The last Kandodo release, K3 (review here), came out in 2019, which was before any number of world events took place, among them the Fall 2022 kinda-disbanding of what up till then might’ve been called Simon Price‘s main band, The Heads. That record featured Price and The Heads bandmates Hugh Owen Morgan (bass) and Wayne Maskell (drums), as well as a collaboration with guitarist John McBain (ex-Monster Magnet, Wellwater Conspiracy, and so on), and was duly oddball and tripped out. Kandodo‘s upcoming long-player, theendisinpsych, finds Price on his own, living a few hours north of Bristol, self-recording and pushing into even weirder grounds. Hell yes.

The album has four tracks and the first to be unveiled is “chamba7,” for which there’s a video streaming at the bottom of this post. The record is out Sept. 13 through Rooster Records, and the single heralds much weirdness and dug-in experimentalism to come, but you never know until you hear it, and in Kandodo‘s case, even that’s not always a tell for what’s really happening under the surface.

One to look forward to:

Announcing new Kandodo album, theendisinpsych

Solo project of Simon Price of legendary Bristol psychedelic rock band The Heads shares new single/video “chamba7”

The Heads’ Simon Price returns to his kandodo project with ‘theendisinpsych’; “primitive pieces of psychedelic tuneage+years of wasted time=43 minutes of headphone bliss.”

It’s the follow up to the 2019 collaboration with Wayne Maskell and Hugo Morgan, Kandodo 3 – K3, but this time back in solo-mode. He is now relocated in Northumbria, and has recorded the album himself in his home studio, drawing on his wide collection of music/instruments and the rural environment for inspiration.

The new album fizzes and crackles with a verve that will activate the “turn on, tune in, drop out” sense in all listeners…

Simon explained the album in a focused/out of focus track by track way… is this Price’s paean to his obsession with Bowie?

chamba7 – octave mandolin through fuzz, tambo beat, in praise of Bowie compilations. chamba is malawian weed

theendisinpsych – bought a reel to reel tape off ebay in 2005, (‘Bowie radio interview tape, USA, 1970, 3 minutes?’) then bought a machine to play it on in 2015. Heard the words and laid them onto a fuzzy break bed. Thought it all too relevant to today, prophetic David from his ‘hippy’ days (not a prophet or a stone age man)

fuzzy oceans – played on 1 string spamjo, bouncing echo over 70’s drum machine, ‘we’ve fucked the oceans’

freefalling – rolling cello and hissing cymbals with vocoder dreams

comes with african/stationtostation artwork stylings for the sleeve.. pre-apocalypse blues (and pinks), the world isn’t going a good way
a sumptuous 4 course sonic supper, tuck in.

Kandodo
theendisinpsych
Rooster Records
Release Date: 13th September 2024

Tracklist:
1. chamba7
2. theendisinpsych
3. fuzzy oceans
4. freefalling

—

Known as the singer/guitarist of The Heads. Price was raised in Zambia and Malawi, which left an indelible mark on him personally, and is manifest in the song titles, artwork, and name of the project; named after a Malawian supermarket that he used to shop in back in the late ’80’s. The influence is less obvious on his instrumental music, but Simon says that if there were lyrics, they’d be about animist religions, hyenas, sharks and dusty drives. Along the way, Simon touches on influences as diverse as Kraftwerk, Neu!, Eno, Morricone, Stooges, Loop, and Spacemen 3.

kandodo is for Price an exploration of tones, chords, and textures that evoke a very particular emotional response, a sense of yearning. These instrumental pieces are lyrical and evocative soundtracks with an elongated and elegant song structure. Describing them himself as “fuzzy lullabies”, Simon’s pieces undulate as delicate layers are built and removed, easing the listener along a thread of melodies. This is immersive music meant to be listened to at a loud volume or in the space between headphones.

https://www.facebook.com/Kandodo-168305819900725/
https://kandodo.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/The-Heads-282801075465/4
https://www.instagram.com/theheadsrock/
https://theheads1.bandcamp.com/

