Posted in Whathaveyou on May 29th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
The return of Faerie Ring will take place this August, with their third album, self-titled, being released through King Volume Records. I couldn’t find any audio from it yet, but at the risk of a spoiler I’ll tell you the 37-minute 10-tracker is more spacious than anything the Evansville, Indiana, outfit have done to this point, and that their tonal heft meets that with a sense of glee that doesn’t take away from the basic impact. Even in the stoner-janga-janga swing of ‘Draggin’,” and the outright roll of “Howling at the Misty Moon,” there’s breadth to be found. Sounds biiig, in other words.
Take my word for the time being that this is good news and I’ll hope to have more to come on it before we get there. The PR wire had the following to say on the subject, which turned out to be quite a bit:
INDIANA STONER ROCKERS FAERIE RING DELIVER SONIC REBIRTH THROUGH KING VOLUME RECORDS IN SELF-TITLED ALBUM MASTERED BY TORCHE’S JONATHAN NUÑEZ, OUT AUGUST 21, 2026
“Faerie Ring” Unlocks New Emotional Depth With Tighter Songwriting Inspired By Personal & Global Conflict And Powered By Revised Band Lineup
Faerie Ring, the hard-rocking, retro-tinged stoner rock band out of Evansville, IN, has announced their third album: a self-titled effort through King Volume Records that marks the band’s sonic rebirth—one that emphasizes tighter songwriting, blistering hooks, and a new emotional depth that was assisted through the mastering process by Torche guitarist Jonathan Nuñez.
“Our last album, Weary Traveler, was happy-go-lucky,” says band guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter James Wallwork. “But so much has happened since that came out in 2023, both in our personal lives and in the rest of the world. Songs like “Lost Boy” reflect the furious, “I don’t even care” attitude I felt after my divorce, while “Gargoyle” is a doomed-out perspective of realizing you’ll grow old alone. “No Surrender,” meanwhile, was inspired by the latest Israel-Palestine conflict, and it’s written from the perspective of someone living in Gaza during the war. Ultimately, Faerie Ring is a cathartic album that acknowledges that death is real, but so is love. This is an album about love and triumph in a time of existential dread.”
One of the biggest influences behind the band’s revitalized sound was the addition of multi-instrumentalist songwriter and new Faerie Ring drummer Matt McGuyer. “With Matt on drums, it’s almost like a completely new band,” says guitarist Kyle Hulgus. “Matt cracked our sound wide open. He’s such a talented musician. He’s a guitarist, he’s a vocalist, and, obviously, he’s an incredible drummer. His input was so valuable, and he helped us spread our wings.”
Once again, the band returned to Postal Recording in Indianapolis to record and engineer their third album in full analog. As essential as owners Alex Kercheval and Tyler Watkins were to capturing the band’s evolving sound, they were also critical to shaping it. “Alex played an underlying synth on many of the songs to help beef up the tracks,” says Wallwork, “but he also cooked up the sounds on ‘Fattest Witch.’”
Adding Torche guitarist Jonathan Nuñez to the mastering process proved equally impactful. “I’ve been a lifelong fan of Torche,” says Wallwork, “so having him involved is insane to me. He drastically changed this record. It’s much more akin to how we present ourselves live.” Huglus agrees: “Listening to his mastering was like hearing the album for the first time. We loved the original version of the record, but he completely changed it for the better.”
Like much of Faerie Ring’s work, their self-titled album is difficult to pigeonhole, with equal influences from stoner rock, doom, punk, blues, and other genres. “We didn’t want to limit ourselves to a single sound,” Hulgus says. “We let go of all creative limitations for this one, and this new record is a sound only Faerie Ring can create. You’ll hear influences from bands like Boris, The Scorpions, Torche, Thin Lizzy, and Crowbar, but this is a Faerie Ring album at the end of the day.”
That renewed creative freedom is reflected in the tongue-in-cheek album artwork by Ricardo Diseño, an artist hand-picked by Hulgus. “Yes,” Wallwork says, “it looks like a classic underground metal album cover at first glance, with themes of sex and drug use, but it’s a metaphor for the toxic love in our lives. The guy in the picture loves being boiled alive, but once his head goes under the water, that’s it.” Hulgus adds: “We’re all the guy in the cauldron. We torture ourselves all week at our blue-collar jobs so we can play music. This self-titled album is another labor of love.”
Mastering: Jonathan Nuñez
Recording: Alex Kercheval Tyler Watkins
Engineering: Morgan Satterfield
Guests: Alex Kercheval – Keyboards, Synth Vincent Yetsko – Harmonica
Faerie Ring: James Wallwork – Guitars, Vocals Kyle Hulgus – Guitars Alex Wallwork – Bass, Vocals Matt McGuyer – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 15th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Castle Rat‘s emergence over the last two years, given a landmark last year as the band released their debut long-player, Into the Realm (review here), through King Volume Records, continues unabated. The theatrically-minded Brooklyn cultists have announced their first and surely not last headlining tour after supporting Early Moods this past Fall, and over the course of two weeks of shows with just two nights off, the band will treat the Eastern Seaboard and as far inland as Texas and Chicago to their particular vision of doomed aesthetic.
Given the reception to the album and the band generally, it seemed like their first headlining tour — note that the first night of the tour is in support of Brant Bjork Trio; Haze Mage are also on that bill — was an event worth marking. Nanotear is behind the stint and posted the following on socials:
Thrilled to announce Castle Rat’s first headlining tour. Hot on the heels of funding one of the most successful heavy metal Kickstarter campaigns of all time, the band is ready to bring The Realm to you!
