If at any point in the last seven or so years since Psychedelic Source Records started putting releases up on their Bandcamp page, there’s probably not much more to say about the seven-jam collection This is Psychedelic Source Records that came out earlier this month than, “Yeah, pretty much.”

Based in Páty, Hungary — about 40 minutes west of Budapest by train — and featuring a rotating cast of artists, bands and one-offs like this may or may not be, Psychedelic Source Records is more a collective than a record label, bringing together groups like Pilot Voyager, River Flows Reverse, Satorinaut and a slew of others under one banner with the apparent central ethic of creative freedom. Sometimes there are songs, sometimes it’s an improv session, a couple times it’s just been founding spearhead Bence Ambrus noodling around in his garden. The framework is about as open as you can get, and the sounds range from expansive acid-folk to heavy psych exploration, and it’s all captured with a feel that only adds to the organic vibes. Releases don’t come with months of hype — though every now and then I’ll get to do a premiere for something they’re putting out, and that’s fun; I’ve got one booked for April 12 — and aren’t always pressed physically, but if you find value in the musical stream of consciousness, it is an open world waiting for you to immerse.

This Is… runs 92 minutes and was posted March 11 accompanied by the simple explanation, “Long time no see jam session, set up accidently two days ago.” So it was recorded March 9. I suppose what you’re hearing is technically a reissue, since at some point in the 18 days since it went live, Ambrus went back and reworked the mix, saying, “update: previous mix was little shitty so i redid it sorry.” Fair enough.

As you might’ve already guessed, the abiding spirit here is casual. Ambrus plays bass and guitar and is joined by Krisztina Benus on keyboard, Ákos Karancz on guitar, Barna Bartos on bass and Máté Varga on drums. I don’t know how much editing or actual mixing was done to what was recorded at the ‘accidental’ session — I love that idea; like, “oops, we just made a record”; the very heart of spontaneity — but the resultant flow within and between the pieces is hypnotic, and a cut like “Bum Bumm” (19:04) comes across as almost surprising itself as it evolves from its drone-backed psych ambience into a more active dub progression, as though the swirling mist solidified and decided to mellow-dance for a while. The guitar gets louder, but volume isn’t really the driving consideration anywhere on This Is…, which is more about the space being created and the conversation between the players presented with as-it-happened sincerity.

One can hear the glittering shimmer of guitar in “Sow Your Seeds and Be Patient” (14:09) or the wisps at the outset of “River Styx” (15:23) just prior and float along with the gentle-but-not-inactive rhythm in a semi-hypnotic state — from the subtle build-up of opener “Jamship” (8:15) onward, there’s room to dwell in the sounds being made, and not just because it’s feature-length in runtime — but there are nuances of character to be found too if you’re paying attention, shifts in tone as “Jamship” ends its course with resonant melodic drift and the drums start “Gentle Human Transform” (14:36) which comes to feel more surf-leaning in the reaches of guitar, or the centerpiece “River Styx” redirects from its quick fade-in to free/acid jazz-style searching in its midsection, the group finding their way into a slower, evocative wistfulness before they’re finished in a way that may or may not have been anticipated going in. That is to say, the sense in hearing it is that this check-in jam assemblage are also surprised to find out where they end up. That’s not an easy thing to convey on any kind of recording, even in the outer territories of improv psych, and it feels natural here. It’s part of what ties This Is… together, though I’ll admit that for something so broad and malleable in structure, that idea of ‘tied together’ is more about not interrupting the aforementioned flow.

And in preserving that easy-feeling course throughout while allowing each of its processions to embark and develop on its own terms, This Is… could hardly do more to encapsulate what is readable as the central ethic behind Psychedelic Source Records, which is to foster creativity without restraint. To that I might also add that the just-a-thing-we-did-on-Saturday-here-it-is presentation also speaks to this ethic. It’s a thing, to be sure. It exists. But it’s not a thing in the sense of being any kind of drag, or anybody’s job, or feeling like it’s a hassle somewhere along the line — perhaps notwithstanding Ambrus‘ noted remix after the fact. It’s low-key, agreeable, inviting psychedelia, no less expansive for being so inviting as “Sow Your Seeds and Be Patient” meanders around its guitar as it approaches the six-minute mark or capper “A Mermaid Found a Swimming Lad” echoes the surfy strum of “Gentle Human Transform” before resolving in twistier notes that wouldn’t feel out of place played on a sitar. These aspects also represent Psychedelic Source Records, giving a loose definition or vague shape to an intention, but not losing its freeform character to that.

If you think of art as a declaration of self, This is Psychedelic Source Records makes a fitting summary of what this group was all about on this day during these jams. It is not trying to be a part of any scene other than itself, or to end up on somebody’s chart, or be ‘content’ for some jerk-ass blogger like me to share on social media. It is honest rather than perfect, and while one acknowledges that authenticity is a myth in all cases and nothing can ever be objectively enacted or received because simply by that it becomes a part of human subjectivity — oh I could go on about this; I won’t — there’s no mistaking the ring of truth in these captured moments. And even if both moments and truth are fleeting, well, so is everything. Live in it while you can, if you can.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thank you for reading.

—

Yesterday was a wreck of lost time. I overslept by 45 minutes — woke up with my phone on my chest having apparently shut off the alarm and left it there at 5AM — and never got back on track. A Costco trip that was going to be today and a chasedown of Siggi’s Vanilla Yogurt (4% milkfat, not the 0%) — which is one of like two and a half things The Pecan will eat at this point — later, it was after noon and I was back on the couch trying to pound out that Early Moods review and today’s other posts. I apparently didn’t get enough of that done before needing to go pick up The Pecan at school, which is effectively the end of my writing time most days, and that’s a thing I know because I was up all night thinking about finishing the shit I’d left incomplete.

As Orange Goblin (who should be announcing a new album any day now, I hope) once said, “Some you win, some you lose.”

This weekend is Easter, which we don’t really celebrate as anything more than candy and egg-coloring — yay, pagan fertility rites! — but still have to show up for. Tomorrow we drive north to color the aforementioned eggs. Sunday is a brunch that, honestly, I’m just kind of relieved to not be hosting. From there, next week is The Pecan’s Spring Break, so she’ll be home Monday to Friday. I don’t really know how that’ll play out yet. The Patient Mrs. has work, and a lot depends on the weather. If we can go outside, we will, in other words. She’s got a half-day camp-ish-thing Monday to Wednesday (the kid), and so that’ll be my work time on those days, and the rest I’ll just have to sort as I live through it. The biggest surprise of the entire thing is that I’m not doing something completely life-eating like a Quarterly Review or some such. It seems almost out of character.

I have a couple video premieres — Borer, The Vulcan Itch — and I want to review the Craneium record that I’m super-late with and the Viaje a 800 reissue that I’m not super-late with, but we’ll see how it goes. I was also supposed to send questions for a Viaje a 800 email interview that I haven’t done yet. I always find that nerve-racking, asking artists to talk about their work without the benefit of vocal inflection. You never know how somebody is going to read what you say when you’re asking them about something so personal. “So, your art does this. How’s that make you feel?” seems like not the best conversation option, but there’s a language barrier in this case too, so I get it. And I’ll get there.

I hope you have a great and safe weekend, whatever you’re up to. Have fun, watch your head, all that. If you’re celebrating, remember to enjoy it because that’s what a celebration is. I’m talking to myself there, to be sure, but don’t doubt that you’re also included. In any case, thanks again for reading.

FRM.

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The annual Planet Desert Rock Weekend festival will hold its fifth edition on Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2025, which I think marks the first time I’m actually writing that year to refer to an event that’s actually happening rather than random speculation. Feels like the future. And a killer future at that. Planet Desert Rock Weekend V makes its first lineup announcement today, and the sense of curation and purpose behind it could hardly be clearer.

No doubt the three-dayer conceived and booked by John Gist of Vegas Rock Revolution will pick up more than a handful of domestic acts in addition to Mos Generator (though if you had to only have one…), but five out of the six bands in this first publicly-confirmed batch will cross the Atlantic to play. Five for six, between JIRM, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Samavayo, Omega Sun (they’re making a return appearance after playing in 2019) and Fire Down Below. The very obvious message here is that Planet Desert Rock Weekend V wants to give the audience — the American heavy rock underground — a show it isn’t going to get anywhere else. If you can’t respect the put-up-or-shut-up nature of that, well, maybe you’ve never booked a show before. No doubt your existence has been easier and more gratitude-filled for that.

Early-bird tickets are up and there’s of course more to come, but in terms of the curation involved here and the feeling of Planet Desert Rock Weekend bringing over the acts it wants to see that no one else is bringing over, there’s a lot to admire as is. I will look forward to who else is added, finding out if this is it for non-US-based acts or if there’s more coming, and watching as the lineup takes shape generally. Thinking of making travel plans? I get it.

Word from the fest follows. Oh, and before you get your no-doubt-very-masculine panties in a bunch about AI art like all of a sudden you never used something cheap, convenient and easy because it was all of those things — we’re all complicit in the horrors of capital — the actual art is still in progress, and the full poster will be unveiled later. It’s a placeholder. Calm down, imaginary internet pearl-clutchers. Deep breaths.

Here we go:

Planet Desert Rock Weekend V — Jan. 30 – Feb. 1

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-in-las-vegas-jan-30-31-feb-1-2025-tickets-873750791137

FB event: https://facebook.com/events/s/planet-desert-rock-weekend-v-j/1399556780734695/

Vegas Rock Revolution’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend is back for edition 5 and it’s going to be a spectacular collection of bands from around the world of heavy rock!

It’s 3 nights of highly curated bands with evening shows only so that you can enjoy all that Vegas has to offer during the day rather it’s hitting the museums or hiking or donating to our local casinos (ha we kid!). Each evening will be in a cool atmosphere and the sound will be top rate to make your concert experience an unforgettable one.

Our 1st 6 bands are:

Mos Generator / Washington State

Mos Generator has been rocking for over 20 years and led by Tony Reed who is a monumental force within the scene. From straight forward heavy rock to heavy psychedelic they have always created music that elevates above many.

JIRM/ Sweden

Ripple Music’s JIRM (formerly known as Jeremy Irons + the Ratgang Malibus) has built their reputation on an epic sound on each release regardless of the evolution and creativity of the album. They can range from a light summery psych song to a dark tinged song describing inner turmoil. They are accented by amazing vocals. JIRM’s album “The Tunnel, The Well, Holy Bedlam” landed #4 on the Doom Charts for March 2022. This will be their 1st time in the States.

Sergeant Thunderhoof / U.K.- England

These Brits have blown away fans in the U.K. for years and rocked amazing album after album of heavy rock for the world to hear. Highly touted for their live sets but their recent album “The Scripted Veil” took the scene by storm with incredible soaring vocals and superior songwriting to most. Landed #1 on Doom Charts for June 2022. This will be their 1st and only show in the States in 2025!

Samavayo / Germany

This German trio has been releasing amazing heavy rock since 2003! Their evolution of sound and influence have changed some over the years but at their core they are a heavy rock band that writes rocking songs that are catchy but yet get you moving. They have played with many of the top bands in the world whether it was on tour or at a festival. Samavayo’s album “Payan” landed #2 on the Doom Charts for March 2022. This will be their 1st time playing the USA!

Fire Down Below / Belgium

Since their 2017 release “Viper, Vixen, Goddess, Saint” they have done a masterful job of blending desert rock, stoner rock and grunge elements together to make music that is so easily accesible to people who want to rock. Their 2022 release “Low Desert Surf Club” on Ripple Music landed #5 on Vegas Rock Revolution’s end of year list and #3 on Doom Charts for September. This will be their 1st time playing the USA!

Omega Sun / Slovenia

Returning to Planet Desert Rock Weekend is Omega Sun whose recent 2023 release Roadkill captured many rocker’s ear with their powerful blend of heavy rock, doom, grunge and stoner rock. Recently the guys had the great fortune of opening up for USA supergroup The Winery Dogs and have embarked on a European tour. We love to bring back bands to the PDRW fold! Their 2023 release “Roadkill” landed #9 on the Doom Charts and VRR’s end of the year list at #6 in 2023.

We will be collaborating with Ripple Music again on this version and looking at a full night that would be all Ripple bands or close to it. Todd is such an amazing part of the scene and his curation of bands feels unparalleled.

We will announcements for at least 8 more bands from all around the world coming up in the months to come!

https://www.facebook.com/VRRProductions/
https://www.facebook.com/vegasrockrevolution/

Planet Desert Rock Weekend V preview playlist

JIRM, The Tunnel, the Well, Holy Bedlam (2021)

Part of what has been exciting about L.A. County classic doom metallers Early Moods over the last few years is the potential for how they might develop as a new generation’s spearhead in engaging the style. A Sinner’s Past is their second LP through RidingEasy Records behind 2022’s self-titled debut (review here) and their 2020 debut EP, Spellbound (review here), and it follows suit with their prior work in being in immediate conversation with the doom of yore. Somewhere, swimming a vault of Black Sabbath bootlegs like some doom-riffing Scrooge McDuck, Leif Edling is smiling. Candlemass have been a guiding presence for Early Moods since their outset, but as the five-piece of vocalist Alberto Alcaraz (also keys), guitarists Eddie Andrade and Oscar Hernandez (lead), bassist Elix Feliciano and drummer Chris Flores specifically tap “Samarithan” for the verses of “The Apparition,” even the command and confidence with which they’re doing so comes across as continued progression.

But across its CD-era-vibing 49-minute runtime and eight component tracks, A Sinner’s Past is about more than saluting genre heroes. Early Moods had already begun the process of internalizing root influences like the aforementioned Candlemass and various eras of Sabbath, and in the way the punchy bass and steady nod that begins opening cut “Last Hour” gives over right about halfway into its 5:41 to gallop, swing and shred, they not only foreshadow tempo shifts to come like that in the reaches of the eight-minute “Hell’s Odyssey,” penultimate to closer “Soul Sorcery” on side B, but offer a first look at the grim recesses in which their tones will dwell throughout and the expanded scope and intentions heard throughout in “Unhinged Spirit,” with its acoustic intro leading to a procession that lumbers until it careens, or the harsher vocal moments in “Blood Offerings” and “Walpurguise” calling out to the metal of the 1980s without ignoring the 40 years since.

Relative youth as compared to much of the current sphere of doom is still an advantage Early Moods enjoy, and A Sinner’s Past is still rife with the energy of a young band exploring their sound and style, but they also have a better idea of what they want in both of those than they did two years ago, and that comes through as well as “Blood Offerings” trades the Candlemassian poise for a more dug-in, Pentagram-style shove — at least until the screams come (get it? anybody? no? moving on.) — with all due grit and groove, and the title-track makes even the entry of Flores‘ speedy hi-hat at 4:09 as they transition from the initial plod and dudes-running-in-a-circle mosh through the circa-’75 Iommic solo section and into the chugging build-up to the faster culmination, another solo thrown in for good measure before they cap with the riff. That they would cover that kind of ground on their second album isn’t a huge surprise — they’ve proven at this point able to keep their collective head as songwriters through various changes of mood, tempo and melody within their doomly trajectory; they’re a good band and that’s a thing good bands can do when they want to — but that they’d do it with such clear purpose and still convey an overarching atmosphere through those changes is an aspect of A Sinner’s Past that’s demonstrative of their growth as a unit, and it’s not at all the only one.

The production, helmed by Allen Falcon at Birdcage Studios in Pico Rivera, finds the more cavernous veneer of the first album traded for an in-your-face aural crunch that’s modern in the separation of the instruments but allows a sense of live performance to come through, whether it’s at the dirge pace of “The Apparition,” the midtempo nods of “Unhinged Spirit” and “Walpurguise” or the plod-into-swing of “Soul Sorcery.” While still resonant in their homage to the doom of eld, Early Moods are beginning to cast genre in their image, and the most vital moments of A Sinner’s Past are in the weight of a drag, the coursing tension of their faster movements, and how each plays off the other. They are becoming more dynamic — no doubt the not-minor amount of touring they’ve done in the last year-plus is a piece of this and will continue to be — and stronger for that.

That’s worth appreciating, to be sure, but if your experience of “Hell’s Odyssey” is more about the journey being undertaken and less about how skillfully it retains its impact amid the faster delivery early on — the answer for that, if you’re curious, is the same as nearly always: the bass — and moves into NWOBHM harmonized leads from Andrade and Hernandez before the latter launches into the solo in earnest, I don’t think you’re wrong. Part of the appeal of Early Moods as an emergent revamp of traditionalist doom is the familiar that’s to be found within the new, in aesthetic terms. I don’t think they’ve done their best work as a band yet, but A Sinner’s Past gives more than a few hints of where they’re headed, and the forward potential in their work is no less prevalent for what they’ve achieved in these songs.

You can overthink it if you want — clearly I’m a fan of that approach in any number of contexts — but the material is composed and executed in such a way that, if you want to nod out and let the groove carry you from “Last Hour” to “Soul Sorcery,” there’s nothing in that span that’s going to pull you out of the moment, and for that alone, A Sinner’s Past is a substantial offering. They’ve been on their way to headlining pretty much since the word go, and seem to be motivated toward those ends, toward making an impact on doom and influencing those who inevitably will follow in their wake, but whatever their future might or might not bring, the sense of an idea conceived and realized across A Sinner’s Past is palpable and so is the artistic growth within and around that. If it does turn out to be their most significant contribution to doom — if the band ended tomorrow and cut short all that potential and blah blah blah — you wouldn’t be able to listen to this record and say they didn’t give everything they had to it.

Early Moods, “A Sinner’s Past” official video

Early Moods, A Sinner’s Past (2024)

Early Moods linktr.ee

Early Moods on Instagram

Early Moods on Facebook

Early Moods on Bandcamp

RidingEasy Records on Instagram

RidingEasy Records on Facebook

RidingEasy Records store

Dortmund heavy rockers Daily Thompson have posted a new video for “I’m Free Tonight,” the first single from their upcoming long-player, Chuparosa, which they traveled to the US Pacific Northwest to record this past December with Tony Reed of Mos Generator/Big Scenic Nowhere. As ever, they’re making it easy to get on board. The black and white performance clip gives the song a suitable late-night-MTV feel, footage of speeding through this or that desert included, and while I get more Fu Manchu than grunge out of the track at least for the first four of the total six minutes — whereas their Spring 2023 standalone single “Raindancer (From Outta Space)” seemed to go the full-Soundgarden — that’s definitely not something you’ll hear me whine about. That I haven’t heard the entire record yet, on the other hand…

You’ll note an actual Fu Manchu connection with “I’m Free Tonight” as well in the late-in-track guest appearance from guitarist Bob Balch — also bandmate to Reed in Big Scenic Nowhere — who seems only to happy to show up and lend some oomph to the back half, which brings a harder-landing bridge before turning back to the chorus as if to remind Daily Thompson are songwriters ahead of that culmination. I’ll say it again, they make it easy. Hook, groove, vibe. Whatever you’re chasing down, they’re here to help.

Right on:

“Chuparosa”, the fourth DAILY THOMPSON album in four years on Noisolution, will be released on May 17th!!! The guys from Dortmund seem to have not only won our hearts and continue to go full throttle and grow with every release.

Listen to “I`m Free Tonight” here: https://noisolution.lnk.to/free

More information about the album, the tour, the next single and the strictly limited CLUB100 edition (which will once again be a very special goodie, Trust me!!!) coming soon.

“I’m Free Tonight” is the first herald of the upcoming album. But DAILY THOMPSON are not alone here, because Bob Balch from Fu Manchu and Big Scenic Nowhere was in the studio and recorded the solo!!! The album was recorded and mastered in Port Orchard near Seattle by Mos Generator frontman Tony Reed. So it’s hardly surprising that “Chuparosa” smells of Seattle, of 90s alternative, grunge and lumberjack shirts.

https://www.facebook.com/dailythompson.band/
https://www.instagram.com/dailythompson_/
https://dailythompson.bigcartel.com/
https://dailythompsonband.bandcamp.com/

http://www.noisolution.de/
https://www.facebook.com/noisolution
https://www.instagram.com/noisolution/

Daily Thompson, “I’m Free Tonight” official video

A couple noteworthy collaborations here, with Kyle Thomas (Trouble, Exhorder, Alabama Thunderpussy) sitting in on vocals with Houston’s Stone Nomads for their cover of Trouble‘s foundational doom metal classic “The Tempter” and Esben Willems taking on drumming duties either on that song or the whole release, I’m not really sure, and I’d be remiss not to point out that the tour the trio will undertake in June alongside Red Beard Wall will be stopping through Maryland Doom Fest 2024 in Frederick, MD. Lots going on as the band make ready to release their Beyond the Gates four-songer through Gravitoyd Heavy Music — whose fest in Houston they’ll also play May 4 — but it was the stream of “The Tempter” and the darker, rougher edge they brought to the original that ultimately got me on board here, and you may find the same to be true, whatever other thrills are abounding as you listen.

The impending short release is a complement to 2023’s second full-length, …At the Gates of Solitude, which I flat out whiffed on after digging 2022’s debut, Fields of Doom (review here), but whether you heard that album or not, the charge they bring to “The Tempter” stands well on its own, and if you end up feeling like maybe you’ve got some homework to do in catching up with their doings, I promise you you’re not alone.

Time marches to the beat of the PR wire:

STONE NOMADS: New EP, Kyle Thomas Collab, Tour Announcement

Sludge-Doom power trio STONE NOMADS. The Texas outfit will release the EP “Beyond the Gates”, a follow-up and exclamation point to book-end last year’s full-length LP “…At the Gates of Solitude”. The release features 2 new songs, a remixed bonus track from the LP, and a new version of the classic “Trouble” doom track “The Tempter” featuring collaboration with metal vocalist extraordinaire Kyle Thomas (Exhorder, Trouble) along with the return lineup of guitarist/vocalist Jon Cosky, drummer Esben Willems (Monolord, Slower), and bassist/vocalist Jude Sisk. The EP was mastered by grammy award winning engineer Alan Douches (High On Fire, Cannibal Corpse) at the famed West West side in upstate NY.

“Beyond the Gates” will be released on Vinyl and digital on June 10th through Gravitoyd Heavy Music.

TRACKLIST
1. Witch
2. The Tempter (featuring Kyle Thomas)
3. Sorrow
4. Overlords (2024 re-mixed version – digital only)

STONE NOMADS is an American doom-sludge metal power trio based in Houston TX. The band, formed by Jon Cosky (Guitar/Vocals) and Jude Sisk (Bass/Vocals) in 2021, incorporates the sounds of early Doom Metal, modern Sludge Metal and all things heavy. Conceptually, the band explores the journey of life and death through the heavier and darker side of things, delivered via sludged-out, powerful riff-based sonics.

The band has released 2 full length LP’s (2022’s”Fields of Doom” and 2023’s “…At the Gates of Solitude”) and 1 EP (“Fiery Sabbath”) via Texas based label Gravitoyd Heavy Music. The band has enlisted drummer Ben Wozniak to take over percussion duties and is embarking on a US Tour to support the release of “Beyond the Gates” with festival appearances at both MARYLAND DOOM FEST and GRAVITOYD DOOM FEST.

STONE NOMADS 2024 US TOUR
5/4 – GRAVITOYD DOOM FEST (HOUSTON) @ Black Magic Social Club
5/24 – SAN ANTONIO, TX @ Venue tbd
5/25 – HOUSTON, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
6/18 – ASHEVILLE, NC @ Fleetwoods *
6/20 – MARYLAND DOOM FEST (FREDERICK) @ Cafe 611 *
6/21 – WINSTON SALEM, NC @ Reboot Arcade (Fri)
6/22 – KNOXVILLE, TN @ Brickyard Bar * (Sat)
6/23 – CHATTANOOGA, TN @ The Dark Roast * (Sun)
6/24 – MEMPHIS, TN @ Venue tbd * (Mon)
6/25 – LITTLE ROCK, AR @ Venue tbd * (Tues)
6/29 – HOUSTON, TX @ The End (Sat)
*w/RED BEARD WALL

STONE NOMADS is:
Jon Cosky – Guitar/Vocals
Jude Sisk – Bass/Vocals
Ben Wozniak – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/StoneNomadsHTX/
https://www.instagram.com/stonenomads/
https://stonenomads.bandcamp.com/
http://www.stonenomads.com/

https://www.facebook.com/gravitoyd
https://www.instagram.com/gravitoyd_heavy_music/
https://gravitoyd.com/

Stone Nomads, “The Tempter” (feat. Kyle Thomas)

Highlighted their headlining spot at this year’s Grim Reefer Fest in Baltimore and the Rocks Off Concert Cruise boat show they’ll do in NYC — or at least on the river — the upcoming Weedeater East Coast US tour also sees the North Carolinian sludge stalwarts re-teaming with Midwestern riff-chargers Telekinetic Yeti and picking up Heavy Temple, Left Lane Cruiser and Restless Spirit each for a few dates along the way. The former two, Heavy Temple and Left Lane Cruiser, have new records en route to release and Restless Spirit just put out their third LP this past Fall, so if you go, expect to hit the merch table. Probably a good policy, anyhow.

With steady touring a couple times a year and a now nine-year stretch without a studio full-length, am I crazy for thinking maybe a Weedeater live album wouldn’t be the worst idea? Yeah, they’re raw live, but they’re raw on-record too, and at least they’d have something new for the aforementioned merch table. It’s not like they suck. If they sucked, I’d get it.

In any case, the tour precedes stops later in May at Mutants of the Monster (Mutants Fest), which is in Arkansas, and Modified Ghost Festival, which is in Vancouver two days later. That should be a fun bit of continent crossing during that day between. As ever, safe travels to Weedeater, and a special thanks to the PR wire for the weed puns and the sneaky Cathedral reference in the tour announcement below:

WEEDEATER Announce US Tour

Get tickets: https://tonedeaftouring.com/weedeater

Roll up a fat one, because Weedeater are ready to ride another rip-roaring high. The sludge-stoned tar heels are chasing the dragon up and down the East Coast this spring. Along the way, they’ll be throwing wizard fights aboard the Rocks Off Concert Cruise and chunking $20 peanuts at Grim Reefer Fest.

Joining as main support on all 15 days of this excellent adventure are the Iowa stoners in Telekinetic Yeti. Purveyors of fifth dimensional riffs Heavy Temple will open the first leg. Next up are bonafide blues rockers Left Lane Cruiser, followed by badass doomsayers Restless Spirit.

Get tickets: http://tonedeaftouring.com/weedeater

Tour dates
04/16 Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor*
04/17 Richmond, VA @ Cobra Cabana*
04/18 York, PA @ Skid Row Garage*
04/19 Youngstown, OH @ West Side Bowl
04/20 Asheville, NC @ Eulogy
04/23 New York, NY @ Rocks Off Concert Cruise
04/24 Portland, ME @ Geno’s Rock Club#
04/25 Manchester, NH @ Jewel#
04/26 Newark, NJ @ QXT’s#
04/27 Baltimore, MD @ Otto Bar – Grim Reefer Fest#
04/29 Chesapeake, VA @ Riffhouse^
05/01 Panama City Beach, FL @ Mosey’s^
05/02 Cape Coral, FL @ Nice Guys’^
05/03 Tampa, FL @ Crowbar^
05/04 Augusta, GA @ Grantski Records^
* Heavy Temple
# Left Lane Cruiser
^ Restless Spirit

Weedeater’s bong will stay locked and loaded long after this tour goes up in smoke. Later in May, the band will bring plenty of god luck and good speed to this year’s Mutants Fest, as well as the seventh coming of Modified Ghosts Festival. More dates coming soon!

Additional Dates
May 17 Little Rock, AR @ Argenta Theater as part of Mutants Fest 2024
May 19 Vancouver, BC as part of Modified Ghost Festival VII

Line-up:
Dixie Dave: Bass, vocals
Shep: Guitar, vocals
Ramzi Ateyeh: Drums

https://www.facebook.com/weedmetal/
https://www.instagram.com/weedeaterband/
https://weedeater.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
https://www.instagram.com/seasonofmistofficial/
http://www.season-of-mist.com/

Weedeater, Goliathan (2015)

London-based groove-conjurors Stonus will return to Cyprus, where they originally formed in 2015, to support Sweden’s Truckfighters in the coastal city of Larnaca. Don’t be surprised if they end up putting some new material in the set, since as of at least a few weeks ago, they were planning to record this summer and make a follow-up to their debut LP, Aphasia, which was released in 2020 and followed the next year by their Séance EP (review here). In the presumed interim time between now and the arrival of that yet-unrecorded full-length, Stonus will offer Live in Zen, for which you can see a brief teaser below.

Zen Production Studios is also located in Cyprus, and honestly I don’t know how much of the band lives there versus in the UK, etc., but you can see in the clip it looks like a classy establishment to showcase Stonus‘ riffery. Details are short at this point as regards things like a tracklisting — possible there could be new material on Live in Zen too, depending on when it was recorded and apparently filmed — and a release date, artwork, and so on, but if the repeating undulations of heavy rock and doom have taught anything in the last five decades-plus, it’s patience. So be patient.

And yes, I’m talking to myself there.

The following was cobbled together from social media:

Stonus – Live in Zen (TEASER)

“We have been waiting for a while for this one and we are super-excited to finally start sharing it with you all!”

Out soon on youtube and on vinyl via Electric Valley Records and Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug!!

We are currently working on our sophomore album which we are aiming to record this summer!

Couldn’t be more excited and we are eager to share with you some of our new material but till then we got work to do.

Recorded at Zen Production Studios in Nicosia, Cyprus
Filmed by SevenSouled Photography
Recorded & Engineered by Alexis Yiangoullis
Mastered by Billy Anderson
Lights by Nikolas Karatzas
Artwork by Seven souled Photography & Rafael Marquetto

https://www.facebook.com/stonerscy
https://www.instagram.com/stonus.band/
https://stonus.bandcamp.com/

http://electricvalleyrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/electricvalleyrecords
https://www.instagram.com/electricvalleyrecord
https://evrecords.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Ougaboogarecs
https://ougaboogaandthemightyoug.bandcamp.com/

Stonus, Live in Zen teaser

Stonus, Séance EP (2021)

This Friday, Esben Willems will make his solo debut with the full-length Glowing Darkness on Majestic Mountain Records, and I won’t mince words in telling you that for some of the built-in audience who know him only from his output as the drummer of Swedish riff magnates Monolord, it’s going to seem like a pretty stark departure. The path of influence that’s brought Willems to this nine-song, 33-minute long-player is more complex than a simple ‘band wasn’t on tour so I made a record by myself’ narrative one might try to impose on it, and from the insistent weirdo-pop urgency of “Cabaret Street” — as if to jolt one awake at the outset — through the guitar-led bounce of the title-track and the finale “Across the Everything,” which presents a sound that is full and atmospheric while still not tying itself to this or that microgenre, the personality of the procession becomes like a series of experiments brought to fruition in order to actively work against the generic in and around heavy music.

