The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Brad Van of Droids Attack

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I somehow feel compelled to do what I do. It is a pursuit of happiness, I suppose. I was naturally drawn to the rhythmic elements of music when I was pretty young and was inspired to play the drums. Perhaps because I could just watch people play and learn how it was done visually. I could play along to recordings after a few listens. It was fun for me. I really enjoyed playing and wanted to form an original band to write and record albums with. It was difficult finding people with that same drive, so after drumming in a few bands I decided I wanted to learn how to play guitar to try and write some songs myself. I incorporated those rhythmic elements I was initially inspired by into my guitar playing, and my music got heavier as I got more comfortable with the feel of the instrument.

Describe your first musical memory.

I remember hearing “Ace of Spades” on the radio when I was very young. I thought it was awesome, and that’s the first song I can remember that got stuck in my head. I also remember having a Fisher Price record player, and my brother had The Greatest American Hero theme song on 45. I loved hearing that one too.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Playing the Metro in Chicago opening up for High On Fire, Torche, and Kylesa back when no one had ever heard of us. It felt like a turning point for us at the time, like we somehow broke through to the big leagues! I suppose I would call that one of my best memories. I remember playing that show, and some folks involved with the event were angry because we were put in that slot by the event organizer who wanted us on because he liked us. He wanted to give us a chance, which is rare in my experience, so he fought for us and he refused to cut us. After we played everyone was pretty nice though, so it felt cool like we won them over. I remember being a little sad after that show because I thought it was all downhill from there because there was no way any other show would be as awesome, but I was wrong. We continue to get such great shows, work with great bands, and meet such awesome people. Maybe my best memory is the moment I realized I was wrong.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Man, so many times. That’s a hard question to answer. How about the belief that all people are inherently good? I’ve been taken advantage of by plenty of people who would have had no problem with stepping on me and my mother’s face if it meant they could get ahead somehow. It’s hard not to let situations like that get the best of you, and change you into a negative person. I do have a firm belief that you should never allow that to happen, and that gets tested quite often.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

In my experience I’ve found that all people are in pursuit of different things as artists. Some want to be the best at their craft, some want to get attention, some just want to party… so I suppose the pursuit determines the progression. For me, I just want to feel happy, and fulfilled in life, and I am. I want to write songs that I can enjoy playing night after night and work with people who enjoy playing out as much as I do and as often as possible and have a good time. I also want to challenge myself to be the best player I can be, and put out albums that I can feel proud of and are worth a spin.

How do you define success?

When you are able to earn enough money to make a decent living seems to be the easiest answer to that one, but it’s really hard to achieve that without being able to completely dedicate your life to it for a good period of time. I think there are other levels of success that are worth the personal sacrifice it takes to grind just enough to earn steady gigs and opportunities to collaborate with artists, venues, and promoters that you have great respect and affection for. It’s rewarding to be a part of this community.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Most recently I guess would be how awful people have gotten comfortable with treating each other. This pandemic was very difficult on a lot of people, and I hate seeing all of the abuse and suffering on social media, and with some of the people around me in my daily life. I’ve reached out to plenty of people these last couple of years just to check in on them and try and help them get through some dark times if I can.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I’d like to create a Droids Attack pinball game.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To me good art makes you think. You experience it in whatever variety of ways, see it, hear it, taste it, whatever, and if it’s good then it has some potency on you. If it’s quality work it will draw you in. Maybe inspire you to dance, question your perception, maybe sway your emotions. Lift your mood, or maybe drag you down further until you hit bottom. Good art stays with you, and becomes a part of your life. Hopefully one that’s positive.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I look forward to retiring with my wife, and going on adventures together.

http://www.facebook.com/droidsattack/
https://www.instagram.com/droidsattack/
http://droidsattack.bandcamp.com/
http://droidsattack.com/

Droids Attack, Sci-Fi or Die (2016)

Wisconsin’s Bongzilla make ready to head abroad next year in support of their 2021 album, Weedsconsin (review here). Does the tour start on 4/20? No, but close enough, and you’ll note that they have May 1 listed as an open date in London. Well, that’s the final day of Desertfest London 2022, so don’t be surprised when or if they show up as a late addition to that considerably-packed bill too. Hard to imagine them finding anything other than a welcome reception, frankly.

