Heavy psych rockers Madmess release their new LP, The Third Coming, on May 9, through an international consortium of independent labels including gig.Rocks! in their native Portugal, Kozmik Artifactz throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, and Glory or Death Records, based in the US. Their bases thusly covered, the Porto three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Ricardo Sampaio, bassist Vasco Vasconcelos and drummer Pedro Cruz are free to explore and refine their partially-instrumental crux, taking and adapting what came together on 2021’s Rebirth (review here) and their prior 2019 self-titled debut to retain its spaciousness and partially-improvised spirit while at the same time taking on a more direct delivery.
What on earth does that mean? For one thing, the longest song on The Third Coming, “Widowmaker” (7:17), is roughly equal in runtime to the two shortest cuts on Rebirth, which was filled out otherwise by three nine-minute jaunts. But fear not. The Third Coming retains its jammy sensibility, and if it’s expanse you seek, “Widowmaker” picks up from the wah-fuzz burner opening given through “Death by Astonishment,” and begins a stretch through “Velvet Nebula” — second best song title I’ve seen in the last 12 months — and the album’s most hypnotic, immersive unfolding, “Endless Cycles,” that should tick any quota you’ve got for ‘getweird.’ And if not, the motorik pulse behind closer “Sauerkraut” still manages to speak to classic space rock trance-induction while not actually taking up any more than three and a half minutes of Earth time. This kind of efficiency is usually a showcase in itself. For Madmess, the focus is so much more on the impression the music makes than the intent behind it. That is, they’re not showing off or simply indulging in craft. They made the record for you, the listener.
Actually, “Death by Astonishment” reinforces that idea well, while “Endless Cycles” contrasts those grounded aspects at the start of the vinyl’s side B. This comes ahead of the exclamatory “Burnt!,” the second half which precedes the proto-metallic shove of “Hazy Morning” with a particularly resonant shimmer in Sampaio‘s guitar and the roll and pull and tonal wobble that hits a serene moment in the heavy psych tradition. Earthless are a factor in that, and in some of the grit of “Hazy Morning,” one can hear aspects of the ’70s-minded riffage that took hold in San Diego circa 2015-2020, in no small part inspired by the aforementioned. In such a way, The Third Coming is fluid in its movement without being static in terms of style, and it doesn’t ultimately end up anywhere one would come close to calling lost. Indeed, “Hazy Morning” and “Sauerkraut,” paired at the end as they are, only seem to herald further stylistic adventures to follow. Or at least that’s the hope in hearing it.
Whatever instigated this readjustment of balances in Madmess‘ sound to bring about songs that can be shorter and more direct, it feels like a realization on the part of the band as The Third Coming plays less to genre while remaining organically aligned to it. To say the very minimum, it is a record that understands, appreciates and makes solid use of its creative freedom, and if you heard either of their first two and thought the band had potential, these songs both answer that and leave the same impression afterward. Madmess continue to sound like they’re just getting started, and that vibrancy is becoming a key part of what they have to offer.
Album streams in full below, followed by more from the PR wire, including live dates announced the other day.
Please enjoy.
Always dynamic, always electrifying, and as powerful as ever, Portuguese powerhouse trio Madmess is gearing up to release their latest LP, “The Third Coming,” on May 9th via Glory or Death (USA), Kozmik Artifactz (EU), and gig.ROCKS! (PT).
Once a well-kept secret in Europe’s psychedelic music scene, their anonymity may soon fade. The single “Velvet Nebula,” the first preview of Madmess’ forthcoming third album, offered a taste of what’s ahead, following a year filled with touring highlights, including performances at Krach am Bach (Germany), ArcTanGent (UK), Freak Valley Xmas (DE), and Sonic Blast (PT).
Previously under the radar but with a devoted fanbase eagerly awaiting new songs, the album leans into a more classic sound, merging Bonham-inspired drumming with contemporary psychedelic melodies across seven mesmerizing tracks. These riffs are destined for live stages across Europe and beyond, where they truly come alive.
