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Quarterly Review: Darsombra, Bottomless, The Death Wheelers, Caivano, Entropía, Ghorot, Moozoonsii, Death Wvrm, Mudness, The Space Huns

Posted in Reviews on October 5th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk winter quarterly review

Welcome to Thursday of the Fall 202 Quarterly Review. It’s been a good run so far. three days and 30 records, about to be four and 40. I’ve got enough on my desktop and there’s enough stuff coming out this month that I could probably do a second Fall QR in November, and maybe stave off needing to do a double-one in December as I had been planning in the back of my head. Whatever, I’ll figure it out.

I hope you’ve been able to find something you dig. I definitely have, but that’s how it generally goes. These things are always a lot of work, and somehow I seem to plan them on the busiest weeks — today we’re volunteering at the grade school book fair; I think I’ll dig out my old Slayer God Hates Us All shirt from 20 years ago and see if it still fits. Sadly, I think we all know how that experiment will work out.

Anyway, busy times, good music, blah blah, let’s roll.

Quarterly Review #31-40:

Darsombra, Dumesday Book

darsombra dumesday book

Forever touring and avant garde to their very marrow, ostensibly-Baltimorean duo DarsombraAnn Everton on keys, vocals, live visuals, and who the hell knows what else, Brian Daniloski on guitar, a living-room pedal board, and engineering at the band’s home studio — unveil Dumesday Book as a 75-minute collection not only of works like “Call the Doctor” (posted here) or “Call the Doctor” (posted here), which appear as remixes, but their first proper album of this troubled decade after 2019’s Transmission (review here) saw them reach so far out into the cosmic thread to harness their bizarre stretches of bleeps and boops, manipulated vocals, drones, noise and suitably distraught collage in “Everything is Canceled” — which they answer later with “Still Canceled,” because charm — but the reassurance here is in the continuation of Daniloski and Everton‘s audio adventures, and their commitment to what should probably at this point in space-time be classified as free jazz remains unflinching. Squares need not apply, and if you’re into stuff like structure, there’s some of that, but all Darsombra ever need to get gone is a direction in which to head — literally or figuratively — so why not pick them all?

Darsombra on Instagram

Darsombra on Bandcamp

Bottomless, The Banishing

bottomless the banishing

Cavernous in its echo and with a grit of tone that is the aural equivalent of the feeling of pull in your hand when you make a doom claw, The Banishing is the second full-length from Italian doom rockers Bottomless. Working as the trio of vocalist/guitarist Giorgio Trombino (ex-Elevators to the Grateful Sky, etc.), drummer David Lucido (Assumption, among a slew of others) and bassist Sara Bianchin — the latter also of Messa and recently replaced in Bottomless by Laura Nardelli (Ponte del Diavolo, etc.) — the band follow their 2021 self-titled debut (review here) with an eight-track collection that comes across as its own vision of garage doom. It’s not about progressive flourish or elaborate production, but about digging into the raw creeper groove of “Guardians of Silence” or the righteous post-Pentagram chug-and-nod of “Let Them Burn.” It is not solely intended as worship for what’s come before. Doom-of-eld, the NWOBHM, ’70s proto splurges all abound, but in the vocal and guitar melody of “By the Sword of the Archangel” and the dramatic rolling finish of “Dark Waters” after the acoustic-led interlude “Drawn Into Yesterday,” in the gruel of “Illusion Sun,” they channel these elements through themselves and come out with an album that, for as dark and grim as it would likely sound to more than 99 percent of the general human population, is pure heart.

Bottomless on Facebook

Dying Victims Productions website

The Death Wheelers, Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness

The Death Wheelers Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness

Look. I don’t know The Death Wheelers personally at all. We don’t hang out on weekends. But the sample-laced (“We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the Man — and we wanna get loaded!” etc.), motorcycle-themed Québecois instrumental outfit sound on their second LP, the 12-track/40-minute riff-pusher Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness, like they’re onto something. And again, I don’t know these cats at all. I don’t know what they do for work, what their lives are like, any of it. But if The Death Wheelers want to get out and give this record the support it deserves, the place they need to be is Europe. Yeah, I know there was The Picturebooks, but they were clean-chrome and The Death Wheelers just cracked a smile and showed you the fly that got splattered on their front tooth while they were riding — sonically speaking. The dust boogie of “Lucifer’s Bend,” the duly stoned “Interquaalude” ahead of the capper duo of “Sissy Bar Strut (Nymphony 69)” and “Cycling for Satan Part II” and the blowout roll in “Ride into the Röt (Everything Lewder Than Everything Else)” — this is a band who should bypass America completely for touring and focus entirely on Europe. Because the US will come around, to be sure, but not for another three or four month-long Euro stints get the point across. I don’t know that that’ll happen or it won’t, but they sound ready.

The Death Wheelers on Facebook

RidingEasy Records store

Caivano, Caivano

Caivano Caivano

The career arc of guitarist Phil Caivano — and of course he does other stuff as well, including vocals on his self-titled solo-project’s debut, Caivano, but some people seem to have been born to hold a guitar in their hands and he’s one of those; see also Bob Balch — is both longer and broader than his quarter-century as guitarist and songwriting contributor to Monster Magnet, but the NJ heavy rock stalwarts will nonetheless be the closest comparison point to these 10 tracks and 33 minutes, a kind of signature sleazy roll in “Talk to the Dead,” the time-to-get-off-your-ass push of “Come and Get Me” at the start or the punkier “Verge of Yesterday” — touch of Motörhead there seeming well earned — a cosmic ripper on a space backbeat in “Fun & Games,” but all of this is within a tonal and production context that’s consistent across the span, malleable in style, unshakable in structure. Closer “Face the Music” is the longest cut at 5:04 and is a drumless spacey experiment with vocals and a guitar figure wrapped around a central drone, and that adds yet more character to the proceedings. I’d wonder how long some of these songs or parts have been around or if Caivano is going to put a group together — could be interesting — and make a go of it apart from his ‘main band,’ but he’s long since established himself as an exceptional player, and listening to some of this material highlights contributions of style and substance to shaping Monster Magnet as well. Phil Caivano: songwriter.

Caivano on Instagram

Entropía, Eclipses

Entropía Eclipses

Together for nearly a decade, richly informed by the progressive and space rock(s) of the 1970s, prone to headspinning feats of lead guitar like that in the back end of second cut “Dysania,” Entropía offer their second full-length in Eclipses, a five-track/40-minute excursion of organ-inclusive cosmic prog that reminds of Hypnos 69 in the warm serenity at the start of “Tarbes,” threatens the epic on seven-minute opener “Thesan” and delivers readily throughout; a work of scope that runs deep in the pairing of “Tarbes” and “Caleidoscopia” — both of which top nine minutes long — but it’s there that Entropía reveal the full spectrum of light they’re working with, whether it’s that tonal largesse that rears up in the latter or the jazzy kosmiche shove in the payoff of the former. And the drums come forward to start closer “Polaris,” which follows, as Entropía nestle into one more groovy submersion, finding heavy shuffle in the drums — hell yeah — and holding that tension until it’s time for the multi-tiered finish and only-necessary peaceful comedown. It’s inevitable that some records in a Quarterly Review get written about and I never listen to them again. I’ll be back to this one.

Entropía on Facebook

Clostridium Records store

Ghorot, Wound

Ghorot Wound

God damn, Ghorot, leave some nasty for the rest of the class. The Boise, Idaho, three-piece — vocalist/bassist Carson Russell (also Ealdor Bealu), guitarist/vocalist Chad Remains (ex-Uzala) and drummer/vocalist Brandon Walker — launch their second LP, Wound, with the gloriously screamed, righteously-coated-in-filth, choking-on-mud extreme sludge they appropriately titled “Dredge.” And fuck if it doesn’t get meaner from there as Ghorot — working with esteemed producer Andy Patterson (The Otolith, etc.) and releasing through Lay Bare Recordings and King of the Monsters Records — take the measure of your days and issue summary judgment in the negative through the mellow-harshing bite of “In Asentia,” the least brutal part of which kind of sounds like High on Fire and the death/black metal in centerpiece “Corsican Leather.” All of which is only on side A. On side B, “Canyon Lands” imagines a heavy Western meditation — shades of Ealdor Bealu in the guitar — that retains its old-wizard vocal gurgle, and capper “Neanderskull” finally pushes the entire affair off of whatever high desert cliffside from which it’s been proclaiming all this uberdeath and into a waiting abyss of willfully knuckledragging blower deconstruction. The really scary shit is these guys’ll probably do another record after this one. Yikes.

Ghorot on Facebook

Lay Bare Recordings website

King of the Monsters Records website

Moozoonsii, Outward

Moozoonsii Outward

With the self-release of Outward, heavy progressive psych instrumentalists Moozoonsii complete a duology of pandemic-constructed outings that began with last year’s (of course) Inward, and to do so, the trio based in Nantes, France, continue to foster a methodology somewhere between metal and rock, finding ground in precision riffing in the 10-minute “Nova” or in the bumps and crashes after eight minutes into the 13-minute “Far Waste,” but they’re just as prone to jazzy skronk-outs like in the midsection solo of “Lugubris,” and the entire release is informed by the unfolding psychedelic meditationscape of “Stryge” at the start, so by no, no, no means at all are they doing one thing for the duration. “Toxic Lunar Vibration,” which splits the two noted extended tracks, brings the sides together as if to emphasize this point, not so much fitting those pointed angles together as delighting in the ways in which they do and don’t fit at certain times as part of their creative expression. Pairing that impulse with the kind of heavy-as-your-face-if-your-face-had-a-big-boulder-on-it fuzz in “Tauredunum” is a hell of a place to wind up. The unpredictable character of the material that surrounds only makes that ending sweeter and more satisfying.

Moozoonsii on Facebook

Moozoonsii on Bandcamp

Death Wvrm, Enter / The Endless

Death Wvrm enter

An initial two tracks from UK trio Death Wvrm, both instrumental, surfaced earlier this year, one in Spring around the time of their appearance at Desertfest London — quiet a coup for a seemingly nascent band; but listening to them I get it — and after. “Enter” was first, “The Endless” second, and the two of them tell a story unto themselves; narrative seeming to be part of the group’s mission from this point of outset, as each single comes with a few sentences of accompanying scene-setting. Certainly not going to complain about the story, and the band have some other surprises in store in these initial cuts, be it the bright, mid-period Beatles-y tone in the guitar for “The Endless” (it’s actually only about four and a half minutes) or the driving fuzz that takes hold after the snap of snare at 2:59, or the complementary layer of guitar in “Enter” that speaks to broader ambitions sound-wise almost immediately on the part of the band. “Enter” and “The Endless” both start quiet and get louder — the scorch in “Enter” isn’t to be discounted — but they do so in differing ways, and so while one listens to the first two cuts a band is putting out and expects growth in complexity and method, that’s actually just fine, because it’s exactly also what one is left wanting after the two songs are done: more. I’m not saying show up at their house or anything, but maybe give a follow on Bandcamp and keep an eye.

Death Wvrm on Instagram

Death Wvrm on Bandcamp

Mudness, Mudness

Mudness Mudness

Safe to assume some level of self-awareness on the part of Brazilian trio Mudness who, after unveiling their first single “R.I.P.” in 2020 make their self-titled full-length debut with seven songs of hard-burned wizard riffing, the plod of “Gone” (also an advance single, if not by three years) and guitarist Renan Casarin‘s Obornian moans underscoring the disaffected stoner idolatry. Joined by Fernando Dal Bó, whose bass work is crucial to the success of the entire release — can’t roll it if it ain’t heavy — and drummer Pedro Silvano, who adds malevolent swing to the slow march forward of “This End Body,” the centerpiece of the seven-song/35-minute long player. There’s an interlude, “Lamuria,” that could probably have shown up earlier, but one should keep in mind that the sense of onslaught between the likes of “Evil Roots” and “Yellow Imp” is part of the point, and likewise that they’re saving an extra layer of aural grime for “Final Breeze,” where they answer the more individual take of “This End Body” with a reach into melodicism and mark their appeal both in what they might bring to their sound moving forward and the planet-sucked-anyhow despondent crush of this collection. Putting it on the list for the best debuts of 2023. It’s not innovative, or trying to be, but that doesn’t stop it from accomplishing its aims in slow, mostly miserable stride.

Mudness on Facebook

Mudness on Bandcamp

The Space Huns, Legends of the Ancient Tribes

The Space Huns Legends of the Ancient Tribes

I’m not generally one to tell you how to spend your money, but if you take a look over at The Space Huns‘ Bandcamp page (linked below), you’ll see that the Hungarian psych jammers’ entire digital discography is €3.50. Again, not trying to tell you how to live your life, but Legends of the Ancient Tribes, the Szeged-based trio’s new hour-long album, has a song on it called “Goats on a Discount Private Space Shuttle Voyage,” and from where I sit that entitles the three-piece of guitarist Csaba Szőke, bassist Tamás Tikvicki and drummer Mátyás Mozsár to that cash and perhaps more. I could just as easily note “Sgt. Taurus on Coke” at the start of the outing or “The Melancholic Stag Beetle Who Got Inspired by Corporate Motivational Coaches” — or the essential fact that in addition to the best song titles I’ve seen all year (again, and perhaps more), the jams are ace. Chemistry to spare, patience when it’s called for but malleable enough to boogie or nod and sound no less natural doing either, while keeping an exploratory if not improvisational — and it might be that too — character to the material. It’s not a minor undertaking at 59 minutes, but between the added charm of the track names and the grin-inducing nod of “Cosmic Cities of the Giant Snail Kingdom,” they make it easy.

The Space Huns on Facebook

The Space Huns on Bandcamp

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Oldest Sea and Oktas Announce New England Shows for November

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 12th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Geez, guys. If you wanted to go look at leaves, it’s fine. You didn’t have to book a whole long-weekender in New England to make it happen. But I guess while you’re there…

Both from the Philadelphia-ish area — Oktas in the city proper, Oldest Sea somewhere on the other side of the river in my beloved Garden State — and both supporting ridiculously strong 2022 releases, it would seem that Oldest Sea and Oktas fit well as tour partners despite not having a whole lot in common sonically. Actually, maybe in part it’s because of that disparity in their respective approaches that the match feels like it makes so much sense. Yeah, they’re both under the general umbrella-categories of ‘heavy’ and ‘dark,’ but Oktas dove headfirst into extremity on their 2022 debut, The Finite and the Infinite (review here) while Oldest Sea‘s Strange and Eternal (review here) leaned into folk-tinged doom.

