[Click play above to stream the premiere of ‘Shadow in the Night’ from Hazemaze’s Hymns of the Damned. Album is out November 22 through Cursed Tongue Records and Ripple Music.]

Vinyl preorders for Hazemaze‘s Hymns of the Damned start Nov. 1 through Cursed Tongue Records for a Nov. 22 LP/DL release. Ripple Music is putting the Swedish troupe’s second album out on CD as well, and the band have announced two release shows that are six days apart from each other, so one way or another, you might say the new record from Hazemaze is coming soon and choose your angle of approach accordingly. While there may be several threads involved in the arrival of the eight-track/41-minute follow-up to the Stockholm trio’s 2018 Kozmik Artifactz-delivered self-titled debut (discussed here), the LP itself is a heavy amalgam much easier to process in its garage-doom churn and dug-in riffage, informed by heavy blues but not beholden to them and bearing a persistent atmosphere of threat that speaks to an affinity for classic doom, particularly in songs like “Green River” (premiered here) and the subsequent weighted boogie of the penultimate “Reverend Death.” Those two cuts, as well as the raucous finisher “Forever Trapped in Hell” are shorter, in the three-to-four-minute range, than the five cuts prior that make up side A and the start of side B, and the effect is almost like Hazemaze have reversed the plot of many LPs and put the opening salvo in the closing position and turned the B side into the A side and the A side into the B side. The bottom line? If the release dates don’t disorient you, they’re going to get you one way or the other.

Actually, when it comes to what’s going to “get you,” it’s probably the songwriting. Hazemaze — guitarist/vocalist Ludvig Andersson, bassist Estefan Carrillo and drummer Nils Arkitekten Einéus — might not be revolutionary in aesthetic terms, but what they do, they do well and with the confidence of a band of much longer standing. There’s some element of Monolord-style atmospherics to the vocals on “Shadow in the Night,” the opening track and new single premiering above, but though certainly riffy, Hazemaze‘s trip is rawer in form and more about roll than crush. What “Shadow in the Night” sets in motion continues through the end of Hymns of the Damned in terms of forward momentum and classic affinity. There’s plenty of nod-fodder, to be sure, but as Hazemaze lead the way into “Morbid Lust” on a swinging bassline, there’s no question that movement is a focal point for the band and crucial to their approach. Einéus is duly beastly on his crash cymbal, adding uptempo flair to Andersson‘s riffing and languid vocals, while Carrillo‘s low end lurks beneath the distortion, carrying the weight that is so essential to the proceedings in mood and the sheer delivery. By the time they’re into “Thrill Seeker,” the course is set in terms of overarching groove and the sound and general spirit of the offering, which is ultimately to the band’s credit in terms of their efficiency conveying the grim (but still kind of a good time) ambience through the early tracks.

That might be an effect of the noted A/B swap method, or it might just be a consequence of knowing what they want out of their material more generally, but on either level, it only makes Hymns of the Damned more immersive and engaging on the whole for those willing to take it on. “Thrill Seeker” brings chug and violent threat in its verse alike in the Uncle Acid spirit with Andersson touching on layered self-harmony in the vocals, and “Lobotomy” stands among the most outwardly catchy of the inclusions as it rounds out the first half of the tracklist with a hook that continues the momentum set up on the first several tracks. Hazemaze‘s sense of movement might be subtle — that is, it doesn’t feel like they’re shoving you through one track to the next — but it’s there if not brazen in its intensity. They set a balance between atmosphere and push that works well across the span and, again, highlights the contributions particularly of Einéus and Carrillo to the songs on the whole. And though I haven’t seen a lyric sheet, even “Solicitor of Evil” — the longest cut at 6:56 and the presumed side B leadoff — doesn’t seem to be explicitly about killing women, so that’s a plus too if we’re thinking in the sphere of post-Uncle Acid garage doom. Certainly not every band can say the same. I like to think of “Solicitor of Evil” like a devilish attorney, but I’ll say again, I haven’t seen a lyric sheet to confirm that. Would be fun though.

On a lot of records, “Solicitor of Evil,” with its late wah bass and ultra-swing, would be the grand finale, but on Hymns of the Damned it’s just an introduction to the next stage, with “Green River,” “Reverend Death” and “Forever Trapped in Hell” reigniting the riffy momentum — and cowbell — of “Shadow in the Night” and bringing about a more bounding conclusion. In terms of general sound, there’s isn’t so much of a radical shift, but especially across multiple listens, the change is evident as “Solicitor of Evil” gives way to “Green River,” the storytelling aspect of which — “Walking down that dusty road…,” etc. — likewise signals a change of angle. Like the structure of the album generally, it’s not a move a less confident band could pull off, but Hazemaze do it by simply doing it, and that in itself is a statement of who they are as a group. As their second album careens to its brash finish with “Forever Trapped in Hell,” the more active and tightened craft only seems to underscore the point of Hazemaze‘s momentum earlier on the LP, their last hook giving way to a winding charge with a solo in the last minute and a series of hits that uses every single one of the track’s four minutes and 11 seconds. It is righteous and portentous in kind, since Hazemaze come across in the end like a band that still has much more to say; “leave ’em wanting more,” and all that. They do, even with the rest of Hymns of the Damned leading into “Forever Trapped in Hell,” and one can’t help but think that whatever the three-piece do from here, they’ll only have benefited from being so sure and so correct in the decisions they made with and within this material.

Hazemaze on Bandcamp

Hazemaze on Thee Facebooks

Hazemaze on Instagram

Cursed Tongue Records webstore

Cursed Tongue Records on Thee Facebooks

Cursed Tongue Records on Instagram

Ripple Music on Thee Facebooks

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

I’d like to find the jerk who decided that the week I fly to Norway was a good time for the Quarterly Review. That, obviously, was a tactical error on my part. Nonetheless, we press on with day four, which I post from Oslo on CET. Whatever time zone you may find yourself in this Thursday, I hope you have managed to find something so far in this onslaught of whatnot to sink your chompers into. That’s ultimately, why we’re here. Also because there are so many folders with albums in them on my desktop that I can’t stand it anymore. Happens about every three months.

