Bite the Bullet- S/T EP (Bilocation Records CD13)

Bite the Bullet is a new band born out of the ashes of the Danish band Highway Child. This is ¾ of that line up with a new singer (although Paw played all the drums on this EP and not Andreas). This EP contains 5 songs (20mins) and is a teaser for the full length record that will come later this year, I believe. I have seen the band live and they totally kick ass in the same way that HC used to. These songs will remind you of the former band but the neew singer Thomas (sings all the songs except Hit the Ground). I feel Love starts with a keyboard line but then the heavy guitar riff kicks in. This is a band that is out to play kick ass hard rocking music with a slight blues, Led Zeppelin, and psychedelic edge. The first song is a powerful number with some cool guitar soloing by Paw, while Christian lays down the great bass line. Hit the Ground is sung by Christian, I think. IT slows things down and has a more 60’s style feel to it and a cool psychedelic guitar section and a fun chorus section complete with hand claps! Space Drums picks up the pace and has a more psychedelic mix of the guitar and vocals. Killer guitar! I will not Die reminds me a lot of the Flying Eyes and is a slower more melodic track with all three singing backing vocals. The last song is called My Soul and the simple keyboard line reappears and Paw plays trumpet as well. I love the guitar riff on this track and the way the solo part is played. I can’t wait to hear the full length vinyl! Great live band who jam a bit more than on this EP.. Check this out for sure as it totally kicks ass!

http://www.bitethebulletmusic.com http://kozmik-artifactz.com

Danava- Heavy Devils Star Crash: The 2004 Demos (Unseen Forces UF007)

I was really surprised when I saw this one. I really dig this band a lot and they are so cool live. I have not kept up on all their vinyl output but usually bands early material can tend to be the best so I was very curious to hear this. The LP features 4 tracks from the bands 2004 demos and I thought it was all unreleased material but 3 out of the four songs appeared on the bands self-titled full length, in more polished versions. By the Mark starts things off and this is pretty raw, with a very hard edged trebly guitar sound and the way the synth section is mixed it is quite psychedelic. I played the 2006 version right after the first and the song has become more controlled and focused and the sound really different. The basic structure is similar and all the crazy time changes, maybe one extra guitar solo in the new version but still very psychedelic. The vibe of the original is maintained but it is less crazy sounding. Eyes in Disguise starts with a synthesizer arpeggio and then the band really takes off into a fuzzy haze of sound to never return. A very complex track in the end with a much more raw drum sound than on the CD version. Very driven by the in your face guitar! Longdance is also on the debut from 2006 so what about the unreleased track Jack? It is very short and totally different than anything that has every appeared on any of the bands records. A very strange song with funny lyrics. Very simple compared to what the band normally does. Almost like a joke. Anyway, a very cool and intense listening experience.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/DANAVA/212228184445

Circle- Six Day Run (Full Contact Records KRYPT-038)

This is a short soundtrack album for a Finnish movie called Kuuden päivän Juoksu. It features 6 short tracks between 3 and 6 minutes. It was recorded in September 2012. Day One starts with a kraut rock (CAN) style groove with the same guitar line repeated over and over with small modulations but not a whole lot. Day Two starts off a bit spacey and has a driving drum rhythm and a pretty cool guitar line comes in and out throughout the track but never really takes hold and finally at the last minute it all comes together on this floating psychedelic synth boat.  I wonder what is happening in the movie now? Day Three must have been a pretty crazy day as this tracks has a frantic pace. Cool stuff. Flip the record over for Day 4. This also has this quick pace and a really nice guitar line over the grooving bass and drums. Day 5 must have been a really frantic and crazy day as there is sorts of sounds clanging about, different strange synth modes while the bass and drums just keep the track driving like a freight train! Spaced out. Day Six also is pretty frantic but the synth and piano line gives it a more relaxed feel somehow.  This is a damn cool record. I also got the Panic on vinyl recently and that is a fucking strange record and nothing like this one at all. You could not even know it was the same band if you did not know in advance. This record is way cooler.

http://kinotar.com Http://www.facebook.com/sixdayrun http://www.circlefinland.com

Goatess- Goatess (Svart Records SVR199)

