Posted in Whathaveyou on December 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
I mean, what can you say to this other than ‘can I come?’ I’ve known this festival was capable of some real-deal shit over the last decade, but this is absolutely epic, which is a word I do my best to avoid. And they end it by saying there’s more to come. God damn. Really. God damn.
Wow.
Here:
Desertfest London announce over 40 bands for 2023
Friday 5th May – Sunday 7th May 2023 | Weekend Tickets on sale now
Desertfest London is rounding off the year with an ear-shattering bang, announcing a mammoth 43 artists to their 2023 line-up. Joining the likes of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Graveyard, Kadavar and Church of Misery, the Camden-based festival also welcomes back Corrosion of Conformity as headliners.
Pioneers of a groove-laden sound that is undeniably their own, Corrosion of Conformity have not been back on UK soil since 2018 so expect big, loud and memorable things from their appearance at Desertfest next year. Corrosion of Conformity have been due to play the event since 2020 – making their return one of the most widely requested in the event’s history.
Japan’s own avant-garde maestros of down-tuned psychedelia Boris leap over to London alongside the crushingly loud tones of NOLA’s own Crowbar. One of the most exciting bands in recent memory King Buffalo, make their long-awaited debut plus Desertfest favourites, Weedeater are back after five long years of chugging whiskey lord-knows-where.
The pace moves up a notch with New York City’s noise-rock guru’s Unsane and British punk-legends Discharge, all of whom bring a detour from the slow’n’low sounds the festival is best recognised for. Montreal’s Big | Brave will play the festival for the first time showcasing their experimental and minimalist take on the notion of ‘heavy’, whilst the doors to the Church of The Cosmic Skull are open, as they ask Desertfest revellers to join them in a union unlike any other.
Desertfest also warmly welcomes noise from STAKE, British anti-fascist black metallers Dawn Ray’d and London’s loudest duo Tuskar as well as some of the best recent stoner acts in the form of Telekinetic Yeti, Weedpecker & Great Electric Quest. Elsewhere the weekend will also see Wren, The Necromancers, Dommengang, Samavayo, Morass of Molasses, Sum of R & GNOB offer up unique live performances.
Rounding off this beast of an announcement are Acid Mammoth, Deatchant, Zetra, Trevor’s Head, Our Man in The Bronze Age, Wyatt E., Iron Jinn, Mr Bison, Troy The Band, Oreyeon, Warren Schoenbright, Early Moods, Longheads, Terror Cosmico, Thunder Horse, TONS, Vinnum Sabbathi, Bloodswamp, The Age of Truth, Earl of Hell and Black Groove.
Weekend Tickets for Desertfest London 2023 are on-sale now via www.desertfest.co.uk with more acts still to be announced.
Day splits and day tickets will be on sale from January.
Full Line-Up for Desertfest London 2023: UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS | GRAVEYARD | CORROSION OF CONFORMITY | KADAVAR | BORIS | CROWBAR | CHURCH OF MISERY | WEEDEATER | KING BUFFALO | BLOOD CEREMONY | DISCHARGE | SOMALI YACHT CLUB | UNSANE | BIG|BRAVE | INTER ARMA | CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL | VALLEY OF THE SUN | STAKE | MARS RED SKY | SPACESLUG | GRAVE LINES | GAUPA | TUSKAR | TELEKINETIC YETI | WEEDPECKER | DAWN RAY’D | WREN | GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST | THE NECROMANCERS | DOMMENGANG | ECSTATIC VISION | SAMAVAYO | MORASS OF MOLASSES | SUM OF R | HIGH DESERT QUEEN | GNOB | EVEREST QUEEN | ACID MAMMOTH | DEATHCHANT | ZETRA | CELESTIAL SANCTUARY | TREVOR’S HEAD | OUR MAN IN THE BRONZE AGE | WYATT E. | MR BISON | TROY THE BAND | PLAINRIDE | IRON JINN | OREYEON | WARREN SCHOENBRIGHT | EARLY MOODS | LONGHEADS | TERROR COSMICO | THUNDER HORSE | TONS | VINNUM SABBATHI | BLOODSWAMP | VENOMWOLF | THE AGE OF TRUTH | EARL OF HELL | BLACK GROOVE | MARGARITA WITCH CULT
Posted in Radio on September 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Two weeks ago I was at Psycho Las Vegas, and so didn’t get to post the playlist for episode 91. For posterity’s sake and because I plainly love looking at lists of band names, it’s below along with the playlist for the episode airing today, which is #92. The march to 100 continues.
