Today, Ruff Majik begin the process of following up 2023’s Elektrik Ram (review here), and the first single is “What a Time to Be a Knife,” which the band teased last month ahead of starting their European tour.

As that tour wraps up pretty much right this second, clearly it’s time to move on to the next thing, and that’s the album process. I think there are a few months to go on that, but at very least today is the preliminary steps moving forward from what was hands-down the band’s best effort to-date, following the charge and divergences-of-arrangement of 2020’s The Devil’s Cattle (review here) with tighter songwriting, smart-ass lyrics and a performance that was soaked in attitude not at the expense of the sincerity with which it was also telling you to get fucked.

Speaking of that sentiment, it is expressed verbatim at the open-up-to-the-nod culmination of “What a Time to Be a Knife,” which as I understand it will lead off the new album in a line of succession for adrenaline-fueled starters. At the start of the track, you’ll hear Reegan du Buisson (Facing the Gallows, Evergloom) talking about how Ruff Majik will never play in this town again, etc., and if the song is the band’s response, they seem entirely cool with that.

Fair enough as they set broader sights on the whole. They’ll be back in Europe this Fall for Desertfest Belgium (god damn I wanna go) and more besides. Dates TBA, but there are shows announced already. So far as I know, nothing is bringing them to the US this year, but fair enough for visa costs, and maybe they’ll get there in 2025. The album will be out on Sound of Liberation Records, which also happens to be the label wing of their Euro booking agency, further speaking to their overarching priorities.

More to come. For today, this from the PR wire [EDIT 06/07: An actual press release came after this post went up. I’ve updated with the text of that below; the difference is there’s more about the album. Thanks.]:

South African Fuzz Juggernaut RUFF MAJIK Announces New Studio Album “Moth Eater” On Sound Of Liberation Records; First Single (Feat. Reegan du Buisson of Facing The Gallows) Out Now!

Streaming: https://orcd.co/xqy6d0b

Following their latest, much acclaimed 2023-album ‘Elektrik Ram’, South Africa’s megalithic Ruff Majik has announced the release of a new studio offering! Moth Eater will be released on September 27, 2024 via SOL Records, the label imprint run by Sound Of Liberation (Desertfest Berlin, Keep It Low, Up In Smoke etc. and booking agency for numerous, high-class artists of the stoner, psych, rock and doom metal / sludge scene). Visit the SOL Records Shop here: https://shop.soundofliberation.com

A first album single taken off Ruff Majik’s upcoming banger, “What A Time To Be A Knife” feat. Reegan du Buisson of Facing The Gallows, is now streaming on all digital providers at: https://orcd.co/xqy6d0b

From a lyrical perspective, the first single release deals with the anger and frustration towards the status quo. It can be read as an allegory of governmental resistance and frustration with peers accepting the status quo, however, according to Ruff Majik it is more specifically aimed at the con-men and grifters in the local South African scene. As the band tells us:

“Right out the gate, we need to get some stuff off our chest. So, this song goes out to our local music industry promoters/suits/businessmen/naysayers that think they rule the world and shit gold. This is us drawing the line in the sand and throwing down the gauntlet – run up, we’re ready.

The scene is amazing, the bands are trying their best to make something good happen, and these greedy goblins are actively trying to destroy what we’re building.

So you think you’re the music biz messiah? Get f#@cked!”

Ruff Majik are:
Johni Holiday (vocals & guitar)
Cowboy Bez (guitar & vocals)
Jimmy Glass (bass)
Steven Bosman (drums)

http://www.ruffmajik.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089579216305&mibextid=ZbWKwL
http://www.instagram.com/ruffmajik
https://www.tiktok.com/@ruffmajik

Ruff Majik, “What a Time to Be a Knife”

Ruff Majik, Elektrik Ram (2023)

With just a bit less than a month to go before it’s released, no one will be able to say they weren’t warned about the new Ruff Majik single, “What a Time to Be a Knife.” The South African heavy rockers will release the new track on June 7 — it’s available now to pre-save through the usual-suspect digital outlets — and no, there isn’t even a snippet of audio to go on yet, but one assumes that will follow.

Why put word out early? Maybe it’s because the band are gearing up to travel from South Africa to Europe for a second tour supporting their most righteous 2023 long-player, Elektrik Ram (review here), and wanted to be sure they got the news out before the run started May 16, not the least since they’re on the continent until the song actually arrives. One more thing to tick off your to-do list ahead of getting on the plane. There’s a lot to be said for that.

And a lot to be said about “What a Time to Be a Knife” as well. I’ll skip playing coy and tell you outright I’ve had the chance to hear the song, and if the middle-fingery vibe of “Hillbilly Fight Song” from Elektrik Ram or the charge of “All You Need is Speed” from 2020’s The Devil’s Cattle (review here) did you right, you’ll probably want to keep an eye out. As one would both expect and hope, attitude abounds in the song, which also features a guest spot from Reegan du Buisson (Facing the Gallows, Evergloom), and by the time you feel like you can keep up with the first listen, it’s already over.

The European dates (yeah, I already posted them; bite me) follow here, as well as the knife-emoji-heavy save-the-date note and link they put out on socials. Have at it:

RUFF MAJIK – 🔪What A Time To Be A Knife🔪

⚔️07.06.2024⚔️

feat. Reegan du Buisson

Pre-save: https://orcd.co/xqy6d0b

Illustration by Llewellyn Van Eeden
Design by Johni Holiday
Mix and master by Justin Bernardo
via Sound of Liberation

Ruff Majik :

16.5 – Cottbus (DE) @comicaze_cb , HEADLINE
17.5 – Dresden (DE) Gockelscream Festival
18.5 – Cologne (DE) @clubvolta_cologne , Siena Root + Dirty Sound Magnet
19.5 – Den Bosch (NL) W2, Monkey3
20.5 – Ede (NL) @astrant_ede , HEADLINE
21.5 – TBA
22.5 – Luxembourg (LUX) @mkbarbelval , with @uncle.leaf.band
23.5 – Aarau, @kiffaarau (CH), Brant Bjork
24.5 – München (DE), @feierwerk_ , Brant Bjork
25.5 – Erfurt (DE), VEB Kultur , Brant Bjork
26.5 – @desertfest_berlin (DE)
28.5 – Prague (CZ), @underdogsprague , Headline
29.5 – Nürnberg (DE), @musikzentrale_nuernberg , Headline
30.5 – TBA
31.5 – Esbjerg (DK), @esbjerg_fuzztival
1.6 – TBA
2.6 – Düsseldorf (DE), @pitcherrocknrollhq , Headline
4.6 – Lille (FR), @labullecafe
5.6 – Würzburg (DE), @immerhin.wuerzburg , Monkey3
6.6 – Biberach (DE), @abdera.bc , Monkey3
7.6 – Münster (DE), @rare_guitar , Headline
8.6 – TBA

Ruff Majik are:
Johni Holiday (vocals & guitar)
Cowboy Bez (guitar & vocals)
Jimmy Glass (bass)
Steven Bosman (drums)

http://www.ruffmajik.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089579216305&mibextid=ZbWKwL
http://www.instagram.com/ruffmajik
https://www.tiktok.com/@ruffmajik

Ruff Majik, Elektrik Ram (2023)

This tour marks the second time in the last year that South African heavy rockers Ruff Majik have hit Europe for shows. I was lucky enough to see them at SonicBlast Fest 2023 (review here) in Portugal last August, and they were set to be back on the continent for a Fall run alongside heavy riffing Israeli party-in-a-can trio The Great Machine before war — as it apparently will unceasingly until we’ve finally eradicated our own species, no doubt to the planet’s general benefit — broke out. Thus ‘the second coming’ on the poster below, which also serves as a lyrical reference to the moment where the title-track of their 2023 album, Elektrik Ram (review here), turns downerism into a willful triumph.

I was doing a bit of travel myself last week and as I have everywhere I’ve gone for well over a year now — admittedly easier to do in the digital age — I brought that record along for the journey. No, I’m still not quite over it, even as the four-piece have threatened multiple outings to follow this and perhaps more realistically next year. As Elektrik Ram so deftly paired stylistic scope with pinpoint efficiency in its songwriting across a succession of memorable, varied tracks, I’ll go ahead and count their next anything among my most anticipated whatevers of whenever. Screw you, I’m allowed to have favorites.

The tour below finds them meeting up with desert rock pioneer/ambassador Brant Bjork, as well as Monkey3, Siena Root and others, along with appearances at Esbjerg Fuzztival in Denmark, Desertfest Berlin 2024 and, the first of them, Gockelscream in Dresden, which as I understand it is somewhere between a heavyfest and a birthday party. Either way, sounds like a rad time.

From socials:

Here it is folks, our wildest tour announcement to date!

We’re hitting Gockelscream, Desertfest Berlin and Esbjerg Fuzztival!

More surprises in store too, with four more dates left to fill up!

All this brought to you by the good folks at @soundofliberation !

Artwork by the amazing @llewellynvaneeden !

Schedule:

16.5 – Cottbus (DE) @comicaze_cb , HEADLINE
17.5 – Dresden (DE) Gockelscream Festival
18.5 – Cologne (DE) @clubvolta_cologne , Siena Root + Dirty Sound Magnet
19.5 – Den Bosch (NL) W2, Monkey3
20.5 – Ede (NL) @astrant_ede , HEADLINE
21.5 – TBA
22.5 – Luxembourg (LUX) @mkbarbelval , with @uncle.leaf.band
23.5 – Aarau, @kiffaarau (CH), Brant Bjork
24.5 – München (DE), @feierwerk_ , Brant Bjork
25.5 – Erfurt (DE), VEB Kultur , Brant Bjork
26.5 – @desertfest_berlin (DE)
28.5 – Prague (CZ), @underdogsprague , Headline
29.5 – Nürnberg (DE), @musikzentrale_nuernberg , Headline
30.5 – TBA
31.5 – Esbjerg (DK), @esbjerg_fuzztival
1.6 – TBA
2.6 – Düsseldorf (DE), @pitcherrocknrollhq , Headline
4.6 – Lille (FR), @labullecafe
5.6 – Würzburg (DE), @immerhin.wuerzburg , Monkey3
6.6 – Biberach (DE), @abdera.bc , Monkey3
7.6 – Münster (DE), @rare_guitar , Headline
8.6 – TBA

See you there!

Ruff Majik are:
Johni Holiday (vocals & guitar)
Cowboy Bez (guitar & vocals)
Jimmy Glass (bass)
Steven Bosman (drums)

http://www.ruffmajik.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089579216305&mibextid=ZbWKwL
http://www.instagram.com/ruffmajik
https://www.tiktok.com/@ruffmajik

http://mongrelrecords.com
http://www.facebook.com/mongrelrecords
http://www.instagram.com/mongrel_records

Ruff Majik, Elektrik Ram (2023)

To be sure, Ruff Majik don’t owe 2023 any favors. The South African four-piece released their third full-length, Elektrik Ram (review here), through Mongrel Records and toured in a place I was. Word is they’ll be back out next year, too. As far as I’m concerned, they’re all paid up. But there’s no rest for the restless, and as the year begins to conceive of winding down, the band have two covers taken from the soundtrack of the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, based on Brian Lee O’Malley‘s graphic novel series, pretty much for the hell of it. There’s a Netflix show coming out this month. Fine. I still count fun as the primary motivator.

No, I mean that. Granted, in the ‘age of content’ and active social media engagement, one is driven — in part because it makes other people money — to create something new, something fun, something sharable every two to three minutes. That aside, I take guitarist/vocalist Johni Holiday — joined by bassist Jimmy Glass, guitarist/backing vocalist Cowboy Bez and drummer Steven Bosman in the endeavor — at his word when he says he’s a fan of the movie and the franchise built up around it. And if you don’t know the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, it’s got a ton of songs by Beck — who even if you don’t dig his aesthetic, you know can write a song — and Frank Black, along with Emily Haines and James Shaw of Broken Social Scene and a bunch of others. “Black Sheep” is by the latter two, “Threshold” is by Beck, and there are Rolling Stones and T-Rex covers, so it’s not material thought up by writers sitting around a table working on a screenplay, which, yes, does happen, but part of the experience of the film. The music is essential and a very specific kind of cool.

Elektrik Ram has been the soundtrack to much of my 2023, and pretty essential in its own right, and though I don’t have info on when these recordings were done, Ruff Majik have established that in any given album cycle they might make a comic book or somesuch. And in acknowledgement of how hot-iron-being-struck they are in the studio and on stage, I’m not going to complain with more recorded material from this band right now. Further, even if the concept hits you flat — you never saw the movie, you don’t care about it — “Threshold” is a sub-two-minute careen that spends its second half in a hooky wormhole to proto-punk triumph, and “Black Sheep” is a quirky piano ballad with purposefully grandiose keyboard string sounds, and it’s still done in less than three minutes, so nobody’s trying to take up your whole day here.

If you dug Elektrik Ram, though, think of these arrangements as complements for songs like “She’s Still a Goth” and the title-track or “Chemically Humanized.” Similarly honed edges. “Black Sheep” doesn’t go quite as dark lyrically as the latter, but it’s not far off, and the charge in “Threshold” is by now a Ruff Majik signature. I felt extraordinarily lucky to see this band play this year. I’d feel even luckier if I got to again in 2024, and while I won’t profess the same attachment to the Scott Pilgrim source material as Holiday, I get it. You can enjoy and/or make music your whole life, but some part of you will always be chasing the dragon of that feeling of how things hit when you were young discovering it for the first time. Paying tribute to that, giving a little insight and nuance into the story of where Ruff Majik are coming, and heavy besides. There you go. Content delivered.

“Black Sheep” and “Threshold” both stream below — I don’t know if they’re pressing a 7″ or not, but they probably should — followed by some comment from Holiday and more info from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Ruff Majik, “Black Sheep” track premiere

Ruff Majik, “Threshold” track premiere

South African Stoner Rock Firebrands Ruff Majik Pay Homage to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World With Two Exclusive Cover Releases

STREAM ➤ https://orcd.co/-blacksheep

STREAM ➤ https://orcd.co/-threshold

Ruff Majik, the notorious heavy stoner rock band known for their thunderous riffs and explosive performances, release their tribute to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World today. The band, led by the indomitable Johni Holiday, have recorded versions of Threshold and Black Sheep, two iconic tracks from the movie’s soundtrack in anticipation of the new Netflix series launching on November 17th.

Johni has long been an ardent fan of both the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World movie and the original graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley. These influences played a pivotal role in shaping the band’s identity and musical direction from the very beginning.
Commenting on the project, Holiday expressed his deep connection to the source material “I saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World at the tender age of 18 – a high school loser with high hopes for getting my band out of the garage one day. My teenage mind completely missed the plot of the movie (or the fact that there was even any graphic novels before it) and just cared about the gnarly garage rock emanating from the soundtrack, thanks to fictional bands ‘Sex-bob-omb’ and ‘The Clash At Demonhead’. My fate was pretty much sealed after that, as I dug into every last piece of novelisation and memorabilia, I could get my hands on. Weird as it may be to say, I think the soundtrack of Scotty P. is one of my greatest influences of all time – we still say “we gotta play now & LOUD!” to each other before Ruff Majik takes the stage. So here you go, a love letter to my favourite fictional universe.”

The release features Ruff Majik’s unique take on two tracks that have become anthems in their own right.

Ruff Majik:
Johni Holiday – guitar/vocals
Cowboy Bez – guitar/backing vocals
Jimmy Glass – bass
Steven Bosman – drums

Ruff Majik, Elektrik Ram (2023)

Ruff Majik website

Ruff Majik on Facebook

Ruff Majik on Instagram

Mongrel Records website

Mongrel Records on Facebook

Mongrel Records on Instagram

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: Roelof Van Tonder of Acid Magus

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Simply put, I’m an aspiring musician, heavy emphasis on aspiring. I’ve always been in love and obsessed with music and I’ve dabbled here and there but never committed fully. I fucked around a lot in my early years, had way too much fun (if you know what I mean) and I also thought being like the musicians I admired wasn’t attainable for me. During lockdown I lost my job, and some other stuff happened that threw me into a deep depression. Music is what got me out of bed, practicing for hours every day gave me a sense of purpose and achievement that got me through a really tough time. My friend Keenan started a new project, and was in need of a drummer. I said fuck it and threw in my lot although I could barely play a single song. I realized how happy playing music made me and I should take this chance. I don’t think Keenan imagined anything to come from it at that point, but I was hell bent on proving myself. Many hours of practice, often without a working drum kit I managed to get to a point where my playing was passable. Since then I’ve moved to bass, it was another instrument I had which I could play when I didn’t have a drum kit, and I ‘ve just focused on getting this project to be successful. What I do is very much what is required at the moment, be it play a different instrument, do social media, organize shows or fill in a questionnaire. My journey is my own and I find that pretty cool now.

Describe your first musical memory.

Well… there’s many but one that I’ll never forget is listening to my dad’s Chris de Burgh CD, Spanish Train. The title track if you don’t know is a story of God and the Devil playing a game of cards for the souls of dead, on a train to the afterlife. The combination of storytelling, philosophy and music was just the coolest. I listened to that song many times, sometimes singing along other times thinking about life. I was a very broody child if you can tell!

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Frist show I played with Acid Magus on drums. We all played well, and it was just simply exhilarating! Felt like I was leading a charge into battle, hacked my way through some songs and it was over. Pure bliss!

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

The depression I went through during lockdown had me reevaluating life, it really confronted me with a lot of my beliefs of what a worthy life is and what a successful future looks like.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Art and expression usually are synonymous, and I agree but really dedicating yourself to an instrument, craft or art requires a shit ton of discipline in many aspects of your life not only the time spent practicing. To be able to express yourself effectively, honestly and with confidence you need to get a lot of things right outside of your craft, and you need to find balance and purpose in your daily life. So I think artistic progression stems from the full spectrum of life, knowledge, relationships, philosophy, experiences, and honest hard work. Seeking your inner voice and expressing it is good and all, but I think we overemphasize creativity and art. Life imitates art as they say so stop trying so hard and just live. I say this like I do it with ease, but it’s hard trust me!

How do you define success?

Being able to pivot and do what you desire without having to worry about what you’re leaving behind. And simply, being worthy of happiness, emphasizing appreciation. If you can do that every day, you’re a success.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

It’s morbid but I saw my cat Charlie get run over by a car right in front my eyes. She was emotional crutch during lockdown, and got me through a really tough time.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I study history, and I think anyone who has read about South Africa’s early frontier history would agree it’s just waiting to be told in a spaghetti western style movie. My sisters are in the film industry, check out Acid Magus’ music videos for some of their work, and I’ve always wanted to write a historically accurate, narrative script set in South Africa’s frontier and make a movie with them.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Catharsis and documentation or immortalizing memories. Not always to the degree of processing something heavy like trauma, or something official like painting a president’s portrait. It can be something simple like doodling when bored or taking a picture of a friend. We live life and find moments that need processing and art naturally lends itself to this, just as it documents these moments that are important to us. I often think of cave drawings in this sense. People painted what they held dear or had value, but also express tumultuous times or experiences that people should remember and learn from.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Getting old, I’m curious where life will take me and where the world will go.

https://www.facebook.com/acidmagus
https://www.instagram.com/acidmagus/
https://acidmagus.bandcamp.com/

http://mongrelrecords.com
http://www.facebook.com/mongrelrecords
http://www.instagram.com/mongrel_records
https://mongrelrecords1.bandcamp.com/

Acid Magus, Hope is Heavy (2023)

If you want to suppress a population, take away free access to information. The notion that Shameless‘ new single, “Victim of Data,” is about the high cost of data plans in the band’s native South Africa, but the truth is that issue goes right to deeper infrastructure issues. Corporate, capitalist greed, lack of investment in public goods and services — these things should be familiar to people in many places of the world.

With its punk-metal bookends repeating the title-line, swapping between pronouncing it day-ta and dah-ta, which is kind of fun, a hook is cast forth in the three-minute track with a bruiser’s subtlety. The idea here is brash. ‘Get up’ as conveyed through rhythmic urging, and with the social message underpinning, it seems clear the trio are trying to shake things up, to fight complacency, apathy. Doing so may sometimes be like throwing rocks at a mountain, but the aim is noble and every little bit counts.

And while the front and back are heavier, with a noise rock riff that reminds of Helmet circa 1991, and the visuals are suitably in-your-face, “Victim of Data” also breaks in its midsection to a stretch of dub guitar and cymbals. It soon enough circles back around to the distortion, crunch and urgent shove, but that momentary departure does a lot of work in conveying the multi-tiered style of the band, and especially as a quick sampling ahead of a to-be-revealed debut release, every little bit counts there too.

“Victim of Data” follows here, with copious PR wire background beneath.

Please enjoy:

Shameless, “Victim of Data” official video

Shameless are a trio from Soweto, South Africa, where they are one of a few rock/alternative bands. Their music is influenced by the music they grew up with, they have dubbed their sound Nkabi Rock / I Rock Yase Kasi (Assassin Rock / Rock from The Township, in isiZulu).

They describe their sound as “an extension of rock” which fuses metal, blues, kwaito, mbaqanga, isigxaxa and a smattering of jazz. On the first of September they will release the first single from their upcoming album (to be officially announced soon).

Victim of Data begins with the hook & chorus line “I am a Victim of Data!” as the band explode into action at full tempo. The song is characterised by Musa’s screeching guitars, Thabang’s intricate and groove-filled bass, and Rock’s thundering drums.

It is a multi-genre song with its roots in punk & heavy-rock, complimented by a controlled breakdown in the middle of the song which acts as a mood-setter for a manic guitar. All this is made more impressive by the fact that the band recorded the song live in a single take.

The inspiration for Victim of Data came during the pandemic’s extended lockdowns in South Africa. When the world moved online, it became very clear that lower income communities were excluded because of the cost of data which results in low internet access rates.

According to Musa “We have the most expensive data plans in the whole of Africa so when we wrote the song, we really felt victimised by the cost of information.” The result is an undeniably political statement and song; to which Musa adds “Just like when the Sex Pistols sang “God Save the Queen”.

Similarly to their sound, the recording process was far from conventional. It was done at DiscovrTV’s studios in Johannesburg with owner Julian von Plato and his team filming the sessions, and producer Hugh Davidson recording the audio. All instrument were recorded together, live, which gives the song their massive energy.

While the band felt some pressure with the cameras in and the sweat from the South African summer pouring down their faces. The band thought they were doing a warm-up take – little did they know Hugh and Julian were rolling. And just like that, in one take the song was recorded. One and done, as they say.

At the end of the recording you can hear some laughter from the band as they found out that the practice take was not for practicing, and that the song was done. The footage (of this recording session and all others for the album) will be released in various projects, music videos and BTS clips as the release-cycle continues.

“We have come a long way as a band – from not believing one bit that what we do is unique or even good, to playing 78 shows in one year” – Musa Zwane

The single is accompanied by a music video, directed by Julian von Plato and shot at DiscovrTV’s studios, it is a frantic play-through styled video with visual glitches and spasms. These visual tropes make the viewer feel like they can’t quite see the full picture – not dissimilar to the feeling many South Africans get when they are excluded from the online world because of the price of data.

The band have come a long way since their very DIY beginnings; recording their debut EP “Impicabadala” and playing every small stage or room that they could find. They have now signed an exclusive deal with von Plato’s DiscovrMe (DiscovrTV’s indie label) which is underwritten by Tic Tic Bang.

The combination of these two organisations and the producer means that three big fans of the band – Hugh Davidson, Finn MacKinnon and Julian von Plato – have stepped into management, production and label roles with the combined goal of growing Shameless’ audience both in South Africa and in international territories.

According to Musa “This year was a year of getting our shit together. We’re slowly getting there and looking forward to getting back on stage to celebrate the release of the new music.” Their first show after the release of “Victim of Data” is Boogy Central’s “That Spring Fest” at Sognage on September the 9th.

Shameless on Facebook

Shameless on Instagram

Shameless on YouTube

Pretoria, South Africa’s Acid Magus released their second album, Hope is Heavy, through Mongrel Records in July as the follow-up to their 2021 debut Wyrd Syster (review here). The rolling, loosely hip-hop-informed “Dead Weight” is the third single from the six-track/43-minute long-player, preceded by “Caligulater” (posted here) and “Demon Behemoth” (posted here). Diverging from the band’s general methodology as it appears here, the penultimate cut features a guest appearance from Johni Holiday — whose band Ruff Majik released their excellent Elektrik Ram (review here) album earlier this year; you may have heard me drone on about how perfect it is — and wraps itself around the hook that begins with the line, “Twelve gauges to waste you,” and elephantine-fuzz marches through with due nod until the dreamy midsection, from whence it moves into a slower solo before rallying for a final chorus. Catchy, bouncing in its lumber-prone way, with Acid Magus vocalist Anrico Jeske reminding of Sasquatch during the verse with Holiday joining in effectively for the chorus and introducing the song.

Jeske is new to the band as of Hope is Heavy, as is guitarist/vocalist Brendon “Cowboy Bez” Bezuidenhout (also of Ruff Majik), who take the places respectively of former vocalist Christiaan Van Renen and nobody. Returning players Keenan Kinnear (guitar, songwriting), Jarryd Wood (bass) and Roelof van Tonder (drums on the album, now bass) are fairly consistent in tone and purpose from where Acid Magus was on Wyrd Syster, putting marked heft and fuzz behind heavy psychedelic liquidity with melody over top and an exploratory foundation. But there’s no question Acid Magus are a different band on Hope is Heavy, the title evoking a sense of ‘daring to hope,’ positing perhaps that it’s easier to be hopeless, whereas in order to have any kind of optimism for the future is harder work. I have little doubt this is true, and if you like heavy music named after heavy things, 10-minute LP closer “Trillion Tonne Sun” should satisfy nicely, but the change in the group is almost immediate as opener and previously mentioned single “Demon Behemoth” winds in on feedback and crashes to announce the arrival of its central riff and moves into its first verse.

Placed at the presumed end of side A, “Caligulater” gets a little rougher edged in its middle, but the melodic serenity of “Demon Behemoth” and the subsequent “Progeneration” — light touches of guitar there floating over the bassline and a chorus emerging that’s all the more a triumph because it stays slow — is maintained and a fluidity results as “Caligulater” picks up the tempo in seeming response to the song before it, keeping the airiness of guitar but setting it to swing along with the drums. Side B’s “A Planet, a Deathstar” is the shortest inclusion at 4:33, and it uses that time to begin a classic second-half-of-the-record expansion of style, with a spoken vocal over the early, resonant à la All Them Witches, acoustic-inclusive, low-key galloping verse, and a groove that holds as the fuller-toned fuzz unveiled and the grittier voice returns, suitable to the pulses that punctuate the riff, fading out to let Holiday mark the arrival of “Dead Weight.” And there is no level on which Hope is Heavy‘s penultimate track isn’t play. It’s cheeky, its groove is downright arrogant and the Jeske/Holiday tradeoffs make it a party, even if the video is set in an office with a surprising amount of longhairs in lower management.

It’s a blowout, if a somewhat different kind than “Caligulater,” but ends up in a not entirely dissimilar place following its two-minute intro, shimmering with heavy prog tonality and filled out beneath by denser low-end fuzz, opening for the verse like older-school European heavy rock and touching on ’90s-style alternative, but Acid Magus are clearly aware they’re at the end, and after reaffirming the semi-psych liquidity of side A, they use the final chorus of “Trillon Tonne Sun” for a crescendo with an epilogue of quiet guitar bookending the start of the song. The last purposeful move on the album but by no means the first, Hope is Heavy would feel like a second debut if the band hadn’t put so much detail and depth into the recording. Setting a broad context for themselves, they introduce listeners to their new lineup with intentional creative reach and a sound and style more cohesive than it was two years ago, despite the personnel shifts. And in some ways subtle and some ways not, they put a focus on songwriting that, whether it’s “Dead Weight” or “Progeneration” or “Demon Behemoth,” produces memorable results.

They were a band with potential, and so they remain. They don’t at all sound like they’re done growing, but Hope is Heavy does benefit from lessons gleaned from Wyrd Syster, and in thinking about where they might go for a third long-player, one hopes nothing so much as that Acid Magus continue to develop on the path they’ve set for themselves. That would be the best-case scenario, and they seem to know it, having come into a make-or-break moment for the band with a collection of songs ready to answer the question in decisive fashion: make.

“Dead Weight” video premieres below. Hope is Heavy is out now. More info follows from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Acid Magus, “Dead Weight (Feat. Johni Holiday)” video premiere

Buy / Stream Hope Is Heavy:
https://orcd.co/hope-is-heavy
https://acidmagus.bandcamp.com/album/hope-is-heavy

Get ready to be entranced by the dark, thought-provoking soundscape as South Africa’s own progressive doom virtuosos Acid Magus unleash their latest masterpiece — a riveting music video for their track Dead Weight from their critically acclaimed new album Hope Is Heavy out now on Mongrel Records. This release delves into the heart of modern popular culture’s relentless imitation game, challenging conventions and inviting viewers to question the status quo. To amplify the impact, the track features a captivating guest vocals appearance from none other than the esteemed frontman Johni Holiday from prominent South African stoner rock sensations Ruff Majik.

Johni takes on a dual role, gracing the track with his unmistakable voice while also embodying the main antagonist in the music video. In a stunning visual portrayal, he assumes the role of a vampire, reigning as a corporate overlord in a dystopian, cutthroat business environment.

Featuring 6 tracks, the album explores themes of existentialism, introspection, and the human condition. The band’s poetic lyrics delve into profound and introspective territories, inviting listeners to explore the depths of their own psyche.

“As time passed and I grew older, I found myself becoming depressed for no reason other than for the fact that I was becoming a bitter cynic. ‘Hope is Heavy’ is me trying to find that elusive light at the end of the ever present, gloomy tunnel.” – Keenan Kinnear, guitarist/songwriter.

Track Listing:
1. Demon Behemoth
2. Progeneration
3. Caligulater
4. A Planet, A Deathstar
5. Dead Weight (ft. Johni Holiday)
6. Trillion Tonne Sun

Line Up:
Keenan Kinnear: guitar
Jarryd Wood: bass guitar
Roelof van Tonder: drums
Anrico Jeske: vocals
Brendon Bezuidenhout: guitar, vocals

Acid Magus, Hope is Heavy (2023)

Acid Magus, “Caligulater”

Acid Magus, “Demon Behemoth”

Acid Magus on Facebook

Acid Magus on Instagram

Acid Magus on Bandcamp

Mongrel Records website

Mongrel Records on Facebook

Mongrel Records on Instagram

Mongrel Records on Bandcamp

How good were Ruff Majik at SonicBlast this past weekend? Well, I could tell you they were pretty good, and that would be true. I could do a swan dive (again) into grandiose, lavish plaudits about the soul of heavy rock and roll, stupidly long run-on sentences about the songs, the band’s energy, and so on. That would be true too.

But I’ll tell you what, today is Monday. I originally had no posts planned for today. I was traveling all day yesterday, and since I generally work a day ahead at least on reviews and as much as I can overall, there just wasn’t space to put anything together — that’s aside from giving myself a god damned day off from this every now and then, not that I’d ever admit to myself that I might need or even want one let alone actually benefit from it in some way — and then along came this Ruff Majik video. And you know what? They were so fucking awesome at SonicBlast that I’m posting this today instead of tomorrow.

“Delirium Tremors,” free of that triangle ting-ting-ting in its live presentation — you’ll hear it in the video — closed their set at the pre-party for the fest (review here), and the singalong to the ending riff is among the memories I’ll carry with me in the years to come from the weekend, not the least because it kept going after the song was over, after the set was over, and while they were taking the ceremonial post-show pic in front of the crowd (which ended up being a video), finally dying out as they left the stage.

They posted that video — as one would hope, honestly — on the ol’ socials, and that’s down near the bottom of this post, where you’ll also find the stream of Elektrik Ram, because if I haven’t gotten the point across yet this year, I think this is an album that should be heard. A testament to the quality of the songs, “Delirium Tremors” is the fifth single from the record, and you’ll note the guest appearance from All This for Nothing‘s Paul Gioia in the corporate-riff-rock spoken intro. You know the type. Big plans. Guitarist/vocalist Johni Holiday talked about that and a whole bunch of stuff in this interview.

From the thing, to the thing. They should put this out as a cassingle with a live version or an outtake for a B-side like it’s 1992. Here’s hoping. Happy Monday:

Ruff Majik, “Delirium Tremors” official video

STREAM ➤ https://orcd.co/elektrik_ram
BANDCAMP ➤ https://ruffmajik.bandcamp.com/album/elektrik-ram

Delirium Tremors serves as a testament to Ruff Majik’s unyielding dedication to their craft and their distinctive ability to push the boundaries of stoner rock. The track encapsulates the raw energy, captivating riffs, and evocative lyrics that have earned the band widespread acclaim and a devoted global following. With its hypnotic groove and powerful melodies, Delirium Tremors promises to be an anthem that resonates deeply with both longtime fans and new listeners alike.

The accompanying music video showcases the band’s live energy and elevates the song’s impact to new heights.

Ruff Majik European tour (remaining dates):
15/8 DE Berlin – Urban Spree with Sasquatch
17/8 DE Hannover – Faust with Sasquatch
18/8 DE Cottbus – Blue Moon
19/8 PL Kozmin Wielkopolski – Rifffields
20/8 CZ Prague – Nová libeňská Synagoga
22/8 DE Frankfurt – Zoom with Greenleaf
23/8 NL EDE – Astrant
24/8 NL Eindhoven – Effenaar with Acid King
25/8 DE Dresden – Ostpol
26/8 DE Siegen – Vortex

PHOTOGRAPHERS
Christelle Duvenage Photography
By Evan Captures
Shutterbug Photography
Schutte
Henry Engelbrecht
Anika De Lange
Iggy Band Pics

VIDEOGRAPHERS
Slade Durandt
Schutte
Thugnifficent Tattoo Tucker

Ruff Majik:
Johni Holiday – guitar/vocals
Cowboy Bez – guitar/backing vocals
Jimmy Glass – bass
Steven Bosman – drums

 

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Ruff Majik, Elektrik Ram (2023)

Ruff Majik website

Ruff Majik on Facebook

Ruff Majik on Instagram

Mongrel Records website

Mongrel Records on Facebook

Mongrel Records on Instagram