Posted in Whathaveyou on June 18th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
With shows lined up for July throughout the Iberian Peninsula, culminating in a slot at SonicBlast 2026, Arizona-based doom wretches Goya will return to the road Stateside in September to support Norwegian rockers Kal-El on a West Coast tour. The three-piece recently welcomed new drummer Ben Wise in place of Marcus Bryant, who contributed to last year’s In the Dawn of November (review here), which marked the band’s first LP to be released on Blues Funeral Recordings.
The trio have been in progress on new material, as guitarist/vocalist Jeffrey Owens notes below, and no doubt the West Coast run will help keep momentum on their side as we move into Fall and start looking toward what might be in the works for 2027. I have no idea what Goya‘s plans are or timing on the next record, but you can bet that by the time they’re done in Colorado Springs on Oct. 10 to cap the tour, the dynamic will be on lock. I could think of worse ways to lead into writing and/or recording.
Word came down the PR wire:
Doom metal punishers GOYA announce European & North American shows!
Arizona doom metal unit GOYA are set to hit the Western tip of Europe with a short summer tour that includes various festivals. The band will also join their labelmates Kal-El on their upcoming fall US tour to support their acclaimed new album “In the Dawn of November” released on Blues Funeral Recordings.
Guitarist and vocalist Jeffrey Owens comments: “We’re excited to move into a new era of Goya with our new drummer, Ben Wise. CJ and I have been working with him on some fresh songs. We hope to have enough to make our next record before too long, and we think it’s the best iteration of our music yet, as well as a natural evolution. Bringing this vibe around the world couldn’t make us happier.”
With sprawling compositions, titan-heavy riffs drenched in fuzz and haunting atmospherics, GOYA don’t just play doom music: they embody it to the core. Unrelenting and immersive, their fourth studio album and Blues Funeral Recordings debut In the Dawn of November is raucous, hypnotic and defiantly punishing. Recorded by Jack Endino (High On Fire, Soundgarden), this new sonic onslaught from the heavy desert trio takes no prisoners while sweeping everything in its path. Watch their latest videos Depressive Episode and In the Dawn of November!
European summer shows 29 July – Madrid – Wurlitzer Ballroom 30 July – Getxo – Txirinfest 31 July – Santander – Rock and Beer the New 01 Aug – Langreo-Asturias – Castru Garganta 02 Aug – Leon – Doomnight – Xana del Torio 07 Aug – Vila Praia de Ancora, Portugal – SonicBlast
North American fall tour 2026 w/ KAL-EL 9/23 – Phoenix, AZ – Last Exit Live 9/24 – Las Vegas, NV – Dive Bar 9/25 – Landers, CA – The Annex 9/26 – Palmdale, CA – Transplants Brewing 9/27 – Los Angeles, CA – Redwood Bar & Grill 9/29 – San Francisco, CA – DNA Lounge 9/30 – Sacramento, CA – Cafe Colonial 10/1 – Eugene, OR – John Henry’s 10/2 – Portland, OR – The High Water Mark 10/3 – Seattle, WA – The Funhouse 10/4 – Vancouver, BC – Astoria 10/6 – Spokane, WA – The Chameleon 10/7 – Boise, ID – The Olympic 10/8 – Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High Saloon 10/9 – Denver, CO – Black Sky Brewery 10/10 – Colorado Springs, CO – What’s Left Records
Goya is: Ben Wise – Drums Jeffrey Owens – Guitar/Vocals CJ Sholtis – Bass
Eight wretched years after their last missive, Harvester of Bongloads (review here), depressive Arizona riffers Goya return with In the Dawn of November, which is unmistakably their most miserable work to-date. Of course that’s a compliment, since misery is what they’re shooting for. All your faux, on-the-internet spiritual enlightenment, toxic positivity and birthday wishes can fall down a well; it’s time for “Sick of Your Shit.” It feels like a hallmark of our age that something dark and downer is automatically considered more realistic, but if you can look at the world around you in 2025, planet and people, and feel good about it, you’re either clueless or an asshole.
