Zac's Top Ten of 2013

I don't care much for Bruce Springsteen... however he had some killer tunes, especially The Seeger Sessions. Here are my favorite releases of 2013.

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Preferred EPs:

Katla: I Will Hunt You / Foaming Waters

Surprise, surprise, surprise! More great music from Sweden. This female lead quartet seduced me with their acid blues influenced dark psych. I Will Hunt You and Foaming Waters was released on a special 7" by Who Can You Trust? Records. They only pressed 500 copies, so if you missed out earlier this year you may be S.O.L. Be sure to check Who Can You Trust? Records web-store for this one and a hand-ful of other Heavy Planet favorites.

Stand-out track: Foaming Waters

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The Wans: The Wans EP

My second Preferred EP of 2013 belongs to Nashville Tennessee's The Wans. My love for this trios Tenneessee brethern, All Them Witches, blessed me with an introduction to this "feel good" / get your rocks off EP. Don't miss my favorite track Want You with all its southern swagger and rhythmic wandering.

Stand-out track: Want You

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Favorite Full-Length Releases:

010: Black Sabbath - 13

It's Black Sabbath. Tony's still got it.

Stand-out track: Age Of Reason

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009: Supervoid: Filaments

Sometimes the city of Pittsburgh might be guilty of displaying too much pride. I try to be humble for the most part, but I can proudly proclaim musical victory for this city with Supervoid and their progressive, sludge-tastic release Filaments. Releasing a conceptual, "interstellar road trip" of a metal album earlier this year Supervoid are off to an epic start. My apologizies to lead vocalist Brian for describing his performance on Wake of the Smoke Jumper in my write-up earlier this year as female vocals. That is just how dynamic this man's vocal abilities are though folks.

Stand-out track: Wake of the Smoke Jumper

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008: Cavern: S/T

I warned you. Cavern would rear its ugly head come years end and here we are. This authentic release full of sludgy thrashing has stood the test of time and continually battered my ears senseless. I'll show no remorse if you have yet to lend your ears to this Maryland trio and their RIFF lashing.

Stand-out track: Far Beyond Fields and Evergreens

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007: Summoner: Atlantian

Summoner is the first band to land on my year end list two years in a row. Last year's Pheonix was well rounded and full of stoner and desert rock and haunting, psychedelic fuzz. Atlantian takes the genius that was Pheonix and enhances the formula. Take the Nuclear Dog's words, here you will find "polished psych-edged licks of ingenuity" and "raw-boned riffs". Check out the rest of the review for a better idea of what awaits on Atlantian.

Stand-out track: Under the Crystalline Sky

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006: Clutch: Earth Rocker

Earth Rocker simply kicks ass. An all out attack of blues inspired rock and roll fronted by some of the best vocals, defended by some of the grooviest guitar work, and founded on some of the best rhythmic percussion in the business. "If you're gonna do it, you better take it to the stage."

Stand-out tracks: D.C. Sound Attack!, The Face, The Wolf Man Kindly Requests...

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005: Black Wizard: Young Wisdom

The under-dog of 2013 lands at my number five spot. As I described earlier this year... Black Wizard are "like a sleazier, Nordic version of Guns 'N Roses" that rock blazing guitars accompanied by a rhythmic cavalry. Here new listeners will find raw vocals, blistering RIFFS, and even some spacey Radiohead-esque interludes. If you missed Young Wisdom upon its release back in June, now is the time to familiarize yourself with Adam Grant and company and their debut full-length Young Wisdom.

Stand-out track: Wicked Wanderer

*For those readers that truly dug Black Wizard, please check out Adam's other project Three Wolf Moon.

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004: Anciients: Heart Of Oak

There is so much to say about Heart Of Oak... the excellent progression and transformation of each track, the completely killer blackened-death like vocals, the strike of each drum head or cymbal strike, the intracate and yet groovy RIFFs, the bluesy Gilmour meets Allman picking! What an excellent release! Kenny Cook and the gang have out-done themselves with Heart Of Oak and Anciients first release.

Stand-out tracks: Overthrone, For Lisa

*Kenny is also a part of our number five spot Black Wizard. That is beyond groovy.

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003: Pelican: Forever Becoming

I completely fell in love with this album the moment my eyes graced the album artwork. Could I be considered a Pelican fan-boy. I guess so. But how is that a bad thing? Forever Becoming is simply another phenomenal release by the best instrumental band. Period. Will you always be in the mood for albums of this magnitude? Probably not. Will you always walk away with a new impression or new ideas after experiencing a piece of art so authentic? Most certainly. Pelican rules. Welcome to the show Dallas.

Stand-out track: Perpetual Dawn

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002: All Them Witches: Lightning At The Door

Still full of that vibrant southern soul All Them Witches produce their very own Psyche-a-delta Rock with immense confidence and swagger. Mr. Staebler's drumming genius has only grown in skill and charisma while the infectious RIFFING will keep you coming back for more. If I might take a line from my favorite track Charles William, "I wanna take you home... everyday.".

Stand-out track: Charles William

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001: Kylesa: Ultraviolet

I've really grown with Kylesa in their past three releases. Ultraviolet hit me hard upon first spin and has stuck with me throughout all of 2013. These guys and gal, "display their full mainpulation of sonic frequency" here on Ultraviolet and do it with class in a sub-five-minute dark pop, dream sludge tone. I knew this was my favorite album of 2013 immediately, I don't even think album opener Exhale was half way through its three minute run time when I realized it. The quintet have recorded an album that grows in experimentation as it does with time. New to the sound are some spacey psychedelics and Ms. Pleasants totally lovely clean vocals. Something you may be familiar with... the tribal and unchaining sound of Carl McGinley and Eric Hernandez's dual percussion.

Stand-out tracks: Exhale, We're Taking This

Zac's "Double Dose": All Them Witches / Pelican

All Them Witches: Lightning At The Door 

 The tail end of last year delivered an immense amount of heavy music that was quite simply impossible to get through by year end. All Them Witches debut release Our Mother Electricity was one of those albums I just didn't get to in time. The important thing is I eventually did get to it and was lucky enough to share it with you all as a Double Dose post. The southern soaked soul of this dynamic, psyche-delta, doom rock quartet left a lasting impression with me and I was curious to see what these fellas would come up with next. Little did I know they would deliver a sophomore follow up in a years time. With Our Mother Electricity still fresh in my mind, still fresh in my speakers I promptly answered the door when I heard Lightning... knocking. The album begins with a spacey piece of poetry called Funeral For A Great Drunken Bird and some excellent percussion. If Mr. Staebler's drumming genius did not stand out to you throughout Our Mother Electricity, I'd say you didn't listen nearly close enough. His subtle percussion brilliance within the four and a half minutes of Funeral For A Great Drunken Bird should open your eyes and give you some insight to what is approaching. But, how does a musician follow up a climactic builder like Funeral...? Well, one way and one way only. With a dank and stanky track that swings with a power swagger and is entitled something like this... "When God Comes Back". Future rockers, take note. Infectious riffing backed up by some of the grooviest steel trash can banging percussion take front stage. Hear it once and you will undoubtedly hit repeat. The boys hit the dirt roads, meandering with Lightning between some more bluesy based melancholy jams to experimental Indian and Middle Eastern sounds. All Them Witches never fully depart from the Sabbath inspired doom that we all know and love, bringing back just enough to slam the door in your face and rattle your spine. For example, see Swallowed By The Sea. With the magnitude of Lightning's closer The Mountain I realized that this band means a lot more to me now than they initially did a year ago. It such a relief to know that real musicians and artists are out there, they are creating, and we here at Heavy Planet are elated to bring their creation to you. Right on. Right on.

 

Members: 

Allan Van Cleave - Keys // Violin 

Ben McLeod - Guitar 

Michael Parks Jr - Vocals // Bass // Acoustic Guitar 

Robby Staebler - Drums

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Pelican: Forever Becoming 

After knocking out a quick write up for All Them Witches' rollickin' Lightning At The Door, what is a man to listen to... I mean it has been a long time since I've had the time to just sit, listen, reflect, and repeat... it's been a long time since I've written anything for the 'Planet. Please forgive that. I certainly haven't forgotten about this place. So as I sit alone peering out the window into a icy and white winter-land over the smell of a warm tobacco pipe and a glass of Tulamore Dew I hit play on Forever Becoming the latest from Chicago's finest instru-metal'ers. Who knew what to expect from Pelican this year with long time friend and band member Laurent Schroeder-Lebec no longer part of the whole. Would there be new sound, a lighter, airier style of tunes, maybe vocals? I mean we did find some on the 2009 release What We All Come To Need. Forever Becoming begins with some isolated, very distant sounding drumming that steadily builds with the squeals of electric instruments and an X-Files theme sounding set of keys. This is Terminal. A brief introduction, but critical to the foundation of track two Deny The Absolute. Within moments Deny The Absolute solidifies Pelican as THE definitive instrumental musicians of this generation. Noticeable is the reflection of their past and pivotal post metal releases, music that created a genre all its own. Deny The Absolute has the gusto to entertain even the most unlikely listeners. The Tundra and Immutable Dusk bring back memories of their mammoth 2005 release The Frost in our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw. These tracks emit monstrously heavy wavelengths of sound that create an avalanche between the ear drums and mind. The album fully ascends with Perpetual Dawn, a culmination of everything that is Pelican, a distant reverberation of electric buzz transforms into mind tingling riffing within the first thirty seconds. The nine and a half minute micro-symphony follows a formula that only Trevor and the crew know, twisting through the most tangled of sonic forests and quiet caverns. The tracks final five minutes dynamically shift in ways that aren't describable, you just have to experience it. In the end that is what every Pelican album is... not so much music or notes strung together but a life experience. Thanks guys for staying true.

 

Members: 

Bryan Herweg 

Dallas Thomas 

Larry Herweg 

Trevor Shelley de Brauw

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Album Review: Pelican - "Ataraxia/Taraxis" (EP)

These bands we love, what they do to us. It's fair to expect Pelican to shift, drop, or fucking boil down completely. We've seen it from lesser bands. We still love our metal, our post-metal, our anything-heavy-enough-to-drown-our-incredibly-awful-day metal. Pelican's been our safety for far too long, and I'm sure they're fucking tired of hearing that. What they've also been is a consistently proficient and focused instrumental quartet within a metal landscape riddled with inflated egos and ridiculous over-indulgence.

With 2009's What We All Come To Need, Pelican cemented their sound, their audience, and their expansive and seemingly endless borders. There's no safe categorization, no easy assumption. Pelican have paid their dues, garnered their accolades, and continually amazed countless listeners with an amalgam of progression, power, and potency that (sadly) other bands no longer drive toward.

So it's easy to assume, with such lofty expectations thrown upon Pelican's shoulders, they'd steer the course and provide loyals with a complacent contract obligation-type record and play the game. Hardly. This Ataraxia/Taraxis EP demonstrates both the band's fidelity to longtime loyals and their open arms to fresh ideas. Pelican do more with this EP's eighteen minutes than most bands do with a greatest shits collection's double disc. Yes, I said "greatest shits" because Creed is performing in my state (also Pelican's) this week and my only defense is self-induced vomiting.

Ataraxia hovers just above your consciousness with a cool, buzzing atmosphere until that jet descends under Bryan Herweg's bass grumble. Pensive, honest, and pretty fucking spooky, the electric piano/xylophone measure is desperate and elastic enough to tie together every element of every Pelican moment without detracting from what lies ahead. Less an intro than an omen, we're welcomed into a dream sequence that flirts with tonight's nightmare. It's gonna tickle your pre-frontal cortex and stick with you beyond your breakfast.

Pelican are at their pinnacle when they balance the technical with the absolutely fucking beautiful, which has never been more evident than on Lathe Biosas. Guitarists Laurent Schroeder-Lebec and Trevor de Brauw trade choppy stutters with drifting harmonies, and Larry Herweg's drums punctuate with endless ellipses humming a subtle thunder. The fuzzy, post-metal drone threaded throughout the track is refreshing and draining, and the bounce is never cartoonish or spoiled. These notes will drain listeners for days.

Pelican utilize Parasite Colony as a reminder that they're still Pelican, but they're willing to shorten the stroke and sweeten the spark. Buzzing, candy-coated riffs and rhythmic jams are strewn with an ambiance that lays your jaw to the ground with a slow-motion push. This is an accomplished, sand-caked progression toward ever-escalating volume and scope, the band's trademark throughout each song, every album, and their entire career.

Taraxis bookends the EP with a cool pick and perhaps the bracing of an impending winter. The distant guitar plucks manage to stay grounded and allow an unsettled screech to emerge. There's pain here, evident by the succession of melodies and penultimate buzz. The pause is hardly a relent. As we're met by fewer sounds, listeners detect more intensity. The incredible fusion of crunch and evanescent beauty likely marks this as 2012's best exit.

Ataraxia/Taraxis is only the most recent in a string of Pelican's assertions that they lead the pack of instrumental outfits. At times illusory and other times heavy, this EP is considerably expansive for its brevity. Pelican's musicianship remains unmatched. The contrasting moods and harmonies here will enthrall listeners and likely push the EP onto more than a few "Best Of" lists. This isn't the first "can't miss" release of 2012; so far, it's just the best.



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PELICAN Signs With SOUTHERN LORD RECORDINGS

Southern Lord Recordings has announced the signing of Chicago heavy-rock instrumental icons PELICAN. Their genre-defying sound and eagerness to explore new musical directions will fit right at home alongside similar bands on the label like EARTH, BORIS and SUNN 0))).

PELICAN is currently at Red Room studios in Seattle, Washington recording an EP that will be the band's first release on Southern Lord. The new material will be heavier, darker and very "riff-oriented," according to guitarist Trevor De Brauw. A very special guest guitarist who has been heavily influential to the band will be making a guest appearance.

In March, PELICAN will play a number of shows alongside new labelmates WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, including making a triumphant return to the South By Southwest music fest in Austin, Texas as part of the Southern Lord showcase.

Upon returning home, PELICAN will focus its sights on the band's fourth full-length album.

New Tour Dates Posted For Black Cobra and Pelican in February / March

Black Cobra will trek out solo and then will join none other than Pelican for a late Feb. / March tour. The amazing Unearthly Trance will also be along for the ride on the dates.

They travel back across the country solo. Get on a plane the next day and go to tour the UK with The Sword (date to be posted soon!!).

Just Black Cobra

Thursday, Feb 21st Eugene, OR @ Samurai Duck
Friday Feb 22nd Portland OR @ East End
Sat. Feb 23rd Seattle WA @ The Funhouse
Mon. Feb. 25th Denver CO @ Larimer Lounge
Tues. Feb. 26th Lawrence, KS @ Replay Lounge
Wed. Feb 27th St. Paul MN@ Turf Club

All Dates Pelican, Black Cobra & Unearthly Trance

Thurs. Feb 28th Empty Bottle, Chicago IL
Fri. Feb 29th DeKalb IL @ The House
Sat. March 1st Bloomington IN @ Rhino's
Sun. March 2nd St. Louis MO @ The Gargoyle
Tues. March 4th Memphis TN @ Hi Tone Cafe
Wed. March 5th Birmingham AL @ The Bottletree
Thurs. March 6th Pensacola FL @ Sluggos
Fri. March 7th Gainesville FL @ Common Grounds
Sun. March 9th Tampa, Florida @ Transitions Art Gallery (Note: no Pelican)
Mon. March 10th, Orlando FL @ The Social
Tues. March 11th Jacksonville FL @ Jack Rabbits
Wed. March 12th Atlanta GA @ Drunken Unicorn
Thurs. March 13th Charlotte NC @ Casbah at Tremont Music Hall
Fri. March 14th Charlottesville VA @ Outback Lodge
Sat. March 15th Louisville KY @ Headliners Music Hall w/Your Black Star

Just Black Cobra

Sun. Mar. 16th Carbondale, IL @ Hangar 9
Mon. Mar. 17th Lincoln, NE @ Pile House
Tues. Mar. 18th Ft. Collins, CO @ Surfside 7
Wed. Mar. 19th Salt Lake City, UT @ Burt's Tiki Lounge
Thurs. Mar. 20th, 2008 Reno, NV @ Satellite Lounge
Sat. March 22nd San Francisco CA @ Hemlock Tavern

Black Cobra MySpace