Category: Legends

RidingEasy Records releases first track from remastered rare Randy Holden album.

“Population II is considered one of the world’s first doom albums of all time.” — Metal Injection

RidingEasy Records proudly announce the official reissue on physical and digital formats of the extremely rare 1970 proto-metal album Randy Holden – Population II. Considered one of the first doom metal albums ever, the ex-Blue Cheer guitarist’s solo debut has long been sought out by collectors. The remastered full length will be available on all streaming platforms for the first time, with a master more true to the original mix on LP, CD and streaming.

Metal Injection has the first taste of the remastered album, “Blue My Mind” to hear & share HERE. (Direct Bandcamp, YouTube.) 
“Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open.” 

To hear Randy Holden describe the audience’s reaction in 1969 to his solo debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps is about as close as many of us will get to truly experience the moment heavy metal music morphed into existence. However, at last we have unearthed the proper fossil record.
Population II, the now legendary, extremely rare album by guitarist/vocalist Holden and drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed is considered to be one of the earliest examples of doom metal. Though its original release was a very limited in number and distribution, like all great records, its impact over time has continued to grow.

In 1969, Holden, fresh off his tenure with proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer (appearing on one side of the New! Improved! Blue Cheer album and touring for the better part of a year in the group), aimed for more control over his band. Thus, Randy Holden – Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. 

“I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before,” Holden explains. “I was interested in discordant sounds that could be melodic but gigantically huge. I rented an Opera house for rehearsal, set up with 16 Sunn amps. That’s what I was going for, way over the top.” 
And over the top it is. The 6-song album delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It’s incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic, sensibility. 

“At the time, I was hearing these crazy melodies everywhere I went,” Holden says. “I thought I was going crazy.” For example, one day he slowly rooted out a powerful sound that had been nagging him and discovered it coming from a ceiling fan. “Machinery all around us doesn’t turn in a perfect rhythm. That’s what I was tuning into, I heard the music and the discordant sounds coming from the machinery. It was perfect for rendering the machine we built.”

Troubles with the album’s release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. It was bootlegged several times over the years, but until now hasn’t seen a proper remaster and has yet to be available on digital platforms. “The original mastering just destroyed the dynamics of it,” Holden says. “They flattened it out. Now we got a really nice remaster that should be the closest thing to the original recording.” 

Population II will be available on LP, CD and download on February 28th, 2020 via RidingEasy Records. 

Keep your mind open.

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Rage Against the Machine announce first tour in almost a decade.

Rage Against the Machine have announced their first full tour in almost ten years, starting with three shows in the American southwest that will benefit immigrant charities. Most of the tour includes opening support from Run the Jewels, and there’s also a headlining spot for RATM at Coachella this year. Tickets are on sale now, and I’m sure many dates (if not all of them) will sell out. Here’s the list:

03-26 El Paso, TX – Don Haskins Center
03-28 Las Cruces, NM – Pan American Center
03-30 Glendale, AZ – Gila River Arena
04-10 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
04-17 Indio, CA – Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
04-21 Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
04-25 Portland, OR – Moda Center
04-28 Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
05-01 Vancouver, BC – Pacific Coliseum at the PNE
05-03 Edmonton, Alberta – Rogers Place
05-05 Calgary, Alberta – Scotiabank Saddledome
05-07 Winnipeg, Manitoba – Bell MTS Place
05-09 Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford Premier Center
05-11 Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
05-14 Kansas City, MO – Sprint Center
05-16 St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
05-19 Chicago, IL – United Center
05-23 Boston, MA – Boston Calling
06-19 Dover, DE – Firefly
07-10 East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre
07-13 Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
07-17 Ottawa, Ontario – Ottawa Bluesfest
07-18 Québec City, Québec – Festival d’Été de Québec
07-21 Hamilton, Ontario – FirstOntario Centre
07-23 Toronto, Ontario – Scotiabank Arena
07-27 Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center
07-29 Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
07-31 Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
08-02 Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena
08-04 Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
08-07 Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
08-10 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
08-11 New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
08-28 Leeds, England – Leeds Festival
08-30 Reading, England – Reading Festival
09-01 Paris, France – Rock En Seine Festival
09-04 Stradbally Laois, Ireland – Electric Picnic Festival
09-06 Berlin, Germany – Lollapalooza Berlin Festival
09-08 Prague, Czech Republic – O2 Arena
09-10 Krakow, Poland – Tauron Arena

