Fargo, North Dakota, instrumentalists El Supremo are set to issue their third full-length, the four-tracker Signor Morte Improvvisa, this Friday through Argonauta Records. For drummer Chad Heille (who founded the band as a one-man project some 16 years ago), guitarist Neal Stein, bassist Cameron Dewald and organist/keyboardist Chris Gould, it is the second long-player as a complete four-piece lineup behind early-2023’s Argonauta-released Acid Universe (review here) and 2019’s proof-of-concept debut, Clarity Through Distortion (review here), and their most fluid display of chemistry to-date, marked by excursions into dug-in heavy psychedelia, classically bluesy swing given melodic flourish by the Hammond on the comparatively brief second cut “Gravecraft,” light-touch sans-pretense progressivism expressed through Stein‘s guitar, and groove a-plenty to suit the palette of those seeking a chill without having to give of heft either of tone or presence. While the title, which translates from Italian as ‘Mr. Sudden Death,’ might lend English speakers some impression of being improvised, the proceedings across the 33-minute long-player are jam-based rather than solely jammed, and from the 10-minute opener “Breadwinner” — a bookend with the closing title-track around “Gravecraft” and the subsequent “Solitario” — onward, the vibe elicited feels purposeful in the flow conjured within and between the songs.

It’s a record you can easily get lost in, and I’m not sure you’d be wrong or running counter to El Supremo‘s intention to do so. True, “Breadwinner” builds up around a bit of crash and jabby, emphatic fuzz riffs, but the nod is quickly established in early going, and Signor Morte Improvvisa isn’t shy about basking in it. Stein‘s guitar and Gould‘s organ do some of the ‘talking’ in the sense of carrying the melody that might otherwise come from vocals, but not having to structure the material around lines of lyrics has clearly let the band have that much more flexibility to flesh out parts as they will.

This is something that “Breadwinner” lets the listener — newcomers to the band and returning parties alike — know early on as the intro unfolds organically into bluesy psych soloing before growing quieter and thereby plunging headfirst into its own vibe. Digging in, in other words. Exploratory in the guitar and keys, solidified by the rhythm beneath, it’s a familiar but welcome dynamic as the riff picks up at the midpoint, not so insistent as to be a sweep, but definitely encouraging an audience to come along, and very much in the spirit of a live show in that communication, despite the fullness of studio tone — that is, the production sound (Stein helmed Acid Universe; I’m not sure if he also produced here) is clear but not lacking in stage-style energy for that — that allows for a corresponding depth of mix.

The easy-going feel is maintained through a largely-consistent, rolling tempo that sticks through the ebbs and flows of “Breadwinner” until picking up with a push the finish when there’s about a minute left, and fair enough. That kick is a fitting lead-in for “Gravecraft,” which is almost purely about its own swing and Deep Purple-circa-’72 course; the most active El Supremo get in terms of bounce and maybe a little brash in relation to what surrounds, but not at all out of place for being either the shortest inclusion or the most straightforwardly structured.

A faster ending for “Breadwinner” helps the transition, sure, but the leap isn’t such a challenge to make into a more boogiefied range of blues, and as the eight-minute “Solitario” begins the second half of the tracklisting and serves as the presumed start of a vinyl’s side B, the mood shifts once again with Dewald‘s bass and Heille‘s ride cymbal slowly shaping a meditative outset that grows wistful with the entry of guitar and eventually organ, while holding fast to the patience of the build that’s subtly taking place. Fuzzy soloing intertwines with runs of organ lines, but while one might expect a surge to come, it simply doesn’t, and that feels like a conscious choice on the band’s part. The tradeoff is that “Solitario” comes about as close as El Supremo get to an improvised feel and is abidingly subdued for its duration. It’s never ‘sad’ in a performative way, but it’s easy to read an emotional crux into Stein‘s guitar or the come-forward organ line that rounds out, but that only makes the overarching impression stronger.

And when they get down to “Signor Morte Improvvisa,” it’s a get-down indeed. A swipe of what might be echo-laced harmonica weaves into the guitar-led intro, and when the drums arrive before the first minute is through, the forward movement is immediate. They’re not blowing it out, and they don’t, but “Signor Morte Improvvisa” is heavier and more plotted-feeling than “Solitario,” and that change in energy is palpable in its turns from quiet to loud and back again.

The harmonica stays as part of the march, and what turns out to be an essential part of the character of Signor Morte Improvvisa as a whole is unveiled after the four-minute mark as the guitar lead takes shape around a reference to Enrico Morricone‘s “The Ecstasy of Gold” (best known as the opening theme of Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) around which the band vibes for a while before dropping to tom hits and sparser action and ultimately picking back up. Keyboard does the memorable vocal part starting at 6:30 to seal the deal, and that becomes the bed for a full-momentum crescendo that’s graceful and respectful of the source material on which it’s based but still allows El Supremo to make the moment their own in a way that feels like a payoff for the album on its own terms. That’s a hard balance to strike, which is something you would never know from the recording itself.

Once El Supremo lock in — and that happens early — they don’t let it go. This also gives Signor Morte Improvvisa a live-set feel, further bolstered by the title-track playing out as it does, and while decisively in the realm of the manageable at 33 minutes — which is not to say the record is short and imply it as a weakness when its brevity is very much the opposite thereof — it’s a set you’d be lucky to witness, and it reaffirms the persona of El Supremo as a band who very likely could offer a rigid showcase of technicality or staid prog rock, but are just too darn soulful to let that happen. I’m gonna call that a win, and it’s by no means their first in terms either of attitude or execution.

Signor Morte Improvvisa streams in its entirety below, followed by some background courtesy of the PR wire. The more you hear it, the more you’ll hear in it.

As always, I hope you enjoy:

El Supremo, Signor Morte Improvvisa (2024)

El Supremo was originally formed as a one-man project with Chad Heille playing all the instruments and handling recording/production. A self-titled full-length demo was released in 2008, with Tom Canning and Neal Stein contributing guitar solos to the recording.

Chad and Neal went on to play in the band EGYPT from 2012 to 2018. During that time, Egypt released three full-length records, a split LP, made numerous compilation appearances, reissued their first demo and toured 16 different countries playing several notable festivals.

After Egypt split, it was decided to revive the El Supremo name, whose sound today ranges from psychedelic and melodic to heavy and doomy. Influences are rooted in classic rock, stoner rock, blues, and old-school metal.

Tracklisting:
1. Breadwinner (10:43)
2. Gravecraft (3:51)
3. Solitario (8:25)
4. Signor Morte Improvvisa (10:51)

El Supremo are:
Chad Heille: drums
Neal Stein: guitar
Cameron Dewald: bass
Chris Gould: organ/keys

El Supremo on Facebook

El Supremo on Instagram

El Supremo on Bandcamp

Argonauta Records on Facebook

Argonauta Records on Instagram

Argonauta Records store

It was just last year that Fargo, North Dakota, instrumentalists El Supremo offered their Argonauta Records label-debut/second album overall, Acid Universe (review here), and that puts the forthcoming Signor Morte Improvvisa at a pretty quick turnaround even as compares to the four years between 2019’s DIY-issued Clarity Through Distortion (review here) and the sophomore outing.

Of course all of this pales to the distance between 2008’s demo and the 2019 album, but Chad Heille — who started the band on his own, as you can read below — was busy for a stretch of years in Egypt, and the way El Supremo picked up after that band ended, with Heille putting together a lineup, playing live and so on, has felt pretty organic. Considering the hints dropped toward improvisation in this third LP’s title and the casual organ-laced swing of the first single “Gravecraft,” I would expect that streak to continue.

The PR wire doesn’t have a ton of who-what-where-when details, but there’s a video for “Gravecraft” you can check out below, with its blend of classic groove and low-key sans-vocal swagger, hitting into a bit of heavier Deep Purple vibing, maybe inevitably, as it moves past its midpoint and into the layered solo section, which is duly twisting.

I’m guessing one or more of the other tracks is pretty long, since there are only four songs included on Signor Morte Improvvisa, but “Gravecraft” won’t even cost you the four full minutes of the video to hear, and borders on the hypnotic in that time. So maybe the thing to do is just have at it and worry about the particulars later.

Thus, from the PR wire:

US-based psychedelic rockers EL SUPREMO have announced their new album, “Signor Morte Improvvisa,” set for release by ARGONAUTA Records on July 26.

The first single, “Gravecraft” released today: https://youtu.be/XriOHwchJAk

Album tracklisting and cover art are as follows:

1. Breadwinner
2. Gravecraft
3. Solitario
4. Signor Morte Improvvisa

El Supremo was originally formed as a one-man project with Chad Heille playing all the instruments and handling recording/production. A self-titled full-length demo was released in 2008, with Tom Canning and Neal Stein contributing guitar solos to the recording.

Chad and Neal went on to play in the band EGYPT from 2012 to 2018. During that time, Egypt released three full-length records, a split LP, made numerous compilation appearances, reissued their first demo and toured 16 different countries playing several notable festivals.

After Egypt split, it was decided to revive the El Supremo name, whose sound today ranges from psychedelic and melodic to heavy and doomy. Influences are rooted in classic rock, stoner rock, blues, and old-school metal.

https://www.facebook.com/elsupremofuzz
https://www.instagram.com/elsupremofuzz/
https://elsupremo.bandcamp.com/

www.instagram.com/argonautarecords
www.facebook.com/argonuatarecords
www.argonautarecords.com/shop

El Supremo, “Gravecraft” official video

You would be hard pressed to find a better week for Spiral Grave to announce the release of their second album, Ill Repute, since this weekend their hometown of Frederick, Maryland, performs the annual rite of the Maryland Doom Fest, and, well, one more thing to celebrate there isn’t going to hurt. You may recall the four-piece earlier this year dropped the single “The Death of Ronnie M.” (posted here) as a soft-launch preface to revealing the actual details of the sophomore LP. Those are here — tracks and art, etc. — accompanied by another new song, “Lungful of Blood,” which the band deliver with their usual sunny disposition.

Release date is July 12, once again on Argonauta Records, and both videos can be found below. Dig in and doom on:

SPIRAL GRAVE Announce New Album; New Official Music Video Out Now

Spiral Grave, the esteemed US doom metal ensemble comprised of veterans from Iron Man and Lord, is set to unveil their highly anticipated new album ‘Ill Repute’ via Argonauta Records on July 12th.

Album tracklisting and cover art are as follows:

1. Watching From the Sky
2. Eulogy for Queen City (21502)
3. My Angel Comes Tonight
4. The Death of Ronnie M.
5. Lungful of Blood
6. Ill Repute
7. (Raising the) Chalice
8. To Stare Down God

“Many artists have their COVID album, and this is ours. Once lockdowns started we just hunkered down and started writing. The emotions that we were all feeling during that time are very evident in these songs. The legendary Frank Marchand was at the helm for recording, and brought the absolute best out in us.” – says the band

Additionally, the band is premiering their new official music video for ‘Lungful of Blood’ today, watch here: https://youtu.be/2tpM3aTL0Vc

Spiral Grave formed in late 2018 following the demise of two legendary mid-Atlantic bands, Iron Man and Lord. The band quickly hit the live circuit and recorded their debut album, Legacy of the Anointed (release delayed until 2021 due to COVID). Since that album’s release Spiral Grave has continued to tour, playing live dates and festivals in and around their home area of MD/VA, going as far west as Texas. In addition, the band has recorded their sophomore effort Ill Repute, which is scheduled for a 2024 release from Argonauta Records.

