Album Review: Howling Giant - "Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 2"

This!  This.  This is something special.  The attraction was immediate, unstoppable and obviously inspiring as it got me to write my first review of the year and this is September.  People, you need to hear this record.  Howling Giant, the Nashville, Tennessee three piece tickled my fancy with this album and made me write a review.  My fancy so likes their brand of tickle.

As the second release of an expected three EP set, Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 2 is an impressive endeavor.  The tones are perfect.  Roger Mark's bass has thicker fuzz than meat left on the counter upon your return from a cruise around the world, best displayed in the song Pioneer.  Tom Polzine's guitar ranges from the massive crunch of a drill rig burrowing to the earth's core in Circle of Druids all the way to a wind chime on a sun bleached porch during the beautiful The Forest Speaks.  The drumming of Zach Wheeler is outstanding throughout, a true joy to hear as he pushes and pulls the tempo with intrepid style and unrepentant dominance.  The addition of the organ/synth work by Drew Harakal is so tastefully done and understated but yet adds so very much to the overall sound of the record.   Polzine, Marks and Wheeler all contribute to the vocal harmonies which wrap up this gift from outer space with a message of ascension against all odds and evils encountered.

Black Hole Space Wizard: Part 2 is a journey you have to take, not because it is our job or what is expected from us, but because it is what is right.  The album is a heavy, progressive, quantum theory of groove that will take you through the wormhole with a smile on your face for the entire ride.

Absolutely one of my favorites this year and will, without question, be making my year end list.

Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram

WM

New Band to Burn One To: PUSSYCAT AND THE DIRTY JOHNSONS

Directly from the sandy beaches and hot sun of...London, England...comes a raunchy, bawdy, in your face trio of rockers who deliver a high energy brand of rockabilly retro skate surf punk fuzz. The wailing, confrontational, all out vocals of frontwoman Puss Johnson (She's going to have to marry a Hampton, I think) are reminiscent of Sleater-Kinney's incredible Corinne Tucker. The dual guitars of Johnson and lead riff-meister Dirty Jake are a colossal sonic concoction of blistering be-bop and monstrous, memorable melodies. Filfy Antz drives it all forward in breakneck crescendo and perilous climax. This trio isn't climbing into any typical box of the usual fuzz labels, but the retro punk vibe is loud, raucous, and diabolically fun.

bandcamp ^~^ facebook ^~^ website ^~^ twitter ^~^ instagram ^~^ youtube

EP Track Stack: KING BOLETE - CANIBALES - GOATSCHLAGER - MAD CHICKEN

There are lots of quality EPs out there, both from known and established bands as well as from artists just trying to get something out there that might garner interest in what they've newly created. This is a classic case of intentionally avoiding the use of labels or identifiers and instead judging something based on its own merits. If an album has only two tracks, but those 2 tracks are pretty damn tasty, then I'm glad they've released it so I can enjoy. So, in the spirit of enjoying what's been made available, here are 4 EPs that provide only 10 tracks between them, but they're ten tracks worth your time because chances are there will be pleasure gained, satisfaction achieved, and perhaps a newfound interest in something of which you weren't aware yet was out there.

King Bolete hail from the Warrior Isles of England...and beyond that not much is known about this newly formed band. Their music is a straight up psychedelic stoner blues rock fuzzorama. What they've given us here is too short and extremely sweet. Hopefully more is to follow soon.

bandcamp..facebook 

Canibales is a three man band from Guadalajara, Mexico. They are veterans of stoner blues rock having formed back in 2005 and having released several albums in the interim. The music is primal and addictive. Luckily they have a sizable library on which to feed that addiction starting with the two ass-romping tracks on this new EP.

bandcamp..facebook..twitter..youtube

Goatschlager, a four piece from Northern Ireland, have featured on Heavy Planet before as a New Band To Burn One To in 2016 with an initial 4 track EP, "Space Apache - Vol. I". Earlier this year they released another 4 track EP, "Dirt Mammal - Vol. II", and now this 2 track beauty "Welcome to Hog Valley" which they say was borne of the creative process for their impending "Vol. III". The music is heavy, hard, deep, and destructive, grinding out stoner vibes and subterranean riffs in memorable melody.

