The new video from The Black Thunder‘s late-2017 debut album, Visions in Black, would seem to have been filmed in early June at the Fl?der Festiwal in their native Poland. As it was first posted earlier this month, it’s a pretty quick turnaround from recording to mixing different camera shots, editing the sound in, and all the other video-making processes that I don’t understand so will just call “magic” and leave it at that. But, as I think the track itself shows pretty well, the band are all business, so maybe it’s not such a shock their new clip would be likewise in the making. After marinating their sound for eight years over an initial demo and EP releases in 2012 and 2013, The Black Thunder very obviously took care to hone their sound prior to producing their first full-length. Accordingly, Visions in Black — which is name-your-price on Bandcamp and available on CD through Green Lungs Records — is tight in its tension built of riffy metal and Eastern European noise rock traditions, with a marked dissenting lean to its themes in songs like “No More!,” “Consumer World Destroys Us,” and even the new single “Life Wasting,” positive though the spin of the latter ultimately is.
Based in Bytów in the northern part of the country — maybe an hour by car from the coast of the Baltic Sea — The Black Thunder bring catchy and straightforward songwriting to sharp-edged but still-weighted tones and gruff vocals. In the riffing of “Life Wasting,” for which the video has been made, one can hear shades of Down, but that influence is whittled to a fine point in its production and delivery, and even in the song’s solo section, there’s little to no sense of indulgence. The hook, “If I could give you all advice/Don’t waste your fucking life,” arrives on time and on the beat, and as it chugs past the four-minute mark, it’s only one of four cuts of the total 10 to do so, and followed by the three-minute “The King,” which has both extreme metal-derived squigglies in the guitar and a genuine mosh breakdown. Aggression rules the day and, aside from the professional consistency and crispness of the production, is largely what ties the songs together.
As those who’ve hung around a while know, I’ve been a long-distance admirer of Polish heavy for a long time, and The Black Thunder bring to mind precisely why in their blend of influences from the US and Europe and their own country’s rock and underground history. The impact of Visions in Black is all their own, however, and if you’re looking for a bit of something mean with some grit to it, then by all means dig into the “Life Wasting” video below.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 30th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
PootchiePucci and company from Italian heavy trio Fvzz Popvli are back this Fall with a new record following-up their Heavy Psych Sounds debut, Fvzz Dei, which came out last year. Keeping on theme, the new collection is titled Magna Fvzz, and it boasts seven tracks that, if the debut was any indicator, will live up to the idea of tone worship that the title hints toward. As you can see above, the three-piece hit the legendary Duna Jam — and by legendary in this instance I mean “does it even really exist?” — this year and, as everyone seems to do in the resultant photos, played to a gorgeous Sardinian sunset. Fucking awesome. The release date for Magna Fvzz is Oct. 5, which is as good a time as any, and preorders start Aug. 2. One imagines we’ll get some advance audio around then as well, so right on.
The PR wire issues preliminary details and the cover art as follows:
Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is proud to unveil details and artwork of FVZZ POPVLI’s new album MAGNA FVZZ!
One year after their rough, lo-fi and rude debut album “Fvzz Dei”, Rome-based FVZZ POPVLI have unveiled first details about their second and hotly anticipated album titled “Magna Fvzz“, in Latin the Great Fuzz, set to be released October 5th 2018 with Heavy Psych Sounds!
Their new album features 7 killer tracks between the 60’s and 70’s psychedelic rock to the 90’s Heavy Psych, the record sounds so bright and clear with a typical warm rock’n’roll sound and obviously tons and tons of fuzz! The last homonym track is featuring Bazu on the Synths, from mighty acid rockers Giöbia. Highly recommended for fans of The Stooges, Black Sabbath and Hawkwind!
“Magna Fvzz” will be available as:
10 ULTRA LTD TEST PRESS 75 ULTRA LTD “3 COLOUR SEGMENT” WHITE/BLUE/PURPLE VINYL 350 LTD SPLATTER TRANSPARENT YELLOW BACKGROUND-SPLATTER BLUE/RED/PURPLE VINYL BLACK VINYL DIGIPAK / DIGITAL
PRE-ORDERS start on August 2nd 2018 on Heavy Psych Sounds!