It’s not with pseudo-Buddhist posturing that guitarist Jeffrey Owens opines that “Existence is pain” so much as casual observation. As Goya close in on the band’s 15th anniversary next year, Owens is the remaining founding member and as In the Dawn of November rolls out with its eight-minute title-track, his delivery and cynicism become a major part of the impression and persona of the album. Not surprising, right? That’s kind of always been the case with Goya, but — and this might be maturity creeping into their approach; this is their fourth LP after all — the weed-worship and horror-cinema themes have been largely put to the side in favor of honing in on the despondent.
Production by Jack Endino — as if to say ‘we’re not screwing around this time’ — who of course is known for his work in the heavy underground with High on Fire, Windhand, Nebula, etc., never mind CV lines like Nirvana, gives life to the lumbering roll of “In the Dawn of November,” and from CJ Sholtis‘ bass intro onward, a current of Type O Negative creeps into Goya‘s sound instrumentally, offering sympathy in the culminating leads, but coming across as resigned more than hopeful with the repeated line, “Please let me go.” This ending is backed by the declarative, righteous, highlight swing of “Cemetery Blues,” punctuated by Marcus Bryant‘s thudding toms and marching to the hi-hat and smooth kick.
The underlying influence of Electric Wizard is still there — the Dorset doom mainstays have always been a factor in Goya‘s approach — but “Cemetery Blues” is less stoned, swings more and hits lands harder. Preston Bryant‘s synth later on gives a sense of flourish that “In the Dawn of November” seemed to purposefully withhold, and there’s more lead guitar antics, but “Cemetery Blues” is still about the riff at its foundation. It holds its direction for the duration, and is right to do so, sounding inspired in addition to making a show of its wretchedness and wanting to die. In succession, “Depressive Episode” and “Sick of Your Shit” follow. The former is faster, speeding up the swing, and “Sick of Your Shit” brings lines like, “You think you’re fucking cool/You’re just another piece of shit I despise,” that, if you’re the ‘you’ in question, is probably enough to ruin your day.
So much the better, then, to be in the proper headspace for the remainder of In the Dawn of November. It’s noteworthy that “Depressive Episode” manages to speed up the proceedings without losing the clarity in Sholtis‘ bass or Owens‘ guitar. The rumble is there, it just moves, and the Endino mix gives it the space to do so, even amid the wah-insanity atop the gallop in the back half. “Sick of Your Shit” is slower and marks the presumed start of side B. It makes itself welcome with a quick intro groove before a “blech” marks the transition to the riff-proper, and goes on to position itself in the running for your feel-awful hit of the summer. Just in time for wildfires, continued daily numbing to corruption and political violence, and ongoing genocide. The song isn’t about any of that stuff, at least not outwardly, but again, it for sure feels like it’s speaking to the moment we’re in.
To that end comes the 12-minute “I Wanna Be Dead.” With just the instrumental epilogue “Comes With the Fall” after it — which I think makes the penultimate track ‘the fall’ in this case — “I Wanna Be Dead” is as much a blanket musical statement as it is a straightforward lyrical declaration. In Sabbathian tradition, it starts with a storm and a bell tolling, and it gradually unfolds around that backdrop with crashes and a pointedly doomly cast. It is Goya at their most Goya, with Owens layering vocal lines for emphasis on his way to shouting into the void, “There’s nothing after this/To be a corpse/But of course,” in unmitigated and winking glorification of death.
The next lines lay it out: “It’s just the fantasy within my head/I’m hoping/I’m praying/I’m waiting/I wanna be dead,” and then the title lyric repeats to really nail down the hook. That chorus is definitive for the song itself, but at 12 minutes, obviously there’s more going on than Owens saying he wants to die. The spacious, organ-laced break in the middle allows for atmospheric flourish in a way that a lot of the album has eschewed — preface for “Comes With the Fall,” which is more obscure with its vague speech sample, noise and meandering layers of guitar — and gives over to the solo in an effective reveal of the build the band has just begun to pay off.
It finishes by casting ‘a pox upon the human race’ and pushing into deeper heft after a last run through the chorus, complemented by the returning keys. A lot of how a given listener approaches In the Dawn of November will probably come down to their own disposition in the world around them. How much misanthropy can you take? How much negativity is too much? How low can you go? Goya make a show of their depression, and dare to make it a very specific kind of fun — again Type O Negative feel like a factor — but if you can’t hang with a dude talking straight up about how he wants his life to be over, well, this probably isn’t the first time you’ve run into the problem in doom.