You know, it’s funny. I say those things like they’re two completely different worlds, but people outside of this thing? Outside of the sphere of underground influence? They’d neither know nor care about any aesthetic distance between one and the other here, or about the bands themselves, or the styles more generally. When I drop my kid off at school, I see all these normal people getting ready to go lead normal lives. I don’t think I’m better than anyone for being involved in what might be kindly regarded as a deviant subculture (definitely a compliment given dominant culture), but it sure does feel weird to have a bunch of specified knowledge about something that’s invisible to more than 99 percent of the general population.

Life is weird, is what I’m saying.

I’d do with new releases from both of these bands — gluttony forever — but for now I’m just glad they’re getting out, since the more they can spread the word about what they’ve done so far and what might come next, the better off they and anyone fortunate enough to attend one of these shows will be. I was talking about the many joys of Ralph’s Rock Diner the other day, and not sarcastically. Easily was my favorite venue in Massachusetts when we lived there, and this is exactly the kind of show that’s best to see in that spot.

Wherever you are though, give consideration to something new even if you’re not familiar with the bands. Think about it. Take a listen. Enjoy a bit of adventure. Maybe you want to go see the leaves too:

Oktas Oldest Sea tour

OLDEST SEA & OKTAS – New England Fall 2023

TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT

This November we’ll be heading up to New England with our buds in @oktasband

11.09 – Ralph’s Diner – Worcester MA
11.10 – The Mayday – Providence RI
11.11 – Urban Farm Fermentory – Portland ME
11.12 – The Monkey House – Burlington VT
11.13 – Desperate Annie’s – Saratoga Springs NY

Thanks to @stephasketch for the beautiful flyer artwork (#128420#)

Says Oktas: “We put together a fun New England tour with our friends Oldest Sea this November! Big thanks to Steph Stevenson for lending us one of her paintings for the poster!”

https://www.facebook.com/oldestsea
https://www.instagram.com/oldestsea/
https://oldestsea1.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/oktasband
https://www.instagram.com/oktasband/
https://oktas.bandcamp.com/

Oldest Sea, Strange and Eternal (2022)

Oktas, The Finite and the Infinite (2022)

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Ego Planet Set Oct. 29 Release for Self-Titled Debut; New Song Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 21st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

ego planet

Following suit from their prior single, New Jersey’s Ego Planet unveil ‘Butcher’s Blade,’ with a forward largesse of riff and melody wrapped in a tight structure. There’s some undercurrent of metal in the drumming, the way the bridge wants to gallop, but that push helps the punch of bass in the verse land with more force. Big rock. The band’s self-titled debut is set to issue on Oct. 29 through Argonauta Records, and preorders are up for LP and DL, the former of which has bonus tracks. And who doesn’t like bonus tracks?

Both “Butcher’s Blade” — I’m hearing a little Pallbearer in that chorus, but there’s a poppier sensibility too in how it moves; it’s my beloved Garden State, so it’s possible someone was in a pop-punk band in high school, though I don’t know that — and the prior single “The Call” are streaming at the bottom of this post. Way cohesive. I’m curious to see what Ego Planet‘s plans are, if they’ll tour at all, and so on. You’d think a band from NJ has it easy with New York up north and east and Philadelphia down south and west, Asbury Lanes in the middle, but that’s not always the case. Either way, “Butcher’s Blade” reinforces the notion that the songs are there, and I look forward to hearing the rest of the album.

From the PR wire:

ego planet self titled

GO PLANET Reveals Full Album Details; New Single “Butcher’s Blade” Now Streaming

After their recent signing with Italian label ARGONAUTA Records, US-based Heavy Rockers EGO PLANET released their impressive first single THE CALL, “the first Ego Planet song we finished writing back in 2020 as a pandemic ravaged the globe, protesters took to the streets to demand racial justice, and billionaires hoarded record amounts of wealth.” Says Jarrett (Vocalist/Lyricist) “I was being forced to face ugly truths on a daily basis and it was extremely uncomfortable. I found myself at times wanting to completely disengage from political issues and recede into my own world of comforting distractions. The song is about the allure of complacency and what it means to turn a blind eye while others fight for their right to exist.”

Today the band is excited to reveal full album details of their anticipated self-titled debut, which contains eight pummeling Hard Heavy Rock hymns made of intense vocals, massive riffs and resonant atmospheres, taking inspiration from the cosmic horror and psychedelic imagery. In January of 2021 recording began at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, NJ with owner/engineer Kevin Antreassian. The studio band features Jarrett Mead (Vocals), Chris Baker (Guitars/Bass) and Steve Iannettoni (Drums).

The epic new single “Butcher’s Blade” is now streaming on all digital platforms: https://ingrv.es/butcher-s-blade-sh4-d

“Ego Planet” will be released on Colored Vinyl Edition and Digital Download on the 29th of October.

Preorders are up at this address: https://www.argonautarecords.com/shop/

TRACKLISTING:
1. Swallow The Sun
2. The Call
3. Reflection
4. Entertainment
5. Butcher’s Blade
6. Leviathan
7. Faceless Children
8. Order Of The Tree
9. T.H.E.N. (Vinyl Bonus Track)
10. Dead Man’s Float (Vinyl Bonus Track)

https://www.facebook.com/egoplanetband
https://instagram.com/egoplanet
https://egoplanetband.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/Egoplanet

www.instagram.com/argonautarecords
www.facebook.com/argonuatarecords
www.argonautarecords.com/shop

Ego Planet, “Butcher’s Blade”

Ego Planet, “The Call” lyric video

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Patriarchs in Black to Release My Veneration Oct. 6

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

With the duo of guitarist/songwriter Dan Lorenzo (Cassius King, Hades, Non-Fiction, etc.) and drummer Johnny Kelly (ex-Type O NegativeDanzigSilvertomb, apparently Quiet Riot, among others) at their core, Patriarchs in Black return with their impending second album, My Veneration, set to arrive on Oct. 6 through MDD Records. The new release follows 2022’s Reach for the Scars and in addition to returning vocalist Karl Agell — whose new band Lie Heavy have their first record out and who sang on C.O.C.‘s Blind LP — and no less than the king Darryl McDaniels (DMC from Run DMC) showing up, there’s JohnJD” DeServio from Black Label Society and a guest-singer spot from Mark Sunshine, who used to be in New Jersey’s own RiotGod and is currently holding down frontman duties in Unida where once John Garcia dared to tread.

Those aren’t it, either. Johnny Araya (younger brother to Tom, now retired from Slayer), Kelly‘s brother Danny Kelly and Dog Eat Dog‘s Dave Neabore (his band has a new album coming out too; pretty productive group of individuals here) also take part, and if that sounds like it’s gonna be one big ol’ metal-dude party tied together with Lorenzo‘s ever-choice doomly riffs — the KISS cover aside — then yeah, I think that’s probably what they’re shooting for.

There’s a teaser up but I haven’t seen a single yet, so will keep an eye out for that. The PR wire has the following to offer:

Patriarchs in Black My Veneration

Second Album ‘My Veneration’ by Patriarchs In Black To Hit The Stores This October (with Johnny Kelly and Dan Lorenzo)

Patriarchs In Black, a unique collaboration of acclaimed musicians Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative/Quiet Riot) and Dan Lorenzo (Hades/Non-Fiction), are thrilled to announce the completion of their second album, “My Veneration”. Much like their debut album “Reach For The Scars”, the upcoming album brings together multiple singers and bassists. The album will be officially released on October 6, 2023, through MDD Records.

