Posted in Whathaveyou on February 21st, 2024 by JJ Koczan
In addition to a slot at Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho, on March 22 and a three-pack of dates in the company of Matt Pike‘s Pike vs. the Automaton, the upcoming West Coast tour from Montana heavy rockers Wizzerd will lead to their return appearance at Rocky Mountain Riff Fest (info here), to be held April 20 in the band’s native Kalispell.
The four-piece toured this past Fall in support of 2022’s Space‽: Issue No. 001 (review here), hitting the Midwest and touching on the Eastern Seaboard, so a Spring complement along the Pacific (and inland) seems about right. They had talked at that point about moving on toward their next release, whatever shape that might ultimately take, and while this tour is substantial, I don’t see it precluding a focus on new material at all. What, if they play a couple new songs live it’s gonna hurt the next record? The opposite seems much likelier.
Either way — and mind you I don’t know that they’ll be playing new songs at all on the run — they continue to put their work in. The shows were posted on socials thusly:
⚡️TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT⚡️ We’re pleased to announce the Equinox Tour! We can’t wait to get back out on the west coast, and there are some real doozies on this one. More news coming very soon, but for now we’ll see you at one of the dates below… Details at the link in our bio! • 3/16 – Kalispell, MT – Eagles 3/22 – Boise, ID – @treefortfest 3/23 – Salt Lake City, UT – @aceshighsaloon_slc 3/24 – Las Vegas, NV – Dive Bar 3/26 – Tempe, AZ – @yuccataproom 3/27 – Los Angeles, CA – @theredwoodbarandgrill 3/29 – Oceanside, CA – @pourhouseoceanside 3/30 – Yucca Valley, CA – @giantrockmeetingroom 4/1 – Santa Cruz, CA – @bluelagoonsc 4/2 – San Francisco, CA – @theknockoutsf 4/3 – Eureka, CA – @solarsiren 4/5 – Portland, OR – @dantesportland * 4/6 – Bremerton, WA – @tracytonmoviehouse * 4/7 – Seattle, WA – @elcorazonseattle * 4/20 – Kalispell, MT – @rockymtnrifffest *=with Pike vs the Automaton
Poster by @isaacpasswaterillustration
Wizzerd is: Guitar/Vocals – Jhalen Salazar Guitar – Jamie Yeats Drums – Sam Moore Bass – Layne Matkovich
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 2nd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
You can see in the lineup for Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2024 that the festival, which is set for April 20 in Kalispell, Montana, is expanding its reach. Yes, Wizzerd, Sorcia, Merlock, The Gray Goo and Spliffripper have played before — The Old Ones played Erosion Festival in 2016; I remember thinking that looked awesome and it did — but returning parties are accompanied by newcomers like Lord Velvet, Chokesetter and Hot Milk and the Flower Pallets, who play the pre-show, and I think they’ll have two stages going and Mos Generator are popping eastward from their home in Port Orchard, Washington, which is probably like a 40-hour drive or something, to headline. I’d go to this in a second, man. That’s a good way to spend a day, and you’re in Kalispell, which looks gorgeous.
The full lineup was announced on social media — I know, crazy, right? — and notes a venue change that looks like it’ll actually be pretty cool having it all in one place. Dig:
FULL LINEUP HAS ARRIVED!
We’re excited to reveal the lineup for #rmrf2024! We are welcoming back some heavy hitters, and introducing some bands to the Flathead valley for the first time.
-MOS GENERATOR- -SORCIA- -LORD VELVET- -MERLOCK- -CHOKESETTER- -WIZZERD- -GREASE CULT- -THE GRAY GOO- -THE OLD ONES- -SURFBAT- -SCHTICKY- -SPLIFFRIPPER- -FREE DRUGS- -HOT MILK AND THE FLOWER PALLETS-
In years past, Riff Fest has been a block party between the legendary @oldschoolrecords134 and the Eagles in downtown Kalispell. Facing the closure of the 1st Street location of OSR, we are now taking over two levels of the Eagles! It’s going to be a party in the whole building, with our traditional free pre-party at the Glacier Park VFW.
