If it seems a little odd that Connecticut stonerolling trio Curse the Son would lead off the promotional cycle for their upcoming fifth LP — titled Delirium and due out Sept. 6 as their third LP for Ripple Music, announced as of… wait for it… rightnow! — with a cover tune, that’s the point. Following on from the relatively expansive mindset that 2020’s Excruciation (review here) wrought, Delirium brings both a new lineup around founding guitarist/vocalist Ron Vanacore — bassist Dan Weeden, (perhaps a relative of bass alum Richard “Cheech” Weeden?), takes up the low end while on-album drummer Brian Harris has already been replaced by Vanacore‘s teenaged son, Logan Vanacore, who nails it in live videos and clearly keeps his father on his toes in terms of tempo — and a redirection of purpose that comes through clearly in their take on Witchfinder General‘s doomly classic “R.I.P.”

The song is the medium, the medium is the message, and the message is that the band have stripped back a lot of the flourish as regards production, melody and darkness of mood as manifest on Excruciation in favor of a more direct tonality, unbridled Sabbath worship — that comes through in the rhythmic stop-and-turn of “R.I.P.,” and also the rest of it — and a focus on the root principles of dense tones and weighted roll heralded by their earlier work. Doesn’t mean they forgot the lessons of Excruciation, but if you see the cover below and are somewhat reminded of 2012’s Psychache (review here, interview here, vinyl review here, reissue featured here, also discussed here), with the creepy clown vibes in keeping with their black-and-white visual aesthetic, I don’t think that’s a coincidence either.

The video for “R.I.P.” premieres below, following the announcement and info for Delirium, which I’ll just tell you flat out rules. There. Sorry if you didn’t want the spoiler.

From the PR wire:

Curse the Son – Delirium

Curse the Son have endured the tests of time. Lineup shifts, traumatic personal losses and a global pandemic have found the band in a vastly different world. A dark world. A world that doesn’t feel very stable. Lyrically and conceptually, “Delirium” finds Curse the Son exploring and re-experiencing the fear, isolation, confusion and death from a time not so long ago. A slow descent into madness as we self medicated, forced others away and suffered from the greatest losses of all…..each other. Psychologically, the devastating emotional damage inflicted upon us and our children will never fully be understood. Drenched in these drowning vibes, “Delirium” was created.

Musically and sonically “Delirium” has the fuzzed out gloomy electricity of “Psychache”, with a knowing glance towards the advanced songwriting structures found on “Isolator”. Following 2020’s more experimental “Excruciation” album, Curse the Son decided to make “Delirium” a return to more familiar territories. Elements of all eras of the band are evident here on this release. Crushing doomed out numbers like “Liste Of The Dead” and “This Suffering Is Ours” state their case with mind numbing heaviness. In contrast, the more uptempo and challenging “Deliberate Cruelty” and “Delirium” offer more dynamic and complex themes. A cover version of “R.I.P.” by Witchfinder General finds its way into the grooves of “Delirium” as well!  As long time fans of Witchfinder General, it was an honor to pay homage to one of the greatest and underrated stoner/doom originators!

Once again the band teamed up with Eric Lichter and Dirt Floor Recording to record “Delirium”. This longtime partnership has proven very  successful and fulfilling over the years starting with the recording of “Isolator” in 2016. Curse the Son is extremely proud to once again be working with Ripple Music for the worldwide release or “Delirium” on September 6, 2024.

Tracklist:
1. The Suffering is Ours
2. Deliberate Cruelty
3. R.I.P.
4. Riff Forest
5. In Dismal Space
6. Brain Paint
7. Delirium
8. May Cause Drowsiness
9. Liste of the Dead

“Delirium” was written and recorded in the many months of 2022-2023. This time the band returned to Dirt Floor with a sense of rejuvenation, rebirth, and a deeper connection to the material being performed. Dan Weeden joined the band on bass in 2022. Dan has been a friend and writing partner of Ron’s since the early 1990s. Shortly after the recording of “Delirium”, drummer Brian Harris amicably parted ways with the band. Shortly after, Ron’s son Logan Vanacore took over as the drummer for the band. At 14 years old, Logan is a widely recognized drumming phenom and he and Dan play vital roles as Curse the Son’s concussive rhythm section. “Delirium” will be released by Ripple Music in September, 2024.

Current line-up:
Ron Vanacore (guitar, vox)
Dan Weeden (bass)
Logan Vanacore* (drums)

*Drums on “Delirium” performed by Brian Harris

http://cursetheson.com
http://facebook.com/cursetheson
htttp://instagram.com/cursethesonofficial
https://cursetheson.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

Curse the Son, “R.I.P.” (Witchfinder General cover) official video

I’ll spare you a lot of flowery band-I-like verbiage. If you’re desperate to know where I think Conan stand as they join and strengthen Heavy Psych Sounds‘s roster of acts, there’s a bio I wrote right down there in blue where it says “biography” in all-caps. I even signed it, which I don’t always do. So there you go.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking Conan signing to Heavy Psych Sounds for not one but two albums isn’t a big deal, because it is. For Conan, it marks the end of their stretch with Napalm Records, which handled all their studio work since 2014’s Blood Eagle (review here) came out on the short-lived Spinning Goblin Records heavy imprint. And just in case you, like me, live in a bubble outside normal space-time (which sounds great but you age faster and are always tired; shitty bubble), 2014 was 10 years ago.

While it’s not the first time Conan and Heavy Psych Sounds have collaborated — Conan appeared on the label’s first Doom Sessions split in 2020, sharing LP space with Deadsmoke — it demonstrates just how far the Italian purveyor has come as the heavy underground’s foremost outlet worldwide. Conan likely could’ve gone just about anywhere. They’re one of the best and most recognized bands of their generation and they never stop touring and now they have bonus-extra noise metal cred with David Ryley (formerly of Fudge Tunnel) taking up bass duties in the rhythm section alongside drummer Johnny King and founding guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis.

Conan offered the three-songer DIY Series, Issue 1 10″ EP earlier this year, and they’re set to follow it with a full-length in Spring 2025 according to the below. I’ll be curious to hear how they follow 2022’s Evidence of Immortality (review here), which brought a delve into ambient noise to go with their all-crushing root ethic and was their last record with likely-still-gonna-produce bassist Chris Fielding in the band. You can bet they’ll be on the road for that as well.

Well, so much for sparing the verbiage. Onward, to death and the PR wire:

Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is really proud to present a NEW BAND signing *** CONAN ***

– UK doom wizards signed for two new albums –

We’re incredibly stoked to announce that the UK doom wizards CONAN are now part of the Heavy Psych Sounds Family !!!

The band has signed for TWO NEW ALBUMS, first one will see the light in Spring 2025.

SAYS THE BAND:
“We are delighted to announce we will release our next album on Heavy Psych Sounds. We have watched the label grow in both size and stature, and watched awesome bands join, and we feel that now is the right time to join too. Gabe and the team have a hands-on approach with appeals to us, and we’re excited to explore this new relationship.”

BIOGRAPHY

Conan’s doom is singular. Carved of granite. Yes, of course there’ve been changes since guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis founded the group in 2006, but the intention at the time toward superlative heavy – tonal extremity wrought with impressionist lyrics stripping ideas to the core where sometimes the whole line is just one word; they’ve always called it “Caveman Battle Doom” – remains at the root of everything they’ve done since. And across five studio records in the decade from 2012-2022, Conan have set the standard by which much of “heavy” anything is judged. And in comparison, most is found wanting.

But for every time you’ve heard about Conan’s music being like galloping steeds or frost-covered sharp-peaked mountains, etc., imagery of largesse and violence, the truth is Conan are an exercise in frequency. It’s the low resonance that shakes your chest, the depth of the bass – now handled by David Ryley (ex-Fudge Tunnel) – the push of air from Johnny King’s kick drum, or the way the dark-fuzz distortion of Davis’ guitar is offset by shouting vocals cutting through that sometimes punishing onslaught, rarely to offer comfort so much as add viciousness to the crash, plod and pillage.