The tracklist will read as follows: 1. Let It Die… 2. Napoleon 3. The Deal 4. Get Me 5. Rvmpeltum 6. Cherry Bowl 7. Magnafvzz
Raised in Rome by Pootchie and Datio in A.D. MMXVI, this powertrio offers a direct and rough way to deliver some finest heavy fuzzy riffs! Their sound melt Black Sabbath style heavy riffs with the attitude of the roughest garagepunk bands like The Stooges, adding the psychedelia from the 70’s while creating their very own sound. The band released an EP in May 2017 followed by numerous shows in Italy, Switzerland and Germany. In June 2017 they became part of the Heavy Psych Sounds Records roster (Brant Bjork, Nick Olivieri, Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man, Nebula, Giöbia, Duel, Black Rainbows) in release of their first album “FVZZ DEI” in September 2017. Their debut has brought the band on more than 70 European stages in 8 countries and even got them the rare chance to play the mighty DUNA JAM. In June 2018 the band recorded their 2nd album “MAGNA FVZZ”, which will be released on October 5th 2018 with many European tourdates to follow!
FVZZ POPVLI ARE: FRANCESCO “POOTCHIE” PUCCI – Guitar and Voice (BEESUS,The Wisdoom) DATIO PALATIO – Bass (The Anthony’s Vinyls) Doncalisto – Drums
A turning point, but a remarkably heavy one at that. Electric Wizard‘s fifth full-length, We Live, came out via Rise Above Records in 2004 and was the first album they produced without the original lineup. In the two years since ’02’s Let Us Prey, guitarist/vocalist Jus Oborn oversaw the departure of bassist Tim Bagshaw and drummer Mark Greening, who would go on almost immediately to found Ramesses and make their debut offering in a split with Negative Reaction in 2003. In their place, Oborn brought in bassist Rob Al-Issa and drummer Justin Greaves, and for the first time, a second guitarist in American expat Liz Buckingham, who’d released a couple splits with the New York-based 13 — including one with Grief — during a run from 1990-1996 before joining sludgesters Sourvein for their first two albums and split with Rabies Caste. Personal relationships were involved as well, but bringing Buckingham into Electric Wizard was no less dramatic a shift than seeing the original rhythm section leave, and the sound of We Live bears that out across its seven-song/60-minute run.
Before Let Us Prey, Electric Wizard had issued an unholy trinity in their first three records: their 1995 self-titled debut (discussed here), 1997’s Come My Fanatics… and 2000’s Dopethrone (loosely discussed here). These are the kinds of LPs from which legacies are made, and Electric Wizard‘s is, at least in part, made from them. Let Us Prey, in hindsight, brought a shift in vibe that made it less of a landmark that’s now often overlooked when considering the band’s work, but is nonetheless the last thing they did as the original trio. In bringing aboard Buckingham, Al-Issa and Greaves — the latter of whom also played in UK sludge forerunners Iron Monkey — Oborn demonstrated in no uncertain terms his ownership and defining presence in the band. More than ever, Electric Wizard was his and clearly ready to move forward to exploring new ideas and new interpretations of their misanthropic Sabbath and horror worship.
That’s largely what We Live is. But it also pushes Electric Wizard to places they hadn’t yet gone. The first album had plenty of shuffle, but the thrust of “Another Perfect Day?” and “The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue” are on their own level. And the sense of ritual is palpable in 10-minute opener “Eko Eko Azarak,” which is broken into two parts, ‘Invocation’ and indeed ‘Ritual,’ demonstrating not only the power to harness these different atmospheres on the part of Electric Wizard, but also the awareness of what they’re doing with sound. Even the title-track’s use of cult horror as a metaphor is relevant to what the band would go on to do on subsequent records, and it’s not necessarily the first time Oborn went that route with the lyrics — “Devil’s Bride,” anyone? — but it’s in bringing these ideas to such a level of focus that We Live shows how far Electric Wizard had come.
And that’s all well and good, right? Blah blah blah, band grows over time. Standard narrative. Band goes through big lineup change. Super-duper. That shit happens. Constantly. In fact, it’s now been like 15 years since the Bagshaw/Greening days of Electric Wizard came to a close and Oborn and Buckingham are still plowing through rhythm sections on the regular. All of this stuff would be the makings of a perfectly fine album. You know what separates We Live, even from the rest of the Electric Wizard catalog?
It’s fucked.
Totally fucked.
More than anything the band produced before or since, We Live strikes the deadliest balance between rawness and fullness. The addition of Buckingham‘s guitar alongside Oborn‘s plunged the band to entirely new depths of mire. Listen to the tonal filth of the 15-minute “Saturn’s Children” and you’ll find a mega-doom imprint of what Electric Wizard would go on to become. Except the presentation is meaner. With recording by Mathias Schneeberger (The Obsessed, Goatsnake, Fatso Jetson, etc.) and co-production by Oborn, songs like “Flower of Evil AKA Malfiore” and “The Sun Has Turned to Black” — which brilliantly follows “Another Perfect Day?” with a mess of initial feedback and signature lumbering groove — embody the misanthropy the band later espoused as such a crucial part of their aesthetic. The rhythms are grueling, the vibe is stoned to death and the doom rides out so thick that it barely seems to move, regardless of actual tempo. By the time they got around to We Live, Electric Wizard had already had a couple classics under their collective belt, but We Live was the beginning point of an expansion that would take them to new levels in sound and profile alike.
The lineup, naturally, didn’t last. While Oborn and Buckingham would continue to define the core of the band, a series of drummers came and went. Greaves went on to found Crippled Black Phoenix, where he remains to this day, while Al-Issa would serve the Wizard once more on 2007’s ultra-pivotal Witchcult Today (discussed here) before likewise departing for parts unknown. That album, as noted here on multiple occasions, was a reset for Electric Wizard that has in no small way affected everything they’ve done in the 11 years since across three full-lengths: 2010’s Black Masses (review here), 2014’s Time to Die (review here), and last year’s Wizard Bloody Wizard (review here), but it’s important to consider that the shifts Witchcult Today brought about didn’t come out of nowhere, and in We Live one can hear the band beginning to reach out for new ground like the proverbial hand of the undead reaching up from a lonely grave. They’d always been heavy. They’d already become spiteful. This was where they took those things to new levels of punishment and made ready to transcend to their most miserable territories yet.
As always, I hope you enjoy.
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I’m not going to give notes for next week. I have a bunch of stuff planned, but screw it. I’m keeping secrets this time around. Tonight I’m going to see Sleep in Brooklyn. I’ll tell you that much.
The rest you’ll have to stay tuned for. It’s gonna be cool.
Thanks for reading. Have a great and safe weekend and don’t forget to check out the forum and radio stream.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Not saying I’ve heard it or anything, but Horehound aren’t kidding around when they talk about their second album, Holocene, being a step forward from their 2016 self-titled debut (review here). That album was an impressive showing of potential for their style, somewhere between heavy rock, doom and sludge but not necessarily beholden to any single one of them, and Holocene, from its gorgeous Brian Mercer cover art onward, proceeds to push their vision forward. It’s a bigger but still natural sound with an eye toward atmosphere and they’re giving a first taste in the semi-angular “L’Appel du Vide” now, having premiered a video for the third of the album’s total seven tracks, the last of which is hidden. Don’t tell anybody.
Horehound will appear at Descendants of Crom in their native Pittsburgh at the end of September and have select dates set before that, including opening for Monolord and Brimstone Coven. Good gig.
Here are details from the PR wire:
Pittsburgh, PA’s Post-Doom Foursome HOREHOUND Reveals Their Second Full-length, ‘HOLOCENE’ & Premieres New Video For Debut Track “L’appel du Vide”
Pittsburgh’s paramount Doom/Sludge underground act HOREHOUND continues their ascension above ground with the announcement of their second full-length album, ‘HOLOCENE’.
Horehound surpassed their own expectations for the self-titled debut in 2016, and this past Spring re-released a remastered version on Digital, CD, and first-time Vinyl format. Now Horehound presents their sophomore album ‘Holocene’. With all music written and performed by Horehound, the album was recorded and mixed by Matt Schor at War Room in Pittsburgh, and mastering done by James Plotkin at Plotkinworks. The incredible cover artwork illustration is by Brian Mercer.
To introduce the new album, the band is premiering a video for the debut of “L’appel du Vide”, the third track from ‘Holocene’. The visualizer was created by Sam McDonald.
Vocalist Shy Kennedy shares a few words about the album: “‘Holocene’ is the single most rewarding contribution I have made as an individual artist and even of any group effort I’ve been a part of. It has been a realization for Horehound and through this recording we really cultivated our sound. The overwhelmingly gratifying experience we’ve had in creating this album will further transcend once we are able to share it with others. “
Guitarist Brendan Parrish adds: “‘Holocene’ is a convergence of our respective influences and a natural evolution in the sound we’ve developed. It represents our growth as songwriters and we are very eager for the rest of the world to hear what we’re so proud to have created.”
