Underrated Texan heavy rockers The Linus Pauling Quartet have a persistent tendency to fascinate. Whether they’re delving into cult nerd ideology writing a single about Cthulhu (review here) or partnering with a writer publishing under the Oxford Press — which is no small shakes as far as academic publishing goes — to pay homage to theoretical physicist Max Planck, or just riffing out stoner for stoner’s sake, there always seems to be a purpose behind what they do.

It was recently revealed that this fall, their new album, Ampalanche, will be released by Italian imprint Vincebus Eruptum Recordings, the label wing of the long-running print ‘zine of the same name — someone whose tastes it’s safe to say you can trust, in other words — and “Planck” is the first single to come from that outing. It will be released digitally May 26, and is set to be accompanied by a new video, as the band explains in the info below, sent down the PR wire:

Linus Pauling Quartet to release single/video this 26 May celebrating theoretical physicist Max Planck. (Wait, WHAT?!!! … is there going to be a test at the end of this?)

If there is one thing the Linus Pauling Quartet knows how to do, it’s to defy expectations. After a drop-C, gut punching, metal riffage anthem celebrating Cthulhu in 2014, the lads return this month with “Planck” – a song that veers more to the band’s melodic psych sensibilities and celebrates the work of Max Planck. While the song is to be featured in the forthcoming album “Ampalanche” later this year, this track is being released early as a digital single and a video to coincide with the release of the book Planck: Driven by Vision, Broken by War on Oxford University Press. The author of the book, Brandon R. Brown, also happens to be the main lyricist for the song (we like to say he’s Michael Moorcock to our B.O.C.). Below are the full details of the song, a link to the audio file, temporary press preview video link, lyrics, links to the book’s publisher as well as other stuff.

“The same thrill, the same awe and mystery, comes again and again when we look at any question deeply enough. With more knowledge comes a deeper, more wonderful mystery, luring one on to penetrate deeper still. Never concerned that the answer may prove disappointing, with pleasure and confidence we turn over each new stone to find unimagined strangeness leading on to more wonderful questions and mysteries – certainly a grand adventure!

It is true that few unscientific people have this particular type of religious experience. Our poets do not write about it; our artists do not try to portray this remarkable thing. I don’t know why. Is nobody inspired by our present picture of the universe? This value of science remains unsung by singers. You are reduced to hearing not a song or a poem, but an evening lecture about it. This is not yet a scientific age.” – Richard Feynman, The Value of Science (1955)

A curious thing happened after I finished reading this essay at the end of a Feynman anthology; an old friend of ours, Brandon Brown, mentioned that he was completing a book on Max Planck. Intrigued, I asked Brandon if he’d be so good as to pass along to me a draft and he did just that. Almost immediately I was sucked into the book. It’s with a bit of shame that I admit that I wasn’t very familiar with Planck before reading the book but Brandon’s style was fluid and accessible for a dope such as myself. I discovered that not only a new world of science opened up before me, but that I had also gained a better understanding of Planck and the world he lived in.

Perhaps with Feynman’s words still echoing in my brain, I took to the idea of writing a song about Planck to accompany the book. I asked Brandon if he wanted to collaborate on the lyrics and Brandon, the kind of person who isn’t afraid to take a chance, was more than happy to have a go at it with us. A few months of work later, Brandon, Clinton, and I had the song completed. In the studio, each member of the band added their own little flair to the song as well. The result of all this now lays before you.

The words reflect a mixture of Max’s scientific work as well a meditation on the great loss to history of his correspondence and scientific records under allied bombing during World War II. The lyrics are largely Brandon’s with contributions by myself and Clinton though we do take Planck’s own words during the bridge when we sing “Du musst glauben.”

Planck is the first single from the Linus Pauling Quartet’s forthcoming album, “Ampalache,” which will be available Winter 2015 on Vincebus Eruptum Recordings.

This early digital release coincides with the publication of the book “Planck: Driven by Vision, Broken by War” by Brandon R. Brown who also penned the vast majority of the song’s lyrics.

