The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Lex ‘Frumpy’ Waterreus of Seedy Jeezus

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I play guitar and sing in Seedy Jeezus… I’d always wanted to play guitar since a kid. My father played guitar and every other string instrument, banjo, ukulele, etc. Oddly enough he never once had any interest in my playing, but my mum saw music as a healthy interest. She supported it, and well… after A LOT of gigs, jams rehearsals… then developing hand problems and stopping for many years, I auditioned for a band playing 60s Mod stuff… I clicked with the bassist, that eventuated into the first incarnation of Seedy Jeezus, and the first time I’d ever played in a three-piece band.

Describe your first musical memory.

I was kid, maybe five… My sister had been given the Shangri-las greatest hits record, and played it over n over. It was the equivalent of the Wiggles in the house. My mum threatened to smash it many times. That was the first time I took notice of a band or record. To this day I love the Shangri-las.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Playing Freak Valley Festival. There’s plenty of them, touring jamming and hanging with Isaiah Mitchell, just being onstage with your band and playing music with one mind… but Freak Valley was like finding family you didn’t know you had. The people we met that day have become very good friends. I think any friendship made through music is special.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

You know, Covid has tested many beliefs, and also revealed many disappointments.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I think artistic progression is reflected on life growth and experiences. It’s like those times when life kicks you down, then one day you realize you’re back up and walking. You look back and are happy you survived, you feel stronger and you’ve grown… That growth flows into art, music and outlook on life and expression.

How do you define success?

When you write a song and someone loves it and they connect to it. When your music has moved someone, they’ve responded to it on an emotional level… that to me is success. There are many bands I have loved and supported since a kid that were to me successful, they may have only played local gigs and released a demo tape or CD… but I still listen to them today. To me they’re successful. They wrote something I connected to…

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

It’s funny JJ, what came to mind first off was watching my mother take her last breath while she looked directly into my eyes. I didn’t sleep for days after. Every time I closed my eyes I relived it. Then I saw the cycle of life in that moment, she saw me take my first breath and I saw her take her last. That somehow made the trauma seem like a natural part of life. I wrote about it on “Treading Water” from Polaris. The line “breath in and set me free” that last breath and the silence after held me at a spot which seemed like forever, but it was moments… Then my world fell apart. We don’t play it live cause it’s a headspace I don’t want to visit on stage.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

For the last couple of years I have tried to raise money for an organization back in New Zealand, in my hometown, that helps the homeless with food. I have done this through producing artwork, etc., that are based from the town’s history. I have an idea of how I can set up a business model that would be a perpetual income for the organization that looks after the homeless, and would need little effort to maintain and run. I have already tested waters to raise $$ and they’ve been successful, with support from local businesses back home… Once Covid passes, I hope to get things a bit deeper and more solid. Homelessness in NZ is a problem, I have had friends I grew up with end up homeless and sadly a couple have died on the streets. It took a childhood friend who went down the drugs, gangs and homelessness and prison, to getting out and turning most perceptions people may have had of him, on their head. And showing up all these people with real action, real love and real support for the homeless who have been where he was. Inspiring stuff.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Art for me is a place of healing and perspective. When you’re lost. Music can be your hiding place. Like most of us we all go through stuff, when I had hand problems and stopped playing guitar for many years, I took up art and painting. I’d prepare all day for it and sit up all night listening to music and painting portraits etc. Very happy memories right there.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Buying some fish and chips and sitting by the ocean listening to the waves and feeling the sun’s warmth. That right there is something that goes back to when I was a kid… so even though I’m here in Australia, I feel I am at home by the water.

