Posted in Whathaveyou on August 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
An anticipated return for Rebecca Vernon, formerly of SubRosa. Her solo-project, The Keening, has been in the conversation for four years, but aside from one compilation track, there hasn’t been much output until now. Little Bird will be Vernon‘s debut album as The Keening. It’s set to release Oct. 6 through Relapse, and the first single is the title-track; a nine-plus minute excursion with a richly melancholic melody and an arrangement that’s chamber-heavy in a way that’s not entirely dissimilar from some of Crippled Black Phoenix‘s litany of sorrows, but informed of course by Vernon‘s Americana and folk songwriting style.
I went and saw the Indigo Girls a couple months back, after years of my wife telling me how great they are live. They were brilliant, of course. That’s who The Keening should tour with. They’d blow minds. Yeah, I’m sure it’ll go over well at Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, but the folk in “Little Bird” could have a broader reach too. It’s not pop, necessarily, but there’s an accessibility to the sway of “Little Bird,” I think mostly because it’s beautiful, and that goes a long way.
The PR wire had this on the subject:
The Keening (ex-Subrosa) Announce Debut Album, Little Bird
Watch the music video for the album’s title track now.
Little Bird will be released October 6th via Relapse and the band will play inaugural live performances this fall/winter.
The Keening— the solo music project of Rebecca Vernon (ex-SubRosa)—announce debut album, Little Bird, out October 6, 2023 on Relapse Records. An ultra-melodic foray into haunted bogs, endless wells, secret crimes, jeweled cages and the unenviable curse of being a murder witness abound, Little Bird carries Vernon’s signature sounds throughout— deeply moving passages give away to cinematic, sprawling moments of chambered doom. As dark as this sounds, Little Bird also fills the air with a sense of magic and wonder – there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
The Keening weaves a web of lush orchestration, American Gothic sensibilities and wintry murder ballads set against a backdrop of dark, shimmering folk. Vernon’s previous band SubRosa echoes in The Keening’s chamber doom, flowing with flute, strings, harp, French horn, piano, organ and hammered dulcimer.
The Keening’s Rebecca Vernon comments: “I’m really excited to finally start releasing this music into the ether, along with the album art, and the music video for single ‘Little Bird.’ I think the film company 10 Seconds to Comply (Ken Whiting, Andrew Bonazelli and Manny OA) and their hired crew did a phenomenal job pulling together this music video and bringing their beautiful vision to light. Thanks to my friend Lucy Sharapata for playing the lead so well, Andrea Morgan and Teresa Byrne for making time to be part of it, and Andrew and his wife Mikki for hosting us at their house! I’m also excited to share the album art – two oil paintings by Lis Pardoe of Portland. Thanks to Relapse Records for making this happen!”
Little Bird, track listing: Autumn Eden Little Bird The Hunter I The Hunter II The Truth
Largely composed at a retreat in Joshua Tree and a friend’s family homestead in Kamas, Utah, Little Bird was recorded in December 2020 at Hallowed Halls in Portland, Oregon with “Engine-ear” Billy Anderson. Anderson’s long resume includes such luminaries as Melvins, Neurosis, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, High on Fire, Bell Witch, Amenra, Agalloch, Cathedral, Cattle Decapitation, Red House Painters, Sick of it All, Sleep, and Swans.
Anderson collaborated with Vernon and Witch Mountain drummer Nathan Carson as co-producers of the recording of the album. A host of Portland’s finest session musicians lent their talents to Little Bird, including Andrea Morgan (Exulansis) on violin. Little Bird was completed in July 2021, mixed by Billy Anderson and mastered by Justin Weis at Trakworx in San Francisco.
See The Keening’s live debut performances this September including headline shows & opening for Agalloch. The Keening will also perform at Decibel Metal & Beer Fest: Denver in December. A full list of announced tour dates is available below.
The Keening, on tour: September 15 Bellingham, WA @ Shakedown September 16 Seattle, WA @ Clock-Out Lounge September 22 Eugene, OR @ John Henry’s September 23 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom w/ Agalloch, Thief December 2 Denver, CO @ Decibel Metal & Beer Fest
That’s it. End of the Summer 2023 Quarterly Review and the last round of this kind of thing until, I don’t know, sometime here or there in late September or early October. I feel like I say this every time out — and I readily acknowledge the possibility that I do; I’ve been doing this for a while, and there’s only so much shit to say — but it is my sincere hope you found something in this round of 70 records that hits with you. I did, a couple times over at least. One of the reasons I look forward to the Quarterly Review, apart from clearing off album-promo folders from my desktop, is that my end-of-year lists always look different coming out of one than they did going in. This time is no different.
But, you know, if you didn’t get there this time, that’s okay too. There’s always the next one and one of the fortunate things about living in a time with such an onslaught of recorded music is that there’s always something new to check out. The Quarterly Review is over for a couple months, yeah, but new music happens every day. Every day is another chance to find your new favorite album, band, video, whatever. Enjoy that.
Quarterly Review #61-70:
Monolord, It’s All the Same
After nearly a decade of hard, album-cycle-driven international touring and standing at the forefront in helping to steer a generational wave of lumbering riffage, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to think Gothenburg, Sweden’s Monolord might feel stuck, and “Glaive (It’s All the Same)” seems to acknowledge that. Stylistically, though the lead and partial title-track on the roller trio’s new EP, It’s All the Same, is itself a way forward. It is more spacious than crushing, and they fill the single out with guitarist Thomas V. Jäger‘s sorrowful vocal delivery and memorable early lead lines, a steady, organic rhythm from drummer/engineer Esben Willems and bassist Mika Häkki — worth noting that all three have either released solo albums or otherwise explored solo work in the last two years — and Mellotron that adds a classically progressive flair and lets the guitar focus on mood rather than stomp, though there’s still plenty of that in “Glaive (It’s All the Same)” and is more the focus of “The Only Road,” so Monolord aren’t necessarily making radical changes from where they were on 2021’s Your Time to Shine (review here), but as there has been all along, there’s steady growth in balance with the physicality of tone one has come to anticipate from them. After scaling back on road time, It’s All the Same feels reassuring even as it pushes successfully the boundaries of their signature sound.
Raging not at all unthoughtfully for most of its concise-feeling but satisfying 38 minutes, Somnuri‘s third album and MNRK Heavy label debut, the nine-song Desiderium, is a tour de force through metallic strengths. Informed by the likes of Death, (their now-labelmates) High on Fire, Killswitch Engage, Gojira (at whose studio they recorded), thick-toned and swapping between harsh shouts, screams and clean-sung choruses — and yes, that’s just in the first three minutes of opener “Death is the Beginning” — the Brooklynite trio of guitarist/vocalist Justin Sherrell, bassist Mike G. and drummer Phil SanGiacomo brazenly careen and crash through styles, be it the lumbering and impatiently angular doom “Paramnesia,” the rousing sprint “What a Way to Go,” the raw, vocals-rightly-forward and relatively free of effects “Remnants” near the end, or the pairing of the fervent, thrashy shove in “Flesh and Blood” with the release-your-inner-Cave–In “Desiderium,” the overwhelming extremity of “Pale Eyes” or the post-hardcore balladeering that turns to djent sludge largesse in closer “The Way Out” — note the album begins at “…the Beginning” and ends at an exit; happy accident or purposeful choice; it works either way — Somnuri are in the hurricane rather than commanding from the calm center, and that shows in the emotionalism of prior single “Hollow Visions,” but at no point does Desiderium collapse under the weight of its ambitions. After years of touring and the triumph that was 2021’s Nefarious Wave (review here) hinting at what seems in full bloom here, Somnuri sound ready for the next level they’ve reached. Time to spend like the next five years straight on tour, guys. Sorry, but that’s what happens when you’re the kick in the ass heavy metal doesn’t yet know it needs.
Densely distorted Indianapolis heavybringers Void King have stated that their third full-length, the burly but not unatmospheric 36-minute The Hidden Hymnal, is the first of a two-part outing, though it’s unclear whether both parts are a concept record or these six tracks are meant to start a storyline, with opener “Egg of the Sun” (that would happen if it spun really fast) and closer “Drink in the Light” feeling complementary in their increased runtime relative to the four songs between. Maybe it’s an unfinished narrative at this point, or no narrative at all. Fine. Approaching it as a standalone outing, the four-piece follow 2019’s Barren Dominion (review here) with more choice riffing and metal-threatening, weighted doom, “The Grackle” breaking out some rawer-throat gutturalism over its big, big, big tone. The bassline of “Engulfed in Absence” (tell people you love them) caps side A with a highlight, and “When the Pinecones Close Up” (that means it’s going to rain) echoes the volatility of “The Grackle” before “Brother Tried” languidly swings until it’s time for a 100 meter dash at the end, and the aforementioned “Drink in the Light” rounds out mournful and determined. If there’s more to come, so be it, but Void King give their listeners plenty to chew on in the interim.
At the core of ostensibly Switzerland-based Inezona is multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ines Brodbeck, and on Heartbeat — the fourth LP from her band and the follow-up to 2019’s Now, released as INEZ, and last year’s sans-vocals A Self Portrait — the sound is malleable around its folkish melodicism, with Brodbeck, guitarist/vocalist Gabriel Sullivan, bassist/synthesist Fabian Gisler and drummer Eric Gut comfortably fleshing out atmospheric heavy psychedelia more about mood than effects but too active and almost too expressive to be post-rock, though it kind of is anyhow. Mellow throughout, “Sea Soul” caps side A and meanders into/through a jam building on the smoky vibe in “Stardust” before the title-track strolls across a field of more ’60s-derived folk rock. “Veil” charms with fuzz, while “In My Heart” seems intent on finding the place where Scandinavian folk meets kosmiche synthesizer, and “Midnight Circle” brings Zatokrev‘s Fredryk Rotter for a guest duet and guitar spot that is a whole-album crescendo, with the acoustic-based “Leave Me Alone” and the brief “Sunday Mornings” at the end to manage the comedown. The sound spans decades and styles and functions with purpose as its own presence, and the soothing delivery of Brodbeck throughout much of the proceedings draws Heartbeat together as an interpretation of classic pop ideals with deep roots underground. Proof again that ‘heavy’ is about more than which pedals you have on your board.
It’s odd that it’s odd that Hauch‘s songs are in German. The pandemic-born Waltrop, Germany, four-piece present their first release in the recorded-in-2021, five-song Lehmasche, and I guess so much of the material coming out of the German heavy underground — and there’s a lot of it, always — is in English. A distinguishing factor for the 31-minute outing, then, which is further marked by an attitudinal edge in hard-fuzz riffers like “Es Ist” and the closer “Tür,” the aesthetic of the band at this (or that, depending on how present-tense we want to be) moment drawing strongly from ’90s rock — and no, that doesn’t necessarily mean stoner — in structure and affect, but presenting the almost-eight-minute leadoff “Wind” with due fullness of sound and ending up not too far in terms of style from Switzerland’s Carson, who last year likewise proffered a style that was straightforward on its face but, like Hauch, stood out for its level of songwriting and the just-right nature of its grooves. Lehmasche, the title translating to ‘clay ash,’ evokes something that can change shape, and the thrust in “Komm Nach Hause” and the hard-landing kick thud of centerpiece “Quelle” bear that out well enough. Keeping in mind it’s their debut, it seems likely Hauch will continue to grow, but they already sound ready to be picked up by some label or other.
Setting its nod in a manner that seems to have little time to waste on opener “The Mountain and the Feather” before breaking out with the dense, chugging swing of “The Corenne and the Prophecy Fulfilled,” Kentucky heavybringers El Astronauta bring a nuanced sound to what might be familiar progressions, but the mix is set up in three dimensions and the band dwells in all of them, bringing character to the languid reach of the mini-album Snakes and Foxes, bolstered by the everybody-might-sing approach from guitarist/keyboardist Seth Wilson, bassist Dean Collier and pushed-back drummer Cory Link, who debuted in 2021 with High Strangeness and who dude-march through “The Gambler and the General” as if the tempo was impeded by the thickness of the song itself. Through a mere 17 Earth minutes, El Astronauta carve out this indent for themselves in the side of a very large, very heavy style of rock and roll, but “The Axe or the Hammer,” which bookends topping five minutes in answer to “The Mountain and the Feather,” has a more subdued verse to go along with the damn near martial shouts of its impact-minded chorus, and fades out with surprising fluidity to leave off. The one-thing-and-another-thing titles give Snakes and Foxes a thematic feel, but the real theme here is the barebones greed-for-volume El Astronauta display, their material feeling built for beery singalongs.
With their third full-length behind 2021’s Chosen One (review here) and their 2018 self-titled debut (review here), Texan riff rollers Thunder Horse grow accordingly more atmospheric in their presentation and are that much more sure of themselves in leaning into founding guitarist/vocalist Stephen Bishop‘s industrial metal past in Pitbull Daycare. The keys give “Requiem” an epic feel at the finish, and even if the opening title-track is like what Filter might’ve been if they’d been awesome and “New Normal” and “Monolith” push further with semi-aggro metallurgical force, the wall-of-tone remains thusly informed until the two-minute acoustic “The Other Side” tells listeners where to go when it’s over (you flip the record, duh). “Monolith” hinted at a severity that manifests in the doomed “Apocalypse,” a preface in its noise and breadth for the finale “Requiem,” finding a momentum that the layered-vocal hook of “Inner Demon” capitalizes upon with its tense toms and that the howls of the penultimate “Aberdeen” expand on with Thunder Horse‘s version of classic boogie rock. They don’t come across like they’re done exploring the balances of influence in what they do — and I hope they’re not — but Thunder Horse have never sounded more certain as regards the rightness of their path.
The title “Vīrya” is Sanskrit and based on the Hindu concept of vitality or energy, often in a specifically male context. Fair enough ground for Kansas instrumentalists After Nations to explore on their single following last year’s impressive, Buddhism-based concept LP, The Endless Mountain (review here). In the four-minute standalone check-in, the four-piece remind just how granite-slab heavy that offering was as they find a linear path from the warning-siren-esque guitar at the start through the slower groove and into the space where a post-metallic verse could reside but doesn’t and that’s just fine, turning back to the big-bigger-biggest riff before shifting toward controlled-cacophony progressive metal, hints of djent soon to flower as they build tension through the higher guitar frequencies and the intensity of the whole. After three minutes in, they’re charging forward, but it’s a flash and they’re dug into the whatever-time-signature finishing movement, a quick departure to guitar soon consumed by that feeling you get when you listen to Meshuggah that there’s a very large thing rising up very slowly in front of you and surely you’ll never get out alive. Precise in their attack, After Nations reinforce the point The Endless Mountain made that technique is only one part of their overarching brutality.
There’s some incongruity between the intro “Introspection” (I see what you did there) leading into “Weightless Again” as it takes the mood from a quiet buildup to full-bore tonality and only then gives over to the eight-minute second track, but Ockra‘s Argonauta-delivered debut long-player thrives in that contradiction. Melodic vocals float over energetic riffing in “Weightless Again,” but even that is just a hint of the seven-songer’s scope. To wit, the initially acoustic-based “Tree I Planted” is recognizably parental in its point of view with a guest vocal from Stefanie Spielhaupter, and while centerpiece “Acceptance” is more doomed in its introductory lead guitar, the open strum of its early verses and the harmonies in its second half assure an impression is made. The Gothenburg-based trio grow yet more adventurous in the drone-and-voice outset of “We Who Didn’t Know,” which unfolds its own notions of what ‘heavy prog’ means, with guitarist Erik Björnlinger howling at the finish ahead of the start of the more folk-minded strum of “Imorgon Här,” on which drummer Jonas Nyström (who also played that acoustic on “We Who Didn’t Know” and adds Mellotron where applicable) takes over lead vocal duties from bassist Alex Spielhaupter (also more Mellotron). The German-language closer “Tage Wie Dieser” (‘days like these’) boasts a return from Stefanie Spielhaupter and is both quiet grunge and ambient post-rock before the proggy intensity of its final wash takes hold, needing neither a barrage of effects or long stretches of jamming to conjure a sense of the far out.
What’s another 20 minutes of music to Erik Larson, I wonder. The Richmond-based songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist has a career and a discography that goes back to the first Avail record three decades ago, and at no point in those decades has he ever really stopped, moving through outfits like (the now-reunited) Alabama Thunderpussy, Axehandle, The Mighty Nimbus, Hail!Hornet, Birds of Prey, Kilara, Backwoods Payback, Thunderchief, on and on, while building his solo catalog as well. Fortsett, the 20-minute EP in question, follows 2022’s Red Lines and Everything Breaks (both reviewed here), and features Druglord‘s Tommy Hamilton (also Larson‘s bandmate in Omen Stones) on drums and engineer Mark Miley on a variety of instruments and backing vocals. And you know what? It’s a pretty crucial-sounding 20 minutes. Larson leads the charge through his take that helped define Southern heavy in “Cry in the Wind,” the nodder “My Own,” and the sub-two-minute “Electric Burning,” pulls back on the throttle for “Hounder Sistra” and closes backed by drum machine and keys on “Life Shedding,” just in case you dared to think you know what you were getting. So what’s that 20 minutes of music to Erik Larson? Going by the sound of Fortsett, it’s the most important part of the day.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The Keening is Rebecca Vernon from SubRosa, and that’s all you really need to know, though I guess the fact that there’s an album, Relapse is releasing it, and a live band will take shape as well featuring, among others, Nathan Carson of Witch Mountain, is useful knowledge as well. You might also note the part below that says the record was produced by Billy Anderson and Carson and that those sessions happened two and a half years ago, im Dec. 2020.
Aside from meaning The Keening‘s debut will be nearly three years old by the time it arrives — which is by no means a detriment; not like it’s going to sound dated — that follows Vernon‘s appearance on the compilation Women of Doom (review here), which came out earlier in that plague year and was a decisively solo outing, a track called “A Shadow Covers Your Face” that you can stream at the bottom of this post.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that the one song thus far released by the project is representative of everything Vernon has going on with it, and indeed the PR wire info below describes some not-just-guitar-bass-drums arrangements that would seem to confirm that. I look forward to hearing it myself and seeing where the album goes. The feeling I get is the answer to that is it goes pretty deep.
Here’s info:
THE KEENING (ex-SUBROSA) SIGNS TO RELAPSE RECORDS
ANNOUNCE SEPTEMBER HEADLINE LIVE PERFORMANCES & SUPPORTING AGALLOCH
THE KEENING —the solo musical project of Rebecca Vernon (SubRosa)—signs to Relapse Records & announces live performances in September!
Rebecca Vernon Comments:
“I’m very excited and honored to join the Relapse family and look forward to the journey ahead with them. This music has been a long time in the making, and a lot of blood, sweat and travail went into it. I hope those who connect with it find it worth the wait. A lot of thanks goes to the many who have helped me along the way, but especially to my family, and Billy Anderson, Andrea Morgan and Nate Carson, who were the most heavily involved in the making of the album.”
THE KEENING weaves a web of lush orchestration, American Gothic sensibilities and wintry murder ballads set against a backdrop of dark, shimmering folk. Vernon’s previous band SubRosa echoes in THE KEENING’s chamber doom, flowing with flute, strings, harp, French horn, piano, organ and hammered dulcimer. Ultra-melodic forays into haunted bogs, endless wells, secret crimes, jeweled cages and the unenviable curse of being a murder witness abound. Dark as this sounds, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Rebecca Vernon was the lead singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter of Salt Lake City’s acclaimed SubRosa. She ended that 13-year project in 2018 to focus on THE KEENING.
Largely composed at a retreat in Joshua Tree and a friend’s family homestead in Kamas, Utah, THE KEENING’s upcoming album was recorded in December 2020 at Hallowed Halls in Portland, Oregon with “Engine-ear” Billy Anderson. Anderson’s long resume includes such luminaries as Melvins, Neurosis, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, High on Fire, Bell Witch, Amenra, Agalloch, Cathedral, Cattle Decapitation, Red House Painters, Sick of it All, Sleep, and more.
Anderson collaborated with Vernon and Witch Mountain drummer Nathan Carson as co-producers of the recording of the album. A host of Portland’s finest session musicians lent their talents to the album, including Andrea Morgan of Exulansis on violin.
THE KEENING is primed to release this brand new album via Relapse Records in 2023. More information about the album will be made available in the weeks and months to come.
THE KEENING TOUR DATES: Fri 9/15 – Bellingham, WA – Shakedown Sat 9/16 – Seattle, WA – Clock-Out Lounge Fri 9/22 – Eugene, OR – John Henry’s Sat 9/23 – Portland OR – Crystal Ballroom w/ Agalloch, Thief
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 30th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
YOB‘s current US tour started over a week ago and this week swings through the Midwest en route to the Eastern Seaboard. The Eugene, Oregon, cosmic doom stalwarts announced about a week and a half ago they’ll reissue their debut album, 2002’s Elaborations of Carbon, through Relapse Records in the spirit of past album revisits with new artwork, a remaster, and so on. The tour will see them stop through Mutants of the Monster this week and as they head in that direction, they’ve put word out that Dave French (a noted front-of-house sound engineer and formerly drums in Brothers of the Sonic Cloth) has joined on drums as a permanent member of the group.
This isn’t the huge news it might seem to be when one considers that French has been playing with YOB for two years, as the band mentions below, but the current tour is the largest undertaking they’ve done in that time, so it’s a fitting moment to make it official. French stepped in on drums for YOB as life began to return post-pandemic, filling the role formerly occupied by Travis Foster, who had joined in 2003. Guitarist/vocalist Mike Scheidt is as he has been the lone remaining founding member, while bassist Aaron Rieseberg (also Simple Forms) came aboard when the band returned in 2009 after breaking up in ’06. Got all that?
The dates don’t really matter. What’s important is that with French as a permanent member, YOB will proceed on this tour and continue moving forward, and that their announcement gives me an excuse to post a pic by Dutch photographer Paul Verhagen, who is among the all-time champion sweethearts of the universe. Also included are the dates for the tour that I spent half the post talking about.
Dig:
We’re very happy to announce that Dave French is officially joining Yob as our new drummer.
We’ve been friends, neighbors, tour mates and admirers of Dave for over a decade. We first met in 2012 when he was playing drums for Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth. His crushing approach and commitment to detail behind the kit was remarkable. Since then we’ve toured with Dave in multiple scenarios when he was working as a tech or sound engineer for bands like Neurosis, Voivod, Sleep (as well with Om, Boris, Soundgarden, MC50, and many others) over the years.
Dave has been playing drums with us live since 2021 and has brought his focus, energy and inspiration to every moment. We’re thrilled to welcome him to Yob.
(#128248#) Paul Verhagen
YOB US TOUR DATES Tue 5/30 – St Paul, MN – Turf Club* (SOLD OUT) Wed 5/31 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown* Thu 6/01 – Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck* Fri 6/02 – Little Rock, AR – Mutants Of The Monster Fest* Sat 6/03 – Murfreesboro, TN – Hop Springs* Sun 6/04 – Louisville, KY – Portal* Tue 6/06 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall* Wed 6/07 – Pittsburgh, PA – Spirit Hall* Thu 6/08 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar* Fri 6/09 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts* Sat 6/10 – Boston, MA – Middle East (Downstairs)* (SOLD OUT) Mon 6/12 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge* Tue 6/13 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge # Wed 6/14 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry # Thu 6/15 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Music Hall # Fri 6/16 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade (Hell) # Sat 6/17 – New Orleans, LA – House Of Blues # Sun 6/18 – Austin, TX – Oblivion Access Festival # Tue 6/20 – Albuquerque, NM – Sister # Wed 6/21 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile # Thu 6/22 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick # Fri 6/23 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom # Sat 6/24 – Oakland, CA – 3rd & Castro # * = w/ Cave In # = w/ Pallbearer
YOB is: Mike Scheidt – Guitar, Vocals Aaron Rieseberg – Bass Dave French – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 18th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
YOB won’t actually hit all four corners of the US on their upcoming coast-to-coast tour, but they’re not far off. After starting out in their native Pacific Northwest, they’ll swing through the Midwest, loop up northeast to go south along the East Coast, then turn west and circle back out across to Southern California, finishing en route back north through Oakland. As the press release states, it’s the most significant North American touring they’ve done in four years, and as they make ready to go, word comes through the PR wire of a reissue of their first album, 2002’s Elaborations of Carbon, through Relapse Records.
If you don’t recognize 12th Records, the original label that put out the Eugene, Oregon-based three-piece’s debut full-length, it’s the imprint of Electric Amplifiers — even if you’re not a guitar nerd, you’ve probably seen Green or Black or White, etc., amplifiers resting on guitar cabinets at shows. That’s them. The label also put out releases from Bongzilla offshoot Cuda, as well as High on Fire‘s first demo, Starchild‘s debut and a curated selection of others around the turn of the century — also Black Capricorn in 2009, so they’re not by any means ancient-ancient history. Their eBay store remains a moneyspender’s paradise.
Elaborations of Carbon is by no means YOB‘s most crucial release, but it was a formative moment for them in discovering a genuinely cosmic take on doom, a psychedelia of heft not seen before if also not yet fully realized, and it remains a document of their beginning that, whether you have the original CD or not, is worth seeking out. Essential? Definitely if you’re digging into YOB‘s catalog for the first time. And for collectors, this new-art/remastered-audio edition is a no-brainer. If neither of those is you, maybe you preorder just because it’s been five years since YOB last put out a record and you feel a primal need to spend your money on their wares. I get it.
The 2LP Elaborations of Carbon will be out Sept. 15, but it’s streaming now, player is below, blah blah. You get it. Info came off the PR wire:
YOB ANNOUNCE ELABORATIONS OF CARBON (REISSUE)
PHYSICAL PRE-ORDERS OUT SEPTEMBER 15; REMASTERED DIGITAL AUDIO STREAMING IN FULL NOW
Epic, crushing, and heavy beyond words, YOB has achieved legendary status over the last two decades with their unmatched aesthetic and incredible body of work. Now Elaborations of Carbon, the debut full length that set the stage for the band’s singular, organic universe of transcendent doom, is being presented for the first time on vinyl as well as being made widely available for the first time across streaming services.
Mike Scheidt Comments:
“At long last, Elaborations Of Carbon is available to anyone who wants it, and on vinyl no less! It’s wild that EOC was first released over 20 years ago, counting the 4-song burned CD-R version we handed out to friends before releasing the 6-song album. We were swinging for the rafters, and gave it everything we had. It’s been a blast to revisit this album and remember all of the good times we had.”
The enormous volume and pensive, ethereal beauty that YOB would become synonymous with make themselves known across the 6 riveting tracks on Elaborations of Carbon. The album’s lineup features Yob founder and heart Mike Scheidt (vocals and guitars), Lowell Iles (bass), and Gabe Morley (drums) and was recorded and mixed by Jeff Olsen (who would go on to become a long time collaborator of YOB’s) at Dogwood Recordings in Elmira, OR.
After its initial release in May 2002 on 12th Records, the CD would see a small repress in 2013 and the album has been unavailable since. Billy Barnett was called upon to make the archival transfer for the 2023 reissue which was mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Music and features completely re-envisioned artwork by Orion Landau.
Additionally, YOB’s first full US tour in four years BEGINS this weekend on Sunday, May 21 at Modified Ghost Festival! The headline tour dates have them making their way across the US throughout late May & June with select support by CAVE IN (5/28-6/12) & PALLBEARER (6/13-6/24). Tickets are available now at https://www.yobislove.com/tour.
ELABORATIONS OF CARBON (REISSUE) TRACKLIST: 1. Universe Throb (2023 Remaster) 10:33 2. All The Children Forgotten (2023 Remaster) 17:01 3. Clear Seeing (2023 Remaster) 16:53 4. Revolution (2023 Remaster) 10:56 5. Pain Of I (2023 Remaster) 07:06 6. Asleep In Samsara (2023 Remaster) 07:20
YOB US TOUR DATES Select Support By CAVE IN & PALLBEARER Sun 5/21 – Vancouver, BC – Modified Ghost Festival (SOLD OUT) Thu 5/25 – Seattle, WA – Northwest Terror Fest Fri 5/26 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall Sat 5/27 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge Sun 5/28 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theater* Tue 5/30 – St Paul, MN – Turf Club* (SOLD OUT) Wed 5/31 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown* Thu 6/01 – Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck* Fri 6/02 – Little Rock, AR – Mutants Of The Monster Fest* Sat 6/03 – Murfreesboro, TN – Hop Springs* Sun 6/04 – Louisville, KY – Portal* Tue 6/06 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall* Wed 6/07 – Pittsburgh, PA – Spirit Hall* Thu 6/08 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar* Fri 6/09 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts* Sat 6/10 – Boston, MA – Middle East (Downstairs)* (SOLD OUT) Mon 6/12 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge* Tue 6/13 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge # Wed 6/14 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry # Thu 6/15 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Music Hall # Fri 6/16 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade (Hell) # Sat 6/17 – New Orleans, LA – House Of Blues # Sun 6/18 – Austin, TX – Oblivion Access Festival # Tue 6/20 – Albuquerque, NM – Sister # Wed 6/21 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile # Thu 6/22 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick # Fri 6/23 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom # Sat 6/24 – Oakland, CA – 3rd & Castro # * = w/ Cave In # = w/ Pallbearer
Elaborations of Carbon credits: Mike Scheidt – Guitar & Vocals Lowell Iles – Bass Gabe Morley – Drums
Recorded and mixed by Jeff Olsen at Dogwood Recording Archival transfer by Billy Barnett Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Music Design by Orion Landau
YOB is: Mike Scheidt – Guitar, Vocals Aaron Rieseberg – Bass Dave French – Drums (live)
Here we go day four of the Quarterly Review. I would love to tell you it’s been easy-breezy this week. That is not the case. My kid is sick, my wife is tired of my bullshit, and neither of them is as fed up with me as I am. Nonetheless, we persist. Some day, maybe, we’ll sit down and talk about why. Today let’s keep it light, hmm?
And of course by “light” I mean very, very heavy. There’s some of that in the batch of 10 releases for today, and a lot of rock to go along, so yes, another day in the QR. I hope you find something you dig. I snuck in a surprise or two.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Dorthia Cottrell, Death Folk Country
Crafted for texture, Death Folk Country finds Windhand vocalist Dorthia Cottrell exploring sounds that would be minimal if not for the lushness of the melodies placed over them. Her first solo offering since 2015 runs 11 tracks and feels substantial at a manageable 42 minutes as delivered through Relapse Records. The death comes slow and soft, the folk is brooding and almost resistant in its Americana traditionalism, and the country is vast and atmospheric, and all three are present in a release that’s probably going to be called ethereal because of layering or vocal reverb but in fact is terrestrial like dry dirt. The seven-minute “Family Annihilator” is nigh on choral, and e-bow or some such droner element fills out the reaches of “Hell in My Water,” expanding on the expectation of arrangement depth set up by the chimes and swells that back “Harvester” after the album’s intro. That impulse makes Death Folk Country kin to some of earlier Wovenhand — thinking Blush Music or Consider the Birds; yes, I acknowledge the moniker similarity between Windhand and Wovenhand and stand by the point as regards ambience — and a more immersive listen than it would otherwise be, imagining future breadth to be captured as part of the claims made in the now. Do I need to say that I hope it’s not 2031 before she does a third record?
It’s been a quick — read: not quick — five years since Italian heavy rockers Fvzz Popvli released their second album, Magna Fvzz (review here), through Heavy Psych Sounds. Aptly titled, III is the third installment, and it’s got all the burner soloing, garage looseness and, yes, the fvzz one would hope, digging into a bit of pop-grunge on “The Last Piece of Shame,” setting a jammy expectation in the “Intro” mirrored in “Outro” with percussion, and cool-kid grooving on “Monnoratzo,” laced with hand-percussion and a bassline so thick it got made fun of in school and never lived down the trauma (a tragedy, but it rules just the same). “Post Shit” throws elbows of noise all through your favorite glassware, “20 Cent Blues” slogs out its march true to the name and “Tied” is brash even compared to what’s around it. Only hiccup so far as I can tell is “Kvng Fvzz,” which starts with a Charlie Chan-kind of guitar line and sees the vocals adopt a faux Chinese accent that’s well beyond the bounds of what one might consider ‘ill-advised.’ Cool record otherwise, but that is a significant misstep to make on a third LP.
San Diegan riffslingers Formula 400 come roaring back with their sophomore long-player, Divination, following three (long) years behind 2020’s Heathens (review here), bringing in new drummer Lou Voutiritsas for a first appearance alongside guitarist/vocalists Dan Frick and Ian Holloway and bassist Kip Page. With a clearer, fuller recording, the solos shine through, the gruff vocals are well-positioned in the mix (not buried, not overbearing), and even as they make plays for the anthemic in “Kickstands Up,” “Rise From the Fallen” and closer “In Memoriam,” the lack of pretense is one of the elements most fortunately carried over from the debut. “Rise From the Fallen” is the only cut among the nine to top five minutes, and it fills its time with largesse-minded riffing and a hook born out of ’90s burl that’s a good distance from the shenanigans of opener “Whiskey Bent” or the righteous shove of the title-track. They’re among the best of the Ripple Music bands not yet actually signed to the label, with an underscored C.O.C. influence in “Divination” and the calmer “Bottomfeeder,” while “In Memoriam” filters ’80s metal epics through ’70s heavy and ’20s tonal weight and makes the math add up. Pretty dudely, but so it goes with dudes, and dudes are gonna be pretty excited about it, dude.
Each of the two intended sides of Abanamat‘s self-titled debut saves its longest song for its respective ending, with “Voidgazer” (8:25) capping side A and “Night Walk” (9:07) working a linear build from silence all the way up to round out side B and the album as a whole. Mostly instrumental save for those two longer pieces, the German four-piece recorded live with Richard Behrens at Big Snuff and in addition to diving back into the beginnings of the band in opener “Djinn,” they offer coherent but exploratory, almost-Uncle–Acidic-in-its-languidity fuzz on “Thunderbolt of Flaming Wisdom,” growing near-prog in their urgency with it on the penultimate “Amdest” but never losing the abiding mellow spirit that manifests out of the ether as “Night Walk” rounds out the album with synth and keys and guitar in a jazzy for-a-walk meander as the band make their way into a fuller realization of classic prog elements, enhanced by a return of the vocals after five minutes in. They’re there just about through the end, and fit well, but it demonstrates that Abanamat even on their debut have multiple avenues in which they might work and makes their potential that much greater, since it’s a conscious choice to include singing on a song or not rather than just a matter of no one being able to sing. The way they set it up here would get stale after a couple more records, but one hopes they continue to develop both aspects of their sonic persona, as any need to choose between them is imaginary.
Led by nine-string bassist Frédérick “ChaotH” Filiatrault (ex-Unexpect), Montreal four-piece Vvon Dogma I are a progressive metal whirlwind, melodic in the spirit of post-return Cynic but no less informed by death metal, djent, rock, electronic music and beyond, the 10-song/45-minute self-released debut, The Kvlt of Glitch confidently establishes its methodology in “The Void” at the outset and proceeds through a succession marked by hairpin turns, stretches of heavy groove like the chorus of “Triangles and Crosses” contrasted by furious runs, dance techno on “One Eye,” melody not at all forgotten in the face of all the changes in rhythm, meter, the intermittently massive tones, and so on. Yes, the bass features as it inevitably would, but with the precision drumming of Kevin Alexander, Yoan MP‘s backflipping guitar and the synth and strings (at the end) of Blaise Borboën (also credited with production), a sound takes shape that feels like it could have been years in the making. Mind you I don’t know that it was or wasn’t, but Vvon Dogma I lead the listener through the lumbering mathematics of “Lithium Blue,” a cover of Radiohead‘s “2+2=5” and the grand finale “The Great Maze” with a sense of mastery that’s almost unheard of on what’s a first record even from experienced players. I don’t know where it fits and I like that about it, and in those moments where I’m so overwhelmed that I feel like my brain is on fire, this seems to answer that.
Two sprawling slow-burners populate the self-titled debut from UK three-piece Orme. Delivered through Trepanation Recordings as a two-song 2LP, Orme deep-dives into ambient psych, doom, drone and more besides in “Nazarene” (41:58) and “Onward to Sarnath” (53:47), and obviously each one is an album unto itself. Guitarist/vocalist Tom Clements, bassist Jimmy Long (also didgeridoo) and drummer Luke Thelin — who’s also listed as contributing ‘silence,’ which is probably a joke, but open space actually plays a pretty large role in the impression Orme make — make their way into a distortion-drone-backed roller jam on “Nazarene,” some spoken vocals from Clements along the way that come earlier and more proclamatory in “Onward to Sarnath” to preface the instrumental already-gone out-there-ness as well as throat singing and other vocalizations that mark the rest of the first half-hour-plus, a heavy psych jam taking hold to close out around 46 minutes with a return of distortion and narrative after, like an old-style hidden track. It’s fairly raw, but the gravitational singularity of Orme‘s two forays into the dark are ritualistic without being cartoonishly cult, and feel as much about their experience playing as the listener’s hearing. In that way, it is a thing to be shared.
The UK-based experimentalist psych collaboration between Fred Laird (Earthling Society) and Mike Vest (Bong, et al) yields a third long-player as The Gateless Gate finds the duo branching out in the spirit of their 2021 self-titled and last year’s Pancosmology (review here) with instrumentalist flow and a three-dimensional sound bolstered by the various delays, organ, synth, and so on. Atop an emergent backbeat from Laird, “Twilight Chorus” (16:13) runs a linear trajectory bound toward the interstellar in an organic jam that comes apart before 12 minutes in and gives over to church organ and sampled chants soon to be countermanded by howls of guitar and distortion. Takest thou that. The B-side, “Sound of Desolation” (19:55), sets forth with a synthy wash that gives over to viol drone courtesy of Martin Ash, a gong hit marking the shift into a longform psych jam with a highlight bassline and an extended journey into hypnotics with choral keys (maybe?) arriving in the second half as the guitar begins to space out, fuzz soloing floating over a drone layer, the harder-hit drums having departed save for some residual backward/forward cymbal hits in the slow comedown. The world’s never going to be on their level, but Laird and Vest are warriors of the cosmos, and as their work to-date has shown, they have bigger fish to fry than are found on planet earth.
What a show to preserve. Heavy Petal Music, while frustrating in that it’s new Rainbows Are Free and not a follow-up to 2019’s Head Pains, but as the Norman, Oklahoma, six-piece’s first outing through Ripple Music, the eight-song/43-minute live LP captures their first public performance in the post-pandemic era, and the catharsis is palpable in “Come” and “Electricity on Wax” early on and holds even as they delve into the proggier “Shapeshifter” later on, the force of their delivery consistent as they draw on material from across their three studio LPs unremitting even as their dynamic ranges between a piano-peppered bluesy swing and push-boogie like “Cadillac” and the weighted nod of “Sonic Demon” later on. The performance was at the 2021 Summer Breeze Music Festival in their hometown (not to be confused with the metal fest in Germany) and by the time they get down to the kickdrum surge backing the fuzzy twists of “Crystal Ball” — which doesn’t appear on any of their regular albums — the allegiance to Monster Magnet is unavoidable despite the fact that Rainbows Are Free have their own modus in terms of arrangements and the balance between space, psych, garage and heavy rock in their sound. Given Ripple‘s distribution, Heavy Petal Music will probably be some listeners’ first excursion with Rainbows Are Free. Somehow I have to imagine the band would be cool with that.
It’s the marriage of complexity and heft, of melody and nod, that make Slowenya‘s “Angel Raised Wolves” so effective. Moving at a comfortable tempo on the drums of Timo Niskala, the song marks out a presence with tonal depth as well as a sense of space in the vocals of guitarist/synthesist Jan Trygg. They break near the midpoint of the 6:39 piece and reemerge with a harder run through the chorus, bassist Tapani Levanto stepping in with backing vocals before a roar at 4:55 precedes the turn back to the original hook, reinforcing the notion that there’s been a plan at work the whole time. An early glimpse at the Finnish psych-doom trio’s next long-player, “Angel Raised Wolves” comes paired with the shorter “Horizontal Loops,” which drops its chugging riff at the start as though well aware of the resultant thud. A tense verse opens to a chorus pretty and reverbed enough to remind of Fear Factory‘s earlier work before diving into shouts and somehow-heavier density. Growls, or some other kind of noise — I’m honestly not sure — surfaces and departs as the nod builds to an an aggressive head, but again, they turn back to where they came from, ending with the initial riff the crater from which you can still see right over there. The message is plain: keep an ear out for that record. So yes, do that.
Let’s start with what’s obvious and say that Elkhorn‘s four-song On the Whole Universe in All Directions, which is executed entirely on vibraphone, acoustic 12-string guitar, and drums and other percussion, is not going to be for everybody. The New York duo of Drew Gardner (said vibraphone and drums) and Jesse Sheppard (said 12-string) bring a particularly jazzy flavor to “North,” “South,” “East” and “West,” but there are shades of exploratory Americana in “South” that follow the bouncing notes of the opener, and “East” dares to hint at sitar with cymbal wash behind and rhythmic contrast in the vibraphone, a meditative feel resulting that “West” continues over its 12 minutes, somewhat ironically more of a raga than “East” despite being where the sun sets. Cymbal taps and rhythmic strums and that strike of the vibraphone — Elkhorn seem to give each note a chance to stand before following it with the next, but the 39-minute offering is never actually still or unipolar, instead proving evocative as it trades between shorter and longer songs to a duly gentle finish. Gardner formerly handled guitar, and I don’t know if this is a one-off, but as an experiment, it succeeds in bridging stylistic divides in a way that almost feels like showing off. Admirably so.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Not that I really needed one, but I’ve been hearing the plod of Author & Punisher in my head all week and have been looking for a few free minutes and an excuse to revisit 2022’s brilliant Krüller (review here), and lo, here comes word of a European tour and US dates starting Saturday in Hamden, Connecticut, and that’s more than enough, especially since, as I said at the outset, I didn’t need the excuse to start with.
That fucking record stomped a crater in my consciousness all last year, and I still hear “Maiden Star” just thinking about it, ditto the title-track — “Held up a truck, pulls to the right,” is one of the best lyrics I heard in 2022; does so much literary work; puts you in mind of the character; imagine stealing a someone’s pickup and being pissed the alignment is off; the sensory evocation of being in that vehicle, done in less words than this half-assed explanation of it; genius — and “Incinerator” and even “Drone Carrying Dread” with all its scene-setting ambience, making the world the record just dropped you into.
Anyhow, go to the shows. Yeah, all of ’em. That’s right. US and Europe. You hate your god damn job anyway. Fuck it. Quit and follow Author & Punisher around. Out with Imperial Triumphant, no less. You could spend that time so, so much worse. Like by going to that job. So don’t.
The update came down from Bandcamp, and if you want to take it as a sign of the esteem in which I hold this band, I’ll tell you that today was already an 11-post day before I saw this news and that is more than twice what I generally consider “enough” for a day and I still decided to put this together as post number 12. Madness:
We are excited to reveal that Author & Punisher will be bringing the drone machines back to Europe this June. We’ll be joining up with Imperial Triumphant for a few co-headlining dates, partnering with Statiqbloom for a run, and hitting some fests along the way. Check out the full list of dates below and grab tickets here:lnkfi.re/APlive
Stateside A&P fans can catch Tristan and Doug supporting HEALTH in April. The tour kicks off THIS SATURDAY in Hamden, CT and culminates on the West Coast with two special headlining shows with Snakes of Russia supporting.
We’re keeping select digital releases as pay-what-you-want on Bandcamp throughout touring season. So grab some tunes to prepare for the shows and keep an eye out for more goodies for the next Bandcamp Friday.
See you on the road fuckers!
-Tristan & Team
April US dates supporting HEALTH:
APR 01- HAMDEN, CT- SPACE BALLROOM APR 02- WASHINGTON, DC- UNION STAGE APR 04- COLUMBUS, OH- A&R MUSIC BAR APR 06- MADISON, WI- HIGH NOON SALOON APR 07- HAMTRAMCK, MI- FIXATION FESTIVAL- SMALL’ S APR 08- CLEVELAND, OH- GROG SHOP APR 09- PITTSBURGH, PA- THUNDERBIRD MUSIC HALL APR 14 – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – DNA LOUNGE* APR 15- SAN DIEGO, CA- MUSIC BOX APR 16 – LOS ANGELES, CA – RESIDENT*
*A&P headlines with Snakes of Russia, no HEALTH
June European Headlining dates:
07 JUNE – Liege, Belgium – La Zone 09 JUNE – Gdansk, Poland – Mystic Festival 10 JUNE – Warsawa, Poland – VooDoo* 12 JUNE – Riga, Latvia – Vagonu Hall* 13 JUNE – Tallin, Estonia – Paavli 7* 16 JUNE – Stockholm, Sweden – Hus7* 17 JUNE – Oslo, Norway – Bla* 18 JUNE – Malmo, Sweden – Plan B 19 JUNE – Copenaghen, Denmark – Basement^ 20 JUNE – Hamburg, Germany – Hafenklang^ 21 JUNE – Bochum, Germany – Die Trompete^ 22 JUNE – Antwerp, Belgium – Kavka^ 23 JUNE – Bourlon, France – Rock in Bourlon 24 JUNE – Ferropolis, Germany – Full Force 25 JUNE – Berlin, Germany – Urban Spree*
* with Statiqbloom ^co-headliner with Imperial Triumphant
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
2023 makes it two full decades since YOB released their second album, Catharsis (discussed here). I don’t know if they’re doing anything on this tour to mark that occasion or not — probably not or they’d, you know, mention it — but that’s a record that directly changed my opinion of what heavy music could do and be, so it’s an anniversary I’ll celebrate even if I’m the only one celebrating it. In the meantime, it’s been five years since the Oregonian cosmic doom progenitors released their last album, 2018’s Our Raw Heart (review here), and that’s the longest stretch of their career without a studio LP. Even when they broke up in 2005, they were back with a new record in 2009. If you believe in due, they’re due.
I have no info or speculation to offer in that regard. They’ll either do another record or they won’t — there you have it. But while I’m listing out reasons for ongoing sentimental attachment to this band, I’ll note they were the first show I went to after live music opened up post-pandemic (review here), and I don’t think that’s something I’ll ever forget. I’ve been saying ever since that next time they come through it’s time for me to take The Patient Mrs. to a gig since they’re a band who’re important enough to me that she should experience them live as well. Maybe Le Poisson Rouge will be where that happens. Could do worse as well than having to pick your poison between Cave In and Pallbearer as an opener. Date night and whatnot.
Fresh off the PR wire:
YOB ANNOUNCES US LATE SPRING HEADLINE TOUR
SELECT SUPPORT BY CAVE IN (5/28 – 6/12) & PALLBEARER (6/13 – 6/23)
Oregon cosmic three piece YOB announce their first full US tour in four years! The headline tour dates have them making their way across the US throughout late May & June. Select support will be provided by CAVE IN (5/28-6/12) & PALLBEARER (6/13-6/24).
YOB US TOUR DATES Select Support By CAVE IN & PALLBEARER Sun 5/21 – Vancouver, BC – Modified Ghost Festival+ Thu 5/25 – Seattle, WA – Northwest Terror Fest+ Fri 5/26 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall Sat 5/27 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge Sun 5/28 – Denver, CO – Gothic Theater* Tue 5/30 – St Paul, MN – Turf Club* Wed 5/31 – Omaha, NE – Slowdown* Thu 6/01 – Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck* Fri 6/02 – Little Rock, AR – Mutants Of The Monster Fest* Sat 6/03 – Murfreesboro, TN – Hop Springs* Sun 6/04 – Louisville, KY – Portal* Tue 6/06 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall* Wed 6/07 – Pittsburgh, PA – Spirit Hall* Thu 6/08 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar* Fri 6/09 – Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts* Sat 6/10 – Boston, MA – Middle East (downstairs)* Mon 6/12 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge* Tue 6/13 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge # Wed 6/14 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry # Thu 6/15 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Music Hall # Fri 6/16 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade (Hell) # Sat 6/17 – New Orleans, LA – House Of Blues # Sun 6/18 – Austin, TX – Oblivion Access Festival #+ Tue 6/20 – Albuquerque, NM – Sister # Wed 6/21 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile # Thu 6/22 – San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick # Fri 6/23 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom # Sat 6/24 – Oakland, CA – 3rd & Castro #
* = w/Cave In # = w/Pallbearer + = Already on sale
YOB is: Mike Scheidt – Guitar, Vocals Aaron Rieseberg – Bass Dave French – Drums (live)
