Chilean Fuzz II Compilation (album review)

Spicy cover artwork by Christian Spencer.

WHY NOT TAKE A STONED TRIP DOWN TO FUZZ COUNTRY?*

With the holiday season lurking just around the corner, everyday life has you stressed.  Petty bosses, bitchy co-workers, mouthy kids, disobedient pets, disinterested spouse; it's enough to finally push you over the edge!  Why not take a stoned trip down to Fuzz Country?  That's right, for just a single American dollar you can luxuriate in the finest of fuzz at a 20-star resort designed by renowned fuzz architect Christian Spencer (of the firm Barbara y Los Rotos Del Rock).  Bask in the desert heat, fall into the sun and enjoy a relaxing swim, or go paragliding with Icarvs!  Thirsty?  No problem, Savannah has you covered, which type of blood do you prefer?  It's all on tap from A to O and back to AB.  So, what are you waiting for?  Come on down and find out what all the fuzz is about!
*this is not a paid advertisement.  Chilean Fuzz is not responsible for accidental death.  Some restrictions may apply, see coupon for details.

***

Now, a return engagement.  How can I stay away from the Land of Fuzz?  The last Chilean Fuzz was an absolute treasure trove of riffs and a welcome stack of homework of bands to discover (see review here).  A couple short weeks ago Chilean Fuzz II: The Sequel landed in the collective lap of the universe like a surprise gift from the fuzz gods, and I for one was not upset about this at all.

Once again, I can't help but marvel at the never-ending crop of bands the country yields.  Soponcio opens things up and officially joins the ranks of incredible CF Comp discoveries alongside Lisergico, Bruto, Piedraseca, Chevy, Acido and Perro Loco from the first volume.  They were present on volume I, but really shine through here with "Vena".  Other songs from new Chilean Fuzz bands to blow your mind to come from Savannah with "Blood Drinker".  The band Convoy has an absolute barnburner on this one and the punkish selection from Dosis does its part to bring the house down.  The last couple tracks on the album by Mosto and Bagual are absolute pounders.

Some of the new Chilean Fuzz Comp bands are a little rough around the edges in recording and delivery (see Turbo Diesel & Kayros) but add the matte finish of grit-encrusted coal to a largely polished collection of gems.  Barbara y Los Rotos Del Rock are a more established band but add to the roughness with "Stereoparanoico" (love that title!), the first new sounds from the band since their excellent EP from February 2012 (review here).  We've not heard them rougher or readier than this before.

As for the rest of the veteran presence we've got the aforementioned Barbara y Los Rotos Del Rock, Piedraseca, Icarus Gasoline, Chevy, Bruto with an unassailable highlight from their new album and the immortal At Devil Dirt.  I wanted to talk a bit about At Devil Dirt's contribution, "There Is Not a God Or a Devil" from the new album, but I'll elect to wait for the ADD review.  It's songs like this though, that create added value to the collection as you get a preview of the unreleased new album from one of the truly great bands in the world.  Not just anybody can bring you that!  Piedraseca continues to stand out with dangerous grooves on "Perdidos en el Desierto".  If I was slightly on the fence about this band I'm not anymore, I place them among Chile's elite fuzz bands and continue to hope for a full-length sometime in the relatively near future.  And my goodness, speaking of the country's elite, Icarus Gasoline's number "Roma en el Sol" is a laidback monster of groove.  Recalling perhaps some of the subtler, sexier moments of ZZ Top, you can almost see the desert sunshine blaze through your squinting eyes with this one playing.

It speaks volumes about the current state of the Chilean fuzz rock scene that Mr. Spencer can put together two such compilations of 20 (or more) songs each with very little overlap in terms of the bands that appear on these things within the space of a single year.  Volume II may not be as strong overall as its predecessor but is still stuffed with highlights.  And it all fits on a single CD, which is a plus for some of us.  If you're still under the impression that all the best fuzz bands in the world hail from Europe and North America it's time to get with the program.  Book a fuzz holiday with your travel agent and go on down to the land of fuzz.

