Record Label Spotlight - CURSED TONGUE RECORDS

When I originally started the blog, one of our original team members who joined very briefly was someone called Niels Bartholdy. Niels contributed to quite a few good reviews within the short time that he was here. I remember Niels telling me one day that he was thinking about starting a record label and that he wouldn’t have much time to contribute on the blog anymore.

A few months on from that conversation, Niels started Cursed Tongue Records and I was kinda impressed at how quickly he worked on this. He already secured his first release with Neon Warship debut S/T EP.

Niels was very anxious that the vinyl wouldn’t sell at first. Though however after a successful crowd-funding campaign, Cursed Tongue Records debut release was released to rave reviews from fans of the Stoner Rock Spectrum.

Roll on 2018 and Cursed Tongue Records have gone from strength to strength releasing the following albums on Vinyl.

Neon Warship - Neon Warship
Devil's Witches - Velvet Magic
Green Yeti - Desert Show
Mental Tremors - Mental Tremors
Earth Witch - Out Of The Shallow
Sumokem - The Guardian Of Yosemite
Wolftooth - Wolftooth
Mephistofeles - ( ( ( I' M H E R O I N ) ) )
BORRACHO - Splitting Sky
HASHTEROID - HASHTEROID

Perhaps the favourite albums I’ve heard from that bunch are definitely Neon Warship, Wolftooth, Mephistofeles and HASHTEROID.

Wolftooth we raved highly previously here. As it’s quite a favourite record of ours here.

Cursed Tongue Records doesn’t have to rely on crowd-funding projects anymore. They have the power and reputation to sign bands such as Borracho and Tempelheks to their label. I know that Niels is a massive fan of Tempelheks and he even told me one time that he would love to release an album of theirs in the future. Well he’s already achieved that ambition. 

Niels has told me a brief glimpse of what bands that Cursed Tongue Records could be releasing in the future. I have to say I will be mightily impressed if he manages to release half of the bands that he’s mentioned to me over the last few months. 

Though the biggest winners are the Doom/Psych/Sludge/Stoner Metal community. As it’s down to highly committed folks like Niels who have the dream and ambition to owning a record label.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

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Vokonis - Olde One Ascending (Album Review)

Release date: May 25^th 2016. Label: Ozium Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Olde One Ascending – Tracklisting

1.Olde One 08:06

2.The Serpent's Alive 08:18

3.Acid Pilgrim 06:54

4.Shroomblade 08:33

5.King Vokonis Plague 08:51

6.Hazmat the Ashen Rider 07:43

Band Members:

Simon Ohlsson - Guitar, Vocals

Emil Larsson - Drums

Jonte Johansson - Bass, Backing Vocals

Review:

It seems just a few breaths away since I last reviewed another new and upcoming band risen from the ashes of a molten tomb wherein the remnants of a great now defunct band once dwelled. This time it’s Borås, Sweden’s own fuzz doom metal purveyors in Vokonis that like a weedstruck Phoenix has awoken from a former existence as Creedsmen Arise. The fire sure burns strong within this newly dawned feathery beast as Vokonis in all aspects surpass anything previously done by the Creedsmen.

The thing that hits you straight in the face upon engaging with King Vokonis and his army of Olde Ones is a fist of immensely dense guitar tones, heavy as hell bass lines and slow pounding drums feeling equal in scale as to be crushed by mountains. Not to mention the vocals that are deep-bellowed, not overly aggressive, yet suitable for any battle-march. This is the perfect match for this type of stoner and doom music as they add just the right amount of energy and tension balancing out the heavy riffs and rhythms.

However, what sets this album apart and really expands the gap down to all the other bands trying to sound Sleep-like while re-enacting dull dopesmoker interpretations, is the riffs. I mean the RIFFS. They are the centrepiece of Olde One Ascending, the pivotal vortex everything circles around. It’s the riffs that Simon and the other guys bring to sacrifice on this communion that makes this such an enjoyable listen and so insanely good. Olde One Ascending contains by far the meanest and at the same time catchiest riffs, I have heard within this genre this year. Well, does this mean they top outings from bands such as Spelljammer and Monolord? You damn straight they do, and they do so while driving them to the floor with 6-inch nails.

What about guitar solos? Did I forget to mention the solos on this album, oh man, they're out of this world. Oozing with the vilest fuzz, the solos on here are almost celestial sounding, like as if Simon had been possessed by some evil-minded creature determined to execute its diabolic deeds by the neck of his six-stringer. You’ll get it once you hear it and a prime example in case is the final 3 minutes of second track ‘The Serpents Alive’.

What I really love about this album is the fact that you are never in doubt that this is indeed a power-trio in the truest essence. This means that all three members contribute equally to the sonic work laid out in front of you. So while the guitar is soloing, the bass takes a leading role managing the rhythm section, which is a killer (sorry) feature that really drives this point home. The bass comes lucidly through the soundscapes and gets a voice and role of its own. It's strongest during the short bass solo midway through the phenomenal ‘Shroomblade’. This jazzy midsection is more than a worthy tribute to Black Sabbath and is it a young Geezer Butler I hear.

It is neigh impossible to point out one track over the others as all do a perfect job of channelling your inner rifflord to the outmost perfection. All 6 songs on here are equal in scope, depth, heaviness, smokiness and they all bang through hazy, fuzzy, metal-incrusted soundscapes with conviction traversing battlefields of wars between ancient kingdoms in lost galaxies on a quest for a legendary sword forged in a bygone area.

