Live Review: Freak Valley Festival 2025 Night Two

Posted in Features, Reviews on June 21st, 2025 by JJ Koczan

Early Moods (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Before show

I heard the noon bell ring in Netphen, and made it to the AWO grounds in time for the start of the pre-show yoga session. I did it last year as well, at least one of the days, and it was a good flow. I’ve been doing yoga at home with the intent of building a habit, but you know how that goes. It’s so much easier to not do the things that are good for you.

Hot in the sun though.Snail at Freak Valley yoga (Photo by Peter Holland) There was a big snail nearby that I showed to Pete from Elephant Tree, who’s a regular and a volunteer hanging out here each year. I felt like I was five years old for how excited I was. Pete took the picture.

What I didn’t realize was how much time had passed, so when Volker Fröhmer came out to introduce the first band of the day, it was a jolt back to reality. And since I’d heard the screams in their line check, I knew reality was about to hit hard.

Insert clever segue here:

Häxer

From Norway, and the drummer had the Høstsabbat tshirt to prove it. I had my favorite one on yesterday; missing that festival as I have had to these last couple years it’s pretty worn in, so it’s only in light rotation; special occasions. Häxer brought punker punishment. Flourishes of extreme metal, brutal high-register screams — dude sounded like he could go all day doing that shit, which is fortunate because they’re playing again later on the small stage — and uptempo charge to the opening of the day. It’s a hot one but there’s shade available for when it’s needed and abundant water. Having been rushed at the start of their set — which turned out to be wholly appropriate to the music — I found a spot to catch up and watched as the singer crowdsurfed mid-verse and the band blasted through the kind of boozy punkmetal that’s become a staple of the Norwegian underground. Thrash and punk and black metal were always threaded. Häxer highlighted just how potent a blend that can be. Even the bass was anthemic. Probably not what I’m reaching for on a mellow afternoon at home, but undeniably on their shit onstage.

Wedge

Another of the many firsts for me this weekend. I’ve loosely followed Wedge since the Berlin trio’s inception, circa 2014, and they remain a vital presence in the German scene, so it wasn’t quite the ‘finally!’ sigh of relief that was catching My Sleeping Karma the night before had been, but I knew enough to look forward to their set and felt justified in that as they played, working in and out of boogie traditionalism with a sound that’s grown and expanded over time. Again, I found a spot in the shade and watched the crowd fill in over the course of the band’s time, veering into soulful psych with a foundation that’s still classic and an overarching mellow spirit that felt just right for the day. It wasn’t a comedown from Häxer, though the songs were lower and slower, more melodic, etc., as the crowd became a sea of nodding heads in the sunshine, which is always fun to see. They’re more than four years removed from their latest album, Like No Tomorrow (review here) and I’ve no PA what they have planned going forward, but the way they jammed out sure made it seem like they were having a good time, so maybe one of these days an announcement will come through. They killed it in the meantime. The kind of band you want to see again.

Zig Zags

L.A.’s Zig Zags released their fifth LP, Deadbeat at Dawn, just at the end of last month, and although I haven’t heard the album, the title-track was recognizable. This is the power of punk, and it’s not a minor consideration in Zig Zags’ sound, but very purposefully not the limit of it. They weren’t the first band of the day to celebrate the hybridization of punk and thrash metal, but they made it live, for sure. They’ve been around for a bit at this point — five records, if you want to measure time that way — and I have to think they alienate as many people as they might ensnare with their sound. If you’re a headbanger or a punker exclusively, Zig Zags are blasphemy, but if you’re the rare kind of cat who can get down with both, they’re type band, and sure enough, I know people in Los Angeles who swear by them. I get it. They’re an act who make complex ideas feel simple, obviously approach what they do without a milligram (or an ounce in the States) of pretense, and every now and then, they locked into a Slayer riff or a rolling nod — speedy, but there — and that was right on as well. Maybe they’re not alienating so much as something for everybody. Also notable, the mist cannon, which I’ve absolutely been shot by point blank in the photo pit in years past, made an appearance by the show of the stage. It was greeted as a liberator and I was happy to spend Zig Zags’ declarative “Punk Fucking Metal” adjacent to the spritz.

Battlesnake

The inevitable answer to the question of who the dudes walking around the backstage in vestments were, Sydney, Australia’s Battlesnake — entirely new to me — reveled in blasphemy, pairing upbeat push with a heaping dose of shenanigans amid double-guitar harmonies and the weekend’s first — perhaps only — keytar. The songs, which were at least half the point of the show, were varied around a foundation in classic metal, and if ‘fun’ was a subgenre, that might be the closest description. A couple slowdowns, a couple speed-ups, and the energy onstage to sell all of it, they weren’t shy in letting a little chaos in alongside the tight songwriting and a pastiche that went from doom to thrash, and with that in consideration, they slayed, in terms of presentation and craft, as well as that one breakdown from whichever song it was. They would seem to be in Europe for the summer, with UK and continental shows sandwiched by being here and Hoflärm on August, but the riffs packed the lawn, the theatrics made it a good time, and they continued the day’s subtle theme in communing with metal of yore from a fresh point of view. If you’re the type who really likes heavy metal that takes itself too seriously, avoid. Didn’t seem to be an issue with the Freak Valley crowd. Go figure. They’ll definitely make an impression on tour.

