Posted in Whathaveyou on October 30th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Cultish, with Middle Eastern flair in the lead progression of the single “El Saif,” Summer of Hate‘s Blood and Honey intrigues from the outset. It is the second full-length by my possibly-flawed count from the Portuguese psych-rocking six-piece, as well as their label-debut for Tee Pee Records. You’ll note that “El Saif” features Thomas Attar, which I’m pretty sure is a nom de plume for Thomas Bellier, formerly of Tee Pee desert denizens Blaak Heat Shujaa. He brings years of experience in Middle Eastern stylizations to the track, and it becomes part of a far-off, ethereal mystique.
Blood and Honey, however, is a 2LP, so don’t expect “El Saif” to represent all of it. I haven’t heard the full thing yet, but this news came in last week and I just got to check out the video — you’ll see below it’s likewise rad and VHS grainy — so I didn’t want to delay further.
To that end, have at it, from the PR wire:
SUMMER OF HATE Return with BLOOD & HONEY – A Double Dose of Grit, Melody, and Mysticism on TEE PEE RECORDS
Fusing psychedelia, post-punk, and melodic dream-pop, the Portuguese collective turn in a double dose and their most ambitious work yet…
Watch the psychedelic video for new single ‘El Saif’ here
Known for their lush, noise-drenched soundscapes and emotionally charged performances, Summer of Hate (SºH) return to expand their sonic universe with the release of Blood & Honey on Tee Pee Records.
Drawing from the psychedelic well of 1960s rock and pop, as well as the genre’s 1980s revival – channeling the spirit of Echo & the Bunnymen, The Church, and The Jesus and Mary Chain – Summer of Hate fuse post-punk energy, noise-rock textures, and traces of Middle Eastern folk traditions into a sound that is unmistakably their own.
Formed in the city of Espinho, the band has toured extensively across the Iberian Peninsula, sharing stages with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Damned, Fat White Family, Sisters of Mercy, A Place to Bury Strangers, and leading Portuguese acts including MAQUINA., Conferência Inferno, Solar Corona, and HETTA. Their music has earned them airplay on alternative radio in both Portugal and the UK, cementing their reputation as one of the most vital acts in Portugal’s psychedelic scene.
Across a double LP, Blood & Honey explores two contrasting sonic realms:
Blood delves into the language of shoegaze through a global lens, blending Sufi music, dabke, raga, drone, and Phrygian scales with punk energy and propulsive rhythms. The result is a dense, immersive sound that bridges the ecstatic and the transcendent.
In bittersweet and melodic counterpoint, Honey expands upon the dreamlike tones of the band’s debut, guiding 60s pop romanticism through a contemporary Portuguese lens. Mixing jangle pop, Britpop, slowcore, and post-punk, these songs balance raw emotion with melodic craft.
Blood & Honey’s epic, anthemic spirit captures the true essence of Summer of Hate. A band deeply rooted in tradition yet fearlessly reinventing the sound of shoegaze for a new generation.
Summer of Hate: João Martins – Guitar, Backing Vocals Laura Calado – Vocals, Lyrics Fábio Pereira – Bass Pedro Lopes – Drums Ricardo Fonseca – Guitar Xavier Valente – Guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 29th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Dubbed ‘Bastards of the Holy Riff,’ because, well, duh, the forthcoming US tour uniting co-headliners The Atomic Bitchwax and Crobot sees its announcement even as the former are just getting underway on their summer run through Europe. The New Jersey-based Bitchwax recently reissued 2011’s The Local Fuzz, while Pennsylvania’s Crobot are touring for their 2024 outing, Obsidian. The two will begin the tour in late-October in Syracuse, make their way through the Upper Midwest and down the Pacific Coast only to circle around with a swing through the Southeast. If you’re gonna do it all in one go — it being the country — this month-long stint is pretty much textbook as to how.
Drummer Bob Pantella — who The Atomic Bitchwax now share with The Obsessed in addition to Monster Magnet — posted the US dates on his socials. I’ve included the remaining Bitchwax Euro dates as well, because if you happen to be in their path, you should know that and realize how fortunate you are.
For perusal:
Coming up in November!!!
@crobotband and @the_atomic_bitchwax
10/24/25 – Syracuse, NY-@thelosthorizonsyracuse 10/25/25 – Toledo, OH – @frankiestoledo 10/26/25 – Columbus, OH – King of Clubs 10/28/25 – Detroit, MI – Small’s @smallsbar 10/30/25 – West Chicago @thewcsocialclub 10/31/25 – Madison, WI-@theannexmadison 11/01/25 – Lincoln, NE – @thebourbontheatre 11/02/25 – Denver, CO – HQ @hqdenver 11/04/25 – Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High n 11/06/25 – Seattle, WA – @elcorazonseattle 11/07/25 – Vancouver, BC – @kingswayclub 11/08/25 – Portland, OR – The Nova 11/09/25 – Eugene, OR – John Henry’s 11/11/25 – San Jose, CA – The Ritz 11/12/25 – Anaheim, CA – The Parish at HOB 11/13/25 – Phoenix, AZ – The Rosetta Room 11/15/25 – TBD 11/16/25 – Dallas, TX – Sundown at Granada 11/18/25 – New Orleans, LA – No Dice 11/19/25 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade 11/20/25 – Asheville, NC – Eulogy 11/21/25 – Raleigh, NC – The Pour House 11/22/25 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery 11/23/25 – Philadelphia, PA – Milkboy
The Atomic Bitchwax – Summer Europe/UK tour dates!!!
29 7 SLO LJUBJANA GALA HALA 30 7 CROATIA ZAGREB VINTAGE CLUB 31 7 AT SALZBURG ROCKHOUSE BAR 1 8 ITL UDINE PIETRA SONICA 2 8 ITL MILAN MAGNOLIA STONE 3 8 CH EMMENBRUCKE CLUB SEDEL 5 8 GER KARLSRUHE ALTE HACKEREI 6 8 GER WEINHEIM CAFE CENTRAL 7 8 GER MAGDEBURG FLOWERPOWER 8 8 GER BERLIN WILD AT HEART 9 8 POR ANCORA SONIC BLAST FESTIVAL 11 8 UK NOTTINCHAM RESCUE ROOMS 12 8 UK GLASGOW CLASSIC GRAND 8 13 UK MANCHESTER GORILLA 14 8 UK BRISTOL THEKLA 15 8 UK LONDON THE GARAGE 16 8 GER PLAIDT PELLENZER OPEN AIR 17 8 GER DUSSELDORF PITCHER 19 8 GER HAMBURG HAFENKLANG 20 8 GER MUNSTER RARE GUITAR 21 8 NL ROTTERDAM ROODKAPJE 22 8 BEL RILLAAR BELGIUM DOWN THE HILL FESTIVAL
The Atomic Bitchwax are: Chris Kosnik – Bass Bob Pantella – Drums Garrett Sweeny – Guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 2nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Ah, Sacri Monti, summering in Europe once again. By my count this upcoming run — which looks like a banger with stops at Freak Valley (see you there), Pamouss Festival, Rock in Bourlon, Stoned From the Underground and Red Smoke finishing in Poland — will be at least the sixth time the five-piece have gone abroad to tour in the decade since their first album came out, and that’s pretty significant even before you get to those asterisked plague years.
The occasion of their return to Euro shores in 2025 is to continue to support last year’s LP, Retrieval (review here), and at this point, a lot of this band’s life has happened on the road. It’s been a few years since I caught them last, but their sound has only grown in that time and the latest record is their finest work to-date, so if you’re in Europe and you’re at this point kind of getting used to having the band around, maybe starting to take them for granted, my advice is don’t.
The following was hoisted from socials:
SACRI MONTI – EUROPE 2025 TOUR
We are proud to announce another European tour this year in support of our latest album ‘Retrieval.’ Looking forward a handful of festivals and club shows in some new and familiar places we’ve been. Tour poster design by the talented @branca_studio Big thanks to @swampbooking for another banger. See you soon Europe….
Europe 2025 20/06/2025 DE Siegen Freak Valley 21/06/2025 NL Tilburg Little Devil 22/06/2025 NL Amsterdam de Tanker in Noord 24/06/2025 IT Sezzadio Cascina Bellaria 25/06/2025 IT Treviso Altroquando 26/06/2025 CH Aarau Kiff 27/06/2025 FR Manigod Namass Pamouss festival 28/06/2025 FR Dijon Tanneries II 29/06/2024 FR Bourlon Rock In Bourlon 03/07/2025 DK Ebsjerg Kulturscenen 04/07/2025 DK Copenhagen Lygtens Kro 05/07/2025 SE Stockholm Geronimo’s FGT 06/07/2025 SE Malmo Plan B 08/07/2025 DE Berlin Neue Zukunft 09/07/2025 AT Vienna Viper Room 10/07/2025 SK Bratislava Žalár 11/07/2025 DE Erfurt Stoned From The Underground 12/07/2025 PL Pleszew Red Smoke Festival
Sacri Monti is: Brenden Dellar -Guitar Dylan Donovan- Guitar Anthony Meier- Bass Evan Wenskay- Organ, Synth Thomas Dibenedetto- Drums
Posted in Reviews on February 24th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Before Show
The ride up here was a breeze. It’s been a while since last I set foot in the Bay State, but the route I took — rt. 287 to 95 to 91 to 84 to the Masspike — is one I’ve been driving since my wife was undergrad at Brandeis in Waltham. So not without some element of nostalgia for times I drove north in high school and college to see her, in snow, the middle of the night, whatever other stupid situation.
But driving four-plus hours to see three bands isn’t so crazy in this day and age, right? I don’t know. If it is gonna take me two hours each way to see a show in New York, is two more hours up the coast for Worshipper’s 10th anniversary really that wild? They’ve got Roadsaw and Summoner on the bill, I have a place to crash (thank you to John and Kerry Pegoraro for the hospitality), and I’m able to drive. Seems like kind of a no-brainer to make it happen if you can get up the gumption, which I’ll note that I haven’t been able to do in the six years since we moved from Massachusetts back to New Jersey. Obviously that’s on me.
Worshipper released their first single, Black Corridor/High Above the Clouds (review here), early in 2015. I don’t know the exact date, but when they announced a 10-year show, I realized it’d been too long anyway since I saw them, and with the company they’re keeping it was an easy choice.
