Tag: Black Sabbath

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of friends and collaborators Ben Greenberg (guitar, production), who has spent time as a member of The Men and  with his solo project Hubble, and is the producer and engineer, who has worked on most of the Sacred Bones Records catalog; and Michael Berdan (vocals), who has spent time as a member of Drunkdriver and York Factory Complaint, the New York-based duo of Uniform can trace their origins back to 2013 when the duo had reconnected and recognized that they were both in the same place musically. Desiring as intimate of a recorded and live experience as possible, the duo decided that they had to keep the project as a duo, eschewing a live rhythm section for drumming programming and low end synths paired with Greenberg’s guitar work and Berdan’s vocals. And the immediate result of Greenberg and Berdan’s collaboration was a 12 inch single, quickly followed by their full-length debut Perfect World.

The “Ghosthouse” 12 inch is the duo’s first proper release through Sacred Bones Records and while retaining the us of drum programming, low end synths paired with Greenberg’s guitar and Berdan’s vocals, the duo have expanded upon their sound to include the sounds of war and violent conflict including shots, explosions, implosions, things collapsing, along with industrial clang and clatter to create a murky and abrasively confrontational sound — the sound of the fearful, vicious and uncertain contemporary age we live in while being paired with lyrics that are influenced by Berdan’s own struggles with depression and insomnia.

The duo’s latest single is a Ministry and black metal-like cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Symptom of the Universe” that’s abrasive, punishing and fatalistically bleak — essentially turning the song into a love letter from the grave.

Look for the duo’s sophomore effort sometime in 2017.

 

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past two years or so, you may be familiar with Chicago, IL and Los Angeles, CA-based distributor Permanent Records and RidingEasy Records collaborative series of 60s and 70s proto-metal, pre-stoner rock compilations Brown Acid: The First Trip and Brown Acid: The Second Trip. 

Interestingly, RidingEasy Records’ Daniel Hall and Permanent records co-owner Lance Barresi spent a great deal of time not only just collecting and complain the singles on each volume of the compilation, they also spent time tracking down the songs’ creators, most frequently bands that haven’t been together in 30 or 40 years and encouraging them to take part in the entire process. As Barresi explained in press notes for the two compilations, “All of (these songs) could’ve been huge given the right circumstances. But for one reason or another most of these songs fell flat and were forgotten. However, time has been kind in my opinion and I think these songs are as good now or better than they ever were.” And by having the artists participate it can give the songs and the artists a real second chance at success, if not some kind of attention for their work.

Follow the critical and commercial success of the first two volumes, RidingEasy Records and Permanent Records will be releasing the third volume of 60s and 70s proto-metal and pre-stoner rock, Brown Acid: The Third Trip, which is slated for an October 31, 2016 release.. Now, if you had stopped by this site earlier this year, you might recall that I wrote about the third compilation’s first single Grand Theft’s “Scream (It’s Eating Me Alive)” a song that seemed to nod at Led Zeppelin III and IV, Rush and The MC5 — in particular think of “Immigrant Song” “When the Levee Breaks”  “Working Man” and “Kick Out the Jams” as the song possesses a bristling, swaggering fury. The compilation’s second and latest single Chook’s “Cold Feet” sounds as though it were the love child of Jimi Hendrix‘s “Fire,” Black Sabbath and Mountain‘s “Mississippi Queen” but with a shuffling, bluesy swagger, as the song is full of sexual innuendo and braggadocio and an incredible bass line.

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath on KEXP

Brownout, a relentlessly touring, Latin funk and rock act side project of Grupo Fantasma has become something of an independent act of its own since the 2014 release of Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath, which featured Latin funk interpretations of beloved Black Sabbath songs such as “Iron Man,” “Planet Caravan,” “N.I.B” and others.

October 28, 2016 will mark the release of Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath’s highly-anticipated follow up, Brownout Presents Brown Sabbath, Vol II through Ubiquity Records. And the second collection will feature the band putting their unique spin on deeper Sabbath catalog cuts including “Fairies Wear Boots,” “Snowblind,” “Supernaught,” and “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath,” featuring Ghostland Observatory’s Aaron Behrens. Just in time for the announcement of their forthcoming sophomore effort, the band (through their publicist) put folks on to this 2014 live segment they did for KEXP, which features the band’s impressive and funky takes on “Iron Man,” “Planet Caravan,” “The Wizard,” and “N.I.B” and members of the band talking about touring life, the response they’ve received from Latin funk fans and Sabbath fans alike and more.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

R.I.P. is a Portland, OR-based doom metal quartet that operates off the belief that heavy metal didn’t come from the forest or beam down from outer space; but rather, that it crawled up out of the sewer and writhed to life in in the grit and grime of the streets and their unique take on heavy metal and doom metal “street doom” is indebted to that approach. The Portland, OR-based quartet have developed a reputation for relentless touring when they signed to renowned Los Angeles-based label RidingEasy Records, who will be releasing the band’s highly-anticipated full-length debut In The Wind later this year.

In The Wind‘s latest single “Black Leather” pairs scuzzy power chord heavy guitars, thunderous drumming, a driving motorik-like groove in an expansive and spacious dirge that allows room for some blistering guitar pyrotechnics while drawing equally from Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Hawkwind. Structurally the song in its first half or so is power chord heavy dirge and in its last half turns into a psych rock-leaning stoner rock with a swaggering self-assuredness while evoking sulfurous smoke billowing from the depths of hell.

 

 

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Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Charles Bradley Reflects on His Life in the Gorgeous and Cinematic Video for “Good To Be Back Home”

Interestingly, Changes’ third full-single “Good To Be Back Home” has Bradley at his most pensive, as he reflects on the emotional and spiritual whirlwind of his life over the past 6 years, a period that has seen him become an internationally recognized artist playing in front of adoring crowds all over the world and the death of his mother among other things. And as a result the song manages to be one of the more ambivalent songs Bradley has ever released as the song is both a triumphant and weary — triumphant in the fact that the song’s narrator can admit pride over being able to perform in front of adoring crowds but wearying in the fact that he’s hurt over the death of his mother, and there’s the subtle implication that no matter how successful you could be, you still somehow wind up alone. Perhaps Thomas Wolfe was right, you could never go back home again, as there’s a point in which you’ve changed way too much — or things have changed to the point that it doesn’t resemble anything you remember. Sonically speaking, the song continues along the path of its preceding singles as the single leans towards psychedelic soul — in particular think of The Temptations “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” James Brown’s “The Payback” and others as it’s a slow-burning and moody song.

The recently released music video is shot in a gorgeous and cinematic black and white and splits its time between footage of Charles Bradley and the Extraordaires performing on stage in front of adoring crowds, giving hugs to fans, pensively walking through his Brooklyn neighborhood and hanging out at home. The video arguably gives the most complete picture of Bradley as a public figure and everyday person.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Daniel Rice (vocals, guitar), David Kent (guitar), Hayden Doyel (bass), and Cody Tarbell (drums) the Visalia, CA-based quartet Slow Season have developed a reputation for a power chord-based hard rock sound that is indebted to the classic rock sound of the 60s and 70s as you’ll hear off “Y’Wanna,” the first single off the band’s forthcoming full-length effort, Westing slated for a July 8, 2016 through RidingEasy Records.

Written during an intensely busy touring schedule with labelmates Electric Citizen and Mondo Drag and recorded in DIY-like fashion, much like their previous efforts — in other words on reel-to-reel tape at Cody Tarbell’s home studio, located in the middle of a cornfield. And although their recording process hasn’t changed much, as Cody Tarbell explains in press notes the new album is “a different album. But we never wanted to find a particular sound or any one thing and be attached to it permanently. A big part of our records is experimenting.” While cementing the band’s reputation for being sonically ambitious, Westing‘s material is thematically ambitious as well, with the album lyrically following “a loose narrative about our nation’s loss of innocence as it explores its frontiers re-contextualized in a story about an unnamed protagonist faced with choosing between different ideological allegiances and his own social identity,” as the band’s frontman Daniel Rice explained in press notes — with each song following “the unholy trinity of greed + power + violence, the injustice wrought from this, persisting in willful ignorance and reaping what is sown.” In some way, the album’s thematic arc seems to capture the general tone and feel of contemporary conversations about institutionalized racism, institutionalized gender inequality, inequality in general and social justice.

Westing‘s swaggering, second single  “Damascus” will further cement the band’s burgeoning reputation for crafting a sound that’s deeply indebted to 60s and 70s rock — in this particular case Black Sabbath, 38 Special, Led Zeppelin, and others as the band pairs bluesy power chords, some incredible guitar pyrotechnics, a propulsive rhythm section consisting of four-on-the-four drumming and a sinuous bass line with Rice’s crooned vocals. In other words, it’s old-time  rock out with your cock out, arena-friendly rock that sounds familiar — but with a subtle contemporary sheen.
You can catch the band live throughout a rather extensive tour schedule during May and June. Check out tour dates below.
TOUR DATES:
05/27 Boise, ID @ The Shredder
05/28 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
05/29 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
05/30 Omaha, NE @ Reverb Lounge
05/31 Chicago, IL @ Double Door
06/01 Indianapolis, IN @ Bent Rail Brewing
06/02 Kent, OH @ Stone Tavern
06/03 Pittsburgh, PA @ Gooski’s
06/04 Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
06/06 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
06/07 Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe
06/08 Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Yacht Club
06/09 Nashville, TN @ FooBAR
06/10 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone *
06/11 New Orleans, LA @ Siberia *
06/12 Hattiesburg, MS @ The Tavern *
06/13 Shreveport, LA @ Bears *
06/14 Texarkana, TX @ Arrow Bar *
06/16 Oklahoma City, OK @ Blue Note *
06/17 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves
06/18 Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas
06/19 San Antonio, TX @ The Mix
06/22 Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Taproom
06/23 San Diego, CA @ The Merrow
*w/ Dirty Streets
Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: JOVM Mainstays CROSSS Return with Dark, Horror Film-Inspired Visuals for “Golden Hearth”

If you’ve been frequenting the site over the past 15-18 months or so, you’ve likely come across a post or two on JOVM mainstay act, Toronto, ON-based proto-metal/doom metal trio CROSSS. And although the band is rather […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Charles Bradley Performing “Ain’t It A Sin” on Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Originally released as a Record Store Day B-side to his incredibly soulful cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Changes” with fellow Daptone Records labelmates The Budos Band, and a regularly occurring part of his live sets “Ain’t It A Sin,” is the third and latest […]

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Charles Bradley’s Strutting and Rowdy Visuals for “Ain’t It A Sin”

Originally released as a Record Store Day B-side to his incredibly soulful cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Changes” with fellow Daptone Records labelmates The Budos Band, and a regularly occurring part of his live sets “Ain’t It A […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

 

If you were frequenting this site last year, you may recall coming across posts on Toronto, ON-based proto-metal/doom metal trio CROSSS. And although the band is rather mysterious and little is publicly known about the band’s personnel I can tell you that the band, which originally began as a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based duo, went through several lineup changes before relocating to Toronto and settling on the band’s current configuration. Since relocating to Toronto, the trio have developed a reputation for crating murky, sludgy and intense dirges that are deeply inspired by proto-done, lo-fi indie rock, noise rock and metal, and as a result bear a sonic resemblance to the likes of Black Sabbath, A Place to Bury Strangers and others — but more bottom heavy and doom-laden as you’ll hear on “Interlocutor,” off their last effort, LO which, was release to quite a bit of attention across the blogosphere.

Naturally, as a result of the attention they received, the Canadian trio opened for the likes of Viet Cong, Built to Spill, Thee Oh Sees, King Tuff, Dirty Beaches, Pop1280,  Oneida, Built to Spill, METZ, Grimes, Fuzz and Moon Duo among a growing list. But adding to a growing profile, CROSSS announced that they had recently signed to Joyful Noise Recordings, who will re-issue the trio’s first two efforts, 2013’s Obsidian Spectre and the aforementioned LO — and they also announced that they’ll be releasing their third full-length effort later on this year. In the meantime, check out “Eye Seance” a doom-laden and lo-fi-leaning dirge  that has the trio pairing rumbling down-tuned bass, enormous power chords with howled vocals in a song that sounds like an existential howl into an indifferent and cruel void.

The band will be embarking on a Stateside tour throughout the end of this month and April, and it includes a NYC area stop. Check out tour dates below.

 

Tour Dates:

3/25-3/26: Indianapolis, IN
3/27: Milwaukee, WI @ Quarters
3/28: Chicago, IL @ Subterranean
4/27: Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha
4/20: Montreal, QC @ La Vitrola
4/21: Boston, MA @ O’Briens
4/22: Brooklyn, NY @ The Acheron
4/23: Philadelphia, PA @ TBA
4/24: Baltimore, MD @ The Crown
4/26: Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place

 

 

 

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Politically Charged Visuals for Charles Bradley’s “Change For the World”

Unsurprisingly, over the past couple of years, Brooklyn-based soul singer, Charles Bradley has not only become a JOVM mainstay, the “Screaming Eagle of Soul” has become a national and international sensation with the release of […]

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

As I’ve mentioned on this site a number of times, the Internet really has proven to be a wonderful place to discover both new music and extremely rare, lost music — and with an increasing ease. Just think about it, the technology that brings this site into your home has contributed to a wild proliferation of independent labels across the world, equally competing against the major conglomerates for your ears, attention and money. And interestingly enough, smaller, independent artists have been much more willing (and able) to take the sort of risks that their larger, monied rivals wouldn’t and couldn’t — i.e., attempting to re-introduce artists, whose work was so wildly ahead its time that audiences at the the time just couldn’t accept it — and yet fill in a musical gap, or seem so current that it was impossible to figure how it was missed; attempting to reintroduce regionally favored artists from a time when hit songs in Milwaukee were often different than hit songs in Atlanta, Baltimore, Des Moines, Minneapolis or New York.

Of course, before the Internet, bulletin boards and social media, much of this material was only known to cultish and dedicated insiders, who would spend their time seeking and collecting long-lost and long-forgotten albums, often hoarding them in private collections or selling them at collector’s shows. The Internet and blogosphere have democratized the process, allowing the average listener and fan a chance to listen and to love some of these long-forgotten wonders. Unsurprisingly, there’s money that can be made from discovering long lost material, and it often results in labels and bloggers mining beloved and influential genres to exhaustion through endless compilations of certain genres — in particular psych rock, AM rock, doo wop, singer/songwriter folk, funk, soul and a few others come to mind.

Now, strangely enough up until last year, there hadn’t been many proto-metal, pre-stoner rock compilations when the Chicago, IL and Los Angeles, CA-based distributor Permanent Records released a compilation of incredibly rare singles from the 60s and 70s on Brown Acid: The First Trip. With the help of Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, Permanent Records co-owner Lance Barresi spent time not just collecting and compiling the singles on the compilation, they also spent a great deal of time tracking down the songs creators, often bands who haven’t been together in over 30 or 40 years, and encouraging them to take part in the entire process.  As Barresi explained in press notes for the first compilation, “All of (these songs) could’ve been huge given the right circumstances. But for one reason or another most of these songs fell flat and were forgotten. However, time has been kind in my opinion and I think these songs are as good now or better than they ever were.“ And by having the artists participate it can give the songs and the artists a real second chance at success, if not some kind of attention.

Barresi and Hall have complied a second volume of rare proto-metal and pre-stoner rock from the 60s and 70s, Brown Acid: The  Second Trip, which is slated (fittingly enough) for release on April 20. The Second Trip‘s first single, Ash’s “Midnight Witch” manages to sound as though it drew from Mountain‘s “Mississippi Queen,” Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” and early Black Sabbath as layers of huge, sludgy and bluesy power chords are paired with a driving rhythm and soulful vocals. And while being forceful, the song manages to possess a trippy feel — and in some way the song nods at material that has been released by a number of contemporary bands including Ecstatic Vision and others.