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If you are looking for new Stoner Rock, Doom, Heavy Psych or Sludge Metal bands, then you have come to the right place. Heavy Planet has been providing free promotion to independent and unsigned bands since 2008. Find your next favorite band at Heavy Planet. Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Mosh Potatoes: Recipes, Anecdotes and Mayhem from the Heavyweights of Heavy Metal


Alright, so the Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone and most of us are just now coming out of our food comas. What’s next? How about grabbing a copy of Mosh Potatoes, the new kick ass cookbook with a heavy metal twist? I recently had a chance to talk to Steve Seabury, the mastermind behind this culinary monstrosity, to find out a little more about his gastro-musical mash-up of a project. Read on.

Heavy Planet: First of all congratulations on the book...great idea by the way! What in the world possessed you to combine the worlds of food and metal?

Steve Seabury: Thank you brother!!! I got home around 3 AM after a good night of drinking with some friends after a concert. Just as most people coming home drunk at that time, I had the munchies and White Castle was too far away of a walk. The cupboards were bare, I had some Taco Bell Fire Sauce from the night before, a couple of eggs and some other stuff hiding in the back of the Fridge that I probably wouldn't feed my dog. I said to myself "What would Lemmy Do in this situation?". The next day the idea of Mosh Potatoes was created.

HP: When we first communicated, you mentioned Trouble, Naam and Nebula as a few of the stoner type bands that are included in your book. For my Heavy Planet readers, are there any others that fit the doom/sludge mold?

SS: I would have to throw my band Moth Eater into the ring for that one. We are a very heavy sludge style band and we love to eat. lol. Plus I also have bands like Black Tusk, Howl, Down, Sasquatch, Eyehategod, and Red Fang that would also fit the "stoner" vibe. All of these bands love their recipes and share some very interesting stories behind their recipes.

HP: Given that we're talking metal bands here, I can only imagine there were some interesting recipes submitted, to say the least. In your opinion, what was the most interesting concoction that you received for Mosh Potatoes? Put another way, were there any recipes that just flat out shocked you? Perhaps they were straight up disgusting or maybe they were super gourmet...or maybe both?

SS: The recipe that really frightened me the most was from Lemmy. You might say it was super fucked up gourmet style. In my opinion Lemmy can do or eat what ever he wants. I look forward to people emailing me about his recipe. I triple dog dare you to try and make or eat this recipe. If you do, then you got balls of steel!!!

HP: So how did the process of putting this project together work? How did you know which artists would be interested or willing to participate? Which band or musician was most enthusiastic?

SS: I am a music freak. I have about 5 thousand CD's in my collection. I just basically went through my collection and started emailing my favorite bands or some of the bands that I worked with. The reaction was overwhelming and I must have gotten over 300 recipes. It was a fun job cooking them all up and trying to figure out what recipes would work best for the book.

I think all of the bands were really excited to be part of this. Each band that I spoke to wanted to do it. Everyone has their favorite recipes or family secrets. Plus most of these bands have traveled around the world experiencing food and different cultures that most of us would never get the chance to do. So in this book you have a wide range of kick ass food from around the world!!!

HP: Along those same lines, what is your background pertaining to both food and music? Are you simply a fan of both or are you a combination sous chef/guitar virtuoso that we'll all be paying big money to see in the near future? Perhaps you could start your own restaurant featuring your signature dishes accompanied by tableside guitar solos? You heard it here first!

SS: That’s actually a great idea. Maybe I could get Yngwie to do the tableside guitar solos? LOL. I wonder if he likes BBQ? I personally love to cook, eat and have an ice cold beer with every meal. There is nothing like cooking in the kitchen with some Slayer playing on the stereo.

HP: Were any of the recipes submitted for the book specifically tailored to the metal theme? I can only imagine you had to have some version of "deviled" eggs or maybe "pit" beef. Which one was the most clever?

SS: There are some great metal themed recipes in the book. Here are a couple of my favorites. “The Satanic Burrito” by Toxic Holocaust, “Cheese on Toast” by Evil, Chuck Schuldiner EVIL Chili and the “Kale Em All” by Dillinger Escape Plan are all pretty bad ass. Evil Chili is truly pure evil. I love it.

HP: What is your favorite food? Was it represented in the cookbook and if so, whose recipe was it?

SS: I am a comfort food kind of guy. Give me the food that my Mom used to make. My favorite recipe in the book is my personal recipe. It’s called "The Best Damn Mac & Cheese In The Whole Damn Universe". You can’t fuck with this recipe.

HP: How many of the recipes have you tried out yourself since writing Mosh Potatoes? Which one is your favorite?

SS: I have tried out about 90% from the book. There are so many great recipes that it is hard to narrow it down. I personally love The Dream Theater Meatloaf, the Lamb of God Pasta, the Life of Agony Stuffed Lobster and Joey Belladonna of Anthrax's recipe for Tequila Shrimp is amazing.

If you like baking then you are going to love the Fear Factory, Megadeth and Hatebreed recipes in the book as well. These guys bake some incredible desserts.

HP: Finally...since this is a "stoner rock" blog, I have to ask...were there any recipes for "special" brownies included in the book?

SS: I don’t have a brownie recipe BUT there are a ton of recipes that include plenty of booze and bong hits.

HP: Hey thanks so much for your time Steve! As I've already told you, as a metal head and a foodie, I honestly can't think of a better idea than what you've come up with for Mosh Potatoes. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy.

SS: Thank you brother and remember to Cook Out With Your Book Out!!! lol.

So there you have it…if you’re interested in learning more about what happens when some of your favorite stoner/doom artists put down their guitars and pick up their spatulas, you can score a copy here.

Mosh Potatoes
Amazon
Facebook

The mastermind himself...Steve Seabury:
Backyard picnic with Black Tusk:

Monday, November 29, 2010

New MAN To Burn One To - Scott H. Biram

 
As also seen on The Soda Shop

Today's New MAN To Burn One To is Scott H. Biram. The reason for this is because Mr. Biram is a one man wrecking crew. This is a bit of a departure from the normal heavy rock and roll. It's not wuss rock either. I wouldn't recommend Gin Blossoms or Goo Goo Dolls to you, this is not either.
Rock ‘n’ Roll ain’t pretty and neither is Scott H. Biram. The self proclaimed ‘Dirty Old One Man Band’ successfully, and sometimes violently, lashes together blues, hillbilly and country precariously to raucous punk and godless metal.

Biram ain’t no candy-ass singer/songwriter either, sweetly strumming songs about girls with big eyes and dusty highways. HELL NO!!! His singing, yodeling, growling, leering and brash preachin’ and hollerin’ is accompanied by sloppy riffs and licks from his 1959 Gibson guitar and pounding backbeat brought forth by his amplified left foot. The remainder of this one-man band consists of an unwieldy combination of beat-up amplifiers and old microphones strung together by a tangled mess of guitar cables.

Years of non-stop touring have honed his assault to a fine edge; his wide-eyed throw downs in the First Church of Ultimate Fanaticism routinely lead giddy followers to a fiery baptism.

Scott H. Biram won’t die. On May 11th, 2003, one month after being hit head-on by an 18-wheeler at 75 MPH, he took the stage at The Continental Club in Austin, TX in a wheel chair – I.V. still dangling from his arm. With 2 broken legs, a broken foot, a broken arm and 1 foot less of his lower intestine, Biram unleashed his trademark musical wrath.

