Let’s face it: if you’re doing a festival featuring any kind of heavy music, and you make it so far as to do a fourth edition, you’re pretty much obligated to base the poster design around Vol. 4. You gotta do it. I’d imagine that for festivals it’s both a celebration and a rite of passage to get to that point. Crypt of the Riff Vol. 4 in Belfast is set for this December with Tuskar headlining and Elder Druid, Hornets, God Alone, Duellists, Towers and Gravity Well confirmed. The traditional holding position is Voodoo in Belfast, and as I was in the city recently, I feel like I can say with some assurance that it’s a cool town to host a fest, and of course there’s plenty of Irish heavy to feature, as Plain Living Promotions and Elder Druid — who put the thing together — know fully well. The Obelisk presented the last edition, and if you happen to be in the neighborhood, I’d without hesitation recommend checking it out.

Here’s the info and copious links from the event page on Thee Facebooks:

CRYPT OF THE RIFF VOL. 4

Belfast’s heaviest riff fest returns for Vol. 4 in December.

HEADLINER:

Tuskar (ENG)
A two piece doom/sludge outfit hailing from Milton Keynes, residing in the Surrey Hills. Combining elements of: Doom, Sludge, and Black Metal.

Comprised of vocalist and drummer Tyler Hodges and guitarist Tom Dimmock, Tuskar’s chemistry is unmistakable both live and in the studio. They have grown up playing together in bands and have struck out on their own with material that owes as much to Conan and Sleep as it does bands like Behemoth and Darkthrone.

https://www.facebook.com/TUSKARBAND/
https://tuskar.bandcamp.com/

Elder Druid
https://www.facebook.com/elderdruidband/
https://elderdruid.bandcamp.com

Hornets
https://www.facebook.com/Hornetsband/
https://hornets.bandcamp.com/

God Alone. (IRL)
https://www.facebook.com/godalonecork/
https://godalone.bandcamp.com/

Duellists
https://www.facebook.com/Duellistsband/
https://duellists.bandcamp.com/

Towers
https://www.facebook.com/TowersBelfast/
https://towersbelfast.bandcamp.com/

Gravity Well
https://www.facebook.com/GravityWellBelfast/

Date: Friday 13th December
Venue: Voodoo, Belfast
Time: 7PM
Tickets: £10 + booking fee

Tickets are available via Eventbrite at this link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/crypt-of-the-riff-vol-4-tickets-63108010759

They will also be available on the door.

https://www.facebook.com/events/2504270066258014/
https://www.facebook.com/plainlivingpromotions/
https://cryptoftheriff.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/VoodooBelfast/

Tuskar, The Tide, Beneath, The Wall (2018)

There is a burning intensity at the heart of Towers‘ II that seems to run a current through all four of the album’s tracks. The Portland, Oregon, duo issue II through countrymen imprint Eolian Empire today in a limited-to-300 vinyl pressing (with download, naturally), and from their lineup, to the album’s title, to its two sides, each with a longer piece tied to a shorter one, “two” certainly seems to be the theme with which Towers — bassist/vocalist Rick Duncan and drummer Darryl Swan — are working. I wish I could say it applied to the sound of II itself, but the truth is somewhat less convenient and more satisfying, since the aesthetic breadth the band covers isn’t so easily cut into one piece or another.

Foreboding atmospheres loom throughout “Hell” (11:52), “The Door at the End of the Hall” (6:22), “The Chosen” (5:10) and “In the Room of Misfortune” (13:57), and the more extended pieces only seem to enhance that dread with a violent bass and drum noise that emerges like a sudden temper set off. Duncan‘s voice can either drone over his own bass or shout deep-mixed echoes that would be punkish were it not for the theatricality surrounding. Swan meets the churning progression of “In the Room of Misfortune” with a devil’s brew of tom runs and cymbal crashes, the whole thing feeling un-linear, unhinged, swirling and malevolent as they bring II to its terror-grooving head. It’s been a journey already at that point, the immersive gates of “Hell” opening to consume with hypnotic low end early on only to swallow the listener whole into a void of ambient waveform droning before giving way to dirge-doom and the build of “The Door at the End of the Hall,” around which ghostly forms take shape vocally even as the song seems to cast off structure in favor of raw, aggressive pulse, pushing and tugging at the consciousness.

Towers is not easy listening, and with the apparent narrative arc of these tracks and the flow between each side, that’s even truer of II than it was of their 2012 self-titled (discussed here) or preceding 2011 demos (review here), because what arises through the chants and slow march of “The Chosen” is a realized vision. Put it to whatever apocalyptic scenario you want and it’ll likely fit, whether it’s the dreaded grey of aftermath or the wretchedness of humanity bringing about its own destruction. II‘s oppressiveness takes different forms, but what’s tying the album together most of all is a portrayal of otherworldly toxicity made real and concrete through righteously vile and unwelcoming noise.

Stream II now on the player that follows and check out more on the release below, courtesy of the PR wire. Enjoy:

[mp3player width=480 height=300 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=towers-ii.xml]

The second LP from Portland’s apocalyptic bass-and-drums duo TOWERS, aptly titled II, will be released next month as part of Eolian Empire’s continuing mission to foist the great unwashed Portland heavy underground on a now suspecting public.

TOWERS formed in 2010 after the demise of psych-garage act The Troglodytes, and by melding elements of doom, no wave, new wave, industrial, noise rock, and soundscapes into rough-hewn monolithic monstrosities simultaneously disturbing and tantalizing, thetwosome has dragged and scraped chunks and shards from all the darkest sonic territories to assemble a heavy monster in its own image. Both primitive and futurist, TOWERS transcends musical movements, molding Promethean monoliths out of doom, sludge, no wave, new wave, industrial, and psychedelia.

Recorded in full analog, at the same studio as the Shins and Decemberists, no less, TOWERS’ second LP IIis a Cremaster cycle of droney dirges, rapid-fire blasts, Lynchian soundscapes, and deviant hooks set off by barked orders, snarled decrees and haunting laments. The album starts off with a furnace growl, an ancient machine coming to life as each crooked limb cracks and stirs before being suddenly thrown into gear with a grinding off-kilter bass loop. Over thirty-six minutes II purposefully shifts through a procession of primal mutant grooves, oscillating hooks, sludgy crawls, cavernous experimental explorations, and haunting, swinging marches marked by the barked Teutonic invocations—Hell is coming! —and ghostly incantations of the wounded and beaten. IIis a huge, enveloping beast of a record that captures the unique crushing intensity of their live sets.

Outsider Portland label, Eolian Empire, is loading this devastating ammo into the cannons for their planned February 11th offensive for II, ready to bust out the goods on quality 180-gram wax and digital.

Towers on Thee Facebooks

Eolian Empire

Portland is one of the most fertile hotspots in America for heavy bands these days. Unfortunately also on the other side of the country from where I live, so I’m not exactly as in the loop as I might otherwise like to be with what’s going on over there. The entire Pacific Northwest, actually. It’s a blur to me of coffeeshops and laid back tube-amp worshipers. Throw in a craft beer or two and it’s heavy rock heaven.

Anyway, I mention it as my (poor) excuse for having missed the release last week of the self-titled full-length debut of Towers. The PDX-native trio dropped Towers on Sept. 27 via their Bandcamp, and since I’d previously On the Radar-ized the band, it seemed only fair to keep up with what they have going on. For anyone in the Portland area, they’ll be playing a show next Friday, Oct. 12, at Plan B with Stoneburner (also killer), Brooklyn’s own Hull, who are out demolishing the countryside, and Satya Sena, who apparently have some connection to Secret Chiefs 3. More info is on Thee Facebooks if you want to check it out.

It works out to finish this week with a Portland band as well, since next week I’ll be reviewing the new record from Doomsower, who are also natives to the City of Roses. That’s a good one and something to stay tuned for, and I’ll also have writeups on Graveyard and interviews with Curse the Son and BerT, as well as a curated playlist from Brooklyn avant doomers Bezoar, who impressed a couple months back when I saw them with Witch Mountain and Pilgrim at the ol’ Saint Vitus bar. And speaking of New York, Ben Smith from The Brought Low is doing an acoustic gig in Manhattan on Sunday night, and I think I might hit that up if the timing works out. As ever, I have a ton of work to do this weekend, including gathering the tracks for that Bezoar playlist, so we’ll see.

Work’s likely also to keep me from seeing Clamfight in Philly tomorrow with garage thrash duo Rukut and Wizard Eye at The Station. That would be badass to see, but I doubt I’ll be able to swing it, as I have some stuff coming up this week I’ll need to prepare for, mentally and practically. If you can make it, I obviously highly recommend doing so. The flyer is here.

And on that note, I’m gonna bail and go crash out. I hope you’re enjoying the Towers record above (some pretty fucked up stuff on it like the noise in “Western World Death Blow,” but I dig), and wherever you are and whatever your plans may or may not be for the next couple days, I hope you have a great and safe weekend, that you check in on the forum and come back here Monday as well for more fuzz-laden verbiage and genre-minded whathaveyou.

Who could argue with the Captain Couch Records crew when they make the assertion that Portland, Oregon, is one of the hottest spots in the country and possibly the world right now when it comes to heavy music? I think it’s maybe been two whole weeks since I posted about the many doings in Oregon, and it feels like an eternity. Lo and behold, the Ceremony of Sludge is here to remedy the situation.

Good fun, y’all:

Portland is quickly becoming one of the biggest metal hubs in North America, if not the world, and our first annual Ceremony of Sludge is aimed at capturing this heavy moment in time. March 2-3 we are bringing you two nights of some of Portland’s up-and-coming heavy acts at The Alleyway!

The first night features Heavy Voodoo, Axxicorn, Avi Dei and Zmoke.

The second night features Lamprey, Towers, Doomsower, and Witch Throne.

Everyone who attends will receive a voucher for a free download of Ceremony of Sludge Vol. 1 a live compilation from both nights of music. If you cannot make it to the show, Ceremony of Sludge Vol. 1 will be available for purchase on Captain Couch Records’ website.

It’s $4 per night, and music starts at 8PM sharp.

Thanks,
Blaine, Justin and Andy
Captain Couch Records

These dudes were recommended to me via the contact form. It’s been a little bit (surprising how long, actually; over a month) since I wrote about a band from Portland, but Towers, who formed in Spring 2010 draw the attention with pulsing ’90s-style noisy churn and throaty shouts on the track “The Fields,” and let the fuzz do both the walking and the talking on the more stonerly “Lost Missile,” so I’m not about to argue with the suggestion. Pretty heavy stuff.

There’s something angry in the vocals, which even on “Lose Missile,” adds an element of intensity. They’re obviously still a pretty new band, but guitarist Max Rees, bassist/vocalist Rick Duncan and drummer Darryl Swan do solid work blending their riff-based and noise elements. Early Helmet is a factor, and by extension Totimoshi — I’d draw a direct comparison between Duncan‘s singing on “Western World Death Blow” and the latter — and things get a little weird on the aptly-titled “Machine,” where they take the noise rock and toss it over a synth dance beat. Strange times we live in.

Anyway, the tunes are cool, and Towers are doing local shows for anyone in Oregon or the Portland area who might want to catch them. There’s more info on their Thee Facebooks page, and they’ve also got the songs on ReverbNation, which is where I heard them. Here they are for your listening convenience: