Posted in Uncategorized on March 25th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Mars Red Sky aren’t strangers to collaborating with other artists and even full bands. Their 2023 album, Dawn of the Dusk (review here), followed through on a collab with Queen of the Meadow that began on the aptly-named Mars Red Sky & Queen of the Meadow EP (review here), and of course they paired for an EP with Year of No Light (discussed here) way back in 2012, so joining forces isn’t unprecedented. Doing so with an outfit like long-running progressive heavy instrumentalists Monkey3, however, is.
Thus Monkeys on Mars. Think of the textures! Think of the keyboards communing with vocal melodies. Think of two bands who both know so well what they’re about bringing together ideas and seeing what sticks. Think of them doing it live.
I’ve heard none of this at this point, but yeah, sign me up for that EP out Oct. 17. Will hope to have more to come on this one before then. For now, this came from socials:
Hey there,
Stoked and proud to introduce you to special project MONKEYS ON MARS, a sonic journey with our long time friends monkey3 ! It fuses our two universes. This project will perform gigs and festivals thanks to Doomstar Bookings and 3C. We will also release a fully collaborative EP on October 17th 2025 via Mrs Red Sound with support from Napalm Records. We are working on the songs together, not each one their side. It’s an exciting stuff that we are dying to reveal!!
The best The Doom Dad wrote this to describe MONKEYS ON MARS:
“Imagine a uchony in which January 31st 1961 space mission didn’t quite go according to the plan. Ham, the chimpanzee, drifted through Space and found shelter on Mars – soon joined by other monkeys. The homonids colony thus created, developed its own civilisation, freeing itself from the very rules of gravity. The music created by Monkeys on Mars sounds like the soundtrack to this strange story.”
Photo credit Cedric Mathias.
MONKEY3 is: Walter – Drums Jalil – Bass Boris – Guitars dB – Keys and Sounds
MARS RED SKY are: Julien Pras : guitar, vocals Jimmy Kinast : bass, vocals Mathieu “Matgaz” Gazeau : drums, vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 18th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
It doesn’t seem to be mentioned in the press release below, but included among Candlemass‘ 40th anniversary celebrations is a set later this year at Rock Hard Festival in Greece where they’ll reunite with former frontman Messiah Marcolin for a one-off. Since 2018, and before that as well in a less-on-a-record-type-official-blah-blah capacity, the Swedish doom legends have had vocalist JohanLänquist, who famously sang on their first record but was never actually in the band — inadvertantly becoming part of one of underground heavy metal’s most crucial narratives –out front, but like Länquist, Marcolin is also a big part of Candlemass‘ history, and that’s worth honoring, even if it’s something I’m mentioning in large part because of how unlikely it ever seemed like it would be.
Universe of infinite possibilities, folks.
Black Star is the name of the new Candlemass EP — recorded with Länquist on vocals, as one would expect — and it’s out May 9 on Napalm Records. The band have a teaser trailer for their anniversary rollout streaming at the bottom of this post, and the PR wire brought details of the release including that it’s got covers of Black Sabbath and Pentagram, which in terms of genre-impact, is keeping company one could only call fitting.
Have at it:
CANDLEMASS CELEBRATES 40TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW EP, BLACK STAR, OUT MAY 9 VIA NAPALM RECORDS — PRE-ORDER STARTS NOW
Swedish godfathers of epic doom CANDLEMASS celebrate their 40th anniversary of pioneering the genre with a four-track EP, Black Star. Packed with craterous riffs, this celebration of doom metal mastery is set for release on May 9 via Napalm Records.
With Black Star, the genre-defying band unveils two brand-new songs alongside two cover versions of timeless classics. The EP will be available in various formats, including a strictly limited vinyl edition featuring a 12-page vinyl booklet, an A3 poster, and a tote bag.
CANDLEMASS mastermind Leif Edling comments:
“Not all bands get to see their 40th birthday and it certainly hasn’t been an easy ride. But many ups and downs later, we stand here as survivors, veterans even… a bit scarred perhaps? Still ready though to unleash another piece of doom-laden metal upon an unsuspecting world. You have to do something when you turn 40, right? Anyway, as always, it’s been fun recording some new stuff as well as covering a couple of old favorites.”