¡Pendejo!

Mostly Dutch, ¡Pendejo! are connected to Spanish music and culture via frontman El Pastuso, who doubles as part of what to my knowledge will be the weekend’s only horn section. The combination, horns with heavy riffing and Spanish-language vocals, is the essential component in what they do, along with the encouraging shove that typifies their doing it. Completely on another wavelength sound-wise from Battlesnake, they nonetheless maintained the electricity and the good times fostered by the preceding act and were catchy whether you spoke the language or not. I wandered a bit after doing photos and came to land in the same spot as during Battlesnake, so I guess you can mark that a win, since shade. The shenanigans carried over as the band stood blasted out pulse-raisers like they were going out of style — they’re not — and though I missed 2023’s Volcán, they lived up to my expectations from their prior material, and it was a perfect moment for the diversion in the centerpiece position of the day, with four bands before and four after. They earned that spot though. Working up there, they were.

Early Moods

The intensity of the afternoon starting to wain, Early Moods line checked their guitars with “Heaven and Hell,” which, man, that’d be a cover to hear. The L.A. doom metallers have been out with Zig Zags on a European tour, and though I’ve seen them before, in the interim, they put out 2024’s sophomore record, A Sinner’s Past (review here) and done a buttload of touring — like Pendejo, they brought their own banner — and so were less the upstart kids taking on not only doom, but epic doom of the Candlemassian strain than a seasoned touring act who know what they’re about and ready to steamroll whatever should happen to be in their path. This particular evening, that was Freak Valley. They were in control from the outset and suitably severe in their delivery, digging into the angles of their transitions as well as the nod of the verses. They were a band who started with a strong idea of what they wanted to do, and they’re still relatively young, but they growth they’ve undertaken was as palpable from the stage as it was on the album last year, and they felt like they were setting themselves up for the longer haul. Easy to appreciate an outfit who can bring doom to life in such a way. The crowd also went off, so they’ve got that going for them as well.

Sacri Monti

It had been a minute or two, Sacri Monti. The San Diego heavy psych rockers were starting about three weeks of Euro touring, which will take them to Stoned From the Underground and Poland’s Red Smoke Festival, among others, before they’re done. They were out with Elder in the US this Spring as well, supporting their 2024 full-length, Retrieval (review here). The last time I saw them was at Roadburn 2018, where they were part of a collective of featured acts from San Diego, where the scene at the time was vibrant. Nowadays I tend to think of them as survivors, having not only made it through that weekend intact, but pursued their own ends on tour and in the studio instead of posing out for Instagram or working on their ‘brand.’ They’re still rooted in a 1970s style, but have taken on progressive flourish and intention behind that, and it was a pleasure to see them again after seven years, not the least with Mad Alchemy’s lightshow on the giant stageside screens. I’d been looking forward to it and wasn’t the only one. They’re veterans at this point, but they still sound like a growing band. That’s how it goes sometimes, in the best of scenarios.

Motorpsycho

With 90 minutes at their disposal, Norwegian prog legends Motorpsycho have the longest set of Freak Valley 2025, and considering the back catalog of well over 100 releases, that’s probably reasonable. They started psych and jammy, which it turned out what was I needed, before turning more toward structure and complexity, and neither am I going to complain about that. I was dragging — no reason to lie — but they were more immersive than I’d been expecting. Another one I’ve seen before, once or twice, at least, but it’s been a while. The thing with Motorpsycho is they’re always moving forward. Yeah, that’s resulted in a lot of albums and whatnot, but more, it’s resulted in a band who’ve been at it since 1990 and never stopped evolving. The rarity of that is not to be discounted just because you don’t know where to start in their discography. The people up front got there early and clearly knew very well why they were right to do so, and Motorpsycho played the sun down to bring some relief from the heat, which was due. I’m not an expert or anything, but I do my best, and beat as I was, even I understood the profundity of what I was seeing and hearing. Lush, gorgeous, theirs.

The Ocean

I don’t recall ever seeing The Ocean before, but I remember when they came were on Metal Blade, and I’m certainly aware of the excellent work frontman Robin Staps does with Pelagic Records, so they’re kind of in the orbit, loosely. They took the prog of Motorpsycho and metallized it, intersplicing post-metal crush with melodic reach and nuance. I didn’t stay, but they were tearing it up when I left and it was still packed, so it was me, not them. Reasonable. The Ocean have been a professional band for over trio decades at this point, and they had the lighting to prove it as well as the extended changeover after Motorpsycho, during which Häxer took their turn on the small stage for their second set of the day (had a mosh going and everything). I hung in for a couple The Ocean songs until the strobe put me over the top and I went to catch a cab back to the room, finish writing, sort the day’s photos, and most importantly, sleep for every second possible. Oh, but heads up, they had room mics over the drums and crowd mics at the front of the stage, so if a live album surfaces, don’t say you weren’t warned.

