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.

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Album Review: Ruff Majik - "The Fox"

Whew! Where are my asbestos gloves? This album is HOT!! Searing through the ionosphere from Pretoria, South Africa, screaming towards us cloaked in fuzz stuffed riffs, raucous runs, and joyous melody comes the latest release by one of Stoner Rock's new breed of jam masters, Ruff Majik. "The Fox" delivers six fibrous, rollicking delicacies of amplified fuzz close on the heels of their 2015 offering of "The Bear", itself bursting forth with six jagged metal edges of sharp and smoky stoner standards.

Ruff Majik are comprised of:

Johni Holliday - Guitars, vocals, and narratives
Benni Manchino - Drums and narratives
Jimi Glass - Bass guitar

As an EP of six, "The Fox" has little room and little time to waste in solidifying a sound that will attract the ear of discerning stonerheads. I can safely and securely report they have been quite successful in utilizing every bit, every note, every riff, every run, every song on this astounding release.

"King of the Badgers"  This opening track begins with what would appear to be a setup for a psychedelic riff trip, but before the initial minute has closed the band has unleashed fuzzy hell on our senses, and all out distortion through melodic amplification. Fittingly, Glass's bass begins the riffslaught, followed closely by Holiday's dextrous riff-fire and then Manchino's undertow of power. The tenor of the song is pure stoner bliss, with low tuned distortion and filtered fierceness throughout, before closing on a short, melancholy acoustic coda.

"Wax Wizard" begins with heads tilted simultaneously to the sky at the gargantuan sound and straight downward to the dark abyss of low tuned stoner perfection. This song is deliberate, dank, and darkly determined in its steady onslaught of hammer blows and husky sound detonations.

Third in line is "Canned Fruit Bats", which utilizes a very cool opening couple of minutes. The fidelity at the outset is low, simple, and melodically beautiful, almost as if being played through your portable hi-fi at the beach back in the day. But very cool soon gives way to awesome. Awesome in scope, delivery, and emotion. The band's now customary onslaught begins with, and sustains an up-tempo flow of fuzzy chords and dusty laser riffs wrapped in a vocal and lyrical masterstroke. This song is a treasure.

"Sodoom and Gomorah" is a dirge of dark delight, gloomy and certain in its trudging tempo through melodic muck before revving up its outboard amplifiers to cut a quick and deadly swath toward its riff laden conclusion.

Opening with a poetic reading that is a prelude to what's to come is "Coffin Dragger", another beautifully crafted up-tempo onslaught of fuzz and distortion in the same vein Ruff Majik have perfectly established to this point, but offering up something new and immensely compelling, burying your experience deep into exquisite riffs of bass, string, and skin.

The closer is an emotional ride told in two parts, each equally adept at portraying the darkness of emotion and loss. "Royal Forest" is a beautifully haunting tale, perfectly accentuated through low wailing riffs and woeful vocals.

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Band Submission: Demons From the Dungeon Dimension-Doom, Sludge From South Africa

Band Name: Demons From the Dungeon Dimension
Genre: Doom / Sludge
Location: Durban, South Africa
Brief Bio/Description: In the year that western mortals refer to as 2010, the volcano of Eyjafjallajökull erupted violently in the area you probably know as Iceland (also referred to as Eylenda, Fjalladrottning, or Garðarshólmi). What few of you know is that this opened up a passageway to the centre of the earth; a gateway to the Dungeon Dimensions of the underworld, or Hell.

Hell is a deeply oppressive, fascist bureaucracy, the likes of which we sought to escape at all costs when we spied opportunity during the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull.

Few of your mortal scribes have managed to capture the essence of hell. Dante came close with his Divine Comedy, but was blinded to its true horrors. He was no doubt unfamiliar with the fact that souls are disembodied, and thus cannot feel pain. As such, he erroneously omitted grim details of the bureaucratic bedrock of the death-knell we once called home.

The most accurate description comes from the mortal named Sir Terry Pratchett. His descriptions in such great works as Eric are at times uncanny, truly capturing the essence of our boredom fuelled bureaucratic nightmare of existence. Not only the souls of the damned, but us, the very demons whose fate it is to mete out the evil bidding of the Horned One, are driven to an eternal insanity through the devilish and labyrinthine machinations of everlasting tedium.

When we first escaped to earth we were immediately taken by the musical endeavours of mortals. What a gift! To be free to perform and to listen to whatever music you may choose for yourself! The liberation!

We rebel against the conventions of Hell and the Horned One. We have seen through the propaganda he has sought to spread through the supposedly “individualist”, “satanic” metal scene. We are the reaction to this obvious cauldron of lies and oppression.

We hope our music can help those who are lost find their own way, and can give you the strength to forge your own destiny. Most of all... take pleasure in the music. It is repulsive and raw and beautiful. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we loved making it.

Here is our first recorded piece of music, entitled "Raising Hell"; a sludy, lo-fi feast of doom. Please enjoy responsibly.

Band Members: Demons From the Dungeon Dimension
Links: YouTube | Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter

Song of the Day-Ruff Majik-"Dioboli Musica"

"Dioboli Musica" is taken from the band's EP "The Bear". This 3-piece from South Africa set forth to create the nastiest, rawest, and unintelligible garage-rock possible, and I'll be damned if they didn't succeed. This song is a mixed bag of filthy blues-drenched sludge rock, an organic soulful feel and a downright raunchy groove. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp