DOOMMANTIA - Doom Metal Reviews

Here is a little Q&A with Vechel Jaynes and Mike Pellegrino from Lord Fowl. They currently have out an album titled Moon Queen, out on Small Stone Records.

When did you form Lord Fowl-why did you choose this name for the band?

We formed LF in late 2006 early 2007 as a three piece. Vechel and Don already seemed set in the name so I kinda went along with it. Naming a band is tough. I never really felt like it completely represented us. We're really fun sorta upbeat crazy guys - not doomy and gloomy as maybe the name suggests. But whatever, the music speaks for itself.

Who writes the band's lyrics? What may inspire your lyrics?

The task of writing lyrics have always been shared. All of us have contributed. To me it's obvious who wrote each song - we have are own styles. We tend to write a lot about relationships, usually with bad ex girlfriends; also some self motivational stuff; and little bit of mystical stuff.

Any interest in occult writings?

I guess I have some interest in everything. Don't think I've ever read any occult books unless you consider alien conspiracy stuff, alternative history or the Anarchists Cookbook occult? Maybe more fringe science...

Any bands that you like currently on the doom metal scene?

When it comes to doom metal, I like the classics. Bands like Electric Wizard and Witchfinder General. As far as the newer doom scene goes, I have to give props to Curse the Son, our boys from CT. Thick ass guitar sound, crushing drums. Incidentally, their drummer, Mike Petrucci, happens to be our new drummer as well.

How does the band collaborate on recording their albums-on deciding which tracks are kept for the album?

Our writing process? Mike and I are the primary writers. Sometimes we bring in whole songs. Sometimes we bring in riffs that turn into complete songs. There are usually some arrangement changes, then we record demos on the old eight track. When it comes to song order for the album, everyone makes their ideal list and we kind of vote on which one works best. If someone just ain't feeling a certain song, it gets cut.

Do you enjoy playing live, and receiving an immediate reaction from the audience?

At the end of the day, performing live is the most rewarding part of playing music. I love the studio and I love putting together an album, but nothing beats the feeling of rocking a show. Especially when the crowd is diggin' it. Nothing compares to that energy.

Any favorite authors,books and movies, Vechel?

Let's see...authors? I'm on some old school horror shit right now. Clark Ashton Smith, Shirley Jackson, H.P. Lovecraft, etc. Also Alan Moore, Olaudah Equiano, Ursula K Le Guin, Jimmy Santiago Baca... Shout out to Vechel Howard, Cuz we got the same name! Don't get me started on movies and tv! Too much to list!

Lord Fowl @ Facebook

Interview By John Wisniewski

This artist got my attention with their newest one track album: A Cry of Despair. One track, one sound scape saturated with apocalyptic guitar riffs and vocals bursting through the dark sky. Tree of Sores is a metal band from the United Kingdom. They are depicting their music as a nightmare in a damaged brain. Three albums have been released until today, and every album has its own style. Tree of Sores makes use of different gloomy genres for every album, influenced from doom metal, to crust to post-metal, giving every album a unique character.

From the newest to the last album, A Cry of Despair is a very dark album, overloaded with bass and heavy drums. This one tune alternates between calm constructing initiations and intense centerpieces, consisting out of 6 to 7 movements. Over all lays a fogy atmosphere, its afflicting nature. The sound grows on a minimalistic soil, establishes itself and gets bigger and more intense until the sky breaks apart and the sun shines on the devastated ground, uncovering this gloomy place, evoking the sense of impending doom.

With their second album, Tree of Sores succeeded in creating an abstract. Again an oeuvre with a strong density, abruptly breaking out of a quiet and freaky atmosphere. As a whole this album is much crunchier then the other albums, meaning having a more monotonously instrumental ground but stronger vocals. The instrumental ground is thin, but just enough for the vocals to gain their ground. While there are nearly no vocals in the latest album, the vocals in this album are strongly present and have an agonizing and aggressive character. In this and the last album Sandforge there are female and male vocals mixing up. Talia, the female vocalist and bassist is only present in the first two albums, being dropped out and replaced by only a bassist, Joe Hall.

Their first album is just a one track EP, Sandford, only takes 6:29 minutes and is the only album that is not free to download. This album is quite similar to the second album, but has movements with a drone or post-metallic aspect. It is an interesting piece, but very short and their first try to publish their own music.

On the whole, this artist creates gloomy and epic sound scape with tremendous intensity. This artist is recommended to everyone who listens to gloomy metal styles; he might find his preferred metal style in one of these three albums but if you want to want to discover a new metal genre, this artist may introduce you to a new one. Tree of Sores leads you through a broad range of gloomy metal, and might be an interesting discovery for fans of Pelican, Neurosis or Wolves in the Throneroom.

Words: Luis Luethi

Tree Of Sores @ Bandcamp

Jus Oborn has said of the track, which harnesses the dark underground death metal spirit of 1984:

“It was the year I became a metal-head. It was heavy shit for real – there was no way you were ever going to get a decent job. So I became a Satanist, I dug up a grave, I got into tape trading, I had a one-man noise/black/death metal band called Regurgitated Guts, and there were loads of documentaries on TV warning us not to listen to the devil’s music…”

Produced by Oborn, the album was recorded at Toe Rag Studios in East London, with analog gear used exclusively throughout, with finishing touches done at Skyhammer Studio in “deepest, darkest” Cheshire by Chris Fielding.

Electric Wizard, who have just played at Hellfest in France, Roskilde in Denmark and Sonisphere in yhe UK, have the following appearances lined up for 2014, with more shows to be added:

Aug 16th Jabberwocky, The Excel Centre, London, UK
Sep 12th Reverence Valada, Portugal (headline with Hawkwind)
Oct 10th – 12th Desertfest, Antwerp, Belgium

Electric Wizard @ Facebook
Electric Wizard @ YouTube

Electric Wizard - 'I Am Nothing' (lyrics)

Stillborn children. Saturn’s children the living dead
We have created this abyss, darkness, surrounding us
Raise the flag of hate against this human race
Rise and kill & wipe them all away….

I Am Nothing
I Mean Nothing
I See Nothing
I Feel Nothing…as I kill you

We the Old Ones did not forget
We are the Supercoven, we wait with bated breath
They think themselves as Gods ..now are they free?
Mindless slaves to their lusts and technology

I Am Nothing
I Mean Nothing
I See Nothing
I Feel Nothing….as I kill you

I Am Nothing
I Feel Nothing
I Am Nothing
You Are Nothing….
To Me…
Nothing…
Nothing…
I Feel Nothing as I kill you…..

Source: Doom Metal Front

Portland doom bringers, STONEBURNER, will kick off a short run of West Coast live rituals beginning today on their home turf at Mississippi Studios. From there the band will trample through five more cities in California and Oregon alongside progressive metalists, Burials. Additionally, team STONEBURNER will make an appearance at Festicide next month. The three-day event takes places in venues throughout the Portland area in an effort to celebrate P-Town's deep-rooted DIY culture with an emphasis on punk, metal, and extreme music. Festicide shows are five bucks or totally free!

STONEBURNER DATES:
7/15/2014 Mississippi Studios - Portland, OR w/ Burials
7/17/2014 Johnny B's - Medford, OR w/ Burials
7/18/2014 Haus of Rice - Concord, CA w/ Burials
7/19/2014 First Church Of The Buzzard - Oakland, CA w/ Burials
7/20/2014 Starlite Lounge - Sacramento, CA w/ Burials
7/21/2014 Goodfella's - Springfield, OR w/ Burials
8/15/2014 The Know as part of Festicide - Portland, OR
STONEBURNER will be touring in support of the diseased fruit of their Life Drawing full-length, released earlier this year via Neurot Recordings. Featuring a host of talented guest vocalists including Krysta Martinez (Transient, Landmine Marathon), Benjamin Caragol (Burials, Hang the Old Year) and Joshua Greene (Bastard Feast, Ephemeros), Life Drawing basks in the sounds of its own emotional collapse. A sonic tidal wave of sickness, paranoia and soul-consuming dread, its nine distortion-laden hymns are at once loud, ugly and physically and psychologically crippling. The Portland Mercury crowned the record, "...a bottom-heavy, cracked, ground-crawling rager dipped in mire and slime," Exclaim called it, "an exquisitely painful response to the struggle against desire and the impulse to satisfy one's most base needs," while Target Audience Magazine agreed: "This album is bold and complex, fearless and freaking heavy. This is thinking man's metal."

Get dismal with the sounds of Life Drawing still streaming at Decibel Magazine, at THIS LOCATION.

STONEBURNER's musical ancestry winds through Buried At Sea, Buried Blood, Heathen Shrine and others. Named after a subterranean weapon from the novel Dune, the band delivers a wholly organic orchestration of captivating, crustified doom metal, their torrid hymns bathed in internal agony, anguish and despair. To define STONEBURNER, one need only look to the list of bands with whom they've shared the stage: Yob, Sleep, Eyehategod, Neurosis, Buzzov-en, Weedeater, Saint Vitus, Watain, Tragedy, Noothgrush, Graves At Sea, Lord Dying, Drop Dead, Whitehorse, Windhand, Bastard Noise...

Purchase your copy of Life Drawing via Neurot Recordings at THIS LOCATION.

Stoneburner @ Facebook
Neurot Recordings Official Website
Neurot Recordings Facebook

When all is said and done, the art of making people bang their heads comes down to one central component: the riff. The riff has been refined and redefined so many times over the last four decades that ownership of a guitar and half a brain should be all that's required to at least have a decent stab at getting things right, and yet very few people seem capable of tapping into the true essence and ethos of what made Tony Iommi such an all-conquering pioneer and overlord of six-string power and glory. Over the last 25 years, discerning metal fans may have struggled to pinpoint any bona fide contemporary greats amongst the never-ending proliferation of also-rans and wannabes, but as chief composer and guitarist for UK doom metal legends CATHEDRAL, Gaz Jennings has more than earned the mantle of the modern age's most consistent and supremely talented Riffmaster General. A perennial unsung hero of the heavy underground, Gaz has already contributed a vast number of classic songs to the metallic canon, but when CATHEDRAL finally called it a day in 2013 it looked as if another guitar hero was destined to disappear into the shadows. Gloriously, he has now returned with a brand new band, DEATH PENALTY, and an eponymous debut album that once again proves his absolute mastery of the form.

"When CATHEDRAL split I didn't have any intention of getting another band together," Gaz admits. "I wanted to do a record, because Lee [Dorrian, CATHEDRAL front man and Rise Above Records boss] has been saying for years that he'd give me a deal! But all my time was taken up writing stuff for CATHEDRAL. I had a few bits and bobs lying around, so I started writing material a few years back and that's where it all started. And now the album is ready to go."

With such a formidable reputation to uphold, it was absolutely vital for Gaz to select the right musicians to work with in his new band. Enter vocalist Michelle Nocon and Fredrik "Cozy" Cosemans, members of Belgian doom warriors SERPENTCULT; a band that Gaz greatly admires and fellow Rise Above alumni. Although resident in Belgium, Michelle and Cozy were simply the right people for the job and kindred spirits that Gaz suspected would be perfect for helping him to realize his new musical vision.

With the DEATH PENALTY lineup completed by the addition of another Belgian, bassist Raf Meukens, Gaz was now fully equipped to bring his new band into the spotlight. The first results emerged via a debut seven-inch single, "Sign Of Times/Seven Flames", which showcased DEATH PENALTY's fiery blend of old-school heavy metal, subtle doom shades and Michelle Nocon's extraordinary vocal talents.

The real meat of the matter will be unveiled upon the release of the band's self-titled debut album, a triumphant tour-de-force of pounding heaviness that brilliantly encapsulates everything that Gaz has brought to the table with CATHEDRAL while veering off on a number of new and distinctly compelling tangents along the way.

Fans of the NWOBHM era will find themselves instantly entranced by the likes of "Howling At The Throne Of Decadence" and "Golden Tides", while diehard doom acolytes will be immediately reassured that Gaz's ability to pen timeless riffs remains entirely undimmed, as demonstrated on the grandiose grit of "Into The Ivory Frost" and "Children Of The Night".

The final piece of the puzzle slotted neatly into place when Gaz chose a name for the new band. Anyone that has followed the guitarist's career over the years will recognize that DEATH PENALTY is the title of WITCHFINDER GENERAL's classic 1982 debut album; a record that has long been an essential part of Gaz's inspirational armoury. However, beyond paying homage to his childhood heroes, he freely confesses that the name was simply the first and only credible option and a telling alternative to the countless terrible band names currently doing the rounds.

Once DEATH PENALTY's debut hits the shops (and the nebulous world of online retail, of course), it seems highly likely that everyone from CATHEDRAL fans and old school diehards to new school doom and psych rock admirers will celebrate the arrival of another truly great heavy metal band for the modern age. Quite content to remain an underground concern, DEATH PENALTY are just beginning their journey into the outer limits of refined riff worship and Gaz Jennings' hopes and expectations are every bit as humble and honest as long-time fans will expect.

"Death Penalty" track listing:

01. Grotesque Horizon
02. Howling At The Throne Of Decadence
03. Eyes Of The Heretic
04. Golden Tides
05. Into The Ivory Frost
06. Children Of The Night
07. The One That Dwells
08. She Is A Witch
09. Immortal By Your Hand
10. Written By The Insane

Source: Blabbermouth
Posted By Savannah

Our forthcoming album on Napalm Records will be titled "Awakening The Forest", and is due for worldwide release in early October.

"We are delighted to introduce our 3rd album "Awakening The Forest" to our old, new and future friends. Recorded by Greg Chandler and mixed/mastered by Tony Reed, we are extremely proud of this album. We are also very lucky to have worked with the exceptional illustrator Michael Cowell who brought our songs to life visually in the CD and LP package. Napalm Records have been very supportive of us throughout the whole process, and we hope that you guys love the album as much as we do. Our video for "Heavy Bough" and also a short film with Michael talking about the artwork are coming soon; both shot and directed by Rhodri Thomas at Elvaston Castle in Derbyshire, England" - Soph Day

"For the third time Alunah spread wide their mighty Doom wings: Following up their exceptional previous albums Call of Avernus (2010) and White Hoarhound (2012), the International Doom community will be tied up again by Awakening The Forest. The English quartet featuring singer Sophie Day forges forward with hard guitars, pumping heavy grooves and a sound to make fans of this genre, fans of this album Awakening The Forest!" - Napalm Records

Tracklist
1. Bricket Wood Coven
2. Heavy Bough
3. Awakening The Forest
4. The Mask of Herne
5. Scourge and The Kiss
6. The Summerland (bonus track)

TRACKLIST, RELEASE DATES & LAUNCH PARTY INFO: HERE

Source: Alunah Official Website
Posted By Ed & Savannah

Get ready for the 4th edition of Day of Doom festival – Barcelona 10th and 11th October. Confirmed are artists The Skull, Saint Vitus, Lord Vicar, Orange Goblin and very special ,exclusive only shows in Europe By Confessor and Loincloth. Folks in that part of the world wont want to miss out on this and even people in other parts of this planet might consider a little holiday in Barcelona.

Day Of Doom Official Website
Day Of Doom Facebook
Master Of Metal.Net
Metal Camp.Org

It's been 20 years since the stoner-metal caravan wrote Dopesmoker, a 63-minute track based on a single riff and dedicated to the mighty spliff. Unfortunately, it took to release it . So let's just follow the smoke and meditate on this premiere of "The Clarity," part of , which has already featured new music from the likes of and , with Run the Jewels, and more in the pipeline. It will be available as a free download on July 21.

Read More At: NPR.ORG

Posted By Tony Cooper

Starting off with a blast, knocking through the door. Death Division from the album Clawing into Black Sun start pricks up one's ear right away, as soon as the first two riffs begin. Perishing as fast as it comes, structuring rapidly and subsequently the whole oeuvre starts. Dominantly and abrupt starting, they turn without hesitation into misery from the outset of the vocals. In the whole the album has a strong ambivalent ground, but Wolvhammer color it additionally with strong guitar and bass riffs, and on the top some blackish vocals.

The tracks all begin with a strong tension, starting slow but getting fast into ecstasies, growing into a thick density giving the album a very gloomy and tough touch. As soon as the black vocals enter, the tune instrumental ground minimizes and gets even thicker, still leading from the front towards the end, and finally then falling apart and decaying softly. The newest album Clawing into Black Sun is a notable album. Combining black vocals and a high tension on the instrumental ground, with loping rhythm makes it a spectacular gloomy and black album.

Their second album The Obsidian Plains is much dirtier. It builds up the tension differently then the latest album. It has its black moods. Starting fast, changing abruptly with a constant high tension, it is a pure Black Metal album. There are lesser gloomy parts, lots of tough breaks, and grubby intervals.

Black Marketeers Of World War III is their first album, and only the drummer Heath Rave stayed in the band to participate in the newest album. The band changed a lot between the first and the latest album. While there have been four members and two additional performers in their first album, they cut back to only three members over the time towards the latest album Clawing into Black Sun.

Wolvhammer give their black music a tough touch, constituting soldiers walking through the marches or fighting within trenches. This likeness gets enforced by epic and aggressive vocals and a solid dark soil on which the music grows.

Words: Luis Luethi

Profound Lord Bandcamp

Here it is: the artwork for BLACK MOTH's second full-length "Condemned To Hope" is finally unveiled! This unique and stunning painting was created by renowned British artist Roger Dean. "Condemned To Hope" is due out September 15th via New Heavy Sounds.

More about the Black Moth artwork on Metal Hammer.

Designer, architect and artist, Roger Dean's iconic work for Yes, Uriah Heep, Budgie, countless Vertigo sleeves and much more, has almost come to define 70’s sleeve art. His work may be associated with rock and progressive rock in particular, but here Roger goes over to the dark side, moving away from the more fantastical vistas that feature in much of his paintings. For BLACK MOTH's "Condemned To Hope", he evokes the apocalyptic landscapes of victorian painter John Martin to create something truly bleak and epic: "The cover painting is very dark and sombre in mood, but for me very interesting because of the intricacies and complexities of the landscape".

Formed in Leeds in 2010, BLACK MOTH have quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting underground acts in the UK. Fronted by magnetic vocalist Harriet Bevan, this young and talented quintet was defined as "Electric Wizard meeting Band Of Skulls in a dungeon" by Terrorizer. The release in 2012 of their fiery debut record "The Killing Jar" - a grunge-goth odyssey sprinkled with a variety of influences going from Sabbath to the Melvins, The Stooges to L7 - and their mesmerizing on-stage presence, led them to share the stages with the likes of Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Red Fang or Turbowolf. They were also invited to play great festivals such as Desertfest London, Download Festival or Reading festival.

BLACK MOTH's long-awaited second full-length was produced by Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Cramps, Grinderman) and recorded by legendary Leeds engineer Andy Hawkins. "Condemned To Hope" is an album of fearsome drive and clandestine twists, skilfully sidestepping the cliché and heavy-handedness of delivery that often seems fit to destroy contemporary heavy rock 'n' roll from the inside out.

Track listing:
1. Tumbleweave
2. Set Yourself Alight
3. Looner
4. The Undead King Of Rock'n'Roll
5. The Last Maze
6. White Lies
7. Red Ink
8. Room 13
9. Stinkhorn
10. Slumber With The Worm
11. Condemned To Hope

Watch the video for first single "Room 13"HERE.

The deluxe edition vinyl will be packaged in a gatefold American-style tip on sleeve in heavy duty card - heavyweight 180g black and cream vinyl, lyric insert and free download of the album. The vinyl is limited to 500 copies. It will also be available on CD and download.

"Condemned To Hope" is due for release on September 15th.
Link to pre-order: HERE

Official Website
Facebook
Twitter
New Heavy Sounds @ Facebook

Source: Purple Sage PR
Posted By Savannah

Amplifest is due to happen in Porto, Portugal, on the 4th and 5th of October. This year's line-up features performances from Swans, Cult of Luna, Ben Frost, Conan, Pallbearer, Wolvserpent, Wovenhand, Pharmakon and more. Tickets on sale.

Chelsea Wolfe’s “Lone” and documentary on metal music in Botswana “March of the Gods” will be screening in Amplifest 2014, scheduled to the weekend of October 4th and 5th. With talks with the confirmed artists and exhibitions still to be announced, this year’s edition will also feature concerts and performances from artists as influential and important to modern art and music as Swans, Cult of Luna, Ben Frost, Marissa Nadler, Yob, Wovenhand, Wolvserpent, or Pharmakon, to name just a few.

"Lone" works as a cinematic counterpart of Chelsea Wolfe’s latest album "Pain is Beauty", but it stands perfectly on its own as a beautiful and enthralling art piece. Crafted both by Wolfe herself and renowned director Mark Pellington, "Lone" brings to a visual dimension all the distinctive factors in Chelsea Wolfe’s music: beauty in darkness, innocence and violence. Following her memorably breathtaking show at last year’s Amplifest, we will again be delighted by Chelsea Wolfe’s art, this time on screen.

Heavy Metal music is, unquestionably, a product of western culture – but the anger that leads to such an extreme way of expression is universal. "March of the Gods", directed by Raffaele Mosca, is a rockumentary that portrays the thriving Metal scene in Botswana, a sparsely populated, and mostly deserted, country in Southern Africa. With a focus on the story of Wurst, one of Botswana’s most popular metal bands, the film shows us how such an orthodox music style can blend with African traditions and create a microcosm full of passionate and peculiar characters.