bandcamp..facebook

Mad Chicken, are last but not least. This is a 4 track blitzkrieg of heavy metal from a 5 man Brazilian power troupe, expertly delivering an amalgam of every type of hard rock you may have listened to over the past 4 decades. Incomparable vocals lead the way for twin guitars of explosive fury and a rhythm section of shock and awe.

bandcamp..facebook..soundcloud..twitter..instagram..youtube

Quick Hit: HEY SATAN - "HEY SATAN"

Trios kick ass much of the time. There's just no getting around it. The Lausanne, Switzerland trio Hey Satan kick ass from a number of angles on their debut eponymous release. To begin with this album RAWKS, and rocks hard. It's meant to be played loudly, and to be enjoyed completely. The music will absolutely flow through you like some dark, demonic doomspell. There are ten tracks on this inaugural LP and not one of them misses a cloven-hoofed step. Each is spellbinding with magical melodic imagination, a feat of epic proportions, and none of them are carbon copies of neither themselves nor of any stoner metal legends, providing ten dark, dewy songs on which to guzzle and savor. The stoner/doom influences are obvious as the gargantuan guitars reign supreme with riffs of deepness and distortion as well as searing, soaring solo runs, but obvious homages are rare as this trio's grand abilities forge their own armored merchandise of dark and hefty metal. Vocals provide a searing focal point with a superb rawness and range brilliantly matched to the music. Overall this is one hell of a debut, a memorable and savage romp that should solidify a place in end of year retrospections.


bandcamp <{}> facebook

New Band to Burn One To: SPACE DEER

So far it has been a banner year for album releases with several albums either released or soon to be released from many of our favorite bands such as Sasquatch, Mothership, Elder, Steak, Geezer, The Midnight Ghost Train, and at least a dozen more. So, it's always such a sweet surprise when someone new can find their way up through the dark, teeming undergrowth of HUNDREDS of stoner/psych/desert...FUZZ... bands and THOUSANDS of fuzz albums to the sweet light of discovery. Space Deer, a provocative trio from Madrid, haven't yet found explosive recognition, but they should be on their way toward at least expanding their base because the sound they have managed to create is both recognizable and fresh, which is quite the trick in any corner of the musical world. Space Deer's sound is recognizable at once as a standard bearer of stoner fuzz rock, heavily ensconced in catchy melodies and memorable riffs. What makes them much more than a run of the mill knock off of amplified fuzz are their beautifully written and executed melodies, songs that instantly engage your rock n' roll soul all the way down to its primal core, engendering an instant spiritual euphoria of pleasure and escape. Sure the sound is familiar. That's what we love about it. But it's new, it's brilliant, its riffs are instantly exhilarating, its vocals immediately engaging and alluring, and its rhythm duo of bass and drums supply the dark heaviness of great metal sound.

bandcamp <{}> facebook <{}> instagram <{}> big cartel

Quick Hit: EGYPT - "CRACKS and LINES"

North Dakota's premier stoner/doom rockers Egypt return with a darkly sizzling 5 track scorcher of an album that once again showcases their penchant for wielding massively heavy, wickedly sharp metal music in their inimitable stoner/psych/doom style, led by the singular vocals of Aaron Esterby, whose natural rawness far surpasses all the guttural affectations of heavy metal mimickers and followers. This band is genuine in their motivations and abilities just as their music is the real thing, tasteful and memorable, primal and heavy.

bandcamp >>|<< facebook

Doom Hit: GREEN DRUID - "Ashen Blood"

Steady, subterranean, and filthy clean, Green Druid duskily flows with the drone of a thousand rusty amps through the cracks and pores of forgotten, ancient crypts. This sophomore EP from the Denver quartet is a darkly addictive monster of shadow riffs and deep earthen tones of sacred blood. This is doom, and it is mighty.

