Doom Hit: "THE WIRING - "WITHDRAWAL FROM CONTINUOUS CIRCULATION"

I'm always amazed when just two musicians are able to pull off the sound of four. This duo from Wiesbsden, Germany lay down some raunchy, ebon tar, paving a road of grim shadows, black cowled fear, and ancient ability while conjuring their magics of amplified, gargantuan doom, thickly clabberous, and darkly spellbinding.

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BAND SPOTLIGHT: OPERATORS

Every now and then I come across a band whose music I've not yet heard but who have been around for a fair amount of time, with more than one release to their credit. Today's Band Spotlight focuses on one such outfit out of Berlin, Germany - The Operators. I'm sure many folks have discovered their high octane brand of stoner rock, but for those like me who haven't, this one's for you.

An incredible feature of The Operators is the inclusion of organ music. A lot of great rock from past eras has included organ music, such as Deep Purple, Procol Harum, ELP, Yes, and the Doors, but in the underground railway of stoner rock music it is scarce. The Operators' inclusion of the organ blends very well with their boulder wall of massive guitars, assertive ass-whipping drums, and those rich, powerful vocals.

The Operators have been around since 2009, having released 3 full albums, the latest of which, "Revelers" opens this post while the initial and subsequent releases are below. All three albums are chock full of lip smacking retro rock of a heavy stoner bent. Dig in and enjoy!




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New Band To Burn One To: Zeremony

There was a time relatively early in the decade of awesome rock that was the Seventies in which bands used an organ as much as they did their guitars, and the sound was incredible because of it. Deep Purple, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Yes, The Doors, even the mighty Led Zeppelin on more than one occasion. Today's up and comer is truly a band you can burn one to because their sound harkens back to those not so innocent times while managing to establish their own wonderful sound. The guitar is mighty and not to be trifled with, the vocals are powerful and soul stirring, the driving rhythms of bass and drums are gargantuan, and the melodies are hook-laden attention grabbers. Sit back with your favorite delivery method of choice and burn a few to Würzburg, Germany's Zeremony.

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New Band To Burn One To-King Father Baboon

Everything about this Nuremberg, Germany band screams rock and fuckin' roll.

-Passionate vocal delivery-✔
-Wailing guitar lead trade-offs-✔
-A definite prowess for making a catchy song-✔
-Cowbell-✔

"Voodoo" is a nice little 3-song introduction to the band. I love all three songs. I'm guessing that a full album from these guys would be in the works, if not then one should be.

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New Band To Burn One To: Covenaut

Such. Brutal. Riffs!

Bielefeld, Germany’s newest heavy groovy sludge lords have released an EP, Doomed to Live, of epically dark, dank, and sweaty proportions. The guitars are down-tuned to their venomized best, the vocals are scorchingly harsh, and the overall mood is one of anger, relentlessness, but one that’s unable to resist the grooving beat. Doomed to Live is an excellent addition to the collections of fans of Dopethrone and PIST, and one that’s sure to appeal to the mighty headbangers in all of us!

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Band Submission: Mystical Communication Service-Psychedelic Rock From Germany

Artwork by Stefanie Barz

Band Name: Mystical Communication Service
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Location: Germany
Brief Bio/Description: Mystical Communication Service are a Berlin-based music project fronted by the fictional Yanez Di Mompracem, backed by a collection of eccentric and well-travelled band mates from all corners of the globe. The band is an amalgamation of wayward drifters and modern-day mystics, uniting to play their distinctive style of psychedelic and experimental rock.

Their sound oscillates between intricate blues-driven solos, creating a sense of ancient and emotive storytelling, and rhythmic explorations of unfamiliar yet alluring states of mind. Listening to Mystical Communication Service represents an enchanted excursion into a nomadic world, where the concepts of sanity and self-awareness fade away. The band creates an ethereal soundscape, leaving you adrift in a haze of desire and dream-like apparitions.

In late January 2014 the band released their first studio album entitled “Gypsy Spirit”, a mini album which has garnered a vast amount of praise and positive reviews from the online community and press beyond.

Band Members:
Yanez Pasqualin (Lead Vocals and Guitar)
Gerald Moises Pasqualin ( Drums & Percussion)
Diego Sposito Cozzi (Bass)
Yair Karelic (Lead guitar)
Kiyoshi Fujikawa (Djembe)
Links: Soundcloud | Facebook

Band Submission: Spheronaut-Stoner Rock/ Doom Metal From Germany

Band Name: Spheronaut
Genre: Stoner Rock / Doom Metal
Location: Düsseldorf, Germany
Brief Bio/Description: Spheronaut is four-piece Stoner Rock / Doom Metal band from Northrhine-Westphalia, Germany. With former Members of Sludge-Rockers Massive Thunderfuck and Thrash-Kickers Deadly Chaos, Spheronaut comes with a whole bunch of different influences on the one hand, but trying to have it´s outcome as tight and riff-focused as possible on the other.
Having started in fall 2015, the first EP ´The Doombringer´s Blues´ was recorded with the help of Thomas Sladek (Grey Season) and released with D.I.Y ethics, having all set and brought up for themselves. If you are into stuff like slow played riffs and dirty stuff, you may have a listen.
Band Members:
Dennis de Buhr - Vocals, Bass
Dennis Hüttner - Guitar
Jan Schmidtke - Guitar
Marco Gier - Drums
Links: Bandcamp | YouTube | Facebook

Band Submission: Kavrila-Metal/Punk/Doom/Post-Hardcore From Hamburg, Grmany

Band Name: Kavrila
Genre: Metal/Punk/Doom/Post-Hardcore
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Brief Bio/Description: German four piece founded in the beginning of 2016. Natural and visceral darkness meets dangerous landscapes of human and musical abysses. A collage of the heavy and the dark places of sonic language.
Band Members:
4 men in anger and despair
Links: Bandcamp | Facebook

LP Review: Swan Valley Heights by Swan Valley Heights

Munich, Germany, has just spawned the heaviest stoner record of 2016 so far! Swan Valley Heights’ debut self-titled record is one of biblical stoner rock proportions, combining thick heavy assaults, drawn out riffs, and warm, grunge-like vocals that wraps the whole thing together in an awesome package.

The record opens with ‘Slow Planet’, which at over seven minutes, is one of the shortest songs on the record, with enough stoner and doomy elements to lay waste to those looking for a good old slice of heavy rock head banging. With all songs on the album hitting around the 10-minute mark, the band choose to exemplify their song writing skills as opposed to simply droning out the same riff repeatedly, and it makes for a worthwhile listen as the layers of guitar riffs, time signatures, vocal ability, speed, and peddle dabbling is stretched to its full potential. The band basically make the most out of every second they’ve got. It’s a good five minutes into ‘Alaska’ before the delicate vocals enter the frame, not rough or shouting, but gentle, dare we almost say, singing, and it matches perfectly over the top of their stoner riffage, a cross between Arctic Sleep and Truckfighters, and how awesome does that sound?

Words such as “epic”, “colossus”, and “thickriffheavysonofabitch” are all that needs to be shouted while listening to Swan Valley Heights, and that is most elegantly shown on the track ‘Mammoth’: eleven minutes of stoner doom/psychedelic riffs to melt the coldest of faces, and destructive breakdowns to rob your lungs of breath. It’s when you think these three guys can’t do anymore, they take it up one more notch.

The rest of the album continues it the same devastating fashion; ‘Let Your Hair Down’ rattles the speakers off the shelves with its Neanderthalic riffage, ‘Mountain’ lulls you into a false sense of comfort before remimding you just exactly who you’re fucking with, and closer ‘River’changing course between slow delicate playing, to doomesque meandering, to an all-out riff fest as the band decide to simply go out all guns blazing!

Swan Valley Heights is a stunning record, using every riff for a reason, and that reason is to fucking destroy you. The first essential stoner record of 2016.

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Song of the Day-Vampyromorpha-"Deliver Us From The Good"

"Deliver Us From The Good" is part of a 2-song teaser of sorts recently released on Bandcamp. It appears that the band is set to release a full-length sometime soon called "Six Fiendish Tales of Doom and Horror...Vampyramorpha". This song is an occult-ish doom rock romp though the netherworld complete with the necessary blood-thirsty vocal howl, haunting vibe and one evil as hell riff. Unfortunately, there is not much else on the band at the time. If anyone knows anything else about the band, please let us know and we will post it here.

Song of the Day-The Strayin' Sparrows-"Skyship"

"Skyship" is taken off of the latest full-length release of the same name. A bluesy riff sets the pace for this spaced-out garage rock nugget. With hints of psychedelia and effects-laden vocals you are sent floating into oblivion, then at the 2:27 mark you are thrust full-force into another galaxy only to be returned once again to your comfort zone. Pretty remarkable track to say the very least. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Quick Hit-Vug-Doom Rock From Berlin, Germany

Vug is a 4-piece band that hails from Berlin, Germany. The band has recently released a four song demo on Bandcamp at a name your price. This demo did exactly what it intended to do and that is to plant the seed. Everything else will work itself out in due time as the band continues to grow. The mix is rough, the sound is raw and the musicianship a bit sloppy at times, but who cares, the band is having fun and they just need a little polishing. What they do bring to the table now is a bounty of fresh seventies infested doom rock. The songs have groove, melody and pizzazz. Favorite track: Loose. Give these fellas a listen with an open ear. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Song of the Day-Electric Hoodoo-"The Phoenix"

"The Phoenix" is taken off of the band's latest and unfortunately last album. I wouldn't normally promote a band's final release, but this song grabbed my ear and found it worthy of consideration for "Song of the Day". This song has an amazing raise-the-dead vocal to kick things off then rips into a heartfelt bluesy riff. The song then enters a sort of haunting Doors-like vibe. The vocals are passionate and unique and the playing is amazingly stellar. Sorry to hear of the band's demise. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Song of the Day-Black Vulpine-"White Witch Woman"

"White Witch Woman" is taken from the band's debut full-length release "Hidden Places" released September 11. 2015 on Moment of Collapse Records. This song starts off with a nice fuzzy guitar riff and gently culminates into a full-blown eargasm filled with a becalming female vocal, doom-laden occult vibe and progressive layering. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Quick Hit-Monkey Fist (Demo 2015)

Are you ready to rock? I thought so. Here is a band from Bremen, Germany that is willing to fulfill your need. Monkey Fist is a hairy-knuckled uppercut of raging Stoner Rock that combines groove-laden riffing, big league melodic hooks and a high and mighty vocal delivery. I found myself hitting replay over and over and over again. This is a solid demo that did it's job, at least to these ears. Facebook | Bandcamp

LP Review: "What We Make Our Demons Do" by Linie

OK guys…try to (futilely) wrap your mind around this one.  Try to hear in your head a German-born Glenn Danzig fronting Ministry while covering “Welcome to Sky Valley” era  Kyuss. Good, now go sit down and have a breather. That’s a fair assessment of the heavy alchemy that is “What We Make Our Demons Do” by Linie. This group totally embodies and fulfills the term “robotic groove”. 

A perfect example of this is the #2 track (after the creepy spoken word computer voice intro) “Blood on your arms”. The central theme centers on an elliptical opening riff that never really goes away. It’s like watching a tsunami crossing the earth’s ocean. It pushes and ebbs. It slides and crashes. It changes this way and that but never fully goes away. Linie have absolutely digested early krautrock pioneers like CAN as filtered through their industrial and stoner rock progeny.  Josh Homme’s first couple of Queens albums examined similar themes; turning a repeated musical thought over and over again as if looking at the same object from different angles.

Yeah, this can be some deep stuff, but I don’t want you to get the impression that this is somehow clinical in anyway. The point where the krautrock comparison starts to fall apart is the actual SOUND of the band. “Bearing Life” is pure catharsis. As dark ambient drones and buzzes whir through the background the lead vocals scream out from the bottom over a synthetic drum beat. The tension builds until it explodes into waves of distortion. This, in effect, is the trademark of the band. Not since Opeth has a band so successfully (and whole-heartedly committed to) manipulating dynamics. They use those repeated musical figures and electronics as a baseline to veer away from. It’s the variation that makes this such compelling music; sometimes raging, sometimes unnerving, it’s impossible not to be drawn in by this stuff.

Head over to their Bandcamp, YouTube and Facebook pages to check out this incredible music.

Triple Thursday: HOBO, Welcome The Howling Tones, Plainride

HOBO - Go Home Without Yourself

We’ve been following these guys since we featured them back in ’13 in Sunday Sludge with their demo filling us with sharp sludge delight, but now with their debut full-length LP, all our hopes have come into fruition with gloriously heavy pounding effect.

Like all good sludge bands, HOBO start off heavy, continue heavy, and end heavily. The record opens with ‘Blood Horse’ (also on The Shit Hands ep) which basis its song structure around gut-churning bass lines and low tuned, well, everything, from subtly heavy drumming to darkly savage vocals that charge the song into submission. Where HOBO differ from many other sludge bands is that their songs are shorter, much shorter in fact, with the majority of songs on Go Home Without Yourself just passing the two-minute mark. It’s a punk ethos of the band coming in, playing their music, making their point, then quickly fucking off before anyone knows what’s just happened.

The album grows as each track clambers over the last with its aggressive party-like sludge thrashing your body to the floor with highlights ‘Bottom Shelf’ and ‘Piss Stank’ paying particular attention to the tag of “SLUDGE TILL YOU DIE” as you girate like a lunatic to the groove-laden guitar lines with glee. The brilliantly titled ‘Go Home Without Your Teeth’ and album closer ‘That’s It!’ exemplify what HOBO do best, and that would be joyous sludge if you haven’t been paying attention so far.

HOBO come across like early versions of High on Fire and Mastodon jamming with each other in their rawest forms, in a dank basement, with a disco ball, lots of cans of beer, all in their teens, recording with no production values (because they’re for the glamorous bands); this is music in its purest form, and, well, you can’t really do real sludge any other way.

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 Welcome The Howling Tones - Green & Blues

Farnborough, Hampshire, UK, is not known for its rich history of the blues, but somehow, the five guys of  Welcome The Howling Tones have managed to twin the town with Memphis, Tennessee, on the quite stunning debut LP Green & Blues. This is in large part thanks to two main things: the bassy percussion intertwined with a lead guitar twang emanating somewhere from the deep south, and secondly the powerful vocals of Iain ‘Catscratch’ Turner that drive each song with echoes of hurt, passion, and guttural energy.

Green & Blues opens with three tracks of unadulterated blues rock majesty, songs that Clutch would be quite proud to own for themselves. ‘Deep River Blues’ builds, crashes, rebuilds and crushes some more with gentle guitar tones carrying the spine of the song and its centred emotional core, before all instruments combine to create gorgeous blues overtones, before the vocals cut like a blunt rusty knife, silencing all outside noise, just holding your attention long enough for that “woah” moment. ‘Eyes To Hypnotise’ teeters on the edge of stoner rock as the driving rhythm sections and aggressive vocal style powers the song through its five minutes of desert rock crossover, while ‘Broken Man’ is more stripped down blues groove number, lead guitar led with its soul laid bare, and it’s simply a beautiful track. 

The rest of the record carries along the same grove/blues/stoner feel with some jams becoming party numbers (‘Dip Me in Mud’), some soulful tunes (‘Burn My Bones’), and others just downright bluesy master classes (‘She’s My Kind Of Woman’).

One thing that has to be said about this band’s debut record is that it is an almighty impressive beast, fooling you into thinking you’re listening to a band who’ve been riding the scene for decades, with a songbook full of memories, ideas, and a life long lived. Green & Blues is a record that will sit comfortably alongside 1950’s howling blues records and modern day Palm springs desert scene grooves, and it deserves such high acclaim.

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 Plainride - Return Of The Jackalope

The debut record from Cologne, Germany’s Plainride is 13 tracks of pure hard stoner rock epicness, you know that kind that that makes your arse cheeks tighten with excitement? That kind! No, just me? Oh well then. 

The band don’t sing about much in the way of deep, or life-changing events, but instead exemplify everything that they love: cars, beer, beards, and partying! “Today I killed my father with a shovel and a shotgun” opens ‘Salt River’ as the band carve their way through four-and-a-half minutes of simple and effective fists to the wall stoner/heavy rocking (tempted to use the popular spelling of “rawk”, but we just can’t bring ourselves to do it). The vocals have a great southern bluesy twang to them, soaked like an aged whiskey malt to its purest form. 

There are many bands out there doing a similar thing to Plainride, but they don't have the same effect as it takes more than just a cool sounding vocalist, the right look and origins, you need what Plainride have in abundance: awesome songs! From the badass rock of the title track, the blues-heavy groove of ‘(The Beards Upon) Mt Rushmore’, the momentary respite in the acoustic ‘Vengeance’, and the straight-up party stoner anthem of ‘Beermachine’, the four Germans have crafted a solid album of great songs, heavy riffs, and downright rocking that’ll keep Return Of The Jackalope on your summer stereo for a long time, just make sure you’re fully stocked up on beer!

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