Returning artists include Karl Agell (Corrosion of Conformity Blind/Lie Heavy) and Rob Traynor from Black Water Rising. New collaborators like Mark Sunshine (Riotgod/Unida) have joined the project, contributing their unique vocal stylings. The album also features a song with hip-hop legend Darryl DMC from RUN/DMC and guest appearances from John “JD” DeServio (Black Label Society), Dave Neabore (Dog Eat Dog), and Johnny Araya. The album includes a rendition of Kiss’ hit “I Stole Your Love”, featuring Johnny Kelly’s brother, Danny Kelly. “My Veneration” will also be the project’s first to incorporate violin and keyboards, expanding the musical horizons of Patriarchs In Black.

Teaser of the “My Veneration” album is already available, offering a taste of the extraordinary collaborations and music to come.

The album is now available for pre-order on Amazon and MDD Records:

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KjhGDT
MDD: https://mdd-records.de/pib

For more updates about Patriarchs In Black and their new album, follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patriarchsinblack/

Stay tuned for more information about the release of “My Veneration” on October 6, 2023.

https://instagram.com/patriarchsinblack
https://patriarchsinblack.bandcamp.com/

https://facebook.com/MDDShop
https://mdd-records.de/

Patriarchs in Black, My Veneration teaser

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Quarterly Review: The Howling Eye, Avi C. Engel, Suns of the Tundra, Natskygge, Last Giant, Moonstone, Sonic Demon, From the Ages, Astral Magic, Green Inferno

Posted in Reviews on July 20th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-qr-summer-2020

Been a trip so far, has this Quarterly Review. It’s been fun to bounce from one thing to the next, drawing imaginary lines between releases that have nothing more to do with each other than being written up on the same day, and seeing the way the mind reels in adjusting from talking about one thing to the next. It’s a different kind of challenge to write 150-200 words (and often more than that; these reviews are getting too long) about a record than 1,000 words.

Less room to make your argument means you need to say what you want to say how you want to say it and punch out. If you’ve read this site with any regularity over the last however many years, or perhaps if you’re reading this very sentence right now, right here, you might guess that such efficiency isn’t a strong suit. This assessment would be correct. Fact is I suck at any number of things. A growing list.

But we’ve made it to Thursday anyhow and today this 70-record Quarterly Review passes its halfway point, and that’s always a fun thing to mark. If you’ve been digging it, I hope you continue to do so. If nothing’s hit, maybe today. If this is the first you’re seeing of any of it, well, that’s fine too. We’re all friends here. You can go back and dig in or not, as you prefer. I’ll keep going either way. Speaking of…

Quarterly Review #31-40:

The Howling Eye, List Do Borykan

The Howling Eye List Do Borykan

I don’t often say things like this, but List Do Borykan is worth it for the opening jam of “Space Dwellers, Episode 1.” That does not mean that song’s languid flow, silly stoned space-adventure spoken word narrative, and flashes of dub and psych and so on, are all that Poland’s The Howling Eye have to offer on their third full-length. It’s not. The prior single “Medival” (sic) has a thoughtful arrangement led by post-Claypool funky bass and surf-style guitar, which are swapped out for hard-riff cacophony metal in the second half of the song’s 3:35 run. That pairing sets up a back and forth between longer jams and more structured material, but it’s all pretty out there when you hear the seven song/44 minutes of the entire record, as the 10-minute “Brothers” builds from silence to organ-laced classic rock testimony and then draws itself down to let the funkier/rolling (depending on which part you’re talking about) “Space Dwellers, Episode 2” provide a swaying melodic highlight, and “Caverns” drones into jazz minimalism for nine minutes before “Space Dwellers, Episode 3” goes full-on over-the-top 92-second dance party. Finally. That leaves the closer, “Johnny,” as the landing spot where the back and forth jams/songs trades end, and they’re due a jam and provide one, but “Johnny” also follows on theme from “Space Dwellers, Episode 3” and the start of “Medival” and other funk-psych stretches, so summarizes List Do Borykan well. Again, worth it for the first song, but is much more than just that as a listening experience.

The Howling Eye on Facebook

Interstellar Smoke Records store

Galactic Smokehouse store

 

Avi C. Engel, Sanguinaria

Clara Engel Sanguinaria

Toronto-based folk experimentalist, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Avi C. Engel starts off the 10-song Sanguinaria with the first of its headphone-ready arrangements “Sing in Our Chains” assessing modernity and realizing, “We were better off in the trees.” In addition to Engel‘s actual voice, which is well capable of carrying records on its own, with a distinctive character, part soft and breathy in delivery but resilient with a kind of bruised grace and, as time goes on, grown more adventurous. In “Poisonous Fruit” and “The Snake in the Mirror,” folk, soul and organically-cast sprawl unfold, and where “A Silver Thread” brings in electric guitar and lap steel, “Deathless” — the longest cut at 6:33, arriving paired with the subsequent, textural “I Died Again” — is sparse at first but builds around whatever stringed instrument Engel (slow talharpa?) is playing and Paul Kolinski‘s banjo, standout vocal harmonies and a subdued keeping of rhythm. Along with Kolinski, Brad Deschamps adds lap steel to the opener and the more-forward-in-percussion “Extasis Boogie,” which is listed as an interlude but nearly five minutes long, and Lys Guillorn contributes lap steel to “A Silver Thread,” with all due landscape manifestation. Sad, complex, and beautiful, the 52-minute long-player isn’t a minor undertaking on any level, and “Personne” and the penultimate “Bridge Behind the Sun” emphasize the point of intricacy before the looping “Larvae” masterfully crafts its resonance across the last six minutes of the album.

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Avi C. Engel on Bandcamp

 

Suns of the Tundra, The Only Equation

suns of the tundra the only equation

Begun in 1993 as Peach, London heavy prog rockers Suns of the Tundra celebrate 30 years with the encompassing hour-long The Only Equation, their fifth album, which brings back past members of the band, has a few songs with two drummers, and is wildly sprawling across 10 still-accessible tracks that shimmer with purpose and melody. The title-track seems to harken to a ’90s push, but the twisting and volume-surging back half stave redundancy ahead of the patient drama in the 10-minute “The Rot,” which follows. On the other side of the metal-leaning “Run Boy Run,” with its big, open, floating, thudding finish representing something Suns of the Tundra do very well throughout, the three-part cycle of “Reach for the Inbetween” could probably just as easily have been one 15-minute cut, but is more palatable as three, and loses nothing of its fluidity for it, the build in the third piece giving due payoff before “The Window is Wide” caps in deceptively hooky style. Whether one approaches it with the context of their decades or not, The Only Equation is deeply welcoming. And no, its proggy prog progness won’t resonate universally, but nothing does, and that doesn’t matter anyhow. Without giving up who they are creatively, Suns of the Tundra have made it as easy as they can for one to get on board. The rest is on the listener.