In 2024, Conan sign to Heavy Psych Sounds as a recognized name and one of the foremost acts of their generation, wildly influential in their home country of the UK and well beyond; headliners in practice and theory alike. Their fifth LP, 2022’s ‘Evidence of Immortality,’ brought a dark ambience to coincide with its outright attack. With experiments in darkwave and synth adding breadth to the stated root purpose of aural force, it’s never been harder to guess where the next few years might take their sound, but whatever’s coming, Conan will make it kill. The better part of two decades later, their reliability remains unshakable. Which you want when your band is so heavy that the floor and your ribcage both start to vibrate. – JJ Koczan / June 2024

CONAN is
Jon Davis – Vocals/Guitars
Johnny King – Drums
David Ryley – Bass

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://www.linktr.ee/hailconan

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Conan, DIY Series, Issue 1 (2024)

Conan, Evidence of Immortality (2022)

You would be hard pressed to find a better week for Spiral Grave to announce the release of their second album, Ill Repute, since this weekend their hometown of Frederick, Maryland, performs the annual rite of the Maryland Doom Fest, and, well, one more thing to celebrate there isn’t going to hurt. You may recall the four-piece earlier this year dropped the single “The Death of Ronnie M.” (posted here) as a soft-launch preface to revealing the actual details of the sophomore LP. Those are here — tracks and art, etc. — accompanied by another new song, “Lungful of Blood,” which the band deliver with their usual sunny disposition.

Release date is July 12, once again on Argonauta Records, and both videos can be found below. Dig in and doom on:

SPIRAL GRAVE Announce New Album; New Official Music Video Out Now

Spiral Grave, the esteemed US doom metal ensemble comprised of veterans from Iron Man and Lord, is set to unveil their highly anticipated new album ‘Ill Repute’ via Argonauta Records on July 12th.

Album tracklisting and cover art are as follows:

1. Watching From the Sky
2. Eulogy for Queen City (21502)
3. My Angel Comes Tonight
4. The Death of Ronnie M.
5. Lungful of Blood
6. Ill Repute
7. (Raising the) Chalice
8. To Stare Down God

“Many artists have their COVID album, and this is ours. Once lockdowns started we just hunkered down and started writing. The emotions that we were all feeling during that time are very evident in these songs. The legendary Frank Marchand was at the helm for recording, and brought the absolute best out in us.” – says the band

Additionally, the band is premiering their new official music video for ‘Lungful of Blood’ today, watch here: https://youtu.be/2tpM3aTL0Vc

Spiral Grave formed in late 2018 following the demise of two legendary mid-Atlantic bands, Iron Man and Lord. The band quickly hit the live circuit and recorded their debut album, Legacy of the Anointed (release delayed until 2021 due to COVID). Since that album’s release Spiral Grave has continued to tour, playing live dates and festivals in and around their home area of MD/VA, going as far west as Texas. In addition, the band has recorded their sophomore effort Ill Repute, which is scheduled for a 2024 release from Argonauta Records.

SPIRAL GRAVE:
Screaming Mad Dee – voice
Willy Rivera – guitar
Louis Strachan – bass
Jason “Mot” Waldmann – drums

https://www.facebook.com/SpiralGrave/
https://spiralgrave.bandcamp.com/

www.argonautarecords.com
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords

Spiral Grave, “Lungful of Blood” official video

Spiral Grave, “The Death of Ronnie M.” official video

[Click play above to stream Shadow Witch’s Eschaton (The End of All Things) in its entirety. Album is out Friday on Argonauta Records and the band play their release show at Maryland Doom Fest 2024 this weekend.]

