Posted in Whathaveyou on April 24th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Fresh off their month-long stint in March and April supporting The Obsessed, Boston heavy soul pushers Gozu last week unveiled the thus-far confirmed European dates leading up to their appearance at Hellfest in France this June, and wouldn’t you know, before I even managed to get that posted here, they followed up this week by announcing they’ll join Baroness and Poison Ruin for the East Coast and Midwestern portion of their own summer tour before they go abroad. Hot damn, is the bottom line.
Gozu are no strangers to time on the road — they were last in Europe in 2022 by my count, but don’t quote me on that — but they do seem to have hit it with marked purpose since releasing their stunner of a fifth long-player, Remedy (review here) last Spring, and with no shortage of cause to do so in the intensity of that collection. So much the better for them to head over again, and of course, if you’re in a position to help them with the open slots listed below, I encourage you do do so both as part of a general ethic of supporting underground bands on the tour, and because it’s the kind of gig you’ll be proud to have been a part of afterward.
And as a word to the wise, they’re very likely not done. They’ve already been confirmed for Desertfest New York (Sept. 12-14) and Ripplefest Texas (Sept. 19-22), Louder Than Life in Kentucky (Sept. 26-29) and Aftershock in Sacramento, CA (Oct. 10-13). Don’t be surprised if and when a tour comes to cover at least part of the travel in that stretch. Did I already mention “hot damn?”
I may not get to a ton of shows these days, and I had pangs missing the NYC date that capped the tour they just ended, but it warms my heart to see these guys getting out and putting their music in people’s faces where it belongs.
The below is cobbled together from Heavy Psych Sounds (their Euro booker) on the PR wire, Gozu‘s social media, and Baroness‘ website:
Hey all, we are stoked to announce that our US heavy rockers GOZU will tour Europe this Summer !!!
STILL FEW OPEN SLOTS
BOOK YOUR SHOW – WRITE TO: info@heavypsychsounds.com
GOZU Euro Tour 2024 TU. 18.06.24 IT BOLOGNA FREAKOUT WE. 19.06.24 IT VERONA FINE DI MONDO TH. 20.06.24 AT KUFSTEIN KULTURFABRIK FR. 21.06.24 DE MÜNSTER RARE GUITAR SA. 22.06.24 ***OPEN SLOT*** SU. 23.06.24 ***OPEN SLOT*** MO. 24.06.24 ***OPEN SLOT*** TU. 25.06.24 FR CHAMBERY BRIN DE ZINC WE. 26.06.24 FR ***OPEN SLOT*** TH. 27.06.24 FR ***OPEN SLOT*** FR. 28.06.24 FR CLISSON HELLFEST
Something wicked this way comes!!
GOZU w/ BARONESS & POISON RUIN: May 31 | Portland, ME | State Theatre Jun 01 | Norwalk, CT | District Music Hall Jun 02 | Rochester, NY | Essex Jun 04 | Grand Rapids, MI | Pyramid Scheme Jun 05 | Indianapolis, IN | The Vogue Jun 07 | Madison, WI | Majestic Theatre Jun 08 | Palatine, IL | Durty Nellie’s Jun 09 | Chicago, IL | House of Blues Jun 10 | Des Moines, IA | Wooly’s
GOZU is: Marc Gaffney – guitar and vocals Joe Grotto – bass Doug Sherman – lead guitar Seth Botos – drums
The first 10 seconds of “Tom Cruise Control” are pretty telling in that they remind the listener just how little Gozu actually need to make a hook. It’s just the guitar, then the bass and drums pick up and are swept along with the immediate momentum garnered. This has been Gozu‘s method for seven years now, to take the tones, grooves and, particularly in the vocals of guitarist Marc “Gaff” Gaffney, the soul of heavy rock and recontextualize them with a force of impact born of heavy metal. As the Boston four-piece offer the nine songs and 48 minutes of Remedy as their first studio LP since 2018’s Equilibrium (review here), they not only welcome drummer Seth Botos to the lineup alongside Gaffney, lead guitarist Doug Sherman and bassist Joe Grotto, but they reaffirm and refine the aesthetic stance they initially took on Equilibrium‘s predecessor, 2016’s Revival (review here).
That record, issued in a stopover through Ripple Music before they were picked up by Metal Blade imprint Blacklight Media, first united Gozu with producer Dean Baltulonis at Wild Arctic Studios in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. None of their work before that — 2013’s The Fury of a Patient Man (review here), 2010’s Locust Season (discussed here; review here), or their 2008 self-titled demo — had the same purposeful, directed punch. Make no mistake, Gozu always hit hard, but rounded edges turned into sharp corners right around the middle of the last decade and they’ve been riding those crisp orange lines ever since. Their collaboration with Baltulonis — who has produced records for Primitive Weapons, Sick of it All, Hatebreed, and it’s safe to say is no stranger to the aurally aggro — is part of what lets them so quickly establish themselves on Remedy. They are as sure in their method of delivery as they are in their songwriting, and they’re not wrong about either one.
But of course, there’s more to any Gozu record than just the shove, though it’s somewhat comforting to know that five years and two drummers after their last record the shove is still ready to go. Second cut “CLDZ” takes its name from a cannabis-infused beverage company part-owned by Baltulonis, so one imagines the recording was a good time, but it’s also the longest inclusion save for nine-minute closer “The Handler,” its two halves split by a solo united by a richly layered melodic chorus from Gaffney, a casually shredded solo from Sherman providing the transition as Grotto — who would be a secret weapon were it not for the consuming thickness of the bass running alongside the guitars; not a new aspect of Gozu‘s sound but universally effective — blends intricacy and fluidity to complement the riffy core of the material, there and in the dare-you-rockers-to-mosh procession of the subsequent “Rambo 2” and side B’s penultimate “Ash,” the latter a declarative stomp that can’t help but feel like Boston hardcore.
Between those two songs, a forward sprint like the three-minute “Joe Don Baker” or even the verses of “Tom Cruise Control,” the spirit of Remedy is charged and metallic, but that isn’t all it is. In doubling as the first single, “Tom Cruise Control” and its standout chorus did more than hint at a career performance vocally from Gaffney, and the rest of the album bears that out in striking fashion. A scream sneaks into the end of the verse in “Rambo 2.” The effects-laced layers backing “The Magnificent Muraco” add to the confident and soulful presence of the can-sing-lead-singerism happening at the forefront — that Gaffney holds it down live while playing rhythm guitar is not a minor achievement, either — which gives over to falsetto soon enough. And amid the open strumming of “The Handler,” which crushes with repetition in a way that reminds of The Fury of a Patient Man capper “The Ceaseless Thunder of Surf,” Gaffney goes there again as the lumbering nod moves through its middle.
Even in the dual-personality of “Ben Gazzara Loves No One,” with a penetrating build of feedback at its start, a thud of kickdrum and a dust-covered tone of riff that reminds of Author & Punisher more than Fu Manchu that turns very much toward boogie after three minutes into its total five and a half, Gaffney is there to emphasize the dance after Sherman‘s solo reorients the song to its second movement. One could just as easily cite the way “Ash” opens up from its crunch in the verse and sweeps through its own chorus, or any number of other examples in the material to make the point. The overarching message there applies to the band as a whole as well. Some 15 years past their first release, Gozu sound comfortable in their skin as a group, like they know who they are and what they want their sound to be, but have not given up pushing themselves creatively, or — as comes across in the brash start of “CLDZ,” the intensity of “Joe Don Baker” imagining what would happen if ‘thrash rock’ existed, or the largesse in the rollout of “Ben Gazzara Loves No One” — physically.
Part of that might be due to the shift in dynamic that comes from bringing in Botos on drums, but Gozu have been delving further into kinetic surge for the last decade or more. And while Remedy can be read as the deepest they’ve gone in that regard, it might just as easily be noted for the hypnotic melody and nod at the end of “CLDZ” or the dreamy fade in “Rambo 2,” “The Magnificent Muraco,” or even the ‘ooh-aah’ stretch in “Ben Gazzara Loves No One,” or the consuming atmospherics of the last stretch in “The Handler.” The truth is that Gozu are a more complex group than can be summarized through one person, performance, or song, and Remedy is a reminder of the greater strength that arises as the sum of its parts.
It is not a revolution in sound for them, but it is theirs entirely — one does not hear it and mistake it for somebody else — and if they’re offering it as a cure either for modern ills, a statement that the band itself is the cure for the members, or something else related to either the pandemic years or whathaveyou, their catharsis is easy (and fun!) to internalize as a listener. That roll at the end of “The Handler” sure feels like a big exhale, and that’s suitable after some of the clenched-teeth surges that Remedy has presented. If one wants to extrapolate from that to the rest of what surrounds, then the album title makes sense. The song titles, well, that’s always been a thing for Gozu and if you can’t Google the references or don’t care or think the songs are a joke because they’re named that way, maybe you’re the one with the problem. Sorry. If you want to talk about it, I’m available and have been where you are.
For the rest, Gozu‘s steady growth along their charted path should serve as comfort enough, let alone the character of these songs, which can be propulsive or meditative without losing either their expressive intent or underlying structures and are drawn together as a group through tone without leaning on that same tone as a stylistic crutch. They are, in concept and execution, all in. On Remedy, Gozu come across like they’re holding nothing back, like each song, each part, each contribution is there for a reason in service to the LP as a whole and the individual pieces, and like they’re putting everything they have into these tracks and recordings. That’s not really anything new for them either, but five records deep, the dedication to the cause feels all the more noteworthy for the lack of stagnation that accompanies.
Arriving as veterans, they use their fifth album to reaffirm the progression they’ve taken on over their time and to demonstrate clearly their commitment to it as an ongoing factor in their makeup. That Remedy is an utter triumph for them in this should be no surprise to those who’ve heard them before, and for new listeners, these songs should serve as prime immersion. All these guys do, have ever done, is kick ass. Kudos to them on the consistency here.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Would it be funny if I said I didn’t get the reference in ‘Tom Cruise Control?’ Probably not. “What’s a ‘danger zone’?,” and so on. Meh.
The news is still good, as Boston heavy rockers Gozu send first word of their upcoming album, Remedy, which will be out May 19 through Blacklight Media. It is their second full-length for the label — which is an imprint of Metal Blade Records — behind 2018’s Equilibrium (review here), as well as their third to be recorded with Dean Baltulonis, who also helmed 2016’s Revival (review here). The PR wire has it as their fifth long-player overall, and my count is six, but I guess it depends on how you situate their 2008 self-titled. Well, I just checked the band’s Bandcamp and they call it a demo, so there you go. Remedy is number five.
In case you’re looking at the tracklisting and curious, I looked up “CLDZ” and it’s a cannabis-infused drink company — whose beverages look lovely — owned in part by Baltulonis. I bet that’s a good-ass song. Sadly, I haven’t heard the record yet to confirm for myself. There’s time.
And until then, the four-piece have a video up for Remedy‘s first single, the aforementioned “Tom Cruise Control,” and it’s a riffer for all seasons, topped with a career performance from Marc Gaffney on vocals. The chorus hits with harmonies that are a technology I don’t understand and so can only think of as magic, the kick is heavy and aggro in the verses, and Doug‘s fuck-it noise shred is on point, while Joe Grotto joegrottos it on bass, holding the nod as they build toward the finish past the four-minute mark. Hot shit. It’s a fuckin’ burner. Sign me up.
Today started out pretty rough. This made it better:
GOZU ANNOUNCE FIFTH ALBUM ‘REMEDY’ OUT MAY 19 BLACK LIGHT MEDIA/METAL BLADE
BAND SHARES “TOM CRUISE CONTROL” VIDEO
Boston’s GOZU — Marc Gaffney (vocals and guitar); Joseph Grotto (bass); Doug Sherman (lead guitar); and Seth Botos (drums) — return riffing and screaming with their fifth full-length Remedy.
Today, the band has shared the video for “Tom Cruise Control.” Watch it here.
“‘Tom Cruise Control’ will take you riding into the danger zone,” the band shares. “It will take you right into the danger zone! Turn ‘n Burn.”
The record was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Dean Baltulonis (Death Ray Vision, The Hope Conspiracy) at Wild Arctic studios in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The album will be available via Digital/Streaming, CD, and vinyl. The U.S. vinyl variant will be Blue/White Melt, while the European vinyl variant will be Red/Black Melt.
About the album Gozu says, “A wise man said, ‘To rock is human, to roll is divine. Gozu’s Remedy should be cranked at full volume, all the time.”
REMEDY TRACK LISTING: “Tom Cruise Control” “CLDZ” “Rambo 2” “Joe Don Baker” “Pillow Talk” “The Magnificent Muraco” “Ben Gazzara Loves No One” “Ash” “The Handler”
Gozu will also hit the road this May. “On May 19, Gozu hit the road with some serious BGVs. Get ready to stop, drop, and open up shop! See you all at a club near you. Woooo.”
GOZU ON TOUR: 5/19 — Brooklyn, NY — Saint Vitus 5/20 — Philadelphia, PA — Kung Fu Necktie 5/21 — Pittsburgh, PA — Green Beacon Gallery 5/23 — Indianapolis, IN — Black Circle * 5/24 — Columbus, OH — Ace of Cups * 5/25 — Newport, KY — Southgate House/Revival Room * 5/26 — Chicago, IL — Reggies / Music Joint * 5/27 — Lincoln, NE — Cosmic Eye Brewery 5/28 — Denver, CO —The Crypt 5/30 — Houston, TX — Black Magic Social Club 5/31 — Austin, TX — The Lost Well 6/1 — Arlington, TX — Division 6/2 — New Orleans, LA — Gasa Gasa 6/3 — Nashville, TN — Springwater * 6/4 — Atlanta, GA — Boggs Social & Supply * 6/5 — West Columbia, SC — New Brookland Tavern * 6/7 — Raleigh, NC — The Pour House * *With Ancient Days
VIDEO CREDITS: Director, Editor, Animation & VFX: Shawn Reilly PunchDance Studios Studio Manager- Frank Pino JR Grip: Alex Fiorentino
GOZU is: Marc Gaffney – guitar and vocals Joe Grotto – bass Doug Sherman – lead guitar Seth Botos – drums
