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The Moth Stream Title-Track of New Album Hysteria; UK Tour Announced

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 24th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

the moth

Having become a four-piece since the release of their 2015 sophomore album, And Then Rise (review here), Hamburg, Germany’s progressive sludge rockers The Moth will release their third outing, Hysteria, on Nov. 10 via This Charming Man. The record was first announced here late last year when The Moth entered their basement studio to put it to tape, and a preliminary sampling of the results of their efforts is available now to stream in the form of Hysteria‘s title-track, which you’ll find at the bottom of the post. Not to give too much away outright, but goodness gracious that’s thick. Hope you like viscosity.

I’ll hope to have more to come on this one before November gets here, but in the meantime, here’s word from the PR wire, including some tour dates alongside WitchSorrow, copious linkery and the aforementioned track stream to keep us all busy:

the moth hysteria

THE MOTH: Hamburg’s heaviest return with new album Hysteria and UK tour with Witchsorrow

Hysteria by The Moth is released on 10th November 2017 on This Charming Man Records

Signed to This Charming Man Records just one year after their formation in 2012, Hamburg-based doom/sludge trio The Moth are one of Germany’s leading underground lights.

Upon the release of their acclaimed debut album They Fall in 2013 the band was praised for harbouring a sound that cooked slow burning doom, thrash, rock and death metal via a metallurgy of riffs and bold ideas.

Geared toward full-metal apocalypse, that same sound was soon resurrected in 2015 on The Moth’s follow-up album And Then Rise, which drew justifiable comparisons to the likes of High on Fire, Mastodon, Crowbar and Kylesa. Picking up on the twin vocal play of bassist Cécile Ash and guitarist Freden Mohrdiek’s well-tempered Jekyll & Hyde-like aesthetic, the album was raw, ready and alive with ambition… and best of all, void of uncalled-for frills.

Off the back of tours and shows with Torche, Red Fang, Conan, Space Chaser and OHHMS, not to mention countless stages rocked at DesertFest, Svart Festival, Doom Over Vienna and Stoned from The Underground, The Moth return this November with their most anticipated album yet. Relocating to the same, small rehearsal room used to record their debut – deep in the belly of Hamburg’s infamous red-light district in St. Pauli – the band set about pre-recording their album Hysteria with close friend and producer José Lorenzo in September 2016. After laying down all ten tracks in one day and returning later in the year to rerecord and add vocals, they soon discovered that Lorenzo’s initial recordings best captured the band’s brutal and bewitching live sound.

With the addition of new member Christian ‘Curry’ Korr, brought in to share rhythm duties alongside long-sitting drummer Tiffy and the partnership of Cécile and Freden as full-on and fired-up as ever, Hysteria is the audacious product of a band at their deadliest.

“The title track represents the style of the whole album,” explains Cécile Ash. “That we only recorded each track maybe two or three times live and took the best version, you can really hear our character in it. We didn’t cut anything out. Imperfection is what we like.”

Released on 10th November 2017, Hysteria by The Moth will be available on This Charming Man Records.

Track Listing:
1. Empty Heart
2. Hysteria
3. Brachial
4. Slow Your Pace
5. This Life
6. Blackness
7. Loose
8. Shattered
9. Fail
10. Jupiter

Tour Dates:
5 Oct – Hühnermanhattan Club, Halle/Saale
6 Oct – Immerhin, Würzburg
7 Oct – Baracke, Münster
26 Oct – Bastard Club (w. Witchsorrow), Osnabrück
27 Oct – Music City (w. Witchsorrow), Antwerpen
28 Oct – The Cave (w. Witchsorrow), Amsterdam
29 Oct – Stumpf, Hannover
30 Oct – MTS City Sound, Oldenburg
22 Nov – TBA (w. Witchsorrow), Bristol
23 Nov – Bannerman’s Bar (w. Witchsorrow), Edinburgh
24 Nov – The Phoenix (w. Witchsorrow), Coventry
25 Nov – Riffmass 2017 (The Green Door Store), Brighton
26 Nov – The Devonshire Arms (w. Witchsorrow), London

The Moth:
Cécile Ash – Bass/Vocals
Freden Mohrdiek – Guitar/Vocals
Christian ‘Curry’ Korr – Drums
Tiffy – Drums

http://www.facebook.com/listentoTHEMOTH
http://the-moth.bandcamp.com/
http://www.instagram.com/listentoTHEMOTH
http://www.thischarmingmanrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Thischarmingmanrecords/
https://www.instagram.com/thischarmingmanrecords/
https://thischarmingmanrecords.bandcamp.com/

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The Great Beyond Post “Empty Grail” Video; A Better Place Available to Preorder

Posted in Bootleg Theater on July 6th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

the-great-beyond-photo-alex-lost-feeling

This Charming Man Records is taking preorders now for the first 12-incher from German boogie rockers The Great Beyond. Titled A Better Place and set to release on July 28, it’s the debut EP from the Münster-based trio, who herald its arrival with a new video for “Empty Grail.” With lyrical nods to Sabbath and layered guitar leads à la Thin Lizzy, they’re not exactly shy in showing off where they’re coming from in terms of influences, but their take on classic methods nonetheless comes through a modern production — though perhaps via vintage gear? — and they skirt the line of actual retroism vs. the kind of heavy ’10s update spearheaded in the last five years by the likes of Graveyard and Kadavar.

Familiar terrain, perhaps, but The Great Beyond cover it well and show in the three-minute “Empty Grail” a steady grasp of the style. On the EP, “Empty Grail” is complemented by the proto-metallic shuffle of the opening title-track, the languid bluesy drawl of centerpiece “Yearning,” the post-Uncle Acid garage riffing of “Solution” and the heavier roll of five-minute closer “Mountains of Gold,” on which the full breadth of bassist Daniel Himmelberg‘s tone shows itself en route to a raucous finale marked by Leon Runde‘s lead work and the uptempo thrust of drummer David Aaron Mrohs, but even as a standalone piece, it gives a sense of where The Great Beyond are coming from in terms of aesthetic, if not necessarily one that speaks for the entirety of their first offering.

So think of “Empty Grail” perhaps as a sampler of wares for a sampler of wares to follow as they ready the ground for A Better Place to land later this month. If you’re so inclined, the preorder links for the EP follow the video itself — along with some words from the label, which is spot-on in the surprising Cave In comparison — which you can find below.

Please enjoy:

The Great Beyond, “Empty Grail” official video

Empty Grail is taken from The Great Beyond’s debut 12″/CD – released 28th of july!

LP: bit.ly/TheGreatBeyondLP
CD: bit.ly/TheGreatBeyondCD

These fellas from Münster Germany are a typical power rock trio mayhem, which took me instantly I listened to their first recorded demos! they pretty much sound like they look like: bone-dry, dusty & oldschool 70s rock – if you dig Mountain Witch or Kadavar, you pretty sure can connect with these 5 songs. On their 12″ they show a wide range of classic rock styles, slowed down Graveyard-eque tunes also as uptempo driven rock hymns. their signature will be the high pitched vocals which reminds a little of mix of Stephen Brodsky (Cave In / Mutoid Man) and John Dyer Baizley of mighty Baroness!

The Great Beyond is:
Leon Runde – Vocals & Guitars
Daniel Himmelberg – Bass & Vocals
David Aaron Mrohs – Drums & Vocals

The Great Beyond on Thee Facebooks

The Great Beyond website

This Charming Man Records on Thee Facebooks

This Charming Man Records website

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Heat Post “Day in Day Out” Video; New Album Coming Soon

Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 7th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

heat

So when Heat put out their latest video, it was tagged to the news from their label, This Charming Man Records, that their third full-length and the follow-up to 2014’s Labyrinth (discussed here) would be out this summer. Well, it’s not quite summer yet, but it’s not far off, and more concrete word of a correspondingly more concrete release date has yet to surface so far as I know. That kind of thing happens. Delays in mixing, mastering, pressing, shipping, etc. Even once you actually get past songwriting and recording, there are a million things that can make a summer record turn into an autumn record. Or winter, or next year, or 15 years later. You know how it goes.