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Iggy Pop – Post-Pop Depression (2016)

Iggy Pop once described his 2016 album Post-Pop Depression in a Rolling Stone article as “discussing issues of what happens when your utility is at an end, and dealing with your legacy.” It’s also an album with heavy themes of sex and death.

The opener, “Break into Your Heart,” with it’s heavy, menacing bass by Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Age) is about Pop willing to do whatever it takes to win the object of his desire. “Gardenia” has Pop and Joshua Homme (also of QOTSA as well as Eagles of Death Metal) singing of a “black goddess in a shabby raincoat” with an “hourglass glass” and “slant devil eyes” and how he just wants to pay for one more night with her. A friend of mine wondered if we needed a song about Iggy Pop, who was sixty-nine years old at the time, getting laid. I figured a guy pushing seventy singing about how he’s wanting (and, let’s face it, getting) more sex than guys decades younger than he is pretty damn punk rock.

“American Valhalla” is a song about figuring out what’s left behind after we die. “Death is the the pill that’s tough to swallow…I’m not the man with everything. I’ve nothing but my name. Lonely, lonely deeds that no one sees…Where is American Valhalla?” Everyone wants to know the answer to this, especially when we realize it’s not found in consumerism, Instagram, or reality TV. Homme’s guitar on “In the Lobby” reminds me of Mick Ronson‘s chops, and Pop’s vocals about hoping he doesn’t lose his life as he walks behind his shadow as “the dancing kids” who are out for their kicks are oblivious to the passage of time.

“Sunday” is a tale of enduring the drudgery of the work week and, I suspect, the life of a rock star (“This job is a masquerade of recreation.” / “I’ve got it all, but what’s it for?”) just to get to a day off. “Vulture,” with its spaghetti western showdown percussion from Matt Helders (of Arctic Monkeys) is about the spectre of death and record company executives waiting to bleed you dry.

You can’t help but wonder if Pop is writing from experience on “German Days” – a song about Bavarian brothels, “champagne on ice,” and the opportunity to “germinate in a German way.” Pop did spend many years in Berlin, so I’ll take his word for it. “Chocolate Drops” is about letting go of the past and not fearing death, and it’s no secret that Homme’s work on this album helped him after the terrorist attack at an Eagles of Death Metal show in 2015.

The album ends with the angry rants of “Paraguay,” in which Pop sings about “going where sore losers go to hide my face and spend my dough.” Pop is sick of sycophants and tired of the constant barrage of knowledge and information. He’s tired of living in a place where everyone is afraid and chooses to live in that fear. The song breaks down close to the four-minute mark into a fiery rant from Pop in which he tears down us, the listeners, that he’s sick of our “evil and poisonous intentions” while Homme, Fertita, and Helders chant “Wild animals, they do. Never wonder why, just do what they goddamn do.”

Thankfully, this wasn’t Pop’s last record, as some thought it might be. He isn’t leaving for Paraguay just yet, but Post-Pop Depression is a warning that he might at any moment and not look back at us as he does. It’s also a warning for us to get off our asses, throw away our laptops, and make something of our lives before we’ve run out of time.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Iggy Pop – New Values (1979)

Iggy Pop‘s New Values was his first post-Stooges record that didn’t involve David Bowie in some way, although Bowie would later cover one of the tracks on it, but more on that later.

The album highlights Pop’s blend of performance art, lyricism, punk attitude, and crooning swagger. The opener, “Tell Me a Story,” begins with what sounds like ice being clinked into a cocktail class and Pop singing, “What must I do to take a holiday?” and proclaiming how much he loves performing but hates people who take the fun out of it. The title track has a cool guitar riff from Scott Thurston and Pop practically stomping around the recording studio as he lets us know he has “a hard-ass pair of shoulders. I got a love you can’t imagine.” He’s “looking for one new value, but nothing comes my way.” Who hasn’t been there?

“I love girls. They’re all over this world,” Pop sings on (you guessed it) “Girls.” Jackie Clark‘s fuzzy bass matches Pop’s strut well. Pop professes he wants “to live to be ninety-eight” so he can hopefully make out with more girls. He’s currently seventy-two and shows no signs of stopping, so I think he’s going to get his wish. “I’m Bored” sums up being sick of the rat race and fake friends better than any emo record ever released, and Thurston’s solo is anything but boring.

“Don’t Look Down” is the tune David Bowie found so good that he covered it on his Tonight album. It has this neat electric organ from Thurston throughout it and a sharp saxophone solo from John Harden. “The Endless Sea” gets a little psychedelic with Thurston’s synths and Harden’s horns, but Clark and drummer Klaus Kruger keep the tune grounded by putting down one of their tightest grooves on the album.

“I’m only five-foot-one. I got a pain in my neck,” Pop sings on “Five Foot One” – a song about being overwhelmed by big city life. It has probably my favorite lyric on the record: “I wish life could be Swedish magazines.” “How Do Ya Fix a Broken Part” has a cool jazz-fusion sound to it that’s unexpected and yet perfect. Pop’s vocals on “Angel” becoming wistful as he sings about missing his girl. That being said, Pop does wonder what his girl is up to on “Curiosity,” a song about trying to keep thinking good thoughts about a lover while they are away. “African Man” has Pop getting weird and funky as he sings about eating a monkey for breakfast and how he hates the “dirty white man.” Pop is a known lover of Afrobeat music, so this tune might’ve been an early sign of that. The album ends with the post-punk cut “Billy Is a Runaway,” a sharp track tells the tale of a kid who’s living on the edge of everything, something Pop appreciates to the point of buying him a drink.

New Values is a cool record that covers a neat part of Pop’s career when he was moving away from punk and into post-punk and art rock, but never losing his prowling tiger presence.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 live shows of 2019: #’s 5 – 1

Here we go. Who were my top five live acts of 2019?

#5 – The Well – Levitation Austin – November 09th

The Well are at the top of their game right now, and this heavy-hitting set of blues-laced doom metal was one of the highlights of Levitation Austin for me. I knew within three songs that it was going to be one of the best sets I saw all weekend if not all year, and I was right.

#4 – A Place to Bury Strangers – Levitation Austin – November 10th

I was talking with a woman after the Levitation Austin set by A Place to Bury Strangers. We’d just been flattened by it. Walls of sound, blazing strobe lights, haunted house fog, and guest spots by members of Ringo Deathstarr, Numb.er, the KVB, Cryogeyeser, and Hoover iii were added treats to the raw force that APTBS unleashed. The woman said, “You wonder, ‘Were they really as good as I remember the last time I saw them?’ and as soon as they start you’re like, ‘Oh yeah. They are.'”

#3 – Thee Oh Sees – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL – October 11th

As I like to say, everything you’ve heard about a show by Thee Oh Sees is a hundred percent true. Crazy double drumming, wild guitar work, wall-shaking bass, psychedelic synths, and a crazy crowd mixed to produce a stunning night of music, highlighted by all twenty-one-plus minutes of “Henchlock” from their great new album, Face Stabber.

#2 – Jeff Lynne’s ELO – United Center – Chicago, IL – July 27th

In terms of sheer spectacle and sound quality, this show by Jeff Lynne’s ELO was going to be tough to beat. The light show was, go figure, amazing and was only outmatched by the sound quality. Mr. Lynne still sounds great and his backing band was top-notch. He played all of his hits and even a Traveling Wilburys song with Dhani Harrison singing and playing his father’s parts. This show by a legend could only be outmatched by another legend.

#1 – Paul McCartney – Memorial Coliseum – Ft. Wayne, IN – June 03rd

Seriously, how was anyone going to beat this show? It was practically in my back yard and was a fun show by a legend who has inspired more musicians than we’ll ever know. He played a great mix of Beatles, Wings, and solo tracks, told a lot of fun stories, and delivered a fun show that left you wanting another full set. The expensive tickets were worth every dollar.

There you have it. Another great year for live music. Get out there and see some.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 30 live shows of 2019: #’s 25 – 21

Here we are at the top 25 best live shows I saw this year. Let’s get to it.

#25 Bebel Gilberto – Birchmere – Alexandria, VA – June 22nd

This was a lovely acoustic, intimate set with Bebel Gilberto and her guitarist in a small venue. Her voice was delightful, as always, and there was a funny moment when she had a wardrobe malfunction and her guitarist had to fix her top onstage.

#24 ORB – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL – August 24th

I hadn’t seen ORB for a couple years, so it was good to catch up with them and see them as a four-piece for the first time. They hadn’t lost any of their heavy power and crushing riffs.

#23 Prettiest Eyes – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL – October 11th

The energy expelled during a Prettiest Eyes set could power a tank. They’re frantic and manic, but still a tight machine that can stop on a dime. We were eager to see them again after catching them last year at Levitation France, and we were bouncing during the whole set (in each venue).

#22 The KVB – Levitation Austin – November 10th

I was eager to see the KVB at Levitation Austin this year after not being able to catch a show they played in Chicago a month earlier. They put on a good set that was everything I wanted – synth wave, krautrock, and shoegaze. It was also their first time playing in Austin, so that made the show extra special for all involved.

#21 Minami Deutsch – Levitation Austin – November 07th

Speaking of Levitation Austin, another great set we saw there (on the coldest night of the festival, no less) was from Minami Deutsch – a Japanese krautrock band. It was a flow of rock grooves, precise beats, and hypnotic drone. I became an instant fan and later chatted with lead guitarist, Kyo, about chicken shawarma wraps.

Who made the top 20? Come back tomorrow to find out.

Keep your mind open.

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RidingEasy Records is reissuing Randy Holden’s rare 1970 doom metal album – “Population II.”

RidingEasy Records proudly announce the official reissue on physical and digital formats of the extremely rare 1970 proto-metal album Randy Holden – Population II. Considered one of the first doom metal albums ever, the ex-Blue Cheer guitarist’s solo debut has long been sought out by collectors. The remastered full length will be available on all streaming platforms for the first time, with a master more true to the original mix on LP, CD and streaming.

This weekend, Saturday December 21st, Holden will perform a rare live show at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in L.A. supported by drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless, RFTC, OFF!) It will be a career-spanning set featuring songs from the Fender IV, the Sons of Adam, the Other Half, Blue Cheer, and his solo work, including Population II. Tickets and info HERE. 

“Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open.” 

To hear Randy Holden describe the audience’s reaction in 1969 to his solo debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps is about as close as many of us will get to truly experience the moment heavy metal music morphed into existence. However, at last we have unearthed the proper fossil record.
Population II, the now legendary, extremely rare album by guitarist/vocalist Holden and drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed is considered to be one of the earliest examples of doom metal. Though its original release was a very limited in number and distribution, like all great records, its impact over time has continued to grow.

In 1969, Holden, fresh off his tenure with proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer (appearing on one side of the New! Improved! Blue Cheer album and touring for the better part of a year in the group), aimed for more control over his band. Thus, Randy Holden – Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. 

“I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before,” Holden explains. “I was interested in discordant sounds that could be melodic but gigantically huge. I rented an Opera house for rehearsal, set up with 16 Sunn amps. That’s what I was going for, way over the top.” 
And over the top it is. The 6-song album delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It’s incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic, sensibility.

“At the time, I was hearing these crazy melodies everywhere I went,” Holden says. “I thought I was going crazy.” For example, one day he slowly rooted out a powerful sound that had been nagging him and discovered it coming from a ceiling fan. “Machinery all around us doesn’t turn in a perfect rhythm. That’s what I was tuning into, I heard the music and the discordant sounds coming from the machinery. It was perfect for rendering the machine we built.”

