Posted in Whathaveyou on October 17th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Last week, John Garcia and the Band of Gold announced that a lone US appearance would take place in Las Vegas on Nov. 29. As presented by Vegas Rock Revolution, that show will be the first of a three-evening event called the Planet Desert Rock Weekend, also featuring headlining spots from Scott “Wino” Weinrich and Texas fuzz-blues stalwarts Wo Fat, as well as support from the likes of House of Broken Promises, Freedom Hawk, Sasquatch, Powered Wig Machine, Valley of the Sun, The Heavy Eyes, and so on. The venue changes each night, but there’s no question what’s happening here: It’s a festival.
Look. I can’t tell you how to live your life. Well, I could — eat right, try to get some exercise, love everybody, etc. — but I can’t tell you where to go on any given day. Even aside from this being a rare chance to catch John Garcia in the States, this lineup is pretty much unfuckwithable. Vegas may be known as the land of Psycho, but without a doubt, Planet Desert Rock is looking to make an impact of its own in underground heavy. If you were there to see it, I can’t imagine you’d have regrets later.
Awesome posters by Joey Rudell, full lineup and info follow, courtesy of the fest’s social medias:
Planet Desert Rock Weekend
A Desert Rock Weekend Experience of amazing music from all over the country. Each band hand selected to ensure amazing relevant lineups daily. No fillers just got music.
3 nights of amazing Heavy Rock lineups
Night 1 starts off with legendary vocalist John Garcia of Kyuss. This is a exclusive evening that has never happened before. He will be singing songs from all his bands including Kyuss, Unida (Arthur Seay on guitar) , Hermano (Dave Angstrom on guitar) and Slo Burn (Chris Hale on Guitar). Former Kyuss bandmate Nick Oliveri will also be playing a song or two with John. Luna Sol featuring Angstrom also on the bill as well as Nick Oliveri and Arthur Seay’s Death in Pretty Wrapping with Unida/House of Broken Promises bandmate Mike Cancino on drums. This will be John Garcia only show in the U.S. in 2018. Vinyl at Hard Rock Casino is home to this very special one time event Thursday night.
Night 2 The Bunkhouse Saloon in Downtown Las Vegas hosts headliner Scott “Wino” Weinrich. Longtime heavy rock vocalist with such iconic underground bands as The Obsessed, Spirit Caravan , Saint Vitus and Shrinebuilder. Also joining on the bill will be heavy rock veterans Valley of the Sun who is rising from the ashes and gearing up for a big 2019 with a new album. The Heavy Eyes comes in from blues town Memphis with their psychedelic bluesy rock style and their own very unique catchy sound. House of Broken Promises featuring Arthur Seay and Mike Cancino of Unida fame will be representing Indio CA with riff rocking madness. War Cloud out of Oakland revs up with a late 70s/early 80s high energy styled metal/rock. King Chiefs (formerly Chiefs) gives a 90s grunge era style to this stacked lineup.
Night 3 is highlighted by a rare west coast appearance by Wo-Fat out of Dallas Texas. This power trio has played all over the world at many of the top festivals including DesertFest. Thick Bluesy psychedelic explosion of heavy rock would be a start to describing their incredible sound. World travelled Sasquatch joins the party as one of the premier bands poised for next level breakthrough. Freedom Hawk flies over from Virginia Beach bringing with them catchy rocking songs with duel guitar action. One of the most consistent bands in the stoner rock genre. Powered Wig Machine gets its motor running again after a little layoff as Wayne and Joey Rudell of Fuzz Evil play the epitome of desert rock style blended with retro rock influences. Blackwulf flies down from Oakland on the heals of their last highly acclaimed album which featured former Pentagram member Geoff O’Keefe. Heavy riff rocking live band. Red Desert makes a special appearance coming all the way from Minnesota as they prepare for a big 2019 with a new album/EP. Desert rock sound blended with stoner and doom. Beauty Bar downtown on Fremont street is home to this all star lineup.
We are very proud of these lineups and will only have a limited amount of tickets to sale as each of the last 2 locations have only room from 270 or so……snag those tickets as this is first come first serve. Cool vibe and stacked lineups will be happening each and every night. Our hopes is to develop this into something heavy rock bands and fans can flourish in for future shows. See you soon !
Tickets available on each of these links for the individual days
I always say the same thing on the Wednesday of the Quarterly Review. Day 3. The halfway point. I say it every time. The fact is, doing these things kind of takes it out of me. All of it. It’s not that I don’t enjoy listening to all these records — well, I don’t enjoy all of them, but I’m talking more about the process — just that it’s a lot to take in and by the time I’m done each day, let alone at the end of the week, I’m fairly exhausted. So every time we hit the halfway point of a Quarterly Review, I feel somewhat compelled to note it. Cresting the hill, as it were. It’s satisfying to get to this point without my head falling off.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
Khemmis, Desolation
Continuing their proclivity for one-word titles, Denver doom forerunners Khemmis take a decisive turn toward the metallic with their third album for 20 Buck Spin, the six-track/41-minute Desolation. Songs like opener “Bloodletting” and its side B counterpart “The Seer” are still tinged with doom, but the NWOBHM gallop in “Isolation” and “Maw of Time” – as well as the sheer force of the latter – is an unexpected twist. Khemmis showed classic metal elements on 2016’s was-a-very-big-deal Hunted (review here) and 2015’s debut, Absolution (review here), but it’s a question of balance, and as they’ve once again worked with producer Dave Otero, one can only read the shift as a conscious decision. The harder edge suits them – certainly suits the screams in “Maw of Time” and side A finale/album highlight “Flesh to Nothing” – and as Khemmis further refine their sound, they craft its most individualized manifestation to-date. There’s no hearing Desolation and mistaking Khemmis for another band. They’ve come into their own.
A rumbling entry into London’s Heavy Generation, the four-piece Morag Tong unfold voluminous ritual on their debut full-length, Last Knell of Om. Largely slow and largely toned, the work of guitarists Alex Clarke and Lewis Crane brings the low end to the forefront along with the bass of James Atha while drummer Adam Asquith pushes the lurch forward on cuts like “New Growth” and “To Soil,” the band seemingly most comfortable when engaged in crawling tempos and weighted pummel. Asquith also adds semi-shouted vocals to the mire, which, surrounded by distortion as they are, only make the proceedings sound even more massive. There’s an ambience to “We Answer” and near-13-minute closer “Ephemera: Stare Through the Deep,” which gives the record a suitably noisy finish, but much of what Morag Tong are going for in sound depends on the effectiveness of their tonality, and they’ve got that part down on their debut. Coupled with the meditative feel in some of this material, that shows marked potential on the band’s part for future growth.
Working quickly to follow-up their earlier-2018 sophomore long-player, Moon (review here), Spain’s Holy Mushroom present Blood and Soul, an EP comprised of two songs recorded live in the studio. I’m not entirely sure why it’s split up at all, as the two-minute “Introito” – sure enough, a little introduction – feeds so smoothly into the 19-minute “Blood and Soul” itself, but fair enough either way as the trio shift between different instrumentation, incorporating sax, piano and organ among the guitar, bass, drums and vocals, and unfold a longform heavy psychedelic trip that not only builds on what they were doing with Moon but is every bit worthy of being released on its own. I don’t know if it was recorded at the same time as the record or later – both were done at Asturcon Studios – but it’s easy to see why the band would want to highlight “Blood and Moon.” Between the deep-running mix, the easy rhythmic flow into and out from drifting spaciousness, and the turn in the middle third toward more expansive arrangement elements, it’s an engaging motion that makes subtly difficult shifts seem utterly natural along the way. And even if you didn’t hear the latest full-length, Blood and Soul makes for a fitting introduction to who Holy Mushroom are as a band and what they can do.