When Scott H. Biram took the stage at his 2004 SXSW festival showcase right after Kris Kristofferson he was quoted as growling “They said that was a hard act to follow….I’m a hard act to follow motherfuckers!!” The stunned crowd looked on.
His style is southern delta blues, punk and rock. There's a lot of country influences too but all old school, no Toby Keith or Brad Paisley here. His sound is similar to Black Diamond Heavies and Chili Cold Blood and even Velcro Lewis. Clutch has even been somewhat influenced by him. His 2005 album The Dirty Old One Man Band has a song called "Someday Baby" that contains a few lines that are quoted in Clutch's song "Electric Worry."

To date he has 7 albums released (one album was released on 2 different labels). Most can be purchased straight through his website. You can even buy the whole discography for a discount. Go on now, you know you want to.

 

Website / Myspace / Facebook

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Swedish Sunday – Burning Saviours

Yes, folks, it is Sunday, and you know what that means. It’s time to showcase more great music from the Scandanavian musical hotbed otherwise known as Sweden. In a bit of a break from our current streak of retro-rock bands, today’s Swedish Sunday is about Swedish “classic” doom metal band, Burning Saviours, from Örebro.


Burning Saviours came together in 2003 when Mikael Marjanen (guitar) and Martin Wijkström (drums) discussed starting a heavy rock/doom metal band. They named the band after a Pentagram song from the album Day of Reckoning. They teamed up with bassist Fredrik Evertsson and vocalist Andrei Amartinesei to record their first demo entitled Dayterrors in 2004. Amartinesei picked up guitar in addition to vocals for their second demo, The Crusade of Evil, also recorded in 2004. The band soon discarded their previous songs and recorded a new demo, Into the Abyss in late 2004. This demo generated enough buzz to get the band added to the annual German “Doom Shall Rise III” festival in 2005 as well as a record contract with I Hate Records. Their self-titled debut was released in May 2005. Hundus, their second album, was released in June 2006 on I Hate Records. A single was released on Rise Above Records in December 2006. In late 2006, vocalist/guitarist Andrei Amartinesei parted ways with the band and was replaced by Fredrik Andersson on vocals and Henry Pyykkö on guitar. In October 2007, their third album, Nymphs and Weavers, was released by Transubstans Records. By February 2008, the band decided they could no longer continue the band, citing they could not even give 30% of their energy to the band.

Continue reading...

CD Review: Locrian - The Crystal World

As seen on The Klepto's Guide:

I was given Locrian's latest, The Crystal World, by Reg, in his attempt to pander to my musical tastes (be that doom, stoner, or progressive) and I thank him for the thought. Unfortunately I cannot thank him for introducing me to this band. While Ed over at Doommantia could not get over how much he loved this album, I have to strongly disagree and focus on my view of this...music.

You see, Locrian does not produce what I would call 'music,' instead opting for avant-garde/industrial feedback-loop/ambient noise. Their first track, "Triumph Of Elimination," is nothing but feedback and white noise with the occasional note thrown in. I thought it was just an odd intro song, but no, it set the mood for the rest of the album. The rest of the songs weren't as bad as that, some had sections that seemed to have a general (if very loose) rhythm, with the title track being the best of the bunch, but even that was just barely. The whole album seemed like an experiment in sound and effects, and how much they could get away with and still have the album published. I know this is their third album, and I don't know if the rest of their releases are of this fashion, but there is no way I'd ever pay for this mess, and I have no idea how a record company would fund such drivel. There may be a market for this, I guess for fans of the evolution of the garage rock of the 90s, but I can't see it.

The Crystal World is supposed to be a double album release, and because my promo copy was only of the first disc, I was contemplating getting the second for the full sound. I am quite glad now that I did not waste the time and energy in tracking it down. Based from the reviews I read and the album artwork (it is sweet), I was looking forward to hearing Locrian's work. Now I just feel cheated, like a hooker whose John has run out of the hotel room without paying and my pimp is going to hold me responsible. Music is my pimp, and he expects something good.

MySpace

Saturday, November 27, 2010

New Band to Burn One To-The Unravelling

The "New Band To Burn One To" today is The Unravelling.













First off, I must start by saying that today's featured band is not your typical NBTBOT. The Unravelling are a two-piece dark progressive metal band from Calgary, Canada. Their music is a punishing slab of Ministry-like industrial metal with times of haunting melody and pure fucking evil. The band is gaining a ton of positive press as of late and is a band that I think deserves your attention. So if you want to adventure a bit out of your comfort zone, you can listen to The Unravelling's music on MySpace or download their latest album for free on their website.

Bio:

Described by Pure Grain Audio as “overflowing with a bloodthirsty passion”, the Unravelling's music ranges from the engaging and inviting to the aggressive and controversial (Their Tibetan protest video for "Fire Breather" went viral on Youtube with over 60,000 views). A confidante of the band remarked that "The Unravelling sounds like the illegitimate love child of Lisa Gerrard And Zack de la Rocha". Suite 101 says "This is a band who can combine the alternative stylings of Tool with the adventurousness, ambition and refusal to compromise of The Dillinger Escape Plan". Music Connection Magazine named them in their top 25 new music picks of 2009. They have opened for acts such as Helmet and Bison BC, topped the CJSW Metal charts, and were nominated for 3 2010 Alberta Metal Awards, winning in the best album production category.

The project's founder and instrumentalist, Gustavo De Beauville, composes and records the music while singer Steve Moore (also of Post Death Soundtrack) writes the lyrics and vocal parts. In order to take their music from the studio to the stage, they have recruited three other professional Calgary musicians, solidifying The Unravelling's live line up. Having moved to Calgary from Barbados in 2006, Gus spent the greater part of 2007 composing the material for the first album. "Until meeting Steve in the fall of 2008 - I had not met any musicians who were this driven and hungry for progress. He definitely inspired me to be as industrious as I could in the pursuit of music." says De Beauville.

Their debut full length album "13 Arcane Hymns", a psycho-analytical concept album in the tradition of Pink Floyd's "The Wall", Nine Inch Nails's "The Downward Spiral" and Faith no More's "Angeldust", was released May 13, 2010. The album features many reoccurring lyrical themes, particularly the theme of being buried alive and presumed dead, then crawling your way out, and "moving forward". Metalunderground.com called the release "a surprising firebomb of an album", while Pitch Black Magazine called it "a 13-track emotional and industrial-infused metal masterpiece".



MySpace|Website|Facebook

Friday, November 26, 2010

New Band To Burn One To - Tanks

 
As Also seen on The Soda Shop

Tanks. They kill, they crush and they destroy. They're also the New band To Burn One To. This 4 piece plays some dirty southern hard rock. They're from Memphis, TN.
Amid the filthy din of hot vacuum tube amps and fuzz is movement. You can't quite put your finger on it, and suddenly it explodes out from underneath the mess of guitar cables and empty beer bottles and knocks you flat on your ass. When you wake up, you're in the emergency room, and the doctor informs you that you nearly died of alcohol poisoning. In other news, Tanks is a smooth jazz quartet. -nathan raab



Myspace / Facebook

CD Review: The Swamp Sessions

As seen on The Klepto's Guide:

I can't find a whole lot on this album, aside from the handful of blogs (both music news and download) that make a slight mention to it, but the Swamp Sessions are being compared as the European version (via Colour Haze) of The Desert Sessions. Although I haven't listened to much of The Desert Sessions (I really need too), the Swamp Sessions seem to follow the same line of desert rock, mixed with psychedelia. Six tracks come to almost one hour and twenty minutes of music (you can't get much more in an album), with the longest three tracks coming in at over thirty, twenty and ten minutes in length (respectively).

A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with Reg from this amazing blog about the difference in the generational understanding of stoner rock/metal. Where I don't have much patience with the 'traditional' stoner sounds of Kyuss, Yawning Man, or Sleep, I instead love the more 'modern' sounding stoner acts like Clutch, (new) Monster Magnet, and Ogre. Reg's review of Black Rainbows is what brought this up, and after thinking about it I have to agree with him. While I don't dislike the older acts (either in age or sound), it isn't my favorite style. Apparently I am a child of the new generation.

That being said, to me this album is all that is wrong with the desert/stoner rock of yesteryear. It is full of self perpetuating psychedelic stoner rock, which if you love that trippy feel, then you will probably love it. I feel that because I don't readily partake in the act of smoking pot, I don't get to properly enjoy albums such as this one. The songs here fall onto the sword that plagues many artists that attempt 20+ minutes of epic music; some of the segments are really good and groovy, while other sections become boring and tedious. There is no blend or balance and because of this, the album falls short of an epic stoner masterpiece. Each song has it's strong point, but it's muddled within several parts of experimental/avant-garde work strewn throughout, along with spoken word/soundbite parts. Styles and rhythms change randomly, with vocalists coming and leaving, all while a tripped out guitar solo plays. I wouldn't call it bad music, just not something I could listen through again.

I only found the Swamp Sessions by accident, and honestly it would have been ok with me if I had missed this one. It wasn't bad really, just not my style. They are for someone who likes is different style (or drug) then me; they are good for a trippy experience into your subconscious and that is all. Listen at your own risk.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! New Band To Eat Turkey To-Pilgrim Fathers

Happy Thanksgiving! The "New Band To Eat Turkey To" is appropriately called The Pilgrim Fathers.





















The Pilgrim Fathers are an experimental spaced-out stoner rock band from Nottingham, United Kingdom. Coming on like prog rock giants Hawkwind but in the heavier, post-Sunn 0))) world, the Nottingham, U.K., act Pilgrim Fathers rightfully declare their sound “music for astronauts to die to.”

The band toured the U.K. both solo and with 65daysofstatic before signing with the adventurous label Undergroove. In early 2008, BBC DJ Daniel P. Carter gave the band its big break when he world premiered the track “Gold, GOLD!” on the Radio 1 Rock Show.

They dropped their debut album, Short Circular Walks in the Hope Valley April 08’ followed soon after by the ‘Doctor Niall Bombast (black) and his Tight Minded Scope Trooper (dog)’ E.P in 2009 and more touring, including an eight week European outing with Nebula and Monster Magnet .

The band currently has some tunes up on their MySpace and Last.fm pages for you to check out.

Pilgrim Fathers are:

Shelf - Vox/ Effects.
Feg - Guitars.
Rafe - Guitars.
Sam Lloyd - Bass Guitar.
Kev Richardson - Drums.

What others are saying:

"Though this EP’s preposterous name (‘Dr Niall Bombast (Black) & His Tight Minded Scope Trooper (Dog)’) lets slip that these Nottingham prog-loons have a sense of humour, it’s nonetheless relieving when its 14-minute, 40-second title track turns out not to be a wearying mass of widdly solos and conceptual blather, but actually kind of fun. All clean, crunchy metallics and satisfyingly meaty crescendos – with just a soupcon of spacey electronic haze for contrast – this is prog at its most enjoyably visceral, least tediously art-school. Second track ‘Black Sail Pass’ doesn’t leave quite such an impression, but the concluding ‘The Unusual Woods’ really makes the EP, a loose, pagan-folk boogie, electronics heaved overboard in favour of the type of menacing harmonies and swampy brass that’d have Nick Cave twiddling his moustache in approval."-Andrzej Lukowski (Rocksound.tv)



MySpace|Facebook|Last.fm|Website

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

New Band To Burn One To - Tilts

 
As also seen on The Soda Shop

St. Louis is known for many things. Beer (the most important), Cardinals baseball, Blues hockey (Go Hawks) and of course the St. Louis Arch. The next New Band To Bun One To is also from St. Louis. The band is called the Tilts. This four piece plays a wicked style of classic rock.They remind me a little bit of Queen, some Led Zeppelin, some Humble Pie and even The Who. To date the band has released 3 EPs all within a year. The latest, Contractors to Her Majesty's Forces, was just released last week. It's quite the accomplishment for a band that formed in the summer of 2009. To get together and record and publish as much as they have. It shows that they are in it for the love of the music and they enjoy doing it. It really shows and comes out in their sound.

There isn't much for a bio on the band but here's what they have on their Facebook page:
The dudes of Tilts have known each other a very long time. Long enough to be like brothers n' such. Features ex-members of Shame Club, Riddle of Steel, and current members of Gold Tooth, The Balloons, The Lovely Lads, Avalon Chimney and Lamar Latrell among many others.
You can sample their tunes on Bandcamp and Myspace. If you want to get your own copy, contact the band and they'll let you know how to do so.


Myspace/Bandcamp/Facebook/Blogspot

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

New Band To Burn One To-Them Martyrs

The "New Band To Burn One To" today is Them Martyrs.


























Them Martyrs is a progressive, post-metal, post-hardcore band from Galway City, Ireland. The music is fierce, apocalyptic and in-your-face. If you don't mind the screaming-style vocal delivery then you will definitely enjoy this band's music. I must be honest, I am not a big fan of that vocal style, but for some reason it did not bother me. The two tracks that standout most to me on the EP "French Extremity" are "Laying Still" and "Pink Luggage". This music is not really my cup of tea but I found some parts to be a bit intriguing. If you like bands such as Botch, Dillinger Escape Plan, and Isis, you more than likely will enjoy Them Martyrs. You can enjoy these songs as well on the band's Bandcamp site.

Bio:

The band came to light in Galway in April 2006 under the name Les ChristPunchers, where we proceeded to write music to please ourselves and play anywhere we could. After the release of our demo 'Fuck Your Your Yankee Blue Jeans' we went on the road touring Ireland and the UK playing with some great acts.

Spent the next year writing new songs, playing around Ireland, supporting bands such as Comeback Kid, Verse, ON. . .

In 2008 we recorded in The Hive, Kilcoole. We headed to France and played some shows with the excellent French post-hardcore noise mongers Gary Suicidal Kids Commando who also came and did an Irish tour with us last August.

Since the tour the band name changed names to Them Martyrs and the line-up changed to include Gavin (ex-The Boy You Hit is Dead/ex-Summer Disease) adding an extra layer of guitar violence to the band's sound along with creative input.

In April 2010, we headed back to France and recorded our new EP, which seemed fitting to call it - French Extremity. We will be releasing the cd in October and doing some irish shows to support it. In December we will be going to Italy for a short tour.

The band started off as a fast punk hardcore band but has become a more progressive, heavy sounding band stretching out the songs from the oldschool 30 seconds to the newer 4 minute epics.




MySpace|Facebook|Bandcamp

Monday, November 22, 2010

CD Review: VRSA - Old Man Gray

As seen on The Klepto's Guide:

VRSA comes to me via Reg here at Heavy Planet, after hearing of my love of all things stoner and doom. I tip my hat to him for this interesting foray into doom, stoner, and the un-understandable.

VRSA is a hard band to categorize, although everyone (on the net) calls them some form of doom, it's not the first thing I would think of. I mean that I can definitely hear the doom influences, and even the occasional spattering of stoner throughout (although I wouldn't call them a stoner band either), it's just not what I would expect to hear when handed a 'doom' album. It's almost like alternative doom, or dark metal or something....I can't classify it. The nearest comparison in style and sound is that of Baroness - but even that is a loose one. Certain sounds, styles and tracks (especially close to the end) do bring Baroness to mind, but only for a moment; then the group dives into another direction and the feeling is lost.

Old Man Gray is a mash-up of slow (but not doom), and fast (but not real fast) guitars, with drum beats to match. The fourth track, "Episonic," is the key example of this, one guitar plays a mellow lick repeatedly while the other guitar - with the help of the set - chime in periodically with a up-tempo chord bit, then fade out, then back in again; followed by a semi-breakdown section where all the instruments come together at the quicker tempo for a combined jam. It works pretty damn well (also no lyrics on this one).
The lyrics themselves are multi-focused, with some songs having clean vocals, others with a splash of growl. Some tracks focus the singer in the foreground, with his words crisp and clean; while others have it faded more into the background, battling with the guitars for center stage. It sounds really weird - which it is - but it works great for them.
At about the halfway point the album takes an interesting spin; it begins to sound more like a traditional doom album, and in the same token, becomes mostly instrumental. In a move that is reminiscent of Baroness, of the last five tracks (starting with "Quaalude"), only two have any real lyrics to them (the others have some sound bits spiked in occasionally), and even within those the vocals are pushed to the back. The strange thing is that is is the band's strongest section, where the instrumentals do tend to get a tad tedious, but the couple of vocalized tracks are good displays of the odd doom/post-metal that VRSA has been attempting for the entire album. They try to follow in the sludge/ambient wake of Baroness (the best comparison I can think of), but don't pull it off as well

This album is good, not great, but good. I can't put my finger on what they do well or bad, but sometimes you don't need to. This is kind of a crap review/introduction to VRSA, but I can't pinpoint anything about the album; it's style, what makes it good, what stands out, it's all a swirling, living creature of an album, and while it may chew up your favorite pair of shoes, you still love it.

MySpace|Facebook

New Band To Burn One To - Matterhorn

 
As Also seen on The Soda Shop
These guys were featured a few days ago. There was a mis communication between Reg and myself. The first article can be viewed HERE. I liked these guys enough that I decided to keep my article and give them a little more time in the spotlight. Reg has his version, here's mine.

About MATTERHORN:
The wilds of Colorado brought forth the three men of Matterhorn. Daniel Harvey, Jeremy Grobsmith and Aaron Retka have played together for a decade, first in the tech-violence quartet The Great Redneck Hope, whose two full-lengths remain required listening for the genre. Now, as Matterhorn, they've condensed into a thundering instrumental three-piece, relying on low-grade musical telepathy and a collective half-century of musical experience. Matterhorn's debut release, Vol. 1. The world began without man ... is the first part of a diptych of theme albums, Vol. 1. providing a bleak and scientifically plausible series of events that rinse life from the Earth. (Vol. 2 will pick up where Vol. 1 leaves off.) Over the course of the album, Matterhorn provides a auditory tour of the end of man, alternately blistering and mild, bombastic and stark. This, along with their explosive live show, should do well in helping secure their legacy.
These guys will have a must have album in the genre in 2011. If you're a fan of bands such as Converge, Baroness, Mastodon, Isis, Pelican, Russian Circles, High On Fire or Eyehategod, you won't want to miss these guys. Their song on Myspace is epic, fast, heavy and bone crushing. Please don't listen late at night or around the young and elderly. The music whips you up into a frenzy, an instant mosh if you will. You're bound to hurt the weak. I'm not even going to mention the track on Facebook. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Free Downloads From Exhilarate Records

Tom from Exhilarate Records sent along a few new releases for you guys to download for free. Check them out!


























Band name(s): 'Various Artists'

Album: 'Beware the Gelatinous Gloop Compilation'
Genre: Doom/Drone/Sludge/Stoner/Noise/Black/Death/Progressive/Industrial

Track Listing:


Part 1 - Tracks 1-11

01. Ophis 'The Halls of Sorrow'
02. Hiram 'Peering Over the Shoulder of Admiral Piri-Reis'
03. The Machete Massacre 'Kingdom of Sin'
04. Bitterdusk 'Amanecer De La Galaxi'
05. Fall of Empyrean 'In the Shadows of the Sun'
06. Funeral Hag 'Nellie Longarms'
07. Zatokrev 'Story of a Thousand'
08. Enos 'Back to Earth'
09. Grief's Exquisite Veil 'Sleep's Caress'
10. Hopkins 'Permutations'
11. Dopefight 'Nob.Nod.Noi'

Part 2 - Tracks 12-22

12. Sombre Nocturne 'Shattered Fields'
13. Tovarish 'Laika'
14. Blame Keiko 'Everything & Nothing'
15. The Way of Purity 'Sinner'
16. Circus of Damnation 'In Speciem Cadaveris'
17. Plaguewitch 'Aarka'
18. John Halifax 'Robust'
19. Merciless Precision 'Suffer (live at the Zeneth)'
20. Normalman 'Flamingo Land'
21. Drug Honkey 'The Others'
22. Brown & Benbow 'Dog Waste'

Download links:

Tracks 1-11: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?44zy2scgrwmay91

Tracks 12-22: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?cu8oy9enpe246v2
 
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Band Name(s): Blame Keiko/Purple Magic

Album: Blame Keiko/Purple Magic split
Genre: Doom/Sludge/Stoner/Psychedelic/Ambient/Progressive

Track Listing:

01. Blame Keiko - Everything & Nothing
02. Blame Keiko - Seas of Giants
03. Purple Magic - Lichen
04. Purple Magic - Protozoique
05. Purple Magic - Surprise Surprise

Download link: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?ncn5b7n914l3trz

Purchase link:
http://www.shopcreator.com/mall/productpage.cfm/ExhilarateRecords/_BLAMEK002/351134/Blame%20Keiko%2FPurple%20Magic%20Split%20Cassette
 
Bio:

Blame Keiko started out as a one man project at the beginning of 2010 before progressing into a Two-Piece Stoner/Sludge/Doom inspired Noise Rock band. By August 2010 Blame Keiko once more became a one man project. The sound originated from the lovely county of Shakespeare in the United Kingdom and is a fuse of avant-garde, windy progressive rock, ambience and down-tempo doom/sludge/drone influenced vibes, featuring Guitarist & Gizmo artist - Thomas Garner and also saw Drummer & Broken Mic Vocalist - Thomas Brill in the past. Blame Keiko is a heart straining spiral of noise, noise rock, punk ethos, dirge and art.

Exhilarate Records|Blame Keiko|Purple Magic

Swedish Sunday – Skånska Mord

As seen on The Soda Shop.

Sunday starts the week off for many and it’s no different here at The Soda Shop. Today’s featured Swedish band is Small Stone’s own Skånska Mord. While they’re a new band, the fellas in the band are no freshmen to the music scene. Read on.


