Mastodon, Leviathan (2004)

Later this summer will mark 15 years since the release of Mastodon‘s second album, Leviathan. No doubt there will be something down to celebrate the anniversary, either by the band itself or by the label, Relapse Records, who put it out, and one could hardly argue. What was one of the best heavy albums of the aughts remains infectious in its energy right from the outset of “Blood and Thunder,” the tense riff paying off in a guest vocal appearance from Clutch‘s Neil Fallon as the Atlanta four-piece of Troy Sanders (bass, vocals), Brent Hinds (guitar, vocals), Bill Kelliher (guitar) and Brann Dailor (drums) crafted a tempest befitting the song and album’s seafaring, Moby Dick-derived theme. “White whale, holy grail,” and so on. Across 10 tracks and 46 minutes, Mastodon demonstrated a dynamic approach that not only took a leap forward from their 2002 debut, Remission, but was essentially a leap forward for heavy metal, striking out in a direction that saw no reason to compromise between impact and progressivism, driven by Dailor‘s snare-overload mania on drums to conjure an urgency that by then was lacking in the dominant creative staleness of metalcore, and that hit with a diversity of songwriting, a balance of melody and burl, and a winding course that every bit sounded like the future. Leviathan‘s impact was immediate and a decade and a half later, it is ongoing.

I got married in a Leviathan t-shirt. Relapse still sells it — it’s the one with the whale from the incredible Paul A. Romano cover art on front — and it felt classy enough to go with a tuxedo. Like Metallica before them and Conan after, Mastodon had their time as a band who, when you saw someone else wearing their shirt, it said something about them. Around the time of Leviathan, it was safe to assume that person knew what was up. Radio had largely abandoned metal unless you had a satellite account. Social media existed if you were willing to sit in front of a computer to get it — and plenty people were — and file-sharing had largely gone underground from the Napster fallout. Print media existed but was unmistakably in decline, and the sphere of digital outlets was nowhere near as broad as it was today. Still everyone, seemed to agree on this record. Granted, Mastodon were a big enough band to divide opinion — people either actively liked or actively disliked them — but consensus generally was Mastodon had created something special in the furies of “Ísland,” “Iron Tusk” and “I am Ahab,” the surprising Southern rock departure in “Megalodon,” the sprawling crescendo of the 13-minute “Hearts Alive” and the more melodic and catchy “Naked Burn” and the righteous preach of the second guest vocal spot, this one from Neurosis‘ Scott Kelly — who’d join Mastodon in the studio and tour with them on more than one occasion — and it was their ability to control it that truly made their sound so powerful. Yeah, they were absolutely putting on a clinic in terms of technicality, but whether it was the throaty moans of “I am Ahab” or the acoustic comedown in closer “Joseph Merrick,” there was nothing Mastodon did that loosened their grasp on the material. I once heard Tom Araya or Kerry King from Slayer — can’t remember which — describe Dave Lombardo‘s drumming by saying that it sounds like the whole song is going to crash and come flying apart at all times, but it never does. With Mastodon during the Leviathan era, that was the whole band. They struck at the perfect generational moment to spearhead a new wave of progressive metal, and the impact of their work in doing that is continuing to flesh out. At this point, they’re a band other bands grew up listening to.

Was Leviathan the Millennial Master of Puppets? I don’t know, but it was definitely the Leviathan, and that seems like enough.

There have been continual vinyl pressings done since the release, and my only issue with that would be it would preclude listening at such a volume as to vibrate the stylus over the platter, but for me, Leviathan has always worked best in linear form. A 46-minute CD, front to back. I won’t discount the appeal of a side flip as a moment to catch one’s breath — arguably necessary after “Aqua Dementia” — but the way the songs tie together while still providing standout moments, and the breadth of the album as a whole, it just seems to function as one larger piece. Even the way “Ísland” ends and “Iron Tusk” picks up on the next beat, or the way “Blood and Thunder” seems to cut with just the slightest stutter into “I am Ahab.” With the recording of Matt Bayles, Mastodon were able to capture a blend of nuance and pummel that, no matter how many others would try to pick up on what they were doing, remains largely unmatched by whatever measurement you care to use.

