Hour of Power 02/28/14

1. The Astronomer Pig (The Earls of Mars / Self-Titled)
2. Nothing Hill (Salem's Pot / N.A.) PRE
   Videos 3-5 by Vitasound Projects from the album 'American Werewolf in London'
3. The Slaughtered Lamb
4. Beware of the Moon
5. David
6. Lex Lucifer (Assblaster / Blastphemy vol II: Veni Vidi Blast!)
7. Chased and Caught (Domadora / Tibetan Monk)
8. Borracho campaign video
9. The Ballad of Hannah Dustin (Ichabod / Merrimack) PRE
10. Burning In Hell (Electric Citizen / Sateen) PRE
11. Our Mother Ash (Greenleaf / Trails & Passes) PRE
12. The King In Yellow (Hornss / Demo)
13. Sometimes I'm Happy (Black Sabbath live instrumental jam)

Hour of Power 01/10/14

1. Some Kind of Sorcery (The Socks / ST) PRE
2. Black Magic Woman (Black Coven / Demo) PRE
3. Slice of That Vibe (Groan / Ride the Snake EP)
4. Give Graviation To the People (Black Space Riders / D:REI) PRE
5. Spirit of the Cult / Darkest Day [live] (Devil)
6. In Through Glasses (Warp Riders / Astral Plane EP)
7. Young Wisdom (Black Wizard / Young Wisdom)
8. Secret Sect (Demon Eye / Leave the Light) PRE
9. Fuzzy Belly (Moosataur / ST)
10. The Haunter of the Dark (Bretus / The Haunter of the Dark [outtake])* PRE
11. Acid Violet Land (Chains / Violet Wizard) PRE
12. Squall [teaser] (Ichabod / Merrimack) PRE

*This is an outtake from the album sessions and though it is the title track, will not appear on the upcoming album itself

 PRE = Pre-Release / Not yet available

2014 Year in (P)review Part Ω℧ - Most Anticipated

Welcome to part 2 in our 3 three part series that does it's best to preview the most exciting upcoming releases in the world of stoner and doom metal.  Go here to read part 1.

Photo by Jody N Nicole Dorignac.

DOWN - The plan was to release four 6-song E.P.'s over the course of about a year and a half, each one focusing on a different aspect of Down's sound.  The first one, 'The Purple E.P.' was released late 2012 and the next two were supposed to have been released at various points throughout 2013 with the fourth and final one released sometime in mid 2014.  Well that plan never materialized, but the band did recently finish up recording E.P. #2 with Honky's charismatic guitarist Bobby Landgraf filling in for the departed Kirk Windstein, who has left for the forseeable future to focus on his main band, Crowbar.  Down vocalist Phil Anselmo has stated in several interviews that the new Down E.P. will be very Sabbath-like, getting back to the band's 'NOLA' album roots.  Other noted influences include Witchfinder General and Trouble.  No word on release dates yet but there have been whispers of a first quarter of 2014 release.  I'd pay that no mind however as the band is notorious for pushing back release dates.

THE GRAVIATORS - Malmö, Sweden's stoner metal quartet The Graviators will return in 2014 with their third full-length album 'Motherload'.  The all-analog recorded album will be released by Napalm Records on March 28, mark it down, these are the catchiest M.F.'s of them all.  I still find songs from their last album 'Evil Deeds' floating around my head on a weekly basis.  The Vance Kelly artwork hasn't come back yet, but based on the cover he's done for the new Black Capricorn album (see it here) the LP cover of 'Motherload' will be tacked up to many a bedroom wall.  The band will also commence a two week European tour in April to support the album and in the meantime, be on the look-out for a forthcoming music video shot by Thomas Tjäder (catch it on The Hour of Power when it is released!).