We are also proud to bring on some local sponsors who are stoked to help bring some killer music to the valley!
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 16th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Montana-based heavy rockers Wizzerd released their first album for Fuzzorama, titled Space‽: Issue No. 001 (review here), last September, and as they announced this tour that will bring them to the East Coast for the first time since it arrived, I couldn’t help but notice the word “final” included. Is the implication that the band are done after this? A last hurrah and that’s it? Would be unfortunate timing, most especially since the record was cool, but I reached out to guitarist Jamie Yeats for clarification and was assured that no, they’re not saying they’re breaking up, it’s just probably the last time they’ll be out supporting the latest album. Fair. It will have been a year, after all.
And glad as I am they’re not dissolving the project, it’s also rad to see them doing shows with Greek heavy forerunners 1000mods on their US tour and Fuzzorama labelmates Valley of the Sun, from Ohio, who are also doing some of their best work right now, at this very moment. Seems like the kind of show one might consider hitting up, should they be rolling through your neighborhood. Go to a show. Buy a shirt.
Here are the dates:
TRANSMISSION:
Wizzerd is excited to reveal the Afterburner Tour! We will journey east in a final‽ voyage through space…
We will travel alone in the first half and return to home alongside 1000mods and Valley of the Sun.
Join us in the fight against moon spiders.
Artwork by Isaac Passwater
9/6 – Billings, MT – Kirk’s Grocery 9/7 – Spearfish, SD – Crow Peak Brewing 9/8 – Denver, CO – Skylark 9/9 – Lawrence, KS – Replay Lounge 9/10 – St. Louis, MO – Platypus 9/12 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant St 9/14 – Cambridge, MA – Middle East# 9/15 – Buffalo, NY – Soup of Dissent 9/16 – Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl# 9/18 – Columbus, OH – Rumba Cafe# 9/20 – Fort Wayne, IN – Stan’s Room# 9/21 – Des Moines, IA – Lefty’s# 9/22 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge# 9/23 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club# 9/24 – Chicago, IL – Reggies# #=with 1000mods and Valley of the Sun
Wizzerd is: Guitar/Vocals – Jhalen Salazar Guitar – Jamie Yeats Drums – Sam Moore Bass – Layne Matkovich
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 14th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
You had me at Loin Hammer. That’s gotta be one of the best band names I’ve seen in the last couple years, at least. They’re somewhat thrashier than one might expect given the riffy foundations of many of the other bands, but they’re still called Loin Hammer, which is enough to make it an automatic win if you see them live. Imagine being able to say, “yeah, I’ve seen Loin Hammer.” If you’re the type to get a tattoo, that’d be a good one.
You’ll note return appearances from Merlock, Wizzerd, Swamp Ritual and The Gray Goo from last year’s Rocky Mountain Riff Fest. That says to me that in addition to an all-dayer-plus-pre-show-the-night-before, this is also a party and a reunion of friends. Pulling from the Pacific Northwest, the native Montana underground, Las Vegas and beyond, the lineup looks right on for a killer day of up and coming acts.
I looked back at what I said about the 2022 edition, and my impression was largely the same; it’s an intimate enough event that by the time it’s over everybody is going to know everybody. That kind of thing creates a sense of community which sticks as a defining factor as festivals expand — the return performances slated for 2023 are another element in establishing that — and I don’t know if you’ve ever done an image search to see what Kalispell looks like, but if you’re traveling to this one you will probably not regret booking an extra day just to take in some of the surrounding scenery, which is stunning even in Chamber of Commerce photos.
And, as noted, Loin Hammer will be there. So there’s that.
From socials:
Rocky Mountain Riff Fest 2023
April 22 at Old School Records & Eagles, Kalispell, MT
(free pre-party April 21 at Glacier Park VFW Post 2252)
Very pleased to announce the lineup for this year’s edition of Rocky Mountain Riff Fest!