I’m going to leave it there because that’s what my eyes closing while I type means. Back at it tomorrow for the last day of the fest. Grateful to be here. Super-grateful there’s another yoga session before the day starts.

More pics after the jump.

Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Down the Hill 2025 Adds Gong, Focus, The Atomic Bitchwax, Neptunian Maximalism and More; Lineup Complete

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 6th, 2025 by JJ Koczan

Check out Down the Hill 2025 bringing in a few classic proggers. Gong, FocusSeven That Spells are playing too. Being no slouches in the heavy prog department themselves, I bet those guys are gonna freak out to see Gong. I get it.

This is the full lineup for Down the Hill this year. The Belgian-based fest did two, and so everybody is included here to best of my knowledge. I don’t know about you, but I look at the poster, who’s gonna be there with bands like Monkey3Skyjoggers with Sula Bassana sitting in on guitar, Travo, Neptunian Maximalism and The Bevis Frond alongside The Atomic Bitchwax and Pendejo and Godsleep and I think you get an immediate sense of vibe in and out of progressive and psychedelic and driving heavy rock and roll, a bit of sludge snuck in.

I don’t imagine I’ll be there to see it, but it looks good from here. I’ve been in Belgium once, just long enough to transfer trains and screw up ordering coffee. Perhaps redemption someday:

down the hil 2025 poster sq

🔥 DOWN THE HILL – FINAL BAND WAVE UNLEASHED! 🔥

You thought it couldn’t get any crazier? You thought the first wave was intense? Buckle up, because we’re about to send seismic shockwaves through the valley!

THE FINAL WAVE OF BANDS IS HERE!

Modder – Crushing sludge that will swallow you whole!
Astodan – Cinematic post-rock to lose yourself in.
Atonia – A musical force defying borders and genres.
Neptunian Maximalism – NNMM – Psychedelic doom-jazz from another dimension.
Pendej0 – Horn-fueled stoner madness straight from the gutter.
The Atomic Bitchwax – New Jersey’s high-octane rock ‘n’ roll power trio!
Tangled Horns – Dirty, dark and dangerously addictive.
RONKER – Belgium’s own speednoise wrecking crew!
Sula Bassana & Skyjoggers – A cosmic trip like no other.
Focus the band – Prog legends bringing timeless rock mastery.
Hedvig Mollestad Trio – A jazz-rock firestorm you can’t escape.
Gong – The psychedelic pioneers return to take you on a cosmic ride!

But wait, let’s not forget the first wave of killer acts that have already been announced!

Apex Ten – Hypnotic, space-infused krautrock madness.
Capitan – Heavy-hitting rock that grabs you by the throat.
Godsleep – Greek stoner grooves set to shake the earth.
Hemelbestormer – Cosmic post-metal that bends time and space.
Motorikofficial – Krautrock propulsion at its finest.
TRAVO – Fuzzed-out psych sounds that hypnotize.
Wheel of Smoke – Riff-driven journeys through sonic dimensions.
Seven That Spells – The masters of high-energy psych explosions.
monkey3 – Swiss instrumental rockers taking you to the stars.
The Bevis Frond – Legendary psych-rock brilliance from the UK.

🔥 DOWN THE HILL 2025 is set to be the most explosive edition yet! 🔥

🎟 Tickets are moving FAST! Don’t miss your chance to witness this lineup LIVE! 🎟

www.downthehill.be/tickets

https://www.facebook.com/DownTheHillFestival/
https://www.instagram.com/downthehillfestival/
http://www.downthehill.be/

Gong, Unending Ascending (2023)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Freak Valley 2025: First Announcement Brings The Devil and the Almighty Blues, Windhand, Early Moods and More

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

First names are out for Freak Valley 2025, and though I wouldn’t take the invitation for granted, it does warm my heart to think of The Devil and the Almighty Blues bringing their heavy preach to the AWO grounds in Netphen, standing on that stage, introduced by the esteemed Volker Fröhmer with a hearty “viel spaß!” or seeing the horn-laced shenanigans of Pendejo, the classic doom metal roll of Early Moods or the cosmic futurism of Kombynat Robotron, Travo who I never thought I’d ever see, ever, but whose record I very much dug, and Zig Zags, Wedge, Lurch and Scott Hepple and the Sun Band.

Richmond, Virginia’s Windhand — who just released a demo collection on Creep Purple called Songs From the Satan House and whose bassist, Parker Chandler (also Cough), quit the band about a week ago with some less than complimentary things to say about his experience — are the top name thus far on the bill, and aside from their needing new low end representation, it seems likely they’ll be at Freak Valley as part of a tour. Could Early Moods or Zig Zags join? It’s possible but not definite. Seems likely The Devil and the Almighty Blues will be on the road as well from their home in Norway, as they’ve also been confirmed for Desertfest London and Desertfest Berlin 2025, as well as Sonic Whip 2025, after playing Desertfest Oslo and others this year.

If they end up filling the dates between fests with club shows, that’s a fair amount of touring without a new record, so maybe Spring will bring news of a new The Devil and the Almighty Blues as well, or maybe those guys have just hit the point where they can show up for whatever reason and there’s a slot for them. If you’ve ever seen them live, that’s wholly justified.

Either way, a lot to like here in the variety, in the names themselves, and in the thought of taking in another wonderful weekend standing in the grass at Freak Valley, which is starting to feel an awful lot like a home when I get back each year. Hopefully that includes 2025 as well. Here’s the announcement, which I would usually have written, but I whiffed on because of the Quarterly Review. I’ll try and catch the next one if they’ll let me. Text and poster hit socials on Friday:

freak valley 2025 first names

🌵 Get ready, Freaks! 🌵

The countdown to Freak Valley Festival 2025 has officially begun, and we’re beyond stoked to announce the first wave of bands set to blow your minds and melt your faces!

Brace yourselves for the crushing doom of Windhand, the blues-drenched heaviness of The Devil and the Almighty Blues, and the psychedelic thunder of Wucan! If that wasn’t enough, we’re cranking up the intensity with the raw power of. ¡Pendejo! , the crushing riffs of Early Moods, and the punk/metal chaos of Zig Zags.

But that’s just the beginning! Prepare to lose yourself in the cosmic grooves of Kombynat Robotron, get wild with the retro rock of Wedge, and let Travo, Lurch, and Scott Hepple and The Sun Band take you on mind-bending sonic journeys.

This is just the start, so get ready for more epic announcements soon. Mark your calendars, tune your ears, and prepare for the freakiest weekend of the year. Freak Valley 2025 is coming… and it’s going to be legendary!

See you in the valley! 🤘

Regular Tickets will first be available 14.October at Die Tintenpatrone in Siegen-Weidenau

15. October 18:00 / 6pm CET at online @ https://fvf.ticket.io/

Your Rock Freaks

https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
http://www.freakvalley.de/

Wucan, Live at Deutschlandfunk (2023)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

¡Pendejo! Release Toma EP Today Featuring Covers and Live Tracks

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

pendejo

One would expect no less of ¡Pendejo! that if they were going to do a thing at all, they would go big. Covers? Why not? How about Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath? Yeah, that’ll do nicely. Today marks the release date of Toma, a kind of double-EP released with four covers — including “Wrathchild” and “The Wizard” by the legends noted above, as well as the theme from the tv show Narcos, which I’ve never seen I think mostly because it’s not Star Trek and a take on ’70s pop star Mari Trini for good measure — and four live tracks on a 12″ that was met with the ubiquitous vinyl delays. They note a six-month push in the press release below. I’m hearing it’s up to eight now. If anybody wants to open a pressing plant just for independent releases and labels, hit me up.

¡Pendejo! have live dates in September, though I’m not sure what the Euro lockdown situation will be by then, considering that’s all of a week away and too far in the future to predict, but you can stream Toma below and it’s available physically now, the band having already put in the wait.

Dig:

pendejo toma

¡PENDEJO! releases Toma on August 26th

Dutch rockers ¡Pendejo! launch Toma, an album featuring four covers: Iron Maiden’s Wrathchild, The Wizard from Black Sabbath, Narcos theme Tuyo, and Mari Trini’s hit from the seventies, Déjame. The original plan was to release an EP with just covers, but the band decided to add four live songs, recorded previously. Frontman El Pastuso explains:

“We wanted to do a covers-only EP with six songs, but in the end we thought only four were good enough. And an EP with only four covers on it just seamed a bit meager to us, especially if you want to put it on vinyl too. We remembered having those live recordings from our album release party of Sin Vergüenza, which we never gave much attention until then. Anyway, we thought it would be cool to add one or two live tracks, but ended up choosing four. So yeah, what to call Toma? It wasn’t meant as a full length album, and it isn’t. I guess it ended up being a EP-plus or something like that.”

The band already released three covers from Toma digitally in 2020, but couldn’t launch the album sooner than now as a result of long waiting lines at all vinyl production factories.

“Production times are crazy now. Sixteen weeks, twenty weeks, some even make you wait half a year for your vinyls. I heard one of the only two remaining lacquer plants bunt down, causing all the delay. Or maybe everyone got creative during lock-down? I don’t know, but in the end the timing isn’t that bad, just in time before we hit the road again with some really cool shows in Holland in September.”

Toma will be available from August 26th on CD and on a limited edition of black and of transparent vinyl.

Tracklisting:
1. Wrathchild
2. Tuyo
3. El Mago
4. Déjame
5. Flotadores (en vivo)
6. Dos (en vivo)
7. Bulla (en vivo)
8. Hacia La Luz (en vivo)

https://www.facebook.com/pendejoband/
https://www.instagram.com/pendejoband
https://pendejoband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.pendejoband.com/

¡Pendejo!, Toma (2021)

¡Pendejo!, “Don Gernán” official video

Tags: , , , ,

Pendejo Post “El Rutger” Video; Touring in January

Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 9th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

pendejo

I’m not a big conspiracy theory guy. I’m just not. I don’t believe in chemtrails or false-flag shootings, and I think a lot of the current spate of political conspiracy about the Deep State, pizzagate and shit like that is either people being angry and making up somewhere to put it because they don’t know where it should really go, or manipulation by political entities whose interests they serve. Frankly, I think if you look around at the world, there’s enough horrible, genuinely evil crap going on right in front of your eyes that it seems to me any efforts to hide it behind government mind control or some such, if they exist, simply don’t work. My country cut 700,000 people off food assistance this week, to save money after giving a tax cut to the uppermost reaches of the income bracket two years ago. That level of cruelty isn’t a conspiracy. It’s the news.