I bring it up because the Heat video in question, for their late-2016 single, “Day in Day Out,” came out in February. Why wasn’t it posted here before? Because sometimes shit gets by me until the band emails or sends a note on Thee Facebooks and says something like, “Hey dope, post our video” —heat note: Heat were actually way more polite about it than that, as are most. I never claimed perfection and I’m a firm believer in better-late-than-never, so yeah, I’ll post a Heat video a little ways after the fact, particularly as it seems like it could be any day now there will be some news about that next long-player, and double-particularly for the laid back ’70s boogie that “Day in Day Out” proffers in its quick, under-three-minute run.

On the 7″, the track comes complemented by the longer “Time to Believe,” and both bask in a natural and vintage feel. Recorded by now-former bassist Richard Behrens (also ex-Samsara Blues Experiment), the two-songer is a quick glimpse at the traditionalism the Berlin-based fivesome had on offer through Labyrinth and their preceding 2012 debut, Old Sparky (review here), and as they comment below, the simple idea behind the video for “Day in Day Out” is to show the band having a good time. They both look and sound like they are, so I guess the mission stands accomplished. They even ride bikes. What’s more fun than that?

When/if I hear something about their next album, I’ll let you know, and I’ll do my best to not make it months after the fact. In the meantime, you can enjoy Heat‘s “Day in Day Out” clip below, followed by more info about the single.

Dig it:

Heat, “Day in Day Out” official video

Heat on “Day in Day Out”:

“Our take on classic 70’s hard rock, we stayed true to our favourite decade with a completely analogue double A-side 7″, recorded and mixed straight to tape. This was executed by Richard Behrens at Big Snuff Studio in a 100% authentic and honest way. No computers involved! And that’s what we tried to capture in the video: no frills, no special effects, just us having a good time. Hope you dig it!”

The first song after “Labyrinth” – some cool tunes from Berlin’s finest HEAT, who are right now in the studio working on the last tiny things for the upcoming third full length! Prepare for a rockmonster in summer 2017!

“Day In Day Out” is taken from the brand new same titled 7″ single available on wax or digital here:

TCM (ltd. col. wax) http://bit.ly/2ewFdiQ
Bandcamp: heatbandofficial.bandcamp.com

“Day In Day Out” written and composed by Heat © 2016

Heat are:
Matthias Schult (Guitar)
Gräm Rowland (Bass)
Patrick Fülling (Vocals)
Marco Rischer (Guitar)
Marcus Töpfer (Drums)

Recorded and Mixed by Richard Behrens at Big Snuff Studio, Berlin in June 2016
Mastered by Nene Barratto at Big Snuff Studio

Video by Paul Schlesier/Pallid Eyes Film (http://www.pallideyes.de/)

Heat on Thee Facebooks

Heat on Instagram

Heat on Bandcamp

This Charming Man Records website

This Charming Man Records on Thee Facebooks

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The Moth Hit the Basement; New Album Due in 2017

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 21st, 2016 by JJ Koczan

I’d say Germany’s The Moth have hit the studio, but it would be inaccurate. The darkly heavy rocking Hamburg-based outfit will issue their third album in 2017 via This Charming Man, following up on last year’s And Then Rise (review here). Instead, they’re headed to the basement where they rehearse to reportedly record completely live, which leaves one to guess the results will be… punkish?

Kind of hard to say, but I’m interested to find out. Though definitely led by its riffs, And Then Rise had a strong undercurrent of metal to it, and it seems entirely possible that in recording live, that intensity will only be played to further, but the question becomes just how raw the actual recording will turn out when they’re done, which, frankly, should be just about any minute now. Also they’re apparently working with a second drummer. I’ll let you know what I hear when I hear it.

If you didn’t get to check out And Then Rise — and I know you did, but it’s nice to be reminded of these things — you’ll find the stream from The Moth‘s Bandcamp at the bottom of the post. Here’s the update as sent over by bassist/vocalist Cécile Ash:

the moth

THE MOTH, metal-sludge-doom 3-piece from Hamburg (Europe), will hit the studio the week before Christmas to record their third album. It will be released on Germany’s most renowned independent label, This Charming Man Records.

