Stumpfest 2014: An Interview with High Priestess Rynne Stump

Take a glance at the lineup for Portland's Stumpfest 2014 and it's difficult to make sense of how such a staggering three-day bill came together. Spend just moments speaking with the event's founder and organizer, Rynne Stump, and it's immediately evident how easily she can pull off such impressively heavy company. Words like friends, magic, and love dominate her vernacular more than fans or money, and a disarmingly genuine nature bleeds through each sentence.  Heavy Planet enjoyed an opportunity to gush as Rynne opened up about the annually-expanding Stumpfest and its past, its future, and its purpose.

Heavy Planet: This is the third year for Stumpfest, right?

Rynne Stump: Yep, third year!

HP: What are some of the origins of the festival?

RS: It just kind of came to me. I used to do booking in Portland and I did production there with my best friend, Chantelle Hylton, back in the early 2000's. And I used to do my own little shows around town. I guess the origins would be from that and moving to L.A. and not really having much of a scene down here. Some people could argue that with me, but I've lived here ten years and if you wanna go to a heavy show you've gotta drive to Pomona or somewhere on God's green Earth out there. A lot of my friends I met in Portland who do play in heavy bands, they'll come stay at my house when they're in town but usually they don't have a good venue to play down here. So a couple years back, YOB was doing their first stint out with Tool and I asked them on the last show, "What if I had a festival? Would you guys play it? If I booked a gig up in Portland, would you guys headline?" And Mike (Scheidt) was like "Absolutely!" And I thought, Well how cool would THIS be? Do a show every year with my friends, bands that I like, bands that I don't get to see. Maybe my friends from down here come and play up there, we'll just get everybody connected. So really it was just the idea of bringing my friends together and actually getting to see all these amazing bands that I'm missing living in Los Angeles. That's probably not a very nice answer, but it's the truth! [laughs]

YOB

HP: 2012 was one night, 2013 spanned a weekend, and this year's three day lineup is fucking killer! How big is this thing gonna get?

RS: I don't know! This year I was like, Maybe we'll go back to one night. Then I just had an outpouring of requests from bands that I really love, bands that played the first two years and I can't say no to. They're my brothers. The Rieseberg's in Norska, my best friend Mark (Bassett) in Diesto...  "Of course you guys are gonna play because I wanna see you! I never get to see you!" So aside of that, Ancient Warlocks came outta the woods and I love them, I love their record. Bands like Drunk Dad, who I just got turned onto a couple months back. I wanna see them, y'know?! One of my friends from elementary school, Kevin Spafford, is the drummer in Honduran. He sent me their album a while back and I was like "Oh my God, you guys have to play!" I got excited and I cast the net kinda broad and wide because bands like Trans Am, you don't know if they're gonna say yes or no. You don't know where they're at in their creative process. They haven't played shows in a while. The last time I saw them was actually at Mississippi Studios. A year and a half back they did a show for their record label, it was like an all day thing. They've been friends of mine for years, we worked together and booked them at Berbati's a long time ago. I reached out to those guys and it just so happened they finished their tenth record (Volume X) and they're lookin' for a show. The only thing was Sebastian (Thomson) is now drumming in Baroness. So I was like, "Can we get Seb out?" And Seb said "Yeah, we can do it." And he's gotta fly back for Moogfest in Asheville (NC) like the day after. They're friends and they wanna be a part of it and it's really exciting, but I had NO idea they would say yes. Red Fang, we were negotiating with them last year. Pretty much everyone that plays this knows me or is one degree away from a close friend.

Ancient Warlocks

HP: It seems so tightly knit, the entire thing...

RS: Absolutely! It's a total family affair. I had a lot of requests from bands I've never heard of or don't know and that's really exciting that people wanna play it. That makes it awesome for me because I get a chance to discover new music and see new bands myself and that's exciting. But for right now, it's really just... family. [laughs]

HP: I keep seeing the term "Bro-love."

RS: It's SUPER bro-love! And that's the cool part! If you're there, it's cool. You can experience it and be a part of it. It's really an intense thing. People in the crowd, the audience, they feel like they're a part of something, they feel connected to the musicians, they feel connected to the vibes that are being procured. Every band, so far, has brought an incredible set. It's insane, it's leveling! Everyone is rehearsing, getting prepped; they really take it seriously and I think that's the inspiration of love, friendship. It's not a competitive thing, it's not like we wanna sound better than anybody else. To me, it's Stumpfest. We all just wanna get a quality thing together. And I love that! It's happening naturally, it's something I can't explain. It's magic. That's the magic and power of love and friendship. And I have no idea what's gonna happen in the next couple of years! [laughs] It's its own animal, it seems like it just keeps morphing and evolving into this bigger, cooler thing. Hey, I'm just holdin' on for dear life here!

HP: Our readers are familiar with Norska, Black Pussy, everybody loves Red Fang. I'm not even able to attend and I was stoked to see the lineup, especially when Ancient Warlocks were announced. Are there any bands there people would be foolish to miss? You'll probably say all of them...