Horehound is preparing for a release of Holocene sometime later in 2018. The band has been reviewing incoming offers and invites all who may be interested in partnering for the release to reach out to them soon.
Holocene – Track List: 1. The Kind 2. Dier’s Dirge 3. L’appel du Vide 4. Sloth 5. Anastatica 6. Highball 7. Hidden Track
Upcoming Live Events: 08/11 – Youngstown, OH – Pabstolutely 11 Festival 09/01 – Pittsburgh, PA w/ MONOLORD, Brimstone Coven 09/28 – Pittsburgh, PA – DESCENDANTS OF CROM
HOREHOUND is: JD Dauer – drums Brendan Parrish – guitar Shy Kennedy – vocals Nick Kopco – bass
The story goes like this: Four years ago, San Diego weirdo-fantasy-proggers put out a video from their first album, Unfavorable (review here), for the track “The Bearded Fool.” Their second album, the even-more-weirdo-fantasy-prog Blame it all on Sorcery, came out earlier this year and is comprised of 10 tracks for a 42-minute voyage into lush arrangements and melodies led by the folkish vocals of guitarist Francis Roberts and backed by the inventive rhythms and creative play of bassist Andre Beller and drummer Kris Calabio, both of whom also contribute backing vocals. Classic-style harmonies abound on songs like “Never Leave” with a patience in their delivery that reminds of peak-era Opeth while still other tracks like “Innocent Hands” (video premiere here) delve into extreme metal riffing and near-blastbeats before chugging out a still-melodic verse and 10-minute closer “The Long-Nosed Wiseman” holds doomly tension in a keyboard-laced build toward a sweeping finish.
And despite covering this swath of stylistic ground, front to back, the album is one that flows together and makes sense both in terms of narrative and actual sound. So, great, right? But what the hell does that have to do with the video for “The Bearded Fool?”
Well, glad you (I) asked. The thing is, Old Man Wizard have a new video for “The Blind Prince” from Blame it all on Sorcery, and it’s a sequel to the “The Bearded Fool” video. A four-years-later foll0w-up. It has the same would-be VHS static at the bottom of the screen and everything, and it picks up to find our trio of heroes encountering the titular Blind Prince and doing battle with a gaggle of witches in the woods only to be trapped and, finally, to win not with swords and battle-axes, but with the power of — wait for it — a Flying V and a fuzz pedal. Duh.
Obviously there’s some winking happening in line with the homage to classic low-budget fantasy filmmaking, but it’s all in good fun. Some things to watch for: radical perspective shifts, a burrito, a wrestling mask, an actual wink — the list goes on. There’s plenty to watch for, and they also leave it open to yet another sequel. Could it be a trilogy in the works?
Fingers crossed:
Old Man Wizard, “The Blind Prince” official video
We are pleased to share with you our newest music video for “The Blind Prince”, a track from our latest album “Blame It All On Sorcery”.
Official music video for “The Blind Prince” by OLD MAN WIZARD
Directed by Jessie Rudolph VFX and Editing by Jessie Rudolph Backgrounds and sound design by Francis Roberts
CAST: Villager – Teemu Kaiponen The Blind Prince – Reece Miller Francis – Francis Roberts Andre – Andre Beller Kris – Kris Calabio Witch Leader – Becky Campbell
The Witches: Michelle Pannell Kyle Bob Michelle Louden Carlos Zamora Alexander Simsay Zachary Simsay
Enjoy, and we hope to see some of you out on the road! Again, our tour with Worshipper [is on now]. Here are the [remaining] dates:
Fri 7/27 – GRANTS PASS, OR – The Haul – $10ADV/ 21+ Sat 7/28 – PORTLAND, OR – Tonic Lounge – $7ADV / $10 DOS / 21+ * Sun 7/29 – SEATTLE, WA – Funhouse – $10 ADV / $12 DOS / 21+ Tues 7/31 – BOISE, ID – The Shredder – $8 ADV / ALL AGES Wed 8/1 – SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Club X Thurs 8/2 – DENVER, CO – Streets of London Pub – $5 ADV / 21+ Fri 8/3 – ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Moonlight Lounge – $5 ADV / 21+ Sat 8/4 – TEMPE, AZ – Time Out Lounge – 21+
Old Man Wizard is: Francis Roberts – Guitar, Vocals Kris Calabio – Drums, Backing Vocals Andre Beller – Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Cooperation! Spanning continents! Cursed Tongue Records and Ripple Music align to stand behind Mojo Rising, the debut album from Bradford, UK, four-piece Psychlona, and they leave little question as to why. The album — nine songs/50 minutes running from “Stone” to “Beakfoot” with a riffy, desert-stretched-out but still weighted course worthy of the band’s moniker — hits with a bit of Clutchy blues in “Big River” and a whole lot of early Fu Manchu-style roll in “Juju,” but it’s ultimately the psychedelic thread that ties it all together, whether it’s the brash pub-style riffage of “Down in the Valley” or jam-into-shove-into-jam-into-slowdown groove in “Burning Cave,” a spacious lead guitar tone that conjures impossible reaches no matter how much crunch seems to be surrounding. And make no mistake, here’s plenty of crunch to go around.
