This Friday, Jan. 12, marks the release of Turned to Stone Ch. 9, the latest installment of the ongoing split series from Ripple Music highlighting deep-underground talent in heavy rock, doom, psych, and related styles. Bringing together Ritual Earth from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Italian duo Kazak, the seven-song offering follows behind the Southwesterly-focused Turned to Stone Ch. 8 (review here), which arrived in May 2023 with new material from Blue Heron and High Desert Queen, and in prior editions the series has highlighted works from Howling Giant, Saturna, Planet of the 8s, Merlin, Wizzerd, and of course plenty of others.

Ritual Earth aren’t without influence from desert-style heavy, but they can’t escape that Northeastern urbane tonal crunch either, and it stays resonant even as they depart the roll in “Through the Interstellar Medium” for a first-half exploratory jaunt. To be sure, the nod returns. Vocalist George Chamberlin carries rock melodies informed by grunge and traditionalist heavy, and in Steve Mensick‘s guitar, Chris Scott‘s bass, Chris Turek‘s drumming and maybe organ from Mark Boyce, there is expansive complement. Offering three songs to Kazak‘s four, Ritual Earth first present the organ-laced blues nod of “In the Wake,” which weaves into and around its central riff through moody, open verses that seem to make the ensuing chorus take off all the more.

“Through the Interstellar Medium” brings psychedelic flourish to this riffy ideology, and in the eight-minute “Ominous Aurorae,” they take their time getting there and offer an impact in the drums that’s well worth the trip as they embrace a more linear structure rising from a contemplative, atmospheric start into more terrestrial chorus-making, not quite as over-the-top as Green Lung, but not far off, and underscore the triumph with a guitar solo before capping with a last chorus. Kazak — the two-piece configuration of guitarist/vocalist/synthesist Daniele Picchi and drummer Matteo Gherardi branched off of the decidedly more raucous unit Fish Taco — arrive at Turned to Stone with four cuts, shorter on average than Ritual Earth‘s in terms of runtime, but expansive in their own way, fostering a meditative sound that, like what Ritual Earth brought to side A, is adjacent to desert rock without actually being it.

Instead, the primary touchstone for Kazak, particularly once Picchi‘s vocals start on “Geometrical Alchemy,” is earlier Om, but the difference of impact thought Picchi‘s guitar is apparent even earlier than that, and the flexibility in terms of frequency from the six-stringed instrument gives “Geometrical Alchemy” a sense of reach that “Haze,” which is still plenty rich in terms of low end, but that finds its fluidity in the interplay with Gherardi‘s drumming. At 7:11, “Sunset Symphony” is as far out as Kazak go, its groove is melodic and resonant thanks to vocal layering as it approaches the middle, though by that point, Kazak have immersed the listener in the fog they’ve conjured through the first two songs, so it’s not such a leap when they take that next step.

And suitably enough, it’s the guitar riffing away in the nod of closer “The 25th Hour” that lets Kazak ride to its more percussive ending with such flow, hypnotic repetition easing the way as Picchi and Ghererdi find ground beneath the ether. Their sound and Ritual Earth‘s are varied, but each belongs to the band in question, and while they might not at first seem like the most intuitive pairing — as opposed to bands who sound the same, that is — they make each other’s material stronger through their shared elements and are all the more divergent for the individual takes they present. Once again, the Turned to Stone series delivers a quality sampling of wares from two acts who will only have earned whatever recognition they garner from taking part in it. You’d think eventually the label would run out of bands to spotlight, but I’m certainly glad it hasn’t happened yet.

The split LP streams in full below, followed by more from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Preorder link: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-9

“Turned To Stone Chapter 9” will be available on January 12th, 2024 in various vinyl formats as well as digitally, with preorders available now on Ripple Music.

RITUAL EARTH & KAZAK “Turned To Stone Chapter 9” split album Out January 12th on Ripple Music – PREORDER: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-9

TRACKLIST:
1. Ritual Earth – In The Wake
2. Ritual Earth – Through Interstellar Medium
3. Ritual Earth – Ominous Aurorae
4. Kazak – Geometrical Alchemy
5. Kazak – Haze
6. Kazak – Sunset Symphony
7. Kazak – The 25th Hour

Ritual Earth are:
George Chamberlin – Vocals
Steve Mensick – Guitars
Chris Scott – Bass
Chris Turek – Drums
Keys & Synths by Mark Boyce

Kazak are:
Matteo Gherardi – drums, pads
Daniele Picchi – guitar, voice, synth

Ritual Earth on Facebook

Ritual Earth on Instagram

Ritual Earth on Bandcamp

Kazak on Facebook

Kazak on Instagram

Kazak on Bandcamp

Ripple Music on Facebook

Ripple Music on Instagram

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

Ripple Music will continue its ongoing split series ‘Turned to Stone’ in January by bringing together Philadelphia’s Ritual Earth and Italy’s Kazak for a shared platter. The first single, from Ritual Earth, is streaming at the bottom of this post. The series has heretofore established a high standard for itself, and last time around with Blue Heron and High Desert Queen (review here) emphasized so much of what works about the format, the bands’ respective works complementary but individualized in their take.

I’ll cop to being less familiar with Kazak than Ritual Earth — Philly’s a lot closer to NJ where I live — but it’s easy enough to get on board with the open-feel of the guitar in “Through the Interstellar Medium,” the accompanying lumber, sharp and decisive punctuation of the drums, and echoing, grainy melody gives over fluidly to a bit of pastoralism before sweeping back to its heavier proceeding. The PR wire drops hints of Om-style meditations from Kazak, and in their latest track “Dimming Lights” one can hear it, but again, I’ve got to dig further.

More to come. For now:

Doom and psych metallers RITUAL EARTH and KAZAK unite for “Turned To Stone Chapter 9” split album on Ripple Music; first track streaming!

Ripple Music announce the next chapter of their “Turned To Stone” split series featuring US and Italian doom and psych metal purveyors Ritual Earth and Kazak, to be released on January 12th. Stream the first track “Through The Interstellar Medium” now!

Launched in 2020, Ripple Music’s “Turned To Stone” split series focus on unique pairings from across the stoner, doom and heavy psych underground and explore the farthest reaches of riffdom. This ninth chapter builds an towering wall of sound, bringing Philadelphia-based monolithic heavy merchants RITUAL EARTH and Italian psych-laden doom duo KAZAK to the forefront for a dark and enthralling sonic experience.

Stream the first single off “Turned To Stone Chapter 9”
with Ritual Earth’s “Through Interstellar Medium”

RITUAL EARTH’s progressive sound lends itself to complex lyrical themes and heavy use of emotions and symbolism. Says the band: “We explored introspection and dove much deeper into personal and darker issues with our unconscious minds to practice spotting our inner shadows. The death of a rival, relapsing and overcoming addiction, navigating the complexities, experiences, and challenges in our lives and the changing world around us are all topics you will find intertwined throughout these three songs.”

“Turned To Stone Chapter 9” will be available on January 12th, 2024 in various vinyl formats as well as digitally, with preorders available now on Ripple Music.

RITUAL EARTH & KAZAK “Turned To Stone Chapter 9” split album Out January 12th on Ripple Music – PREORDER: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-9

TRACKLIST:
1. Ritual Earth – In The Wake
2. Ritual Earth – Through Interstellar Medium
3. Ritual Earth – Ominous Aurorae
4. Kazak – Geometrical Alchemy
5. Kazak – Haze
6. Kazak – Sunset Symphony
7. Kazak – The 25th Hour

https://www.facebook.com/RitualEarthDoom/
https://www.instagram.com/ritualearthdoom/
https://ritualearth.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kazak.duo/
https://www.instagram.com/kazak.duo
https://kazakduo.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

Ritual Earth, “Through the Interstellar Medium”

Kazak, “Dimming Lights”

As suspected, the lineup announcement for the 2022 Maryland Doom Fest is relatively short on fluff. No flowery descriptions of the acts involved, no hype about how important it is to get together in these times of plague and support the community, the underground, whatever it is. That’s all true enough, but as ever, Maryland Doom Fest is putting the name out there for you to see, and if you know, you know. If you’re a part of that family down there in Frederick, you’ve already got your calendar marked. This is who’ll be at the reunion.

And to that, with bands like Horehound, Thunderbird Divine, Caustic Casanova, fest-organizer JB Matson‘s own Bloodshot, Faith in Jane, ZED, Helgamite, Shadow Witch, The Age of Truth, Apostle of Solitude, Horseburner, Dead East Garden, Strange Highways and Foghound on the bill, this one will no doubt feel like a reunion in no small part. These acts and some of the others as well have shared MDDF bills in the past, and indeed, some were included in the announcement for January’s Doom Hawg Day as well, as was speculated. Still cool to see some of those returning coming across the country to do it, though, be it ZED or Formula 400.

Set for June 23-26 at Cafe 611 and Olde Mother Brewing in Frederick, MD, and of course subject to some changes between now and June, the lineup for Maryland Doom Fest 2022 is as follows:

Maryland Doom Fest 2022 Lineup

Black Road
Dust Prophet
Ol’ Time Moonshine
High Priestess
Wrath of Typhon
Alms
Black Lung
Thunderbird Divine
Atomic Motel
Byrgan
Faces of Bayon
Grief Collector
Crystal Spiders
Helgamite
Shadow Witch
The Age of Truth
Heavy Temple
Problem with Dragons
Strange Highways
Fellowcraft
Formula 400
Tines
Indus Valley Kings
The Stone Eye
Crow Hunter
Caustic Casanova
Coma Hole
Wizzerd
Mythosphere
Horehound
Bloodshot
NobleSoul
Coven
ZED
Faith in Jane
Future Projektor
Apostle of Solitude
Orodruin
Dead East Garden
Ritual Earth
Grave Next Door
Black Sabbitch
Lost Breed
Horseburner
Foghound
Hot Ram
Flummox

https://www.facebook.com/MdDoomFest/
www.marylanddoomfest.com

Apostle of Solitude, When the Darkness Goes (2021)

The Age of Truth, Resolute (2021)

Released as a standalone single last month, Ritual Earth‘s “Distress Signal” is intended as a herald of their full-length to come next February through Iodine Recordings. The track originally appeared on the self-released, limited CD pressing of MMXX in Fall 2020, but is held off the LP version presumably for time and released instead as a flexi 7″ single. And though as vocalist George Chamberlin says in the quote below, the song is essential to the makeup of who Ritual Earth are, it all the more earns its singular placement for that. In other words, be careful with that floppy platter when you get it.

I’m not sure if MMXX will have the same title, or even if it will be the same recordings serving as the band’s official debut album release, but “Distress Signal,” as heralds go, bodes well. The band shout out to straightforward heavy doom rock, but you can hear that it’s born of more aggressive fare — Chamberlin has a past in hardcore/post-hardcore and guitarist Steve Mensick and the all-Chris groove department of bassist Chris Scott and drummer Chris Turek come from Chimpgrinder and a host of other bands — but the melody of the verse and chorus lines rides the riff smoothly and the edge of something meaner underlying only ups the energy of their delivery on the whole, while still not necessarily defining the sound.

The band sent me an email last Fall about MMXX, which I apparently didn’t answer. They even offered to send me a CD. No excuse. I suck at this. I’m sorry. I do my best, but if you’re reading this, you should know I miss stuff all the time. It’s hard being a person. So obviously I haven’t heard MMXX in full and am left to wallow in my ignorance while anticipating the long-player to see issue early next year. In the meantime, Ritual Earth have been playing out and are confirmed to appear at Maryland Doom Fest in wonderful (I mean that) Frederick, MD, on Halloween Weekend with a lineup that is intimidatingly good.

As for the “Distress Signal” clip, it’s kind of a lyric video, kind of not, blurring a line that very much needs at this point to be blurred between that, as well as found-footage and artistic manipulation, effects, etc. It’s a working thematic showcase for the song, certainly. And if you, like me, didn’t hear MMXX, it’s sure to point out the error of your (our) ways.

Enjoy:

Ritual Earth, “Distress Signal” video premiere

George Chamberlin on “Distress Signal”:

“‘Distress Signal’ was the catalyst for Ritual Earth. It has a stripped down, tribal, ritualistic feel to it which builds upon the tension created by the song’s opening riff. It was one of the first songs presented to me when I joined the band, and the one that I immediately gravitated towards as a starting point for the lyrics. Already aware of the ethos and backstory that the members of this band created prior to me joining, it was obvious to me that this would be the starting point, and the introduction of the protagonist. When we signed to Iodine Recordings, the first thing I explained to Casey was the importance of this song and that we had to find a way to include Distress Signal as part of the LP release. The track wouldn’t fit on the final LP, so we released it as a stand alone Flexi 7″ as a way to promote the upcoming album. We really wanted to make sure that our proper introduction was made through this song as it really has laid the groundwork for everything that will follow.”

