Posted in Whathaveyou on July 9th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Darsombra‘s Brian Daniloski is actively engaged in the work of moving forward as an artist while grieving the loss of his creative partner and life partner, Ann Everton, who passed away last October in a tragic auto accident while on tour. The band, which was the two of them, is beginning to reemerge, and that means regional shows for Daniloski. Granted, this was a group that spent months at a time on the road, and I don’t know that Daniloski can or would ever want to tour so nomadically again, but getting out at all feels like an important step, and establishing Darsombra Sol as its own entity seems to be part of what’s letting that happen.
I don’t think laying out a new name and divvying up the Darsombra catalog to different band identities is going to be a permanent solution to Daniloski continuing the band, but if you follow the model of “one day at a time,” I do believe it’s useful both for him to be back on stage and for him to engage with the fullness of Darsombra‘s work, both with Everton‘s visuals and music, and without.
Also, don’t be a dick to somebody in grief. That shit’s hard enough. And it lasts forever. Some wounds never leave you. But I saw Daniloski post something about somebody giving him crap for something or other related to the band. Seriously, the underground is too small for that shit. Be kind or fuck yourself off the side of a cliff. This PSA is brought to you by basic human empathy.
From the band’s newsletter:
DARSOMBRA SOL
DARSOMBRA is trans-apocalyptic galaxy rock – dynamic, kaleidoscopic music for people transitioning through endtimes and dreaming of space. Its latest incarnation is Darsombra Sol.
In the wake of the passing of Ann Everton, beloved wife and bandmate, Brian Daniloski has decided to use the Darsombra name as a pivot point for various related, ever-evolving projects. The Darsombra names will shift to reflect the different lineups, collaborations, and manifestations. In the spirit of Ann, Darsombra will continue on.
Darsombra Sol is Brian Daniloski performing solo with visuals created by Ann Everton, reprising and revising music from the 2010-2013 era of Darsombra (Climax Community, Nymphaea). Ann was and continues to be a vital part of the visual presentation of the band on all fronts including video art, album art and related graphics, stage clothes, and good vibes.
Darsombra Sol is a tribute. Darsombra Sol is a ritual. Darsombra Sol is a celebration. Come join us.
JULY 18 – WESTMINSTER, MD – SHAKEMORE FESTIVAL SEPT 25-27 – GREAT CACAPON, WV – SHADOW WOODS REUNION CAMPOUT
Today we hit the halfway mark on this relative quickie Quarterly Review on the way to 50 releases covered by the end of the week. We’ll get there if past is prologue, and I’m having a good time so far digging in. Some of these are thrown together, some are more intentional. This just kind of came about as there was so much out there and so much more piling on. I’m glad it’s not a drag, is what I’m saying. Sometimes they’re fun but more of a challenge to get through. Shockingly, kickass records are a help.
Enjoy your day. I’m about to enjoy mine.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
-(16)-, Forgeries Vol. 1 1972-1984
True, 16, or, if you prefer their full name, -(16)-, are in a better position to take on covers than they’ve ever been in their career. They’re self-contained in terms of production with Al Shuster recording, and founding guitarist/now-vocalist Bobby Ferry has introduced more flexibility in their approach to sludge and punk and metal than they’ve had in their 35-year history. No, that’s not going to make Scorpions‘ “Can’t Get Enough,” which opens here, recognizable, but it is going to make it heavy. The key information on Forgeries Vol. 1 1972-1984 is of course the span of years, which means you get X, Rudimentary Peni, Fear, Agent Orange and Black Flag alongside Blue Öyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Bee Gees, KISS and UFO. And guess what? I think that’s pretty much how the band happened too. Also note this is Vol. 1. If it’s the ’80s next time, I hope they do Duran Duran, but if they went for a new LP of originals instead, I wouldn’t complain.
The four-song/34-minute The End is High from Polish instrumentalist bong-worship pioneers Belzebong opens with its longest track (immediate points) in the 10:54 “Bong and Chain,” which rolls straight-ahead enough until spacing out for a while and realigning around its chug. Riffs are the priority, always. This is the first studio outing from Belzebong since 2018’s Light the Dankness (review here), and “420 Horseman” lands heavy enough to make up for lost time, shortest of the bunch but heavy straight through. “Hempnotized” starts with a sample like the song before it, something about getting high, before unfurling its solo-topped lumber, and “Reefer Mortis” caps side B (the sample’s at the end this time) in riffversation with the opener. This isn’t the record you put on when you’re just getting stoned. It’s the one you put on when you’re already very, very high. It sounds like it was made with a similar mindset.
Born out of Blood Mist‘s debut EP (review here) in 2017, Baltimorean five-piece Haze Mage went on to develop a sound likewise ritualistic, heavy metal, and fun on their 2019 debut, Chronicles (review here), and seven years later, their second full-length, High Fantasy refines this sound while putting a cap on the band’s tenure. That’s right. They might not sound like it on the catchy “Evil Candle” or the Southern-style “Bat Brain” or the vocals-forward-till-it’s-time-to-rip “Ogre,” and so on, but Haze Mage are done as of the last sway into the crashout of “Sleepers,” and while that’s unfortunate since their songwriting had perspective and brought a needed lack of pretense to cultism, the good news is High Fantasy itself, which comes across like Ouija shenanigans across the nine included songs, and if it’s all we’re ever gonna get from them, I’m glad Haze Mage are going out on their own terms. Nothing else could be so appropriate.
Adventurous and sometimes genre-defiant punk is the root from which Fir Cone Children branches, and Alexander Leonard Donat (also Vlimmer, Blackjack Illuminist Records, etc.) revels in the shove of “Enhype!” as much as the post-everything gaze of “Severe Weather Warning” and the Sonic–Youth-but-make-it-sweet guitar-based noise of “(Hang in There) My Moon,” resolving ultimately in the sprint of “Beating the Real World” and the acoustic/electric blend of “Forever,” gleefully breaking its own rules as fast as it can make them as only a project about one’s kids could. Momentum stays on Donat‘s side through the more ethereal moments, and the playful bounce of “Vampire Queen” and the noisier “Time to Ask” convey movement while feeling dug into the process of their own creation, the album’s 32-minute course managing to be atmospheric despite the fact that it never stays in one place all that long. Aesthetic malleability is nothing new for Donat or Fir Cone Children, and it’s nice to be reminded that just because a song is 71 seconds long doesn’t mean it can’t have reach.
I’m not sure how many full-length releases Brazilian duo White Canyon and the 5th Dimension have to their name, but I think it’s more than might be indicated by the title IV. Nonetheless, if this eight-song/40-minute collection is their fourth proper studio LP, fair enough for the cohesion the band find in moody psychedelic melodymaking and, tonal and vocal warmth. “Silver Womb” at the outset tells the listener a lot of what they need to know about where the two-piece are headed — into a misty nighttime sprawl, it seems — and feels restrained even in its later breakout. This proves to foreshadow “Gravestone Lips” and pieces like the sax-laced “Alumia Part II,” which have a headphone-ready dynamic that encourages deeper, active hearing and draws one across the album’s span — effectively broken into two sides for vinyl, if that’s your preference — with a sense of overarching flow. The penultimate “River Song” and wobbly-guitar closer “Wicked Eyes” assure that in the final stretch, there’s no loss of ground covered from where the wailing lead of “Where the Dreamers Go” winds up. Immersion is key. So, immerse.
Presumably Belgium’s Onionfuzz are called what they are because the fuzz is like an onion: layered, as per Shrek. Fair enough for the intertwining of guitars and bass on their new live-captured seven-song collection Meeplek Naar Nemen (‘take a seat’), but if that would imply the band get up to some studio wizardry, however many waveforms lined up with guitars on every frequency from here to 35Hz. Not the case, even in the fuzz of “Ongebluste Kalk.” Onionfuzz are much more in-the-moment on these gathered improvisations, recorded at various shows throughout 2025 and immediately distinguished among the improv-based wing of the Euro heavy underground by the use of (I think also improvised) vocal lines underscoring the point that you, the audience, don’t know what’s coming next, whether it’s in the jazzy title-track or the more minimal meander “Answers to Question,” which for most of its 7:42 lets you hear the crowd chattering. That’s not the case as the subdued “The Bees Partout” answers back to the opener “The Bees Don’t Laugh When I Mow the Grass,” so I guess it depends on which night you catch their mellow fluidity. In any case, Meeplek Naar Nemen argues convincingly for doing so.
I’ve heard vaguely similar moody, heavy post-rock positioned as night-desert before, but Glisten Trick aren’t playing to genre so much as they’re serving the songs with their six-track Death Cult Rainbows EP, with airy guitar, subdued, breathy vocals, deceptively weighted low end textures and straightforward but not boring rhythm. “Dirge From Above” dares toward psychedelic fuzz, but the title-cut’s electronic beat feels indie-fed, and though “Deep Cut” is clever for the sonar sounds included and manipulated within its five-minute span, the lightly meandering guitar, emotive delivery and subtly building procession is more a highlight precisely for how to-style it isn’t. I’m not sure where Glisten Trick are in terms of landscape metaphor — the mostly-solo-project of Glasán Ghost, geographically, is from the UK — but in the swing of “No Comedown” and “Black Acid” they’re barely terrestrial to begin with, so maybe such concerns are all pretend anyway and don’t matter.
Zagreb’s Stonebride — the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Siniša Krneta, guitarist Tješimir Mendaš, bassist Matija Ljevar and drummer Stjepan Kolobarić — are reportedly (i.e. it’s what they said on Bandcamp) thinking of the two-song No Chances Given EP as indicative of where they might want to be direction-wise coming off of 2024’s Smiles Revolutionary (review here), and listening back to that album, neither “111” (4:12) nor “Barren Slope” (7:13) are a radical departure, but the former eases up on thrust somewhat and the latter feels more patient with specific attention to the vocal arrangement and the feeling of space as it builds toward its culmination, so the balance has been apparently mindfully adjusted. I won’t predict how that’ll play out among their more charge-minded impulses as shown on that LP, but an intention to grow and try new things has served them thus far into their tenure and I see no reason why it would stop now. If they’re indeed headed into more open sounds, as “Barren Slope” might hint, they have a real opportunity to play back and forth and develop their dynamic. That they’re even interested in doing so after 20 years is both deeply admirable and indicative of why you should listen.
Sounds of Waking and Weather is the soundtrack to a forthcoming novel, and while I’m not sure if that’s also by Aidan Baker (of Nadja and numerous other collaborations) or not, the acoustic guitar threaded through the included 12 songs on the 79-minute offering resonates thematically as something in literature might, even running backward as it does in “Dream Song I.” Such manipulations are prevalent throughout this solo effort, and Baker brings field recordings into “Dream Song II,” which at 10:58 is one of three extended pieces alongside “Weather I (Tule)” and the 18-minute finale “The Black Swan.” Sometimes minimal, with piano in the lead on “Weather III (Advection),” the songs might be peopled by drones, sharp hi-hat, a dulcimer in there somewhere, Baker feels purposeful in the choices of arrangement and texture, and I’m curious about the story being told in the music. If you want the spoiler from the album, it ends in the open, at night, with the sounds of insects and no humans after the bassy avant-doom nod has given way. I’m not sure what that means for plot or character, but Baker‘s ability to put you in a place and time is palpable as ever.
Latvian post-metal instrumentalists Tesa released Interval in June 2025 through My Proud Mountain, and with it offer four engrossing tracks, each with its own feeling of the journey being undertaken, each adding to the scope of the entirety. The harsher noise that makes its way into the back half of “Interval I,” or the tension held in the drums after coming back from the drone in “Interval II” which also ends the song, the time-to-riff moment of arrival at the start of “Interval III” and the fuller push over the edge of its crescendo and the 11-minute sprawl of “Interval IIII” — which does include voice if not lyrics — provide landmarks along the way, but it’s the overarching feeling of going deeper with each one until finally “Interval IIII” caps with a shimmering megawash that’s most resonant. I don’t know if it was written as one whole work or as distinct, separately-processed songs, but between the titling and the listening experience, cohesion was obviously a priority. It comes through manifest in the music itself, for which I’d recommend a healthy dose of whatever volume you can give it.
Welcome to the Quarterly Review. I’m not sure which quarter it is, and actually it’s been less than two full months since the last time we did this, but I had this crazy idea to NOT fall 50 records even further behind in covering stuff, so I decided to run one now. Maybe I’ll do another in July. Maybe a piano will fall on my head.
You know the drill by now. 10 releases per day covered. I think I’m going to keep this to 50 total, but I might tack on another day or two if I get through it and still have a bunch more on the docket. We’ll see. But time’s a crunch, so we gotta move.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
Abrams, Loon
When the postmortem is done on this generation of heavy rock and roll, Abrams might be among its most underrated bands in terms of songwriting. The Denver unit led by guitarist/vocalist Zachary Amster offer the taut 10-song/37-minute run of Loon as further argument in their favor, basking in a heavy and post-hardcore blend and working with Godcity Studio and Kurt Ballou (Converge, High on Fire, etc.) to foster a more aggressive sound in pieces like “Glass House,” “While Walls,” “Said and Done,” and so on, bordering on noise rock while bringing grunge melody to “A State of Mind” and blasting double-kick drumming to closer “Remains.” At this point, I’m wondering if they’re too good. Are they too polished, is Amster too capable a singer? Is the songwriting too tight? In the immortal words of Will Ferrell, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. Once again, Abrams do nothing wrong. One hopes the added charge wakes up more ears to what they’re doing. Or even better, instead of snagging jaded oldheads, put this shit on TikTok and let the 17 year olds learn about melody from it. That’s how it works now, right?
Buzzard, Take the Tyrant Down (Acoustic) b/w Hunchback, Vicar & Wizard
Two cuts from Massachusetts solo artist Buzzard, aka Christopher Thomas Elliott, whose voice and point of view for me personally has been salve in terrible times and for that a marker of the era. Late last year, Elliott released the EP Everything is Not Going to Be Alright (review here) with a plugged version of “Take the Tyrant Down,” which is stripped down here of its later chug and “Down down down/Sic semper tyrannis” vocal bridge. Perhaps too heavyhanded? It becomes a quiter contemplation of overcoming oppression, and its ultimate victory is no less sweet. The (digital) B-side is “Hunchback, Vicar and Wizard,” which wraps itself in an acoustic central line like “Doom Folk Fury” from the EP (which has also been expanded to an LP this year, heads up) but is less of a chorus surge, letting the Mellotron bring atmospheric backing to the lyrical tale of cathartic justice for the abuse victims of clergy. Yes, I’m talking about killing priests who rape children. Or Elliott is anyhow, in his increasingly solidified and yet malleable doom-folk aesthetic, with craft likewise prolific and purposeful.
As I understand it, Masheena have traded out half their lineup since recording Let the Spiders In with producer Machine (Clutch, etc.) in early 2024, but either way, the Bergen, Norway, heavy rocking four-piece bring expansive melodies to sharp structures in hooky cuts like “Going to the Mountain” and “One Good Eye,” taking bluesy energy in pieces like “Been Waiting” and “Don’t Tell Her” and the chug of the penultimate “Riffy” and fostering a sound that’s straightforward and accessible while not lacking at all in variety. It’s their second LP, and though on “Sara Lost Her Way,” they edge close to the big-stage energy of countrymen Spidergawd, the thickness in “Riffy” and the subsequent, nonetheless shuffling closer “You Owe Me,” as well as the generally bluesier foundations, aid in distinction. The album is paced comfortably at 34 minutes but never in any danger of overstaying its welcome. Can’t help but be curious how the dynamic has changed with the new lineup. It’s certainly solid in this material.
As Buenos Aires-based singer-songwriter Sergio Chotsourian (aka Sergio Ch., of Los Natas, Ararat, Soldati, etc.) has developed his solo approach, it’s satisfying to hear him working with a drum machine on “Last Dance,” the first cut on this two-song EP, paired with the 12-minute “The Journey.” It highlights a modernized bedroom-folk intimacy that’s always been in his experimentalist craft, and lets the guitar become the source of tension in the piece, which it does righteously. “The Journey” is more synth-based and is instrumental for most of its stretch, but there are late-arriving vocals. He also seems to be trying something new with his voice, though that might just be a result of returning to English-language lyrics after however long it’s been since last time. Note the guitar figure consistent beneath the keys of “The Journey” as well. Last Dance of a Dying Man is Sergio being Sergio, but part of that is pushing his own boundaries, and that can clearly be heard in these songs.
LSDREI, a combination of LSD and ‘drei,’ as in ‘three,’ is indeed the third LP from Danish jammers Vestjysk Ørken, and it begins with a long monologue over foreboding backing drone spoken by the drug itself, maybe from an old propaganda film? In any case, this first eight minutes set the mood before a burst-in of heavy fuzz after the eight-minute mark starts what’s presumed to be ‘Violets and Yellow’ in the six-parts-presented-as-a-single-36-minute-track of the LP. The full course is listed as “The Traveler / Violets & Yellow / Drei / Running My Head / (Backwards) Like A Mirror / Lovely Colours Shimmering,” and though immersion has always been a top priority for the Esbjerg outfit — theirs and yours both — they’ve never sounded quite so intentional in their exploration. The lumber gives way to shimmering lead guitar, more speech and a light but bassy boogie as they pass the halfway point, and plays back and forth from there between airy verses, ebbs and flows, more samples and, in the last few minutes, both shove and a massive concluding roll finishing with vague but angry shouts of a populace. It gets weird, kids. Actually, starts weird and gets weirder. For best results, recommend you do likewise.
Liminal Sky is presented as an extension of the work drummer, guitarist and keyboardist Jaime Gomez Arellano (also a noted producer in London) and guitarist, bassist, keyboardist Daniel Knight did together in the band Messenger, but the debut album All Tomorrow’s Darkness takes on an identity of its own, thanks in no small part to vocal collaborations with Mat McNerny (Hexvessel, Grave Pleasures), Kristoffer Rygg (Ulver) and Karin Park (Årabrot), as well as a slew of instrumental contributors too many to list in this space. This amalgam results in an emotionally resonant, post-genre melancholia, kin to the beauty in darkness in pieces like “Algebra of Unknowing,” “Penance” and “Forget Me Not,” the latter of which hits into a satisfying crescendo without giving up its core expressive purpose. It is not a minor undertaking in the substance of its songs, but Arellano and Knight create an entire world for this material, and the listener, to dwell in.
Professional-grade delivery from a professional band. Master of the Skies is the 11th album in the 35-plus-year tenure of Sweden’s The Quill, and if they’re exploring themes of mastery, you could hardly find a better theme to coincide with their sound. With expert hand and worldly care, they gracefully guide the listener through a diverse 45-minute collection, with rockers and ballads and acoustic numbers and the nine-minute volume-trade sprawl of the penultimate “Mastodon,” part Sabbath as they go, but more of a decades-meld of heavy rock ideologies so that “You Can Not Kill My Soul” hits with triumphant melody and side B opener “If Tomorrow Never Comes” wraps itself up in chugging largesse. The band — vocalist Magnus Ekwall, guitarist Christian Carlsson, bassist Roger Nilsson and drummer Jolle Atlagic — are unflinching in the refinement of their approach, but even when they reprise lead cut “Master of the Skies” to finish, there’s no pretense, just some of the most solid craft a band could hope to stand on.
Unearthed from the depths of Columbus, Ohio’s underground, Greenthrone‘s The Greenthrone EP was put to tape in 2010 and 2011 as a series of demos from what was then the bombastic duo of Danny Bays (guitar/vocals) and Lisa Bella Donna (drums/production), the latter also of much-missed progressive heavy explorers EYE. A five-song collection, it is brash and raw and finds Bays‘ vocal delivery somewhere between Matt Pike and Chuck Schuldiner on “The Sentinel” and “Beyond the Veil,” and that’s before they get into the sludgy push/roll of centerpiece “Hidden in Plain Sight” or the righteously-tin-can “Brujo,” and “Feather Crown” to close. There’s an audible shift in sound there ahead of the last two tracks, but there was point of view in the band even 15 years ago. Bays got a new lineup going at some point, a trio, and hopefully there’s more to follow sooner or later.
Dave Heumann, Chimes of Freedom // Further Adventures of Big Ten
Two at least semi-covers; one straight up take on Bob Dylan, the latter transmogrified reportedly from The Grateful Dead and David Crosby, and either make a fitting place for Arbouretum frontman Dave Heumann to dwell in for a while. The fragility of his voice in Dylan‘s lyrics on “Chimes of Freedom” makes that song feel all the more like a song for the people — in both the folk music and political senses, because they’re linked — while “Further Adventures of Big Ten” feels more like an exploration, being instrumental and set atop a drone and backed with hand-percussion as it is. “Chimes of Freedom” is the more straightforward, I guess, but its organ line and way-back-there gentle drums feel emblematic of the 1964 original, captured at the precipice of the birth of the psychedelic era. You could say a lot about the choices one way or the other, but from where I sit it’s five more minutes of Heumann singing and about 11 of him playing and I’ll take what I can get, thanks. He’s like if you gave the National Park System a voice.
Most of all, Towers of Silence sounds like the beginning of a rich and creative plunge into sound. Netherlands-based four-piece A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers take a sludgy angle on post-metallic lurch on this three-songer, and as “The Massacre of Flour” unfolds, it seems like it’s going to be all-onslaught until they hang a louie into a psychedelic midsection framed on the other side by a punishing return. “I Fuck People” follows and is noisier and more chaotic, but still manages to find room for saxophone in its second half, while the nine-minute title-track wraps by flipping the script into volume trades between meditative melodic contemplation and heavier bashing-away. The message that comes through is A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers aren’t restrained by genre ideology. Breaking out of it on three songs, they’re at the starting point in developing the individual creative expression one hears in this material. The prospects for where their journey might take them are exciting.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 9th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Somewhere between epic doom, stonerized riff idolatry and classic heavy metal, Baltimore’s Haze Mage are gearing up to call it quits. The five-piece will play their final show next week at The Ottobar for Grim Reefer Fest (I’m thinking of going), and April 18 (next Saturday; the day of the festival), they’re releasing High Fantasy, what’s purported to be their final full-length.
Of course, ‘final’ is a malleable consideration in a universe of infinite possibility. So far as I know nobody here hates each other, and it may be that in six months or six years they decide to pick back up, so if High Fantasy is your first exposure, yeah, I guess technically that’s late to the party since they’re not a band anymore and that particular party is over, but I wouldn’t be surprised if at least some of these guys don’t show up in other projects, whether or not they play together as Haze Mage again.
I’m just getting to know the record, but it’s a burner in a Spring that seems to be loaded with them. Two songs are streaming now and you’ll find them at the bottom of this post. The band’s PR wire announcement and the album info follow:
HAZE MAGE – High Fantasy – April 18
We are proud to present “High Fantasy”; the latest and final chapter in the Haze Mage saga. Join us as we dive deeper into the mystical world we’ve created of the Haze Mage, a realm consumed and transformed by the maddening Blood Mist. This epic 9 song album is the culmination of 6 years of song writing through an everchanging world of soaring victories, eternal struggles, and finding support in those around you when you need it most – it’s also about mysteriously magical weed shops and vampiric brains flying out of bodies and terrorizing villages at night.
Thank you all for your continuing support over the years, we could not have done this without each and every one of you that have come to our shows, played gigs with us, wear our merch, and continue to listen to us all over the world. We hope you enjoy this album as much as we do … and be careful of what awaits you as you journey into the Haze.
“High Fantasy” is now up for pre-order on our bandcamp (hazemage.bandcamp.com) and will fully release on April 18th alongside our final live performance at the Ottobar for Grim Reefer Fest
Tracklisting: 1. Pit Fighter 2. Evil Candle 3. Green Butcher 4. Golden Rider 5. Bat Brain 6. Howl of the Night Pack 7. Ogre 8. Squadron 9.Sleepers
“High Fantasy” was recorded between January and March 2026 by Noel Mueller in his Tiny Castle, mixed and mastered by Noel Mueller, artwork by John DeCampos/Ghost Bat Illustration.
Haze Mage is John DeCampos (Drums), Matthew Casella (Vocals), Nick Jewett (Guitar), Kevin Considine (Guitar), and Scott Brenner (Bass).
Posted in Reviews on March 24th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Well, we made it to the final day of the Spring 2026 Quarterly Review, and as ever, I hope somewhere in the mass of 70 releases written up that you were able to find something you hadn’t heard before that spoke to you. If not, first, are you okay? I mean, if you’ve been through all now-70 offerings discussed over the last week-plus and found absolutely nothing, that seems pretty bleak. Granted that’s the state of the world, but I know that when things seem at their lowest, it’s music and art that gives me any hope for humanity whatsoever. If I didn’t have it, I’d be in trouble. Anyway, hope there was something cool for you, and as always, thanks for reading.
Let’s wrap this up. Back maybe mid-June with the next QR.
Quarterly Review #61-70:
Black Lung, Forever Beyond
Bringing together ethereal sounds and feet-on-the-ground, real-world themes can be tough. Are Baltimorean heavy psych-blues veterans Black Lung providing escape or confronting the times we live in head-on? A bit of both on the seven-song/35-minute Forever Beyond, which brings melodic textural flourish to “Savior” as the lyrics remain unconvinced. The later “Border Horder” and closer “Scum” say it more clearly, and that’s an asset in the album’s favor, not that one would call the progressive and expansive, Mellotron-and-cello-laced centerpiece “Follow” subtle, exactly. I can’t tell if I’m just hearing an acoustic layer in the second half of “Forever Beyond Me” or if it’s really there, but I like that about it, and it’s worth noting that along with the pointed direction Forever Beyondtakes — which is to be commended in a heavy rock underground where far too many have buried their heads — the band continue to refine their songwriting. I do wish the ending of “Border Hoarder” went on for another three minutes riding that riff, but maybe live.