All things end, and Shadow Witch‘s songwriting is suited to endtimes, with a gospel feel and theme amid the doom rock groove and an intermittent metallic severity. Eschaton (The End of All Things) is the fourth full-length from the Kingston, New York-based four-piece fronted by Earl Walker Lundy with Jeremy Hall (since replaced by Jesse Cunningham) on guitar/keys, bassist David Pannullo and drummer Justin Zipperle (also piano/Hammond) making his first recorded appearance since coming aboard following the tracking of 2020’s Under the Shadow of a Witch (review here), which until now was their most realized outing to-date. Clocking in at an easily manageable 36 minutes, the eight self-recorded pieces of Eschaton (The End of All Things) ask little — not nothing — in terms of indulgence and reward the listener in the diversity of their approach, starting with the quick 80-second motor-riff of “Speedy Goes to Sludgetown” that is deceptively complex as it builds to the finish with synth and vocals worked in around the centralized forward push. It’s not nearly as atmospheric as “Dominu Sanctus Oblivion,” which leads off side B with its hard-hitting cycles of drumming and layered vocal chanting, references to The Exorcist on guitar and so forth, but that song is six minutes long and it probably wouldn’t work as an album intro. No time to waste. Shadow Witch have places to be and the songs to get them there.

Eschaton (The End of All Things) of course begs the question whether the ending being discussed in its title is that of the band itself. Best I can do in terms of an answer after listening is: “maybe?” One never knows generally and I won’t make any definite predictions, but between the departure of Hall, the plague that happened between the third album’s recording/release and this one, and the creative progression undertaken since Lundy, Hall and Pannullo set forth in 2016 with their debut, Sun Killer (discussed here), if this was to be the final Shadow Witch release, they certainly don’t owe anyone anything, and they sound like they’ve put everything they have into this record. From “Speedy Goes to Sludgetown” into the melancholic starts and stops of “Satellites” touching later on Southern rock as it brings acoustic and electric guitars together with keys and the first of several standout performances from Lundy, whose lyrics recast manmade spacetrash as falling angels and/or stars, namedropping a burning bush and serpent along the way to emphasize the being-raised-baptist-is-a-trauma religious undertones that have been a part of Shadow Witch all along but that also find a fresh point of view throughout Eschaton (The End of All Things). A melodic soulful dig in “Tell Me,” which follows, is burly but almost desert rocking in its tone, shifting from the sweeping crescendo of “Satellites” with organ and backing vocals to a more rigid stomp that grows fervent in its later gallop without any real threat of derailment to the momentum the band have already built.

The subsequent “Nobody” leans into insistent punk-metal with a hook that reminds me (and this is a ‘me’ thing rather than a likely influence) of Midwestern pushers Bloodcow as Lundy takes on the voice of some of masculinity’s more toxic gaslighting in the unfortunately-not-post-Trump era: “Nobody knows more about you than me/Nobody does more for you than me… I’m the man/And you all must do as I command,” and so on. Discussions of power and the abuse thereof aren’t necessarily new for Shadow Witch — the third album had “Wolf Among the Sheep,” and a cut like “Cruel” from 2017’s Disciples of the Crow (review here) saw its subject through a social justice lens — but the craft on Eschaton (The End of All Things), the subtle turns in the instrumental arrangements and the heart poured into the belted-out delivery of the vocals over top, frame the conversation and exploration of ideas in an accessible, heavy rock and roll that has never been both so broad in reach or so outwardly sure of its path.

Recorded on their own, as noted above, with a mix and master by Paul Orofino, the material feels divergent but is structurally sound and aware of its audience, with “Nobody” giving over to the big-nodding side A finale “Let it Out” giving willful contrast to “Tell Me” earlier — directly: the repeated line of the backing vocals is “Don’t tell me…” which Lundy answers in call and response — in a tight three-and-a-half-minute course, moderately placed like if KISS had ever given a damn what their songs were actually about. They’ve got some according swagger there, but Shadow Witch have never been just darkness stylistically. In terms of aesthetic, there’s as much light as black under their blacklights.