Ritual Earth was born from the ashes of the Philadelphia Grindcore legends, Chimpgrinder and featuring George Chamberlin on vocals (Autumn, Aim of Conrad). Monolithic riffs in a vast soundscape with pounding heavy grooves and vocal hooks. Emerging from the darkness of a collapsing nebula, Ritual Earth reverberates the electronic radiation of all things Doom, Space, and Psychedelia. Heavy, Slow, Atmospheric and Dark.

Released as a Flexi 7″ available from Iodine Recordings, Deathwish Inc., RevHQ, and Evil Greed (EU).

Edited by: Ritual Earth

Debut Full Length LP due out in February 2022 on Iodine Recordings.

Mixed and Mastered by David Downham at Gradwell House Recording.

Ritual Earth are:
George Chamberlin – Vocals
Steve Mensick – Guitars
Chris Scott – Bass
Chris Turek – Drums
Keys & Synths by Mark Boyce

Ritual Earth, “Distress Signal”

Ritual Earth on Facebook

Ritual Earth on Instagram

Ritual Earth on Bandcamp

Ritual Earth website

Iodine Recordings on Facebook

Iodine Recordings on Instagram

Iodine Recordings on Bandcamp

Iodine Recordings website

Maryland Doom Fest 2021 is set for Halloween Weekend, Oct. 28-31, in Frederick, Maryland. Some of the acts on the newly announced bill are carryovers from the first-delayed-then-canceled 2020 edition — among them Sasquatch, Worshipper, and so on — but it’s worth noting that among those and others, the likes of The Age of Truth will have a new record out by this Fall, and pre-pandemic, Boozewa didn’t even exist. So yes, things have changed.

For further proof of the festival’s stylistic branching out — and with this many bands, they’d just have have to — you’ll note the departure in the poster art from the fest-standard purple toward a greater range of color. The music they’re pushing is likewise broader in palette, and to think of seeing the likes of Howling Giant and Revvnant alongside Arduini/Balich, Omen Stones, and Place of Skulls is an encouraging thought indeed. This even was much-missed last year.

Expect a time-table sooner than later, as organizer JB Matson doesn’t screw around when it comes to that kind of thing. The lineup announcement — short and sweet, as ever — is further proof of same.

I don’t know what the world’s gonna look like come Halloween, but I know damn well this is one reason I’m glad I got that vaccine.

[UPDATE 04/30: Black Road and Vessel of Light can’t make it. Lo-Pan and When the Deadbolt Breaks have been added. If there are any further changes, I’ll probably just make a new post.]

To wit:

Here is the Md Doom Fest 2021 roster folks!!!
Halloween weekend – Oct 28-31, 2021
WE CANNOT WAIT TO DOOM WITH YOU!!

Lineup:

Poobah, Sasquatch, Place of Skulls, Lo-Pan, Lost Breed, Cavern, Horseburner, Spiral Grave, The Age of Truth, Mangog, Wrath of Typhon, Helgamite, Almost Honest, Indus Valley Kings, VRSA, Monster God, Et Mors, Astral Void, Worshipper, Boozewa, Admiral Browning, Omen Stones, Formula 400, Molasses Barge, Arduini/Balich, Dirt Eater, Dyerwolf, Ol’ Time Moonshine, Shadow Witch, Revvnant, Bloodshot, Ritual Earth, Gardens of Nocturne, Conclave, Crow Hunter, Bailjack, Warmask, Akris, Alms, Thunderbird Divine, Strange Highways, Howling Giant, Yatra, Jaketehhawk, When the Deadbolt Breaks, Grave Huffer, Dust Prophet, Plague Wielder, Weed Coughin, Morganthus, Tines

www.marylanddoomfest.com
#4daysofdoom

https://www.facebook.com/MdDoomFest/
https://www.instagram.com/marylanddoomfest/
www.marylanddoomfest.com