Kandodo, “chamba7” official video

This show happened in Dec. 2019, just as the world was getting ready to end (again; ah the cycles of death and renewal!), and captures Om at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, New York, vivid in deep hues of blue and green. It’s not the full set — included are opener “Gethsemane” and “State of Non-Return,” which followed, and a concluding take on “Bhima’s Theme”; timestamps below are courtesy of YouTuber @orion_cliff, who left them in a comment; I chased down the whole setlist, also below, with the barest modicum of internetular research — but it’s Om, playing live, professionally recorded. I don’t know what you had in mind for the next half-hour or so of your life, but if you look at the percentages, the greater likelihood is you’re better off spending it in the virtual company of Al Cisneros‘ bass tone anyhow. Whatever else it was can wait.

Speaking of waiting, is this the part where I mention it’s been 12 years since Om‘s most recent studio album, the still-resonant Advaitic Songs (review here)? Sadly yes, it is. I count that record as one of the most begging for a follow-up to have been released in that span of time, but on the other hand, maybe the distance is good. Not one year has gone by since 2015 that someone hasn’t seen fit to tell me for certain that “this is the year we get a new Om record,” which I take more as a sign of justifiable longing than anything else at this point. I have no info, insider, outsider or hearsay, on when or if a sixth Om full-length might ever happen. Thinking about it now, I’m just glad that Advaitic Songs — from which “Gethsemane” and “State of Non-Return” both come, while “Bhima’s Theme” originally appeared on 2007’s third LP, Pilgrimage — has held up for all this time, which I don’t even imagine I’ll need to argue it has because all you have to do to know that is hear it. And once you’ve heard it, it’s made your day better, and that proves the point already. So there.

Cisnernos, drummer Emil Amos (Grails, Holy Sons, etc.), and Tyler Trotter might have had copies of their 2019 LP, BBC Radio 1 (review here), on the merch table for this show, if they weren’t already sold out, and that’s probably the nearest comparison point for the ‘Live at Pioneer Works’ video. The sound here is more akin to a well-mixed soundboard bootleg than an in-studio audio release tracked at a world-renowned radio facility, but it’s Om‘s meditative heavy centered around the three-piece’s exploratory, low-end-led grooves, and as “Bhima’s Theme” moves from its minimalist voice-and-bass beginning fluidly into the cycles of jazzy fills from Amos and its more active but still resolutely mellow build, I’m not sure why it was posted almost five years after it was recorded, but I’m happy the thing exists and that I’ve had the chance to watch it. A couple times over, now.

The clip follows below. As always, I hope you enjoy:

Om, Live at Pioneer Works, Brooklyn, NY, Dec. 14, 2019

Show program:
00:00 – 07:11 Gethsemane
07:30 – 14:46 State of Non-Return
15:05 – 28:00 Bhima’s Theme

Full setlist:
Gethsemane
State of Non-Return
Sinai
Cremation Ghat I
Cremation Ghat II
Meditation is the Practice of Death
Thebes
Bhima’s Theme

OM is a three-piece experimental doom metal band hailing from San Francisco, California. Formed in 2003 by the rhythm section of Sleep, the group features Al Cisneros, [Emil Amos], and Tyler Trotter. Together, they draw from a host of other influences—including psychedelic rock, Middle Eastern folk, dub, reggae, and post-rock—and incorporate musical structures similar to Tibetan, Byzantine, and Ethiopian chanting. Their very name derives from the Hindu concept of Om, referring to the natural vibration of the universe.

This project is supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Program in Public Understanding of Science and Technology, bridging the two cultures of science and the arts.

Om on Facebook

Om on Bandcamp

Om website

Oh, you know, no big deal. It’s just Desertscene (the folks behind Desertfest London) and Heavy Psych Sounds (the foremost European heavy imprint and booking concern) pairing up for a London-based Heavy Psych Sounds Fest this November with Dozer, Black Rainbows, Lord Dying, Black Tusk, Alunah, The Cosmic Dead, Margarita Witch Cult, Child, Josiah, MR.BISON and The Clamps at The Underworld and The Black Heart. Oh wait, that is a big deal, and awesome besides. Like a mini-Desertfest, tucked right in there after the end of the always-busy Eurofestival October. Killer bill, killer clubs. Dozer and Josiah in the same lineup alone. Total no-brainer. If you can go, just go. Trust me, the rest of us will wish we could too.

From the PR wire:

*** HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST LONDON 2024 ***

– LINEUP + TICKETS PRESALE ANNOUNCED –

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST returns to London after four years this fall to make Camden Town rumble and crumble under the mighty fuzz assault of some of the most revered bands in the stoner, doom, psych and heavy rock scene!

The festival will proudly welcome Swedish stoner rock royalty Dozer, Portland genre-bending heavy metallers Lord Dying, and Savannah swamp sludge specialists Black Tusk for the first time. Fuzz and buzz will be supplied by some of the finest live acts from the HPS roster with stoner rock icons Black Rainbows, Scottish space rock explorers The Cosmic Dead, Birmingham’s soulful proto-rock merchants Alunah and occult doom revelers Margarita Witch Cult, Italian heavy psych goldsmiths Mr.Bison and speed stoner’n’roll unit The Clamps, as well as UK heavy psych veterans Josiah. Fans of the finest psychedelic blues be delighted by an exclusive UK appearance of Australia’s own Child.

Curated by two major players of the European & UK heavy rock scene with London’s fuzz-worshipping Desertscene and leading independent heavy rock label Heavy Psych Sounds, this decibel-charged weekender promises to be one for the books, so don’t wait to book your ticket!

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST
LONDON 2024
@ The Underworld // 2nd November 2024
@ The Black Heart // 3rd November 2024

– LINEUP –
DOZER
BLACK RAINBOWS
LORD DYING
BLACK TUSK
THE COSMIC DEAD
ALUNAH
MARGARITA WITCH CULT
CHILD
JOSIAH
MR.BISON
THE CLAMPS

TICKETS PRESALE: https://link.dice.fm/ic5b2e485533

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

Alunah, “Trickster of Time”

I know I’ve said this before, but I continue to believe there’s something extra rad about a four-way split. Two, generally pretty cool, but often leads to a sense of one band competing with the other or at least a tendency on the part of the listener to compare them, which is just the same thing from the other side. Three, well fine as long as you don’t have any intention toward vinyl. But a four-way 2LP split breaks up in a satisfying way, as everybody gets to showcase their aural wares on their own side, and there’s usually enough breadth of personality between the four bands that the listener is more inclined to take everything as it comes. As Worst Bassist Records showed with three first installment of the four-way split series International Space Station (review here) in 2022, ‘take it as it comes’ is precisely the best way to go in hearing it.

Jointly released through Weird Beard Records in the UK and Echodelick Records in the US, and I believe available to preorder from all of them, International Space Station Vol. 2 once again brings together an intercontinental assemblage in Verstärker (from the US, despite the maybe-misleading umlaut), Kombynat Robotron and Sarkh (from Germany), and Speck (from Austria), and everybody but Kombynat Robotron already has a song streaming. And Kombynat Robotron aren’t being jerks or holdouts or whathaveyou, but they’ve only got one song on their side. Fair enough up keep it under wraps for now.

If you do want to hear that — and we both know you do — come back Aug. 19, as I’ll be streaming the album in full that day with what I’m sure will be a duly slobbering review full of obscure Star Trek references and cosmic buzzwords picked up from the PBS S0ace Time science videos my daughter watches with ironically religious fervor. So it’ll be awesome, in other words.

For now, art, info and copious linkage follow. Engage:

The long awaited vol. 2 of the Intrernational Space Station arrives!

2-LP in a fat gatefold cover, colored wax, limited to 500
LP 1: orange wax
LP 2: blue wax
CD in digisleeve lim. 100

Four international bands (Verstärker, Kombynat Robotron, Speck, Sarkh) contributing 1 LP side each, instrumental, about how to watch the ISS crossing their skies from time to time… or being overwhelmed by the rough beauty of the ocean…

Long and psychedelic tracks pulsating through space and try to follow the way of the space station around our globe and even beyond, to contribute you the opportunity to travel through your inner cosmosis while listening, only interrupted by the needle lifting, which could just be some stops at random interstellar stations, to release and gain passengers.

2-LP in a fat gatefold cover, colored wax, limited to 500
LP 1: orange wax
LP 2: blue wax

Out via Worst Bassist (DE+World), Echodelick (USA) and Weird Beird (UK)
August 20th 2024
Comes with Download Code

CD out via Worst Bassist on Aug. 20th.

Verstärker

Verstärker from Kentucky, USA, play monotonic motorik sound, surrounded by soundscapes and beautiful noise.

Groove, shifts, scapes, beauty, intensity, it’s all there.

Kombynat Robotron

Germany’s high flying neo-krautrockers continue on side B with their floating and dynamic longtrack.

Speck

Side C kicks off with Austria’s instrumental psychedelic mantra jammers Speck, who created a journey through mind and space until…

Sarkh

… the ISS takes another turn over Germany and brings you a force of nature to end all this, with side D.

You’ll be torn apart and re-built again through the heavy and yet delightful instrumentals.

1. Verstärker – Weltraumtraum
2. Verstärker – Kvant
3. Kombynat Robotron – Montan
4. Speck – Flaniergang
5. Speck – Bes, so bes
6. Sarkh – Helios
7. Sarkh – Cape Wrath

https://www.facebook.com/verstarker
http://instagram.com/verstarker/
https://verstarker.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KombynatRobotron
https://www.instagram.com/kombynat_robotron
https://kombynatrobotron.bandcamp.com/

http://www.facebook.com/speckspeckspeck
http://www.instagram.com/speck_speck_speck
https://speckspeckspeck.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SarkhWorship/
https://www.instagram.com/sarkh.evolve
https://sarkh.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/worstbassistrecords
https://www.instagram.com/worst.bassist.records
https://worstbassistrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.worstbassist.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ERECORDSATL
https://www.instagram.com/echodelickrecords/
https://echodelickrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.echodelickrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/WeirdBeardRecs/
https://weirdbeardrecs.bandcamp.com/
https://theweirdbeard.bigcartel.com/

Various Artists, International Space Station Vol. 2 (2024)

A few obvious reasons to post Child‘s upcoming Euro/UK tour dates. One, it’s their first time on the continent since before the pandemic, and that was long enough ago that the western world seems to have forgotten not to cough and sneeze all over each other. Two, they’re traveling from their home base in Melbourne, Australia, and that’s an awfully long way to go. Three, they’re supporting their 2023 album, Soul Murder (review here), which is their best work to-date, and has been pressed up along with the rest of their catalog through Heavy Psych Sounds for your merch-table perusal. Four, they’re set to appear as part of the frankly-stunning lineup of Desertfest Belgium as well as Heavy Psych Sounds Fest in Germany (x2) and the UK, as well as the Westill Festival in France. And five, there are open dates and if you’re seeing this and you can help out, I encourage you to do so, both as a moral good serving the greater universe and in order to give yourself what will probably be a rad, bluesy-as-hell show.

I think that about covers it.

France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, England. Seems like there’s room to sneak a Netherlands show in there, maybe Switzerland, Scotland? I don’t route tours, which is difficult and largely thankless work, but you can see where they’re headed below as of now. You can be the one who steps in with a gig. The magic is in you. It always has been.

From socials:

*** CHILD – European Tour 2024 ***

Today we are stoked to announce CHILD European Tour starts end of September.

Don’t miss them !!

STILL FEW OPEN SLOTS

Book your show – write to info@heavypsychsounds.com

Says Child: “We are coming back… This time it’s different. We are in the best shape we have ever been. This is the band we have wanted since the beginning in 2012. The oldest of brothers, the newest of horizons! LET’S FUCKIN’ SEND IT!!! Thank you HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS.”

*** CHILD – European Tour 2024 ***
SA 28.09.24 FR SEIGNOSSE – BLACK FLAG
SU 29.09.24 ES PORTUGALETE – GROOVE
MO 30.09.24 ES OVIEDO – LA SALVAJE
TU 01.10.24 ES CORUNA – MARDI GRAS
WE 02.10.24 ES MADRID – WURLITZER BALLROOM
TH 03.10.24 ES ZARAGOZA – ROCK & BLUES
FR 04.10.24 ES BARCELONA – UPLOAD
SA 05.10.24 FR ***OPEN SLOT***
SU 06.10.24 FR LYON – LA PENTE
MO 07.10.24 IT MANTOVA – ARCI TOM
TU 08.10.24 DE BOLZANO – SUDWERK
WE 09.10.24 DE INNSBRUCK – PMK
TH 10.10.24 AT KUFSTEIN – KULTURFABRIK
FR 11.10.24 DE ULM – HEXENHAUS
SA 12.10.24 DE BERLIN – HPS FEST
SU 13.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
TU 15.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
WE 16.10.24 SE GÖTEBORG – ABYSS
TH 17.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
FR 18.10.24 BE ANTWERP – DESERTFEST
SA 19.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
SU 20.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
MO 21.10.24 DE BIELEFELD – EXTRA BLUES BAR
TU 22.10.24 DE COLOGNE – SONIC BALLROOM
WE 23.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
TH 24.10.24 DE RAVENSBURG – IRISH PUB SLAINTE
FR 25.10.24 DE JENA – KUBA
SA 26.10.24 DE DRESDEN – HPS FEST
SU 27.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
TU 29.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
WE 30.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
TH 31.10.24 ***OPEN SLOT***
FR 01.11.24 FR NANTES – WESTILL FESTIVAL
SA 02.11.24 UK LONDON – HPS FEST

CHILD is
Mathias Northway – guitar/vocals
Michael Lowe – drums
Rhys Kelly – bass

https://www.facebook.com/childtheband
https://www.instagram.com/childtheband/
https://childtheband.bandcamp.com
https://www.youtube.com/childtheband
http://www.childtheband.com
https://linktr.ee/childtheband

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

Child, Soul Murder (2023)

Founding guitarist/vocalist Yukito Okazaki of Nagoya, Japan’s Eternal Elysium has announced a new rhythm section for the long-running doom rocker outfit. Drummer Ume and bassist Togawa comprise the refreshed incarnation of the classic-heavy-influenced trio, whose most recent offering was the 2019 live album, 末​世​の​葬​礼 贰 现场 (The Last Days of the Funeral 2: Live), released through Dying Art Productions. Eternal Elysium had been working with Ukrainian imprint Robustfellow on a couple of catalog reissues as well, and the band’s most recent studio LP is Resonance of Shadows (review here), which first saw release in 2016 on Cornucopia Records before Headspin Records pressed it as a 2LP the next year.

Okazaki talks about working on new (and old) material for gigs in Japan later this year, and of course the prospect of the next Eternal Elysium LP — it’d be their seventh; how nobody has reissued 2000’s Spiritualized D is a mystery in my head — is an exciting one, whenever, if ever, such a thing might surface. Either way, a check-in from the band is an excuse to put on the live record, and I’ll take it happily.

Here’s the announcement from socials. Pretty straightforward:

ETERNAL ELYSIUM Relaunched with new members.

Drummer is a friend Ume.

Carrying the groove of Eternal again after great experience and practice.

