Posted in Radio on December 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Picking up from last time, and leading into next time, this episode continues the Some of the Best of 2022 coverage for ‘The Obelisk Show,’ and I feel reasonably comfortable assuming that would come through clearly even if I didn’t say it outright.
You’ll note this one starts pretty heavy and aggro with 16. That’s on purpose. My timeslot on Gimme Metal follows artist-guest specials, and I’ve felt at times in the past like it’s a really abrupt shift from most of those — sometimes death metal, grind, and otherwise extreme — and what I do, which is different. I know that’s the point, but I wanted to see if I could make that transition smoother than it otherwise can be. We’ll see how it goes, I guess.
From there, there’s a good amount of branching out, and while this is by no means all of the killer stuff that 2022 has wrought, my hope is that at least some of the sprawl comes through, some of the combination of new and old bands, and so forth. Next episode, which will be #100 and the last one of the year — bit of an event in the life of the show — will continue the thread.
Thanks for listening if you do, thanks for reading if you are.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 12.09.22 (VT = voice track)
-(16)-
The Floor Wins
Into Dust
Telekinetic Yeti
Rogue Planet
Primordial
Cities of Mars
Towering Graves
Cities of Mars
Colour Haze
See the Fools
Sacred
VT
Moura
Lúa vermella
Axexan, Espreitan
Ufomammut
Pyramind
Fenice
MWWB
Logic Bomb
The Harvest
King Buffalo
Avalon
Regenerator
Geezer
Stoned Blues Machine
Stoned Blues Machine
Charley No Face
Big Sleep
Eleven Thousand Volts
My Sleeping Karma
Prema
Atma
Kadavermarch
The Eschaton
Into Oblivion
Ruby the Hatchet
Soothsayer
Fear is a Cruel Master
UWUW
Landlord
UWUW
Caustic Casanova
A Bailar con Cuarentena
Glass Enclosed Nerve Center
Hazemaze
Ceremonial Aspersion
Blinded by the Wicked
VT
E-L-R
Forêt
Vexier
Temple Fang
Jerusalem
Jerusalem/The Bridge
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Dec. 23 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Reviews on November 7th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The fade-in at the start is a fake out, and not by any means the last time New Jersey’s Ruby the Hatchet pull the rug out from under listener expectation on their fourth full-length, Fear is a Cruel Master. The five-piece’s first studio work in five years since 2017’s Planetary Space Child (review here) begins with “The Change,” and fair enough as they flourish with headphone-ready nuance and sonic details like the layer of backing vocals that cut out in the middle of a “chaaa” at 2:04 (actually, that one might be an error in the promo, but it doesn’t make the clicking noise like the definitely-an-error in “Deceiver,” which follows), the rich guitar tone of Johnny Scarps (né Scarperia) and the organ and other keyboard lines of Sean Khan Hur intertwining to classic effect all the while under vocalist Jillian Taylor‘s rock-pop urgency and on top of the groove laid forth by drummer Owen Stewart — who joins Taylor for a duet on doomy closer “Amor Gravis” — and bassist Lake Muir.
With production by Paul Ritchie (also The Parlor Mob) at New Future in NJ, the five-piece offer a heavy rock blending influences from different eras, sourcing individualism from ’60s psych, guitar heroism from late ’70s and ’80s AOR — there are moments on the record that genuinely remind of Kenny Loggins, and I promise you I mean that as a compliment; anyone who can make people care about “Danger Zone” can write a song — the ’10s revivalist heavy of Ruby the Hatchet‘s own early work in the 2015 Valley of the Snake (review here) and 2012’s Ouroboros debut, now a decade old. Oh, and I’m sure there’s ’90s and ’00s there too; just take the last 55 years or so of rock and roll and mash it together and see what comes out.
Rife with hooks and righteous individual performances, Fear is a Cruel Master resounds with a desire to engage its audience. It does not sound live — and that’s not a dig; there’s a breadth to the band’s sound that feels very intentional and studio-born that can be heard in “The Change” and “Deceiver” at the outset as well as side B counterparts “Soothsayer” and “Thruster,” the latter extra stormy in its classic vibe. Of course Deep Purple are a reference point there, and Black Sabbath, but some of the depth of mix that emerges here more generally also calls to mind first-record Ghost in its overarching melody, and Ruby the Hatchet‘s dynamic, whether it’s the dirty-jeans biker riff of “Primitive Man” or the layered sense of culmination in “1,000 Years,” which begins with mournful lead guitar and is the longest of the eight tracks at 6:18.
No, it does not sound live, but it does sound like it was meant to be played live. The underlying structures of the songs are crisp and plotted — they’ve never wanted for knowing where they’re headed in terms of songwriting — and each piece of the 43-minute entirety has a purpose serving the greater whole. From the mournful sway and command of “1,000 Years” to the cavernous echoing guitar leads and organ lines of “Last Saga,” there is no single piece of Fear is a Cruel Master that does not feel like it would work in a stage setting, and that does not at all mean they’re all loud or over-the-top or simply based around hooks or whatever. The truth is Ruby the Hatchet show more range on Fear is a Cruel Master than they ever have, and still do it in a way that is accessible at its core.
