Another excellent EP that came out this year (and there were several). Lu.Re’s EP of house music mixed with a bit of dark wave was an EP that made me sit up and think, “Oh, I need more of this.”
Seriously, there was a ton of great electro and house music released last year. I’m sure I barely heard the tip of the iceberg, and yet there were great finds like this EP from Abdul Raeva that hits heavy and with undeniable grooves.
It wouldn’t be a “best of the year” list for me without some doom metal, and Frayle‘s newest album fits the bill. Described to me as “Black Sabbath meets Portishead,” I knew I was going to like it. Imagine the ghost of a witch fronting a doom band, and you’ll get the idea.
As weird and wild as the cover depicts, Goat‘s new album covers death, transcendence, and sex – three of their favorite topics – and was a great return for them. Their psychedelic voodoo sound was sorely missed.
Who makes it in to the top half of my best records of the year? Tune in tomorrow!
Keep your mind open.
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It’s time for a look back at my top live shows of last year. I saw 51 bands last year, some of them multiple times, and a good amount of them at the Levitation Austin and Levitation France music festivals. Here’s the start of the list…
25. The Well – Levitation Austin / Antone’s – October 29th
The Well are one of the best doom bands out there right now, and their live shows never disappoint. They were damn loud in Antone’s and walloped the place with thundering sound. They also played some new material, which bodes well for a new album from them in the future.
24. The Psychedelic Furs – Andrew J. Bird Music Center / Cincinnati – July 20th
My friend described the venue as “the Borg Cube of music venues,” but the Furs filled the place with gorgeous sound, playing a good mix of old and new material. Richard Butler sounded as good as ever and everyone on the band was clicking.
#23. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Levitation France – June 05th
“You don’t need more drugs, sir, you need better drugs. If you had better drugs, you’d be mellowed out and not yelling.” Those words from band leader Anton Newcombe pretty much summed up the trippy feel of their set to close the 2022 Levitation France music festival.
#22. La Femme – Levitation Austin / Stubb’s – October 30th
Sexy, sweaty, sizzling, and super, this set from the French quintet had the Stubb’s crowd go from, “What is happening?” to “Wow! This is amazing!” by the end. The whole place was bouncing and even yelling back French lyrics they didn’t understand.
#21: Pelada – Levitation France – June 04th
Booked somewhat at the last minute for the 2022 Levitation France music festival, Pelada closed the Scène Elevation (Elevation Stage) one night to a gobsmacked crowd who was bowled over by their fierce industrial-tinged electro. Everyone was in their hands for the entire set, and everyone left with a crush on singer Chris Vargas.
Who makes the top 20? Come back tomorrow to find out!
We had enough time for a long disco nap before heading back to Stubb’s for a night of Australian psych-rock: The Murlocs, Tropical Fuck Storm, and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard were all on the same bill. The line to get in was almost two blocks long and went around the corner. The Murlocs were playing an energetic set by the time we got into the outdoor stage area.
The Murlocs
Tropical Fuck Storm came afterwards with their strange blend of psychedelia, garage rock, post-punk, and stuff you can’t quite define.
Tropical Fuck Storm
The headliners, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, came out with a set packed full of musical styles (from thrash metal to electro) and riffs. They opened with an extended version of “Rattlesnake” that blew everyone’s minds and then only let up to swap guitars for the rest of their set. The crowd was fired up and singing every track.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
We split at the end of their set so we could make a power walk to Antone’s to see local doom metal trio The Well. It was our first time at Antone’s, which is odd considering all the years I’ve been attending the festival. It’s a nice venue, mostly known for hosting blues acts, but they stepped up to help the festival after Parish caught on fire (no injuries, thank heavens). We wandered through hundreds of people on the street our for various Halloween parties at the bars on 6th Street. Sexy cowgirls, Jesus, Hunter S. Thompson, witches, devils, and vampires were the most popular costumes we saw. The Well weren’t in costumes, but they did deliver a loud, heavy set of spooky doom that was a great way to cap the night.
The Well
We had one more night to go in Austin, and it would bring some of the trippiest stuff we’d see and hear all weekend.
I’m going to listen to your record if your band is described to me as “Black Sabbath meets Portishead.”
Such is Cleveland, Ohio’s Frayle and such is their second album, Skin & Sorrow. The album is as dark and haunting as its cover image of lead singer Gwen Strang, who apparently has walked off the set of a lost Hammer Studios film from the early 1960s. Ms. Strang, and the rest of the band (Sean Bilovecky – guitar, Jason Knotek – bass, and Jon Vinson – drums), immediately give you a sense of, “Do not fuck around with these people. They can be your cool friends who will help you through a lot of stuff, though.”
Which is what Skin and Sorrow does. It’s an album about processing grief and heartbreak. It’s a haunting record, but it does seem to offer hope and beauty. Again, the cover image of Strang dressed as mournful ghost conveys death and dread, but she’s holding white roses. Yes, they’re wilted roses, but they haven’t lost all of their color and pedals. They’re still a bit hopeful.
Bilovecky’s opening riff on “Treacle and Revenge” is almost a Godzilla-like roar and Strang’s voice is like smoke curling around your ears as she sings “You promised to love me.” It sounds like the beginning of a curse. The song goes from doom into a brief tear of stadium rock, showing they have serious chops. Knotek’s bass seems to hit extra hard on “Bright Eyes” while Strang sings lullaby-like vocals drifting from an abandoned hospital that’s overgrown with ivy. The title track starts with Link Wray-like guitar chords from Bilovecky, and Vinson’s drums sound like they were recorded late one night / early one morning in the store room of a bar run by warlocks.
It’s interesting how “Ipecac,” a song whose title is the name of medicine that purposefully induces vomiting, is one of the loveliest on the record. Strang sings about purging past wounds and things that are slowly poisoning her, but does it with a sensuality you can’t ignore. The heavy, cosmic “Stars” is a crushing track, both lyrically and sonically.
“Roses” and “Sacrifant” are equally heavy and mesmerizing. “Sacrifant” also has this buzz to it like an angry queen hornet following you around the room. “All the Things I Was” has the queen hornet turn into a raven flying away from Strang and carrying her past trauma on its back to eventually cast into the sun. You’re fully expecting “Song for the Dead” to be creepy and guttural, but it’s more like emerging from a mausoleum as a lovely sunrise has begun. Yes, you might be emerging from it as a ghost, but you’re realizing that it’s going to be okay. The closing track, “Perfect Wound,” reminds me a bit of Nirvana‘s “Something in the Way” with its guitar strums and subject matter, but it’s far more otherworldly than Nirvana’s song, and Strang’s vocals come from under a bridge guarded by sirens instead of trolls.
Skin & Sorrow is beautiful and dark, lovely and sad, uplifting and haunting. How many other bands could pull off a sound like that on just their second record? Not many.
Austin trio Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol share the official video for the single “Heel” from their forthcoming album Doom Wop today via Revolver Magazine. Watch and share the fun-loving chaos HERE. (Direct YouTube.)
Invisible Oranges recently launched lead single “Shoo In” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)
RBBP kick off tour dates supporting King Buffalo in late September, followed by headlining shows across the US in October. Please see current dates below.
With their 5th studio release, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol is putting a name to the style of fuzzed out, overdriven, melodic, groovy music they have been making since 2016. In 9 concise, no bullshit songs, RBBP demonstrates their ability to blend the merciless low end of Leo Lydon’s 8-String guitar, Aaron Metzdorf’s masterful chordwork on the bass, and Sean St.Germain’s driving drumwork. Lydon and Metzdorf’s vocal melodies cut through the high frequencies to deliver fresh layers to the hooks that RBBP fans have come to love.
As the name implies, “Doom Wop” is a heavy, melody-driven, party metal album. With riffs as big and dumb as ever, and lyrics that stab at the worst members of society and ourselves (while keeping tongue firmly in cheek), listeners will find all the elements that make up the soul of RBBP on this record. “Doom Wop” will be available everywhere September 23rd.
Doom Wop will be available on CD and download on September 23rd, 2022. Vinyl LP release date TBD. Pre-orders are available HERE.
Portland, OR synth-doom duo WHIMZ share the first single from their forthcoming album PM226 today via Metal Injection. Hear and share “AM2” HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)
Sunny Faris (vocalist/bassist and founder of Blackwater Holylight) and Cam Spies (Night Heron) have been friends for years. Cam recorded the first BWHL record several years ago and they hadn’t had a chance to collaborate again, until 2021 when they decided to spend a day in the studio to see what emerged. The result was a seamless blending of their two projects: dark, synth heavy, austere doom-pop, with hauntingly beautiful vocal harmonies, and sexy bass lines.