The bassist is Togawa from Azarak.

FROM BOTTOM TO COLOR WE CREATE WITH A CERTAIN TOUCH.

And me Okazaki.

This dependable rhythm section helped me out again the sound of Eternal Elysium.

Now I’m rehearsing for my first live show in a while. Getting some fun with some new and old intertwined songs, getting them done little by little.

Two live shows have been decided for the year: Tokyo in October and Nagoya in December.

I’m grateful for the performance.

This will be your chance to experience the new EE sound. Details to follow.

First thanking myself for how far I’ve come.

Nice to meet you.

www.eternalelysium.com/
http://eternalelysiumshop.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Eternal-Elysium-official-160089987381948/

Eternal Elysium, 末​世​の​葬​礼 贰 现场 (2019)

Not going to feign impartiality here. The upcoming Elephant Tree and Lowrider split LP, The Long Forever, is one I’ve lived with for a while. It’s the final release of Blues Funeral Recordings‘ PostWax Vol. II, and a while in the making to say the least. As As has been the case since PostWax’s inception, I’ve handled liner notes — they’ll also be included with the wider release this time, which is fair in context — for the offering, and I don’t mind telling you it was the most difficult time I’ve ever had putting such a thing together.

I spoke to Elephant Tree‘s Jack Townley and Lowrider‘s Peder Bergstrand, and I count both as friends, but it was a hard story to tell between Jack nearly losing his life in a biking accident and the pressure on both bands to deliver after second albums one could arguably call landmarks arriving in much different contexts, both trying to do new things in terms of sound. There being more narrative than room to recount it was only part of the problem. Yeah. I’ll be honest. The notes got turned in like a month and a half ago and I’m still kind of sweating over being dissatisfied with my end of the work. I both hope I get a copy of the CD (in addition to the PostWax edition vinyl) and never see the finished product of those notes printed. A familiar-enough anxiety, heightened in this instance.

Fortunately, I’m relieved to say that backdrop has done precious little to sap my enjoyment of the tracks themselves, which put The Long Forever in obvious, feel-dumb-even-saying-so contention for the best short release of the year (yes, it’s full-length, but I count splits as short releases; if you care, next time we meet in person you can punch me in the face over it). Elephant Tree‘s video for “Long Forever” is streaming now, and I encourage you not to delay in checking it out. I’ll shut the fuck up in order to facilitate.

Info from the PR wire:

Like two timelines converging, ELEPHANT TREE and LOWRIDER come together to present the collaborative album “The Long Forever,” easily one of the most eagerly awaited split releases in the history of heavy rock.

Arriving in the wake of two landmark 2020 releases (“Habits” from Elephant Tree and “Refractions” from Lowrider), “The Long Forever” finds both bands at critical junctures: each has a broad and expanding influence, each is revered onstage and off, and each is delivering its first proper new release in four years to tremendous anticipation.

Despite that pressure, Elephant Tree and Lowrider have seized the opportunity to redefine who they are and declare where their musical voyages will go next.

Bringing these bands onto a shared collaborative platter would be an event regardless of the surrounding circumstances. As it is, though, the significance of this album is even greater.

“The Long Forever” takes its title from the nickname Elephant Tree singer/guitarist Jack Townley gave to the multi-week coma he was kept in for medical reasons following a near-fatal biking accident in early 2023. Dreaming without waking and losing all sense of time as his mind attempted to process and cope with the ordeal, that lyrical description can only hint at the enormity of Jack’s experience.

And yet, the year or so that followed manifested a musical freedom in the bands’ respective approaches. Lowrider has grown more complex and expressive, while Elephant Tree has chosen a rawer, set-up-the-mics-and-go approach.

“The Long Forever” is the vehicle through which the bands meet, subverting and superseding the expectations on them, with a traumatic nexus as the gravitational singularity around which the entire LP orbits, bending and shaping every note that escapes forth.

