Posted in Whathaveyou on January 9th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Not so terribly far removed from the Sept. 2023 release of their latest full-length, New Blood (review here), Sierra Vista, Arizona’s Fuzz Evil would seem to have answered the call for some themselves. Founded by brothers Joey Rudell and Wayne Rudell, the band have welcomed Cajun Adam, who is at least their fourth drummer, and multi-instrumentalist/guitarist Preston Jenning, who’ll make their debut with the now-a-four-piece band on the new EP, Smear Merchants. When’s that out? I don’t know, but they covered The Cars‘ “Just What I Needed” — and I’m sorry for getting the song stuck in your head just by mentioning the title, Ric Ocasek‘s magnum opus of catchy is infectious — and that’s a fun nugget to go on for today.
Looking at the below, I’m not actually sure “Just What I Needed” will show up on the EP, either, but I guess we’ll find out sometime in the coming months. Until then, the cover tune and the stream of New Blood are down at the bottom there and you can read more from the PR wire in the blue text.
Enjoy:
Fuzz Evil Expands Sonic Horizon as a Four-Piece Band with New Single and EP Release
Fuzz Evil, the powerhouse three-piece known for their infectious blend of doom and stoner rock, is set to kick off 2024 with a bang. On January 5, the band will drop their latest single, a cover of The Cars’ classic hit “Just What I Needed,” available on all major streaming platforms. This marks a thrilling departure from their signature sound and showcases the band’s versatility.
Following the single release, Fuzz Evil will treat fans to a brand new EP titled “Smear Merchants,” an eagerly anticipated follow-up to their 2023 ,”New Blood ” album. “Smear Merchants” is poised to captivate listeners with its immersive sonic experience, delving deeper into the realms of doom and stoner rock. Serving as a sister record to their self-titled release in 2016, this EP promises to deliver a fresh perspective on Fuzz Evil’s evolving musical journey.
In 2023, Fuzz Evil expanded their sonic horizons by adding two new talented members to their lineup, further enriching their musical tapestry. Preston Jenning, a versatile multi-instrumentalist, joined the band to lend his skills on guitar, baritone, and synth duties. His musical prowess is expected to add new dimensions to Fuzz Evil’s evolving sound. Cajun Adam, the newest addition on drums, brings a rhythmic intensity that complements the band’s dynamic energy.
Fuzz Evil has built a solid reputation in the rock scene, and “Smear Merchants” is poised to be a milestone in their discography. Fans can look forward to a sonic journey that transcends boundaries, blending the familiar with the unexpected.
To stay updated on Fuzz Evil’s latest releases and upcoming shows, follow them on handles here:https://linktr.ee/fuzzevil
Posted in Reviews on November 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Don’t ask me if the ‘quarter’ in question is Fall or Winter, and I’m still planning another QR probably in early January or even December if I can sneak it, but I was able to sneak this week in while no one was looking at the calendar — mostly, that is, while I wasn’t filling said calendar with other stuff — and I decided to make it happen. I even used the ol’ Bing AI to make a header image for it. I was tired of all the no-color etchings. It’s been a decade of that at this point. I’ll try this for a bit and see how I feel about it. The kind of thing that matters pretty much only to me.
This might go to 70, but for right now it’s 50 releases Monday to Friday starting today, 10 per day. I know the drill. You know the drill. Let’s get it going.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
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Negative Reaction, Zero Minus Infinity
Holy fucking shit this rips. You want sludge? Call the masters. There are two generations of bands out there right now trying to tap into the kind of slow and ultra-heavy disaffection — not to mention the guitar tone — of Negative Reaction, and yet, no hype whatsoever. This record didn’t come to me from some high-level public relations concern. It came from Kenny Bones, who founded Negative Reaction over 30 years ago in Long Island (he and thus the band are based in West Virginia now) and whose perpetual themes between crushing depression and the odd bit of Star Wars-franchised space opera have rarely sounded more intentionally grueling. Across six songs and a mood-altering 46 minutes, Bones, bassist KJ and drummer Brian Alien bludgeon with rawness and volume-worship weight that, frankly, is the kind of thing riff-dudes on social media should be tripping over themselves to be first to sing its praises, the lurch in “Back From the Sands” feeling sincere in its unconscious rifference (that’s a reference you make with a riff) to Saint Vitus‘ “Born Too Late,” and maybe Negative Reaction were, or maybe they were born too early, or whatever, but it’s not like they’ve been a fit at any point in the last 30-plus years — cheeky horror riff chugging in “Space Hunter,” all-out fuckall-punker blast in “I’ll Have Another” before the 13-minute flute-laced (yes, Bones is on it) cosmic doom finish of “Welcome to Infinity,” etc., reaffirming square-peg status — because while there’s an awful lot of sludge out there, there’s only ever been one Negative Reaction. Bones‘ and company’s angry adventures, righteous and dense in sound, continue unabated.
