Greenleaf - "Trails & Passes"

Greenleaf has always occupied a unique niche in the world of Swedish stoner rock. As a side band with a rotating roster (comprised of musicians handpicked from the likes of Dozer, Lowrider, Demon Cleaner, and Truckfighters) they exist essentially as the musical equivalent of a superhero team. Part of the fun is seeing who shows up when guitarist Tommi Holappa yells "Avengers assemble!" and what havoc that particular permutation will wreak. As a consequence to all the lineup rotations, Greenleaf have exhibited a chameleon-like quality to shift from muscle car fuzzouts ("Witchcraft Tonight") to struttin blooze ("Stray Bullit Woman") to haunting epic ("Nest of Vipers").

On their fifth and latest album Trails & Passes Holappa and mainstay bassist Bengt Backe are joined by newcomers Arvid Jonsson on vocals and Sebastian Olsson on drums. The resulting record is decidedly mature on the surface but deceptively subversive at its core, a dichotomy which actually extends to the visual presentation as well. The beautiful front cover artwork could easily be mistaken for one of those discs on display at the Starbucks counter for people to use as a soundtrack for their Sunday afternoon hikes. Take one look at the outdoorsy group shot on the inside however and you see the band looking like a bunch of guys that just got through disposing of a body in the woods.

Trails & Passes kicks off in blistering fashion with leadoff track "Mother Ash", a full-throttle rocker highlighted not only by Holappa's nimble guitarwork but by the mellifluous vocals of the golden-throated Jonsson. The riffage continues to spew forth like molten blasts of magma on "Equators", replete with cowbell and monolithic fuzz, and "Depth of the Sun" which features rhythmwork from Backe and Olsson that joyously harkens back to Jones and Bonham circa Led Zeppelin I. The focus nonetheless remains on Tommi's guitar, as evidenced on "Humans" with its funky strutting riffs and scorching solo.

"With Eyes Wide Open" begins with a scraping intro that segues into a laid-back spacey vibe. With the refrain of "open up your eyes, don't trust their lies" chanted over hypnotic tribal drumming, the track is easily the record's resident smokeout bong star and would easily be the best tune on the album if not for the monumental title track. Over fuzzed-out bass and a hard charging beat, "Trails and Passes" rips along at a driving pace until erupting in a volcanic avalanche of searing licks. By the time it's done, you're volunteering to go back on the trails and passes with them to help dispose of more bodies.

Trails and Passes by Greenleaf

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Zac's "Double Dose": Deville / The Black Heart Rebellion

 

Deville: Hydra 

If last year's Torche release, Harmonicraft, was 2012's epitome of a pop metal record then Deville's latest, entitled Hydra, will gladly pick up where Harmonicraft left off. Deville, a Swedish quartet based in Malmö, hold a heavy resume filled with two strict stoner rock releases and performances in the company of Fu Manchu, Mustasch and Sepultura. With Hydra, their third full length, the guys loosened their grip on the set stoner rock sound and opened themselves up to criticism by infusing the sonorous characteristics of pop rock and some astute songwriting. Now, while Harmonicraft showed up to the party with a playful vibe Hydra is a little more serious, filled with a young man's angst. Within moments of pressing play you will realize that the musicians here have no anxiety though, displaying a confidence and cohesion that many a veteran band cannot boast. Each musician knows his role and executes that task effortlessly all while increasing the chemistry between the other three band-mates. In the end though one feature of Hydra apexes making these forty-five minutes excellent and truly memorable... Andreas' King Leonidas style vocals. This powerful and intimidating tool along side the gravitating instrumentals niche a new step in the stoner rock ladder allowing Deville to stand out from their other rock peers. Check out the thick progressive sludge tendencies seeping into in the six minute monster Imperial below and get over to Smallstone Recordings Store to get a copy for yourself. If you aren't a believer yet be sure to click the youtube link below for the official video for album opener Lava!

Members: 

 Andreas Bengtsson - Vocals // Guitar 

Markus Åkesson - Bass 

Markus Nilsson - Drums 

Martin Hambitzer - Guitar

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The Black Heart Rebellion: Har Nevo 

This week's second dose is not your expected Doom, Psyche, Sludge or Stoner band that generally grace the virtual pages here at Heavy Planet. Belgium's The Black Heart Rebellion don't even land in any of these genres noticeable characteristics. Their sound actually tends to be minimalist [at times]. However listeners will find tremendous percussion supported by haunting melodies and abounding atmosphere in their completely authentic 2013 release Har Nevo. So, how the hell does Uncle Zac get off promoting this "crap" without RIFFS at the center of this little universe called Har Nevo (that was my poor attempt at comic relief). Well, I ask you for peace and a few moments of your time and TBHR will do the persuading. 

 Har Nevo begins with Avraham a middle eastern tinged tune the likes of OM's Advaitic Songs. Rather than being greeted with a relaxed vocal TBHR's Pieter Uyttenhove initiates the album breathing heavily as though he's been chased to the sanctuary's door only to find it locked. As the exhausted vocals climax so do the percussion and instrumental back-drop and the song fades to nil. The album continues on this path of eerie poetic proclamation and drone-y, post-rock quiet to loud sequences over the course of forty-five minutes. Attentive listeners will find many reoccurring themes through Har Nevo. In my opinion the most prominent are the themes of sin and home. The music and lyrics combined have created, for me, a concept album out of Har Nevo. I'm not sure if this is what the musicians intended, but I welcome it (because, as we all know, I'm quite fond of concept records). From my take the concept runs full circle beginning with Avraham burning down the broken "home" into a errant life full of "beasts", "sin", and "ashes". Just as all good and powerful stories find their eucatastrophe (the moment destruction turns to glory), TBHR's protagonist sheds that old skin through direction and guidance from some brave care-giver toward's the "golden land" of "light". Into The Land Of Another, album zenith and closer, completes the circle with a warm effervescent sound. The tasteful use of a banjo throughout Into The Land Of Another increases TBHR authenticity and brilliance and now although our protagonist is broken he will "rise" and "grow". In the end The Black Heart Rebellion have created something fresh for 2013, something I'm sure will make some friends and enemies throughout the next nine months. I suggest immersing yourself in these vibrations over at bandcamp where the entire album is streaming. Har Nevo offers more to return listeners, so if you find yourself in that category head over to Smoke & Dust's web store to order a copy for yourself.

Members: 

Alex Maekelberg - Guitars // Vocals // Percussion 

Emeriek Verhoye - Bass 

Pieter Uyttenhove - Vocals // Percussion 

Tim Bryon - Drums // Percussion 

Tomas Lootens 

Valentijn Goethals - Guitars

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Swedish Sunday-Brutus

As seen on The Soda Shop.

Today’s featured band on Swedish Sunday is a band that has, until recently, flown under the radar here at The Soda Shop. That band is Transubstans Records artist Brutus. Here is their bio via the Transubstans website.

Around 2006 after countless evenings and nights in front of, and around, their local bar. After heeps of loud discussions and intense arguments on how everything just sounded so much better before – these guys felt the time was right to take matters into their own hands.

Three bearded Swedes and two Norwegians immediately started to deep-dive into their own private collections of LPs and thus the conception of a musical journey was in process.
Inspiration is drawn from amongst others: Blue Cheer, Sabbath, Pentagram and Grand Funk Railroad. In other words: butterfingered, groovy and psychedelic hard rock!

In 2008 Brutus recorded a demo/EP for their own amusement. It didn’t take long before you could read about the result in some of the biggest European magazines like Metal Hammer UK (one of 5 bands under “future stars”), Metal Hammer Greece, Close-Up Magazine (band of the week), Denimzine and others.

Summer 2009 Brutus took the ride to Gothenburg to record the debut album. 11 days & 11 nights at Music-A-Matic Studio (Hellacopters, Sator, Soundtrack Of Our Lives, DAD, Millencolin, Nomads and more) with super producer and engineer Henryk Lipp and Micke Nilsson. 8 tracks was put on tape and ready to be released on Transubstans Records!

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Swedish Sunday-Deville

As seen on The Soda Shop:

After a nice, long holiday weekend, Swedish Sunday is now back. I hope you all enjoyed the holidays, and I hope you’re ready for more great music. Today’s featured artist is the always heavy Deville.


