Posted in Whathaveyou on November 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Tomorrow marks the release of the first single by Oxford, UK-based five-piece Bad Blood Recovery, whose sound takes bluesy groove and melds it together with a thorough heavy rock vibe. Releasing through Future Noise Recordings, the band has already unveiled the track “Silver Shroud” in a recently-posted video that you can see below, and the whole affair is designed as a teaser to set the stage for a debut EP to be issued sometime next year. I don’t know what their show plans are or what the rest of their material might sound like — heavy blues leaves a lot of room between the words “heavy” and “blues” for bands to go a-wanderin’ — but “Silver Shroud” has a cool feel and a central riff that’s already stuck in my head, so yeah, it made sense to me to share it. I’ll hope to have more to come on these guys as we get toward the EP release in 2019.
Until then, the PR wire takes you home:
Bad Blood Recovery “Silver Shroud” Single
Oxford based Bad Blood Recovery will release their debut single, Silver Shroud, on November 30th via Future Noise Recordings, from their forthcoming EP, to be released in 2019.
Bad Blood Recovery were born from a chance conversation between Sean and Jimmy. Their previous bands had disbanded, and discussing plans, influences and the concept of heavy raw blues was inspirational and exciting. Muddy Waters’ Electric Mud and the Howlin’ Wolf album were ground zero for the initial creation.
With the addition of Sean’s former bandmates Alex and Ed, the vision started to take shape. Jimmy’s former cohort Dave on bass completed the solid line up. Fusing malevolent guitars and a powerful rhythm section Bad Blood Recovery was unleashed.
Lyrical inspiration taken from illness and a long battle with cancer, tales of modern living, love, lust and redemption. Classical imagery woven throughout the music all add up to heavy, raw, honest music from the soul. Our families are our driving force; this music is a tribute to them and our life experiences.
Bad Blood Recovery is: Sean – Vocals/Svengali Jimmy – Lead Guitar/Noise Dave – Bass Alex – Drums/Percussion Ed – Rhythm Guitar/Noise
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
A monstrous announcement from Desertfest London 2019 finds the festival, as it has over the last several years, with a far reach in geography and style alike. Acts like Great Electric Quest, High Reeper, Salem’s Bend, The Devil and the Almighty Blues, High Fighter, and Messa represent a flood of up and coming underground heavy from the US and Europe — I’d count hometown heroes Elephant Tree and Greece’s Naxatras at the forefront of that surge — while Om, Wovenhand, Mondo Generator, Stoned Jesus, Sabbath Assembly, Jaye Jayle, HHY and the Macumbas and Wiegedood are of course no minor shakes in terms of draw or aesthetic swath.
Desertfest‘s first announcement, which came through in September with Earthless, All Them Witches, Kadavar and Colour Haze, among others, was enticing enough. This one does nothing but make one want to book travel and lodging.
The PR wire has the details:
Drone doom pioneers OM confirmed as first headliner + 15 more acts added to the DESERTFEST LONDON 2019 lineup!
After warming you up with our first announcement in September, it’s time to break out the big guns. Today we’re adding 16 killer bands to Desertfest, including the lineup for 2019’s Old Empire stage, which, after years of bringing some of the heaviest sounds all weekend, will this year takeover as our Friday main stage. We couldn’t be happier with their first pick, Desertfest 2019’s opening headliners, the incomparable, spiritual force of stoner drone that is Om.
Formed in 2003 as one great band drifted off for a decade, Om – then consisting of the two-part assault of Sleep’s Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius – brought with them an extension of the hypnotic heavy first hinted at on Sleep’s Jerusalem/Dopesmoker. Achieving more with just vocals, bass and drums than most can dream of with a packed out stage, the opening one-two punch of Variations on a Theme and Conference of the Birds serves as a revelation to many; stripped-back power that cleans the cobwebs from your brain with reverberating blasts of droned-down stoner-doom.
By 2007’s Pilgrimage – the last full-length to feature Hakius on drums – Om had begun to lean more and more heavily into spiritual themes and Eastern tones, bringing about a new definition of what exactly heavy is; because let’s be clear, Om are heaviness incarnate, just not in the traditional sense. Through God is Good and their latest LP, Advaitic Songs – their first as a trio and surely one of the finest put to record this decade – Om continued down a path of hazed out perfection. It’s a testament to the importance of the band that, even as Sleep woke up, Om persist, ready to send you into a trance at the pluck of a bass. Be sure to catch Om when they headline the Old Empire stage – and Desertfest at large – on Friday 3rd May.
Joining them on the Old Empire stage, and continuing Old Empire’s tradition of showcasing heaviness from unexpected places, are Wovenhand. Labelled many things over the near two decades they’ve been kicking around, from alternative country, to neofolk, to Southern-gothic, Wovenhand are simply low and slow, oozing with an atmosphere of gloom. Music torn from the heart and soul of David Eugene Edwards (ex-16 Horsepower), Wovenhand are a deeply personal experience that you won’t want to miss.
But that’s not all for the Old Empire stage, who offer up three more treats for Desertfest 2019; firstly, a slice of black metal in the shape of Wiegedood, whose Die doden hebben het goed trilogy serves as a granite slab of brutality. Featuring members of post-black metal heroes Oathbreaker, as well as being part of the illustrious Church of Ra collective – a handful of acts tethered by a DIY ethic – Wiegedood will bring heaviness as we traditionally know it to the stage.
The jazz-inspired, ominous soundscapes of HHY & the Macumbas bring an exploration of the apocalypse to proceedings. Showcasing why they’re one of the most inimitable acts in the Portuguese, or perhaps even European underground scene, HHY are ordered chaos, wielding a twin attack of percussion and horns, tied together with a thin spine of drone.
Rounding off this year’s Old Empire stage come the desolate, minimalist sonic mantras of Louisville’s Jaye Jayle. Revelling in the simplicity of a “Less is more” philosophy, Jaye Jayle build tension with their barely crawling musical progressions and stitch it all together with the gruff, semi-spoken vocals of Evan Patterson.
Yet again, the Old Empire stage looks set to be one of the most exciting places to be over the whole of the Desertfest weekend, bringing both the darkness and the light; but that’s not all to expect over the May Bank Holiday weekend in Camden.
Elsewhere over the weekend, we’re excited to be welcoming Ukraine’s Stoned Jesus to Desertfest London. The stoner blues trio, who released their 4th full-length Pilgrims in September, possess a tone all of their own. Offering up one of the scene’s most beloved albums in 2012’s Seven Thunders Roar, Stoned Jesus remain a treat to catch live; as do punk infused stoner rockers Mondo Generator. Headed up by legend of the underground, Nick Oliveri, Mondo Generator are, like any of Oliveri’s myriad projects, an undeniably raucous experience live.
Next up, a double bill of some of Europe’s finest heavy psych; Part of the modern Greek wave of stoner and psych, without ever disappearing into the crowd, Naxatras are unashamed worshippers of the 70s riff. That said, they bring plenty of their own flavour to the mix. Whilst Oslo’s The Devil and the Almighty Blues live up to their name, bringing a devilishly groovy stomp and infusing it with their almost nonchalant, relaxed tones, fast becoming one of the most exciting bands in all of heavy psych.
There’s doom aplenty as ever at Desertfest, with all angles covered; the occult is worshipped with Sabbath Assembly and Messa’s take on the science of slow, whilst Elephant Tree will continue to show why they’re one of the UK’s finest acts with their uncompromising push outwards to the outer limits of doom.
A double dose of 70’s worship comes in the form of the strutting duo of Great Electric Quest and Salem’s Bend, with today’s announcement rounded off by two chances to get high; High Fighter are set to surround us with a densely packed smog of doom and High Reeper filtering the riffs of classic heavy metal through the So-Cal skater scene.
With dozens more bands still to be announced, including our Saturday and Sunday headliners, Desertfest 2019 is shaping up to be another hit of the best stoner, doom, sludge and psych on the planet. Don’t miss the annual celebration of the underground in Camden next May Bank Holiday weekend. Book your tickets today.
Posted in audiObelisk on November 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Swedish grit-worshipers Wolves in Haze release their new single, All or Nothing, on Dec. 13. Comprised of two tracks, the 10-minute offering taps into a vibe that directly calls out the Sunlight Studio sound of nearly 30 years ago, as bands like Entombed, Grave and Dismember brought a new and raw shape to death metal with a strong influence from rock and roll as an undercurrent. Wolves in Haze tip that balance the other way, and while the guitar tones of Manne Olander and Olle Hansson carry some no shortage of severity in their distortion, the Gothenburg four-piece completed by bassist Vicke Crusner and drummer Kalle Lilja (also of Långfinger) are still definitively working from a heavy rock foundation. “All or Nothing” and “Leave Your Head” follow behind the band’s 2016 self-titled debut full-length — which they recorded and mixed themselves and Esben Willems of Monolord mastered — and find the band with a clearheaded approach to what they want their sound to do, starting with the compressed riff that begins “All or Nothing” and unfolding through the hook and darker exploration of “Leave Your Head.”
The first song is the shorter of the two at 4:09, and its presentation bears the hallmark crispness of sound that added such a lurking cavernousness to the classic Sunlight records, and the jabbing impact of that riff in “All or Nothing” seems to draw a direct line to Entombed‘s To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth from 1997, as that band began to move out of the death metal style and into their “rock period” before ultimately circling back. Wolves in Haze to well with the marked influence, peppering the forward intensity with dual vocals from Olander and Hansson and a headbang-ready pounding chorus leading to a chugging verse before a post-midsection break of creeper bass leads to a minor-key lead line, the capstone solo and chug that seems to round out before a quick return to the central riff. A sample begins “Leave Your Head,” which thrashes harder initially but still has the same root in filthy low end despite a cleaner vocal in its aforementioned hook. Piano accompanies the break around the halfway point to add an eerie vibe and as they did with the prior track, they pick back up into an instrumental finish, this time with a bookending sample at the close.
For those who, like me, didn’t catch the first album when it was released, All or Nothing makes a quick opportunity to sample Wolves in Haze‘s wares while also showcasing the progression they’ve undertaken since that debut came out. They are working their way into a niche that, frankly, is right there waiting for them, and finding a stylistic blend that not only speaks to some of the most essential extreme records Sweden has ever produced, but still allows the band room to grow into their own take on it as well. It’s a fucking cool single. That’s what it comes down to. And Wolves in Haze bend that Sunlight sound to their will with a natural-sounding ease that only makes me look forward all the more to what they do next.
Enjoy “All or Nothing” followed by some words from the band below:
Wolves in Haze, “All or Nothing” official track premiere
Wolves in Haze on “All or Nothing”:
“All or Nothing” draws inspiration from actual events involving a serial killer in a small southern suburb of Gothenburg, Sweden. As there were many restless nights for the inhabitants of the area, these malicious acts dated to the summer of 2018 when Wolves in Haze started working with new material.
Wolves in Haze is: Manne Olander – Voice, Guitar, Bass Olle Hansson – Guitar, Bass, Voice Victor Crusner – Bass, Grand Piano, Organs Kalle Lilja – Drums, Moog, Organs, Bass, Guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Next May, Norwegian festival Høstsabbat will present a special Om date in Oslo at Kulturkirken Jakob. The selling point is easy: “Om in a church.” The venue, which will also play host to the 2019 incarnation of the fest later in the year — they’ve already started to announce bands, including Ufomammut as a headliner — is indeed a converted church, with high ceilings, a massive pipe organ in back, and pews along the walls. One recalls Om playing in New York in front of a rebuilt pyramid and imagines the effect of seeing them on an altar to be likewise transcendent.
