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Holy Fingers Premiere “Hunted” Video; III Vinyl Coming Soon

Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 19th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Holy Fingers (Photo by JJ Koczan)

First, slow down.

I’ll spare you the diatribe about how fast life moves these days because you already know. My advice, coming from a place of friendship, is before you dig into the video premiering below, do whatever you gotta do to inject a little calm into the moment. Deep breathing is a decent go-to. I often pause to take a drink of water if I’m feeling tense, frustrated, or just need to reset my brainvoice a little bit. If you want to step out and do a j, you can keep reading on your phone. But take a second to adjust the headspace before “Hunted” starts and I think you’ll be in a better position to appreciate it. Again, friendly advice.

Baltimorean folk-infused heavy psychedelic explorers Holy Fingers released their third album, titled Holy Fingers III — or maybe just III (review here) if you’re feeling casual — in the earliest, still-solstice-dark hours of 2024. It was the first review I did this year, and that was very much on purpose. After an algorithmic fluke on a now-subsumed social media platform put their stuff in front of my face — what used to be called a ‘chance encounter’ — I had spent some stay-indoors time circa 2021 with their second record, II (discussed here) and last April, in getting to see them live for the first and hopefully not last time, it confirmed in my head the anticipation for what would come next. Sure enough, III righteously finds connections between post-rock, heavy bluesy psych, folk pastoralism and command, and a progressive songwriting mindset. In atmosphere and hooks, vibe and structure, it delivers. I waited months to review it, but knew it was how I wanted to launch the New Year last month.

It’s not where the hype is at, I’m kind of sorry to say, but as it sometimes goes with that kind of thing, the ears with which it resonates will perhaps feel it more deeply for that as something to be treasured. If you haven’t heard it yet — and if not, that’s cool; it’s been out for a month, not three years; don’t let the internet make you feel like you’re behind on a thing — the full Bandcamp stream is included below so you can get a sense of how “Hunted” fits on the album. Following the fuzzy roll of “Blood Red Sun” and the open-strum and rhythmic sway of “Bring Me the Beasts” on side A, its throbbing groove is particularly tense, bringing the reverbed breadth of Ides of Gemini-style post-heavy to bear in deceptively forceful repetitions of the title in its chorus. Consistent in ambience and general sound, it follows its own path, and is a standout highlight instead of an awkward fit.

Holy Fingers III is the band’s second album in their current configuration and the places it explores speak to subconscious familiarity, something primal but not necessarily in an aggressive way. I could go on here, but I’d rather not keep you from the clip itself if you’re still reading. “Hunted” uses practical effects by Josh James of Rainbow Death Cult to create a visually atmospheric complement to the song. It is not AI — since that apparently needs to be said this week — and like the track itself, it shows its humanity in its intricacies and finer details while reaching into the abstract, or ethereal, if you prefer, for expression. This won’t hit with everyone, but it is my sincere hope that someone reading this loves it, and maybe that’s you.

Did you slow down? Good, because they’re gonna build back up a bit. Here goes:

Holy Fingers, “Hunted” video premiere

Hunted from Holy Fingers III available now on all streaming platforms. Vinyl preorders at holyfingers.bandcamp.com.

Video by Josh James | Rainbow Death Cult

‘III’ Recorded and mixed by Kevin Bernsten at Developing Nations Recording Studio, Baltimore, MD
www.instagram.com/developing_nations/

Mastered by Brian McTernan at Salad Days Studio
www.instagram.com/saladdaysstudio/

Holy Fingers are Tracey Buchanan, Dave Cannon, Theron Melchior and Josh Weiss.

Holy Fingers, Holy Fingers III (2024)

Holy Fingers on Facebook

Holy Fingers on Instagram

Holy Fingers on Bandcamp

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Thinning the Herd Post “Trampled by Deer” Video; Cull Coming Soon

Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 9th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

thinning the herd

Sometime in the near notnow, long-running New York heavy rockers Thinning the Herd will release their third album, which has been given the synonymous title Cull. The first single from the record, which is the band’s first in the 11 years since 2013’s Freedom From the Known (discussed here), “Trampled by Deer,” is also the first output from the band since founding guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and sometimes-the-only-dude-in-the-band Gavin Spielman brought in drummer Rob Sefcik last Fall. Known for his work in Begotten and Kings Destroy (pretty sure he was in Electric Frankenstein as well?), Sefcik hits hard and has no trouble emphasizing the nod in Spielman‘s riff, a strong C.O.C. influence roughed up by the recording but still able to put through a punch of bass and account for a divergence into acoustics behind and alongside its solo section.