There are any number of ways to listen to Fear is a Cruel Master. Johnny Scarps offers graduate-level class on riffs and solos, whether it’s the shuffle and takeoff of “Soothsayer,” the shoving chug of “Primitive Man,” the grandiose lead work of “Last Saga” or the shifting to a thicker fuzz in “Amor Gravis” and the harnessing of slow-Slayer for doomed purposes in that closer’s midsection. Jillian Taylor is like undeniable as a charismatic presence up front and as a singer of marked range and ability to convey emotion, whether it’s the initial movement of “The Change” or standing astride the shifting tempo of “Amor Gravis,” a further highlight for what Muir (do not miss the bassline as well in “Thruster”) and Stewart bring on bass and drums, never mind the vocals the latter adds to the mix on the prior “Last Saga.”
And Sean Khan Hur is the not-a-secret weapon in the band’s arsenal, consistently building off the guitar and vocal melodies with creative sounds and a just-right vibe, be it the melancholy stretch of “1,000 Years” or the horror-rock sweep in “Thruster.” This is probably the part where I’m supposed to tell you all of these elements play together to create the entire sphere of Ruby the Hatchet‘s sound. Sure. That seems like something somebody reviewing an album positively would say, and it’s not untrue. What’s also happening though is there’s almost a feeling of competing aspects of the band’s sound, whether it’s the guitar, the keys, the vocals, the rhythm, the melody, all vying for attention at once.
From less capable songwriters, Fear is a Cruel Master would be a mess. It would simply come apart. The platter would melt on your turntable, the files would delete themselves from your phone, Spotify would explode (which could only be an improvement), etc. A decade on from their debut and five years after their last record, including two decisively wretched pandemic years that definitely play into some of the spirit of this material if not the actual subject matter, Ruby the Hatchet turn that sensibility into a source of excitement, and it becomes a defining feature of the LP as one piece or another comes forward at a given moment, soon to be one-upped by the next thing, whatever it might be.
By the time they’ve made their way down to “Last Saga” and “Amor Gravis,” it is clear who the actual masters are. Fear is a Cruel Master is not a common record, whatever genre tag one might want to saddle it with. Ruby the Hatchet‘s craft is vital and based around a traditionalist core, but they’ve grown out of whatever rawness was left following Planetary Space Child and wherever they go next, they go as an outfit whose hard-earned maturity is just one on a long list of sonic assets. With Fear is a Cruel Master, they demonstrate aesthetic reach that’s both newly found and organically grown, and surpass their influences with the confidence of a band who’ve always known they were on the right track. And so they were.
Posted in Radio on October 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Good show. Gets heavy. I started thinking about how my knee hurt and that reminded me of Høstsabbat (where I hurt it) earlier this month and I decided to dedicate the second hour-ish of the program to celebrating that lineup. And, well, that lineup was really god damned heavy — though, I say in the voice tracks too, it was way more sonically diverse a proceeding than it appears on the playlist below. So it goes. I’ll plead guilty on that.
Before that though, each one of the first three tracks is something I genuinely hope people will check out. Brant Bjork because he’s Brant Bjork and 14 records in he’s still trying new stuff. UWUW because Ian Blurton is a master and psychedelic heavy soul rock needed to happen. Dead Shrine because it’s new stuff from Craig Williamson (also of Lamp of the Universe) in a heavy style like Arc of Ascent, but with some different kinds of spaces thrown in. Dude just riffs and riffs and riffs. Yes.
Not saying the rest isn’t worth checking out in Ruby the Hatchet, Love Gang, or The Otolith, which is really the rest of the new stuff. The Otolith I’ve been listening to all week to review it and it’s bludgeoningly beautiful and has me wondering how to add a sixth inclusion to my top five for the year. Ruby the Hatchet are like if 1971 happened in 1981, and Love Gang are like if Motörhead were from Southern California or, in other words, from Denver. I certainly thought that song was killer when I premiered it. And a couple classics, some recent Enslaved, Orange Goblin, then the turn up to Norway for the fest-homage. As I said at the top, good show.
Thanks if you listen and thanks for reading.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 10.28.22 (VT = voice track)
Brant Bjork
Bread for Butter
Bougainvillea Suite
UWUW
Staircase to the End of the Night
UWUW
Dead Shrine
The Formless Soul
The Eightfold Path
VT
Ruby the Hatchet
Deceiver
Fear is a Cruel Master
Love Gang
Meanstreak
Meanstreak
The Otolith
Ekpyrotic
Folium Limina
Saint Vitus
The Psychopath
Saint Vitus
Enslaved
Kingdom
Kingdom
Orange Goblin
Cozmo Bozo
The Big Black
VT
Norna
The Perfect Dark
Star is Way Way is Eye
Bismarck
The Seer
Oneiromancer
The Moth Gatherer
The Drone Kingdom
Esoteric Oppression
Dopelord
Your Blood
Reality Dagger`
Graveyard
Please Don’t
Peace
Indian
Directional
From All Purity
VT
Slomatics
Buried Axes on Regulus Minor
Ascend/Descend
Kanaan
Return to the Tundrasphere
Earthbound
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Nov. 11 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Organ-laced heavy psychedelic classicists Ruby the Hatchet will release their fourth full-length, Fear is a Cruel Master, on Oct. 21 as their first outing through Magnetic Eye Records, with which they signed last Fall. Tonight, the five-piece will kick off a tour in Rhode Island that, starting tomorrow, will find them playing alongside Dreadnought and Elder, heralding the new record’s arrival as a crucial part of one of the summer’s best packages in the US.