Sludge-infused noise rock serves as the backdrop for lyrical shenanigans on the three-song Rejoinder EP from Sheffield, UK, trio Naisian. Running just 12 minutes, it’s a quick and thickened pummel enacted by the band, who work in shades of post-metal for “90 ft. Stone,” “Mantis Rising” and “Lefole,” most especially in the middle cut, but even there, the focus in on harsh vocals and lumbering sonic heft. It’s now been seven years since the band sort-of issued their debut album, Mammalian, and six since they followed with the Monocle EP, and the time seems to have stripped down their sound to a degree. “Lefole” is the longest track on Rejoinder at 5:18 and it’s still shorter than every other song Naisian have put out to-date. Their crunch lacks nothing for impact, however, and to go with the swing of “Lefole,” everybody seems to contribute to a vocal assault that only adds to the punishing but thoughtful vibe.
The effects-laden vocal swirl at the outset of Haunted’s “Mourning Sun” and moments in the Italian act’s longer-form material, “Waterdawn” or “Orphic,” for example, will invariably lead some listeners to point to a Windhand influence, but the character of the band’s second album, Dayburner (on Twin Earth, DHU and Graven Earth all), follows their 2016 self-titled (review here) by holding steady to a developing identity of its own. To be sure, vocalist Christina Chimirri, guitarists Francesco Bauso and Francesco Orlando, bassist Frank Tudisco and drummer Dario Casabona make their way into a deep, murky swamp of modern doom in “Dayburner” (video posted here), but in the crush of their tones amid all that trance-inducing riffing, they cast themselves as an outfit seeking to express individuality within the set parameters of style. Their execution, then, is what it comes down to, and with “Orphic” (12:46) and “Vespertine” (13:19) back to back, there’s plenty of doom on the 66-minute 2LP to roll that out. And they do so in patient and successful form, with marked tonal vibrancy and a sense of controlling the storm they’re creating as they go.
So, the aesthetic is different. Pabst play a blend of noise, post-punk, heavy rock and grunge, but with the ready pop influence — to wit, the outright danceability of “Shits,” reminiscent in its bounce of later Queens of the Stone Age – and persistent melodicism, there’s just a twinge of what Mars Red Sky did for heavy rolling riffs happening on Chlorine, their Crazysane Records debut. It’s in that blend of dense low-end fuzz and brighter vocal melodies, but again, Pabst, hailing from Berlin, are on their own trip. Weird but almost more enjoyable than it seems to want to be, the 12-track/35-minute outing indulges little and offers singalong-ready vibes in “Catching Feelings” and “Waterslide” while “Waiting Loop” chills out before the push of “Accelerate” and the angularity of “Cheapskate” take hold. Chrlorine careens and (blue) ribbons its way to the drive-fast-windows-open stylization of “Summer Never Came” and the finale “Under Water,” a vocal effect on the latter doing nothing to take away from its ultra-catchy hook. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a record someone with just the right kind of open mind can come to love.
If you’ve got a dank basement full of skinny college kids, chances are Lansdale, Pennsylvania’s L.M.I. are ready to tear their faces off. The sludge-thickened riff punkers run abut 11 minutes with their five-song release, L.M.I. IV, and that’s well enough time to get their message across. Actually, by the end of “Neck of Tension” and “Weaning Youth,” roughly four and half minutes in, the statement of intent is pretty clear. L.M.I. present furious but grooving hardcore punk more given to scathe than pummel, and their inclusions on L.M.I. IV bring that to life with due sense of controlled chaos. Centerpiece “Lurking Breath” gives way to “First to Dark” – the longest cut at a sprawling 2:55 – and they save a bit of grunge guitar scorch and lower-register growling for closer “June was a Test,” there isn’t really time in general for any redundancy to take hold. That suits the feeling of assault well, as L.M.I. get in and get out on the quick and once they’re gone, all that’s left to do is clean the blood off the walls.
Released one way or another through Discos Macarras, Odio Sonoro, Spinda Records and Red Sun Records, the eight-song/43-minute debut album from Barcelona’s Fuzz Forward, Out of Nowhere, has earned acclaim from multiple corners for its interpretation of grunge-era melodies through a varied heavy rock filter. Indeed, the vocals of Juan Gil – joined in the band by guitarist Edko Fuzz, bassist Jordi Vaquero and drummer Marc Rockenberg – pull the mind directly to a young Layne Staley, and forces one to realize it’s been a while since that low-in-the-mouth approach was so ubiquitous. It works well for Gil in the laid back “Summertime Somersaults” as well as the swinging, cowbell-infused later cut “Drained,” and as the band seems to foreshadow richer atmospheric exploration on “Thorns in Tongue” and “Torches,” they nonetheless maintain a focus on songwriting that grounds the proceedings and will hopefully continue to serve as their foundation as they move forward. No argument with the plaudits they’ve thus far received. Seems doubtful they’ll be the last.
The kind of record you’re doing yourself a favor by hearing – a visionary cast of progressive psychedelia that teems with creative energy and is an inspiration even in the listening. Frankly, the only thing I’m not sure about when it comes to Oulu, Finland, outfit Onségen Enseble’s second album, Duel, is why it isn’t being released through Svart Records. It seems like such a natural fit, with the adventurous woodwinds on opener “Think Neither Good Nor Evil,” the meditative sprawl of the title-track (video posted here), the jazz-jam in the middle of “Dogma MMXVII,” the tribalist percussion anchoring the 12-minute “Three Calls of the Emperor’s Teacher,” which surely would otherwise float away under its own antigravity power, and the free-psych build of closer “Zodiacal Lights of Onségen,” which shimmers in otherworldly fashion and improvised-sounding spark. On Svart or not, Duel is one of the best albums I’ve heard this year, and one the creativity of which puts it in a class of its own, even in the vast reaches of psychedelic rock. Whether it means to or not, it tells a story with sound, and that story should be heard.
Since so much of The Heavy Eyes’ studio presentation has consistently been about crispness of sound and structured songwriting, it’s kind of a relief to hear them knock into some feedback at the start of “Mannish Boy” at the outset of Live in Memphis (on Kozmik Artifactz). The three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Tripp Shumake, bassist Wally Anderson and drummer Eric Garcia are still tight as hell, of course, and their material – drawn here from the band’s LPs, 2015’s He Dreams of Lions (review here), 2012’s Maera, 2011’s self-titled, as well as sundry shorter offerings – is likewise. They’ve never been an overly dangerous band, nor have they wanted to be, but the stage performance does add a bit of edge to “Iron Giants” from the debut, which is followed by singing “Happy Birthday” to a friend in the crowd. One of the most enjoyable aspects of Live in Memphis is hearing The Heavy Eyes loosen up a bit on stage, and hearing them sound like they’re having as good a time playing as the crowd is watching and hearing them do so. That sense of fun suits them well.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
As an old friend used to say — SCENE UNITY! As someone who lives in fear of corralling even one label’s worth of bands onto a sampler, the notion of the logistics involved with Skull Mountain feels like the stuff of anxiety dreams on the part of those making it happen. And yet, the bold souls at Ripple Music, Kozmik Artifactz, Twin Earth Records and DHU Records have come together across continents to make it happen, and a 500-copies-pressed 2LP four-way label sampler split featuring all previously unreleased tracks and versions is the result. I shouldn’t have to tell you this is something special, something that doesn’t happen every day, and something that might not happen again.
And yet, it’s so emblematic of the moment in which the heavy rock underground finds itself today. Time was when labels like Ripple and Kozmik Artifactz would be too busy competing and trying to poach each other’s bands to team up on a joint multi-artist venture, and to have DHU and Twin Earth on board as well only affirms the passion and the taste at heart in what these people are doing. It’s not about who can be the biggest, or who can make the most money. It’s about love of the music and about wanting to support those who make it and, in this case, teaming up to reach as broad an audience as possible so that everyone benefits.