There’s a challenge in there as well, though. Doom, as a genre, as a worldwide community, has a problem with mental health and the ongoing spate of suicides and early deaths to prove it. I don’t know if it’s something to be reconciled with or just sad about, but In the Dawn of November is unflinching in accounting for its own joylessness. If Owens or anyone else in the band needs help, I hope they get it, but I’ve been in that place where it feels like there’s no point in moving forward and found myself repeatedly turning to music to prove myself wrong. Perhaps there can be catharsis here, in such a vivid expression.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 15th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
If you missed it — and I know you didn’t, but stay with me — Arizona worshippers Goya posted their video for the second single from their impending album, In the Dawn of November, toward the end of last week. It’s called “Depressive Episode” and you’ll find it below. The band will release the album on June 13 through Blues Funeral, and before it’s even out, they’ll be on the road headed east for a round of shows in the Midwest and along the Atlantic Seaboard, keeping sludgy company with their labelmates in Toke-offshoot Bronco, whose self-titled debut (review here) came out at the end of February.
The two bands will be out together for about two weeks, and Goya have a couple shows after as they make their way home. The list of dates is below and the video for “Depressive Episode,” the prior clip for the title-track, and the audio stream of both all follow here, because one likes to be thorough while also probably missing out on a bunch of whathaveyou.
The poster and dates came from socials:
Tour with Bronco starts in one month.
JUN 12-Chicago, IL-Reggie’s/Music Joint JUN 13-Indianapolis, IN-State Street JUN 14-Cleveland, OH-The Winchester JUN 15-Melvindale, MI-Parts and Labor JUN 17-Toronto, ON-Bovine Sex Club JUN 18-Montreal, QC-Bar Blue Dog JUN 19-Portland, ME-Geno’s Rock Club JUN 20-Jamaica Plain, MA-The Midway Cafe JUN 21-Brooklyn, NY-The Wood Shop JUN 22-Philadelphia, PA-Nikki Lopez JUN 23-Richmond, VA Banditos JUN 25-Winston-Salem, NC Hoots JUN 27-Atlanta, GA Boggs Social and Supply* JUN 28-New Orleans, LA Gasa Gasa* JUN 29-Houston, TX White Oak Upstairs*
*no Bronco
Goya is Marcus Bryant – Drums Jeffrey Owens – Guitar/Vocals CJ Sholtis – Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 13th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Hard-distortion-wielding Phoenix, Arizona, stoner crushers Daytripper will make their way to the Eastern Seaboard next month to play June 19 at Maryland Doom Fest. They come in herald and support of their 2024 debut album, Book I: The Trip, which is likewise molten, addled, and punishing, bringing together classic stoner metallurgy with sludgier and more guttural impulses, riffly worship and a heroic dose of nod. As I invariably would, I whiffed on the record last year, but take a listen to “Staff of the Bog,” “Jarl’s Eyes” and the death-lurch-into-keyboardy-sprawl “Marijuanakon” are deceptively engrossing. The AdamBurke cover art is not at all misplaced.
You will recall that last week, Maryland Doom Fest announced this would be their final edition. Take Daytripper‘s inclusion in it as a sign of the festival commitment to embracing newer acts right up to the end. That’s only part of what makes Doom Fest special, but it’s a big part.
From the PR wire:
DAYTRIPPER ANNOUNCES “DESERT DWELLERS” TOUR
Listen to Book I: The Trip on all major streaming platforms.
Phoenix, AZ’s rising force in desert stoner doom, Daytripper, is hitting the road this June for a five-date run across the South and East Coast, in support of their debut album, Book I: The Trip. The Desert Dwellers Mini Tour will bring the band’s crushing riffs, immersive live show, and psychedelic desert energy to select cities.
With a sound rooted in the heavy traditions of doom, wrapped in storytelling and ritualistic atmosphere, Daytripper has crafted a debut that’s already turning heads in the underground scene. Book I: The Trip is the band’s official debut album, originally released in March of last year and later issued on vinyl by California-based Wet Records. It’s a raw and passionate record built on deep grooves, hypnotic atmosphere, and a genuine love for the craft — a bold testament to the spirit of Arizona Desert Doom and the band’s dedication to pushing the genre forward.
