10.24.14 — 6:02PM — Friday evening — Mill City Nights, Minneapolis, MN

“…some cherry candies for desert.” [sic] — Carl Porcaro

Little things make a huge difference. Some cold water on the face. A protein bar when you’re hungry. Washing your hands. A private bathroom. Some fresh air and sunshine. Advil for sore feet or just general existential soreness. Talking to your significant other. It was a long drive today from where we stopped in Wisconsin last night to Minneapolis — and as I understand it, tomorrow is longer; there was some back and forth on cutting out of this show early, but I have my doubts it will actually come to that — but a good day overall. Part of it is stir-craziness from being in the van, part of it I think is the band getting the first show of the tour over with — also beer — but the mood was pretty relaxed today even with the hours put in.

We stopped outside Minneapolis at Hammerheart Brewing, which is run by Austin Lunn of the black metal band Panopticon — his most recent album, Roads to the North, was reviewed here. Lots of very Norse and Viking imagery around the place, bare wood, various smoky smells, elaborately conceived brews. The antlers-on-Mjölnir logo summed up a lot of the aesthetic. A poster for a forest-worship black metal fest said no hate and if you couldn’t behave you should stay home, which I thought was fucking awesome. Some asshole will probably still screw it up, but righteous of them to put it on the show poster anyway. I didn’t drink any, but the consensus was that the beer was quality stuff, and it was cool to see Lunn and company passionate about what they were doing at the place. He was kind enough to give the band three growlers with the stipulation that nobody would “drive tired.” It’ll be about three hours back the way we came to where we’re staying tonight — Steve pointed it out as we passed it on the way here. Pretty sure I’m slated to drive later, and pretty sure I’ll be tired when I do it, but I won’t be drunk, and I think that’s what the euphemism was aiming at. A fair trade in any case.

The land on the way to Minneapolis was beautiful and sparse. We got into Wisconsin from Chicago last night, so there was a lot that I couldn’t see — and, presumably, not a lot to see since there were no lights on — but houses dotting rolling hillsides, distant looming smokestacks, gas stations, trucks, intermittent sun and cloud cover, even just enough of a rain splash to give the windshield of the Sprinter a needed once-over, intermittent Heartland porno shacks and fireworks stores, KISS’ Hotter than Hell emanated from the back seat forward as we rolled along, and it was a good time, even if a long trip to Hammerheart and, by extension, here. Different trees up and around here than were in Illinois and Indiana and Ohio and Pennsylvania. I haven’t spent a lot of time in the Midwest, but even the people who randomly said hi at the gas station this morning were incredibly nice and conversational. I think I’m too much of a prick to live with it on a more permanent basis, but it’s nice to visit.

It’s my first time in Minneapolis, and by extension at Mill City Nights. I didn’t see any mills, or at least not current mills — unless The Old Spaghetti Factory counts — but a lot of office buildings, some pretty interesting architecture. The whole town looks new and clean, as if the snow every winter melts and takes the grime with it. The venue is huge on the same scale of Summit Music Hall in Denver, but like the city itself, it seems very new, very recently constructed. Smells like nothing. There’s a balcony that’s crazy deluxe with a full bar, a Red Bull bar, tvs broadcasting the stage, seats and whatnot, and the stage has to be about six feet high in the cavernous space, P.A. speakers hanging on the sides from the ceiling on supported chains. I’m sure it will be plenty loud when the time comes. Not too long from now, actually.

Twin Cities duo Bloodnstuff have released their self-titled debut album digitally through Fuzzorama Records, the increasingly active imprint helmed by members of the always-active trio Truckfighters. I’m not sure when the album was first issued, or if it was self-released at all — they have a video for “Oh You Pretty Failures” that dates back to 2012 — but in listening to Bloodnstuff it’s easy enough to discern why the label picked up the band, whether it’s the swaggering stomp of the eponymous “Bloodnstuff” or the waltzing “The Cow People.” There’s a touch of fuzz to the tone of guitarist/vocalist Ed Holmberg, but the two-piece have a jagged side as well that drummer Dylan Gouert does well in emphasizing on the start-stop “One Day Roses,” which seems to tie together duo minimalism with Torche-style sludge pop.

Bloodnstuff will tour Europe beginning later this month with none other than Fu Manchu. Dates and info follow, care of the PR wire:

BLOODNSTUFF – NEW SIGNING TO FUZZORAMA!

DIRECTSUPPORT FOR FU MANCHU IN EU!

The high energy rock-duo from Minneapolis, MN, is the newest addition to the “fuzzfamily”! For being a two piece this group really sounds like a massive wall of fuzz and great melodies! In September and October they will also tour together with Fu Manchu in Europe!

Bloodnstuff is a high energy dynamic rock duo from Minneapolis, MN. Ed Holmberg and Dylan Gouert have been playing in various local groups for over decade. In 2010, Bloodnstuff
was formed. The group did not appear publicly until the summer of 2011. After an onslaught of shows, hype started to grow and the group’s live performances kept audiences coming. At the end of 2011, Bloodnstuff was voted “best rock band of 2011” in the Minneapolis City Pages. In April of 2012, they independently released a long awaited full-length album, titled “Bloodnstuff”.

Ed and Dylan spent the next year opening for national acts as they came through town. In April 2013, Bloodnstuff went on a US tour as direct support for
Fu Manchu. Shortly after, they did a 5 show tour opening up for Alice in Chains, on their “The Devil put Dinosaurs Here” tour. Since then, Bloodnstuff has been writing and opening for such bands as Bush, Deerhoof, Japandroids, Royal Blood, Truckfighters, 400 Blows, Cloud Nothings, and more. You can also find Bloodnstuff music in Vans, Oakley, and Ford Racing videos. As of now, the band has signed with Fuzzorama Records and you can see Bloodnstuff open for Fu Manchu’s upcoming 2014 European tour.

BLOODNSTUFF LIVE (as direct support to Fu Manchu):
SEPT 24 London o2 Islington Academy, UK
SEPT 25 Sheffield Corporation, UK
SEPT 26 Brighton Concorde 2, UK
SEPT 27 Lille La Peniche, FRA
SEPT 28 Osnabruck Rosenhof, GERMANY
SEPT 30 Wiesbaden Alter Schlachthof, GERMANY
OCT 1 Karlsruhe Karlsruhe Substage, GERMANY
OCT 2 Lausanne Le Romandie, SWITZERLAND
OCT 3 Pratteln Up In Smoke Festival, SWITZERLAND
OCT 4 Romagnano Sesia Romagnano Sesia Arena, ITALY
OCT 6 Vienna Flex, AUSTRIA
OCT 7 Warsaw Proxima, POLEN
OCT 8 Erfurt HSD Gewerkschaftshaus, GERMANY
OCT 9 Luxembourg Den Atelier, LUXEMBOURG
OCT 11 Deventer Burger Weeshuis, NETHERLANDS
OCT 12 Antwerp Desertfest, BELGIUM
OCT 13 Copenhagen Pumpehuset, DENMARK
OCT 14 Stockholm Kagelbanan, SWEDEN
OCT 15 Oslo Vulkan Arena, NORWAY
OCT 17 Helsinki Nosturi, FINLAND

www.facebook.com/bloodnstuff
twitter.com/bloodnstuff
www.fuzzoramarecords.com
www.fuzzoramastore.com/en/
fuzzoramarecords1.bandcamp.com/album/bloodnstuff-bloodnstuff

Bloodnstuff, Bloodnstuff (2014)

I’ll admit, it’s been a while since I last saw a cassingle sleeve. That which brings the self-titled EP from Minneapolis duo Brownangus is simple enough. It says “brown” on one face and “angus” on the other, and on the sides, the band’s name and the website for Major Destroyer Records, who release the tape in an edition of 100 copies. The cassette itself is raw-meat pink with brown letting and offers about 16 minutes of varied punishment, from blistering noise rock to caustic droning to assorted moments of sludgy grooving, the two-piece of bassist Craig Lee and drummer Blake Jette (both of whom take credit for vocals, though I don’t hear any on the tape) coming across with no shortage of blown-out fuckall. At times, Lee‘s tone and the wash of cymbals with which it arrives reminds of fellow Midwesterners Beast in the Field, and if the Twin Cities-dwellers were to take influence from the Detroit twosome, I don’t think anyone could blame them, but ultimately, Brownangus — whose name appears as two words on the tape itself and one just about everywhere else — are more rooted in punk, however much an affinity for chaos the two acts may share.

A beehive bass buzz starts side one of Brownangus‘ Brownangus. The tape presents two nameless tracks, the first longer than the second, each of which accounts for its side. Side one is immediate but finds room in its circa-10-minute screed for a droning break after an initial buildup and groove. Noise and bigger riffing emerges in a sudden kick on the other end, but Lee and Jette have never completely let go of the tension, so it’s not as if they’re coming completely out of nowhere. They retain an experimental feel as Jette keeps slower time and Lee delves into various effects for a deconstructing march that ends side one with a sample of an emergency broadcast. Side two begins with some abrasive feedback that leads into a rolling low-end groove, but soon enough downshifts into more downtempo terrain, gradually fading out altogether until a rumble signals a return to full-blast bludgeoning. Jette taps his sticks on the rims of his drums during an upbeat break, but Lee soon joins back in and the forward drive continues in punkish form with intermittent starts and stops for the remainder of the side, Brownangus never quite settling into one method or another, but showcasing an unabashed glee for playing with noise on their way. Another fadeout marks the end of the quick release, and Brownangus make their way out of their self-titled with relatively little fanfare considering the havoc wrought over these two sides.

While they keep it nasty for just about the entire duration and the tape’s all-at-once-per-side presentation lends itself more to listening altogether than parsing out each individual piece that comprises it, Brownangus does make a few deft turns, between its fury and drone and roll, and what comes across clearest of all is that Lee and Jette have an open creative process and are ready and willing to manipulate their own sound in order to make the noise they want, rather than sculpting their material to fit some genre ideal. Near as I can tell, the Major Destroyer cassette is their first physical release, and as such it showcases a duo of blistering potential. They don’t seem to here, but should they decide they want to, it’s easy to imagine them adding vocals to their approach down the line from whichever of them can scream the most viscerally, or better yet, both.

Brownangus, Brownangus (2014)

Brownangus on Thee Facebooks

Major Destroyer Records on Bandcamp

Major Destroyer Records webstore

Burly Iowan five-piece Superchief and Minneapolis fuzz contenders Red Desert have teamed up for five gigs together in the Midwest. Superchief’s ultra-dudely Corporate Dynamite came out last year (review here) and Red Desert will have in tow their new one, Damned by Fate, which is their first outing since 2008’s 18 Wheels. Here’s what the PR wire has to say about it, raw copy-style:

Superchief and Red Desert Announce 2012 Midwest Tour Dates

The two Midwestern powerhouse bands join forces in August 2012 for Summer Tour! Red Desert and Superchief team up for 5 dates in August 2012 for a regional, Midwestern tour.

Dates are:
August 21st – Iowa City IA (Blue Moose Tap)
August 22nd – Indianapolis, IN (Indy’s Jukebox)
August 23rd – Chicago, IL (Quenchers Saloon)
August 24th – Madison, WI (The Wisco)
August 25th – Racine, WI (Bar 525)

Red Desert loads up the van in support of their brand new release, Damned by Fate. The album is a nine-song, fuzz-infused masterpiece of the highest order. Red Desert is determined to get the music out in front of new listeners across the Midwest. Damned by Fate is currently available for purchase on Bandcamp.com and Red Desert will have physical copies available on the tour.

Brolester Records recording artists, Superchief, have been relentlessly touring their current release Corporate Dynamite for the past year and a half. After a successful stint at SxSW in 2012, Superchief has been itching to get back out on the road. The band is excited to be heading into new territories on this tour, as well as returning to old favorite locations. Building a fan base takes work and consistency and Superchief has this in abundance.

Both bands, having played several times together in Iowa and Minnesota, felt it was their duty to bring their brands of rock n roll to the masses. Musical brothers-in-arms traversing the back roads of the Midwest together, with instruments in one hand and a cold beer in the other; both Red Desert and Superchief would not have it any other way. Through solidarity and perseverance they will convert those that are unaware, and solidify those that are; that rock n roll is not dead.

http://www.reverbnation.com/superchief

http://www.reverbnation.com/reddesert

http://brolesterrecords.com/

Rest assured, I’m not trying to get away with anything here. Space is the Corpse of Time — the fourth album from Minneapolis, Minnesota, instrumentalists Zebulon Pike — was released a while back, and I’m not trying to pass it off as something brand new or something you probably can’t download by whatever means it is the kids are using these days. However, it being a self-release from the band, I thought it was still worth featuring here, and since it is out now, the best way to go seemed to post the whole record rather than a single track.

If you’re unfamiliar with Zebulon Pike, the prog-doom explorers formed in 2002 and are veterans of the old Emissions From the Monolith festival. A double-guitar four-piece, their sound hones in on elements of space rock, but the performances as captured on Space is the Corpse of Time aren’t loose in the way one might expect when thinking of modern instrumental heavy. Rather, songs like “Echoic Worlds” and the sprawling “Powers of the Living/Manifestations of the Dead” are always moving somewhere, however long they might rest on a single part or theme.

The music is evocative, and apart from the title track, long. Each of the other four cuts tops 10 minutes, and that’s par for the course for Zebulon Pike, who’ve been known to double that span on occasion. They use their time wisely, though, so that even as Tom Berg‘s bass rumbles in the final minutes of “Powers of the Living/Manifestations of the Dead,” it does so in a way that feels purposeful in creating an atmosphere and mood. Album opener “Spectrum Threshold” also boasts some effective doom chugging from guitarists Morgan Berkus and Erik Fratzke, and well-timed, adaptive drumming from Erik Bolen, so right away, the band lets you know you’re in more than capable hands.

So again, you don’t have to tell me, because I know Space is the Corpse of Time has been out for a while now. I just thought it was worth hosting the record for anyone who hasn’t yet had the chance to hear it, and if that’s you (and I suppose even if you’ve heard it and you’re listening again), I hope you enjoy:

[mp3player width=460 height=270 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=zebulon-pike.xml]

Zebulon Pike‘s Space is the Corpse of Time is available now. For more info, check out the band’s website or find them on Thee Facebooks here.

It’s always hard to speculate on what motivated a band to get together, but if the ultra-visceral EyeHateGod-style sludge of Witchden is anything to go by, the Minneapolis foursome are clearly upset at Joe Mauer‘s lack of homerun production at home over the last couple seasons. On the four uploaded tracks from the upcoming full-length, Consulting the Bones, Witchden vent their frustration amid dank riffage and the burnt-throat screams of aptly-named vocalist Jason “Herb Headie” Micah.

Micah is joined in Witchden by guitarist Adam Alexander Rivkin and bassist Andy ‘The Machine” Green, both of whom also handle backing vocals, but it’s drummer Jeff “Kong” Moen whose name is likeliest to be familiar. Moen is also a member of Sourvein in the band’s latest incarnation, and though there’s no word on how exactly he handles the commute from Minnesota to North Carolina or if in fact he’s still in Sourvein at all, he brings a characteristic crash and thud to Witchden tracks like “All Just a Lie” and the punishing “Ossuary.”

The album is listed as “coming soon,” which could mean two weeks or five months, but if the songs Witchden put on their ReverbNation page are anything to go by, they’re at least worth checking out. The band is also on Thee Facebooks, if that’s your druthers.

Despite the differences in locale, both Empires and Hellas Mounds share more in common than one might think. Both young bands, the former from Minneapolis and the latter from Phoenix, play a definitively American style of post-metal, taking elements from the heavier works of Isis and adding a sense of hardcore immediacy that comes across in the intensity of the material. With two songs from Empires and one from Hellas Mounds, this unnamed split CD (released last year via Saw Her Ghost Records) hits the marks for post-metal in its current developmental stage. There are pieces culled from outside genres, heavy/ambient switches, and rising and falling tension throughout.

Empires start their segment of the split with “Unease from up North.” If it sounds like a black metal parody track, it might be, but since three out of the four players in Empires are also involved with Minneapolis black metal outfit Manetheren, the execution of the track comes off less tongue-in-cheek than it otherwise might. At 6:55, it is the shortest song on the split, and puts its blackened influence to work offsetting post-metal rhythms in a manner similar to Prosthetic Records’ Withered, if rawer. Their 10:16 “Perpetual Downpour” is less of a genre bender, but boasts an insistent rhythm line and enough spacey guitar work to make it an interesting listen.

Read more »