Posted in Whathaveyou on November 10th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
If you haven’t heard it yet, I encourage you to listen to Coltaine‘s 2025 album, Brandung (review here), at the bottom of this post. I want to say up front that I’m not trying to slight Faetooth here; their own 2025 LP, Labyrinthine (review here) was a banger as well, they just have more hype generally than Coltaine, so in my mind you’re more likely to have heard them before. Does that make sense? I don’t know, but you spend your still-stoned Sunday morning how you want and I’ll do the same, thanks.
And how I prefer to spend mine is with another revisit to the world the Karlsruhe outfit create across the album, intangibly atmospheric and willing to break the rules of genre to its will. The folk of another universe. It is my hope to see Coltaine later in 2026, and it’s among my most-looked-forward-to sets going into the New Year. If you’re gonna be where they are, in Germany, UK, France, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, you might consider showing up. This is a band pushing ideas of ‘heavy’ in a direction of their own, and they’re doing that crucial work right now. Listen to the album if you don’t believe me.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 6th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Hell yeah, Desertfest Berlin. The 2026 edition of the German flagship event of heavy’s most crucial festival brand will bring over Nebula for oldschool heads, Fomies for newer heads, Fuzz Sagrado for the in-betweens and Blackwater Holylight for the betterment of all humanity and the weekend in general. That’s not everybody in the second lineup announcement from Desertfest Berlin 2026, as Seattle’s Monsterwatch and Mexico City’s Cardiel will also be making the trip, but taken in combination with the first announcement — you can see the names below; golly they’ll make for a lovely assemblage — you can see it’s very much a roster worthy of the tradition they’re upholding. I don’t think underground heavy would be what it is in Europe today without Desertfest Berlin.
The PR wire brought the update:
DESERTFEST BERLIN reveals second wave of bands for 2026, adding NEBULA, BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT & more!
The 2026 edition of DESERTFEST BERLIN just turned up the fuzz and drifted deeper into the void, as more mind-bending acts join the already eclectic line-up!
From the sunburned deserts of California, NEBULA bring their fuzz-soaked, interstellar riff rituals – pure cosmic fire. Portland’s BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT summon a dark, dreamlike blend of heavy psych and ethereal melody, where doom meets hypnosis. Sweden’s EF shape vast post-rock landscapes, full of emotion and light, stretching beyond the horizon. Switzerland’s fuzz prophets FOMIES channel raw desert spirit through sun-cracked distortion and groove, while FUZZ SAGRADO (ex Samsara Blues Experiment) deliver hypnotic, groove-driven stoner rock rooted in thick tones and jam-heavy flow. Seattle’s MONSTERWATCH erupt in a storm of grunge and punk fury, reckless and cathartic. And from the streets of Mexico City, CARDIEL will ignite the DESERTFEST BERLIN stage with their skate-punk–meets–psychedelic fuzz revolution – political, wild, and unstoppable.
Today’s new additions crank the line-up to the next level, joining a first wave that already boasts heavy-hitters like RUSSIAN CIRCLES, HERMANO ft. JOHN GARCIA, THE SWORD, KING BUFFALO, ACID KING, TRUCKFIGHTERS, EARTHLESS, and many more!
From May 14–16, 2026 at Columbiahalle & Columbia-Theater, DESERTFEST BERLIN will turn the German capital into a heavy riff sanctuary, with more names and special suprises to follow. Better act quick and get your ticket now at:https://desertfest-tickets.de/produkte
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 3rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
It hasn’t been that long since the last announcement from the 2026 Freak Valley Festival, which brought the likes of Messa, Child, Longdistancecalling, Howling Giant, Upupayāma and more to join Tranquonauts, Coltaine, Kylesa, Stoned Jesus and Uncle Acid, among others, from the first round. But the message here, clearly delivered, is that Goat stand on their own.
And that’s always kind of been the story for the Swedish cult-psych ritualists. So much the better for them to headline. Their Afrobeat-informed, lysergic, at times vividly funky grooves have always stood them out from the heavy underground enough to enjoy crossover appeal to arthouse indie and the arbiters of cool more broadly speaking, but it’s been well over a decade since their debut album, World Music, and Goat have never really stopped being awesome. Their latest release is a remix of their 2024 self-titled LP done in collaboration with producer The Human Language, and earlier this year they also had a split out with fellow Swedes and Freak Valley veterans, Graveyard.
No coincidence that Goat were added to the bill just as online tickets went on sale over this past weekend. I don’t know that the fest is sold out yet, but usually it’s not too long after the onsale that tickets are gone, and with Goat as added impetus, it’s hard to imagine that not being the case this year too.
From social media:
HEADLINER ANNOUNCEMENT @goatworldmusic live at @freakvalleyfestival 2026
After many, many years of trying… it finally happened:
GOAT will headline FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2026!
The legendary Swedish collective, known for their mind-bending mix of psychedelic rock, tribal grooves & hypnotic rituals, are coming to Freak Valley for the very first time!
We’re beyond proud and still can’t believe it. This one’s truly special.
Online Tickets go on sale this Sunday, 02.11. at 17:00 cet at fvf.ticket.io — don’t sleep on it!
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 23rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
A lot of good news in the second lineup announcement from Freak Valley Festival. Beyond the always-significant presence of Messa, who I’m pretty sure will be making their first appearance at the fest (pardon me if I’m wrong on that), and the implication of European returns next summer for both Nashville’s Howling Giant and Australian blues rockers Child — who along with Brown Spirits here and the previously-announced Tranquonauts make it three Aussie/part-Aussie acts on the bill; if there’s a quota, I don’t know about it, so they may not be the last — it’s awesome to see Freak Valley dig deep and bring Italian psych conjurers Upupayāma to the proceedings, while Long Distance Calling highlight the meditative instrumental progressivism that’s long been a staple of the festival’s presentation. It’s a killer batch of names, is I guess the point I’m making, even before you get to Zerre or J-psych rockers Super Jet Kinoko.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend Freak Valley for the last four editions. If that luck holds and I get to be there for number five, there are a few here who’ll be among my most anticipated of the hopefully-sunny June weekend.
The following was posted on socials (hence the atsigns) like half an hour ago:
⚡️2nd Band Wave Announcement🫵🏼
Freaks, the next wave is here and it’s a heavy one! Get ready for a wild mix of doom, psych, and trash metal at Freak Valley Festival 2026!
@messa_band bring their dark, soulful take on doom metal, full of atmosphere and emotion!
@longdistancecalling will take you on a powerful instrumental journey through epic soundscapes and dynamic melodies.
@childtheband from Australia deliver pure heavy blues rock, raw, soulful, and full of fuzzy groove.
@howlinggiant blast off with their cosmic stoner rock — big riffs, big energy, and a lot of heart.
@zerre.thrash hit hard with raw noise and distortion, channeling pure intensity straight to the gut.
@upupayama create dreamy, folk-inspired psych sounds that feel like a trip through the Italian mountains.
@brownspirits bring hypnotic krautrock grooves and vintage tones straight out of Melbourne’s underground scene.
@super_jet_kinoko invite you to explore deep, colorful layers of Japanese psychedelic rock.
And don’t forget: tomorrow night at @vortex_surfer_musikclub, @gyasitheband & @iahbanda &@transonic.science will be playing live. At the show, you’ll also be able to buy up to two Freak Valley 2026 tickets per person!
Both Colour Haze and My Sleeping Karma were both featured on the bill of Desertfest Belgium 2025 this past weekend. Not their first time sharing space, by any means, but another example of the small world the underground becomes over time. That they’d tour together — also I think not their first time doing so — isn’t a huge surprise either. The relationship goes back to probably before My Sleeping Karma existed, and when My Sleeping Karma started out, their first albums were issued through Stefan Koglek of Colour Haze‘s now-mostly-inactive label, Elektrohasch Schallplatten. Meanwhile, Matte Vandeven of My Sleeping Karma happened to found a little booking company called Sound of Liberation, which of course has booked Colour Haze in Europe for 20 of that band’s total 30 years.
Colour Haze were out earlier this year celebrating passing that three-decade mark, and My Sleeping Karma have been taking stages all year across Europe as part of their return to the stage after losing drummer Steffen Weigand to cancer in 2023. This tour — which, your eyes don’t deceive you; it is co-presented by The Obelisk; can somebody save me a physical poster if any are printed? — will see them out for much of next April and into May, ahead of the Desertfests in Berlin, London and Oslo in which Sound of Liberation always plays a central role.
I was fortunate enough to see My Sleeping Karma for the first time (frickin’ finally) at Freak Valley Festival (review here) and if all goes according to my evil plans, I’ll see them again next summer in Croatia. It was spiritual and emotional, in addition to being sonically rad. I don’t believe in ‘blessed,’ but I do believe I’m blessed to have seen Colour Haze as much as I have over the years. Maybe I’ll get lucky again next year at some point, if not on this run. The two together on stage, however, is nothing short of magic in my mind.
