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New England Stoner and Doom Fest II: More Lineup Announcements; Pre-Party Added

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 5th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

new england stoner doom festival 2019 art

It’s time to talk about the real potential of the New England Stoner and Doom Fest. No, I don’t mean the lineup. That’s awesome. You know it and I know it. I’m talking about the acronym. That’s always huge for a festival. How is it abbreviated? Think MDDF or SHoD or any of the DFs spread around the universe. These things matter.

I’ve seen NESDF tossed around for New England Stoner and Doom Fest, and that’s cool, but it’s missing the opportunity. You could have a festival abbreviated NES! Who the hell wouldn’t buy that t-shirt? I hereby cast my vote in the imaginary referendum on festival abbreviations for New England Stoner and Doom Fest to henceforth and forthwith and withhence be known as NES fest. Second the motion?

There’s reportedly one more band to be added and reportedly several in the running for that slot, so this might not be the final update before May 3-5 gets here and NES fest kicks off (see me using the acronym already?), and the lineup for a pre-party at 33 Golden St. in New London has been announced as well, which will be headlined by Fox 45, so, you know, more of a good thing and all that.

The full lineup as has been revealed follows. Note the Wretch reunion. NES fest!

New England Stoner & Doom Fest II

The New England Stoner and Doom Festival will make its return in 2019 on May 3,4, and 5 at Altones in Jewett City, CT.

Earthride
Brimstone Coven
Wretch
Kings Destroy
+1 TBA
Foghound
Pale Divine
Vessel of Light
Spiral Grave
Solace
Black Road
Curse the Son
Shadow Witch
Hell Camino
Clamfight
Eternal Black
Thunderbird Divine
Stonecutters
When the Deadbolt Breaks
Mourn the Light
Entierro
Bone Church
Buzzard Canyon
The Age of Truth
Void King
Horseburner
Scuzzy Yeti
Witchkiss
Cortez
Benthic Realm
Faith in Jane
Conclave
Set Fire
3 Parts Dead
Insano Vision
Old Earth Analog
Pinto Graham
The Stone Eye
Sentinel Hell

Pre-party @ 33 Golden St.:
Fox 45
VRSA
Dark Ritual
Owl Maker
Feed the Beast

www.newenglandstoneranddoomfest.com
https://www.facebook.com/events/1613285008788252/
https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandStonerAndDoomFest/
https://www.saltoftheearthrecords.com/

Wretch, Bastards Born (2017)

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New England Stoner and Doom Fest II Makes First Lineup Announcement; Earthride, Brimstone Coven, Youngblood Supercult & More to Play

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 14th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

new england stoner and doom fest ii

Welp, I guess I know what I’m doin’ on May 3 and 4 next year. Calendar is marked. I was otherwise occupied during the first New England Stoner and Doom Fest earlier this year, but with the usual caveat that a piano might fall on my head between now and then, my plan is to hit New England Stoner and Doom Fest II as a priority, and the first lineup announcement has done nothing to dissuade me from that intention. Shadow Witch, Earthride, and Brimstone Coven are all vets of Maryland Doom FestEarthride are of course kingpins of that scene though release through NESDF-related Salt of the Earth Records — but Vessel of Light, Youngblood Supercult, Black Road, Set Fire and others it will be my first time seeing, so all the more reason to look forward to getting to Altones, which I hear kicks ass anyway.

And yes, I’m among the presenting media for the festival, but I don’t have the inside track or anything on who’s playing, so as the announcements come through for the bill, I’ll be just as surprised as everyone else. I’m looking forward to that too. There’s a good bit of diversity of sound already in the lineup, and any chance you get to see Brimstone Coven‘s harmonies in-person, you should do that. Bottom line is there’s a lot to like here so far, so dig in, and when I see the next round come through, that’ll get the same treatment.

For now, here’s the first poster and the list as posted on the fest event page on Thee Facebooks:

new england stoner and doom fest ii first poster

The New England Stoner and Doom Festival will make its return in 2019 on May 3 & 4 at Altones in Jewett City, CT.