Troubles with the album’s release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. It was bootlegged several times over the years, but until now hasn’t seen a proper remaster and has yet to be available on digital platforms. “The original mastering just destroyed the dynamics of it,” Holden says. “They flattened it out. Now we got a really nice remaster that should be the closest thing to the original recording.” 

Population II will be available on LP, CD and download on February 28th, 2020 via RidingEasy Records. 

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Husker Du – New Day Rising (1985)

Husker Du‘s third album, New Day Rising, is as scorching today as it was in 1985. The band (Grant Hart – drums and vocals, Bob Mould – guitar and vocals, and Greg Norton – bass and vocals) were moving away from hardcore punk to more melodic tunes…but just barely.

The opening title track comes in hard to shove you into a real or imaginary mosh pit wherever you happen to be at the time. “The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill” has Norton’s vocal chords shredding as hard as Mould’s guitars. Norton’s bass drives “I Apologize” as Mould sings about trying to make amends in a relationship going bad due to his short temper. Norton and Hart’s backing vocals (and Hart’s sharp cymbal crashes) give boost to Mould’s plea.

Gen X punk rockers like Hart, Mould, Norton, and myself still remember the anger we felt during the Reagan Era. Husker Du wrote about this on “Folk Lore” – a song that still rings true today with lyrics like “Now the women scream for equal rights, their man wants to have an affair, children learn to hate the world, and no one seems to care.” The abrupt end with the lyric “One thing I know for sure, your heroes always die.” is like right hook to the jaw.

Norton is pissed about someone turning their back on him in “If I Told You.” “I couldn’t convince you if I tried. You weren’t around the time that I cried,” he sings while Hart’s snare drum rolls sound like machine gun fire and Mould somehow turns up the fuzz on his guitar even more.

“Celebrated Summer” has Mould reminiscing about how fast time passes when you spend it “getting drunk out on the beach, or playing in a band” with your friends. “Perfect Example” switches things up with quieter guitars and slightly slower drums as Mould almost whispers lyrics about moving on from a bad relationship but still hoping he’ll be remembered for the good times.

Norton’s bass line on “Terms of Psychic Warfare” is instantly recognizable if you’re a fan of the band, and Hart’s vocals are a scathing rebuke of someone he left at the curb (“You’ve got your own bed now. I suggest that’s the one you sleep in.”). “59 Times the Pain” takes on a bit of shoegaze and sludge that’s almost disorienting. “Powerline” keeps the melodic drone going a bit longer, and “Books about UFOs” is a sweet love song to a girl who spends her time looking at the stars instead of what’s right in front of her.

“I Don’t Know What You’re Talking About” is a solid rocker about that guy everyone knows who rambles on like he’s an expert on everything yet gets angry when he’s confronted with facts that counter his argument. Huh. That sums up 2019 well, doesn’t it? “How to Skin a Cat” is weird chaos that you have to hear in order to appreciate. I can’t do it justice here. “Whatcha Drinkin’?” is a fun punk blast about getting drunk, regretting it, and getting drunk again later. The album ends with “Plans I Make” – an absolute barn burner of a tune with Mould going bonkers, Norton playing like he’s also driving a Grand Prix race car at the same time, and Hart trying to access the basement by pounding his kit through the floor. I realized how much Husker Du inspired A Place to Bury Strangers upon hearing it for the first time.

New Day Rising is a punk classic. It’s essential. All Husker Du is, really.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Pink Floyd – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967)

Pink Floyd‘s debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, is one of those classic records that deserves its legendary status. Its influence can be found not only among all the other United Kingdom (and many elsewhere, of course) psychedelic bands of the 1960’s and 1970’s, but also among modern psych-rock bands around the globe. No one could have predicted this, of course, because the album is so damn weird.

The opener, “Astronomy Domine,” moves like a funeral dirge across the cosmos – somehow combining space rock with doom-psych. “Lucifer Sam” has a killer, fuzzy bass groove by Roger Waters while Syd Barrett sings a tribute to his cat (“That cat’s something I can’t explain.”). “Matilda Mother” pours on the echo effects as Barrett and Waters sings about a long-forgotten king and Richard Wright lays down a sweet organ solo. “Flaming” is a trippy, hippy track about “lazing in the foggy dew” and “sitting on a unicorn.”

“Pow R. Toc H.” is an instrumental track that brings in jazz piano and softens Nick Mason‘s beats to sound like they kept him behind a velvet curtain in a dark nightclub. It mixes in maniacal laughter and chaotic guitar riffs now and then to keep you on your toes. “Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk” is the first track on the album written by Waters, so it’s no surprise that bass and drums move to the forefront while Barrett’s guitar and Wright’s keys seem to be having their own, frantic conversation.

The second instrumental, “Interstellar Overdrive,” would help pave the way for doom-psych with its deep bass grooves, haunted house organ, Tell Tale Heart drums, and Psycho guitar. Just to mess with us, the next track on the album is “The Gnome” – which is literally about a gnome (named Grimble Gromble) going on a “big adventure amidst the grass.”

Need a song featuring Barrett’s view of the cosmos? How about “Chapter 24,” in which he sings, “All movement is accomplished in six stages and the seventh brings return. The seven is the number of the young light. It forms when darkness is increased by one.” Sure. Why not? It’s nice to hear Wright’s organ taking the lead among the instruments on it. “The Scarecrow” tick-tocks along like the subject’s arms “when the wind cut up rough.” The closer, “Bike,” is, believe it or not, a love song. Barrett offers to give his girl “anything, everything, if you want things” including his bike, his cloak, his mouse (named Gerald, although Barrett doesn’t know why), his gingerbread men, and, the most precious gift of all – his music. It’s a lot of fun at first, and then descends into some sort of Lovecraftian dream.

The album is fun, fascinating, and baffling. My dog had no idea what to make of it when I played it in the house one day. I’m still not sure what to make of it either, but that’s okay. You’ll find something different about it each time you hear it.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: R.L. Burnside – Too Bad Jim (1994)

It doesn’t even take ten seconds for blues legend R.L. Burnside to hook you on his 1994 album Too Bad Jim. The opening guitar riff of the first track, “Shake ‘Em on Down,” is a floor-stomper that transports you back in time to a peanut shell-littered honkytonk bar serving cold beer out of a dented aluminum horse trough someone brought from their farm.

Too Bad Jim has plenty of rockers, but it is a blues record, after all. This is evidenced by the second track, “When My First Wife Left Me.” “When my first wife left me, God knows it put me out on the road,” Burnside sings at the beginning of this tale of hard times of his clothes getting very thin. “Short-Haired Woman” continues this trek down a lonely, dusty Mississippi road and features nothing but Burnside and his guitar that sounds both intimate and yet distant at the same time.

“Old Black Mattie” brings the drums back into play and gets everyone dancing (including the Black Keys, who are clearly influenced by Burnside’s playing, vocal stylings, and grooves). “Fireman Ring the Bell” keeps the floor shaking and “Peaches” switches up the groove to a sexy slink around the room as Burnside sings about his woman’s peaches being sweet. I think you get the idea.

“Miss Glory B.” is another solo lament about how Burnside is burdened by gossip even though he tries to keep to himself. He’s out to silence those rumors on “.44 Pistol,” which brings in the heaviest drums on the record and practically makes you strut around the room. You’re going to experience “Death Bell Blues” if you carry that pistol around long enough, and Burnside sings about the impending nature of death and wondering when and how the hooded guy with the scythe will escort him to the next life. The album ends with the longest track, “Goin’ Down South” – a dark cut about walking a long road of temptation, vices, and certain doom. Burnside saves some of his best guitar shredding for the closer, and the creepy crawl of the song would make even doom metal bands nod their heads in time and with appreciation.

It’s a solid album and a clinic on raw blues from a bluesman who, thankfully, got the recognition he deserved before he died in 2005.

Keep your mind open.

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