Quantcast
Channel: Hellride Music - Crawl
Viewing all 1514 articles
Browse latest View live

11/6 Cambridge MA Black Thai vinyl release / tour kickoff


ASG - Blood Drive

0
0
ASG– Blood Drive (Relapse Records)
By Jay Snyder

September 26, 2013


Holy shit, I haven’t written a review in almost 4-5 months? Hellride must be freezing over. Since my last appearance here, we’ve seen members of our H.Q. dropping like flies; from the break-up of my personal favorites The Gates of Slumber to the thinning of the forum herd, these are hard times for heavy riffs. Now that you’ve got a little bit of my personal commentary, here’s Tom with the review.

North Carolinian riff rockers ASG return with their 4th LP Blood Drive and their first for the increasingly doom/stoner interested, metal gumbo label Relapse. I was never much of a fan of this band before, but these 12 tracks of groovy grunge interspersed with pop hooks, tinges of psychedelia, and the occasionally sludgy thud had me going more often than not. These guys are good at what they do (though I should have probably cracked this one open during the summer solstice), just don’t come in expecting heavy metal abandon and you’ll be alright. Nah, it’s more like a mix of Soundgarden, Fu Manchu, Kyuss/QOTSA, and Torche with just a bit of Sabbath rounding things out.

“Avalanche” is the appropriately hummable opener, running on an engine of tightly constricted hard rock riffs with just the right amount of 70s groove, high register vocals that soar instead of bludgeon, a wee pinch of psyched out squalor amongst the lead guitars, and workmanlike rhythms that lean in on crunching, crispy snare fills that do most of the pushing thanks to the tonally pitch-perfect production. It might be too light for some, but those that can appreciate the more arid stoner rock sounds out there should be able to get behind it. This quartet has failed to move me in the past, yet this is a nicely designed cut all around. There’s a bit of grumble to the verses on the title track as the grinding riffs and warring tom drum stomps fall in line with Pike and friends’ work in High on Fire, although the smooth vocalizations, succinct song length, and commercially inflicted choruses make this more a scenic mountain-view piece rather than the body covered, battlefield imagery that HOF conjures up.

And it’s this vibe that maintains true throughout the whole record with minor additions and subtractions made to the aggression level from song to song. In fact even at their meanest with amplifiers blazing traditional metal riffs, semi-old school rhythm gallops, and bloody raw vocal screams (see “Castlestorm”), I wouldn’t be surprised to see any of these songs right beside your favorites on the local classic rock station, that is if said stations even play music anymore. For me, ASG excels whenever they make you wait for a bluesy bruising, twanging things up with stripped-down rhythms, blown-out FX pedals, and acoustic guitars before settling into the Seattle-esque, 70s flavored hard rock, best illustrated by the sublime “Blues for Bama” which opens with some surprising lower throated vocals of the Tom Waits’ persuasion, as well as the boot gazing delay and echo of “Earthwalk,” and the unanimously “not heavy” closer, “Good Enough to Eat.” These guys could even potentially appeal to the crowd that swore by Helmet and Quicksand in the 90s with tracks like “Hawkeye” and “Stargazin’” which are crunchy, urgent, and energetic enough to get a mosh-pit kicking but leveled out with a good sip of the Palm Springs’ stoner rock oasis. This is music that wouldn’t sound out of place on a sun-kissed beach with your head strategically positioned under the nearest beer keg while someone stands by closely with a much needed spliff.

I’m definitely trying to push cucumbers whenever pumpkins are the latest fashion. Blood Drive is an album for wheels tearing rubber in 90 degree heat; musical air conditioning meant to alleviate heatstroke. Despite my fucked-up time table, this is an impressive 4th outing that should deliver the band to a wider audience. You might like it, you might not…but if Kyuss, the Fus, and the early QOTSA material tickled your fancy, ASG might just be the band the doctor ordered for the summer wind down, and impending winter depression.

Visit ASG on Facebook

Admiral Browning - Give No Quarter

0
0
Admiral Browning - Give No Quarter (Dancing Sasquatch Records)
By Chris Barnes
September 25, 2013


I’m used to bass playing a prominent role in the mix of a heavy music recording, but the first track off of Maryland-based triumvirate of terror’s new collection of tracks, Give No Quarter was both audacious and unsettling. Never before have I heard the thunderbroom (hat tip to fellow bass-based trio The Minutemen) so friggin’ LOUD in the mix. At normal listening volume, the blast of ‘Theme For Evil’ triggered a reflexive response to turn down the fucking volume on the car stereo and do it pronto. Like most reflexive responses, there wasn't a whole lot of grace involved. My sudden lurch to spare what's left of my hearing came pert near putting my Kia Metal-Mobile into the cold darkness of Lake Lilinoah.

