Early in 2022, Iowan two-piece Twin Wizard revisited their 2020 initial offering, Glacial Gods (review here), by presenting a (new version of the record) featuring the band’s then-newly-acquired guitarist/vocalist Matt Larson. Larson came aboard in place of Brad Van (also of Wisconsin’s Droids Attack), and fair enough to have another edition of the album to coincide. The lead presence in a duo, even if drummer Anthony Dreyer (ex-Telekinetic Yeti) is the founder, is not a minor change to make once a release is out, and if you’re trying to make an impression with a new band who’s going to be touring as Twin Wizard have, then you probably want a recording on hand that represents that.

So, Glacial Gods (Purple) — so named for the color of the sky on the cover art, which was originally red — is streaming below, and Twin Wizard will continue to support the cause as we move into 2023, with a healthy stretch of winter tour dates lined up that includes shows with King Buffalo, Greenbeard and a stint with North Carolina’s Ape Vermin, who released their Arctic Noise EP in 2021. As both groups have shows on either side of the tour together, you’ll find them listed separately below, which sounds a little confusing at first since obviously there’s overlap and that’s the point, but I believe in you and know you can handle it. In any case, RIFFS.

Here you have it:

TWIN WIZARD – Winter Tour 2023

Twin Wizard is thrilled to announce they are hitting the road this winter and joining forces with the mighty APE VERMIN! Twin Wizard is touring in support of their re-released record “Glacial Gods Purple”. Other dates will include bands such as King Buffalo and Greenbeard. Come party with us and Ape Vermin, see you all soon!

Twin Wizard’s Dates

Jan 14 Romeoville, IL @ Metal Monkey Brewing
Jan 17 Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s w/ King Buffalo
Jan 20 Rock Island, IL @ Ribco
Jan 25 Cedar Falls, IA @ Octopus College Hill
Jan 26 Kansas City, MO @ Farewell
Jan 27 Oklahoma City, OK @ Blue Note w/ Greenbeard
Jan 28 Wichita Falls, TX @ The Iron Horse w/ Greenbeard
Jan 29 Amarillo, TX @ Leftwoods w/ Greenbeard
Jan 31 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar
Feb 1 El Paso, TX @ The Rockhouse *
Feb 2 Tucson, AZ @ House Of Bards *
Feb 3 Phoenix, AZ @ Blooze Bar *
Feb 4 San Diego, CA @ Til Two Club *
Feb 5 Palmdale, CA @ Transplants Brewery *
Feb 6 Santa Cruz, CA @ Blue Lagoon *
Feb 7 San Francisco, CA @ TBA *
Feb 8 Santa Rosa, CA @ TBA *
Feb 10 Seattle, WA @ The Funhouse *
Feb 11 Portland, OR @ The Six *
Feb 12 Spokane, WA @ Mootsy’s *
Feb 13 Boise, ID @ The Shredder *
Feb 15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Aces High Saloon *
Feb 17 Cheyenne, WY @ Ernie November *
Feb 18 Colorado Springs, CO @ The Six Two *
* = With Ape Vermin

Ape Vermin’s Dates

Jan 27 Atlanta, GA @ Sabbath Brewing
Jan 28 New Orleans, LA @ Sydney’s Saloon
Jan 29 Houston, TX @ The Acadia
Jan 31 Dallas, TX @ Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio
Feb 1 El Paso, TX @ The Rockhouse *
Feb 2 Tucson, AZ @ House Of Bards *
Feb 3 Phoenix, AZ @ Blooze Bar *
Feb 4 San Diego, CA @ Til Two Club *
Feb 5 Palmdale, CA @ Transplants Brewery *
Feb 6 Santa Cruz, CA @ Blue Lagoon *
Feb 7 San Francisco, CA @ TBA *
Feb 8 Santa Rosa, CA @ TBA *
Feb 10 Seattle, WA @ The Funhouse *
Feb 11 Portland, OR @ The Six *
Feb 12 Spokane, WA @ Mootsy’s *
Feb 13 Boise, ID @ The Shredder *
Feb 15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Aces High Saloon *
Feb 17 Cheyenne, WY @ Ernie November *
Feb 18 Colorado Springs, CO @ The Six Two *
Feb 19 Kansas City, MO @ The Flesh Pit
Feb 21 St Louis, MO @ TBA
Feb 22 Cincinnati, OH @ Legends Bar
Feb 23 Louisville, KY @ Mag Bar
Feb 24 Nashville, TN @ Springwater Supper Club
Feb 25 Asheville, NC @ Fleetwoods
*= With Twin Wizard

TWIN WIZARD is :
Anthony Dreyer – Drums
Matt Larson – Guitar/Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/twinwizardband
https://www.instagram.com/twinwizard/
https://twinwizard.bandcamp.com/

Twin Wizard, Glacial Gods (Purple) (2022)

Ape Vermin, Arctic Noise (2021)

Just a couple upstart heavy rock bands hitting the road together on the way to a festival in the summertime. Would be business as usual in the Before Times, but these are the After Times, and being down with the plague — which is not to say “the sickness” — at the moment, I can tell you the After Times kind of suck. But the shows will be good and that’s what we’re here to talk about.

