Remember like a very, very short time ago — maybe last week? — when I was talking about how Heavy Psych Sounds was taking over the world, one band, tour and festival at a time? Well here we are with the announcements for four nights in Germany this December that one assumes — but never knows for sure — will round out a busy 2019 for the Italian label/booking agency/one-stop-shop. Monolord, The Sonic Dawn, Wedge, Gorilla and 1782 are thus far announced with apparently more to come. No big surprise they’re not done, as it seems increasingly like they’re never done. Did you see the pictures from the West Coast Heavy Psych Sounds package tour? It looked pretty amazing.

I guess that’s what happens when you put everything you have into what you do and what you do kicks ass.

From the PR wire:

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS announces BERLIN + DRESDEN FEST; featuring MONOLORD, THE SONIC DAWN & more!

Headquartered in Rome, Italy, Heavy Psych Sounds specializes in presenting the best artists in the global heavy psych, doom, fuzz blues and space rock realms, and their Festival- series will be no exception, spotlighting the ever-growing label’s dedication to its craft. While the first HPS Fests were held in Italy, the label has since extended its live reach into the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria and even the USA: The underground cult label is not only THE address for all heavy rock record collectors, but has also become an important live and festival institution; with a brisk participation from heavy music fans all over the world.

Now, Heavy Psych Sounds is set to bring the ROCK to Germany: Dresden and Berlin with the just-announced special shows taking place this December! Each stop of the traveling festival tour will feature diverse line-ups including both genre leaders and fast-rising acts, all ready to prove their place among the world’s best. In cooperation with Greyzone Concerts and ElbSludgeBooking, Heavy Psych Sounds has just revealed the first bands featuring heavy doom weights MONOLORD, psychedelic rockers THE SONIC DAWN and more:

[ artwork by Branca Studio ]

Taking place December 6th and 7th 2019 in Berlin and Dresden, the tickets are now on sale at:

BERLIN
Event: www.facebook.com/events/328145071206018/

DRESDEN
Event: www.facebook.com/events/658161097944810/

https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.greyzone-concerts.de
www.facebook.com/Elbsludgebooking

Monolord, Rust (2017)

Brooklyn trio The Golden Grass are headed back to Europe this Spring and will tour in late March and throughout April in the company of German trad-rockers Wedge. Pretty good show, and they’re covering a decent swath of ground in Poland, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Of course, The Golden Grass go supporting their 2018 third album, Absolutely (review here), and they also went to Europe last year, touring in the company of Heat. If nothing else, they know how to find a fit for bands to hit the road with.

The narrative of Absolutely was that it pulled back on some of the more meandering impulses of its predecessor, 2016’s Coming Back Again (review here), but The Golden Grass have a new EP in the works that they’ve posted a couple social media teasers for, and it seems that the boogie remains strong with their upbeat sound. Throw in some of the choicest harmonies in heavy — as they reliably do — and you’re good to go.

To Europe, in this case. I haven’t seen a release date kicked around for the EP, but wouldn’t it make an awful lot of sense if it came out before the tour? Or at least was available for them to sell on the road? Yeah, that seems reasonable to me too. More when I hear it.

Here’s the poster and info in the meantime:

The Golden Grass & Wedge March / April Tour

27.03. (PL) Torun Swa Swiaty
28.03. (PL) Warszawa Chmury
29.03. (PL) Krakow Alchemia
30.03. (PL) Poznan Pog Minoga
31.03. (PL) Wroclaw D.K. Luksus
01.04. (AT) Vienna 3Raum
02.04. (AT) Salzburg Rockhaus
03.04. (DE) Mannheim 7er Club
04.04. (DE) Höxter Toneburg
05.04. (DE) Chemnitz Die Zukunft
06.04. (DE) Berlin Zukunft/Ostkreuz
07.04. (DE) Leipzig Moertelwerk
08.04. (DE) TBA
09.04. (CZ) Bilina Moskva
10.04. (CZ) Brno Kabinet Muz
11.04. (AT) Innsbruck PMK
12.04. (IT) Bologna Freakout
13.04. (IT) Milano COX18
14.04. (CH) Martigny Caves du Manoir
15.04. TBA
16.04. TBA
17.04. TBA
18.04. (CH) Olten Coq d’Or
19.04. (DE) Münster Rare Guitar
20.04. (DE) Oldenburg MTS