Like a lot of breweries, Widowmaker’s setup can by design easily accommodate a rock and roll show, and for sure it got one. Plus it’s in Braintree (which I’ll forever here in the guy’s voice announcing the T stop). If brewery shows are how heavy rock happens in the suburbs, I’ll take it.
Here’s notes on the night:
Summoner
The last Summoner album, Beyond the Realm of Light (review here), came out in 2017. Why lead with that factoid, I don’t know, but I’m trying to give myself some sense of scale for time. They were an easy band to like at the time, and before that as well — it was their third album — and they were an easy band to like going on eight years after the fact. Funny to feel nostalgic as they hit into “Phoenix” at the start of the set, but there it is. I don’t know how much they’re up to, but they were always super-tight and a ton of fun besides. Whatever else the intervening years have wrought, their time on stage was enough to have me wondering what a circa-2025 album might sound like from these guys. Full-blown prog metal? Maybe, but they always had that underlying impulse to ride a riff when it worked, so I’m not sure I’d want to predict. I wouldn’t mind finding out, of course, but there was no mention of working on anything new or anything like that from the stage. I’m not holding my breath, but still, never say never, and as packed as the room was, clearly I wasn’t the only one who’d be up for such a thing. Good band. It would be cool to see them get credit for being as ahead is the heavyprog curve as they were.
Roadsaw
I think maybe it’s been 11 years since the last time I saw Roadsaw, which seems impossible, but the links don’t lie. Their 2019 album, Tinnitus the Night (review here), was kinda-maybe-sorta their swansong — or at very least I’m not expecting a follow-up anytime soon — retained their signature charm and songwriting, throwing somehow-friendly elbows, and so on. But that wasn’t the focus here. With Darryl Shepard on guitar alongside a largely mustacheless Tim Catz, Craig Riggs and Mike LeFevre their drummer whose name I don’t know, the set was centered around their earlier work. First three albums. They had CDs of Nationwide for sale and I bet they sold a few, since I own the record and was thinking of picking up a copy just on moral grounds because they were so much fun to watch. Darryl, of Kind. Milligram, Hackman, Blackwolfgoat, indeed Roadsaw, and I honestly don’t know how many others, is always a thrill to watch on stage, and Tim Catz remains a punker with classic heavy tone. His and Riggs’ energy, chemistry, was a familiar (if long ago) dynamic, and Riggs teased the prospect of doing more from the stage, so I’ll just for the announcement to come through that they’ve been added to Ripplefest Texas or some such. I wasn’t the only one feeling nostalgic — the older material made sure of that — but after 11 long years, to get to see them again was humbling. Let this be signs of life.
Worshipper
Happy 10th anniversary to Worshipper. This was my first time seeing the band as a three-piece, as they bid farewell to lead guitarist Alejandro Necochea right around the release of their third album, One Way Trip (review here), which to put it bluntly took some of the wind out of the sails of the band’s best work to-date. Worshipper were actually the band I’ve seen most recently in this show, and it’s been since 2019. I was glad to have come north before they were done playing songs from 2016’s Shadow Hymns (review here), their first LP and thus the beginning of their chronologically-arranged set. Widowmaker was packed out, and I can’t speak to the experience, but if I was in a band for a decade and we pulled like 200 on a Saturday night in our hometown, I feel like that would be pretty satisfying, and indeed, guitarist/vocalist John Brookhouse (who handled the solos), bassist Bob Maloney and drummer Dave Jarvis looked pretty stoked on how it all turned out. Me too. They didn’t make it easy on themselves in setting up the night to follow Roadsaw, but there was no doubt whose party is was when they got going and they held it down until the venue had to cut them off for time, losing out on some of the material from One Way Trip in the chronological running, but throwing in their take on Uriah Heep’s “Easy Livin'” as appeared on their 2018 Mirage Daze EP (review here) to finish with a blowout, and to be sure that worked just fine.
—
Thank you to The Patient Mrs. for making this quick trip north possible. Thank you to John Pegoraro and Kerry Pegoraro for letting me crash at their house and do a little writing on their couch. And thanks to John Brookhouse for making sure I was okay bringing my camera through the door. I saw some old friends at this one, and that made the night even more special. More pics are after the jump, as usual.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 19th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
From Germany’s Rock im Wald and Blue Moon Festival through SonicBlast Fest in Portugal and Down the Hill in Belgium, plus a UK stretch where they’ll meet up to support King Buffalo, New Jersey’s favored sons The Atomic Bitchwax are making the most of their upcoming summer European/UK touring stretch. The trio just released a vinyl edition of a new version of 2011’s instrumental piece, The Local Fuzz (review here), with newly-recorded drums from Bob Pantella and an artwork refresh. Honestly, I didn’t even know that was happening. I can’t find it streaming anywhere, but if you can cop one off the merch table, it goes without saying that’s a worthy endeavour.
The Atomic Bitchwax were out Stateside this past Fall with Royal Thunder, and they previously hit Europe pretty hard in 2022-2023 as they set out supporting 2020’s Scorpio (review here), which remains their latest full-length. I’m hardly impartial, but they’re a no-brainer to see live if you can in my mind. By which I mean I shouldn’t need to sell it. They never fail to deliver a scorching groove and they’re fun on stage besides. If that’s not enough, their show posters are Star Trek. To frickin’ wit this Pike-y masterpiece:
The Atomic Bitchwax – Summer Europe/UK tour dates!!!
