SON OF A WITCH - Thrones in the Sky

Illustrations by Ars Moriendee and Design by Gustavo Rocha.

Alright, it's Sunday night, I'm drunk, feelin' good. This was my one day off this week and now it's time to settle down with a little previously unheard tuneage. What do we got here ... ah, Son of a Witch! South American band. First full-length album. Lotsa long songs, 4 of 5 over 10 minutes. Looks good, perfect for where my head is at. I remember them from a 2012 EP they released. Without going back and replaying it, I remember them as a band with a jammy kind of sound. Not really psychedelic, but expansive. We'll call it breathing room doom. I'm just about ready to roll, let's do this. Press play and awaaaaay we go ...

THRONES IN THE SKY - Nice opening. Good riff, nice pounding crash. This is enormous ... Alright, I'm feelin' good but let's not pass judgment too quickly. Good break down and tight rebuild. Echoey vocals. I'm flyin'. Fuck this is a good track. 7 more minutes to go and we've got a slow jam part. Shades of Iron Man. My mind wanders ... Since Halloween I've been on a #nowanks movement and it's changed my life. I feel better than I have in years, maybe ever. I'm more assertive, more direct. I feel like a man again and more than that, I feel like a human being again. I make direct eye contact and hold it without discomfort. What I'm saying is, I feel strong and I owe it all to quitting wanking. Oh, I think I can put my finger on this tune. With the huge riff and echoey vocals it reminds me of Sons of Otis at their expansive best. Two minutes left. This thing is ending on an anthemic note with the repeated refrain. Excellent opening move. Let's see what we've got next.

ALPHA OMEGA ASTRA - Almost a Radar Love feel to the start of this track. I'm expecting double time on the snare up next. But it spills like oil into a main riff. You don't really see a move like that coming when something's that pausey. Ah, a break down ... and onto the main drag. Nice primary riff. Fuck, I think I'm fully sold on this album. Ho-lee fuck, this is some kick ass shit. Not to downplay Son of a Witch themselves but this one's got a Sons of Otis meets Church of Misery swagger to it. Nicely done. Any fan of the riff would be proud to blast this out their windows. And a sudden tempo shift. I'm in love. Lots of changes in this one. 6 minutes into a 12 minute monster and I'm still engaged. I think we're into a jammy part. Yeah, this week I've been thinking about the two different types of musicians. There's the cool beardo / hipster musician, who I'm worried I don't really get along with all too well and the nerdy, ponytail sporting musician who is more my natural ally. I was thinking about who I'd rather sit down and have a cup of tea with: Robert Plant in his prime or Geddy Lee at the height of Rush's fame ... I got to go with Geddy Lee. No question. You just feel like he wouldn't feel like he has some better place he needs to be and he'd be more into talking about whatever weird shit pops into your head. "Martians: green skinned or red skinned, what makes more sense?" I don't know. I don't know what the fuck I'd talk to either of those two guys about but I can't help but feel talking to Geddy Lee would be more interesting. We've been around the world here with this song and now we're chunking back into the main riff. Two songs in and I'm into it, man.

FAR AWAY FROM DREAMING (Giant Spheres & Humanoids) - Shortest track on the album and it's still almost 9 minutes long. Good start though. Bit of a laidback vibe in a heavy way. Transitioning into a Church of Misery meets classic-era Down mode. Another solid riff. Drifting off into space now ... floating ... and crashing back down. Finally checked out that bar across the street that's been there about two solid years now. I don't know, it's too busy and wild on the weekends. By the way, the bar is used as a regular set or exterior on the show Lucifer, I don't know which cause I've never watched it and probably never will. The bar is called the Union Jack if that rings a bell to anyone who's ever seen it. Whatever. Pretty cool place. I remember when it was a full-on raging dive bar so it's weird it looks the same inside with maybe a slightly improved atmosphere and far fewer winos and junkies. Holy shit, yeah about 6 minutes in and we've definitely hit on some Down vibes with the vocals, if not the music. Not my favorite on the album so far, but another solid tune. At this point I think I'm just spoiled to be honest because this might be the standout tune on any number of albums. Drummer does a good job of keeping things live and moving, but maybe gets out of a good situation a little too early if you know what I mean. He brings the excitement up to a peak but only for a bar, he doesn't let it breathe and flow.

NEW MONSTER - Okay, I'm definitely spoiled. We're a half hour in, just listened to three great tunes, let our minds wander and on pops another cool track and I've got next to nothing to say about it. Another cool riff. Not bad at all. But now I'm wondering if this had been the second track and Alpha Omega Astra had been in fourth spot would I be unimpressed with that one? It's a valid question. You can sometimes have too much of a good thing. At this point I'm thinking about the empties in my apartment and how I should either cash 'em out this week or leave 'em for the bums in the alley, one or the other. And you know something, it's not the band's fault, it's mine. I'm a big spoiled baby of a music fan at this point. This song has got some good rock n roll moves in it. Two and a half minutes in and we come to a nice bridge. This album is stuffed with riffs. Not Master of Reality level perhaps, but these guys don't quit. It's impressive really and it's just hit me how well this album is recorded and mixed. Clean but organic might be the best way to describe it. And that sudden change again. Yeah, this tune is at least on par with the first two. I'm thinking about the next couple film things my buddies and I have to shoot on weekends. I'm excited about what we're doing but nervous that I won't be able to hit my self-imposed deadlines. You'll see what we've been up to soon enough ... I hope! Fucking great tune this is! My buddy Chris Smith and I were talking about the Metallica song Shortest Straw at work this past week and I still haven't listened to it. Got to keep a mental note of that for after Thrones in the Sky. Haven't listened to that tune in a long time. I've had Apetite for Destruction in my head all week thinking about doing Sweet Child O Mine for Karaoke. That one and Bohemian Rhapsody. Those are good karaoke jams. Pretty excited about that. Nice finish to this one.

JUPITER COSMONAUT - Bass only intro right here. Guitar wahs in with slow drums and rattling crash. Drifting off into space again here ... then a gigantic Sabbathian riff, maybe the heaviest one on the record. This is nice. And the main riff takes shape. I think I may have hit on why I got so spoiled by this album: it's consistent. I don't think it's same-y, but just consistent in tone and structure. Instead of letting that huge pendulous doom riff play out, they whipped it into rock n roll shape. It's good stuff though. I'm not bitchin'. Speaking of consistent, the touchstones here are Sons of Otis, Church of Misery, Down and Black Sabbath. And you know what? Even a little Tombstones somehow, their early stuff, not their last two albums which we're a bit more sludgy. 6 minutes in and some brief swampy vibes here. It doesn't last, yet again. I'm a little disappointed, I gotta admit. They kind of slide in and out of swampy and flowing. Oooh, now a little jumpy thing here. This is what I was talking about with the drummer hitting on a good move and playing it out a little bit. Nice to hear, but again, like the glimpse of a ghost out of the corner of an eye, it's gone too soon. Yeah, this tunes all over the map, like it isn't sure what it wants to be. Haven't been to karaoke in over ten years. Looking forward to it. Now just have to make the night happen. I asked the waitress at the Union Jack if they did karaoke cause I thought I could hear it from my building, she said, "the house band's that bad, huh?" I nodded and said, "yup." Though if I wagered a guess, I'd imagine they were more the nerdy musician types. Funny how these things go sometimes. You can't win 'em all. The #nowanks thing is a work in progress. I'm still ironing out the kinks and finding what works for me. I've gone longer without ejaculating than I have since I was 11 years old if that doesn't creep you out too much. It's supposed to not be healthy for you to "hold it in" for too long. At this point I've got it to, you can jerk off once every two weeks. Like I said, it's about finding a balance, but so far, I like the results.

And what's more is I like this album, Thrones in the Sky. Not to sound like any more of a dick than I already have with my wild ravings, but I'm surprised how good this is. I expected a lot more loose jamming and lack of structure. This is a very well put together album. Although, as I eluded to earlier I wonder if the band didn't out-smart themselves in a few places. Don't worry about doing too much all at once, let it breathe. I mean, I understand it's been four years since their humble EP debut on bandcamp and it's true that if anything these songs sound overcooked not undercooked.

Son of a Witch on facebook

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Naked Brown - Not So Bad (album review)

Cover artwork by Przemysław Szukaj.

I won't be coy about this: 'Not So Bad' is the best stoner rock album I've heard in what seems like a very long time.  I've caught my ears on some great albums during that nebulous span, but this one takes the crown.  Bolder, tougher, harder and heavier than most everything else, but also groovier, Polish quartet Naked Brown have recorded one for the ages.  Nearly all the music I hear coming out of Poland is just a couple pounds heavier and few shades dirtier than all the rest and Naked Brown are no exception.  These dudes are rockers and go all the way with it.

The second time I listened to opening cut, "The King Is Back", the drum solo that kicks the album off actually put a smile on my face that wouldn't be wiped off until well into the song, at which point it was down to the more serious business of nodding along / outright headbanging.  I should mention that all this shamelessness took place on a public street, at a bus stop and on the bus.  Naked Brown strips you of all shame and self-consciousness.

Taking an overview of the album you may notice the uniformity of the song lengths, the greatest variation between song lengths appears with the final two tracks, “Storm is Comin’” at 4:26 and “Just Like Luke (Skywalker)” at 5:16.  Those are the shortest and longest cuts on the album.  This may sounds like a pointless detail but it goes great distances towards describing the band’s approach to songwriting.  Naked Brown aren’t going to bowl you over with inventive song structures or outside-the-box thinking, each song is made up of the classic verse-chorus-solo rotation.  Still, some believe that the highest artistic achievements are made within limiting confines.  So, that being the case, the success of each song must fall solely on the strength of the riffs, melodies and drum syncopation.

Like Motorhead, Naked Brown isn’t for everyone, this is heavy rock music for headbangers, pure and simple.  In so many ways, a band such as this (and they don’t come around all too often) are the direct descendants of Chuck Berry in that this is hyper-making music on the cutting edge of contemporary heaviness.  With all that said, the difference between Naked Brown and Chuck Berry or Motorhead is the level of variation between songs within those restricting confines of consistent individual identity and similar structures.  Each song is a distinctive and unique sibling, as opposed to being a genetic twin of the one that came before it.  The one overriding factor of each song is the mood.  This is rarely more evident than between the blues-bar anthem “Made To Kill” and it’s sold-out stadium heavy metal follow-up “T.O.D. the Barbarian”.  That mood or thing that ties it all together is the consistent instrumental tone.  Again, the band works with a limited palette of tones and structures and paints heavy rock masterpieces with a surprising range of styles. 

But just in case I didn’t make myself clear, this is the best stoner rock record I’ve heard in a long time.  Naked Brown errs on the energetic side, much of that has to do with the excellent drumming of Tomasz Wyrąbkiewicz who keeps things moving at a psychobilly pace and pulls everything out of the bag from double kick to cowbell.  Don’t miss this one, my words fall far short of what this album is all about, it simply kicks ass.

Highlights include: "The King Is Back" and "T.O.D. The Barbarian"

Rating: 4.5/5

Total Run Time: 33:49

From: Gdańsk, Poland

Genre: Stoner Rock, Hard Rock, Metal

Reminds me of: Isaak, Motorhead, Palm Desert

Release Date: November 23, 2013

Naked Brown on facebook

Goya – 777 (album review)

FOREVER DEAD, FOREVER STONED

Cover artwork by Hunter Hancock.

Few artists have been able to articulate the unnameable dread of horror better than Francisco Goya.  He is perhaps best known for his ‘Black Paintings’, of which “Saturn Devouring His Son” is arguably the most well-known (it even graces The Obsessed’s ‘Lunar Womb’ re-issue album cover).  But my favorite is “The Colossus” (I recognize that the painting has recently been re-attributed in recent years to a follower of Goya’s, but that is also in dispute.  To me, it remains a Goya original).  The painting features an unclothed man looming behind a green landscape in an apparent mood of rage, tiny peasants flee in the foreground.  What the artist shows us so clearly in this work is that horror can be a matter of perspective.  Put the figure in the foreground and the scene changes to what may be a caravan of death heading toward our now defensively postured “giant”.  Phoenix, Arizona based doom trio Goya live in the same world that we all do.  Their perspective, though hardly unique, informs every note, every syllable of their music and it’s apparent that what they see is a melting pot of horrors even the great artist from whom they take their name would struggle to articulate.