“This album is what AZ Desert Doom is all about. This community has inspired us, and we put everything we had into making this record. We hope everyone can sit back, spark up, and join us on this trip.” said the band.
“We have paused our recording and composition process to make these dates. But we hope to bring more news soon.”
Don’t miss your chance to experience Daytripper live on this limited run:
DESERT DWELLERS TOUR DATES June 15 – Austin, TX – Valhalla June 16 – New Orleans, LA – The Goat June 19 – Frederick, MD – Maryland Doom Fest June 21 – Raleigh, NC – Kings June 22 – Lexington, KY – Al’s Bar
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 13th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Goya will release their first album in eight years, In the Dawn of November, on June 13 as their label-debut for Blues Funeral. Led off by its weighty-grooving title-track, the follow-up to 2017’s Harvester of Bongloads (review here) reaffirms the Phoenix trio among the dankest of riff worshippers the heavy ’10s wrought, whether it’s the title-track’s crawling catchiness, “Cemetary Blues” rolling out like Electric Wizard jamming with Type O Negative, organ and all, or “Depressive Episode” kicking the tempo for a dark stoner shuffle, “Sick of Your Shit” bring lumber and a standout vocal from guitarist Jeffrey Owens, “I Wanna Be Dead” bringing back some of that gothy vibe but doing it in a what-it’s-all-about 12 very, very stoned minutes of heavy pummel and suitably lethal hookmaking, or the vague outro “Comes With the Fall” thereafter — oops that’s the whole record; I guess it goes down smooth.
But while it does all that reaffirming, In the Dawn of November also offers clear growth in songwriting, performance, production and stylistic scope, and while celebrating their influences is still a part of Goya‘s purpose as a band, they’ve never come across as identifiably their own as they seem to in this material. I’m looking forward to getting to know the album better, but it’s a striking first impression, and I know nodders will be nodding. Will hope to have more to come. Video and audio for the title-track are at the bottom of the post.
From the PR wire:
Phoenix doom metal trio GOYA to release new album “In the Dawn of November” on Blues Funeral Recordings; stream title track now!
Phoenix, Arizona doom metal torchbearers GOYA have signed to Blues Funeral Recordings for the release of their fourth studio album “In the Dawn of November” this June 13th, and present the spine-shivering video for its title track today.
Goya is a Phoenix, Arizona doom metal band known and revered for delivering mountain-heavy riffs drenched in copious amounts of fuzz on top of haunting psychedelic atmospherics. Formed in 2011 by guitarist and vocalist Jeffrey Owens, the band takes its cue from genre pioneers like Electric Wizard, Acid King and Sleep, crafting a sound that is as hypnotic as it is defiantly punishing.
In the fall of 2024, Goya entered Soundhouse Studios in Seattle with legendary producer Jack Endino (High On Fire, Year of the Cobra, Soundgarden) to lay down a monolithic work of graveyard grooves and bleak reflections to herald their towering return with their most accomplished and unwaveringly bone-crushing record to date — leading the trio to ink a deal with revered Albuquerque-based label Blues Funeral Recordings. “We are proud to welcome these Arizona desert doom stalwarts to the label with a new LP of crushing cosmic sludge! Goya has historically done almost everything themselves, and we’re grateful for the trust they’ve shown by allowing us into their fortress to do what we do and help spread their monolithic riff-heaviness farther than ever before,” said label founder Jadd Shickler.
Let Goya crush your souls with new video “In the Dawn of November” + listen to the single on all streaming services: https://lnkfi.re/goyanovember
About the song, frontman Jeffrey Owens comments: “The eight years since the last Goya record have brought me face to face with some hard truths about life. I’m getting older, and mortality has struck me in new ways, so this album is largely a meditation on death. In the Dawn of November is the natural evolution of the band, and the culmination of everything that came before it, simultaneously signifying a new era for Goya.”
TRACKLIST: 1. In the Dawn of November 2. Cemetary Blues 3. Depressive Episode 4. Sick of Your Shit 5. I Wanna Be Dead 6. Comes with the Fall
Goya’s 2012 demo showcased their early potential, but it was their debut full-length “777” (2013) that announced their fearsome arrival in the doom underground. With sprawling, riff-heavy compositions and occult-tinged lyrics, “777” resonated deeply with fans of titanic sludge-metal. Continuing to evolve, Goya released “Obelisk” in 2015, a concept album that refined their blend of psychedelic doom. They followed this with their magnum opus, 2017’s “Harvester of Bongloads”, another concept album that leaned as heavily as ever into their fuzz-laden, riff-driven aesthetic and further cemented their legacy of unrelenting doom and immersive sonic landscapes.
In the summer of 2024, Goya returned to the road for a month-long US tour after taking a few years to write their fourth album “In the Dawn of November”, to be released in the spring of 2025 via New Mexico-based label Blues Funeral Recordings (Acid King, Lowrider, Dozer).
Goya is Marcus Bryant – Drums Jeffrey Owens – Guitar/Vocals CJ Sholtis – Bass
Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 21st, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Hell yeah. I love a winning recommendation. A scant couple weeks ago — three now, I think — I stood in the aftermath of Planet Desert Rock Weekend V in Las Vegas, saying a few goodnights at the end of four killer days of music and hugs and such. Among the people I met was Phil from Phoenix, who asked me if I’d ever heard of Stone Witch.
Now, it had been a long fest and I was pretty out of it. Plus, it’s kind of a generic name. No, I didn’t know the band. I also didn’t know he was talking about a band. The way he said it, it kind of sounded like Stone Witch was a genre, or something else entirely. Less a band than a secret being shared, was how he said it. Like a regional delicacy cooked up with special Arizona seasonings, and not the ones they have in the Penzey’s catalog, but like maybe some regional dirt thrown in with all the spicey groove and classic flair.
Order of the Goat was originally released by Stone Witch as an EP in 2016 — at the time, the lineup was listed as guitarist/vocalist Jayare Robbins, lead guitarist Matt Wentz, bassist Ian Colbert and drummer Jason Colbert — and the original five-tracker was expanded to seven songs and 36 minutes in 2022. By then, the band had already offered their fuzz-slinging debut full-length, Desert Oracle, in 2019. So no, the album version of Order of the Goat featured above (on Wet Records, though Glory or Death and Interstellar Smoke had copies) isn’t the OG edition, but like I said, I didn’t know the band until Phil from Phoenix hinted that there was some grand mystery that I needed to solve as to just who or what Stone Witch was. I never claimed to be Johnny Groundfloor here.
They’re pretty raw, to start with. Desert Oracle smoothed out some of the grit that pervades in Order of the Goat — not all of it, thankfully — but the fact that these songs were recorded earlier even if they made it to a 12″ platter later shouldn’t be neglected. But the rawness becomes part of the character, like earliest Duel or any number of other hard-hitters who also happen to boogie down. Stone Witch most certainly do that, and while I don’t know the relationship between Ian on bass and Jason handling percussion — if they’re brothers, cousins, just people who have the same last name and play in a band together — I’m assuming they’re siblings simply based on the chemistry between them in the janga-janga shuffling “Wind Walker” or as the later “Oath Breaker” picks up the tempo heading into its solo section.
Rest assured, no attempt is being made to reinvent the wheel here, and this too works entirely to the benefit of the listening experience. Who needs to innovate when you can pull off a shuffle as tight as “Dark Goddess” or find a classic doomer roll in “Blood Feast” like some lost Pagan Altar track from 197X but still with room for an airy lead stretch from Wentz, or you have the monolithic low end distortion of “1903” — which wasn’t on the original EP but closes the LP — sitting in your back pocket the whole time? Stone Witch are a celebration of heavy rock from Black Sabbath and Deep Purple, plus more obscurities of the age, through Pentagram, Cathedral and maybe even some Fu Manchu or Kyuss, High on Fire and Monolord. A melting pot of heavy ideologies. But, crucially, they make it dance.
It’s hard to fight an impulse to credit Jason Colbert with that specifically for what he brings to the drums — the push later in “1903” is a fitting example, or the swing and proto-metallic lateral thrust behind the other not-originally-included cut, “Ghost Rider,” earlier on — and how it enhances the character of the material while furthering the sense of movement. “Blood Feast” digs into a chugging swing in its second half and the drums are right there making it happen; the band almost functioning in the ’70s power trio ideal, except with two guitars for extra punch of riff and to let the rhythm have extra force during solos. In any case, just as it’s so often the bass that gives heavy music its sense of heft, the momentum Stone Witch are able to harness across Order of the Goat comes from the fluidity of the drumming. When they’re kicking up dust on “Herald,” though, by no means are the drums alone in being all-in.
Is this the part where I wax poetic about the power of community in the heavy underground, express my wonder at the support this site gets and my thanks to Phil from Phoenix for putting the question of what and/or who Stone Witch was in the back of my head in the first place? Well, I could. It’s all certainly true. But you know it already, and as the four-piece space out a bit in “Herald” and jam their way to a finish that if you were drunk enough standing in front of the stage while it happened surely you would lose your addled mind — never mind the blowout that follows in “1903” — some big divergence from the central purpose here would be in the wrong spirit. Stone Witch very clearly went into their first EP with an idea of who they were as a band or at very least the sounds they wanted to worship, and the second album that’s resulted from that is richer for it. Yeah, the heavy rock underground is amazing, but more to the point the record’s a banger.
So, thanks Phil from Phoenix for clueing me in on a treasure of his hometown underground. I checked out the band’s socials to see if maybe there was something I could plug — maybe they’ve got a record out next week or some such — but not much really going on except some Reels plugging the vinyl. Not a criticism. Not everybody can or wants to play the ‘content’ game, and given the heart behind what they’re doing on Order of the Goat, I don’t think Stone Witch are much for bullshit generally. If you’ve heard it before, cool, if not, cool. I hope you dig it either way. It’s one I’m happy to have encountered, and at some point I’ll probably dig into Desert Oracle too. If that’s next week, so be it.
Thanks for reading.
—
Weird week. Monday there was no school, so The Pecan was hanging around. I spent the first half of the week fretting about getting Hungarian homework done and the second thinking about fleeing the country. Anybody in Europe got a home they want to open up to my family for, say, six weeks or until we can find a place to exist? Just a heads up, all your stuff will be broken if you say yes. The dog is really good though. She’s never pooped in the house. She did pee on the couch that one time in Budapest last summer though.
So maybe not lodging thanks to the kindness of strangers/internet acquaintances. So it goes.
Still, it is a compelling consolidation of power in the executive branch taking place, and the nakedness of the corruption makes me think maybe it’s time to call up one of those “I’ll help you pack”-type fascists and take them up on the offer.
I don’t know what that would do to this site, and honestly the safety of my family is a higher priority. I have a lot of fun here and I’ve seen and heard amazing things as a result of doing The Obelisk for the last 16 years, but if I need to drop it I will. I would not miss sorting links or images for news posts. I still suck at SEO. If I’m here, there, doing this or something else, I’ll probably keep writing in some context or other. I don’t know how else to live at this point.
Maybe you think that’s over the top, melodramatic. I don’t care. It’s where I’m at.
This weekend I’m traveling to Massachusetts to see the Worshipper 10th anniversary show and a bunch of old friends. That will be good. Show review Monday, then next week is full with a video premiere for Church of the Sea, a Make Money From Home review, I think a video premiere for Amammoth, and hopefully an interview with Matte from Sound of Liberation if I can edit the transcript in time.
If this week seemed light on posts, I was doing other stuff besides. In the last seven days I’ve banged out two band bios — for Witchcraft and Dwellers — and done two more edits/reads, for Temple Fang and Clamfight. That’s a lot for a week’s time. I have to do another album-bio piece too in the next couple weeks. I keep saying I’m gonna say no to that kind of work and then it’s like “so-and-so has a new record!” and I get excited because silly brain like shiny things.
I mention the bio writing to give myself a little grace on the week here. I wanted to review Make Money From Home yesterday morning to go up today, but the kid was up before I was in the morning, so I couldn’t get the usual jump on the day, I had one of the bios above to do that I’d promised would be in, and the review got pushed back. There’s a ton of stuff on my list though. That record, Yawning Balch, Naxatras, Year of the Cobra, Conan, Dirtmother, Kryptograf, Colour Haze’s To the Highest GodsWe Know redux and, at the start of April, Lo-Pan. And I still don’t even know when the Dead Shrine record is coming out.