[Photo above by Stephen Boxshall.]

https://www.facebook.com/seedyjeezuspage/
https://www.instagram.com/seedyjeezus/
https://seedyjeezus.bandcamp.com/
http://www.seedyjeezus.com/

Seedy Jeezus, Polaris Oblique (2018)

I’ve just got Slowshine‘s debut album, Living Light on for the first time as I write this, but even the opening track is hitting the spot. Somewhere between psychedelic float-away and more grounded songwriting, intermittent bursts of heft, the Berlin-based trio seem to be finding a niche that suits them well. One might recognize Sabine and Jan Oberg from their work in Earth Ship and Grin — they’re joined in Slowshine by Earth Ship drummer André Klein — but the vibe here is its own thing and yeah, I dig it. Eight songs/43 minutes. I’m gonna go ahead and take this ride in full right now and see where it goes. Will hopefully keep you posted with more before the release is out.

Title cut is streaming at the bottom of this post. Maybe hit that up as you peruse the following from the PR wire:

October release: SLOWSHINE – ‘Living Light’

“Living Light” is an exploration of storytelling through rhythm and texture.

Psych doom power couple Jan and Sabine Oberg (Earth Ship, Grin) have teamed up with drummer André Klein (Earth Ship, The Smokin’ 44s) to form a new heavy noise rock project called SLOWSHINE. Living Light is the band’s first musical outing, consisting of eight sweeping tracks that take cues from post-punk, stoner rock, sludge, and shoegaze.

As Jan Oberg (guitars & vocals) explains, “‘Living Light’ is about wandering around as the last person or soul on a destroyed planet where nature has finally taken everything back.” The singing, buried under vast layers of distortion and reverb, conveys stories from a post-apocalyptic world that slowly engrave themselves into the listener’s brain. However, “Living Light” shouldn’t be considered as a warning about impending doom, but rather as an exploration of storytelling through rhythm and texture. Drenched in filters and fuzz, “Living Light” combines the warmth and haze of seventies UK psychedelia with the expansive driving riffs of stoner rock.

Songs like “Trails” or “Heights” with their swaggering rhythms really let the brain take the backseat in favor of a more intuitive listening experience. However, before unfastening the top two buttons of their shirt, one should know that SLOWSHINE references the melodic wall-of-sound dynamics of Torche as much as the vintage swagger of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. On their debut, SLOWSHINE excel through a wide range of dynamics, from the contemplative “A Quiet Place” to the explosive “Mother Moon”.

Being a product of pandemic times, the “Living Light” was recorded in four live sessions at Jan Oberg’s own Hidden Planet Studio; a tactic that enhances the album’s no-nonsense attitude and sincerity. Nevertheless, the tracks on “Living Light” contain a sonic depth that would suggest a more tedious recording process. From the low rumbling bass of Sabine Oberg to the shimmering 12-string guitars played by Jan Korbach (neànder, Casper) on “Trails”, SLOWSHINE presents a sonic depth befitting of the album’s epic narrative.

In combination with a stunning album cover by Benedikt Demmer (Druckwelle), “Living Light” provides the whole package – a sonic journey through clouds of thunder and vast open spaces.

Release Date: October 8th 2021 (Digital/Tape) | November/December 2021 (Vinyl)
The Lasting Dose Records – https://thelastingdoserecords.bandcamp.com/

Tracklisting:
1. Trails
2. Brittle Bones
3. Heights
4. Wanderer
5. Mother Moon
6. Dunes Of Time
7. Living Light
8. A Quiet Place

Line-up:
Sabine Oberg – Bass
Jan Oberg – Guitars, Vocals
André Klein – Drums

https://slowshineband.bandcamp.com
https://www.instagram.com/slowshineband
https://www.facebook.com/slowshineband
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5iZmenwLL1lpOfzS9ZIjeD
https://www.facebook.com/thelastingdoserecords
https://thelastingdoserecords.bandcamp.com/

Slowshine, Living Light (2021)

Birmingham, Alabama-based melodic crushers EMBR release their 1021 EP on Sept. 3 through New Heavy Sounds as part of the label’s 10th anniversary EP series. The band — who I like to think shed their second vowel when they went from five members to four between their first and second EPs — issued their debut album, 1823 (review here), in July 2020 and in addition to being their first LP, it was their first release with guitarist Mark Buchanan and bassist Alan Light in the band along with founders Crystal Bigelow (vocals) and Erik Bigelow (drums). I don’t know the timing on the two joining the band and the songs of 1823 being written, but there’s no question the return to the more-than-just-the-Bigelows incarnation that released 2019’s 326: Spiritual Dialysis — which would seem to have been made when Eric was undergoing actual dialysis; kidney since replaced — has helped EMBR push themselves into new territory on 1021, and it shows on each of the tracks in a different way.

In the quote from Erik that follows the full EP premiere below, there’s some discussion of genre. Is it metal? Is it doom? And so on. I don’t know if that’s a question artists should really be on the hook to answer for their own work, beyond the occasional clever tagline or playful sloganeering. In any case, I understand where he might have some trouble tagging it. 1021 — with “Vesuvius,” “Born” and “A Grave for the Axe” each meting out their purpose with a mixture of brutality and melody — is a sharper execution even than the band had a year ago, and in continuing their collaboration with Matt Washburn, the four-piece clearly show influences beyond standard riffy fare. They did on the record too. Here though, that’s coupled with an efficiency of craft that’s brought more into focus immediately on the speedier “Vesuvius.” There are elements of modern progressive metal in the construction, and Crystal‘s arrangements switching between soar-ready clean singing and masterful screams are most certainly metallic as well, but tonal thickness is still a factor and is all the more highlighted on “Born.” The only song to top five minutes (it does so by six seconds), it rolls out at the start and lurches its way into a more midtempo chug, playing back and forth for the remainder, but if doom is just about playing slow — it isn’t — that’s where that’s happening.

How then to account for the angular riff of “A Grave for the Axe,” the open, melodic verses or the growl-topped surges that follow? The skillfully mixed layers throughout and the insistent payoff? It’s a progressive vision of sludge and more extreme metals that doesn’t really have an efficient genre tag. And as finding that very complexity was the band’s intention as stated, 1021 can only be judged as a success. That’s the math of it. As to the listening experience? This sounds like a band who are not fucking around. Metal’s hard impact delivered with doom’s thickened bludgeon, melody no less a weapon in their arsenal. Right on. What I’ll be interested to hear from them on their next offering, whenever and whatever that is, is what lessons they take with them from doing this and how their dynamic with the lineup of Bigelow, Bigelow, Buchanan and Light (sounds like a law firm, most definitely is not) continues to evolve, whether they push more toward metal than doom as they do in parts here, or if some of the murkier aspects of 1823 find their way in amid the atmospheric clarity of what they show on 1021. At just 14 minutes, 1021 is a cliffhanger in that regard, but the forward potential makes them all the more an exciting outfit in the present.

So again, yeah, mission accomplished. And if you can’t keep the numbers straight, well, I feel you. A listen or two through the EP will clear you right up.

Enjoy, and happy anniversary to New Heavy Sounds:

Erik Bigelow on 1021:

From my experience, conversations and discussions, a lot of people have varying opinions on what “doom” is. There are some common opinions that the majority agree on, sure… Slower tempos, down-tuned guitars, thick and heavy tones, etc. There is definitely more to it than that, but I’d say that’s the stripped down (very rudimentary) recipe.

To build on that – people have different ears and hear things differently. That’s just the nature of music. There are boxes and there are people whom stick within the cube. Then there are people who don’t mind the box being torn open. Both are totally cool. I’m simply stating (in a long-winded format) that – Genres can be tricky sometimes, and “doom” is different to different people – it’s quite diverse in my opinion.

With EMBR we take what elements we like from the genre and add our own feel to it. We’ve all been musicians for a long time and we all have slightly different tastes and styles – We try and write what we want to hear – it’s as simple as that.

With this new EP “1021” we tried to push past the walls of our own cube. While there are elements of “doom” in these songs, there are sections that are in another vein altogether. We set out to be EMBR (of course) but we also set out to show a different side of the band.

Is this EP “doom”? Is it “metal”? Is it “rock”? I’ll let the listeners decide. As I stated I think genres are becoming more and more tricky to define. What I do know is we had a hell of a great time writing and recording these songs and we all hope you enjoy them.

Worldwide – https://newheavysounds.bandcamp.com/album/1021-e-p
USA and Canada orders can be made via Embr’s Bandcamp page. https://embrband.bandcamp.com/music

The EP was recorded and mixed by Matt Washburn at Ledbelly Sound in Dawsonville, GA, and mastered at Soulfire Sounds in Birmingham, Alabama.

EMBR are:
Erik Bigelow – Drums
Crystal Bigelow – Vox
Alan Light – Bass
Mark Buchanan – Guitar

EMBR on Facebook

EMBR on Instagram

EMBR on Twitter

EMBR on Bandcamp

EMBR website

New Heavy Sounds on Facebook

New Heavy Sounds on Bandcamp

New Heavy Sounds website

You won’t find me pretending to know what the pandemic situation in Stockholm will be come this November. I barely know what the situation is in Morris County, New Jersey (where I live), today. Frankly, the more I find out, the more exhausted I get, so you’ll pardon me if maybe I skip the number-hounding for an afternoon and bask in the notion of a festival happening in Sweden with people, bands, loud music, good times, old friends, new friends coming together amid not panic or fear of the unknown, but the comforting sounds of warm fuzz delivered at earsplitting volumes from two stages for two days. Two days doesn’t seem like too much to ask, does it? Just two?

Of course, festivals are happening now. Right now. Today, probably, somewhere. Psycho Las Vegas happened. Ripplefest Texas happened. Maryland Doom Fest looks like it’s happening. I know none of those are in Sweden, but I’m going with what I know. And I know I won’t get to this one, but I’m glad it exists. So there you go. Two days. If you’re gonna be there, enjoy them.

The following came down the PR wire in Truckfighters‘ newsletter:

New bands confirmed for Truckfighters FUZZ FESTIVAL 2021!

We are proud and happy to announce:

*SKRAECKOEDLAN (Swe) – They played our first edition two years ago and since they are so good it was time to bring em back again!

*ENIGMA EXPERIENCE (Swe/No) – Mr Dango from Truckfighters’ new project in their first ever live appearance!

*BESVÄRJELSEN (Swe) – Up and coming great Swedish act with female vocals. Part of the band are or were members of Dozer and Greenleaf.

*THE DUNES (UK) – The Dunes takes their musical influences and cues from the likes of Torche Clutch Red Fang and Queens Of The Stone Age and will not disappoint anyone!

Confirmed acts so far are
TRUCKFIGHTERS (the fuzz planet)
LOWRIDER (swe)
ASTEROID (swe)
FIRESTONE (swe)
STEAK (UK)
KINGS DESTROY (USA)
SWAN VALLEY HEIGHTS (Ger)
ELDEN (swe)

*Live music from ca 6pm til midnight.
*Afterparty at Bar Brooklyn until 3am.

The Venue is located on the island of Södermalm, in Stockholm. This is a very nice area in the central parts of town.

Get there with subway or bus to ‘Hornstull’ station.

The festival has two stages, one big and one smaller. The smallest stage (Bar Brooklyn) has a limited space and can take up to 250 people standing. If you want to see a band in our smallest stage, come early! First come first served!

https://www.facebook.com/events/606699896853794/
http://www.truckfighters.com/festival/

Skraeckoedlan, “Universum” official video

Portland, Oregon’s The Misery Men will release their third full-length, titled Devillusion, on Oct. 1. Going by the story as told by founding guitarist/vocalist Corey G. Lewis, it seems like maybe the bad missed the point of social distancing. I kid, of course, but still, there are a plethora of guest appearances throughout the impending Desert Records offering, which follows behind last year’s Doomtopia and 2019’s Deathspiration (review here) in both the heavy and portmanteau departments. Oh you didn’t know there’s a portmanteau department? Fourth floor. Or was it flourth?

You’re welcome.

Preorders for Devillusion are up now through Bandcamp and there are two songs on there streaming and a video besides, all of which you’ll find below ready for your media consumption. By all means, have at it.

From the PR wire and Bandcamp combined:

The Misery Men have gone all out on their third studio album, ‘Devillusion’. Due out on Desert Records on October 1st, 2021.

The band’s mastermind, Corey Lewis, pulled together a Pacific Northwest cast of all-star musicians.

“I started writing Devillusion at the beginning of the Pandemic. 16 months of bloodletting 5 songs and 3 covers later we have an album. It was a therapeutic writing process to say the least. Inspired by the “Grunge” influencers in the PNW like Napalm Beach, Dead Moon, The Wipers, that definitely impacted TAD, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Screaming Trees, Soundgarden, etc. I wanted to pay homage to the folks who laid the foundation and paved the path that we walk down. I’m humbled and grateful daily that I have found a vortex that aligns with my frequencies to allow me through great collaboration to tap into the ether, transmutating a Rock n’ Roll album I feel proud to be a part of and co-produce with Rob Wrong. We all had a good time making this album. It’s been challenging but ever rewarding.

I had asked Chris Newman to collaborate on something, maybe lay down a solo or harmonize on a song or write something together, and at first he was very interested and excited once he recovered from surgery. Unfortunately his health took a turn for the worse and Chris passed May 5th 2021. So Rob and I decided we needed to honor him and record a couple songs. We contacted Sam Henry (Napalm Beach, The Wipers, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs) to play drums and it just made sense to have Kelly Halliburton (Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows, Jenny Don’t and the Spurs) to play bass. We also recruited Jeffrey Larson (Lucky 13’s, Misfortunes of Mr Teal) to play rhythm guitar along with Rob Wrong on lead, plus me just on vocals. We recorded Cat With Nine Lives by Napalm Beach and The Reaper by Snow Bud and the Flower People. Both songs were Chris Newman songs, that turned out pretty damn good! Hell we didn’t even practice together before we recorded. :)

Again I recruited Billy Anderson to play bass again on this album, because beyond his ability of musicianship and his legendary enginear status he’s also a pleasure to be around. Hilarious, kind, and smarter than your average Neanderthal bassist. Ha! He also studied anthropology so he knows a thing or two about humans. Not to mention he played a Baseball growing up, so I figured he must really know what he’s doing with basses. Oh and he’s the master of Pun!

Once again Ian Caton of Breath is playing drums on this album. Talk about a Beast Of Burden, what an absolute animal! He usually doesn’t have a problem playing any style or tempo and is able to tap into the ether with ease!

Of course Rob Wrong once again delivers some of the best solos he’s ever played. Not only that but he doubled the rhythm to give this album the full collective collaboration. I’m humbled to work with him and call him a best friend. It’s been a ton of fun making two albums with him at Wrong Way Recording.

Again I got Ben House to make some incredible artwork! It’s beyond expectations and couldn’t have been happier with the results!

Devillusion was also mastered by TAD, not to mention inspired by him as well. I originally wanted to call the album Devil’s Balls, but after watching the TAD documentary and the scene where he showed his mom the album and she said something like, “Tad you’re smiling… Tad God’s Balls? But Tad you have such a great smile.” :) Nevertheless, we have a song called Devil’s Balls and Werewolf that we’re most definitely influenced by some Tad. I’m forever grateful for his existence.“ – Corey Lewis, The Misery Men

Recorded & Mixed by: Rob Wrong at Wrong Way Recording

Mastered by Tad Doyle at Witch Ape Studio

All songs written by Corey G Lewis
Except To Bring You My Love written by PJ Harvey
The Reaper by Snowbud & The Flower People (Written by Chris Newman & Nathan Jorg)
Cat With 9 Lives by Napalm Beach (Written by Chris Newman)

Side A:
Devil’s Balls 4:28
Werewolf 5:29
Iron Front 5:43
Cat With Nine Lives 4:34

Side B:
The Reaper 2:52
Tardigrades 5:34
Nirürth 4:22
To Bring You My Love 5:59

Personnel:
Corey G Lewis: Vocal, Rhythm
Rob Wrong: Rhythm & Lead
Billy Anderson: Bass
Ian Caton: Drums

Special Guest Performances as
The Slughs tribute to Chris Newman on: The Reaper & Cat With 9 Lives
Sam Henry: Drums
Kelly Halliburton: Bass
Rob Wrong: Lead & Rhythm
Jeffrey Larson: Rhythm
Corey G Lewis: Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/themiserymen
https://www.instagram.com/themiserymen/
https://themiserymen.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/

The Misery Men, “Tardigrades” official video

The Misery Men, Devillusion (2021)

[Click play above to stream ‘God is Your Friend’ from Old Man Wizard’s Kill Your Servants Quietly. Album is available for preorder here.]

Francis Roberts on “God is Your Friend”:

This song went through a ton of iterations before I settled on the version you’re hearing today. It was almost an acoustic song! I’m glad we switched directions and ended up with whatever the doom metal dance party that’s on the album is. Here are some fun facts about it:

-This song has my favorite guitar “sound effect” just before the second chorus.

-I think this song might have more chord changes than anything else we’ve released.

-The band is tracked live.

-The bass guitar is doubled with a minimoog throughout most of the song.

-The third verse was originally going to have clean “funk” guitar but the tone we recorded with ended up reminding me of early Ozzy tracks and I really liked it so we kept it.

San Diego prog-heavy, heavy prog — or some other combination of those words and probably others — Old Man Wizard will self-release their third and reportedly final full-length, Kill Your Servants Quietly, on Nov. 5. With 100 copies pressed each on LP (due early next year) and CD and 60 tapes, it would be a quiet drawdown to the three-piece’s near-decade together but for the quality of the work itself, which divides into 10 tracks each with a purpose and personality of its own that together create the whole-album impression of a band grown comfortable in a variety of sonic contexts and able to draw together seemingly disparate moods, tempos and progressions with an overarching smoothness of production and performance. Recorded mostly live with just “Your Life (As a Problem)” and “Live Forever” — closers for sides A and B, respectively — made during pandemic isolation, Kill Your Servants Quietly answers 2018’s Blame it All on Sorcery (discussed here) and 2013’s Unfavorable (review here) with a fitting does-what-it-wants realization of who Old Man Wizard are and will have been as a group.

Guitarist, lead vocalist, synthesist, producer and principal songwriter Francis Roberts (also of King Gorm and solo work) remains distinctive in voice and production style, and Kill Your Servants Quietly is defined in no small part by the lush melodies across its 46-minute span, which breaks indeed into two halves neatly, its first five tracks shifting back and forth between slower and faster tempos, beginning with the six-minute gradual build of “I Prayed.” Bassist Andre Beller (also violin), drummer Kris Calabio, as well as Mark Calabio, Drew Peters and Reece Miller provide backing vocals at various points throughout. On theme, “I Prayed” begins a four-song anti-religious — catholic-specific with a mention of tithing along the way — lyrical screed defined by lines like, “Prayed instead of thinking” from that song, “Your love of god is a narcissistic fraud” from the hook of the subsequent semi-title track “Kill Your Servants,” the fetish-hued “Father, please save me!/Enslave me and punish me!” from “God is Your Friend” (premiering above) and “When you look at death’s face/Hope you appreciate/The punishment that you face/Knowing that god is fake” from “I Wanna Know” before “Your Life (As a Problem)” caps with the narrative of hearing a voice that says, “I don’t see your life as a problem/I don’t think it matters either way.”

This could be framed as anything from a coming-out story to being Jewish or atheist, politically left-wing or any number of other things — there’s so much hate to go around — but the rest of Kill Your Servants Quietly moves forward from there, and “Today,” which opens side B, feels purposefully chosen for its sense of freedom from the prior existential drag, replacing the lumber of “God is Your Friend,” the galloping offset of “Kill Your Servants,” and the hairpin-turn chug of “I Wanna Know” with a willfully danceable and thoughtfully executed pop. Heavy rock of the disco era is a tough pull, but Old Man Wizard strut out a bassline under a howling guitar and by the time the hi-hat and the layer of cleaner-toned strummy guitar come in to hammer the point home, there’s no question what they’re up to as a group. Various keys and synth effects add to the build late, but the way elements are added one by one emphasizes the push toward pop even if the catchy payoff hook doesn’t — it does — and they wind their way out on a guitar solo to let the quick drums and harder fuzz, peppered with a quick “ough” to bring back a rock mindset, as if to say ‘enough of that feeling alright about yourself stuff; here’s a song about dying alone in the snow.’

So it goes. “Soldier’s Winter,” self-contained in its storyline isn’t necessarily the heaviest song on Kill Your Servants Quietly, with “God is Your Friend” and “I Wanna Know” earlier on, but the turn to tonal thickness takes the place of some of side A’s tempo trades and presents a new aspect for where the second half of the record goes. The blatant social commentary of “Parasite” is of its era without naming names and feels cathartic while remaining straight-ahead in structure. It is the shortest inclusion at just over three minutes but fits a well-plotted solo and backing spoken layers into that time, a moment of relative intensity that makes its point and gets out before “Falling Star” and “Live Forever” wrap, the former the longest song at 6:28 positioned well as the most progressive and almost exploratory of the proceedings, an extended solo section giving way to a linear build in the middle third that moves back to the verse in the last minute, feeling like it holds off just long enough to make the listener wonder if they’ll get there before they do. That return and the subsequent last chorus crash out, leaving “Live Forever” to stand on its own in a final underscoring of intent.

Though it moves into roll-credits cinematics instrumentally and finds Roberts in a single layer belting out the lyrics, “And I missed out on the whole world according to you/But that’s okay/I’m not ashamed to be myself,” the closer begins and ends folkish in its vocals, with a phrasing that (and this isn’t a dig at all) reminds of “Rainbow Connection” from 1979’s The Muppet Movie, the arrangement behind bringing up synthesizer and strings or string sounds to swell before a return repetition of the quoted lines and those that wrap, one last stir before the and album fade out together. The elements that have made Old Man Wizard a standout band during their tenure are all present throughout Kill Your Servants Quietly. Their engaging of different eras of heavy rock and metal of the ’70s and ’80s. Considered, progressive and unflinching melody and rhythm. The style that finds inevitable comparison points in the likes of Opeth and Ghost while managing to be directly relatable to neither. These are all in the tracks, and more besides, with the interwoven layers of keys and guitar and vocals throughout, but it’s ultimately the less tangible feeling of completeness, the sheer resolution of it, that makes Kill Your Servants Quietly so satisfying. If indeed it’s Old Man Wizard‘s last offering, they go out with their best.

Old Man Wizard, “Kill Your Servants” official video

Old Man Wizard, Kill Your Servants Quietly (2021)

Old Man Wizard on Facebook

Old Man Wizard on Instagram

Old Man Wizard on Twitter

Old Man Wizard on YouTube

Old Man Wizard on Bandcamp

Give it up for Turkey Vulture having the capacity to both reproduce and rock and roll. The idea, of course that the two are mutually exclusive is and has always been a fallacy as every successive generation of artists and musicians has shown, but as anyone who’s ever encountered one can tell you, babies can be time consuming. Following up on a topical single “Tummy Time” earlier this year, the married Connecticut duo announce now they’ll answer back this Fall with a new short release called Twist the Knife. I only look forward to finding out the lyrical origins of their use of the phrase, should there be any.

Jessie May and Jim Clegg both also have outside projects, from her running Alternative Control and overseeing money management for headbangers to his design and video work. They are, in short, a one-stop DIY shop. Busyness, it would seem, suits them.

The EP announcement, sans finer details, came down the PR wire:

TURKEY VULTURE TO RELEASE NEW EP

Connecticut heavy music duo TURKEY VULTURE is on their way to putting out their third EP, Twist the Knife.  Once again recorded by “Black Metal” Dave Kaminsky, the release is expected in late 2021 or early 2022.

Frontwoman Jessie May and drummer Jim Clegg met in 2008, playing together in a local rock band called PINK MISSLE.  In the decade and a half since then, they’ve played in several different bands together with their collaboration as musicians becoming stronger each passing year.

But more recently, their relationship has taken on a new identity: husband, wife, and parents.  Twist the Knife plays on those roles, as well as weaving TURKEY VULTURE’s gritty Americana with a creeping horror punk influence.

Follow TURKEY VULTUREs YouTube channel for an upcoming “making-of” documentary produced by Jim Clegg.

Lineup:
Jessie May — guitar, bass, vocals
Jim Clegg — drums, artwork/design/photography

https://www.facebook.com/turkeyvultureband/
https://www.instagram.com/turkeyvultureband/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuQghjwDCIA
https://turkeyvulture.bandcamp.com/

Turkey Vulture, Tummy Time (2021)

Virginia Beach heavy psychedelic rockers Snake Mountain Revival release their debut album, Everything in Sight, Nov. 19 on Rebel Waves Records. By joining the ranks of the Ripple Music imprint, the trio become labelmates to Kabbalah, Arcadian Child, Sacred Shrines, Las Robertas and Smiling, who also recently issued a label debut. The record is comprised of eight tracks, five of which have been featured on the band’s prior two EPs, 2019’s The Valley of Madness and 2018’s self-titled, but the recordings are different, and “Satellite Ritual” (premiering at the bottom of this post) is brandy-new either way. If you want to skip the rest of my blah-blah and the PR wire info and click play, I wouldn’t blame you. The text will still be here when you get back.

You can hear their roots in improv jamming to be sure, but Everything in Sight remains a collection of songs. Eight of them, in fact, spanning a broad and warm 43 minutes. Grim garage echo, instrumentalist surf safari, guitar winding, drums no less distorted than the vocal howls where and when. You can set your watch to its acid boogie but it’s in its own time zone.

The takeaway here? Song’s below — listen to it — album’s out Nov. 19 and has Ripple‘s say-so behind it. I think it’s worth your time or I wouldn’t be writing this sentence.

Now then:

SNAKE MOUNTAIN REVIVAL – New album ‘Everything In Sight’ out November 19 on Rebel Waves Records

Preorder: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/everything-in-sight

Formed in the Summer of 2017, Snake Mountain Revival quickly gained traction their first few shows by performing completely improvised sets in the coastal Virginia area complete with liquid light shows. The three members met in their hometown of Virginia Beach after years of pursuing different styles of music in different parts of the country.

Drummer Josh Woodhouse cut his teeth playing death metal and progressive music in Florida, while bassist and vocalist Ryan Chandler was exploring experimental and psychedelic sounds. Guitarist Zack Trowbridge rounds out the trio with his background in blues, jazz and surf rock.

The release of 2018’s self-titled demo EP gained praise in the blogosphere both in the USA and overseas. With a polarizing live show and crossover sound, they’ve been afforded the opportunity to share the stage with diverse bands such as Acid Dad, Freedom Hawk, Sammi Lanzetta and Frankie & the Witch Fingers.

Recording & Engineered by Danny Zawacki & Zack Trowbridge
Produced by Zack Trowbridge
Mixed by Snake Mountain Revival
Mastered by Keith Hernandez (Suite 2e Studios, Austin TX)

All lyrics by Ryan Chandler
Album art by Stanislov Pobytov

Snake Mountain Revival:
Drums & Percussion – Josh Woodhouse
Guitar – Zack Trowbridge
Vocals & Bass – Ryan Chandler

https://www.facebook.com/snakemountainrevival/
https://www.instagram.com/snakemountainrevival/
https://snakemountainrevival.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Rebelwavesrecords/
http://www.rebelwavesrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://rebelwavesrecords.bandcamp.com/