SPIRAL GRAVE:
Screaming Mad Dee – voice
Willy Rivera – guitar
Louis Strachan – bass
Jason “Mot” Waldmann – drums

https://www.facebook.com/SpiralGrave/
https://spiralgrave.bandcamp.com/

www.argonautarecords.com
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords

Spiral Grave, “Lungful of Blood” official video

Spiral Grave, “The Death of Ronnie M.” official video

[Click play above to stream Shadow Witch’s Eschaton (The End of All Things) in its entirety. Album is out Friday on Argonauta Records and the band play their release show at Maryland Doom Fest 2024 this weekend.]

All things end, and Shadow Witch‘s songwriting is suited to endtimes, with a gospel feel and theme amid the doom rock groove and an intermittent metallic severity. Eschaton (The End of All Things) is the fourth full-length from the Kingston, New York-based four-piece fronted by Earl Walker Lundy with Jeremy Hall (since replaced by Jesse Cunningham) on guitar/keys, bassist David Pannullo and drummer Justin Zipperle (also piano/Hammond) making his first recorded appearance since coming aboard following the tracking of 2020’s Under the Shadow of a Witch (review here), which until now was their most realized outing to-date. Clocking in at an easily manageable 36 minutes, the eight self-recorded pieces of Eschaton (The End of All Things) ask little — not nothing — in terms of indulgence and reward the listener in the diversity of their approach, starting with the quick 80-second motor-riff of “Speedy Goes to Sludgetown” that is deceptively complex as it builds to the finish with synth and vocals worked in around the centralized forward push. It’s not nearly as atmospheric as “Dominu Sanctus Oblivion,” which leads off side B with its hard-hitting cycles of drumming and layered vocal chanting, references to The Exorcist on guitar and so forth, but that song is six minutes long and it probably wouldn’t work as an album intro. No time to waste. Shadow Witch have places to be and the songs to get them there.

Eschaton (The End of All Things) of course begs the question whether the ending being discussed in its title is that of the band itself. Best I can do in terms of an answer after listening is: “maybe?” One never knows generally and I won’t make any definite predictions, but between the departure of Hall, the plague that happened between the third album’s recording/release and this one, and the creative progression undertaken since Lundy, Hall and Pannullo set forth in 2016 with their debut, Sun Killer (discussed here), if this was to be the final Shadow Witch release, they certainly don’t owe anyone anything, and they sound like they’ve put everything they have into this record. From “Speedy Goes to Sludgetown” into the melancholic starts and stops of “Satellites” touching later on Southern rock as it brings acoustic and electric guitars together with keys and the first of several standout performances from Lundy, whose lyrics recast manmade spacetrash as falling angels and/or stars, namedropping a burning bush and serpent along the way to emphasize the being-raised-baptist-is-a-trauma religious undertones that have been a part of Shadow Witch all along but that also find a fresh point of view throughout Eschaton (The End of All Things). A melodic soulful dig in “Tell Me,” which follows, is burly but almost desert rocking in its tone, shifting from the sweeping crescendo of “Satellites” with organ and backing vocals to a more rigid stomp that grows fervent in its later gallop without any real threat of derailment to the momentum the band have already built.

The subsequent “Nobody” leans into insistent punk-metal with a hook that reminds me (and this is a ‘me’ thing rather than a likely influence) of Midwestern pushers Bloodcow as Lundy takes on the voice of some of masculinity’s more toxic gaslighting in the unfortunately-not-post-Trump era: “Nobody knows more about you than me/Nobody does more for you than me… I’m the man/And you all must do as I command,” and so on. Discussions of power and the abuse thereof aren’t necessarily new for Shadow Witch — the third album had “Wolf Among the Sheep,” and a cut like “Cruel” from 2017’s Disciples of the Crow (review here) saw its subject through a social justice lens — but the craft on Eschaton (The End of All Things), the subtle turns in the instrumental arrangements and the heart poured into the belted-out delivery of the vocals over top, frame the conversation and exploration of ideas in an accessible, heavy rock and roll that has never been both so broad in reach or so outwardly sure of its path.

Recorded on their own, as noted above, with a mix and master by Paul Orofino, the material feels divergent but is structurally sound and aware of its audience, with “Nobody” giving over to the big-nodding side A finale “Let it Out” giving willful contrast to “Tell Me” earlier — directly: the repeated line of the backing vocals is “Don’t tell me…” which Lundy answers in call and response — in a tight three-and-a-half-minute course, moderately placed like if KISS had ever given a damn what their songs were actually about. They’ve got some according swagger there, but Shadow Witch have never been just darkness stylistically. In terms of aesthetic, there’s as much light as black under their blacklights.

With a hook that’s downright vibrant and swing to spare, “Let it Out” is for sure present-tense in its frustrations, and it ends with Zipperle‘s drums on a fade before giving over to the immediate riff introducing “Dominu Sanctus Oblivion,” which is based around a chorus that becomes a kind of thanatos/destruction-worshiping chant and a lead-in for the apocalyptic narrative fleshed out across “The Lion and the Lamb” and closer “The Fallen.” The last three cuts, all over six minutes long (nothing on side A touched five), retain the intentionality of, say, “Satellites” and “Tell Me,” but are focused on a distinct procession. “Dominu Sanctus Oblivion,” then, is both the moment where that turn happens and the beginning of the story perceived, told in fire-and-brimstone preach and sharp streaks of guitar soloing, a manifestation of the Judgment Day being referenced in the album’s title. They still make it move and have a quieter break in the second half to offset the song’s cyclical pattern before they restart for one more hypnotic, willfully grandiose time through, finishing riffier and edgier before the cold stop brings standalone guitar at the start of “The Lion and the Lamb.” Marked by its inclusion of organ and evocative lead guitar, the penultimate cut on Eschaton (The End of All Things) is both a lead-in for “The Fallen” and a landmark in itself for the band, reminiscent of some of Dio-era Black Sabbath‘s more sprawling fare, whether that’s “Heaven and Hell” or “Falling Off the Edge of the World,” neither of which it’s actively emulating.

A synthy wash of noise eases the transition to the urgent opening build of “The Fallen,” and if there is some autobiographical aspect to Eschaton (The End of All Things) — that is, if part of what’s ending is the band itself — no one will be able to say they didn’t go out on top. A career performance from Lundy around a get-in-punk-we’re-taking-Heaven lyric and the corresponding manner in which the song unfolds instrumentally is stately in a way that both accounts for “The Lion and the Lamb” and the detail and arrangement flourish Shadow Witch have basked in throughout. But the closer is singular in its character and caps with a vision of doom that is bluesy, classic, gospel-informed and progressive without pushing so far as to lose the plot of which it is still only one piece set forth in the two songs prior, culminating with layered vocals and organ in complement to the final lines as the song resolves: “Fold your wings around me/We’re going home.” Those wings are leather, and “home” is a march of the fallen on capital-‘p’ Paradise, but the emotion behind the delivery is sincere and palpable, and as Shadow Witch do on their fourth album front-to-back, they depart with the sense of purpose that Eschaton (The End of All Things) has so roundly highlighted. Like I said at the start, all things end. Not all things are fortunate enough to do so with such resonance. I don’t know that this will be the last Shadow Witch record or not — and for what it’s worth, I hope not — but what they bring to fruition in these songs should be considered nothing less than a definitive work today, and today is what matters.

Shadow Witch, “The Lion and the Lamb” official video

Shadow Witch on Facebook

Shadow Witch on Instagram

Shadow Witch on Bandcamp

Argonauta Records website

Argonauta Records on Facebook

Argonauta Records on Instagram

I’m not taking away from the rest of the press release below — a signing announcement is an important moment in the life of a band; at very least a big deal to those involved in putting names on a line, band and label alike — but if I may direct your weary eyeballs to the band’s lineup text below, it’s pretty magical. “His voice, a conduit for ancient echoes…” and “…imbued with celestial fire” and all that. There’s something to be said for playing it relatively straight while also going completely over-the-top. Take your fun where you can get it.

Void King‘s arrival to the roster of Argonauta Records comes on the heels of the Indianapolis-based element-invoking four-piece’s 2023 album, The Hidden Hymnal (review here), and while they wouldn’t be out of line to press that up with the Italian label’s stamp on back, or dip back further into their catalog, for that matter, the quick-working outfit are already talking about the proverbial “next record.” Moving forward, in the spirit perhaps of pulsing signals to other worlds or something like that.

There’s no timeline on that record listed below, but 2025 doesn’t seem like an unreasonable expectation given that it’s still far enough away in my head to be the distant future — it isn’t, I’m just old — and The Hidden Hymnal was maybe part of a broader conceptual work to which the follow-up was going to tie in. If that remains the case or not, I guess we’ll find out. “Ears to hear,” and all that.

Smile to your face from the PR wire:

US Stoner Doomsters VOID KING Sign to Argonauta Records

US stoner doom metal band VOID KING sign to Argonauta Records; founded in the crucible of Indianapolis, Indiana, Void King blends stoner rock and doom metal in a way that defies earthly boundaries. Led by the resonant voice of Jason Kindred, their sonic pilgrimage began – a quest to channel cosmic energies through their instruments. Void King, a luminary force in the realm of heavy music for more than a decade, transcends mere mortal soundwaves. Their saga unfolds against a backdrop of amplifiers and fog, where the ethereal meets the visceral.

“Working with Argonauta opens many doors for us that might have otherwise been closed, or hard for us to access. Physical media, distro, and getting us into markets that we might not have seen before are all enormous reasons why we are proud to be working with Argonauta on this next release. Putting out a concept record is a risky proposition, but we feel better about that gamble with Gero and his team on our side. It feels good to know that someone sees our vision and wants to support that.” – says the band

The band continues: “At current time, the band is preparing to play live this summer, starting with a supporting slot for the band Whores. This new batch of songs coming out on the next record are not a departure for us, but they are an evolution of who we were. The songs are cohesive and share an origin story. Each one of them has its own universe, as well as sharing a symbiotic relationship with the other songs on the album. We are excited for people to experience this album as a whole. It should be consumed in its entirety for maximum impact. While the individual songs will do just fine on their own, the record really shines when listened to from start to finish.”

Followers gather in dimly lit venues, shrouded in fog. The faithful raise their hands, eyes closed, as if reaching for salvation. Void King’s live rituals are transcendent—an invitation to commune with the numinous. The air vibrates with the collective pulse of believers and the thrum of burning amplifiers. The sudden blast of white, pure light exists to bring the listener to the promised land.

Void King’s mission transcends mere entertainment. Their music is a portal – a gateway to other dimensions. When you listen, you’re not an audience; you’re an initiate. Let the volume compel you forward, into the heart of the riff.

Void King’s journey continues, guided by unseen hands. They traverse the astral highways, seeking new chords, new revelations. Their legacy? Carved in stone and etched in stardust. As long as there are ears to hear, they shall echo across the ages.

Void King are:
Jason Kindred (Vocals): His voice, a conduit for ancient echoes, weaves tales of forgotten gods and lost civilizations. His timbre resonates with both sorrow and defiance.
Tommy Miller (Electric Guitar): The strings of his guitar are imbued with celestial fire. His riffs – majestic and mournful – speak of cosmic cataclysms and astral wanderings.
Chris Carroll (Bass Guitar): The heartbeat of Void King, his basslines pulse like signals to other worlds.
Derek Felix (Percussion): His drums are thunderstorms, primal and unyielding. With each beat, he summons tempests and quakes, invoking the very elements.

http://voidking.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/voidkingband/

https://www.facebook.com/argonuatarecords
www.instagram.com/argonautarecords
www.argonautarecords.com

Void King, The Hidden Hymnal (2023)

Equal parts moody and melodic, the new Pia Isa single bodes well for Dissolve, which is the second solo-ish full-length from Norwegian heavy singer-songwriter Pia Isaksen, also bassist and vocalist for Superlynx, and since it’s the title-track of the album as the first piece unveiled, somehow that’s so much the better. If you have headphones, I’d say that might be your best bet to let some of the psychedelic nuance of the guitar — and bass! — and the intricacy of the layers of her voice shine through, as well as the post-grunge moodiness, though that’s certainly resonant through speakers as well. Her first record under the Pia Isa banner, Distorted Chants (review here), came out in 2022, also on Argonauta, and worked in similar textures, but it seems likely that “Dissolve” was chosen to represent Dissolve as the lead single in part because you can hear growth in terms of arrangement and flourish elements along with the core fluid groove and melody. Sounds cool, in other words.

Also kind of sad, but this too is part of the thing. There’s a mention for it below, but in addition to having put out her Burning Time EP (review here) earlier this year, Isaksen also recently announced the advent of SoftSun, building on her prior collaboration with guitarist Gary Arce (Yawning Man, etc.), who appeared on “Trauma” (video premiere here) from Distorted Chants, as well as drummer Dan Joeright, who doubles as producer at Gatos Trail Recording Studio in Yucca Valley, California. No idea when anything’s coming out from that three-piece, but don’t forget Superlynx had their own LP, 4 10 (review here), out just this past Fall. So, you know, plenty going on one way or the other, if you’re looking to keep up.

Speaking of keeping up, this news came through like last week and I’m still getting caught up. Recall that at no point in the last 15-plus years did I say I was any good at this.

From the PR wire:

Heavy Psych Dronegazer PIA ISA Unveil “Dissolve” Full Album Details; First Single Out Now

Norwegian psychedelic drone rocker PIA ISA, also known as a member of Superlynx, is set to release a new full-length album titled ‘Dissolve’ on June 28th via Argonauta Records on vinyl.

“The new album feels like a further walk on the path I started with my first solo album but with a few different turns. This time I worked more with layers of vocal harmonies and gave my old dark sounding acoustic nylon guitar some space among the heavy distorted guitars. I am super stoked to have Gary Arce once again laying his stunning guitar tones on most of the songs and about Ole Teigen’s brilliant drums and sound work. Dissolvement is a recurring theme on the album, but so is the idea of reassembling the pieces back together in new and different ways.” – says Pia.

Today is also the day Pia Isa presents the title track in the form of a lyric video, now available.

Pia about the single: “The first single Dissolve is the title track and I guess it tries to capture the feeling of falling apart but also holding on to the pieces of your- self for when the time comes that you feel able to start putting them back together. Knowing that they won’t fit the same way they used to, but maybe a different way could be even better. Musically I wanted the song to catch a heavy sad feeling but also a lot of hopefulness.“

“Dissolve” album tracklisting and cover art are as follows:
Side A:
1. Transform
2. Into the Fire
3. Dissolve
4. One Above Ten Below
Side B:
5. New Light
6. Emerald
7. Tide
8. Drown or Float

On the new album Pia has worked more with layers of vocal harmonies and has given an old dark sounding nylon acoustic guitar more space in her massive distorted soundscape. In addition to singing she plays bass, riff guitars and minimalistic guitar leads while Gary Arce (Yawning Man, Fatso Jetson, Big Scenic Nowhere, Ten East etc) plays additional guitar melodies on six of the album’s eight songs. The drums are played by Ole Teigen (Superlynx etc) who also record- ed, mixed and produced the album with Pia co producing at Crowtown Recordings.

Pia’s lyrics are always personal and honest. She wrote Dissolve at a time where a lot of major things in her own life, but also in the world, changed, were uncertain and seemed to dissolve. Dissolvement is a recurring theme in the songs, but so is the idea of moulding things back together in a new form. As Pia often writes what she needs to hear herself, and needs to tell herself, in her lyrics she wonders if there are others out there needing to hear similar things. On this album she is trying to create hope that no matter how scary major changes and the unknown is it can also be an opportunity for new and better ways and ideas.

In addition to her solo project Pia has spent a decade playing bass and doing vocals in heavy psych band Superlynx and recently started the new project SoftSun with Gary Arce and Dan Joeright (Earth Moon Earth, The Rentals etc).

For more info:
https://linktr.ee/piaisa_distortedchants

http://www.facebook.com/piaisamusic
http://www.instagram.com/piaisamusic
https://piaisa.bandcamp.com/

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Pia Isa, “Dissolve” lyric video

Netherlands-based heavy rockers Drive by Wire release their fifth album, Time Horizon, this Friday through Argonauta Records. It is their first offering since 2018’s Spellbound, and its eight component cuts breeze smoothly through a range of auralscapes, from the driving fuzz in heavy-but-mellow opener “Northern Lights” to the Doors-y build-up of the nine-minute title-track, with a desert-hued fluidity in “Slowrider,” the shuffle of Ingmar Regeling‘s drums holding together “Shapeshifter,” and the standout hook of “The Hardest Thing” to accompany, and the punkish “Dustfader” to pick up on side B, shove into the spacious and acoustic-inclusive “Black Sails” with backing hums from Peter van Elderen (who also produced) behind Simone Holsbeek‘s softly-delivered lead vocals — fellow guitarist Alwin Wubben backs elsewhere on vocals — seeming to drift but not really drifting compared to the open, progressive and psychedelic feel of the nearly-10-minute “Time Horizon” itself, as Marcel Zerb‘s bass providing a bed to the start-stops of guitar shortly before the halfway point and a never-overblown culmination that feels like a willful departure into improvisation. Finding freedom, but taking its own way to get there at the end of the album proper before the cover of The Smith‘s “How Soon is Now” layers Holsbeek in its own largely-undeniable chorus.