24 7 GER MICHELAU ROCK IM WALD 25 7 GER COTTBUS BLUE MOON 26 7 AT LINZ KAPU 27 7 GER MUNCHEN BACKSTAGE 29 7 SLO LJUBJANA GALA HALA 30 7 CROATIA ZAGREB VINTAGE CLUB 31 7 AT SALZBURG ROCKHOUSE BAR 1 8 ITL UDINE PIETRA SONICA 2 8 ITL MILAN MAGNOLIA STONE 3 8 CH EMMENBRUCKE CLUB SEDEL 5 8 GER KARLSRUHE ALTE HACKEREI 6 8 GER WEINHEIM CAFE CENTRAL 7 8 GER MAGDEBURG FLOWERPOWER 8 8 GER BERLIN WILD AT HEART 9 8 POR ANCORA SONIC BLAST FESTIVAL 11 8 UK NOTTINCHAM RESCUE ROOMS 12 8 UK GLASGOW CLASSIC GRAND 8 13 UK MANCHESTER GORILLA 14 8 UK BRISTOL THEKLA 15 8 UK LONDON THE GARAGE 16 8 GER PLAIDT PELLENZER OPEN AIR 17 8 GER DUSSELDORF PITCHER 19 8 GER HAMBURG HAFENKLANG 20 8 GER MUNSTER RARE GUITAR 21 8 NL ROTTERDAM ROODKAPJE 22 8 BEL RILLAAR BELGIUM DOWN THE HILL FESTIVAL
The Atomic Bitchwax are: Chris Kosnik – Bass Bob Pantella – Drums Garrett Sweeny – Guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 15th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Following on from the release this past Fall of After Dark (review here), their return after a six-year studio absence, Sabbathian-loyalist boogie rockers Satan’s Satyrs are set to make it real with a month-plus of touring on the road in Europe starting in early February. They’ll be out supporting Unto Others and cult rocking headliners Green Lung, as well as supporting the album, and the Tee Pee Records denizens have put word out that handling drums for the upcoming tour is Erik Larson.
A figure whose jib-cut might be familiar to those who’ve been around these parts a while, whether that’s through his solo work or participation in an entire festival lineup’s worth of bands, from Alabama Thunderpussy, Avail and The Mighty Nimbus to Sun Years, Thunderchief and Omen Stones, with scores of others throughout like Kilara, Axehandle, relatively shortlived sludgy supergroups like Birds of Prey, and Hail!Hornet and so on, and plenty besides.
When I saw Satan’s Satyrs this past Fall at the opening party for Desertfest New York (review here), they had Sean Saley (ex-Pentagram, among others) bashing away, and no question Larson is likewise suited to the task. If you recall the propulsion he brought to the skins in Backwoods Payback, whether this is a ‘permanent’ position or not, it’s a thing to be excited about. Hopefully someone on the European continent gets video for the rest of us.
From socials:
Greetings! We’d like to introduce our drummer for this upcoming European run, Erik Larson! Our tour with @untootherspdx and @greenlungband is approaching fast, so grab a ticket and say hi to us at the merch table. We’ve got some new shirts coming and we’ll have our latest LP ‘After Dark’ out on @teepeerecords .
Satan’s Satyrs w/ Green Lung & Unto Others: 06.02.2025 – SE, Gothenburg – Pustervik 07.02.2025 – NO, Oslo – John Dee 08.02.2025 – SE, Stockholm – Debaser Strand 10.02.2025 – FI, Tampere – Olympia-Kortteli 11.02.2025 – FI, Helsinki – Korjaamo 13.02.2025 – DK, Copenhagen – Amager Bio 14.02.2025 – DE, Hamburg – Gruenspan 15.02.2025 – BE, Antwerp – Zappa 17.02.2025 – UK, Bristol – Marble Factory 18.02.2025 – IE, Dublin – The Academy 20.02.2025 – UK, Glasgow – The Garage 21.02.2025 – UK, Manchester – O2 Ritz 22.02.2025 – UK, London – O2 Forum Kentish Town 23.02.2025 – NL, Utrecht – Tivoli Vredenburg-Pandora 24.02.2025 – LU, Esch-Sur-Alzette – Rockhal 25.02.2025 – FR, Paris – Trabendo 26.02.2025 – FR, Toulouse – Rex 28.02.2025 – PT, Lisboa – LAV – Lisboa ao Vivo 01.03.2025 – ES, Madrid – Sala Copernico 02.03.2025 – ES, Barcelona – Razzmatazz 2 04.03.2025 – IT, Milan – Legend Club Milano 05.03.2025 – AT, Vienna – Flex 06.03.2025 – DE, Munich – Backstage 07.03.2025 – DE, Berlin – LIDO 08.03.2025 – DE, Bochum – Matrix
SATAN’S SATYRS: Erik Larson – Drums Morgan McDaniel – Guitar Clayton Burgess – Bass, Vocals Jarrett Nettnin – Guitar
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 27th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I distinctly remember when Toronto’s Quest for Fire released their self-titled debut in 2009, in no small part because I utterly whiffed on it. Brutally. The label behind the release, New York’s much-respected Tee Pee Records, had just switched their promo methodology to sending CDs in a generic digipak for review, and I was bummed about that, because artwork, etc. And so, when it came time to dig into the self-produced six-track/43-minute outing from the heavy psychedelic rockers — the album’s lineup: Chad Ross (ex-The Deadly Snakes, also Nordic Nomadic, Comet Control and solo work as C.Ross) on guitar, vocals and Korg, Andrew Moszynski (Comet Control) on guitar, Josh Bauman (Nordic Nomadic) on bass, Mike Maxymuik (ex-Cursed, ex-Black Mountain) on drums, plus here Will Kidman on keys and Matt Carlson (who also engineered) on harmonica — I let it go. I don’t have another way to say it. Sometimes the thought of listening, liking, buying one more good record is exhausting. Right or wrong, I didn’t have room in my heart for Quest for Fire‘s Quest for Fire.
Wrong, decidedly.
As a matter of self-defense from myself, it wasn’t all that long before I got on board. Quest for Fire‘s second record, 2010’s Lights From Paradise (review here), was an admirably languorous work of lush, resonant, and melodic psych. Not without its more active moments, but defined by the serenity overarching its procession, Ross‘ mellow vocals giving even the brashest stretches a peaceful vibe. In an interview here in 2021, Ross talked about the rougher edges and more nebulous definition (paraphrasing) of Quest for Fire‘s early days, the jams from which the first album was born, and indeed the self-titled carries a looser construction than the record that followed in such short order.
This becomes a boon to the songs quickly as four-minute, comparatively taut careening opener “Bison Eyes” prefaces the new space rock by hailing the old, showing punker roots in the riff, but immediately rich in tone in a way that’s atmospheric even with the tempo. Lead guitar notes float over the thrust, and the backbeat holds behind the swirl of the last verse and chorus, taking some influence from heavy rock but using it toward decidedly more molten ends, and when it’s done, “Strange Waves” complicates the plot with hints of a Western ramble next to languid, addled chug with acoustic guitar (and Carlson‘s echoing harmonica) laced through, complementing the bottom-end heft with a sense of lightness as would become an essential facet of Quest for Fire‘s work during their time, and building to a roll across its seven and a half minutes that’s glorious in its payoff, pointedly slower than “Bison Eyes” and a classic example of a band leading off with a rocker and then pulling the floor out from under their listener. One can’t hear some Dead Meadow-style fuzzgaze in “Hawk That Hunts the Walking” (8:44) at the end of side A manifest in the wah soloing and verses, but the chorus has a layered, complex melody of its own, and there’s more depth to it than just that as they cycle through quieter and louder parts, keeping the nod of “Strange Waves” from the outset and holding forth a kind of glacial momentum as they solo to the finish from which side B’s “I’ve Been Trying to Leave” crashes in. Well hello.
If you’ve been hanging in this far, congratulations. Quest for Fire‘s spacious mix has plenty of room for the listener the burrow themselves into, but lacks nothing for impact, whether it’s Maxymuik‘s snare or Bauman‘s bass underscoring “Strange Waves,” and the second half of the album continues with a mind toward expansion of sound. At 6:16, “I’ve Been Trying to Leave” realigns more toward the straightforward, like a funhouse mirror of how “Bison Eyes” started off, manipulated in its purposes to its own ends as it imagines a psychedelic post-hardcore the likes of which a band might’ve made an entire career out of. Swirl and churn and melody and charge are all accounted for, and as with side A, the two longer cuts that follow — “You Are Always Loved” (7:23) and the closer “Next to the Fire” (9:08) — draw from the well of energy established just prior.
Quest for Fire didn’t invent this methodology, but they employ it well on their first LP, and it gives “You Are Always Loved” the freedom to be as subdued as it wants without entirely losing the balance of motion in the material. There are subtler ebbs and peaks in the first half of the track, a fuzzy solo and acoustic/voice finish, and the abiding kindness of the lyrical reassurance feels like part of the ambient breadth; a sweet herald of things to come, both in Quest for Fire and in Ross and Moszynski‘s subsequent outfit, Comet Control, and in the former’s songwriting more generally. Such moments of a band ‘figuring it out’ aren’t always so palpable, but they’re making a home in the nebulous range of “You Are Always Loved,” and the space left open as the title-line is delivered underscores the point.
That leaves “Next to the Fire” as both last and longest of Quest for Fire‘s inclusions, and it buzzes to life around an accordingly large roll. The wah’s on, the cymbals crashing, the movement forward and at a more active tempo as they shift into the verse around twists of lead and echoing vocal lines. “Next to the Fire” is more brash, but like “Hawk That Hunts the Walking,” is leant a more individual impression by Ross‘ breathy delivery, which in the second half becomes the calm around which the storm is rotating. They end with noise and a wisp of synth, which is fair enough, and leave the listener with an in-the-room feel as regards dynamic, their chemistry established unflinchingly across a swath of well united moods and immersive sounds.
I won’t say I’ve been avoiding Quest for Fire‘s Quest for Fire for the last 15 years, because I’ve listened to it plenty in that span if less than its follow-up, but digging into the songs again, I retain my sheepishness at having skipped out initially, much to my own loss. The band would be done in 2013 and Comet Control picked up from there with their 2014 self-titled debut (review here), which brought new direction to what Quest for Fire had built. In addition to serving as a refresher at how underrated this band was, I guess the hindsight is a reminder that music, art and so much else in life doesn’t have an expiration date, no matter what capital-driven internet-era FOMO would tell you otherwise. Maybe you’ll hear it now, maybe you heard it then, maybe you’ll hear Quest for Fire‘s self-titled in another 15 years. There’s comfort knowing it’ll still be there, whenever you need it.
