Posted in Whathaveyou on April 22nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
What was originally the vinyl-only bonus track of Dozer‘s Man’s Ruin-issued second album, 2001’s Madre de Dios (featured here), “Rings of Saturn” heralds a new rare-tracks compilation from the long-running Swedish heavy rockers. I don’t know what eras of the band this covers, but I promise you this isn’t something I knew was coming when I did that succession of closing out three weeks with Dozer‘s early split singles with Demon Cleaner (discussed here, here, and here) at the end of last month into this one. Rewind to Return will be a double-LP, and there’s certainly plenty of other off-album releases Dozer could pull from.
A bonus track, for example. It had been a while since I heard “Rings of Saturn,” which was long enough to forget the killer groove that the youngins lock in for the second half of the song. If you know the record, it’s got the same turn-of-the-century buzz in the tones, and there’s a visualizer up for it that you can check out at the bottom of this post.
Coincident to the release is a return for tour dates on the US West Coast. As with Domkraft, this will likely be on the same artist visa — these considerations are existential on financial terms for a band who want to travel — they got to play Desertfest New York 2024 (review here), and the underlying message there is buy lots of merch because they invested a shit-load of money into putting themselves in the US at all. They’ll be out with Abrams and Moon Destroys, the latter of whom just wrapped a run with Elder and Sacri Monti as well.
Here’s word from the PR wire:
Stoner rock legends DOZER to release “Rewind to Return: Rarities, Singles and B-Sides” double album on Blues Funeral Recordings; US summer tour announced
In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Sweden’s godfathers of stoner rock DOZER announce the special release of the “Rewind to Return: Rarities, Singles and B-Sides” double album on August 1st via Blues Funeral Recordings and share a first excerpt with “Rings of Saturn”. Don’t miss them on their upcoming European and US shows!
Formed in 1995 in the town of Borlänge, Sweden, DOZER led the earliest wave of stoner/desert rock, a fusion of proto-metal, riff-rock and punk that blasted forth from Scandinavia and Europe in response to the tectonic heft and sun-baked fuzz of American bands Kyuss and Fu Manchu.
30 years on, DOZER are heralded as undisputed forerunners of a movement and champions of volcanic energy. Their status was affirmed in 2023 with the release of the landmark Drifting in the Endless Void, an amp-splitting return that dominated best-of lists and turntables, which Distorted Sound called, “a perfectly executed stoner album and then some” and was dubbed “an outstanding comeback” by Hellfire and “a magnetic fireball of propulsive hooks and cosmic majesty” by Decibel. This renewed dominance led to DOZER’s first US tour in 20 years and set the stage for their three-decade milestone in 2025.
DOZER have always been prolific. Driven by take-no-prisoners energy, they’d hit the studio often, laying down songs in rapid-fire batches with little concern for schedules and album planning, and their early days saw the band self-release a multitude of small-run 7-inch singles that tapped into their DIY leanings and allowed forward momentum at maximum velocity. More songs surfaced on compilations and as limited-release b-sides, while others went into the proverbial vault.
In celebration of their 30th anniversary, DOZER enthusiastically present Rewind to Return, a double album of singles, rare tracks and b-sides from across their prolific history. Neither a chronological document nor a comprehensive collection of every non-album track, this is a carefully considered selection of the band’s favorites, chosen for their meaning and impact, brilliantly remastered by Karl Daniel Lidén and assembled to create the best possible record to commemorate DOZER’s vast catalog and untouchable legacy.
TRACKLIST: 1. Tanglefoot 2. Hail The Dude 3. Centerline 4. Southern Star 5. The Electrocuter 6. Universe 75 7. Serpent’s Head 8. Rings Of Saturn 9. She 10. Mammoth Mountain 11. Silverball 12. Star By Star 13. Season of Giants 14 Vinegar Fly 15. 2 Ton Butterfly
DOZER further underscore three decades at the forefront of the scene with a handful of European dates in 2025, along with a live return to the US this summer, embarking on a West Coast tour with spectacular up-and-comers ABRAMS and MOON DESTROYS supporting the monumental run.
European festival dates May 3 – Izegem, Belgium @ Headbanger’s Balls Fest May 23 – Berlin, Germany @ DesertFest Berlin October 17 – Thessaloniki, Greece @ Eightball Club October 18 – Athens, Greece @ Arch Club Nov 14-15 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Fuzz Festival
Return to the Endless Void US Tour 2025 (with Abrams and Moon Destroys) August 7 – Las Vegas NV @ The Swan Dive August 8 – Los Angeles CA @ Lodge Room August 9 – San Diego CA @ Brick By Brick August 10 – Palmdale CA @ Transplants Brewing August 12 – San Francisco CA @ Bottom Of The Hill August 13 – Eureka CA @ Savage Henry Comedy Club August 14 – Eugene OR @ John Henry’s August 15 – Portland OR @ Dante’s August 16 – Vancouver BC @ Rickshaw August 17 – Seattle WA @ Substation
DOZER is: Tommi Holappa – Guitar Fredrik Nordin – Guitar/Vox Johan Rockner – Bass Sebastian Olsson – Drums
Like their two preceding shared releases — 1998’s Demon Cleaner vs. Dozer (discussed here) and 1999’s follow-up Hawaiian Cottage (discussed here) — the split 7″ Domestic Dudes was released through Molten Universe, the label helmed by Dozer guitarist Tommi Holappa. And because it’s the last of the three, it’s easy enough to think of these four songs and 13 minutes as a springboard that sent both of these outfits toward releasing their debut full-lengths in 2000 — that’s Dozer‘s In the Tail of a Comet (featured here, discussed here) and Demon Cleaner‘s The Freeflight (discussed here); note that Lowrider also had their first album and Greenleaf, who pulled members and guests from all three bands, had their first EP in 2000; good living in Sweden at the turn of the century (also now) — and sure enough, there are easy-enough-in-hindsight arguments to be made that that’s what’s happening.
I’m not sure there’s actually such a thing as being ‘ready’ to make an album, since plenty of great ones have been put out by people who obviously weren’t ‘ready’ in any convential sense for what would result. It’s a cliché that rock critics throw out there — myself included (at least in the cliché part; I’m not sure I count as a critic anymore) — as a way of saying, “I think this band could make a record I’d think is cool,” and since it’s generally intended as a compliment and is kind of milquetoast, nobody really blinks. Fine.
