 25.08 (IT) Bolzano – Mountain Sessions 27.08 (HU) Budapest – Robot (NEW DATE!) 30.08 (GR) Thessaloniki – Street Mode Festival 31.08 (RO) Timisoara – Reflektor (NEW DATE!) 01.09 (RS) Belgrade – Atom Akademija (NEW DATE!) 02.09 (BU) Sofia – Mixtape 5 03.09 (HR) Zupanja – MKC 04.09 (SI) Ljubljana – Dvorana Rog 06.09 (FR) Clermont-Ferrand – Raymond Bar 07.09 (FR) Montpellier – Le Black Sheep 08.09 (SP) Barcelona – Riff Ritual fest 09.09 (SP) San Sebastian – Dabadaba 10.09 (SP) Gijon – Sala Memphis 11.09 (PO) Porto – Woodstock 69 12.09 (SP) Madrid – Wurlitzer Ballroom 13.09 (SP) Bilbao – Maritime Museum Bar
YAWNING MAN IS Gary Arce – Guitar Mario Lalli – Bass Bill Stinson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Originally announced for a June release, the third album from Louisiana’s Forming the Void, Rift, is set to be issued via Kozmik Artifactz on Aug. 17. The prog-minded four-piece have posted the video audio to come from the album in the form of a new video for the track “On We Sail.” Second of the seven total inclusions on the LP, it reaffirms the progressive heft the band has shown on their two full-lengths to-date, 2017’s Relic (review here) and 2016’s Skyward (review here), while hinting at new heights of clarity that one looks forward to hearing pan out on the rest of the record. Thus far into their prolific tenure, Forming the Void have always managed to keep on the right side of songcraft vs. exploration, making their material memorable as well as stylistically bold.
Album art, details, and the aforementioned video came down the PR wire. I’ll hope to have more to come as we get closer to the release, but till then, here’s what’s up:
FORMING THE VOID to Release New Album on Kozmik Artifactz
Following the release of last year’s critically acclaimed Relic, Louisiana’s preeminent prog warlocks, Forming The Void, are thrilled to announce news of their new album Rift, which is due for release this August on Kozmik Artifactz.
Originally formed in 2013 in Lafayette – a place with an impressive reputation for raising underground rock into realms of the unknown – Forming The Void became one of the city’s most talked about bands of 2017. With the release of their third album Relic (voted album of the year on Heavy Planet), their colossal and atmospheric sound summoned the towering hard rock riffs and progressive influence of bands like Mastodon, Baroness and Torche.
Newly signed to German label Kozmik Artifactz, in preparation for the official release of their fourth studio album Rift this summer, the band will take to the road throughout 2018 for an extensive run of live dates and festival appearances.
The first single lifted from their new album is ‘On We Sail’, an epic and devastating trip into the heart of a Sabbathian darkness, which premiered last week. Courting robed figures in hallowed forests, with the odd case or two of Miller Lite, as guitarist/vocslist James Marshall explains:
“Lyrically it’s about being on a ship and being sucked into a portal that blasts out into space, and in that moment, accepting the path into the unknown and that it might be the end of the road for you. It’s meant be a victorious thing, although it sounds really negative. We were brainstorming video ideas and wanted to go with something beyond a regular performance video and do something light-hearted. We also enlisted some help from our buddy Jai Benoit of Golgothan to play the monster and assist with the vision. This is just another night with Forming the Void and friends. It was fun to spoof the first video and we shot at the same location with some of the same people plus more of our friends. All that together just made it a comedy.”
Rift, the new studio album from Forming The Void will be released on 17th August 2018 on Kozmik Artifactz, www.kozmik-artifactz.com
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
No secret at this point that Destroyer of Light get around. The Texan doomers were out earlier this year on a West Coast run heralding the then-soon release of their latest EP, Hopeless (review pending), and come September they’ll be back on the road for a month-plus touring the Midwest and East Coast, making stops for a return appearance at Shadow Woods Metal Fest in the forests of Maryland, and hitting Pittsburgh for the Descendants of Crom 2018 pre-show. They’ll even get up into Canada for gigs in Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. I’ve seen far less substantial lists of shows called “North American tours,” so fair enough.
Hopeless is out now on Heavy Friends Records as the follow-up to last year’s Chamber of Horrors (review here) long-player, which again, if you haven’t heard, you should hear. Like, get on it. Today would be good. Tomorrow works too.
Happy to host the announcement of this tour. Destroyer of Light are at this point a better band than people know — they also kill it live, which always helps — and hopefully they continue to turn heads their direction this time around.
From the PR wire:
Destroyer of Light – Fall Tour 2018
This will be the first East Coast tour in two years since the last Shadow Woods appearance with the exception of a few cities, it’ll be over a year. And to add this also be our first time hitting these cities since the releases of Chamber of Horrors (2017) and Hopeless (2018).
9/1 – Denton, TX @ Dan’s Silver Leaf 9/2 – Oklahoma City, OK @ The Blue Note 9/3 – Wichita, KS @ The Elbow Room 9/4 – Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge 9/5 – Omaha, NE @ Lookout Lounge 9/6 – St. Paul, MN @ Caydence Records & Coffee 9/7 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Big’s Bar 9/8 – Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews 9/9 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club 9/10 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies 9/11 – Cleveland, OH @ 5 O’Clock Lounge 9/12 – Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie 9/13 – Camp Hidden Valley, MD for Shadow Woods Music Fest 9/16 – Brooklyn, NY @ Lucky 13 Saloon 9/17 – Allston, MA @ O’Brien’s Pub 9/18 – Buffalo, NY @ Sugar City 9/19 – Montreal, ON @ Piranha Bar 9/20 – Ottawa, ON @ Maverick’s Bar 9/21 – Toronto, ON @ Coalition 9/22 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary 9/23 – Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar 9/25 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Shakespeare’s Pub 9/26 – Canton, OH @ Buzzbin Art and Music Shop 9/27 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Howlers (Pre-Gala of Descendants of Crom) 9/28 – Columbus, OH @ Tree Bar 9/29 – Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Brewery 9/30 – Cincinnati, OH @ Junker’s Tavern 10/1 – Louisville, KY @ Highlands Tap Room 10/2 – Nashville, TN @ Springwater 10/3 – Birmingham, AL @ The Nick 10/4 – Memphis, TN @ Growler’s 10/5 – Little Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern
Destroyer of Light is: Steve Colca – Guitar, Vocals Nick Coffman – Bass Keegan Kjeldsen – Guitar, Synth Penny Turner – Drums
[Click play above to stream Rostres’ Les Corps Flottants in its entirety. Album is out June 29 on Solitude Productions.]
Maybe it’s the middle of the night and you have a new pair of headphones you want to try out. Well, France’s Rostres have a debut album on Solitude Productions called Les Corps Flottants (“floating bodies”) that has plenty of alone-time vibes and sonic detail to go around. Comprised of seven songs running a total of 47 minutes, Les Corps Flottants finds the Pau-based duo of bassist, guitarist, keyboardist and recording engineer Alain Brunet and drummer/percussionist Lionel Mermin bringing a contemplative, sometimes minimal, sometimes lush vision of instrumental heavy post-rock.
A remarkable thread of patience is woven through songs like the 8:25 opening title-track and the percussion-and-keyboard-and-ebow centerpiece “118,” and the nine-minute “Au Faite des Honneurs” carefully winds its way though slow-motion riffing that winds up sharing a moody feel with classic UK-style doom but still has a personality of its own thanks in no small part to an echoing harmonica guest spot from recording assistant Julien Duboux, so it’s not exactly like Rostres are doing one thing, or the same thing, all the time, but fast or slow (mostly slow), loud or quiet, Les Corps Flottants is a record defined by its mood, and like its cover art, that mood is pervasively gray.
Mermin and Brunet are joined by a host of guests throughout including guitarist Nicolas Bonnetain on guitar for “Glaire,” Jean-Baptiste Salles on double-bass for “Les Corps Flottants,” “Glaire” and “Au Faite des Honneurs,” the aforementioned Duboux harmonica spot, and Communal Kevin adding percussion to the opener, “Meandres,” “118” and “Glaire.” The double-bass definitely makes an impression, and I won’t take anything away from the percussion or harmonica, but Les Corps Flottants is less about any given appearance or any given instrument than it is about the overarching effect created by them. Perhaps unsurprisingly, immersion plays a significant role.
