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Kelly Carmichael Premieres “Desires Tragedy” from Heavy Heart; Album out Sept. 7

Kelly-Carmichael-Photo-by-Shannon-Holliday

The classic sensibility practically bleeds from the speakers of Kelly Carmichael‘s new solo album, Heavy Heart. Set to release this week (Sept. 7) via Dogstreet Records, the eight-track/47-minute third offering from the Internal Void guitarist under his own name is both a return to form and a shift into something new. Also old. Stay with me. Carmichael‘s first two full-lengths, 2005’s Old Stock and 2008’s Queen Fareena, saw him depart from the weighted riffing of his work with Internal Void — whose last album, Matricide, was issued in 2004 — for acoustic roots blues, digging back to the origin points of rock and roll in the uptempo Delta and Chicago-style vibes, writing his own material and playing classics from the likes of Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt and others.

There were aspects of that exploration that felt academic in that Carmichael seemed to be teaching his audience from his own vast knowledge of the blues as well as his soulful execution thereof, but there was no denying the genuine spiritual place he was coming from. Heavy Heart shares that feel, but finds Carmichael teamed with drummer Jesse Shultzaberger and once again taking on heavier riffs and more directly rocking — if occasionally violin-inclusive, as on the piano-based “Soupers” — fare. But there’s still a tie to the idea of roots music, because Heavy Heart isn’t just Maryland doom-style rolling groove or Internal Void by any other name.

Its primary allegiance is to the beginnings of heavy rock in the early 1970s, not simply Black Sabbath but the heavy progressive movement that happened concurrently, and whether it’s the patient King Crimson-esque string sounds and tonal crunch of opener “Shadows Will” or the memorable chug of “Desires Tragedy,” which follows, or the later, almost countrified approach of “Starless Divine,” Carmichael ties his work together with melody and fluid pacing, as well as an undercurrent of songwriting that speaks further to his awareness of classic forms.

Kelly Carmichael Heavy HeartSo it’s a return to form because it’s heavy, it’s something new because it’s a different take on heavy, and it’s something old because that take on heavy is based in large part on the formative period of the style. Heavy Heart is somewhat expectedly led by Carmichael‘s guitar, but his arrangements of piano and violin and bringing aboard Shultzaberger on drums present as genuine a take on mellow ’70s heavy as I’ve heard from the Chesapeake watershed — Carmichael came up in Frederick, MD, but currently resides in West Virginia — since Against Nature‘s subtle progressivisms, and yes, that’s a compliment.

Closing with its title-track, Heavy Heart soothes in its overarching impression, but still has plenty of outwardly rocking moments, as on said closer and a meaty cut like “The Palmist” or “Vine of the Soul,” which pairs spacious noodling with a thicker central riff, and “Desires Tragedy,” which boasts a particularly memorable hook to coincide with its density of tone and Carmichael‘s effects-laden vocals, adding atmosphere to the proceedings throughout. With songs ranging largely between five and six minutes long, Carmichael takes his time fleshing out ideas and bringing parts to life, but there’s variety of mood carrying through that feeds into the overarching flow of one track into the next across the record as a whole, so while the production is organic, it’s not necessarily flat, making it all the more suited to the ’70s stylization of the songwriting.

If this is a sonic place Carmichael is carving out for himself for a longer term than just this album, he seems well comfortable in it already, and there’s no reason that what Heavy Heart begins couldn’t move forward however far Carmichael wants to take it. On the other hand, if it’s a one-off, then it’s still a satisfying excursion into intricately-constructed craft and sound, and should have no trouble appealing not only to the Maryland doom scene from which Carmichael emerged with Internal Void, but to anyone seeking out a take on first-wave heavy not at all beholden to the strict tenets of modern retroism.

Ultimately, Heavy Heart brims with both.

I’m thrilled today to host the premiere of “Desires Tragedy,” which you can hear below followed by more info about the record from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Guitarist Kelly Carmichael ex-Internal Void, ex-Pentagram premieres a track off his new album Heavy Heart due for release on September 7th. The album features Carmichael on guitar, vocals, bass, and piano, and drummer Jesse Shultzaberger The Woodshedders, Ginada Piñata, and ex-Deep Swell.

Heavy Heart embodies 70’s inspired hard-rock/doom with deep bluesy overtones, interwoven with piano and violin accompaniments. Aside from his solo roots-blues releases, this is his first return to volume induced heavy rock.

Internal Void released their debut album Standing on the Sun in 1992 on the German record label HellHound Records. Their second offering Unearthed, was released on Southern Lord Recordings in 2000, and Matricide in 2004 on Dogstreet Records. In 2003-2005 Carmichael recorded with Pentagram on the album Show ‘em How for the Italian label Black Widow Records.

Shifting gears in 2005-2009 Kelly released two albums of pre-war era roots-blues. Both Old Stock and Queen Fareena featured tunes of Robert Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Son House and Blind Blake.

Kelly Carmichael on Thee Facebooks

Kelly Carmichael website

Dogstreet Records website

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3 Responses to “Kelly Carmichael Premieres “Desires Tragedy” from Heavy Heart; Album out Sept. 7”

  1. Sri Monke says:

    Been listening to this record heavy the last few days. SUCH A GOOD DISC!

  2. AR Comulada says:

    A truly stellar offering from a legend in the Doom scene.

  3. Greg martinez says:

    Loved it! Classic heavy Kelly! As soon as the wife started playin it I knew it was Kelly. I very enthusiasticly said…did Void make a new album?!

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