Arizona brothers Wayne and Joey Rudell return with New Blood, the first Fuzz Evil full-length since High on You (review here) in 2018, and make up for lost time with 53 minutes of new material across 13 songs from the post-Queens of the Stone Age rock at the outset in “Suit Coffin” to the slow, almost Peter Gabriel-style progressivism of “Littlest Nemo,” the nighttime balladry of “Gullible’s Travel” or the disco groove of “Keep on Living.” Those three are tucked at the end, but Fuzz Evil telegraph new ideas and departures early in “My Own Blood” and even the speedier “Run Away,” with its hints of metal, pulls to the side from “Souveneers,” the hooky “G.U.M.O.C.O.,” a cut like “Heavy Glow” (premiered here) finding some middle ground between attitude-laced desert rock and the expansions thereupon of some New Blood‘s tracks. Shout to “We’ve Seen it All” as the hidden gem. All Fuzz Evil have ever wanted is to write songs and maybe make someone — perhaps even you — dance at a show. With the obvious sweat and soul put into New Blood, a little boogieing doesn’t seem like too much to ask.
A second full-length from Serbia’s Cardinal Point, Man or Island asks its central question — are you a man or an island — in the leadoff title-track. I’m not sure what being one or the other delineates, but masculinity would seem to be preferred judging by the Down-style riffing of “Stray Dog” or the heavy-like-1991 “Right ‘n’ Ready,” which feels like it was written for the stage, whether or not it actually was. “Sunrise” borders on hard country with its uber-dudeliness, but closer “This Chest” offers tighter-twisting, Lo-Pan-style riffing to cap. The tracks are pointedly straightforward, making no pretense about where the band is coming from or what they want to be doing as players. The grooves swing big and the choruses are delivered with force. You wouldn’t call it groundbreaking, but the Vranje-based four-piece aren’t trying to revolutionize heavy so much as to speak to various among those traditions that birthed it. They succeed in that here, and in making the results their own.
Voices far more expert than mine have given pinpointed analyses of Vlimmer‘s goth-as-emotive-vehicle, semi-electronic, sometimes-heavy post-punk, New Dark Wave, etc., stylistic reach as relates to the Berlin-based solo artist’s latest full-length, Zerschöpfung, but hearing The Cure in “Makks” and “Fatalideal” taken to a place of progressive extrapolation on “Platzwort” and to hear the Author & Punisher-informed slow industrial churn of the penultimate “Todesangst” become the backdrop for a dreamy vocal like Tears for Fears if they stayed up all night scribbling in their notebook because they had so much to say. Vlimmer (né Alexander Leonard Donat) has had a productive run since the first numbered EPs started showing up circa 2015, and Zerschöpfung feels like a summation of the style he’s established as his own, able to speak to various sides of underground and outsider musics without either losing itself in the emotionalism of the songs or sublimating identity to genre.
Dutch sludge metallers No Gods No Masters may seem monolithic at first on their second full-length, the self-released Torment, but the post-metallic dynamics in the atmospheric guitar on lead cut “Into Exile” puts the lie to the supposition. Not that there isn’t plenty of extreme crush to go around in “Into Exile” and the four songs that follow — second track “Towering Waves” and closer “End” on either side of the 10-minute mark, “Such Vim and Vigor” and “A God Among the Waste” shorter like “Into Exile” in a five-to-six-minute range — as the band move from crawling ambience to consuming, scream-topped ultra-doom, leave bruises with elbows thrown before the big slowdown in “Such Vim and Vigor” and tear ass regardless of tempo through the finale, and while they never quite let go of the extremity of their purpose, neither do they forget that their purpose is more than extremity. Torment sounds punishing superficially — certainly the title gives a hint that all is not sunshine and puppies — but a deeper listen is met by the richness of No Gods No Masters‘ approach.
Italian psych rockers Ananda Mida are joined by a host of guests throughout their third full-length, Reconciler, including a return appearance from German singer-songwriter Conny Ochs on the extended heavy psych blueser “Swamp Thing” (14:52) and the four-part finale “Doom and the Medicine Man (Pt. V-VIII)” (22:09), which draws a thread through the history of prog and acid rocks, kraut and space applying no less to the 12-minute “Lucifer’s Wind” as to the surf-riffing “Reconciling” after — the latter gets a reprise on platter two of the 83-minute 2LP — as Ananda Mida dig deep into the shining thrust in the early verses of “Never Surrender” that give over to thoughtful jamming in the song’s second half, finding proto-metallic resolve in “Following the Light” before reconciling “Reconciling (Reprise)” and unfurling “Doom and the Medicine Man” like the lost ’70s coke-rock epic it may well be in some other universe, complete with the acoustic postscript. It’s two records’ worth of ambitious, and it’s two records’ worth of record. This is exploratory on a stylistic level. Searching.