Epic art by @isaacpasswaterillustration
Lineup April 22:
Tigers on Opium Sorcia Sonolith Grail Twin Void Wizzerd Swamp Ritual The Gray Goo Loin Hammer Lacoro
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 31st, 2022 by JJ Koczan
It’s a big ‘un. And if you’re like me, there are a couple names that stick out from the poster below, particularly Earthride and The Skull. Both are tribute sets, of course. The Skull frontman Eric Wagner passed away in 2021 after complications from a covid-19 infection and the loss of Earthride‘s Dave Sherman just a couple months ago continues to be keenly felt in and beyond the confines of the scene he called home. Karl Agell (ex-C.O.C.) will step in for The Skull, while Scott Angelacos of Hollow Leg is set to front a rotating cast of players for Earthride. You would be hard-pressed to find a more fitting occasion for honoring one’s own, except perhaps this gig in a couple weeks.
Plenty of familiar, returning acts as well as newcomers. Hippie Death Cult and will travel from the Pacific Northwest, Switchblade Jesus and Doomstress make an appearance (not the first for either) from Texas, and Red Mesa come straight out of the capital-‘desert’ Desert. Meanwhile, Faith in Jane, Black Lung, Bloodshot, Mangog, Mythosphere, Thonian Horde, Spiral Grave and plenty of others represent the Maryland home team, High Leaf and Thunderbird Divine trip down from Philly, Curse the Son (CT) and Guhts (NY) come from farther north, Hollow Leg make the trip out from Florida, and Lo-Pan, Doctor Smoke and Brimstone Coven head over from the Midwest. That’s just off the top of my head. I’m not sure there’s ever been a MDDF pulling so many bands from different parts of the country, though of course international bands have featured in the past as well.
There are always some shakeup between the first announcement and the final lineup, but so far so good here. Any way it works out, Maryland Doom Fest has nothing to prove at this point. Guaranteed banger.
Here’s the poster (oy) and the lineup, the latter in alphabetical order:
Maryland Doom Fest 2023
June 22-25 – Frederick, MD
We are proud to present to you The Maryland DooM Fest 2023 lineup roster and 2023 promotional art!!!!
We showcase over 50 kickass bands bringing you heavy riffs over these #4daysofdoom!!
The centerpiece art was created by Joshua Adam Hart (Earthride, Unorthodox, Revelation, Chowder, Stout, to name a few).
Josh is a career tattoo artist and is currently scheduling appointments at Triple Crown Towson Tattoo. Schedule to get ink from him at info@triplecrowntowson.com
The incredible flyer layout, coloring, and design is by our very talented Bill Kole (make sure to check out his band Ol’ Time Moonshine)!!
Above the Treachery, Akris, Black Lung, Bloodshot, Bonded by Darkness, Borracho, Brimstone Coven, Cobra Whip, Conclave, Crowhunter, Curse the Son, DeathCAVE, Doctor Smoke, Doomstress, Double Planet, Dust Prophet, Earthride, Faith in Jane, False Gods, Flummox, Fox 45, Future Projektor, Gallowglas, Grim Reefer, Guhts, Helgamite, High Leaf, Hippie Death Cult, Hog, Hollow Leg, Hot Ram, Las Cruces, Leather Lung, Lo-Pan, Mangog, Mythosphere, Orodruin, Red Mesa, Severed Satellites, Shadow Witch, Smoke the Light, Spiral Grave, Switchblade Jesus, The Skull, Thonian Horde, Thousand Vision Mist, Thunderbird Divine, Unity Reggae, VRSA, Weed Coughin, Wizzerd
Posted in Reviews on September 22nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
On occasion, throughout the last eight years or so that I’ve been doing this kind of Quarterly Review roundup thing, I’ve been asked how I do it. The answer is appallingly straightforward. I do it one record at a time, listening to as much music as possible and writing as much as I can. If you were curious, there you go.
If, more likely, you weren’t curious, now you know anyway. Shall we?
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Russian Circles, Gnosis
You wanna know how big a deal Russian Circles are? I didn’t even get a promo of this record. Granted, I’m nobody, but still. So anyway, here I am like a fucking sucker, about to tell you Gnosis is the heaviest and most intense thing Russian Circles — with whose catalog I’m just going to assume you’re familiar because they’re that big a deal and you’re pretty hip; bet you got a download to review, or at least an early stream — have ever done and it means literally nothing. Just makes me feel stupid and lame. I really want to like this album. That chug in “Conduit?” Fuck yeah. That wash in “Betrayal?” Even that little minimalist stretch of “Ó Braonáin.” The way “Tupilak” rumbles to life at the outset. That’s my shit right there. Chug chug crush crush, pretty part. So anyway, instead of sweating it forever, I’ll probably shut Gnosis off when I’m done here and never listen to it again. Thanks. Who gives a shit? Exactly. Means nothing to anyone. Tell me why I do this? Why even give it the space? Because they’re that big a deal and I’m the nerdy fat kid forever. Total fucking stooge. Fuck it and fuck you too.
Are not all gods mere substitutes for the power of human voices united in song? And why not tonight for finding the grace within us? As Brother Bill, Sister Caroline and their all-colours Septaphonic congregation of siblings tell us, we’re only one step away. I know you’ve been dragged down, wrung out, you’ve seen the valleys and hills, but now’s the time. Church of the Cosmic Skull come forward again with the message of galactic inner peace and confronting the unreality of reality through choral harmonies and progressive heavy rock and roll, and even the Cosmic Mother herself must give ear. Come, let us bask in the light of pure illumination and revolutionary suicide. Let us find what we lost somewhere. All gods die, but you and I can live forever and spread ourselves across the universe like so much dust from the Big Bang. We’ll feel the texture of the paper. We’ll be part of the team. Oh, fellow goers into the great Far Out, there’s reverence being sung from the hills with such spirit behind it. Can you hear? Will you? There’s nothing to fear here, nothing sinister. Nothing to be lost except that which has held you back all along. Let it all move, and go. Open your eyes to feel all seven rays, and stand peeled like an onion, naked, before the truth being told. Do this. Today.
Saarbrücken duo Pretty Lightning follow 2020’s stellar Jangle Bowls (review here) with a collection of 14 instrumental passages that, for all their willful meandering, never find themselves lost. Heady, Dead Meadowy vibes persist on ramblers like “Sediment Swing” and “Splinter Bowl,” but through spacious drone and the set-the-mood-for-whatever “Glide Gently (Into the Chasm),” which is both opener and the longest track (immediate points) at just over five minutes, the clear focus is on ambience. I wouldn’t be the first to liken some of Dust Moves to Morricone, and sure, “Powdermill” has some of that Dollars-style reverb and “The Secret is Locked Inside” lays out a subtle nighttime threat in its rattlesnake shaker, but these ideas are bent and shaped to Pretty Lightning‘s overarching purpose, and even with 14 songs, the fact that the album only runs 43 minutes should tell you that even as they seem to head right into the great unknown wilderness of intent, they never dwell in any single position for too long, and are in no danger of overstaying their welcome. Extra kudos for the weirdness of “Crystal Waltz” tucked right into the middle of the album next to “The Slow Grinder.” Sometimes experiments work.
Combining burly modern heavy riffage, progressive flourish and a liberal dose of chicanery, Montana’s Wizzerd end up in the realm of Howling Giant and a more structurally-straightforward Elder without sounding directly like either of them. Their Fuzzorama Records label debut, the quizzically punctuated Space‽: Issue No. 001 echoes its title’s obvious nods to comic book culture with a rush of energy in songs like “Super Nova” and “Attack of the Gargantuan Moon Spiders,” the swinging “Don’t Zorp ‘n’ Warp” space-progging out in its second half as though to emphasize the sheer delight on the part of the band doing something unexpected. So much the better if they’re having fun too. The back half of the outing after the duly careening “Space Chase” is blocked off by the noisy “Transmission” and the bleep-bloop “End Transmission” — which, if we’re being honest is a little long at just under five minutes — but finds the band establishing a firm presence of purpose in “Doom Machine Smoke Break” and the building “Diosa del Sol” ahead of the record’s true finishing moment, “Final Departure Part 1: The Intergalactic Keep of the Illustrious Cosmic Woman,” which is both an adventure in outer space and a melodic highlight. This one’s a party and you’re invited.
Desert 9 is one of several projects founded by synthesist Peter Bell through a collective/studio called Mutaform in the Brindisi region of Southern Italy (heel of the boot), and the seven-song/63-minute Explora II follows quickly behind June’s Explora I and works on a similar theme of songs named for different deserts around the world, be it “Dasht-e Margo,” “Mojave,” “Gobi” or “Arctic.” What unfolds in these pieces is mostly long-ish-form instrumental krautrock and psychedelic exploration — “Arctic” is an exception at a somewhat ironically scorching three and a half minutes; opener “Namib” is shorter, and jazzier, as well — likewise immersive and far-outbound, with Bell‘s own synth accompanied on its journeys by guitar, bass and drums, the former two with effects to spare. I won’t take away from the sunburn of “Sonoran” at the finish, but the clazzic-cool swing of “Chihuahuan” is a welcome respite from some of the more thrust-minded fare, at least until the next solo starts and eats the second half of the release. The mix is raw, but I think that’s part of the idea here, and however much of Explora II was improvised and/or recorded live, it sounds like the four-piece just rolled up, hit record and went for it. Not revolutionary in aesthetic terms, but inarguable in vitality.
Originally pressed to tape in 2019 through Fuzz Ink and brought to vinyl through Sound Effect Records, Greek sludgers Gagulta begin their self-titled debut with an evocation of the Old Ones before unfurling the 13-minute assault of “Dead Fiend/Devil’s Lettuce,” the second part of which is even slower than the first. Nods and screams, screams and nods, riffs and kicks and scratches. “Late Beer Cult” is no less brash or disaffected, the Galatsi-based trio of ‘vokillist’ Johny Oldboy, baritone bassist Xen and drummer Jason — no need for last names; we’re all friends here — likewise scathing and covered in crust. Side B wraps with the 10-minute eponymous “Gagulta” — circle pit into slowdown into even noisier fuckall — but not before “Long Live the Undead” has dirty-steamrolled through its four minutes and the penultimate “War” blasts off from its snare count-in on a punk-roots-revealing surge that plays back and forth with tortured, scream-topped slow-riff madness. I don’t know if the Old Ones would be pleased, but if at any point you see a Gagulta backpatch out in the wild, that person isn’t fucking around and neither is this band. Two years after its first release, it remains monstrous.
Some 20 years removed from their debut album, Accidentally Making Enemies, and 13 past their most recent, 2009’s Eye Tree Pi (review here), London’s Obiat return at the behest of guitarist/keyboardist Raf Reutt and drummer Neil Dawson with the duly massive Indian Ocean, an eight-song collection spanning an hour’s listening time that brings together metallic chug and heavy post-rock atmospherics, largesse of tone and melody central to the proceedings from opener “Ulysses” onward. Like its long-ago predecessor, Alex Nervo‘s bass (he also adds keys and guitar) is a major presence, and in addition to vocalist Sean Cooper, who shines emotively and in the force of his delivery throughout, there are an assortment of guests on “Eyes and Soul,” “Nothing Above,” “Sea Burial” and subdued closer “Lightness of Existence,” adding horns, vocals, flute, and so on to the wash of volume from the guitar, bass, drums, keys, and though parts were recorded in Wales, England, Australia, Sweden, Norway and Hungary, Indian Ocean is a cohesive, consuming totality of a record that does justice to the long wait for its arrival while also earning as much volume as you can give it through its immersive atmospherics and sheer aural heft that leads to the ambient finish. It is not a minor undertaking, but it walks the line between metal and post-metal and has a current of heavy rock beneath it in a way that is very much Obiat‘s, and if they’re really back to being a band again — that is, if it’s not another 13 years before their next record — watch out.