The song’s three and a half minutes long, so the break doesn’t last, and Spielman‘s guitar scorches back with a shredding solo as the video takes us out to a snowy field and woods somewhere outside the city (Westchester?), splicing in shots of animals and hunting implications, life, death, the icy river and ancient, drowsy Appalachian peaks. These make a fitting accompaniment for the band’s take on heavy rock, which is naturalist in its own way, and if they’re drawing inspiration from this setting — I don’t know the circumstances behind the clip’s making, but some of it looks self-filmed on a phone camera, which makes sense in terms of the story they’re telling here even as an impression given — and basing Cull around that, it seems only suited to their aesthetic generally. This riff breathes. I dig that.

It’s been a while since Thinning the Herd put out a full-length, as noted above, but they’ve trickled out singles and videos in the time since Freedom From the Known, including the 2021 single “Wolves Close In” (posted here) that boasted a guest appearance on guitar by Pat Harrington of Geezer. No clue if that song will be on Cull or not, but at very least if it was you could say it was on theme with “Trampled by Deer.” Rough times out there in the forest.

More to come I’m sure as we get closer to Cull, but here’s “Trampled by Deer” with all its attendant freeze and groove. Right on.

Enjoy:

Thinning the Herd, “Trampled by Deer” official video

We’re super excited to bring you the first single to be distributed worldwide since the last record!

The song “Trampled by Deer” is about those moments in life when a positive change only to finds you mentally worse off. The track also features a minor guest spot from an old crony Cosmos Sunshine. He plays the shorter bluesy solo after my fast one, after the acoustic break.

We’re already hit in the tail of this single, next one drops end of next month entitled “Next Level”.

We hope you enjoy and add our tune “Trampled by Deer” to your playlist, download and stream that shiz!

Thinning the Herd are:
Gavin Spielman on Guitar and Vocals.
Rob Sefcik – Drums

Thinning the Herd on Facebook

Thinning the Herd on Instagram

Thinning the Herd on Bandcamp

Thinning the Herd website

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Stone Machine Electric to Record Next Month; New Bassist Announced

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 6th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Stone Machine Electric, for most of their decade-plus tenure, have been the duo of bassist/vocalist Dub and drummer Kitchens (also of Slow Draw). Dub and KitchensKitchens and Dub. Of all the times I screw-up the names in a given band’s lineup — information posted surprisingly infrequently where one might find it — I can generally be sure that if it’s Stone Machine Electric, you got Dub and Kitchens getting up to some heavy psych weirdness. I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that.

Nonetheless, after four full-lengths — the latest of them being 2020’s The Inexplicable Vibrations of Frequencies Within the Cosmic Netherworld (review here) — William “Dub” Irvin and Mark Kitchens have welcomed bassist Erick Paxecko to the band as the third in a power trio. Adding (more) low end is surely not going to make them any less heavy, and well, if he’s weird enough for Stone Machine Electric to let him be in the band, he’s probably weird enough for you. Will they start calling him “Pax?” So many questions to answer, but the band are letting it be known they’ll record in March, even if they’re not sure yet whether they’ll end up with a full album or not. I love that, by the way.

Kidding aside, this isn’t the first time Stone Machine Electric have brought in a tertiary party to handle bass, as they never shy from trying something new. Best of luck to them and to Paxecko, who one assumes will make his recorded debut on whatever results from the sessions next month, to be helmed by Wo Fat‘s Kent Stump in Stone Machine Electric‘s own version of tradition.

They sent the following down the PR wire:

stone machine electric

STONE MACHINE ELECTRIC: Three-piece into the studio!

Texas-based duo Stone Machine Electric, best known for their weird approach in crafting a darkened and spacious vision of psychedelic jamming, are ready to announce they have added that pesky low-end to their lineup and are now a TRIO! I’m sure you weren’t expecting that, or maybe you were already aware due to your social media addiction. Anyway, we wanted to make it official.