By the same token, to listen to Demon Cleaner‘s “Taurus” and “45” and Dozer‘s “Octanoid” and “Hail the Dude,” even in comparison to the work they were doing just a year earlier in 1999, I think you can hear a progression of sound and purpose that helped solidify their respective identities going into their 2000 LPs. Neither of these Demon Cleaner tracks would show up on The Freeflight or the band’s subsequent 2002 self-titled swansong, but they’re for sure on the trajectory of where that album was coming from, loosely grooving and plenty brash in the buzz of “45,” taking the desert roll of “Taurus” and the little bit of a jam they throw into the solo section and paring it back to the most essential components, then setting it to run.
Kyuss still very much is a defining influence — for both bands at this stage, really — but by the end of “45,” Demon Cleaner gave a picture of where they were headed, and given the limitations of the 7″ format they were working in for what was either intended as a series from the start or just became one as they went on, the fact that they manage to give a dynamic expression of their sound in just six minutes and two well-paired tracks speaks to how generally underrated Demon Cleaner‘s work is to begin with. That whole stopped-after-the-second-record thing probably has something to do with that. Bottom line though, Demon Cleaner were onto something here, and though they wouldn’t be a band anymore by the time five years passed after Domestic Dudes came out, they did manage to realize at least some of the potential they showed in these three nascent splits.
“Octanoid,” with its standout pottymouth chorus and the emergent distinctive throaty swagger of guitarist Fredrik Nordin, will be recognizable from Dozer‘s second album, 2001’s Madre de Dios (featured here), and I don’t know that “Hail the Dude” is or isn’t about The Big Lebowski, but it’s possible, as that film was also released in 1999. In any case, with a howl of guitar after the drum count-in and a steady stoner-rock-when-it-was-stoner-rock-now-we-call-it-classic janga-janga in the verse, “Hail the Dude” is exactly the kind ‘lost’ track that has for years been begging to show up on a compilation release of some sort, but I’ve harped on that enough these last couple weeks, and the songs themselves make the argument better than I could anyhow.
I’d be curious to know if Dozer and Demon Cleaner — and you’ll notice that they’ve switched back to Demon Cleaner vs. Dozer on the cover art; for Hawaiian Cottage, Dozer had top billing — went into Domestic Dudes knowing it was the last of three, or if there was no plan to start with, or what, because there’s such a palpable sense in listening to it of both acts being all in. On the first split, they’re beginning to get a sense of who they are, but by the third, Demon Cleaner have a firm grip on their intent in “Taurus” and “45,” and while Dozer would move past the desert-fuzzed style after their second record and find a more individualized take, at times aggressive, at times spacious, and still evolving these many years later, their 2023 comeback, Drifting in the Endless Void (review here), boasting a richer sprawl after a 15-year studio absence.
But you knew that, so right on. I know these guys are plenty busy. As previously noted, Demon Cleaner‘s drummer was Karl Daniel Lidén, who not only would go on to play in Dozer and Greenleaf, but would record those bands as well as countless others, his work as producer having no less of an impact on the shape of Swedish heavy across a generation than his contributions as a musician. He continues to produce and/or mix killer records — had a hand in High Desert Queen‘s album last year, which ruled — and this clique of players, from Dozer to Greenleaf, Demon Cleaner, Lowrider, probably a couple others from around then, still exists in terms of collaborating with each other and the friendships that these three platters helped solidify.
And it would just be the bloggiest thing ever for me to tell you that those friendships are what’s most important, that it’s the sense of community and support in the heavy underground that makes it so special in a world that’s come to be defined largely by its cruelties and isolation. All true. But while I’m glad at least some of the relationships here continue on to this day, because it’s nice to have friends or so I’m told, that has little to do with the actual listening experience. As far as a takeaway from the third of the trilogy: understand that Domestic Dudes isn’t really the finish, but barely the beginning of what either of these acts would accomplish. They’re still young, hungry, and yes, both bands also sound ready on whatever level one might think of to take the next step. Obviously they were about to do exactly that.
As always, I hope you enjoy, and I hope you’ve enjoyed all three of these over the last couple weeks. I’ve wanted to write about these forever and it was a lot of fun to dig in. Maybe some day they’ll make a fourth. You never know.
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Rough week. I’ll be honest, my head’s been elsewhere pretty much since Wednesday. The Pecan’s having trouble at school. She went after a para at lunch who pulled her away from getting into it with another kid, and we had to go pick her up yesterday early. It sucked. The Patient Mrs. and I were an hour away when we got the call, trying to chase down a check so she can buy a car that ended up taking us to a credit union on the campus of (wait for it) West Point, which was surreal even before you get to the gummy I’d eaten. But yeah, that was a long-ass, quiet drive back from West Point to the school. Gut-wrenching.
You feel terrible for the kid. It’s not like she doesn’t know what she’s doing is wrong, she just can’t stop it. She gets overwhelmed and lashes out. The para touched her. I’m sure the kid was doing some goofy shit or calling her names or whatever — there’s a whole set of boys in her class she’s having trouble with the last few weeks and it’s turned her world to shit — but she apparently went after him and then the para and there you go. That was a shitty pickup to live through.
We kept her home today. She’s in the bedroom watching Mark Rober — a new obsession, at least a decent portion of it is science — and will likely be there until hunger makes it untenable. The Patient Mrs. is home today too and the sun looks like it’s daring to come out, so leaving the house might happen at some point. That would probably be advisable, anyhow.
But the kid had a great weekend last weekend, including Monday off, which we spent all day at the arcade at the mall. We even played Super Smash Bros. for N64, which felt like a parenting achievement I didn’t know I’d been waiting for for years, and she got into it deep on some skeeball like the Jersey girl she is, and had a ton of fun. We saw family and family friends and she’d had a decent day last Friday enough that we didn’t get a call and so I thought going into Tuesday maybe upping her meds had helped. Not so much.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were each a wreck and so here we are Friday.
This isn’t our first time in this position as parents. Honestly, after the rough start to kindergarten last year, which was a fucking trauma, I was hoping we were done. Now I’m wondering if this is how it’s going to be and if so, if that’s where we are, how we’re going to move forward. Not only getting her back in school as soon as possible, where she belongs by any measure, but what can be put in place so that the escalation of the last couple weeks stops before somebody gets hurt.
It’s fucking difficult. It’s been a difficult week, and absolutely, I’ve been distracted from what’s going on around here. There’s been a lot of cool shit though, it was a good week. I’m doing my best to keep my head in it, and as usual The Obelisk is a bit of therapy for my brain, even if I’ve come to spend more time complaining about the back-end work of running the site than I used to.
Next week is a Quarterly Review. I’ll start working on it tomorrow. It’s seven days, and then after that I’m going to Roadburn and then I’m taking like a day off after that and that’s basically April. I’ve got premieres set up through the end of the month after the QR and fest coverage, and then we’re into May. It’ll be 2028 before I know it. Shit, she’ll be in fourth grade. That’s almost middle school.
Have a great and safe weekend. Hydrate, watch your head, try and have some fun. Things are hard. Take your moments where and when you can, and if you need to breathe, breathe. Thanks as always for reading.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 1st, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Oh man, I was lucky enough one time to see Dozer take the stage at Fuzz Festival in Stockholm (review here), and I can only recommend it as a life experience. The Swedish spearheads, who’ve been talked about around here a fair bit on Fridays these last few weeks if you’ve been keeping up, join Långfinger, The Big Rip, and Montana fuzzbringers Wizzerd in this announcement, and as you can see on the poster below, Dozer will co-headline the two-nighter with Brant Bjork Trio. One assumes Fall tour dates are incoming for a number of these acts, but even looking past the headliners, that you get Carson, Craneium, Stonus, Domkraft, Gnome and Hellroom Projectors — and of course, the ones behind the whole thing, Truckfighters — in addition to this latest round of names is certainly compelling.
November, huh? I don’t foresee either an invite or a cash windfall, so I can’t imagine I’ll be able to be at this one, but damn it’s a rad assemblage. Don’t sleep on keeping up just because there are a hundred festivals in Europe in October and this is later.
From social media:
🔥More bands announced for FUZZ FESTIVAL #6 14-15 NOVEMBER 2025🔥
Dozer: Swedish stoner legends that need no introduction, heavy fuzz and alot of in-your-face grooves.
Långfinger: A vibrant heavy rock/stoner trio from Gothenburg.
Wizzerd (US): A Fuzzorama Records band hailing from Montana that will bring a doomy, stoner groove to Stockholm.
The Big Rip (NO): The Big Rip plays groovy fast paced stoner/scandirock with elements of doom.
Takes place at Debaser and Bar Brooklyn, Stockholm, Sweden.
Grab your ticket now and join us for a weekend of unforgettable music, good vibes, and like-minded souls. Whether you’re a veteran festival-goer or a newcomer, Fuzzfestival 2025 promises to be a gathering of sonic exploration and celebration.
Stay tuned for even more lineup announcements and festival updates. We can’t wait to see you there!
I never had to make my own playlist for one of these posts before, but the second of three Dozer and Demon Cleaner demo-type split 7″s, 1998’s Hawaiian Cottage, wasn’t immediately available all together, and the Demon Cleaner tracks included above — “Heading Home” and “Megawheel” — are taken from the Swedish band’s debut album, The Freeflight (discussed here), as my admittedly limited chase-down skills couldn’t find the single’s recordings streaming anywhere. I own this one — not bragging; it was a valued gift from an even more valued friend – but don’t have a way to transfer. If I hear one complaint about it in the comments, I’ll be surprised, but I felt compelled to mention it just the same.
So, we pick up where we left off last time with the Demon Cleaner vs. Dozer split (discussed here), to which Hawaiian Cottage made a quick-turnaround follow-up, releasing the same year. And like both of Demon Cleaner‘s tracks, which I was happy to find at all, some of what Dozer included here wound up on their own Y2K-issued first album, In the Tail of a Comet (featured here, discussed here), namely the ultra-recognizable, ultra-catchy “Riding the Machine.”
Dozer take top billing this time, so that on the cover it’s Dozer vs. Demon Cleaner — whatever rivalry aspect there may have been between these two bands at the time, they were already friends and collaborators; the ‘vs.’ no doubt comes from the epic battles they all undertook as teenagers playing Street Fighter II. At least that’s the narrative I’ve given it. On Hawaiian Cottage, already one can hear how much the two outfits were growing together, each feeling their way through their desert rock influences while setting themselves on the path to being the bands they’d become during their respective times together, Dozer‘s obviously ongoing. I’m reasonably sure both bands at this point where recording with Bengt Bäcke, who also served as the longtime bassist of affiliated outfit Greenleaf, so how much they’re on the same page here shouldn’t really be a shock.
And an early take on “Riding the Machine,” which would not only feature on Dozer‘s LP but was a highlight of it, is nothing to sneeze at here. Its sound is rawer obviously than the ‘finished’ one, and it comes accompanied by “Silverball,” which didn’t make the record but actually does a lot of work in conveying the intensity that would emerge over time in Dozer‘s sound. As much as their later work, whether it’s 2023’s Drifting in the Endless Void (review here) or 2008’s Beyond Colossal (featured here, discussed here, 2009 interview here), took on a dynamic, atmospheric and immersive sound, the thrust so plainly audible in “Silverball” very much remains a part of what Dozer do. It’s just the fuzzed-out baby version of the thing, which also happens to be awesome.
“Heading Home” begins Demon Cleaner‘s B-side, followed by the does-for-Fu–Manchu-what-Dozer-does-for-Kyuss “Megawheel,” the hook of which makes a fitting complement to “Riding the Machine” as they wrap up the split. Starting off with fuzzy, languid wah, it is pure turn-of-the-century stoner rock bliss, cool in the vocal delivery with a bit of shaker in the groove, then the surge of distortion with the vocals cutting through as they hit into the chorus. Smooth, well executed, bare-bones structurally, but it should be. It’s a demo made by 20 year olds who just happened to have a label — Dozer guitarist Tommi Holappa‘s Molten Universe, which also put out The Freeflight — and the capacity to press it up well in advance of the vinyl revival kicking off in earnest.
The repeated lines, “I am slowing down/I am heading home’ in the push of the second half of “Heading Home” give over to a somewhat understated lead and a tempo kick as they decide to tear into it at the end, and “Megawheel” rolls out (get it?) on suitably farty low end and righteous buzz. No disrespect to Dozer, who show up big to be sure, but if it’s a contest of which hook is going to be stuck in your head all day, “Megawheel” is a tough one to get away from.
It is declarative in its stomp but doesn’t stay put as it jumps into the first bridge and stops with a couple hits of cowbell to work back in. The fuzz is warm and there’s plenty for everybody, and where there are times over the course of their two LPs — the second of which was self-titled and issued in 2002; it hasn’t closed a week yet in this fashion but will at some point I’m sure; I keep a list — where they get caught up in the charge and end up more punkish than, say, their side A counterparts on this outing, even when “Megawheel” hits the gas, the sense of control remains firm as they bring it to a head at the finish, a drop-mic moment at the end predating mic drops when it comes down to silence.
There’s a temptation to write a lot into these releases as regards importance-to-genre, and certainly Dozer and Demon Cleaner‘s work warrants that kind of consideration despite the discrepancies between their respective discographies. But the truth of listening, whether you’re putting on your platter that you’ve had since before The Matrix came out and somewhat hilariously codified the 1990s as the peak of civilization, streaming the tracks above or engaging in a little light piracy 27 years after the fact while you wait for the Dozer early-works comp I’ve campaigned for for so long to surface, is so much simpler. It’s not about what Dozer would do over the next decade, or about Demon Cleaner launching the production career of Karl Daniel Lidén, whose work helped directly shape what those of us geographically elsewhere think of as ‘Swedish heavy rock.’ You get that in its quintessential form on this split and its compatriot releases.
But more, it’s about the fact that the bands just went for it. They got in the studio, played the songs, put them out. It’s the joy of creating a thing, of being part of a group creating a thing, of celebrating the sounds you love with your friends. Playing in the truest sense. You can hear all of that on Hawaian Cottage too, and so it seems all the more to capture a special moment in the lifespans of these two acts.
As always, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy.
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We’ll wrap this informal mini-series next week with 1999’s Domestic Dudes as third of the three. After that, if there’s anyone’s catalog you want to see written up — I did Sabbath at one point last year or the year before, if you’ll recall — I’m open to suggestion if you’d like to leave a comment with one. Kyuss are obvious. Clutch would keep me busy for the rest of the year probably. But I’ve done a fair number of both their records, so that’s a challenge too — stuff where at least most of it hasn’t been already covered. Cathedral would be an interesting one, or Saint Vitus. Colour Haze are one of my favorite bands ever. Might be fun to dig into Chopping Machine or Seven at the start of their catalog.
I just went to change over the load of wash in the basement — speaking of dudely domesticity — and wound up taking a broom to the years’ worth of spider and cobwebs on the ceiling and the walls and everything around the washer and dryer, so let that serve as an indicator of my level of distraction this week. I slept hard last night but woke up at 3AM yesterday morning, so maybe not such a shock, and in terms of quality-of-life, those kinds of days are markedly lower.
Couple that with The Pecan having a harder time in school this week, hitting kids and teachers and yesterday needing to be taken out of an assembly after chasing around a one-armed man wanting to ask him questions about I know not what but I assume his one arm, and a kind of disastrous playdate yesterday where she melted down each time her friend wanted to hang out with the dog — which her friend definitely did, I think in part because my daughter spent so much time losing it — and I upped her meds before sending her in today.
If it wasn’t already a three-day weekend with Monday off, I’d have probably kept her home in an effort to give her a break. As it is, we’ll try and have a quiet-ish day tomorrow while still getting out to do some physical activity — it’s supposed to be nice, so that’ll help — and see where we’re at Sunday and Monday. She’s having issues giving up control of, well, anything, and we fall into arguments of “that’s not your decision” and “you’re not in charge of that” when she starts issuing commands or barking orders. Someday she’ll make an excellent supreme leader of the Terran Empire. Until then, I’d be pretty fucking happy if I could get her out of grade school without her turning the place to rubble.
So yesterday and today kind of become a wait by the phone, which of course helps nothing whether it’s the ambient anxiety of the house or conveying my own disappointing expectations for how things will go. The school’s behaviorist brought me into the office the other day and we sat, The Pecan too, while they talked about everything that’s been going on. It sucked. And they had some plan with some rule sheet that the kid drew up herself or some such — all the therapeutically-designed current things to do to try to get and keep a child on board with the social contract — but she’s burned through so much of that over the years between Early Intervention, OT, DI, speech at home and out, two-and-a-half years of pre-K and Kindergarten that I’m honestly not hopeful anything other than a kick in her dose will see any even medium-term movement in the direction we want. This too is sad. I don’t like drugging my kid. I can’t afford to send her to a school in the woods with a private tutor to teach her mechanical engineering, long division and/or quantum mechanics. If I could, I would. I just want her to be okay and don’t know what to do to help that happen.
In this, as in so many other ways, parenting sucks. She’s got therapy on Monday, which we started for paperwork purposes — insurance stuff, it’s complicated and political so I’m not going to talk about it — and now seems like maybe it’s a good idea to continue.
Am I really gonna leave off on that note? We were doing so well talking about Dozer and Demon Cleaner and here I am with the bumout before I send you packing back to whatever you got distaracted from to read this (hopefully nothing important)?
That’s real life, folks. Sometimes the things that are supposed to make you feel the best make you feel the worst. If that’s harshing a mellow, at least it’s honest. You move on regardless. Another week will come, hopefully better rested and less discouraging. If not, well, Roadburn’s in about two and a half weeks, so a couple days out of my own head are on the horizon, and surely that’s a better place to be as regards the self-talk underlying it all, which grows crueler with the passing of each nervous day.
But if you want something to look forward to, the Lo-Pan album is out next week. I’ll be reviewing that for Monday, I hope. I’ve also got premieres for The Elven, which has Isaiah Mitchell from Earthless involved, as well as Temple Fang and The Summit Fever. So that’s at least two of the best LPs I’ve heard so far in 2025 being written up. Things can’t be that horrible when the music is so good.
Hell yeah. This 1998 four-song split 7″ was the first of three that Demon Cleaner and Dozer would release together through Dozer guitarist Tommi Holappa‘s Molten Universe imprint — it bears the catalog number MOLTEN 001 — and was pressed in two editions of 500 copies total. It exists largely in the digital sphere, despite not being ‘officially’ streaming anywhere I could find, through file-trading and YouTube streams like the above (it’s called ‘Bootleg Theater’ for a reason), and although I’ve campaigned actively for over a decade for Dozer to release an early-works compilation with this material and, say, their demos and the cuts from the 1999 split with Unida (discussed here), maybe some other odds and ends if you want to make it a 2LP or 2CD, my pleas have thus far gone unheard as they mark their 30th anniversary in 2025. Release the tapes! Release the tapes!, and so on.
And certainly the archival impulse is part of what such a compilation would satisfy, but it captures something pivotal for both Demon Cleaner — which featured Karl Daniel Lidén on drums, who’d also go on to play in both Dozer and their sister band Greenleaf, as well as to produce and/or mix those bands and countless others, among them Katatonia and Crippled Black Phoenix, at his Tri-Lamb Studios — and Dozer, who were still a crucial two years from making their full-length debut with 2000’s In the Tail of a Comet (featured here, discussed here).
Maybe it was reviewing that Caboose record the other day that put me in a sentimental mode, but thinking about these bands at this time — I’d put Lowrider in this mix too with Dozer and Demon Cleaner; all part of the family tree of folks who probably/definitely showed up on a Greenleaf record at some point — and listening to Demon Cleaner revel in the fuzz and shove of “Barracuda,” the pure Kyussian blast of its early going and the way they cram both so much fuzz and so much space into a song that still leaves room for a companion piece on its side, the energy of their playing is infectious. The subsequent “Redlight,” which unlike “Barracuda” would not resurface on Demon Cleaner‘s own 2000 debut, The Freeflight (discussed here), is shorter and has a more straight-ahead drive, but there too, I’ve got the same nostalgic feeling.
Understand, it’s not like I was there in 1998. I didn’t review Demon Cleaner vs. Dozer or its two follow-ups, ’98’s Hawaiian Cottage (MOLTEN 002) and 1999’s Domestic Dudes (MOLTEN 003) for my high school newspaper. I was never that cool. But it wasn’t too many years later that I did get on board, and the same energy and that passion one specifically feels for something new — whether it’s a new sound that’s hitting you hard, like this, or a romance — that I felt when I was first discovering heavy, desert and stoner rock, you can also hear in how both Demon Cleaner and Dozer‘s arguments (or sides, if you prefer) play out.
If Demon Cleaner vs. Dozer takes you back to when you first heard fuzz riffs set to heavy groove, a rock that could be weighted in sound or emotion without having to rely either on the attitude-performance of punk or the caricature chestbeating of metal — though Sweden’s produced a lot of quality in both genres, of course — I think that’s okay, because it’s doing the same thing for the bands. Dozer enter into “Tanglefoot” like they Kramer-crashed into the studio and dropped all their fuzz on the floor (it was the ’90s, so a Seinfeld reference is timely). Following up on the boogie of Demon Cleaner‘s “Redlight,” “Tanglefoot” has a shuffle, but Dozer‘s earliest work is characterized by its unadulterated worship of Californian desert rock — something to which guitarist Fredrik Nordin‘s vocals brought a distinctive twist at the relative beginnings of a generational turnover that would change and help shape the European underground as it stands today.
But to the point, they sound like kids, and they sound like kids having fun, and I hear that a lot differently now than I might’ve two decades ago, when it and I were both a lot newer. These early songs, both Demon Cleaner and Dozer, still evoke a sense of freedom in my mind, a feeling of saying screw it and diving in, because that’s kind of what both bands are doing. Yeah, the internet existed in 1998 and I’m pretty sure these bands were on it in some fashion, but it wasn’t like today, where there’s an established heavy underground infrastructure in touring and releasing. Topped off with cover art that looks like it was specifically made to get Frank Kozik‘s attention — apparently it worked, since Man’s Ruin Records released Dozer‘s aforementioned first LP — there is no question it’s of its era.
That’s what’s so much worth preserving too, however. Yeah, Dozer hit into “Centerline” like their lives absolutely depend on it while still drawing a direct line to the mellower Kyuss tune from which Demon Cleaner took their name, and yeah, “Redlight” is sub-three minutes of ultra-rad turn-of-the-century era heavy, all-in, all-burn, all-killer as their two still-undervalued LPs would go on to be. Of course that vitality — what youth can inimitably bring to a recording and performance — is a factor. A big one. But so too is how raw this material is, and how much it reminds us that at some point, somebody had to just do the thing for it to be done. I’m sure neither Demon Cleaner nor Dozer went into teaming up for splits saying, “We’re doing this for desert rock!” in no small part because the genre didn’t exist yet, but no doubt they both had a hand in bringing it to life.
I will continue to argue for a Dozer early-works compilation until probably well after one actually gets released (because sometimes these things happen and I forget to stop being annoyed they haven’t happened yet), but I’m not holding my breath. Demon Cleaner could continuously stand more ears on their work, and meanwhile Dozer are still here and there supporting 2023’s landmark return, Drifting in the Endless Void (review here). If the two bands wanted to make a fourth split together today, I’m pretty sure it could happen.
As always, I hope you enjoy. It’s another short one, but plenty to say about it. Thanks for reading, in any case.
—
To answer the first question you didn’t ask, yeah, I do think I’m going to do the two 1999 Demon Cleaner/Dozer split 7″s over the next two weeks. Why not make a series of it? Should be an interesting challenge by the third one for sure. “Well, like six months after the release of the second split, turns out the third one is also really fuzzy.” That’ll be fun. Eventually you run out of synonyms for ‘rad.’
I don’t remember what was going on last week and I don’t have the capacity to go look. Last weekend The Pecan had a bunch of stuff on. Playdate Saturday was fine, birthday party Sunday was fine. This weekend I don’t know what’s up other than The Patient Mrs.’ mother is coming down from CT to stay over tonight. Between that, a sore ankle I twisted last week and general aversion to city driving, thus am I missing Slomosa in Brooklyn tonight. So it goes. But by tomorrow afternoon, I have no idea. Whatever. A day will happen. Another will follow.
That’s good news, theoretically.
This week was The Patient Mrs.’ spring break — woo. — and we’ve still managed not to hang out all that much. She went to work on Tuesday, yesterday got her hair done, today is out again, and I’m here writing. We’ve sat next to each other on our laptops, which was nice, and managed to get to Costco — our spot, these days — and buy some seltzer. It’s not like if we hung out all week I’d be like, “Oh, well that was certainly enough.” It’s never really gonna be enough and I know that. But I guess that’s kind of what life is right now.
She’s back to work next week. Things are full around here too. Monday is a Serial Hawk review. Yup, they’re back at it. Record’s a bruiser. Tuesday a premiere for Håndgemeng, Wednesday one for Komatsu, Thursday an album stream for Smoke Mountain, and I think next Friday is a video premiere for Space Queen, which I just kinda confirmed this morning. I’m gonna give myself some slack on news posts, which are interminable, in favor of quality over quantity. I only have so many hours and so much brainpower. I feel a bit like I’ve written the same fest announcement post 60 times. Because I have.
I know, complaining that a lot of cool shit is happening is stupid and lame. I wish I went to Brant Bjork last night. I wish I was going to Slomosa tonight. Logistics. Roadburn is in a month. I’ll look forward to that.
Thanks again for reading. Have a great and safe weekend. Watch your head out there among these fucking psychopaths. Hydrate with real water. Don’t believe what they tell you about the Brawndo.
Oh, and did you see the new merch? It exists! I updated the sidebar of this site to prove it! Thanks if you check that out too.
Posted in Reviews on September 15th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Before Show
Truckfighters soundchecking outside with “Desert Cruiser.” There’s a concrete rise in back of the Knockdown Center, up to a train platform presumably leftover from when whatever what manufactured here, and last year it was open for people to go up like a balcony and watch the bands on the outside stage. It would be hot up there today with the sun beating down, but it doesn’t matter since it’s closed off. So it goes.
Today is the last day of Desertfest New York 2024, and it brings that third, outside stage, where yesterday alternated between the two in the building itself. There are picnic tables out here, corners you can put yourself in if you want, and I appreciate that kind of thing, especially on a day with a crunch of bands. The most brutal schedule conflict? High Desert Queen playing in the Texas room during Truckfighters. Hard choices will be made. I don’t know that I’ll get to take pictures of both, but I plan to watch at least part of each set since it’s not like you have to go down the block to see one or the other. We’ll see how it goes.
Got back and crashed out last night around 1AM. It’s the last day here, so of course one’s head drifts to thoughts of returning to real life after this relatively brief but certainly welcome sidestep. I started packing that glut of stuff I brought with me. I was thinking of driving home tonight, maybe splitting out during Russian Circles, throwing my bags in the car and letting out for Jersey, but I don’t actually expect to be in any shape to do such a thing by then, and Saturday night traffic in New York is like Thursday afternoon. By the time I got home, any favors I’d have done myself by leaving early would have evaporated. That’s me, talking myself out of a thing.
Doors are in four minutes, reportedly. People were waiting out in the sun when I got here. I don’t have an AAA pass or anything because I’ve never been cool, ever, but I do like getting j and sitting a bit before the show starts, writing and whatever else. Calm before the storm? Maybe. Some quiet for the subsequent volume to contrast once the day actually starts. Light tension in the air. You know how it goes.
Like this:
Kadabra
There’s a lot to look forward to today, front to back, but Kadabra must definitely aren’t to be left out of that consideration. The Spokane, Washington-based trio played Desertfest London earlier this year as well and are a better band than the general underground consensus seems to know, though they drew a decent crowd for being the first band on, so maybe I’m wrong on the hype level. Fine. They’re here supporting their 2023 album, Umbra (discussed here, review here), and I very clearly was not the only one who thought to get to Knockdown Center early. The groove and sinister vibe came quick like the haze from the fog machine, only not so quickly breezed away. “The Serpent” and “The Devil” from the latest album featured, and if you wanted to call either a highlight, I won’t fight you. The sound came through clear enough to do justice to the vocal melodies, and their swing was the start today needed.
Gozu
I don’t know how long it’s been and I don’t feel like looking, but it’s too long, in any case. Soul and hard-hitting groove, fury (of the markedly impatient) and craft underneath it all. And every now and again, Gaff might do a softshoe. Well earned. I was watching them play and trying to write, but couldn’t get out of my head, and in what might be the best decision I make today, I stopped trying to write. I put my phone in my pocket and let Gozu bowl me over with their particularly classy roll. It was the right choice, and after half a decade — I felt guilty and looked; last time I saw Gozu was before the pandemic; too long — they both played songs I’d never heard live before and, as of course they would, nailed new material and old. Never a doubt in my mind. Honestly, I was just happy to see them, let alone see them kill it. Not going to pretend to be the impartial observer. I missed Gozu.
Spaceslug
You know that feeling when you’ve dug a band for a while and you see them live for the first time and you dig it and it’s a relief? Seeing Spaceslug for the first time was like that for me. Because it was that, exactly. It was also good to finally see for myself how the live show and the sound of their albums — a consistently evolving thing, definitely on a path — intertwine in terms of presenting the material. The division of duties on vocals and the arrangements have gotten more complex with time, and while you might put on their 2016 debut, Lemanis (discussed here), and 2024’s Out of Water (review here) in succession and know it’s the same band, their breath changes what they mean, and on stage, they can lean into different sides at different times, dynamic without being hurried about it. I don’t know that I’d ever get to see Spaceslug if this wasn’t happening — though I’d certainly make it happen if I could — so thank you Desertfest, and thanks Spaceslug for making the trip and for the show.
Hippie Death Cult
Hippie Death Cult and Kadabra have been out on a tour since last week and were in Rhode Island last night. Meanwhile, Boston got a dose of High Desert Queen, Gozu and Dozer. It’s a good weekend to be on the Eastern Seaboard. Last time I saw the band was at Psycho in 2022 (review here), and that was before basisst Laura Phillips took over on lead vocals. Last Fall brought the release of their first album with Harry Silvers on drums and Phillips on vocals, and with a foundation in Eddie Brnabic’s fluid riffing, they were a Hippie Death Cult able to bring more of an aggressive roll to bear with intermittent harsher vocals; something of a sludgier potential that may or may not be explored over time as they continue to grow. But they were rad when they had Ben Jackson singing and they’re rad now. Hypnotic enough that I forgot to be anxious about missing the start of Eagle Twin, which was nice for a couple minutes to get out of my own head. Twice today. I’m coming dangerously close to letting myself enjoy a thing.
Eagle Twin
Doom with antlers, but not literally, because that also exists. They’re not a band who comes to the East Coast every day, or year, and though I imagine a specific ideal is seeing Eagle Twin out in the woods someplace, they brought a more than solid main stage crowd. I was thinking it hadn’t been that long since I saw them but it turns out it was six years ago at Høstsabbat (review here), where they made a specifically bluesy impression. Go figure. Their sound feels no less born of bigger, more ancient forests than one finds here, but on a level even just of performance and the aforementioned tone, they brought it. There’s a lot to dig about them, I’m just out of metaphors. I took a peak in the Texas stage at Trace Amount, then found a spot at a table with some friends and planted there until a bit before Dozer went on. Eagle Twin were cool, but until I looked just a bit ago I thought I’d seen them in the last few years, and I don’t get a lot of nice, human conversation with people I like in my day-to-day.
Dozer
Powerhouse set, and Dozer’s first time in the States in at least two decades. The urgency of last year’s Drifting Through the Endless Void (review here) speaks for itself, and I’m not here to sell records anyway. But I’m lucky enough that this is my third Dozer show in the last three years after seeing them on what was then a one-off at Desertfest London 2013 (review here), and as classic as their early work is, they’re vital, moving forward in sound from where they left off after 2008’s Beyond Colossal (featured here), coming back after a stretch of time that in hindsight they made short. Propulsive unto themselves in the sphere of heavy rock, people clapping along to Sebastian Olsson’s drums. Their show with High Desert Queen and Gozu in Boston last night precedes them much as it did Gozu, put there were clearly people in the crowd who’ve never seen Dozer before, one can only hope they come back again. Bonus, the train platform was open, so I got to watch from there for a minute too. Enough to witness a light mosh taking shape for the last song.
Green Lung
I wouldn’t hazard to predict the future, but Green Lung look like they’re in it for the long haul. Stage presence enough that I don’t feel ridiculous imagining them playing festivals like this 20 years from now. They could probably play “Mountain Throne” then too. Their organic cultistry, nature-worship and on-stage harmonies were on point, and though I knew all of that would be the case going into the set, it was exciting to see them play songs from last Fall’s This Heathen Land (review here) and take advantage of the full breadth of their sound and a reach that only seems to be expanding. Part of the appeal is that they’re over the top, and they are, but there’s so much raw talent on stage when they play, and they’re clearly learning how to wield it. This is their first US tour. I have a hard time imagining it will be their last. “Maxine (Witch Queen),” “Old Gods,” “Hunters in the Sky,” “Graveyard Sun.” Fucking “Let the Devil In.” Everything they played sounded like it could’ve been on a greatest hits collection. Hooks and performance. They made it a show. It was a spectacle, classic metal in many ways, some of them theatrical, but brought to life with its own take on both conceptual and stylistic traditions.
Truckfighters
This was my moment to both have and eat cake. Truckfighters went on five whole minutes before High Desert Queen. The Ruins (outside) stage is about a minute’s walk from the Texas room, so I watched the start of Truckfighters and then went back and forth for the duration. Acid King was getting started soon enough as well, so it’s probably the most ‘go’ moment of the fest, at least for me, but those are three different parties you want to be at. Truckfighters aren’t the only band this weekend whose reputation precedes them, and they had the biggest crowd of the night outside — also at some point it became night; when may or may not be clear in the photos — and another mosh. Surprising amount of mish this year. It’s like New York is extra antsy since the Saint Vitus Bar closed, which is reasonable, frankly. I got to see Truckfighters do “The Chairman,” and that was justification enough for the back and forth, a mellower vibe in the buildup to the payoff, as opposed to some of their stuff, which is more pure shove and roll. A reputation well and continually earned. Weren’t they recording an album? Or is that just me hoping for a thing?
High Desert Queen
Just a blast of a band. For a good time, call. Up from Austin, they’re on the already noted tour with Dozer and Gozu, playing in support of this Spring’s Palm Reader (review here), their second album and first for Magnetic Eye. Those songs rightly featured heavily in the set, which started 30 seconds after I walked into the Texas room like it was on cue. Tight, heavy groove, nothing too fancy stylistically — I always hear some C.O.C. in their sound, one way or the other, and that was true tonight, but not the end of the story as regards their sound either. You can hear the influence of pre- and turn of the century heavy — if I held up Dozer and Acid King as examples, I’m not discounting the relevance of either’s present work in doing that; I’m just thinking of when they got going — and you can tell watching them that they’re into it. Not everybody on stage is dancing around like vocalist Ryan Garney might be to a given riff from guitarist Rusty Miller, but he, bassist Morgan Miller and drummer Phil Hook were right there too in the moment on stage. It was great to see, and even against Truckfighters on the bill, the room filled up.
Acid King
Fair to say Acid King remain at a crucial moment about a year and a half out from Beyond Vision (review here), which was my pick for album of the year last December — not just me, they topped the year-end poll as well. I’m not worried they’re about to immediately do another record right away — you never know, but Beyond Vision was eight years after 2015’s Middle of Nowhere Center of Everywhere (discussed here, review here), and that was down from 10. But the reason I’m saying see Acid King now isn’t just that Lori S. is a hero and bassist/synthesist Bryce Shelton and drummer Jason Willer are so dead on in the nod, but it’s the songs they’re playing from Beyond Vision. The material itself. “Mind’s Eye” and “Destination Psych.” Closing with that insane build from “Color Trails?” Come on. Any chance you’re afforded, see this band.
Russian Circles
Chicago instrumentalist forerunners Russian Circles came out with a burst, hitting hard in the spirit of 2022’s Gnosis (review here) and building outward from there in multiple directions. Post-hardcore is part of it, but so is psychedelic rock and the occasional time-to-crush bit of riffery, and they’ve found a way to keep structured songs from falling into a verse/chorus trap. They genuinely sound like a band who listen to more kinds of music than the kind they make, amd benefit from it in being able not just to pay loud or quiet, but evoke a different feel from song to song. A lot of anything would have been a comedown after Acid King, but Russian Circles in the headlining spot had a level of volume that was their own as much as their sound, and as it had been a while, I was glad to watch them, or at least listen in a spot where the strobe wasn’t quite so fast. Even as Desertfest draws down, it delivers. There were even more bubbles.