Pardon me for playing catchup to Austin fury-punk heavy shovers Die Spitz, whose Third Man-delivered debut LP, Something to Consume, was released in Sept. 2025. The 11-song grunge-informed album is a ripper, giving a much-needed generational refresh to punkish heavy noise, like Chat Pile but not for podcast bros. The heft of “Sound to No One” reveals a depth of mix that despondent/sludgy-but-moving opener “Pop Punk Anthem (Sorry for the Delay)” hinted toward in its later solo, and cuts like “Red40” and “Riding With My Girls” gallop with a fresh-feeling glee, while the lumber of “Punishers,” the big-riff slam of “Throw Yourself to the Sword” and the almost unfortunately catchy “American Porn” seethe with intensity aggressive purpose. The recording sounds close enough to live to convey the genuine energy of the execution, and the blend of immediacy and atmospherics speaks to a nascent creative growth to take shape in the years to come. One of last year’s best debuts, easily. The kids are pissed off, and rightly and righteously so.
Borracho‘s cover of Spirit Caravan‘s “Fang” might be the heaviest thing the Washington D.C. trio have ever done. It’s one of five cover songs on Eternos, a sweet-but-somewhat-bittersweet homage to lost friends from among the heavy underground. “Fang” pays homage to Dave Sherman (also Earthride), who always said “Fang” was special to him because he wrote it. Foghound‘s “Keep on Shoveling” follows, for Rev. Jim Forrester, with Karma to Burn‘s “Twenty-Nine” after for Will Mecum, The Hidden Hand‘s “Damyata” for Bruce Falkinburg and “A Heart Without a Home,” by The Hellacopters, for Robert “Strings” Dahlqvist. Can’t argue with the concept, the choices of songs or the resulting EP. I swear to you I almost didn’t review it because all there is to say is, “well yeah, it’s kind of sad, but duh it rules anyway.” But they do really dig in while handling the material with care, and you can feel the intent of the release accordingly.
If you’re new to them, the key to understanding Avon is knowing that guitarist/vocalist James Childs — joined in the band by bassist June Kato and drummer Alfredo Hernández (Across the River, Yawning Man, Kyuss, etc.) — has his roots in the history of English rock and roll, so while tonally Avon draw a lot from desert-heavy, they’re also pulling from decades of UK rock, from garage rock to early progressive blues rock to early punk to artsy ’90s whathaveyou, and those influences come out in their material as well. Songs are short and the benefit of this stylistic blend is that it’s the songwriting that draws the album together, as well as the band-in-a-room sensibility of the recording, however it was actually made. “Bandits” and “Nineteen Bruises” make a particularly effective back and forth before the piano/stomp of “Super Furry Antidotes,” and the hook of the leadoff title-track assures you never forget which record you’re hearing, not that you would.
A brash and gritty sound permeates the geometric charm of Tetrahedric Hellscape Cannon, and even with bassist Justin Potter‘s rough vocal delivery, the verse of the title-track reveals earlier Clutch as a source of some of the patterning, which the penultimate “Ohio” affirms. Potter and drummer Dolphin Riot comprise the entirety of Dallas’ Sons of Gulliver, and nobody who’s heard “Vagabonds” or the ’90s-bouncing “Headcleaner” is going to say they’re lacking anything as regards heft for not having guitar. But for being a duo, the songs have variety baked into their purpose, as the acoustic/hand-percussion centerpiece “Earthbound” — think instrumental “Planet Caravan” — demonstrates, if not the shift from the punk/metal of “Death or Distortion” and the strutting, self-aware desert riffery of “Dunes,” and at nine-songs/31-minutes, Tetrahedric Hellscape Cannon can count efficiency among its strengths. It’s definitely a first record, but there’s character here.
Instrumentalist save for side B’s “Rusalka,” wherein Paulinia Przychodzień-Witek Damroca adds voice and lyrics to their post-metallic push, Trees Are Silent finds Wrocław’s Gozd mindful of the atmosphere being created by each of the album’s eight inclusions, and yes, trees are a theme for some of it. The keys and lead guitar of “Birch” place them somewhere in the Russian Circles/Pelican school, but whether it’s the trumpet in the quiet moments and subsequent payoff of “Linden” or the outright gorgeousness and serenity on offer in “Axis Mundi,” or the crush wrought in “Om,” they bring an individual edge to their creative pursuit, the post-rock drifter finale “Ekoton” as fitting a conclusion as one could find to a release of intentional sprawl. The going isn’t quite meditative, but they obviously set these songs up for a whole album fluidity, and in that they are successful.
From Yuggoth, And Ever Since My Paths Were Crooked and Forsaken
Somewhere between stoner metal riff idolatry, post-metallic shout-into-the-void atmospherics, and Conan-esque tonal wallbuilding, Dresden’s From Yuggoth loose the expanses of their four-song second EP, And Ever Since My Paths Were Crooked and Forsaken, staving off hypercerebrality on “A Crimson Dawn” with an emotive crescendo marked by vast lead guitar and ace basslines. This blend of the raw and progressive one might trace to Neurosis (especially this week), but there’s pure doom in the band’s veins as well, as the semi-title-track shows in its early lumbering. You should note that “My Paths Were Crooked and Forsaken” gets very, very heavy™, but neither are From Yuggoth entirely reliant on tone to make their impact, as the snare-led slog of “Thy Serpent Eyes” makes plain, despite the assault, crush and burn of “Deathlike Living (We Are Alpha),” which closes. There’s enough Electric Wizard in the structure of the riffs to keep the songs doomed, and that serves them well and makes From Yuggoth‘s approach more their own. And, again, the bass.
Netherlands four-piece Desert Colossus present their fourth album in the nine-song/46-minute Apparatus, rife with moody melody and riffed with its whole heart. Desert rock at its foundation, their sound is able to expand around that to various degrees when called to do so, as in the closer “Come Forth” with its Middle Eastern guitar inflection and ensuing multi-stage nod. Largesse is a tool at their disposal — hello “Vanity” — but they know a classic push and swing too, diving in with a hungry Sabbathism on “Sweet Cherries Hang Low” and opener “Hermit,” and while “Prixie House on the Wax” and the partially-acoustic “Black Out” are more complex, they still groove. It all comes together in “Three Eyed Fox,” which makes that a highlight, but it’s not alone as Desert Colossus find new paths through familiar ground, distinctive in melody and consistent though dynamic changes in tempo, volume and purpose. This was my first exposure to them, and no regrets in starting from Apparatus whatsoever.
It’s heavy metal or no metal at all on Axe Dragger‘s Ripple-released self-titled debut full-length. The multinational project brings together guitarist Bob Balch (Fu Manchu, Big Scenic Nowhere, Slower, etc.), drummer “Minnesota Pete” Campbell (ex-Pentagram, The Mighty Nimbus, etc.), vocalist Terry Glaze (ex-Pantera) and bassist Fredrik Isaksson (Dark Funeral, ex-Grave), and together they run through 10 songs of mostly-classic-styled metal, with some thrash and groove elements finding balance in songs like “Fight Another Day,” “Death is Calling My Name,” and “Fire in the Madhouse,” while all-out rippers like “Axe Dragger,” “Give You Rope’ and “El Toro” revel in speedy twists and shove. Their apparent aim is to be the kind of metal band you’d draw the logo of on your math notebook instead of doing your homework, and as aspirations go, I can think of few so admirable. Everybody here is definitely an adult, but it’s fun pretend.
Consuming waves of drone intertwine, change and move around a dynamic mix to create the sense of dread and, sometimes, oppression in Den Der Hale‘s Larking About, as the Swedish troupe bring heavy ambience to fruition across four tracks and 42 minutes of swelling, ethereal tones, sporadic vocals for a likewise sporadic human presence, and a level of worldbuilding that veers into the cinematic as regards evocation. The piano lines in “Where My Flesh Cannot Be Torn” and distinguishable vocal lines make it more grounded perhaps than “Silphium” just before it, which somehow ends up in black metal in its second half though don’t ask me how they got there, and each post-everything unfurling adds another aspect to the entirety, right through to “Under Jord” fostering a single swell of drone and letting it hold sway for most of its 11 minutes, building on the foundation laid out in the opening title-track. As an album it is vivid and affecting, and though it’s something of a shift in direction for Den Der Hale, perhaps it’s more of an extrapolation from their past work, taking the weight conjured through past outings and finding this amorphous, occasionally terrifying thing in it. You won’t hear something else like it today.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 15th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
No arguments to make here with the lineup for Grim Reefer Fest 2026. The Baltimorean all-dayer has been a regular feature of East Coast Springtime for the last however-many, and continues to grow its reach each time out. Black Tusk take a headliner position that in past years has gone the likes of Weedeater or Bongzilla, and that feels fair enough for the heft they bring, while Howling Giant provide a rocking counterpart as they support their well-received 2025 album, Crucible and Ruin (review here). They’ll be in Europe in May for Desertfest as well, if you’re in that part of the world and not this one.
Of course there’s more to it than headliners, with New York’s Shadow Witch and Pennsylvania’s Almost Honest representing Argonauta Records, the fest-associated Haze Mage playing a set as the house band, and Seasick Gladiator, Total Maniac, Necromancer and Cemetery Sex included. All told, it’s a nine-band day that starts at 3:30 and goes, well, probably until you’re ready to go to bed. Party hearty.
From the PR wire:
Grim Reefer Fest 2026
We are excited to announce the return of Grim Reefer Fest! Join us once again at the legendary Ottobar in Baltimore, MD for a full day of heavy music, dank vibes, and high spirits! Join us on Saturday April 18th, 2026 as we celebrate the High Holidays with a stacked lineup from start to finish with some of the best bands the scene has to offer! Featuring the heavy sludge sounds of Black Tusk, the heavy harmonized riffs Howling Giant (whose latest album was one of the best of 2025), the rockin sounds of Baltimore favorites Total Maniac, and many more (9 bands total)! Additionally, fest founders Haze Mage are announcing an indefinite hiatus after this year’s festival so all the more reason to come give these local heavy heroes a proper sendoff!
This is the 8th year of Grim Reefer Fest and one of our most ambitious lineups yet! We’re proud of what we’re accomplishing as a DIY grassroots festival. The genres and sounds for this year’s bands range are diverse, rocking, and full of some of our favorite underground bands on the scene today!