No fancy studio has been booked. Instead THE MOTH return to their roots: a small basement rehearsal room in Hamburg’s red light district – where their debut THEY FALL was born in 2013.

No fuss here either: They will record everything live. Bassist and guitarist Cécile and Freden (both do vocals as well), drummer Tiffy and also their second drummer Curry want to capture the loaded and raw atmosphere of their rehearsals. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The Moth is:
GUITAR & VOICE: FREDEN MOHRDIEK
BASS & VOICE: CÉCILE ASH
DRUMS: TIFFY

https://www.facebook.com/listentoTHEMOTH
https://the-moth.bandcamp.com/
http://www.instagram.com/listentoTHEMOTH
http://www.thischarmingmanrecords.com/index.php/bands/the-moth/

The Moth, And Then Rise (2015)

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Closet Disco Queen Premiere “Hey Sunshine!” from Self-Titled Debut

Posted in audiObelisk on May 11th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

closet disco queen

The key is movement, except of course when it isn’t. It’s kind of hard to explain, but that seems to be the idea behind the upcoming self-titled debut LP from Closet Disco Queen, the newly arrived duo of guitarist Jona Nido and drummer Luc Hess, the latter also of Red Kunz and formerly the Ocean Collective. From Fatso Jetson-style jazzy spaciousness in “Hey Sunshine!” to the grand post-rock heft of “Black Saber,” they seem bent on sharp turns, on-a-dime twists and in songs like “Catch You on the Flip Side,” go, go, go. Even a droner like “What’s Your 20?” seems to want you to hurry up and wait, a tension underlying that finds its release in the nod-ready angular riffing of “Caposhi,” which follows and leads the way into the aforementioned “Catch You on the Flip Side,” the first of two extended cuts positioned to close their respective vinyl halves.

And one can tell from the moniker under which Nido and Hess operate, their song titles and the ain’t-nuthin’-but-a-party vibe they put out that it’s all supposed to be taken very lightly, like the two just got together and tossed this stuff in a pot to see how it boiled down. It’s a classic misdirect. Closet Disco Queen are waving party rock in your face and meanwhile, up their other sleeve is a textured progressive rollout, so that “What’s Your 20?” or side B’s more contemplative “IYD (In Your Dreams)” and 12-minute closer “Black closet disco queen closet disco queenSaber” push into ambience rare for a duo but engaging through layers of keys, drone wash and of course a feverish bout of distortion. Granted, that turn comes after “The Shag Wag,” which seems to be the name of the central riff as much as the song itself and is missing only a Chubby Checker-type hook to turn it into the dance craze of some alternate dimension, but that’s just the misdirection at work. Nido and Hess are offering a richer experience than they let on, and while it’s got plenty of boogie to match the stated intent, there’s a hidden door behind which one finds a whole other kind of party.

In the end, that only makes the album a more fascinating listen, because since the whole idea of the band is Closet Disco Queen, which as they put it is telling the story of a good girl who’s secretly bad, they’re essentially masking their own purposes in the same way. Granted, Closet Progressive Heavy Rock Duo would be nowhere near as catchy a name, but with the flow they enact between their self-titled’s seven tracks and the range they show in the process, it would fit all the same. Yeah, it’s a good time, but if you just take it as fluff, you’re missing out on the solid foundation beneath.

Closet Disco Queen will release Closet Disco Queen on June 12 through Hummus RecordsDivision Records and This Charming Man Records, with the promise of a European tour to come. Today I have the pleasure of hosting “Hey Sunshine!” for streaming, and you’ll find it on the player below, followed by more info on the album, and a special drum cam video of Hess during the recording. Please enjoy:

CLOSET DISCO QUEEN announces the release of their self-titled debut album due to be released on June 12th

via Hummus Records, Division Records, and This Charming Man Records

Jona Nido and Luc Hess (Coilguns, KUNZ, The Ocean, The Fawn, Schwarz, etc.) have a new hot friend. She came out of her auntie’s closet and will ruin your teenage disco. The loudest cheerleader you’ve ever seen – barely dressed and roughly combed, queue jumping everyone at the entrance of the club. Here she comes, out of nowhere and without warning, carried around by two of the sexiest bodyguards – like she always belonged. Fact is that girl can dance. She dares. She rocks. Odd and weird, charming enough to turn any of her nights into a freak show. We all knew these two guys were party animals, but this band will bring them to a whole new level of frenzy. That CLOSET DISCO QUEEN delivers 70’s instrumental psycheledic kraut rock’n’roll progressive beats for your ass to shake and your shoes to burn. Huuuh, you nasty girl.