To further celebrate the opening of preorders in various vinyl editions and a CD for my ’90s-worshiping ass — I want the bundle with the signed poster and the t-shirt and I want a hamburger, no, a cheeseburger, and a hot dog and (this is where Ted Knight comes in and tells me I’ll get nothing and like it) — the first streaming audio from Fear is a Cruel Master arrives with the uptempo kick of “Thruster,” an aptly-named and righteously swinging, dug-in feeling groove topped with a characteristically commanding performance from vocalist Jillian Taylor, whose comment on the record below was lifted from the signing release.
The reason for that is I haven’t gotten anything from the PR wire about the record yet — 10AM? probably; I’ll update this post when it comes in [EDIT: It did, hence the giant amount of info below.] — but I follow them on Bandcamp and the song went live at midnight. If you’re playing along at home, it’s 4:40AM Eastern right now. Perfect time to rock out. So do that. Now.
Song stream is at the bottom of this post. Enjoy:
RUBY THE HATCHET – Fear is a Cruel Master – Oct. 21, 2022
With “Fear Is a Cruel Master”, RUBY THE HATCHET deliver exactly the brain-frying, catchy yet full of raw energy thriller of an album that the American trailblazers’ acclaimed predecessor “Planetary Space Child” (2017) promised it could be.”The reflection in the mirror is nice and clear now”, guitarist Johnny Scarps nods. “This is the record we’ve been working towards.” Five long years have passed since the heavy rock quintet dropped their last album, but the wait is finally over. “We have reached a new peak of writing music as a collective”, vocalist Jillian Taylor adds. “We all sacrifice for this, like any band or artist. We would not continue doing so if we weren’t reaching new levels.”
The infectious opening track ‘The Change’ emphatically clarifies that Jillian is not just blowing smoke. For Taylor, this song captures the feeling of a transitional period – maybe somewhere between BOWIE’s ch-ch-ch-‘Changes’ and BLACK SABBATH’s going-through-‘Changes’ – yet groovier and heavier in pure RUBY THE HATCHET fashion. “It captures those feelings of shifting from this young, carefree, rock n’ roll lifestyle to getting older and trying to stay true to yourself and what you love from the wild side… while realizing not everything still serves you. The things that happen on tour, for better or worse, traveling to other countries and people are singing your songs back, that growth and camaraderie you get on the road – there is nothing else like it.”
Another lyrical angle of “Fear Is a Cruel Master” is explored through the organ-drenched rocket ride that is ‘Thruster’. With music by drummer Owen Stewart, Taylor’s lyrics recognise that today’s worldly problems are nothing new in the grand scheme of things. “The chorus, ‘Oh no, I hear them coming, tearing our lives to the ground. Oh lord, they’ve got you running, but I don’t have time for that now'”, Taylor says. “That’s trouble coming for us, but at this point, nearly everything has echoed through the ages. This is human nature. There is always something dogging us, and moral truth to consider, and we decide what we are going to do about it.”
The album title, “Fear Is a Cruel Master”, epitomizes the mood of the lockdown period in which it was written. Accustomed to working together as a group, Taylor, Scarps, Stewart, bassist Lake Muir and organist Sean Khan Hur were forced to spend more time apart than they normally would. “I was reading a lot during the pandemic and in a Branch Davidians’ testimonial I came across the phrase ‘fear is a cruel master'”, Taylor explains. “The climate at the time was full of fear, it was bleeding into everything. To us, the title resonates with being part of the music community too. It was shaky for everyone – from bands to booking agents to venues and fans. You had to really nurse that flame to keep pouring hope in the cup. Fear is a cruel master.”
Recorded at New Future in Jersey with Paul Ritchie from THE PARLOR MOB, “Fear Is a Cruel Master” wasn’t as meticulously mapped out as RUBY’s previous albums. The band purposely left space for spontaneity and magic moments. “This time we left a lot of wiggle room”, Scarps explains. “Most of the songs were fully fleshed out, but on a few we made changes in the studio at Paul’s request – he had some really fun ideas – and we tried to do things we normally would not.”
As previously announced, “Fear Is a Cruel Master” includes proper studio versions of ‘Primitive Man’ and ‘1000 Years’ from the “Live at Earthquaker” EP that RUBY dropped back in April 2022. The snaky groove of ‘Primitive Man’ comes with a message to mansplainers everywhere. “It’s about the try-hards who think they know everything and want to tell you how to do it”, Taylor says with a laugh. “It’s meant to disregard gender, but I of course wrote it from a female perspective. Everyone encounters that attitude, especially women in music.”
The indelible ‘Last Saga’ delights with Taylor and Stewart delivering a haunting duet over some of Scarps’ finest guitar work. Lyrically, the song recapitulates the theme of ‘Thruster’ under the romantic patina of a fantasy epic. “I love when we can lean into something in a timeless or medieval way, when you can travel lyrically to a thousand years ago”, Taylor says. “But it’s also about the world right now; the cyclical nature of everything, even in moments that seem final. After singing ‘Last Saga’ with Owen, I felt like our voices were two ships in the night that could find each other despite any fog or storm.”
Ultimately, the main theme of “Fear Is a Cruel Master” is self-reflection. Although these songs were forged in the crucible of world-stopping pestilence, they come with a timeless quality that transcends the moment of their creation. Everything that makes RUBY THE HATCHET such an outstanding and wildly loved act even among their peers is there – ranging from those sultry, honey-smoked vocals via lush yet crisp guitars to spirit of rock ‘n roll organ heroics. “It’s definitely an album you write after a decade’s worth of being in a band and looking back at all the things you did or didn’t do – everything that you threw into the fire, basically”, Taylor concludes. “It’s a testimony on that journey.” Embark to follow in the band’s sonic wake.
RUBY THE HATCHET live: 8/2 Providence, RI @ Alchemy ✧ 8/3 Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere 8/4 Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts 8/5 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theater 8/6 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery 8/7 Charlottesville, VA @ Champion Brewing 8/8 Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House 8/9 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl 8/10 Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub 8/12 Houston, TX @ White Oak 8/13 Austin, TX @ The Ballroom 8/14 Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips 8/16 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar 8/17 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge 8/18 Los Angeles, CA @ Resident ✧ 8/19 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick ✧ 8/20 Las Vegas, NV @ Psycho ✧ All dates with Elder & Dreadnaught except ✧
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Monolith on theMesa isn’t screwing around. The 2022 edition of the Taos, New Mexico, festival features a welcome-back-to-this-thing lineup that’s as desert as the sands on which it’ll take place and more besides. Ever wonder what Eyehategod and Yawning Man might sound like going back-to-back? Here’s where you’ll find out.
Those two, as well as import acts like Mars Red Sky (from France) and Belzebong (from Poland) will feature, alongside The Obsessed, Nebula, The Freeks, Red Mesa, Stöner, Ruby the Hatchet, Ecstatic Vision and others. This being the first Monolith on the Mesa since the untimely passing of festival co-founder Dano Sanchez, it’s a bittersweet occasion, but there’s no question looking at the lineup that it’s being executed in a spirit of celebration, both of that life and of the music itself. If you’d dare ask more than that, well, Eagle Twin are playing. Fucking bonus.
Info came down the PR wire, as well as the nifty poster art by Nick Filth:
MONOLITH ON THE MESA ANNOUNCES FULL LINE-UP, REVEALS POSTER ARTWORK BY NICK FILTH, AND FESTIVAL SPONSORS
Artists include Mars Red Sky, The Obsessed, Nebula, Eyehategod, Ruby The Hatchet, Stöner, The Freeks, Mondo Generator, Yawning Man and others
Monolith on the Mesa reveals final poster artwork by Nick Filth and full festival line-up in conjunction with summer solstice. The festival returns to Taos Mesa Brewing The Mothership on September 16th, 17th, 18th, 2022 for three days filled with music, art, and community. Tickets are on sale now HERE. Artists include internationally acclaimed acts such as Mars Red Sky, The Obsessed, Nebula, Eyehategod, Ruby The Hatchet, Stöner, The Freeks, Mondo Generator, Yawning Man and Red Mesa. In the words of belated festival visionary Dano Sanchez fans should get ready for a “weekend of live music heaviness blasting onto the high desert mesa in full view of the Sangre de Christo mountains.”
Roman Barham, festival co-founder and talent buyer says: “I am really excited to have Monolith on the Mesa back! This year’s line-up is a roll over from both 2020 and 2021. We had bands confirmed and then COVID happened. It was cool that so many bands were still down to be a part of Monolith once we got back. What’s really intense about the line-up is how it fits the surrounding high desert environment. With bands like Yawning Man, Stöner, Nebula, Mondo Generator — so many legends of the desert will be jamming. I know Dano would be really proud of the line-up for 2022. Summer solstice connects us deeply with Dano and how he saw the cosmos and life and how they coincide. Out here, we follow the astrological interpretations of the seasons and change.”
“The Mothership will have the same intent,” Jayson Wylie, Taos Mesa Brewing President/Director of Brewing Operations says, “but with a little different feel post reconstruction after the devastating fire we had. We still have two stages, both of them outside. We have transitioned our indoor space to accommodate more beverage production. Customers will notice an enhanced amphitheater with state of the art house PA and lighting. Out here on the mesa, summer solstice signifies a transition to shorter days and hopefully more rain.”
Festival producer Ashley Sanchez says “The summer solstice is the time of year when you start to see the fruits of your labor – financially, agriculturally, in relationships, or otherwise. The solstice reveals if we’re still living in alignment with the goals we set at the beginning of the year. Dano and I worked to live in sync with nature and it’s still very much something I hold in my own center. In honor of this cornerstone of our relationship together and how our family shows up in the world, we chose the summer solstice to announce the complete lineup for the 2022 Monolith on the Mesa festival.”
Monolith on the Mesa is an open air festival focused around the “earthship” amphitheatre which holds 1,500 people. The festival sits at the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and at the edge of the Rio Grande gorge minutes from Taos Pueblo and the Gorge Bridge. Activities in the vicinity include rafting, hiking in the desert or in the mountains, mountain biking, soaking in the natural hot springs, as well as strolling the beautiful and historic streets and plazas of Taos. In founder Dano Sanchez’s words: “It is truly a magical place and combined with awesome music and art it’s like no other music festival.”
