I’ve said it more times than I can count over the 75 years I’ve been running this site (because you’re only as old as you feel), but charm goes a long way in my book. UK sludgehoisters GURT have it down, and their third full-length, Bongs of Praise, will see release Sept. 6 as an offering that manages to be both wildly heavy and brazenly fun, a debauched party record that takes neither itself nor you too seriously and ends up a good-time blister-raising 45 minutes of pummel and shove, seeming to capture just that very moment where you’re drunk enough that everything is awesome but the room hasn’t started to spin yet. You might also be high. Scratch that. You’re definitely high.

GURT have been raising hell for the better part of a decade at this point, which puts them ahead of many in London’s ultra-packed underground scene, and they’ve never lacked for a distinguishing factor in the raw fuckall of their approach, with screamer Gareth Kelly bringing forth a seemingly endless supply of weed puns — and even though I don’t really smoke, I fucking love weed puns; see “The Joint of No Return,” “Rolling Stoned,” and indeed the title of the album itself — over chugging, uptempo riffs that sacrifice no weight for movement, the band’s experience coming through in the it’s-a-given chemistry between guitarist Rich Williams, bassist David Blakemore and drummer Bill Jacobs both in the speedy cacophony of “Jazz Cabbage” (video posted here) and the more rolling pace of “Gauze and Effect.” There’s no pretense to be had anywhere that GURT are shooting for anything more than having fun, and for as heavy, brash and downright nasty as Bongs of Praise is pretty much from intro “Dr. Strangeleaf” onward, they make the invitation to the listener to come along and, you know, also get high, plain to hear in their energetic rush.

Credit for that has to go in no small part to Jacobs, of course, but the riffs to which he’s playing are also straightforward enough to catch attention without wavering. “Weed it and Weep” — premiering below — launches the album after “Dr. Strangeleaf” and is willfully obnoxious like it’s about to get kicked out of the venue it’s playing, and though GURT will dig into various styles of bludgeonry throughout cuts like the gotta-be-an-inside-joke “Squidgy Black Slide” and the later, probably-als0-an-inside-joke “Marijuanarmchair” before rounding out with the title-track’s play off the tenets of epic metal, the unifying factor, screams aside, is the obvious glee with which GURT execute Bongs of Praise. This is a band having a blast doing what they do, and refusing to pretend otherwise. Why the hell would they?

Even if you’re the stand-in-the-back-of-the-room type, as I am, GURT make it easy to appreciate their hash-oil-drenched party vibe and stonerly worship. In its riffs, barks, weight and groove, Bongs of Praise is admirably conscious of who the band are in making it, and though they probably wouldn’t take this as a compliment, I mean it as one when I say they sound like they know what they’re doing, because for all its shenanigans, there’s a core of confidence and songwriting underneath that can be neither completely hidden nor faked when it isn’t there. I’m not saying GURT have matured — and I think “One Hit Wonder” backs me up on that — but just that their particular approach to stoner sludge has developed to a point where it is decidedly their own, whatever familiar elements might persist in it. In the end, that ends up just being part of the fun.

Check out “Weed it and Weep” on the player below, followed by a quick quote from the band and more from the PR wire.

And enjoy:

GURT, “Weed it and Weep”

GURT on “Weed it and Weep”:

We are proud to release the third track from ‘Bongs of Praise’ in new track ‘Weed it and Weep’. We have being playing it live for a year now since our Euro tour with Brume last summer, so some of our well-versed fans may already know it well, but finally we have the album version out in the world and sounding like an absolute rager!

They take the blues and groove of 70s rock and drag it backwards through the swamps of Louisiana. The drums are thunderous, the vocals demonic and the guitars down-tuned, down-tempo and down right sexy. This is not doom, this is not sludge: this is GURT.

In 2014, they unleashed their debut album ‘Horrendosaurus’ through independent label When Planets Collide, and which they promoted through a three week European tour with Dopethrone, as well returning home to a packed out audience to open Bloodstock’s second stage.

Released in 2017, their sophomore album ‘Skullossus’ explored darker and more menacing shades of sludge doom. Through a theatrical performance, their sound swelled in size as they toyed with their repertoire; adding rip-roaring, guttural vocals, psychedelic rhythms and classic rock’n’roll-worshipping riffs. On top of their two full-lengths and seven EPs, GURT have been relentlessly touring the UK and Europe, sharing the stage with the likes of Weedeater, Red Fang, Eyehategod, Black Tusk, Valient Thorr, Cough. In their own right way, they have cast their hypnotic savagery to the crowds of Bloodstock, Desertfest, Riffolution (UK) as well as Stonerhead (Salzburg) and 2019’s Monospace Fest (Paris)

GURT live:
08.29 – UK – COVENTRY, The Phoenix
08.30 – UK – FALMOUTH, The Fish Factory
08.31 – UK – MANCHESTER, Riff Fest
09.01 – UK – TBA
09.02 – UK – TBA
09.03 – UK – BRISTOL, The Old England
09.04 – UK – LONDON, MacBeth

GURT are:
Gareth Kelly – Vocals
Bill Jacobs – Drums
David Blakemore – Bass
Rich Williams – Guitar

GURT on Thee Facebooks

GURT on Bandcamp

GURT on Instagram

GURT Tumblr

Portland, Oregon, five-piece Hound the Wolves and trio Glasghote will release their new split LP on Monochord Records this Friday, Aug. 2. As one might expect, the two bands share more in common than a hometown, as each group takes its own angle toward post-metallic vibes. Over the course of two songs apiece resulting in a total 31-minute run, the split veers through broad-running atmospherics and an at-times surprising melodic awareness en route to a feedback-soaked crush that would make Conan blush, which of course is a kind of atmosphere unto itself. Either way you go — and each band has clearly made its own choice in that regard; Glasghote‘s work is so deep in low-end it actually demands you turn it up just to hear it properly — the sense of aesthetic runs no less thick than the tones, as Hound the Wolves pull away from some of the more direct Americana of their 2018 debut, Camera Obscura (discussed here), in favor of a still vast but less earthly space.

This process begins with 12-minute opener “Godhead” unfolding the longest and broadest of the inclusions on the split, holding a tension in its bassline even as the guitar stretches out over parts unknown and echoing vocal proclamations recalling earlier Rwake‘s semi-spoken approach in its quieter moments that soon gives over to a more outwardly heavy sway. There are layers at work in clean vocals and screams and louder guitar, bass, drums, synth, etc., but by its eighth minute, “Godhead” has receded and it chooses never to get quite so active again, its initial linear build proving more parabolic as the track goes on. At 7:45, which is also longer than either of Glasghote‘s songs, “Live Through the Day, Run Through the Night” is more even-tempered and given to a post-rock drift rather than the two extremes of the prior track. They are a patient enough band to pull it off, ultimately, and the soulfully fuzzed solo in the second half alone is worth the price of admission, capturing perhaps the wistfulness inherent in Americana without giving over to the actual tropes of the style.

Glasghote announce their arrival with a riff. As well they should. The let’s-go-CROSH trio skirt the line of abrasion on “Croatoan,” which along with the subsequent “Eye of Ra” was recorded by none other than Billy Anderson, but their plays toward extremity across what turns out to be a relatively short 11 minutes divided over the two songs is fun-brutal rather than no-fun-brutal, and their revelry in psychotic tone and riffage is as immersive as it sounds like a good time to wield. One supposes they’re stylistically less complex than Hound the Wolves — again, Conan are a big influence, right down to the higher- and lower-register shouts that cut through the morass of guitar and bass on “Eye of Ra” — but as they follow-up their 2018 Doom Stew Records debut, Rite of the Siren, the three-piece go full-on into the aural grime and cull righteousness from it, their screamier edge signifying some root in West Coast noise or perhaps more metallic fare, but still put to welcome use amidst all the surrounding punishment. And there is plenty of that to be had in that 11 minutes. They pack it in pretty tight.

And just in case the point hasn’t gotten across, the split brings out two different takes on post-modern heavy, with Hound the Wolves bringing a more contemplative approach to exploring desolation and Glasghote gleefully crafting that desolation through the violence of their material — come to think of it, perhaps the order of appearance should’ve been switched; something about “Godhead” has an “aftermath”-type feel to it — but neither is out of place alongside the other, and someone who snags one of the limited CDs pressed by Monochord likely won’t have any trouble making the leap between them, such as it is. At the same time, the fact that their approaches are different enough means that they avoid the sense of competition that splits can sometimes bring out between acts who are more similar, so that Hound the Wolves only complement Glasghote and Glasghote only do the same for Hound the Wolves. That, to me, seems like a much better system.

Again, release date is Aug. 2, which is Friday. They’ve got a release show in Portland and everything. The full offering is streaming below, and you’ll find all the recording background and whatnot beneath that, courtesy of the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

What started as an art project among friends has transformed into the full-blown heavy rock experience of Portland’s Hound the Wolves. Formed in 2015, Hound the Wolves pulls euphonic inspiration from the mysterious and clandestine maneuvers that occur behind the shroud of darkness. Principal songwriter Juan Carlos Caceres incorporates occultism, numerology, and sacred geometry as leitmotifs in the band’s songs, while the perseverance of man, acceptance of societal ills, and the discovery of light in darkness are written as recurring lyrical themes. These elements find themselves translated sonically through droned patterns; earthy and worldly rhythmic density; and meditative, cyclical repetition that make for a haunted psych-metal experience.

Glasghote is a sludge/doom metal band hailing from Portland, OR. Glasghote formed in 2017 in the basement of founding members Jake Shaffer (guitar and vocals) and Jordan Huston (drums) with the addition of Chad Johnson (bass) coming just a few months later. Glasghote emerged on the Portland local scene with bone shattering tones and a wall of sound in tow. In one short year Glasghote signed with Doom Stew Records and released their debut full length Rite of the Siren. The band pulls influences from Thou, Primitive Man, High on Fire.

Track Listing:
1. Hound The Wolves — “Godhead”
2. Hound The Wolves — “Live Through The Day, Run Through The Night”
3. Glasghote — “Croatoan”
4. Glasghote — “Eye of Ra”

Produced by Hound the Wolves and TRIANGLES. Graphic design by Matt Howl, based on a photograph by Kristin Lee.

HTW’s songs were written and arranged by Hound The Wolves with lyrics by Juan Carlos Caceres. The songs were tracked by Jeanot Lewis-Rolland at the Magic Closet and JLR Audio Productions, mixed by Jeanot Lewis-Rolland, and mastered by Ryan Foster at Foster Mastering.

Glasghote’s songs were tracked, mixed, and mastered by Billy Anderson (Sleep, Melvins, Weedeater) at Hallowed Halls Recording Studio.

Upcoming Live Performances
8/2 @ Tonic Lounge in Portland, OR — Hound The Wolves, Glasghote, WILL
8/8 @ Substation in Seattle, WA — DANGG, Hound The Wolves, Glasghote, Darkmysticwoods

Hound The Wolves are:
Tim Burke – lap steel, drones, soundscapes
Juan Carlos Caceres – Guitar, vocals, words
Cory DeCaire – Bass
Ryan McPhaill – Drums
Nate Wright – Moog, aux percussion

Glasghote are:
Jake Shaffer – Guitar and Vocals
Chad Johnson – Bass
Jordan Huston – Drums

Hound the Wolves on Thee Facebooks

Hound the Wolves on Bandcamp

Glasghote on Thee Facebooks

Glasghote on Bandcamp

Monochord Records on Thee Facebooks

Monochord Records on Bandcamp

What do we know about Workshed? Well, if we read the PR wire info below, plenty. The duo were formed upwards of five years ago by guitarist Adam Lehan and drummer Mark Wharton, both of whom were in Cathedral around the time of The Ethereal Mirror. There’s a lot of invective about being heavy and trying things out in a sludgy context, but I’m not sure what the band might actually sound like, considering there’s no audio out there yet of what they do, but you know, it’s two dudes who used to be in Cathedral and it’s releasing through former Cathedral frontman Lee Dorrian‘s Rise Above Records, so one way or the other it certainly passes the muster of relevance. I won’t say the audio is secondary, because it’s not and some sampling, whether it’s a teaser, full track, whathaveyou, will be welcome when it arrives, but for now, this is kind of an announcement that the band exists and have a record out Sept. 13. It’s their first one, and it’s self-titled. So there.

The PR wire fills in the details:

Workshed (Featuring Former Members of Cathedral) to Release Self-Titled Album via Rise Above Records September 13th

Emerging from the shadows after more than 25 years in the sonic wilderness, former Cathedral members Adam Lehan and Mark Wharton have returned as Workshed. This is the sound of doom metal legends, reborn in fire and fury. Workshed’s self-titled new album will be released September 13th via Rise Above Records.

Formed in 2014, this renewed musical collaboration has already grown into something monstrous. Workshed’s self-titled debut album is simply the most ferociously pissed off metal record of the year: a relentless onslaught of scything riffs, verbal vitriol and oppressive aggression that proves beyond doubt that guitarist/vocalist Lehan and drummer Wharton have lost none of their creative bite or mutual chemistry. In reality, however, Workshed’s beginnings were as unassuming as they come.

“I just had a few riffs that I’d never done anything with, and I’d gotten back in touch with Mark and we just thought it would be fun to start playing again, to see if we could still do it!” Adam laughs. “There were no ambitions or anything more than having a blast. That was about five years ago and here we are. Bloody hell!”

Recorded at Orgone Studios in Bedfordshire with esteemed producer Jaime ‘Gomez’ Arellano, Workshed may be the result of two friends making a racket together for the sheer hell of it, but there is nothing half-hearted about these monolithic slabs of virulent hate-doom. Both redolent of all the great doom and sludge heroes of the past and thrillingly fresh and inventive, songs like rampaging opener ‘The Windowpanes At The Lexington’ and the pulverising ‘Nowhere To Go’ sound very much like the finished, riff-worshipping article.

“Up to a certain point Workshed has been a project rather than a full band, although now that the album’s done it does feel like a band,” says Adam. “It’s just so easy for us to come up with stuff this way. I’ll write a song and send it to Mark over Facebook. We rehearse it a couple of times and then it’s pretty much done and we have a beer! We’ve always had a kind of shorthand or a connection between us. We know each other’s playing styles pretty much inside out.”

As far as Workshed’s signature sound is concerned, Adam insists that spontaneity has been at the heart of everything. Both mindful of their status as key figures in the Cathedral story and their shared desire to make music without restrictions, Workshed are destined to win over anyone and everyone that lives for the power and glory of the riff.

“There’s certainly doom in there, although it honestly wasn’t planned that way,” says Adam. “We just went with whatever came out. The general rule has been that this can be anything, but there must be an energy, a pissed off vibe, even in the really slow parts. If this is doom, it’s doom that has had the shit kicked out of it and woken up with a hangover!”

In keeping with the grim and vicious sound of s riffs, Adam’s lyrics are rooted firmly in the guitarist’s own battles with anxiety and depression. As a result, the songs on Workshed reverberate with honesty, truth and an oddly uplifting sense of punk rock defiance. The evergreen cliché that heavy music is a form of catharsis for those who make it (and those who listen, of course) has never rung more true.

“The theme that runs all the way through is related to a period in time when I was having therapy,” Adam explains. “There are songs about different subjects but it all ties in with the mind-set I have with anxiety and depression. There is a song called ‘A Spirit In Exile’ which is pretty much as far as I can go lyrically with the subject. It’s pretty grim. So this is the anxiety album.”

There is a rather pleasing symmetry to the fact that Adam and Mark are releasing their return to the doom frontline via their old Cathedral colleague Lee Dorrian’s Rise Above Records imprint. Still on excellent terms after all these years, both Workshed and their new label boss are happy to be reunited in this new endeavour.

“It’s actually one of the bigger regrets I have regarding leaving Cathedral, that I don’t get to see Lee much anymore,” Adam notes. “So when me and Mark started to think of maybe recording some stuff, we basically came up with two ideas – to see if Lee was interested, and if he wasn’t we’d just do it ourselves in a local studio somewhere, just so we could have something we can listen to. Happily, he was interested and he’s been really cool answering all my stupid questions ever since!”

A scabby-knuckled fist to the face of metal complacency, Workshed is not for the faint-hearted. Pitch-black and proudly pugilistic, this is an exuberant exorcism and a celebration of the restorative power of The Riff. Doom is forever, class is eternal: the real work has only just begun…

“We’re just looking forward to seeing how the album is received, and we’ll take it from there,” Adam concludes. “If things go well we’d love to do more. We would definitely like to start recruiting more people and we’d love to record at Orgone again. Fingers crossed!”

“Workshed” Track Listing:
1. The Windopanes at the Lexington
2. If This is How it is
3. Nowhere to Go
4. Anthropophobic
5. On Sticks Of Wood
6. The City Has Fallen
7. A Spirit In Exiile
8. Safety Behaviours
9. It Doesn’t Have to be That Way

https://www.facebook.com/workshedband/
https://www.facebook.com/riseaboverecords/
http://www.riseaboverecords.com/

Cathedral, Live in London, March 18, 1992

With CD and LP due out through Moment of Collapse Records and cassettes through Sludgelord Records and Hand of Death Records, there’s plenty of backing for Cranial‘s new album, Alternate Endings, which is bound to immediately draw some comparisons to the Hydra Head-style pastiche of post-metal, if only for its cover art. The band have a new trailer posted now that captures some of the ambient sensibility that Alternate Endings will have on offer, but if one goes back and listens to their 2017 outing for Moment of Collapse, Dark Tower / Bright Lights, there’s plenty of churn and crush to go along with that atmospheric reach. I’d expect no less of the upcoming full-length, though it’s always possible they’ve gone all-out drone as well. Something in the tension of that YouTube clip makes me think there’s a payoff lurking there though. Or maybe it’s the song title “Burning Bridges.”

Either way, one imagines harsh things await in the darkness, and that’s just fine. The PR wire brought the info and the aforementioned trailer:

Sludgy post metal heavyweights CRANIAL reveal album details!

“Alternate Endings” coming September 27th on Moment of Collapse Records

Sludge metal heavyweights CRANIAL return with their sophomore album to be released September 27th by capable Moment of Collapse Records! Risen from the ashes of almighty OMEGA MASSIF, CRANIAL took the best ingredients, created their own sound and developed it even further. Powerful and earth shattering, apocalyptic and destructive, melodies as uplifting as they are depressive – once again the band pushed themselves forward and re?ned their songwriting. Working together with Ghost City Recordings and no one else than Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna) they found the perfect team for setting up their most crushing sound to date!

“Alternate Endings is our most personally output so far. It is about loss, fear and desperation but also about rise and hope. Within these four songs we captured and encapsulated these strong feelings. Working with Ghost City Recordings and Magnus Lindberg was the perfect match for the new album. They helped us with our vision.” the band comments.

Seeing the light of day September 27th on LP, CD via Moment of Collapse Records and tapes on Sludgelord and Hand of Death Records – a glimpse of what to expect can already be heard and seen in a first teaser at THIS LOCATION!

Alternate Endings tracklisting:
1. Faint Voice
2. Unceasing Lack
3. Burning Bridges
4. Holistic Figure

CRANIAL is:
Michael Melchers (guitar)
Julian Weidhaus (bass, vocals)
Cornelius Merlin (drums)
Sebastian Kröckel (guitar)

www.facebook.com/cranialband
www.facebook.com/momentofcollapse
www.momentofcollapse.com

Cranial, Alternate Endings album trailer

Okay, so before you go ahead and dig into the album announcement for Nap‘s second record, Ausgeklingt, below, you should understand that it’s been run through a social media translation algorithm, so even the most basic level of idiomatic expression is more or less lost, and it should be read really for confirmation of the most basic details — title, release date, etc. — rather than the description of what the record’s like, where Facebook clearly muddled the verbiage. Sadly, I don’t speak German, so I couldn’t do my own translation, but the news is that Nap are following up their 2016 debut album, Villa (review here), and that they have a song from the new outing streaming now that you can hear at the bottom of this post. That’s pretty neat as far as I’m concerned. As for the rest, with the word matrices and AI grammar and all that, it’s secondary at best.

I’ll hope to have more to come on Ausgeklingt as we get closer to the release date — I’ll be working on spelling it as well — but in the meantime, here’s the art and announcement:

Finally! The Oldenburger Trio Nap is ready for their second release: the new album will be named Ausgeklingt (“for sounds”) and will be released on October 04th.

If nap has managed to create a great successor album that doesn’t stand up to the predecessor in anything, but still puts a shot on it. Extensive psychedelic jams meet heavy doom riffs, catchy hooks, and isolated surf sounds. Rounded off by almost ghost-looking vocals. A diverse and varied album that you can fall into and which breastfeeding the heavy needs as well as those after quiet-dreamy parts.

A true trip through darker and lighter corners of space… and we are happy that we will be able to take you with you soon!

So eyes and ears up. More news and tour dates coming soon…

Until then, you can listen to the pre-track “VoiGo” Also nice, right?

The Limited first edition comes in colorful vinyl, including poster and download code or as CD.

https://www.facebook.com/napband/
https://napofficial.bandcamp.com/
http://www.noisolution.de/
https://www.facebook.com/noisolution
https://www.instagram.com/noisolution/

Ohio-based trio Ghost:Hello will self-release their impressive and far-reaching debut long-player, The Sound of Color in Space, on Sept. 20. Aside from the punctuation in the middle of the band’s name, the first hint that everything might not be what it seems comes in the winding weirdo keyboard — or I guess it could be a theremin — line of second cut “Fingerstache.” The prior intro “Alcubierre Metric” has kind of a post-rocky tonal wash feel to it, which works well, but after “Fingerstache” rolls out its guitar-less fuzz-punk groove, its last minute-plus settles into a different vibe, laid back and topped by the noted line. It fades out leaving the drums as the last element to go but has an almost hip-hop rhythm that, in some of the context of what follows throughout The Sound of Color in Space, is an initial showing of Ghost:Hello‘s willingness to reach outside heavy rock in terms of genre. “Perfect,” which follows, quickly affirms the strange-things-afoot suspicions raised, and in righteous fashion, with more bass-up-front nod-riffing and steady repetitions off the line, “I’m perfect in all ways,” that hypnotize ahead of the sucker-punch that is the screaming start of “The Mouth of the Gift Horse,” a noise rocker that makes room in its two minutes for some synth before wrapping with an unabashed mosh part. Because obviously.

Comprised of synthesist/thereminist Nina Smok, bassist William Jennings and drummer Joe Kidd, Ghost:Hello top the otherwise instrumental synth/bass/drum bounce of “Bardo State” with samples-only before rhythmic chain backs the play on Tom Waits in “Nemesis” and then comes “Burnout,” which, for a band with no guitar, how do you throw the ultimate wrench in the expectation of your listener? That’s right, with a guitar. Stick that solo in your brain, those who’ve traveled thus far into the seven of nine tracks on The Sound of Color in Space. The penultimate “Spit of Stars” revives the bassy-shove and punkish vibe with just a quick excursion into ambience and sampling for good measure, and “Poison Swan” caps as the longest cut at 5:35 with a totally atmospheric approach building on the worldmaking of “Alcubierre Metric” and getting “heavy” for just a bit but leaving its primary impression to the sparseness that seems to surround. It’s not intuitive as a headphone album in the way some more psychedelic or post-rock-style offerings are, but The Sound of Color in Space has details and turns that are worth focusing on, and if headphones enables that, it’s worth plugging in. And despite the inherent rawness of sound that comes with bass and drum and (mostly) no guitar, Ghost:Hello bring together a complex approach that is so joyously grotesque it makes it hard not to get on board.

I’ll be honest with you. Probably more honest than I need to be. I hear a lot of heavy rock-based bands. Not all of them by any stretch, but plenty. And as with any genre or style of anything — literature, music, art, film, cooking, whatever — there are a lot of commonalities between bands. So many riffs, so many white dudes, so much beer. When it gets exhausting, and I get to hear a band like Ghost:Hello, who have a clear will toward being forward-thinking and individualized with their sound and whose debut seems only to preface more oddities to come, I can’t help but feel refreshed. The Sound of Color in Space is definitely a first step, and I’d love to hear Ghost:Hello experiment further with arrangement, start banging on pots and pans, work in some dance beats alongside heavy-as-hell basslines, etc., but the point is that even in evoking such thoughts in the mind of their audience, they’re encouraging creativity in response to creativity, and that is what good art should do. So thanks. I needed that.

You won’t get the full context of the record from “The Mouth of the Gift Horse,” which is premiering here, but it’s a two-minute blast of bass-led, scream-topped noise rock fuckall, so, you know, you could do a lot worse.

Please enjoy:

Ghost:Hello is a synth-loving stoner rock family affair from northeast Ohio. Made up of a husband/wife duo and their cousin, the band members have been playing for decades. With extensive individual histories touring around the US and in Europe in other DIY groups, this project just feels like a natural continuation. Together as a family and as musicians, Ghost:Hello is now ready to take the rock n roll world by the horns.

Bringing in all sorts of unorthodox elements into their fuzz rock assault, this trio counterbalances stoner sludge with trip hop grooves. The group has never been afraid to experiment, and Ghost:Hello is completely a slave to their various muses; this leads to an elegant fusion of influences of bands like Type O Negative to Fatso Jetson by way of Queens of the Stone Age. The band has amassed an impressive social media following since its inception, even with a debut album still on the way. The upcoming record, Sound of Color in Space, has been engineered and produced by a friend through the company 8th Day Sound, who have worked with Slayer, Marilyn Manson, and Smashing Pumpkins.

Now as they double down for their first release, Ghost:Hello are set to take on bold new vistas. Having played around the Midwest since 2013, the local crowd is hungry for what they are about to deliver. DIY til death, these fuzz rockers are planning everything from shows in new places to an animated video to herald their new music. A band that’s no stranger to hard work, and who constantly push to innovate, Ghost:Hello are a breath of fresh air in a crowded scene!

Sound of Color in Space will be available in digital and CD formats September 20th, 2019.

Band Members:
Nina Skok — synthesizers, samples, and Theremin
William Jennings — bass
Joe Kidd — drums and percussion

Ghost:Hello on Thee Facebooks

Ghost:Hello on Instagram

Ghost:Hello on Bandcamp

Ghost:Hello website

I’ve had the good fortune of flying to Reykjavik a few times over the years, and from the air, Iceland is stark and gorgeous and like nothing else I’ve ever seen. I’ve never, however, had enough time there to actually leave the airport. It’s always fly-in-fly-out. Pittsburgh’s ZOM, on the other hand, will shoot over for a three-date run of Iceland at the end of August, hitting Reykjavik, Hafnarfjörður and Dalvik, a trip that will let them drive up the western coast of the country for a time before cutting inland a bit as they make their way north. Looks like an awesome way to do a weekender, and hey, if you could get three shows together in Iceland, wouldn’t you do it? Absolutely you would. It’s frickin’ Iceland. You go if you can go.