As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.
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This week was Xmas. We hosted Xmas Eve for my family on Tuesday, a casual thing. Thanksgiving was a big sit-down dinner, this was mellower. My sister, her husband and one of their sons were all sick, so my mother and one of my nephews came, along with my sister’s in-laws (who also live in the neighborhood) and a couple of local cousins. It was pleasant and relatively low-key. The plan had been to go to my mother/sister’s house for Xmas Day, but that was canceled; still sick. Yesterday I ended up taking my nephew (who is 16 and just getting into metal; drop your recommendations in the comments) to the video game store, and that was fun, and today The Patient Mrs.’ mother, sister, and her two kids are coming down today to stay over to tomorrow and do a delayed celebration either tonight or tomorrow I don’t really know. All the while, The Pecan is off from school and spending much time on the iPad in the mornings, though yesterday we also spent like two hours at an indoor play-place in Fairfield called FunTime Junction — we were like the only ones there for an hour; it was great — where we’ve been a bunch of times, so trying to keep a balance in the activity level as much as possible in the cold. It snowed on Monday and Tuesday.
So that was the holiday. Being spectacularly broke, it was not a huge splash of presents. I asked The Patient Mrs. what she wanted, she wanted socks. I bought her the socks she wanted. I also got socks, a case of Topo Chico (which is kind of a gag gift, but also pretty good if you like spending $2.50 for a bottle of seltzer), and the Final Fantasy VII/VIII remaster for Switch. Not the VII remake for PS5 or whatever, the original games, which I bought somewhat for posterity because I figured I’d want to play VIII again eventually, ever, at some point, and the likelihood of finding the four-disc PS1 version I bought in 1999 alongside a new tv specifically purchased to play that game with money I earned stocking shelves at KB Toys Store #1051 in on Rt.10 & 202 in Morris Plains, NJ — roughly a minute from where I now live — is probably on par with my likelihood of finding that tv. I started a new game, got killed by the big dinosaur early on, and nostalgia ensued. I’ll call it a win.
It was a relatively quiet week around here, but I’m glad to have gotten the reviews up that I did for The Whims of the Great Magnet and West, Space and Love — two 2024 releases I definitely wanted to cover before crossing the admittedly arbitrary line of the New Year. Happy New Year, by the way. I’m taking off Jan. 1 and will try to put together the poll results. If I can do it in one day, I’ll post accordingly, but don’t count on it. Not that you’re holding your breath, but I kind of am. The difference between first and second place is four votes. That’s tighter than it’s been in years. Every vote counts.
Kind of a rough morning so far as The Pecan has decided she no longer wants her meds in a mashed banana and so a pivot is required to whatever the next fucking thing that will spark minimal cooperation might be. A bribe? Some complicated performance aspect? Who knows, but rest assured, it’s fucking always something and generally an argument. It’s nine in the morning and I’ve already been punched today, which doesn’t happen every day anymore but still sucks for sure and has a tendency to sour one’s mood. I’ll eat a gummy and chill out, shower and have breakfast. Just feels shitty to feel like I need to redirect my own morning before it’s really even started, no less with company coming and all that. I don’t know. Small bumps in the big picture, but they add up.
That’s a bummer note to leave on, so let’s look at next week. Monday is a Darsombra video premiere if I get the video in time. Thursday I have a full premiere for the second Pontiac record. I need this weekend to write a bio for the new 16 album, which is rad, and there’s still news to catch up on forever, so that.
Whatever you’re up to, have a great and save weekend. Don’t forget to hydrate, especially if you’re hitting it to ring in 2025, and watch your head. I’m gonna go bathe for the first time since, I think, Tuesday, and get my head right. Thanks again for reading.
Posted in Reviews on December 13th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
It’s been almost too easy, this week. Like, I was running a little later yesterday than I had the day before and I’m pretty sure it was only a big deal because — well, I was busy and distracted, to be fair — but mostly because the rest of the week to compare it against has been so gosh darn smooth. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. This is the last day. The music’s awesome. Barring actual disaster, like a car accident between now and then or some such, I’ll finish this one with minimal loss of breath.
Set against the last two Quarterly Reviews, one of which went 10 days, the other one 11, this five-dayer has been mellow and fun. As always, good music helps with that, and as has been the case since Monday, there’s plenty of it here. Not one day has gone by that I didn’t add something from the batch of 50 releases to my year-end list, which, again, barring disaster, should be out next week.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
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Cosmic Fall, Back Where the Fire Flows
After setting a high standard of prolific releases across 2017 and 2018 to much celebration and social media ballyhooing, Berlin jammers Cosmic Fall issued their single “Lackland” (review here) in mid-2019, and Back Where the Fire Flows is their first offering since. The apparently-reinvigorated lineup of the band includes bassist Klaus Friedrich and drummer Daniel Sax alongside new guitarist Leonardo Caprioli, and if there was any concern they might’ve lost the floating resonance that typified their earlier material, 13-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Lucid Skies Above Mars” allays it fluidly. The more straightforwardly riffed “Magma Rising” (4:31) and the tense shuffler “Under the Influence of Gravity” (4:38) follow that leadoff, with a blowout and feedback finish for the latter that eases the shift back into spacious-jammy mode for “Chant of the Lizards” (12:26) — perhaps titled in honor of the likeness the central guitar figure carries to The Doors — with “Drive the Kraut” (10:34) closing with the plotted sensibility of Earthless by building to a fervent head and crashing out quick as they might, and one hopes will, on stage. A welcome return and hopefully a preface to more.
