Posted in Whathaveyou on December 31st, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I don’t know when the lineup for Ruination Festival 2026 was actually announced. It could’ve been November. It could’ve been December. It could be tomorrow. In the words of the Bajoran prophets, “it is not linear.” Let’s just assume that, like all things in all realities, it always is, was, and will be, and the only reason time matters to us is we’re scared to die. Oops, I said the thing.
But all of that is a long way of saying if you’ve seen this lineup already, this is probably what you’ve seen. But I hadn’t seen it until the press release showed up on the PR wire and, well, I not only make it an apparent policy to post for every show Slomatics play outside their hometown, but can appreciate the notion of seeing that Belfast trio at the top of a bill also boasting Alunah, Old Horn Tooth, Famyne, Witchsorrow and the others you see below. Note as well the pre-show with Gods of Hellfire, 1968, and so on.
It’s Jan. 30-31, so coming up, but if you happen to be in or near West Yorkshire, it looks like a winner of an evening. Dig it:
RUINATION FESTIVAL @ THE UNDERGROUND, BRADFORD
SAT 31ST JANUARY 2026
Bradford, UK in 2026, Underground Doom festival Ruination Festival returns in 2026, bringing a full day of doom, sludge, and heavy riff worship to The Underground, Bradford. Featuring an expansive line-up led by Belfast’s Slomatics, who recently released their new album “Atomicult”. Hailing from London Old Horn Tooth, a doom/stoner trio, known for heavy, slow, hypnotic riffs and a crushing, fuzz-laden sound that draws comparisons to genre leaders like Monolord, Conan and Electric Wizard. And Witchsorrow who draw influence from the likes of Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, and Pentagram, have carved out a reputation for uncompromising heaviness and powerful live performances.
The 2026 line-up includes: Slomatics, Old Horn Tooth, Witchsorrow, Famyne, Nowt, Warpstormer, Alunah, Tuumanduumband, Dark Fighter, and Whiskeyhead.
With tickets priced at just £20 for the day, Ruination Festival continues its mission of making heavy underground music accessible while spotlighting both established names and rising bands from across the scene.
In addition, Ruination Festival ticket holders can gain discounted £7 entry to Night Of Ruin (Friday 30th Jan), a warm up event celebrating the darker side of heavy music, simply show your festival ticket on the door for the discounted rate.
Set in the heart of Bradford’s live music circuit, The Underground provides an intimate, highimpact venue perfectly suited to Ruination’s raw and uncompromising ethos. Ruination Festival is fast becoming a fixture of the UK doom and heavy underground calendar, known for strong curation, community atmosphere, and unbeatable value.
Tickets: £20 Venue: The Underground, 9 Duke St, Bradford BD1 3QR Date: Saturday 31st January 2026 More info:
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 22nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
It’ll be 18 shows in a row when Psychlona hit the road next March, and if that sounds like a lot, for sure it is. Of course, the UK heavy/desert rockers are no strangers to such undertakings, but still. That’s as much a lifestyle as it is a tour, even in Europe, where there’s a chance someone will feed them along the way.
The band led by founding guitarist/vocalist Phil Hey released their latest LP, Warped Vision (review here), just about a year ago (Sept. 27, 2024) through Magnetic Eye, and if it needs to be said, the album has lost none of its warmth of groove or tone in that time. Reportedly, though, they’ll have new tunes along for the trip on this tour, and presumably that hammering-out-of-things-on-stage will be followed by a swing though the studio. And since it’s Psychlona, emphasis there on “swing.”
Kudos to the band on punk-rocking the tour schedule intensity, and here’s looking forward to new material. I won’t be there (unless somebody wants to help my family flee this country; now accepting donations), but I’ll keep an eye out for video. And if Spring seems like a ways off, Psychlona will support The Obsessed on tour next month as well. Those dates (and poster) are below.
The band sent the following own the PR wire:
PSYCHLONA – March 2026 EU Tour
We’re stoked to announce we’ll be crossing the channel once again back to our spiritual home mainland Europe in march 2026 for an 18 date headline tour. Working again with our good friends at Sound of Liberation we’ll be taking in Germany, Austria. Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium. Hot off the back of our tour with The Obsessed we’re hoping to see a whole lot of friendly faces in some familiar cities/venues but also we’re hitting a few new locations for the first time. Expect a lot of old classics with a healthy dose of new songs thrown into the mix. Details of supports etc to follow.
See ya there…………………
Psychlona European Spring Tour 2026 04.03 NL Nijmegen Doornroosje 05.03 NL Rotterdam Baroeg 06.03 DE Köln Garagen 07.03 DE Münster Rare Guitar 08.03 DE Hamburg Hafenklang (Goldener Salon) 09.03 DE Berlin Neue Zukunft 10.03 DE Hannover Cafe Glocksee 11.03 DE Dresden Chemie Fabrik 12.03 DE Jena KuBa 13.03 AT Salzburg Rockhouse Bar 14.03 CH Winterthur Gaswerk 15.03 DE München Backstage 16.03 DE Bamberg Live Club 17.03 DE Stuttgart Goldmarks 18.03 DE Karlsruhe Stadtmitte 19.03 DE Aachen Musikbunker 20.03 DE Weinheim Cafe Central 21.03 BE Namur Belvédère
Psychlona – Fall 2025 European Tour w/ The Obsessed 01.10.25 (DE) Wiesbaden, Schlachthof 02.10.25 (DE) Ulm, Roxy 03.10.25 (DE) Würzburg, Keep It True Festival 04.10.25 (DE) Karlsruhe, Stadtmitte 05.10.25 (CH) Pratteln, Up In Smoke Festival 06.10.25 (IT) Milano, Legend 08.10.25 (AT) Vienna, Arena 09.10.25 (AT) Innsbruck, P.M.K. 10.10.25 (HR) Zagreb, Mochvara 11.10.25 (DE) Munich, Keep It Low Festival 12.10.25 (DE) Leipzig, UT Connewitz 13.10.25 (DE) Berlin, Zukunft 15.10.25 (DE) Cologne, Volta 16.10.25 (DE) Bielefeld, Forum 18.10.25 (NL) Deventer, Burgerweeshuis 20.10.25 (UK) Bradford, The Underground 21.10.25 (UK) Manchester, Star & Garter
Line-up Ian ‘Izak’ Buxton – bass guitar Scott Frankling – drums Phil Hey – guitar, vocals Martin Wiseman – lead guitar, backing vocals
“Magic Carpet” — for which UK desert-style heavy rockers Psychlona have an extra-classy, sharply-dressed new video posted below — is the closing track on the band’s new album, Warped Vision, which is out Sept. 27 through Magnetic Eye. If a hazy, slow-moving cloud could also be a monolith, that might come close to capturing some essence of the mood between “Smoke” and “Topanga” spread throughout the 45-minute eight-tracker, which is the band’s fourth overall and first for the new label. They have been through some lineup changes since 2022’s Palo Verde (review here), bringing in Martin Wiseman as guitarist/backing vocalist and adding bassist Ian “Izak” Buxton to the rhythm section alongside drummer Scott Frankling, and while there’s some inevitable shift in dynamic as a result, they remain fueled by the riffage of founding guitarist/vocalist Phil Hey. To date, Psychlona have never wanted for consistency. Warped Vision rocks accordingly; heavy and able to lean into and out of psychedelic nuance built around solid verse/chorus structures. Those who followed the Bradford-based outfit from 2018’s Mojo Rising (discussed here) and 2020’s Venus Skytrip (review here) through Palo Verde will both know what to expect and be pleasantly surprised by the way Warped Vision goes exploring, approaching new ground on sure footing.
The two halves of the record play well off each other in purpose. Opener “Jasmine” has its quirk but is ultimately a straight-ahead desert rock banger with marked swing in Frankling‘s drums and a welcome post-Kyuss shove in the verse. “Let’s Go,” which follows immediately, keeps this urgency in a double-time hi-hat through the quiet guitar intro, and is comfortable in an uptempo pace, laid back despite the significant density of the fuzz, lyrics presented in void-bound echoes, catchy and reminiscent of ’90s Britpsych revivalism without losing the capital-‘h’ Heavy quotient in its sound. On the other side of “Smoke,” “Cut Loose” will wrap side A with similar targets in its sights, a more metallic nod maybe to go with its sense of space, but a nod just the same. But it’s in “Smoke” that the departure from the opening salvo really happens; a mellower and more drifting semi-‘gaze feel that makes the most of Hey‘s vocals atmospherically as it sets up the transition to more grounded push in its final third.
Side B functions almost the same, only different (ha). The aforementioned “Topanga” opens and seems all about crunch and twist initially — one is reminded of latter-day Snail in the breadth of its chorus — but shifts after 4:30 into a comedown march topped with jammy strum, and the trade between drift and drive becomes even more stark on “Kaleidoscope” as the four-piece bring a sinister undercurrent forward in the guitar that’s consuming but not necessarily aggressive in terms of sounding pissed off, especially with the spoken recitations of the verse. They find their pocket, and whether a given part is loud or quiet, it’s all loud in spirit. Fluid in its changes, “Kaleidoscope” is a highlight like “Topanga” before it, but Psychlona have vibe-expansion to offer with “Split,” essentially flipping the balance of “Smoke” on its stoner rocking head and thereby lending an even more open impression to what’s Warped Vision‘s longest inclusion (not by a ton) at 6:18, with fuller tonality takes hold for a consuming finish.
This, then, is the setup that precedes “Magic Carpet,” and if it seems odd that a band with so many songs about weedy living would don tuxedos in the video that follows, you’ll probably never see me in tails, but I get where they’re coming from in thinking it’s an occasion for which it’s worth getting dressed up. The jazzy drums at the outset and floaty guitar give over to a vital roll in the hook, underscoring the flexibility Psychlona foster as they play to style in a vision of classic-style desert-hued psychedelic heavy rock. It’s not the most intuitive of singles — which only adds to the appeal in my mind, especially since the record’s out — but “Magic Carpet” doesn’t need to be as immediate as “Jasmine” for where it is on the record, and by the time it gets to its layered-solo apex, it’s a party either way. If the story of Psychlona has been about songwriting since the days of Mojo Rising, well, it still is, but the scope of that has grown duly encompassing over the last eight years.
If you find yourself swept up in “Magic Carpet” — shades of Steppenwolf — the best advice I can give you is to hit play on the album stream near the bottom of the post and go back to the start with “Jasmine” and “Let’s Go,” both prior singles. I’m sure you’ve heard the record already because you’re cooler than I am and you always have been — the magic is in you, whether or not you’re a carpet — but should you end up using the clip as a catalyst for further visitation to Psychlona‘s vivid-color slice of reality, I think that’s the idea in the first place.
“’Magic Carpet’ was a jazzy guitar piece Martin brought along to rehearsal one day. The riff just sounded cool and upbeat so we brought it down with some dark lyrics, but gave it some welly with a mega-riff in the second half. This one should get the pit going – then it’ll be goodnight from us.” — Phil Hey/Psychlona
Recorded and produced by Andy Hawkins at the Nave Studios, Leeds, UK Video filmed at Sunbridge Wells and Voltage Studios, Bradford. https://sunbridgewells.co.uk/ http://www.voltagestudios.com/ Directed & Edited by Tim Walker Camera by Nick Taylor
Line-up Ian ‘Izak’ Buxton – bass guitar Scott Frankling – drums Phil Hey – guitar, vocals Martin Wiseman – lead guitar, backing vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 17th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Perhaps if you were at Stoned From the Underground this past weekend in Germany you’d have been fortunate enough to catch UK heavy rockers Psychlona heralding the upcoming release of their fourth album overall and first through Magnetic Eye Records, Warped Vision. If not there, maybe Desertfest London back in May? If not, best I can tell you is wait your turn, they’ll get around to you eventually. There’s only so many places you can be at one time.
On that note, I’ll cop to being a couple weeks behind on posting word of Warped Vision‘s impending Sept. 27 arrival. I’m also a couple weeks behind on everything else in life, so rest assured that’s not a slight on the band. The album’s first single, “Let’s Go,” is streaming at the bottom of the post, and while I’m not Johnny-Fingeronthepulse here by any means, it’s not like it happened three years ago, so maybe we can all chill out with our internet-born attention spans and expectations of instant gratification. Or maybe I just suck at this. I think both things can be true.
From the PR wire:
UK Psych Desert Rockers Psychlona Return!
When it’s time to pick your poison, a blend of KYUSS and FU MANCHU is nearly always the base for a delicious result. PSYCHLONA are experts in their field, their fourth album “Warped Vision” is an exemplary exercise of practised veterans creating a masterpiece.
The album’s foundations are laid down by riff-focused heaviness and breakouts combined with a multitude of chilled vibes. What makes “Warped Vision” stick out from a host of similar recordings is the precision with which each hook hits home and sticks, a dynamic balance of rough edges and catchy melodies.
The city of Bradford in West Yorkshire is neither particularly arid nor situated in a hot climate. But although hailing from the former industrial heartlands of rainy Northern England, PSYCHLONA have developed a particularly British brand of desert rock. The hot summer days of 2016 inspired some local musicians to fry up some sonic ideas from sunny California of decades past and to blend in the raw energy of UK punk, a dash of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, and spoonfuls of classic English 60s and 70s psychedelia. When this experiment far exceeded their own expectations, PSYCHLONA were born.
PSYCHLONA have established themselves as an impressive live act. Relentless touring and performing at prestigious festivals that included Desertfest (UK & DE), Freak Valley (DE), SonicBlast (PT), Alcatraz Music (BE), Sonic Whip (NL), and at Psycho Las Vegas (US) pushed the Brits higher up the billings. An incident in Las Vegas when they were the only band asked by the casino manager to please turn down the volume only fueled their upward trajectory.
Now, PSYCHLONA are ready to take the next big step. Welcoming two new members aboard the band has added a new dynamic both in writing and recording. The gentle alterations brought about by their fresh input has turned “Warped Vision” into what is clearly the most complete and thrilling album of the psychedelic desert rockers so far. With “Warped Vision”, PSYCHLONA have hit the jackpot, and they are generously offering up rounds for everyone.
Pre-order the album on CD or LP, including both neon yellow and green/black marble variants!
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
So to pick up the thread where we left off: last time around, UK heavy rocker Psychlona were getting confirmed for Desertfest London 2024. That was just a couple days after revealing they had swapped out half of their lineup. Today comes the news that the Bradford-based four-piece have signed with Magnetic Eye Records — as regards Psychlona news stories in the last two weeks, this is the big one — to release their next album sometime in 2024. Apparently somewhere in there they were confirmed for Stoned From the Underground next July too. One might speculate it feels pretty good to be in Psychlona right now.
Not the least because their new single “Liberty” absolutely oozes vibe. And the vibe is ooze, so that works out too. Molten psychedelia, dug-in tempo but not too slow it loses you, mellow but sure of where it’s headed. If it ended up opening or closing their new long-player when the time comes, yes.
Congrats to band and label. The PR wire has it as follows:
PSYCHLONA sign with Magnetic Eye Records & release new video single ‘Liberty’
PSYCHLONA have set their signatures under a multi-album deal with Magnetic Eye Records, with the British desert rockers planning to release their fourth album via the label later in 2024. See below for statements regarding the signing.
In celebration of joining Magnetic Eye, PSYCHLONA also release a new video single today. Please see below for further details of the smoking track ‘Liberty’.
PSYCHLONA comment: “We are stoked to be joining Magnetic Eye”, guitarist and singer Phil Hey writes on behalf of the band. “We had a few offers on the table but we all knew that this label was the way we wanted to go. We have already worked with label director Jadd Shickler under various guises over the past few years and he has become a trusted confidant and friend. That was probably our primary reason, very closely followed by the fact that Magnetic Eye has a great roster including Greenleaf, who are one of my all-time favourite bands. It made perfect sense. We’re looking forward to a long relationship with Jadd and the guys!”
Jadd Shickler welcomes PSYCHLONA: “I’ve been working with Psychlona for several years in different capacities, and admire the fast leaps forward they’ve taken in a short time”, the Magnetic Eye director explains. “In 2020, they gave even Lowrider and Elephant Tree some tough competition for a lot of folks’ favorite record that year. Then they played back to back at Psycho Las Vegas, and I saw people go crazy for them firsthand. I dig their effortless desert vibe despite the guys being as British as it gets, and I love the dynamic they bring to our carefully curated roster of driven, sonically unique acts. I can hardly wait to hear what they’ll do on their first full album for us next year!”
Live 17-19 May 2024 London (UK) Desertfest 11-13 July 2024 Erfurt (DE) Stoned from the Underground
Line-up Ian ‘Izak’ Buxton – bass guitar Scott Frankling – drums Phil Hey – guitar, vocals Martin Wiseman – lead guitar, backing vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
I haven’t seen a lyric sheet, but the lines I can pick up from the new track “Weed Machine 2023” are gold. “I never leave this house/My brain is numb/Only difference is, boy, my opposable thumbs.” I could go on. The track originally appeared on Ironrat‘s 2015 debut, Monument, and the doom rockers give it a refresh with Chris Fielding (Conan, etc.) producing, rolling out a clarion riff and stoner-bluesy psychedelic midsection amid the lumbering heft of the riffier parts. “And you’ll see me vanish in a cloud of smoke…” leads to the ending section of solo and riffing, and in the crashout, frontman Chris Flear informs, “there is no fucking hope.” Well yeah, dude. Why do you think we’re here in the first place?
The forthcoming second Ironrat LP is titled Beneath it All and I don’t know if “Weed Machine 2023” (2024?) will feature on it when it releases next year, but I do know the record’s coming out through Argonauta, because why on earth would the PR wire lie about that kind of thing? I mean, really. Would just be mean.
Info and the song follow for your perusal and hopeful enjoyment:
UK Doomsters IRONRAT Sign With Argonauta Records, Unveil New Version of Band Old Classic Song
UK doom heavyweights, IRONRAT, proudly announce the signing record deal with Argonauta Records.
Drawing influences from the likes of Red Fang, Alice In Chains, Corrosion Of Conformity, and Mastodon, IRONRAT is gearing up for the release of their highly anticipated album, “Beneath It All,” scheduled to drop in 2024. This marks the band’s return after their impactful debut, “Monument,” in 2015.
In celebration of this partnership, the band is excited to unveil the re-release of an old classic, providing fans with a taste of their upcoming musical direction.
While the band faced a temporary setback with the departure of vocalist Chris due to health reasons, IRONRAT utilized this time to regroup and revitalize. The result is a strengthened and revamped lineup that is now more than ready to make a powerful comeback with their upcoming record.
Despite the hiatus, IRONRAT remained active on the gig scene, sharing stages with renowned acts such as Orange Goblin, Phil Campbell, OHHMS, Kal-El, Psychlona, Desert Storm, and more. Their memorable performances at events like Bloodstock, SOPHIE Fest, and Manor Fest have solidified their status in the heavy music landscape.
Recorded at Foel Studio with Chris Fielding of Conan at the production helm, the new album captures the essence of IRONRAT’s signature sound with massive riffs and unparalleled heavy tones. A notable transformation in the vocal approach brings a fresh sense of melodicism and emotional weight to the core of their sound, allowing the band to expand their songwriting.
“We feel that this new record offers an exciting blend of sludge, doom and grunge influences,” says the band. “We’re super happy to be signing with Argonauta. They have some incredible artists on the roster (past and present) and we’re honoured to be part of that family. We’ve recorded an album that we’re really proud of and we’re extremely grateful to Argonauta for giving us the opportunity to share it with the world.”
IRONRAT’s collaboration with Argonauta Records signifies a union of musical forces that is poised to elevate their unique sound to new heights. Stay tuned for the release of “Beneath It All” as IRONRAT embarks on a thrilling chapter in their musical journey.
UK heavy rockers Psychlona release their third album, Palo Verde, on Aug. 19 through Psycho Waxx. That’s just in time for their appearance at Psycho Las Vegas 2022, from which the label is an offshoot. And Palo Verde is perhaps trivia-question-fodder as Psycho Waxx‘s first non-compilation release, but the eight fuzzed-out trippers, rockers and vibers that the Bradford four-piece led by guitarist/vocalist Phil Hey answer the promise of 2018’s Mojo Rising (discussed here) and 2020’s Venus Skytrip (review here) with a more expansive take overall across its 48 minutes.
To some that might mean psychedelia, that the record’s more bliss than shove, and I don’t know that that’s necessarily the case; there’s plenty of both. And in some cases it’s about how the balance is tipped to one side or the other. The side A shift from “Rainbird,” which has some push by the time its six minutes are through but starts out all languid, open-spaced tell-your-friends-to-come-to-this-party, hypnotic mellow bliss, to the clearly-Monolord-influenced “Meet Your Devil,” for example, allows the band — Hey, guitarist/vocalist Dave Wainfor, bassist Martyn “Turns Out it Was Food Poisoning” Birchall and drummer Scott Frankling — to mold and reshape the impression they leave behind while working roughly with the same basic sonic ideology: go big, go far out. But go.
And they do, with a clear intent at the outset for “Gasoline” to rev itself, the band and the listener up as its careening riff is joined by tense keyboard strikes in post-“Go With the Flow”-style, but its swelling and receding layers of guitar drop hints of some of the more lysergic fluidity to come later on with side B’s counterpoint leadoff “Purple River,” which has a build but is so much more about the drift than the payoff, or even the finale “Warped,” which tops seven minutes and lands one more solid hook through an ether of tonal swirl, sounding likewise jammy and structured. Again, that balance.
Palo Verde‘s first single, “1975,” takes hold after the opener’s feedback fades out and is led by Frankling‘s drums into a likewise-Songs–for–the–Deaf-ian burst to life and a riff that’s worth digging as deeply into as Psychlona does. The first two songs both have a long instrumental break that gives way back to the verse as clue to the underlying structure of songwriting from which the we-came-a-long-way-to-get-lost-in-this-desert-so-we’re-gonna-do-that spirit of the songs alights. In that context and in shifting from the opening salvo to the next stage of the record with a greater sense of breadth, “Rainbird” is right on time, with “Meet Your Devil” waiting right behind to bring it crashing down on your head.
There’s a kind of narrative there, in the classic nature of how Palo Verde presents itself, and it speaks to the band’s will to engage their audience. The rockers up front pull the listener in, the jammy flow entrances and then the big riff swings down. It’s a method that is both tried and true and Psychlona‘s own here as they contort their style to serve these varied purposes, and the plotline continues on the second half of the album, with “Purple River” leading into the fuzzy start-stop urgency of “Jetplane,” which brings Hey‘s vocals more forward from where they are on the song prior and resets with its outright catchiness the procession ahead of the penultimate “La Tolvanera” (premiering below) and “Warped” at the finish.
As the last of the chapters in the musical story, “La Tolvanera” and “Warped” are particularly intriguing, the former for its relatively concise 5:40 execution of a heavy psychedelic rock, which echoes like some of Elephant Tree‘s work but remains loyal to desert ideals, the riff surrounded by a wash that includes Hey‘s vocals but still very much at the core. “Warped” builds on this while summarizing the multifaceted sides of the tracks before it and directing its solo-laced payoff jam toward what I’ll assume is the heart of a hot, beating-down sun and letting it be all the way gone. No coming back and all that.
And not that the above isn’t relevant to how Palo Verde works, but what I haven’t mentioned yet is that the record is a blast. Psychlona have known all along where they wanted to head as a band, and even as these cuts provide outlet for that, they also cover some new ground for them, as both manifestation of craft and a look at what might come next. Psych suits them. Heavy suits them. Riffs suit them. Desert, crunch, shove — there isn’t any element being wasted here, and for an album that sounds as laid back as it does, that is not a minor accomplishment. If Palo Verde is what Psychlona have been moving toward all this time, the acclaim they’ve reaped as a result is well earned.
Enjoy “La Tolvanera” on the player below, followed by a few words from Hey and live dates, album info, etc., from the PR wire:
Psychlona, “La Tolvanera” premiere
Phil Hey on “La Tolvanera”:
“‘La Tolvanera’ was a tune I was messing around with for a while. I wanted it to be kind of spacey, spooky, and chilled out, but with some heavy as hell breaks in there too. Lyrically it’s loosely a sort of ‘big brother is watching’ covert mission to get across the desert, avoiding sinister beings and doing as you’re told if you want to eventually meet St. Peter. Bit tongue in cheek really. La Tolvanera is Spanish for dust cloud which adds to the secrecy of the mission.”
Formed in Bradford in the summer of 2016, Psychlona have fast become one of the UK’s most coveted heavy psych rock bands. Stealing influence from punk; the Palm Desert scene and 60s/70s psychedelia, two chapters deep into their cosmic journey (following 2018’s Mojo Rising and 2020’s Venus Skytrip), their highly anticipated third is on the horizon and could well be their most electrifying yet.