Aiwass‘ 2021 debut, Wayward Gods (review here), was released before the Ohio-based outfit had solidified a live lineup, so inevitably there will be some shift in dynamic there as they move forward, and Illinois duo Twin Wizard issued Glacial Gods (review here) in 2020, revamped their own lineup, and went back and remade the record, so it’s fair to say there’s a bit of the mercurial around both acts at this point, but there’s little arguing with the output of either. They’ll hit spots up and down the Middle Western portion of the country as they make their way to Doomed and Stoned Ohio on July 30, and I wish them safe, healthy and happy travels.

The tour poster — which I haven’t seen yet as I write this and is hopefully cartoon-boob free — and the dates follow here, courtesy of the PR wire:

The sun has emerged from winter clouds and with it comes the emergence of two bands from the heavy underground, Aiwass and Twin Wizard! In a co-headlining tour, these bands will storm their way across the midwest on the Glacial Titans Tour, bringing the heaviest of riffs to a town near you! Don’t miss these bands as they tour across Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio, culminating with performances at the Ohio Doomed and Stoned Fest at the Buzzbin in Canton, Ohio! Follow both Aiwass and Twin Wizard on social media for more information as dates approach!

Dates:
July 26: Gabe’s – Iowa City, IA
July 27: 7th St. Space – Dekalb, IL
July 28: Cactus Club – Milwaukee, WI
July 29: Liars Club – Chicago, IL
July 30: Ohio Doomed and Stoned Fest – Canton, OH

https://www.facebook.com/aiwassbandaz
https://www.instagram.com/aiwassband/
https://aiwassband.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/twinwizardband
https://www.instagram.com/twinwizard/
https://twinwizard.bandcamp.com/

Aiwass, Wayward Gods (2021)

Twin Wizard, “Smoke Wizard”

Midwestern fuzzbringers Twin Wizard released their debut album, Glacial Gods (review here), about a week before lockdown hit in the US last year. Timing is everything. At that point, the band was comprised of drummer Anthony Dreyer (ex-Telekinetic Yeti) and guitarist/vocalist Brad Van, also of Droids Attack. Earlier in 2021, Dreyer put out word that Matt Larson (Dead Emperors, Mad Monks) had taken over frontman duties and the band was at work on their second album, first in this incarnation. Fair enough.

As it turns out, the first Twin Wizard release with the Larson/Dreyer lineup will be a reworking of Glacial Gods with the new guitarist on vocals. To coincide with that coming in Spring on vinyl or perhaps to herald its arrival, the duo are set to hit the road at the end of next month around the Midwest and Southeast — four stops in Texas, to answer your first question — and in accord with that announcement today, they’re premiering a new clip for the revamped Glacial Gods track “Smoke Wizard.” You’ll find it remains catchy as hell.

I’m not sure what the exact reissue date for Glacial Gods is, but you can find the original version of the album streaming at the bottom of this post, and if you want an excuse to leave the house in January in Iowa, it’s a good one.

Enjoy:

Twin Wizard, “Smoke Wizard” video premiere

We are proud to present our music video for Smoke Wizard. This video will be part of our re-release of “Glacial Gods” which will include Matt Larson on vocals for all tracks. We plan to have this record available for Vinyl in the Spring of 2022. We are working to have it available digitally and on CD in early 2022.

We are also extremely excited to announce tour dates with our friends in Ape Vermin as part of our “Glacial Noise” tour. We can’t wait to be on the road again bangin our heads with y’all.

1/28 Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s
1/29 Des Moines, IA @ Lefty’s
2/1 Evansville, IN @ Lamasco Bar & Grill
2/2 Louisville, KY @ Mag Bar
2/3 Clarksville, TN @ The Warehouse
2/4 Asheville, NC @ Fleetwoods
2/5 Athens, GA @ Flicker
2/6 Atlanta, GA @ Sabbath Brewing
2/8 Mobile, AL @ Alabama Music Box
2/9 New Orleans, LA @ Santos
2/10 Houston, TX @ Acadia Bar & Grill
2/11 Austin, TX @ Independence Brewing Co
2/12 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio
2/13 Wichita Falls, TX @ Iron Horse Pub

Twin Wizard are:
Anthony Dreyer – Drums
Matt Larson – Guitar/Vocals

Twin Wizard, Glacial Gods (2020)

Twin Wizard on Facebook

Twin Wizard on Bandcamp

Twin Wizard webstore

Say hello to Twin Wizard. The Illinois/Wisconsin duo brings together guitarist/vocalist Brad Van of long-undervalued rockers Droids Attack with drummer Anthony Dreyer, whose prior outfit, Telekinetic Yeti, flamed out hard — and, frankly, ugly — after a quick ascent following their debut album, but will nonetheless continue in some form or other, obviously without Dreyer involved. Twin Wizard, meanwhile, release their debut album, Glacial Gods, today (!), and will follow up with vinyl and CD availability on April 13. Preorders are up now direct from the band, and as the 35-minute seven-tracker culls together riff after pummeling, massively-fuzzed riff, locking in classic and humongous stoner metal grooves, a preorder seems well justified, particularly given the LP’s limited numbers (150 total).

I’m not just talking about riffs. I’m talking about riffs for the soul. “Ghost Train Haze,” which opens the album, is literally and figuratively only the beginning. “Sky Burial,” “Smoke Wizard,” the seven-and-a-half-minute centerpiece “Cult of Yeti” — these songs evoke the dare-you-to-climb-it tower of amplification in the video for the lead cut, and as the admirably bearded Dreyer pounds away at his kit and Van runs his guitar through bass and six-string tones alike, he also burls up his vocal approach, touching on the melodies that one suspects will emerge more over time and the band’s subsequent work while in the interim laying claim to a gruff, early-Cisneros feel that’s perfectly suited to the fuzz, keeps just an edge of punk, and fits well alongside the punctuation of the drums.

With guitar effects/drone transitions between the tracks, a sense of atmosphere is created and manipulated, setting a world in which the songs take place, the riffs seeming to emerge from this ether one after the other. Still, as “Cult of Yeti” devolves gloriously into a noisy morass, undoing the structural clarity presented in “Ghost Train Haze” and the hookier “Smoke Wizard,” it is all the more hypnotic for its longer dronal excursion. It makes no attempt to return once it’s gone — a choice that’s hard to argue with once “Ghostwriter” crashes in, its balance of chug and gallop seeming to straighten out what “Sky Burial” so purposefully made cyclical in the rhythm, while keeping the song itself short at under four minutes long in order to provide an intro of manipulated and particularly doomy bells for “Apothecary.”

Only appropriate, though given the Sabbath and Sleep familiarity of some of the riffs, perhaps they should’ve titled “Apothecary” something related to ghostwriting as well. The righteous dig-in is obviously willful — it ain’t like Twin Wizard are trying to tell you they invented the riff to “Black Sabbath” or to “Dragonaut” — and even the ending nod to “War Pigs” is a dogwhistle to the doomed converted, which only brings to emphasis how much fun Glacial Gods is on the whole. Large credit for that has to go to Dreyer, who would seem to have imported some of the band’s mission from his prior tonally-minded two-piece, but even as “Cult of Yeti” rounds out the album as the second in a seven-song tracklisting to include the word “yeti” in the title — one hopes they keep the theme; like the many faces of the blues different artists have crafted over the last century-plus — it is also given an intro, this time of a stretch of looped guitar that slams into a brief but severe single-riff instrumental finish that, well, certainly gets its point across. The point is that it’s awesome. Message received and understood.

Two hopes for Twin Wizard. One, they do more. Two, they tour. That’s all there is to it. Given the quality of the work they do here and the pedigree Dreyer and Van bring, it’s hard to imagine some label won’t pick them up should they want to go that route, but whether they do or not, Glacial Gods is loaded with forward potential that only shows the project as being worth pursuing in a real, dedicated way. The video for “Ghost Train Haze,” which captures the band playing to and then as — wait for it — a sasquatch, is a blast and though I wouldn’t want to be standing in front of the stage as Van tosses his half-full beer onto the floor, it is a show I’d want to see. And one that, given what they do on the record, I’ll hope to see sooner than later.

Enjoy “Ghost Train Haze” below:

Twin Wizard, “Ghost Train Haze” official video premiere

Twin Wizard is proud to make their debut with their first single from their record entitled “Glacial Gods”. Here is the debut music video for the song “Ghost Train Haze”.

Twin Wizard is a two piece band consisting of Anthony Dreyer previously of Telekinetic Yeti and Brad Van of Droids Attack. Glacial Gods was recorded and mixed at Flat Black Studios by Luke Tweedy. Mastering by Carl Saff. Video produced by Natalie Hinckley of Hinckley Productions.

Track listing for Glacial Gods
1. Ghost Train Haze
2. Sky Burial
3. Smoke Wizard
4. Cult of Yeti
5. Ghostwriter
6. Apothecary
7. Electric Yeti

Digital release Friday 3/13. Vinyl & CD 4/13.

Pre-order the record on vinyl/cd at https://twinwizard.bigcartel.com/

Twin Wizard are:
Anthony Dreyer – Drums
Brad Van – Guitar/Vocals

Twin Wizard on Facebook

Twin Wizard on Bandcamp

Twin Wizard webstore