Most shows on sale now at link in first comment. \m/
Thu 3/13 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Fri 3/14 – Charlottesville, VA @ Southern Cafe Sat 3/15 – Raleigh, NC @ Chapel of Bones Sun 3/16 – Asheville, NC @ Eulogy Mon 3/17 – Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn Tue 3/18 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia Thu 3/20 – Houston, TX @ Hell’s Heroes Fri 3/21 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links Sat 3/22 – Little Rock, AR @ White Water Tavern Sun 3/23 – St Louis, MO @ Red Flag Tue 3/25 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies Wed 3/26 – Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Thu 3/27 – Detroit, MI @ Small’s Fri 3/28 – Columbus, OH @ Ace Of Cups Sat 3/29 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s Sun 3/30 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
Castle Rat: Riley Pinkerton – Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter; Rat Queen Franco Vittore – Lead Guitarist; Count Ronnie Lanzilotta III – Bassist; Plague Doctor Josh Strmic – Drummer; The All-Seeing Druid Maddy Wright; The Rat Reapress (Live shows)
I wouldn’t say we’re in the home stretch yet, but this 100-release Quarterly Review is more than three-quarters done after today, so I guess it’s debatable. In any case, we proceed. I hope you’ve enjoyed what’s been on offer so far. Yesterday was a little manic, but I got there. Today, tomorrow, I expect much the same. The order of things, as that one Jem’Hadar liked to say.
Quarterly Review #71-80:
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Bongripper, Empty
Eight albums and the emergence of a microgenre cast partly in their image later, it would take a lot for Chicago ultra-crush instrumentalists Bongripper to surprise their listenership, at least as regards their basic approach. If you think that’s a bad thing, fine, but I’d put the 66 minutes of Empty forward to argue otherwise. Six years after 2018’s two-song LP Terminal (review here) — with a live record and single between — the four new songs of Empty dare to sneakily convey a hopeful message in the concave tracklisting: “Nothing” (20:40), “Remains’ (12:04), “Forever” (12:43), “Empty” (21:24). That message might be what’s expressed in the echoing post-metallic lead guitar on the finale and the organ on the prior “Forever,” or, frankly, it might not. Because in the great, lumbering, riffy morass that is their sound, there’s room for multiple interpretations as well as largesse enough to accommodate the odd skyscraper, so take it as you will. Just because you might go into it with some idea of what’s coming doesn’t mean you won’t get flattened.
My general policy as regards “last” records is to never say never until everybody’s holograms have been deleted, but the seven songs and 39 minutes of Degradation Years represent an ending for Destroyer of Light just the same, and the Austin-based troupe end as they began, which is by not being the band people expected them to be. Their previous long-player, 2022’s Panic (review here), dug into atmospheric doom in engrossing fashion, and Degradation Years presents not-at-all-their-first pivot, with post-punk atmospherics and ’90s-alt melodies on “Waiting for the End” and heavy drift on “Perception of Time.” “Failure” is duly sad, where the shorter, riffier “Blind Faith” shreds and careens heading into its verse, and the nine-minute “Where I Cannot Follow” gives Pallbearer‘s emotive crux a look on the way to its airy tremolo finish. Guitarist/vocalist Steve Colca has a couple other nascent projects going, guitarist Keegan Kjeldsen and drummer Kelly Turner are in Slumbering Sun, and Mike Swarbrick who plays bass here is in Cortége, but Destroyer of Light always stood on their own, and they never stopped growing across their 12-year run. Job well done.
If you take away the on-stage theatricality, the medieval/horror fetish play, and all the hype, what you’re left with on Castle Rat‘s first album, Into the Realm is a solid collection of raw, classic-styled doom rock able to account for the Doors-y guitar in the quiet strum of the gets-heavy-later “Cry for Me” as well as the shrieks of “Fresh Fur” and opener “Dagger Dragger,” the nod and chug of “Nightblood” and the proto-metal of “Feed the Dream” via three interludes spaced out across its brief 32-minute stretch. Of course, taking away the drama, the sex, and aesthetic cultistry is missing part of the point of the band in the first place, but what I’m saying is that Into the Realm has more going for it than the fact that the band are young and good looking, willing to writhe, and thus marketable. They could haunt Brooklyn basements for the next 15-20 years or go tour with Ghost tomorrow, I honestly have no clue about their ambitions or goals in that regard, but their songs present a strong stylistic vision in accord with their overarching persona, resonating with a fresh generational take and potential progression. That’s enough on its own to make Into the Realm one of the year’s most notable debuts.
With their third full-length and first for Ripple Music, Detroit trio Temple of the Fuzz Witch — guitarist/vocalist Noah Bruner (also synth), bassist Joe Peet and drummer Taylor Christian — follow their 2020 offering, Red Tide (review here), with a somewhat revamped imagining of who they are. Apotheosis — as high as you can get — introduces layers of harsh vocals and charred vibes amid the consuming lumber of its tonality, still cultish in atmosphere but heavier in its ritualizing and darker. The screams work, and songs like “Nephilim” benefit from Bruner‘s ability to shift from clean to harsh vocals there and across the nine-songer’s 39 minutes, and while there’s plenty of slog, a faster song like “Bow Down” stands out all the more from the grim, somehow-purple mist in which even the spacious midsection of “Raze” seems to reside. The bottom line is if you think you knew who they were or you judged them as a bong-metal tossoff because of their silly name, you’re already missing out. If you’re cool with that, fair enough. It’s not my job to sell you records anyway.
Among the final releases for Trepanation Recordings, White Ink is the years-in-the-making first LP from Bologna, Italy’s State of Non Return — and if you’re hearing a dogwhistle in their moniker for meditative fare because that’s also the name of an Om song, you’re neither entirely correct or incorrect. From the succession of the three circa-nine-minutes-each cuts “Catharsis,” “Vertigo” and “White Ink,” the trio harness a thoughtful take on brooding desert nod, with “Vertigo” boasting some more aggro-tinged shouts ahead of the chug in its middle building on the spoken word of the opener, and the intro to the title-track building into a roll of tempered distortion that offers due payoff in its sharp-edged leads and hypnotic repetitions, to the 15-minute finale “Pendulum” that offers due back and forth between minimal spaces and full-on voluminosity before taking off on an extended linear build to end, the focus is more on atmosphere than spiritual contemplation, and State of Non Return find individualism in moody contemplation and the tension-release of their heaviest moments. Some bands grow into their own sound over time. State of Non Return, who got together in 2016, seem to have spent at least some of that span of years since doing the legwork ahead of this release.
Writing and recording as a solo artist under the banner of Thief — there’s a band for stage purposes — Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Dylan Neal (also Botanist) pulls back from the ’90s-attitudinal industrial and nü-metal flirtations of 2021’s The 16 Deaths of My Master (review here) and reroutes the purpose toward more emotive atmospheric ends. Sure, “Dead Coyote Dreams” still sneaks out of its house to smoke cigarettes at night, and that’s cool forever and you know it, but with an urgent beat behind it, “Cinderland” opens to a wash that is encompassing in ways Thief had little interest in being three years ago, despite working with largely similar elements blending electronica, synth, and organic instrumentation. The narrative — blessings and peace upon it — holds that Neal‘s father’s onset of dementia inspired the turn, and that’s certainly reason enough if you need a reason, but if there’s processing taking place over the 12 inclusions and 44 minutes that Bleed, Memory spans, along with its allusions to James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, etc., that does not at all make the work feel anymore lost than it’s intended to be in the post-techno of “Paramnesia” or the wub-and-shimmer of “To Whom it May Concern” that rounds out. I’ll allow that being of a certain age might make it more relatable.
New Jersey’s Ravens mark their first public offering with this seven-song self-titled debut, spacious in its vocal echo and ostensibly led by riffs though that doesn’t necessarily mean the guitar is foremost in the mix throughout. The guitar/drum duo of Zack Kurland (Green Dragon, ex-Sweet Diesel, etc.) and drummer Chris Daly (Texas is the Reason, Resurrection, etc.) emerges out of the trio Altered States with grounded rhythmic purpose beneath the atmospheric tones and vocal melodies, touching on pop in “Get On, Get On” while “New Speedway Boogie” struts with thicker tone and a less shoegazing intent than the likes of “To Whom You Were Born,” the languid “Miscommunication” and “Revolution 0,” though that two-minute piece ends with a Misfits-y vocal, so nothing is so black and white stylistically — a notion underscored as closer “Amen” builds from its All Them Witches-swaying meanderings to a full, driving wah-scorched wash to end off. Where they might be headed next, I have no idea, but if you can get on board with this one, the songs refuse to be sublimated to fit genre, and there are fewer more encouraging starts than that.
Each of the 10 songs on Spacedrifter‘s first full-length, When the Colors Fade, works from its own intention, whether it’s the frenetic MondoGenerator thrust of “(Radio Edit)” or the touch of boogie in opener “Dwell,” but grunge and desert rock are at the root of much the proceedings, as the earliest-QOTSA fuzz of “Buried in Stone” will attest. But the scope of the whole is richer in hearing than on paper, and shifts like the layered vocal melodies in “Have a Girl” or the loose bluesy swing of the penultimate “NFOB,” the band’s willingness to let a part breathe without dwelling too long on any single idea, results in a balance that speaks to the open sensibilities of turn-of-the-century era European heavy without being a retread of those bands either. Comprised of bassist/vocalist/producer Olle Söderberg, drummer/vocalist Isac Löfgren guitarist/vocalist Adam Hante and guitarist John Söderberg, Spacedrifter‘s songwriting feels and organic in its scope and how it communes with the time before the “rules” of various microgenres were set, and is low-key refreshing not like an album you’re gonna hear a ton of hyperbole about, but one that’s going to stay with you longer than its 39 minutes, especially after you let it sink in over a couple listens. So yeah, I’m saying don’t be surprised when it’s on my year-end debuts list, blah blah whatever, but also watch out for how their sound develops from here.
Collyn McCoy, Night of the Bastard Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Assembled across varied movements of synthesizer ranging from half-a-minute to a bit under four minutes long, the score for the indie horror film Night of the Bastard finds L.A.’s Collyn McCoy (also of Circle of Sighs, bassist for Unida, etc.) performing under his experimental-and-then-some electronic alias Nyte Vypr, and if that doesn’t telegraph weirdness to come, well, you can just take my word for it that it should. I can’t claim to have seen the movie, which is reportedly available hither and yon in the clusterfuck that is the modern streamscape, but ’80s horror plays a big role in pieces like “Shards and Splinters” and the opening “Night of the Bastard” itself, while “If We Only Had Car Keys” and “Get Out” feel even more specifically John Carpenter in their beat and keyboard handclaps. Closer “The Sorceress” is pointedly terrifying, but “Turtle Feed” follows a drone and piano line to more peaceful ends that come across as far, far away from the foreboding soundscape of “Go Fuck Yourself.” Remember that part where I said it was going to get weird? It does, and it’s clearly supposed to, so mark it another win for McCoy‘s divergent CV.