All of which, I guess, is my way of reminding myself why I do a Quarterly Review.
Whatever you’re up to, I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Thanks again for reading, watch your head, be safe, hydrate. The bastards are lurking everywhere and they’re hidden in the code. Keep your head.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 13th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Phoenix, Arizona, stone-worshiping sludge gutter-outers Goya have returned and will release their fourth album, yet untitled, through Blues Funeral Recordings. Once upon a mid-2010s, the trio led by vocalist/guitarist Jeff Owens were a flagship band for STB Records, but 2017’s Harvester of Bongloads (review here) was issued through the band’s own Opoponax Records. Full-lengths have been part of what Goya have done since their outset circa 2011, but not all of it. Their most recent offering was 2021’s The Universe Wails, an acoustic EP. Before that, a 7″ single in 2019 called “200 and 4.” You get the idea.
I have no concrete info on the state of Goya‘s next record, unfortunately. They say the album will be out in the first half of 2025. If that means late March, this announcement times out well enough for a PR plan to start rolling maybe this week — maybe there’s a press release in my email now? if I get one in the next day or so I’ll replace the social media post below, after that it is what it is unless there’s actually new info or a/v — but if it’s not actually all the way 100 percent done, it could be May or even June before the record shows up. So yeah, I guess that’s me taking an entire paragraph to explain something potentially happening between now and five months from now. Rest assured, I feel accordingly stupid.
This is a good band to have back at it. I’ll keep an eye for more news, but yeah, here’s what they put on Instagram:
We are excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Blues Funeral to release our upcoming fourth full-length album. If you aren’t familiar with the label, we suggest you pop over to their page and get familiar. They’ve been blazing a trail with killer releases, and it’s an honor to be on the roster.
Expect to see the new record in the first half of 2025. The proceeding days will never look the same.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The first Hudu Akil song in half a decade presents itself in three main movements across its readily-consumable six-plus minutes. The first is a hard-landing succession of hits that opens to the main riff, the drums pulled out with some genre-style ghost-shuffle on the snare — drummer Angel Calderon distinguishes himself throughout — before the layered drawling vocals from founding guitarist Zac Crye start the verse. All is rolling as the trio move through the chorus — the lyrics a warning, “It’s coming for us/Hell and high water/It’s coming for us” — and they cycle through again smoothly to end the first movement.
The second part launches immediately, right at 3:14. A stop shifts into quieter layers of guitar and bass noodling before a forward surge brings an extended instrumental course continuing through the next couple minutes. The first time I heard it I thought the song was over and something else had started to play, but as languid and stoned as Hudu Akil are in “El Mirage”‘s first half, the reality they unveil subsequent to that is sharp and precise while still consistent in sound with the first part.
The last movement is another quiet stretch of guitar, this one developing further with some jangly percussion alongside before it flips over and plays backwards in the fade, the lesson learned being that if you think you know what Hudu Akil‘s next album might sound like and you’re not actually in the band, you’re talking out of your ass. I don’t know where “El Mirage” will end up on that record to be, but it’s an enticing first look at something to keep an eye out for in the New Year.
Crye sent the following down the PR wire:
Phoenix Stoner Metal Band Hudu Akil | New Single “El Mirage”
“El Mirage,” is the first release from the band since we dropped our full-length ‘Eye for an Eye’ with Glory or Death Records in 2018. The track precedes an entire new album of music which is currently in the mixing process.
We released the track exclusively to our bandcamp December 1st, and it goes live on all streaming services on the 11th.
“We just wanted to make an offering to everyone before the years’ end. Making music can be a bit of a process at times so we couldn’t wait to finally release something after wokring on these songs for the last two years. The track hits all streaming platforms on 12.11, and we will be dropping a cool video shortly after. Once we finally have the album in the can, we plan to make a lot more noise in the following months!” -Zac Crye, singer/guitarist
We’re not saying much about the album now, just want to share El Mirage with you guys.