It’s worth taking a second to appreciate looking at a list of tour dates and thinking it’s more likely they’ll happen than not. Obviously I won’t claim to know what the conditions of anything will be by the time next Spring rolls around, but it doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility that these dates, including the couple TBAs, could go off without a hitch. Hope everybody got their shots. Boosters for all and safe travels.

From the PR wire:

BONGZILLA – EU/UK TOUR 2022

We are so stoked to announce the comeback of the Weedsconsin riffers BONGZILLA.

The band will smash Europe and UK in April/May 2022 bringing their brand new album Weedsconsin.

BUY THE ALBUM HERE:
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS186

*** BONGZILLA EU/UK TOUR 2022 ***
FR 08.04.2022 IT BOLOGNA Freakout
SA 09.04.2022 IT VERONA Kroen
SU 10.04.2022 AT SALZBURG Rockhouse
MO 11.04.2022 AT VIENNA Arena
TU 12.04.2022 AT INNSBRUCK p.m.k
WE 13.04.2022 IT TORINO Bunker
TH 14.04.2022 CH MARTIGNY Les Caves Du Manoir
FR 15.04.2022 FR MARSEILLE Jas’ Rod
SA 16.04.2022 ES BARCELONA Upload
SU 17.04.2022 ES MADRID Caracol
MO 18.04.2022 ES SAN SEBASTIAN Dadadaba
WE 20.04.2022 FR TOULOUSE Le Connexion
TH 21.04.2022 FR NANTES La Scene Michelet
FR 22.04.2022 FR LILLE Black LAb
SA 23.04.2022 NL LEIDEN Gebr. De Nobel
SU 24.04.2022 NL SNEEK Bolwerk
MO 25.04.2022 BEL AALST Cinema Aalst
TU 26.04.2022 UK MANCHESTER Deaf Institute
WE 27.04.2022 UK BRISTOL Thekla
TH 28.04.2022 UK SHEFFIELD Record Junkee
FR 29.04.2022 UK GLASGOW Ivory Blacks
SA 30.04.2022 UK LEEDS Boom
SU 01.05.2022 UK LONDON TBA
MO 02.05.2022 FR PARIS TBA
TU 03.05.2022 DE COLOGNE MTC
WE 04.05.2022 DE BERLIN Bi Nuu
TH 05.05.2022 PO WROCLAW Akademia
FR 06.05.2022 DE DRESDEN Chemiefabrik
SA 07.05.2022 DE KARLSRUHE Dudefest
SU 08.05.2022 DE LEIPZIG Conne Island
TU 10.05.2022 FIN HELSINKI Kuudes Linja
WE 11.05.2022 CH ZURIGO Dynamo 250
TH 12.05.2022 CH BASEL Hirscheneck
FR 13.05.2022 SE MALMO Plan B
SA 14.05.2022 DK ESBJERG Fuzztival

BONGZILLA is:
Mike “Muleboy” Makela – bass/vocals
Jeff “Spanky” Schultz – guitars
Mike “Magma” Henry – drums

https://www.facebook.com/Bongzilla/
https://www.instagram.com/bongzillaband
https://bongzilla.bandcamp.com/
https://bongzilla666.com/
heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Bongzilla, Weedsconsin (2021)

None crustier. None more stoned. That’s the reputation that precedes Bongzilla headed into Weedsconsin, their first album in 16 years. That’s the standard. And while the Madison, Wisconsin, trio of Michael “Muleboy” Makela (bass/vocals, formerly guitar/vocals), guitarist Jeff “Spanky” Schultz and drummer Michael John “Magma” Henry have no doubt been busy in the intervening years working as high-power lobbyists toward the ultimate goal of marijuana legalization on the federal level in the US — an argument they state efficiently if not clearly in Muleboy‘s rasp on “Free the Weed” — their return to more riff-led weedian proselytizing is notable on its own merits in addition to the influence the band has had largely in their absence on a generation of underground listeners and players who’ve come to prominence in the years since 2005’s Amerijuanican was issued through Relapse Records.

Weedsconsin finds the band aligned with Heavy Psych Sounds, and with production by the late John Hopkins, who passed away in Nov. 2020 following a heart attack, Bongzilla sound utterly unmistakable. Their closest sonic kin have always been Weedeater — they would seem to pay homage with a short interlude that opens side B called simply “The Weedeater” — but the six-song/43-minute run of this collection makes that North Carolinian outfit seem accessible by comparison. Of course, the album arrives some six years after Bongzilla returned to touring, so they’ve had plenty of time work work out material, but the truth is that in 95 percent of cases, the prospect of a new full-length from this band was going to be a no-doubter. What, Bongzilla were going to become math metal? Embrace their inner djent? They’re fucking Bongzilla. The biggest favor they might do their attendant listenership, new and old, is to sound like it, and that’s exactly what they do on Weedsconsin.

