Heavy Planet Stoner Rock Blog

Zac's "Double Dose": Aquanaut / Romero

2012-05-30T04:20:00.000-04:00

Aquanaut: Sunken Ark

Aquanaut is a pschedelic doom "juggernaut" from the Pacific Northwest town of Vancouver, British Columbia. Their release Sunken Ark dropped at bandcamp this April (2012). The quartet use a combination of slow and mid paced-tempos, trippy keyboard frequencies, and and plenty of distorted thrash style guitar solos. The use of vocals are kept to a minimum, usually arriving late in the ten plus minutes tracks, but always intense. I would describe them as a mix of hardcore shouts and sludge growls. Sunken Ark runs approximately forty five minutes with seemless transitions between the sonic soundscapes to crushing sludge and back. I recommend checking out the second track Flying Fortress, below, during a thunderstorm (the ambience and energry fit quite well together). By the way, Aquanaut is offering this as a free download... why shouldn't you give them a closer listen?

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://aquanaut1.bandcamp.com/track/flying-fortress"&amp;amp;gt;Flying Fortress by Aquanaut&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Members:

Bloody Al - Drums

David R - Guitars / Vocals

Jamie Quast - Bass

V.Vecker - Organ

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Romero: Couch Lock Single

With a plodding pace and visceral shout Romero are off, dragging your bruised skull steadily through their mix of punk, doom, and sludge. Romero's latest release Couch Lock Single, is made up of two killer yet diverse tracks. The first, the title track, Couch Lock stays within the realm of doom meandering along a bassline for two plus minutes. At that point a fierce scream turns the depressive gloom into a sludge nightmare. Soon after we find ourselves riding a stoner riff like a wave. The almighty riffage continues to carry us, although at a groovier pace than previous, with In The Heather. The vocals are sung much cleaner here, with Baroness-esque shouts of "Whoaaaa-ooohhhh!". The rhythym steps the beat up and carries us through the remainder of Romero's single. Check out these two tracks at Romero's bandcamp and remember...

"ROMERO spreads like a weed."

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href="http://romero.bandcamp.com/track/in-the-heather"&amp;amp;gt;In The Heather by ROMERO&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Members:

Ben Brooks - Drums / Vocals

Jeffrey Mundt - Guitars / Vocals

Steve Stanczyk - Bass

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New Band To Burn One To: Foghound

2012-05-29T04:20:00.000-04:00

Band Bio:

New project with former members of Sixty Watt Shaman, Junkrod, National Razor, Roscoe Stamford and The Expotentials. We like Gibson, Marshall, homemade guitars and amps, distortion and overdrive, fat bottom end, 26" kicks, chopped bikes-cycles-trucks, dirt tracks and all things rock n' roll.

Stoner rock meets purple metal flake.

Foghound are from Baltimore, Maryland and include:

Bob Sipes (Roscoe Stamford, Circle 9, Mudwheel)
Chuckrock Dukehart III (The Expotentials, Sixty Watt Shaman)
Geoff Freeman IV (Roscoe Stamford)
Dee Settar (Down Goes Frazier, National Razor)

Our Take:

This is a decidedly East Coast take on left coast stoner rock, only the muse of the Southern California desert has been replaced by the streets of Charm City. Think Fu Manchu if you swapped the surfboards for Harley-Davidsons. There are only three cuts available at this time and they're about as raw sounding as if Kyuss were to pilot the dune right into your garage, but take my word for it, Foghound is a band worth keeping your eye on. Check it.

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New Band To Burn One To: Alice Tambourine Lover

2012-05-28T04:20:00.000-04:00

Today's New Band To Burn One To hails from Bologna, Italia...

Bio:

Alice Tambourine Lover is the new project of singer Alice Albertazzi and bassist Gianfranco Romanelli of Alix (Italian psychedelic rock band). Their first album, titled Naked Songs, was released in March of 2012 by Go Down Records (vinyl and CD); an album that contains nine visionary melodies, psych riffs of slide guitar, and sinuous bass grooves for lovers of desert sound in the best tradition of psychedelic / folk / blues.

Thoughts:

On Naked Songs, Alice Tambourine Lover take us on the most bare and basic of trips. The Mazzy Star comparisons will try to detract from this sound, but the point would be missed. These nine tracks are organic and stripped to the bone, complete with a feminine perspective not often enjoyed by desert-combers (but fans of PJ Harvey, like myself, just may collapse in awe). I'm always up for a change of pace, and this disc was the perfect complement to a hazy, laid-back evening. Romanelli's guitar warbles and fuzzes out without coughing, while Albertazzi's vocal is demanding, confident, and hauntingly sexy.

Angels Gone would air perfectly at my backyard campfire, Naked Lady will spook the lonely soul in a half-filled lounge, and Pills of Fire sends us to bed with stolen thoughts and restless tosses. Sometimes a woman's voice hits deeper (without necessarily hitting harder) than anything. Pair the gorgeous siren with cool stoner slides and you've got a recipe for some cool jams. If you don't immediately swoon, you're too busy waiting for the weed to take its course. Hit play on Let Desires Come and drift into tomorrow; this is bliss.

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Sunday Sludge: Swarm of Spheres

2012-05-27T04:20:00.000-04:00

Americans have managed to get along pretty well with Canadians. I'm not sure how many canucks are enjoying a three-day weekend in remembrance of fallen heroes, but it's safe for me to say my holiday will be more pleasant because three chuds from Ottawa, Ontario have released a six-track EP that transcends genres and snaps necks with seemingly little effort. Swarm of Spheres have crafted thirty minutes of psychedelic stoner-sludge mist that may end up on more than a few "Best Of" lists by year's end.

Sounds and atmospheres bend and shift throughout the EP. Guitars sail and soar in every direction while rhythm moves from coiled humming to buried thickness. Fuzz and grime merge perfectly on the opener, Thunder Chunky, a sweet and sticky excuse to be late for work. The up-tempo rollick buzzes between hills, riding the back of stoner-sludge mastery until guitars catch fire and rhythm slows and slugs toward exhaustion.

Blistering pace shrouds Brokeass Mountain through screeches and waivers as Mark McGee's drums kick in your door and dent your head. The romp hovers, the licks become unchecked lasers, and caked steel-toed boots can't hold down this sound. Guitar is provided some space as the track progresses; rhythms slow, Andrew Rashotte's bass gets low and loose, and listeners are spurred on a slow burn toward a swollen hive. And speaking of a swollen hive, HIV for Vendetta drops a hornets' nest as your feet with choppy swells of fuzz. A hazy path is carved at breakneck speed on this mossy stoner slab.

All elements combine to kick up dust on the EP's best track, Ham Smuggler Vs. The Vegan. Grooves are low and thick, rattling skulls with no chance for listeners to keep up. The punishment relents, however, and Jay Chapman's guitar takes a prophetic journey toward psychedelia. The track peeks into quicksand before entering its awesome, sludgy plod. This is one to savor.

Swarm of Spheres are most accomplished where they manipulate their sounds to seamlessly transition, evident on every single track. Thestor Basutus glues itself together with brick and mortar until the brakes are tapped and the cosmos is embraced. Growing dirtier and sludgier as it plays out, Chapman explains "your message was lost, so nothin's different." Well, everything's different about this sound, cheesy as that statement is.

The dirge roll-out gives way to the psychedelic bounce of Fear Is The Killer, thick with mist. Reckless and thunderous, sounds move from slick and clean to shrouded and collapsed. Guitars sputter as the track goes to its knees with churning rhythms spewing incredibly dense jams. A sticky slugfest ensues, staying low to the earth and clobbering earholes with a gravity not even your uncle's fat-assed wife can boast. These seven and a half minutes deliver everything promised by the first five tracks.

Swarm of Spheres have quite a sense of humor about themselves, but there's no denying they take a serious approach to their craft. You won't find six songs so concise and diverse all at once; this trio has released a rock-solid effort that can't be shelved. Their transitions are smooth, their influences aren't dishonored, and their amalgam of styles is refreshing and far-reaching enough to make a fan out of anyone. So give this one a shot, eh?

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://swarmofspheres.bandcamp.com/album/swarm-of-spheres"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Swarm Of Spheres by Swarm Of Spheres&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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Album Review - Buffalo - "Los Dias Lentos"

2012-05-26T02:11:00.001-04:00

Another quality stoner band has heretofore escaped my notice. Another superior purveyor of the stoner genre who has been around for a significant period of time and who has manufactured some sweetly sublime stoner sounds throughout, has simply not come to my laggard attention until quite recently. Just as with any rock band worth their salt, sooner or later they will be heard, their music will rise through the cracks and fissures of the ubiquitous swell of procurable music that is now ever present in all directions. Music such as this will always be found in due course by those ever vigilant souls that constantly scour the rock and roll and stoner universes for the best, the most interesting, and the new.

For many of you this band won’t be a new revelation, so kudos to you. You have been privy to some great stuff for nearly a decade. For me they are excitingly new, and with their May 2012 release of “Los Dias Lentos” (The Slow Days) I have found a great discovery point for what they have to offer. It has only 4 short tracks, but they are of the finest quality stoner music, so, for me, they are worthy of adding to that salty collection of worthwhile music.

Buffalo sounds a bit like Lot Natas for the oldest and most common of reasons. In 2002 Claudio Filadoro left Los Natas and struck out on his own, writing his own brand of stoner rock, and forming Buffalo as the vehicle in which to express his musical handiwork. From 2003 until now, Buffalo have recorded or have been involved in several albums, EPs, and compilations. Perhaps the most notable was the split album “Astroqueen vs Buffalo” in which they laid down five tracks to the Swedish stoner band’s six. This is notable because here you have two artists who have an enormous amount of potential, ability, talent, and quality, but who have not quite been given the recognition in mainstream rock that perhaps could have been tossed in their respective directions . . . just like a great many stoner rock bands.

Although this is part of the story, I digress. The focus today is “Los Dias Lentos”, four superb and sublime stoner tracks issued this month by the veteran band of the stoner rock genre, Buffalo, whose members are as follows:

Pastor: Vocals and Guitar
Xon: Bass and Vocals
Leandro: Drums and Percussion

As a whole “Los Dias Lentos” delivers a powerful and athletic sound, deftly rendered and skillfully conveyed, with large and loud guitars cranking away at the low riffs as well as the higher solos, a bass that is huge and booming, making itself heard and appreciated throughout, skillfull drums that punctuate and penetrate in superb fashion, and vocals that are adept and muscular, adding a flavor of Argentinian soul to superb sound of the music.

“sabia que iba a morir” (knew he was dying) kicks off the album with a bang, nary a whimper, rendering a toothsome sound that first utilizes twin acoustic, electric guitars and soulful, powerful, heartfelt vocals before the bombardment of bass and drums that lead the way into a classic stoner rock sound complete with head banging refrain and heart beating choruses of melodic bliss, intertwined by scintillating and scorching solos.

Fun, loud, and unique guitar work starts off the second track, “tropico”, where Pastor renders a unique and intriguing sound with the guitar work throughout. The beat is fierce and fast, with a head banging tempo of the highest caliber.

The Blood of the Wolf, or “sangre de lobos” defines the third track, another fine rendition of loud and insistent guitar work and a great stoner sound, flavored in places by unique and intriguing guitar work.

“el dia del peleador” (the day of the fighter) has a bit of a psychedelica feel to it in its beginning with trippy guitar work accentuating a sing song vocal telling of the tale that slowly grows and builds along with guitars, bass, and drums that gain in intensity along the way until the final cut away to silence and appreciation.

It’s short, but it’s more than sweet, more than delicious, it’s quite filling on its own because the songs contained therein are all superb, well rendered, well written, gems of stoner heaven. If, like me, this is your introduction to Buffalo then you are in for a treat as the rest of their music is out there just waiting to be played and enjoyed.

This is an update to the review of Buffalo’s “Los Dias Lentos”. The band had this month digitally released 4 songs on Bandcamp, but actually have 12 songs for the album, leaving my review quite incomplete. In fairness to this great band from Argentina I would like to complete the review by touching upon the remaining 8 songs.

The title track to the album, “los dias lentos”, or the slow days, plays like its title, with a slow, measured tempo that is steady, forceful, powerful, loud, and boiling over with heavy hitting guitars and heartfelt vocals, punctuated by a constant drum barrage and rumble of bass, with underlying guitar solos throughout.

“silencio neurotico” (neurotic silence), just as it predecessor, is another measured, down tempo onslaught of fuzz and fury, with drum hook punctuation through the opening third of the song. The song then moves into a changeup that is faster, more urgent, interesting and intriguing, adept in its formation of something sleek and powerful.

Buffalo are great at creating song structures that are fun, interesting, clever, and satisfying. A candidate for best song on the album could very well be “la ultima puerta” (the last door) with a terrific beat and tempo to open the song, sing along vocals, and catchy, fuzzy guitars that eventually make way for a unique and totally intriguing guitar solo to close out the song.

It is impossible to catch your breath when listening to this album. “unida” (unity) blasts off with more of the perfectly structured cadence and rhythms, guitars perfectly distorted and loud, drums punchy and perfect, and a rambunctious bass that drives the song along, all slowly building upon individual pieces that blend perfectly together, growing in intensity and pleasure until the solos deliver you to the end. Another candidate for best song of the album.

The tempo on “los ojos de dios” (the eyes of god) is faster, more upbeat than the previous tracks, with stringent strings accentuating the roll along attack of the opening stanza before moving into a ferocious downbeat of distortion and furor.

“los arboles” (the trees) opens clean and sweet before moving into the force and fuzz of the main verses. The vocals harmonize over the melodic tempo of huge, muscular guitars, moving along forcefully, full of interesting sound.

Acoustic guitar played with Buffalo’s characteristic heart and passion, along with a haunting, yearning vocal undercut by guitar that is itself harrowing and austere, striking deep into the soul, constitutes the passionate and powerful “mi despedida” (my goodbye).

“la ira” (the rage) closes out the album, with an all out onslaught and attack of up tempo, forceful, powerful, structured, and unyielding vocals and instrumentals. Nothing is held back here, as the energy served up is compelling and commanding, impelling the song along an offensive of pure distortion, fuzz, and relishment.

Buffalo have that unique blend of talent of melody, and talent of instrument, creating song after song that is memorable in structure and wonderful in execution. Any song on “los dias lentos” could replace the songs that play incessantly on your local ‘hard rock’ radio station. The album itself could easily replace any grammy winner from the past decade. This is a talented and dedicated group of musicians that thankfully enjoy creating, playing, and sharing their tremendous blend of stoner and rock.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://buffalo1.bandcamp.com/album/los-dias-lentos"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;los dias lentos by BUFFALO&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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New Band To Burn One To: The Lone Crows

2012-05-25T04:20:00.000-04:00

Heavy Planet presents . . . today’s “New Band To Burn One To”, The Lone Crows, from Minneapolis, MN.

Bio:

"Formerly known as Heart of Bristol, with the release of our new Self-produced Demo CD we have changed the name to "The Lone Crows." We are a Blues Rock Band based in Minneapolis, MN. Our music draws upon many influences, chiefly Blues, Jazz, R&B, Classic Rock, as well as Grunge and Alternative Rock, all coming together for High energy stage performances and tasty riffs."

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://thelonecrows.bandcamp.com/track/cant-go-home-again"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Can't Go Home Again by The Lone Crows&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Thoughts:

A big thanks to Andre up in Minnesota for bringing these blues crows to my attention. That's right The Lone Crows are a blues band through and through, with tasteful additions of rock, jazz, and some stoner riffage, our favorite medicine. The Lone Crows have a sick obsession 'soul', a 'soul' only the truest blues rock can deliver. The band mixes a fair share of toe tapping and catchy with enigmatic and somber blues rock and memorable lyrics like that of the track Moonshine, "....Cause you got sunshine in your heart and moonshine in mine...". The recording is available for streaming over at bandcamp, be sure to give them a listen. If you dig contact the band for a physical copy.

Members:

Tim Barbeau - Lead Vox, Guitar

Julian Manzara - Guitar

Andy Battcher - Bass

Joe Goff - Drums

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Album Review: The Pimps - "Fuck This Shit We're Outta Here"

2012-05-24T04:20:00.000-04:00

I'm not sure I'm ready to take shots at the music industry. Sure, the industry allows nine songs to rotate ad nauseam, finds the pretty men to make up for a lack of skill, and ignored artists like Nick Drake, Daniel Johnston, and the entire country of Poland. I'll admit to ignorance on the ins-and-outs of how contracts and tours and royalties operate. I couldn't even spend five minutes playing guitar without letting the most uncomfortable of blue-jean boners convince me I should spend my time scammin' squirrel. All I do is listen, analyze, and spread the pollen. But criticizing the dickheads in charge just ain't my place.

Some of you "Coast-ers" may not realize this, but it takes a heavy dose of sarcasm chased with burning, jaded disenchantment to tolerate living in America's Heartland. When the Good Year Pimps faced legal action from, uh... Goodyear, they became The Pimps. Since 1994, this Rockford, Illinois quintet has maintained a stable lineup and fed listeners a steady diet of witty, lightning-quick tunes that dismiss labels and defy categorization. The band's latest toss, Fuck This Shit We're Outta Here, is a thirteen-track middle finger to a cafeteria's cool table, though the comedic veil will have those very same collar-poppers nodding in rhythm with the fat fuckin' larper who actually gets it.

The entire band tuck their tongues firmly into their cheeks, a fact evident from the onset with We Were Too Drunk To Be On The Roof Anyway, a gentle and chiming lullaby that almost parallels Elliott Smith's somber coos. The stop-start tempo of Gun Says "Yes" is more radio-friendly than they'd like, complete with the whisper-to-a-scream that Frank Black turned into a career (luckily, The Pimps do it without any pretense). Choppy and catchy, Stu's gruff delivery juxtaposes the hums and pauses and it's impossible to predict where this record might take us.

The band's versatility permeates the record's frame, from the percussive simplicity (and mastery) of Suckcess (the band seems wired to deliver industry-criticism, but it's never thankless or without merit) to the tippy-tap self-loathing of These Are The Things I Know I Know. A quick bass stumble through all the insecurities most people ignore is exactly what makes this sound so refreshing. Staying thick through the breaks, audiences will have a hard-time finding something they can't identify with.

Dames at the Soiree is sheer harem-whore goodness until Stu enters all Southern-and-shit. The track bounces and buzzes with the excitement of a fifteen year-old virgin who's had a few wine-coolers. The dixie roll of A Good Mechanic Is Hard To Find, however, is thicker and dustier. You'll hear echoes of Ween's 12 Golden Country Greats, but there's no mocking; these dudes understand and embrace their hill-rod influence and fan-base.

And let's talk about that lurid country embrace. A westward trot is ribboned throughout the album; steady drum whisks, bass thumbings, and snickering guitar characterize Now Michael, It's Just T.V., as The Pimps attack media and religion. I.M. 'Merica, on the other hand, is a brilliant Southern Comfort hymn loaded with a twang that can't steal the lyrics' thunder. And who doesn't love a sideways stab at Nickelback (actually, it's blatant).

Break it down, and The Pimps have always been a snotty punk band. They'll wipe their asses with your expectations, your judgments, and your scoffs. From the anthemic, Jello Biafra-vocal of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy & Delusions of God to the closing title track, the punk sneer relents only long enough for listeners to stop choking on their chuckle. A telecaster laced through thick rhythms is choppy and stuttered until A Lotta People Say A Lotta Things About Hawaii pays homage (maybe) to Wild Cherry. But the message is consistently critical of stupidity.

The Pimps do as much with their pauses as they do with their verse-chorus-verse. Confidence shines in the form of self-deprecation, and listeners just know they'd be able to back up every word if they were tested. Burning through as much substance as style, there aren't many bands who can pull this off without sounding either pretentious or derisive. The Pimps clearly know what their doing, whether they want you to know it or not. That blue collar sure gets some stink on it, but its honest, free of frills, and pretty inviting.

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Zac's "Double Dose": God's Speed / RIFFX

2012-05-23T04:20:00.000-04:00

God's Speed: ...And This Will Soon Pass

Mr. Jason Wright is at it again with his latest project God's Speed. You may remember Jason from his last venture Wizardrone, a down tempo experimental piece of doom covered as a NBTBOT this past September. This one-man massacre continues with God's Speed, although this season more potent. Here the listener finds themselves alone, surrounded by a psychedelic atmosphere charged by Jason's haunting lyrics. The riffs seem more electrified and aggressive than what was heard on Wizardrone and the shrill of cymbals and percussive distortion are sure to leave an uneasy feeling. God's Speed has plenty of meat to dig your teeth into, with fourteen tracks and some seventy minutes worth of lonely psychedelic doom. Check out 'Headtrip Queen' below. Copies of the album can be purchased at bandcamp and from our doom brothers at Doommantia.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://godsspeed.bandcamp.com/track/headtrip-queen"&amp;gt;Headtrip Queen by God's Speed&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;
Members:

H. Jason Wright - Vocals / Guitars / Bass / Drums / Keyboards

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RIFFX: Search for a Better Day

RIFFX are a full frontal female lead quintet out of Newcastle, UK. After much touring, gigging, and rockin' RIFFX deliver their second EP Search for a Better Day. Guitarists John [Arkle] and Richie [Gray]'s scorching licks and catchy hooks propel Searching for a Better Day while Jack [Redpath]'s drums and newcomer Danny [Piston]'s bass combine as the rhythmic core, booming in a way only anthem rock can. And what's anthem rock without a vivid set of vocal cords? Enter Brigitta [Balogh] and her 'grab you by the balls' rock attitude. If you're looking for a change of pace in your Heavy Planet playlist, check out RIFFX and their radio-friendly Search for a Better Day.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://riffx.bandcamp.com/track/search-for-a-better-day"&amp;gt;Search For a Better day by RIFF X&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;
Members:

Brigitta Balogh - Vocals
Danny Pitson - Bass
Jack Redpath - Drums
John Arkle - Lead / Rhythm Guitar
Richie Gray - Lead / Rhythm Guitar

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New Band to Burn One To: Satellite Beaver

2012-05-22T00:56:00.002-04:00

Heavy Planet presents . . . today’s “New Band To Burn One To”, Satellite Beaver, hailing from Warsaw, Poland.

Band Bio:

Satellite Beaver are a hard rocking Sludge/Stoner Metal Band from Poland.

The members are:

Simon the beaver – vocals, guitars
Tom the beaver – guitars
Mad the beaver - drums
[place your name here] – bass guitar (searching for new one at the moment)

Satellite Beaver play a hard hitting blend of Stoner, Sludge, Doom and Hard Rock to brilliant head-banging effect.

From the band (paraphrased):

"Have you ever tried to imagine yourself as a hairy space dozer furious enough to destroy planets? Not very likely, but now the time has come to confront one face to face.

Formed in Warsaw in 2008, Satellite Beaver search for their own style and they are more stubborn than Sisyphus himself. Inspired and influenced by traditional grunge and stoner rock genres, the band has come a long way to the point where now they are searching for the thickest guitar strings and biggest crash cymbals ever created. What’s more, they have dared to spread their “tune it lower” philosophy during live performances with local and foreign stoner bands such as Belzebong, Luna Negra / Tres Perros, Karma To Burn, and Mars Red Sky.

Satellite Beaver are preparing brand new material for their debut album release, but before that happens, some chapters have to be closed. That’s why “The Last Bow” EP has been released. It contains 4 tracks composed in 2010-2011, which provide a point of view at the direction the band now moves toward: from the catchy, rock’n’rollin’ ‘Way before’, through the classic stoner track ‘Pershing’ and the slower ‘Urania’ to the gloomy and massive ‘Roadtrip’ track, which is closest to the style the band’s digging at the moment."

Thoughts:

Satellite Beaver have distinguished themselves in more ways than one, not just with this EP, but by their presence as an up and coming rock n’ roll force, displaying an incredible imagination and a big blazing bazooka of a rock n’ roll heart. They seem to have found the sound they love, have embraced it whole-heartedly, and apparently have decided to launch a full bore, all out assault on the world at large, turning the tide of heavy music toward the purest of rock genres, using the weapons they know can turn the tide: the biggest, loudest, testosterone fueled, nitro burning guitars and drums the likes of which you’re not likely to hear anywhere else. Take a listen to the new EP “The Last Bow” and be prepared to be literally blown away by a quick, but complete onslaught of 4 of the finest stoner, doom, sludge rock songs compiled together in a single place. The band is proudest of the final track, “Roadtrip”, saying it represents the direction they’re headed, but all tracks are ass-kicking landmines of explosive stoner treasures.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://satellitebeaver.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-bow"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The last bow by Satellite Beaver&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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New Band To Burn One To: Parasol Caravan

2012-05-21T04:20:00.000-04:00

Heavy Planet presents...Parasol Caravan Today's "New Band To Burn One To" is from Linz, Austria.

Band Bio:

"Parasol Caravan crank their amps up to 11 and play heavy rock with stoner and psychedelic elements. They are a dirty soundbastard between Black Stone Cherry and Kyuss with never ending groove, fat guitar riffs that have no mercy with your neck and incredible whiskey soaked vocals that get under your skin. Since the end of 2009 the four piece is rocking as many stages as possible and honoring their idols of the past without losing touch with the modern rock scene."

Thoughts:

Parasol Caravan make an honest form of stoner rock. Their potent selection from recent split EP Use The Fuzz (shared with fellow-fuzzer's Cachimbo de Paz) offers an enhanced and memorable version of riff rock. I mean these Austrian's riffs are relentless. Each track welcomes head-banging grooves. The introductory track The Barbers Snake wastes no time bringing this our attention, with an onslaught of drums and rhythm... but the majesty of riffage is found on the final track Chinese Eyes and in my opinion is legendary. Be sure to check it out and, in the words of Parasol Caravan "may the fuzz be with you!".

Members:

Alexander Kriechbaum - Vocals / Bass

Bertram Kolar - Guitar

Richard Reikersdorfer - Guitar

Vincent Böhm - Drums

I bandcamp I facebook I last.fm I soundcloud I youtube I

Sunday Sludge: TWiNGiANT - "Mass Driver"

2012-05-20T04:20:00.000-04:00

Put down the Bloody Mary mix, you're embarrassing yourself. Your head's buzzing because you overdid your Saturday night, grabbed a stranger's ass, and got punched in the jaw by her hawk-eyed boyfriend. There's no cure for today's hangover, so the only thing you can do is immerse yourself in raw, fuzzy Sunday Sludge. Alternate cold- and warm-compresses on that shiner and fill your head with TWiNGiANT's self-produced, full-length debut, Mass Driver.

With an undeniably gigantic sound that buzzes from start to finish, Mass Driver is nine thick wedges of blazing, fur-coated stoner-sludge. Varying tempos and adept instrumental marriages characterize countless bands' sounds. But when the result is this chewy and delicious, listeners tune out all else and lose themselves in filthy, heady jams alive with sprawling moss and ham-radio static.

Hanging, drone-y guitar aches are accompanied by drum-tap whispers on the ominous, sort-of-introductory Abduction. Spacey and a bit spooky, this opener lays a fuzz foundation that's steady to the album's final breaths on the title track. Abduction's drums enter a somber march, a sort of Taps-ish patience under the hovering hum. Awake in the Hull clouds every occupancy, peppering lo-fi sludge with repeated guitar jabs. Fuzzy stoner grooves break up the mire, but no sticky net could contain the atmosphere on these licks. TWiNGiANT's brilliance is already looming.

Crunchy and thrown-back is the sinuous furrow of Burning Through. Whirring like an electric fence, the track's robot-sludge is hardly stiff. Wild-current riffs soar in every direction without letting the rhythms cake their boots and weigh 'em down. A stoner ribbon is spun and threaded through Eat the Alien, a steady drift through the fog of someone else's headspace. Jarrod's vocals wrap your mind like a heat blanket, and the electrical storm-jam enters a breakneck pace that doesn't care whether or not you keep up.

The proficient guitar-tandem formed by Dave and Nikos is never more ambitious than on the rapid shifts of Adrift in Space. How they manage to keep up with each other is only nearly as impressive as how they manage to contain the fuzz. The sludge-stomp is still there, though its difficult to detect under the intermittent licks. The track chokes and gives way to the immediately scattered, ultimately settled Concrete Home. The abstract heaviness is never too abrasive, and dominance is easily established by the sludge-doom pendulum swings. TWiNGiANT waiver and wallow, remaining filthy and sticky underneath flaming guitar projectiles before sputtering out.

The patient, lengthy bracket of H.I.S.M. and Pale Blue Dot highlight the band's greatest elements. Each ticking beyond six minutes, the tracks form the heart of the album and provide listeners with more than a little dust to choke on. Jeff's drums are monstrous on H.I.S.M., a stomping and grinding jam that ramps the riffage and burns that good burn, if you know what I mean. Guitars splinter and separate themselves, while Jarrod's vocals attack the song's quicksand. You might just wonder if a Woolly Mammoth is making its way through your living room. As for Pale Blue Dot, the slow pluck is a lonely roll through a dense, mossy garden. Thick and deliberate, TWiNGiANT break away from their Sabbath-influence (and vocals echo Melvins) as guitar shrapnel rips at your skin. The midpoint singalong enters a corridor, marching in-step between moons. This is your intergalactic Sunday Stoner-Sludge.

The aforementioned title-track closes the disc with plenty to gnaw on. Crusty and substantial, especially for a closer/outro of sorts, there's a buzz interruption that'll fool you. Jeff's drums are primal, Chris Warmuth's bass is beautifully low and loose, and those sailing and soaring guitars exercise unexpected restraint and allow for some long-needed easy breaths (whether you knew you needed them or not).

There's no appetizer needed here. From the onset, TWiNGiANT's debut is rife with girth, gravity, and goddamn electricity. Your head's gonna rattle and your ears are gonna buzz, so maybe you should warn your neighbors. Or you may have to say screw your city's noise ordinance and just pay the damn ticket. Every track on Mass Driver is gargantuan and well-constructed, and every listen is gonna beg new questions. Luckily, however, every screening will reveal new a new truth: TWiNGiANT will knock your ass flat.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://twingiant.bandcamp.com/album/mass-driver"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Mass Driver by :TWiNGiANT:&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;
Facebook | Site | Space Hobo Boutique | ReverbNation

Album Review: Sonic Titans Compilation from Stargun Music

2012-05-19T01:53:00.000-04:00

To commemorate the launch of their new record label, Stargun Music has recenlty released the digital version of the compilation album “Sonic Titans” featuring twelve of the United Kingdom’s finest rock groups that may not have as yet become ‘known’ commodities. Actually, the fact they’re not yet ‘known’ or ‘discovered’ is a great indicator that the rock and roll contained within “Sonic Titans” will be, as Stargun
describes it on their Facebook page, kickass.

Taking a trip through “Sonic Titans” reveals one truth about the twelve not so disparate acts . . . they are all very talented and artistic, producing exactly the kind of rock and roll music we love to listen to, playing with style and grace, heart and muscle. All included here tend to stomp hard, punch true, and pulverize you with loud, heavy, blistering assaults of bone crushing, eardrum popping stoner metal music, leaving you drained and breathless, exhausted from the encounter, deep down wrung out from the experience, but willing, wanting, and ready for more.

So, brave knights of the realm, don your plates and mail, strap on your shield, hoist your claymore, and prepare to face Stargun Music’s round table champions of stoner metal mayhem from the United Kingdom.

The compilation begins with an up and coming band, XII Boar, and their track “Smokin’ Bones”, which comes from their latest release and kicks off “Sonic Titans” in grand fashion. Vocals deep and rich, loud and clear bass, pulse pounding drums, and a strenuous guitar playing the familiar riffs of stoner metal and blistering, ear bleeding solos. This is an up tempo tune that blows the door wide open for the selections to follow.

Grifter, another three piece band, lets loose with “Good Day For Bad News”, a southern rock tinged, rollicking good time where the vocals are crisp and clean, and the song’s hook is accompanied by loud, raunchy riffs that overlay a powerful bass and a warm, punchy drum attack.

The next selection comes courtesy of Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children of the Knight, titled “Up the Stakes”, a track with an insistently cool riff that accompanies a . . . well . . . trippy vocal styling that creates a guitar heavy psychedelic groove, layered with solos and change-ups, fuzzy in the corners, clean on the edges, and all around wicked and cool.

Goat Leaf has recently reformed after a long layoff and is back at it with renewed vigor and recharged batteries. On “Sonic Titans” they crank out “Sweet Sorrow”, a song that lays down a measured, powerhouse package of catchy guitar riffs that power the song along on an undercurrent topped off with the band’s equally powerful vocals, intersected by an exquisite interlude where vocals are whispered and the solo dexterously slices through to deliver the payoff. Goat Leaf has mined some of the best sounds of rock with equal parts Chuck Berry, Aerosmith, Buckcherry, and The Black Crowes but with a distinctive stoner sound all their own.

Next up is the excellent “Exelerator” by The Bad Channels, packing heavy, hard hitting fuzz and distortion with excellent vocals, distinctive driving drums, and huge powerful bass. A nugget of sludge is surrounded by the bone crunching guitars of this 4 piece band from Cornwall who pride themselves on their live performances while demonstrably delivering the goods in the studio as well.

Slabdragger throw down with a full frontal assault of sludge and doom on “Murky Fen”, banging, screeching, and wailing away on heavy, impenetrable riffs that lead into a quagmire of pure sludge to close out the song by this gifted three piece band from just south of London in Croydon.

Heavy Planet regulars may be familiar with the next artist, Stubb, who were featured on the site back in February for their wonderful album “S/T”. Stargun Music has included here their excellent track “Hard Hearted Woman”, an intricate and rich mixture of booming drums and big, fuzzy guitars, backed by a huge bass guitar that drives it all forward into a slow and powerful instrumental coda that glides and beckons with clean, clear, crisp renditions from each of the three members.

“Oceans Blue” comes up next, a bluesy, fuzzy number from The Neon Tigers, with a plaintive wailing on vocals and guitar, deliberate and full, driving through in a measured, commanding, and powerful performance.

Distortion hits you square in the face at the beginning of “The Butcher”, before kicking into a mighty, meaty, full out fuzz assault from Steak, a London stoner band that play the full stoner sound on this track, reminiscent of Dozer, Freedom Hawk, Firestone, Truckfighters, and Cowboys & Aliens . . . not to mention the pearl of inspiration for the high desert sound, Kyuss. Steak brilliantly capture the Stoner sound and play it with exhilaration and brio.

On Steak’s heels come Enos, a stoner, psych band from Brighton, with the excellent “Transform”, a fast, furious, fire-breathing fuzz monster of a song with scorching stoner guitars that are instantly familiar in sound and new in delivery with original songs that run the gamut of stoner rock. Vocals are perfectly matched, drums are insistent and driving, and the bass big and monstrous, matching the gargantuan fuzz bombs from their guitars.

Leaving Stonerville behind and entering the metropolis of Sludgeville, governed here by Dopefight, a band straight out of Hell . . . according to their bio anyway . . . who deliver a sludge and doom filled brawl of a song called “Leviathan’s Burp”, where the guitars are deep, dark, and dreadful, spewing forth a cacophonous mixture of belching bass and raucous, staccato drums.

Topping off “Sonic Titans” are the Sons of Alpha Centauri with “31”, an instrumental song from an instrumental band who have been creating music for their own artistic endeavors since 2001. “31” renders almost nothing conventionally by using only conventional instruments, something difficult to achieve, much less master, but this song is interesting, varied, layered, well structured, and thoughtful throughout. The guitars are large without being overwhelming, the drums numerous and varied.

Stargun Music have an auspicious beginning with this amazing compilation in which they’ve compiled 12 outstanding musical representations of the very best of rock and roll that happens to come from the warrior islands of the United Kingdom, but could very well have been a collaboration of many of what the stoner, sludge, and doom world has to offer from all regions around the globe. All of these bands are still on the frontside of fame and recognition, but all are more than capable of delivering the highest quality rock from the highest quality genres of stoner, doom, and sludge rock and roll.

Enjoy.

Enos - "Transform"

Transform

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://trippywicked.bandcamp.com/album/going-home"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Going Home by Trippy Wicked &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp; the Cosmic Children of the Knight&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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New Band To Burn One To: DIAZEPAM

2012-05-18T04:20:00.000-04:00

Heavy Planet presents... DIAZEPAM!

Today's "New Band To Burn One To" comes to you from Lewiston, Idaho.

Band Bio:

Diazepam is a 5 piece Stoner/Sludge/Doom band from Lewiston Idaho. Diazepam have been together Since November 2011. Lewiston isn't an easy place to start up a sludge band, and it was a strange twist of fate (or Matt trying to sell a Boss hyper fuzz) that brought them together. The Band's influences are the heavy hitters of Doom and Sludge, EYEHATEGOD, Saint Vitus, Corrupted, Noothgrush, Grief, Graves at Sea, Electric Wizard and a host of other slow, low tuned stoned freaks. Their new demo has been getting a very positive response. The Demo is available for free download at the bands bandcamp at diazepam.bandcamp.com or you can contact the band directly at diazepam_666@inbox. Currently the band is playing live to promote the demo and spread the word about the band.

Diazepam are:

Matt: Guitar
Jon: Guitar
Mike: Drums
Tyler: Bass
Drew: Vocals

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://diazepam.bandcamp.com/album/demo"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Demo by Diazepam&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Thoughts:

"Stripped down to the most raw and simplistic characteristics of Doom and Sludge, Idaho's Diazepam lays it on heavy with thick as tar riffs, slow as molasses rhythms and regurgitated vocals. Within the possession lies some pretty cool little nuances and nice warm and fuzzy guitar tone. Check out EP standouts "Satanic Ladyland", "Black Paint" and "Dissent". Prepare to be dragged into Hell."

((facebook|bandcamp))

Heavy Planet Podcast 08: Music From Italy

2012-05-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome again to another edition of the Heavy Planet podcast. This month we celebrate some of the best Stoner/Sludge/Doom from Italy. It's no wonder that this country is shaped like a boot because this Sunday 5/20 from 4:00-6:00 PM EST on Grip of Delusion Radio the songs we have assembled here are guaranteed to kick your ass. Ascolta ora!

DJ: Toby

01) Using Bridge - Too Fast
02) The Dallaz - Sunsweet Blues
03) Ivy Garden of the Desert - 1991
04) OJM - Wolf
05) Ossimoro - Deus Ex Machina
06) Wicked Minds - Elephant Stone
07) Black Rainbows - Burn Your Nation
08) Slow Order - Horsemen of the Dunes
09) Void Generator - Astral Manipulations
10) El-Thule - Pulsar
11) Lunar Dust - Silent Deepness
12) Psyconauts - One Bad Star
13) Ghandi's Gunn - Under Siege
14) Otehi - Desert Rider
15) Misty Morning - Doom Saloon
16) Oak's Mary - Top of the World
17) Firelord - Riding With the Death
18) Le Scimmie - Dromomania
19) Three Eyes Left - La Fee Verthe (The Green Fairy)
20) Ufomammut - Mars
21) That's All Folks - The Plasma

LISTEN

Zac's "Double Dose": Broxa / Silent Chief

2012-05-16T04:20:00.000-04:00

Broxa: Meconium

According to ancient folklore the Broxa would appear in the night to feast on the milk of slumbering goats. Accept this as an invitation to take a trip on this psychedelic goat's milk. Broxa formed in Seattle in 2010 and with a years time recorded their first demo. Producing a sound that I consider authentic 70's lo-fi, Rachel [Henthorn]'s vocal work will have listeners delusional and hypnotized, while her guitar loops with a fuzzy whine. The trio has played with played with the likes of Bell Witch, Indian, and Owl (all of which have been covered here at Heavy Planet). Check out Trial of Thrids from their full-length release Meconium below.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://broxa1.bandcamp.com/track/trial-of-thirds"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Trial of Thirds by Broxa&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Members:

Jaime Gore - Bass

Jon Mullet - Drums

Rachel Henthorn - Guitars / Vocals

I bandcamp I facebook I web I

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Silent Chief: Challenge of the Gods

Having your priorities straight is critical to achieve success and if you're a stoner or doom band your number one priority is 'THE RIFF', it always has been and always will be. Well, former members of Iron of Odra and Mountain Maker certainly had their priorities straight when they decided to join forces and create a new sound praising the divine RIFF. The trio formed in 2010 and refocused their love for down-tuned and distorted blues. Silent Chief's riffs are backed up by a mountainous onslaught of percussion, bass, and Vik's odious (and I mean that in the most flattering way) yet triumphant vocals. Check out their latest single Challenge of the Gods at bandcamp.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://silentchief.bandcamp.com/track/challenge-of-the-gods"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Challenge of the Gods by SILENT CHIEF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Members:

Jonah - Drums

Rick - Bass

Vic - Guitars / Vocals

I bandcamp I myspace I

New Band To Burn One To: VERDUN

2012-05-15T04:20:00.000-04:00

Heavy Planet presents...VERDUN!

Today's "New Band To Burn One To" hails from Montpellier, France.

Band Bio:

VERDUN was born in 2010 by the communion of five musicians with substantial backgrounds (some members appear in Fleshdoll (Pervade Prod.), Grandizer (Basement Apes), Raspoutine etc.) who have in common the passion for heavy and hypnotic musics. Their master ? Hawkwind, Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Pagan Altar or Saint Vitus. After spending months in a cave of Montpellier (FRANCE) torturing their instruments in a wet cave, they decide to leave the darkness and carry the psychedelic flame that burns inside themselves. They hit the stage with Electric Wizard, Kylesa, Red Fang or with famous french bands like As We Draw, Quartier Rouge or Pord. VERDUN plays an anxious and oppressing Doom Metal whith heavy riffs, tortured melodies embbeded in fogs of delay, some spectral voices and atmospheres that introduce the end of the world. In the beginning of 2011, VERDUN makes an endorsement deal with Mazzette which provides their new prototypes of stompboxes in order to shape a very personnal sound to the band. Now, the five doomsters have just finished the recording of their debut EP "The Cosmic Escape of Admiral Masuka". The CD version is available now through Head Records (Pneu, Ofo Am, Goodbye Diana...) and in Tape on Throatruiner Records (Birds in Row, Comity, Plebian Grandstand, As we Draw...).

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://verdun.bandcamp.com/album/the-cosmic-escape-of-admiral-masuka-ep"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The Cosmic Escape of Admiral Masuka - EP by VERDUN&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Thoughts:

"Slow and repetitive doom grooves infest your brain as the distant and tortured vocal yammer tears at your soul. This is a brilliant concoction of what happens when you bring together the somberness of doom and the aggressiveness of hardcore. Let Verdun punish your eardrums today with their twisted take on doom."

((facebook|bandcamp|head|throatruiner))

New Band To Burn One To: BRUJAS del SOL

2012-05-14T04:20:00.000-04:00

Heavy Planet presents...BRUJAS del SOL!

Today's "New Band To Burn One To" is from Columbus, Ohio.

Band Bio:

In the fall of 2011, 3 very different men came together to make some very different music. It worked and Brujas del Sol came into being. With Adrian Lee Zambrano on guitar, Derrick White on bass and keys, and Jason Green on percussion, Brujas del Sol manage to combine their wide range of influences of 70’s psychedelic, hard rock, surf and kraut with the more modern influences of stoner rock and neo psychedelia to come up with something unique and interesting for the listener. With immediate plans of a 12" on the horizon, the Brujas bros are poised to deliver something that will stand the test of time. To quote a recent review “it’s beautifully fresh music.”

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://brujasdelsol.bandcamp.com/album/moonliner-vol-1"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Moonliner Vol. 1 by Brujas del Sol&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Thoughts:

"Refreshing and hypnotic are two words that describe the light and airy grooves that Columbus, Ohio's Brujas del Sol set forth. As you step aboard the rocket to partake in a sun-kissed psychedelic trip, you are greeted with scorching solos, erratic drum beats and somniferous bass lines. Two volumes of this magnificent journey have been released thus far via Bandcamp...prepare to launch into Volume 3 coming soon."

((facebook|bandcamp))

Sunday Sludge: Wolves Carry My Name - "Amongst Ruins and Ashes"

2012-05-13T04:20:00.000-04:00

Hey, kids! Looking for that perfect gift for you-know-who this Mother's Day? Is your mom into sludge metal? Does she love slow tempos, rolling grooves, and thick growls? Then she'll LOVE Siegen, Germany's stoner-sludge quintet, Wolves Carry My Name! Act now and download Amongst Ruins and Ashes for FREE, and gloat to your siblings as Mom tells those assholes that you're her new favorite!

Alright, you may be better off not even mentioning this one to your mom. Wolves Carry My Name haven't even existed one year, but their debut erases any doubt about their ability to lay down some killer stoner-sludge metal. Book-ended, just as the title promises, by Ruins and Ashes, the album exudes patience and groove as much as it spits piss and mire. The misty gallop of Ruins tells listeners there's something more happening here. The spooky drift relents to a low, muddy rhythm underneath the rasp of Konstantin. This is gonna be good.

Every track on the album seemingly shifts its shape, evolving from crush and curdle to psychedelic restraint. Lupus Milk's trippy guitar lilt builds toward a slow, crunchy jam. Licks are laid intermittently within Dennis's bass bounce. A southern-stoner bar atmosphere is broken by Konstantin's gravelly spray. On its way home, the song hits every gear toward a psych-jam once the jagged cliffs have been cleared.

Speaking of southern, the trailer-court sludge of Nineteen Stitches stomps with militant drums and doom before picking up steam and chopping down everything in sight. WCMN never stray far from the sludge tempo, even as the brilliant guitars of Adil and Tobi hit a smoggy cosmos.

Somber rain best-characterizes As We Worship Their Shadows. The heady fuzz and ominous cymbals craft a slow, sad dance that's numbing and cathartic. Steadily rising and ultimately crushing, this is the album's best track. What follows is the awesome, Adrenaline-era Deftones-esque City of Knives. Sliced grooves and guitar warble complete the stoner-sludge tandem. There's no containing this sound, fleeting and spooky as it is. The crawl to classic doom is nothing short of killer, and all elements of this sound later marry for a progressive jam.

But let's talk about the disc's closer, Ashes. The haunt promised throughout the album is fully-realized through troubling Jonestown audio clips that do little to mask the distant guitar drone. The message is one of encompassing terror and exorbitant loss. Exercise caution with this one. Careful with that chug, Mom might say.

Let's be serious; your mother would hate this. That's what music is supposed to do. It should piss off your parents, perhaps even frighten them. Does that necessarily add to an album's appeal? Maybe. But what makes this sludge so delicious is the incorporation of extraneous elements that stick to the skin of this weathered beast. What makes it so impressive is that Wolves Carry My Name have only been doing this for seven or eight months. Their mothers must be swollen with grimacing pride.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://wolvescarrymyname.bandcamp.com/album/amongst-ruins-and-ashes"&amp;gt;Amongst Ruins And Ashes by Wolves Carry My Name&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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MonstrO: The Heavy Planet Interview

2012-05-12T16:20:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it's strange to sit down with a band who blew your mind with their sound. You almost don't wanna know some of their quirks and secrets. When a band thumps your speakers, rattles your brain, and leaves you with little to say beyond "Christ, I fucking love these guys," it's nerve-racking to engage in conversation and hope to capture their humanity, their humility, and their gratitude.

MonstrO has stunned listeners since September with their debut self-titled album, an accomplished and trippy drift through boundless thickets of cosmic stomp that's im-fucking-possible to dismiss. But hey, Heavy Planet and our readers knew that. So we've gone a step further, a fathom deeper... We had to meet these up-and-humming anti-heshers and, later, catch their live show. We already know they're mind-blowing on tape, sure. But these dudes have scored gigs with Kyuss Lives!, The Sword, Black Tusk, and Clutch! Small peanuts don't boast narratives like that, so we had to follow up.

Luckily, once this quartet settles in to the cozy confines of their new rig, they shed the larger-than-Zeus persona thrust on them by audiences and melt into four of the coolest motherfuckers on the planet. Heavy Planet caught up with Kyle Sanders (Bass), Bevan Davies (Drums), Charlie Suarez (Vocals, Guitars), and Juan Montoya (Guitars) for a little chat-chit before Juan's endless search for a mailbox (turns out he had to send Mother's Day wishes to the coolest woman in the world). These dudes are accomplished, introspective, hilarious, and grateful for every accolade they richly deserve. And it goes somethin' like this...

*********************************************************************************

Heavy Planet: You guys all have pretty impressive resumès, as far as the bands you've been in. What brought you guys together for MonstrO?

Davies: "It started with Kyle and I playing together in Bloodsimple. That's when I met Kyle and when that band disbanded, he and I both lived pretty close to each other and we just wanted to keep playing together, put something else together. We weren't sure what it was gonna be. So we decided to wait until it felt right and got the right people involved. It might have been almost a year later, Kyle hit me up and told me about Juan. So that's when we got back together and started playing again, but it was already pretty understood that Kyle and I were gonna do something together. That's how it came about."

HP: And you guys are from Atlanta, both of you are?

Sanders: "Yeah. Juan's from Miami but lives in Atlanta now. Charlie still lives in the Fort Lauderdale-area."

HP: Not to touch too much on anything negative, but I know things with Bloodsimple didn't work out.

Sanders: "It was one person in the band just totally destroyed their personal life. We were right in the middle of touring and, you know, had some momentum going on that second record (Red Harvest). So when he said that he can't tour right now, we said we'll just give it a minute and let it settle and see if things work out. Because you can't just be in this business and not tour, y'know? That's just not an option. So a month went by, then another month went by and we had to turn down a couple good tours, then the summer was gone. It was like 'okay, I gotta face reality. It's either hang it up or start over again,' which was a horrible decision to make. But obviously, you gotta keep goin' so, yeah... we just had to face the facts. Me and Bevan were talkin' that we wanted to do something, just didn't know what. Then we met up with Juan and he had actually just gone through the same type of situation with his band, Torche. And he wanted to do something, didn't know what. We were on the same page as far as the musical direction we wanted to go in. So we all got back together, beginning of '09, the three of us just got in a room and started playing and the chemistry was there. We knew we were turning out a lot o' music, we just did that for as long as we could until we figured out what we're gonna do about a singer. That's the worst thing in the world to have to look for, I've never had to do that before; always had one. So the end of that started with the beginning of this."

HP: You guys are pretty productive, I've read. You guys are always writing?

Sanders: "When we were home, we wrote a lot; like before we had a deal, before we had anything. We were very productive in a short amount of time. We wouldn't get together every day, but when we would we would produce a lot. We had a little tape recorder, we'd record everything, go home and start piecing it together."

Montoya: "Yeah, the day that I met Bevan... five minutes later he was already on the kit and we had an amp set up and everything."

Davies: "And those very original jams that we did that first day have made their way onto the album. That stuff lasted. And the cool thing, as far as work ethic goes... there is an upside to Charlie still living in Florida because when he does come into town it's for a definite period of time and we know we've gotta get a lot of work done while he's there. So we work our asses off, we don't waste time when Charlie's in town. So everything else gets put aside and we focus really hard on the band. And then when he goes home, we can conduct our normal lives. So it works out pretty good that way."

HP: You guys have been touring pretty relentlessly, it seems...

Montoya: "Yeah, the record came out in September. First tour was with Kyuss Lives! and The Sword, that was a blessing. Y'know, we got to play in front of Kyuss's crowd which was a mixture of older and younger people. And our music is diverse, not only that it can appeal to kids, but the parents, as well, can get into it. People down with Zeppelin, Sabbath can get into it without us being a retro band."

HP: What's been the response from the audiences?

Montoya: "So far, so good. I mean, like I said... we're lucky. We went out there without anybody knowing who we were. As a whole, we all had to start from scratch. Which is rough for someone that's been doing music for ten or fifteen years or so. But we were received very well, y'know."

Davies: "I think we were on the right tours because we're selling tons of music every night. I mean, those fans definitely like what we're doing. So it's been a good pairing, all the way."

Montoya: "And I think what they like, also, is that's it's very personal. We're at the merch table every night and people come up and they're like 'Hey, you're the guy in the band! What are you doing out here?' I'm like..."

Davies: "Buy a record! Buy me a drink! What's your girlfriend's name? Do you have any pictures of her? (laughs)"

HP: I brought my wife tonight, so if you guys could take it easy that'd be great.

Montoya: "So we did that, we started in September and then we did a tour with Black Tusk in December. It was a little bit rougher, just weather-wise. Kinda clustered, bein' in tight spaces, pretty rough and scruffy. But you have to do that, too. We were just so, like I said, blessed to be able to do a tour like Kyuss Lives! for our first one. So it definitely exposed us to a lot of people. And this has been a great tour. The guys from Clutch, I can't say enough nice things about everybody."

HP: They're all pretty cool?

Montoya: "Yeah, please mention that! Absolutely!"

HP: What are some of the highlights from this tour? Anything really stand out?

Davies: "The crowds! I mean, virtually every show is sold out. And they come early, so we play to a full house almost every night. That's priceless."

Sanders: "For a first band, first of four usually play to somethin' like fifty people or somethin'. People show up early and they're here all night. This is the perfect tour for us."

Montoya: "I wanna mention that Clutch fans are pretty open to new music just to see what they're involved with. So they'll come out early just to see who's there in their company."

HP: You guys stoked for Bonnaroo?

Sanders: "Yeah, Bonnaroo's awesome, man! I've been out there three times. Not playing, just being out there for various reasons. It's amazing, it's an awesome festival. And it's close to home, too... It's only a few hours from Atlanta. It's gonna be great, I'm pretty excited about playin' there."

Montoya: "Two words: Kenny. Rogers. I'm gonna go out there, I'm gonna do a duet with him. I'm gonna have a mic in one hand and a piece o' chicken, a chicken leg in the other."

Davies: "Just put on a blonde wig and the boobs, dude. Islands in the Stream."

HP: Who else you guys excited to see?

Montoya: "Bad Brains!"

Sanders: "I haven't really looked at it. Alice Cooper, Colin Hay is playin'."

Suarez: "Radiohead's playin'. Red Hot Chili Peppers."

Sanders: "There's a good list, man."

HP: It's a hike for me. And I've got three kids.

Montoya: "Yeah, but it's a show you can bring your kids to. Except for, uh... the rape tent."

(Laughter)

HP: I wondered where this interview might go. I was gonna ask you guys if there were any tour hi-jinks...

Montoya: "That's what I've heard about festivals! Like, Woodstock... everybody's just, like, free! Like in a community."

Davies: "Hi-jinks. The joke is always on Juan. He's the butt of all jokes."

HP: I read about his emergency piss bottle.

Sanders: "Yeah, in the bathroom!"

HP: Yeah, what's the point?

Sanders: "Yeah, 'I'm gonna go the BATHROOM and piss in a bottle! And leave it there!' (shakes head)"

HP: You could've done it in the kitchen!

Sanders: "OR he could've used the toilet."

Montoya: "Our tank was damaged on the tour, and driving is..."

Davies: "RIDING!"

Montoya: "Riding."

(Laughter)

Montoya: "We couldn't even handle it, we were like 'dude, let's not even piss in that restroom anymore, so fuckin' I just started pissin' in a bottle, closing it up, and throwing it away whenever I get a chance."

Davies: "Whenever someone reminds you. 'Don't drink the yellow Gatorade, dude!'"

HP: Let's talk about the album. You guys worked with William Duvall from Alice In Chains.

Montoya: "Yeah, an old friend of Bevan's."

Davies: "He and I have a band together, it's called Comes With The Fall. We technically still exist, but we obviously don't have time for it. We haven't functioned since probably 2007. We occasionally get together and jam, record something. He's got his hands full and I've got my hands full. But it's something we'll just revisit down the road from time to time. But he and I have been playing together since about '96."

HP: What specifically drew you guys to him to work on the album?

Sanders: "He showed interest, didn't he? To you?"

Davies: "Yeah, I mean he started asking me 'When you guys doin' the record, have you got somebody in mind to produce it?' And there were a number of reasons, but it really started crossing my mind that I know how he thinks and how he plays and how he writes. That guy is so full of melody and very, very, very intelligent. A very musically-minded person. And I knew that he was getting what we were doing. Even from our earliest demos, I was sending 'em to him saying 'Dude, there's something going on here and I think you'll hear what I'm talkin' about.' Before we had Charlie in the band, these were instrumental pieces of music and they were very LONG pieces of music. We weren't even trying to trim 'em up and shape 'em into songs yet, they were just long jams. And that's where William is really at his best, is crafting songs. And so even way back in the day I was sending it to him going 'Dude, I think you'll get what we're doing. We just haven't really trimmed the fat yet. I'd love, one day, for you to have some input and then help us really craft these things into songs.' So I was kind of already thinking that, and he had the time off. It benefited us all to do it in Atlanta. We have a studio that he and I have been working out of for a really long time. It was just kind of a whole 'all-things-included.' Once I brought him into the fold, everything fell into place."

HP: Just listening to the album, some of the songs have this crushing sludge rhythm in there somewhere, and then at the same time some are soaring, atmospheric-type stuff. How do you guys pull that off? So many bands struggle with blending those sounds or transitioning between 'em, but you guys...

Sanders: "It might be a clichè, but it's all about chemistry. That's the exact kind o' thing me and him (Davies) talked about a long time ago, what we wanted to do. We wanted it to be heavy but in a different, kind of psychedelic atmosphere. A cinematic kind of way, y'know? But what you want and what you get are two different things. So you don't know until you start getting together. And he (Montoya) usually comes up with a riff and it depends on what we do behind it. If it's something that doesn't work, then it wouldn't have come out this way. It has to be the right people."

Montoya: "And sometimes heavy doesn't necessarily mean you have to be like double-kick or crunch it or just start to scream. There's stuff like what Pink Floyd do, just leaving all that space in-between each measure and stuff like that, leaving it so quiet, drawing out a certain tension. So that's pretty much the trick, is to not overdo anything. Less is more. I think Melvins is one of the bands that were actually able to get that a long time ago. Even though sometimes people didn't get 'em because they might have been a little too weird, they knew the formula. They knew that it was pacing yourself, creating a mood, creating something that'll let you form your own story in your head."

HP: I saw Melvins last week, they played just a few hours from here.

Montoya: "They played our hometown; they even played my hometown, Miami, and they never play there. The only time I saw them was in '91 during the Bullhead tour, and then I saw them once opening for up for L7 and once opening up for Primus. And that's a perfect example, a lot of people didn't get it during that time. And I think that's what's going on with us, some people are still kinda like 'They don't sound like THIS band, they don't sound like THAT band, but they're definitely interesting.' And I kind of magnify it."

HP: That's the highest compliment, if you don't sound like anybody.

Sanders: "Yeah, these days it's almost impossible, y'know?"

HP: You guys can't be labeled; just the layers and complexities, it's just great.

Montoya: "To be honest with you, man, the record's one thing... but we still have a lot more going. The live show definitely shows a whole different thing or two."

HP: You guys talked about influences, but you guys sound so distinct and fresh. Do you think that's due to the chemistry you talked about?

Montoya: "Chemistry and being SUBTLE with your influences. There are bands that one minute sound like they have a heavy metal part and then a soft part and then something different... it's the way you weave the blanket, in a way that's very subtle. Someone that's my age might know a lot of the stuff I'm into, but a 22 year-old person might not get it. But hopefully it'll trigger something. Y'know, instead of discovering new bands I'm actually digging bands from the late '60's, Greek bands, stuff from all over the world. Japanese bands, stuff that's incredible. And that's exactly what Metallica was doing during that $5.98 EP, checkin' out some of that new wave of British heavy metal stuff. Bands like Budgie are incredible, little bit more balls, y'know? That's what got me into music anyway; 'what stuff are these guys influenced by?' I'm an older dude and I might be jaded but I'm still discovering music that I love! And the good thing is that's it's going through me and it's going through them."

Suarez: "Like a musical juicer."

Davies: "Like a musical juicer!"

HP: Is there any stuff that's not on the album that we might hear tonight?

Davies: "Yup, tonight's seven-minute long CRUSHER."

Montoya: "Called Parallels."

Sanders: "It didn't make the record. We kinda... we knew we could use it for SOMETHING, y'know, just didn't know what. Soundtrack or whatever. So that one slipped itself into the set as one of the highlights, it seems. It's only thirty minutes, so we only got so much time to work with. What's that, six or seven songs? But yeah, that's one of the highlights."

HP: How's Vagrant (Records) treatin' you guys?

Sanders: "They got the record out. Y'know? That's where it started. Now I just feel it's always up to us to make it happen, y'know. They're doing their job on their end, that's fine. But we're the ones out here sluggin' it out every day. Kinda like night and day, bein' in the studio and then bein' out on tour... two different animals. We're just bustin' ass, pluggin' away, tryin' to stay as busy as possible. A lot o' stuff happens, band to band, gettin' to the next tour. I just always feel like it's on us to make it happen."

HP: Where'd you guys get this thing (addressing the band's immaculate new RV)?

Sanders: "We made it happen on this tour. They don't even know about it."

HP: I wanted to ask about the artwork. You guys won 'Album Cover of the Year' with...

Davies: "Dying Scene"

HP: Tell me about Kelly (Keith).

Montoya: Kelly's an old friend o' mine. When I was touring with Torche, she booked a show with Big Business and Pelican and she included us on the bill. She saw those guys as two separate bands and she knew that we were more compatible. So thanks to her, we're friends with Pelican, we're friends with Big Business. That was when I found out Jared (Warren) was gonna be joining the Melvins, and I was like 'ho-ly shit' because I was a big fan of Jared during Karp days. So meeting Kelly has led to a lot of really cool things. She and I have been great friends for years . Y'know, the day that we met I actually stayed at her house, I walked into her home and she just had beautiful artwork all over. She told me it was her artwork and I was just mesmerized. I walked around the house for hours just looking at surreal drawings, commission portraits of her and her friends. The style she has is incredible and I've always wanted to work with her. With Torche, I always wished we could seal the deal and work with her. But luckily, I've maintained that friendship. I went up there to see her work. I wanted to take pictures so I was able to document the whole thing. I was only there a few days, and the first day we start out and she's painting and I'm like 'Excellent, excellent.' By the end of the night, she's like 'NOPE.' She scrapped the whole thing. So I'm like 'Oh, shit.' But in the morning, we got there and had a nice breakfast. Her studio's located across from a cemetery. It was close to Mother's Day, so it was full of flowers, beautiful flowers. That kinda influenced the flowers in the album art, also. Y'know, I brought a bunch of my favorite records and just laid 'em out in the studio. We talked about art and just listened to music the whole night. Not just paying someone to do our art, we kind of turned it into a whole... ceremony! So it turned out really cool. By the time I had to leave she was almost done and she spent the last couple days with touch-ups and I brought up Beatles records and Kiss records, y'know? A good combination of Kiss's Destroyer and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I wanted a colorful, vibrant..."

HP: Well, you got that! It's bright, it's cool. It's trippy!

Montoya: "And she was actually into the whole obstacle of doing the whole portrait of us. We sent her different pictures of us from different angles that we, personally, liked. So they're kinda like different perspectives. It was so weird, but she was able to formulate it in her head, and just kinda like, get the perfect perf.. per.. persp.. uh..."

Sanders: "PERSPECTIVE."

Montoya: "Thank you. Of all of us and our personalities..."

Davies: "It's cool. The actual image of what we're doing in the painting is from a little video that was found outside of the recording studio. We were outside goofing around. And what did you do, like pull a still out of the thing and she kinda went off of that? We had only met her once at a show in Charlotte, I think. So, she didn't have a whole lot to work with, as far as facially and stuff. So Juan was sending her separate photos of, like, my face, and stuff from different angles. It's amazing she did what she did with what she had with that process."

Montoya: "Definitely one of my favorite artists and one of my favorite friends."

HP: The studio isn't really a studio, right? Where the album was recorded. It was more like...

Sanders: "It's a studio but it's not advertised, yeah."

Davies: "It's an amp repair shop and the owner runs a studio out of the place. It's a cool, cool little studio. And I had recorded there so many times with William that as soon as we talked we were like 'Dude, let's definitely call up Jeff Bakos and see if we can lock out some time in there,' 'cause we can turn out somethin' cool in there."

Sanders: "That studio's a studio that nobody knows about, but it's been around for a long time. A lot of Atlanta bands did demos there, recorded there. But more so, people got their amps fixed there. It's called Bakos Amp Works. If you wanna look it up, you'll see. I don't think you'll find a website... Or a phone number..."

Montoya: "But the cool thing that you'll see, from his brother's band, like pre-Mastodon... There's history there, but it's so hidden. It's, like, in a corner of a rough neighborhood. A lot of Atlanta's pretty rough. You get used to it; I come from Miami and I experienced something like that with the whole Mariel Boatlift. The crime wave they had during the drug wars and everything when I was a little kid. So you know, moving up to Atlanta was pretty rough, but I've seen rough."

HP: So when you guys play back in Atlanta, what's the response?

Sanders: "We haven't played that much. This tour didn't go through, the Kyuss tour did. It was awesome, that was probably our best Atlanta show. We've done a couple of smaller-club, headline shows which were very good. We've probably played there three or four times."

Montoya: "We played one super-awesome show, though. We played first out of like, 70 bands"

Sanders: "Every show we've played Atlanta's been awesome."

Davies: "We've been real selective about our hometown, we definitely don't wanna over-saturate."

HP: That's really about all I've got. Anything you guys wanna touch on, anything I missed?

Davies: "Just a big thanks to Hellyeah, Clutch, and Kyng. Kyng's another really awesome band on this bill. You're gonna enjoy them. Three-piece, they kill it every night."

Montoya: "From Los Angeles, really good guys. They throw down. Them and Clutch, they're making this whole tour very comfortable for us."

HP: I'm looking forward to the show tonight, guys. Thanks for takin' the time to talk with us. Heavy Planet fully supports you guys, we love the record and our readers do, too."

Montoya: "Let them all know we're very, very thankful for the support! Please mention that!"

*********************************************************************************

MonstrO took the stage first, but they play with the swagger and self-assurance of seasoned veterans. Plowing through an all-too-short set, the band led off with Anchors Up!, tore through Solar with blistering intensity, and never winced as the crowd soaked up Stallone. The sludge roll-out of Concertina had the entire gaping audience rubber-necking.

Oh, and when the interview touched on Parallels, "the seven-minute crusher," no justice was done. The song slugged and grinded and all-out fucking rocked. Helios was the perfect farewell for an opening band that nobody wanted to stop hearing. Looking around, everyone knew what was happening. MonstrO grabbed the clouds, shook the fuck out of 'em, and stole the thunder from every other band playing anywhere in the world that night.

The next time they're in town, do your mom a favor and tell her MonstrO says hi. Then steal her keys, head to the show, and wait up front. Trust us.

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New Band To Burn One To: FIRE IN THE CAVE

2012-05-11T04:20:00.000-04:00

Heavy Planet presents...FIRE IN THE CAVE!

Today's "New Band To Burn One To" comes from Orlando, Florida.

Band Bio:

"To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images." Socrates

Fire in the Cave is a band from Orlando, Florida. The group is comprised of the final lineup of the now disassembled band: Bad Actor.

Blistering riffs become sluggish spells of hypnosis constructed in movements. Each sonic assault surrounds every sense passing through moments of suffocating heaviness that fade into psychedelic tranquility. The band is lyrically driven by themes of environmental psychology, disgust for proselytization and the inherent beauty in the tribal instinct of mankind.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://fireinthecave.bandcamp.com/album/fire-in-the-cave"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Fire in the Cave by Fire in the Cave&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Thoughts:

"This EP from Orlando sludgebeasts Fire in the Cave may be two of the most gloriously terrifying and totally gratifying songs I've heard in succession so far this year. The swamp-stained cave creature adorning the cover (artwork by Jean Saiz -Shroud Eater) of the EP paints the perfect picture of what you get when listening to Fire in the Cave. The EP starts with a thunderous foot stomp, then holy hell breaks loose in the form of a possessed blood-curdling growl. The aural bludgeoning lets up just enough for you to gather your bearings while you succumb to the remarkable melody, doomy riffing and the dynamic atmospherics. Don't get too relaxed though as you are once again thrust into the blackened thickness. The huge wall of sound envelopes you with steadfast riffing, countrified licks, and rhythms that reek a whole lot of evil. Nothing else to say other than...this shit is sick!"

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Album Review: Snail - Terminus

2012-05-10T01:53:00.002-04:00

Stoner Rock band names are interesting and fun, wouldn’t you say? Most are clever, many are random, few represent any meaningful trait of the band they represent so won’t necessarily be an indication of what lies in wait when you drop the needle on a recently released tie-dye vinyl. But Snail, intentionally or not, is a name that could represent one of the many quality traits of this kick ass stoner band and their latest release “Terminus”, a trait in which this band is steady and constant, relentlessly bringing the power, seething through the long, slow fuse of stoner jams, super fuzzy riffs, powerful, immutable bass tones, and the inexorable staccato pulsations of the drums, leaving behind a trail of gooey bliss, an excrescence of fuzz and saliva. Snail bring it hard, they bring it heavy, they fuzz the crap out of it, and they never let up, never back down, never come up for air until the opponent has been vanquished. Okay, there’s no real opponent other than the end of the album, but the feeling throughout is a deep and groovy endurance test of tripping fuzz, enjoyable from the first note until the bell rings to end the 10th round.

Snail are in their second incarnation after succumbing to the dark, frightening, and cliched temptations that seem to always seduce rock bands with the individual prizes of sex and drugs, stealing the heart and soul of the whole, eventually leading to break-up and loss of impulse. But enough time fell victim to the slugtrail of Snail’s artistic driving forces that they were resurrected in 2008, stronger than before with a new bandmate among the lineup. Snail are comprised of singer Mark Johnson, bassist Matt Lynch, drummer Marty Dodson, and guitarist Eric Clausen. They very quickly released the much ballyhooed classic of stoner / fuzz rock, “Blood”, a standard of the genre that weighs in heavy with some of the meatiest rock songs to be found embedded in plastic, or encoded in the ether.

After “Blood”’s success Snail found no laurels to rest upon, instead finding new and heightened inspiration in what they wanted to infuse into their music, working diligently toward their latest release, 2012’s “Terminus”.

“Terminus” offers ten exquisite treasures of sound and art that begin with basic melody and structure, infused with the classic intonations of their favorite metal music, most notably the slow tempo stoner sounds that personify their very essence, but also including psychedelic turns and arc-welding sparks of guitar solo virtuosity, as well as all sorts of interesting snippets of pitch that presumably can’t be heard without an enclosed aural apparatus such as headphones or earbuds. Throughout it all is a virtuoso performance on vocals, delivering an adept and interesting inclusion to the mainstay instruments, always with an undercurrent of class, but often with interesting interludes of deviated deliverance. “Terminus” is mature in structure, telling tales of fantasy and adventure through both music and lyrics, never deviating from the essential strength of a song, but instead using a rock solid base as a launching point for all sorts of cool, interesting additions imbued within and throughout the music.

1. “Recursion” kicks off the album with the trademark slow, steady, deep, dark telling of fantasy and discovery. Vocals and guitar highlight the song, while bass and drums drive it through with aplomb and energy. Musical tidbits of interest are ensconced in the instrumental sections, something lying in wait for that tenth or twelfth time through where familiarity breeds delight in discovering what had not been so obvious on previous renditions.
2. “Galaxies’ Lament” picks up the pace both musically and lyrically, touching upon the essence of the universe with catchy lyrics and insistent guitar work, most notably a quick, raging solo that counteracts the methodical notes of the rhythm work from an adept bass and drum undercurrent.
3. “Matchbook” is a duet of sorts, a sing-song back and forth that accentuates a strong, insistent drum rendition throughout and fuzzed to the max guitars.
4. “Hippy Crack” is fast, insistent, with distorted riffs, quick staccato drums, interesting solo leading into an all out assault of screaming vocals, fading into a finale of quick simplicity. Fun, fast, furious, frenetic, and fantastic.
5. “Burn the Flesh” is a relentless harmony of haunting, slow power, a slow burn of stoner excellence utilizing a variety of guitar emanations overlaying a long, trippy tale of disaster and woe.
6.”Love Theme From Snail” is a psychedelic guitar solo riff with a heavy stoner groove, a chorus of vocal harmony accentuating solo variations throughout.
7. “Ritual” is an insistent beat, slow, with background vocals in great tone, and using stoner guitar riffs when singing the chorus. It is trippy, moody, and ritualistic, just as its name suggests. Many and varied are the buried little interludes of musical deviations that accentuate the long, slow trek through the longest track on the album.
8. “Circles” relies heavily on the structure and strength of the bass and drumbeat throughout, while overlaying more psychotropic and melodic musical snippets in a trance-like state enhanced with low key vocals.
9. “Try to Make It” continues with the psychedelic bent of the latter half of the album, infusing many interesting sounds in, on, and around the rhythm instrumentation, interspersing moments of power guitar before falling back down the hole and into the ongoing trip.
10. “Terminus” closes out the trippy sounds of the album, riding on a single string before being led into the last of the power sections that is the coda for what has been an interesting and well played collection of original power rock paired with adept and intriguing interludes through ephemeral musings.

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://snailhq.bandcamp.com/album/terminus"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Terminus by Snail&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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Zac's "Double Dose": Knife / Uoh!

2012-05-09T04:20:00.000-04:00

Knife: S/T

I have something in common with Detroit, Michigan's 'sonic colossus' Knife... our hockey teams let us down in the first round of the 2012 NHL Playoffs (and it wasn't that long ago that we met back to back in the Stanley Cup Finals, each taking home a cup). Well, maybe if the players were listening to some catchy and adrenaline inducing sludge, the likes of Knife, we would be singing a different story. The members very eclectic and diverse past musical lives, in punk rock and metal, culminate to create this dangerous brew. The songs have a radio friendly run-time and plenty of hooks covering their sludgy foundation, thanks to the band's genuine song writing ability. Curt [Massof]'s bark is impressive and intimidating, and has to be the cornerstone of this edifice known as Knife. The band has shared the stage with big names, Black Tusk, Fu-Manchu, Intronaut, Lo-Pan, and Tool. Each a Heavy Planet favorite and adding all the more reason to give Knife a listen. Check out their live performance opening for Intronaut and Tool below and download a copy of the self-titled EP at bandcamp.

Members:

Chuck Burns - Guitars

Curt Massof - Vocals

Eric Blanchard - Guitars

John Lehl - Drums

Nathan LeLandais-Miller - Bass

I bandcamp I facebook I youtube I

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Uoh!

Uoh! is an instrumental / improvisational band from Montevideo, Uruguay. Started as a side project in 2006, the band plays a genre of placid post rock. Driven by warm emotions, fuzzy atmospheres, and distortions the music continually builds to a glorious crescendo and gracefully fades back only to begin the process again. The latest recording 'Manuales Illustrados del Pequeno Tesla Vol. 2: Hagalo Usted Mismo' is more guitar focused and looping harmonies are added by keyboard, creating a unique sound. Music from the demo and full length 'Manuales Illustrados...' can be heard at soundcloud and downloaded at Esquizodelia Records. In the mean-time, check out this live performance!

Members:

Hiram Miranda

Marcos Miranda

Pablo Duran

I esquizodelia records I last.fm I myspace I soundcloud I

New Band To Burn One To (Special Edition) Two For Tuesday: MINERVA and SUN FRENZY

2012-05-08T04:20:00.000-04:00

Since I was unable to post a "New Band To Burn One To" yesterday, I figured I'd give you a pretty sweet deal. Today for your listening pleasure I bring to you two great bands from Poland ...please let me introduce MINERVA and SUN FRENZY!

First up is MINERVA

Band Bio:

In 2000 we started up in a garage, just like any other band - playing Metallica covers and goofing around. But throughout the years, things got a lot more serious. We went through lineup changes, priority changes, influence changes, and so on... In 2005 a first EP "Invisible" materialised - and that was it! Although it was just a foretaste to what was about to happen. After that release we took a lot of musical steroids and in 2010 we finished our first debut album "Dead For A Lifetime".

Minerva - The Day

Thoughts:

"We don't review too many bands like Minerva on Heavy Planet, but from first listen, I enjoyed what I heard. While the band is primarily metalcore through and through, Minerva transcends across many genres. Without sacrificing melody, the band bulldozes through songs of passion and aggression with a ton of grime and filth. I really like the vocals a lot. They go from a nice-melodic style to screaming bloody murder and then to a gut-wrenching bellow. Using elements of thrash, hardcore and an undeniable groove, Minerva is definitely worth a listen."

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Next up is SUN FRENZY

Band Bio:

The idea of the band was born long, long time ago when Chris (Krzysztof Gulbinowicz) and John (Szymon Kaim) met each other and started to play together. After years of unsuccessful search of band members they finally agreed that their long known friend "Tomasz Kołodziejski" aka Motek would be the missing link in chain reaction of creation that band. So in the beggining of 2011 they named themselves SUN FRENZY. A band heavly rooted in hard rock 60's/70's and head stuck deep in stoner rock.

Thoughts:

"These dudes can jam! Albeit a tad raw, you can still feel the sun-drenched Stoner Rock kiss of SUN FRENZY. The grooves ebb and flow as the solos soar and the bass lines warble. The jams are held in check by a smooth and steady drum beat. Yep, scorching desert grooves from Warsaw, Poland."

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Sunday Sludge: Law of the Tongue

2012-05-06T09:34:00.000-04:00

Sludge metal almost invariably comes from the low, trenched ventricles of thick-skinned misanthropes hellbent on spraying their misery on others. So it's only appropriate that today's featured Sunday Sludge artist hits WAY below the earth's belt, all the way from Canberra, Australia. Law of the Tongue are a stoner-sludge quartet that lead their lives fifteen hours ahead of mine, so I'd better get to the fucking point before Sunday Sludge ticks into Monday Mire.

The band released this self-titled EP last month, and the bouillabaisse of sludge/doom metal and stoner rock is a cool, crushing delight. Whether LOTT are riding the back of a sticky-thumbed bass ribbon or grinding through drudging tempos spliced by intermittent riffs, you can rest easy knowing that every track brings the heavy. Spend thirty-five minutes plunging down-under with these seven tracks and let the groove drag you where it will. This will only hurt if you resist.

The low-rolling, steadfast flow of Children of Croke is riff-driven and buzzing with the ire of a locust swarm. Bass and drum drive the track's measure, while Benji Bourne's vocal is as thick as the canvas spun by his mates, the perfect complement the thick black smoke of the doom-laden follow-up, Rebirth. With a rhythm that grows slower and hazier beyond the initial staunch tempo, the track moves toward repeated jabs with sharp sticks. You knew the cool wouldn't last, and now you're left wondering how to patch your blistered skin.

The EP's gullet makes no bones about embracing hazy fuzz, cruising slowly through an ashy, smoldering forest. LOTT here are reminiscent of Bongzilla, dealing crushing blows in sluggish succession. Repetitive and patient, DD's basslines lead the breakdown before moving on to Decapod, a slow-motion dip off a jagged cliff. Saturated with riffs, the track chugs through its own tempo and finds recurrent land-mine guitar licks, courtesy of Kim Kyung-Woo's virtuosity. Go ahead and army-crawl to safety, dragging your broken legs. You're miles from where anyone can hear you.

Stoner-sludge returns with bouncing cadence on Death Knight, up-tempo and fuzzed out. Drone's Lament is baked slow, moving from drenched sludge to clips and pauses that are drier than a bucket o' sand. Yanked like a string tied to a toddler's wrist, the track shifts to bluesy recline, ending with a balanced fadeout. Finally, the immediate, punishing sludge of DEvolution amps the anger by staying low and dirty. Sputtering and kicking to bring the EP to a close, this electric track leaves listeners shaken and coated with matted fur.

Law of the Tongue craft sludge of the grooviest variety, bending genres and mastering structures. I won't say this stoner-sludge will make you dance, but it'll definitely snap necks and wag *ahem* tongues. Beyond the smoke lies a muddy stomp through some pretty dense depths. I can't imagine why they'd make this EP available as a FREE download, but listeners will be better off for it. Do yourself a favor and pick it up now before they get wise and actually start charging what it's worth!

&lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://lawofthetongue.bandcamp.com/album/law-of-the-tongue"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Law of the Tongue by Law of the Tongue&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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Album Review: The Midnight Ghost Train - "Buffalo"

2012-05-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

Lightning never strikes twice, they say. Its luminosity makes it seem far-thicker than its actual 1/2-inch diameter, but the true spectacle is the result. Trees split, homes are set ablaze, and any human cracked by lightning can expect to enjoy cardiac and respiratory arrest, vascular spasms, neurological damage, and autonomic instability. Devastating as it is, though, it's pretty awesome to behold. What you're gonna hear at any live performance by The Midnight Ghost Train is electric, incendiary, and something you can't expect to experience ever again. The intimacy and emotion of these shows, infused with thick fuzz and sweet sweat, are seemingly impossible to harness within the confines of a sterile and well-groomed studio, right?

For their upcoming Buffalo (July, Karate Body Records), the band enlisted accomplished engineer David Barbe to bottle the live sounds without losing fidelity or intensity. The Midnight Ghost Train are three emotional guys, and these eight tracks are the better for it. These delta-rooted jams ooze thick stoner rhythms that would stand in the rain holding withered daisies as quickly as they'd overstep the law to defend a dear friend. The songs move from torrid clip to wispy cadence within a moment, and a metronome was never necessary. Buffalo's soul is of a homegrown, deep-fried lineage.

The album opens with the fuzz-drenched chops of A Passing Moment of Madness, immediately slugging your ribs via both your ears and your heart. Building toward a psychedelic warble, we're greeted by a dusty groove that thrusts listeners directly through an arid canyon pass and into the neck-break guitar stomp of Henry. The tandem is punctuated by a brief sludge pause before Steve Moss' thick licks marry Brandon Burghart's archaic, unrelenting drum assault. Moss enlists his pipes, lifting tension with a vocal that's as wise as it is captivating. This crunchy haze requires no chaser; a cool jam is intermittent and a clamor through *ahem* mossy willows does nothing to detract from outstanding structures.

The band released Foxhole as a single on April 13th, a fat, swinging rock-pendulum loaded with perfectly-executed timing and signatures. The hum in your head is detectable only until the break into an ever-escalating barrage of slicing guitars and 5000rpm rhythms. Pay attention, 'poke! These heartland plains are flattened and the cattle are loose. Tom's Trip, meanwhile, begins methodical and foreboding. David Kimmell's low-end hitchhikes on Burghart's drums, laying a ragged and steady rumble through the flatlands. Moss' licks sizzle until their drive is interrupted by the throwback of a heady breeze, while fuzz spurts and warbled fret worship pepper this slow, smoky dreamscape. Throw your trans in neutral, kill the lights, and drop off your girl just down the block. We're being attacked from every sonic direction.

Buffalo's back end is spearheaded by Spacefaze, a layered and atmospheric trip outward. Burghart goes primitive and the sound returns to the album's inception: caustic, balanced, and full-circle. These songs have been pregnant with promise, and The Midnight Ghost Train deliver at every whistle stop. With the best stop-start dynamic Page Hamilton never invented, the crunch veers left and takes the long way home. It ain't so bad gettin' lost sometimes. And then you reach warped wooden floorboards, sweat stains, and slivers of dusty light cutting through a summer afternoon. The cover of Lead Belly's Cotton Fields is soulful, gorgeous, and expertly executed. Palms slap one another and boots strike hand-built carpentry, leading to a spread of pickin' and pluckin' that formulate Buffalo's most honest and organic moment.

Southern Belle's weathered anvils and oily pistons pair with the chug of Into the Fray to craft a vengeful, satisfying conclusion to the best thirty minutes of your life. Belle's sticky sway is rife with rhythmic shifts and musicianship that no twenty-somethings should lay claim to. You'll almost feel guilty liking this, the album's heaviest track. The pacing of Into the Fray is fuckin' on-fire, and the locals are just pissed enough to let it pop, hiss, and crumble to the earth.

Named for the hometown of Steve Moss, Buffalo is that rare product that transcends geography, generation, and genre. Influences are detectable, but never dishonored. Soul is never saturated, and The Midnight Ghost Train never trip over their own feet. In fact, why are we wasting time discussing what this band doesn't do? What this band DOES do is craft incredible, fuzzy, cerebral stoner rock songs. They're not lying when they say their live shows are "intense and real." And if anyone tells you Buffalo is the greatest stoner rock album they heard in 2012, they won't be lying either.

Band Site | Facebook | Karate Body Records