Week two, day one. Day six. However you look at it, it’s 10 more records for the Summer 2022 Quarterly Review, and that’s all it needs to be. I sincerely hope you had a good weekend and you arrive ready to dig into new music, most of which you’ve probably already encountered — because you’re cool like that and I know it — but maybe some you haven’t. In any case, there’s good stuff today and plenty more to come this week, so bloody hell, let’s get to it.

Quarterly Review #51-60:

Celestial Season, Mysterium I

After confirming their return via 2020’s striking The Secret Teachings (review here), Netherlands-based death-doom innovators Celestial Season embark on an ambitious trilogy of full-lengths with Mysterium I, which starts with its longest song (immediate points) in the heavy-hitting single “Black Water Rising,” but is more willing to offer string-laced beauty in darkness in songs like “The Golden Light of Late Day,” which transitions fluidly into “Sundown Transcends Us.” That latter cut, third of seven total on the 40-minute LP, provides some small hint of the band’s more rock-minded days, but the affair is plenty grim on the whole, whatever slightly-more-uptempo riffy nod might’ve slipped through. “This Glorious Summer” hits the brakes for a morose slog, while “Endgame” casts it lot in more aggressive speed at first, dropping to strings for much of its second half before returning to the deathly chug. The pair “All That is Known” and “Mysterium” close in massive and lurching form, and not that there was any doubt about this group 30 years on from the band’s founding, but yeah, they still got it. No worries. The next two parts are reportedly due before the end of next year, and one looks forward to knowing where the rest of the story-in-sound goes from here. If it’s down, they’re already there.

Celestial Season on Facebook

Burning World Records website

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Noorvik, Hamartia

Post. Metal. Also post-metal. The third full-length from Koln-based instrumental four-piece Noorvik, Hamartia, glides smoothly between atmosphere and aggression, the band’s purposes revealed as much in their quiet moments as in those where the guitar comes forward and present a more furious face. In the subdued reaches of “Ambrosia” (10:00) or even opener “Tantalos” (6:55), the feeling is still tense, to where over the course of the record’s 68 minutes, you’re almost waiting for the kick to come, which it reliably does, but the form that takes varies in subtle ways and the bleeding of songs into each other like “Omonoia” into “Ambrosia” — which crushes by the time it’s done — the delving into proggy astro-jazz on “Aeon” and the reaching heights of “Atreides” (which TV tells me is a Dune reference) assure that there’s more than one path that gets Noorvik to where they’re going. At 15:42, “The Feast” is arguably the most bombastic and the most ambient both, but if that’s top and bottom, the spaces in between are no less coursing, and in their willingness to be metal while also being post-metal, Noorvik bring excitement to a style that’s made a trope of its hyper-cerebral nature. This has that and might also wreck your house, and if you don’t think that’s a big difference, ask your house.

Noorvik on Facebook

Tonzonen Records website

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Doctors of Space, Mind Surgery

Wait. What? You mean to tell me that right now there are some people in the world who aren’t about to dig on 78 minutes’ worth of improvised psychedelic synth and guitar drones? Like, real people? In the world? What kind of terrible planet is this? Obviously, for Doctors of Space — Scott “Dr. Space” Heller (Øresund Space Collective) on synth, Martin Weaver (Wicked Lady) on guitar — this planet is nowhere near cool enough, and while it’s fortunate for the cosmos at large that once shared, these sounds have launched into the broader reaches of the solar system where they’ll travel as waves to be interpreted by some future civilization perhaps millions of years from now that evolved on a big silly rock a long, long way from here and those people will finally be the audience Doctors of Space richly deserve. But on Earth? Beyond a few loyal weirdos, I don’t know. And no, Doctors of Space aren’t shooting for mass appeal so much as interstellar manifestation through sound, but they do break out the drum machine on 23-minute closer “Titular Parody” to add a sense of ground amid all that antigravity float. Nonetheless, Mind Surgery is far out even for far out. If you think you’re up to it, get your head in the right mode first, because they might just open that thing up by the time they’re done.

Doctors of Space on Facebook

Space Rock Productions website

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Astral Pigs, Our Golden Twilight

Pull Astral Pigs‘ second album, Our Golden Twilight, out of the context of the band’s penchant for vintage exploitation horror and porn and the record’s actually pretty cool. The title-track and slower-rolling “Brass Skies/Funeral March” top seven minutes in succession following instrumental opener “Irina Karlstein,” and spend that time in nod-inducement that goes from catchy-and-kinda-slow to definitely-slow-and-catchy before the long stretch of organ starts the at least semi-acoustic “The Sigil” and “Dragonflies” renews the density of lumbering fuzz, the English-language lyrics from the Argentina-based four-piece giving a duly ceremonious feel to the doomly drama unfolding, but long song or shorter, their vibe is right on and well in league with DHU Records‘ ongoing fascination with aural cultistry. The Hammond provided by bassist/producer Fabricio Pieroni isn’t to be ignored for what it brings to the songs, but even just on the strength of their guitar and bass tones and the mood they conjure throughout, Our Golden Twilight, though just 25 minutes long, unquestionably flows like a full-length record.

Astral Pigs on Facebook

DHU Records store

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Carson, The Wilful Pursuit of Ignorance

No question, Carson have learned their lessons well, and I’ll admit, it’s been a while since a basically straightforward, desert-derived heavy rock record hit me with such an impression of songwriting as does their second full-length, The Wilful Pursuit of Ignorance. Issued through Sixteentimes Music, the eight-track/36-minute outing from the Lucerne-via-New-Zealand-based unit plays off influences like Kyuss, Helmet (looking at you, title-track), Dozer, Unida, and so on, and honest to goodness, it’s refreshing to hear a band so ready and willing to just kick ass musically. Not saying that an album with a title like this doesn’t have anything deeper to say, just that Carson make their offering without even a smidgeon of pretense about where they’re coming from, and from opener “Dirty Dream Maker” onward, their melody, their groove, their transitions and sharper turns are right on. It’s classic heavy rock, done impeccably well, made modern. A work of genre that argues in favor of itself and the style as a whole. If you were introducing someone to riff-based heavy, Carson would do the trick just fine.

Carson on Facebook

Sixteentimes Music website

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Isaurian, Deep Sleep Metaphysics

Comprised of vocalist Hoanna Aragão, guitarist/vocalist Jorge Rabelo (also keys, co-production, etc.), guitarist Guilerme Tanner, bassist Renata Marim and drummer Roberto Tavares, Brazil’s Isaurian adapt post-rock patience and atmospheric guitar methods to a melody-fueled heavy purpose. Production value is an asset working in their favor on their second full-length, Deep Sleep Metaphysics, and seems to be a consistent factor throughout their work since Matt Bayles and Rhys Fulber produced their first two EPs in 2017. Here it’s Muriel Curi (Labirinto) and Chris Common (Pelican, many others), who bring a decided sense of space that’s measurable from the locale difference in Aragão‘s and Rabelo‘s vocal levels from opener “Árida” onward. Their intensions vary throughout — “For Hypnos” has “everybody smokes pot”-esque gang chants near its finish, “The Dream to End All Dreams” is a piano-inclusive guitar-flourish instrumental, “Autumn Eyes” is duly mellow and brooding, “Hearts and Roads” delivers culmination in a brighter melodic wash ahead of a bonus Curi remix of the opener — but it’s the melodic nuance and the clarity of sound that pull the songs together and distinguish the band. They’ve been tagged as “heavygaze” and various other ‘-gaze’ whathaveyou, and they borrow from that, but their drive toward fidelity of sound makes them something else entirely. They should tour Europe asap.

Isaurian on Instagram

Isaurian on Bandcamp

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Kadavermarch, Into Oblivion

Hints of Kadavermarch‘s metallic origins — members having served in Helhorse, Illdisposed, as well as the Danish hip-hop group Tudsegammelt, and others — sneak into their songs both in the more upfront manner of harsher backing vocals on “The Eschaton” and the subsequent “Abyss,” and in some of the double-guitar work throughout, though their first album, Into Oblivion, sets their loyalties firmly in heavy rock. Uncle Acid may be an influence in terms of vocal melody, but the riffs throughout cuts like “Satanic” and “Reefer Madness” and the galloping “Flowering Death” are bigger and feel drawn in part from acts like The Sword and Baroness, delivered with a sharp edge. It’s a fascinating blend, and the recording on Into Oblivion lets it shine with a palpable band-in-the-room sensibility and stage-style energy, while still allowing enough breadth for a build like that in the finale “Beyond the End” to pay off the record as a whole. Capable craft, a sound on its way to being their own, a turquoise vinyl pressing, and a pedigree to boot — there’s nothing more I would ask of Into Oblivion. It feels like an opening salvo for a longer-term progression and I hope it is precisely that.

Kadavermarch on Facebook

Target Group on Bandcamp

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Büzêm, Here

The violence implied in the title “Regurgitated Ambition Consuming Itself” takes the form of a harsh wall of noise drone that, once it starts, continues to unfurl for the just-under-eight-minute duration of the first of two pieces on Büzêm‘s more simply named Here EP. The Portland, Maine, solo art project of bassist/anythingelse-ist Finn has issued a range of exploratory outings, mostly EPs and experiments put to tape, and that modus very much suits the avant vibe throughout Here, which is markedly less caustic in the more rumbling “In an Attempt to Become the Creator” — presumably about Jackson Roykirk — the 10 minutes of which are more clearly the work of a standalone bass guitar, but play out with a sense of the human presence behind, as perhaps was the intention. Here‘s stated purpose is meditative if disaffected, Finn turning mindfulness into an already-in-progress armageddon display, and fair enough, but the found recording at the end, or captured footsteps, whatever it is, relate intentions beyond the use of a single instrument. Not ever going to be universally accessible, nonetheless pushing the kind of boundaries of what’s-a-song that need to be pushed.

Büzêm on Facebook

BÜZÊM on Bandcamp

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Electric Mountain, Valley Giant

Can’t mess with this kind of heavy rock and roll. The fuzz runs thick, the groove is loose (not sloppy), and the action is go from start to finish. Electric Mountain‘s second LP, Valley Giant digs on classic desert-style heavy vibes, with “Vulgar Planet” riffing on Kyuss and Fu Manchu only after “Desert Ride” has dug headfirst into Nebula via Black Rainbows and cuts like “Outlanders” and the hell-yes-wah-bass of big-nodder “Morning Grace” have set the stage for stoner and rock, by, for and about being what it is. Picking highlights, it might be “A Fistful of Grass” for the angular twists of fuzz in the chorus, but “Vulgar Planet” and the penultimate acoustic cut “At Last Everything” both make a solid case ahead of the eight-plus-minute instrumental closing jam “A Thousand Miles High.” The band’s 2017 self-titled debut (also on Electric Valley Records) was a gem as well, and if they can get some forward momentum going on their side after Valley Giant, playing shows, etc., they’d be well placed at the head of the increasingly crowded Mexico City underground.

Electric Mountain on Facebook

Electric Valley Records website

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Hush, The Pornography of Ruin

Also stylized all-caps with punctuation — perhaps a voice commanding: HUSH. — Hudson, New York, five-piece Hush conjure seven songs and 56 minutes of alternately sprawling and oppressive atmospheric sludge on their third full-length, The Pornography of Ruin, and if you take that to mean the quiet parts are spaced and the heavy parts are crushing, well, that’s true too, but not exclusively the case. Amid lyrical poetry, melodic ranging, slamming rhythms — “There Can Be No Forgiveness Without the Shedding of Blood” walks by and waves, its hand bloody — and harsh shouts and screams, Hush shove, pull, bite and chew the consciousness of their listener, with the 12-minute “By This You Are Truly Known” pulling centerpiece duty with mostly whispers and ambience in a spread-out midsection, bookended by more slow-churning pummel. Followed by the shorter “And the Love of Possession is a Disease with Them,” the keyboard-as-strings “The Sound of Kindness in the Voice” and the likewise raging-till-it-isn’t-then-when-it-is-again closer “At Night We Dreamed of Those We Were Stolen From,” the consumption is complete, and The Pornography of Ruin challenges its audience with the weight of its implications and tones alike. And for whatever it’s worth, I saw these guys in Brooklyn a few years back and they fucking destroyed. They’ve expanded the sound a bit since then, but this record is a solid reminder of that force.

Hush on Instagram

Hush on Bandcamp

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Texas sabo rockers Peth release their debut album, Merchant of Death, May 27 through Electric Valley Records and The Cosmic Peddler. The eight-tracker is a proto-metaller’s buffet o’ riffs, drawing on the early 1970s birth of post-psychedelic heavy, bluesy rock and roll and meeting it with a semi-modern presentation that both hints at where the four-piece are coming from stylistically and wouldn’t be so out of place next to any number of Swedish or German outfits of similar mind, though as “Dwarvanaught” reinvents Black Sabbath‘s “After Forever” riff in the first 10 seconds of the record or so, there is something particularly brazen about Merchant of Death as Peth seem from the start to be willing to bend or break the rules of genre to suit their needs.

Later on, the title-track will play mashup with Sabbath‘s “The Wizard” and their take on “Warning,” both from their own first album, but the prior “Run the Night” is more ’80s-derived: “Mob Rules.” It’s not all Black Sabbath — though enough is for one to perhaps think of Peth as being Orchid-influenced — as “Amok” digs into weirdo cult rock vibes en route to its righteously twisting finish and “Let Evil In” answers that song’s creeping sensibility with a, well, Iommi-style lead swapping channels and a strutting, showy finish, but either way, like Orchid before them, Peth aren’t trying to get away with anything. The PR wire below makes the case that Black Sabbath aren’t the band’s only influence, and of course that’s true — “Let Evil In” is probably the source of the Venom comparison below, for example — however prominent they may be in their sound. Vocals vary, and the production throughout is raw enough to be evocative of some lost private-press release without losing that aesthetic value or taking away from the songs. Some parts will be familiar, some less so, like anything.

“Stoned Wizard” has swagger enough for the entire record at what’s probably the close of side A, following “Let Evil In” and the “Symptom of the Universe”-crunch of “Abolish the Overseer,” which soon enough finds its own galloping path, and is emblematic of a big part of the appeal of Merchant of Death as a whole in that the focus is on how smoothly Peth execute their material and what of themselves they bring to it. One can hear that in the energy of “Dwarvanaught” or “Amok” and throughout the record, however specific their sonic references along the way might be. They cap the album with the 10-minute “Karmic Debt,” which highlights the burgeoning prog-blues aspirations of many bands of the original heavy era, and it’s curious to think that Peth might share those aspirations. They wouldn’t be the first — even Witchcraft put out The Alchemist before dropping vintageism entirely — but after so much straight-ahead doom rock drive, the changes in “Karmic Debt,” which begins with a flowing jam before diving into harsher Venom-style rock to back up “Let Evil In” earlier before moving into its own solo-topped doom-swing closing section, are stark enough to speak of broader ambition.

Whether anything will come of that, who the hell knows. Assuredly, I don’t. But given that it’s fun to wonder and that Peth‘s first LP lends itself toward considerations of the future at all, one can only mark the album as a win for the band as they embrace the tenets of style in a way that’s theirs while eliciting knowing nods from elder heads. It is an encouraging start to an exploration that may or may not grow broader with time — most do, for what it’s worth — but more crucially, Merchant of Death finds Peth clear-headed in their worshipful purpose and still managing to begin to find a niche in sound of their own. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got dirtier as they went, but they’re already kicking dust in your eye. So dig that.

“Amok” premieres on the player below, followed by the aforementioned PR wire background on Merchant of Death and the band, preorder links, and so on.

Enjoy:

Peth, “Amok” track premiere

Electric Valley Records, in conspiracy with The Cosmic Peddler, presents PETH’s debut album, Merchant of Death, due out 27 May 2022 digitally and on multiple variations of vinyl.

Central Texas is well known for its underground heavy rock ‘n’ roll from the late ‘60s,’70s, and ‘80s: — a series of sounds different than any other place on earth have been originated and evolved from here time and time again. Fast forward some 50 years later and there are still the same hell-raisin, beer-drinking, guitar-slinging rock ‘n’ cowboys makin some noise in the Lone Star! Hence, it’s no surprise that in the 21st century, a band like PETH come along and start making some big ‘70s Texas noise!

Born in the middle of the 2020 pandemic, these four native Texans have been doin all the maniacal and lawless exploits with a wild mix of early ‘70s proto-metal and heavy psych/occult rock soundscapes matched to that of early Black Sabbath, Scorpions, Medusa, Venom, Blue Cheer, Pentagram, ZZ Top, and the likes. Conjuring evil guitarmonies (what they call guitar harmonies), explosive trucking bass and drum section, and two knock-out vocalists, PETH truly help preserve the spirit of Texas’s old way of life while helping usher in this new era of rock ‘n’ roll for generations to follow.

PETH’s debut LP, Merchant of Death, is a hidden gem of the ‘70s/’80s metal invasion, but got discovered in the 21st century. The album in part brings menacing aggressions, in part brings breathtaking rhythms, but steers clear of the modern, lustrous sonic aesthetics. Roll out the red carpet for Merchant of Death and revel in the wilderness.

Track Listing:
1. Dwarvanaught
2. Amok
3. Abolish the Overseer
4. Let Evil In
5. Stoned Wizard
6. Run the Night
7. Merchant of Death
8. Karmic Debt

Credits:
Recorded at l Lunatic Sounds Studios in Austin, TX, by Gian Ortiz and Mastered by Brandon Moscheo.

Artwork by EVR Studio.

Available Formats:

DIGITAL

&

— VINYL —
Electric Valley Records Editions:
— 2x Test Press Vinyl
— 120x DDGalaxy Black/White Vinyl
— 30x Ultra LTD “Merchant Edition”

The Cosmic Peddler/US Editions:
—2x Test Press
— 150x Transparent Purple with Black Splatter

Pre-Order:
https://www.electricvalleyrecords.com/products (Vinyl + Merch)
https://evrecords.bandcamp.com/album/peth-merchant-of-death (Vinyl + Merch + Digital)
https://thecosmicpeddler.com (Vinyl – US editions)

Peth Linktree

Peth on Facebook

Peth on Instagram

Peth on YouTube

Peth on Bandcamp

Electric Valley Records on Bandcamp

Electric Valley Records on Facebook

Electric Valley Records on Twitter

Electric Valley Records on Instagram

Electric Valley Records website

Copenhagen-based psych-informed doom rockers Lucid Grave have signed to Electric Valley Records to release Cosmic Mountain, their debut album. The five-piece released their latest single “Surfer Bat” — which, rest assured, does feature waves of blood — in 2021 as a cassette through Virkelighedsfjern and noted at the time that they were working toward a follow-up to early 2020’s Goddess of Misery, which Cosmic Mountain will of course be.

Obviously their ability to get out and support that first record was stymied by some little thing that you probably heard about that completely uprooted humanity’s former concept of ‘normal’ — what was it called again? — and so it’s unknown just how much time they’ll spend on the road for the new one, but hell, maybe let’s let them get through actually putting the album out before we start with the booking questions. I’m curious how the playful goth in “Surfer Bat” might show up on Cosmic Mountain or if the record might go in a different direction entirely. One way to find out, which at this point is to wait.

From the socials or the internet or wherever:

Electric Valley Records is proud to announce the signing of the Heavy Psych Doom band…

Lucid Grave

Lucid Grave is a dark heavy psychedelic rock band with stoner-doomy tendencies from Copenhagen, Denmark. Their haunting inspiration emerges from the 70’s heavy rock from like Black Sabbath/Coven/Hawkwind, and to the 80’s punk scene like Black Flag/The Nuns. They been described as a tribute to the howling occult cinema from the 80’s. In 2021 they released a single called “Surfer Bat” – A bloody upbeat 70’s heavy Rock inspired song! They went back to the studio in early 2022, to record their first full length album ”Cosmic Mountain”. The album is a journey through your favorite drugs of life, the highs and the lows, being chased through the desert and fighting a haze of demons.

Stay Tuned

Lucid Grave is:
Malene (Vocal)
Casper, Kriller (Guitar)
Jon (Drums)
Alex (Bass)

https://www.facebook.com/LucidGrave/
https://www.instagram.com/_lucid_grave_/
https://lucidgrave.bandcamp.com/
http://electricvalleyrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/electricvalleyrecords
https://www.instagram.com/electricvalleyrecord
https://www.evrecords.bandcamp.com

Lucid Grave, “Surfer Bat”

Sardinian heavy rockers Mano de Mono release their debut album, Chameleon Tongue, April 15 on Electric Valley Records. They seem to take multiple ecosystems under their wing in their presentation, from the sands of the beaches at Capo Comino Dunes Bay to a leafy rainforest where one might find the lizard on the righteous Jo Riou cover art standing out from its surroundings, to the falling timber sample that begins opener “Old Tired Tree,” to a heavy chug that, like their moniker, traces its source back to the ’90s Southern-style heavy of Corrosion of Conformity, touching on Pepper Keenan‘s earlier work in Down by the time they get to the more aggro approach in the penultimate “Easy to Fall” and the subsequent closer “Space Comanche,” with guitarist Athos Cherchi roughing up his vocals. But it’s the groove and the songwriting that’s paramount, and with a total lack of pretense and a seeming call to embrace what’s being posited as a kind of return-to-roots in terms of style, Cherchi, fellow guitarist Kiko De Santis, bassist Marco “Buzz” Murru and drummer Keko Magrini waste precious little time and effectively convey the intentions of their craft, which I’ll conjecture is to kick ass, chew bubblegum, with a need to get more bubblegum later on. Fair enough.

It would be underselling the interplay between the guitar and bass on “Old Tired Tree” or the hooky title-track to say Chameleon Tongue isn’t focused on nuance — in fact, the tones and the mix both come across as having been paid due attention, and the according presentation of the album is no more easy to pin down in terms of landscape than it’s apparently intended to be — but set in balance with their songs’ straightforward structures, Mano de Mono nonetheless engage more than directly challenge the listener, whatever brashness might come through in Cherchi‘s burly vocal style. “Lying Bones” is the most specifically C.O.C.-derived of the inclusions, tapping Deliverance-era riffing (it might be “Shake Like You” I’m hearing?), and that continues a bit into the airy start of “Strength Flow,” the guitar-led opening building on a Southern feel even before the rolling central riff of the side A finisher takes hold. They smoothly execute volume changes from subdued and bluesy to bigger nodding while foreshadowing the turn in “Easy to Fall,” but the key ultimately is the momentum they’re able to readily establish in the first half of the album, and that continues fluidly onto the second.

“Sons of Barabba” has a swing and swag that turns into push, but still isn’t as mean as it seemingly could be. By this time and into “Ruins,” which follows, the basic tenets of Mano de Mono‘s sound have been laid out, but there is some expansion to be had. Consider the punkish shove of “Ruins” and the crunch with which it’s paired. In under three and a half minutes, Mano de Mono are efficient here and in a song like “Chameleon Tongue” itself in a way that owes its foundation to a time in which tracks like these might’ve been radio singles. Now I suppose they’ll take their chances with the algorithm, but that kind of get-in-show-’em-what-you-got-get-out mindset, especially as they work their way toward the ending of side B in “Easy to Fall” and “Space Comanche” — one assumes the politics of appropriating indigenous groups is different when it’s an indigenous group for somewhere else — is essential to understanding the ’90s era from which they’re drawing influence, shades of grunge and harder-hitting fare finding themselves included in the meld of impulses on display here. And it is a meld, but nothing they’re doing feels beyond their reach, and just because something has straightforward ambitions doesn’t mean it’s simply done.

Mano de Mono nestle into a beginning point for a broader exploration of style, offering catchy choruses and thrown elbows all the while. In what direction they might go over the longer term remains to be seen, and of course part of the excitement of Chameleon Tongue is not knowing what will follow, but the underlying sureness of their songwriting speaks (loud) volumes about what it is that will allow them to go wherever they’re headed. Safe travels and thanks for the riffs.

It’s my pleasure to host the full stream of Chameleon Tongue below ahead of the release on Friday. PR wire whatnot follows beneath.

Please enjoy:

Mano de Mono, Chameleon Tongue album premiere

Mano de Mono on Chameleon Tongue:

The sound that characterizes the album refers mainly to the sounds of the 90s ranging between OctaFuzz, percussion from abysmal gravity and fat basslines similar to tar paste — a sound mixture that creates harmony and compactness to the final work. In the end, the band deals with themes focused mainly on the sociological discomfort that has been created by staying in a place that has little or nothing to offer, so they feel the urgency to fight to stay at their home and not give in to the desire to leave.

Mano De Mono – Chameleon Tongue
Vinyl:
www.electricvalleyrecords.com
www.evrecords.bandcamp.com

Available in:
– 4x Test Press
– 250x Solid Blue Vinyl
– 220x Transparent Yellow Splatter Green Vinyl
– 30x Ultra LTD “Chameleon Edition”
– Digital

Chameleon Tongue is the first LP of Sardinian band Mano De Mono, recorded during the hottest week of July 2021, mixed and mastered in the followin’ fall at Officina13 Studio. Eight tracks, four on each side respectively called “Inside” / “Outside”, are experiences through the new shapes of social constructs. The contradiction of a double life divided in anxiety to achieve social approval while being frustrated of its cold mechanisms. The cover artworks reflects the sides dichotomy in/out of the cage as a relatives points of view of who thinks itself free by the blind acceptance his own condition.

Totally refusing to face with the contemporary codes of aesthetics, careerism and latest trends that made the worst individualism became a strength, this record is a pure moan directly distilled from a misfit mental loop that hate the human behavior of submission and surrender but somehow have to deal with.

Mano De Mono refers to their style as “punk of the dunes” mostly because his social thematic , the sandy influenced sound and of course the place where they live. They won’t offer you any solution except leaving in you a stoned feeling of wanderlust.

Formed in 2018 in Capo Comino Dunes Bay, from an early project by Athos and Marco “Buzz” Murru, the duo recruited in 2019 drummer Keko Magrini and guitarist Kiko De Santis to complete the lineup and proceed working on original songs and its arrangements. Their sound is freely inspired by ‘90s Palm Desert Scene, NOLA, Seattle’s first wave in its heavy expressions and a punk spirit.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered Andrea Pica at “Studio Officina 13,” Olbia (Sardinia).

LINEUP:
Athos Cherchi: Voice, Guitars
Marco “Buzz” Murru: Bass
Kiko De Santis: Guitars
Keko Magrini: Drums

Mano de Mono, “Chameleon Tongue” official video

Mano de Mono on Facebook

Mano de Mono on Instagram

Mano de Mono on Bandcamp

Electric Valley Records on Bandcamp

Electric Valley Records on Facebook

Electric Valley Records on Twitter

Electric Valley Records on Instagram

Electric Valley Records website

There hasn’t been any word as yet of a release date, but the band has a new single up in the form of “I See the Hate in You,” which I’m pretty sure is a line from Star Wars, so that’s not nothing. You’ll recall that 2021’s Skullactic Visions (review here) was a gem — and if you didn’t recall, I just reminded you — and I see no reason that the band’s forward momentum either creatively or in terms of growing their listenership should abate.

All of which is to say that I’m looking forward to hearing more when the time comes. As it stands, I’m not even sure the record is done, let alone when it’ll be pressed and delivered, etc., but as far as relevant news stories go, ‘cool band signs to cool label’ is right up there with ‘two or more cool bands are touring together’ and ‘awesome festival announces lineup and it rules’ among my favorites. Kudos to LáGoon on the signing, the single and the impending long-player.

From various social media:

Electric Valley Records and Teschio Dischi are proud to announce the signing of the Heavy Riffers…

LáGoon

LáGoon is a heavy riffing trio currently lingering in Portland OR. The band was originally formed as a two piece in 2017.

Says the band: “We’ve signed to Electric Valley Records & Teschio Dischi for the release of our next full length album! The first single, I See the Hate in You, is now available on all digital platforms! Go give it a rip and let us know what you think!”

https://lagoonpdx.bandcamp.com/track/i-see-the-hate-in-you

Stay Tuned

LáGoon are:
Guitar/Vocals: Anthony Gaglia
Bass: Kenny Coombs
Drums: Brady Maurer

https://www.facebook.com/LaGoonPDX/
https://www.instagram.com/lagoonpdx/
https://lagoonpdx.bandcamp.com/
http://electricvalleyrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/electricvalleyrecords
https://www.instagram.com/electricvalleyrecord
https://www.evrecords.bandcamp.com
www.teschiodischi.bandcamp.com

LáGoon, “I See the Hate in You”

As of right now, this very second these words are appearing on my screen, there is one (1) copy of Mystery Dudes‘ 2019 First Blood EP available on tape left through their Bandcamp. They made a grand total of 54 of them to sell there and at shows, as if to demonstrate precisely what tapes are for and why they continue to serve a purpose in this digitally-focused, stream-everything age. I’m saying spend your hard-earned 85 NOK, but if you’ve got it, the release — also streaming below — gives fodder for a FOMO kick-in.

Now then. The good news is that whenever Mystery Dudes might present a follow-up to that EP, they’ll do so in association with Electric Valley Records, continuing a streak of righteous pickups from the label that also includes Electric Mountain from Mexico, When the Deadbolt Breaks, Crypt Monarch, on and on. In my head I’ve been composing a ‘labels to watch’ list — should probably put that in my notes, come to think of it — and Electric Valley are for sure on that list, the imprint having carved out a roster of talent at the behest of founder Marco Nieddu (also of 1782) that’s diverse in geography as well as sound while maintaining a heavy-for-heavy-heads-by-heavy-heads ethic.

I’ll keep an eye out for more on this one, and in the meantime try to stop myself from ordering that tape above while listening to the stream below. These are the challenges of doing what I do.

From socials:

MYSTERY DUDES – Electric Valley Records

Electric Valley Records is proud to announce the signing of the Heavy Rock band…

Mystery Dudes

Mystery Dudes will melt your face of with their eclectic, fuzzed out blend of stoner rock, punk and heavy psych.

Regardless of style, the sonic output is always heavy, hypnotic and hits you in all the right places at once!

Hailing from the far out corners of Norway’s wasteland, the hard hitting power-trio made Oslo their home base.

There they cultivated heavy riffs and catchy tunes in their secret lair, before unleashing the beast now known as Mystery Dudes!

Stay Tuned

Mystery Dudes:
Bjørnar Lien Roset – Guitar / Vocals
Rolf Bang – Bass
Ola Jørgen Kyrkjeeide – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/mysterydudes
http://instagram.com/mysterydudesband/
https://mysterydudes.bandcamp.com/
http://electricvalleyrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/electricvalleyrecords
https://www.instagram.com/electricvalleyrecord
https://www.evrecords.bandcamp.com

Mystery Dudes, First Blood (2019)

Well, I’ll give myself some credit for consistency at least. On June 12, 2018, I put up a post that — completely independently of this one — was titled ‘Electric Mountain Sign to Electric Valley Records,’ and had the same tags, same links and the same basic construction. Different picture, but hey, it’s been almost four years. You would hope they’d have a new photo to work with.

What this redux of that initial signing announcement tells me, or least hints toward, is that perhaps the new album that was spoken of then, has been completed. I’m not sure if it’s the same lineup (two-thirds, at least) that issued the 2017 self-titled debut through LSDR Records, but that record was right on — enough so that Electric Valley had picked it up for the vinyl — and if the next one’s on its way, that’s more riffs with which to thankfully contend.

Cool band, good pickup, and not a gray hair in the bunch. More people need to be signing young (or even young-ish) bands:

Electric Mountain – Electric Valley Records

We are super stoked to announce that our beloved heavy rockers Electric Mountain just signed with Electric Valley Records for their sophomore brand new album!

Electric Mountain is a heavy rock band from Mexico City, formed in 2013. Influenced by 70s rock and 90s desert/ stoner rock. Conformed by guitarist/vocalist Gibran Pérez, drummer Max Cabrera and bassist Jorge Trejo. The power trio is notorious for being a very loud and energetic live act. Fuzzy guitars, thunderous drums and a thick dirty bass is the name of the game. In 2017 they released their first self-titled album, released on cd by LSDR and on vinyl by Electric Valley Records.

They have shared the stage with bands like Elder and Blackwater Holylight amongst several other bands.

After a 2 year hiatus Electric Mountain is back with their second album, with a more mature and intricate sound, signed with Electric Valley Records.

The band is determined to take over every stage they set foot on.

https://facebook.com/110523381328173/
https://instagram.com/electricmountainband
https://electricmountainband.bandcamp.com/
http://electricvalleyrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/electricvalleyrecords
https://www.instagram.com/electricvalleyrecord
https://www.evrecords.bandcamp.com

Electric Mountain, Electric Mountain (2017)

This Friday, Cologne, Germany, three-piece Purple Dawn release their second album, Peace & Doom Session Vol. II, through Electric Valley Records. There is no substitute for efficiency, and the trio of bassist/vocalist Patrick Rose, guitarist Timo Fritz (who also produced/mixed) and drummer Florian Geiling make their point quickly as the intro “Bonganchamun” establishes the method of tone and rhythm that the rest of the 40-minute/seven-track offering will follow, serving as the answer back to late-2020’s Peace & Doom Session Vol. I (review here) while maintaining that LP’s abiding ethic of pretense-free riffage, doomed burl and groove so deep you gotta say it three times: groove, groove, groove.