The album seems to have been taken down from Bandcamp, which will happen with this kind of thing when a previously-issued record gets picked up, but if you’ve got Spotify you can stream it for the time being at the bottom of this post. Otherwise, the release date for the well-supported offering is Nov. 30, so you can mark your calendars, make your preorders or whatever it is you need to do. Plenty of time.
Copious kebab-centered info follows here, courtesy as ever of the PR wire:
PSYCHLONA SIGNS TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS AND RIPPLE MUSIC FOR WORLD WIDE RELEASE OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM ‘MOJO RISING’ IN NOVEMBER 2018.
Cursed Tongue Records and Ripple Music have teamed up for a joint release of City of Bradford, UK stoner rockers Psychlona’s heavy grooving debut album ‘Mojo Rising’. The four brads or ‘dirty desert rock kebab eating mofos’, as they prefer to introduce themselves, impressed both labels on an immense level when their debut album hit the online web-spheres back in the spring of 2018. A hard-hitting, heavy-driving, fuzz-drenched foundation forms the basis on which flares and outbursts of guitar-swirls spirals to another dimension in time and space.
Mojo Rising is the premiere sonic excursion to a heady generation looking for a new mode of transportation to mindful salvation (oh, ok back it up). You got the point made here. So, if spacy, psyched out stoner rock is the thing that float your boat, look no further as Psychlona got you plenty covered. Mojo Rising ought to hit an audible solar plexus on any fan of Spaceslug, Kyuss, Dozer, Fu Manchu and Monster Magnet.
Psychlona is a fairly new band, but already stands out as a strong, unified entity with many years under the belt. However it was in summer 2015 when Phil (guitar/vocals) walked into a scruffy bar to watch an equally scruffy band knock out a few scruffy tunes. Scanning the immediate vicinity to see who else was out tonight, a shabby drunken figure barely able to stand but fully able to hold his beer glass leered out of the dark shadows. Enter Dave (guitars). Dave and Phil had shared various stages on the same bill over the preceding few years as members of The Drastics and Threshold Shift. It was the obvious thing to do – form a new band. The fact they were both guitarists and didn’t have a bass player or drummer around wasn’t a problem. Both were aware of a local four stringer called Martyn who had played previously in other bands with Phil. Rehearsals began soon with no agenda but more importantly no drummer. Various percussionists came and went. After some time passed finally a solid contendor (Scott) to the drum stool entered. Initial sessions went well but the guys knew they needed to ask Scott a very important question – how do you like your kebabs? With extra chilis was the response from the bearded one. A match made in heaven then and he joined the family. Rehearsals, gigs, more rehearsals, new material brings us to the present day – the impending release of Mojo Rising on both CD, digital and vinyl.
Despite the band’s young age, Psychlona has already played with and shared stage with 1968, Barbarian Hermit, Loomer, Morass of Molasses as well as their good mates Ironrat and Lizard Tongue. The band also organise and promote their own festival twice a year (Idlefest), which is growing bigger each time. On the signing with Danish based label Cursed Tongue Records and US-label Ripple Music, Psychlona comments: “We’re proud to be joining the Ripple and Cursed Tongue families. Two of the most proactive labels with a genuine passion for the bands and music both from within their own rosters but also from the whole scene in general with genuine love and support going out to everyone involved. They’ve also tolerated our shit jokes and English sense of humour so far… time will tell… second album guys?”
