Posted in Questionnaire on October 23rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Eric Aittala of Aittala
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
We are Aittala (pronounced ‘EYE-tah-la’) from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
We’re a three-piece all-original band that infuses elements of classic heavy metal, doom, progressive, power, thrash, and hard rock into a cohesive experience.
While we don’t care for classifications (we just call ourselves ‘metal’), we have been classified as ‘Eclectic Doom’ and have come to embrace it.
The original incarnation of Aittala was formed in 1991 while I (Eric) was stationed in the Netherlands with the US military. The band was starting to gain some traction on the Dutch metal scene, but after a couple of years, I had to leave as my military contract ended. After that, the band was inactive for 15 years (by my choice).
In 2008, after relocating to North Carolina, I decided to resurrect the band and have been active ever since, releasing seven full-length albums along with three EPs.
The latest release is the ‘Ill-Gotten Gains’ EP, coming out in November 2025.
The current line-up of AITTALA consists of Gary ‘Zeus’ Smith (joined in 2012) on drums and Dane Taylor (joined in 2025) on bass.
Describe your first musical memory.
It was around 1975. I think it was around New Year’s and we were having some guests, so the living room stereo (back in those days, you had a huge entertainment console that had the 19” color TV and stereo built into it; it was furniture) was tuned to some FM station.
It was some kind of countdown show, and I remember hearing Aerosmith’s “Dream On.”
Describe your best musical memory to date.
I was 14 and went to my first real arena concert, which was Triumph (a huge hard rock band of the late ’70s/early ’80s) and Mountain (more of a ’60s/’70s hard rock band that was opening).
I only knew a handful of Triumph songs from MTV and only knew one Mountain song but it the show was amazing; the lights, the sound, and the energy. It was better than losing my virginity!
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
When I was younger, I really believed some friendships/relationships would last a lifetime, but, as we all know, other people come between those bonds and break them. And once broken, they’ll never be the same.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
If you’re not careful, it leads to insanity.
How do you define success?
It’s just a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment; it doesn’t matter how much money you made (or last for that matter).
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Walking in on my parents fornicating; not enough bleach for my eyes…
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’m really not sure because if I haven’t created it yet, then I don’t know what I haven’t created. It’s a bit of a paradox.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Art’s essential function is to distract our brains from reality.
If you think about why you listen to music, watch a movie, or view visual art, it takes you to a different place than where you are currently.
Say something positive about yourself.
I feel like I’m a good songwriter/arranger. I let songs develop organically by letting them flow naturally until they’re complete and ready to be recorded and released.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Not to sound grim, but I’m looking forward to seeing what’s on the other side of this existence.
Is there something beyond our life, or just complete nothingness?
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 23rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I mean, it’s free to stream, but it’s also a cover of the band Free. Corrosion of Conformity — operating as the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, guitarist/backing vocalist Woodroe Weatherman, bassist Bobby Landgraf and drummer Stanton Moore — have posted a take on Free‘s “Fire and Water” as a herald for something called ‘Riffissippi Studio Jam Sessions.’ Keenan gives some of the preliminaries below, but the gist is that the cover is separate from the band’s awaited next album, which as of last month was a 2LP coming next year on Nuclear Blast, and is apparently one of a series. Note in the cover art/promotional image below the part where it says “Vol. 1.” Obviously the implication is there’s more.
So be it. If that becomes a pressed-to-CD covers EP or LP over the next however-many months either to precede or follow the actual record of original songs, what, I’m gonna complain? And if it’s just videos of the band jamming to keep content algorithms happy and their name in the forebrain of their fanbase for when said record starts its promo cycle? Not arguing with that either. Ain’t none of us getting any younger. The more the merrier.
Video’s at the bottom of the post. Here’s what Nuclear Blast had to say about it, plus the dates of the band’s current tour with Judas Priest and Alice Cooper from the PR wire:
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – “Fire and Water”
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY are back with a special rendition of ‘Fire And Water’ by English rock band, Free! The classic track was originally released in 1970 on the album of the same name. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY’s version came spontaneously in the studio during some downtime while recording their forthcoming new full-length, set for release next year, and serves as the first of the Riffissippi Studio Jam Sessions, a special collection of jammed out interpretations of songs by some of the band’s favorite artists.
Comments guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, “When we were tracking this record, we had a very cool space set up where we would essentially hang in the large room with everything mic’d and everything we needed, including a turntable and a bunch of our favorite records, which we would play and chill out between takes. We were hanging together, and I pulled out a Free album and ‘Fire And Water’ popped up. [Drummer] Stanton [Moore] jumped up immediately and said, ‘Who the fuck is that!?.’ He had never heard it before. We were baffled, but it was awesome to us that he had never heard it. He said, ‘let’s cut that!’ I said, ‘man, that’s friggin’ Free and kind of like holy ground that you don’t fuck with.’ But we started thinking about it and damn Stanton charted it out like the drum wizard he is. I said, ‘I can’t sing like that, man. He’s the king.’ Someone in the room said, ‘just sing it like you,’ so we went for it and had a blast doing it. It was a nice fun break from the recording. It’s nothing too serious, just a bunch of fellas leaning into it, loving the rock. It’s an exercise in restraint. Hope y’all dig it.”
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY w/ Judas Priest, Alice Cooper: 9/23/2025 Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater – Bridgeport, CT 9/24/2025 Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater – Virginia Beach, VA 9/25/2025 The Golden Pony – Harrisonburg, VA ** 9/26/2025 PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ 9/27/2025 Broadview Stage at SPAC – Saratoga Springs, NY 9/29/2025 Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON 9/30/2025 Stan’s Room at Piere’s – Ft. Wayne, IN ** 10/01/2025 The Pavilion At Star Lake – Burgettstown, PA 10/02/2025 Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI 10/04/2025 Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH 10/05/2025 Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre – Tinley Park, IL 10/06/2025 Wooly’s – Des Moines, IA ** 10/08/2025 Intrust Bank Arena – Wichita, KS 10/09/2025 Warehouse on Broadway – Kansas City, MO ** 10/10/2025 Broadmoor World Arena – Colorado Springs, CO 10/12/2025 Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre – Salt Lake City, UT 10/14/2025 Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA 10/15/2025 Toyota Amphitheatre – Wheatland, CA 10/17/2025 The Usual Place – Las Vegas, NV ** 10/18/2025 North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre – Chula Vista, CA 10/19/2025 Kia Forum – Inglewood, CA 10/21/2025 Rockhouse Bar & Grill – El Paso, TX ** 10/22/2025 Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre – Phoenix, AZ 10/23/2025 Isleta Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM 10/25/2025 Germania Insurance Amphitheater – Austin, TX 10/26/2025 The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, TX
End Tour 11/08-09/2025 Damnation Fest @ BEC Arena – Manchester, UK 1/10/2026 Foro Alicia – Mexico City, MX 1/12/2026 Sala Métronomo – Santiago, CL 1/14/2026 Club Paraguay – Córdoba, AR ** CORROSION OF CONFORMITY headlining date
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 18th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The first Corrosion of Conformity album in 20 years to feature Stanton Moore on drums. The first C.O.C. album in 34 years, just one of two in their catalog, without bassist Mike Dean in the lineup. And, to boot, a double-LP following up on 2018’s No Cross No Crown (review here), which ran nearly an hour long and also took place over two 12″ platters.
I’m intrigued. A little worried about it, if we’re honest, but in my view C.O.C. don’t have a bad record. The early hardcore stuff isn’t my thing, but it’s not bad, and from there, well, they were one of the first rock bands I ever really took to. I was a little baby no-bloggy boy. The internet was barely in houses. So I’ve got nerd-fan’s certain amount of trust in how it’ll pan out, despite the oh-no-it’s-different situation 2025 finds the band in with Woodroe Weatherman as the lone remaining founding member and Pepper Keenan likely in the driver’s seat in terms of songwriting. Curiouser and curiouser.
They’re touring with Judas Priest and Alice Cooper this Fall. I don’t know that I could get a photo pass for that, but I want to badly. We’ll see.
On to mixing the record goes. I’m assuming it’s an early ’26 release, also assuming that it’s through Nuclear Blast. This was posted on socials:
For all the freethinkers and beer drinkers….
Woody and Pepper have just finished tracking one of the most meaningful and powerful records we have ever been a part of. This would not have been possible without the skills of all those that have joined this caravan, that is still in hot pursuit. Stanton Moore, Bobby Rock and Mr. Warren Riker between the speakers and never telling us to turn down…now he’s off to mixland..There’s many others that this would have not been possible without and whom will not be forgotten .This is what was in our head for three years and today we can say it is no longer ours.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 5th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Crystal Spiders are set to embark on a run of nine shows in nine days next month as they continue to support their new album through Ripple Music, Metanoia (review here). The three-piece played two shows in their home state of North Carolina last weekend, in Raleigh and Asheville, and they’ll be back in the latter for another gig at Fleetwoods at the end of the July tour, but before the run starts, they’ve got an appearance at the reportedly-last Maryland Doom Fest, where I have no doubt they’ll be greeted as liberators.
From there it’s up the Eastern Seaboard into the thick of Northeastern summer haze, then after Philly they hang a left and hit Youngstown, Ohio, Chicago, Detroit and Lexington, Kentucky, to cover some ground in the Midwest as they loop back home through Nashville. It’s a solid run promoting a killer record, and if you live somewhere not covered by this tour, keep an eye out, as it’s always possible the band are dividing up the country across successive runs. Perhaps Fall or Winter on the West Coast? I’m speculating, so don’t quote me on anything.
The tour is put together by Heavy Talent and the dates were posted on social media thusly:
The last 2 shows were amazing! Thank you to all who came out! Next up is the LAST EVER Maryland Doom Fest and then a run of dates across the East Coast! Where will we see you?
CRYSTAL SPIDERS live: 06.22 Maryland Doom Fest Frederick MD 07.18 Gold Sounds Brooklyn NY 07.19 Boston MA O’Brien’s 07.20 Philadelphia PA Century Bar 07.21 Youngstown OH Westside Bowl 07.22 Detroit MI Outer Limits Lounge 07.23 Chicago IL Reggies 07.24 Lexington KY Al’s Bar 07.25 Nashville TN East Room 07.26 Asheville NC Fleetwoods
Listening to the song “Torche” at the outset of Crystal Spiders‘ third full-length, Metanoia, it’s hard not to grow even more wistful at the thought of Maryland Doom Fest (which the band are playing) ending its 11-year run this month. The North Carolinian unit led by bassist/vocalist Brenna Leath, now incarnated as a three-piece with guitarist Reid Rogers and drummer Aaron Willis both making their first appearance, conjure a groove that feels so much descended from the Eastern Seaboard’s longest-lived doom lineage, and Leath belts out the lyrics — in the opener and beyond — with a reach like nontoxic-Pentagram with soul on top. The band, the music, life itself, are still Sabbath at the root, but able to boogie or doom at will with a fluid, unpretentious groove and a cast that seems to come from traditionalist metal. There’s also some punk in there. And it rocks. It’s kind of a melting pot, and while it’s sure to bring the house down in Frederick in a couple weeks, that shortchanges the band’s potential to spearhead and carry the banner for another generation’s worth of family reunions billed as doom festivals. A missed opportunity.
Mike Dean, formerly of C.O.C. and a bandmate of Leath‘s in Lightning Born, makes an unsurprising but welcome return as producer after helming the first two Crystal Spiders LPs, 2021’s Morieris (review here) and 2020’s Molt (review here). As far as I know, his collaboration with the band on the seven-track/43-minute Metanoia doesn’t extend to playing guitar as it did on Morieris, but this time Crystal Spiders brought their own guitarist, so fair enough. In any case, his stamp can be heard in the organic moss grown on the distortion of “Torche” as it janga-janga-chugs the backdrop to Leath‘s verse, which she delivers in layers I’m assuming because nobody else in the band or otherwise could stand up to doing a duet with her. I’m being glib, but the basic fact is that Leath‘s powerhouse voice is a major distinguishing feature of Crystal Spiders‘ work, and whether pushing through “Torche” or crooning and gnashing in the slower, more atmospheric “Blue Death,” which follows, down to rolling out the Dehumanizer-style epic “OS” at the finish, there is no flinch in terms of command. That Metanoia — the title from Greek for changing your mind, often used in terms of post-psychotic-break personality rebuilding — is more than just a showcase for Leath‘s voice is a credit to the band as a whole, but if it was, I’m pretty sure she could carry it anyhow.
“Ignite” comes in swinging after “Blue Death,” with a riff riding down a highway of Judas Priest classic metal and attitude in the vocals to suit. At 3:46, it’s the shortest cut on the album by about two minutes, and it has the smooth, knows-where-it’s-headed flow of a song that came together naturally in a rehearsal space, whether or not it actually did — digs in, grooves, does what it wants, gets out. Rogers tears into a solo with special aplomb and the ba-dump ending tells you the band are thinking of the stage, which is where a song like “Ignite” will inevitably shine. The subsequent “Time Travel” is the centerpiece and again plays through at a slower tempo, fluid in the central riff with Willis working some strut into the drums as it moves into the verse with Vol. 4-style confidence. A drawling delivery of the title-line backs the chorus, making it that much catchier as it shifts into the ending of side A and a three-song side B that somewhat changes up the direction the songs are taking. Or at least the direction of the direction. That is to say, while nestled comfortably in the space between doom and heavy rock in terms of their tones and general, overarching approach, side B’s “Maslow,” “21” and the aforementioned closer “OS,” are working toward different ends than the material earlier on Metanoia. This, too, finds the band in communion with classic heavy.
Both “Maslow,” which is an atmospheric highlight a little under eight minutes long that holds its own in bookending with “OS,” and the capper itself are grander. They’re more theatrical in their ambitions, and they’re giving a more narrative impression. By contrast, “21” — think gambling — has energy enough behind its shove as the chorus entreats one to “Place your bets” and “Hit hard or go home,” and delivers on the whole hitting-hard promise throughout. The bounce in the second-half solo feels like a tie to garage doom, but it’s really all coming from that place schooled in early 1970s heavy rock with elements culled from the generations of practitioners since. It’s the way it’s used to offset “Maslow” and “OS” that makes it such a signifier of the burgeoning maturity in Crystal Spiders‘ craft. They’ve played songs off each other before, but the complement that “21” makes leading out of “Maslow” and into “OS,” the rumble and a cymbal wash giving over to the final, more ’90s-style roll taking its time in setting up the airy initial verse, isn’t to be understated. And sure enough, “Torche” fits better as the leadoff with Willis‘ count-in conveying urgency and immediately bringing the listener into the momentum of the song.
These are the kinds of things a band should be doing by the time they’re on their third record, but Metanoia is up to more than ticking boxes, and the emergent truth is that the amalgam of tropes and influences they engage along the way results in a personality that is more their own than it has ever been in terms of the songs. “OS” offers some more of that Chesapeake Watershed-style doomly roll along with grungier drawl, but keeps hold of its underlying foreboding such that the shouts after the dual-tiered solo section arrive with due precedent as a metallic, marching crescendo before residual guitar brings it to a finish. Crystal Spiders are not a band that need to take a roundabout way to hooking an audience. Their work, here and with the prior incarnation of the band, is able to engage by coming straight at the listener. They’re not sneaking around. They’re not pulling tricks. Metanoia is full-on heavy rock and roll ready to flatten that which is set before it. It’s gonna kill in Maryland, and well beyond.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 20th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The first single from Crystal Spiders‘ upcoming third album Metanoia — they’re also three-for-three on one-word album titles that start with ‘m,’ so there — brings an intriguing sound and twist on the heavy vibes the trio has wrought before, flexible as that is between doom and classic heavy rock. As it happens, “Torche” speaks to both.
I’m pretty sure it’s not about the band Torche — you never know, I guess, but there’s no mention of it below if that’s the case and I’ve been through the songs a couple times and at no point does bassist/vocalist Brenna Leath seem to shout out Steve Brooks, rad as it might be if she did — but especially with the stark accompaniment of the video below, the song piques interest as to where Metanoia might go and how it might get there.
Info and side-of-your-boogie-van-worthy cover art came from the PR wire:
US heavy rock trio CRYSTAL SPIDERS unleash first track and video off upcoming new album “Metanoia”; out May 23rd on Ripple Music!
North Carolina’s fiercest hard’n’heavy rockers CRYSTAL SPIDERS return with their third full-length “Metanoia” on Ripple Music this May 23rd, and present the roaring “Torche” single and video.
Riding the tides of doom-laden riffs and intoxicating grooves, Crystal Spiders returns with their highly anticipated third album, “Metanoia” on Ripple Music. Known for their alchemical blend of heavy metal and psychedelic soundscapes, the North Carolina power trio delves deeper into the abyss, exploring themes of transcendentalism and expansion in a collection of gritty and beautiful tracks. On “Metanoia”, Crystal Spiders masterfully intertwines searing NWOBHM guitar solos, thunderous fuzzed-out basslines, and howling vocal harmonies.
The album’s title, derived from the ancient Greek word for a transformative change of heart, encapsulates a journey of transcending boundaries and venturing into uncharted territories while blending personal introspection and broader societal commentary into a dark, poetic and highly evocative imagery and lyricism. “Overall, “Metanoia” is a profound exploration of the human condition, using powerful imagery and introspective lyrics to invite listeners on a transformative journey. The song “Torche” sets the tone with its visceral depiction of a primal struggle, using fire and light as symbols of both conflict and illumination,” says bassist and vocalist Brenna Leath.
“Metanoia” will be issued on May 23rd in various LP formats, CD digipack and digital, with preorders available now from Ripple Music. It was produced at Volume 11 Studios by Mike Dean (Corrosion of Conformity) in Raleigh, NC, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Mastering Studios. Artwork by Tyler Pennington and graphics by Mark Aceves.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 3rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Granted it wasn’t the first time in Corrosion of Conformity‘s more than four decades that they did so, but it was a surprise nonetheless in September when the band bid farewell to founding bassist/vocalist Mike Dean, announcing they’d be continuing on with someone new. The someone has turned out to be Bobby Landgraf, who solidifies the lineup around guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, guitarist/backing vocalist Woodroe Weatherman, and onstage drummer (I think it’s still) John Green.
The band didn’t make an announcement as such — it was the holidays, you know how it is — but Landgraf posted the photo-collage and brief confirmation on his socials. If you’re not familiar, his pedigree includes shenanigans-laced heavy rockers Honky, playing guitar alongside Keenan, fronting Snakes of Central Texas, teching for Pantera and a bunch of others, and so on. And of course, there’s video of him doing the thing filmed at Headbangers Boat a few weeks back (the photos below would seem to have originated there as well). It’s bootleg sound, but it’s also “Albatross,” so even if they weren’t showing off a revamped dynamic, really it’s its own excuse for being.
Last I heard, C.O.C. were still in-progress on the follow-up to their 2018 album, No Cross No Crown (review here), working with drummer Stanton Moore (who last appeared on the band’s 2005 outing, In the Arms of God) in the studio with Warren Riker producing. Videos go up periodically of this or that being recorded, but you wouldn’t accuse them of rushing it, and fair enough. No doubt the proceedings will be different without Dean there, but change is the order of the universe, so there you go.
2025 release? Surprise album and tour drop sometime in Spring? That’d rule. I, of course, know nothing. Ever. About anything. You get used to it after a while. A stupid kind of zen.
From socials:
Absolutely Thrilled to be in Corrosion of Conformity. Onwards and Upwards
Posted in Reviews on October 15th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I’ll be honest, I don’t even want to talk about how well this Quarterly Review is going because I worry about screwing it up. It’s always a lot of work to round up 10 records per day, even if there’s a single or and EP snuck in there, but it’s been a long time now that I’ve been doing things this way — sometimes as a means of keeping up, sometimes to herald things to come, usually just a way to write about things I want to write about regardless of timeliness — and it’s always worth it. I’ve had a couple genuinely easy days here. Easier than expected. Obviously that’s a win.
So while I wait for the other shoe to drop, let’s keep the momentum going.
Quarterly Review #61-70:
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Massive Hassle, Unreal Damage
Brotherly two-piece Massive Hassle, comprised of brothers Bill Fisher and Marty Fisher — who played together in Mammothwing and now both feature in Church of the Cosmic Skull — get down with another incredibly complex set of harmonized ’70s-style soul-groovers, nailing it as regards tone and tempo from the big riff that eats “Lost in the Changes” to the strums and croons early in the penultimate “Tenspot,” hitting a high note together in that song that gives over to stark and wistful standalone guitar meander that with barely a minute ago gorgeously becomes a bittersweet triumph of nostalgic fuzz reminiscent of Colour Haze‘s “Fire” and having the sheer unmitigated gall to tell the world around them it’s no big deal by naming the band Massive Hassle and stating that as the thing they most want to avoid. When they did Number One (review here) in 2023, it felt like they were proving the concept. With Unreal Damage, they’re quietly pushing limits.
Iress are the Los Angeles-based four-piece of Michelle Malley (vocals), Michael Maldonado (bass), Glenn Chu (drums) and Graham Walker (guitar). Sleep Now, In Reverse is their fourth full-length in nearly 15 years of existence. As a record, it accomplishes a lot of things, but what you need to understand is that where it most succeeds and stands itself out is in bringing together a heavy post-rock sound — heavygaze, as the kids don’t say because they don’t know what it is — with emotive expression on vocals, a blending of ethereal and the most human and affecting, and when Malley lets loose in the payoff of “Mercy,” it’s an early highlight with plenty more to follow. It’s not that Iress are reinventing genre — evolving, maybe? — but what they’re doing with it is an ideal unto itself, taking those aspects from across an aesthetic range and incorporating them into a whole, at times defiantly cohesive sound, lush but clearheaded front to back.
When the band put the shimmying “Apocalypse Babes” up as a standalone single last year, it was some five years after their debut full-length, 2018’s Mindtripper (review here) — though there was a split between — so not an insignificant amount of time for Norway’s Magmakammer to expand on their methods and dig into the songs. To be sure, “Doom Jive” and “Zimbardo” still have that big-hook, Uncle Acid-style dirty garage buzz that lends itself so well to cultish themes but thankfully here is about more than murder. And indeed, the band seems to have branched out a bit, and the eight-song/43-minute Before I Burn is well served by divergences like the closing “I Will Guide Your Hand” or the way “Cult of Misanthropy” sounds like a studio outtake on a bootleg from 1969 until they kick it open around a build of marching guitar, even as it stays loyal to Magmakammer‘s core stylistic purposes. A welcome return.
The kind of sludge rock Ohio’s Evel play, informed by Mondo Generator‘s druggy, volatile heavy punk and C.O.C.‘s Southern metal nod, maybe a bit of High on Fire in “Alaska,” with a particularly Midwestern disappointment-in-everything that would’ve gone over well at Emissions From the Monolith circa 2003, isn’t what’s trendy. It’s not the cool thing. It doesn’t care about that, or about this review, or about providing social media content to maximize its algorithmic exposure. I’m not knocking any of that — especially the review, which is going swimmingly; I promise a point is coming — but if Evel‘s six-songer debut EP, Omen, is a foretell of things to come, the intention behind it is more about the catharsis of the writing/performance than trying to play to ‘scene’-type expectations. It is a pissed-off fuckall around which the band — which features guitarist/vocalist Alex Perekrest, also of Red Giant — will continue to build as “Dust Angel” and the swinging “Dawn Patrol” already find them doing. The going will likely be noisy, and that’s just fine.
Some six years and one reunion after their fourth album, 2018’s The Lucky Ones (review here), Virginia-born classic heavy barnburners Satan’s Satyrs are back with a fifth collection beating around riffs from Sabbath and the primordial ooze of heavy that birthed them, duly brash and infectious in their energy. Founding bassist/vocalist Clayton Burgess and guitarist Jarrett Nettnin are joined in the new incarnation of the band by guitarist Morgan McDaniel (also Mirror Queen) and drummer Russ Yusuf — though Sean Saley has been with them for recent live shows — and as they strut and swing through “Saltair Burns” like Pentagram if they’d known how to play jazz but were still doom, or the buzzy demo-style experimentation of “Genuine Turquoise,” which I’m just going to guess came together differently than was first expected. So much the better. They’ve never been hugely innovative, but Satan’s Satyrs have consistently delivered at this point across a span of more than a decade and they have their own spin on the style. They may always be a live band, but at least in my mind, there’s not much more one would ask that After Dark doesn’t deliver.
Delivered through Kozmik Artifactz, Weight in Gold is the second long-player from Melbourne, Australia’s Whoopie Cat, and it meets the listener at the intersection of classic, ’70s-style heavy blues rock and prog. Making dynamic use of a dual-vocal approach in “Pretty Baby” after establishing tone, presence and craft as assets with the seven-minute opening title-track, the band are unflinchingly modern in production even as they lean toward vintage-style song construction, and that meld of intention results in an organic sound that’s not restricted by the recording. Plus it’s louder, which doesn’t hurt most of the time. In any case, as Whoopie Cat follow-up their 2018 debut, Illusion of Choice, they do so with distinction and the ability to convey a firm grasp on their songwriting and convey a depth of intention from the what-if-Queen-but-blues “Icarus” or the consuming Hammondery of closer “Oh My Love.” Listening, I can’t help but wonder how far into prog they might ultimately go, but they’ve found a sweetspot in these songs that’s between styles, and they fit right in it.
Cheeky, heavy garage punk surely will not be enough to save the immortal souls of Earth Tongue from all their devil worship and intricate vocal patterning. And honestly the New Zealand two-piece — I could’ve sworn I saw something about them moving to Germany, but maybe they just had a really good Berlin show? — sound fine with that. Guitarist Gussie Larkin and drummer Ezra Simons benefit from the straightforward outward nature of their songs. That is, “Out of This Hell,” “The Mirror,” “Bodies Dissolve Tonight!” and any of the other nine inclusions on the record that either were or could’ve been singles, are catchy and tightly written. They’re not overplayed or underplayed, and they have enough tonal force in Larkin‘s guitar that the harder churn of closer “The Reluctant Host” can leave its own impression and still feel fluid alongside some of Great Haunting‘s sweeter psych-punk. Wherever they live, the two-piece make toys out of pop and praise music so that even “Miraculous Death” sounds like, and is, fun.
The collection House of Pain (Demos) takes its title from the place where guitarist/vocalist Tomas Iramain recorded them alongside bassist Matias Maltratador and drummer Jorge Iramain, though whether it’s a studio, rehearsal space, or an actual house, I won’t profess to know. Tomas is the lone remaining member carried over from the band’s 2020 self-titled LP, and the other part of what you need to know about House of Pain (Demos) can also be found in the title: it’s demos. Do not expect a studio sound full of flourish and nuance. Reportedly most of the songs were tracked with two Shure SM57s (the standard vocal mic), save for “Nomad” and “The Way I Am,” I guess because one broke? The point is, as raw as they are — and they are raw — these demos want nothing for appeal. The bounce in the bonus-track-type “Mountain (Take 1)” feels like a Dead Meadowy saunter, and for all of its one-mic-ness, “Nomad” gives a twist on ’50s and early ’60s guitar instrumentals that’s only bolstered by the recording. I’m not saying Las Historias should press up 10,000 LPs immediately or anything, but if this was the record, or maybe an EP and positioned as more substantial than the demos, aside from a couple repeated tracks, you could do far worse. “Hell Bird” howls, man. Twice over.
Certainly “Come With Me” and others on Aquanaut‘s self-titled debut have their desert rocking aspects, but there’s at least as much The Sword as Kyuss in what the Trondheim, Norway, newcomers unfurl on their self-titled, self-released debut, and when you can careen like in “Gamma Rays,” maybe sometimes you don’t need anything else. The seven-track/35-minute outing gets off to a bluesy, boozy start with “Lenéa,” and from there, Aquanaut are able to hone an approach that has its sludgier side in some of the Eyehategod bark of “Morality” but that comes to push increasingly far out as it plays through, so that “Living Memories” soars as the finale after the mid-tempo fuzzmaking of “Ivory,” and so Aquanaut seem to have a nascent breadth working for them in addition to the vigor of a young band shaping a collective persona. The generational turnover in Norway is prevalent right now with a number of promising debuts and breakouts in the last couple years. Aquanaut have a traditionalism at their core but feel like they want to break it as much as celebrate it, and if you’re the type to look for ‘bands to watch,’ that’s a reason to watch. Or even listen, if you’re feeling especially risk-friendly.
While I would be glad to be writing about Ghost Frog‘s quirky heavy-Weezerism and psychedelic chicanery even if their third album, Galactic Mini Golf didn’t have a song called “Deep Space Nine Iron” on it, I can’t lie and say that doesn’t make the prospect a little sweeter. It’s an interlude and I don’t even care — they made it and it’s real. The Portland, Oregon, four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Quinn Schwartz, guitarist/synthesist Karl Beheim, bassist Archie Heald and drummer Vincent LiRocchi (the latter making his first appearance) keep somewhat to a golfy theme, find another layer’s worth of heavy on “Shadow Club,” declare themselves weird before you even press play and reinforce the claim in both righteous post-grunge roll of “Burden of Proof” and the new wave rock of “Bubble Guns” before the big ol’ stompy riff in “Black Hole in One’ leads to a purposeful whole-album finish. Some things don’t have to make the regular kind of sense, because they make their own kind. Absurd as the revelry gets, Ghost Frog make their own kind of sense. Maybe you’ll find it’s also your kind of sense and that’s how we learn things about ourselves from art. Have a great rest of your day.