Sunny’s characteristic voice is immediately recognizable from opening track “AM1”. Although it may at first seem confusing to hear her singing over low-end rich, heavy synthesizer and vintage drum machines, it quickly becomes apparent how perfectly suited her voice is for these songs. While the music evokes the icy, consumer excess bliss of mid- to late-80s synth pop, Sunny’s melancholic voice permeates like the angelic harmonies of Julie Cruise and Cocteau Twins.
The emotionally intense, melodically lush shoegazey doom of Blackwater Holylight’s widely hailed 2021 album Silence/Motion provides a good touchstone for WHIMZ, but Night Heron’s pawn shop deep collection of carefully curated retro synth instrumentation and Cam’s tasteful production also gives the album both its skeleton and a wealth of subtle and clever tones tucked neatly into each song.
Upon completing the 5-song, 26-minute album they decided to release it on Portland label Literal Gold Records, and assembled a live band which includes members of YOB and Spoon Benders joining Faris and Spies.
PM226 will be available on LP, CD and download on October 28th, 2022 via Literal Gold Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.
Frayle’s newest single and video may be their most gripping yet. The ritual doom metal act, featuring frontwoman Gwyn Strang andguitarist Sean Bilovecky, is partnering with Knotfest.com to premiere the video today. Filmed in New York City and Salem, Massachusetts, the infamous site of the Salem Witch Trials, the provocative art piece is a powerful meditation on empowerment and shedding the mask to reveal the true self.
Says Strang, “’Bright Eyes’ is about the facade we wear when we’re going through something heavy. Sometimes we’ll mask what we’re going through so that everyone around us feels comfortable or doesn’t ask us to show and share our vulnerabilities.
The imagery of a female ‘goth’ roller skating past the house that was once lived in by a judge that was personally responsible for the executions during the Salem Witch Trials is powerful to us.”
As Knotfest.com declares, “Embracing a unique balance of doom that encapsulates an element of the harmonious and the hulking, the band’s pedigree spans a sophisticated stylistic spectrum … Anchored by Strang’s often heartbreaking, harrowing vocal harmony is countered by Bilovecky’s metallic blare – the kind of lumbering guitar riffage that layers with suffocating heft.”
“Bright Eyes” is from Frayle’s forthcoming LP, Skin & Sorrow, which will now be released September 23 via Aqualamb Records.
Skin & Sorrow was fully written and recorded by Bilovecky and Strang from the third floor of their own studio, on the edge of Cleveland, surrounded by ancient lakes and woods that echo the howls of coyotes. The band is rounded out live by Jason Knotek on bass and Jon Vinson on drums.
The record follows Frayle’s groundbreaking debut 1692in 2020 that further introduced the world to their penchant for creating “lullabies over chaos.” Tracks feature Strang’s ambient vocals laid over the voluminous instrumentals of Bilovecky (formerly of Disengage), morphing into disturbing harmonies best described as music for the night sky and are poised to dominate the doom circuit.
In addition to haunting original tracks that push heavy music into new dimensions (an inspirational mix of Sleep and Portishead, or Black Sabbath and Bjork), the duo is known for their cryptic covers including takes on Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire” and Bauhaus’ “Bela Lugosi’s Dead.”
Their passioned creations have caught the attention of Revolverwho named the band “one of the five artists you need to know in April” as seen HERE, who called their previously-released title track “eerie and ethereal for its first half, but slowly lets more crunchy fuzz into the fold that builds up to a detonating finish with gobs of spiritual atmosphere.” As well Metal Hammer has heralded Frayle as “the new face of doom” in their latest issue.
Recently, Frayle signed to The Oracle Management, now part of the roster that also includes Cradle of Filth, DevilDriver, Jinjer, Wednesday 13 and more hard rock and metal acts all represented by co-owners of The Oracle ManagementDez and Anahstasia Fafara. In one of the first orders of business, Frayle joined on for Cradle of Filth’s “Existence Is Futile” Headlining Tour.
The track listing for Skin & Sorrow includes:
1. Treacle & Revenge
2. Bright Eyes
3. Skin & Sorrow
4. Ipecac
5. Stars
6. Roses
7. Sacrifant
8. All The Things I Was
9. Song For The Dead
10. Perfect Wound
Presales forSkin & Sorrow are available now atAqualamb Records’ website with iridescent, metallic blue, metallic turquoise and metallic violet vinyl variants, CD and digital options. dditional Europe only vinyl variants will be coming via Lay Bare Recordings. Each purchase comes with an accompanying 100-page book filled with lush artwork, drawings, lyrics and additional content to get inside the mind of Frayle and the creative process.
About Frayle
Heavy, Low, & Witchy. Frayle is a doom, sludge band from Cleveland, formed in 2017 by guitarist Sean Bilovecky (ex-DISENGAGE) and singer Gwyn Strang. They draw their inspiration from bands like Sleep, Portishead, Bjork, Kyuss, & Black Sabbath. Frayle makes music for the night sky.
Out now from Third Man Books, Monolithic Undertowalights a crooked path across musical, religious and subcultural frontiers. It traces the line from ancient traditions to the modern underground, navigating archaeoacoustics, ringing feedback, chest plate sub-bass, avant-garde eccentricity, sound weaponry and fervent spiritualism.
From Neolithic beginnings to bawdy medieval troubadours, Sufi mystics to Indian raga masters, cone-shattering dubwise bass, Hawkwind‘s Ladbroke Grove to the outer reaches of Faust and Ash Ra Temple; the hash-fueled fug of The Theatre of Eternal Music to the cough syrup reverse hardcore of Melvins, seedy VHS hinterland of Electric Wizard, ritual amp worship of Earth and Sunn O))) and the many touch points in between, Monolithic Undertow explores the power of the drone – an audio carrier vessel capable of evoking womb like warmth or cavernous dread alike.
In 1977, Sniffin’ Glue verbalized the musical zeitgeist with their infamous ‘this is a chord; this is another; now form a band’ illustration. The drone requires neither chord nor band, representing – via its infinite pliability and accessibility – the ultimate folk music: a potent audio tool of personal liberation.
Immersion in hypnotic and repetitive sounds allows us to step outside of ourselves, be it chant, a 120dB beasting from Sunn O))), standing front of the system as Jah Shaka drops a fresh dub or going full headphone immersion with Hawkwind. These experiences are akin to an audio portal – a sound Tardis to silence the hum and fizz of the unceasing inner voice. The drone exists outside of us, but also – paradoxically – within us all; an aural expression of a universal hum we can only hope to fleetingly channel…
Monolithic Undertow: In Search of Sonic Oblivion is out now and is available for purchase here. The North American edition of the book features an exclusive cover and a new foreword by author Harry Sword.
Distributed Exclusively in North America by Consortium Books/Ingram Content Group.
Third Man Books | 05.17.2022 | 341 Pages Paperback | $19.95 | ISBN: 9781737382935 | 6”x 8” | B/W Photos | Music History
Los Angeles based unsung guitar hero Randy Holden announces the sequel to his legendary 1970 album Population II, set to arrive 52 years later, titled Population III via RidingEasy Records. The ex-Blue Cheer guitarist’s new album was recorded as a trio with members of Cactus and Black Sabbath. Hear and share the first single “Swamp Stomp” via Brooklyn Vegan HERE. (And direct via Bandcamp and YouTube.) How do you follow up one of the most legendary, yet rarest albums said to signal the birth of doom metal?
If you’re Randy Holden, you give everyone about 50 years to catch up, then casually drop a tastefully modernized reinterpretation of that sound. Population III picks up where Holden’s 1969 solo debut left off, updated with several decades worth of technological advances and personal hindsight.
Following his tenure in proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer in 1969, the guitarist aimed for more control over his next project. Thus, Randy Holden – Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. Along with drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed, Holden created what many say is one of the earliest forms of doom metal.
“Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open,” Holden says of the audience’s reaction to their live debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps. Likewise, their 6-song debut album Population II 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. However, troubles with the album’s original 1970 release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. For good reason, it’s widely hailed as a masterpiece, and until finally getting a proper formal release in 2020 on RidingEasy Records, was a longtime Holy Grail for record collectors.
Flash forward 40 years to 2010, we find the guitarist/vocalist quietly coaxed into recording a followup album by Holden superfan and Cactus member Randy Pratt. Joined by drummer Bobby Rondinelli (who has played with Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow), the trio cut the 6-song collection of leaden future blues, Population III. “Randy Pratt had written the basic song structures, he understood my music and where I come from quite well,” Holden says. “He nailed it.”
But the recording was ultimately shelved for over a decade. “A year ago, in 2021 I listened to the songs and was delightfully surprised,” Holden says. “I think it’s the best album I’ve ever done.”
Throughout Population III, Holden effortlessly dishes out squealing, soaring leads and skull-thwacking riffs with his signature low end grit and penchant for Middle Eastern scales. Coupled with Pratt’s pocket-locked bass, the slight flanging effect on Rondinelli’s drums and his pugilistic beats, the album occasionally brings to mind Presence-era Led Zeppelin, particularly on the 22-minute epic “Land of The Sun.” Elsewhere, “Swamp Stomp” echoes more the troglodyte blues of Holden’s older work, with his evermore searing solos showing hints of early Clapton/Hendrix era guitar prowess to drive home the stomp of the song’s namesake. At times, Holden sounds reminiscent of Neil Young leading Crazy Horse’s ruptured grunge as his lilting falsetto vocals push and pull his guitar’s siren’s call. Taken as a whole, there’s a very distinct difference between the way these veterans of hard rock’s formative years carry the songs compared to the more lugubrious riffing of today’s young doom purveyors. Population III is the real deal — a powerful continuation of a sound forged 50 years ago, that almost didn’t happen. Somehow, Randy Holden’s music always finds a way to stand the tests of time.
Population III will be available on LP, CD and download on July 1st, 2022 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available at ridingeasyrecs.com
I don’t know what I can write about Black Sabbath‘s classic sophomore album, Paranoid, that hasn’t already been written. It’s a metal classic, a doom classic, a rock classic, and a British classic. I think the only thing I can write about regarding the album is how, until I finally got around to listening to it in its entirety, it’s also a psychedelic classic.
I mean, the opening track, “War Pigs” (originally titled “Walpurgis” – a song about witches but later altered to reflect the horrors of the Vietnam War), is a doom anthem, of course, but the opening riff and air raid sirens are an instant mind trip. Tommy Iommi‘s solo in the middle of it is the glint in the eye of doom metal’s father, but all of his work on the track has a trippy quality to it that’s hard to define.
The title track is the start of thrash metal, and, as the story goes, came about from the band goofing around in the studio. Little did they know it would become their first mega-single. Ozzy Osbourne‘s slightly fuzzed vocals balance well with the cranked fuzz of Iommi’s guitar and Terry Butler‘s bass and Bill Ward‘s relentless, yet precise drumming.
“Planet Caravan” then does an abrupt left turn into full-blown psychedelia. Osbourne’s vocals are barely perceptible, and the whole thing sounds like it was somehow sung and played through a lava lamp. Everything about it is warped and weird. I thought, “Why isn’t this song considered one of the classics of the psych genre?” when I first heard it. Mind you, I’m sure it is, but it seems like it’s a sadly overlooked Sabbath gem.
Probably because the next track is “Iron Man,” which has been featured in everything from Marvel movies to The Simpsons by now. Everyone remembers the riffs, but how many remember the song is about an astronaut who sees the Earth’s future, returns to warn us about it, is ridiculed by humanity for doing it, and then decides to trash us for mocking him?
Iommi makes full use of his effects pedals on “Hand of Doom,” which again has heavy riffs but part of their weight comes from the psychedelic touches the band puts on it. It’s creepy, sure, but also mind-altering – especially when they get to the bridge and it almost turns into a prog-rock track. The slick “Rat Salad” continues the brain-melting effects by starting off with adder-like slithering bass from Butler that explodes into a panther pouncing on you when the whole band kicks into gear. The song does this over and over, leaving you unsettled and somehow exhilarated. The closer, “Fairies Wear Boots,” is a dig at Nazi skinheads who were coming to their shows, is chock-full of great hooks, and even has a groovy intro (known as “Jack the Stripper”) with a somewhat bonkers Ward drum solo.
I know many fog hats were worn while listening to Paranoid and many “left-handed cigarettes” were rolled on its cover. I know I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s an album that easily moves back and forth between doom and psychedelia, but yet I still am. That’s a testament to the album’s craftsmanship.
Keep your mind open.
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