I’m floored, and it’s hard to stay objective when listening to someone honing the greats in such a cool and comprehensive way. Vokonis excel in what they do and could prove to be the torch-bearers confirming that worshipping the riff and paying homage to past masters never grow old or out of relevance. It is with peace of mind that I can greet King Vokonis and welcome him as the new heir to the stoner doom throne, where he surely will sit alongside the other greats in the metal realm on judgement day at the dusk of 2016. Stellar job guys!

Now, I don’t know what Ozium Records are up to next, but picking up the scabs from former great constellations thus far has proven to be more than a worthy formula for success. Both Bad Acid and Vokonis rocks on randomly repeat at my domicile shaking the ground and bringing down the walls. Whatever is next on the plate at the Malmö based label, I’m pretty sure it’s bound to be equally interesting and of the highest calibre.

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

Thanks to Vokonis and Ozium Records for the promo. Olde One Ascending is available to buy digitally now. CD will be released on 25th May whilst the Vinyl will be available to buy from June/July 2016 via Ozium Records.

Links:

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Bad Acid - Revelations Of The Third Eye (Album Review)

Release date: April 30th 2016. Label: Ozium Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Revelations Of The Third Eye – Tracklisting

1. Intro/Inferno 6:24

2. Amnesia Haze 3:17

3. Revelations of the Third Eye 7:23

4. The Oldest Lie 4:59

5. Heavy Lies The Crown 7:13

6. Bad Acid 5:21

7. Spellbound 8:28

Band Members:

Vocals – Simona Mignola
Guitar – Mattias Lundberg
Bass – Victor Wårdsäter
Drums – Jonathan Wårdsäter

Review:

Ever imagined what a bastard love child between Truckfighters and Blues Pills would sound like – ponder no more and welcome the dirty highway orphan in Bad Acid. This is a rather new band established in the wake of the untimely demise of brilliant Swedish purveyors of fuzzy stoner rock Mamont. On Bad Acid’s first real outing they have managed to pull off the perfect marriage between bluesy 70s inspired hard rock and 90s Kyuss inspired desert rock. This formula definitely works for them and is sure to attract many fellow stoner heads seeking a fix for their cravings.

Revelations Of The Third Eye is filled to the brink with well-crafted, metal infused and fuzzy stoner rock with a dash of doom vibe sprinkled on top. This might be the sound of Alunah taking it to the desert highway on a wildly addictive drug-influenced ride.

In opposition to its precursor, Bad Acid is fronted by Simona and with the obvious possibility of coming of as gender discriminating, which tends to be hit and miss (no pun intended) with me. But with the sheer force and talent she possesses, I have no other choice than to bow in the desert dust in awe of her performance on Revelation Of The Third Eye. The vocal duties easily deserves comparisons to the genre’s best and have no trouble competing with Elin (Blues Pills), Alia (Blood Ceremony), Sophie (Alunah) or Dorthia (Windhand) for that matter.

However, what is a great singer without an equally great background to play against? Not much, I would say, and luckily, the rest of Bad Acid’s in all aspects matches Simona in creating the perfect musical playground. Fat, fuzzy, swirling riffs that meander, chuck, churn and twist on top of a rhythm section with balls the size of Ayers Rock where the drums are loud and think, whilst distorted bass lines whip the fuzz fest in full motion. This comes as no surprise when it dawns upon you that Victor and Jonathan who previously shook the ground in Mamont handling the bass and guitar respectively.

A short acoustic ‘Intro’ sets the mood for Revelations Of The Third Eye and immediately I find myself straying along a desolated desert highway feeling a storm approaching. After roughly a minute and half of eerie awaiting, I am suddenly hurled up from the ground when ‘Inferno’ throws me straight into the eye of the storm. As the song title indicates this is a sublime stoner rock experience where the fast forward moving rhythms with menacing voices flickering in and out through the grooves forged by the other three band members. Just one song in and Bad Acid has already turned the crucible red-hot.

‘Amnezia Haze’ sets slowly in motion by a cool sounding bass-line pushing the song into cruise mode; here is your perfect soundtrack to cross Death Valley, driving drums, and great melodic guitar riffs. The catchy as hell chorus that will leave you humming “amnezia haze” for the remainder of the day. This is one hell of a memorable tune that needs no more than one or two spins to last long in the memory.

With the title track, Bad Acid leaves the dusty canyons and desert roads behind and take off from Earth heading for a more spaced out sound. ‘Revelations Of The Third Eye’ is perhaps the standout track for me on this album as the band really shines and show off their eminent musical skills and skillful interplay. A few minutes later the band flies into orbit and the rest of the song is one long tour-de-force in how to jam-the-F-out making four individuals appear as one amalgamated unity.

‘The Oldest Lie’ brings Bad Acid back from space to serve us another round of groovy-as-can-be stoner rock. On this song I am reminded of Jess and the Ancient Ones due to the brilliant vocals. How peculiar to have this arranged on top of some of the heaviest and fuzziest desert rock. To me this is like getting the best of both worlds.

On ‘Heavy Lies The Crown’, ‘Bad Acid’ they continue their stoner rock musical progress as the superb guitar work in the middle of the track, again show a great ear for melodies the band has. It’s a pleasure to experience a band who know their own strengths and play them to their fullest potential.