Announced acts: Alhousseini Anivolla, Ben Frost, Black Shape of Nexus, Bosque, Conan, Cult of Luna, Hexis, Marissa Nadler, Pallbearer, Peter Brötzmann & Steve Noble, Pharmakon, Swans, Urfaust, VVOVNDS, ?, Wolvserpent, Wovenhand, Yob

Amplifest is more than a festival, it's an experience. It is due to happen in Porto, Portugal, on the 4th and 5th of October. Tickets available at AMPLISTORE.

2-day passes: 65 euros
1-day pass: soon

More info on Amplifest and the artists involved can be requested via the following e-mail address: press@amplificasom.com

Fear not what their name implies, as this Paris-based quintet is anything but weak or inhibited in their delivery. Thundering with massive, low-end amplification and a downcast, scathing vocal delivery, COWARDS' noxious brew of sludge/doom is not from, or for, the weak of heart.

Formed by current and ex-members of Sickbag, Death Mercedes, Hangman's Chair, Eibon and Hellbats, COWARDS has already built a reputable arsenal of destructive audio since forming in 2011, but will take this year by the throat in several ways, with a reissue of their debut album confirmed for official reissue in North America, and the plans for their next full-length studio endeavor confirmed.

Gathering Parisians with an already strong pedigree in dark and heavy music, COWARDS regurgitates gutter hardcore, unhealthy sludge/doom and nauseous black metal on their 2012-released debut LP, Shooting Blanks & Pills. Recorded only six months after the band was formed, this monstrosity surges with a desperate urban attitude, bridging the knife-in-the-heart crudeness of Eyehategod, Deadguy or Kickback and the majestic darkness of bands like Deathspell Omega or Thou. With a sound carrying the smell of piss-soaked back-alleys and the blood you'll taste for a mistaken sidelong glance, producer Francis Caste perfectly captured the corrosion and angst of these thirty-eight minutes, recreating this forced apnea in a bile tank with a no-frills approach. Originally released on France's Throatruiner Records, Shooting Blanks & Pills is long sold out, yet will see a rebirth on CD and transparent 12" LP via Canadian label Secret Handshake Recordings on September 1st, 2014. Additional pressing and release details will follow in the coming days.

In the meantime, the Shooting Blanks & Pills album and Hoarder EP are available for download via Bandcamp HERE.

Shooting Blanks & Pills Track Listing:
1. Hoarse From The Get Go
2. Last Card
3. Scarce
4. Vices & Hate
5. Arrogant, Unseen
6. Grand Failure

COWARDS has also sanctioned studio time this October to harness the demoralizing anthems that will be their sophomore full-length, the follow-up to 2013's mangling Hoarder EP. The band will return to Sainte-Marthe Studio once again with Francis Caste at the engineering helm for the as-yet-unnamed works, which will be completed for early 2015 release.

Having toured across Europe and with countless regional performances under their belts, COWARDS will continue to tour throughout the coming months surrounding their recording sessions, supporting their previous releases, while they begin integrating their new works into their live delivery. You've been warned.

COWARDS Live:
8/22/2014 La Bergerie - Montbrun, France w/ Mur
11/07/2014 La Instants Chavirés - Montreuil, France
11/08/2014 La Scène Michelet - Nantes, France
11/09/2014 Mondo Bizaro - Rennes, France

Additional recording updates and live actions for COWARDS will be released in the weeks ahead. Direct all coverage requests to dave@earsplitcompound.com.

Cowards | Official Website
Cowards | Facebook
Cowards | Bandcamp
Secret Handshake Recordings | Facebook
Secret Handshake Recordings | Official Website
Secret Handshake Recordings | Bandcamp

Source: Earsplit PR
Posted By: Savannah

Long-running Ohio riff rock peddlers, LO-PAN, are pleased to unveil the details of their long awaited new full-length fittingly titled, Colossus.

Named for the Colossus of Rhodes -- a ninety-six-foot statue of the titan-god of the sun, Helios, constructed in 280 BC to mark a failed siege and the indomitable nature of the Greek city of Rhodes itself -- LO-PAN's fourth opus serves as their most personal manifestation to date and a true testament to their evolution both as a band and individually.

In the three years since of the release of third long-player, Salvador, the Columbus four-piece have logged countless miles, crossing the country multiple times over on headlining tours and supporting the likes of Torche, High on Fire, KENmode, Whores, Fu Manchu and Weedeater. They've become one of the most ferocious live acts in American heavy rock, and Colossus stands tall to reap the rewards of their experience.

For the first time in their near decade-long existence, LO-PAN knew exactly what they wanted when they hit the studio. They'd road-tested songs like "Eastern Seas" and the title track for over a year, and partnering with producer/engineer Andrew Schneider (Unsane, Rosetta, East Of The Wall et al) at his Translator Audio studio in Brooklyn just days after headlining Small Stone showcases in that city and Boston last March, they belted out songs that reveal just how much they've moved beyond their influences and arrived at their own sound -- a style built on aggression without caricature, fuzz without cliché, melody without redundancy and their meanest groove to date.

Complete with cover art courtesy of Jason Alexander Byers (ex-Disengage, Black Black Black), Colossus, like its namesake, was built in defiance of gods and men, and while LO-PAN's loudest statement has always been made on stage, the material they craft and the power with which they execute it on this album is bound to stand for years to come.

Colossus Track Listing:
1. Regulus
2. Land Of The Blind
3. Black Top Revelation
4. Marathon Man
5. N.P.D.
6. Colossus
7. Vox
8. Eastern Seas
9. Relo
10. The Duke

Colossus will be released via Small Stone on October 7th, 2014. Further details including track teasers and preorder links to be announced in the coming weeks.

"LO-PAN could easily stand as one of the most important bands of their generation in the genre." -- The Obelisk

"With enough stoner rock goodness to destroy bridges and skyscrapers alike, LO-PAN show that they are one of several absolutely essential rock outfits working today and a major force to be reckoned with." -- Sputnik Music

Lo-Pan | Offical Website
Lo-Pan | Facebook
Small Stone Official Website
Small Stone | Facebook

Source: Earsplit PR
Posted By: Savannah

Phoenix, Arizona-based sludge/doom metal quartet, SORXE, has recently recorded and finalized the audio for their upcoming debut full-length release, Surrounded By Shadows.

Formed in the Summer of 2012 by former members of Graves At Sea, Via Vengeance, Magnetplan, Daughters Of Fission and others, SORXE boasts an ultra dynamic style of low-end doom metal worship, the lineup including two bassists in addition to drums and guitars, with multiple styles of layered vocals. Through live performances across the Southwest US, and their mid-2013-releasd Realms EP, the band has gained the attention of listeners around the globe in addition to having developed a strong regional fanbase.

Surrounded By Shadows is a sprawling, diverse eruption of crushing doom, at times incredibly beautiful and tranquil, and at others overwhelmingly harrowing, burning with just under a solid hour of well-crafted material with earthmoving power riffs, and undertones of grunge, psychedelic and ambient textures. Recorded by the band's Tanner Crace in multiple sessions in June 2013 at Francisco Studios and February through June 2014 at The Vaulted Owl, the album mastered by Byron Villain Recording. Devotees of Neurosis, Ufomammut, Yob, Cleanteeth, Zoroaster, Hull and the like would be wise to explore this band's enormous output.

SORXE will independently release Surrounded By Shadows via digital download and digipak CD on September 2nd, 2014, bearing artwork currently under construction by visual architect Josh Graham. A limited vinyl edition of the album will follow late this year or early next.

Those in the Phoenix area will be able to pick up the CD early at the band's record release show with TOAD on August 16th. Amidst other new tour dates to be announced in the coming weeks surrounding the release of Surrounded By Shadows, SORXE is also confirmed to perform at Tucson-based Southwest Terror Fest III: The Western Front, opening the main stage of the Rialto Theatre on Saturday, October 18th, supporting Author & Punisher, The Body, and headliners, Neurosis.

SORXE Live:
8/16/2014 Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ Surrounded By Shadows release show w/ TOAD
10/18/2014 Rialto Theatre - Tucson, AZ @ Southwest Terror Fest w/ Neurosis, The Body, Author & Punisher

SORXE:
Shane Ocell - drums
Tanner Crace - guitars/vocals/synths
Christopher Coons - bass
Roger Williams - bass

Stand by for the artwork, audio samples and additional intel on Surrounded By Shadows in the coming days. For all coverage of SORXE contact dave@earsplitcompound.com.

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Source: Earsplit PR
Posted By: Savannah

They start hard and they start rough. A bass opens, in the background a drum, playing some simple riffs until the guitar enters, slow and steady, connecting together with the bass they discover together the depths of the tune. Audhumbla is the second track on the album Empress Rising from Monolord, and overwhelms with pure dark riffs.

Empress Rising is a incredible heavy doom and stoner metal album, with lots of condensing bass riffs. The bass is in the foreground, grinding slowly through the tunes. In addition with an as slow guitar supporting in the background and a steady drum Audhumbla is a gloomy track with strong stoner metal aspects, but much slower and heavier, adding a doom-laden touch. While Audhumbla is a full instrumental song, there are monotone vocals in all other tunes, sometimes weak and spooky, high pitched in the background, behind all the instruments, adding a fanatic overtone. At other times, like in the first song Empress Rising, they have a stronger presence, where the vocals take control of the song, leading propulsive through the track.

MonoLord has been on the top of the doom metal charts of Bandcamp for quite a while. While bands come and go, this band stayed. This band likes to take reprieves during the songs, constructing fast a high density with just a simple riff, then braking again, letting the tone grow to its maximum. The punctuation lies on every tone, searching and reaching its limit. This gives the whole tune a strong density, using a strong, never ending distortion on every tone. This adds a leaden touch to their style.

The vocals are mostly very thin and repetitive, in consideration of its melodious form and its texts. They add characteristically to the already minimalistic bass soil, giving the tune a vision, the mode of expression of a prophet. With the lyrics the band expresses a darkened contemplation, a particularly black view on the horizon, in fact some obscurantism.

Monolord from Sweden is an interesting band for everyone who listens to gloomy stoner metal, like Om or Spelljammer. They convince by heavy heavy and leaden bass riffs and an overall low tempo. Listening to them feels like marching through metal slag. The music is at great length, has an enormous density and is extraordinary in-depth.

Words: Luis Luethi

Monolord @ Bandcamp

Sweden's instrumental cosmic rock quartet, MY BROTHER THE WIND, is preparing for their third studio LP, Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One, to see release this Autumn via Free Electric Sound, the instrumental subdivision of The Laser's Edge.

Boasting MY BROTHER THE WIND's expansive, entirely improvised style of spacious, psychedelic rock completely void of vocals, Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One was recorded live in the studio with no overdubs during a single day in January 2013, the band utilizing six and twelve string acoustic and electric guitars, mellotron, flute, bass, drums, congas and more to complete the task. The album was captured in full analog on 2" tape courtesy of a 16 track Ampex from 1969 at Drop Out Analogue, in Åmål, Sweden, with engineering duties handled by Love Tholin, who used vintage flangers, plate reverbs and tape echoes to achieve the LP's unrestrained sound and exceptionally organic tones, after which it was mixed by Tholin and the band, and mastered by Hans Fredriksson. Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One is also the first recording with the band's new drummer Daniel Fridlund Brandt -- who also handled the art direction with graphic designer Andreas Lindelöw -- the lineup completed by Nicklas Barker, Mathias Danielsson, and Ronny Eriksson.

With the outfit's four members hailing from Stockholm, Åmål, and Gothenburg, MY BROTHER THE WIND is a fully improvisational cosmic rock collective consisting of members of widely known Swedish acts Makajodama, Magnolia, Animal Daydream and most notably Anekdoten, one of the more widely recognized names in the 1990s prog rock revival. Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One captures the collective's progressive soundscape qualities with incredible analog studio production. Expect forty-five sprawling minutes of the band's most succinct material to date, recorded deep in the snowy, forested, Swedish wilderness.Those who frequent the works of Popol Vuh, Amon Duul, Sun Ra, Träd, Gräs Och Stenar, Albert Ayler, Ash Ra Tempel, Gong, Pink Floyd and other visionary, psychedelic rock artists are advised to investigate this act.

Free Electric Sound will release Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One via digital, CD and deluxe LP formats on October 14th. Stay tuned for audio from the album and further updates as the new album nears release.

Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One Track Listing:
1. Prologue
2. Song Of Innocence part 1
3. Song Of innocence part 2
4. Into The Cosmic Halo
5. Misty Mountainside
6. Garden Of Delights
7. Thomas Mera Gartz
8. Once There Was A Time When Time And Space Were One
9. Epilogue

Review copies will be available soon. For coverage of MY BROTHER THE WIND, in North America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com

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Source: Earsplit PR
Posted By TC

Progressive drone project, BLACKWOLFGOAT, will release the fittingly titled Drone Maintenance full-length late next month via volume powerhouse, Small Stone Recordings.

BLACKWOLFGOAT is the solo vessel of guitarist Darryl Shepard (Black Pyramid, The Scimitar, Hackman, Milligram, Roadsaw). Shepard's previous two outings, 2010's Dragonwizardsleeve and 2011's Dronolith, established BLACKWOLFGOAT's modus operandi of looped guitar movements, building and layering upon each other to create compositions of dense distortion and delicate lines, as well as purely ambient pieces. Engineering and mixing duties were handled by Glenn Smith (Tired Old Bones Ehnahre, Ichabod et al) at his Amps vs. Ohms studios in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

A quasi-concept album, the ten-track Drone Maintenance sends Shepard into the future as a drone repairman, fixing and servicing rogue drones. Musically, BLACKWOLFGOAT's palette has been expanded to include acoustic guitar and judiciously applied vocal parts, but the main focus remains the electric guitar itself -- without any other instrumentation or ulterior motives, and frequently captured live in one take with minimal overdubs of carefully considered embellishments added to the base layer. Inspired by early-'70s fusion, Krautrock, (Randy Holden's Population II) and suffocating doom, each song could serve as a soundtrack for an as-yet-unrealized film, yet they stand on their own and transduce their own moods. Drone Maintenance urges listeners to leave all preconceptions of traditional music at the door and take an audio journey to places both bathed in sunlight and cloaked in darkness. Additionally, Drone Maintenance boasts another otherworldly creation from renowned artist Alexander von Wieding (Karma To Burn, Monster Magnet, Trouble, etc.),

Drone Maintenance Track Listing:

1. 1-Bwg8 8 9
2. Notausgang
3. Sunfall
4. Fahey
5. 3-Bwg5 6 5
6. Axxtrokk
7. Night Heat
8. White Hole
9. 1-Bwg0 0 6
10. Cyclopean Utopia

BLACKWOLFGOAT's Drone Maintenance will be released via Small Stone Recordings August 26th, 2014 with track previews to be unveiled in the coming days. Stay tuned.

"Progressive is the name of the game as his music creates a shifting landscape of fuzzed out guitars/ambient noise. His creative use of atmosphere is most striking of all..." -- Heavy Metal Time Machine

"Each sonic structure has a distinctly modern and minimalistic texture established on firm but simple foundations, soon evolving, almost organically, into towering edifices and labyrinthine Complexity..." -- Sea of Tranquility

Small Stone Official Website
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As much as I dislike comparisons when it comes to bands, it really is inevitable when you need to quickly describe a band to people. More often than not comparisons to other ‘alike’ bands will enter your mind immediately. I’ll say it now, I don’t put any kind of stock or faith in this way of thinking. It just happens.

The first thing that struck me as i pressed play on my ancient Sony machine was that someone had given me the wrong album. Nope.The riffs being dealt outta my busted up sanyos were by none other than Hamburgs finest riff dealers Hyne. Immediately my mind spoke to me and said “It sounds like L.G. Petrov(Entombed) fronting some older Orange Goblin. I fucking laughed at loud and opened my first beer as that thought quickly disappeared and I continue listening and pushing the volume higher and louder. Satisfying my cats and annoying the hell outta my neighbors.

Its quite fitting that Elements starts with the tracks “the Engine”, “Beneath the Radar”, “Burn” and as I left the album blasting the speed at which I downed beers picked up as the songs gave me the feeling of being pursued by cops as I floored a ’69 GTO down the highway with a half dozen leather vested hell-raisers on Harley's laying waste to all in our path with Hyne as our soundtrack. The S/T track “Elements” was a bit of an about face after the first three burners left hot rubber up and down my living room walls, with it’s catchy as all hell vocals and was a definite standout for me. That son-of-a-gunderson kept rolling around in my head and out of my mouth for days. Awesome. Bearish and commanding vocals easily fit here taking me by the neck and demanding me to shout and sing along. All the way up and down this album!The guitar work as well seriously shines with a mix rock, blues, and heavy ass ‘70’s riffs galore!

“Dead men” threw in a psychedelic edge and by the time “Pieces of the universe” came screaming outta my dented sanyos I panicked realizing I was staring at more empty scattered beer cans than full cold ones in the ice chest. This made me come to the conclusion the Hyne demand beers to be inhaled at a desperate yet unworried rate.To me albums like this are made for road trips with a ton of beer and fire. There are songs here for most every mood and quality ones at that. Solid.

Words: Matt Berube

Hyne @ Bandcamp

The music is dedicated to departed ones, loved ones who now, are no longer amongst us. This is how Clouds describes their own music. Clouds first and only released album focal point is pure misery, the depression, empty hearts and minds, represented by sorrowful melancholic doom metal.

The first song You went so silent has at first a strong atmospheric character, introducing the album soft and clammed. It starts off with clean vocals supported by a shy piano, gaining the power it needs, and at its peak it falls apart into black grief and despair, pure misery, into emotional void. While the sound first shimmers weak, creeps around in the dark, where every tone dies away, it collapses brutally in the second part, turning dark and intense. Black vocals set in with strong distorted guitars and in the background emotes the afterglow of the first calmer theme, now played by a stretched high pitched guitar. The tension stays through the complete track and only dies away towards the end and returns back to the first theme, where only a piano remains, finishing the song alone.

Two different vocalists participate at this album, what leads to them alternating between high pitched clean vocals and black, cloudy vocals. When the dark vocals start off, Clouds takes you to a gloomy place, where the air is hard to breath, the sun never seems to shine. Where darkness oppresses you, the despair nags on your heart and soul. The beginning of the blackened vocals is a relief, a cry descending from an aching heart . The tension breaks as soon as the sound changes from deep sorrow to utter despair, but exactly this moment, where everything falls apart, picks up Clouds, focusing only on its misery, the perceived emptiness. They slow it down, disclosing its intestines, presenting us the devastation this feeling conserves and Clouds even has the aptitude to make you experience this feeling. The tension that has been dammed up, gets released, the heart cries, reveals the appearance of this moment where only emptiness seems to be dominating, where nothing seems to matter, where everything seems lost.

This music is best served with a bottle of vodka and some alone time at home. Their music is miserable and also beautiful at the same time, melodic and fluent. It culminates in misery, where the depression feels good, like a cry, the long expected and finally arrived sob. Clouds instrumental composition reminds me from What Mad Universe. It is also particular cinematic, with an strong density, where mainly the guitar has a melodic character on a grinding drum- and bass-ground. While Clouds use vocals during these intense parts, to add more a more despairing character, the devastation of a person confronted by the loss of someone close , punctuating the emotions felt right at its realization.

Words: Luis Luethi

Bandcamp

For a band that has notoriously produced tunes that crawl on the edge of a razor, this EP had me gathering alot of my tools from the tool-shed for complete destruction of most of the drywall, cabinets and anything not nailed to the walls or floors of my house. And while I was tempted a great many times by “This Place Is Poison” I found the constant driving moving forward storm that it is a pleasant fuckin surprise!. Thundering drums, a bass tone so colossal that when I cranked the volume i got fuckin winded! Plus those mesmerizing guitars that keep the misery jacked all the way to 11 and beyond! What was unexpected to me was the dual vocal treatment on display here. These vocals both hi and low definitely do this track justice as it seems the listener is getting ridiculed and spit at from all directions. Fuckin gold! A bit of spoken word passages near the end up the dose of me wondering if these fellas are human or lizard kings. They succeeded in cracking my skull open reaching inside and grabbing my attention, peeling my eyes and ears back for maximum ingestion from the first goddamn note. As side A came to a close I let out a sigh of relief then realized I had yet to endure side B.

I was pleased to hear Orchid as it is an acoustic passage after the beating I had taken from Side A. I could hear the sounds of spoken word clips from what I’m guessing are from Hammer Horror shows, Vincent Price. Just as Im getting used to the acoustic Orchid I hear the sounds of a train whistle blasting and BANG! Were headfirst in to Black Sabbath’s “Lord of this World”. Fuck, i’ve got to say, these lads just fuckin owned this song. With the jacked up fuzz and tone more than a mile thick and the combination of two styles of vocals that really shine thru this adds something different and original to the track. This EP gave me a much needed shot in the arm of “FUCK YES” and I’m sure stoked to hear what these fellas come up with next. I’ll bet it’s nothing short of fucking awesome!

Words: Matt Berube

Seventh Rule
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