Bio via Small Stone:

Klippa och rulla. If one were to translate “Rock and Roll” into Swedish that’s what you’d get. Translate it back and things get a little dicey. Mow and wheel; not quite a literal translation if ever there was one. Strangely, not the worst way to describe Sweden’s Skånska Mord. Fuzzed out psychedelica, the likes of which hasn’t been heard since the heyday of real rock in the 70’s, oozes from the amps and tears across the landscape like some kind of lawnmower on acid. The world starts to spin; everything goes black and then several shades of purple. All that, and then the songs kick in…

Continue reading ‘Swedish Sunday – Skånska Mord’

CD Review:As We Draw-Lines Breaking Circles

As We Draw – Lines Breaking Circles

CD Review courtesy of Zac Boda

























I am very lucky to have the chance to review As We Draw’s “Lines Breaking Circles”. First, I want to express that this review will be very different from my past reviews. This style of music and album cannot be broken down into songs. This is not for the slight of heart. This album is a challenge, experience, and a journey through a violent storm. I was introduced to this trio from Laval, France with this subject line, “Review of probably the best post metal release of the year?” Needless to say, my hopes were set high simply from receiving this email. As We Draw brings memories of my early experiences with Pelican, Isis, and Neurosis. If you truly dedicate sometime and attention to listen (I mean really listen) you will walk away fulfilled. I cannot describe a high or low point of the album; it simply flows and crashes against gargantuan waves of a stormy sea. I love the album artwork; it truly fits the adventure you are preparing to set upon. I feel I am looking out the port side window of our ship, and all I see are the waves crashing against us. Enough of my ranting, if you are a fan of post, avant garde, music you absolutely have to give these guys a listen (hell they are giving the album away free). I hope you enjoy as I have. Well done AWD, well done.

If I have to “grade” this album: 4.5 out of 5

Bio:

As if you haven't had enough of these Isis, Cult Of Luna cocksuckers, with their so-called cheesy parts and badass cathartic sonic explosions... Of course, one can wonder about the relevence of playing some post-metal in 2010. But when it's done with such talent, such faith as these three young guys from Laval, either you take your hat off to them, or either your heart is made of dog food. «Lines Breaking Circles», is made for those who are still crying over Breach's split and years when Cult Of Luna still made you have a boner. This is quite a severe reproof to all those who spend more time twitting their promo photos than polishing their art in the studio. These guys are true workaholics and such gifted aesthetes that they're starting to get sickening. Especially knowing that they can kick your ass on stage as well as on your turntable. But you can't really hate them, can you? Not when you listen to these killer choruses sponsored by Kleenex on «Scum Of The Earth» or those huge slaps on «Draft» or again... Alright, enough of this, you already got that it is the same deal as their buddies from Birds In Row : LAVAL EQUALS LIFE.

Details:

• Artwork by Bart «Hello, I Am Unemployed» & Amaury Sauvé
• Graphic conception by Amaury Sauvé
• Recorded live by Amaury Sauvé & Sylvain Biguet
• Mixed by Sylvain Biguet
• Screeprinted & assembled by the band & Birds In Row
• Mastered by Alan Douches (Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan...)
• Available (pack LP+CD only) on Throatruiner Records (FR), Free Edge (FR), Demon Spawn (DE), Dare The Divine (CZ) & Guranje S Litice (CZ)  300 copies pressed (100 white 12’’, 200 black 12’’)

Label|MySpace|Bandcamp

Saturday, November 20, 2010

CD Review: Goliathon - Without Further Ado

 
As also seen on The Soda Shop
These guys were the very first New Band To Burn One to that I wrote about. They are Indianapolis' own Goliathon. Their debut album, Without further Ado is one strong album. Actually that's a bit of an understatement. It's pretty fucking good, stoned, drunk or sober. The sound is stoner and classic rock with jazz and blues elements. The album flows nicely from the first track to the last. There's no big gaps, just one continuous flow. Singer Chris Probasco has a voice similar to a harder rocking Chris Robinson.

The album opens with "Juqus Harpus' which is a cool classic rock number with a few guitar solos and instrumentals. It rolls right into the next song, "Justice is Blind."

Thursday, November 18, 2010

New Band To Burn One To-Slugstain

The "New Band To Burn One To" is Slugstain.


These Finnish doom rockers weave sledgehammer riffs with powerful grooves and a snarling Lemmy-like vocal delivery. Slugstain is seriously inspired and shamelessly influenced by Black Sabbath, Cathedral, Trouble, Danzig, The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Witchfinder General and Pentagram. They don't have the need to reinvent the wheel, it's all about the power of the dark riff!

Formed at the beginning of 2010 the band has already been busy at work recording songs. You can check out 4 songs they have available on their MySpace page.

What others are saying:

With a four track demo, SLUGSTAIN made a good start to the heavy doom scene. Hailing from Finland, they have nothing in common with the NWoWD (New Wave Of Weepy Doom), for which I am very grateful to the band. Instead, SLUGSTAIN place greater value on aggressive, mid-paced songs. All four tunes are saturated with blues and rock 'n' roll and completely free of melodramatic dissipations. Usually, I am used to receive this kind of doom from the USA, but definitely not from Finland. It is good to know that there are young musicians around who are not interested in imitating their fellow countrymen of the criminally overrated Reverend Bizarre. But in general, SLUGSTAIN draw influences from various sources, not just from the usual suspects such as Saint Vitus, Pentagram or Candlemass. Tough one hears some Trouble in 'Howlin' Susie' and 'Urban Hermit', they also integrate elements from later Entombed and Danzig. What matters is that it's heavy, and this demo is h-e-a-v-y.

Consequently, SLUGSTAIN would rather fit into a Hells Angels movie than in a gothic cathedral. In particular, vocalist Olli Onkamo sounds like a 60-years old grimly looking biker who spent half of his lifetime on the highways between Texas and North Dakota, but perhaps he is only gargling razorblades with rum. His voice is definitely pretty heavy and is a perfect complement to the filthy metal-soaked licks and riffs of guitarist Janne Savalainen. Needless to say, that each songs is black as night, whereas the consistency is comparable to fresh, black tar. If one considers that the band was founded in 2010, then it is remarkable how much experienced they sound. Even the production is extremely proffesional as well as the whole package. I'm looking fowrard to hear more material, because SLUGSTAIN show a lots of potential. They don't change the world, but will probably kick your ass.-CosmicLava.com



MySpace|Facebook

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

New Band To Burn One To - Birds of Avalon

 
As also seen on The Soda Shop
Raleigh NC’s BIRDS OF AVALON was formed after guitarists Paul Siler and Cheetie Kumar split from The Cherry Valence to join forces with vocalist, Craig Tilley, and bassist, David Mueller. They soon enlisted Chapel Hill drummer/artist Scott Nurkin and quickly made a name for themselves with relentless touring in support of their ’07 Volcom debut Bazaar Bazaar, 08’s follow-up EP Outer Upper Inner and their final album for Volcom in ’09's Uncanny Valley.

Having spent the better part of the past three years on the road with the likes of The Racontuers, The Flaming Lips, Black Mountain, The Fucking Champs, Mudhoney, Monotonix, and Ted Leo, BIRDS OF AVALON are road vets - a band's band with one of the best live rock shows going.

Much of 2010 has been a transitional time for the group. Paul and Cheetie, along with co-owners Steve Popson (Polvo) and Ben Barwick (Ashley Stove), re-opened legendary live venue Kings Barcade. Siler also kept busy booking Raleigh's inaugural and highly successful Hopscotch Music Festival. All this on the heels of the amicable departure of vocalist Craig Tilley afforded the band an opportunity to re-evaluate and evolve their sound with a focus on group harmonies and a freer approach to writing and performing.
The Birds of Avalon are no newbies as you've just read. They're about to unleash their 4th album on January 11th, 2011, a self titled effort. Upon a quick listen, it's a mellow psychedelic rock album. Look for a review soon. In the mean time, check out their songs on Myspace, become a fan on Facebook to keep up with all the news with the band.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

New Band To Burn One To-Matterhorn

The "New Band To Burn One To" today is Matterhorn.

























Matterhorn releases their bludgeoning down-tempo post-rock instrumental aural assault on you from the Rockie mountains of Colorado. If you worship bands such as Converge, Baroness, Mastodon, Isis, Pelican, Russian Circles, and High On Fire then Matterhorn is right up your alley. As the band prepares to release their first full-length album for Thinker Thought Records on 1/4/11, they have made available a few songs for for your listening pleasure.

"Stage One: Long Valley Caldera, 8:32 a.m."
"Stage Three: The Currents"

About Matterhorn:

The wilds of Colorado brought forth the three men of Matterhorn. Daniel Harvey, Jeremy Grobsmith and Aaron Retka have played together for a decade, first in the tech-violence quartet The Great Redneck Hope, whose two full-lengths remain required listening for the genre. Now, as Matterhorn, they've condensed into a thundering instrumental three-piece, relying on low-grade musical telepathy and a collective half-century of musical experience. Matterhorn's debut release, Vol. 1. The world began without man ... is the first part of a diptych of theme albums, Vol. 1. providing a bleak and scientifically plausible series of events that rinse life from the Earth. (Vol. 2 will pick up where Vol. 1 leaves off.) Over the course of the album, Matterhorn provides an auditory tour of the end of man, alternately blistering and mild, bombastic and stark. This, along with their explosive live show, should do well in helping secure their legacy.

MySpace|Facebook

Monday, November 15, 2010

New Band To Burn One To - ÖfÖ AM

 
As Also seen on The Soda Shop
ÖfÖ Am was born as a jam band in 2007 in order to play one gig a year.
For their second gig, in 2008, Tony Bröke replaced guitarist Barbaryann them and they decided to give the band a chance to live as a real one.
After a summer of rehearsing, the band records with former guitarist Barbaryann Bouloiseau (who also recorded Superbeatnik's album) 6 tracks that will be released right after by Head Records as a 10' vinyl.
If started as a side project (at that time, Tony plays drums in Stony Broke and Illegal Process and Nico is Superbeatnik's bassist/singer), it becomes clear that ÖfÖ Am is also a really personal project as the three feel totally free to create whatever they ever wanted without limitation as they know each other for about 15 years and there are no complexes in their relationship.
The three quickly decide to remain instrumental, for them it's a new way to work on their music and it allows more freedom in tracks construction.
About a hundred gigs later, during december 2009 they cross the road of Karma to Burn (stoner rock legends – USA) and decide to share a 7'' split together, the disc will be released in march 2010 by Napalm Records (Monster Magnet, Grave Digger...).
These guys have some seriously good instrumental stoner rock. There's no reason why you shouldn't have already been listening to these guys to begin with. If you haven't, well you have no excuse now. Their influences are Motorhead, Kyuss, Hermano, Fu Manchu and Nebula among others. Check them out and make sure you order your copy of the split with Karma to Burn

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Swedish Sunday-Dead Man

As originally seen on The Soda Shop.



















Today marks the 10th week of Swedish Sunday. Time flies by when you have all of this great music surrounding you. As always, we must thank the Swedes for putting out such great music that deserves special recognition. This week’s artist is somewhat of a supergroup like last week’s artist, Greenleaf. Without further ado, I introduce this week’s band out of Örebro, Dead Man.


From Crusher Records‘ band page:

It all started as an experiment in 2003. Four musicians from Örebro, Sweden decided to pool their talents and it didn’t take long before a new band was formed. Soon after, the moniker DEAD MAN was chosen and the band sprung to life. With each member possessing a wealth of musical experience derived from time spent in various Swedish acts (including the hard rock band NORRSKEN, which featured in its ranks current WITCHCRAFT front man Magnus Pelander, GRAVEYARD members Joakim Nilsson and bassist Rikard Edlund and DEAD MAN’s Kristoffer Sjödahl), the band put their psychedelic, folk and hard rock influences into a pot and began to stir. Within a few weeks of forming, the quartet’s intense songwriting chemistry generated a solid set of hard-hitting, memorable songs.

The first result of the brew was a mysterious 7” that started to appear in the record collections of stoner and hippie fanatics worldwide titled Ship Ahoy! / Thousand Mile Stare. The reaction was immediate and music fans (especially those who had already seen the band’s dynamic live performances) began craving more than just the two teasers songs on the already hard-to-find record. With a number of live gigs now under their belts, the next natural step was to start recording a full-length album. So DEAD MAN snuck into the famous Svenska Grammofon Studion (Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Hives) and began to work.

In early 2006, with a fresh set of songs in hand, DEAD MAN was set to release their debut album. Released via Sweden’s Crusher Records, Dead Man was praised by magazines like Rock Hard, Rumore and Metal Hammer, among others. Blending exciting, colorful musicianship with an unforgettable vocal delivery very much like vintage Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane, the band was described as “a top notch group, one of the very few out there”. The album’s release and the great reviews were followed up by gigs at the best venues in the capitals of Scandinavia.

In mid 2007, DEAD MAN once again entered the studio to record their second album. If their self-titled debut just the eye-opening introduction, DEAD MAN has certainly awakened the slumbering Scandinavian rock scene with Euphoria…While DEAD MAN’s debut album made a huge impact on stoner and progressive rock fanatics, Euphoria will take the band far away from being labeled as an underground band and will establish them as a genuinely great rock band, plain and simple. Euphoria is a psychedelic folk-rock trip brewed together with the essence of darker and heavier sounds.

Continue reading more here...

Hollow Leg: Two-Man Band From the Florida Swamplands

























There has been a tremendous buzz about Jacksonville, FL band Hollow Leg as of late. This two-man band consisting of Guitarist/vocalist Brent and Drummer Tim transplanted from the Boston area to the Sunny state of Florida. While in the Boston area the two cut their teeth on the local Punk and Hardcore scene. Once the two arrived in Florida they began to incorporate some Stoner/Sludge elements into their sound a la Orange Goblin, Bongzilla and Cavity. The band has just released their first full-length "Instinct" via their Bandcamp site and believe me the band does not disappoint. Do not let the lack of musicians deter you from listening to this release. Each song on the album bellows crushing riffs in a sludge-like fashion while Brent barks his vocal at you. For the most part the songs are all played at the same tempo, slow but not dirge. The band does manage to speed things up a bit on the track "The Return". On the last song on the album, "Wayside" which is an instrumental, the band throws in a nice bluesy acoustic guitar reminding one of the swamp sludge influence. I found myself continuously hitting the repeat button because I just couldn't let go of the groove.

MySpace|Bandcamp|Facebook

The Good About sHEAVY

...And it is good

As seen on The Klepto's Guide:

So far the only real thing I've told you lot about sHEAVY has been a video of their song "Savannah" (which indecently, is the song I have stuck in my head right now, which made me want to write this article), so I'll give a little bit more information about the group:
The band is from Canada, and formed as many bands do; with the intent of doing covers of their favorite bands - in this case Kyuss. After some time and a name change (originally being called Green Machine) they started writing original songs and put them onto the EPs Reproduction and Slaves To Fashion. Many of these songs made it onto their first LP, Blue Sky Mind, released in 1996. They got a record deal, and followed these releases with seven full-lengths, with two being released this year alone.

Their sound is often equated with that of Black Sabbath, and for good reason. Out of all the bands that are named the followers of the group, sHEAVY is by far the closest representation I have heard. Their music (more in the beginning of their career) is slow and methodical, and the singer, Steve Hennessey, has an oddly high-pitched/almost winy voice ala Ozzy Osbourne. While their lyrical content isn't all about horror and death, there still are plenty of references to the occult, or demons, or doom; negativity isn't just what the group is all about.
In their more recent releases, The Golden Age of Daredevils, Disfigurine, and to a certain extent The Machine That Won the War, has seen the band's sound shift into a more standard, groove-laden, stoner style. It's still good, but it's not what the band started with. My favorite albums are in the group's early years, The Electric Sleep, and Celestial Hi-Fi (and to a certain extent The Machine That Won the War) are my favorites. I think Blue-Sky Mind is just ok, where the band was discovering their sound, and Synchronized is another strong effort, but I find Republic? to be downright boring. The Machine That Won the War is the beginning of the new sound, as I stated above, that was continued on with the two releases this year.

About the two releases in 2010, the band had planned to release Disfigurine, as it did, but The Golden Age of Daredevils was a bit more impromptu. The group decided to join in on the RPM Challenge, an open-ended challenge (there is no winner) of artists and bands to write and record an entire albums - at least either 10 songs for 35 minutes - during the month of February. The tracks from this 'competition' were what would eventually be released as The Golden Age of Daredevils. I've heard of other group's taking part in this event, most notably Snailface (another great stoner band, and a side-project from the sludge metal band Kowloon Walled City), and I am a big fan of this project. I wish there was a way to hear more of the music from this event, or on the other end, I wish more of the bands I love would try this all out. I think it's cool to semi-force bands (they force themselves) to put out new music at least once a year. If I had the ability, I would do this.

Here is a long list of my favorite songs by sHEAVY, for the causal listener to enjoy:
The Electric Sleep - "Virtual Machine" "Velvet" "Electric Sleep" "Born in a Daze" "Savannah"
Celestial Hi-Fi - "Hyperfaster" "Strange Gods, Strange Altars" "Celestial Hi-Fi" "Persona"
The Machine That Won The War - "Demon Soldiers" "Aboard the Mothership" "Lords of Radiation"
Blue Sky Mind and Synchronized, while good, really has no songs that jump out above the rest, and as I said before I did not like Republic? I am also waiting to listen to the 2010 albums a couple of more times, to truly choose the best songs from the pair. At this point they only have one listen apiece.

sHEAVY, a relative newcomer for me, is fast becoming one of my favorite bands. Whenever any of the above listed tracks pop up on my iPod, I can't help but smile and rock out. While I don't necessarily agree with the path the band has taken with their newest releases, they are still putting out great music, and I hope 2011 holds three releases from the group!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Desert Rock From Cincinnati-Valley Of The Sun

























You wouldn't exactly think of Cincinnati as a place to find Desert Rock, but Valley of the Sun has accumulated a legion of fans begging for the Kyuss-influenced band by playing to near capacity crowds around the many local bars and venues as well as garnering a spot on the upcoming November 14th show with Priestess and Naam at the Mad Hatter in Covington, KY.

Citing influences ranging from the aforementioned Kyuss to Black Flag, the band manages to combine a nice blend of typical Stoner Rock grooves with a little bit of a punk mentality and a nice retro classic rock feel. The band has made their most recent EP "Two Thousand Ten" available for free download on their Bandcamp page.

What others are saying:

"The Ohio four-piece use: amps, drums, and rock and roll, to create five tracks of fast-growl stoner-boogie. A love of British psychedelia and desert rock results in a stoner-metal sound that Blue Cheer and Sabbath first pioneered, and a genre that thousands of bands have attempted to perfect ever since. On first listen, it is an easy to dismiss this EP, as it does absolutely nothing new. However, as the octaves bleed and the fuzz starts to drain through the amps, a short slab of 70’s guitar-thunder unfolds. ‘Centaur Rodeo’ is an elemental blast of old-school rock escapism, earning every grunt and howl. Drummer Aaron Boyer keeps things moving admirably, throwing in all sorts of berserker fills, as Casey Beagle and Ryan Ferrier take care of the riffs. Considering that the Cincinnati retro-rockers only got together in June, they have already secured shows with Priestess and Naam. Valley of the Sun stride through this EP with swagger and assurance."-Chybucca Sounds

"Ohio doesn’t churn out to many bad bands these days and the next one is no exception. The band is Valley of the Sun and they’re from Cincinnati. The midwest, as many know, is usually cloudy and almost gloomy this time of the year, Valley of the Sun lights it up. There isn’t a gloomy thing about their heavy stoner rock. I can hear influences such as Dozer, Truckfighters and Deep Purple. Very cool stuff indeed. There’s 5 songs on this just released EP."-The Soda Shop


Bandcamp|MySpace|ReverbNation|Facebook

Friday, November 12, 2010

New Band To Burn One To - Doperman

 
As also seen on The Soda Shop

Finland is the home of a lot of things. (via Wikipedia) The country tops continuously the international comparisons of national performance. Finland ranks the best country in the world in the 2010 Newsweek survey based on health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life. Finland has also been ranked the second most stable country in the world[9] and the first in the 2009 Legatum Prosperity rating. In 2010, the World Economic Forum deemed Finland the 7th most competitive country in the world. They're also going to be known for the next New Band To Burn One To. Doperman.

These guys describe themselves as a mix between metal and stoner with some progressive. It's pretty damn accurate. They list their influences as Clutch, Down and The Marshall Tucker Band among others.
The Band is called Doperman and comes from FInland. Formed in 2008 but the band really 'activated' after paths crossed with Thomas Vee who was available since he had gotten fired from Iconofear and Roddick Bleu.The songs started quickly to assemble on their places.

The cast of characters is : Jani
Lehikoine - Guitar
Tuomas Kujala - Drums
Marko Väätäinen - Bass
Thomas Vee on guitar & vocals.

The music is somewhere between metal and stoner rock, perhaps a little progressive influences too. Music is done together and thomas mainly writes the lyrics and arranges the vocals. All the guys are between 28-34 so everyone has played in many bands during the years, and Thomas Vee has also recorded some quest vocals with the band Sear.

Couple gigs are behind and more will come during the winter. There is also a plan to record a full-length album to be released 2011.
The band has a handful of tracks for sampling on their Myspace page. If you like what you hear, you can order their EP. Details on ordering can be found on their Myspace page.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Free E-Book Downloads From Ryan Bartek

If anyone is looking for some interesting reading, this dude named Ryan Bartek has made available a couple of books he wrote as free downloads. The first book is "The Big Shiny Prison" which is a nonfiction road epic about fringe subculture & extreme metal journalism and the second is "The Silent Burning" which is about as metal a book could ever be without directly being “about” metal, per se.

Some of you might already be familiar with Ryan's writing anyway, as he has long been a metal journalist (Metal Maniacs, PIT Magazine, Hails & Horns + dozens of international webzines). He's also been in a slew of metal bands over the years and has toured nationally.

On surface “THE SILENT BURNING” is basically a scattered anthology about growing up in Detroit, but at core, it’s an anti-speech for the ages. No stone is left unturned – Columbine, occultism, pan-tribalism, zombies, psychedelics, madness, drug abuse, black comedy, al Qaeda, anarchism, punk rock, lunatic cops, bullshit cinema, heavy metal – all presented in a surrealistic fashion that will appeal to fans of Burroughs, Celine, Bukowski, Pessoa, Henry Miller, Lautreamont, etc.

It’s a tough book to describe because it has no direct comparison. It is also an extremely “hard sell” because it is so fanatically anti-commercial & jarringly shocking (to some). Furthermore, its audience are those who rarely read – but the second this book is put in front of them and they just skim through the pages, 9 times out of 10 they read half the book in one sitting. Honestly, no propagandizing.

Originally released on January 5th 2005 by Elitist Publications, “THE SILENT BURNING” was quickly pulled from stores because of its highly confrontational, raw & offensive nature. “THE SILENT BURNING” went on to become a legitimate cult phenomenon, with original copies appearing on e-bay for an upwards of $80.

Written for the sole purpose of brutal self therapy, “THE SILENT BURNING” is a take no prisoners account of bi-polar depression from the grim bowels of Detroit. Created during supreme hopelessness (circa 1998-2002), “THE SILENT BURNING” is a ruthless anti-speech that supremely capsizes the Post-Cobain/Pre-Columbine “Dark Generation” who soon grew into adulthood watching “Fight Club” one too many times.

Somewhere between “The Wall,” “The Downward Spiral” & every Napalm Death album, “THE SILENT BURNING” is a nexus of black humor so callous no one is quite sure if they are even supposed to laugh. It is essentially a mammoth poem fragmented into a quasi-anthology, featuring over 70 vignettes, soliloquies, dream narratives, journal entries, poems, rants & misanthropic outbursts.

On July 4th Ryan released his entire music discography for free (5 albums), all of which were Detroit-centric groups: A.K.A. MABUS, SASQUATCH AGNOSTIC & his acoustic project JACK CASSADY, which he nationally tours as.

View & Download “THE SILENT BURNING”

View & Download “THE BIG SHINY PRISON”

Download the music discography here



What others are saying:

“One of the most interesting, and perhaps honest, books of the last decade."-1340MAG.com

“This deeply personal memoir, one of many, as well as his views on racism, abortion, and drugs speak volumes about Bartek’s ability to analyze society from the perspective of someone who isn’t from the privileged class. From his disadvantageous upbringing, he has developed a brutal style of analysis, buttressed by an in-depth knowledge about innumerable subjects, qualifying him to speak for his generation…”-The Satanic Inquisition

“In many ways, ‘The Silent Burning’ reads like a counter-culture manifesto, an underground guide to the rebellion. Paranoia, anger and self-preservation guide Ryan Bartek’s decrees, which he operates in the same clobbering, sarcastic vein of Kerouac as he does Chuck D. Bartek rants to his hearts content, and his heart is blackened like the underbelly of hell.”-PIT Magazine

“Bartek slams you upon entering and like the ball in a pinball machine you are flicked aggressively from heartrending childhood story to barely coherent hate filled manifesto to disjointed poem to intelligently articulated commentary… This book is for those who are simmering with the anger of repression and persecution, and for those who want to understand them without judging. It also touches those of us who maintain a less hostile attitude towards society, but are just as disgusted with the mainstream version of reality.”-Clamor Magazine

“The Silent Burning is a postmodern polemic, a schizophrenic society, and a hyper charged imagination reflected in a funhouse mirror, populated by a narrator looking for something approaching understanding, but finding a head-on-collision with the world instead… You’re left with blood on the floor and screams ringing in your ears- but also a great deal of truth, if you can stand to look at it.”-JAM RAG

MySpace (Ryan Bartek)|MySpace (Big Shiny Prison)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

New Band To Burn One To - Dogs of Fortune

 
As also seen on The Soda Shop

From the mighty Chicago, Illinois (my hometown thank you very much) comes a new band called Dogs of Fortune.
Dogs of Fortune is a Wrecking Ball of Sonic Euphoria! Be it Bobby "Mandangelow" Clawson's swift anvils skin hits or his rhythmic twin Nick "Ba-Boom" Fanes Mammoth Tusk Squeeze Bass lines, you hips and neck will not be stationary! Soaring Synth Flute lines and Sultry Sax Seques are foaming from the mouth of Joe "the Rock" La Rocca! Finishng up the auditory canvas is Myrrick "Jesus Presley" Liontonia on Buzzsaw Guitar and Frontman Snarl and Wail!!! The Dogs of Fortune look for the the next audience to join the pack in search of Truth, Justice, and the Canine Way!
There isn't much to go by with these guys, they only have 3 songs on their Myspace page. However, things are promising. Their style is a little bit of stoner, a little bit of 70's ala Cream and a little weird vocally but still very cool indeed. They list some of their influences as Queens of the Stone Age, King Crimson, Kyuss, Rush and Soundgarden among others. I can see myself getting into these cats, er, Dogs at a show or listening to an album when one is available. Check them out for yourself and see. Let us know what you think in the comments.



Tuesday, November 9, 2010

New Band To Burn One To-Lost Coves

















The "New Band To Burn One To" today is Lost Coves. Lost Coves are a trippy psychedelic rock band from Brooklyn, NY. Upon first listen to the track "Dead Weight", I knew that listening to the rest of the EP would be an interesting trip. Consisting of only 2 band members: Dylan on Bass and Bill on Drums, the two manage to compel the listener with their strange rhythms and adventurous form of psychedelia. I personally cannot peg any one genre on these guys but their bio below pretty much sums it up. Enjoy the trip!

"Lost Coves stems from boredom and ambition colliding at monumental trajectories. And so we make music. We don't really write songs as much as build movements based on rhythm, feedback and melody. Think Melvins and Herbie Hancock on tour with Beast In The Field arguing over the influential importance of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin on heavy metal, singing along to the Deftones and Bjork with Portishead on deck, playing air drums to Helmet and Pantera, burning one to Kyuss and Clutch, and driving drunk blasting ZZ Top Tres Hombres."

What others are saying:

"It’s pretty safe to say that Lost Coves are not for traditionalists, as they don’t fall neatly into any genre grouping that I can think of. They’re a little bit of everything I like about the avant-garde side of rock n’ roll, and they’ve got an ability that never exceeds their grasp. In other words, they’re an ambitious lot that still realizes making good music is about writing songs with replay value, even if you are doing it in a way that could be defined as progressive or moderately inaccessible." -http://www.hellridemusic.com/

"It flows together like one long compostion, tracks on the cd serving more as mile markers as you travel down this lost highway, disoriented and unsure of what menace lurks around the next corner. The journey begins innocuously enough, with a serene, swimmy intro that could be something from Colour Haze, the calm soon being shattered by a jarring dissonant chord that announces the darkness within. What follows is 26 minutes of shadowy musical hallucinations, conjuring a mutated, psychopathic Radiohead mixed with a bit of Unsane(minus the bluesy aspect) and a heavier, less brittle version of Shellac. Introspective Indie rock moments morphing into heavy, monolithic, dissonant riffing, all the while with trippy delay feedback as a swirling, churning backdrop to the whole schizoid odyssey." -http://www.stonerrock.com/



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