Hailing from Norway, HÅNDGEMENG a self-described “weapon of sonic destruction that intrepidly draws from the fuzz-charged power of stoner rock, their hardcore metal roots, all topped off by the melodic richness of classic rock.” Appropriately, the band’s name in Norwegian means “scuffle,” though Google Translate inexplicably rendered it “towel set” for me.

Håndgemeng could probably chuckle about that, as they’re known for having quite a sense of humor. Here’s how they break down the line-up:

• Martin Wennberg (aka Hellvis Presley) – chants and rituals
• Charlie Ytterli (aka Abuse Springsteen) – riffs and mischief
• Kim Grannes (aka Jeans Simmons) – bass lines and coke lines
• Ola Holseth (aka Motörola) – pots and pans

Their latest opus is ‘Ultraritual’ (2023) and it’s a feral beast of a spin, with rollicking arpeggios and a thumping beat (“The Astronomer”), dissonant dangling chords (“Cro-Magnon Vs Neanderthal”), and vocals that really spill their guts (“Visions in Fire”), alternating between strange cultic cries and vicious growls (“Temple of Toke”).

The title track brings us bouncy stoner-hardcore, then shifts down for doomy groove. Winds howl, giving up “Tales From The Thundra” following this, a powerful snowblind number. Then we’re transported to another world entirely for the atmospheric “Occultation of Mars,” which closes out the record with dense, impetuous textures.

Håndgemeng’s Ultraritual is a riot-and-a-half, releasing March 10th on Ripple Music (pre-order here). Stick this on a playlist with Mantar, Kvelertak, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, and Mammoth Storm.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Håndgemeng was formed in Oslo in 2017 by brothers Martin and Filip Wennberg on vocals and bass, Charlie Ytterli on guitar and Ola Holseth on drums. They had played together in various hardcore and punk bands in the early days, but the puzzle pieces didn’t come together until Håndgemeng was formed and the riffs got slower, and the amps got louder.

In 2019 they released their first EP “Motorcycle Death Cult” followed by the “Grim Riffer” EP. Playing shows constantly, they became a band to take notice of in the Oslo underground scene. After parting ways with bassist Filip, longtime friend Kim Grannes took over as groovemeister in the band.

Just when they started making their debut album, society collapsed, and the world went into a global lockdown. Coincidence? We think not. Still, from that darkness, the band wrote and recorded 'Ultraritual’ (2023), eight songs that will take you on a forceful, hard-hitting and definitely spacey heavy rock journey over millions of years.

Somewhere in the tundra, the cosmic offspring of Kvelertak and Mantar was born and decided to crank it loud while getting tenfold trippier. With seven bangers propelled by Martin Wennberg’s galvanizing roars, Håndgemeng take you from the depths of hell to the farthest reaches of space in a blink of an eye. Buckle up!

Catharsis has been defined as “the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions.” DESTROY MY BRAINS is a vehicle created to do just that.

“It was a band name I came up with when I was 15 and started using drugs. It was a reference to actual drug use and self destructive behaviors,” says founding member Jarret Beach. “It’s basically another way of saying I do not care about myself and I celebrate going down a path of self destruction. That was always my attitude towards it when I started this shit, and the band name also carries into the songs, with that same kind of attitude in each song. It’s all about self destruction and always will be.”

The Saskatchewan band activated in 2014 and ‘Tormented’ (2022) is their fourth LP. It’s intense and hard-hitting, but no two-minute temper tantrum. These are longform songs, with four of the five averaging 10-minutes a pop. Doom meets sludgey hardcore punk for what the band characterizes as a “Northern Prairie doom/sludge album boiled in hate grease, and burned to a fuckin’ crisp with bludgeoning guitars, crushing drums, and throat wrecking vocals.”

If you’re thinking, “Damn, that sounds like an earful!” you’d be right. The album traverses a personal purgatory of fear, disillusionment, disease, and despair beginning with “Torment,” a salvo of spit fire in. Is it so complicated that I can’t understand anything at all? the song asks in dire frustration while guitar, bass, and drums grovel in a slow, grinding whirlpool. If you’ve ever felt helplessly trapped in a situation you hated, this song is for you. But it’s not over yet.

Just three-and-a-half minutes in, the band gears down rather unexpectedly into plaintive doom mode. You may have assumed you were listening to the next track in line, but this train has some tracks to travel yet (clocking in at a hardy 10 minutes). Even here, an unsettling inner restlessness abides and rattles at us just a minute later. Talk about mood swings! I’m loving this ride. Chugging thumpers ground us as we slow back down into the agony of doom. And around we go, in an ouroboric chain. “I can’t take your bullshit,” the singer rasps with exasperation in strained metallic intonation. “Just finish me off and hide all the evidence.”

“Scumbag” is next and it’s ominous doom for the win here with sodden chords, killer trills, bulky low end that really knows how to throw its weight around, and a torrent of vocal rage that’s as nasty as you could ask for. Guitars grind out a circle pit of rage and the rest of the band join in the sweat and carnage. Lyrics decry the slavery of this cage called civilization, which at every turn seeks to take us away from the natural and trade for a game of artiface, greed, and power.

The opening sample on “Drown” makes me feel like I’m in the washer being jostled around by the agitator back and forth. This almost unwittingly bleeds into the rhythm of the song, which turns into an extended instrumental slow burner. Only seven minutes in does the song find vocal expression and here Jarret goes into a nasty psychotic episode, laying out the justification for suicide and imagining exactly how his end will come.

“Fuck My Life” is an adrenergic hardcore hoedown. Coming to the end of himself, our lyrical protagonist cries out in despair: “Here I am in ruins, nothing there to take away. Drifting to the bottom, all that’s left is shame.” The bass and drums bring this mental breakdown to life convincingly with a furious barrage of rat-a-tat-tat. Later in the song, we get a mean breakdown you can feel right in your gut. The guitar calls upon dissonant chords to finish this bleak picture with stark emotional colors.

The album comes to a furious close with “Destroy Yourself.” Melding death metal sensibility to grindy sludge in a doom framework, the track is tempting fate. “Just go and destroy yourself for me,” it bellows. “So I can see your drugged-out eyes.” Lyrics go on to talk about the various traps that Death has laid out for someone with self-destructive tendencies.

People are questioning everything right now. Once, a common global consensus on reality seemed possible – now everything is up for grabs. If Alienatör’s Regrets was a inquest of our teetering institutions and moth-eaten social fabric, Destroy My Brains’ Tormented is a window into the private deterioration borne of lockdowns, fear, and isolation. If you’ve got a strong notion that everything’s not alright, Tormented is fit for a cathartic journey through the whole confusing morass.

Give ear…

Tormented Track-by-Track
with Frontman Jarret Beach

All of the songs from Tormented were written during the worldwide COVID-19 nonsense. Every member of the band felt the effects of the lockdowns, including depression, isolation, and ultimately the sickness itself.

Feelings of seething anger and loathsome hatred followed in spades, fueling songwriting and lyrics for this album. It’s a deep dive into depression and drug abuse within that context. And as we all felt tormented by the government and other controlling authorities during the pandemic, the title suits the material.

The songs are personal reflections of our collective experiences as a band: the ups & downs and the rock bottoms. I dig into the darkest parts of our lives when I’m writing these lyrics and they are all true representations of our own personal let-downs and shortcomings.

Torment

This is the opening track to the record and we wanted to start it off aggressive and hateful, but still present the depression felt during the times of lockdown. It seemed to be an endless weight on the chest and became progressively more oppressive as time went on. Instrument-wise we wanted to create something we haven’t really done before, but still give it that bile-in-your-mouth Destroy My Brains taste we have on all our songs. It’s a stab at the government, as well as a suicide note.

Scumbag

“Scumbag” is a direct attack on the controlling forces that pushed the pandemics and their sinister agenda. Government, MainStream News, WHO, and even different religions. Destroy My Brains has always been a rebel band, and the lockdown times were basically the worst thing that could have happened to a bunch of guys that don’t like to follow rules and get in line to begin with. The lyrics of the song shift from different perspectives, and have a sarcastic but direct approach to getting the message across. The barrel is pointed and the crosshairs have found their target.

Drown

“Drown” might seem as though it’s just about drowning yourself in a suicide. But it really has another twisted meaning behind it. The song is really about control, and tells a story of how even though mental illness can affect us all in different ways, sometimes it seems it can control us. However, our lives and what we do with them is ultimately our own choice. We are in control. We choose what to do and we choose our own outcomes. The power is in your own hands.

Fuck My Life

Our song “FML” is the most direct song on the album, every line means what it says, nothing more and nothing less. This song is about giving up, and wishing pure destruction of one’s self. We went for punk mixed with doom, and added some other extra flavors in there as well. Taking a nosedive to rock bottom, and getting someone to get the job done. Pretty depressing shit.

Destroy Yourself

The final song on the album is 11 minutes long, and is a story about one of our own band members struggling with depression and heavy drug abuse. Ultimately it leads to them getting sober for enough time to clear their mind and get back on track, but this song is not about getting back on track, it’s about hitting that low bottom, and also about pure unadulterated self destruction. “Destroy Yourself” is the self-loathing nihilist’s anthem, and we are proud to have provided it to the world.

Given the extreme conditions of isolation, fear, government overreach, economic turmoil, and general pandemic pandemonium, it is not surprising to find more albums turning from sorrow and hurt to outrage and anger. ‘Regrets’(2022) is simply explosive.

Aggression is the name of the game in the latest offering from Thunder Bay, Ontario crew ALIENATÖR. Brad King (guitar, vox), Sean Skillen (bass, vox), and Simon Paquette (drums) pack a big wallop for a band of three. Their sound is a hash of sludge, hardcore, noise, and crust, with a message that’s urgent and dire.

In the mirror you see an awful lack
Cannot stand the face that’s staring back
Seething anger nowhere else to hide
Hatred fills the emptiness inside

Like their first album 'Pariahs’ (2019), Regrets is fast and aggressive. What makes this one different is how utterly bleak, raw, and abrasive it feels – a reflection, perhaps, of the slowly evolving chaos around us.

This Just In: Rabid bassist on the loose! “Revisionist History” comes at us like a rowboat caught in the maelstrom. Vocals are good 'n’ pissed, to the extreme of hoarseness. Elsewhere, singing is mean and raspy – as in “Blood Red Blood,” where the bass gets a chance to strut its stuff even more.

If you love a good riff, “Loss Leader” is your song. The guitar leads are mysterious, slow, and strong. Drums rally for the title track, which makes “Regrest” feel like a fun ride downhill.

In the music video for “Priest,” the band is playing in an abandoned office building with their backs turned to one another. I can’t help but draw a parallel to all the conversations going on in social media bubbles that have us caged in, alienated from one another. But the song is about something much heavier: the abuse of religious power.

Sometimes a man
Is not what he appears
Sometimes behind those kindly eyes is the
Sum of all our fears

Around the 3-minute mark, bass and guitar do battle epically. The tonal nuances brought out by this recording are remarkable.

The B-side welcomes us to a furious slam dance in “The Less Dead,” followed by the dissonant headbanger “Flat Earth Society.” Things get funky for “Irreconcilable” with a beat I can really groove with. In contrast, “Your Funeral” is an agitated rattler that inches its way ever closer to the big bite.

The introduction to “Wounded Birds” vaguely reminds me of System of a Down’s “Aerials,” and it soon takes flight with all hands on deck. The vocals practically breath fire, so maybe this is one of Cersei’s dragons. “Dark Matter,” on the other hand, is a winter wind that calls upon the strength both singers amidst the blur of a veritable snowstorm.

Regrets plays out like a nervous breakdown, but a damned exhilarating one. Alienatör releases it this weekend on compact disc and digital formats (get it here).

This is the Doomed & Stoned world premiere.

Give ear…

Band Commentary, Track-by-Track

“Regrets is a grim postcard from the depths of the human psyche. Our darkest release yet, it is a reaction to years of deep political turmoil, the erosion of truth, as well as personal politics of grief, loss, and struggle. It’s an album that touches on personal and social themes. Flourishes of melody drenched in a caustic sludge, painted in shades of black. We still have some blistering fast punk-influenced tunes but we’re branching out and showing our songwriting depth.”

–Alienatör

I. Revisionist History

Right out of the gate we have the rhythm section carrying the song before a snakey guitar line weaves in over top. That’s something we weren’t able to do when we wrote the first album as a 2-piece. The odd-time signature gives it an off-kilter feel. The lyrics are about the erosion of truth in our public discourse and the dangerous narcissists who create their own reality and try to shove it down our throats.

II. Loss Leader

This song is about grief and loss, especially as a result of the opioid crisis. I’ve experienced a lot of deaths and tragedies personally and professionally and this song is about dealing with that. Musically, it’s got a proggier feel than anything we’ve done previously and a bit of a middle-eastern influence. It’s also the first song this line-up of the band wrote together.

III. Blood Red Blood

This opening riff is one I had kicking around for a while. We counted it as 9/8 or something wacky. Sean wrote the rest of the music around it. I like the breakdown in the middle a lot. The title was inspired by the Wilco song Sky Blue Sky, so there’s an influence you probably weren’t expecting. I wrote lyrics about the cycle of violence, toxic masculinity and how “hurt people hurt people.” Often, what we do to others gets paid back to us in the end; “blood in, blood out.”

IV. Regrets

One of the more heartfelt and emotional songs we’ve done, this one deals with personal struggles and the passage of time. I like the energy and a looser feel of it, musically. Sean’s really standing on his head with some of the bass fills on this one, especially in the middle section, but it’s all tasteful and fits perfectly, elevating the whole song. Simon finds interesting ways to fill the empty spaces on the drums. It gives a new dimension to our sound.

V. The Priest

The darkest song I’ve ever written. This is another one, where the rhythm section really drives the song and the guitar comes in, jagged and angular on top. Ralph Rowe was an Anglican Priest who molested countless kids from fly-in reserves in the 70s and 80s. He ruined so many lives and then plea-bargained for a prison sentence that was a slap on the wrist. There’s a documentary about him called “Survivor’s Rowe.” Here, he serves as an example of the type of abuse of power that we allow those who we place in positions of trust. We put a lot of work into the dynamics of this one. Lots of tension and release and then the calm atmospheric part toward the end, before we bring the hammer down again.

VI. The Less Dead

The “less dead,” is a term for marginalized members of society who are considered less of a priority for police investigations and are therefore are easy victims for predators. Sex workers, people of colour, people with addictions or mental health issues, members of the LGBTQ community, and the poor fit in this category. The closest to a straight-ahead punk song on the album but Simon’s crazy tom work in the bridge really elevates it. Very fun to play live.

VII. Flat Earth Society

Remember when we used to think that increased access to information would make humanity smarter? This song is a reaction to the age of misinformation we currently find ourselves in. COVID conspiracies, climate denialism, and the age of social media propaganda have altered our perception of reality and divided our society. This song is about the echo chambers we create for ourselves and how we are being manipulated by those in power. We opened for Soulfly before the pandemic and Sean said watching the people bounce up and down on the dance floor while they played contributed to the feel of the breakdown.

VIII. Irreconcilable

This one is about Canada’s history of genocide against Indigenous peoples, which was brought back to the forefront of public consciousness when hundreds of graves were found on the sites of former residential schools. This song is about the relationship of denial that white settlers have with colonialism, how we refuse to “reconcile,” what’s been done, and our role in it. Great dynamics in this one, as it ramps up from a slow simmer into a crushing chorus and back down again.

IX. Your Funeral

This one’s a bit different with the tension of the jerky snare-driven rhythm and then the straight-ahead release of the chorus. I find it interesting to juxtapose a kind of uplifting chord progression and driving beat with lyrics that are bleak and depressing. This one’s about being a wage slave, feeling like you’re a cog in the machine, wasting your life, and going through the motions.

X. Wounded Birds

This one is a kind of anthem for all the broken people, those who suffer from trauma, depression, substance issues and the like. I’ve had my own struggles so this one’s a bit cathartic, lyrically. Musically, it shows us branching out and experimenting more, adding a lot more depth.

XI. Dark Matters

A pretty unique tune in our catalogue. It’s about the things that keep you awake at night; lies you’ve told, people you’ve lied cheated, or stolen from. I imagine one of our favourite politicians feeling some of these things late at night if they have any conscience left. It’s fun for me to take on the role of the negative voices in someone’s head, as I do here. Musically, it’s swirling and chaotic with some flashes of light in the darkness and gloom. An unsettling way to fade the record into black.

False Gods are back with new music, and this track in particular is something fierce. I wonder whether it references the Clive Barker character Peloquin, a shapeshifting member of the ghastly Nighbreed from the ‘88 novel Cabal. Then again, it could be referring to peloquin more literally, that is to say a miserly wretch.

“Peloquin” pummels away with percussion and saturates our senses with bass. Atop this foundation: rapid-fire guitar tremolos, sick groove metal licks, and powerful, mordant vocals. In fact, the apocalyptic pipes of Mike Stack are the first thing you’re going to notice, and those first few cries are awesome.

The lyrics are interesting, in that they draw no clear lines of distinction between beginning and end. “…this war within ourselves is nothing but a grave, a grave for all to look upon as we surrender yet again…” It’s tantamount to a run-on sentence splicing thought-to-thought. Call it a psychotic diatribe, the scrawlings of a prophet, or simple observations about the state of things, the words ring viscerally true.

Joining frontman Mike Stack is Nick Luisi and Greg March on guitars, Devin Stacuzza and Paul Stack on bass and drums. Together, they conjure a mood that is dire and fierce, making me think that False Gods may be New York’s answer to hard bitten acts like Conan. The Patchogue, Long Island band has been producing new music year after year since their founding in 2015. The last time we saw them in these pages, it was to premiere new sounds from the album, 'No Symmetry…Only Disillusion.’ (2020).

Now the five-member crew is set to drop a massive new LP, 'Neurotopia’ (2022), which False Gods notes has all the earmarks of an emerging subgenre: doomcore. Indeed, the song “I, Cemetery” (which follows “Peloquin”) uses a doom metal substructure, fusing slow pacing, irradiated low end, and hardcore tendencies. This is accented by one of the stormiest atmospheres you’re likely to hear outside of black metal.

In addition, there may be a sci-fi subtext, if the album title is in any way an allusion to Tony Mohorovich’s 2018 novel Neurotopia. Beyond that, it’s just a striking name – a kind of neuronal utopia. It makes me think of how everyone is taking nootropics these days. I guess we’re all cosmonauts of sorts in this Brave New World, for better or (far too often) for worse. One thing is without controversy: Neurotopia is a beast of a record; you’ll feel less a victim of its carnage and more a devourer.

We’re stoked to have False Gods performing at Ohio Doomed and Stoned Festival, which takes place July 29th & 30th. Days before (on July 22nd), Neurotopia gets a digital release, issued on 12" vinyl by Seeing Red Records (pre-order here).

Today, we’re bringing you the song’s second single, “Peloquin.” A joint release between 666MrDoom and Doomed & Stoned!

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Formed in late 2015, New York’s False Gods whip up a unique blend of Sludge / Doom Metal mixed with melodic noise and down-trodden hardcore. Neurotopia marks the band’s sophomore full-length and follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut LP, 'No Symmetry…Only Dissolution’ (2020), which, like many others, was derailed by the pandemic.

Despite the COVID obstacle, the press got behind it…The band was featured on Metal Injection’s Slay at Home series which was a brilliant and inventive outlet for bands to keep music alive during the shutdown. The band had two other videos that were featured by Cvlt Nation and supporter of all things Doom, Rob Hammer. Their single, Lords of Emptiness, was also picked up by a Spotify editorial playlist.

Staying busy over the last two years, the band kept their heads down and kept writing which resulted in what we are presenting here today, 'Neurotopia’ (2022)> Their sophomore album further fuses, while at the same time, expands upon their marriage of Doom and Hardcore. Dare we add another subgenre to the fold and dub this Doomcore? If Doomcore is ever to become a thing, this is the definition.

The album was recorded at Westfall Studios in Farmingdale, New York. Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Anthony Lopardo and Ray Marte.

False Gods have been invited to perform at this year’s Doomed and Stoned Ohio and will continue to stay active playing regional tours throughout the Summer and Fall. Stay tuned for dates.

Would ya believe…17 tracks? The new split between US and UK bands is nothing short of sick. We’ve got Slabdragger from London and Wallowing from Brighton joining two New York bands, Thin and Vixen Maw, for one extreme metal meltdown on the Sludgelord Records and Black Voodoo Records labels.

Many longtime Doomers have a special place in their libraries for SLABDRAGGER, whose name for so long has been apropos to slow ‘n’ low, blues-infused rhythms and devastatingly heavy riffs. When the band teased out new material from Thin on social media a few weeks ago, I was among those excited (though admittedly apprehensive) to find out what Slabdragger would be offering in response.

Chaotic and cacophonous, the band’s sudden shift in an extreme metal direction put a bit of the old fear o’ God in me. I confess being a bit perplexed, but definitely excited to hear more. It’s as though they’d endured one lockdown too many and snapped, channeling all of their aggression in a hardcore/powerviolence direction, with the same sludgy underbelly Slabdragger has long been known for.

Today, Doomed & Stoned is giving you a first listen to one of three Slabdragger tracks, “Phobos,” from the forthcoming 4-way, which puts the band in good company with other sludge-infused grind and death acts. Taken as a whole, the record is nothing short of invigorating.

Being the wannabe scholar that I am, I couldn’t help but delve into the song title a little deeper. Phobos, as you may have guessed, is related to our English word phobia and its ancient Greek origins originally signified fear personified. Phobos, after all, was the god not of war, but the embodiment of the sheer terror induced by the prospect of strange invaders marching towards the conquest of your city.

Seeing how we’ve been fighting an invisible, shapeshifting enemy for almost two years now with SARS-COV-2 running amok, exploring parallels with ancient history is irresistable. The concept of phobos is so deeply rooted in the human experience that we still use it today when we speak of phobias (mine is fear of heights, what’s yours?).

Slabbdragger’s “Phobos” sounds like the urgent drums of war, alright, and it should good and damn well whet your appetite for the extraordinary chaos that lies ahead. You can pre-order the forthcoming full-length split via Sludgelord Records and Black Voodoo Records, issuing a US and UK vinyl edition along with cassette and, of course, digital renditions right here and here (official release date: September 30th).

Give ear…

Some Buzz

14 years, 2 albums, 2 splits, a global pandemic and now with hundreds of miles between them, Slabdragger return more abrasive and urgent than ever before. With Jack Newnham on drums, Yusuf Tary on bass and vocals and Sam Thredder on guitar and vocals, Slabdragger entered Thredder’s Cro’s Nest Studio once again and laid down 3 short and blisteringly heavy bangers. On this latest release, the band says, “We have drawn more influence from hardcore, powerviolence and d-beat to create a short blast of video game themed sludge violence. It is Slabdragger, condensed. Expect no let up”

Sludgelord Records and Black Voodoo Records are proud to announce the release of a new four-way split between Wallowing, Vixen Maw, Slabdragger, and Thin, to be released on September 30th on tape and digital formats, with vinyl pre-orders opening soon and arriving on a later date. The split sees four distinct bands from the UK and US coming together to offer a full-length’s worth of aural onslaught and relentless musical prowess, genre-wise varying from doom and sludge to mathcore and grindcore. All of the bands have their own visions they’re pursuing by their own means, yet share an eerily similar mindset when it comes to approaching claustrophobia-inducing, aggressive music.

Whether you’re familiar with one of the bands, all of them, or even none of them, you’re guaranteed to find each of them unique and enjoyable on their own rights. While putting a split of this caliber together is as monumental task as it is a momentous one, the end result is of equal dimensions in terms of sonic weight and importance. All of the above is shrouded in amazing artwork by Ibay Arifin, coming in two different colour schemes to mirror two of the bands being from the UK, and two from the US.

Hailing from 金沢市, this is Japanese stoner-sludge-grind machine GREENMACHiNE. Formed 1995 in the city of Kanazawa in Northwest Japan, the band began life with the LP, ’D.A.M.N.’ (1996), followed by another, ‘The Earth Beater’ (1998) just two years later, after which the band called it quits in 1999.

It’s hard to keep a good band down, though. In 2003, GREENMACHiNE once again returned to the consciousness of the heavy underground with 'The Archives of Rotten Blues’ (2004), with a period of hiatus to following Wizard Convention in 2006.

Following a reunion show in 2013, a new spark fired to life and Monzawa (guitar, vox), Yoshikawa (bass), and Datsu (drums) have been running hot ever since, joined by a second guitarist Max in 2014. In the 8 years that followed, the band’s brought us an EP, a split with Hangman’s Chair, and the LP 'Mountains of Madness’ (2019).

Now, to celebrate their 25th anniversary, GREENMACHiNE proudly presents the international debut of their fifth album, an eponymous release distributed on Robustfellow label.

GREENMACHiNE describe their sound as “hardcore rock,” and I can definitely see where they’re coming from. After all “heavy rock-metal-doom-sludge-punk-grind” is a bit of a long string of words to have to tag and unpack every time a curious newcomer asks, “What do they sound like?” With that said, the band masterfully blends these different genre elements to seamless effect through the 12 songs before us. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?

“Poisonshed” is one manic track with a stinging guitar hook and rabid bass & drum action, joined in quick succession by crazed vocals. A fantastically frenetic solo joins midway, before that earworm of a riff returns to finish the job.

“Nothing” is pure hardcore fuck-all moshpit madness, with gruff vocals and chugging riffage and another breakaway solo with singing guitar tone.

By contrast, “Rattlesnake” takes on a slower tempo, with an ominous moaning motif in the strings. The sludgy vocals would make Mike IX of Eyehategod grin in approval.

“Red Eye Pt.7” is a groovy southern sludge number, with the gorgeous Pepper Keenanesque swagger. It’s also super-duper short! Like a fragment of one of those strange dreams that you have to write down immediately, lest you forget how surreal it actually was.

“Howl From The Ocean” probably has much greater meaning if you’re living on an ancient island like Japan, than for those of us who are landlocked. But hey, we can live vicariously through GREENMACHiNE, can’t we? This one reminds me of High on Fire in terms of its modest tempo, strong lyrical themes, and the descriptive Matt Pikesque leads (not to mention those apocalyptically raspy vocals).

By now, if you’re not a GREENMACHiNE believer, we need to get a doctor to remove the wax from your ears. “It’s Ruined!” is a bass heavy gut punch. This deep into the record, I’ve grown to respect Monzawa’s vocal attack, for surely I’d be hoarse for a year if I attempted singing on this nasty a level. Once again, we get to enjoy groovy southern metal swagger on guitar, juxtaposed with bruising punkish throb.

Did someone say punk? “We Must Die” just can’t help but let it all hang out. A positively metal solo interrupts the stomping morass momentarily, then it’s off to a bloody finish.

Monzawa conjures his very best Lemmy for “Ghost of Narcissistic” and this is the first time he experiments with a quasi-melodic chorus, too. I can imagine the crowd singing along with this one, horns raised proudly in a densely packed, sweat-drenched underground venue somewhere.

“Nation Under” would make a fitting playlist companion to Pantera, Down, High on Fire, and GREENMACHiNE’s compatriot’s Church of Misery. Punchy atmosphere, with sludgy riffs, unusual rhythms, and unhinged vocals, this one’s my clear favorite of the lot.

If you’re not in love with Monzawa’s axe-handling yet, you’re attention has been elsewhere, because the stormy riffage on “Torture Yourself” is on par with Black Cobra, and y'all know I love me some Black Cobra. What makes GREENMACHiNE a standout is the penchant to jump spontaneously into celebratory metal soloing that would make any '80s trve metal band blush.

You ready for a good legend? “Dragon’s Sorrow” bears witness to long forgotten myths of dragons versus samurai. Of course, judging from the softly spoken lyrics that we hear in the beginning (“Too many people die in military crackdown”) this could double as a metaphor for resistance to statist power.

Our journey ends with a blender full of GREENMACHiNE’s most distinctive stylistic elements. Hardcore to the gut, but with sporatic ventures into sludge, groove, and heavy metal, “孤絶 (Kozetsu)” is breathtaking summary of everything that make’s this band great.

'GREENMACHiNE’ (2021) is available now via Robustfellow in a number of attractive CD and cassette bundles.

Give ear…

Trading Words with GREENMACHiNE

Interview by Billy Goate

Many are getting introduced to GREENMACHiNE for the first time by way of your latest record with Robustfellow. How would you describe your sound, fundamentally?

DATSU: I’m doing sounds that extract my favorite parts of hardcore punk and hard rock, such as Black Sabbath, Motörhead, Discharge, Kyuss, and Lip Cream that have been my influences since childhood.

You’ve obviously got a long history in the Japanese music scene. Many of us in the US follow it here and there with bands like Church of Misery breaking out onto the world stage. What was the scene like when you first started playing back in the early-to-mid ‘90s and what is it like now?

DATSU: Boris is active worldwide. Boris and Corrupted were the first to contact us when we started working in 1995. For the first three or four years we had a lot of opportunities to work with them. There are few bands in the style of so-called stoner, doom, and sludge, and I think that each Japanese scene has a unique style. By the time we first broke up in 1999, we were often working with people in the hardcore punk neighborhood, such as Rocky & the SWEDEN and SDS.

After that, the band was reunited from 2003 to 2006, and reunited in 2013 to the present. Was there a scene in the '90s and 2020s? Eternal Elysium and Nepenthes are good friends, but there is no movement to cooperate with each other to create a scene. Moreover, the place where we live is a countryside away from the metropolitan area.

What’s one of the best shows you can remember playing over the decades?

DATSU: There are many, but a few notables include Future Daze Vol. 4 on Saturday, May 28th, 2005 at Harbor in Kanazawa. We played with Corrupted, Spiral Collective, Super Negative King, DJ Baku, and DJ Era. It is very memorable because of the locational effect of an abandoned movie theater.

Going back earlier, to Sunday, May 2nd, 1999 we were gigging at Fandango in Osaka as part of the Mountain High Tour '99 with ROCKY & The Sweden, S.D.S, andNO SIDE. All the performances that day were so incredible.

MONZAWA: Roadburn festival 2018.

MAX: At the venue Fever in Tokyo with Boris – it was my first show with GREENMACHiNE

How about one of the most memorable shows you have attended?

DATSU: Sleep at the Liquidroom in Tokyo, which took place on Friday, January 12th, 2018.

MONZAWA: Gruesome at Pepperland in Okayama around 1998.

MAX: Melvins at Detroitbar in California, circa 2007.

If we were to browse through your record collections, which albums would we find to be the most well-worn and listened to?

DATSU: Kyuss - 'Blues For The Red Sun’ (1992).

MONZAWA: Crucifix - 'Dehumanization’ (1983).

MAX: Nick Drake - 'Pink Moon’ (1972).

We’d love for you to take us on a virtual tour of your guitar-related gear.

MONZAWA: Deviser ordermade SG, Orange Thunderverb 200, BBE Boosta Grande.

MAX: Aria-proII Les-paul, SNK Pedals VHD Distortion , ProCo RAT2 Keeley mod, Magic Pedals DA120 OVERDRIVE, Ampeg V4, SUNN model T reissue.

What have you been working on musically as of late?

DATSU: We practiced to perfect the sound of the songs of the new album and created new stuff.

MONZAWA: Vocal work in my native language.

MAX: 220 bpm full picking.

Doomed & Stoned’s resident sludge-monger continues his quest to interview the filthiest doom and southern sludge bands on the planet! This week, a one-on-one with guitarist Ritchie Randall from long standing Jopllin, Missouri act GRAVEHUFFER, right on the heels of their just third album ‘NecroEclosion’ (2021 - Black Doomba Records) – an explosion of crusty grindcore and doom. (Editor)

Ritchie, tell us about your role in Gravehuffer.

I play guitar and do a little bit of the vocals. I write the riffs and Mike, the bass player, and I collaborate on all that. This time was kind of cool, because our drummer – our new drummer Jay Willis – he even wrote some riffs for this record. He wrote probably four or five. There were a couple of songs. That was his stuff. It has been really cool, with a collaborative effort this time.