—
It was good to see old friends, new friends, and Desertfest friends, since as the years have gone on I’ve found there are people I see here and that’s it. I take that as a good sign — though I suspect I’d see more people if I went out more — since it means people are coming back, which is the ideal. Desertfest delivered a show to New York a show and a lineup worthy of the Desertfest brand, and I hope it continues to bring European acts over each year as it did in 2024 with Dozer, Spaceslug, Green Lung, Domkraft, Truckfighters, Belzebong, even Amenra. They’ve been working to build a sense of community since the inception, and between killer shows and returning patrons, I’d say they’re on their way.
A note about the Texas stage today before I leave off. I only got (some) photos of High Desert Queen, but I did get to pop in for some of Beinn and Trace Amount as well. I’d never seen either, so at least a few songs. Beinn were a pleasant surprise, kind of a heavy-ended post-hardcore thing, I heard some noise rock and some Cave In, and they went for it on stage, as did Brooklyn industrialist Trace Amount, whose studio work I’ve dug in a kind of machine-misanthropic vibe. On stage, it’s just Brandon Gallagher, and he was all-in, pacing back and forth and throwing himself around, screaming and in the crowd headbanging. It was by no means packed, but I respect the one-man show for sure. Not easy to keep up energy when you’re by yourself. Ask a standup comedian. Tower headlined the room and they continue to make a party out of trad metal in a way that is only endearing.
Thank you to Reece, Sarika, and the Desertfest crew. Thank you to Tim Bugbee, Dante Torrieri, the Great Tomoko, and Sean in the photo pit, and I’m sorry for taking up space. Thanks to everybody who said hi or something nice about the site — or both — and I can’t tell you how warm and welcoming it felt to be in a place where I felt like what I do matters to someone, even just a little bit. Thank you. Thank you for reading. And thanks, as always and most of all, to The Patient Mrs., though whom all things are possible.
More pics after the jump. And I’m mostly taking tomorrow (Monday) off to catch up on writing. Back Tuesday. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take a 90-minute shower.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 24th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Oh, you know, no big deal. It’s just Desertscene (the folks behind Desertfest London) and Heavy Psych Sounds (the foremost European heavy imprint and booking concern) pairing up for a London-based Heavy Psych Sounds Fest this November with Dozer, Black Rainbows, Lord Dying, Black Tusk, Alunah, The Cosmic Dead, Margarita Witch Cult, Child, Josiah, MR.BISON and The Clamps at The Underworld and The Black Heart. Oh wait, that is a big deal, and awesome besides. Like a mini-Desertfest, tucked right in there after the end of the always-busy Eurofestival October. Killer bill, killer clubs. Dozer and Josiah in the same lineup alone. Total no-brainer. If you can go, just go. Trust me, the rest of us will wish we could too.
From the PR wire:
*** HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST LONDON 2024 ***
– LINEUP + TICKETS PRESALE ANNOUNCED –
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST returns to London after four years this fall to make Camden Town rumble and crumble under the mighty fuzz assault of some of the most revered bands in the stoner, doom, psych and heavy rock scene!
The festival will proudly welcome Swedish stoner rock royalty Dozer, Portland genre-bending heavy metallers Lord Dying, and Savannah swamp sludge specialists Black Tusk for the first time. Fuzz and buzz will be supplied by some of the finest live acts from the HPS roster with stoner rock icons Black Rainbows, Scottish space rock explorers The Cosmic Dead, Birmingham’s soulful proto-rock merchants Alunah and occult doom revelers Margarita Witch Cult, Italian heavy psych goldsmiths Mr.Bison and speed stoner’n’roll unit The Clamps, as well as UK heavy psych veterans Josiah. Fans of the finest psychedelic blues be delighted by an exclusive UK appearance of Australia’s own Child.
Curated by two major players of the European & UK heavy rock scene with London’s fuzz-worshipping Desertscene and leading independent heavy rock label Heavy Psych Sounds, this decibel-charged weekender promises to be one for the books, so don’t wait to book your ticket!
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST LONDON 2024 @ The Underworld // 2nd November 2024 @ The Black Heart // 3rd November 2024
– LINEUP – DOZER BLACK RAINBOWS LORD DYING BLACK TUSK THE COSMIC DEAD ALUNAH MARGARITA WITCH CULT CHILD JOSIAH MR.BISON THE CLAMPS
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 4th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I’m not at all at a place in my life where I could even if I was ever to be invited — which, in a conservative estimate I’ll say is struck-by-lightning-and-live-level unlikely — but man, I’d love to go on this tour. Imagine following Dozer, Gozu and High Desert Queen as they traipse across the US colluding on the delivery of ultra-fine heavy rock and roll for nine days, including stops at Desertfest New York and Ripplefest Texas both. Damn that’d be fun. Also tiring. And my wife would have my ass, if my entering-first-grade daughter didn’t get to kicking it first. Nonetheless, even the daydream of hurry-up-and-wait tour existence is fun in this case.
I think the last time Dozer were in the US was 2000? Something like that. I seem to recall they played the Brighton Bar in my beloved Garden State, but I could be wrong about that. They return Stateside in 2024 riding the utter triumph of their 2023 return LP, Drifting in the Endless Void (review here), which indeed is a cause worth heralding. I was lucky enough to catch Dozer last summer supporting the album (review here) and even luckier that it wasn’t my first time seeing the band, but to have them hit the US (and a lil bit of Canada!) alongside Gozu — their 2023 album, Remedy (review here), remains a standout — and High Desert Queen, who issued their widely anticipated second album, Palm Reader (review here) in May, is even better.
Mark it a win, kids. Poster and such from the ol’ social media:
USA! Endless void tour is coming for you this September…are you ready? 🤘 Support by @highdesertqueen and @gozu_band_boston
DOZER – Endless Void US Tour 2024 feat. Gozu & High Desert Queen 09.13 Braintree MA Widowmaker Brewing 09.14 Queens NY Desertfest NYC 09.15 Montreal QC Piranha Bar 09.16 Toronto ON The Garrison 09.17 Grand Rapids MI Pyramid Scheme 09.18 Chicago IL Reggies Rock Club 09.19 Omaha NE Reverb Lounge 09.20 Oklahoma City OK Resonant Head 09.21 Austin TX Ripplefest Texas
DOZER is: Tommi Holappa – Guitar Fredrik Nordin – Guitar/Vox Johan Rockner – Bass Sebastian Olsson – Drums