Recording himself on all instruments at Studio Berserk in Gothenburg, where there’s at least a 30 percent chance he also mastered your album, Willems runs through a succession of cuts that seems to owe its core ethic of creative freedom to Talking Heads no less than Masters of Reality, with “Dear Demon” and “Carte Blanche” building on the catchy structure of “Cabaret Street” in a way that allows Glowing Darkness to remain cohesive as it chasing down different ideas. Would it be a shock if I told you it’s well produced?

Those who’ve perhaps followed Willems through his various collaborations in recent years — lest we forget the “here’s some beats have fun” drum patterns he posted during the covid pandemic that led to his ‘guesting’ on releases from all over the world — or who even took on the earlier-this-year self-titled debut from doom-does-Slayer covers project Slower (review here), might be better set up to follow where Glowing Darkness is headed, but one way or the other, the reward is there for the open-minded, and the palpable defiance of expectation brims with purpose. As the standalone layered vocals and last guitar noodle of “Carte Blanche” give over to the more sauntering groove of “Embrace the Fall,” daring a bit of funk in the nuanced pattern of the verse before opening to the rolling chorus, Willems feels strikingly clearheaded in his arrangements and the balance of the mix.

And while mostly traditionalist in verse/chorus structures, the material is all the more able to explore and expand stylistically for that sure footing, but it’s also concise enough that only “Cabaret Street” and “Across the Everything” push beyond a four-minute runtime, the latter serving as the longest inclusion at 5:01. It may be that Willems sat down and plotted out measure by measure, layer by layer, waveform by waveform, the various reaches into which Glowing Darkness delves — I honestly don’t know and I don’t have the track-by-track yet, so maybe we’ll find out together — but whatever the initial spark might have been for the minimalist-Nirvana-meets-cavernous-nod centerpiece “Slow Rain,” the feeling of spontaneity, and of a creative chase, of an artist figuring out in real-time who they are and how they want to bring the songs in their head to life, remains amid the tight and hammered-out spirit of the finished LP.

Tucked away cozily in the procession of side B, “Space Bob” leans percussive intricacy on a fuzzy riff that’s simpler but sturdy enough to support all the activity and finds Willems repeating the lines, “I had to save myself/This head/Caught fire,” as the guitar grows more fervent before receding. It’s three minutes long and doesn’t come anywhere near summarizing Glowing Darkness as a whole — it’s not trying to — but it does capture a specific portrait of creative urgency. Have you ever felt like your head’s on fire? Like there’s something you need to get out, to express, to say or do or share and you’re consumed by that thing until you actually make it happen? I do, often. In that way, “Space Bob” feels like it’s about its own making, the way it’s built up to what Willems wanted it to be or until he was satisfied enough with what it became to say it’s done. Isn’t that what being an artist is like? Your head’s just on fire all the time? Maybe Willems intended the metaphor and maybe not, but the notion of artistic expression being what ‘saves’ you from the fire resonates. Sometimes it’s like that.

What Willems in the track-by-track/interview that follows refers to as “limitations” become quirks in craft and style. The way the vocals are layered and patterned. The stops in the guitar of “Fortune Teller” that bounce while feeling intimate and personal like some lost McCartney-era experiment, or the way “Across the Everything” lets itself submerge in the wash of tone and space before Glowing Darkness ends with drums and voice alone, heavy in tone and presence but still very much its own take. One could hardly ask a more fitting resolution, not the least because it also doesn’t attempt to summarize so much as to keep adding to the breadth of the whole album while staying grounded in structure. That duality becomes crucial throughout.

I’ve been fortunate enough to interview Willems a few times over the last several years, and probably could’ve fired up Zoom to make an ass out of myself for a video chat. But since the album’s streaming in full, you’re not likely to watch a video at the same time you’re listening to the record, and I think there’s something appealing about reading an artist’s view of their work while you listen to the work itself; a multi-sensory immersion. One way or the other, I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading.

Glowing Darkness can be heard in its entirety on the player below, followed by the track-by-track:

Glowing Darkness track-by-track with Esben Willems

When did Glowing Darkness start to come together? How far back do these songs go, and at what point did you know you wanted to make an album under your own name as opposed to starting another band?

It’s been lingering for a long time, I wanted to get back to writing and recording music on the side again. I love side-projects and how they fuel the creativity in unexpected ways, I’ve always had the need to create in multiple different directions. The journey we’ve made with Monolord the past decade has been overwhelmingly amazing; the effect of that has also been that between tours, behind the scenes admin work and most important of all family, I haven’t had the time to explore much else. In 2019, we decided to take one season off from touring with the band – simply to recharge – and shortly after that the pandemic hit, so all that combined was the perfect opportunity to play around with these song ideas, some of them probably about 15 years old, I don’t really remember. Misfit, maladjusted little nuggets that didn’t really fit in any other project along the way, but all of them ideas I returned to when rummaging through the digital archives, as one does every now and then.

I figured that if these songs made me smile, there should be at least a handful of people on this planet that are wired the same way I am and would feel the same, so I started reworking them and rewriting most of the lyrics to what felt relevant in my life now. Also, I’ve often preached to people around me that they should embrace their limitations and create regardless of them, instead turning those limitations into creative tools, but I have been really bad at adapting that mindset myself, so I felt that this would be a great way to give myself a Henry Rollins asskicking to get going. So, that’s the reason this is not a new band and it’s also the reason that I’m playing all the instruments and singing all the vocals, warts and all, just to see what I could accomplish with the quite substantial limitations I have outside of the drumkit. And inside of it, for that matter. Incredibly scary, which also fueled the inspiration even further.

What do you most want people who only know you from Monolord to know about these songs? Imagine someone is about to put it on for the first time. What should their mindset be?

That it’s not Monolord, at all. I don’t want to deceive anyone into expecting that this will be a rumble fest in a slightly different direction. I love that and those projects of mine will also be recorded and released, but this one is a ticket to somewhere else. Speaking of describing music, I love how we all perceive music so differently. We can love the same thing, but most likely from entirely different perspectives and we can hate something the same way. I’ve seen this described as some sort of post-punk several times now and that is not even remotely close to what I hear myself. Which is really cool, it’s all been mentioned as a compliment and I’ll take it, regardless of whatever genre this might be considered as.

Let’s go through the tracks. “Cabaret Street”:

I was frustrated about how so much of my surroundings and even my own behaviour revolved around the insatiable search for validation. It might sound like a “social media is bad and I’m afraid of wifi” statement, but I feel that blaming social media only is a bit one-dimensional and lazy, to me this virus culture is equally fueled by how our society is constructed. Social media is just a tumorous result of that, I think. Social media is also an amazing tool, if used right.

If this song is anti- anything, it would be anti-capitalism.

“Dear Demon”

I guess many of us have that head demon that never sleeps, that beast who’s never out of energy to remind you that you’re not good enough, that your desperate attempts to matter are nothing more than embarrassingly transparent and laughable theatrics. This is my love letter to my own demon, just to confuse it. I know it won’t confuse it for long, it will be back with full force tomorrow. But so will I and my coffee is both stronger and real.

“Carte Blanche”

It seems to be a permanent human flaw that we in the bigger picture never – or very rarely – really learn from our mistakes. When a relationship, a job, any human interaction goes wrong we tend to just end it without reflection, replace it with something similar and repeat the process elsewhere with someone else, naively hoping that this utopia will be different. We start things the same way and we end things the same way, rinse and repeat. Denial is an addictive spice.

“Embrace the Fall”

Speaking of denial, the collective version of that in the shape of the silently socially accepted self medication is peak tragicomedy to me. Or rather, the tragicomedy lies in it’s collective denial, not the actual numbing by beers, by I’m-not-addicted-I-can-quit-anytime-there-are-no-side-effects-420brah weed or whatever your preferred sedative might be. Not saying that I don’t embrace the buzz of my gentrified hazy IPA – I really do – I just find some kind of dark humor in that I also participate in that game of pretending.

“Slow Rain”

A deliberately slow one about the process of breaking on the inside, over and over, but still keep functioning on the outside, no matter what. The constant battle between strength and fragility.

“Glowing Darkness”

Even though life can feel bleak and uphill, there are always bright spots in the darkness. They might be small and seemingly insignificant, but they sometimes shines a brighter light than you’d maybe expect.

“Space Bob”

I think and hope this one is self-explanatory. If not, it might be because you didn’t save yourself when your head caught fire. You have to.

“Fortune Teller”

This is to my life companion, what we have is incredible to me. Through all the bumps and twists and turns, we have the best of rides. I love her.

“Across the Everything”

I love playing live and being able to travel the world to do so. But it comes at the expense of deeply missing my loved ones, especially my kid as a parent. Not being there in the flesh is heartbreaking and something I always struggle with when I tour. This is to my son, my promise that I will always come home.

Now that Glowing Darkness is coming out – and releasing it has been in the works for a while, right? – how are you feeling about the release? Are you relieved to have it out in the world (almost), inspired to move forward as a songwriter, tired of the whole idea? What comes next?

It’s indeed been in the works for quite a while, yes, so it feels really good to finally have it out. Also, as with every new release, nervous. I hope that people that are into this kind of music will enjoy it.

I’m always inspired to move forward, to make new music. More projects are already in the works, both solo type stuff and projects with others. Regarding writing music, I’m finally getting back to it, having been away from it for almost a decade. I’m rusty, but I’m having tons of fun in the process.

Anything else you want to say about the record, or anything else generally?

Listen to music, a lot of music, as far and wide in genres and cultures as you can. Don’t limit yourself with predefined taste. Puritanism is boring. Curiosity is not.

Esben Willems, “Dear Demon” official video

Esben Willems, “Cabaret Street” official video

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Esben Willems on Bandcamp

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