It’s OK, everyone lived. But that bass is way too loud, Ron McGinnis. And you know it.

Like every other Admiral Browning release, Give No Quarter again finds the Northeast’s finest trio of heavy music jam musicians musically expressing their peculiar worldview. With every release I find a greater correlation between musical prowess, chemistry and eschewing of traditional approaches to music making. Simply put, I personally think they’re fucking weirdos and this comes from a self-professed weirdo. But weridos make some awfully interesting music.

On Give No Quarter. mind-blowing riff-heavy jams go hand-in-hand with prog-like noodling, post-rock ambiance, skirt-twirling psychedelia, the blues, Greek choruses, Latin-lathered flamenco (which is excellent, by the way – “Las Aranas Lobo” is a must listen) the Blues all with a jam band sort of aesthetic. It makes you want to pop the tops off these three dudes and have a look under the hood just to see what is floating around their collective subconsciouses. Fucking weirdos.

The other thing that Admiral Browning has going from them (aside from a stunning array of weird musical diversity) is a deftness with their respective instruments that sometimes approaches awe-inspiring. The way they can embrace musical styles at the turn of a dime is pretty cool. The fact that they can put all this stuff together as one band speaks to a stunning, almost svant-like ability to communicate musically.

The danger, especially in a (mostly) instrumental band like Admiral Browning where there isn’t a definitive voice or style, is confusion on the part of the listener. With so much diversity and shifts in style, it’d be easy to lose someone to “wait, is this the same band??” for lack of a common cohesive thread or definitive style.

Truthfully though, I don’t think Admiral Browning give two shits about anything over and above plugging in and creating. That’s my guess anyway, I really have no idea. This perceived ethos gives a band a tremendous amount of freedom and if they lose a listener or two due to wild divergences of style, well, that’s the price of freedom, son. If they wanted every song to sound the same, they’d be Manowar, not Admiral Browning.

Give No Quarter is about as free as musical freedom gets. The band has a relentless amount of talent between the three members, reason enough to listen. If diversity and creative expression through music is your thing, get on it. If you love jams done heavy get on it. If you love the bass mixed prominently enough in the music to make your eyeballs shake, get on it. If you embrace weirdness, get on and stay on. “Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeroy Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeenkins!”

Read the Hellride review of Dead Pets and the Admiral Browning & Steven Kerchner joint Bukwas EP

Visit Admiral Browning at www.admiralbrowning.com/

Stone Magnum news

0
0
Stone Magnum have teamed up with Germany's Witches Brew Records and a special European Double CD release is being made available on October 7, 2013. The Double CD will feature the new Stone Magnum album "From Time...To Eternity" along with the entire debut Stone Magnum album finally on CD. Up until now, the debut album was only available as a limited edition Vinyl release through Chicago's Rest In Peace Records. Witches Brew is now taking pre-orders for this massive release.
Order your copy now at:
http://www.witchesbrewthrashes.de/sh...duct&id_lang=2

The Rest In Peace Records USA version of Stone Magnum's "From Time...To Eternity" is also available through Rest In Peace Records. Order your copy of this release at:
http://axblade.com/index.php?id_prod...roller=product

For the vinyl junkies out there...the Debut Vinyl edition of Stone Magnum is still available and can be ordered through the band's website at www.stonemagnum.com

Kimi Kärki - The Bone Of My Bones

0
0
Kimi Kärki - The Bone Of My Bones (Svart Records)
By Chris Barnes
November 6, 2013


The Bone Of My Bones is haunting, modern day troubadourism from the legendary Kimi Kärki. Not unexpectedly, his first solo outing explores a muse quite different the one behind his efforts with Reverend Bizarre and Lord Vicar but right in line with the brilliance that brought us his 70’s prog inspired project Orne. The spartan arrangements feature mostly the man and his 12 string acoustic guitar, accompanied with vocal contributions from Hexvessel’s Mat McNerney and good friend John Richardson, Also of note are some truly angelic vocals courtesy of fellow Turku residents Anna-Elena Pääkkölä, and Pirita Känkänen.

This is a beautiful record, really. But that certain kind of sad beauty honed out of melancholy and vivid dreams… Very tough to describe. All seven tracks carry a lilting, ethereal quality, like the cold, Scandinavian sun caught just right through the bare branches of a great tree on a Winter’s day. This other-worldly, slightly sad splendor reminds me of certain acoustic-based solo works of Steve Von Till, Mark Lanegan, Dax Riggs and the great Scott Walker. The deep, resonant and slightly world-weary tones supplied by McNerney, Richardson and Kimi himself are offset by the beatific backing vocals of Anna-Elena Pääkkölä, and Pirita Känkänen. One of the standout tracks, ‘Young Goodman Brown’, based upon a story by 19th century American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne (not surprisingly, set during the Salem Witch Trials, familiar territory for Kärki) creates a sound whose rich composition you’d swear could only be captured by a traveling medieval bard. A terrific song, whose signature is a rousing climatic passage mid-song.

Masterful production via Joona Lukala capture all The Bone Of My Bones in it’s spartan, etheric beauty. For those familiar with Kimi’s more widely known work, you’ll find new appreciation for the breadth and depth of his skills and vision. Here, Kimi’s guitar emotes dreams rather than riffs.

Visit Kimi Kärki on Facebook

Death Hawks - Death Hawks

0
0
Death Hawks - Death Hawks (Cargo Records)
By Chris Barnes
November 7, 2013


I’m continually in awe of the Finns. So much good music there… I don’t know if it’s there inherently inward-facing culture that forces them to express themselves in ways us more outwardly-facing Westerners just don’t have the capacity to. Or maybe they’re just more inherently into forging their own templates making them less reliant on forged before them. Whatever the case, the debut from Death Hawks – started as a side project of Seremonia guitarist Teemu Markkula - is a supremely creative, hypnotic and audacious mix of 70’s flavored adventuresome Krautrock, Psychedelia and innate Finnishness.

“Cain Go Home” (repeated and redefined in 2 different versions) is the most catchy whistled riff since Otis Redding’s “Dock of the Bay”, layered over an acoustic Krautrock riff, electronica and cosmic guitar soloing. “Grim-Eyed Goat” is the closest thing I’ve heard I’ve heard to a 70;a Classic Rock song since… well… 70’s Classic Rock. Teemu Markkula sounds like a slightly melancholy David Clayton-Thomas. Great riff with a classic 70’s screaming guitar solo stuck right in the middle. “Quiet Sun” is a gentle, slightly Vedic sounding song imbued with some terrific male/female vocal melodies that come in and out like a cosmic breeze. “Black Acid” is the kind of track I’d love to flip my top to. Krautrock tinged with psychedelia, a trance-inducing rhythm which serves as a launching pad to all sorts of audacious, grooving keyboard, sax and guitar journeys. I kinda get that post-mediation buzz after the last song fades.

I could go on and on like a babbling teenage girl about Death Hawks, but if you at all like adventurous headrock from the likes of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Circle, SubArchanoid Space with the rhythmic gravitas and psychedelic genius of Colour Haze, then do yourself a favor and check them out.

Visit Death Hawks at www.deathhawks.com

Insect Ark - Long Arms

0
0
Insect Ark - Long Arms (Geweih Ritual Documents)
By Chris Barnes
November 7, 2013


After 14 years of Hesh Rock journalism, I find myself more and more picking stuff to listen to from the outer ranges of heaviness. I can only used “Doom-soaked riff”, “Twin axe attack” and “THC-infused groove” for so long before I become a cliché’ of myself. In all actuality, I think that probably already occurred and in a vain attempt at redemption, I’m reaching for stuff I have really have to work at putting words to. So. Insect Ark.

Insect Ark is Dana Schechter, a long-time musical wunderkind who first picked up the electric guitar at 16 in tribute to friend Cliff Burton (RIP). Her self-taught talents have graced collaborations with Michael Gira’s Angels of Light, American Music Club and her own Bee and Flower o. For Insect Ark, it’s Schechter alone, armed only with a sampler, bass, lap steel and a keyboard.

