Posted in Whathaveyou on November 26th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
See, you knew something was up a couple weeks ago when European booking concern and record label Sound of Liberationannounced their first 20th anniversary party and included the name of the host city. SOL Sonic Ride Cologne will take place in Cologne, Germany, on March 29. The newly unveiled SOL Psych Out Karlsruhe is set for the night before, obviously in Karlsruhe. I don’t know that it will or won’t be the last celebration Sound of Liberation will host for their 20th anniversary, but if they’re already doing two, they’ve opened a door to more, either concurrent to Cologne and Karlsruhe or at some other point in the year.
There’s a little lineup overlap between the evenings’ lineups, but if you’re planning on hitting both, I somehow suspect that seeing Colour Haze and Earth Tongue two nights in a row won’t be an issue for you. With Greenleaf, Daily Thompson and Kant featuring on the Karlsruhe bill, you would not call it lacking, in any case. I don’t generally think of those bands as particularly psychedelic, Colour Haze notwithstanding, but it’s their party and they can call it what they want to. A badass assemblage by any other name remains badass.
Of course, Sound of Liberation is well versed in festival-making across a swath of locales. The company in closely involved in a number of fests throughout Europe all year long, and have been essential in shaping the live circuit across the continent. 20 years later, heavy rock and roll on planet earth is better for the work they’ve done. There are very, very few who can make such a claim.
From socials:
SOL PSYCH OUT FESTIVAL
Hey friends,
are you ready to celebrate two decades of heavy riffs?🔥
Mark your calendars for March 28, 2025, and join us at the Jubez Karlsruhe for the first-ever SOL PSYCH OUT festival!
This one-night-only event is all about stoner and psychedelic rock, featuring a killer lineup straight out of the Sound of Liberation universe:
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Holy smokes, check out that lineup. 10 bands and not a clunker or a filler in the bunch. Each offers something different, each occupies a different place in sound and has a different history. From heavy psych progenitors Colour Haze through up and comers like Lucid Void and Kant — both of whom have releases out through Sound of Liberation‘s label wing in addition to working with the booking agency — and being My Sleeping Karma‘s first-revealed date for 2025 (come on, Freak Valley; they’re a bucket-list band for me), it’s a stunner even before you tap 1000mods supporting their new record, Slomosa on the heels of their second, Greenleaf being Greenleaf, Gnome and Earth Tongue and Daevar all continuing to kill it. Damn. As all-dayers go, the SOL Sonic Ride — the 20th anniversary celebration of the aforementioned Sound of Liberation, ser for March 29 and happening across two venues in Cologne, Germany — looks positively epic.
You might recall what happened with Sound of Liberation‘s 15th anniversary shindig, which was to have been held in 2020 and became a 17th anniversary shindig in 2022. On more than a few levels, I wish SOL Sonic Ride a less fraught realization. And happy 20 years to Sound of Liberation, while we’re here.
From socials:
20 YEARS OF SOUND OF LIBERATION
Hey friends,
we’re celebrating two decades of heavy riffs!🪩
Join us on March 29, 2025 in Cologne for a one-day-only festival: SOL SONIC RIDE COLOGNE!🚀
Expect explosive performances from some of the heaviest and trippiest bands on the SOL roster, including:
Posted in Reviews on October 17th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Writing this intro from a bench near the playground at my daughter’s grade school. It was different equipment at the time — made of unrecycled tires, because it was the ’80s — but I used to play here when I was her age too. The Pecan’s day ended about 10 minutes ago and after-school go-time has become part of the routine when we don’t have to be elsewhere. It’s chilly today — I have my hat on for the first time since winter, but if I was more used to the cold, I wouldn’t need it. If it was April, I’d be in shorts celebrating the arrival of spring. All depends on which way the planet is tipped, I guess.
Pretty sure I mentioned this at some point, but in part because the Quarterly Review is going well, I’m adding an 11th day. That brings it up to 110 releases, which, frankly, is just stupid. I don’t really have a reason I’m doing any of it except that I am. I feel the same about a lot of this lately.
As happens with any decent QR more than a week long, I’m behind on news. I don’t really have anything to say about a new Dax Riggs song or an Acid Bath reunion without any context, and I’m not cool enough to be in the know on any of it, but Roadburn has done a lineup announcement that I’d like to post and Uncle Acid announced a US tour, so there’s stuff to catch up on. Tuesday and on, I suppose. Good thing the internet exists or disseminating any of this information might have any stakes to it whatsoever.
Quarterly Review #81-90:
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Castle, Evil Remains
Hammerheart Records steps forth to issue the masterful metallurgy of Castle‘s Evil Remains. The duo of bassist/vocalist Liz Blackwell and guitarist/vocalist Mat Davis work with drummer Mike Cotton on the 37-minute eight-tracker that’s the first new Castle LP since 2018’s Deal Thy Fate (review here), and their take on dark heavy rock meeting in a pocketknife alley with doom, thrash and classic metal continues to be utterly their own. “Queen of Death,” “Nosferatu Nights,” the swaggering “Evil Remains” itself, all the way down to the twisting leads, dual-vocals and hard-chug of “Cold Grave” — the message of the album is glaring across its span in how undervalued Castle are and have been over their 15 years, but even that can’t top the vibrancy of the songs themselves, which have long given up genre concerns in pursuit of the individualism they’ve found.
Clearly, Vancouver’s Waingro titled their new release Sports in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Huey Lewis album of the same name. It’s hard to find the influence of the 1980s pop superstar — who, with Sports, really came into his own, commercially and artistically, according to American Psycho — in the band’s ripper heavy hardcore punk, but they’ve got five tracks in 11 minutes, so there’s no risk of overstaying their welcome with the likes of the minute-long fuzz instrumental “Masonic Falls” or the apocalyptic post-hardcore of centerpiece “Brougham,” which follows the opening pair of “Fuel for Vomit” and “Sports,” which don’t seem to have been put together accidentally as the EP closes with its two shortest pieces in “Masonic Falls” and the subsequent “Pray for Blackout.” Both are under two minutes long, and while the former is something of a breather after the assault of “Brougham,” “Pray for Blackout” is vicious and pummeling, leaving on an intense, raw note in which Waingro bask.
15-minute opener “Dåderman Renoverar” jams its way into a sax-topped ’50 bop and swing, like you’re down at the soda shop getting a pull of root beer and here come these crazy Swedish psychedelic jammers to get the hula-hoops spinning, so yes, För Samtida Djur 2 is very much a Kungens Män release. As well it should be, following just months behind the preceding För Samtida Djur 1 (review here) with four more pieces piped in from the greater distances of Out There in improv rock-as-jazz psychedelic fashion. “Dåderman Renoverar” is leadoff and longest (immediate points), while “Väntar På Zonen” (8:28) is less of a build than a mellow dwell, “Skör Lugg” (11:43) hypnotizes with guitar before unfurling a pastoralism worthy of Sweden’s history of progressive psych-folk and “Gubbar Reser Sig” (8:36) ends with a bit of bounce and build amid brighter jangle that they let unwind at the finish, completing the cycle in duly eccentric fashion. This band is a treasure, make no mistake. Every time they step in a room, someone should be recording.
Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Caffeine‘s The Threshold feels so tense and taut since it executes its eight songs in 29 minutes — 10 of which are dedicated to “Ghost Town” and “The Agency” on side B — but as its two sides play out, the Hanover, Germany-based trio of vocalist/bassist Denis Radoncic, guitarist Andre Werk and drummer/vocalist Enrico “Rocko” Winkler, plus Sebi on keys and guitar, find a progressive heavy thrust that’s informed by early Mastodon in its crunch and the rearing-up of riffs on “Last Train” and the twisting rhythms of the title-track, but from a post-hardcore rush in “The THreshold” to the humming tones of the penultimate interlude “Citadel” — which has a more percussive counterpart in side A’s “Rorschach’s Waltz” to the pro-shop heavy metal of “Dead End,” Caffeine‘s material sounds thoughtful in its construction without being a gimme in terms of influence or losing itself in the intensity as it unfolds. This is the band’s second record. It’s a fucking beast.
They’re delivered in a deathly rasp, as perhaps it would need to be, before the clean vocals arrive, but the lyrics in “Space is Now Tainted” from The Mountain King‘s 13th album in 10 years, Stoma, are among the most fitting encapsulations of life under apocalypse-capitalism that I’ve seen. The whole song is brilliant, and it’s one of eight on the 48-minute LP, so I’m not trying to neglect anything else, but when I see lines like, “And when the last tree is down/You will climb the bodies of the ones who didn’t drown,” it’s hard not to be taken aback. The later “Dripping Bats” offers thoughts and prayers for the death of god, so the righteousness is by no means isolated as The Mountain King find a version of doom metal the chug of which has learned at least as much from Carcass‘ Heartwork as anything Black Sabbath ever did, and pushes into avant miserablism in “Twomb” or the intermittently volatile/gorgeous “To the Caves!,” which would seem to be the end The Mountain King see for human decline. Back to the caves. At least the end of the world turned up some good art. I wish more bands would dare to have an opinion.
Time will tell how the balance of NWOBHM grandstanding and from-farther-back boogie shakes out in the sound of German newcomers Kant, but for now, it’s an intriguing blend on the Aschaffenburg-based four-piece’s debut album, Paranoia Pilgrimage, and with the backing of Sound of Liberation Records, one might take the cavernous vocals, cultish melodies and declarative guitar work as part of the needed injection of fresh perspectives that the European heavy underground has been receiving the last few years in generational turnover. That is to say, there’s potential in the nuance of a song like “Traitors Lair,” which injects from flute-prog into the proceedings, and even as Kant search for ‘their sound,’ what they’re finding is likewise varied and exciting, if not blindingly original. The sharper corners of “Dark Procession” and the atmospheric depth offered in opener “The Great Serpent” both find an underpinning of darker, more cultish sounds — unsurprisingly, “Occult Worship” bears that out as well — but when the lead cut launches into its solo late in its five-minute going, Kant revel in the freedom of that breakout. Wherever time and their exploration takes them, Paranoia Pilgrimage is the foundation on which they’ll build.
With a mix and master by Karl Daniel Lidén (Katatonia, Dozer, Greenleaf, Vaka, Demon Cleaner, etc.) building on the production helmed by guitarist/vocalist Luc Bourgeois and guitarist Shawn Rice, it’s little wonder Sandveiss‘ third full-length, Standing in the Fire, sounds as full and charged as it does, from the first tones of “I’ll Be Rising” through drummer Dominic Gaumond‘s clinic in “Bleed Me Dry.” Completed by bassist Maxime Moisan, who is the force behind the propulsive “Wait and See” and the later, more expansive “These Cold Hands,” Sandveiss present Standing in the Fire as a showcase of multifaceted songwriting intent. The title-track, opener “I’ll Be Rising,” and the careening “Fade (Into the Night)” are catchy uptempo fuzzers kin to the ethic of Valley of the Sun, but “No Love Here” and the ensuing huge roll of “Bleed Me Dry” bring a stately cast and highlight some of the variety of mood and purpose amid all the heft and professional-grade craft throughout.
If you like your sludge noisy — or your noise sludged — aggressive and pummeling, Plant signal from Madison, Wisconsin, with their first album, Cosmic Phytophthora, a gnashing and duly punishing 44-minute/six-song assault that hits a particularly escape-proof crescendo in side B’s “Envenoming the Carrion” (11:59) and “Skyburial” (11:04) before closing with the harsh tumult of “Wolf Plague.” Once upon a time bands like Axehandle and The Mighty Nimbus walked the earth. Plant would stand well alongside either, with leadoff “Until it Dies” cracking open a can — I’ll assume lime seltzer? — before the drums kick in on what’s basically a spoken-word-topped riff introducing the seethe and tones that define what’s to come, screaming by the time its three minutes are up. “Anthracnos Stalk Rot” and the outright brutality of “Root Worm” follow and underscore the impression of a horticultural thematic, but whether you’re digging on plant parts or reeling from the various punches the band throw along the way, it’s hard not to be moved by a debut that has such a clear idea of what it’s about. Make it loud, make it caustic, make it hurt. Riffs to break oneself upon.
Tommy and the Teleboys, Gods, Used, in Great Condition
There are threads of punk and classic rock running through Tommy and the Teleboys‘ dance-ready debut long-player, Gods, Used in Great Condition, but ultimately the album is neither of them. United under a scope that includes psychedelia, proggy-jazz and maybe a bit of heavy blues, the post-modern nine-song outing has a depth of mix all the more emphasized through the band’s stylistic range, but it’s a feeling of brashness that seems most to bring the songs together and the vital sense of command in the tracks themselves. Each follows its own plot, whether it’s the willfully off-kilter “Loverboy” or textured pieces like “Seninle” and “Srevokk” later on, but “Gib Mir” and “Jesus Crowd” at the start — shades of Bowie Ameriphobia in the latter — give Gods, Used in Great Condition quirk to coincide with all its hey-we’re-not-40-yet urgency, and while the band range hither and yon in terms of style, there’s nowhere the melodic wash of “Jeffrey 3000” or the otherworldly wistful strum of “Night at the Junkyard” go that feels out of place in the surrounding context, and Tommy and the Teleboys seem to be serving notice to anyone clued in of intention to disrupt. One hopes they do.
MEDB is a new solo-project by Rodger Boyle, who also runs Cursed Monk Records and features in bands like Noosed, ÚATH and Stonecarver, among others, and this first demo unveils four songs working under the stated concept of conveying the landscape/ambience of Boyle‘s home in Waterford, Ireland. Certainly the ambience of “Returning Home” is darker than the photos from the Port Láirge tourism committee, but while MEDB lays claim to a drumless drone on that nine-and-a-half-minute opener, “Glasha,” “Mahon Falls” and “The Wild Deer of Sillaheen” conjure a more full-band impression, plodding in “Glasha” before “Mahon Falls” digs into a more open and meditative feel in one guitar layer while lower distortion holds sway beneath, and “The Wild Deer of Sillaheen” earns its post-metallic antlers at the finish. So you’re saying there’s more than one thing going on in Waterford? Reasonable to expect for the oldest city in the Republic of Ireland, and all the better for inspiring future manifestation from MEDB, whatever form that might take. You could do worse than learning about a place through audio.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 29th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Damn, Desertfest Berlin. Two announcements in a week’s time and already among the confirmed are Elder, Lowrider and Elephant Tree. This round also brings encouraging upstarts Kant, who’ll soon make their debut on SOL Records, the label wing of European booking concern Sound of Liberation, which of course has a strong hand in the festival as well, and Canada’s Wine Lips, who also made rounds on heavyfests this year. And who’s left from the first two announcements? Castle Rat, who put on a goddamn show. I’m always curious to see how the historically-two-now-three Spring editions of Desertfest intertwine, between Berlin, London and now Oslo, and ’25 is no different. These festivals have come to shape touring routes for entire seasons, and it’s never really until the full lineups are revealed that we get the full picture of what that looks like. I guess I like seeing how the pieces fit together.
If the quick-staggering of announcements is going to continue, I don’t know, but I’ll do my best to keep up as always. Desertfest Berlin is a landmark for attendees and performers alike. It’s already a banger and I don’t even know how low of a fraction of the bill has been made public. If I’m a nerd because I think that’s exciting, fine.
From social media:
As promised, our next three Bands for 🪐DESERTFEST BERLIN 2025 🪐:
⚡️WINE LIPS ⚡️
Since forming in 2015, Wine Lips has built its name as one of the best Canadian garage punk bands going. This years Super Mega Ultra LP is perhaps the best example of how the band can flex its muscles in tight, anthemic bursts as well as stretch out into psych. Make sure, to not miss out on that!
⚡️ELEPHANT TREE⚡️
Elephant Tree is a London-based band known for their captivating blend of stoner rock, doom, and psychedelic sounds. Formed in 2014, they’ve released acclaimed albums like Elephant Tree* and *Habits*, showcasing heavy riffs and introspective lyrics. Known for their electrifying live performances, Elephant Tree delivers an immersive experience that resonates long after the last note fades.
⚡️KANT⚡️
A modern look back at the glory days of heavy psychedelic rock. The interplay between the four Aschaffenburgers of Kant creates the soundtrack to a 70s head cinema. This sound underpins thoughts of sunny drives across the Sunset Strip of the 60s, a Mexican standoff in an abandoned western town or dark rites in a forest shrouded in rain. From 60s surf vibe to 70s heavy rock riffs.
We’ll continue with more band announcements next week! 💫