Goatess is a new Stockholm based stoner doom band fronted by Christus (Lord Vicar, Terrafirma). This is their debut record of heavy stoner-doom stuff. The opening track Know your Animal is quite uptempo and has a great guitar riff that they build the track on. I was waiting for the guitar solo section but there was never was one and they did all the interesting stuff with the vocal sections, some a little psychedelic. Alpha Omega slows things down to a more and the guitar riff has this special distorted edge at times. It is a longer track very focused on the vocals and lyrics. Ripe ends side A and starts off with the bass line by Findus. Niklas next brings in the slow stoney riff as the drums keep a steady pace. Later it really picks up the pace only to return to the slow very stoned riff in this shorter track that gets quite psyched out at the end. This was the coolest song on the side for sure.  Full moon at Noon starts off side B with a classic stoner rock feel and then the track slows down with some really cool delay guitar and spacey vocals. I really wish Niklas would take the guitar to another level and really let go, even though he plays some really cool stuff it always feels like he is holding back and not just really letting go. Oracle Pt 1-The Mist starts slowly with what sounds like synthesizers or keyboards but I think it is some cool guitar effects and this continues throughout the first part while Christus sings the first section. The Oracle (pt2) is the heavy intense part and more doomy. Side C has the last two tracks starting with King One and this starts with a really cool guitar riff and a killer sound in this slow riffing monster with a bit of delay guitar in the spacey section. Tentacles of Zen closes the record and has a lot of cool lyrics and starts with a sound sample from I Claudius! The end of the track has a very cool eastern guitar theme and gets more and more psyched out. Great ending. Sadly, side D is blank, no music. Such a waste of space and vinyl. Very cool debut record with a mix of stoner, doom and a bit psychedelic at times. If they smoked more they might have made a SLEEP like masterpiece, ha! Enjoy..

http://www.svartrecords.com

Kosmos-Salattu Maailma (Kosmos 004)

The progressive psychedelic folk band Kosmos from Turku, Finland are back with their 4^th self released album. The band has added new and different elements to their sound over the course of the 4 records. The lyrics are all very cosmic and mystic and there is a English translation as the words and stories are very much an important part of appreciating the entire concept of the band.  The album features 7 tracks in 38mins. The opening track (A Hidden World) is a slow and very beautiful number with mellotron, and almost symphonic instrumentation at times. It tells a story of a powerful like dream like state. Seashell and it also features mellotron and Kari introduces the flute as well as acoustic guitar. Incantation is a simple acoustic track that features Jukka on the violin. The Mirror is a shorter track and again with a small flute section. Päivi sings beautifully. The Wind is a 7 min track that starts off very spacey and then goes into an acoustic section and slowly the mellotron enters again and then the violin after the vocal section. A Dream features Juha and Timo doing spoken words and does not feature Päivi. IT does start very spacey and with glockenspiel and mellotron. Pretty trippy song as I love the spoken Finnish language. Back to the Stream is the last track and features Olli on different hand drums-percussion instruments and goes back to the more symphonic theme that the album started with. This is a very interesting group of musicians as nearly every song is written by a different person and total of 10 different people play or speak on the record. I really love the artwork cover and layout on the vinyl record gatefold. Fantastic! Another very nice and cool release to crank up on a Sunday morning or late at night to relax and drift away to another world, where there is no war, no poverty, people dream and sleep well at night without stress and wake up with a smile on their face next to the one they love!

http://www.nic.fi/~ovaltone

White Sails- White Sails 7” (Fruits de Mer WINKLE11)

This is a group of US and Finnish folks making some pretty cool psychedelic music. The first two tracks are the mellow and beautiful Black Sabbath songs Laguna Sunrise and Fluff! I quite like the added slide guitar to Laguna Sunrise to give it a slightly different feel. Fluff doesn’t quite have the same elaborate instrumentation but they get the right vibe across in this beautiful take. The sound production is not very analog but a very clear sound despite the lack of organic feeling. Nice version. The instrumental track by Ville was excellent and probably my favourite track of these four. Really nice guitar playing on it. Leigh wrote the next track, Death on a Pale Horse, which also features some excellent guitar playing. Another winner from Fruits de Mer!

http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com

Vágtázò Hallottkémek-Veled Haraptat csillagot! (Full Contact Records KRYPT-034)

The Galloping Coroners are back with another record, the first one in ages. I still remember when my friend Carl got Hammering at the Gates of Nothingness from Freak Emporium in 1994 and it totally blew us away! The main man from VHK, Grandpierre has made a few records with the Galloping Wonder Stags but not this group in quite some time. The musicians are also totally different and only the bass player remains from the old line up of the band from the 90s. Anyway, there are 7 long tracks on the record with a lot of spoken and sung words telling really far out and interesting stories, like North American shaman stuff mixed with astrophysical universe and reality. Handshake opens the record is a cool piece with a more folky guitar line and lots of lyrics and is pretty relaxed.  The next two tracks are more upbeat, Falling into Love and the short The Celebration of Life which is really fast. Inner Universe finished side A with a more laid back psychedelic feeling and acoustic guitar to start but then it gains in intensity as towards the end. Moons towards east is more like the opening track of the first side and is quite melodic to start but builds up in intensity. Winged Sky is probably my favourite track on the record as it mixes all the elements of what the band does best. The Hun Brotherhood ends this record. The music is nearly as wild, crazy as the past records but it still is really psychedelic as you can’t really understand what he is going on about with such passion, while the band plays a mix of folky, tranced out music in the background. Far out stuff from Hungary! What a surprise to hear another record by these guys. I wonder if they will tour.

