Hour of Power 06/29/13 (playlist)

1. We Are The Worm (Behold! The Monolith / Defender, Redeemist) 2012
2. Moonchild (Venomous Maximus / Beg Upon the Light) 2012
3. Hang The Witch (Space Witch / The Alchemy Paradox EP) 2013
4. Nameless Cults (Wo Fat / Cyclopean Riffs split w/ Egypt) 2013
5. Scorpion Child's Shaun Avants' influences interview
6. In Vino Veritas (Cult of Occult / Hic Est Domus Diaboli) 2013
7. Rooster (Alice in Chains / Dirt) 1992 'classic video'
8. Halv King (Behold! The Monolith / Defender, Redeemist) 2012

Hour of Power 01/19/13 (playlist)

Highlights from the week of 01/13/13 - 01/19/13

A ton of great bands have been putting out promo videos of late, Hour of 13, Destroyer of Light and Balam spring instantly to mind.  This week Venomous Maximus and Spider Kitten kick things off with their brand new vids.  After that, another recently released video by Space Mushroom Fuzz makes its triumphant Hour of Power appearance.  Then, you will find videos from each of the albums that were reviewed this week and a pair of songs that were long overdue for the youtube treatment from Mount Fuji and Owl (many thanks to MrStonerBeliever and Doom Lord respectively).  And finally we come to a new age drone piece that was recorded and uploaded by none other than Chad Davis just days ago that I feel makes for a good outro.  Thanks for watching ...

1. Path of Doom (Venomous Maximus / Beg Upon The Light) 2012
2. Twin Obscenities (Spider Kitten / Cougar Club) 2013
3. Trapped In The Past (Space Mushroom Fuzz / single) 2012
4. Kali Maa (Veracrash / My Brother The Godhead) 2012
5. Deserted Planet 2078 (Deep Space Destructors / II) 2012
6. Seed (SautruS / Kuelmaggah Mysticism: The Prologue) 2012
7. Head on Fire (Mount Fuji / ST) 2012
8. Medicine Mirror (Owl / First Album) 2012
9. Space (Glitter Wizard / Hunting Gatherers) 2012
10. Molecular Particles (Romannis Mötte) 2013

2012 Chronicle (Year in review) part 10 - Best of October

October 1 - Dryasdust (ST Demo)

October 3 - SautruS (Kuelmaggah Mysticism: The Prologue)

October 5 - CHAINS (Of Death) - Clearly, you will notice, ambient drone doom is not a major area of focus around Paranoid Hitsophrenic but with Chad Davis involved I was more than happy to make an exception.  This is magic ritual music, more meditative and darker than Saturnalia Temple or Spectral Haze and more of a mood setter.  Find it here. Highlights include "Anticosmic Void" and "Necromantic Force".  Rating 4.5/5

October 5 - DEMONIC DEATH JUDGE (Skygods) - Very much in the Dopethrone mold of just tossing off the grooviest riffs you'll ever hear as casually and as naturally as breathing, but throw in a Pink Floyd sensibility and you've gone from the head numbing to the mind expanding.  Very addictive stuff.  Read my review.  Download it here.  Highlights include "Skygods" and "Salomontaari".  Rating 4/5

October 5 - Spiders (Flash Point)

October 6 - OWL (First Album) - If one were to take the tone, attitude and sensibilities of Bay Area quartet Owl and paint it on the side of a van the resulting mural would depict dragons and motorcycles.  70s inspired hard rock with progressive tendencies and punky moments too.  Read my original review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Medicine Mirror" and "Glaurung".  Rating 4/5

October 8 - Talis (G.L.O.T.)

October 9 - ICHABOD (Dreamscapes From Dead Space) - One of the year's best right here.  A psychedelic metal masterpiece.  So many standout moment it makes my head spin, "Looking Glass" and "Baby Yaga" to name a couple.  "108" had the critics chattering and raving.  The good news about the new year just keeps piling up as Ichabod is set to release their follow-up effort 'Merrimack' sometime in 2013.  I haven't heard any of it but I've got a strong feeling you'll be reading about them here this time next year as well.  Read my interview with Ichabod.  Read my review of DfDS.  Get the album here.  Highlights include "Huckleberry" and "All Your Love".  Rating 4.5/5

October 9 - LORD FOWL (Moon Queen) - Another in a long line of great Small Stone releases this year.  This New England band's clean 70s rock sound is not the kind of thing I would have imagined I'd be into when the year started, but Moon Queen is stuffed with insanely catchy hooks. This is their second album and first on Small Stone.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Woman King" and "Streets of Evermore".  Rating 4/5

October 11 - Beastwars (Tower of Skulls 7" single)

October 11 - Zosimos (ST Demo)

October 13 - Bottlecap (ST)

October 19 - Bevar Sea (ST)

October 22 - Bison B.C. (Lovelessness)

October 22 - THE SWORD (Apocryphon) - Awesome old school metal with a sci fi sheen.  This was my first taste of The Sword and I found that its blade cuts deeply and eternally.  The album also features terrific cover art by none other than my favorite comic book artist, The Great J.H. (Jim) Williams III.  Read my review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Dying Earth" and "The Veil of Isis".  Rating 4.5/5

October 23 - BEDEMON (Symphony of Shadows) - This was another of my most highly anticipated albums of the year.  Old school doom from a real old school doom metaller.  Before there was Saint Vitus, before there was Witchfinder General, there was Bedemon.  This album happens to be really good, too.  Read my review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Saviour" and "Lord of Desolaton".  Rating 4/5

October 23 - Doommantia,  Vol. 1

October 23 - MOS GENERATOR (Nomads) - Just a great hard rock record, the Washingtonians' first on Ripple Music.  So many awesome hooks it's ridiculous, "Can't Get Where I Belong", "This is the Gift of Nature" and "Lonely One Kenobi" to name a few.  Solid hard rockin' stuff from front to back.  Read my review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Cosmic Ark" and "For Your Blood".  Rating 4.5/5

October 24 - Mammoth Thunderpower (I Am Thunder EP)

October 27 - NECRONOMICON (The Queen of Death) - Brazilian power trio Necronomicon's second release is a sacrificial ceremony on wax.  Combining the best elements of doom, Bay Area psychedelic rock from the mid 60s and occult themes their music is a red and black structure with green compartments.  Big riffs and sugary melodies draw the listener in for the schitzophrenic twists and turns the music takes.  Read my review.  Get it for the jaw droppingly low price of FREE on bandcamp.  Highlights include "The Queen of Death" and "The Assassin's Song".  Rating 5/5

October 30 - Indian Handcrafts (Civil Disobedience For Losers)

October 30 - Neurosis (Honor Found in Decay)

October 30 - VENOMOUS MAXIMUS (Beg Upon The Light) - From one of underground metals brightest hopes to one of its brightest lights in under 12 months, Houston, Texas' Venomous Maximus unleashed the most unexpected album of the year, having switched gears from a fairly straightforward, but particularly good, stoner doom approach to a pure old school heavy metal assault.  The band is beginning to fulfill their destiny with 'Beg Upon The Light' garnering a ton of attention from bigger websites and in print.  They've made many a pundit's year end list and they have here as well.  Find it here.  Highlights include "Path of Doom" and "Give Up the Witch".  Rating 4.5/5

October 31 - Albino Python (The Haunter of the Dark single)

October 31 - Atragon (Wallowing Wizard single)

October 31 - GOAT BONG (Goat Worship & Sodomy) - The work of a single madman, "Dirty" Mike Alcala, GW&S is a heavily synthesized instrumental doom riot.  "Sex, Drugs and Satan" is the motto on Goat Bong's bandcamp page and that certainly plays out on the 6-song EP, with plenty of humor, samples and riffs.  Highlights include "The Lost Art of Bong Rips" and "Cannabis Sativa Luciferi".  Rating 3.5/5

October 31 - MAGE (Black Sands) - Leicester, England quintet Mage play a burly style of mossy stoner doom.  This is their first full length album, full of big riffs and some very memorable songs.  Aside from those listed below "Danse Macabre", "Degenerate" and "Witch of the Black Desert" are standout tracks.  Good mix of stoner and doom by way of the desert.  Read my review.  Find it here.  Highlights include "Cosmic Cruiser X" and "Drowning Doom".  Rating 4/5

October 31 - Manlord (ST)

Best Album From October 2012:
'The Queen of Death' by NECRONOMICON

Best Song From October 2012:
"The Haunter of the Dark" by ALBINO PYTHON

Weekly Mailbag for 11/05/12 - 11/09/12

A look at what came in the mail this week with quickie reviews ...

Black Sabbath - Never Say Die - Years ago I sold this CD.  I never liked this album.  I listened to it once in high school and it wasn't what I wanted to hear from Sabbath.  It wasn't heavy enough for me.  10-15 years later and well, my opinion has softened considerably.  It's actually quite a good hard rock record, but it's still not heavy enough for me.  Highlights include "Never Say Die" and "Shock Wave". Rating - 4/5

Bonzo Dog Band - Gorilla -  So this isn't my favorite album, it's a heavily jazz-tinted collection of novelty songs and covers of old-timey songs, but it's the Bonzos' first and it does have three really great songs.  Neil Innes never quite gets the respect he deserves as a songwriter, but his compositions are always highly emotional and catchy. Highlights include "Piggy Bank Love" and "The Equestrian Statue". Rating - 2/5

Caravan - ST - An early prog favorite of mine.  This is the most straightforward album that Caravan would ever release, seven regular length songs and one long one at the end, the band would go on to investigate their longer compositions for the remainder of their recording career.  But while it lasted, they were quite adept at penning memorable shorter songs.  Highlights include "Place Of My Own" and "Grandma's Lawn". Rating - 4.5/5

Fickle Pickle - Sinful Skinful - Four excellent songwriters from the UK got together in the early 70s and unsuccessfully tried to fill the gap left by The Beatles.  They had a few hits in the Netherlands and that was about it.  Full of weird and/or quirky/cynical pop songs this album isn't for everyone but there's at least one song on here that will appeal to anyone. Highlights include "Sam and Sadie" and "Doctor Octopus". Rating - 4/5

Groundhogs - Scratching the Surface - I mentioned elsewhere that I loved this album, well The Shovell inspired me to actually buy this on CD.  Heavy blues bands were a dime-a-dozen in the UK at the time and this stands as a true highlight.  Funky as hell and displaying a compositional maturity that the likes of Ten Years After were years away from. Highlights include "You Don't Love Me" and "Early in the Morning". Rating - 4/5

Hawkwind - Doremi Fasol Latido - Hawkwind's third and first with Lemmy.  Much ado was made at the time in the change of rhythm section.  I don't notice the difference. This album or 'In Search of Space' is what I want to be listening to when the SWAT team crashes through my windows and doors.  But I won't notice them, because I'll be in Hawkwind world.  Highlights include "Brainstorm" and "Urban Guerilla". Rating - 4.5/5


Monster Magnet - 4-Way Diablo - What can I say, Monster Magnet always delivers the goods.  This album is a bit more raw hard rock than psychedelic, showcasing the MC5 or Stooges influence over the Hawkwind / Sabbath influence.  Even the 'slow' songs are heavier and more aggressive.  It's different but it's still undeniably MM. Highlights include "4-Way Diablo" and "A Thousand Stars". Rating - 4/5

Nirvana - All of Us - This 60s UK songwriting duo penned very twee british pop with lavishes of psychedelic production most notably on the super-phased "Rainbow Chaser", one of the best britpsych songs of the era.  But the song is deceptive as nothing else in the band's discography matches the edge of that cut.  Fans of the Seattle Nirvana would hate this band.  Highlights include "Rainbow Chaser" and "Girl in the Park". Rating - 3/5

Serenity Broken - Commercial Suicide - This CD came with a plastic business card which I thought was very impressive.  Serenity Broken play a very aggressive style of 90s inflected stoner rock. This band is right at the vanguard of a new wave of 90s-influenced bands, which I've touched on before.  So many great stoner bands coming out of Greece right now.  At 5 euros this CD is a real bargain and is the same price they charge for the digital download version of the album.  Money well spent.  Highlights include "Tattooed Heart" and "Def". Rating - 3.5/5

Spencer Davis Group - Time Seller - Much as I love Winwood-era SDG their post-Stevie stuff has some real charm.  This was the first post-Stevie album and is kind of uneven with great original pop psych tunes mixed with some uninspired jazzy stuff, but I love it.  This edition comes with a DVD of a 1967 documentary about the band.  Highlights include "Morning Sun" and "Mr Second Class". Rating - 4/5

Steak - Disastronaught EP - One of my favorites of 2012, "The Butcher" alone is worth the price as it may be the best song I've heard all year.  It's an epiphanal, life-changingly good song.  The rest of the album is great too.  Also, it appears the boys in the band are comics fans too, which is always a plus, and that the EP is actually a mini concept album.  The inside cover tells the story.  And it came with a sticker and a tour flyer.  Highlights include "The Butcher" and "Machine". Rating - 4.5/5

Tuesday's Children - Strange Light From the East - There was an odd subculture of hippies who were inspired by the I Ching to make Asian sounding music.  The songs "Kites" by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound and "Chapter 24" by Pink Floyd are the best examples of this.  This group tried to make a career of it.  They later became Czar. Highlights include "Baby's Gone" and "Bright Eyed Apples". Rating - 3.5/5

Venomous Maximus - Beg Upon the Light -  This was one of my first ever reviews, so you don't need me to go into it again, just to say every song on this album is killer and the album is one of my favorites right now.  The digipak CD came with a VM button which will now be pinned proudly next to my Ice Dragon button.  It also comes with lyrics on the inside front cover and some kickass artwork on the back cover.  At $10 this package is a steal, I got it off the band's big cartel site here.  .  Highlights include "Path of Doom" and "Venomous Maximus". Rating - 4.5/5

Hour of Power

Highlights from the week of 10/14/12 - 10/20/12

1). Mark of the Beast (Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell / Don't Hear It ... Fear It)
2). Lonely Devils Club (Captain Crimson / Dancing Madly Backwards)
3). An Alternative to Freedom (Witchcraft / Legend)
4). Rivertown (Bison, Bison / ST)
5). Damn the Sky (Beastwars / ST)
6). The Lost Art of Bong Rips (Goat Bong / Goat Worship and Sodomy)
7). Hell's Heroes (Venomous Maximus (Beg Upon the Light)
8). Earthrise (Vinum Sabbatum / Bacchanale Premiere)
9). Levitation (Down / Down IV)
10). Lord of Desolation (Bedemon / Symphony of Shadows)

Venomous Maximus - Beg Upon the Light

The first time I heard Venomous Maximus I nearly shit myself.  I thought, these guys are gonna be huge.  The song I heard was "The Mission", still a favorite of mine.  Then I heard the rest of their six song EP and it all sounded a bit same-y to me, especially the vocal delivery, which never seemed to change, either range or melody.  It just made the songs all kind of sound the same.

Vocalist and band leader Gregg Higgins seems to have worked on his vocal skills over the past year or so revealing more of a range and even adding a growl in certain places for emphasis and it works.  That promise that I first heard in the band has been fulfilled with the release of their debut full-length.

There's an epicness to the music that I never really picked up on before but now seems to be the band's identity or signature.  It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise after having read this interview with the band.  What really comes across in the interview as well as in the music is the dedication and enthusiasm the band members all have to be the best they can be, to write the best songs they can.  It speaks for itself musically, it comes across in the playing and it's something that can't be faked.

Interestingly the band decided to re-record another favorite of mine from their original three song demo recorded in 2010, "Give Up the Witch."  Comparing the demo version with this new version really reveal the work Higgins has put into varying his delivery and style over the course of the past few years to great effect.

Another nice touch which actually provides the album with its sense of fullness of scope and vision are the intro track "Funeral Queen" and two interludes which are more than just interludes, more than just filler.  These tracks were just as planned, thought out, poured over and perfected as much any full song on the album.  "Funeral Queen" has got to be up there with the best album introductions of all time.

Throughout there is an epic fantasy feel to the songs and the overall album in general tracks like "Battle for the Cross", "Path of Doom", and "Hell's Heroes" at times reminding me of Lord of the Rings or Army of Darkness.  These are all great songs by the way.

Reminds me of: BNWOHM, Monster Magnet

My Rating: 4.5/5

Genre: Doom Metal, Psychedelic, Heavy Metal, Stoner



Tracklist:
1). Funeral Queen (1:49)
2). Path of Doom (5:49)
3). Give Up the Witch (4:58)
4). Father Time (2:03)
5). Dream Again (Hellenbach) (5:04)
6). Moonchild (5:07)
7). Battle for the Cross (5:53)
8). Venomous Maximus (4:39)
9). Mothers Milk (3:43)
10). Hell's Heroes (7:06)
Total run time: 45:54

Release Date: October 30, 2012

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Swinging swords and splitting heads from crown to teeth.

More Info
Website

Better reviews:
Stonerobixx
Doommantia