Before Blood Mountain surfaced in 2006, Mastodon departed Relapse for Warner Bros. subsidiary Reprise Records. I remember their statement about the signing was almost apologetic. They’d go on to do what many consider their greatest work in 2008’s Crack the Skye, but to be honest, by then they’d pretty much lost me. I’ve still never really sat with that record or anything they’ve done since, though I’ve seen them live on several occasions between then and now. The Hunter in 2011 and Once More ‘Round the Sun in 2014 garnered mixed reviews, but 2017’s Emperor of Sand seemed to do well for them, which is fine. They always have a good showing in the year-end polls here. Once Blood Mountain came out, the balance of impact and intensity against melody and progginess shifted, and once that happens on such a scale, there’s no real going back. I’m sure I’ve missed out, but somehow I don’t think Mastodon are exactly hurting without my ultra-fandom. I continue to appreciate Leviathan and Remission, and even the earlier Lifesblood EP and split with American Heritage — plus that time they covered Thin Lizzy‘s “Emerald”; that was fun — to a lesser extent, for the landmark accomplishments they were. Are. Will continue to be. That’s probably enough.

As always, I hope you enjoy.

—

I have a cold. Fuckers. The baby gave it to me, which, yes, I take personally. No doubt he meant to do it. Malicious intent behind it and all that. He’s been letting me know via boogers all week what he thinks of my pitiful attempts at parenting. Can’t say I’d do different were I in his position. I am pretty awful at being a dad.

Next week we’re down in Jersey for a good portion of the time. Kind of a surprise jaunt south, but we’ll be there long enough for me to go see YOB, Voivod and Amenra in Brooklyn and that’ll be fun assuming I can remember to bring my camera. The show is at Warsaw, which I’m not sure I’ve ever actually been to, but has been doing shows for a long time. Keeping my fingers crossed for a photo pit so I can actually go and both take pictures and enjoy the show. We’ll see.

This weekend is a new episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio. Sunday, 7PM EDT. Listen at http://gimmeradio.com. Please. It covers some cool stuff from the Quarterly Review and other odds and ends that have been kicking my ass lately, like the new Valley of the Sun, which is easily their best work to-date.

Notes for next week? Yeah, I’ve got some. Hang on.

Okay Subject to change, of course:

MON 04/01 THE DRUIDS REVIEW; CEGVERA VIDEO PREMIERE; KANDODO VIDEO
TUE 04/02 THE DEVIL AND THE ALMIGHTY BLUES REVIEW; MORASS OF MOLASSES PREMIERE
WED 04/03 STONE MACHINE ELECTRIC VIDEO PREMIERE
THU 04/04 THE DRY MOUTHS ALBUM STREAM
FRI 04/05 YOB LIVE REVIEW

Busy busy. Probably for the best. Even with this cold, which I’m very much hoping will dissipate over the weekend and both I and the baby can leave bastard-mode go back to our non-boogery selves. We shall see.

In the meantime, slept poorly last night. I went to bed after picking The Patient Mrs. up at work, circa 5PM, but was reading a Deep Space Nine book (Ascendance, if you’re curious) and didn’t get to sleep, so came back downstairs for Pecan bedtime ritual and subsequent delicious leftovers dinner, then did my own futz ritual and went back to bed. I was asleep around 8PM maybe, or before that, and the alarm went off at 4AM to get up and come do this. Was up around 10:30 though, my head reeling and congested. Always forget about that with colds. You have to find just the right angle so the mucus drains and doesn’t drown you while you sleep. Shit is difficult.

And yet there are people who believe humans were intelligently designed, like your snot was made in the image of god. Even if you want to believe humans were “designed,” intelligence would not seem to have been a factor in the slightest. If it were, people probably wouldn’t believe in things like intelligent design.

