Italian heavy rock four-piece Isaak are getting ready to tour in Europe once again. They released their Small Stone label debut, The Longer the Beard the Harder the Sound, last year, and are currently working on a follow-up, though what stage it’s actually in remains a mystery. Still, if you, say, had a post-it note with impending 2015 releases on it so you could remember them for later when you wanted to put together some kind of larger list/feature on the subject, Isaak‘s next record would be another one to add.

Not that such a post-it note exists or is already becoming overcrowded or anything. I can neither confirm nor deny, and so on.

Here’s the news:

*ISAAK* on tour ( Small Stone Records / HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS)

Isaak , born from the ashes of Gandhi’s Gunn, immediately signed a worldwide contract for two albums with the American label Small Stone Records: the critically acclaimed debut “The Longer The Beard The Harder The Sound” released in 2013 and a second one that is going to be recorded very soon. “Having the chance to release two albums for an American label and reaching metal fans all over the world it’s a great honor but also a confirmation: we always thought we had an international sound since the beginning. And you will hear it even more in the new album.”

We also managed to tour in Europe for the first time this year. Thanks to this growth and to our love for bands like Clutch, Big Business, Torche, Red Fang the sound of our next album will be something really special. With the first single “The Frown” from the imminent new album, we tested the reaction of our fans receiving amazing responses. So we realized this was the right direction to follow”.

Isaak, who developed from a stoner rock into a promising international power sound band, are ready for the challenge, determined and strong just like their music. Are you ready?

04/12/2014 IT Rome-Init “HPS Rec Label Party”
06/12/2014 IT Milano-LoFi
07/12/2014 CH
08/12/2014 D
09/12/2014 D Augsburg-Blue Box Skate Park
10/12/2014 CH Winterthur-Gaswerk
11/12/2014 CH
12/12/2014 CH Mühledorf Niedergösgen-No Mute Bandraum
27/12/2014 IT Savona- Officine Solimano Christmas Show

www.heavypsychsounds.com
www.facebook.com/isaakband
https://www.facebook.com/events/577755778996510/
https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/the-longer-the-beard-the-harder-the-sound

Isaak, The Longer the Beard the Harder the Sound (2013)

Boldly declaring they won’t be defeated, Italian heavy rock four-piece Isaak have begun efforts to recover after a recent rehearsal space robbery reportedly stripped them of a good amount of their amps and other equipment. And by “good amount,” I mean all of it. Amps, computers, instruments, cables, mics. Name it and it’s gone.

For any band unfortunate enough to have it happen to them, it’s positively devastating, but even more so for a group like Isaak, who released their The Longer the Beard the Harder the Sound album on Small Stone this summer and aren’t millionaire rockstars who can just go out and replace all their shit. I’ve said it many, many times: Only assholes steal from bands. Steal from corporations instead. They’ve got computers too, and no matter what anyone tells you, they’re not actually people.

If you’ve got a couple extra bucks, Isaak have a crowdfunding-type fundraiser going on now to help them raise money for new gear, including some nifty thank-you gifts for those who donate. Info and links follow:

NO ONE DEFEATS ISAAK

Try to imagine going to rehearsals, thinking about the riffs, building the songs of your new record…. but feeling something bad in the air, getting there and discovering nothing more has left…Doors damaged, locks broken. It’s something you won’t wish to anybody… like your whole life suddenly disappears.

Now we are here, asking you for some help… participating to our fundraising will support us to keep on with our adventure!

We want to thank you in advance for every kind of help you give us..

THANKS by heart..

Andre, Giacomo, Francesco, Maso

And don’t forget to check out what you can get in our crowdfunding!

http://www.kapipal.com/16650d8743124667a71d338d88022191
https://www.facebook.com/events/652825014741767/

Isaak, The Longer the Beard the Harder the Sound (2013)

They’ve shared the stages with stoner heavyweights like Los Natas, Acid King, Church of Misery, Brant Bjork, Clutch and their Italian countrymen Ufomammut, yet I can’t find a single post about Genova riff rockers Gandhi’s Gunn on this site. Goes to show there’s always more bands out there than you think, and with a thoroughly European stoner rock sound behind them, Gandhi’s Gunn are definitely worth checking out. How one opens for so many killer acts while still putting out one’s first record is a mystery to me (no, seriously, someone please tell me how to do it), but Gandhi’s Gunn‘s first full-length, Thirtyeahs, was released in April in a vinyl/CD pressing of 300 on Taxi Driver Records, so there you go.

There are three tracks posted for previewing on the Gandhi’s Gunn MySpace page: “Lee Van Cleef,” “Overhanging Rock” and “Going Slow.” None of them really do anything outrageous with the stoner rock form, but they’re all well-written enough to get past any accusations of being overly generic or boring stylistically. The bass shines on “Lee Van Cleef” as much as the guitars on “Overhanging Rock,” and throughout all three of the songs, the vocals (in English) are a highlight. Though I’d put Thirtyeahs in the “hope to check it out sooner or later” category rather than the “I’m going to fly to Italy so I can hand them the money personally” file, it’s still a cool vibe they’ve got going on and I thought I’d pass the word along in case I wasn’t the only one interested in seeing what Gandhi’s Gunn are up to.

Incidentally, if you do head over either to their MySpace or their Facebook and find yourself looking at their photos, make sure you check out their many awesome posters, apparently drawn for the most part by former bass player Kabuto. There are some really killer designs there that match the music well, and go a long way to telling you what the band are all about, as does the clip of “Going Slow” below. Dig that too.