Destruction always has a special place in Conan‘s charred heart. The UK trio’s reputation precedes them at this point, and even if it didn’t, it’s not like you can’t hear their approaching plod from miles away. Their third album was 2016’s Revengeance (review here) and it was beastness as usual for the band, though their dynamic has continued to shift since bassist/vocalist/producer Chris Fielding joined on with founding guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis ahead of 2014’s Blood Eagle (review here), with Fielding‘s vocals first being used as backing and then more as a complement to Davis‘ own, he going higher in register while Fielding kept to a lower growl, all of this amid standard-setting heaviness the likes of which only a handful of bands on the planet would even think about trying to match.

That element has been consistent throughout Conan‘s career, but there’s also been development in their sound, and that seems set to continue on the forthcoming Existential Void Guardian as well. Revengeance brought some notions of melody to the vocals and I’m not saying I’ve heard it yet or anything, but one expects that growth will take another step forward on Existential Void Guardian as well. The album also marks the first appearance of drummer Johnny King, also of Dread Sovereign, which I bring up because, you know, destruction.

From the PR wire:

CONAN – Announce New Album Details

Existential Void Guardian Out On September 14th

Two years after the remarkable Revengeance, CONAN once more leave us astounded with a previously unknown side to dual vocal sludge. The British trio presents a tar monster named Existential Void Guardian that seems even more menacing as soon as it gets high on its own downtuned groove frenzy.

The album will be released on September 14 via Napalm Records.

Pre order Existential Void Guardian HERE!
http://smarturl.it/Conan-EVG-NPR

Tracklist:
1. Prosper On The Path
2. Eye To Eye To Eye
3. Paincantation
4. Amidst The Infinite
5. Volt Thrower
6. Vexxagon
7. Eternal Silent Legend
8. BONUS: Total Conquest (live 2018 @ Rebellion Manchester)
9. BONUS: Satsumo (live 2018 @ Rebellion Manchester)
10. BONUS: Foehammer (live 2018 @ Rebellion Manchester)
11. BONUS: Hawk As Weapon (live 2018 @ Rebellion Manchester)

Existential Void Guardian will be available as:
1 CD Digipack
2 LP Gatefold black
2 LP Gatefold gold (Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive)
2 LP Gatefold dark green (Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive)
Digital Album

Tour Dates:
17.08.18 IR – Cork / Cyprus Avenue
30.09.18 UK – Sheffield / O2 Academy
02.10.18 NL – Eindhoven / Effenaar
03.10.18 DE – Bochum / Rockpalast
04.10.18 DE – Hamburg / Logo
05.10.18 DE – Berlin / Musik & Frieden
06.10.18 PL – Wroclaw / Firlej
07.10.18 PL – Warsaw / Poglos
09.10.18 LT – Vinius / Rock River Club
10.10.18 LV – Jelgava / Melno Cepuriso Balerija
11.10.18 EE – Tallinn / Sveta
13.10.18 FI – Helsinki / Blow Up 4 Festival
15.10.18 SE – Stockholm / Kraken
16.10.18 TBA
17.10.18 SE – Malmo / Plan B
19.10.18 DK – Copenhagen / Stengade
20.10.18 NL – Leeuwarden / Into The Void Festival
23.11.18 UK – Nottingham / The Loft
24.11.18 UK – Leeds / Temple Of Boom
26.11.18 UK – Glasgow / Audio
27.11.18 UK – Manchester / Rebellion
28.11.18 UK – Coventry / The Arches
Lineup:
Jon Davis – vocals, guitar (2006-present)
Chris Fielding – bass (2013-present)
Johnny King – drums (2017-present)

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/hailconan
http://label.napalmrecords.com/

Conan, “Prosper on the Path” live in Glasgow, May 9, 2018

Tomorrow night, Philadelphia four-piece Thunderbird Divine take the stage at Arlene’s Grocery in Manhattan atop the bill for the latest installment of the Ode to Doom show series. The band is only just now announcing the title of their Salt of the Earth Records debut album will be Magnasonic and that it will be released in the coming months via Salt of the Earth Records. To lead the way into the record, Thunderbird Divine — who first made their presence known in Spring 2017 and confirmed the album being through Salt of the Earth earlier this year — have a new video.

Does the track come from the album? No. It doesn’t. Why not? I think because, at least in part, that would be predictable. You’d see that coming. A band who are about to put out their debut LP? Well of course they have a video, probably for the catchiest cut on the thing. Thunderbird Divine? Their video is for an off-album instrumental weirdo exploration piece called “Madras Blue,” because screw expectation. One can only hope the entire full-length is so willing to follow its own impulses.

And yeah, that means I haven’t heard it yet. Hopefully sooner than later. I watch my email like a hawk these days. Like the sleepiest motherfucking hawk you ever saw in your life.

But that’s a matter for a different discussion. Here’s the latest from Salt of the Earth, as well as the “Madras Blue” video, which is down at the bottom:

Thunderbird Divine Reveals Debut Album Title “Magnasonic,” Releases Promotional Video for “Madras Blue”

Philly’s crew of psychedelic riffologists, Thunderbird Divine, has revealed the title of its first recording. Titled Magnasonic, meaning “great sounds” in Latin, the 30-plus-minute album will be released in both CD and digital download formats via Connecticut’s Salt of the Earth Records (https://www.saltoftheearthrecords.com/) in late Summer/early Fall.

“The rough mixes I’ve heard thus far are next-level,” says Scott Harrington, president of Salt of the Earth Records. “Nobody we know has a record like this. With Thunderbird Diviine’s Magnasonic, Salt of the Earth Records is going to have a landmark release. It’s heavy, it’s psychedelic, it’s layered… it’s really like nothing else out there right now.”

Produced by musician/songwriter LD Beghtol (Flare/Moth Wranglers/Magnetic Fields), the sounds on the upcoming release offer a different flavor from past projects made by this conglomeration of musicians. The quartet, which coalesced in March of 2017 from the remains of Wizard Eye (vocalist/guitarist Erik Caplan) and Skeleton Hands (drummer Mike Stuart, bassist Adam Scott and guitarist Flynn Lawrence), is open to experimentation.

“We all wanted to stretch out and try some different things with our first record,” Caplan says. “It’s not like we abandoned the idea of big riffs, but we went for some progressive moments and embraced the idea of embroidering the songs with textures you don’t tend to hear in heavy music. LD certainly encouraged and instigated this kind of behavior.”

For a band holding a straightforward stoner and riff-rock pedigree, the inclusion of varied textures like piano, sitar, pump organ, bouzouki, marxophone, mandolin, synths and choral voices may seem disparate, or, more damnably, weird for the sake of being weird.

“We were aware this album might be perceived as an attempt to do too much or cram a square peg into a round hole,” Caplan says. “I think the heart of this collection is a solid, heavy band playing good rock songs, and the additional instrumentation takes the music to a fully realized place with the textures the songs need to make them complete. When you’re a musician imagining a piano in one of your songs, for example, it makes sense to get that piano part into the recording of that song if at all possible. The recording will be around forever.”

In keeping with the band’s promise to offer fresh, non-album tracks with promotional videos, Thunderbird Divine’s newest video track, “Madras Blue,” is a trippy intergalactic foray into a realm of swirling electric sitars, pulsing beats and staggered drones. The self-recorded song was set to video by drummer/percussionist Stuart.

“The narrative here follows the story we set in motion with ‘Quaalude Thunder,'” Stuart explains. “There was an arrival in the first video. Now there’s a celebration of that arrival and a birth. We can’t wait to continue telling this tale.”

Check out Thunderbird Divine at New York’s Ode to Doom at Arlene’s Grocery July 18: https://www.facebook.com/events/138916263419072/

https://www.facebook.com/thunderbirddivine
https://www.instagram.com/thunderbird_divine/
https://www.facebook.com/SaltOfTheEarthRec/
www.SaltOfTheEarthRecords.com

Thunderbird Divine, “Madras Blue” official video

Portland, Oregon, heavy rockers Holy Grove announce the completion of their second full-length. The four-piece of vocalist Andrea Vidal, guitarist Trent Jacobs, bassist Gregg Emley and drummer Eben Travis already toured the West Coast this year after announcing in January they’d signed to Ripple Music for the follow-up to their 2016 self-titled debut (review here), which was released by Heavy Psych Sounds. Like that record, the new one was tracked with Billy Anderson, but it’s immediately apparent Holy Grove aren’t looking to repeat themselves this time out.

In the update/announcement that follows here, Holy Grove talk about coming together as a band as a result of touring — that’s how it happens — and working out the material both on the road and in their rehearsal space. I look forward to hearing the record not just for its special guest appearance from a checkered-shoe doomer who gets to remain nameless, or for Anderson‘s production, but to hear where Holy Grove‘s songwriting has carried them in the wake of the self-titled being so well received and offering such a string of memorable tracks. Going by what I read in the update below, it seems like they’ve genuinely put the effort forward to make the best album possible at this time. If you can find an argument against that, I’d be interested to hear it. Except not really.

I’ll hope to have much more to come as we continue to move closer to the release, but for today, cheers to Holy Grove on finishing Holy Grove II and here’s to the anticipation of actually digging in.

Photos by Alyssa Herrman, an update from the band, and the album’s tracklisting all follow here:

We started tracking basically the day after we returned from our West Coast tour in April, and spent about four days tracking at Hallowed Halls in Portland. We then spent an additional couple of days tracking at Everything Hz. We really enjoyed being back in the studio. We felt prepared, focused and really excited about the new material, especially after playing the songs live nightly for a few weeks on tour. Billy (Anderson, engine-ear supreme) was fired up and invested and inspired us to push ourselves in getting the takes we wanted, and obviously crucial in getting the sounds we wanted on tape.

This time around we were able to demo the songs as a band in our practice space. We put a lot of effort into revising and massaging songs to get them to sound the way we heard them in our heads. Demoing allowed the four of us to work through all our ideas and make the necessary changes before heading into the studio, so we went in with a clear picture of what we hoped to achieve. The second biggest difference was being able to tour the record beforehand. Prior to Eben joining in June of 2017, we were rarely in a position where we could tour. In March we embarked on our first West Coast tour and spent the entire time becoming more comfortable with the songs, working out kinks and figuring out what was working and what wasn’t. Knowing the material and being able to hammer it out in a live setting allowed us to bottle that energy and bring it to the studio.

To us, the album to represents turning a page and crossing a threshold musically and emotionally that wasn’t available or apparent before. We’re a different band then we were when we made the first record and it was important to us to reflect that in the songs. We made it a point to listen to our gut during the entire writing and recording process, but still allowed the songs take on a life of their own and let them dictate where to go with them, if that makes sense… The songs are darker, more epic (there are five songs on this record but the overall runtime is longer than our first album, which had seven), and more emotionally reflective of what the band has been through in the last 3-4 years. Andrea’s vocals are more emotive and powerful and her lyrics darker and more personal. Trent immersed himself in his playing and has evolved immensely as a player. Eben and Gregg have become the rhythm section they both always wanted to be a part of. It’s a pretty exciting time for all of us, and we’re excited to see what the future holds.

Holy Grove II tracklisting:
Blade Born
Aurora
Valley of The Mystics
Solaris
Cosmos

Holy Grove is:
Andrea Vidal – Vocals
Trent Jacobs – Guitar
Gregg Emley – Bass
Eben Travis – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/holygroveband/
https://twitter.com/holygroveband
http://holygrove.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/

Holy Grove, Holy Grove (2016)

On the heels of their 2017 EP, Burn Your Dead (review here), Seattle duo Year of the Cobra toured Europe this past Spring, and they must’ve made a hell of an impression, as they’ve newly been picked up by respected German purveyor Prophecy Productions — which this year hosts its first-ever Prophecy Fest US in Brooklyn, which the band will also play — for the 2019 release of a new album to be produced by… wait for it… Jack frickin’ Endino. This after working with Billy frickin’ Anderson. Year of the Cobra certainly know how to pick ’em.