In 2019, those of a critic-ly persuasion will begin to trot out their lists of the best albums of the decade. I may or may not do likewise, but I’ll say this: any list you see of the best records of the ’10s that doesn’t include Om‘s 2012 outing, Advaitic Songs (review here), is crap. I mean it. What’s still the latest full-length from the duo-turned-trio remains as powerful as it was the day it was released, and in realizing the vision to which bassist/vocalist Al Cisneros had been driving toward since the band’s debut with 2005’s Variations on a Theme, he, drummer Emil Amos and multi-instrumentalist Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe conjured a landmark that’s not only already proved influential, but more importantly has stood as a testament to the conversation between spirit and sound that’s always seemed to be at root in their work.
Word has flittered here and there about a new album recorded in pieces over however long. Maybe 2019 will be the year, or maybe not. I don’t know. Either way, whether you’ve seen Om before or you haven’t, their live manifestations are unlike anything else.
Here’s the show info:
OM will play Kulturkirken Jakob!
It’s hard to describe the feeling when something you want so badly actual is about to happen. To have OM come play Kulturkirken JAKOB has been our biggest dream since we established contact with this fantastic venue. Hardly any band on earth can be more fitting to the otherworldly environment presented in the church.
Initially rising from the ashes of cvlt band Sleep, bassist Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Haikus, soon showed the world they had something extraordinary on display. OM was a force to be reckoned with already after their first release, Variations on a Theme in 2005. This two-piece held the flag high through Conference of the Birds (2006) and Pilgrimage (2007), before a change of lineup occurred and Emil Amos from Grails handled the drums on the 2009 masterpiece God is Good.
Their latest effort, Advaitic Songs (2012), found OM leaning even more towards mantra-doom, eastern scales and melodies, adding a Rob Lowe as a third member on synthesizer, guitar, percussion and vocals. Rumours has it a new album is soon to be unleashed. Høstsabbat is extremely proud to be able to present these living legends, for the first time in Oslo for over a decade, bringing their unique take on alternative and heavy music, downtown Oslo in our beloved Church JAKOB. Traveler now reach the stream. The astral flight adapter.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I admit, when I started this post and reached out to Heavy Temple, my basic going idea was, ‘I haven’t written about Heavy Temple in a while and Heavy Temple kick ass.’ That’s what I was going on. For those who don’t keep up on their well-maintained social media presence, they’ve been steadily destroying ears and the brains between them over the course of this year at happenings like Muddy Roots, Descendants of Crom, Days of Darkness, Shadow Woods, RPM Fest — as well as Ode to Doom in Manhattan this past weekend — and dates alongside the formidable likes of Ecstatic Vision, Mothership, Witch Mountain and Corrosion of Conformity. They’ve spent most of this year playing out between touring and wisely-chosen fests, and their following has only grown more cult-like and loyal as a result.
Right on. The news that came back when I hit up one High Priestess Nighthawk was better than I could’ve hoped in that Heavy Temple will be recording this winter for a new full-length to follow-up on 2016’s righteous Chassit (review here) debut LP. It’ll be their first record with Thunderhorse on guitar as they bring their hard fuzz stylizations to new degrees of intensity. You can see that even in the reinterpreted older material played live in the clip below, filmed at Underground Arts in their native Philadelphia on a bill they shared with YOB and Bell Witch. Because fucking a.
Which brings me back to my original point: Heavy Temple kick ass. Their new record? It’ll probably kick ass too.
Here’s a quick update from the band about it:
Heavy Temple – New Album Recording & Gigs
We’ll be heading to the basement this winter to record our new album (more details to come). Will Spectre’s Red Water Recording captures some of Philly’s finest (Outer Heaven, Witching, Narcos Family Band, Moros, Black Urn) and we’re excited to get started. We have five songs planned for this record, including some interludes that we’ll be writing throughout the sessions.
This album is true to the Heavy Temple sound, but noticeably different in that this will be the third recorded line up. We’re really hitting our stride with this one and even though we’ve been playing some of the new material live, we look forward to being able to get it out to the folks that haven’t been able to make it to a show.
We have one more appearance this year, at December Doomsday with Weedeater and Unearthly Trance in Baltimore. We have two shows in April at the Philly Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, and back in Baltimore for Haze Mage’s annual 4/20 jammer, aptly named Grim Reefer fest, with Ruby the Hatchet. Additionally we’d love to get further west next year, as well as across the pond! Keep your eyes peeled and your ears to the ground. We’re comin’ to getchoo. XO
Heavy Temple is: High Priestess Nighthawk (low end and vocal power) Siren Tempest (rhythm) Thunderhorse (6 string axe slinger)
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
If you find yourself wondering what’s going on with the new video from Los Angeles-based goth-tinged doom rockers The Sixth Chamber, that’s okay. Between the desert and the bellydancing and the demon sultan, there are a fair amount of references to various mythological concepts, and bellies, and yeah, it’s all pretty wild. Not the least counterintuitive is the fact that the song is called “Entrance to the Cold Waste” and the clip was filmed in Death Valley on what looks like a stinking-hot kind of afternoon. Whatever else you listen to today, it’s not gonna sound like this.
Founded by guitarist/vocalist Rahne Pistor around the turn of the century, The Sixth Chamber‘s new single features members of Crypt Sermon and Salem’s Bend, and if pulling players from across the country (Crypt Sermon being based in Philadelphia) seems out there, that’s just the start of it. Their first show was in 2002 opening for Chuck Dukowski. They played Buddy Miles‘ funeral, and their last video had Ron Jeremy in it. So, even before you click play on the YouTube embed below, you need to understand that “out there” is a big part of what The Sixth Chamber do. And if you hear a hint of New York goth metal â la Type O Negative in “Entrance to the Cold Waste,” you’re probably not far off. Pistor spent time in the late ’90s in New York doing Misfits tunes alongside Bobby Steele in The Undead, so there’s about no way he would’ve escaped that band’s sphere of influence.
But “Entrance to the Cold Waste” isn’t at all so easy to pin down as just that. Rather, its theatricality comes coupled with an underlying course of classically doomed grooving and fuzzed-out tones. It’s a rare balance of stylistic elements, and the visuals to which they’re set — from the swordfight to the actual eating of a heart — tell a story that’s as entrancing as it is obscure. I’m not sure you’ll want to look away, but even if you did, you probably wouldn’t be able to do so.
“Entrace to the Cold Waste” is available as a single now, and the video was directed by Constantin Werner. It’s my pleasure to host the premiere below.
Please enjoy:
The Sixth Chamber, “Entrance to the Cold Waste” official video premiere
An entheogenic seeker and sorcerer (Rahne Pistor) stalks an irresistible will-o’-the-wisp sorceress (Mahafsoun) through the vast tortured waste far beyond the waking world toward the marvelous sunset city. En route of his dream quest he encounters the creeper from the great beyond and other grim perils. What unspeakable horrors lie at the prehistoric stone monastery in the dominion of the crude and mischievous demon sultan Azathoth (Stanton Lavey), that evil devil? Who is left to trust? Do the seeker’s true enemies lie within? Is reaching the wondrous Kadath in all its glory worth the wholesale scourging of his soul?
Directed by Constantin Werner.