From their MySpace bio:

When it all came together at the end of 2003 Deville was born after some years of searching. Through a haze of rock, metal and stoner the members have found a way to do something that feels… The line-up was complete when Åkesson came back from Australia and Hambitzer gave up soulless pop and joined the inseparable duo, Andy and Markus. Since the 2004 line-up there have been over 150 gigs and festivals in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and Portugal. Deville has also appeared in radio and national press in these countries. Daredevilrecords released at the end of 2005 a double feature cd lp with Deville and gothenburgers Sergej the Freak called Sergej the Freak meets Deville. Deville signed to Buzzville Records in 2007 and the album Come Heavy Sleep was released in Benelux, December 2007 and in the rest of Europe and the US in the beginning of 2008. Hail the Black Sky is the latest album released in June 2009 again through Buzzville in Europe and in the US and the touring in Europe has continued.

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Swedish Sunday-Noctum

As seen on The Soda Shop.

Our next Swedish Sunday goes to a fairly newcomer to the Swedish music scene, Noctum. Noctum have been together for a little over a year. They hail from Uppsala, Uppsala län, Sverige.


Traditional doom metal from Sweden, mixing early Black Sabbath and Pentagram with 70s proto-metal influences a-la Sir Lord Baltimore and Budgie.

Recommended for fans of: Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Count Raven, Witchcraft, Sir Lord Baltimore, etc

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Swedish Sunday – Spice and the RJ Band

As seen on The Soda Shop.

It’s Sunday, and you know what that means! NFL FOOTBALL SUNDAY. Well, that and Swedish Sunday here at The Soda Shop. Today, we are featuring a band formed and fronted by the legendary Spice Sjöstrand.

Spice and the RJ Band is the name of a exciting band featuring vocalist/songwriter Spice (Kayser, ex-Spiritual Beggars) and drummer Bob Ruben (Kayser, ex-The Mushroom River Band). The band released it’s debut album The Will in October 2007 on Scarlet Records. The band is driven by Spice’s insane passion for ‘70s psychedelic/soul/blues/hard rock sound that never disappeared during all those years. In february 2009 they released their sophomore album Shave Your Fear.

For their 2010 release, Feel Like Coming Home, the band changed their name to Band of Spice.

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Swedish Sunday-Dollhouse

As originally seen on The Soda Shop

Welcome once again to Swedish Sunday. Today we step away a bit from the usual heavy stuff and go with some good old fashioned tuned down rock and roll. Today’s featured band is Dollhouse.


Michael Davis, from the legendary Detroit band The MC5, took Dollhouse to his heart and praised the band beyond the ordinary. After he heard their first 7″-vinyl, he flew Dollhouse to the USA in order to produce the band’s debut album “The Rock & Soul Circus” on his own. Moreover, Davis described the guys’ sound as “This is what the MC5 whished we could have sounded like”.

Nicke Andersson from The Hellacopters took the band under his wings and produced their second and very critically acclaimed album The Royal Rendezvous. Andersson himself describes Dollhouse as “one of the best live bands on the planet today“.

Dollhouse has toured a lot, and they always got great response from media. They’ve gathered a big fan base all over the world. Furthermore they have had the opportunity to tour with great names such as; The MC5, The Hellacopters, Radio Birdman, The Flaming Sideburns, The Bellrays, Electric Frankenstein, Hardcore Superstar, Baby Woodrose and King Khan & his Shrines.

Now, 2010, Dollhouse is back with their new album Rock n Roll Revival. The record was originally released in 2009, but since then the band decided to let Nicke Andersson from The Hellacopters re-mix of the whole album. Continue reading ‘Swedish Sunday – Dollhouse’

Swedish Sunday – Burning Saviours

Yes, folks, it is Sunday, and you know what that means. It’s time to showcase more great music from the Scandanavian musical hotbed otherwise known as Sweden. In a bit of a break from our current streak of retro-rock bands, today’s Swedish Sunday is about Swedish “classic” doom metal band, Burning Saviours, from Örebro.


Burning Saviours came together in 2003 when Mikael Marjanen (guitar) and Martin Wijkström (drums) discussed starting a heavy rock/doom metal band. They named the band after a Pentagram song from the album Day of Reckoning. They teamed up with bassist Fredrik Evertsson and vocalist Andrei Amartinesei to record their first demo entitled Dayterrors in 2004. Amartinesei picked up guitar in addition to vocals for their second demo, The Crusade of Evil, also recorded in 2004. The band soon discarded their previous songs and recorded a new demo, Into the Abyss in late 2004. This demo generated enough buzz to get the band added to the annual German “Doom Shall Rise III” festival in 2005 as well as a record contract with I Hate Records. Their self-titled debut was released in May 2005. Hundus, their second album, was released in June 2006 on I Hate Records. A single was released on Rise Above Records in December 2006. In late 2006, vocalist/guitarist Andrei Amartinesei parted ways with the band and was replaced by Fredrik Andersson on vocals and Henry Pyykkö on guitar. In October 2007, their third album, Nymphs and Weavers, was released by Transubstans Records. By February 2008, the band decided they could no longer continue the band, citing they could not even give 30% of their energy to the band.

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Swedish Sunday – Skånska Mord

As seen on The Soda Shop.

Sunday starts the week off for many and it’s no different here at The Soda Shop. Today’s featured Swedish band is Small Stone’s own Skånska Mord. While they’re a new band, the fellas in the band are no freshmen to the music scene. Read on.


Bio via Small Stone:

Klippa och rulla. If one were to translate “Rock and Roll” into Swedish that’s what you’d get. Translate it back and things get a little dicey. Mow and wheel; not quite a literal translation if ever there was one. Strangely, not the worst way to describe Sweden’s Skånska Mord. Fuzzed out psychedelica, the likes of which hasn’t been heard since the heyday of real rock in the 70’s, oozes from the amps and tears across the landscape like some kind of lawnmower on acid. The world starts to spin; everything goes black and then several shades of purple. All that, and then the songs kick in…

Continue reading ‘Swedish Sunday – Skånska Mord’

Swedish Sunday-Dead Man

As originally seen on The Soda Shop.

Today marks the 10th week of Swedish Sunday. Time flies by when you have all of this great music surrounding you. As always, we must thank the Swedes for putting out such great music that deserves special recognition. This week’s artist is somewhat of a supergroup like last week’s artist, Greenleaf. Without further ado, I introduce this week’s band out of Örebro, Dead Man.


From Crusher Records‘ band page:

It all started as an experiment in 2003. Four musicians from Örebro, Sweden decided to pool their talents and it didn’t take long before a new band was formed. Soon after, the moniker DEAD MAN was chosen and the band sprung to life. With each member possessing a wealth of musical experience derived from time spent in various Swedish acts (including the hard rock band NORRSKEN, which featured in its ranks current WITCHCRAFT front man Magnus Pelander, GRAVEYARD members Joakim Nilsson and bassist Rikard Edlund and DEAD MAN’s Kristoffer Sjödahl), the band put their psychedelic, folk and hard rock influences into a pot and began to stir. Within a few weeks of forming, the quartet’s intense songwriting chemistry generated a solid set of hard-hitting, memorable songs.

The first result of the brew was a mysterious 7” that started to appear in the record collections of stoner and hippie fanatics worldwide titled Ship Ahoy! / Thousand Mile Stare. The reaction was immediate and music fans (especially those who had already seen the band’s dynamic live performances) began craving more than just the two teasers songs on the already hard-to-find record. With a number of live gigs now under their belts, the next natural step was to start recording a full-length album. So DEAD MAN snuck into the famous Svenska Grammofon Studion (Soundtrack of Our Lives, The Hives) and began to work.

In early 2006, with a fresh set of songs in hand, DEAD MAN was set to release their debut album. Released via Sweden’s Crusher Records, Dead Man was praised by magazines like Rock Hard, Rumore and Metal Hammer, among others. Blending exciting, colorful musicianship with an unforgettable vocal delivery very much like vintage Quicksilver Messenger Service and Jefferson Airplane, the band was described as “a top notch group, one of the very few out there”. The album’s release and the great reviews were followed up by gigs at the best venues in the capitals of Scandinavia.

In mid 2007, DEAD MAN once again entered the studio to record their second album. If their self-titled debut just the eye-opening introduction, DEAD MAN has certainly awakened the slumbering Scandinavian rock scene with Euphoria…While DEAD MAN’s debut album made a huge impact on stoner and progressive rock fanatics, Euphoria will take the band far away from being labeled as an underground band and will establish them as a genuinely great rock band, plain and simple. Euphoria is a psychedelic folk-rock trip brewed together with the essence of darker and heavier sounds.