Teaming up with Psycho Waxx, the in-house label of Psycho Las Vegas Festival – America’s leading and legendary weekend of rock ‘n’ roll debauchery; matchless curation and aural attitude – Psychlona have well and truly found their spiritual home.
Arriving next month, Palo Verde is their third studio album of original material and Psycho Waxx’s first, following on from their inaugural release, Löve Me Förever: A Tribute to Motörhead; a compilation that featured contributions from the likes of Phil Anselmo, Nick Oliveri, High on Fire, Eyehategod, and many more.
Psychlona’s Palo Verde is released 19th August with vinyl pre-orders for the “GALAXY” variant – limited to 700 copies – available exclusively here at Psycho Waxx:https://psychowaxx.com/
PSYCHLONA Tour Dates: 13/8 – Sonic Blast Festival – Viana Do Castelo, Portugal 15/8 – Starline Social Club, Oakland, CA 16/8 – The Roxy Theatre – West Hollywood, CA 17/8 – The Wayfarer – Costa Mesa, CA 18/8 – The Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ 19/8 – Brick by Brick – San Diego, CA 20+21/8 – Psycho Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV 17/9 – Riffolution Festival – Sheffield, UK
Psychlona: Phil Hey – Guitar, Lead Vocals Martyn Birchall – Bass Dave Wainfor – Guitar, Vocals Scott Frankling – Drums
I wasn’t born in the 1970s, and neither I suspect was the majority of UK heavy rockers Psychlona, but I don’t necessarily believe that lessens the ideal they’re speaking to. Led by vocalist/guitarist Phil Hey, the four-piece will release their new album, Palo Verde, through the Psycho Las Vegas-affiliated Psycho Waxx imprint, and though I’ve yet to hear it — maybe a Fall release? — I was fortunate enough to see them live at Freak Valley Festival in Germany a couple weekends ago, and the single “1975” well represents their desert-style intentions fluidly, the accompanying video set in a kind of caricature of the era, a rock club at which even the boredest-looking attendees end up playing Twister by the middle of the song.
And I’m pretty sure that counted as sex in 1975, so yeah. Life is short. Go get some.
The thing about ’75 in particular though is that it’s easy to think of as a point of transition. The heavy rock boom of 1969-’72 had abated, and yeah, KISS were out doing the thing, but the NWOBHM that would emerge in the wake of Judas Priest and Black Sabbath (etc.) had yet to take shape. Punk was on the way up first, at least how historical pop culture narrative has it — things are never actually so black and white — and disco was about to do to funk what glam would do for heavy metal in the ’80s in stripping back its edge in favor of a more accessible and in this case danceable product.
It’s a subcultural peculiarity of heavy rock that it references the ’70s even as the sound is primarily derived from the ’90s, but if you know, then you know, and that’s enough. Psychlona‘s preach to the converted is righteous here and if you’d listen and observe that “hey derp derp there’s no desert in Bradford,” you’ve missed the point. I offer a friendly recommendation to go back and start again.
And please, enjoy:
Psychlona, “1975” official video
The 1970’s were a trip. The end of the 60’s was a cold, hard slap in the face by reality for psychonauts everywhere but the era’s psychedelic drip still trickled down to inspire some of the greatest rock and roll mankind has ever produced. Strapping you into their sonic time machine, Psychlona reproduces the sound and vibration of rock’s most decadent, mystical and formative decade with “1975”, the first single off their third album “Palo Verde”.
As the second track off their highly anticipated first release with Psycho Waxx, the band shares with you the music video for “1975” which, under the masterful direction of Sam Drake, brings us all back to a time when distraction was never devoid of human connection. When rockers were good to each other and music reigned supreme. Desert groove and peaking guitars were the universe’s song, guiding humanity into uncharted artistic direction and now in 2022, Psychlona brings these desert rock essential elements to new heights of cosmic psychosis with “1975”.
Check out “1975” on all streaming platforms. Grab a Digital Download of “1975” for every psycho in your circle to enjoy. And if all that doesn’t launch you deep enough into outer space, vinyl preorders for the “GALAXY” variant are now live at PsychoWaxx.com with only 700 copies available to our most devoted psychonauts.