The driving force behind the band is guitarist/vocalist Jeff Owens.  The band’s 2012 demo featured an entirely different lineup, aside from Owens himself of course and featured a much different sound.  It’s impossible to escape the Electric Wizard / Sleep influence as it creeps into every crease and fold of ‘777’, something that was merely hinted at on the band’s demo.  To get a sense of the change in sound compare the old lineup demo version and new lineup album version of the song “Blackfire”.  The vision the band articulates so well is that unnameable dread that ultimately looms over every action taken by man, that life is a losing battle at best and utterly hopeless at worst, in short the essence a particularly vitriolic strain of true doom.

Owens and company discharges vitriol like they were born to do so, which I’m sure they were to some degree.  If you did actually bother to compare the two versions of “Blackfire” or “Night Creeps” for that matter, you will see automatically how much dirtier the new versions sound.  The album is of far superior sound quality to the demo, as it should be, so the ‘dirt’ or grit comes from the performances themselves.  I hesitate to call them ‘sloppy’ performances, as little half-millisecond hesitations and deviations make ‘angry’ seem like the more fitting descriptor.  It’s that extra little build-up that makes every strike, every strum, every accent just a half-millisecond stronger, angrier, more meaningful.  It’s dirtier you see, and there’s a tiny little speck of rage in every pinch of dirt, always has been.

Well if something as beautiful as a flower can grow from a pot of dirt, then something as diabolical as ‘777’ can also spring forth from dirt’s raging potentiality.  And make no mistake, this is a malignant album which takes a jaundiced view of the world.  Of course, as any horror fan knows, and as Francisco Goya understood and helped us to understand, there’s beauty to be found in all that evil.  Like a flower which grows from rage, the riffs on ‘777’ are the tits of Baphomet.  The syncopated guitar / drum interplay is undeniably gorgeous, peaking on “Necromance” (a #1 hit on the Doom Chart).  The riffs are of such a quality that a song like “Death’s Approaching Lullaby” remains hypnotic and driving even while stretching towards 13 minutes in length.  Perhaps the magnum opus and overall mission statement of the LP is closing track “Bad Vibes”, it’s the spike after the touchdown, the rotten cherry on top.

If Goya succeeded in reminding us that all living things eventually fade, die and decay, then they have done so by creating something immortal.  ‘777’ may or may not go down as a doom classic, but to call it the most hate-friendly collection of festering riffs since ‘Dopethrone’ may not be too great a stretch, though the band doesn’t disguise it’s influences well enough to consider it a true classic for those with a sense of the genre’s history.  Then again, it doesn’t appear as though they bothered to try disguising anything, because Goya doesn’t care what I think, or what you think, or what anybody thinks.  They aren’t trying to write doomed anthems for the world, they are in it for themselves, and though that may sound selfish, it’s the only reason to do anything in this world, you just have to know who you are and why you’re doing what you’re doing in the first place to have any success at it.  It sounds to me like Goya have those things sorted out.

Highlights include: "Necromance" and "Bad Vibes"

Rating: 4.5/5

Total Run Time: 51:49

From: Phoenix, Arizona

Genre: Doom, Stoner

Reminds me of: Electric Wizard, Sleep

Release Date: December 13, 2013

Goya on facebook

Better Reviews:
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Stoner Hive
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The Alchemical Mixutre - Dirt Wizard & Wizard Union (album reviews)

These days it seems like everything is beards, witches and wizards.  Well, those things are undoubtedly cool and far be it from me not to hop all over the latest trends, so I wanted to take the opportunity to bring back an old institution, the Alchemical Mixture, and I ask you, what’s more wizard than that?

Dirt Wizard - 'No Son of Mine'

From: Peoria, Illinois.  Highlights Include: "Season of the Sun"

and "Ged of Earthsea".  Rating: 4/5.  Released: Dec. 14, 2013.

Well, maybe these guys.  Dirt Wizard makes their home in Peoria, Illinois, but uh, you know, they could live anywhere they wanted.  Even on the moon, or even Alaska.  But Peoria will do.  An unassuming kind of place, where none would suspect wizards dwell.  But that’s the beauty of the world, that there are secret wizards and witches all over the place.  As you walk or drive down the sleepy roads of suburbia and you happen to glance or even stare into a living room window on your way past, you truly don’t know who or what you’re looking at.  I for one assume everybody is some form of deviant or other, Dirt Wizard is the magical kind.

Their five song E.P., ‘No Son of Mine’ stays on an even keel, keeping the listener under a consistent spell of stoned wizardry in the vein of Seattle’s Ancient Warlocks or their Northern neighbors Black Wizard.  It’s a crash heavy linear fuzz ride with killer harmonies which gives the music a sense of speed and motion.  Opener “Amis Tabu”, “Ged of Earthsea” and “Season of the Sun” are all jacketed in the warmth of close harmony, which edges tantalizingly close to the edge of dischord by sliding Alice in Chains-style into minor chords.  It’s still a great trick to pull off.  Uh, I mean … illusion! 

Without a doubt, the band’s crowning achievement is the last song of the collection.  "Season of the Sun" is an apocalypse in the sun.  Cacophonic guitars and crashing drums mingle with a top down cruising down the empty highway feel brought about by the bright vocal harmonies, feet up, nuclear wind blowing through your hair.  Feel-wise, it’s like the inverse of Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral”.

‘No Son of Mine’ is a solid listen, though at 22 minutes I hesitate to call it truly satisfying.  But, it’s an incredibly promising debut and you get the sense that Dirt Wizard has an amazing album or two up their giant, billowy sleeve.

Wizard Union - 'Smoking Coffins'

From: Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Highlights Include: "Thoth Amon" and 

"Into the Wizard's Sleeve".  Rating: 4.5/5.  Released: Jan. 8, 2013.

Ann Arbor, Michigan’s three-piece Wizard Union has a fuzz-first mentality with chunky riffs which choke off any attempt for melody to flower and grow into anything other than a quick turnaround.  This band reminds me of a stateside cousin of Brighton, UK’s March the Desert.  Wizard Union will flood your mind with fuzz and for my money have instantly established themselves as one of America’s heaviest bands.

It’s a label they don’t shy away from.  The song “Thoth Amon” showcases the band’s Conan-literate side.  It’s a fair association to mix themselves up with.  Wizard Union won’t dazzle you with glittering steel and rippling, oiled muscles.  Instead it’s the dull-edged stone axe which does more damage with the impact of its blade, rather than its cutting edge.

