I’d like to think more bands would do this if they had access to the resources to make it happen, but the truth is most bands do. It’s easy enough to put word out on thee social medias that you’re looking for a couple cameras to film, and if you’ve made an album, chances are you have access to a studio or mixing board of some kind already, so there you go. Live-in-studio performance video. So why don’t more acts put out live performance videos, either of individual songs or, as UK progressive heavy rockers Boss Keloid have, their full albums? I think they’re intimidated.
It’s kind of a scary thought, isn’t it? You just put your heart, time, effort and money into making the best record you can possibly make. It’s out, you feel really good about it even after the pain in the ass that was mixing, waiting for the master, and so on. Reviews are good. Now you’re supposed to get back in the studio and play the whole thing live and film it? Fuck that. Book a show, pick your favorites, play ’em live, sell some vinyl and kick ass. Nothing wrong with that approach — people do it every day. Boss Keloid, though, don’t seem like the type to shy away from a good challenge.
The Wigan five-piece released their latest outing, Melted on the Inch (review here), earlier this year on Holy Roar Records, and it presented a bold step forward in their sound and approach overall. Their songwriting has grown to be more thoughtful and aware of the full-album flow of which each track is a part, and their movements within songs have become more nuanced without losing their central edge or their effective conveyance of tonal weight. In an absolutely saturated UK heavy underground, Boss Keloid stand out with an individualized approach and a bravery of style that obviously extends to their willingness to bring their material to life in the rawest of gotta-prove-it settings. Because if Melted on the Inch didn’t work, there’s just about no way to hide that fact while engaged in a project like this.
They emerge unscathed, however, and in the 41-minute clip, they run through each of the album’s six tracks and give proof positive of their creative energy and forward thinking mindset. If you don’t feel like watching the full video, the audio of the session is also streaming at Boss Keloid‘s Bandcamp, and I’ve included the player near the bottom of this post for your streaming convenience. Well worth your time, in any case.
Dig it:
Boss Keloid, Melted on the Inch live at Alien Sound Studio
“Melted On The Inch” – Live In Full at Alien Sound Studio – 2018
Audio recorded, mixed and mastered by Mark Wainwright at: Alien Sound Studio, Cock Farm, Spa Ln, Lathom, Ormskirk L40 6JQ aliensound.co.uk
Melted On The Inch is six anthemic tracks showcasing a matured, evolved BOSS KELOID, as the Wigan based quintet continue to flirt with new genres. Littered with unmistakably Boss Keloidy riffs, Melted On The Inch disrupts notions of genre and song structure. This is rousing, heavy-tinged progressive rock as BOSS KELOID daringly hold, dip and release the reins of the mighty riff whilst Alex Hurst’s bellowing, primal vocals, which are more dynamic than ever, enthrallingly envelop each track. These are undoubtedly the biggest, most intense songs BOSS KELOID have ever written.
Melted On The Inch is now available from Holy Roar Records in the UK/EU here and Deathwish Inc in the USA here.
Boss Keloid is: Ste Arands – Drums and Percussion Alex Hurst – Vocals and Guitar Matthew Milne – Keyboards Charlie Seisay – Bass Paul Swarbrick – Guitar
Boss Keloid, Melted on the Inch: Live at Alien Sound Studios
This is a crucial moment in any Quarterly Review. Today we hit the halfway point one way or the other. I still haven’t decided if this will be a 50- or 60-album edition; kind of playing it by ear, but either way, today’s a landmark in my mind in terms of how far to go vs. how far we’ve come. Uphill vs. downhill to some extent, but I don’t want to give the impression that I’m either half-assing it from here on out or that I don’t enjoy the challenge of reviewing 10 records in a day, one after the next, for (at least) five days in a row. I’ve always been a glutton for a bit of self-flagellation. Ha.
Alright, let’s dive in.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
The Atlas Moth, Coma Noir
If one still wants to consider Chicago’s The Atlas Moth post-metal after hearing Coma Noir, at least do them the courtesy of emphasizing the “metal” part of that equation. For their debut on Prosthetic Records and fourth full-length overall, the five-piece worked with producer Sanford Parker to solidify a progressive metal sound that, whether in the harsh and weighted impact of the opening title-track or the later interplay between guitarists Stavros Giannopoulos and David Kush on screams and cleaner vocals in “Furious Gold,” seems to take cues from groups like a less manic Strapping Young Lad and a less watered-down Mastodon more than Isis or Neurosis. With prominent synth from Andrew Ragin (also guitar), and the solid roll from the rhythm section of bassist Alex Klein and drummer Mike Miczek, the band brings revitalized edge to “The Streets of Bombay,” and even on the slower, more atmospheric closer “Chloroform,” they’ve never sounded more lethal. It suits them.
A collection of odds and ends from Across Tundras, the 10-track/52-minute Tumbleweeds III may or may not sate anyone hoping for a follow-up to 2013’s Electric Relics (review here), but it provides some curio fodder along the way to be sure, from raw opener “Final Breath over Venom Falls” to the acoustic-percussion jam “Bullet in the Butt” to the fuller roll of “Cold Ride” and later demos for “Spinning Through the Cosmic Dust,” “Hijo del Desierto,” “Stone Crazy Horse” and “The Stacked Plain,” which later became “Seasick Serenade” on Electric Relics, it’s at very least something for fans to dig into and a fascinating listen, as Across Tundras’ rambling sound is almost eerily suited to a home-recording vibe, as the “Stone Crazy Horse” demo, featuring vocalist Shannon Allie-Murphy along with frontman Tanner Olson, sounds all the more folksome as a result of its lack of production polish. Closing with Bob Dylan’s “The Ballad of Hollis Brown,” then, could hardly be more appropriate. Still waiting for a proper long-player to surface, but happy at this point to take what comes.
Like a chicanery-laced dusty vinyl with a naked lady on the cover, The Wizards of Delight emerge from the London underground to solidly declare “We’ve got the rock ‘n’ rollz.” And yes, they spell it with a ‘z.’ The presence of frontman Andreas “Mazzereth” Maslen will be familiar to anyone who ever even briefly encountered Groan – dude makes an impression, to be sure – and the four tracks he and the surrounding five-piece of guitarists/backing vocalists Dan Green’s Myth and Lenny Ray, bassist/backing vocalist Eponymous, organist/backing vocalist Henry and drummer Reece bring is both funky and classically heavy, “Gypsy” referencing Dio Sabbath in the first line while “Mountain Woman” brings a heavy ‘70s shuffle to answer the way-un-P.C. “Shogun Messiah,” which seems to be working under the thesis that because it sounds like it’s from 40 years ago, they can get away with it. I’ll give them that the track is, to an unfortunate degree, catchy. As to the rest, give me the groove of “We Got the Rock ‘n’ Rollz” any day. It’s been a while since anyone so brazenly interpreted Mk. II Deep Purple and actually pulled it off.
Hard-touring Detroit heavy rockers Against the Grain are known for speed, and rightly so. When they burst into high gear, as on “Sacrifice,” “No Sleep,” “Last Chance,” “Rolling Stone,” “Enough’s Not Enough,” and “Jaded and Faded” from their latest offering and Ripple Music debut, Cheated Death. The follow-up to 2015’s Road Warriors (review here) sees them no less infectious in their live energy, but it’s hard to ignore the more versatile approach that seems to be growing in their sound, from the classic rocking “Smoke” to the near-centerpiece “Devils and Angels” which ballads-out its boozy regrets before entering into an effective mid-paced build that rounds out in choice dual-soloing. Likewise, though they open at a good clip with the title-track, closer “Into the Light” finds a middle ground between thrust and groove. The truth is Against the Grain have never been just about speed, but they’ve never so directly benefited from a dynamic approach as they do on Cheated Death either.
Immediate kudos to Stockholm-based psychedelic progressive explorers Our Solar System – aka Vårt Solsystem – for opening their third full-length for Beyond Beyond is Beyond, the five-track/41-minute Origins, with the side-consuming 21-minute “Vulkanen.” One could hardly ask for more effective immersion in the band’s world of patiently unfurled, languid psychedelia, and with the accompaniment of “Babalon Rising,” the jazz-prog tracklist centerpiece “En Bit Av Det Tredje Klotet,” the birdsong-laced “Naturligt Samspel” and the semi-freaked-out melodic wash of “Monte Verita” on side B, a full, rich, and mind-expanding cosmos is engaged, free of restriction even as it remains thoroughly lysergic, and adherent to no structural will so much as the will to adventure into the unknown, to find out where one progression leads. As regards the long- and short-form material on Origins, it leads far, far out, and if you don’t come out the other side wanting to own everything the band has ever released, you’re decidedly in the wrong.
Once calling Brooklyn Home, Los Angeles trio Dommengang waste no time in getting down to the business of boogie on their second album for Thrill Jockey, Love Jail. Produced by Tim Green (The Fucking Champs), the 10-track/50-minute long-player has all the room for organ/guitar mashups, righteous West Coast vibes and easy-flowing classic heavy rock one could hope for, and in the opening salvo of “Pastel City,” “Lovely Place” and “Lone Pine,” the three-piece of guitarist Dan “Sig” Wilson, bassist Brian Markham, and drummer Adam Bulgasem reaffirm mellow bluesiness as well on the title-track and dig into ‘90s-style alt bliss on the penultimate “Color out of Space.” There’s a welcoming air throughout that holds steady regardless of tempo, and in heavier moments like the second half of “I’m out Mine,” the band resonates with fuzz and noisy elements that bring just enough danger to the proceedings to keep the listener riveted. Classy, but not too classy, in other words.
It would seem that Wigan, UK, outfit Boss Keloid — newly signed to Holy Roar Records for the release of their third LP, Melted on the Inch – internalized a few crucial lessons from their sophomore outing, 2016’s Herb Your Enthusiasm (review here). At six tracks and 40 minutes, Melted on the Inch is about 20 minutes shorter than its predecessor. Its title isn’t a weed pun. Its cover art conveys a work of dimensionality, and most importantly, the album itself turns to be precisely that. Taking a significant step toward a more progressive sound, Boss Keloid maintain the heft of their prior outing but base it around material that, frankly, is more complex and dynamic. I won’t say that “Tarku Shavel” and “Lokannok” are without their elements of self-indulgence, but neither should they be for the five-piece to do justice to the multifaceted nature of their purpose. They still roar when they want to, but Boss Keloid strike with breadth on Melted on the Inch as well as sheer impact.
After forming in 2015, Philadelphia’s exclamatory Holy Smoke! issued their first three-track release, It’s a Demo! (review here) the next year and showed marked stylistic promise in cuts like “Rinse and Repeat” and “Blue Dreams.” Both of those tracks, as it happens, stand at the opening of the band’s latest EP, the five-song Pipe Dream, and reaffirm the potential in the group. The opener (also the longest track once again; immediate points) is a tale of workaday redundancy, the very sort of monotony that the rest of the offering seems to leave behind in favor of post-grunge heavy rock, marked by the wah-bass on finale “Asch Backwards” and the brooding sensibility of the prior “Golden Retriever,” which surges in its midsection like a lost Alice in Chains demo only to end quiet once again, a departure from the linearity of centerpiece “Missing the Mark” just before. Less psychedelic than their initial impression conveyed, they seem to have undertaken the work of crafting their own sonic niche in Philly’s increasingly crowded scene, and there’s nothing on Pipe Dream to make one think it’s not a realistic possibility they’ll get there.
Sabel know what they want to be and then are that thing. Their third album, Re-Generation, arrives via Oak Island Records as six tracks of to-the-converted stonerism, and from opener/longest track (immediate points) “In the Walls of Eryx,” the Swedish trio do little more than ask their listeners to smell the smoke emanating from their speaker cabinets (oddly sweet), and hone walls of fuzz that each seem to be bigger than the last. There are some elements of earliest Electric Wizard at play in “Atlantean” or the sneering “Voodoo Woman,” but belters like “Interstellar Minddweller” and “Green Priestess” stave off their sounding overly derivative, and though at the end of Re-Generation’s 42-minute run, one might feel as though they need a shower, the record itself proves well worth the dive into the muck. The band would seem to have carved their own descriptor with the title of their self-released 2015 LP, Hard Doom, and that’s as good as anything I could come up with, so let’s roll with it. They seem to.
Cheers to Christian Peters of Samsara Blues Experiment for putting me onto Spokane, Washington’s Blackwater Prophet, who with the seven-track As I Watch it Freeze collect various tracks recorded between 2015 and 2017. Thus something of a compilation, the 40-minute outing wants nothing for overarching flow, “In My Passing Time” leading off with a mellow psych-blues spirit that only grows more classic-feeling through “House of Stone” and the gorgeously pastoral “The Swamp.” The band have two proper full-lengths out, and if they wanted to count As I Watch it Freeze as their third, I don’t think they’d find much argument, as centerpiece “Gold in the Palm” opens like a gateway leading to the increasingly resonant “Careworn Crow,” the fuzzy swing of “Eating the Sun” and finally, the title-track itself, which answers the acoustics of “The Swamp” earlier while adding flourish of volume-swelling and swirling electric guitar and late choral vocals that only make the proceedings seem all the more complete in their engagement.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 6th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
One has to wonder just how much of the vibe the new teaser for Boss Keloid‘s impending third album, Melted on the Inch, can actually serve to summarize the release. The Wigan, UK, five-piece have signed to Holy Roar Records to issue the record — and kudos and judos on that, as it’s a good fit — but even if one goes by their woefully cartoon-titted 2016 sophomore effort, Herb Your Enthusiasm(review here), as an example, it’s hard to think of a single minute-long stretch that could capture what it was all about. It was just too all over the place. Though, to be fair, the impression I get from the clip below is that when all is said and done much the same will apply to Melted on the Inch, so maybe the teaser is doing its job after all.
Okay, I talked myself into it. We’re all good now.
Boss Keloid‘s Melted on the Inch will be out Spring 2018 via Holy Roar Records.
The PR wire remains clearheaded on the subject, as always:
British Heavy Prog Psych Chiefs BOSS KELOID Sign To Holy Roar Records; Announce New Album
British heavy prog psych chiefs BOSS KELOID have signed a worldwide deal with Holy Roar Records and are set to release their highly anticipated third album in Spring 2018.
After earning acclaimed reviews for Herb Your Enthusiasm (2016) and The Calming Influence of Teeth (2013), BOSS KELOID’s notoriety for producing heavy and magnificently multilayered music has continued to grow. Having joined Holy Roar’s outstanding roster the quintet is poised to continue the momentum that’s been building since their formation in 2010. Now the band are set to take on the world with the release of Melted On The Inch, an evolution in sound and style from the band’s previously relentlessly heavy psych sludge to a dominant multi-dimensional progressive force.
The band comments: “We are delighted to be signing to Holy Roar for the release of our new album, Melted On The Inch. They’re a progressive and passionate label with an ethos that we strongly admire and relate to, so it’s really cool that they’ve shown a great deal of interest and passion in our music. It’s an honour to join such a musically strong and diverse roster.
For us, Melted On The Inch is a strong progression from Herb Your Enthusiasm. It draws from a much wider pond of influence than our previous. It is more progressive, more uplifting, more melancholic, more emotional, more dynamic, there is a greater emphasis on light and shade, it is heavier, it is more delicate, it has more beauty, it has more darkness.“
In addition to their critically acclaimed releases, BOSS KELOID have become revered for their devastatingly heavy live shows, gigging and touring extensively with an array of artists such as Bongzilla, John Garcia, Crowbar, Scissorfight, Bongripper, Conan, Mars Red Sky and Raging Speedhorn plus appearing at renowned festivals such as Bloodstock, ArcTanGent, Deserfest London, Hammerfest, HRH Doom Vs Stoner and Uprising.
More details for Melted On The Inch will be revealed soon.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 30th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
I have no problem admitting to feeling overwhelmed looking at the full lineup and individual day splits for Desertfest London 2017. I mean, seriously. Look at that poster. What a way to spend a weekend.
Likewise, I have few grand reflections to offer in light of that overwhelming feeling, except perhaps to take a step back and be massively impressed at how much this event has grown in just six incarnations. Along with Desertfest Berlin, the London edition has become an anchor not only for the UK heavy rock underground — which is well represented here as ever in Elephant Tree, Black Spiders, Stubb, Vodun, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Terminal Cheesecake, Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, and so on — but for bands from abroad as well. You’ll note the three headliners: two American, one Norwegian, and the next line down on the poster is two Swedish, one American. Desertfest London 2017’s reach feels wider than ever. Staring at the final lineup, it’s clear just how much of a big fucking deal this festival has become.
Wish I could be there to see it.
Here’s the announcement of the individual day lineups from their website:
DESERTFEST 2017 DAY SPLITS AND DAY TICKETS ARE HERE!
Finally, the Desertfest 2017 day and stage splits are here, along with individual day tickets. It’s the point of the year where you can start planning the weekend, you can imagine the sets in your head and you can curse those god damned clashes.
Last things first, let’s get straight to that insane Sunday main-stage. To celebrate The Roundhouse joining the Desertfest family, we made their debut appearance something special. Not only will stoner doom icons Sleep be topping the bill, but the Roundhouse hosts a full bill of huge acts. Candlemass, with over three decades of underground acclaim to their name, bring the epic doom metal. USA’s Wolves in the Throne Room bring the atmospheric black metal. Traditional doom metal stalwarts Saint Vitus bring the classic riffs. And how about this for a ‘curtain jerker’? Bongzilla bring the raw weed metal for their second show of the weekend; more on the first later.
It’s not just about the Sunday though. Friday’s stage at the Electric Ballroom is headlined by returning heroes Slo Burn whose short run in the mid 90s furthered the then fledgling stoner rock scene. One band they surely had an impact on is Lowrider, who play Europe’s finest stoner rock alongside them. Ukraine’s Stoned Jesus celebrate their resonant album Seven Thunders Roar, and 1000Mods and Pontiak round up the main stage on the Friday.
The Electric Ballroom on Saturday will be swarming with Turbojugends as death-punk grandmasters Turbonegro turn Camden into party central. John Garcia sticks around for a solo show, sure to feature classics from his years of nonstop mastery in the stoner rock scene. Sheffield’s rock and roll five piece Black Spiders visit London for one last time on their farewell tour, with Satan’s Satyrs and Avon rounding up the main stage.
As ever though, it doesn’t stop at the main stages. Our regular partners have delivered three stages with diverse lineups. Human_Disease_Promo and When Planets Collide take over The Underworld on Saturday in a bill headlined by Bongzilla with a special set celebrating the band’s early work. The Quietus stage is led by synth wavers Zombi, and Nightshift Promotions bring an eclectic mix led by Hungary’s Apey & the Pea. To be honest, just stick a pin in the lineup poster and you’re guaranteed a good time.
For those who can’t make the full weekend, we have a limited number of individual day tickets. Priced at £40 for Friday tickets, £40 for Saturday tickets and £45 for Sunday tickets, links are below.
So there we have it. Our final lineup for Desertfest 2017. We hope you’re as excited as we are to get back to Camden this April and riff London to the ground.
