Posted in Whathaveyou on June 1st, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Spacious UK psych-doomers Prophets of Saturn will release their second album, Retronauts, on July 17 through HeviSike Records. The four-piece issue their self-titled debut in 2013, and that was later picked up by HeviSike for a CD and tape pressings, so the new album will be a continuation of the relationship. Additionally, opening song “Retronaut,” which I guess is about as close to a title-track as Prophets of Saturn are getting this time around, unless they decide to pluralize elsewhere on the record, is streaming now and you can hear it below.
Prophets of Saturn have a couple live dates booked in the UK for this summer, as the PR wire informs:
Prophets of Saturn announce new album Retronauts on HeviSike Records
Retronauts by Prophets of Saturn will be released on 17th July 2015 on HeviSike Records
Hailing from the British Midlands, English psych-metal four-piece Prophets of Saturn return this July with a follow-up to their 2013, self-titled debut on the Birmingham-based label HeviSike Records.
Offering up a heady excursion into the dope-smoking amplifier-worship of Pentagram, Saint Vitus and Electric Wizard, Retronauts is for neither the faint of heart nor mind. Traversing cosmic ley-lines on an antiquarian journey through the lineage of English proto-metal, a lysergic love of Cream, The Beatles and fellow Midlanders Black Sabbath permeates Prophets of Saturn’s sound. A sound laced in equal measure with both the usual and unusual, from a band possessed to the point of lunacy with channeling bad acid trips, occultism and electrified doom through a fuzz box to get out of it the desired winding riffs and demented wails.
Like their debut – originally released on Cosmic Tomb and later rereleased by HeviSike Records on limited edition CD and cassette – Retronauts is a must-hear for fans of spaced-out, groove-laden metal. The kind committed to analogue tape in the most esoteric of studios and best heard live through vintage stacks.
Known for their commanding and mesmerizing stage shows the band has shared stages recently with the likes of Wounded Kings, Bong, Goatess and Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell and play a number of dates this summer in support of the album’s official release. (See live dates below.)
Retronuats by Prophets of Saturn will be released on 17th July 2015 on HeviSike Records.
Prophets of Saturn Live: Fri, 17th July – Chameleon Arts Cafe, Nottingham (w. Witchsorrow and Iron Void) Sat, 1st August – The Rigger, Newcastle-Under-Lyme (w. Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children of The Knight and Space Witch)
Prophets of Saturn: Ben Shone (Guitars) Max Mead (Bass) Duncan Torrance (Drums) George Sanderson (Vocals)
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 22nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Pressed in a total edition of 400 copies, the new split between Mos Generator and Stubb, titled The Theory of Light and Matter, is available now to preorder from HeviSike Records. The release (track stream here) will be out next month in time to coincide with Mos Generator‘s upcoming European tour dates, and will be available in either black/red marble or white vinyl, sold with an included download. Stubb have gigs coming up supporting The Midnight Ghost Train and Siena Root, while Mos Generator will spend the summer on the road with Elder after hitting the East Coast again for the Eye of the Stoned Goat fest on June 13.
Band : Mos Generator, Stubb Title : The Theory of Light and Matter Label : HeviSike Records Catalog ref. : HVSK-1207 Format : Vinyl HVSK-1208 Mos Generator // Stubb – The Theory of Light & Matter
– Limited Edition with OBI Strip –
Two of the most exciting power trios combine forces to deliver a split album on HeviSike Records. Washington, USA stoner rock titans MOS GENERATOR explore a more progressive territory akin to their 2005 album ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’. London, England three-piece STUBB who are well known for their high-energy blues-rock demonstrate their more experimental side.
MOS GENERATOR have built a dedicated following through a heavy touring schedule and releasing consistently top quality music. The band’s 2015 schedule includes tours of both West Coast and East Coast, USA before visiting Europe on a 33 date European summer tour in support of ELDER. 2014 saw the Port Orchard trio release their opus ‘Electric Mountain Majesty’ (Listenable Records).
STUBB are familiar to the European touring circuit having made numerous appearances at events such as Freak Valley and Desertfest and have shared a stage alongside heavyweight contemporaries such as Earthless, Gentlemans Pistols, Sungrazer and The Machine. The London trio recently released their second LP ‘Cry of The Ocean’ (2014, Ripple Music) to critical acclaim.
