2013 Chronicle (Year in review) part 5 - Best of April 2013

April - APE SKULL (ST) - Ape Skull is amazing, their debut album is such a perfect slice of 60's psychedelic pop that if you didn't know it was a new record, you'd be convinced it was a lost classic.  It even comes complete with a cover of "I Got No Time" by the decidedly obscure British psych band Orange Peel who I believe released a mere two singles in the late sixties.  Anyway, this is an excellent album, well worth checking out.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Lazy" and "So Deep".  Rating 4.5/5

April 1 - Desert Storm (Horizontal Life)

April 2 - THE BLACK ANGELS (Indigo Meadow) - Here's another album I didn't listen to nearly enough.  Hands down this is the best straight-up psychedelic record of the year and maybe the heaviest while we're at it.  This thing is blessed with infectious hooks and psychedelic freakouts in equal measure.  Highly recommended.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Twisted Light" and "Don't Play With Guns".  Rating 4.5/5

April 2 - Black Pyramid (Adversarial)

April 2 - Space Mushroom Fuzz (Man in the Shadow)

April 2 - Warbeast (Destroy)

April 3 - Hela (Broken Cross)

April 9 - DEMON EYE (ST EP) - I called this EP the debut of the year when it was released and even now after months of new releases I stick by that.  They got an excellent American retro sound with tones of Deep Purple sprinkled throughout.  Since the release of this EP they have been signed up by Soulseller Records.  Their full-length record 'Leave the Light' is on it's way (January 24, 2014) and is comprised of the entirety of this 6-song EP plus five new ones.  It promises to be an early candidate for record of the year 2014.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Silent One" and "Hecate".  Rating 5/5

April 9 - DEVIL TO PAY (Fate Is Your Muse) - This is another of my desert island favorite albums of the year, it's an impressive display of power and consistency with a stellar rate of hookiness.  Ripple Music dialed up a winner with this one, full of heavy guitars, soul-felt vocals and high energy.  Definitely a must have for any rockers out there.  Original review here.  Get it here.  Highlights include: "Prepare to Die" and "Already Dead".  Rating 4.5/5

April 9 - Grave Disgrace (Triumphant and Militant Church)

April 13 - ABYSMAL GRIEF (Feretri) - Abysmal Grief are one of my favorite bands in the whole world and their latest album did not disappoint.  Nobody does a better job of breeding gothic elements with doom and the album title 'Feretri' (coffins in English) and album cover were just aces too.  On a personal side note, this was the first album I reviewed over at The Sludgelord blog so I knew straight off that I had come to the right place.  Fast Fact: I had originally written the review as a eulogy but it just didn't come out right, so the version you see at the link below was actually my second review of 'Feretri'.  Support the Sludgelord site if you don't already!  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Sinister Gleams" and "Lords of the Funerals".  Rating 4.5/5

April 16 - Anciients (Heart of Oak)

April 19 - BEASTWARS (Blood Becomes Fire) - Beastwars's follow-up to their 2011 debut album was another major highlight of a year quickly becoming crowded with highlight albums.  Taking on a streamlined, no-bullshit approach to their messianic sludge metal, Beastwars's latest throbbed and pulsated with intensity, power and meaning. Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Tower of Skulls" and "Caul of Time".  Rating 5/5

April 19 - LA CHINGA (La Chinga) - I was months late to this party but when I got there it was in full swing.  Vancouver's very-own power trio La Chinga puts the bulge back in guitar, bass and drum sleaze with 10 choice cuts of hellbrand rock n roll.  The band has since been snatched up by stoner powerhouse label Small Stone Records and the sky is the limit, even it those skies are almost always overcast in the band's home territory.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "La Chinga" and "The Universe is Mine".  Rating 4.5/5

April 20 - The Heavy Co. (Midwest Electric)

April 23 - GOZU (The Fury of a Patient Man) - Small Stone Records didn't put out a ton of all-new material this year, but the fuzz giants released an absolute gem in Gozu's latest.  This Boston quartet (subsequently expanded to a five piece with a third guitarist plus a new drummer) dialed up a hook-laden winner with their rolodex of riffs and vocalist Marc Gaffney's acrobatic arias.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Bald Bull" and "Signed, Epstein's Mom".  Rating 4.5/5

April 28 - The Grave (Demonia EP)

April 28 - TUMBLEWEED DEALER (ST) - I don't listen to a whole lot of instrumental music, but even if I did, it would be easy to call this the best instrumental rock or metal album I've ever heard.  I couldn't get enough of it, from the deep tones to the developing ideas.  The duo that recorded this record is now a trio and is busy at work on the next one!  Get it here. Highlights include: "How To Light a Joint With a Blow Torch" and "Trudging Through an Egyptian Swamp".  Rating 4.5/5

April 30 - Cathedral (The Last Spire)

April 30 - REVELATION (Inner Harbor) - Maryland doom legends Revelation returned after a three year absence in 2012 with 'Inner Harbor'.  The album was released by the impeccable Shadow Kingdom Records on this date and that's when I stumbled upon it so it warrants inclusion here.  An entirely proggier affair than previous efforts, 'Inner Harbor' was an addictive album with many different, deep facets.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Rebecca At The Well" and "Terribilita".  Rating 4/5


Best Album From April 2013:
'Feretri' by ABYSMAL GRIEF

Best Song From April 2013:
"Bald Bull" by GOZU

PARANOID Thoughts:

If it's true that there's an element of horror in every doom metal band's repertoire, then it seems equally true that there's an element of psychedelia in every (good) rock band's repertoire.  That's where it all comes from.  Hard rock, prog and metal all came out of the psychedelic rock movement of the sixties and it even influenced punk in an indirect, antithetical kind of way.  The point at which bands decided to change their image, grow their hair long, play loud and heavy, experiment with different and extended song structures is the point at which rock n roll ceased being pop music and became it's own thing.  Basically, psychedelic rock IS rock n roll as we know it today.

Of course, that is only true in the perspective of long-term development.  There have been so many touchstone moments in rock n roll history in the intervening 50 years (give or take) since psychedelic rock first came about that the bands that hearken unabashedly back to the soundtrack of the summer of love can no longer be called rock n roll bands.  They are something else, they are psychedelic rock.  A paradox?  Nah.

Again, most (good) rock n roll bands have some element of psychedelia to their sound, no matter what particular style they play.  Top flight hard rock bands like Mothership and La Chinga incorporate plenty of sweat-stained instrumental freakouts that go well beyond the typical "guitar solo" within their basic song structures, but that doesn't make their overall sound psychedelic.  For the label to apply and mean anything it takes something else, a particular sensibility, a nuanced approach to atmosphere, tone and a pioneer's wanderlust for experimental song structure.  These are the astronauts of rock n roll.

There were a number of really good unabashedly psychedelic rock albums that were released in 2013, here's a list of my personal favorites:

Top 10 Psychedelic albums from 2013:
1). The Black Angels - 'Indigo Meadow'
2). Bardo Pond - 'Peace on Venus'
3). Naam - 'Vow'
4). Eye - 'Second Sight'
5). Ride Into the Sun - ST Mini-LP
6). Dead Meadow - 'Warble Womb'
7). The Auras - ST EP 2
8). Causa Sui - 'Euporie Tide'
9). Ziz - 'Ever'
10). Sun of Man - 'I'
Honorable Mentions: Steven Wilson - 'The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories)'

Note: Two California bands, The Warlocks and Mammatus both released great psychedelic albums in November, beyond the purview of the October 31st cut-off date I've been using for these lists.

Tumbleweed Dealer's ST Debut to see Vinyl release on Mind Control Records

Cover artwork by Alex Goulet.

Canadian Instrumental duo (live trio) Tumbleweed Dealer's self-titled full-length debut record is about to be released on vinyl by German label Mind Control Records.

It's an excellent album full of bluesy southwestern feelings and stoned vibes.  Seven songs that never waver in consistency, this album will almost definitely finish in my year end top 10 as I've already played it 50 times.  I can't get enough of this thing.  I see it's also in the Bandcamp top 10 most popular albums for the search tag 'stoner rock'.  Not too shabby.  The Montreal based band is composed of Dopethrone drummer Carl Borman, live bassist Felix Roberge and guitarist / bassist / songwriter Seb Painchaud whom I was able to chat with about tons of cool stuff in one of my favorite Paranoid interviews yet (read it here).

The vinyl is set for a SEPTEMBER 18th release, but pre-orders are going on right now, right here: http://epdmc.com/Tumbleweed-Dealer-s-t-LP_1

Better get two because you're probably gonna wear out the grooves on your first copy.


Tumbleweed Dealer on facebook

One more time:
VINYL PRE-ORDERS HERE

Hour of Power 06/08/13 (playlist)

1. Es Mi Sangre (Cultura Tres / Rezando al Mieda) 2013
2. Personal Riot (Brutus / Behind the Mountain) 2013
3. Roma En El Sol (Icarus Gasoline / NA) 2013
4. Burn Again (The Devil Rides Out / Ugly Creatures EP) 2013*
5. Get Back On It [session] (Bite the Bullet / NA) 2013
6. Remains [live] (Pet the Preacher / NA) 2013
7. Traitors Return to Earth 'Betting on a Full Collapse' PROMO 2013
8. Under the Banner of the Wolf (Olde / Our Once Forgotten Empyrium) 2013
9. Angry Man (Ape Machine / Mangled by the Machine) 2013
10. Lazy (Ape Skull / ST) 2013
11. How To Light a Joint With a Blow Torch (Tumbleweed Dealer / ST) 2013
12. Dragonaut (Sleep / Sleep's Holy Mountain) 1993 'classic video'
13. Dream Lore (Qosmic Qey) 2013

*video 2 in a 5 video series.  For video #1, see Hour of Power 05/25/13

TUMBLEWEED DEALER INTERVIEW

Album cover artwork by Alex Goulet.

"Hello, I'm LK Ultra.  Tonight, I'll be speaking with fellow Canadian SEB PAINCHAUD of the band TUMBLEWEED DEALER.  But first, a word from our  sponsors."

BIO:
"Sometime in June of 2012, Seb Painchaud (member of The Last Felony, former member of Ion Dissonance, Nefastus Dies & Vatican) decided to indulge in the greeny goodness for the first time in years. Never one to do anything half way, in a few hours a three and half was turned into smoke and the inspiration hit him. He decided to write and record right then and there on his home studio some tracks inspired by bands like Earth & Horseback. 3 songs were created that night and the following night he went at it again, creating two more songs, this time incorporating post-rock and math-rock influences (Which were later released as the Unreleased Demos) A few weeks went by, and the inspiration hit again and Seb, who had now returned to his old chronic self of yore, wrote and recorded a few more songs. All these songs were rough demos with simple drum loops and never meant for public consumption, but when he wrote and recorded Death Rides Southwards, he knew he had something. He knew he had found his sound. In another drug filled evening with good friend and fellow The Last Felony band member Felix Roberge we’re rocking the tracks and decided to combine their efforts, and Felix would take over drum programming and supervise Seb’s hectic and drug laden recording sessions. Out of this collaboration came the Death Rides Southwards EP that was distributed for free on line to get the band’s name out there.

"The band recruited Dopethrone skinman Carl Borman and recorded and released their full length debut album in april 2013."

DESCRIPTION:

"Tumbleweed Dealer plays 70’s inspired psych rock and stoner/desert rock while incorporating subtle post-rock and math-rock touches that might only be tangibly visible to the band themselves, yet help them distinguish themselves from other purely retro bands. Although mostly written out, their music involves room for improvisation, making every performance of these tracks an original unto itself."

PREAMBLE:
"Welcome back.  I'm speaking all in red today to distinguish my voice from others', and of course, this being an all-Canadian convo, well, the color seemed appropriate.  To give you a little idea of the man answering the questions, he sent me this message along with his interview responses: "Here it is, sorry 'bout the delays, work was hectic so I kept getting fucking high as soon as I stepped out of there, then I'd get home and be too stoned to answer haha". And now, I present to you, my interview with Seb."

INTERVIEW WITH SEB PAINCHAUD:

1). This has long been a subject of rock and roll interviews, but since we`ve just read your bio above and what it says about the origins of the band, what would you say is the relationship between your music and weed and how important has it been since those early days to the creative process of Tumbleweed Dealer?

It’s very important. Ever since I started playing music, I’ve always wanted to revolutionize everything, make something completely out of left field that will redefine the way music is perceived or something, so I over complicate everything, I get bored with a song and keep adding on to it ‘cause it’s never enough. When I’m high, I just try and come up with good riffs. You’d think I could try and do that sober, but I over think everything. I just get high, loop a riff, and find about 10 other guitar lines to add over it. As long as they sound good, I keep going. Weed makes writing good simple songs easier, and that is what this band is all about, me giving up the overly technical and extreme music to just write good songs, nothing more nothing less, and apparently I’m too stupid to do this without dumbing myself down with weed!


2). The band started as a one man, one night smoke-filled recording session that folks can actually listen to on ‘The Unreleased Demos’ album on your bandcamp page.  Since then you’ve recruited Dopethrone drummer Carl Borman.  How did that collaboration come about?  Are there plans (or at least hopes) to expand the membership of the band even further so that you can hit the streets of Montreal and start gigging?

I’ve known Dopethrone since they started off, since we started Vatican with Vince from Dopethrone on drums, pretty much at the same time. Both bands would alternate jamming and we’d end up all getting drunk at Vince’s place. At first I talked to Vince, but he was preparing for their first European tour. He lives nearby so I wanted to jam a bunch of times and work everything out. But I quickly figured that wasn’t the way to do things for this kind of music. When I hit up Carl, I sent him the finished guitar tracks for the album, he listened and jammed to it for about a month, and we only jammed together the one time. Most of what you hear is improvised. I recorded the bass at the same time as he did the drums, sitting in a corner of the sound booth so I could give him signs as to when to change riffs and stuff. My friend and tumbleweed-supporter from the beginning Felix Roberge will be picking up the bass so we can jam as a 3 piece and get ready for shows.


3). There are no lyrics to Tumbleweed Dealer music at this point, but the notes and the dirty bluesy / cowboy feeling of the music tells a story of its own.  Therefore, you strike me as a visual thinker (?).  Are there any non-musical influences to Tumbleweed Dealer music, such as film.  And if so, can you recommend any good ones?

I don’t know if I’m a visual thinker in everyday life, or even in any other musical project I may have contributed to, but for tumbleweed Dealer I definitely have a movie scene in mind for every song. Most of the time it’s something I made up real quick in my head. Often I’ll come up with what I consider a good song title, pair it up with a riff or two, and then the scene will just happen in my head. From then on I know exactly where I’m going with the song and how I wanted it to sound. It’s how I figure out the basic feel a track should have.

FUCK YEAH! (Artwork by Glenn Fabry)

As far as specific non-musical influences, the comic book PREACHER is my biggest influence. The vibe, feel and look of that comic book has always been something I wanted to capture in music. A few TV shows too. I try to have the music influence the title that then influences the music and so forth. I came up with a riff and just felt like it sounded like a “swamp riff” for some reason, the kind of thing you’d think of while crossing the bayou neck deep in murky waters. I ended up slowing it down and playing it a bit higher, and then it had a much more predominant Egyptian feel ‘cause of the scale it uses. Thus “Trudging Through An Egyptian Swamp” was born, with me envisioning a platoon crossing a swamp as they forge on towards a pyramid with an eye atop it that seems to call them in. When a song has two distinct parts I always name the 2nd part even though the title will never appear anywhere, and since the song goes into a much more typical stoner feel in the 2nd half I always referred to it as the “Addicted To The Pharaoh’s Weed” riff. Sometimes I can’t even figure out how the image works with the riff, it just kinda feels right for some reason. I can come up with a new riff and instantly go to myself “This song has to have something to do with mushrooms” and I’ll have no idea how I made the association, but I did, and now it HAS to be that way. I might just have OCD too...


4). Speaking of these bluesy / cowboy vibes in the music, was this a conscious decision you made or was it just the result of what came out of you?  If so, why do you think that is?  Are you particularly interested in western movies? (actually there’s more a vibe of No Country for Old Men, The Road or even The Big Lebowski than John Wayne/Clint Eastwood movies I think)

Yeah it was a conscious decision. I just wanted to make a big melting pot of everything that has to do with the south when it relates to musical styles. Sludgy swampy riffs, desert riffs, western riffs, blues, just mix everything together on one side, then on the other have a melting pot of... well, pot. Just everything having to do with drugs when it comes to various genres. So obviously stoner rock, but also 70’s psychedelic music and space rock. I try to mix both musically as well as thematically. It doesn’t have anything to do with my appreciation of movies or anything related to specific genres of movies, I just pinpointed some specific “feels” I really enjoyed in music and went for it. I’m not a big fan of movies as a whole honestly, I mostly stick to TV series. My favorite movie ever is Clerks though, seen it over a hundred times.


5). Can you tell me a little bit about Montreal.  What’s the stoner doom scene like out there.  Are there good venues where underground bands get to play / get to know each other and feed off each other’s music?  Everyone I know who’s spent some time in Montreal didn’t want to come back to Vancouver.

Dopethrone pretty much is the scene for Montreal, ain’t much stoner out there other than them. Black Khox from Quebec City are awesome though. We got some good venues. I don’t go to shows much anymore. I’m really not “in” the scene anymore. Plus I’ve always been in the more death/black metal scene up to now. I’ve spent some time in Vancouver, especially the downtown area, and I wouldn’t want to go back there even at gun point so I understand the people you know. Crackheads and constant rain aren’t everyone’s idea of a great place to live!


6). Is it just me or were the first few episodes of the new Arrested Development pretty disappointing?  By episode 4 it starts to pick up but, what do you think?  Are you happy with the new season, is it everything you’ve been expecting?

I thought that at first too, but when you catch what the season is all about, you have to understand that it had to be a bit more boring in the beginning since they were setting up all the jokes that would pay off 5-6 episodes down the line. It reminds me of a more extreme version of later-seasons seinfeld the way the stories all end up entangling. I think they took a huge risk and it really paid off, it’s not just funny but incredibly uselessly complex which adds to the humour. A slow start was a small price to pay as far as I’m concerned. I was more disappointed with how the ending falls a bit flat, but that’s probably just because they’re setting up the movie to be the big finale. This season was very much a “transition” one, probably the weakest on its own, but serves its purpose perfectly.

(Update: I'm finally up to like episode 6 or so and the show has seemed to have been given ANUSTART and is up to it's old high standard.)


7). It appears you’re already all set to record album #2.  How is that going and can you give us some details, how many songs, etc?  And how does it differ from what we’ve heard from the band so far?

I’m far from being “all set” but I’m working on stuff, got a few songs close to being 100% finished. We decided to record guitar tracks one track at a time, so I can lay them down as soon as they’re done writing and give Carl more time to figure out his drum parts before he hits the studio. I’ve got basic ideas, feels and titles figured out for the album, probably 7-8 songs, and more “darker” songs like “March of The Dead Cowboys” and “Dark Times A’ Comin” ‘cause there’s only so much I can do while sticking purely to the blues scale before I run out of ideas.

8). Lastly, please keep me and Paranoid Hitsophrenic readers posted on the next album, I’d love to catch up when it comes out.  Thanks for chatting with me.  

Will do! I’ll probably be dropping song titles, studio updates and stuff soon enough on our facebook so make sure you hit us up!

Tumbleweed Dealer on facebook

And thank you, dear reader, for reading.  Make sure to listen on the player below, then follow the links to Tumbleweed Dealer's bandcamp, this is some killer stuff full of southwestern feelings.  O, what pretty pictures it planted in my mind's eye, imagery I viddied real horrorshow.  I've been LK Ultra and for Seb Painchaud and Tumbleweed Dealer I say, good night and drive safely.