The esteemed Dean Rispler (who also plays in Mighty High and a bunch of other bands) is in charge of putting the shows together on a practical level from the lists I send, and to him I extend my deepest appreciation. I’m constantly late. I suck at this in general, and worse, I know it. So yeah. Dean does a bit of hand-holding and I am thankful. He emailed me this week and asked if I was thinking yet about episode 100 and would I be doing anything special?
Well… yes. I have been. And I’d like to make it a blowout or some such, but you know what the truth is? I’m more about the work. When it comes to something like that, the most honest thing I feel like I can do is keep my head down, do another episode and then do one after that two weeks later. I’d rather feel good about a thing in myself and move on. I’m not sure I can get away with that. So maybe I’ll hit up Tommi Dozer and see if he wants to chat sometime in the next few weeks.
Thanks if you listen and thanks for reading.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 09.02.22 (VT = voice track)
Elephant Tree
Aphotic Blues
Elephant Tree
Might
Abysses
Abyss
Author & Punisher
Misery
Kruller
VT
Lord Elephant
Hunters of the Moon
Cosmic Awakening
Swarm of the Lotus
Snowbeast
The Sirens of Silence
Big Business
Heal the Weak
The Beast You Are
The Otolith
Sing No Coda
Folium Limina
VT
Elder
Halcyon
Omens
Gaerea
Mantle
Mirage
London Odense Ensemble
Sojourner
Jaiyede Sesssions Vol. 1
Northless
What Must Be Done
A Path Beyond Grief
Conan
A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots
Evidence of Immortality
VT
Forlesen
Strega
Black Terrain
And #91, which was a pretty damn good show:
Dozer
The Flood
Beyond Colossal
Orange Goblin
Blue Snow
Time Travelling Blues
Monster Magnet
King of Mars
Dopes to Infinity
Red Fang
Fonzi Scheme
Arrows
VT
Slift
Citadel on a Satellite
Ummon
Russian Circles
Gnosis
Gnosis
Faetooth
Echolalia
Remnants of the Vessel
Caustic Casanova
Lodestar
Glass Enclosed Nerve Center
Brant Bjork
Trip on the Wine
Bougainvillea Suite
Josiah
Saltwater
We Lay on Cold Stone
Blue Tree Monitor
Sasquatch
Cryptids
VT
Torche
Tarpit Carnivore
In Return
Telekinetic Yeti
Rogue Planet
Primordial
Mezzoa
Dunes of Mars
Dunes of Mars
Thunderbird Divine
Boote’s Void
The Hand of Man
Omen Stones
Burn Alive
Omen Stones
1000mods
Vidage
Super Van Vacation
VT
Truckfighters
Con of Man
Mania
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Sept. 16 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 11th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
It’s a god damned riff bonanza, is what it is.
Guitarist/vocalist Alex Baumann and drummer Rockwel Heim comprise Dubuque, Iowa’s Telekinetic Yeti and Primordial is their debut on Tee Pee Records and second album overall. Recorded by Phillip Cope (formerly of Kylesa, producer of Black Tusk, Irata, the original Baroness EPs, etc.), Primordial follows the riff-worshiping Midwesterners’ 2017 debut, Abominable (review here), and years of obviously-interrupted-there-for-a-while touring, as well as a lineup change that brought an ugly split between Baumann and fellow founder Anthony Dreyer, who now plays in Twin Wizard. Restored to a duo, Telekinetic Yeti strike with maximum force and gravity on Primordial, laying claim to the beginnings of a generational shift and making their influences their own through their megatonality and absolute willingness to speak to the ‘stoner’ in stoner rock.
Those who dare the 11 songs and 43 minutes of Primordial will find a more fully realized version of Telekinetic Yeti for their efforts. Granted, Abominable had “Stoned and Feathered,” but with the second record, cuts like “Ancient Nug,” “Stoned Ape Theory,” and “Toke Wizard” outright don the trappings of weedianism, and that’s even more telling since “Stoned Ape Theory” — also the longest song at a still-ready-to-squeeze-into-the-live-set 5:25 — which hypnotizes even as it seems to pummel you further into the ground with each of its many thuds, is instrumental. Theoretically at least, they could’ve called that anything at all, and the title they chose is telling about both the audience they’re speaking to and the self-aware manner in which they’re doing it.
