Posted in Whathaveyou on December 3rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Branca, killing it again with the SonicBlast Fest poster art. Year after year, that partnership continues to flourish.
I was lucky enough to be invited to Portugal for SonicBlast Fest in 2023, and it was a great time from the pre-show through the end of the last night. I’m sick as a dog at the moment, so thinking of breathing the fresh air on the Atlantic Coast is perhaps a little more vivid in my mind, as much as I can smell anything right now or keep my head up while I’m typing or stay awake, etc. I took some DayQuil and I’ll go lie down in a bit.
The assemblage here is rad. You don’t need me to tell you having Turbonegro, High on Fire, Elder, Kylesa, Conan and Dead Meadow on the same bill is going to result in a good time. It’s something of a given. Cool to see Necrot included though. I like a bit of riffy death metal, and SonicBlast hasn’t been shy in years past about reaching outside the heavy rock umbrella for punk and hardcore — note The Casualties here — so an extension of that makes sense. Note also industrial punker N8noface and Early Moods. Both of those I believe are managed by Daniel from RidingEasy Records, so I can’t help but wonder if they might be touring together next summer. Guess we’ll find out eventually.
Also Jon Davis from Conan pulling double-duty with an Ungraven set, and more still to come. The following comes from social media:
Get ready for the 14th edition of SonicBlast Fest ⚡️
We’re thrilled to announce the first confirmed bands:
Turbonegro High On Fire Chat Pile Deafheaven Kylesa The Casualties Midnight Frankie And The Witch Fingers Snapped Ankles
Elder Levitation Room Dead Meadow Conan N8noface Adult. Necrot
Margarita Witch Cult Early Moods Primitive Ring Goya Hög Ungraven
Tickets are already on sale at Bol and Masqueticket
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 30th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Cultish, with Middle Eastern flair in the lead progression of the single “El Saif,” Summer of Hate‘s Blood and Honey intrigues from the outset. It is the second full-length by my possibly-flawed count from the Portuguese psych-rocking six-piece, as well as their label-debut for Tee Pee Records. You’ll note that “El Saif” features Thomas Attar, which I’m pretty sure is a nom de plume for Thomas Bellier, formerly of Tee Pee desert denizens Blaak Heat Shujaa. He brings years of experience in Middle Eastern stylizations to the track, and it becomes part of a far-off, ethereal mystique.
Blood and Honey, however, is a 2LP, so don’t expect “El Saif” to represent all of it. I haven’t heard the full thing yet, but this news came in last week and I just got to check out the video — you’ll see below it’s likewise rad and VHS grainy — so I didn’t want to delay further.
To that end, have at it, from the PR wire:
SUMMER OF HATE Return with BLOOD & HONEY – A Double Dose of Grit, Melody, and Mysticism on TEE PEE RECORDS
Fusing psychedelia, post-punk, and melodic dream-pop, the Portuguese collective turn in a double dose and their most ambitious work yet…
Watch the psychedelic video for new single ‘El Saif’ here
Known for their lush, noise-drenched soundscapes and emotionally charged performances, Summer of Hate (SºH) return to expand their sonic universe with the release of Blood & Honey on Tee Pee Records.
Drawing from the psychedelic well of 1960s rock and pop, as well as the genre’s 1980s revival – channeling the spirit of Echo & the Bunnymen, The Church, and The Jesus and Mary Chain – Summer of Hate fuse post-punk energy, noise-rock textures, and traces of Middle Eastern folk traditions into a sound that is unmistakably their own.
Formed in the city of Espinho, the band has toured extensively across the Iberian Peninsula, sharing stages with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Damned, Fat White Family, Sisters of Mercy, A Place to Bury Strangers, and leading Portuguese acts including MAQUINA., Conferência Inferno, Solar Corona, and HETTA. Their music has earned them airplay on alternative radio in both Portugal and the UK, cementing their reputation as one of the most vital acts in Portugal’s psychedelic scene.
Across a double LP, Blood & Honey explores two contrasting sonic realms:
Blood delves into the language of shoegaze through a global lens, blending Sufi music, dabke, raga, drone, and Phrygian scales with punk energy and propulsive rhythms. The result is a dense, immersive sound that bridges the ecstatic and the transcendent.
In bittersweet and melodic counterpoint, Honey expands upon the dreamlike tones of the band’s debut, guiding 60s pop romanticism through a contemporary Portuguese lens. Mixing jangle pop, Britpop, slowcore, and post-punk, these songs balance raw emotion with melodic craft.
Blood & Honey’s epic, anthemic spirit captures the true essence of Summer of Hate. A band deeply rooted in tradition yet fearlessly reinventing the sound of shoegaze for a new generation.
Summer of Hate: João Martins – Guitar, Backing Vocals Laura Calado – Vocals, Lyrics Fábio Pereira – Bass Pedro Lopes – Drums Ricardo Fonseca – Guitar Xavier Valente – Guitar
I’ve been waiting for this one, honestly. I think I did a Quarterly Review in April, or maybe it was late March, so it hasn’t been that long, but you know how it is with releases now. Every week there’s a ton coming out, everybody’s gotta pump through content to feed the algorithm. If you like sitting with records, if you like getting to know records, it’s still a pretty good era, but you have to understand you’re not going to hear everything. The Quarterly Review is more than a catchall in my mind, but it’s definitely also a place for stuff I can’t fit anywhere else. At this point there are bands who’ve been in QRs their entire lifecycle. I don’t think anybody knows that or cares other than me, but it’s true just the same.
I like doing these, though, and I like the marathon listening sessions that are part of it. Oh yeah asshole, you like writing about music? Well here’s 10 records a day for a week. Hope you slated a single in there somewhere. You’re gonna need it.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
Miss Lava, Under a Black Sun
This fifth full-length from Portuguese psychedelic-inflected heavy rockers Miss Lava sets its own backdrop with breadth of tone. The album is called Under a Black Sun and it is their fourth outing for Small Stone Records, but even the edgiest moments throughout are more colorful than that might indicate. Miss Lava excel — whether it’s the closing title-track or “Neon Gods” earlier or the 1:15 blowout “Chaos Strain” — at creating instrumental tension underneath the forward melodic float of the vocals. From seven-minute opener and longest cut (immediate points) “Dark Tomb Nebula,” the 52-minute/11-song outing takes its time saying what it wants to say, and it might take a couple listens for it to sink in accordingly, but the fuzz in “The Bends” and the tempo-pickup swing in “Blue Sky on Mars” can be landmarks on the path, and the album is worth meeting with the attention it’s due.
To coincide with the righteous pummel of the eight-and-a-half-minute “Silver and Gold,” Los Angeles trio The Cimmerian infuse their first full-length with a thrashing sensibility in pieces like “Neckbreaker of the Mountain” and “Black Coast Tigris,” which are all the more brutal for the guttural vocals of bassist Nicolas Rocha. Guitarist David Gein crushes and slashes enough for “Mournblade” to earn its title, and the extremity is retained even in the slowdown of “Deathstalker” later on, as Gein, Rocha and drummer David Morales seem to hold another level of viciousness in reserve for 10-minute finale “Monarch.” There’s some extrapolation from High on Fire here in the basic math of the band’s makeup, but The Cimmerian push more into thrash as a genre, and come across as more metal in their assault. There’s growing to do, and streamlining the songs may become part of that process, but as an awaited debut album, An Age Undreamed Of… heralds its own devastation and that to follow.
Athenian heavy rock institution Nightstalker return with their eighth full-length in a 35-plus-year career as led by frontman Argyris “Argy” Galiatsatos, who remains a pivotal presence in the songs. There are eight of those across the down-to-business 38-minute long-player, which opens raucous with “Dust” but settles into a psychedelic meander on “Heavy Trippin'” before “Uncut” finds a catchy space somewhere in the middle, high-energy but not a shove, and welcoming all comers. The title-track follows and takes a noisier tack instrumentally and vocally in its second half, but is a four-minute kick-in-the-pants nonetheless, so one would not accuse it of being an awkward fit here, even as the subsequent “Shipwrecked Powder Monkey” (which I’m assuming starts side B) moves through quiet/loud trades toward a fuzzy surge, “Shallow Grave” basks in melancholy, “Falling Inside” follows the bassline into a shredder of a guitar solo and seven-minute closer “Flying Mode” dares a bit of funk to round out. There’s a reason Nightstalker have stood the test of time. It’s the songs. Yes, still.
Indonesian doom rollers Whitehovse released the title-track of their first, self-released full-length, The Mighty One, as a standalone single in 2020, and I don’t know that all the songs have been around that long, but every chug in “Falling Crown” sounds like it’s there for a reason and I’m not inclined to argue. Bookended by the nod of “Endless Sorrow” and the blowout, harsh-in-the-cymbals bounce of “Vile Triumphant,” the in-betweens on the eight-track/35-minute LP are light on nonsense and heavy on just about everything else as “Falling Crown” is indicative of the five-piece’s riffy foundations. They declare themselves Sabbathian early, but “Silence of the Soul” has more of a desert bounce transposed onto their own echoing palette and against the wall reminds a bit of the slower moments in whatever kind of metal it is Solace play. Their story isn’t fully written yet, but they put key aspects in place with this material.
I don’t mean this to be an insult, but if you told me Hashishian‘s Sand Dragon was AI, I’d probably believe you. The band, from parts unknown, comprised of anonymous huffer pilgrims, are so steeped in the worship of Sleep, weed, riffs, and such, that the throatsinging vocals are a fit. Sand Dragon is meditative in its way, but it’s more stoned, and that’s the whole idea. What do you do with something that is pure worship? There is an original edge to their approach, though “Sand Dragon” itself is pretty dead-on Om, but if you’re a genre head, you know to which land “Follow the Riff” is going before its meganodder of a riff even departs. But I don’t think you take on Sand Dragon if you’re looking for originality-on-purpose. I think you take it on if you want to join them in their worship, and yeah, if you know what you’re getting going in, the naked, sans-pretense-otherwise homage happening throughout, the riff of “Meggido” just might make you a convert. Hail Cisneros.
Is garage rock inherently retro? Is there a way for a sound that was ‘mod’ when mod was mod to be the sound of the great forgetful now? I don’t know, but the UK’s Scott Hepple and the Sun Band take classic elements from garage, grunge, and heavier rock, and it’s hard to argue with the results of their formula in pieces like “Velvet Divorce” or the sweet acoustic strum of “Blue Door Jimmy,” the boogie of “Lead on Sonny Brown” and “Sweet Sugar High” and the more brash fuzz of “Fake a Smile,” as the 16-song long-player packs its 41-minute stretch tight enough that even the gag interlude “A Brief Advertisement” doesn’t come through as any more in a hurry than the rest of the proceedings. And they are in a hurry. Because they’re young and such is the way of young people. But that’s how it should be, and so, so are Scott Hepple and the Sun Band as they prove you can have ‘brash’ as a defining personality feature without needing to make yourself sound like a monster.
Immediacy is the order of the moment on Blind Mess‘ six-song The Storm Within EP, as the hit-hard trio from Munich delve into burl on “The Bell” before the throw-elbows punkthrash of “On the Edge” and the angular “Mirror of My Soul” feels all the more leveled out for the shouts that top it. They’re not without atmosphere, even before the standalone guitar introduces the first 30 seconds of “The Hemlock Cup,” but the idea is for the songs to hit you direct and they do. “The Hemlock Cup” has a burner of a solo later on, and “Sick Society” has its foundation in rock but still sounds like it listened to Megadeth in the 1990s (who among us.) before the shorter closer “Bleeding Hearts” renews the shove of “On the Edge.” It’s a quick 24 minutes and they make it feel quicker with pacing, but it’s still well enough time for the band to showcase a refined attack.
Striking a progressive first impression around material still geared for an impact despite all the turns, UK five-piece Vordermann bring elements of alternative rock into the hooks of “Delirium Tremors,” one of the three songs included on their debut EP, the intentionally-slashed Feeding on Flowers/. Intertwining vocals in a quiet stretch, weirdo shifts, post-rock drift and weighted drums beneath, melodies providing the payoff where opener “Cloudpiercer” is more about the heft, and the seven-minute “Saint Banger (The Lars Ulrich Torrent Finder General Drum Circle Experience)” moving through a long, soft-guitar intro — there’s no drum circle; there are samples — before a heavier nod arrives, ebbing and flowing until the shouted vocals arrive late to put it over the top. Look out for these guys. They give a killer showing here and in no way sound like this is the limit for where they want to take their sound. One hopes for more to come. Maybe we can find out what’s on the other side of that slash in the title.
When Austrian cosmic-rocking instrumentalists — space rock, some My Sleeping Karma-esque keys, almost certainly jam-based, but with fluidity as a compositional priority either way — Aerolith sent their second album, II, in for review, I’ll admit that I didn’t know it came out late in 2017. Going on eight years ago. If you’re wondering, I think that’s the oldest release ever to feature in a Quarterly Review — the band’s latest work, Megalorama Part II, was released in 2023 — which I try to keep at least vaguely current. I don’t know why the 2017 record was sent, but they make it easy to dig the conversation happening between the keys and guitar throughout, and the mellow-heavy mindset of “Rain Walk” and “Aufschub,” that payoff in closer “Bug Nebula,” seems to still inform their sound on the newer offerings as well. I’m not about to start retconning the entire history of the underground in a Quarterly Review, so don’t send me all your old records, but I’m glad to have had the introduction to this band regardless.
Experimentalism is crucial on this apparently-years-in-the-making second full-length from Athens-based mostly-solo outfit Occult Stereo, driven by self-recording multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/programmer Alex Eliopoulos, who blends electronic and organic instrumentation — the bedroom industrial of “In Between Lines” and “Kiss My Mask,” the acoustics of “A Glow” and “Power,” the variable drones of the otherwise anthemic “New Drip” and “Burn the Manifesto,” the fuzz ultranod of “Same Life Different Face” and the avant-garage “Not Mysterious”; it is a record that sets its own context and goes — to a readily divergent affect, melding styles across genres with expressive weirdness. At 11 songs and 64 minutes, it is a not insignificant undertaking, and surely A Temporary Utopia is not without its challenging aspects, but Eliopoulos isn’t on his own here — there are even guest vocals on “Power” — and as deep as Occult Stereo plunge, the spaces occupied are individual and fascinating.
Heavy psych rockers Madmess release their new LP, The Third Coming, on May 9, through an international consortium of independent labels including gig.Rocks! in their native Portugal, Kozmik Artifactz throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, and Glory or Death Records, based in the US. Their bases thusly covered, the Porto three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Ricardo Sampaio, bassist Vasco Vasconcelos and drummer Pedro Cruz are free to explore and refine their partially-instrumental crux, taking and adapting what came together on 2021’s Rebirth (review here) and their prior 2019 self-titled debut to retain its spaciousness and partially-improvised spirit while at the same time taking on a more direct delivery.
What on earth does that mean? For one thing, the longest song on The Third Coming, “Widowmaker” (7:17), is roughly equal in runtime to the two shortest cuts on Rebirth, which was filled out otherwise by three nine-minute jaunts. But fear not. The Third Coming retains its jammy sensibility, and if it’s expanse you seek, “Widowmaker” picks up from the wah-fuzz burner opening given through “Death by Astonishment,” and begins a stretch through “Velvet Nebula” — second best song title I’ve seen in the last 12 months — and the album’s most hypnotic, immersive unfolding, “Endless Cycles,” that should tick any quota you’ve got for ‘getweird.’ And if not, the motorik pulse behind closer “Sauerkraut” still manages to speak to classic space rock trance-induction while not actually taking up any more than three and a half minutes of Earth time. This kind of efficiency is usually a showcase in itself. For Madmess, the focus is so much more on the impression the music makes than the intent behind it. That is, they’re not showing off or simply indulging in craft. They made the record for you, the listener.
Actually, “Death by Astonishment” reinforces that idea well, while “Endless Cycles” contrasts those grounded aspects at the start of the vinyl’s side B. This comes ahead of the exclamatory “Burnt!,” the second half which precedes the proto-metallic shove of “Hazy Morning” with a particularly resonant shimmer in Sampaio‘s guitar and the roll and pull and tonal wobble that hits a serene moment in the heavy psych tradition. Earthless are a factor in that, and in some of the grit of “Hazy Morning,” one can hear aspects of the ’70s-minded riffage that took hold in San Diego circa 2015-2020, in no small part inspired by the aforementioned. In such a way, The Third Coming is fluid in its movement without being static in terms of style, and it doesn’t ultimately end up anywhere one would come close to calling lost. Indeed, “Hazy Morning” and “Sauerkraut,” paired at the end as they are, only seem to herald further stylistic adventures to follow. Or at least that’s the hope in hearing it.
Whatever instigated this readjustment of balances in Madmess‘ sound to bring about songs that can be shorter and more direct, it feels like a realization on the part of the band as The Third Coming plays less to genre while remaining organically aligned to it. To say the very minimum, it is a record that understands, appreciates and makes solid use of its creative freedom, and if you heard either of their first two and thought the band had potential, these songs both answer that and leave the same impression afterward. Madmess continue to sound like they’re just getting started, and that vibrancy is becoming a key part of what they have to offer.
Album streams in full below, followed by more from the PR wire, including live dates announced the other day.
Please enjoy.
Always dynamic, always electrifying, and as powerful as ever, Portuguese powerhouse trio Madmess is gearing up to release their latest LP, “The Third Coming,” on May 9th via Glory or Death (USA), Kozmik Artifactz (EU), and gig.ROCKS! (PT).
Once a well-kept secret in Europe’s psychedelic music scene, their anonymity may soon fade. The single “Velvet Nebula,” the first preview of Madmess’ forthcoming third album, offered a taste of what’s ahead, following a year filled with touring highlights, including performances at Krach am Bach (Germany), ArcTanGent (UK), Freak Valley Xmas (DE), and Sonic Blast (PT).
Previously under the radar but with a devoted fanbase eagerly awaiting new songs, the album leans into a more classic sound, merging Bonham-inspired drumming with contemporary psychedelic melodies across seven mesmerizing tracks. These riffs are destined for live stages across Europe and beyond, where they truly come alive.
Announcing our next run of shows presenting “The Third Coming” in Europe, with dates in Portugal, Spain & France 💫
10.05 – Socorro, Porto 🇵🇹 20.05 – Wurlitzer, Madrid 🇪🇸 21.05 – El Bunker, Alicante 🇪🇸 23.05 – Sideral Fest, Capbreton 🇫🇷 24.05 – La grange Baffignac, Castres 🇫🇷 27.05 – La Ley Seca, Zaragoza 🇪🇸 28.05 – Dio Bar, Barcelona 🇪🇸 29.05 – La Rayuela, Miranda de Ebro 🇪🇸 30.05 – Rock dos Romanos, Coimbra 🇵🇹
Recorded at Hertzcontrol Studio by Marco Lima in Caminha, Portugal Produced/Mixed by Marco Lima Mastered by Alvaro Galego Artwork by Lory Cervi
And then sometimes, apparently, you might make a record with your cousin. I like to imagine a cartoon version of Dr. Space‘s mom — the venerable Ma Space — somehow in a New Jersey accent scolding her synth-wizard offspring: “You know, all your collaborations and you’ve never once jammed with your cousin!” Obviously, I don’t know that that happened and I’m pretty sure Scott “Dr. Space” Heller‘s mother wasn’t from my beloved Garden State — though you never know and the Jersey diaspora is remarkable — so I’m not trying to portray a realistic scenario so much as goof on the idea of family behind Quasars of Destiny. Uniting the aforementioned Dr. Space with guitarist, drummer (and other percussion), bassist, and Rhodes pianist Craig Wall and percussionist James Malley (credited with cowbell and shakers), Quasars in Space recorded the three-song/43-minute Music to Listen to While Eating Planets in July 2023 at Heller‘s Estúdio Paraíso Nas Nuvens in Portugal, and by the time they’re a few minutes into “Colossus Approacheth” (6:18), they’ve just about got it all figured out.
Of course, layering is a factor, and I’ve already added extraneous narrative to Music to Listen to While Eating Planets once and I don’t need to do so again, but that first of three inclusions, which is backed by meat-of-the-album “Colossus Consumes” (30:45) and “Colossus Seeks a New Planet” (6:14) to close out, has enough movement to show a breadth of influence — that is, that Wall as a guitarist isn’t necessarily coming from the same place genre-wise as Heller, even if he’s not far off. Wall has played with tribute-type cover outfits like Sweet Magic and Eclipse: A Pink Floyd Experience and done a fair amount of his own recording, but while adjacent under a ‘rock’ umbrella, Dr. Space‘s oeuvre is specialized to say the least. To wit, he’s Dr. Space. He’s been to grad school for cosmic jamming. But as “Colossus Approacheth” — think of it as a somewhat tentative approach as Wall, Heller and Malley get their feet under them — demonstrates and the dug-in half-hour of “Colossus Consumes” proves, there’s plenty trippery for everyone.
The extended middle-cut — an inevitable focal point as it takes up more than two thirds of the total runtime — is unsurprisingly an album unto itself. It takes place over three main movements, each of which has its own flow and patient execution, the procession starting quietly as the guitar and cymbals wake up. After a few minutes, they’re in a solid, bluesy roll with the synth flowing out around the meandering guitar and the underlying drums that would seem to have been the root for the entire first movement, which recedes into a synth-led midsection with the drums further back in the mix setting up the room a guitar solo is soon to occupy. And from about minute 20 onward, there’s a pickup in the drums that marks the transition to the psych-bluesy final section of “Colossus Consumes,” which nails the balance between its two sides.
Because it’s not like classic, blues, and psych and space rock are without their commonalities — again, it’s all rock music — but for one of these players, making a half-hour-long song is its own kind of norm, where for Wall, as with most other humans, his playing style at least as I hear it in Music to Listen to While Eating Planets drives more toward structure. By the end of “Colossus Consumes,” though, the flow has gotten more open, more linear, and fair enough. If, as a listener or player, you’re not feeling it 29 minutes into the 30-minute take, it’s probably safe for you to turn off the record player, put down your instruments, go catch a nap to get yourself right, etc.
When you can get to it — and I do very much mean that in the Funkadelic sense — Music to Listen to While Eating Planets sets itself up as a tale of discovery, with the ‘band’ or maybe even the music itself in the Colossus role, making the journey almost as much as the listener. The underlying message is everybody’s finding their way. “Colossus Approacheth” brings the first forward steps, seeing where the music wants to end up. Of course, “Colossus Consumes” is the bulk of that question’s answer; an expansive and engrossing undertaking that’s purposefully been put together as-is to entrance the audience and convey a sense of depth in the layering, harnessing the appeal of live performance in a recording context that, personnel-wise, calls for overdubbing for the songs to be complete. That is to say, Wall‘s a pretty talented player, but he’s not ripping into the shimmery Hendrixing in the later reaches of “Colossus Consumes” at the same time he’s banging away on drums, playing bass, shaking shakers and mixing the track (with Gordon Davies; Heller mixed the opening and closing cuts). You can only be in so many places at once and “Colossus Consumes” already resides in a few.