RS: That's such a tough question. That's the reason I set it up, these are ALL bands I would NEVER miss. Trans Am, who's gonna argue with that? They're one of the best bands on the entire planet! Unequivocally, Trans Am is one of the best of the best. It's been over fifteen years they've been together and they still just deliver. If you miss Trans Am, you should just... [sighs] That would be the one for me. I would NOT miss Thursday night. That's a hard question, that's not funny! [laughs]

Trans Am

HP: Sorry!

RS: I don't know, YOB? Red Fang in a 300-capacity venue? When I first saw Mastodon in 2001 or 2002 in Seattle, they were playing at this tiny club up there. It was mind-blowing! Seeing YOB in a small place, Black Cobra, I just can't say enough about this year. I don't even know how I did it. I have no idea.

Black Cobra

HP: When I first saw the bill, I think it was on Cat's instagram or something, I thought, You've gotta be kidding me! But it seems so much a celebration of the Pacific Northwest and an increasingly prolific scene, if you wanna call it that. What would you say is special to the area compared to other hotbeds of heavy music like New Orleans or Savannah?

RS: What I think is of utmost importance to these musicians is that they care, they give a fuck about what they sound like. And like I said, not in a competitive format. Not in a "We wanna make it big" format. They care because the music means so much. The tone, y'know? The carving of the tone, the heaviness. They respect the heavy. They respect their craft and, as you well know, anyone who respects what they do has the integrity to do BEYOND. You wanna evolve. You wanna transform, right? Isn't that the idea of art? To transform, to transcend. THAT'S what comes out of the Pacific Northwest. Transcendence through quality. These guys work jobs. They go home and work jobs. They take care of their families, they take care of this or that. But they can tell you exactly their pedal board systems, their handmade cabinets from dudes that MAKE cabinets in the Pacific Northwest. It's just such a beautiful place, it's like a garden. A garden for quality, heavy music and rock n' roll. I just believe all that rain, all those clouds...

HP: There's something about it!

RS: There's something about it, right!

HP: I've been told not just Portland, but the Pacific Northwest in general, is a strange and special place.

RS: They know how to cultivate sound, and that's the beauty. It's the respect, it's that respect for the craft. And that's art, that's the DEFINITION of art. It's not to bastardize and make thousands of dollars being a jerk, not knowing what the hell you're doing.

HP: And a lot o' people make a lot o' money doin' that shit...

RS: I know, I KNOW! You see bands like Yes and old school bands that are still doin' it for the love. They're not out there tryin' to make money, and I doubt they ever were. It's the integrity of the art.

HP: And you've got bands coming out retirement because they have bills. And it sucks.

RS: It depends on what band you're talkin' about! You know what I mean, we gotta watch it! [laughs] But there's nothing wrong with making money, either. The money is not the evil. The evil comes with how you're motivated by the money. It's what you choose to sacrifice to make that money. If you just so happen to be completely devoted to your craft and you happen to be able to make money on it, fuck... more power to you! And if you happen to make money without that? More power to you, but I'm not gonna listen to your shit. Good music is good music, it doesn't matter what it is. I listen to EVERYTHING! I listen to MUSIC, I'm a MUSIC lover. I sang bluegrass when I was a little kid and I still listen to bluegrass. But, like I said... with anything, with art, when it's really, truly there....people know it. And that's the beauty of being a human. ONE of the beauties.

HP: Yeah! I was raised on my dad's old Mountain and Allman Brothers records and it's funny now, I love this heavy stuff, this sludge and doom. But I was fed a lot o' good music as a kid. And like you said, good music is good music. It doesn't need to be categorized.

RS: No, it doesn't! It can, but it's not necessary. You know when something's good, you know when it hits you right in the sweet spot. I think that's one of the beauties of this year's festival: every band has a sweet spot. Every band that's on this bill has the potential to be headliners. Or ARE headliners!

HP: Right! I could ask which of these bands are primed to explode, but I look and I can answer my own question. ANY of them!

RS: Yeah, any show could have been developed over any number of these bands. I got lucky. The powers that be aligned and here it is. The beauty is that when things are right in the world, everything just works. It's a problem when you try to force things. Fortunately, the magic was in the air and everyone said yes! Everyone I asked said yes. Except Sandrider, because they were having a child or something. And I was like, We need to get some more days at Mississippi, because we love it there and they take great care of us. And I feel like if we have to move to a larger venue at some point, maybe for a night, we might do that in the future. But Mississippi should and will always be our home. I like the intimacy and I don't wanna have to start charging people a lot of money for tickets. That's another huge point of contention. I'm trying to keep the cost of the festival livable so people can come.

HP: And the tickets are modestly priced.

RS: I want everybody to have a chance to come to all the nights. It's all about the whole picture. Maybe some people don't wanna come to the same venue every night. But the people who ARE gonna be there all three nights are gonna experience something really special.

HP: Looking through photos from the first two years, there's nobody there that isn't smiling and loving the shit out of their life at that point.

RS: [laughs] Well, yes! It's fun! Everybody gets paid, everybody gets fed. I give a free t-shirt to every member of the bands. Usually I screen-print the t-shirts by hand but this year I'm gonna actually go down to a shop in town and have them do it because it's red and black and really intense with a red washout. I'm a printer, by the way. That's my college degree, printing. I have my own little set up here at my house but this year's artwork demanded a little more attention than I could provide with the time frame because I just got home from tour with Tool and I didn't have enough time to actually screen-print the number of t-shirts I'll need. So that's kind of a drag. I just went down and had a meeting with the printers yesterday and they said, "Come on down, you can help us!" So I'm actually involved, but I won't be doing them all by hand. But everybody gets a little love. My sister and I make handmade laminates out of nudie magazines for all the bands. High Times, Playboy, National Geographic... little collages for each band member. It's fun! Everybody is involved because they want to be. Our artist who's done the artwork every year, one of my dear friends, Gabriel Shaffer out of Asheville, North Carolina... he's done artwork for us at our home, and naturally he was the first person I asked to help me with this because it's a family affair! It gives us all a reason to get together. It's easy when it's just all your friends. [laughs] Everybody just likes to see each other and it's like a big reunion. And we get to bring other people into the fold. We make new friends, new relationships get forged, bands meet each other that maybe otherwise hadn't in the past. I know Floor is taking out Hot Victory, that happened because they all met last year. I think that's why it happened, at least. It's just cool. New bonds are made, that's the whole idea.

Hot Victory

HP: I wish more festivals were like this one. The way it's presented, the way it's arranged and delivered. It's difficult for me to describe as an outsider. I won't ask you to sell the festival, it seems to sell itself. But is there anything people may not know about Stumpfest that you feel they need to know?

RS: Not really! They just need to be armed and prepared to open their hearts, connect, and have a blast!

HP: Can they get in if they don't have a beard?

RS: [laughs] Absolutely! I don't discriminate! There's a lot o' hair goin' on, it's amazing! John Theodore, when I asked Life Coach to come up... We already had Phil (Manley) from Trans Am, and I was like "Come on, Johnny! You gotta come up!" And he was like "Man, Stump! That's a lot o' heaviness there, I don't know!" I told him he'll be fine! Because I want each night to have its own identity. What's a festival if it's one big clod and everybody sounds in the same ilk? It kinda gets to you after a while. So it's nice. That's maybe one thing that I'll leave you with. Each night crafts its own sound, its own style. And I've tried to cultivate it that way. We have one night that's different to keep it fresh for everyone who does want to come for three days. You ARE getting a different vibe on stage each night!

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Don't sleep on this one, kids. It seems there's no over-stressing the heart that goes into Stumpfest at every angle. From Ms. Stump, through the bands, and directly into the lucky few in attendance runs a stream of unity and passion. If only the rest of the world would catch on, eh?

Stumpfest 2014 | Facebook | Southern Cross PR | Trans Am | Red Fang | YOB | Federation X | Lord Dying | Black Cobra | Black Pussy | Life Coach | Norska | Diesto | Drab Majesty | Ancient Warlocks | Drunk Dad | Hot Victory | Chron Goblin | Honduran

Sunday Sludge: Stoneburner: "Life Drawing"

I know it's early, but who's up for a little detachment? There's more to it than putting down your smartphone or staring at linoleum as you stomp through a nearby grocery store buying frozen pizzas. Oh, long leather duster. Oh, piercing stare. Oh, greasy 2am banana-room strokebook commitment. Fuck you, man. Stop mistaking your creepiness for something it's not. Be what you are. If you're gonna creep, just creep. And when YOU detach, just keep drifting. You're not my audience and I'm a shade embarrassed we got this far to begin with.

I'll seek sweet separation in a nobler form. I can adapt and press the flesh enough to get a paycheck, but weekends require a staunch approach to release. Today's Sunday Sludge grinds convention and chokes out apathetic acceptance as Portland sludge quartet Stoneburner offer their sophomore full-length, Life Drawing, due April 15th. Spitting the stick after 2012's Sickness Will Pass is no small cuttings, and these nine tracks readily illustrate the band's commitment to an endless tension designed to breed questions more than generate sales.

There's a near-triptych formed here, ambitious and not easily attainable among unseasoned acts. Stoneburner patiently weave through three chapters and sixty-four minutes of progressive dooming sludge metal without ever repeating themselves or scratching an itch so much that it bleeds. The violent pangs and churns of Some Can's introduction permeates without the benefit of a vocal, at least for a while. So jagged, so cantankerous, attacking dark themes under thick layers of tar and weather... Whew. Frets scale and descend as bones crunch with never-ending suffering. The Molotov piss-bottle angst just won't suit the layman as he enjoys his morning paper. And THIS is why we're collected here.

Slow and bass-driven is Caged Bird, a pensive teem of jittered vein-slaps and thickened pop-and-hiss almost-throwbacks. Jesus, imagine a slick comic book detective staggering toward your city's seediest nook with an abrasive unease and you just might capture the feeling of this song. The muffled, pus-coated vocal is hardly a sidecar as shrill, jagged guitar allows no time for blood to clot. Doom upheaval blankets such trivial worries, chortling and contorting as the descent snaps softened bones like sun-dried twigs. Let's be fair, dudes... this shit was far more jarring than initially advertised!

If nine tracks span a trio of stunning sludge chapters, there's likely a breath or two, eh? The brief peace of Drift is a mortal, sodden whisper of green that's smooth, unrefined, and entirely necessary. Jaking an abrupt stumble is the imminently cold exploration of An Apology To A Friend In Need. Cavernous diversions and smooth commutes won't heal your pierced abdomen, but evident damage to your vitals is riding in the back seat. And just as Drift set us dizzy, so does Giver Of Birth. Swelling after a quick approach, we're given little time to construct a calm. The fleeting, out-of-reach peace seems to sting colder than these other tracks, don't they?

The band serves a criticism here. A focus on the zombification of what was once vibrant. Clones in cars and avatars in your heads, you fuckers. Pale New Eyes is one slow crawl of an example, underfoot stones growing sharper and sharper, advising against the hollow future you were promised. It's a sludge-groove explosion, timbersticking the sway meter with brazen vengeance only until you realize The Phoenix is a track that deserves a review all on its own. Swelling and swooning for eighteen minutes, listeners drone toward a lush soundscape bubbled with regrets. Back-masking, neck-ratcheting, mouth-gaping, this closer trims at excess and expertly pares with patience and discipline until only a fat thumb can hope to maneuver. When the skin breaks, the sludge flood is fully realized and the death rattle leave its trail. Ashes settle. Life awakens. The stir of every pregnant pause creepy-crawls between passages until the viscous denouement resolves under peppered guitar razors. This rebirth has commanded its welcome, swarming with outstretched arms and ignoring the fade.

At times quite spooky, at others downright teeth-grinding, Life Drawing is rough and seething. Repeated thrusts of your face into the soft moss of a dying log somehow protect you from the obvious: Hope and promise aren't merely stained. They've been properly diluted and washed out with thick piss. The truest of sludge deliveries opens a rusty door, but Stoneburner have invited us into our own nightmare. The deceptive lounges hardly provide comfort, and you're better off just cooperating when the rhythms crash. Get in the van and stop with the fucking questions. Yes, there IS a world this ugly.

For fans of: Buzzov*en, Ufomammut, -(16)-
Pair with: Mudpuppy Porter, Central Waters Brewing Co.

Facebook | Neurot Recordings

Sunday Sludge: Sioux - "The One and The Many"

One collateral consequence of featuring new, untapped acts is never hearing from them again. I've got a library of albums from bands who will never see a sophomore effort. But perhaps even more disappointing are those bands who bring a wild rumpus on their debut, only to follow-up glimmers of brilliance with an avalanche of horseshit. Few bands manage to improve, many try to maintain, and most simply should have hung it up to fuckin' begin with.

Not even ten months ago Heavy Planet featured Portland's Sioux, a psyched-out sludge quartet whose self-titled EP is still buzzing somewhere at the base of my skull. March 8th marks the release of The One and The Many, a six-track full-length that separates Sioux from their influences and themselves. Demonstrating both an improved range and an expansion of prowess, this release is more than a step forward. It's a glazed, cosmic bootprint on an already leathered sludge metal landscape.

No time is wasted in administering spoonfuls of sludge-doom porridge on Let In The Night, the somber, dejected opener. Breaking into a chuggy plod is nothing new for Sioux, but the sonic smack of timber as if it were a cloud of pesky gnats is daunting and impressive. The vocal scratches free and echoes through caverns until listeners enjoy a break of apocalyptic calm before the shit storm. Plucks lull your senses on a mislead, and when the stomp returns, it's brought along scorches and splits atop an avalanche of mire. Shrieks lead into a scrape toward violent heaves of stuttered tempos on Faithless, a track that cleans up, shaves, and promises calculated vengeance. Trotting uneven ground, the sound manages to hold its structure through staggers, and blitzing licks ascend to draw your eyes due North.  

The midsection's duality is a notable highlight, with Ad Astra's cosmic sludge dragging us across a bed of broken glass and following with torrid crank turns. It's trippy, chippy, and scorches through riffs until hollow plucks provide a reprieve, though the breaths are chilled and lonesome. Imagine a slowed tumble down a steep staircase with a trickle of blood leaving your ear as you greet bottom. And you can't even just lay there for a minute, as the epic warp of the album's title track is star-gazed and mud-kissed. Sioux fail to trip over their own ambition and nail the album's purpose on its planetary head. Here these sluggers cut through senses using instruments as precision tools. Quite simply, the dudes honed their shit.

Ascension offers a return to down-tuned lament, pounding and splicing via tempo shifts and intermittent thrash peppers. Gruff pipes and rusty guitar barbs are gonna leave you scythed. Abrasions can only spread as the track presses into flaming thickets and napalm-coated bass threads. Sticky malevolence points our attention toward Scapegoat, an effective bookend to the album's sullen opening moments.  Swaying, drawing ever-closer, and blanketing with a numbness laced over every note, this flame catches and burns exponentially. The cracks spread and the closing swell of all-encompassing sludge denouement imposes nothing short of rattled awe.