http://www.ektrorecords.com https://myspace.com/gallopingcoroners

The Lone Crows- The Lone Crows (World in Sound WIS-3018)

This young American band from Minneapolis really caught me off guard! Who would have thought these young kids would make a killer record of 70s style blues rock! The CD features 9 tracks in 48mins. This one caught me off guard for sure as these young kids really rock. The opening track is a fast paced track called Lone Crow with a good rocking riff and some powerful vocals and nice solos. Can’t go Home Again has a hard edge but bluesy feel to it. Heard you Call slows things down and shows the more bluesy side of the band and it is a brilliant song highly inspired by Black Magic Woman. It has some really beautiful guitar playing. These guys have the correct influences. You got Nothing is another well crafted 70s style rock song with passionate singing and cool guitar riffs! Moonshine brings back the blues again. The Ghost is an instrumental jam track that fades in and the band just has a cool jam. When I move On has some great stuff but seems like an aborted track or something. I dug the riff and the solos but only one vocal section and then a solo and over.. Hum… The Crawl is one of the heaviest riffs on the record on this slower track,which really rocks at the end. Running through my Head closes this excellent record with another bluesy rocker. I am pretty amazed by these young guys. They have written a great set of mature songs. My only complaint is the production is a bit too clean and digital some how.. Cool record and one I have played many times.

http://www.worldinsound.com

Shooting Guns- Spectral Laundromat (Dub Ditch Picnic 1971.038)

I think I read about these guys on The Obelisk and then the tape came in the mail. There are five tracks on the tape and some quite long. It starts off with Deepest Purple (for Krang) which has a very spaced out guitar that is quite loud to start as the band really takes off into space with a crazy mix of keyboards and the two guitars. It is a bit chaotic at times but always moving in the right direction with some intense guitar soloing towards the end of this track. Really rawking and raw stuff. Sitting in the Car, Thinking slows things down is more spacey and slow with some cool guitar and quite psychedelic and floating. Trans Nite is a slower very spacey drone track with a steady build. Quite dreamy. Now you need to flip the tape for Heads Blues. A slow stoned blues track that gradually becomes a bit doomy and very spacey. This is a really cool song (jam). Flair starts with a like false start on the tape and then it starts again and starts with a huge guitar riff and then the 2^nd guitar joins in, and then the rest join as the track just gets more and more massive and intense and then the lead guitar kicks in for a while and then it returns to the heavy wall of sound vibrating vibe. A cool new band. I look forward to hearing more by these guys.

http://www.shootingguns.ca

Queen Elephantine- Scarab (Cosmic Eye EYE005)

It has been some time since I have heard these guys. I liked the stuff on the split with Sons of Otis. The album features 4 tracks and was recorded on a single day in May 2012.  Veil starts things off is a slow steady drum rhythm and a bit of an eastern drone going on in the background. This album was mastered by Billy Anderson, so this usually gives a pretty massive sound when cranked up. Make sure you play it loud otherwise you miss the small details that are sprinkled into the soundscape. It takes a couple of minutes before the guitar kicks in with a strange riff. It builds up and the two drummers get faster and faster and then returns to the slow doomy evil drone and vocal comes in. Crone takes up the rest of the side and is a very slow track with spacey sounds and stuff, good for a slow evil torture scene in a horror film. One must be very patient otherwise you could get pretty bored as this is really slow stuff. The vocal comes back and the end part gets more intense. Reminds me a bit of Dark Budda Rising but it does not have such a massive sound or presence. The end is just plain strange and trippy. A very unique band and sound. Flip the record over for Snake, which starts quite slow but the vocals come in nearly right away. This is like 20 beats a minute stuff so be patient and crawl like a snake as you reach for your bong…. Clear light of the Unborn is another close to 10min track that ends this slow, doom drone stoned experience. It starts with a lot of voices all mixed in a far out like chant that gets more far out and then the music kicks in and that same disturbing horror siren that you have heard on a few of the other songs makes you feel like death is coming soon and someone will appear from behind the bathroom door and stab you to death and you will bleed, bleed black blood that will ooze into the next room and out into the yard and down the street and into the ocean……………..

http://www.musicbazz.com http://www.soundeffect-records.gr

Dead Ranch- Birds of Pray (Praire Fire Tapes)

Never heard these four guys Canadian guys. The artwork on this cassette is really cool. Done by Randy at http://www.damnthedesign.com . This tape is the bands demo from June 2012. They have a new song on their band camp site you can check out and you can download this album for free. Electric Yellow starts things off and has a super cool guitar riff and intense energy. A mix of a punky attitude and thrash. The singer is mixed really low so you can’t really hear him very clearly but he is shouting and angry as well. Konan is another speedy raw track but it slows up towards the end. Touch Fuzzy,Get Dizzy starts very slowly and then gets totally crazy and then a heavy guitar riff kicks in and the band just takes off at break neck speed. This one gets pretty psyched out at the end with some crazy sounds mixed in with the guitar riff. The next two tracks are listed as demos. Pheromone and Attack of the Sky Creatures.  They have a slightly different sound production. This is a fun punky thrashy angry release. Amazing energy and cool guitar riffing.

http://www.prairiefiretapes.com  http://deadranch.bandcamp.com/

Solitude- So came Restless Night (Electric Magic Records EMCD05)

Solitude is the solo project of Christian Peters (Samsara Blues Experiment). This CD was originally released as a CD-R in limited numbers in 2009 but is now out in 500 CDs. It features 9 tracks with limited drums or percussion of cool guitar, sitar space outs. Morninghope is a  long and well developed track with lots of cool layers of spaced out sounds and melodic guitars. Awakening is one of the relaxing sitar ragas. I really like the Albatross with the deep bass drone, mandolin, and beautiful acoustic guitar. Ballad of the Black Swan brings the sitar back and is one of the longer tracks with some very cool spaced out parts. This reminds me a bit of one of the pieces on my own, West, Space and Love LP.  Farwell to Elisabeth is a longer piece where the synth drone plays a major role in the song while he plays beautiful guitar over the top. Voices of the Forest is primarily acoustic guitar but some synth layers float in. I like the echo effect, it makes it quite psychedelic. All that’s left Behind ends this very cool record and is a short piece and the only one with vocals. Lovely record. Fans of Lamp of the Universe will probably like this one.

http://www.electricmagic.de/

Stay- Mersey Dream 7” (Fruits de Mer WINKLE10)

This is a really excellent 7” by a Spanish group. The opening Mersey Dream track (the only non-cover song) has a super groovy 60’s beat sound and reminds me of Mandragora Lightshow Society. The next tracks are all covers including Guess I was Dreaming (The Fairytales), If I needed Someone (The Beatles) and I see the Rain (Marmalade). All three are very well done and I was only familiar with the Beatles track and my daughter who is a big Beatles fan thought they did a good job. Cool 7”.

http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com

Hogslayer (Prairie Fire Tapes PF-055)

Hogslayer is a sludge heavy as hell four piece from the UK. This tape contains 9 tracks and was the bands demo from November 2012. On their bandcamp site they have rerecorded a couple of these tracks (Down the Barrel and Right to Remain) in 2013. Nightfall on No Man’s Land starts things off and is very heavy riffing stuff with powerful angry vocals. Down the Barrel continues the heavy assault. A Grudge in the key of Sludge gives you head another battering. Phew.. heavy intense stuff….. I will not describe the rest as these guys are too much for me… Fans of CONAN, EyehateGOD, and heavy shit like that will dig their heavy riffing (no solos) sludge…

http://www.hogslayer.co.uk http://www.prairiefiretapes.com

Electric Orange- Live at Roadburn 2012 (MPL 911)

I did not even have any idea this was coming our had come out and just stumbled across it. I was at this show and really enjoyed it a lot. This was one of the few really psychedelic things this day. The band was stripped down to a four piece for this show and it features 4 tracks running about 45mins. Raumschaf starts slowly with some delay guitar and a very spacey vibe as the bass player and drummer just keep it slow and building and the focus is on the spaced out guitar. Murk is a much darker and heavier track but also slow and building. The band really starts to take off on the next side. Side B starts off with the groovey and spacey track Sunaut. Donocord starts with some really spaced out synthesizer solos as the piece slowly builds and the guitar comes in with a great wall of fuzz and wah and later the vocals kick in as it gets pretty intense. Great psyched out track and good way to end this LP.

http://www.electric-orange.com/