Tag Archives: Stoner

Events, News, Releases, Videos

FACES OF THE BOG: Chicagoland’s psychedelic sludge masters to officially release debut album Ego Death on DHU Records

Initially conceived in a dingy rehearsal space in Humboldt Park during the fall of 2011, Faces of the Bog have fast become one of the underground’s most celebrated secrets following the self-release of their debut album Ego Death late last year.

For the Chicagoland quartet, their own unique interpretation of sludge has never run neatly alongside preconceived notions of how this kind of music should be played. Choosing to ignore convention and instead, power brutal riffs headfirst into psychedelically heightened grooves, relying on atmosphere and mood to create melodic textures they are a band constantly pushing the envelope. “Ego Death is a revelation. I’ve been longing for a band to step up and challenge the existing music scene and the way Faces of the Bog do it is so exciting.” (OUTLAWS OF THE SUN)

Produced and engineered by the band and Sanford Parker (Voivod, Yob, Wreckmeister Harmonies, Bloodiest) at Electrical Audio and Decade Music Studios, Ego Death hit pretty damn hard for an “independently put-out” album. Released digitally and on CD in October 2016, Metal Injection was quick to praise its, “existential ride of psychedelic waves and auras [and] collection of bangin’ sludge jams,” all of which journeyed the same sonic highways shared by the likes of Pink Floyd, Tool and Neurosis. Going one further, they described it as a record packed with, “a fascinating range of psychedelic sludge and hints of doom and acid tones.”

“It’s truly amazing these days when an underground band from a US city like Chicago can release an album completely on their own,” explains guitarist/vocalist Trey Wedgeworth. “We’ve been amazed and humbled by the feedback we’ve received all over the world. Fans from places like Germany, Norway, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, and Russia have all reached out to us to give their kind words to what we’re doing.”

It was while playing a handful of shows last year with pacific north-westerners Mother Crone that the band were introduced (in a roundabout way) to the good work of Nederland-based record label, DHU Records.

“Mother Crone ran into some transportation issues while out on tour and we were fortunate enough to be able to help some good dudes in need,” says Wedgeworth. “They more than repaid the favour by putting us in touch with Robert Black at DHU Records. DHU is a DIY label that releases limited edition vinyl packages for some of the heaviest bands in underground music today, so we quickly forged a great relationship and are completely ecstatic that he’s now rereleasing Ego Death on vinyl.”

Ego Death will get an official vinyl release on 22nd September through DHU Records but can be streamed and purchased digitally through Face of the Bog’s Bandcamp page here.

Watch and share The Making of Ego Death video here and preorder here.

Live:

5th Aug – Cold Shot – Appleton, Wisconsin (w. Atalla and Black Road)
11th Aug – Reggies – Chicago, Illinois (w. Castle)
4th Oct – Liars Club – Chicago, Illinois  (w. Disenchanter and Swamp Ritual)
2nd Sept – Beard Metal Fest – Custer Park, Illinois (w. Pale Horseman, Starless and DeepSpacePilots)

News, Releases

Brooklyn-based doom trio Mountain God to release new album

Artificial Head Records is thrilled to announce the signing of Brooklyn-based trio Mountain God and with it the release of their debut album Bread Solstice.

Formed in May 2012 by guitarist/vocalist Ben Ianuzzi and drummer Ian Murray, along with former Alkahest members Nikhil Kamineni and Jon Powell, as one of 2017’s most exciting new prospects Mountain God’s time is almost upon us.

Experimenting with raw concoctions of doom and ’70s psychedelic influences, their commitment to channeling ill feeling, heavy rock, deep meaning and dark subject matter is unwavering. In 2015 Mountain God followed the release of their five-song EP Experimentation On The Unwilling (2013) with the sprawling concept track ‘Forest Of The Lost’; a devastating, doom-infused laudation of distorted sludge, ambient noise and stoner rock. Rolled out to crushing effect, The Obelisk fittingly noted that, “Their particular brand of atmospheric sludge has only become more visceral over the last couple years, and as expansive as their 2015 single-song Forest Of The Lost EP is, its churn still seems to stir the guts.”

Following the departure of Powell and Murray, Thera Roya drummer Ryan Smith was drafted in as the trio set to work recordings that would form the basis of Bread Solstice, their full-length debut and first outing for the Houston-based record label Artificial Head.

“While some of the songs date all the way back to 2013, we didn’t begin rehearsing them regularly until Summer 2015,” explains guitarist Ianuzzi. “We started out demoing, writing, and tearing apart the ideas until we had things we liked. We definitely wanted to push the envelope with more nuanced effects and fewer 4/4 time signatures.”

Around this period the band also became a steady fixture on the NYC metal scene performing shows with the likes of Ufomammut, YOB, Primitive Man, Naam and Kings Destroy. Threatening spaced out and progressive paeans in the mold of Wolves in the Throne Room, Neurosis and Candlemass, as angry and complex a beast as Bread Solstice is it’s also deeply immersive and hypnotic in its atmospheres. Much like their early EPs and recordings, while creeping keyboards swell on tracks like ‘Unknown Ascent’, elsewhere riff-heavy tracks like ‘Nazca Lines’ and ‘Junglenaut’ hammer down hard with an iron fist. As Artificial Head founder Walter Carlos points out:

“I just knew I wanted to work with the band on a release. Their music reminds of the sludge and experimentation of bands such as Skullflower, Splintered, and Ramleh. Big, crushing emptiness with grinding tempos. Their new album, Bread Solstice, continues in that epic darkness.”

Bread Solstice will be released on vinyl/digital on 24th March 2017. Stream and share new song ‘Karmic Truth’ below:

News, Releases

Austin psych rockers Sweat Lodge confirm release of debut album this August

“Roll one, light up, and do as Sweat Lodge would do: Burn it slow and take it in.”
Consequence of Sound

Ripple Music is pleased to announce the official release of Talismana, the long-awaited debut album from one of America’s most exciting and downright badass psychedelic metal bands, Sweat Lodge.

Charged by Consequence of Sound earlier this year with the task of turning in one of the ‘20 Most Anticipated Metal Albums of 2015,’ the Austin, TX outfit have made good on their promise with a record that delivers more than you could possibly ever ask from it. Pillaging and plundering some of the most explosive eras of hard rock, heavy psychedelia and proto-metal with a conviction and execution rarely found this side of the millennium, in short, Sweat Lodge’s potential is one that knows no bounds.

Seizing on the southern grooves of Fu Manchu, Saint Vitus and the blues-driven majesty of 70s legends Mountain and fellow Texans ZZ Top, across Talismana – riff after punishing riff, howl after soulful howl – the vintage sound of rock ‘n’ roll reigns supreme, sparked through an engine of uncompromising youth. As anyone who witnessed the band’s debut TV appearance on Last Call With Carson Daly in March will testify, charismatic front man and vocalist Cody Lee Johnston’s ability to bring it on home is hypnotic. Backed by the gnarled bass fuzz of Austin Shockley, the Bonham-esque drum play of Caleb Dawson and guitar interplay of Javier Gardea and Dustin Anderson, the band will be unstoppable in 2015 and Talismana an essential record for fans of the genre.

Talismana by Sweat Lodge will be released on 7th August on Ripple Music

News

Ripple Music to reissue debut from Switchblade Jesus

“The world should never be short of great dirty rock ‘n’ roll bands that give you an excuse to down whiskey, slug beer, grow beards, raise your fists […] It’s for those reasons that bands like Switchblade Jesus exist.”
Terrorizer

“This album will grab you by the throat and it won’t let go until Switchblade Jesus either convert you to their way of thinking or you will be left emotionally battered and bruised through the power of their riffs.”
The Sludgelord

Read Terrorizer Magazine‘s recent interview with Switchblade Jesus here

In the latest of a long line of formidable signings this year, LA-based record label Ripple Music is thrilled to announce the addition of Texan band Switchblade Jesus to their roster, and the official rerelease of their acclaimed 2014 self-titled debut this May.

Formed in 2010 in the land of oil and tar, the Corpus Christi outfit consisting of Peter Quarnstrom (vocals), Eric Calvert (lead guitar/vocals), Billy Guerra (guitar), Jason Beers (bass) and Jon Elizondo (drums) may be hard drinking operators of heavy rock and roll, but they are also well versed in the ways of the desert.

Switchblade Jesus, the band’s devastating right hook of a debut was originally released on Kozmik Artifactz in 2014 and instantly found listeners hearing notable nods to Kyuss, Orange Goblin and Clutch deep amid from the record’s weighty grooves and vintage stoner vibes. A crushing, loose and alcohol-fuelled fistfight between heavy fuzz and wild peyote hallucinations, tracks like ‘Bastard Son’ and ‘Renegade Riders’ showcase the band’s raw and unruly power… and then some.

To get a real taste of what Switchblade Jesus is all about, check out the video for ‘Oblivion’ here.

The band also take to the road this month to play a number of dates across their home state of Texas with Arizonan three-piece Fuzz Evil (See dates below).

22nd April – Low Brow Palace – El Paso, TX
23rd April – The Mix – San Antonio, TX
24th April – The Lost Well – Austin, TX
25th April – Club Dada – Dallas, TX

Switchblade Jesus by Switchblade Jesus will be rereleased on 12th May 2015 through Ripple Music.