Second cut “Exorde” has its heavier stretch, as do many of the surrounding tracks — Rostres liken it to a Pelican influence, and I’m not inclined to argue — but even in that weighted rollout, the focus is more on drawing the listener into the soundscape being crafted, and even the album’s hardest-hitting moments don’t lose sight of that central intent. I’m not saying I think Rostres sat down and said, “Okay, now we’re going to write some hypnotic heavy post-rock. Here’s a copy of Neurosis‘ The Eye of Every Storm and some Russian Circles — you’ll need both by the time we get to ‘Meandres’,” just that their work is deeply engaging and expressive, and in listening, it feels like that’s precisely what it was written to be.
Generally speaking, that’s enough for me as regards a debut. Intention, execution, an awareness of aesthetic and a showing of potential for growth? Absolutely. Not every first album needs to remake a genre or provide a generational landmark, and Rostres do well to create a sonic identity of their own from the elements that would seem to have inspired them, making a seemingly conscious effort to find an individual path between their ideas and modes of working, so that the crashing beginning of “Glaire,” the loud/quiet tradeoffs and the descent into minimalist guitar strumming that follows before the inevitable return of volume all feed into a larger purpose.
They’re functioning not only on their own wavelength, but in the larger scope of Les Corps Flottants as a whole. And further, “as a whole” seems to be exactly how the record was meant to be taken. There are breaks between the tracks, so it doesn’t seem to be that it was composed as one long piece or anything like that — though Rostres may indeed get there — but amid all the nuance and depth of layers, there’s a flow that’s not always easy to mark out but prevails nonetheless through the slow-motion twists and turns. That whole “being hypnotic” thing helps there too, as one might expect, but it’s even more than that. With the effectiveness of mood-creating at its center and the palette of muted colors from which the band draws, there’s an evocative aspect to Les Corps Flottants from “Les Corps Flottants” onward, and even down to the structure of the track placement, that too feels completely intentional.
This mindfulness of approach can be a tricky line to walk, particularly in the style of heavier post-anything. The inherent danger is that the balance between the cerebral and the passionate will tip too far to one side or another, and the expression will be lost in either a self-congratulatory exploration of effects or an onslaught of volume and crushing riffs. Both certainly have their place, the progressive and the regressive, but Rostres keep the conversation fluid among the two sides, and while staying conscious of what they’re doing as the recording method they’ve employed would require — hard to fudge it when you have to switch from recording bass to guitar to keys because you can’t just jam it all out at the same time — they’re still able to convey some urgency beneath all the flowing tones and aural contemplation.
“Au Faite des Honneurs” and “Deversoir” make a closing salvo worthy of the opening duo “Les Corps Flottants” and “Exorde,” underscoring the point that Rostres have set themselves on a creative path that’s as open as they want it to be. Whether they develop their style along a more ambient and subdued path — I’ve always wondered what would happen if Neurosis kept going along the line of the record noted above — pursue heavier sounds, or keep a steady handle on both, Les Corps Flottants feels like the starting point of a new outfit looking to push further. That’s the most pivotal impression their first album makes, and accordingly, it’s only fair to consider it a progressive work even though so much of it obviously comes from the heart. Of all the elements at play throughout Les Corps Flottants, that is the one that hopefully stays consistent in whatever they do next.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 26th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
You could probably count on one hand the number of people on the planet who could call a solo-project ‘Death Acoustic’ and get away with it. Nick Oliveri is one of them, clearly. The Mondo Generator frontman/Dwarves bassist whose tenure in Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age has assured him a permanent place in the hearts of desert-worshipers worldwide will head back to Europe next month for a new acoustic tour put together by Heavy Psych Sounds. That same booking agency’s label wing recently released the four-part N.O. Hits at All series of lost tracks, off-album cuts and previously unissued takes from Oliveri, whose penchant for onstage intensity is only mirrored all the more his unwillingness to compromise on the ‘Death’ part when it comes to playing unplugged.
Shows start July 23, as per the PR wire:
NICK OLIVERI announces “Death Acoustic” European summer tour
NICK OLIVERI finally returns to Europe this summer, to bring his solo project “Death Acoustic” live on stage again!
There are not many words needed to introduce this living rock legend: Nick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays the bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, and is a vocalist. Nick is most widely known as the bassist of Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age and the Dwarves, and has also performed with the reunited Kyuss under the names Kyuss Lives! as well as in Vista Chino. As a bandleader, his main project is called Mondo Generator, a punk/metal hybrid formed back in 1997.
NICK OLIVERI has started the fruitful collaboration with Heavy Psych Sounds Records, who took care of releasing his latest records such as the highly acclaimed ‘No Hits At All’ series over the last years, and from now on will be also handling the booking of his unique and excellent live shows! This summer, NICK OLIVERI will finally return back to Europe and will present his Acoustic solo project: The mighty “DEATH ACOUSTIC” where he will play songs from his past projects and original ones! Excited to come back to Europe and to bring his solo project live on stage again, make sure to catch him on the following dates, presented by Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking:
NICK OLIVERI EUROPEAN TOUR 23.07.18 – Nantes (FR) La Scene Michelet 25.07.18 – Lorient (FR) La Galion 27.07.18 – Basel (CH) TBC 28.07.18 – Ensisheim (FR) Woodstock Guitar Shop 29.07.18 – Chambery (FR) Brin Du Zinc 30.07.18 – Lecco (IT) The Concept Record Store 31.07.18 – M. DI. Ravenna (IT) Hana Bi 01.08.18 – Salzburg (AT) Rockhouse 02.08.18 – Kempten (DE) Kulturtage 03.08.18 – Parma (IT) TBC 04.08.18 – Pescarra (IT) TBC 06.08.18 – Zerobranco (IT) Altroquando 07.08.18 – Biel (CH) Eldorado 08.08.18 – Mannheim (DE) TBC 09.08.18 – Tilburg (NL) Little Devil 10.08.18 – Paris (FR) Supersonic
Before I get started on the last night of Maryland Doom Fest 2018, I want to thank JB Matson and Mark Cruikshank for the incredible work they’ve put into making this event something truly special. Think Maryland was ready for a festival to help define and codify its generations-spanning underground scene? Maryland Doom Fest has done so in four years’ time, and not only has it helped give an understanding to what Maryland doom is, but it’s working actively to broaden those horizons as well. And its reach is growing. Not only in bands. Last night the dude standing to my left was there with friends from Portland, Oregon, and to my right was a handful of folks from Albuquerque, New Mexico, all packed right at the front of the stage. It’s growing, and quickly.
But as Maryland Doom Fest enters what might be its Golden Age in presenting shows people will talk about years later — “ah yeah, were you at Doom Fest when Windhand played?”, etc. — the event has also kept its head on its shoulders about the work in progress. It’s a grounded experience, very much of its place, and a thrill to be able to return here and see it, especially after missing last year. I very much hope to be back to Frederick and back to Cafe 611 in 2019.
I don’t mind telling you I rolled into the venue in time to catch the first band feeling like I’d had my ass kicked up and down 6th St. already — because I had, two days running — but the momentum of the final day of Maryland Doom Fest 2018 was as thick as the riffs and it was a pleasure to be shoved along to a riotous finish.
Happened like this:
Gateway to Hell
Baltimore natives Gateway to Hell started a few minutes late, which unless I’m mistaken resulted in a shortening of their set. If so, all the more a bummer, because when they were done, I wanted more. They made their debut last year with the EP, Clovers (review here), and though I had a more metallic impression of them in my mind from that going into their set opening the last day of Maryland Doom Fest 2018, with an orchestra of effects there was an experimentalist psych edge to the guitar work of Alex Briscoe that blended with straight-ahead rhythms from bassist Eric Responsible (who wins the weekend as regards surnames) and drummer Dan Petrucelli, all of which gave frontman Jerrod Bronson ground to belt out lyrics over top. They had intense moments to be sure, but I wondered if their next release might bring more of that weirdo sensibility to bear in their sound. Fingers crossed. It worked really well on stage.
Bedowyn
Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Alex Traboulsi, guitarist Mark Peters, newcomer bassist Channing Azure and drummer Marc Campbell, Raleigh, North Carolina’s Bedowyn were about as close as Doom Fest got to black metal this year, and well, it was pretty close. Bedowyn, who got their start in 2011 and have an EP and full-length under their collective belt, blend that genre with a handful of others — thrash, classic metal, heavy rock, and so on — to conjure an aggressive but still poised sound, and Traboulsi‘s vocals turned from screams to sort of cleaner shouts while Campbell‘s drums held together all the part changes and stylistic turns. They went on early, so got an extra five minutes to play and made the most of it as a standout coming from someplace different than just about everything on the bill, which, again, was packed the whole way through. Also, if I remember right, I was told Campbell played drums with two broken fingers, thereby earning immeasurable bonus points. So there’s that too.
Saints and Winos
I guess everyone was on the 4:15 doombus to Frederick, because all of a sudden I turned around and the room was was pretty full for Saints and Winos from Rochester, New York. Mixing clean and harsh vocals, they tipped hats to more extreme and sludgy sounds, but had their basis in heavy rock and roll and a somewhat classic style, with plenty of low end fuzz and metallic swing very much in the spirit of the weekend in those terms and as regards general ease of pace. Their debut album, the all-caps WE RISE, came out late last year and featured three-part harmonies from guitarist Joe Dellaquila, bassist Amanda Rampe and drummer J.B. Rodgers on songs like “Great Wall,” and there was some of that on stage as well but it didn’t quite come through the house P.A. with the same kind of balance. Hazards of being the third band on the bill with complex arrangements. They were engaging enough to make me dig into the record anyway, and while there’s room to grow in their sound, it was plain to hear that potential during their set.
Book of Wyrms
Look, I don’t want to say classic doom will never die, because let’s face it: everything fucking dies. Someday the ocean is going rise up and eat us all about 30 seconds before the asteroid hits and splits the planet in two, only to be later consumed by the sun, also dying, so yeah. Classic doom will die, but it sure as shit ain’t dead yet. Book of Wyrms made an intriguing opening statement with 2017’s Sci-Fi/Fantasy (review here), which came out via respected tonal specialists Twin Earth Records. The lineup of vocalist/effects-bringer Sarah Moore Lindsey, guitarists Kyle Lewis and Ben Coudriet, bassist Jay Lindsey and drummer Chris DeHaven dug into traditional stoner-doom vibes that were, indeed, a pleasure to witness, and their potential was writ large over their time on stage in much the same fashion as on the record. I don’t know if it’s the balance of samples vs. riffs or doomed aspects and more heavy rock roll and melody in Lindsey‘s vocals, but there’s something waiting to be tapped in their sound that, if they get there, will make all the difference for them. As it was, they carried the room with ease.
Sierra
What a way to start a tour. And what a tour to start. Canadian three-piece Sierra obviously enjoyed launching a run of shows as they did last year at Maryland Doom Fest 2017, because they were doing the same thing all over again. This time, they’ll be out supporting fest-headliners Weedeater, and as they’ve been a steady presence on the Tone Deaf Touring circuit the last several years — they’ll also be at de facto sister fest Descendants of Crom in Pittsburgh this September — they’re tight enough in their delivery to have a professional sheen. They’re a tricky band as well, because it’s easy to watch them and say, “Okay, heavy rock, fair enough,” but that’s not it. There’s more just under the surface. To say Rush is a lazy comparison based on the simple fact of their northern origins, but they’re more prog than they let on, and they work smoothly in tipping that balance back and forth between the straightforward and the more complex. Of course, that makes them more exciting to watch, since they’re neither purely clinical nor just another collective bearing riffs, but instead offer something more varied between the two. It was my first time seeing them, and they were better than I knew, making a highlight of “Rainbows End” before finishing out with a cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Into the Void.”
Curse the Son
However, I knew damn well that Curse the Son were going to be incredible. Perfect band for the setting, great slot, a room that would just bounce their volume off the walls. Yeah, it was gonna work out. And it did. It’s been a little bit — more than I’d prefer, certainly — since I last saw the Hamden, Connecticut, trio, and in that time, they’ve released their third album, Isolator (review here), signed to Ripple Music and brought in drummer Robert Ives alongside bassist/backing vocalist Brandon Keefe and founding guitarist/vocalist Ron Vanacore, so yeah, it’s been reasonably busy. Another band Maryland Doom Fest 2018 is sharing with Descendants of Crom, they also appeared at this Spring’s inaugural New England Stoner and Doom Fest, and as Vanacore announced from the stage, they’re working toward a new album for early 2019. “Huzzah” would be putting it mildly. They were the first band all weekend for whom I removed my earplugs and let go a little bit to headbang and really take in. A lot of Maryland doom resides in a mid-paced groove. Curse the Son play slower and lower, and that nod was exactly what my weary soul needed. With Vanacore‘s tonal morass and vocals cutting through, older cuts like “Spider Stole the Weed” and “Goodbye Henry Anslinger” were familiar and welcome, and though he had some rather significant shoes to fill, the swing and intensity Ives brought to the drums was a dead-on fit. They don’t really tour, but still, theirs was one of my favorite sets of the whole weekend, and if you’re reading this and you ever get the chance to see them live, do it.