16 bands, four sides of two platters and one deeply, deeply admirable project, Skull Mountain releases on June 16 with preorders beginning today at the times listed in the flyer below.
Beneath that, you can see the official announcement of the release and the complete tracklisting. Kudos to everyone involved on every level in making this one happen.
From the PR wire:
Over a year in the making! Perhaps the world’s first Four-Label collaborative effort to bring together some of the best heavy psych, stoner, doom from both sides of the Atlantic. Two US-based labels, Ripple Music and Twin Earth Records, join forces with two European-based labels, DHU Records and Kozmik Artifactz to bring forth a double album of epic proportions, something so massive it could only have its own monolith, Skull Mountain.
Each Label showcases one full album side of its signature sound, each song previously unreleased or unreleased mix. The entire album mastered to perfection by Tony Reed at HeavyHead.
Inside the gatefold, Tarot cards display the four element theme of Skull Mountain with each Label represented by its own signature element, Ripple-Water; Twin Earth-Earth, DHU- Fire, and Kozmik- Air. Accordingly, each label has a limited amount of vinyl available in its own signature elemental color, Ripple-Blue, Twin Earth – Green, DHU-Red, and Kozmik- Clear
That’s right! Only 500 of these stunning 2xLP albums were pressed, with each label only having 125 in its signature color. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
An epic introduction into the worlds of North American and European heavy music. A monumental journey to Skull Mountain
Track Listing:
Side Ripple The Watchers – Starfire (Cosmic Nebula mix) Kingnomad – Dewer’s Hollow Blackwulf – The Tempest (Black Tide mix) Vokonis – Celestial Embrace
Side Twin Earth Alastor – Blood on Satan’s Claw Kabbalah – Abomination Starts that Move – Give It All Away Haunted – Crossmoth
Side D.H.U. Disenchanter – More Evil Than Thou Dawn – Day of the Lord Witch Ritual – Drawing Down the Moon Youngblood Supercult – Sticky Fingers
Side Kozmik The Heavy Eyes – Home Devil Electric – Devil’s Bells Red Spektor – Devil’s Keeper Hair of the Dog – My Only Home
Each label has 125 copies in its own color available on its own site.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 12th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
This Friday in Denver marks the beginning of Electric Funeral Fest 2017. Kicking things off at 4:15PM will be West Coast boogie groovers Lords of Beacon House, followed immediately by High on the Mountain right across the street. I know these things because the festival has newly announced its full schedule for its two-day run, which features the likes of Slow Season, The Well, Sourvein, Goya, Oryx, headliners Acid King and Corky Laing’s Mountain, and many others. I’ve got kind of a whirlwind couple weeks coming up as it is, but if you were offering me a ticket and a flight, I’d have a hard time turning this one down. Looks like it’s going to be an incredible time for those fortunate enough to be there.
If that’s you, I hope you have a blast. Here’s the info:
SATURDAY JUNE 17th The Joint by Cannabis Stage at 3 Kings Tavern 4:15 – 4:50 Dizz Brew 5:15 – 5:50 Red Wizard 6:15 – 6:50 Feather Stone 7:15 – 7:50 Great Electric Quest 8:15 – 8:50 Barrows 9:15 – 9:55 The Heavy Eyes 10:15 – 11:00 Electric Citizen 11:40 – 12:40 ACID KING
Electric Funeral will once again be happening in the South Broadway district of Denver. Anyone that is familiar with Denver knows that S. Broadway is one of the greatest neighborhoods this city has to offer. In our second year of this event, we have added a second stage at Hi Dive. Hi Dive is across the street from 3 Kings Tavern and easily one of the greatest places to party in Denver.
There is also no shortage of other great bars and restaurants in the area for attendees to visit if they need a break from head-banging. Although both stages are indoors, this will feel like just as much of an outdoor event as people go back and forth between the two venues that will run simultaneously through both evenings. Hey hey, my my, rock n’ roll sure ain’t fuckin’ dying in Denver!
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 3rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Acid King and Mountain as headliners? Look, I was pretty much sold on the notion of Electric Funeral Fest 2017 anyway, but it’s not like adding Corky Laing and a bunch of other dudes playing Mountain classics hurts. The festival is set for this June in the Mile High city of Denver, Colorado, and in addition to those two it features a swath of righteous acts from the West Coast, the Midwest, the South and the East, pulling in various kind of heavy from doom to sludge to classic rock and roll in what’s an obviously well curated environment. If I could go, I’d be there in a heartbeat.
Some of the below was posted previously, but I want to reiterate to underscore the point. If you’re in this part of the world, you should fucking go to this. Events like this deserve your support and they deserve to continue to flourish and grow. Don’t suck. Go and have a good time. That’s my piece. I’ve said it.
Info follows:
“Honored to announce the headliner of Day 1 at Electric Funeral Fest is current iteration of iconic rock band, MOUNTAIN. Original drummer Corky Laing has teamed up with a band to play Mountain hits from the early ’70s. It is a true pleasure to host a legend from the era that started it all.
Electric Funeral will once again be happening in the South Broadway district of Denver. Anyone that is familiar with Denver knows that S. Broadway is one of the greatest neighborhoods this city has to offer. In our second year of this event, we have added a second stage at Hi Dive. Hi Dive is across the street from 3 Kings Tavern and easily one of the greatest places to party in Denver.
There is also no shortage of other great bars and restaurants in the area for attendees to visit if they need a break from head-banging. Although both stages are indoors, this will feel like just as much of an outdoor event as people go back and forth between the two venues that will run simultaneously through both evenings. Hey hey, my my, rock n’ roll sure ain’t fuckin’ dying in Denver!
Electric Funeral Fest 2017 – Friday June 16th & Saturday June 17th Location: Denver, CO @ Hi Dive & 3 Kings Tavern
LINEUP
Friday June 16 Headliner: Corky Laing’s Mountain Support: Sourvein, Slow Season, Goya, R.I.P., The Well, Glitter Wizard, Monarch, Muscle Beach, The Munsens, Communion, Lords of Beacon House, Greenbeard, Oryx, Smokey Mirror, High on the Mountain
Saturday June 17 Headliner: Acid King Support: Electric Citizen, The Heavy Eyes, Destroyer of Light, Crypt Trip, Cloud Catcher, Love Gang, Barrows, Great Electric Quest, Red Wizard, Banquet, Ocelot (performing as Feather Stone), Jagged Mouth, Pueblo Escobar, Urn
Flier art by Christina Hunt Flier layout by Keith Dreissen
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 23rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Today, Denver’s Electric Funeral Fest 2017 reveals Acid King will headline and the likes of Sourvein, Slow Season, Goya, Electric Citizen, Destroyer of Light, The Well, Cloud Catcher, Oryx and many more will appear. Limited early tickets — there seem to be 40 — are on sale as of right this second.
One headliner is still TBA, but even so, it’s a remarkably ambitious return for Electric Funeral Fest, which had its first showing in 2016. Put on by DUST Presents, it finds hometown representation through The Munsens, Love Gang, Oryx, and Cloud Catcher, likely among others, and reaches far and wide in filling out an impressive roster of acts. To be perfectly blunt about it, it looks fucking awesome.
The fest was kind enough to let me host this initial lineup announcement, and below, organizer Shaun Goodwin gives some background on the area where it will take place across two venues and the vibe they’re shooting for with Electric Funeral Fest 2017.
Dig it:
Electric Funeral Fest 2017 – Friday June 16th & Saturday June 17th
Location: Denver, CO @ Hi Dive & 3 Kings Tavern
Tickets:www.electricfuneralfest.eventbrite.com – There will be 40 early bird discounted 2-day passes available at $49 – After those are sold, presale 2-day passes are $59 – 1 day passes are $32
Electric Funeral will once again be happening in the South Broadway district of Denver. Anyone that is familiar with Denver knows that S. Broadway is one of the greatest neighborhoods this city has to offer. In our second year of this event, we have added a second stage at Hi Dive. Hi Dive is across the street from 3 Kings Tavern and easily one of the greatest places to party in Denver.
There is also no shortage of other great bars and restaurants in the area for attendees to visit if they need a break from head-banging. Although both stages are indoors, this will feel like just as much of an outdoor event as people go back and forth between the two venues that will run simultaneously through both evenings. Hey hey, my my, rock n’ roll sure ain’t fuckin’ dying in Denver!
LINEUP
Friday June 16 Headliner: TBA Support: Sourvein, Slow Season, Goya, R.I.P., The Well, Glitter Wizard, Monarch, Muscle Beach, The Munsens, Communion, Lords of Beacon House, Greenbeard, Oryx, Smokey Mirror, High on the Mountain
Saturday June 17 Headliner: Acid King Support: Electric Citizen, The Heavy Eyes, Destroyer of Light, Crypt Trip, Cloud Catcher, Love Gang, Barrows, Great Electric Quest, Red Wizard, Banquet, Ocelot (performing as Feather Stone), Jagged Mouth, Pueblo Escobar, Urn
Flier art by Christina Hunt Flier layout by Keith Dreissen
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 7th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Memphis three-piece The Heavy Eyes have announced a week-long run of shows on the West Coast for next month. The band released their third LP, He Dreams of Lions (review here), last fall via Kozmik Artifactz, and all I have to do is read the name of the album to have the titular hook stuck in my head. In addition to this current round of shows, the band threatens further incursions outside their Southeastern home base, including a potential stint in Europe, perhaps to materialize later this year. One to keep an eye out for, but in the meantime, they cover a considerable amount of ground in just these five shows — one imagines a drive up the coast in July is lovely as well — and you’ll find the dates and poster below.
Also included is the full stream of He Dreams of Lions, in case you’d also like it stuck in your head for the rest of the day:
Fuzz and groove based Heavy Eyes announce tour dates for the western half of the US. Heavy Eyes, who released their third album, He Dreams of Lions, in November, will be hitting the road from 7/10 starting in Tempe, AZ and ending in Missoula, MT on 7/16. While the tour is quick, Heavy Eyes have promised to add more dates in future months and hopefully to include Europe in the near future. See July dates below.
7/10 Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room 7/11 Los Angeles, CA @ Viper Room 7/13 Portland, OR @ Ash Street Saloon 7/14 Seattle, OR @ High Dive 7/16 Missoula, MT @ Stage 112
Following on from their 2011 self-titled debut, and 2012’s successful Maera album, Memphis trio The Heavy Eyes return to the fold November 2015 with their most accomplished record to date. Over eleven tracks, amidst the unbridled rawness of ‘Saint’, the sheer weight of ‘Z-Bo’ and R’n’B shake appeal of ‘Smoke Signal, hypnotic hard rock riffs are delivered thick and fast through distorted fuzz boxes, gnarled bass lines and levee breaking drum beats. This is an album that draws heavily from the heaviest (Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, Mountain) and in doing so turns out new ideas with a punishing authenticity and honesty in line with their Memphis blues heritage.
Posted in audiObelisk on October 28th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Memphis fuzz rock trio The Heavy Eyes will release their third album, He Dreams of Lions, Nov. 13 on Kozmik Artifactz. The band, who are to be confused neither with Baltimore’s The Flying Eyes nor Indiana’s The Heavy Company, dig deep into modern-styled fuzz boogie throughout the crisp, straightforward 11 tracks/47 minutes, with bluesy flourish adding further heft to the righteous fuzz of Tripp Shumake‘s guitars and Wally Anderson‘s bass while Eric Garcia propels the roll of a track like “Old Saltillo Road” while going more all-out on a faster piece like “Smoke Signals,” a Fu Manchu-style wall of fuzz built up around laid back vocals.
The Heavy Eyes are efficient and conscious of what kind of noise they want to make at any given turn, but hardly unipolar, setting a back-country mood with nighttime insect noise at the start of opener “Shadow Shaker” before unloading the first of many rock solid and solidly rocking riffs, Shumake‘s penchant for highlight hooks taken a step further from the band’s impressive 2012 sophomore outing, Maera, on the subsequent “Saint” and “Z-Bo,” two shorter groovers that seem to pull in the listener before they even realize it, He Dreams of Lions building considerable momentum right from the start and holding onto it until they get to the Queens of the Stone Age-esque riffing of eight-minute closer “Modern Shells.”
Peak-era Queens isn’t a bad comparison point for the album as a whole, but The Heavy Eyes are more inclined to nestle into a groove, as they do on “Old Saltillo Road” and move into the title-track, which trades echoing, spacious verse lines for a more intensely-distorted chorus, an edge of grunge working its way into their sound on the sly before “Hail to the King, Baby” brings back the megafuzz and seems to layer in some organ deep in the left channel mix, ending up in an open, beery groove that rolls right into an extended finish of organ and amp noise, “Smoke Signals” picking up with Garcia‘s toms to keep the pace high as they make ready to move into the end section of the record with the particularly Fu-ey “The Fool.”
Their ability to switch up vibes is pretty well encapsulated between “Smoke Signals,” “The Fool” and “Somniloquy,” but they stay within a fuzz rock context throughout while effectively toying with one side or another of genre convention, not reinventing the wheel so much as reminding how smoothly it can roll when pushed just right. Groove is the unifying factor, and remains so as “Somniloquy” and “Littlefinger” prepare the ground for the finale, the latter rounding out with some coming-apart chug as the beginning of the closer serves as an underscoring to the point of how much Anderson‘s tone has been a highlight factor all along, even though it’s the guitar out front for another hairy lead.
It’s a party front to back, but again, not necessarily beholden entirely to one mood or another to get there — that is, not everything on He Dreams of Lions is exhaustingly uptempo — and that proves much to the album’s benefit. Still, one of its great strengths lies in the early momentum it mounts, and as a part of that (and as a means for demonstrating what I mean about Anderson‘s bass above), I’m thrilled to be able to host the premiere of “Saint.” You’ll find it on the player below, followed by more from the PR wire on The Heavy Eyes.
Enjoy:
Tripp Shumake on “Saint”:
“Saint is a frenzied blues groove layered under the frantic screaming of a mad man. As pounding drums and slinky bass surge through the speakers, the chaos builds and swells until it breaks. Leaving the listener with more questions than answers but nodding along just the same.”
Following on from their 2011 self-titled debut, and 2012’s successful Maera album, Memphis trio The Heavy Eyes return to the fold this November with their most accomplished record to date. Over eleven tracks, amidst the unbridled rawness of ‘Saint’, the sheer weight of ‘Z-Bo’ and R’n’B shake appeal of ‘Smoke Signal, hypnotic hard rock riffs are delivered thick and fast through distorted fuzz boxes, gnarled bass lines and levee breaking drum beats. This is an album that draws heavily from the heaviest (Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie, Mountain) and in doing so turns out new ideas with a punishing authenticity and honesty in line with their Memphis blues heritage.
This is The Heavy Eyes, one of rock and roll’s best and brightest, and He Dreams Of Lions will be released via Kozmik Artifactz on 13th November 2015.
The Heavy Eyes: Tripp Shumake – Vocals, Guitars Wally Anderson – Bass Eric Garcia – Drums