While I take a second to slap Year of the Cobra right into the notes for 2019’s most anticipated releases, I’ll also send heartfelt kudos and congratulations to the two-piece on the signing. Can’t wait to hear their new record as their ongoing ascent is sure to continue.

The PR wire makes it official, and as they will, Year of the Cobra also have tour dates coming up including the Stoned Meadow of Doom Festival in Omaha, Nebraska, on Aug. 12. Dig:

PROPHECY PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES SIGNING OF SEATTLE STONER DOOM DUO YEAR OF THE COBRA

It is with great honor that Prophecy Productions announces the signing of Seattle’s heavyweight stoner doom duo, Year of the Cobra.

Formed in 2015, Year of the Cobra became a rapidly ascending, radiant star in the horizon of the doom/stoner-scene for a reason: This powerhouse duo, consisting of Amy Tung Barrysmith (vocals/ bass) and Jon Barrysmith (drums), use their limitation in instrumentation to their advantage. Leaving space for every instrument to breathe and to shine, they create a vast, larger than life sound aesthetic. Their songs drift relentlessly from classic epic doom laments into oppressive heavy riff architecture; from catchy, almost upbeat rock moments into transfiguring psychedelia.

In 2016, just a year and one EP into their career, Year of the Cobra released their full-length debut, …in the Shadows Below. Using the natural, three-dimensional and massively heavy production of Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Sleep) they present themselves as an unbelievably mature and confident band who knows exactly what they want. Following their sophomore EP Burn Your Dead, they had successful tours of Europe and the US, playing a number of well-known festivals along the way, including Psycho Las Vegas, Freak Valley Festival, and Stoned Meadow of Doom. They are currently working on new material for their 2019 follow-up full length with legendary engineer/producer Jack Endino (Nirvana, Tad, Soundgarden), and are confirmed to play the inaugural Prophecy Fest USA, taking place this November at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory.

Year of the Cobra Tour Dates:
7/27 – Seattle, WA. – The Funhouse
7/31 – Sacramento, CA. – Blue Lamp
8/1 – San Francisco, CA. – Elbo Room
8/2 – San Jose, CA. – The Caravan
8/3 – Santa Cruz, CA. – Blue Lagoon
8/4 – Los Angeles, CA. Five Star Bar
8/5 – Las Vegas, NV. – Beauty Bar
8/6 – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
8/7 – Denver, CO. – Bar Bar
8/8 – Kansas City, MO. – Riot Room
8/9 – St. Louis, MO. – Fubar
8/10 – Chicago, IL. – Reggies
8/11 – Springfield, MO. Outland Ballroom
8/12 – Omaha, NB. – STONED MEADOW OF DOOM FEST
8/14 – Bozeman, MT. – Zebra Lounge
8/15 – Spokane, WA. – The Observatory

https://www.facebook.com/yearofthecobraband/
https://twitter.com/yearofthecobra
https://yearofthecobra.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/prophecyproductions/
https://prophecy-de.bandcamp.com/
https://en.prophecy.de/

Year of the Cobra, “Persephone” official video

Well that’s a fucking bummer. And kind of unexpected, to be perfectly honest. Long-ish running Virginian sludge-thrash chaosbringers Lord have announced they’re calling it a day. Their breakup, effective Aug. 4 when they play their final show in Baltimore, comes just weeks ahead of the slated Aug. 24 release for their new album, Desperation Finds Hunger in All Men (review here), which for my money is their best record to-date — a sprawling 66-minutes of carbonized riffing and intense emotional and sonic weight, it seemed if nothing else to be the work of a band who still had a lot to say. Apparently it was their way of laying it all out on the table one last time.

Over the course of their 11 years, Lord went through copious lineup changes. Watching a changing scene around them that went from producing the likes of VOG and Ol’ Scratch to the likes of Foehammer, I wouldn’t exactly call Lord a steady presence — it could be years between releases, and each one seemed to feature different players around guitarist Will Rivera — but they were nonetheless reliable when it came to producing work of individualized assault, sometimes an extreme vision of Southern metal, other times a visceral grind, other times still a style unto themselves.

