Please note: This post is not culled in any way from the Year-End Poll, which is ongoing. If you haven’t yet contributed your favorites of 2016 to that, please do.

—

Yeah, I know I said as much when the Top 20 Debut Albums of 2016 went up, but I take it back: this is the hardest list to put together. And to be honest, there’s a part of me that’s hesitant even to post it because I know as soon as I do someone’s going to be like, “No way you dick your entire existence is shit because you forgot Release X,” and very likely they’ll be right. Up to the very moment this post is going live, I’ve been making changes, and I expect I’ll continue to do so for a while after it’s out there.

So what’s a “short release?” That’s another issue. Pretty much anything that’s not an album. Singles, digital or physical, as well as EPs, splits, demos, and so on. The category becomes nebulous, but my general rule is if it’s not a full-length, it qualifies as a short release. Sounds simple until you get into things like, “Here’s a track I threw up on Bandcamp,” and “This only came out as a bonus included as a separate LP with the deluxe edition of our album.” I’m telling you, I’ve had a difficult time.

Maybe that’s just me trying to protect myself from impending wrath. This year’s Top 30 albums list provoked some vehement — and, if I may, prickishly-worded — responses, so I might be a bit gunshy here, but on the other hand, I think these outings are worth highlighting, so we’re going forward anyway. If you have something to add, please use the comments below, but remember we’re all friends here and there’s a human being on the other end reading what’s posted. Thanks in advance for that.

And since this is the last list of The Obelisk’s Best-of-2016 coverage, I’ll say thanks for reading as well. More to come in the New Year, of course.

Here we go:

The Obelisk Presents: The Top 20 Short Releases of 2016

1. Scissorfight, Chaos County EP
2. Earthless / Harsh Toke, Split
3. Mars Red Sky, Providence EP
4. Mos Generator, The Firmament
5. Soldati, Soldati
6. Monolord, Lord of Suffering / Die in Haze EP
7. Wren, Host EP
8. Goya, The Enemy EP
9. The Sweet Heat, Demo
10. River Cult, Demo
11. Stinkeye, Llantera Demos
12. Megaritual, Eclipse EP
13. Ragged Barracudas / Pushy, Split
14. Mindkult, Witchs’ Oath EP
15. Iron Jawed Guru, Mata Hari EP
16. Brume, Donkey
17. Bison Machine / Wild Savages / SLO, Sweet Leaves Vol. 1 Split
18. BoneHawk / Kingnomad, The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter Three Split
19. Wicked Gypsy, EP
20. Love Gang, Love Gang EP

Honorable Mention

An expansive category as ever. In addition to what’s above, the following stood out and no doubt more will be added over the course of the next few days. If you feel something is missing, please let me know.

Presented alphabetically:

Cambrian Explosion, The Moon EP
Candlemass, Death Thy Lover EP
Cultist, Cultist EP
Danava, At Midnight You Die 7″
Dos Malés, Dos Malés EP
Druglord, Deepest Regrets EP
Fu Manchu, Slow Ride 7″
Geezer, A Flagrant Disregard for Happiness 12″
Gorilla vs. Grifter, Split
Holy Smoke, Holy Smoke! It’s a Demo!
Karma to Burn, Mountain Czar
LSD and the Search for God, Heaven is a Place EP
Pallbearer, Fear and Fury
Reign of Zaius, Planet Of…
Sea of Bones / Ramlord, Split
Shallows, The Moon Rises
The Skull, EP
Snowy Dunes, “Atlantis Part I” digital single
Sun Voyager / The Mad Doctors, Split
Valborg, Werwolf 7″

Notes

Was it just the raw joy of having Scissorfight back? No, but that was for sure part of it. It was also the brazenness with which the New Hampshire outfit let go of their past, particularly frontman Christopher “Ironlung” Shurtleff, and moved forward unwilling to compromise what they wanted to do that made their Chaos County so respectable in my eyes. Having always flourished in the form, they delivered an EP of classic Scissorfight tunes and issued a stiff middle finger to anyone who would dare call them otherwise. They couldn’t have been more themselves no matter who was in the band.

At the same time, it was a hard choice between that and the Earthless / Harsh Toke split for the top spot. I mean, seriously. It’s Earthless — who at this point are the godfathers of West Coast jamadelica — and Harsh Toke, who are among the style’s most engaging upstart purveyors, each stretching out over a huge and encompassing single track. I couldn’t stop listening to that one if I wanted to, and as the year went on, I found I never wanted to.

I was glad when Mars Red Sky included the title-track of the Providence EP as a bonus cut on their subsequent album, Apex III (Praise for the Burning Soul), both because it tied the two releases together even further and because it gave me another opportunity to hear it every time I listened to the record. Their short releases have always shown significant character apart from their full-lengths, and this was no exception. I still tear up when I hear “Sapphire Vessel.”

To bounce around a bit: Had to get Mos Generator on the list for the progressive expansion of the live-recorded The Firmament. Stickman was right to put that out on vinyl. Both Monolord and Goya provided quick outings of huge riffs to sate their respective and growing followings, while Megaritual’s Eclipse basked in drone serenity and the debut release from Sergio Ch.’s Soldati provided hard-driving heavy rock with the particular nuance for which the former Los Natas frontman is known. It’s the highest among a slew of first/early outings — see also The Sweet Heat, Wren (Host was their second EP), River Cult’s demo, Stinkeye, Mindkult, Iron Jawed Guru, Brume, Wicked Gypsy and Love Gang.

Ultimately, there were fewer splits on the list this year than last year, but I’ll credit that to happenstance more than any emergent bias against the form or lack of quality in terms of what actually came out. The BoneHawk and Kingnomad release, the Ragged Barracudas and Pushy split, and that heavy rocking onslaught from Bison Machine and company were all certainly welcome by me, and I’ll mention Gorilla vs. Grifter there too again, just because it was awesome.

—

One more time, thank you for reading, and if you have something to add, please do so in the comments below. Your civility in that regard is appreciated.

This is the last of my lists for 2016, but the Readers Poll results are out Jan. 1 and the New Year hits next week and that brings a whole new round of looking-forward coverage, so stay tuned.

As always, there’s much more to come.

Michigan heavy rockers Bison Machine are reportedly — and it’s their report, so, you’d have to figure they know what they’re talking about — getting ready to hit the studio to record their second full-length. Before they go, the four-piece, who recently welcomed back guitarist Dusty Jones, who had gone on to play with SLO, with whom Bison Machine also released a split (review here) early this year, will complete one final round of Midwestern tour dates, hitting Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Chicago and Detroit next month.

I don’t have any title or recording info on the new album yet, but I’ll be keeping an eye and an ear out for sure, having dug their debut full-length, Hoarfrost (review here), which Kozmik Artifactz released in 2015, and the teaser for new material they gave in their video for “Cloak and Bones” (posted here) over this past summer.

In addition to the tour, which launches on Nov. 11, Bison Machine will join Mondo Drag and Crypt Trip in Detroit on Oct. 9. Info on all of the above and a tour trailer follow, courtesy of the PR wire:

Bison Machine – November tour

Bison Machine will be hitting the midwest one last time before they hunker down to work on the follow up LP to ‘Hoarfrost’. The band will also be introducing back into their lineup Dusty Jones of SLO as a second guitarist. There are some serious touring plans for early next year including a full run out West.

Bison Machine have one show before hitting the road in November.

Oct 9th at El Club in Detroit with Mondo Drag, The Well and Crypt Trip.

The night also includes DJs Heavy and Beyond as well as Tarot readings.

Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram (@bisonmachine) pages for new tour news and a special announcement regarding our end-of-tour hometown show on Nov. 25th.

November Tour Dates
11/11 – Ann Arbor MI – 3rd Death Star
11/12 – Toledo OH – Culture Clash Records
11/13 – Logansport IN – The Record Farm
11/14 – Chicago IL – TBA
11/15 – Chicago IL – Live Wire Lounge
11/17 – Green Bay WI – Lyric Room w/ US Bastards and Against the Grain
11/18 – Milwaukee WI – Cactus Club w/ label mates Moon Curse, also with ATTALLA
11/19 – Fort Wayne IN – The Brass Rail w/ US Bastards and Against the Grain
11/25 – Detroit MI – Loving Touch

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Bison Machine show trailer

“Cloak and Bones” is the first song to be made public from Bison Machine‘s impending sophomore LP. The album doesn’t yet have a name, but apparently it’s at least partially recorded. Whenever it comes out, it will serve as the follow-up to 2015’s debut full-length, Hoarfrost (review here), initially self-released and subsequently picked up by Kozmik Artifactz for physical issue. They also had two tracks out earlier this year on a split with Wild Savages and SLO called Sweet Leaves! Volume One (review here), but the new record will be the first album put together since guitarist Casey O’Ryan (also Wild Savages) joined the band.

I wouldn’t expect “Cloak and Bones” to represent the entirety of Bison Machine‘s second long-player, but there are a few things we can clean from listening to it, most of all that the band has continued to progress since Hoarfrost was released. “Cloak and Bones” feels less directly influenced by heavy ’70s-style rock, but still benefits from an undercurrent of boogie behind its quick pace. A shuffle in fast-forward — not quite Motörheadian, but not far off from The Atomic Bitchwax-style winding — the song moves through six minutes without losing its momentum, and O’Ryan, vocalist Tom Stec, bassist Anthony Franchina and drummer Breck Crandell sound duly locked into the rhythm while still offering a hook along their speedy way.

The video shows the band getting raucous in a variety of settings, including their own Burnin’ Turf fest/gathering in their native Michigan, held last month with a 2017 edition already brewing. And speaking of brewing — master of the segue! — there’s also a Bison Machine beer in the works from Oliver Brewing Co. for those of a drinkly persuasion, which will be available at their July 30 show with Castle and Brimstone Coven, and about which you can read more following the video below.

Please enjoy:

Bison Machine, “Cloak and Bones” official video

Bison Machine is proud to debut the video for their new single ‘Cloak & Bones’, This is the first track released off of their yet to be titled second album. Bison Machine has acquired a new guitarist since the release of ‘Hoarfrost’. Casey O’Ryan (Wild Savages, Blue Snaggletooth) has added a new dynamic to the band and they have hit the ground running with multiple Midwest tours and plans on heading out further in the near future.

While currently working on their second album, Bison Machine has also been busy promoting and organizing ‘Burnin Turf’, a Chopper/Vanner gathering in the northern tip of “the thumb” in Ruth MI. This first year brought bands from around Michigan and beyond. Bonehawk from Kalamazoo MI, Grand Mammoth from Dayton Ohio and Wild Savages from Ypsilanti MI joined the Bison dudes for what turned into a night of cycle savagery and heavy vannin’. Next year’s event looks to expand on an already perfect formula of Midwestern riffs and rust. Footage from this year’s event was included in the music video.

In addition to the video, Bison Machine is also pleased to announce that they have teamed up with Stephen Jones at Oliver Brewing Company in Baltimore for the release of a Russian Imperial Stout that Oliver Brewing Co was gracious enough to name after our track, “Speed of Darkness” While this brew is limited to OBC’s distribution channels, the band will have a number of bottles available at their next hometown show with Castle (SF), Brimstone Coven (OH) and Detroit shredders, Anguish.

Expect a November tour announcement in the near future…

Bison Machine on Bandcamp

Bison Machine on Thee Facebooks

[Click play above to stream Sweet Leaves Vol. I in full. Release date is Jan. 22. Thanks to the bands for letting me host the tracks.]

If you’re looking for a sampling of the madness infecting the Motor City’s underground these days, look no further than Sweet Leaves Vol. I. Detroit has long been an epicenter of all things raw and visceral in American rock — and by that I mean The Stooges and MC5 were from there — but in bringing together newcomer acts Bison Machine, Wild Savages and SLO across a limited-release three-way split tape, the classic form proves continually vital in the more recent outfits, each of which brings a grit of their own to reside under a heavy rock umbrella.

Appearing in that order — Bison Machine, then Wild Savages, then SLO — the tape gets more formative as it progresses through each pair of tracks, Bison Machine being the most established of the three with their debut long-player, Hoarfrost (review here), released last year on Kozmik Artifactz. Wild Savages have an EP up for streaming and SLO a demo, both issued in Sept. 2015, but both of the newer acts also share ties to Bison Machine through current and former members. Wild Savages features guitarist Casey O’Ryan, who also plays in Bison Machine, and SLO guitarist/vocalist Dusty Jones is an alum as well. Clearly as each of these bands spun off or came up around the same time, everyone remained tight enough to continue to collaborate, which in giving an idea of where the Detroit area is at (Wild Savages claim Ann Arbor as home, SLO Detroit proper and Bison Machine Hamtramck), is at very least a show of overall strength.

More importantly, the tape — which is a quick listen at a little over half an hour — rocks. None of the three groups wastes any time getting down to business, and with Bison Machine‘s “Hawk on the Wind,” the Sabbathian reference of the tape’s cover proves not to be the only classic heavy source from which the release draws. The recording that produced “Hawk on the Wind” and the subsequent “Soul Seeker” is older, with guitarist John deVries in the role that O’Ryan now occupies alongside vocalist Tom Stec, bassist Anthony Franchina (who put the split together) and drummer Breck Crandell, but their methods are no less righteous than on Hoarfrost, quick-turning shuffle pervading “Hawk on the Wind” amid a catchy hook while “Soul Seeker” rests on a bed of low-end chugging and Motörheady skate in the guitar.

The second track trips out a bit at the end, but in general, Bison Machine play it tight and don’t let up on the throttle, which makes for an easy transition into Wild Savages, who seem intent on living up to their moniker in grit, ’70s bass warmth and persistent proto-punk fuckall. “Stage Fright” has one of the most resonant hooks on Sweet Leaves Vol. I once you have a grip on what bassist Joe Kupiec is talking about — O’Ryan also provides vocals — and transitions easily into a dual-channel guitar jam atop some of the best vintage-sounding drums I’ve heard since Kadavar‘s debut from Stefan Krstovic, who has swing to match. By the time they get there, they seem to have left the verse structure behind, but even among the late-arriving boogie onslaught, they bring back the chorus for one last go. With funkier starts and stops in its early going and a similar overall approach, “Queen Bee” affirms no fluke on the part of Wild Savages, who rage in layers but with an energy that one imagines has no trouble translating live.

For SLO, their “The Darkness” and “Shield Maidens” follow a two-song demo recorded on a four-track, but already one can hear in their sound a beefed up dual-guitar via Thin Lizzy approach that, in “The Darkness” delves in its midsection into some transposed “Hole in the Sky” riffing as if to remind the listener what it’s all about. Fuzz in the guitar and bass goes full-on hairy as the song rolls to what seems to be its finish before the initial groove is revived and swirl-faded out to end, which lets “Shield Maidens,” the only song on the release that tops six minutes (though each band has a track that comes close), close out with proto-metallic rush and a grander approach vocally.

Whether that’s drummer Charlie McCutcheon or bassist Brian Blair joining Jones singing — Kevin Sullivan is the only member of the four-piece not credit with vocals on the prior demo — I don’t know, but it adds a classic metal sensibility to complement the quiet midsection and deftly intricate guitar line that transitions into an instrumental finish, thick tonally but still ready to move and keeping that fist-pump feel thanks to a late solo either from Sullivan or Jones. Their cap for Sweet Leaves Vol. I is encouraging, and that descriptor seems to apply to the release overall as well. Of course, one can’t completely summarize the complete breadth of a region’s output by getting together a couple similarly driven bands and putting together a split tape — if one could, I’d expect to see more of them — but, even in showing the direction a few of the Detroit area’s groups are taking with a brash, classically-minded heavy rock sound, Sweet Leaves Vol. I serves notice of attention-worthy doings in volume and aesthetic.

Bison Machine on Thee Facebooks

Bison Machine on Bandcamp

Wild Savages on Thee Facebooks

Wild Savages on Bandcamp

SLO on Bandcamp

Please note: This list is not culled in any way from the Readers Poll, which is ongoing. If you haven’t yet contributed your favorites of 2015 to that, please do.

—

I’ll note right away that this list started out as a top 10. When it came to it, it didn’t seem fair to cut it off. Too much left out. It gets to a point where you look at your list of honorable mentions and it’s like three times as long as your list itself and you realize maybe you should up the numbers and give a few more records their due. So yeah, a top 20 it is.

The temptation with a list like this, especially since it’s dealing with bands working on their first full-length albums (EPs are counted separately), is to think of it as indicative of future movement overall, to try and measure some overarching trend from some of the best outings of the year. I’m not sure that’s a fair approach either to the bands who made these records or to everyone else who might come after, but if we step back and look at what’s presented in the list below, we see veterans resurfacing in new incarnations, new, young groups coming together with classic ideologies, a bit of heavy extremity, psych melding with pop, heavy rock going prog and much more.

What all that tells me is that notions like “underground” and “heavy,” these vague terms that get applied so liberally, are constantly expanding. Whatever their individual sound might be, these bands all pushed ahead an overarching stylistic progression in whatever they’re doing, and like the best of debut albums, they held promise for further growth beyond this already impressive output. It’s less about which seems like an immediate landmark, touchstone, whatever, than it is about what sets up and effectively begins that development going forward, though striking a chord in the present never hurts either.

To that end, here we go:

The Obelisk Presents: The Top 20 Debut Albums of 2015

1. Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth
2. Death Alley, Black Magick Boogieland
3. Cigale, Cigale
4. Kind, Rocket Science
5. Fogg, High Testament
6. Crypt Sermon, Out of the Garden
7. CHRCH, Unanswered Hymns
8. With the Dead, With the Dead
9. Demon Head, Ride the Wilderness
10. Sacri Monti, Sacri Monti
11. Stars that Move, Stars that Move
12. Chiefs, Tomorrow’s Over
13. Sunder, Sunder
14. Ecstatic Vision, Sonic Praise
15. Bison Machine, Hoarfrost
16. Serial Hawk, Searching for Light
17. Cloud Catcher, Enlightened Beyond Existence
18. Khemmis, Absolution
19. Sumac, The Deal
20. The Devil and the Almighty Blues, The Devil and the Almighty Blues

Honorable Mention

By way of honorable mentions, first I have to give a nod to Foehammer‘s self-titled debut EP, which would be on this list probably in the top five if not the top three were it not for the fact that, as noted, it’s an EP. Its list will come. The 2015 release of Horsehunter‘s self-titled on Magnetic Eye was killer as well, but since the album initially came out in 2014, it didn’t seem fair to include it in the list proper.

Releases from Killer Boogie, Snowy Dunes, Sweat Lodge, Planes of Satori, DoctoR DooM, Lasers from Atlantis and Lords of Beacon House (I heard the EP, not the LP) also provided thrills a-plenty, and while I recognize that sounds like sarcasm, please rest assured it’s not. I’m sure there are others, and as always, I reserve the right to tweak mentions and numbers over the next however many days, weeks, years, etc.

Notes

There wasn’t much mystery to this one for me. Brothers of the Sonic Cloth held onto that top spot for most of the year, and it seemed like no matter what came along, the wall of sound that Tad Doyle and company built on that record simply would not be torn down. As oppressive in tone as it is in atmosphere, it was a long-awaited debut that produced devastating results the ripples from which I expect will continue to resonate well into 2016 and beyond.

Brothers of the Sonic Cloth is one example of a veteran presence finding a new home, as several did this year. See also, Sumac with former members of Isis, Ecstatic Vision with players from A Life Once Lost, With the Dead with members of Cathedral and Ramesses coming together for the first time, Kind drawing its lineup from the likes of Roadsaw, Milligram, Rozamov and Elder, and even groups like Sunder, who previously released an album together under the moniker The Socks before abandoning that project in favor of the current one, as well as Sacri Monti, with a member from Radio Moscow in tow, Cigale, who had two members from Sungrazer, Stars that Move which sprang from Starchild, and Death Alley with members of Mühr, Gewapend Beton and The Devil’s Blood showcased how one band flows out of another and out of another, and so on.

That Death Alley debut had charm worthy of its title — which was also my favorite of the year — and showed the potential of that band to set up a real stylistic range going forward. I hope they continue to expand, get a little weird and freaked out and keep that core of songwriting and forward drive that makes Black Magick Boogieland so propulsive. For new bands, Cigale‘s self-titled was beautiful, but would later become tinged with tragedy following the death of guitarist/vocalist Rutger Smeets earlier this year. Not to mention friends and family, his is a significant loss for European psychedelia as a whole, and while that was inarguably one of the low points of 2015, the album itself remains a gorgeous statement.

Young acts like Fogg, Demon Head, Bison Machine, Sunder, Cloud Catcher and even Sacri Monti showcased varied takes on classic heavy, some more into boogie and jams and some looking for something a little rougher edged. Cloud Catcher‘s progressive take was a particularly pleasant surprise, while Sunder‘s psychedelia teemed with melody and a cohesive presence born out of what could’ve been unhinged otherwise. Between these, the heavy riffing of The Devil and the Almighty Blues and Serial Hawk, the formative fuzz of Chiefs, the resonant doom of Khemmis and the righteous traditionalism of Crypt Sermon, the notion of genres and subgenres as an ever-expanding universe seemed to be playing out on a weekly basis.

This, invariably, leads to new extremes, which in turn brings me to CHRCH. Like Foehammer, whose EP is in honorable mentions, the Unanswered Hymns long-player from CHRCH was a bright spot especially for how little light it seemed to let escape its abyssal grasp. They’re an easy bet for a band to catch on because they’ve garnered a formidable response already, but what sticks out to me most about them is the sense of pushing established parameters into fresh territory. What they’ll do in the months and years to come of course remains to be seen — they could break up tomorrow; it happens — but where a group like Primitive Man are almost singularly based on extremity of pummel and brutality (not to take away from them), CHRCH have the space in their sound for a multi-faceted progression, and that’s a huge part of what made Unanswered Hymns so encouraging.

—

I know there were many more debut LPs than these released this year, and even more debuts that were EPs and demos of note and things like that. The reason I single out debut albums for a list is because it’s among the most pivotal offerings a band can make. You’ll never get to release a second debut record. Some bands never live theirs down, some never attain quite the same level again and struggle with it for decades. Either way, it’s no small thing to get a group together and bring it to the point of putting out a first long-player, and that accomplishment in itself, regardless of the results, is worth highlighting.

No doubt I’ve left a few excellent offerings out. I hope you’ll let me know in the comments what debut albums landed hardest with you in 2015. In any case, thanks for reading.

Hamtramck, Michigan’s Bison Machine issued their Hoarfrost (review here) full-length through Kozmik Artifactz earlier this year and have already toured considerably to support its arrival, but it’s looking like they’re ready to move forward as well. The New Year will bring a new split offering with Detroiters SLO and Wild Savages, a tape limited to 150 copies that will mark the first new music from Bison Machine since the LP, and just prior to the cassette’s release, a quick tour alongside speedfreaks Against the Grain that will no doubt find both bands getting their feet under them as they plan out a vigorous 2016 filled with road time and recording.

Bison Machine have a Sabbath-reference shirt on offer and the cover art for the new split and poster for the tour can be found below. Click any and all to enlarge:

Bison Machine and fellow Michigan speed rockers, Against The Grain, hit the blustery winter road for a string of dates sure to heat up the tundra that is the northern Midwest. Both bands are still touring on their 2015 releases and Bison Machine is preparing to release a new offering as soon as they return from the road, a split album with two other of Detroit’s finest rock and rollers, Wild Savages and SLO. The album will be self-released, January 23rd, on tape limited to 150 copies and will feature previously recorded material that has never been released by Bison Machine as well as brand new tracks recorded by Wild Savages and SLO. Entitled, “Sweet Leaves!”, the album is sure to be a mind pleaser. Check out the album art and track listing exclusively on The Obelisk!

Bison Machine are also taking tour fundraising orders for a one-off shirt based on the “super fan” shirts in the Black Sabbath Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert footage. If you’re interested in helping with their tour fund you can order a shirt for $15 shipped, by including your shirt size and address in a paypal gift sent to anthonyfranchina@gmail.com. You will also receive a free small gift with your order as a thank you! Sorry only sales in the USA will be accepted.

SWEET LEAVES Track Listing
Hawk on the Wind – Bison Machine
Soul Seeker – Bison Machine
Queen Bee – Wild Savages
Stage Fright – Wild Savages
The Darkness – SLO
Shield Maidens – SLO

Against The Grain / Bison Machine Winter Tour
“Mid x Midwest”
1/13 Green Bay WI @ The Lyric Room
1/14 Milwaukee WI @ The Cactus Club
1/15 Fort Wayne IN @ Skeletunes w/ River Bottom Nightmare
1/16 Lafayette IN @ The Doom Room w/ Mound Builders
1/17 Grand Rapids MI @ Tip Top w/ Bonehawk (matinee show. Doors 2pm)

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https://bisonmachine.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/bisonmachine
http://shop.bilocationrecords.com/

Bison Machine, Hoarfrost (2015)

Michigan four-piece Bison Machine recently welcomed new guitarist Casey O’Ryan into the fold. The Hamtramck natives released their debut LP, Hoarfrost (review here), earlier this year on Kozmik Artifactz, and have been basking in the warmth ever since. O’Ryan coming aboard alongside bassist Anthony Franchina, vocalist Tom Stec and drummer Breck Crandell is no minor change for such a riff-driven band, so it should be interesting to hear when they get around to whatever they wind up putting out next (an introductory 7″, maybe?) how the dynamic of the group has shifted or if fuzz still holds the day as firmly as on the first record.

Intrigue, intrigue. While you revisit Hoarfrost via the Bandcamp stream below and think it over, feel free as well to peruse the dates of Bison Machine‘s newly-announced Oct. tour with Grand Mammoth:

Bison Machine Fall Tour

Burning bright with lysergic energy Bison Machine’s Hoarfrost – the band’s debut album originally self-released to notable acclaim among the stoner rock community earlier this year – had an official release this July through Germany’s Kozmik Artifactz/Bilocation Records, Europe’s leading purveyor of heavy psych, blues and stoner rock.

Worshippers of volume, Bison Machine have gained a reputation for their frenzied, high velocity live shows, welding Graveyard and Pentagram influenced shuffles onto the back of 70s Motor City rock and 90s stoner grooves. If you’re a fan of pounding, colossal blues and heavy Zep-driven riffs then the Hamtramck four-piece’s gnarled and muscular guitar and vocal work on tracks like ‘Cosmic Ark’, ‘Gamekeeper’s Thumb’ and ‘Viking Hand’ will leave you floored, broken and bloodied.

Hoarfrost by Bison Machine was released on CD and limited, high performance 180g vinyl on 10th July via Kozmik Artifactz/Bilocation Records.

HARVEST MOON TOUR
w/ Bison Machine and Grand Mammoth
Oct 15th – Dayton, OH @Blind Bob’s
Oct 16th – Covington, KY @The Backstage (Bison Machine only)
Oct 16th – Indianapolis, IN @ Melody Inn (Grand Mammoth only)
Oct 17th – Fort Wayne, IN @ Skeletunes w/ Beast in the Field
Oct 18th – Chicago, IL @ Livewire w/ Dead Feathers
Oct 19th – Detroit, MI @Corktown Tavern

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https://bisonmachine.bandcamp.com/
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Bison Machine, Hoarfrost (2015)

We’re getting closer to the July 10 release date for Michigan four-piece Bison Machine‘s debut LP for Kozmik Artifactz/Bilocation Records, Hoarfrost (review here). That album, initially a digital self-release, will get its first physical pressing from the German imprints — when will they finally join forces as Kozmik Location Records? — and the Hamtramck outfit have already been on the road to herald its coming; in May, they were out alongside New Yorkers Geezer for a run of shows on the Eastern Seaboard. Given that and the obvious drive to spread the word about what they’re doing, maybe a new video isn’t such a surprise, but it’s a welcome arrival anyway, as it gives more of a look at what Bison Machine are all about.

To that end: Guns, motorcycle riding through scenes of urban decay, antlers on drums, bone-handle hunting knives, wah pedals, weirdly opaque and murderous woodland rituals, fuzz and memorable songwriting. I mean, there’s probably more there, but between the live footage from Smalls in Detroit and the sort of atmospheric visuals set against it, the band present a sense of mood that’s perhaps severe next to the song “Viking Hand” itself, but not necessarily out of place. It gets awfully cold in Michigan, after all. Seems likely that one way or another somebody would wind up with a knife in their back after running into a shrouded tree-worshiper someplace deep in the forest. Oh, and did I mention antlers on drums? Because that’s particularly awesome.

Video is below for the in-digging. Hope you enjoy:

Bison Machine, “Viking Hand” official video

Stream and share the official video for ‘Viking Hand’ by Michigan’s Bison Machine | Debut album Hoarfrost released 10th July

Burning bright with lysergic energy Bison Machine’s Hoarfrost – the band’s debut album originally self-released to notable acclaim among the stoner rock community earlier this year – will get an official release this July through Germany’s Kozmik Artifactz/Bilocation Records, Europe’s leading purveyor of heavy psych, blues and stoner rock.

Worshippers of volume, Bison Machine have gained a reputation for their frenzied, high velocity live shows, welding Graveyard and Pentagram influenced shuffles onto the back of 70s Motor City rock and 90s stoner grooves. If you’re a fan of pounding, colossal blues and heavy Zep-driven riffs then the Hamtramck four-piece’s gnarled and muscular guitar and vocal work on tracks like ‘Cosmic Ark’, ‘Gamekeeper’s Thumb’ and ‘Viking Hand’ will leave you floored, broken and bloodied.

Hoarfrost by Bison Machine will be released on CD and limited, high performance 180g vinyl on 10th July via Kozmik Artifactz/Bilocation Records
Bison Machine:

John deVries – Guitar
Breck Crandell – Drums
Tom Stec – Vocals
Anthony Franchina – Bass

Bison Machine on Thee Facebooks

Kozmik Artifactz