‘Spellbound’ closes out this brilliant and utterly entertaining debut and guess what they have saved some of the best riffs for last. Despite being the longest song and having a fairly long run-time (8:28) for the genre (as this is neither a pure doom or space rock album), the songs packs so much nerve, melody and variation that you as listener completely forget time and space and just flow along, hoping it never stops.

It has been quite some time since I last encountered an album with such a degree of re-play-ability. As soon as the tunes from ‘Spellbound’ fades out, all you want to do, is to just hit play and take another sonic ride full-on Bad Acid style. Job well done. Now head over to Ozium Records, who handles this release on both CD and vinyl, and show some love for this talented band. On with the headphones, press play, lean back, indulge….

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

Revelations Of The Third Eye will be available to buy on CD/Vinyl via Ozium Records from April 30^th 2016.

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Seven Hundredth Unicorn - Ruins Of Hope (Album Review)

Release date: 06^th May 2016. Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Ruins Of Hope – Tracklisting

Our Worlds Collide

Hear No Evil, See No Evil

Time Waits For No One

Jesus Was My Age, When He Got Nailed

Hollow

Death Of Glory In The Serpent's Eye

Johnny Shit Kicker

Rule Of The Mob

Norman Kalashnikoff

Prey On The Weak

Band Members:

Dave Lyon – Guitars/Vocals

Matt Downes - Drums/Vocals

Review:

Steve and myself (Niels) were literally blown away by Seven Hundredth Unicorn's debut album 'Ruins Of Hope'. This is indeed a solid melting pot of all things heavy and metal. Full stop. Riffs aplenty here if you're a fan of all things Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal with a subtle hint of Hardcore vibes being dropped in with the full power of a Megaton Atomic Bomb.

So, how to describe a mix of varied influences. We hear so many elements from different bands of all eras. 90s, 00s and even from the 70s. Inspirations surely run deep with these young lads. One thing's for certain they know their rock/metal history and are ready to school you.

Best way to put it: If you like heavy aggressive, yet melodic and groovy metal, chances are you will find at least some elements here that will more than just tickle your fancy. Fans of Mastodon, Baroness, Wounded Giant, Isis, Lamb Of God, Norma Jean and even early The Sword might easily be pleased upon laying ears to this strong outing.

The instrumental work is fast, angry, raw, violent and aggressive from the very start. It's hard to believe that this is a two-man band. As their sound feels like it was built by a battalion of legendary musicians. The vocals may seem disjointed at times but they're delivered with passion and sheer ferocity that you shouldn't really expect from a debut album such as this.

Some people may complain that the 63 minute runtime is a bit excessive for a debut album but trust us here at Outlaws Of The Sun, you don't even notice that as the time just flies by. Seven Hundredth Unicorn have created 10 perfectly written Sludge/Stoner Metal songs that the “Relapse Records” crowd will go fucking nuts over. We will even say that Seven Hundredth Unicorn would fit right at home at Relapse Records. If any labels are reading this then sign the band now as these guys have true potential.

Our final thoughts on the album can be described as 'killer', 'rad', 'dope', 'tasty', 'smokin', 'blazing' and just flat out entertaining. Brilliant stuff.

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy and Steve Howe

Thanks to Seven Hundredth Unicorn for the promo. Ruins Of Hope will be available to buy from May 06^th 2016. You can read our interview here with the band.

Links:

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Snowburner - Future Primitive (Album Review)

Release date: January 22^nd 2016. Label: Freebird Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Future Primitive  – Tracklisting

1. Blizzard of Gain 3:32

2. Ride the Tide 3:41

3. You Blues, You Lose 2:28

4. Reelin’ in the Wasted Years 3:04

5. Stabbed on the Throne 5:10

6. Haunt Me No Longer 3:24

7. Reap the Sown 3:26

8. Ashes in the West 3:46

9. Vultures at Bay 7:11

10. Bailiff’s Blues 2:52

Band Members:

Arjan Zuijderduijn – Guitars
Badr van der Meijden – Guitars
Jan van der Plas – Drums
Jop Hoekstra – Vocals & Bass

Review:

Back in January 2016, I pre-ordered this album almost as a blindfold purchase based solely on the track ‘Ride the Tide’ as the only song streaming online from Snowburner’s debut full length entitled ‘Future Primitive’. If you too have listened to that track you know I was no fool for pulling the trigger that fast and upon having listened to the entire album multiple times, in fact so many I have lost count, I can without hesitation state that ‘Future Primitive’ never fail to deliver on the promise waved with Ride The Tide.

The whole album slays and hits you with a solid mix of heavy stoner fuzz and boogie desert rock with a metalic edge. It’s packing so much punch its sure to knockout any mainstream radio rock listener. The 10 tracks on ‘Future Primitive’ will without a doubt appeal to any fan of Fu Manchu, Lo-Pan, Truckfighters, Clutch and Kyuss. One thing that needs your attention upfront, apart from the four skilled Dutch fuzz-wave-riders obvious keen-ear for smooth mid-paced stoner rock, is the production. Oh man, the production on this record, is good, and not just average stoner-doom good, no, it’s REALLY good.

The guitars sounds warm and soothing, yet super heavy and on the brink of melting my speakers. The drums comes through the mix with so much power I can almost feel the punch from them in my chest. The bass is thick and molten and vibrates just below everything. Whats strikes me here is how well each instrument is defined, yet never leading to a fragmented sound, and at any time you get the sense of a dump truck of fuzz running you over. I do not think I have heard such a sweet-sounding album since the last Brutus album (‘Behind the Mountains’). Kudos to the band and James Plotkin for pulling this off, it is no small feat.

Another thing worth mentioning, before I delve into the music itself, is the blindingly beautiful cover. We all love something nice to look at and even more so, when a cover art in some way contributes to or underline the musical scheme and references at stake. With ‘Future Primitive’, we have scenery with a giant octopus fighting an interstellar battleship at the bottom of the sea in front of some time and space warp vortex. This acidic and gleaming vision of a deep-sea battle is by far some of the best cover artwork I have seen in a while and there is enough to stare at as to make even Jacques Cousteau cream his pants.

As hinted at earlier, the musical scope outlined by Snowburner ventures not far from the beaten stoner rock track, although some different and new tricks are thrown in here and there for good measure, Future Primitive stick to a well proven formula of super fuzzy groove-laden boogie stoner rock. This might sound like a bad thing; well in this case, it is not. When executed very well, you do not mind experiencing it again – kind of like bear and pretzels.

Track after track dishes out on super tasty stoner rock, and especially prime cuts as ‘Reelin’ in the Wasted Years’, ‘Stabbed on the Throne’ and of course the aforementioned ‘Ride the Tide’ as this leaves your body left to uncontrolled moving and and continuous head-nodding.

‘Haunt Me No Longer’ comes so damn close to the mighty Fu Manchu it is almost scary. Again scary in the best sense of the word. Listen for yourself and see what I mean. A band that does Fu Manchu interpretations this well, better start writing Mr. Hill’s tracks for him, for all I care.

‘Ashes in the West’ nods heavily to The Sword circa ‘Age of Winters’ era with a ripping stoner heavy riff and beefy bass-lines and Jop Hoekstra doing his best Ozzy impression. It’s important to stress that Snowburner by no means come off as mere mimickers – glancing at passed time masters can never be a bad thing when the impersonator surpasses the original. Just take for instance a band named after a flower and an acoustic Sabbath song.

Album highlight might be ‘Vultures at Bay’ that with its soaring melodic ending part hits some of the best stoner rock I have heard in a long while. I can’t recommend this Dutch stoner ensemble enough as ‘Future Primitive’ is a little shimmering blue oasis of high caliber stoner rock amidst a drying-out desert scenery. Go have a sip…

Check out the closing track ‘Bailiff’s Blues’ a southern tinged delta blues folk country thing complete with acoustic guitars and harmonica and a feel that makes it sit as easily in on any Muddy Waters album. Funny thing is it fits perfectly with Snowburner’s vision of a modern take on stoner rock as well in a wry lopsided and laid-back way. Now excuse me, where’s my Jack D…

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

Links:

Official| Facebook | BandCamp

BEASTWARS - The Death Of All Things (Album Review)

Release date: April 22nd 2016. Label: Independent . Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

The Death Of All Things – Tracklisting

1. Call To The Mountain 5:25

2. Devils Of Last Night 5:21

3. Some Sell Their Souls 4:22

4. Witches 4:03

5. Black Days 4:04

6. Holy Man 5:10

7. Disappear 4:00

8. The Devil Took Her 2:22

9. The Death Of All Things 4:03

Band Members:

Matt Hyde – Vocals
Clayton Anderson – Guitars
James Woods – Bass
Nathan Hickery – Drums

Review:

They say that music has the ability to break down boundaries, move mountains and bring people closer together. Point in case with BEASTWARS, as they literally set the Earth’s tectonic plates in motion to make the mountains crumble, bringing down entire ridges and rattling the Earth’s core to create tsunamis of dark waves filled to the crest with sonic despair and utterly bleakness. These tectonic induced waves flushes over the listener with surges of the blackest and most oppressive sludge trapping everything deep in a strong current moving you towards the distant shores of New Zealand, where seemingly the epicentre of all things sludgy and aggressive .

It is now more than 3 years ago that I first encountered the brute force put forth by the four Southern hemispherians in BEASTWARS and with every new output they have never seize to amaze demanding every bit of attention and nerve you can muster. Because only the brave dares to wander in the shadows of lead singer Matt Hyde’s massive voice that boasts all kinds of eeriness and anger making you question whether he has already lost his mind in the attempt to channel his inner frustrations to your extemporary ears. Such a unique, strong, varied and emotional voice is rare in the hardened corner of the rock/metal world, and there is no denying that Matt is a cardinal element in the BEASTWARS sound.

But let’s not forget the rest of the band as every member of this beast equally contribute to the wars at play and all take a crucial part on the battlefield. BEASTWARS is the sonic equivalent to a captivation at the centre of the Earth’s core as layers of molten lava stream above you. Submerging you in the hottest of hell-fires all the while the planetary weight threatens to crush your body and shatter your bones. At the core of BEASTWARS are mountain-sized iron-casted riffs, fuzzed-beyond compare bass-lines and drums heavier than a thousand lorries loaded to the brink loaded with lead that will obliterate everything that crosses this evil-hearted natural calamity.

