A new House of Broken Promises release doesn’t come along every day, and it doesn’t come along without good reason. The Californian desert trio aren’t one of those bands who just throw records out into the ether to see what happens. There’s planning involved, reason. Their debut full-length, Using the Useless (review here), came out on Small Stone in 2009, and last year they at last offered a follow-up release in the Twisted EP. The occasion was an extensive European tour undertaken around fest appearances, and in addition to a take on Billy Squire‘s maddeningly catchy “The Stroke” and a frankly awesome take on Black Sabbath‘s “Lady Evil,” two demos and a live version of “The Hurt (Paid My Dues),” it also brought forth the first look at new studio material from the band in more than half a decade. Like I said, not a minor happening.

It’s just two tracks — “Twisted” and “Toranado” — but the new songs that otherwise might’ve been a 7″ hit hard like a glimpse of what we’ve all been missing: Head-slamming, straight-ahead riffing, big choruses, and a willful “hell yes”-inducing songwriting mentality. House of Broken Promises isn’t a band looking to be this month’s artistes grands. They want audience interaction. You can hear it in the gang shouts on “Twisted” and the surge of “Toranado.” They want the songs to make you move, get your ass to the bar and play catchup with whatever they’re having. What they’re having, incidentally, is a party.

Comprised of bassist/vocalist Joe Mora, drummer Mike Cancino and guitarist Arthur Seay — the latter two of whom got their start playing alongside John Garcia in Unida — House of Broken Promises have long since established their own branch on desert rock’s tallest family tree, especially in the live arena, but to hear that energy brought to a newer studio recording than their still-lone long-player is a boon to anyone looking to groove their way to good times. The video for “Toranado,” which I’m happy to premiere below, is directed by Seay and features the band packing an hour’s worth of asskicking into a two-and-a-half-minute song while set up in the pool of Nude Bowl, surrounded by skating at the park that traces its roots back to the 1970s, when it was taken over by skateboarders after being abandoned by — wait for it — a nudist colony. California, man.

Enjoy the “Toranado” video below, then go back and start it over and enjoy it again, because it’s short and you can do that:

House of Broken Promises, “Toranado” official video premiere

New Music house of Broken Promises off the EP “Twisted” shot in the desert of the Coachella Valley. Video shot at the world famous Nude Bowl in Desert Hot Springs, CA.

Directed by Arthur Seay.

*COMPOSER(S): ARTHUR SEAY, MIKE CANCINO, JOE MORA

House of Broken Promises on Thee Facebooks

House of Broken Promises on Twitter

House of Broken Promises on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Thee Facebooks

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Heavy Psych Sounds webstore

You gotta watch out for these. They’re sneaky. Label samplers can be tricky in general — sometimes it’s nothing but rehashed tracks from years ago with one or two new songs from a band somebody’s trying to push, but with Heavy Psych Sounds, their annual sampler series has been a way of sneaking new tracks out for first public showcases. Last year, new Black Rainbows showed up, and sure enough they appear here as well, and there also seems to be some new stuff from The Freeks included, which as far as I’m concerned is reason enough on its own to chase the thing down. Also Tons will have a track on there ahead of their album release in April, and new Killer Boogie, so yeah, plenty to grab onto, and even the stuff that’s already out — Mother Engine, Fvzz Popvli, The Lords of Altamont, Nick Oliveri — is all still current, and righteous. That “Kyuss Dies” song is hilarious.

Full tracklisting follows here, courtesy of the PR wire:

As every Year, my little dear, what we have here is: HPS074 ***HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS SAMPLER VOL.3***

We’re so proud to announce the new Sampler, is the third year we are going to release this, and tracklist look awesome!

You will find it in your HPS boxes when you will purchase from the site, or at some good festival in Europe for free at the merch table, or on tour with HPS bands…

RELEASE DATE:
16th MARCH 2018

PRESALE:
8th FEBRUARY 2018

Enjoy the tracklist!

Avon – Red Barn
Black Rainbows – High To Hell
Deadsmoke – Emperor Of Shame
Fvzz Popvli – Lost In Time
High Reeper – Die Slow
House Of Broken Promises – Toranado
Killer Boogie – Atomic Race
Monsternaut – Landslide
Mother Engine – Tokamak
Nebula – Between Time
Nick Oliveri (Kyuss Lives) – Kyuss Dies
The Freeks – American Lighning
The Lords Of Altamont – Going Downtown
Tons – 99 Weed Balloons
Turn Me On Dead Man – Vimana
Wedge – Lucid

https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/

VA, Heavy Psych Sounds Records Sampler Vol. II

Starting tomorrow, the next three weeks are absolutely stupid with new albums. Over-the-top, ridiculous. An immediately-go-broke amount of music. Nothing less than an onslaught. We’re under attack.

Far be it from me to tell you how to spend your money — also far be it from me not to — but there’s some really killer stuff in here. As to why it’s all landing now? Some of it of course has to do with the timing of when it was recorded, bands hitting the studio in Spring before heading out on the road over the summer, but Fall releases also line up nicely for tours in October and November, heading into the holiday season, when the music industry basically shuts down. This is the last chance for releases to come out in 2017 and be considered for best-of-year lists.

I doubt the likes of Chelsea Wolfe or Godspeed You! Black Emperor or even Kadavar would cop to that as a motivating factor, instead pointing to the timing of Fall touring and so on, but these things are rarely coincidental. You know how there aren’t any blockbusters in January but every movie feels like it’s trying to win an Oscar? Same kind of deal.

Nonetheless, 2017 is laying it on particularly thick these next couple weeks, and as you can see in the lists below, if you’ve got cash to spend, you can pretty much choose your rock and roll adventure. I’ll add to this as need be as well, so keep an eye for changes:

Sept. 22:

Alcest, Souveinirs d’un Autre Monde (10th Anniversary Edition)
Brant Bjork, Europe ’16
Chelsea Wolfe, Hiss Spun
Epitaph, Claws
Faces of the Bog, Ego Death
The Flying Eyes, Burning of the Season
Fvzz Popvli, Fvzz Dei
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Luciferian Towers
Jarboe & Father Murphy, Jarboe & Father Murphy
Monarch, Never Forever
Nibiru, Qaal Babalon
Process of Guilt, Black Earth
Satyricon, Deep Calleth Upon Deep
Spelljammer, Inches from the Sun (Reissue)
Thonian Horde, Inconnu
Trash Titan, Welcome to the Banana Party
Ufomammut, 8
With the Dead, Love from With the Dead
Wolves in the Throne Room, Thrice Woven

Sept. 29:

Cities of Mars, Temporal Rifts
Deadsmoke, Mountain Legacy
A Devil’s Din, One Hallucination Under God
Disastroid, Missiles
Jim Healey, Just a Minute More (Sept. 26)
Idylls, The Barn
Kadavar, Rough Times
Lucifer’s Chalice, The Pact
Monolord, Rust
Outsideinside, Sniff a Hot Rock
Radio Moscow, New Beginnings
Scream of the Butterfly, Ignition
Tronald, Tronald (Sept. 30)
Unsane, Sterilize
Wucan, Reap the Storm

Oct. 6:

Elder Druid, Carmina Satanae
Fireball Ministry, Remember the Story
Frank Sabbath, Are You Waiting? (Oct. 2)
Himmellegeme, Myth of Earth
House of Broken Promises, Twisted EP
O.R.B., Naturality
Primitive Man, Caustic
Spirit Adrift, Curse of Conception
Spotlights, Seismic
Sumokem, The Guardian of Yosemite
Torso, Limbs
White Manna, Bleeding Eyes

Also:

Oct. 13: Enslaved, Firebreather, I Klatus, R.I.P., Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats (reissue), Weird Owl, etc.

Oct. 20: Iron Monkey, Spectral Haze, Bell Witch, The Spacelords, etc.

Something I forgot?

Invariably, right? If you know of something not seen above that should be, then by all means, please leave a comment letting me know. My only ask is that you keep it civil and not call me a fucking idiot or anything like that. I write these posts very early in the day, and if something has been neglected, I assure you it’s not on purpose and I’m happy to correct any and all oversights.

Thanks for reading and happy shopping. Support local record stores.

Well, with previous announcements that House of Broken Promises would take part in Desertfest Belgium 2017 in Antwerp (info here) and Keep it Low 2017 in Munich (info here), it seemed only fair to expect a fuller European tour was in the cards, but the news that the Indio, California, three-piece have hooked up with Heavy Psych Sounds for booking a month-long run and the corresponding Oct. 6 release of a new EP, Twisted, is admittedly more than was anticipated.

For one thing, any kind of new studio offering from House of Broken Promises? Yeah, hard to see that coming. It’s been nearly whole eight years since they released their debut full-length, Using the Useless (review here), on Small Stone, and though they’ve spoken for years about a follow-up, just about nothing has surfaced — though did you know they released their set from Desertfest London 2013 as a CD-R through CDBaby? It’s here. Man, nobody told me about that shit. I was at that show. They killed it. Wish I had known that was out.

Anyway, sidetracked. Point is the new EP has some older outtakes and covers and this-and-thats, but it’s still something new from House of Broken Promises and all the more commendable that they’re both putting it out and hitting the road so fervently to support it. Could it mean more new stuff to come in 2018? Hard not to immediately get greedy when it comes to Arthur Seay riffage.

From the PR wire:

Desert metallers HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES to tour Europe this fall; new EP coming on Heavy Psych Sounds!

Indio, CA’s stoner metal veterans HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES have announced their return to the Old Continent, with a full European tour and a new EP coming this fall.
Heavy/stoner rock trio from Indio, California HOPB is back with their new “Twisted” EP, which features two unreleased covers (Black Sabbath and Billy Squire) plus a bunch of outtakes and live songs for a total of 30 minutes of heavy music.

The former Unida musicians reiterate their successful formula with Mike Cancino’s powerful drumming, guitarist and producer Arthur Seay’s wall of riffs, and Joe More wonderful John Garcia-esque vocals. “Twisted” was recorded at Arthur Seay’s studio in Indio, near the Joshua Tree area who inspired so many stoner/desert rock bands. Artwork was designed by Italian artist and HPS favorite Solo Macello.

HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES new EP “Twisted” is out October 6th on Heavy Psych Sounds Records. Presale start September 1st at this location.

HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES EUROPEAN TOUR
29.09.2017 IT Pescara – Scumm
30.09.2017 IT Savona – Raindogs
01.10.2017 IT Parma
02.10.2017 IT Zerobranco – Altroquando
03.10.2017 IT Milan
04.10.2017 FR Chambery – Le Brin Du Zinc
05.10.2017 FR Montpellier – The Black Sheep
06.10.2017 SP Barcelona – Monasterio
07.10.2017 SP Madrid
08.10.2017 SP Santiago De Compostela – Sala Moon
10.10.2017 SP Gijon – Sala Acapulco
11.10.2017 SP Bilbao – Wombat
12.10.2017 SP Saragoza or San Sebastian
13.10.2017 FR Nantes – La Scene Michelet
14.10.2017 BE Antwerp – Desertfest
16.10.2017 DE Koln – Lime*
17.10.2017 DE Munster – Rare Shop Guitar*
18.10.2017 DE Bielefeld – Potemkin*
19.10.2017 CH Basel – Hirschneck*
20.10.2017DE Frankfurt – Yachtklub*
21.10.2017 DE Munich – Keep It Low*
22.10.2017 AT Salzburg – Rockhouse*
24.10.2017 DE Wien – Viper Room*
25.10.2017 DE Dresden – Chemofabrik*
26.10.2017 DE Erfurt – Tiko*
27.10.2017 CH Olten – Coq D’Or*
28.10.2017 DE Siegen – Vortex*
* dates with Black Bone

HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES is guitarist Arthur Seay (Unida, ApeSh!t), bassist/vocalist Joe Mora (HDR, Street Drugs DTLA, The Addicts) and drummer Mike Cancino (Unida, Lynch Mob). Formed on the ashes of Unida (which also featured Kyuss legend John Garcia), their Small Stone Records debut “Using the Useless”, led the charge in a more refined stoner metal approach than the standard stoner rock sound of similar scene bands.

https://www.facebook.com/HOBPMUSIC/
https://twitter.com/HOBPofficial
http://instagram.com/houseofbrokenpromises
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS
https://twitter.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUND
https://instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm

House of Broken Promises, Using the Useless (2009)

2017 might be the year that Desertfest Belgium really pushes outside the titular desert. I mean, yeah, the latest round of lineup additions includes House of Broken Promises, and they’re actually from the sands of Southern California, but look at the rest of the lineup. To bring in the goth-tinged Dool from the Netherlands, or even boogie rockers like Troubled Horse, or doomers Caronte and the long-running Redd Kross and set them up alongside Gozu, Satan’s Satyrs, Radio Moscow, Saint Vitus and Conan? It’s all over the place. Shit, to even have Monolord and Unsane on the same bill would be enough, but then you toss in Kadavar, Church of Misery and All Them Witches! The fest is right when it says this one is going to be something special. It really looks like it is. I post about a lot of fests. This is the real deal.

Here’s the latest update, courtesy of the PR wire:

Desertfest Antwerp line-up nears completion: DOOL, RED KROSS and more added

Summer’s nearly done, but in this case that’s not bad news – it means Desertfest Antwerp is almost upon us! Hope you all got your tickets, because this one’s going to be the one that you tell your grandchildren about.

You can find the daily line-up on our website, but there still were some holes to fill in the program. We have a bunch of names to seal the deal, beginning with Dutch industrial psychedelic metal combo DOOL.

Furthermore, the Swedish riffsters Troubled Horse will certainly delight all fans who are already present for Graveyard, and we’re equally excited to have the legendary and pioneering LA punk-not-punk band Redd Kross. Finally, with the occult acid doom of Caronte and the desert-stoner of House of Broken Promises, we have another two acts that put the “desert” in Desertfest in their own unique way.

And with that, our line-up is almost completed… start planning your trip to Antwerp!

DOOL

From the industrial underbelly of Rotterdam comes DOOL, bringing you a blend of dark rock, gothic pop and just a hint of psychedelic metal. Featuring members from the legendary Dutch doomsters The Devil’s Blood, Dool bends the influence of bands like Sisters of Mercy and Sonic Youth into a creation that is very much their own unique identity. All those who wander are DOOL!.

TROUBLED HORSE

Formed in 2003 in Örebro (home of fellow rockers Witchcraft) Troubled Horse erupted into the consciousness of riff-worshippers everywhere with their debut Step Inside (2012) and follow-up Revolution On Repeat (2017). Their music is an invigorating whirlwind of spiky garage rock, propulsive psychedelia and thunderous, overdriven soul-meets-doom riffing with little interest in current or nostalgic trends. Despite a gloomy view of humanity, Troubled Horse are never anything less than 100% inspirational.

REDD KROSS

Founded 34 years ago during the first wave of LA punk rock, Redd Kross brought together different styles with an intuitive and eclectic sense of experiment. Crossing the lines between the Partridge Family and the Manson Family, the Beatles and Black Sabbath, The Osmonds and the New York Dolls, Redd Kross certainly was a band ahead of their time. Now in their reunion setup since 2012, they are exactly right on time!

CARONTE

Caronte formed in Parma, Italy, in 2010. The three brothers Dorian, Henry and Tony Bones were joined by eccentric drummer Mike De Chirico to produce a kind of heavy acid doom metal inspired by drugs, alcohol abuse, death, black masses, sex, esoterism and mysticism. At DF Antwerp they will showcase their upcoming album ‘Yoni’ (out 27/10), which they promise will be “the most magic filled work the band has ever written”.

HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES

An Indio (CA) based desert-stoner band, formed from the ashes of UNIDA which also featured John Garcia. Biting songs about drug abuse and social upheaval are delivered through bombastic drum beats, guttural vocals and tuned-down guitars. Their debut “Using the Useless” (2009) is considered a minor classic in the scene. After a number of European tours during the last years, the world eagerly awaits their second release.

http://www.desertfest.be/tickets
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.facebook.com/events/264364590656095/
https://twitter.com/DesertfestBE

Dool, Here Now There Then (2017)

I was kind of wondering if the Munich-based Keep it Low festival would add Colour Haze for Keep it Low 2017. The long-running German heavy psych progenitors have played multiple editions of the event and have kind of become a staple of the lineup, so to see them added as they support their new album, In Her Garden (review here), is definitely cool. Joining them in this round of adds are Belzebong, The Necromancers and A Great River in the Sky, and on a bill with Saint Vitus, Brant Bjork, Radio Moscow, Mars Red Sky, Conan, Ufomammut, Stoned Jesus, Monolord, Mos Generator and so on — the list is fucking wild — they only make it stronger and richer.

Of all the Fall fests in Europe — there are many and I won’t take away from what any of them are doing — Keep it Low has been the one I’ve most wanted to see over the past few years. It’s grown into what really seems like a unique vibe between its stages, skatepark, biergarten, and so on, and though they’re promising heavier acts this year and delivering that already with the likes of Ufomammut and Vitus and Conan, etc. — see also Belzebong here — there’s still plenty of heavy psych and rock and roll to be had, and that blend, as we all know, is what it’s all about. Anyway, it looks awesome. It won’t be this year, but I’ll get there one of these days.

It’s presented, of course, by Sound of Liberation, who updated the lineup thusly:

Keepers,
Today we have 4 new band announcements for Keep It Low Festival 2017! We’re happy to present you:

Colour Haze
BelzebonG
The Necromancers
A Great River In The Sky

It has become a kind of tradition that mighty Colour Haze headline Keep It Low’s Friday, so never change a winning team!

Get your 3-day tickets here: http://bit.ly/2lr4hzH and….keep it low!

Line Up:
BRANT BJORK (with Special Guest Sean Wheeler) | SAINT VITUS | RADIO MOSCOW | MARS RED SKY | UFOMAMMUT | STONED JESUS | CONAN | MONOLORD | NAXATRAS | HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES | BEASTMAKER | MOS GENERATOR | USNEA | ELEPHANT TREE | KALEIDOBOLT | MOUNT HUSH | GODSGROUND
+ many more TBA

Limited 3-day tickets available!

October 20 | 21 | 22 2017
Feierwerk München

After an amazing and once again sold out edition in 2016 you can expect 3 days, 27-30 bands, amazing people and good vibes at Keep It Low 2017! For the very first time we will have the “Doom-Frühschoppen” with some HEAVY bands on the last day of the Festival.

https://www.facebook.com/events/201489380309269/
https://www.facebook.com/keepitlowfestival/

Colour Haze, In Her Garden (2017)

Well, the bill for Keep it Low 2017 is packed. It would be packed if it was just Brant Bjork and Saint Vitus and Ufomammut in the lineup, but of course it goes well beyond that, with the likes of Radio Moscow, Naxatras, House of Broken Promises, Conan, Monolord, Mos Generator, Elephant Tree, Mars Red Sky and everyone else you can see below. If you can take a look at this roster of bands and not immediately start daydreaming about making the trip to the fifth installment of the Munich, Germany-based festival, you’re a better person than I am. Or you’re dead. One or the other, I guess.

One suspects that, as with last year, the Fall European fest season will have some overlap. You’ll note Beastmaker here as well as on Up in Smoke. Ditto that Vitus, Brant Bjork, Ufomammut, Radio Moscow, Usnea and Kaleidobolt. Aside from the hand of Sound of Liberation in putting these events together, weekend fests make great anchors for touring groups. Club shows all week, fests every weekend? I can’t imagine a touring act wouldn’t sign up for that, so yeah, probably some more familiar names will be making their way out between these, the Desertfests in Antwerp and Athens, and whatever else might come along. Keep an eye out.

From Keep it Low‘s social medias:

KEEP IT LOW FESTIVAL 2017

Line Up:
BRANT BJORK (with Special Guest Sean Wheeler) | SAINT VITUS | RADIO MOSCOW | MARS RED SKY | UFOMAMMUT | STONED JESUS | CONAN | MONOLORD | NAXATRAS | HOUSE OF BROKEN PROMISES | BEASTMAKER | MOS GENERATOR | USNEA | ELEPHANT TREE | KALEIDOBOLT | MOUNT HUSH | GODSGROUND
+ many more TBA

Limited 3-day tickets available!

October 20 | 21 | 22 2017
Feierwerk München

After an amazing and once again sold out edition in 2016 you can expect 3 days, 27-30 bands, amazing people and good vibes at Keep It Low 2017! For the very first time we will have the “Doom-Frühschoppen” with some HEAVY bands on the last day of the Festival.

HEAVY!

3-day tickets are selling fast so don’t wait too long and get it here:
http://bit.ly/2lr4hzH

https://www.facebook.com/events/201489380309269/
https://www.facebook.com/keepitlowfestival/

Ufomammut, “Warsheep” official video

With the final addition of Cough, the lineup for Desertfest Athens 2016 is complete. The fest is set for Oct. 7 and 8 — less than a month from now — and Cough join the bill as they’ll be on tour at the time with Elder (dates here) supporting their new album, Still They Pray (review here), which was released by Relapse.

The roster of bands they join, including Red Fang and Greek forerunners 1000mods, whose new song “The Son” you can hear below (more to come on that album), is ridiculously strong, and seems to draw from the history of Desertfest itself in various ways, Steak representing London’s incarnation, Colour Haze that of Berlin (though they’re from Munich), and really any number of these acts the Belgian edition. It’s a great mix that does well to represent its home country as well in Automaton (who’ll be joined by Dr. Space himself), Sadhus, and the aforementioned 1000mods.

Looks like a great show, and particularly as it’s the first one, I wish them all the best of luck with it.

Final announcement and lineup follow:

Doom/Sludge masters COUGH joining the bill for Desertfest Athens 2016 1st edition!

This is the full line up for the 1st ever Desertfest Athens!

Red Fang
1000mods
Pentagram
Torche
Colour Haze
Truckfighters
My Sleeping Karma
Karma to Burn
Elder
Cough
Black Rainbows
House of Broken Promises
Steak
Beggars
Sadhus
Black Hat Bones
Automaton with Dr. Space
We Own the Sky

Enjoy desert army!

After London, Berlin and Antwerp, the Desertfest franchise is keeping up its conquest of Europe by launching the very first Greek edition of the famous stoner, doom and psych festival. DESERTFEST ATHENS will take place over the second weekend of October, as a sister event of the autumnal Belgium edition.

Over the years, DESERTFEST has become one of the most popular events in Europe for everything heavy, stoner, doom and psyche. “Made by fans for the fans”, the festival gathers thousands of people from across the globe each year by hosting the finest headliners, while also constantly stretching the limits of its own niche with dozens of quality live acts throughout a weekend. Nurturing a friendly atmosphere since the very beginning, DESERTFEST is a urban festival that has won the loyalty of heavy music lovers, so expect your Greek holiday to be a unique and memorable music and human experience!

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/iera-odos/desertfest-athens/
www.detoxevents.gr
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1530177053945310/

1000mods, “The Son”