DESERTFEST LONDON 2017 Final Lineup: SLEEP SLO BURN TURBONEGRO CANDLEMASS WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM SAINT VITUS JOHN GARCIA BAND BONGZILLA LOWRIDER SCISSORFIGHT BLACK SPIDERS SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT THE PICTUREBOOKS STONED JESUS SATAN’S SATYRS INTER ARMA WEAR YOUR WOUNDS 1000MODS STEAK AVON DEATH ALLEY DEAD LORD BOSS KELOID PONTIAK YURI GAGARIN HARK VODUN CHRON GOBLIN PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS THE WELL MAMMOTH STORM CELESTE STUBB MONOLITHIAN WUCAN VENOMOUS MAXIMUS BRUME APEY & THE PEA ELEPHANT TREE GRAVE LINES IRON WITCH EARTH SHIP BACKWOODS PAYBACK WIZARD FIGHT BRULE CLOSET DISCO QUEEN GRAND MAMMOTH CHUBBY THUNDEROUS BAD KUSH MASTERS MAMMOTH WEED WIZARD BASTARD SAMAVAYO WELCOME BACK DELTA DEAD LETTUCE MONSTERTONE LEDFOOT ZOMBI TERMINAL CHEESECAKE KHÜNNT BASK BRUXA MARIA
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 8th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Checking in from the UK to dude up your day come burl-rocking foursome Boss Keloid with their new video shot earlier this year. The UK outfit released their second album, Herb Your Enthusiasm (review here), back in Spring on Black Bow Records, and it’s from that Chris Fielding-produced offering that “Axis of Green” comes. It’s a live clip, essentially, edited by drummer Stephen Arands, but the footage is manipulated in various ways throughout — slow motion like you’re watching tv and seeing something from a character’s perspective who’s been inadvertently dosed or is otherwise out of their mind — and so Boss Keloid have no trouble holding the viewer through their relatively straightforward presentation.
Also helping in that cause is that “Axis of Green” takes a couple stark turns as it makes its way through its 7:43 runtime. This multi-movement take offsets some of “Axis of Green”‘s initial dudely thrust, but no question the song still makes its point in doling out heavy rock testosterone supplements, and as guitarist Paul Swarbrick — joined in the band by Arands on drums, Adam Swarbrick on bass and Alex Hurst on vocals — elucidates below, owning that dudery is pretty much what they’re aiming for. And just in case I haven’t said it enough yet in this post: “dude.”
Enjoy “Axis of Green” below, followed by more info from the PR wire:
Boss Keloid, “Axis of Green” official video
UK psychedelic sludge colossus BOSS KELOID have premiered the new video for their earthquakingly rumbling track Axis of Green. The track is taken from their critically acclaimed sophomore album Herb Your Enthusiasm which was released in April via Black Bow Records.
Guitarist Paul Swarbrick commented: “Axis Of Green is about having the conviction, drive and passion to fulfill personal aspirations in life. Living life, being proud and building on your achievements with the support of those close to you.
“The footage was filmed at this year’s Riff Fest at The Alma in Bolton by Ash Gollings. Our very own drumming nugget Stephen Arands produced and edited the video.”
After the success of 2016’s Herb Your Enthusiasm, Boss Keloid have finished writing their next album and will enter the studio in June 2017 to begin the recording process with Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studios (Conan, Electric Wizard, Napalm Death) for production and mastering by James Plotkin (Khanate, Isis, Conan, Palms).
Catch the band live at the following: 11.Nov.16 // Café Indie // Scunthorpe – Headline slot, UK 09.Dec.16 // Alma // Bolton – Headline slot, UK 17.Dec.16 // No Fun Intended Fest // Leeds, UK 24.Mar.17 // HammerFest // Pwllheli, UK
Boss Keloid is: Paul Swarbrick – Guitar Adam Swarbrick – Bass Alex Hurst – Vocals Ste Arands – Drums
Posted in Reviews on March 31st, 2016 by JJ Koczan
It seems like a day doesn’t go by that I don’t find something in one of these piles (metaphorical, sometimes literal) of records that keeps me coming back. Today is once again spread across a pretty wide stylistic swath, and that’s by design to keep my brain from going numb, but if there’s a unifying theme across all of it, let it be a sense of scope and bands and artists who are trying to take what’s been done before and push it forward or in some new direction. That’s not universal — nothing is — but today might be the most adventurous of the days included this quarter, so I hope you’ll keep open ears and an open mind as you make your way though.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Beastmaker, Lusus Naturae
Expectations are high for Fresno trio Beastmaker in no small part because their first album, Lusus Naturae, arrives through Rise Above Records. Whether they’ll take their place among the venerable UK imprint’s genre-shapers of the last half-decade, Uncle Acid, Ghost, etc., remains to be seen, but there can be little question Lusus Naturae lives up to the standard of offering something individual even as it plays off familiar conceptions. Beastmaker’s doom is classic without sounding like much of anything else, and as they unfold “Arachne” and catchy pieces like “Mask of Satan” and “You Must Sin,” they arrive aesthetically cohesive and demonstrating accomplished songwriting finding a space of its own surrounding Sabbathian and Cathedral-driven ideals with semi-psych, semi-cultish tendencies, not wanting to be put in one place or the other but successfully engaging a melting pot of modern doom in “Burnt Offering” and the plodding “It.” Whatever the wider response winds up being, Lusus Naturae will without a doubt stand as one of 2016’s best debuts.