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Bad Elephant Music on Bandcamp

 

Natskygge, Eskapisme

Natskygge Eskapisme

Natskygge sneak a little “Paranoid” into “Delir,” the instrumental opener/longest track (immediate points) of their second album, Eskapisme, and that’s just fine as dogwhistles go. The Danish classic psych rockers made a well-received self-titled debut in 2020 and look to expand on that outing’s classic vibe with this 34-minute eight-tracker, which is rife with creative ambition in the slower “Lys på vej” and the piano-laced “Fjern planet,” which follows, as well as in a mover/shaker like “Titusind år,” the compact three-minute strutter “Frit fald” or what might be the side B leadoff “Feberdrøm” with its circa-1999 Brant Bjork casual groove and warm fuzz, purposefully veering into psychedelia in a way that feels like a preface for the closing duo “Livet brænder,” an organ/keyboard flourish, grounded verse and airy swirls over top leading smoothly into the likewise-peppered but acoustically-based “Den der sidst gik ud,” which conveys patience without giving up the momentum the band has amassed up to that point. I’ll note that my ignorance of the Danish language doesn’t feel like it’s holding me back as “Fjern planet” holds forth its lush melancholy or “Titusind år” signals the band’s affinity for krautrock. Not quite vintage in production, but not too far off, Eskapisme feels like it was made to be lived with, the songs engaged over a period of years, and I look forward to revisiting accordingly.

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Kozmik Artifactz store

 

Last Giant, Monuments

last giant monuments

Portland’s Last Giant reportedly had a bit of a time recording their fourth long-player, Monuments, in a months-long process involving multiple studios and a handful of producers, among them Adam Pike (Holy Grove, Young Hunter, Red Fang, Mammoth Salmon, etc.) recording basic tracks, Paul Malinowski (Shiner, Open Hand) mixing and three different rounds of mastering. Complicated. Working as the three-piece of founder, principal songwriter, guitarist and vocalist RFK Heise (ex-System and Station), bassist Palmer Cloud and drummer Matt Wiles — it was just Heise and Wiles on 2020’s Let the End Begin (review here) — the band effectively fill in whatever cracks may have been apparent to them in the finished product, and the 10-track/39-minute offering is pop-informed as all their output to-date has been and loaded with heart. Also a bit of trumpet on “Saviors.” There’s swagger in “Blue” and “Hell on Burnside,” and “Feels Like Water” is about as weighted and brash as I’ve heard Last Giant get — a fun contrast to the acoustic “Lost and Losing,” which closes — but wherever a given track ends up, it is deftly guided there by Heise‘s sure hand. Sounds like it was much easier to make than apparently it was.

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Last Giant on Bandcamp

 

Moonstone, Growth

moonstone growth

Growth is either the second or third full-length from Polish heavy psych doomers Moonstone depending on what you count, but by the time you’re about three minutes into the 7:47 of second cut “Bloom” after the gets-loud-at-the-end-anyway atmospheric intro “Harvest” — which establishes an undercurrent of metal that the rest of the six-song/36-minute LP holds even in its quietest parts — ordinal numbering won’t matter anyway. “Bloom” and “Sun” (8:02), which follows, are the longest pieces on Growth, and that in itself speaks to the band stripping back some of their jammier impulses as compared to, say, late 2021’s two-song 12″ 1904 (discussed here), but while the individual tracks may be shorter, they give up nothing as regards largesse of tone or the spaces the band inhabit in the material. Flowing and doomed, “Sun” ends side A and gives over to the extra-bass-punch meditativeness of “Night,” the guitar building in the second half to solo for the payoff, while the six-minutes-each “Lust” and “Emerald” filter Electric Wizard haze and the proggy volume trades of countrymen like Spaceslug, respectively, close with due affirmation of purpose in big tone, big groove, and a noteworthy dark streak that may yet come to the fore of their approach.

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Interstellar Smoke Records store

Galactic Smokehouse store

 

Sonic Demon, Veterans of the Psychic War

Sonic Demon Veterans of the Psychic War

It’s not quite the centerpiece, but in terms of the general perspective on the world of the record from which it comes, there’s little arguing with Sonic Demon‘s “F.O.A.D.” as the declarative statement on Veterans of the Psychic War. As with Norway’s Darkthrone, who released an LP titled F.O.A.D. in 2007, Sonic Demon‘s “F.O.A.D.” stands for ‘fuck off and die,’ and that seems to be the central ethic they’re working from. Like most of what surrounds on the Italian duo’s follow-up to 2021’s Vendetta (review here), “F.O.A.D.” is coated in tonal dirt, a nastiness of buzz in line with the stated mentality making songs like swinging opener “Electric Demon” and “Lucifer’s the Light,” which follows, raw even by post-Uncle Acid garage doom standards. There are moments of letup, as in the wah-swirling second half of “The Black Pill,” a bit of psych bookending in “Wolfblood,” or the penultimate (probably thankfully) instrumental “Sexmagick Nights,” but the forward drive in “The Gates” highlights the point of Sonic Demon hand-drilling their riffs into the listener’s skull, and the actually-stoned-sounding groove of closer “To Hell and Back” seems pleased to bask in the filth the album has wrought.

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Sonic Demon on Bandcamp

 

From the Ages, II

from the ages ii

If you’re taking on From the Ages‘ deceptively-titled first full-length, II — the trio of guitarist Paul Dudziak, bassist Sean Fredrich and drummer David Tucker issued their I EP in 2021, so this is their second release overall — it is perhaps useful to know that the only inclusion with vocals is opener/longest track (immediate points) “Harbinger.” An automatic focal point for that, for its transposed Sleep influence, and for being about four minutes longer than anything else on the album, it draws well together with the five sans-vox cuts that follow, with an exploratory sensibility in its jam that feels like it may be from whence a clearly-plotted song like “Maelstrom” or the lumbering volume trades of “Tenebrous” originate. Full in tone and present in the noisy slog and pre-midpoint drift of “Epoch” as well as Dudziak‘s verses in “Harbinger,” From the Ages seem willful in their intention to try out different ideas, whether that’s the winding woe of “Obsolescence” or the acoustilectric standalone guitar of closer “Providence,” and while that can make the listener less sure of where their development might take them in stylistic terms, that only results in their being more exciting to hear in the now.

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From the Ages on Bandcamp

 

Astral Magic, Cosmic Energy Flow

astral magic cosmic energy flow

Not only is Astral Magic‘s Cosmic Energy Flow — released in May of this year — not the first outing from the Finnish space rock outfit led by project founder and spearhead Santtu Laakso in 2023, it’s the eighth. And that doesn’t include the demo short release with a live band. It’s also not the latest Astral Magic about two months after the fact, as Laakso and company have put out two full-lengths since. Unrealistic as this level of productivity is — surely the work of dimensional timeporting — and already-out-of-date as the eight-song/42-minute LP might be, it also brings Laakso into collaboration with the late Nik Turner of Hawkwind, who plays sax on the opening title-track, as well as guitarists Ilya Lipkin of Russia’s The Re-Stoned and Stefan Olesinski (Nuns on Napalm), and vocalists Christina Poupoutsi (The Higher Craft, The Meads of Asphodel, etc.) and Kev Ellis (Dubbal, Heliotrope, etc.), and where one might think so many personnel shifts around Laakso‘s synth-forward basic tracks would result in a disjointed offering, well, anything can happen in space and when you throw open doors in such a way, expectations broaden accordingly. Maybe it’s just one thing on the way to the next, maybe it’s the record with Nik Turner. Either way, Astral Magic move inextricably deeper into the known and unknown cosmos.