Lumbering out of El Paso, Texas (where folks know what salsa should taste like), with seven tracks across a 23-minute debut EP, Ojo Malo follow a Sabbathian course of harder-edged doom, thick in its groove through “Crow Man” after the “Intro” and speedier with an almost nu-metal crunch in “Charon the Ferryman.” There’s Clutch and C.O.C. influences in the riffing, but there are tougher elements too, a tension that wouldn’t have been out of place 28 years ago on a Prong record, and the swing in “Black Trip Lord” has an undercurrent of aggression that comes forward in its chugging second half. The penultimate “Grim Greefo Rising” offers more in terms of melody after its riffy buildup, and “Executioner” reveals the Judas Priest that’s been in the band’s collective heart all the while. Bookended with manipulated sounds from the recordings in “Intro” and “Outro,” Black Light Fever Tripping sounds exactly like it doesn’t have time for your bullshit so get your gear off stage now and don’t break down your cymbals up there or it’s fucking on.
Druid Fluids — aka Adelaide, Australia’s Jamie Andrew, plus a few friends on drums, piano, and so on — inhabits a few different personae out of psychedelic historalia throughout Then, Now, Again & Again, finding favorites in The Beatles in “Flutter By,” “Into Me I See” (both with sitar), and “Layers” while peopling other songs specifically with elements drawn from David Bowie and the solo work of Lennon and McCartney, all of which feels like fair game for the meticulously-arranged 11-song collection. “Sour’s Happy Fantasy” offers sci-fi fuzz grandeur, while “Timeline” is otherworldly in all but the central strum holding it to the ground — a singularly satisfying melody — and “Out of Phase” swaggers in like Andrew knows he was born in the wrong time. He might’ve been, but he seems to have past, present and future covered either way in this material, some of which was reportedly written when he was a teenager but which has no doubt grown more expansive in the intervening years.
The years between their 2017 self-titled three-songer EP and the forthcoming 11-track debut full-length, Saturn V, would seem to have found Philly heavy rockers Gibbous Moon refining their approach in terms of craft and process. “Blue Shelby” has a turn on guitar like Dire Straits as vocalist Noelle Felipe (also bass) drops references to Scarface in “Blue Shelby” and brings due classicism to Mauro Felipe‘s guitar on “Ayadda.” That song, as well as “Everything” and closer “Peacemaker,” tie the EP to the LP, but Noelle, Mauro and drummer Michael Mosley are unquestionably more confident in their delivery, whether it’s the bass in the open reaches of “Sine Wave” or the of-course-it’s-speed-rock “Follow that Car” and its punker counterpart “Armadillo.” Space rock is a factor in “Indivisible,” and “Inflamed” is almost rockabilly in its tense verse, but wherever Gibbous Moon go, their steps are as sure as the material itself is solid. I’m not sure when this is actually out, if it’s 2023 or 2024, but heads up on it.
Arranged shortest to longest between the ah-oo-oo-ah-ah hookiness of “Sucker’s Disease” (3:03), the nodder rollout of “Daughters of the Sun” (5:47) and the reach into psych-blues jamming in “Goddess Land” (7:03), Mother Magnetic‘s self-titled three-song EP is the first public offering from the Brisbane four-piece of vocalist Rox, guitarist James, bassist Tim and drummer Danny, and right into the later reaches of the last of those tracks, the band’s intentions feel strongly declarative in establishing their melodic reach, an Iommi-circa-’81 take on riffmaking, and a classic boozy swagger to the vocals to match. There was a time, 15-20 years ago, when demos like this ruled the land and were handed to you, burned onto archaic CD-Rs, in the vain hope you might play them in your car on the way home from the show. To not do so in this case would be inadvisable. There’s potential in the songwriting, yes, but also on a performance level, for growth as individuals and as a group, and considering where Mother Magnetic are starting in terms of chemistry, that’s all the more an exciting prospect.
Posted in Questionnaire on July 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Wayne & Joey Rudell of Fuzz Evil
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Wayne: Well, we’re two brothers that make some of the dirtiest fuzz rock this side of the San Pedro River.
Joey: Wayne and I have been playing music together since we were little kids. Our parents were ungodly religious, so we ended up starting out playing in Church. At one point we were playing 7 days a week if you include the practices for church and our own band including all the shows/services.
Wayne: Of course, that ended when they found out we listened to Marilyn Manson and Tool.
Joey: Yeah, we’ll the church started turning to a Cult anyway.
Wayne: Hell, but at least we got to learn how to play gospel out of it.
Joey: Right lol. So, our first band was called 12tone. It’s cool to have a recording from when you were just a kid. Some of those songs are a Jam. We were totally a Prog Rock band. Probably because we were so into Tool at the time.
Wayne: We have a bandcamp for 12tone still out there. https://12tone.bandcamp.com/album/vertigo
Joey: Man, the song Vertigo is still a jam. We played a bunch of local shows as 12tone and then we just kind of morphed into Powered Wig Machine. All the same band members. Really nothing changed except the style of music.
Wayne: The song Seven Four kinda got us into the whole stoner rock movement. It’s wild because our mom was an acute paranoid schizophrenic and the bridge section of Seven Four has a recording of a phone call I got from her.
Joey: I’d say that our very first Powered Wig Machine album still had some 12tone feel to it. Like the song Death by Suplex. That still was very progressive. We played a ton of shows as Powered Wig Machine and really went on some great Journeys. I guess Fuzz Evil happened because Daniel (Drums) and Dusty (Guitar) were both having kids and couldn’t commit as much time to playing anymore.
Wayne: Joey and I wanted to do something different, and it quickly became our main project.
Joey: I really like Fuzz Evil, it’s something that is more akin to Wayne and I playing when we were kids. Just the two of us writing riffs. We play off each other well.
Describe your first musical memory.
Joey: We’ve been playing music together for as long as we can remember.
Wayne: I have distinct memory of Joey and I jamming. We were probably 16 and 12, maybe younger. We were recording on one of those old tape recorders where you had to press down the play and record button at the same time. We had our little amps cranked up to 10 rocking out something fierce.
Joey: Right in the middle of the recording our Mom burst into the room and screams at us “Turn it down” “Turn ..it..DOWN” “THINGS ARE FALLING”.
Wayne: hahaha. The moment she walked away we started jamming again.
Joey: I remember listening to that recording like a 1000 times. It was hilarious to hear the few second pause after the door closes and then us starting to play again.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Wayne: Probably playing with Eagles of Death Metal at the Rialto Theatre in Tucson.
Joey: That was a rad show. That show was pretty much sold out.
Wayne: After the show we were hanging out with Jesse, Danger Ehren (from Jackass) who was working as their camera man, and the guys from Black Magic Flower Power showed up for a real rager in the Rialto green room. What a fun night.
Joey: I know this is not like a single memory, but honestly, I’d say that the first time we went on tour up the coast with Orgo will always hold a special place in my heart. We had a blast. Shenanigans every night.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Wayne: I’d say, my views on how to put out music and the music scene in general. I guess I had this old guard view of how things had to be done. Because that was the way they were always done. Truth is, there is no right or wrong way to do it. Nowadays it’s even easier for us with platforms like TikTok, Wix, Bandcamp, etc.. You can build a whole career, with a huge demand, without even leaving your house. Within the last year I’ve seen so many people in the entertainment industry gain notoriety on Tiktok without ever touring. Then the moment they do tour they are playing major venues. It’s changing the whole way I’m looking at what we are doing with Fuzz Evil.
Joey: So was this question supposed to be about music or are you trying to take us down the rabbit hole. Honestly, I can’t really think of any belief I firmly hold. Beliefs are perspectives based on assumptions. Most things in life are gray, not black and white. If you go down any path long enough you’ll realize that believing anything too much is probably steeped in logical fallacies. Haha, this perspective probably stems from the emotional trauma of having a schizophrenic mother, and being punished for illogical things as a child.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Wayne: I think artistic progression is a double-edged sword. It can lead you to some real genre inspiring music, similar to what King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard do on every record, or it can lead you down a path where it’s almost like an inside joke, musically. I love Mars Volta, but their last couple albums were so progressive that they lost us. Still an amazing band, but it’s a double-edged sword.
Joey: I’m with you on that. I’d also say that artistic progression has a lot to do with why you want to progress artistically. Some people write music for themselves, and some people write music for others. Which one takes precedence will drive the progression. I think there should be a balance between the two. I love playing music because I like to make something I can look back on with pride and for others to appreciate. For us, even though it was the same members between 12tone and Powered Wig Machine we changed band names and genres. Now we are on to Fuzz Evil, still Wayne and I. I don’t think there is any right or wrong way to go about it.
How do you define success?
Joey: I believe that our lives are our legacy. To me creating something that others appreciate, whether it be art, music, or just memories is success to me. I always joke that you can spend your entire life staying at home doing what you always do and years will go by and you’ll have no distinct memories, or you can go out and do something wild and have a great story to tell.
Wayne: I’d define success as when people look back on your whole body of work and it holds some weight to it. Maybe, we’ll never be arena famous, but I love making music and that’s the true inspiration. When people look back at Fuzz Evil or Powered Wig Machine, it might not hold as much weight as Led Zepplin or Black Sabbath, but it may hold its own like Rare Earth. I’m ok with being the Rare Earth of stoner rock.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Wayne: Uh, Two Girls one Cup?
Joey: That’s a good one. I still wish I never say that Youtube video of those two dogs humping and then the one dies mid banging. In all honesty, I’ve been pretty lucky in life, and haven’t had to experience anything extremely traumatic that keeps me up at night.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
Wayne: We are currently making shorts of an animated series called “Fuzz Off”. It’s an animated series that personifies guitar pedals. Kinda like South Park meets Beavis and Butthead. I’m really hoping we can get a deal with someone like adult Swim to make these full-time.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Wayne: I believe it’s the tangible expression of who you are as a person. When a song is heavy or beautiful you are experiencing that artist’s interpretations of those emotions through their life experiences.
Joey: To get laid or help others get laid. Haha, I mean think about it. What IS the purpose of art. At a fundamental level it’s peacocking. Seriously though, as an artist I’d say the most essential function of art is to express myself and communicate my emotions. As an appreciator I’d say the most essential function is escapism. Something that helps you forget about everything for just a moment.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Wayne: Season 18 of APEX. I’m a huge gamer. They really messed up the ranking in Season 17. Everyone hit the highest rank you can hit. Something like 20% of the player base. I hit Masters, haha. Looking forward to something a little more challenging in Season 18. Hit me up, I’m Wolf_Blitzinator on PS5 if you want to get down.
Joey: Uh, I don’t know. Retirement? Actually, I’m a huge gamer too, but I haven’t touch Diablo 4 or the Zelda yet because I’ve been too busy working on music/art stuff. Looking forward to playing these. I mean, if we are dropping gamertags I’m Shakalo on everything.
Posted in audiObelisk on July 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Tomorrow, July 7, Sierra Vista, Arizona’s Fuzz Evil will release their first new music in five years. The band propelled by the brotherly duo of Wayne and Joey Rudell have been proffering outsider desert rock since they showed up on a 2014 split with Chiefs as they evolved out of Powered Wig Machine, and their new single “Heavy Glow” and upcoming fourth album, New Blood, help get the point across that the band are back and looking to catch as many ears as possible. Last heard from with 2018’s High on You(review here) — they also had the of-era quarantine video “Better off Alone (Redux)” in 2020 — the Rudells look to issue New Blood and claim their place in the desert-heavy pantheon in the coming months, and “Heavy Glow” provides an enticing glimpse at some of what might be on offer.
Which means that, no, I haven’t heard the whole record yet, and no, I don’t have an exact release date yet. Fuzz Evil have never been ones for working without a plan — their songs are well structured and the band seems to function similarly — and in listening to “Heavy Glow,” at least part of the objective seems to have been an expansion of their sound. In under three minutes, Fuzz Evil remove themselves from baseline desert rock and can be heard using the production of the song itself as an instrument. Even before the layered vocals of its chorus, the buildup of the riff around which the song works — insistent but not overbearing, actively working to engage the audience from the first second onward — and the shift into the first verse, the layering there and the shift to the bridge and back; these smooth changes and the shifts in vocal effects and the extra voices in the chorus demonstrate the band’s branching out in terms of sound. Clearly a professional presentation was somewhere among their goals for their latest batch of material, and at least with “Heavy Glow,” they hit that mark easily.
And yes, there was a band called Heavy Glow. They broke up in 2017 and so far as I know, the song is not about them. If I’m wrong about that, fine. Either way, it’s not a diss track or anything. Would be awesome though if bands started writing songs about how cool other bands are. Maybe some day we’ll get there. Same team and all that.
With the caveat of more to come, here’s “Heavy Glow” a day early. The pre-save link and more info follow, courtesy of the band via the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Fuzz Evil Unleashes the Dirtiest Glow Up from the Deserts of Arizona with New Single “Heavy Glow”
Prepare to be engulfed in the relentless, scorching waves of desert fuzz rock as Fuzz Evil, the formidable band from the Borderlands of Arizona, returns with their long-awaited single “Heavy Glow.” Brothers Wayne and Joey Rudell, the dynamic duo behind Fuzz Evil, are back with a vengeance, ready to ignite the music scene once again. This powerful track is the first glimpse of their upcoming third release titled “New Blood,” marking the band’s triumphant return after a three-year hiatus.