GREENLEAF - As of December 7, the new Greenleaf album titled 'Trails & Passes' was being mixed, according to an update on the band's official facebook page.  Their last album 'Nest of Vipers' was a fuzz muffin, a deliciously warm muffin of melody and fuzz.  2014 looks to be a big year for the band's label Small Stone Records with no upcoming release more exciting than 'Trails & Passes'.  Three members of Greenleaf are also in Dozer, who have been spotted jamming, rehearsing and will be spotted gigging in 2014.  There have been no official announcements as to whether or not Dozer will have a new one coming down the pipeline in 2014, but if they do, many a muffin will be devoured satisfying fuzz bellies from Borlänge to Brooklyn and all places in between.

ICHABOD - Lowell, Massachusetts psychedelic sludge rockers Ichabod will return with a concept album in 2014, a love letter of sorts to their home territory titled 'Merrimack' after the river that cuts through the region.  The album was mostly composed by the time the band released their most recent opus, the amazing 'Dreamscapes From Dead Space' but was only recently finished and is currently in the mixing stage.  Artwork will be handled by Dave Huckins who seems well suited to capture the bands highly psychedelic flourishes.  You can preview a couple unmixed versions of 'Merrimack' tunes here and here.  The band hopes to have the album in hand for their appearance at The Eyes of the Stoned Goat IV Festival in May.  Sadly, this will be vocalist John Fadden's swan song with the band after leaving the group amicably, he will fulfill his remaining commitments with the band including their performance at EotSG IV.

INDIAN - No sketchy info about this release, it's coming soon and all the details about it are known.  'From All Purity', the Chicago quintet's fifth full-length album will be released by Relapse Records on January 21.  They've even released an advance single in fourth track (of 6) "Rhetoric of No" (watch the video here).  Typically I like a good clean, melodic vocal, but every now and then a band with a harsh vocalist will break through and land on my radar screen, Indian was one of the first such bands to do so because their songs are about so much more than just being noisy and abrasive.  They seem to put a little bit more of themselves into their blackened doom compositions.  No doubt this one will be making its way around the review websites and print magazines, so I'm sure you'll be hearing a lot about it in the near future.

MOS GENERATOR - "The new album is done!!! Just got done with the mastering and doing some final touches on the artwork layout. We are feeling good about this album and got an enthusiastic thumbs up from the record label after hearing the final version. Our 8th album 'ELECTRIC MOUNTAIN MAJESTY' should be out in March." (via facebook update, December 23, 2013)

Washington state hard rock veterans Mos Generator's new album will be released through Listenable Records and will feature 11 new tracks.  There is a plan for a tour through Europe in May.  Nothing too much to add here that hasn't already been covered over at The Obelisk website, just to say how geeked out I am about this.  You can listen to the title track here.

Cam.

MOTHERSLUG - Australian heavy as a lead fart stoner doom quarter Motherslug will return with a pair of new tracks that will make up a two-sided single.  The birth pangs of these new tracks provide nearly as heavy a story as the band's music.  I asked vocalist Cam what he could tell me about the new release.  I wasn't prepared for the answer he gave:

This has to be the most painfully protracted procedure I have ever been through with a band. Compared to the EP which was recorded and mixed in four days this seemed to drag on forever. To give you a brief outline... 

In August we recorded Three Kings and Trippin' to be released through Psyche Ward Records. Due to 'contractual problems' the sessions were scrapped. 

We scheduled time with Marc Russo at Beveridge Road Studios in November to re-record the same tracks. For various issues this got pushed back to December. The week before recording founding member Ferg decided to leave the band. No animosity - a dude's gotta do what a dude's gotta do - but the timing couldn't have been worse. We found replacements to fill Ferg's spot for live gigs but given the short notice Matt chose to play all the guitar parts on the recording. 

The night before recording the studio suffered a power outage that blew a converter. After several hours delay we got the bass and drums down before heading back into town (BRS is in a beautiful rural area called Sylvan) to play a gig. The next day Matt tracked all the guitar parts for both songs in one session, which I'm sure fried his ears and his brain. I came back through the week and did the vocal tracking in two separate sessions, Three Kings' vocals suffered from me staying out late to see The Melvins the night before. Damn you Melvins! 

