Fuzz Self Titled Review

It's been a long couple weeks of playing catch-up with school work and prepping for exams. Luckily, I've been able to spend a lot of time getting familiar with some of this years awesome releases, albeit from behind a textbook. I've also been squandering a lot of potential study nights at local metal shows, but that's about what I expect from myself. Bluesy riffs also happen to be my favorite subject, and arguably the most important one. One of the bluesier releases I've been spending an exceptional amount of time enjoying is San Francisco psych-rockers Fuzz self titled debut.

True to it's name, Fuzz is laden with furry guitars and fat, numbing bass lines. While the album is particularly striking on the first spin, it certainly leaves a lot to be discovered for future listens as well. Drummer and vocalist Ty Segall is no stranger to the genre, and has made his high-pitched, punky vocals a trademark of many solo tracks and albums. On Fuzz, Segall's vocals combined with heavy psychedelic grooves are reminiscent of Tweak Bird and, at points, Les Claypool. Some tracks on the other hand, play up the trio's punky, proto-metal vibe and are easy to compare to retro rock legends like Iggy Pop or MC5.

Album opener “Earthen Gate” leads you very gently into the frantic, nasally "Sleigh Ride” which reflects the mood of most of the album. “What's In My Head?” may be the most interesting song on the album. Slow, thumpy and harmonic verses give way to a giant, crunchy and aesthetically poppy chorus. The track is extremely raw and spacious sounding; never leaving you with the emptiness of overly-clean guitars or doctored drum tracks. The album as a whole is very punchy and natural, which is really something to be desired when listening to a good psych-rock album.

From "Hazemaze" on, Fuzz power through the rest of the album; marrying familiarly sludgy riffs with a feel that's all their own. Fuzz is, put simply, Rock n' Roll done right. The 8-track LP never has a dull moment and stays consistently catchy throughout. The record has a certain sentimental feel as well. I'm sure that in years to come, I'll find the unmarked copy I burned for the car stashed away somewhere and pop it in. I can only hope that all this shitty exam week stress doesn't come flooding back to me.

Fuzz is out now and can be purchased from In The Red Records

Favorite Tracks: Loose Sutures, Raise, What's In My Head?

 Facebook / Album Stream (Youtube)

New Band To Burn One To: LIZZARD WIZZARD

One album that has been furiously buzzing around in my head lately is the new self-titled album from Brisbane, Australia's Stoner/Doom crushers LIZZARD WIZZARD. While maybe not new to some of you, it has recently caught my ear and I have decided to share this glorious slab o' doom with all of you. It's all here folks...ten ton hammer riffs, resonating feedback, slow and hypnotizing groove and a grimey vocal barrage. My head is still abuzz from all the fuzz. Key tracks include...."Twilight of the Terminator", my favorite track "Bong Dive" and a cover of the Game of Thrones theme cleverly disguised as "Game of Cones". This album is graciously offered at a name your price on Bandcamp, but I encourage you to help these gents out by generously throwing in a few bucks.

For fans of - Sleep / Weedeater / Dungeons and Dragons and Riffs

Pair with this fine beverage... Bayern Dragon's Breath 

FACEBOOK|BANDCAMP

Review of Blackfinger's Self Titled Debut

"Hey there, it's me" sings Eric Wagner on the opening track to Blackfinger's debut, and this proclamation is most welcome to fans of Doom. Since his days leading Windy City doomsters, Trouble, Eric's voice has long been one of the most unique and interesting- not just within the subgenre, but in heavy music in general. And as fans sadly know, that voice has been awfully quiet on wax these days. Since Eric's last appeareance on a proper album in 2007, he's only toured a bit with The Skull, we've had to make do with our old copies of Run to the Light, or whatever your favorite album was.

But with the upcoming release of this self titled debut, you can give those classics a rest. And you won't be doing those early Trouble albums a disservice, because this album stands toe to toe with those beloved classics.

And while the term Doom keeps being tossed around, because of Trouble, and because of the album's mood, this isn't a straight-a-head Doom record. There are heavy moments, for sure, but if you ONLY want layers and layers of brain numbing dirges look elsewhere. There are light moments of texture on this album that accent the mood and allow the power chords to rest. Just listen to the Autumnal vibes on "For One More Day" to see what I mean. This tune is influenced as much by Wish You Were Here era Pink Floyd as the mighty Sabbath.

Lyrically, Eric Wagner hasn't lost a beat, singing and pondering the highs and lows of the human condition. Each new listen lends a new interpretation to the words. I'm sure after a few more listens I can make a case for this being a concept album, and I pray that the album comes with a copy of the lyrics.

The powers that be are understandably playing this release pretty close to the vest, so you'll have to whet your appetite with this promo for "All the Leaves Are Brown". It's a grungey rocker that should do more than enough to pique your interest. Enjoy. And remember this one this time next year, when those best of year lists roll around again. Blackfinger will be near my top. A bold proclamation, sure, but once you listen to the album you'll agree.

The album comes out mid January 2014 on The Church Within Records.

Facebook/Band

EYE OF THE STONED GOAT 4 ANNOUNCED

2 DAYS|20 BANDS| 20 BUCKS

EYE OF THE STONED GOAT 4 festival has been officially announced. The festivities are scheduled for May 3rd & 4th, 2014 at Ralph's Diner in Worchester, MA. and features the reunion of Classic Stoner Rock band Sixty Watt Shaman as the headliner. Heavy Planet along with Ripple Music, 313 INC Artist Management, Electric Beard of Doom and Grip of Delusion will be the proud sponsors of this epic event.  

Tickets on Sale: Jan 1st 2014 General Admission / 21+

||FACEBOOK || WEBSITE||

Sunday Sludge: Haast's Eagled

Though few and far between, I love opportunities (or duties, more appropriately) when I can pull away from a computer for a crisp breath and a skyward glance. My escape from forty weekly hours of glazed repetition is generally reserved for a morning stomp with the next Kylesa or a cleansing of the wicked via DVR catch-up with my wife. Now and then, these Sundays extend a crusty hand that yanks me toward gigantic, primitive buzz. I can't say it puts me in touch with the Earth or throws back my head with an outstretched tongue, but it certainly doesn't feel like these sounds result from digital files, compressed and re-configured through fabricated forums.

Bands bringing the medieval run the risk of tucking cheese into their pockets on their way to summer camp. But straight off the Judas Cradle by way of South Wales comes Haast's Eagled, an experimental, atmospheric sludge-doom act that limits comparisons and expands consciousness. The whole of their four-song self-titled debut EP stones and impales as much as it soothes and swirls. Stoner sensibilities wisp between pummeling sludge pendulums as death's snow taps at fresh graves, with gravity licking the heels of every note.

Setting off Viking is a somber softness, whispering a drone that breaks under electric doom riffs, stretching out to meet a bowel-dug vocal. The break into devastating stoner feedback is countered by classic-rock, Chris Cornell-esque lungs, creating an overall dynamic that's so seldom this successful. The slow stoner groove outlasts all other elements, encompassing listeners through powerful progressions and slow-motion sternum thumps. A trail of gold-flaked licks brightens a sooty sky as this introduction rolls like matted red carpet.

More reflective and somehow more primitive is the cavernous and somber pick of The Eye of God, a a reprieve only lasting until the stoner-doom again emerges and Norse, riff-laden passages unfold to absolutely crush. With a vocal that echoes Ronnie Van Zant on Simple Man, the midpoint is sullen until otherworldly black pit embers set off a slow spiral of flurried madness. So the deep South's influence has made one hell of a trip, seemingly reaching back to a time when only candles broke the darkness.

An intermission by comparison, Tracking the Footsteps of Goliath slowly drones, peeking through shaky samples and ominous cymbals. Oh, but that sludge dominates and smears the landscape, flattening and churning as if to introduce Cruithne Tide, the twelve-minute crusher that closes this all-too-short EP. The track as a whole is cool and melodic, but the loose echoes convey a sad, hollow cave trickle. As fire begins to rain and fiefdom villages collapse, the first track is bookended and the cycle appears complete. Drums join hands with warbled guitar whispers for a cold stroll through the ruins, slowly and deliberately lifting pace without a hint of rattle. Atmospheres, peeling layers, realignment, solos, hesher nods, drone cameos, and sludge cruises... I'd rather this never ended.

So is it lament or nostalgia? I know, it goes much deeper than that. But when I can't pinpoint exactly how I'm being taken to a time and place where I've never been, it's difficult to explain myself. Haast's Eagled weave a tapestry of sound that's as complete and comforting as any I've heard this year. Birth, school, work, death. This release mortars the cracks of life's cruel structure, providing a true sludge-doom escape that lays a breadcrumb trail while you lose yourself. Good thing, too. I'd love to talk about these guys again.

For fans of: Horn of the Rhino, Conan, Earth
Pair with: 8-Bit Pale Ale, Tallgrass Brewing Co.

Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter