Posted in Whathaveyou on October 26th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Beginning this weekend at Heavy Chicago in, yup, Chicago, heavy psych heroes Acid King will begin to wind down a busy 2023 executed successfully after several years of restructuring. Founding guitarist/vocalist Lori S. remade and arguably reimagined the band at least partially ahead of this Spring’s Beyond Vision (review here) LP, which if it isn’t a contender for album of the year is only proof of the dumbassery behind those lists in the first place. Forever in short supply are acts who’ve been together in one form or another for 30 years and are still exploring new ideas. Acid King not only did that in 2023, but righteously expanded their base aesthetic as part of the process.
I just had a whole rant here going on about how crucial Beyond Vision is for how it grows Acid King‘s sound, opening stylistic doors to synth, meditative psych, etc., but let me say this instead. These are some badass shows, and if you’ve ever seen Acid King before or you haven’t, the imperative of the moment is here. As someone who was lucky enough to do so this August, I urge you to see Acid King for this album, playing these songs (plus classics, of course). Yeah, it’s select-shows rather than 28-gigs-in-30-days or whatever, but if you’re on the West Coast of the US or can put yourself there without much difficulty, I promise you have valid reason to do so.
That’s all for now. From the PR wire:
ACID KING on tour this fall!
Following their recent European and South American live takeovers, US psychedelic doom trailblazers ACID KING have just announced their final string of shows for 2023, as they keep supporting the release of their widely acclaimed comeback album “Beyond Vision” on Blues Funeral Recordings.
Released in the spring of 2023 as part of Blues Funeral Recordings’ PostWax series, ACID KING’s new album “Beyond Vision” sees the band venturing into epic sci-fi-inspired territory, the result of a collaboration between Acid King founder, guitarist and vocalist Lori S., guitarist Jason Landrian (Black Cobra), bassist and keyboardist Bryce Shelton (Hawkwind) and drummer Jason Willer (Charger, Jello Biafra). Breaking a new record in the international heavy scene by reaching #96 on the Billboard Top Albums chart, the anticipated followup to 2015’s “Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere” has garnered unanimous press from critics and fans alike, bringing ACID KING to the doom and heavy metal scene’s forefront with their thundering, swinging and trip-inducing heavy psychedelia.
Following their extensive summer European tour and shows in South America, the mighty trio is now set to come full circle with a string of West Coast shows as well as an appearance at Chicago’s Heavy Chicago Festival this fall.
ACID KING ON TOUR — Tickets on sale at this location Oct 28 – Chicago, IL – Heavy Chicago Festival (w/ Trouble, Bongzilla, November’s Doom) Nov 3 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios (w/ Abronia, Simple Forms) Nov 4 – Seattle, WA – Substation (w/ Simple Forms, Sorcia) Nov 17 – Los Angeles, CA – The Belasco (w/ John Garcia Band, Mondo Drag, HTSOB) Nov 18 – San Diego, CA – Brick by Brick (w/ Mondo Drag, Nebula Drag) Dec 9 – Bellingham, WA – Structures Brewery 8th Anniversary (w/ Kadabra, Dark Meditation)
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 26th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The subscribers to the PostWax series from Blues Funeral Recordings got their Bandcamp download codes over the weekend — I know because I got mine; I’m not just the dork doing the liner notes, I’m also a client! — and I expect by now most if not all who’ve received them have dug into the new Dopelord album, Songs for Satan. Doing so will, perhaps, be revelatory for some.
As the first single, “Night of the Witch,” heralds, Songs for Satan is the broadest range of melody the Warsaw stoner-doom outfit have harnessed to-date in their decade-plus tenure, and if the single doesn’t get stuck in your head, listen again and pay closer attention. That hook is a defining feature of the record from which it comes, and along with the spaciousness of the vocals and the band’s characteristic weight of tone, it’s a can’t-miss for those who’d follow where a rolling riff might lead. Lumbering but not slow-for-show or staid in any way, “Night of the Witch” and Songs for Satan as a whole are landmarks the Polish heavy forerunners, who’ll support the Oct. 6 release on an extensive, previously announced tour.
Despite having, as alluded above, written the liner notes for this release, I’ll probably still try to review this one if I can. There’s a lot to say about what’s happening here, conceptually as well as with sound. We’ll get there.
From the PR wire:
Polish doom metal giants DOPELORD to release new album “Songs for Satan” on Blues Funeral Recordings; first single and preorder available!
Warsaw doom metal heavyweights DOPELORD have announced the release of their fifth studio album “Songs for Satan” to be issued on October 6th as part of Blues Funeral Recordings’ deluxe PostWax series. Dive into this gigantic new album with the debut single “Night Of The Witch” streaming on all platforms now!
“Hear you laughing from the dark/As they pray to their god/Now their time has finally come/To reap what they’ve sown.” – Dopelord, 2023
Having paved the way for Polish doom metal for over a decade by sticking to their strictly DIY ethos and hard work, mighty foursome DOPELORD is about to open a new chapter of its history by joining the coveted ranks of US label Blues Funeral Recordings (Acid King, Dozer, Lowrider, Dead Meadow).
Their fifth full-length “Songs for Satan” is a moment of critical mass for Dopelord. A blast of devil worship in the riffing realms is nothing new, and while they aren’t the first band to openly embrace the motif, their amplified heresy is uniquely triumphant, their fuzz-drenched apostasy genuine and glorious.
Not only does “Songs for Satan” showcase the band’s equal mastery of lumbering plod and silvery hooks, but it also more importantly mines Polish Catholicism’s decades of oppression for lyrical fuel. Tracks like “Satan’s Call,” “The Chosen One,” “One Billion Skulls” and “Worms” are pointed in their defiance of the church’s cultural dominance, even while managing to be contagiously singable at the same time. Maybe the extremity of their position will lead a few listeners to question their own beliefs and examine the church’s role, religion’s role (whether in Polish society or elsewhere) like a strong push to open a door. The voice of rebellion is crucial, and Dopelord’s shout is unmistakable.
Calling to mind Electric Wizard, Windhand, Belzebong and Acid King, “Songs for Satan” is Dopelord’s apex, an iconoclastic milestone for stoner doom that rumbles the earth and shakes our figurative foundations. It will be available on October 6th in various vinyl editions, limited digipack CD and digital. The ultra-limited deluxe vinyl edition will be shipped a few weeks prior to PostWax subscribers.
New album “Songs for Satan” Out October 6th on Blues Funeral Recordings Preorder:
TRACKLIST: 1. Intro 2. Night Of The Witch 3. The Chosen One 4. One Billion Skulls 5. Evil Spell 7. Worms 8. Return To The Night Of The Witch
Derailed from their aggressive live schedule for two years, DOPELORD blasted out the “Reality Dagger” EP in 2021 before setting to work on their boldest statement yet. On October 6th, 2023, their fifth album “Songs for Satan” will induct the mighty foursome as one of Europe’s heaviest and most faithful doom purveyors of the new era, crushing everything on their path under the Blues Funeral Recordings banner.
Dopelord on tour: Oct 12 Prague Modra Vopice Oct 13 Cottbus Muggefug Oct 14 Jena KuBa Oct 15 Braunschweig B58 Oct 16 Hamburg Hafenklang Oct 17 Malmö Plan B Oct 18 Copenhagen Loppen Oct 19 Kiel Schaubude Oct 20 Groningen Café de Walrus Oct 21 Nijmegen Doornroosje Oct 22 Antwerpen Trix DesertFest Belgium Oct 23 Lille La Bulle Café Oct 24 Osnabrück Bastard Club Oct 25 Düdingen Bad Bonn Oct 26 Düsseldorf Pitcher Oct 27 Berlin Lido Heavy Psych Sounds Fest Oct 28 Dresden Chemiefabrik Heavy Psych Sounds Fest
DOPELORD is Paweł Mioduchowski – Guitars and Vocals Piotr Ochociński – Drums Grzegorz Pawłowski – Guitars Piotr Zin – Bass, Vocals and Mellotron
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 5th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
All well and good for Josiah as they bring in bassist Andy Shardlow as part of the band’s reinvigorated trio lineup with founding guitarist/vocalist Mathew Bethancourt and drummer D.C. Lockton, and all well and good for them to have a new booking agency in Heavy Mountain. Put the two together, however, and it might just be that the London-based outfit will look to get out and tour at least in Europe to support their 2022 album, We Lay on Cold Stone (review here), which was released through Blues Funeral Recordings. Shardlow has played in a bunch of other bands as you can see below, and he takes the place of Jack Dickinson — also of Stubb; wherefore a third record, Stubb? — with whom the band leave open the possibility of continuing to work as a second guitarist. A fascinating thought.
Josiah will join GNOB, The Jonny Halifax Invocation, DVDE, Purple Kong and Longheads on July 29 at Hazy Fest in London at Signature Brew in Haggerston in the eastern part of the city. It will be their first show with Shardlow in the lineup, and, as noted above, there may be more to follow.
From socials, with emojis removed:
In recent times we’ve been evoking all things dark with the very welcome addition of Andy Shardlow (@beerded_bass_man) on low end duties.
Andy has previously played bass with the likes of @devilswitches @wildfuzztrip @jr_and_the_echo & many more sonic outlaws.
Our beloved Jack (@deathtofalsepsych) of @stubbrock stays within the circle of fire. His guitar slinging will feature live & on the next Josiah full length.
Come experience the new lineup at Hazy Fest @signaturebrew Haggerston, London on the 29th July.
Sonic rituals require a constant flow.
Josiah are proud to be a part of the incredible @heavymountain booking agency.
Contact tyler@heavymountain.co.uk to book some live action now.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 2nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Okay, this is super-complicated, so stay with me. It’s REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi together.
Okay, so maybe not actually that complicated. One might throw darts at band names on a wall for eternity and never come up with pairing the Chicago and Mexico City-based outfits for a split, let alone a collaborative LP, both bands working together on a single batch of songs in a one-time megaband, but every now and then actual-reality has a way of offering surprises and this was one of those. I was fortunate enough to do the liner notes for the release, to talk to the bands and get the story behind what they’re going for, how it came together, and so on, and if you’re a PostWax subscriber and up for some reading, that’s a thing that exists. The downloads of the album, which is called Silent Future, have gone out to PostWax folks — I know because I got mine — and the keys to getting into it are atmosphere and expanse. Do not approach with set expectations, do open your mind to immersive heavy psychedelic possibilities.
The non-PostWax general release for Silent Future is Aug. 11 and they’re streaming the centerpiece “Hypersurreal” now. The PR wire has preorder links and more background:
REZN and VINNUM SABBATHI to release collaborative album “Silent Future” on August 11th via Blues Funeral Recordings; stream first single!
Blues Funeral Recordings present the next chapter of their acclaimed PostWax series, with a fully collaborative album between Chicago avant-garde doom outfit REZN and Mexico City instrumental cosmic metallers Vinnum Sabbathi. “Silent Future” will be released worldwide on August 11th, with preorders and the first single available right now!
On Silent Future, Chicago atmospheric psych-doom outfit REZN teams up with Mexico City cosmic conceptualists Vinnum Sabbathi for a true union of heavy exploration. Allowing themselves a fluid, open canvas to experiment, members of both bands contribute equally to create an album of lush, hypnotic and frequently megalithic ambiance, yielding an utterly cohesive trip into the riff-drenched astral reaches.
About this collaborative album, REZN comments: “Ever since we played a show in Mexico City with Vinnum Sabbathi, we knew we wanted to find an opportunity to incorporate their cinematic style within the REZN soundscape. The Postwax creative concept helped guide us into making an album that stands out from the rest of our catalog, which was a really refreshing challenge for us. After the songwriting flowed freely, we intentionally left space so we could collaborate together on each song and explore the many shades of psychological cosmic horror.”
Vinnum Sabbathi adds: “We feel honored to be part of the Postwax series with this special collaboration with our Friends Rezn, the creation of “Silent Future” gave us the opportunity of experimenting with new ways of composing and recording, but also adding our own touch to the concept with the use of samples and this is very well represented in the first single “Hypersurreal”.
The fluidity with which REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi collaborate is unlikely, yet inarguable. Strong nuclear forces conjoin sections as alternatingly ethereal as celestial light and dense as a black hole collapse. Ultimately, the endeavor is never limited to being one thing for long, any more than it is limited to being the work of a single band. More than a listening experience, Silent Future’s vitality extends beyond the aural. This is the work of two groups pushing themselves further than they’ve gone before, each answering the other’s question of how far they can ultimately go. As heavy as Silent Future gets, as distant as it may range, one cannot regard this righteously thick, molten-tempo journey into the unknown as anything but breathtaking.
“Silent Future” will be released worldwide on August 11th in various vinyl formats, limited digipak CD and digital. The ultra-limited deluxe vinyl edition will be shipped in June to PostWax Vol. II subscribers. Preorders are available now on Blues Funeral Recordings.
TRACKLIST: 1. Born Into Catatonia 2. Unknown Ancestor 3. The Cultigen 4. Hypersurreal 5. Clusters 7. Morphing 8. Obliterating Mists
Album lineup: Gerardo Arias: Drums, Percussion, Lead Guitars Phil Cangelosi: Bass Patrick Dunn: Drums Samuel Lopez: Bass Rob McWilliams: Guitars, Vocals Spencer Ouellette: Synths, Sax, Flute Juan Tamayo: Heavy guitars, Synths Roman Tamayo: Additional FX Victor “KB” Velazquez: Additional Guitars Manuel Wohlrab: Spoken Word
Hey there and welcome back to the Spring 2023 Quarterly Review. Today I’ve got another 10-record batch for your perusal, and if you’ve never been to this particular party before, it’s part of an ongoing series this site does every couple months (you might say quarterly), and this week picks up from yesterday as well as a couple weeks ago, when another 70 records of various types were covered. If there’s a lesson to be learned from all of it, it’s that we live in a golden age of heavy music, be it metal, rock, doom, sludge, psych, prog, noise or whathaveyou. Especially for whathaveyou.
So here we are, you and I, exploring the explorations in these many works and across a range of styles. As always, I hope you find something that feels like it’s speaking directly to you. For what it’s worth, I didn’t even make it through the first 10 of the 50 releases to be covered this week yesterday without ordering a CD from Bandcamp, so I’m here in a spirit of learning too. We’ll go together and dive back in.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Smokey Mirror, Smokey Mirror
Those in the know will tell you that the vintage-sound thing is over, everybody’s a goth now, blah blah heavygaze. That sounds just fine with Dallas, Texas, boogie rockers Smokey Mirror, who on their self-titled Rise Above Records first LP make their shuffle a party in “Invisible Hand” and the class-conscious “Pathless Forest” even before they dig into the broader jam of the eight-minute “Magick Circle,” panning the solos in call and response, drum solo, softshoe groove, full on whatnot. Meanwhile, “Alpha-State Dissociative Trance” would be glitch if it had a keyboard on it, a kind of math rock from 1972, and its sub-three-minute stretch is followed by the acoustic guitar/harmonica folk blues of “Fried Vanilla Super Trapeze” and the heavy fuzz resurgence of “Sacrificial Altar,” which is long like “Magick Circle” but with more jazz in its winding jam and more of a departure into it (four minutes into the total 7:30 if you’re wondering), while the Radio Moscow-style smooth bop and rip of “A Thousand Days in the Desert” and shred-your-politics of “Who’s to Say” act as touch-ground preface for the acoustic noodle and final hard strums of “Recurring Nightmare,” as side B ends in mirror to side A. An absolute scorcher of a debut and all the more admirable for wearing its politics on its sleeve where much heavy rock hides safe behind its “I’m not political” whiteness, Smokey Mirror‘s Smokey Mirror reminds that, every now and again, those in the know don’t know shit. Barnburner heavy rock and roll forever.
Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows, Hail to the Underground
The moral of the story is that the members of Melbourne’s Jack Harlon and the Dead Crows — may they someday be famous enough that I won’t feel compelled to point out that none of them is Jack; the lineup is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Tim Coutts-Smith, guitarist Jordan Richardson, bassist Liam Barry and drummer Josh McCombe — came up in the ’90s, or at least in the shadow thereof. Hail to the Underground collects eight covers in 35 minutes and is the Aussie rockers’ first outing for Blues Funeral, following two successful albums in 2018’s Hymns and 2021’s The Magnetic Ridge (review here), and while on paper it seems like maybe it’s the result of just-signed-gotta-get-something-out motivation, the takes on tunes by Aussie rockers God, the Melvins, Butthole Surfers, My Bloody Valentine and Joy Division (their “Day of Lords” is a nodding highlight) rest organically alongside the boogie blues of “Roll & Tumble” (originally by Hambone Willie Newbern), the electrified surge of Bauhaus‘ “Dark Entries” and the manic peaks of “Eye Shaking King” by Amon Düül II. It’s not the triumphant, moment-of-arrival third full-length one awaits — and it would be soon for it to be, but it’s how the timing worked with the signing — but Hail to the Underground adds complexity to the narrative of the band’s sound in communing with Texan acid noise, country blues from 1929 to emo and goth rock icons in a long-player’s span, and it’ll certainly keep the fire burning until the next record gets here.
Minimalist in social media presence (though on YouTube and Bandcamp, streaming services, etc.), Sardinian one-man outfit Noorag — also stylized all-lowercase: noorag — operates at the behest of multi-instrumentalist/producer Federico “WalkingFred” Paretta, and with drums by Daneiele Marcia, the project’s debut EP, Fossils, collects seven short pieces across 15 minutes that’s punk in urgency, sans-vocal in the execution, sludged in tone, metallic in production, and adventurous in some of its time changes. Pieces like the ambient opener “Hhon” and “Amanita Shot,” which follows headed on the quick into the suitably stomping “Brachiopod” move easily between each other since the songs themselves are tied together through their instrumental approach and relatively straightforward arrangements. “Cochlea Stone” is a centerpiece under two minutes long with emphasis rightfully on the bass, while “Ritual Electric” teases the stonershuggah nuance in the groove of “Acid Apricot”‘s second half, and the added “Digital Cave” roughs up the recording while maybe or maybe not actually being the demo it claims to be. Are those drums programmed? We may never know, but at a quarter of an hour long, it’s not like Noorag are about to overstay their welcome. Fitting for the EP format as a way to highlight its admirable intricacy, Fossils feels almost ironically fresh and sounds like the beginning point of a broader progression. Here’s hoping.
With the notable exceptions of six-minute opener “Era” and the 8:36 “Uhtceare” with the gradual build to its explosion into the “Stones From the Sky” moment that’s a requisite for seemingly all post-metal acts to utilize at least once (they turn it into a lead later, which is satisfying), Sweden’s KOLLAPS\E — oh your pesky backslash — pair their ambient stretches with stately, shout-topped declarations of riff that sound like early Isis with the clarity of production and intent of later Isis, which is a bigger difference than it reads. The layers of guttural vocals at the forefront of “Anaemia” add an edge of extremity offset by the post-rock float of the guitar, and “Bränt Barn Skyr Elden” (‘burnt child dreads the fire,’ presumably a Swedish aphorism) answers by building tension subtly in its first two minutes before going full-barrage atmosludge for the next as it, “Anaemia,” and the closing pair of “Radiant Static” and “Murrain” harness short-song momentum on either side of four minutes long — something the earlier “Beautiful Desolate” hinted at between “Era” and “Uhtceare” — to capture a distinct flow for side B and giving the ending of “Murrain” its due as a culmination for the entire release. Crushing or spacious or both when it wants to be, Phantom Centre is a strong, pandemic-born debut that looks forward while showing both that it’s schooled in its own genre and has begun to decide which rules it wants to break.
Healthyliving, Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief
A multinational conglomerate that would seem to be at least partially assembled in Edinburg, Scotland, Healthyliving — also all-lowercase: healthyliving — offer folkish melodicism atop heavy atmospheric rock for a kind of more-present-than-‘gaze-implies feel that is equal parts meditative, expansive and emotive on their debut full-length, Songs of Abundance, Psalms of Grief. With the vocals of Amaya López-Carromero (aka Maud the Moth) given a showcase they more than earn via performance, multi-instrumentalist Scott McLean (guitar, bass, synth) and drummer Stefan Pötzsch are able to conjure the scene-setting heft of “Until,” tap into grunge strum with a gentle feel on “Bloom” or meander into outright crush with ambient patience on “Galleries” (a highlight) or move through the intensity of “To the Gallows,” the unexpected surge in the bridge of “Back to Back” or the similarly structured but distinguished through the vocal layering and melancholic spirit of the penultimate “Ghost Limbs” with a long quiet stretch before closer “Obey” wraps like it’s raking leaves in rhythm early and soars on a strident groove that caps with impact and sprawl. They are not the only band operating in this sphere of folk-informed heavy post-rock by any means, but as their debut, this nine-song collection pays off the promise of their 2021 two-songer Until/Below (review here) and heralds things to come both beautiful and sad.
Even before Vermont freak-psych two-piece MV & EE — Matt Valentine and Erika Elder, both credited with a whole bunch of stuff including, respectively, ‘the real deal’ and ‘was’ — are nestled into the organic techno jam of 19-minute album opener “Free Range,” their Green Ark full-length has offered lush lysergic hypnosis via an extended introductory drone. Far more records claim to go anywhere than actually do, but the funky piano of “No Money” and percussion and wah dream-disco of “Dancin’,” with an extra-fun keyboard line late, set up the 20-minute “Livin’ it Up,” in a way that feels like surefooted experimentalism; Elder and Valentine exploring these aural spaces with the confidence of those who’ve been out wandering across more than two decades’ worth of prior occasions. That is to say, “Livin’ it Up” is comfortable as it engages with its own unknown self, built up around a bass line and noodly solo over a drum machine with hand percussion accompanying, willfully repetitive like the opener in a way that seems to dig in and then dig in again. The 10-minute “Love From Outer Space” and nine-minute mellow-psych-but-for-the-keyboard-beat-hitting-you-in-the-face-and-maybe-a-bit-of-play-around-that-near-the-end “Rebirth” underscore the message that the ‘out there’ is the starting point rather than the destination for MV & EE, but that those brave enough to go will be gladly taken along.
Israeli trio The Great Machine — brothers Aviran Haviv (bass/vocals) and Omer Haviv (guitar/vocals) as well as drummer/vocalist Michael Izaky — find a home on Noisolution for their fifth full-length in nine years, Funrider, trading vocal duties back and forth atop songs that pare down some of the jammier ideology of 2019’s less-than-ideally-titled Greatestits, still getting spacious in side-A ender “Pocketknife” and the penultimate “Some Things Are Bound to Fail,” which is also the longest inclusion at 6:05. But the core of Funrider is in the quirk and impact of rapid-fire cuts like “Zarathustra” and “Hell & Back” at the outset, the Havivs seeming to trade vocal duties throughout to add to the variety as the rumble before the garage-rock payoff of “Day of the Living Dead” gives over to the title-track or that fuzzier take moves into “Pocketknife.” Acoustic guitar starts “Fornication Under the Consent of the King” but it becomes sprinter Europunk bombast before its two minutes are done, and with the rolling “Notorious” and grungeminded “Mountain She” ripping behind, the most unifying factor throughout Funrider is its lack of predictability. That’s no minor achievement for a band on their fifth record making a shift in their approach after a decade together, but the desert rocking “The Die” that closes with a rager snuck in amid the chug is a fitting summary of the trio’s impressive creative reach.
Following-up their 2017 debut, Stoner Circus, Austrian trio Swanmay offer seven songs and 35 minutes of new material with the self-issued Frantic Feel, finding their foundation in the bass work of Chris Kaderle and Niklas Lueger‘s drumming such that Patrick Àlvaro‘s ultra-fuzzed guitar has as strong a platform to dance all over as possible. Vocals in “The Art of Death” are suitably drunk-sounding (which doesn’t actually hurt it), but “Mashara” and “Cats and Snails” make a rousing opening salvo of marked tonal depth and keep-it-casual stoner saunter, soon also to be highlighted in centerpiece “Blooze.” On side B, “Stone Cold” feels decidedly more like it has its life together, and “Old Trails” tightens the reins from there in terms of structure, but while closer “Dead End” stays fuzzy and driving like the two songs before, the noise quotient is upped significantly by the time it’s done, and that brings back some of the looser swing of “Mashara” or “The Art of Death.” But when Swanmay want to be — and that’s not all the time, to their credit — they are massively heavy, and they put that to raucous use with a production that is accordingly loud and vibrant. Seems simple reading a paragraph, maybe, but the balance they strike in these songs is a difficult one, and even if it’s just for the guitar and bass tones, Frantic Feel demands an audience.
“Death will come swiftly to those who are weak,” goes the crooning verse lyric from Garden of Ash‘s “Death Valley” at the outset of the young Edmonton, Alberta, trio’s self-titled, self-released debut full-length. Bassist Kristina Hunszinger delivers the line with due severity, but the Witch Mountain-esque slow nod and everybody-dies lyrics of “A Cautionary Tale” show more of the tongue-in-cheek point of view of the lyrics. The plot thickens — or at very least hits harder — when the self-recorded outing’s metallic production style is considered. In the drums of Levon Vokins — who also provides backing vocals as heard on “Roses” and elsewhere — the (re-amped) guitar of Zach Houle and even in the mostly-sans-effects presentation of Hunszinger‘s vocals as well as their placement at the forefront of the mix, it’s heavy metal more than heavy rock, but as Vokins takes lead vocals in “World on Fire” with Hunszinger joining for the chorus, the riff is pure boogie and the earlier “Amnesia” fosters doomly swing, so what may in the longer term be a question of perspective is yet unanswered in terms of are they making the sounds they want to and pushing into trad metal genre tenets, or is it just a matter of getting their feet under them as a new band? I don’t know, but songs and performance are both there, so this first full-length does its job in giving Garden of Ash something from which to move forward while serving notice to those with ears to hear them. Either way, the bonus track “Into the Void” is especially notable for not being a Black Sabbath cover, and by the time they get there, that’s not at all the first surprise to be had.
Checking in at one second less and 15 minutes flat, “The Bends” is the first release from Milwaukee-based three-piece Tidal, and it’s almost immediately expansive. With shades of El Paraiso-style jazz psych, manipulated samples and hypnotic drone at its outset, the first two minutes build into a wash with mellow keys/guitar effects (whatever, it sounds more like sax and they’re all credited with ‘noise,’ so I’m doing my best here) and it’s not until Sam Wallman‘s guitar steps forward out of the ambience surrounding at nearly four minutes deep that Alvin Vega‘s drums make their presence known. Completed by Max Muenchow‘s bass, which righteously holds the core while Wallman airs out, the roll is languid and more patient than one would expect for a first-release jam, but there’s a pickup and Tidal do get raucous as “The Bends” moves into its midsection, scorching for a bit until they quiet down again, only to reemerge at 11:10 from the ether of their own making with a clearheaded procession to carry them through the crescendo and to the letting-go-now drift of echo that caps. I hear tell they’ve got like an hour and a half of this stuff recorded and they’re going to release them one by one. They picked an intriguing one to start with as the layers of drone and noise help fill out the otherwise empty space in the instrumental jam without being overwrought or sacrificing the spontaneous nature of the track. Encouraging start. Will be ready when the next jam hits.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 5th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
A couple things here. First and foremost, the name of Dopelord’s upcoming Fall tour — the ‘Tour for Satan’ — will make more sense generally in the context of the title of their next full-length, which I don’t think has yet been made public so I’m not going to say. But if you’re scratching your head on why it would be a tour with the devil as its purpose, that’s why. It’s a fitting name in light of that, and I’m sure the album announcement will be along the PR wire sooner or later. Probably five minutes after this post goes live, making me automatically behind as I perpetually seem to be. No, I don’t think that’s about me, and I don’t take it personally. This is doom. Leave your ego in the car.
Second and somehow-also-foremost, the album rules. The Warsaw-based outfit — who’ll hit Desertfest Belgium in Antwerp and Heavy Psych Sounds Festival in Germany (x2) on this run — have outdone themselves in melody and riffcraft and purpose in the impending batch of songs, and I say that as I’m in progress on liner notes for the PostWax edition of the release. Gotta get on that. Behind, as ever.
They mention below that the record will be out before they hit the road, which in addition to meaning I need to get on my shit as regards those liner notes, is also the closest thing to an official announcement I’ve seen of the release (since they got added to PostWax in 2021, anyhow), and apparently that’s well close enough for me to talk about it. The bottom line is whether or not you catch them on these dates, keep an eye for more about the record. Including, eventually, the name of it.
For now, the shows from Doomstar Bookings and the hint of the album’s coming dropped by the band on socials:
DOPELORD – Tour for Satan
Doomstar Bookings present Dopelord’s ‘Tour For Satan’ 2023 across Europe in October! See the confirmed dates below and the bandmark your calendar!
Says the band: “(#128481#)(#128128#)(#128481#) Attention! Tour For Satan will take place this October, shortly after the release of our next full album, thanks to Doomstar Bookings. FB events and tickets are live. (#128481#)(#128128#)(#128481#)”
Confimed dates: 12.10.23 – Prague (CZ) – Modra Vopice 13.10.23 – Cottbus (DE) – Muggefug 14.10.23 – Jena (DE) – KuBa 15.10.23 – Braunschweig (DE) – B58 16.10.23 – Hamburg (DE) – Hafenklang 17.10.23 – Malmö (SE) – Plan B 18.10.23 – Copenhagen (DK) – Loppen 19.10.23 – Kiel (DE) – Schaubude 20.10.23 – Groningen (NL) – Café de Walrus 21.10.23 – Nijmegen (NL) – Doornroosje w/ Bismut & Acid Rooster 22.10.23 – Antwerpen (BE) – Desertfest 23.10.23 – Lille (FR) – La Bulle Café 24.10.23 – Osnabrück (DE) – Bastard Club 25.10.23 – Düdingen (CH) – Bad Bonn 26.10.23 – Düsseldorf (DE) – Pitcher 27.10.23 – Berlin (DE) – Heavy Psych Sounds Festival 28.10.23 – Dresden (DE) – Heavy Psych Sounds Festival
Posted in Reviews on April 20th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Dozer return. A decade almost to the day after beginning a reunion at Desertfest in Berlin and London (review here) and having played festivals and select other dates all the while if not having fully resumed life as a touring band, and the better part of two years announcing the project as part of Blues Funeral Recordings‘ PostWax subscription vinyl series — for which, in the interest of full disclosure, I wrote/write the liner notes — after full catalogue reissues through Heavy Psych Sounds and years of will-they-won’t-they speculation on the part of their audience, Dozer offer the Karl Daniel Lidén-helmed seven songs/42 minutes of Drifting in the Endless Void as a decade-and-a-half-later follow-up to 2008’s Beyond Colossal (featured here, discussed here, 2009 interview here), and part of what’s so stunning about it is that it makes that ridiculous idea a reality. A ‘follow-up’ 15 years later. Imagine where you were 15 years ago, who you were. Do you think you could step back into being that person?
Of course, the narrative here is more complex. Dozer announced their hiatus in 2009, but haven’t been actually-gone for a long time, and as founding guitarist Tommi Holappa has spent the intervening years building his concurrent outfit Greenleaf into a full-time touring act — in some ways fulfilling the role that Dozer otherwise might and taking on a more modern heavy sound, where Greenleaf was once a classic ’70s-style heavy rock side-project — they’ve never been entirely absent from consideration, the prospect of a new album looming over their being added to one fest or another, here, there, or Germany. But the ease with which Holappa and fellow founding member, guitarist/vocalist Fredrik Nordin — whose voice is no less a part of what makes Dozer who they are than the riffs or bombastic style of a song like “Run, Mortals, Run!” here — bassist Johan Rockner and drummer Sebastian Olsson (also of Greenleaf) have apparently stepped back into being Dozer is striking.
Part of that is the collaboration with the aforementioned Lidén on production. The history between the two parties is significant and winding, with his having been in Demon Cleaner, with whom Dozer did splits early on, having played in Greenleaf and produced Dozer numerous times in the past, which is not to mention drumming on 2005’s Through the Eyes of Heathens (featured here; discussed here) and the demo collection released during their hiatus, Vultures (review here; discussed here) — that, by the way, is the short version of the association thread — but his work at the board of Studio Gröndal is essential to the sound of Drifting in the Endless Void, from the opening riff and ride cymbal taps, thuds and frenetic tension that launches the record with the seven-and-a-half-minute “Mutation/Transformation” to the fullness of the groove that ensues in the last build and don’t-want-to-let-go finish of bookending closer “Missing 13” (also the longest song at 8:35), the balance between spaciousness and crunch in the mix seeming to pick up where the band left off those years ago like nothing ever happened. Like, oh, turns out Dozer were right there the whole time. Here’s “Dust for Blood.”
That song, which caps side A and is a standout hook even among Dozer‘s various surging choruses in “Ex-Human, Now Beast,” “Mutation/Transformation” and the intentionally grandiose crescendo of centerpiece “Andromeda” still to come, is quintessential Dozer. With an energy that comes through the kick drum and a threat of aggression coinciding, it is atmospheric in the reach of its echo around Nordin‘s vocals (which were self-recorded) and immediate in Rockner‘s bassline in the verse with the guitar picking up for the somehow-swaggering chorus push. They toy with pace throughout, as “No Quarter Expected, No Quarter Given” moves into and through a relative frenzy in its second half and hits into a false stop before bursting back into its own chorus, “Andromeda” rides its melancholy groove so fluidly, and “Run, Mortals, Run!” — yes, there is a lot of punctuation in the song titles; don’t get hung up — finds consciousness and purpose within its intensity, guitar howling out like a siren at about three and a half minutes into the 6:44 before the loud/quiet trade and ending ensue, the four-piece clearheaded in following a plot while making a thrill of the going.
But if one feels in listening like they’re riding a car that’s hitting the bumps in the road on purpose, the adrenaline that courses throughout Drifting in the Endless Void is also a crucial part of Dozer‘s approach and has been at least since 2002’s Call it Conspiracy (discussed here; also discussed here); they write songs you can feel in your blood, and they’d seem to know it. At the same time, it’s not 2009, or 2013, and as this material was written between 2021 and 2022 (recorded in Spring a year ago), it’s a fresh look at who Dozer are today. These aren’t tracks that have been laying around since 2015, and accordingly, Drifting in the Endless Void benefits from not being overworked. Of course there’s a plan at work — it would be hard to follow the course charted by “No Quarter Expected, No Quarter Given” through its snare-stomp-punctuated ebbs and flows and argue otherwise — but part of what lets the album as an entirety live up to the near-impossible expectations upon it is the fact that it avoids the issue entirely. Dozer know who they are.
And that awareness extends to their ability to be sweeping in their largesse or intimate and subdued, or both if we’re talking about the “Everything will be okay” reassurances that become the apex of “Missing 13” at the record’s conclusion, but in that, Drifting in the Endless Void isn’t just Dozer doing an impression of what Dozer used to be, either in sound or substance. These songs reach farther, find new middle grounds between one extreme or the other, and define themselves in part by how they interact with each other — the transitions between “Andromeda” and “No Quarter Expected, No Quarter Given,” or the dead stop of “Ex-Human, Now Beast” and the bright clarion of guitar at the start of “Dust for Blood” create a flow that, while still a series of individual tracks, gives the album a whole-work feel — and to think that a band would release a sixth album 15 years after their fifth and have it sound the same is ludicrous anyway. Dozer have grown. Mutated and transformed? Maybe. I’m not sure they could’ve gone to the same kinds of places during their original run as they do in that first cut or what follows. But they’re still Dozer.
It would be hyperbole to say Drifting in the Endless Void was worth the wait as the ‘next thing’ from the band, but that’s kind of true as well. At very least, the album justifies the anticipation that’s greeted it and reaffirms just how not-done Dozer were when they went on hiatus. Calling it a heavy rock landmark for 2023 feels like underselling it. Calling it one of the year’s best records? Superfluous. It’s not a record about this year or the last 15 years or even about next year. It’s a testament to everything Dozer have done that has both stood the test of time and remained so decisively individualized that nobody has been able to come along and do it better. This band, doing this thing, in their way. Inimitable. There has only ever been one Dozer. Thank goodness they showed up here.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This past Friday was the release date for Acid King‘s stunner of a new record, Beyond Vision (review here), and to mark that happy-for-the-universe occasion, they and their Euro booking agency Sound of Liberation — US is Nanotear — announced that in accordance with a couple already-unveiled fest appearances at SonicBlast, Hoflärm, and so on, they’ll be connecting those map dots with a string of headlining tour dates.
Two reasons why this matters. Okay, three. First is the album they’re touring for, which is a career accomplishment with a more expansive and psychedelic sound than they’ve fostered in their 30 years. Second, that 30-year anniversary, which is this year, should be more than enough to motivate asses from couches, especially in light of the fact that (third), unless Beyond Vision — and yes I’m going to plug the review again, because I worked really hard on it — suddenly sells through 100,000 copies (not to say it shouldn’t or couldn’t), or outdoes Stoned Jesus in YouTube plays, or meets whatever measure of “is a massive popular success” defines that right now, they’re probably not going to be on the road for months at a stretch. See them while you can, is what I’m saying to you.
And considering they’re fucking Acid King, that’s probably all I need to say about that, as much as I needed to say anything The album was made as a four-piece but Acid King will travel as a trio, and word of the tour follows as per the PR wire:
ACID KING “BEYOND VISION’ TOUR + NEW ALBUM
USA‘s iconic doom institution ACID KING celebrate the release of their new album. „Beyond Vision“ is out now!
And what’s the best way to celebrate a new album?
Exactly. By going on TOUR!
Sound of Liberation proudly presents: ACID KING – BEYOND VISION TOUR 2023
You know what to do. Grab your copy of „Beyond Vision“, grab your ticket for the concert near you. And with the ticket in your hand you can headbang in front of your record player until you can finally headbang in the front row.