What strikes me regarding the musical direction on ‘The Death Of All Things’ is that it appears to be treading down a slightly less aggressive path in favour of a more diverse and at times a lighter take on things. Don't get me wrong, nothing has turned poppy or less sinister. But whereas the first two records (‘Beastwars’, 2011 and ‘Blood Becomes Fire’, 2013) where straight up battering and dense as hell, ‘The Death Of All Things’ mixes it all more up, drawing from both light and darkness, quite/loud dynamics giving the new album a wider range, more melodic features and breathing space.

It is pointless to highlight individual tracks or parts on the album as each song has its own strengths and elements that makes it shine. All Killer and No Filler. On ‘The Death Of All Things’ the whole of the album yields far more than the sum of the individual tracks. The 9 songs combined constitute the perfect swansong to our mortal being and there is no point in deciphering this. Instead, lean back take it in, and flow with it down the tar-black stream to the caverns of the underworld.

‘The Death Of All Things’ is truly a great album, and I will go as far as to state that this is the best material to have come out of the BEASTWARS camp since their formation nearly 10 years ago. The album is a grower and perhaps not as immediate a blow to the head as for instance ‘Blood Becomes Fire’, but with multiple listens, each song reveals new layers, nuances in the guitar tones, the bass and drums interplay and the emotions in Mr. Hyde’s voice. Like the peeling layers on a half-decayed, part-rotten, foul-smelling onion, the songs slowly reveal an even uglier side underneath displaying apocalyptic visions of humanity’s downfall. A world of political, economic and emotive ruin.

This could be the breakthrough album for BEASTWARS and a gateway to a wider recognition beyond the hardcore sludge/doom/stoner scene.

So are we talking a break-up album more than a breakthrough? Bearing the amply titled “The Death Of All Things” in mind it hints more of the former and rumours have already started floating around the Interwebs about an imminent halt of the beast. This has to be a hoax as every release to date by BEASTWARS have been a testimony to the true soul of sludgy stoner rock. So if the mere survival of this phenomenal band lies in the reception, by critics and fans alike, of this their third album, I for one hope it will make a victorious walk straight to the holy hell halls of rock, applauded by hundreds of hands. This album ought to secure them a much-deserved appreciation so they stand with the standing ovations ringing in their ears and claim their rightful place on the mighty throne of sludge.

This is an album and a band that is not to be missed for any self-proclaimed fan of sludge or stoner rock. Obey the riff! Hail Beastwars and hail to the death of all things! Ultimately, we all have to vanish in the end…. But before we do, support BEASTWARS, buy 'The Death Of All Things’ when it drops on vinyl and digital in April. Redeem your ticket to witness the play of a titan-sized beast, attend an epic swansong, then lie down and sleep peacefully forever. Knowing you have laid ears on the best sludge band that ever walked the hardened crust of our God-forsaken Earth, if after all they should decide to call it quits.

R.iffs I.n P.erfection

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

Thanks to Richard at Sheltered Life PR for the promo. The Death Of All Things will be released on CD/DD/Vinyl directly via the band from April 22^nd 2016.

Buy vinyl and merch from www.obeytheriff.com 
Pre orders begin 3pm EST Thursday 10th March 
9pm GMT Thursday 10th March 
9am NZ time Friday 11th March

Check out the recent interview with Clayton from BEASTWARS here.

Links:

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Meriin - Electric Children (Album Review)

Release date: March 11^th 2016. Label: 4ONE8 Records. Format: CD/DD

Electric Children – Tracklisting

1. Bad Trip 2:59

2. Electric Children 5:56

3. Will ‘o The Wisp 6:22

4. Interlude 2:32

5. Night Creep 3:38

6. Warbringer 5:21

7. Julia Reprise 1:41

8. Tales Of The Wasteland 23:21

Band Members:

Jordan Knorr - Lead vocals
Carter Lewis - Guitar, background vocals, synth
Caleb Wyels – Percussions
Joey Hamm - Bass

Review:

Wizards and witches seem to have a cardinal significance within the stoner and doom scene. Merlin the wizard is a well-known figure within the fiction literature. As I’m not well read within the fictions genres of mystery, sorcery and fables, I will not dive further into the deeper meaning of the character Merlin, but stop at the conclusion that this configuration of Merlin that here stands before me is a dark, brooding, mysterious and yet peculiar compelling unity.

In 2014, Merlin released their first full length entitled Christ Killer to a high appraisal amongst a smaller group of illuminated hardcore stoner doomers. One can only wonder why more people haven’t picked up on this band yet, but perhaps it could partly be due to the fact that Merlin is harder to put to frame as yet another Kyuss, Sleep or Pentagram clone imitating the aesthetics within the genres.

Well that is a shame, because once you invest in the wizards twisted sorcery you I’ll find yourself blessed with a dark and psychedelic universe of “not-so-standard” stoner doom rock with strong, melodic and at times chant-like vocals. Fuzzy heavy riffs, pummelling, yet playful drumming, with song structures that switches between insisting grooves and slower psyched out passages leaving enough room for the monsters to crawl out under your bed and sink their fangs in…

First track, ‘Bad Trip’, is a short trailblazer that after a short intro and build-up of march-like drumming and swirling guitars sets off into outer space on a short but effective race around a dark moon. An über doomy version of Hawkwind or The Cosmic Dead immediately springs to mind. Next up is the title track that despite a running time at 5+ minutes still is, after Merlin standards, a fairly short affair. It alternates between faster paced space doom and slower groovy passages that gives the song a cool interaction that works really well.