With a hook that’s downright vibrant and swing to spare, “Let it Out” is for sure present-tense in its frustrations, and it ends with Zipperle‘s drums on a fade before giving over to the immediate riff introducing “Dominu Sanctus Oblivion,” which is based around a chorus that becomes a kind of thanatos/destruction-worshiping chant and a lead-in for the apocalyptic narrative fleshed out across “The Lion and the Lamb” and closer “The Fallen.” The last three cuts, all over six minutes long (nothing on side A touched five), retain the intentionality of, say, “Satellites” and “Tell Me,” but are focused on a distinct procession. “Dominu Sanctus Oblivion,” then, is both the moment where that turn happens and the beginning of the story perceived, told in fire-and-brimstone preach and sharp streaks of guitar soloing, a manifestation of the Judgment Day being referenced in the album’s title. They still make it move and have a quieter break in the second half to offset the song’s cyclical pattern before they restart for one more hypnotic, willfully grandiose time through, finishing riffier and edgier before the cold stop brings standalone guitar at the start of “The Lion and the Lamb.” Marked by its inclusion of organ and evocative lead guitar, the penultimate cut on Eschaton (The End of All Things) is both a lead-in for “The Fallen” and a landmark in itself for the band, reminiscent of some of Dio-era Black Sabbath‘s more sprawling fare, whether that’s “Heaven and Hell” or “Falling Off the Edge of the World,” neither of which it’s actively emulating.

A synthy wash of noise eases the transition to the urgent opening build of “The Fallen,” and if there is some autobiographical aspect to Eschaton (The End of All Things) — that is, if part of what’s ending is the band itself — no one will be able to say they didn’t go out on top. A career performance from Lundy around a get-in-punk-we’re-taking-Heaven lyric and the corresponding manner in which the song unfolds instrumentally is stately in a way that both accounts for “The Lion and the Lamb” and the detail and arrangement flourish Shadow Witch have basked in throughout. But the closer is singular in its character and caps with a vision of doom that is bluesy, classic, gospel-informed and progressive without pushing so far as to lose the plot of which it is still only one piece set forth in the two songs prior, culminating with layered vocals and organ in complement to the final lines as the song resolves: “Fold your wings around me/We’re going home.” Those wings are leather, and “home” is a march of the fallen on capital-‘p’ Paradise, but the emotion behind the delivery is sincere and palpable, and as Shadow Witch do on their fourth album front-to-back, they depart with the sense of purpose that Eschaton (The End of All Things) has so roundly highlighted. Like I said at the start, all things end. Not all things are fortunate enough to do so with such resonance. I don’t know that this will be the last Shadow Witch record or not — and for what it’s worth, I hope not — but what they bring to fruition in these songs should be considered nothing less than a definitive work today, and today is what matters.

Shadow Witch, “The Lion and the Lamb” official video

Shadow Witch on Facebook

Shadow Witch on Instagram

Shadow Witch on Bandcamp

Argonauta Records website

Argonauta Records on Facebook

Argonauta Records on Instagram

I have a couple things booked along the way, but my family and I are traveling between today, June 17, and next Friday, June 28, and I’m honestly not sure how much time I’m going to get to write. Does that mean no posts? No. But it probably means fewer, and if I have time and inclination maybe some writing about the travel itself. We’ll be in the Southwest to see Moab and Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon, National Parks, etc., so if there are pictures, at least they’ll be nice.

It’s not quite a vacation — the thing about being a stay-at-home parent is you’re never really completely off work — but we’ll be out hiking and whatnot and I wanted to let you know in case you were wondering where all the reviews went for the next 10 days. If you’re dying for ‘content,’ I urge you to dig into the recent 100-album Quarterly Review. No shortage of gems in there, and I packed it accordingly knowing this trip was on the horizon.

Also, for the first time in years I’ve been able to access the hard drive hosting The Obelisk Radio and have put more than 100 new albums on that playlist. Click here to listen.

This post is going to stay at the top of the page during the trip and I’ll archive it thereafter. New posts will appear underneath. If it’s confusing, just check the date under the headline. In any case, thanks for reading if you do/did/are. Much love and all that.