Title track, “Black Star,” blends haunting melodies with deeply introspective lyrics, brought to life by the dark, romantic voice of vocalist Johan Länquist. Songwriter Leif Edling’s lyrics delve into themes of existential struggle, temptation, and the allure of darkness — creating an intense atmosphere imbued with CANDLEMASS’ signature sound. The second new track, “Corridors Of Chaos,” marks a true old school instrumental containing both classic metal riffing and stunning guitar playing by Lars Johansson, showcasing the band’s mastery of dynamics. Adding to this tribute, CANDLEMASS delivers a cover of Black Sabbath’s iconic “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” taking listeners back to 1973. This is followed by their rendition of Pentagram’s classic “Forever My Queen,” further cementing CANDLEMASS’ remarkable contribution to shaping the genre into what it is today.
BLACK STAR TRACK LISTING: “Black Star” “Corridors of Chaos” “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath””Forever My Queen”
Black Star will be available in the following formats:
1LP Gatefold BLACK ORANGE SPLATTER (incl. vinyl booklet (12pp), A3 poster, tote bag) – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive, strictly limited to 400 copies 1LP Gatefold BLACK 1CD Digisleeve Digital Album
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 13th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
This news is following up on word that My Sleeping Karma put out at the end of September regarding the band continuing. There hadn’t been much word from them since the June 2023 passing of drummer Steffen Wiegand, and though there were rumors of their moving forward in a spirit of serving and honoring Wiegand‘s memory, nothing had been confirmed until about a month and a half ago when the band welcomed André to the fold.
The last thing they said in that announcement was that they’d be playing a show in December, and below are confirmed the gig details. It’s Dec. 30 — getting it in right before the end of the year — in the band’s hometown of Aschaffenburg, Germany, and they’ll be joined by SOL Records denizens Lucid Void for the occasion. My Sleeping Karma‘s music has never really wanted for resonance anyway, but I expect it will be a very emotional return to the stage for the group, who remain among the brightest and most distinctive of lights in European heavy psychedelia.
I should note that in the time since this show was posted, the first My Sleeping Karma live date of 2025 has been announced as taking place at Sound of Liberation‘s 20th anniversary party, dubbed the SOL Sonic Ride, in Cologne on March 29. No word on how much touring, if any, My Sleeping Karma will have coming up in the New Year as yet.
Here’s the info for the Dec. 30 show:
Dear friends,
Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts for your amazing feedback on our return and your warm welcome to André.
We are overwhelmed and can’t wait to see you all again soon.
On December 30th we’re back on stage in our hometown Aschaffenburg. We’re happy to announce that our friends @lucidvoidband will join us on this very special day.
Make sure to get your tickets soon enough, there are only very few ones left.
More concert updates are coming soon.
Much Love, MSK
MY SLEEPING KARMA is: Matte – Bass Seppi – Guitar André – Drums Norman – Soundboard
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 26th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
My Sleeping Karma are back. Last June, the band suffered the loss of drummer Steffen Weigand after a long battle with cancer, and at the time, the band made no comment about their future either way, but expressed what was very clearly a deep and personal grief. Some bands aren’t close as people; the German instrumentalists have always given the impression otherwise, and it’s telling in that regard as well that as they announce their first show with new drummer André Stein for this December in their hometown of Aschaffenburg, they specifically note that Stein is a member of tight knit “MSK-Family,” as they put it. Somehow this makes the most sense and feels like the appropriate way for them to move forward if they were going to at all. It never seemed like the kind of situation where they’d hold tryouts, is what I’m saying.
The band’s contributions to meditative heavy rock and instrumental psychedelia, their influence in those niches, aren’t to be understated. Their last release with Weigand, 2022’s Atma (review here), brought new adventures in arrangement expansion and song-building while keeping to their conceptual foundations in Buddhist philosophy and atmospheric evocations. There’s no word below of a follow-up — maybe we’ll let them do a gig first — but when and if they get there, even the possibility that they might, is a spiritual boost. The world is a better place with this band in it.
Their announcement from social media follows here:
Dear brothers and sisters,
they say time is a healer, but some wounds never seem to heal at all.
After the tragic loss of our musical soulmate Steffen, we felt desperate and had absolutely no clue how to deal with the situation and how to go along with My Sleeping Karma as a band.
We are still so grateful for the fund raise that so many of you supported and for the enormous amount of requests to keep our music and Steffen’s spirit alive.
After long and intense discussions, we finally came to the conclusion that it is our duty to proceed with My Sleeping Karma.
To proceed for you, the people, to proceed for Steffen.
Today it is our pleasure to introduce to you our new drummer André.
He has been a member of the MSK-Family for such a long time and was our light and video engineer in the past.
André is switching positions now and we are in serious rehearsals before hitting the stage again.
Some personal words from André will follow in the next days.
Much Love, the Karma guys
P.s. There have been rumours about a first concert at our hometown club Colos-Saal in Aschaffenburg on Dec 30th. That’s correct and tickets will be on sale soon.
MY SLEEPING KARMA is: Matte – Bass Seppi – Guitar André – Drums Norman – Soundboard
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 7th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Here’s a concept that’s pretty easy to get behind: John Garcia US tour dates. Desert rock’s founding frontman will appear next weekend in Austin, Texas, at Fiesta Destructo, which I’ll just assume is part either officially or tangentially of SXSW, and in May, will start out in the Midwest on a trip bound for the Eastern Seaboard that hits up into Montreal before turning south to cap in Philly and Brooklyn.
John Garcia and his solo band were last in NYC in the latter half of 2022 for Desertfest New York (review here), and have been gigging regularly on the West Coast, which is fair enough. At the bottom of the post you can see a video taken last November, and as the press release below also reminds, Garcia will play material from across his storied career, which means Kyuss tunes along with his solo stuff, probably Hermano‘s “Kentucky” or an older track and, if you’re truly blessed, “Pilot the Dune” or “July” by Slo Burn. However it shakes out, given the catalog Garcia‘s got to draw from, you’re probably not gonna leave the venue pissed off.
Tour dates came down the PR wire, as booked by Tone Deaf Touring:
🌴JOHN GARCIA (ex-KYUSS) Announces North American Tour, Performing Classics from KYUSS, SLO BURN + HERMANO
American desert rock pioneer and former KYUSS frontman JOHN GARCIA will be embarking on a North American East Coast tour this spring, in which he will be performing classic songs from some of his iconic bands – KYUSS, HERMANO + SLO BURN! GARCIA will be supported by blues-rock guitarist JARED JAMES NICHOLS, psychedelic rock duo TELEKINETC YETI, and blues rockers LEFT LANE CRUISER.
The trek will kick off on May 15 in Madison, WI and will conclude in Brooklyn, NY on May 29. The full itinerary can be found below while ticket links are available HERE: https://tonedeaftouring.com/jgkyuss
Prior to the tour, JOHN GARCIA will be performing a FREE show in Austin, TX on March 16 with support from MIDNIGHT.
JOHN GARCIA North American Tour Dates (w/ Jared James Nichols, Telekinetic Yeti, Left Lane Cruiser): 03/16: Austin, TX @ Fiesta Destructo [FREE SHOW]* 05/15: Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon 05/16: Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall [On sale Fri, 3/8 @ 10:00 A.M.] 05/17: Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall 05/21: Pittsburgh, PA @ Jergel 05/22: Detroit, MI @ Crofoot Theatre 05/23: Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme 05/25: Montreal, QC @ Club Soda 05/27: Hampton Beach, NH @ Wally’s [On sale Fri, 3/8 @ 10:00 A.M.] 05/28: Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer [On sale Fri, 3/8 @ 10:00 A.M.] 05/29: Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere *John Garcia w/ Midnight ONLY
Posted in Reviews on February 29th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Day four of five puts the end of this Quarterly Review in sight, as will inevitably happen. We passed the halfway point yesterday and by the time today’s done it’s the home stretch. I hope you’ve had a good week. It’s been a lot — and in terms of the general work level of the day, today’s my busiest day; I’ve got Hungarian class later and homework to do for that, and two announcements to write in addition to this, one for today one for tomorrow, and I need to set up the back end of another announcement for Friday if I can. The good news is that my daughter seems to be over the explosive-vomit-time stomach bug that had her out of school on Monday. The better news is I’ve yet to get that.
But if I’m scatterbrained generally and sort of flailing, well, as I was recently told after I did a video interview and followed up with the artist to apologize for my terribleness at it, at least it’s honest. I am who I am, and I think that there are places where people go and things people do that sometimes I have a hard time with. Like leaving the house. And parenting. And interviewing bands, I guess. Needing to plow through 10 reviews today and tomorrow should be a good exercise in focusing energy, even if that isn’t necessarily getting the homework done faster. And yeah, it’s weird to be in your 40s and think about homework. Everything’s weird in your 40s.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
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Monkey3, Welcome to the Machine
What are Monkey3 circa 2024 if not a name you can trust? The Swiss instrumental four-piece are now more than 20 years removed from their 2003 self-titled debut, and Welcome to the Machine — their seventh album and fourth release on Napalm Records (three studio, one live) — brings five new songs across 46 minutes of stately progressive heavy craft, with the lead cut “Ignition” working into an early gallop before cutting to ambience presumably as a manifestation of hitting escape velocity and leaving the planetary atmosphere, and trading from there between longer (10-plus-minute) and shorter (six- and seven-minute) pieces that are able to hit with a surprising impact when they so choose. Second track “Collision” comes to crush in a way that even 2019’s Sphere (review here) didn’t, and to go with its methodical groove, heavy post-rock airiness and layered-in acoustic guitar, “Kali Yuga” (10:01) is tethered by a thud of drums that feels no less the point of the thing than the mood-aura in the largesse that surrounds. Putting “Rackman” (7:13, with hints of voice or keyboard that sounds like it), which ends furiously, and notably cinematic closer “Collapse” (12:51) together on side B is a distinct immersion, and the latter places Monkey3 in a prog-metal context that defies stylistic expectation even as it lives up to the promise of the band’s oeuvre. Seven records and more than two decades on, and Monkey3 are still evolving. This is a special band, and in a Europe currently awash in heavy instrumentalism of varying degrees of psychedelia, it’s hard to think of Monkey3 as anything other than aesthetic pioneers.
With its Sabbath-born chug and bluesy initial groove opening to NWOBHM grandeur at the solo, the opening title-track is quick to reassure that Sweden’s The Quill are themselves on Wheel of Illusion, even if the corresponding classic metal elements there a standout from the more traditional rock of “Elephant Head” with its tambourine, or the doomier roll in “Sweet Mass Confusion,” also pointedly Sabbathian and thus well within the wheelhouse of guitarist Christian Carlsson, vocalist Magnus Ekwall, bassist Roger Nilsson and drummer Jolle Atlagic. While most of Wheel of Illusion is charged in its delivery, the still-upbeat “Rainmaker” feels like a shift in atmosphere after the leadoff and “We Burn,” and atmospherics come more into focus as the drums thud and the strings echo out in layers as “Hawks and Hounds” builds to its ending. While “The Last Thing” works keyboard into its all-go transition into nodding capper “Wild Mustang,” it’s the way the closer seems to encapsulate the album as a whole and the perspective brought to heavy rock’s founding tenets that make The Quill such reliable purveyors, and Wheel of Illusion comes across like special attention was given to the arrangements and the tightness of the songwriting. If you can’t appreciate kickass rock and roll, keep moving. Otherwise, whether it’s your first time hearing The Quill or you go back through all 10 of their albums, they make it a pleasure to get on board.
Equal parts brash and disillusioned, Nebula Drag‘s Dec. 2023 LP, Western Death, is a ripper whether you’re dug into side ‘Western’ or side ‘Death.’ The first half of the psych-leaning-but-more-about-chemistry-than-effects San Diego trio’s third album offers the kind of declarative statement one might hope, with particular scorch in the guitar of Corey Quintana, sway and ride in Stephen Varns‘ drums and Garrett Gallagher‘s Sabbathian penchant for working around the riffs. The choruses of “Sleazy Tapestry,” “Kneecap,” “Side by Side,” “Tell No One” and the closing title-track speak directly to the listener, with the last of them resolved, “Look inside/See the signs/Take what you can,” and “Side by Side” a call to group action, “We don’t care how it gets done/Helpless is the one,” but there’s storytelling here too as “Tell No One” turns the sold-your-soul-to-play-music trope and turns it on its head by (in the narrative, anyhow) keeping the secret. Pairing these ideas with Nebula Drag‘s raw-but-not-sloppy heavy grunge, able to grunge-crunch on “Tell No One” even as the vocals take on more melodic breadth, and willing to let it burn as “Western Death” departs its deceptively angular riffing to cap the 34-minute LP with the noisy finish it has by then well earned.
LLNN & Sugar Horse, The Horror bw Sleep Paralysis Demon
Brought together for a round of tour dates that took place earlier this month, Pelagic Records labelmates LLNN (from Copenhagen) and Sugar Horse (from Bristol, UK) each get one track on a 7″ side for a showcase. Both use it toward obliterating ends. LLNN, who are one of the heaviest bands I’ve ever seen live and I’m incredibly grateful for having seen them live, dig into neo-industrial churn on “The Horror,” with stabbing synth later in the procession that underscores the point and less reliance on tonal onslaught than the foreboding violence of the atmosphere they create. In response, Sugar Horse manage to hold back their screams and lurching full-bore bludgeonry for nearly the first minute of “Sleep Paralysis Demon” and even after digging into it dare a return to cleaner singing, admirable in their restraint and more effectively tense for it when they push into caustic sludge churn and extremity, space in the guitar keeping it firmly in the post-metal sphere even as they aim their intent at rawer flesh. All told, the platter is nine of probably and hopefully-for-your-sake the most brutal minutes you might experience today, and thus can only be said to accomplish what it set out to do as the end product sounds like two studios would’ve needed rebuilding afterward.
Fuzzter aren’t necessarily noisy in terms of playing noise rock on Pandemonium, but from the first cymbal crashes after the Oppenheimer sample at the start of “Extinción,” the Peruvian outfit engage an uptempo heavy psych thrust that, though directed, retains a chaotic aspect through the band’s willingness to be sound if not actually be reckless, to gang shout before the guitars drift off in “Thanatos,” to be unafraid of being eaten by their own swirl in “Caja de Pandora” or to chug with a thrashy intensity at the start of closer “Tercer Ojo,” doom out massive in the song’s middle, and float through jazzy minimalism at the finish. But even in that, there are flashes, bursts that emphasize the unpredictability of the songs, which is an asset throughout what’s listed as the Lima trio’s third EP but clocks in at 36 minutes with the instrumental “Purgatorio,” which starts off like it might be an interlude but grows more furious as its five minutes play out, tucked into its center. If it’s a short release, it is substantial. If it’s an album, it’s substantial despite a not unreasonable runtime. Ultimately, whatever they call it is secondary to the space-metal reach and the momentum fostered across its span, which just might carry you with it whether or not you thought you were ready to go.
The listed representation of dreams in “Dream One” adds to the concrete severity of Cold in Berlin‘s dark, keyboard-laced post-metallic sound, but London-based four-piece temper that impact with the post-punk ambience around the shove of the later “Found Out” on their The Body is the Wound 19-minute four-songer, and build on the goth-ish sway even as “Spotlight” fosters a heavier, more doomed mindset behind vocalist Maya, whose verses in “When Did You See Her Last” are complemented by dramatic lines of keyboard and who can’t help but soar even as the overarching direction is down, down, down into either the subconscious referenced in “Dream One” or some other abyss probably of the listener’s own making. Five years and one actual-plague after their fourth full-length, 2019’s Rituals of Surrender, bordering on 15 since the band got their start, they cast resonance in mood as well as impact (the latter bolstered by Wayne Adams‘ production), and are dynamic in style as well as volume, with each piece on The Body is the Wound working toward its own ends while the EP’s entirety flows with the strength of its performances. They’re in multiple worlds, and it works.
With the expansive songwriting of multi-instrumentalist/sometimes-vocalist Eric McQueen at its core, The Mountain King issue Apostasyn as possibly their 10th full-length in 10 years and harness a majestic, progressive doom metal that doesn’t skimp either on the doom or the metal, whether that takes the form of the Type O Negative-style keys in “The White Noise From God’s Radio” or the tremolo guitar in the apex of closer “Axolotl Messiah.” The title-track is a standout for more than just being 15 minutes long, with its death-doom crux and shifts between minimal and maximal volumes, and the opening “Dødo” just before fosters immersion after its maybe-banging-on-stuff-maybe-it’s-programmed intro, with a hard chug answered in melody by guest singer Julia Gusso, who joins McQueen and the returning Frank Grimbarth (also guitar) on vocals, while Robert Bished adds synth to McQueen‘s own. Through the personnel changes and in each piece’s individual procession, The Mountain King are patient, waiting in the dark for you to join them. They’ll probably just keep basking in all that misery until you get there, no worries. Oh, and I’ll note that the download version of Apostasyn comes with instrumental versions of the four tracks, in case you’d really like to lose yourself in ruminating.
The self-titled debut from Parisian doomers Witchorious is distinguished by its moments of sludgier aggression — the burly barks in “Monster” at the outset, and so on — but the chorus of “Catharsis” that rises from the march of the verse offers a more melodic vision, and the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Antoine Auclair, bassist/vocalist Lucie Gaget and drummer Paul Gaget, continue to play to multiple sides of a modern metal and doom blend, while “The Witch” adds vastness and roll to its creeper-riff foundation. The guitar-piece “Amnesia” serves as an interlude ahead of “Watch Me Die” as Witchorious dig into the second half of the album, and as hard has that song comes to hit — plenty — the character of the band is correspondingly deepened by the breadth of “To the Grave,” which follows before the bonus track “Why” nod-dirges the album’s last hook. There’s clarity in the craft throughout, and Witchorious seem aware of themselves in stylistic terms if not necessarily writing to style, and noteworthy as it is for being their first record, I look forward to hearing how they refine and sharpen the methods laid out in these songs. The already-apparent command with which they direct the course here isn’t to be ignored.
Though their penchant for cult positioning and exploitation-horror imagery might lead expectations elsewhere, North Carolinian trio Skull Servant present a raw, sludge-rocking take on their second LP, Traditional Black Magicks II, with bassist Noah Terrell and guitarist Calvin Bauer reportedly swapping vocal duties per song across the five tracks while drummer Ryland Dreibelbis gives fluidity to the current of distortion threaded into “Absinthe Dreams,” which is instrumental on the album but newly released as a standalone single with vocals. I don’t know if the wrong version got uploaded or what — Bauer ends up credited with vocals that aren’t there — but fair enough. A meaner, punkier stonerism shows itself as “Poison the Unwell” hints at facets of post-hardcore and “Pergamos,” the two shortest pieces placed in front of the strutting “Lucifer’s Reefer” and between that cut and the Goatsnake-via-Sabbath riffing of “Satan’s Broomstick.” So it could be that Skull Servant, who released the six-song outing on Halloween 2023, are still sorting through where they want to be sound-wise, or it could be they don’t give a fuck about genre convention and are gonna do whatever they please going forward. I won’t predict and I’m not sure either answer is wrong.
Notice of arrival is served as Lord Velvet dig into classic vibes and modern heft on their late 2023 debut EP, Astral Lady, to such a degree that I actually just checked their social media to see if they’d been signed yet before I started writing about them. Could happen, and probably will if they want it to, considering the weight of low end and the flowing, it’s-a-vibe-man vibe, plus shred, in “Lament of Io” and the way they make that lumber boogie through (most of) “Snakebite Fever.” Appearing in succession, “Night Terrors” and “From the Deep” channel stoned Iommic revelry amid their dynamic-in-tempo doomed intent, and while “Black Beam of Gemini” rounds out with a shove, Lord Velvet retain the tonal presence on the other end of that quick, quiet break, ready to go when needed for the crescendo. They’re not reinventing stoner rock and probably shouldn’t be trying to on this first EP, but they feel like they’re engaging with some of the newer styles being proffered by Magnetic Eye or sometimes Ripple Music, and if they end up there or elsewhere before they get around to making a full-length, don’t be surprised. If they plan to tour, so much the better for everybody.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 20th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
As they make ready to release their new album, Welcome to the Machine, this Friday through Napalm Records, Swiss instrumentalist prog-psych mainstays Monkey3 have revealed the tour that draws together previously-announced stops through festivals like Desertfest London, Desertfest Berlin, Esbjerg Fuzztival, Heavy Psych Sounds, an so on. Their paths will cross with the Brant Bjork Trio more than once as they go, and you’ll note that the entirety of the run is billed as ‘Pt. I’ of a larger touring plan. It would not be a surprise to find them out again later this year as well, perhaps on the Sound of Liberation circuit of Fall festivals? You never know.
There are two singles out from Welcome to the Machine, both of which stream below if you haven’t had the chance yet to engage, and the e’er crucial ticket link, should you be in a position to leave the house for a few hours at some point in the next couple months. And if not, no judgment. I don’t always have those hours either. The music’s still cool and there for you to check out.
Dig:
MONKEY3 – 🔥Tour Announcement🔥
Sound of Liberation Presents: MONKEY3 – WELCOME TO THE MACHINE TOUR – EUROPE 2024 Part 1 27.04 FR Savigny le Temple, L’Empreinte, Paris Grand Sludge 28.04 FR Colmar, Le Grillen 10.05 CH Seewen, Gaswerk 11.05 DE Fulda, Kulturkeller Kreuz 12.05 DE Köln Club Volta w/Brant Bjork Trio 13.05 DE Hamburg, Knust 14.05 DK Kopenhagen, Stengade 15.05 DE Bremerhaven, Shiva 16.05 BE Sint-Niklaas, De Casino w/Brant Bjork Trio 17.05 BE Brussels, Magasin 4 18.05 UK London, Desertfest 19.05 NL Den Bosch, Willem Twee 23.05 DE Jena, KuBa 24.05 DE Berlin, Desertfest 25.05 PL Krakow, Kamienna 10 27.05 AT Vienna, Viper Room 29.05 DE Dresden, Chemiefabrik 31.05 DK Esbjerg, Fuzztival 07.06 CH Winterthur, Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 08.06 CH Martigny, Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 28.06 DE Passau, Blackdoor Festival 09.08 BE Kortrijk, Alcatraz Festival 18.08 FR Motocultor, Carhaix
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 23rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Cheers to Cleveland, Ohio’s Frayle on getting picked up by Napalm Records for the release of their next album. It was kind of a matter of time for them to be signed by one or the other of the larger metal-world imprints. Kind of inevitable, huh? Frayle have been upward trajectory since the word go, a career-minded act with a defined aesthetic and a fresh-ish take on familiar ideas. They can appeal across subgenres in a way not a lot of doom-adjacent anything ever could.
Frayle‘s latest album, Skin & Sorrow came out in 2022 through Aqualamb and Lay Bare Recordings — both what I’d consider to be labels of marked taste — and while I don’t know if a reissue is in the works and the focus here seems to be on moving forward with new stuff, you wouldn’t blame them if one showed up.
The PR wire, making it official:
FRAYLE Signs Worldwide Contract with Napalm Records
New Music Expected in 2024!
Fast-rising American doom outfit FRAYLE have officially joined forces with Napalm Records, signing a worldwide contract with the premier Austrian rock and metal empire.
Cleveland, Ohio’s FRAYLE crept onto the scene after forming in 2018, helmed by original members Sean Bilovecky (guitars) and Gwyn Strang (vocals). Since then, the band has been lauded by fans and media critics alike, merging the heaviness of occult-driven doom and blackgaze with Strang’s distinctively eerie vocal stylings. FRAYLE has since expanded into a four piece, welcoming drummer Jon Vinson and bassist Jason Knotek to the fold, allowing the band to fully realize their “lullabies over chaos” musical vision. Noted first by Revolver Magazine as a band to watch in 2023, and then again by Knotfest for the coming year, the band continues to invigorate their already buzzing sway on the scene. Following gloomy performances in Europe and the United States at festivals such as Damnation, Desertfest, Soul Crusher, Gloomnar, Post Fest and Inkcarceration, FRAYLE vows to enrapture audiences with new music in 2024.
FRAYLE says about the signing: “We are thrilled to be joining the incredible team at Napalm Records. Napalm has always been the label that artists strive to be a part of and we are honored to bring our unique blend of heavy witch gloom to their impressive roster.
We’d also like to take this opportunity to say we are extremely fortunate to be part of the Oracle Management family, and are grateful for them helping us realize our goal of signing to Napalm Records. It was Oracle’s existing relationship with Napalm that helped to seal the deal. We can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
Sebastian Muench, Senior A&R at Napalm Records, adds: “FRAYLE have been enchanting their fans with their unique way of interpreting doom metal since 2017. Their artistic vision and past live performances have fascinated us and enticed us to work together as partners on the next step in the band’s career. I can guarantee that the new studio album will be simply amazing!”
Stay tuned for more FRAYLE news coming soon!
FRAYLE is: Gwyn Strang: Vocals Sean Bilovecky: Guitar Jason Knotek: Bass Jon Vinson: Drums
