Day three marks the halfway point of this Quarterly Review, unless I decide to sneak in an extra day next Monday. We’ll see on that, but things are moving pretty well so far, so I might just be content to take the win and start slating the next one. Always a choice to be made there.

I hope you’ve found something that hits you thus far, and if not, check the below, because there’s a pretty wide variety of styles under the ‘heavy underground’ umbrella here. Hope one or a few or everything clicks.

We proceed.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Randall Huth, Torched and Coasting

Though he’s probably best known at this point for playing bass in Pissed Jeans for the last 17 years, Pennsylvania’s Randall Huth once-upon-the-aughts played guitar and handled vocals in still-missed pastoral heavy rockers Pearls and Brass, and the new solo EP under his own name will likely be more than enough to trigger nostalgia in remembering that. Torched and Coasting is somewhere between an EP and a follow-up to Huth‘s 2007 solo album as Randall of Nazareth on Drag City, and the self-released tape is clear in its intention, conveying sketches like the finger-plucked movements of “Emptied/Rarified” and “Bursting Smile” and 15-minute closer plunge “Torched and Coasting,” which tube-screams late so stick with it, alongside the drone-meets-zither “The Blind Whale,” and more terrestrial, guitar-and-vocals pieces like opener “Lost in Your Eyes” and the penultimate “Beats Dying,” which — you guessed it — is about getting old. Huth‘s echoing and soft delivery, wit in the lyrics and humble acoustic presentation make that a highlight, but this years-in-the-making offering walks more than a single expressive path. More songs, whatever ‘songs’ means, please. Thanks.

Randall Huth on Bandcamp

Pearls and Brass on Bandcamp

—

HolyRoller, Rat King

North Carolinian four-piece HolyRoller make their label-debut on Ripple Music with the eight-song Rat King, which puts modern heavy in a blender such that an early piece like “Crunch Riff Supreme” finds its place in sludge rock and heralds screamy things to come but by the time they’ve gotten to “Buried Alone” at the presumed outset of side B, the flow has more in common with Pallbearer than Weedeater or Sleep, who are another key underlying influence. But the emphasis there should be on ‘underlying’ as HolyRoller step beyond the bands that inspired them in fostering progressive songwriting throughout these 35 minutes, with a richly flexible sound — “Heave Ho” sounds like slower Howling Giant, “Forbidden Things” like Spaceslug — and a push into the ether in “Radiating Sacred Light” before they round out with the Clutch-y bounce of “Drift Into the Sun” to highlight the individuality in where they take their approach. The organic production helps it feel like they’re really digging in, but also they are.

HolyRoller on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

—

Black Mynah, Worried ‘Bout Madame

Worried ‘Bout Madame is the third long-player from Polish heavy post-rock/psych-gaze outfit Black Mynah, and it would seem to be the first since founding vocalist, bassist and baritone guitarist Joanna Kucharska assembled a full-band lineup around herself and drummer Paweł Rucki, who also appeared on 2020’s II. Vocalist/synthesist Aleksandra Joryn and guitarist Marcin Lawendowski join the stylistically subversive proceedings here, with the garage jangle of “Colleen” at the outset pushed into the frenetic shuffle and hard distortion of “Damaged Goods” ahead of the sweet post-punk verse of “Float,” which has its own grungey volatility. The tonal weight thrown around in closer “Looking at You, Kid,” — not to mention the vocal layering — isn’t unprecedented on the album that comes before it, but “Blue Moon” is more about catching up with the insistence of its snare drum and “The Rite” has its own thing going too with the quieter creeper swing and satisfying wash that pays it off. It won’t be for everybody, but who the hell ever wanted to be?

Black Mynah on Bandcamp

Black Mynah streaming links

—

Coltsblood, Obscured Into Nebulous Dusk

Last heard from with their before-times 2019 split LP with Un, English death-doom churners Coltsblood make a welcome return with the four-song Obscured Into Nebulous Dusk, their third album overall, first for Translation Loss Records and first in eight years. The years have not been wasted in the sound of bassist/vocalist John McNulty (also keys), guitarist Jemma McNulty and drummer Jay Plested, who foster a ‘beauty in darkness’ sensibility on opener/longest track (immediate points) “Until the Eidolon Falls” before the outright slaughter of “Waning of the Wolf Moon” pushes death metal tempo off a cliff of feedback and raw scathe. “Transcending the Immortal Gateway” makes its presence felt with the mournful lead line topping its later reaches, and “Obscured into Nebulous Dusk” bids farewell in a not-dissimilar fashion, but the particularly agonized vocals prior are a distinguishing feature. Time would seem to have done little to dull the band’s overarching extremity, and so much the better for that.

Coltsblood on Bandcamp

Translation Loss Records website

—

Void King, The Hidden Hymnal: Chapter II

The two-years-later follow-up to Indianapolis doom rockers Void King‘s 2023 long-player, The Hidden Hymnal (review here), the seven-song The Hidden Hymnal: Chapter II indeed seems to dig into its own kind of storytelling. The proceedings make for a rousing flow, with the two longest tracks, “The Birth of All Things” (8:49) and “A Union of Expired Souls” (9:34) paired at the outset for a duly epic opening statement. I don’t know if they’re a vinyl side on their own or not, but their separation from the rest of the LP is underscored by the remaining three tracks being sandwiched by a “Prologue” and “Epilogue,” so that the burly progressive metal and heavy rock of “Attrition,” “Convalescence” and “Expiration” feel like their own mini-album on the second side. If this wraps up the The Hidden Hymnal cycle for Void King, then the structural nuance here is fair enough, but the real story of the record is the progression of the band itself, which is ongoing.