On the album’s third track the pace is lowered even further and resembles more the imprint Merlin left on Christ Killer. This is one of the standout tracks on the album, and I’m impressed with how much gloom and atmosphere Merlin is able to pack into their songs. ‘Will ‘o The Wisp’ is probably how a slowed down Acidic Uncle would present himself when stalking around your house hunting you down for the inevitable decapitation. This is the perfect horror movie soundtrack and I might be mistaken but somehow I think this is exactly what Merlin set out to achieve on Electric Children.

‘Interlude’ is surprisingly a short interlude of different synthesizer harmonies, almost like the introduction to an occult ceremony in the black church of Satan. This short mood installer gives way to the (short) ‘Night Creep’ with an up-tempo and extremely catchy chorus, “Night-night-night creep, night-night-night creep, night-night-night creep, coming for you”, strong melody lines and great guitar solo works in the middle of the song. This is great, straightforward occult doom rock.

Next up in the wizard’s melting pot is ‘Warbringer’ where Merlin lends more towards a Spirit Caravan/Pentagram inspired riffing and driving rhythms. A solid stoner doom track with some cool and varied vocals, where Jordan Knorr show a little more bite and a slight anger in his tone, almost bordering insanity as he wails “Losing faith, losing life, lose your fortune, lose your mind. “My life, my soul, I think I lost them all”. Splendid!

Another short intermission ‘Julia Reprise’ sets the scene for what is next and nothing could have prepared you for the adventures that lie ahead on this album’s grandiose finale that is the closing track.

Now, for the album closer ‘Tales of the Wasteland’ that is an epic 23 minutes journey through murky and mysterious landscapes where evil lurks around every next bend in the notes. With this song, Merlin really stretches out and covers vast musical ground and the scope at stake here makes me think of a psych doom mutation of Pink Floyd's Animals album. And this is not a bad thing, trust me.

I fear we might not make it home through these wastelands tonight, but if I was to die this very night, this would be the perfect place to leave my mortal body. Why not? The heart is already lost to the evil hands of the bleak wizard. I dare any proclaimed fan of doom, psych and stoner with a craving for the occult to enter this dismal world of Merlin and take a dance of the death with his Electric Children.

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

Thanks to Remi at 4ONE8 Records for the promo. Electric Children will be available to buy from 4ONE8 Records on CD/DD from March 11^th 2016.

Links:

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Banquet - Jupiter Rose (Album Review)

Release date: February 26 2016. Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Jupiter Rose – Tracklisting

1. Mastermind 4:04

2. Sword Of Damocles 4:20

3. Run To You 3:32

4. Set Me Free 4:39

5. Burning Bridges 6:25

6. Touching The Grave 4:46

7. Jupiter Rose 5:12

Band Members:

Doug Stuckey - Guitars / Vocals
Brandon Chester – Guitars
Eric "Don Cheeto" Kang – Bass
Damon Lockaby – Drums

Review:

Imagine Radio Moscow, Kadavar and The Shrine jamming together, then imagine it all through acid-psych tinged lenses and you have a good hint at what type of waters that Banquet treads. On Jupiter Rose we are greeted to a sonical feast serving up a top-shelf fuzzy 70’s retro psych rock meal able to satisfy the most hungry stoner rocker in the field. The quartet from San Francisco, California slings course after course of tasty tunes at the listener and the band seems eager to showcase their merits. A signature sound comprised of heavy distorted bass lines that comes through the mix nice and clear generating a vibrant moving current together with fast paced and intelligent played out drumming overlaid with frantic guitar shredding and way above average vocals.

The tempo is high with an almost punky feel on most of the tracks and packed to the rim with blistering guitar flares pointing in all directions leaving blatant comparisons to Hendrix-like outbursts apparent. On several occasions the stellar interplay and sheer quality of the band members musical skills resembles a more stringent version of fellow psych-rockers in San Diego based JOY that despite the ability to discern the individual instruments in fact manage to appear as a well-oiled amalgamated unity.

First up is Mastermind and the song itself lives up to its grandiloquent title. It is a brilliant way to start the festivity. A super-short drum-in and we are off on a thrilling ride on the retro rock highway. This song just rips with killer vocals, great guitar leads, gorgeous grooves and a watertight rhythm-section that proves Banquet are here to rock your socks off.

‘Sword Of Damocles’ (how cool is that song title?) show some very cool dynamics where punky virtues are mixed with slower psychedelic parts resulting in a very compelling song structure keeping everything alive and the listener on the edge of the stool eager to experience what’s behind the next neck-breaking shift in the song.

Third track also appeared on the band’s 7” released last year and one of the reasons I was drawn towards this young but ever so talented band in the first place. ‘Run To You’ is the closest you come to a danceable psych-rock song, it’s such an alluring beat and groove that makes it almost impossible to not jump up and start moving. ‘Set Me Free’ is more psych stoner goodness from the top-drawer of the old retro-rock rack.

