There’s a lot going on here. First, I won’t pretend not to have heard the forthcoming debut album, The Skull 3, from doomly supergroup Legions of Doom. I wrote the bio. Twice. The part below that starts “Where does…” and ends talking about David V. D’Andrea (there was more, but whatever). Set to issue through Tee Pee Records, it is intended on the part of bassist Ron Holzner and guitarist Lothar Keller to pick up where The Skull left off.

Indeed, much of the material began as songs coming together for a third The Skull LP prior to the death of frontman Eric Wagner in 2022. Now, with vocalists Karl Agell (Lie Heavy, Leadfoot, ex-C.O.C.) and Scott Reagers (Saint Vitus) alternating in lead-singer roles, and Henry Vasquez (Saint Vitus, Blood of the Sun, the latest incarnation of Pentagram, etc.) on drums, Legions of Doom pull another step away from being taggable as a ‘Trouble-offshoot’ while keeping the spirit of The Skull‘s take on traditional doom alive. Much to their credit, the sound they have developed is its own thing.

The PR wire has the info on the Sanford Parker-produced record below, plus the limited EP that will precede it, plus live dates, and the lead single “All Good Things” streaming in a just-unveiled video. Album’s out Sept. 13:

LEGIONS OF DOOM: Doom Metal Super Group To Release Debut Full-Length The Skull 3 On September 13th Via Tee Pee Records; New Video/Single Now Playing, Limited Edition 7” EP Announced, And More!

LEGIONS OF DOOM will release their The Skull 3 full-length on September 13th via Tee Pee Records, today unveiling the record’s first single and preorders.

Where does The Skull end and LEGIONS OF DOOM begin? The answer might be “right here.” Welcome The Skull 3.

The 2021 passing of vocalist Eric Wagner (The Skull, ex-Trouble, Blackfinger, etc.) looms over LEGIONS OF DOOM’s debut, as The Skull guitarist Lothar Keller and bassist Ron Holzner (also ex-Trouble) pick up with material that would have been on that band’s third full-length and realize it in a different form. With Wagner’s involvement in the composition and the blessing of the singer’s family, LEGIONS OF DOOM shift further into supergroup territory by welcoming drummer Henry Vasquez (Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Blood Of The Sun), guitarist Scott Little (Leadfoot) and vocalists Karl Agell (Lie Heavy, Leadfood, Blind-era Corrosion Of Conformity) and Scott Reagers (original frontman of Saint Vitus) to the fold, both celebrating Wagner’s life and creativity and finding a path of their own as they do.

“Eric had a file on his computer labeled ‘New Skull Record,’” explains Holzner, “with his lyrics allotted to these songs. I was lucky that his family was able to access the computer and share the files with me. There were extra lyrics and verses that I used to finish the songs. I wrote most of the lyrics to ‘Lost Soul,’ but I’m so happy that Eric’s family was able to access the computer and pass along the lyrics to me.”

It is fitting to the brand of doom proffered by these Legions that Wagner’s spirit is part of this record – not to mention his vocals on “Heaven” – but LEGIONS OF DOOM are more than a tribute. Just as The Skull built on the legacy of its component members in Trouble and other outfits – Keller’s contributions to songwriting have always been the secret weapon; that remains true on The Skull 3 – so too does the new group chart its own forward course. In the end, the record becomes as much a debut as it ever might have been a third album for The Skull, and the persona of LEGIONS OF DOOM is immediately distinguished through the performances of Reagers and Agell on vocals. Yes, it’s classic doom by veterans who helped define the form, but LEGIONS OF DOOM are vibrant in their revelry, and, to be blunt, they sound like a band with more to say. Don’t go into the album expecting a one-off.

Holzner offers context: “Lothar and I wrote eighty percent of the record with Eric prior to him passing away. Karl, Henry and especially Scott Reagers wanted to finish it. Scott really didn’t want The Skull to end and insisted that we continue as The Skull as well as doing LEGIONS OF DOOM. LOD will be the main focus from here out and The Skull will play once in a while. Lo and I finished the record with a collaboration with David Snyder (Trouble, Blackfinger) on the song, [and first single], ‘All Good Things’ and wrote the newest song ‘Lost Soul’ with Henry. We also reworked Eric’s acoustic song ‘Heaven’ to go with his recorded vocals. The cover art was done by the legendary David V. D’Andrea (Samaritan Press). I told him I wanted something to represent moving on from The Skull and being reborn in LEGIONS OF DOOM…”

In advance of the record’s release, today the band unveils “All Good Things,” which also serves as the A side of a limited-edition EP set for release on August 23rd. Side B features a cover of Deep Purple’s “Into The Fire,” exclusive to the EP.

Elaborates Agell, “‘All Good Things’ holds great significance. It’s the first true LEGIONS OF DOOM song. I was granted the great honor of singing Eric Wagner’s beautiful words which telegraph hope and redemption in the midst of pain and despair. It became a sort of collaboration beyond the grave, signaling a rebirth. ‘And so dear friends, you have to carry on. All good things come to those who wait.’

“‘Into The Fire’ is one of my favorite songs by Deep Purple off of their 1970 In Rock album. Ron and I recorded a version of it years ago with Reed Mullin of Corrosion Of Conformity (RIP) and Scott Little of Leadfoot on guitar. Scott also happens to play for LEGIONS OF DOOM. We loved it then, and we loved tracking it again as a worthy B side for the All Good Things EP.”

The Skull 3 was recorded by Sanford Parker at the late Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio as well as Hyper Cube Studios, mixed by Quentin Poynter at QMP Audio, and mastered by John Scrip at Massive Mastering.

Preorders for the All Good Things EP, which will be available digitally and on Purple w/ Black Splatter 7” vinyl (limited to 500 copies), as well as The Skull 3, which will be available on CD, LP and digital formats, can be found at THIS LOCATION: https://linktr.ee/LegionsOfDoom

All Good Things EP Track Listing:
Side A
1. All Good Things
Side B
2. Into The Fire (Deep Purple cover)

The Skull 3 Track Listing:
1. Beyond The Shadow Of Doubt
2. All Good Things
3. Lost Soul
4. A Voice Of Reason
5. Between Darkness And Dawn
6. Insectiside
7. Heaven
8. Hallow By All Means

LEGIONS OF DOOM Live:
9/12/2024 Desertfest NYC Pre Party – Brooklyn, NY
9/13/2024 Widowmaker Brewing – Braintree, MA
9/14/2024 Chapel Of Bones – Raleigh, NC
9/20/2024 Ripplefest – Austin, TX

LEGION OF DOOM:
Ron Holzner – bass
Lothar Keller – guitars
Scott Little – guitars
Henry Vasquez – drums
Karl Agell – vocals
Scott Reagers – vocals

http://www.facebook.com/legionofdoom
https://www.instagram.com/legionsofdoomband/
https://linktr.ee/LegionsOfDoom

http://www.facebook.com/troubletheskull
http://www.instagram.com/theskullusa

teepeerecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/teepeerecords/
https://www.instagram.com/teepeerecords
https://teepeerecords.bandcamp.com/

Legions of Doom, “All Good Things” official video

As of whatever social media post I saw whenever it was in the last two weeks — look, it’s been kind of a busy couple weeks, alright? — UK layers-to-waste Conan were in-progress on writing for their next full-length, which they’ll issue through Heavy Psych Sounds sometime right around whenever they damn well feel like it next year. The three-piece led by guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis, with Johnny King on drums and David Ryley on bass are set to once again traverse the Atlantic — presumably in some kind of hand-carved ship made of riff-felled tree trunks, but you never know; could be an airplane — for a round of Canadian touring in September. They’re calling it ‘Canadoom Restless Blade Tour,’ which if you started out today with a quota for charm, should fill that up quite nicely.

Will they have new songs ready in the set for the lucky-duck Canucks who make it out to the shows? I guess you’ll have to go and see for yourself. In any case, I don’t think Conan roll through Winnipeg or Thunder Bay every time they get over to North America, so if you’re in that part of the world, you might think about taking advantage while you can. You probably already know this, but bring earplugs.

From social media:

*** CONAN CANADA TOUR 2024 ***

We are super excited to announce this tour in September, with our friends in @maresofthrace. Tour dates are on the poster and all tickets can be accessed via our linktree www.linktr.ee/hailconan – poster by @chrisalliston and a big thanks to all of you who sent us pictures of your rigs!

Tickets

SEP. 5 Vancouver
https://orangetickets.ca/detalles_evento.php?id_evento=1848

SEP. 6 Kelowna
https://orangetickets.ca/detalles_evento.php?id_evento=1849

SEP. 7 Calgary
https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/conan-mares-of-thrace-dickens-pub-tickets/13734993?pl=ConcertWorks

SEP. 8 Edmonton
https://purplecityfest.com/tickets

SEP. 9 Saskatoon
https://show.ps/l/5b1cbe66/

SEP. 10 Winnipeg
https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/conan-mares-of-thrace-the-park-theatre-tickets/13732243?pl=TPT