Guitar players are sissies and Jona Nido is a dancing queen. A fairly secret one though, who hides his riffs like we all do with W’s in our granny scrabble bag. “Nah, this can’t be a serious tune. Nah, I have a hyperactive record label to run almost by myself. Nah, I already have three awesome bands to tour with. Nah, I would really need to be too drunk to play it live. Nah. Pink leggings would shrink my lovely booty ass.” Any reason was good to keep all of this six strings epicness in its closet. But then came Luc Hess, the undestructible rock beats and vodka shots machine, and he said : dude, we need a trick to party more. This trick, don’t call it a band, became CLOSET DISCO QUEEN and by the way all of their sounds are excellent, truely experimental and one-of-a-kind classics. Also, if proof was needed, Jona Nido is the freakiest guitar player in town

The band will also embark on a European tour from June 19th to July 6th. Full list of shows to be announced soon.

Tracklist:
01 Hey Sunshine!
02 What’s Your 20?
03 Caposhi
04 Catch You On The Flip Side
05 The Shag Wag
06 IYD (In Your Dreams)
07 Black Saber

Credits:
Engineered by Boris Gerber and Raphaël Bovey
Recorded live at Bikini Test, La Chaux-de-Fonds, CH by Jona Nido and Luc Hess
Mixed by Raphale Bovey at MyRoom Studio, Lausanne, CH
Mastered by Magnus Lindberg at Magnus Lindberg Productions, Stockholm, SWE
Artwork by David Haldimann (https://www.facebook.com/davidhaldimannart)
Photographs by Stan Of Persia (https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanofpersia/)
Videos by Camille de Pietro

Closet Disco Queen, “Hey Sunshine!” Drum Cam

Closet Disco Queen on Thee Facebooks

Preorder at Hummus Records

Preorder at Division Records

Preorder at This Charming Man Records

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Demon Head to Release Ride the Wilderness in May

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 30th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

demon-head

Danish five-piece Demon Head issued one of my favorite short releases last year in their Demo 2014 tape (review here), and then followed that up quickly with a 7″ called Demon Head b/w Winterland (review here) that also showcased much promise, so their debut full-length has been one to look forward to. Titled Ride the Wilderness and repurposing three songs from the demo which also appeared on the single, Demon Head‘s debut has all the languid analog roll one could ask, but brings a youthful energy to the tenets of post-Witchcraft retroism that carries well across the songs, a nascent melodic sensibility in progress amid the organic tones and swinging grooves. It’s an easy one to dig, as the first track made public, “Book of Changes,” attests below.

Announcement of the album’s arrival through no fewer than three labels — This Charming Man on LP, Caligari Records on tape (also a local tape release through Smokedd Productions), and Wolfbiker on CD — follows, dutifully transcribed from the PR wire:

demon head ride the wilderness

Friends and strangers!

Hear the thunder on the horizon? The time is coming..

It is with great pleasure that we can tell you all that May will see the release of our first full-length album, RIDE THE WILDERNESS.

It will be no less than eight songs of wild rock that we summoned and trapped in a tape machine last year for the untamed and unchained!

Recorded at The Chaos Island and Mastered by Tiger Bartelt of Kadavar, we’re dying for you to hear it..

LP on This Charming Man-Records, CD on Wolfbiker records as well as cassette tapes by Caligari Records overseas and local Smokedd Productions… Lightning strikes!!

DEMON HEAD’s debut album will finally see the light of night in May… We’ve been dying for you all to hear these hard rocking songs and sinister tales from nightmarish corners of our minds!

On a lost road between Heavy Rock highways and the Doom abyss, these eight tunes have been crafted with dedication to the old rock music traditions, for those that are born to be wild. Following the Winterland 7″ (Levitation Records) and a sold-out demo tape, we have recorded RIDE THE WILDERNESS in our own studio, capturing and manipulating this wicked devil child of our on gritty tape machine and haunted sound equipment from days bygone. Inspired by the likes of Black Sabbath, Thin Lizzy and The Doors, this is a soundtrack for days of thunder & lightning.

RELEASE PARTIES
May 20 – Grand, Malmö
May 21 – TBA, Germany
May 22 – Loppen, Copenhagen
May 23 – Hässelholm, Sweden

https://www.facebook.com/Demoncoven/
http://demonhead.bandcamp.com/
http://www.thischarmingmanrecords.com/
http://www.wolfbiker.de/
http://www.caligarirecords.com/

Demon Head, “Book of Changes”

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Heat Announce European Tour; New Video Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 13th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

Berlin classic heavy rockers Heat are gearing up to release their second album, Labyrinth, Aug. 29 on This Charming Man Records, and once they do, they’ll set out on a tour that will encompass most of September, playing in their native Germany as well as Denmark, France, Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. In accord with the final announcement of the confirmed tour dates, which is below, Heat also have a new video for the song “Loving Devotion,” which is the penultimate track on the new record and one of its catchiest songs.

The video uses clips from the German independent road flick Trip, in which the band’s music is also featured. Trip has been screened at a number of rock festivals in Germany this year, including the Berlin edition of Desertfest and Void Fest earlier this month. As you can see, the cars and the music are pretty well suited to each other.

Info off the PR wire:

HEAT Tour Dates | Brand new video for ‘LOVING DEVOTION’

Featuring former members of The Hara-Kee-Rees, Samsara Blues Experiment and Grandloom their self-titled debut on Electric Magic Records was a heavy-blues driven journey into the very heart of the 1970s. Which, regardless of your particular predilection for classic rock saw the Berlin five-piece strike every chord.

On their follow up – much like Swedish hard rock revivalists Graveyard and Horisont – Heat continue to revel in the buzz of audacious twin guitar solos, Hammond organs and telepathic band jams.

Driving tracks like ‘Siamese Smile’, ‘Free World’ and ‘Barbarossa’ pack unabashed guitar spectacles atop big drum fills, rolling bass lines and Patrick Fülling’s strutting vocal front, often over extended compositions that run the gamut of twentieth century rock history. Bursting with shuffling bluesy boogies and dark, introspective moments that owe a sizeable riff or two to Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, Atomic Rooster and Jerusalem Labyrinth is an unstoppable force for fans of British prog, hard US rock and NWOBHM.

Labyrinth will be officially released on 29th August 2014, along with the reissue of the band’s debut (with exclusive new artwork) via via This Charming Man Records.

TOUR DATES:

23/08/14 – Sala Teatru Brama, Goleniow, Poland
4/09/14 – Record Release at Austerclub, Berlin, Germany
5/09/14 – Sky High Festival, Frankfurt, Germany
11/09/14 – Monster Records, Hannover, Germany
12/09/14 – 1000Fryd (w. Jex Thoth), Aalborg, Denmark
13/09/14 – KB18, Kopenhagen, Denmark
15/09/14 – Hafenklang, Hamburg, Germany
16/09/14 – Waldmeister, Solingen, Germany
17/09/14 – Heretic Club (w. Aqua Nebula Oscillator), Bordeaux, France
18/09/14 – San Sebastian, Spain
19/09/14 – Hard Club, Porto, Portugal
22/09/14 – Rocksound, Barcelona, Spain
23/09/14 – Brin de Zinc, Cambery, France
24/09/14 – Schüxenhaus, Ins, Switzerland
25/09/14 – Coq d’Or, Olten, Switzerland
26/09/14 – Backstage (w. Orcus Chylde), München, Germany
27/09/14 – Sound n Arts (w. Orcus Chylde), Bamberg, Germany
10/10/14 – TCM Fest Gleis 22, Münster, Germany
29/11/14 – Deep Sound City Festival, Halle, Germany

https://www.facebook.com/events/1469399363311082/
heatberlin.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/Heatthelights
instagram.com/heatberlin

Heat, “Loving Devotion” official video

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Heat to Release Labyrinth on Aug. 29

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 17th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

Formerly aligned to Electric Magic for the LP/CD release of their first album, Heat/Old Sparky (review here), Berlin heavy rockers Heat have announced they’ll issue their second offering, Labyrinth, via This Charming Man Records on Aug. 29. Preorders are available now for the CD or LP editions from the semi-retro five-piece, which features Samsara Blues Experiment bassist Richard Behrens, who also recorded the first outing. Charlie Paschen seems to have helmed Labyrinth, but the sound remains warm and natural in line with Old Sparky, as you can hear on the new song “Siamese Smile” below.