bandcamp <<|>> facebook <<|>> soundcloud

Quick Hit: RUFF MAJIK - "THE HARE AND THE HOLLOW"

Mega-Fuzz rockers Ruff Majik have quite quickly returned with a new release....of sorts. It's only been two months since they issued the brilliant "The Swan", but Ruff Majik have something quite new, yet quite familiar, up their fretboards with what is apparently the initial three tracks of an eventual full-length album that will span a wondrous tale of fantasy. Their plan is to release a fourth of the album in time with each of the changing seasons of the southern hemisphere from which they dwell. This is exciting news, both for its creativity and its anticipation. The three songs that have burst forth through the ragged fissures of this threesome's psyche are earth devouring melodies of titanic proportions, ragged in riff, raging in solo, and gargantuan in rhythmic explosions. More to come is only welcome news for fans of their obsidian assaults.

bandcamp >>|<< facebook >>|<< youtube

Riff Hit: ATTALLA - "GLACIAL RULE"

In June of 2014 Attalla released their self-titled first album which quickly garnered acclaim from consumer and critic alike. It was the type of album that, by the time you'd taken in all it's ragged riff glory you began craving the next release. It's taken nearly three years for them to issue a sophomore production, time, one must presume, they took in creating and mastering the contents of the doomrunner-up. It was time well and perfectly spent as "Glacial Rule" fairly detonates in controlled eruption on each track, delivering dense fuzz in dark doom licks, a more controlled assault, more measured in pace, than on the first album, deeper, thicker, but still melodic and hookish. It's perhaps evidence of growth that this foursome didn't rest on the laurels garnered by their initial release, but instead put in the time and work to craft something more, something still of themselves but delving into the gloom, down uncharted tunnels of thick atmosphere and impenetrable doom.

bandcamp >>|<< facebook

Album Review: CLAN - "CARNIVORES"

Clan are a stoner rock band from Norwich, UK that exemplify the sound of the genre as well as any band of this century or the last. The mix of sound and style they are able to seamlessly incorporate into their music makes for something exciting, something quite fresh and new within perfectly executed familiar sounds. The fuzz packed riffs on every song are thickly sweet and mesmerizing. The vocals from front-man and lead guitarist Matt Pearce are singular, powerful, compelling, exotic, and provocative. Yes, they are that good and that unique.

Clan consist of:

Matt Pearce - vocals/guitar
Matt Rabong - bass
Ben Giller - drums

There are 9 songs and an intro on this full length album, so the achievement is commendable in that each track is an intricate, hooky, and memorable display of the band's tapestry of skill and endeavor. The melodies are fun and addictive, whether letting the power of Giller's stickwork course through the inner pathways of your neural system, or allowing the immense horsepower of Rabong's deep bass rhythm overwhelm your sensory presence, or thrilling to the double onslaught of Pearce's vocals and masterful riff-bringer guitar.

Clan bring a lot of old school mentality to their brand of hard rock by focusing first on melody before overlaying their well-crafted ditties with powerful, familiar stoner fuzz, which makes for great excitement on the first spin through the nine tracks, and immense enjoyment on each subsequent spin.

"Carnivore" comes out of the gate with a scorching intensity on the first full song, "Burning Bodies", setting the stage beautifully for what's to follow. The title track is an immense mammoth of sound and splendor as is it's follow on, "Jackal". "Haunt Your Ghost" and "Wolves" pummel through with relentless power and heft. "True Believer" is perhaps the bellwether track, the one that ignites immediate interest and excitement, leaving an indelible bruise of sweet darkness. "Sleep in Salt" showcases the brilliance of the rhythm duo of Rabong and Giller throughout the slightly melancholy and memorable melody. "White Spider" rivals "True Believer" as a signature track, one that radiates with special sweet, ebon melody brimming with dark fire and subterranean power.  "Blood of the Father" closes out this darkly shining gem of an album with the most haunting, slow burn song of the bunch, a viscous and succulent morsel that leaves you yearning for more before you're even done listening.

