So you take the reignited Graves at Sea, and you put them in the studio with Billy Anderson. Right? Fucking brilliant. Then you take Sourvein, now past the 20-year mark, and you put them in the studio with C.O.C.‘s Mike Dean. Also, fucking brilliant. Then you take the results of these sessions, slap some badass war-wolf art on it, press it to CD and LP, and presumably take the rest of the day off, because I don’t care what else you come up with, you’re just not gonna top that idea.

And I’m not saying I’ve heard any of this material yet or anything, but you’re in for a surprise if you think you know what to expect from Sourvein.

The two bands start a European tour April 10 at Roadburn, and Seventh Rule has the split out on CD and LP on May 13.

Check out the PR wire, telling it like it is:

GRAVES AT SEA And SOURVEIN Unite For A Release Of Ultimate Amplifier Worship; Preorders Available This Friday

Two of doom metal’s mightiest of feedback-laden riff worshippers – Portland’s GRAVES AT SEA and Cape Fear’s SOURVEIN – have united in sound, mind and spirit for the ultimate split of earth-smoldering amplifier worship.

GRAVES AT SEA, whose contributions leave an eerie aura complete with tortured vocals, foreboding composition, and a general sense of dread, occupy Side A. Recorded by Billy Anderson, (Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis) “Betting On Black” and “Confession” finds the all-consuming sludge for which the band is notorious, flooding in amongst the tortured howls and shrieks of vocalist Nathan Misterek.

SOURVEIN, who’ve now existed for two decades of distortion, damage and total doom, solidify Side B. With three songs produced and recorded by Mike Dean Of Corrosion of Conformity, these odes of heavy combine toxic riffs, grooves and just the right amount of psychedelic appeal.

Track Listing:
1. GRAVES AT SEA – Betting On Black
2. GRAVES AT SEA – Confession
3. SOURVEIN – Driffter
4. SOURVEIN – Equinox
5. SOURVEIN – Follow The Light

Both sides were mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, Beastmilk, Nails) at Audiosiege Engineering and will be released via Seventh Rule Recordings on both CD and LP on May 13th, 2014 during the two bands’ duel conquest touring Europe and prior to their appearances at this year’s edition of the illustrious Maryland Deathfest. The first pressing of the LP will be limited to 1000 copies and come available on 160-gram black wax with an included download code. Recommended for fans of Eyehategod, Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, and all things loud and fuzzy.

Preorders will be available THIS FRIDAY (3/28) at THIS LOCATION.

http://www.facebook.com/GravesAtSea
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SOURVEIN/238932972468
http://www.seventhrule.com
http://instagram.com/seventhrule
http://seventhrulerec.tumblr.com/
http://twitter.com/seventhrule

Some things to note in the Weedeater clip above: First and foremost, that room looks to be about the size of my office. Second, they come out to the theme song from Sanford and Son. Third, there’s a bottle of Robitussin taped to the side of “Dixie” Dave Collins‘ amp with a straw sticking out of it that he drinks from at several intervals, including as they transition from “God Luck and Good Speed” to “Wizard Fight,” when he chases it with what I assume is whiskey.

Another reason I decided to go with Weedeater was because earlier today I did a phone interview with artist Joe Wardwell. Wardwell‘s paintings draw a lot from heavy rock and doom for inspiration and a gallery show he has going on in NYC through October is titled “Untied We Stand” — a line taken from “God Luck and Good Speed” — so the song’s been in my head. I’ll hopefully have that Q&A posted in the next week or two. In the meantime, you can check out Wardwell‘s work here. It rules and the interview was great as well. Dude loves his Boris, loves his Sabbath, loves his Melvins. Right on.

Given all that, I couldn’t possibly have chosen anything else to close out the week — not to mention Weedeater‘s earth-swallowing volume or tonal weight, which is suiting me perfectly on this tired-as-hell Friday afternoon. The reason I’m signing off early (usually I’d wait to cap another ultra-exciting couch-bound Friday night with a post, but it’s about 4PM now) is because I’m heading out in a bit to make my way down to Philadelphia, again, for the start of the Small Stone showcase, which kicks off tonight at The M-Room. I don’t want to miss Infernal Overdrive, and I think they’re opening, so I need to haul ass a bit.

Thanks to everyone for checking in this week. It was crazy on this end, between the Brooklyn show and Kyuss Lives! Wednesday night, and it isn’t over yet. I’ll be in Philly the next two nights, then back to Jersey Sunday to do school work. Next week it starts all over. I do hope to get some more album reviews posted next week, but I’ll be checking out Akris at the Cake Shop in Manhattan on Tuesday, and I hope to get my massive interview with Rwake frontman CT posted, so we’ll see what there’s time for. In the meantime, keep your ears posted for a Windhand stream that’s coming Thursday and hopefully another that I can’t quite reveal just yet in case it falls through.

