Sunday Spell: Blue Snaggletooth - "Beyond Thule"

You remember that kid in school who never quite fit? He wasn't necessarily weird, he didn't lack friends, and he was almost off-puttingly cool. He spoke like a transplant from another time, but you couldn't tell if his dialect was from the past or the future. He had a presence that you couldn't quite explain and his confidence bled through clothes you wouldn't find at the mall. And when the bell offered the day's first taste of freedom, you knew he was gonna be truer to himself than you were.

Whoa, who's this? Blue Snaggletooth's retooled lineup is that swayed aura from an alternate dimension, thrust through our speakers on Beyond Thule, a nine-track sophomore push that's meatier, more cosmic, and more honed than the band's 2011 debut, Dimension Thule. That's hardly aimed at diminishing what that lineup secured in their thrown-back, precocious and delicious fuzz tuber. Instead, our intent here this morning is highlighting an act that remains true to the ethereal fuzz, its pioneering forebearers, and expanding on an already dynamic presence.

Blue Snaggletooth make no haste in immediately showcasing their classic stoner backslide via dripping, sky-shot licks on Reptiles. Elements are driven to their groovy peaks and the band's foot never leaves the gas, firmly announcing these guys are not of this era. Sleeping Mountain is a slow juxtaposition, illustrating ever-evolving scope riding on pensive psychedelia seeking deeper, distant truths. Thick, lumbering riffs sway toward a torrid groove, spiraling upward in what is, for now, the album's finest moment. If nothing else, these guys can craft a fucking escape.

Stops and starts are prevalent throughout the disc's midsection, and tempos range from itchy jumping bean clips to dirty signature shifts, breaking every rule and coming out ahead as a result. Moods deviate nearly as much as gears, and shaking off the caked mud is every bit as important as returning to oozy tones. Gawkers drops back in its seat and fills us with a blend of wonder and dread just before we're jolted from our creature comforts and thrust into bristled hedges. And later, Nameless Cults is executed with such confidence and precision that we're nearly lost under the sludge-stained stoner stomp. It's as sticky as these guys get, but that guitar just can't help but gush.

If Beyond Thule offers a signature track, stamp Ahamkara as the album's comprehensive crowning achievement. Steady lopes and an evaporation of all that viscous warble hardly encapsulates all you'll hear on this track. The thorax is highlighted by a lonesome drone, peppered with plucks that promise nothing but further spacey unknowns. It's celestial and boundless, breathing and swelling and ultimately spilling over, into and onto damn-near everything. The familiar channels return for a roll in the hay, but Blue Snaggletooth's most genuine flash comes when they conclude "transcend out of all time." Right on.

Whether tightening only to later explode or tripping out as the sound unravels, Beyond Thule is an album offering nothing you can't love. Get lost with this. Bouncing between trees but never fully coming to a stop, Blue Snaggletooth chop and warp their way into your mind and expand your world. Your dad might like this as much as you do. Come to think of it, maybe your grandkids'll be into it. This sound is vast, timeless, and soaked in transcendence. Dig it.

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Nuclear Dog's Chain Reaction - Exporting White Elephants, Iron Man, Palm Desert, The Outlaws of Zen, Arrowhead

Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce to you what I believe to be some of the absolute best stoner rock or retro/blues rock albums recently released into the cold, dark world of underground metal, where the light from without remains dim but the fire from within is fraught with explosive, sapid, deep, low, and fuzzy abundance. These are the types of albums we crave, where the music is timeless and rich, stuffed full of soul stirring guitar, and amaranthine melodies, often driven relentlessly forward by genetically superior vocals and athletic rhythms. I always envision bonfires in the darkest night with inebriated, naked souls unabashedly cavorting in unison around the conflagration to the intrinsic, soul stirring rhythms of an amplified universe. To me, this music is universal, eternal, linking us all in an elemental, tribal connection of fury, fuzz, and fun. Bring your matches.
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EXPORTING WHITE ELEPHANTS - ORGANIC RAW

This is not the first twosome reviewed this year on Heavy Planet that consists solely of a drummer and bassist, and with no standard six string in the mix. Just like the previously reviewed Bedroom Rehab Corporation, today's subject, Exporting White Elephants of Santiago, Chile, take their 2 rhythm instruments plus vocals and deliver some of the finest riff infused butt fuzz rock you are likely to hear this side of North American high desert country. T. Sanchez and T. Frothingham play their melodic brand of stoner rock with immense intensity and consummate ability on their debut album, "Organic Raw", in what we can only hope is the first of many to come. Bluesy and beefy, deep and dirty, the melodies are electric, Frothingham's vocals are ragged and rich, the teeth rattling bass riffs that power this mega meaty album are timeless, and the ferocious drumwork drives it all with grace and heart.

Favourite songs - The uptempo and breathless "Koukeing", the haunting, stirring "Hey Papo", the atmospheric exhilaration of "Nasty Lips", and the riff laden closer . . . ah . . . damn . . . I can't recall it's title.

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IRON MAN - SOUTH OF THE EARTH

Despite frequent and numerous lineup changes throughout Iron Man's decades long history of rocking the faces of the world the current lineup for "South of the Earth" has managed to deliver a masterstroke of metal brilliance and flawless teamwork as if they had all been there from the jump. The one constant membership for this Baltimore band has been guitarist Alfred Morris III whose metal maturity and insight serve the album perfectly by delivering intense and inventive riffs throughout. The flavor of this album is old recipe rock with a dash of low tuned stoner sensibilities sprinkled throughout. Matching Morris' brilliant guitar work is the hurricane force vocals of Screaming Mad Dee, while the rhythm section of Louis Strachan on bass and Jason 'Mot' Waldmann are nothing short of exceptional.

Favorite songs are "Hail to the Haze" and "The Worst and Longest Day".

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PALM DESERT - "Adayoff"

The Polish band Palm Desert makes the Heavy Planet spotlight for the second time this year with the EP release of "Adayoff", following closely on the heels of  full LP "Rotten Village Sessions", which was a highly rated stoner rock tour de force. This foursome of Kamil Ziółkowski-drums, Jan Rutka-bass, Piotr Łacny-guitar, and Wojciech Gałuszka-vocals suffer no drop off in quality as they deliver 6 beautifully crafted and executed songs that fit dead center into the flagship stoner rock genre with subterranean riffs rumbling mightily throughout capably crafted, memorable melodies. Perhaps the most amazing thing here is that the band is working on another full length release but have diverted their efforts to this small collection for the time being. Without knowing the details of what motivates these guys, they are not only prolific but incredible artists who brilliant create and execute, so it seems apparent they are as driven as they are gifted and that is nothing but a boon to lovers of the fuzz for what appears to be years to come.

Favorite songs - "First Scream", "Overload"

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THE OUTLAWS OF ZEN - "DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON"

This foursome from Michigan deliver fierce, fun retro rock, or as they put it, Retro.Riff.Rock, which is dead on for the style of music they have conjured up for our listening enjoyment. The energy and power they display is executed against clever melodies that are timeless and memorable, and they are just getting started as "Death in the Afternoon" is their second EP, following on last year's "Don't Bother Getting Up, We'll Let Ourselves In". Joe Gibson provides gifted vocals, Travis Evans lays down base fire on drums and keyboards, Tommy Koppman is monstrous on bass, and Korey G slashes, rips, and burns with immense riffage on guitar.

Favorite songs - "Vomitus Eruptum" and song of the year candidate "Hangovers Feel Better Than Regret"

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ARROWHEAD - "ATOMSMASHER"

Dateline Sydney, Australia where the experienced stoner rock threesome Arrowhead deliver a high caliber release with "Atomsmasher". Pure stoner rock is the name of the game on their first full length release since forming in 2008. All musical elements are of the finest mettle, from the riff laden firebrand guitars of Brett Pearl, the monstrous, pummeling rhythms of drummer Matt Cramp, the deep, driven basswork of Dave Lopez, and back again to the pitch perfect vocals of guitarist Pearl, all wrapped around adventurous, well crafted melodies that propel this album to superstar status and lands it on the short list for top album of the year.

Favorite songs - All of them. I'm not kidding. This is a great album.

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LP Review- The Sacred Above, The Sacred Below By Beast in the Field

     I was born a Hoosier but expect to die a Michigander. And I'm plenty happy in my new home, in a state whose musical pedigree includes rawkhounds like Grand Funk Railroad, The Stooges, and the MC5. And you can throw the Motor City Mad Man in there too, and Motown and John Lee Hooker moved up here as well, so...

     "But what about....?"

      I'm sure you're saying this to yourself right now, and I know I've left some out, but this just goes to prove my point. Great bands are born in the third coast, and you can add Beast in the Field to that illustrious list. Headquartered in Midland, Beast in the Field are Michigan's most amazing active rock and roll duo. Duo. Guitar and drums. That's it. There isn't even room for vocals in the wall of doom produced by Beast in the Field. They sounds like spawn of Karma to Burn and Electric Wizard turned up to eleven and played through an Iron Age amplifier. They'd be bigger if they weren't banned from many of the clubs they play after their shows draw noise complaints for miles.

     Their new album, The Sacred Above, The Sacred Below, comes out this March on Saw Her Ghost Records, and it is another stoner/doom classic. The album starts out with Great Watcher in the Sky a short guitar piece the style of which pops up throughout the album like a graveyard ghost. After this short intro, the fun starts, with Hollow Horn, a track that gorges your eardrums in the most pleasant way possible for seven plus minutes. Next up is Altar of Red Earth, which begins with Native American style percussion before the riff climbs through the percussive haze and stomps around your cranium for another seven plus. Wakan Tanka comes next, offering another heavy as Earth riff fest that clocks in just under five and a half, the shortest of the songs but very rewarding. After that is the "single", There Once Were Mountains of Ice, which you can taste for yourself by using the link at the bottom of this page. After this cut comes The Great Spirit of Light, a short light piece that sets up the Oncoming Avalanche, a twenty-two minute plus cornucopia of riffs and drums. Then you get the title track, a cut that boasts one of the most memorable riffs on the album and backed by the brilliant Native drumming that pops up throughout the album. And is that a solo in there? Interesting. The album ends with its most ambitious track, Covered by Clouds, Eaten By Snakes, where the ghostly guitar sound of the short interludes steps out of the darkness and dances to the greatest use of sleigh bells I've heard in a rock and roll song. This is their Amazing Grace. The song might stand out on the album, and those who have yet to be baptized by Beast in the Field's mighty riff, might be thrown by the "lightness of the track" but Beast have always used light to their advantage, and you gotta remember that one cannot live on heavy alone.

    The video is a track pulled from a previous album, Goat Isle Senace, but the uninitiated will understand from this track what the mighty Beast is all about. Pre-order the album now from Saw Her Ghost.

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