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Green Inferno, Trace the Veins

Green Inferno Trace the Veins

Until the solo hits in the second half of “The Barrens,” you almost don’t realize how much space there is in the mix on Green Inferno‘s Trace the Veins. The New Jersey trio like it dank and deathly as they answer the rawness of their 2019 demo with the six Esben Willems-mastered tracks of their first album, porting over “Spellcaster” and “Unearth the Tombs” to rest in the same mud as malevolent plodders like “Carried to the Pit” and the penultimate “Vultures,” which adds higher-register screaming to the already-established low growls — I doubt it’s actually an influence, but I’m reminded of Amorphis circa Elegy — that give the whole outing such an extreme persona if the guitar and bass tones weren’t already taking care of it. The tortured feel there carries into closer “Crown the Virgin” as the three-piece attempt to stomp their own riffs into oblivion along with everything else, and one can only hope they get there. New songs or the two older tracks, doesn’t matter. At any angle you might choose, Green Inferno are slow-churned extreme sludge, death-sludge if you want, fully stoned, drenched in murk, disillusioned, misanthropic. It’s the sound of looking at the world around you and deciding it’s not worth saving. Did I mention stoned? Good.

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Quarterly Review: Khanate, Space Queen, King Potenaz, Treedeon, Orsak:Oslo, Nuclear Dudes, Mycena, Bog Monkey, The Man Motels, Pyre Fyre

Posted in Reviews on July 19th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-qr-summer-2020

Ah, a Quarterly Review Wednesday. Always a special occasion. Monday starts out with a daunting look at the task ahead. Tuesday is all digging in and just not trying to repeat myself too much. Wednesday, traditionally, is where we hit the halfway point. The top of the hill.

Not the case this time since I’ll have 10 records each written up next Monday and Tuesday, but crossing the midpoint of this week alone feels like an accomplishment and you’ll pardon me if I mark it as such. If you’re wondering how the rest of the week will go, tomorrow is all-business and Friday’s usually a party one way or the other. My head gets so in it by the middle of next week I’ll be surprised not to be doing this anymore. So it goes.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Khanate, To Be Cruel

Khanate To Be Cruel

Who among mortals could hope to capture the horrors of Khanate in simple words? The once-New York-based avant sludge ultragroup end a 14-year hiatus with To Be Cruel, a fourth album, comprising three songs running between 19-21 minutes each that breed superlative hatefulness. At once overwhelming and minimalist, with opener “Like a Poisoned Dog” placing the listener in a homemade basement dungeon with the sharp, disaffection-incarnate bark of Alan Dubin (also Gnaw) cutting through the weighted slog in the guitar of Stephen O’Malley (also SunnO))), et al), the bass of James Plotkin (more than one can count, and he probably also mastered your band’s record) and the noise free-jazz drumming of Tim Wyskida (Blind Idiot God, etc.), they retain the disturbing brilliance last heard from in 2009’s Clean Hands Go Foul (discussed here) and are no less caustic for the intervening years. “It Wants to Fly” is expansive and wretched death poetry set to drone doom, a ritual made of its own misery, and the concluding title-track goes quiet in its midsection as though to let every wrenching anguish have its own space in the song. There is no one like them, though many have tried to convey some of what apparently only Khanate can. As our plague-infested, world-burning, war-making, fear-driven species plunges further into this terrible century, Khanate is the soundtrack we earn. We are all complicit. All guilty.

Khanate on Facebook

Sacred Bones Records store

 

Space Queen, Nebula

Space Queen Nebula EP

Though plenty atmospheric besides, Vancouver heavy fuzz rockers Space Queen add atmosphere to their nine-song/26-minute Nebula EP through a series of four interludes: the a capella three-part harmonies of “Deluge,” the acoustic-strummed “Veil” and “Sun Interlude,” and the finishing manipulated space-command sample in “End Transmission” after the richly melodic doom rock of “Transmission/Lost Causemonaut.” That penultimate inclusion is the longest at 6:14 and tells a story in a way that feels informed by the three-piece of drummer/vocalist Karli MacIntosh, guitarist/vocalist Jenna Earle and bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Seah Maister‘s past in the folk outfit Sound of the Sun, but transposes its melodic sensibility into a heavier context. It and the prior garage-psych highlight “When it Gets Light” — a lighter initial electric strum that arrives in willful-seeming contrast to “Darkest Part” immediately preceding — depart from the more straight-ahead push of opener “Battle Cry” and the guitar-screamer “Demon Queen” separated from it by the first interlude. Where those two come across as working with Alice in Chains as a defining influence — something the folk elements don’t necessarily argue against — the Nebula EP grows broader as it moves through its brief course, and flows throughout with its veering into and out of songs and short pieces. This is Space Queen‘s second EP, and if they’re interested in making a full-length next, they sound ready.

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Space Queen on Bandcamp

 

King Potenaz, Goat Rider

king potenaz goat rider

Fasano, Italy’s King Potenaz debut on Argonauta Records with Goat Rider, which conjures raw fuzz, garage-doom atmospherics, and vocals that edge toward aggression and classic cave metal, early Venom or Celtic Frost having a role to play even alongside the transposition of Kyuss riffing taking place in the title-track, which follows “Among Ruins” and “Pyramids Planet,” both of which featured on the trio’s 2022 Demo 6:66, and which set a tone of riff-led revelry here with a sound that reminds of turn-of-the-century era stoner explorations, but grows richer as it moves into “Pazuzu (3:33)” — it’s actually 5:18 — with guest vocals from Sabilla and the quiet three-minute instrumental “Cosmic Voyager” planet-caravanning into the 51-minute album’s second half, where “Moriendoom (La Ballata di Ippolita Oderisi)” and the even doomier “Monolithic” dig into cultish vibes and set up the bleak shuffle of nine-minute closer “Dancing Plague,” departing from its central ’90s-heavy riff into a mellow-psych movement and then returning from that outward stretch to end. Even at its most familiar, Goat Rider finds some way to harness an individual edge, cleverly using the mix itself as an instrument to create the space in which the songs dwell. It may take a few listens to sink in, but there’s real potential in what they’re doing.

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Argonauta Records store

 

Treedeon, New World Hoarder

Treedeon New World Hoarder

With the release of their third album, New World Hoarder, German art-sludgers Treedeon celebrate their first decade as a band. The combined vinyl-with-CD follows 2018’s Under the Manchineel (review here) and proffers raw cosmic doom in “Omega Time Bomb,” crossing the 10-minute line for the first time after the particularly-agonized opener “Nutcrème Superspreader” and before the title-track’s nodding riff brings bassist Yvonne Ducksworth to the fore vocally, trading off with guitarist Arne Heesch as drummer Andy Schünemann crashes cyclically behind. “New World Hoarder” gives over to side B opener “Viking Meditation Song,” which rolls like an evil-er version of Goatsnake, and “RHV1,” on which Heesch and Ducksworth share vocal duties, as they also do in 12-minute closer “Läderlappen” — a shouting duet in the first half feels long in arriving, but that’s how you know the album works — as the band cap with more massive chug following an interplay of melody and throatier fare. They’re right to ride that groove, as they’re right about so much else on the record. Like much of what Exile on Mainstream puts out, Treedeon are stylistically intricate and underrated in kind.