It's been three years since Clan have released an album, but the wait has been well worth it with this wonderful, witty, and addictive collection of great melodies and powerful stoner metal music.


bandcamp >>|<< facebook >>|<< soundcloud >>|<< youtube

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.

bandcamp ** facebook

New Band To Burn One To: MASTEROID - "HOLLOWED BEINGS"

MegaStonerRetroPunkFuzz has been quite brilliantly captured on this raw, garage rock of an album from a threesome of young and imaginative musicians out of Phoenix. It's a simple sound, yet for all the novice hallmarks of this album it manages to bestow an elegance in that simplicity as well as near genius in its melodic composition. The magnitude of the riffs is towering, brutal, and primordial while the dexterity displayed in the hooks and simple interludes is addicting. The drummers display a magnificent proficiency of timing, power, and heart. The bass is savage, ruthless, and unyielding in its driving rhythms.

These young musicians seem to be ramping up for a career in the low, dark arts of stoner/doom style music. Their inaugural oblations indicate more brilliance to come if they can manage enough notoriety. Here's to hoping that is indeed their fate, and ours.

bandcamp >>|<< facebook

Quick Hit: Långfinger - "Crossyears"

Smallstone Records has been a 'go-to' place for great fuzzy music since their inception back in 1995. There is north of 80 rock bands in the annals of Smallstone, many of them pioneers of underground stoner rock, including Sasquatch, Dozer, Lo-Pan, Gozu, and Wo Fat, as well as many up and coming finds that have chosen the venerable label to ply their fuzzy wares, such as the focus of today's Quick Hit, Långfinger.

Gritty, imaginative, hard, and loaded with heavy, pulse-pounding riffs of an old school style, "Crossyears" is a rock solid and laudable Smallstone debut for this Swedish threesome out of Göteborg, who already had two 10" and two 7" productions in their canon before making their way to the notoriety of Detroit's Smallstone Records. Their music crackles with burning, searing, unfiltered energy, engulfing the listener in thick metal smoke of a euphoric atmosphere, carried brilliantly throughout by perfectly matched rawk vocals.

smallstonebandcamp >>|<< bandcamp >>|<< facebook >>|<< smallstone >>|<< instagram 

youtube >>|<< twitter 

Quick Hit: JUKEBOX MONKEYS - "GREY SKIES RED PLANET"

Jukebox Monkey have created a wonderful mix of contradictions with "Grey Skies Red Planet", delivering a clean sound via a wonderfully nasty disposition, a southern rock style of frankness without any direct homage...in fact, in foregoing anyone else's sound or style they are somehow reminiscent in doses of almost everyone, a mean feat from this mean foursome of warrior isle brawlers, who in doing so have developed their own unique style that is an upfront, in your face,  stoner rock bruiser of a record, inexorable and steadfast in its mammoth assault of sound, ornery in its temperament, and euphoric in its deeply fuzzy experience.

bandcamp >>|<< facebook >>|<< twitter

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!




facebook >>|<< youtube >>|<< vimeo

New Band To Burn One To: SUNDERFEET

A potent sound of high energy, agile vocals, bruising drums, brawling bass, and riffs galore are the hallmarks of this threesome from the north of France. They have mastered the art of combining great melodies with a massive sound, full of razor sharp hooks, skull stomping drums, bone crushing guitar from bass and six string, and dusky, ragged vocals. The music is stonerish and grungy, but uniquely their own as they play with relish and ferocity.

soundcloud >>|<< facebook

Album Review Geezer - "Psychoriffadelia"

From that little ol' band from New York comes yet another exceptional release of guitar-racked brilliance in the form of "Psychoriffadelia", Geezer's latest foray into heavy hitting blues rock, this time with cosmic encounters of bright, burning riffs and mind melting incursions of euphoric frenzy. Adding psychedelics to their résumé, Geezer have become a top staple of the stoner/blues rock genre, eliciting ragged anticipation from the junkies of great guitar anthems.

The album opens with the cover of Nazareth's "Hair of the Dog", a staple of 70s rock standards. Geezer make it theirs without trying to emulate the sound of the originators and do a superb job of injecting their own signature sound of massive riffs and searing solos overlaid with ragged vocal brilliance. "Stressknots" is a standard blues rock jam, the kind that Geezer are known for - fun and infectious. The title track sits in the middle of the tracklist and is their first foray into colorful runs and trippy rolls, cruising through a full ten minutes of mind-melting musical munchies. The odyssey continues on "Red Hook", a long slow burn of intoxication and escape. The closer is the incredible, massive "Dirty Penny", a thirteen minute excursion into bright explosions and cosmic detonations. It, too, burns slowly, but powerfully, as it wraps you in warmth and euphoria on its musical journey of magic and satisfaction.

Geezer are:
Pat Harrington - guitar/vocals
Richie Touseull - bass
Charles Ruggerio - drums

bandcamp >>|<< facebook 

QUICK HIT: SAUTRUS - "ANTHONY HILL"

Sautrus are a traditional 4 piece band consisting of one guitar, one bass, one drummer, and one vocalist. But that's where the traditional ends. They managed deserved notoriety in 2014 with the release of their second album "Reed", a magnificent blend of controlled stoner, doom, and psychedelic dynamite woven into their own signature sound. Now Sautrus are back with a new release, "Anthony Hill", and as with any follow up to success there is obvious pressure to match or surpass past accomplishments. Sautrus absolutely manages to deliver freshness with familiarity and boldness in this 7 track romp through soaring psychedelic brightness, subterranean doom rumblings, agile desert melodies, and stoner riffs of raw power, blending those traditional sounds into something lustrous, thick, and adamantian, every facet inducing carnal appetites for the syrupy black sweetness of their fuzzy machinations.

Hailing from Tricity of the Pomeranian region of northern Poland, Sautrus are perhaps on the brink of renown having now released three solid stoner/desert/doom/psychedelic rock albums of substantial heft, the latest of which is unsurpassed in quality, excitement, and potency.

bandcamp >>*<< facebook

Quick Hit: King Hiss - "Mastosaurus"

Yesterday's Quick Hit was a band from Belgium. While cruising through the land of chocolate, beer, and diamonds I stumbled across another fine act, King Hiss, who have been expertly wielding their 4 piece stoner/doom arsenal since 2011, conquering the metal scene both in studio, with 4 bulging albums and a two track acoustic segue, as well as in the live venues and festivals of Europe where they have made their reputation for delivering towering, stellar performances.

The music is an exceptional blend of stoner and doom sensibilities with some traditional metal thrashing thrown in to spice it all up. The songs are written with an ear for what's intriguing and memorable, while the vocalist lays waste with his well honed sonance in the vanguard of blistering solos, abundant riffs, and ravaging rhythms.

bandcamp >>|<< website >>|<< facebook >>|<< youtube >>|<< twitter

Quick Hit: Fire Down Below - "Viper Vixen Goddess Saint"

The focus today is on Ghent, Belgium's Fire Down Below and their debut album "Viper Vixen Goddess Saint". There is everything to say about this album. It's an injection of intense musical exhilaration, evident from the opening riff of the first full song, "Through Dust and Smoke" and never wavering in intensity or satisfaction through to the aptly titled closer "The Mammoth". The melodies are the star here, songs written so beautifully, and delivered so expertly and heartfelt that it's an intoxicating opium rush of warmth and pleasure, paradoxically sharpening senses and expanding sensuality, opening dormant avenues of perception in efforts to experience every little nuance of riff and searing solo, of flourishes of stick on skin, of deep bass blitzes, and of every ingress of those brilliant and exquisite harmonizing vocals.

bandcamp >>|<< facebook