Who else is in the band and what do they do?

Travis McKenzie is our brand new vocalist. He actually started when we were recording this record, which is kind of crazy. I think he joined us in February, possibly. He started hitting the ground running! We literally threw him in the fire. Our drummer, Jay Williis, has been with us for a year-and-a-half, I think. Previous to that, Larry Deerdorf was our drummer and he had been with us since 2008. Mike Jilge is our bass player. It has been Mike and myself since '08.

Can you explain about how the vocals are written and recorded? Sometimes they sound layered a bit. Do you have effects on the vocals?

There are very little effects on the vocals, maybe a little delay or reverb. Yeah, there is some layering. Yeah, it’s cool. Jay, our drummer, he actually sang a good bit of vocals and Travis sang I would say 50/50. We didn’t want to get Travis in the band while we were in the middle of recording and say, “Do all the vocals, dude!” (laughs) It was more of a collaboration with Jay and Travis.

Jay had been a singer in other bands prior to coming to Gravehuffer. The drummer thing I guess he did out of necessity. That’s what he told us. He has this really cool voice. He has a kind of hardcore-meets-black metal vibe going on. Travis has more kind of the spastic, crusty style of vocals. The stuff I do is more shouting, yelling in key, and some of the guttural stuff too. My contribution vocally is a lot less, but we are all in there singing at some point. Sometimes all three of us on a song.

I pick up some hardcore hints from Gravehuffer. There are sick ass riffs on track three, “Sights To The Sky.”

Thanks, man. I appreciate that because all those riffs were riffs I had on my phone. We all pulled our riffs together and just dumped them in our bass player Mike’s computer at his home studio. That was an amalgamation of two or three riff ideas. We put the riff ideas in his computer and it came out really cool. “We need to use the first half of that riff and then end with this riff.” I remember I wanted to use those parts for this song. Particular riffs I was adamant on using, for sure. I appreciate you noticing that.

I checked out your previous albums on Bandcamp, bought both Gravehuffer posters. Andre the Giant and the other one are pretty badass.

We have a song on the new album NecroEclosion and thought that would be cool, to have artwork to match.

“Death Before Disco” is badass! Reminds me of S.O.D. or M.O.D. with having the humor and acting some parts out.

We covered like a minute of the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing.” We had a friend play horns on this one. It was a lot of fun! Yeah, S.O.D.! Dude, we are in our mid-40s.

I am 44.

Right on, yeah. That is like totally our thing. We like to mix in the humor. Way back, they had these shirts that Mike had, or he wanted one, that said “Death before Disco.” Ever since we were in a band in the '90s, we were in a crust punk band called Initial Detonation. We released a couple 7-inches and toured a bit. Mike had wanted to do this for like 20 years. He was finally like, “I am going to learn a Bee Gees bass line and we are going to do this damn song!” (laughs) We all learned our parts. We had a friend of ours from Metal devastation Radio [and] he is the one who announces us on the song.

The whole skit in the beginning of the song had me rolling!

It was a lot of fun to record. We were worried about putting it on the album. I think that most people who are into us get the whole cheeky punk thing that we do.

Having fun! I’m glad you put the song on there!

We thought why not, you know? We have done it on every album, so why not?

More bands need to take those artistic avenues. I appreciate when bands take the directions they need to later on, after putting an album or several out there. Some fans won’t like it or understand it, and that’s okay.

Yeah, totally valid. We decided, “You know what? We are going to do what we want.” We shouldn’t second guess what people are going to think. We squashed that pretty quick. I will admit I thought, “Should we be doing this?” (laughs) Mike and I pretty much don’t care what people think. It’s not that we don’t care, it’s just that we don’t let it affect what we write. Jay, our new drummer, wasn’t sure about it at first. He is new coming into this thing and wasn’t sure what our fans thought at all. He has played a few shows, but this is his first album. I don’t blame him for that.

The song “Smaller Than Death,” is about Andre the Giant.

That one is about Andre, yes.

I love it! It’s nice and sludgy. Real thick and chunky. So what does Andre the Giant mean to you and Gravehuffer?

Mike had brought up the idea for writing a song about Andre. He just watched this documentary on HBO about Andre the Giant. He was really inspired by it and that’s basically where that came from. I always loved Andre when I watched wrestling in the '80s.

Oh yeah, me too!

He was like the first wrestling superstar. We thought it would be cool to write about wrestling but also his life, as well. He grew up in France then came over to America to be a wrestler. He wasn’t really interested in being famous. Everyday life was a challenge for him being a giant outside the ring. We wanted to make sure that we put that in there! We needed to make it more than just wrestling. He could have been viewed as a sideshow freak. That was a thing back then. He used his size to his advantage to become an amazing wrestler. He was a character, as well. He had a charisma about him that we related to a lot.

Have you ever seen any of the “Andre the Giant has a posse” stickers?

No, I haven’t seen those.

They are big where I am at, because the guy who created it is from here.

Oh really? Cool!

I’ll send you some stickers. I think you’ll like them. This guy Shepard Fairey is from Charleston S.C. and created them and “Obey.” He also did the iconic Hope picture for Obama years ago.

Really? Interesting.

He has traveled all over the world doing graffiti, posters, and sticking up these Andre stickers.

That is definitely something that we would love to be a part of, I think. (laughs)

I loved Andre the Giant from wrestling and especially from The Princess Bride. He was a gentle giant.

Exactly! Yes! I think the lyrics have “gentle giant” in there.

Gravehuffer is signed to Black Doomba Records?

Correct.

You guys have merch available through Seasons Of Mist as well, right?

Yeah. Shirts, tank tops, and hoodies.

Grave huffer also has masks right? You’re one of the first bands I saw making masks. More bands have that now.

Yeah, they have sold pretty well. We have marked them down to $6.66.

Sweet!

So what makes Gravehuffer laugh?

That is an interesting question. I don’t think I have ever been asked that. We find humor in off the wall fucked-up stuff. (laughs) I can’t think of anything in particular off the top of my head. S.O.D. and M.O.D. Stuff like that. Probably a typical humor. Mike, our bass player is like 6’ 5" probably weighs about 300 lbs but he’s like a big kid. We used to work together in the same office. I did printing, he did mail. I would be at my desk and he would fart. It would be very loud and like 10 seconds long! I would be like, “Oh, my god, what was that?” We would die laughing! He is just a big kid. Honestly, he cracks me up more than anything. The other day I came to the band room and he was watching Sanford and Son. We just sat and watched it for about an hour. We tend to like old comedies, poop and fart jokes.

Sounds like what makes me laugh.

Yeah! We are ridiculous! (laughs) I sent Mike a YouTube video where a guy in Walmart took an intercom phone and farted in it. (laughs)

I’ve seen that. It echoes and reverberates through the whole building.

I wish they would have filmed him for about 3 more seconds because the reverb just keeps going! (laughs) That is stuff that makes us laugh. We are just like little kids. We’re 8 years old! (laughs)

Tell me about writing the song “Ghost Dance” and what it means to you and the band.

As far as the music is concerned, that main riff Mike and I came up with. Actually, Mike came up with the first half of it and then I came up with the second half of it. Most times that’s what happens where someone will start a riff or lyrics and someone else will hear something a little different and add on to it or finish it. The chorus section was a collaboration between all of us. I remember coming up with that part and having Mike and Jay were telling me, “Hey, why don’t you just write the top string during that section?” It is cool how that whole song came together. When the song changes and becomes more intense we don’t tell each other what to play, but we tell each other what we are hearing. It goes through our filter and then we play it, “Yeah that’s perfect!” It is a pretty cool way of writing. The last part is kind of melodic and Mike said to pick a melody to play over it, so I did and that’s how that came about.

As far as the subject matter, I always thought it would be appropriate to write about Wounded Knee. That is something I feel strongly about. Travis, our new singer, that was the second set of lyrics he wrote. The first was “Death Before Disco” and “Ghost Dance” was the second. We were like, “Travis this is really good!” We haven’t ever seen his lyrics prior to Gravehuffer and he knocked it out of the park. We thought it would be a good idea to create a lyric video especially considering the subject matter. That is pretty much how “Ghostdance” came together, ya know?