But hey, how ’bout that Mueller report though, huh? Turns out no one’s coming to save us.

At least it’s baseball season.

I hope you have a great and safe weekend. I’m gonna go grab the baby, who’s awake, and start the day. Please check out Forum, Radio and merch at Dropout.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk shirts & hoodies

There’s been a fair amount of Magnetic Eye Records news this week, all culled from a packed newsletter the imprint sent out last Friday like they were trying to sneak it in before the weekend. Yesterday, we highlighted the successful crowdfunding of the Black Sabbath Vol. 4 Redux and The Best of Black Sabbath project, and before that, it was the signings of Caustic Casanova and Brume. Today, it’s Boston’s own Leather Lung who serve as the capoff to a the label’s additions, and they come to the roster through now-labelmates Summoner, whose Chris Johnson produced Leather Lung‘s 2016 full-length debut, Lost in Temptation (review here). They apparently already have a new record in the can and ready to go, and it’ll serve as their Magnetic Eye debut later this year, even as they also take part in The Best of Black Sabbath, covering a yet-to-be-announced track from the forebears of doom.

Not sure what I’ll do if Magnetic Eye sends out another newsletter today but you know I try to keep up as best I can.

From the band and PR wire:

Leather Lung is thrilled to announce we have joined the Magnetic Eye family! We are excited to work with such an amazing label amongst so many talented artists! Much more on the way!!

Says the label: LEATHER LUNG joins us after label and band circled each other for a good two years, thanks to the continued efforts of Summoner singer (and Deafheaven bassist) Chris Johnson to make a love connection. At last, this crushing Boston 4-piece has arrived at MERHQ with a love for 90’s sludge, outlaw country and delta blues and a record that’s built to destroy all preconceptions of what “stoner metal” is. Expect to see their already-completed new album landing early in the second half of 2019

Leather Lung is:
Mike: Vocals
Zach: Guitar/Backup Vocals
Ben: Drums
Jesse: Bass/Backup Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/leatherlungcult/
https://www.instagram.com/leather_lung/
https://leatherlungcult.bandcamp.com/

Leather Lung, Lost in Temptation (2016)

Total no-brainer, right? Fu Manchu, Live at Roadburn 2003. Bam. Preorders up. If you’re going to the fest next month, you can pick it up there if you want. Otherwise, ship it or wait till June when the band have it out on their own At the Dojo imprint. Either way, I feel like I don’t even need to say anything about this. You can stream “Squash that Fly” at the bottom of the post — and contrary to what the Bandcamp player says, it’s from 2003, not 2013 — and hear for yourself, and honestly, that’s gonna do more for you than any kind of dumbass fanboy hyperbole I can throw your way about how awesome Fu Manchu are. Get the LP. There. Done.

No really, that’s it. From the PR wire:

The big news of today is that Roadburn Records will do a one time pressing of the Fu Manchu set at Roadburn 2003 (yes that is a while ago ;-)) on blue vinyl. This album will be available first at the festival and will be shipped out by the end of April for all pre-orders.

Scott Hill from Fu Manchu comments:

“Playing Roadburn back in 2003 was a blast! It was a year before we put out our “Start The Machine” release and we played a couple of songs from it live for the first time on that tour. One of the songs that’s on this live record, “I Wanna Be,” is a different arrangement than what ended up on the final studio release. We’re stoked that the show was recorded and that people will get to hear it. Always a good time playing at Roadburn!”

The album will be a one time pressing of 500 on blue vinyl. Later this year, the band will release the set worldwide on their own At The Dojo label. The album is available to pre-order online now – but will be available first at Roadburn 2019.