SEP. 11 Thunder Bay – coming Thursday…

SEP. 13 Toronto
https://link.dice.fm/Pc0d18350f04

SEP. 14 Ottawa
https://ConanOtt.eventbrite.ca

SEP. 15 Montreal
FR: https://lepointdevente.com/billets/240915-conan-with-mares-of-thrace-montreal-2024

EN: https://thepointofsale.com/tickets/240915-conan-with-mares-of-thrace-montreal-2024

CONAN is
Jon Davis – Vocals/Guitars
Johnny King – Drums
David Ryley – Bass

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://www.linktr.ee/hailconan

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Conan, DIY Series, Issue 1 (2024)

Conan, Evidence of Immortality (2022)

I’ll spare you a lot of flowery band-I-like verbiage. If you’re desperate to know where I think Conan stand as they join and strengthen Heavy Psych Sounds‘s roster of acts, there’s a bio I wrote right down there in blue where it says “biography” in all-caps. I even signed it, which I don’t always do. So there you go.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking Conan signing to Heavy Psych Sounds for not one but two albums isn’t a big deal, because it is. For Conan, it marks the end of their stretch with Napalm Records, which handled all their studio work since 2014’s Blood Eagle (review here) came out on the short-lived Spinning Goblin Records heavy imprint. And just in case you, like me, live in a bubble outside normal space-time (which sounds great but you age faster and are always tired; shitty bubble), 2014 was 10 years ago.

While it’s not the first time Conan and Heavy Psych Sounds have collaborated — Conan appeared on the label’s first Doom Sessions split in 2020, sharing LP space with Deadsmoke — it demonstrates just how far the Italian purveyor has come as the heavy underground’s foremost outlet worldwide. Conan likely could’ve gone just about anywhere. They’re one of the best and most recognized bands of their generation and they never stop touring and now they have bonus-extra noise metal cred with David Ryley (formerly of Fudge Tunnel) taking up bass duties in the rhythm section alongside drummer Johnny King and founding guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis.

Conan offered the three-songer DIY Series, Issue 1 10″ EP earlier this year, and they’re set to follow it with a full-length in Spring 2025 according to the below. I’ll be curious to hear how they follow 2022’s Evidence of Immortality (review here), which brought a delve into ambient noise to go with their all-crushing root ethic and was their last record with likely-still-gonna-produce bassist Chris Fielding in the band. You can bet they’ll be on the road for that as well.

Well, so much for sparing the verbiage. Onward, to death and the PR wire:

Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is really proud to present a NEW BAND signing *** CONAN ***

– UK doom wizards signed for two new albums –

We’re incredibly stoked to announce that the UK doom wizards CONAN are now part of the Heavy Psych Sounds Family !!!

The band has signed for TWO NEW ALBUMS, first one will see the light in Spring 2025.

SAYS THE BAND:
“We are delighted to announce we will release our next album on Heavy Psych Sounds. We have watched the label grow in both size and stature, and watched awesome bands join, and we feel that now is the right time to join too. Gabe and the team have a hands-on approach with appeals to us, and we’re excited to explore this new relationship.”

BIOGRAPHY

Conan’s doom is singular. Carved of granite. Yes, of course there’ve been changes since guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis founded the group in 2006, but the intention at the time toward superlative heavy – tonal extremity wrought with impressionist lyrics stripping ideas to the core where sometimes the whole line is just one word; they’ve always called it “Caveman Battle Doom” – remains at the root of everything they’ve done since. And across five studio records in the decade from 2012-2022, Conan have set the standard by which much of “heavy” anything is judged. And in comparison, most is found wanting.

But for every time you’ve heard about Conan’s music being like galloping steeds or frost-covered sharp-peaked mountains, etc., imagery of largesse and violence, the truth is Conan are an exercise in frequency. It’s the low resonance that shakes your chest, the depth of the bass – now handled by David Ryley (ex-Fudge Tunnel) – the push of air from Johnny King’s kick drum, or the way the dark-fuzz distortion of Davis’ guitar is offset by shouting vocals cutting through that sometimes punishing onslaught, rarely to offer comfort so much as add viciousness to the crash, plod and pillage.

In 2024, Conan sign to Heavy Psych Sounds as a recognized name and one of the foremost acts of their generation, wildly influential in their home country of the UK and well beyond; headliners in practice and theory alike. Their fifth LP, 2022’s ‘Evidence of Immortality,’ brought a dark ambience to coincide with its outright attack. With experiments in darkwave and synth adding breadth to the stated root purpose of aural force, it’s never been harder to guess where the next few years might take their sound, but whatever’s coming, Conan will make it kill. The better part of two decades later, their reliability remains unshakable. Which you want when your band is so heavy that the floor and your ribcage both start to vibrate. – JJ Koczan / June 2024

CONAN is
Jon Davis – Vocals/Guitars
Johnny King – Drums
David Ryley – Bass

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://www.linktr.ee/hailconan

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Conan, DIY Series, Issue 1 (2024)

Conan, Evidence of Immortality (2022)

Sometimes it’s kind of funny to write a band’s bio — in this specific case it’s also a frickin’ honor — and then not know when it’s going to be used and be surprised to see it come back down the PR wire. You do a thing, send it off, and a little while later, it comes back to you. I thank Liz Ciavarella, who has only been supporting my efforts and making me a better writer AS WELL AS giving me stuff to write about for the last, oh, 18 years or thereabouts, for putting my name out for bio writing stuff. Sometimes I get a little Paypal money for Bandcamp, sometimes it’s just a cool thing to do, but it’s always appreciated and if someone thinks enough of my work in general to ask, well, that’s a push to do a thing right there.

But to get to the point, Legions of Doom are recording this month their debut album. They’re in kind of a fluid situation, sort of transitioning out of The Skull but still keeping that band — whose frontman Eric Wagner passed away in 2021 — in reserve for special slots at festivals and such, and moving ahead with Legions of Doom as a next phase for bassist Ron Holzner, guitarist Lothar Keller and drummer Henry Vasquez. That that core trio are working with vocalists Scott Reagers (original frontman of Saint Vitus) and Karl Agell (Lie Heavy, ex-Leadfoot, C.O.C. Blind, Kinghitter) tells you the size of the gap left by Wagner‘s absence and also shows a readiness to explore new ideas. Guitarist Scott Little, also formerly of Leadfoot, will be a part of both Legions of Doom and The Skull, at least as I understood it.

Interested as always to hear what Sanford Parker, who will engineer the impending session leading toward a Fall release, gets from the band, especially working in Electrical Audio, which will make it a good day to be Vasquez for drum sounds. The bio I wrote appears in blue text below, as served up by the PR wire. Note they’ll be at Ripplefest Texas in September as I also hope very much to be:

LEGIONS OF DOOM: Doom Metal Supergroup Featuring Vocalist Duo Karl Agell And Scott Reagers To Enter Studio This Month

Banded together out of mutual respect, admiration, history, and a strong desire to move ever forward, LEGIONS OF DOOM brings together split-duty lead singers Scott Reagers (Saint Vitus) and Karl Agell (Lie Heavy, Karl Agell’s Blind, Leadfoot), bassist Ron Holzner (The Skull, Trouble, Earthen Grave), guitarists Lothar Keller (The Skull, Sacred Dawn), and Scott Little (Leadfoot), and drummer Henry Vasquez (The Skull, Saint Vitus, Blood Of The Sun), and was born as a project following the death of The Skull vocalist Eric Wagner (also ex-Trouble) in 2021. Initial The Skull/LEGIONS OF DOOM shows in tribute to Wagner were held in 2023, and in 2024, LEGIONS OF DOOM will record both the album that The Skull would have made and a new collection of original material that’s been worked on since.

Plans to record at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio with engineer Sanford Parker (YOB, Wovenhand, Eyehategod) will lead to a first release this Fall on Tee Pee Records, and in the interim, LEGIONS OF DOOM will again take to the stage. Fall/Winter European and US touring is being discussed, with a just announced appearance in September of this year at Ripplefest in Austin, Texas. While LEGIONS OF DOOM will step forward as the priority, Holzner assures The Skull isn’t fading completely.

“The Skull, featuring me, Lothar, Henry, Scott Little, and Karl singing, will continue in a limited capacity doing occasional shows,” informs Holzner. “The Skull shows will consist of 90-95 percent The Skull music. LEGIONS OF DOOM shows consist of all our combined history: Blind-era Corrosion Of Conformity, Trouble, Leadfoot, The Skull, Saint Vitus, and LEGIONS OF DOOM material, too.”

Adds Karl Agell, “When Ron asked me to join him in carrying on the doom metal tradition that he was part of and established first with Trouble and then The Skull, there was only one path forward. I truly look forward to performing songs from the massive legacy of all the members of LEGIONS OF DOOM.”