On the fifth track, ‘Burning Bridges’ we see Banquet slow down for the first time and that suits them well to leave the listener with a little more breathing space in this way also giving a chance to let the impressions from the first four faster paced songs imbed into the cerebral memory. ‘Burning Bridges’ is a slower mellower track with a cool build-up that is first unleashed after nearly halfway through the song. The last part also consists of some quite impressive drumming with lots of sweet breaks and fills, and at points I am reminded of early At The Drive-In (also due to the vocal duties), which in my book is nothing short of magnificent.

With ‘Touching The Grave’ it’s again full throttle and the songs races over hedge and ditch in a frantic pace as if the sole purpose was to outrun a gigantic solar ray of psychedelic sonic flares and perhaps they succeeded in that quest as the songs sinks into a slower paced ending that works very well.

In spite of the often-intense tempo, the songs on Jupiter Rose are in a stronghold and at no point appears chaotic or unorganized. This is a crown achievement, as quite a few bands tend to trespass the thin line between well-orchestrated organic improvisations and unstructured and strenuous musical excursions without destination. Banquet keeps their path straight and narrow, never meandering into navel-gazing narcissism and in doing so comes out on the other side with some of the freshest and genuinely entertaining musical psych I have laid my ears upon lately.

Final track, title track, is a shimmering psych-rock pearl with perhaps the best vocal performances on the entire album and the track is a true earworm with a catchy melody running through the entire song bearing witness that Banquet are more than capable of writing a good ballad. With Jupiter Rose we get the feel of old matured quality wine on shining new bottles and I for one do not mind another sip of the delicious drink at their musical banquet. Watch out for the vinyl dropping on Heavy Psych Sounds in March, as this is a release you don’t want to miss.

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

Thanks to Claire at Purple Sage PR for the promo. Jupiter Rose will be available to buy on CD/DD from February 26^th 2016 via Heavy Psych Sounds. Vinyl will be released in March 2016.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp

Niels Fuzz Bartholdy Top 25 Albums Of 2015

There is no denying it, 2015 has been an absolute smashing year with regard to both underground/DIY bands and bigger, well-established names. A swarm of killer releases from all over the Globe have swamped this year with badass tunes within the Stoner/doom/psych/fuzz/blues/hard rock/metal realm. 

Pinning down your top25 or even 50 favorite releases from the passing year is a tough task under normal circumstances, but given the aforementioned horde of top-shelf albums released this year it has been a near impossible task to complete. So in order to ease the selection of the best this year had to offer, I needed to narrow the perspective to include only full-length albums released on vinyl although this inevitable would rule out some magnificent digital/CD only releases. Furthermore is not included albums released before 2015 as digital/CD only and that saw a vinyl reissue this year.

However, the list below at best tries to outline the releases of 2015 that ranked the highest with me, and stood the test of multiple listens and thus managed to remain intriguing, vibrant and that kept me coming back for another spin. So based on number of listens and magnitude of joy the Top 25 of 2015 according to my humble opinion: 

1. DoctoR DooM – ‘The Seed We Have Sown’ (STB Records)
2. Elder – ‘Lore’ (Stickmann Records)
3. Sweat Lodge – ‘Talismana’ (Ripple Music)
4. Brothers Of The Head – ‘Light The Night And Feed The Flame (xx)
5. The Devil And The Almighty Blues – ‘The Devil And The Almighty Blues’ (Blues For The Red Sun)
6. Windhand – ‘Grief’s Infernal Flower’ (Relapse Records)
7. Spelljammer – ‘Ancient Of Days’ (Riding Easy Records)
8. Uncle Acid – ‘The Night Creeper’ (Rise Above Records)
9. The Heavy Eyes – ‘He Dreams Of Lions’ (Bilocation Records)
10. Nocturnalia – ‘Above*Below*Within (Gaphals Records)
11. Kadavar – ‘Berlin’ (Nuclear Blast)
12. Horisont – ‘Odyssey’ (Rise Above Records)
13. Clutch – ‘Psychic Warfare’
14. Freedom Hawk – ‘Into Your Mind’ (Small Stone Records)
15. Demon Eye – ‘Tempora Infernalia’ (Soulseller Records)
16. Bison Machine – ‘Hoarfrost’ (Bilocation Records)
17. Old Man’s Will – ‘Hard Times – Troubled Man’ (Riding Easy Records)
18. Captain Crimson – ‘Ageless Times’ (Nasoni Records)
19. Palm Desert – ‘Pearls From The Muddy Hollow’
20. Libido Fuzz – ‘Kaleido Lumo Age’ (Pink Tank Records)
21. We Hunt Buffalo – ‘Living Ghosts’ (Fuzzorama Records)
22. Red Mountain – ‘Red Mountain’ (Nasoni Records)
23. Limb – ‘Terminal’ (New Heavy Sounds)
24. Ruby The Hatchet – ‘Valley Of The Snake’ (Tee Pee Records)
25. Sacri Monti – ‘Sacri Monti’ (Tee Pee Records)

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

Moon Curse - Spirit Remains (Album Review)

Release date: November 27 2015. Label: Kozmik Artifactz/Bilocation Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Spirit Remains – Tracklisting

1. Beneath The Waves 7:03

2. Electric Veins 10:55

3. Lord Of Memories 11:27

4. Vicious Sky 5:04

5. Witches Handbook 7:57

Band Members:

Matt Leece - guitar & vocals
Rochelle Nason - bass
Keith Stendler – drums

Review:

The ability to tickle nucleus accumbens in the brain and create vivid imagery flashing around in the mind is music’s finest modus operandi. Occasionally you come across an album that holds promise of both dark and light, beauty and ugly, that contains such vibrant soundscapes unfolding at your feet, as the ear is occupied transmitting, the mind is busy covering vast landscapes of snow-capped forests, deep fjords, barren sun-scorched grasslands, dark dungeons and green meadows. This is such travelogues of the mind that Moon Curse newest opus Spirit Remains’ omits upon hitting play.

The doom-trio from Milwaukee with their sophomore release has outdone their fine self-titled debut from 2012 on so many levels. The production is better, brighter more defined, the riffs are bigger, the atmospheres are deeper, the rhythm section tighter and the vocals even better. The six songs on this stoner-doom-rock behemoth blends together in epic manner all the best these genres have to offer, from classic riff-virtues of the early 70s heavy rock to the tar-dipped slow metallic grooves of later-days doom giants spiced up with stretches of higher tempo flat-out doomy stoner rock. Despite the lengthiness of most of the songs on the album, they never feel drawn-out nor being long just for the sake of length – there is never a dull moment and in the company of the cursed lunarians 11+ minutes passes by with the blink of an eye.

Moon Curse starts the ballet on a quite note with a short mellow intro before the court is in session and melodic guitar lines, monolithic drumming and slow low-end bass rumblings take over the agenda. On the album opener, the listener will soon find oneself beneath heavy waves of slow crushing stoner doom, carrying you from one big splash to another. Lifting you high atop the wave’s crest of shimmering white light guitar flares just to plunge you deep down the dark water’s caverns buried below layers of layers of dark distorted basses and finally washed ashore beaten bruised by the shear heaviness at sea, yet still feeling light, cleansed and craving for another sweep of the lunar tides. In some strange way I am reminded of Mastodon’s epic Leviathan album with regard to scope and magnificent glorifications of the sea mostly due to the eerie atmosphere and feel of the song rather than composition or pace as Moon Curse plays ball in a total different court than Mastodon. An all-out grandiose track and they are barely getting started.

Beneath The Waves blends perfectly over into the next musical journey that picks up the stranded seaman and gently leads him up the beach of some distant eastern country to the sweet tones of oriental sounds of strings and flutes. Slowly leading our traveller to follow the electric veins. This track is a slow-burner of snail-paced twisting and turning riffs intertwined with eastern sounding noises, giving this track a warmth and the feeling of melting in the rays of a mad moon. This underpinned by the distorted vocals and frantic mood of the singing that really suites the overall feel. There is really nothing to remark on the musicianship, everything is performed dead-on and with an impeccable sense for co-work and interplay, and it becomes quite evident how much effort, blood and sweat that has been put into the making of this album.

Third track continues the good virtues from the two preceding songs but also utilizes of a persistent Uncle Acid like groove and melodic swagger that bobs and bounces with easy and excellence making it impossible not to nod along as the ‘Lord Of Memories’ takes you further and further into a bewildered acidic dreamlike state of doom rock excess. Despite a runtime far beyond the 10-minute mark at no time this songs seams either pointless nor boring, in fact this listener is on the edge of the seat with anticipation for what lurks around each next corner of these dark meandering musical embroideries. The songs is slowly brought to a hold with 2 minutes of acoustic ice cold beauty where Matt Leece gently chants: “Somewhere there’s behind the quite lines, the one with troubled minds, don’t turn your back, waisted we are what’s left tonight, twist your rusty knifes into his back, too late to say you and me are true, spirit remains, spirit remains, spirit remains…” Lucid visions of a fog-clouded bog immediately emerges on the retina and you can almost feel the blade between your spines as the sounds from the final stoke of the strings die out.

Slowly fading-in from the previous track ‘Vicious Sky’ kicks off from 0-100 m/hour in seconds and turns everything over with killer chugging riffs, subersized distorted bass-lines and crashing drums. This song sees Moon Curse in familiar territories bringing back all the elements I loved from their self-titled debut, but adding an even more lethal EW-vibe further materialized in Matt’s eminent voice that perfectly matches the heavy madness going on in this track. What strikes me on this album is how well he is capably to change the tone and phrasing throughout the different songs to match the various expressions going from softly chant-like singing to full-fletch dungeon deep wailing (always straying from simply screaming/roaring). Thus he and the rest of the band continuously trickles your ear canals as you stare at the evil moon hanging low on the vicious night sky.

Last serving cooked up by the bewitched mooners is ‘Witches Handbook’, and indeed this is the ABC on how to construct and execute a slow-burning doom rock monster brew. This is the near perfect re-interpretation of the iconic ‘Black Sabbath’ song by said band, but importantly without being plagiarism. This is stand-out brilliant. Well-done Moon Curse, bloody perfect. Especially the guitar tone is so damn thick, sick and intoxicating, you can almost feel the strings vibrate from each stroke on the axe. The song ends on a high-note where everything is driven to an end in a fast pace followed by soaring guitar leads and the crashing of drums. Upon yet another finished listen, feeling replenished and ready to go over the moon again. I urge you to check out this awesome album ASAP and preferable to also pick up the vinyl from German label Kozmik Artifactz/Bilocation Records.

Words by Niels Fuzz Bartholdy

Thanks to Kozmik Artifactz/Bilocation Records for the promo. Spirit Remains is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl now.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp