Ohio’s Rebreather always brought a sense of character and individuality to sludge, and while it’s been the better part of a decade since their last release, they still do. The Youngstown trio — who will forever live in doom trivia by being the first band ever to grace the Nyabinghi stage at the inaugural Emissions from the Monolith Festival in 2000 — are back with a six-song self-titled EP that follows up on their return to the stage and general band activity. “Open Your Eyes” and “Countdown” have plenty of the bombast for which they’re known, the rawness taken from noise rock and slowed to a pummel, while “Sunday” forms a melodic center around which the rest of the EP seems to revolve, getting an answer in the rawer heavy rock of closer “Five.”

Because they can be so scathing when they want to be, they’ve always been a band whose atmospheres are somewhat deceptive, but going back to 2002’s Need Another Seven Astronauts — a title that was as topical at the time — and that essential characteristic is certainly revived in the depth of these songs. If this is Rebreather declaring who they are in 2018, I’ll take it.

From the PR wire:

REBREATHER RELEASE NEW EP

Ohio band returns after indefinite hiatus

Heavy Ohio rock outfit Rebreather have self-released a new EP. The band, originally formed in 1999, exited the doom/stoner/sludge music scene in 2013 with no immediate plans for return. Fast-forward to 2017, when founding member and vocalist/guitarist Barley Rantilla and drummer Steve Gardner began playing shows of back catalog material with new bassist Steve Wishnewski. Momentum built quickly, and the band’s 18-year fanbase returned in full force to fill up venues.

“Things picked up very rapidly when we started playing shows again, and it just made sense to continue and see what would develop.” – Barley Rantilla

Rebreather invite you to review the new EP, as well as peruse their entire back catalog at https://rebreather-ohio.bandcamp.com

“The sleeping giant awakens…” – Josh Roman, MindRocket Recording Studio

Tracklisting:
1. Open Your Eyes 05:04
2. Starved 03:09
3. Sunday 05:43
4. Countdown 05:13
5. Destroy That Silence 04:11
6. Five 04:21

Rebreather is:
Barley Rantilla – Guitars and Vocals
Steve Gardner – Drums
Steve Wishnewski – Bass

https://www.facebook.com/rebreather-372407815879/
https://www.instagram.com/rebreather_band/
https://rebreather-ohio.bandcamp.com/
http://www.stevewishnewski.com/rebreather

Rebreather, Rebreather EP (2018)

The last Emissions from the Monolith festival took place in 2007 in Austin, Texas, but the fest will always be associated with Youngstown, Ohio. A beaten, post-industrial burg off Route 80 on the other side of the Pennsylvania state line, there wasn’t much to see in Youngstown, and that was part of the point. Nestled deep in a street that, on any given day, someone might rob the deli down the block, the Nyabinghi itself was a mirror of dropped-out culture. Not the glorified kind, but the kind that actually didn’t give a fuck. From 2000 through 2006, Emissions from the Monolith was held at the Nyabinghi and its lineups looked an awful lot like the shape of heavy to come.

I only went to one. The last in Ohio, in 2006. A little band called Baroness opened one of the days and to date it’s the only US appearance Colour Haze have ever made. There was some blowup with SunnO))) that resulted in thrown monitors. To tell you the truth, there’s a lot of it I don’t remember. Apparently Orange Goblin and Scissorfight‘s tour took them out that way. Awesome. I remember seeing that in New York, but if I caught it at Emissions, it’s news to me. It was that kind of a thing. A blackout weekend every Memorial Day. There was very little fashionable about heavy rock and doom at the time, and barbecue sandwiches sold on the back patio. It’s hard to write about without glorifying it, but maybe it should be glorified. Probably not if we’re judging by standards of public safety. I remember handing one of my band’s demos to Greg Barratt, who owned the place and booked Emissions. He was polite enough.

Wino was a regular fixture at the fest, between Spirit Caravan in 2000 and 2001 and The Hidden Hand in 2003 and 2004. The year this week’s Wino Wednesday clip comes from is 2001. Spirit Caravan — Wino, bassist Dave Sherman, drummer Gary Isom — were joined on the bill by Warhorse, Bongzilla, Halfway to Gone, Weedeater, Witch Mountain, Disengage, Pale Divine, Tummler, Sherman‘s own Earthride and many others. I imagine it was a hell of a weekend. At the start of their set, Wino thanks Barratt for putting the thing on and says something about police activity the night before. That sounds about right.

Not sure who filmed it, but the audio is by Michael “Lucifer Burns” Lindenauer. Enjoy:

Spirit Caravan, Live at Emissions from the Monolith II, May 2001

Long relegated to giving the occasional discerning collector a very expensive boner, Poobah’s 1972 lost wonder Let Me In sees new life in a reissue by Ripple Music and a remastering job by none other than Stone Axe’s T. Dallas Reed. Boasting the original six-track, 31-minute LP and an additional 12 bonus cuts (just to point out the math: there’s literally twice as much bonus material as album tracks), Ripple’s version of Let Me In is a 75-minute monster, and while it’s true some of the bonus cuts are just the band screwing around — I’m looking at you, “Aww, Not Now” — there’s also a slew of killer non-album songs, live rehearsals and alternate versions, so if you’ve ever wanted to hear Poobah, this is probably the best way out there to go about it. Certainly the most bang for your buck.

The material the Youngstown, Ohio, trio of guitarist/vocalist Jim Gustafson, bassist/vocalist Phil Jones and drummer Glenn Wiseman (Nick Gligor and Steve Schwelling also show up for drums on the bonus tracks) brought to the Let Me In album itself is top notch American ‘70s heavy rock. Distinguished by Gustafson’s blazing leads and the occasional psychedelic freakout, tracks like “Bowleen” and opener “Mr. Destroyer” may sound completely of their day, but if you’re hunting down a band like Poobah, that’s exactly what you want. Special mention should be made of the obvious attention to detail and love Reed put into his remastering job, bringing Jones’ bass up for the playful runs on the closing title track (closing out the original album, not the full disc here) makes that song even more of a highlight, and it seems that each song on the record has something special that stands it out, among its tracklist compatriots, yes, but also among the early ‘70s heavy scene, which lacked neither quantity of bands or quality of output. Even the softer, more progressive “Enjoy What You Have” and the ultra-bluesy “Live to Work” — the latter especially — hold their ground against any band to whom you’d have them compared, and the more you hear Let Me In, the more that will ring true.

Read more »

Does it seem a little strange to pre-order an album that came out in 1972? Yes. Nevertheless, that’s the situation with Poobah‘s classic of underground ’70s heavy rock, Let Me In. Ripple Music, which has overseen the remastering and reissuing of the album, is now taking pre-orders in advance of the October 12 release date.

The PR wire has the details:

With the original 1972 LP fetching upwards of $300 a piece at various auction sites, Poobah and Ripple Music decided it was time to “re-unleash” the album that started the madness. The fuzzed-out, psychedelic, proto-metal masterpiece Let Me In is set to hit the streets on October 12th, 2010 and will be available in CD, digital and deluxe double gatefold 12″ vinyl versions. Fully remastered by T. Dallas Reed (Stone Axe/Mos Generator) the songs have a fresh vitality while never losing the ‘70s edge that made them so endearing in the first place.

The original six tracks will be accompanied by a ton of previously unreleased tracks and never before seen photographs; Let Me In will undoubtedly satisfy the most rabid of Poobah fan! The CD edition includes twelve bonus cuts and an 8-page booklet that features live shots and of the band at some of their most candid moments, while the double LP edition includes 10 bonus tracks and is pressed on two-toned black and white vinyl. Now accepting pre-orders at Ripple Music!