But anyhoozle, we press on with Day Four of the Fall 2019 Quarterly Review, dutiful and diligent and a couple other words that start with ‘d.’ Mixed bag stylistically this time — trying to throw myself off a bit — so should be fun. Let’s dive in.

Quarterly Review #31-40:

Total Fucking Destruction, #USA4TFD

Who the hell am I to be writing about a band like Total Fucking Destruction? I don’t know. Who the hell am I to be writing about anything. Fuck you. As the Rich Hoak (Brutal Truth)-led Philly natives grind their way through 23 tracks in a 27-minute barrage of deceptively thoughtful sonic extremity, they efficiently chronicle the confusion, tumult and disaffection of our age both in their maddening energy and in the poetry — yeah, I said it — of their lyrics. To it, from “Is Your Love a Rainbow”: “Are you growing? Is everything okay? Are you growing in the garden of I don’t know?” Lines like this are hardly decipherable without a lyric sheet, of course, but still, they’re there for those ready to look beyond the surface assault of the material, though, frankly, that assault alone would be enough to carry the band — Hoak on drums/vocals, Dan O’Hare on guitar/vocals and Ryan Moll on bass/vocals — along their willfully destructive course. For their fourth LP in 20 years — most of that time given to splits and shorter releases, as one might expect — Total Fucking Destruction make their case for an end of the world that, frankly, can’t get here fast enough.

Total Fucking Destruction on Thee Facebooks

Give Praise Records website

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Hippie Death Cult, 111

Issued first by the band digitally and on CD and then by Cursed Tongue Records on vinyl, 111 is the impressively toned debut full-length from Portland, Oregon’s Hippie Death Cult, who cull together heavy rock and post-grunge riffing with flourish of organ and a densely-weighted groove that serves as an overarching and uniting factor throughout. With the bluesy, classic feeling vocals of Ben Jackson cutting through the wall of fuzz from Eddie Brnabic‘s guitar and Laura Phillips‘ bass set to roll by Ryan Moore‘s drumming, there’s never any doubt as to where Hippie Death Cult are coming from throughout the seven-track/42-minute offering, but longer, side-ending pieces “Unborn” (8:24) and “Black Snake” (9:06) touch respectively on psychedelia and heavy blues in a way that emphasizes the subtle turns that have been happening all along, not just in shifts like the acoustic “Mrtyu,” but in the pastoral bridge and ensuing sweep of “Pigs” as well. “Sanctimonious” and “Breeder’s Curse” provide even ground at the outset, and from there, Hippie Death Cult only grow richer in sound along their way.

Hippie Death Cult on Thee Facebooks

Cursed Tongue Records BigCartel store

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The Cosmic Dead, Scottish Space Race

Heavyweight Glaswegian space jammers The Cosmic Dead present four massive slabs of lysergic intensity with their eighth long-player, Scottish Space Race (on Riot Season Records), working quickly to pull the listener into their gravity well and holding them there for the 2LP’s 75-minute duration. As hypnotic as it is challenging, the initial churn that emerges in the aptly-named 20-minute opener “Portal” clenches the stomach brutally, and it’s not until after about 12 minutes that the band finally lets it loose. “Ursa Major,” somewhat thankfully, is more serene, but still carries a sense of movement and build in its second half, while the 12-minute title-track is noisier and has the surprising inclusion of vocals from the generally instrumental outfit. They cap with the 24-minute kosmiche throb of “The Grizzard,” and there are vocals there too, but they’re too obscured to be really discernible in any meaningful way, and of course the end of the record itself is a huge wash of fuckall noise. Eight records deep, The Cosmic Dead know what they’re doing in this regard, and they do it among the best of anyone out there.

The Cosmic Dead on Thee Facebooks

Riot Season Records website

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Greenthumb, There are More Things

With just three tracks across a 20-minute span, There are More Things (on Acid Cosmonaut) feels like not much more than a sampler of things to come from Italian post-sludgers Greenthumb, who take their name from a Bongzilla track they also covered on their 2018 debut EP, West. The three-songer feels like a decided step forward from that offering, and though they maintain their screamier side well enough, they might be on the verge of needing a new name, as the rawness conveyed by the current moniker hardly does justice to the echoing atmospherics the band in their current incarnation bring. Launching with the two seven-minute cuts “The Field” and “Ogigia’s Tree,” they unfurl a breadth of roll so as to ensnare the listener, and though “The Black Court” is shorter at 5:37 and a bit more straight-ahead in its structure, it still holds to the ambient sensibility of its surroundings well, the band obviously doing likewise in transposing a natural feel into their sound born of landscape real or imagined.

Greenthumb on Thee Facebooks

Acid Cosmonaut Records on Bandcamp

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Elepharmers, Lords of Galaxia

Riffy Sardinians Elepharmers set themselves to roll with “Ancient Astronauts” and do not stop from there on Lords of Galaxia, their third LP and debut through Electric Valley Records. There are some details of arrangement between the guitars of El Chino (also bass, vocals and harmonica) and Andrea “Fox” Cadeddu and the drums of Maurizio Mura, but as Marduk heralds his age on second cut “Ziqqurat,” the central uniting factor is g-r-o-o-v-e, and Elepharmers have it down through “The Flood” and into side B’s classic stoner rocking “Foundation” and the driving “The Mule,” which shifts into laser-effects ahead of the fade that brings in closer “Stars Like Dust” for the last 10 minutes of the 47-minute offering. And yes, there’s some psychedelia there, but Elepharmers stay pretty clearheaded on the whole in such a way as to highlight the sci-fi theme that seems to draw the songs together as much as the riffage. More focus on narrative can only help bring that out more, but I’m not sure I’d want that at the expense of the basic songwriting, which isn’t at all broken and thus requires no fixing.

Elepharmers on Thee Facebooks

Electric Valley Records website

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Nothing is Real, Only the Wicked are Pure

How do you recognize true misanthropy when you come across it? It doesn’t wear a special kind of facepaint, though it can. It doesn’t announce itself as such. It is a frame. Something genuinely antisocial and perhaps even hateful is a worldview. It’s not raise-a-claw-in-the-woods. It’s he-was-a-quiet-loner. And so, coming across the debut album from Los Angeles experimentalist doom outfit, one gets that lurking, creeping feeling of danger even though the music itself isn’t overly abrasive. But across the 2CD debut album, a sprawl of darkened, viciously un-produced fare that seems to be built around programmed drums at the behest of Craig Osbourne — who may or may not be the only person in the band and isn’t willing to say otherwise — plays out over the course of more than two hours like a manifesto found after the fact. Imagine chapters called “Hope is Weakness,” “Fingered by the Hand of God,” and “Uplift the Worthy (Destroy the Weak).” The last of those appears on both discs — as do several of the songs in different incarnations — as the track marries acoustic and eventual harder-edged guitar around murderous themes, sounding something like Godflesh might have if they’d pursued a darker path. Scary.

Nothing is Real on Thee Facebooks

Nothing is Real on Bandcamp

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Warish, Down in Flames

The fact that Warish are blasting hard punk through heavy blowout tones isn’t what everyone wants to talk about when it comes to the band. They want to talk about the fact that it’s Riley Hawk — of royal stock, as regards pro skateboarding — fronting the band. Well, that’s probably good for a built-in social media following — name recognition never hurts, and I don’t see a need to pretend otherwise — but it doesn’t do shit for the album itself. What matters about the album is that bit about the blasting blowout. With Down in Flames (on RidingEasy), the Oceanside three-piece follow-up their earlier-2019 debut EP with 11 tracks that touch on horror punk with “Bones” and imagine grunge-unhinged with “Fight” and “You’ll Abide,” but are essentially a display of tonal fuckall presented not to add to a brand, but to add the soundtrack to somebody’s blackout. It’s a good time and the drunkest, gnarliest, most-possibly-shirtless dude in the room is having it. Also he probably smells. And he just hugged you. Down in Flames gets high with that dude. That matters more than who anyone’s dad is.

Warish on Thee Facebooks

RidingEasy Records website

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Mourn the Light & Oxblood Forge, Split

It’s a double-dose of New England doom as Connecticut’s Mourn the Light and Boston’s Oxblood Forge pair up for a split release. The former bring more material than the latter, particularly when one counts the digital-only bonus cover of Candlemass‘ “Bewitched,” but with both groups, it’s a case of what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Both groups share a clear affinity for classic metal — and yes, that absolutely extends to the piano-led drama of Mourn the Light‘s mournful “Carry the Flame” — but Oxblood Forge‘s take thereupon is rougher edged, harder in its tone and meaner in the output. Their “Screams From Silence” feels like something from a dubbed-and-mailed tape circa ’92. Mourn the Light’s “Drags Me Down” is cleaner-sounding, but no less weighted. I don’t think either band is out to change the world, or even to change doom, but they’re doing what they’re doing well and without even an ounce of pretense — well, maybe a little bit in that piano track; but it’s very metal pretense — and clearly from the heart. That might be the most classic-metal aspect of all.

Mourn the Light on Thee Facebooks

Oxblood Forge on Thee Facebooks

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Those Furious Flames, HeartH

Swiss heavy rockers Those Furious Flames push the boundaries of psychedelia, but ultimately remain coherent in their approach. Likewise, they very, very obviously are into some classic heavy rock and roll, but their take on it is nothing if not modern. And more, they thrive in these contradictions and don’t at all sound like their songs are in conflict with themselves. I guess that’s the kind of thing one can pull off after 15 years together on a fifth full-length, which HeartH (on Vincebus Eruptum) is for them. Perhaps it’s the fact that they let the energy of pieces like “VooDoo” and the boogie-laced “HPPD” carry them rather than try to carry it, but either way, it’s clearly about the songs first, and it works. With added flash of organ amid the full-sounding riffs, Those Furious Flames round out with the spacey “Visions” and earn every bit of the drift therein with a still-resonant vocal harmony. You might not get it all the first time, but listening twice won’t be at all painful.

Those Furious Flames on Thee Facebooks

Vincebus Eruptum Recordings BigCartel store

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Mantra Machine, Heliosphere

This is what it’s all about. Four longer-form instrumentalist heavy psych jams that are warm in tone and want nothing so much as to go out wandering and see what they can find. Through “Hydrogen,” “Atmos,” “Delta-V” and “Heliosphere,” Amsterdam-based three-piece Mantra Machine want nothing for gig-style vitality, but their purpose isn’t so much to electrify as to find that perfect moment of chill and let it go, see where it ends up, and they get there to be sure. Warm guitar and bass tones call to mind something that might’ve come out of the Netherlands at the start of this decade, when bands like Sungrazer and The Machine were unfolding such fluidity as seemed to herald a new generation of heavy psychedelia across Europe. That generation took a different shape — several different shapes, in the end — but Mantra Machine‘s Heliosphere makes it easy to remember what was so exciting about that in the first place. Total immersion. Total sense of welcoming. Totally human presence without speaking a word. So much vibe. So much right on.

Mantra Machine on Thee Facebooks

Mantra Machine on Bandcamp

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To answer your first question, yes, the new Marijannah album is done. It’s in the can, it’s got six tracks. To answer your second question, no you can’t hear it. Well, not apart from the single “Bloodsucker” that they posted in August. That you can hear. The rest, you’ll have to wait for, and in fact, they’re not even going to tell you what the record is called yet. Oh it has a name, but you gotta wait to find out what it is. And when you catch first wind of the low-end lumber they bring in “Shapeless,” you’re going to want as much information as possible when it comes to how to own such a thing.

Today begins that process. Marijannah, who made a right-on-right-on-fuck-yes debut with Till Marijannah (review here) early last year on Pink Tank Records, have signed to Cursed Tongue Records for the vinyl release of the title-TBA sophomore outing. That’ll be in January, like the headline says above, but they’ll have it out sooner via the ol’ interwebs in streamy/downloady fashion, just in time to screw with all your year-end list action. Take that, and yes, you will.

You’ll find the announcement below from Cursed Tongue, whose taste only continues to become even-less-fuckwithable as each signing passes.

Dig:

PSYCHEDELIC STONER DOOMERS MARIJANNAH SIGNS TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS FOR WORLD WIDE VINYL RELEASE OF THEIR SOPHOMORE ALBUM LATE JANUARY 2020

Cursed Tongue Records is very happy to announce the signing of Singapore based quartet Marijannah and look forward to unleash the band’s new tunes onto an off guard audience of heavy-tunes-craving stoner skeleton mob.

If fuzzed-out, bass-heavy, psychedelic stoner doom anthems is the thing that rock your worn-out van, make your eyes go all wet and make your bongwater bobble then Marijannah will have you covered in loads with their brand new to-be-named album. Because, why bother with an album title when you have riffs and grooves so addictive that they completely submerge you and makes you forget who you are and whether you have eaten or not.

Although this is just Marijannah’s second album the band members aren’t exactly new to the music scene and if such a thing as a Singapore heavy rock supergroup exists, it might as well be it. Featuring members of grindcore fanatics in Wormrot and pop punk band The Caulfield Cult we find Marijannah deeply rooted within the Heavy Underground. Root and stem indeed encrusted in metal and drenched in dank-smelling stoner sensibilities.

Marijannah exhibits on their new album a cohesiveness of sound and sonic depth that isn’t found often in the genre. The four band members also allow the songs to evolve organically, each section moving seamlessly to the next one, leaving the listener mesmerized by the astral-hazed journey he/she has been taken on over the course of the entire album.

The spellbound-like, trance-induced state of mind is abruptly brought to a halt at the end of the last track and the listener suddenly finds him-/herself left alone on an abandoned and icy-cold planetary star somewhere in the far outskirts of cosmos. An itching notion to press repeat and once more indulge in the warm, fuzzy sounds emanating from the glowing inner of Marijannah’s core is impossible to suppress – and you shouldn’t, really!

With its weed-infused, stoned-to-the-bone aesthetics Marijannah drives the nail on the head and certainly got its own addictive, sleepy-eyed charms. Comes highly recommended FFO Goatsnake, Sleep, Acid King, Uncle Acid, Salem’s Pot, Monolord and Black Sabbath.

Marijannah’s new album releases digitally on Bandcamp and all common streaming outlets in late November/ early December 2019 and based on the reception of the first single “Bloodsucker”, we expect a fair amount of buzz by then. It is therefore with much joy that Cursed Tongue Records can roll out the red carpet and give this stoner doom monster of an album a dire needed vinyl treatment.

We open the doors for the tangible pieces of space debris late fall/early winter with a slated vinyl release late January 2020. Pre-order details will be unveiled soon. More info, details and dates as we approach the witching hour!

Marijannah is:
Rasyid Juraimi ~ Guitar, Vocals
Nicholas Wong ~ Drums, Vocals
Nicholas Ng “Skinny”~ Guitar, Vocals
Muhd Azri Azman ~ Bass

http://facebook.com/marijannah
https://www.instagram.com/marijannahband/
https://marijannah.bandcamp.com
http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords/

Marijannah, “Bloodsucker”

Hemptress issued their debut long-player, Alchemy, earlier this year to a generally warm welcome, and the British Columbia-based four-piece will now release the album through Cursed Tongue Records on vinyl this Fall. Considering the DL version came out in March, that’s a pretty efficient turnaround, and I’m going to guess this one has been in the making since well before right now, when the deal is being made public. I’m sure you’ve heard it by now, because you’re hip like that, but if not, Alchemy can be streamed in full via Bandcamp — you’ll find it below — and though I’ve no doubt a Tony Reed master for vinyl will only make it sound more righteous, there’s no real mystery as to why a label like Cursed Tongue would want to lock in the release. Kind of rules.

No word on what Hemptress‘ plans are for a follow-up, but recall that Alchemy is still pretty new, so I wouldn’t necessarily expect any at this point. In the meantime, the news that this one is getting a proper look is welcome, and most certainly deserved. Release date is Oct. 11.

Here’s the announcement from the label:

CANADIAN RIPPERS HEMPTRESS SIGN TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS FOR A WORLDWIDE VINYL RELEASE OF THEIR SCORCHING DEBUT ALBUM ‘ALCHEMY’ OCTOBER 2019

Cursed Tongue Records is damn proud to announce the signing of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada based stoner-fuzzing and heavy-doom-tripping quartet Hemptress. Cursed Tongue Records is dead-set on a mission to bring ‘Alchemy’ and its maple-syrup-dripping, iron-chopping, metal encrusted stoner-doom hymns to a wider audience across the global Heavy Underground ensuring that any heady, heavy music worshipper is reached!

It’s with a fierce fury that Hemptress convey their fuzzed out and amped up riffs that are dragging us head first in the mud to make sure our ears are firmly embedded in the furrows of the sonic landscape conjured up by their alchemistic rituals. Only one listen and we knew that these wizards had actually managed to create gold.

The band has delivered a blistering collection of wild and far-out bluesy stoner rock with enough grit and meat to keep you full for countless spins of their gripping take on an old but well-executed formula. Rest assure these guys know that not all that glitters is gold, but whatever rips and fuzzes like a lazer-tazed bull surely has a lasting impact!

As the band expresses it: “Hemptress is like being saddled on a beastly rock n roll engine trailed by flaming tumbleweeds down a southern psychedelic desert highway, fresh outta hell with the devil’s tears in a hip flask, riding high with a crooked grin while Lady Luck kisses your neck and the wild wind wonders where you’ve been.”

Hemptress debuted their ‘Alchemy’ album digitally on Bandcamp back in March 2019 to general accolade amongst stoner heads and reviewers of the Heavy Underground it is therefore with much joy that Cursed Tongue Records can roll out the red carpet and give this badass beast of an album its well-deserved vinyl treatment. We open the doors for the tangible wonders of alchemy this fall with a slated vinyl release in early October. Pre-orders will run from the latter half of September. More info, details and dates as we approach the witching hour!