Backwoods Payback
Under general circumstances, I’m not one to gush, but I tell you know lie, I went up to each member of Backwoods Payback individually — to guitarist/vocalist Mike Cummings, bassist Jessica Baker and drummer Erik Larson, each separately — and told them how incredible their new album, Future Slum, is. I don’t even know how many times the word “awesome” left my mouth, but needless to say it was an embarrassing number. The thing about it is, they just absolutely nailed it. Same could easily be said of their set at Maryland Doom Fest 2018. Playing new material and old after opening with “You Don’t Move” from their most recent outing, 2016’s Fire Not Reason (review here), they absolutely laid waste to Cafe 611. And it’s for the same reason: everything has clicked. The songs, the lineup, the performance, the presence — it’s all in the same place and they’re experienced enough and smart enough to throw it at the audience in just the right way. And the conviction from all three of them. Plenty of bands this weekend meant what they were doing. To be blunt, nobody was phoning it in. But with Backwoods Payback, it was another level entirely, and when Cummings jumped off the stage toward the end of the set and shared the mic with a couple kids in the crowd who knew the words, it felt like a moment that encapsulated the band’s capacity to hit hard and still translate that their conviction into a meaningful experience. I’ll have more to say about the new record and I’ve already made plans to see them again next month, but this one was a landmark not to be forgotten anytime soon.
Caustic Casanova
I knew Caustic Casanova were underrated, and seeing them for the first time, I guess I was interested to find out if I could find a reason why. Their sound is certainly accessible enough; the Washington, D.C./Frederick trio play a style of heavy rock that in part feels drawn from ’90s college/art rock weirdoism and part drawn from a desire to mash that against sonic pummel and punker drive, but they’re also a thoughtful band. Each part has its purpose, and even in their delivery live, there was a sense of focus that pervaded what they were doing. It was fun to watch, definitely, but there was a strong intent there — nothing felt like an accident, however experimental it may have been in the composition. One knows they’re Melvins fans because they did a cover of “Cow” on their latest 7″, but their style has much more to it than just post-Buzzo riffing and tryhard avant gardeship so often resulting from that influence. And if Caustic Casanova are underrated, the reason is precisely because they’re not easy to pin down. They’re a dynamic, complex trio given to deft rhythmic turns and an indie aspect to complement/contrast their heavier elements, and they don’t fit into any single genre tag necessarily beyond the blanket “progressive heavy rock,” which is a pale descriptor for the actual depth of character in the music they make.
Duel
The rest of the night would be given to riotousness, and Duel were the start of that. Up from their home in Austin, Texas, this would mark the largest tour they’ve undertaken in the US, but they come into it with multiple European stints on their CV. Recently also announced for Heavy Mash 2018 in October (info here), their latest release is actually a live album called Live at the Electric Church(review here) that Heavy Psych Sounds put out as a complement to their two to-date studio LPs, 2016’s Fears of the Dead (review here) and 2017’s Witchbanger (review here), and from that, I thought I had a pretty decent idea what to expect. What took me by surprise, though, was the energy behind what they were doing. They’re classic heavy rock in their stylistic root, but rather than present it as some staid relic to be showcased like a museum piece under glass, they instead break that glass with their bare hands, smear the blood over their faces and proceed to capture the dangerous spirit that drove the earliest days of riffery in the first place. Actually, they do more than just capture it. They make it their own, so that this sound so often associated with the past becomes something inextricably forward thinking. I dug the records, so wasn’t surprised to be into the live show, but the sheer vitality of it was staggering. They made it a celebration.
The Midnight Ghost Train
Their last show. Heavy rock and roll loses one of its most potent live acts in The Midnight Ghost Train, who made Maryland Doom Fest 2018 the occasion for their final gig. Ever? Maybe. One has learned time and again never to say never in rock and roll, but the band made it known in April they were calling it quits, and this was their version of going out with a bang. Did you ever get to see The Midnight Ghost Train? It’s a question I can see myself asking in conversation for years to come — they are a litmus test for music and performance as a kinetic force, and a comparison point to which few will be able to live up. Founded by guitarist/vocalist Steve Moss and ending with longtime drummer Brandon Burghart (I don’t know what else he’s got going, but I can’t imagine any band not wanting him in its lineup) and relative newcomer bassist Tyler Harper (also of Capra), they were fury incarnate with a bittersweet underpinning. I’ve watched The Midnight Ghost Train shows for a decade, and I tell you with no reservation that they’re among the most powerful heavy rock bands I’ve ever seen. Moss transforms into a shuffle-blues madman, Burghart‘s swing is nigh-unmatchable, and Harper stood toe-to-toe with the guitar, which is saying something. They will be missed. But they went out as they always were — on fire — and I stayed up front the whole time and felt fortunate to be there to see it, as I think did everyone else in the room. They were a big part of what made the day so special. And even if they get back together at some point, years down the line or whatever, the impact of this night, this set, stands as a monument to who they were as a group and Moss‘ realized vision of heavy, funky, bluesy righteousness.
Weedeater
Well, if one band over the course of the three-day event was going to ignite a genuine mosh, it might as well be Weedeater, whose tonal dominance was evident from soundcheck onward despite “Dixie” Dave Collins breaking a string on his bass. Years of near-constant touring have given North Carolina’s Weedeater a reputation that well precedes them, and though it had been years since I last caught them, I knew the lumbering sludge that was about to unfold as soon as they hit into “God Luck and Good Speed” to open their set, with guitarist Dave Shepherd and drummer Carlos Denogean doing no shortage of the heavy lifting when it came to rolling out massive, lumbering nod. I’m too old for that slam-dancing shit, so I hightailed it from the front of the stage on the quick, but Weedeater left no question as to why they were headlining. What the hell else could possibly follow them? They’ve made a career on sounding unhinged, and even down to Denogean wailing away at his kit, they lived up to that, but they’re long since veterans, too, so they’re not just fucking around. They’re professionally fucking around. Good work if you can get it. The crowd knew the set the whole way through, and though Weedeater are coming up on due for a follow-up to 2015’s Goliathan (review here), which they’ve basically been on tour supporting since it came out, their command of the stage wasn’t something that just happened. It was whittled down from the years of grinding on the road they’ve done. Worth it? You’d have to ask them, but watching them play for the first time in a long-enough while, they looked like a band that made themselves headliners the hard way, and who have earned every accolade, every top slot, every laudatory hyperbole they’ve gotten. Like so much of the festival that led up to them, they were the right band, right time.
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I saw and met a lot of really wonderful people this weekend who had absurdly nice things to say about this site and whatnot, from the Horseburner guys to hanging out with Mike from Backwoods Payback and Leanne Ridgeway from Riff Relevant, to seeing Paul-forever-to-be-known-as-MadJohnShaft and talking about the various European fests he hits, Dave Benzotti, Erik Larson, Earl Walker Lundy, Ron Vanacore, Deanne Firkin, Billy from Philly and the gents from The Age of Truth, Mark and Pete from ZED, Uncle Fezzy, Darren Waters, Dee Calhoun, Shy Kennedy, Pat Harrington, the dudes from Bailjack, Steve Moss, Melanie Streko, Lisa Hass, Chuck Dukeheart and the Foghound gang, Mat from Castle, Doomstress Alexis, Mark Schaff, Justin from Molasses Barge, Brenna from Lightning Born, on and on and on.
Thank you is my point. People say incredible stuff about this site, and I can’t ever really let myself hear it, but I’m happy if someone feels positively about a thing that happens here. Every now and then I do too. This weekend was one of those times. Thank you for reading and being a part of it.
It was five and a half hours north in the car when I let out of the Super 8 in Frederick to get to Connecticut, which is how this review ended up being later than I’d prefer, but so it goes. Before I end the post, I need to send a special thanks to The Patient Mrs., whose management and running point on The Pecan the last few days made this trip possible in the first place. That’s a hard job, even more for her than for me, and I owe her eternally for her efforts in allowing me to pursue crazy ideas like, “so I’m gonna go to Frederick for a weekend and hit Doom Fest you got the baby okay cool thanks.” It means more to me than I can say.
[Click play above to stream Red Sun Atacama’s Licancabur in full. Album is out June 29 on More Fuzz Records with vinyl to follow this summer.]