It’s been more than half a decade since I saw them live, and I won’t get to catch either of their last shows — July 28 in West Virginia, Aug. 4 in Baltimore, Maryland — so I’ll just say I’m sorry to see them go. No matter who was involved with a given outing, Lord never failed to put everything they had — mind, body, soul — into what they did, and for that alone, never mind the actual quality of their output, they’ll be deeply missed.

Rivera talks about the breakup in the thee-social-medias post below, and says no reunion, but you never really know, especially with a band who made a habit of being so unpredictable. In the meantime, he’s got a new album coming with his solo-project Absent Sky reportedly this Fall on Heavy Hound Records, so one will keep an eye out for that.

But yeah, thanks Lord. You guys were a way, way better band than people knew.

Here’s that post:

After 13 years,LORD will be playing its final show on Aug. 4th in Baltimore. We have decided to disband in the wake of my decision to leave the band and the others not feeling comfortable with the idea on continuing under the same name without the sole remaining original member and co-founder.

My decision to leave is something that I’ve been wrestling with for at least 6 months now and it finally became clear to me when a series of transitional events happened in my life that have refocused my priorities and made me wanna take advantage of the time and opportunities that have come my way. I feel that what we’ve accomplished on our final release, Desperation Finds Hunger In All Men, is the culmination of years of hard work and an excellent way to cap off LORD’s legacy.

I’ve never been one to go through the motions and always give a 100% into anything I’m involved in but I feel that my heart is no longer in it and that this creative collaboration has run its course. I know there will be some who will be disappointed and may not understand why I’d choose to leave now but I have to do what is right for me and what brings me joy.

I wanna take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support, it means the world to me that anyone would care. I also wanna thank all members of LORD, former and current, for their time and effort: Steven Kerchner, Todd Wuehrmann, Chris Dugay, Tommy Emanuel, Tony Petrocelly, Stephen Sullivan, Rob Gouldman, Andy Murray, Mike Meeks, Jesse Hottle and Helena Goldberg. The other members will be moving on to other projects and I will be focusing on Absent Sky, Hopekiller and a few other projects that are currently in the works.

Make sure to come out to our final shows on July 28th in Martinsburg, WVa and Aug. 4th in Baltimore. There won’t be any reunion shows so if you have had any intention in catching this band, it’s your last chance! Keep an eye out for Desperation Finds Hunger In All Men on Aug 24th as we’ll continue promoting the album on Facebook, Instagram and Bandcamp. Cheers and love to you all, thanks for your time… Will

Lord final lineup:
Steven F. Kerchner II – Vocals, Noise, Percussion
Will Rivera – Guitar
Todd Wuehrmann – Guitar
Chris Dugay – Bass
Tony Petrocelly – Drums

Lord on Thee Facebooks

Lord on Bandcamp

Heavy Hound Records on Instagram

Heavy Hound Records on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Hound Records website

Mondo Generator frontman and dude-who’s-been-in-more-bands-than-I-can-count-and-yes-that-includes-Kyuss Nick Oliveri has set an Oct. 12 release for N.O. Hits at All Vol. 5 through Heavy Psych Sounds. All reports — and by that I mean the PR wire info below, make no mistake — point to this being the last in the series of Oliveri rare tracks and guest spots and whatnots, though I’d have sworn the same thing was said about Vol. 4, so who the hell knows? If Oliveri was at all predictable, he probably wouldn’t have wound up with enough material to do a five-part series of rare tracks in the first place. So there.

For what it’s worth, I still think Heavy Psych Sounds should compile the whole series into a boxed set. Even if it’s just the five CDs bundled together in a cardboard slipcase that can go on the shelf, that’d work. I don’t think I’ve heard any plans in that regard, but again, you never really know what you’re going to get. That’s kind of the whole point.

PR wire info follows:

Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is proud to unveil details and artwork of NICK OLIVERI – N.O. HITS AT ALL VOL. 5!

Heavy Psych Sounds Records will release the upcoming solo album N.O. Hits At All Vol. 5 by desert rock titan NICK OLIVERI on October 12th 2018! The pre-sale starts on July 17th on Heavy Psych Sounds.

