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audiObelisk: Godhunter Stream City of Dust in Full

Posted in audiObelisk on February 18th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

It should say something about the conceptual nature of Godhunter‘s approach that their lyric sheet comes with footnotes. Today, the Tuscon-based six-piece release their debut long-player, City of Dust, on CD via Battleground Records/The Compound. It’s an album that wears its aggression and political mentality likewise on its sleeve, and from the opening sample that, backed by feedback and effects, leads the way into the undulating, punishingly slow riff of “Despite All,” Godhunter show that they’re more than willing to manually drive these ideas into your brain if that’s what it’s going to take to get them there. Tackling issues within their native Arizona (“Rats in the Walls,” “Snake Oil Dealer”) and the Southwest in general (the closing “Plague Widow”), the eight component tracks of the 49-minute album come across with staggering intensity despite what’s usually a fairly grueling pace. It is as much a multi-chapter sludgecore manifesto as it is a collection of memorably-riffed songs.

Godhunter‘s hardcore roots shine through in their arrangements, and even with cellist/keyboardist/effects specialist Matthew Davis at work throughout, the riffs of “Despite All,” “Palace of Thorn” and the guitar-siren-infused “City of Dust” lumber in classic-if-thickened fashion. Elsewhere, guitarists David Rodgers (also vocals) and Jake Brazelton bring an almost Southern metal sensibility to the largesse of “Brushfires,” while bassist Ryan “Dick” Williamson and drummer Andy Kratzenberg lend further heft and punctuation to the steady roll, but the raw-throat of vocalist Charlie Touseull keeps City of Dust aligned to a tradition of socially conscious underground rage, lines like “No rescue for those already dead/Reason cast aside for myth instead,” from “Brushfires” showcasing the rhythmic push that accompanies such vitriol. If there’s an aberration from Godhunter‘s onslaught, it comes in “Shooting down the Sun” at the start of the second half of the tracklist, on which guest vocalist Carlos Arzate sings clean over mournful acoustic guitars and Davis‘ cello. It’s the shortest track on City of Dust at 4:44, but the gravitas it lends the surrounding material is put to solid and pummeling use.

The corresponding affirmation of Godhunter‘s brutality, then, would have to be the closer. “Plague Widow,” with gang-style backing vocals from Matt Martinez, Nate Garrett and Chthon Leemont, is a 10-minute sensory assault that compounds references to the Bible and The Tempest with keyboard atmospherics and an insistent repetitions over a marching riff that aren’t so much hypnotic as like being punched with music, cello and amp noise finally serving as City of Dust‘s leadout over the fading guitar, bass and drums. The line that Touseull and company leave on is “This is hell and all the devils are here,” and like the rest of City of Dust, it seems unlikely that’s happenstance. So thought-through is the album that it’s easy to forget it’s Godhunter‘s first — their prior release was late 2011’s Wolves EP (review here) — but if they’re to move forward from this as their starting point, they’ve presented a multifaceted and passionate foundation from which to progress. On any angle from which you might want to approach it, City of Dust is more than just a sludge record.

They’ve got it at their Bandcamp, but I’ve been given permission to stream the album here and I’m not about to say no. After the player, you’ll find the lyric sheet with track-by-track info on all the songs. Please enjoy.

Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!

Godhunter‘s City of Dust is available now digitally through their Bandcamp page and on CD via Earsplit Distro‘s website. Here are the lyric sheets:

Godhunter on Thee Facebooks

Godhunter on Bandcamp

Godhunter at Earsplit Distro

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Southwest Terror Fest Co-Organizer Comments on 2013 Lineup

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 5th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

This year’s Southwest Terror Fest is set to take place Oct. 10-13 at The Rock in Tucson, Arizona. The lineup — 65 band’s strong — is a huge jump from last year’s already-impressive inaugural edition, and with the likes of Kylesa, Red Fang, Sacred Reich and Early Graves booked to headline, they’re quickly moving into another echelon of event. Four full days and packed, thematic bills, the Year of the Snake is going to be a landmark one for the still nascent but clearly ascendent fest.

Godhunter guitarist/vocalist David Rodgers — whose band also has a debut full-length called City of Dust in the works for an early 2014 release — is among the organizers putting Southwest Terror Fest together and he was kind enough to give his take on the 2013 lineup. Find that and the full press release below:

David Rodgers, Southwest Terror Fest Co-Organizer:

After the death of the Los Angeles Murder Fest a few years ago, we noticed there was a pretty big void for festivals in the Southwest, so myself, Dave Carroll from Diseased Reason, Larry Horvath from Great American Tragedy and Ryan Avery from Pigeonwing decided it was time for someone to step up make a festival-type event happen. There are just too many good bands in the Southwest to be ignored, in our opinion. We worked pretty hard this year to expand upon last year’s successful inaugural run. Terror Fest has been expanded to a full four days this year, along with the number of bands ballooning to 65 in total.

We have bands from 11 states across the US and our first international band this year with Sierra coming from Canada. As such, we have a much more diverse lineup this year. We were able to focus each night to match bands with the headliners. For instance, on Thursday we have Kylesa headlining and we have a nice variety of sludge and psych bands to go with them. On Friday, we built the day around Sacred Reich, so it features the heavier genres like death and thrash and black metal. Saturday brings us Red Fang with a lineup stocked with stoner rock and doom bands. We wrap the thing up on Sunday with a punk/crust day centered around Early Graves. I know it may sound a bit trite, but we really did try to be as diverse as possible this year. We feel that if you listen to heavy music, one or more of these days should appeal to you.

SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snake; Killer Lineup For 2nd Annual Tucson-Based Fest Announced

Following its crushingly triumphant debut maiden occurrence last year, the second Tucson, Arizona-based SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snake has been confirmed and the full lineup for the massive gala announced!

This fully DIY undertaking, booked by musicians, for musicians, is a low-cost event for all ages. Once again organized and hosted by Tucson sludgetroopers GODHUNTER, the now annual SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST brings a one-of-a-kind extreme underground music festival to the Southwestern quadrant of America. This year, the experience has been expanded into an immense four-day event, now confirmed to invade Tucson venue The Rock from Thursday, October, 10th through Sunday, October 13th. The SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snake lineup features even more national headlining acts than last year, including legends like Sacred Reich and Vehemence, along with Kylesa, Red Fang, Demon Lung, Ancestors, Subrosa, Landmine Marathon, Early Graves and others, and a long line of newer underground acts, totaling more than sixty bands! Whether you like punk, sludge, black metal, thrash, grindcore, post-metal, etc., something for all fans of extreme music is to be found at this event.

SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snake is sponsored by Earsplit PR, Moon Smoke Shops, Lace Pickups, Cvlt Nation, Zombie Effects Lab, Ear/Splitters, Axe Of Contrition, Acid Reflux Records, Violent Resonance.com, Lindy’s on 4th, Black Rose Tattoo and Sticks N’ Strings Music Center

View the full SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013 lineup below, and check out the event flyer by Plagued Visual Designs, snag four day discounted passes, t-shirts, pass/shirt combos and more at the official event site HERE, or single day tickets HERE.

SOUTHWEST TERROR FEST 2013: Year Of The Snake:
10/10-13/2013 The Rock – Tucson, AZ

Thursday, October 10th: Kylesa, Pinkish Black, Sierra, Ancestors, Demon Lung, Godhunter, Anakim, Vanish Twin, Goatroper

Friday, October 11th: Sacred Reich, Landmine Marathon, Vehemence, Transient, Magguts, Cave Dweller, Angelic To Ashes, Necrambulant, Sovereign, Our Daily Trespasses, Lethal Dosage, Casket Birth, Kvasura, Evasion, Eight Legged Horse, Napalm Strike

Saturday, October 12th: Red Fang, Helms Alee, Dog Shredder, Subrosa, Deathkings, Crankbait, Aseethe, Thorncaster, North, Sorxe, Goya, Ladybird, Oryx, Skulldron, Bhorelord, Acidalia, Funerary, Methra, Conqueror Worm, Destroy Her

Sunday, October 13th: Early Graves, Children Of God, Theories, ACxDC, Lost Lands, GAT ROT, Territory, Inoculara, Magnum Force, Sex Prisoner, Seas Will Rise, Sorrower, American Standards, Biocidio, Berith, Freedom Assault, Swamp Wolf, Wookiee Rage, Get A Grip, SLUG.

http://southwestterrorfest.bigcartel.com
https://www.facebook.com/southwestterrorfest

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