Full setlist
1.Squash That Fly
2.Hell On Wheels
3.Eatin Dust
4.Laserblast!
5.I Wanna Be
6.Boogie Van
7.King Of The Road
8.Written In Stone
9.Saturn III

Line up:
Scott Hill – vocals guitar
Bob Balch – Lead guitar / backing vocals
Brad Davis – Bass – Backing vocals
Scott Reeder – Drums / Backing Vocals

Preorder: https://www.burningworldrecords.com/products/fu-manchu-live-at-roadburn-2003-lp-vinyl-blue-pre-order

https://www.facebook.com/FuManchuBand
https://www.instagram.com/fumanchuband
https://twitter.com/fumanchuband
http://www.atthedojorecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/burningworldrecords/
https://roadburn.bandcamp.com/
burningworldrecords.com

Fu Manchu, Live at Roadburn 2003

[Click play above to stream Hazy Rites by Witchfinder in its entirety. Album is out April 1 on Black Bow Records.]

Witchfinder‘s Hazy Rites isn’t so much a melting pot as it is a steaming cauldron of influences from the sphere of modern doom, sludge, and tonal onslaught. To listen to tracks like “Satan’s Haze” and “Covendoom,” two 10-minute riff-pushers stacked right at the front following opener “Ouija,” the Witchcult Today-era Electric Wizard-fandom comes through rolling and massive in the plodding riffs, vaguely cultish theme, resounding tonal murk and the vocals echoing up from it. Yet, the subsequent centerpiece “Sexual Intercourse” has a different focus on melody that calls to mind Elephant Tree before turning later into vicious screams and sludgy nod. The penultimate “Sorry” — just speculation, but I don’t think the apology is sincere — turns similarly caustic, and even “Ouija” back at the outset is working with different methods, a slow initial unfolding that soon enough gives way to Conan-style tonal dominance and melodic shouting.

All the more fitting, then, that Hazy Rites should arrive as the Clermont-Ferrand, France, trio’s first offering through Black Bow Records, owned by Conan‘s Jon Davis, whose Blackskull Services has also taken them on as a management client. Witchfinder made their self-titled debut in 2017 and were given a look last year from Kozmik Artifactz for a vinyl release, but Hazy Rites, at a willfully unmanageable seven songs and 60 minutes makes that 40-minute four-tracker seem almost like an EP, and what bassist/vocalist Clément, guitarist Stan and drummer Tom bring to bear across the mostly-lumbering beast they’ve conjured is broader than the preceding record and also more sure of itself, with “Wild Trippin'” unafraid to dig into heavy psychedelic doom in the vein of Windhand early before Stan‘s guitar turns from its utterly engrossing thickness to take flight and lead a spacious apex section ahead of the swinging finish en route to “Sorry,” which follows. All the while, Witchfinder seem to be casting the elements from which they comprise their sound as a burgeoning persona, aided by the subtle turns of influence and periodic fits of shroom doom or more vicious sludge.

Among its other strengths, Hazy Rites is a reminder to just about anyone who hears it what a difference an excellent drummer can make. It’s not about the technicality in Tom‘s playing, but even the force with which he hits the snare in the second half of “Ouija” comes through in the recording, and he proves well up to the task of holding together the album at its foggiest moments, as on “Satan’s Haze” or the turn from the speedier swing to the stomping finish of “Sexual Intercourse” where he deftly accents his crash hits with the kick drum, the ultra-slow march of “Covendoom” and “Sorry” or the malleability he shows in closer “Dans l’Instant,” holding onto the central rhythm for a moment even as the church organ that leads the way out for the last two minutes or so comes on and seems to consume the track in progress. He wouldn’t have that work to do without the context of the entire band, of course, so I’m not trying to take away from what Clément or Stan add to the record — it would be ridiculous to do so — but it’s plain to hear even as the vocals sing out over timed crashes in “Dans l’Instant” before the last roll ensues that Tom is the kind of player who brings a band to another level.