Wizard Union will leave you knock you into next week, concussed, groggy and confused.  The fuzz is thick and meaty, the vocals are gristly and weighing in at a lean 6 songs and 23 minutes, there’s very little fat here, but there’s just enough to add a little flavor.  Wizard Union are a mixture of all the good things in life, Black Sabbath, Howard’s Conan (as depicted by Frank Frazetta of course, or possibly Boris Vallejo and best seen on the side of a rockin’ van) and plus-sized heaviness.  I’ll be back for me, whenever local #420 re-convenes, I’ll be proud to say I support this union.  You can support both these bands by clicking the links on the players below.

Seems like, these days, it would be a rather large union.  At one time, it was a sandbox that the pixie-like Marc Bolan basically had all to himself.  Now, you just can’t get away from wizard rock.  Just to give you an idea of how many witch and wizard themed/named bands there are out there I present this dry list.  Try to imagine it as a wizard’s spell scroll.

Stoned Witch & Wizard roll-call:

Acid Witch

Ancient Warlocks

Arkham Witch

Bell Witch

Black Magician

Black Wizard

Blackwitch Pudding

Dirt Wizard

Earth Witch

Electric Wizard

Glitter Wizard

Lizzard Wizzard

Mage

Magister Templi

Mountain Witch

Old Man Wizard

Red Wizard

Space Witch

Spelljammer

Ten Foot Wizard

Witch

Witch Charmer

Witch Mountain

Witch Rider

Witchcraft

Witches of God

Witching Altar

Witchsorrow

Witchstone

Wizard Smoke

Wizard Union

And these are just the good bands (the ones that I know of that is), there’s a whole world out there of mediocre bands all dying to bring down the wizard name.

Dirt Wizard on facebook
Wizard Union on facebook

Blackwitch Pudding - Taste the Pudding (album review)

Cover artwork by Liesl Meissner.

The three cloaked and hooded ingredients that make up Blackwitch Pudding seem like a bunch of perverts. Everything is panties and (super)sluts. But even if I were in a position to judge these deviants harshly for their peculiar appetites, I wouldn’t because these guys are from out of town.  I mean way out of town. I understand that what may offend prudish sensibility on this planet, may just be common decency and politeness where the Pudding comes from. It’s called different cultures, and we should learn to embrace them. Embrace the sluts and taste the pudding, that’s what I say, and how the hell could you pass judgment on a thing like that anyway? *sniff, sniff* Ah, love is in the air!

Blackwitch Pudding serves up seven swarthy tracks of ‘banging wizardry on ‘Taste the Pudding’, their debut full-length. While it would be easy to look at the song titles and listen to the lyrics and label the music as ‘filthy’, that’s not quite the tone here. Oily, might be a better descriptor. The production and the music here is sleek and slick with a rainbow sheen and can also be used as a lubricant.

What else can be said about this swarthy, oily mixture we call Blackwitch Pudding? Silliness, charisma, personality and antics make them stateside cousins to UK schlock rockers Groan and that’s the comparison I make when listening. But sonically, it’s not a great match as Groan has a touch of Steel Panther in them while BP take their cues from the local (Portland) sound, which is spear-headed by Red Fang. Either way, it would be amazing to see a Groan / Blackwitch Pudding tour as that’s a match made in some kind of slutty heaven. I’m sure the panties would fly at those shows, which would make it the equivalent of a black tie affair where these stoner metallers come from. Both bands are represented by Southern Cross PR so there is a tiny link there. This probably needs to happen, that’s all I’m saying.

So it’s a swarthy, oily mixture of Stump(town)y proportions. But it’s so much more than that. This isn’t your average record by any standard. Red Fang-like stoner metal is only one listing under this Pudding's “nutritional information”. The band breathes fire during some of the sexiest moments of doom you’re likely to be comfortable encountering, any sexier than this and it would be quite uncomfortable indeed. Oh, and did I mention outer space?  There's more than a hint of dark matter in Blackwitch Pudding's recipe, I'm sure that's where the color in the name comes from.  'Taste the Pudding' is a tight recording that would provide little clue to the band's silly nature to non-English speakers.  The band can sound downright foreboding at times, but never so far over the line as this is always undercut by their penchant for cutting loose by navigating the celestial sound waves like a gang of Silver Surfers.

Swarthy, oily, stumpy, doomy, spacey, chugging, grinding, spellbinding Blackwitch Pudding. Delicious. And frightening. Clearly, ‘Taste the Pudding’ is a hostile takeover of the planet earth by three wizards from outer space. I’m not sure what it is they want, but I have an idea. To turn the entire world into a giant, formal black tie party, Pudding style. I for one would like to welcome our new overlords …

Highlights include: "Super Sluts from Outer Space" and "Gathering Panties"

Rating: 4.5/5


Total Run Time: 44:22

From: Portland, Oregon

Genre: Stoner Metal, Doom, Space, Wizard

Reminds me of: Ancient Warlocks, Black Wizard, Dirt Wizard, Groan, Red Fang, Wounded Giant

Release Date: August 30, 2013

Blackwitch Pudding on facebook

The Great Electric Quest - Chapter II (E.P. Review)

NOW I MUST SCREEEEAM ... "BREAK THESE SHACKLES FROM ME!"

And so we stumble upon a group of seekers from the sweltering climes of San Diego.  They are seekers on a great electric quest.  It's a heavy quest.  Hot and heavy.  Their journey is fraught with giant rock and high stone, their destination unknown, unknowable, unreachable.  The only possible outcome of this quest, is death.  And of course, they are taking you along for the ride.

The Great Electric Quest is always on the lookout for experiences and are willing to push the perceived limits that surround them into the realm of unceasing extremity.  As is the seeker's burden, the outer limit of experience, the reward at the end of the journey is always just out of arm's reach, no matter how far forward they have pushed.  All that is not to create the wrong impression that The Quest is an extreme metal band complete with cookie monster vocals, walls of sound and blast beats obsessed with visions of failure and death.  Rather, the extremity manifests itself in the form of Russian doll song structures and a moxy, an approach, a confidence that pushes limited skill into rarified territory.  The seeker does not fail in reaching for the unattainable, it is in the reaching itself that the seeker succeeds.

The Great Electric Quest take a Kyuss-influenced stoner rock sound and filter it through the progressive sudden twists, shout choruses, shreds on a dime, general vocal inflections and other movements of early metal bands like Metallica.  With each successive spin it becomes harder and harder to remain composed and contain enthusiasm as before long at all you find yourself 'bangin' along raising a leather gloved fist high into the air and you have no idea how that glove got there, but you don't question it either.  It's all part of the Quest, man.  It's also hard for me not to get too geeked up about this band because they remind me so much of me and my buddies in an earlier age.  Back before life crushed us all down (well, some of us anyway [ahem]).  I can't see that happening to these colorful characters though, these are what you might call 'lifers'.

