Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 5th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
If you caught wind of Arizona’s Godhunter via either of their 2014 releases — the full-length City of Dust (review here) or the GH/OST:S split with the newly-signed to Metal Blade outfit Secrets of the Sky (review here) — then cheers, but neither of those is going to do much to give you a context for comprehending the new Battleground Records/The Compound 7″ collaboration with Miami’s Amigo the Devil, The Outer Dark, except perhaps to demonstrate that just about anything is fair game when it comes to the Tucson six-piece, be it hardcore-infused sludge chaos or post-metallic droning malevolence.
The Outer Dark, it’s worth noting, toys with neither, and instead, Godhunter & Amigo the Devil offer two slices of downer neofolk, doomed in spirit, of weighted emotionality, but subdued and brooding rather than aggressive. A sense of atmosphere proves consistent with some of what showed up on the prior split, but essentially, Godhunter are working in a new form, as Danny Kiranos, aka Amigo the Devil, steps in on vocals to add Americana-style dramatics to “Weeping Willow” and the B-side cover of Nirvana‘s “Something in the Way,” which, being of a certain age, I recall hearing after the finish of 1991’s Nevermind, its moody minimalism just waiting to have all kinds of adolescent importance cast onto it as only the best pop can withstand.
Godhunter & Amigo the Devil have given that cut its due, and next to “Weeping Willow,” the context is completely different. The original composition shifts into classic murder balladry, with Kiranos topping Godhunter‘s arrangement in harmonized layers that add to the full-sounding instrumental backing’s pervasive sadness, a violent turn coming in the second half that, even if you’ve heard Godhunter at their most raging, I doubt you’ll find lacking in heaviness.
Ahead of the Feb. 13 release of The Outer Dark, I have the pleasure of hosting today a premiere for the video of “Weeping Willow.” Put together by the esteemed Frank Huang, its dark Western themes sit well alongside Godhunter & Amigo the Devil‘s own, one atmosphere enhancing the other in a morose symbiosis. More release info follows the video below. Enjoy:
Godhunter & Amigo the Devil, “Weeping Willow” official video
Behind the early 2014 release of their debut album, City Of Dust, and the more recent GH/0ST:S split LP with Oakland’s Secrets Of The Sky, Tucson-based GODHUNTER will now release a collaborative 7” single with AMIGO THE DEVIL, entitled The Outer Dark.
With GODHUNTER’s generally crushing sludge/crust-influenced hardcore grooves here supplying a much more ethereal, organic country/folk influence, the two-song single The Outer Dark 7” sees the quintet joined by one Danny Kiranos, also known as AMIGO THE DEVIL, who supplies his charismatic soulful Americana-based murderfolk vocals. “Weeping Willow” is the A-side track from the collaborative 7″, while the B-side features a cover of Nirvana’s “Something In The Way.” The record was recorded in multiple sessions during the Summer of 2014 at Arcane Digital Studios in Chandler, Arizona, and was produced, mixed and mastered by Ryan Butler.
The Outer Dark will see release through a union of GODHUNTER-co-owned Battleground Records and Earsplit’s label, The Compound in February 2015.
The “Weeping Willow” video was created by Frank Huang @Pit Full Of Shit.
Lyrics, vocals and Theremin solo by AMIGO THE DEVIL. All music and instrumentation by GODHUNTER.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 16th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got some cool stuff going on this weekend, but neither would I mind if someone showed up with a last-minute plane ticket to Arizona that got me out in time for the start of Southwest Terror Fest III. The four-day beatdown starts tonight with the considerable likes of 16 and Oryx before Neurosis, Goatsnake, Pelican and SunnO))) consume the rest of the weekend, bringing the festival to its biggest incarnation yet. Again, I’ll be glad to be where I’m at, but I wouldn’t argue.
If you’re headed that way, enjoy. The PR wire has a last-minute plug:
SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST III: THE WESTERN FRONT Takes Over Tucson This Week
Today, the massive SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST III: THE WESTERN FRONT begins in Tucson, Arizona, taking over the town for four solid days of brutal musical acts from across the Western half of the country. With the main event shows this Friday, Saturday and Sunday night taking place at the historic Rialto Theatre, with tonight’s kickoff show and afterparty shows at the nearby The District Tavern, the third year of SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST is by far the most massive installment yet.
Today, Thursday, October 16th, the event kicks off at the District Tavern with Twingiant, Conqueror Worm, Oryx and -16-. Friday’s main event sees Godhunter, Eagle Twin, Pelican and Goatsnake together, and the afterparty with Spiritual Shepherd, Take Over And Destroy, Blackqueen and The Atlas Moth. On Saturday, The Rialto Theatre hosts Sorxe, Author & Punisher, The Body and Neurosis, and the District afterparty bringing Windmill of Corpses, Secrets of the Sky, North and Primitive Man. And the final night, sees Sex Prisoner, Obliterations, Baptists and Sunn O))) closing down the festival from the Rialto’s stage.
Official SWTFIII shirts and merch, all event and area info and more is availableHERE.
Ticket packages for SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST are availableRIGHT HERE.
SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST was founded in 2012 by members of Tucson-based underground acts Godhunter, Inoculara, Diseased Reason and Great American Tragedy in conjunction with local venues and businesses, in order to bring a full-bore event to underground music fans the Southwestern portion of the country. 2013’s event doubled in size from the maiden voyage, and now the third installment of the crushing event will bring an exceptional amount of additional new fans to the festival than ever before.
Posted in Duuude, Tapes! on July 21st, 2014 by JJ Koczan
As the title hints, IV: Ronkonkoma is the fourth short release from Tucson, Arizona, duo Methra. After bustling their lineup over the course of the last few years and putting out material on 7″ and 10″, a split with Godhunter, and digital, they’ve arrived at the duo of guitarist/vocalist Nick Genitals and drummer Andy Kratzenburg and the latest five-track outing, which clocks in at just over 21 minutes, finds them exploring the line between deathly sludge and more traditionally riffed doom, Nick switching his vocals between low-register guttural growling, raw-throated screams and Sabbathian cleaner singing following opener “Breatharian (Supreme Master Ascending),” which unfolds the start of side one with a thickened lumber stood out all the more by the use of a sample talking about breatharianism, which has its roots in Hindu philosophy but is essentially the practice of staring at the sun for nourishment.
The subsequent “Blessings” showcases more of the variety in Nick‘s vocals, with a chorus that’s made almost sneaky in how catchy it is by the viscous tones surrounding. Particularly for a duo, the sound throughout IV: Ronkonkomais full and demented more in the manner of Midwestern sludge — think Fistula and the many deeply troubled branches on their family tree, though I acknowledge the “meth” part of the duo’s moniker might be a factor there — than Methra‘s more metallized Tucson countrymen and drummer-sharers Godhunter, but particularly on tape a sense of rawness is maintained in “Honest Men” and perhaps most of all on side one finisher “Slumscraper,” which builds to a punkish noisy fuckall sudden stop leading to another sample, this one talking about slicing heads off with a cutlass. It’s a long way from charmingly dopey New Age spiritualism, but by then, Methra have indeed made it a journey.
Most curious about the tape is that “SBS” occupies side two all by itself. Listening first to the digital version, I wondered if maybe the one on the tape was extended somehow, if Nick and Kratzenburg just rode that chugging riff for 20 minutes to even it up, or if there was a long sample to make up for that time, or something to draw side two out to match side one, but nope, the cassette of IV: Ronkonkomais the same as the mp3, and though “SBS” fakes its ending on both before crashing back in for a few more measures, the tape has a long silence following. If it was Methra‘s intent to single the song out — it’s not like you actually have to sit there and listen to all that nothing, what with this modern age of fast-forwarding and whatnot — they did it, and “SBS,” with its anti-having-a-job lyrics and air-pushing groove, earns its place well with a modus consistent with “Blessings” and “Honest Men,” only pushed further with a longer runtime and a sense of build added to by Kratzenburg‘s frantic snare work and Nick‘s vocal tradeoffs.
If the way they want to go is to keep belting out shorter offerings, then IV: Ronkonkomaseems to set them up well. Methra weren’t far off from putting the pieces together on 2012’s self-titled digital release, but the latest installment builds on that in a way that makes them sound even more solidified, and if Nick and Kratzenburg choose to continue as a duo, they’ve given themselves ground on which to progress while also establishing a style that smoothly bridges subgenre gaps and comes across as inherently their own. The edges are rough, but that’s the idea. Don’t be fooled. Methra know what they’re doing. And if they want to take on the task of a debut full-length, they’re ready for that too.
Posted in Duuude, Tapes! on March 20th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
Some part of me feels like I just need to finally have it out with these songs. Late last fall, when Tucson, Arizona’s Young Hunter issuedthe three tracks “Welcome to Nothing,” “Trail of Tears” and “Dreamer” online as the Embers at the Foot of Dark MountainEP, there was no doubt in my mind that it was one of 2013’s best short releases. The 18-minute collection has become a staple in the months since its release, perfect for killing late night silences, and in Ohioan‘s Tetralogía Lavaplatos, it has a match. The two recordings share personnel, a spirit born of the land from whence they come and some lyrical themes — albeit manifested differently in texture — so it’s only fitting they’d wind up together, Ohioan‘s four songs, “Madrugada Sonora,” “Fat Children (with Privilege),” “Herida de Llorona” and “Dogshit in Plastic Bags” showcasing American drone-folk of varied intent and poetic critique to complement Young Hunter‘s emotionally-resonant spiritual weight.
The tape arrives in a hand-made package, the cover on front, a quote from Cormac McCarthy’s The Road on back that reads, “People were always getting ready for tomorrow. I didn’t believe in that. Tomorrow wasn’t getting ready for them. It didn’t even know they were there.” A piece of black tape seals the cardboard, which unfolds to various stamped symbols and the tape itself, black with gold paint, accompanied by a download card and folded sheet with lyrics for Young Hunter‘s songs and the two of Ohioan‘s that have them. The sides on the outside have “YH & OH” stamped on them, and it’s a fitting answer to Young Hunter‘s 2012 CD outing, Stone Tools, which showed similar depth in presentation. For a format as maligned as tapes often are, this split (limited to 200 copies) is one more argument for the validity of them as an outlet for creativity. Still, once one puts the thing on and presses play, there’s very little else that matters.
Droning at the start, “Welcome to Nothing” bursts Embers at the Foot of Dark Mountain to life with terrifying lucidity. Young Hunter frontman Benjamin Blake intones at the start, “Abandon those around you/Do not be afraid…” beginning a verse that plays out a subtle build over the song’s first minute-plus before the drums and full-breadth guitars kick in. Even on tape, the sound is huge, the pulse vital, the mood darkened by the continued drone that becomes the out-front riff of the verse. A chaos swirl is given push by pounding drums — both Adan Martinez-Kee and Matthew Baquet are credited on the three tracks, I don’t know who plays where — and “Welcome to Nothing” is at a running pace the tension and drama of which is contrasted by the subdued delivery of the vocals. Crashing drums and a lead line from the guitar provide a sort of instrumental chorus while the hook resides in the refrain of the verse, the line “Welcome back to the void,” serving as an anchor up to the cacophony that rounds the track out and cuts echoing into the beginning of “Trail of Tears,” a single, spacious guitar introducing the line that will be the song’s central figure as a series of drum hits slam home punctuation.
I do not mind saying that there are several “holy shit” chill-up-the-spine moments on the Young Hunter side of the tape, and the unfolding of “Trail of Tears” is one of them. The band reels back and then lets loose a staggering nighttime landscape, guitars doing coyote howls to set up the first verse, Julia DeConcini joining Blake atop the complex wash from guitarist Mike Barnett, guitarist/keyboardist Samuel Christopher (who, like DeConcini, also appears with Ohioan) and bassist Michael Huerta, all of them and the drums coming together to create this rumbling, presence that both consumes and grooves, “hey-heys” and “ooh-oohs” showing up for an understated chorus before the keys and guitars duke it out in multilayered solos. The stomp from the beginning of the track reemerges in the second half as the foundation for a build the culmination of which is the tape’s most singularly devastating moment of tonal largesse and impact — Neurosis worthy — the drums pulling back to half-time at just the right moment and immediately afterwards starting in on the beat that is the foundation for “Dreamer,” the shortest of Young Hunter‘s three inclusions on the split.