Fuzz Evil has long been known for their signature brand of gritty, unapologetic fuzz rock that transports listeners straight to the arid heart of the Arizona desert. Since their inception, the band has been celebrated for their electrifying live performances and ear-rattling studio recordings, building a dedicated fan base both locally and globally.
“Heavy Glow” stands as a testament to the Rudell brothers’ musical prowess, delivering a auditory assault of colossal riffs and thunderous rhythms that will leave fans craving for more. The song showcases Fuzz Evil’s growth and evolution while staying true to their desert rock roots. Wayne’s hauntingly raw vocals intertwine seamlessly with The layers of bass and guitar work, creating an entrancing synergy that echoes through every note.
The single “Heavy Glow” will be released on all major digital platforms on [7.7.23], setting the stage for the arrival of “New Blood.” Fuzz Evil invites all fans, both new and old, to join them on this exhilarating musical odyssey.
Tracklist: 1. Suit Coffin 2. My Own Blood 3. Run Away 4. Perfect Slut 5. Heavy Glow 6. The Silver Bells 7. G.U.M.O.C.O 8. We’ve Seen it All 9. New Blood 10. Souveneers 11. Littlest Nemo 12. Gullible’s Travel 13. Keep on Livin’
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 17th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
There’s a certain art to quarantine-style videomaking at this point. As the last 10 months or thereabouts have demonstrated, while live show opportunities may evaporate, there are still avenues — most of them digital — through which a band might harness a bit of forward momentum. Quite often, that’s resulted in boxed-off dudes putting together video clips either of songs performed live or prior-recorded, and in the case of Fuzz Evil, they’ve reworked one of their many, many quality hooks in the form of “Better Off Alone (Redux),” taking the track of the same name — minus the “redux” part, duh — from 2017’s The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter Seven (review here) split with Switchblade Jesus and perhaps giving it the winking new interpretation as a timely reminder about the need to stay socially distant.
Certainly, as the US moves toward the Thanksgiving holiday, virology experts would seem to endorse this message, and if you’re on the same page as Dr. Anthony “The Fauch” Fauci, you’re probably doing something right.
Will Fuzz Evil‘s “Better Off Alone (Redux)” be adopted as a public service reminder to stay at home and be extra thankful you neither have COVID-19 nor have to participate in awkward around-the-table political discussions? Shit I hope so. Wouldn’t that be great? All of a sudden you start seeing Fuzz Evil in commercials and stuff of people wearing masks and behaving like responsible adults instead of petulant-ass, gotta-have-muh-freedom-to-make-yer-mom-sick dickweeds? I’d be so into it. Someone call the branding officer at the Centers for Disease Control. That’s definitely a position that exists, right? Because the CDC needs marketing? Should I send a resumé?
May you live in interesting times.
Okay.
Fuzz Evil released their High on You (review here) sophomore LP in 2018, which makes them about due for a third outing since their self-titled debut (review here) was 2016, but you know, scheduling and all that.
Enjoy the clip. It’s a good one:
Fuzz Evil, “Better Off Alone (Redux)” official video premiere
Published on 13 November 2020 – restricted by the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus, and isolated from one another, we thought we’d record our own separate video parts of ‘Better off Alone.’
‘Better Off Alone – redux”, taken from the Second Coming of Heavy Chapter 7 split by Ripple Featuring Switchblade Jesus and Fuzz evil, released 08 December 2017.
[Click play above to stream ‘High on You’ from Fuzz Evil’s new album of the same name. It’s out Sept. 14 and Fuzz Evil begin a West Coast tour that night. Click here for the poster with dates.]
Not every underground band can make a professional, commercial-style production work, but Fuzz Evil do. The Sierra Vista, Arizona, three-piece recorded their second album, High on You, with Paul Fig (Alice in Chains, Deftones, Fireball Ministry, and many others) at Studio 606, which is owned by Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters, and the material accordingly sounds not only ironed out in its sound, crisp and clear, but still weighted in tone and groove, but like someone was actively pushing the band to outdo themselves on each take. To wit, the self-aware start-stops and melodic turns of “The Strut” late in the record are air-tight, as drummer Orgo Martinez swaps toms out for crash-cymbal timekeeping in the verses and chorus, which is among several standout hooks on the ultra-manageable seven-song/34-minute release.
That runtime further speaks to an element of professionalism on the part of the band — Martinez as well as brothers Wayne Rudell (guitar/vocals) and Joey Rudell (bass/vocals) — who’ve made the decision to leave their audience wanting more rather than overwhelm with a glut of material, though recording time may have also had something to do with it as they had two days at Studio 606 to bust through all the songs and nail at least the basic tracks before doing overdubs back with Fig, but if that crunch shows itself at all in the songs, it’s in a sense of urgency in the material, whether it’s the speedy second cut “You Can Take Her Away,” which seems to reference Clutch‘s “Spleen Merchant” at the outset before unfolding another memorable hook, this one multi-tiered with Joey backing Wayne‘s lead vocals and an effective guitar solo in the second half of a purposeful three-and-a-half-minute run.
But that’s only after “Get it Together” hints at harmonies between the Rudells in an initial audience-engagement of funk-tinged swing drums, and a building verse that shifts easily into the soaring chorus. The impression that Fuzz Evil are stepping up their game even from what it was on their 2016 self-titled debut (review here) is immediate and resonant, and with fuzz-drenched riffs and leads, a thick and steady groove and an energetic delivery, the three-piece use “Get it Together” to set the tone for everything that follows. Tempos are fluid but by and large not too slow or fast — they kick into a couple speedy parts now and then, mostly to make a point, but maintain fervent control over the rush — and the overarching feel remains welcoming as “You Can Take Her Away” transitions smoothly into the slowdown of “Ribbons and Kills.”
Spacious with a somewhat darker feel, “Ribbons and Kills” flows with the bass at its foundation and the creeping vocal line overtop. In some ways it’s a direct contrast to “You Can Take Her Away” before it, but that’s the point, and the two do sit well next to each other ahead of the centerpiece “If You Know,” which sets forth its riff at the start and picks up patiently from there. Finding a middle pace between Fuzz Evil‘s faster and slower speeds, its nod is a central factor in its success, and it helps keep the momentum going that the band has thus far built, giving High on You all the more of a full-album feel that, as they move deeper into the second half of the record, nothing diminishes. Further, it emphasizes the point of Fuzz Evil‘s songwriting, which is what serves as the heart of High on You. That’s not to diminish any aspect of their performance or the energy with which they play, but that energy is clearly directed in service to the songs themselves, which given the quality of their output here is probably how it should be anyhow.
“If You Know” caps with more soloing and a return to the chorus for good measure and gives way to “The Strut,” which may or may not be about the same fancy-walking individual as the KISS song — it’s easy to see the Fuzz Evil as potential fans, with their shared penchant for hooks and classic-style structures — and is one of the shorter pieces at just 3:33. It’s noteworthy for that since they pair it with the 6:31 title-track immediately following, which is the longest piece and uses its time wisely in a slower doomly crawl and open vocal with Wayne‘s voice over open space between drum thuds and far-back low end. The chorus of “High on You” is worth naming the record after, and while one might think they’d make up the difference in runtime with a jam or something like that, they don’t really. There’s a noisy solo in the second half, but by and large, “High on You” is longer because it’s that much slower than what surrounds.
It gives the album a somewhat moodier feel, and thereby all the more breadth of expression, and turns to the closer “Are You in or Out” with an introduction from the drums before the swaying guitar line enters and gives the listener the center around which the finale will work. Sure enough, “Are You in or Out” brings one last vital surge from the band, with the title line repeated in such a way as to seem to ask the audience if it’s gotten on board with what Fuzz Evil put together in the tracks prior. They have, of course, made a solid argument for themselves, and while listeners will ultimately have to decide on their own whether they are in or out, there’s no denying Fuzz Evil lay it on the line in asking. Just as likely, though, the question is directed inward. It is no minor commitment in time, finance or effort to put together an album like High on You, so it could well be that “Are You in or Out” is the band talking itself into pushing forward with what they thought would lead them to make the best album possible. Whether that’s the case or not, their choice was correct. They’re in.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 23rd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Fuzz Evil, since making their first appearance in 2014 by sharing a split release with fellow Arizonans Chiefs (review here), have kept a steady clip of releases. They’re not Hawkwind-prolific, but they’ve managed to keep forward momentum on their side with a string of outings including a digital single (streamed here) in 2015, their 2016 self-titled full-length debut (review here), a couple of lyric videos for the tracks from that (posted here and here), and most recently, their taking part in Ripple Music‘s ongoing series, The Second Coming of Heavy, sharing the Chapter Seven LP (review here) with Switchblade Jesus. They’ve also toured with Dandy Brown from Hermano, thrown the Borderlands Fuzz Fiesta, and generally kept a solid presence in the forefront of their audience’s minds.
The news? They’re keeping it up. Next week they hit the studio to begin recording their second full-length, which they’ve given the title High on You. The three-piece will work with producer Paul Figueroa and a release is expected later this year. Since the self-titled came out on now-defunct Battleground Records, that may or may not make Fuzz Evil free agents, but I can’t imagine it’ll be too long before an announcement is made in that regard. Maybe like six minutes after the record is done, if I had to guess.
In the meantime, they sent the following down the PR wire:
Fuzz Evil will be heading into the studio next week to record their fourth release, titled ‘High on You.’ Fuzz Evil have teamed up with producer Paul Figueroa (Alice in Chains, Slipknot) to record their new seven track record at David Grohl’s Studio 606.
Says guitarist/vocalist Wayne Rudell: “We are all very proud of these songs. They have been a journey for us. To be able to record these specific songs on such a legendary counsel is exciting and humbling. This is the first album Orgo Martinez our new drummer wrote and played on. I feel that these songs are the most dynamic we have written. I feel the band has really matured since the Chiefs split back in 2014. There is a slight departure from what we have done before. This album we did a lot of exploring. We also decided to carry over ‘If Know You’ from the Ripple split.”
The album is expected to be released in mid to late 2018.
‘High on You’ tracklisting: The Strut You Can Take Here Away High On You Get It Together If You Know Ribbons and Kills Are you In or Out
Fuzz Evil is: Wayne Rudell – guitar/vocals Joey Rudell – bass/vocals Orgo Martinez – drums
Ah, the public domain. Someday the greedy, soulless, oligarchical bastards who run our lives will take away that most human of notions — that something created and put into a public sphere belongs, after a time, to that sphere more than to its creator — because royalty checks, but while we’ve still got it, it’s nice to see it being put to good use. “Black Dread” is the second DIY video from Fuzz Evil‘s 2016 Battleground Records self-titled debut (review here) to cull its footage from such sources behind a lyric clip that surfaced in Nov. for “Killing the Sun” (posted here), and it uses creative editing to give a psychedelic impression from old educational cartoons filled with gloriously outdated science about atoms, space and the threat of nuclear annihilation. My mother tells stories about being told to “duck and cover” if the bomb got dropped. I’d say it was a horrifying time to be alive, but when wasn’t?
Anyhoozle, the song “Black Dread,” the title of which refers to one of Aegon Targaryen’s dragons in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire — Balerion, if you’re wondering — may or may not have anything to do with the structure of atoms or humanity’s thanatos drive, but it was one of my favorite tracks on Fuzz Evil‘s Fuzz Evil, so I’m happy for the chance to revisit it. More laid back than the bulk of the record, which found the trio of guitarist/vocalist Wayne Rudell, bassist Joseph Rudell and drummer Marlin Tuttle (the latter since replaced by Daniel Graves) dug into the crisp execution of sans-frills fuzz rockers like “Good Medicine” and “My Fuzz,” it was both the longest track at nearly seven minutes and the finale of that sub-half-hour outing, leaving the audience with a dreamier impression and perhaps a sign of sonic expansion and progression to come from the Arizona-based three-piece, whose desert vibes were writ large one way or another over each groove and the laid back, unpretentious atmosphere of the record as a whole.
Fuzz Evil, it just so happens, head out this coming weekend on a run to support the self-titled, going alongside Hermano‘s Dandy Brown and his band for shows in the Southern Californian desert and in Phoenix and their hometown of Sierra Vista, AZ. You can find those dates included under the video for “Black Dread” below, which it’s my pleasure to host for your streaming enjoyment.
So please, enjoy:
Fuzz Evil, “Black Dread” official video
Music by: Fuzz Evil Edited by: Joseph Rudell of Fuzz evil
Music written, recorded, and owned by Fuzz Evil All Footage from The archive.org and in the public domain.
Footage from: –“Principles of Electricity” – Published 1945 – Usage Public Domain –“Duck and Cover” by Archer Productions, Inc. – Published 1951 – Usage Public Domain — “Drug Addiction” by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, Inc. – Published 1951 – Usage Public Domain — “A is for Atom” by Sutherland (John) Productions – Published 1953 – Usage Public Domain
Fuzz Evil live w/ Dandy Brown: Saturday – 4/15 – San Diego, CA – Tower Bar Monday – 4/17 – Riverside, CA Tuesday – 4/18 – Joshua Tree, CA – The Beatnik Lounge Wednesday – 4/19 – Palm Desert, CA – The Red Barn Thursday – 4/20 – Pheonix, AZ – Yucca Tap Room Friday – 4/21 – Sierra Vista, AZ – The Horned Toad