Vienna five-piece Maunra enter the fray of the harsher side of post-metal with Monarch, their self-released-for-now debut full-length. With throaty growling vocals at the forefront atop subtly nuanced double-guitars and bouts of all-out chugga-breakdown riffing like that in “Wuthering Seas,” they’re managing to dare to bring a bit of life and energy to the generally hyper-cerebral style, and that rule-breaking continues to suit them in the careening “Embers” and the lumbering stomp-mosh of the title-track such that even when the penultimate “Lightbreather” shifts into its whispery/wispy midsection — toms still thudding behind — there’s never any doubt of their bringing the shove back around. I haven’t seen a lyric sheet, so can’t say definitively whether or not opener “Between the Realms” is autobiographical in terms of the band describing their own aesthetic, but their blend of progressivism and raw impact is striking in that song and onward, and it’s interesting to hear an early ’00s metal influence creep into the interplay of lead and rhythm guitar on that opener and elsewhere. At seven tracks/41 minutes, Monarch proffers tonal weight and rhythmic force, hints toward more melodic development to come, and underscores its focus on movement by capping with the especially rousing “Windborne.” Reportedly the album was five years in the making. Time not wasted.
Still mostly instrumental, formerly just-Ohio-based progressive heavy rockers Brujas del Sol answer the steps they took in a vocalized direction on 2019’s II (review here) with the voice-as-part-of-the-atmosphere verses of “To Die on Planet Earth” and “Myrrors” on their third album, Deculter, but more importantly to the actual listening experience of the record is the fact that they’ve never sounded quite this heavy. Sure, guitarist Adrian Zambrano (also vocals) and bassist Derrick White still provide plenty of synth to fill out those instrumentalist spaces and up the general proggitude, and that’s a signal sent clearly with the outset “Intro,” but Joshua Oswald (drums/vocals) pounds his snare as “To Live and Die on Planet Earth” moves toward its midsection, and the aggression wrought there is answered in both the guitar and bass tones as 12-minute finishing move “Arcadia” stretches into its crescendo, more about impact than the rush of “Divided Divinity” earlier on, rawer emotionally than the keyboardier reaches of “Lenticular,” but no less thoughtful in its construction. Each piece (even that intro) has an identity of its own, and each one makes Deculter a stronger offering.
A definite 2LP at nine songs and 68 minutes, Sergeant Thunderhoof‘s fifth full-length, This Sceptred Veil, is indeed two albums’ worth of album, and the songs bear that out in their complexity and sense of purpose as well. Not to harp, but even the concluding two-parter “Avon/Avalon” is a lot to take in after what’s come before it, but what Bath, UK, troupe vary their songwriting and bring a genuine sense of presence to the material that even goes beyond the soaring vocals to the depth of the mix more generally. There’s heavy rock grit to “Devil’s Daughter” (lil eyeroll there) and progressive reach to the subsequent “Foreigner,” a lushness to “King Beyond the Gates” and twisting riffs that should earn pleased nods from anyone who’s been swept up in Green Lung‘s hooky pageantry, and opener “You’ve Stolen the Words” sets an expectation for atmosphere and a standard for directness of craft — as well as stellar production — that This Sceptred Veil seems only too happy to meet. A given listener’s reaction to the ’80s metal goofery of “Show Don’t Tell” will depend on said listener’s general tolerance for fun, but don’t let me spoil that for them or you. Yeah, it’s a substantial undertaking. Five records in, Sergeant Thunderhoof knew that when they made it, and if you’ve got the time, they’ve got the tunes. Album rocks front to back.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 13th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Clearly Wizzerd have no time to waste. The Kalispell, Montana, heavy rocking four-piece dig into proto-metal riffing on “Don’t Zorp ‘n’ Warp” — fair enough advice, kids — and thus introduce their upcoming full-length, Space?: Issue No.001, with what at least sounds like maximum thrust, though it could well be they’ve got more tricks up their collective sleeve. In any case, the four-minute lead single from the band’s first long-player to see delivery through Fuzzorama Records is all go until about two minutes in, when it breaks to proggier, organ-laced contemplations, presumably of its life and the choices it’s made. You know, the usual.
So, do Wizzerd leave it all on the floor and jam their way into infinity, or do they perhaps come back, even at the very last second, to bookend with that earlier speed? Well, this time I’m not going to tell you. You’ll just have to figure that shit out on your own. By listening. Have fun doing so.
From the PR wire:
Fuzzorama Records to release Wizzerd – Space‽: Issue No.001 on September
New Single ‘Don’t Zorp ‘N’ Warp’ released and available on digital platforms: SPOTIFY, YOUTUBE MUSIC…
Although the members were good friends and musical allies for years beforehand, Wizzerd was officially formed in October 2014. Forged from countless hours of jamming in a northwestern Montana basement was a sound that Wizzerd could latch onto as their own. They soon penned and recorded their first album, ‘Doomchild’, and since then have been challenging themselves to grow in every way possible while remaining independently managed and produced. Since the release of ‘Doomchild’, they have written mounds of material and released some of it in the form of their self titled LP on Cursed Tongue Records, and has recently signed to the mighty Fuzzorama Records to put out the third in this musical trilogy: Space?: Issue No.001, set for release Sept 2022!
“Shattering expectations. Made me think if the Beatles, Parliament & Pentagram were one band” – Cody of Double Wide Studios
However, perhaps the way the band has grown most is on the road. Four years of extensive touring of the US and breaking ground in Europe has led the band to bring their sound to the ears of many people far and wide. All of this time in the van and on the stage was followed by lots of studio time in spring and summer 2020, which has led to a split with Ripple Music, as well as a signing with the upcoming album. With new music and more touring in the near future, Wizzerd has a bright road ahead that is not to be missed!
Wizzerd is: Guitar/Vocals – Jhalen Salazar Guitar – Jamie Yeats Drums – Sam Moore Bass – Layne Matkovich
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Good times. As it happened I was thinking about Wizzerd‘s hometown in Kalispell, Montana, earlier today. Sorcia were playing there, I think it was. An eternity distant in my mind, but that EP was good.
Speaking of imminent things with good EPs, Wizzerd head out this weekend on a healthy stretch of live dates that had me checking my email for an album announcement I might’ve missed — no there wasn’t one. Last I heard from them was when they signed to Fuzzorama. At the time the record, titled Space: Issue No. 001, was slated for Fall.
HOWEVER, in between me starting to write this post and actually putting it up, the band released the new video for “Supernova” and with that comes the confirmation that their album will be out Sept. 30. So if you’ve been keeping up, yes, Fall.
The following comes from social media, which unless you’re totally averse to such things, you already know because band names appear as tags. I’ve basically decided to stop changing that kind of thing, which I’ve done for a while now. That’s reasonable, right? If something is ever unclear, you can always drop me a line direct.
Anyway, on with it:
UPDATE: Denver! We have added a killer show at @hqdenver with our old buds @thedirtystreets and our soon to be buds @elperrotheband. Stoked on this one!!
Tour is closing in soon, less than a couple weeks before we get to do this again! Where will we see you?
6/11 – Bozeman, MT – Labor Temple 6/12 – Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High 6/13 – Denver, CO – HQ 6/14 – Lawrence, KS – Replay Lounge 6/15 – Oklahoma City, OK – Blue Note 6/16 – Dallas, TX – Double Wide 6/17 – Austin, TX – High Noon 6/18 – San Antonio, TX – Lonesome Rose 6/19 – Lafayette, LA – Freetown Boom Boom Room 6/21 – Johnson City, TN – The Hideaway 6/22 – Asheville, NC – Odditorium 6/23 – Morgantown, WV – 123 Pleasant St 6/24 – Youngstown, OH – Westside Bowl 6/25 – Canton, OH – Buzzbin 6/26 – Frederick, MD – Maryland Doom Fest 6/27 – Louisville, KY – Highlands Tap 6/28 – Detroit, MI – PJ’s Lager House 6/29 – Chicago, IL – Reggies 7/1 – Madison, WI – The Wisco 7/2 – Mankato, MN – NaKato Bar 7/3 – Rapid City, SD – Labor Temple