And what does that journey lead to? More exploration, naturally. “Colossus Seeks a New Planet” comes dangerously close to being a song, at least in a linear sense. It feels grounded in a way that certainly the preceding track inherently can’t, and it completes a circle that begins with “Colossus Approacheth” while setting Quasars of Destiny on a forward path. Mind you, I have no idea if they’ll pick up from the ethereally boogieing improvisational stretch that caps “Colossus Seeks a New Planet,” but there is narrative audible in the music and it sounds like if Heller and Wall and Malley wanted to get together every few years and see where they end up, they’ll indeed end up somewhere.
It sounds like more than a one-off, to put it plainly, whether or not it is. For those who arrived at the doorstep of Music to Listen to While Eating Planets via Dr. Space‘s work, either on his own, or with Øresund Space Collective, Black Moon Circle, Aural Hallucinations, and so on, Quasars of Destiny has a (nascent) persona of its own, distinct from the rest. That alone makes it worth pursuing in my mind; an unknown destination and a hypnotic trip. I guess sometimes imaginary cartoon mom is right.
Quasars of Destiny, Music to Listen to While Eating Planets (2025)
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 24th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Not to discount the three inclusions from Travo‘s 2023 full-length, Astromorph God (review here), that follow it, but new song “Sleeper” is for sure a draw to the Portuguese outfit’s newly unveiled session, recorded late last year at Trans Musicales in France, which has been released now through the influential Seattle-based radio station/outlet as a KEXP session. This is no minor feather in the cap for the band, and as you can read below, it’s a lesson in how putting yourself in the right place and time — having a killer album behind you helps too, of course — can make a difference and one thing can lead to the next.
In this case, the album release led to a spot at FOCUS Wales, which led to the Trans Musicales spot, which led to the four-song KEXP session posted below. Every time out, the same thing happened: somebody heard Travo‘s music and said, “Holy crap” (I’m paraphrasing), “more people need to hear this!” The energy they pour into “Sleeper” is a quick reminder why. From a solid foundation in heavy psych, the new cut takes off on a hypnotic and repetitive jam, linear in form but exciting in its cycles. From this vantage, and with the fleeting-if-you’re-me attention of the viewer duly hooked and five or six cameras moving around while they play, Travo launch the rest of their set, with “Faceless Ghoul, “Arrow of Motion” and “Turn to the Sun” backing “Sleeper” with the band’s neo-psych, deep-space vibing.
It’s a thing to see as they get down, and certainly if you’re planning on catching Travo at one of their upcoming fest appearances — I’ll consider myself lucky to be at Freak Valley, thanks — it argues in favor of putting yourself in front of a stage they’ll be playing on, which, go figure, is once again how we got here in the first place.
Enjoy the show:
Travo, Full Performance (Live on KEXP)”
TRAVO live on KEXP
Until today, Travo was Portugal’s best-kept secret. But then, what has changed? Well, a series of coincidences, more or less intentional, have led to the prestigious US radio station KEXP dropping today the spectacular live session the band recorded a few months ago. Travo is no longer just a rumor among the in-the-know; it’s a reality that, with just one click of play, will blow your mind. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
“We’re incredibly excited to share with you that our live session for KEXP is finally here. We had an amazing time and felt right at home. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.” – Travo
Hailing from the Portuguese city of Braga nearly a decade ago, the band, formed by Gonçalo Ferreira (guitar, vocals), Gonçalo Carneiro (guitar, synth), David Ferreira (bass) y Nuno Gonçalves (drum), began gaining recognition in the local indie scene with the release of their studio albums ‘Ano Luz’ in 2019 and ‘Sinking Creation’ in 2022. However, it wasn’t until the release of ‘Astromorph God’ in 2023 through gig.ROCKS! and Spinda Records that their name began to be mentioned in the editorial offices of international media publications and booking agencies of some of the most respected European festivals when it comes to psychedelia, stoner and progressive rock.
The band was selected to participate in the FOCUS Wales music fair and the Dutch festival Sonic Whip in May 2024. To make this happen, both gig.ROCKS! and La Novena Escena organized an entire European tour around these dates. This would lead them to present their music in countries such as Spain, France, Belgium, Portugal and, of course, the already mentioned Wales and the Netherlands. What was initially going to be a small concert for industry professionals at FOCUS Wales ended up giving them opportunity to perform for, among others, the organizer of the legendary French festival Trans Musicales, who quickly after the show invited them to participate in its next edition in December 2024.
And it was there, within the framework of the French festival, that Travo had the chance to record a live session for the influencial KEXP, which is now available on the Seattle station’s YouTube channel.
For this special occasion, Travo chose to perform the songs “Faceless Ghoul”, “Arrow of Motion” and “Turn to the Sun” from their recent album ‘Astromorph God’, as well as a new track titled “Sleeper”, which will presumably be part of their upcoming studio album. Just four songs are enough for the Portuguese band to make clear the intensity and fire of their live performances, which come packed with heavy psych, progressive rock and garage attitude, blurring the lines between reality and collective ecstasy.
Don’t miss it and make sure you play it extremely loud!
UPCOMING LIVE DATES 03 April | Porto (PT) @ Maus Habitos 19 April | Fafe (PT) @ Aniversário Malfeito 03 May | São João da Madeira (PT) @ Party Sleep Repeat 21 June | Netphen (DE) @ Freak Valley Festival 13 July Pleszew | (PO) @ Red Smoke Festival 23 August | Brussels (BE) @ Down The Hill Festival + to be announced
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 7th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Last heard from with 2021’s DeLores Session(review here), Portuguese heavy rockers Miss Lava today announce the advent of their fifth full-length, Under a Black Sun, also their third for Small Stone Records. To go along with the album announcement, the Lisboa, Portugal, four-piece are streaming the title track which also doubles as the record’s closer, which gives a first impression as much about texture as heft, working up from an initial strum and melodic vocal to a fully immersive, hooky push, to cap the record.
What precedes the title-track across the 52-minute expanse varies, and for a band who are no strangers to dynamics, it should be no surprise that different songs go different places. Some are more direct, some more sprawling like “Dark Tomb Nebula” at the outset or attitude-laced like “I Drown,” but the point is the first single is more of a lead-in than total representation for the work it heralds. More to come ahead of the April 25 release, which the band will celebrate by supporting Graveyard in Portugal the next night.
The PR wire has initial details:
MISS LAVA – Under a Black Sun out April 25 on Small Stone
Like distant moons spitting fire, Miss Lava forged their new album “Under a Black Sun”. Carrying a darker and heavier emotional weight than their previous outings, the band’s fifth album is set to be released through Small Stone Records in the beginning of 2025.
“It’s a pretty intense record. I guess our life experiences over the past years have made us delve into a darker matter. We explored new territories and had a blast creating this album.” says singer Johnny Lee.
The release of “Under a Black Sun” will celebrate the band’s longevity, marking their 20th anniversary. A sonic fire with many cosmic swirls that urges to be unleashed live.
“It has been a hell of a ride since we started rehearsing in a small studio in Lisbon back in 2005. Having this record come out 20 years later with a partner like Small Stone is the best thing we could wish for. Now we just need to get out there and play these songs live everywhere we can!” confirms guitarist K. Raffah.
This mystical rite of creation was the first record with drummer Pedro Gonçalves, bringing a heavier vibe to the band. It was taped once again with Miguel “Veg” Marques, who handled the band’s previous record “Doom Machine”.
“Under a Black Sun” is the successor to the praised “Doom Machine” (2021), “Dominant Rush EP” (2017), “Sonic Debris” (2016), “Red Supergiant” (2013), and “Blues for the Dangerous Miles” (2009) and a limited edition self-titled blood red vinyl EP (2008).
Over the years, the band has played live in clubs and festivals in the UK, Spain, Germany and of course Portugal. Miss Lava Lava even made a one-off appearance at the legendary Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles. The band has shared the stage with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Slash, Graveyard, Ufommammut, Greenleaf, Kyuss Lives!, Fu Manchu, Valient Thorr, Entombed, Truckfighters and many more.
Tracklisting: 1. Dark Tomb Nebula 2. Neon Gods 3. Evil Eye of a Witch 4. Chaos Strain 5. Woe Warrior 6. The Bends 7. Fear in Overdrive 8. I Drown 9. Blue Sky on Mars 10. Elara 11. Under a Black Sun
Keys on “Blue Sky on Mars”, “Dark Tomb Nebula”, “Elara”, “Evil Eye of the Witch” and “Woe Warrior” by Miguel “Veg” Marques. Vocals on “Elara” by Alexandra Quintas “Bebé”.
Produced by Miss Lava and Miguel “Veg” Marques. Recorded and engineered by Miguel “Veg” Marques at Generator Music Studios, Magoito, Sintra, between April and May 2024.
Alexandra’s vocals on “Elara” recorded by Ricardo Quintas at QMusic Studio in May 2024.
Mixed by Steve Lehane at Rustbelt Studios, Detroit, MI. Mastered by Chris Goosman at Baseline Audio Labs – Ann Arbor, MI. Design and Artwork by João Filipe. Photography by Manuel Portugal.
Miss Lava is: Johnny Lee: vocals K. Raffah: guitars P. Gonçalves: drums Ricardo Ferreira: bass
Lisbon-based instrumentalist heavy psychedelic explorers Desert’Smoke will release their self-titled four-songer LP on March 28 through Raging Planet. It is the second full-length from the doubly-guitarred four-piece behind late-2019’s Karakum (review here), continuing a penchant for oil-painted cover art while broadening the material’s reach as the returning lineup of guitarists André Rocha and João Romão, bassist João Nogueira and drummer Cláudio Aurélio priotitize listener immersion from the outset with opener “Fuzzy Txitxu” (7:54) seeming to set itself adrift initially around standalone effects guitar, a patient beginning that soothes as the second guitar enters with drums and bass, subtly building up to a meditative jam over the first two minutes. Then cut. Feedback. A muted crash. Gnarlier guitar twists out a faster, immediately more solidified riff, and mere seconds later they’re chugging along like a two-axe Karma to Burn like nothing ever happened.
The old switcheroo? Pulling the rug out? Shenanigans???
Nothing quite so trickery-laced when you hear it, but that moment is telling. The intro lures you into the blindside, and a more straightforward procession takes hold for the duration. The subsequent “Gravity Absence” (8:59) adds another level of heavy to the end, answering the noisy grunge of the song’s solo-laced midsection with a decisive low-end flattening as they push to the finish. Side B, with “Blind Watcher” (11:42) and the premiering-below “49th Steam Box” (6:46), continues to flesh out from where “Fuzzy Txitxu” began, with the album’s longest track as an obvious standout, both for the runtime and how it expands on the mellower fluidity of earlier intros and, rather than a stark change, how it builds gradually into its crescendo, thoughtful in the construction and organic in the actual sound. The jam ebbs and flows and there’s time enough to accommodate that as well as some post-rock-minded float in the guitar, shades of Red Sparowes or Russian Circles maybe making their way in among influences, but it’s a hypnotic course one way or the other, and its apex solo is executed with particular clarity and class.
At last to the matter at hand, “49th Steam Box” (on the player below) serves to tie all of this together on the record. It’s the place where the weight of “Gravity Absence” and the breadth of “Blind Watcher” coexist, and it calls back to the sharp divide of “Fuzzy Txitxu” with a willful contrast, not lacking dynamic in itself as the guitar peppers light lead notes over a crunching intro and the band find themselves in a kind of instru-prog shove headed toward the midpoint, almost metallic in tone but still locked in a heavy groove rhythmically. They carry through the closer’s middle movement with due force, then reset to make their last go, guitar soaring and scorching all the while as the drums and bass cycle through and build into a dense last-minute chug and an efficient crashing finish before they give over to the heavy silence that follows.
Taken as a whole, Desert’Smoke feels remarkably complete by the time “49th Steam Box” is done; the band have told their story through sound in a way that legitimately feels narrative as various elements tie together throughout, the songs speaking to each other as they refine Desert’Smoke‘s meld, highlighting individuality of purpose by pulling from multiple styles as they go and being willing to take chances in their songwriting.
You can hear “49th Steam Box” on the player here, followed by more from the PR wire.
I invite you to please enjoy:
Desert’Smoke, “49th Steam Box” track premiere
Desert’Smoke on “49th Steam Box”:
Our upcoming self-titled album is a four-track journey spanning 35 minutes, blending heavy stoner rock with immersive psychedelia. The cover artwork is a segment of an oil painting by Catarina Felix Machado, titled ‘Gravity Absence,’ which also inspired the name of the second track. Our first single, “49th Steam Box”, is the shortest and most explosive track on the record, named after our Studio Box, where everything came to life.
Born in the underground scene of Lisbon, Desert’Smoke emerged with a mission: to craft an instrumental blend of heavy stoner rock, hypnotic psychedelia, and raw energy fit for the biggest Stoner/Rock/Metal festivals. Inspired by the likes of Elder, The Obsessed, and 40 Watt Sun, the band quickly carved out a space in Portugal’s heavy music landscape.
Their debut EP, Hidden Mirage, introduced their expansive sound and opened doors to major festivals, including SonicBlast. Riding the momentum, they released their first full-length album, Karakum, through Raging Planet Records, receiving praise from fans and critics worldwide.
Despite pandemic setbacks delaying their European ambitions, Desert’Smoke kept the fire burning, playing key festivals in Portugal and sharing the stage with major acts. When the time was right, they joined forces with Bulletseed, a European booking agency, to hit the road across Spain, France, Switzerland, and Italy, marking their first international tour with resounding success.
Reinvigorated by their journey, the band returned to the studio to craft their most ambitious work yet—Desert’Smoke, their upcoming self-titled album, set for release on March 28. With another European tour already in the works for May-August 2025, the band is poised to take their cosmic desert voyage to even greater heights.
From the depths of rehearsal studios to international stages, Desert’Smoke continues to push the boundaries of stoner and psychedelic rock, forging an experience as immersive as it is powerful.
Desert’Smoke: André ROCHA on guitar João ROMÃO on guitar João NOGUEIRA on bass CLÁUDIO Aurélio on drums
