Festival News - DEADWAX TV All Dayer Line-Up Announcement

We're launching our brand spankin' new channel/magazine in the only way we know how: a day full of audible tastiness in the form of some our favourite bands from the UK & beyond..

With a stellar line-up that comprises of Mother Engine, Kurokuma, Tuskar, GNOB, The Brothers Keg and Madmess, earplugs may be a necessity for this one.

And if that weren't enough, we're sprinkling an extra bit of Golden Fuzz with a special GUEST joint-headliner, announced 6th of May!

Jams, DJs, food, sun, and the best vibes guaranteed - what more could you want from a Sunday in June?

Doors: 4pm. Tickets: £14 Adv. Tickets on sale through DICE & TicketWeb UK.

Sponsored by the rad folks over at Pistonhead Lager

DICE LINK: https://link.dice.fm/biq0zqiWaW

Facebook Link Here: https://www.facebook.com/events/638337569927634/

Check out the bands below!

⚈Mother Engine⚈ - https://www.facebook.com/MotherEngineRock/

This powerhouse German trio, are essentially an unstoppable three man Progressive Psychedelic Symphony. Having ripped apart various stages across the EU, from Stoned from the Underground, to Freak Valley Festival, Sonic Blast Modelo, to Into the Void, we've got Cheshire Cat smiles at the prospect of welcoming these guys to London!

⚈Kurokuma⚈ - https://www.facebook.com/pg/kurokumauk/

The backbone of Kurokuma's consistently compelling work consists of its skull-crushing weight and its' psychedelic sludge manifestation. The release of their new EP 'Sheffield's Best Metal Bands Vol 1. “ sees this vision come to fruition in the most perfect way, crafting intoxicating epics that not only thrill in their heaviness and delight in their poignancy. A band that truly embraces a variety of influences, and proves as an absolute delight live, Kurokuma are an experience you'll want to keep reliving.

⚈Tuskar⚈ - https://www.facebook.com/TUSKARBAND/

Even in the midst of Sludge/Doom having an exponentially wider reach by the day, TUSKAR have truly succeed in setting themselves apart from the rest of the pack. The face-melting duo will take to the stage at Hoxton to play tunes off their newest EP, "The Tide, Beneath, the Wall".

⚈Gnob⚈ - https://www.facebook.com/gnobuk/

This London based band are a crowd favorite, mixing psychedelic rock with exceptional elements of Middle-Eastern and Greek music, a wonderfully strange brew best served hot.
⚈Madmess⚈ - https://www.facebook.com/madmessband/

A relatively new band in the local scene, Portugese trio Madmess are rapidly gaining a following due to their explosive live sets and jams. They'll be bringing their 60s influence in full force to the Deadwax launch. Enjoy the ride!

⚈The Brothers Keg⚈ - https://www.facebook.com/thebrotherskeg/

The Brothers Keg's brand of "heavy space psych" is truly a live sight to behold. With their debut album's release on the horizon, one that beckons to be furiously strong, TBK are a sonic force to be reckoned with.

Stone From The Sky - Break A Leg (Album Review)

Release date: May 03^rd 2019. Label: More Fuzz Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Break A Leg – Tracklisting

1.Vena Cava 09:47

2.Agger 04:17

3.Therapsida 09:10

4.Animal 05:11

5.Atomic Valley 07:38

6.Rataxès 09:06

Members

Dimitri

Florent

Dylan

Review

Stone From The Sky new album Break A Leg is a mixture of different sounds, moods and environments with the band creating a complex style to build their wild and vivid ideas upon. The album is purely instrumental with Stone From The Sky playing almost every kind of music that falls under the Doom/Stoner Rock spectrum. Break A Leg is an angry and progressive album and Stone From The Sky never shy away from that fact especially with the excellent opening song – Vena Cava.

Vena Cava is a mixture of Doom, Stoner Rock, Prog Rock and Psychedelic Rock with twinges of Ambient Post-Rock vibes allowing the band to create a more thrilling style of music. It can be quite challenging to listen to at times but Stone From The Sky have enough tricks up their sleeves to keep the most casual listener intrigued from start to finish. The song has quite a sombre and reflective mood that easily draws upon the angrier elements of Post-Rock/Metal that Russian Circles and Pelican are known for.