Some news for The Maple Forum coming soon as well, it looks like.

So big stuff yet to come. Not sure yet how I’m going to handle posting from/about the showcase, but if you check in over the weekend, you might find some stuff on it up.

Either way, great and safe couple days. See you on the forum and back here for more shortly.

Of course, if you read either the Ben Hogg interview or the Q&A with Sourvein‘s own T-Roy Medlin, you already knew the band was hitting the road in July starting at the Kung Fu Necktie in Philly on the sixth, but hey, I guess it’s nice to see all the dates in one place too. Here’s the PR wire info:

North Carolina sludge-slingers Sourvein will celebrate the release of their long-anticipated new full-length, Black Fangs, with a near-three-week US tour this July! The chaos will commence in Philadelphia with Jucifer on July 6 and steamroll its way through 16 more cities before coming to a close at Ground Zero in Spartanburg on July 23. The trek includes three shows with psychedelic black metal enigmas, Nachtmystium.

Comments vocalist T-Roy: “I’m so ready to unleash Black Fangs on the public in a live setting… it’s gonna be awesome! I’ve been waiting for this for a while; it’s gonna crush! King James, Kong Moen and I will be joined by The Misanthrope Project bassist Ahmasi O’Daniel, who also laid down the low-end on the album, for the tour. Sourvein from Cape Fear… dates coming all year!”

Sourvein July tour dates:
07/06 Kung Fu Necktie Philadelphia, PA w/ Jucifer
07/07 Heirloom Arts Danbury, CT w/ Jucifer
07/08 St. Vitus Brooklyn, NY
07/09 Popeye’s Peekskill, NY
07/10 Big Jar Rochester, NY
07/11 Sidebar Baltimore, MD
07/12 Now That’s Class Cleveland, OH w/ Nachtmystium
07/13 Mac’s Lansing, MI w/ Nachtmystium
07/14 31st St Pub Pittsburgh, PA
07/15 Ravari Room Columbus, OH
07/16 Volrath Indianapolis, IN
07/17 Pyramid Grand Rapids, MI
07/18 Frank’s Power Plant Milwaukee, WI
07/19 The Empty Bottle Chicago, IL w/ Nachtmystium
07/20 Fubar St. Louis, MO
07/21 TBA
07/22 The Hideaway Johnson City, TN
07/23 Ground Zero Spartanburg, SC

If long-running North Carolinian sludge outfit Sourvein are anything, they’re uncompromising. Those familiar with their work know what’s coming, but that doesn’t make the impact of their music any less devastating or abrasive. Led by frontman T-Roy Medlin, they began in 1993 and have seen numerous lineup changes from members who’ve gone on to play in bands from Electric Wizard to Bongzilla to Saint Vitus. But Sourvein – closely related to Buzzov*en both ethically and through Medlin – has persisted nonetheless, and following a slew of EPs and splits since 2002’s Will to Mangle, nine years later finds them releasing Black Fangs (Candlelight), their third full-length. Medlin is joined for the album by guitarist “King James” Haun (Ol’ Scratch), bassist Ahmasi O’Daniel (Earthride’s Dave Sherman filled in on tour) and drummer Jeffrie Moen, and though the personnel in the band seems to be on a regular rotation, the mindset is the same as it’s ever been: Dirty sludge from the dirty South. Where their sonic and geographic countrymen in Weedeater peppered their latest offering with excursions into addled swamp psych and (eek!) brighter melodicism, Sourvein is all misery, all the time.

Were it not for the fact that anyone who’s going to hear it is likely already to have an opinion on Sourvein one way or the other, Black Fangs would be the kind of record you couldn’t put on for company. It begins with “Fangs,” which is among the riffiest tracks, with Haun’s guitar dominant in the mix and Medlin’s raw-throated screams buried underneath. This is to be the course for just about all of the album, but the rhythm section of O’Daniel and Moen isn’t to be counted out. Moen’s cymbals fill out the high end while O’Daniel drops the low like his arms just can’t hold it anymore, and a song like “Society’s Blood” – or really any of the tracks present – is that much stronger for their work. It’s amazing that Sourvein at this point should sound so potent as a lineup, since it’s been proven over and again that all the members around Medlin are interchangeable. Nonetheless, Sourvein in 2011 distinguishes itself simply by releasing a full-length album – four splits and an EP trilogy have marked the years since 2002 – and the dedicated fanbase that’s followed the band over that time will be much pleased with the feedback-soaked nastiness served up on these 10 cuts. For dank, hateful Southern sludge, Black Fangs is second to nobody.

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