Spokane, Washington, weirdo sludge trio Merlock release their new offering, You Cannot Be Saved, on Nov. 19. Gadzooks, that’s Friday! They’ve pressed the six-song/40-minute follow-up to last year’s That Which Speaks (review here) — a title referenced in the creepy whispers here on “Final Condemnation” — to 75 tapes and 100 CDs and already wrapped up a round of tour dates to herald its coming, cruising hither and yon along the Pacific Coast and areas inland. The included tracks date back to the band’s 2018 self-titled demo/EP, with opener “Grimelord” having appeared on that release, but all are re-recorded/reinterpreted by the band as they are these 75 plague-addled years later and complemented by the new song “Where No One Goes” (premiering below), which will reportedly also feature on Merlock‘s first outing as a three-piece sometime in 2022.
The seven-and-a-half-minute “Where No One Goes” is a psychedelic sludge stunner, rife with noise and an undercurrent of plot that shows itself in its second half build of layered, thought-out solos and gradual devolution to noise. I’ve compared the band to earliest YOB before, and I stand by that, but there’s a modern willingness to be harsh throughout You Cannot Be Saved that consumes the early cosmic meanderings of song like “Idolon (Return),” the rawness of “Final Condemnation” seeming at the same time to act as a precursor to “Gloomtrain,” which is bitter sludge, but feels filtered through some late ’80s no wave experimentalist impulse; arthouse fuckery set to crucial volume. That’s as far out as Merlock go in the procession, though I won’t take away either from their speedier visit to Black Sabbath‘s “Electric Funeral,” or the wink-wink of tagging the mp3 I got as a Pantera cover. I legit got a chuckle out of that.
When Merlock announced the release of You Cannot Be Saved, they posted a video of the band playing it through from front-to-back — it’s at the bottom of this post, after all my blah blah and the PR wire stuff; you’ll find it — and that shows them as duly noisy, but doesn’t necessarily capture the atmosphere of the songs in the same way as their audio-only incarnation. The echoing cavernousness of “Where No One Goes” becomes part of the message of the song itself, which would seem to draw from a deeper searching of the subconscious for one’s motivations and emotional daily existence — the “shadow work” referred to below. If that effort is what’s being conveyed in the three different movements throughout the track, from the quieter unfolding to the chugging middle and the solo-laced apex, then I’m not sure where it all ends up, but the last crashes and residual rumble that ensues would seem to speak to some manner of discovery. It does not sound comfortable, in any case. Nor does it want to.
One doesn’t expect either the tapes or the CDs to last, but in the spirit of sharing, you can enjoy “Where No One Goes” on the player below, followed by the aforementioned PR wire whatnots.
Dig:
You Cannot Be Saved features reimagined tracks from their first demo and that which speaks…, a never before recorded early track, a new track from their anticipated 2022 full release, and a cover of Electric Funeral. For newcomers and fans alike, You Cannot Be Saved offers an experience down a dour path into the unknown.
Picking up where that which speaks… left off You Cannot Be Saved further explores Merlock’s fascination with shadow work and digging through the sludgey recesses of the mind. Sonically more raw and infinitely heavier than its predecessor, the EP pushes the extremities of Merlock and their post-doom soundscapes.
To support the release, Merlock hit the road for their You Cannot Be Saved Tour, touring the Northwest in November 2021 with dates in California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. As they crawl forward through a wall of sound, they smoke out the demons from the inner void. Can you be saved?
Tracklist: 1. Grimelord (Hailey Moore, Taylor D. Waring) 2. Idolon (return) (Taylor D. Waring) 3. Final Condemnation (Andrew Backes, Hailey Moore, Taylor D. Waring) 4. Where No One Goes (Taylor D. Waring) 5. Gloomtrain (Taylor D. Waring) 6. Electric Funeral (Black Sabbath)
Album Credits: Engineered by Jamie Yeats and Wayne Randall at Black Magick Studios, in Kalispell, MT Mixed by Nicholas Wilbur at The Unknown in Anacortes, WA Mastered by Uncle Randy at Sky Ranch Studios Artwork by RF Pangborn Layout by Taylor D. Waring
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 1st, 2021 by JJ Koczan
In the trippy performance video at the bottom of this post that covers the entirety of their upcoming EP, You Cannot Be Saved, Spokane, Washington, now-trio Merlock include the track “Where No One Goes,” which they say will feature on their upcoming LP next year. They call it their debut, though I thought last year’s That Which Speaks… (review here) was that, but I’m not about to quibble details. For that matter, You Cannot Be Saved is 39 minutes long — or at least the video is — so what the hell. We could be here all day with this crap and still say nothing about the music.
But the music is the thing. Listening to “Where No One Goes,” and indeed songs like “Idolon (Return)” and the drawling “Gloomtrain,” you can get a sense of where guitarist/vocalist Taylor D. Waring is coming from in talking about the band finding their sound. Yeah, they close with “Electric Funeral” and that’s good fun, but there and in the originals preceding, I get a vibe distinctly like a rawer incarnation of earliest, 12th Records-era YOB, and if that’s where Merlock are setting out from with their first record — or first as a three-piece, or second, or whatever — then that’s one I’m going to look forward to hearing next year.
And you know I keep a list for that kind of thing.
You Cannot Be Saved is out Nov. 19 and the band have tour dates to support. All info follows here, courtesy of the PR wire:
Merlock – You Cannot Be Saved EP – Nov. 19
Formed in 2017 in Spokane, Washington, Merlock came together as recent Spokane transplants. Having weathered lineup changes and the ongoing madness of coronavirus, they have made their presence known in the Northwest US and beyond.
You Cannot Be Saved, the highly anticipated EP follow up to that which speaks… (2020) emerges on November 19, 2021. Recorded live on Halloween weekend to capture the band’s organic energy and psychedelic leanings, the EP showcases the authentic, adventurous style of these forlorn stoners in their debut as a 3-piece.
You Cannot Be Saved features reimagined tracks from their first demo and that which speaks…, a never before recorded early track, a new track from their anticipated 2022 full release, and a cover of Electric Funeral. For newcomers and fans alike, You Cannot Be Saved offers an experience down a dour path into the unknown.
Picking up where that which speaks… left off You Cannot Be Saved further explores Merlock’s fascination with shadow work and digging through the sludgey recesses of the mind. Sonically more raw and infinitely heavier than its predecessor, the EP pushes the extremities of Merlock and their post-doom soundscapes.
To support the release, Merlock are hitting the road for their You Cannot Be Saved Tour. They will be touring the Northwest in November 2021 with tour dates scheduled in California, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. As they crawl forward through a wall of sound, they smoke out the demons from the inner void. Can you be saved?