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Swedish Sunday – Greenleaf

As seen on The Soda Shop.

Anyone like supergroups? Our next featured band for Swedish Sunday is a supergroup of sorts, Greenleaf.

Bio from the band’s Myspace page:

In theory, forming a rock group seems like a no brain’er. Get a group of musicians who have a shared love of certain bands and who can get along with each other for at least an hour. Hell, sometimes they don’t even have to be musicians (especially if you’re looking at the Top 40 charts). But in reality, it’s a lot tougher, as the essential ingredient? What makes the group truly unique and memorable – is something that can’t be defined, learned, or bought. Call it talent, magic, or whatever you want, but Greenleaf’s got it. A super group of the stoner rock scene, the band was formed sometime in late 1999/early 2000 by guitarist Tommi Holappa (Dozer), drummer Daniel Liden (Demon Cleaner and the drummer on DOZER’s “Through the Eyes of Heathens,” and currently in AND The Machine Said Behold!), and engineer/ bassist Bengt Bäcke. Featuring a revolving cast of fellow musicians who share a love of heavy fuzz rock, including Fredrik Nordin (Dozer), Daniel Jansson (Stonewall Noise Orchestra), and Peder Bergstrand (Lowrider), Greenleaf has consistently defined what rock ‘n’ roll was, is, and should be. You put 2001′s “Revolution Rock” and 2003′s “Secret Alphabets” on and you’re going to have a hard time taking them off. The band cooks, because they’ve got that special ingredient. It’s time to rejoice, because Greenleaf is back with “Agents of Ahriman.” Like their past releases, “Agents” is a righteous kick in the ass and a testament to the almighty riff. This time, Tommi and Bengt are joined by Oskar Cedermalm (Truckfighters) on vocals, Erik Bäckwall (Ex Dozer drummer) on drums, Jocke Åhslund (Payback) on Hammond organ, and a handful of guest appearances. This new lineup keeps Greenleaf moving forward without losing track of what made them great in the first place. Take note – this is what rock bands should sound like. Make way for the “Agents of Ahriman.”

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Swedish Sunday-Siena Root

As originally seen on The Soda Shop.

Siena Root is a group and an experimental project with its roots in analogue old school rock music. The foundation is a trio from Stockholm that’s been around since the late ’90s. The sound is classic but yet original, founded on heavy organ, strat leads, bass riffing and big drums. It is also often enriched with bluesy soulful vocals, indian classical instruments and psychedelic vibes.

In the sense that blues is blue, hard rock is black, and reggae is pan African coloured, this music has the colour of siena. It is a warm, earthy colour, originally from the muddy roots of Toscana. Because this sound has roots that go deep, it was also natural to let root be a part of the bands name.

Four full length albums and one 7″ single have been released so far, each one marking the development and refinement of the bands diverse style. Through touring the music has developed in such a way, that jamming and improvising has become an essential element, always keeping you on the edge of your seat. A Siena Root concert is dramatic and exciting, visually, as well as emotionally. It’s a dynamic rootrock experience.






KG West – guitar, organ
Sam Riffer – bass
Love – percussion

A New Day Dawning (2004)
Nasoni Records, Rockadrome Records (re-issue)

01.Coming Home
02.Just Another Day
03.Shine
04.Fever
05.Above the Trees
06.What Can I Do
07.Little Man
08.Roots
09.Trippin’
10.Until Time Leaves Us Again
11.Words
12.Rasayana
13.Into the Woods

Obviously, classic rock purists will lap this up (if they already haven’t done so), but anyone who can appreciate bluesy rock will dig this. The playing is impeccable, the sound is captivating, and this is highly recommended. Better late than never – get a copy of A New Day Dawning- (John Pegoraro, StonerRock.com)

Buy: Amazon| ATIH |Record Heaven (EU) |Nasoni Records (EU)

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Mountain Songs [EP] (2005)
Nasoni Records

01.Mountain I
02.Mountain II

For me these two tracks show a group with a definite and convincing early 70’s sound. The female heavy soulful rocksinger with group, has a kind of inner progressing direction and drive of power roots derived from bluesrock, comparable to a group like Led Zeppelin, but then with a female singer, and with a more straight forward hard-rocking drive, with its own rhythmical variations on “Mountain I”, and with a strong soul-hardrock energy on “Mountain II”. The single is a teaser for what can be expected on the group’s next (second) release. Promising!- Geraldpsyche

Buy: ATIH |Nasoni Records (EU)

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Kaleidoscope (2006)
Nasoni Records

01.Good and Bad
02.Nightstalker
03.Blues 276
04.Bhairavi Dhun
05.Crossing the Stratosphere
06.There and Back Again
07.Ridin’ Slow
08.Reverberations

One can hear influences from South American, Hindi and North African folk music mixing with rock from the early 70′s, making this THE album no matter what you are looking for…Now you must discover Siena Root for yourself… The Masters of the inner space.- Monolith

Buy: ATIH |Nasoni Records (EU)

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Far from the Sun (2008)
Transubstans Records

01.Dreams of Tomorrow
02.Waiting for the Sun
03.Time Will Tell
04.Almost There
05.Two Steps Backwards
06.Wishing for More
07.The Summer is Old
08.The Break of Dawn
09.Long Way from Home

The guitars still riff it up, but the sitars, mellotron and arrangements head off into a world where Captain Beyond became the biggest band of the seventies and the Pete French fronted Atomic Rooster took up a residency as the British band of choice. That world only exists in my head, which is why I’m delighted to have Siena Root provide the soundtrack…An absolute delight.- HotDigits.co.uk

Buy: Amazon |ATIH| Record Heaven (EU)

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Different Realities (2009)
Transubstans Records

01.We are Them
02.In the Desert
03.Over the Mountains
04.As We Return
05.Bairagi
06.Bhairavi
07.Ahir Bhairav
08.Bhimpalasi
09.Shree
10.Jog

For the most part, Different Realities is great 70′s styled hard rock record. However, the band spends too much of the second suite stuck in that Middle Eastern rut, which comes across as quite jarring after the excellent opening batch of numbers. Still, the first half of this CD is so strong that it more than makes up for the bit of rambling that the band gets into throughout the latter half.- Pete Pardo

Buy: Amazon| ATIH| Record Heaven (EU)

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Facebook|MySpace|Last.fm

As originally seen on The Soda Shop.

Our next Swedish Sunday goes to the highly liked and ultra cool band, Asteroid. A few weeks ago we ran Blowback as a band featured. On there we showed a split that Blowback put out with Asteroid. Well here today is that other half of the split.

Asteroid comes from Örebro, Örebro län Sweden. They formed in the winter of 2003. Together that have released 1 EP, one split album and 2 full length albums.

From Fuzzorama Records:

And the totally awesome band ASTEROID! Heavy, progressive and with a groove that will blow your mind! Swedish spaced out 70′s style fuzzrock at it’s best!!!

Robin Hirse – Lead Vocals, Guitar & Organs
Johannes Nilsson – Lead Vocals & Bass
Elvis Campbell - Drums

Asteroid EP (2005)

1.2029 A.D.
2.Time-Space-Mind
3.Electric Voodoo
4.On The Planet

Buy: Out of Print

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Asteroid (2007)
Fuzzorama Records

01.The Great Unknown
02.Speaking To The Sea
03.Panoramic Telescope
04.The Infinite Secrets Of Planet Megladon
05.Silver Leaf
06.Water
07.Little Fly
08.Strange Trip
09.Flowers And Stones
10.The 13th Witching Hour
11.Dr. Smoke

Buy: Amazon
ATIH

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Asteroid II (2010)
Fuzzorama Records

01.Garden
02.Disappear
03.Karma
04.Karma
05.River
06.Lady
07.Towers
08.Fire
09.Time

Buy: Amazon
ATIH
Fuzzorama

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Split EP with Blowback (2005)

1.Supernova
2.Anagram
3.Electric Voodoo
4.Hexagon
5.Sim-Sala-Bim
6.Walk Alone

Buy: ATIH
Amazon

What I’m quickly discovering about his band I’m going to call the “Asteroid process.” It happened with the Swedish band’s self-titled Fuzzorama debut, and the same seems to be holding true for the numerical follow-up, II, as well. It happens like this: you listen to an Asteroid album, and while you’re in it, the music relaxes you to a barely conscious state. You hear the laid back fuzz tones and feel as though you might melt in them. Maybe you do. And when it’s over, you say to yourself, “Golly, that was pretty good,” and you go about your day. If Asteroid set forth the band’s name as one of the brightest newcomers in 21st Century fuzz, then II confirms the potential. Like its predecessor, it is an album whose appeal will only grow with time, and I already have difficulty imagining it won’t be on my best of 2010 list. (The Obelisk)

A mini review from earlier in the year about the second album: The next release is II (2) by Asteroid. I was expecting this album to come out in the summer of 2009 after the band had announced that is was complete. I had no intention of buying the album right away. In fact I held off on buying it but eventually broke down and got it. I’m glad I did. It exceeded my expectations. They retain that signature sound that belongs to Asteroid. The album sounds like a fuzzed out jazz album minus any brass instruments. A lot of the album sounds like the last track, Dr Smoke, from their first album. The CD case is something to be seen too.

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Swedish Sunday – Kamchatka

As originally seen on The Soda Shop

The Swedes continue to kick our ass with yet another band for Swedish Sunday, Kamchatka. This bluesy, psych stoner band hails from Varberg yet makes an impact the world ’round.

From their biography:

Growing up in Varberg, a small town on the west coast of Sweden, Roger, Thomas and Tobias were all rehearsing at the same place, though in different bands, except for the occasional weekend jam session. In their mid teens, Roger and Thomas moved to pursue their musical carreer elsewhere, Roger to the east and Thomas to the north, while Tobias continued his back home.

Some learnful years of touring and recording albums with all kinds of different acts later, they met up again in Varberg for a Jimi Hendrix tribute concert in 2001, and after a successful performance the guys simply came to the conclusion that they should start a band. This match was too good to go to waste. Kamchatka was formed.

A few years later and after saving up enough money, they decided to record an album in their own studio (which has been developing ever since) with the help of an old friend of Roger’s, Nicholas Elgstrand, who recorded, mixed and produced it together with the band. Bullen & Sillen, friends of the band, mastered it at Studio Mega in Valinge, just outside of Varberg. An old friend of Thomas’, Per Wiberg, who also designed the album cover, hooked them up with a New York based indie label called Grooveyard Records, where the first Kamchatka album was released January 1st 2005.

After about a year of an occasional gig here and there, which were all well recieved, the guys started to get restless, so they decided to record another album, subsequently known as “Volume II”, this time recording it themselves on an eight-track, Tobias bringing the technichal expertise. Once again they called in Nicholas to help mix and produce, but this time mastered it themselves, lending the gear from Jonas Eckerström, another old friend of the band, mainly with Tobias behind the controls. Per, again, standing for the artwork. It was released on Grooveyard Records in January 2007.

After yet another year of an occasional gig here and there (there is a serious lack of venues to play at in sweden), they had started recording their third album when the American rock band Clutch, whom they had opened a few gigs for in Sweden in 2007, invited Kamchatka to open for them on their US-tour, which gave the guys their first opportunity to proove themselves to the American audience. After 21 successful performances they returned back home to complete “Volume III” which was mastered by Johan Eckerblad at Mintelligence Studios and released on Swedish label, Superpuma Records, at the beginning of March, 2009.

In November 2009 Kamchatka were once again invited by Clutch to open for them, this time on a month long tour of 23 gigs throughout western Europe, and as of 2010, they are working on their 4th studio album.

Thomas – vocals, guitar

Roger – vocals, bass
Tobias – drums

Kamchatka (2005)

Grooveyard Records

01.Out of My Way
02.Seed
03.No
04.Mnemosyne Waltz
05.Mixed Emotions
06.Wrong End…
07.Eggshell
08.I Love Everybody
09.Auto Mowdown
10.Spacegirl Blues
11.Sing Along Song
12.Incognito
13.Daddy Says
14.Squirm

Buy: Amazon /CD Baby /Grooveyard Records

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Volume II (2007)

Grooveyard Records

01.Who am I
02.Breathe
03.Terminus
04.Withstand
05.From Here
06.Enemy Maker
07.Heritage
08.Sweet Relief
09.Pogonophonics
10.Feel
11.Jigsaw

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Volume III (2009)

Superpuma Records

01.681
02.Pathetic
03.Astrobucks
04.Look Over Your Shoulder
05.See
06.Wood
07.Sorg
08.Confessions
09.Outnumbered
10.Guess I’ll Be Leaving
11.Whipping Post

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