That said, I do have a couple favorite conspiracy theories. My number one has always been that all figures of power, wealth and cultural sway are actually part of a species of disguised lizard people who’ve taken over our planet, presumably to rob it of its resources, or maybe better, just to screw with us. I like that. I don’t believe it’s true, but if you think it’s ridiculous, I’ll say only in response that it’s no more so than “god has a plan,” which is a thing plenty of humans believe. Flat-earth has been giving the lizard people a run for their money since I watched that Netflix documentary about it, but I think long-term, it’s still lizard people all the way.

All of this brings us round to Pendejo‘s new clip for “El Rutger,” which posits a conspiracy theory of malevolent blondes who’ve taken over the world who seem to be the progeny of Margaret Thatchet and Augusto Pinochet — because obviously. From the US to Russia to France to the Netherlands, these children have risen to the seats of highest power and are setting about destroying the world. The avenging angel, as you’ll see in the video, is himself a blonder: the recently-deceased Rutger Hauer. The actor most famous for his role in Blade Runner returns as a literal angel, wings and all, and sets the world to rights with fireballs shot from his hands. Or maybe he’s bringing about the endtimes? Now that I think about it, I’m not really sure, and of course, since the lyrics are in Spanish, I’m relying on what minimal translation I can pick up from reading on the screen. I’m sure you can figure it out.

Either way, it’s kind of brilliant.

“El Rutger” here is an edit taken from Pendejo‘s 2018 album, Sin Vergüenza (review here), and the band have a quick string of tour dates lined up for next month as they continue to support that record. You’ll find those listed under the video below. The truth, as ever, is out there.

Please enjoy:

Pendejo, “El Rutger” official video

Video by Antonio Villar

Artist: ¡Pendej0!
Song: El Rutger
Length: 03:49
Taken from “Sin Vergüenza’.
Recorded, re-mixed and re-mastered by Pieter ‘Deyvi’ Kloos.
Produced by Pieter Kloos and ¡Pendej0!
Lyrics by El Pastuso
Music by Stef ‘El Rojo’ Gubbels and Jaap ‘Monchito’ Melman.

Pendejo Jan. 2020 tour:
JAN 9 La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland Centraf’ Tropic
JAN 10 Luzern, Switzerland The Bruch Brothers
JAN 11 Lenzburg, Switzerland Met-Bar
JAN 12 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany ArTik
JAN 16 KufA Haus Westbahnhof 13
JAN 17 Jena, Germany Rosenkeller e.V.
JAN 18 Sittard, Netherlands Poppodium Volt

Pendejo on Thee Facebooks

Pendejo on Bandcamp

Pendejo website

Tags: , , , ,

Pendejo Announce Tour Dates with Banda de la Muerte; New Video Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 9th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

Pendejo

If you were to ask me outright what the lead track of Pendejo‘s latest album, last year’s Sin Vergüenza (review here), was about, I probably wouldn’t have guessed a disagreement over liking an author. Wouldn’t have called it, I’m not ashamed to admit. However, thanks to magic of translated subtitles, I now know what I didn’t know before I watched the video for “Don Gernán,” though I’ll say that when the tale being told gets down to the “punchline,” as it were, it ends up a little bit more in line with where one might think. I won’t spoil it for you.

Pendejo head out next month on a round of Dutch and German tour dates with Argentina’s Banda de la Muerte, and if that sounds like a raucous time, I have no doubt it will be. Dates, links, and of course that video follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:

pendejo tour

¡Pendejo! announce Dutch and German tour dates with Banda de la Muerte (Arg) and release new video

Heavy rockers ¡Pendejo! announce their ‘Gracias y Perdón Tour’, with their long-time Argentinian touring buddies of Banda de la Muerte, who just released the first track of their upcoming album ‘Labirinto Eléctrico’.

The tour will bring both bands to three Dutch and eight German cities and is a follow up of ¡Pendejo!’s ‘Schamloser Frühling Tour’ in Germany last May and a 25+ show support-stint with Monster Magnet in 2018.

¡Pendejo! also just launched their video for ‘Don Gernán’, the opening track of their latest album ‘Sin Vergüenza’ (released in Europe on 30 November 2018). The album is scheduled for a physical release in Mexico and Colombia later this year.

TOUR DATES and Event-links:
11/10 – STROOMHUIS – EINDHOVEN
https://www.facebook.com/events/1594189474046011
12/10 – LITTLE DEVIL – TILBURG
https://www.facebook.com/events/352356375696644
13/10 – MUSICON – DEN HAAG
https://www.facebook.com/events/870018026706061
17/10 – MTC – COLOGNE
https://www.facebook.com/events/453241268568147
18/10 – VILLA – WEDEL
https://www.facebook.com/events/438785826674640
19/10 – HD – DRESDEN
https://www.facebook.com/events/384438322073780
20/10 – ALTE HACKEREI – KARLSRUHE
https://www.facebook.com/events/295347447949845
23/10 – DAS BETT – FRANKFURT
https://www.facebook.com/events/670248436738339
24/10 – FLOWER POWER – MAGDEBURG
https://www.facebook.com/events/342438096679769
25/10 – SUPAMOLLY – BERLIN
https://www.facebook.com/events/2273463022919855
26/10 – MS STUBNITZ – HAMBURG
https://www.facebook.com/events/416553132536005

https://www.facebook.com/pendejoband/
https://pendejoband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.pendejoband.com/

¡Pendejo!, “Don Gernán” official video

Tags: , , ,

Quarterly Review: JOY Feat. Dr. Space, Rosetta, Pendejo, Lightsabres, Witch Hazel, CBBJ, Seedium, Vorrh, Lost Relics, Deadly Sin (Sloth)

Posted in Reviews on March 22nd, 2019 by JJ Koczan

quarterly-review-spring-2019

Day Five. What would traditionally be the end of the Quarterly Review if going to six wasn’t the new going to 11. Whatever, I can hack it. The amount of good stuff included in these batches really helps. I’m not saying there are days that are a flat-out bummer, but I feel like the proportion of times in this Quarterly Review I’ve gone, “Wow, this is pretty awesome,” has seen a definite spike this time around. I won’t complain about that. Makes the whole thing fun.

Today will be no exception, and then we finish up on Monday with the last 10. Thanks for reading if you do.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

JOY Feat. Dr. Space, Live at Roadburn 2018

joy feat dr space live at roadburn 2018

Brought together as part of the ‘San Diego Takeover’ at Roadburn 2018 that featured a host of that city’s acts performing in an even broader host of contexts, JOY and Scott “Dr. Space” Heller of Øresund Space Collective took the stage at the tiny Cul de Sac near the very end of the festival. It was how I closed out my Roadburn (review here). Dr. Space did a short spoken introduction and then they were off and they didn’t look back. The centerpiece of the limited LP is an extended jam simply titled “Jam.” It’s edited on the platter, but the digital version has the full 54 minutes, and the more the merrier. They round out with takes on Road‘s “Spaceship Earth” and JOY‘s “Miles Away,” and those are cool too, but the real highlight is about halfway through the longer “Jam” when the drums kick into the next gear and you suddenly snap out of your trance to realize how far you’ve already come. And you’re still only at the midpoint. I don’t know. Maybe you had to be there. So be there.

Øresund Space Collective on Thee Facebooks

JOY on Thee Facebooks

JOY Feat. Dr. Space at Øresund Space Collective Bandcamp

 

Rosetta, Sower of Wind

rosetta sower of wind

Philadelphia-based post-whatever-you-got outfit Rosetta continue to set their own terms with Sower of Wind, a self-recorded four-track/half-hour offering that’s something of an outgrowth of their most recent album, Utopioid. Broken into four tracks each assembled from ideas and layers churning throughout the four sections of that record, it brings out the ambient side of the band as guitarist/keyboardist/bassist Matt Weed serves as engineer for “East,” “South,” “West” and “North” as he, guitarist/keyboardist Eric Jernigan and vocalist Mike Armine — who here just adds samples and noise — construct fluid soundscapes that can either build to a head, as on “East” or offer a sense of foreboding like “West” and “North,” depending solely on the band’s will. It’s intended as an exploration, and it sounds like one, but if that wasn’t the point, Sower of Wind probably wouldn’t have been released in the first place. It’s not at all their first ambient release, but this modus continues to be viable for them creatively.

Rosetta on Thee Facebooks

Pelagic Records webstore

 

¡Pendejo!, Sin Vergüenza

pendejo sin verguenza

Whatever your current working definition might be for “over the top,” chances are Pendejo — also stylized as the exclamatory ¡Pendejo! — will make short work of it. Sin Vergüenza, their third long-player, sees release through their own Chancho Records imprint, and it’s not through opener “Don Gernàn” before the Amsterdam-based outfit break out the horns. Fronted by El Pastuso, who supplies the trumpet, the band roll through dense toned heavy rock in a crisply-executed, high-energy 10 tracks and 40 minutes that, even when you think they’re letting up, on the later “El Espejo,” they still manage to burst out a massive riff and groove in the second half. It’s the kind of record that’s breathtaking in the sense of you’re trying to run to keep up with its energy. That, however, should not be seen as undercutting the value of the band’s songwriting, which comes through regardless of language, and whether it’s the start-stops of “La Mala de la Tele” or the gleeful weirdo push of “Bulla,” Pendejo have their sonic terrain well staked out and know how to own it. They sound like a band who destroy live.

Pendejo on Thee Facebooks

Pendejo webstore

 

Lightsabres, A Shortcut to Insanity

LIGHTSABRES A SHORTCUT TO INSANITY

It’s rare for an artist to grow less predictable over time, but Lightsabres mastermind and multi-instrumentalist John Strömshed hits that standard with his former one-man outfit. Joined by session drummer Anton Nyström, Strömshed brings forth 11 tracks of genre-bending songcraft, melding fuzz and progressive folk, downer rock and thoughtful psych, garage push with punker edge, and seemingly whatever else seems to serve the best interests of the song at hand. On “Born Screaming,” that’s a turn to classical guitar plucking sandwiched on either side by massive riffs and vocals, like that of “Tangled in Barbed Wire,” remind of a fuzz-accompanied take on Life of Agony. At just 36 minutes, A Shortcut to Insanity isn’t long by any means, but it’s not an easy album to keep up with either, as Strömshed seems to dare his listenership to hold pace with his shifts through “Cave In,” rolling opener and longest track (immediate points) “From the Demon’s Mouth” and the sweetly melodic finale “Dying on the Couch,” which is perhaps cruelest of all for leaving the listener waiting for the other shoe to drop and letting that tension hang when it’s done.

Lightsabres on Thee Facebooks

DHU Records webstore

 

Witch Hazel, Otherworldly

Witch Hazel Otherworldly

Classic-style doom rockers Witch Hazel shift back and forth between early metal and heavy rock on their second full-length, Otherworldly, and the York, Pennsylvania, four-piece of vocalist Nate Tyson, guitarist Andy Craven, bassist Seibert Lowe and drummer Nicholas Zinn keep plenty of company in so doing, enlisting guest performances of organ and other keys throughout opener “Ghost & the Fly” and “Midnight Mist” and finding room for an entire horn section as they round out 11-minute closer “Devastator.” Elsewhere, “Meat for the Beast” and “Drinking for a Living” marry original-era heavy prog with more weighted impact, and “Zombie Flower Bloom” plays out like what might’ve happened if mid-’80s Ozzy had somehow invented stoner rock. So, you know, pretty awesome. The strut and shuffle of “Bled Dry” adds a bit of attitude late, but it’s really in cuts like the title-track and the aforementioned “Midnight Mist” earlier on that Witch Hazel showcase their formidable persona as a group.

Witch Hazel on Thee Facebooks

Witch Hazel on Bandcamp

 

CBBJ, 2018 Demo

CBBJ 2018 Demo

To a certain extent, what you see is what you get with CBBJ‘s 2018 Demo, right down to the wood paneling on the cover art. The band’s name — also written as CB/BJ — would seem to be taken from its members, Cox (that being Bryan Cox, founding drummer of Alabama Thunderpussy), Ball, Bone, and Jarvis, and as they look toward a Southern Thin Lizzy on demo finale “The Point of it All,” there’s something of a realization in what they’re putting together. It’s four tracks total, and finds some thrust in “Wreck You,” but keeps it wits there as well as in the sleazier nod of “The Climb” that precedes it as the opener and even in the penultimate “Can’t Go Home,” which gives booziest, earliest AC/DC a treatment of righteous bass. They’re apparently in the studio again now, or they just were, or will, or won’t, or up, or down, but whatever. Point is it’ll be worth keeping an ear out for when whatever comes next lands.

CBBJ on Thee Facebooks

CBBJ on Bandcamp

 

Seedium, Awake

seedium awake

Go on and get lost in the depths of Seedium‘s debut three-songer, Awake. The Polish outfit might be taking some cues as regards thickness from their countrymen in Dopelord or Spaceslug, but their instrumental tack on “Mist Haulers,” “Brain Eclipse” and “Ruina Cordis” oozes out of the speakers with right-on viscosity and comes across as infinitely stoned. The centerpiece tops 11 minutes and seems to indicate very little reason they couldn’t have pushed it another 10 had they so desired, and through “Ruina Cordis” is shorter at a paltry 7:08, its blasted sensibility and ending blend of spaciousness and swirl portends good things to come. With the murky first impression of “Mist Haulers” calling like a prayer bell to the riff-worshiping converted, Seedium very clearly know what they’re going for, and what remains to be seen is how their character and individual spin on that develops going forward. Still, for its tones alone, this first offering is a stunner.

Seedium on Thee Facebooks

Seedium on Bandcamp

 

Vorrh, Nomads of the Infinite Wild

vorrh nomads of the infinite wild

Programmed drumming gives Nomads of the Infinite Wild, the debut release from the Baltimore duo of Zinoosh Farbod and John Glennon an edge of dub, but the guitar work of songs like “Mercurial,” looped back on itself with leads layered overtop and Farbod‘s echoing vocals, remains broad, and the expansive of atmosphere puts them in a kind of meditative post-doom feel. Opener “Myths” strikes as a statement of purpose, and as “Morning Star” shows some Earth influence in the spaces left by Glennon‘s guitar, the band immediately uses that nuance to craft an individual identity. “Flood Plane” saunters through its instrumental trance before getting noisy briefly at the finish, only to let “These Eyes” work more effectively through a similar structure with Farbod on keys, seeming to set up the piano-foundation of “Ancient Divide,” which closes. This is a band who will benefit greatly from the fact that they record themselves, because they’ll have every opportunity to continue to experiment in the studio, which is exactly what they should be doing. In the meantime, Nomads of the Infinite Wild effectively heralds their potential for aesthetic innovation.

