There was no real arguing with Holy Grove at the time, either. Based in Portland, Oregon, the bluesy heavy psychedelic soul rockers made their self-titled debut (review here) in 2016 through Heavy Psych Sounds. The response, if it wasn’t immediate, was close enough to it to be indistinguishable, and justified. Production by Billy Anderson and Adam Pike and Mike Moore (the latter two overdubs), still-stunning cover art by Adam Burke, a sound as thick as fuzzy as you like and the powerhouse vocals of Andrea Vidal cutting through with command and presence. I don’t want to call it a no-brainer for fear of being misinterpreted as saying the record is dumb, but certainly for those listening to it, the “well duh this sure rules” factor was pretty high.

Holy Grove circa Holy Grove was Vidal, bassist Gregg Emley, guitarist Trent Jacobs and drummer Craig Bradford. The latter didn’t stick around, and the band would go through a succession of drummers for the better part of the next half-decade, even booking a run in early 2020 that would’ve featured Andy Patterson (The Otolith, ex-SubRosa, ex-Iota, etc.) on drums — like everything else that Spring, it was canceled, but the prospect existed — but the groove fostered by the ‘original’ or at least the ‘initial’ lineup of the band wants for nothing. Beginning the seven-track procession with the nodder “Death of Magic” before its apparent revival in the slow-lumbering “Nix” — Emley introducing on bass the central riff that hearkens to C.O.C.‘s “Albatross,” as well as to Quest for Fire and, while we’re on “duh,” Black Sabbath — the album immediately knows its place, what it is, what it wants to do, and why. There is no questioning of purpose, no tentative rolling of metaphoric dice. Sometimes a band just sounds like they know their shit rules. To wit, “Holy Grove.”

From Sleep to All Them Witches, Witch Mountain and YOB and well beyond, Holy Grove seemed content to let the riffs sort out their own place in a heavy underground sphere. Their doom, always heavy, was restrained in its severity by languid tempos and an abiding sense of largesse, and the stops and volume swells and scorching leads of “Holy Grove” demonstrate clearly their focus on craft over specific genre adherence. Their songs, on Holy Grove and its 2018 follow-up, Holy Grove II (review here), can be expansive, crunching or both, and “Nix” early serves as a precursor to the closing duo “Hanged Man” and “Safe Return” later, both of which also top seven minutes in length, while even the shorter, riff-centered “Huntress” — centerpiece of the record, mind you — has an atmospheric impression cast through its tones, the reach of its mix, and the treatment on Vidal‘s vocals, intermittently layered and dynamic in keeping with the instruments surrounding, aligning with the rest of the band for the speedier, ultra-Iommic swing push at the end of “Huntress.”

There wasn’t much more Holy Grove could’ve done to bring people on board, short perhaps of mailing everybody on the planet who might be interested a free copy of the record. The energy of the second half of “Huntress” is maintained into “Caravan,” which offsets the thrust of its verse by opening to a stop in its chorus, Vidal controlling a tempest with backing vocals in a moment reminiscent but not necessarily derivative of Witch Mountain, whose former singer Uta Plotkin seemed capable of similar conjurations but whose style is more doom overall. Jacobs takes a particular burner of a solo in “Caravan” — if it’s been a while since you heard the album, listen for it — and just before giving over to the last two tracks, Holy Grove find the highest gear in terms of shove that they’ll hit on their debut. When “Caravan” stops, it’s a heavy silence.

And at 8:49, “Hanged Man” announces its arrival with far-back, fading-in vocals and a pointed spaciousness reinforced as the guitar holds out its first distorted riff like the version of “Black Sabbath” that might’ve showed up on Dehumanizer had they re-recorded it (and why didn’t they?), and unfurls with patience toward its stop-chug and twist-around blues verse, at once traditional and their own. Guitar howls in the second cycle through, and the roll of the chorus gives over to a consuming tempo push, multi-tiered, that summarizes the trajectory and dynamic the band have employed throughout, whether that’s shifts in volume or meter, mood or vibe, let alone volume. “Hanged Man” slows again to slide into its final hook, and ends big to let the momentum carry over to “Safe Return” (7:20), which rounds out with more bluesy stomp, breadth in its backing-vocal-inclusive chorus, and a raucous finish well earned after the tempo kick.

All this was, was a killer debut record. 2016 had a few of them — King Buffalo, Elephant Tree, Vokonis, Spaceslug, Year of the Cobra, etc. — but Holy Grove stood out because, yes, Vidal is just that kind of a performer, and also because Holy Grove is executed with such clarity of vision. It’s not that the record’s perfect — it’s not supposed to be — but that for what it’s doing, it’s doing it in just the right way for itself. It’s its own thing. It exists within a sphere, a genre, and there are plenty of the pieces that make it that will feel familiar to those who know the style more generally, but beyond those superficialities, the persona of Holy Grove was cast in the lack of pretense of this first record and the absolute heart put into the songs.

It’s been five years, but I’m still hopeful Vidal, Emley, Jacobs and a drummer can get a third full-length together. There was still a lot of potential in II amid the band’s strident progression, but in addition to being interested in how they might have grown, I’d be happy just to have a few more songs from them. They never officially broke up or anything, but there hasn’t been a ton of activity in the last three or so years, which I get. Nonetheless, the revisit here only reminds of why I’d been hopeful in the first place.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

—

Today’s Friday. Kid went to school Monday and Wednesday this week. Tuesday was election day — The Patient Mrs. is now on the school board, which will be good to balance against the two bought-off, book-banning fascists who also got elected — and yesterday and today are teacher’s convention. I don’t know if other states/countries have something similar — probably — but it’s basically two professional development days for teachers, and there is an actual convention they can go to. For kids it’s just days off.

So, days off. Which, of course, are days on.

Yesterday morning dragged so long I’m pretty sure I’m still there. I did finally get the kid out of the house to go to the grocery store, but it was an ‘early Zelda’ day at about 3PM — normally I might try to keep the tv off until 5 or thereabouts — and my back was so sore I could barely move like the entire day, and every word out of The Pecan’s mouth between 5:30AM when she got up and after 9PM when she finally went up to bed because The Patient Mrs. and I were going to bed and I finally convinced her to get the fuck out of our room so we could do that was whined. Whining. All day. Every fucking thing. Whine whine whine. Even about non-complaint stuff. All fucking day. All. Fucking. Day.

I tried to get the babysitter today and she didn’t text me back. I wouldn’t text me back either.

It’s also my sister’s birthday, which is nice. Dinner here, probably. Need to vacuum after working on the kitchen this week, but the new ovens (yes, two) are in and the new cooktop works (though fewer of our pans are induction-ready than we thought), so The Patient Mrs.’ DIY bent continues. She cut out the front of the cabinet to hold the double-oven. It was pretty fucking impressive. Measure twice, and all that.

This weekend is Heavy Psych Sounds in New York. Between family celebration and my back I don’t think I’m going to make it, but if you go there or to Baltimore, have a great time. I’ll be back here on Monday with more shenanigans in pursuit of an eventual sponsorship from Doan’s.

Have fun, be safe, drink water. Thanks for reading.

FRM.

The Obelisk Collective on Facebook

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

A few classics, a lot of new music, and a final half-hour that I’d have a hard time imagining could possibly be better spent. I haven’t been able to spend as much time in the Gimme Metal chat during the shows as I’d like — my duties as dad/house-husband in terms of feeding, bedtime ritual, diapers, dinner and all that clash pretty hard with the 5-7PM timeslot, and it’s important to me to do those things as well as to be visible doing them, especially to my son to teach him that a man can be a caregiver (as much as I’m able) — but I always at least check in and keep half an eye on what’s going on in there.

It’s been cool to see the Gimme community develop over time. There are familiar names in there week after week and others come and go. That’s a special kind of connection Gimme has been able to forge that I feel fortunate to be a part of in some small way. I’ve never been cool enough to be a part of a scene. I’m still not. But it’s fun to watch.

The Pecan does indeed feature in this one. He broke out “Listenin’ to Obeliks Show on Give-Me-Metal!” from the back seat of the car and surprised the hell out of me. I think you can probably hear my smile.

Thanks for listening if you do. I hope you enjoy the show.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 10.02.20

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Oct. 16 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

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Initially a project of Steve Hanford — known for his work in Poison Idea and a slew of others, including most recently Portland, Oregon’s Ape Machine — the various artists project Dominance and Submission: A Tribute to Blue Öyster Cult will see release in the coming months via Ripple Music. What began as a loving homage from Hanford to his favorite band has become a meta-tribute, as it fell to others to complete the project following Hanford‘s death earlier this year. It is, then, honoring as much to him and his work as much as Blue Öyster Cult, since Hanford sits in on many the tracks, including those featuring the likes of Billy Anderson, Rob Wrong (Witch Mountain) and Andrea Vidal (Holy Grove), Jeff Matz of Zeke and High on Fire, Year of the Cobra, Mos Generator and others.

No audio yet, and I expect a solid release date is forthcoming, but the heart with which this has been put together, on both ends, comes through clearly in the announcement below — also the cover art rules — so dig into that in the meantime and when I hear about the rest, I’ll let you know.

Here goes:

Dominance and Submission: A Tribute To Blue Öyster Cult

Californian powerhouse RIPPLE MUSIC is proud to announce the upcoming release of their all-star tribute album to Blue Öyster Cult: ‘Dominance and Submission: A Tribute to Blue Öyster Cult’. The album will feature covers by Steve Hanford, Mark Lanegan, Billy Anderson, Jeff Matz, Zeke, Mondo Generator and other major names of the heavy rock world.

This special tribute album was initiated by Poison Idea’s departed drummer Steve Hanford, in conjunction with Ian Watts of Ape Machine. Founded in 1967, Blue Öyster Cult are considered pioneers of occult rock’n’roll, marking generations with timeless anthems such as “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, “Burnin’ for You”, “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll” or “Godzilla”. The New-York outfit has since then remained a reference act of the 70s rock scene alongside Black Sabbath, MC5, The Stooges or Steppenwolf.

The “Dominance and Submission: A Tribute To Blue Öyster Cult” record will highlight some of the finest work from the legendary American band, with unique contributions from JEFF MATZ of ZEKE and HIGH ON FIRE, MONDO GENERATOR, MOS GENERATOR, GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST, QUASI, HOLY GROVE, WAR CLOUD, APE MACHINE, ZEKE, YEAR OF THE COBRA, FETISH, SPINDRIFT as well as MARK LANEGAN and BILLY ANDERSON. The artwork was designed by Dave Snider.

The concept:

Steven Hanford AKA Thee Slayer Hippy lived the rocky road of the rock and roll veteran. As drummer and producer in Poison Idea he played on two of the most influential records of hardcore – War All The Time and Feel The Darkness. As producer he worked on indie rock projects such as Heatmiser (with frontman Elliot Smith) and punk albums for notable names like The Hard Ons. Due to some struggles with addiction which he later attributed to repressed sexual abuse as a child, Steve found himself in prison on multiple occasions, most recently in 2008 for a seven-year sentence after robbing a Walgreens. While in prison, Steve turned his life around and started recording albums for prisoners with a fellow inmate named Sam Redding (Sam appears on this record). After being released in 2015, Steve jumped on a tour playing drums in The Skull and was soon after introduced to Ape Machine by mutual friend Tony Lash (Heatmiser). Steve quickly joined Ape Machine on drums and also as producer for Darker Seas. While on the road with Ape Machine, Steve decided he wanted to produce a tribute record to one of his favorite bands, Blue Öyster Cult.

Steve had a vision of building a studio and originally wanted to use funds from the sale of the tribute record to get some gear. The goal was to be able to work in his own studio, producing records for other bands. The idea was to have bands come and record BÖC tribute songs in his fledgling studio (temporarily using borrowed gear from Ian Watts) which he would produce, simultaneously making a name for the studio, his production techniques, and his drumming skills. Much of the gear and engineering would be provided by Ian Watts.

Unfortunately, Steve didn’t make it to see the project through to release due to his suffering a heart attack on May 21st 2020. Fortunately for music fans though, he had completed most of the recording for the project, leaving Ian Watts to gather the final pieces and mix the record.

Steve was an accomplished and respected musician and was able to round up a star studded cast of bands for the tribute, including members of Mondo Generator, Quasi, Holy Grove, War Cloud, Mos Generator, Great Electric Quest, Ape Machine, Zeke, Year of the Cobra, High on Fire, Fetish, Spindrift as well as notable names such as Mark Lanegan and Billy Anderson.

With Steve no longer being with us, the proceeds of the record will go to benefit his widowed partner, Kitty Diggins who was left with some financial hardships, including much needed house repairs.

TRACK LISTING & LINEUP
1) ME262 (Steve Hanford, Nick Oliveri, Ian Watts, Mike Pygmie)
2) Dominance and Submission (Steve Hanford, Mark Lanegan, Sam Coomes, Sam Redding)
3) Wings Wetted Down (Steve Hanford, Billy Anderson, Rob Wrong, Andrea Vidal)
4) Tattoo Vampire (Mondo Generator)
5) Stairway to the Stars (War Cloud)
6) Veteran of the Psychic Wars (Ape Machine)
7) Flaming Telepaths (Great Electric Quest)
8) Transmaniacon MC (Mos Generator w/ Steve Hanford)
9) 7 Screaming Dizbusters (Fetish)
10) Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll (Zeke w/ Jeff Matz and Steve Hanford)
11) Fireworks (Year of the Cobra w/ Steve Hanford)
12) Don’t Fear the Reaper (Spindrift and Steve Hanford)

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

Poison Idea, War All the Time (1987)

The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Andrea Vidal of Holy Grove (Portland, Oregon)

—

How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

We’ve definitely had to adjust, but if you’re already an active band-you’re used to that whole “change of plans at the last minute” sort of thing. Certainly not on this scale though, this has been surreal to say the least. We had some dates booked in April in support of our Smokeout date that we’ve had to cancel, and for the time being practice has been relegated to a few Skype calls. Everyone is healthy currently, and feeling very grateful for that. We took a hit financially with the merch we ordered for the canceled run, but that pales in comparison to putting our health, our families health and anyone attending our shows at risk. Personally, it has been very difficult to watch countless tours and festivals canceled, but oddly comforting watching the community come together and show support despite these setbacks.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

Here in Oregon we are forbidden from leaving our homes unless absolutely necessary. Bars, restaurants and other “non essential” business are closed… thank Iommi that weed stores however, are very, very much open.

The local businesses that remain open have been showing tremendous support to their employees and the community, and I feel very fortunate that — although at the moment I am very much unemployed — my basic needs are met.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

For me, I find myself listening to records that I haven’t picked up in years. I’ve been reorganizing my home a bit, and coming across bits of my past while doing so has been soul reviving. The most striking thing is that for the first time in my life I have plenty of opportunity to dedicate time on my physical and mental health. I’m very grateful for that. You can’t escape yourself, and that’s even more evident while in quarantine!

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

Hard to say exactly what 2020 holds for Holy Grove. Psycho Smokeout is rescheduled for October, and though we currently have a few irons in the fire, there is some level of uncertainty surrounding each one. Thankfully, we have new music to to keep us busy. Our only band philosophy is to write the best music we possibly can — so we’re going to lean into that. It’s just about the only thing we can count on. I find joy in writing lyrics for Holy Grove. For a moment, I get to express some form of poetry that wouldn’t be able to be published or put out into the world otherwise. I am really thankful to be filling my notebook once again.

https://www.facebook.com/holygroveband/
http://holygrove.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/

Okay. Holy Grove doing a couple shows en route from their native Portland to play Psycho Smokeout in Los Angeles on April 18 is cool. It’s not the only US touring they’re going to do this year, reportedly, which is certainly good news as far as I’m concerned. But I feel like the real news here is that Andy Patterson will be drumming for them on the run. Patterson, formerly of Iota and SubRosa in Salt Lake City (as well as numerous others) and currently also in New York-based Insect Ark and SLC’s Døne, as well as SubRosa offshoot The Otolith — all in addition to recording bands — may or may not be permanent in the drummer role, I don’t really know, but what in life is permanent anyway? If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to watch him play, you know he brings a significant presence and creative pulse to the drums and the fact that that’s going to be a part of Holy Grove only makes me want to FINALLY see them live all the more.

I won’t on this brief West Coast run, which is a bummer as ever, but have my fingers crossed the opportunity will come sometime before the end of this year, one way or the other.

Either way, these shows, somewhat unsurprisingly, look killer:

Holy Grove is hittin’ the ol’ dusty trail this April to support our invitation to Psycho Smokeout 2020. We’re also welcoming Andy Patterson to fold, who will be holding it down for us behind the kit. He’s best known as the drummer of the now defunct Subrosa of SLC, and more recently his work with Insect Ark of NYC.

Thursday 4/16 Eugene, OR at Old Nicks Pub w/ Gaythiest and Red Cloud
Friday 4/17 Oakland, CA at Jack London Elbo Room w/ Brume and Squalus
Saturday 4/18 Los Angeles, CA at Catch One for Psycho Smokeout w/Acid King, The Obsessed, Cough etc.

Artwork for the tour flyer was done by Dylan Garrett Smith (@dylanxvx on IG), lettering by Josh Yelle (@pencilmancer on IG) and layout by Eric Powers (@_punt_ on IG).

Holy Grove is:
Andrea Vidal – Vocals
Trent Jacobs – Guitar
Gregg Emley – Bass
Andy Patterson – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/holygroveband/
http://holygrove.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/

Holy Grove, II (2018)

Hey Psycho Smokeout 2.0 — sick fuggin’ lineup. With one headliner still TBA next month Psycho Entertainment and RidingEasy Records pair up to present the likes of Weedeater, Acid King, The Obsessed, Cough, Mondo Drag, Heavy Temple, The Well, Holy Grove, Salem’s Bend, and on and on, all on one day — April 18, 2020. Considering there are 19 acts confirmed, let’s assume there will be multiple stages going. I don’t know what that’ll do to the schedule — certainly possible to alternate — but however it happens, it’s a badass assemblage and there’s more to come. Tickets are on sale now, because seriously, why the hell wait?

So yes. Why wait?

From the PR wire:

PSYCHO SMOKEOUT 2.0 To Take Place April 18th, 2020; Lineup Includes Weedeater, The Obsessed, Acid King, Cough, And More + Early Bird Tickets On Sale Now!

Behold! PSYCHO SMOKEOUT 2.0 will make its annual descent upon Los Angeles’ multi-level Catch One Riff Compound April 18th, 2020!

Brought to you by Psycho Entertainment and RidingEasy Records, this year’s day-long puffathon features performances from nearly two-dozen artists including North Caroline stoner metal goliaths Weedeater, Maryland doom icons The Obsessed, California stoner rock veterans Acid King, and Virginia sludge bringers Cough, with the final headliner to be unveiled later this fall. Spread across three stages, the glassy-eyed gala will include a massive vendor market and more surprises to be announced in the weeks to come.

Early bird tickets for PSYCHO SMOKEOUT 2.0 go on sale Thursday September 19th. The limited early bird tickets are a cool $39 plus fees and are expected to sellout within 48 hours of being announced. The next tier will be $49 plus fees. The final tier will be $59 plus fees. Don’t sleep on this!

Nab your tickets today at THIS LOCATION.

PSYCHO SMOKEOUT 2.0 is a 420 friendly, 18 and over event.

Psycho Entertainment & RidingEasy Records Presents:
PSYCHO SMOKEOUT 2.0
April 18th, 2020
Catch One Riff Compound
Los Angeles, California

Lineup (in alphabetical order):
Acid King
Casket Raider
Cough
Deathchant
Great Electric Quest
Heavy Temple
Holy Grove
India Tigers In Texas
Leather Lung
Mondo Drag
Mother Iron Horse
Mountain Tamer
Pale Mare
Salem’s Bend
The Munsens
The Obsessed
The Well
Vaelmyst
Weedeater

http://www.vivapsycho.com/
http://www.ridingeasyrecs.com

Holy Grove, II (2018)

So, in basically the last week-plus, Portland, Oregon’s Holy Grove have announced their latest string of West Coast tour dates and released a live album captured at this year’s Ceremony of Sludge to benefit a three-year-old with leukemia. Get that here at name-your-price and pay handsomely for it. Here are the tour dates:

Holy Grove on tour:
8/28 – Tacoma, WA @ Spanish Ballroom
8/29 – Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown
8/30 – Vancouver, BC @ SBC
8/31 – Seattle, WA @ Substation
9/1 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder
9/2 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
9/3 – Denver, CO @ Tooey’s Off Colfax
9/4 – Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
9/5 – Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Taproom
9/6 – Los Angeles, CA – 5 Star Bar
9/7 – Oakland, CA – Elbo Room Jack London
9/8 – Cupertino, CA – X Bar
9/9 – Sacramento, CA – Blue Lamp

I’ve still never had the good fortune to see Holy Grove live, and especially after the release of Holy Grove II (review here) last November — the four-piece’s debut on Ripple Music that followed their 2016 self-titled debut (review here) on Heavy Psych Sounds — I feel like I’m genuinely missing out. Sadly, I won’t be anywhere they’re going on this tour — always wanted to hit Vancouver, and Albuquerque seemed like a cool town when I was there — but a bit of insight into what the touring experience is like for Holy Grove is most certainly welcome.

So, here are some road songs. You know, what they play when they’re in the van going from one show to another on those long drives where inside-jokes are made and the bonds between bandmates are formed. Also, you should know that when I was typing that last sentence just now, I first wrote “bongs” instead of “bonds,” so take whatever you will from that. Either way, those times can be drags or they can be great, but they’re an essential part of the touring experience.

As Holy Grove prepare to head out again, they were kind enough to put together a selection of some of their favorite tunes to take with them, and bassist Gregg Emley — joined in the band by vocalist Andrea Vidal, guitarist Trent Jacobs and drummer Eben Travis — also gives some background on their choices.

Please enjoy:

One of the best things about playing in a band is going on tour. Seeing new places and playing your music for new people is always exciting. One of the best things about going on tour for me is spending time with your band mates in the van. This is where all sorts of band bonding occurs. Inside jokes are formed, laughs are had, stories are told. It’s truly the best. Something else I love about touring is getting to spend time on those long drives listening to tunes and turning your band mates on to something they may not have heard before.

Here’s a playlist of some songs we like, and we encourage you to crank ’em on your next road trip.

Popul Vuh – Kleiner Krieger: Sublime little instrumental from my favorite PV record to start things off. Sounds like the beginning of a journey to me.

Led Zeppelin – Achilles Last Stand: Why screw around? Perhaps the most epic band’s most epic song.

BÖC – Joan Crawford: Apparently, she’s risen from the grave. The hook in this one is huge and fun to sing along with in a van full of buds late at night.

ZZ Top – Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings: My favorite song from one of the best road trip bands ever. That riff, that feel. No one does it better.

Roky Erikson – Two-Headed Dog: This is a recent discovery for me, courtesy of Trent (our guitar player). He played the whole record on our last tour and I was hooked. I remember having headphones on listening to a podcast or something, hearing this and immediately taking my headphones off, asking who it was and listening to the record. It’s been in my rotation since.

Diagonal – Semi-Permeble Menbrain: Diagonal is (maybe was?) a great neo-prog band from the UK with shades of Camel, King Crimson, and UK. They never really did much in the US, but both records rule all the way through.

Opeth – Hjartat Vet Vad Handen Gor: As a prog guy, I wasn’t THAT upset when Opeth ditched the death growls and went full on prog. There has definitely been a bit of stumbling as they perfect their new thing, but if this song is any indication, they may have done it with this upcoming new record.

Cult of Luna – Finland: This band rules. They seem to get overlooked when people talk about the Neurosis/ISIS school of heavy rock, but I think they’re among the best. All of their records evoke a feel and place for me, and as this one comes from Somewhere Along the Highway, it makes sense to me that it would evoke staring out a van window watching the miles roll by. Oh, and those riffs.

Melvins – A History of Bad Men: the Big Biz version of the Melvins lineup is/was unstoppable. One of the greatest live shows I’ve ever witnessed. This is my favorite song from that era of the band. We opened for them two nights in a row in May, and they crushed which was to be expected, but still great to see from a band entering its 4th decade still destroying.

Iron Maiden – The Wicker Man: I remember when this record came out, and really steeling myself to be disappointed. It just didn’t seem possible that they would be able to release something as good as any of the “classic”-era records after Bruce being gone for a few years and the super bummer “Hey…that’s not Bruce!” years. I was wrong. This song was all I needed to hear to know I had nothing to worry about. If your fist isn’t in the air by the time the chorus hits, check yer pulse.

Metallica – Escape: If there is such a thing as an “underrated” Metallica song from the first four, this would have to be it.

Judas Priest – Hell Patrol: Just another great fist pumper about some sort of evil force ripping down the highway (I think?).

High on Fire – Death is This Communion: This band means a whole lot to all of us. Growing up in San Jose, I was lucky enough to be turned on to Sleep around the time Holy Mountain came out. They played the sound I heard in my head. Black Sabbath was my favorite band, and they were doing it. It was a revelation. When Sleep broke up, I was extremely bummed, especially because I had heard about this one epic song they were working on at the time, that I figured would never see the light of day. When I heard that Matt from Sleep had a new band with George from San Jose legends Dear Deceased on bass, my friends and I scoured the Bay Area weekly papers waiting for their name to show up. I must have seen them five or six times before the 12th Records demo came out. All of this to say, this band is in my blood. Getting to open for them in May was a dream come true for all of us.

Crowbar – The Lasting Dose: Riffs. Big giant crushing riffs. ‘Nuff said.

Tomb Mold – Planetary Clairvoyance: Modern Death Metal sounding like old Death Metal is pretty hip right now, and I’m 100% OK with that. These dudes do it right, caveman riffs and a VHS horror atmosphere. Last year’s Manor of Infinite Forms was my favorite DM release of the year, but I think I’m digging this new one even more. This is the title track.

Woe – Carried By Waves To Remorseless Shores Of The Truth: I love how this band combines elements of classic heavy metal, like guitar harmony parts, slower chugging riffs and anthemic choruses into this big swirling aggressive black metal stew.

Ludicra – Truth Won’t Set You Free: My favorite song from Ludicra’s final record, The Tenant. I love how this band incorporates so many different elements to create something distinctly Ludicra. My favorite USBM band ever and they’re sorely missed.

Krallice – Monolith of Possession: Have we been driving for two hours or has it been 19 minutes? Who knows, pretty sure we opened a portal to another dimension. Enjoy.

Torche – Tarpit Carnivore: Monumentally heavy.

John Carpenter – Escape from New York (main title): We’re all huge JC fans. This sounds like the end of a journey to me. Roll credits.

Clarence Carter – Patches: Not sure how this ended up as our band inside joke, but it did. If you’re not smiling by the time the chorus hits, well then I feel bad for you, son.

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Ripple Music website

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

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Before I get started, I want to say thanks to Mark Kitchens from Stone Machine Electric for the artwork above. He did the platypus design and I added the blue background and yellow text kind of thinking it would be like one of those old title cards from David Letterman or something. I love it, so yeah. Thanks, Mark.

Like the prior episode, this one was themed around a playlist of some of the best of 2019 so far. I actually didn’t get to hear the whole show because I was at Maryland Doom Fest this past weekend, but I did check in on it while doing other stuff in Frederick. One way or the other, the playlist starts with Holy Grove and has Yawning Man, Magic Circle, Duel, Nebula, Roadsaw, Earth and Across Tundras on it, so you know it’s going to be killer. Really, the only thing I’d have listened for was to make sure I didn’t ruin it with my own derpy derp derp.

I wanted to include some lesser-known stuff here too, so check out the Cosmic Fall, SÂVER, Ealdor Bealu and Mount Saturn tracks if you haven’t, and that Centrum at the end I really dig a lot. Hell, the whole thing is great. You really can’t go wrong when your operating theme is “stuff that’s awesome.”

Thanks if you got to check it out.

Here’s the full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 06.21.19

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is July 5. Thanks for listening if you do.

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