Posted in Whathaveyou on November 26th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
The self-titled debut (review here) from Indiana’s Wolftooth kind of bounced around after its initial 2018 release, picked up by Blackseed Records and then Cursed Tongue Records and Ripple Music for an eventual issue this past June. I mean, hey, I get it. The record’s a kind of riff metal paradise, with spot-on weighted tones that have just enough sharpness to their edge to keep moving when they want to — and yes, they want to for a decent portion of the time, but still allow the band to emphasize groove rather than charge — can’t it be both? yes! — when they see fit to do so. Top it off with solid songcraft and you’ve got the kind of winner that, yeah, three separate labels might indeed be interested in working with.
I’ll be derned curious to hear the four-piece’s follow-up when the time comes in 2020, not the least because the band’s update on the recording currently in progress includes word that, “Bigger riffs and bigger choruses were the focus on this new installment of Wolftooth songs.” I like big riffs and big choruses. The more the merrier. So yeah, sign me up. I don’t know if it’ll be out through Ripple/Cursed Tongue or what, but when I hear something I’ll let you know.
Here’s the rest of what they had to say:
Wolftooth – Recording Update
Wolftooth entered Led Fields Studio in Connersville, Indiana, with Jeremy Lovins at the helm the end of August 2019 to start the recording process of their sophomore full length album. The band has 10 new tracks and is the final stages of tracking at the time of this update. We expect to be finished by the end of December 2019 and the album out to the fans by summer 2020.
The songs themselves represent a more focused and polished Wolftooth. Fans can expect tracks that are full on rockers to tracks that are reminiscent of Wolftooths’ nwobhm roots. Bigger riffs and bigger choruses were the focus on this new installment of Wolftooth songs. The band feels that this is their best effort yet.
Wolftooth is: Chris Sullivan Guitar/ Vocals Terry McDaniel Bass Jeff Cole Guitar Johnny Harrod Drums/Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 26th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Think of it like a split. If it was a split LP, you’d have three bands splitting a 12-inch platter or something like that, and it would be business as usual. Everyone would agree to art and cover some portion of the costs, the label would get behind it and blamo, the magic happens. Fuzzed and Buzzed Records out of Toronto has made the idea a little more complicated. The forthcoming The Powder Box — available direct from them in Canada, through DHU Records in Europe or the All That is Heavy store in the States — brings together Head, Cherry Hooker and Darlene Shrugg under an appropriately glam-style roof, with three separate seven-inchers all snuggled up together in a box set.
This is the second time the label has done this, arriving behind The Altar Box, which has long since sold out. I’d expect much the same with this round, despite the shift in aesthetic. In any case, kudos to the label for changing it up, and continuing its mission of highlighting their regional underground. That’s how you make shit happen. They obviously believe in it, and there’s very little better than that to sell something as far as I’m concerned.
They’ve posted a lot about it, here’s a bit of it:
THE POWDER BOX (2019)
HEY ROCKERS!!!!
OUR EUROPEAN HOMIES OVER @dhu_records ONLY HAVE 6 COPIES LEFT AND THAT’S IT!!!!
BOOGIE ON OVER AND SCORE ONE OF THE LAST POWDER BOXES FEATURING TORONTO ROCKERS @headrnr @cherryhooker @darleneshrugg
IF YOU’RE IN CANADA OR THE STATES, HIT UP @allthatisheavy OR YOURS TRULY @fuzzedandbuzzed!!
STAY BUZZED!!! @fuzzedandbuzzed FEST STARTS THIS THURSDAY NOV 28th 10pm @swandiveto!! NOV 29th IS THE HAMILTON RELEASE PARTY @doorspubhamilton AND THE FOLLOWING DAY, NOV 30th WE HAVE THE FINAL PARTY AT LEGENDARY @bovinesexclub
COME PARTY, BRING SOME FRIENDS OR MAKE NEW ONES!!!!!!!
3 Record Box (45″ Vinyl)
HEAD A: Shudder B: Journey to the Center of the Mind
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 26th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Maybe you saw Corrosion of Conformity live at some point this year in the US. Maybe you caught them at Freak Valley and other fests this year or you’re looking forward to seeing them in Europe next Spring as they make the rounds of the Spring festival circuit, doing Desertfest in London and Berlin, no doubt among a slew of other still to be announced. The point is, C.O.C. have been touring. Hard.
And even as they’ve been celebrating their past and landmark releases, they haven’t exactly been shy about showing love to 2018’s No Cross No Crown(review here), and neither should they be, honestly, both because it kicks ass and because it was a long time coming. I dug what the re-emergent Animosity-era three-piece of C.O.C. started doing abut a decade ago, but it’s a different animal, even if it’s most (or I guess half now) of the same people.
Well, Corrosion of Conformity haven’t been to Australia and New Zealand in six years, so as they continue to make the rounds on this significant-ass album cycle, they’re headed out that way in February for a round of shows presented by Silverback Touring, who posted the dates thusly:
We are stoked to announce the triumphant return of Southern rock legends, Corrosion Of Conformity, to Australia and New Zealand, and this time with Pepper Keenan up front. Pepper returned to the band for 2018’s massive “No Cross No Crown” album which charted around the world, including Australia.
These shows are not to be missed. Tickets on sale now.
Corrosion of Conformity – Australian & New Zealand Tour Tour Dates: Tue 4 Feb – Auckland, Galatos Wed 5 Feb- Adelaide, Lion Arts Factory Thu 6 Feb – Perth, Amplifier Capitol Fri 7 Feb – Melbourne, Max Watt’s House of Music Sat 8 Feb – Brisbane, Crowbar Brisbane Wed 12 Feb – Sydney, Crowbar Sydney
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 26th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I’ve been through Denmark’s airport, so while my passport has the stamp — and the last time I was there, the guy at the customs counter had some very nice things to say about the photo from 2013 as relates to my current look; they almost always comment or at least give me a second look — I can’t really claim to have ever been there. If I was going to go, a smaller-ish festival like Esbjerg Fuzztival 2020 would be the reason why. The event, put together by members of Vestjysk Ørken, will feature not only that band for another go in its third incarnation, but also Vokonis and fellow Swedes Hazemaze as well as Mexico’s Vinnum Sabbathi, who one assumes will be announcing a European tour any minute now or at very least sometime in the next couple months — you know, before they fly over. That’s usually how these things work. But yeah, even from here I can feel this one being all about the vibe, being chill but heavy, and everyone there being laid back and having a good time.
2019 looked like an utter blast. I’d expect no different from 2020 once it’s finished being built up. Hell, this already looks like fun.
To wit:
ESBJERG FESTIVAL 2020 – FIRST BAND ANNOUNCEMENT!
We are very proud to present the first 4 bands on the poster for 2020!
VOKONIS will travel across the shallow waters from Sweden with a style that ranges from the heavy riffage and vocals of heavy bands such as Baroness to utterly clean Pink Floydish soundscapes, they aim to completely immerse you!
All The way from Mexico Vinnum Sabbathi merges heavy walls of sound with samples from science and sci-fi to create a unique sonic experience!
Also from Sweden Hazemaze will give you all the Sabbath riffs you could ever hope for and so much more! Today also marks their second full album release!
As per tradition (3 times IS a tradition!) we welcome back Vestjysk Ørken to open the festival for us on Friday!
[Click play above to stream ‘Million Year Summer’ from Acrimony’s new remaster box set, Chronicles of Wode. It starts streaming Dec. 7, preorders are here starting today and ship out in mid-Jan. In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote the liner notes for the box set and was compensated for that work. I have not been compensated for this review, and frankly, given the chance to premiere a remastered Acrimony track and an excuse to write about these albums, there was no chance I wasn’t going to jump on it.]
Chronicles of Wode is a 3CD box set from Burning World Records that brings together the bulk of the discography of Welsh heavy rockers Acrimony. It includes their two full-lengths, 1994’s Hymns to the Stone (discussed here) and 1997’s Tumuli Shroomaroom (discussed here), both with new artwork by Jimbob Isaac (also of Taint and Hark)”, as well as a third disc of off-album tracks, some of which were previously collected on 2007’s Bong On – Live Long! compilation and some which were not, including a yet-unheard Doom cover, and so on. Bringing these offerings together is something noteworthy in itself — the band’s influence over UK heavy rock was and is formidable, and they were genuinely ahead of their time when it came to using repetition and jammy vibes as a means to hone a heavy psychedelic feel while retaining a metallic energy beneath — but crucially, Chronicles of Wode gives all of these Acrimony tracks a much-needed remastering, and they’ve never sounded so vibrant. That’s particularly true of Tumuli Shroomaroom, but while Hymns to the Stone is more dated in terms of its basic production, that’s more of a fact of how the record was originally made, and it seems no less integral to preserve that than it does to give Acrimony‘s catalog the detailing it has long since earned.
There’s a balance to be struck between the two sides, of course, and Chronicles of Wode seems to find it in the crunch of “Leaves of Mellow Grace,” the opener of Hymns to the Stone, which rolls out its nod like a clarion, finding Acrimony — the five-piece of vocalist Dorian Walters, guitarists Stu O’Hara and Lee Davies, bassist Paul Bidmead and drummer Darren Ivey — immediately putting the groove first in a way that few acts at the time had understood how to do. Their influences were varied, from ’70s rock to trance techno, but their riffs were undeniably heavy, with lyrics exploring the isolation of their hometown and the same kind of disaffection that once launched Black Sabbath to the outer reaches of doom from a blues rock beginning. Acrimony started out more as death metal or at least death-doom, but Hymns to the Stone was a point of discovery for them in terms of claiming their identity, and whether it’s the nodding pub-homage “The Inn” or the myth-creation they engaged with “Urabalaboom,” the sonic drawl and spacey push of “Spaced Cat #6” or the glorious noise-wash jam of “Whatever” ahead of brash closer “Cosmic AWOL,” Hymns to the Stone is a record that has been persistently undervalued, not just for what it set in motion in terms of Acrimony‘s all-too-short tenure as a band, but on the sheer merits of its material.
Rest assured, part of the reason Hymns to the Stone is undervalued is because it exists largely in the shadow of its follow-up. Clocking in at a whopping 65 minutes — prime CD era in 1997 — and originally released through Peaceville Records, Tumuli Shroomaroom is a legitimate heavy rock classic. Its production was clearer, its purpose was clearer and it took the blow-the-doors-down promise shown throughout Hymns to the Stone and brought it to a point of full realization throughout extended pieces like “Motherslug (The Mother of All Slugs),” “Heavy Feather” and “Firedance,” not to mention the nine-minute opener, “Hymns to the Stone,” a title-track for the release before. Go figure. By ’97, Acrimony‘s sense of world-creation was becoming clearer, and their songs — not all of them, but definitely some — had started telling a story beyond the riffs and nods. Of course, Tumuli Shroomaroom had and still has plenty of that too in “Million Year Summer,” “Vy,” “Find the Path” and “The Bud Song” — the arguable “meat” of the album in its post-opener beginning and the middle of the nine-song tracklist — but even amid “The Bud Song”‘s ultra-stoner janga-janga shuffle there’s psychedelic flourish building on that shown at the outset of the song, and Acrimony‘s adventurous sensibility never really dissipates. It’s just presented in dynamic fashion, and they use it to various ends throughout.
And that shows up not just in the odds and ends of percussion and didgeridoo and guitar effects, echo, etc., but in the various structures of of the tracks themselves. The same was true of Hymns to the Stone, if nascent, but Tumuli Shroomaroom realized these impulses in a new way that, even as a stoner rock underground was flourishing in the UK, was pretty rare. Some of the roots of that aural diversity are shown on the disc of extra tracks included in the box — unlike the two album, it’s not available separately to my knowledge — with the aforementioned take on Doom‘s “Exploitation” and the Status Quo cover of “O Baby” that was featured on Bong On – Live Long! alongside raw pieces like “Tumuli” and “100 New Gods” and “Timebomb!!!” and “Earthchild Inferno,” here pushed to the opening position as some of the cuts from the original compilation were cut, presumably for time. These songs have also been remastered and are worth hearing on both an academic level as further context for the band and just on their own merits — I don’t know what Burning World is charging, but “O Baby” alone is a worthy argument in favor of it — fitting well as a complement to the two albums that are obviously the showcase pieces of Chronicles of Wode and giving fans something more to dig into even as the records themselves invite rediscovery.
One also can’t ignore the fact that since Tumuli Shroomaroom was last reissued in 2007 by Leaf Hound Records — to the best of my knowledge and a bit to my surprise, Hymns to the Stone has never been reissued — an entire generation of heavy rockers has emerged and thrived on the ground that Acrimony helped break during their time. That may have been part of the motivation for four-fifths of the original band to come back together in 2010 as Sigiriya — Davies was in Lifer and has since moved on to Woven Man — but either way, the important point here is that there’s no level on which these two full-lengths don’t deserve the care and treatment they’re given through the presentation of Chronicles of Wode, and anyone previously unfamiliar with Acrimony‘s work who takes it on is only going to get a more complete picture of from where modern heavy rock stems, especially in the UK, but also across the broader international underground. For prior fans? Well, it’s just a delight, pure and simple. Like visiting old friends.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 25th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Brutal, harsh, and dark with manic flashes of color and the band themselves sped up and slowed down, thrashing about and tearing at themselves amid some sort or other form of depicted ritual in the woods, drummer Robby Staebler‘s video for All Them Witches‘ recently-unveiled single “1×1” (discussed here) does nothing if not capture the mood of the song. He, along with guitarist Ben McLeod and bassist/vocalist Charles Michael Parks, Jr., are currently on tour in Europe with Ghost and Tribulation, and they’ve newly announced a Spring run of mostly East Coast dates that will follow a festival stop in Mexico City this March. They’ve also got three hometown shows in Nashville to round out the year from Dec. 27-29. No substitute for staying busy.
The loneliness, intensity and seething feeling of “1×1” is writ large throughout the song, and I don’t feel particularly compelled to wax poetic about it, but I’ll say it’s the outright heaviest thing I’ve heard from All Them Witches since they signed to New West Records in 2015 ahead of releasing that Fall’s Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (review here), 2017’s Sleeping Through the War (review here) and 2018’s ATW (review here), but neither are they attempting to recapture the vibe of 2013’s Lightning at the Door (review here), instead incorporating the lessons they’ve learned since about crafting an atmosphere and blending that with a hard-hitting riff and amorphous melody and shouts of “I can’t wait to be defeated!” and “I can’t wait to throw this all away!” amid other proclamations. It is brutal.
And though the lyrics are easily read as a statement on touring life, or the band itself, the one constant with All Them Witches has always been change, and I’d no more expect what they do next to sound like “1×1” than I expected “1×1” to sound like it does coming off ATW. Their recorded material has always been about capturing a moment in time. So here’s one.
Enjoy:
All Them Witches, “1×1” official video
The video for our single, 1X1 premiered. It stars Emmy-award winning actress, Drea de Matteo, and was directed by our drummer, Robby Staebler.
We’ve added new Spring tour dates including two festivals: Vive Latino (Mexico City, MX) and Shaky Knees (Atlanta, GA).
ON TOUR with Ghost and Tribulation NOV 25 – Black Box Pangea – Kobenhavn, Denmark NOV 28 – Hartwall Arena – Helsinki, Finland NOV 30 – Spodek – Katowice, Poland DEC 1 – Universum – Prague, Czech Republic DEC 3 – BSA – Budapest, Hungary DEC 4 – Mo?vara – Zagreb, Croatia DEC 5 – Palabam – Mantova, Italy DEC 6 – Halle 622 – Zürich, Switzerland DEC 8 – Palau Sant Jordi – Barcelona, Spain DEC 10 – Altice Arena – Lisboa, Portugal DEC 11 – WiZink Center – Madrid, Spain DEC 13 – Zenith Of Strasbourg – Strasbourg, France DEC 14 – Stattbahnhof – Schweinfurt, Germany DEC 15 – Zenith – München, Germany DEC 17 – Rockhal – Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg DEC 18 – Zenith Nantes Metropole – Saint-herblain, France DEC 19 – Zénith de Toulouse – Toulouse, France DEC 27 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN DEC 28 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN DEC 29 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
SPRING 2020 DATES MARCH 14 – Vive Latino – Mexico City, MX MARCH 15 – Vive Latino – Mexico City, MX APRIL 17 – Ottobar – Baltimore, MD APRIL 18 – Space Ballroom – Hamden, CT APRIL 19 – The Met – Pawtucket, RI APRIL 21 – 3S Artspace – Portsmouth, NH APRIL 22 – Gateway City Arts – Holyoke, MA APRIL 23 – Asbury Lanes – Asbury Park, NJ APRIL 24 – Mr. Smalls Theatre – Pittsburgh, PA APRIL 25 – Blind Pig – Ann Arbor, MI APRIL 26 – Woodward Theatre – Cincinnati, OH APRIL 28 – Skully’s – Columbus, OH APRIL 29 – The Burl – Lexington, KY MAY 1 – Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA MAY 2 – Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA MAY 3 – Shaky Knees Music Festival – Atlanta, GA
All Them Witches is: Charles Michael Parks, Jr – bass, vocals Ben McLeod – guitar, vocals Robby Staebler – drums, vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 25th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Uh… whatever it takes, I guess?
Some thoughts on this: Heavy music has a long and kinda-shitty relationship with the Grammy Awards and with mainstream notoriety. Even when glam was at its commercial peak in the 1980s, it was treated as a joke by “true” metalheads, and these notions of purity — always politically problematic, even today — are by no means gone. Being part of a subculture inherently involves thinking you know something others don’t, when really what you know is something appeals to you, even if you don’t choose to examine why.
So, it’s especially hilarious when someone like High on Fire gets nominated — and wins! — a Grammy, as happened last year, and the attitude of the underground that’s celebrated the band for the better part of the last 20 years stuck up its nose and said, “Well, they finally got one right.” This year, that nod to the fact that heavy music outside even metal’s own mainstream exists would seem to be Candlemass, whose excellent 2019 offering, The Door to Doom (review here), not only brought a long-due reunion with original vocalist Johan Langquist, but brought in one Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath for a guest solo guitar on “Astorolus – The Great Octopus.” Indeed, that’s the song that got the nod.
Fine. I kind of felt at the time that Iommi‘s mere presence on the record overshadowed the true narrative of the album, which was the return of Langquist, but if it gets more people to listen to Candlemass and maybe dig back into some of the landmark doom they’ve made since 1986, then all the better. If you know anything about the band, you know founder/songwriter Leif Edling (bass) was way into making that appearance happen, so yeah, it’s a win on that front anyway, and if the Grammy nomination turns more heads in their direction, then yeah, super. Maybe they can ask for more money to play a show (I think I said the same thing about High on Fire). Maybe they’ll tour the US again. I’d take that.
I guess they’re a long-shot to win — there would seem to be a big four-letter word hanging over the rest of the nominees — but whatever. I didn’t care about the Grammys yesterday and I don’t care today, but frankly, Candlemass already won by being nominated, so good for them. Go get ’em, and so on.
From the PR wire:
CANDLEMASS Nominated for “Best Metal Performance” Grammy Award!
Candlemass are truly the manifestation of pure doom metal! Early 2019 saw the release of their latest album, The Door To Doom, via Napalm Records – an offering that features an unforgettable pairing with legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi on the track “Astorolus – The Great Octopus.” The song has now been nominated for a 2020 Grammy Award in the “Best Metal Performance” category. This is the first nomination for the band and the first nomination for Napalm Records!
The Grammy Awards ceremony will be held on January 26th and broadcast on CBS.
Leif Edling of Candlemass says: “We are very proud and honored to be nominated for a Grammy! Actually, a couple years ago, we said that the previous album would be the last one, yet here we are with a new record out plus Grammy talk. Wow! Proves that you should never give up. I must also take my hat off to Tony Iommi, who was kind enough to perform an amazing guitar solo on “Astorolus – The Great Octopus”. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We’re happy, thrilled, excited… and a bit shocked!”
Sebastian Münch, A&R Napalm Records, comments: “We are thrilled that Candlemass has been nominated for a Grammy Award for their track “Astorolus – The Great Octopus”, featuring the iconic Tony Iommi. This is the first nomination for them and for Napalm Records, so we couldn’t be more excited. Congratulations, Candlemass!”
The Door To Doom unsurprisingly follows the plot line mastermind, songwriter and bass player Leif Edling established in the past years: epic world class doom metal that relies on slow mammoth riffing. With Johan Langquist`s highly dramatic vocal style and the love for details, the band made this an epic album. The Door To Doom was produced by Marcus Jidell.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 25th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Italy’s Giöbia return after four years on Feb. 7 with their new album, Plasmatic Idol, which is as unplaceably ’80s synthy as the name would seem to indicate, on Heavy Psych Sounds, and following a release gig in their native Milan, the band will embark on a round of European tour dates — you know, Germany and some of those other nations who aren’t Germany — to support the record. Notable are three stops at the Heavy Psych Sounds Fest that’s of course thrown by their label, and a secret show in Bielefeld that rounds out on May 30. I don’t know about you, but I’m curious as to what’s going on in Bielefeld, Germany, on May 30. Club show? Secret headliner? Can’t-talk-about-it-yet festival appearance? Inquiring minds want to know.
I may or may not actually find out, but so it goes. There are a couple shows without venues listed, so I’ll assume those confirmations are in the works, but either way, looks like a good run and the album rules, so keep an eye/ear/tongue out, and if you’re somewhere in the world where you get to go, good on ya.
Dig:
GIÖBIA – PLASMATIC IDOL EUROPEAN TOUR 2020
We are so happy to present a very special tour !!!
A lot of single shows but also great festivals such as Heavy Psych Sounds Fests in Paris, London and Antwerp !!!
*** GIÖBIA – PLASMATIC IDOL EUROPEAN TOUR 2020 *** 22.02.2020 IT Milano-Cox („Plasmatic Idol“ Release Party) 27.02.2020 CH Olten-Coq D’Or 28.02.2020 CH Winterthur-Gaswerk 29.02.2020 DE Siegen-Vortex 01.03.2020 DE Munich-Backstage 02.03.2020 DE Tubingen-Hausbar neben der Stifskirche 03.03.2020 DE Mannheim 04.03.2020 FR Lille 05.03.2020 FR Paris-Glazart HPS Fest 06.03.2020 BE Antwerp-Trix HPS Fest 07.03.2020 UK London-Underworld HPS Fest 19.03.2020 FR Chambery-Le Brin Du Zinc 20.03.2020 FR Bordeaux 21.03.2020 FR Nantes-La Scene Michelet 22.03.2020 FR Lyon 22.05.2020 SL Ljubljana-Channel Zero 23.05.2020 AT Linz-Kapu 25.05.2020 AT Salzburg-Rockhouse 26.05.2020 DE Weimar-C Keller 27.05.2020 DE Dresden-Ostpol 28.05.2020 DE Berlin-Zukunft 29.05.2020 DE Munster-Rare Guitar Shop 30.05.2020 DE Bielefeld-”secret show”
The new Giöbia album “Plasmatic Idol” is simply impressive: a collection of different sounds and atmospheres, brings the listener to another sidereal world full of dreams and mind travels. You can clearly feel the influence of certain Pink Floyd in some passages but also pinches of Italian Progressive Rock, Horror Soundtrack from 70’s movies, garage 60’s influences, US West Coast Psychedelia, and late 60’s Space Rock a la Hawkwind The production is delicate and smooth, the album flows without interruptions and the music immerses your mind in a cosmic dimension. The vintage organs and synthesizers are used in the best way possible, 8 tracks that capture your attention without distraction. Produced by Bazu the guitar player and singer of the band and Mixed and Mastered By Brett Orrison (Black Angels, Jack White) at Spaceflight Records in Austin, Texas. The Great cover album and artwork is by Metastazis.