In the end, perseverance, healing and stubbornness of passion made “The Long Forever” a reality. We hope fans will listen with open minds and love in their hearts!

https://www.facebook.com/elephanttreeband
http://instagram.com/elephant_tree_band
https://elephanttree.band

https://www.facebook.com/lowriderrock/
https://www.instagram.com/lowridergram/
https://lowriderofficial.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bluesfuneral/
https://www.instagram.com/blues.funeral/
https://bluesfuneralrecordings.bandcamp.com/
bluesfuneral.com

Elephant Tree & Lowrider, The Long Forever (2024)

Elephant Tree, “Long Forever” official video

Stockholm newcomers Möuth have signed to Bonebag Records to release their debut album, Global Warning, either later this year or early in 2025. Let’s assume Winter 2025 to be on the safe side, with the acknowledgement that if it happens sooner, that’s not a hardship. The announcement came through last week, and when I tried to find some audio or video to go with it through the ancient Gen-X technology that used to be called ‘googling,’ none was to be had. I hit Bonebag honcho Max Malmer (who also plays in doom conceptualists Cavern Deep) to ask for some assistance in that regard, it turned out not just to be my standard incompetence but also the fact that there wasn’t any. “Holy Ground,” which you’ll find premiering on the player below, would seem to be their first single.

I don’t know much more about the band than is in the post from Malmer under the YouTube embed — their singer’s name is Erik, and apparently he went to Duna Jam, so at least I know I’m jealous — but they’ll play Krökbacken in Dalarna, Sweden, this week (July 25-27) alongside Maha Sohona, Astroqueen, Siena Root, Ocean Chief, I Am Low and a slew of others, and “Holy Ground” gives some idea of what they might be about in a relatively straight-ahead shove spanning four and a half minutes that has something a little more sinister underlying its central riff. You can hear a little stately black metal twist in the lead lines of the intro, which comes back around after the first verse/chorus, and the organ that comes forward after the break/stop likewise speaks to some darker atmospheric aspect amid the heavy rock thrust. They top it off with a mix of solo and stomp and land in feedback to finish, and when it’s done I find myself waiting for the next piece to kick in as it might on Global Warning when it arrives. Momentum, then, is already on their side.

Before I turn you over to the track, I’ll note that Möuth are not to be confused with German heavy progressive/psych rockers Mouth (sans umlaut), who’ve been written about a fair bit around these parts. New band, coming from someplace else both geographically and stylistically. Just a heads up to avoid any confusion.

And you know what? I like new bands. I like new music. Check out something you haven’t heard before today. Maybe it’ll resonate. Maybe you’ll hear that claw-ready edge here and wonder how it pans out on the record to come, or just what it is they’re warning the globe about. “Holy Ground” is an evocative introduction. Let yourself go with it and see where you end up. I ended up looking forward to more.

As always, I hope you enjoy:

Möuth, “Holy Ground” track premiere

We are we very proud to welcome Möuth into the Bonebag Records family!

I got shown Möuth by the singer Erik at Duna Jam this year and was completely blown away and knew there and then that we would have to sign them.

They are performing [this] week at Krökbacken and the plan is to put out some music with them before that and their full debut album will release here on Bonebag Records 2024/2025.

Bringing together a wealth of experience from diverse musical backgrounds, the dynamic trio of long-time friends united forces to birth Möuth in the fall of 2023. Infusing their passion for proto metal, psych, doom and alternative rock with a flair for skillful song-craft and a rebellious punk ethos, Möuth crafts a potent blend of raw energy and refined artistry. Their forthcoming debut album, ‘Global Warning’, slated for release in 2024/2025, promises to deliver a sonic onslaught of themes ranging from personal liberation to societal critique, all underscored by Möuth’s signature fusion of directness and sophistication.

We hope that you are as excited as we are.

Möuth on Instagram

Bonebag Records on Facebook

Bonebag Records on Instagram

Bonebag Records website