Posted in Whathaveyou on July 30th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I don’t know how many of you reading this might know Pure Reason Revolution, but they were a cool band. They put out their first record in 2003 and I dug the crap out of it, particularly the ultra-lush melodic progressive heavy psych they displayed in the extended “The Bright Ambassadors of Morning,” the video for which you can see below. Put it this way, the first time I heard Church of the Cosmic Skull, this was the band they reminded me of. They’d ultimately put out three records and an EP before calling it a day in 2011, but they’re back with a new album in progress, and yeah, I’m curious to hear what they might come up with after all this time, particularly as they’ll be working with a company like InsideOut Music, where prog is what they do and they’re not about to, say, take a 12-minute song and try to make it a pop hit. I have no idea what’s in store for their fourth long-player, but I know I’m certainly willing to give it a shot when the time comes.
The PR wire brought word of the reunion:
Pure Reason Revolution reunite; sign to InsideOutMusic for release of first new studio album in nearly 10 years
Jon Courtney & Chloë Alper have reunited the much-loved Pure Reason Revolution, playing their first show in close to 8 years at the recent Midsummer Prog Festival in the Netherlands, and performing their debut album ‘The Dark Third’ in full. They comment: “The festival & crowd reaction was incredible. We were touched that people had travelled from Canada, Russia, Italy, Spain, UK & many more countries. The tracks are exciting as ever to play & it’s encouraging to see the material still has relevance & connects.”
The band have also revealed they are working on a brand new studio album, and have signed to InsideOutMusic for its release in 2020. Jon Courtney comments: “We’re currently working on material for the new album which returns to a more progressive sound & it’s nice to remind ourselves of the genesis of PRR” while Chloë adds: “it’s sounding spectacular.”
Pure Reason Revolution originally parted ways in November 2011, following touring in support of their 2010 album Hammer & Anvil. Since then, Jon Courtney started Bullet Height and released their debut album ‘No Atonement’ in 2017, while Chloë Alper began a new band called Tiny Giant as well as playing live with the likes of Charli XCX & James.
The band originally formed back in 2003, releasing their much-loved debut album ‘The Dark Third’ in 2006 via Sony BMG. They went on to release the albums ‘Amor Vincit Omnia’ in 2009 & ‘Hammer & Anvil’ in 2010.
Look out for more information on the bands forthcoming new album.
We all know the King of the Road says you move too slow. I’m not sure what the King of the Van says, mostly because Italy’s Rancho Bizzarro — that’s two ‘z’s and two ‘r’s — are instrumental, with time neither for lyrics nor pretense amid their fuzzy riffs and forward movement. Across the 23-minutes of their new EP, Possessed by Rancho — out this Friday on Argonauta Records — the Livorno four-piece careen through a desert cruising vibe, kicking up sand behind them as they push through in straightforward fashion, like if Karma to Burn had been from California instead of West Virginia, or I guess in this case on the west coast of Northern Italy. Fair enough. Either way, once they’re through the opening jam of “Open Bar Deluxe” — also the longest track on the release by far at 7:55 — the band settle with “King of the Van” into the heavy rocking sway that will ultimately define their course, as they follow-up their 2017 self-titled debut with further development in tone and rhythm, working from a familiar foundation, but bringing character to moments like the brash, drum-led outset of “El Motardo Loco,” with a classic-rocking riff that balances energies off each other between its guitar solo and insistent groove, before a sample from The Road Warrior opens “The Vengeance of Lord Humungus” with the song’s titular character indeed promising the song’s titular vengeance. Nothing if not appropriate.
“The Vengeance of Lord Humungus” shoves through with the expected brashness and “Giusquiamo Slow Drink” pulls back the drums to round out with atmospheric guitar and feedback lines. It’s a departure, figuratively in terms of sound and literally in terms of the EP ending, but an effective wrap-up just the same. Certainly by then Rancho Bizzarro have gotten their point across in the energetic “King of the Van” and “El Motardo Loco,” the more expansive layered leads of “Open Bar Deluxe” — that must’ve been some selection of beverages — and the bruiser Truckfighters-style rollout of “The Vengeance of Lord Humungus.” They just wrapped up a string of Spring and Summer live dates, so I won’t claim to know what Rancho Bizzarro are up to for the Fall to come as they celebrate the release of Possessed by Rancho, but for a band who obviously base a lot of what they do sonically in terms of being able to build and harness momentum the EP release does precisely that for them on another level, keeping up the vitality of the prior record and acting as a step along the way toward the next one. Plus, if you don’t have 20 minutes of your day to dedicate to quality riffs, you may want to rethink your priorities. I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life, but yeah, I guess I kind of am. Quit your job. Go party. Rock and roll.
No, really, do it. I’ll wait.
One more time: Rancho Bizzarro‘s Possessed by Rancho is out Aug. 2 on Argonauta. Here’s the video for “King of the Van,” followed by a bit of the ol’ PR wire whatnot.
Please enjoy:
Rancho Bizzarro, “King of the Van” official video premiere
When Palm Desert tunes meet Detroit sounds, it’s time for RANCHO BIZZARRO to take over! The Italian four-piece, known from their excellent jam sessions drenched into fuzzy instrumental Stoner Rock with the hint of a classic 70’s attitude, has announced the release of a brand new EP, coming on August 2nd 2019 via Argonauta Records! Following the band’s self-titled 2017 debut album and their critically acclaimed MONDO RANCHO EP (2018), the upcoming ‘Possessed By Rancho’ EP will deliver a new trip of a sound between motorcycles, vans, women and bars!
Rancho Bizzarro is: Izio (bass) / Matt (guitar) / Mark (guitar) / El Meloso (drums)
[Click play above to stream ‘Drowning Bird’ from Horseburner’s The Thief. Album is out Aug. 9 on Ripple Music.]
Though the inherent energy of their material and the fact that they’re newly signed to Ripple Music read otherwise, West Virginia’s Horseburner are not actually a new band. They played their first show just over a decade ago, and released two EPs before making such a splash with their 2016 full-length debut, Dead Seeds, Barren Soil (review here). That album was picked up for release through Hellmistress Records and subsequent touring and response led to the Ripple signing ahead of The Thief, their second LP and label debut. It’s worth mentioning not only for basic background, because when one listens to The Thief front-to-back, Horseburner‘s chemistry is not that of a new band.
While they recently parted ways with guitarist Zach Kaufman and brought in Matt Strobel to take on the role alongside guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Jack Thomas, drummer/vocalist Adam Nohe and bassist Seth Bostick, the lineup that appears on the nine-song/46-minute The Thief feels wholly solidified in its songwriting approach, taking cues from modern progressive metal, NWOBHM and shades of traditional doom. Thomas‘s vocals remind here and there of Butch Balich‘s work in Argus — thinking of songs like “A Joyless King” and the later “Fathoms,” but it’s a comparison one might make elsewhere too, and not a comparison made lightly — and the winding course of riffing over which he and Nohe harmony-shout is reminiscent of the likes of Leviathan-era Mastodon in its hard edge and obviously considered composition.
Across intense pieces like “Drowning Bird” and “The Fisherman’s Vow,” they manifest crunch and gallop in kind and still set up a smooth-moving flow within and between the songs. It’s fast, and it’s a lot to keep up with, but that’s the idea, and when Horseburner are at a sprint, as on “Hand of Gold, Man of Stone” (premiered here), the effect is righteously head-spinning. Movements within songs mesh well together and take shape as verses and choruses, and as its two-minute titular introduction, and the likewise-timed centerpiece “Seas Between” and closer “Thiefsong” weave an acoustic-based thread throughout all the heft, the feeling of a masterplan at work becomes all the more prevalent.
If Horseburner are telling a story here — and they may or may not be; I haven’t had the benefit of a lyric sheet — then it’s one that sets up across intricately conceived chapters that balance indulgence and creative will against sheer impact of groove, “A Joyless King,” “Drowning Bird” and “The Fisherman’s Vow” separated by “Seas Between” from the side B salvo “Hand of Gold, Man of Stone,” “The Oak” and “Fathoms.” The underlying modus doesn’t necessarily change between the two sections — in fact, I’d argue The Thief is best enjoyed on a linear format so as to get the whole effect of “Seas Between” as the centerpiece without having to worry about a side flip as one would on vinyl — but flourish of proggy guitar interplay and keyboard in “The Oak” and the fact that “Fathoms” is the only song on the record to top eight minutes does speak to a certain amount of branching out, though there’s no question that in the case of the latter, its position as the full-album payoff is purposeful as well.
One imagines that if Horseburner didn’t already know it when they were writing the song, it quickly became clear in the recording process that “Fathoms” would close out ahead of “Thiefsong,” such is the thump with which it lands and the heights to which it soars in its finishing, solo-topped sway. That puts further emphasis on the flow that’s been happening all along throughout The Thief, as all the more it seems “A Joyless King” and “Drowning Bird” are meant to draw the listener into the varied but linear whole-album progression. The short version is it works, and with deceptive subtlety, because as they’re setting up this linear motion, Horseburner are also bashing and crashing through killer chug and hairpin-turn rhythms, stomping through headbang-ready heavy parts and adding more than hints of nuance to deepen the proceedings beyond what might otherwise be “cool riffs, bro.”
Nothing against that, understand, but The Thief is on a different and more complex mission, and the band bear that out in the means by which they maintain both the thoughtfulness of the material and the conversation they’re having with their audience here. Because whatever layering there might be between Thomas‘s keys and guitar, the recording itself is geared toward capturing a live setting. With so much vitality, it could hardly be otherwise. Tracked at Amish Electric Chair Studios and Green Mist Studios respectively by Neil Tuuri (who also mixed) and Thomas himself, there’s no lack of clarity in the offering, and even the most distorted, driving moments have a crispness to them that speaks further to the band’s will to actively engage their listenership, but the balance with raw energy across The Thief‘s span is striking, and it’s exactly that engagement that’s the reason why.
Horseburner want you to get into this album. They make it plain. The Thief is the output of a band who’ve been around for 10 years, have gotten their shit together, built up some momentum and decided to make a real push at having an impact. They sound hungry more than angry, but most of all they sound ready, and that’s true in the brief quiet interlude in “The Fisherman’s Vow” as much as in the fist-pumping early dual-guitar theatrics and subsequent all-out start-stop crunch of “The Oak.” The only question is what that engagement is leading to? If, after 10 years as a band, Horseburner want to hit the road and make a go of selling full-color t-shirts to various US and eventually European cities, I have no doubt in my mind they could pull that off in a fashion that’s at least no more or less sustainable than anyone else doing the same. Time will tell what their goals ultimately are and whether or not they get there, but most importantly, The Thief is a resonant announcement of their arrival, and that is not at all to be missed.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 29th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
The basic tracks are done (they posted the photo included here to celebrate), and New Jersey’s Solace are headed back into the studio in early August to mix. After that, mastering, then it’s on to Blues Funeral Recordings for release. It’s a fair enough signing on the part of the label, whose honcho, Jadd Shickler, once upon a turn-of-the-century worked with the band via his old imprint, MeteorCity. The reunion, as it were, will be centered around The Brink, which is Solace‘s first new album since 2010 and from which they’re sharing the first — obviously not final versions — audio in the teaser below. I had the pleasure of taking a couple of the pics included in the montage. That’s always nice.
I’m not going to say The Brink will definitely be out this year, because this is Solace and I know better, but even if it’s Dec. 31, I’ll take it. At this point I’m just happy to know it exists, it’s in the can awaiting finishing touches, and it’s got a home for a proper release.
That’s enough for today.
More to come as I hear it, and hopefully I hear it soon. Ha:
From Blues Funeral: “In multiple decades of releasing music, Solace might just be the best band I’ve ever worked with, and probably the most under-appreciated. I nearly bankrupted my last label trying to shove their music down people’s throats, so having the chance to get back into severe debt behind one of the greatest metal bands of all time feels like coming home again. With Solace, you’re always on The Brink… of epic heaviness, drunken disaster, and probably financial ruin. There’s no place we’d rather be!”
Say Solace: “A few riffs from from forth coming album The Brink out later this year on Blues Funeral Recordings! Expect some healthy doses of Heavy 70’s Riff Rock, NWOBHM Riffing, Drunken Sea Shanties, Weighty DOOM, and a smidge of 90’s Noise. You’ve been warned….”
‘The Brink’ tracklisting: 1- Breaker Of The Way 2- Desert Coffin 3- Dead Sailors Dream 4- Waste People 5- The Light Is A Lie 6- Crushing Black 7- Bird Of Ill Omen (Remix) 8- Shallows Fade 9- The Brink 10- Until The Last Dog Is Hung 11- Dead Sailors Reprise
Solace live: Sept. 20-22 Descendants of Crom Pittsburgh, PA Sept. 29 Kung Fu Necktie Philly, PA w/ Backwoods Payback & Cavern
Solace is: Tommy Southard – Guitar Justin Daniels – Guitar Justin Goins – Vocals Mike Sica – Bass Timmy Gitlan – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 29th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I guess in the end it was probably lineup trouble that did in Satan’s Satyrs. Bassist/vocalist Clayton Burgess was a founding member, and guitarist Jarrett Nettnin, if he wasn’t, joined pretty early on as well, but in their decade together, they’d been through a handful of drummers, and though they brought in guitarist Nate Towle in 2016, they’d seen a few other six-stringers come and go along the way as well. That kind of thing can take a toll on a band over time.
Still, Satan’s Satyrs‘ run was plenty productive. Over the course of their 10 years, they released four full-lengths — the latest of which, The Lucky Ones, came out in 2018 on RidingEasy and Bad Omen Records — as well as their 2010 breakthrough EP, Lucifer Lives!, a 2018 split on Relapse with their oft-tourmates Windhand and a host of other live and EP-type outings. While we’re on the subject, they toured steadily as well, hitting Europe multiple times as well as the US, where among many others, they did a run alongside Electric Wizard as Burgess pulled double-duty playing bass at the time for the UK doom legends.
As to what future plans might be, I’m not sure on the whole. Towle has hinted at something coming together with drummer Jason Oberuc — who filled in on Satan’s Satyrs‘ last tour — and vocalist Alyson Dellinger, but it’s all still pretty murky, and as to what the others’ plans might be, I can’t say. They were confirmed to take part in SonicBlast Moledo 2019 in Portugal next month with Sean Saley (ex-Pentagram, etc.) behind the kit, but that appearance as well as all other live dates have been canceled.
For being relatively young, they were veterans who came out of the gate 10 years ago with an aesthetic that was ahead of its time in blending ’70s biker boogie and doom to a VHS-grained effect. They would seem to have influenced more bands one way or another than they know.
Their statement was short and sweet:
Satan’s Satyrs is no more. The band’s scheduled appearance at Sonicblast Modelo is cancelled. Thanks for the last ten years, from the first demo tape to the final show.
The new Weird Owl full-length, Wet Telepathy, has been given a Sept. 20 release date through Little Cloud Records — preorders are up now, if you’re the think-ahead type — and I can hardly think of a better time than the end of summer for its shimmering orange psychedelic haze. As the nights begin to turn cool in respite from the humidity of the Northeast, to have Weird Owl belting out live-in-the-moment jams like “Phantom Physician,” “Death Necklace” and the garagedelic “Diamond Mist” — the video for which is premiering at the bottom of this post — will be nothing but welcome, as the Brooklynite outfit follow 2017’s Bubblegum Brainwaves (review here) with a likewise expanded-mind melodic wash, all “far out, man” and not a bummer in the bunch, even the 90-second organ stretch “Headless Horsemen” and the closer “Let Each Man Decompose (At His Own Speed),” which takes Help!-era Beatles — that tambourine is a tell — to dreamier places only after the more fully-fuzzed “Nailed to the Ceiling” has run your grunge childhood through a lysergic spin cycle. You put in white sheets. They came out tie-dye. So it goes.
That’s how these cats do, and they do it well and they’ve been doing it long enough at this point that their sense of space is immediate. Returning once again to the studio with Jeff Berner at Galuminum Foil means their adventure happens in familiar climes, and in some ways, Wet Telepathy feels like a strong, more song-minded sequel to Bubblegum Brainwaves, but as the maybe-sitar and definitely-keyboards of “P.U.M.P.” roll out crumbling mountain landscapes, it’s as much a fresh vibe as it is a classic one, and Weird Owl invite the listener to their wavelength at the same time they make a compelling case to undertake the journey. All I’m saying is that if you feel like maybe your blood just got awesome, it’s probably working.
Wet Telepathy is out Sept. 20. You’ll find the video for “Diamond Mist” below, but here’s art and info first, courtesy of the PR wire:
Weird Owl – Wet Telepathy
New album out 9/20/19 on Little Cloud Records.
NYC psych rock veterans Weird Owl are set to release Wet Telepathy, their seventh studio album, on September 20, 2019 on Little Cloud Records. Taking off from the psychedelic yet concise songwriting established on 2017’s Bubblegum Brainwaves, this new album showcases the unpredictable and idiosyncratic nature of the band’s musical output. Songs about phantoms, psychic demons, bad trips and time travel all find a home in the off-kilter and slightly wobbly sci-fi universe created by Weird Owl. Wet Telepathy marks the fourth consecutive record on which the band has partnered with Jeffrey Berner (Psychic TV) in the role of engineer, mixer and producer. Together they have achieved a vision that is totally unlike any other band in the contemporary psych rock scene.
Recorded, mixed and produced by Jeffrey Berner at Galuminum Foil, Brooklyn, NY. Mastered by Scott Craggs at Old Colony Mastering. Artwork by Killer Acid.
Since releasing their debut album in 2007, Weird Owl have firmly cemented their place in the international psychedelic underground. Championed by none other than legendary Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe (who released two of the band’s albums on his personal label). One of the band’s tunes, “White Hidden Fire”, has been viewed on YouTube over 2.6 million times at the time of writing. Weird Owl have performed at such renowned festivals as Austin Psych Fest, Eindhoven Psych Fest (Netherlands) and The Liverpool International Festival of Psychedelia (UK).
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 29th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
So, new Yatra in November, maybe? Feels late, but if they’re dead set on making two LPs happen in 2019 — their first, Death Ritual (discussed here), came out in January on Grimoire Records — it’s certainly plausible provided the vinyl is in production. Maybe even October? That feels like a run, as it’s already almost August, but that would align with Yatra‘s Obelisk-presented European tour with Sunnata starting Oct. 2, so that might make sense too. I’ll be curious to find out when an exact date surfaces. So far what we’ve got to go on is “before the end of the year.” Okeydokey.
Now then, it was pretty apparent given the response Yatra have thus far gotten from their studio work and their live show that someone was going to pick up their next release, and the only real question was who it would be. STB Records would seem to have won out this time around, and I’ve no doubt that the fanbase Yatra have quickly set about building will dig into the label’s “red carpet treatment,” as it’s called below, with an array of vinyl editions pressed, Obi strips, deluxe versions, test pressings and all that kind of good stuff. I’d be happy just to hear the thing for now, but given the hit-it-really-fucking-hard factor Yatra have put into play throughout 2019 to-date, they’ve earned that “treatment” and then some.
Kudos to the band and the label. Here’s the announcement and their currently scheduled shows:
YATRA – New Band Signing!!
STB Records is proud to announce and welcome YATRA to the STB Family! We are very excited to work together and we can not wait to release this new banger of an album to the fans, old and new!
If you have not checked Yatra out yet, click the link below and have your mind blown. Expect the full STB Records red carpet treatment for the new album expected to be released before the end of the year.
Alright, let’s do this. Let’s talk about Technical Ecstasy. In a world where the saying goes, “you can only trust yourself and the first six Black Sabbath albums,” it’s the seventh. Widely regarded as the nadir of the doom forebears’ original lineup, including by the band itself, it was released in 1976 through Vertigo Records and there’s no question it was a departure from their prior work. That’s been blamed on a number of sources, whether it’s commercial or indeed more technical aspirations in the songwriting, but most centers around the fact that production was handled by guitarist Tony Iommi on the part of the full band. But really, even on paper it was kind of a recipe for disaster. They were a bunch of coked-out rockstars recording in Miami in 1976. That’s not an album. That’s a movie.
But history has been awfully kind to Iommi, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward. Let’s remember that it was their late-’90s reunion tour that solidified their singular place in the pantheon of heavy metal, a comeback that followed an era of confused recordings like 1995’s Forbidden (discussed here) as the band tried to fit a modern context a quarter-century after getting their start. The truth is Technical Ecstasy does have some elements that show the band wanting to move forward from the prior darkened sound that would eventually become their legacy. The penultimate “She’s Gone” is based around acoustic guitar and a string arrangement in a way that feels grown out of “Fluff” from 1973’s Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and presages some of the more grandiose sonic reaching of the Ronnie James Dio-fronted era that began in 1980.
At the same time, Technical Ecstasy wasn’t without an edge. I won’t attempt to defend the ultra-sleazed-out lyric of closer “Dirty Women,” but the song had a riffy crunch that fit with what the band had done a year earlier on Sabotage and though opener “Back Street Kids” reaffirms a working class origin that the band had readily given up in favor of fame and fortune, its drive was also a foreshadow of what the band would do on cuts like “Neon Knights” or “Turn up the Night” in their second iteration, or even on the title-track of the subsequent 1978 LP, Never Say Die! — a barnburner to lead-off. Experimentation with keyboard prominence in “You Won’t Change Me” came coupled with some fair tonal heft and a suitable vocal performance from Osbourne, whose voice was continuing to take on the affect it would further develop in his solo work also beginning in 1980, and a concluding solo that could please even a discriminating Iommi fan.
It was the album’s attempts at commerciality that came up lame. “It’s Alright” put Ward on vocals, and he handled it ably, moving into a falsetto series of “oohs” to complement the McCartney-esque piano bounce of the initial verse before Iommi‘s out-of-nowhere sweeping solo. But for a band who made their name with raw impact, it was too stark a contrast for many. I won’t take away from the honky-tonk piano line of the later “Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor” or the riff that accompanies, but the track sounded like the work of a band running on empty, and after “Gypsy” and the rolling groove and highlight bassline of “All Moving Parts (Stand Still),” it just seemed like Sabbath had run out of things to talk about. “She’s Gone” and “Dirty Women” would do nothing to dispel that notion in closing out the record.
That left “Gypsy” and “All Moving Parts (Stand Still)” as highlights one way or the other. They moved Sabbath‘s sound forward from Sabotage and introduced a more lush sense of melody (“Gypsy”) and were able to toy with structure in interesting ways. I’d put “You Won’t Change Me” in that category as well, despite its lyrical redundancy to the opener and “Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor.” It had only been five years since the band went “Into the Void” on Master of Reality (discussed here), but Black Sabbath were a different group than they were in 1971, in concept if not yet in personnel, and Technical Ecstasy represented the turmoil that was beginning to take hold that would ultimately result in the ouster of Osbourne and the arrival of Dio following Never Say Die! It was a step along a much longer, broader path.
Does that make it the worst original-lineup Black Sabbath record? Well, something’s bound to be at the bottom, and it certainly isn’t Vol. 4. I wrote a post nearly six years ago about a live version of “Dirty Women” that was so sloppy, raw and high-sounding that it encapsulated for me the crashing-out of Sabbath as a whole, and defenders of the late-Ozzy era rallied to tell me how wrong I was to malign that period of their work. So maybe bad Sabbath is still better than a lot of other things. I have the feeling if the commercial experiment had paid off and “Gypsy” or “It’s Alright” had been huge hits, the band wouldn’t be so quick to write them off, but that’s here or there. And doesn’t change the fact that their most influential work remains across the first six records, if not the first four.
Technical Ecstasy has more than a little contextual appeal. It’s part of the narrative of Black Sabbath, and an important part for what it would lead to and the changes that would come in the band in the years that followed, but on its own, the powerhouse songwriting and performances, the sheer urgency of their earlier work was largely gone. And fair enough as the popular consciousness had largely moved on from early ’70s rock and the NWOBHM had yet to take hold. Technical Ecstasy resides in that somewhat awkward between-place: mature but stoned, classy but sleaze, loud but soft. And while in hindsight one can look back and appreciate the confusion for what it is, how it represents that pivotal time for Black Sabbath as a whole, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll be the record you reach for when you want to listen to them. But hey, every now and then, you could certainly do much worse.
And seriously, how great would the movie about recording it be?
As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.
—
My alarm was set for 4:30 this morning. I was giving myself a break since I got in late from the Crowbar/Lo-Pan show last night and didn’t get to sleep at 8PM as I otherwise might. Lose like four hours, gain a half-hour back. Whatever. I woke up at 3:50AM and that was it. Blew that plan like a vacuum tube.
Worth it though. Show was low key, but the bands sounded good and I was glad I went, not the least for having bought a Hawaiian shirt from Lo-Pan. Best $25 I spent all week.
Next week is packed, so let’s do notes:
MON: Horseburner track premiere; Weird Owl track premiere.
TUE: Ghost: Hello track premiere; Rancho Bizarro video premiere; Holy Grove mixtape.
WED: Hound the Wolves/Glasghote stream; Gurt video premiere.
THU: Warcrab track premiere.
FRI: Oblivion Reptilian review.
Busy busy busy.
This week has been much the same, I guess. Couple six-post days in there. I’m still pretty surprised about Des leaving High on Fire and interested to hear how they sound with someone else in that spot. Everyone on the West Coast seems to give the new guy a rousing endorsement, so either he’s a beast or just a generally awesome person or maybe both. Both would be nice in a good-for-him kind of way, but if he’s a prick and can drum, well, it’s not like I’ll have to hang out with him. Low stakes for me, is what I’m saying.
This weekend, yeah, I don’t know what’s up. I think I’ll try and take tomorrow and not to Obelisk stuff at all. We’ve got a lot going on with getting this house ready to receive the rest of our crap from Massachusetts — including like 35 boxes of CDs that allegedly are going to go somewhere other than a storage unit — so yeah. Having a toddler pull ladders down on himself does not make that process any easier, I’m sure you’ll be shocked to find out.
Dude was like CRASH and then lost his mind for like a minute and then was fine. Two black eyes and a bloody nose this week. Oy.
He’s gonna be one of those kids who breaks his arm falling off the roof. When he’s four.
No Gimme Radio show this week, but thanks for asking. I’ll get a playlist together for the next one though, so if you’re not tired of me being like, “Duh, songs,” there will be plenty more opportunity for that.
Until then, I wish you a great and safe weekend. Thanks again for reading. Have fun, be safe, live long, prosper, all that silly whatnot.
moving into a falsetto series of “oohs” to complement the McCartney-esque piano bounce of the initial verse before Iommi‘s out-of-nowhere sweeping solo. But for a band who made their name with raw impact, it was too stark a contrast for many. I won’t take away from the honky-tonk piano line of the later “Rock ‘n’ Roll Doctor” or the riff that accompanies, but the track sounded like the work of a band running on empty, and after “Gypsy” and the rolling groove and highlight bassline of “All Moving Parts (Stand Still),” it just seemed like Sabbath had run out of things to talk about. “She’s Gone” and “Dirty Women” would do nothing to dispel that notion in closing out the record.
