Last day, this one. And probably a good thing so that I can go back to doing just about anything else beyond (incredibly) basic motor function and feeling like I need to start the next day’s QR writeups. I’m already thinking of maybe a week in December and a week or two in January, just to try to keep up with stuff, but I’m of two minds about it.

Does the Quarterly Review actually help anyone find music? It helps me, I know, because it’s 50 records that I’m basically forcing myself to dig into, and that exposes me to more and more and more all the time, and gives me an outlet for stuff I wouldn’t otherwise have mental or temporal space to cover, so I know I get something out of it. Do you?

Honest answers are welcome in the comments. If it’s a no, that helps me as well.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

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AAWKS & Aiwass, The Eastern Scrolls

Late on their 2022 self-titled debut (review here), Canadian upstart heavy fuzzers AAWKS took a decisive plunge into greater tonal densities, and “1831,” which is their side-consuming 14:30 contribution to the The Eastern Scrolls split LP with Arizona mostly-solo-project Aiwass, feels built directly off that impulse. It is, in other words, very heavy. Cosmically spaced with harsher vocals early that remind of stonerkings Sons of Otis and only more blowout from there as they roll forth into slog, noise, a stop, ambient guitar and string melodies and drum thud behind vocals, subdued psych atmosphere and backmasked sampling near the finish. Aiwass, led by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Blake Carrera and now on the cusp of releasing a second full-length, The Falling (review here), give the 13:00 “The Unholy Books” a stately, post-metallic presence, as much about the existential affirmations and the melody applied to the lyrics as it moves into the drumless midsection as either the earlier Grayceon-esque pulled notes of guitar (thinking specifically “War’s End” from 2011’s All We Destroy, but there the melody is cello) into it or the engrossing heft that emerges late in the piece, though it does bookend with a guitar comedown. Reportedly based around the life of theosophy co-founder and cult figure Madame Helena Blavatsky, it can either be embraced on that level or taken on simply as a showcase of two up and coming bands, each with their own complementary sound. However you want to go, it’s easily among the best splits I’ve heard in 2023.

AAWKS on Facebook

Aiwass on Facebook

Black Throne Productions store

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Surya Kris Peters, Strange New World

The lines between projects are blurring for Surya Kris Peters, otherwise known as Chris Peters, currently based in Brazil where he has the solo-project Fuzz Sagrado following on from his time in the now-defunct German trio Samsara Blues Experiment. Strange New World is part of a busy 2023/busy last few years for Peters, who in 2023 alone has issued a live album from his former band (review here) and a second self-recorded studio LP from Fuzz Sagrado, titled Luz e Sombra (review here). And in Fuzz Sagrado, Peters has returned to the guitar as a central instrument after a few years of putting his focus on keys and synths with Surya Kris Peters as the appointed outlet for it. Well, the Fuzz Sagrado had some keys and the 11-song/52-minute Strange New World wants nothing for guitar either as Peters reveals a headbanger youth in the let-loose guitar of “False Prophet,” offers soothing and textured vibes of a synthesized beat in “Sleep Meditation in Times of War” (Europe still pretty clearly in mind) and the acoustic/electric blend that’s expanded upon in “Nada Brahma Nada.” Active runs of synth, bouncing from note to note with an almost zither-esque feel in “A Beautiful Exile (Pt. 1)” and the later “A Beautiful Exile (Part 2)” set a theme that parts of other pieces follow, but in the drones of “Past Interference” and the ’80s New Wave prog of the bonus track “Slightly Too Late,” Peters reminds that the heart of the project is in exploration, and so it is still very much its own thing.

Fuzz Sagrado on Facebook

Electric Magic Records on Bandcamp

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Evert Snyman, All Killer Filler

A covers record can be a unique opportunity for an artist to convey something about themselves to fans, and while I consider Evert Snyman‘s 12-track/38-minute classic pop-rock excursion All Killer Filler to be worth it for his take on Smashing Pumpkins‘ “Zero” alone, there is no mistaking the show of persona in the choice to open with The Stooges‘ iconic “Search and Destroy” and back it cheekily with silly bounce of Paul McCartney‘s almost tragically catchy “Temporary Secretary.” That pairing alone is informative if you’re looking to learn something about the South African-based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer. See also “The Piña Colada Song.” The ’90s feature mightily, as they would, with tunes by Pixies, Blur, Frank Black, The Breeders and Mark Lanegan (also the aforementioned Smashing Pumpkins), but whether it’s the fuzz of The Breeders’ 1:45 “I Just Wanna Get Along,” the sincere acoustic take on The Beatles “I Will” — which might as well be a second McCartney solo cut, but whatever; you’ll note Frank Black and Pixies appearing separately as well — or the gospel edge brought to Tom Waits‘ “Jesus Gonna Be Here,” Snyman internalizes this material, almost builds it from the ground up, loyal in some ways and not in others, but resonant in its respect for the source material without trying to copy, say, Foo Fighters, note for note on “The Colour and the Shape.” If it’s filler en route to Snyman‘s next original collection, fine. Dude takes on Mark Lanegan without it sounding like a put on. Mark Lanegan himself could barely do that.

Evert Snyman on Facebook

Mongrel Records website

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Book of Wyrms, Storm Warning

Virginian heavy doom rockers Book of Wyrms have proved readily in the past that they don’t need all that long to set up a vibe, and the standalone single “Storm Warning” reinforces that position with four-plus minutes of solid delivery of craft. Vocalist/synthesist Sarah Moore Lindsey, bassist Jay “Jake” Lindsey and drummer Kyle Lewis and guitarist Bobby Hufnell (also Druglord) — the latter two would seem to have switched instruments since last year’s single “Sodapop Glacier” (premiered here) — but whatever is actually being played by whoever, the song is a structurally concise but atmospheric groover, with a riff twisting around the hook and the keyboard lending dimension to the mix as it rests beneath the guitar and bass. They released their third album, Occult New Age (review here), in 2021, so they’re by no means late on a follow-up, and I don’t know either when this song was recorded — before, after or during that process — but it’s a sharp-sounding track from a band whose style has grown only  more theirs with time. I have high expectations for Book of Wyrms‘ next record — I had high expectations for the last one, which were met — and especially taken together, “Storm Warning” and “Sodapop Glacier” show both the malleable nature of the band’s aesthetic, the range that has grown in their sound and the live performance that is at their collective core.