The album opens sharp and purposeful with “Sundae Driver.” It’s the shortest inclusion at about four and a half minutes, and it builds a massive wall of lumbering fuzz to set a high tonal standard for the rest of what follows. If the message is to reassure their audience that Bongzilla know what’s expected of them and are ready to deliver, the harsh-lung gutturalism of “Sundae Driver”‘s verse dispenses immediately with all doubt. Atop a chugging riff that opens into a rolling hook, Muleboy earns copious nodules in nothing-too-fancy lines that are made impressive through the excruciating-sounding execution. The great balance of Bongzilla has always been between the stoned and the brutal. “Sundae Driver” calls out both in deceptively clear fashion, and “Free the Weed” follows with a bigger central riff that holds its line out and lets Magma‘s hi-hat hold the procession together until the next round of lurch kicks in. It is pummeling and arguably the highlight of Weedsconsin for how its second half flows into its solo section with the bass and guitar taking their respective whims for a walk, but really, pick your poison. If it’s jams you’re looking for, the best is surely yet to come.

To wit, side A wraps with “Space Rock,” the first of two inclusions on Weedsconsin to top 10 minutes long. Time well spent. A first few minutes lull the listener into hypnotic nod before the full low end weight kicks in circa 2:30 and continues to cycle through until the big slowdown into the stoner softshoe riff about a minute later, all classic swagger as the bed for the verse, echoing and largely indecipherable. They pick up speed, subtly, but ultimately make their way back to the mellower movement and use that as the launch point for a jam that consumes the rest of the song leads the way out of side A, with the 35-second “The Weedeater” following its rumbling end with a slow drum beat, sample and maybe a keyboard of some sort or guitar playing some sparse notes. There’s a hard stop before the subsequent, 15-minute “Earth Bong/Smoked/Mags Bags” arrives, but the two pieces connect just the same, and the three stages of Weedsconsin‘s sprawling exercise in instrumentalist fuckall likewise flow into each other as they inevitably would.

There are tempo shifts throughout — and maybe the coughing 10 minutes in signals a turn to “Mags Bags,” which puts the bass more forward before oozing out its central riff, more stoner than sludge if it even matters by then — but Bongzilla were right to put all this stuff into a single track and just roll it out, because by the time the drums and whatever percussion is included finishes out, they’ve well established they can do whatever the hell they want anyway and still come out on the other end red-eyed but otherwise unscathed. Slow stick-clicks later and the six-minute “Gummies” wraps with more mostly-instrumental plodding — there’s voice there, but it’s buried deep — as the band cap their first album in more than a decade and a half by getting willfully lost in the fog of their own making and inviting their listenership to do largely the same. That’s not to say they’re not following a plan throughout Weedsconsin, but the plan sounds like it was to get high and wander off, letting one heavy riff after the next lead where they will.

If you can think of a more fitting showing for Bongzilla to make than to return with a six-track album and jam out for more than half its runtime, I’d love to hear about it. The fact of the matter is Bongzilla after a quarter-century since their inception know what they’re about, and Weedsconsin is Bongzilla being Bongzilla. I don’t know what various hyperbole has been tossed the album’s way, but its central achievement is that it is Bongzilla. If you know the band, you know what they do, and this is what they do. If you’re new to the band, then consider Weedsconsin your representative start as you head deeper into their catalog. It’s not that they’re not trying anything new here, but the overarching context is so much the band’s own that it is simply inescapable. And that’s the point. You would ask no less of Bongzilla. That’s their standard, and they meet it dead-on, without flinching.

Bongzilla, Weedsconsin (2021)

Bongzilla on Thee Facebooks

Bongzilla on Instagram

Bongzilla on Bandcamp

Bongzilla website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Thee Facebooks

Gungeon Records on Bandcamp

It does not matter your perspective on politics or social issues. Even if you’re someone who stays out of that particular fray, keeps your head down to the best of your ability and just tries to get through one day and into the next, there’s no question that doing so this year and in this moment is harder and more stressful than it was, say, in 2019 at this time. That’s as blanket a statement as I can make, and whether or not you believe in math, the numbers bear that out. “Everybody had a hard year,” said John Lennon.

Fine. You see where this is going. Wisconsin weed-sludge institution Bongzilla are currently in the studio recording their next LP — reportedly a double-album, maybe and hopefully called Weedsconsin — and their first in some terrifying amount of years and they’ve posted the lyrics for it. And much as one might seek and/or find some measure of momentary escape in smoke or edibles or whatever it is the kids do these days with their super-weed, I find too I’m able to put a modicum of distance between myself and the day’s anxious air just by reading the lyrics to “Sundae Driver” or “Earth Bong” or, indeed, “Weedsconsin.” The band posted the full markerboard on social media and have a couple quick studio updates to coincide. I’ve gathered and posted them below, in case they might also help you roll out your own brief escapism. Or whatever.

Incidentally, legal weed is on the ballot in my beloved home state of NJ today, and as someone who was arrested at the age of 18 for possession, I happily voted in favor. I doubt I’d be able to afford any at this point in my life, but it’s nice to think some other kids might not get screwed over by cops in that specific fashion, however else they still might.

Free the weed, and so on:

BONGZILLA STUDIO UPDATES:

Oct. 27 – Back in the studio! Home for the next week is Future Apple Tree Studios in Rock Island IL. Thank you to Jason Parris for loaning us the furnaces and 74 Slingerland kit for this session. Gt120mv and a od120. Full length coming soon brothers and sisters.

Oct. 30 – Vocals are done!! On to Spanky’s Geetar over dabs!!

Bongzilla are:
Mike “Muleboy” Makela – Guitar/Vocals
Jeff “Spanky” Schultz – Guitar
Cooter Brown – Bass
Mike “Magma” Henry – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/Bongzilla/
https://www.instagram.com/bongzillaband
https://bongzilla.bandcamp.com/
https://bongzilla666.com/
https://crawlspacebooking.com/

Bongzilla, “Sundae Driver” live rehearsal

Say hello to Twin Wizard. The Illinois/Wisconsin duo brings together guitarist/vocalist Brad Van of long-undervalued rockers Droids Attack with drummer Anthony Dreyer, whose prior outfit, Telekinetic Yeti, flamed out hard — and, frankly, ugly — after a quick ascent following their debut album, but will nonetheless continue in some form or other, obviously without Dreyer involved. Twin Wizard, meanwhile, release their debut album, Glacial Gods, today (!), and will follow up with vinyl and CD availability on April 13. Preorders are up now direct from the band, and as the 35-minute seven-tracker culls together riff after pummeling, massively-fuzzed riff, locking in classic and humongous stoner metal grooves, a preorder seems well justified, particularly given the LP’s limited numbers (150 total).

I’m not just talking about riffs. I’m talking about riffs for the soul. “Ghost Train Haze,” which opens the album, is literally and figuratively only the beginning. “Sky Burial,” “Smoke Wizard,” the seven-and-a-half-minute centerpiece “Cult of Yeti” — these songs evoke the dare-you-to-climb-it tower of amplification in the video for the lead cut, and as the admirably bearded Dreyer pounds away at his kit and Van runs his guitar through bass and six-string tones alike, he also burls up his vocal approach, touching on the melodies that one suspects will emerge more over time and the band’s subsequent work while in the interim laying claim to a gruff, early-Cisneros feel that’s perfectly suited to the fuzz, keeps just an edge of punk, and fits well alongside the punctuation of the drums.

With guitar effects/drone transitions between the tracks, a sense of atmosphere is created and manipulated, setting a world in which the songs take place, the riffs seeming to emerge from this ether one after the other. Still, as “Cult of Yeti” devolves gloriously into a noisy morass, undoing the structural clarity presented in “Ghost Train Haze” and the hookier “Smoke Wizard,” it is all the more hypnotic for its longer dronal excursion. It makes no attempt to return once it’s gone — a choice that’s hard to argue with once “Ghostwriter” crashes in, its balance of chug and gallop seeming to straighten out what “Sky Burial” so purposefully made cyclical in the rhythm, while keeping the song itself short at under four minutes long in order to provide an intro of manipulated and particularly doomy bells for “Apothecary.”

Only appropriate, though given the Sabbath and Sleep familiarity of some of the riffs, perhaps they should’ve titled “Apothecary” something related to ghostwriting as well. The righteous dig-in is obviously willful — it ain’t like Twin Wizard are trying to tell you they invented the riff to “Black Sabbath” or to “Dragonaut” — and even the ending nod to “War Pigs” is a dogwhistle to the doomed converted, which only brings to emphasis how much fun Glacial Gods is on the whole. Large credit for that has to go to Dreyer, who would seem to have imported some of the band’s mission from his prior tonally-minded two-piece, but even as “Cult of Yeti” rounds out the album as the second in a seven-song tracklisting to include the word “yeti” in the title — one hopes they keep the theme; like the many faces of the blues different artists have crafted over the last century-plus — it is also given an intro, this time of a stretch of looped guitar that slams into a brief but severe single-riff instrumental finish that, well, certainly gets its point across. The point is that it’s awesome. Message received and understood.

Two hopes for Twin Wizard. One, they do more. Two, they tour. That’s all there is to it. Given the quality of the work they do here and the pedigree Dreyer and Van bring, it’s hard to imagine some label won’t pick them up should they want to go that route, but whether they do or not, Glacial Gods is loaded with forward potential that only shows the project as being worth pursuing in a real, dedicated way. The video for “Ghost Train Haze,” which captures the band playing to and then as — wait for it — a sasquatch, is a blast and though I wouldn’t want to be standing in front of the stage as Van tosses his half-full beer onto the floor, it is a show I’d want to see. And one that, given what they do on the record, I’ll hope to see sooner than later.

Enjoy “Ghost Train Haze” below:

Twin Wizard, “Ghost Train Haze” official video premiere

Twin Wizard is proud to make their debut with their first single from their record entitled “Glacial Gods”. Here is the debut music video for the song “Ghost Train Haze”.

Twin Wizard is a two piece band consisting of Anthony Dreyer previously of Telekinetic Yeti and Brad Van of Droids Attack. Glacial Gods was recorded and mixed at Flat Black Studios by Luke Tweedy. Mastering by Carl Saff. Video produced by Natalie Hinckley of Hinckley Productions.

Track listing for Glacial Gods
1. Ghost Train Haze
2. Sky Burial
3. Smoke Wizard
4. Cult of Yeti
5. Ghostwriter
6. Apothecary
7. Electric Yeti

Digital release Friday 3/13. Vinyl & CD 4/13.

Pre-order the record on vinyl/cd at https://twinwizard.bigcartel.com/

Twin Wizard are:
Anthony Dreyer – Drums
Brad Van – Guitar/Vocals

Twin Wizard on Facebook

Twin Wizard on Bandcamp

Twin Wizard webstore

Wisconsin-based masters of the stoner crust riff Bongzilla announce they’re reissuing 2001’s Apogee on vinyl through their newly-formed label. The album has been remastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering and features revamped artwork based on the original cover’s theme by gERM?. Info is pretty sparse on the label end at this point, but Crash Assailant Records and Flail Records are handling distribution and orders are being taken now.

Among Bongzilla‘s discography, it’s fair to consider Apogee a classic for “H.P. Keefmaker” alone, never mind “Grim Reefer” or the live tracks. The nastiness of Bongzilla‘s scorched-lung approach is on full display, to be sure, and as they celebrate the release with a slew of tour dates in March — there may be more in addition to what you see below; that’s around SXSW time, so keep an eye out — and herald an upcoming appearance at Muddy Roots this summer in Tennessee, a new visit to Apogee‘s weedian fields could hardly be more suitable. I don’t care how stoned you think you are. You ain’t more stoned than Bongzilla.

Art, info, links, and exclamation points came down the PR wire:

Bongzilla – Apogee – Repress

For the first time in about 20 Years Apogee will be released on Vinyl!!! Remastered!!! New Album Art!!! Available now for pre-order in Clear, Opaque Green, Purple Kush, and Black Vinyl!!!

https://crashassailantrecords.com/product/bongzilla-apogee/

The members of Bongzilla are putting this one out independently as they start their own label. More to come about that soon! New Artwork by gERM?! Cascade Record Pressing is handling the pressing!!! Adam at Telegraph Mastering did the Mastering!!! And Crash Assailant Records and Flail Records are helping with the distribution!!!

