What is real and what is illusion? It’s a weird question to ask in a world where religion and superstition are relegated to the dusty relics of the past, swapped in favor of seemingly more concrete answers from science, industry, and technology. Yet here we are in this strange hall of mirrors where nothing is what it seems, as AI takes over more and more of the online space (now even music and visual media), making it increasingly difficult to scope out what’s real from what’s not – from the news to relationships. Add ubiquitous mind-altering chemicals into the mix and humanity finds itself drowning in a world of illusions.

They’re taking everything you’ve got
They’re taking your damn pride

Kelowna, British Columbia band SWEETBEAST urges us to “wake up from this Illusion” in their sweeping new single. Undergirding the song, which concludes a powerful new album of the same name, is a dire heart-gripping dirge which sounds ominous as hell. Some of you may prefer the familiar standby description badass, because it totally is – especially when you turn up those speakers with full bass. Some real riff worship here. A slow headbanger you’ll want to experience live.

“The closing track, ‘Illusion,’ serves as a wake-up call to awareness,” says the band. “It encourages listeners to confront the deceptive nature of their realities and societal constructs. The repeated urging to 'wake up’ reinforces the theme of breaking free from illusions that cloud perception. The imagery of ghosts and whispers suggests a yearning for truth amidst confusion, creating a sense of urgency to reclaim one’s identity.”

At 3:29 the band breaks its rusty cage and runs through the dense damp forests, seeing red all around as dizzying panic ensues. Then a return to the damning depths of those downtuned guitars as a coven of acolytes vows to burn the witch.

Grungy heavy rock with fuzzy psychedelic twists win the day in 'Illusions’ (2025), tapping a similar vein to bands like Queens Of The Stone Age, Stone Temple Pilots, All Them Witches, Kyuss, and Alice In Chains. While standing distinctly on their own turf, SweetBeast dishes out addictive grooves and punchy lyrical moments. Out February 21st on Humalien Records pre-order here. You can read more details about the album and this track below.

Now get your get on, as Doomed & Stoned brings you the world premiere of the SweetBeast’s music video “Illusions.”

SOME BUZZ

Hailing from Canada’s Okanagan Valley in Kelowna, BC, SweetBeast is gearing up to make its debut full-length “Illusions” heard by the masses this coming February 2025. Unshackling the first single “Dream Eater” this past November, they are offering the next glimpse into their pressurized sludgy psychedelic stoner rock with their new music video for “Illusion”, which features vocal harmonies done by the lovely ladies of Vancouver trio Space Queen.

SweetBeast’s first studio album “Illusions” is a sonic exploration of shifting realities, blending heavy, distorted riffs with introspective lyrics. It invites listeners to journey inward and outward, reflecting the complex relationship between mind, sound, and reality. The record leans heavily on low-tuned guitars, swirling effects, and a tight rhythm section that creates a dense, atmospheric sound. There’s a hypnotic groove throughout, with moments of psychedelic exploration, where riffs evolve into mind-bending progressions. The songs fluctuate between creative riffs and light, airy melodies that offer a contrast, pushing the boundaries of stoner rock.

The album’s closing track, “Illusion” captures the essence of awakening and self-discovery, with fuzzed-out guitars and emotional guitar solos that drive the message home. Space Queen’s vocal harmonies elevate the song to new heights, creating a rich tapestry of sound that invites listeners to explore the depths of their realities. With its haunting lyrics and dynamic instrumentation, “Illusion” serves as both a rallying cry and a moment of introspection.

The band comments on the making of the song:

“We laid down this entire album, live off the floor, in just 2 days. Now of course there were a few overdubs that we plugged in during that weekend but by the end of the 2 days, all that was left was the mixing and mastering. We also added some special treats post-production that made the songs really pop, like vocal harmonies in the song “Illusion” done by our friends in Space Queen, and a few studio effects for added flavor. When we told the studio what we had planned to accomplish that weekend they thought we were crazy, and said it’s usually at least a week of studio time to get all those songs laid out. But we got it done and couldn’t be happier with the results.”

Cali stoner metal vets DEAR DECEASED stretch back into those exciting experimental days of the early 1990s, when they band broke away from a stereotypical corporate sound and got, well, grungy.. Everything got heavier, it seemed, and much, much more down to earth.

Active in the San Jose area, Dear Deceased members went on to be involved in influential acts of the day. George Rice (rhythm guitar, bass) was the original bassist for High on Fire, for example, and Mitchell French (bass) fronted Operator Generator. Rounding out the group: the husky vocals of Erik Kliever, commanding guitarist Ryan Landes, and bulwark drumming from Chris Musgrave.

Recently, the group announced the special reissue of their early material as part of Ripple Music’s Beneath The Desert Floor vinyl series. The band’s forthcoming full-length is a brawny collection of 8 tracks, a mix of grunge, blues, and some thumping low end. It captures the spirit of an era, with a sound that’s big, sweeping, and audacious, as you’ll hear from the lumbering new single we’re premiering today, opening number “Traffic.”

Look for ‘Beneath the Desert Floor: Chapter 7 - Dear Deceased’ (2024) on Ripple Music, with the album dropping December 9th (pre-order here). A must for fans of Nirvana, Godsmack, Temple of the Dog, and Core-era Stone Temple Pilots.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Californian 90s stoner metal veterans DEAR DECEASED (with former High On Fire, Operator Generator members) are set to issue their early recordings for the first time on vinyl and digital this December 9th, as part of Ripple Music’s “Beneath The Desert Floor” special series.

Dear Deceased formed in San Jose, CA, in 1990. Their heavy, rhythmic sound and complex arrangements took form out of the ashes bands whose members were influenced by everything from West Coast crossover thrash to post-punk, glam rock, industrial, grunge, British heavy metal and especially, Black Sabbath.

The material flowed from the quartet, but they lacked a frontman. So the band continued to play instrumentally until one pivotal show when the audience got a surprise. Nobody in the crowd knew Dear Deceased had invited a vocalist to join them onstage to have a go at singing live. Emerging from the audience, clutching the mic, the unknown singer belted out a song. His soaring vocals meshed perfectly with the band’s angular riffs and pummeling rhythm section. They now had their vocalist.

With the lineup complete, Dear Deceased immediately booked a recording session at House of Faith, the Bay Area studio known for punk and metal run by the masterful Bart Thurber. Initially distributed as cassettes, these recordings soon became coveted cult items among fans. Before long, the band was selling out shows with their intense, live performances. Dear Deceased’s remarkable sound soon caught the attention of record labels. Yet despite the interest, the band dissolved before a label deal could materialize. Lacking the widespread distribution of the pre-streaming era, the music faded into relative obscurity.

Fast forward to years later, when Thurber came across the master tape in his archives. This find led to a revival of Dear Deceased’s music, with Ripple Music stepping in to give the songs a proper release. A new rendition of the band’s art, has been re-drawn by long-time friend Rob Klem in keeping with the band’s original vision and includes an insert with archival photos by Brandy Bennet Jordan.

“Dear Deceased” is the seventh chapter of Californian music label Ripple Music’s “Beneath The Desert Floor” series, which unearths long-lost treasures from the golden days of stoner and desert rock, such as releases from Fireball Ministry, The Awesome Machine, Glitter Wizard, Witch White Canyon, Rollerball and the Sabians.

We introduced you to PHANTOM HOUND on The Doomed and Stoned Show, and their soulful, heavy as all get-out debut, ‘Mountain Pass’ (2020), which made many an end-of-year list. It’s a powerful, metal-plated mastif of grunge-influenced rock with an authenticity true to the historic past and surroundings of the doomy heavy psych band from west-central California.

Now comes word of a new LP, 'From Boom Town to Ghost Town’ (2024), on Glory or Death Records. Phantom Hound comments on its themes:

This record is about changing landscapes, uncertain home fronts, wealth and poverty, struggle and success. It’s about persistence at all costs one day, and accepting when things have come to an end on another. A story of the skeletons in our own backyard.

Today, Doomed & Stoned presents the world premiere of its first single, “Gold Fever.”

The song begins with a strong, low-end rumble, a ripple through the prairie ground, unsettling rocks and roots like a Tremors’ worm. The beat is undeniable at 1:34 when the bass takes the spotlight and you can really feel the groove.

Vocals are clean with moments of release that soar with the ferocity and might of a Chris Cornell. Lyrically, the band says the track’s “about greed and never having enough which seems to be a pretty common theme with today’s leaders.” Great guitar solo near the close, reminiscent of the Metal Gods.

Look for Phantom Hound’s From Boom Town to Ghost Town available June 19th for pre-order with early bird deals via Glory or Death Records.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Originally formed in 2013 as “Hound”. The original lineup consisted of Keith Hernandez on bass, Dominic Torres on drums, & Jake Navarra on guitar and vocals. The power trio quickly recorded and released The Ether EP in 2016 focusing on desert rock driven riffs and grungy blues licks. After several lineup changes in the following years the core lineup was ironed out with Jack Stiles on drums and Stephen Rogers on bass & keys. This new and refreshed lineup explored multiple tunings and influences ranging from doom metal, blues rock, and classic rock then officially expanding the name to “Phantom Hound” in 2018 and collectively focused on self-releasing their debut album Mountain Pass in 2020 via in-house record label Devil Blues Records with producer Chris Hughes.

While pushing 'Mountain Pass’ throughout the pandemic, the band went on tour at the first opportunity in the fall of 2021 on a Pacific Northwest run and followed up with another southwest tour fall of 2022 to push the release. In 2023 the band reunited with producer Chris Hughes & entered the studio to record their sophomore record. Taking influence from current day heavy psych lords such as All Them Witches, Elder, and King Buffalo and mixing them with core inspirations such as Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, & Sleep; the new record experiments with a brand new heavy psych sound, bolstered backing vocals, guitar harmonies, synthesizers, and an endless onslaught of massive hooks the band has become known for.

The Oakland, California power trio will be releasing their sophomore record “From Boom Town To Ghost Town” on Glory or Death Records in September of 2024.

Phantom Hound has supported such acts as Belzebong, Greenbeard, Hippie Death Cult, Spirit Mother, 16, Holy Grove, Disastroid, Kadabra, Serial Hawk, Three Towers, & High Tone Son of a Bitch.

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By Billy Goate

From Port Orchard, Washington, home of Mos Generator, comes KITSA, which I like to describe as a blue collar act, a working man’s band, if you will. As my cohost John Gist said of them on a recent episode of The Doomed & Stoned Show, “This band has a good accessible sound to them without being wimpy.”

The Kitsa vibe is steeped in the rugged history of their waterfront community, which still has an old school Pacific NW feel to it, with the Olympic Mountains never far from eyeshot. Close enough to Seattle to feel a welcome grunge influence, too.

Today, Doomed & Stoned brings you a brand new music video from the band’s recent debut LP, 'Dead By Dawn’ (2024), presenting the title track in a motion graphics treatment by DrainHope.

“Seeds of Famine” is a grungy, swampy heavy rock number with hints of Alice in Chains and Black Sabbath. Husky vocals from Skot Davis fall somewhere in the neighborhood of Kurt Windstein and Zakk Wylde. Lyrics reflect regret in the face of one’s mistakes, drowning sorrows in hard work, loud music, and a tall frothy beer.

Seeds of famine
Only ever sewn

And my demons have come to get me
Into darkness I run

Beautifully captured by producer Tony Reed, Kitsa’s Dead By Dawn released in February and is available in digital and physical formats, including vinyl pressing, through Music Abuse Records (get it here).

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

KITSA is a rousing heavy rock act hailing from the salted aura of Port Orchard, Washington. Launched in 2022, the band’s music is deeply rooted in weighty riffs, spanning various genres over several decades, with a deep nod to Pacific Northwest grunge.

With Elder, The Sword, Down, Alice In Chains, and Nazareth cited as some of their influences, the foursome of KITSA comprises members from eclectic bands, including Devilbilt, YEDD, Teepee Creeper, Pivot Point, Earthwreck, and Abused. In April 2023, KITSA released three incendiary live demo tracks recorded by Jeremy Deede and Tony Reed at Devils Child Records.

Later in 2023, the band set out to record their full-length debut, 'Dead by Dawn.’ A melting pot of musical forces, the record features an assortment of sweet, sweeping vocal harmonies on the title track “Dead by Dawn,” the live fan favorite “Journeyman,” and a classic rock banger “Seeds of Famine.” Dead by Dawn is transcended by hard-hitting muscled tracks like “She” and “Hate.”

DEAD BY DAWN by KITSA

Dead By Dawn was produced by the venerable Tony Reed, with all songs written by KITSA. Reed recorded, mixed, and mastered the album at APL and HeavyHead Recording Co. in October and November of 2023. The gifted Jerry Padilla and Rob Lorenz created the album’s intimidating artwork.

KITSA’s debut album is a formidable contender for the new year, boasting vigorous and versatile songs that showcase a combination of technical proficiency and artistic elegance that caters to many sorts of music enthusiasts.

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It’s been just a minute since we featured a new band from Portland, Oregon, where we began our landmark compilation series back in 2014. I can say there’s nothing more exciting than visiting venues like Dante’s, World Famous Kenton Club, The High Water Mark, Star Bar, and a plethora of other metal bars and encountering acts as electric as the one before us. Coming out into the chilly air afterwards at one, two in the morning, walking buzzed down damp, sleeping streets, and feeling the psychological reverb of what you’ve just experienced. There truly is no better experience here than live for the heavy music acolyte.

From the City of Roses comes the exhilarating three-piece act KINGHORN, an electric trio that features the combined talents of Brandon Whalen on guitar and vocals, Aaron Blanchard on bass and vocals, and Nicholas Jones on drums and backing vocals – each of which have been in a fair number of local bands over the years.

Formed in 2019 with “a bunch of gear, high volume, and beautiful angsty aggression,” the band has been prolific during these recent chaotic times, following up their Short Stories EP in 2020 and self-titled debut in 2021 with a brand new album, ‘Empty Handed’ (2024).

Here before us are 10 bombastic tracks that combine as a wrecking ball of post-everything, with a vicious punk attitude, smashing energy, and furious hardcore tendencies.

Says the band:

The connectivity of existential dread and fear of the unknown is a powerful unifier – instilling the understanding that we are all in this together; we are all one.

“Cold Hearts” begins the record strong with shoegazy rhythms, feats of drumming, and a melodic chorus. Don’t be fooled by this description, it’s heavy as all hell. Meanwhile “Dirty Hands” has all the low-end heft of fellow Oregonians Yob.

“Spoiler” continues the trend with brash, roaring vocals. Rhythmic tendencies are belligerent, with deep, bruising bass licks, unruly drumming, and a guitar that can be bittersweet, dire, or crunchy as the need dictates.

Every song charges out of the gate with astonishing verve, like the track “Cleanup,” – frightful in its combativeness. There are moments of dazing reflection here, too, with damning full-band chords in the song’s last minute (bleeding next into the title track).

“Spoiler” is a barnstormer if there ever was one, donning bass that simply rocks the senses. Lead single “Narcicity” erupts with broiling emotion (“a feeling you’ve been caught in a landslide and buried alive,” the lyrics go).

Other songs venture into grunge territory like “Jeanette” and would pair well with any of Melvin’s early albums or even Mastodon’s Leviathan. Maybe my favorite of the record for its stormy, tossing sonic waves.

The opening beat on “Iron Stoic” is larger than life, with dissonant, angsty guitar riffs and rumbling bass that usher us through the record’s longest track. The singing is boss all the way, with a toe dip into melodic and harmonic territory for the chorus. The guitar solo is fittingly drowned in the morass of the band’s collective might. It’s loud, loud, loud, and that’s the way we like it.

Kinghorn’s new album dashes and crashes with foolhardy might, one of the best in class of the year thus far. Recorded and engineered by Mike Vera at Brown Sound Studios and mastered by Stephan Hawkes, you can get Empty Handed on Bandcamp right here.

Stick it on a playlist with Trap Them, Baptists, Black Breath, Whores, and Enabler.

Give ear…

I first encountered THE COMPANY CORVETTE at the inaugural Psycho Las Vegas. A lot of people were talking about that set in the Vinyl room of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. I was won over by their sludgey disdain and fucked-up jadedness. That was way back in 2016, and the band was fronting their 3rd album, Never Enough.

Now, seven years and three albums later, the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania band returns with their 4th LP, ‘Little Blue Guy’ (2023). A lot of life has gone by between records and I was curious how the band sounded now, and in the back of my mind wondered whether I would still be into it. Turns out Little Blue Guy is a grunge and doom lover’s fever dream come true.

“We work real slow,” says the band, “far slower than any of the songs on this album. This one took some sauntering. Hearing the drums and all the tones dialed in just right in the studio made us feel real good. And all the beers… Our constantly re-upped cooler worked as hard as we did. The heavy songs came out sounding massive, and the rocking stuff was fun as hell. We really love this album.”

There is indeed much to love here. The band makes a bold choice in giving us a thick slab of red meat right from play, with title track “Little Blue Guy.” It’s about 8 ½ minutes in length and I was expecting the other tracks to follow suit, but the numbers get lower from here, with the next songs clocking in at 5:45, 3:04, and 2:17, then back up to 3:38, 4:36, and 7:06. So there’s plenty to check out before you form an absolute opinion on the album, or the band if this is your first time hearing them.

Singing is Ozzyesque (shades of “Iron Man”) and the atmosphere is warm and dark, with hints of danger lurking. The guitar is in the mood for trouble, and belts out some pretty riffalicious moments here. The bass gets its moments to shine, as well.

“Marshmallow” takes us down into the very depths of dank, where menacing trills and rainy tremeloes rumble all the graves in the yard. Vox are deranged and harsh, and the guitar returns the ire with a shrieking, maniacal solo that scrapes fingernails on the doors of dissonance. There are some unnerving, but totally cool, pedal effects, as well.

The raunchy Nirvanaesque pipes on “Out of Control” had me thinking of what zombie Kurt Cobain would sound like were he to suddenly come alive in the present day. Imagine how pissed he would be, then take heed to vocalist/bassist Ross Pritchett and imagine no longer. At times, the singing feels emotionally shaken, teetering on the edge of psychosis. There’s an awesomely spaced-out solo in this one, so don’t miss it. The drumming is wild and rambling, too, giving it plenty of character.

“Brain Cells… But Who’s Buying?” begins the B-side, conjuring weird Melvins vibes (even the song title has a King Buzzo humor to it), but once again ultra sludgey, tuned down, at a slow headbanger’s pace. Guitarist Alexei Korolev takes every song over the top with his own brand of smart, punky commentary. Lyrically, it seems to be about someone deleting their brain cells by inhaling a rag full of fumes. But the chorus (particularly the singular use of “brain cell”) made me think that it’s a double entendre referring to someone trapped in a prison of their own making. While this is sung, the guitar tickles our brains with sardonic arpeggios, giving me the impression of rocking back and forth in a straight jacket.

“Stupid” is a good, old fashioned grunge rocker with a stinging riff and stinging words. The shortest of the 8-song set, it bleeds right into a speed/thrash rocker “Drag,” which this time made me think of zombie Lemmy! It’s good to hear a balance of tempos on the album, without feeling like you’re hearing an altogether different band. There’s a cohesiveness of style that holds up with considerable strength when stretched across genre boundaries.

“Ted Teddler” is well-placed at this point in the record, and it comes as soothing medicine with a funky stride. The guitar has a dual role with rhythm and riff, vocals are dead-pan and apathetic, and the drums-bass combo relentless. It made me think of driving in a pick-up truck down a dark, forested road in the middle of nowhere, with only headlights to make sense of it all. “We just spent on” goes the refrain, and it’s one of several lyrical references to spending throughout the album. It doesn’t seem to be in reference to money, either, but the literal tendering of one’s life, which I found to be interesting.

The record ends strongly with “Lit The Wrong End”. There’s a subtle Mark Arm flair to it for about three minutes, then at 3:49 it turns into an amp worshiping droning dirge of doom, with tangly psychedelic guitar riffing on top of a oh-so-dirty bass groove. The band says they improvised this one in the studio (see below) and I rather like the result, especially its midsection.

I haven’t said much about drummer Zach Price, but he’s one of the big reasons why this album succeeds, with his unusual patterns, fills, and filigrees. He makes every song interesting to listen to, especially when the overall rhythm might be slow and doomy. The band shows good instincts and chemistry all the way around.

The Company Corvette’s Little Blue Guy is coming out Friday, December 1st, on Strange Mono Records in vinyl, cassette, and digital formats (pre-order here). Stick it on a playlist with Mudhoney, Melvins, Sleep, and early Clutch.

Give ear…

The Company Corvette’s Guide to Little Blue Guy

  Words by guitarist Alexei Korolev
   Photos by Nelson Carlson

1 - Little Blue Guy: Doom as fuck. Slow and heavy as we can stand it, with a slab of minimalist psychedelia in the middle - a vacuum of sorts to suck out your brain and then slowly regurgitate it back in. Lyrics stem from that time we ate mushrooms in my shitty old tiny apartment and Ross saw something, or someone.

2 - Marshmallow: This one punches you in the gut real slow. We LOVE Cathedral and old school doom metal - it’s in our blood, we can’t help it. I tried to hurt my ears with the guitar “solo”. I’m no Dave Chandler, but a fellow can try, right?

3 - Out of Control: Kind of like a fast song played slow…. Or a slow song played fast. Still heavy and with “just let it loose” shredding and banging drums (I’m no Matt Pike and Zach may not be Dez, but a fellow can try, right?) Everyone kicks ass and is ‘in your face’ on this one!

4 - Brain Cells… but Who’s Buying: This one felt too different and we almost abandoned it. But sometimes it felt just right and once we named it, we had to keep it.

5 - Stupid: A Ross riff, if you ever heard one. He’d wanted to say ‘fuck’ in a song for a while, and finally we let him. The guitar lead was played through a little old amp with busted tubes and it sounded weird as hell. Good tubes are overrated.

6 - Drag: Loosely played thrash metal with a super fun-to-play guitar solo and lyrics about getting dosed.

7 - Ted Tedder: Driving around with a buddy named Ted Tedder, remembering the good times and doing the wrong things. Our attempt at a disco part. Still not sure it worked.

8 - Lit the Wrong End: We like a loosie-goosie to cap the album. That one had some loose ends, so we just winged it in the studio. Psychedelic jam turning heavy - yep, that’s us!

South Africa’s CRASH AND THE VOID conjures powerful, swampy southern rock for their latest single and music video, “The Villain.” The guitars couldn’t sound sweeter in this tale of rapid degeneracy. Lyrics describe a person with nothing and no one to live for except fast times and hard living. The video presents one man’s one nihilistic descent into pure evil, with a certain tongue-in-cheek Grand Theft Auto flair about it (more on the band’s inspiration below).

“The Villain is a parody of what we believe villains are like,” says Crash And The Void’s Marius, “when they are in fact usually much more sly, banal and calculated.”

You can get the track tomorrow, November 10th, right here. Be sure to stick it on a playlist with some Stone Temple Pilots. This is the Doomed & Stoned world premiere.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Prepare to embark on a sonic journey through the cosmos as Pretoria based, South African heavy alternative cosmic rock sensation, Crash and The Void, unveils their latest creation: The Villain. This genre-defying single, coupled with a visually stunning music video, promises to captivate audiences worldwide with its unique blend of cosmic soundscapes and thought-provoking themes. The track is taken from their self-titled debut album set to drop early 2024.

Inspired by the profound philosophies of political thinker Hannah Arendt and the controversial concept of “moral relativism”, The Villain delves into the depths of moral relativism, drawing further inspiration from the profound works of Friedrich Nietzsche. The track challenges preconceived notions of villainy, offering a satirical take on the archetype by portraying the antagonist as sly, banal, and calculated – a far cry from the conventional, over-the-top depictions.

The Villain narrates the story of a determined go-getter, navigating a world teeming with individuals driven by bad circumstances and chance. The character, portrayed with an unexpected relatability, struggles to sow chaos and disorder. Despite failing to achieve the intended mayhem, the Villain’s resilience and perseverance make him an unexpectedly endearing and relatable figure.

When asked about the inspiration behind the song vocalist, guitarist and chief songwriter Marius Schutte says, “I tried to write a song that combines classic rock tropes with film score elements usually associated with Villains and bad guys, combining the two sounds left me with the basic building blocks of The Villain. The chord changes make you feel like a super-villain executing your master plan to secure world domination.”

Here’s music for rainy fall days and bleak winter nights, full of warmth , inviting vocal harmonies, and an overall grungy feel. This is I AM LOW, and today we’re giving you a first-listen to the band’s upcoming full-length release. Their 2020 EP Illusions “pulls you right in with its filthy tone, shimmering solos, and characteristically dulled singing,” I wrote at the height of the pandemic (review here). Now comes ‘Úma’ (2023), which may not be the band’s first album (their press clippings mention three total, plus two EPs), but it is certainly their first long-play of this decade and line-up.

“Gunman” is a strong desert rumbler with irradiated guitar fuzz, heavy bass grooves, and clean stoner singing with arresting moments of harmony that come across as smooth as a pair of sunglasses on a smokey club stage. Cool, man, very cool. “Dead Space” brings to mind the sanguine pipes of Layne Staley on songs like “Rain When I Die,” with frontman/guitarist Kristoffer Norgren and drummer/backing vocalist Oskar Melander hitting even bleaker notes accented by buzzsaw guitar tone As I listen, images of white opaque fog on a crisp October morning come to mind. Before we get too far into our feelings, “Ruins” rescues us with a riffy stoner romp that lasts all of two minutes, but feels more substantial than its length.

Melander’s drums and Anton Höög’s bass mete out a swaggy bouncing rhythm for “Wake” and this one is really basting in early '90s atmosphere, where the guitar tone is especially reminiscent of SAP era Alice in Chains. “Úma” is the album’s namesake track and I initially suspected that it might be a Swedish word, but was unable to account for it (beyond its use in a plethora of other languages where it means either “farm,” “water,” or “to be bad”). The track presents mysterious atmosphere with sparse beats, numb strumming, jaded vox, and a sanguine guitar solo.

“Pigs” perks the mood right back up: the sun is shining, you’re feeling good, and ready to hit hard pavement in search of smokes. Once again, bass and drums collab to work magic and the chorus brings us a King’s X kind of ahhhh moment, where you can just melt right into the euphonious crooning.

Slow songs aren’t easy to pull off, but I Am Low bring their best features to bear (mellifluous singing, gorgeous guitar tone) for “Time,” a meditation on how the clock keeps on ticking and time keeps on slipping from us. A three-and-a-half minute instrumental interlude (“Void”) takes us to the album’s ultimate number, “Release.” Vocals are clean and sincere for the closer, making me think of '60s folk. When the band takes flight, it’s a bustling ride through deserts of psychedelic fuzz, with hints of the blues as the guitar works wonders.

Look for I Am Low’s Úma this weekend, releasing via Majestic Mountain Records on September 27th (pre-order here). Stick it on a playlist with Alice in Chains, QOTSA, Kind, Foot, and Lowrider.

Give ear…

There’s something about the music of RED CLOUD that just makes me smile. I’ve heard practically all of these songs performed live and witnessed the toe tapping and head bobbing at shows. Red Cloud’s The Ruby Armada, Volume Two has an irresistible throwback alternative rock sensibility, wrapped in a cocoon of warm fuzz, grungy beats, and thoughtful melodic textures.

“No Left Turn” begins with a riff that stops you in your tracks – wherever you’re going, whatever you’re doing – and compels you to listen. Where it leads you is all part of the fun. On the one hand, it takes you down gnarled, pock-marked road with doom in the air, but waiting round the bend are these happy-go-lucky verses that trot Quixotically down the path oblivious to the danger.

Frontman Aaron Williams says: “The lyrics feature borrowed and twisted prose from Robert Frost 'The Road Not Taken’ as well as a traditional folk song 'Am I a Soldier of the Cross’ (which I gleaned while reading Little House on the Prairie to my kids!) All rolled up into an epic stoner pop anthem.”

Before dreams of colonizing space grabbed humanity’s collective imagination, it was the mysteries of the earth’s insides that had us wondering. Red Cloud lifts their title straight from the classic Jules Verne novel of 1864: “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”

The space age did nothing to lesson our fascination for all things underground. My dad’s generation had blockbuster movies like Unknown World (1951), The Mole People (1956), Battle Beneath the Earth (1964), and Crack in the World (1965), while Generation X had Land of the Lost (1973-1977) and countless cartoons like InHumanoids (1986) exploring the caverns of the deep. Millennials, meanwhile were treated to a slew of movies at the turn of the century like The Core (2003), including many attempts to bring the novel plausible to a more jaded and technologically-rich audience.

Red Cloud’s treatment of the subject matter is mysterious and enchanting, with an unsettled mood that once again hints there could be danger lurking around every corner. “Lyrics here reflect upon the human race’s impact and its dire effect on our Mother Earth (Soon no more the way you’re living),” William says.

“Cut and Run” has got the rainy-day comfort of something that I’d hear on college radio in the '90s. The verses and chorus are easy on the ears, and a tad bittersweet.

“This one is introspective and focuses on the need to make a quick and sometimes hard choices in life,” Williams explains. “I wrote this one when I was looking at my patterns and dependence with alcohol and the need to purge things from my life. At the end of the day, you see trees as the fog lifts: (In a haze a broken daze no more We can see what it’s about).” The sentiment here is right in line with “Free Falling,” only Red Cloud says: “I wanna blaze.”

“MTNS” has a groove metal start with plenty of chug, a hearty tempo, and searing guitar licks. The chorus is bright and sincere:

Things Change, They Stay the Same
With the Mountains in our way
I don’t know but, I’ve been told
The Mountains they will move away

According to the band, the song is “a massive redux on a track called Mountains from our previous release Ursa Minor. We felt that we brought new energy to the track and it shows! Lyrics are about realization that our struggles are not in vain and that the obstacles of life we be conquered.”

The EP concludes with “Viva! Cascadia!” with a sprinting rhythm and smoking hot desert rock engine. Red Cloud says, “This is our anthem to the Pacific Northwest! The lyrics are about disapproval with the government’s way of protecting the upper class and ruling elite. We chant Viva! Cascadia! with the youth of the PNW in hopes that one day we can self-govern and be an independent nation, free from the United Snakes of Amerikkka!”

The Ruby Armada, Volume Two is out now and if you dig it, definitely check out the first volume (reviewed here). The record was tracked and produced by the band and mixed by Mario Quintero of Spotlights. Stick it on a playlist with Alice in Chains, Tom Petty, Kyuss, and Elder.

Give ear…

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Get Their Music

Magnetic Eye Records has done it again. They’ve pulled together some of the most intriguing and accomplished artists of the heavy underground to pay tribute to a legendary album. The last go-round, it was Alice in Chains that got the redux treatment, and now attention is turned to their Seattle peers, the one and only SOUNDGARDEN.

It’s no secret that Soundgarden has been influential on many of the musicians featured. Indeed, upon this writer, as well. Their 1995 classic Superunknown established the band’s visionary songwriting and instrumentation, and Soundgarden delivered such a virtuosic performance on the album, one wonders how it can be covered at all.

With that said, these are not merely covers, they are loving reinterpretations. In the case of Italian juggernaut Ufomammut, their rendition of “Let Me Drown” is a ghostly allusion to the late Chris Cornell.

“My Wave” has played out as a kind of grab-it-and-go philosophy of life for me for decades now, its lyrics rejecting that urgent fanaticism that makes us all anxious to parent one another. “Hate if you want to hate, pray if you want to pray, don’t come over here [and] piss on my gate, save it just keep it off my wave.” High Priest takes the song and elevates it to a place of mystical glory.

If you loved the original album, this won’t replace it and you may even feel that some of the songs are uncoverable and “Fell on Black Days” is one of them, namely for how personally the lyrics relate to Cornell. On the other hand, sometimes a song is so good that it begs to be loved by another artist. Chosen for this song: Marissa Nadler, an American singer-songwriter who has been widely praised for her Gothic stylings and sanguine sound. Here, it feels as if we really did drown after the opening track and we’re hearing the song sung from the ocean depths.

I was excited to see Chicago Doomed & Stoned Festival alumni Somnuri tackling “Mailman,” as it’s an ideal fit for their temperament. It’s such a seething, lonely song about betrayal and revenge, but I’ve visited it many times in my life. The Brooklyn trio does a fantastic job with it, with vocals that are powerful in their own right and a few menacing touches (the later contrast of clean and dirty vox, for example).

Valley of the Sun takes “Superunknown” for a spin with a certain low-riding desert rock energy and vocals that admirably reach for those famous soaring highs. There are even some Doors-esque organ highlights that seemed perfectly in place, proving how a good song can transcend its original arrangement.

“Head Down” is a song that perfectly captures the apathetic resignation of deep depression. Frayle hone in on the sparseness of the composition with searching guitar riffing and a creepy, haunted vocal performance that brings alive the pernicious voices of doubt and fear (“We see you laugh, we see you dance, we take that away everyday”).

“Black Hole Sun” is another I was skeptical about, but Spotlights have really won me over with their version of it. The contrast of soft singing and strumming guitar and bass was compelling in itself, but the band doubles down on awesome with crackling, fuzzy low-end during the verses and entrancing vocal harmonies. At times, I may prefer this to the original (and that’s partly because I don’t want that great song to be spoiled by over-familiarity)

I really like what Horseburner does with the famous “Spoonman.” Once again, a confident reinterpretation that showcases the band’s strengths, namely gnarly guitar, low-end heft, and earthy, roaring vocals. I was happy to hear the contrasting section of both strumming and dueling strings and some bad-ass drumming.

“Limo Wreck” is a great example of why I think of Soundgarden as doom first, and all other genre distinctions second. It’s a dismal affair and Chris Cornell’s performance is once again inimitable and, frankly, carries this slow ‘n’ low ballad. Thankfully, Witch Mountain was chosen for the job and Kayla Dixon’s knack for dramatic story-telling helps in convincing us.

Beastwars have successfully remolded “The Day I Tried to Live,” one of my least favorite songs on the original album, into something I really enjoyed. It’s unhinged, agitated, and beastly. Howling Giant stole the show on the AIC Redux with their incredible “Rooster” (our Song of the Year in 2020), and Beastwars comes damned closed to doing it with this one. Their performance is really something else, laying on the Soundgarden worship on thick and projecting something monstrously terrific.

Jack Harlon and the Dead Crows do much the same with “Kickstand” turning this quick and dirty song into a dreamy psychedelic space rocker that mines the sound for undiscovered emotion. Another cut that elevates the music into something epic, even ethereal.

The Age of Truth summons a heroic sound, transforming “Fresh Tendrils” with sterling chords and rampaging drums. Meanwhile, Marc Urselli’s SteppenDoom give us an eerie rendition, not as caustic as Thou’s celebrated cover, though the vocal approach is at times quite grizzly. The whole experience is like a warped VHS soundtrack, with spooky whistling sounds as if to suggest the hearing of the wind.

I was so happy to see Dozer on the list, especially after the success of their recent album which has pushed the band forward artistically in many ways. They turn this odd little number into a bonafide stadium rager.

Without doubt, “Like Suicide” is one of the most emotionally honest and tragic songs on the record. If I recall the lore correctly, Chris Cornell said this song was inspired by a bird who had a fatal encounter with a sliding glass door, as if an omen. No one can really match the intensity of the original performance, of course, so Darkher had the idea of turning it into a blurry-eyed and beautifully stoic reflection.

While nothing can replace the genius of the original Superunknown, this collection is nonetheless quite welcome and I’m sure choice cuts will show up on playlists of mine. Now I’m ready to check out the Best of Soundgarden, which follows a similar format, without being glued fastidiously to any one album.

Give ear…

Armageddon, religion, technology, shame and greed – here’s a band dealing with some heavy lyrical themes, and doing it with excellence. It’s prog-stoner metal trio MELT from the Steel City, and today they’re giving us an advance listen to the upcoming album, ‘Replica of Man’ (2023)

The album opens with narration from an interview long past from the incredible age of Pandora’s Box tampering that the 20th century was: “The concept of the thinking machine has been man’s dream for centuries, also his nightmare.” To accompany this roving commentary on creeping technocracy, the bass slaps out a wicked jazzy stoner groove with vivacity and conviction. By the time drums join in earnest, it feels like we’re in Prodigy territory, with metal vocals and doomy riffs. Recording engineer Nate Campisi takes great care in capturing a lusty sound from all of the instruments, and this serves as a captivating vessel for the message:

It fulfills the prophecy
Unstoppable technology
Steel has seized the upper hand
We concede as it commands
It’s too late to intervene
Mating man with machine
No forgiveness for the damned
Heed the replica of man

Indeed, we are several chapters deep into a fledgling Technological State and already the human animal is being stretched and contorted in ways that are alien to his nature, but somehow pleasing to the great labyrinth of circuits that make up our computers and smartphones. It’s no longer fodder for fun sci-fi blockbusters like Terminator, but an urgent question for our time as to what makes us truly thrive as human beings and how technology can assist us toward that end, not hurt us. Obviously, the band struck a chord with me straight away!

“It isn’t passive music,” remarks frontman Joey Troupe. “It has weight, inertia and leaves a mark. We are writing the soundtrack to global annihilation. That includes elements of destruction, despair, gratitude and sometimes, hope.”

Elsewhere on the album, the band conjures Lucifer’s Friend vibes on “Problem Child” and “Skeleton Girl” exhibits an infectious nu-metal energy – both captured within a cocoon of fuzzy low-end and performed with all the vibrancy of the garage experience. “Swamp Water” is a good, old-fashioned swampy stoner romp that would make a good companion to Weed Is Weed’s “Alligator Crawl.” And “Shame” would fit in great with the likes of Mudhoney and Coal Chamber.

The album closer is bathed in dank, watery shadows, with a grungy, forlorn bass groove. It’s called “Hive Mind” and lives in the neighborhood of Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard. The song is about how the secrets of life evade us because we’re stuck in rigid mindsets (“Sacrament is our demise”), and struggle to find a meaningful role in this artificial maze of concrete and asphalt (“Disguised by life, destroyed by time”). At least that’s my interpretation. As I said, the lyrics are thought provoking – but there’s no mistaking the last lines of the track:

We all seek a higher mind
So take your breath and blaze a fire
Take flight. Ignite. Leave them all behind

Melt’s Replica of Man is a virtuosic blend of influences, captivating themes, and crisp, joyful musicianship. Out Friday, July 7th (pre-order here). Stick it on a playlist with Snail, GoodEye, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Null, and Deep Purple.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Melt is a Pittsburgh-based fuzz rock band formed by Joey Troupe, J.J. Young, and James May – three seasoned musicians with a diverse range of experience in the music industry.

Joey Troupe (lead guitar/vocals) has played in various bands around the city since 2007, including Blackbird Pie, The Electric Pear, and Paddy the Wanderer — which released several LPs and EPs, toured regionally, and had a song featured on a Netflix series.

J.J. Young (drums) has played in or appeared with over 10 different musical projects, including Fortune Teller, Daisy Chain, and his own solo project, BITE. He is also a co-founder of Steel City Death Club, a Pittsburgh music multimedia collective.

James May (bass/vocals) started Aberrant Kingdom in 2008 and has also played with Spare Arrows. In July 2021, Melt released their self-titled debut and performed live for the first time, quickly making a name for themselves in Pittsburgh music for their lively stage presence and unique extraterrestrial-inspired aesthetic.

Since, the band has headlined shows across the region, been named the WYEP Artists of the Week, held a featured spot on the Deutschtown Music Festival mainstage, and opened for Silver Synthetic of Third Man Records. Their second studio album, Replica of Man, will be released July 7, 2023.

We asked Melbourne doom metallers LAMASSU to give us the low-down on their 2nd album, ‘Made of Dust’ (2023) – just released this week. Frontman Chris Fisher generously obliged with the following in-depth breakdown! (Editor)

Creative Process

All of the songs from Made of Dust were written music first with the lyrics coming much later in the process, with the exception of “White Pills” and “Something Else” (we’ll come back to these two).

In most cases, Matt or myself will come up with an idea, either fully formed sections or at least an intro/verse riff, chorus and give them a working title. The working title will often reflect either the feel of the song, the inspiration behind the riff or as is often the case a joke. For example, ‘Shit Town, Misery’ had the working title of ‘Yazz’ right up until late 2022 when I finally wrote the lyrics for it. ‘Yazz’ is taken from the movie “Anchorman” and refers to his character playing “Yazz flute”. Matt presented this new song to us which begins on an A# Minor 9 Jazz chord and then continues to anchor on that chord throughout the song. Matt loves Jazz so its totally him to come up with this heavy and weird track that starts on a Jazz chord, gets heavy as and has a totally insane middle section.

Recording

We recorded all of the instrument tracks in a week-long session in April 2021 at The Aviary Studios here in Melbourne. We demoed everything in January, reviewed, made changes and then rehearsed multiple times a week for about 6 weeks before heading into the studio. We track everything live with only solo’s, additional parts and alternate instruments over dubbed so we had to be tight.

BATTLE CRY

The foundation of the music for Battle Cry was brought to the band by Matt with the lyrics coming together late 2022 from Chris. It’s slow building, musically dark with really interesting chords and progressions. A really fun track to play live.

Lyrically, I tried to match its musical darkness with an end of the world, us versus them type story. It’s basically my frustration with Governments and Corporations choosing money and handouts for their rich mates over protecting the environment and our most vulnerable communities. You either end up being one of them or against them, hence Battle Cry. The trickle down economy being the poison flowing down through generations of people in charge who control the wealth.

WASHED AWAY

Another track where the foundation of the music was written by Matt. A very cool intro riff and a hooky odd time signature chorus riff, exploring some different and at times dissonant chords, it was always a prime candidate to be the first single.

Lyrically this one is darker than the song perhaps sounds, themed around anxiety, death and the impending doom of the world, it’s a real cheery number.