Sioux no longer benefit from tags like "promising" and "inspired." Fortunately, scene-swiping psycho-slag achievement accompanies the lumbered strides. The One and The Many showcases Sioux's pugnacious approach to early praise. The album clubs the senseless and denounces doubters via six stumps of accomplished, assured psychedelic sludge. Sorry Sioux, you fuckers just upped your own ante. Turns out mediocrity just wasn't your thing. But we knew that. Stand stout with greatness, strut a strong chin, and grind it home. Thumbs the fuck up, fellas. This one resonates!

For fans of: Melvins, Red Fang, Mastodon
Pair with: Satin Solstice Imperial Stout, Central Waters Brewing Co.

Facebook | Bandcamp

Sunday Sludge: Sioux

Growing up, I'd cringe when my mother would say "Seth, you look so much like your grandfather." Maybe I wondered how it made my dad feel. Or maybe I couldn't appreciate the genetic link between myself and an abusive drunk who abandoned thirteen kids in favor of pissing away the family business at local bars. On a slightly different but slightly similar note, I don't like saying bands sound like other bands. Many do. Most do, in fact. But I try to reach for what sets them apart from either their influences or their contemporaries.

We're products of our environment, which doesn't help explain how Portland's Sioux squeezes snugly between bands from more than 2,000 miles away. Where many acts rehash ideas or steal riffs from their predecessors, Sioux manage to spread their swampy toes and sink into the mire with a sticky nod that would make John Baizley proud. You'll detect whispers of Georgia (or Voices of Omens), but you won't be distracted. On their four-track self-titled EP, Sioux showcase their musicianship and jump in with both feet, doing more to expand on metal's finest niche rather than put a cap on it.

From the onset of Bezoar, of course, the rhythms are thick and the guitars are jagged screeches dodging between Bald Cypress moss factories. Churning and scorching, intermittent with buzz and wail, the sound moves on all fours, never willing to fully pull away from the soggy filth. Kirk Evans growls with the seasoned dissonance toward cheerful tones and buries himself between low-slung bass plucks. All the while, guitars bake in the heat, never escaping the light slivered among the timber.

Countering with a slow-motion plod is Rheap, where you can leave the bog but the bog can't leave you. Ryan McPhaill's drums are just plain fucking nasty here, despite pacing a rhythm that finds a shamed melodic cadence. Dusty plucks and layered vocals hardly keep the grind from poking back. You'll start to notice the awesome electricity dancing off the strings as Sioux trail into skyshots toward fading constellations. Is night falling or are they just happy to see us?

Following suit, Aegeless bounces with fuzz coating, swinging a rusty stoner pendulum via the steadiest of churns. Matt Pike must've snuck up from behind and bitten these dudes, but the poison is more inoculative than toxic. Oh, the soft rain breaking the furry storm of mud and shit is a perfect reprieve, brief as it is. These dudes work perfectly together (two-thirds of them played in Salvador, bro!) on every thump and every skullsplit as the track unravels and expectations are tossed at concrete walls.

Sioux find a gentler, cleaner moment on In Tongues. Wait, nevermind. Somber tones give in to a flurry of drums and the rhythm knocks you on your sweaty ass. Evans' vocal here steps into a distant fog, demonstrating a range we hadn't previously heard. When Juan Carlos Caceres spits fire and the track shakes its head, the ritualistic deception is unmasked, crafting a delicious and captivating sound. The plateaus of sullen musings, with no foothold to stop the sinking, set apart this closer. Whew.

What traps many bands is derivation, being so enmeshed in the sounds crafted by fore-bearers that it's inescapable. Sioux shed a new skin and crash a party that's unforgiving and relentless. Add to this the accomplished musicianship soaking these sounds and you've got a prescription of promise. While boxing ears and shredding speakers isn't enough these days, it's also annoying to find bands attempting something they don't understand. Luckily, Sioux know a thing or two about crafting heavy stumps of sticky sludge with a straightforward, varied approach. Trust me, you'll dig it.

Bandcamp | Facebook | Eolian Empire

New Band To Burn One To: MAMMOTH SALMON

HEAVY PLANET presents...MAMMOTH SALMON!

BAND BIO:

Mammoth Salmon is a Portland, Oregon HEAVY ROCK band. 

Band members:

Paul Dudziak- Guitar/Vocals/Bass
Mitch Meidinger- Drums

THOUGHTS:
"I was sent a demo of Portland-based band Mammoth Salmon's "Internet EP 1 " back in February, now before I have a chance to feature it the band goes and puts out "Internet EP 2". The way I look at is double the pleasure from this dynamic duo. I guess it would be cheating if all I said about this band is that they are HEAVY! But, one-word descriptions are not my thing so I shall elaborate.  The "Internet EP 1" whets your appetite with a slow and penetrating march guided by a "mammoth" riff which swims along with evil bends and unparalleled heaviness. Crushing guitars and sonic blasting eventually gives way to a jaggly twang, but before you know it that wonderful and deafening heaviness is back. The vocals sneer and chop through the distortion with a full-on belly yell. I told you these dudes were heavy.  And the heaviness continues... "Internet EP 2 continues right where EP 1 left off. Slow penetrating grooves, undeniable riffing and "noisy" soloing. Oh and yes, the fucking HEAVY! The simplistic nature of the band is what makes them so appealing. Play your instruments as hard and as loud as you can but with smart song progression and a bit  of melody that consumes your soul. The bell-like tone of the guitar on EP 2 closer "Magnetic Fields of Radiant Light" rings out as a beckoning call to come and hear the heaviness of the Mammoth Salmon!"
((facebook|bandcamp))

Nuclear Dog's Atomic Split: Dark Valley Harvesters - "Seed" / Crag Dweller - "Magic Dust" / Utah - "Utah"

It's Saturday. Quite likely it's been a long unpleasant week at work, at home, at Earth. It's put you in a mood, foul, fetid, and way too familiar. Besides alcohol, weed, or that last pain killer from outpatient surgery a few weeks back, you need something to tackle that mood, to take it and smash it a few dozen times against a concrete wall, to slay it for the sake of sanity. Often, in times like this, you turn to old reliable songs, albums, bands to lighten the mood. Stuff you know you love. But what you really need is a heavy, overwhelming dose of just kick hairy butt metal music. I've got what you need right here. Three new bands, three new albums, plenty of awesome music, so even if you don't necessarily jibe with one or the other of them, chances are there is something here that will hit the sweet spot and spread the warmth, just at the point all your other tools are doing the same. We stay strictly American today, starting off in Yukon, Oklahoma with some big, hairy, heavy metal with a country edge to it. We jet on up to Portland, Oregon for some kick ass rock n' roll before cruising all the way back to Athens, Georgia for heavy psych tripping in dark, murky, and deep metal. The one common thread between these bands besides being American is the size of the instruments they employ. Huge and heavy, mood swinging muthas meant to meliorate the murky mass of megashit accumulated throughout the week in a single riff or searing solo, opening up the pathways through which the invigorating measures of these metal prescriptions can begin to vanquish their vile existence.

In other words, metal is the relief of pure pleasure and enjoyment. Heavy Planet delivers a huge dose to you today.

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DARK VALLEY HARVESTERS - "SEED"

Band members:

Patrick Newkirk - Guitar and Vocals
Mike Newkirk - Bass
Jimmy Mollet - Drums
Joe Davis - Guitar

Just because Dark Valley Harvesters are from Yukon, Oklahoma doesn't mean they were always going to have a little bit of country flavor to their music. I mean, hell, The Flaming Lips are from down I-40 just a few miles and there ain't no country in their flavor. It was only when Patrick, Mike and Jimmy added Joe to the mix did the haunting quality of country ballads find its way into the music of this heavy foursome. It's not an overwhelming trait, but perfectly complementary, adding a unique and enjoyable flavor to their music. The primary and majority style of the music on "Seed" is heavy guitar, ass kicking metal. There's more 70s retro, Northwest grunge, and High Desert fuzz in there than anything Garth Brooks, also from Yukon, would recognize. And that's a damn good thing in my opinion because they've crafted a beautiful, compelling sound that wouldn't be as worthwhile without the high quality elements contributed by all four of these gifted, talented rockers.

The music is muscularly anchored by Mollet's drums, and driven relentlessly by Mike's bass. Melody is plentiful on these songs, proving Dark Valley Harvesters are able songwriters, which feels like their typical starting point on most songs given the quality of the music. They waste no time in proving your investment in them is going to be worthwhile as the tempo is quick, sharp, and enjoyable on the opening track "Dirty Red Blood". Riffs are plentiful and huge throughout, as well as the searing, soaring solos.

"Hook Echo" is a beautiful example of how a haunting, almost mournful tone can quickly segue into something darker, harder, and more sinister by use of elbow grease applied to huge metal guitar strings tuned low for perfect effect.

One of the most beautiful and enjoyable songs on "Seed" is "Wither and Fade", while "Bottle and a Rusty Blade" is a civil war era ballad that substitutes the heavy metal of the balls flying in all directions during battle with the heavy metal of Patrick and Joe's perfectly matched guitars. "Scarecrow" uses emotion to great effect accompanying the heavy strings and relentless stickwork.

Perhaps the best song on the album is "Maginot Line", a fast tempoed, ass kicker laden with hooks and fills to accompany the barbed wire riffs and nut cutter solos. The closer, "Fire and Brimstone" is a close competitor, though, with the same 'jab - jab - hook' tempo as its predecessor and cranking out the fuzziest guitar twang to be found in all the South.