Awesome! What has been an awkward moment for Gravehuffer as a band?

An awkward moment? Let me think.

like trying to get across the Canadian border and you got grass on you.

(laughs) Right, right. We’ve never played outside the US yet. We don’t have any crazy things like that. I don’t know. We haven’t had many awkward moments as a band. Nothing like really crazy. I do remember one time we were playing at a place called The Bottleneck in Kansas. We’d played there a couple times prior, but for whatever reason we were outside the back door and knocking and no one was coming. This is where the bands load in and out. I guess no one was back there at the time, so I text the promoter and he gets ready to come out.

While we are waiting to get inside and load in, there is someone coming down the alley the wrong way and he is wanting us to move. Hey, no, we are not going to move! So the guy just starts yelling at us and starts cussing at us. So the promoter finally comes out and starts laying into the guy who is telling us to move. “You need to move, you’re going the wrong way down a one way street!” The guy was getting really mouthy and Mike stood up and you have to worry! (laughs) I saw him shove someone and that was the end of it! He is a big guy and I wouldn’t want to ever make him mad. That was definitely an awkward moment.

There have been a couple instances like that. There was another instance where we were playing in Iola, Kansas and a guy came out and he was really drunk. He was saying how much he really liked us. He started talking about being in prison and it got weird quick and getting a little too personal. So Mike again stood up and I was like, “Oh no!” I am looking at Mike going, “No no no!” That’s about it, where stuff could have gotten out of hand. People are just acting weird.

Where do we find Gravehuffer’s music? Bandcamp, Spotify?

Yes, we are on both. I usually send people to Bandcamp.

I love Bandcamp!

Bandcamp is terrific! It is so artist friendly and having merch on sale there. Dude, we have like 15 or 20 items up there.

I got the Gravehuffer patch a while back and recently got those posters. Is there anything else you want to promote or plug before we end this?

As far as the new album is concerned, it’s at Black Doomba Records. It’s on three-color vinyl, with yellow, red, and black splatter.

Nice!

It’s on a180 gm vinyl. It also comes with two signed posters for the first 50 editions. The next 50 after that have the same posters, just not signed. Each vinyl is hand numbered by Tommy Stewart. One more thing. We were talking about “Ghostdance,” off the album NecroEclosion. The next one is “Causes.” It was the last song to be recorded for lyrics. The reason why is our drummer Jay and our singer Travis were supposed to collaborate on lyrics and just never happened. It was the last week in the studio and we needed to turn the record into the label and crunched for time. Our old singer James had suggested that we used a friend for this song. This particular friend had passed away a few years ago. We got the blessing from the family to use a poem of his for the lyrics for the song. The poem fits the song perfectly. We didn’t edit or add anything. In the song where the horns come in is where the poem actually ends. It couldn’t have fit anymore perfectly! It is dedicated to our friend Ryan Smith.

Very amazing!

It turned out very cool. It might not stick out, but it definitely has a different vibe from the rest of the record.

It sounded like an older song. A bit hardcore.

Our bass player wrote that entire song on bass. It was a pretty unique way of going about it. Our drummer Jay when he recorded the drums he did it in one take. (laughs)

Holy shit!

I know, right?

I know studio time can be expensive.

Yeah, it’s a unique song. We have artwork for that song that fits it really well. It fell together so well.

GEIST, the Anger-Management consultants from NE. England are back with a new lineup, new ambition and new Vitality for their upcoming release! I caught up with frontman Matt Phillps and got the lowdown…

Hey Matt..Thanks for agreeing to chat: Why did Luke leave? How did Andy enter the picture?

Matt: Luke moved to London for a huge career opportunity he couldn’t refuse. We likely would have made the distance work but the job itself needs all of his time. His flexibility to play shows/tours would’ve been nonexistent so he decided it’d be best if he stood down. It came as a surprise and only a month or so into lockdown so there was no real way of having a final show or anything. We jammed for the first few practices back just the 4 of us before trying out a few different people. Andy played in a band with Ian and they had toured together before in their old bands so he’d suggested we ask him up to Newcastle for a jam and the rest is history!

Do you think Andy’s presence has changed the dynamic of the band?

Matt: One thing that was important to us was the relationship with any prospective new member and their willingness to fit into our mould as its worked for the rest of us for not only the last 6 and a half years with this band but years before with other projects we’ve been involved in together. One thing Andy has brought is a new energy for all of us. It’s refreshed something amongst us and everything we’re writing just feels fresh. Not that it felt stale before but writing an album is a long process and after, it can take us some time to shift back into that creative zone. We’d made inroads into 2 or 3 tracks since swarming season but we were unsure where to go with being unable to play shows etc. Since Andy has been jamming with us we’ve got the barebones of 5 or 6 tracks down to work on.

Who is organising your live stream and how did the concept take shape?

Matt: It’s not actually going to be a live stream. Its more a “live studio session”. So the audio will be recorded live and we’ll be shooting it with multiple cameras ready to chop it all together in some cinematic fashion. Hoping to use as much of the visual stuff we use live but in a studio setting so should be interesting to see how it all comes together. Something actually streamed live from a venue is something we have in the pipeline for early next year if we’re still not able to play shows. In addition to that answer We have done a couple of these live sessions with bands in the past so i guess what’s where the idea had come from. There aren’t a lot of other options at the moment and the session I did in an old band at the same studio, with the same engineer was one of my favourite things i ever did in that band! In addition to that answer, We have done a couple of these live sessions with bands in the past so i guess what’s where the idea had come from. There aren’t a lot of other options at the moment and the session I did in an old band at the same studio, with the same engineer was one of my favourite things I ever did in that band!

When will it go live?

Matt: We’re ready to premiere online on Friday, November 20. I suppose one positive is that any prospective viewer is going to be able to watch it from their sofa so we don’t have to give too much notice. (laughs)

You hinted at a new release in your PR shot…do you have a date set?

Matt: We have no date at the moment. We were toying with the idea of releasing a 7” with the tracks we have on the go since finishing swarming season but it feels like it would just get lost in the fold. We made the decision in the last week to go ahead with a new album. Like i said, in terms of barebones we’re halfway there already!

Will this be another collaboration with Astral Noize?

Matt: Astral noize did an amazing job last time! Well, we were extremely lucky to have had 2 runs of shows at the very start of the year, first with Leeched and then with Harrowed and Calligram which I’d say were 2 of the most well attended tours i’ve personally played. With work commitments etc we likely wouldn’t have had any major outings until around September so the only thing it really affected was practice and writing. Luke quitting right in the middle of it all threw a massive spanner in the works but we’re well on the road to being back in shape going forward. Practice for us is as much a social thing as anything else - its mainly the one day of the week we all see each other and we’re actually all best friends as well. So taking that time away from the practice room was probably equally hard for that reason as much as any. It felt good to get back in front of an amp and deafen myself when we first got back at it though i have to say!

Despite the situation, do you have any live events happening in 2021?

Matt: We actually don’t at present. We haven’t actively pushed for it with everything that’s going on and then with the lineup change it’s not really been the forefront for us. With the current restrictions up here we’re just happy to be able (barely) to get in our practice room and play.

Thanks Matt, it’s been a pleasure!

The last time we were impacted by WORSHIP’s punishing mix of sludgy doom, post-metal, and hardcore was when the Salinas, California quartet brought us ‘All Too Human’ (2015). In the years that have transpired, the band has of course grown even deeper musically and lyrically, drawing upon primal themes embodied in song titles like “Serpents,” “The Cave,” “Without,” and “Paralyze.”

Today, Doomed & Stoned is giving you a first listen to the roaring title track from their forthcoming second LP, 'Tunnels’ (2020). It’s Worship’s most thematically challenging and musically forward album to date. Frontman Andrew Cannon had this to say about the new single:

“When I wrote 'Tunnels’ I was living part time in Arizona with my family and part time in California because I work for Santa Cruz Skateboards. The song addresses the longing to be with people you can’t be with and finding solace in the trees that formed a tunnel surrounding my apartment. Appreciating them helped to keep me present in the moment and appreciative of where I was, knowing that all things are temporary”

Tunnels was recorded by Scott Evans and mastered by James Plotkin. It will be issued on July 17th, in both digital and vinyl formats (pre-order here). For every record sold, the band is donating five dollars to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital for research on epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Actually, the colors of the vinyl represents the ribbon colors for each: purple for epilepsy and green for cerebral palsy.

Give ear…

The past couple nights, the moon has been so bright I’d swear the sun was rising in the midst of it all. Long-standing doom duo BLACKLAB from Japan pay hommage to the super moon in their latest music video with a simmering witch’s cauldron of super fuzz!

Having already commanded our attention with ‘Under The Strawberry Moon’ (2018), Yuko Morino (guitars, vox) and Chia Shiraishi (drums) fire back with a powerful second album, 'Abyss’ (2020), on New Heavy Sounds. The presser isn’t lying, either, when it marks this “an uncompromising beast of a record.” Once again working with Osaka producer Jun Morino and mixed by London sound engineer Wayne Adams (who did a fab job with recent spins by Geen Lung and Cold In Berlin), BlackLab captured eight fresh tracks under the light of a full moon during a feverish three-day period.

Abyss is the right thing to call this one, too. From the slow churning opening track “Insanity” forward, we are summoned into the deep, dark, swirling void of BlackLab’s domain. Crunchy low-end, irradiated distortion, and maniacal shrieks greet us next in the slow-burning “Fade and Melt,” juxtaposed with enchanting melodic vocals. This leads into “Weed Dream,” with its strange, dirgy motif enjoined by a quickened tempo, deranged verse, and a hauntingly beautiful series of “oohs” pinned to a grinding finish.

Instrumental acid trip “Amusement Park of Terror” tunes way down, plunging us into a vat of molasses-thick riffage that gives way to a swirling assortment of sparks, chirps, and spacey pedal effects. “Forked Road,” by contrast, revives BlackLab’s Riot Grrrl attitude, presenting a snotty middle finger to the masses with a gnarly, punk vibe and wicked guitar licks.

Chia’s frenetic drumming is outstandingly showcased on the Sabbathesque “Chained” and continues to impress in “Sleepless Nights,” with its catchy, savage rhythm. This may be my favorite of the record, too (really got my head to bobbing!). Midway, the song surprises with a sudden shift in mood, as storm clouds gather for a thundering second-half and one irresistible anthemic chorus.

“Sun” closes the record in stark fashion with Yuko’s frighteningly sludgey screams drawing our attention to the apocalyptic hue of the horizon. As this 7-minute juggernaut plods along, we are treated to some dreamy singing undergirded by worshipful pacing, transporting the listener into an ethereal realm of blinding light.

This is BlackLab and today, Doomed & Stoned is giving you another glimpse into their world with the new lyric vid for “Weed Dream.”

Give ear…

There is one shared root between many of our favorite bands in the scene, and I’m not talking about our shared love of Black Sabbath or Sleep. What I am talking about is how many people in doom community — and really the music community at large — have roots in hardcore. This is something that’s very important to be aware of as you move forward, because hardcore dictates how a lot of people in this scene operate. As such, having a deeper understanding of both the ethos and the music empowers you to make the connections that matter. In many ways, my knowledge of ‘90s hardcore has been one of the most important enablers when it’s come to opening up new doors and growing relationships throughout my career. This is because everyone has roots in it, the ethos continues to be relevant, the music is damn good and ultimately, the scene has become a larger family.

4. The Roots Go Deeper Than You Think

The goddamn Avett Brothers started out as a hardcore band. Kurt Cobain and Dale Crover had a hardcore band before they went on to become legends in their respective groups, Nirvana and The Melvins. Bands ranging from transcendent doom like Subrosa to much more straightforward acts like High On Fire have clear connections to the hardcore scene. In some ways, hardcore is just as fundamental to stoner rock and doom metal as grunge. If you start to ask around, you’ll find out a lot of your peers have roots in the hardcore scene. Learning about and investing your time in the community is a great way to show interest in the lives of others. It opens up opportunities to start connecting with new people on a deeper level.

3. The Ethos Remains Relevant

Hardcore ethics have a huge impact on how many labels in this scene are run, from STB Records to Ripple Music. I’m not just saying this because I know the guys or have worked with them; even before my entry into the industry, the people in this community were often first exposed to underground music via the hardcore scene. Their first impressions concerning how the underground should be run have stayed constant in their approaches. The foundations of hardcore lie in the core principles of DIY, mutual respect, and working your face off to help grow the scene. It’s not about making money, because fundamentally you need to understand that hardcore is about helping those around you. It’s about the core principle that a rising tide lifts all ships. If you can’t be a part of that now then you are going to need to learn to embrace it.

2. The Music Rules!

This is a huge part of it. The music is great, and it’s a key foundation to a lot of the songwriting for bands across the spectrum. As I mentioned earlier, everyone — from the artsier bands like Year of the Cobra to more straight up stoner rock acts like Zed — has roots here. It’s a scene that people are passionate about. We all know that it’s important to take an interest in the passions of others if you’re trying to connect with them. Knowing the musical landscape of hardcore music is a really good way to do so without pandering, because it’s an easy thing to fall in love with. There’s so much to unpack and so many cool stories around the music. Even if using hardcore to network doesn’t get you anywhere, at least you get to uncover a cool new side of the music world. My relationship with hardcore has helped me personally and professionally, and I think it can do the same for you, too.

1. It’s a Family

Because hardcore was very much the point of entry for a lot of us in the scene, our collective experience of it entails some very treasured memories and relationships. If you can find that sense of hardcore brotherhood, you’ll start to get let in to the inner circle for many bands and industry people. It’s built on developing a shared understanding of the core ethics of the genre, and using that as your jumping off point towards more growth. Hardcore is an important gateway through which many of us initially interfaced with the scene. It’s something that goes deeper than the music, as for many of us it was all that we had for years. If you were a part of it, you get it. If you need to learn about it, you can still work your way in, but you need to do your research and prove you’re genuine about it, because after all…hardcore is forever.

Matt Bacon (IG: mattbacon666) with Dropout Media is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Matt also co-hosts the Dumb & Dumbest podcast with Curtis Dewar of Dewar PR.

On the eve of the release of their full-length debut, we asked Thunder Bay hardcore-sludge crew Alienatör to give us a track-by-track walkthrough of the fierce new record, ‘Pariahs’ (2019). Check it out…

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This is a little sound collage I put together that sounds like someone flipping through the channels. The voice at the end is cult leader Jim Jones. I have a lot of fun with sound manipulation and noise making, almost as much as writing songs and playing guitar.

False Hope

“Best of luck in your future endeavors.” The opening line of the album is what what you say when you fire somebody. It’s like saying fuck off but more politely. Themes are how people screw each other over to get ahead and how we delude ourselves that better things are coming despite the fact that the deck is stacked against us.

Morgue Bait

This one is about how we numb ourself to the pain and disappointment of every day life. It’s loosely based on the work of Gabor Maté and Johan Hari We overcompensate for lack of human connection with drugs, alcohol, sex, etc. and in the process slowly kill ourselves. Lalala. The crazy low vocals at the end are our pal Curtis Wilson from the band Norris. They rule and you should check them out. Then I made a field recording of a symphonic gong for the drone bit at the end, which I thought added a nice touch.

Wish in one hand…

Another hopeful tune. The full expression is wish in one hand, shit in the other and see which hand fills up first. This is about the drudgery of everyday and the lies we tell ourselves to get through it. The word “factotum,” is borrowed from the Charles Bukowski novel of the same name, if anyone was wondering.

((((((()))))))

I went to a friend’s house and he didn’t tell me that everyone there was going to be injecting heroin. When I came in, there was a needle on the table and a girl was on the couch with her eyes rolling back in her head and she looked up at me and said “it feels like I’m dreaming but I’m awake.” When I recorded the crystal bowls on this track, at a gong meditation I could hear those words in my head, for some reason and this interlude became about a drug trip or out of body experience. If you get this track on iTunes or Spotify it’s called “interlude 1,” cause they won’t allow you to create a title that’s just parentheses, which is pretty ridiculous.