She seems bent on tweaking the tits of convention, something I’m all for. Long Arms is three tracks of instrumental ambient gravitas – heavy lidded soundscapes drowned in electric undulating bottom-end and sad, lilting squeals of amplified lap steel guitar. Where contemporaries like Earth often imbue rich, warm tones, Schechter expresses cold, industrial-feeling sounds somewhat offset by hypnotic drum patterns and shimmering climaxes. I’m a fan of how this was produced – I can sometimes hear Schechter’s finger running up the string between fret, which is really the only bit of human warmth that Long Arms musters.

While not an uplifting record by any means, Long Arms is an inspiring example of an artist putting herself out there, audaciously revealing her musical ideas and visions without any regard to any mainstream appeal. I’m a fan of her experimental interpretations of the slow n’ low. She conjures a sound that’s dark, grey and heavy without resorting to ‘Sabbified riffs’. Long Arms is closer to the no-wave darkness of Suicide that it is Sabbath. It is a taxing listen though, there’s really no warmth to turn to in her cold soundscapes, so be prepared to dwell in the dreary for a bit.

Visit Insect Ark at http://insectark.com/

Solar Shifter - Electric Mantis Demo

0
0
Solar Shifter - Electric Mantis Demo (Self-Release)
By Chris Barnes
November 8, 2013


Some local sounds just southwest of Hellride’s eastern tower. On a clear day, I can just make out Huntingtown,MD from the veranda of the top turret. Seems like I could hit it with one good shot from my nitro-fueled ballista.

Remember when Down’s NOLA first hit? Love ‘em or hate ‘em (personally, I think that first record is amazing, the rest is sorta ‘meh’), Phil and company made a game changer that serves as inspiration to bands plugging in all over the place and generating their own form of groove-sloshed, testosterone doom. Solar Shifter takes their influences from the usual suspects – Sabbath, Pentagram – but most clearly enjoys laying out the doom groove style.

Their Electric Mantis demo is roughshod to be sure, just a live recording of the band. My heuristic rule of thumb here is that if they sound good on a shitty recording, there is a reasonable chance that they’ll shine with a little multi-tracking and studio polish to add to their already impressive heft.

The Solar Shift sound is thick, aggressive and chugging with some parallels sound-wise to their East Coast ‘Biker Doom’ brethren Earthride and War Injun. “War Song” and “Illusion” are particularly appealing, the former a riff heavy and chunky, laced with a killer groove and the latter a real lean n’ mean up-tempo roar.

A promising start for this Doom Capital four piece, I’d love to hear how these tracks turn out in the transition from demo to studio. Hoping they get the chance to do just that.

Visit Solar Shifter at www.reverbnation.com/solarshiftermusic and
www.facebook.com/solarshiftermusic

Mark Twain's ancestor was a Witchfinder General

0
0
Seriously. That's according to the Irish Central.

Mark Twain’s ancestor was ‘witchfinder general’ during Belfast witchcraft trial

Ancestor was top witch hunter in Irish witch hunt

ByMICHELLE K. SMITH,Irish Central Intern
Published Thursday, November 7, 2013, 8:10 AMUpdated Thursday, November 7, 2013, 8:10 AM

Dr. Andrew Sneddon discovered that American novelist Mark Twain’s ancestor was the ‘witchfinder general’ during the Islandmagee Witch Trial in Belfast in the 18th century.

In his recently released book, “Possessed by the Devil: The History of the Islandmagee Witches & Ireland’s Only Witchcraft Mass Trial” Sneddon found that witch hunter Edward Clements was the uncle of American author Samuel Clemens, who is better known by his pen name Mark Twain.

During the 1711 witch hunt eight old women in Islandmagee in Ulster were found guilty of bewitching 18 year old Mary Dunbar, who came to Islandmagee to comfort her cousin after the death of a relative whom local people believed had been bewitched.

People claimed that Dunbar had screaming fits, vomited pins, feathers and cotton, and had angry reactions to prayers. Within a month she accused eight women who tried without defence lawyers. The only evidence offered during their trial was from Dunbar.

Sneddon, who lectures at the University Of Ulster, said about Edward Clement’s role in the trial, “He was the witchfinder or witch hunter investigator. He was up to his neck in this witchcraft trial.”

The eight women were jailed for a year and were held in the stocks four times on market day where they were pelted with vegetables and fruit. The rest of Dunbar’s story is unknown as many documents were destroyed.

Sneddon believes that Dunbar accused the eight women of witchcraft for sexual attention. He said, “During her fits, she had the young local men in her bedroom- which would never normally have happened back then.” He added, “They were holding her down as she was writhing on the bed . . . maybe she did it for sexual pleasure or sexual attention.”