BONGZILLA Live:
– Minneapolis!!! March 11th!!! Bongzilla w/ Lord Dying at First Avenue & 7th St Entry!!!
– Milwaukee!!! March 13th at Walker’s Point Music Hall!!! Bongzilla w/ Gravedirt and Cold Black River!!!
– Bongzilla in Omaha, NE!!! March 16th at Lookout Lounge!!!
– Bongzilla in St Louis on St Paddy’s!!! March 17th at Red Flag!!!
– March 18th!!! Bongzilla at the The Riot Room in Kansas City!!!
– March 20th!!! Houston, TX!!! Bongzilla at Secret Group!!!
– Bongzilla will be blazing up at Muddy Roots Music Festival 2020

Bongzilla are:
Mike “Muleboy” Makela – Guitar/Vocals
Jeff “Spanky” Schultz – Guitar
Cooter Brown – Bass
Mike “Magma” Henry – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/Bongzilla/
https://www.instagram.com/bongzillaband
https://bongzilla.bandcamp.com/
https://crawlspacebooking.com/

Bongzilla, Apogee (2001)

Though it’s kind of a wonder they can manage to cross state lines let alone international borders, Wisconsin’s Bongzilla toured Europe this past summer, and they had copies of their compilation Thank You… Marijuana, along with them for the ride. The 2LP brings together the band’s off-album catalog — tracks from splits, EPs, singles and so on. Other songs that presumably got high and wandered off. With a suitably stonerly respite between, Totem Cat will release Thank You… Marijuana on Nov. 15, with preorders starting next week.

Bongzilla releasing a comp called Thank You… Marijuana is nothing if not “on theme.” But any new outing from them is welcome, as it’s been some 13 years since they issued Amerijuanican, their most recent studio album. I of course don’t know what their plans are, but in noting this was coming, Totem Cat also hinted at another announcement to follow shortly behind, and it seems entirely possible that’s a new Bongzilla record or the long-awaited debut LP of side-project Aquilonian, which rumors had circulated might actually take shape sometime this or next year. I wouldn’t complain with either.

When/if I hear something I’ll put a post up, so if you want to consider this the first half of Totem Cat news going on, that’s fine. Certainly worth noting either way:

[NEW RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT] Bongzilla – Thank You… Marijuana

Compilation of all their previous splits & EPs, specially remastered for this release.

Available on CD / 2xLP / Totem Cat Exclusive 2xLP / Tour Edition 2xLP.

Tracklisting:
A1 Lighten Up 3:23
A2 Smoke Like The Wind 5:24
A3 Brownie 3:17
A4 Gungeon 4:21
B1 Hemp For Victory 5:17
B2 Smoke 4:26
B3 Budgun/THC 5:48
B4 Witch Weed 5:32
C1 Satan’s Calling 4:21
C2 Smell The Jar 5:39
C3 Proper Stoning 6:26
C4 Dealer McDope 6:49
D1 Gestation 3:46
D2 Trinity 6:44
D3 Witch Weed 6:37

Preorders will start October 30. Release date is November 15.

Artwork by Flog Diver | Illustration & Design

https://www.facebook.com/Bongzilla/
https://bongzilla.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/totemcatrecords/
totemcatrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://totemcatrecords.bandcamp.com/

Bongzilla, “Gestation/Greenthumb” live in Paris, June 21, 2018

Wisconsin’s Vanishing Kids will release their fifth full-length, Heavy Dreamer, Nov. 30 on Svart Records. It’s been 15 years since vocalist/keyboardist Nikki Drohomyreky and guitarist Jason Hartman made their debut with Rest the Glove that Wears You Down and five since their fourth LP, Spirit Visions, but their history seems to cross genres as much as time, and where their last outing found them dug into post-rock airiness, Heavy Dreamer carries a deep-running gothic heft, with the melodic wisps filling out the mix of “Mockingbird” reminding that indeed it’s the season of October Rust while the 7:57 title-track, second in the playlist behind “Creation” and very much part of an immersion-minded opening salvo with it, pulls elements of new wave into its chorus and transposes them onto the organ-laced doom of the leadoff. Deeply progressive and marked by the patient, standout performance of Drohomyreky on vocals and the low rumble of bass from Jerry Sofran, Heavy Dreamer is nonetheless fluid as it moves through psychedelic pastoralia on “Without a Sun,” creating a wash of tone and melody held together by Hart Allan Miller‘s drumming and the foundation of Hartman‘s guitar. The music is consistently, persistently adventurous, and there’s nowhere it goes to which it does not bring a stately, engaging presence.

The effect of “Creation” and “Heavy Dreamer” at the outset lingers. The latter is particularly memorable for Drohomyreky‘s soulful delivery of the title-line, and together they comprise more than 15 of the record’s total 51 minutes, so it’s not an insubstantial portion. Their placement seems purposeful, as only the nodding-doom-into-holy-crap-where’d-that-solo-come-from “Reaper” on side B hits the seven-minute mark otherwise, but more than runtime it’s a question of atmosphere and setting the mood. And whatever else Heavy Dreamer is — it is many things, and I suspect many different things for different listeners — it is a work of mood. Caked in echo and begun with a flourish of synthesized beats, “Without a Sun” projects a massive but not overwrought vibe, and while side B opener “Eyes of Secrets” isn’t without its shoegazing aspects, the flow between the back and forth swells of volume atop Miller‘s steady beat are nigh on hypnotic, with a finish of harsher guitar noise as though to willfully shock the listener back to consciousness. Following “Reaper,” which encases the aforementioned guitar showcase with a memorable chorus, “Rainbows” eases into a vision of post-rock and psychedelic doom that gracefully brings the styles together in a manner that’s an immediate highlight. A drifting figure on guitar in its second half opens to a blurring of the line between itself and keys — it’s all melody, right? — and once more the vocals provide a human presence in the wash of volume and tone, albeit an otherworldly one.

There’s a late spoken sample in “Rainbows” that’s somewhat obscured by the guitar solo, but the penultimate track ends with poise and gives way to “Magnificent Magenta Blue” as it once more revives the melodic reach of the keys and guitar and the dynamic they share with the earthbound drums pushing them forward. Hartman, who’s also played in Jex Thoth since 2013, doesn’t waste the opportunity to cast out one last stretch of deceptively shredding leadwork, and the vibe of culmination is palpable as he does so, with Sofran and Miller rolling the finale through its procession as the vocals recede and wait to return for a last chorus. Always, the keys remain, and the organ is not only essential to Vanishing Kids‘ overall approach, but it’s the base around which they’re able to shift between styles with such apparent ease while remaining sonically coherent. They’re not the only element doing so at any given time between the vocals, guitar, bass and drums, but the keys do a lot of work in tying the songs together throughout Heavy Dreamer, and ultimately allow the record to live up to its title with an unflinching sense of its own mission, knowing what it wants to be and how to be it. Or them, as it were for material so multifaceted.

I’m happy today to host the premiere of “Reaper” from Heavy Dreamer. You’ll find the track below, followed by more info from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Vanishing Kids, “Reaper” official track premiere

Svart Records sets November 30th as the international release date for Vanishing Kids’ highly anticipated fourth album, Heavy Dreamer. The somnambulic doom metal group’s new album will be available on CD, vinyl LP, and digital formats.

Hailing from Wisconsin, Vanishing Kids has been an ever-evolving artistic and musical journey since the early 2000s, with core members and founders Jason Hartman (Jex Thoth) and Nikki Drohomyreky on vocals. As kids of the ’70s and ’80s who grew up on metal, prog rock, krautrock, psych, punk, and goth, they have managed to carve out a niche of their own for themselves.

The band’s newest and most powerful culmination arose when Jason Hartman’s childhood hero – and Midwest metal legend – Jerry Sofran (Lethal Heathen, Mirrored Image) joined in 2013. Shortly thereafter, the hard-hitting Hart Allan Miller (Wartorn, Deathwish, Tenement) joined on drums to complete the lineup.

Being the first full-length outing from Vanishing Kids in over five years, Heavy Dreamer is soaked in captivating shoegazey fuzz vaguely reminiscent of what My Bloody Valentine would sound like had they grown up on a diet of psychedelic doom metal and occult rock.

Tracklisting for Vanishing Kids’ Heavy Dreamer
1. Creation
2. Heavy Dreamer
3. Without A Sun
4. Mockingbird
5. Eyes of Secrets
6. Reaper
7. Rainbows
8. Magnetic Magenta Blue

Vanishing Kids is:
Nikki Drohomyreky- Vocals, Organ, Synths, Percussion
Jason Hartman- Guitar
Jerry Sofran- Bass
Hart Allan Miller- Drums

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