News, Releases

MOONBOW: BMX legend/Survivor star Matt Bischoff returns with Kentucky rockers for new album on Ripple Music

“Moonbow are the real fucking deal.”
BLABBERMOUTH

Kentucky-based rockers Moonbow began in 2011 when vocalist/BMX legend Matt Bischoff and Hank 3 guitarist Davey McElfresh met at McElfresh’s Covington apartment to outline the details of a new project.

What started out as a simple partnership quickly gained momentum and turned into something considerably more when Steve Earle (Afghan Whigs, Hermano) stepped in on drums and former Valley Of The Sun bassist Ryan McAllister was invited to service the low end. After only a few weeks it was obvious that something pretty badass was happening and since setting off on that one-way track, Moonbow have become a serious force to be reckoned.

With their line-up complete they immediately got to work on their debut album, The End Of Time. Due to McElfresh’s constant touring and Bischoff’s stint on reality TV show Survivor: Caramoan, the album was eventually released in 2013 and immediately gained traction both at home and abroad, securing international distribution after a successful Kickstarter campaign. Giving a nod to countrified roots and arid desert jams, The End of Time not only featured some of the meatiest riffs to ever come out of Kentucky, but also guest vocals by the legend John Garcia. Informed by McElfresh’s fuzz-savvy guitar playing, Earle’s deft skin work, McAllister’s distorted Rickenbacker groove and Bischoff’s unique take on songwriting and storytelling, the album showcased a band that were only just getting started.

In 2015, the quartet went on to release an acoustic follow up entitled Volto del Demone, and with new album War Bear – their first outing for the California-based record label Ripple Music – it’s safe to say that their time is most definitely upon us.

War Bear is released on 21st April 2017 via Ripple Music but in the meantime you can stream and share the title track right here:

News

CURSE THE SON to officially release Isolator album worldwide via Ripple Music/The Company | Release US tour dates and new video

Ripple Music is pleased to announce the official worldwide release of Isolator, the third studio album from Connecticut-based stoner doom trio, Curse The Son.

Having begun life as a studio project in 2008, Curse the Son has steadily risen to achieve feats they never thought possible. Beginning with the release of their Globus Hystericus EP in that same year, founding member and driving force Ron Vanacore (Guitar/Vocals) experienced an inexplicable calling to create new music to unleash upon the world.

What followed in 2011 was the release of the band’s debut album Klonopain, a harrowing journey through the mind of an “accidental addict” on a one-way ride though the hell of benzodiazepine withdrawal. Setting the stage for what the band was about to become the album is “riff rock” in its purest form. Screaming guitars, teeth rattling bass, bombastic drums and a voice that expressed years of pain, torture and sadness.

Shortly after the release of Klonopain the band drafted in drummer Michael Petrucci whose arrival not only marked a drastic enhancement in the band’s live sound but a strengthening in the conception of new music. The band was reborn as the floodgates opened and an entire record’s worth of material was written in a few short months. Released in January 2013, Psychache was the culmination of this extremely inspired period. A big step forward for the band, one by one press outlets started to take notice with the likes of The Sludgelord calling the album, “Brilliant. Plain and Simple.”

Despite having never played outside of Connecticut, after the initial online release – offered out to all as free download via Bandcamp – STB Records stepped in to release Psychache on vinyl, which in turn opened the door to a second wave of interest and international exposure as multiple sites, blogs, zines and radio stations declared the album one of the best stoner/doom releases of 2013.

Following the departure of original bassist Cheech Weeden and the recruitment of Brendan Keefe the band took some time out to revisit and rework material they already had down for their next record, as well as writing new songs together for the very first time. Released in 2016 and easily Curse the Son’s best album to date, Isolator showcases a band ready to push the limits of the stoner/doom genre, yet still revel in all of its gloomy goodness. Taking their song writing talents up a gear while simultaneously connecting on a spiritual level with their audience, Isolator was met with an overwhelming response by both critics and fans alike and on 7th April will get an official, worldwide release via Ripple Music (CD/Digital)/The Company (Vinyl).

US Tour Dates:

4th May – Buzzbin Shop, Canton OH (w. Pale Grey Lore & Goosed)
5th May – Howlers, Pittsburgh, PA (w. Brimstone Coven)
6th May – TBA
19th May – The Outerspace Ballroom, Hamden, CT (w. The Obsessed, Karma to Burn and Lo Pan)
1st June – Ralph’s Rock Diner, Worcester, MA
2nd June – Shakeen, Manchester, NF (w. Thunderhawk and more TBA)
3rd June – TBA
20th July – Lucky 13, Brooklyn, NY (w. Eternal Black, Clouds Taste Satanic and Mantis Mass)
21st July – Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia, PA (w. Wasted Theory, The Age of Truth and Goat Wizard)
22nd July – Guido’s Speakeasy, Frederick, MD (Sludgement Day Festival)
25th August – Cherry St. Station, Wallingford, CT (w. Sea Of Bones and Come to Grief)

Stream and share the brand new music video for ‘Isolator’ below:

 

Events

MOTHERSHIP: Texan rockers return for UK/EU tour this summer | New LP out this month on Ripple Music

Texan psych rockers Mothership are set to cross the Atlantic this summer and crash onto European shores with a tour in support of their brand new studio album, High Strangeness.

Formed in 2010 by brothers Kyle and Kelley Juett and later joined by Judge Smith on drums, the trio have gained a solid reputation as non-stop road warriors, sharing stages with the likes of Slayer, Alice In Chains, Ghost and Baroness in the last twelve months alone. With a tireless work ethic that has seen them play countless festivals, nightclubs, bars and motorcycle parties across the USA, Canada and Europe, the band were rewarded for their efforts last year winning Dallas’ Best Metal Act at the 2016 Dallas Observer Music Awards.

Released on 17th March, High Strangeness is the third studio album and highly anticipated follow-up to their 2014 Ripple Music-released LP, Mothership II. Recorded by Ryan Lee (Crypt Trip) and mastered by Tony Reed (Mos Generator/Stone Axe) it delivers eight songs of “supersonic intergalactic heavy rock” in an amped-up take on ’70s rock and roll fury, laced with everything, from electrifying psychedelics to progressive space rock elements.

Returning to Europe later this summer the band kick off their journey with an appearance at Freak Valley Festival in Germany on 17th June before arriving in the UK for a string of dates with rising rockers Poseidon in support.

For the full list of dates (UK dates in bold) and a fierce poster by Robin Gnista, see below:

17th June – Siegen, DE – Freak Valley Festival
18th June – Berlin, DE – Badehaus*
19th June – Hamburg, DE – Hafenklang*
21st June – Landgraaf, NL – Oefenbunker
22nd June – Utrecht, NL – dB’s
23rd June – Brussels, BE – Magasin 4
24th June – Bourlon, FR – Rock In Bourlon
25th June – Milton Keynes, UK – Craufurd Arms**
26th June – Coventry, UK – The Phoenix**
27th June – Manchester, UK – Factory**
28th June – Edinburgh, UK – Bannermans**
29th June – Cardiff, UK – Fuel**
30th June – Bournemouth, UK – The Anvil**
1st July – London, UK- The Black Heart**
3rd July – Paris, FR – Le Glazart***
4th July – Nantes, FR – Le Scene Michelet***
6th July – Barcelona, ES – Rocksound
7th July – Turin, IT – Blah Blah
8th July – Povegliano Veronese, IT – Art Pollution Festival
9th July – Parma, IT – App Colombofili
10th July – Zerobranco, IT – Altroquando
11th July – Vienna, AUT- Arena
12th July – Nuremberg, DE – MUZclub
13th July – Munich, DE – Feierwerk
14th July – Erfurt, DE – Stoned From The Underground Festival

* W/ Yawning Man
** W/ Poseidon
***W/ Egypt

uk-tour-dates-with-poseidon

News, Releases

CURSUS: Texan doom-duo crush worlds on colossal debut album

Artificial Head Records is pleased to announce the signing of psychedelic sludge band Cursus and with it the release of their self-titled debut album this April.

Taken from the Latin word meaning “course” – specifically the mournful paths our ancestors once took to bury their dead – the San Antonio-based paring of guitarist/vocalist CJ Duron and drummer Sarah Roork first came into being in the winter of 2013 with the release of their Summer Solstice Sessions demo. Influenced by the likes of Om, Neurosis, YOB and Ufomammut, and deep in experimentation with different sounds, instruments and drone frequencies, the demo slowly unfurled colossal riff driven soundscapes that permeated and punched in equal measure.

Released through Bandcamp it quickly caught the ear of label boss and fellow Texan, Walter Carlos, who signed Cursus on the spot to his Houston-based label Artificial Head Records.

“I had toured with Cursus a few times over the years and I’ve always admired their massive sound. Their ability to crush bodies in the room with their songs is uncanny,” explains Carlos. “Initially, we were going to release a live cassette by the band from recordings they made while on tour. But as the project kept going, we decided that a full-length studio album would be better and we’re proud to have Cursus as part of our family.”

Three years on from the release of Summer Solstice Sessions and Duron and Roork have their debut album loaded. Produced in a basement-recording studio by close friend Chris Dillard, over six devastating songs Cursus summons personal and spiritual pains and turns each into amplified dirges packed with riffs, hypnotic string arrangements and spellbinding percussion. With the power of cosmic doom burning brightly, distortion slams hard into 6/8 rhythms as the Duron and Roork charter a longboat through a magnificent storm of ethereal destruction.

Cursus’s self-titled debut album will be released on vinyl/digital on 28th April 2017 via Artificial Head Records. Stream and share new song ‘Waters of Wrath’ below:

Album art by Javier “Warhorse” Luis