I hate to be that guy, but while Face the Psych is the third long-player from Portugal’s Misleading, it’s my first time hearing them, so I can’t help but feel like it’s worth noting that, in fact, they’re not that misleading at all. They tell you to face the psych and then, across seven cosmos-burning tracks and 54 minutes in an alternate dimension, you face it. Spoiler: it’s fucking rad. While largely avoiding the trap of oh-so-happening-right-now space metal, Misleading are perfectly willing to let themselves be carried where the flow of “Tutte le Nove Vite” takes them — church organ righteousness, bassy shuffle, jams that run in gravitational circles, and so on — and to shove and be shoved by the insistence of “Cheating Death” a short while later. The centerpiece “Spazio Nascoto” thickens up stonerized swing after a long intro of synth drone, and 12-minute capper “Egregore” feels like the entire song, not just the guitar and bass, has been put through the wah pedal. As likely to make you punchdrunk as entranced, willfully unhinged, and raw despite filling all the reaches of its mix and then some, it’s not so much misleading as leading-astray as you suddenly realize an hour later you’ve quit your job and dropped out of life, ne’er to be seen, heard from or hounded by debt collectors again. Congrats on that, by the way.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 19th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I was fortunate enough to run into Castle Rat this past Fall in the smaller room at Desertfest New York 2023 (review here), and such has been the hype around the Brooklynite theatrical doom rockers whose debut album will be out April 12 that that actually felt late. Sex is a big part of the show, but so is medieval fantasy lore, so take that with the appropriate grain of salt, and if you’re ever gonna do this kind of thing, do it while you’re young and hot. I write about a lot of bands 40 and up. Not a lot of them walking around without shirts on. Though some.
But Into the Realm, which is seeing release through King Volume, is probably about to get all kinds of outside-genre crossover attention, and when it comes to that kind of thing, my general tendency is to stay away. But I’ve been turned off my hype before much to my detriment — I can cite examples from Uncle Acid through Spotlights and tons more; sometimes I get on board sometimes I don’t — so I want to give Into the Realm a shot and see where I land with it on a song level. Castle Rat‘s first two singles showed craft and perspective to match the band’s stage-minded focus and presentation.
From the PR wire:
Castle Rat Announce Into the Realm LP
Highly-Anticipated Full-Length from Immersive Medieval Fantasy Doom Metal Visionaries Out April 12 via King Volume Records
Castle Rat — the story-driven Medieval Fantasy Doom Metal band from Brooklyn known for its theatrical, action-packed live shows complete with full costumes, choreographed sword fighting, and fake blood — is releasing their highly anticipated album, Into the Realm, through King Volume Records on April 12th, 2024.
“It’s taken a couple years to see this record through, and it is so exciting and rewarding to finally be welcoming it into the world. A huge part of the time it’s taken to release it has been finding someone we could trust to see our vision and bring Into The Realm into the universe with the same amount of love and passion we poured into it — and King Volume is undoubtedly that label,” wrote vocalist Riley Pinkerton.
Into the Realm – TRACKLISTING:
01. Dagger Dragger 02. Feed The Dream 03. Resurrector 04. Red Sands 05. The Mirror 06. Cry For Me 07. Realm 08. Fresh Fur 09. Nightblood
Into the Realm arrives after a blistering year that marked a successful Southwestern US tour; a lauded appearance at Desertfest New York alongside underground luminaries like Brant Bjork, 1000mods, Monster Magnet, Colour Haze, and Melvins; and their first powerful, doom-laden single, “Feed the Dream,” on its way to more than 500,000 streams.
While the band pulls its visual inspiration from the over-the-top stylings of KISS and uses intricate costumes and theatrics to deliver spellbinding live shows, the band remains rooted in the Doom tradition of Black Sabbath, playing massive riffs and Tony Iommi-influenced licks under Pinkerton’s powerful vocals.
To that end, Castle Rat’s live shows have already grown legendary in the underground community. While performing, the band reenacts the lore behind The Rat Queen (performed by Riley Pinkerton on guitar/vocals): On her mission to expand and defend “The Realm” from those who seek to destroy it, The Rat Queen is joined by The Count (Franco Vittore – lead guitar), The Plague Doctor (Ronnie Lanzilotta III – bass), and The Druid (Josh Strmic – drums). Together they face the relentless wrath of their arch nemesis: Death Herself — The Rat Reaperess (actress Maddy Wright). The Realm of Castle Rat exists for those who crave swords and sorcery; stoner and doom; Frazetta & Sabbath; and battle-babes and beasts.
True to the band’s ethos, Into the Realm was recorded in an abandoned Philadelphia church the band temporarily converted into a studio. Among the flooded floors, decaying plaster, and ornate stained glass windows, the band stacked their Orange amps and tracked over two and half days, with engineering and production assistance from Davis Shubs and Thomas Johnsen.
“The energy within The Church is undeniable,” wrote Pinkerton. “While tracking vocals for ‘Cry For Me’ I was standing there alone in the center of the church, surrounded by stained glass windows as they faded to a pale grey-blue in the twilight. The veil between the spirit realm and the realm of the living became so thin it felt as if I were floating between them. I feel that particular vocal take was aided or influenced by something beyond my understanding…”
Surrounded by the church’s dreadful atmosphere and a certainty that the property was haunted, the band eventually decided to shoot the “Dagger Dragger” music video in the same location.
With their eye for visual storytelling and an ear for writing captivating doom metal, Castle Rat is a force even more powerful than the Rat Reapress. Dive into the lore on April 12th, 2024.
Pre-Orders for Into the Realm are available via Castle Rat’s Bandcamp NOW. This release will be supported by additional vinyl variants from Wise Blood Records and Kozmik Artifactz (Europe). The band will also be celebrating the record release with a show on April 19th at Brooklyn Made with support from Tower and Killer Kin.
Riley Pinkerton – Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter; Rat Queen Franco Vittore – Lead Guitarist; Count Ronnie Lanzilotta III – Bassist; Plague Doctor Josh Strmic – Drummer; The All-Seeing Druid Maddy Wright; The Rat Reapress (Live shows)
Recording, Mix, and Engineering: Davis M. Shubs and Thomas Johnsen Cover Art: Photo by Ronnie Lanzilotta, Layout and Editing by Olivia Cummings Logo by Riley Pinkerton
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 30th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Aiwass will release their second album, The Falling, on Oct. 13 through King Volume Records. The Phoenix, Arizona-based atmospheric doom metal outfit began as a solo-project of multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and songwriter Blake Carrera with 2021’s Wayward Gods (review here) but toured this summer as a full band, just last week released a split with AAWKS, and last month added Eddy Keyes on bass as a seemingly permanent member; change is afoot. And fair enough, since Carrera‘s vision for what Aiwass will be and do is also expanding. With five songs running 40 minutes, Carrera — functioning alone in conjunction with engineer Edsel Holden and co-producer/mixer Grant Husselman, who’s best known for his work across multiple King Buffalo releases but has done plenty besides — guides the listener with a steady hand through a course of expansive heavy craft, beginning its world-creation with “Prometheus” (premiered below) featuring guest vocals from Niuvis Martin along with Carrera‘s own.
“Prometheus,” which takes its title from the Titan who gave fire to mortals and thus earned Zeus-decreed a daily disembowling from an eagle while tied to a rock — Heracles eventually let set him free — begins to explore the wash at which The Falling derives some of its fullest and strongest moments. In the later “Be Not a Man,” Carrera will turn that toward almost cultishly sinister ends with a mellow vocal laced with effects over organ, guitar, programmed drums, bass, and so on, but in “Prometheus” with Martin‘s voice added, the album is given an almost operatic beginning.
It is immersive to the point of the listener almost not realizing it’s being moved along by the drum sounds, and it smoothly glides through its eight and a half minutes with airiness of melody and density in the underlying heft. The subsequent “Gnosis” is bleakly psychedelic — a gray swirl — and uses open space fluidly with volume surges and a last build that’s masterfully executed, while centerpiece “The Light of Evil” feels more grounded in its procession. Maybe it’s the drumming more forward in the mix, or more clarity in the rumble beneath the organ of its chorus, or maybe it’s that chorus itself, but it’s a well-placed landmark around which The Falling can function. I’d call it the heart of the record, but the record is all heart. I’m sorry, but you don’t make this kind of music unless there’s something inside telling you that you need to do it.
The aforementioned “Be Not a Man” follows with apocalyptic overtones and vibrant lead work layered in along with its early chug, the wash in the chorus, and an organic stretch-out of doomly vibes, and closer “Crossing the Veil” begins with standalone acoustic strum and pluck, vaguely Western, but too trippy to be aping country. There’s a layer of maybe-ebow guitar and the vocals topping all this ambient breadth would call to mind “Planet Caravan” by rote, but “Crossing the Veil” moves into a march after two minutes — still acoustic — with organ and far-off drumming, keys, a chorus of voices almost in echo of “Prometheus” holding until right at the six-minute mark the song sweeps into a grandiose heavy rolling finish, with hard cymbal hits, a scorching guitar solo, and a payoff no less satisfying than the realization of ambitions has been throughout.
By the next time Aiwass puts out an album — hell, by the time Aiwass puts out this album — the band might have a completely different configuration around Carrera. That’s one more reason to appreciate the moment captured here, and the reach of the creativity brought to bear on The Falling, which no matter what follows will have built effectively on Wayward Gods and revealed a depth to Carrera‘s intention that is an accomplishment in itself, never mind the actual execution of the thing, which resides in a place between styles and is confident, poised and sincere there. A more than solid fit for King Volume‘s varied roster.
Please, feel free to stream the premiere of “Prometheus” while you peruse the PR wire info below, and please, enjoy:
Blake Carrera on “Prometheus”:
“Prometheus rise up from your lone grave”
The song “Prometheus” was born of pain, strife, and uncertainty. It is a reflection of one artist crying out his reality to the world. It is also a declaration of strength and resiliency before the avalanche of life. On a personal level, “Prometheus” is one of my greatest achievements as an artist, one that was helped massively by the contributions of Niuvis Martin (Amenorrhea) and my producer Grant Husselman, both of whom helped me put forward my nightmares into musical form.
As the first single off of a concept album focused on grief and strength, “Prometheus” is the foundation upon which The Falling resides. It is the setting of the play, the locus of invention, the spring from which the parched wanderer satiates their thirst. Unearthly voices mate with the crush of bombastic guitars to create a spell meant to transfix the listener, situating them in a world of discomfort and examination. I hope that, through my work, listeners are able to gain a better understanding of both myself and themselves.
Aiwass, the Aleister Crowley-obsessed psychedelic doom project out of the American Southwest, has stretched beyond the soul-shaking soundscapes of its highly revered debut album Wayward Gods to deliver The Falling, a genre-bending experience with towering riffs, heart-wrenching melodies, layered instrumentation, and meticulous attention to detail through King Volume Records on October 13.
The Falling demonstrates marked growth in the Aiwass sound—a sonic tapestry that was already complex and mature enough to push 2021’s Wayward Gods to No. 11 on the Doom Charts upon release. In The Falling, Aiwass reaches further outside the psychedelic doom template to incorporate influences from classical music, black metal, country, and other genres.
“When I started The Falling,” Aiwass founder and solo musician Blake Carrera says, “I felt like doom was getting played out. I didn’t want to be another copycat. I wanted to be me. As a result, this album is much more exploratory and experimental.”
In charge of capturing the new vision for Aiwass was Grant Husselman, the album’s co-producer and long-time King Buffalo collaborator. “This record wouldn’t have happened without Grant,” Carrera says. “When we first started collaborating, The Falling was raw and scattered, even though the ideas were there. He helped shape them and give them new depth and space. He gave me the belief in myself to push beyond what I created in my early demos.”
The Falling exhibits renewed confidence in Carrera’s songwriting, which was also partially sparked by experiences during the Aiwass 2022 summer tour with Twin Wizard. “Being on the road really helped me figure out what works and what doesn’t, and I started enhancing the things that people really responded to while we were on stage. They loved the bludgeoning choruses on Wayward Gods, so I double-downed on that in The Falling. But I also looked for opportunities to do something unexpected, like adding in acoustic guitar on songs like ‘Crossing the Veil.’”
With so many different influences, The Falling is a risky album—but it’s one that shines even more brightly because of it. The themes of Aleister Crowley and Thelema are still prominent, but they’re woven into lyrics that explore Carrera’s personal struggles and thoughts around mental illness, philosophy, and psychology. The album also features greater doses of black metal and new vocal harmonies—something Wayward Gods avoided.
The result is an innovative, jaw-rattling slab of layered harmonic doom that pushes the genre forward into new, exciting directions—becoming a complex album that should appeal to a wide variety of metal fans.
Aiwass – The Falling Release Date: October 13, 2023 Label: King Volume Records Runtime: 40:48
Additional Vocals: Niuvis Martin (“Prometheus”) Mixing/Co-Producer: Grant Husselman Engineering: Edsel Holden Cover Art: Justyna Koziczak
Track List: 1. Prometheus 2. Gnosis 3. The Light of Evil 4. Be Not A Man 5. Crossing the Veil
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 25th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Ahead of their appearance at Desertfest NYC this September, Brooklyn-native trad metal/doom rock five-piece Castle Rat will play a string of five West Coast shows leading up to their support slot for Cirith Ungol in Denver, which is certainly a fitting line for their CV at this point in their career. Surely adding to the hype and momentum the fantasy-themed outfit has amassed since holding forth their debut single “Feed the Dream” (review here) last Fall is the fact that the band are now signed to King Volume Records to release their first full-length next year. Onto the ‘most anticipated’ list it goes.
King Volume is a solid fit. It was pretty assured that Castle Rat would end up on some imprint or other. I had them pegged for Cruz Del Sur or Shadow Kingdom, but with King Volume, their willful flippancy of genre rules will be given the respect it deserves, and they’re now labelmates to Lord Mountain, with whom they should tour more or less immediately. Or at very least after Desertfest. You get the idea. Potential out the proverbial wazoo. Their second single “Dagger Dragger” streams at the bottom of this post.
The announcement came down the PR wire as follows:
CASTLE RAT – King Volume Records
The KING VOLUME KULT grows with the addition of the mighty CASTLE RAT! The Brooklyn-based fantasy doom rockers dwell in a REALM of their own. Wielding the sonic axe, CASTLE RAT explores new depths of the dungeons first unlocked by their rock-god predecessors! Sabbath, Cirith Ungol, Manilla Road all contributed ingredients to their audio alchemy. Having crafted a uniquely heavy and accessible sound, the band elevates the experience with an immersive stage performance. Prepare for the mystery, the power, and the plague as CASTLE RAT rips a heart shaped hole into your music love life!
This year CASTLE RAT will be making a few high profile appearances including opening for Cirith Ungol Aug. 18th at The Gothic Theater and performing at Desertfest NYC, Sept. 15th. CASTLE RAT will be releasing their debut album with King Volume in 2024. Research medieval disease and witchcraft NOW so you will be prepared when CASTLE RAT is unleashed upon the world!
8/14 Los Angeles, CA Resident LA @residentdtla: @nutt.porfa @ughhband
8/15 Tempe, AZ Yucca Tap Room @yuccataproom: @uvcband + special guests
8/16 Albuquerque, NM Long Hair Records @longhairrecords: Grifter @spectral_decay_666 @nomestomper
8/17 Santa Fe, NM Tumbleroot Distillery @tumblerootsf: @savagewizdomofficial @iwatchyousleepband
8/18 Denver, CO Gothic Theater @gothictheatre: @cirithungolband @nightdemonmetal @chambermage
Photos by @bmillz_nyc
Short Bio: Castle Rat is a fantasy doom metal band hailing from Brooklyn, NY, led by The Rat Queen (guitar/vocals). On her mission to expand and defend ‘The Realm’ from those who seek to destroy it, The Rat Queen is joined by The Count (lead guitar), The Plague Doctor (bass), and The Druid (drums). Together they face the relentless wrath of their arch nemesis: Death Herself —The Rat Reaperess. The Realm of Castle Rat exists for those who crave swords & sorcery; stoner & doom; Frazetta & Sabbath; battle-babes & beasts.
Posted in audiObelisk on June 1st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Los Angeles fuzz rockers Lord Loud released their second album, Timid Beast (discussed here), in Sept. 2020, and their new single “Pressure,” comes from the same recording session. And though it was left off the record, and though it’s been three years, “Pressure” arrives sounding fresh and duly urgent, its descending riff and sub-three-minute runtime reminiscent of classic garage rock but also emblematic of the niche the duo of guitarist/vocalist Chris Allison and drummer Michael Field have dug out for themselves stylistically. Able to pivot to psychedelia or pastoral heavy vibes, languid classic heavy rock or proto-punkish shove made gentler by the rampant melody that surrounds, it is a molten sound on a fireproof structural foundation. With what feels like vital attention to pace and efficiency of craft, “Pressure” doesn’t depart this methodology to make its atmospheric impression, instead letting the ambience and mood become part of the track itself.
