The almighty Crowbar will be releasing The Serpent Only Lies on October 28th via Entertainment One (eOne). As you’ve heard from the ‘Falling While Rising’ and ‘Plasmic and Pure’ singles, the NOLA legends are as heavy as ever, and Kirk Windstein continues to write riffs that truly shake the world. I recently had the honor of sitting down with the riff lord to discuss the writing of their new album, the return of Tommy Buckley, and much more.Continue reading
Ernie Ball‘s String Theory series features in-depth interviews with musicians from all genres of music. The latest episode focuses on Metallica‘s Kirk Hammett, and the legendary guitarist opens up like never before.Continue reading
Do you remember where you were on September 24th, 1991? That is, if you were even alive, since it was a quarter century ago. I was in class at community college in my home town. As usual I was hanging out on the soccer field, guitar in hand, hanging with my usual band of freaks, geeks, stoners, punks, metalheads, and the like. The buzz around campus was this song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit,’ that was not only all over MTV, but also becoming an actual hit song on the radio.
You can file Coffins and Ilsa’s Split EP (Relapse Records) under heaviest thing you’ll jam out to for a while. No time to waste here with pretentious orchestral arrangements or cliché samples; Coffins and Ilsa immediately start their brutal eardrum massage with relentless riffs and grooves.
Case in point? You only get roughly 12 minutes of music on this EP. Maximum effort and distortion crammed into two songs.
Japan’s Coffins gets first crack at it with ‘Tyrant’ and they somehow make it sound more demonic than on last year’s Craving to Eternal Slumber. The guitar tone remains Coffins gnarly, but the production has dialed up the grit and smoke inhalation. Jun Tokita’s grunts sound like the product of a lifelong sand and gravel diet and are perfectly paired to Uchino’s skilsaw on asphalt guitar tone.
Tempo-wise, Ilsa aren’t as jackhammer intense as Coffins, but they certainly bring the decibels on ‘Cult of the Throne.’ But what they lack in speed, they make up for with an even grimier atmosphere and steady double bass stomp. Orion Peter’s pained howling and the crawling breakdown at around the 4:15 mark conjure up images of prime Eyehategod.
You may not get much in the way of running time, but Coffins and Ilsa satisfy if heaviness is what you crave. Can we get a tour now?
8.0/10
HANSEL LOPEZ
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Canada’s Chron Goblin may be a new name on you (well, they were a new name on me, anyway) but they have plied their trade for a few years now and Backwater (Ripple), their third full length release, is a decent hopping-on point. Chron Goblin inhabit that strange hinterland, beloved of late, of attempting to inject new vibes and energy into tropes and styles that were current when flares were still resolutely in fashion.
Given that you’re reading this review on this website, it is a fairly good bet that you’re a fan of Black Sabbath in general and Tony Iommi in particular. As exercises in nostalgia and keeping up with how much Sabbath still influence today’s heavy bands, then you will find much to your liking on this record. The band’s love of the riff is highly in evidence, wrapped around a classic rock sensibility that, for once, sits well with the more obvious stoner and desert rock influences upon which the band have historically built their reputation. One suspects that the band’s membership of the Kyuss fan club is fully paid up.
Backwater sees a band that have honed their craft well and, for the most part, it’s delivered with gusto. The main issue with Backwater isn’t the obvious influences (if you don’t like Kyuss, you need to see me after school for some lessons), nor the all too derivative sleeve art (honestly, this could be from any one of dozens of their ilk). The real issue for Backwater is that the songs just aren’t that memorable. Everything is well put together and played with energy but, as for getting the hairs standing up on the back of your neck? Regrettably, I didn’t get any of those moments and the overall feeling was one of disappointment at what could have been. You know you’re in trouble when you’re thinking to yourself “I quite like track four, what’s that called again?”
Consequently, this is an album of what might have been rather than what is. Whilst there is a decent adherence to the riff rule book, there isn’t anything here that stays too long in the memory. Whilst you’re listening to it, you get the sense that, stoner sensibilities aside, not everything has clicked for them. As records of this ilk go, it’s pretty decent but it’s not quite the infectious and energised masterwork that you suspect the band are hoping for. A creditable record but, on this occasion, the cigars remain in the humidor.
6.0/10
MAT DAVIES
Saturday we kick things off with Beelzebong, who give us the swamp soaked heavy slur of stoner doom riffs we’ve been so craving. These guys know how to his the sweet spot of heavy and oppressive, yet hypnotic. They turn the crowd in front of the Desert stage into a sea of bobbing heads, a sight that makes for great start to the day.
Since we get some rare sunshine in the beginning of October, we decide to recover from last night’s first day in the brittle warmth of the autumn sun in the outside seating area, and catch up with some friends.
Monomyth, these masters of the hypnotic cadence are not new for me but a lot of people were happily surprised by their prowess. Their gigs tend to sound like one long jam, and amazingly don’t get boring while they weave on and on in an almost circular way, pulling you deeper into the trance-like state their music conveys. While these guys make some really spacey psychrock, the usually omnipresent guitar noodling is quite minimal and has a more rhythmic notion with this band, repeating and embroidering on the same pattern, building layers and layers of spacey goodness.
After the enjoyable Monomyth set we catch a quick glimpse upstairs in the Canyon stage of Vandal X, these Belgian noise rockers pick up the tempo and shake us awake. Distinctly punky, yet a little heavier and stranger than punk, these guys kick you straight in the teeth. Having apparently inspired such bands as Raketkanon according to the booklet these forefathers of the no-nonsense, bash your head into the wall kind of noise rock are living up to their title. Noise Noise Noise, indeed.
After the rude awakening with Vandal X we go downstairs to see Greenleaf. The moment the band starts the grove is amazing, the thick heaviness is there, and everything sounds incredible, if a bit stripped down to make room for what we assume is going to be vocal driven Stoner. Pinching just a little too much I get the distinct feeling the vocalist is trying to sing a way that doesn’t fit him naturally, and the rest of the music just isn’t intricate enough to be able to ignore a less than impeccable vocal performance.
Thankfully the guys from Mars Red Sky are there to cheer me right up again, with their 70s infused doom. Their groove is one of the best and most catchy of the festival. In a genre often drowned in fuzz and distortion the use of oftentimes clean bass lines is refreshing and really hitting that spot. Soaring guitar lines coupled with remarkably light vocals with just enough echo to make their music sounds quite otherworldly. The contrast of heavy and light, floating and sinking make this band a fascinating experience well worth listening to.
Now I have the hard task of writing a review of Orange Goblin… Orange Goblin is one of the heavyweights in the genre, and seeing them live is nothing short of spectacular. They clearly have that oh so British touch in their approach to metal that takes a lot of influence from punk and just a general slow burning anger at the world no other nationality has quite mastered, maybe it’s the weather. The riled up crowd starts milling in front of the stage in an enormous moshpit that doesn’t let up until the set is over.
To kill the time before Earth start and not just hang around chatting to the many wonderful people this fest attracts, we go catch a few songs by Causa sui. The trippy background projections are pretty cool, but sadly the band evoke a distinct feeling of trying too hard to fit into the psychrock box. The whole thing feels a bit formulaic, and instead of expressing the joy of letting a trip come over you as good psych does, they just leave me with a vague sense of emptiness.
Earth have the honor of headlining today, and I’m quite interested to see how they do. The band is known for it’s super slow and heavy laid back instrumental drone, and while this is in itself wonderful music, it’s something that is really hard to get into when you’ve been on your feet all day and have just seen Orange Goblin destroy the Desert stage with a vengeance. This is a band you definitely need a chair and a good dose of substances for to really get into, but for me, at that time of the day, they just were a bit too slow in their heavy. About midway through, the after party starts, at which we get a second dose of Orange Goblin madness, but this time behind the dj set.
Sunday, lazy Sunday. We start things of with a local Belgian band who’ve clearly not lost any steam over the weekend. Tangled Horns pretty much tangle us in their horns. Fast paced with a franctic frontman who will climb anything makes for a great show. There is a definite raunchy twist in the stoner these guys make, that does definitely remind of 90’s grunge and even a punky atmosphere. Definitely a band worth catching live.
Next we keep the pace up just as high, with the party band extraordinaire Valient Thor. They are one of the few bands on the bill to really get people moving and have banter between songs. As it is a time-honored tradition in the stoner and doom scene to stare at your shoes and mumble thank you, it is refreshing to hear a man remind us we’re all really descendant from space dust in a hilarious way before linking it to the next song and setting off another bout of frantic, happy party punk. These guys would do well at any festival.
After grabbing dinner at one of the many food carts, we go watch Ufomammut. Over the last few years this group has made a reputation for being transcendent and while I see why people love them and where this reputation comes from somehow it just doesn’t hit that special place that makes the experience more than just music for me personally. They still were good but I didn’t see the magic others clearly see in them.
Sometimes there are bands that do everything right and still miss something, and just don’t work. Usually this is personal taste thing and hard to put your finger on, but with Bongzilla I feel I know exactly what was missing for me. These guys make standard sludge, and they do it well, but it’s all a little too clean. Sludge for me needs to be dirty and redneck and Louisiana swamp infested. It needs to feel wild and a little dangerous, heavy and sticky like the sweat is running down your back into your asscrack and the mosquitoes are eating you alive. Sadly this little bit of swamp of dirt and grit is exactly what was missing with Bongzilla.
My disappointed mood was quickly turned when friends I’d made urged me to stay downstairs and skip Fatso Jetson in favor of the Australian band Child. We got treated to a three-piece making some of the heaviest blues I’ve heard in ages, with a groove that was utterly unparalleled by any band on the bill, and most of all a voice that will melt the polar icecaps. The remarkably heavy main riffs get broken up by beautifully soulful blues guitar lines creating a refreshing contrast.
To conclude our stay in Antwerp I use the last of our coins to buy a few of the excellent cocktails at the little cocktail stand outside, and head upstairs for the final after party, not getting home until five in the morning, exhausted, charmed and satisfied. Until next time, Desertfest Belgium.
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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS
Desertfest Belgium is one of those names that in the European stoner/doom scene has developed a reputation for a good party, a place to see your favorite bands and meet friends from around the world. In Belgium this festival just had its second run, and that means this big name festival still has the small intimate atmosphere so much revered by the scene they cater to. This weekend we are promised a feast of heavy with the occasional pallet cleanser of psych and as is wont at these sort of fests, it turned out the smallest room often held the biggest treasures.
On Friday, I arrive at the venue just able to catch the last notes of Planet of Zeus, having gotten stuck in the traffic nightmare that envelops Antwerp every Friday afternoon. Exploring the labyrinthine venue of Trix took some doing, but after getting out bearings, finding the food and drink stands outside and a look around the merch stands it is nearly time for Monolord to open the main stage. This Swedish riff lovers are mentioned next to some of the heavyweights of low and slow riffing, like Yob and Sleep, and while they are excellent in their own rights, they somehow miss a bit of the magic that makes those two bands special for me. Maybe it is something this relatively young band will develop with time, having only started in 2013.
After Monolord, I decide to see some Belgian talent in the form of The Heavy Crown. These 70s stoner inspired rockers, with a surprisingly smooth vocals are intriguing enough to keep me away from the Machine’s set for almost its full running time, and the organ parts really cut nicely through the riffs. Next up is Moon Duo, making their hypnotic trance like psychadelica on the Desert Stage.. Somehow these guys make excellent psych but do nothing special for me. A really static visual show with some sort of tripped out projections don’t add much either. Wucan are by far the most interesting band in the 60s and 70s inspired folk prog rock, feeling like they stepped right out of the era. Flutes, synths, theatrical book reading and even a Theremin are toted out during the set. No wonder it’s nearly too busy to get to the front and snap a few photos. These guys are one of those undiscovered gems you got to a festival like Desertfest for.
By the time they’re finished and people have milled out of the room, I realize I’ve missed Stoned Jesus, and move to the Desert stage to get a decent spot for Dozer. The vocals are strangely light and thin when you hear the beefyness of the rest of the music, but it’s obvious these guys come from the same tradition as Kyuss. They have that big American “desert rock” sound; that somehow can only be acquired by leaving your band to mature and dry out in the heat and the sand.
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WORDS AND PHOTOS BY SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS
A chimaera of Sludge, Metal, Doom and Hardcore, the Medway (UK) has disgorged a barrel of riffs and grooves from the febrile minds of AllFather, riff-mongers almighty.
As a teaser of what shall be, and to bridge the gap between their self-released digital EP No Gods, No Masters and 2016’s impending Bless The Earth With Fire, for which the band are currently seeking a suitable label home, Ghost Cult are pleased to exclusively stream ‘Blood Red Sunset’, the EP’s bonus track, and a reworking of AllFather’s first ever song.
AllFather 2015 Photo Credit: Pheobe Capon of Pheobe Capon Photography
Vocalist Tom affirms:
The power of the riff compels us, and G̶o̶d̶ Iommi guides our hand. Like chucking Conan the Barbarian and Godzilla into a bear-pit, only the best ideas come out, bloodied, but alive! AllFather take those bloodied ideas and battle-hardened riffs and deliver their own brand of metal. Whether taking the sadistic advocates of austerity and racism to task, or revelling in the way the sun glints off a raised battle axe, AllFather recognise that the world is a hard, cruel fucking place, and write songs big enough scare off the darkness.
With a bonus track this good, one can only guess the quality of the upcoming release:
https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/230522794
You can download the band’s earlier material on a pay-what-you-want basis via AllFather’s Bandcamp page but with the disclaimer that there is far, far, better to come…
AllFather play the following UK shows between now and the end of the year:
Nov 6: Lady Luck Bar – Canterbury, UK
Nov 13: The Red Lion – Gravesend, UK
Dec 11: Harp Restrung – Folkestone, UK
For all the talk of sophisticated song structures, syncopated rhythms and harmonised vocalising that can often dominate reviews of records nowadays, sometimes it’s just nice to sit back, relax and be absolutely pummelled into submission by an album that is considerably more metal than you. Architects of the Void (independent/self-released), the third album from doom metallers Behold! the Monolith (no, I have no idea why they dispensed with the rules of grammar either) is one such record.
Upon first listen, Architects of the Void appears to eschew anything that would remotely suggest a lightness of touch. It arrives as the sort of record that is unapologetic in its roots and sense of self; belligerent in its execution and resolutely single-minded with how it brings a smile to your face and a crick to your neck.
Upon repeated listens however, the album reveals a much richer palette of sounds and creative touches; there is an undoubted progressive sensibility at play here – whether in the blending of musical styles (admittedly from the far left of the heaviness range) or in the playful riffing and energised pounding that comes from an understanding that, as listeners, we want this music to move us. And moves it does.
The doom metal architecture of ‘Lord of Bones’ is gloriously sludgy, there is a heft and glowering to ‘Philosopher’s Blade’, and the extended, rhythmical menace to the title track is absolutely beguiling. In fact, the entire enterprise is imbued with that sort of glorious, we-know-exactly-what-we-are-doing-and-we-are-having-a-marvellous-time-whilst-we-are-doing-it schtick that will have you running around your abode looking for a cap, proverbial or otherwise, to doff at them.
Monolith’s journey to this agreeable space might have come from digesting quite a lot of Mastodon records but that is hardly a bad thing. In fact, on ‘The Mithriditist’, it is demonstrated with a combination of power, precision and panache. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then this is something akin to a love letter.
Architects of the Void is the sort of record that you could easily pass by such is the vying for competition in today’s musical marketplace; please don’t. It’s inventive, passionate and as heavy as you could possibly wish for. Do you need any more than that? No, no you don’t.
7.5/10
MAT DAVIES
Following 2012’s Civil Disobedience for Losers (Sargent House), stoner duo Indian Handcrafts release Creeps (Sargent House) to kick off the last quarter of 2015. I was first introduced to this band when they toured with Red Fang back in 2013. They were impressive as a two piece back then and have yet to let up.
The first few songs of the album are pretty good, as expected. However, it isn’t until ‘Maelstrom’ that things change and the music really grabs you by the literal and/or metaphorical nads. This is a great song that showcases just how talented this duo is. It opens with some guitars that throw you back to the eighties for a moment before morphing more into something that you would expect to hear in a new installment of Heavy Metal. It’s so heavy and fuzzy, I love it. Whether you’re banging your head or shaking what your mama gave ya, this track will make you move.
‘The Divider’ is another groovy, riff filled track. This is one of those songs that gives me a case of what the kids call the “feels” when things slow down around the three and a half minute mark. It hurts so good though. I would absolutely love to see this played live. Even without providing me with my beloved bassist, Indian Handcrafts still shreds creates a depth and warmth to their sound that is difficult to duplicate.
This album has a lot of catchy riffs sprinkled throughout it, but the second is where it takes on a life of its own, sprouts wings, and drags you along for the ride. That alone makes this worth a listen. At the very least, do yourself a favor and check out the two songs I mentioned above. Don’t forget to catch Indian Handcrafts currently supporting Kylesa on a tour date near you. See you in Boston!
7.5/10
ALEIDA LA LLAVE