Having already appeared at Hellfest in France, Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium, and Legions Of Metal in Chicago, expect LEGIONS OF DOOM to continue to roll out confirmations as they move toward the album release, because with these guys, it’s never just about what’s been done in the past, but adding to that legacy as well. Just as The Skull built on the foundations Trouble laid at the core of the doom metal genre, look for LEGIONS OF DOOM to push to new ground along that familiar path. [words by JJ Koczan]

LEGION OF DOOM:
Ron Holzner – bass
Lothar Keller – guitars
Scott Little – guitars
Henry Vasquez – drums
Karl Agell – vocals
Scott Reagers – vocals

http://www.facebook.com/legionofdoom
https://www.instagram.com/legionsofdoomband/

http://www.facebook.com/troubletheskull
http://www.instagram.com/theskullusa

teepeerecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/teepeerecords/
https://www.instagram.com/teepeerecords
https://teepeerecords.bandcamp.com/

Legions of Doom, Live at Legions of Metal Fest 2023, Chicago, IL

This past Friday, classically progressive heavy rockers Mouth released Vortex Redux through This Charming Man Records. And though ‘redux’ in a heavy context has come to be associated with Magnetic Eye Records‘ ongoing album-tribute series, no, this is not Mouth or anyone else covering their own album. Remastered with the included bonus track “Turn the Lie” (video premiering below) and liner notes by yours truly.

The Köln-based trio — now comprised of guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Christian Koller, drummer/keyboardist Nick Mavridis and bassist Thomas Johnen, who made his first appearance on last year’s Getaway (review here) in the role previously filled by Gerald Kirsch — originally released Vortex (review here) in 2017 through Al!ve/Blunoise Records as an eight-years-later follow-up to their debut, Rhizome, but really, it was the point at which their proggy intent found its fruition. With underlying influence from the heavier end of the style and a modern cast on vintage ideologies, they’ve been able to position themselves in both worlds as a band whose foundation is in prog textures with keys and retro organs and synth and melodies and all that stuff mixed with the occasional let-loose of a thicker shove.

It’s a fine line and Mouth dance all over it, but you’ll pardon me if I leave the analysis there. I’ve both reviewed this album AND I wrote the liner notes below in blue — as opposed to the usual ‘bio I wrote’ tag I apply in situations where editorial and promotional lines are blurred (always uncomfortable; full disclosure, I actually don’t remember if I was compensated or not for the below writing; I’m terrible with money and knowing things generally; see also ‘incompetent’) — that begin with “Welcome…” and end where they end. Seems like plenty, so if you’re still reading at all and haven’t already started the clip, I’ll just say that that whole “prog + fun” equation alluded to above is exactly what comes to life here, and in close-up style.

Plenty more of my blah blah blah follows — I didn’t even know they were using the notes as promo copy until the record was out, but fair enough — and the clip’s three minutes and weird and kind of lo-fi, which somehow makes it more of a good time. But you’re right in the box with them, so I hope you’ve showered recently. Nobody wants to be the one stinking up the practice space.

Please enjoy:

Mouth, “Turn the Lie” video premiere

This is the bonus track of the redux version of MOUTH’s second album VORTEX.
Order the new mastered and reworked album here:

https://thischarmingmanrecords.de/produkt/mouth-vortex-redux-col-12/

camera: Jerome Crutsen

Welcome to the definitive Vortex. The LP you’re holding has been on a journey, and no, not just shipping. Mouth’s second after 2009’s Rhizome, Vortex was mostly recorded in 2011 and 2012 over five sessions in a small space where the band rehearsed. Material was pieced together intermittently over a period of 11 months with Chris Koller handling guitar, keys and bass and Nick Mavridis on drums. That’s where it started. Two construction projects: the studio and a recording that would help define the course of the band in classic and melodic progressive rock, happening almost simultaneously in a creative meta-narrative that could easily stand as analog for the depth of pieces like “Into the Light” or the sprawling “Vortex” itself, which opens the record (new and old editions) in an encompassing display of impulse and fluidity

Through experiments in atmosphere like “March of the Cyclopes” and toward the finish of “Epilogue,” Mouth married sounds that in other contexts would come up disparate, like finding a hidden magnetism between two north poles.

Most of the Vortex songs were created on the spot in the studio.There would be no way to know it at the time, but this process would result in a collection of songs with a broad range, within as well as between the component tracks. “Parade” taps Sly Stone on the shoulder and asks if he wants to party (he does), while the penultimate “Soon After…” resonates with its smoky, mellow-jazz vibe. “Vortex” itself happens over six movements and was put together across different sessions, while “Epilogue” happened in a day.

Dissatisfaction with the original mix – and when an album has as much put into its arrangements as Vortex, that balance matters – would lead Mouth to offer Out of the Vortex in 2020 as a collection of alternate versions of pieces like “Mountain” and “Parade,” as well as the unreleased “Ready” and “Homagotago’s Paddle Boat Trip,” the latter an apparent successor to a cut from Floating. But sometimes a thing nestles itself into the back of your head and just won’t leave, and Mouth’s pursuit of a finished Vortex would lead them into the studio again.

