Black Elk- Always A Six, Never A Nine
The second album and the follow up to the 2006 self-titled debut from Portland, OR aggro wreckers Black Elk, whose psychotic brand of crushing, noise-rock influenced heaviosity is a return to the unhinged underground rock force of bands like Jesus Lizard, Melvins, Black Flag and Hammerhead. This new album features ten songs of seething weirdness, with the dissonant, crushing riffage, lunging rhythmic push and awesome freaked out, Yow-esque vocals of singer Tom Glose that made their debut a fave among anyone who remembered the days when Amphetamine Reptile ruled the underground rock scene, but with some interesting new elements (bleak, blackened guitar ambience, a smattering of piano, skyreaching guitar harmonies, etc.) that add new shadows to Black Elk's ferocious sound. Always A Six, Never A Nine is packaged in a heavy four-panel gatefold jacket with an eight page lyric booklet.
Black Elk- S/T
"Black Elk's heavy, manic sludgy rock assault smashed into my skull like some sort of conglom of carnivorous DIY hardcore, noise rock, and metal. This eponymous album is equal parts primo Pacific Northwest sludginess a la Karp, Melvins, and early Soundgarden (back when they were one of the heaviest sludge bands to emerge from the post-punk 80's), weird angular noise rock like something that Am Rep might have puked up back in '91, but meaner and heavier, and the distinctive snarl of Die Kruezen, all distilled into a goatheaded psychedelic backwoods dance party that has risen to a freakin' fever pitch and which threatens to leave you in a bag by the river when it's all said and done. Total fucking crush. Produced by Mike Lastra at Smegma Studios (EARTH, THRONES, JACKIE O MOTHERFUCKER)." - Crucial Blast
The Catalyst- Marianas Trench +9
A colossal new disc from Richmond's THE CATALYST with 13 pummeling tracks compiled from last year's Marianas Trench 12" ep, their split 7" with BRAINWORMS, and the now out-of-print split 12" with MASS MOVEMENT OF THE MOTH. All songs have been given a full remastering, courtesy of Carl Saff (Pygmy Lush, Red Sparowes).
Civilization- S/T CDR
"What is it about Florida—or the South in general—that creates such dirge? There seems to be a dirty, swampy edge bands get from down that way. This two-piece guitar and drum combo, out of Jacksonville, Florida lays down some down-tuned aggression. Reminds me of the band Black Cobra with their Sabbath-ish, stoney riffs but with the punk energy of HolyMountain. Brooding, yet with a solid punch of energy at times to keep it interesting. The recording has a live feel to it. Would like to hear what comes out when they go all-out in the studio. Cool use of a used Blockbuster Video DVD case. They recycle!" –Razorcake #48
FOR FANS OF: MOTORHEAD, DOVE, early FLOOR
Grey Daturas- Dead In The Woods
Previously out-of-print 2004 monsterpiece from the Melbourne, Australian trio GREY DATURAS. Originally released through the band's own Crashing Jets imprint, Dead In The Woods is a massive exhortation of lumbering metallic dirge, freely improvised amplifier noise and crushing riff splatter, and massive, sky-streaking psychedelic corrosion, travelling the speaker-shredding void between The Dead C, pulverizing sludge, and Skullflower's heaviest jams. The Crucial Blast re-issue of Dead In The Woods features a full remastering by Scott Hull at Visceral Sound, and also comes with a brand new packaging design via a 4-panel case printed by Stumptown Printers.
Hex Machine- Omen Mas
Hex Machine are a long-running project out of Virginia that has had it’s share of members come and go, yet press on with noise rock filth of the highest caliber. Of all the bands that are championing the AmRep sound, Hex Machine might win the title for hitting it square between the eyes. The early Today Is the Day screeches and howls, seething vocals and tortured rhythms are most noticeable. The pounding fuzz of old Hammerhead records beat to shit acting as a conduit for Hex machine’s playing, and their daily worship at the alter of Halo Of Flies... it’s all there. They eat Guzzard for breakfast and shit out The Cows at the end of the day. And for all that I applaud them. It’s a bitter, pissed off listen that hurts in a good way. Somewhere Tom Hazelmeyer is shooting off a rifle in their honor.
Totimoshi-Mysterioso?
¿Mysterioso? , the second full length from Oakland, CA-based trio TOTIMOSHI, intersects earthquake-heavy rock and wicked sludge riffage with the wiry hooks and dynamics of 80's post-punk / new wave, Spanish melodies, and an adventurous, occasionally improvisational fuzz attack. It's like someone gave an old Beggars Banquet band a cocktail of steroids, huge amps, and battered copies of Melvins' Stoner Witch and Mainliner's Mellow Out. Heavy, crunchy, catchy,hypnotic - ¿Mysterioso? winds, grinds, and explodes every step of the way. This re-issued, re-tooled version features enhanced CD-ROM extras, including video , photos, and more.
Weedeather-Sixteen Tons
A masterwork of southern fried sludgecore. The soundtrack to your next zombie beach party. Sixteen Tons churns out a black hole of thunderous, snarling Swamp Doom from acclaimed rebel rockers WEEDEATER (featuring Dixie Dave of confederate metal legends BUZZOVEN). With monstrous production courtesy of Billy Anderson (MELVINS, SWANS, CATHEDRAL), these ten whiskey soaked anthems are heavier than a mastodon trapped in a tarpit. Crusty, wasted, and buried.
Wildildlife- Six
Like Black Sabbath and Butthole Surfers jamming together with ancient forest mystics, an experience both brutal and beautiful, and proves that Wildildlife have established themselves as serious purveyors of blown-out psych heaviness. The CD version of Six comes in a posh, full-color 4-panel gatefold jacket , which houses the disc and a full-color 8-page booklet filled with amazing, surreal photographs by Sabina Holber.
Year Of No Light-Nord
Year Of No Light bring an amazing set of songwriting chops to the 10 songs that make up 'Nord', a heavy, chugging metallic monster that channels both gloomy atmospherics reminiscent of The Cure, and crushing Neurosis-inspired dirgecore, heavy, raw, and lumbering, but at times extremely beautiful and epic. Nord flows seamlessly between passages of ultra melodic rock and frenzied bursts of dissonant, crushing hardcore, to austere radiant guitar figures and gorgeous ambient drones, to massive doomy dirge metal, utterly gorgeous Loveless-esque melodic bliss, and some almost folksy, but unbelievably EPIC riffs, with powerful, strained vocals fighting through their wall of sound. Presented in a 4-panel gatefold case from Stumptown Printers, and featuring all new artwork.