Announcing our next run of shows presenting “The Third Coming” in Europe, with dates in Portugal, Spain & France 💫
10.05 – Socorro, Porto 🇵🇹 20.05 – Wurlitzer, Madrid 🇪🇸 21.05 – El Bunker, Alicante 🇪🇸 23.05 – Sideral Fest, Capbreton 🇫🇷 24.05 – La grange Baffignac, Castres 🇫🇷 27.05 – La Ley Seca, Zaragoza 🇪🇸 28.05 – Dio Bar, Barcelona 🇪🇸 29.05 – La Rayuela, Miranda de Ebro 🇪🇸 30.05 – Rock dos Romanos, Coimbra 🇵🇹
Recorded at Hertzcontrol Studio by Marco Lima in Caminha, Portugal Produced/Mixed by Marco Lima Mastered by Alvaro Galego Artwork by Lory Cervi
Posted in Reviews on October 11th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I got a note from the contact form a bit ago in my email, which happens enough that it’s not really news, except that it wasn’t addressed to me. That happens sometimes too. A band has a form letter they send out with info — it’s not the most personal touch, but has a purpose and doesn’t preclude following-up individually — or just wants to say the same thing to however many outlets. Fair game. This was specifically addressed to somebody else. And it kind of ends with the band saying to send a donation link, like, “Wink wink we donate and you post our stuff.”
Well shit. You mean I coulda been making fat stacks off these stoner bands all the while? Living in my dream house with C.O.C. on the outdoor speakers just by exploiting a couple acts trying to get their riffs heard? Well I’ll be damned. Yeah man, here’s my donation link. Daddy needs a new pair of orthopedic flip-flops. I’ma never pay taxes again.
Life, sometimes.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
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Alunah, Fever Dream
The seventh full-length from UK outfit Alunah, Fever Dream, will be immediately noteworthy for being the band’s last (though one never knows) with vocalist Siân Greenaway fronting the band, presiding over an era of transition when they had to find a new identity for themselves. Fever Dream is the third Alunah LP with Greenaway, and its nine songs show plainly how far the band has come in the six-plus years of her tenure. “Never Too Late” kicks off with both feet at the intersection of heavy rock and classic metal, with a hook besides, and “Trickster of Time” follows up with boogie and flute, because you’re special and deserve nice things. The four-piece as they are here — Greenaway on vocals (and flute), guitarist Matt Noble, bassist Dan Burchmore and founding drummer Jake Mason — are able to bring some drama in “Fever Dream,” to imagine lone-guitar metal Thin Lizzy in the solo of the swaggering “Hazy Jane,” go from pastoral to crushing in “Celestial” and touch on prog in “The Odyssey.” The finale “I’ve Paid the Price” tips into piano grandiosity, but by the time they get there, it feels earned. A worthy culmination for this version of this band.
Swiss heavy post-hardcore unit Coilguns‘ fourth LP and the first in five years, though they’ve had EPs and splits in that time, Odd Love offers 11 songs across an adventurous 48 minutes, alternately raw or lush, hitting hard with a slamming impact or careening or twisting around, mathy and angular. In “Generic Skincare,” it’s both and a jet-engine riff to boot. Atmosphere comes to the fore on “Caravel,” the early going of “Featherweight” and the later “The Wind to Wash the Pain,” but even the most straight-ahead moments of charge have some richer context around them, whether that’s the monstrous tension and release of capper “Bunker Vaults” or, well, the monstrous tension and release of “Black Chyme” earlier on. It’s not the kind of thing I always reach for, but Coilguns make post-hardcore disaffection sound like a good time, with intensity and spaciousness interwoven in their style and a vicious streak that comes out on the regular. Four records deep, the band know what they’re about but are still exploring.
Subconscious Awakening is Robot God‘s second album of 2024 and works in a similar two-sides/four-songs structure as the preceding Portal Within, released this past Spring, where each half of the record is subdivided into one longer and shorter song. It feels even more purposeful on Subconscious Awakening since both “Mandatory Remedy” and “Sonic Crucifixion” both hover around eight and a half minutes while side A opens with the 13-minute “Blind Serpent” and side B with the 11-minute title-track. Rife with textured effects, some samples, and thoughtful melodic vocals, Subconscious Awakening of course shares some similarity of purpose with Portal Within, which was also recorded at the same time, but a song like “Sonic Crucifixion” creates its own sprawl, and the outward movement between that closer and the title-track before it underscores the progressivism at work in the band’s sound amid tonal heft and complex, sometimes linear structures. Takes some concentration to wield that kind of groove.
