Posted in Whathaveyou on January 30th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
John Gist, who is the gentleman behind the promotional company Vegas Rock Revolution and the Planet Desert Rock Weekend festival getting ready to hold its second edition this May, has passion to spare. Passion enough to spread around and have plenty leftover. There’s a little bit of that guy-who-runs-a-fest urgency about him as well — as one would hope for such an event to be successful — but he’s someone who knows his rock and wants everyone else to know it too. The primary driver is passion.
Planet Desert Rock Weekend 2 ups its predecessor this past November in terms of ambition. With a third headliner still to be announced, Gist will bring John Garcia back for a headlining spot and see the other go to Radio Moscow, who will play the first night at Count’s Vamp’d. In addition to this, he’s already got four — one, two, three, four — European bands on the bill in the form of Mr. Bison, Kaiser, Monsternaut and Green Desert Water, and to my knowledge none have played the US before. That’s a significant risk from a booking standpoint — those are good bands, but recall it took Truckfighters half a decade of laying groundwork for their first US tour — but there may indeed be more import acts added as well, since one way or the other, the lineup isn’t done.
Passion rarely is.
Info and links:
The time is near to start announcing Vegas Rock Revolution’s Planet Desert Rock Weekend 2 for May 16-19….
Desert legend John Garcia and 17 bands from all over the country …..very tightly selected lineups to showcase top bands from the long storied history of rock of heavy rock melded with hot younger acts. Oh yeah and cannabis is legal in Vegas !
The Lineup for Planet Desert Rock Weekend v2 so far is: John Garcia and the Band of Gold — Friday Radio Moscow — Thurs at Count’s Vamp’d Nebula Black Water Rising Ape Machine Thurs at Count’s Vamp’d The Watchers – Friday Red Stone Souls Sundrifter RIFFLORD Shotgun Sawyer Jason Walker and the Majestic 12
European Showcase Bands: MR.BISON Kaiser Monsternaut Green Desert Water
Only 300 tickets will be sold to this intimate show in one of the most premier rock clubs in the country. Count’s Vamp’d is owned by Danny “The Count” Koker from Counting Cars on the History Channel. All rock all the time and very good food also. Unique cool environment!
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 7th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
You gotta watch out for these. They’re sneaky. Label samplers can be tricky in general — sometimes it’s nothing but rehashed tracks from years ago with one or two new songs from a band somebody’s trying to push, but with Heavy Psych Sounds, their annual sampler series has been a way of sneaking new tracks out for first public showcases. Last year, new Black Rainbows showed up, and sure enough they appear here as well, and there also seems to be some new stuff from The Freeks included, which as far as I’m concerned is reason enough on its own to chase the thing down. Also Tons will have a track on there ahead of their album release in April, and new Killer Boogie, so yeah, plenty to grab onto, and even the stuff that’s already out — Mother Engine, Fvzz Popvli, The Lords of Altamont, Nick Oliveri — is all still current, and righteous. That “Kyuss Dies” song is hilarious.
Full tracklisting follows here, courtesy of the PR wire:
As every Year, my little dear, what we have here is: HPS074 ***HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS SAMPLER VOL.3***
We’re so proud to announce the new Sampler, is the third year we are going to release this, and tracklist look awesome!
You will find it in your HPS boxes when you will purchase from the site, or at some good festival in Europe for free at the merch table, or on tour with HPS bands…
RELEASE DATE: 16th MARCH 2018
PRESALE: 8th FEBRUARY 2018
Enjoy the tracklist!
Avon – Red Barn Black Rainbows – High To Hell Deadsmoke – Emperor Of Shame Fvzz Popvli – Lost In Time High Reeper – Die Slow House Of Broken Promises – Toranado Killer Boogie – Atomic Race Monsternaut – Landslide Mother Engine – Tokamak Nebula – Between Time Nick Oliveri (Kyuss Lives) – Kyuss Dies The Freeks – American Lighning The Lords Of Altamont – Going Downtown Tons – 99 Weed Balloons Turn Me On Dead Man – Vimana Wedge – Lucid
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 23rd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Finnish riff rock traditionalists Monsternaut debuted on Heavy Psych Sounds in 2016 with a self-titled comprised of two prior short releases, so I guess it’s debatable whether or not their impending, yet-to-be-titled full-length is their first or their second. Either way, expect fuzz and groove galore from the Kerava-based three-piece, who made no bones about their influences the first time out, from cuts like “Dog Town” to “Mexico” proffering fare speaking to classic Cali-style heavy as filtered through a Northern European execution. Their debut — as it were — reminded me of a lot of pre-social media Euro heavy in how it engaged in that creative conversation with its ’90s-style American counterparts. Sometimes it’s easy to miss that kind of stuff that doesn’t want to change the world, just wants to rock out, be loud and have a good time.
Well, more good times to come in April, as the PR wire informs:
Monsternaut – New Album April 2018
Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is really proud to announce the coming back of the heavy stoner rockers Monsternaut !!!
Metal worker, garbage truck driver and a nerd. Three unwillingly fitting pieces blowing their horns to the style of their liking, heavy fuelled groovy stoner rock. Started in 2012 as the tear dropping brain fart of Tuomas Heiskanen and Perttu Härkönen, later to be joined by a garbage collecting angry man Jani Kuusela. Together they share a passion for the ‘90s heavy/stoner rock where Fu Manchu, Nebula, CoC and Down play an important part in. Wired to recreate the music of their teenage prime the band has released two albums through Heavy Psych Sounds. Their first release, a combination of two earlier recordings, was in 2016 which was followed by a maiden tour in Europe. The second album to be released sometime during the spring of 2018.
The band is coming back with the second album that will be released in april 2018. More info coming soon!
MONSTERNAUT are Tuomas Heiskanen – Vocals/Guitars Perttu Härkönen – Bass Jani Kuusela – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 10th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Finnish three-piece Monsternaut released their self-titled full-length last month through Italy’s Heavy Psych Sounds and before 2016 ends, they’ll sneak in a European tour to support it. Starting on Dec. 1, they chart what looks to be a winding course through Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France and Spain (though I’ve no doubt the routing actually makes sense when you see it on a map) and will get out to bring their classic ’90s-style fuzz to the masses. No word yet on who their company might be, if they’re on their own and meeting up with locals or taking someone with them, but Monsternaut hone a rare kind of straightforward rock coming from the north — of course Finland is known for death-doom and styles like that, but even among its rock bands there are few with a take as loyalist as Monsternaut‘s — so I’d think they’d be met with welcome, particularly in Germany and Spain, where stonerism seems to flourish continuously.
In any case, hell of a way to lead into the holidays. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous.
From the label:
Monsternaut European Tour
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS Records & Booking is so proud to announce the European tour of *** Monsternaut ***
01.12.2016 DE Berlin Urban Spree 02.12.2016 DE Halle Huhnermanhattan 03.12.2016 DE Dresden 04.12.2016 AT Salzburg Rockhouse 05.12.2016 IT Treviso 06.12.2016 CH Biel Eldorado 07.12.2016 CH Basel 08.12.2016 CH Luzern Bruch Bros 09.12.2016 FR Ensisheim Ateliers des Moles 10.12.2016 CH Zofingen Oxil 11.12.2016 IT Mantova Hostaria 12.12.2016 IT Torino Cafe Liber 13.12.2016 FR Montpellier 14.12.2016 SP Barcellona Rocksound 15.10.2016 SP Madrid 16.10.2016 SP San Sebastian Dadabada 17.10.2016 SP Mungia Sala Mungirock
Boasting a sound born out of heavy Fu Manchu influence, with a tonal touch of Queens of the Stone Age bounce and desert-bred groove. The trio of vocalist/guitarist Tuomas Heiskanen, bassist Perttu Härkönen and drummer Jani Kuusela thicken up nodding, momentum-rich riffs and offer a return to ’90s stoner heavy purity without sounding retro or like they’re 20 years behind the times — at least not any more than they want to be. The songs on their two offerings to-date offer catchy, The Action is Go-style stomp, where a slower lurch that maximizes the groove at play.
Monsternaut is: Tuomas Heiskanen Vocals/Guitar Perttu Härkönen Bass Jani Kuusela Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 4th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Today, Italy’s Heavy Psych Sounds continues its international shopping spree by signing Finnish trio Monsternaut. The Kerava trio currently have two EPs under their collective belt — a 2014 self-titled (review here) and a 2012 self-titled — and they’ll release them as their debut full-length this Fall on the label, after having featured the track “Caravan” on the recently-issued Heavy Psych Sounds Sampler alongside the likes of Mondo Generator, Black Rainbows, Isaak, Farflung and Ape Machine, among others.
“Caravan” was one of five songs on the second Monsternaut EP, which boasted a sound born out of heavy Fu Manchu influence, with a tonal touch of Queens of the Stone Age bounce and desert-bred groove. The trio of vocalist/guitarist Tuomas Heiskanen, bassist Perttu Härkönen and drummer Jani Kuusela thicken up nodding, momentum-rich riffs and offer a return to ’90s stoner heavy purity without sounding retro or like they’re 20 years behind the times — at least not any more than they want to be. The songs on their two offerings to-date offer catchy, The Action is Go-style stomp, as typified in “Black Horizon” which closes the latter release with a slower lurch that maximizes the groove at play.
Almost all the information on Monsternaut‘s debut album is still to come — is it self-titled? — but Heavy Psych Sounds has it slated to be out Fall 2016, so October seems like a realistic expectation. In addition to that, Monsternaut will tour in the EU as part of the label’s booking arm in November.
“Naturally we’re excited about signing with HPS — no news there,” said the band. “We’re looking forward to touring and meeting new bands and new people. Just to rock out with your cock out. As for the label, Gabriele [Fiori] seems like a straight shooter and has already proven to have connections here and there. We never had much expectations of the band so it was puzzling when HPS reached out to us at the end of 2015. We didn’t take it very seriously as we had no idea of the label. But since then, the macaroni jokes have decreased (not died!) and we’re left pinching ourselves to realize that this is actually happening.”
“The release itself is a combination of two older recordings. First session was back in 2012 and the second in 2014. We’re happy to have HPS release them as one bundle, but are also more or less ready to record more if the stars keep aligned. Suppose we have to wait and see what happens after this release. Fingers crossed!”
More to come.
Monsternaut is:
Tuomas Heiskanen Vocals/Guitar Perttu Härkönen Bass Jani Kuusela Drums
Once again it’s been a couple weeks since I was last able to do a round of radio adds. But I have a good excuse! I was… uh… reviewing stuff? Well, that’s what I was doing, anyway. Anyhow, I’m way backed up on stuff to join the server, so for at least the next couple weeks it seems reasonable to expect regular adds while I get caught up. By then I’m sure I’ll be behind again, because somehow that’s how it works. Anyway, point is that as usual, a lot more was added to the server this afternoon than appears here, so make sure you check the Playlist and Updates page for the full list. Most of it is pretty new as well, so you might stumble on something you didn’t know was out. Could happen. Alright, let’s do this.
The Obelisk Radio adds for March 20, 2015:
XII Boar, Pitworthy
Before “Sharpshooter,” the opening track of their debut full-length, Pitworthy, actually starts, Hampshire, UK, trio XII Boar are introduced by a ring announcer in full arena-echo style. Somebody is about to get their ass kicked. That mentality tells you a lot about where the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Tommy Hardrocks, bassist/vocalist Adam “Baddog” Thomas and drummer David Wilbraham are coming from on the 10-track outing, rife with heavy, Southern-style boogie presented with weighted burl whether it’s a slower groove like “Crushing the P” or a thrasher like “Chicken Hawk.” Side A caps with the title-track, a seven-minute Southern metal highlight, but the real party is at the end of the record’s second half, when the 11-minute “Quint” takes hold in a raucous fury of rhythmic thrust, seafaring tales and off-the-wall soloing. It is a riotous debut after a few promising EPs, and if nothing else, XII Boar make it clear that if anyone’s going to get their ass kicked, it won’t be the band. Their dudely growls and whisky this-or-that might be too much for some, but there’s no denying these guys sound like they’re having a blast, and that energy proves infectious throughout their first album. XII Boar on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.
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Deadpeach, Old Fuzz Generation
Underrated Italian fuzz rockers Deadpeach initially released the debut EP, Old Fuzz Generation, in 2004 on what was apparently severely limited vinyl. Then a three-song 7″, Old Fuzz Generation now sees a digital reissue as a four-track release with the three-minute “Spain ’87” added on to the end. All told, it’s still under 10 minutes long with all four cuts taken together, but while brief, there’s enough fuzzy rush to hearken back to a time when European heavy rock was less concerned with either psychedelic freeform jamming or sounding like it’s 1972, and that the thickened-out, sped-up punk of “Americano” (1:50) needed no frills to get its point across, tapping influences from Nebula, Fu Manchu and Kyuss even while quoting Bob Marley in the lyrics and expressing what was a pervasive anti-American sentiment throughout Europe following the US invasion of Iraq. Good times. Not really, but good fuzz, and twice as interesting when one considers how European heavy was on the verge of a multi-faceted explosion 11 years ago and Deadpeach were tapping into a similar classic heavy ethic as the likes of Demon Cleaner, earlier Dozer and their countrymen in OJM. A quick but satisfying stoner burst. Deadpeach on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.
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Suzukiton, Suzukiton II
Making their home in the fertile heavy ground of Richmond, Virginia, the instrumental four-piece Suzukiton made their debut a decade ago on Crucial Blast with Service Repair Handbook, a collection of distinctly Southern but still varied rockers that found a cult following at the time. Kind of a surprise to find that 10 years later, the four-piece of guitarists Todd Naumann and David Boyd (Twisted Tower Dire), bassist William Rose and drummer Bryan Cox (ex-Axehandle and Alabama Thunderpussy) would return with the self-released Suzukiton II, but the intervening time has done little to dull their potency, shredding leads cutting through tight rhythms in tones bordering between heavy rock and metal, a chugger like “Death of a Mule” no more out of place than a prog-metal stomper like “Ronin.” Closer “Todd II” would seem a direct sequel to “Todd Song” from the first album, but its eight-minute course feels more than duly expanded from the prior release. Thoughtful in its progressions and well-plotted within its individual pieces, Suzukiton II is nothing if not a welcome return, and if it’s the band’s position to blindside new listeners, that suits the material well. Suzukiton on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.
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Torpor, From Nothing Comes Everything
Immediate points to UK atmospheric sludgers Torpor (also stylized in all-caps) for opening their Head of Crom and Black Bow Records debut LP, From Nothing Comes Everything, with “From this Time,” the longest song on the album. Follow-up points for the actual weight of the damn thing. Dense, post-metallic claustrophobia is undercut by trades between spoken or otherwise clearheaded shouts and vicious screams, the foursome of standalone vocalist Nats Spada, guitarist/vocalist Jon Taylor, bassist Lauren Mason and drummer Simon Mason successfully avoiding stylistic cliche throughout the six-track release while executing lethal builds and thunder-toned push. “Surrender to the Light” is as effective for its melody as its chug, the obscure interlude “The Wake” rumbles and growls ferociously, and “As Waves Crash” demonstrates a powerful blend of post-hardcore and doom, from which “Abandon” departs only momentarily, delving into a minimalist midsection before rounding out with a maddening payoff. Nine-minute closer “Everything We Left Behind” might as well be made of skull fragments and burst eardrums, its heft giving way gradually to deconstructed ambience and a finale of abrasive noise. Torpor‘s first is brutal, fierce and terrifying most of all for how solidified and assured the band sounds in their aesthetic — how at home they are in the churning chaos they’ve made. Torpor on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp, at Head of Crom, Black Bow Records.
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Monsternaut, Monsternaut
If the art wasn’t clue enough, Monsternaut‘s Monsternaut EP is a stoner rock record. Its motor revs in opener “Dog Town” and doesn’t let up until it hits the slowdown in closer “Black Horizon,” which wraps the Kerava, Finland, trio’s 18-minute debut outing with a fitting show of swing, choice basslines and nod-worthy fuckall. There’s plenty about the five tracks that will prove familiar to listeners who may have seen a record with an El Camino (admittedly, a gorgeous one) on the cover before, but there’s a next-generation freshness in Monsternaut‘s barebones, unabashed heavy rock approach, and cuts like “Back for More” and “Mountain Doom” prove deceptively catchy while also tapping tonal satisfaction in the guitar, bass and drums — Jani Kuusela‘s snare and kick landing no less heavy than Tuomas Heiskanen‘s riffs or Perttu Härkönen‘s low end — and the thud of “Caravan” and the straightforward, unpretentious vibe of all the tracks suits a presentation of genre that offers an edge of individuality while immediately doing more than just aping the band’s stylistic forebear(d)s. In heft, mood and songwriting, it’s a more than solid showcase of a progression underway. Monsternaut on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.
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As previously noted, this is just a fraction of the stuff that joined the server today — one-third, if you want to be more specific about that fraction. To check out everything else or to see what’s been played today and for probably way further back than you’re interested in knowing, check out the Obelisk Radio Playlist and Updates page. Hope you find something good from it.