As Stoned Jesus move forward with a new lineup and head toward their 15th anniversary tour of Europe this Fall, the Ukrainian heavy rock forerunners will this August revisit 2012’s Seven Thunders Roar (review here) and 2015’s The Harvest (review here), reissuing the two albums through Season of Mist, which also put out their 2023 long-player, Father Light (review here). That record, in being both post-plague and arriving in the context of Russia’s ongoing attempt to eat Ukraine with murder, was almost defiantly rocking, but encompassed a lot in terms of sound that Seven Thunders Roar and The Harvest put forth, nodding to the… uh… nod… of the former and the willfully progressive spirit that kept the latter from being more than a retread of riffy glories. Three extra minutes of “I’m the Mountain?” I think I’m not the only one who’s ready to sign up for such a thing.

Kind of kills me I’ve still never seen this band. With the trio revamped around founding guitarist/vocalist Igor Sydorenko, that would be interesting to catch playing new songs or old. My understanding is — which is to say, don’t quote me on this — they’ve dropped the intention to follow Father Light with the hopefully-they’ll-put-it-out-someday Mother Dark, instead focusing on touring and presumably a fresh start for a next record whenever they get there.

The PR wire brings news of the reissues:

STONED JESUS Re-Issue Two Classic Albums in Seven Thunders Roar and The Harvest

Strap in, magnificent souls, because we’re diving deep into the kaleidoscopic universe of STONED JESUS, trailblazers of the European psychedelic progressive rock scene. The ever-ambitious trio is re-issuing their groundbreaking albums, the monolithic Seven Thunders Roar (2012) and the revolutionary The Harvest (2015).

Forged in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2009 by singer-songwriter Igor Sydorenko, Stoned Jesus began as an audacious experiment. United by a shared passion for the almighty riff, seismic grooves, and boundless creativity, the band bulldozed their way through the barriers of the genre, crafting a legacy that has since become the stuff of modern mythology.

“After years of waiting we’re finally reissuing two of our most-beloved albums, the heavy prog stalwart The Harvest and the already-legendary psychedelic classic Seven Thunders Roar!” Sydorenko states. “It’s funny now to think how surprised people were hearing The Harvest for the first time – a lot of them possibly expected Seven Thunders Part Two, but as a songwriter I’d never been into repeating myself. And with Seven Thunders, what else could I say about this overlooked-then-and-praised-now record, its importance and influence for the genre?

“This was our first release with our then-manager, Vlad Lyashenko, the man who helped to shape the Ukrainian rock and metal underground into the force it is today. Both reissues are dedicated to his memory, since he passed away last year – hauntingly, on the very same day we’d released our fifth album, Father Light. So please enjoy both The Harvest and Seven Thunders Roar with extended bonus tracks and have one for the guy to whom we owe our career”

Season of Mist is reissuing Seven Thunders Roar and The Harvest on August 16, 2024.

Pre-order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/StonedJesusReissues

Available Formats

Seven Thunders Roar
Digital Download
CD Digipack
2X12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
2X12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Gold with Black Splatter)

Tracklist
1. Bright Like The Morning (7:47)
2. Electric Mistress (9:21)
3. Indian (5:00)
4. I’m The Mountain (13:01)
5. Stormy Monday (8:43)
6. Bright Like The Morning (Extended) (8:43)
7. Stormy Monday (Extended) (9:32)
8. I’m The Mountain (Extended) (16:02)
Total runtime: 1:18:09

The Harvest
Digital Download
CD Digipack
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Black)
12″ Vinyl Gatefold (Red with Black Splatter)

Tracklist
1. Here Come The Robots (3:18)
2. Wound (3:14)
3. Rituals Of The Sun (7:01)
4. YFS (5:10)
5. Silkworm Confessions (9:07)
6. Black Church (14:45)
Total runtime: 42:37

STONED JESUS will be heading out celebrating their 15 year anniversary across mainland Europe. Expect a setlist full of Seven Thunders Roar and The Harvest classics, along with tracks from their latest album, Father Light.

Tagging alongside them will be San Francisco’s Mondo Drag, Polish doom-giants Dopelord as well as label mates The Abbey on 21 European dates.