Time Horizon is a little dirtier in tone, a little mellower in the overarching mood than was Spellbound, but the root approach of Drive by Wire has been consistent in honing in on fluidity as a major part of what they do. As they approach 18 years since Holsbeek and Wubben founded the band, it neither is nor should be a surprise for them to know what they’re about in terms of sound, but by no means are the proceedings staid or lacking in rhythmic presence alongside that of the melody in the vocals and guitar. They’ve never been all-out, brash-minded conjurors of heavy riff, though the guitar is central and leads through “Slowrider” and the fuzzy push of “Dustfader,” but while one shouldn’t necessarily expect ferocity from the stalwart outfit as they make their post-pandemic return, their dynamic is about more than which pedal is clicked on at which time.

This, too, is how it should be. Holsbeek‘s crooning delivery, breathier on “Black Sails” and almost pleading in its folkishness atop the crashing semi-plod as “The Hardest Thing” moves into and through its hook en route to the twisting solo that caps until that more stomping progression comes back around, has always been a signature element of Drive by Wire‘s work, and Time Horizon highlights this as part of the atmosphere crafted by the songs. She is commanding in “Dustfader” and practically whispering the contemplations that top the cosmic sprawl of “Time Horizon,” and from the start of “Northern Lights,” her delivery is no less malleable in topping the immediacy there than in working to contrast the instrumental tension cast through the second half of “Shapeshifter.” Right friggin’ on.

And if the first paragraph above didn’t make it clear, it’s the kind of album where you might just put it on intending to casually hear what’s up and end up caught in a gravitational run-on sentence where the flow carries you from beginning to end across what we experience as 42 minutes on earth but surely corresponds to some more complex mathematical breadth in a vacuum. Drive by Wire have always been songwriters — again, they’re not coming back after six years with a revolution in purpose so much as a reaffirmation of and extrapolation on what they’ve done before.

As they evoke visions of molten or otherwise liquefied time — and the unspoken specter of mortality on its horizon — they are accordingly less rigid in the album’s structure, and maybe more comfortable that way as well than they might’ve been in 2020 or 2021, but while they’re making their music dance in new ways, the surety of their exploring derives from the strength of craft at the band’s core and the chemistry displayed so distinctively throughout between Holsbeek, Wubben, Zerb and Regeling. They are not trapped by the parameters of what they imagine their sound to be, but informed and bolstered by an unpretentious awareness of self that comes through organically as a result of their experience. If you find yourself in two places at once — hypnotized by a succession of heavy grooves while your brain actively charts its path through Time Horizon‘s more ethereal aspects via the unfolding series of verses and choruses — I think you’re probably hearing it right, though to be honest I’m not sure there’s a wrong way to go when Drive by Wire make the journey so easy to undertake.

Time Horizon streams in its entirety below, including that Smiths cover at the finish. PR wire info follows the player embedded below.

Please enjoy:

Drive by Wire, Time Horizon (2024) album premiere

The Dutch Desert-rockers of Drive By Wire offer you an intriguing and unique mixture of fuzz-laiden heavy stoner rock grooves accompanied by the trippy, hazy vocals of charismatic front lady Simone Holsbeek.

Simone Holsbeek and lead-guitarist Alwin Wubben founded the band in Deventer (2006) writing songs in their basement for the debut album that immediately grabbed the attention of international press. With Marcel Zerb on bass and Ingmar Regeling behind the drumkit, they are capable of building sonic mountains and psychedelic tapestries of sound.

“Time Horizon” is the bands 5th album and the follow up from the release of the highly acclaimed last album “Spellbound” (2018) that was very well received by both international press and fans.

Soon after that release the Covid pandemic hit the world and the band used the hiatus to work on filmmusic. They got a few songs used in American tv-series such as Batwoman and Riverdale.

Early 2023 the band retreated to a cabin in the middle of the woods. They set up their gear and just started jamming between the trees and under the stars. The result is this wonderful, spontaneous and mesmerizing new album. Very unpolished, raw, pure and with organic vibes.

8 solid songs that take you to a world outside, on a a trip through 70′s hardrock and psychedelica. Drive By Wire manages to distill these inspirations into a warm organic sound full of hypnotic heaviness (Kyuss), and psychedelic echoes of the 70’s (Jefferson Airplane, Heart).

Tracklisting:
1.Northern Lights
2.Slowrider
3.Shapeshifter
4.Elements
5.Dustfader
6.Black Sails
7.Time Horizon
8.How soon is now? (The Smiths – cover)

Drive by Wire:
Simone Holsbeek – Vocals/guitar
Alwin Wubben – Lead guitar
Marcel Zerb – Bass guitar
Ingmar Regeling – Drums

[Band photo by Marta Ros.]

Drive by Wire, “Slowrider” official video

Drive by Wire on Facebook

Drive by Wire on Instagram

Drive by Wire on Bandcamp

Drive by Wire website

Argonauta Records on Instagram

Argonauta Records on Facebook

Argonauta Records store

Today is Wednesday, the day we hit and pass the halfway mark for this week, which is a quarter of the way through the entirety of this 100-release Quarterly Review. Do you need to know that? Not really, but it’s useful for me to keep track of how much I’m doing sometimes, which is why I count in the first place. 100 records isn’t nothing, you know. Or 10 for that matter. Or one. I don’t know.

A little more variety here, which is always good, but I’ve got momentum behind me after yesterday and I don’t want to delay diving in, so off we go.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

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Saturnalia Temple, Paradigm Call

For the band’s fourth album, Paradigm Call, founding Saturnalia Temple guitarist/vocalist Tommie Eriksson leads the newcomer rhythm section of drummer Pelle Åhman and bassist Gottfrid Åhman through eight abyss-plundering tracks across 48 minutes of roiling tonal mud distinguished by its aural stickiness and Eriksson‘s readily identifiable vocal gurgle. The methodology hasn’t changed much since 2020’s Gravity (review here) in terms of downward pull, but the title-track’s solo is sharp enough to cut through the mire, and while it’s no less harsh for doing so, “Among the Ruins” explores a faster tempo while staying in line with the all-brown psychedelic swirl around it, brought to fruition in the backwards-sounding loops of closer “Kaivalya” after the declarative thud of side B standout “Empty Chalice.” They just keep finding new depths. It’s impressive. Also a little horrifying.

Saturnalia Temple on Facebook

Listenable Records website

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Dool, The Shape of Fluidity

It’s easy to respect a band so unwilling to be boxed by genre, and Rotterdam’s Dool put the righteous aural outsiderness that’s typified their sound since 2017’s Here Now There Then (review here) to meta-level use on their third long-player for Prophecy Productions, The Shape of Fluidity. Darkly progressive, rich in atmosphere, broad in range and mix, heavy-but-not-beholden-to-tone in presentation, encompassing but sneaky-catchy in pieces like opener “Venus in Flames,” the flowing title-track, and the in-fact-quite-heavy “Hermagorgon,” the record harnesses declarations and triumphs around guitarist/vocalist Raven van Dorst‘s stated lyrical thematic around gender-nonbinaryism, turning struggle and confusion into clarity of expressive purpose in the breakout “Self-Dissect” and resolving with furious culmination in “The Hand of Creation” with due boldness. Given some of the hateful, violent rhetoric around gender-everything in the modern age, the bravery of Dool — Van Dorst alongside guitarists Nick Polak and Omar Iskandr, bassist JB van der Wal and drummer Vincent Kreyder — in confronting that head-on with these narratives is admirable, but it’s still the songs themselves that make The Shape of Fluidity one of 2024’s best albums.

Dool on Facebook

Prophecy Productions website

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Abrams, Blue City

After releasing 2022’s In the Dark (review here) on Small Stone, Denver heavy rockers Abrams align to Blues Funeral Recordings for their fifth album in a productive, also-touring nine years, the 10-track/42-minute Blue City. Production by Kurt Ballou (High on Fire, Converge, etc.) at GodCity Studio assures no lack of impact as “Fire Waltz” reaffirms the tonal density of the riffs that the Zach Amster-led four-piece nonetheless made dance in opener “Tomorrow,” while the rolling “Death Om” and the momentary skyward ascent in “Etherol” — a shimmering preface to the chug-underscored mellowness of “Narc” later — lay out some of the dynamic that’s emerged in their sound along with the rampant post-hardcore melodies that come through in Amster and Graham Zander‘s guitars, capable either of meting out hard-landing riffs to coincide with the bass of Taylor Iversen (also vocals) and Ryan DeWitt‘s drumming, or unfurling sections of float like those noted above en route to tying it all together with the closing “Blue City.” Relatively short runtimes and straightforward-feeling structures mask the stylistic nuance of the actual material — nothing new there for Abrams; they’re largely undervalued — and the band continue to reside in between-microgenre spaces as they await the coming of history which will inevitably prove they were right all along.

Abrams on Facebook

Blues Funeral Recordings website

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Pia Isa, Burning Time

Superlynx bassist/vocalist Pia Isaksen made her solo debut under the Pia Isa moniker with 2022’s Distorted Chants (review here), and in addition to announcing the SoftSun collaboration she’ll undertake alongside Yawning Man‘s Gary Arce (who also appeared on her record), in 2024, she offers the three-song Burning Time EP, with a cover of Radiohead‘s “Burn the Witch” backed by two originals, “Treasure” and “Nothing Can Turn it Back.” With drumming by her Superlynx bandmate Ole Teigen (who also recorded), “Burn the Witch” becomes a lumbering forward march, ethereal in melody but not necessarily cultish, while “Treasure” digs into repetitive plod led by the low end and “Nothing Can Turn it Black” brings the guitar forward but is most striking in the break that brings the dual-layered vocals forward near the midpoint. The songs are leftovers from the LP, but if you liked the LP, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Pia Isa on Facebook

Argonauta Records website

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Wretched Kingdom, Wretched Kingdom

A late-2023 initial public offering from Houston’s Wretched Kingdom, their self-titled EP presents a somewhat less outwardly joyous take on the notion of “Texas desert rock” than that offered by, as an example, Austin’s High Desert Queen, but the metallic riffing that underscores “Dreamcrusher” goes farther back in its foundations than whatever similarity to Kyuss one might find in the vocals or speedier riffy shove of “Smoke and Mirrors.” Sharp-cornered in tone, opener “Torn and Frayed” gets underway with metered purpose as well, and while the more open-feeling “Too Close to the Sun” begins similar to “You Can’t Save Me” — the strut that ensues in the latter distinguishes — the push in its second half comes after riding a steady groove into a duly bluesy solo. There’s nothing in the material to take you out of the flow between the six component cuts, and even closer “Deviation” tells you it’s about to do something different as it works from its mellower outset into a rigorous payoff. With the understanding that most first-EPs of this nature are demos by another name and (as here) more professional sound, Wretched Kingdom‘s Wretched Kingdom asks little in terms of indulgence and rewards generously when encountered at higher volumes. Asking more would be ridiculous.