Erick Paxecko has been jamming with the band since mid-2023 and has expanded upon the band’s already heavy sound. Erick started playing in Mexico in the early 2000s and toured throughout the northern region. In 2012, he moved to Seattle, WA and played in several bands, including the doom band Mycon. Erick enjoys experimenting with his tone by trying out different pedals and bass rigs to work on getting his sound blended into the mix.

And with that news, we thought it worth mentioning we’ll be hitting the studio this March with Erick at Crystal Clear Sound in Dallas, Texas, with our great friend Kent Stump at the controls. Hope to get a full album’s worth of material laid down and find a way to get it to everyone’s ears.

Stone Machine Electric are:
William “Dub” Irvin – Guitar/Vocals
Mark Kitchens – Drums/Vocals/Keyboard
Erick Paxecko – Bass

https://www.facebook.com/StoneMachineElectric/
https://www.instagram.com/stonemachineelectric/
http://stonemachineelectric.bandcamp.com/
http://www.stonemachineelectric.net/

Stone Machine Electric, The Inexplicable Vibrations of Frequencies Within the Cosmic Netherworld (2020)


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Bushfire Announce New Bassist and Album Plans

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 5th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

At this point it’s been over six years since Darmstadt, Germany, heavy rockers Bushfire put out their last album, 2018’s When Darkness Comes (review here), and it seems like if a follow-up is something that’s ever going to happen, now’s probably a good time. The long-running troupe sent word that they’ve welcomed bassist Nicolas Kurz back into the fold and they don’t go so far as to announce recording plans or say a thing is done, but they do say flat out they’re targeting a 2024 release, and there’s a lot of year left, so they might even get there.

The band released their Live at 806qm recording in 2020 and played Desertfest Belgium last year. I’d assume any future live plans will come together around the recording, whenever that happens, so it might be a bit before they’re out for anything more than a getaway, but that they’re moving forward is still good news. Proceedings proceeding, and so on.

Frontman Bill Brown checked in on socials:

bushfire

Yo, BILL here, on behalf of BUSHFIRE.

Well, you might have noticed we’ve been off the radar for quite some time. And trust me, it’s not been easy.

Understanding. For me this means in these almost 20 years as a BUSHFIRE member, in this band you must have a love for music and share with other musicians, musical ideas, a common ground and goal so to say. Sometimes that’s tougher than you’d think. As a lyricist, I depend on the music to drive me into the emotional journey so I can reflect and convey, if nothing but, a feeling. I can only assume every musician has exactly that feeling no matter the instrument. Dependance, on one another. We take a journey together and it’s tough sometimes. I’m nothing without my band. Well ok, a poet maybe.

As always in life, things change. Our bassist and good buddy Vince, has decide to depart from the BUSHFIRE saga, on his own terms and personal reasons. It lay heavy in our hearts but understanding is key. We wish him nothing but the best.

From Vinz:

“When I joined Bushfire I was a fan of the band. I had seen them in 2012, playing a gig in Das Bett in Frankfurt and I thought “This is the music I would like to play!”. Fast forward a couple of years and I was waking up at 6 every morning to practice dozens of songs after Billorone had asked me: “Do you have time for a 2 weeks tour of the Balkans?”. It has been 10+ years of efforts and rewards, sacrifices and satisfactions, sweat and thrills, passionate fights and passionate harmonies, crazy highway trips, long stage-time waits, amazing concerts. I leave now because I need to find a new perspective, you know when sometimes a cycle must close? I will stay a Bushfire fan. I wish you good luck, guys, and I bow one last time to all the people that have been supporting us all along. Rock on!”

As bittersweet as this may be, we are excited to announce and love to re-welcome, NICK. (Nicolas Kurz)

Nick has shared the stage with us through the years with countless heroes of music.

We have a history, it’s comforting. Between (2011-2013) (recorded: Heal Thy Self), we’ve crossed Europe, destroying minds and ears along the way. It’s amazing to have him back for the support and journey. So let’s raise a glass to our brother’s return!

That being said, we’ve been focusing on our new album diligently. Our goal is to record, produce and release this album this year. Determined to take a new journey and return to the light, love, family, friends and stage that we’ve been so greatly missing.

Understanding is key.
See you very soon.
Love.
BUSHFIRE

http://www.facebook.com/bushfiremusic
https://www.instagram.com/bushfireofficial/
https://bushfire.bandcamp.com/
http://www.bushfiremusic.com/

Bushfire, Live at 806qm (2020)

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Ash Eater Premiere “The Siren’s Call”; Second Album Coming Soon

Posted in audiObelisk on January 16th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

ash eater

On Jan. 20, Portland, Oregon, heavy cave-thrash doom trio Ash Eater will release their new single ‘The Siren’s Call’ as a precursor to their soon-to-be-announced six-song sophomore long-player. It is the second track to be featured from the self-issued album behind “Any Port in a Storm,” and a quicker encapsulation of their sound at its fiercest as represented on the 33-minute, title-not-yet-revealed-but-it’ll-be-out-in-March record, picking up from the doomier opener “Earth Must Be Fed” before higher-speed riffs contort and twist in restless thrash tradition with the barking vocals of bassist Kenny Coombs (also of LáGoon and their grungy offshoot Oopsy Dazey) meting out verses like a 1983 demo tape that just happened to invent death metal or something, and a blowout vibe that extends even to the Metallica-style snare militarism of Alden Elias as the song careens to its finish.

“The Siren’s Call” is the shortest of the non-intro ash eater sirens callcuts on the record, and where “Any Port in a Storm” brings some element of NWOBHM to the guitar, if both dirtied and sped up. The remaining three songs are all longer. “Ritual” explores shifts in tempo around the core roughness of the sound and an especially dug-in solo from guitarist Andrew Pugh, and a delve into heavy jamming that builds over “Breathe the Smoke” and the slow-rolling-until-it-isn’t “The Warrior’s Craze,” which hypnotizes with circa five minutes of Sleepy stonerian march before launching its full assault, which feels Californian in its use of double kick but retains its Pacific Northwestern strut in the lead guitar.

The album may not have a name yet, at least publicly, but it does have a lot more going on than it at first seems, so as you take on “The Siren’s Call” premiering on the player below, keep it in mind as a beginning more than an end, because it very much is, both in terms of understanding Ash Eater‘s stylistic intention — there is essential information in these thrashing riffs! — and in terms of where it sits in the record’s rollout. Short songs or long, jammed out or throw-an-elbow thrashed, the follow-up to Ash Eater‘s debut is marked by an immediate individuality in its presentation, and where one’s head in considering ‘heavy thrash’ as a concept goes to earlier High on Fire, that’s a small piece of what’s happening here.

But, as we’re a good way away from the album’s arrival, a small piece doubles as a convenient sample. Have at “The Siren’s Call, and please enjoy:

Ash Eater – The Siren’s Call – Single to be self-released Jan 20, 2024 on Digital

New LP out this March, to be announced

Boardsliding their way out of the murky depths of the Portland heavy scene, Ash Eater arrive on their wheeled steeds with crushed beer in one hand and a flaming guitar promising nothing but sweet riffs in the other.

The trio of skaters, fronted by the bassist for fellow PDX acts LáGoon and Oopsy Dazey, deal in a ferocious mix of doom metal, thrash, and grubby psychedelia that congeals into a riotous sound as fit for a skate session as it is for a smoke-fogged mosh. Featured in Thrasher magazine and infamous for starting some rowdy pit action in the bowl at Tactics’ Northwest Open skating fest, Ash Eater are climbing the rock ‘n roll mountain, and are set to plant their flag with a second LP due out this March.

Heralding their upcoming album, we’re proud to present Ash Eater’s thrashy second single “The Siren’s Call”, following up the on their first single “Any Port In A Storm” and its classic metal riffing.

IN THE BAND’S OWN WORDS:

“The Siren’s Call – A song for all the ladies lurking in the musty depths of the metal scene and for all the sad saps that think they’re getting lucky tonight. When you catch her eye best say goodbye cause the only way out is to die.”

Ash Eater is:
Kenny Coombs – Bass/Vocals
Andrew Pugh – Guitar
Alden Elias – Drums

Ash Eater on Facebook

Ash Eater on Instagram

Ash Eater on Bandcamp

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Fuzz Evil Release Cars Cover “Just What I Needed”; Revamp Lineup & Announce New EP Smear Merchants

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 9th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Not so terribly far removed from the Sept. 2023 release of their latest full-length, New Blood (review here), Sierra Vista, Arizona’s Fuzz Evil would seem to have answered the call for some themselves. Founded by brothers Joey Rudell and Wayne Rudell, the band have welcomed Cajun Adam, who is at least their fourth drummer, and multi-instrumentalist/guitarist Preston Jenning, who’ll make their debut with the now-a-four-piece band on the new EP, Smear Merchants. When’s that out? I don’t know, but they covered The Cars‘ “Just What I Needed” — and I’m sorry for getting the song stuck in your head just by mentioning the title, Ric Ocasek‘s magnum opus of catchy is infectious — and that’s a fun nugget to go on for today.

Looking at the below, I’m not actually sure “Just What I Needed” will show up on the EP, either, but I guess we’ll find out sometime in the coming months. Until then, the cover tune and the stream of New Blood are down at the bottom there and you can read more from the PR wire in the blue text.

Enjoy:

fuzz evil just what you needed

Fuzz Evil Expands Sonic Horizon as a Four-Piece Band with New Single and EP Release

Fuzz Evil, the powerhouse three-piece known for their infectious blend of doom and stoner rock, is set to kick off 2024 with a bang. On January 5, the band will drop their latest single, a cover of The Cars’ classic hit “Just What I Needed,” available on all major streaming platforms. This marks a thrilling departure from their signature sound and showcases the band’s versatility.

Following the single release, Fuzz Evil will treat fans to a brand new EP titled “Smear Merchants,” an eagerly anticipated follow-up to their 2023 ,”New Blood ” album. “Smear Merchants” is poised to captivate listeners with its immersive sonic experience, delving deeper into the realms of doom and stoner rock. Serving as a sister record to their self-titled release in 2016, this EP promises to deliver a fresh perspective on Fuzz Evil’s evolving musical journey.

In 2023, Fuzz Evil expanded their sonic horizons by adding two new talented members to their lineup, further enriching their musical tapestry. Preston Jenning, a versatile multi-instrumentalist, joined the band to lend his skills on guitar, baritone, and synth duties. His musical prowess is expected to add new dimensions to Fuzz Evil’s evolving sound. Cajun Adam, the newest addition on drums, brings a rhythmic intensity that complements the band’s dynamic energy.

Fuzz Evil has built a solid reputation in the rock scene, and “Smear Merchants” is poised to be a milestone in their discography. Fans can look forward to a sonic journey that transcends boundaries, blending the familiar with the unexpected.

To stay updated on Fuzz Evil’s latest releases and upcoming shows, follow them on handles here: https://linktr.ee/fuzzevil

https://www.facebook.com/FuzzEvil/
https://www.instagram.com/fuzzevilaz/
https://fuzzevil.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/fuzzevil
https://www.fuzzevil.com/

Fuzz Evil, “Just What I Needed” (Cars cover)

Fuzz Evil, New Blood (2023)

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Album Review: Holy Fingers, III

Posted in Reviews on January 3rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan

holy fingers iii

Folk-informed heavy psychedelic blues rockers Holy Fingers are among the best kept secrets in the Baltimorean underground, and their third full-length, the self-released III, is a moment of realization that’s due more fanfare than it is likely to receive. They arrive its Jan. 1, 2024, release date at eight years’ remove from their 2016 self-titled debut, released as the instrumentalist trio of Dave CannonTheron Melchior and Josh Weiss prior to guitarist/vocalist Tracey Buchanan joining ahead of 2018’s follow-up, Holy Fingers II (discussed here), and continues a thread of collaboration with producer Kevin Bernsten at Baltimore’s Developing Nations Recording Studio that began on the last record and was most definitely not broken there and as such requires no fixing across the eight-song/circa-40-minute Holy Fingers III, which finds the band pushing further into progressive textures and expanding the reach of their songwriting.

A fuzzy roll arrives just a second after Buchanan starts the first line of opening track “Blood Run Sun,” beginning right after, “You are my…” and before the title itself is delivered. Later pieces like “Astral Anchor” and its complement “Estival” will dig into vibes born of ’60s Britfolk and given semi-retroist heavy life in such malleable fashion as to remind of Graveyard in “Bring Me the Beasts” before the more urgent rhythm of “Hunted” casts that in the Americana-infused neofolk of Wovenhand and leads through the album’s side flip and into the soft shuffle of “Majnac” ahead of “In Warrior’s Stead” and “Hunter’s Moon,” which turn toward heavy post-rock expanse, building on the hints toward Black Math Horseman-style ceremony in “Hunted” and, in the latter, tying that in part to the more folkish side, tying together elements that have been spread throughout but not feeling forced in the doing.

In fact, let’s take that ethic, start it at the start and pull it over the rest of the album like a well-flattened top-sheet (you bedmakers know what I’m talking about): It is unforced. I do not know the circumstances that might’ve led to six years between Holy Fingers‘ second and third full-lengths, but I don’t imagine the band is anyone’s full-time, live-on-this gig, and life happens. Sometimes it happens that a band will turn around after a while and crunch a record together and rush it out to get on tour, etc. That’s not this. The songs on Holy Fingers III feel lived with and lived in. They’re not overthought, but they’ve been smoothly balanced to become what they are, and that worked-on feel extends to the linear fluidity that runs from front to back. Holy Fingers are grooving here as a paramount, and coinciding with that is the focus on melody mostly but not entirely represented in Buchanan‘s vocals.

holy fingers

That is to say, while Buchanan is a strong presence throughout, her voice isn’t the only source of melody. The bouncing slink of “Majnac” is all the more memorable for the way its notes move up and down, a cool born of jazz and turned into classic-style prog, and the lead guitar in “Hunter’s Moon” adds no less drama to the closer’s outward procession than the cave-echo treatment on the vocals. As they draw from different influences throughout and bring ideas together across various songs, the presentation is never quite the same twice and never so outlandish as to be out of place. A shorter cut can be intense as “Hunted” gets or languid like “Blood Red Sun” at the outset, its later jangle like proto-grunge noise played at half-speed with about a quarter of the directionless, would-be-silly-in-context aggression. Longer songs like “Astral Anchor” unfurl a complete build, and “In Warrior’s Stead” — the longest inclusion at 7:28 — accomplishes this while in conversation with the broader sphere of American heavy psychedelia, seeming specifically to work off of some of King Buffalo‘s make-a-world-and-put-a-riff-in-it ideology.

And in all of this, in the places it goes and the stylistic shifts and slight turns it makes along the way, Holy Fingers III is unflinchingly organic. Its pacing isn’t staid or too slow, but it works into a kind of steady nod and even when this is purposefully interrupted, as in the churning push at the end of “Bring Me the Beasts” or in “Majnac” — dig that line of fuzz running through the song; reminds a bit of something Lammping might try, as if my heart were not yet won here, and is indicative of both an intricacy of mix and the attention to detail that makes this all sound so easy in the first place — the momentum built isn’t wasted. If the side split is between “Astral Anchor” and “Estival” — and I think it is but I’m not 100 percent certain — then the first half of Holy Fingers III presses forward through its three shorter tracks into that pond of psychedelic lushness, while “Estival” starts side B with a folkish bent that lends the movement of “Majnac” a complementary Britness ahead of “In Warrior’s Stead” turning back to the far out and “Hunter’s Moon” ending big and expansive like some vision of the American West, complete with Morricone-via-Earth in the resonant and meditative guitars.

There is, just apparently to belabor the point, a lot going on in the material that comprises Holy Fingers III, but the band do not lose sight of their structured intent when faced with the task of moodmaking in their songs, and those songs are that much stronger for it. One could easily argue that it’s the underlying structures that allow Holy Fingers to harness such breadth of sound, but it’s academic as compares to the experience of putting the album on and having Buchanan commandingly lead the way into “Blood Red Sun” as the full band lines up around a classic-but-obscure-enough-to-be-individual groove warm in tone and melody but wanting nothing for heft either and able to pivot in delivery so as to be that much more flexible when it comes to atmosphere overall. There is, of course, also plenty of atmosphere, but like the rest of Holy Fingers III, it is accomplished with rare poise and distinct identity, adding to and taking nothing away from the collection of songs that feels nothing so much as loved in their making.

Holy Fingers, Holy Fingers III (2024)

Holy Fingers on Facebook

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Holy Fingers on Bandcamp

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Benthic Realm Post “As it Burns” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 28th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Benthic Realm

Kudos to Massachusetts-based three-piece Benthic Realm — who play both the doom and the metal kinds of doom metal — on not letting 2023 end without reminding any and all in earshot that their debut album came out this year. Five years and one actual plague after their second EP, 2018’s We Will Not Bow (review here), the band comprised of guitarist/vocalist Krista Van Guilder (formerly of Second GraveLucubroWarHorse, etc.), bassist/keyboardist Maureen Murphy (whose fascinating low end path has seen her work with the likes of Negative Reaction and Dimentianon, as well as Second Grave with Guilder, I’m pretty sure Curse the Son for a bit, and a slew of others) and drummer Dan Blomquist (also Conclave) hoisted anchor and took to dark and undulating seas on an hour-long Vessel (review here). Marked by its grim tones, bleak melodicism and downer nods meeting periodically with a growl, a scream, or a particularly deathly riff, the 10-song collection reveals the band’s extreme underpinnings early in the eight-minute “Traitors Among Us” after the intro “Raise the Banners” set the nautical theme.

And all that takes is one low, guttural growl from Van Guilder and the entire sphere of death metal is fair game at any point on the record. That’s maybe a little dramatic in terms of the framing, and at least on their first record, Benthic Realm aren’t interested in going full-on slip-a-disc-windmill-headbanging death metal gruntery, but listening to Vessel, there’s always the threat they might, however far to the other side they might go with the acoustic interlude “Set Adrift” that sets up the album’s rolling highlight title-track. Melody holds the day in terms of balance, which “Course Correct” makes plain after “Traitors Among Us” with a faster but still ultimately comfortable push and an arrangement of layered harmonies from Van Guilder in its apex, and whether she’s singing ‘clean’ — often at least double-tracked; in closer “As it Burns” with the video below, or “Summon the Tide,” the quiet-till-it-isn’t post-Metallica‘s “One” brooding in the second half of “Veiled Embrace,” and so on — or the band are dug into the one-two pairing of “I Will Wait” and “Summon the Tide,” both of which are just Benthic Realm Vesselunder nine minutes and each of which lays out its own sprawling but thoughtful path through weighted melodic doom metal that’s more Paradise Lost than Saint Vitus, stately and patient, taking on metal’s symmetry over punk’s urgency, her presence as a songwriter, range as a singer and unafraid-to-be-angular style of riffing are defining factors of the material.

You can’t have heavy without groove, and those among the genre-converted know that’s generally going to come from the rhythm section. What Murphy and Blomquist bring to Vessel is more than tonal oomph to support the melodies and a roll on which to gain momentum, but rest assured, both of those are part of it too. Benthic Realm benefit from a single-guitar configuration in that as Van Guilder takes her solo in the penultimate tempo-kicker chug of “What Lies Beneath,” Murphy and Blomquist are able to hold the rhythm underneath, allowing the song to move forward without giving up one of the record’s most infectious movements, instead working like a classic power trio to build a crescendo that, if “What Lies Beneath” closed, I’d probably tell you had no trouble serving as a payoff for the entirety of the release. Just being honest. Benthic Realm push farther with “As it Burns.”

If you want to think of track 10 as Benthic Realm going to 11, fair enough, but they’re never so over-the-top in “As it Burns” as to sacrifice the poised impression they’ve made over the 50-plus minutes prior (and by mentioning runtime again I’m not ragging on Benthic Realm for making a long record; it’s part of the aesthetic), and it’s once again the vocal melody that distinguishes that last peak the band will hit before the closer’s insistent chug — it sounds like producer Apollo XVII said, “Play it like you’re annoyed waiting for the sound to come out of the speaker,” though that’s not an actual quote — seems to finally decide you’ve had enough and put a couple last holes in the wall on its way out. And there you are, a record that just spent so much time in the water ending with fire and just kind of pulling it off because they do and the songs work and when you have that you’ve got everything.

I’ve gone on for too long. Their debut album was a while in the making, and I’m glad it came out this year. Here’s that video.

Please enjoy:

Benthic Realm, “As it Burns” official video

As It Burns from Benthic Realm’s album “Vessel”

Album available at:
https://benthicrealm.bandcamp.com

Directed by George Capalbo
@georgecapalbo9501
https://georgecapalbo.com/

Formed in July of 2016 in Worcester, MA, USA, Benthic Realm conjures melodies and crushing rhythms from the dark abyss. The trio consists of former Second Grave members Krista Van Guilder (WarHorse, Lucubro) on vocals/guitar and Maureen Murphy on bass, and Dan Blomquist (Conclave) on drums.

Benthic Realm, Vessel (2023)

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Benthic Realm on Bandcamp

Benthic Realm on Spotify

Benthic Realm website

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