Please note: This list is made up of my personal picks, not the results of the Readers Poll, which is ongoing — if you haven’t added your top 11 to that yet, please do.

It was an impossible task to keep up with everything that came out this year. I’ll say flat out that I didn’t. There are records that I just didn’t get to hear, and I should note at the outset that this list is mine. It’s based on my personal opinions, what I listened to the most this year and what I think 2011’s most crucial releases have been.

I’ve spent the better part of this week (and last, if brain-time counts) constructing this list, and I finally got it to a point where I feel comfortable sharing. Since last December, I’ve kept a Post-It of names, and all year, I’ve logged bands I’d want to consider for the final top 20. In the end, there were 78 bands and more that I didn’t get to write down for whatever reason. 2011 was nothing if it wasn’t overwhelming.

But here we are, anyway, and it’s done. Let’s get to it:

20. Suplecs, Mad Oak Redux

Released by Small Stone. Reviewed Nov. 5, 2010.

This is nothing if not a sentimental pick. Last year, I put Electric Wizard in the #20 spot because the record wasn’t out yet, and this year, I’m putting Suplecs (interview with bassist Danny Nick here) in just because I couldn’t imagine this list without them. Until literally a few minutes before I clicked “Publish” on this post, there was someone else in this spot, but ultimately, it had to be them. The New Orleans trio’s first record in half a decade wasn’t what I listened to most in 2011, it wasn’t the best album, or the most important, or career-defining, but when it came right down to it, god damn, I was just happy to have Suplecs back. It had been too long.

19. Elvis Deluxe, Favourite State of Mind

Released by Harmony Records. Reviewed June 14.

After a while, I was kind of shocked to find myself continuing to listen to Favourite State of Mind, the second album by Polish rockers Elvis Deluxe. The record’s dynamics didn’t immediately open up to me, but once I dug into the songs, I was wowed by their balance of catchy hooks and substantial-sounding riffs. The album was genre-relevant without being genre-minded, with vocal changes, organ, atmospheric shifts and a whole host of moods and turns. After hearing their 2007 debut, Lazy, I wasn’t expecting much out of the norm from Favourite State of Mind, and I’m still thrilled by just how wrong I was, and “Take it Slow” is among my favorite single songs of the year.

18. 40 Watt Sun, The Inside Room

Released by Metal Blade. Reviewed Aug. 11.

The gloomy opening statement from former Warning guitarist/vocalist Patrick Walker turned heads around the world with its unabashed emotional conviction, which was so much the central focus of the record as to be made a novelty by those who don’t usually consider doom an emotionally relevant genre (the widespread arguments against that notion I’ll leave for another time). What most stood out to me about The Inside Room was how the sentimentality translated into a gorgeous melodic sensibility and resulted in a lonely mood that was engrossing. On that level, it was easily among 2011’s most effective releases. It made you feel what it seemed to be feeling.

17. Sigiriya, Return to Earth

Released by The Church Within. Reviewed May 27.

It was an album that lived up to its name. Return to Earth marked the remaking of one of heavy rocks most stoned outfits: Acrimony. But, as Sigiriya (interview with drummer Darren Ivey here), the four-piece (down from five) would show that the years since the demise of their former band had found them progressing as musicians, resulting in a sound less directly stoner, more modern, more earthy. The songs, however, were what made it. It’s still a rare day that goes by that I don’t hum at least part of the chorus of “Mountain Goat” to myself, and if Return to Earth was a new beginning for these players, I can’t wait to see where they go next.

16. Totimoshi, Avenger

Released by At a Loss. Reviewed Aug. 16.

In addition to being Totimoshi‘s first album for At a Loss following the end of their deal with Volcom, Avenger was the first Totimoshi record since 2003’s ¿Mysterioso? not to be produced by Page Hamilton, and where 2006’s Ladrón and 2008’s Milagrosa moved away from some of the noisy crunch in the guitar of Tony Aguilar (interview here), Avenger managed to be both a return to form and a progression of the band’s melodicism. It seems, as ever, to have flown under most radars, but Totimoshi continue to refine their songwriting and have become one of the heavy underground’s most formidable and least classifiable bands.