Second song – Agger – is a cool sounding Desert/Stoner Rock song that reminds me of Yawning Man in certain places but with a more progressive and heavier feel. The trippy sounds show a different side to the band compared to the opening song. This is a good little number for the band to show their more caring side and is one of the shortest songs on the album running past the four minutes’ mark.

Third song – Therapsida – sees the band create another fine offering that drifts further into the realm of Psychedelic Stoner Rock with the song being played at a slow leisurely pace. The band add different genres and levels of music with each passing moment until the soulful Post-Rock grooves give way to a more direct Stoner Rock/Metal sound. The song has quite an upbeat groove from start to finish. The excellent use of slow paced and fast paced riffs makes this one of the standout tracks on the album.

Fourth song – Animal – opens with a haunting Desert Rock/Post-Rock sound that the band do well to maintain from start to finish. The song does feel too forced at times. However, the heavier Post-Rock/Post-Metal riffs saves the day and allows the band to end this song on an exciting finish.

The final two songs Atomic Valley and Rataxes carries on the wonderful psychedelic grooves Stone From The Sky have played throughout the entire album.

Atomic Valley maybe my favourite song on the album. As it sees the band play a hopeful and more progressive style of Desert Rock and Post Rock that leaves you wanting more.

Rataxes sees Stone From The Sky play the heaviest and angriest parts of the album with this song. It’s quite depressing in places. It’s a style I wish we heard more of on the album. As the band have quite a talent for creating cinematic Post-Rock/Post-Metal sounds that have a haunting and bleak edge to them.

Break A Leg is an album that starts off very positively before transcending into a dark musical odyssey and I never expected that at all from this band or the album itself. Stone From The Sky have released an excellent sounding album and I urge you all to listen to this album. As you’ll be pleasantly surprised what Stone From The Sky have in store for you.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Clouds Taste Satanic - Evil Eye (Album Review)

Release date: April 30^th 2019. Label: Self Released. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Evil Eye – Tracklisting

1.Evil Eye 19:53

2.Pagan Worship 20:48

Members

Steve Scavuzzo, Sean Bay, Greg Acampora, Brian Bauhs

Review

Evil Eye is the 5^th album from famed Doom Metal Instrumentalists – Clouds Taste Satanic- This time the band return with a heavier and more psychedelic offering compared to their earlier releases. The band offer two songs both running for about 20 minutes each. You can expect to hear the great heavy doomed out sounds that Clouds Taste Satanic are known for. However, expect a more rigid and progressive approach to their music with the band taking their time bring the heavy thunderous riffs to the party.

First song – Evil Eye – has a stripped back approach with the mood being very direct though this allows the band to slowly bring in many different layers of Psychedelic Doom Metal twinned with elements of Hard Rock, Classic Rock and Stoner Metal for a gloomy and out of body experience. This is the type of song that demands your full undivided attention. The slow-paced parts of the song are quite gloomy and sees the band play a more nuanced style of music.

Second song – Pagan Worship – lives up to it’s DOOM based title with the band creating some of their heaviest DOOM METAL riffs on this song. The song is deliriously fast-paced and angry throughout. Perhaps the most pissed off I’ve heard Clouds Taste Satanic been yet and that’s saying something to describe these guys. The down-tempo and gloomy riffs have a slightly depressing and darkened edge to them but that’s what makes this album so good. Clouds Taste Satanic are not afraid to venture into the darkest depths of DOOM METAL that you don’t hear from similar Instrumental Doom Metal bands.

Evil Eye is one of the best albums that Cloud Tastes Satanic have released to date. You would think after 5 albums the band would start to lose their hunger for creating new sounds. NOPE. Evil Eye feels like Clouds Taste Satanic are only getting started and the Doom/Stoner Metal audience is theirs for the taking.

The production is superb and allows Cloud Tastes Satanic music to be frighteningly too real at times. Overall, Clouds Taste Satanic have created a FUCKING MONSTER with this album.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Leanne at Mettle Media PR and Clouds Taste Satanic for the promo. Evil Eye is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl now.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

No Man's Valley Release New Video For New Single INTO THE BLUE

Into The Blue is the second single from No Man's Valley critically acclaimed new album - Outside The Dream, that was released March 22 on Tonzonen Records. 

It is a song inspired by fatherly worries for a daughter. Dreamy like Jonathan Wilson channeling Tame Impala through Pink Floyd, Into The Blue is No Man's Valley most laid-back track. It represents a gentler side to the band; Into The Blue is a psychedelic blanket you can get comfortable with and never want to put aside.

Recorded, produced and mixed by Matthijs Kievit from Studio Joneski at ‘t Koetshuys (Lopikerkapel) and Wisseloord studios (Hilversum) The Netherlands.

Mastered by Pieter Kloos at the Void studios (Eindhoven) The Netherlands.

LInks

http://nomansvalley.com 

https://nomansvalley.bandcamp.com/

http://facebook.com/nomansvalley

http://twitter.com/nomansvalley

http://instagram.com/nomansvalley

Exclusive Album Premiere Of SALEM'S BEND New Album - SUPERCLUSTER on Ripple Music.

SALEM’S BEND: LA-based Psych Trio to Stream New Album, Supercluster

Ripple Music is thrilled to announce the release of Supercluster, the brand-new album from LA-based rock trio Salem’s Bend.

Cutting their teeth in various outfits over the years, after idly deciding to crawl into a garage one day, three unassuming dudes emerged into sunlight as a mighty hard rock triumvirate skilled in the execution of maximum Sabbath, Priest and Zeppelin worship...

…for on this day, Salem’s Bend was born.

Running an aural gamut of ’70s-sounding classic rock with the influence of melodic heavy-hitters from the contemporary realms of desert, doom metal, psych and stoner rock, the band coalesced in the summer of 2014 with the intention of turning heavy riffs into the catchiest of tunes. With seven songs eventually making the cut on what would become their self-titled debut, the trio earnestly self-released their efforts via Bandcamp, and in doing so caught the ear of Ripple Music. Garnering some early praise one reviewer commented on just how well the band managed to, “Forge their own searing, raucous guitars; intense, deep bass; and athletic, punctuated stickwork around some of the most intelligently interesting melodies to float through the stonersphere in quite some time."

Salem's Bend subsequently signed with Ripple, who gave their debut a worldwide release on vinyl, CD and digital in 2016. Since then, they have been taking their hard-hitting live performance on the road, touring every few months around the Western US and Canada and playing festivals such as SXSW, More Beers in Hell, Vantopia, and many more.

This May, thanks to the good folk and fellow Californians at Ripple, Supercluster – Salem’s Bend eagerly awaited follow-up to Salem’s Bend – will receive an official worldwide release on 24th May via Ripple Music.

 

SALEM’S BEND:

Bobby Parker – Guitar, Vocals
Kevin Schofield – Bass, Vocals
Zach Huling – Drums

TRACK LISTING:

1. Spaceduster
2. Ride the Night
3. Catamount
4. Heavenly Manna
5. Winds of Ganymede
6. Show Me the Witch
7. Thinking Evil
8. Infinite Horizon

Links:

Bandcamp – https://salemsbend.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/salemsbend

Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for all of the details and Album Premiere.

An Interview With Johni Holiday from RUFF MAJIK

South African Sludge/Doom/Stoner Riffsters – Ruff Majik – have been making a name for themselves over the last few years with a string of well-received EP’s, Singles and Full length albums within the Doom/Stoner Metal community.

Ruff Majik are very hard categorize as they move effortlessly from genre to the next whilst creating their own original sound.

Their latest album Tårn has just been released and it’s starting to gain some major praise for the band.

I caught up with Johni Holiday (Guitar/Vox) from Ruff Majik where we discussed the making of the album, South African Music Scene and Ruff Majik current visit to Europe.

Hi Johni. Thanks for doing this interview. How are things with you today?

Pretty great. Nursing a hangover, but the sun is out in Germany for the first time in two weeks so I’m having a smashing time.

Photo by Christelle Duvenage Photography

For people not in the know can you give a brief history of how Ruff Majik came together and what the current line-up is today.

Well, we’re just 3 mates that grew up in the same small mining town in South Africa (called Lydenburg, which actually translates to “Suffering Town”). We were the only non-conservative, metalhead types in the whole town, so ya know, we started a band. And here we are! The line-up is me (Johni Holiday), as well as Jimmy Glass on bass and Ben Manchino on drums.

Where did you get the name Ruff Majik from.

Well, there was a failed pilot for a TV adaption of H.P. Lovecraft’s “Call of Cthulhu”, with the same name but a different spelling. We thought it would be a cool reference to make, and for whatever drunken reason we had that day we decided to spell it Ruff Majik instead of Rough Magic. It’s been pretty interesting so far though, hearing people try and pronounce it. We’ve heard “Roof Mayik”, “Riff Magic”, “Rough Magiiiiic” and loads more ha ha ha ha.

How would you describe your own music in your own words. As you play a very warped version of Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal which I find very hard to describe.

We used to call ourselves rubber a few years ago. I think that still kinda makes sense. But yeah, we just play whatever the hell we like really ha ha ha. Some days we feel doom, some days we feel funk, some days we feel kvlt, other days we feel punk - but as long as it’s loud, heavy, and covered in a big ‘ol cloud of reefer smoke, we’ll play it!

Photo by Christelle Duvenage Photography

You have just released your new album Tarn. It’s been getting a great response from almost everyone. Has that surprised you at how well the album has been received.

A bit. I think we’re critical of ourselves, as I believe all artists should be. So, we’re always pleasantly surprised when we get a good review.

What were your original expectations for this album before it was released and have they fully been met.

Well, we’re hoping to sell out our vinyl soon! But other than that, I think everything has been going pretty much according to plan.

Was recording the new album a hard or easy experience for the band?

It’s always pretty straight forward. We recorded again with our good friend Evert Snyman from Backline Studios in Johannesburg, so it was a pretty relaxing atmosphere for us. Also, we record real quick, so we were done in 2 days.

Lay Bare Recordings are releasing your new album. How did you hook up with them. Great label releasing some fantastic albums on vinyl recently.

The owner of the label (Désirée) actually saw us live at Freak Valley Festival in Siegen, Germany! So Désirée contacted us to see if we’d be interested in working with them, and so it happened! 

Really cool people and a really cool label, overall it’s been a pretty rad experience.

The album cover is awesome. Who designed the cover and how much input did you have into the final design.

It was designed by Anni Buchner from Ale & Cake Illustration. She’s illustrated every album cover we’ve ever had, and we always work very closely with her on the ideas for the design. She always does magical work.

What is the song writing dynamic in the band? Is it a group collective or down to certain individuals.

Depends really. The lyrics are all down to me, and I write the riffs on guitar. But I don’t know shit about drumming, and our bass player has a genuinely unique style that I also don’t understand, so when it comes to contributing musically I think everyone does their fair share.

What comes first when writing and recording new music? Music or lyrics.

Almost always the music. It has happened on occasion that the lyrics come first, but it’s very rare

What inspires you when writing music?

I guess life in general. All the experiences we go through as a band and as people. Sometimes drunken ideas turn into beautiful songs. You know, just the usual generic answer.

You’re from South Africa. What is the Hard Rock/Metal scene currently like in South Africa. Did you have the opportunity to perform live on a regular basis in South Africa.

It’s passionate, but it’s small. The unfortunate reality is that most of our rock ‘n roll venues are closing down, and there’s a smaller fan base now than there use to be in the early 2000’s. But, the fans that are interested are dedicated, and there’s a resurgence of heavy rock/punk/metal/whatever happening which is really cool - more bands are coming out now than we’ve seen in years. And they’re all top quality. But it’s hard to get a quality tour going when everything is so far apart.

Photo by Christelle Duvenage Photography

Can you recommend any other bands for people to check out from South Africa.

Bands like Caution Boy, Pollinator, Them Dirty Shrikes, Apocalypse Later, The Human Nebula, Mad God, Goat Throne, Peasant and Ma-at are absolutely killing it at the moment and it’s great to see. Some new blood includes bands like Double Sun and Psykasm who are also great live, so I’m excited for some recordings by them!

You’ve recently moved over to Europe for the time being. Why did you decide to come over to Europe and was that an easy decision to make especially with your family and friends being located back home.

Well, we realized that if we want to tour, and tour seriously, that there was just no other option. We were fortunate enough to have a few “right time, right place” types of situations, and it’s really helped us get a foot in the door.

Was it a hard decision to make? No. I gave it all for music and the free electric band.

How long will you be staying in Europe and will you be performing gigs in other countries during your stay.

Well, we’ll be here for a couple of months, having meetings, making deals, and planning a strong fall tour. Then we’ll be back in S.A. for a couple weeks to get the visas sorted, and after that we’ll make a more permanent move, probably from the fall onwards.

But yeah, it’s not all just business - we’ll be going to Poland for Smoke Over Warsaw next month, and to France to play Rock In Bourlon - and then one or two German shows in between. Got some pretty cool stuff confirmed for the coming months as well, but you’ll have to wait and see

Thanks for doing this interview. Before you go do you have any words of wisdom to say to your fans

I would never attempt to sound wise ha ha ha. But let’s have a crack at some general life advice instead:

Try to enjoy life, try to be nice to other people, and try to get rest whenever you can. You don’t have to succeed in all of these, you’re only human. But trying is easy.

Words by Steve Howe and Johni Holiday

Thanks to Warren at Plug Music Agency for arranging this interview. Thanks to Johni for taking the time out to talk to us here at the blog.

Tårn is be available to buy now on Vinyl from Lay Bare Recordings

Links:

Official | Facebook | BandCamp

Valley Of The Sun - Old Gods (Album Review)

Release date: May 24^th 2019. Label: Fuzzorama Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Old Gods – Tracklisting

1.Old Gods

2.All We are

3.Gaia Creates

4.Dim Vision

5.Shiva Destroys

6.Firewalker

7.Into the Abyss

8.Faith is for Suckers

9.Buddha Transcends

10.Means the Same

11.Dreams of Sands

Members

Ryan Ferrier-Guitar/Vocals

Aaron Boyer-Drums

Chris Sweeney-Bass and Keys

Josh Pilot-Guitar

Review

Valley Of The Sun – make a welcome return with Old Gods. A fuzzed up and progressive journey of Psychedelic Desert/Stoner Rock sounds that easily ranks as their best album to date. Taking influence from bands such as Truckfighters, Soundgarden, Kyuss, Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu but still creating their own powerful sound. Old Gods is perhaps a darker and more daring style music that we’ve heard from Valley Of The Sun.

Opening song – Old Gods – is an epic sounding mix of Desert Rock, Grunge, Fuzz Rock, Psych and Stoner Metal with a seedy outlook on things. The vocals from Ryan are HUGE and he adds a lot of weight to Valley Of The Sun’s overall sound. The music is quite progressive in places and the ambient based sounds give this album a more spaced out feel.

Second song – All We Are – is classic sounding Valley Of The Sun through and through. With the band playing their trademark fast-paced Desert/Fuzz/Stoner Rock riffs with absolute confidence. The hazy Fuzz Rock vibes is what makes this song work so well. The vocals from Ryan are more laid back and it’s good the hear a different style of vocals from him on this song. Valley Of The Sun have devilish fun playing different styles of Fuzz/Desert Rock near the end of the song.

Third song – Gaia Creates – is a more laidback offering with an acoustic guitar being the main focus before a cool sounding psychedelic riff appears and creates a “dream-like” post-rock atmosphere.

Fourth song – Dim Vision – sees the band return to a heavier, angrier and fast-paced style of Stoner Rock/Metal with a Punk Rock vibe being added for great effect. This is one of the angriest songs on the album and it’s good to see Valley Of The Sun add a more ruthless and aggressive streak to their music.

Fifth - Shiva Destroys – is an eighty second blast of fantastic drumming and other weird sounds. I can see why the band put this song on the album and it’s a very cool to song to admire and that’s mainly for the excellent drumming.

Sixth song – Firewalker – carries on with the aggressive Punk Rock sound heard on Dim Vision but with a heavier and direct Fuzz Rock approach. The song may only last ninety seconds or so but if feels longer and I wanted to hear more of this song. I was disappointed that the song suddenly ends.

Though the show must go on and Valley Of The Sun have five more songs to impressive you with and that they do with the band building upon their Desert/Stoner/Fuzz Rock sound. The second half of the album is perhaps way more psychedelic than the first half and that’s a good thing. As the listener will be fully immersed with the rich and progressive sounds that Valley Of The Sun create here.

Standout songs on the second half of the album include - Into The Abyss, Faith Is For Suckers and Dreams of Sands. As these songs see Valley Of The Sun play the most exciting moments on the album with the Fuzz/Desert/Stoner Rock riffs leave you wanting more.

The production is excellent and is perhaps the best sounding album that Valley Of The Sun have released to date. Valley Of The Sun deserve credit for releasing something different with Old Gods compared to their previous albums.

Old Gods is an outstanding album and ranks as Valley Of The Sun’s best album to date.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. Old Gods will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Fuzzorama Records from May 24^th 2019.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp