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Chron Goblin, Life for the Living: Get the Blood Flowing

Posted in Reviews on October 18th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Many of the moves Chron Goblin make on their second self-released full-length, Life for the Living, will be familiar to heads who bore witness to the so-called “stoner rock boom” around 15 years ago, when in the wake of Kyuss and Fu Manchu and Monster Magnet there emerged a glut of riff-toting boozers most of whom have now either grown into something different or disbanded entirely. That is, there’s an unabashed sense of genre from the Calgary, Alberta, foursome — Josh Sandulak on vocals, Devin Purdy on guitar, Richard Hepp on bass and Brett Whittingham on drums — and songs like “Lonely Prey” and “Blood Flow” play directly to the ideals of thick, traditional grooves offered with a bolt of heavy rocking vitality, while variations on the theme arise on the twang-meets-noise harmonica-infused crunch and rush of “Big Baby” and the more metalized turns of “Anesthetize” (though there were any number of bands called hardcore in the ’90s riffing in essentially the same style). Purdy‘s guitar sets the tone almost exclusively, but each member leaves a stamp on the material, and where 2011’s charmingly-titled debut long-player, One Million from the Top, seemed largely unipolar in terms of the vocals, Sandulak has clearly put in work to bring more diversity to his approach this time around. One might say the same of the songwriting in general, and the material across the album’s 10-track/43-minute span are stronger for it — an almost entirely straightforward aesthetic leaving little room to squirm in terms of atmospherics or veering from their beer-drenched course. I admit I don’t know much about the heavy rock scene in Alberta — most of what one encounters from Western Canada comes from the other side of the mountains, in British Columbia — but it’s clear in listening to Life for the Living that Chron Goblin have done their homework as regards influences.

Perhaps the album’s greatest asset is the band’s obvious enthusiasm for what they’re doing. Cuts like “Control” and the earlier “Lonely Prey” are catchy and well composed, but not really bringing anything to the table stylistically that Roadsaw wasn’t already doing before the aforementioned “boom,” but it’s the upbeat push of “Blood Flow” that ultimately wins favor — well, that and the massive, irresistible groove Chron Goblin kick into at around the two-minute mark of that song — and across the board, the four-piece subvert sonic redundancy through fresh presentation. I’m not sure these songs would work if they were played slower, but even the title-track, which takes its time in developing and gives a blend of metal and heavy rock that’s surprising even after it immediately follows “Anesthetize,” is crisp and refuses to be stale. Effective choruses are scattered throughout, but Life for the Living has its standouts in the moments of stylistic flourish that seem to reach out from the central base of the band’s sound, popping up in one track, gone in the next, so that the earlier, sans-frills thrust of opening trio “Deserter” (their most singularly Kyuss-indebted moment here), “Dry Summer” and “Lonely Prey” sets an expectation for genre adherence that subsequently gets toyed with as “Big Baby”‘s bluesy shuffle takes hold. Later variety is added through the already noted shifts of “Anesthetize,” “Life for the Living” and “Control,” and the album rounds out with the slowed-down groove of “Any Day” — also the longest cut at 6:09 where the only other to reach past five minutes is side A finale “Give No More” — but essentially, Chron Goblin know what they want to do and how they want to do it. Their grasp on the tropes of their genre is firm and while they never go so far as to delve into familiar stonerly lyrical themes of space, weed, etc., and Purdy‘s guitar has more brash distortion than laid-back fuzz, it’s not a hard album for experienced listeners to approach. Life for the Living? Rock for rockers.

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Chron Goblin Announce Canadian Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 2nd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Canadian heavy rockers Chron Goblin have lined up a series of weekenders in support of new album Life for the Living. The raucous Calgary four-piece will release Life for the Living on Sept. 20 and over the course of the next couple months they’ll support Vista Chino and Orange Goblin at separate gigs as they embark on their own North American tours. Chron Goblin‘s last outing was 2011’s One Million from the Top.

The PR wire checks in with dates and more:

CHRON GOBLIN announce Canada tour dates including opening gigs for VISTA CHINO and ORANGE GOBLIN in support of their sophomore album, ‘Life For The Living’

Canada’s favorite beer-smoking, riff-chugging, stoner-rock heroes Chron Goblin are releasing their sophomore album Life For The Living on September 20 and embarking on a mini Canada tour.

From the smoke-filled rooms of university to beer-stained stages across western Canada and abroad, Chron Goblin have been spreading the stoke wherever they go. Filling bars and venues alike since their 2009 inception, the party-hardened four-piece have amassed a loyal fan base with their addictive on-stage energy as well as two intoxicating rock concoctions: a self-titled EP in 2010 and 2011’s acclaimed full-length One Million From The Top.

Since then, the band has proved their well-earned notoriety with by landing gigs with some of the biggest names in heavy music, including Vista Chino (ex-Kyuss), Orange Goblin, Weedeater, Black Pussy, 3 Inches of Blood, Bison B.C., and The Devin Townsend Project. In the spring of 2013, their talents won them the coveted contest-spot at Desertfest London, making them the first Canadians to grace the stage of the sought-after stoner-rock gold Camden festival.

This demand stems in no small part from Chron Goblin’s artful, yet accessible blend of influences ranging from riff-rock to rockabilly, Sabbath to Stray Cats. With no style-boundaries to bind them, the group avoids self-imposed stagnancy and embrace evolution.

Always looking forward, guitarist Devin “Darty” Purdy, drummer Brett Whittingham, bassist Richard Hepp, and vocalist Josh Sandulak released their debut music video for “Bring Your Idols” in early 2013, and sophomore album Life For The Living will be released on September 20, 2013. In the meantime, check out Life For The Living’s first single, “Deserter” and the band’s notoriously rowdy live performances with their beer-smoking brethren. Although Chron Goblin are comfortable being One Million From The Top of the rock ‘n’ roll scene, that number gets increasingly smaller every day.

TOUR DATES:
September 6 @ Flames Central
Calgary, Alberta
*Opening for Vista Chino (ex-Kyuss) and Black Pussy

September 20 @ The Slice
Lethbridge, Alberta
with We Hunt Buffalo and Lethbridge’s Lustre Cream and Dirt
*Album Release Show

September 21 @ The Palomino
Calgary, Alberta
with We Hunt Buffalo and Temple
*Album Release Show

October 17 @ The Pawnshop
Edmonton, Alberta
*opening for Orange Goblin

October 19 @ The Gateway
Calgary, Alberta

October 25 @ Logan’s Pub
Victoria, BC
with Buzzard

October 26 @ The Media Club
Vancouver, BC
with Kicked of the Farm and very special guest

November 8 @ O’Hanlon’s Pub
Regina, Saskatchewan
with Black Thunder

November 9 @ Amigo’s
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
with Shooting Guns

https://www.facebook.com/chron.goblin.9

Chron Goblin, “Deserter” from Life for the Living (2013)

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