Especially for an experimentalist, drone-based act who relies on audience theater-of-the-mind as a necessary component of appreciating its output, Pittsburgh solo outfit Fuzznaut — aka guitarist Emilio Rizzo — makes narrative a part of what the band does. Earlier this year, Fuzznaut‘s “Space Rock” single reaped wide praise for its cosmic aspects. “Wind Doula” specifically cites Neil Young‘s soundtrack for the film Dead Man as an influence, and thus brings four minutes more closely tied to empty spread of prairie, perhaps with some filtering being done through Earth‘s own take on the style as heard in 2005’s seminal Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method. One has to wonder if, had Rizzo issued “Wind Doula” with a picture of an astronaut floating free on its cover, it would be the cosmic microwave background present in the track instead of stark wind across the Great Plains, but there’s much more to Fuzznaut than self-awareness and the power of suggestion. Chalk up another aesthetic tryout that works.
Trad metal enthusiasts will delight at the specificity of the moment in the history of the style Void Moon interpret on their fourth album, Dreams Inside the Sun. It’s not that they’re pretending outright that it’s 1986, like the Swedish two-piece of guitarist/bassist Peter Svensson and drummer/vocalist Marcus Rosenqvist are wearing hightops and trying to convince you they’re Candlemass, but that era is present in the songwriting and production throughout Dreams Inside the Sun, even if the sound of the record is less directly anachronistic and their metallurgical underpinnings aren’t limited to doom between slowed down thrash riffs, power-metal-style vocalizing and the consuming Iommic nod of “East of the Sun” meeting with a Solitude Aeturnus-style chug, all the more righteous for being brought in to serve the song rather than to simply demonstrate craft. That is to say, the relative barn-burner “Broken Skies” and the all-in eight-minute closer “The Wolf (At the End of the World,” which has some folk in its verse as well, use a purposefully familiar foundation as a starting point for the band to carve their own niche, and it very much works.
Best known for slinging his six-string alongside brother Kyle Juett in Texas rockers Mothership, Kelley Juett‘s debut solo offering, Wandering West pulls far away from that classic power trio in intention while still keeping Juett‘s primary instrument as the focus. Some loops and layering don’t quite bring Wandering West the same kind of experimental feel as, say, Blackwolfgoat or a similar guitarist-gonna-guitar exploratory project, but they sit well nonetheless alongside the fluid noodling of Juett‘s drumless self-jams. He backs his own solo in centerpiece “Breezin’,” and the subsequent “Electric Dreamland” seems to use the empty space as much as the notes being cast out into it to create its sense of ambience, so if part of what Juett is doing on Wandering West is beginning the process of figuring out who he is as a solo artist, he’s someone who can turn a seven-minute meander like “Lonely One” (playing off Mos Generator?) into a bluesy contemplation of evolving reach, the guitar perfectly content to talk to itself if there’s nobody else around. Time may show it to be formative, but let the future worry about the future. There’s a lot to dig into, here and now.
With vocalists Kristian Eivind Espedal (Gaahls Wyrd, Trelldom, ex-Gorgoroth, etc.) and Lindy-Fay Hella (Wardruna, solo, etc.), guitarist Ronny “Valgard” Stavestrand (Trelldom) and drummer/bassist/keyboardist/producer Iver Sandøy (Enslaved, Relentless Agression, etc.), who also helmed (most of) the recording and mixed and mastered, Whispering Void easily could have fallen into the trap of being no more than the sum of its pedigree. Instead, the seven songs on debut album At the Sound of the Heart harness aspects of Norwegian folk for a rock sound that’s dark enough for the lower semi-growls in the eponymous “Whispering Void” to feel like they’re playing toward a gothic sentiment that’s not out of character when there’s so much melancholy around generally. Mid-period Anathema feel like a reference point for “Lauvvind” and the surging “We Are Here” later on, and by that I mean the album is intricately textured and absolutely gorgeous and you’ll be lucky if you take this as your cue to hear it.
You know how sometimes in a workplace where there’s a Boss With Personality™, there might be a novelty sign or a desk tchotchke that says, “The beatings will continue until morale improves?” Like, haha, in addition to wage theft you might get smacked if you get uppity about, say, wage theft? Fine. Orme sound like what happens when morale doesn’t improve. The 24-minute single-song No Serpents, No Saviours EP comes a little more than a year after the band’s two-song/double-vinyl self-titled debut (review here) and finds them likewise at home in longform songwriting. There are elements of death-doom, but Orme are sludgier in their presentation, and so wind up able to be morose and filthy in kind, moving from the opening crush through a quiet stretch after six minutes in that builds into persistent thuds before dropping out again, a sample helping mark the transitions between movements, and a succession of massive lumbering parts trading off leading into a final march that feels as tall as it is wide. I like that, in a time where the trend is so geared toward lush melody, Orme are unrepentantly nasty.