Usually when a band puts a place-name at the end of their moniker, it’s because they’re from there and there’s probably another band with the same name who perhaps had it first. Before you go thinking otherwise, Red Sun Atacama are not from the Atacama Desert in Chile, which is noted as being the driest place on earth. They reside a continent away in Paris, France, which last I heard still gets plenty of rain. Comprised of the trio of bassist/vocalist Clément Màrquez, guitarist Vincent Hospital and drummer Robin Caillon, the French fuzzers make their debut with Licancabur, a six-track/35-minute long-player issued through More Fuzz Records that takes its title from the volcano located in said desert traditionally worshiped as sacred by the Atacameños people who live nearby. The album’s structure is somewhat quizzical, with a quick intro leading to a bookend of two larger songs with two shorter tracks between and one even-shorter track between that. Just for an easy visual, here’s the tracklist:
See what I mean? If you put aside the intro, you get five tracks that even sort of look like a mountain peak when written out. I can’t help but wonder if, since they named the record after a volcano, if that wasn’t on Red Sun Atacama‘s mind as they put the hard-driving, desert-rocking release together. Even if you keep the “Intro” — which taps into Morricone-style Western acoustic strum and folkish flutes before the leadoff riff of “Gold” quickly enters to begin the album in earnest — or consider that the vinyl breaks into two three-song sides, the basic idea holds up of climbing a peak to the punk-sprint of “Cupid Arrows” and then making one’s way down through “Drawers” and out into the long plain of “Empire,” which closes side B. May or may not have been intentional, but sure doesn’t feel like an accident.
Crucially, to coincide with this structural nuance, Licancabur has a front-to-back flow which, from that opening riff to “Gold” onward, finds the three-piece careening through high-energy desert riffing, making standout elements from bass and lead guitar interplay as they move toward the midsection of that opening track after the initial verses/chorus thrust and just before they pull back and drop out at around 4:30 to more laid back unfolding. “Gold” has a long instrumental break, keys included, but ultimately returns to vocals later, and even in this and in “Empire,” which is more insistently drummed to close out the offering but still has its own section reserved for a lengthy jam, there’s a consuming fluidity that carries the listener along with it. Red Sun Atacama border on hypnotic, but never seem on their debut to relinquish control into all-out drift, and so when they snap back to the forward push that plays such a significant role in their sound, they don’t necessarily have as far to go as they otherwise might. They keep that flow steady across the entire record.
A lack of pretense and/or self-indulgence always helps when it comes to desert rock sincerely working, as Licancabur does, to speak to the origins of the genre, which are punk at their heart. It certainly does Red Sun Atacama sonic favors, but part of that too might just stem from the fact that they don’t seem keen (yet) on wandering too far. Could be they’re worried about getting lost in the dry sands, but in “Gold” and “Empire” as well as in “Red Queen” and “Drawers,” they keep their momentum straight ahead of them and throttle back on tempo here and there, break to guitar, drums, whatnot, but by and large run fast and high-energy through the songs. Hooks provide landmarks in “Red Queen,” which might be the most purely Kyuss-ian riff included, and “Drawers” has an even more manic feel, holding together a tense vibe even as the guitar wahs out a lead in the middle and they make their way back to the slams and swings of the last verse, taking turns on bass, guitar and drums by measure to mark the transition into the outro. It’s a head-spinner, overriding control is maintained.
That control turns out to be one of the most impressive aspects of Licancabur, and nowhere more so than on the side B opener/mountain peak “Cupid Arrows,” which is the shortest inclusion at the 1:46 noted above, but still has an essential role to play in being the most furious moment of desert groove on the album. Much to their credit, Red Sun Atacama are off and running speedily and reference The Stooges on their way even as they seem to nod to a more echoing incarnation of earliest Dozer in the sort-of centerpiece, which is the apex of their momentum, thickly toned enough to be consistent with its surroundings and yet an immediate standout for its all-go-no-stop acceleration. If there is anywhere on Licancabur that Red Sun Atacama are in danger of losing their grip on their craft, it’s in “Cupid Arrows,” and they absolutely don’t. They execute the track at full speed like it ain’t a thing and then are dug into “Drawers” before the listener even has a chance to process what they just heard. Right on.
It’s a particularly encouraging facet of Red Sun Atacama‘s first offering — apart from the 2015 demo Part.I on which “Gold” (then “The Gold”), “Red Queen” and “Cupid’s Arrows” appeared — that they’re able to hold it all together with such apparent ease and smoothness, and where they’ve left themselves room to grow is in terms of patience and in the jammy moments like those in “Gold” and “Empire.” One can’t help but wonder if Red Sun Atacama‘s next offering might find them digging even further into these psychedelic landscapes, their fingers bare in exploratory dirt, but for now, while they might want to add an “of” to their moniker, they nonetheless provide a welcome, cohesive kick in the ass through classic-style desert rock and roll and leave one anticipating what they might do next. One could ask nothing more of their first album.