To support the new record — the cover art for which was handled by Adam Burke — the band will head out on a European tour beginning Sept. 4, and This Charming Man will have a reissue of Old Sparky with new art as well. All confirmed dates listed below with the album info, fresh off the PR wire:

Hard rockers HEAT announce release of new album Labyrinth

Berliners to release second full length via This Charming Man Records, along with reissue of debut on 29th August 2014

Following on from the success of their 2012 self-titled debut, This Charming Man Records is pleased to announce the release Labyrinth, of the second album by the Berlin-based hard rock outfit.

Heat are unmistakably taken with a time when all great records came adorned with monochrome swirls and elaborate sleeves depicting worlds of necromancy, witches and cosmic encounters.

Featuring former members of The Hara-Kee-Rees, Samsara Blues Experiment and Grandloom their self-titled debut on Electric Magic Records was a heavy-blues driven journey into the very heart of the 1970s. Which, regardless of your particular predilection for classic rock saw the Berlin five-piece strike every chord.

On their follow up – much like Swedish hard rock revivalists Graveyard and Horisont – Heat continue to revel in the buzz of audacious twin guitar solos, Hammond organs and telepathic band jams.

Driving tracks like ‘Siamese Smile’, ‘Free World’ and ‘Barbarossa’ pack unabashed guitar spectacles atop big drum fills, rolling bass lines and Patrick Fülling’s strutting vocal front, often over extended compositions that run the gamut of twentieth century rock history. Bursting with shuffling bluesy boogies and dark, introspective moments that owe a sizeable riff or two to Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash, Atomic Rooster and Jerusalem Labyrinth is an unstoppable force for fans of British prog, hard US rock and NWOBHM.

Labyrinth will be officially released on 29th August, along with the reissue of the band’s debut (with exclusive new artwork) via This Charming Man Records

LP pre-order

CD pre-order

iTunes pre-order link – http://snip.ftpromo.net/heat

Heat:
Marcus Töpfer – Drums
Matthias Schult – Guitar
Marco Rischer – Guitar
Patrick Fülling – Vocals
Richard Behrens – Bass

Tour Dates:
23/08/14 – Sala Teatru Brama, Goleniow, Poland
4/09/14 – Record Release at SO36, Berlin, Germany
5/09/14 – Sky High Festival, Offenbach, Germany
6/09/14 – Schweinskopf Festival, Cuxhaven, Germany
12/09/14 – 1000Fryd (w. Jex Thoth), Aalborg, Denmark
13/09/14 – KB18, Kopenhagen, Denmark
14/09/14 – TBA
15/09/14 – Hafenklang, Hamburg, Germany
16/09/14 – Waldmeister, Solingen, Germany
17/09/14 – Heretic Club (w. Aqua Nebula Oscillator), Bordeaux, France
18/09/14 – TBA
19/09/14 – Hard Club, Porto, Portugal
20/09/14 – Retrovisor, León, Spain
21/09/14 – TBA
22/09/14 – Rocksound, Barcelona, Spain
23/09/14 – Brin de Zinc, Cambery, France
24/09/14 – Schüxenhaus, Ins, Switzerland
25/09/14 – Coq d’Or, Olten, Switzerland
26/09/14 – Backstage (w. Orcus Chylde), München, Germany
27/09/14 – Sound n Arts (w. Orcus Chylde), Bamberg, Germany
10/10/14 – TCM Fest Gleis 22, Münster, Germany
29/11/14 – Deep Sound City Festival, Halle, Germany

heatberlin.bandcamp.com
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Heat, “Siamese Smile”

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