Mixdown took several sessions and we still are waiting to hear the latest mix of Three Kings, but I can tell you Trippin' is massive and epic and we couldn't be happier with the results. 

I feel both tracks have a natural progression in their sound from the EP tracks. They sound a little more polished - possibly due to the extra time spent in the studio - but also are really distinct in structure and don't feel like we are treading the same territory as the earlier tracks. Three Kings really punches along, it is more uptempo than the demo on Reverbnation which sets it apart from Trippin' which rumbles along at Motherslug pace, deviates into a crushing, black metal vibe before coming to rest in an ambient psyched out groove. 

We should be sending the tracks to master in the next week or so and releasing it sometime in February. Currently only slated for a digital release, but we are keen to get these tracks onto vinyl.

For a preview of what you might expect you can find that "Three Kings" Reverbnation demo right here.  It may only be two songs, but those song will at least carry the weight of a long-ish E.P.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: It seems arrogant to place Boston quartet Ice Dragon on this list considering there are no plans or even rumors that have been released regarding a new Ice Dragon release in 2014.  Who knows, the genius quartet could throw a curve ball and not record or release any new music until 2020 ... but you know it's coming.  You don't know what it will be, what form it will take or where it will come from (either Ice Dragon or any number of the band's associated acts / side projects), but you just know something is coming, and you just know it will be good.  Umeå, Sweden sextet Mexicoma will also be releasing an album through Bilocation Records in 2014, which I only just found out about.  You can listen to "West of Memphis", the first song released off the album right here.

Hour of Power 11/30/13

1. She Cried Wolf (Horisont / Time Warriors) 2013
2. The Frown (Isaak / TBA) 2013
3. Boneflower (Avatarium / ST) 2013
4. Child of the Bear [unmixed studio version] (Ichabod / Merrimack) 2014
5. Romeo Must Never Know (Ken Mode / Entrench) 2013
6. Concrete (Batillus / Concrete Sustain) 2013
7. Pegasus (Intercostal / ST EP) 2012
8. Of the Flock [live] (In the Company of Serpents / Of the Flock) 2013
9. Dark Days [live] (Uzala / Tales of Blood & Fire) 2013
10. Fir [live] (Bardo Pond / Peace on Venus) 2013
11. Jesus Christ Pose (Soundgarden / Badmotorfinger) 1991 'classic clip'

Weekly Mailbag for 12/31/12 - 01/04/13

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

Deep Space Destructors - II - The band sent this one to me and I was excited to see it come in.  Thanks to facebook, the name Markus Pitkanen was familiar to me and I wasn't sure what it was at first.  It turns out it was a full-length album of four headtripping songs by the band Deep Space Destructors.  Deep Space Destructors is a progressive rock trio from  Oulu, Finland.  They worship the riff and have combined 60s and 70s psych, blues, rock and prog love with stoner and doom sensibilities to create an expansive and unique brand of "progressive doomsday spacerock".  There's a lot of crypticism about this record.  The disc itself features no song titles, no liner notes or any information whatsoever.  It doesn't even have any writing on the spine.  The only text at all is the band's logo on the bottom right hand corner of the front cover. I'd love to know who did the incredible four-panel psychedelic cover art, because it warrants its own attention.  This CD version of the album also comes with a bonus fourth track not available on their bandcamp.

From Beyond - The Color Out of Space EP - I'm not really a vinyl kind of guy.  I was born in the early 80s when the vinyl format was going out of style and I remember a time when the LP was a clunky old dinosaur that wasn't compact, you couldn't listen to it outside of the house and the scratchiness of old records not only didn't have the best sound quality, but actually detracted a bit from experiencing your music in fully high fidelity.  That's all changed now as (amazingly) vinyl outsells CDs (at least that's how it seems, there are way more record shops in Vancouver than there are CD shops ... it's not even close) and that might all change now for me personally with this full-sized 12" glow in the dark vinyl EP.  It's a wonderful package with amazing cover and sleeve art.  You've got to see this thing.  Now the only question is playing it.  I have one other record, the lone Parrish & Gurvitz LP that as far as I know has never been re-issued or released on CD.  My girlfriend has a small vinyl collection and a record player but no needle.  It's an Onkyo Multiac 60p.  If anyone knows where I can get a needle for this, or has one to sell, get in touch by the email on the sidebar, please.  Highlights include "The Dead Still Ride" and "The Color Out of Space".  Rating 5/5

Greenleaf - Nest of Vipers - This album was only a recent discovery for me but I quickly discovered that it's one of the most addicting albums one can find.  I've listened to it a ton in the past two months and it's still a major part of the regular rotation, alongside Abrahma's 'Through the Dusty Paths of Our Lives'.  They seem to make good companions.  The Borlange based super-stoner-group from central Sweden play a highly melodic style of stoner rock with many classic leanings.  If I'd have had more time with this album it probably would have made my year end top 10.  Highlights include "Case of Fidelity" and "Jack Staff".  Rating 4.5/5

Ichabod - Dreamscapes From Dead Space - But moving on now to one that did make the top 10, Lowell, Mass's Ichabod absolutely floored me with this album.  Psychedelic stoner sludge that has many catchy and addictive moments.  I ordered my copy on CDBaby and it didn't take long at all to get here, just over ten days or so.  Believe me, that's pretty quick for my mail service.  The CD itself comes in a gatefold digipack with the lyrics printed and it's the first time I can really look at the awesome cover art up close.  This would look great as a vinyl cover thumbtacked to the wall.  Highlights include "Huckleberry" and "All Your Love".  Rating 4.5/5

Mount Fuji - ST - For anybody who read the full interview I did with Mount Fuji will know that this was a gift from the band.  According to them, I'm the only guy in Canada with a Mount Fuji CD!  Once again, their 90s grunge rock and power groove metal sound is right up my alley and if you're around the age of 30 and grew up in the grunge era then this music is definitely for you.  Of course, there's a lot more to the band than that, they have a strong individual identity in terms of sound and their vocalist Miguel's heartfelt performance is quite striking at times.  If you haven't by now, go ahead and check them out.  Highlights include "Head on Fire" and "Simple Depression Guide".  Rating 4.5/5

Natur - Head of Death - There were a couple really great old school metal albums from 2012 including entries from Arkham Witch, Dawnbringer, Venomous Maximus and Ghost Tower and Natur's full length debut 'Head of Death' was among the very best.  You don't necessarily expect this kind of sound coming from New York City but here it is, long hair, leather jackets, upside down crosses and old school metal chops.  I have no idea why it took me so long to order the CD version but when I finally did, I ordered it directly from the label, Earache records on the cheap.  Highlights include "Decion" and "Vermin Rift".  Rating 4.5/5

Yama - Seaquake - Yama definitely rocked my world.  Around April, May, "Seaquake" was blowing up the charts and it was long, long overdue that I should grab this one for take out.  It's a three song EP, all three songs are great, of stoner doom from Tilburg / Utrecht, Netherlands with harmonica that lends the music more of a country western feel than a bluesy kind of feel, but it's heavy all the same, and it's cheap (the price, not the quality) 5 euros on bandcamp.  I kind of want a T-shirt now ...  The best part is this Dutch four piece is currently in studio recording a full-length album even as I write this.  Highlights include "Seaquake" and "Hollow".  Rating 4.5/5

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

Hour of Power 11/24/12 (playlist)

Highlights from the week of 11/18/12 - 11/24/12

1. Crazy (Sticky Digit / ST) 2012
2. Let It Flow (At Devil Dirt / Chapter II "vulgo gratissimus auctor") 2012
3. Black Night (Deep Purple / Deep Purple In Rock) 1970
4. The Ice Mammoth (Blue Aside / The Moles of a Dying Race) 2012
5. Smoke and Fire (Sun Gods in Exile / Thanks for the Silver) 2012
6. The Assassin's Song (Necronomicon / The Queen of Death) 2012
7. You Don't Love Me (Groundhogs / Scratching the Surface) 1968
8. Cosmonautical Mile (Harvester / The Blind Summit Recordings) 2012
9. The Cloven Sea (Arkham Witch / Legions of the Deep) 2012
10. Horsepuncher (live) (Lord of the Grave / Green Vapour) 2012
11. Huckleberry (live) (Ichabod / Dreamscapes From Dead Space) 2012

Interview with ICHABOD

Ichabod is a rock band from Lowell, Massachusetts formed in 1998.  Their latest album Dreamscapes from Dead Space was released October 9 of this year and you can find it on their bandcamp page.  It's their fifth full length album and it has been one of the true highlights of the year (review here).  I've been listening to it for well over a month with no let up in sight.  Each song is a trip, a spiritual journey and a roller coaster ride of doubts and paranoia.   There's enough going on musically to keep even the most fickle listener interested but it's those catchy hooks that will bring you back every time.

It's also their first album to feature high energy second guitarist Jay Adam and new vocalist John Fadden whose presence is often striking because of the sweeping changes in vocal delivery within the songs.

I was fortunate enough to ask the band a bunch of questions and have them answered by band leader and guitarist Dave Iverson, bassist Greg Dellaria and John Fadden.  I asked questions about the past, the present and the future and I wanted to get a sense of what influences help shape the worldview and soundscape of Ichabod.



1. From everything I’ve read the new record has been extremely well received. Are you pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction? Because in a lot of ways it is a very different kind of record.

Greg-. I am very happy with the response. We wanted to create this time around a bit of a more straight forward rock approach and the inclusion of John helped us out tremendously.

Dave-We’ve always been fortunate enough to have gotten pretty good critical acclaim; however, that’s never translated into great commercial success of any kind. I agree, it’s a “different kind of record,” and that we’re a different type of band. Sometimes, critics love challenging music but fans find it frustrating to not be able to pigeonhole a band’s sound. We’re pretty rooted in styles that everyone is familiar with, but it’s our presentation and blend thereof that sometimes surprises people. “Stoner, doom, metal, psych, sludge, etc.” doesn’t really matter eh? At the basest level, we’re a rock band I reckon.



2. There has been an expansion of styles from the last one from a pretty much straight forward sludge/stoner sound to incorporate a more expansive psychedelic rock sound. How smooth was this transition within the band? I understand there was some resistance to this change and that this led to Ken MacKay. Is that correct?

Dave- Yeah, Ken was getting frustrated it seemed. I think he had wanted to go in a slightly different direction than the rest of us. He’s a great guy and still our dear friend though, no hard feelings. We were pushing him to do things that he just wasn’t within his personal comfort zone doing, and we totally relate and respect that.



3. “2012 Outro” was a really spooky finish to the last album. You used samples of Jordan Maxwell and Alex Jones on the track. Are you guys fans of Alex Jones?

Dave- We’re big fans of Alex and Jordan; really, we’re big proponents of podcasts like the Joe Rogan experience, Coast to Coast AM, Psychedelic Salon, Hour of the Time, Conversation for Exploration, etc., on which those guys are frequent guests. We get a lot of lyrical/conceptual ideas from such sources.



4. Speaking of outros, “Return of the Hag” has a nice gypsy feel to it. Of course, when I hear flute in rock music I think Jethro Tull. What (other?) influences were floating around when you were making this record?

Greg- Return Of The Hag just came out of nowhere. At practice we just started jamming and there it was. We liked it so much that in the studio, we did a longer version of it for the outro. We played a shorter version to open up the set of our live shows a couple of times also. It was rather fun to see the look on people's face's when we did it. They were not expecting that at all.

Dave- By “gypsy” do you mean like hippy/jam rock? Funny, because it’s really just a reprise of the verse riff in Baba Yaga, done in a slow-burn, funkified manner. We wanted to groove it out a little and just have fun with the improv aspect of it. We know an amazing flautist, Bonnie Rovics, and a monsterous hand-drummer, Andy Kaknes, and decided to bring them in on things to round out the jam and make it real ear-candy. Jethro Tull is awesome, though they’re just a grain of sand on the beach of our influences.




5. What non-musical influences (books, movies, life events, etc.) found their way into the writing and recording of Dreamscapes from Dead Space?

Dave-We all love bands you’d expect, like Down, Acid Bath, Kyuss, Cavity, Sleep, Cough, etc…but we equally love stuff like Sunny Day Real Estate and Texas is the Reason, and classic rock like Sabbath, the Stones, Doors, Cream, etc., and shoegaze like early Verve and My Bloody Valentine, and classic metal, 90’s grunge stuff, old school hardcore/punk, psych like Wooden Shjips, Black Angels, Hawkwind, etc….we’re really all over the map with what we like, and it all seeps through somehow. But for non-musical, more from John on that….

John ~ I spend hours reading and watching a combo of world news, conspiracy videos, documentaries and The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Shit I even thank Joe Rogan on the album, ha! I've also read books written by everyone from Nietzsche to Lao Tzu to Aleister Crowley and Terrence McKenna so I have absorbed a variety of different perspectives and observations of this life and I've tried my best still to bring my own views and experience to the fold. A lot of these inspiration made their way onto the notebook with the help of the rest of the guys in the band and the music which they had created and some high grade marijuana.

Greg - Music, movies, and a bit of gaming helps out a bit also.



6. “Baba Yaga” is one of those songs I find myself singing at work and while I’m singing it, I’m thinking about the Hellboy comic with the Baba Yaga counting the fingers of dead children sticking up out of the ground. Are any of you guys comics fans?

Dave-I worked as a comics manager at a store while in college. I love comics, but don’t have much time to follow ‘em these days. I’ve never really been a Hellboy guy, although I did enjoy the movie. Baba Yaga was taken more from the classic European folk tale, merged with elements of what is called “Old Hag” syndrome these days.

Greg- I was a big fan of Frank Miller and Dave was an avid collector. The world of Psychotronic movies always plays into my musical influences. When ever I'm sitting on my couch, watching a movie , I always have my bass with me practicing and what not.



7. I swear it took me five plays or so before I realized that the song “108” was not a duet! I say that because it illustrates how broad John’s range is. It’s a truly impressive vocal performance throughout the whole record. How did you find him? Did you know of him from before?

John ~ Oh stop it, I'm blushing! Thanks.

Greg - He has been a friend of the band for many years, even before I was in the band.

Dave-John’s an old friend. His old band Flatbed used to jam down the hall from us, and let’s just say that the drinking wasn’t contained to just one room or the other! There was some cross pollination going on!



8. What do you think John Fadden brings to the band?

Dave-His pipes, enthusiasm, and lyrical bent, along with our solid foundation in friendship made him the IDEAL replacement for Ken. It was seamless. He seems like he’s always belonged. The same is true verbatim with Jay Adam on second guitar.


9. John, there’s such emotional depth in the vocal performance and the lyrics are often like an exposed nerve. Are you comfortable being this honest and open?

John ~ I'd say I'm more than comfortable with being as honest and open as I am. I don't have much of a filter when it comes to making my opinions known and I know that sometimes comes with a price. I love listening to bands who tell fantastic stories of dragons, wizards, and demons but that's their escape and what they want the listener to be swept away into while they listen. I want people to listen to what I say and question their own motivations and opinions on the things I talk about. I won't lie though songs like "Baba Yaga" are fun as hell to play because I can almost step back from myself and just rock the fuck out.

10. I understand Ichabod has already started working on a new record (full-length or EP?), which is a surprise because the band has always taken a couple years off between records. Are the ideas just flowing now or were you guys backlogged with older material like “All Your Love”?

John~ Dreamscapes and the next album "Merrimack" were already partially recorded when Jay and I was asked to join the band. We've been working on these 2 projects since day one. For me DSfDS came easier to write because it was "Ichabod" from start to finish sans 108 of course. In the last few months started working on 5 or 6 new songs that all of us have collaborated on and that's going to come out late 2013/early 2014 but we haven't even thought of booking recording time for it yet.



11. I know it’s early, but what might we expect from the next record in terms of sound or theme?

John ~ 'Merrimack' is a "concept" album in spirit. It's their [our] tribute to the river and the spot of land we all have known and loved all our lives. Lowell, Massachusetts has a very special place in American History and in our hearts. There's definitely the signature Ichabod sound all over it but it definitely takes some musical risks that even Dreamscapes doesn't. I don't wanna give too much of it away, and if you read into that as we're going commercial boy are you wrong, 9 minute songs aren't very terrestrial radio fan friendly.



12. In classical music a composer is said to reach his “mature” period after 15 years of writing and performing. Do you guys feel that Ichabod is entering its “mature” period where it’s now easier to write or less difficult to say the things you want to say with the music?

Greg - Yes I do. Over the past year, the chemistry has been overwhelming. Aside from Merrimack, we have the framework for 6 new songs. The band has new life now and I am very happy about it.

Dave- I never thought of it this way, but I guess it’s true. We’ve certainly matured a long way since our inception. It seems easier than ever to communicate…sometimes it’s eerie, like there’s telepathy going on in the jam room!



13. Well, while we’re waiting for the new record to come out Dreamscapes from Dead Space is still very much fresh in our minds. Are there any plans in the works for a vinyl release of the album?

It's coming sooner rather than later. We have a lot of artwork left over that we want to share with people so a vinyl release will allow us to get that out there. Michael Kent is fantastic artist and a dear friend, we can't thank him enough for his visual contributions.

Greg - The only thing that is really selling no these days is Vinyl and mp3's. Vinyl for the collectors and mp3's for the more casual listeners. So I think it's a good idea to stay ahead of the game.



14. Dave, when you started Ichabod did you expect it to turn into a lifelong commitment?

Dave-No sir…we’ve always just taken it one album at a time, and focused on what’s next each time. I think that constant eye to the future is what has kept us around for so long. Lifelong is a relative term and I don’t want to jinx anything by getting into what the parameters for lifelong may consist of. But we’re still having fun and creating great art, so the train will keep rolling.



15. Do you think the internet has helped your band in terms of longevity?

Dave- I don’t know about the longevity part, but it’s definitely helped to facilitate communications with all facets of the industry, even each other. Email/texts have been glue for us. Getting show offers, reviews, etc. has been made much more efficient by means of the internet.



16. Are you wary of the internet’s longterm effect on the music industry in general?

John~ I'm not wary of it at all. Oh no! someone can download my album for free..pffft...GOOD is what I say. Yeah it sucks that we put up our money to record and press records but if we didn't love making the music and want to share it with people we wouldn't even do that much. For every person that downloads a free copy and shares it with their friends you inevitably sell a few, it's give and take. The internet is like "tape trading" on steroids but it doesn't make your balls shrink. I don't argue with musicians who see it differently and I don't try and sway them into my way of thinking, I'm too old for that shit and I don't care enough.

Greg- No. I see tons of people crying over it. Things change and you have to evolve. It has opened doors that we never had before. But with everything comes with a price, good or bad.



17. With so many great bands from the Boston / New England area playing in the stoner doom genre is there competition for venues and such or is there enough pie to go around?

John~ It's tough sometimes because some bands just get breaks that others don't but there's plenty to go around in Boston. You're always gonna say "why the fuck did those dudes get that show" or something to that effect but you don't mean it derogatorily. I love going to see a national headliner and your friends are opening the show almost as much as I would if we were the openers.

Dave-I hate “battle of the bands” mentalities on the part of some. We’re a tight network of bands that are always going out of our way to help each other AND out of state bands alike. I wouldn’t trade the New England music scene for any other. Great people abound. We raz our friends playfully when they get shows we’d have liked to be on.

Greg- There is an old joke in Boston on how many bands does it take to screw in a light bulb. One to screw the light bulb in and a bunch of other bands standing around saying how did they get that gig? You get out of it what you put into it. Being bitter about it will get you nowhere.



18. Got any shows lined up? 

We're headlining the Middle East upstairs in Cambridge, MA. on 12/14 with some killer bands: The Force, Das Muerte, Mammothor, and Frostbite. It's gonna be rad!

19. What are your favorite records right now?

John ~ Graveyard ~ Light's Out / Lord Fowl ~ Moon Queen / The Sword ~ Apocryphon

Greg- Pallbearer- Sorrow And Extinction
Dead Can Dance- Anastasis
My Dying Bride-A Map Of All Our Failures
Evoken- Atra Mors

Dave- Rolling Stones-Sticky Fingers/ Electric Wizard-Black Masses



20. Thanks a lot for taking the time to hang out and answer so many of my damn questions. Dreamscapes from Dead Space is a killer record and I can’t wait to hear the follow up. But before you go, any parting words?

John ~ Thanks for wanting to talk to us

__________________________
Connect with Ichabod:

Facebook
Reverbnation

Also, here's a great track by track rundown with John on Reverbnation here

Hour of Power 10/27/12 (playlist)

Highlights from the week of 10/21/12 - 10/27/12

1. Anxiety Puke / Lovelessness (Bison B.C. / Lovelessness)
2. Looking Glass (Ichabod / Dreamscapes from Dead Space)
3. Hallucination Bomb (Monster Magnet / Mastermind)
4. Red God (Beastwars / ST)
5. Dying Earth (The Sword / Apocryphon)
6. Doom Rock Glazik (Stangala / Boued Tousek Hag Traou Mat All)
7. Waiting For Saturn (Bison, Bison / ST)
8. Passage (Zosimos / ST)
9. Never In My Life (Mountain / Climbing)
10. Known Depressant (Ice Dragon / split 7`` single w/ Fellwoods)
11. Purple Sage (Kadavar / ST)

Ichabod - Dreamscapes from Dead Space

It is obvious at first listen that this a confident, veteran band.  It's been about three years since Ichabod`s last album (`2012`) and the depth, scope and completeness of vision on this latest offering lends no clues as to the upheaval in this band over that span.  Or maybe it does.

Perhaps the music is a perfect reflection of everything that has happened to the band in the past three years.  An expansion of sound into new territory (brought vividly to fruition here) which saw the band part ways with original singer Ken McKay due to creative differences.   The band`s entire future was put in jeopardy but from the chaos, the band pushed through and came out the other side with a supportive new vocalist (John Fadden) and a musical statement that is among the most articulate and fresh of anything released in the sludge or stoner genres this year.

While a lot of bands struggle and strive to find a distinctive voice and occasionally come close, that ever-elusive 'statement' on the tip of their proverbial tongues but never quite articulated, Dreamscapes From Dead Space is an instance of a band speaking fluently in a language all their own.  I call it Space Sludge.

There's a duality of light and heavy, light and dark, tight restriction and infinite space.  It's a tightrope balance which Ichabod navigates effectively, bridging the chasms between heavy slabs of sludge and  calmer passages of more traditional rock with the expansiveness of space rock.

No song encompasses the overall structure and sonic landscape of the album as a whole better than opener ``Huckleberry``.  A high speed chase through burning streets littered with wrecks and hazards that leads to an escape through a welcoming and expansive desert.  ``Epiphany`` does nearly the same in reverse to equal if opposite effect.  ``Hollow God`` and ``Looking Glass`` are absolute scorchers while ``Baba Yaga`` and ``All Your Love`` begin as more subdued offerings of Space / Prog rock and eventually kick into Stoner / Sludge overdrive.  Through it all though, Ichabod never really forgets what they do best: play loud, hard and heavy.

Highly Recommended.

Reminds me of: Hawkwind, Kyuss, Steak, -(16)-

My Rating: 4.5/5

Genre: Stoner Metal, Rock, Sludge, Psychedelic, Space Rock, Prog Rock

Total run time: 47:11

Release Date: October 9, 2012

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Popping the clutch on your couch and driving that sucker to the moon, baby!

More Info

Better reviews:
The Obelisk
Doommantia