By this time, Young Hunter have crafted a dense atmosphere, dark but not cultish or silly and earning its heaviness through control and presence. “Dreamer” essentially breaks into three parts. Guitars match the drum beat step for step and develop from there in a tense push that opens wide for an airy verse before trading back. The major change comes with the line “See the bones left where the spirit wakes up,” which marks the beginning of a build that will lead to the split’s most driving payoff, Blake coming to the fore over the maddening drive to ask, “When you gonna wake up?/Are you gonna wake up when you die?” ending the apex in screams not black metal-influenced like some of those on StoneTools, but rawer, more primal. And just to show that even as they’ve gone so far out, Young Hunter aren’t so out of control as to snap back with a hit of the snare, return to the original guitar rhythm/drum beat and cap “Dreamer” with a bookend to underscore the accomplishment of its songwriting. The several minutes of silence that follow offer well-appreciated opportunity for recovery.
Ohioan‘s take comes from another angle. Both “Madrugada Sonora” and “Herida de Llorona” are instrumental, the first launching the dark-folk/Americana outfit’s side with a bed of drone. More even than Young Hunter, whose songs prove distinct almost in spite of themselves, Ohioan‘s material gives the impression of being meant to be experienced as a whole. Extended waves of guitar notes make for a minimalist beginning, layers weaving in throughout “Madrugada Sonora” in a subtle and cautious build that comprises the first five minutes of Tetralogía Lavaplatos — something I’ll readily admit I only know because of the digital version of the EP. On the tape, it blends together seamlessly, and even when more distinct feedback arrives, it’s hard to know exactly where “Fat Children (with Privilege)” starts, though there’s little obscurity once the vocals begin. O Ryne Warner (who also appears with Young Hunter and has contributed bass to Ghost to Falco, from Portland, Oregon) is credited with co-engineering and mixing, as well as “other shit” in the studio, and listed first among a host of others as “faculty” — all info online; no personnel info with the tape liner — so I’m relatively comfortable presuming its his voice recounting the tale in the lyrics of “Fat Children (with Privilege),” but don’t quote me.
He’s joined throughout Ohioan‘s four songs by the aforementioned Christopher and DeConcini, as well as Connor Gallaher, Andrew Collberg, Jeff Lownsbury, Jeff Grubic, Sasha, Geoff Saba, Ryen Egglestein, Jim Colby, Isadora Moreno-Frisby, Alexandra Cer and Benjamin Ford-Sala (who also did the art for foldout), though who’s doing what is a mystery and to delve into speculation seems like overkill. The lyrics of “Fat Children (with Privilege)” are less about the titular youths themselves than the cultural excesses of wealth and hubris they’re meant to represent. It’s Howl meets service-industry blues:
“I cleansed every dish That the rich tooth missed I fed their fat children With privilege On skin On organs And flesh With the skin Of my friends,”
And isn’t long in going on to talk about a “life, ever spent, paying rent” — something Young Hunter touched on as well in “Dreamer” with “Another life spent chasing paychecks” — the disillusion with adult consumerist life indicative both of creative restlessness and the core of resentment that bleeds through the remainder of the track. Where Young Hunter crashed and slammed, Ohioan seethe, though in Angels of Light-esque form, there’s a swell of volume and lurching heft as well near the end of the track, topped by strings (real or inorganic) and multiple vocals as it is. The song breaks back down to its root frustration and silence precedes the instrumental “Herida de Llorona,” a twanging, guitar of country’ed sweetness offering some contrast to the gnashing teeth in the prior cut’s finish.
That atmosphere of sentiment for the impossible — something other countries rightly shake their heads at but is nonetheless a core element of American culture — continues into “Dogshit in Plastic Bags,” though neither the title of the song nor its lyrics would draw one to that notion. If it was Ohioan‘s intent to toy with contrast, they did a more than able job of it, the words barely spoken in sweet, patient melody as the lines, “Our legacy will be dicks drawn on bathroom walls, empty windows and dogshit in plastic bags outside the mall” provide the capstone for what would otherwise superficially appear as a dreamy, wistful country exploration, complete with pedal steel and slow, soft drumming. They do not linger after those lines are delivered with cadence that seems to playfully distract from the message itself, and the split concludes in a fashion rather unassuming considering the scope of what’s played out over the course of the prior 40-or-so minutes.
Last I heard, Blake had moved to Portland, Oregon, so if there’s a future for Young Hunter or what that might look like, I don’t know. Embers at the Foot of Dark Mountain remains a substantial contribution either way. Ohioan, nebulous as they are, have several other releases to dig into available via their Bandcamp — 2011’s Balls Deep in Babylon catches the eye — in some alliance with Infinite Front, which seems to be an artist collective as much as a record label. Fair enough. What remains true for both acts is the essential nature of the work they’ve given here. I’m not sure if a tape does it justice. I’m not sure what format would — some form of audio tattoo? But a tape makes sense coming from two groups who’ve obviously stood under a huge desert sky and realized how little it matters one way or another, so a tape it is. Recommended.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 17th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
After releasing the CD last month through The Compound and their own Battleground Records, Tucson, Arizona, sludge freethinkers are set to have their debut full-length, City of Dust(streamed here), show up on vinyl May 1. The destructive six-piece will tour a week with Secrets of the Sky starting June 6 at this year’s Doom in June fest in Las Vegas, and the LP will be limited to 300 copies with a handy bunch of extras which the PR wire is happy to detail below.
This is also the first I’m seeing of the Doom in June lineup, which looks right on with Ides of Gemini, Novembers Doom, Demon Lung, AcidWitch, Godhunter, Secrets of the Sky and Christian Mistress. That’s a heavy goddamn show.
Specificity is key:
GODHUNTER: Tour With Secrets Of The Sky Confirmed
Preorders For Deluxe LP Version Of City Of Dust Available
Following the triumphant CD/digital release of GODHUNTER’s dynamic debut full-length, City Of Dust, today the deluxe vinyl edition of the album have been posted, in addition to the band’s next bout of widespread touring in support of the album.
Having been released through a union of Earsplit’s label, The Compound, and GODHUNTER’s Battleground Records, the two DIY factions will release City Of Dust in a deluxe vinyl run, which is currently being manufactured. The record will be available in a run of 300 copies on clear 180-gram vinyl with red splatters analogous with the desert rose cover artwork, all poly-bagged with a black sleeve and full-color 12×24 lyric/liner sheet and full-color jacket. Preorders for the impending vinyl adaptation of the album have been posted; all pre-street date orders placed via Earsplit Distro will see the LP shipped with a free copy of City Of Dust on CD and will ship by May 1st. Preorder placement for the vinyl as well as and an arsenal of additional GODHUNTER merch can all be located HERE.
Late this Spring, GODHUNTER will take off on a wild west US trek with Oakland’s progressive doom metal sextet, Secrets Of The Sky. On June 6th and 7th the bands will rendezvous at the annual Doom In June Fest in Las Vegas, both set to perform amidst the lineup including Novembers Doom, Christian Mistress, Acid Witch, Ides of Gemini, Demon Lung and more. From there they’ll co-headline a course through Oakland, San Luis Obispo, Glendale, Palm Desert, Tucson and Phoenix.
GODHUNTER & SECRETS OF THE SKY Spring Tour: 6/06/2014 Cheyenne Saloon – Las Vegas, NV @ Doom In June 6/07/2014 Cheyenne Saloon – Las Vegas, NV @ Doom In June 6/08/2014 Stork Club – Oakland, CA 6/09/2014 Frankie Teardrops – San Luis Obispo, CA 6/10/2014 Billy O’s – Ventura, CA 6/11/2014 The Complex – Glendale, CA 6/12/2014 The Palms – Palm Desert, CA 6/13/2014 The District Tavern – Tucson, AZ
Bearing the underlying subtitle, A Conversation Between Hope and Despair, the fifty-minute dust storm of groove-laden, resin-coated sludge metal intensity City Of Dust delivers the most concise, diverse, and infectious hymns from the politically-motivated Tucson, Arizona-based outfit to date. Through a brutally honest outcry the album boasts thought-provoking, thematic tirades against the governmental members and parties the residents who embody GODHUNTER feel are directly responsible for a wide array of vital societal issues affecting their home region, including equal rights, a widespread water shortage, immigration and more.
Posted in Reviews on April 25th, 2012 by JJ Koczan
Though one usually tends to think of sludge as emanating or at least imitating the climate of the Southeastern part of the US – the unbearable summer heat and lung-collapsing humidity are an arguable impetus for the sound in themselves – its influence is far more widespread than its geography, and one of the more interesting upshots of that is hearing what players from different regions bring to the already established style. The single-guitar five-piece Godhunter, whose name is about as metal as it gets, make their home in Tucson, Arizona, and to follow suit, the sound of their self-released Wolves EP is bone dry. Sure, David Rodgers’ guitars are outfitted with stonerly distortion, but there’s something in the tone that comes off like it gets less than 10 inches of annual rainfall. As the five tracks progress, and particularly as a Down influence makes itself known on riffy closer “(Dead Hooker by the Side of) The Road,” that dryness becomes more consuming, and though Godhunter have done well to change the pace throughout – showing sludge’s punk/crossover roots on “Red State/Black Crusade” before dooming it up on “Powerbelly” – Wolves becomes more typified by its excursions into hardcore-style gang vocals, with Rodgers and guest vocalist Sean Raines joining in standalone-singer Charlie Touseull’s shouts on the 7:40 “Powerbelly” for a rousing, memorable chorus about black magic, black whiskey, evil women and bags of weed. The same tactic shows up on “The Road,” as well, and as that and “Powerbelly” are both near eight-minutes long, they seem written at a different time than the first three tracks, or at least working on a different line of inspiration, whether it’s the output of multiple songwriters or what. Neither song is out of place on Wolves, and the material is all the more cohesive because of the consistency of its production – which thins Ryan “Dick” Williamson’s bass some and less than ideally captures drummer Ryan Clark’s toms on opener “(Stop Being) Sheep,” but is steady in setting an overall context nonetheless – so maybe it’s just a case of burgeoning sonic diversity beginning to show itself.
Either way, the Wolves EP makes for a solid 32 minutes of sludge-based aggression, and whatever forms it’s working with, they generally arrive still well able to qualify as such. The vocals are mixed high from the start, though one gets the sense that Touseull wouldn’t have had any trouble cutting through the music surrounding anyway, but it’s a couple minutes into “(Stop Being) Sheep” before he comes on, and in that time, Godhunter set a steady build and enforce and underlying groove that shows some schooling in doom. The guitar runs a creepy line complemented by Williamson’s bass, and it’s not until more than halfway through that the verse begins with angry, metallic-sounding throaty shouts – not quite growls or screams, but not clean either for still being mostly decipherable. Musically, the momentum seems to really play itself out over the course of the last minute, but the anticipation for a payoff to that 5:49 build remains as Godhunter moves into “Wolves of the North.” Fortunately, the track wastes no time in providing a higher stake of energy, Touseull and Rodgers foreshadowing the gang chants to come with some back and forth in the verse and chorus. Both Williamson and Clark are given better treatment here, with the former filling out beneath a guitar lead with style and apparent ease as the drums make ready to renew the crashes and kick-thuds of the chorus. Matthew Davis is credited with keyboards in the liner, but if there are any on “Wolves of the North,” I must be missing them, and in the time since the EP’s late-2011 release, Davis seems to have been replaced by a guitarist named Jake, which is probably fair since there are multiple layers of guitar throughout Wolves and more distortion rarely hurts.
“Weeping Willow” and the B-side cover of Nirvana‘s “Something in the Way,” which, being of a certain age, I recall hearing after the finish of 1991’s Nevermind, its moody minimalism just waiting to have all kinds of adolescent importance cast onto it as only the best pop can withstand.