Video Premiere Date: 26 May 2015
Digital Single Edition Available: 26 May 2015

© 2015 The Linus Pauling Quartet/Brandon R. Brown (BMI)
Music & Lyrics by the Linus Pauling Quartet and Brandon R. Brown

https://www.facebook.com/LinusPaulingQuartet
http://www.worshipguitars.org/LP4/LP4_WordPress
http://www.vincebuseruptum.it
https://www.facebook.com/vincebuseruptumassociation

The Linus Pauling Quartet, C is for Cthulhu (2014)

Cheers to Texas heavy rockers Linus Pauling Quartet, all five of them, on signing a deal to release a new album later this year on Vincebus Eruptum Recordings, the imprint of much-respected Italian ‘zine, Vincebus Eruptum — whose 19th issue is on my desk now awaiting a soon-to-be-realized review. Linus Pauling Quartet are due to release their first LP through the label this November, so stay tuned for more info as we get closer to that and whatever may lay beyond. You never really know with these guys.

Here’s the announcement from the band, which also just happens to conveniently contain the announcement from the label. Nice:

We are pleased to announce that we are now on a new label – Italy’s Vincebus Eruptum!!!!

We said we had some big news and today it’s official, Italian Psych label Vincebus Eruptum has been kind enough to take us aboard their fine flagship.

This all came about not long after we did that interview for their zine. You see, in that interview, we mentioned how vinyl here in the states was, for various reasons, just becoming too costly and time consuming. Essentially it was becoming a game for the big labels and it just didn’t make sense for us to release vinyl ourselves. I guess this struck a nerve with Davide as, not long after the interview, he offered to have us aboard his lovely label and release our albums on, yes, LP!!! We gratefully accepted his offer and the first of these releases will be “Ampalanche” which was already in the works. In fact, we sent Davide the demos and he gave us a thumbs up so “Hoist the sails, lads!”

Over the summer, we’ll be working on tracks and videos and you’ll even be able to hear a preview of the album soon as we will be releasing one track online – a song we wrote for the book “Planck – Driven by Vision, Broken by War” by Brandon R. Brown – to coincide with Oxford University Press’ release of the book. As mentioned before we wrote the song with the author (who penned most of the lyrics) and we’re trying to see if we can do some kind of small release show for the book/single this summer though, as we mentioned in an earlier post, live shows will be especially tricky over the next few months so any release show will be a cross our fingers kind of thing.

Anyhow, thanks to Davide and Vincebus Eruptum. Stay tuned, we have many more rabbits to pull out of our hat soon. In the meantime, here is the announcement from posted by VE this morning:

VINCEBUS ERUPTUM is REALLY proud to announce that the new album, “Ampalanche”, by our heroes THE LINUS PAULING QUARTET will be published on vinyl on VE Recordings!!!

The Texas based band is currently exploring psych regions of their home planet, collecting new and mysterious sonic specimens, and recording its findings as new audio tracks for the album…

Release date is planned for November 2015.

Stay tuned for more details!!!

https://www.facebook.com/LinusPaulingQuartet
http://www.worshipguitars.org/LP4/LP4_WordPress/
http://www.vincebuseruptum.it/
https://www.facebook.com/vincebuseruptumassociation

Linus Pauling Quartet, “Assault on the Vault of the Ancient Bonglords” official video

I’ve expressed my nerdy idolatry for Italian ‘zine Vincebus Eruptum on numerous occasions — each new issue seems to bring out a feeling of admiration for their project and their accomplishment of it — but as I flip through the latest edition, No. 18, of the vaunted publication, even more of a standout is just how together the Vincebus Eruptum product is. Editor Davide Pansolin has been slowly, steadily expanding the brand over the last year plus, taking Vincebus Eruptum from a reactivated fanzine to a state-licensed associazione culturale, beginning to work directly with bands as a label and promotion vehicle and continuing to give Italian heavy rock and psychedelia its best public representation as the scene grows in no small part because of its own efforts. An example? When I removed Vincebus Eruptum from its plastic sleeve, inside I found a CD copy of Essay on a Drunken Cloud (review here) by Anuseye. It’s not the first time Vincebus Eruptum has tied in Vincebus Eruptum Recordings releases with the publication itself, but even the sheer amount of coordination involved was impressive, since not only was the album placed right between the two pages containing an interview with guitarist/vocalist Claudio C. (also ex-That’s all Folks!), but those two pages were also the dead-center of the issue itself.

Attention to detail like that, coupled with the psychedelic design and unabashed readiness to support the European heavy psych scene make Vincebus Eruptum indispensable. The Anuseye CD, which is only available with the issue (vinyl is for sale separately), is also reviewed — I won’t begrudge Pansolin laying it on a bit thick in the self-promotion department as the ‘zine celebrates its 15th anniversary — and as usual, the company it keeps is an impressive swath of recent heavy rock and psych releases from groups like Octopus Syng, Fatso Jetson/Herba Mate, Hot Lunch, L’Ira del Baccano, Vibravoid, Electric Moon and so on. Of course, Italy is thoroughly represented, both in independent bands and through labels like Go Down Records, Heavy Psych Sounds and Vincebus Eruptum Recordings. As ever, the pieces are concise and to the point — there’s a lot to fit — but informative and give a sense of what the groups are going for and whether or not they get there, and I find myself with an expanding wishlist of stuff to check out. Business as usual, in that regard, but it’s no less true reading No. 18 than it ever is, Pansolin handling all of the reviews by himself this time out except for Essay on a Drunken Cloud, which he turns over to Roberto Mattei.

Being a sucker for that kind of thing, I tend to go to the reviews first, but interviews with Electric Wizard, Swedish sleeper-hitters Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus and retro cyclone Prisma Circus make for fascinating fare, and having seen their name with an increasing frequency, I appreciated a chance to get a better sense of Australia’s Child as well. Da Captain Trips, who also have a record out through Vincebus Eruptum Recordings, are interviewed, though I think most fascinating of all is the chat with Wolf, who heads the German imprint World in Sound, and is responsible for fostering quality acts like Samsara Blues Experiment, the aforementioned Prisma Circus, The Lone Crows, Doctor Cyclops and many others. Topped off by Kabuto cover art recreating the Malleus cover of the first issue 15 years ago, a stirring note in the beginning from Pansolin himself, and the Anuseye album for a soundtrack, and Vincebus Eruptum seems to be passing the 15-year mark going stronger than ever. As someone always happy to nerd out on what Pansolin and his crew have going, I couldn’t be happier for them and hope we get another 15 years of quality, dedicated psychedelia coverage and much more.

Anuseye, Essay on a Drunken Cloud preview

Vincebus Eruptum at Heavy Ripples Distro

Vincebus Eruptum website

Vincebus Eruptum store

Vincebus Eruptum on Thee Facebooks

Anuseye on Thee Facebooks

Click here to listen.

This week brings even more radio adds than I expected. I had kind of a hard time whittling it down to figure what I wanted to write about, to be honest with you, but we got there in the end, and I’m thrilled to have another batch of additions to the playlist for this week. Doing this seems to have quickly become a Friday ritual for me, and frankly, I can think of worse ways to spend the afternoon than listening to and writing about a bunch of records. Like just about everything else, for example.

Adds for May 30, 2014:

Iron Man, The Passage & Generation Void

Two brand new vinyl reissues from Shadow Kingdom Records. Digital promos are particularly useless in the case of badass LPs, and I’m pretty sure both of these albums by Maryland doom stalwarts Iron Man, 1994’s sophomore outing, The Passage, and it’s 1999 follow-up, Generation Void, are already on the Radio playlist, but screw it, it’s Iron Man. If the chances of hearing an Iron Man song go up with each file added, then it’s worth tossing both of these records on the server. Generation Void is a full-on lost classic of doom, and if you don’t already own it, I’d imagine the vinyl of The Passage justifies picking it up based on the artwork alone. Either way, you’re never gonna lose when it comes to these guys, and Shadow Kingdom‘s loyalty in following up its CD reissues with LP versions is commendable. On Thee Facebooks, Shadow Kingdom website.

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Electric Citizen, Sateen

Led by guitarist Ross Dolan and vocalist Laura Dolan, this Cincinnati four-piece traffic in high-order retro-minded Sabbathisms that keep in mind just how much boogie went along with all that darkness. To wit, the shuffle at the heart of the organ-laced “The Trap” and “Burning in Hell” or the push in the earlier “Magnetic Man.” Sateen, the band’s debut on RidingEasy Records, features riffs and leads heavily, and Laura‘s croon never strays from the forefront in delivering a barrage of hooks through the ’70s-worship production, but as with Sabbath themselves, the foundation of what Electric Citizen accomplish in these memorable, immediately familiar tracks is built on a foundation of rhythmic excellence in the bass and drums, here provided by Nick Vogelpohl and Nate Wagner, respectively. That organ ain’t half-bad either. The album arrives with no shortage of hype, but it’s a shockingly cohesive debut in style and performance, and the songwriting more than earns its way. On Thee Facebooks, RidingEasy Records.

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Disenchanter, On through Portals

The Sept. 2013 Back to Earth demo from Portland, Oregon, doom-blues metallers Disenchanter has been sitting on my desk for an embarrassingly long time. That release is added to the playlist as well, but on the early-2014 follow-up, On through Portals, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Sabine Stangenberg, bassist Joey DeMartini and drummer Jay Erbe stretch out the form somewhat. Both arrive as EP-style releases, but On through Portals tops half-an-hour and executes a darkened psychedelic flow over its three extended tracks — “Journey to Abydos/Moon Maid” (12:15), “Invoke” (7:38), and “Into Darkness” (11:20) — so it could just as easily pass for a short album. Either way, the partial shift in aesthetic suits Disenchanter well, and what seems to have been in-process on their first demo comes closer to fruition here. Songs are patient and lumbering, but never boring, and Stangenberg‘s vocals layer effectively at the front of the mix to give the impression of a consummate frontwoman in the making. I won’t declare their development finished, but On through Portals is a big and interesting step for Disenchanter to take. On Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

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Junior Bruce, The Nomad

Just two tracks on this latest release from Southern heavy rockers Junior Bruce. The Nomad is the second of two (to date) digital releases following Junior Bruce‘s 2012 debut full-length, The Headless King, and intended as a complement to last year’s The Burden. Fair enough. Taken as such or on their own, The Nomad‘s two cuts, “The Promised Sleep” and “Nomad,” offer unpretentious heavy rolling groove from the Floridian five-piece fronted by Scott Angelacos and featuring bassist Tom Crowther, both also of Hollow Leg and formerly Bloodlet and Hope and Suicide. Molasses riffs from guitarists Nate Jones and Bryan Raymond and steady crash from drummer Jeff McAlear further distinguish “Nomad” in the Southern tradition, and the single/EP is twice as intriguing in the context of Hollow Leg‘s most recent recording, “God Eater” (discussed here), which moved in a more rocking direction as well. It seems to work for both bands. On Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

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Anuseye, Essay on a Drunken Cloud

Cuts like “J R” and “Wrong Blues” take ’90s crunch and heavy rock vibes to heart, but where Italy’s Anuseye really distinguish themselves on their Vincebus Eruptum Recordings debut — other than with their somewhat unfortunate moniker — is in the weirdo jamminess of “Push Magic Button” or the psychedelic exploration of “Earthquake.” Essay on a Drunken Cloud boasts a few riffs and effects-laced stretches like that in “Cursed Pills” that might call to mind guitarist Luca Stero and vocalist/guitarist Claudio C.‘s and prior work together in That’s all Folks, but Anuseye has a personality of their own here, with bassist Michele V. and drummer Antonello C. keeping step with the strange vibes every step of the way. The balance shifts effectively between psych rock and noisy post-punk, but songs like “Demon Pulse” and the penultimate “S.S. Abyss” find an engaging and unexpected middle ground on which to make an impression. And then they do. For those days when you feel like you’re heard everything a riff can do, Essay on a Drunken Cloud might just convince you there’s still territory to be discovered. On Thee Facebooks, at Vincebus Eruptum.

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For the complete list of this week’s adds, click here.

Thanks for reading and listening.