It is an old and correct adage that Heavy-with-a-capital-‘h’ comes from the rhythm section, and listening to Rose‘s bass rumbling and Geiling‘s drums pushing forward in “100 Years in a Day” and adding swing to the Sabbathian stomp of “Old Fashioned Black Madness” only reproves it, but neither Fritz‘s riffs in the lead role nor the gruff — yes, I did almost type “frugg” there and somehow that feels right too — vocals that meet their patterning is to be denied. True to the Session in Peace & Doom Session, the sound is more raw than elaborate in terms of production and the overarching feel is live across side A, with its shorter, punchier pieces like “100 Years in a Day” or “Power to the People,” or side B, which starts off with the “Forever My Queen”-style riffing of the nine-minute “The Moon Song” and broadens the atmospheric scope.

And I won’t take away from the sonic expansion of those later cuts — “The Moon Song” giving way to the classic metal shove of “Death to a Dying World” before the closing “Bonganchamun Part II” builds on the mostly instrumental opener — but perhaps the message here is that Purple Dawn‘s intention is to give their listeners a sampling of the various facets of their persona as a group. The first Peace & Doom Session worked similarly, with five livestream tracks up front and an accompanying three studio ones in the back, so it shouldn’t necessarily be a surprise, even if it might seem odd outside of the band’s own context. Somehow I doubt they mind doing something different from the crowd.

That said, whether it’s “Death to a Dying World” or “Power to the People” earlier — the latter a heavy-hippie-perspective centerpiece that speaks readily to the band’s ideology corresponding to the LP’s title; the two songs might be ‘doom’ and ‘peace,’ in other words — what unites the material is the heft that comes in accordance with the atmosphere unfolding later. As they did last time out, Purple Dawn maintain a sense of weight even in their most floating sections of the two longer inclusions — that’s “The Moon Song” and “Death to a Dying World” here — and that makes Peace & Doom Session Vol. II flow all the more like, well, an album. Again, this can only be intentional, especially the second time around.

And listening to the longer tracks, I’d take a non-session record from Purple Dawn, even if it’s recorded live like this. Maybe they’ve found their thing and this is how they’ll work going forward — if it’s fun, more power to them — and it’s much to their credit that neither Peace & Doom Session Vol. II nor its predecessor feels uneven for being tracked live with varying intentions. Bottom line is they’re playing to style(s), but clearly coming from a place of love for things heavy and riffed. Nothing here hurts and even in the turn to longer tracks, it should be easy to follow for experienced heads. And did I mention groove? Three times? Good, because groove, groove, groove.

So groove:

https://soundcloud.com/qabarpr/sets/purple-dawn-peace-doom-session-vol-ii/s-G6ecL5cduue

Purple Dawn presents their second record, Peace & Doom Session Vol. II, comes 11 March 2022 digitally and on multiple variations of vinyl via Electric Valley Records.

Cologne-based Purple Dawn has always been the balance between things: hard riffing energy and heart-hitting melody, good and bad, high and low, future and past, and sometimes far and beyond. And that’s why the three-piece calls their music “Peace & Doom.” Heavily rooted in the psychedelic hard rock saturated doom metal, Purple Dawn offers an enthralling blend of both classic and modern sounding bands. While their devotion towards Sabbath, Pentagram, and Zeppelin is conspicuous, their love for bands like Mastodon, Rezn, Windhand, or Orange Goblin should not be overlooked. In contrast to the majority of bands in the genre, Purple Dawn is not shy away from having a variety of styles in their songs: it’s like putting on a Led Zeppelin record where no track sounds like the other.

The power trio emerged in early-2020, and a few months after their formation, they offered the Peace & Doom Session Vol. I. The A-Side of the album contains the complete Peace & Doom Session, recorded live in the band’s rehearsal room in Cologne, whereas the B-Side comprises three studio tracks.

The first Peace & Doom Session was well received by the community, and Purple Dawn kept the torch lit and continued writing songs, even though there was no chance for a live show due to the lockdown. “..So as we couldn’t get our music out to the people and public stages, there really was no other way than playing a gig to the cameras again. So we did…” The doom-power-trio hit a great studio in Oberhausen and recorded the second chapter of their live sessions: Peace & Doom Session Vol. II. Every song aims for a non-identical direction, but all have some elements in common: massive riffs, powerful vocals, and a very own atmosphere. PDS Vol. II starts and ends with an instrumental (almost) piece called “Bonganchamun.” The five songs in between are tales from nomad rituals in the desert to the oppressiveness of the depths of the sea — revolution, misguided minds, and the intrinsic evil of human beings. The record captures an unfaltering high-energy set of Purple Dawn’s doom rock and brings upon PEACE & DOOM.

Track Listing:
1. Bonganchamun
2. 100 Years a Day
3. Old Fashioned Black Madness
4. Power to the People
5. The Moon Song
6. Death to a Dying World
7. Bonganchamun Part II

Credits:
Timo Fritz: Guitars
Patrick Rose: Bass & Vocals
Florian Geiling: Drums

Purple Dawn on Facebook

Purple Dawn on Bandcamp

Electric Valley Records on Bandcamp

Electric Valley Records on Facebook

Electric Valley Records on Twitter

Electric Valley Records on Instagram

Electric Valley Records website