Sinister Haze Stream Betrayed by Time EP in Full; Tour Starts Tonight in RVA
Posted in audiObelisk on April 28th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Tonight in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia, booze-doom trio Sinister Haze begin a month-long US tour that will take them coast to coast as they head west for a slot on May 16 at the Psycho California festival before looping back eastward. Today also marks the release of their debut EP, Betrayed by Time, pressed in a 180g LP edition of 300 copies by Heavy Slab Records, and “heavy slab” is about as apt a description as anything I can come up with for the four-song release. More than their three-song 2013 Demo (review here), the EP versions take elements from doom and mid-paced heavy rock groove and set a drunken undertone to the whole affair. Though Richmond is a hotbed for doom, grind, stoner rock and Southern heavy, I wouldn’t necessarily align Sinister Haze to any of them (especially grind), but over the course of “Betrayed by Time” (previously streamed here), “Changin’ Ways,” “Motorhaze” and “Black Shapeless Demon,” seem to tell the tale instrumentally of a night’s party taken perhaps a bit too far and the ensuing weight that can press on the head like so much concrete.
All told, it’s a 23-minute EP, but there’s a definite flow between the two songs of the A side and the two of the B. “Changin’ Ways” is of particular note in the bourbon-breathed narrative — which is something I’m putting to it rather than a concept Sinister Haze have said they’re working with — since it’s both the catchiest track and the moment where one realizes maybe the evening’s imbibing has gotten out of hand. It’s been a while, admittedly, but I’ve been there. Before that, “Betrayed by Time” starts off at a solid roll and winds 
up in a kind slurred vocal and guitar pairing by its finish, which leaves “Changin’ Ways” and its Earthride-worthy nod to further the boogie, as it most certainly does. The moment where the drink betrays the drinker? Well, it’s somewhere in the instrumental “Motorhaze,” which sways and leans this way and that and finds guitarist/vocalist Brandon Marcey, bassist/vocalist Sam Marsh and drummer Joe Dillon pushing through classic-minded leads and warm tones backed by swinging drums not quite as upbeat as either of the cuts on the first half of the EP, but transitioning smoothly into the eight-minute closer, “Black Shapeless Demon.”
Legend has it, it was such a creature that inspired Geezer Butler to pen “Black Sabbath,” but for Sinister Haze, “Black Shapeless Demon” is more introspective, begin with a sort of wistful, quiet guitar progression joined soon by the bass and drums that unfolds over the first three minutes or so before vocals start the first verse and the build ensues. Much to Sinister Haze‘s credit, while “Black Shapeless Demon” comes to a head, it’s not overblown or cliché in how it does so, and the slow-oozing distortion that takes hold feels drawn in parts from the emotional heft of Pallbearer and the fuckall of Electric Wizard, but is indebted ultimately to neither. Marcey and Marsh work exceedingly well together on vocals — the demo was fronted by Fire Faithful‘s Brandon Malone — and the quiet finish of “Black Shapeless Demon” is all the more effective for the spirited, regret-fueled performance given atop the track’s rumbling payoff. That must’ve been some night.
In honor of the Betrayed by Time EP’s release, you can stream it in full courtesy of the band and Heavy Slab Records. Please find it on the player below, followed by Sinister Haze‘s tour dates, which once again, start tonight.
Enjoy:
[mp3player width=480 height=480 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=sinister-haze-betrayed-by-time-ep.xml]
SINISTER HAZE TOUR DATES:
4/28 Richmond Va @ Strange Matter w/ US Christmas, Generation of Vipers
4/29 Durham NC @ Motor City Music Hall w/ US Christmas, Generation of Vipers
4/30 Johnson City NC @ The Hideaway w/ US Christmas, Generation of Vipers & Torch Runner
5/1 Knoxville TN @ Poison Lawn w/ Torch Runner
5/2 Atlanta GA @ 529 w/ Irreversible (Final Show), Order of the Owl
5/3 New Orleans @ Siberia w/ Today is the Day
5/4 New Orleans @ Sisters in Christ
5/5 Houston TX @ Fitzgerald’s w/ Today Is The Day
5/6 Austin TX @ Mohawk
5/7 San Antonio @ Hi Tones
5/8 Austin TX @ The Lost Well w/ Conan
5/11 Amarillo TX @ Yellow City Bomb Shelter
5/12 Albuquerque NM @ Moonlight Lounge
5/13 Tempe/Phoenix AZ @ Yucca Tap Room w/ Sorxe and Goya
5/16 Psycho California Festival
5/18 Oakland CA @ Golden Bull
5/20 Denver CO @ Barbar
5/21 Omaha NB @ O’Leavers
5/22 Minneapolis MN @ Hexagon Bar
5/23 Milwuakee WI @ Quarters
5/24 Chicago IL @ LiveWire Lounge
5/25 Detroit MI @ Corktown Tavern
5/26 Pittsburgh PA @ 31st St. Pub
Sinister Haze on Thee Facebooks