ZOM released their Argonauta Records debut, Nebulos, last year, and have been playing shows steadily since. This trip marks the first time they’ll leave the States for a show, though somehow one doubts it will be the last. An initial incursion, then.

Their announcement and the show details follow here. Because if you could go see a band from Pittsburgh in Icleand, wouldn’t you do it? Absolutely you would.

You get the idea:

ZOM to tour Iceland this August!

Pittsburgh, USA Stoner/Groove Heavy Rockers, ZOM (Argonauta Records) will embark on a tour of Iceland in late August, 2019.

It’s the band’s first trip overseas as a group in what they hope will be the first of many.

ZOM started as a recording project between Gero von Dehn (Von Dane/Monolith Wielder) and Andrew D’Cagna (Brimstone Coven/Ironflame) but morphed into a full fledged band after the recording of their debut release, Nebulos.

ZOM now features von Dehn (v/g), Ben Zerbe (Monolith Wielder-d), Matt Tuite (Penance/Blackfinger-g) and Sam Pesce (Del Rios-b).

Joining them on all three dates will be Icelandic heavy rockers, Alchemia. Southern flavored, stoner rockers, Volcanova (Iceland) will be perform on select shows.

ICELAND DATES:

Thur Aug 29th Gaukurinn Reykjavik
With Alchemia and Volcanova

Friday Aug 30th R6013 or íslenski rokkbarinn Hafnarfjörður.
With Alchemia and Volcanova

Sat Aug 31st – Dalvik Theatre Leikfelag Dalvikur Dalvik
With Alchemia

www.facebook.com/ZOM-189166947896954/
https://zom-rock.bandcamp.com/music
http://www.argonautarecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/

ZOM, Nebulos (2018)

Swiss murk-doomers Shrooms Circle have signed to DHU Records to release their debut album, Asylum, on vinyl. Originally issued by the band in 2018, the album is a more than justifiable pickup, with swirling grim psychedelia and a pervasive melodic sensibility that feels born of the likes of Electric Wizard and Windhand will deigning to push deep into its own miseries from its 11-minute opening title-track onward, a slogging march there casting a suitably wretched pall over everything that follows, not that at any point throughout Shrooms Circle are exactly wanting for “wallow.” Spells are cast in dense tones and nodding riffs, a feeling of largesse only going to make them sound that much more overwhelming as they deliver slow-motion punishment throughout “Witches are There!” and the abysmal “Out from the Grave.”

They make a centerpiece of “The Druggist” — as one will — and the organ seems to come out more there and in the subsequent “A House Behind the Hills” than in some of the earlier rollers, as vocalist Odile weaves her voice around the riffs as though directing a tempest to her will. The speedier “Trapped” is suitably claustrophobic and bodes well for future growth in some later harmonies, and closer “The Island” taps into some of the most dirt-caked riffing Asylum has to offer, finishing with organ to lead the procession outward, a final dirge for the long-since dead. It’s not entirely unfamiliar in its overarching approach, but a cool listen nonetheless, especially as their first record.

All the better then that it should get the vinyl exposure from DHU. Not sure on an exact release date, but I know the label keeps busy, so I’d guess maybe Winter 2020? We’ll see. Don’t quote me on that.

From the social medias:

!!! LISTEN UP !!!

DHU Records is excited to announce the signing of Switzerland’s Hallucinogenic Doom Trip Shrooms Circle to release their debut full length 2018 album Asylum on Limited Edition vinyl!

Worship the Asylum here: shroomscircle.bandcamp.com

More details and info coming soon…

STAY DOOMED STAY HEAVY

Shrooms Circle are:
Scorp – Drums
Johann – Bass
Kelen Ob – Guitar, Vocals
Asknt – Guitar, FX
Teckel – Organ, Mellotron
Odile – Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/shrooms.circle/
http://shroomscircle.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/DHURecords/
https://www.instagram.com/dhu_records/
https://darkhedonisticunionrecords.bandcamp.com/
darkhedonisticunionrecords.bigcartel.com/

Shrooms Circle, Asylum (2018)