I’ve expressed my nerdy idolatry for Italian ‘zine Vincebus Eruptum on numerous occasions — each new issue seems to bring out a feeling of admiration for their project and their accomplishment of it — but as I flip through the latest edition, No. 18, of the vaunted publication, even more of a standout is just how together the Vincebus Eruptum product is. Editor Davide Pansolin has been slowly, steadily expanding the brand over the last year plus, taking Vincebus Eruptum from a reactivated fanzine to a state-licensed associazione culturale, beginning to work directly with bands as a label and promotion vehicle and continuing to give Italian heavy rock and psychedelia its best public representation as the scene grows in no small part because of its own efforts. An example? When I removed Vincebus Eruptum from its plastic sleeve, inside I found a CD copy of Essay on a Drunken Cloud (review here) by Anuseye. It’s not the first time Vincebus Eruptum has tied in Vincebus Eruptum Recordings releases with the publication itself, but even the sheer amount of coordination involved was impressive, since not only was the album placed right between the two pages containing an interview with guitarist/vocalist Claudio C. (also ex-That’s all Folks!), but those two pages were also the dead-center of the issue itself.

Attention to detail like that, coupled with the psychedelic design and unabashed readiness to support the European heavy psych scene make Vincebus Eruptum indispensable. The Anuseye CD, which is only available with the issue (vinyl is for sale separately), is also reviewed — I won’t begrudge Pansolin laying it on a bit thick in the self-promotion department as the ‘zine celebrates its 15th anniversary — and as usual, the company it keeps is an impressive swath of recent heavy rock and psych releases from groups like Octopus Syng, Fatso Jetson/Herba Mate, Hot Lunch, L’Ira del Baccano, Vibravoid, Electric Moon and so on. Of course, Italy is thoroughly represented, both in independent bands and through labels like Go Down Records, Heavy Psych Sounds and Vincebus Eruptum Recordings. As ever, the pieces are concise and to the point — there’s a lot to fit — but informative and give a sense of what the groups are going for and whether or not they get there, and I find myself with an expanding wishlist of stuff to check out. Business as usual, in that regard, but it’s no less true reading No. 18 than it ever is, Pansolin handling all of the reviews by himself this time out except for Essay on a Drunken Cloud, which he turns over to Roberto Mattei.

Being a sucker for that kind of thing, I tend to go to the reviews first, but interviews with Electric Wizard, Swedish sleeper-hitters Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus and retro cyclone Prisma Circus make for fascinating fare, and having seen their name with an increasing frequency, I appreciated a chance to get a better sense of Australia’s Child as well. Da Captain Trips, who also have a record out through Vincebus Eruptum Recordings, are interviewed, though I think most fascinating of all is the chat with Wolf, who heads the German imprint World in Sound, and is responsible for fostering quality acts like Samsara Blues Experiment, the aforementioned Prisma Circus, The Lone Crows, Doctor Cyclops and many others. Topped off by Kabuto cover art recreating the Malleus cover of the first issue 15 years ago, a stirring note in the beginning from Pansolin himself, and the Anuseye album for a soundtrack, and Vincebus Eruptum seems to be passing the 15-year mark going stronger than ever. As someone always happy to nerd out on what Pansolin and his crew have going, I couldn’t be happier for them and hope we get another 15 years of quality, dedicated psychedelia coverage and much more.

Anuseye, Essay on a Drunken Cloud preview

Vincebus Eruptum at Heavy Ripples Distro

Vincebus Eruptum website

Vincebus Eruptum store

Vincebus Eruptum on Thee Facebooks

Anuseye on Thee Facebooks

Click here to listen.

This week brings even more radio adds than I expected. I had kind of a hard time whittling it down to figure what I wanted to write about, to be honest with you, but we got there in the end, and I’m thrilled to have another batch of additions to the playlist for this week. Doing this seems to have quickly become a Friday ritual for me, and frankly, I can think of worse ways to spend the afternoon than listening to and writing about a bunch of records. Like just about everything else, for example.

Adds for May 30, 2014:

Iron Man, The Passage & Generation Void

Two brand new vinyl reissues from Shadow Kingdom Records. Digital promos are particularly useless in the case of badass LPs, and I’m pretty sure both of these albums by Maryland doom stalwarts Iron Man, 1994’s sophomore outing, The Passage, and it’s 1999 follow-up, Generation Void, are already on the Radio playlist, but screw it, it’s Iron Man. If the chances of hearing an Iron Man song go up with each file added, then it’s worth tossing both of these records on the server. Generation Void is a full-on lost classic of doom, and if you don’t already own it, I’d imagine the vinyl of The Passage justifies picking it up based on the artwork alone. Either way, you’re never gonna lose when it comes to these guys, and Shadow Kingdom‘s loyalty in following up its CD reissues with LP versions is commendable. On Thee Facebooks, Shadow Kingdom website.

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Electric Citizen, Sateen

Led by guitarist Ross Dolan and vocalist Laura Dolan, this Cincinnati four-piece traffic in high-order retro-minded Sabbathisms that keep in mind just how much boogie went along with all that darkness. To wit, the shuffle at the heart of the organ-laced “The Trap” and “Burning in Hell” or the push in the earlier “Magnetic Man.” Sateen, the band’s debut on RidingEasy Records, features riffs and leads heavily, and Laura‘s croon never strays from the forefront in delivering a barrage of hooks through the ’70s-worship production, but as with Sabbath themselves, the foundation of what Electric Citizen accomplish in these memorable, immediately familiar tracks is built on a foundation of rhythmic excellence in the bass and drums, here provided by Nick Vogelpohl and Nate Wagner, respectively. That organ ain’t half-bad either. The album arrives with no shortage of hype, but it’s a shockingly cohesive debut in style and performance, and the songwriting more than earns its way. On Thee Facebooks, RidingEasy Records.

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Disenchanter, On through Portals

The Sept. 2013 Back to Earth demo from Portland, Oregon, doom-blues metallers Disenchanter has been sitting on my desk for an embarrassingly long time. That release is added to the playlist as well, but on the early-2014 follow-up, On through Portals, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Sabine Stangenberg, bassist Joey DeMartini and drummer Jay Erbe stretch out the form somewhat. Both arrive as EP-style releases, but On through Portals tops half-an-hour and executes a darkened psychedelic flow over its three extended tracks — “Journey to Abydos/Moon Maid” (12:15), “Invoke” (7:38), and “Into Darkness” (11:20) — so it could just as easily pass for a short album. Either way, the partial shift in aesthetic suits Disenchanter well, and what seems to have been in-process on their first demo comes closer to fruition here. Songs are patient and lumbering, but never boring, and Stangenberg‘s vocals layer effectively at the front of the mix to give the impression of a consummate frontwoman in the making. I won’t declare their development finished, but On through Portals is a big and interesting step for Disenchanter to take. On Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

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Junior Bruce, The Nomad

Just two tracks on this latest release from Southern heavy rockers Junior Bruce. The Nomad is the second of two (to date) digital releases following Junior Bruce‘s 2012 debut full-length, The Headless King, and intended as a complement to last year’s The Burden. Fair enough. Taken as such or on their own, The Nomad‘s two cuts, “The Promised Sleep” and “Nomad,” offer unpretentious heavy rolling groove from the Floridian five-piece fronted by Scott Angelacos and featuring bassist Tom Crowther, both also of Hollow Leg and formerly Bloodlet and Hope and Suicide. Molasses riffs from guitarists Nate Jones and Bryan Raymond and steady crash from drummer Jeff McAlear further distinguish “Nomad” in the Southern tradition, and the single/EP is twice as intriguing in the context of Hollow Leg‘s most recent recording, “God Eater” (discussed here), which moved in a more rocking direction as well. It seems to work for both bands. On Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

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Anuseye, Essay on a Drunken Cloud

Cuts like “J R” and “Wrong Blues” take ’90s crunch and heavy rock vibes to heart, but where Italy’s Anuseye really distinguish themselves on their Vincebus Eruptum Recordings debut — other than with their somewhat unfortunate moniker — is in the weirdo jamminess of “Push Magic Button” or the psychedelic exploration of “Earthquake.” Essay on a Drunken Cloud boasts a few riffs and effects-laced stretches like that in “Cursed Pills” that might call to mind guitarist Luca Stero and vocalist/guitarist Claudio C.‘s and prior work together in That’s all Folks, but Anuseye has a personality of their own here, with bassist Michele V. and drummer Antonello C. keeping step with the strange vibes every step of the way. The balance shifts effectively between psych rock and noisy post-punk, but songs like “Demon Pulse” and the penultimate “S.S. Abyss” find an engaging and unexpected middle ground on which to make an impression. And then they do. For those days when you feel like you’re heard everything a riff can do, Essay on a Drunken Cloud might just convince you there’s still territory to be discovered. On Thee Facebooks, at Vincebus Eruptum.

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For the complete list of this week’s adds, click here.

Thanks for reading and listening.