The full list of performers at this year’s fest includes:
Black Tusk Howling Giant Total Maniac Haze Mage Shadow Witch Cemetery Sex Almost Honest Seasick Gladiator Necromancer
Doors are at 2:30pm, Music starts at 3:30pm and runs until midnight
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 30th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Since first encountering the title “Mellow Knees” on Darsombra‘s 2023 album, Dumesday Book (review here), I’ve made the phrase a part of my personal lexicon. That is to say, on a personal level, I aspire toward ‘mellow knees.’ If you’ve ever done yoga — and I’m pretty sure Darsombra‘s Brian Daniloski is certified to lead your class if you haven’t — it’s the kind of idea you might encounter there as gentle encouragement not to be kicking your own ass while forcing your body into a pose in some way it doesn’t want to go. I like yoga. I like Darsombra. And I have knee problems. Such confluence of interest and circumstance is rare.
Will “Mellow Knees” put the mellow in your knees? It might. It’s a rain-on-the-windshield tour through highway Americana. Some roads you’ve seen, some just in videos like this one, and some you don’t know. I’m pretty sure that, like George Washington, they cross the Chesapeake, which is fitting for a Baltimorean band to include. “Mellow Knees” is the sixth clip to come from Dumesday Book, and this isn’t quite a premiere, but it isn’t quite not either. You might recall exactly one year ago it was “Everything is Canceled” being unveiled. The band’s situation, with the loss this Fall of Ann Everton (synth, vocals, percussion, projections), who made this video as part of an ongoing project for the whole record, is obviously different than it was a year ago today.
Daniloski, who is the lone remaining member and founder of Darsombra (which began 20 years ago), is posting the video in Everton‘s honor today, Dec. 30, and has recently announced the initial lineup for Transmission (posted here), which will be a two-day festival Feb. 28 and March 1, also dedicated to Ann‘s memory. Of course, that context, and thinking of the Dumesday Book visual album as unfinished, brings grief into the context of the video’s arrival, but as you watch the two-and-a-half-minute twisty droner, slow your brain down if you can and take in the footage you’re seeing. This country is home to some of the most beautiful landscapes on this planet. Environmentally and aesthetically, that’s worth preserving.
If you need me, I’ll be over here trying to mellow out my knees so I don’t end up with a mellow cortisone shot into the bone. Thus harshing the mellow.
Enjoy the clip:
Darsombra, “Mellow Knees” official video
“Mellow Knees” by DARSOMBRA from the album Dumesday Book
2023 Pnictogen Records Filmed and edited by Ann Everton
In loving memory of Ann Everton
This video was completed in 2024. It is the ending sequence of what was supposed to be the Dumesday Book video album. Ann wanted to create a video for every song on the 75 minute album and have them all connect its pandemic-tymes storyline, from when we were all told to “Shelter in Place” in spring 2020, to its conclusion about a year or so later, which, for Darsombra and this video, meant being able to leave our home to go back out on the road and tour again. She had completed videos for over half of the album, including this one, before her passing in October 2025.
Confirmed locations: Black Willow Siphon – Oregon White Mountains – New Hampshire Badlands National Park – South Dakota Joshua Tree National Park – California Factory Butte – Utah Death Valley – California Maryland Diablo Canyon – New Mexico US Pacific Northwest
Unconfirmed locations: Colorado and/or Montana and/or Canada US Pacific Northwest and/or Atlantic Northeast Four Corners US Florida Keys Pennsylvania Tabernacle Hill Lava Tubes – Utah and other places
Darsombra, Dumesday Book (2023)
Darsombra, “Shelter in Place” official video
Darsombra, “Gibbet Lore” official video
Darsombra, “Call the Doctor” official video
Darsombra, “Nightgarden” official video
Darsombra, “Everything is Canceled” official video
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 17th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Perhaps you, like me and a whole bunch of others, were blindside-gutpunched by the loss of Darsombra‘s Ann Everton in a vehicle accident early in October. In a year where human cruelty and horror perpetuated on a daily if not hourly basis, the presence of someone like Everton on the planet was akin to a source of light in a bitter, almost liquid darkness. Her partner in music and life, Brian Daniloski, has announced the lineup for Transmission — also the name of Darsombra‘s 2019 LP (review here) — which is a two-day event that will serve as homage and celebration of Everton‘s contributions in music and art.
The Ottobar in Darsombra‘s hometown of Baltimore — where I guess they still spent some time despite nomadic touring across seasons and years and the world — will play host to Transmission, which features the likes of tourmates Stinking Lizaveta, the heavy psych rockers Holy Fingers, Cultic and a slew of others I don’t know, which only makes it more rad as far as I’m concerned. There are apparently also more to be announced, so expect it to be a packed two days. No doubt Daniloski has had an easy time convincing anyone who knew Ann to take part. How would you not?
Info follows, as posted on socials:
Darsombra presents TRANSMISSION- A Celebration for Ann Everton
Feb 28th & March 1st at the Ottobar
Save the dates and join us to honor Ann’s legacy in art and music, as well as her colorful, effervescent spirit. We’ve got over two dozen bands, here are some of the kind folks scheduled to perform over two days. More bands and schedule to be announced very soon.
Celebration Stinking Lizaveta Quattracenta Curse War On Women acoustic Height Mrs. Paintbrush (Jackson from Grand Buffet) Holy Fingers Cultic Moth Broth Glorian Ala Muerte Curving Tooth Consumer Culture 50’♀ & the Worms
