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This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
From the Deep Purple-indebted organ
intro, to the bluesy pentatonic riffing, there’s no doubt that the latest LP
from Norway’s
Purple Hill Witch is pure retro-metal worship.The pervasive garage metal swagger elevates some pretty raw material and
proves that they have the chops to be a really excellent outlier in the doom
metal underground
“CelestialCemetery” CD//DD//LP track listing
1.
Ghouls in Leather
2.
Harbinger of Death
3.
CelestialCemetery
4.
Around the Universe
5.
Menticide
6.
The First Encounter
7.
Burnt Offering
The Review:
From
the Deep
Purple-indebted organ intro, to the bluesy pentatonic riffing,
there’s no doubt that the latest LP from Norway’s
Purple Hill
Witch is going to be pure retro-metal worship.Thankfully, their enthusiasm and chops go a
long way, and some inspired moments carry a record that could slip into pure
nostalgia.The pervasive garage metal
swagger elevates some pretty raw material and makes me believe this power trio
has yet to release their breakthrough record.
Opening
track “Ghouls in Leather” is
definitely the best cut on “CelestialCemetery”, bouncing easily between first wave
proto-doom and NWOBHM riffing meets punky metal hooks.Guitarist Ingvaldsen’s vocals are strong and
when he offers some variations (sometimes sounding like a young King Diamond)
or the occasional falsetto punctuation, you catch him developing his own, more
distinct cadence.His guitar work,
meanwhile, is distinct enough to be the star attraction –heavy on the balls
rather than pyrotechnics.He gets some
sweet tone that sounds loose enough to be mistaken for some early garage rock,
or a Blue
Cheer outtake.“Harbinger of Death”, in particular,
highlights Purple
Hill Witch’s ear for a killer riff, even if the refrain pales in
comparison.The title track, the
appropriately spaced out, reverby “CelestialCemetery”, has Ingvaldsen’s best vocal
delivery, but highlights the relatively low bass levels.It’s a shame that I can’t hear more of
Andreas Schafferer’s interesting work, even if I can FEEL it when the volume is
cranked enough.“Around the Universe” is a good track bolstered by a really
thrilling, Steppenwolf-style
solo.Kvam’s subtly jazzy kit-work is a
nice touch, too.
The
final two tracks, “The First Encounter”
and “Burnt Offering”, while they
have their moments, also highlight the limitations of the record.The bass continues to be too low in the mix,
while little guitar flourishes occasionally seep through the left channel at a
level just quiet enough to be maddening.The harmonica closing of “Burnt
Offering” is a cool idea with an execution too minimal to really rock.By this point I really wished there was a
return to the gloomy organ music of “Ghouls
in Leather” – with a solid anchor to the dueling guitar and harmonica, the
song would be that much heavier, and more memorable.While these criticisms may be quibbling, Purple Hill
Witch set the bar high for themselves.They’ve proven they have the chops to be a
really excellent outlier in the doom metal underground, on par with spaced out
weirdos like Captain
Beyond or Italy’s Black Hole.If they can capture and sustain the energy of
the first half of ”CelestialCemetery”,
they’ll be in for one hell of a record.
“Wizard Bloody Wizard” transcends whatever the in-thing of
the moment is, and focuses instead on musicianship, the album's all-analog
approach creates a warm, vintage sound for the songs and on the whole Electric Wizard feels re-energized, whilst remaining true to their seedy pedigree
"Wizard Bloody Wizard"
CD//DD//LP track listing
1.
See You In Hell
2.
Necromania
3.
Hear The Sirens Scream
4.
The Reaper
5.
Wicked Caresses
6.
Mourning Of The Magicians
The Review:
Doom
metal institution Electric Wizard has
been around so long that its musical progeny continue to make waves around the
world. Its gritty, mystical method to metal has directly and indirectly
influenced legions of heavy music performers for over two decades. Consider
2000's "Dopethrone" and
what it meant for the genre. Indeed, the English band has been at it over 25
years, plying its brand of pulpy blues/stoner/sludge rock in the vein of Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and other
legends.
The
2014 release "Time to Die" saw
the return of original drummer Mark Greening to the team. However, Greening
again left, resulting in a pause from recording. Instead the group kept a
hectic touring schedule, with new drummer Simon Poole joining Electric Wizard for its new chapter. With its over-the-top
artwork and Occult/marijuana/horror themes in "Wizard Bloody Wizard,"Electric Wizard is
back at last. The next inquisition is whether Electric Wizard
can make remarkable music in this period where plenty of acts have, arguably,
co-opted it sonically and lyrically, or whether that brand of a seminal group still
makes it something to watch.
The
album got a preview with the lead-off single and opener, "See You in Hell." Great reason for
that: it is easily one of the album's best tracks, with its plodding bass
courtesy of Clayton Burgess, distorted guitars and vocals that overwhelm with
lyrics rather than volume. Electric Wizard has
gotten a reputation over the years for theatrical songwriting that is more Alice Cooper than Cannibal Corpse, and
this opener only reinforces it. “This
world is crazy and makes me sick/Maybe I'll torture you just for kicks/But I
lie here possessed by evil/Forever a servant of the Devil." The
delivery is not nearly as threatening as that sounds. In fact, it is entirely
listenable in a manner that is reminiscent of the late 1970s' flirtations with
evil music themes. Electric Wizard stay
true to the seedy pedigree, though it remains accessible.
The
more skeptical might find this opening a tad formulaic – Electric Wizard
does particular things exceedingly well, and stays with it. However, credit
must go to a band with this kind of history, which has mastered its craft in a
way that transcends whatever the in-thing of the moment is, and focuses instead
on musicianship. Jus Oborn's vocals are as spellbinding as ever, the album's
all-analog approach creates a warm, vintage sound for the songs. Electric Wizard feels reenergized to give fans that dig
what they do, exactly what they came for.
Still,
familiarity for some is sure to breed contempt. You may have heard by now that "Wizard Bloody Wizard" has
gotten its share of heat for lackluster moments. A dash of that criticism is
fair, though some of that is based in expectation of a louder, lewder Electric Wizard in the vein of 2010's "Black Masses." Here, the group is looking for a more
stripped-down performance; hence the aforementioned analog recording and
flourishes that harken back to Led Zeppelin era heavy
rock. True to that, a song like "Hear
The Sirens Scream" offers you a taste of a cleaner vocal and more of
the downtempo, bluesier hard rock of the period. "Necromania" opens with a more conventional booming heavy rock
riff. It too is an energetic jam, in a fashion that can likely attract new
fans, frankly.
One
of the few disappointments is that this release is incredibly short, at just
under 45 minutes. Electric Wizard try to
make up for the brief disc with "Mourning
of the Magicians," an 11-minute closing cut that sees Liz Buckingham
doing some impressive guitar work. The chorus "see you in Hell"
reappears, as if to close the story loop from the opener, and the song's
themes, which speak of darkness and betrayal, illuminate the thick rhythm laid
out. Although "Wizard Bloody
Wizard" is unlikely to be considered Electric Wizard's
crowning achievement, it may in fact turn into bait for a new audience into the
renaissance of old-school hard rock.
The sound off the album is positively low-fi, the title track a
noisy and lurching beast and “Into The Wormhole” sounds like a slowed down
record being played through a torn speaker. There are sojourns into more proggy territory with “The
Lost Child”, but for me it is when the band utilise the most Neanderthal
sounds that they are most effective. The verdict? A lot better than their first two
albums and an interesting, engaging listen.
“Rough
Times“CD//DD//LP track listing:
1. Rough Times (3:38)
2. Into The
Wormehole (4:17)
3. Skeleton Blues (4:24)
4. Die Baby Die (4:18)
5. Vampires (4:48)
6. Tribulation Nation (5:04)
7. Words Of Evil (3:37)
8. The Lost Child (5:52)
9. You Found The Best in Me (4:58)
10. A L'Ombre Du Temps (3:57)
The Review:
Kadavar are Berlin's premier 70's retro rock revivalists and I have followed
their career somewhat loosely since their 2013 “Abra Kadavar” album which featured a very seventies production in
terms of instrument placement and a small dose of Sabbath
to go with their Deep Purple, Budgie, Coven,
Blue Cheer, Zeppelin et. al. references. Not doom, for
sure, but not only classic rock... Since then, of course, a myriad of bands
have come to the fore who deal in similar retro-nostalgia (Gentleman's Pistols are still the best outfit
with a retro leaning).
With “Rough
Times”, I have missed out on one of the band's albums so I don't know quite
how this fits into their continuum but I do know that this is much rougher than
the first two records- as the title may obliquely suggest. This is closer to
the MC5 and The Stooges in terms of sound and aggression
than it is to Budgie. The sounds is
positively low-fi, the title track a noisy and lurching beast. “Into The
Wormhole” sounds like a slowed down record being played through a torn
speaker.
The rest of the record is just as gnarly- “Skeleton
Blues” is a primal groove of distorted bass and guitar with reverb drenched
vocals. The lyrics capture the Zeitgeist of fake news and confusion in
prescient terms. As such, then, for a retro band Kadavar
are remarkably up to date in themes and concerns- of the ten tracks, all sound
like they could have been recorded between 1968 and 1975, but most of the
lyrics could only come from the here and now- an odd combination, but one that
makes their sound more alluring, at least for me.
Whether it be the lost innocence and cynicism of “Vampires”,
the political sounding “Tribulation Nation” or even the straight rocker “Words
of Evil” with its metaphors, all the songs are bang up to date: or could
apply to any era of trouble and strife you could name. There are sojourns into
more proggy territory with “The Lost Child”, but for me it is when the
band utilise the most Neanderthal sounds
that they are most effective. There is melody aplenty in “You Found The Best
In Me” and it features as the middle track in the closing triumvirate where
the band spread their wings beyond the Berlin/Detroit axis and venture into
more unusual sounds and styles. The final statement of “A L'Ombre Du Temps”
is again current, retro and a departure for the band.
The verdict? A lot better than their first two
albums and an interesting, engaging listen.
With
an established and impeccable reputation that started back in 1995, Small Stone
Records, the self proclaimed dealers in the finest in fuzz rock, continue
to churn out gold standard releases some 21 years later, not bad when you
consider the label was started with a loan of $5000 and a desire to put out
record by his friends.
The label continues to put out approximately 10 to 12 new
releases a year and many of his bands keep busy touring schedules, therefore a
band could consider them fortunate to taken under the wings of this truly great
label.One such band is Captain Crimson, a banddealing in the kind of badass blues rock that has made their peers and
fellow Swedes, Graveyard,
Witchcraft,
and Blues
Pills household names within the underground doom scene.
Formed in 2010 by vocalist Stefan Lillhager, formerly
of Blowback,
Captain Crimson draws inspiration
from the classic sounds of The Groundhogs, Blue Cheer, Jethro Tull, Cactus,
and Emerson,
Lake & Palmer, meeting heavy boogie head-on with a modern
swagger that has carried over to their latest and third album, “Remind”,
which will serve as their first for Small Stone Records.
“Remind”
will be released on October 14th, 2016 on CD, digitally and limited edition
vinyl and preorders of the record are available here.Today
at The
Sludgelord in association with our friends at Earsplit PR we are debuting
another new cut to remind you how
much you need this band in your life.Check
out “Black Rose” below
Paying homage to Windhand marrying Ty Segall;
in a fuzzed out conjoining of sounds and soundscapes traversing planes of terra
firma.That is Vanishing Kids.
‘Untitled” CD//CS//DD
track listing:
1).
Mockingbird
2).
Eyes of Secrets
3).
Without A Sun
4).
Magenta Blue
The Review:
Remember the “Kraken”
from “Clash of the Titans?” Unleash
that with the essence of Blue Cheer and that’s “Mockingbird,” the first track from Vanishing Kid’s 4 song EP.Like the other songs here, “Mockingbird” has a flowing, dream
tapestry about it, like something you’d hear on a David Lynch soundtrack.Nightmarish and beautiful.With layer upon layer of texture.The kind of thing you can reach out and touch
with your mind; guided by Nikki Drohomyreky’s vox, a
lifeguard in a sea of strangeness; her soothing vocals guide you ashore,
safely.
“Eyes
of Secrets” roots out, like a tree searching for water, goes deeper,
scouring the depths of heaviness and doom in other ways, not overtly
heavy.Rather travelling psychedelic
pathways to humming consciousness, paying homage to Windhand marrying Ty Segall;
in a fuzzed out conjoining of sounds and soundscapes traversing planes of terra
firma.That isVanishing
Kids.Neural pathways electrical,
alive…
Penultimate track, “Without
a Sun,” dreams further, velvet,
smooth, and instead of going for the anvil’s forge.Pounding, streaks upward to the sky, searching
for Icarus, conjuring notions of Salems Pot and Wooden Ships, multiple freak
outs allowed, and often.Embrace
it.Escape into it.Get lost and found again.Somewhere between LA Witch and the end of
forever and still, heavy like the Earth.
And then slip into the last track, “Magenta Blue,” beyond the horizon, through the rainbow and silent,
heavy drift; the land of lucid, wavy, thoughts, where heightened, sensory
perception kicks in, giving nod to active brain, active players Nikki Drohomyreky’s
vox with Jason Hartman- Guitar; Jerry Sofran- Bass and Hart Allan Miller- Drums.The dream is complete.Psychedelicized.Doom be thy name.Your brain will see you now…
The length of the album, at 15 tracks, does make getting acquainted
with this record a slow process, but in the end you’ll discover there aren’t any
dips in form. ‘High Country’ is rich in consistency and across its span, Cronise,
Shutt and co. dispel any fears you may have about this release all the while
oozing a slick professionalism. They’ve been at this song writing malarkey for
a while now, they’re hardened pros and this stands testament to their brilliant
legacy.’
‘High Country’ CD//DD//LP track listing:
01. Unicorn
Farm
02. Empty Temples
03. High Country
04. Tears Like Diamonds
05. Mist And Shadow
06. Agartha
07. Seriously Mysterious
08. Suffer No Fools
09. Early Snow
10. The Dreamthieves
11. Buzzards
12. Silver Petals
13. Ghost Eye
14. Turned To Dust
15. The Bees Of Spring
The Sword is:
John
D. Cronise
Kyle
Shutt
Bryan
Richie
Santiago
Vela III
The Review:
Few modern bands, it could be argued, have so lovingly crafted an arsenal of
razor sharp, ‘why-didn’t-I-think-of-that?’ type riffs as The Sword has. John "J.
D." Cronise & Kyle Shutt, inspired by everything from Blue Cheer
and Black
Sabbath through to Sleep and High on Fire, have been schooling their
compatriots on the art of the riff with a resolute ease which has earned the
band a formidable reputation.
Nine
years ago they introduced themselves with the venomous grooves of ‘Age of Winters,’ but since then they’ve
continued to develop, to recreate themselves with every release and build on
what came before rather than simply recycle. ‘Warp Riders’ was, upon its release in 2010, a coming of age in a
way; they’d perfected their own signature brew, finding the balance between
heaviness, infectious hooks and lean never over-saturated song writing to make
a cocktail for the rock loving masses to savour. Two years later saw a new
experimental flavour to that blend however, adding grumbling synthesizers which
split opinion greatly on ‘Apocryphon.’
It was a record where the guitars, at points, took a more passive, or at least
a less audaciously battering approach; it was a record which was an equal
summation of all the band’s parts in order to accommodate the synths, resulting
in some of their most commercially digested music to date.
Which
brings us to the present day, and amidst the fallout of the marmite impact ‘Apocryphon,’ had upon their riff
worshipping fan base, you’d forgive people for approaching ‘High Country’ with an air of trepidation. I myself, while a fan of
‘Apocryphon,’ had a faint whisper in
the back of my mind – a craving that this record will be more hard-hitting,
jugular-swiping stoner rock n’ roll revelry. The reality is that their fifth
record is the complete opposite of that. The overdrive dials have been rolled
down, that emphatically fat guitar tone has been on something of a diet and
this is, without a doubt, the Texan quartet’s mellowest offering to date. Yet, this
release doesn’t reflect a failure to adhere to the wants of much of their followers;
it is germane to their persistent evolution as a band and is, quite simply, an
absolutely killer album. It’s not what
was craved by so many, but it takes little time in convincing you that this is
the right option. Put beside previous offerings, it stands as both an
individualistic collection of finely written songs and a great accompaniment to
their discography.
Thematically,
talk of witches (‘Seriously Mysterious’),
mythology (‘Empty Temples’) and
Lovcraftian fashioned tales (‘The
Dreamthieves’) is still present. But the musical DNA has more in common
with 70s acts like their fellow statesman ZZ Top and the harmony-lavished works of Thin Lizzy
than anything like the more metallic edge that those first few records were
embellished with. There are touches of the likes of MC5, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Grand Funk
too. This is out and out American rock n’ roll and it is done exceptionally
well.
That’s
not to say there isn’t the crunching of bones at points on ‘High Country,’ it’s not that they’ve
gone soft on us; ‘Suffer No Fools’
and ‘Buzzards’ are evidence of that.
The prior, an instrumental, has a definitive punch to it and it’s a track
tailor made to start circle pits while the latter is chock full of snarling
fuzz. Both sound like classic The Sword tracks. As do ‘Empty Temples’ and the title track itself which are arguably the
most representative for what this record is on a whole; heavy stonerisms and
mellow musicality dancing together before a still and star smattered night sky.
The
instrumentation of ‘High Country’ is
broader than any of its predecessors, there’s a definite ambitiousness and
playfulness in diversifying and adding to their sonic palette. As a result, the
songs are enriched greatly. One of the
highlights of the record has to be ‘Early
Snow’ with its surprising but ultimately tantalising brass sections. It comes
across so classy, making you want to put on your most dapper suit, grab a
whisky and click your fingers till sunrise. It swings brilliantly, the grooves
illuminating their tones – darkness isn’t always the be all and end all – and that
swing bleeds perfectly onto ‘The
Dreamthieves.’ This track benefits from an almost AOR like layering of ‘aah,’
‘oooh’ backing vocals – only if AOR weren’t shite that is.
Another
song benefitting from this broader use of instrumentation is ‘Seriously Mysterious,’ a short, synth
led bounce which, in a way, has a real resemblance to Deep Purple’s ‘Demon’s Eye’. Lurking in the background
throughout is the elephantine parp of octave pedalled guitar licks – think The White
Stripes, Rage Against The Machine, Royal Blood - which open up the
song effectively, giving it a greater sense of dimensions. When those guitars
come in they affect you just like every fretboard stroke of mastery The Sword
has done in the past. It’s moments like this that really win you over. Elsewhere, ‘Silver Petals’ consists of a lonely but gorgeous acoustic guitar: A
chilling composition that flows nicely into the slow and steady roll of ‘Ghost Eye’ which itself boasts some
chunky and delightfully gritty classic rock moments. ‘Turned to Dust’ is subtly Floydian with its haziness; it’s a slow,
dreamy track full of some luscious lead work that floats along like a leaf down
a river.
The
length of the album, at 15 tracks, does make getting acquainted with this
record a slow process, but in the end you’ll discover there aren’t any dips in form. ‘High Country’ is rich in consistency and
across its span, Cronise, Shutt and co. dispel any fears you may have about
this release all the while oozing a slick professionalism. They’ve been at this
song writing malarkey for a while now, they’re hardened pros and this stands
testament to their brilliant legacy.
‘High Country’ is available hereand folk in the UK can order here
The perfect soundtrack for a generation caught in peace, love, revolution, social upheaval and war!! Blue Cheer manage to conjure up all these ideologies and spew it back into the world through a frenetic blues based fuzz bomb that awakens all the senses and leaves you paralysed and yet still wanting more! Kicking off with a cover of Eddie Cochran’s ‘Summertime Blues’, the band unleashes it's relentless power, with Marshall amps and fuzz pedals set on 11 and Dickie Peterson's hot headed hollering accompanied by Paul Whaley’s thunderous drumming, by the first 10 seconds you know this isn't a Mammas and Papas record!
‘Rock Me Baby’ is a standard blues cover, but of course Blue Cheer soup things up and this standard now sounds like the soundtrack to a Woolly Mammoth porn movie! ‘Doctor Please’ is a proto metal doom/ stoner classic! Ranging from the downer slow mo riffs and lyrics to a frantic change of pace in the mid section (something Black Sabbath would run with a few years later) and a return back to the lethargic lumbering riff that started the whole fuzz ball rolling, then finally passing out at the very end sounding like Dickie and the boys had been on some anti war march full of LSD and Whiskey.
‘Out of Focus’ penned by Dickie is a introspective paean to a generation losing its battle against a ever increasing corrupt US government that is turning its children to visionary burn outs! With Dickie crying ‘Won’t somebody tell me what's wrong with me’! The band grooves on till it hits a wall of feedback then falls on its ass! ‘Parchment Farm’ is another cover, this time with blistering pace; again, another proto metal classic that bands like Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple copped a load of and made millions out of it! The albums closer, ‘Next Time Around’ finishes off the album in true free form noise ridden Blue Cheer fashion! With Paul Whaley doing a drum solo mid song sounding like a punk rock version of Ginger Baker to Leigh Stephens' Vietnam fuzz bomb guitar feed back that implodes this proto metal classic!
A lot has been said about Blue Cheer being the godfathers of heavy metal! I'd agree! Before Black Sabbath! Louder than Led Zeppelin, on through to influencing countless bands in the 90s like Mudhoney, Nirvana and of course Kyuss, Fu Manchu and Monster Magnet! To one of the most underrated bands of all time and not to mention over looked!! These guys summed up a generation heading for turmoil in the face of war! And when they self proclaimed they were ‘Louder than God’ I think no one could disagree! Even Jim Morrison said they were the most powerful band he had ever witnessed! Amen to that!!
Words & Recommendation by : David Oglesby
Album Details :
Vincebus Eruptum is the debut album by Blue Cheer. Released in January 1968, it was a commercial and critical success, Vincebus Eruptum peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
1). Summertime Blues 03:43
2). Rock Me Baby 04:18
3). Doctor Please 08:50
4). Out of Focus 03:52
5). Parchment Farm 05:48
6). Second Time Around 06:18
Over the years there have been at least 30 separate releases of this record. A classic in every sense of the word.