Wretched Kingdom on Facebook

Wretched Kingdom on Bandcamp

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Lake Lake, Proxy Joy

Like earlier Clutch born out of shenanigans-prone punk, Youngstown, Ohio’s Lake Lake are tight within the swinging context of a song like “The Boy Who Bit Me,” which is the second of the self-released Proxy Joy‘s six inclusions. Brash in tone and the gutted-out shouty vocals, offsetting its harder shoving moments with groovy back-throttles in songs that could still largely be called straightforward, the quirk and throaty delivery of “Blue Jerk” and the bluesier-minded “Viking Vietnam” paying off the tension in the verses of “Comfort Keepers” and the build toward that leadoff’s chorus want nothing for personality or chemistry, and as casual as the style is on paper, the arrangements are coordinated and as “Heavy Lord” finds a more melodic vocal and “Coyote” — the longest song here at 5:01 — leaves on a brash highlight note, the party they’re having is by no means unconsidered. But it is a party, and those who have dancing shoes would be well advised to keep them on hand, just in case.

Lake Lake on Facebook

Lake Lake on Bandcamp

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Gnarwhal, Altered States

Modern in the angularity of its riffing, spacious in the echoes of its tones and vocals, and encompassing enough in sound to be called progressive within a heavy context, Altered States follows Canadian four-piece Gnarwhal‘s 2023 self-titled debut full-length with four songs that effectively bring together atmosphere and impact in the six-minute “The War Nothing More” — big build in the second half leading to more immediate, on-beat finish serving as a ready instance of same — with twists that feel derived of the MastoBaroness school rhythmically and up-front vocal melodies that give cohesion to the darker vibe of “From Her Hands” after displaying a grungier blowout in “Tides.” The terrain through which they ebb and flow, amass and release tension, soar and crash, etc., is familiar if somewhat intangible, and that becomes an asset as the concluding “Altered States” channels the energy coursing through its verses in the first half into the airy payoff solo that ends. I didn’t hear the full-length last year. Listening to what Gnarwhal are doing in these tracks in terms of breadth and crunch, I feel like I missed out. You might also consider being prepared to want to hear more upon engaging.

Gnarwhal on Facebook

Gnarwhal on Bandcamp

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Bongfoot, Help! The Humans..

Help the humans? No. Help! The Humans…, and here as in so many of life’s contexts, punctuation matters. Digging into a heavy, character-filled and charging punkish sound they call “Appalachian thrash,” Boone, North Carolina, three-piece Bongfoot are suitably over-the-top as they explore what it means to be American in the current age, couching discussions of wealth inequality, climate crisis, corporatocracy, capitalist exploitation, the insecurity at root in toxic masculinity and more besides. With clever, hooky lyrics that are a total blast despite being tragic in the subject matter and a pace of execution well outside what one might think is bong metal going in because of the band’s name, Bongfoot vigorously kick ass from opener “End Times” through the galloping end of “Amazon Death Factory/Spacefoot” and the untitled mountain ramble that follows as an outro. Along the way, they intermittently toy with country twang, doom, and hardcore punk, and offer a prayer to the titular volcano of “Krakatoa” to save at least the rest of the world if not humanity. It’s quite a time to be alive. Listening, that is. As for the real-world version of the real world, it’s less fun and more existentially and financially draining, which makes Help! The Humans… all the more a win for its defiance and charm. Even with the bonus tracks, I’ll take more of this anytime they’re ready with it.

Bongfoot on Facebook

Bongfoot on Bandcamp

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Thomas Greenwood & The Talismans, Ateş

It’s interesting, because you can’t really say that Thomas Greenwood and the Talismans‘ second LP, Ateş isn’t neo-psychedelia, but the eight tracks and 38 minutes of the record itself warrant enunciating what that means. Where much of 2020s-era neo-psych is actually space rock with thicker tones (shh! it’s a secret!), what Greenwood — AKA Thomas Mascheroni, also of Bergamo, Italy’s Humulus) brings to sounds like the swaying, organ-laced “Sleepwalker” and the resonant spaciousness in the soloing of “Mystic Sunday Morning” is more kin to the neo-psych movement that began in the 1990s, which itself was a reinterpretation of the genre’s pop-rock origins in the 1960s. Is this nitpicking? Not when you hear the title-track infusing its Middle Eastern-leaning groove with a heroic dose of wah or the friendly shimmer of “I Do Not” that feels extrapolated from garage rock but is most definitely not that thing and the post-Beatles bop of “Sunhouse.” It’s an individual (if inherently familiar) take that unifies the varied arrangements of the acidic “When We Die” and the cosmic vibe of “All the Lines” (okay, so there’s a little bit of space boogie too), resolving in the Doors-y lumber of “Crack” to broaden the scope even further and blur past timelines into an optimistic future.

Thomas Greenwood and The Talismans on Facebook

Subsound Records website

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Djiin, Mirrors

As direct as some of its push is and as immediate as “Fish” is opening the album right into the first verse, the course that harp-laced French heavy progressive rockers Djiin take on their third album, Mirrors, ultimately more varied, winding and satisfying as its five-track run gives over to the nine-minute “Mirrors” and uses its time to explore more pointedly atmospheric reaches before a weighted crescendo that precedes the somehow-fluidity in the off-time early stretch of centerpiece “In the Aura of My Own Sadness,” its verses topped with spoken word and offset by note-for-note melodic conversation between the vocals and guitar. Rest assured, they build “In the Aura of My Own Sadness” to its own crushing end, while taking a more decisively psychedelic approach to get there, and thereby set up “Blind” with its trades from open-spaces held to pattern by the drums and a pair of nigh-on-caustic noise rock onslaughts before 13-minute capstone “Iron Monsters” unfolds a full instrumental linear movement before getting even heavier, as if to underscore the notion that Djiin can go wherever the hell they want and make it work as a song. Point taken.

Djiin on Facebook

Klonosphere Records website

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