‘Alchemy’ has been mastered for optimal vinyl playback by Tony Reed (of Mos Generator fame) and will sport brand spanking new and bewitching artwork by Shane Jones of Shane Horror design. The vinyl release will be out on vinyl via Cursed Tongue Records in October 2019. Pre-orders to commence a few good weeks in advance of release – more on that soon…

CTR-025 Hemptress – ‘Alchemy’; vinyl official release date slated for October 11. 2019.

All tracks written and performed by Hemptress
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Jon Matthies
Artwork & design by Shane Jones
Mastering for vinyl by Tony Reed at HeavyHead Rec.
Additional layout & design by Michael Andresakis

Track listing:
Side A
1. I Hear You Howlin’
2. Moonlight Gunnin’
3. Alabaster
4. When The Sun Goes Down
5. Electric Fire
Side B
1. Mind Corruptor
2. Maniac
3. Alchemy

Hemptress is:
Jesse Mac Taylor – Vocals/Guitar (+ Drums on ‘Alchemy’ album)
Jordan David Easson – Bass
Jordan Peter Bennee – Guitar
Matthew Michael John Bayley – Drums (new member, not on ‘Alchemy’ album)

https://hemptressband.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Hemptress-1430126427206913/
https://instagram.com/hemptressband
http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords/

Hemptress, Alchemy (2019)

Got my laptop back. Turned out the guy had to give me a new hard drive entirely, clone all my data on it, and scrap the other drive. I’m sure if I took it to another technician they’d have said something completely different, either for better or worse, but it was $165 and I got my computer back, working, in a day, so I can’t really complain. Worth the money, obviously, even though it was $40 more than the estimate. I assume that was a mix of “new hard drive” and “this is the last thing I’m doing before a four-day weekend.” Either way, totally legit. Bit of stress on my part, but what’s a Quarterly Review without it?

This ends the week, but there’s still one more batch of 10 reviews to go on Monday, so I won’t delay further, except to say more to come.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Elizabeth Colour Wheel, Nocebo

A rare level of triumph for a first album, Elizabeth Colour Wheel‘s aesthetic scope and patience of craft on Nocebo result in a genre-spanning post-noise rock that maintains an atmospheric heft whether loud or quiet at any given moment, and a sense of unpredictability that feels born out of a genuinely forward-thinking songwriting process. It is dark, emotionally resonant, beautiful and crushing across its eight songs and 47 minutes, as the Philadelphia five-piece ebb and flow instrumentally behind a standout vocal performance that reminds of Julie Christmas circa Battle of Mice on “Life of a Flower” but is ultimately more controlled and all the more lethal for that. Bouts of extremity pop up at unexpected times and the songs flow into each other so as to make all of Nocebo feel like a single, multi-hued work, which it just might be as it moves into ambience between “Hide Behind (Emmett’s Song)” and “Bedrest” before exploding to life again in “34th” and transitioning directly into the cacophonous apex that comes with closer “Head Home.” One of the best debuts of 2019, if not the best.

Elizabeth Colour Wheel on Thee Facebooks

The Flenser on Bandcamp

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Black Lung, Ancients

Ancients is the third full-length from Baltimore’s Black Lung, whose heavy blues rock takes a moodier approach from the outset of “Mother of the Sun” onward, following an organ-led roll in that opener that calls to mind All Them Witches circa Lightning at the Door and following 2016’s See the Enemy (review here) with an even firmer grasp on their overarching intent. The title-track is shorter at 3:10 and offers some post-rock flourish in the guitar amid its otherwise straight-ahead push, but there’s a tonal depth to add atmosphere to whatever moves they’re making at the time, “The Seeker” and “Voices” rounding out side A with relatively grounded swing and traditionalist shuffle but still catching attention through pace and presentation alike. That holds true as “Gone” drifts into psychedelic jamming at the start of side B, and the chunkier “Badlands,” the dramatic “Vultures” and the controlled wash of “Dead Man Blues” take the listener into some unnamed desert without a map or exit strategy. It’s a pleasure to get lost as Ancients plays through, and Black Lung remain a well-kept secret of the East Coast underground.

Black Lung on Thee Facebooks

Ripple Music website

Noisolution website

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Giant Dwarf, Giant Dwarf

This just fucking rules, and I feel no need to couch my critique in any more flowery language than that. Driving, fuzzy heavy rock topped with post-Homme melodies that doesn’t sacrifice impact for attitude, the self-released, self-titled debut from Perth, Australia’s Giant Dwarf is a sans-pretense 35 minutes of groove done right. They may be playing to genre, fine, but from the cover art on down, they’re doing so with a sense of personality and a readiness to bring an individual sensibility to their sound. I dig it. Summery tones, rampant vocal melodies in layers, solid rhythmic foundation beneath. The fact that it’s the five-piece’s first album makes me look less for some kind of stylistic nuance, but it’s there to be heard anyway in “Disco Void” and the bouncing end of “High Tide Blues,” and in surrounding cuts like “Repeat After Defeat” and “Strange Wool,” Giant Dwarf set to the task before them with due vitality, imagining Songs for the Deaf with Fu Manchu tonality in “Kepler.” No big surprise, but yeah, it definitely works. Someone should be beating down the door to sign this band.

Giant Dwarf on Thee Facebooks

Giant Dwarf on Bandcamp

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Land Mammal, Land Mammal

Land Mammal‘s debut outing is a 14-minute, proof-of-concept four-songer EP with clarity of presentation and telegraphed intent. Marked out by the Robert Plant-style vocal heroics of Kinsley August, the band makes the most of a bluesy atmosphere behind him, with Will Weise on wah-ready guitar, Phillip PJ Soapsmith on bass, Stephen Smith on drums and True Turner on keys. On opener “Dark with Rain” and closer “Better Days,” they find a pastoral vibe that draws from ’90s alternative, thinking Blind Melon particularly in the finale, but “Earth Made Free” takes a bluesier angle and “Drippin’ Slow” is not shy about nor ashamed of its danceability, as its lyrics demonstrate. For all the crispness of the production, Land Mammal still manage to sound relatively natural, which is all the more encouraging in terms of moving forward, but it’ll be interesting to hear how they flesh out their sound over the course of a full-length, since even as an EP, this self-titled is short. They have songwriting, performance and production on their side, however, so something tells me they’ll be just fine.

Land Mammal on Thee Facebooks

Land Mammal on Bandcamp

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Skunk, Strange Vibration

Even before they get to the ultra-“N.I.B.” patterning of second track “Stand in the Sun,” Skunk‘s Sabbathian loyalties are well established, and they continue on that line, through the “War Pigs”-ness of “Goblin Orgy” (though I’ll give them bonus points for that title), and the slower “A National Acrobat” roll of “The Black Crown,” and while that’s not the only influence under which Skunk are working — clearly — it’s arguably the most forward. They’ve been on a traditional path since 2015’s mission-statement EP, Heavy Rock from Elder Times (review here), and as Strange Vibration is their second album behind 2017’s Doubleblind (review here), they’ve only come more into focus in terms of what they’re doing overall. They throw a bit of swagger into “Evil Eye Gone Blind” and “Star Power” toward the end of the record — more Blackmore or Leslie West than Iommi — but keep the hooks center through it all, and cap with a welcome bit of layered melody on “The Cobra’s Kiss.” Based in Oakland, they don’t quite fit in with the Californian boogie scene to the south, but standing out only seems to suit Strange Vibration all the more.

Skunk on Thee Facebooks

Skunk on Bandcamp

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Silver Devil, Paralyzed

Like countrymen outfits in Vokonis or to a somewhat lesser degree Cities of Mars, Gävle-based riffers Silver Devil tap into Sleep as a core influence and work outward from there. In the case of their second album, Paralyzed (on Ozium Records), they work far out indeed, bringing a sonic largesse to bear through plus-sized tonality and distorted vocals casting echoes across a wide chasm of the mix. “Rivers” or the later, slower-rolling “Octopus” rightfully present this as an individual take, and it ends up being that one way or the other, with the atmosphere becoming essential to the character of the material. There are some driving moments that call to mind later Dozer — or newer Greenleaf, if you prefer — such as the centerpiece “No Man Traveller,” but the periodic bouts of post-rock bring complexity to that assessment as well, though in the face of the galloping crescendo of “The Grand Trick,” complexity is a secondary concern to the outright righteousness with which Silver Devil take familiar elements and reshape them into something that sounds fresh and engaging. That’s basically the story of the whole record, come to think of it.

Silver Devil on Thee Facebooks

Ozium Records website

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Sky Burial, Sokushinbutsu

Comprised of guitarist/vocalist/engineer Vessel 2 and drummer/vocalist Vessel 1 (also ex-Mühr), Sky Burial release their debut EP, Sokushinbutsu, through Break Free Records, and with it issue two songs of densely-weighted riff and crash, captured raw and live-sounding with an edge of visceral sludge thanks to the harsh vocals laid overtop. The prevailing spirit is as much doom as it is crust throughout “Return to Sender” (8:53) and the 10:38 title-track — the word translating from Japanese to “instant Buddha” — and as “Sokushinbutsu” kicks the tempo of the leadoff into higher gear, the release becomes a wash of blown-out tone with shouts cutting through that’s very obviously meant to be as brutal as it absolutely is. They slow down eventually, then slow down more, then slow down more — you see where this is going — until eventually the feedback seems to consume them and everything else, and the low rumble of guitar gives way to noise and biting vocalizations. As beginnings go, Sokushinbutsu is willfully wretched and animalistic, a manifested sonic nihilism that immediately stinks of death.

Sky Burial on Thee Facebooks

Break Free Records on Bandcamp

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Wizzerd, Wizzerd

One finds Montana’s Wizzerd born of a similar Upper Midwestern next-gen take on classic heavy as that of acts like Bison Machine and Midas. Their Cursed Tongue Records-delivered self-titled debut album gives a strong showing of this foundation, less boogie-based than some, with just an edge of heavy metal to the riffing and vocals that seems to derive not directly from doom, but definitely from some ’80s metal stylizations. Coupled with ’70s and ’90s heavy rocks, it’s a readily accessible blend throughout the nine-song/51-minute LP, but a will toward the epic comes through in theme as well as the general mood of the riffs, and even in the drift of “Wizard” that’s apparent. Taken in kind with the fuzzblaster “Wraith,” the winding motion of the eponymous closer and with the lumbering crash of “Warrior” earlier, the five-piece’s sound shows potential to distinguish itself further in the future through taking on fantasy subject matter lyrically as well as playing to wall-sized grooves across the board, even in the speedy first half of “Phoenix,” with its surprising crash into the wall of its own momentum.

Wizzerd on Thee Facebooks

Cursed Tongue Records webstore

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Ian Blurton, Signals Through the Flames

The core of Ian Blurton‘s Signals Through the Flames is in tight, sharply-executed heavy rockers like “Seven Bells” and “Days Will Remain,” classic in their root but not overly derivative, smartly and efficiently composed and performed. The Toronto-based Blurton has been making and producing music for over three decades in various guises and incarnations, and with these nine songs, he brings into focus a songcraft that is more than enough to carry song like “Nothing Left to Lose” and opener “Eye of the Needle,” which bookends with the 6:55 “Into Dust,” the closer arriving after a final salvo with the Scorpionic strut of “Kick out the Lights” and the forward-thrust-into-ether of “Night of the Black Goat.” If this was what Ghost had ended up sounding like, I’d have been cool with that. Blurton‘s years of experience surely come into play in this work, a kind of debut under his own name and/or that of Ian Blurton’s Future Now, but the songs come through as fresh regardless and “The March of Mars” grabs attention not with pedigree, but simply by virtue of its own riff, which is exactly how it should be. It’s subtle in its variety, but those willing to give it a repeat listen or two will find even more reward for doing so.

Ian Blurton on Thee Facebooks

Ian Blurton on Bandcamp

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Cosmic Fall, Lackland

“Lackland” is the first new material Berlin three-piece Cosmic Fall have produced since last year’s In Search of Space (review here) album, which is only surprising given the frequency with which they once jammed out a record every couple of months. The lone 8:32 track is a fitting reminder of the potency in the lineup of guitarist Marcin Morawski, bassist Klaus Friedrich and drummer Daniel Sax, and listening to the Earthless-style shred in Morawski‘s guitar, one hopes it won’t be another year before they come around again. As it stands, they make the eight minutes speed by with volcanic fervor and an improvised sensibility that feels natural despite the song’s ultimately linear trajectory. Could be a one-off, could be a precursor to a new album. I’d prefer the latter, obviously, but I’ll take what I can get, and if that’s “Lackland,” then so be it.

Cosmic Fall on Thee Facebooks

Cosmic Fall on Bandcamp

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Swedish doom rockers Hazemaze release their second album, Hymns of the Damned, this November through Cursed Tongue Records and Ripple Music. The band’s alignment to the two labels — the former for vinyl, the latter CD — was announced in May, along with the title of the record, and in following up their 2018 self-titled debut on Kozmik Artifactz, the Stockholm three-piece present an energy that leaves little to wonder why others would want to get behind the release as they have. “Green River” — a tale of murder most foul — is the first audio to come from the offering, and its vibe is straight-ahead doom rock that makes its impression with groove and melody at the forefront of priorities. Okay, it’s plenty heavy and catchy too. You got me.

The band acknowledges that heft as something purposeful as well, and talks about it as representative for their “new direction” on the second record. I can’t confirm how much “Green River” does or doesn’t represent the entirety of Hymns of the Damned since — and given that it’s not out for four-plus months, this shouldn’t be a surprise — I haven’t heard it yet, but the single doesn’t seem so radically different from what the Stockholm outfit were doing on a song like “Minds Abyss” from their debut, though I’ll allow that “Green River” is more efficient on the whole and that might also be what they’re talking about in the quote below. Whatever the case, the chance to sample some new wares from the band is cool by me, to be sure, and if you’re the preorder type, I’m sure there’s enough here to have you beating the doors down.

Enjoy the track:

Hazemaze on “Green River”:

”Green River” was the last song that we wrote before entering the studio in late March. We refer it as the “Pentagram song” because it got that kind of 1994s Be Forewarned vibe to it. It’s a really heavy tune and we felt that this is the song that we wanted to release first because it captures the band’s new direction in style yet maintains the essence of the debut album.

On VINYL (Cursed Tongue Records) and CD/DIGITAL (Ripple Music) November 2019.

Cursed Tongue Records and Ripple Music have teamed up for a joint release of Stockholm, SE 70’s stoner doom trio Hazemaze’s dark and menacing sophomore album ‘Hymns of the Damned’. When the three Swedes released their debut album last year on German label Kozmik Artifactz it was to much applaud from the heavy underground community.

The band has just finished recording of the follow-up album to their successful self-titled debut LP. We have had a sneak-peak on the pre-production of the new album and we can ensure you that you are in for a thrilling, riff-heavy showcase of retro-tinged stoner doom from the top drawer. Brace yourself to hear Hazemaze at their darkest, most energetic and heaviest yet as they have truly upped the irons on ‘Hymns of the Damned’.

Hazemaze is ready to take on the big league and are bringing the riffs the size of mountains, so get ready to be washed over with heavy, fuzzy riffs and low-ends. It’s soon time to rip it up to one this year’s best heavy stoner doom albums, ‘Hymns of the Damned. We are all damned, we are all cursed so let the ripple of riff-waves carry us away. Get psyched!

Hazemaze is:
Ludvig – Guitar/Vocals
Nils – Drums
Estefan – Bass

Hazemaze on Bandcamp

Hazemaze on Thee Facebooks

Hazemaze on Instagram

Cursed Tongue Records webstore

Cursed Tongue Records on Thee Facebooks

Cursed Tongue Records on Instagram

Ripple Music on Thee Facebooks

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

Vinyl-loving platterheads should welcome the news that Cursed Tongue Records has picked up Sweden’s Hazemaze for a Fall 2019 release of their second full-length, Hymns of the Damned. The Danish imprint has proven its mettle time and again at this point when it comes to things plastic and turntable-spinny, and with a CD through Ripple Music, the children of the ’90s don’t have to feel left out either. It’s nice to have everyone included, isn’t it?

Hazemaze join an increasingly packed Cursed Tongue roster — let alone Ripple! — and Hymns of the Damned follows behind their 2018 self-titled debut, which was issued through Kozik Artifactz. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s two records with three rousing endorsements. There’s no audio from the new offering yet — Fall’s a ways off, so maybe check back in later? — but you can stream the self-titled at the bottom of this post if you need a refresher on why all these labels seem so keen to get behind these guys. I think it’ll be clear by the time they get to the opening riff of “Lord of Cubensis.”

Here’s news from Cursed Tongue via the PR wire:

HAZEMAZE SIGNS TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS AND RIPPLE MUSIC FOR WORLD WIDE RELEASE OF THEIR SOPHOMORE ALBUM ‘HYMNS OF THE DAMNED’ FALL 2019.

Cursed Tongue Records and Ripple Music have teamed up for a joint release of Stockholm, SE 70’s stoner doom trio Hazemaze’s dark and menacing sophomore album ‘Hymns of the Damned’.

When the three Swedes released their debut album last year on German label Kozmik Artifactz it was to much applaud from the heavy underground community. Fans and critics alike acknowledge the sincerity and skill that Hazemaze exhibits on record and that has been further cemented by a string of live performances in their home country and beyond.

With the signing of Hazemaze to both Cursed Tongue Records (DK) and Ripple Music (US) the next phase in the Hazemaze evolution is ready to unfold as they will bring the power of their riffs to even further regions and new ears.

The band has just finished recording of the follow-up album to their successful self-titled debut LP. We have had a sneak-peak on the pre-production of the new album and we can ensure you that you are in for a thrilling, riff-heavy showcase of retro-tinged stoner doom from the top drawer. Brace yourself to hear Hazemaze at their darkest, most energetic and heaviest yet as they have truly upped the irons on ‘Hymns of the Damned’.

Hazemaze is ready to take on the big league and are bringing the riffs the size of mountains, so get ready to be washed over with heavy, fuzzy riffs and low-ends. It’s soon time to rip it up to one this year’s best heavy stoner doom albums, ‘Hymns of the Damned. We are all damnned, we are all cursed so let the ripple of riff-waves carry us away. Get psyched!

BAND BIO

Hazemaze is a stoner/doom power trio from Sweden that took form in the spring 2016. The band first began with the intention of becoming a garage-rock outfit, but that all changed when they come to realize that they all shared the same passion for seventies hard rock music. 6 months after, the band recorded their first EP “Wicked Ways” and began playing shows around Stockholm and other cities nearby. However, it did not take long before the band began writing more songs, which evolved into a more doom-oriented sound.

Two years later, their self-titled debut album was released through Kozmik Artifactz, and the overwhelmingly positive respond, from every corner of the stoner/doom scene, helped the band break new territories and gaining recognition in the local doom scene, as well as abroad. Now it’s time for the next chapter in the story of Hazemaze, a record that is far heavier, darker and doomier than its predecessor. “Hymns of the Damned” will see the light of day in the fall of 2019.

BAND STATEMENT

“We are extremely excited and humbled to announce that we have signed a record deal with Cursed Tongue Records and Ripple Music for the release of our second album entitled “Hymns of the Damned”. It´s an honor to collaborate with two amazing labels that really embraces the heavy underground scene in both Europe and US, and becoming a part of that family.”

‘Hymns of the Damned’ will be out on CD and digital via Ripple Music and vinyl via Cursed Tongue Records in Fall 2019.

Hazemaze is:
Ludvig – Guitar/Vocals
Nils – Drums
Estefan – Bass

All tracks written and performed by Hazemaze
Recorded & Produced at Studio Underjord together with producer Joona Hassinen
Track listing: TBA! 8 tracks of riff-worshipping songs

https://hazemazeband.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/hazemazeband/
https://instagram.com/hazemazeband
http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords
https://www.instagram.com/cursedtonguerecords
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

Hazemaze, Hazemaze (2018)

Like every day, before today’s done, you’ll probably be subject to an absolute assault of new music, but seriously, stop. Take a breath. Just chill for a second. Awesome.

Now go ahead and click play at the bottom of this post to check out “Sanctimonious” by Portland, Oregon’s Hippie Death Cult, who are newly signed to Cursed Tongue Records for the release of their debut album, 111. The four-piece roll out of the PNW like a burnout Soundgarden riding a wave of mushrooms and dysfunction fueled by the riffs and deep running tone of guitarist/engineer Eddie Brnabic, then slowly begin to reveal a deeper dynamic in the acoustic “Mrtyu” and the atmospheric-heavy-meets-NWOBHM-triumphalism-so-it-must-be-doom “Pigs” ahead of the organ-laced “Treehugger” and the extra-bluesified capper “Black Snake.” It’s not out until August, which is like an unfathomable amount of time and 100 million records from now, but Cursed Tongue does preorders, and I’m thinking this is one of the best debuts I’ve heard so far in this bastard of a year, so really, take a second and give it the due attention.

It’s a record I’m immediately looking forward to knowing better.

Taste the radness:

HIPPIE DEATH CULT SIGNS TO CURSED TONGUE RECORDS FOR A WORLD WIDE VINYL RELEASE OF THEIR DEBUT ALBUM ‘111’ SET FOR AUGUST 23TH, 2019

Cursed Tongue Records is excited to the core announcing the signing of Hippie Death Cult (Portland, Oregon) for a vinyl release of their debut full length album entitled ‘111’ on August 23th, 2019.

Seldom comes along a band that turns our heads so severely it nearly causes cervical fracture and subsequent complete mind melt. Well, guess what Portland based Hippie Death Cult did exactly that when we first heard about this infectious, blues, stoner doom rock ensemble several moons ago. Back then they had just released their third single ‘Black Snake’ and we where taken by storm and immediately knew this band where going places. Doesn’t hurt either that Eddie and the rest of the hippies are among the nicest people around.

So in keeping this intro rather short, we give a warm welcome to Hippie Death Cult to the Cursed Tongue Records roster of amazing bands from the global heavy underground and we feel this is the perfect addition to our branch of hard working, hard rocking heavy bands! More info and details about ‘111’, digital release date, vinyl pre-order and pressing info will be revealed later down the line. For now we urge any fan of bluesy, 70’s hard rock, doom-infused stoner metal to acquaint yourself with the Hippie Death Cult as you surely will want to redeem lifelong membership after hearing their mind blowing musical creations. FFO Geezer, Egypt, Goya, Monolord, Windhand, Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath and The Heavy Eyes.

We welcome any stoner head into the cursed coven of the hippie death cult – let’s riff!

CTR-022 HIPPIE DEATH CULT – ‘111’, vinyl official release date: August 23th, 2019. (Digital release July 26th, 2019)

All songs written by Hippie Death Cult
All lyrics written by Ben Jackson

Recorded at HDC HQ in Portland, Oregon
Produced, Engineered, Mixed by Eddie Brnabic
Mastered by Tony Reed at HeavyHead Rec Co.
Cover painting by Ben Jackson
Design, Layout, photography by Eddie Brnabic
Additional layout and design by Michael Andresakis

Track listing

Side A
1. Sanctimonious
2. Breeder’s Curse
3. Unborn
4. Mrtyu

Side B
5. Pigs
6. Treehugger
7. Black Snake

Hippie Death Cult live:
May 2ND @ The Valley – Tacoma, WA
May 3RD @ Darrell’s Tavern – Seattle, WA
May 4TH @ Chinese Gardens – Longview, WA
May 5TH @ The High Water Mark – Portland, OR

Hippie Death Cult is:
Eddie Brnabic : Guitar
Laura Phillips : Bass
Ryan Moore : Drums
Ben Jackson : Vocals/Keys

https://hippiedeathcult.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/hippiedeathcultband/
https://www.facebook.com/hippiedeathcultband/
https://soundcloud.com/hippie-death-cult
https://www.hippiedeathcultband.com/
http://cursedtonguerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CursedTongueRecords
https://www.instagram.com/cursedtonguerecords