“Sludgy garage punk with truly evil vocals that are coated in just the right amount of distortion and echo. Come for the rowdy punk, stay for the slowed-down Sabbathy bridge.” — Brooklyn Vegan
“Warish totally rules… An awesome mixture of punk energy, biker rock fuzz, and grunge growl.” — Kerrang!
Hear and share Warish‘s cover of “Human Being” by Lobby Loyde’s cult Australian band Coloured BallsHERE.
Imagine if Incesticide era Nirvana were crossed with Static Age era Misfits. You’d have sinister low budget horror rock with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish.
Warish is a very newly minted SoCal trio formed in early 2018 that has wasted no time making its presence known. The band formed when guitarist/vocalist and pro-skater Riley Hawk (son of skating legend Tony Hawk) and drummer Bruce McDonnell decided they wanted to try their hand at something more distinct than they’d done previously.
“We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show,” Riley explains. “A little more punk, a little bit of grunge… a little evil-ish.”
Their sound takes cues from a variety of cool underground sounds and twists it all into an energetic and exciting fist to the face of dark fury. Hawk’s effect-laden vocals hearken to early Butthole Surfers and David Yow’s tortured caterwaul in Scratch Acid. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Cobain’s and Buzz Osbourne’s wiry contortions. The rhythms bash and pummel right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated and the horrors keep coming throughout the 5-track, 11-minute debut.
Warish will be available on 7″ vinyl and download on February 1st, 2019 via RidingEasy Records.
Keep your mind open.
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Here’s the list you’ve all been waiting for. As always, there are so many good albums out every year that it’s impossible to keep track of them all. Here are my top thirty.
#30: The Dunes (self-titled) – A great return for the Dunes, this album of Australian psychedelic rock is full of reverb, fuzz, and even surf touches.
#29: Underworld and Iggy Pop – Teatime Dub Encounters – This EP was made during lunch meetings at a hotel and blends great stories from Pop with Underworld’s masterful beats.
#28: Avis: Sova – Shampoo You – This Chicago’s three-piece’s newest garage rock-psych record gets better with each listen.
#27: Windhand – Eternal Return – This doom metal album became one of my favorites of the year as soon as I heard it. I immediately began recommending them to anyone and even bought it as a birthday gift for a pal.
#26: Makeness – Loud Patterns – This electro album wasn’t on my radar until Makeness’ label sent it to me for review. It turned out to be a solid record with interesting structures to it.
We’re into the top 25 tomorrow. Come back for more!
Keep your mind open.
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A place called “Subterranean” seems like a perfect fit to see doom metal rockers Windhand. A lot of their songs cover subjects like graveyards, tombs, and ancient things best left buried. They played to a happy crowd of metal heads, goths, and music geeks like yours truly in the small club. Unfortunately for me, their opening band, Satan’s Satyrs, were wrapping up their set about the time I was walking up to the door. Yes, I could hear them from outside and even across a busy Chicago street.
Windhand were just as loud, if not louder. I hadn’t seen them since I caught most of their set at Levitation Austinearlier this year, and that was an open-air stage. This would be my first time seeing them in an enclosed space. I’m glad I brought my earplugs.
Emerging to a recording of spooky Halloween / haunted house noises, they opened with, what else, “Old Evil” and immediately unleashed thunder.
Lead singer Dorthia Cottrell was fully warmed up by the time they reached “First to Die,” and following it with “Forest Clouds” and “Grey Garden” had the entire crowd head-banging in unison.
One thing I noticed live that I now can’t believe I missed when listening to their new record, Eternal Return, was how Garrett Morris‘ guitar work often brings in distortion and effects with shoegaze influences. It’s no secret that I love shoegaze music, so this is probably one of the many reasons I like Windhand so much.
Everyone in the crowd was ready for the Grim Reaper to show up by the time Windhand got to “Red Cloud” and “Cossack.” It was a heavy, powerful performance that I needed after a work week that had me dealing with a staggering amount of paperwork until my eyes were sore.
Another breath of fresh air at this show was something you don’t see much of anymore – affordable merchandise. $20 T-shirts, $10 CD’s, cheap stickers, reasonably priced hoodies, and more were available at Windhand and Satan’s Satyrs’ booths.
Catch them before they leave for a bunch of European dates. Heck, go to Europe and see them (where I’m sure they’ll sell out most, if not all, of their shows). Let their power overwhelm you.
Keep your mind open.
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“SOM craft songs of epic melancholy that stagger the ears as well as the heart.” — Onion AV Club
“Serenely slowdive into shoegaze.” — SPIN
“A big, atmospheric mix of shoegaze, post-rock, space rock, and sludge metal, all led by Will’s ethereal vocals.” — Brooklyn Vegan
Post-metal shoegaze trio SOM premiere the first track from their forthcoming debut album today via Brooklyn Vegan. The animated clip for “Open Wounds” is created by visual artist Josh Graham (Neurosis, Soundgarden) and available to watch and share HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
On their debut record, SOM “craft songs of epic melancholy that stagger the ears as well as the heart” (Onion AV Club) and “serenely slowdive into shoegaze” (SPIN). Drummer Duncan Rich and bassist Justin Forrest build thunderous rhythms that give drive and pulse to the fuzzed out wall-of-synth-and-guitar-noise. Dark and heavy throughout, their music is complemented by memorable hooks and melodies in singer/guitarist Will Benoit’s somber, lamenting vocals.
Featuring founding members of seminal Boston space rockers Constants — and former and touring members of Adai, Junius, Rosetta, and Caspian — SOM wrote and recorded their debut album at Benoit’s solar powered The Radar Studio, along with engineer Daryl Rabidoux (Doomsday Student, Drowningman).
The Fall will be available on CD, cassette and download on November 9th, 2018. Pre-orders are available via Bandcamp HERE.
Just in time for Halloween, doom metal rockers Windhand(Parker Chandler – bass, Dorthia Cottrell – vocals, Garrett Morris – guitar, Ryan Wolfe – drums) have released their newest album, Eternal Return. Fueled in part by one of the band’s co-founders, Asechiah Bogdan, leaving the band in 2015, the death of a friend of the band, and the birth of Garrett Morris’ son. Eternal Return speaks of the cycle of life and death, doors closing and opening, and acknowledging some things will forever remain mysteries. The album’s cover shows a woman who looks not unlike Cottrell standing in a forest and looking a hole in the ice over a frozen lake. Did she just push someone in there? Is she thinking of jumping into the lake? Is she remembering someone who died there, or is she just admiring the cold beauty of it all? I don’t know, but all of those are possibilities when you hear the themes of life and death throughout the record.
The album opens with “Halcyon” and the freight train-like in utero heartbeat of Morris’ son just before Morris’ cosmic chariot guitar kicks in and then Chandler and Wolfe nearly flatten you like the aforementioned train as Cottrell’s haunting voice entices you to stand on the tracks. “Would it kill you to be here?” She asks at one point. It might, but it’s worth the risk.
“Grey Garden” has Windhand sliding effortlessly back and forth between doom metal heaviness and sultry psychedelia. Cottrell’s vocals about, I think, a forgotten cemetery and the lover she’s buried there, display grief, love, and (as always) a hint of danger. The breakdown makes no bones about the band’s love of psychedelic metal, and the track is all the better for it (and good heavens, Morris’ solo…). “Pilgrim’s Rest” is a metal ode to long-forgotten settlements, explorers, and a time when the land was still pure.
If that’s not metal enough for you, I’m sure “First to Die” is from the title alone. Cottrell sings of suffering and sacrifice while Wolfe pounds his kit through the floor and Morris and Chandler unleash the sound of a swarm of killer robotic bees attacking during an earthquake. “First to die, to be born,” Cottrell sings, again reflecting the themes of reincarnation. The title of the instrumental “Light into Dark” keeps up the theme as well, and soars by like a comet nearly hitting the Earth.
“Red Cloud” features some of Wolfe’s heaviest beats and Morris’ heaviest shredding. It’s a stunning piece firmly rooted by Chandler’s bass and Cottrell’s vocals enhance the riffs and beats instead of the other way around on the track. It’s a neat choice by the band. “Eyeshine” is an eleven-minute feast of doom sludge that crawls along like an alligator in a deep, dark lake.
Depending on how you define “Diablerie,” it either means “reckless mischief,” “charismatic wildness,” or “sorcery assisted by the Devil.” Eternal Return is a doom metal album, so you can probably guess which definition Windhand was leaning toward here. Cottrell repeats, “Hope it don’t come back again.” multiple times, leading one to believe the song is about how dabbling in magic sometimes goes horribly wrong and one is lucky to escape with their life.
The album ends with the thirteen-minute “Feather,” which begins with simple strummed guitar chords and a near-military march beat. Cottrell sings, “What is laughing in the wind? What is waiting at the water’s edge?” These could be the thoughts of the woman on the album cover as she’s haunted by something in that frozen lake or in the woods around her. It ends the album on a mysterious note, which is perfect for a record about the unknowable.
Windhand are crafting fine doom metal that deserves to be heard by a wider audience. Cottrell’s spell-casting voice and Wolfe, Morris, and Chandler’s heavy and skilled instrumentation are a powerful combination. They aren’t afraid to explore themes we consider when we close our eyes. While many of us would avoid the frozen lake altogether, Windhand is willing to walk up to it and face whatever is there.
Keep your mind open.
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Windhand (Parker Chandler – bass, Dorthia Cottrell – vocals, Garrett Morris – guitar, Ryan Wolfe – drums) say they’re from Richmond, Virginia, but I think they secretly might be from Hyperboria, Jupiter, or beyond the Black Veil of Space and Time due to the heavy riffage they unleash on their 2015 record Grief’s Infernal Flower.
The opener, “Two Urns,” unleashes enough doom bass by Chandler to power a mission to Mars and soon Cottrell’s incense voice wraps around you like a black velvet cloak, Wolfe pounds out the rhythm of your jittery heart, and Morris shreds open your eyelids. If that’s not enough power for you, don’t fear. “Forest Clouds” comes next and it’s the sound of Tolkien ents marching toward a battle with orc troops from Mordor. Cottrell sings about something dark waiting to awaken from an eight hundred-year sleep. I love how Cottrell’s vocals have a quality that lies between sexy and menacing. She can sing strange incantations, dire warnings, and tales of mystery and the fantastic with equal skill.
Not dark enough? The title of “Crypt Key” should cheer you up. It starts with an acoustic guitar over synths that sound like a faint wind, but then turns into powerful sludge. Cottrell’s vocals on “Tanngrisnir” (a song about one of the goats who pull Thor’s chariot) are layered with just enough reverb to make them spookier than normal, and Wolfe’s drums sound like he’s been transformed into a giant doom metal centipede. “Sparrow” is almost a blues ballad. It’s a nice center to the album that lulls you into a peaceful place amid the dark creatures that lurk throughout the album.
“Hyperion” is the most upbeat song on the record – not necessarily by the lyrics, but definitely by the beat and straight-forward rock riffs by Morris and Chandler. I’m not sure if “Hesperus” refers to the Greek god of the planet Venus / the Evening Star or the poem The Wreck of the Hesperus by Henry Longfellow, but both are appropriate for over fourteen minutes of great stoner metal. Chandler’s bass and Wolfe’s drums are like primordial monsters rising from the depths to bring down a sea vessel, and Morris’ guitar and Cottrell’s vocals seemed designed to herald the arrival of a Venusian god. It abruptly ends, much like the fate of the ship in Longfellow’s poem. “Kingfisher” is about the same length as “Hesperus” and just as heavy. Cottrell sings about something or someone, perhaps even her, being “all-seeing, all-knowing” while Morris throws down riffs powerful enough to probably make him levitate. The album ends with “Aition” (a term for how religions explain the origin of a myth or legend), leaving one to think that the end of the record is actually the beginning to another journey…and Windhand does have another album coming out this October.
It’s a solid record of stoner metal that isn’t angry but certainly is menacing.
March 26th, 2018 – Clutch has now confirmed their second annual Earth Rocker Festival. The festival will take place on August 4th at Shiley Acres located in Inwood West Virginia. Joining Clutch on stage this year will be Black Label Society, Corrosion Of Conformity, EYEHATEGOD, and the Let There Be Rock School band. Tickets for the festival are $35 in advance and $45 at the gate the day of the show and are on sale now at this location: http://shileyacres.ticketleap.com
All “Earth Rocker Festival 18” ticket and general information is available at: http://earthrockerfest.com
Like last year’s inaugural offering, Shiley Acres and Clutch have worked together to make Earth Rocker Festival18 a fan and band-friendly event. Earth Rocker Festival is a day time event. The gates open at noon and music runs all day, ending right before the sun sets. The festival has a designated camping location and will offer free camping on site the day and night of the show. Other fan-friendly elements include free parking starting at 9 am the day of the event, free admission for accompanied children under 12, and allows lawn chairs and pop up tents in designated areas. As Greg Shiley, owner of Shiley Acres puts it “There will be plenty of good food, beer choices and all at reasonable prices, so come spend a summer afternoon enjoying the great bands and open air. We’ll make that real easy for ya”.
For more information on the directions, camping, on-site food and beverages available, hotel accommodations and all “Things You Should Know,” visit http://www.shileyacres.net
For more information, check out Earth Rocker Festival:
Psychedelic / stoner metal trio Earthless(Mike Eginton – bass, Isaiah Mitchell – guitar and vocals, Mario Rubalcaba – drums) decided to shake things up on their newest album – Black Heaven – by giving the majority of the tracks vocals by Mitchell. Their three previous records have all been comprised of long instrumental tracks that blend into each other, but Black Heaven opts for shorter cuts (one is even under two minutes) that still shred and astound.
Starting with “Gifted By the Wind,” Rubalcaba lures us in with almost a jazz beat until Eginton and Mitchell hit you like a one-two punch. Mitchell’s voice automatically brings Creamto mind (certainly a major influence on the band). “End to End” pans back and forth in your earbuds like a swaying cobra and then comes at you like an angry mongoose. Eginton’s bass riff in it is quite good, and the whole song is perfect for driving done the centerline on an open stretch of I-80.
“Electric Flame” is the longest song on the record (8:51, which is about half the length of most tracks from Earthless‘ previous three records) and Mitchell uses the “extra time” to deliver a great solo around the five-minute mark that takes the track into a great jam from all three guys. “Volt Rush” is the track that’s under two minutes, and it shows how Earthless can do in under two minutes what most bands can’t do in three times that – shred with jaw-dropping furor.
Don’t worry if you’re a fan of Earthless’ instrumental work, because the title track is nearly nine minutes of the band hitting harder than the Thing punching the Hulk. One of the many things I love about Earthless is how all three guys can launch into a solo at the same time, yet it all fits together, and how all three can come back to the same groove in the blink of an eye without missing a step. All you can do is let it hit you and say, “Holy [insert expletive of choice here].”
“Sudden End” is a great title for an album’s final track. It almost sounds like a Bad Company song, if Bad Company had opted for louder amps, heavier bass, and guitar that seems to be propelled by solar winds. Rubalcaba puts down chops that seem simple at first, but you soon realize that he is putting down a deceptively heavy groove that has to fade out because it shows no signs of stopping until the next time all the planets are in alignment.
Black Heaven is another fine record from Earthless and as good to hear as it sounds like was for them to make.
Weird rock maestros Primus, metal giants Mastodon, psych-rockers Jjuujjuu, and blues-psych heavyweights All Them Witchesare going on tour starting in May. Primus and Mastodon will share the stage with Jjuujjuu and All Them Witches on various spots of the tour, but any of these dates are worth seeing. This will probably be one of the heaviest / trippiest tours of the year, so don’t miss it.
Metal masters the Sword will release their next album, Used Future, on March 23rd and are planning a U.S. tour to promote it. They’ll be touring with another fine stoner rock band – King Buffalo.
The first single from Used Future, “Deadly Nightshade,” is already available and will be an instant download if you pre-order the record.