Quotes:
“We recorded You Cannot Be Saved to reintroduce the world to Merlock. that which speaks… felt stilted and inorganic and after losing our rhythm guitar player, we wanted to take a step back and reevaluate what Merlock meant to the rest of us. It’s a sonic vessel, a ritual exorcism, damnation and salvation all at once.” (Taylor D. Waring, guitar/vox)
“Thematically, You Cannot Be Saved involves a lot of shadwork. I try to explore the worst parts of myself and my culture in order to interrogate and exorcise–to cast them into the pyres of damnation. Tracks like “Grimelord” and “Gloomtrain” explore failed relationships and “Final Condemnation” speaks to a sense of self-disgust, both personally and culturally. However, it’s not all darkness in there: “Idolon (return)” is about refusing to wallow in the depths of self-doubt and “Where No One Goes”, which will be our debut full-length next year, finds a spiritual center in all of murky, mystical darkness.” (Taylor D. Waring, guitar/vox)
Tracklist: 1. Grimelord (Hailey Moore, Taylor D. Waring) 2. Idolon (return) (Taylor D. Waring) 3. Final Condemnation (Andrew Backes, Hailey Moore, Taylor D. Waring) 4. Where No One Goes (Taylor D. Waring) 5. Gloomtrain (Taylor D. Waring) 6. Electric Funeral (Black Sabbath)
Album Credits: Engineered by Jamie Yeats and Wayne Randall at Black Magick Studios, in Kalispell, MT Mixed by Nicholas Wilbur at The Unknown in Anacortes, WA Mastered by Uncle Randy at Sky Ranch Studios Artwork by RF Pangborn Layout by Taylor D. Waring
Tour Dates: 11/5/21 – Moscow, ID | The Plant w/ Oakflesh 11/6/21 – TBD 11/7/21 – Eureka, CA | Siren’s Song w/ Fhog 11/8/21 – Sacramento, CA | Cafe Colonial w/ TBD 11/9/21 – Pacifica, CA | Winter’s Tavern w/ Wizzerd 11/10/21 – Santa Cruz, CA | Blue Lagoon w/ Y-axes & Supernaut 11/11/21 – Reno, NV | Dead Ringer Analog Bar w/ Ozymandias 11/12/21 – Salt Lake City, UT | Aces High w/ Pinewalker 11/13/21 – Boise, ID | The Corral w/ Ghorot
Posted in Reviews on October 12th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Well, the weekend’s over and it’s time to wrap up the Quarterly Review. Rest assured, I wrote the following during my copious weekend leisure time, resting on the side of a heated Olympic-size pool with a beverage nearby. It definitely wasn’t four in the morning on a Sunday or anything. If I haven’t gotten the point across yet, I hope you’ve found something amid this massive swath of records that has resonated with you. By way of a cheap plug, I’ll be featuring audio from a lot of these bands on the Gimme Metal show this Friday, 5PM Eastern, if you’re up for tuning in.
Either way, thanks for reading and for being a part of the whole thing. Let’s wrap it up.
Quarterly Review #51-60:
The Pilgrim, …From the Earth to the Sky and Back
Lest he be accused of laziness, Gabriele Fiori — also of Black Rainbows, Killer Boogie and the head of the Heavy Psych Sounds label, booking agency and festival series — made his solo debut as The Pilgrim with Spring 2019’s Walking into the Forest (review here). Joined by Black Rainbows drummer Filippo Ragazzoni, Fiori ups the scale of the journey with the second The Pilgrim LP, …From the Earth to the Sky and Back. Richer in arrangement, bolder in craft and more confident in performance, the album runs 14 songs and 50 minutes still largely based around an acoustic acid rock foundation, but with a song like “Riding the Horse” tapping ’70s singer-songwriter vibes while “Cuba” touches on Latin percussion and guitar and “Space and Time” journeying out near the record’s end with waves of synthesizer, it seems The Pilgrim isn’t so willing to be pigeonholed. So much the better.
There is an undercurrent of extremity to the debut release from Polymoon, who hail from the psychedelic hotbed that is Tampere, Finland. The six-song/42-minute Caterpillars of Creation turns in opener “Silver Mt.” to fervent guitar push or from freaked-out cosmic prog into drifting post-universe exploration, setting the stage for the dynamic that unfolds throughout. The wash early in the second half of “Lazaward” is glorious, and it’s not the first or the last time Polymoon go to that adrenaline-pumping well, but the serenity that caps that song and seems to continue into “Malamalama” in closing side A is no less effective. “Helicaling” mounts tension in its early drumming but finally releases it later, and “Neitherworld” gives Caterpillars of Creation‘s most fervent thrust while closer “Metempsychosis” rounds out with a fitting sense of dissipation. As a first album/first release, it is particularly stunning, and to make it as plain as possible, I will think less of any list of 2020’s best debut albums that leaves out Polymoon.