Regardless what the future holds the here and now is glowing hot. Psychlona came from space to grace our earthly souls and make our mojo rise. It’s soon time to groove along to one of this year’s best desert stoner rock albums. Get psyched!
Mojo Rising will be out on CD and digital via Ripple Music and vinyl via Cursed Tongue Records in November.
CTR-014 Psychlona – ‘Mojo Rising’, vinyl official release date: November 30th, 2018
Psychlona is: Phil Hey – Guitar & Vocals Dave Wainfor – Guitar Martyn Birchall – Bass Scott Frankling – Drums
All tracks written and performed by Psychlona Engineered and mixed by Dave Wainfor Mastered by James Grover Artwork by Kyrre Bjurling Inner photo by Jez Sheard Layout & Design by Michael Andresakis
Track listing:
Side A 1. Stone 2. Ride 3. Down In The Valley 4. Big River
Side B 5. Your God 6. Juju 7. Black Dog 8. Beakfoot
[Click play above to stream the premiere of a lyric video for Forming the Void’s ‘Ark Debris.’ Their new album, Rift, is out Aug. 17 on Kozmik Artifactz.]
I’m sorry, but any record that starts with a song called “Extinction Event” is telegraphing its heaviness. And sure enough, Rift is the most weighted offering yet in the relatively brief but prolific tenure of Louisiana four-piece Forming the Void. In terms of tone, atmosphere and rhythm, it brings to bear a heft that feels like an arrival point — the title of the side B opener, sure enough: “Arrival” — following last year’s Relic (review here) and 2016’s Skyward (review here) with an uptick in scope, apparent lyrical narrative and sense of largesse that nothing they’ve yet done has touched. Comprised of seven tracks running a total of a still-LP-friendly 45 minutes delivered via Kozmik Artifactz, Rift is, simply, a new level for the band. Operating as the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist James Marshall, guitarist Shadi Omar Al-Khansa, bassist Luke Baker and drummer Thomas Colley (the latter making his first appearance), they offer their most cohesive and purposeful collection to-date, with landmark hooks in “On We Sail” and the subsequent “Arcane Mystic” and themes that have been present at least since Relic — the cover art of which depicted a hooded mystic traveling through space on an asteroid — the album ultimately takes a linear path.
Following its beginning in “Extinction Event,” that time-to-go narrative launch point leads to a lyrical journey through “On We Sail,” an “Arcane Mystic” met along the way, “Transient” leading to “Arrival,” “Ark Debris” when the vessel in question presumably is broken down and turned into a “Shrine” at the end. The sense of culmination is underscored by the fact that the finale tops 10 minutes long while everything else apart from the 6:53 “Ark Debris” is under six minutes, but by then the point is made in roiling, rolling progressive riffing and Marshall‘s echoing vocals; a spaciousness clearly meant to be taken literally. As in, “it’s about space.” Perhaps most pivotal of all the story being told doesn’t detract from the songwriting in general, and though I’d bet by the time they got around to writing the words to “Transient,” the concept was locked in place, neither that centerpiece nor anything around it pulls away from the well-struck balance between craft and storytelling.
On a sheer execution level, Rift is loaded with intent and poise. At their fastest, Forming the Void are not rushed, and at their slowest, in the back half of “Transient,” say, they remain comfortable in their forward motion. “Extinction Event” introduces a variety of elements in terms of the ultra-dense tones, spacious clean vocals and brash rhythmic swing, and in so doing summarizes a fair bit of what’s to come throughout the album, but as “On We Sail” and “Arcane Mystic” lead into “Transient,” the side A finale marks a significant shift in approach. Or at very least it foreshadows one ahead. With impressive lead work from Al-Khansa, thick low end from Baker and an impressive debut from Colley in shoving them along their path, the early cuts of Rift are more straightforward in structure. The hooks have already been noted, and it’s not as though ambience isn’t a factor, as the intro to “Arcane Mystic” immediately hypnotizes and bolsters the feeling of openness, but that will become much more of a focal point on side B, and true to its name, “Transient” marks that transition. Like “Arcane Mystic” just before, it has a subdued introduction, but it goes further in making loud/quiet tradeoffs between utterly massive plodding and more serene melodic fare.