Sneddon teaches the only history course in Ireland about the great witch hunts in Europe between 1500 and 1800. He says that many people assume that Ireland was not part of the witch hunt. He told the Carrickfergus Times, “The mass trial of the Islandmagee Witches in Carrickfergus in 1711 demonstrates that fear surrounding witchcraft was indeed present in Ireland.” The events in Islandmagee were the last witch hunt in Ireland.

“Possessed by the Devil: The Real History of the Islandmagee Witches & Ireland’s Only Witchcraft Mass Trial” is now available online and in bookstores.

{I know the Bel Tele & Carrick Times articles use the word "uncle" and "ancestor," but the terms are mutually exclusive (hope so anyway - I suppose if your parents are brother & sister … shudder). You are not descended from an uncle. Second, it seems unlikely that a man who was involved in a 1711 witch trial could be uncle - father or mother's brother - to a man born in 1835 (Twain). I'm not sure what the right answers are, but "distant relative" or "family member" seems safer.}

Disease Concept - "Your Destroyer" LP release

DOOM METAL FRONT #11: CATHEDRAL, WINDHAND & more - OUT NOW!

0
0
The new DOOM METAL FRONT #11 has risen, printed and digital (PDF)!



Watch the teaser at the DMF homepage!

Interviews:

CATHEDRAL, EYEHATEGOD (R.I.P. Joey LaCaze), MOTHER OF GOD, WINDHAND, AGE OF TAURUS, AMENRA, DEVIL, MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, GRAVES AT SEA, OCEAN CHIEF, MONACHUS, EVANGELIST, SERPENT VENOM, COUGH, DEZAFRA RIDGE, MARBLE CHARIOT, SAMOTHRACE, OFFICIUM TRISTE.

The DMF#11 will also be available at HAMMER OF DOOM 8!

DOOM OVER THE WORLD!

www.DOOM-METAL-FRONT.de

Church of Misery / Apostle of Solitude in Indianapolis

VERDUN (doom, FR) - November 26th in Switzerland

CROMLECH

Sun and Sail Club

0
0
Realized that no one's posted about this around here: New band featuring Bob Balch and Scott Reeder from Fu Manchu and Scott Reeder from Kyuss/The Obsessed/Goatsnake/etc. That's right, BOTH Scott Reeders. Really cool, hard hitting, almost proggy desert rock with all vocals done by Vocoder. At times it almost reminds me of the first Bitchwax record in a way. Really cool stuff and well worth checking out.

http://www.spin.com/articles/sun-and...uss-fu-manchu/

Dijinn & Mistaktonic - Forever In The Realm

0
0
Dijinn & Mistaktonic - Forever In The Realm (Transcending Obscurity India )
By Chris Barnes
November 8, 2013


I tend to underestimate the global prowess of Doom Metal. Although the world-wide dedicated fan base is a relatively small number of weirdos like us, the power of the Internets has markedly increased the breadth and width of Doom Metal influence. When a band like Djinn & Mistatonic, from Bangalore of all places, culls obvious influences from Electric Wizard, Cathedral, Church of Misery and Reverend Bizarre, proof is in the pudding that we’ve made a significant cultural dent. This means weirdos similar to us exist on other continents aside from US, Europe and Scandinavia. Doom over the world, yes indeedy. It's comforting, in a way.

Clearly, the this foursome has some accomplished musicians that have been steeped in the countless emanations of doom for awhile now. These are no hacks, the band crawls, swings and grooves skillfully through the five tracks on Forever In The Realm. This collection of recordings is not lacking production quality either, some thought and true effort was put into this… the intro to tale of drunken woe “Vulcan Forge” takes us through rattling beer bottles, the opening of a bar door and the murmur inside while bassist Jayaprakash Satyamurthy and Siddharth Manoharan provide an intertwining intro of subtle percussion on rumbling bass. Similarly the intro to “7 Year Witch” – a vocal manifesto on the evils of Witchcraft hovering over a slow doom riff – is equally impressive (as is the sudden shift in tempo in the midsection and building groove in the middle which really set the song ablaze – no Witchhunting pun intended). “Book of the Fallen” is a journey in Doom goove, starting with a Geezer-like bass rumble leading into a very crunchy riff that goes through both slow and uptempo changes, ending with a phenomenal head-banging, booty-shaking groove swing. Singer Gautham Khandige’s charismatic presence oscillates from a pronounced but warbling Albert Witchfinder-esque timbre to a Lee Dorrian-like Forest of Equilbrium death rattle. The only danger here is that he sometimes threatens to take his vocals right to the border of what is considered 'in tune'. Never really crosses it, but the threat is always there.

Now that we’ve established that Doom Metal is truly a global phenomena with a presence in East Asia, I can’t wait to hear similar spirited efforts from say, Burma or Kyryzstan. All kidding aside, Forever In The Realm is a kick in the pants and should be of great appeal to fellow global denizens of Doom. Some terrific doom-drenched riffs and groove to be had. Very well done.

Visit Djinn & Miskatonic on Facebook

Phillipe is a cunt.

0
0
....and he's also a convicted paedophile.


Just thought I'd share that with you guys.

TUSKS - Fuzz / Sludge / Garage / Rock / Doom / Stoner

A minor treatise on sigilization.

0
0
Now look, I'm being serious here, so please don't throw shit.

I started experimenting with sigils a year ago. You know, the method popularized by Austin Osman Spare in the 19th century and then Grant Morrison back in the 90's. I've had mixed results, but the results I have gotten have been enough to keep me at it occasionally. I'm relatively convinced that we have at least some power over our destinies.

This calls for how I view 'magick'. I don't necessarily think it involves anything to do with spirits, gods, etc. I think there is enough chaos built into the universe to know we don't know everything about anything. 'Magick' could be a way of bypassing your mental censor and making some relatively profound changes in your subconscious. It could also have to do with quantum theory, how things can exist simultaneously in the past and in the future at the same time. My experience is that however is works, it usually works on a relatively small scale by tipping odds in your favor. And it usually works in a way that can be considered, as Chaos magician Gordon White says, 'dickish'.

Two examples - one large, one small. I'm somewhat convinced that by 'shoaling' sigils (targeting small events that tie into one over-arching goal) I got this job on the East Coast. I sigilized for the right networking opportunities with the right people in the area I had expertise in. I sigilized to perform well in interviews. Against seemingly impossible odds, I got the job. It was 'dickish' in that I had to move my family across the country as a result. In retrospect, I could have refined my sigils by specifying 'in California'.

A smaller example was a result of goofing around. I sigilized to receive a free T-shirt from Triton Mixed Martial Arts, where I used to work out back in California. I did this while living in Connecticut, so the odds of this occurring were nearly impossible. When my wife and kids arrived in Connecticut, we were unpacking in our new house. My wife opens up a box, holds up a T-shirt and says "oh yeah, here's a Triton T-shirt John gave me to give to you. He said it was on the house".

Could it be coincidence? Maybe. I don't really know. But the results have been compelling enough to keep doing it. The results haven't always been mindblowing, but there have been enough weird synchronicities for me to at least give thought that there might be something to this.

Bibilic Blood - Snakeweed

0
0
Bibilic Blood – Snakeweed (Goat Skull Records)
By Jay Snyder

November 18, 2013


If you live for the foul, the filth, and the fucked up…get ready to rejoice! Bibilic Blood, the duo of Scott Stearns (guitar/percussion) and Suzy Psycho (bass/vocals) has returned with their 4th full-length outing, and 5th overall release to date, Snakeweed. Time’s done nothing to diminish the corrosive, caustic power of the unit’s low tuned, drug-doom riffs and heathen preaching; their sickening, economic, psychedelic volume raptures are as evil and intact as they were 4 years ago when the band debuted on the scene with Z’ha Doom. This is doom/sludge beamed in from an alternate dimension ruled by brain damaged beings that eat tinnitus for breakfast!

This is pretty much music without any sort of accessibility or compromise to be found; it’s offsetting and pungent enough to scare away traditional sludge fans who stop at Eyehategod and Grief, exclusively. Opener, “Alien Autopsy” drones in on a cryptic sample and ghastly, echoing drones which rip out the guts of a thrash-y, grinding Slayer riff and halt it to a minimalistic Sabbath slog with just the right amount of swing to it. Stearns’ Hellish guitar noise plunges the depths of the almighty “dope chord” while touching up the atmosphere with spacious FX. The drums aren’t so much played as they are beaten into a pile of bloody feces with Psycho’s swooping low notes and lost in a K-hole screams making the mess completely unapproachable to those not already in the know. This is the sound of all your hopes and dreams greeted by a hot, steamy spray of piss on the way to receiving the big flush down life’s pipeline…that’s not an insult, it’s a compliment! I can’t think of anyone that occupies a similar position in the doom pantheon as Bibilic Blood (Nightstick is a maybe), theirs is a malice that’s singular and individualistic. “Night Clown” toys with a semi-clean, cosmic wail draped in Eastern notation for its deceiving introduction. At first you’re bathed in light, only to be drenched in a waterfall of grimy, beautifully impure sludge the next minute. The riffs chip away at huge boulders of dirty Ohio sludge, Vitus like in the way it creeps but much nastier and demented with Stearns’ mainframe overload of squealing, wraparound noise/psych soloing both a nod to and an extension of Chandler’s anti-matter teachings. Suzy’s vocals narrate the proceedings with a level of dissociation so frightening you just have to wonder where it comes from. It doesn’t sound like any sort of human singing that’s for sure. The bowel evacuating bass grooves from the song’s finale spill directly over into the equally manic churns of “Disruptor,” a piece that’s nothing more than a series of looping, lucid doom riffs backed by acidic electronic howls.

Stinking, fetid sludge is the order of the day on “Freak Show,” a thick, soupy slimebucket dirge that sounds like the first Sabbath album lost one of its riffs and the little guy just couldn’t make it back home. Instead of continuing the search for its daddy, the lost baby bastard writhes and contorts in an unholy sacrilege of ritualistic, repeating riff manifestations that are mimicked by Psycho’s bass lines and mutated by the arcane pedal surges and Xanax doped screaming. Let’s say I died and went to Hell at the end of my days, I’d be awfully disappointed if this song wasn’t playing on the overheads. “Severed” begins with another red herring…a luminescent, almost kraut-y melodic drone before the obliterating crunch of the percussion and a heart attack causing, high cholesterol riff completely overtakes the senses with dread. Making a real haphazard shift in vibes, “Bloodnomicon” dips the ladle into a heavy, syrupy 70s hard-rock vibe with groovy leads playing out in the background underneath a landfill of sludgy power chords, hazy wah/phasing in the key of Church of Misery, and a low-end groove heavier than gravity itself. It’s not totally out of the band’s character to ply this trade, but it’s certainly rare (and more upbeat than their normal attack), and this beast cooks up a real head-bobbing, toe-tapper of a track in Beelzebub’s meth lab.

The title track carries over the loose psych and 70s bong resin from the previous tune, feedback and jammy, sky bound chords resonating in a peculiar, mind massaging orgy of Ash Ra Tempel-ian brushstrokes. Swirling, sun eating collages emanate from every riff and note; Stearns balancing a tuneful, hippie hypnosis with blunt trauma doom percussion and hulking Sabbath muscle. Suzy’s screeching voice is the bad side of LSD all the way, and whenever her buzzing bass tones intertwine with Scott’s freakishly good 60s/70s scuzz blasts, it’s a sight to behold. You quickly forget what you’re doing as the music takes you straight down the rapidly vibrating hallucinogenic ladder of sonic dementia. “War Wolf” is cut from a similar cloth, although its overall riff tonnage is greater and more immediate in impact. To spice things up, Stearns throws in several slimy psych leads that often dissolve into a vat of bubbling white noise. The remaining tracks are all excellent, the band’s brutish nightmare riffing tactics paired with extensive psychedelic intros on certain cuts (“Iridium” and closer “Bloody Rabbit”), or the gruesome twosome reversing that same formula entirely for the opposite effect on the instantaneous sludge rape of “Bird of Prey” which decides to unveil a Technicolor sunset of leadwork long after the mushroom cloud fades away.

Fans of previous Bibilic Blood releases should be ecstatic over Snakeweed. I dare say this record is falling down a deeper psychedelic chasm than its predecessors without losing one ounce of the disgusting doom that has been the band’s calling card since day one. Sickos who worship at the altars of the Shifty Records’ roster, Nightstick, The Butthole Surfers, St. Vitus, Black Sabbath, Church of Misery, and the early Ash Ra Tempel releases should ante up and own this right away! This is highly recommended sludge dressed up by the usual and welcome trimmings of Stearns’ one of a kind, deliciously depraved artwork. What are you waiting for?

Visit the Goat Skull Records website at www.goatskull.com
Viewing all 1514 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images