SHIT TOWN, MISERY

This will always be called ‘Yazz’ to me. Opening on an A# Minor #9 and repeatedly anchoring on that chord, a jazz chord of all things, this track pumps along fast (for us) and is a pretty heavy number which features a totally insane middle section. Again Matt is responsible for the core musical ideas and I wrote the words, we developed the arrangement jamming it with the band.

Lyrically it’s me being pissed off with governments locking people up who are fleeing unspeakable terrors in other countries, forcing them to suffer, wither and die in custody here and celebrating it as a political achievement.

INTERLUDE I

I came up with this one day and loved the chord progression. It never felt like it was meant to be a full song but I have always loved albums with quirky fade in’s and outs and thought this would be a perfect chapter marker on Made of Dust. In the studio we just hit record and jammed on this for a while, ending up with a track over 7 minutes. We selected this 30 second snippet as it feels right in this section of the album.

THE FOG

Myself, Matt and Nick, our drummer, had a songwriting weekend away in the country a few years back. We actually took over Nick’s parents house while they were away, setting up our gear in their big country house lounge room. We jammed heaps, drank and smoked and generally had a great time. Al couldn’t join us that weekend so Matt jumped on the bass and came up with what would end up being the main progression and the chorus. By the end of the weekend we had a pretty good framework of what became ‘The Fog.’

In the studio there was an old Fender Rhodes which Matt used to add a nice underlying layer to the main progression, which added to the ethereal sound of this track. A funny memory was that the sustain pedal was broken and Nick ended up on the floor holding it together while Matt tracked the part! Lyrically it’s about someone battling with their demons. Dark thoughts, depression and anxiety, violent responses, and how these things hold them back in life. I would say it’s the sequel to ‘Chokehold Companion’ from our first album, ‘Into the Empty.’

SORROW OF THE CHILDREN

It’s no secret that I love buying guitars. Some might call it a habit, some might call it a problem, either way I tend to come up with new songs shortly after I get one so surely that’s a good thing right?! I wrote the main riff for ‘Sorrow’ shortly after buying a beautiful Olympic white Strat with a Rosewood fretboard. I was messing about running it through fuzz pedals and that riff appeared.

With the working title ‘Fuzz Kill’ we started jamming the riffs with the band. Matt came up with the awesome intro / outro guitar harmonies over the melody Chris wrote, and counter melodies to the verse vocals, Al came up with the middle section breakdown riff which ended up becoming the guitar solo section where Matt does his best completely unhinged Kim Thayil impression with a ripping solo.

Lyrically is about corporate greed and the world we’re leaving behind for future generations…yeah I’m sensing a theme too.

SOMETHING ELSE

This is a track Matt wrote years ago that never really fit his previous bands. He shared an early drop-D demo version he recorded of himself playing all instruments and singing and I suggested we try it in our tuning (drop A#) and it worked really well.

Matt wrote the lyrics for this track and I believe it is touching on extraterrestrial/UFO and top secret themes. Matt also put down some Mellotron and Rhodes layers in the background that really glued this track together.

MADE OF DUST

The music for ‘Made of Dust’ is another composition Matt brought to the band. He said he wanted to write something slow, heavy and sludgy. I believe he was inspired by Soundgarden’s ‘4th of July’ crossed with ‘Mailman’, which are band favourites. There’s some interesting guitar counter melodies to the vocal lines throughout and it is a great driving track.

Lyrically, it’s about the toil of life, of unfulfilled dreams, death and the memories we carry of those we lost too soon.

INTERLUDE II

Same as Interlude I, we chose a 30 second section that captured the mood of the album in this spot. This 30 second snippet sounds and feels quite different to Interlude I, it has a sense of coming to a resolve.

WHITE PILLS

I wrote this for my old band Field. We played it a couple of times live but it felt unfinished and was never recorded before we disbanded. I thought it would make for a good Lamassu track, played slower and heavier with a second guitar. Matt came up with the guitar harmonies and Al and Nick did their things resulting in what we have now. The lyrics are about a period of time I went through a number of years ago.

TIN MAN

This track is one of our favourites to play, an absolute epic beast. The core musical ideas were brought to the band by Matt and we jammed it for a while to develop the arrangement and refine our individual parts. It’s also the last track I wrote lyrics for before recording them late last year (2022). The lyrics are basically saying hey the clock’s ticking, get living, start doing the shit you want to do because you’ll be old or dead before you know it! This track really encapsulates a lot of the musical elements that represent the sound of Lamassu.

I want to introduce you to an album that has been widely overlooked in the flurry of post-pandemic releases. It’s also one of the greatest commentaries on the pandemic I’ve come across.

Austin, Texas band GOODEYE picks up the mantle left behind in the 2010s by the late, great ultra-bass heavy German band Aleph Null on their debut, ‘GoodEye’ (2021). Both influenced by the legacy of Black Sabbath, Sleep, and Electric Wizard, but let us not fail to observe the powerful influence that acid rock and grunge has had on their sound. The vocals make this worthy of standing alongside Soundgarden and Chevelle for its depth of authentic emotional expression.

Few bands have been able to strike a chord of relatability with me like GoodEye. The album begins with the end: “Fare(Well).” All the song titles are configured similarly, making for a bit of a diversion to try mixing and matching these oddly configured words.

Lyrics reflect the genuine despair of the times:

We think we can take it
So we’re trying
But all breaking
Nobody’s buying
They won’t believe it
Until they see it
We better start bleeding
So they know we’re alive

Who “they” is, is the question. Parents? Church? The people plugged into an artificial machine that’s cracking the bigger it gets? All of these could work, I suppose.

And then the powerful chorus:

Nothing is free
You get what you pay for
Nothing is free
You pay for everything that you give

The sense of the song is one who is opting out of the system altogether, as in the powerful closing moments of the song. The ghostly farewell at the end echoes and fades into the background, as if to suggest the unthinkable.

The next song is “Ill(Prairie),” which is the one song I come back to time and again when I’m feeling blue. Thick bass, guitar, and cymbals cast a dour mood. The singer talks about the pain that will not be erased and laments with a series of Ecclesiastic woes the state of things today:

There is no passing time
There is not reason, only rhyme
We get ahead just to fall behind
Then get right back in the line

And yet there is an underlying will to plow ahead, despite hardship: These hands will not let go. Well that’s just one interpretation. Another is he can’t let go because he’s become fused to the system, bogged down in the ways things just are, not the way we once dreamt them to be.

Perhaps the most interesting to me lyrically is “Blood(Line).” After the last song, this one is like a release. It’s tone downtrodden and tender, but soon picks up with crunchy guitar licks.

Just a little disappointed
In where and who we come from
Though they mean no harm
And it does no good
No good it does to argue
Cause they always win

Here we are again with the “we” and the “they.” Reflecting a struggle of humanity against something bigger than we are individually, but do we stand a chance of accomplishing anything lasting and meaningful collectively? A newer, brighter future for the world? No, we are lost in a sea of stimulation flooding our senses at ever ping and click. The voices of reason have gotten lost in all the noise. On top of that, what we might be fighting is an abject and irreversible flaw in the homo sapien himself.

We fight the blood
We might just lose
We aren’t born to win
We are born to do

That chorus just crushed me. It reflects a depth of depressive thought that recalls my state of mind when I wrote an article on my own depression some years back. It is the abject, nihilistic assessment of reality that realizes we can no longer be farmers and live off our own plot of land. We have to plug into the machine that keeps the economy propped up, and thus we make our living. But where does the individual seeking meaning in life fit within its tangled wiring, to borrow imagery from NIN’s “The Becoming.”

Another great song, both musically and lyrically, is the embarrassingly named “Shit(Finger).” The song begins with jagged bass licks and a cloudy, bluesy Soundgardenesque melody that has an awesome grunge tone circa the early '90s. The drums are absolutely bruising.

The singer is at the edge of despair:

This is not fair.
It doesn’t even matter
It’s all gonna blow
Maybe I should just scatter

The bass is mean and nasty on this one and has a chance to really grab you. The guitar is frizzled and frenetic like some crazed Fraggle Rock performer, interestingly set back a little in the mix, but perhaps the band wanted us to get lost in the haze.

The chorus is once again paradoxic:

Burning in water
Drowning in flame

“Body(Soup)” would figure well on a playlist with Primus and Alice in Chains. It’s got that quirky ragged charm of Layne’s “Nothin’ Song.” I regret so much not going to see them perform at RippleFest Texas last year, but it looks like they will be on the bill this year.

“Dead(Flight)” has that dead-eye acid-fuzz thing going on that bands like Atlanta’s Null do so well, and obviously pair well with most of the bands in the Austin heavy music scene. The vocals are on point: “We don’t know where we are. There is no day, there is no night. There is no light.” It’s another song with a bittersweet, bummed-out feel, yet has an underlying frustration and energy that makes it a compelling listen. It captures a certain feeling of lostness. Perhaps, doomed and stoned.

“Tater(Heads)” is another banger. It’s a stoner-punk number and the guitar is ultra fuzzy, with a tone you could really drone out to. The shortest song of the set at two-and-a-half minutes, but it really roars.

The album closes out with high energy on “No(North)” and a chug-chug rhythm that hearkens back to classic '80s metal. Once again, there’s a dire message:

What you see
Is what they sell you
All you can hear
Is what they tell you
How to think

I wished the band had published their lyrics, as the words sometimes get drowned out by their massive sound. In sum, though, it’s a great album that has endured the test of time for me. As I wrote on my Bandcamp review:

Without question, one of the most emotionally relatable albums of the pandemic for me. Genuine doom and gloom, in a warm grunge cocoon. I genuinely love every single song on this record, and had I known about it earlier it would have been my album of the year.

Stick it on a playlist with Aleph Null, Domkraft, The Swell Fellas, Alice in Chains, and the mighty Soundgarden.

Give ear…

I’ve been contending for a few years that we’re in for a big grunge revival in the heavy underground. In fact, that’s been happening for the better part of a decade in Brazil and has since spread to Germany and to the four corners of Earth. Now from Greenville, South Carolina emerges the three-piece AURALAYER and their first full-length record, ‘Thousand Petals’ (2023).

The band’s signature brand of metal comes from its members’ diverse musical interests. “I’m really into doom, especially bands like High on Fire,” says guitarist Thomas Powell. “Vladimir, the drummer, is really into progressive rock, and his favorite drummer is Neil Peart. And Jake, our bassist, really likes pop music—The Beatles and Talking Heads.”

Brash and earthy, fuzzy and disaffected, Thousand Petals is the spirit of grunge fused to a body of metal. Lyrical and artistic inspiration also touches upon ancient spirituality, the band’s name referencing the seven layers of human aura and the album cover the sahasrara padma (“lotus of a thousand petals”) – a state of supreme enlightenment.

Today, the revelation of a third single, “Shelf Black,” on the way to the album’s July 14th release date. Auralayer share more about its background in the piece below. Look for Thousand Petals this summer c/o Kozmik Artifactz/King Volume Records records, on vinyl and digital formats (pre-order here. Stick it on a playlist with Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Foot, and Goodeye.

Give ear…

The Story Behind “Shelf Black”

By Jake “Kimble” Williams of Auralayer

I met Casey ‘Shelfblack’ Platt on Instagram in 2018. He made electronic music and would post electronic jams on the platform. He had a large community and was well-respected among other artists in his genre. I had just started posting about my music and he was one of my biggest supporters. He would send me encouraging messages and comments on everything musical I did, cheering me on from the sidelines every opportunity he got.

We realized one day that we lived only 15 minutes from each other and planned on meeting up and hanging out, but unfortunately we never had the opportunity. One day in February 2020, I was in bed sick with the flu and I opened Instagram and saw his picture with a caption saying Casey had passed away. I didn’t know at the time, but I discovered later through a mutual friend it was to suicide.

I was heartbroken, I sat there in shock for almost an hour. I picked up my guitar and just started playing chords and one after the other the song just happened. I went down to my basement and plugged in my guitar and got out my phone and recorded myself playing it. I brought it to the other guys and they liked the tune and so we learned it. We played it a couple of times and it felt like it was missing something and so I went on Casey’s Instagram and saw this jam he posted about 10 days before he passed called “So It Goes.” It had this great melody and I thought what better way to cap the song than combining one of his melodies?

We played it and it sounded great, and one accidental bass solo later, and the song was cemented. We didn’t actually end up playing the song live until later in the year. I didn’t feel right playing it without having some kind of permission from Casey’s family. I tried to contact Casey’s widow, Maria Bedolla-Harper a few months after the song was written, but obviously, when you have a loved one pass away the last thing you want to do is be on social media with all those photos and reminders.

One day in September, I was taking my new-to-me bass that I use for all the Auralayer stuff to my guitar tech who lives in Duncan, South Carolina. I pulled into his neighborhood and passed a woman and a man walking their dogs. My eyes went wide with realization “There she was” and I slammed on my brakes and threw my car into reverse. I rolled down my window and said “This is going to sound crazy but…” and before I could finish she said to me “You knew Casey didn’t you?” We spoke in the middle of the street about how he cheered me on for years and encouraged me to keep pursuing music, how wonderful of a person he was, and how loved he was by people all over the world through his kindness and music.

I told her about the song and asked her for her permission to use the part Casey wrote in it. She was extremely gracious and said yes and told me if I needed anything else to make it happen she would help. We were standing there in the street crying and talking about how weird this chance meeting was, and despite us both not being spiritual people, it felt like a magic moment. This song means a lot to me for a few reasons; I want to remember Casey, if not for his constant encouragement to keep going and pursue my dreams, maybe I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing now. The other is, that it’s not fucking fair that I get to go out and play my music and keep going when Casey can’t.

It breaks my heart, and I hope that by playing this song and his melody I get to carry his memory everywhere we go and I dedicate the song to him every time we play it live. It also means a lot to me because I suffered through my own suicidal thoughts and attempts over my life, including a failed attempt in 2017 that launched me into eventual recovery. I was lucky that I failed but many people do follow through with it, and it would mean a lot to me for this song to be a conduit to let others know that they can get help and feel better and that their story doesn’t have to end there, that there can be hope in what feels like a hopeless situation.