Void King on Bandcamp

Argonauta Records website

—

Bifter, First Impressions of Hell

Harnessing stoner metal largesse, doomed thematics and an aggro posture for the delivery that adds to the gnashing feel of the material overall, Bifter‘s debut album, First Impressions of Hell, is a torrential, ferocious offering that hits you on multiple levels before you even realize what’s happened. Interludes, the album intro “Enter Hell” and “Lover’s Quarrel,” the sample in “Mercy” and the post-script “Time to Kill” after “Ball of Burning Snakes” and the seven-minute “Belly of the Beast” give an atmospheric feel, but part of what makes “Doom Shroom” and “March of the Imp” so effective is their directness, so First Impressions of Hell, among the impressions made, can count face-punch in its number. The foundation is metal, but the affect is a party, and however weighted the material gets throughout the 36 minutes of its 12 tracks, Bifter are consistently able to convey a feeling of movement and forward momentum along with all their destructive intent.

Bifter links

Bifter on Bandcamp

—

Fish Basket, And His Second Album

Write off Poland’s Fish Basket at your own peril. Yeah, they’ve got the cartoonish art and the silly vibe and the sense of rampant chicanery of sound and nonsense, but check out the proggy push of “Robots” on Fish Basket and His Second Album and the way they suddenly pull the plug on the whole thing and drop to deep-breathing, or the shouts worked into opener “NA-HU-HA-NE” and the birdsong in the psych-drifting “Farewells and Returns,” gorgeous as it is before it looses a bit of crush and winds up in classic heavy psych to end. These and myriad other moments throughout — the folkish strum of “Imaginarium” from some unknown tradition, maybe the band’s own, brought to the head of a linear build with a comedown to finish — work on the Frank Zappa model of progressive rock, which is to say that while shenanigans abound, the trio have the technical chops to back up everything they’re doing, and whether it’s the fuzzblaster of “Cardboard Racer” or the sub-nine-minute meander of “Stray in Chill,” Fish Basket carry the listener from one end of the album to another with deceptive ease. Warning: it might be genius.

Fish Basket on Bandcamp

Interstellar Smoke Records store

—

Woodhawk, Love Finds a Way

Calgary-based trio Woodhawk — guitarist/vocalist Turner Midzain, bassist/vocalist Mike Badmington and drummer Kevin Nelson — offer a sharply-constructed, professional-grade nine songs across the 53 minutes of their third full-length, the encouragingly-titled Love Finds a Way. The organ adds a classic feel to “Strangers Ever After” early in the going, and the fullness and clarity of the surrounding production only increases the trust in the band’s songwriting, which isn’t without aesthetic ambitions despite the straightforward tack, cuts like “Truth Be Told,” “White Crosses” and the dares-to-shimmy-in-the-middle title-track have as solid an underpinning of groove as one could ever reasonably ask. The melody over top in the vocals and guitar shines through accordingly. They’re plenty dug-in, of course, and any record that’s going to push past the 50-minute mark in 2025 better have some perspective to offer, but Woodhawk do. I don’t know if it’ll be enough to save the world, but at least somebody out there is putting love out front with their riffage, duly engaging as that is.

Woodhawk website

Woodhawk on Bandcamp

—

Liminal Spirit, Pathways

Pathways is a single-song, just-under-14-minute EP from Milwaukee’s Liminal Spirit, the darkly progressive apparent-solo-project of Jerry Hauppa, who embodies a number of characters in the narrative throughout. Presented on a quick turnaround from the band’s late-2024 self-titled debut LP, the one-tracker nonetheless reaffirms the ambitions of the album before it, while also reinforcing the idea of Liminal Spirit as a still-growing, still-discovering-its-sound outfit. The vocals here, intended to embody multiple archetypal characters like The Patriarch, The Child, The Artisan, The Elder and The Apprentice, come through a vocoder-type treatment, and so where multiple points of view might otherwise be fleshed out and conveyed, the voice remains singular. This is the tradeoff for the intimacy of solo creativity, but one gets the sense from “Pathways” and the self-titled that Liminal Spirit is just beginning to explore the stylistic territory the band will ultimately cover.

Liminal Spirit on Bandcamp

Liminal Spirit on Facebook

—

Clarity Vision, Deep Ocean

To follow their 2023 self-titled debut EP (on Addicted Label), Moscow-based doom rocker four-piece Clarity Vision present “Deep Ocean” (or, in Cyrillic:
“Глубокий океан”), a six-minute standalone single that soon makes its way via cymbal-wash from its beginning waves and quiet guitar into a procession of stately classic doom metal, big on swing and bigger on impact. The kind of riff that would make Leif Edling smile. Galina Shpakovskaya‘s voice is suited to the movement of the riffs, floating over with melodic echo but keeping a mystique that reminds of mid-period The Wounded Kings, when all was dark and mystery. Guitarist Alexey Roslyakov, bassist Alexey Roslyakov and drummer Mikhail Markelov hold the march steady for the duration, and although I’ve never come close to knowing even the slightest bit of Russian, Clarity Vision remind that we all speak the same language when it comes to being completely and utterly doomed.

Clarity Vision links

Addicted Label links

—

Conan coming back to the States isn’t much of a surprise, and it’s likewise in-character for them to unfurl a whole new-album’s-worth of shows supporting — wait for it — a new album. The record in question, Violence Dimension (review here), was released just last week, and the superlatively heavy UK trio will likely spend the next two years celebrating its arrival with the special kind of crush that seems to be held in reserve for their riffing.

The poster is rad in the way of Art®, and they’ll be joined by Mares of Thrace for the run, which is also good news. The tour goes coast-to-coast and I see no real reason to try to sell you on it, because it’s Conan, and you already know they destroy.

So here’s where they’ll be doing that:

CONAN – US TOUR – AUGUST 2025!!!!!

Prepare for battle doom! Conan is coming to blaze a path with their new album Violence Dimension, and they’re bringing Mares of Thrace.

All dates on sale today at link in artist bios: @hailconan @mares_of_thrace

You can see all the cities/venues on the second slide, or below here.

8/22 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies
8/23 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
8/24 – Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle
8/25 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary
8/26 – Columbus, OH @ Ace Of Cups
8/27 – Youngstown, OH @ West Side Bowl
8/28 – Brooklyn, NY @ TV Eye
8/30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s
8/31 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro
9/02 – TBA
9/03 – Asheville, NC @ Eulogy
9/04 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl
9/05 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
9/06 – Houston, TX @ White Oak
9/07 – Austin, TX @ Come And Take It Live
9/09 – Albuquerque, NM @ Sister
9/10 – Mesa, AZ @ Rosetta Room
9/11 – Las Vegas, NV @ TBA
9/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
9/13 – Palmdale, CA @ Transplants
9/14 – Oakland, CA @ Stork Club
9/15 – Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial
9/17 – Eugene, OR @ John Henry’s
9/18 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
9/19 – Seattle, WA @ Clockout Lounge
9/20 – Missoula, MT @ VFW 209
9/21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
9/23 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge
9/24 – Minneapolis, MN @ Zhora Darling
9/25 – Milwaukee, WI @ X-Ray Arcade

CONAN is
Jon Davis – Vocals/Guitars
Johnny King – Drums
David Ryley – Bass

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://www.linktr.ee/hailconan

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Conan, Violence Dimension (2025)

Conan, “Desolation Hexx” official video

Nearly 20 years on from their inception in 2006, Conan are an established brand when it comes to destruction, and so, that they would pointedly take violence as the theme of an album, Violence Dimension, makes sense in a way. The first lines on the record, after “Foeman’s Flesh” has laid out its tonal brunt in a signature riff from founding guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis, soon joined by drummer Johnny King and bassist David Ryley (Fudge Tunnel) — the latter of whom is making his first appearance — are, “Time will kill/This is life.” So we see that from the very outside, Conan are not only working to portray violence of the mass-scale or punch-you-in-the-solar-plexus types, but also the backdrop natural violence of the world and the fact that life ends.

This thematic plays out over a course of seven songs and 47 minutes (that jumps to eight songs/59 minutes if you get the 12-minute bonus track “Vortexxion”), and the aforementioned opener is one of three cuts over nine minutes long, alongside “Total Bicep” (9:27), “Violence Dimension” (9:14) and the finale, “Ocean of Boiling Skin” (10:04). That’s not such a radical change structurally from what Conan wrought on 2022’s attempt to crush the ridiculousness of our age, Evidence of Immortality (review here), but it does tell you that even as Conan bring in a new bassist, they remain dug into the trajectory — that’s not to say ‘path of devastation’ — they’ve been on. That’s audible in some of the speedier riffing in “Desolation Hexx” (5:18), and the later shove-mosher “Frozen Edges of the Wound,” which makes a hook of, “This is our victory/This is our time,” as well as the 46-second grindcore blowout “Warpsword,” which feels like a direct answer to the sub-minute “Paincantation” from 2018’s Existential Void Guardian (review here).

It’s a tool in Conan‘s arsenal they’ve chosen to put to use, and behind a lot of what is happening across Violence Dimension, whether it’s the mercurial tempo shifts in “Total Bicep,” which seems to be in a feedback loop of its own speed and aggression, or the title-track, which uses minimalism in its early going in a way I’m not sure Conan ever have before to create an Earth-style drone nod across much of its first half. Of course, it gets heavier to offset the quieter parts, and there are low-growled vocals later, but that the quiet part exists at all is the point.

I’m assuming that’s Ryley on vocals, stepping into the secondary-singer role formerly held by Chris Fielding, who as regards Conan has shifted back to producer-only, though if you told me Davis convinced Fielding to throw down growls on the studio versions, I’d believe it was him on the recording. Ether way , the dual-vocal dynamic that developed between Davis and Fielding was/is the most blatant example of Conan growing as a band over time while remaining committed to their core underlying approach, and even as they move forward with someone else, that isn’t being sacrificed.

And it wouldn’t be. As chaotic and as claustrophobic and intense as Conan can get — and at their heaviest, there are few heavier — they have always been methodical and conscious of what they want to do with their songs. They want them to kill, yes, but the how and why of that violence is part of what Violence Dimension is exploring. The title-track pairs well with “Total Bicep” just before it, as the prior slab is more of an assault, pushing into a midsection gallop that, while I have no idea what the song is actually about, is affecting as it slams into the subsequent slowdown, rides that nod for most of its second half, and fades out to give space to what follows.

Likewise, one could argue for “Frozen Edges of the Wound” as a reorientation or regrounding after “Violence Dimension,” since its shorter course feels more outwardly straightforward and the title-track makes a point of its atmospherics — which, rest assured, are plenty heavy all on their own, whatever take-a-breath letup they might otherwise represent. But all of this is to remind that there’s human presence behind Conan‘s inhumane sound, and that the transition to bringing Ryley into the band as a full-time member (because he and other bassists had filled in before) hasn’t derailed their progression, or even seemingly rerouted it from what their intentions might otherwise be.

That said, Violence Dimension is just the first record of the Davis/Ryley/King era — last year’s DIY 10″ Series Issue 1 EP (review here) notwithstanding — and it may turn out to be the starting point of an entirely new branching off of their sound, and you just can’t know because it hasn’t happened yet and evolution takes time. Or the world could end tomorrow. Whatever. Regardless, the remarkable nature of Conan‘s take — immediately identifiable, marked by distinctive characteristics in tone and songwriting purpose — lets it be so much its own while never quite the same twice. Aurally speaking, it is a great, hulking beast, and Violence Dimension continues this tradition organically and intentionally.

Conan have always known who they are and what they’re capable of, and though there have been changes in the band — Davis has in the past and here incorporated some ambience and drone also explored in his Ungraven side-project, which also has a new LP, Ryley coming on board, etc. — that self-awareness has never done anything but serve the band, allowing them to hit that much harder for knowing why they’re doing it and what they’re trying to convey.

“Ocean of Boiling Skin” rises at its midpoint to a huge, malevolent tsunami of a nod that comprises its final march into oblivion, and that’s how it ends save for the deluxe editions, which include “Vortexxion.” The bonus cut becomes the longest on the LP at 12 minutes, and in the spirit of “Grief Sequence” from Evidence of Immortality is centered around noise; in this case a few obscure samples bookending a large stretch of feedback and other frequency manipulations. It’s not an easy listen, but this too is the point.

The band list Violence Dimension as their seventh full-length, which is something of retcon of 2010’s Hoseback Battle Hammer EP (discussed here; review here) as their debut album — fair enough for how important a release it was for them — but wherever you number it in their discography, the fact remains they are uniquely suited to portraying this album’s theme. Cleaving skulls may not be anything new for Conan, but they’ve gotten awfully efficient at it, and Violence Dimension works well to tie in elements they’ve introduced over the last few outings while lowering a tonal palette of concrete riffs onto the collective chest of their audience. Very much what one would hope for a sixth or seventh Conan album, in other words.

Conan, Violence Dimension (2025)

Conan, “Desolation Hexx” official video

Conan website

Conan on Facebook

Conan on Instagram

Conan on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds website

The news you need: Conan‘s seventh LP, Violence Dimension, is out April 25 as their first release through Heavy Psych Sounds. Between that and the player below premiering “Frozen Edges of the Wound,” if you want to skip everything else I have to say here, I’m not going to hold it against you. Sometimes a thing wants urgent listening. That should certainly apply to new Conan.

Violence Dimension follows 2022’s Evidence of Immortality (review here), which saw the band widen their atmospheric focus, experimenting with drone and weight beyond the all-out tonal crush that is their hallmark. Those looking for progression in that will want to pay attention to “Vortexxion” — listed as a bonus track — but the 10-minute “Ocean of Boiling Skin” just prior has a quiet middle to preface the album’s crescendo. That’s an important part of who Conan are as they push toward 20 years since guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis first got the band going, but it’s not the only talking point. Though consistent in production thanks to the work of longtime Conan collaborator and former bassist/vocalist Chris Fielding, Violence Dimension further stands out as the first full-length to feature Fielding‘s replacement, bassist David Ryley, known for his work in Fudge Tunnel.

I don’t think you’d be wrong to listen to “Frozen Edges of the Wound” premiering on the player below and imagine you’re hearing some extra crunch in Conan‘s riffing, a bit of noise rock working itself into one of doom’s heaviest sounds. Conan have a strong sense of identity to their work — you know it when you’re hearing them — but as time goes on, they also continue to find new methods and ideas to explore in their work. The lineup change presents some shift in dynamic, but Conan are who they are and aren’t the types to fix what was never broken in the first place. So much the better for the creative path they’re on.

April 25 is the release date. Conan do a quick swing through the Pacific Coast of Asia at the end of February and will continue on from there to New Zealand and Australia. All confirmed shows I’ve seen are below, but yes, more touring is likely, especially as they’ve already been confirmed for Desertfest London 2025 this May.

Enjoy the track:

Conan, “Frozen Edges of the Wound” track premiere

CONAN – New album “Violence Dimension” out April 25th on Heavy Psych Sounds

WORLD PRESALE: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/

USA PRESALE: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop-usa.htm

About the album: “Violence Dimension is our 7th full length release. We have come quite a distance in time and space since we released Horseback in 2010. One thing that binds us all is violence be that within a video game or in a movie or on the daily news. Violence affects our daily life perhaps more than love or kindness ever will. We are all bound by death whether we like it or not. This release explores the hinterland between being scared to live and bring scared to die and punches holes in the idea that we must live our life by one set of rules. We all live in the violence dimension and there is no escape.”

About the song: “A song for anyone fighting, whether that be an external or internal foe. Have strength for death comes to us all, just don’t make it an easy kill.”

Tracklist:
1. Foeman’s Flesh
2. Desolation Hexx
3. Total Bicep
4. Violence Dimension
5. Frozen Edges of The Wound
6. Warpsword
7. Ocean of Boiling Skin
8. Vortexxion (bonus track)

CONAN (UK) ASIA TOUR 2025
2/24 Mon – Tokyo
2/25 Tue – Osaka
2/26 Wed – Tokyo
2/27 Thu – Taipei
2/28 Fri – Singapore
3/2 Sun – Bangkok

Tickets are on sale at www.cks-productions.com

CONAN (UK) NEW ZEALAND TOUR w/ BORER
Thu 6 March | Valhalla, Wellington
Fri 7 March | Sydenham Underpass, Christchurch
Sat 8 March | Double Whammy, Auckland

CONAN (UK) AUSTRALIA TOUR 2025 w/ PALLBEARER
Wed 12 March | Max Watts, Melbourne
Thurs 13 March | Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide
Fri 14 March | Crowbar, Sydney
Sat 15 March | Crowbar, Brisbane

TICKETS: www.unitedfront.com.au

CONAN is
Jon Davis – Vocals/Guitars
Johnny King – Drums
David Ryley – Bass

Conan on Facebook

Conan on Instagram

Conan on Bandcamp

Conan website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds website

In addition to the shows listed below for tours in Asia and Australia, Conan have already confirmed for Spring 2025 appearances at Hellfest in June, and Desertfest London and Heavy Psych Sounds Fest in Italy in May, so safe to say the crush-prone UK three-piece are going to do some traveling even after this big trip for February and March is done. US in the summer? Misses some Eurofests, but Conan have done just about all of them, and they’ll have just been out in Spring, so their bases are covered either way. I don’t know.

Wherever and whenever they end up, you know Conan aren’t going to let a new album go unsupported, and their new album, as their latest newsletter informs, is finished. Not saying I’ve heard the masters or anything, but it is on-form and as massive as one would expect/hope while pushing a bit deeper into the ambience of the last record and introducing David Ryley on bass in place of Chris Fielding, shifting the dynamic there a bit. It’s a little more noise rock, actually. Rawer in its shove than Conan have wanted to be in a while, but in a way that suits them. Not that I’d know.

Maybe you fly to Tokyo to see Conan in February? Trip of a lifetime, it could be.

Some of the below comes from the newsletter and the dates come from socials. Ticket links are confusing but that’s the age we live in and if you don’t want global concert monopolies, you might have to click a different link to buy a ticket in your region. A minor consideration among this future’s many horrors. I’m probably also missing a bunch of dates, so make sure you confirm some shit before you sell your car and uproot your life to get a plane ticket to Japan.

Dig it:

***CONAN – NEW ALBUM NEWS***

Our new album is DONE. It is now with Heavy Psych Sounds while they set up their PR and pre order systems. Be aware that we will have a very limited edition hand numbered version of this release with a very special insert, that will be available with our version only. We will not be advertising our version on social media, but nevertheless it will be made available here via our mailing list on the 5th February at noon, UK time. Please set an entry into your diary, you don’t want to miss this.

TOURING / FESTIVALS

We have released dates for 2025, with shows happening in Europe, Asia, New Zealand and Australia so far. There are MANY more more to come, so keep an eye on our social media posts in the coming months.

CONAN (UK) ASIA TOUR 2025
2/24 Mon – Tokyo
2/25 Tue – Osaka
2/26 Wed – Tokyo
2/27 Thu – Taipei
2/28 Fri – Singapore
3/2 Sun – Bangkok

Tickets are on sale at www.cks-productions.com

CONAN (UK) AUSTRALIA TOUR 2025 w/ PALLBEARER
Wed 12 March | Max Watts, Melbourne
Thurs 13 March | Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide
Fri 14 March | Crowbar, Sydney
Sat 15 March | Crowbar, Brisbane

CONAN (UK) NEW ZEALAND TOUR w/ BORER
Thu 6 March | Valhalla, Wellington
Fri 7 March | Sydenham Underpass, Christchurch
Sat 8 March | Double Whammy, Auckland

TICKETS: www.unitedfront.com.au

CONAN is
Jon Davis – Vocals/Guitars
Johnny King – Drums
David Ryley – Bass

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://www.linktr.ee/hailconan

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Conan, DIY Series, Issue 1 (2024)

Been about five minutes since we had some Conan news, hmm? I’d say that makes us due. The UK everythingcrushers will journey to Australia in the New Year to support Pallbearer — who also crush, but with feelings — for four shows in four days. Yeah, it’s not by any means the most extensive tour, even of Australia, but the gigs will be frickin’ awesome for the people who get to see them.

By the time they head out on this run, we’ll likely have word of Conan‘s next full-length being released — the band are set to record later this month at Foel Studios with now-former bassist Chris Fielding at the helm (like old times) — as their first offering for Heavy Psych Sounds. If all goes well, a Spring release doesn’t seem like a crazy expectation. Imagine it, new life sprouting and here comes a brand-spanking-new Conan record to snuff it out and return us to the frostbitten cruelties of tonal (nuclear) winter. Could hardly be more perfect.

Something to look forward to. Maybe you’ll get to one of these shows and maybe not. If not, rest assured Conan will have more coming as they’re likely planning to spend the bulk of 2025-26 supporting the still-to-be-tracked album hither and yon. I’ll do my best to keep up with the announcements. Here’s this one for now:

We are VERY excited to head to Australia again. This time with @pallbearer. From the socials of @UnitedFront.

“United Front Touring Presents

PALLBEARER AUSTRALIAN TOUR
w/ Special guests CONAN

Renowned doom metal merchants Pallbearer make their return to Australia in March 2025 for an electrifying tour promising to deliver their signature blend of haunting melodies and crushing riffs. Joining them on all dates will be special guests UK doom metal titans Conan!

TICKETS: www.unitedfront.com.au

DATES
Wed 12 March | Max Watts, Melbourne
Thurs 13 March | Lion Arts Factory, Adelaide
Fri 14 March | Crowbar, Sydney
Sat 15 March | Crowbar, Brisbane

ON SALE NOW”

CONAN is
Jon Davis – Vocals/Guitars
Johnny King – Drums
David Ryley – Bass

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://www.linktr.ee/hailconan

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Conan, DIY Series, Issue 1 (2024)

Conan have kept themselves plenty busy between North American and European jaunts over the last year-plus (also the last decade-plus), but at the end of November, the three-piece of Jon Davis, David Ryley and Johnny King will hit up Foel Studios to begin the recording process for their next record. It will be the first since Ryley joined the band on bass/backing vocals late in 2023, and it sees their former bassist, Chris Fielding, shift back into the producer role for Conan as he’s held for countless others at this point, and their sixth album, coming in behind 2022’s Evidence of Immortality (review here) with this year’s self-released DIY Series, Issue 1 EP (review here) keeping the momentum going in between.

This isn’t the most expansive announcement, as you’ll see. It came with a holiday merch update — Conan always have a killer sweater design at the ready for those feeling cheeky — but as it confirmed they’re on track for the Spring 2025 release that was floated in June when they signed to Heavy Psych Sounds, and as it heralds new stuff from them either way, I figured it was good news and good news is welcome by me. Conan have one more date for 2024 to go, in The Netherlands, following up on their stop at Desertfest Belgium this month, and you can read more about that below as well. No surprise they note that plans for more touring are in the works. That’s how they do. Pro fuggin’ shop.

Words in blue from the aforementioned update. Sign up for newsletters, people. These things exist for a reason:

CONAN – NEW ALBUM

We record our new album at the end of November with Chris Fielding, in Foel Studio. This will be released on Heavy Psych Sounds. We are super excited to get into the studio and build upon these awesome demo’s we have in hand. We think you’re all going to love it.

TOURING / FESTIVALS

Our last show of 2024 is at the very cool de Duyster Markt in Genk, Belgium. You can view the details and purchase tickets here – it is likely we’ll play some tracks from the new album: https://shop.qtickets.nl/deduysteremarkt/?code=EB3CA7250BF5695AE

As for 2025….. We have a LOT of touring and festivals planned. You’ll hear about them in due course. Rest assured, no matter where you are on this planet, we’ll likely be playing close to you. More on that soon.

CONAN is
Jon Davis – Vocals/Guitars
Johnny King – Drums
David Ryley – Bass

http://www.hailconan.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hailconan/
https://www.instagram.com/hailconan/
https://conan-conan.bandcamp.com/
https://www.linktr.ee/hailconan

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Conan, DIY Series, Issue 1 (2024)

Some of this stuff is newer, some of it has been out for a while. You know how it goes with these things. If I had a staff of 30, I’d still always be behind and trying to keep up. It rarely works, but when a given Quarterly Review is done and I’m on the other side of 50, 70, 100 records, whatever it might be, I can fool myself for a few minutes into thinking this site is remotely comprehensive. At least until I next check my email.

Ups and downs to that, I suppose. I wouldn’t swear to it all not being AI, but I wouldn’t swear to reality being ‘real’ by any human definition either, and I’m not sure a machine making you feel something invalidates the artistic statement. Seems to me all the more an achievement. I guess what I’m trying to say in my best Kent Brockman is, “I for one, welcome our new robotic overlords.” I hope the machines take into account that I liked their paintings when they’re crushing skulls like in Terminator 2 or handing out especially cushy seats in the Matrix.

What were we talking about? Oh yeah, albums and such. Back to it:

Quarterly Review #31-40:

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Conan, DIY 10″ Series, Issue 1

In some ways, DIY 10″ Series, Issue 1 is the release Conan have been building toward. A DIY recording for Conan at this point meant recording with bassist Chris Fielding (who’s since left the band as a player but will continue to produce) and releasing through Jon Davis‘ Black Bow Records. That’s a DIY deal a lot of bands would take, and sure enough, the three songs on DIY 10″ Series, Issue 1 — the characteristically crush-galloping “Invinciblade,” “Time Becomes Master” and a cover of “Hate Song” by Fudge Tunnel — don’t sound like some half-assed thing made in the band’s rehearsal space or the living room when everyone else is out. They sound like Conan. So yes, they destroy. “Time Becomes Master” does so more slowly than “Invinciblade” and not before its intro turns feedback into cinematic artistry over the course of its first two-plus minutes, distortion eating the howl twice before Johnny King‘s drums kick in to answer what were those footprints that knocked over all the trees. Vocals don’t even kick in until four of the five minutes are gone; truly mastering time. And that drone is there the whole time. I’ll take more experimental Conan anytime.

Conan on Facebook

Black Bow Records website

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Patriarchs in Black, Visioning

Guitarist Dan Lorenzo (Hades) and drummer Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative) return with 12 new cuts across 43 minutes on Visioning. As with last year’s My Veneration (review here), the album features an assortment of guest singers, from Mark Sunshine (Unida) and Karl Agell (Legions of Doom, Lie Heavy), to Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys, Watchtower) and Kyle Thomas (Exhorder, Trouble, Alabama Thunderpussy), and more besides. Bassists Dave Neabore (Dog Eat Dog) and Eric Morgan (A Pale Horse Named Death) hold down the low end as Lorenzo demonstrates the principles of applying quality riffing to an assortment of situations. It veers into nü metal more than once, but at least it’s taking a risk, and it’s just as likely to be a classic Sabbathian delve like “Empty Cup,” so you wouldn’t accuse the band of lacking scope, and Sunshine — who’s on the West Coast and plenty busy besides — might be the frontman Patriarchs in Black have been looking for all along.

Patriarchs in Black on Facebook

Metalville Records website

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Lurcher, Breathe

Welsh melody heavy post-rockers Lurcher will have to find a new label home as Trepanation Recordings, which released Breathe, earlier this year and stood behind the band’s 2021 debut EP, Coma (review here), has ceased operations, but it’s hard to imagine Lurcher having much trouble finding a home for a sound as defined as it seems to be on “Breathe Out” and the more driving “Blister” here, which take the lush melodies one might hear from a band like Elephant Tree from an angle rooted more in post-hardcore, and a little more about shove than nod, but still able to get hazy and dreamy on opener “Never Over” or likewise mammoth and poppy on “Blink of an Eye,” though I’ll note that by “poppy” I mean accessible, melodic and professional. It wants neither for bombast nor impact, and the Mellotron before they turn “Blink of an Eye” back to the verse is just one among the many examples of why Lurcher are ready for a full-length. Or why I’m ready for one from them, at the very least.

Lurcher on Instagram

Trepanation Recordings on Bandcamp

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Alreckque, 6PM

A new configuration for some familiar players, as Alreckque‘s debut EP, 6PM, presents an initial four songs from guitarist/vocalist Jim Healey (We’re All Gonna Die, Blood Lightning, Set Fire, etc.), bassist/vocalist Aaron Gray (Hepatagua) and drummer Rob Davol (Cocked ‘n’ Loaded, Set Fire, etc.), each of whom would carry their union card for the Boston heavy underground if the city hadn’t busted the union to build condos. Healey‘s voice will be immediately recognizable to, well, anyone who’s ever heard it — it’s a pretty recognizable voice — and though “Sunsets” touches on some more metallic riffing in the vein of Blood Lightning, Alreckque is distinguished by what Gray brings to it in vocals, not only keeping up with Healey melodically (which is no small feat), but serving as an essential part of some of the EP’s most affecting moments. Yeah, the moniker is kind of a gag, but “Achilles’ Last Taco Stand (End of Man)” sets high stakes and has the reach to hit the mark in its apex. Projects like this come and go as everybody involved is usually doing more than one thing, but Alreckque sounds like the start of something worth pursuing.

Alreckque on Facebook

Alreckque on Bandcamp

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Black Capricorn, Sacrifice Darkness… and Fire

Black Capricorn‘s second LP for Majestic Mountain behind 2022’s Cult of Blood (review here), the nine-song/43-minute Sacrifice Darkness… and Fire lets you know it means business immediately because not one, not two, but three songs have the word “night” in the title. To wit, “The Night They Came to Take You Away,” “Another Night Another Bite” two songs later, and “Electric Night” two songs after that. That doesn’t even count “The Moon Rises as the Immortals Gather” or “A New Day Rising,” both of which would presumably take place at least in part at night. Clearly the Sardinian cult doomers have upped their game. Your move, entire genre of heavy metal! Perhaps the highest compliment I could pay the record would be to say it earns its instances of “night,” which it does, but don’t let that keep you from “Blood of Evil” or the opener “Sacrifice,” which pairs drifting vocal incantations with an earthy groove and lays out the atmosphere for what follows. As expected and as one would hope, they dig into the songs like grainy VHS zombies into foam-rubber skulls.

Black Capricorn on Facebook

Majestic Mountain Records store

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Dios Serpiente, Duelo de Gigantes

The sophomore full-length from Argentina’s Dios Serpiente, founded by bassist, programmer and vocalist Leandro Buceta, brings a collaboration with Sergio Chotsourian (Los Natas, Ararat, Soldati, etc.), who contributes guitar and keyboard, Duelo de Gigantes might be an appropriate title for such a thing, as surely the swell at the finish of “Ruinas Ancestrales” is of duly mammoth proportion, but there’s more happening than largesse as “La Espera” explores textures that feel born of ambient Reznorism en route to the slamming industrial doom of “Dinastia del Morir,” an aggressive centerpiece before “El Oraculo” shows brighter flashes and “El Ultimo Ritual” turns caustic, low sludge into inhuman megaplod before “Monolitos de Lava” drops the drums and thereby transcends that much more completely into atmospheric avant garde-ness. Those used to hearing Chotsourian‘s voice alongside his guitar will be surprised at Buceta‘s growls, but the harsher vocals suit the range of dark and aggressive moods being conveyed in the electronic/organic blend of the arrangements.

Dios Serpiente on Instagram

South American Sludge Records on Bandcamp

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Norna, Norna

If you, like me, remember a time when a band called Swarm of the Lotus stalked the earth with an especially vicious blend of sludge metal, harsh hardcore bite, and doomly proselytizing, Swiss/Swedish trio Norna wield a lurch no less punishing on “Samsara” at the outset of their self-titled sophomore LP. Huge and encompassing, it and “For Fear of Coming,” which follows, feel methodical in the European post-metallic tradition (see Amenra), but Norna are rawer than most and more direct in their assault, so that “Ghost” comes across as punk rooted in its intensity more than metal, which is also what stops “Shine by its Own Light” from being Conan, despite the similar penchant for crush. The effect of the backing atmospherics in “Shadow Works” shouldn’t be understated, even if what tops is so all-out furious, and “The Sleep” slows down a bit for one last tonal offloading, harsh shouts cutting through every punishing stage. Norna don’t mess around. Call it sludge if you want. The truth is it’s more in style and dimension.

Norna on Facebook

Pelagic Records on Bandcamp

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Dead Fellows, Luto Sessions

Having a couple seconds on either side of the start and finish of a song emphasizes the live-in-studio feel of Luto Sessions, but as it’s the first offering from Argentine psychedelic doom rockers Dead Fellows, it’s not like there’s a ton to compare it to. “Pile of Flesh” or its side-B-opening counterpart “Imminent” have some Uncle Acid to their swing, but even in the boogie of “The Ritual” and the last twists of “Hell Awaits,” Dead Fellows are chasing no sonic ideal so much as their own. Echoing vocals top riffs made more sinister by the lyrics applied to them, and as “Pile of Flesh” is both opener and the longest song (immediate points), everything after seems to build momentum despite mostly languid tempos, and the movement keeps hold right through the dark swirl of “Satan is Waiting for Us” and into the finale, which at last highlights the heavy blues that’s been underscoring the material all along. You already knew if you were listening to the basslines. I don’t know if it’s actually their debut album, but it’s engaging and quickly finds its niche.

Dead Fellows on Instagram

Dead Fellows on Bandcamp

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Rabid Children, Does the Heartbeat

You might call Troy, New York, four-piece experimental for all the noise and keys and drones and weirdo vibes they throw at you on their debut, Does the Heartbeat, but go deeper and it’s even weirder. Because it’s pop. Like 1960s Beatles-type pop. Check out “Real Life.” The organ line of “Does the Heart Beat.” The vocal pattern in “I’ve Been Hypnotized” is more Thin Lizzy, so a couple years later, but a lot of what Rabid Children are playing off of is notions of safe, suburban interpretations of rock, and some of it is about turning that on its head, like the Ramones did, but by putting their own spin on these ideas — and songs that are mostly one to two minutes long suits that frenetic approach — Rabid Children both undercut the notions of pop as something that can’t be ‘deep’ or ‘intelligent’ (that’s called “doing Devo‘s work”) and that “Messin Round” can’t coincide with a sprawler jam like “Other Dreams” or that the over-the-top wistfulness of “Teenage Summertime Dream” and the quirkier “FCOJ” (is that a Trading Places reference?) aren’t working toward similar ends.

Lorchestral Recording Company website

Lorchestral Recording Company on Facebook

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Ord Cannon, Foreshots

Just two songs on this initial offering from German noise-doomers Ord Cannon, but that’s enough for the band — which traces its pedigree back through Bellrope into Black Shape of Nexus, thereby ticking any box you might have for off-kilter heavy-as-hell cred — to leave a crater behind. The Foreshots EP brings “Letting My Insides Out Into the Air” (10:35) and “I Need a Hammer” (9:41), and with them, Ord Cannon mark out what one suspects won’t at all be the limits of their ultimate breadth. A harsh experimentlism seems to put the studio on a similar plane to the instruments, and the mix, whether that’s pushing the vocals further back toward the end of “I Need a Hammer” or making “Letting My Insides Out Into the Air” sound like the end of the world more generally, further bolsters the true-horrors-in-three-dee vibe. I don’t know what the advent of Ord Cannon signals for Bellrope, who put out their debut EP in 2019, but this kind of malevolent worldmaking is welcome in any form.

Ord Cannon on Instagram

Ord Cannon on Bandcamp

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