Influences show themselves like YOB in the opening title-track, High on Fire in the call-to-war drums on the closer “Cult of Yeti,” The Sword in the uptempo bouncing shove of “Toke Wizard,” earliest Mastodon in the barks from Baumann late in “Ghost Train,” or how the fuzzed-out guitar solo interlude “Light in a Dying World” speaks both to Earthless and Hendrix with a rumble of its own underneath, Floor in “Ancient Nug” and the melody and movement of centerpiece “Beast,” and maybe some Red Fang in “Tides of Change” a short while later, but that’s the point. Telekinetic Yeti have taken these elements, melted them down with the heat from burning tube amps lit by the central nodder riff in “Rogue Planet” into what I’ll assume is a very dense, very heavy black iron cauldron, and created a sound that can only be defined as their own from it. Sure, Conan put their guitar (and bass in their case) tone at the forefront of their immediate impression as well, but that’s the point. Telekinetic Yeti represent a new generation of heavy that’s learned from what’s come before.
There is not one song on Primordial that isn’t ready to be memed about — from the shut-up-and-take-my-money hook of “Ancient Nug” to the when-the-slowdown-hits slowdown of that song or “Invention of Fire” — and though that sounds like a joke, it’s actually crucial to comprehending how Telekinetic Yeti are engaging with their listeners. Think about meme culture at large. It is a generational advent, distilling elements of popular culture, news, life, anything into a concise, snappy, often impactful statement with an intention to be seen and appreciated even outside of an understanding of the joke if it is one. Telekinetic Yeti likewise have processed the heavy stylings of the aughts — now 20 years ago — and crafted Primordial as a distillation with its own purposes and its own expression. And like with meme culture at first, or like with the wave of bands noted above who were tagged “hipster metal” when they came out and broadly derided, there invariably will be those who call this album derivative instead of understanding that Telekinetic Yeti are a fresh representation of the tenets of genre, and they at very least sound like they know it.
In “Cult of Yeti,” the chorus issues both the challenge and the proclamation, “You will never scale these mountains,” and even the idea of the song, album, band as such a giant rock formation is in conversation with the genre itself, from Sleep to Stoned Jesus. But if you’ve hit those lofty peaks, it’s these mountains we’re talking about now. This tone, this delivery, this vitality that is Telekinetic Yeti‘s own. Even calling the album Primordial — let alone the maybe narrative of bombed-brain evolution between “Stoned Ape Theory” and “Tides of Change,” “Invention of Fire,” and so on — is emblematic of Baumann and Heim‘s deep-running vision of what they want the band to be and to do. This is stoner metal stripped, as Max Cavalera once put it, “back to the primitive.” There is no feigned attempt at sounding progressive or like they’re trying to push the genre forward. Telekinetic Yeti may eventually do that, but one suspects that even if they do it will be on their own terms given the strength of the statement here in the opposite direction.
This is a band willing to be big, lumbering, bringing their riffs down on you like an avalanche or a wrecking ball — take your pick — and while Primordial is atmospheric even at its most intense moments, its purpose is unwavering. If there’s pretense here, I’m not sure where, but at the same time, there’s a sense of stage presence to the music, the push of the duo in the headspinning middle of “Invention of Fire,” the lead notes and sticks-on-the-rim-of-the-drum that begin “Toke Wizard,” and in that nasty feedback and layered-over plod of “Ghost Train” — never mind the actual hooks in cuts like “Primordial,” “Ancient Nug,” “Cult of Yeti,” and so on — that feel purpose-crafted to tour with as much as circumstances might permit.
And maybe that’s where they’ll most shine, in a live setting, but the substance of Primordial is still more than just an advertisement for showing up to the gig and buying a shirt. The declarative aspects of Telekinetic Yeti‘s songs, the attention to detail in the mix, the depth of their sans-bass low end, the head-in-clouds largesse of the riffy monoliths they’re building; it all speaks to a band who are looking to position themselves at the forefront of riff-based heavy, and as they continue to put their work in on tour — perhaps more than ever, with live music “back” and their lineup concerns seemingly settled — it’s entirely possible they’ll get there.
In the spirit of Primordial, I’ll say it simply: This shit fucking crushes. Ace riffs. Killer delivery, killer sound, enough variety, knows what it is and how to do what it wants. Band with a plan. They nailed it. Stone on.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 1st, 2022 by JJ Koczan
I’ve listened to the new Telekinetic Yeti album, Primordial, and it seems to me like a wilful, meme-ready singer stoner metal answer to heavy rock’s progressive turn of these last few years. The Midwestern duo seem to build off earliest Monolord‘s heft-worship, and find their purpose in volume rather than self-indulgence, which results in a refreshingly regressive take. The riffs are big and they land on your head and it’s very heavy and you listen and go “wow that’s very heavy” and you have a good time and forget for a few minutes that the world is ending and/or has already ended.
Escapism through smashy-smashy? Maybe, or maybe I just spend too much time around a four year old. Either way, having recently seen Telekinetic Yeti playing on a stage surrounded by guitar cabs, I’d suggest you’ll likely not regret doing similar, and the chance will come this summer as the band embark on an extensive US tour put on by Tone Deaf. It should tell you something about their rising stature even ahead of Primordial‘s July release on Tee Pee Records that the long-running psych outfit White Hills will support.
Dates and info from the PR wire:
TELEKINETIC YETI ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN SUMMER TOUR; JOIN WEEDEATER FOR SEVERAL DATES
Telekinetic Yeti, the Iowa-based duo of Alex Baumann (guitar/vocals) and Rockwel Heim (drums), have announced an extensive, two month North American Summer tour, with the pair joining Weedeater for two weeks before kicking off their own headlining trek with openers White Hills.
The news arrives as the band prepares for the July 8 arrival of Primordial (Tee Pee Records), with a preview of the 11-song album coming via the band’s “Ancient Nug” video (https://youtu.be/dr3bQUAakq0).
Primordial was produced by Phillip Cope (Kylesa, Baroness). Album pre-orders are available now (https://teepeerecords.com/products/telekinetic-yeti-primordial-cd-lp), with the collection available on several limited-edition colored vinyl variants, CD and digitally.
Tour dates:
With Weedeater: July 2 Piedmont, SC Tribbles July 3 Atlanta, GA Sabbath Brewing July 4 Memphis, TN Hi Tone July 5 Lafayette, LA Freetown Boom Boom Room July 6 Denton, TX Rubber Gloves July 7 Austin, TX Lost Well July 8 Houston, TX Last Concert Café July 9 Tulsa, OK Mercury Lounge July 12 Madison, WI High Noon July 13 Grand Rapids Pyramid Scheme July 14 Bloomington, IL Nightshop July 15 Athens, OH The Union July 16 Cleveland, OH No Class July 17 Johnson City, TN The Hideaway
Headlining dates, White Hills support: July 19 Charlotte, NC Snug Harbor July 20 Charlottesville, VA Champion Brewing (free show) July 21 Morgantown, WV 123 Pleasant St July 23 Richmond, VA Richmond Music Hall July 24 Philadelphia, PA Silk City July 25 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory July 26 Pittsburgh, PA Crafthouse July 28 Detroit, MI Smalls July 31 Newport, KY Southgate House August 1 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle August 3 Green Bay, WI Lyric Room August 4 Iowa City, IA Wildwood August 7 Denver, CO Globe Hall August 8 Salt Lake City, UT Aces High August 10 Seattle, WA Substation August 11 Bellingham, WA Shakedown August 12 Vancouver, BC Rickshaw Theatre August 13 Portland, OR Bossanova Ballroom August 14 Sacramento, CA Café Colonial August 16 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill August 19 Tempe, AZ Yucca Taproom August 20 Albuquerque, NM 606 August 21 Oklahoma City, OK 89th St August 25 Kansas City, MO Record Bar August 26 St. Louis, MO Red Flag August 27 Rock Island, IL Skylark August 29 Minneapolis, MN 7th St Entry
Tickets for all shows are on-sale now: https://telekineticyeti.com/ticket-links.
It was raining last night when I left the Knockdown Center. Pouring, actually. I had parked in the venue’s lot, which I may or may not be allowed to do, but no one said no, so there it is. Two cars were parked in tight formation behind me and on either side.
Got that picture? Looking at it from above, you had two cards that were like the top of a Y, but straight, and I was the bottom. I walked out behind two dudes and asked them for the massive favor of guiding me out of that spot, which they did, in the rain. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Completely above and beyond. They stood there in the rain and made sure I got out without hitting either of the other cars. If it was you, and you’re reading this, get in touch, because I can’t even tell you how much that meant to me. Nothing says community more than shit like that.
Slept an extra hour or so this morning, though my body still thinks 6:30 is sleeping in even though it was nearly 2AM by the time I went to bed. Coffee, shower, shave the nascent neckbeard, water, protein bar, try to feel human. As refreshing as it’s been to live music for a couple full days, I don’t feel out of line saying I’m exhausted and will appreciate the earlier finish tonight. I finished the macadamia butter yesterday, but ground up a bunch of hazelnuts and brought that in some tupperware for the car, had a few bites on the way in. Life-giving. No salt, no nothing. Just dry roasted nuts, smoother than not — enough to bring out the oil — but still with a bit of natural texture. Beautiful.
It’s summer today. Sun’s out, it’s hot, and I’m sitting outside at the Knockdown Center by the food trucks, kind of half in the shade. I managed yesterday to hydrate really well. Today that will be even more important. I woke up this morning with a sorer throat than I expected, gave myself two covid home tests, both decidedly negative. Nice to know for sure.
Doors in about 20 minutes, first band an hour after that.
Greenbeard
This might be the perfect weather for a Greenbeard show. Sun’s out, it’s warm and humid enough to sweat but not totally overbearing, and up from Austin, the four-piece were an immediate rager. Their new record has a good mix of melodic and harder-driving stuff, riff-led but branching out in the way of desert-style heavy and soul, and they brought some of that to what was a pretty quick set, but along the way had time to list “some of their favorite things” in “Don’t Get Too Desperate,” including queso in a list that would do “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” proud. The party vibe was immediate, really even before they went on, but when they hit it, there was no warmup, no give-it-a-minute-and-see-where-it-goes. Greenbeard play heavy rock and roll like it’s this crazy new thing they just made up and you need to hear it right now. And it felt good to recognize songs from their new album, Variant, even if they were considerably rawer live.
—
Left Lane Cruiser
Other than a few basic factoids like they’re signed to Alive Records and they’re from Indiana and having seen their name around a bunch, I knew very little going into Left Lane Cruiser’s set. I expected bluesy, given the chair on stage and the low drums. Washboard, slide guitar, dude rambling between songs most unintelligible. So yes, bluesy, in a hard-boogie kind of way. Fiery energy, light on frills but with a marked lean into cultural appropriation. Maybe just not my thing, but I felt like guitarist/vocalist Fredrick “Joe” Evans IV laid on the Bayou banter a little thick. Wabba dabba baggle clabby. They hit it though, and I’ll give respect to both the energy and the washboard, which was soon enough used to crash through cymbals on the drum kit. It was what it was, and maybe I’ve got race on my mind because of that terrorist shooting in Buffalo, but for as much as they burned, I was left kind of cold. It’s a packed weekend. They aren’t all going to resonate.
—
Mother Iron Horse
These guys jumped from Electric Valley Records to Ripple Music for last year’s ‘Under the Blood Moon,’ and very much compatriot to Leather Lung in my mind perhaps because I saw the two together in 2019 at the much-missed Ode to Doom in Manhattan. Maybe they’re friends. Maybe they hang out on weekends, I don’t know. Even their soundcheck drew people in though, and that crowd did not dissipate when the actual set started. The band plays both kind of music, sludge and rock, and they’re unrepentant in their aggression. They made it easy though to get down with that in the side room, which grew more and more crowded as the set went on, until, finally, the heat reminded me that I very much needed to refill my water bottle. They introduced themselves though by saying, “We’re Mother Iron Horse and a woman’s body is her own fucking business.” Both true, even if the latter was less immediately relevant to the set. I have to think Samuel Alito probably wouldn’t get it had he shown up for Desertfest, but fuck him anyway. Good to know where Mother Iron Horse stand though, and more heavy bands need to be unafraid to say shit like that.
—
Big Business
On the other hand, Big Business started their set by asking who was ready for a pizza party. Duh, everyone. A very West Coast foreshadow of Red Fang to come. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw Big Business live, but it was probably a Melvins show, if that gives you a general idea. Jared and Coady — which I call them because they’re buds; we talk sometimes, and no that is not at all true — have their thing, and they’re veterans, and they played like it. I was dragging ass, admittedly, but I don’t think I’ve heard Big Business in the last decade and not felt like I need to listen to them more. Today is no different, and thinking of bands who came up around the same time in the early to mid ’00s, they’ve held up better than many and remained true to their ethic. You got an awesome bassist and an awesome drummer and if the central thesis is that’s all you need, well, there are probably a few two-guitar acts in this lineup who’d argue, but I wouldn’t, especially not after watching them play. Good band. Maybe a bit taken for granted, but they’ve only busted their ass for the last 20 years.
—
Stinking Lizaveta
The band I was most looking forward to today. Knew what I was getting, have seen them on multiple prior occasions, and was still astonished. They played as a four-piece with Paul Webb on second guitar, which let Yanni Papadopoulos shred and bounce and move wherever the very precise plan that’s in a language no one else quite understands called for him to go. They’re instrumental, but he, bassist Alexi Papadopoulos and drummer Cheshire Agusta all got on mic at some point between songs. Beyond that, the only vocals were through Yanni’s pickups and various woops and shouts while they played, and they were unreal. Radiating joy all the while, they proceeded to shred common concepts like what’s a song and which way is up and who’s rock and roll anyhow like they were so much fog from the smoke machine, each of them a genuine hero on their instrument and so tight together and so dynamic that each change brought new wonders. The word is unfuckwithable, and that is what they are. Not a single second was misspent, and they were so fucking good and their energy was so infectious that by the time they were done I wasn’t even tired anymore.
—
Dead Meadow
Feels wrong to think of Dead Meadow as the kings of mellow psych, if only because I doubt mellow psych is a monarchy. Whatever system of government the genre might be and whether you tag them as shoegaze or heavy psych or drift psych or anything else that might apply to a given languid measure, they’re masters of it. They eased their way into the proceedings with a jam and had some sound issues — bass cut out early, was fixed quickly — but they got into it with their trademark style, a kind of fascinated serenity set to groove. It’s still daylight, which feels weird somehow, and the weather remains gorgeous, but the crowd filed in once they got going and it was dead quiet in between the songs (after the applause, etc.) as those in front of the stage eagerly awaited the next dose of sweet fuzz that would emanate from it. Another act who’ve stood time’s test by understanding who they are and what they want to do in stage and in their songwriting. Mostly they want you to chill the hell out. And to aid in that cause, Dead Meadow are totally willing to close with “Sleepy Silver Door,” which is only right and proper. A band you always expect to be kind of a wreck based on how they sound but who are sneaky reliable. And oh, that jam…
—
High Reeper
If the phrase “fucking a” was a band, it’d be High Reeper. My first time seeing them live, and they were nastier than on their records but that’s certainly not a problem at this point in the weekend. A good kick in the ass is certainly justified. Crazy one two three to this part of the day, with Stinking Lizaveta, Dead Meadow and High Reeper, who play heavy rock but have a metal middle finger in the air just the same. Hot and humid in that room even with the door open and that suited High Reeper well, as one of my earplugs came partway out and the result was immediately painful. They’re of a whole cohort on Heavy Psych Sounds — see also: Duel, maybe Hippie Death Cult who signed around the same time — and you can hear their point of view taking shape in their sound. That is to say, it has taken shape and while “refine” isn’t the right word for something so brazen, after seeing them I’m left with no doubt they’ll continue to push themselves deeper into the emergent definition of their approach. If Greenbeard were the party — and they were — then High Reeper were the fight that breaks out after everyone is smashed.
—
Red Fang
Two and a half pandemic years later, you can still set your watch by Red Fang’s ability to kick ass. They launched their set with a barrage from across multiple albums and even when they “settled” into it they were explosive. Like Torche, High on Fire still to come, like Big Business earlier, this is an established act, professional, and they put on a professional show. They played “Number Thirteen,” which even with “Wires” and the requisite closer “Prehistoric Dog” would’ve been enough for me on its own, and the place went off. Of course it did. Not at all a surprise, but a definite reaffirmation of their place, which has always been on a stage. I don’t mind telling you that on an existential level, I am very much feeling the early finish tonight, but even so, having Red Fang on right before High on Fire on the main stage makes sense in a way the world hasn’t made sense in what feels like even longer than it actually has been. They’re a band that indoctrinated people into this sound in the first place, and as veterans, they reminded me at least of what a force they can be at their best.
—
Telekinetic Yeti
Oh my. You like tone? Telekinetic Yeti has some tone, and I’m fairly certain it was coming through three Orange full stacks. Statistically significant weight in those riffs. Obviously that’s the idea, and the Midwestern duo, who had an ugly split after their first record that seems to have abated with the addition of a new drummer, play it chunky style. They’re signed to Tee Pee, so there’s a New York connection, and they brought flood lights to counter the encroaching night. I’ve heard a lot of heavy shit this weekend — a lot — but beyond Torche’s bomb string, I’m not sure there’s much to stand up to Telekinetic Yeti in terms of sheer heft. Gonna need a forklift for those riffs, bro. New album in July will be one to dig into. If they managed to capture half of what they used to fill that side room for their headlining spot, it’ll be the kind of thing that’ll blow your speakers. “Stoned & Feathered,” man. Frickin’ “Abominable.” Goodness.
—
High on Fire
There is likely no hyperbole left that has not been said at some point in their more-than-20-year career. They are a juggernaut, they are marauders, they are both the unstoppable force and the immovable object. They are the single axe swing that takes your head off clean, first time. Speaking of first time, I’d yet to see them with Coady Willis on drums. I was always a Des Kensel fan. Dude had a style of play that was all his own. Willis, though, is a fucking monster. He not only handles the older parts but owns them, makes them his own, and executes the material with a vitality that pushes into aerobics. He and Jeff Matz as a rhythm section are well matched and crushing in kind. And what of Matt “For President” Pike? He is the master of ceremonies at the Red Wedding. High on Fire were so intense they were in a league completely of their own. Genre doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Their volume was consuming — loudest of the day, I think, which may be by design — and their ferocity unmatched. As extreme as Desertfest got with some of the more death metal-style stuff, I feel like High on Fire added extra blast to their attack tonight and it was every bit as glorious as one could hope. The perfect ending in that nothing could hope to follow it.
—
Other Random Observations:
– Good music makes life better. Great music makes life great.
– The Yankees have been away all weekend and I suspect that’s made the drives in from NJ easier. Fortunate.
– Lunar eclipse tonight. Feels about right.
– I think I might end everything I ever write about Dead Meadow from here on out with an ellipses.
– Counted no fewer than four Obelisk shirts today, including one on Yanni from Stinking Lizaveta, which was truly humbling. Sleeveless, no less.
– Thanks for reading.
I did get to watch some of that eclipse on my way home. Imagine that for a second. Incredible. More pics after the jump.
This isn’t the first time I’ve done this — an all-request show — but I’m especially happy to have put word out for people to pick tunes in this instance, because look at that middle block of songs! It’s like a guided tour through classic stoner rock. Not Slomosa so much, though they certainly emphasize the enduring influence of ’90s and ’00s heavy rock on new bands — or Circle, who end that block in avant-sludge fashion, but the rest of it is right in there. Unida. Goatsnake, Astroqueen. Lowrider. Acrimony. I’ll say them again. Acrimony. Even newer Bitchwax. I could’ve put Spirit Caravan in there as well, I guess, but I like the way this one flows as is, and you can see, they all came by request.
Some were just bands — play Slomosa, etc. — but some were specific to the songs included here. Playing Tin House and Funkadelic back to back is my idea of a good time. See also Lowrider and Goatsnake. I was thinking I might do blurbs in the Gimme chat for these bands while the show’s on. The last episode was pretty dead — I think it was also Good Friday? so maybe that had something to do with it — but just to help people kind of understand some of the context here, because I’m guessing that the more headbangerly contingent is going to see stuff like 500 Ft. of Pipe and not know what the hell is going on. Fair enough.
I may do that, I may not have the energy later today. I’ll be around in any case. Come say hi.
Thanks if you listen, thanks if you’re reading. Thanks in general.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 04.29.22
Blackfinger
Waiting for the Sun (for Abraham Ram)
When Colors Fade Away
Tenebra
Moon Maiden (for Marco Gargiulo)
Moongazer
Telekinetic Yeti
Ancient Nug (for Matthew Parness)
Primordial
Spirit Caravan
Fang (for Tim Waits)
Jug Fulla Sun
VT
Slomosa
On and Beyond (for Steve Janiak)
Slomosa
Lowrider
Convoy V (for Rob Godfrey)
Ode to Io
Goatsnake
Black Cat Bone (for Sven Mueller)
Trampled Under Hoof
Astroqueen
Tidal Wave (for Max Mountain)
The 2003 Sessions EP
Unida
Wet Pussycat (for Rob Godfrey)
The Best of Wayne-Gro
Acrimony
Hymns to the Stone (for El Pez)
Tumuli Shroomaroom
Sheavy
Savannah (for Darryl Felstead)
The Electric Sleep
500 Ft. of Pipe
77 Burnout (for El Pez)
Dope Deal
The Atomic Bitchwax
Easy Action (for Mark Richard)
Scorpio
Circle
Rakkauta al Dente (for Amy Johnson)
Terminal
VT
Wartime
Under Your Light (for Juan Lopez)
Volumen II
King Woman
Golgotha (for Caleb Dub)
Celestial Blues
Achachak
Celebration for the Desert (for Mile Mijac)
Planet Hashish
Funkadelic
Qualify and Satisfy (for Scott Hamilton)
Funkadelic
Tin House
Be Good and Be Kind (for Cheri Pi)
Tin House
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is May 13 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Okay, here’s what I know. Telekinetic Yeti were the shit circa the 2017 release of their debut album, Abominable (featured here). Dudes were losing their minds, like “RIFFS AAARRRGGH GOD THE RIFFS ARE SO GOOD!” on and on. Hyperbole enough to drown in. And fair enough. The Iowan two-piece delivered high-energy fuzz in brash style, hitting into an early mastery of their style and a penchant for memorable craft. Plus they toured. And had big beards.
Then drama happened. Now Telekinetic Yeti is one band and Twin Wizard is another. We got two good bands out of one. I don’t know what the deal was — it seemed ugly, as some do — but at the end of the day, the new Telekinetic Yeti song is heavier than those boxes of books you (I) had to carry yesterday and as far as I’m concerned if a band has to split, getting two bands out of the deal and having both be cool is the best case. Primordial, the second Telekinetic Yeti LP and first with the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Alex Baumann and drummer Rockwel Heim, will be released July 8 through the venerable Tee Pee Records. The band will tour their way to and through Desertfest New York next month, and there you have it.
Oh wait. Here you have it. Sorry:
TELEKINETIC YETI RELEASE PRIMORDIAL ON JULY 8 VIA TEE PEE RECORDS
Telekinetic Yeti, the Iowa-based duo of Alex Baumann (guitar/vocals) and Rockwel Heim (drums) whose self-released debut album earned them accolades across the metal underground, have set a July 8 release date for their Tee Pee Records’ debut, Primordial.
“This song is about searching for meaning and purpose amidst the ubiquitous suffering we endure,” explains Baumann. “It’s also about something long lost being rediscovered, and the resonating ripples of butterfly effects from the ancient past that affect all life today. We really liked filming in this location because it had such a meditative and surreal quality to it. We felt that it fit the themes of the song well.”
A preview of the 11-song album arrives with the Joe Gibbs directed video for “Ancient Nug” video (https://metalinjection.net/video/telekinetic-yeti-sludges-their-way-through-new-single-ancient-nug).
Primordial was produced by Phillip Cope (Kylesa, Baroness). Album pre-orders are available now (https://teepeerecords.com/products/telekinetic-yeti-primordial-cd-lp), with the collection available on several limited-edition colored vinyl variants, CD and digitally.
Telekinetic Yeti’s debut album, Abominable, was one of the year’s most talked about debuts, as tours with Clutch, Red Fang and Weedeater followed. With Primordial, the band takes their game to a whole new level. The album explores themes as diverse as evolution, sorcery, black magic and the contradictions of the gloriously uplifting yet simultaneously melancholic human condition.
The band will spend the remainder of the year touring with a slot already on deck for Desertfest NYC.
Tour dates: May 11 Canton, OH Buzzbin May 12 Youngstown, OH Westside Bowl May 14 Boston, MA Middle East May 15 New York, NY Desertfest NYC May 16 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place May 17 Columbus, OH Ace of Cups
Primordial track list: 1. Primordial 2. Ancient Nug 3. Ghost Train Haze 4. Stoned Ape Theory 5. Light In a Dying World 6. Beast 7. Toke Wizard 8. Rogue Planet 9. Tides of Change 10. Invention of Fire 11. Cult of Yeti
Midwestern fuzzbringers Twin Wizard released their debut album, Glacial Gods (review here), about a week before lockdown hit in the US last year. Timing is everything. At that point, the band was comprised of drummer Anthony Dreyer (ex-Telekinetic Yeti) and guitarist/vocalist Brad Van, also of Droids Attack. Earlier in 2021, Dreyer put out word that Matt Larson (Dead Emperors, Mad Monks) had taken over frontman duties and the band was at work on their second album, first in this incarnation. Fair enough.
As it turns out, the first Twin Wizard release with the Larson/Dreyer lineup will be a reworking of Glacial Gods with the new guitarist on vocals. To coincide with that coming in Spring on vinyl or perhaps to herald its arrival, the duo are set to hit the road at the end of next month around the Midwest and Southeast — four stops in Texas, to answer your first question — and in accord with that announcement today, they’re premiering a new clip for the revamped Glacial Gods track “Smoke Wizard.” You’ll find it remains catchy as hell.
I’m not sure what the exact reissue date for Glacial Gods is, but you can find the original version of the album streaming at the bottom of this post, and if you want an excuse to leave the house in January in Iowa, it’s a good one.
Enjoy:
Twin Wizard, “Smoke Wizard” video premiere
We are proud to present our music video for Smoke Wizard. This video will be part of our re-release of “Glacial Gods” which will include Matt Larson on vocals for all tracks. We plan to have this record available for Vinyl in the Spring of 2022. We are working to have it available digitally and on CD in early 2022.
We are also extremely excited to announce tour dates with our friends in Ape Vermin as part of our “Glacial Noise” tour. We can’t wait to be on the road again bangin our heads with y’all.
1/28 Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s 1/29 Des Moines, IA @ Lefty’s 2/1 Evansville, IN @ Lamasco Bar & Grill 2/2 Louisville, KY @ Mag Bar 2/3 Clarksville, TN @ The Warehouse 2/4 Asheville, NC @ Fleetwoods 2/5 Athens, GA @ Flicker 2/6 Atlanta, GA @ Sabbath Brewing 2/8 Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box 2/9 New Orleans, LA @ Santos 2/10 Houston, TX @ Acadia Bar & Grill 2/11 Austin, TX @ Independence Brewing Co 2/12 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio 2/13 Wichita Falls, TX @ Iron Horse Pub
Twin Wizard are: Anthony Dreyer – Drums Matt Larson – Guitar/Vocals