It doesn’t seem inappropriate to think of Weather Systems as a successor to Anathema, which until they broke up in 2020 was multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Daniel Cavanagh‘s main outlet of 30 years’ standing. Teamed here with Anathema drummer/producer Daniel Cardoso and producer Tony Doogan, who helmed Anathema‘s 2017 album, The Optimist (review here), Cavanagh is for sure in conversation with his former outfit. There are nuances like the glitchy synth in “Ocean Without a Shore” or the post-punk urgency in the rush of highlight cut “Ghost in the Machine,” and for those who felt the Anathema story was incomplete, “Are You There? Pt. 2” and “Untouchable Pt. 3” are direct sequels to songs from that band, so the messaging of Weather Systems picking up where Anathema left of is clear, and Cavanagh unsurprisingly sounds at home in such a context. Performing most of the instruments himself and welcoming a few guests on vocals, he leads the project to a place where listening can feel like an act of emotional labor, but with songs that undeniably sooth and offer space for comfort, which is their stated intention. Curious to hear how Weather Systems develops.
Assembled by bassist Ron Holzner and his The Skull bandmate, guitarist Lothar Keller, Legions of Doom are something of a doom metal supergroup with Henry Vasquez (Saint Vitus, Blood of the Sun) on drums, Scott Little (Leadfoot) on guitar alongside Keller, and vocalists Scott Reagers (Saint Vitus) and Karl Agell (Leadfoot, Lie Heavy, C.O.C.‘s Blind LP) sharing frontman duties. Perhaps the best compliment one can give The Skull 3 — which sources its material in part from the final The Skull session prior to the death of vocalist Eric Wagner — is that it lives up to the pedigree of those who made it. No great shocker the music is in the style of The Skull since that’s the point. The question is how the band build on songs like “All Good Things” and “Between Darkness and Dawn” and the ripping “Insectiside” (sic), but this initial look proves the concept and is ready and willing to school the listener across its eight tracks on how classic doom got to be that way.
The first offering from Netherlands mellow psych-folk two-piece Myriad’s Veil brims with sweet melody and a subtly expansive atmosphere, bringing together Utrecht singer-songwriter Ismena, who has several albums out as a solo artist, and guitarist Ivy van der Meer, also of Amsterdam cosmic rockers Temple Fang for a collection of eight songs running 44 minutes of patiently-crafted, thoughtfully melodic and graceful performance. Ismena is no stranger to melancholia and the layers of “When the Leaves Start Falling” with the backing line of classical guitar and Mellotron give a neo-Canterbury impression without losing their own expressive edge. Most pieces stand between five and six minutes each, which is enough time for atmospheres to blossom and flourish for a while, and though the arrangements vary, the songs are united around acoustic guitar and voice, and so the underpinning is traditional no matter where Pendant goes. The foundation is a strength rather than a hindrance, and Ismena and van der Meer greet listeners with serenity and a lush but organic character of sound.
Never short on attitude, “I Only Play 4 Money” — “If you take my picture/Your camera’s smashed/You write me fan mail/I don’t write back,” etc. — leads off Michael Rudolph Cummings‘ latest solo EP, the four-track Money with a fleshed out arrangement not unlike one might’ve found on 2022’s You Know How I Get (review here), released by Ripple Music. From there, the erstwhile Backwoods Payback frontman, Boozewa anti-frontman and grown-up punk/grunge troubadour embarks on the more stripped down, guy-and-guitar strums and contemplations of “Deny the World” and “Easier to Leave,” the latter with more than a hint of Americana, and “Denver,” which returns to the full band, classic-style lead guitar flourish, layered vocals and drums, and perhaps even more crucially, bass. It’s somewhere around 13 minutes of music, all told, but that’s more than enough time for Cummings to showcase mastery in multiple forms of his craft and the engaging nature of what’s gradually becoming his “solo sound.”
Basking in a heavygaze float with the lead guitar while the markedly-terrestrial riff chugs and echoes out below, Moon Destroy‘s “The Nearness of June” is three and a half minutes long and the first single the Atlanta outfit founded by guitarist Juan Montoya (MonstrO, ex-Torche, etc.) and drummer Evan Diprima (also bass and synth, ex-Royal Thunder) have had since guitarist/vocalist/synthesist Charlie Suárez joined the band. Set across a forward linear build that quickly gets intense behind Suárez‘s chanting intertwining vocal lines, delivered mellow with a low-in-mouth melody, it’s a tension that slams into a slowdown in the second half of the song but holds over into the solo and fadeout march of the second half as well as it builds back up, the three-piece giving a quick glimpse of what a debut full-length might hopefully bring in terms of aural largesse, depth of mix and atmospheric soundscaping. I have no idea when, where or how such a thing would or will arrive, but that album will be a thing to look forward to.
Billed as Coltaine‘s debut LP — the history of the band is a bit more complex if I recall — Forgotten Ways is nonetheless a point of arrival for the Karlsruhe, Germany, four-piece. It is genuinely post-metallic in the spirit of being over genre completely, and as Julia Frasch makes the first harsh/clean vocal switch late in opener “Mogila,” with drummer Amin Bouzeghaia, bassist Benedikt Berg and guitarist Moritz Berg building the procession behind the soar, the band use their longest/opening track (immediate points) to establish the world in which the songs that follow take place. The cinematic drone of “Himmelwärts” and echoing goth metal of “Dans un Nouveau Monde” follow, leading the way into the wind-and-vocal minimalism of “Cloud Forest” at the presumed end of side A only to renew the opener’s crush in the side B leadoff title-track. Also the centerpiece of the album, “Cloud Forest” has room to touch on German-language folk before resuming its Obituary-meets-Amenra roll, and does not get less expansive from that initial two minutes or so. As striking as the two longest pieces are, Forgotten Ways is bolstered by the guitar ambience of “Ableben,” which leads into the pair of “Grace” and “Tales of Southern Lands,” both of which move from quieter outsets into explosive heft, each with their own path, the latter in half the time, and the riff-and-thud-then-go 77 seconds of “Aren” caps because why the hell not at that point. With a Jan Oberg mix adding to the breadth, Coltaine‘s declared-first LP brims with scope and progressive purpose. It is among the best debuts I’ve heard in 2024, easily.
Zagreb-based veteran heavy rockers Stonebride — the four-piece of vocalist/guitarist Siniša Krneta, bassist/vocalist Matija Ljevar, guitarist Tješimir Mendaš and drummer Stjepan Kolobarić — give a strong argument for maturity of songwriting from the outset of Smiles Revolutionary, their fourth long-player. The ease with which they let the melody carry “In Presence,” knowing that the song doesn’t need to be as heavy as possible at all times since it still has presence, or the way the organ laces into the mix in the instrumental rush that brings the subsequent “Turn Back” to a finish before the early-QOTSA/bangin’-on-stuff crunch of “Closing Distance” tops old desert tones with harmonies worthy of Alice in Chains leading, inexorably, to a massive, lumbering nod of a payoff — they’re not written to be anything other than what they are, and in part because of that they stand testament to the long-standing progression of Stonebride. “Shine Hard” starts with a mosh riff given its due in crash early and late with a less-shove-minded jam between, part noise rock, answered by the progressive start-stop build of “March on the Heart” and closer “Time and Tide,” which dares a little funk in its outreach and leaves off with a nodding crescendo and smooth comedown, having come in and ultimately going out on a swell of vocals. Not particularly long, but substantial.
Toad Venom will acknowledge their new mini-album, Jag Har Inga Problen Osv…, was mixed and mastered by Kalle Lilja of Welfare Sounds studio and label, but beyond that, the Swedish weirdo joy psych rock transcendentalists offer no clue as to who’s actually involved in the band. By the time they get down to “Dogs!” doing a reverse-POV of The Stooges‘ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” in classic soul style, they’ve already celebrated in the rushing bliss and Beatles-y Mellotron break of opener “Jag har verkligen inga problem (så det måste vara du),” taken “One Day You Will Be Perfect” from manic boogie to sunny Californian psych/folk rock, underscoring its chorus with a riff that could easily otherwise be black metal, dwelled in the organ and keyboard dramaturge amid the rolling “Mon Amour” — the keys win the day in the end and are classy about it afterward, but it’s guitar that ends it — and found a post-punk gothy shuffle for “Time Lapse,” poppish but not without the threat of bite. So yes, half an album, as they state it, but quite a half if you’re going by scope and aesthetic. I don’t know how much of a ‘band’ Toad Venom set out to be, but they’ve hit on a sound that draws from sources as familiar as 1960s psychedelia and manages to create a fresh approach from it. To me, that speaks of their being onto something special in these songs. Can’t help but wonder what’s in store for the second half.
Following up on the organ-and-fuzz molten flow of “Radio Radiation” with the more emotive, Rolling Stones-y-until-it-gets-heavy storytelling of “Antihero,” Berlin’s Sacred Buzz carve out their own niche in weighted garage rock, taking in elements of psychedelia without ever pushing entirely over into something shroomy sounding — to wit, the proto-punk tension of quirky delivery of “Revolution” — staying grounded in structure and honoring dirt-coated traditionalism with dynamic performances, “No Wings” coming off sleazy in its groove without actually being sleaze, “Make it Go Wrong” revealing a proggy shimmer that turns careening and twists to a finish led by the keys and guitar, and “Rebel Machine” blowing it out at the end because, yeah, I mean, duh. Radio Radiation is Sacred Buzz‘s first EP (it’s more if you get the bonus track), and it seems to effortlessly buck the expectations of genre without sounding like it’s trying to push those same limits. Maybe attitude and the punk-born casual cool that overrides it all has something to do with that impression — a swagger that’s earned by the time they’re done, to be sure — but the songs are right there to back that up. The short format suits them, and they make it flow like an album. A strong initial showing.