N.O. Hits At All Vol. 5 will be available in the following formats:

– 20 TEST PRESS
– 50 ULTRA LIMITED “IN BURST SIDE A-SIDE B” YELLOW/PURPLE VINYL
– 350 LIMITED SPLATTER TRANSPARENT/PURPLE VINYL
– BLACK VINYL
– DIGIPAK / DIGITAL

Says NICK OLIVERI: „VOLUME FIVE is the last one of a series of compilations in which I recorded the vocals. Bands that I like and bands that like mysinging voice enough to have asked me to “guest vocal” on a song for their records. Some of these have been released and some have not until now. I have sang and/or recorded bass on 50+ releases of bands I love and had the great honor to work with – (DWARVES * MONDO GENERATOR * SVETLANAS * Q.O.T.S.A. * KYUSS * BL’AST * BLOODCLOT * MASTERS OF REALITY * VISTA CHINO * MARK LANEGAN BAND * TURBONEGRO * DEATH ACOUSTIC * THE UNCONTROLLABLE) to name a few.

The good folks at HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS RECORDS are releasing a series called – N.O. HITS AT ALL”. Now for the first time, all these songs and bands I’ve recorded with over the past 25 years are together and available to you to trip out on. So get your head right and put this record on and play it loud!“

The tracklist for Vol. 5 will read as follows:

SIDE A
1. It’s You I Don’t Believe
The Dwarves

Nick Oliveri/Rex Everything – Bass and Lead Vocals
The Fresh Prince of Darkness – Guitar
He Who Can Not Be Named – Guitar & Mask
Josh Freese – Drums
Captain Blag Dahlia – Producer

2. Head
Simon Strokes

Nick Oliveri – Lead Vocals
Rex Everything – Acoustic Guitars

3. 976 – Whore
Mondo Generator

Nick Oliveri – Lead guitar, Bass and Lead Vocals
Ben Perrier – Guitar
Ben Thomas – Drums

4. Wont Let Me Go
Death Acoustic

Nick Oliveri – Lead Vocals
Rex Everything – Acoustic Guitars

SIDE B
5. People Suck
Svetlanas

Nick Oliveri – Bass and Lead Vocals
Olga Svetlana – Lead Vocals
Diste Svetlana – Drums
Ginger – Guitar

6. Crashed Out And Burnt
The Situationalists

Nick Oliveri – bass & Lead Vocals
Lowel Granath – Guitars
Cody Kniceley – Drums

7. Anything That Moves
The Dwarves

Nick Oliveri/Rex Everything – Bass and Lead Vocals
The Fresh Prince of Darkness – Guitar
He Who Can Not Be Named – Guitar& mask
Josh Freese – Drums
Captain Blag Dahlia – Producer

8. Campfire Kyuss
Death Acoustic

Nick Oliveri – Lead Vocals
Rex Everything – Acoustic Guitars

In support of his upcoming release, NICK OLIVERI will be heavily touring this summer again! Make sure to catch the desert rock legend live on the following „DEATH ACOUSTIC“ Dates:

23.07.18 FR – Nantes / La Scene Michelet
25.07.18 FR – Lorient / La Galion
27.07.18 CH – Basel
28.07.18 FR – Ensisheim / Woodstock Guitar Shop
29.07.18 FR – Chambery / Brin Du Zinc
30.07.18 IT – Lecco /The Concept Record Store
31.07.18 IT – M. DI. Ravenna / Hana Bi
01.08.18 AT – Salzburg / Rockhouse
02.08.18 DE – Kempten / Kulturtage
03.08.18 IT – Parma
04.08.18 IT – Pescara
06.08.18 IT – Zerobranco / Altroquando
07.08.18 CH – Biel / Eldorado
08.08.18 DE – Mannheim
09.08.18 NL – Tilburg / Little Devil
10.08.18 FR – Paris / Supersonic

https://twitter.com/NICKOLIVERI
https://www.facebook.com/rexeverything666
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/
heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Svetlanas, “People Suck” Live in L.A.