The shifts can be sudden but don’t feel that way because the pace is gradual, and like everything that surrounds, they’re brought to bear with a grace that underscores the progressive mindset of the band as a whole. “Transient” has something of a hook, so ties well to the cuts before, but also tells of the expanses yet to be traversed on “Arrival” and beyond into side B. Sure enough, what would seem to be a conclusion is only the beginning point of something new for Forming the Void as arrival rolls out a memorable riff, echoing vocals and a steady nod of a groove en route to a slow-marching midsection and a pickup in the second half to psychedelic lead work laced over a still-tectonic groove. Shifts in tempo only continue as “Ark Debris” takes hold with a decided Middle Eastern inflection in the introduction. Patient in its unfolding, the intro becomes the bed for the verses over the first several minutes, and it’s not until about 3:10 that heavier guitars kick in over the steady drumbeat. A solo over distortion keeps the vibe of the early going alive as the halfway mark is crossed, and a subtle build happens where fuller tones are first teased and then arrive with a marked fluidity over a consistent drone that’s been there all the while.
They end with feedback there and let “Shrine” — an arrival unto itself — close out, beginning with a stretch of quiet but tense guitar and cymbal washes before the whole lumber takes hold. “Shrine” is resounding in its heavy, soaring in its melody and firm in its purpose, and lands as a significant achievement for Forming the Void on their path of sonic discovery. After thudding out the initial verses, they stop around four minutes into the total 10 and drop to quiet to let keys or effects-laden guitar answer the Mideastern vibe of “Ark Debris” for a moment before resuming the stomp. A bridge of some earlier Elder-style riffing leads to “Shrine”‘s melodic payoff and then a final solo over double-time drums pushes toward the final slowdown, huge in its sound and headphone-worthy in its engrossing rumble.
The end comes when “Shrine” cuts short at 10:13 and fades back in on a cymbal wash for more feedback before they make their way out again, ending the album with a reminder that while this story has finished, there’s much more to say. At least, that’s the hope, considering how much Forming the Void have been able to turn their first two full-lengths into lessons and learned from them in the making of this third one. They’re a band who should be touring, especially now, since it would seem they’ve found and been able to harness the sound and style they were looking for these last several years and the task before them would be to refine it. As to how that will happen or the direction they’ll work in from this point on, I’ve no idea, but everything they’ve done to get to this stage has been willful in its creative growth, and one doesn’t expect that to stop just because they’ve so thoroughly nailed it this time around. But make no mistake, they have nailed it.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Is it a full tour? Nope. Week of UK dates? Nope. One might in Manchester and one night in London? Yuppers. Still, it’s The Heads, so when they announce a weekender like the one below, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, two nights only, it’s news as far as I’m concerned. Anytime The Heads do just about anything, it’s good for the universe in general, so while I won’t get to see them, I’m still glad they’re getting out. They’re touring in support of the 2CD/3LP compilation RKT! on their own Rooster Rock imprint and are promising more reissues to come, which is fine by me. I wouldn’t mind a new album either, but sometimes people have real lives and that’s a thing that happens instead of recording sessions. For anyone who hasn’t had the pleasure, The Heads are easily among the best live psychedelic acts I’ve ever seen, and should you happen to be in their path for either of these shows, consider yourself lucky.
Dates follow from the PR wire:
THE HEADS announce two new UK shows!!
Bristol’s Heads set up a brace of UK shows at the end of the year… following on from well received appearances at this years Roadburn, Bristol Psych Fest and others already this year, its time to do a couple of club shows, a first time at the 100 Club and a welcome return to Manchester.
This year also saw the release of the 3LP/2CD set RKT!, which compiled the band’s late 90’s / early 2000 releases for the then fledgling label Rocket Recordings, many of which now fetch ridiculous amounts on various record trading sites. The Heads are a mainstay of outsider psychedelic rock, they have been together since the early 90s, and constantly buck trends by ploughing their own path.. Britpop tried to thwart them, Stoner rock tried to adopt them.. they just kept turning up their amps and digging deep into a library of obscure kraut rock and early 70’s heavy rock to inspire their riffs and playing.
The four members, Paul Allen, Wayne Maskell, H O Morgan, Simon Price continue playing as the Heads alongside their day jobs, and other band commitments (Anthroprophh, Loop, Kandodo, Karen, etc ). They have taken back control of all of their catalogue and have been working to remaster it all and reissue it on their own label Rooster. In their 25th year together with this line up, it seems the Heads will keep rolling……
