Posted in Whathaveyou on July 16th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Continuing to support 2024’s Revival (review here), played Rhüne Mountain Festival, and Maryland Doom Fest in June as part of a summer tour that will pick up next month where it left off and keep the band on the road into September. They’ve got Seismic Summer in Charlotte on Aug. 30, and that’ll be with Temple of the Fuzz Witch, Crystal Spiders, and a slew of others, and the string of club dates looks killer and will hit familiar spots throughout the Midwest and East Coast.
There’s a little break between the August and September stints, but it all adds up to one continuing summer run that began last month and I’m pretty sure makes 2025 WyndRider‘s most road-dogging year yet. Interested to see where they go next. In the meantime, most of these shows were previously announced, but Houston and Baltimore are new and none have been posted here yet, so here they are from various sources between Bandcamp emails and social media:
⚡WYNDRIDER⚡ TEMPLE OF THE COSMIC BOG WEED WITCH PRIEST WIZARD CULT TOUR 2025
NEW DATES ADDED! WyndRider will now be returning to Houston, TX on 8/21 and Baltimore, MD on 9/16.
The Temple of the Cosmic Bog Weed Witch Priest Wizard Cult Tour 2025 is coming your way. Thanks again to Satellite Touring and Electric Valley Records .
8/2 – Bristol, VA – Fern Ridge Distro 8/15 – Memphis, TN – Hi Tone 8/16 – Fort Smith, AR – Majestic 8/17 – Fort Worth, TX – The Cicada 8/19 – Austin, TX – Come and Take it Live 8/20 – San Antonio, TX – The Starlighter 8/21 – Houston, TX – Black Magic Social Club 8/22 – New Orleans, LA – Santos Bar 8/24 – Tampa, FL – Brass Mug 8/26 – Winter Park, FL – Conduit 8/27 – Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits 8/29 – Spartanburg, SC – Ground Zero 8/30 – Charlotte, NC – Seismic Summer Fest at The Milestone Club 9/5 – Johnson City, TN – Capone’s 9/12 – Richmond, VA – Another Round 9/13 – Stanhope, NJ – Stanhope House 9/14 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fire 9/16 – Baltimore, MD – The Depot 9/18 – Akron, OH – The Vortex 9/19 – Toledo, OH – Frankie’s 9/20 – New Haven, IN – Carl’s Tavern 9/21 – Nashville, TN – The Cobra
Presented by Satellite Touring and Electric Valley Records Flyer by Josh Drinnen
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 25th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
A year ago this week, Tennessee doom rockers WyndRider brought forth Revival (review here), their second album. They spent a decent amount of last summer supporting the record, which like their 2023 self-titled debut (review here), was roundly well received. Their plans then also included a stop at Maryland Doom Fest, and to the hallowed streets of Frederick the four-piece will return this June, doing so as part of a tour that also takes them north into Canada for a slot at the Rhüne Mountain Festival, which they’ll play on the Thursday with Indian Handcrafts, Sun Below and a slew of others.
The run officially starts June 15, but that’s a few days ahead of Maryland Doom Fest on the 19th, it picks up from there with eight shows in 10 days and probably a decent amount of travel going from Connecticut to Montreal and Ontario to Michigan on the ‘days off.’ Hopefully those days are spent doing more than waiting for the show the next day. But I’m pretty sure WyndRider get stoned, so if it’s sitting and looking at water for a few hours in the Great Lakes sunshine, I somehow think they’d manage to get through it.
Their announcement of the tour was straightforward enough: just the dates and poster. I’ve got those below, as well as the stream of Revival in case you’d like a reminder what you’re in for, but this band has done well in spreading the word about what they do and what they’re into on socials, so I’m sure you’ve already seen these days, marked your calendar for whatever/wherever and moved on. Good on you for that.
Numbers and towns:
WyndRider USA/CAD 2025 6/15 Knoxville, TN 6/19 Maryland Doom Fest, MD 6/20 Brooklyn, NY 6/21 Hamden, CT 6/23 Montreal, QC 6/25 Toronto, ON 6/26 Rhune Mountain Fest, ON 6/28 Melvindale, MI 6/29 Cincinnati, OH
Posted in Reviews on August 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Stoned East Coast heavy blues and doom pervade the second full-length, Revival, from Tennesseean four-piece WyndRider, who know of what they riff. Fronted by the foreboding but soulful melodies of Chloe Gould, with Robbie Willis on guitar, Joshuwah Herald on bass and Josh Brock on drums — the latter making his first appearance with the band in an all-Josh rhythm section — the band make a turnaround from their 2023 self-titled debut (review here) that feels almost deceptively quick considering the crawling tempo of “Remember the Sabbath” at the start of side B or the finale “The Wheel” just one song later, but there is growth and self-awareness underlying their sound as they present it on this seven-song/43-minute collection, which was recorded, mixed and mastered by Danielle Fehr of The Wizard Productions, even as it continues the first album’s thread of stoner-doom-speaking-to-stoner-doom and revels in various genre tropes around horror cinema, “Motorcycle Witches,” and religious dogma, and so on.
With four tracks on its first half and three on its second, one might be tempted to think of Revival as a mullet structure — business up front and party in the back — but really it’s just all the party, and the party is doom. The blend of jangly strum and wholly-fuzzed riffing with Gould‘s voice showcased overtop in opener “Forked Tongue Revival” sets a Southern Baptist-style procession forward, but even among “Judas” and “Devil’s Den,” the lead cut is actually something of an outlier in terms of structure, and so smartly placed such that its psych-leaning midpoint solo and lurching gospelism, instead of being mismatched to the subsequent “Motorcycle Witches,” marks out a broader stylistic swath for everything that follows while remaining consistent in tone and the band’s general dynamic.
There and throughout Revival, the sense of a band knowing what works in their sound is palpable, whether it’s the ritualized atmospherics giving over to the riff laid out at the beginning of “Motorcycle Witches” or the steady nod that follows in that first-of-three trilogy of five-minute cuts; “Motorcycle Witches,” “Judas” and “Devil’s Den” each bring something of their own to the record’s front-to-back, but feel grouped together following the six-minute “Forked Tongue Revival” on side A, even if the time differentials aren’t drastic between longer (seven-plus minutes) and shorter (five-plus minutes) songs and the nod is a constant presence regardless.
That grouping, the way Revival is actually set up as “Judas” picks up from “Motorcycle Witches” with a Maryland doom traditionalism in its verse — putting riffs and disaffected vibes where less capable hands might otherwise place bullshit — and leaning into a rawer sound for Willis‘ soloing ahead of the cowbell’s somehow-inevitable arrival, is further evidence of the focus on delivery and the album’s structure. “Judas” meanders a bit into dark-trippiness without losing its way in its second half, coming mostly to a stop before the resurgent solo-topped roll brings them to the last verse and comedown, but it and the centerpiece “Devil’s Den” make fitting companions. The latter brings new testimonial from Gould with elephantine backing from the riff, a sleek groove that’s consistent in its lead flourish and bluesy but perfectly-paced verse stops, hinting toward Clutch-y funk, but ultimately working toward more sinister aesthetic ends. Brock‘s drums join the bass and guitar in a punctuated chug offsetting the central riff later, but it’s Willis who caps side A with a pull of lead guitar that, in a linear format — i.e. CD or digital — moves with grace into Herald‘s bass at the outset of “Remember the Sabbath.”
And they’re not kidding when they say ‘Sabbath’ either. As in, “Black Sabbath” by Black Sabbath on the album Black Sabbath. Hard to get more ‘Sabbath’ than that without actual religious observation. Much to WyndRider‘s credit, they neither play coy with the influence nor neglect to bring something of their own to it, the spaces left open in the verse and tumble-down-the-stairs transitions giving them a chance to push into moodier cavernousness before Willis highlights the point with a late classic-style solo following the crescendo of riff, the bass that gently caps shifting to kick drum as “Under the Influence” takes hold — it’s almost enough to make you wonder if they’re doing “War Pigs” next, and that also feels intentional — soon rejoined by decidedly nastier low end fuzz. That thudding intro opens to what feels like a triumphant breakout but is still decisively doomed, some twist alongside the abiding nod of the verse, almost an Uncle Acid-y strut but grounded in doom rather than the swing itself, and heavy, heavy, heavy in plod even as “Under the Influence” comes across as placed in part to give “Remember the Sabbath” and aforementioned closer “The Wheel” breathing room on either side of it.
This isn’t a detriment to the song or the LP more broadly — if anything, it underscores the focus on fluidity throughout, which is successful and a strength that bolsters the impression of Revival as a whole work — as “The Wheel” lumbers forth through early verses en route to a Iommi-style bi-channel guitar solo that drops in the midsection to spoken word (and maybe organ or manipulated feedback; maybe both?) as part of the build into the next stage of the finale, suitably doomed. The willful slog gives over to more intense drumming at around five minutes in, and the swing of “Under the Influence” is echoed in the last movement of “The Wheel” as the pace gets a kick for the last two minutes or so before the cold stop ends it with no less clarity of purpose than anything that’s come before.
Indeed, that clarity is the most resounding point WyndRider make on their second full-length, the album firmly declaring that, after a debut well received in the US underground — the “scene,” as it exists in social media word of mouth, etc. — the band have taken the lessons of their first album and used them as a means of progressing their craft. Revival is quick in affirming the potential of its predecessor, but more encouraging for the development it portrays in WyndRider stylistically while landing in close enough succession to keep momentum on the band’s side. They now have two strong LP offerings under their collective belt. If the pattern holds, their next one may tell the ultimate tale of their fruition.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 25th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Timing is everything. Mere minutes after I took the dog out the other day and got the mail that happened to have the t-shirt I preordered from Tennessee heavy rollers WyndRider a while back in it, I sat back down in front of the laptop and lo, the algorithm saw fit to put the announcement of the band’s signing to Electric Valley Records in front of my eyeballs. I’m not saying it’s anything more than a fun coincidence — I don’t think social media tracking cookies can get in your actual, physical mailbox… yet — but it most certainly was that, and I look forward to hearing how the four-piece will follow-up their well received 2023 self-titled debut (review here), which they subsequently announced they’ll do with Revival on June 7.
To advance and coincide with the release, WyndRider are keeping busy this spring and summer with live shows, headed to Texas in May for Gravitoyd Doom Fest, to Maryland in June for the esteemed Maryland Doom Fest, and to Kentucky in July for the Holler of Doom, all with shows around them sharing the stage with names familiar and righteous. They’ve also posted the single “Motorcycle Witches” as an initial public offering from Revival, readily affirming the clarion-for-the-converted riffery and swing from the debut are well intact. Makes it even less of a challenge to look forward to the album.
The announcement from socials and live dates follow:
We are over the moon that we will be releasing our new album with Electric Valley Records ! More info coming real soon. Don’t blink or ya just might miss it.
From EVR: “Electric Valley Records is proud to announce that heavy riffers WyndRider have just signed for their brand new album🔥”
Pre-order for REVIVAL goes live with Electric Valley Records on 4/24 or on the WyndRider Bandcamp page on 4/25.
Stay Doomed💀”
WyndRider live: 5/2 – Memphis, TN – Hi Tone 5/3 – Arlington, TX – GROWL 5/4 – Houston, TX – Gravitoyd Doomfest 5/5 – New Orleans, LA – Siberia 5/24 – Knoxville, TN – BrickYard Bar & Grill 5/26 – Charlotte, NC – TBA 6/8 – Johnson City, TN – The Hideaway 6/20 – Indianapolis, IN – Black Circle 6/21 – Akron, OH – Buzzbin 6/22 – Frederick, MD – The †maryland DOOM† Fest 6/23 – New York, NY – The Bowery Electric 7/5 – Asheville, NC – The Odd 7/11 – Nashville, TN – Springwater Supper Club and Lounge 7/12 – London, KY – Holler of Doom 7/13 – Cincinnati, OH – THE COMET
