Posted in Whathaveyou on July 11th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The thing you’re gonna want to note here is ‘Part 1,’ as in, more touring is coming. Also, seems like a pretty safe bet that ‘we love beer and we’re going to make a documentary about drinking beer on tour’ is going to result in some watch-worthy shenanigans. What isn’t mentioned below, however, is that Austin-based go-go-go heavy rockers High Desert Queen have also been in the studio since they got back from their massive UK/Euro jaunt alongside Fatso Jetson and/or The Rubber Snake Charmers, recording new material, one assumes for the follow-up to their 2021 debut, Secrets of the Black Moon (review here).
Since that record came out, High Desert Queen have done precious little other than work their collective ass off touring, and that’s before you get to the fact that frontman Ryan Garney runs the completely-overwhelming-but-in-the-best-way-possible-looking RippleFest Texas. And already this year, the band paired with New Mexico’s Blue Heron for Turned to Stone Ch. 8 (review here), another installment in Ripple‘s ongoing series. Their tracks on there were held over from the sessions for the debut, however, so I’m looking all the more forward to hearing what’s coming next from High Desert Queen. A band doesn’t play live that much, tour that much, drink that much beer, and come out of it without some sort of creative growth. I bugged Garney for some comment on the recording process, and he was kind enough to oblige.
Probably won’t be 2024 before the album is out — just timing that guess based on seeing release announcements for October now and High Desert Queen aren’t there yet — but I bet that by whenever it shows up, the band have another tour or two under their collective belt, even after this one.
With the caveat of more to come, this from socials:
HIGH DESERT QUEEN – “BREWERY AND DIVE TOUR: PART 1”
We are getting back on the road! In case you didn’t know we love beer, and we will be filming a documentary where we be tasting beer at breweries all along our tour, including the ones we are playing! We can’t wait to get back on the road, meet new people and of course taste all that delicious beer! What city will you be having a beer with is?
Says Ryan Garney: “We are in love with getting on the road and after our 6 week European tour we are excited for our Brewery and Dive tour in the US. This will be the first part in a series of Brewery tours where we film a documentary of us trying beers and playing live. These brewery tours are essentially our dream tours as we love beer as much as we love playing live.
After our latest European tour we went straight into the studio. We recorded everything live, with no click track, and no punch-ins at an amazing studio in Texas called Yellow Dog. We created several new songs from scratch and can’t wait to share it so people can see what direction we’ve taken. This will be a heavy rock and roll record with plenty of Texas dirt mixed in!”
Date/City/Venue 7/26 Houston, TX Equal Parts Brewing 7/27 College Station, TX 101 Bar 7/28 Arlington, TX Division Brewing 7/29 San Angelo, TX The Deadhorse 7/30 Lubbock, TX Jake’s Sports Cafe & Backroom 8/1 Fort Collins, CO The Coast* 8/2 Colorado Springs, CO Vultures* 8/3 Denver, CO Skylark Lounge* 8/4 Albuquerque, NM The Historic El Rey Theater 8/5 Phoenix, AZ The Blooze Bar *w/ Blue Heron
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 10th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Once upon a time on the internet — I don’t know when, but it was years ago — I was talking about Solitude Aeturnus as a band who I thought had more to say. Another album in them, maybe more shows. A reunion. Something to follow-up their 2006 record, Alone, which it’s only unfair to call a joy because it was so pointedly downhearted. Founding guitarist John Perez has been jamming with his psych band Liquid Sound Company, and they released a record in 2021 (review here), but other than reissues, the classic Texas doom metal outfit haven’t had a new full-length in 17 years. And whenever this on-social-media conversation took place and I was answering some question or whatever it was, I said I thought Solitude Aeturnus were underrated and had more to offer.
Well, some dude on the internet — I don’t know who — decided he was gonna be a dude on the internet and put me in my place. A reunion could never happen. No chance. The members would never get back together in any form and the band was done once and for all.
Again, I don’t know who that was, or when it was, or even why — fairly certain I didn’t respond to the comment — but as I look at Solitude Aeturnus coming back with the lineup that made 1991’s pioneering Into the Depths of Sorrow, there sure is one more person out there in the world, somewhere, somewhen, who can kiss my ass.
Solitude Aeturnus play Hell’s Heroes VI in March 2024. And yeah, that’s a long time from now and a lot can happen between now and then, but that they’d even book it — the band also have a podcast, so there’s been activity around them if not from them in the sense of their putting out or playing music — indicates that at least on some level they also think they have more in them. So yeah. Pucker up, whoever it was.
From Solitude Aeturnus‘ website and social media:
Attention metal music enthusiasts! We have some special news for you all! Get ready to rock as Solitude Aeturnus takes the stage at the legendary Hell’s Heroes VI Festival! Join us at Houston’s White Oak Music Hall for a mind-blowing night of pure doom metal madness!
Experience the power of Solitude Aeturnus as they unleash a setlist filled with classic hits. This unique lineup features all the original band members from their very first release, “Into The Depths of Sorrow.” This show promises an unforgettable evening where gloom reigns supreme, and the essence of solitude takes you on an Aethereal journey.
Says John Perez: “This is one of the, if not THE premier metal festival in the Unites States and I can tell you that its going to be HEAVY! This show will feature the classic line up of Robert Lowe , John Covington, Lyle Blackburn and Edgar Rivera. We also have Steve Moseley still with us making this unique show a triple doom axe attack! Looking forward to dusting off the catalog and bringing the HEAVY to Houston! Get your tickets soon as this will sell out no doubt!”
Secure your spot now for the 3-day Hell’s Heroes VI metal festival in March 2024. Witness Solitude Aeturnus in their element and let their music engulf you in a dark symphony you won’t soon forget!
Austin, Texas-based cult horror rockers Suspiriorum released their three-song self-titled debut EP — yes, it’s streaming below — in March, and this Fall they’ll look to offer it pressed to CD with the extra track “I Love the Night” added. The EP is the first outing from the cult-minded project drawing together members of Witchcryer, Destroyer of Ligtht and others, and was recorded by Duel‘s Jeff Henson with a particularly striking depth of mix. One might think of it has having three dimensions such that, if each song is a room, there’s plenty of space within them for something to be lurking in whichever corner is darkest.
Opener “Regina di Sangue” begins with a sample from 1960’s Black Sunday, also known as The Mask of Satan, and is a dying curse delivered by Barbara Steele, promising torment “throughout the nights of time” before unfolding its patiently-paced, prog-toned riff and the first layered, resonant melody from vocalist Suzy Bravo. The delivery of the lyrics partially in Italian tops a doomly roll soon contrasted by the swinging uptempo classic heavy rock and lush, cinematic prog of the whisper-complemented “Mother Suspiriorum,” closing with the declaration “I am she” either sampled or spoken. It sounds newer, and the new Suspiria came out in 2018, but I wouldn’t want to presume Suspiriorum‘s position on remakes.
The capstone of the original release, “The Dark Knows” is arguably the heaviest of the three originals, but that’s splitting hairs and more important than the weight of a given song is the mood created. In that, the closer is perhaps sharper in tone, the guitar more forward than on “Regina di Sangue,” but still consistent in being mindful of a progressive construction, dancing and swirling a bit like The Devil’s Blood with the threat of death lurking nearby. That is, the love of classic/obscure horror cinema and its soundtracks that drives the opener is still very much present in the closer about 10 minutes later. Maybe not such a surprise when you think of it on those terms, but they lean toward different sides from one track to the next and come across as very much aware of the aesthetic they’re building.
And well they should be. The four-piece of Bravo (also Witchcryer, Temple of Love), bassist/synthesist Joseph Maniscalco (ex-Hinayasa), rhythm guitarist Steve Colca (Destroyer of Light, Temple of Love, etc.) and lead guitarist Tim Driscoll (also Runescarred, A Good Rogering, etc.) — note the lack of a drummer; Adrian Voorhees (also Cortége) plays on the EP — provide ample context in the three originals for the arrival of “I Love the Night,” and it is to the nascent band’s credit that they’ve managed to take on a Blue Öyster Cult song in a cult rock-informed modern context without sounding like Ghost. Not a minor feat when one considers the influences Suspiriorum are working under. They end up with more in common with the modern incarnation of Coven and in “The Dark Knows” even have hints of Tool in the rhythm layer under the finishing guitar solo, but all of it — including the mellow reconciliation of the cover — serves the stylistic intent at the fore, and in that, they set their own course for future growth, whatever direction they might ultimately end up taking sound-wise.
The video for “I Love the Night” premieres below, followed by PR wire details and the aforementioned EP stream.
Please enjoy:
Suspiriorum, “I Love the Night” (Blue Öyster Cult cover) video premiere
Our rendition of the song I love the night by Blue Oyster Cult presented in this dark relaxing lyric video. Stock footage obtained from “Free Stock Footage Archive”.
Taking cues from groups like Goblin who pioneered a brand of prog rock fitting exclusively in soundtracks, and expanding the sound a bit further to include inspiration from pioneers from classic rock like Blue Öyster Cult (who were no strangers to occult and weird subject matter), Coven (who pioneered satanic ritual and aesthetic before Black Sabbath), and Opeth (a celebration of all that is prog and throwback). Ranging sounds from organ-driven classic rock to ominous synth driven passages, and adept lead guitar work and catchy riffs. The imagery comes from classic Italian horror films by Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Mario Bava, and Lamberto Bava, and adopts themes of occult ritual, zombies, and Giallo killers in one big celebration of the mastery and exploitation of the history of Italian horror films.
The EP was recorded and mixed at Red Nova Ranch by Jeff Henson (Clutch, High On Fire, Spirit Adrift, Duel), keys and synth recorded at Arbor Eden Studios by Alex Moran, mastering by Alberto De Icaza (Clutch, Dead Cross, Crobot). Session drums were performed by Adrian Voorhees of Cortege. Album cover art was done by David Paul Seymour (Conan, Municipal Waste, High On Fire) with CD layout and additional photography and art done by Erik Bredthauer of Necroblanca Photography and Design.
Suspiriorum are: Suzy Bravo Joseph Maniscalco Tim Driscoll Steve Colca
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 25th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
True, a goodly portion of these dates has already been posted. With the same picture of the band, no less. In my defense, Austin heavy party doomers Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol have added dates to their West Coast run in the interim, and announced that on June 4 in Austin they’ll host the inaugural Big Dumb Fest, playing alongside Eagle Claw, the always-delightful Tia Carrera and a host of others as they continue to support 2022’s Doom-Wop (review here) with steady live work. In addition, that album’s vinyl release is coming up in June, and that’s like next week, so there’s relevant info here regardless of the repeated data/photography. I sincerely doubt that, had I not mentioned it already, anyone else would. Alas.
I’ve yet to see this band live — and I’ve spoken before about how I haven’t really formed an opinion on them yet in part because of that; again, nobody cares, I know — but they’re touring with Crobot, and they play Crobot at my gym, so that would seem to hint that they’re looking to find a broader audience than one might encounter on strictly underground heavy tours, even as they step into headlining on the upcoming West Coast run. As to how that will all shake out, it’ll probably be two more album cycles before it’s determined either way, but one cannot accuse them of not putting in the work. They already came East to herald Doom-Wop and I wouldn’t be surprised if they did so again before Europe inevitably beckons with its promises of stuff like food backstage and maybe a place to sleep, unheard of as those generally are in the States.
The PR wire has it like this:
Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol to tour with Crobot in July, headlining Western US tour begins June 4th
Austin trio Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol just completed the first leg of their summer U.S. tour dates and today added July shows with Crobot. Before that, the band headlines the West Coast in June following the first-ever RBBP Big Dumb Fest event in their hometown on June 4th. Please see all dates below. Ticket links HERE:https://taplink.cc/rickshawbillie
Rickshaw Billie’s Big Dumb Fest features 7 bands and 4 food vendors for the ultimate meeting of the ears, eyes and taste buds! Sunday, June 4th, 2023 – at Mohawk Austin – 4pm
Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol w/ Eagle Claw, Tia Carrera, Billy Glitter, Gus Baldwin & The Sketch, Buzz Electro, Pinko Eats by: Chilly’s Philly’s, Bad Larry Burger Club, Jim Jam’s Biscuits, Chef’s Kiss
With their 5th studio release, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol is putting a name to the style of fuzzed out, overdriven, melodic, groovy music they have been making since 2016. In 9 concise, no bullshit songs, RBBP demonstrates their ability to blend the merciless low end of Leo Lydon’s 8-String guitar, Aaron Metzdorf’s masterful chordwork on the bass, and Sean St.Germain’s driving drumwork. Lydon and Metzdorf’s vocal melodies cut through the high frequencies to deliver fresh layers to the hooks that RBBP fans have come to love.
As the name implies, Doom Wop is a heavy, melody-driven, party metal album. With riffs as big and dumb as ever, and lyrics that stab at the worst members of society and ourselves (while keeping tongue firmly in cheek), listeners will find all the elements that make up the soul of RBBP on this record.
Doom Wop is available on CD and download, released on September 23rd, 2022. Vinyl LP coming in June.
RBBP LIVE 2023: 06/04 Austin, TX – Mohawk Austin – BIG DUMB FEST 06/05 Marfa, TX – Bad Larry 06/06 El Paso, TX – 101 06/08 Tempe, AZ – The Beast 06/09 Los Angeles, CA – Permanent Records Roadhouse 06/10 San Francisco, CA – The Kilowatt 06/11 Sacramento, CA – Old Ironsides 06/13 Seattle, WA – Substation 06/14 Portland, OR – High Water Mark 06/15 Boise, ID – CRLB 06/16 Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High Saloon 06/17 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive 06/19 Tulsa, OK – Soundpony 07/22 Lititz, PA – Micket’s Black Box * 07/25 Greensboro, NC – Hangar 1819 * 07/26 Greenville, SC – Radio Room * 07/27 Summerville, SC – Trolly Pub * 07/28 Ft Myers, FL – Buddha Live * 07/29 Orlando, FL – Conduit * 07/30 Tampa, FL – Orpheum * 08/01 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade * 08/03 Corpus Christi, TX – Mesquite Street South * 08/04 Houston, TX – Scout Bar * * w/ Crobot
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 24th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
In between the last time I posted about a Cortége tour and this time, the Austin trio updated their lineup, not in terms of the personnel, but who’s doing what, and if you need an example of the consistently evolving creativity of the band, there you go. Sure, they’ve got their thing, nestled into the heavy Western style as they are, but I by no means expect that the EP they’ve got up next will be a carbon copy of what they did on Legends of the Desert Vol. 2 (review here), issued in 2021 through Desert Records and that’s more than just in arrangement.
No release date on the EP, and I’m not sure if a four-part EP means it’s four songs being released one at a time that will be compiled as an EP, or four EPs are themselves staggered, or what. Four seven-inches sold in a box? Hell if I know, but it’ll be fun to find out.
Until then, here’s the tour dates, courtesy of I think the PR wire:
Experience The Magic of CORTÉGE’s Summer Tour 2023: Get Ready to be Transported!
Post-Western, bootgaze trio Cortége are hitting the trails for the summer touring season with dates throughout the West Coast and Southwest! Fresh off recording a four-part EP to be released this year, as well as a Nathan Carson/Billy Anderson co-produced full-length album slated for 2024, Cortége is set to deliver another series of transportive musical experiences!
Dates for Summer Tour 2023 are as follows: 6/28 Tulsa, OK @ The Whittier 6/29 Wichita, KS @ Nortons Brewing Company 6/30 Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge 7/1 Denver, CO @ Squire Lounge 7/2 Fort Collins, CO @ Carnage V Fest 7/5 Boise, ID @ Neurolux 7/6 Spokane, WA @ Lucky You Lounge 7/7 Bellingham, WA @ The Shakedown 7/8 Tacoma, WA @ The Plaid Pig 7/9 Seattle, WA @ Substation 7/11 Portland, OR @ The Six Below Midnight 7/12 Portland, OR @ Bridge City Sessions 7/13 Eugene, OR @ John Henry’s 7/14 Pacifica, CA @ Winters Tavern 7/15 Lancaster, CA @ The Britisher 7/16 San Diego, CA @ The Bancroft 7/18 Las Vegas, NV @ The Griffin 7/19 Tucson, AZ @ Subspace 7/20 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar 7/21 Juarez, MX @ Anexo Centenario 7/22 San Antonio, TX @ Faust Tavern 7/23 Austin, TX @ High Noon
The Austin, Texas-based ensemble. consisting of bass VI, trumpet, drums, tubular bells and lots of synthesizers, put out two twang drenched, chrome plated offerings on the independent Desert Records in 2022. Combining elements of drone, progressive rock and old school Western film score music, the band’s unique take on what could be considered the soundtrack to a high stakes shoot out on an otherworldly desert planet is not to be missed.
Desert Records released Cortége EP Chasing Daylight EP in early 2021. Legends of the Desert: Volume 2, a split release with The Penitent Man, hit the streets in June of 2021.
Cortége is: Mike Swarbrick: Bass VI, Moog, Mellotron, Tubular Bells Adrian Voorhies: Drums April Schupmann: Trumpet, Percussion
[Click play above to stream High Desert Queen and Blue Heron’s Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake split LP in full. Album is out Friday on Ripple Music and available to preorder here for the US, here for Europe, and here on Bandcamp.]
It’s a quick listen to be sure at just 28 minutes, but Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake, which follows a lineage of Ripple Music splits that goes back eight years to the beginning of a series called The Second Coming of Heavy that focused on then-up-and-coming acts like Geezer and Borracho, Red Mesa, Kingnomad, and so on. That series boasted 10 releases and Turned to Stone began in earliest 2020 with Mr. Bison and Spacetrucker (review here) and has continued to roll out two or three split LPs per year since, the latest bringing together Albuquerque desert grunge sludgers Blue Heron and Austin, Texas, purveyors of plus-sized riffs and melody High Desert Queen.
The reason the lineage is relevant — yea, one split begat another split and that split begat another split, on into biblical perpetuity — is that Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake reminds distinctly of the prior series’ specific intent to bolster newer bands; a mission that it directly inherited. Both High Desert Queen (side A) and Blue Heron (side B) present three songs that arrive subsequent to their debut full-lengths, Blue Heron having released Ephemeral (review here) a year ago this week through Seeing Red Records and Kozmik Artifactz and High Desert Queen having made a justified splash on Ripple (pun absolutely intended) with late 2021’s Secrets of the Black Moon (review here), the recording sessions of which birthed the three songs included here.
Cohesion between the two bands in terms of sound isn’t hard to come by. Both are straightforward in their arrangements, putting weighted fuzz out front in their mix and backing it with mostly mid-tempo grooves, more nod than shove, and both have frontmen involved behind-the-scenes in the heavy underground, whether it’s Blue Heron‘s Jadd Shickler serving as a label manager for Ripple as well as Magnetic Eye Records (also under the SPKR Media umbrella, along with labels like Prophecy Productions, Testimony Records and others) and Blues Funeral Recordings (responsible for the PostWax series and releases this year alone from Dozer and Acid King, among others) or High Desert Queen‘s Ryan Garney heading the booking concern Lick of My Spoon Productions, putting on RippleFest Texas and slating shows and tours for his own band and others.
The fourth-wall-breaking, multi-tiered ‘scene’ contributions of Shickler and Garney give another dimension to Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake — emblematic of the DIY manner in which heavy rock and roll has become what it is today; a worldwide subcultural phenomenon most people know nothing about — but none of it would matter as regards this split LP if the songs weren’t there. I’ll confess there was part of me hoping the High Desert Queen tracks — the mega-hooky “Black Moon,” the shorter, floating-but-not-an-interlude “Drift Into the Sun” and the telltale stoner boogie “Roll the Dice” — would be newer recordings, but one takes what one can get, and having “Black Moon” as a late-arriving semi-title-track from that album is welcome, the song fading in on feedback before its forward roll begins in earnest, a somewhat foreboding groove that turns out to be thick enough for everyone to ride opening up in the verse before the layered melody of the chorus.
Like the album from which they (didn’t) come, “Black Moon” and “Roll the Dice” — the lyrics in the latter seem to be the band asking themselves ‘should we go for it?,’ which is laughable with the hindsight of the two years they’ve spent mostly on tour in the US and Europe, where they’re touring even as this split is released — aren’t trying to play coy in their appeal. They make a space and fill it. “Roll the Dice” has an edge of metal in its post-solo finish, but never crosses over to outright aggression, and is much more a standout single in its impression than a leftover. “Black Moon,” with an even stronger hook at the outset, functions similarly, while “Drift Into the Sun” connects the two to create a sense of fluidity between them, strengthening and broadening the whole as a mini-EP on one side. Don’t be surprised when they show up as bonus tracks on the 10th anniversary reissue of Secrets of the Black Moon eight years from now.
Answering back with “Able Baker” (a Richard Scarry reference?), “Day of the Comet” and “Superposition,” Blue Heron run a thread between first-record-era Queens of the Stone Age in tone and oldschool sludge rock burl as guitarist Mike Chavez (who, like Shickler, was also in Spiritu), bassist Steve Schmidlapp and drummer Ricardo Sanchez smoothly establish themselves on side B. Immersion and atmosphere are prevalent as “Able Baker” runs through its five minutes, with a tonal-highlight of a solo in its second half answering the leads in its first, and melody met with due rhythmic force. “Day of the Comet” is deceptive in feeling looser but maintaining the strong grip on structure, and like High Desert Queen before them, Blue Heron cap with the speedier nod of “Superposition,” a righteous showcase that transposes Facelift-era Alice in Chains onto a foundation of modern heavy.
High Desert Queen and Blue Heron offer further complement to each other in the depth and apparent reach of their mix. Both bands sound big without being overblown or sacrificing craft to studio-born largesse. For committed heavy rockers or those who’ve followed along with the series, Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake is a no-brainer. The kind of release you can pick up and see where it takes you. To those who are unfamiliar or have seen the names around but have yet to check out the songs, the sampler-style encapsulation of what they do is likewise convenient and actually-good. While they’re coming off their respective debuts, as noted, Blue Heron and High Desert Queen share a knowledge of what they want to accomplish in songwriting and performance, and that sense of control makes it that much easier as a listener to roll along to where the riffs are leading.
That destination might be the desert, if we want to talk about aesthetic, but the direction is forward, as both clearly have more to say than has been said here or on their respective first LPs. Ultimately stronger for its relative brevity, Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake leaves the audience wanting more from one band and then the other, engaging with new takes on classic methods with a realized intent toward quality and fullness of sound. The only way to lose is by missing it.
Quotes from the bands, PR wire info, preorder and social links, etc., follow in blue:
—
Ryan Garney on Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake:
“It’s an honor to share a split with Blue Heron. From the first time we saw this band play live we were immediately happy to do anything with these musical juggernauts. Incredible musicians and even better people. It’s also great to be able resurrect three songs from the dead. These 3 tracks didn’t make our debut record and we are happy they get to see the light of day in conjunction with three powerful songs from Blue Heron.”
Jadd Shickler on Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake:
“Split releases work best when there’s a reason for them to exist. It’s easy to slap two bands on a record to fill up the album sides, but when there’s something to connect them, that’s when a split makes sense. Blue Heron and High Desert Queen are both from the Southwest, we’ve both got a shared love of massive desert rock and, whether we intend it or not, a lot of grunge influences. We also dig them as people and as musicians. We welcomed them for their first out-of-state show at our 7-inch release gig in 2021, and they hosted us at Ripplefest Texas last year. We respect the hell out of their ambition, their musicality, and their dedication to huge riffs, so it’s a real pleasure to share this record with them. As for the songs, we put a bit of pressure on ourselves. Our debut album came out just a year ago, and we wanted to follow that with a batch of new tunes that are compact and fairly straightforward, but still show our love for starting a song in one place and ending up somewhere radically different.”
Pairing up two highly esteemed bands of the Southwest underground scene, “Turned To Stone Chapter 8” is a gigantic masterclass of heavy rock, with six tracks that will take you on a riff-fueled journey with no further ado! Between HIGH DESERT QUEEN’s versatile and massive-sounding heavy and BLUE HERON’s raucous and desert-shaped songcraft, it is no understatement to say that we are in presence of true forces of nature, an alliance between two up-and-coming greats of the US stoner and desert rock scene.
“Turned To Stone Chapter 8” will be available on May 26th in various vinyl formats as well as digitally, with preorders available now on Ripple Music. The artwork was created by award-winning comic and poster artist Johnny Dombrowski.
TRACKLIST: 1. High Desert Queen – Black Moon 2. High Desert Queen – Drift Into The Sun 3. High Desert Queen – Roll The Dice 4. Blue Heron – Able Baker 5. Blue Heron – Day Of The Comet 6. Blue Heron – Superposition
High Desert Queen: Morgan Miller – Bass Phil Hook – Drums Ryan Garney – Vocals Rusty Miller – Guitar
Blue Heron: Mike Chavez – Guitar Ricardo Sanchez – Drums Steve Schmidlapp – Bass Jadd Shickler – Vocals
Austin’s Bridge Farmers have climbed the mountain of madness. They’ve ridden the road to oblivion. They’ve eaten the proverbial brown acid, with Cthulhu, in the eye of a hurricane. And, presumably a few days later, the psych-sludge rockers from the Lone Star State decided to document their experiences in the form of their second full-length, Cosmic Trigger, released through Olde Magick Records. It’s been some five years since their 2018 self-titled (discussed here), and some of the shifts in approach that the six songs/44 minutes of this follow-up long-player presents can be accounted for in adding guitarist Pete Brown to the band alongside guitarist/vocalist Tyler Hautala, bassist Garrett Carr and drummer Kyle Rice — I’m not certain how permanent that addition is, but what is permanence anyway when you’re melting the universe to so much transdimensional goo? — but not all of them.
The churning and psychedelic boogie of the nonetheless-noise-drenched, maybe-theremin-inclusive “Temple of Eris I” and the scorching and expansive space rock jam that ensues on “Temple of Eris II” can’t really be written off as just the difference having two guitars makes. Given the sound, it’s more likely the stratospheric drive came first and then the advent of Brown on guitar, but whatever did it, Bridge Farmers are a weirder band than they were half a decade ago — for what it’s worth, it was eight years from their 2010 debut, Din of Celestial Birds, to Bridge Farmers, so five years isn’t their longest divide, and they had other offerings in between — and that weirdness suits them delightfully.
The way Cosmic Trigger is structured is important to the fluidity within and between the six inclusions, which are set up in a pattern of three pairs of shorter and longer songs. To wit, the tracklisting, with runtimes:
1. Frater Achad (5:16)
2. Street Needles (10:06)
3. Temple of Eris I (4:28)
4. Temple of Eris II (8:10)
5. Dark Star (3:20)
6. Lynx (12:40)
From this we can see that Bridge Farmers — who produced Cosmic Trigger themselves with Daniel McNeill engineering and Tad Doyle (TAD, HogMolly, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth) mastering at Witch Ape Studios — approach their third album with a marked sense of purpose, and neither the pairings nor their succession one to the next feels haphazard. Blowing itself quickly out the airlock, the album launches with what might be its oldest song, as “Frater Achad” bass-lumbers into its noisy, vocal-echo-stretching procession, atmospherically vast and unrepentantly stoned in tone. That the song moves at all feels like a collective feat of strength for an early Festivus, but as gravitationally dense as it is, Hautala‘s shouts are loose, almost bluesy in their more melodic moments, and feel born out of some of the same impulse as earliest Monster Magnet, or a less-manic Ecstatic Vision, if you’d like a more modern example, and underneath part of the solo in the second half of “Frater Achad” there seems to be a layer of guitar that’s (maybe) just a pick hitting a string.
I don’t know if that’s actually part of the lead track or a complementary noise — there’s a drone like a mouth harp as well for a while and cacophony is the general idea so it’s hard to tell exactly — but it’s emblematic of the will to experiment, the manner in which the songs have been built up, and the open-mindedness/expanded-consciousness of the band generally. It’s like sludge rock macrodosing ketamine, numbing thought with an onslaught of swing ‘n’ swirl, and that’s before “Street Needles” takes hold to spend 10 minutes pondering what might’ve been if Electric Wizard and Unsane were the same band and they dropped a gallon of acid and rewrote Black Sabbath‘s “Black Sabbath” after jamming out its ultra-recognizable central riff for, I don’t know, six hours?
An almost-Looney Tunes wakeup guitar stretch starts “Temple of Eris I,” and the only direct two-parter on Cosmic Trigger proceeds to build itself up from there until at 1:45 into its 4:28 it can’t take it anymore and begins its outbound launch. Wah guitar, howls of something or other, a steady, righteous air push of bass, and a whole lot of acid wash takes hold and that is the course of the song right into its fade out, which is a surprise until “Temple of Eris II” walks that fade back up slowly, false ending-style. I think it’s guitar, but if you told me it was keys or actual sax, I’d believe you, but either way, it’s a lead where Hawkwind would’ve put the saxophone and it serves just as well in the early going, eventually becoming part of the overarching push, which turns past three and a half minutes in into comedown tom thud and circular trails of guitar.
But wait! As they head toward minute five, they start to give the impression they’re not done and with crash cymbal counting in, they start the thrusters anew and are off to interstellar glory once again, pushing past spiral galaxies left spinning like so many pinwheels in their wonderfully make-believe wake. “Dark Star” follows and regrounds immediately with thick but punkish bass, echoing shouts that could just as easily have been on a Ministry record in the ’90s and an entirely different kind of shove that slams into a wall before its first minute is done, staggers for a moment, then surges again, staggers again, and surges again, a last few lyrics arriving to check if you’re dizzy enough.
That leaves “Lynx” at the finish; the longest track and maybe also the farthest reaching, cosmic and mellow at first, with calmed vocals and an eventual tsunami wall of fuzz that swallows everything. From there the pace picks up to a dense-in-the-low-end, echo-shout-topped boogie, evens out to a desert rock riff with what sounds like a siren blaring from one channel to another, and a where-did-that-come-from revitalization of the space rock tap-tap-tap behind the riff. They resolve it in heavy psychedelic fashion, daring a bit of melody in the layering of guitar and maybe keys while remaining superficially furious until the tape runs out and they’re done for real.
They’ve reportedly got a fourth full-length currently at some stage of progress or other, so it may or may not be another five years before Bridge Farmers are next heard from. I won’t claim to know anything there or to have a guess at where they’re going sound-wise after sitting Cosmic Trigger next to Bridge Farmers and experiencing the acid noise of these tracks, but whether another long-player manifests this year, next year, or in 2028, or never, that does nothing to undercut either the redirect Bridge Farmers have undertaken stylistically or the multifaceted take that’s resulted from it.
In being sort of all-over-the-place while making sense in its own context, “Lynx” is a fitting capper for the album as a whole; it may not encapsulate the full range of ground they trod, but it’s got a goodly portion of it, and in the sure-footed manner of its going it is analogous to the record itself. Even if you emerge from Cosmic Trigger wondering what the hell just happened, rest assured, you’re doing it right. So are they. Just go back, listen again, and let the math work itself out.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 18th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
I don’t feel the need to even really say anything here. The lineup speaks for itself. And those who go to this year’s RippleFest Texas will also speak of it, for years, probably in a similar way people now talk about having been at this or that Emissions From the Monolith when that was going on in Ohio. The stuff of legend, in other words. Yeah, you can put on a fest and try to make it cool and fun, or you can do something like this and make it the highlight of everybody who attends’ year.
Kudos to Lick of My Spoon Productions and Ripple Music on a job well done. This will be something special. Bands have been leaked out one at a time at intermittent daily intervals, but the final lineup is out as of today, and it’s stunning. A blend of generations, a reach from on end of the country to the other, and a swath of the heavy underground all rallied in one place for a few days, pre- and after-parties included. Fucking a. If you’re attending, count yourself lucky.
As seen on socials:
Here it is! The full lineup for RippleFest Texas #3! This will be one for the ages with a stacked lineup and lots of special treats in between. Get your tickets now!
Amazing art by @1horsetown
* playing the Pre-Party + playing the Afterparty
King Buffalo, Acid King, Brant Bjork Trio, Sasquatch, Wo-Fat, Fatso Jetson, Mondo Generator, Unida, The Well+, The Atomic Bitchwax, Telekinetic Yeti*, Duel, Forming the Void, Hippie Death Cult, High Desert Queen*, Avon, War Cloud, Rubber Snake Charmers, Spirit Mother+, Kind, Nick Oliveri, Thunder Horse, Royal Sons+, Restless Spirit*, (Big) Pig, Fostermother, Dead Feathers+, Rainbows Are Free, Warlung*, Sun Voyager, Red Mesa, Dunes, Tia Carrera+, Mr. Plow, The Heroine*, Michael Rudolph Cummings, The Absurd+, GoodEye*, Red Beard Wall, God Damn Good Time Band+
Plus a “Legends of the Desert and Friends” jam session to close out Saturday night!
And as always, the visuals by The Mad Alchemist Liquid Light Show
All-Access passes are SOLD OUT! All we have left are 2 Day Passes and Pre/Afterparty tickets available. Many more bands to be announced! Get your tickets now before the full lineup is revealed and the ticket price goes up!