Stay tuned for details!

www.newenglandstoneranddoomfest.com

Featuring:
Brimstone Coven
Earthride
Black Road
Vessel Of Light
Shadow Witch
Youngblood Supercult
Set Fire
Mourn The Light
Entierro

Many many more to be announced.

www.newenglandstoneranddoomfest.com
https://www.facebook.com/events/1613285008788252/
https://www.facebook.com/NewEnglandStonerAndDoomFest/
https://www.saltoftheearthrecords.com/

Earthride, Live in Los Angeles, June 13, 2018

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Vessel of Light, Woodshed: Beyond the Cellar Door

Posted in Reviews on October 23rd, 2018 by JJ Koczan

vessel of light woodshed

With grisly tales to tell and equally grisly riffing to roll, Vessel of Light make their full-length debut through Argonauta Records with the chugging heft of Woodshed. The collaboration between Ancient VVisdom vocalist Nathan Opposition and guitarist Dan Lorenzo of Hades and formerly — perhaps more relevant in this case — the bluesier-rocking side-project The Cursed, first appeared with a 2017 self-titled EP (review here), and the 11 tracks and 41 LP-ready minutes of Woodshed very much build on the aesthetic principles that the short release laid out. Lorenzo brings a decidedly East Coast crunch to his guitar, reminding as he leads the way through the swing of second track “Part of My Plan” of Danzig‘s “Twist of Cain” while the later “Man’s Sin” finds a more aggressive push ahead of the doomly “Day of Rest,” and Opposition answers with vocals memorable in their melody and lyrics so creeper they should probably be reported.

It’s not so much ‘woodshed’ as it is ‘woodshed with a trap door underneath where you’ll find the bodies of all those missing women.’ I haven’t actually done a body count, but a hypothetical “she” meets a ghastly fate on more than one occasion in cuts like “Son of Man” and “Beyond the Cellar Door.” Indeed, following the rollout title-track introduction, Woodshed seems to follow a narrative course of love, maybe-betrayal and violence. Murder balladry is nothing new — dudes have been axing their significant others in art for as long as there’s been art — but Vessel of Light are resoundingly premeditated about it, and as the album finds resolution in the closing duo of “End it All” and the acoustic finale “Pray for a Cure,” the gothic edge brought to the proceedings through Opposition‘s vocals becomes only a part of the resentment-fueled plotline.

Malevolence abounds. Even in “Part of My Plan,” which is a classic I’m-on-drugs-rolling-out-having-a-good-time vibe, there’s an undercurrent of something darker, or maybe that’s just expectation after the EP. Either way, the lyrics tie together with references between songs to each other and by the time Vessel of Light are through “Part of My Plan” and “A Love So True” and into “Son of Man,” things have clearly taken a turn.

It doesn’t seem like a controversial position or a “hot take” to say one is against the taking of another human life. Again, Vessel of Light are hardly the first to make that aesthetic choice, but something about the darkness that surrounds Opposition‘s lyrics gives their violence a formidable presence throughout Woodshed. As “Son of Man” leads into the massive chugging lurch of “Watching the Fire,” the sense of going deeper into a twisted mindset is palpable, but while much of the material is slow in the tradition of the doom at its roots — TroubleType O Negative — monotony is held at bay through subtle shifts in volume and delivery.

“A Love So True” stretches out the guitar work and relies more on the drums to roll itself forward, while in following “Beyond the Cellar Door” — which is the longest track at 5:46 — “One Way Out” answers the layered vocals with not only another dual-melody there leading to vicious screaming, but layers of intertwined guitar as well, Lorenzo filling out the sonic space before Opposition recounts “Now it’s over/The deed is done/Homicide, suicide” in a harsh-throated rasp. Those aren’t the last screams, either. As the storyline moves through “Man’s Sin” and “Day of Rest” and the passion of the crime becomes so central to the thread uniting the songs, and that’s further realized in the album’s second half.

vessel of light

The turning point would seem to be “Beyond the Cellar Door,” which is a standout reminding of slowed-down Dirt-era Alice in Chains with a meatier chug and pervasively grim atmosphere offset by vocal harmonies ahead and after sampled screams and the guitar solo. “Beyond the Cellar Door” is resolved in chug ahead of the similarly-intentioned “One Way Out,” and that leads to the destructive apex of the album in “Man’s Sin,” “Day of Rest” and “End it All” ahead of the closer.

Momentum is a key factor there, and if you might accuse Vessel of Light of neglecting the details, it’s worth noting that the push through those three tracks — “Man’s Sin,” “Day of Rest” and “End it All” feels specifically geared to have the listener lose themselves in the dive. Even the song titles feel arranges so that one piece will carry into the next, and as “Beyond the Cellar Door” lumbers into that movement that consumes so much of side B, one might consider the arrangement of words “Man’s Sin” as opposed to the earlier “Son of Man” as indicative of the gear being shifted in Woodshed‘s second half. That is, it’s subtle, but something Lorenzo and Opposition do extremely well is build that momentum in songs that still never really get all that fast. It becomes a question of songwriting efficiency, and there’s plenty of that to go around from Vessel of Light, but neither do they lose the sense of mood that they’ve worked so hard to construct.

That is, they don’t just get to “Beyond the Cellar Door” and say, “okay here we go” and speed through the rest of the record. With the linearity of the story being told and the fact that the first-person speaker in the lyrics is descending into madness and dealing with the fallout of that, rather, it makes sense. Short sentences. Lots of stops. Build tension. Affect rhythm. Get it? Okay. The crawling finish in “End it All” accounts for itself in letting the audience know how the plot ends, but that leaves “Pray for a Cure” as a curious outlier in both sound and perspective. Its acoustic foundation is something of a turn given the rest of the full-bodied guitar tone surrounding — though that puts it right in Opposition‘s wheelhouse, given his work in Ancient VVisdom — but even more, are we in the moment where the protagonist is dying?

Because “End it All” sure comes across as pretty final, and “Pray for a Cure” is therefore an epilogue, and all the more so because it’s unplugged. I’m not at all against the track — expanding the sonic foundation isn’t going to hurt the band or the album at all — but that turn in perspective is somewhat jarring at the album’s end. That may well be intentional, as Vessel of Light offer little comfort throughout the record preceding either. What they do instead is set of a current of atmospheric dread; depression, anger and, yes, violence taking root in each track one way or another.

The disturbing parts are supposed to be disturbing, and Woodshed does nothing to desensitize the violence in a problematic way. The key takeaway from Vessel of Light‘s debut is that there’s life in the collaboration between Opposition and Lorenzo, and that the two work well together. Whether it’s a one-off or an ongoing project with a follow-up will remain to be seen, but with their first LP, they show the potential for a gruesome craft they can continue to make their own should they decide to do so.

Vessel of Light, “Son of Man” official video

Vessel of Light on Thee Facebooks

Vessel of Light on Instagram

Argonauta Records website

Argonauta Records on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records on Twitter

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Vessel of Light Announce Woodshed Album Details

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 8th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

vessel of light

Last month when Vessel of Light announced the title of their Argonauta Records debut full-length as Woodshed, I, in full internet-snark mode, cast my bet that there was some murder going on in that backyard. You know what? Called it. If nothing else, Nathan Opposition likes working on a theme.

Vessel of Light, of course, is the Ohio-based Opposition (see also Ancient VVisdom) teaming up with New Jersey guitarist Dan Lorenzo (see also Hades, The Cursed), and they issued their self-titled debut EP (review here) through Argonauta last year, setting an initial tone of drugs, killing and psychosis that it seems the forthcoming long-player is only too happy to follow-up.

Vessel of Light‘s Woodshed is out Sept. 21.

From the PR wire:

vessel of light woodshed

VESSEL OF LIGHT reveal new album details

US Doom Metallers VESSEL OF LIGHT (featuring Nathan Opposition of ANCIENT VVISDOM and Dan Lorenzo of HADES) reveal cover artwork and track-list of their highly anticipated album “Woodshed”.

About the album concept, Nathan says: “Woodshed is a twisted plot involving a torturer and his numerous victims, his devious plan to kill in the name of God, and the mental breakdown that follows. The consequences of murderous actions that tell a tale of ritualistic sacrifice, homicide/ suicide, offerings to “the holy Lord”, and the truth behind the lies of reality. The content is dark and cold. A drugged out murder spree by a man haunted by the voices of the dead.”

By commenting this new album, Dan Lorenzo said: “Woodshed is a title that has intrigued me for a while now. I consider myself a songwriter more than a true musician. I know serious musicians will say they are ‘woodshedding’ or practicing a lot. In the winter when it’s cold out in New Jersey, I definitely pick up a guitar more than I do in the summer..not to ‘practice’, but to write new music. The woodshed in American culture has traditionally been a place where someone goes to work on something often secretly. In the old days it might be where a parent goes to give their child a beating. Sometimes the woodshed could be used to hide nefarious things that nobody is supposed to find out about. Nathan took this concept and created lyrical genius. It’s fucking dark as hell man.”

VESSEL OF LIGHT teamed-up with renowned Italian artist Marco Castagnetto (www.zenpunkart.com) to give their visions a proper form by realizing a stunning cover artwork.

VESSEL OF LIGHT “Woodshed” will be released on CD/LP/DD by ARGONAUTA Records and available from September 21st, 2018.

More details and preorder info available soon.

TRACK-LIST:
1) Woodshed
2) Part of My Plan
3) A Love So True
4) Son of Man
5) Watching The Fire
6) Beyond The Cellar Door
7) One Way Out
8) Man’s Sin
9) Day of Rest
10) End It All
11) Pray For A Cure

Nathan Opposition Vocals, drums, lyrics, melodies, keyboard
Dan Lorenzo Guitar, bass, music, backing vox on Part Of My Plan
Michael Jochum guitar solo One Way Out

https://www.facebook.com/vesseloflightband
www.instagram.com/VesselOfLightMusic
www.argonautarecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/
https://twitter.com/ArgonautaRex

Vessel of Light, “Son of Man” official video

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Vessel of Light to Release Woodshed in Sept.; New Video Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 12th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

vessel of light

Druggy heavy death rockers Vessel of Light have announced their first long-player, titled Woodshed, will be released in September by Argonauta Records. Anyone wanna guess what’s happening in that woodshed? Is it the neat organization of a host of useful tools and gardening equipment? Maybe. Is it where they keep the lawnmower? Maybe. Is there murder? Oh most definitely.

The duo of Ancient VVisdom frontman Nathan Opposition and Hades guitarist Dan Lorenzo made their debut in 2017 with their self-titled EP (review here) and worked quickly to establish a foothold in a sound fueled by Lorenzo‘s weighted riffage and Opposition‘s drug-praising murder poetry lyrics. Together, they made the hooks of songs like “Dead Flesh and Bones” almost unfortunately catchy — let’s face it, that’s not the kind of thing you want to go around singing on a crowded train; or maybe it is — and the newly unveiled song “Son of Man” would seem to have followed suit.

“Son of Man” shows an immediately more balanced mix for Vessel of Light, which is encouraging, and I’m pretty sure that footage of Strawberry Alarm Clock from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls used in the video. Hey, if you’re not gonna appear in your own clip, that’s probably the footage you want to use, so right on.

Details are pretty minimal for the moment, but I’ll hope to have more on Woodshed as we get closer to the release, so keep an eye out. In the meantime, you’ll find “Son of Man” below, followed by more info from the PR wire.

Dig:

Vessel of Light, “Son of Man” official video

US doom metallers VESSEL OF LIGHT (featuring Nathan Opposition of ANCIENT VVISDOM and Dan Lorenzo of HADES) release their new single taken from the forthcoming full length.

The song “Son of Man” is an impressive step forward compared to the already highly acclaimed self-titled EP. Opposition handles both drums and vocals and Lorenzo plays guitar and bass on Son of Man.

This is the third video for the duo who also released two lyric videos off their self-titled debut on Argonauta.

“Son of Man” is taken from the forthcoming full “WOODSHED”, to be released by ARGONAUTA Records on CD/LP/DD in September 2018.

Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Non-Fiction, The Cursed) teamed up with Nathan Opposition (Ancient VVisdom) to form a musical project called Vessel Of Light. The duo entered Brainchild Studios in Cleveland to record their debut during Summer 2017.

Vessel of Light on Instagram

Vessel of Light on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records website

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Quarterly Review: Avon, The Discussion, Alms, Vessel of Light, Enojado, Mother Mars, Southfork, Gypsy Sun Revival, Valhalla Lights, L.O.W.

Posted in Reviews on April 2nd, 2018 by JJ Koczan

Quarterly-Review-Spring-2018

This is the part of each Quarterly Review when I begin to question my life choices. Otherwise known as ‘the beginning.’ I still haven’t decided if this is going to be a five-dayer or a six-dayer, but one way or another, between now and whenever it ends, at least 50 records will be reviewed in batches of 10 per day. It’s completely insane. Completely. Every three months or so I remind myself of this by doing it again, and every time it ends up being worth the insanity. I’ve no doubt that will be the case here as well, but looking across the next five days at placeholders where reviews need to be, well, yeah. It’s pretty insane.

So let’s go.

Quarterly Review #1-10:

Avon, Dave’s Dungeon

avon daves dungeon

Dave’s Dungeon is the second full-length from Californian desert rockers Avon, and with it they make their debut on Heavy Psych Sounds. Peppered with varied songwriting across alternately garage rocking cuts like “Yello,” “On Fire” and “Red Barn” (video premiere here), languid psychedelic excursions in “Space Native” and the subtly proggy “Hero with a Gun,” and the classic desert crunch of “Dungeon Dave,” “Mace Face” and “Terraformations,” the three-piece of vocalist/guitarist James Childs, bassist Charles Pasarell (also Waxy) and drummer Alfredo Hernández (ex-Kyuss, Yawning Man, etc.) have no doubt garnered attention due to the participation of the latter, but all three manage to leave their mark across the 10 tracks, particularly Childs. His English-accented vocals become a defining element in “Hero with a Gun” and “Yello,” and whether fast or slow, the rhythm section offers air-tight accompaniment. Straightforward in their approach but not without some flourish, Avon bring their own touch to the classic desert style and offer memorable songs in the process. Nobody loses.

Avon on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds website

 

The Discussion, European Tour EP

The Discussion European Tour Ep 2017

Issued to coincide with an initial string of Fall 2017 European shows, the aptly-titled Tour EP serves as the debut offering from The Discussion, and its five tracks mark the return of guitarist/vocalist Laura Pleasants, not heard from since the end of her prior outfit, Kylesa. With “A Gesture/Other Side,” Pleasants and company commune with post-rock and atmospheric stretch, where “Like Rain” and “Surf Jesus” channel New Wave and Blondie pop with an underlying heft of low end to add presence. Through it all, Pleasants’ vocals prove a patient and melodic element, and as “Before We’re Gone” brings in a moody krautrock sensibility and finale “Cuts Like a Knife” engages louder and more forward riffing in its final minute payoff, the message that The Discussion has only begun comes through loud and clear. Tour EP sounds like the beginning stages of a larger process of experimentation and creative growth, and one hopes it proves to be precisely that.

The Discussion on Thee Facebooks

The Discussion on Bandcamp

 

Alms, Demo Vol. 1

alms demo vol 1

Modern heavy rock groove meets classic metal guitar on AlmsDemo Vol. 1, which, as it turns out, is more of a sampler than an actual demo, comprised as it is of two rough mixes from the band’s forthcoming debut album. The result of this mesh on “The Offering” and “Dead Water” is somewhere between Uncle Acid swing and Iron Maiden twin lead work, and the five-piece do well immediately to own the combination and make it cohesive sonically. Traditional doom play more of a role in “Dead Water,” and the keys of vocalist Jess Kamen – joined by guitarist/vocalist Bob Sweeney, guitarist Danny McDonald, bassist Andrew Harris and drummer Derrick Hans – and while I don’t know what label it is that’s going to pick them up (I’d believe anyone from Ripple to Shadow Kingdom to Season of Mist, depending on how much they want to tour), but if these two songs are anything to go by, they’ll be lucky to get them.

Alms on Thee Facebooks

Alms on Bandcamp

 

Vessel of Light, Vessel of Light

vessel of light vessel of light

Collaborating between Ohio and New Jersey, Vessel of Light brings together vocalist Nathan Opposition of Ancient VVisdom and guitarist Dan Lorenzo of Hades. Their self-titled five-tracker EP (on Argonauta) melds bluesy metallic riffing with tales of murder and drugs on cuts like “Dead Flesh and Bones” (video premiere here) and its eponymous closer, which emphasizes a hook based around the lines, “LSD has got a hold on me/I wanna show you all the things that I’ve seen.” It goes like that. For Lorenzo, parts recall the groove he brought to short-lived heavy rock outfit The Cursed, but with Opposition’s lyrics and the periodic delving into harsher vocals, there’s a moodier and more aggressive edge to the songs that helps define the personality of the duo as a band. How often they’ll work together remains to be seen, they make a murderous introduction with this EP and there’s plenty of fodder here for further exploration should they get there.

Vessel of Light on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records website

 

Enojado, Mist and Thunder

enojado mist and thunder

German trio Enojado was founded by guitarist/vocalist Stephan Kieserling circa 2002, and though he’s been through numerous lineups since, with bassist/vocalist Thomas Schnaube and drummer Till Junker, he’s put together the band’s first release since their 2014 The Chain is Loose LP was issued by Setalight. At under half an hour and six tracks plus an intro, late 2017’s Mist and Thunder offers solid heavy rock songwriting with a straightforward approach bordering on the metallic in its tone but never quite departing a heavy rock context in rhythm, even in the starts and stops of “Notorious.” The obvious standout in heft is the seven-minute “Coma,” which seems to add weight to everything around it, from “The Truth About Gold” earlier to “I Saw the Sun,” which follows, and the finale in “Queen of Heaven,” which brings a quick payoff to the release and leaves a residual echo and drone/guitar minimalism for its last two minutes. Less derivative than it at first seems, Mist and Thunder might take multiple rounds to sink in, but proves worth the effort of a dedicated listen.

Enojado on Thee Facebooks

Enojado on Bandcamp

 

Mother Mars, On Lunar Highlands

mother mars on lunar highlands

It’s kind of rare for a band to sound like they’re making fun of their own music as they play it, and yet, “Lost Planet Airmen” from Mother Mars’ fourth full-length, On Lunar Highlands, does precisely that. The Aussie trio led by multi-instrumentalists Frank (drums, synth, Clavinet) and Paul (guitar, bass, synth, banjo-mandolin, keys) Attard – who also produced together – and featuring the bluesy stylings of vocalist Dave Schembri, did not make the 11-tracker a minor undertaking. Rather, at 69 minutes, it pushes through stoner boogie on “Thought it Best to Cut You Loose” and still has room for heady jams on extended pieces like “The Stalwarts of Stalwart Castle” (9:31), “Woodhollow Green” (12:55) and the penultimate title-track (8:35), which leads to the far-out banjo shenanigans of closer “The Heavy Hand of the Destroyer.” Needless to say, madness ensues. Interludes like “Bean Stalkin’” and “Bean Stalkin’ Again” and the experimental “The Working Mind of the Creator” add anything-can-happen flair, and the weirder On Lunar Highlands gets, the more it satisfies. It gets very, very weird.

Mother Mars on Thee Facebooks

Mother Mars on Bandcamp

 

Southfork, Through a Dark Lens

southfork through a dark lens
Two decades after their founding in 1997, Stockholm’s Southfork returned late last year with their first album since 2001’s Straight Ahead, the seven-track Through a Dark Lens, which itself is nearly five years in the making. Opening with its longest cut (immediate points) in the 7:59 “Already Gone,” the bass-heavy approach the band takes is indeed emblematic of an era now easily thought of as classic, but one could hardly call it dated for that. Rather, tracks like “Into the Deep” and “Tomb of the Mirror Men” flow easily from one to the next and the record reveals in the strut of “Seventosix” and the answer-back closer “Nowhere Gone” just why someone might put almost half a decade of effort into realizing it. Whether you remember Southfork’s original run or not, Through a Dark Lens offers immersive tone and songwriting and as Southfork have already followed it up with what seems to be a compilation release, it may signal a return to fuller activity on their part.

Southfork on Thee Facebooks

Southfork on Bandcamp

 

Gypsy Sun Revival, Journey Outside of Time

Gypsy Sun Revival Journey Outside Of Time

Production by Kent Stump (Wo Fat). Mastering by John McBain (ex-Monster Magnet). Released through Nasoni Records. Sure enough, the second album from Texas heavy psych rockers Gypsy Sun Revival, Journey Outside of Time, wants nothing for the quality of its associations and with the Hendrixian guitar work of Will Weise and the bluesy classic frontman approach of vocalist Mario Rodriguez, they earn that pedigree through and through. Tyler Gene Davis’ contributions on organ only further the ‘70s vibes on “To the Sky” before Weise takes a wah-soaked solo backed by Lee Ryan on bass and drummer Ben H., and the later two-part “Pisces” combines with closer “Departure” to create a thrilling jammed-out side B that takes the more structured craft of “Indigo” and catchy opener “Cadillac to Mexico” earlier and pulls them through an interdimensional haze that only does more to evoke the album’s title. Between Journey Outside of Time and Gypsy Sun Revival’s 2016 self-titled debut (review here), one is left wondering how long we’ll be able to think of them as a well-kept secret of Texas’ fertile heavy underground.

Gypsy Sun Revival on Thee Facebooks

Nasoni Records website

 

Valhalla Lights, My Gracious Highway

valhalla lights my gracious highway

There’s a commercial sense of clarity to Valhalla LightsMy Gracious Highway, which seems to have been originally issued by the band in 2016 but is being given a renewed international push. It’s a crisp 13-track/45-minute long-player, marked by solid songcraft and the forward performance of vocalist Ange Saul, who takes the place of departed original singer Phoebe Black, who passed away in 2015 just prior to guitarist George Christie, bassist Brent “Badger” Crysell and drummer Deon Driver – all formerly of heavy rockers FORT – entered the studio to record their debut release. Songs veer toward Queens of the Stone Age-style groove on “Hammer the Witch” and closer “Punk,” and there’s enough variety of mood between the brooding “Beautiful,” showcase centerpiece “The One” and “Darker Side of Love” and the all-go rockers “Rise Above,” “Crucify” and “Someday” to carry the listener through smoothly with an abiding sense of professionalism. Will be too clean for some listeners, but is largely inarguable in its execution.

Valhalla Lights on Thee Facebooks

Valhalla Lights website

 

L.O.W., Bones EP

low bones ep

Located in the northwest of Poland, the acronymic four-piece L.o.W. debut with the Bones EP, which hurls forth three extended works of extreme sludge led into by an atmospheric intro. The band – the lineup of vocalist Adam, guitarist Marek, drummer Witold and bassist Micha? belong to the post-Primitive Man sphere of viciousness, but “Tear Me Open” offers some respite in its closing moments, pulling back on the massive plunder and switching from guttural growls to spoken vocals. With just a touch of Electric Wizard swirl, “Almost Like God’s,” renews the onslaught, offering a break in its middle from the Eyehategod-style sway while saving its most brutal growl for last, and at just under 10 minutes long, the title-track rounds out Bones with bass and drums unfolding a progression soon topped by guitar noise that lets the listener know they’ve just entered another level of punishment. There are moments of impulse toward stonerism that show themselves in Marek’s guitar work, but the primary mission on Bones seems to be assault, and the band has no problem living up to that intent.

L.o.W. on Bandcamp

L.o.W. on Thee Facebooks

 

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Vessel of Light Premiere “Dead Flesh and Bones” Lyric Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 25th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

vessel of light

Vessel of Light release their self-titled debut EP via Argonauta Records on Nov. 3. The six-song/21-minute offering is the first fruit borne of the collaboration between Ancient VVisdom frontman Nathan Opposition and Hades guitarist Dan Lorenzo, and as Lorenzo tells the tale below, it all started out innocently enough. A basic correspondence between two players respecting each other’s work has yielded tracks of deeply mood-fueled heavy doom rock, and finding songs like “Where My Garden Grows” and “Dead Flesh and Bones” working around murderous themes or the depressive fare offered throughout “Living Dead to the World” and the decidedly metallic “Descend into Death,” there’s a balance being struck across the songs that draws influence from the pasts of Lorenzo and Opposition alike.

Whether that comes through in the bluesy underpinning to the central riff of vessel of light vessel of light“Descend into Death” or the rolling doom that unfurls itself throughout “Meant to Be,” the consistent element tying the material together is the overarching grimness of spirit and the violent tendencies played out so vividly in the lyrics. Even the eponymous closing track, with its druggy focus and chorus, “LSD has got a hold of me,” and so on, has more than a small measure of threat behind its promise to “make your nightmares come true.” And certainly as that song proclaims in manipulated screams that the speaker is a vessel of light, one gets the sense that it’s way more a vessel of the post-Manson sense than one who might actually offer a level of peace. Unless, you know, you think of being murdered as peaceful.

Lyrics are a focus throughout Vessel of Light‘s Vessel of Light, so it seems only fitting that the duo should unveil the track “Dead Flesh and Bones” with a mind directed specifically toward them. The words may be about burying someone in the garden, but it’s also worth noting that the song is catchy as hell, and amid the red-tinted imagery and striking nature of brutalism, that aspect is not at all lost.

You can see the video below, followed by more info on the EP, courtesy of the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Vessel of Light, “Dead Flesh and Bones” lyric video

Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Non-Fiction, The Cursed) teamed up with Nathan Opposition (Ancient VVisdom) to form a musical project called Vessel Of Light. The duo entered Brainchild Studios in Cleveland to record their debut during Summer 2017. Lorenzo has issued the following update:

“I decided to write about the band in NJ’s Steppin’ Out magazine and I mailed Nathan Opposition (Ancient VVisdom’s singer) a magazine and I think an old Hades CD. We started communicating by email and then on the phone. I had no intentions of asking him to write with me because my musical career is long over. I’m considerably older than him and I honestly wasn’t playing guitar much, but when Nathan asked me if I wanted to write together I couldn’t say no.”

Nathan Opposition says, “Lorenzo and I became friends due to my inability to not be susceptible to flattery. Turns out he’s a really cool guy who writes awesome riffs too. Randomly one day I ask him about the band we are starting in joking fashion. I guess it was the right timing and the right person because we immediately agreed we should actually start a project. Before I knew it he was sending me CDs of riffs and I had lyrics flowing like a faucet.”

Vessel of Light on Thee Facebooks

Vessel of Light on Instagram

Argonauta Records website

Argonauta Records on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records on Twitter

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Vessel of Light Debut EP Coming Nov. 3 on Argonauta Records

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 21st, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Much like yours truly, Hades guitarist Dan Lorenzo is a Jersey boy with roots in print media. Hell yes I remember when he got together with Overkill vocalist Bobby ‘Blitz’ Ellsworth, bassist Jon ‘Job the Raver’ Nardachone from Murder 1 and his own former Non-Fiction bandmate, drummer Mike Christi, to form The Cursed and release their lone full-length, Room Full of Sinners, 10 years ago. Are you kidding? Hell, I still have the Evil, in the Bag demo! I saw them play at the Highline Ballroom in Manhattan. It ruled. We’ve been in touch on and off for years and he’s always been a good dude and absolutely cordial — a pro through and through. That’s not something I’ll say about everybody.

As such, it’s cool to hear Lorenzo has a new project in the works, and doubly fascinating to learn it’s with Nathan Opposition of Ancient VVisdom. There’s no audio yet from Vessel of Light that’s been made public, but I feel like given the sonic histories of these two, their debut EP is among the least-predictable releases I can think of for the remainder of this year. It’s pretty wide open as to what the hell they might come up with together, but that’s cool by me. I’ll hope to get the chance to find out sometime ahead of the Nov. 3 issue date.

They’ve signed to Argonauta for the release, because that’s what you do, and the EP tracklisting and more background follow here, as per the PR wire:

vessel of light

We’re excited to announce we inked a deal with supergroup VESSEL OF LIGHT, formed by Dan Lorenzo (HADES, NON-FICTION, THE-CURSED) and Nathan Opposition (ANCIENT VVISDOM).

“For the last decade since I recorded The Cursed cd (with Bobby Blitz from Overkill)” Lorenzo said “I haven’t really felt the desire to jam music with anybody. I’ve had offers to join a few bands, but I’ve always considered myself more of a songwriter than a “real” musician. I never wanted to join somebody else’s band. A few months ago that all changed when I heard the songs “The Opposition” and “Deathlike” by the band Ancient VVISDOM.”

Nathan Opposition said: “Lorenzo and I became friends due to my inability to not be susceptible to flattery. Turns out he’s a really cool guy who writes awesome riffs too. Randomly one day I ask him about the band we are starting in joking fashion. I guess it was the right timing and the right person because we immediately agreed we should actually start a project. Before I knew it he was sending me CDs of riffs and I had lyrics flowing like a faucet.”

The track listing of songs recorded by the duo are:

Where My Garden Grows
Dead Flesh and Bone
Meant To Be
Descend Into Death
Vessel of Light
Living Dead To The World

On the record deal: “Although we conceded to the fact that signing to a label was improbable, I sent music to one of my former record labels and an Italian label I found that I thought was right for us: Argonauta Records. When Gero from Argonauta replied I knew it was the right call. The right label. Somebody who knew and respected my past and Nathan’s currency. I am so happy that thanks to Argonauta the world will soon hear the magic Nathan and I have captured with Vessel Of Light.”

VESSEL OF LIGHT debut ep will be released on CD/DD and available from November 3rd, 2017. A lyric video will be posted by the end of this month.

https://www.facebook.com/vesseloflightband
www.instagram.com/VesselOfLightMusic
www.argonautarecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/
https://twitter.com/ArgonautaRex

Ancient VVisdom, “The Opposition” official video

The Cursed, “Evil, in the Bag”

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