Vorrh on Thee Facebooks

Vorrh on Bandcamp

 

Lost Relics, 1st

lost relics 1st

Well, they didn’t call it 1st because it’s their eighth album. Denver noise rock trio Lost Relics debut with the aptly-titled 18-minute four-songer, bringing Neurosis-style vocal gutturalism to riffy crunch more reminiscent at times of Helmet‘s discordant heyday. Dense tonality and aggression pervade “Dead Men Don’t Need Silver,” “Scars,” the gets-raucous-later “Whip Rag” and closer “Face Grass,” which somehow brings a Clutch influence into this mix, and even more somehow makes it work, and then even more somehow indulges a bit of punk rock. The vocals and sense of tonal lumber tie it all together, but Lost Relics set a pretty wide base for themselves in these tracks, leaving one to wonder how the various elements at work might play out over the course of a longer release. As far as a debut EP goes, then, that’s the whole point of the thing, but something seems to be saying Lost Relics have more tricks up their sleeve than they’re showing here. One looks forward to finding out if that’s the case.

Lost Relics on Thee Facebooks

Lost Relics on Bandcamp

 

Deadly Sin (Sloth), VII: Sin Seven

deadly sin sloth vii sin seven

Deadly Sin (Sloth) play the kind of sludge that knows how well and truly fucked we are. The kind of sludge that doesn’t care who’s president because either way the chicken dinner you’re cooking is packed full of hormones. The kind of sludge that well earns its Scott Stearns tape artwork. VII: Sin Seven is not at all void of melody or purpose, as “Ripping Your Flesh” and the Danziggy “Glory Bound Grave” grimly demonstrate, but even in those moments, its intent is abrasion, and even the slower march of “Icarus” seems to scathe as much as the raw gutterpunk in “F One” and opener “Exit Ramp”‘s harshest screams. Not easy listening. Not for everybody. Not really for people. It’s a malevolent bludgeoning that even in the revivalism of “Blood Bought Church” seems only to be biding its time until the next strike. It does not wait all that long.

Deadly Sin (Sloth) on Thee Facebooks

Deadly Sin (Sloth) on Bandcamp

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

¡Pendejo! to Reissue Cantos a la Vida Sept. 15; Preorders Available

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 18th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

pendejo photo carlos lopez

Netherlands-based and Latin-inspired heavy rockers ¡Pendejo! are three years removed from their second album, Atacames (review here), and on Sept. 15, the esteemed Kozmik Artifactz will dip back even further to give their 2010 debut, Cantos a la Vida, its first-ever official vinyl release. The trumpet-prone outfit are now past the decade mark since their inception and while I haven’t seen word of new material in the works, with a four-year split between the first and second albums, it doesn’t seem outside the realm of possibility they might have something brewing for 2018. That’s speculation, of course, but a reissue of their debut would make a good lead-in to build momentum going into a third record.

Either way, Kozmik Artifactz has the limited LP up for preorder now and sent info and links and whatnot down the PR wire. Wouldn’t you know it, it’s all right here:

pendejo cantos a la vida

¡PENDEJO! – Get ready for the heavy grooves of “Cantos a la Vida” on vinyl for the first time EVER!

¡PENDEJO! is a four-piece heavy rock band from the Netherlands, founded by two cousins with a history in Latin America. Digging into their Latino roots, El Pastuso and Jaap ‘Monchito’ Melman started blending heavy riffage, pounding drums, right-in-your-face lyrics in urban Spanish about the weirdest stories in life, and to top it all off, a screaming trumpet.

‘Cantos a la Vida’ (2010), the band’s first full length album, was initially released in Spain and warmly received an array of stunning reviews. A bit later, the band released the album in the Benelux too. Now finally, for the first time ever, this milestone of heavy rock, that ‘Cantos a la Vida’ truly is, receives its long deserved vinyl release!

Having played mostly in the underground scene throughout Europe and Latin America – and sharing stages with influential heavyweights like Fu Manchu and Karma to Burn – the band puts on a show for anyone who is not afraid to be grabbed by the cojones and be thrown into a spicy puddle of chile con carne.

Release Date: 15th September 2017

VINYL FACTZ
– Plated & pressed on high performance vinyl at Pallas/Germany
– limited & coloured vinyl
– 300gsm gatefold cover
– special vinyl mastering

TRACKS
1. Flotadores
2. LLoron
3. Arrecho Vengo
4. Tan Tan Tan
5. La Vagancia
6. Juanita
7. El Taxista Limeño
8. La Ruta
9. Comunicado
10. Nadadores
11. Eclypse 2000

¡PENDEJO! are:
Vox/Trumpet – El Pastuso
Guitar – Loco Ed
Bass – Stef ‘El Rojo’ Gubbels
Drums – Sjoerd van der Knoop

https://www.facebook.com/pendejoband/
http://twitter.com/pendejoband
https://pendejoband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.pendejoband.com/
http://kozmik-artifactz.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kozmikartifactz
http://shop.bilocationrecords.com/navi.php?suchausdruck=pendejo&JTLSHOP=feea12544391b9c1425dad91cf034bf7

¡Pendejo!, Cantos a la Vida (2010)

Tags: , , , ,