Keep it Low 2018 — AKA Keep it Low #6 — continues to add to its formidable lineup with New Orleans sludge forebears Crowbar and Italian psych-proggers Ananda Mida joining the bill. I like how even down to the lineup announcements, Keep it Low plays it a little more mellow than most other fests. It’s a Sound of Liberation product — see also Up in Smoke, the Desertfests in Berlin and Belgium, and any number of other tours and whatnots — so it’s not like they don’t know how to position it, but still, especially this year, the lineup announcements have come through more like a communique from one friend to another rather than a festival talking to its audience. How you frame these things matters. Not just as a part of branding, but as part of defining the experience of the fest itself.

To wit, as they add Crowbar and Ananda Mida — one band legendary and another band an upstart — the announcement makes the simple assumption that the person reading it knows who both bands are. It says quickly who the bands are and then moves on to plug the ticket link. This helps distinguish Keep it Low from other fests because it speaks more directly to the specific audience it’s working to capture. It’s a different way of saying “we’re fans too” than coming right out and saying it, and while I won’t take away from any other method a festival might choose to employ, it’s nonetheless an effective means of communicating that idea. And frankly, I believe it.

The update follows here, courtesy of the festival’s social media:

Keepers!

We are stoked to tell you today that New Orleans’ sludge metal veterans Crowbar join the Keep It Low Festival 2018 line-up (on Saturday) along with Italian stoner/psych collective ANANDA MIDA (on Friday)!

Our line-up now features 19 bands split over the 2 days! 2-day passes are long gone, but you can still grab day tickets right here: www.keepitlow.de/tickets-keep-it-low!

Do not wait for too long, Keep It Low is sold out evey year!

https://www.facebook.com/keepitlowfestival/
https://www.facebook.com/events/300578407135232/
https://www.facebook.com/Soundofliberation/
https://www.soundofliberation.com/news

Crowbar, “Existence is Punishment” official video

Ananda Mida, Live Dec. 27, 2017

Clearly working on the model of not fixing that which isn’t broken in the first place, Hurst, Texas, duo Stone Machine Electric will hit Crystal Clear Sound in Dallas later this month to begin recording material for their next long-player. As was the case with their woefully prescient but nonetheless deeply enjoyable 2016 album, Sollicitus es Veritatem (review here), which went on to spawn the complementary 2017 live record, Vivere (review here), it will be none other than guitarist/vocalist Kent Stump of Wo Fat at the helm as producer. Stump did well capturing the jammy fluidity and weirdo-prone spacious noisemaking of the band the last time out, and I’d expect no less of the new outing, which if they hurry could even see release by the time Stone Machine Electric return to play this year’s Obelisk-sponsored Heavy Mash fest in October. More info on that here, but the underlying point is we should all go. You. Me. Everybody. Off to Texas.

It’s July and that’s in October, so unless Stone Machine Electric really bang it all out on the quick — hey, it could happen — the new album’s arrival might be later on or even early next year depending on pressing schedules, etc., but whenever it shows up, it’ll be welcome, as the band always seem to be underrated when it comes to their chemistry and the personality they bring to their songs.

Their latest update follows here:

At the end of July, we’ll be making our way back to Crystal Clear Sound with Kent Stump (don’t act like you don’t know who he is, coughWOFATcough) behind the controls once again! We’ve got a handful of songs to record, and those will get organized and released into our next album. We’ve got no idea when that will occur. Baby steps?

In the meantime, feel free to raid our merch store so you can help us bring you more news (wink-wink, say no more)! Use the code – electricreport – at our bandcamp site and get 20% off of anything. Anything.

On 7/23/18 we’re playing with Apostle of Solitude and Pale Divine in Dallas, TX as part of their tour: https://www.facebook.com/events/231811624088265/

On 8/4/18 we’re celebrating our good friend Anton’s birthday at Division Brewing with Orthodox Fuzz, Space Ape, CI, and Dead Hawke: https://www.facebook.com/events/197067261107883/

Yes, we’re playing Heavy Mash! Get tickets HERE, read about it HERE

https://www.facebook.com/StoneMachineElectric/
https://twitter.com/SME_band
http://stonemachineelectric.bandcamp.com/
http://www.stonemachineelectric.net/
www.offtherecordlabel.com

Stone Machine Electric, Vivere (2017)