Highlights include: "There Is Not a God Or Devil" by At Devil Dirt and "Perdidos en el Desierto" by Piedraseca

Rating: 4/5


Total Run Time: 1:17:57

Genre: Stoner, Desert Rock, Doom

Release Date: October 2, 2013

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Myelin Constellation Compilation (album review)

Amazing cover art by Steve Somers.

A few weeks back I posted a press release from Matt Schmitz of the band Sleestak about the Myelin Constellation compilation he was putting together (find it here).  It's a benefit compilation.  Mr. Schmitz's wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and the proceeds from the compilation will go to help the Schmitz family deal with mounting medical bills and I suggest you read the press release to appreciate the full scope of the problem and the cause to which this project benefits.  But aside from that, what makes the Myelin Constelation benefit compilation special from a musical standpoint is that each and every one of the 20 songs on it is either rare or previously unreleased.  There are live versions, unreleased remixes, demos and outright unreleased songs.  There are songs here from such Paranoid favorites as Wo Fat, The Gates of Slumber (R.I.P.), Stone Magnum, At Devil Dirt, Sons of Otis, Abrahma, Apostle of Solitude, Black Capricorn, Sleestak (of course) and Switchblade Jesus.  And that's just one half of the story.  All told there's two full hours of archaeological treasures that Matt has unearthed.  All this makes Myelin Constellation Volume 1 the most indispensable compilation in the stoner/doom genre since ... well, ever.

The collection kicks off with a pair of live tracks from Northless and Sons of Otis, with the Northless track being a radio session.  Then we come up to our first pair of absolute gems from The Gates of Slumber and Backwoods Payback.  The 14 minute "Suffer No Guilt" is no real surprise to the legion of fans this band 'had', but it has been remixed by Rich Wittaker.  It's like two songs in one, the 14 minutes split right down the middle with slow and fast sides while Backwoods Payback's comparatively brisk track has been taken from an upcoming EP.

Coltsblood makes their rather large presence felt with the 14 minute "Abyss of Aching Sanity", the first true Myelin comp exclusive.  Wo Fat takes a groovy ride and gets "Broke Down in Texas", a swampy instrumental that was part of a 7" split single with Small Stone labelmates Abrahma, a rarity of a song for anyone who missed the trio during their European jaunt.  And this is also the part of the comp that delves into the secret art of sequencing as Stone Magnum's "Savior in Black" is the perfect follow-up.  The song is a re-recording of an older song with the current line-up and is then followed up by Apostle of Solitude's "Whores Wings", another exclusive.  This half hour is probably the best overall block on songs on the comp, but be forewarned, the bulk of the songs on this record are on the quiet side so you will probably turn the volume way up as you listen to it, the Wo Fat track takes the volume and twists it like a nipple sending the volume into the stratosphere, you may want to be prepared to turn the volume down a touch before the song comes on if you are listening with headphones.

The next half hour block of music is nothing to sneeze at either.  It kicks off with the high energy space rock of Sons of Alpha Centauri, a band previously unknown to me.  This interesting instrumental comes from a split single with the ubiquitous Karma to Burn.  Next up Mr. Schmitz has put Sleestak right into the middle of the affair with their previously unreleased demo by the name of "Space", which keeps with the space rock theme musically and the tone of it leads perfectly into the next track.  "Solitude", the Black Sabbath cover by Black Capricorn, had been making the rounds on youtube a couple weeks back (I even featured it on my Hour of Power), you could call this the unofficial "single" release from the comp.  That's followed up with an unmixed demo version of "Don't See You Around", the killer opening number from At Devil Dirt's upcoming album, 'Plan B'.  This version emphasizes Nestor Ayala's double tracked vocals to the nth degree.  What comes next is maybe the surprise of the whole compilation.  Florida swamp rockers Confused Little Girl cover the Cab Calloway classic "Minnie the Moocher".  The band turns the song into a thrusting, throbbing mess, and neither the song nor the stoner/doom genre couldn't have been more honored for them having done so.  Last up in this half hour block of songs is the other half of the Wo Fat / Abrahma split, also a cover, this time of Edwin Starr's equally classic "War".  That thing I warned you about earlier goes for this song as well, but despite all that, Abrahma certainly do an interesting and worthy cover of an instantly recognizable song.  Which reminds me, it's been far too long since I listened to Abrahma's amazing 'Through the Dusty Paths of Our Lives' album.

The final batch of songs boasts the most eclectic gathering of the bunch.  Narcotic Luxuria is another previously unknown band to me and their song here "Voodoo" is bizarre to say the least.  Dreamy synth doom with gothic twinges are knitted together in a turn-on-a-dime style composition.  Asatta is the next band that I discovered through this comp.  Their number "Earth To Orion" is claustrophobic sludge with epic touches, if you can wrap your mind around that.  The last in the consecutive run of bands that are new to me is Headless Kross, no doubt named after the Black Sabbath album, their track "From the Dark" features six heavy minutes of punishment.  British doom upstarts Myopic Empire make a strong entry here with their "Victory" demo, the vocals of which recalls the classic crooners of their homeland, back when it was known to swing.  For their part it's one of the strongest cuts of the last section.  My personal favorite of the last half of the comp however, belongs to Switchblade Jesus and their track "Oblivion".  We finish things off with a largely acoustic black metal track from Albawitch.  This is another of those louder-than-usual tracks.  The song "Accident of Birth" begins as an early post-Syd-era Pink Floyd-like dirge (complete with flutes) before stomping on the gas pedal of blast beats then back again.

Myelin Constellation Volume 1 is a terrific achievement and may very well have upped the standard of compilations within the world of doom from the cover art down to the content and cause.  Best of all, this is an ongoing thing with the door to submissions for future volumes never closed.  Volume 2 is already in the works and there's no reason to expect a drop in standard here and the one idea remains, that of the MC comps only featuring rare or unreleased material.  But it doesn't really matter how I put it, $6 for 20 songs and 2 full hours of music going to a worthy cause pretty much speaks for itself doesn't it?

Highlights include: "Oblivion" by Switchblade Jesus and "Minnie the Moocher" by Confused Little Girl

Rating: 4/5


Total Run Time: 1:59:59

Genre: Doom, Stoner, Sludge, Psychedelic, Spâce Rock, Black Metal

Release Date: October 1, 2013

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Myelin Constellation Compilation Coming Soon! (News)

http://sleestak.bandcamp.com/album/book-of-hours

This was sent to me earlier this morning by Matt Schmitz of the band Sleestak.  Never take your own health or (and especially) the health of your loved ones for granted.

"This past April, my wife Kim was diagnosed with relapse/remitting multiple sclerosis. We have been dealing with her symptoms for several years which have included horrible fatigue, muscle spasms, depression, pain, digestive problems, numbness, and more recently even cognitive and sight issues. The doctors we had visited never once mentioned MS as a possibility and she was being treated in a compartmentalized manner, i.e. take this medication for 
depression, take this other pill for pain, and so on and so forth. We were told she just had all these seperate health issues with nothing she could do but take pills. Finally, after her left side (including her face) had went numb we went to an Urgent Care clinic. The quack doctor there saw us for literally less than two minutes, concluded she was getting shingles, and told me in earshot of every other patient and staff member that we should not worry, that she did not have a stroke, and that she did not have MS. He handed us a shingles pamphlet and told us to follow up with our primary doctor in a week. We proceeded to do so and visit our new primary doctor established based on a change in our insurance. Luckily we did as this was the first time a doctor suspected she had multiple sclerosis and soon thereafter we had a diagnosis and were able to put a name on the cause of all these things that were going wrong with Kim's body.

"I consider us lucky in a sense: we no longer have to wonder about certain things, we can establish a plan for ourselves, and now we can do everything in our power to try and fight this as best we can. We also have insurance to help somewhat. I cannot imagine the position we would be in without it. Mind you, all is not golden. We have accumulated well over $5000 in medical bills and it's continuing to rise and set to go on for the rest of her life. This has put me into a corner with trying to take care of my family in the ways I need to provide. Kim is in-between treatments right now after quitting a brutal regiment of the Copaxone daily injection, leaving her with softball-sized welts, hardening tissue at the injection sites, and not the least of which is more pain. The plan right now is to try a daily pill treatment of Tecfidera. In the coming months, due to the looming Obamacare, we are expecting an insurance "glitch" as told to us by her neurologist where there may be a few months when her treatment is not covered. This pill is $55,000 a year wholesale. Needless to say we are nervous about this, on top of our mounting doctor bills.

http://sleestak.bandcamp.com/album/the-fall-of-altrusia

"I have been brainstorming about ways to help my family get through this and I came to the conclusion to do a benefit compilation. I have seen how these have helped others in need, including Ed from Doommantia. Here is my plan though: the comp I put together is going to be unique in several ways. First, on the music side of it, most all of the submissions are special in the fact that they are live, rare, demo, unreleased, or alternative version of songs, some being even exclusive to this collection. In this regard, the bands I have been in contact with have been absolutely amazing in their support and their willingness to dig through their archives. I have already met some incredible folks through emails from putting this together and one thing I am encountering is the number of people in our scene who have been affected by this disease. This has led me to want to do even more than help my own family. I want to do more music compilations, multiple volumes, to help others affected by MS, to raise awareness about it as well as money to donate to those less fortunate in their situation, and for organizations who are dedicated to the fight. One example is to get people on board here in Wisconsin and other states to legalize CBD, a component of marijuana with almost miraculous medicinal qualities and no psychoactive effects, which, as far as I know at the moment is still considered Schedule 1 even though it doesn't get you high. Other states like California now have access to this for people with neurological diseases but not Wisconsin, which has the highest number of MS cases in the country. So, there you go. I have got some fight left in me and I want to do something with it.

"Now for the juicy details of the comp. It is being called "Myelin Constellation", myelin being basically the protective coating around nerve bundles, which in MS deteriorates and exposes te nerves to all the symptoms that are talked about. The "constellation" part is in reference to all the bands and individuals who make up the scene as a whole, worldwide. There are several bands which I can name drop at the the time of this writing that are getting involved: The Gates Of Slumber, Northless, Sons Of Otis, Backwoods Payback, Wo Fat, Stone Magnum, and Coltsblood. There are a bunch more which will be confirmed in due time and I am blown away by some of the bands which are lending their support - these are some heavy hitters and names you will know. While no solid release date is set right now, we are aiming for a mid-late September digital download on Bandcamp. I also want to thank a few individuals who have lent their talent and help to get the ball rolling on this: Steve Somers for the wicked awesome artwork (http://stevesomersart.blogspot.com/), Mike from Days Of The Doomed festival, and Lee from The Sleeping Shaman. I consider these guys good friends and good people along with all the bands who are getting behind this. I THANK YOU and my wife, Kim THANKS YOU."

-Matt Schmitz/Sleestak

 Stay tuned at the respective websites: http://mconstellation.bandcamp.com and http://facebook.com/mconstellation for updates as they are available.

For more info on multiple sclerosis, please visit:
www.nationalmssociety.org 
www.msfocus.org 

Chilean Fuzz Compilation (album review)

Cover artwork by Christian Spencer (Barbara & Los Rotos Del Rock)

I've never been to Chile, nor do I know too much about the country.  I know it's a narrow strip of land along the southwestern edge of the South American continent bordered to the east by the Andes mountain.  I know they speak Spanish there and it's been my personal experience that they are intelligent people and that they are good people.  Well, I would swear after hearing this compilation of all Chilean stoner, punk and garage rock bands that the entire country is growing up to the knees with fuzz.  As one walks down the street, around the hillside or up the river, one need only dip one's hand down to bring up a handful of the stuff.  It must float in the air like dandelion spores.  I don't know much but the main export of Chile appears to be fuzz.

21 songs (many of them previously unknown) and just a smidgeon under 80 minutes, this thing rocks hard from beginning to end and shakes, rattles and rolls with fuzz.  Chinaski kicks things off in groovy style with an excellent slow slidey and bendy stoner riff packed with power.  We could call this style of music the area of focus for this compilation as most of these bands fall under the stoner umbrella.  Some are slower, some are fuzzier, some are groovier than others but they all pack a wallop.  Bruto is a favorite new discovery, they fall under the fuzzier category. Lisergico is another fantastic band with a psychedelic bent, a terrific mindbending number.  Piedraseca is still another beautiful discovery, their track "Shine" is an often demented but always funky number, and a true highlight.  "Give me the SHIIIIINE!".  Sweet, that's just some of the first couple of tracks.

The Suicide Bitches are another nice discovery, delving into a punkier territory first explored on this comp. by El Cairo and Barbara & Co.  Theirs is a strong mix of uptempo rhythms and asphyxiating fuzz.  Invitado de Piedra is another of my brand new favorite bands discovered on 'Chilean Fuzz'.  Their song "La Herida" is more menacing than a lavalanche in slow motion (no that's not a typo).  DemonAuta then steps up to the plate and ups the fuzz ante even further.  It's interesting to hear the 'familiar' bands in this context.  It creates perspective on not only how great DemonAuta, At Devil Dirt and Barbara & Los Rotos Del Rock are but also how excellent their countrymen are as well.  El Camino serves up some slow burning fuzz with some psychedelic moments.  Nothing special, just another fantastic song is all.  Acido and Perro Loco spin things in a decidedly aggressive direction followed by Chevy whose punky fuzz funk is a real juggernaut.

The mind reels at the number of great bands on this compilation as it becomes clear that Chile can challenge Finland, Sweden, New England and Portland for the highest number of terrific regional bands per capita.  Everybody has a treasure, some tangible 'thing' they'd like to find in the woods or wherever.  For most people, it's a sack of money, for others the treasure may be the woods themselves.  'Chilean Fuzz' is like stumbling upon that treasure.

Three of the bands on this collection have been featured on PH before; At Devil Dirt, DemonAuta and Barbara y Los Rotos Del Rock and that was as much Chilean rock as I had been previously familiar with.  These, I suppose, are the big name bands from the Chilean underworld.  But thanks to this compilation bands like Chinaski, Lisergico, Chevy, Piedraseca, Gasa, Bruto and El Camino can no longer slip under the radar.  This collection was put together by Christian Spencer, the multi-talented producing, composing guitarist for Barbara & Los Rotos Del Rock, so we have him to thank for bringing these bands to our collective attention.

Listening to this is like having revelation after revelation.  An 80 minute epiphany.  So many great bands, many of them previously unknown to me, that it makes the head swim.  If nothing else this compilation provided me with an avalanche of homework, digging into bands, being inundated with stray tracks, EPs and full albums.  It's homework that I don't mind doing, not at all.  After hearing this compilation you'd think fuzz grows on trees down old South America way.

Highlights include: "Acido" by Lisergico and "Shine" by Piedraseca

Rating: 5/5

Total Run Time: 1:19:43

From: Chile, South America

Genre: Stoner, Fuzz Rock, Psychedelic, Garage

Release Date: January 28, 2013

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Put on your straw hat, get out the old line and rod and go fishing for fuzz!

Better Review:
Doommantia
Stoner Hive

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