Book of Wyrms on Facebook

Desert Records store

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Burning Sister, Get Your Head Right

Following on from their declarative 2022 debut, Mile High Downer Rock (review here), Denver trio Burning Sister — bassist/vocalist Steve Miller (also synth), guitarist Nathan Rorabaugh and drummer Alison Salutz — bring four originals and the Mudhoney cover “When Tomorrow Comes” (premiered here) together as Get Your Head Right, a 29-minute EP, beginning with the hypnotic nod groove and biting leads of “Fadeout” (also released as a single) and the slower, heavy psych F-U-Z-Z of “Barbiturate Lizard,” the keyboard-inclusive languid roll of which, even after the pace picks up, tells me how right I was to dig that album. The centerpiece title-track is faster and a little more forward tonally, more grounded, but carries over the vocal echo and finds itself in noisier crashes and chugs before giving over to the 7:58 “Looking Through Me,” which continues the relatively terrestrial vibe over until the wall falls off the spaceship in the middle of the track and everyone gets sucked into the vacuum — don’t worry, the synthesizer mourns us after — just before the noted cover quietly takes hold to close out with spacious heavygaze cavern echo that swells all the way up to become a blowout in the vein of the original. It’s a story that’s been told before, of a band actively growing, coming into their sound, figuring out who they are from one initial release to the next. Burning Sister haven’t finished that process yet, but I like where this seems to be headed. Namely into psych-fuzz oblivion and cosmic dust. So yeah, right on.

Burning Sister on Facebook

Burning Sister on Bandcamp

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Gévaudan, Umbra

Informed by Pallbearer, Warning, or perhaps others in the sphere of emotive doom, UK troupe Gévaudan scale up from 2019’s Iter (review here) with the single-song, 43:11 Umbra, their second album. Impressive enough for its sheer ambition, the execution on the extended titular piece is both complex and organic, parts flowing naturally from one to the other around lumbering rhythms for the first 13 minutes or so before a crashout to a quick fade brings the next movement of quiet and droning psychedelia. They dwell for a time in a subtle-then-not-subtle build before exploding back to full-bore tone at 18:50 and carrying through a succession of epic, dramatic ebbs and flows, such that when the keyboard surges to the forefront of the mix in seeming battle with the pulled notes of guitar, the ensuing roll/march is a realization. They do break to quiet again, this time piano and voice, and doom mournfully into a fade that, at the end of a 43-minute song tells you the band could’ve probably kept going had they so desired. So much the better. Between this and Iter, Gévaudan have made a for-real-life statement about who they are as a band and their progressive ambitions. Do not make the mistake of thinking they’re done evolving.

Gévaudan on Facebook

Meuse Music Records website

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Oxblood Forge, Cult of Oblivion

In some of the harsher vocals and thrashy riffing of Cult of Oblivion‘s opening title-track, Massachusetts’ Oxblood Forge remind a bit of some of the earliest Shadows Fall‘s definitively New Englander take on hardcore-informed metal. The Boston-based double-guitar five-piece speed up the telltale chug of “Children of the Grave” on “Upon the Altar” and find raw sludge scathe on “Cleanse With Fire” ahead of finishing off the four-song/18-minute EP with the rush into “Mask of Satan,” which echoes the thrash of “Cult of Oblivion” itself and finds vocalist Ken McKay pushing his voice higher in clean register than one can recall on prior releases, their most recent LP being 2021’s Decimator (review here). But that record was produced for a different kind of impact than Cult of Oblivion, and the aggression driving the new material is enhanced by the roughness of its presentation. These guys have been at it a while now, and clearly they’re not in it for trends, or to be some huge band touring for seven months at a clip. But their love of heavy metal is evident in everything they do, and it comes through here in every blow to the head they mete out.

Oxblood Forge on Facebook

Oxblood Forge on Bandcamp

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High Brian, Five, Six, Seven

The titular rhythmic counting in Austrian heavy-prog quirk rockers High Brian‘s Five, Six, Seven (on StoneFree Records, of course) doesn’t take long to arrive, finding its way into second cut “Is it True” after the mild careening of “All There Is” opens their third full-length, and that’s maybe eight minutes into the 40-minute record, but it doesn’t get less gleefully weird from there as the band take off into the bassy meditation of “The End” before tossing out angular headspinner riffs in succession and rolling through what feels like a history of krautrock’s willful anti-normality written into the apocalypse it would seemingly have to be. “The End” is the longest track at 8:50, and it presumably closes side A, which means side B is when it’s time to party as the triplet chug of “The Omni” reinforces the energetic start of “All There Is” with madcap fervor and “Stone Came Up” can’t decide whether it’s raw-toned biker rock or spaced out lysergic idolatry, so it decides to become an open jam complete people talking “in the crowd.” This leaves the penultimate “Our First Car” to deliver one last shove into the art-rock volatility of closer “Oil Into the Fire,” where High Brian play one more round of can-you-follow-where-this-is-going before ending with a gentle cymbal wash like nothing ever happened. Note, to the best of my knowledge, there are not bongos on every track, as the cover art heralds. But perhaps spiritually. Spiritual bongos.

High Brian on Facebook

StoneFree Records website

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Búho Ermitaño, Implosiones

Shimmering, gorgeous and richly informed in melody and rhythm by South American folk, Búho Ermitaño‘s Implosiones revels in pastoralia in opener “Herbie” before “Expolosiones” takes off past its midpoint into heavy post-rock float and progressive urgency that in itself is more dynamic than many bands even still is only a small fraction of the encompassing range of sounds at work throughout these seven songs. ’60s psych twists into the guitar solo in the back half of “Explosiones” before space rock key/synth wash finishes — yes, it’s like that — and only then does the serene guitar and, birdsong and synth-drone of “Preludio” announce the arrival of centerpiece “Ingravita,” which begins acoustic and even as it climbs all the way up to its crescendo maintains its peaceful undercurrent so that when it returns at the end it seems to be home again at the finish. The subsequent “Buarabino” is more about physical movement in its rhythm, cumbia roots perhaps showing through, but leaves the ground for its second half of multidirectional resonances offered like ’70s prog that tells you it’s from another planet. But no, cosmic as they get in the keys of “Entre los Cerros,” Búho Ermitaño are of and for the Earth — you can hear it in every groove and sun-on-water guitar melody — and when the bowl chimes to start finale “Renacer,” the procession that ensues en route to the final drone is an affirmation both of the course they’ve taken in sound and whatever it is in your life that’s led you to hear it. Records like this never get hype. They should. They are loved nonetheless.

Búho Ermitaño on Facebook

Buh Records on Bandcamp

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Octonaut, Intergalactic Tales of a Wandering Cephalopod

In concept or manifestation, one would not call Octonaut‘s 54-minute shenanigans-prone debut album Intergalactic Tales of a Wandering Cephalopod a minor undertaking. On any level one might want to approach it — taking on the two-minute feedbackscape of “…—…” (up on your morse code?) or the 11-minute tale-teller-complete-with-digression-about-black-holes “Octonaut” or any of their fun-with-fuzz-and-prog-metal-and-psychedelia points in between — it is a lot, and there is a lot going on, but it’s also wonderfully brazen. It’s completely over the top and knows it. It doesn’t want to behave. It doesn’t want to just be another stoner band. It’s throwing everything out in the open and seeing what works, and as Octonaut move forward, ideally, they’ll take the lessons of a song like the mellow linear builder “Hypnotic Jungle” or nine-minute capper “Rainbow Muffler Camel” (like they’re throwing darts at words) with its intermittent manic fits and the somehow inevitable finish of blown-out static noise. As much stoner as it is prog, it’s also not really either, but this is good news because there are few better places for an act so clearly bent on individualism as Octonaut are to begin than in between genres. One hopes they dwell there for the duration.

Octonaut on Facebook

Octonaut’s Linktr.ee

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Aiwass will release their second album, The Falling, on Oct. 13 through King Volume Records. The Phoenix, Arizona-based atmospheric doom metal outfit began as a solo-project of multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter Blake Carrera with 2021’s Wayward Gods (review here) but toured this summer as a full band, just last week released a split with AAWKS, and last month added Eddy Keyes on bass as a seemingly permanent member; change is afoot. And fair enough, since Carrera‘s vision for what Aiwass will be and do is also expanding. With five songs running 40 minutes, Carrera — functioning alone in conjunction with engineer Edsel Holden and co-producer/mixer Grant Husselman, who’s best known for his work across multiple King Buffalo releases but has done plenty besides — guides the listener with a steady hand through a course of expansive heavy craft, beginning its world-creation with “Prometheus” (premiered below) featuring guest vocals from Niuvis Martin along with Carrera‘s own.

“Prometheus,” which takes its title from the Titan who gave fire to mortals and thus earned Zeus-decreed a daily disembowling from an eagle while tied to a rock — Heracles eventually let set him free — begins to explore the wash at which The Falling derives some of its fullest and strongest moments. In the later “Be Not a Man,” Carrera will turn that toward almost cultishly sinister ends with a mellow vocal laced with effects over organ, guitar, programmed drums, bass, and so on, but in “Prometheus” with Martin‘s voice added, the album is given an almost operatic beginning.

It is immersive to the point of the listener almost not realizing it’s being moved along by the drum sounds, and it smoothly glides through its eight and a half minutes with airiness of melody and density in the underlying heft. The subsequent “Gnosis” is bleakly psychedelic — a gray swirl — and uses open space fluidly with volume surges and a last build that’s masterfully executed, while centerpiece “The Light of Evil” feels more grounded in its procession. Maybe it’s the drumming more forward in the mix, or more clarity in the rumble beneath the organ of its chorus, or maybe it’s that chorus itself, but it’s a well-placed landmark around which The Falling can function. I’d call it the heart of the record, but the record is all heart. I’m sorry, but you don’t make this kind of music unless there’s something inside telling you that you need to do it.

The aforementioned “Be Not a Man” follows with apocalyptic overtones and vibrant lead work layered in along with its early chug, the wash in the chorus, and an organic stretch-out of doomly vibes, and closer “Crossing the Veil” begins with standalone acoustic strum and pluck, vaguely Western, but too trippy to be aping country. There’s a layer of maybe-ebow guitar and the vocals topping all this ambient breadth would call to mind “Planet Caravan” by rote, but “Crossing the Veil” moves into a march after two minutes — still acoustic — with organ and far-off drumming, keys, a chorus of voices almost in echo of “Prometheus” holding until right at the six-minute mark the song sweeps into a grandiose heavy rolling finish, with hard cymbal hits, a scorching guitar solo, and a payoff no less satisfying than the realization of ambitions has been throughout.

By the next time Aiwass puts out an album — hell, by the time Aiwass puts out this album — the band might have a completely different configuration around Carrera. That’s one more reason to appreciate the moment captured here, and the reach of the creativity brought to bear on The Falling, which no matter what follows will have built effectively on Wayward Gods and revealed a depth to Carrera‘s intention that is an accomplishment in itself, never mind the actual execution of the thing, which resides in a place between styles and is confident, poised and sincere there. A more than solid fit for King Volume‘s varied roster.