If you’re hand-picking dream rhythm sections, getting Trevor Dunn to play bass while Dale Crover drums would probably be the picks of any number of players, but initials-only core duo EHA and AAL of Los Angeles’ Low Flying Hawks actually went out and got the Mr. Bungle and Melvins personnel to play on their Toshi Kasai-produced Magnetic Eye Records debut LP, Kofuku. Aside from keeping good company, the album’s 10 tracks/53 minutes are marked by a spaciousness that not even the tonal heft of early cut “Now, Apocalypse” seems to fill as EHA and AAL balance post-rock, doomed lurch and darker psychedelics with blackened screams and fervent rhythmic push – see “White Temple” and “Wolves Within Wolves.” They round out with the lumbering 11-minute “Destruction Complete,” a heavy rock march topped by airborne, dissonant leads that keeps its head even as it plods onward into oblivion. Not as unipolar as it might first appear in terms of sound, but the mood of Kofuku points consistently downward.
The crux of CHVE’s Rasa is in resonance. Amenra frontman Colin H. van Eeckhout (his solo-project’s name derived from his initials) constructs a flowing half-hour of fluid drone, intermittent percussion – first tribal, then a straightforward kind of march, slow but not still – and atmospheric vocal on the single track that comprises the work, seeming to take influence from calls to prayer as much as atmospheric noise. At higher volumes, the piece is consuming, his voice surrounds with the almost constant wash of tone, but even at more reasonable levels, the sense of purpose and ritual remains. Of course, Amenra are noted for the use of the word “mass” in their album titles, and while Rasa departs from the direct tonal heft of much of what van Eeckhout does in his main outfit, there is a sense of mass here in terms both of presence and in terms of the worship being enacted.
How do you fit an 11-minute track onto a 7” release? Easy, you break it in half. Such is the method of Ohio instrumentalists Brujas del Sol, who follow their Moonliner EP trilogy with the late-2015 single Starquake, presented on the limited H42 Records platter as “Starquake Pt. I” and “Starquake Pt. II” but comprising nonetheless a single piece that backs airy, post-rock-tinged guitar with a decided forward rhythmic motion, resulting in an overarching build that, while there’s a natural moment for the split, is hypnotic front to back, a swirl of effects calling it mind space rock improvisation even as the plotted momentum of drums and bass resumes. Starquake is enough to make one imagine what kind of variety and spontaneity Brujas del Sol would bring to a debut full-length, so in that it very much does its job, but it makes a good case for standing on its own as well as it hits its second apex and finishes in a residual wash of cosmic noise.
Offered through New Heavy Sounds, Noeth Ac Anoeth is the debut full-length from Welsh cosmic doom four-piece Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. It is comprised of three songs and incorporates the half-hour-long “Nachthexen,” which was also the title-track of the band’s prior 2015 EP (review here), their rumble brought to bear through the capable knob-turning of Conan’s Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio. The vocals of Jessica Ball manage to cut through the ensuing tonal murk of her bass and the guitars of Paul Michael Davies and Wez Leon, and James Carrington’s drums live up to the near-impossible task of making “Les Paradis Artificiels,” “Slave Moon” and “Nachthexen” go, each developing its own plodding momentum amid the purposeful thickness overdose and atmospheric sensibility enhanced both by Davies’ work on keys and Ball’s vocals. “Slave Moon” winds up at a gallop and almost operatic, but there’s no way the highlight wasn’t going to be “Nachthexen,” which offers chug dense enough and spaces wide open enough to easily get lost in. Time well spent, all around.
Spanish heavy rock four-piece The Shooters present their third album, Dead Wilderness (on Red Sun Records/Nooirax Producciones), as two sides even on the CD pressing, each half of the record ending with an extended cut over the 10-minute mark. All told it’s six songs/49 minutes of solidified, mostly straightforward Euro-style riff-led heavy grooves, tapping into some Dozer influence on “War on You” but offering more spacious burl on “Lucifer’s Word,” which starts side B after the push of “Roots” rounds out side A. There’s little by way of letup, but moments like the quiet start and bridge of “Black Mountain” do a lot of work in adding complexity to The Shooters’ hook-minded approach, and 11-minute finale “Candelabrum” builds on that with a patient linear unfolding that casts off some tonal heft in favor of a more atmospheric take. That ultimately lets Dead Wilderness bring an individual edge to established stylistic parameters, from which it greatly benefits.
Granted, a title playing off Curb Your Enthusiasm and, well, herb, might make you think the band is just goofing around, but UK riffers Boss Keloid offer more substance with their second album, Herb Your Enthusiasm, than they do wackiness. The sound – captured by Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio – is positively massive, bolstered by guest appearances from Fielding himself and his Conan bandmate, Jon Davis, who also owns Skyhammer and Black Bow Records, the imprint releasing the LP, and given to swells of largesse and huge rolling grooves that still remain righteously fuzzed, as on “Escapegoat” or “Lung Valley” the quieter complement to opener “Lung Mountain.” Vocalist Alex Hurst assures any quota of burl is met, but has more to his approach melodically than riff-following chestbeating, and guitarist Paul Swarbrick, bassist Adam Swarbrick and drummer Stephen Arands present instrumental flow and turns behind that give the record a sense of personality beyond its weedian play. Not a minor undertaking at an hour long, but satisfying in tone and execution.
I guess it’s fair to call late 2015’s Nous N’y Trouvons que le Doute the debut full-length from Toulouse-based one-man outfit Hors Sujet, though multi-instrumentalist/atmosphere-conjurer Florent Paris has done a variety of soundtrack work and released numerous other textures in EPs and a variety of other offerings, so take that for what it’s worth. More important is the rich sense of ambience Paris brings to Hors Sujet in the seven included songs, from the dystopian doom of “Au Plus Loin, la Mer / L’hiver Peureux” to the wistful drone wash of “Le Souffle, Peu à Peu (Pt. 2),” which has its companion piece earlier in the album. Of special note should be 27-minute closer “Et Maintenant, le Ombres,” acting as a summary of the proceedings as much as expansion thereupon, concluding an often quiet outing with a stark cacophony that gorgeously builds from the minimalism before it to a raucous finish worth of the breadth Paris shows in his work throughout.
Initially released by the band in summer 2015, the self-titled debut from Finnish progressive heavy rockers Warchief sees vinyl issue through Phonosphera Records, its two sides consumed by organic execution across four tracks moving beyond traditional structure in favor of a more varied approach, from the rumbling heft that emerges in opener “Give” through the goes-anywhere near-psychedelia of 21-minute closer “For Heavy Damage.” Warchief, the Jyväskylä-based four-piece of Teemu Pellonpää, Juho Saarikoski, Esa Pirttimäki and Tommi Rintala, feel right at home working in longer-form material, whether it’s that closer or the nine-minute “Life Went On” preceding, and given their breadth I wouldn’t be surprised if they would up with a single-song album sometime in the future. With that in mind, perhaps most encouraging about their self-titled is the fact that it seems so exploratory, very much like the beginning of creative growth rather than a finished product on display. One hopes they continue to flesh out stylistically and build on the foundation they’ve set here.
Riffing their way into the post-Electric Wizard league of rumble purveyors, Minneapolis newcomers Seedship avoid any cultish trappings on last fall’s Demo 2015, their first release. A marked tonal thickness is nearly immediate, but along with the slow-motion nod and overarching density, melodic vocals cut through the morass to give a human aspect to the groove. Of the three tracks, “The Edge of Expiry,” “The Condemned Adrift” and “The Desperate Odyssey,” not a one is under eight minutes long, and as they plod their way through the opener (also the longest track; immediate points), Seedship enact a sci-fi theme that carries through the release as a whole, which scuffs up the approach some in the closer, but always keeps its spacier elements intact, even as it kicks the pace in the ass at around six minutes in and lets loose a release for all the tension built up prior before a final slowdown ends out. They seem to have a lot already worked out sound-wise, so should be interesting to hear where they go with it.
Every step of the way, Boss Keloid seem to be posing a challenge to their audience: Hey, you like heavy shit? Well here’s a fucking lot of it, so go ahead and swallow that. Between this and the unbridled stonerly charm of the title of their second album, Herb Your Enthusiasm — no, I don’t smoke, but I do love a weed pun — I’m an easy sell on digging into “Lung Mountain,” their psyched-out manipulated performance video from their new album, which, if it didn’t have enough going for it between being heavy as hell and given a clever name, was recorded by Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio and will be released on Jon Davis of Conan‘s Black Bow Records on April 8. All of this, as well as guest appearances from Fielding (also of Conan) and Davis, the latter on “Lung Mountain,” as it happens, is points in my book.
“Lung Mountain” opens the record and is followed by stompers like “Escapegoat,” “Highatus” and the closing “Hot Priest,” so if there was any doubt Boss Keloid might end up taking themselves too seriously (and there wasn’t), they dispense with it quickly. Fair enough. In an age of microgenres and no smiles, it’s refreshing to see a band enjoying the crush they emit while still emitting that crush, and the further I dig into Herb Your Enthusiasm, the more substance it has to stand up to the goofball aspect, so all the better. I missed the boat on 2013’s The Calming Influence of Teeth (it was a rough year), but if I’m a little late to the party, I hope you’ll forgive and enjoy checking out the “Lung Mountain” clip below, which was produced and edited by Uncle Crow.
Boss Keloid have fests and all-dayers booked into October already, and those dates and more info from the PR wire follow the video.
Hope you dig:
Boss Keloid, “Lung Mountain” official video
BOSS KELOID premiere psychedelic new video Lung Mountain
UK psych-sludge colossus BOSS KELOID have premiered the trippy new video for their monolithically crushing track Lung Mountain. The track is taken from their forthcoming highly anticipated sophomore album Herb Your Enthusiasm which is released on April 8 via Black Bow Records.
Having perfected their sound on stages at Riff Fest and Red Sun Festival and with supports for Soulfly, Raging Speedhorn, Gurt and Slabdragger under their belt, as well as a UK tour with Widows, the band are set to spend the rest of 2016 gigging and touring, announcing the first in a string of dates to promote the release of their album, as follows.
2nd April – Manchester, Rebellion – Noiz All Dayer w/ Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell, Steak, Witchsorrow 11th April – Manchester, Star and Garter – Supporting Conan and Bendal Interlude 16th April – Oxford, Wheatsheaf – Supporting Beholder 18th June – Manchester, Rebellion – Rum and Riffs w/ Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters 9th July – Grimsby, Yardbirds – Grimfuzz Doom Festival – Headlining slot w/ Battalions, Regulus, Mastiff 30th July – Stoke, The Rigger – Void Worship All Dayer w/ Garganjua, Wode 26th Aug – London, Camden – w/ Ten Foot Wizard and Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters 27th Aug – Bolton, The Alma – Riff Fest 2016 3rd Oct – Mammothfest 2016 – w/ Conan, Bast, Black Moth
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 29th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
UK wall-o-riffers Boss Keloid will issue their sophomore album, the cleverly-titled Herb Your Enthusiasm, on April 8 via Black Bow Records. The band made their debut in 2013 with The Calming Influence of Teeth, and for the new one, they’ve enlisted the helmsmanship of Conan bassist/producer Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio. In fact, not only did Fielding record the album, but he and Conan guitarist/vocalist and Skyhammer owner Jon Davis also make guest vocal appearances on tracks. So, you know, not like they’re not giving you a reason to check it out.
There’s a teaser for Herb Your Enthusiasm under the PR wire info and tour dates below. Dig in:
Undoubtedly BOSS KELOID are one of those bands you’ll listen to and keep repeating – ‘What the FUCK have I just listened to?’ Stoner Sludge? Southern Groove? Progressive Doom? Without the need to rip their arses open on a pigeonhole, Boss Keloid have simply ticked all the boxes and got on with making music that embodies their no-holds-barred eclecticism. Body swerving trends and transcending sub genres once again the band are set to release their second album, HERB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, via Black Bow Records on April 8th 2016.
We could chuck all the adjectives in the musical melting pot here and still not come close – Herb Your Enthusiasm is as heavy as it is massive and as filthy as it is passionate. Over the course of 10 colossal tracks you’ll wind your way through a myriad of hypnotic low-slung grooves, hulking riffs, captivating hooks and technical bi-polarcore for an experience that is both viscerally discomforting and invigorating.
Recorded and mixed by Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studios (Conan, Electric Wizard, Napalm Death) and mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate, Isis, Conan, Palms) the result is an album that embodies originality, invention and unstoppable creative urges throughout.
Having perfected their sound on stages at Riff Fest and Red Sun Festival and with supports for Soulfly, Raging Speedhorn, Gurt and Slabdragger under their belt, as well as a UK tour with Widows, the band are set to spend the rest of 2016 gigging and touring, dates below.
Catch Boss Keloid: 2nd April // Manchester, Rebellion // Noiz All Dayer w/ Sir Admiral Cloudesley Shovell, Steak, Witchsorrow 11th April // Manchester, Star and Garter // Supporting Conan and Bendal Interlude 18th June // Manchester, Rebellion // Rum and Riffs w/ Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters 9th July // Grimsby, Yardbirds // Grimfuzz Doom Festival – Headlining slot w/ Battalions, Regulus, Mastiff 30th July // Stoke, The Rigger // Void Worship All Dayer w/ Garganjua, Wode 26th Aug // London, Camden // w/ Ten Foot Wizard and Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters 27th Aug // Bolton, The Alma // Riff Fest 2016 3rd Oct // Mammothfest 2016 // w/ Conan, Bast, Black Moth
Tracklisting: 1. Lung Mountain 2. Haarlem Struggle 3. Escapegoat 4. Cone 5. Axis Of Green 6. Highatus 7. Lung Valley 8. Elegant Odyssey 9. Chabal 10. Hot Priest