The production, handled at Satanic Audio in Poland, doesn’t hurt either, as the low end of bass and the alternatingly crushing and airy guitar become themes around which the songs function, and showcase not only a sense of what makes something heavy in terms of tone and groove, but how to use that as a foundation for exploration in songwriting. They’re not going so far out as to get lost — again, having those drums on the ground is a more than solid base to work from — but their style ends up being as much about atmosphere as about heft, and they don’t neglect either as the record plays out, whether it’s purposefully immersing the listener in “Satan’s Haze” and “Covendoom” back to back, or putting “Sorry” between “Wild Trippin'” and “Dans l’Instant” to add an element of the extreme amid Hazy Rites‘ most psychedelic fare. There’s consciousness at work here, addled though it might be.

Still, it’s the largesse that’s going to be the primary impression. The fact that Witchfinder sound huge as they roll their way through “Ouija” or “Sexual Intercourse” — the latter of which might also be the broadest-ranging cut they have here, with some touch of harmony to the vocals, an ethereal effects-wash of a solo, and then the turn before the five-minute mark to more forward-driving screamy sludge and the inevitable slowdown that ends it — is going to be the immediate standout factor. Echoing on Clément‘s voice adds to the sense of space in which the songs play out, and they dutifully fill that space with waves of distortion that seem bent only on pulling apart everything in their path.

But that’s not the end of Witchfinder‘s story, the deeper one digs in to Hazy Rites, the more one is likely to uncover, whether it’s in the melodies of “Wild Trippin'” or the brutality of the hits in “Sorry,” and the more satisfying the record ultimately becomes. Nod out if you must, but do so at the risk of missing the growth the band has undertaken in the couple years since their debut, and though it’s long at an hour’s runtime, that becomes part of the point of Hazy Rites in that it’s about creating the world this material inhabits even as the songs unfold. The converted will know what’s up — doom for doomers by doomers — and that would seem to be with whom Witchfinder are casting their lot here. Nothing wrong with that, certainly, and as France’s heavy underground continues to evolve, they seem primed to do just the same, whether that means more harmonies or tonal weight or screams or, preferably, all of it.

Witchfinder on Thee Facebooks

Witchfinder on Bandcamp

Black Bow Records website

Black Bow Records webstore

Black Bow Records on Bandcamp

Black Bow Records on Thee Facebooks

Gandalf the Green sound like somebody hit their riffs over the head with the ugly-stick. Filthy, doomed stoner-sludge is stock and trade for the UK at this point — it’s why they’ll be fine after crashing out of the EU — but the lumber the Huddersfield three-piece bring to the end of their new 13-minute single “A Billion Faces” is a feedback-drenched nightmare just the same, and by that I mean it’s damn good fun. They’ve got live dates coming up, including at Riffolution Festival tomorrow night, and that’s all well and good, but the single is out now through APF Records and you can get it on Bandcamp if you so please or Spotify or whatever outlet it is you choose to peruse. The song, naturally, is about parallel existences of the self in alternate universes. Duh.

Dig it:

APF Records Presents GANDALF THE GREEN – “A Billion Faces”

RELEASE DATE: 28th March 2019

Taking influence from bands like Conan, Sleep and Yob, GANDALF THE GREEN’s aim is to make slow music that is as heavy as they can possibly make it – dropping into spacey ambience and then back to crushing riffs again. The trio wanted to take a less dark and evil approach to Stoner/Doom Metal in favour of something a bit more colourful, weird and psychedelic. Music which uplifts rather than bring the mood down. Lyrical themes include Lord of the Rings, time, consciousness, and not being very sober. Someone once put it eloquently as ‘The brutality of Mordor with the serenity of the Shire.’

Gandalf The Green started in guitarist / vocalist Andy Flint’s bedroom in 2015 when the guys were all just 16 years old. “We’d previously been in a deathcore band together and knew we all liked slow and heavy music, so got together and started rehearsing with ghetto equipment in Andy’s bedroom in Huddersfield (UK). The band name came from a friend who’d just bought a Gandalf-style pipe and we found the pun hilarious for a Stoner Doom band, so we used it”.

Gandalf The Green released their debut EP ‘King of the Ashes’ in September 2016 as a 4-piece band with two guitarists, though soon after they split with their drummer and put Jack Walker behind the kit as a trio. After that things began moving properly. Since then, the three lads have been gigging more, collecting more equipment, and worsening their tinnitus by turning everything up even louder.

Gandalf The Green recently signed with APF Records, with their first release as a partnership being 13-minute stoner / doom epic “A Billion Faces”. Andy Flint’s notes on the track:

“It was the first track I wrote after we tuned down to drop F and bought a bunch of new effects, so I was really playing with all the new toys and trying to make something with a big dynamic change from the gentle intro to when it kicks in. We’ve been performing it live for a while, so the song’s evolved over time to include the sexy wah solo and, because Jack and Danny (Wrigley, bass) love noise music, we added the noise/screaming section in the outro. The original demo was only 9 minutes compared to the final 13!

We were approached by a friend of a friend who needed a band to record for his University coursework, it seemed mutually beneficial, and we’d get to record in the gorgeous Phipps Hall and borrow a bunch of Huddersfield University’s Matamp equipment for free to use with ours, so we took him up on it. We live recorded the track in December 2018 and mixed and mastered the track ourselves, so got away with recording this track for nothing. It sounded lovely in the room, but we really didn’t expect the final product to sound quite as good as it did.

Lyrically, the track is about parallel universes and how, if they exist, every different possible version of you exists somewhere in a big infinite tree of possible “yous”, experiencing the best and worst things all at once. I was wondering where I’d be if I’d taken a different turn in life and moved to a different city, and I realised that there’d be a version of me in a parallel universe where I did move there, wondering right now where he’d be if he took the turns I did. We’re both thinking about each other amongst a billion different versions of ourselves, but unable to know who the other is and what their life is like.”

“A Billion Faces” is out on APF Records on 28th March across all digital platforms, with the video for the track premiering on YouTube and Facebook. The band have a solid itinerary of gigs and tours for the rest of 2019, including appearances at Riffolution Festival on 30th March (supporting BelzebonG) and High Priestess and Cities of Mars in May.

Gandalf the Green is:
Andrew Flint – Vocals/Guitar
Jack Walker – Vocals/Drums
Danny Wrigley – Bass

https://www.facebook.com/gandalfgreenband/
https://gandalfthegreen.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/apfrecords
https://twitter.com/apf_records
https://www.instagram.com/apfrecords/
https://apfrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/
http://www.apfrecords.co.uk/

Gandalf the Green, “A Billion Faces” official video

Wasn’t this bound to happen? Either Vol. 4 or Master of Reality? And by the way, there’s really no wrong answer there. So, you know, yeah. April 2020 is the listed ship date on Vol. 4 Redux and The Best of Black Sabbath, both of which continue Magnetic Eye Records‘ wildly successful ‘Redux’ series that’s already touched on Hendrix, Floyd, Helmet and has Alice in Chains on deck as a next installment. Still, obviously Black Sabbath have a special place in the history of heavy — right there at the start of it, maybe page three? — and accordingly, the big guns are coming out for the homage, whether it’s Matt Pike doing “FX” or Bongzilla taking on “Snowblind” or Tony Reed doing “Laguna Sunrise.” There’s no way it’s going to miss.

My only hope is that High Reeper make “Changes” heavy.

Interested to see how The Best of Black Sabbath pans out as well, with Year of the Cobra, Elephant Tree and Earthless and a host of others confirmed. I saw Elephant Tree do a killer version of “Paranoid” live this past Fall. Wouldn’t mind a studio take on that from them as well.

But really, there’s no way to lose here.

Word from Magnetic Eye follows:

If you told us even as recently as six weeks ago that we’d be working on a Redux version of Black Sabbath’s Volume 4 and, before the end of March, artists including The Obsessed, Whores, Zakk Wylde, and Matt goddamn Pike would have all committed to be part of the project, we would’ve probably answered, “Wow.”

And if you’d then said, “Oh yeah, you’ll also assemble a Best of Black Sabbath companion LP featuring Earthless, Elephant Tree, Year of the Cobra, and tons of other great artists including a whole crop of brand-new Magnetic Eye roster bands, who by the way you’ll find time to sign during all the madness of your Vol. 4 Kickstarter,” we’d have most likely said, “piss off.”

And yet, here we are, and all of the above has come to pass.

We are indeed reduxing Volume 4 and offering up a Best of Sabbath companion record, we do have some of the greatest heavy artists in the world committed to be part of this project, and we did somehow find time to sign three new bands during all of this, each of whom we’ll have a new record coming from later this year, and all of whom we’re inviting to be part of the project.

So, yeah. Wow.

THOU – WHEELS OF CONFUSION / THE STRAIGHTENER
THE OBSESSED – TOMORROW’S DREAM
HIGH REEPER – CHANGES
MATT PIKE – FX
SPIRIT ADRIFT – SUPERNAUT
BONGZILLA – SNOWBLIND
WHORES – CORNUCOPIA
TONY REED – LAGUNA SUNRISE
HAUNT – ST VITUS DANCE
ZAKK SABBATH – UNDER THE SUN / EVERY DAY COMES AND GOES

ALBUM ART AND DESIGN ALYSSA MOCERE

IN ADDITION, WE HAVE INCREASED THE SCOPE OF OUR PROJECT TO INCLUDE 13 ADDITIONAL BLACK SABBATH SONGS ON A BEST OF BLACK SABBATH REDUX RECORD.

Summoner
Elephant Tree
Scott Reeder
IRONWEED
Earthless
Chris Wyse
Rwake
Mooner
Year of the Cobra
Leather Lung
Brume
Caustic Casanova
Dead Witches

http://store.merhq.com
http://magneticeyerecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MagneticEyeRecords

Black Sabbath, “Snowblind”

Bright Curse aren’t screwing around. They could do the teaser thing, and I think there is one out there, but the first track they’re unveiling from their upcoming second album is 10 minutes long, and that’s gotta be a substantial portion of the five-track LP from whence it comes. Now signed to Ripple after the clusterfuckness that befell them as regards their former outlet HeviSike Records, they’ll follow-up 2016’s Before the Shore (review here) and their 2013 self-titled debut EP (review here) with Time of the Healer on May 10, and “Shadows” demonstrates a scope that goes well beyond its extended runtime. I doubt it’s speaking to the entirety of what the record has to offer, but it certainly represents how far Bright Curse have come well and makes for an immersive listen. I look forward to hearing how it ties in with the rest of the release.

Art and info from the PR wire:

BRIGHT CURSE: Heavy Psych Rockers Return with New Album on RIPPLE MUSIC | Stream and share new song ‘SHADOWS’

Time of the Healer by Bright Curse is officially released 10th May 2019 on Ripple Music

Formed in London in 2012 out of the expatriated ashes of French psychedelic rock band Soul Manifest, heavy psych trio Bright Curse is a band that requires no introduction for anyone that has kept a close ear to the underground in recent years.

Following the release of their self-titled EP in 2013, their debut album Before the Shore (2016) not only showcased the band’s remarkable song writing talents, it proved itself be a hard rock sleeper hit you simply couldn’t ignore. Well known for riffing epic spectrums of dark/light through extended jams and out-and-out doom, the band established themselves on the road, hitting festival stages at Hellfest, DesertFest Berlin and Keep it Low, and touring across Europe with fellow Londoner doom merchants, Elephant Tree.

With the dissolution of their former label, HeviSike Records, last year, the band has since teamed up with chief purveyors of riff-driven heaviness, US label Ripple Music, to ready the release of new album, Time of the Healer this May.

“Working with Ripple is just gonna be rad. Having a label that really cares for its bands, that motivation will make the difference,” explains frontman/guitarist Romain Daut.