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CRAG DWELLER - "MAGIC DUST"

Band Members:

Richard Vivarelli - Guitar, Vocals
Clifton Martin - Bass, Vocals
Travis Clow - Drums

There isn't much to know about Crag Dweller. They're from Portland, Oregon. They're a three piece band. They play GREAT retro/metal/stoner rock music. This stuff is straight up hard rock, the kind you like the more you listen. The kind where something new, something that is pure enjoyment is discovered years down the road when you find yourself still playing it.

"Chrononaut" kicks everything off, not with a bang, but with an interestingly drawn out intro that suddenly kicks into Crag Dweller gear, and away we go. Riffs, fills, solos, big drums, huge bass, hooks, great rock vocals all go into high gear at the same time. Hell, there just isn't much to say. Crank it up, kick back, and enfuckingjoy.

"So Far, So Good, So What . . . " starts out in fourth gear, slows down for a minute before then kicking into overdrive. Be careful leaning out the window on this one you might lose an ear.

Interplay between bass and solo guitar on the opening of "The Gate" is incredible. I would love to see this one live.

The strength and dexterity of the drums can't be overlooked on this album, and perhaps it's never more obvious than on "Gotta Have It" where the rhythm is crystal clear, primal, and pure.

The closer is "Motel Burnout" where perhaps the bandmembers are feeling a little bit of the effects of being on the road for an extended tour. Crag Dweller throw everything at this one, especially a huge well of pent up energy and emotion. You can just feel them giving those instruments all they got, leaving nothing left on the studio floor. It's huge, it's powerful, and it's a heckuva way to close an album.






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UTAH - "UTAH"

Band members:

Wil Smith - Guitar, Vocals
Chris Parry - Bass
Chris Holcombe - Drums
John McNeece - Guitar, Vocals

Utah hails from Athens, Georgia, a town you could say is fairly rich in rock n' roll history. These guys are destined to join the ranks of the best and heaviest Athens has ever had to offer.

This foursome play a deliciously heavy brand of psychedelic sludge, with a pace that is rarely hurried, chock full of low tuned guitars that come down on you like a pallet of amps dropped from the eleventh floor of the Holman Hotel in Athens.

"Bisontennial" has tempo, it has a junkyard full of scratchy, edgy metal, all of it sunk low in the mud of eons past, sounding as though its being drudged up under communication of the loud, clear vocals bandied about by Smith and McNeece, and with the relentless rhythm and power of Holcombe's drums, powerful enough to be almost front and center throughout.

Tempo again starts off "Chickamauga", Holcombe again driving everyone relentlessly forward, Smith and McNeese again laying heavy into the riffs and vocals, while Parry deals with everything subterranean. Utah know what they do well, and they do it well again, doubling the pleasure of the slow, cold slide through the muck and sludge of their metal morass.

On "Ambian" the mushrooms have started to kick in and the song is . . . not necessarily more mellow, because with these guitars, and these vocals, and those huge knockers for drums, there is no mellow . . . but perhaps more evenly tempered. "Help" continues the subterranean, low tuned trip, as does "Kneecaps", all of which drag gargantuan guitars through sludge of dark and murky muck.

"Traveler" changes the tone slightly, with a single vocal kicking things off, unhurried but insistent, relating tales of the netherworld, experiences encountered perhaps where light is dim and sound is all powerful.

"Cryogenics" and "Black Sandwich" close out the adventure with a deft delivery of heavy and huge sound interspersed with bits of light and air wafting down through pinholes of illumination from above.





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Nuclear Dog's Atomic Split: DSW - "Dust Storm Warning" / Bison, Bison - "Bison, Bison"

The year draws to a close and my thoughts turn to compiling a 'Best Of' list, which has compelled me to review all the music reviewed or submitted for review over the past year on Heavy Planet, not just mine, but everyone's, certainly a serious amount of music. As I was going through it all I discovered I had let at least one excellent album slip through the cracks. DSW's "Dust Storm Warning" is a stoner rock treasure trove released back in May. It was always on my list of albums to review, it's way too good not to be showcased on our site, but due to the plethora (don't you HATE that word?) of new and wonderful music produced and released every year that fits the Heavy Planet criteria sometimes even great albums fall to the wayside. It's a bit ironic in that this is the type of album you live for as a reviewer. The second feature album for today is Portland, Oregon's Bison, Bison whose debut album was released in August, is chock full of big time stoner riffage, and was another in danger of getting lost in the kerplunk and shuffle until I very fortuitously came across it one day in pursuit of other review prey.
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DSW - "DUST STORM WARNING"

It would be a mistake to think DSW is an acronym for Dust Storm Warning, the name of their first full length album, especially when you discover their initial release, an EP from 2011, was titled "Dawn Storm Watchers", making up the same abbreviated moniker. As far as I've been able to tell, DSW aren't providing anything more in depth as to the meaning or story behind those three letters, so we don't know if it's interesting, purposeful, or just plain narcissistic. It doesn't really matter, though, because what matters, of course, is the music, and the music on "Dust Storm Warning" is quality stoner rock, music of the highest quality, a sound that will remain with you quite likely for life, as the best albums always do.

You wouldn't be wrong if you classified DSW's sound as desert rock since they hail from the desert of Lecce, Italy. Having formed in 2010 their only lineup change has been the vocalist. Currently, DSW's members include:

Wolf Lombardi - Vocals
Marco Papadia - Guitar
Stephen Butelli - Bass
Fabio Zullino - Drums

"Dust Storm Warning" charges right out of the gate with a declaration of power and energy on the opening track "Outrun". It's a song with a tight, fast tempo underlying a superbly down tuned guitar used to perfect effect in establishing what to expect from the music that follows - huge jaw shattering riffs and solos, magnified and amplified to grab the ends of your soul and stretch it to its limits, allowing the fluid of fuzz to flow through, enveloping your psyche and fusing into pleasure receptors of pure, perfect, true rock.

Wolf's vocals are meaty, heavy, and as fuzzy as the sound for which it accompanies. Marco's guitars never waver from their multi-pronged mission of riff and solo delivery, of exciting the neurons of stoner rock ecstasy, of effortlessly delivering on the promise of quality. Stephen's bass, too, is a vanguard of power, clearing out any chaff by delivering precise explosions of pure low tuned power. Fabio's stickwork is incredible and fierce throughout each song, carrying the rhythm, accentuating key moments, and melding all into a ferocious cohesive onslaught of music.

"Tripping the Drill" is a tight, harrowing showcase of gargantuan sound, with guitars attacking in wave after wave of ferocious, joyful tempo. "Rise" is a slow, smoldering volcano, beginning with suppressed power and slowly building with beauty to a point of inescapable power.

 



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BISON, BISON - "BISON, BISON"

Bison, Bison is a three piece rock and roll metal band from the St. John's neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, boasting currently of members:

Grant Gerald Miller - Guitar, Vocals
Dylan Reilly - Bass, Harmonica
Eric Johnson - Drums

These three rock virtuosos, having just recently formed in 2011, deliver on this album a sound huge and mighty, betraying their seemingly slight roster. Tempo and melody are a staple of the song collection on this self-titled debut, as well as the aforementioned gargantuan nature of each song track contained within. Beautiful and low, the guitar work on this album is rapture incarnate, as the riffs deliver a tortured, twisted, misshapen beauty of amplified distortion, blending perfectly on highlighted solos and booming bassnotes, always leaving a huge yearning for more than gets delivered. Such is the beauty and power of delivery by Miller on these debut tracks and initial foray into the stoner/doom/psych rock world.

"She Says" wastes no time in setting the standard for tempo, tone, and might. The guitar here is a giddyup delight of galloping power. Reilly's bass work on this, and all songs, stands out by separating from the undertones at key times with flourishes of exquisite riff deliveries. "Rivertown" takes more of a stoner approach with a slow, measured, power of coalescing fuzz and scarcely restrained fury. "Sweetish" takes a fresh approach to the slow build, like a smoldering volcano releasing slight amounts of fury at a time, while simultaneously delivering deep vibrations of kinetic distortion, building and boiling, releasing jets of ferocious solos and riffs, rumbling long and low until the inevitable explosive crescendo.


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New Band To Burn One To: BONEWORM

HEAVY PLANET presents...BONEWORM!

BAND BIO:

Boneworm is Tim Burke. Tim plays guitar and shoulders the burden of knowing exactly how you are going to die.

Boneworm is Dave Becker. Dave plays bass and, like a lich or a Roman emperor, only seems to be growing more powerful with age.

Boneworm is Chaz Rocker. Chaz plays drums and hangs out with your Camaro-driving uncle. 

Ask about the weekend they drove to Reno.

THOUGHTS:
Sorry that I am being lazy on this one, but I really couldn't say it any better than the band already has. This is great stuff! Very Melvins-ish with slow plodding rhythms and heaviness that buries your soul. Read the following then download the goods, it's a name your price download. If you like what you hear, afford the band with your generosity.
(From the band) 
"The themes on Boneworm's self-titled debut are brutish and desolate. Songs of love have their place in timid ballads and frivolous pop ephemera. But concepts like failure and crushing doubt are burdensome beasts that are best caged and conveyed in music that is unafraid to handle them. This has always been the dire necessity of metal music. Boneworm tells these tales by calling upon rasped howls, punishing bass, and the occasional guitar solo that delicately pulls us aside and promises that nothing will ever be ok again.

For a genre that is frequently looking outward into the psychedelic aether, Boneworm offers their doom with a sense of crushing immediacy. Which is the more terrifying, the intricate words of a sinister hex being cast, or plaintively being told that nothing matters because time is already
against you?

To be fair, imagery of bubbling cauldrons and mystic dimensions is overkill when you're already writing your music against the backdrop of Portland, Orygun. A discerning ear will detect the homages and influences, but Boneworm's sound is brewed and bottled in a northwest style. This is the soundtrack to rain-slick blacktop glowing under sodium lamps. This is the thump and rattle of freight trains and rattling windows in the industrial district. This is the distinct sound of Cascadian doom."


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