Posted in Whathaveyou on July 27th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Firebreather‘s new one is a banger of heads and a crusher of ribcages. The Gothenburg trio have been together a decade now and will issue their fourth full-length, Blood That I Spill Turns to Fire, on Oct. 16. It’s to be their first offering through Heavy Psych Sounds after releasing their first three albums through RidingEasy Records — their most recent LP was 2022’s Dwell in the Fog (review here) — and the first single taken from it is the title-track, “Blood That I Spill Turns to Fire.”
In true Firebreather style, they make that a hook, and amid their own tonal density, they craft a memorable groove and find clarity in distortion. It’s pummel, and Firebreather for sure have become reliable purveyors in that, but it also showcases how they’ve grown into their own sound over the last 10 years, which is what you want going into the new record as well. What I want, anyway.
Bottom line is it sounds killer, will look forward to more. The PR wire brought the following (except the tracklisting; that I found while checking dates on Metal Archives). Have at it:
Swedish sludge metal trio FIREBREATHER to release new album “Blood That I Spill Turns To Fire” on Heavy Psych Sounds; first track streaming!
Swedish sludge metallers FIREBREATHER have signed to Heavy Psych Sounds Records for the October 16th release of their new full-length “Blood That I Spill Turns to Fire”, and premiere the title track!
Firebreather formed in Gothenburg in 2016, rooted in crushing, sludge-doused doom from the very beginning. Never wavering from that commitment across all three of their incendiary full-length releases, the trio has pursued weight with purpose, not as spectacle, nor as an exercise in excess, but as the only language broad enough to hold the emotional reach and sonic heft of their sound.
The music arrives in a way that writes itself with no distance between the words and the sound; they rise from the same cursed ground, and that honesty has become the band’s defining force.âšFirebreather is a band that never postures or asks to be admired for their heaviness- and to see them live is to experience exactly why. Their weight takes on another life entirely. The bandâs towering tone and consuming grit don’t fill a room so much as alter it. Volume presses against the body before the first lyric lands and riffs arrive like shifting earth. The drums don’t drive the songs forward; they anchor them while the line between sound and physical force begins to disappear.
Years spent crossing Europe and North America have only sharpened that purpose, and a decade on with a fourth album on the way via the notorious Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Firebreather remains exactly where it belongs. Head down. Volume up.
Tracklisting: 1. Only in the Eyes of Others 2. El Cuervo 3. Blood That I Spill Turns to Fire 4. The Sorrow Hides 5. Protector of Realm 6. Against the Light 7. Shrines
FIREBREATHER is Mattias Nööjd – Vox/guitar Jacob Madetoja – Bass Joakim Olsson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 29th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
That’s a heavy night in June at the 2026 VĂ€sterĂ„s Doomfest, put on at least in part by members of hometown pummellers 10,000 Years and highlight the brasher side of Sweden’s heavy underground. If you’re gonna do that, you probably want Firebreather on the bill. Oh, and Spelljammer. Oh, and, yeah, 10,000 Years too. I could keep doing this if you want. Never mind.
You may have noticed HĂ€stspark also played the Norwegian Tundra and Lightning festival, and they also played Truckfighters Fuzz Fest in 2023. Their 2025 video for “Sounds of Her Nature” reveals that the recording was helmed by Johan Rockner (Dozer) and that Robert Lamu (Skraeckoedlan) mixed. No wonder the song sounds so good. Maybe more to come in the New Year?
From socials:
VĂSTERĂ S DOOMFEST 2026
Death Valley Productions presents in partnership with Merchprint and O’Learys VaÌsteraÌs:
FIREBREATHER
Sweden’s number one riff gods. Created from Matt Pike’s ribs, they thunder over Sweden, Europe and the world and put everything under ruins. Now it’s finally time to VĂ€sterĂ„s to get a taste of the car and we are very happy to announce Firebreather as the headliner for VĂ€sterĂ„s Doomfest 2026!
SPELLJAMMER
Lead-heavy and desert dusty riffdoom custom tailored for cosmic travel
HĂSTSPARK
Modern sounding stoner rock that delivers up to its name, straight in solar plexus
10,000 YEARS
VÀsterÄs own stonermetal heroes
HEXJAKT
Classic stonerdoom in updated blackfair gun
KLASTOS
Dirty chopper sledge with the fists in the highest chop
DARK OCEAN CIRCLE
Stoner-turned fuzz rock that always offers to dance
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Nobody seems to want to talk about it, myself included, but the heavy underground has a persistent thread of mental health problems such that when I see someone involved, whether that’s a musician, fan, or somebody else adjacent to the music has died, especially died young, it’s almost assumed they’ve taken their own life. I don’t think that’s the case in other communities, but it is a sad reality in doom and heavy rock and roll. I’m not really sure what can be done about it beyond broader political reform in healthcare and social services — at least in the States, though as illustrated below this is by no means only a US-wide concern — and no matter who ends up being the next American president, I’m not holding out much hope for it. We got Obamacare once and the insurance industry is still trying to take it apart. They may yet.
I will not mince words and say I’ve never thought of taking my own life. There are times where killing myself seems like the most kind, most generous and most giving thing I can do for my family and those around me. The best way I can serve them is to remove my own inherently toxic presence. I recognize this view as skewed — suicide devastates, irrevocably — but I’ve been there, too, and when you’re in it it’s that much harder to see clearly. If you have ever felt that way or know someone who has, then you might understand where Sweden’s Suicide Records is coming from in putting together the new compilation, In the Loving Memory of You, as a benefit for the organization Suicide Zero.
And if you’ve ever been there or you’re there now — in it — I won’t patronize you by putting a hotline number here. If you’re looking for a thing to hang onto, hang onto the music. That’s what I do. And if you do want to talk about it — guessing you don’t, since nobody does — I’m here for that too.
Comp is out Sept. 10. Here’s info from the PR wire:
Suicide Records Releases Unique Compilation Album in Benefit of Suicide Zero
Suicide Records, the groundbreaking record label from Gothenburg, announces the release of their unique compilation album, In the Loving Memory of You, on September 10th, 2024. This album, featuring 16 bands with brand new songs, aims to support Suicide Zero, a Swedish non-profit organization dedicated to preventing suicide since 2013. All proceeds from the album will go directly to Suicide Zero.
Every six hours, someone commits suicide in Sweden, totaling four lives lost daily, not including drug overdoses or “accidents”. Roger Andersson, founder of Suicide Records, knows this pain personally. “After three incredibly tragic deaths among my close ones, there is no other path to take. I simply MUST do this,” he says. The album reflects emotions like anger, grief, and despair, hoping to aid in raising substantial funds for Suicide Zero’s essential work.
In the Loving Memory of You showcases a powerful lineup: Grand Cadaver, Skitsystem, Knivad, Demonic Death Judge (Finland), M:40, Downfall Of Gaia (Germany), The Moth Gatherer, BesvÀrjelsen, Novarupta and Firebreather among others. Most notably, punk icons Skitsystem will release their first new song in 18 years on this compilation.
Mikael Stanne (Grand Cadaver, The Halo Effect, Dark Tranquillity) remarked, “When we were approached to contribute, it was a no-brainer. Music is therapy for many, and we hope to help raise as much money as possible for Suicide Zero.”
Founded in 2006 by Roger Andersson, Suicide Records has released over a hundred records, sticking to the philosophy of only releasing music worth paying for. Roger’s personal journey from addiction to becoming a key figure in Gothenburg’s music scene is a testament to his resilience and passion for music.
In December 2022, and again in April 2023, Roger faced tragic losses due to suicide within his family. These events, followed by the overdose death of a close friend, spurred Roger into action. He decided to use his connections in the music industry to create something positive out of his sorrow, leading to the creation of In the Loving Memory of You.
1. Grand Cadaver – Long Lost Light 2. Fredag den 13:e – Ănglamakerskan 3. The Moth Gatherer – Black Lung 4. Knivad – Isen förlamar 5. M:40 – Tyngdlös 6. Skitsystem – Evig vinter 7. Downfall of Gaia – Concrete Cemeteries. 8. Demonic Death Judge – Poisoner 9. Division of Laura Lee – Vanishing Act 10. Firebreather – Last Train 11. Fabian Brusk Jahn – Perciption of the past 12. BesvĂ€rjelsen – Velvet Sky 13. Novarupta – Mosaic 14. Ulmus – Silenci 15. Guhts – Burn My Body 16. Rainbird – Going Down
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 1st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Staring at the poster of the finished lineup, there’s nothing more to do than congratulate the Desertscene crew on Desertfest London 2023. You could spend an entire day at any single stage in any single venue and call it front-to-back a good time. I’ve been posting festival lineups for Desertfest since it started in 2012 and this is the biggest and best it’s ever been. If you’re going, I’ll tell you flat out I’m jealous. It looks like it will be an amazing experience, and right up to the last lineup announcement, it’s quality as much as quantity when it comes to who is playing, on what stage, and when. It is the heavy festival ideal; a lineup that crosses generations and geographies to give those fortunate enough to be there something they’ll never forget.
So that’s it. Go if you can. Here’s the reportedly final update:
Desertfest London announces final bands and day splits for 2023, including Nebula, Dozer, Fatso Jetson + more
Desertfest London have announced the final bands and day-splits for 2023’s line-up, which will be taking place across Camden from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th May and promises to be heavier than the King’s coronation crown.
The final few bands to join the already stellar line-up includes the heavy groove rocking trio Nebula, Sweden’s stalwarts of stoner Dozer and the godfathers of the Desert Fatso Jetson. French post-metallers Year Of No Light will also be playing their first London show since 2013.
Also joining the line-up is Antwerp’s Gnome who will bring their dirty riffs, anarcho-punks Bad Breeding to get everyone fired up and acclaimed virtuoso Cellist Jo Quail to bring another dynamic to proceedings.
Electric Funeral will also be keeping the party going with a Sabbath covers set at Friday night’s after party and the festival is completed with Elder Druid, Kurokuma, Firebreather, Earth Moves, Untitled With Drums, Graywave, Mountains, Rosy Finch, Lowen, Homecoming, Wall and Death Wvrm.
The final additions join festival headliners and cult heroes Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats who will be playing the Roundhouse for the very first time. As one of the most widely-requested bands in the Desertfest-sphere, Uncle Acid’s trippy and melodic riff-driven hard-rock is uniquely original, yet an utterly timeless beast and will close Desertfest 2023 in a mystical cloud of doom and awe.
Friday’s headliners are none other than Swedish heavy-blues maestros Graveyard who will draw out raw emotion with their lyrical prowess & introspective compositions whilst Saturday welcomes back Corrosion of Conformity who have not been on UK soil since 2018 so expect big, loud and memorable things from their appearance at the festival!
Full Line-Up for Desertfest London 2023:
FRIDAY 5TH MAY ELECTRIC BALLROOM GRAVEYARD KADAVAR CHURCH OF MISERY VALLEY OF THE SUN SPACESLUG ELECTRIC FUNERAL (AFTER PARTY)
UNDERWORLD DISCHARGE BAD BREEDING DAWN RAY’D KUROKUMA TERROR COSMICO
POWERHAUS YEAR OF NO LIGHT SUM OF R EARTH MOVES WYATT E IRON JINN
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 23rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
There are a bunch of ticket links here, which, hey, if you happen to be in one of cities listed below and up for hitting the gig, might be helpful. I don’t know. It doesn’t make the post look any neater — and you know I’m all about aesthetics and visual presentation; hence the by-now-retro theme of this site — but I left them there just in case. If you click one and go to the show, fair enough.
Firebreather and The Well, aside from being labelmates on RidingEasy Records and under the general umbrella of ‘heavy music’, don’t have a ton in common sound-wise, and I think that’s a good thing. They’ll complement each other well, with the bombast of the former and the semi-cultish weirdo-heavy rawness of the latter, and while Firebreather‘s Dwell in the Fog (review here) will have been out for more than a year by the time this run starts, it’s still their first time supporting it in the States. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect some new material live from The Well, meanwhile, since their most recent album, Death and Consolation (review here), came out in 2019.
In any case, it’s a solid run little less than a month, and I’m curious to see where that TBA date puts them:
PREPARE THE FIRE !!! THE WELL x FIREBREATHER FULL US TOUR THIS SPRING!!
Tue 3/28 – San Diego Wed 3/29 – LA Thu 3/30 – Oakland Fri 3/31 – Portland Sat 4/1 – Seattle Mon 4/3 – Denver Tue 4/4 – Omaha Wed 4/5 – Chicago Thu 4/6 – Detroit Fri 4/7 – Buffalo Sat 4/8 – Providence Mon 4/10 – TBA Tue 4/11 – Brooklyn Wed 4/12 – Columbus Thu 4/13 – Louisville Fri 4/14 – Memphis Sat 4/15 – New Orleans Sun 4/16 – Houston Mon 4/17 – TBA Tue 4/18 – Austin Wed 4/19 – Dallas Thu 4/20 – El Paso (Firebreather only) Fri 4/21 – Albuquerque (Firebreather only) Sat 4/22 – Phoenix (Firebreather only)
——————– This list of ticket links will be updated:
Scottsdale http://bit.ly/thewellpub San Diego https://addmi.com/e/-NLwmHecNdzlxlyqKhGW NYC https://link.dice.fm/Xd95d40f17a7 Detroit https://www.ticketweb.com/event/the-well-firebreather-the-sanctuary-detroit-tickets/12852365?pl=sanctuary Seatlle https://wl.seetickets.us/event/The-WellFirebreather/528015?afflky=ElCorazon Buffalo https://aftr.dk/3iJ9HVY Columbus https://www.eventbrite.com/e/518740816747 Houston https://wl.seetickets.us/event/The-Well-Firebreather/528520?afflky=WhiteOakMusicHall Memphis https://wl.seetickets.us/event/The-Well-with-Firebreather-at-Growlers-Memphis-TN/528261?afflky=Growlers Portland https://www.treetix.com/198475/soundcontrol
Posted in Reviews on February 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
How much volume do you need? How much you got? Many records are made to sound their best when played loud — many more claim to be — but I’ve yet to find the maximum tolerance for Dwell in the Fog, which is the third full-length from Gothenburg, Sweden’s Firebreather and second for RidingEasy Records behind 2020’s Under a Blood Moon (review here) and their 2017 self-titled debut (review here), the latter of which was on Suicide Records. As loud as you want to go, the six-song collection seems ready to meet you there, with an increasing sonic fullness that readily pushes over into outright crush. At some point, in all that fog, the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Mattias Nööjd, newcomer bassist Nicklas Hellqvist and drummer Axel Wittbeck would appear to have found concrete to add to their tonality and the impact of their groove, and as a result, tracks like opener/lead single “Kiss of Your Blade” and the side A capper “Weather the Storm” land with an all the more forceful and purposeful thud. This is all a long way of telling you that Dwell in the Fog is very, very heavy, that it knows this about itself and that said heft is integral to the mission of the band on the whole.
It is not, however, the entire mission. Those who’ve followed Firebreather since their inception following the transmogrification from Nööjd‘s prior outfit, Galvano, will note that one of the distinguishing factors between the two projects was Firebreather‘s commitment to a post-High on Fire sense of crash ‘n’ bash, and that element is still a starting point from which they work on Dwell in the Fog, the influence present in cuts across the album’s 39-minute span. The difference, then, between these songs and even those on the last record — aside from the cowbell on “Sorrow”; I hear you in there, you don’t need to hide — is the framing of that influence as a starting point from which Firebreather actively work to cast their own identity. In “Sorrow” and elsewhere — the title-track on side A, for example — one can hear in the band’s songwriting not only these individualized aspects being realized, but the band actively working to make them so. There is much more to Dwell in the Fog, at any volume, than raw charge or the swinging of a battle axe, though to be sure a given listener’s skull may still be cleaved at any moment.
At the same time, there are details throughout Dwell in the Fog that command attention. The stops and the shift in tone before the build-up to the big groove in the penultimate “The Creed” qualify, as do the layered vocals that ensue following that crescendo. Likewise, Hellqvist‘s bass tone brings a character to the low end beneath Nööjd‘s guitar solo on “Weather the Storm” that is especially righteous. It doesn’t seem aesthetically appropriate to call the tracks nuanced or progressive, but there is consideration and awareness of self behind all that pummel that stems from the evolution of the band over the course of the last half-decade, on tour (when possible) as well as in the studio and in the writing.
“Dwell in the Fog” itself is a demonstration of this, for its more patient tempo as well as for the melody underpinning Nööjd‘s vocals. He reminds of Crowbar‘s Kirk Windstein there and in the later moments of “Sorrow” at the outset of side B with his ability to move from barbarian shouts, echoing out from deep in the mix, to a kind of semi-melodic gutturalism. Even on a more intense piece like “Kiss of Your Blade” or the two main verse sections in closer “Spirit’s Flown,” this development of his approach can be heard, and since Firebreather have been consistent in working with producer Oskar Karlsson (Morrow, Agrimonia, Bror Gunnar Jansson, many others) at Elementstudion in Gothenburg, the conclusion one can reach on the issue is that it’s an intentional pushing of boundaries on his part and the band’s.
That’s plenty respectable in principle, but all the more because it works to serve the interests of the songs themselves. “Dwell in the Fog” is a highlight of the full-length that shares its name, and their ability to play tempos off of each other, move one instrument forward or back in the mix at a given time, and have no shortage of bludgeonry on hand when it’s called for, is a resilient strength of their craft. That “Sorrow” can shift so fluidly from its beginning nod into and through its chugging verses, opening to a broader chorus that remains consistent in atmosphere before “The Creed” begins its wavy rollout adds to the flow of side B and the entirety of the release, and while “Weather the Storm” and “Spirit’s Flown” serve different purposes in capping their respective halves of Dwell in the Fog, their ability to make their sound do more than just one thing is further evidence of the growth they’ve won as a result of the work they’ve put in.
It’s a convenient narrative for a third LP to be a moment of arrival for a band functioning on the longer term — that is, the point at which a given act “figures it out” after an initial album and a second in response to the first. Dwell in the Fog may indeed be that for Firebreather; it depends entirely on what they do from here forward. For now, it is unquestionably the strongest work they’ve done, both on a per-song basis and in terms of the album as a whole. The balance they find is more than just that between fast and slow parts, and stems no less from their ability to pull back on outright aggression in favor of establishing a mood that feeds into the overarching impression Dwell in the Fog makes, and more, knows it is making. Despite a change in lineup, Firebreather have made themselves into a broader-reaching and more distinctive unit in the two tumultuous years since their last album. Whatever volume one might enjoy it at, that’s worth appreciating.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 15th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Gothenburg heavy bastards Firebreather will issue their third album, Dwell in the Fog, on Feb. 25 in a continued association with RidingEasy Records. The three-piece now includes bassist Nicklas Hellqvist in place of Kyle Pitcher, and their new streaming single “Kiss of Your Blade” seems to have a current of murk in accord with the marauding heavier-thrash groove one has come to anticipate from their post-High on Fire style. I take that as a good sign, to be sure, and while I can’t speak as to what the rest of the record has in store — it may be all bludgeon and battleaxes or it could be an all-out doom antistravaganza — the fact that they went with this track to give a first impression and the fact that they went so far as to mention fog in the album’s title could speak to an awareness of where they’ve headed with their sound and, indeed, intent behind their direction in that regard.
Speculation! Anticipation! New records are so much fun. All the more with a band you dig, and I dig these guys.
From the PR wire:
Firebreather announce new album, share first single “Kiss of Your Blade”
Swedish trio Firebreather announce their return with an incendiary new album due out in February 2022, and today share the first track. Hear and share “Kiss of Your Blade” HERE.
Gothenburg, Sweden trio Firebreatherâs 2019 RidingEasy Records debut album Under a Blood Moon was a powerhouse that most certainly established the bandâs incendiary potential. But none of us would be prepared for the suffocating onslaught that is Dwell in the Fog. While that album was in-your-face and raw, Dwell in the Fog rumbles and rages with a fury the band had only hinted at previously.
Firebreather has a streamlined focus on driving, symphonic riffs in the vein of High on Fire, Inter Arma and their tour- and label-mates Monolord. The guitar and bass tones are, quite simply, entrancing. Paired with vocalist/guitarist Mattias Nööjdâs guttural yet melodic howls and drummer Axel Wittbeckâs groove based rhythms, their entire sound flows like thick, viscous lava.
âThe album is a cathartic journey inwards and a musical continuation from Under A Blood Moon, but with more emphasis on groove and feel,â Nööjd says. From the first notes of album opener âKiss Of Your Bladeâ youâll know exactly what he means.
Like their preceding two albums, Dwell in the Fog was also recorded and mixed by engineer Oskar Karlsson at Elementstudion in Gothenburg. The band is joined by new bassist Nicklas Hellqvist on this album, who seems to have increased the thunder rumble tenfold.
From the aforementioned album opener âKiss Of Your Bladeâ, with its droning opening chords over a rollicking tom pattern, the band quickly shifts gears into a head bobbing, serpentine riff with a transcendent melodic hook. Elsewhere, as on the title track and âWeather The Stormâ rapid-fire hummable riffs come and go in an ever-shifting mass of devastating swirling churn. Itâs like the band has such an endless supply of great hooks that to, ahem, dwell for too long on any one would undo their constantly building momentum. That they somehow give each song, and the album as a whole, a streamlined and cohesive, monolithic groove is testament to their skill. And, proof that the album must be absorbed in its entirety to experience the overwhelming swaying and lunging low end growl that drives the bandâs most captivating work to date.
Dwell in the Fog will be available on LP, CD and download on February 25th, 2022 via RidingEasy Records.
Posted in Reviews on January 7th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
We begin Day Two of the Winter 2020 Quarterly Review. Snow on the ground fell overnight and the day ahead looks as busy as ever. There’s barely time to stop for sips of coffee between records, but some allowances must be made. It’s Tuesday after all. There’s still a lot of week left. And if we can’t be kind to ourselves in the post-holiday comedown of wintry gray, when can we?
So yes, pause, sip — glug, more likely — then proceed.
I don’t usually play favorites with these things, but I think today’s might have worked out to be my favorite batch of the bunch. As always, I hope you find something that speaks to you.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Dommengang, No Keys
Driving heavy psych and rock meet with spacious Americana and a suburbanite dreaminess in Dommengang‘s No Keys, the now-L.A. trio’s follow-up to 2018’s Love Jail (review here). It is a melting pot of sound, with emphasis on melting, but vocal harmonies and consistently righteous basslines like that in “Stir the Sea” act to tie the nine component tracks together, making Dommengang‘s various washes of tone ultimately the creation of a welcoming space. Early cut “Earth Blues” follows opener “Sunny Day Flooding” with a mindful far-outbound resonance, and the later “Arcularius – Burke” finds itself in a linear building pattern ahead of “Jerusalem Cricket,” which reimagines ’70s country rock as something less about nostalgia than forward possibility. Having come far on their apparently keyboard-less journey, from the breadth-casting verses of “Stir the Sea” to the doomy interlude “Blues Rot,” they end with “Happy Death (Her Blues II)” which sure as hell sounds like it has some organ on it. Either way, whether they live up to the standard of the title or not is secondary to the album’s actual achievements, which are significant, and distinguish Dommengang from would-be peers in atmosphere, craft and melody.
Though they don’t do it nearly as often as they did between 2012 and 2015, every now and then Boston’s Ice Dragon manage to sneak out a new release. Over the last few years, that’s been a succession of singles, but Passage of Mind is their first LP since 2015’s A Beacon on the Barrow (review here), and though they’ll always in some part be thought of as a doom band, the unassuming organic psychedelia of “Don’t Know Much but the Road” reminds more of Chris Goss‘ work with Masters of Reality in its acoustic/fuzz blend and melody. The experimentalism-prone outfit have been down this avenue before as well, and it suits them, even as members have moved on to other projects (Brass Hearse among them), with the seven-minute “One of These Days” basing itself around willfully simplistic-sounding intertwining lines of higher and lower fuzz. There are moments of serenity, like closer “Dream About You” and “Sun in My Eyes,” but “The Sound the Rain Makes” is more of a blowout, and even the darker vibe of “Delirium’s Tears” holds hits melody as top priority. Hey guess what? Here’s an Ice Dragon album that deserves more attention than it’s gotten. I think it’s the 12th one.
Oslo’s Saint Karloff squash the high standard they set for themselves on their 2018 debut, All Heed the Black God (review here), with the 41-minute single-song long-player Interstellar Voodoo, basking in bluesy Sabbathian grandeur and keeping a spirit of progressive adventuring beneath without giving over entirely to self-indulgent impulses any more than one could as they careen from one movement to the next in the multi-stage work. With vinyl through Majestic Mountain Records, tape on Stoner Witch Records and CD through Ozium Records, they’re nothing if not well represented, and rightly so, as they veer in and out of psychedelic terrain in exciting and periodically elephantine fashion, still making room for classic Scandi-folk boogie on side A before the second half of the track stomps all over everything that’s come before it en route to its own organ-laced jammy meandering, Iommi shuffle and circa-’74 howl. As a new generation of doom rock begins to take shape, Saint Karloff position themselves well as earlier pursuers of an individualist spirit while still drawing of course on classic sources of inspiration. The first record was encouraging. The second is more so. The third will be the real tell of who they are as a band.
The jangling guitar strum in centerpiece “Lucid” on Witch Trail‘s The Sun Has Left the Hill (Consouling Sounds) has the indelible mark of classic rock and roll freedom to it. One wonders if Pete Townshend would recognize it, or if it’s too far blasted into oblivion by the Belgian trio’s aesthetic treatment across The Sun Has Left the Hill‘s convention-challenging 29-minute span, comprising seven tracks that bring together a heavy alternative rock and post-black metal vision marked by spacious echoes and cavern screams that are likewise tortured and self-assured. That is to say, there’s no mistaking the intent here. In the early intensity of “Watcher” or the shimmering and more patiently unfolding “Silent Running,” the Ghent three-piece mark out their stylistic terrain between bursts of noisy chaotic wash and clearheaded execution. The six-minute “Afloat” hisses like a lost demo that would’ve rewritten genre history some 25 years ago, and even in closer “Residue,” one can’t help but feel like Witch Trail are indeed looking to leave some lasting effect behind them with such forward-thinking craft. Sure to be a shock for those who take it on with no idea of what to expect.
Shortly before Love Gang are halfway through the opening title-track of their debut album, Dead Man’s Game, just when you think you might have their blend of organ-laced Radio Moscow and Motörhead figured out, that’s when Leo Muñoz breaks out the flute and the whole thing takes a turn for the unexpected. Surprises abound from the Denver foursome of Muñoz (who also handles organ and sax), guitarist/vocalist Kam Wentworth, bassist Grady O’Donnell and drummer Shaun Goodwin, who find room for psychedelic airiness amidst the gallop of “Addiction,” which doesn’t seem coincidentally paired with “Break Free,” though the two don’t run together. Love Gang‘s 2016 self-titled EP (review here) had a cleaner production and less aggro throb, and there’s some of that on Dead Man’s Game in the peaceful melody of “Interlude,” but even seven-minute closer “Endless Road” makes a point of finishing at a rush, and that’s ultimately what defines the album. No complaints. Love Gang wield momentum as another element of inventive arrangement on this encouraging first long-player.
‘Tis the stuff of battle axes and severed limbs, but it’s worth noting that three of the six inclusions on Firebreather‘s second LP and first for RidingEasy Records, Under a Blood Moon, have some reference to fire in their title. The follow-up to their brazen 2017 self-titled debut (review here) starts with its longest track (immediate points) in the nine-minute “Dancing Flames,” then follows immediately with “Our Souls, They Burn” and launches side B with the eponymous “Firebreather,” as the Gothenburg trio of Mattias Nööjd, Kyle Pitcher and Axel Wittbeck launch their riffy, destructive assault with urgency that earns all that scarred land left in its wake. The High on Fire comparison remains inevitable, perhaps most of all on “Firebreather” itself, but Firebreather have grown thicker in tone, meaner in approach and do nothing to shy away from the largesse that such a sound might let them convey, as “Our Souls, They Burn” and in the volume surges of closer “The Siren.” Under a Blood Moon is a definite forward step from the first LP, showing an evolving sound and burgeoning individuality that one hopes Firebreather continue to hunt down with such vigilance.
Presented through Stolen Body Records, the debut long-player from French trio Karkara purports to be “Oriental psych rock,” which accounts for an Eastern influence in the overall sound of its seven-track/41-minute run, but there are perhaps some geographical questions to be undertaken there, as “Camel Rider” and others show a distinctive Mideastern flair. Whatever works, I guess. At its core, Crystal Gazer is a work of psychedelic space rock, brought to bear with a duly open sensibility by guitarist/vocalist Karim Rihani (also didgeridoo), bassist Hugo Olive and drummer/vocalist Maxime Marouani as seemingly the beginning stages of a broader sonic adventure. That is to say, the stylistic aspects at play here — and they are very much “at play” — feel purposefully used, but like the foundation of what will be future growth on the part of Karkara as a unit. Will they progress along a more patient and meditative path, as “The Way” hints in some of its early roll, or will the frenetic winding of closer “Jedid” set their course for subsequent freakouts? I don’t know, but Karkara strike as a band who won’t see any point to standing still creatively any more than they do to doing so rhythmically.
Information is limited on Circle of Sighs, and by that I primarily mean I don’t have any. They list their point of origin as Los Angeles, so there’s that, but as to the whos and whats, wheres and so on, it’s a mystery. Something tells me that suits the band, whose four-track debut EP, Desolate, gracefully executes a blend of melodic downerism with more extreme elements at play, melodic vocal arrangements offset by screams in the closing title-track after the prior rolling groove of “Burden of the Flesh” offered a progressive and synth-laden take on Pallbearer-style emotive doom. Acoustics, keyboard, and a clear use of multiple singers give Circle of Sighs‘ first outing a kitchen-sink feel, but one can only admire them for trying something new at their (presumed) outset, and the catchy chug of “Hold Me, Lucifer” speaks to more complex aesthetic origins than the simplistic subject matter might lead one to believe. The outlier is the penultimate nine-minute cut “Kukeri,” which broods across its first three minutes in a manner that would make Patrick Walker proud before unfolding the breadth of its lumber and arrangement, harmonies and screams and the first real showcase of more extreme impulses taking hold in its second half — plus strings, maybe — which “Desolate” itself will build upon after a bookending acoustic close. There’s some sorting out to do in terms of sound, but already they show a readiness to push in their own direction, and that’s more than it would seem reasonable to ask.
Way out west, Chris Allison of the band Lord Loud is taking on psychedelic shimmer under the ostensible solo moniker of Floral Fauna, but the situation of the project’s 11-tracker debut LP, Pink and Blue is more complicated in personnel and style than that, melding fuzzy presence, classic ’60s surf-tone, rampant hooky melody and ready-to-go-anywhere-as-long-as-it-works pop experimentalism together in a steaming lysergic cauldron of neo-yourface-ism that’s ether blissed enough to tie funk and ancient R&B to cosmic flow together in a manner that feels like an utter tossoff, like, hey, yeah man, this kind of thing just happens all the time here. You know, no big deal on this wavelength. Mellow dreams in “Great White Silence,” a spacey ramble in “Velvet and Jade” and the echoing leadwork of “Red Anxiety” continue the color theme from the opening title-track, and the record caps with “Herds of Jellyfish,” which at last brings forward the vocal harmony that the whole album seems to have been begging for. Cool debut? Shit, man. It’s 36 minutes of straight-up psych joy just waiting to bring you on board. Legal psilocybin now.
There are a couple things you can figure on in this wacky universe, and one of them is that German imprint World in Sound knows what it’s doing when it picks up a classic heavy rock band. Silhouettes is the second long-player the label has released from woefully-monikered Aschaffenburg-based four-piece Vvlva, and indeed in the upfront boogie of “Cosmic Pilgrim” or the more progressive unfolding of pieces like “Tales Told by a Gray Man,” the centerpiece “Gomorrah,” or the longer “Night by Night/The Choir” and “Dance of the Heathens,” which seem to bring the two sides together, there’s enough vintage influence to make the case once again. Like the more forward thinking of their contemporaries, Vvlva have brought this modus into the present when it comes to production value and clarity, and rather than sound like it’s 1973, they would seem to be making 1973 sound like them. Whether one dives in for the early hooks in “Cosmic Pilgrim” or “What Do I Stand For?” or the fuzzy interplay between the solo and organ in the maddeningly bouncing “Hobos,” there’s plenty in Silhouettes to demonstrate the vitality and continued evolution of the style.