Thanks to SOL and the bands for having me on board as a co-presenter. Here’s the poster and the tour announcement, to make it official:
⚡️MY SLEEPING KARMA + COLOUR HAZE ⚡️
Together, the two German psychedelic rock institutions MY SLEEPING KARMA and COLOUR HAZE celebrate 50 years of heavy underground road life.
To honor this special moment, both bands will play extended headline sets, performing brand new songs each night.
Tour Dates 2026: 17.04. Karlsruhe, Substage 18.04. Wien, Arena 19.04. Kraków, Hype Park 20.04 Warszawa, Hydrozagadka 21.04. Leipzig, Werk 2 22.04. Nijmegen, Doornroosje 23.04. Köln, Kantine 24.04. Hamburg, Markthalle 25.04. Berlin, Festsaal Kreuzberg 26.04. Bielefeld, Forum 27.04. Sint-Niklaas, De Casino 28.04. Paris, La Machine Du Moulin Rouge 29.04. Tübingen, Sudhaus 30.04. Aarau, Kiff 01.05. Milano, Circolo Magnolia 02.05. München, Backstage
Monkeys on Mars, the collaborative project comprised of the members of mostly-instrumental Swiss prog-psych stalwarts Monkey3 and French psych-prog melody dreamers Mars Red Sky, release their self-titled debut EP Oct. 17 through Mrs Red Sound. The outing has four tracks but centers mostly around the first two of them, “Seasonal Pyres” (11:09) and “Hear the Call” (13:16), the former of which is then revisited with two edited versions, “Seasonal Pyres (Short Flames Edit)” (7:53) and “Seasonal Pyres (Tiny Flames Edit)” (3:16), and it is not long before the two bands begin to complement each other in terms of sound.
And part — italics for emphasis — of the appeal here is down to that: how the two separate sonic entities, Mars Red Sky and Monkey3, work together on a basic mathematical level. Neither band is a stranger to collaborations, and this is by no means the first Monkey3-inclusive outing to feature vocals, but they’re not a regular feature across their seven albums, the latest of which is 2024’s Welcome to the Machine (review here). This, as opposed to Mars Red Sky, for whom the vocal melodies of guitarist Julien Pras — are an essential facet, who meanwhile have never boasted the kind of prog-rock shred Monkey3 bring in the singing solos of guitarist Boris de Piante, or the level of keyboardy sounds offered by Guillaume “dB” Desboeufs as one hears in Monkeys on Mars.
In this way, and with the unshakable foundations of rhythm in bassists Jimmy Kinast (also vocals) and Jalil Perrenoud and drummers Walter Albrecht and Mathieu “Matgaz” Gazeau (the latter also vocals), the two bands who have always had an eye on their individual progressions in sound find ways to distinguish themselves even in working together. “Seasonal Pyres” starts quiet and spacious with guitar effects, but a keyboard line and tense low end give a feeling of movement even before the heavier tonality sweeps in circa the two-minute mark. Pras‘ voice is all the more ethereal with the surrounding procession, a core riff that sounds like it’s reaching out but continually swallowed by its next cycle underscoring the echoing verse, more cosmic than either band might be on their own, but still emotive on a human level.
The differences between the versions of “Seasonal Pyres” included on Monkeys on Mars are basically down to how much of what ensues on the full 11-minute one has been cut out. They are not misnamed as ‘edits,’ rather than ‘remixes’ or somesuch else. On the first and longest, a scorching, masterclass in psychedelic guitar soloing takes hold for a few minutes as the megaband flourish in the instrumental exploration. But that doesn’t last either. With an echoing plotted guitar line that sounds more Mars Red Sky, the drums and keyboard begin a build that, at 6:21 leads to the return of the vocals before a chills-up-the-spine payoff arrives, gradually working at full-brunt toward a surprisingly galloping, chugging finish, faster than Mars Red Sky have I think ever been, certainly in recent memory — their fifth album, Dawn of the Dusk(review here), was issued late in ’23 — but with Pras still recognizable in terms of the vocal melody coming through.
It is a gorgeous, exciting moment, and one could imagine being in either of these bands, hearing that, and thinking to yourself, ‘Oh it turns out we might have something here,’ because the other part of the appeal, beyond the basic math of how the bands fit together like puzzle-pieces in terms of arrangement and style, is inevitably that doing so lets both bands do things they’ve never done before. This is the case as well on “Hear the Call,” which at first lays out a quiet guitar line so definitively Mars Red Sky that there’s no mistaking it, but with a thread of mellotron and other synth as part of an atmosphere that is nonetheless distinct from what the trio do while also being unlike anything Monkey3 have ever done.
The second of the two main cuts on Monkeys on Mars is instrumental and flows gracefully from part to part, gradually growing louder and fuller such that by the time the shift just before the four-minute mark begins, it’s something of a surprise that they emerge from that quiet stretch with a fervent, odd-time chug that puts the keyboard overtop and becomes the central riff around which they continue to build. By the time they get to the next crashout, after about 6:30, and rumble to silence, it feels like they’re basically starting over, but as they make their way back up, De Plainte takes another universe-burner of a solo. His guitar and the quieter, airier line from Pras come together in the ending section with the keys/synth expanding on the melody and they finish in likewise stirring and soothing fashion.
If you recall Mars Red Sky‘s last short release, the earlier-2023 outing Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow (review here), that EP’s single/featured-piece had an edit as well, so neither the short nor tiny flames (the latter for which there’s a video near the bottom of this post) versions of “Seasonal Pyres” is unprecedented. What is, is just how much Monkey3 and Mars Red Sky bring to each other’s sound, and how cohesively they’ve made something new from the component parts of what each one does individually. The question I’m left with is just how much of a band Monkeys on Mars would or could ever be, between the geographic disparities, logistics of scheduling, and the fact that neither Mars Red Sky nor Monkey3 seem likely to put the joint project ahead of their own work going forward. But even if they have something of an answer in the form of the Spring European tour they’ll do featuring sets by the separate bands and then everybody all together, how sustainable is that, and would there ever be a Monkeys on Mars full-length?
Monkeys on Mars celebrate the arrival of their self-titled EP this month with festival slots and a club date, which will serve as a preface to what they’re planning to unfold in 2026. I hope I get to see them at some point, and I look forward to however Monkeys on Mars plays out over the long term. Maybe they come back together in eight years and make an album? Maybe they decide it’s not feasible and everybody goes home and makes their own records? Maybe it’s a cool thing they do every now and again live or as one-offs when they’re bored and have enough parts accrued? From a fan’s standpoint, I can’t really count any of those as a losing scenario. But if Monkeys on Mars does end up being a one-and-done deal, they’d be leaving an awful lot of potential unrealized.
The EP streams in its entirety on the player below, followed by some words from Jimmy Kinast and more info from the PR wire, including tour dates.
Please enjoy:
Jimmy Kinast on Monkeys on Mars:
“We started crossing paths with Monkey3 on tour back in 2014, mostly in Germany. We immediately loved their music (even though there was a keyboard, haha). After a few dates, we started talking and remained friends without really maintaining the relationship. More recently, we thought we could do a tour project with our new European tour partner, Doomstar, and one thing led to another, and we have now created a new band!
On the touring side, we quickly realised that Mars Red Sky could totally fit on a big stage ‘in the middle’ of Monkey3. We are completely compatible without changing anything from the two original line-ups in terms of stage space. A wonderful tour will allow us to enrich our collaborations as we go along, because every night the musicians from one band will play on the other band’s set, and vice versa. We’re starting with four or five songs like that, and soon we’ll have a whole set with seven of us on stage.
On the recording side, we first established a kind of set of rules. We wanted both bands to keep their identity in the project, so you could immediately tell that it was Monkey3 or Mars Red Sky. Then we started sending each other lots of files over the internet, and the mixing took place in Bordeaux at Cryogene Prod studio. We are extremely thrilled, it’s a true fusion!”
Heavy psych/prog at its best with MARS RED SKY and MONKEY3 playing their respective headline sets before all joining on stage for MONKEYS ON MARS for over two hours of uninterrupted psychedelia! Tickets available now at this location:https://bnds.us/7i968n
2025: 17.10.2025 SELESTAT [FR] Rock Your Brain 18.10.2025 ANTWERP [BE] DesertFest Belgium 19.10.2025 DUISBURG [DE] Bora 31.10.2025 VALLET [FR] Westill Festival
2026: 12.03.2026 MONTPELLIER [FR] Victoire 2 13.03.2026 TOULOUSE [FR] Le Metronum 14.03.2026 BORDEAUX [FR] Rock School Barbey 15.03.2026 NANTES [FR] Le Ferrailleur 17.03.2026 LILLE [FR] Le Black Lab 18.03.2026 CLERMONT-FERRAND [FR] La Coopérative de Mai 19.03.2026 NEVERS [FR] Café Charbon 20.03.2026 PARIS [FR] La Maroquinerie (release party) 21.03.2026 VALENCE [FR] La Nuit du Metal #2 16.04.2026 WINTERTHUR [CH] Gaswerk 17.04.2026 LAUSANNE [CH] Docks 18.04.2026 MILANO [IT] Legend 19.04.2026 MUNICH [DE] Backstage 20.04.2026 DRESDEN [DE] Chemiefabrik 21.04.2026 BERLIN [DE] Neue Zukunft 22.04.2026 HAMBURG [DE] Kent 23.04.2026 NIJMEGEN [NL] Doornroosje 24.04.2026 HAARLEM [NL] Patronaat 25.04.2026 KARLSRUHE [DE] P8 16.08.2026 CARHAIX [FR] Motocultor Festival
MONKEYS ON MARS ARE: Julien Pras: vocals, guitar (Mars Red Sky) Boris De Piante: guitar (Monkey3) Jimmy Kinast: bass, vocals (Mars Red Sky) Jalil Perrenoud: bass (Monkey3) Mathieu Gazeau: drums, vocals (Mars Red Sky) Walter Albrecht: drums (Monkey3) Guillaume Desboeufs “dB”: keys & sounds (Monkey3)
Monkeys on Mars, “Seasonal Pyres (Tiny Flames Edit)” official video
Heavy psych/prog rockers Abanamat release their second album, Abominat, on Oct. 17 through Interstellar Smoke Records. It is the Berlin four-piece’s follow-up to a well-received 2023 self-titled debut (review here) and is cleverly constructed well beyond the phonetic similarity between its title and the band’s name. Opening with “Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife,” which is both leadoff and the longest of the seven inclusions (immediate points), the band begin with a surprisingly languid fluidity, showing self-awareness in the use of ‘dream’ in the title for the sense of flow in the overarching lead guitar. Vocals come and go throughout the album, handled by guitarist Max Goetsch, but they start instrumental, and the clearly-conveyed intention is to immerse the listener in sound. There’s maybe some escapist element there — it’s a brightly-colored dream of Ms. Fisherman — but it’s the chemistry of the band that carries it, Goetsch and fellow guitarist Dima Zangiev joined in the rhythm section by bassist Pedro Pinheiro and drummer Tyler Pesek, who if they didn’t record live were close enough to it.
Side A works longest to shortest across the first three tracks, and “Blue Yonder” picks up where the evocations of “Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife” left off, but soon becomes a proggy shuffle with the first vocals of the record complementing a couple twisting verses before a re-mellowing brings it back to the intro, this time with watery vocal effects, and inevitably renews the shove. You know it’s coming, they know it’s coming, it’s still satisfying. Unless I have where the side split is wrong (possible), “Carpet Denim,” as opposed to ‘carpe diem,’ caps the first half of Abominat, with a fuller tonality and further reinforcement of some of My Sleeping Karma‘s Orientalist meditations. The all-in solo that takes it well past its midpoint and toward the riffy end feels like a precursor for the album-capper title-track, which as noted by the PR wire below has a guest appearance from Isaiah Mitchell (Earthless, Tranquonauts, etc.), providing a culmination for itself and the two songs prior before it’s done.
“Fossil Eyes” (say it out loud) brings hand-percussion to the record’s shortest cut as the guitar emphasizes minor-key delve. There’s more movement than one might expect, but it’s still primarily hypnotic, particularly as an instrumental. Side B, working shortest to longest across its first three songs with the title-track excepting itself from the rule to close, grows vibrant with the surge of “Zugzwang,” emphasizing groove even as the guitar goes a-universe-tearin’ once more. The arrival of vocals two minutes in is met by a denser riff that steps back to give space, but as with “Blue Yonder,” the voice is there and then gone and the band dig back in for the instrumental ending. I’m not sure one is more their element than the other, actually — voiced or not — but the way they flesh out parts is suited to letting the exploration happen without being called back to the start of a cycle every time a line of lyrics is done. The chugging finish of the penultimate “Saturnine,” comes after an Elder-style serenity is established and revealed as a build through its verses and solos.
And speaking of solos, “Abominat” follows. Its placement is somewhat odd considering the way the rest of the LP seems to be laid out in part by runtimes, but it makes sense once you hear the riff at the center of it and the swirl that surrounds. Mitchell‘s guest spot howls at the conclusion, and I guess it’s fair enough that Abanamat would put it in such a position of respect — to wit, it’s the last thing to go when the song is over — although the truth of the matter is that as regards guitar work, Goetsch and Zangiev have just about carried the album the whole time, and their stepping back from ‘finishing the job’ feels like a decision that sits “Abominat” almost as a bonus track in the progression of the record, separated from the rest of the proceedings by the banger adrenaline scorch of “Saturnine” and very much its own thing, less about the willful growth in sound Abanamat present throughout Abominat (including in the title-track) than what comes before it. That’s not a dig; it’s a ripper. It’s also something of a diversion.
But, one of the great strength of Abominat throughout its 41 minutes is that one doesn’t really know where a given track might end up when it starts out, and that’s true of the closer as well. Across the entire span, Abanamat come through like a band who have worked hard and pushed themselves to expand on what they did with the first record, and the material itself bears the fruit of that labor in its progressive, intricate style. Where they go from here, I don’t know, but I’ll be keen to find out when the time comes.
Abominat streams in full on the player below, followed by release info from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Based in Berlin, heavy psych and prog merchants ABANAMAT come from all over the globe, united to combine their sonic wizardry into a mainlined dose of sublime psychedelia.
2023’s debut self-titled planted their name in the sand, and the crew’s sophomore effort “Abominat” sees them embrace the blissful side of their psychedelia and flirt with their penchant for proggy shredding.
Dazzling guitarwork is again the centerpiece, weaving a tapestry of international influences across seven tracks. Vocals are sparse and let the instruments do the talking, creating a journey heavy on atmosphere and shimmering with spiraling riffs and airtight drumwork.
Upping the ante and awaiting listeners at the end of the trip is the final and title track, featuring the fiery guitarwork of none other than Earthless’ Isaiah Mitchell, who cranks up the fuzz for a barn burner of a send-off.
“Abominat” lands October 17th on Interstellar Smoke Records, and can be experienced live when ABANAMAT set out to tour Germany and neighboring countries in 2026.
ABANAMAT – Abominat Album out October 17th, 2025 Interstellar Smoke Records (Digital, Vinyl, CD) Berlin, Germany FFO: Camel, Earthless, Diamond Head, Mulatu Astatke, Prince, Once and Future Band
Recorded and mixed by Richard Behrens with additional recording by Fabien de Menou at Big Snuff Studio, Berlin, 2024. Produced by Richard Behrens Mastered by Carl Saff Artwork by Sara Koncilja
ABANAMAT is: Tyler Pesek – drums Pedro Pinheiro – bass Dima Zangiev – guitar Max Goetsch – guitar/vocals
Posted in Reviews on October 13th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Last day o’ the QR, and that’s always fun, but looking at the calendar and looking at my desktop, I might try to knuckle down for a follow-up edition next month. I know I traditionally do one in December, which is so, so, so stupid, even with the relative dearth of press releases around the holidays, because there’s so much else going on. But maybe in November, before the Thanksgiving holiday. I only have one thing maybe-slated for November now, so now would be the time to slate it. Check back Nov. 10? Roll it out on my sister’s birthday? Maybe.
For now though, one more batch of 10 to round out the 70 total releases covered here, and as ever, I’ve basically packed the final day with stuff I already know I like. That’s nothing against anything on any of the other days, but if you’re a regular around here, you probably already know that I load up the finish to make it easier on myself. Not that any day here was really hard to get through, but for everything else in life that isn’t sitting in front of the laptop and writing about music.
Thanks as always for reading. I hope you found something you dig in this QR. Back to normal tomorrow.
Quarterly Review #61-70:
Elder, Liminality/Dream State Return
Progressive heavy rock spearheads Elder surprise-dropped Liminality/Dream State Return, their first two-songer EP since 2012’s Spires Burn/Release (review here), a couple weeks ago. It’s their first studio outing since 2022’s Innate Passage (review here), and while one might be tempted to read into the melodic wash of “Liminality” (13:10) and the way its vocals become part of the song’s atmosphere, balanced for nuance and texture in the mix, and the keyboardier take on “Dream State Return,” the material was reportedly sourced from pieces of material left over from their last couple albums, rather than written new. Nonetheless, the way these parts are fleshed out underscores just how special a band Elder is, since basically they can take a progression they’ve had laying around for however long and turn into something so majestic. This, in combination with their work ethic, has made them the best band of their generation. They remain such.
Following 2023’s Ingress (review here), brash Salt Lake City four-piece Hibernaut — guitarist/vocalist Dave Jones (Oxcross, Dwellers, ex-SubRosa), lead guitarist Matt Miller, bassist Josh Dupree and drummer Zach Hatsis (Dwellers, ex-SubRosa) — begin to step further out from their influences with their second album, the six-track/47-minute Obsidian Eye. High on Fire remain a central point of inspiration, but you know how that band really kind of announced who they were with Blessed Black Wings and set themselves on their own path? There’s some of that happening in the grooves of “Pestiferous,” “Revenants” and others here, and while the galloping double-kick and dirt-coated declarations might ring familiar, Hibernaut are beginning to put their own stamp on their craft, and one remains curious how that will continue to manifest their persona in their sound. High on Fire never had a song like “Beset,” and that wah on “Engorge Behemoth” has just an edge of Sabbath-via-Electric Wizard, so there’s more here than marauding if you want to hear it.
Titled as though they intended to preempt criticism of their own self-indulgence — a kinder-self-talk version might have been called ‘Expansive’ — the second album from L.A.’s The Oil Barons, Grandiose, is working with an expanded definition of heavy either way. Part desert rock, it’s also Western Americana enough to open with a take on Morricone and while they’re for sure laying it on thick with the gang-chanted version of “John Brown’s Body” worked in between the organ sway of “Gloria” and the nine-minute lap-steel-inclusive expanse of “Shinola.” The later heavy instrumental reacher “Quetzalacatenango” (16:39) and their beefing up of the Grateful Dead regular “Morning Dew” as “Morning Doom” (13:49) are longer, but there’s more going on here than track length, as the melodic twang-pop of “Vivienne” and the light-barroom-swing-into-harmonies-into-riffs of the subsequent “Death Hangs” demonstrate. Top it all off with a purported narrative and Grandiose lives up to its name, but also to its intention.
The first Temple of Love full-length, Songs of Love and Despair, feels very much like a willful callout to classic goth rock. The core, partnered founding duo of vocalist Suzy Bravo (Witchcryer) and guitarist/vocalist Steve Colca (ex-Destroyer of Light), as well as the rhythm section of bassist Joseph Maniscalco and drummer Patrick Pascucci (Duel) begin with a string of catchy, uptempo numbers dark in atmosphere with an unmistakable sheen on the guitar tone and by the time the centerpiece instrumental “Paradise Lost” takes hold with a heavier shift leading into the second half of the album, with “Devil” as an obvious focal point, you’re hooked. The vocal trades on “Save Yourself” and the rocker “Joke’s on You,” with Colca growling a bit, distinguish them as modern, but they’re firm in their purpose unto the string sounds that cap “If We Could Fly,” and clearly aesthetic is part of the mission. They didn’t name themselves after a Sisters of Mercy LP by mistake.
From garage-style heavy and psychedelic jamming, modern space boogie to denser, doomier roll and a stylistically-offbeat quirk that feels ever more intentional, Montana-based trio The Gray Goo are dug into this mini-gamut of style on their third album, Cabin Fever Dreams, with guitarist/vocalist Max Gargasz (who also recorded/produced) giving space in the mix (by Robert Parker) for the melody in Matt Carper‘s bass to come through on 10-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) “Intrepid Traveler,” beginning a thread of nuance that emphasizes just how flexible the band’s sound is. Even amid the fuzz and chugging resolution of “Isolation” and the jammed-but-with-a-plan “Floodgates,” there’s a sense of looking beyond genre to internalized individualism, the latter carrying into the marching semi-nerd-rapped title-track, which breaks to let the weirdness persist before coming back around with a shuffle to close, while “Manic” (with Colton Sea on guest vocals) roughs up proto-punk until it hits a midsection of Sabbath blues and gets a little more shove from there. “Manic” brings this to a culmination and some chanting gives over the minimal psych experiment “Someone’s at the Door,” which closes. They’ve let go of some — not all, but some — of their earlier funk, but The Gray Goo remain delightfully on their own wavelength. Someone in this band likes Ween, and they’re better for it.
A decade after his first solo release, the declarative 1974 (review here), former Los Natas guitarist/vocalist Sergio Ch. (né Chotsourian, also of Ararat, Soldati, numerous other projects and collaborations) has only broadened his palette around a central approach to avant folk and intimate experimentalism. “Las Riendas” has been around for a while, unless I’m wrong (always possible) and “Tufi Meme 94” is an unearthed four-track demo of the Los Natas song of the same name, but it’s in the repetitions and slow, fuzz-infused evolution of “Tear Drop,” the vocally-focused “Stairway” and the somehow-ceremonial “Centinelas Bajo el Sol” that Shiva Shakti Dramalays out its most ethereal reaches. The album was reportedly put together following an injury to Chotsourian‘s ear, during a recovery period after his “left ear blew up during a Soldati rehearsal.” So there’s healing to be had in “Little Hands” and the buzzing lead of “Violet,” as well as exploration.
Spectral Fields is the duo of Jason Simon (Dead Meadow) and and Caleb Dravier (Jungle Gym Records), and with IV they present a two-part title-piece “IV A” (20:04) and “IV B” (23:12), with each extended track taking on its own atmosphere. The hand percussion behind “IV A” is evocative of quiet desert Americana, like clopping horseshoes, while “IV B” runs more sci-fi in its keyboard and synthy beat behind the central, malleable-and-less-still-than-it-seems overarching drone. The guitar on “IV A” works with a similar river’s-surface-style deceptive stillness. Immersion isn’t inevitable, and the challenge here is to dwell alongside the band in the material if you can, with the reward for doing so being carried across the gradually-shifting expanse that Simon and Dravier lay out. It’s not a project for everybody, but Spectral Fields shine with meditative purpose and ethereal presence alike.
The second full-length, Resolution, from Denver-based harmony-prone heavy rockers Pink Fuzz owes much of its impact to tempo and melody — which I think makes it music. The brother/sister duo of John Demitro (guitar) and bassist LuLu Demitro bass share vocal duties and trade lead spots to add variety across the taut, no-time-for-bullshit 10 songs as drummer Forrest Raup lends shove to the buzzing desert riffage of “Coming for Me,” while the title-track shreds into a ’90s-style ticky-ticky-tock of a groove and “Am I Happy?” moves from its standalone-voice beginning to a gorgeously executed build and roll, bolstered by the Alain Johannes mix bringing up the lead guitar alongside LuLu’s voice, but rooted in the performance captured rather than the after-the-fact balancing of elements. “No Sympathy” and “Worst Enemy” stick closer to a Queens of the Stone Age influence, but the desert is a starting point, not the end of their reach. It’d be fair to call them songwriting-based if they didn’t also kick so much ass as players.
Having the tone is one thing and making it move is another, but Dorset, UK, two-piece The Dukes of Hades bring forth their debut EP, Oracle of the Dead with a pointed sense of push, more so once they’re on the other side of rolling-into-the-slowdown opener “Seeds of Oblivion,” in “Last Rites,” “Pigs” and “Constant Grief,” where the tempo is higher and the bruises are delivered by the measure. Even Gareth Brunsdon‘s snare on “Constant Grief” comes across thick, never mind the buzzing riffs of Steve Lynch, whose guttural vocals top the procession. They save their most fervent shove for the two-minute finale “Death Defying Heights,” but the eight-minute penultimate “Tomahawk” sees them work in more of a middle-paced range while executing trades in volume and even letting go to silence as they hit minute six soon to burst back to life, so they’re already messing with the formula a bit even as they write out what that formula might be. That’s just one of the hopeful portents on this gritty and impressive first outing.
A noise-infused trio from Vancouver — or maybe it’s just that their logo reminds me of Whores. — the three-piece Worse issued their latest single “Misandrist” in memory of Ozzy, following on from the also-one-songer “Mackinaw” from earlier in the year. The newer cut is more lumbering and establishes a larger tonal presence by virtue of its instrumentalist take, while drummer Matt Wood brought party-time shouts to “Mackinaw,” which of course emphasized and complemented the central riff in a different way. Out front of the stage, guitarist Shane Clark and bassist Frank Dingle offer rumble and spacious distortion, the effect seeming to build up with each new, lurching round as they dirge to the fading ringout. Sludgy in form, the affect presents itself like a half-speed High on Fire, which if you’ve got to end up somewhere, is a more than decent place for “Misandrist” to be. If you’re still reading this, yes, I’m talking about myself as well as the band. They’ve got one LP out. I’d take another anytime they’ve got it ready.