STARRING: Rahne Pistor Mahafsoun Stanton Lavey Brian Bodt
Other notable facts about the production: *It features a cameo by the grandson of Satanic Bible author and Church of Satan Founder Anton Lavey, who plays a crude heathen elder god of a guttural devil sect too awful to mention. *It was shot in the scorching heat and otherworldly wastelands of Death Valley, CA this past summer *The video stars the illustrious gothic metal belly dancer Mahafsoun, a well-known YouTube personality and early adopter of this dance sub-genre. *The song includes lead guitarist Steve Jansson of Crypt Sermon and bassist Bobby Parker of Salem’s Bend
SONG CREDITS: Rahne Pistor – Vocals, Guitar Steve Jansson – Guitar Bobby Parker – Bass Jameson Cluchey – Drums Adam Thompson – Keyboards
Posted in Reviews on November 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
You enter a fog-covered forest in Maplewood, New Jersey. You see something at your feet. Do you pick it up? You found a broadsword. Do you continue forward? You come to a clearing. An object is in the trees ahead. Do you cast a spell of seeing? Your spell reveals stairs to a basement. You walk down the stairs and hear scuzzball riffing and righteous grooves from a four-piece making their self-titled debut. You’ve encountered a Green Dragon. They’re selling cassette tapes. What do you do?
Released in an edition of 50 — five-zero — copies, the first long-player from Green Dragon arrives after six years of the band exploring their sound. Led by guitarist/vocalist Zack Kurland (Sweet Diesel) and featuring fellow founders Jennifer Klein on bass and Nathan Wilson on drums, the band started out in ultra-rough fashion culling together one-off tracks before putting out a split with Purple Knights (review here) and a proper demo (review here) in 2013. That demo, also self-titled, was followed by another self-titled 7″ (discussed here) in 2016, and each intermittent short release seemed to bring their approach to a new level of cohesion. Much the same applies to the self-titled full-length, which runs a quick 27 minutes through six songs, and finds the trio expanded to a four-piece with the addition of guitarist Ryan Lipynsky, known for his work in Unearthly Trance, The Howling Wind, Serpentine Path, among a host of others.
Notable as well when it comes to the band’s sound is the apparent inclusion of organ alongside the fuzzy blowout of Kurland and Lipynsky‘s guitars, which makes an impression particularly on the last two tracks, “Dark Rider” and “Dead Space,” both of which find room in their sub-five-minute runtimes to affect a jammy feel coinciding with strong hooks and an atmosphere of garage — or basement — doom and psych. That vibe starts early though, as opener “Eternal Pyre” unfurls an early Electric Wizard grit and raw plod, Kurland‘s vocals distorted in kind with the guitars and Klein‘s bass. But there again, the flourish of organ helps add a sense of melody to the proceedings, unless that’s a guitar effect; I’ve been fooled a couple times lately. It’s not as prevalent as it will be later, but during the bridges between verses, it punctuates the nod while lending all the more of a classically doomed sentiment and acting as a tie to the psychedelia that pervades to a greater degree elsewhere on the album.
The tape — presented in a well-earned green plastic — breaks down evenly with three songs per side, and as “Eternal Pyre” gives way to “Full Moon” and “Poison Finger” on side one, the pretense-free spirit of the songs finds Green Dragon hitting into an atmosphere that’s grim but still ultimately uptempo. A Sabbathian shuffle in the midsection of “Full Moon” leads to a Paranoid-esque slowdown as the drums thud out transitions between riff cycles and the keys seem to float overtop in the process of doing so. A suitably mournful lead sears for just a moment before the last lines come and go quickly and the semi-psych churn finishes out to let Klein‘s bass introduce “Poison Finger” as feedback swells behind. They roll their way into the first verse with a swing that calls to mind Uncle Acid‘s Mind Control as the vocals bury themselves (alive) in the mix to put the riff forward along with the bass, drums and keys.
Again, a well-placed guitar solo arrives in the second half of the song, but the feel is jammier and the sense of balance Green Dragon strike between instrumental stretch and the fact that only one of the five songs on Green Dragon tops five minutes in length — fair enough that it would be side-two opener “IV,” at 5:25 — and that those stretches still reside within mostly straightforward structures isn’t to be understated. That is, they’re able to flesh out an idea or follow a sonic path in a way that satisfies the tenets of doomly repetition and psych jamming without sounding overly self-indulgent. That can be a difficult line to walk, and even for a debut that’s been a while in the making, is no small accomplishment. Call it hard psych, psych doom, garage doom, whatever. Any name you want to give it, Green Dragon‘s Green Dragon sees the band find their niche between styles and distinguish themselves through songwriting and the execution of a nuanced overarching aesthetic.