15. Grifter, Grifter

Released by Ripple Music. Reviewed Aug. 30.

With their 2010 EP release, upstart British trio Grifter informed us that The Simplicity of the Riff is Key, and on their self-titled Ripple Music debut, they put that ethic to excellent use, resulting in straightforward, catchy songs that were as high-octane as they were low-bullshit. The ultra-catchy “Good Day for Bad News” showed Grifter at the top of their form, and with a dose of humor thrown in, Grifter was the drunken stoner rock party you always wanted to be invited to and, of course, finally were. Now if only I could get Skype to work and get that interview with Ollie Stygall moving, I’d be happy to tell him personally he put out one of 2011’s most kickass rock records.

14. The Book of Knots, Garden of Fainting Stars

Released by Ipecac. Reviewed June 16.

I don’t know what’s most impressive about The Book of Knots‘ Garden of Fainting Stars — the songs themselves or that they were able to make any songs at all. With upwards of 20 guest spots around the core four-piece, the third in a purported trilogy of records from the avant rock originalists was an epic in every listen. Songs like “Microgravity” and the Mike Watt spoken word “Yeager’s Approach” pushed the limits of both genre and expectation, and miraculously, Garden of Fainting Stars was cohesive and enthralling in its narrative aspect. If it really was their last album, it was triumphant in a manner befitting its expanding-universe thematics.

13. Ancestors, Invisible White

Released by Tee Pee. Reviewed July 5.

Had it been a full-length, Invisible White would be higher on this list. Many out there who were enamored of Ancestors‘ 2008 Neptune with Fire debut have gone on to bemoan the Californian collective’s shift away from extended sections of heavy riffing and tales of sea monsters and other things that go “doom” in the night. I’m not one of them. The Invisible White EP was a brave step along a fascinating progression, and as Crippled Black Phoenix didn’t release a new album in 2011, I was glad to have Ancestors there to fill that morose, contemplative void, and I look forward to seeing how they expand on the ideas presented on Invisible White (if they decide to stick to this direction) for their next full-length.

12. Elder, Dead Roots Stirring

Released by MeteorCity. Reviewed Oct. 5.

Speaking of shifting approaches, still-young Massachusetts trio Elder also moved away from the Sleep-centric methods of their 2008 self-titled debut on the follow-up, Dead Roots Stirring. Still based very much around the guitar work of Nick DiSalvo (interview here), Elder songs like “Gemini” and the über-soloed “The End” pushed an influence of European heavy psych into the band’s aesthetic, and the result was both grippingly heavy and blown of mind. As an album long delayed by mixing and business concerns, when Dead Roots Stirring finally arrived, it was a relief to hear that Elder, though they’d varied the path, were still headed in the right direction.

11. The Gates of Slumber, The Wretch

Released by Rise Above. Reviewed May 5.

Hands down the year’s best traditional doom release. The Wretch so gleefully and so earnestly employed the conventions of ’80s-style doom — most especially those of Saint Vitus and Trouble — that even though the lyrical and musical content was miserable, I couldn’t help but smile as I listened. Songs like “Bastards Born” and “The Scovrge ov Drvnkenness” pushed The Gates of Slumber away from the barbarism the Indianapolis outfit had been touting on their last couple albums, including 2008’s Conqueror breakthrough, in favor of a more purely Chandlerian plod. “To the Rack with Them” remains a standout favorite and a line often referenced in my workplace dealings.

10. Weedeater, Jason… the Dragon

Released by Southern Lord. Reviewed Jan. 6.

I don’t know what you say to someone at this point who doesn’t like Weedeater. It just seems like a terrible way to go through life, without the madman ranting of “Dixie” Dave Collins (interview here) echoing perpetually in your ears, or never having witnessed their ultra-viscous fuzz in person. Jason… the Dragon was one of the earliest landmark releases of 2011, and practically the whole year later, it retains its hold, whether it’s the stomping fury of “Mancoon,” the lumbering groove of “Long Gone” or the surprisingly melodic “Homecoming.” The hard-touring, hard-hitting band did right in recording with Steve Albini to capture their live sound, and Jason… the Dragon was their strongest outing yet in terms of both songwriting and that unmistakable quality that makes Weedeater records Weedeater records.

9. Rwake, Rest

Released by Relapse. Reviewed Sept. 6.

I was surprised to see Rwake crack the top 10. Not because their first album in four years, the Sanford Parker-produced Rest, wasn’t superb, but because of how much the songs on the album stayed with me after listening. The Arkansas band’s last outing, Voices of Omens, was heavy and dark and had a lot going for it, but Rest upped the songwriting on every level and together with frontman CT (interview here) adopting a more decipherable shout over most of the record’s four main extended tracks, Rwake felt like a band reborn, and theirs was a highlight among several 2011 albums that showed there’s still room for individual growth and stylistic nuance within the sphere of post-metal.

8. Hull, Beyond the Lightless Sky

Released by The End. Reviewed Oct. 14.

It was back and forth, nine and eight, between Rwake and Hull for a while, but when all was said and done, the fantastic scope of Beyond the Lightless Sky gave the Brooklyn triple-guitar masters the edge. With a narrative structure behind it and a breadth of ambience and crushing, post-doomly riffing, Beyond the Lightless Sky was the defining moment that those who’ve followed Hull since their Viking Funeral demo have been waiting for. In concept, in performance, in sound and structure and heft, it absolutely floored me, and of all the heavy records I’ve heard with the tag applied to them in 2011, Hull‘s second full-length seems most to earn the tag “progressive.” A stunning and groundbreaking achievement.

7. Mars Red Sky, Mars Red Sky

Released by Emergence. Reviewed Aug. 29.

One of 2011’s most fascinating developments has been the boom in European heavy psychedelia, and the self-titled debut from French band Mars Red Sky was among the best releases to blend a jam-based sensibility with thick, warm fuzz and memorable riffs. Together with the sweet-hued vocals of Julien Pras (interview here), those riffs made for some of the most infectious hooks I heard all year on songs like “Strong Reflection” and “Way to Rome,” and where other bands jammed their way into psychedelic oblivion, Mars Red Sky were able to balance their focus on crafting quality songs, so that although they sounded spontaneous, the material was never self-indulgent or lacking accessibility. One just hopes they don’t lose sight of that musical humility their next time out.

6. Grayceon, All We Destroy

Released by Profound Lore. Reviewed on March 8.

There was a point earlier this year at which I had forgotten about All We Destroy. After reviewing it in March, I simply moved on to the next thing on my list, and the thing after, and the thing after. But before I knew it, in my head was the voice of Jackie Perez Gratz, singing the line “As I live and breathe” over her own cello, the guitar of Max Doyle and Max Doyle‘s drums. It got so persistent that, eventually, I went out and bought the record, because the mp3s I’d been given to review simply weren’t enough. That was probably July, and I don’t think I’ve gone a week since without listening to Grayceon. So although I classify it in the same league as Rwake and Hull in terms of what it accomplishes in and for its genre, All We Destroy gets the extra nod for the fact that I simply haven’t been able to let it go. And though I’ve come to further appreciate “Shellmounds,” “Once a Shadow” and “A Road Less Traveled,” the 17-minute “We Can” — from which the above-noted lyric is taken — remains the best single song I heard in 2011.

5. Red Fang, Murder the Mountains

Released by Relapse. Reviewed Feb. 16.

On paper, this one should’ve flopped: Band with minor buzz and a cool video hooks up with indie rock dude to record an album of dopey riffs and beardo bombast. Instead, Red Fang‘s second album and Relapse debut became the 2011 vanguard release for the Portland heavy underground, which is arguably the most fertile scene in the US right now. They toured the record widely, and made another killer video for the mega-single “Wires,” but the reason Murder the Mountains is top five material is because it’s lasted. It was February that I reviewed this record, and March that I interviewed guitarist/vocalist Bryan Giles, and I still can’t get “Into the Eye” and “Hank is Dead” and “Number Thirteen” (especially the latter) out of my head. When it came down to it, the songs on Murder the Mountains lived up to any hype the album received, and I’m a sucker for quality songwriting. I mean, seriously. That key change late into “Number Thirteen?” It’s the stuff of the gods.

4. Graveyard, Hisingen Blues

Released by Nuclear Blast. Reviewed Feb. 25.

I wasn’t particularly a fan of Swedish rockers Graveyard‘s 2008 self-titled debut. Even watching them at Roadburn in 2010, I was underwhelmed. But when I heard Hisingen Blues and was able to get a feel for what the retro-minded foursome were getting at stylistically — and most of all, that they were acknowledging that they were doing it without being glib or ironic about it — I found the material irresistible. We’re getting into seriously indispensable records now; ones that I’ve been unwilling to leave home without since they came, in, and Graveyard‘s Hisingen Blues has been a constant feature in heavy rotation. Everything from the devilish testimony of the title-track to the wiry guitars of the chorus to “Ungrateful are the Dead,” to the Skynyrd-ified solo capping “Uncomfortably Numb”: It’s been a year of revelry in all of it, and since they overcame my prejudice to impress on such a level, Graveyard (interview with drummer Axel Sjöberg here) are all the more deserving of their spot on this list.

3. Sungrazer, Mirador

Released by Elektrohasch. Reviewed Sept. 9.

What I hear in the second album from Dutch trio Sungrazer is the heralding of a new generation of fuzz rock. Taking influence from their forebears in Colour Haze and Kyuss, the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Rutger Smeets (interview here), bassist/vocalist Sander Haagmans and drummer Hans Mulders followed and surpassed their stellar 2010 debut on every level, playing heavy riffs on expansive psychedelic jams and still finding room for some of 2011’s most memorable choruses in songs like “Sea” and “Goldstrike.” In so doing, Sungrazer affirmed the character of next-gen European fuzz and placed themselves at the fore of their scene, with touring and festival  appearances to support. For their warmth of tone and for the fact that I spent the better part of the summer streaming the record through the Dutch website 3voor12, there was no way they were going to be left out of the top 20. It wasn’t until I sat down and actually put the numbers together, though, that I realized how vital Mirador actually was.

2. Lo-Pan, Salvador

Released by Small Stone. Reviewed Feb. 16.

I was lucky enough to be sent some rough listening mixes of Ohio outfit Lo-Pan‘s Small Stone Records debut (following a reworked reissue of their Sasquanaut sophomore full-length), and in my email back to label head Scott Hamilton, I told him I thought he had a genuine classic on his hands. A year, I don’t even know how many Lo-Pan gigs and listens through Salvador later, I still feel that way 100 percent. If you were from another planet, and we got to talking at a bar, and you asked me what rock and roll should sound like in the place where I’m from, I’d hand you Salvador. I still think they should’ve started the album with “Generations,” but if that’s my biggest gripe, they’re clearly doing alright. “Bird of Prey” was the best live song I saw all year, and I saw it plenty, and cuts like “Bleeding Out” and “Struck Match” set the standard by which I’ll judge American heavy rock for a long time to come. Like the best of any class, Salvador is bigger than just the year in which it was released, and at this point, I don’t know what else to say about it.

1. YOB, Atma

Released by Profound Lore. Reviewed July 6.

This is as good as it gets, and by “it,” I mean life. YOB‘s last album, 2009’s The Great Cessation, was my album of the year that year as well, and I knew from the second I heard the self-produced Atma that nothing to come this year would top it. Like Ufomammut‘s Eve in 2010, Atma brings the entire genre of doom along with it on the new ground it breaks, refining what’s fast becoming YOB‘s signature approach even as it pushes ever forward. I still have to stop whatever I’m doing (not exactly good for productivity) whenever “Prepare the Ground” comes on, and songs like “Adrift in the Ocean” and “Before We Dreamed of Two” were humbling. Seriously. Humbling. Listening to them was like looking at those photographs from the Hubble that cover trillions of miles that we’ll never know and reveal gorgeous colors where our naked eyes only see black. If that sounds hyperbolic, thanks for getting it. YOB guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt (interview here) is, almost in spite of himself, one of American doom’s most crucial contributors, and with Atma, he and the rhythm section of bassist Aaron Reiseberg and drummer Travis Foster released what is without a doubt the best album of 2011.

A few quick housekeeping items and we’ll call it quits. First, honorable mentions. If this list went to 25, also included would be The Wounded Kings, Earth, Larman Clamor, Olde Growth and The Atlas Moth. Roadsaw were also in heavy consideration, so they’re worth noting, as are many others.

Obviously, I couldn’t include them, but two of my favorite releases in 2011 also came from Blackwolfgoat and HeavyPink, and I’m thrilled and honored to have helped put them out in the small way I did.

And as I said above, there are records I didn’t hear. I haven’t heard the new Black Pyramid yet. Or Orchid. Or a bunch more that I could go on listing. I’m only one man and this is only my list, for better or worse. Again, I really do hope you’ll contribute yours to the group poll, the results of which will be out Jan. 1.

I’ll probably have some more to wrap up 2011 as the month winds down, but until then, thank you so much for reading this and the rest of the wordy nonsense I’ve put up the whole year long. Your support and encouragement means more than I’m able to tell. Here’s to 2012 to come.

I wish I could go back in time to some terrible point in my life and say to myself, “It’s okay, Past Me. Someday you’re gonna go to a Dutch festival and you’re going to see Sleep, The Obsessed and Church of Misery all in the same day.” The latest news from Roadburn proves no less staggering than the realization of that. Sometimes it’s like existence is doing you a personal favor.

Here’s the update from Roadburn off the PR wire:

We’re excited to announce that seminal instru-metal pioneers Pelican have been added to the lineup of Roadburn 2012. Pelican last played Roadburn in the Green Room back in 2007, and will now appear on our main stage as part of their first European tour in several years. Pelican will play on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.

Brooklyn’s Tombs bears the mark of total devastation. On the latest album, Path of Totality, Tombs not only evoke the classic sound and feel of black metal in its finest hour they also explore their disparate UK post-punk influences. And keep things incredibly listenable. The band has marched ahead boldly with the sound of impending doom since their inception and Path is endowed with all of the primordial intensity that is a hallmark of the aforementioned genres.
However, Tombs reach far beyond the ritual sounds of the past with an abundance of tonal variation. The gut-wrenching vocals and furious blastbeasts are interwoven with a dark and brooding atmospheric moodiness, making Tombs one of the finest heavy bands in the world. Tombs will appear on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.

Making their fourth appearance in five years at the festival, it looks like Japan’s serial-killer-obsessed seekers of the almighty riff Church of Misery are poised to become the official Roadburn house band. All joking aside, Church of Misery were among THE highlights of the previous Roadburn festivals (even the main stage almost proved way to small for them), and Roadburn 2012 will mark their triumphant return, on the main stage again (of course!), together with Sleep and The Obsessed on Saturday, April 14 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.

Los Angeles based psychedelic rock quintet Ancestors will be making a highly anticipated return to Roadburn for the 2012 Festival. On their latest EP, Invisible White, Ancestors tamped down their surging stoner rock leanings in favour of a more cinematic approach with long moog/ modular synth workouts very much reminiscent of Pink Floyd circa Meddle and Live at Pompeii. Charting a new course for the band’s progressive, colourful sounds, Ancestors will get the chance to reprise their stunning 2010 Roadburn performance, this time supporting  the release of a new, much anticipated album. Ancestors will play on Thursday, April 12 at the Midi Theatre in Tilburg, Holland.

Dragged Into Sunlight, Christian Mistress, Horisont, La Otracina, Bob Wayne and the Outlaw Carnies and AUN have also been confirmed for Roadburn 2012, set to be held from April 12 to 15 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.

There is nothing in the climate of their native Los Angeles that should have Ancestors so sad, but something definitely did the job. On their latest offering, the EP, Invisible White (Tee Pee Records), the five-piece run through three tracks in just over 29 minutes and present atmospheres as gray and melancholic as their artwork would indicate. As on their prior full-length, Of Sound Mind, the interplay of Justin Maranga’s guitar and Jason Watkins’ organ is essential to the sound, but where Ancestors has made a turn since their 2009 outing – and certainly since 2008’s more straightforwardly riffian debut, Neptune with Fire – is in where the progressions lead. Invisible White has more in common with Crippled Black Phoenix or Blood and Time than Sleep, and where the EP most succeeds is in the band’s making “Invisible White,” “Dust” and “Epilogue” grounded and memorable, based on structures that allow the rhythm section of bassist Nick Long and drummer Brandon Pierce to give solidity to Maranga’s, Watkins’ and Moog-er Matt Barks’ explorations.

This is especially true on “Epilogue,” which closes and – somehow fittingly – is nearly as long as “Invisible White” and “Dust” combined. Everyone in Ancestors contributes vocals but Pierce, and on Invisible White, the singing is at its most accomplished yet. Maranga is in the lead spot, but backed and harmonized with skillfully by Long, Watkins and Barks, and though his tonality and phrasing has an underlying element of the heavy stonerisms on which Ancestors cut their teeth, they sound like a completely different band than they did three years ago. It’s hard to get a sense through listening whether Invisible White is a declaration of future intent or a kind of touristic dabbling in influences outside the towering distortion that Of Sound Mind was beginning to pull away from.

Even in the context of the last album, it’s a jump from the heavy parts of “Bounty of Age” to the acoustic-led “Invisible White” or “Dust,” which is even more subdued, but Ancestors do it well, and after defying expectation with their second release – they probably could have put out six more albums that sounded just like Neptune with Fire and kept a solid fanbase – they once again surprise in how cohesive they sound in their progression. The word “visionary” sounds hyperbolic in a way I don’t mean it to be, but it’s clear Maranga and company came into Invisible White with some idea of the mood they wanted to set and how they wanted to do it.

Read more »

Ancestors kick ass, and I have yet to hear anything in their catalog to change my mind. The announcement just came in that the L.A. band will be issuing a new EP in June called Invisible White that will mark the recorded debut of Moog/synth specialist Matt Barks. The release is something of a surprise, but I can’t wait to hear what they’ve come up with this time around. Good band.

While I go break out my copy of Of Sound Mind, here’s this from the PR wire:

Los Angeles-based psychedelic rock quintet Ancestors will release an EP of all new music titled Invisible White on June 21 via Tee Pee Records. The follow up to the group’s sophomore album Of Sound Mind, Invisible White marks the debut of new member Matt Barks on Moog / modular synthesizers and charts a new course for the band’s progressive, colorful sound.

“This record showcases another side of the band,” comments Ancestors guitarist Justin Maranga. “It’s a project that we’ve been talking about doing for a long time and with the addition of Matt to the lineup, we knew it would be a while before we were able to get the next full-length out, so we decided that now was a good time to do this. We went into the studio with rough acoustic skeletons of the songs written and essentially let the songs chart their own course. It was a really different approach for us, as we normally go into the studio knowing exactly what is going to happen.”

Invisible White was recorded at Los Angeles‘ Bright Street Recorders (Lykee Li, Sia, Grant Lee Phillips) on a 20-channel mixing desk formerly owned by James Brown. The songs on the EP feature a hybrid of orchestral and electronic instruments and assume an almost cinematic, film score feel augmented by guest musicians playing violin and vibraphone. Simultaneously playing to the strengths of psychedelia, prog and even rhythm and blues, the music retains Ancestors’ exploratory approach and adds a hauntingly emotional impact, pushing the band’s sound into interstellar overdrive.

Ancestors, Invisible White track listing:
1. Invisible White (7:22)
2. Dust (7:40)
3. Epilogue (14:07)

Just last week, I posted Night Horse tour dates and made my complaint known that the band wasn’t going to be coming out to the East Coast. Lo and behold, last night I check the PR wire and what’s there but a new batch of shows for guitarist Justin Maranga‘s other band, the heavy-psych awesomeness known as Ancestors, and they’re not coming east either! What is it, man? Do I smell?

The answer to that question, inevitably, is yes. While I go track down some deodorant to reapply, check out these Ancestors dates with new Tee Pee labelmates, The Fucking Wrath:

Ancestors and The Fucking Wrath will embark on a string of West Coast tour dates in late October. The Fucking Wrath recently signed with Tee Pee Records and will be releasing the EP Terra Fire on October 19. Ancestors are supporting their 2009 critically acclaimed sophomore album Of Sound Mind.

Ancestors/The Fucking Wrath tour dates:
10/20 Zahn Zillas, Ventura, CA
10/21 Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco, CA
10/22 East End, Portland, OR
10/23 Comet Tavern, Seattle, WA
10/25 Jambalaya, Arcata, CA
10/26 Nick’s Night Club, Chico, CA
10/27 Jose’s Mexican Bar & Grill, Monterey, CA

Well, it’s official: There’s a whole buttload of audio streams from Roadburn 2010 for you to check out. I thought on this Monday afternoon, posting a few more to get you through whatever it is that has you sitting in front of a computer would probably be the way to go. Hope you enjoy:

Church of Misery live on Roadburn 2010 Main Stage

Church of Misery live at Roadburn Afterburner

Altar of Plagues live at Roadburn 2010

Ancestors live at Roadburn 2010

Monarch! live at Roadburn 2010

Karma to Burn live at Roadburn 2010

Mouth of the Architect live at Roadburn 2010

Suma live at Roadburn 2010

Troubled Horse live at Roadburn 2010

Witchfynde live at Roadburn 2010

I think maybe because they didn’t have the same grandiose scope as Ancestors, with whom they share guitarist and occasional Obelisk checker-inner Justin Maranga, Los Angeles‘ Night Horse didn’t get the attention they really deserved on their first record. As we all know, there’s no fix for that except releasing another, and that seems to be the plan for Night Horse, whose sophomore Tee Pee Records full-length of classically styled rock is due the first week of August.

The band has uploaded the track “Good Bye Gone” to their MySpace now and will have a new EP for free download on their website come June 15. I’m sure there will be more on that later. Till then, here’s what the PR wire has to say about the new album, Perdition Hymns:

Celebrated Los Angeles, CA, rock ‘n roll band Night Horse has completed work on its sophomore album. Titled Perdition Hymns, the record will see an August 3, 2010 release date via NYC’s Tee Pee Records.

Recorded in East L.A. at Infrasonic Sound (Beck, The Mars Volta, No Age), Night Horse’s Perdition Hymns is an album made by fans of rock, for fans of rock! Produced and mixed by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, PearlJam, Isis), the record is a classic for current times, made up of all the peaks and valleys, textures and nuances that timeless records yield over repeated listens. Songs like “Choose Your Side” and “Shake Your Blues” demonstrate guitarists Justin Maranga (Ancestors) and Greg Buensuceso’s flair for intricately weaving guitar leads and rhythmic patterns, much like their classic predecessors Thin Lizzy or The MC5 did, while vocalist Sam James Velde (ex-Bluebird) invokes the ghosts of every classic rock singer you’ve ever loved by flat-out refusing to hold anything back; the singer teeters on the edge of total abandon while the band pushes him closer to the brink.

“Writing and recording Perdition Hymns was an amazing experience,” says Velde in a statement. “The collaborative effort and the productivity we all showed were intense, but fun. Everyone was so focused and enthusiastic. The songs just came to us so quickly. We’d start with a riff, then POW it was on! Same went for writing the lyrics. I’d get a few words or ideas stuck in my head and then the melody was just there. It was magical, really.”

Perdition Hymns track listing:
1. Confess to Me
2. Angel Eyes
3. Rollin’ On
4. Good Bye Gone
5. Black Clouds
6. Come Down Halo
7. Blizzard of Oblivion
8. Hard to Bear
9. Shake Your Blues
10. Choose Your Side
11. Same Old Blues

Actually, I’m the one doing the posting, but the bands will definitely be the ones playing the shows, and that’s what counts. In the case of Ancestors guitarist Justin Maranga, it counts twice since he’s in both bands. Double duty! Ah, these kids and their rock and roll. Best wishes to both bands for safe travels. Here’s the info straight off the PR wire:

Ancestors and Night Horse are set to begin a tour in support of their April 15th appearance at the internationally renowned Roadburn festival. The tour will begin on April 9th in Essen, Germany. These will be the first overseas shows for both bands. Dates below.

April 9  Essen, Germany Cafe Nova
April 10 Arlon, Belgium L’ Entrepot
April 11 Fidenza, Italy Circolo Arci Q
April 13 Wien, Austria Arena
April 14 Munich, Germany Sunny Red
April 15 Tilburg, Netherlands Roadburn Festival
April 16 London, UK South of the Border
April 17 Plymouth, UK White Rabbit