http://www.facebook.com/thegoldengrass
http://www.twitter.com/TheeGoldenGrass
http://www.thegoldengrass.bandcamp.com
www.wedgeband.com
www.magnificentmusic.de
www.swampbooking.com
http://www.listenable.net
http://www.facebook.com/listenablerecs
http://www.twitter.com/Listenable

The Golden Grass, Absolutely (2018)

You gotta watch out for these. They’re sneaky. Label samplers can be tricky in general — sometimes it’s nothing but rehashed tracks from years ago with one or two new songs from a band somebody’s trying to push, but with Heavy Psych Sounds, their annual sampler series has been a way of sneaking new tracks out for first public showcases. Last year, new Black Rainbows showed up, and sure enough they appear here as well, and there also seems to be some new stuff from The Freeks included, which as far as I’m concerned is reason enough on its own to chase the thing down. Also Tons will have a track on there ahead of their album release in April, and new Killer Boogie, so yeah, plenty to grab onto, and even the stuff that’s already out — Mother Engine, Fvzz Popvli, The Lords of Altamont, Nick Oliveri — is all still current, and righteous. That “Kyuss Dies” song is hilarious.

Full tracklisting follows here, courtesy of the PR wire:

As every Year, my little dear, what we have here is: HPS074 ***HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS SAMPLER VOL.3***

We’re so proud to announce the new Sampler, is the third year we are going to release this, and tracklist look awesome!

You will find it in your HPS boxes when you will purchase from the site, or at some good festival in Europe for free at the merch table, or on tour with HPS bands…

RELEASE DATE:
16th MARCH 2018

PRESALE:
8th FEBRUARY 2018

Enjoy the tracklist!

Avon – Red Barn
Black Rainbows – High To Hell
Deadsmoke – Emperor Of Shame
Fvzz Popvli – Lost In Time
High Reeper – Die Slow
House Of Broken Promises – Toranado
Killer Boogie – Atomic Race
Monsternaut – Landslide
Mother Engine – Tokamak
Nebula – Between Time
Nick Oliveri (Kyuss Lives) – Kyuss Dies
The Freeks – American Lighning
The Lords Of Altamont – Going Downtown
Tons – 99 Weed Balloons
Turn Me On Dead Man – Vimana
Wedge – Lucid

https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/

VA, Heavy Psych Sounds Records Sampler Vol. II

It was a pretty substantial tour when it was just taking place in Germany, but as it turns out, Berlin heavy rockers Wedge will venture well outside the confines of their home country in support of their new album, Killing Tongue, which is out next month on Heavy Psych Sounds. Thus far, shows in Belgium, France, Spain and Italy have been added to the run starting in March after the initial burst beginning next week, and there’s the promise of more to come, so yeah, keep an eye out. The newly-announced portion of the tour takes them into April, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they hit up some festivals here or there along their way.

The PR wire has it like this:

The German vintage retro ’70 rock’n’roll band Wedge will tour Europe in 2018. Supporting their german acts the rockers Big Foot.

Wedge will play also new stuff of their sophomore album Kiling Tongue which will be released in february 2018 via Heavy Psych Sounds.

Wedge European Tour Dates:
09.01. (DE) HANNOVER · Cafe Glocksee
10.01. (DE) KIEL · Schaubude
11.01. (DE) HAMBURG · Hafenklang*
12.01. (DE) JENA · Kulturbahnhof*
13.01. (DE) EISENACH · Schlachthof*
01.02. (DE) NÜRNBERG · Z-Bau*
02.02. (DE) FRANKFURT A.M. · Feinstaub*
03.02. (DE) HEILBRONN · Emma 23*
04.02. (DE) FREIBURG · Slow Club*
05.02. (DE) TÜBINGEN · Münzgasse*
07.02. (DE) KÖLN · Sonic Ballroom*
08.02. (DE) OLDENBURG · Polyester Club*
09.02. (DE) HUSUM · Speicher*
10.02. (DE) BERLIN · Zukunft am Ostkreuz*
14.02. (DE) LEIPZIG · Black Label*
15.02. (DE) MÜNCHEN · Import/Export*
16.02. (DE) KELLBERG · tba*
17.02. (DE) RAVENSBURG · Haus am See*
21.02. (DE) GÖTTINGEN · Dots*
22.02. (DE) BIELEFELD · Forum*
23.02. (DE) DÜSSELDORF · R25/Kulturschlachthof*
24.02. (DE) MÜNSTER · Rare Guitar*
18.03. (NL) TILBURG · tba
19.03. (BE) ANTWERP · tba
21.03. (FR) PARIS · International
22.03. (FR) NANTES · La Scene Michelet
23.03. (FR) BORDEAUX · Le Petit Maurian
24.03. (ES) GIJÓN · Sala Memphis
25.03. (ES) BILBAO · La Nube Cafe Teatro
26.03. (ES) BARCELONA · Rocksound
27.03. (ES) SAN SEBASTIÁN · Dadabada
28.03. (FR) MONTPELLIER · Up&Down
30.03. (IT) TORINO · Blah Blah
31.03. (IT) PISA · Albatross
01.04. (IT) MANTOVA · Spazio FCErec
02.04. (IT) ZEROBRANCO · Altroquando
03.04. (IT) PARMA · Tonic
04.04. (IT) BOLOGNA · Mikasa
05.04. (IT) BERGAMO · Druso
06.04. (IT) ROMA · Let It Beer
07.04. (IT) CASTEL FIDARDO · On Stage
09.04. (IT) PESCARA · Scumm
*w/ Bigfoot

WEDGE is a 60s-sounding, psychedelic and heavy rockin’ Berlin trio founded by guitarist/singer Kiryk Drewinski (ex-Liquid Visions/The Magnificent Brotherhood), drummer Holger “The Holg” Grosser and bassist/organist Dave Götz, and named themselves after the first stone tool of human history. Their sound is accordingly archaic, extremely effective, made from “solid rock” and, when used correctly, it causes fire… especially on stage!

WEDGE IS
Kiryk Drewinski- Vocals / Guitars / Harmonica
Holger ‘The Holg’ Grosser – Drums / Percussion
David Götz – Bass / Organ / Electric Piano / Mellotron

https://www.facebook.com/wedgeband/
http://www.wedgeband.com/home.html
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://twitter.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUND
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/

Wedge, “Lucid” official video

German vintage-style heavy rockers Wedge are getting ready to tour the hell out of their home country. I mean, really. Touring the hell right out of it. The Berlin-based three-piece will issue their second long-player, Killing Tongue, via Heavy Psych Sounds on Feb. 9, and in following up their 2014 self-titled debut, they’ve begun to push into a sonic realm more of their own within the sphere of their genre. They’ve got shows booked in January and they’ll spend most of February on the road as well, without ever leaving Germany. Pretty wild. I can’t remember the last time I saw a string of dates this long in Europe just focused on one country. It’s 21 shows!

Because I’m an ignorant-ass American, I don’t know how far the cities listed below are from each other, but as an exercise, this seems like an awesome and intense way for Wedge to continue to hone their craft. I’m going to assume that at no point will they be spending more than, say, four or five hours, on a single drive between shows, and just by way of an example, Kiel to Hamburg is about 90 minutes. So yeah, they’re on tour, but without the stress of crossing long distances, Wedge will have all the more opportunity to focus on what’s important: playing the shows themselves. I’d suspect the flipside of that coin is an awful lot of hurry-up-and-wait before they get on stage every night, but that would happen even if they spent all that extra time traveling between countries in the EU, or anywhere else, for that matter.

I also don’t know the size of the venues they’re playing, but even if it’s small concert spaces and barrooms, the experience is invaluable, and aside from saying something about the economics and cultural situation in greater Europe — mostly it says “Germany gets all the shows” — it just seems to me like there’s an opportunity here for Wedge to make it something really special and grow as artists. It’s hardly their first tour — they were out on a couple weekender runs with Wucan in November on which five of the seven included dates were also in Germany — but even so. As far as playing live goes, it’s an interesting project. I wonder if they’d do it in any other countries as well. You know Heavy Psych Sounds could make that happen in Italy…

I had intended here to talk about the video and the sound of “Lucid” itself, which departs some of the post-Kadavar vibes of the self-titled, but got sidetracked thinking about the good times these guys could potentially have on this tour. I hope it goes well and would be interested to know if it changes how they feel about Killing Tongue by the time it’s done.

Should you happen to be in Germany in Jan./Feb., dates follow the video here.

Please enjoy:

Wedge, “Lucid” official video

Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is proud to announce the WEDGE GERMAN TOUR 2018

a Magnificent Music production

The German vintage retro ’70 rock’n’roll band Wedge will tour Germany in winter 2018. Supporting their acts the rockers Big Foot. Wedge will play also new stuff of their sophomore album Kiling Tongue which will be released in february 2018 via Heavy Psych Sounds.

09.01. Hannover, Cafe Glocksee
10.01. Kiel, Schaubde
11.01. Hamburg, Hafenklang
12.01. Jena, Kulturbahnhof
13.01. Eisenach, Schlachthof
01.02. Nürnberg, Z-Bau
02.02. Frankfurt/M., Feinstaub
03.02. Heilbronn, Emma23
04.02. Freiburg, Slow Club
05.02. Tübingen, Münzgasse
07.02. Köln, Sonic Ballroom
08.02. Oldenburg, Polyester Klub
09.02. Husum, Speicher
10.02. Berlin, TBA
14.02. Leipzig, Black Label
15.02. München, Import/Export
17.02. Ravensburg, Haus am See
21.02. Göttingen, Dots
22.02. Bielefeld, Forum
23.02. Düsseldorf, R25
24.02. Münster, Rare Guitar

WEDGE was born into the spotlight in 2014. The trio was founded in Berlin by guitarist/singer Kiryk Drewinski (ex-Liquid Visions & ex-The Magnificent Brotherhood), drummer Holger “The Holg” Grosser & bassist/organist Dave Götz and named itself after the first stone tool of human history. Their sound is accordingly archaic, extremely effective, “made from solid rock” and, when used correctly, causes fire … especially live! WEDGE blends mainly elements of classic rock, 60s garage and some Psychedelic with a proper dose of joy while playing.

WEDGE IS
Kiryk Drewinski- Vocals / Guitars / Harmonica
Holger ‘The Holg’ Grosser – Drums / Percussion
David Götz – Bass / Organ / Electric Piano / Mellotron

Wedge on Thee Facebooks

Wedge website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds on Twitter

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

On first impression, the second album from Berlin vintage-style heavy rockers Wedge feels immediately more their own. The trio debuted in 2014 on Heavy Psych Sounds with a self-titled long-player, and as of Friday, preorders will be open for Killing Tongue, their nine-song follow-up, to be released via the same label on Feb. 9.

There hasn’t been any audio made public from it yet, which kind of makes sense considering we’re still three months out from it landing, and I’m not saying I’ve got it on right now or anything, but the turns sound a bit sharper, the songwriting feels more efficient, and the most-definitely-post-Kadavar vibe that pervaded the self-titled seems to have abated somewhat. All the better for the young band to come into their own with a blues-psych track like “Fire Eyes,” with its pairing of rhythmic chain crunch and airy guitar and vocals.

One to look forward to for 2018 for sure and one I’m looking forward to getting to know better for sure.

Info follows from the PR wire, and Wedge also have some shows this coming month for which I hoisted the dates from social media:

WEDGE sign to Heavy Psych Sounds ; new album coming February 2018!

PRESALE STARTS: OCTOBER 30th
RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 9th

Heavy Psych Sounds Records is proud to announce the return of German vintage rock’n’rollers WEDGE! The Berlin-based trio decided to renew their deal with the Italian label for the release of their sophomore full-length, due out February 2018.

The trio released their first studio album on Heavy Psych Sounds in September 2014, which quickly sold out. Following the buzz of WEDGE’s debut, the group now unveils their eagerly awaited follow-up “Killing Tongue” …and it truly kills! Although also deeply rooted in the rock’n’roll of the late 60s & early 70s, this album clearly is a strong progression from its precursor, presenting a multicolored spectrum of sounds and more diverse songwriting. Power trio-untypical arrangements and instruments like electric sitar, clavinet and harpsichord among others are accompanying especially some of the new psychedelia soaked tunes. But of course you can expect plenty of good old fuzz guitar and Hammond organ driven material as well.

Killing Tongue was recorded & mixed at LowSwing Studios in Berlin by Guy Sternberg and mastered by Brian Lucey at Magic Garden Mastering in California/USA.

WEDGE is a 60s-sounding, psychedelic and heavy rockin’ Berlin trio founded by guitarist/singer Kiryk Drewinski (ex-Liquid Visions/The Magnificent Brotherhood), drummer Holger “The Holg” Grosser and bassist/organist Dave Götz, and named themselves after the first stone tool of human history. Their sound is accordingly archaic, extremely effective, made from “solid rock” and, when used correctly, it causes fire… especially on stage!

WEDGE IS
Kiryk Drewinski- Vocals / Guitars / Harmonica
Holger ‘The Holg’ Grosser – Drums / Percussion
David Götz – Bass / Organ / Electric Piano / Mellotron

WEDGE shows in November:
02.11. (de) Munich, backstage *
03.11. (en) Milan, space space *
04.11. (CH) Chur, Palazzo Beat Club *
16.11. (de) Fulda, culture cellar *
17.11. (de) Leipzig, moritzbastei *
18.11. (de) Regensburg cultural centre old malthouse at gogo low fest vol. II ***
19.11. (de) Berlin, Cassiopeia **
* W / Wucan
** W / Wucan & Eat Ghosts
*** W / Siena Root, Swan Valley Heights & Welcome Inside The Brain

https://www.facebook.com/wedgeband/
http://www.wedgeband.com/home.html
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://twitter.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUND
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/

Wedge, “’61 SG” official video

The track “’61 SG” from German classic heavy rock power trio Wedge starts out with pretty standard guitar-as-girl lyrics, and it’s not until it gets to the two-line chorus that the band really shows just how tongue-in-cheek the spirit of the song is. I won’t spoil the punchline, but it’s a good one and the ’70s-worship boogie that accompanies is no less enjoyable. Wedge will release their self-titled debut in November through Italian imprint Heavy Psych Sounds, joining an expanding roster helmed and curated by Gabriele Fiori of Roman fuzz rockers Black Rainbows.

Wedge — comprised of vocalist/guitarist Kiryk, drummer The Holg and bassist/key specialist David — formed earlier this year, so I guess you could say they’re off to a solid start. They’ve already done a few festivals, and in the days and months to come, they’re set to share the stage with Seven that Spells, Heat, Belzebong, Aqua Nebula Oscillator and fellow Berlin natives Kadavar, who seem to be a key influence under which Wedge are working.

Always up for a good time, Heavy Psych Sounds announced the news earlier, heralding the arrival of vintage grooves in limited vinyl editions, which, you know, is kind of how it goes these days. Dig the video too, if you’ve got a minute to watch:

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS Records is Proud to announce the signing of

***WEDGE***

for their upcoming selftitled LP out in November in Vinyl and Digipak.

The vinyl will be released in ltd ed in 150 copies in clear blue, and white.

The band was formed in early 2014 by Kiryk (vocals & guitar), The Holg (drums) & David (bass, organ & electric piano), three dedicated musicians and party pals from Berlin, Germany.

They play a Vintage-Retro Rock n’ Roll inspired by bands as The Who, Cream, Groundhogs, Cactus, MC5 and recent Kadavar and Wolfmother.

www.heavypsychsounds.com
www.WedgeBand.com
www.facebook.com/WedgeBand

Wedge, “’61 SG” official video