TimidBeasthas 11 songs on it, and the band hints that there may be more singles like this coming, so it must have been a productive time putting material together after 2017’s debut, Passé Paranoia (review here), but “Pressure” does have more movement than some of the album-proper’s laid back fare — and you’ve got “Lady Sunday” in there for the more action-packed contingent, and that’s got handclaps — so it’s understandable how it might not fit in a final tracklisting. I think a lot of the time bands feel compelled to point out, “It’s not that we don’t like this song, it’s that it works better this way,” and this far out from Timid Beast, “Pressure” does stand well on its own, Allison‘s cover art suitably horrifying.
“Don’t forget to breathe” is something of a personal mantra — one I often forget — so the whispered “breathe in, breathe out” reminders peppered through the track’s final section after the jangly mini-freakout guitar solo are welcome, if actually a little fast to follow along with as a relaxation method. Fair enough since the song is about being up against a proverbial wall on any number of fronts described below. But if you didn’t hear Timid Beast or just want a refresher or something to listen to next after the premiere of “Pressure” below, that Bandcamp stream is near the bottom of the post as well.
With the caveat of maybe more to come, enjoy “Pressure,” followed by more background in blue provided by the band:
Lord Loud on “Pressure”:
‘Pressure’ was written at a time where we felt an undercurrent of tension fomenting but before all the events that are probably going to end up in history books. Prices, politics, and the music scene all teemed and boiled under the surface. We were also closing in on wrapping up recording sessions to figure out what our album TIMID BEAST might become, so there was some personal pressure on us to produce a crop of songs to cull down to a tight and lean offering. At this time, we were recording in Downtown Rehearsal, and were losing the practice space at the end of the month. We had the idea of doing a song with a lot of loud to quiet dynamics, and we turned it around in a couple days. It was a shared space, so recording sessions would consist of setting up all the mics and getting our engineering down, and Mike usually got it in a couple takes. We didn’t really have time for more because we had to break down and get to our jobs.
The song seemed a little more frenetic than some of the cuts that made the album and we thought it might have a better chance to live on its own. The world got thrown into chaos, and us with it, but we’re finally piecing some things back together to finalize the remaining songs we had. Not sure if the societal tension that inspired this song has been released when I look around at different cities and countries, but the timing feels right for us to finally release some ‘Pressure’.
After three quiet years, Lord Loud peaks out to release a new hair raising single, Pressure. Recorded during the 2020 Timid Beast sessions, Pressure remained an interesting outlier of a song that didn’t find its way onto the final album. When it came time to compose the track order for Timid Beast, the band chose to be concise and to the themes of the album and a few wonderful songs fell to the wayside. The song embodies the sonic qualities of building, heart pumping tension, transforming anxiety and stress into a hard rock classic.
Along with this single, we have the great pleasure of releasing a repress of the long sought after TIMID BEAST lp. Two stunning variants are available. The first is an Orange Splatter in Ultra Clear vinyl with a standard jacket limited to 200 copies worldwide. The second is Creamsicle Swirl in Opaque vinyl that includes a double sided, hand screen printed jacket with a new art layout.
All artwork including the single was make by lead singer/guitarist, Chris Allision. Chris, a professional story artist for animated feature films and draws comics on the side. Michael Feld, drummer, just released a documentary about My Morning Jacket titled “Return to Thunderdome” that he co-directed and co-edited. The band has had expansive reach into creative fields outside of their music output.
Lord Loud are: Chris Allison – vocals, guitar, etc. Mike Feld – drums, percussion
Japanese psychedelic rockers Tō Yō will release their debut album, Stray Birds From the Far East, on Aug. 18 through King Volume Records and Kozmik Artifactz. With depth of arrangement enough to allow for the various effects and hand percussion, shifting moods coming and going, as well as funky grooves and broadened sometimes folkish vocal melodies from guitarist Masami Makino, the six-song/30-minute offering brings forth a vibrant, movement-ready psychedelia that’s not shy about freaking out in the wah-soaked, let’s-bang-on-stuff ending of “Tears of the Sun” or the thicker fuzz of the subsequent “Titania Skyline,” but the band introduce themselves gently if quickly on opener “Soaring,” as if in the first 45 seconds or so, they’re looking around at reality and saying, “Okay, we tried that, now let’s move on to this,” and citing the drift/strum guitars of Masami and Sebun Tanji, Issaku Vincent‘s boogie bass and Hibiki Amano‘s drumming and percussion as an alternate, perhaps preferable path to follow. The argument made is convincing.
Its personality is complex enough to be more than one thing even sometimes at once, but Stray Birds From the Far East never quite lets go of its abidingly mellow spirit, which even as “Soaring” moves into start-stop jangle near its finish, percussion going all-in underneath, holds steady. Funk is at the forefront on “Hyu Dororo,” which goes dream-tone in its bridge but returns to the verse, and side A’s capper “Twin Mountains” melts vintage heavy rock and psychedelia together so that the snare and hand-drum meet up on the beat as the howling guitar solo floats ahead before the second verse starts up in the same stratosphere. At 3:41, the song is short — the shortest on the LP, but not by a ton — but even in that more clear structure, the feel Tō Yō present is organic, prone to subtlety and given to a kind of communion with its own making.
One often thinks of the phrase ‘locked in’ as a way to convey a band effectively communicating with each other musically, perhaps to the exclusion of the outside world. The rhythm and melody and interplay of instruments becomes the thing. Tō Yō are locked in on Stray Birds From the Far East, but far from keeping listeners on the other side of the door, the warmth of their tones and sometimes soft vocals and the feeling of motion in the low end and percussion give an unmistakable feeling of welcome to the entire proceedings.
They might be locked in, but that doesn’t mean you’re not invited too. Talking about “Soaring” below, they call it danceable, which is true of much of the record thanks to the interplay of various rhythms, and as “Tears of the Sun” moves deeper into its second half, the build in intensity is resonant enough to feel in your blood, even if as much as I agree with the physical urgency there, I wouldn’t call the leadoff or anything that follows ‘primitive’ in either its construction or the end-product of the arrangements themselves, though there are certainly aspects of traditional Japanese folk music, as well as some hints of Mediterranean traditionalism and/or Afrobeat — one hates to use a phrase like ‘world music’ — to go along with a wash that might be familiar to those who’ve previously dived into the work of outfits like Dhidalah or others from the Guruguru Brain Records-fostered, deeply-adventurous current generation of J-psych.
“Titania Skyline” is positioned ahead of closer “Li Ma Li” and starts its verse early to reground after “Tears of the Sun” left off with such a noiseblast. Backing vocals, a steady, jazzy snare and noodly rhythmic figure on guitar below the lead provide ample groove as a foundation, and after dropping a quick hint of Captain Beyond‘s “Mesmerization Eclipse,” they embark at 2:45 into a follow-up raucous jam to reinforce that of “Tears of the Sun” prior, never losing the underlying progression until it drops to a quick bite of feedback as preface to “Li Ma Li,” which begins with swirl behind a mellow-funk nod, spaces out the vocals engagingly and adds what sounds like organ or other synth that bolsters the classic vibe in a manner righteous and well-placed. The vocals reside in a kind of sub-falsetto upper register, and the shift is fascinating.
The song will solidify near the end — relatively speaking — around a steady riff and a bit of low-key scorch, but the proceedings are friendly regardless, and that initial gentle sensibility from “Soaring” is a further unifier of the material that enters Tō Yō into the vibrant fray of the Japanese psychedelic underground, showing them as willing to explore new ideas even as they bask in decades’ worth of lysergic aural influence. Subdued but not lazy, Stray Birds From the Far East finds its balance in fluidity and feels like the breakthrough point of a seed that will continue to flower over future outings. One hopes for precisely that.
You can stream “Soaring” on the player below, followed by some comment from Tō Yō and info from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Tō Yō, “Soaring” track premiere
Tō Yō on “Soaring”:
This track anticipates the beginning of the journey and is a good entry point into our world. The lyrics are spiritual, in that the land of the unseen is always inside of you. Imagine flying somewhere far away and returning home as completely synonymous.
The beat is very danceable, maybe not rock-like in a sense, but considering the connection between the slow tempo parts, this was the best way to create the most beautiful transitions. It’s obvious how many instruments are used to create the beat, but that’s not what we intended, in a way, the melody is almost entirely left to the vocals, which calls to mind a primitive form of musical expression. I think this primal juxtaposition helps induce a sense of spirituality.
Most of the tracks were created from jamming, and we thought about what percussion would be great for the track while recording, which is our style. Most of the percussion was improvised by our crazy drummer Hibiki.
Tō Yō, the Tokyo-based psychedelic quartet, has announced their debut record Stray Birds From the Far East—a dreamy, pop-infused psych/acid rock concept album about nostalgia for a place yet to be discovered—to be released through King Volume Records on August 18, 2023.
The Tō Yō sound is simultaneously unique yet familiar—but it’s also moving. “Our psychedelic sound is at times violent and at times naïve,” says vocalist and guitarist Masami Makinom, “but we also believe our sound is meant to awaken the most primitive senses in order to sublimate the rise of the soul and its uncontrollable impulses.”
Tō Yō is an ambitious band with an ambitious vision, so it’s no surprise some of their biggest influences are known for complex, groundbreaking visions; Far East Family Band, J. A. Seazer, Flower Travellin’ Band, Kikagaku Moyo, YU Grupa, Ali Farka Touré, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Red Hot Chili Peppers all show up in the list of the band’s most important influences.
As a self-described jam band, hashing out Tō Yō’s songs in the studio was a necessity, but it also proved to be a strategic benefit, as working with engineer Yui Kimijima at Tsubame Studio (the mecca for today’s Japanese psychedelic rock) in Tokyo helped the band take their sound to the next level.
“He is not sparing in his experimentation,” says Makinom. “In fact, the studio has a wonderful atmosphere that inspires the imagination, with instruments that we have never touched, and things that were originally used for other purposes but can function as instruments. For example, in ‘Tears of the Sun,’ the glittering steel popping sound in the second half is actually the sound of a tarai—a tin tub.”
With Tō Yō, the band embarks on an ambitious journey of experimentation and musical risks, but this has led to a colorful and often unpredictable sonic tapestry that embodies their myriad influences while combining with the heroics of indie darlings Built to Spill, the shimmering charm of My Morning Jacket, the carefree spirit of surf rock, and the wild, swirling sounds of the psychedelic giants of the 1970s.
Recording: Yui Kimijima at Tsubame Studio in Asakusabashi, Tokyo Mastering: Yui Kimijima at Tsubame Studio in Asakusabashi, Tokyo Art: Todd Ryan White
Tracklisting: Side A: 1. Soaring 2. Hyu Dororo 3. Twin Mountains Side B: 4. Tears of the Sun 5. Titania Skyline 6. Li Ma Li