Renovicted

“We’ll make it look nice so we can jack up the price. It’s poverty with a view.” I lived in Vancouver for a dozen years, then got priced out and had to leave. Renoviction is part of gentrification. Land-lords evict people so they can make renovations, then raise the rent. That’s why most people I know with families had to leave that place. The song is sung in the second person.

Drag the River

Thunder Bay is my home town and it’s where I live now. It has a bad reputation nationally for racism and also racism within the police force. Many indigenous people have drowned in a surrounding river and their deaths have been ruled not suspicious with little or no investigation. This song is more about the police and citizens and how we sweep it all under the carpet.

LRH

LRH is what Scientologists call L. Ron Hubbard. This one is about a cult called Scientology and how they brainwash people. I’m interested in cults, which also explains the Jim jones sample in the intro.

Rep Endo

This one is an older tune about the illuminati, the hidden hand, the lizard people and other David Icke theories.

oooo0OO0oooo

A little synth intro. We like to keep it weird and experiment.

Neon Black

This one started out being about phosphenes (those little shapes you see when you close your eyes) and ended up being about the psychedelic experience in general, specifically to treat depression, which I suffer from.

Dead Inside

Another emo tune about feelings. Specifically about my feelings about quitting music or giving up on life in general. It’s a cathartic song for sure. Purging all the feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness. Negative tunes are kind of like a cleansing of negative emotions for me and my daughter played piano on the end so I was pretty stoked on that.

The Vancouver, British Columbia heavy music scene is a blazy inferno right now and I think we just might have found its hellbeast. This is WAINGRO, a popular favorite among the locals for damn sure, but hardly a new face to the underground.

Now in their lucky number seven year as a band, Brian Sepanzyk (guitar, vox), Nate Pennel (bass), and Benjie Nesdoly (drums) have been rocking steady for the duration and have one EP and two LPs to prove it – make that soon to be three LPs. Sometimes there’s no better name for an album than to call it what it is. On August 15th, Waingro will unleash ‘III’ (2019) upon the world. Their previous efforts have, impressively, earned them a vinyl release with two labels: Sludgelord Records (out 8/15 in the UK & Europe) and No List Records (out 9/13 for North America).

Their secret sauce? Waingro couples a sweaty hardcore urgency with the raucus riffmaking of stoner rock for a sound like none other. Today, Doomed & Stoned brings you the first single from the new album, the rough 'n’ tumble “Red Death”

Give ear…

Some Buzz

Fueled by a passion for stoner rock and punk, Brian Sepanzyk (guitars/vocals), Benjie Nesdoly (drums) and Nate Pennell (bass/backing vocals) took the heaviness of hardcore, the groove from stoner rock, and then added subtle desert rock highlights to work on what would come to be known as Waingro.

The experienced musicians have honed their craft in several other bands over the years, but it wasn’t until they formed Waingro that Sepanzyk (guitar/vocals), Nesdoly (drums), and Nate Pennell (bass/backing vocals) were truly able to explore their talents in the abrasive desert rock band. While their earlier material can be considered stoner hardcore with releases 'Waingro’ (2014) and 'Mt. Hood’ (2015); Waingro adds a grunge edge with their upcoming album 'III’ (2019) due out August 15, 2019, its UK vinyl and worldwide digital release via Sludgelord Records and is Canadian vinyl release on September 13, 2019, via No List Records.

Not ones to be conventional, Waingro gives a glimpse into their writing process: “It usually starts with Sepanzyk coming up with some riffs, then going out to a cabin and locking ourselves away for 2-3 days while we BBQ and play Bocce.”

Bringing a ton of energy, while still remaining super tight, Waingro’s main lyrical concepts explore the character of the same name from the film Heat. Writing about situations from the character’s potential point of view complemented with visual landscapes for his possibilities, Waingro have played several festivals across Canada and with their latest album around the corner, will be looking to further their reach in the future.

Hardcore has always been a passion of mine. It’s something that I think rightly informs a lot of how the underground music scene operates today. Everyone from Moby to Ghostemane (by way of the Beastie Boys and Sleep) have some foot in the world of hardcore. On top of that, countless session musicians I’ve come to know over the years have also proudly professed these origins. I think that understanding this and operating with the hardcore mindset is essential to having any sort of success in the music business as it stands in 2019. I mean, maybe not for the mainstream guys, but if you’re reading this particular article on this particular website, then the odds are that you’re not especially interested in the mainstream music scene. Instead, you probably want to figure out how to maximize your impact within your niche and then ideally grow from there. That’s what a deep understanding of hardcore will enable you to do.

The biggest key to the hardcore mindset is obviously the do-it-yourself aesthetic. This entails the willingness to get out there and figure stuff out on your own. Indeed, the stories of Minor Threat folding their own LP’s as teenagers are legendary, as are Henry Rollins’ gory tales of booking his own tours. Despite their different contexts, these things all tie into a shared history. They tie into a sort of hard grinding and unrepentant mindset. This the life you choose with DIY music, and it’s the life that we all need to be able to embrace in order to succeed. In some ways, the DIY aesthetic is one of my favorite things about underground music. I love to learn how to do new things and learn new ways to approach challenges. I get a kick out of having to embrace a new problem. That’s the whole thing with the DIY community. It’s all based on problem-solving and finding unique, smarter, and cheaper ways to solve problems.

Another essential to embracing the DIY mentality is accepting the notion that a rising tide lifts all ships. It’s the idea that if we walk together, then we will rock together. It’s the idea that if we double down on our hard work, then we can change the world. Look at the Syracuse hardcore scene that birthed vegan straight edge. There were only like 20 guys, but spearheaded by Earth Crisis they were able to change the world. If we work together to lift people up, then we know that we’re on the path to success. So often people in the underground come from a ‘me first’ mentality, yet we see time and time again that this just doesn’t work. We see time and time again that the people who seem to think that they can get there on their own are wrong. Ask any of the big bands who came from the hardcore scene about how their community helped them – you’ll quickly come to realize what it’s all about.

The thing that’s made hardcore and punk work for forty years now is that it’s focused on punk rock. It’s focused on teaching each other how to rise up. It’s about working your face off for forces greater than yourself. It’s about being an open, active, and accepting community. I know that some of these words sound kind of churchy, but that’s sort of the point. Growing in your hardcore scene can feel like a religious experience. Growing in your hardcore scene is about spreading the word not just of good music, but also of the ethos behind the whole thing. I think that as bands like Fugazi, Rites of Spring, or even the fucking emo scene show us, hardcore is more than a sound. So even if you don’t like Minor Threat, you shouldn’t feel like this isn’t for you. You just need to apply this same sense of caring and hard work to whatever music you’re working on right now. It’s about embracing the focus on community.

The final component that I really want to emphasize is the ability to project confidence while operating with extreme humility. This is something I really thought a lot about just this last weekend while at Inferno Fest. To be totally honest with you, I think that I’m a very arrogant person. Yet, for some reason, other people don’t seem to think that. The reason for that, I think (and I might be totally wrong), is that while I feel that although I portray myself in a rather self-serving way, I also operate with extreme humility. To me, hardcore is being the guy who grinds out the boring emails. It’s being the guy who goes and sits at the door for free, just because someone needs to be there. It’s being the dude who is willing to put on a show that will make them no money, but doing it just because there needs to be a show. It’s when you operate with that vision and that humility in mind that you’ll start to see real growth.

At the end of the day, hardcore is just about how you should treat other people. It’s about realizing that without this, we might as well be dead, and as such we’ll be much better off working together. It’s about realizing how if we engage with the world around us, and let that world be one of love and hope, we will grow. Hardcore is a scene built on manifestation. Bad Brains, the godfathers of it all, would always talk about Napoleon Hill’s classic, Think And Grow Rich. That book is 80 years old and still describes the hardcore ethos as well as any other. The ideas aren’t new, but when brought into the music they can let you win. Embrace hardcore and DIY, and the scene is only going to expand around you. Act selfishly, and you will be portrayed as an ass. Simple as that.

Matt Bacon (IG: mattbacon666) with Dropout Media is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Matt also co-hosts the Dumb & Dumbest podcast with Curtis Dewar of Dewar PR.