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Exile on Mainstream site

 

Orsak:Oslo, In Irons

Orsak Oslo In Irons

There are a couple different angles of approach one might take in hearing Orsak:Oslo‘s In Irons full-length. The Norway/Sweden-based instrumental troupe have been heretofore lumped in with heavy post-rock and ambient soundscaping, which is fair enough, but what they actually unveil in “068 The Swell” (premiered here), is a calming interpretation of space rock. With experimentalism on display in its late atmospheric drone comedown, “068 The Swell” moves directly into the more physical “079 Dutchman’s Wake (Part I),” the languid boogie feeling modern in presentation and classic in construction and the chemistry between the members of the band. The drums sit out much of the first half of “069 In What Way Are You Different,” giving a sense of stillness to the drone there, but the song embraces a bigger feel toward its finish, and that sets up the feedback intro to “078 The Mute (Part II),” which veers dreamily between amplifier drone and complementary melodic guitar flourish. Taking 17 minutes to do it, they close with “074 Hadal Blue,” which more broadly applies the space-chill of “068 The Swell” and emphasizes flow and organic changes from one part to the next. Immersive, it would be one to get lost in if it weren’t so satisfying to pay attention.

Orsak:Oslo on Facebook

Vinter Records website

 

Nuclear Dudes, Boss Blades

Nuclear Dudes Boss Blades

Fuck. Yes. As much grind as sludge as electronics-infused hardcore as it is furious, unadulterated noise, the 12-song/50-minute onslaught that is Boss Blades arrives via Modern Grievance at the behest of Jon Weisnewski, also of Sandrider, formerly of Akimbo. If Weisnewski‘s name alone and the fact that Matt Bayles mixed the self-recorded debut LP aren’t enough to pull you into the tornado of violence and maddening brood that opener “Boss Blades” uses to open — extra force provided by one of two guest vocal spots from Dave Verellen of Botch; the other is on “Lasers in the Jungle” later on — then perhaps the seven-minute semi-industrial march of “Obsolete Food” or the bruising intensity of “Poorly Made Pots” or the minute and a half of sample-topped drone psych in “Guitart,” the extreme prog metal of “Eat Meth” or “Manifest Piss Tape” will do the trick, or the nine-minute near-centerpiece “Many Knives” (which, if there’s a Genghis Tron influence here generally — and there might be — is more the last record than the older stuff) with its slow keyboard unfolding as a backdrop for Dust Moth‘s Irene Barber to make her own guest appearance, plenty of post-everything cacophony mounting by the end, grandiose and consuming. I could go on — every track is a new way to die — but suffice it to say that this is what my brain sounds like when my kid and my wife are talking to me about different things at the same time and it feels like my skull is on fire and I have an aneurysm and keel over. Good wins.

Nuclear Dudes on Instagram

Modern Grievance Records website

 

Mycena, Chapter 4

mycena chapter 4

Sometimes harsh but always free, 2022’s Chapter 4 from Croatian instrumentalist double-guitar five-piece Mycena — guitarists Marin Mitić and Pavle Bojanić, bassist Karlo Cmrk, drummer Igor Vidaković and synthesist/noisemaker Aleksandar Vrhovec — brings three tracks that are distinct unto themselves but listed as part of the same entirety, dubbed “Dissolution” and divided into “Dissolution Part 1” (17:49), “Dissolution Part 2” (3:03), and “Dissolution Part 3” (18:11), and it may well be that what’s being dissolved is the notion that rock and roll must be confined to verse/chorus structuring. Invariably, Earthless are a comparison point for longform instrumental heavy anything, and given the shred in “Dissolution Part 1” around five minutes deep and the torrent rockblast in the first half of “Dissolution Part 3” before it melts to near-silence and quietly noodles its way through its somehow-dub-informed last 11 or so minutes, building in presence but not actually blowing up to full volume as it caps. While totaling a manageable 39 minutes, Chapter 4 is a journey nonetheless, with a scope that comes through even in “Dissolution Part 2,” which may just be an interlude but still carries a steady rhythm that seems to reorient the band ahead of their diving into the extended final part, the band sounding natural in making changes that would undo acts with less chemistry.

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Mycena on Bandcamp

 

Bog Monkey, Hollow

bog monkey hollow

Filthy tone. Just absolutely nasty. Atlanta’s Bog Monkey tracked Hollow, their self-released debut LP, with Jay Matheson at The Jam Room in South Carolina, and if they ever go anywhere else to try to capture their sound I’d have to ask why. With seven cuts totaling 33 minutes play-time and fuzz-sludge blowouts a-plenty in “Facemint,” the blastbeaten “Blister” and the heads-down largesse-minded shove-off-the-cliff that is “Slither” at a whopping 2:48, Hollow transposes Conan-style shouted vocals on brash, thickened heavy, the bass in “Tunnel” and forward-charging leadoff “Crow” with its thrash-riffing hook is the source of the heft, but it’s not alone. Spacious thanks to echoes on the vocals, Hollow crushes just the same, and as the trio plunder toward the eight-minute “Soma” at the end, growing intense quickly out of a calmer intro jam and slamming their message home circa 3:40 with crashes that break to bass and guitar noise to establish the nod around which the ending will be based, all you can really do is look forward to the bludgeoning to come and be glad when it arrives. Don’t be fooled by their generic name, or the silly stoner rock art (which I’m not knocking; it being silly is part of the point). Bog Monkey bring together different styles in a way that’s thoughtful and make songs that sound like they just rose out of the water to fucking obliterate you. So go on. Be obliterated.

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Bog Monkey on Bandcamp

 

The Man Motels, Dead Nature

The Man Motels Dead Nature EP

Punkish in its choruses like the title-track or opener “Sports,” the four-song Dead Nature EP from South Africa’s The Man Motels is the latest in a string of short releases and singles going back to their 2018 full-length, Quit Looking at Me!, and they temper the urgency of their speediest parts with grunge-style melody and instrumental twists. Bass and drums at the base of “Young Father” set up the sub-three-minute closer as purely punk, but sure enough the guitar kicks in coming out of the verse and one can hear the Nirvana effect before it drops out again. Whether it’s a common older-school hardcore influence, I don’t know, but “Sports” and “Young Father” remind of a rawer Fu Manchu with their focus on structure, but “The Fever” is heavier indie rock and culminates in a tonally satisfying apex before cutting back to the main riff that’s led the way for… oh, about three minutes or so. All told, The Man Motels are done in 15 minutes, but they pack a fair amount into that time and they named the release after its catchiest installment, so there. Maybe not the kind of thing I’d always reach for in my own listening habits, but I’m not about to rag on a band for being good at what they do or showcasing their material with the kind of energy The Man Motels put into Dead Nature.

The Man Motels on Facebook

Mongrel Records website

 

Pyre Fyre, Pyre Fyre

pyre fyre pyre fyre

With a couple short(er) outings to their credit, Bayonne, New Jersey, three-piece Pyre Fyre present seven songs in the 18 minutes of their self-titled, which just might be enough to make it a full-length. Hear me out. They start raw with “Hypnotize,” more of a song than an intro, punkish and the shortest piece at 1:22. From there, the Melvins meet Earthride on “Flood Zone” and the range of shenanigans is unveiled. Produced by drummer/noisemaker Mike Montemarano, with Dylan Wheeler on guitar, Dan Kirwan on bass and vocals from all three in its hithers and yons, it is a barebones sound across the board, but Pyre Fyre give a sense of digging in despite that, with the echo-laced “Wyld Ryde” doled out like garage thrash, while “Dungeon Duster/Ice Storm” sounds like it was recorded in two different sessions and maybe it was and screw you if that matters, “Don’t Drink the Water” hits the brakes and dooms out with stoner-drawl vocals later, “Arachnophobia” dips into a darker, somehow more metal, mood, and the fuzzy “Cordyceps” ends with swagger and noise alike in just under two and a half minutes. All of this is done without pretense, without the band pausing to celebrate themselves or what they just accomplished. They get in, kick ass, get out again. You don’t want to call it an album? Fine. I respectfully disagree, but we can still be friends. What, you thought because it was the internet I was going to tell you to screw off? Come on now.

