Athens classic-heavy purveyors Bus — aka Bus The Unknown Secretary — move deeper into the metallic with their third full-length, We Are the Night. Set to release June 21 as their first offering through Sound Effect Records and the follow-up to 2019’s Never Decide (review here), the tight-knit 33-minute eight-songer LP manifests influences that have been at work in their sound since their 2016 debut, The Unknown Secretary (review here), but it is as refined in its focus as it is brazen in the proto-thrash shove of “Amass Empathy” or the Judas Priest-style careening chug of “Somebody Spits on You,” so perhaps it’s fair to say they’re leaning into the harder, rawer, and less boogie-prone side of their collective persona.

They do so with immediacy resultant in part from a generally stripped-down feel in the material. It’s not all as outwardly speedy as the opening title-track (video premiering below) and initial single and album-closer “Under My Skin” — to wit, the penultimate “Rise of the Fallen” pulls back on the throttle to give its lead guitar all the more space to establish a sinister atmosphere leading into the finale, with organ melody adding some light to its own crescendo — but the forward charge is nonetheless definitive, and bolstered by the divergence into garage-doom lumbering of “Rumours” and the returning production work of John Vulgaris keyed for warmth as well as clarity enough to let the changes shine through.

But it also helps that Bus aren’t trying to hide where they’re coming from or play coy in stylistic terms. Whether it’s “I’ll Be Dead for You” with a riff so ’80s that even Mötley Crüe’s AI would be impressed, or the way “Nevermind/Realise” complements its twisting guitar leads with a cyclical rhythm on drums and extra punch in the bass, the four-piece hold fast to the classic-metal foundations driving them. They don’t dwell too long in any single movement, but each piece adds something to the overarching flow and contextual dynamic, as when “Rumours” redirects the momentum after the speedier “Somebody Spits on You” or “Amass Empathy” kicks off side B with such pointed intensity. We Are the Night isn’t as broad in its reach as some of what Bus have done in the past, but in trade, its specific focus becomes a strength that makes it hit that much harder.

With “Rumours” and the chunkier riffing of “Rise of the Fallen” offsetting the sheer thrust that surrounds and “Under My Skin” capping with not-the-record’s-first nod to the NWOBHM in the guitar and a bookend to the title-cut, We Are the Night isn’t hyper-simplified or just a half-hour-plus of Bus doing the same thing eight times over. Instead, they bring pretense-free homage to the metal of eld and present songs varied in character but united in purpose, efficient in craft and rife with aesthetic intent. That’s not the most “get those horns up!” sentence I’ve ever written, for sure, but amid all the brash riffing and hairpin turns they pull off, they’re making a declaration of who they are and what they want to do at this stage in their tenure.

Will it be the same going forward? Hell if I know. But if you’ve followed Bus at all to this point or if they’re completely new to you, the vitality with which they execute We Are the Night invites you to be in the moment with it, and maybe let later worry about later later. Garage metal? Freedom metal? Trad metal? Call it whatever you want, it’s no less exciting to take on front to back.

Enjoy the video for “We Are the Night” below, followed by more from the PR wire:

Bus, “We Are the Night” video premiere

Doomed by the cruelty of the new world, we’re once again ready to smash the bridge of the imperial vision, right here – right now! A truly independent and irreverent album has landed! “WE ARE THE NIGHT” came to seal the extraordinary music attitude of the extreme classic rock quartet from Athens. Through the difficulties of the recent years BUS got more motivated and the result is a true solid rock/metal album. Compact! Powerful! All killer, no filler! Just bangers such as the self-titled song “We Are the Night”, “Somebody Spits on You”, ‘I’ll be Dead for You” and “Under My Skin”.

The album was recorded live in three days at Electric Highway Studios in Athens, engineered once again by John Vulgaris. It’s the second time the band trusts John Vulgaris for his creativity and input in the creative process, like singing and playing various instruments. So, let’s find the reason for tonight and bang our heads with heavy metal, sex and rock n roll.

“We Are the Night” is due out on June 21st on vinyl and CD! Pre-sale shall be announced soon.

Tracklisting:
1. We Are the Night (5:14)
2. Somebody Spits on You (2:36)
3. Rumours (4:46)
4. I’ll Be Dead for You (3:53)
5. Amass Empathy (3:14)
6. Nevermind/Realise (3:02)
7. Rise of the Fallen (5:39)
8. Under My Skin (5:03)

First single “Under My Skin” streaming now on youtube and bandcamp: https://bustheunknownsecretary.bandcamp.com/album/under-my-skin

Bus, “Under My Skin”

Bus on Facebook

Bus on Instagram

Bus on Bandcamp

Sound Effect Records on Facebook

Sound Effect Records store

What do we know about Arizona’s Fuzz Evil? They’re songwriters. No matter what the Sierra Vista-based troupe led by brothers Joey and Wayne Rudell get up to on a given release — whether it’s their new single “Wanderer’s Wake” below, issued ahead of their Desert Records label-debut, Smear Merchants, or the 2023 full-length that preceded it, New Blood (review here), or anything else they’ve done over the eight years since their 2016 self-titled debut (review here) — they have songs. They’ve never been an overly self-indulgent band, never left their audience behind, and their catalog is that much stronger for it.

Even as they pivot to heavier fare with “Wanderer’s Wake” and introduce the lineup they revealed in January alongside their cover of The Cars‘ “Just What I Needed” (speaking of songwriters…), the song remains the priority, and that’s also what lets them pull off the dive into gruff vocals and harder-hitting tones without losing the plot. It’s a less friendly sound on the surface, but still very much Fuzz Evil in the underlying groove and structure. I would say it meets the stated intention toward more of a stoner-doomed feel, and not that I wasn’t already keeping an eye for Smear Merchants — not sure if it’s an EP or LP at this point, but it’s a title, which is more than you sometimes get — but I hear all the more reason to do so in the single’s sub-five-minute stretch.

TL;DR: New Fuzz Evil track mixes it up with a little bit o’ nasty to go around. Dig it:

“Wanderer’s Wake” is the first single from Fuzz Evil’s fourth studio record “Smear Merchants” to be released in late 2024 on Desert Records.

“We are always trying to evolve our music each record and with “Smear Merchants” it will be our take on more doom metal/stoner.” -FUZZ EVIL

As purveyors of chug-heavy, fuzz-laden riffs, this heavy rock ensemble unleashes a monolithic fuzzpocalypse that reverberates through your ears and straight to your soul. With raw, gritty Fuzz and unique tones, FUZZ EVIL combines baritone fuzz, extraordinary riffs, and heavy bass tones to create a sound that’s as soulful as it is earth-shattering.

To stay updated on Fuzz Evil’s latest releases and upcoming shows, follow them on handles here: https://linktr.ee/fuzzevil

Song written by Fuzz Evil
Song Recorded, Produced, and Mixed by: Joseph Rudell
Art by: Joseph Rudell

Fuzz Evil is:
Vocals & Guitar: Wayne Rudell
Bass & Backing Vocals: Joseph Rudell
Baritone Guitars: Preston Jennings
Drums: Cajun Adams

https://www.facebook.com/FuzzEvil/
https://www.instagram.com/fuzzevilaz/
https://fuzzevil.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/fuzzevil
https://www.fuzzevil.com/

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

Fuzz Evil, “Wanderer’s Wake” (2024)

So here’s what happened. All of a sudden, toward the end of last week or whenever it was, a bunch of cool bands started to announce they were touring with other cool bands. Package tours are a long-held tradition, especially for times when money’s tight in various spots around the world, and a decent way for acts to sometimes share road expenses as well as give club crowds more reason to leave the house. Whether it’s Greenleaf and Slomosa or Dopelord and Red Sun Atacama in Europe, Mars Red Sky and Howling Giant or — the subject at hand — Austin, Texas, trio The Well and Seattle duo Year of the Cobra; none of these sounds like anything other than a killer night in the making.

But for The Well and Year of the Cobra, there are a bunch of other shows both bands are playing in addition to those they’ll do together, with the former heading to Tennessee later in August for Muddy Roots and the latter with a few dates in the Pacific Northwest in early June, and so on. There wasn’t one general announcement for the tour that I found on socials, so I took the dates that were posted by each band, the Branca Studio art that accompanied, and I decided rather than try to parse out who’s where for one broader list, to just have them as they are.

The Well‘s dates are under the band’s name, and ditto that for Year of the Cobra, whose new album I think is recorded — another announcement to wait for — and will hopefully be out in the coming months. Both their latest LP and The Well‘s were in 2019, so if you said they’re due, fair enough. Do I honestly believe I needed to tell you about organizing two posts into this single one? No. But I did anyway, because that’s how it is when you’re neurotic. Now you know.