DATES AND TIMES September 16th, 17th, 18th, 2022 Doors at 12 noon daily.
TICKET INFORMATION Monolith on the Mesa will honor tickets and other arrangements purchased in 2020 and 2021. Tickets will be rolled over to this year’s Will Call list.
Single Day Pass $60 ticket HERE: https://holdmyticket.com/event/358415
Two Day Pass $100 ticket HERE: https://holdmyticket.com/event/358428
Three Day Pass $150 ticket HERE: https://holdmyticket.com/event/344139
Rain or shine event!
FESTIVAL LINE-UP
Friday, September 16th, 2022 Doors at 12:00 pm Mesa Stage-1:00-1:45/ Greenbeard Mesa Stage-2:00-2:45/ Blue Heron Mesa Stage-3:00-3:45/ Caustic Casanova Mesa Stage-4:00-4:45/ Red Mesa Mothership Stage-5:00-5:45/ Owl Mesa Stage-6:00-6:45/ The Atomic Bitchwax Mothership Stage-7:00-7:45/ Daikajiu Mesa Stage-8:00-9:00/ Eagle Twin Mothership Stage-9:00-10:00/ Belzebong Mesa Stage-10:00-11:00/ The Obsessed Mothership Stage-11:00-12:00/ Mars Red Sky
Saturday, September 17th, 2022 Doors at 12:00 pm Mesa Stage-12:15-12:45/ Via Vengeance Mesa Stage-1:00-1:45/ Terra Damnata Mesa Stage-2:00-2:45/ Heretical Sect Mesa Stage-3:00-3:45/ Love Gang Mesa Stage-4:00-4:45/ Heavy Temple Mothership Stage-5:00-5:45/ Year of The Cobra Mesa Stage-6:00-6:45/ The Otolith Mothership Stage-7:00-7:45/ Nebula Mesa Stage-8:00-9:00/ Warhorse Mothership Stage-9:00-10:00/ REZN Mesa Stage-10:00-11:00/ Ruby The Hatchet Mothership Stage-11:00-12:00/ Stöner
Sunday, September 18th, 2022 Doors at 12:00 pm Mesa Stage-12:15-12:45/ Fever Dog Mesa Stage-1:00-1:45/ Heave Mesa Stage-2:00-2:45/ Lilith Mesa Stage-3:00-3:45/ Communion Mesa Stage-4:00-4:45/ The Freeks Mothership Stage-5:00-5:45/ Duel Mesa Stage-6:00-6:45/ Tabernacle Mothership Stage-7:00-7:45/ El Perro Mesa Stage-8:00-9:00/ Mondo Generator Mothership Stage-9:00-10:00/ Ecstatic Vision Mesa Stage-10:00-11:00/ Eyehategod Mothership Stage-11:00-12:00/ Yawning Man
After sundown every evening visual magicians, Mad Alchemy Liquid Light Show, illuminate the night sky.
Day Three of the Spring 2022 Quarterly Review — commence! As you well know because I’m quite certain you’re the type of person to sit around and think about these things and I’m in no way the only human who gives enough of a crap to notice, today we hit the halfway point of this particular QR, not in the middle, but at the end, as today will culminate with review number 30 of the total 60 to come by the end of the day next Monday. Is it cheating to get a full weekend to do the last installment? Depends entirely on the weekend. In any case, starting tomorrow we go downhill, numerically, not in terms of the quality of what’s covered.
Until then.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
Ruby the Hatchet, Live at Earthquaker
While on tour with Kadavar in late-2019, New Jersey heavy psych rockers Ruby the Hatchet swung through Earthquaker Devices in Ohio and put these three songs to tape. In addition to being the band’s first release for Magnetic Eye Records, the EP serves these years after the fact as a still-foreshadowing glimpse at their next full-length, the follow-up to 2017’s Planetary Space Child (review here), which but for plague probably would be on its third pressing by now. At least it would be if the rolling riffs and organ shimmer of “1,000 Years” and the bluesier what-I’ll-just-assume-is-an-homage-to-the-band-of-the-same-name “Primitive Man” are anything to go by. Paired with Ruby the Hatchet‘s take on Uriah Heep‘s “Easy Livin’,” the new songs herald the awaited album in a way that seems to justify their having been kept in-pocket for just the right moment. I’m glad that moment is now, and I also kind of feel like Ruby the Hatchet need to start recording more shows and putting out their own soundboard bootlegs. This is clearly mixed, pro-mastered and all that, but still. They make every second of these 14 minutes count.
Anonymous Belgian outfit Wyatt E. return five years after their debut with āl bēlūti dārû, comprising two tracks of all-in Mesopotamian-themed drone ritualizing. The robed outfit top 18 minutes with “Mušhuššu” and “Šarru Rabu” both, and their intention toward immersing the audience in a whole-side experience isn’t misplaced as their arrangements branch beyond genre typicality in service of the Middle Easternism around which much of what they do is based. More than cinematically wrought, the two pieces here are striking in moving from the crescendos of their respective builds into richly conjured explorations, the former of saz and other instruments, the latter of percussion and voice. Likewise, with two drumkits, they want nothing for rhythmic urgency, despite the open structures of the actual material. One wonders at the Orientalism on display throughout as potentially a kind of minstrelsy, particularly with the hooded unknown figures casting themselves as decidedly ‘other’ from a European mainstream, but the same anonymity guards against the notion since it’s unclear just who these people are. I’m not sure I’m all the way on board, but they effectively convey spectacle without losing artistic presence. And if you spend the rest of your day reading about the Akkadian Empire, I’m sure worse things have happened.
My impression of Canterbury, UK, doomers Famyne‘s 2016 self-titled debut (review here) were of a band burgeoning in atmosphere anchored by strong songwriting and melodic vocals with periodic likeness to Alice in Chains and The Wounded Kings. Arriving through Svart Records, the eight-song/45-minute II: The Ground Below doesn’t do much to detract from that core impression, but the ambient “A Submarine” and the mean chug in the back half of the later “The Ai” take them to new places and demonstrate the individualization of genre tropes underway in their sound. “Once More” taps a more NWOBHM style, while “Babylon” touches on Candlemassian grandiosity, and “Gone” fluidly begins to transition from the crush of opening duo “Defeated” and “Solid Earth” before “A Submarine” takes hold, which is only further evidence they know what they’re doing.
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Humanotone, A Flourishing Fall in a Grain of Sand
Evidently a number of years in the making from front-to-back, Humanotone‘s second full-length, A Flourishing Fall in a Grain of Sand, finds the solo-project spearheaded by Jorge Cisternas Monsalves, aka Jorge Cist, working once more completely on his own save for some saxophone on 12-minute closer “Even Though.” Given the lush, progressive, and thoughtful execution of progressive heavy rock the Chile-based Cist manifests throughout cuts like “Light Antilogies” and “Ephemeral” prior — taking lessons from Elder‘s Dead Roots Stirring and applying them well for his own purposes — it wouldn’t have been surprising if he picked up the sax himself, frankly. He proves visionary throughout the proceedings one way or the other, and atop a bed of his own drumming is able to cast deep landscapes of keys and guitar and bass in “A Flourishing Fall” and a build and payoff in “Scrolls for the Blind” before the 3:45 “Beyond the Machine” goes straightforward in a way that feels like a gift ahead of the closer, while still retaining its proggy vibe vocally, melodically and rhythmically. There’s been some word-of-mouth hype around this one. Not unwarranted.
Big on vibe, crunches when it wants, spaces out with broader jams, takes its time, flows as it will but still hits with an impact — yeah, there’s no shortage of things to like about Madmess‘ Hassle Records-issued second full-length, Rebirth. If you, yourself, have been born-again semi-instrumentalist psych-prog, then no doubt you’ll relate to the careening and twisting path that the five mostly-extended tracks take, unfolding with a focus on liquefied echo on “Albatross” before the companioning “Mind Collapse” introduces the vocals that will show up again on closer “Stargazer” (not a Rainbow cover). Between those two, the title-cut and “Shapeshifter” back-to-back build on some of the mellower stretches prior at least before locking into their own heavier parts, but by then you’re long since hypnotized anyway, and the drift that serves to transition into “Stargazer” is only pushing further out as it goes. I’m not sure who in the Portugese trio (if anyone) is the vocalist, but the voice suits the songs well, even if they’re plainly comfortable going without, and reasonably so.
Mostly instrumental, the aptly-titled EP II — the second short release from Utrecht, the Netherlands, trombone-inclusive experimentalist doomers Eaters of the Soil — runs four tracks and 35 minutes and, early on, uses spoken samples from this or that serial killer about putting plastic bags over women’s heads to suffocate them. Through “V – Point of Capture” and even into “VI – Untouched, Unspoken To” (the Roman numeral numbering system continued from their pandemic-minded 2021 first EP), a somewhat slowed down version of whoever it is goes on about killing women and this and that. The second half of the release with “VII – Burrowing, Feasting” and “VIII – Subcurrent,” are both dark enough to be considered affected by the same atmosphere — “VI – Untouched, Unspoken To” has a bit of float to it, so it’s not all grim — churning, meandering and freaking out in at-least-partially improv-jazz style, but Eaters of the Soil cast a grim vision of humanity and that impression stays resonant even as “VIII – Subcurrent” lumbers into its wash of a finish. Is extreme jazz a thing? Turns out maybe.
With its just-slightly-off-beat drum loop, “Light” seems to build into a wash until even the song can’t take anymore and needs to drop out. It’s not the first take on NYOS‘ second offering for Pelagic Records, Celebration — that would be the improvised opener “First Take” — but it and the serene hum that emerges in the subsequent “Something Good” and even the shimming almost steel-drum sounds of “Tucano” demonstrate the Finland-based instrumentalist duo’s stated intentions toward dance music. The later “Gold Vulcan,” the first single, gets into some noisier fare as if to remind that guitarist Tom Brooke (also recording) and drummer Tuomas Kainulainen are coming from a harder-hitting place, but in the also-improv “Cloudberry” just before and particularly the willfully gorgeous “Rosario” (Dawson?) after, the intentions are gentler and more welcoming, and that continues into the final drone stretch and far, far back drumming that consumes most of closer “Surface” before it ultimately explodes in resonant light, reinforcing the notion of joy inherent in the album’s title, feeling like a grand finale to an aural fireworks display.