Pyre Fyre on Instagram

Pyre Fyre on Bandcamp

 

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The Atomic Bitchwax Announce UK & European Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 20th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

New Jersey heavy rock institution The Atomic Bitchwax were previously confirmed for Fall fests listed below like Into the Void Leeuwarden, Up in Smoke, Desertfest Belgium, Tabernas Desert Rock and Lazy Bones, and from the calendar spread of those, it was easy to guess that full tour dates were coming, but knowing that they’ll be in the company of good-time trio Daily Thompson as they go, and that they’ll be hitting the UK in addition to continental shows, these are good things to know. The band continue to road-dog it after a full European tour last year and an appearance earlier this year at Heavy Psych Sounds Fest in California.

And they’ll keep going. After they get back from this UK/Euro stint, there’s only like a week before Heavy Psych Sounds Fest in New York and Baltimore, and who knows what else they might have planned, as the trio of founding bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik, guitarist/vocalist Garrett Sweeny and drummer Bob Pantella prove that as the band approaches 25 years since the release of their self-titled debut album, not only are they not slowing down in tempo, but they’ve got the freneticism of work ethic to match. If you’ve never seen them, it’s not too late.

Sound of Liberation put word out of the tour thusly:

The Atomic Bitchwax uk eu tour

ATOMIC BITCHWAX!! Teaming up with the great Daily Thompson for a lot of shows this is something you should not miss! Check out the Tour Dates below, grab your tickets and join the party!

28.09.2023 (NL) Nijmegen, Merleyn (W/ Daily Thompson)
29.09.2023 (NL) Rotterdam, Baroeg (W/ Daily Thompson)
30.09.2023 (NL) Leeuwarden, Into the Void Festival
01.10.2023 (CH) Pratteln, Up In Smoke Festival
02.10.2023 (IT) Torino, Blah Blah
03.10.2023 (FR) Marseille, Le Molotov
05.10.2023 (ES) Barcelona, Upload
06.10.2023 (ES) Alicante, La Iguana Rock Bar
07.10.2023 (ES) Tabernas, Desert Rock Fest
08.10.2023 (PT) Porto, Hard Club (w/ Yawning Man)
09.10.2023 (ES) Cangas, Salason
10.10.2023 (ES) San Sebastián, Dabadaba
11.10.2023 (FR) Bordeaux, Sortie 13
12.10.2023 (FR) Nantes, Black Shelter
13.10.2023 (FR) Lille, La Malterie
14.10.2023 (UK) Crdiff, Clwb Ifor Bach (w/ Daily Thompson)
15.10.2023 (UK) Manchester, Rebellion (W/ Daily Thompson)
16.10.2023 (UK) Edinburgh, Bannermans (W/ Daily Thompson)
17.10.2023 (UK) Newcastle, Anarchy Brewing Company (W/ Daily Thompson)
18.10.2023 (UK) Hubbersfield, The Parish (W/ Daily Thompson)
19.10.2023 (UK) Milton Keynes, The Craudford Arms (W/ Daily Thompson)
20.10.2023 (UK) Bristol, Strange Brew (W/ Daily Thompson)
21.10.2023 (UK) London, Powerhouse (W/ Daily Thompson)
22.10.2023 (BE) Antwerpen, Desertfest
24.10.2023 (DE) Berlin, Cassiopeia (W/ Daily Thompson)
25.10.2023 (DE) Düsseldorf, Pitcher (w/Daily Thompson)
26.10.2023 (NL) Amersfoort, Podium FLUOR (W/ Daily Thompson)
27.10.2023 (DE) Fulda, Kulturkeller (W/ Daily Thompson)
28.10.2023 (DE) Hamburg, Lazy Bones Festival (W/ Daily Thompson)
29.10.2023 (DE) Erfurt, Bandhaus

The Atomic Bitchwax are:
Chris Kosnik – Bass
Bob Pantella – Drums
Garrett Sweeny – Guitar

http://www.theatomicbitchwax.com/
https://www.facebook.com/The-Atomic-Bitchwax-86002001659/

http://teepeerecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/teepeerecords/

The Atomic Bitchwax, Scorpio (2020)

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Ego Planet Sign to Argonauta Records for Debut Album; New Song “The Call” Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 26th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

ego planet

Catchy and melodic with clarity behind its construction and fullness in the actual recording, “The Call” is a first listen to what New Jersey’s Ego Planet will have on offer with their upcoming debut LP. North Jersey, no less. Dudes are practically in my backyard, recording in Rockaway. See you down at Factory Records there, Ego Planet. Maybe stop through Shop-Rite in Wharton? Hit the mall and talk about when it had the brown tiles everywhere and smelled like cigarettes all the time — otherwise known as the ’80s?

Geographic novelty aside, the single is solid. Forward structurally in a way that says to me someone here is a KISS fan, but filtered through a bevvy of ’90s influences, some straightforward some not, and a serving-notice showcase for vocalist Jarrett Mead, who tracked his parts while living in Seattle. The melody and hook in “The Call” are resonant, tinged with an atmosphere of sociopolitical resistance — they don’t name names, but that aspect is there and I’m not complaining — and the song is enough to remind you that Monster Magnet are from my beloved Garden State too and once had a song called “Ego the Living Planet” without sounding like either of those things so directly. If you’re tentative on diving in (why?), it’s under four minutes and ain’t hurting nobody.

Have at it:

ego planet the call

New Jersey Heavy Rockers EGO PLANET Sign To ARGONAUTA Records; New Single “The Call” Now Streaming

Ego Planet is a Heavy Rock band based in New Jersey, formed in 2020 from a collection of instrumental demos founder, Chris Baker, wrote in the midst of the Covid-19 quarantine.

After several months of writing, Chris partnered up with vocalist/lyricist, Jarrett Mead, to add a voice to his music. The two collaborated to finish 10 songs remotely while Jarrett was living in Seattle, WA. In January of 2021 recording began at Backroom Studios in Rockaway, NJ with owner/engineer Kevin Antreassian. The studio band features Jarrett Mead (Vocals), Chris Baker (Guitars/Bass) and Steve Iannettoni (Drums).

Says the band: “We are beyond stoked to join the Argonauta family for the release of our first full-length album. We can’t thank Gero enough for the opportunity and for believing in our music. Can’t wait for everyone to hear the songs.”

Give ear to the first single THE CALL, from the upcoming full length whose complete details will be revealed soon: https://youtu.be/_1c-VUgumog

https://www.facebook.com/egoplanetband
https://instagram.com/egoplanet
https://egoplanetband.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/Egoplanet

www.instagram.com/argonautarecords
www.facebook.com/argonuatarecords
www.argonautarecords.com/shop

Ego Planet, “The Call”

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