From social media as noted:

THE WELL

YOU KNOW WE CANT STAY AWAY FOR LONG! STOKED TO HIT THE ROAD WITH @yearofthecobra THIS SUMMER!

More dates to come; here’s a teaser with some killer artwork by the goat @branca_studio

7.19 – Tulsa, OK – Mercury Lounge
7.20 – OKC, OK – Blue Note Lounge
7.21 – KC, MO – recordBar
7.22 – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St. Entry (18+)
7.23 – Chicago, IL – The Empty Bottle*
7.24 – Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl* (all ages)
7.25 – Albany, NY – Fuze Box*
7.26 – Providence, RI – Alchemy (all ages)
7.27 – Manchester, NH – Jewel Music Venue*
7.28 – NY, NY – The Bowery Electric*
7.29 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie*
7.30 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506* (all ages)
8.4 – Dallas, TX – Ruins*
8.6 – Scottsdale, AZ – Pub Rock*
8.7 – LA, CA – Permanent Records*
8.8 – Long Beach, CA – Alex’s Bar*
8.9 – Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial*
8.10 – SF, CA – Kilowatt Bar*
8.31 – Cookeville, TN – Muddy Roots Festival
* – w/ Year of the Cobra

YEAR OF THE COBRA

Yo! Excited to announce our US tour with @thewellband. More dates coming soon, but for now…we feast!!!

6.1 – Bellingham, WA – The Shakedown
6.2 – Vancouver, BC – The Cobalt Cabaret
6.9 – Portland, OR – Polaris Hall
7.20 – Libby, MT – Montvana Festival
7.23 – Chicago, IL – The Empty Bottle*
7.24 – Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl* (all ages)
7.25 – Albany, NY – Fuze Box*
7.27 – Manchester, NH – Jewel Music Venue*
7.28 – NY, NY – The Bowery Electric*
7.29 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie*
7.30 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506* (all ages)
8.2 – Lafayette, LA – Freetown Boom Boom Room*
8.4 – Dallas, TX – Ruins*
8.6 – Scottsdale, AZ – Pub Rock*
8.7 – LA, CA – Permanent Records*
8.8 – Long Beach, CA – Alex’s Bar*
8.9 – Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial*
8.10 – SF, CA – Kilowatt Bar*
8.11 – Santa Cruz – Moe’s Alley*
*w/The Well

http://www.facebook.com/thewellband
https://www.instagram.com/thewellband/
http://thewellaustin.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ridingeasyrecords/
https://www.instagram.com/easyriderrecord/
http://www.ridingeasyrecs.com/

https://www.facebook.com/yearofthecobraband/
https://www.instagram.com/yearofthecobra/
https://yearofthecobra.bandcamp.com/

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

The Well, Death and Consolation (2019)

Year of the Cobra, Ash and Dust (2019)

Floridian sludge metal mainstays Hollow Leg are set to self-release their new EP, Dust, this Friday, May 3, and with just 21 minutes at their disposal, there’s a palpable no-time-to-waste vibe as the four-piece dig into “Poison Bite” (video premiere here) in a tight encapsulation of the willful stylistic growth the band have undertaken since 2019’s Civilizations (review here), their most recent LP. Like a lot of what Hollow Leg have done since the tail end of the MySpace era, “Poison Bite” is a ripper.

It’s got a massive, rolling grove led by Brent Lynch‘s guitar, with due weight pushed through Tom Crowther‘s bass and the nod punctuated by John Stewart‘s drumming, and with vocalist Scott Angelacos finding a Matt Pike-y delivery somewhere between a shout and cleaner singing, with effects-laced backing in the chorus presumably from Lynch, as well as the condensed runtime, it also defies expectation in how it digs in. For a sound that remains plenty filthy, one hesitates to use words like “refined,” but on their own terms, Hollow Leg very much are that on Dust.

“Poison Bite” begins a salvo of three sub-four-minute cuts, with “Sick Days” adding a thrashier shove to its abiding nastiness, bringing the not-screamed backing vocals in the chorus closer to the front of the mix alongside Angelacos‘ harsh-throated gnashing, and EP centerpiece “Funeral Storms” hints toward patience as it moves toward its later solo and in its relatively restrained earlier verses. These aren’t the first short songs Hollow Leg have offered, by any means, but they’re presented with a maturity and confidence coinciding with an evolutionary drive that can’t be faked.

That is, they’ve always grown from one release to the next, and they still are, but that growth feels more directed toward specific ideas on Dust than it has in the past, and that’s part of how they’re developing at this point. While “Another Day Dying” feels sharp in its early riffing, the back end with sitar-sounding effects and a muddied-up kind of psychedelic flourish is a purposeful contrast and expansion of scope, and yeah, the brooding, mostly-clean-sung Southern heavy swamp atmosphere of closer “Holy Water” hits into heavier riffing at around two and a half minutes in, but it still carries the initial mood forward, pairing its partial departure with a consistency unto itself that underscores the crafted feel of the EP as a whole.

The notion of Dust as another step in Hollow Leg‘s ongoing progression undercuts some of how than manifests throughout the five songs included, but while they remain in no small part defined by the crash-and-bash aspects of their approach, it’s worth considering just how much they’ve found their place in sludge over their years, and how their balance between extremity and accessibility plays out in this material. Its malleable nature alone, the band’s emergent considerations of ambience alongside their entrenched rawness, would be enough even if the songs themselves didn’t remain so intentionally kickass as they do.

But among the messages Dust most clearly sends is that Hollow Leg aren’t done exploring this path they’re on, and one hopes that, whatever form their next round of discoveries might take upon release, they find ways to continue forward in melding influences from within and beyond their genre. Keep getting weirder, dudes. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Enjoy the full EP stream below, followed by some perspective from the band courtesy of the PR wire and that “Poison Bite” video, links and the rest:

In the band’s own words: “We’re always writing and playing and working on new music is just what we do, always trying to build on our sound and make the next piece a more clearly defined vision than the last. We have such a wide range of musical and artistic influences that it’s challenging to wrangle them, but we try our best to work within the ‘Hollow Leg’ mainframe and pump out something different than what we’ve done before, but also something that’s still obviously Hollow Leg. Hollow Leg is about freedom though. That’s been the mantra since the first record and we’ve always stuck to that! It’s about pushing ourselves and finding ways to simultaneously party with Metallica, Steely Dan, EyeHateGod, Wu Tang Clan, Stevie Wonder, and Pink Floyd and it somehow makes sense to us!”

Tracklisting:
1. Poison Bite (3:34)
2. Sick Days (3:59)
3. Funeral Storms (3:47)
4. Another Day Dying (4:51)
5. Holy Water (5:46)

Hollow Leg is:
Scott Angelacos – vocals
Brent Lynch – guitar/backing vocals
Tom Crowther – bass
John Stewart – drums

Hollow Leg, “Poison Bite” official video

Hollow Leg on Instagram

Hollow Leg on Facebook

Hollow Leg on Bandcamp

Hollow Leg’s Linktr.ee

If you find yourself this November in one of the below-listed locales and are wondering perhaps how to cope with the ending of another busy, festival-filled October in Europe, Poland’s Dopelord and France’s Red Sun Atacama have your back as they join forces for about two weeks of club shows in Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland and Belgium. The Warsaw stoner-doom titans will head out in support of 2023’s Songs for Satan (review here), which turned the familiar genre trope of devil-worship in cult riffing into a political statement against their home country’s religion-backed push to the right in addition to having suitably burned its hooks into the foreheads of those who heard it.

Red Sun Atacama touched on modern space boogie blowout with 2022’s Darwin (review here), the three-piece scorching their way through a cosmos of expansive tones and resonant crashing bombast. I probably don’t need to say it, but one way or the other, it’s a tour that’s gonna groove. In heaping doses.

Poster and dates follow in blue, as they will:

DOPELORD (Doom, Poland) and RED SUN ATACAMA (Heavy Psych, France) to tour Europe this Fall

Polish heavier-than-heavy quartet DOPELORD and French riff machine RED SUN ATACAMA to hit the road together in November! Presented by Doomstar Bookings and 3C, the tour party plans to cross Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain and Belgium. Get tickets!

TICKETS: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/11502723-red-sun-atacama

03.11.2024 DE KARLSRUHE – Alte Hackerei
04.11.2024 CH BASEL – Hirscheneck
05.11.2024 FR LYON – Rock’n’Eat
06.11.2024 FR MONTPELLIER – L’Antirouille
07.11.2024 SP BARCELONA – Sala Upload
08.11.2024 SP MADRID – Wurlitzer Ballroom
09.11.2024 FR BORDEAUX-PESSAC – Sortie 13
10.11.2024 FR NANTES – Le Ferrailleur
11.11.2024 FR PARIS – Petit Bain
12.11.2024 BE ANTWERP – Kavka Zappa
13.11.2024 DE BOCHUM – Die Trompete
14.11.2024 DE BRAUNSCHWEIG – B58
15.11.2024 DE BERLIN – Urban Spree
16.11.2024 DE COTTBUS – Muggefug e.V. (without Red Sun Atacama)

DOPELORD is
Paweł Mioduchowski – Guitars and Vocals
Piotr Ochociński – Drums
Grzegorz Pawłowski – Guitars
Piotr Zin – Bass, Vocals and Mellotron

LINE-UP:
Clément Marquez: bass, vocals
Robin Caillon: drums
Vincent Hospital: guitar, keyboard

https://www.facebook.com/Dopelord666
https://www.instagram.com/dopelord_666/
https://dopelord.bandcamp.com/

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

https://www.facebook.com/ElsolrojodeAtacama
https://elsolrojodeatacama.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/redsunatacama/

https://www.facebook.com/mrsredsound33
https://www.instagram.com/mrsredsound/
https://mrsredsound.com/

Dopelord, Songs for Satan (2023)

Red Sun Atacama, Darwin (2022)

Having just wrapped a stretch of European touring that found them keeping company with Stoned Jesus, Bordeaux heavy psych progressives Mars Red Sky today reveal the US stint leading to their previously-announced appearance at this September’s Ripplefest Texas, stopping at Crucial Fest along the way. They go on the back of this past December’s Dawn of the Dusk (review here), and with support from Nashville uptempo melodymakers Howling Giant, who issued their second album, Glass Future (review here), in October, that’s two of 2023’s very best records paired up for in-person delivery. Such efficiency brooks no argument.

The Obelisk has presented Mars Red Sky tours in the past, and I’m especially proud to have it do so again in light of the LP they’re heralding to the US audience. In addition to the basic routing here, the tour also answers the question in my mind of whether they would appear at Desertfest NYC with a decisive no — they’ll be in Boise, Salt Lake City and Vegas at the time — but if you’re in New York and worried about missing out, the tour starts Aug. 29 in Brooklyn, so don’t sweat it. More dates are TBA as well.

From the PR wire:

MARS RED SKY US tour announced with special guest HOWLING GIANT

Psych/prog trio MARS RED SKY is getting ready to cross the Atlantic Ocean to join Nashville’s heavy psych quartet HOWLING GIANT on a North American adventure. Their USA tour will kick off this August 29th in New York to end up with RippleFest Texas in Austin on September 21st. All dates and info below.

Brought up on bands like Sonic Youth, The Jesus Lizard or My Bloody Valentine, Bordeaux-based outfit MARS RED SKY had no idea that they were about to become French stoner scene cornerstones when they founded the band in 2007. Julien Pras’ ethereal and melodic voice emerges from a thick and complex rhythm, carried by sci-fi literature’s lyricism. Almost cinematic, MARS RED SKY’s sounding has a peculiar and unique flavour, standing out within the heavy rock scene.

New album ‘Dawn Of The Dusk’ – out on December 2023 on Vicious Circle & Mrs Red Sound – is a genuine conceptual piece of work skillfully exploring progressive and post-metal territories with boundless inspiration. The eight-track album is packed with the band’s overflowing inspiration that has made their reputation in France and around the World over the last decade.

Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, HOWLING GIANT blast forth a cosmic convergence of pulpy sci-fi themes and blistering psych-prog songcraft. Across a variety of recorded and live experiences since 2014, have become an essential act of the US forward-thinking heavy rock scene.

8/29 Thu – Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right
8/30 Fri – Cambridge – Boston, MA – Middle East
8/31 Sat – Philadelphia, PA – Milk Boy
9/1 Sun – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery
9/2 Mon – Detroit, MI – Sanctuary
9/3 Tue – Chicago, IL – Reggies / Music Joint
9/4 Wed – Milwaukee, WI – X-Ray Arcade
9/5 Thu – Minneapolis, MN – 7th St Entry
9/6 Fri – Sioux Falls, SD – Remedy Brewing
9/7 Sat – Rapid City, SD – Fairground
9/8 Sun – Denver, CO – Hi-Dive
9/10 Tue – Portland, OR – The High Water Mark
9/11 Wed – Seattle, WA – Substation
9/12 Thu – Boise, ID – The Shredder
9/13 Fri – Salt Lake City, UT – CRUCIAL FEST
9/14 Sat – Las Vegas, NV – Sinwave
9/15 Sun – San Francisco, CA – Bottom Of The Hill
9/16 Mon – Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial
9/17 Tue – Los Angeles, CA – Residen
9/18 Wed – Tempe, AZ – Yucca Tap Room
9/19 Thu – Albuquerque, NM – Launchpad
9/20 Fri – El Paso, TX – The Rosewood
9/21 Sat – Austin, TX – RippleFest Texas

Tickets: https://marsredsky.rocks/tour

MARS RED SKY are:
Julien Pras : guitar, vocals
Jimmy Kinast : bass, vocals
Mathieu “Matgaz” Gazeau : drums, vocals

http://www.facebook.com/marsredskyband/
https://marsredsky.bigcartel.com/
http://www.marsredsky.net
https://mrsredsound.com/

https://www.facebook.com/mrsredsound33
https://www.instagram.com/mrsredsound/
https://mrsredsound.com/

https://www.facebook.com/viciouscirclerec
https://www.instagram.com/vicious_circle_records
https://viciouscircle.bandcamp.com/
https://www.viciouscircle.fr/

Mars Red Sky, Dawn of the Dusk (2023)

Howling Giant, Glass Future (2023)

The anticipated sophomore full-length from big-swing Austin, Texas, heavy rockers High Desert Queen, Palm Reader, is set to release May 31 through Magnetic Eye Records. And as the follow-up to 2021’s well-received Secrets of the Black Moon (review here) and the four-piece’s 2023 split with Albuquerque’s Blue Heron, Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake (review here) — both on Ripple Music — it answers the high expectations placed on it with organic craft and a focus on largesse that would seem to put the ‘Texas’ in the self-applied tag ‘Texas desert rock.’

That is to say, with Palm Reader, High Desert Queen are all in. There’s no sneering irony or pretense in the seven included cuts, and as heavy as they are, the vibe is positive even in the mellow first half of the penultimate “Tuesday Night Blues,” which is about as close to a comedown as the band — vocalist Ryan Garney (also of Lick of My Spoon Productions and the ‘head honcho’ of Ripplefest Texas), guitarist Rusty Miller, bassist Morgan Miller, drummer Phil Hook — get, and the collective pursuit of bigger riffs and nods comes through fluidly with an engrossing and reportedly live-performance-centered production by Casey Johns at Yellow Dog Studios in Wimberley, TX, and the subsequent mix/master at Tri-Lamb in Sweden by Karl Daniel Lidén (Greenleaf, Dozer, Katatonia, on and on) highlighting space and impact alike.

With “Ancient Aliens” and “Death Perception” — the latter featuring a duet with guest vocalist Emma Näslund of Gaupa, whom the band met in Stockholm at Truckfighters Fuzz Fest in late-2022 (review here) — at the outset, Palm Reader welcomes the listener into the set, digs in for the first of two nine-minute jammers without losing sight of the hook in “Head Honcho,” and never diverts from its central goals of conveying the band’s onstage energy and penchant for turning choice riffs into good times. If you come out the other side of the massive, increasingly-shoving chug that closes the album in “Solar Rain” — the other nine-minute jam — and say to yourself that High Desert Queen are a band you need to see live, then Palm Reader will likely have fulfilled the band’s mission for it.

It’s not that they’re reinventing their genre or enacting some kind of stylistic insurgency, but High Desert Queen came out of the gate knowing what they were about, and Palm Reader refines their songwriting while staying true to the core purpose. They’re not fixing what wasn’t broken, and the album isn’t just a succession of comfortably-paced lumbering nods and catchy rhymes — as the centerpiece title-track demonstrates with its funkier strut to finish side A with a kick of momentum picking up from the scorching last chorus of “Head Honcho” — but while their material is more about audience-communion than trying to convince anyone within earshot how clever or progressive or even original they are, the sincerity of their delivery and the natural flow that emerges within and between the songs make long-established methods feel fresh, vibrant.