Making their debut on Heavy Psych Sounds with Impending Doom, Sweden’s Endtime are not shy about their influence from horror cinema. Their sound blends sludge and classic doom together such that opener “Harbinger of Disease” comes through like Mike IX Williams of Eyehategod stepping in to front Cathedral, and his harsh wails echo out a tolling (for thee, make no mistake) bell to foretell the harsh terrors soon to unfold. “ICBM” kills quick and lets its church organ mourn later, and the centerpiece “They Live” (a classic) adjusts the balance such that the cinematic, post-Uncle Acid vibe comes to the front still with the barking vocals overtop; a blend I can’t think of anyone else pulling off as well as Endtime do. The longer “Cities on Fire with the Burning Flesh of Men” follows and is more purely about the crunch at least until the sitar shows up — a nice curve to throw — ahead of its severe closing section, and closer “Living Graves” wraps the 28-minute LP by pushing the organ forward again and dissolving into a wash of noise before the feed seems to cut out like channel 11 just stopped broadcasting in the middle of the night. Hey man, I was watching that. Not quite revolutionary, but onto something. Impending, if you will.
By my count, Bloodshot Buffalo — the solo-project of Santa Rosa, California’s Sheafer McOmber — has put out no fewer than four full-lengths since 2019. Accordingly, the two-song Light EP is most likely a stopgap en route to the next one, but “Light” and “Don’t Follow Me” make an enticing sampler of the band’s wares all the same, digging into an energetic heavy progressive rock like a less-low-end-focused Forming the Void in the title-track as McOmber carefully weaves in a multi-layered guitar solo panning channels from one to the other and “Don’t Follow Me” reaffirms the groove on which that happens while sorting out its own languid flow. The shorter of the two, “Don’t Follow Me” doesn’t feature the same kind of midsection break as “Light” itself, and once it heads out, it doesn’t come back, unlike “Light,” which returns to the hook at the finish. Some structural play as enticement to dig further into the Bloodshot Buffalo catalog while waiting for the seemingly inevitable next thing. This being my first exposure to McOmber‘s work, I hope to do exactly that.
Swedish now-duo Oh Hiroshima present their fourth album, Myriad, as a collection of weighted, spacious and emotive contemplations. Their heavy post-rock is stylized to be patient and broad-reaching, and in pieces like “All Things Pass” and “Veil of Certainty” early on, they find a niche for themselves between harder-hitting atmospheric material marked out by droning horn arrangements and more straight-ahead melodic verses, the ambience open enough to pull the focus away from underlying structures. It’s an immersive-if-somewhat-familiar modern take, but the two-piece of guitarist/bassist/vocalist Jakob Hemström and drummer Oskar Nilsson stem into moodier vibes on “Tundra” and closer “Hidden Chamber” takes a less effects-centered, more organic-sounding approach, emphasizing the strings for its build while staying earthbound in the drums, bass and guitars beneath. Some will pass Myriad up entirely, others will worship its depth. Either way, the pair seem like they’ll keep moving forward in their well-crafted, considered approach.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 15th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
It was late in 2019 that Ruby the Hatchet — who are from New Jersey, but, like, the Philly part of New Jersey, which is about two hours and an entire country away from the part of New Jersey that I live in — hit the road alongside Berlin’s Kadavar, and apparently that trip involved a stopover at Earthquaker Devices HQ, where the band live-recorded two originals and their take on Uriah Heep‘s “Easy Livin’,” which as I recall was a regular feature of their set at the time. Their new EP, aptly-titled Live at Earthquaker, presents the three tracks from that session and will be out April 22.
Two things to know. First, the two not-covers are new songs! Sweet. Bit of a preview for the band’s eagerly-awaited next full-length. Second, the arrival of this EP more than two months from now probably means that said full-length — which will also be their first for Magnetic Eye Records — probably isn’t coming until later in the summer or early fall. Sure, Live at Earthquaker could be on oddly-timed stopgap for a yet-unannounced May release, but it strikes me as more likely they’ll roll it out in good time to coincide with whatever their next tour will be. Europe for Fall festival season? Split West and East Coast runs? Whatever it might be, the fact that they’ve to-this-point taken their time to put out a new album says to me they’re looking to make the most of it. As well they should.
Of course, this comes with the usual disclaimer that I don’t know shit about shit. The album that will follow Live at Earthquaker might be in the can, at the press, boxed and shipped back by now. Nothing’s official until it’s announced and even then subject to change. Universe of infinite possibilities and all that.
But hey, new Ruby the Hatchet. If you need a reason to follow them on Bandcamp, that’s where I got this info from, so that should suffice:
Ruby the Hatchet – Live at Earthquaker
With sultry, honey-smoked vocals, lush yet crisp guitars and spirit of rock ‘n roll organ heroics, it takes just a few seconds for luxuriant opening track ‘1000 Years’ from RUBY THE HATCHET’s hot-blooded new EP “Live at Earthquaker” to firmly sink its hooks into ears and hearts.
An unpolished, organic energy courses through the veins of “Live at Earthquaker”, which was recorded live at the EarthQuaker Devices headquarters in Akron, Ohio during the band’s US tour with KADAVAR. The three-track set features early versions of two brand-new songs that will reappear in fully produced recordings on the riff-rockers’ new studio album that has been announced for 2022, with the cherry on top being the physical format debut of RUBY THE HATCHET’s raucous rendition of URIAH HEEP’s 70s anthem ‘Easy Livin’’.
As a captivating glimpse of great things to come, “Live at Earthquaker” sets the stage for the band’s much-anticipated return with both a new album and tours coming in 2022.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 1st, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Philadelphia-area heavy psych rockers Ruby the Hatchet will release their next album in 2022 on Magnetic Eye Records. Even half a decade later, a follow-up to 2017’s Planetary Space Child (review here) will be more than welcome when it arrives, and whether that’s 2022 or 2023 — which sounds like it’s so far into the future surely it’ll be issued as some kind of data-stealing flying car/virtual reality air fryer — I’ll take it. It’s far enough off either way that hopefully there’s some semblance of what used to be normal reestablished across the planet — though that never seems to be how it goes ever, for anything, ever — but whatever. I’m gonna just take a second and yell at my brain for being Debbie Downer here when new Ruby the Hatchet is good news. Bonus: a new live EP will be out early next year.
They had quickly become a staple of the Tee Pee Records roster, and signing with Magnetic Eye makes them labelmates with fellow Phanatics Heavy Temple. If Magnetic Eye honcho Jadd Shickler is looking for one or two more Philly bands to chase down, I’ve got names.
News follows:
RUBY THE HATCHET sign with Magnetic Eye Records
New Album and Live In-Studio EP coming in 2022
RUBY THE HATCHET have signed a deal with Magnetic Eye Records, joining the label as its biggest signing yet. The meteoric rising psychedelic rockers from New Jersey will release scorching new material in 2022 via the label.
Singer Jillian Taylor describes what’s ahead for RUBY THE HATCHET: “Our next album is going to encapsulate 5-plus years of musical growth. Multiple members have become singers and songwriters within the band, and listeners will hear new voices and directions picking up right where ‘Planetary Space Child’ left off and expanding upwards. Ruby has evolved a lot through our touring years, and there has been much to reflect on over the last year specifically. Our first foray with MER is going to be a major ear tease for what’s to come with the upcoming full-length. On our last US tour supporting Kadavar, we stopped into Earthquaker HQ in Akron, Ohio, for a session before our show that night. It was the dead of winter and we were trying out two new songs throughout the tour that the band was super excited about. At this point, we had been road-dogging for a few years straight and felt very much in the pocket. When we listened back to the session after returning home, we couldn’t believe it was live… Jeff France and the Earthquaker crew had captured us in the height of our tour tightness, and as soon as we brought it to MER, they agreed that this live session deserved a special release of its own. We like to take our time and truly try to challenge ourselves with every release, so thank you to everyone for waiting. It always feels as if we first embark by writing outside of our abilities, like trying to lasso wild horses in the dark, but now we’re saddled up and ready to ride.”
On the signing, Taylor continues: “This next group of songs really scratch the itch of rock and roll progression for us, and taking them to Magnetic Eye Records is something we are incredibly excited about. The gang had such a good feeling upon initially working with Jadd and MER several years back for our contribution to their Pink Floyd Redux releases. They were one of the first labels we saw doing curated cover compilations and reaching out to bands organically to get involved. Ruby has been in the game for a while now, but we keep it pretty simple and centered around the craft, something MER picked up on and made easy… no frills, just people digging music. Ideas and communication flow freely with them, and we are really looking forward to all the fun collaborations this partnership will bring.”
MER’s Jadd Shickler welcomes RUBY THE HATCHET: “Magnetic Eye took some big steps in 2020, and started to think about bands we’d always loved to imagine on our roster but hadn’t felt ready to approach previously”, reveals the label director. “Ruby the Hatchet immediately leapt to my mind. They’re masters at taking inspiration from decades of rock history and creating fresh, progressive, captivating songs. And live, there’s just no one and nothing like them onstage in this century. I couldn’t have been happier to find them excited at the prospect of working together, and I’m really stoked at the ways Magnetic Eye’s scope is expanding thanks to the arrival of bands like Ruby, Heavy Temple and Besvärjelsen. I can’t wait to see this all reach critical mass in 2022, and hope the fans of what we do are just as excited!”
RUBY THE HATCHET’s “Live at Earthquaker” 7-inch EP will arrive near the beginning of 2022. Their new full-length album will be released later in 2022 as well, and is being recorded with PAUL RITCHIE (The Parlor Mob, gods) at New Future Studio in Belmar, NJ.
The band have announced the following upcoming performances:
9/18/21 – Philadelphia, PA – Johnny Brenda’s • with Heavy Temple, Grave Bathers & Leather Lung 9/24/21 – Seaside Heights, NJ – EJ’s for Cheap Thrills • with Wreaths and Castle Rat 10/3/21 – Princeton, NJ – Terrace F Club 10/29/21 – Asbury Park, NJ – The Saint • with Deathchant 10/30/21 – Brooklyn, NY – Union Pool • with High Reeper & Deathchant 10/31/21 – Boston, MA – The Middle East • with Sasquatch, Lo Pan & Deathchant