Koller handled the remix himself in Oct. 2023, and in addition to helming the new master, krautrock legend Eroc (who drummed in Grobschnitt) brought a gong to mark the beginning of “March of the Cyclopes.” Like a lot of the finer touches on this Vortex, be it a hashed-out stretch in the title-track built on a drum/bass jam or just pulling the vocals and Hammond down a bit in “Epilogue,” the result is a stylistic flourishing that was there all along throughout the journey and now can finally shine as the band intended. – JJ Koczan / Dec. 2023

Pressing Info:
100 copies black (mailorder edition)
400 copies purple transparent wax
-> all copies come with a fold out poster

Mouth, Vortex Redux (2024)

Mouth on Facebook

Mouth on Instagram

Mouth on Bandcamp

Mouth on Soundcloud

Mouth linktr.ee

This Charming Man Records website

This Charming Man Records on Facebook

This Charming Man Records on Instagram

This Charming Man Records on Bandcamp

If you were hanging around these parts earlier this month, you already knew Iota would return this year with their first album since 2008’s epic-and-I-don’t-always-call-things-epic debut, Tales (discussed here and here). That’s news to me, I don’t know about you. Good news. If you dug what guitarist Joey Toscano brought to the two Dwellers full-lengths on Small Stone in terms of melody and emotion, that melds gorgeously on Pentasomnia with a style of bluesy desertism that even Tales, broad as it was, only half defined.

Yeah, I’ve heard the record. The bio I wrote for it, which is what’s linked above, also came in with the PR wire confirmation of the March 22 release for Pentasomnia and the track stream for “The Returner.” Which you should hear. Here, let me stop talking so you can get on that.

Go go go listen listen listen and then probably preorder or something:

IOTA: Salt Lake City Cult Psychedelic Rock Trio To Release Pentasomnia Full-Length March 22nd On Small Stone Recordings; New Track Streaming + Preorders Available

Cult psychedelic heavy rock trio IOTA will release their long-awaited Pentasomnia full-length on March 22nd via Small Stone Recordings!

It’s been nearly sixteen years since Salt Lake City’s IOTA carved a place for themselves in the heavy underground with their debut album, Tales. Released by Small Stone Recordings, it was recorded by drummer Andy Patterson (The Otolith, ex-SubRosa), with founding guitarist/vocalist Joey Toscano (who’d form Dwellers later), and bassist Oz Inglorious (ex-Bird Eater, Suffocater) and drew heavy rock impulses across space in a way that was innovative and engrossing. Marked by the twenty-minute “Dimensional Orbiter” that was the first song the band ever wrote, it showed huge potential for IOTA, who moved onto other outfits while the cult of those in the know steadily grew.

Pentasomnia, an album of five dreams, marks a return for a project begun by Toscano circa 2001, a band that has been intermittently lived with, shelved, pushed, pulled, stretched, and twisted, but whose sound shimmers with atmosphere and the resonant, bluesy emotionalism of Toscano’s vocals. Rather than some slapdash decade-and-a-half-later follow-up to a record on its way to being a niche-classic, Pentasomnia is cohesive, and as much an unexpected step forward as an unexpected return. IOTA — Toscano, Inglorious, and Patterson — revel in the groove and sway of these five songs, from the boozy head-hang of opener “The Intruder” into the ambient push of “The Returner,” which feels like a manifestation of the meld between cosmic and desert rock that was so much the heart of the band during their first run; the very essence of what they do, given new life and perspective.

“Pentasomnia is an amalgamation,” says Toscano, “roughly translating to ‘five dreams.’ Each song is told from the perspective of a different mental state. Challenging the ideas of traditional norms about identity and our place within the world; questioning the very idea of a self. A cathartic acknowledgement of our infinitesimally small place in a vast musical landscape. Live shows will unveil the album’s essence, offering glimpses into our musical journey’s dark comedy and complexity. Enjoy these songs as snapshots of a fever dream.”

IOTA’s sophomore full-length was written and recorded live over a series of sessions between 2018 and 2019 and completed in the tumultuous years after with family health emergencies, other projects and recordings, the pandemic, work, and all the stuff of life happening all at once. And yet somehow, in and perhaps from all of that, the three-piece have managed to come back together, find each other and renew their sound, and to let the intervening time underscore how crucial their collaboration genuinely is. There are going to be a lot of heavy rock records released in 2024. You sleep on IOTA at your own risk.

In advance of the release, today the band debuts first single, “The Returner.” Toscano further notes, “Pentasomnia, is centered around dreams. With each song narrating a first-person account of an acute mind state, ‘The Returner’ — the album’s third track — attempts to describe the character’s experience of waking from the dream of life, encountering their now unrestrained hallucinations in the in-between, and then returning to yet another dream. Interpretation, divine.”

Stream IOTA’s “The Returner” at THIS LOCATION.

Pentasomnia will be released on CD, LP, and limited-edition vinyl. Find preorders at the Small Stone Bandamp page HERE: https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/pentasomnia

Pentasomnia Track Listing:
1. The Intruder
2. The Witness
3. The Returner
4. The Timekeeper
5. The Great Dissolver

IOTA:
Joey Toscano – guitars, synths, vocals
Oz Inglorious – bass
Andy Patterson – drums

https://www.facebook.com/iotaslc
https://www.instagram.com/iotaslc
https://www.iotaslc.com

https://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords
https://www.instagram.com/smallstonerecords
https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/
https://smallstone.com

Iota, Pentasomnia (2024)

Iota, Tales (2008)

Boston progressive melodic heavy rockers Sundrifter go big on their third full-length, An Earlier Time, set for release Feb. 16 on Small Stone Records. From the triumphal chugs and declarative rhythm of opener “Limitless” (premiering below), the album will make you believe music and just about anything else you want can fly, the band’s songs honing character through atmospheric riffing, and the theatrical, unafraid-to-reach vocals of Craig Peura.

The follow-up to 2018’s Visitations (review here) shares its predecessor’s penchant for minimalism in its closer, as An Earlier Time departs the willful grandiosities of “Limitless” or “Prehistoric Liftoff” — one is reminded of Torche‘s “Tarpit Carnivore” — or the escape-velocity charge of “Space Exploration,” the “Way out here is where I belong” lyrical perspective of which is consistent with the breaking-out of “Not Coming Back” from their 2016 debut of the same name or “I Want to Leave” from Visitations, for the relatively subdued open space of “Last Transmission” at the finish. But to get there, Peura, bassist Paul Gaughran and drummer Patrick Queenan careen and lumber through material that takes the tonal largesse of bong metal and puts it to an emotive purpose all the more affirming for the heft behind it.

Sundrifter‘s sound has blossomed, which is not to say Big Bang’ed. But ‘big’ should be an operative word here if its place in the first sentence wasn’t enough of a clue, and as heavy as Peura‘s guitar and Gaughran‘s bass might be, the distance perceived between them and the echoing of Queenan‘s drums is essential in crafting the open feel that makes “Limitless” such a powerful preface to what follows on An Earlier Time, whether it’s the reverb-cavern roll of “Nuclear Sacrifice” or the emotional charge given to side B across “Begin Again,” “Want You Home” and the penultimate “Final Chance,” the latter of which ends with drawn-out crashes to give a smoother transition to “Last Transmission.” Informed in part by the sweeping pop of Muse, and more spread out in sound than Forming the Void but with a modern-prog-heavy patience to their execution, Sundrifter manifest style in service to songwriting, and their material carries vitality in performance as well as its effects-born sprawl.

What’s perhaps most admirable about Sundrifter circa An Earlier Time, aka now, is that as much as “Limitless” or “Final Chance” or “Want You Home” seem to reach out, the band are never out of control. To be sure, Peura is a soulful vocalist and part of that is the push of his delivery, but the band never leaves their comfort zone without making sure their audience is along for the ride, and the six years since their last album has obviously given them time to focus on their craft. Not overthought, these songs find a hard balance between their emotive crux and expansive sound, and Sundrifter come through as vibrant, sincere and uplifting without the saccharine toxicity of 2020s internet platitudes; all heart (plus songwriting, plus aesthetic, etc.) at a moment where that could hardly be more necessary.

Sundrifter, “Limitless” video premiere

Craig Peura on “Limitless”:

‘Limitless’ is about knowing in your heart where you belong and not being afraid to jump from the highest point to find it.

Paul Gaughran on “Limitless”:

I recall this tune being the first to gain serious form during the writing for “An Earlier Time”. The style and feel of the initial riff that Craig presented us was a combination of all my favorite aspects of the previous record, but from an instrumental perspective also gave more room to work with and be creative within. The song starts from a very grounded, almost tribal sounding straight-forward arrangement and by the end is so densely orchestrated and spacial. It closes sounding elevated, even heavenly. Sort of an attempt to convey an earth-to-sky experience I suppose. I think it sets the tone for the record well.

Patrick Queenan on “Limitless”:

“Returning to Futura Studios to track drums with our engineer Dan is always a no brainer. The former masonic temple converted recording studio provides not only the best expansive space to track epic sounding drums in but on a metaphysical level provides a certain energy or vibe to the recording process. Drums being the first tracks to be recorded followed by a global shut down in 2020 this video along with the record “An Earlier Time” serve as a real time capsule. Over the past four years a lot has changed for us individually and as a group but now here in 2024 we are feeling quite LIMITLESS.”

An Earlier Time will be released on CD, limited edition LP, and digitally. Find preorders at the official Small Stone Recordings Bandcamp page HERE: https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/an-earlier-time

An Earlier Time Track Listing:
1. Limitless
2. Space Exploration
3. Nuclear Sacrifice
4. Prehistoric Liftoff
5. Begin Again
6. Want You Home
7. Final Chance
8. Last Transmission

SUNDRIFTER Live:
2/01/2023 Widowmaker Brewery – Braintree, MA w/ Swamphead, Bone Church, Earthlore</span

Sundrifter are:
Craig Peura – vocals, guitar
Paul Gaughran – bass
Patrick Queenan – drums

Sundrifter website

Sundrifter on Facebook

Sundrifter on Instagram

Small Stone Records website

Small Stone Records on Facebook

Small Stone Records on Instagram

Small Stone Records on Bandcamp

In March, Iota will release their second album. If that doesn’t ring like an event to you, take about an hour of your life, go back and listen to their 2008 debut, Tales (discussed here and here). It’s at the bottom of this post. You don’t have to go far.

The three-piece of founding guitarist/vocalist Joey Toscano, who’d go on to found Dwellers after Iota and put out two records on Small Stone with that project, bassist Oz Yasri (who joined Bird Eater after) and drummer/producer Andy Patterson (SubRosa, The Otolith, Insect Ark for a minute there, tons of others) will officially announce the release of their sophomore full-length, Pentasomnia, next week. It’ll be the full usual deal — artwork, track premiere, album details, a bio I wrote and all that. I don’t think I’m doing the premiere, but it’ll be somewhere on the internet and for sure I’ll post about it too. Next week.

But I was asked to do the bio for the record, and since I dig this band a lot, still dig Tales and its newcomer counterpart, I asked if I could take the bio I wrote — that’s below — and use it as kind of a soft-launch announcement for the record to come. So yes, look for all that other stuff next week. But now you already know that’s coming, and way to be ahead of the game.

Here’s that bio, with more to follow next week with the official announcement:

It’s been nearly 16 years since Salt Lake City’s Iota carved a place for themselves in the heavy underground with their debut album, Tales. Released by Small Stone Records, recorded by drummer Andy Patterson (The Otolith, ex-SubRosa, etc.), with founding guitarist/vocalist Joey Toscano (who’d form Dwellers after) and bassist Oz Yasri (later of Bird Eater) drawing heavy rock impulses across space in a way that was innovative and engrossing. Marked by the 20-minute “Dimensional Orbiter” that was the first song the band ever wrote, it showed huge potential for Iota, who moved onto other outfits while the cult of those in the know steadily grew.

Pentasomnia, an album of five dreams, marks a return for a project begun by Toscano circa 2001, a band that has been intermittently lived with, shelved, pushed, pulled, stretched and twisted, but whose sound shimmers with atmosphere and the resonant, bluesy emotionalism of Toscano’s vocals. Rather than some slapdash decade-and-a-half-later follow-up to a record on its way to being a niche-classic, Pentasomnia is cohesive, and as much an unexpected step forward as an unexpected return. Iota — Toscano, Yasri, Patterson — revel in the groove and sway of these five songs, from the boozy head-hang of opener “The Intruder” into the ambient push of “The Returner,” which feels like a manifestation of the meld between cosmic and desert rocks that was so much the heart of the band during their first run; the very essence of what they do, given new life and perspective.

“Pentasomnia is an amalgamation,” says Toscano, “roughly translating to ‘five dreams’. Each song is told from the perspective of a different mental state. Challenging the ideas of traditional norms about identity and our place within the world; questioning the very idea of a self. A cathartic acknowledgement of our infinitesimally small place in a vast musical landscape. Live shows will unveil the album’s essence, offering glimpses into our musical journey’s dark comedy and complexity. Enjoy these songs as snapshots of a fever dream.”

Iota’s awaited sophomore full-length was written and recorded live over a series of sessions between 2018 and 2019 and completed in the tumultuous years after, family health emergencies, other projects and recordings, the odd pandemic, work, all the stuff of life happening all at once as ever. And somehow, in and perhaps from all of that, the three-piece have managed to come back together, find each other and renew their sound, and to let the intervening time underscore how crucial their collaboration genuinely is. There are going to be a lot of heavy rock records released in 2024. You sleep on Iota at your own risk.

https://smallstone.com
https://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords
https://www.instagram.com/smallstonerecords

Iota, Tales (2008)