Please, feel free to stream the premiere of “Prometheus” while you peruse the PR wire info below, and please, enjoy:

Blake Carrera on “Prometheus”:

“Prometheus rise up from your lone grave”

The song “Prometheus” was born of pain, strife, and uncertainty. It is a reflection of one artist crying out his reality to the world. It is also a declaration of strength and resiliency before the avalanche of life. On a personal level, “Prometheus” is one of my greatest achievements as an artist, one that was helped massively by the contributions of Niuvis Martin (Amenorrhea) and my producer Grant Husselman, both of whom helped me put forward my nightmares into musical form.

As the first single off of a concept album focused on grief and strength, “Prometheus” is the foundation upon which The Falling resides. It is the setting of the play, the locus of invention, the spring from which the parched wanderer satiates their thirst. Unearthly voices mate with the crush of bombastic guitars to create a spell meant to transfix the listener, situating them in a world of discomfort and examination. I hope that, through my work, listeners are able to gain a better understanding of both myself and themselves.

Aiwass, the Aleister Crowley-obsessed psychedelic doom project out of the American Southwest, has stretched beyond the soul-shaking soundscapes of its highly revered debut album Wayward Gods to deliver The Falling, a genre-bending experience with towering riffs, heart-wrenching melodies, layered instrumentation, and meticulous attention to detail through King Volume Records on October 13.

Preorder link: https://www.kingvolume.com/

The Falling demonstrates marked growth in the Aiwass sound—a sonic tapestry that was already complex and mature enough to push 2021’s Wayward Gods to No. 11 on the Doom Charts upon release. In The Falling, Aiwass reaches further outside the psychedelic doom
template to incorporate influences from classical music, black metal, country, and other genres.

“When I started The Falling,” Aiwass founder and solo musician Blake Carrera says, “I felt like doom was getting played out. I didn’t want to be another copycat. I wanted to be me. As a result, this album is much more exploratory and experimental.”

In charge of capturing the new vision for Aiwass was Grant Husselman, the album’s co-producer and long-time King Buffalo collaborator. “This record wouldn’t have happened without Grant,” Carrera says. “When we first started collaborating, The Falling was raw and scattered, even though the ideas were there. He helped shape them and give them new depth and space. He gave me the belief in myself to push beyond what I created in my early demos.”

The Falling exhibits renewed confidence in Carrera’s songwriting, which was also partially sparked by experiences during the Aiwass 2022 summer tour with Twin Wizard. “Being on the road really helped me figure out what works and what doesn’t, and I started enhancing the things that people really responded to while we were on stage. They loved the bludgeoning choruses on Wayward Gods, so I double-downed on that in The Falling. But I also looked for opportunities to do something unexpected, like adding in acoustic guitar on songs like ‘Crossing the Veil.’”

With so many different influences, The Falling is a risky album—but it’s one that shines even more brightly because of it. The themes of Aleister Crowley and Thelema are still prominent, but they’re woven into lyrics that explore Carrera’s personal struggles and thoughts around mental illness, philosophy, and psychology. The album also features greater doses of black metal and new vocal harmonies—something Wayward Gods avoided.

The result is an innovative, jaw-rattling slab of layered harmonic doom that pushes the genre forward into new, exciting directions—becoming a complex album that should appeal to a wide variety of metal fans.

Aiwass – The Falling
Release Date: October 13, 2023
Label: King Volume Records
Runtime: 40:48

Additional Vocals: Niuvis Martin (“Prometheus”)
Mixing/Co-Producer: Grant Husselman
Engineering: Edsel Holden
Cover Art: Justyna Koziczak

Track List:
1. Prometheus
2. Gnosis
3. The Light of Evil
4. Be Not A Man
5. Crossing the Veil

Band: Blake Carrera – Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Drums

King Volume Records on Facebook

King Volume Records on Instagram

King Volume Records on Bandcamp

King Volume Records store

There’s nothing streaming from this yet, and I haven’t had two seconds to dig in, but I’m posting this release announcement because I have the distinct suspicion that a split pairing Ontario’s AAWKS and Phoenix, Arizona’s Aiwass could be a really cool listen for more than just the bands’ shared affinities for vowels and riffs. Both are newer/new-ish units built around a solid foundation of heavy songwriting, and that they’re working around a common theme across the release — you can read about it below, you’ll pardon if I skip the summary and just say that I hope a century from now there are stoner rock bands writing material based on the life and times of twice-now US presidential candidate Marianne Williamson — should be taken as a further clue that the release, titled The Eastern Scrolls, is more than a hodgepodge of studio leftovers.

Black Throne Productions will have the split out on Aug. 25. I’ll hope to have more coverage on it before then. Here’s what the PR has for details at present:

Psychedelic Outfits AAWKS And AIWASS Join Forces On New Split

Fuzz and buzz take over as psychedelic outfits AAWKS and AIWASS join forces on new split, The Eastern Scrolls, due out August 25th via Black Throne Productions. A concept album that explores the life and legend of Russian mystic Madame Helena Blavatsky. A woman who enjoyed a diverse career as a circus horse rider, a professional pianist, a business woman, and a spiritualist, Madame Helena Blavatsky is best known as one of the founders of Theosophy, a spiritual movement based in the ancient tradition of occultism, and the esoteric doctrines of Hermeticism and Neoplatonism. The Eastern Scrolls is available for pre-order HERE: https://blackthroneproductions.com/en-us/collections/all

“AAWKS is honored to be able to present The Eastern Scrolls to you with the our good friends in AIWASS,” AAWKS elaborates. “There have been many mysterious and odd synchronistic and coincidental events related to Madame Helena Blavatsky and AAWKS and we believe that there may even be a possibility that she’s channeling her otherworldly self into the sounds of this release.”

“We hope that you enjoy what we’ve collectively put forth and, if you’re so inclined, to do some reading about this mysterious, interesting and controversial woman and all of the truly spectacular things she did or may have done.”

“This project has been an experience I didn’t see hitting me the way it has.” further adds AAWKS’ Randy Babic. “Delving into her life and works, hearing naysayers and followers gave me energy and enthusiasm.”

“Thinking about what she did in her time and what she introduced to the world was an overwhelming feeling of wonder and pride for women. She resisted the norm, fought for her beliefs and mystically took on everything in front of her. Near death experiences, haters and husbands couldn’t tie her down from her true calling. Blessed to have had the challenge to create something in honor of her life.”

“Madame Blavatsky was in search of a universal religion – we’re in search of a universal sound that reflects her beliefs,” concludes AIWASS. “These songs were inspired not just by what Blavatsky said, but what she might well have done. I’m beyond thrilled to be a part of this and go through the journey of listenership with my compatriots in AAWKS and our listeners.”

https://aawks.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/AAWKSBAND
https://www.instagram.com/aawksband/
https://twitter.com/aawks666

https://www.facebook.com/aiwassbandaz
https://www.instagram.com/aiwassband/
https://aiwassband.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Black-Throne-Productions-101840285724006
https://blackthroneproductions.com/
https://linktr.ee/BlackThroneProductions

AAWKS, Heavy on the Cosmic (2022)

Aiwass, Wayward Gods (2021)

Just a couple upstart heavy rock bands hitting the road together on the way to a festival in the summertime. Would be business as usual in the Before Times, but these are the After Times, and being down with the plague — which is not to say “the sickness” — at the moment, I can tell you the After Times kind of suck. But the shows will be good and that’s what we’re here to talk about.

Aiwass‘ 2021 debut, Wayward Gods (review here), was released before the Ohio-based outfit had solidified a live lineup, so inevitably there will be some shift in dynamic there as they move forward, and Illinois duo Twin Wizard issued Glacial Gods (review here) in 2020, revamped their own lineup, and went back and remade the record, so it’s fair to say there’s a bit of the mercurial around both acts at this point, but there’s little arguing with the output of either. They’ll hit spots up and down the Middle Western portion of the country as they make their way to Doomed and Stoned Ohio on July 30, and I wish them safe, healthy and happy travels.

The tour poster — which I haven’t seen yet as I write this and is hopefully cartoon-boob free — and the dates follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:

The sun has emerged from winter clouds and with it comes the emergence of two bands from the heavy underground, Aiwass and Twin Wizard! In a co-headlining tour, these bands will storm their way across the midwest on the Glacial Titans Tour, bringing the heaviest of riffs to a town near you! Don’t miss these bands as they tour across Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio, culminating with performances at the Ohio Doomed and Stoned Fest at the Buzzbin in Canton, Ohio! Follow both Aiwass and Twin Wizard on social media for more information as dates approach!

Dates:
July 26: Gabe’s – Iowa City, IA
July 27: 7th St. Space – Dekalb, IL
July 28: Cactus Club – Milwaukee, WI
July 29: Liars Club – Chicago, IL
July 30: Ohio Doomed and Stoned Fest – Canton, OH

https://www.facebook.com/aiwassbandaz
https://www.instagram.com/aiwassband/
https://aiwassband.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/twinwizardband
https://www.instagram.com/twinwizard/
https://twinwizard.bandcamp.com/

Aiwass, Wayward Gods (2021)

Twin Wizard, “Smoke Wizard”

Last day. I guess we made it. There was never any doubt it would happen, but I wouldn’t call this the smoothest Quarterly Review ever by any stretch. Weather, canceled school, missed bus, The Patient Mrs. about to start a new semester at work, plus that day that had three noise rock records right in a row — who slots these things? (me) — it hasn’t all been easy. But, if you’ve ever read the QR you might know I’ve developed a tendency to load a bunch of killer stuff into the last day to kind of give myself a break, and here we are. No regrets.

Thanks for reading this week (and any other week if you’ve ever been on this site before). Here’s how we finish.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Dream Unending, Tide Turns Eternal

Beautiful and sad, this first collaboration between drummer/vocalist Justin DeTore (Solemn Lament, ex-Magic Circle, many more) and guitarist/bassist Derrick Vella (Tomb Mold, Outer Heaven) under the moniker of Dream Unending harnesses a classic early ’90s death-doom melancholy, but it’s not as raw as the image of My Dying Bride circa ’92 that might bring to mind. If you want to do mashups, think Novembers Doom meets Alternative 4-era Anathema. Tide Turns Eternal brings together seven songs in 46 minutes and is memorable in stretches like the guitar progression of “In Cipher I Weep” and the crushing chug of the title-track as the Massachusetts/Toronto duo harness the a true sense of classic death metal just ahead of the two-minute weepy guitar interlude “Forgotten Farewell” and the 10-minute closing title-track. Perhaps there’s some inspiration from Bell Witch in the making, but Dream Unending‘s atmosphere and patience are their own.

Dream Unending on Instagram

20 Buck Spin website

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Mud Spencer, Fuzz Soup

The title don’t lie. French expat Sergio Garcia, living in Indonesia, concocts 11 instrumental tracks of fuzzy flood, and if he wants to call that soup, then yeah, that’s as good as anything I’ve got. “Razana” opens with two minutes of garage-style strut, while “Back to Origin” crunches and “Fuzz Soup” feels a bit more of a psych freakout with its lead guitar and drums that remind of Witch, all performed by Garcia, who adds organ to boot. “Quest for Fire” is probably more in homage to the movie than band, which is a little sad, but the song brings in some minor scales and droning atmospherics, and “Ride the Mammoth” pushes more straightforward into the languid wah whatnottery of “Argapura” at the presumed start of side B, which feels rawer in “The Shelter” and more chaotic in the buzz of “Surfin’ the Dune” before “The Cheating Mole” turns to nighttime darkjazz, “Tumulous” turns its acoustic start into a hairy march punctuated and grounded by the pop of snare, and closer “Narcolepsy” finishes with a duly zombified, organ-laced take on tape-trader doom. These experiments work well together throughout Fuzz Soup, united by weird and unpredictable as they are.

Mud Spencer on Facebook

Argonauta Records website

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Farfisa, Gänger

Gänger is third in a purported series of four EPs by Manchester, UK, four-piece Farfisa, and its four songs solidify some of the more let-go aspects of 2020’s Bravado, taking the folkish shine of a cut like “My Oh My” and turning it into the dug-in garage prog rock of “Honey Badger” and riffing out dirty and fuzzed on “River Rash.” Frankly, I don’t know why, having once conjured tones like those of the penultimate “Clinton” here, which sound like something that would make Ty Segall start a new band, one would ever not do that again, but I won’t claim to know what the fourth EP in the series might bring. One can only hope that, when the series is wrapped, they compile it into some sort of offering — a double-tape or some such — and release the whole thing together. As it stands though, Gänger is my first exposure to the band, and they smash through “Limitator” with due prejudice. I can think of five record labels off the top of my head who’d be lucky to have these guys, but nobody asks me these things.

Farfisa on Facebook

Farfisa on Bandcamp

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Volcanova, Cosmic Bullshit

Fucking a, rock and roll. Reykjavik’s Volcanova aren’t through “Salem,” the lead cut from their righteously titled Cosmic Bullshit EP, before they’ve cadenced Uncle Acid in the verse and broken out the cowbell, so yes, it’s that kind of party. That cowbell comes back almost immediately for “Gold Coast,” which tramps out big riffs like Def Leppard used to make, and “Desolation” brings the bass forward effectively in its hook, the band having already built fervent momentum that will carry through the rest of the 26-minute mini-album. Not to pick favorites, but “End of Time” feels purposefully placed near the middle, and “No Wheels” — yup, more cowbell — splits that and closer “Lost Spot” well, giving a grounded stretch of pure shove before the finale hard-boogies and big-drifts its way to a surprising wash of an ending, organ included. You don’t call your release Cosmic Bullshit if you’re not looking to get attention, and Volcanova certainly earn that with these tracks.

Volcanova on Facebook

The Sign Records website

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Aiwass & Astral Contruct, Solis in Stellis

The premier collaboration between Arizona’s Aiwass and Colorado’s Astral Construct — the latter also stylized as ASTRAL COnstruct — is a seven-minute single called “Solis in Stellis” that bridges terrestrial and ethereal heavy psychedelias. At a bit under eight minutes, its melodic flourish and weighted underpinning of low end, drifting guitar and fluid rhythmic progression sound like nothing so much as the beginning of an album that should be made if it’s not currently in the works between Drew Patricks (Astral Construct) and Blake Carrera (Aiwass), who both function as solo artists in their respective projects but come together here to show the complementary potential of each for the other. Lush in atmosphere, patient in its delivery and spacious without being overwrought, “Solis in Stellis” is hopefully the beginning of more to come from these two, who might just end up having to call themselves the Aiwass Construct if they keep going the way they are.

Aiwass on Facebook

Astral Construct on Instagram

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Doctor Smoke, Dreamers and the Dead

Seven years after 2014’s The Witching Hour, Ohio’s Doctor Smoke return with Dreamers and the Dead, a solid 10-song/42-minute run that makes up for lost time by reimagining ’90s-era Megadeth sneer as dark and catchy heavy rock and roll. The four-piece led by founding guitarist/vocalist Matt Tluchowski may have let a few years get by them — that’ll happen — but if the intervening time was spent hammering out these songs, the effort shows itself in the efficiency with which each cut makes its point and gets out, a song like “These Horrid Things” casting its mood in the verses before opening to the chorus, winding fretwork building tension into and subsequently through the solo. This is a revamp of the idea of a classic metal influence, the first instance of a generational shift I can think of that’s bringing this particular vibe to a heavy rock context — the pounding and sprinting of the title-track might’ve been thrash in the ’80s, but a decade later it was thicker and so it is here as well — and Doctor Smoke make it theirs, no question. One wonders what the next seven years will bring.

Doctor Smoke on Facebook

Ripple Music website

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Willowater, Loyal

Rebranded from their moniker of Sierra, Ontario progressive heavy rockers Willowater bring the four-track/14-minute EP as a quick hello to listeners new and old. Guitarist/vocalist Jason Taylor and bassist/drummer/vocalist Robbie Carvalho (also synth) chug out in early-Tool fashion on the opener “Ultimatum,” and the subsequent title-track answers back in kind with shared vocals and a bit of twisting, pulled squeals of guitar, and so on, while “Fly High” calls to mind Dio-style riffing with a bassline to bolster the classic metal vibe, and “Winter Now” builds a tension in its keyboard-laced 3:26 that, somewhat maddeningly, never pays itself off. Perhaps the message there is of more to come. Hope so, anyhow. Sierra were a quality band, and undervalued. Willowater seem to be taking another shot at catching as many ears as possible. A fresh start. Not so crazy different from what they were doing before, but sometimes a name can make all the difference.

Willowater on Facebook

Willowater on Bandcamp

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All Are to Return, II

This second EP from the anonymous Dutch outfit All Are to Return reignites the brutality of their 2020 self-titled debut short release (review here), while expanding the stylistic reach. Opener “Carceri” tips into industrial black metal before resolving itself in harsh screams and drones, while “Surveiller et Punir” feels even more experimental/art rock with tortured screams far back under noisy guitar. “Classified” is shorter and more beat-oriented, but the distorted wash of “Postscript on the Societies of Control” (bit of positive thinking there, almost in spite of itself) is abrasive as fuck, such that the quiet, minimal synth that starts “De Profundis” accompanied by more obscured screams seems almost like a relief before it builds to its own post-Godflesh industrialized crush. They finish atmospheric on “Desiring Machines,” blowing out conceptions of extreme music in about the time it takes for you to put on your shoes and jacket so you can go out, wander into the wilderness, and never be heard from again.

All Are to Return on Bandcamp

Tartarus Records website

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Mountain Sides, Mountain Sides

Members of Mirror Queen, the just-signed-to-Tee–Pee-proper Limousine Beach (really, I haven’t even had the chance to post the news yet), Zombi, Ruby the Hatchet and Osees coming together for three Mountain covers. Mountain Sides do “You Better Believe It,” “Dreams of Milk and Honey” and “Travelin’ in the Dark,” and they knock it out of the park accordingly. I don’t know that this would ever get to become a real band between the commitments of Morgan McDaniel, David Wheeler and Steve Moore, let alone Owen Stewart (Ruby the Hatchet‘s drummer) or Paul Quattrone from Osees and a geographic spread between New York, Philly, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, but as a quick outing to test the waters, these three songs want nothing for vibe. Of course, being Mountain songs helps, but it almost inevitably would. Still, I’d take a record of tunes they wrote themselves, even if it doesn’t happen for another decade because everyone’s busy.

Mountain Sides on Bandcamp

Tee Pee Records Digital Annex

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Duncan Park, Invoking the Flood

Serenity in experimentalist drone and psychedelia, marked by the interplay of organic folk and otherworldly elements of fluid aural adventures. The backward, swelling repetitions of “The Alluring Pool” answer the watery worldmaking of leadoff “Rivers are a Place of Power,” the backing chimes reminding of water moving the air, the acoustic guitar on centerpiece “Riverbank” furthering the theme in sweetly plucked notes while Duncan Park (who also collaborates with Seven Rivers of Fire) picks up the journey again on “The Winding Stream” with a current of melody playing beneath the main acoustic lines of the song, instrumental in its entirety. Invoking the Flood, apart perhaps from some warning that might be read into the opener, grows more peaceful as it goes, though Park‘s inclusion of vocals on closer “Over the River” speaks perhaps of other tributaries waiting to be explored. Still, it is a sweet and encompassing, if short, trip downstream with Park here, and if the flood comes, at least we had a good time.

Duncan Park on Facebook

Ramble Records on Bandcamp

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Two underground acts reaching across state lines to come together around an idea. Not the first time it’s happened, but I did immediately upon hearing “Solis in Stellis” for the first time tell Blake Carrera from Aiwass that I thought there was a full record to be made between him and ASTRAL CONstruct‘s Drew Patricks, and I stand by that. I already have the song slated in next month’s addendum to the Quarterly Review, so I’ll spare you reviewing it now, but if you get to check it out, it’s worth your time, and the proceeds from the digital sales will be donated to the Scleroderma Foundation, and who the hell is going to argue with that?

You can hear the song at the bottom of this post (as per usual; I feel like I don’t need to say that anymore and yet I keep doing so), and here’s more info on it courtesy of Carrera via the PR wire:

Aiwass & ASTRAL CONstruct – Solis in Stellis

Solis in Stellis. The Sun in the Stars. The newest track from Aiwass and Astral Construct is a collaboration meant to tantalize the ears, dancing between prog, psychedelia, doom, and stoner rock. The song, while following pop musical structures, is meant to challenge the listener, taking them on a journey of self-discovery, doubt, and exploration. Guitar solos dance between the left and right speakers, drums move from minimalism to bombastic explosions, and the bass carries the melody of the song. Haunting vocals only further hint at the darkness that inspired certain elements of the song.

Beyond just a collaboration between two emerging acts in the stoner/psych/doom underground, Solis in Stellis is also a song meant to raise money for the Scleroderma Foundation. Blake Carrera, the founder of Aiwass, lost his mother due to complications from scleroderma. With that in mind, Carrera and Drew Patricks (the guiding force behind Astral Construct) decided to donate all Bandcamp sales of the song directly to the Scleroderma Foundation in her honor in hopes that further research can be conducted into a cure for this autoimmune disease.

For more information about scleroderma and to donate directly to the foundation, please visit www.scleroderma.org.

https://www.facebook.com/aiwassbandaz
https://aiwassband.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/astralconstructproject/
https://astralconstruct.bandcamp.com/

Aiwass & ASTRAL CONstruct, “Solis in Stellis”

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Blake Carrera of Aiwass

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I’d describe my music as psychedelic doom. I didn’t make a conscious decision to start playing psychedelic doom or anything. It wasn’t like I sat down and said “yep, this is what I’ll be playing today.” Instead, it came from years of listening to music and playing downtuned guitars and one day it just started coming out of me. This was all during the pandemic when no one had anything better to do. Some people started baking; I started writing and recording an album that had been in my head in one form or another since I was fourteen or fifteen years old.

Describe your first musical memory.

My first musical memories are all about being in the car. This was back in the day when cassettes were contemporaneous and not collector’s items. We had so many of them. I remember the Beatles, the Stones, and Black Sabbath always being on. Before that, it was all lullabies I guess. I still remember those somewhat. I lucked out in that my mom always said she couldn’t remember the entirety of traditional lullabies so she sang what she knew – Elvis, The Doors, The Beatles, stuff like that. I guess if you really, really go back that’s my earliest musical recollection – being rocked to sleep while my mom sang me those songs.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Maybe it’s not the best per se, but the most important musical memory is the first time I picked up a guitar. Originally, I wanted to play drums. I just wanted to make as much sound as possible. But that wasn’t going to jive with my mom. Instead, I was told I could have an acoustic guitar – little did she know I’d save up to buy an electric guitar and a loud amp down the line. But that first music shop experience where I held a bunch of cheap starter acoustic guitars was so important to my development as an artist and a human being. I felt an immediate connection to the instrument even though I had no clue how to play it. Something about it was calling to me. Then came the frustration and the blisters that turned into calluses, but I sure hated the thing for a while. Nonetheless, it was that pure memory of first holding a guitar that kept me going and still does. I can’t say that I really have any memories that compare in terms of the longevity of their impact – not good ones to say the least.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

This is a hard one. I like to think that people are, at heart, good, but that belief has really been tested in the last few years. Whether it’s the political environment we live in or this BS about not getting the COVID vaccine, it seems like the worst in people is really coming to the forefront. I find it harder and harder to believe in the good in people, which is really sad. I’m starting to wonder whether we’re all just selfish and narcissistic at heart. There’s still plenty of good out there – I’ve met some incredible people since I started this project – but I see so much negativity and hatred out there that it’s getting harder to see that goodness.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Artistic progression can only be a good thing. Not everyone may agree because some artists think they’re progressing when they’re really stumbling, but I think that as long as the artist feels that they are progressing, really good things are going to happen. The reason for that is that progression is a byproduct of growth, something that we should all be aspiring towards. An artist doesn’t just grow as an artist – they grow as a person. Some people might not like the results. A lot of people hated Bob Dylan for going electric, but he changed rock and roll forever (I would say for the better). The important thing is to cling to that sense of personal growth and to follow the wave of progression to see where it leads you. I know that the songs I’m working on now, for example, are the best ones I’ve done. I think they’re the most mature that I’ve produced. Some people might prefer what I’ve done and want me to stick to “what I’m good at” but that isn’t why I’m doing any of this. I’m doing this to grow as a human being and express myself. So, long story short, fuck ’em if they don’t like it. Artistic progression is everything, even if your audience doesn’t necessarily appreciate it. You have to progress in order to avoid stagnation which is, let’s face it, certain death for an artist.

How do you define success?

Ultimately, success is pretty ephemeral and hard to define, I believe. Part of that is because success is so subjective. It’s not something that I think you can quantify through commodities – money, possessions, things like that – because I don’t think that’s what success is about. Success is about happiness I think. Success is about feeling fulfilled. When it comes to music, success is about finding an audience that connects with your music. It doesn’t have to make you a lot of money or make you rich – it just has to find an audience who thinks your music matters and is worth listening to.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

After I finished my first album, my mom got very sick very suddenly and passed away. It was incredibly hard to watch her waste away and ultimately fade away. She was in the ICU for about a month and I had to watch, day by day, while she drifted away from me. Being mostly raised only by her, we were pretty close. On top of that, the ICU ward was full of people on ventilators from COVID. I saw some really nightmarish things in there. I never doubted the danger of COVID, but I’m much more aware of just how bad it is now that I’ve seen it. It really makes me more comfortable in my atheism because if there was a god, that being is either very vengeful or doesn’t care about us. That’s in my music a lot – talking about how people are gods and there isn’t some entity up there in the clouds. It just so happened that the moment that I was most secure in my lack of belief in a god came after I was finished writing the first EP and album.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

For my second album, I’d love to create a concept album. On the first album, the concept was really the occult, Jungian psychology, my own mental turmoil and struggles. But for the second album, I’d like to craft more of a story. I think part of that will come from forming a band and writing with other people. Overall, though, creating a story and telling that story through music is one of the things I’m most eager to do. I think concept albums are pretty much the apex of what you can do and I think I have the songwriting chops to actually get it done.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Not to get too philosophical here, but art is about uplifting the mind and the soul – whatever the soul is. I think that art is the highest form of expression, communication, and interpersonal relationship-building. Without it, what are we but blind and dumb? We’re just organisms, animals. In my opinion, what distinguishes us from the rest of the natural world is our ability to create art. There’s so much out there, whether it’s visual, musical, literary, etc. and all of it is worth consuming in as much quantity as possible. The more that we imbibe art, the more that we become whole and fully actualized.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

This is a hard one since most of my life revolves around music and work. But the thing that keeps me going when I’m not playing music is reading. I have a lot of great books on the docket. Some Crowley as always, a few other occult thinkers, but I’m also really diving into older classics and philosophy again. Right now I’m reading Paradise Lost and I hope to follow that up with Dante’s Inferno. On the side, I’m reading some Nietzsche, some Schoppenhauer. I’m really interested in keeping my mental blade sharp and I think reading is the best way to do that. Aside from reading, I’m a huge sports fan. Really enjoying the current NFL season.

https://www.facebook.com/aiwassbandaz
https://aiwassband.bandcamp.com/

Aiwass, Wayward Gods (2021)

Crazy productive day on my end. You know how I know? It’s a week ago for me right now. That’s right. You’re reading this — or you’re not, in which case, meh — on Friday, Oct. 1, which is the air date for Ep. 69 of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal. For me though it’s Sept. 24. I just turned in the playlist and the voice tracks for this show, then set up the back ends for nearly this entire week’s worth of posts, including the complete Quarterly Review and the other premieres slated between its beginning and the day after it ends. That’s next art, links, quotes, embed, tags, etc. placed for a post not going live for another week and a half for me. Feeling pretty good about that.

So while I am and before the site invariably implodes as happens almost every time I feel good about anything, here’s the playlist for this show. And it just so happens I feel really good about this too. Rocks at the start, gets super-heavy, then trips out in the second hour. It’s my kind of jam. Weird, in other words. I very, very much hope you find something in here to dig. If you’ve been keeping up with the Quarterly Review, you’ll recognize some of this for sure. And again, if not, meh. Happy October. Fall is my favorite season.

Thanks for listening if you do and/or reading. I hope you enjoy.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 10.01.21

Erik Larson	The Heavies	Favorite Iron
Aiwass	Man as God	Wayward Gods
Temple Witch	Chaos and Order	Hand in Hand with Chaos
Cult Burial	Paralysed	Oblivion EP
The Answer Lies in the Black Void	Become Undone	Forlorn
VT
Forebode	Bane of Hammers	The Pit of Suffering
Enslaved	Caravans to the Outer Worlds	Caravans to the Outer Worlds
Jointhugger	Midnight	Surrounded by Vultures
Starless	Forest	Hope is Leaving You
Ivory Primarch	Aetherbeast	As All Life Burns
VT
Funeral for Two	La Muerte	II
Snake Mountain Revival	Satellite Ritual	Everything in Sight
Dark Bird	Undone	Out of Line
VT
3rd Ear Experience	What Are Their Names	Danny Frankel’s 3rd Ear Experience

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Oct. 15 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

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