STONED JESUS XV ANNIVERSARY TOUR:
10 October: Berlin, DE @ Frannz Club
11 October: Copenhagen, DK @ Lille Vega
12 October: Hamburg, DE @ Headcrash
13 October: Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat
14 October: Arnhem, NL @ Willemeen
16 October: Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
17 October: Bristol, UK @ Fleece
18 October: London, UK @ Garage
19 October: Cologne, DE @ Club Volta
20 October: Antwerpen, BE @ Desertfest Belgium
22 October: Munich, DE @ Feierwerk
23 October: Milano, IT @ Legend
24 October: Bologna, IT @ Freakout
25 October: Aarau, CH @ Kiff
26 October: Schweinfurt, DE @ Stattbahnhof
27 October: Innsbruck, DE @ PMK
29 October: Brno, CZ @ Kabinet Muz
30 October: Warsaw, PL @ Hydrozagadka
31 October: Krakow, PL @ Kwadrat
1 November: Poznan, PL @ Klub 2progi
2 November: Leipzig, DE @ Werk 2

Line-up:
Igor Sydorenko – Lead-Vocals & Guitar
Andrew Rodin – Bass & Backing Vocals
Yurii Ciel – Drums & Percussion

https://www.facebook.com/stonedjesusband
https://www.instagram.com/stonedjesusband/
http://stonedjesus.bandcamp.com/
https://stonedjesus.bigcartel.com/

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

Stoned Jesus, Father Light (2023)

Ça va, Endless Floods?

It’s been a minutes since last we heard from the Bordeaux-based doom-plus heavybringers, and Breathe Plastic has their fourth album, Rites Futurs, set to release July 12. The lead single is “Décennie,” likewise laced with melodic breadth and fervent crash, and while I wouldn’t necessarily expect the band to be doing the same thing on all five of the record’s tracks, the space in the production is encouraging and you won’t hear me argue with the nod as they transition to a minimalist contemplation and then, gloriously, surge back to life and use feedback like triumphant horns en route to a jazz-folk ending. So yes, the scope is pretty open.

This is a band I’ve intended to listen to way more than I’ve listened to — you know how that goes sometimes; only so many hours in the day, week, year, life — but I’ve never heard anything from them and not wanted to hear more. The same applies now, I hope you’ll agree.

From the PR wire:

ENDLESS FLOODS: new album “Rites Futurs” coming next month!

French doom metal trio ENDLESS FLOODS shares new single “Décennie”; new album “Rites Futurs” out on July 12th.

Bordeaux, France’s doom metal experimentalists ENDLESS FLOODS return after five years with their fourth studio album “Rites Futurs”, to be issued on July 12th through Breathe Plastic Records. Stream the new single “Décennie” now!

It’s a new era for ENDLESS FLOODS. Between consecutive lockdowns and various other musical projects, it took the band two years to complete “Rites Futurs”. Now reunited around vocalist Louise Dehaye, Stéphane Miollan (guitar, bass, vocals) and Benjamin Sablon (drums, synths, vocals) have spanned through the crepuscular and droney doom landscapes of their first three records to reveal in a prodigious blaze of post-metal, doom and shoegaze driven by the aerial choirs of the three musicians.

✙ Listen to Endless Floods’ new track “Décennie” ✙

About the new album “Rites Futurs”, the band comments: “On Rites Futurs, we built a mythology around the idea of the rite of passage. The five tracks symbolize this tipping point into the unknown by evoking ancient traditions where fires extinguished everything in their path.”

The album was recorded and mixed by Thibault Laisney at a/b box studio (Lestiac, France) and mastered by Ben Jones. Cover art and graphic design by Louise Dehaye. The album will be released this July 12th on cassette tape via Breathe Plastic Records, as well as on all digital streaming services.

ENDLESS FLOODS “Rites Futurs”
Out July 12th on Breathe Plastic Records (CD/digital)
Preorder – https://endlessfloods.bandcamp.com/album/rites-futurs

TRACKLIST:
1. L’Éclair
2. Décennie
3. Forge
4. Muraille
5. Rites Futurs

Bordeaux, France’s doom metal experimentalists ENDLESS FLOOD formed in 2015 in Bordeaux around Stéphane Miollan (ex-Monarch, Bombardement, Faucheuse), Benjamin Sablon (ex-Monarch, Bombardement, Shock, Mégot) et Simon Bédy. With “no boundaries in heaviness” as a motto, they raise a prodigiously dense wall of sound by blending drone and doom metal aesthetics with mind-expanding ambient structures, like a sorrowful procession arising from the limbo…

The trio released their self-titled debut in 2015, quickly followed by their sophomore album “II” in the winter of 2017. This drone-sounding assault saw the band sinking deeper into bleakness and minimalism, immersing the listener in a monolithic and feedback-laden sonic experience. Their third album “Circle The Gold” epitomized a fresh start in their creative process: between chaos and light, the Bordeaux trio transcended genre boundaries while unveiling a more melodic and cathartic aspect of their music. After a five years hiatus, ENDLESS FLOODS now returns with a new lineup and their fourth record “Rites Futurs”, to be released in July 2024.

ENDLESS FLOODS on “Rites Futurs”
Benjamin Sablon – Drums, percussions, synths, vocals
Louise Dehaye – Vocals
Stéphane Miollan – Guitars, bass, vocals
Thibault Laisney – Additional guitars

https://www.facebook.com/endlessfloods/
https://www.instagram.com/endlessfloods/
https://endlessfloods.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/breatheplastic
https://www.instagram.com/breatheplastic
https://breatheplastic.bandcamp.com/
https://tapes.breathe-plastic.org/
https://linktr.ee/breatheplastic

Endless Floods, Rites Futurs (2024)

Some news from raw heavy punkers Boozewa, who’ve been kicking around the last couple years even as drummer/vocalist Michael Rudolph Cummings put out a solo record and toured for it, etc., in that a new offering, Bon Vivant, will see release on July 9. No audio yet, but if you caught the Pennsylvania-based Backwoods Payback-offshoot’s 2021 EP, Developing Good Health (discussed here) or last year’s single “Maybe I’m a Bird” (video posted here), you should know to expect an elbow or two thrown in your direction. The three-piece of Cummings, bassist/vocalist Jessica Baker and guitarist/vocalist Rylan Caspar — whose mother I believe drew the picture above, while the cover art below/on the tour poster is by Tony Trease — are reliably brash, and if you don’t believe me, they’ve got A/V to demonstrate same at the bottom of this post.

Shows? Of course shows. They apparently just played with CKY — still a thing; good for them — and have dates lined up concurrent to Bon Vivant coming out and a couple weeks after, so yes, shows. Before I turn it over to what I culled from socials, I’ll just note that I have no idea whether Bon Vivant is an EP or a full-length. Based on what they’ve done to this point and since they don’t mention it, I’d guess an EP, but you never know for sure until you get there. If it’s a whole album, it would be their first, is the only reason I even bring it up. Any newswa is welcome newswa as far as I’m concerned.

Information for perusing:

It’s finally time! Our brand new record BON VIVANT will be released on Tuesday July 9th 2024!

Recorded/mixed/mastered once again at the always inspiring @noisylittlecritter by Mike Bardzik, with INCREDIBLE cover art done by our dear friend @tony_rocknroll

What ya say we jam a record release show for celebrate?

What ya say we hit a little tour to mark the occasion?

All the news that’s fit to hear coming today…and it’s only the beginning of what we have in store for the rest of 2024!

07.12 The Crown Wilmington DE (Release Show)
07.23 The Cave Chapel Hill NC
07.24 Sly Grog Asheville NC
07.25 Magbar Louisville KY
07.26 Westside Bowl Youngstown OH
07.27 Comedy House State College PA
07.28 Alkemy Flemington NJ

Boozewa:
Jessica Baker / bass, hollering
Rylan Caspar / guitar, hollering
Mike Cummings (mRc) / drums, hollering

https://www.facebook.com/boozewa
http://instagram.com/boozewa
https://boozewa.bandcamp.com/
https://www.BOOZEWA.com

Boozewa, “Maybe I’m a Bird” official video

Boozewa, Developing Good Health (2021)