Rumbling synth launches side two, with a stark riff beginning “IV” with a bit more patience than the band has heretofore shown (or necessarily needed to show), and a mid-tempo roller groove emerges as they press forward into the instrumental cut, tapping Hendrix-via-Alice–Cooper swagger in a progression that picks up shortly before three minutes in and riding that central rhythm to the song’s finish, that line of synth drone present all the while as guitars, bass and keys intertwine over the steady foundation of the drums. Of course that same drone is the last piece to go, and “Dark Rider” starts at a creep with its first verse en route to the chorus with the song’s title-line, a standout for the record as a whole that seems to be the basis of the song and emphasizes the subtle shifts in approach Green Dragon have been making all the while.
Bass announces the run that caps “Dark Rider” and “Dead Space” finishes by essentially reversing the modus, with a speedier movement up front and a roll-credits slower tempo in the back half. One more opportunity for Green Dragon to make the point they’ve been making all along, which is in how formidable the depth of their approach has come to be over the course of the last six years. At 27 minutes, Green Dragon might just as well be considered an EP in some contexts, but in light of what they play, the seeming sans-frills nature of their craft — in fact, frills abound, they’re just not overblown — it only speaks further to the garage elements of their style that they’d keep it brief. It’s been more than half a decade in the making, but it’s hard to listen to the tape and say Green Dragon have in any way wasted their time. The material they present is tight and memorable while capturing a space in which they can continue to grow.
So what do you do in that basement? You get a tape. Obviously. Then when you go back outside a space-wizard turns you into a platypus. So it goes.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Don’t look now, but here’s another fucking awesome festival to boggle your mind and melt your ears. Grim Reefer Fest 2019 will be held at The Ottobar in Baltimore and feature the likes of Philly heavy psych forerunners Ruby the Hatchet as well as return performances from Heavy Temple and fest-organizers Haze Mage as the event solidifies under the Grim Reefer banner after taking shape earlier this year as Stoned to Death. By any other name, it’s a kickass lineup for the all-dayer-style happening, with Horseburner, Mountainwolf, Book of Wyrms, Yatra and Tombtoker filling out the Chesapeake Watershed-minded bill, highlighting a range of styles from the region and some up and coming as well as more established acts. If you didn’t already have plans for that Saturday, well, you do now.
For a quick side-note: I’ve got a post in the works with an update from Heavy Temple for later this week. Maybe tomorrow, maybe Thursday, depending on how it all comes together. Keep an eye out either way. It’s good news.
Here’s the Grim Reefer announcement, culled from the social medias:
Grim Reefer Fest 420 / 2019
Saturday, April 20th, 2019 the Ottobar shall be engulfed by a heavy cloud of groove, gloom, and DOOM. Emerging from the fog a smokey specter materializes, the Grim Reefer. His bloodshot gaze beckoning you forth to test your mettle against a tidal wave of earth-shattering, skull shaking, sonic fuzz that flattens the land. Come forth oh warriors of metal, see if you can traverse the Grim Reefers miasma of crushing metal mayhem and celebrate the holy day of smoke.
Featuring
Ruby the Hatchet (PA) Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Psych-doom Heavy Temple (PA) – Groovy, moody, fuzzy doom Haze Mage (MD) – Sword and sorcery stoner metal Horseburner (WVA) – Pure, pounding stoner rock n’ roll Mountainwolf (MD) – Hard Rock Psychedelia Book of Wyrms (VA) – Appalachian stoner rock YATRA (MD) – Heavy, mountainous riffage Tombtoker (MD) – Risen, undead doom/metal