Above and beyond all else, what you get from The Great Electric Quest is positive vibes, which along with the high energy of the songwriting makes this 5 song E.P. a dynamo.  "1901", "Break the Shackles" and "Beers in Hell" are uplifting songs, giving the listener a hearty push start in the direction of a more productive use of one's creative energies.  I told vocalist Tyler Dingvell that his lyrics were empowering and that there ought to be more dudes like him out there using their platform wisely.  Here's what he had to say in response:

"Rock and Roll is empowering!! It's not wallowing in the sorrows of life. It's drinking a beer with your friends and forging on to meet the next challenge. It's empowerment of one and an embodiment of brotherhood. Love for humanity with the absence of fear."

And maybe that's all you need to know about the band to join them in their quest.

Highlights include: "1901" and "Break The Shackles"

Rating: 4/5


Total Run Time: 22:40

Tyler "T-Sweat" Dingvell - Vocals
Buddy Donner - Guitar
Corey Ciota - Drums
Mr. Mikey Hurrin - Bass/Vocals

From: San Diego, California

Genre: Metal, Stoner

Reminds me of: Corrosion of Conformity (Blind era), Gentlemen Bastards, early Metallica, Red Wizard, Saturn

Release Date: December 1, 2013

The Great Electric Quest on facebook

Moon Coven - Amanita Kingdom (album review)

Cover artwork by Justin Boyesen.

I first became aware of Swedish five-piece stoners Moon Coven through their one-off single "Ruler of Dust" on bandcamp when they went by the unlikely moniker of Waning Moon.  After sigining to Transubstans Records of Sweden and altering their name to Moon Coven they are about to unleash their five song debut.

The color scheme of the album's cover art is a picture perfect chromatic representation of the band's sound, aquamarine hues doused in smoke, cloudy yet unobscured images conjured not through the artifice of witchcraft, but rather through pastoral feelings and communion with nature (is stoner rock not a movement based around communion with nature through the inhalation of smoke?).  The Baphometan pose of the witch like figure on the cover could just as easily be a tree, the stars her roots and the crescent moon forming a halo around her head the crown.  And why wouldn't it be?  This is the Moon Coven we're talking about, no longer waning but soaring, a crescent moon may show the heavenly body in its weakest phase, but it only last so long before the moon returns to full bloom, to dominate the night sky once again.

Dominating the album from the outset, the opening track "Ruler of Dust" (currently blazing through the doom charts top 25 songs list), remains the band's high point.  A nice sloppy feel to the opening riff as sunshine pours in through the stoner haze, evoking the spirit of Greenleaf / Dozer.  Lazily bouncing rhythms and vocalist David Leban's casual delivery set a relaxed mood which carries into much of the album.  There is a consistent feel to the album, the tone is warm, the delivery inviting.  What sets Moon Coven apart, of course, are the riffs which come at the hands of a three guitar onslaught courtesy of Mr's Leban, Axel Granhammar and Justin Boyesen.

"Amanita Kingdom II", another standout sounds like an outtake from Mountain Witch's 'Cold River' LP which isn't a bad thing.  This has a lot to do with the vocal distortion which gives it that distant feel, Mountain Witch's Rene Sitte favors.  The major difference is that the aforementioned German trio's music is "red" and "black" in tone while Moon Coven's is a very "green" and "grey" sound.  The broken rhythms which are set in motion, then knocked down with a descending, pausey riffs are handled with the stop-motion expert hand of a Ray Harryhausen.  The song, placed right in the middle of the album, is a cool change of pace and guarantees to re-capture the attention of anybody lulled into a hypnotic state by the laidback nature of the first couple tracks.

The band does not fail to capitalize on their opportunity as the album then slides into the song "East", which is currently streaming over on The Obelisk website.  Again, it's one of the highlights on a short album full of terrific moments, you'd have to travel far and wide to find another stoner song with a vocal melody quite like the one found here.  In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find another band with quite the same sound as Moon Coven.  While there are a great deal of 70's moments on 'Amanita Kingdom', any comparisons to throwback eras would more accurately fall under the heading of late sixties psychedelic.  Closing number "We Were Conquerers" displays this quite vividly, as those pastoral feelings abound on this track.

What you're left with is a positive impression, good times remembered through a haze.  Moon Coven's 'Amanita Kingdom' should put them on the map with a fine five song performance of laidback stoner grooviness.  'Amanita Kingdom' will be released by Transubstans Records on January 15.

Highlights include: "Ruler of Dust" and "East"

Rating: 4/5


Tracklist:
1). Ruler of Dust (7:19)
2). Amanita Kingdom (7:03)
3). Amanita Kingdom II (8:00)
4). East (6:37)
5). We Were Conquerors (5:23)
Total Run Time: 34:20

From: Malmö/Jönköping, Sweden

Genre: Stoner, Psychedelic, Desert Rock

Reminds me of: Dozer, Greenleaf, Mountain Witch

Release Date: January 15, 2013

Moon Coven on facebook

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Wolves of Winter - Demo (Album Review)

Review by Love Among Ruins.

I wanted to introduce you to Wolves Of Winter, a desert stoner hard rock band from Arizona.  WoW has recently released a noteworthy demo on Bandcamp.  After I heard the demo I contacted the band and talked to Josh McGee, who established the band back in 2011 and he tells me they are planning to release their self titled debut album hopefully sometime this spring.  Coming from Phoenix, Arizona, the band is a trio consisting of Josh McGee who is the main vocalist & guitarist and responsible for most the writing on this demo, with David Weaver on bass and Mike Horn on the drums.   After a few lineup changes before this, Josh tells me he feels as if he has a real good group of guys that "really mesh and get along".

So what we have on this demo is a total of 10 smashing tracks at about 35 mins that give the listener much to chew on.  Ranging from classic rock, to grunge, to stoner & doom and back again this demo is sounding very promising for what could be their debut album.  McGee has some pretty slick guitar licks and shows off his abilities throughout the album with lots of soaring riffs, and clever hooks.  McGee also belts out these tunes with edge, grit and confidence.  The tracks "A Childs Reasoning" & "Tooth & Nail" came crashing though with their deep thumping bass & sizzling guitar riffs.

This trio of guys show a great deal of musicianship especially in the all instrumental progressive track "The Blind Leading The Blind", a lavish, doom influenced number that got my attention real quick.  The album finishes strong with tracks like the bass heavy doomy "Rubber Band" and the bluesy, sultry track "The Start of the Season" and finally the last song, and my favorite track titled "Astrothoughts" features a cool vibe and a catchy chorus that I can't get out of my head.

Bottom line:  This demo is a hard hitting album with tons of potential, it shows us listeners that there is a confident trio of guys that are serious about making a name for themselves not just around the Phoenix area but as far as the ear can hear.   I will be keeping track of the progress of Wolves of Winter and their upcoming debut.  To be continued...

Highlights include: "Astrothoughts" and "Blind Leading the Blind"

Rating: 4.5/5


Total Run Time: 35:12

Members:

Josh McGee (Guitar / Vocals)

David Weaver (Bass)

Mike Horn (Drums)

From: Phoenix, Arizona

Genre: Stoner, Desert Rock, Hard Rock

Release Date: December 20, 2013

Wolves of Winter on facebook
Wolves of Winter's Reverbnation

Sonic Mass - All Creatures Strange (album review)

Cover artwork by Barney Bodoano.

Much of the latter half of 2012 and the first half of 2013 I was creeped out by goats.  You see, East London's Sonic Mass had song up called "The Goat of Mendhis" for their then-current 'Magnetic Electric' EP [watch it on youtube here].  It was one of, if not THEE most evil sounding song I'd ever heard and probably remains so, taking the impenetrably dark vibe of Black Sabbath's titular song and turning off the lights on it while drawing the curtains closed with the opening line "I am the Anti-Christ".  The scene is then set.  It gave me exactly what I look for in my doom music.  But it traumatized me and every time I look at a goat I now wonder if I'm not looking at the anti-christ.  Maybe I don't understand things like song lyrics and point-of-view, but oh well.

Since the 'Magnetic Electric' EP was released the band has been around the old lineup change carousel and the old bandcamp page featuring the 'Magnetic Electric' EP has been taken down.  It is now an evil relic of the internet age, lost in a haunted scrapyard, spoken of only in harsh whispers.  Also lost is the band's self-titled EP from 2011, gone down the memory hole.  When the band finally did re-emerge this spring they came with what was essentially a completely different sound from what I was expecting (that I kept "Goat" in my constant rotation all along didn't help either, if I'd have payed just a bit more attention to the other songs on the 'Magnetic' EP I'd have seen how little a departure it truly was).  But that doesn't mean that "Widow Stone" wasn't amazing, for those keeping track at home it did make it to the top spot on my Top 25 songs list.  The 10-minute "Widow Stone" was a true epic and we'll touch on that one in a bit, but by the way, that early version of the song has joined its sibling E.P.'s at the bottom of the memory hole as well.  A new version occupies track three of 'All Creatures Strange'.

So why the memory hole anyway?  Is the band so dark and are they so disturbed by their own creations that they feel the need to create ... and then destroy their own monsters?  Are they tortured genius perfectionists, never satisfied with the fruits of their own labors, hiding their history in shame?  I don't know, but if I had to guess, I'd say the band prefers to show their work in completed form, in the best recorded version and also, importantly, the band doesn't shy away from recycling old pieces and concepts from old songs and re-working them into new ones.

All of that leads to this, "Iron Bong", the opening track from 'All Creatures Strange' and the beginning of a sound that has been perfected over the course of years (the band started up in 2007) into the psychedelic showcase before us.  Sonic Mass has proven an accurate name for the band, the idea of it goes far beyond simple heaviness or riff worship.  There is a mass of musical ideas on display, a techno-organic forest of sounds, ideas growing on top of ideas beneath a canopy of distortion.  Changing ideas unfold in non-euclidian nightmares of transmorphism.  Four minutes into the opening track, the familiar pattern changes giving way to a discordant coda, changing the complexion of the whole song, jarring the listener and challenging you to pay attention.  The ears prick up, this is good!  It's something the band does over and over throughout the course of the album, they take you in one direction, hypnotize you, and then when you least expect it, throw a vat of discord in your face.  Sonically, it's a paranoid's nightmare!  It's also an astonishingly simplistic technique that works wonders, hey, bands have doing this sort of thing since the time of The Beatles, but is often ignored by today's bands.  It remains a classy technique to drive dynamics.  The best example of this is the aforementioned "Widow Stone" which begins with an awesome, classic heavy riff and eventually winds up as a mindbending shamanistic ritual complete with eerie backmasking and reverse loops.  It's a completely unexpected turn and it's a beautiful thing.

Perhaps the eeriest thing of all is that the band members themselves seem like just normal guys who just so happen to play music and to take that music into some pretty far out places.  The band gives David Icke a dynamic tongue-in-cheek lift through syncopated landscapes on "Rise of the Royal Reptiles", but as I mentioned earlier some of those far out places are points in their own history.  "Black Acid Nightmare" is a re-working of their own song "Darke Hearse", and I'd say the new version has a bit more oomph.  "Pentagon Chameleon - To The Devil... A Daughter" and "All Creatures Strange" both bump up against the treacherous shores of "sound painting", but remain distinctly musical.  The album, taken in a single dose, is extremely psychedelic, perhaps startlingly so.  Ideas are fluid things here, choruses are memorable and often exciting, the overall tone of the album is one of feeling around the shadow world of an unfamiliar corridor, you may find yourself falling into rooms, tumbling down flights of stairs that are where they shouldn't be or plunging into a murky aquatic world of deep discordant tone.  But one day, and I know it's coming soon, I will make a wrong turn down a corridor lit by moonlight streaming through an open window.  The light will feel safe and inviting.  And I know, friends!  I know that that's when the goat will appear, eyes a-blazing, horns a-gleaming...

Highlights include: "Widow Stone" and "Rise of the Royal Reptile"

Rating: 4.5/5


Total Run Time: 46:24

From: London, England

Genre: Psychedelic, Stoner Rock, Doom

Reminds me of: Blue Cheer, Cream, March the Desert, The Open Mind

Release Date: December 8, 2013

Sonic Mass on facebook

Sandveiss - Scream Queen (album review)

Cover artwork by Alexandre Goulet.

Review by Love Among Ruins

Newcomers Sandveiss just might have something real special with their full length debut release 'Scream Queen'.  Just released on December 11, the album consists of 8 tracks at just under 40 mins.  Sandveiss is a four piece group that formed just 2 years ago in Quebec City, Canada.  Current members are vocalist & guitarist Luc Bourgeois, with Shawn Rice who is also on guitar and Daniel Girard on bass & the drums are played by Dzemal Trtak.  They released a 4 track EP/Demo CD back in 2012 with the band’s original vocalist François Couture who left the band in May 2013 leaving their only guitarist Bourgeois taking over vocal duties.  At that point the decision was made to bring in a second guitar player and they asked Shawn Rice to join, now completing Sandveiss’ current line-up. Inspired by everything from classic rock to heavy metal bands from the 60’s/70’s/80’s to the stoner rock and doom bands of today.  They say they get their musical influences from bands such as, Black Sabbath, Mountain, Pentagram, The Melvins, Kyuss and Nirvana.

This debut album from Sandveiss is a rather impressive release, and a big surprise as they come flying in under the music radar.  This is the kind of album that gets me excited, and as I heard one person describe it as 'exhilarating'.  It's just a constant throw down of in your face, straight up hard rock. With nice catchy melodies, clean vocals and lots of guitar riffs with a strong rhythm section holding it together very nicely. 

I don't think there is one track I don't like, but there were some real standout moments.  Opening up with a catchy number called "Blindsided" that immediately caught my attention with meaty bass lines and great guitar melodies.  Seriously good vocal delivery by Luc Bourgeois, this guy has the goods! He has clean yet passionate vocals and I would go as far to say I found him to be one of the best vocalists from a debut album that I have heard this year.  I also really enjoyed the track titled "Scar" at about the halfway point is an intense riff-fest showing off their excellent guitar skills.  "Bottomless Lies" my favorite track, with strong grunge influences and what sounds like a Jerry Cantrell lick on the guitar. There is a definite Alice in Chains sound that makes this song a big standout for me and I may just put it in my 'Best Songs of 2013'.

Then closing out this great album is "Green For Good" at 6:23 it is full of all the goods.  Long guitar solos, nice riffs & hooks showing a strong ending to this very impressive album.   Overall, this album sounds like it was produced by a band that has been playing together for years by maintaining that quality of sound and creativeness that is not often found with such a young band. This debut album looks very promising for Sandveiss.  

Highlights include: "Bottomless Lies" and "Blindsided"

Rating: 4.5/5

Tracklist 

1). Blindsided (6:24)
2). Do You Really Know  (4:30)
3). Untie Me  (2:53)
4). Scar  (5:57)
5). The Bomb  (4:16)
6). Bottomless Lies  (4:23)
7). Dead Man Stare  (5:04)
8). Green For Gold  (6:23)

Total Run Time: 39:52

Members:

Luc Bourgeois - Vocals & Guitar

Shawn Rice - Guitar

Daniel Girard - Bass

Dzemal Trtak - Drums

From: Quebec City, QC

Genre: Stoner, Grunge, Hard Rock

Reminds me of: Alice in Chains, Buffalo Theory MTL, Death Ape Disco, Tsar Bomba

Release Date: December 8, 2013

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Black Thai - Seasons of Might (EP review)

Cover artwork by Alexander von Wieding.

Review by Love Among Ruins

Since Black Thai is one of the bands I've been lusting over lately, I am excited to write up some thoughts on just why it is that their new 4 track EP, 'Seasons of Might' is on repeat in my media player these days.  I think we can all agree, it’s been a helluva good year for music.  So when November comes around and I think I've heard the best music the year has to offer, and I get blown away by a little 4 track EP, I think it’s something worth talking about.  Before I get too excited, let’s take a look at who is causing all the commotion. ;-)  Based in Boston, Black Thai is Jim Healey from We're All Going To Die on vocals & guitar...Scott O’Dowd from the band Cortez also on guitar...the bass player is Cory Cocomazzi and finishing out this four piece outfit is seasoned drummer Jeremy Hemond who is also from Cortez and plays for Roadsaw.  Black Thai formed in 2009 and released their first EP 'Blood From On High' in 2010 which, along with 'Seasons of Might' are available in digital format on Bandcamp and iTunes.  'Seasons of Might' is also available as a 12" 45 RPM in various colored vinyl on Bandcamp. 

First impression of this beast of an EP is that they mean serious business in capturing the listener's attention.  Releasing that beast out of its cage is the first track, 'Blood Dust',  highlighted by a relentless hammering of the drums and layered guitar harmonies.  Jim Healey's strong but melodic vocals hit the perfect tone with a combination of aggression and sultriness to create a sound that is very effective with this riff heavy music, and very pleasing to these ears.

They certainly got my attention on the next track 'Start A War'.  There is a kick ass riff-fest going on here opening up with a very catchy hook that just rips throughout the track, highlighted by clean yet aggressive vocals belted out with passionate lyrics about war and destruction combined with some creative rolls & fills from drummer Jeremy Hemond.  This is my favorite track on the EP.

'Doors To Nowhere' takes you on a crazy ride with its intense drumming and a fast paced rhythm. I am so picky about vocals and I love the vocals on 'Seasons of Might'.  I said this in my last review, but I am not a fan of too over the top aggressive or excessive screaming vocals.  I like passion but with control and lots of rasp and grit.  This is exactly what Jim Healey has going on here, perfect combination of all things heavy without losing the passion in the lyrics and the story behind them.

Closing out the nearly 23 minute album is the thought provoking track 'Reasons To Burn' a solid, heavy guitar riff with powerful, drumming and bass, which by the way is wicked as hell with a deep bone shaking tone which gives it more of a doomier feel to it.

I have to mention the artwork by Alexander von Wieding which is a cool rendition of a woman's face divided into the 4 different seasons of summer, fall, winter & spring.  The face depicts the devastation to this beautiful woman by the elements of what might be the result of global warming or a post-apocalyptic time. 

Bottom line....This feels like a group of musicians that know their craft.  They play their instruments like they know they are a force to be reckoned with, but yet show great restraint to hold a melody, and tell a story throughout this short journey, I only wish the journey was longer.  Maybe this was the story they wanted to tell and four tracks was enough to send their message?  I don't know, but their message was short, sweet and to the point, and I got it.

'Seasons of Might' is a MUST have!

Highlights include: "Start a War" and "Reasons To Burn"

Rating: 4.5/5

Tracklist:
1). Blood Dust (5:25)
2). Start A War (5:23)
3). Doors To Nowhere (3:58)
4). Reasons To Burn (8:03)

From: Boston, Massachusetts

Genre: Stoner Metal, Southern Rock

Reminds me of: Deville, Sideburn, Valley of the Sun

Release Date: November 5, 2013

Black Thai on facebook

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At Devil Dirt - Plan B: Sin Revolución no hay Evolución (album review)

40 years ago ...

Augusto Pinochet, commander-in-chief of the Chilean army stages a successful coup d'etat against President Allende, the man who had appointed him to the position.  He would hold the reigns of power in the country for the next 17 years.

Months ago ...

Memories resonate and echo across time.  A shadow passes over the earth, traveling at twice the speed of sound.  I'm picking up a transmission from the universe as the shadow approaches.  60's underground psychedelia, Smashing Pumpkins 'Siamese Dream' album and a kind of positive social Darwinism will collide with Chainsaw fuzz to formulate a Plan B from outer space.  It's going to cause a stir.  It's going to change opinions.  It's going to solidify things then take them in new directions.  This is what it will look like to see individuals embody the very expansion of the universe ...

Today ...

The first thought that occurs to me is 'Siamese Dream', but mostly just the heavy, catchy parts of that album.  For the last At Devil Dirt album, 'Chapter II', the first thought that occurred to me was 'Songs for the Deaf'.  Is this evolution?  Is it revolution?  Well for those of us who have been following the course the band has taken in the interim, the transition should come as little surprise.  Besides, it's not as pronounced as I'm making it out to be.  At Devil Dirt is still At Devil Dirt and the dust and dirt that settles on Chilean streets still churn and dance with their immutable power, but let's say there's an extra teaspoon of sugar in this recipe and, importantly, an extra serving's worth of variation.

At Devil Dirt have the increasingly rare ability to craft memorable choruses.  I'm not just talking about pleasant or catchy hooks here, I'm talking about statements with the power of a politically charged lullaby.  Aldous Huxley discussed the ability of melody to worm its way into the mind and change opinion in his 1959 non-fiction book Brave New World Revisited from the chapter "The Art of Selling":

"...melodies tend to ingrain themselves in the listener's mind.  A tune will haunt the memory during the whole of a lifetime.  Here, for example, is a quite uninteresting statement or value judgment.  As it stands nobody will pay attention to it.  But now set the words to a catchy and easily remembered tune.  Immediately the become words of power.  Moreover, the words will tend automatically to repeat themselves every time the melody is heard or spontaneously remembered.  Orpheus has entered into an alliance with Pavlov - the power of sound with the conditioned reflex.  For the commercial propagandist, as for his colleagues in the fields of politics and religion, music possesses yet another advantage.  Nonsense which it would be shameful for a reasonable being to write, speak or hear spoken, can be sung or listened to by that same rational being with pleasure and even with a kind of intellectual conviction."

Such power is dangerous in the wrong hands.  At Devil Dirt have scored the kind of sing-songy messages that are not easily forgotten at least twice on this album:  the title track, and the album's closer "There Is Not A God Or A Devil" (also featured on the Chilean Fuzz II compilation [see the review here]).  The band understands that simplicity is the usher of memory and that this simplicity invites a listener / audience sing along.  John Lennon had the ability to pen anthems with "Give Peace a Chance" and "Imagine" being the finest examples of his politically charged message songs.  It's also clear that At Devil Dirt had Lennon in mind while creating 'Plan B'.  Lennon's "Across the Universe" is covered here (interestingly sequenced right before "There Is Not a God Or A Devil") and the song is smothered in about three inches of dark fuzz.  The Chilean duo had shown the ability to pen simplistic anthemic tunes on 'Chapter II' and that ability has been focused like a laser to match their intent on 'Plan B'.

Of course, it isn't just the above mentioned songs that show this mind-worming catchiness.  I begin to wonder whether or not the band can really help but write incredibly catchy songs.  Opening pair "Don't See You Around" and "Conscience" are marvels of eloquent catchiness.  This is the form the band's evolution has taken, it's all about focus.

As for the revolutionary, AT Devil Dirt tries some things that are altogether new to their sound.  "40 Years Ago" becomes a 13 and a half minute "sound-painting", not entirely unlike "Revolution 9", with clips and samples of what I must only assume is Chile's own notorious dictator, Pinochet propagandizing.  The song is bookended by more traditional sounds, including one of vocalist Nestor Ayala's most ambitious choruses yet, as he experiments with Alice in Chains style dissonance.  Fortunately, the adventurous melody is met by perhaps his most ambitious and far reaching lyrics yet, telling the story of Pinochet and the plight of the Chilean people during his 17 year reign.  I'm not even going to pretend to know what living under a dictator is like, but it is heartening to know that there are those out there who chose not to forget and are still driven to tell the story.  Another branch of At Devil Dirt's revolution is the abundance of slower songs, specifically on side B, something that was missing entirely from 'Chapter II'.  That album could be accused of being a bit samey, however kick-ass.  But perhaps the most surprising strike here in the band's musical coup d'etat is the bluesy acoustic "Time To Flee".  There is absolutely no doubt at all that the band has pulled out all the stops on their latest record and that the band has invested their hearts, minds and souls into its execution.

Years from now, after the revolution ...

When the shadow had passed over the earth, finally completing its orbit, it punched into escape velocity, it's work finished.  Down below a confused murmur arose.  Could it have been a dream?  Had it all really happened?  Yes, the Earth remained the Earth, and there was no way you could feel the difference between day to day and yet it was there.  Something had changed.  Something essential had shifted.  The heavens did not rejoice, the sky did not sing and to a man, the human race went quietly about its business.  Yet somewhere within the heart of every one a confidence pulsated and they knew instinctively, they were ready for the next step ...

'Plan B' will be made available in most musical formats between Halloween and March 2014.  The digital version of the album will be available on bandcamp from October 30 while CD and cassette copies will be distributed from December 15.  The vinyl edition will be out in March from Bilocation Records.

Highlights include: "Sin Revolución no hay Evolución" and "There Is Not a God or a Devil"

Rating: 4/5


Total Run Time: 55:20

Néstor "Gato" Ayala (Guitar/Vocals)
Francisco "Hongo" Alvarado (Drums)

From: Santiago, Chile

Genre: Stoner, Psychedelic, Blues, Doom, Sludge

Reminds me of: John Lennon, Smashing Pumpkins

Release Date: October 30, 2013

At Devil Dirt on facebook

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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