Of the upcoming album, he adds, “It’s a come-back to a doomier version of Bright Curse, more like the first EP. The songs are a bit longer and more developed, each relates a story, and all of them work together to create some kind of tale. I didn’t want to just have another heavy album, so we added some exotic instruments and I think it serves the story really well.”

Time of the Healer by Bright Curse is officially released on 10th May 2019 on Ripple Music and can be pre-ordered here at www.ripple-music.com.

BRIGHT CURSE:
Romain Daut – Guitar, Peruvian Flute, Vocals
Sammy Deveille – Bass, Double bass
Tommy Foster – Guitar, Guitar and more Guitar.
Mark Buckwell – Drums, Percussions

TRACKLISTING:
1. Smoke of The Past
2. Laura
3. Une Virêe
4. Shadows
5. Time of The Healer

https://www.facebook.com/BrightCurse/
https://twitter.com/Brightcurseband
http://brightcurse.com/
http://brightcurse.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://twitter.com/RippleMusic
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

It’s a marriage made in Finnish weirdness. Helsinki-based progressive heavy rockers Kaleidobolt are a natural fit for Svart Records given their blend of old and new, prog and and heavy, this and that, up and down, side to side, space and earth, all good things and so on. Granted that’s a pretty wide standard, but the jazzy elements of what they’ve done over the course of their two LPs to date — 2016’s ultra-righteous The Zenith Cracks (review here) and the prior no-slouch-either 2015 self-titled (review here) — only make the alliance more reasonable, as Svart has readily shown an affinity for such things in past offerings. Everybody wins, is what I’m saying, and all the more those who take a few minutes out of their hectic day to dig into the new video “I Am the Seer” — at the bottom of the post, duh — and thereby get an early sampling of Kaleidobolt‘s wares on their impending third album, Bitter, which will mark their debut on the label upon its release May 31.

These guys have been on their own wavelength of heavy since they started out, and one is glad to see them continue the thread. Looking forward to the record.

Info came down the PR wire:

KALEIDOBOLT set release date for SVART debut, reveal first video

Svart Records sets May 31st as the international release date for Kaleidobolt’s highly anticipated third album, Bitter. The album, which will be the band’s debut for the label, will be released on CD and vinyl LP formats.

With one foot in classic heavy power-trio rock ‘n’ roll and the other knee-deep in psychedelic frenzy, Finland’s Kaleidobolt blast off into inner space with their third album, Bitter. Having perfected their craft on the road all across Europe, with two previous albums under their collective belt, Kaleidobolt have become a fierce live experience, guaranteed to blow minds and ears.

Kaleidobolt, however, are far from your usual deafening stoner rock experience. Their music is all about texture and depth, and beneath the lysergically frenzied riffs hide worlds of exquisite soundscapes. For the new album, the band decided to take an even greater leap into worlds beyond and hired Niko Lehdontie (Kairon; IRSE! and Oranssi Pazuzu) to produce the album and Lauri Eloranta (the current go-to guy in Finland for indie pop and rock bands) to mix it.

“We aim to make music that sounds dangerous, that is on its way to critical mass and could all fall apart at any moment,” comments bassist Marco Menestrina. “This time, we were thankful to have Niko the producer with us to ensure things were kept freaky and noisy enough.”

Bitter is rock music frenzy that intermittently disintegrates into sonic cotton candy and the occasional western theme. Bitter is also Kaleidobolt’s debut for Svart Records, and we are proud to release it on May 31st on CD, vinyl LP, and digital formats.

In the meantime, see & hear a special video for the new track “I am the Seer.”

Tracklisting for Kaleidobolt’s Bitter
1. Another Toothpick
2. Big Sky Land
3. I Am The Seer
4. Deadpan Blues
5. Interlude
6. Coyote
7. Hydra

https://www.facebook.com/kaleidobolt
https://kaleidobolt.bandcamp.com/
www.svartrecords.com
www.facebook.com/svartrecords
www.twitter.com/svartrecords

Kaleidobolt, “I am the Seer” official video