Secrets of the Black Moon did this as well, and the difference might just be the result of High Desert Queen having spent so much of the time between their two-to-date LPs on various stages in various countries, but whether it’s the still-grounded, semi-psych delve in the build toward that climax in “Head Honcho” or the drums setting the start-stop-and-twist pattern for the thickened boogie of “Time Waster” at the start of side B, the songs come across as thoughtful without being overwrought and arranged in such a way as to carry the listener from one end to the other with an overarching movement that doesn’t undercut the impact of the individual pieces comprising it. There’s a sweet-spot for this in heavy rock and roll. High Desert Queen follow the riff to get to it and reside there for the duration.

And nothing they do throughout, from their most mountainous stretches to the screams capping “Solar Rain,” from the declarative nod and post-C.O.C. burl of “Ancient Aliens” to the way “Palm Reader” provides enough of a shift in method that they don’t need an interlude to break up the proceedings, takes away from the heart behind it. I wasn’t kidding above when I said “all in.” Whatever else it might accomplish in songwriting, performance or reach, Palm Reader sounds like nothing so much as a band giving everything they have to each moment of its making. That’s evident in Garney‘s echoing bellows and Miller‘s deceptively-classy soloing on “Time Waster” as well as the point where “Tuesday Night Blues” kicks in from its quieter, spoken-word-topped intro to set its course of fluid loud/quiet trades in motion, and comes to feel like no less of a priority than the heaviest of riffs at the album’s foundation. While certainly self-aware in the sense of knowing what it’s doing, where it’s going and how it’s getting there, Palm Reader is most of all driven by passion.

Of course, chemistry also helps, and even putting aside the fact that Rusty and Morgan Miller are related by blood, High Desert Queen have plenty of it on offer as they align around this or that movement, shifting smoothly whether it’s from the verse to the chorus of “Ancient Aliens” or bringing the midsection cacophony of “Solar Rain” to a stop to let the guitar lay down the riff anchoring the mounting intensity of the record’s finish. Front to back, High Desert Queen neither overshoot nor undersell their marks, and Palm Reader is the kind of outing you could play for someone with no prior familiarity or association with underground heavy music as ready argument in favor of conversion. It’s kind of a party, and without seeming like dumbed-down-for-accessibility caricature, it works on its own level to assure that all who might hear it invited. Give it the proper volume and you might just end up making friends.

The e’er-crucial preorder link, live dates and more info follow the premiere of the lyric video for “Death Perception” in the embed below, courtesy of the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

High Desert Queen, “Death Perception” (feat. Emma Näslund) lyric video premiere

Pre-orders: http://lnk.spkr.media/high-desert-queen-palmreader

HIGH DESERT QUEEN’s sophomore full-length “Palm Reader” is bursting with raw energy and radiates the feeling of 666 diesel horses thundering loud. The album is crammed with cool vibes, ripping leads, and a ton of desert fuzz with a focus on great songs rather than trying to stay confined within a corral of a particular style.

HIGH DESERT QUEEN had what it takes to kick the scene into gear again. Their vast musical influences ranging from grunge to funk, old school metal to doom and much more provide an ideal foundation for new ideas and a rejuvenating approach to the genre. Their thunderous, fuzz-drenched anthems are delivered with a healthy dose of groove and catchy melodies, and get a massive boost from an emotional intelligence in their music that’s hard to find. The newly-minted sound is linked to the rich heritage of their environs, inspiring the style tag ‘Texas desert rock’.

Answering the exponentially multiplying requests for new material from their steadily growing following, HIGH DESERT QUEEN flanked their live activities with the “Turned to Stone Ch. 8” split release with BLUE HERON, and contributed a track to “Best of Soundgarden Redux”, the latest instalment of the bestselling Magnetic Eye Records Redux series.

With “Palm Reader”, HIGH DESERT QUEEN have made a quantum leap in their evolution as the Texans found the perfect balance between the well-loved legacy of the desert rock genre and carving out their very own path. Fueled by the power and spirit of live music, this album rocks as hard and honest as can be done.

HIGH DESERT QUEEN live:
24 MAY 2024 Lafayette, LA (US) Freetown Boom Boom Room
25 MAY 2024 Houston, TX (US) White Oak Music Hall
26 MAY 2024 Arlington, TX (US) Division Brewery
30 MAY 2024 Austin, TX (US) The Far Out Lounge
31 MAY 2024 Bryan, TX (US) The 101
01 JUN 2024 San Antonio, TX (US) The Amp Room
02 JUN 2024 New Braunfels, TX (US) Guadalupe Brewery
13 JUL 2024 Erfurt (DE) Stoned from the Underground Festival
26 JUL 2024 Neuensee (DE) Rock im Wald Festival
21 SEP 2024 Austin, TX (US) Far Out Lounge, RippleFest Texas

Line-up
Ryan Garney – vocals
Phil Hook – drums
Morgan Miller – bass
Rusty Miller – guitar

High Desert Queen, “Ancient Aliens” official video

High Desert Queen, Palm Reader (2024)

High Desert Queen on Facebook

High Desert Queen on Instagram

High Desert Queen on Bandcamp

Magnetic Eye Records store

Magnetic Eye Records website

Magnetic Eye Records on Facebook

Magnetic Eye Records on Instagram

I’m never going to claim to be an expert on the visual arts, whether it’s a question of aesthetic or technique. But I know when I see something awesome, and the three-eyed ribbitdragon adorning the poster below for Trieste, Italy’s StonerKras Fest 2024 this July for sure qualifies. The art is by Mirkow Gastow, who’s done other posters and graphics in and around the operating sphere of Heavy Psych Sounds, whose flagship outfit Black Rainbows feature in the third edition of StonerKras‘ lineup, assuring the all-dayer’s cosmic-party quotient will be met before German heavy psychedelic forebears Colour Haze headline as part of their ongoing 30th anniversary celebration in 2024.

Last July’s StonerKras had seven bands on the bill — among them 1000mods and Nick Oliveri‘s Mondo Generator — and Black Mamba Rock Explosion, Savanah and Britof round out the stated-as-full lineup of five for this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if maybe part of that is to allow for longer set times or changeovers, or just to let the crowd take in some of the merch stands or, you know, get a massage. I can’t remember ever seeing a massage therapist on-grounds at a festival before, but speaking as a human living in a body that’s not getting any younger, I get it. Not all considerations are as timeless or ethereally rad as a three-eyed ribbitdragon. Sometimes your back hurts.

Cool to see this one growing and finding its niche over the last few years. Here’s the announcement:

STONERKRAS FEST 2024 – III edition

– 13.07.2024 – Prosek-Prosecco (Trieste, ITA) –

FULL LINEUP + TICKETS PRESALE ANNOUNCEMENT

StonerKras is a psychedelic music gathering based on stoner, doom and heavy psych music. The festival has an international footprint but with the aim of enhancing the local heavy scene (both Slovenian and Italian) while attracting spectators from the region but also from neighboring countries. Youth aggregation and cultural exchange accompanied by good music.

The festival will be taking place on Saturday, July 13th in the gorgeous village Prosek-Prosecco near Trieste (Italy).

Today Rocket Panda Management in collaboration with Never In has announced the FULL LINEUP and TICKETS PRESALE for the StonerKras Fest III edition !!!

*** STONERKRAS FEST ***
13.07.2024 – Prosek-Trieste (ITA)

COLOUR HAZE (psychedelic heavy rock, DE)
BLACK RAINBOWS (heavy psych/fuzz rock, ITA – exclusive show for north Italy/Slovenia/Croatia in 2024)
BLACK MAMBA ROCK EXPLOSION (hard rock’n’roll, ITA)
SAVANAH (progressive stoner, AT)
BRITOF (doom/sludge, SLO)
+
AFTERPARTY DJ SET

** FOOD & DRINKS **
** MARKET STANDS **
** RELAX/MASSAGE AREA **
** PSYCHEDELIC LIGHT SHOW **
** FREE AFTERPARTY DJ-SET ***
*** CHILDREN FRIENDLY ***

TICKETS PRESALE: https://biglietteria.ticketpoint-trieste.it/dettaglio-spettacolo.php?negozio_spettacolo_id=841

FB EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/810302051013124/

ARTWORK by the one and only Mirkow Gastow: https://linktr.ee/mirkowgastow

https://www.instagram.com/stonerkrasfest/
https://www.facebook.com/StonerKrasFest/

Colour Haze, “Tempel” live in Karlsruhe, DE, Feb. 16, 2024