Available as a strictly limited edition vinyl LP and digital download, THE THEORY OF LIGHT & MATTER is an essential purchase for fans of heavy psychedelic rock. Mastered specifically for vinyl. Cover art by Harley & J. 150 copies Red/Black Marbled (HeviSike Exclusive), 250 White (Band and Distribution)
Pressing Details: 150 Copies – Black/Red Marbled – HeviSike Records Exclusive 250 Copies – White vinyl (For distribution, only 30 copies available here) Total press: 400 copies Artwork by Harley & J Contains OBI Strip with all information Mastered specifically for vinyl
PRE-ORDER: Friday 22nd May 2015 RELEASE DATE: Monday 22nd June 2015
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 11th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Dead Feathers must keep a stock of vacuum tubes on hand, because if the sound of their debut EP is anything to judge by, they must blow through them about as soon as their amps are switched on. The Chicago four-piece initially released their self-titled EP in 2014 and have just announced their allegiance to HeviSike Records for a reissue of the fuzzed-out four-tracker, complete with all the classy/-ic blues swagger and ’70s vibing one could feasibly ask.
It’s early yet for any kind of word of a follow-up to the EP and whether or not that will also be delivered through HeviSike, but the EP reissue will be out on vinyl this August and that’s a good start as more ears get introduced to the band. Dead Feathers will also join up with Electric Citizen, Mondo Drag and Slow Season July 10 in Chicago at Reggies for what will no doubt be a good time.
Word came down the PR wire of the signing. It goes a little something like this:
Chicago, IL psychedelic rock group DEAD FEATHERS announce signing to UK label HEVISIKE RECORDS.
Five-piece psychedelic rock group Dead Feathers have partnered with English stoner rock label HeviSike Records. The label will release the band’s self-titled debut EP.
The band’s 4 song demo has gained widespread attention throughout the underground music community due to the hypnotic vocals of frontwoman Marissa Allen complemented by guitarists Tony Wold and Shaggy Shadric plus the rhythm section of Rob Rodak (bass) and Jose Bernal (drums).
The young troupe are set to embark on a series of shows including performances with Slow Season, Electric Citizen, The Well, Joy, Bonehawk and Ancient River.
Available as a digital download and limited edition 10” vinyl, August 2015.
Posted in audiObelisk on May 5th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
If time has proven aything at all, it’s that Tony Reed likes to keep busy. With his band Mos Generator having already released the live album In Concert: 2007-2014 (track stream here) on Listenable Records and just last week confirmed a new 7″ through Stickman Records to coincide with their upcoming European tour with Elder, Reed and bassist Sean Booth next join forces with HeviSike Records, who will issue a split LP called The Theory of Light and Matter that boasts three new tracks from Mos Generator and three from UK trio Stubb, whose albums Reed has mixed and mastered in the past.
That level of output shouldn’t really be news to anyone who’s followed Reed‘s work for just about any length of time at all, but the difference is now Mos Generator is ready to take the show on the road. They’ll tour the East Coast for the second time this year early next month, and then they take off for the aforementioned European jaunt, and that’s another full month gone mobile. Not only that, but with Reed working in his own studio and putting together material at an ever-more prolific clip, there’s no sign whatsoever that this swath of productivity is anything but the beginning, which of course is just fine so long as you’re into things like choice riffs and quality songwriting. The split with Stubb includes “As Above So Below,” “Catspaw” and “There’s No Return from Nowhere,” and will be released by HeviSike in an edition of 400 copies with artwork by Harley & J.
Launching the release with a chunky riff topped with a near-immediate verse from Reed, who also drums on the split — oh yeah, did I mention that in addition to putting all this stuff together in the last year, the band has also completely revamped its lineup? — one finds many of the recognizable elements of Mos Gen‘s approach intact. The track is heavy but clearheaded, and builds on some of the melodic progression the band showed on their last full-length, 2014’s Electric Mountain Majesty (review here), but still remains essentially true to their classic form, a spacious break in the middle setting up a finish that is, like the song itself, quintessentially their own. As the first cut of the included six, it’s a memorable start to side A, and quickly affirms that The Theory of Light and Matter offers plenty of both.
I’m thrilled today to host the premiere of “As Above So Below,” which you can find on the player here, followed by info from HeviSike on the release and Mos Generator‘s upcoming tour dates, starting with their East Coast run in June. Please enjoy:
MOS GENERATOR // STUBB – The Theory of Light & Matter (LP) HVSK-1207
Two of the most exciting power trios combine forces to deliver a split album on HeviSike Records. Washington, USA stoner rock titans MOS GENERATOR explore a more progressive territory akin to their 2005 album ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’. London, England three-piece STUBB who are well known for their high-energy blues-rock demonstrate their more experimental side.
MOS GENERATOR have built a dedicated following through a heavy touring schedule and releasing consistently top quality music. The band’s 2015 schedule includes tours of both West Coast and East Coast, USA before visiting Europe on a 33 date European summer tour in support of ELDER. 2014 saw the Port Orchard trio release their opus ‘Electric Mountain Majesty’ (Listenable Records).
STUBB are familiar to the European touring circuit having made numerous appearances at events such as Freak Valley and Desertfest and have shared a stage alongside heavyweight contemporaries such as Earthless, Gentlemans Pistols, Sungrazer and The Machine. The London trio recently released their second LP ‘Cry of The Ocean’ (2014, Ripple Music) to critical acclaim.
Available as a strictly limited edition vinyl LP and digital download, THE THEORY OF LIGHT & MATTER is an essential purchase for fans of heavy psychedelic rock. Mastered specifically for vinyl. Cover art by Harley & J. 150 copies Red/Black Marbled (HeviSike Exclusive), 250 White (Band and Distribution)
MOS GENERATOR on tour: with Wounded Giant 6/5/15 Millcreek Tavern- Philadelphia, PA w/ Wasted Theory, Righteous Bloom 6/6/15 Sidebar Tavern- Baltimore, MD w/ Wasted Theory, Borracho, Foghound, Mountainwolf 6/7/15 The Pinch- Washington, DC w/ Wasted Theory, Borracho 6/9/15 Three Sheets – New Haven, CT w/ Bedroom Rehab Corporation 6/10/15 TT The Bear’s Place- Cambridge, MA w/ Elder, Worshipper 6/11/15 Dover Brickhouse – Dover, NH w/ Gozu, Iron Chin 6/12/15 Empire- Portland, ME w/ Murcielago 6/13/15 Amityville Music hall- Long Island, NY “Eye of the Stoned Goat 5 Festival” w/ Weed is Weed, Gozu, Brimstone Coven, Doctor Smoke, Curse The Son, Ol’ Time Moonshine, John Wilkes Booth
ELDER / MOS GENERATOR – Live in Europe 2015 20.06.2015 F – Clisson, Hellfest 2015, (only ELDER) 22.06.2015 ESP – Madrid, Wurlitzer Ballroom 23.06.2015 ESP – Barcelona, Riff Ritual Fest Sala Boveda 25.06.2015 CH – Luzern, Sedel 26.06.2015 GER – Kloster Weil, JH 27.06.2015 GER – Siegen, Vortex 29.06.2015 UK – Cardiff, Moon Club 01.07.2015 UK – Edinburgh, Bannermans 02.07.2015 UK – London, Garage, 03.07.2015 UK – Bristol, The Louisiana 05.07.2015 B – Leuven, Sojo 08.07.2015 GER – Hamburg, Hafenklang 10.07.2015 GER – Erfurt, Stoned From The Underground Festival 2015 11.07.2015 A – Nikolsdorf, Stick & Stone Festival 2015 12.07.2015 HUN – Budapest, Dürer Kert 13.07.2015 A – Vienna, Arena 15.07.2015 ROM – Bucarest, Fabrica Club 16.07.2015 I – Milano, Lo fi Club 17.07.2015 I – Prato, No Cage 20.07.2015 F – Paris, Glazart 21.07.2015 F – Nantes, Club tba 23.07.2015 A – Salzburg, Rockhouse 24.07.2015 GER – Beelen, Krach Am Bach Festival 2015 25.07.2015 GER – Dresden. Chemiefabrik 26.07.2015 GER – Nürnberg, Zentralcafe 27.07.2015 GER – Munich, Backstage, Free & Easy Festival 29.07.2015 GER – Wiesbaden, Schlachthof 31.07.2015 B – Waarshoot, Roadkill Festival 2015 01.08.2015 GER – Bielefeld, Forum, Stickman Records showcase 02.08.2015 GR – Drama, Fuzztastic Planet Fest 2015, (only ELDER) 04.08.2015 NOR – Oslo, Pokalen 05.08.2015 DK – Copenhagen, Pumpehuset 06.08.2015 GER – Berlin, Cassiopeia 08.08.2015 A – Nepomukteich Waldhausen, Lake on Fire Festival 2015
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 3rd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Since no day is complete without a reminder of one’s getting old — beyond the fatigue, aches, malaise, etc., I mean — UK doomers Alunah will oversee a reissue of their 2010 album, Call of Avernus. Why does that make me feel old? Because I remember reviewing it when it first came out. Their full-length debut, it set the tone for the gorgeous and increasing lushness that would follow on their two subsequent outings, 2012’s White Hoarhound (review here) and last year’s righteous third, Awakening the Forest (review here), and while I guess it’s not unreasonable to put the record out there again — they, things get reissued after months, let alone years — it just doesn’t seem like that long ago that Call of Avernus showed up the first time.
HeviSike Records has made the LP — limited to 300 copies — available to preorder with new art and fancy one-per-customer limited-edition goodness. Orders went live yesterday and if they’re not already gone, no doubt they soon will be. PRC Music will have a new CD version of it out this year as well.
To the PR wire:
ALUNAH – CALL OF AVERNUS (LP) HVSK-1206
Birmingham based Alunah are not part of any scene; instead they carve their own path merging elements of doom, psych and classic heavy rock with earthy hypnotic vocal melodies. HeviSike Records are proud to present this deluxe issue of their debut album, Call of Avernus, for the first time on vinyl.
Through the band’s relentless touring schedule, which has seen them tour with the likes of Saint Vitus, Fu Manchu & The Sword, Alunah have gained a dedicated following. With this and the success of ‘White Hoarhound’ (2012) and ‘Awakening The Forest’ (2014) interest has grown in their 2010 opus ‘Call Of Avernus’ along with demand for a vinyl release.
Recorded by esteemed producer Greg Chandler (Esoteric) and specifically mastered for the vinyl format by the legendary Tony Reed (Mos Generator), ‘Call of Avernus’ is offered in a limited run of 300.
Specifications: – All new album artwork – Deluxe Gatefold Sleeve – High Performance Coloured Vinyl (Ultra Clear or Olive Green) – Strictly Limited (100 Die Hard, 200 Limited Edition)
Pressing breakdown: Die Hard Edition – 100 Copies – UltraClear Vinyl – Exclusive to HeviSike.com Limited Edition – 200 Copies – Olive Green Vinyl – Band and Distribution edition A CD issue is being handled by PRC Music.
Pre-order date: Thursday 2nd April 2015 Release date: Monday 11th May 2015
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 11th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
San Diego four-piece Desert Suns recently inked a deal for a new release through Ripple Music, but before they get there, they’ll oversee a vinyl issue of their self-titled debut. Originally put out by the band in 2014, the HeviSike edition of the album features a vinyl-specific master by Tony Reed of Mos Generator, and will be limited to 300 copies, 100 clear and exclusive to the label, 200 white for the band and distribution. The artwork is a selling point on its own, but that’s not to discount the quality of what Desert Suns do either. For those who’d look to get in on the ground floor, here it is.
News from the PR wire:
Desert Suns vinyl released on HeviSike Records April 2015
San Diego, CA stoner rockers DESERT SUNS release their self-titled debut LP on vinyl through HeviSike Records in April 2015. The four-piece demonstrate versatility unseen amongst their contemporaries; this six-song debut sees the band touch on psychedelia, blues-rock and doom. The group gained attention in late 2014 after their stoner rock anthem SPACE PUSSY was featured on Classic Rock Magazine’s (UK) cover-mount compilation ‘The Levee Breaks’ (November, 2014).
Fans of early 70s proto-metal acts such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Steppenwolf and Blue Cheer will appreciate the classic groove demonstrated on this record, as will followers of modern stoner rockers Fu Manchu, Kadavar, Graveyard and Clutch. Haunting lyrics of alienation accompany the listener on a journey through the sinister and the beautiful. Limited to just 300 copies, this one time press LP is manufactured with vinyl enthusiasts in mind; mastered specifically for the format by renowned multi-instrumentalist Tony Reed (Mos Generator/Stone Axe) at HeavyHead Recording Co in Washington, USA and pressed on high grade colour vinyl. Cover art is provided by San Diego’s own Jimmy Ovadia.
Pressing breakdown: 100 Copies – Clear Vinyl – Exclusive to HeviSike.com 200 Copies – White Vinyl – Band and Distribution edition includes: 4 x Limited Edition postcards and 1 x A3 size poster insert demonstrating the art of Jimmy Ovadia.
David Russell – Bass/Vocals Woogie Maggard – Guitar Anthony Belluto – Guitar Ben McDowell – Drums
Posted in Duuude, Tapes! on January 7th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Like Lightsabres‘ late-2013 debut, Demons (review here), the second full-length, Spitting Blood, is a deceptively complex outing. Released as a limited tape in an edition of 50 copies by HeviSike Records — 25 translucent red cassettes, 25 opaque red, with a foldout j-card and included patch — and already through its second vinyl pressing since releasing in Sept. 2014, it pulls together ranging impulses from garage rock, goth drama, heavy riffing, raw punk and more across its 13-track span, all songs clocking in at around or under two minutes long. A quick listen, multi-instrumentalist/vocalist John Strömshed (who also recorded and doubles in Tunga Moln) takes listeners through an otherworldly passage not quite as dark or extreme as the cover of the tape might indicate, but certainly fitting enough with the notion of cutting to the bone. The buzzsaw guitar tone that pervades “I Can’t Feel It,” which sounds like a hypothetical garage-recordedQueens of the Stone Age demo circa 1991, and the later post-punk boogie of “Like Shit” slices and dices through the raw mix with little concern, for skin or otherwise.
That is, ultimately, what Strömshed uses to cloakthe sonic diversity of Lightsabres. In another dimension, he’d be exploring ever deeper arrangements in limitless budgets of instrumentation and production style, but on Spitting Blood, it’s the mood and stylistic range that’s being explored, pushed outside of the comfort zone of genre. His take on the Misfits‘ “Hybrid Moments” (a personal favorite) is authentic to the original, and somehow, it fits smoothly between the would-be-nihilistic-if-it-wasn’t-such-a-hook of “Fuck Tomorrow” and the head-down low-end punk of “Sonic Death” near the end of side 1. To further the delightfully confounding nature of the tape, each half ends with a sweet, ambient moment of guitar melody, “Dark Matter” wistful and folkish, and album-closer “I Dream of Space” an experimental-feeling brush with psychedelic minimalism at least in part presented backwards. Coming off a song like “No Cash,” which is the longest inclusion on Spitting Blood at 2:36 and toys with drumless pop drama in a near-abrasive blown-out wash of fuzz, it is particularly effective in highlighting just how deep Strömshed goes in his pursuit of… whatever the hell it might be that he’s after.
But it’s the rawness that makes it all consistent. Like earliest Six Organs of Admittance — and at the same time, not at all like it — Lightsabres‘ consuming rough edge gives even an angrier punker like “Pigs” an underlying intimacy, almost a personalized feel, that works greatly toward lending further individuality to what would in many other contexts be a loosely familiar or at very least more straightforward offering. Coupled with a core of songwriting that will be apparent even on the most superficial of listens as the catchiness of these songs reaches up from the dense tonal swamp in which they reside to bash the listener over the head, that still-developing individualism makes Spitting Blood both a worthy successor to Demons and an enjoyable reveling in proto-grunge that, in a world of cult themes that it eschews, proves legitimately cult worthy. A project of which people will no doubt continue to take notice, and rightfully so.