The two-piece comprised of Martin Weaver (ex-Wicked Lady) and synthesist Scott “Dr. Space” Heller (Øresund Space Collective, Black Moon Circle, etc.) position First Treatment as their proper studio debut, and it certainly hits its marks in galaxial adventuring well enough to qualify as such, but the duo have been on a creative splurge throughout this year — even in lockdown — and so the six songs here are also born out of the work they’ve been doing since releasing their debut single “Ghouls ‘n’ Shit” (video premiere here) late last year. The album launches with “Journey to Enceladus,” which boasts drum programming by Weaver and though one of the movements in the 21-minute “Into the Oort Cloud” is based around beats, the bulk of First Treatment is purely a work of guitar and synth, and it basks in the freedom that being so untethered inherently brings. Running an hour long, it’s improvisational nature isn’t going to be for everyone, but Heller and Weaver make a strong argument that maybe it should be.
Who’s ready for a New Wave of PNW Fuckery? That’s right folks, the NWOPNWF has arrived and it’s Spokane, Washington’s Merlock leading the sometimes-awfully-punk-sometimes-awfully-metal-but-somehow-also-always-sludge charge. Aggressive and damning in lyrics, swapping between raw screams, grows, shouts and cleaner vocals and unhinged in terms of its genre loyalties, That Which Speaks seems to find the “melt faces” setting wherever it goes, and though there’s a sense of the four-piece feeling out what works best for them stylistically, the sometimes frantic, sometimes willfully awkward transitions — as in second cut “Prolapse” — serve the overall purpose of undercutting predictability. Eight-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) “Idolon” stomps and shoves and gnashes and nasties its way through, and that’s the modus across what follows, though the scream-along headbanger “Vessel” somehow seems even rawer, and though it ends by floating into oblivion, the start of “Condemnation” is heavy fuckin’ metal to me. You never know quite where Merlock are going to hit next, and that’s the joy of the thing. May they remain so cacophonous.
Long-running UK psychedelic rockers Sun Dial — led by founding guitarist/vocalist Gary Ramon — released Mind Control in 2012. Sulatron Records picked it up in 2015, and now, five years after that, the same label presents Mind Control: The Ultimate Edition, a 2CD version of the original LP-plus-bonus-tracks reissue that brings the total runtime of the release to a well-beyond-manageable 98 minutes of lysergic experimentation. A full 20 tracks are included in the comprehensive-feeling offering, and from early mixes to alternative takes and lost tracks, and if this isn’t the ‘ultimate’ version of Mind Control, I’m not sure what could be, notwithstanding a complete-studio-sessions box set. Perhaps as a step toward that, Mind Control: The Ultimate Edition gives an in-depth look at a vastly underappreciated outfit and is obviously put together as much for the label as by it. That is to say, you don’t put out a reissue like this unless you really love the original record, and if Sulatron loving a record isn’t enough endorsement for you, please turn in your mushrooms on your way out the door.
Immersion is the goal of Saturn’s Husk‘s third long-player, The Conduit, and the Riga, Latvia, instrumentalist trio accomplish it quickly with the fluid riffs that emerge from the drone-based intro “Death of Imaginary Lights” and the subsequent 10-minute opener “Black Nebula.” At nine songs and 63 minutes, the album is consuming through the welcome nodder “The Heavenly Ape,” the especially-doomed “The Ritual” and the more mellow-float centerpiece “Spectral Haze,” while “Mycelium Messiah” brings more straight-ahead fuzz (for a time) and drones on either side surround the 10:35 “Sand Barrows,” the latter serving as the finale “A Shattered Visage” quoting Percy Bysshe Shelley and the former “City of the Djinn” running just a minute-plus but still doing enough to reset the brain from where “Mycelium Messiah” left it. Almost functioning as two albums side-by-side with “Spectral Haze” as the dividing point, The Conduit indeed seems to join various sides together, with a depth to coincide that invites the listener to explore along with it.
Landing a punch of classic metal to go along with its heavy-bottomed groove, Diggeth‘s Gringos Galacticos — one supposes the title ‘Spacecrackers’ was taken — was released by the Dutch trio in 2019 and receives a US limited vinyl edition thanks to Qumran Records. One finds some similar guitar heroics to those of Astrosoniq‘s more straightforward moments, but Diggeth‘s focus remains on hookmaking for the duration, offering hints of twang and acoustics in “In the Wake of Giants” and tipping a hat southwestward in “Three Gringos,” but “Straight-Shooter” is willfully breaks out its inner Hetfield and even as the penultimate “Unshackled” departs for a quieter break, it makes its way back in time for the big finish chorus, adding just a touch of Candlemass grandiosity for good measure before the harmonica-laced closing title-track rounds out with its dynamic spacey weirdness, the name of the album repeating itself in an answer to the Stephen Hawking sample that started the voyage on its way.
Cursed Tongue Records has the vinyl here, and Three Moons the tape, and the CD will arrive through Aladeriva Records, La Rubia Producciones, Aneurisma Records, Surnia Records and Violence in the Veins — so yes, Horizon‘s third album, The White Planet Patrol is well backed. Fair enough for the Kyuss-via-Black–Rainbows vibes of “End of Utopia” or the initial charge and flow of “The Backyard” that sets the Alicante, Spain, trio on their way. “King Serpent” and “Death & Teddies” bring well-crafted fuzz to bear, and “Blind World” effectively layers vocals in its chorus to coincide, but the more laid back roll of the title-cut is an unmistakable highlight. Shades of mid-paced Nebula surface in “Meet the Forest” later on, but Horizon are part of a tradition of heavy bands in Alicante and they know it. The smoothness of their tone and delivery speaks volumes on its own in that regard, never mind the actual songwriting, which also leaves nothing to be desired.
Debut EP from Limousine Beach out of Pittsburgh, and if the three guitars involved don’t push it over the top, certainly the vocal harmonies get that particular job done. You got six minutes for three songs? Yeah, obviously. They scorch through “Tiny Hunter” to close out, but it’s in the leadoff title-track that Stealin’ Wine + 2 sees the Dave Wheeler-fronted outfit land its most outrageous chorus, just before they go on to find a middle-ground between KISS and Thin Lizzy on “Hear You Calling.” The harmonies open and are striking from the outset, but it’s in how they’re arranged around the standalone parts from Wheeler (also Outsideinside, ex-Carousel) that the outfit’s truest potential is shown. Issued through Tee Pee Records, Stealin’ Wine + 2 is the kind of thing you’d pick up at a show in a normal year and then feel way ahead of everyone else when the LP finally hits. Not a normal year, obviously, but Limousine Beach are serving due notice just the same. In six minutes, no less.
I’m sure a lot of records show up at Satan’s door with notes, like, “Dear sir, please find the enclosed submitted for your approval,” but it’s not hard to imagine Beelzebub himself getting down with the filth-coated sludge and rolling doom unfurled across The Crooked Whispers‘ debut offering, Satanic Melodies, marked by hateful, near-blackened screams from Anthony Gaglia and the plodding riffs of Chad Davis (Hour of 13, et al). The title-track is longest at 8:23 and in addition to featuring Ignacio De Tommaso‘s right-on bass tone in its midsection, it plays out early like Weedeater sold their collective soul, and drifts out where earlier pieces “Sacrifice” and “Evil Tribute” and “Profane Pleasure” held their roll for the duration. Stretches of clean-vocal cultistry add to the doomier aspects, but The Crooked Whispers seem to care way less about genre than they do about worshiping the devil, and that unshakable faith behind them, the rest seems to fall into place in accordingly biting fashion.
Posted in Radio on September 18th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
This show’s actually really cool. A couple weeks ago I put up a post on Thee Facebooks asking for recommendations of young heavy bands, and by young I meant under 30. I’ve felt like it’s a lot of dudes who look like me: headed to or past 40, grey in the beard, showing more hairline and gut than they’d probably prefer. Anyway, I got a ton of awesome suggestions from people and decided to put together this whole show based on those suggestions. You’ll see there are groups from all over the US and Europe, plus Nor from Nova Scotia, which I particularly dug, and there are a range of styles covered as well from straight up heavy rock to sludge to post-metal and jams.
And I’d love to talk more about how great that is and how wonderful it is that even in these shit-tastic, things-are-only-getting-worse-every-single-day, times in which we live creativity can flourish among disaffected youth — gotta have something when you’re about to enter an even worse job market than I did — but I can’t talk about any of it. Because the dog is whining in the kitchen and all I can think about is how fucking obnoxious she is. Can’t stand this fucking dog.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 09.18.20
Saola (Portland, OR)
Red Witch
Saola
Double Horse (Spain)
Highlands
Highlands*
Loud Silence (Athens)
Flow With It
Elements*
VT
Merlock (Spokane, WA)
Prolapse
That Which Speaks*
MAG (Poland)
Pragnienie
MAG*
Magnatar (New Hampshire)
The Melting Skin of My First Born Son
The Trail
SEED (Boston, MA)
Hole
Hole*
Faerie Ring (Indiana)
Heavy Trip
The Clearing
Liquid Signal (Kouts, Indiana)
Rush Limbaugh
Neuronicae
Mother Root (Seattle, WA)
Stranger Neighbor
The Baker Demos
Nor (Halifax, NS)
Ruby Pin
Ruby Pin
Adam (Perama, Greece)
Enter: Oblivion
Sun*
Misleading (Portugal)
Karmemoto
Misleading
Sugar Honey Ice Tea (Germany)
Heat’n Up – C
Tea Time*
VT
White Ward (Ukraine)
Uncanny Delusions
Love Exchange Failure
Gandalf the Green (UK)
A Billion Faces
A Billion Faces
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Oct. 2 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Features on April 24th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.
Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.
Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan
Days of Rona: Taylor D. Waring of Merlock (Spokane, Washington)
—
How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?
Luckily, most of our jobs are essential or we already work from home, but one of our members works in the service industry, so that’s been tough. Luckily, his brewery figured out how to make sanitizer and distribute it to the community, so he got to work on that rad project.
Physically, we’re all healthy, but we definitely took some major hits as a band. We’ve had to cancel shows with bands like Wizzerd, Hippie Death Cult, and Grim Earth. We were in the planning stages of a West Coast tour when this started, so that’s all up in the air — even when places are able to start opening, who knows who will all survive? Lots of places that support heavy music are already just scraping by…
What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?
We’re in Washington, so we were one of the first places to shut down. Our service industry shut down first, like 3-4 weeks ago already. We were actually at band practice when that was announced, so we made it out to our favorite watering hole for one last bevvy. A week or so after that, we received the order to stay at home. Basically, essential businesses are still open (grocery stores, gas stations, marijuana stores, etc…).
How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?
One of the recommended things to do is to go outside and get some exercise in, so I’ve been going out on some walks. Between that and the grocery store, everyone is on edge — it’s pretty eerie, to be honest.
Obviously, the music community took a huge hit. Like I mentioned above, lots of shows were canceled and things are uncertain for everyone now. Lots of bands aren’t practicing right now, but quite a few are too. That’s just a call you have to make for yourself.
What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?
Things are tough and frustrating for bands right now. That initial, magical bubble of “this could be kind of cool, here’s all the cool things we can do on the internet” is popping right now and dread is setting in. Especially with the order that we’ll be working through this for at least another month.
I think the most important thing to remember is that this lifestyle has always been tough and frustrating, so, while we’re facing setbacks, it was always an uphill battle. Use this time to focus on your craft, innovate, and figure out how to come back stronger — that’s what we’re doing.
some late ’80s no wave experimentalist impulse; arthouse fuckery set to crucial volume. That’s as far out as Merlock go in the procession, though I won’t take away either from their speedier visit to Black Sabbath‘s “Electric Funeral,” or the wink-wink of tagging the mp3 I got as a Pantera cover. I legit got a chuckle out of that.