Budapest instrumentalist duo Azutmaga make their full-length debut with the aptly-titled Offering, compiling nine single-word-title pieces that reside stylistically somewhere between sludge metal and doom. Self-recorded by guitarist Patrik Veréb (who also mixed and mastered at Terem Studio) and self-released by Veréb and drummer Martin Várszegi, it’s a relatively stripped-down procession, but not lacking breadth as the longer “Aura” builds up to its full roll or the minute-long “Orca” provides an acoustic break ahead of the languid big-swing semi-psychedelia of “Mirror,” informed by Eastern European folk melodies but ready to depart into less terrestrial spheres. It should come as no surprise that “Portal” follows. Offering might at first give something of a monolithic impression as “Purge” calls to mind Earth‘s steady drone rock, but Azutmaga have a whole other level of volume to unfurl. Just so happens their dynamic goes from loud to louder.
After trickling out singles for over a year, including the title-track of the album and, in 2022, an early version of the instrumental “The Freaks Come Out at Night” that may or may not have been from before vocalist Virginie D. joined the band, the hashtag-named #chaleurhumaine delights in shirking heavy rock conventions, whether it’s the French-language lyrics or divergences into punk and harder fare, but nothing here — regardless of one’s linguistic background — is so challenging as to be inaccessible. Catchy songs are catchy, whether that’s “Fada Fighters” or “La Diable au Corps,” which dares a bit of harmonica along with its full-toned blues rock riffing. Likewise, nowhere the album goes feels beyond the band’s reach, and while “La Ligne” doesn’t sound especially daring as it plays up the brighter pop in its verse and shove of a chorus, well made songs never have any trouble finding welcome. I’m not sure why it’s a hashtag, but #chaleurhumaine feels complete and engaging, at once familiar and nothing so much as itself.
Brazilian proto-heavy specialists Caixão are set to digitally release their second album, Entre o Velho Tempo Futuro, on Monday, Sept. 30 (vinyl in November), through Glory or Death Records. Their debut, Da Porta ao Sumiço, arrived on Halloween 2020 — spooky indeed — and as obscure-horror buffs can probably tell you, their moniker translates to English as “coffin.” A straightforward, evocative object, a memento mori and something that feels ancient and steeped in tradition could hardly be more fitting to the band’s sound, which draws in vintage style from the heavy ’70s and rawer modern garage doom even unto the application of the fadeout at the end of “Bloodstains.”
The unpolished 1960s-born sound of the organ in opener “Fungos,” “Luz Estranha em Quixadá” and the later “Talvez” can tell you a lot about where they’re coming from, but across the span, Entre o Velho Tempo Futuro plays less for volume than to nestle into its own groove, mellow but weighted in the manner of your grandfather’s heavy rock. Caixão don’t sound entirely like they’re from the 1970s, and I don’t think they want to, but that influence and production style is at the core of the nine-song/24-minute album — 28 minutes if you add the LP bonus track “Candelabro,” which becomes the longest inclusion at 4:08, beating “Aniversário dos Mágicos” by eight seconds — which benefits from its lo-fi character in letting each song add to the intricacy of the whole.
Arrangement shifts like the aforementioned organ/keys in “Fungos,” “Luz Estranha em Quixadá” and “Talvez” or the acoustic guitar that comes on to lead the way through the sweetly pastoral instrumental “Mar Ciano” are part of that, but Caixão are fluid through changes in methodology as well. To wit, “Fungos,” “Luz Estranha em Quixadá” the prog-swaying “Introspecção,” “Mar Ciano,” the minute-long “Enquanto o Mundo Jorra Sangue,” which plays out like subdued Earth circa ’05 if they’d peppered the nod with doom-bluesy flourishes, and “Candelabro” are instrumental. “Aniversário dos Mágicos” and “Talvez” have lyrics in Portuguese, while “Bloodstains” and “In the Shadow of the Red Sun” are in English, so between these changes in approach and the corresponding malleability of Caixão‘s songwriting, they end up never quite doing the same thing twice.
Even as “In the Shadow of the Red Sun” and “Aniversário dos Mágicos” play out in succession — both chug-happy rockers tense in their build around classic swing, the latter dipping just a bit toward Uncle Acid in its effects-laced vocal presentation — the language swap provides an opportunity to likewise adjust the patterning of the lines and the rhythms being accented. One doesn’t generally think of a barebones-produced, stripped-down take on ’70s craft as something particularly full or rich — often a low recording volume in comparison to “modern” productions and empty space in the mix is part of the cultish appeal, and I think that’s the case here too — but Entre o Velho Tempo Futuro delivers a satisfying progression amid this variety. The production becomes a unifying factor as much as a choice suited to aesthetic or genre trope.
So not only does Entre o Velho Tempo Futuro not dwell in any single place for too long — or any range of places; again, the record’s under a half-hour — but it keeps an individualized sensibility as it purposefully basks in familiar ideas and draws itself together around disparate intentions. It feels led by the songs, as though founding principal Italo Rodrigo has given the material time to flesh itself out and become what it wants/needs to be, but in part because of the brevity and lack of self-indulgence all around, it avoids the trap of getting lost in any part or song, creating a definitive full-album flow, just in condensed form.
Take the Monday-instead-of-Friday release as a delightful bucking of convention in keeping with the cleverness of the songwriting and execution throughout Entre o Velho Tempo Futuro, and please enjoy the full album stream below, followed by more info from the PR wire:
Caixão, Entre o Velho Tempo Futuro album premiere
Caixão is a Brazilian band formed in 2018 by Italo Rodrigo, who is well-known for playing drums in Echoes of Death and Damn Youth, both Death and Thrash Metal bands based in Ceará.
Describing Caixão’s music in terms of genre is challenging, but their roots are in Proto Metal, combined with influences from Psychedelic and Progressive music of the 1970s.
After various line-up changes and reincarnations, including releases of Splits, EPs, and Singles, they released their first full-length album, “Da Porta ao Sumiço,” in 2020. This album was available in both digital and tape formats and was the first to feature songs with vocals.
The band’s music includes a mix of Portuguese and English lyrics, as well as instrumental tracks.
Entre o Velho Tempo Futuro, the band’s second album, is an invitation to dive into the universe they’ve created. The experience fluctuates between intoxicating shades of green and blue, sometimes intense, sometimes calm, crafting vast soundscapes that pull the listener into another world.
Ítalo says, “This work is rawer, more direct, and less cryptic sonically than its predecessor. We love progressive rock, psychedelic music, and, above all, timeless music from past decades. We try to express our influences, capturing the rawness of the 60s and the heaviness of the 70s, but in a way that remains uniquely ours and carries our own identity.”
The new album features nine tracks, plus a bonus track, Candelabro, previously released as part of a split with the band Abismo.
1. Fungos 02:51 2. Bloodstains 03:24 3. Luz Estranha em Quixadá 02:25 4. Introspecção 01:30 5. In The Shadow of the Red Sun 03:29 6. Aniversário dos Mágicos 04:00 7. Mar ciano 02:25 8. Talvez 03:44 9. Enquanto o Mundo Jorra Sangue 01:01 10. Candelabro (Bonus/Only on Vinyl) 04:08
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 10th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Glory or Death Records has announced a pair of label showcases for next month. Set to take place over two nights — June 7 in Tempe, Arizona, and June 8 in El Cajon, California (in San Diego County) — and true to the ‘Friends and Family’ tag applied to the duly wizardly posters below, the lineups feature Glory or Death denizens like Great Electric Quest, Formula 400, Hudu Akil, PhantomHound, Tzimani and a solo performance from guitarist Kelley Juett of Mothership, who recently signed to the Cali-based imprint to release his first solo album, Wandering West.
Juett is billed as doing “loops,” which is fair enough if you take a listen to the initial single “Mind Mirage” from his upcoming LP (at the bottom of the post, as it happens), and seems to be in the opening spot for both nights, though that kind of thing can also be cool during changeovers between more-than-one-person-involved bands sometimes, so you never know. In addition, Phoenix psychedelic instrumental outfit Secrets of Lost Empires — whose Joshua Mathus has done comic-style graphic work for Zac Crye of Hudu Akil, Desert Records, Stone Machine Electric and scores of others — will appear at the Temple show only.
The posters (by MontDoom), info, ticket links and such came down the PR wire:
Glory or Death Records Friends and Family Showcase Back-to-Back shows in Tempe and San Diego
Glory or Death Records Friends & Family Showcase
Tempe Date: June 7 at Yucca Tap Room
Featuring live solo loop performance by Kelley Juett; Secrets of Lost Empires, Tzimani, Phantom Hound, Hudu Akil, Formula 400, and Great Electric Quest
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 3rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Blink and it’s been seven years since Texan classic heavy rockers Mothership released their third album, High Strangeness (review here). Led by brothers Kelley Juett and Kyle Juett on guitar and bass/vocals, respectively, that band toured as much as they could in the years that followed, including post-pandemic, and were not known to give anything less than everything they had on whatever stage they happened to occupy that night. If they were playing tomorrow, I’d tell you to go.
Kelley Juett‘s first solo outing promises an intentional sonic turn. There’s no audio from Wandering West posted as of this writing, but going by his own description that follows, it seems like purposefully exploratory, maybe even meditative instrumentalism is the order of the day, and as Juett has aligned with Glory or Death Records and an international consortium of other notable imprints (including Majestic Mountain, from whose preorder page his quote below comes), it may be the beginning point of a longer-term trajectory as stated. In any case, however divergent it might ultimately prove from Juett‘s work in Mothership, it’ll be worth it just to hear him playing on a record of his own.
Glory or Death has preorders up today. On special, no less. The details:
KELLEY JUETT – Wandering West
Here is one that is very special to us! Everyone’s favorite human, Kelley Juett, from the mighty Mothership has officially embarked on a solo mission! We are honored to announce that we will be releasing Kelley’s first solo album entitled “Wandering West” at Glory or Death Records. “Early Bird” pre orders will be available at only $17.99 for the vinyl and are dropping this Friday, May 3rd! After the full release the price will be $22.99.
Says Juett: “Welcome to the musical journey within my mind and be the first to witness the evolution of myself through music. This is the first solo piece of music I have released outside of my band Mothership and this means very much to me and who I am as a guitar player. All of these songs came together on the spot and with 100 percent improvisation, there were no “retakes” on this record I just went for it without any editing or pre-thought of riffs or ideas. This project has been a long time coming and this is only the beginning of many more chapters and evolutions to come with my solo career and journey with the guitar. Those who are into instrumental, peaceful, raw and real emotional music, or just looking for something interesting and new to put on to think, drive and relax to, give this musical therapy a shot.”
We will also be dropping some incredible DIY Test Presses with West-Themed Collage jackets and notes all from Kelley himself. Doesn’t get cooler than that! We have tons of special stuff planned for this record. More than we have ever done here at Glory or Death Records for a single release! Stay tuned as we unveil all that comes along with this journey of a record! The first single will be available for your ears this Friday as well!
For those GoD supporters and fans of Kels that are outside of USA – We have dialed in some international distribution for you to save some postage costs!
Special thanks to Majestic Mountain Records (Sweden), Electric Valley Records (Italy) & Kozmik Artifactz (Germany) for the extra support in saving our friends a few bucks!
“Wandering West” was Engineered by Jeff Henson of DUEL and Chris “OM” galt. Recorded and produced by Kelley Juett.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Something you might not get to see every day here in heavy psych rockers Blasting Rod making the voyage from their home in Nagoya, Japan, to play their first show on North American soil this coming Jan. 6. The gig is set for the Redwood Bar & Grill, and the band will be joined by Vie Jester and Power Falcon on what’s sure to be a lifetime memory for Blasting Rod.
Understand, this isn’t a tour. They’re crossing the Pacific Ocean to play a show in the US and proffer their weirdo lysergic experimentalism in a context entirely new. Will they ever come back? Who knows. But if you’re in Los Angeles or someplace adjacent, this is one to consider if you like being part of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. The ostensible occasion is the anniversary of their 2022 album, Of Wild Hazel (review here), but come on. This one is its own excuse for being.
Get there if you can get there. And it’s $10 at the door!
To wit:
Break those New Year’s resolutions Saturday, Jan. 6 at Redwood Bar & Grill in downtown Los Angeles when Blasting Rod makes its one and (so far) only North American live appearance.
In Fuzz We Trust presents Blasting Rod, Vie Jester, and Power Falcon.
Escape to L.A. with Blasting Rod at Redwood Bar & Grill on January 6 for the 1st anniversary of the North American LP release, Of Wild Hazel.
8pm Showtime $10 Cover at the door https://theredwoodbar.com 316 W. 2nd St. Los Angeles CA (213) 680-2600 Open 11am – 2am
Ain’t nuthin’ but a party, y’all!
Come hang with Blasting Rod at a chill bar with food and seating.
Blasting Rod is a get weird—stay weird tight but loose 3-piece based in Nagoya, Japan playing fuzzy grooves and slippery psychedelia.
Las ranuras borrosas y la psicodelia resbaladiza te transportarán a unas vacaciones para desconectarte de todo por un tiempo.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 24th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Look. This probably won’t be the last time today I talk about a video that came out a couple weeks back, and I know that maybe from outside, a 2022 album that did pretty well on Bandcamp and whatnot getting picked up for a vinyl release doesn’t seem like a big deal. But in the case of Fargo, North Dakota’s Gypsy Wizard Queen, I assure you it is. To be able to say someone — never mind that it’s Buddy Donner of Glory or Death Records (also Sabbath Buddy Sabbath and Great Electric Quest) as the individual in question — thinks enough of your work to get behind putting it on a 12″ platter, and then the test pressings show up at your house? I don’t care if you’ve put out 40 albums in your career — that’s a good day.
Preorders are up for the vinyl now, and the band has a video for the 10-minute languid-roll opener/longest-track “Witch Lung,” which is about as NSFW as a bunch of Hammer Horror exploitation flicks because that’s where at least most of the footage comes from. I think the lady with the skull and the knife by her breast was used by Electric Wizard at some point or other, but it’s been used by a lot of people, so maybe you’ll recognize it. In any case, if you’re at work, don’t watch the clip — and yes, it’s not new unless you’re some kind of weirdo who thinks just because something has been out for more than 48 hours it might still have relevance; and if that’s you, congrats on staying off social media — and if we’re being all the way sincere here, I don’t really like perpetuating this kind of imagery. I don’t feel like there’s much aesthetic gain at this point from slathering ’70s boobage all over your riffs, but I’m clearly in the minority there considering how many do. It’s a big universe, though, and the arc of history at least in this case bends toward inclusion, so it’s another instance where, as George Carlin reminds us, “Evolution is slow; smallpox is fast.”
Think maybe I’ll go back to bed for a bit. Link to buy the thing, the video embed and the album stream all follow here, because one likes to be thorough:
“Witch Lung” is the opening track of the Self-Titled album released in 2022
“Gypsy Wizard Queen is a heavily fuzzed-out power trio hailing from the frozen tundra of Fargo, ND. The band consists of Chris Ellingson on guitar/vocals, Chad Heille on drums, and Mitch Martin on bass/vocals. Their dynamic, bluesy grooves can be found on their latest self-titled release.”
Shipping begins around November 28
Gypsy Wizard Queen are: Chris Ellingson – Guitar/Vocals Chad Heille – Drums Mitch Martin – Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 29th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
For a band who call themselves Fuzz Forward, one might expect the Spanish troupe to be an absolute hair-covered overdose of effects pedals sprawling out across whatever stage they’re playing, but to listen to the new single “Intoxicate” that’s coming out in about two weeks ahead of their next album, Parasites, next year, they’re awfully clearheaded in their approach. Such was the case as well with their 2018 debut, Out of Nowhere (review here), so it would seem their purposes are perhaps a little more straightahead than their moniker.
Fair enough, and that’s hardly true only of them, but the songwriting isn’t really arguable either way, and I know I’ve said this about releases of this sort before, but it’s the kind of thing you might see five record labels or so getting behind. Hail teamwork. I don’t have audio of “Intoxicate” yet to share, but I’ve got art, info, a lifetime’s supply of links and 2022 single “Shout to Forget,” which isn’t on the record but, you know, exists in a public sphere and is thus applicable to our purposes here.
Barcelona based Fuzz Forward are releasing the single Intoxicate next October 13th on Spotify.
The band continues to pursuit their own path with their personal blend of grunge, hard rock and stoner rock. FF is heavily influenced by Helmet, Alice In Chains, Black Sabbath…
Intoxicate is the first single off their sophomore album “Parasites” due for release on January 2024 via Glory or Death Records, Discos Macarras Records, Violence In The Veins, Hombre Montaña and Demons Punk Records.
Fuzz Forward “Parasites”
1. Shout To Forget 2. Intoxicate 3. Fade Away 4. You Never Learn 5. She Comes 6. S.O.S. 7. Set Me Free 8. Hand It Over 9. Dead Friends 10. These Flowers
They made the record for you, the listener.
