Making Of A Mountain

24 minutes of riff-heavy instrumental euphoria by Polish stoner sludgelords Major Kong. It's a pretty amazing debut - a totally listenable garage jam of a record that one could easily be convinced was an unrehearsed one-take demo session. Still, the "songs" each bring something different to the table, not only in basic riffage but in simple progressive grooviness - the opener "Witches" is a standard sludge track while the next song begins to tinker with time signatures and effects, leading to "The Swamp Altar", a blues-drenched jam that would make Orange Goblin or Electric Wizard proud. The seven-minute closer is a worthwhile culmination of feedback and wah-wah, the jam actually feels like it finishes... A really nice record, the drums sound absolutely amazing bar none, the fucking recording is worth listening to just for them. Enjoy.

I don't give a hoot in Hell how you do it, you just get me to the Primary, ya hear!

42:19

There was a time a few years ago when I was really obsessed with long songs. Not necessarily random live jams (being a long time Hendrix and Ween fan there's more than enough familiarity with those) but in-the-studio recordings that could have simply been ambitious one-shot attempts or legitimate rehearsed epics. Japanese sludgelords Corrupted were the first band whose longer material I really enjoyed - it seemed cohesive and intentional. Other bands, mostly bleak doom and drone come to mind, Argentinum Astrum, Khanate, Otesanek, etc etc. I recently discovered this 2011 release by Jersey supergroup trio The Atomic Bitchwax. 42 minutes of back-to-back stoner riffs straight out of the late 1970's. Do I think it really needed to be all one track? No, but there's enough variety to keep it extremely listenable and if your attention starts to fade, have faith, you'll eventually hear something new to hook you. All your rock gods are paid homage to in this one, so grab your well worn bell-bottoms out of the attic and enjoy. 

The Local Fuzz

Bog

Groovy-as-fuck stoner sludge rock from Utica, NY (of all places), III is an unheralded lo-fi masterpiece of weird post metal random rock goodness. Difficult to properly categorize, the 70-minute record is much like a concept album, just hit [play] and zone out for a good long while. The crunching finale "Destroy The Hive" is an amazing piece of work - perfect way to wrap it all up. The band has relocated to the much more respectable borough of Brooklyn and they urge you to spend some of your hard-earned duckets here. Enjoy.

Eggnogg

NoVA Stoners

Two posts in two days? No the world isn't ending, I've actually just got a couple minutes and figured what the fuck. Driving home from band practice... er... rehearsal... tonight this little gem popped on the ol' iPod. Solid stoner rock from fellow Virginians King Giant. Hailing from Arlington waaaay up nawth state, this six-song demo from 2006 showcases a groovy southern sludge sound that easily benefits from the DIY production. The closer "Mourning" is the clincher - a fucking awesome tune that reminds me of Hail!Hornet or other such swampy ilk. I think as a whole the band would benefit from some better vocals - to me the lyrics seem a tad forced (and kinda hokey) but hey, that's what the fuck a demo is for, no? There's actually a "real" cover to this demo, I just dug their Heineken logo a lot more. If you likey, the band's website is here. Enjoy.

Deathstyle

Currently watching: Mondo New York

Currently listening to: Dead Kennedys Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death

What a week...

 

(from their record label...) Shepherd was founded during the depressive and cold winter of 2001/2002 out of four individuals who share their fascination and love for true classic slow moving rock. Egos have been kept outside and the guys started to play. So the story goes: rehearsals went pretty good, gigs followed. Among building a fanbase around their hometown Berlin they slayed crowds at 2002's acclaimed Stoned From The Underground festival as well as on tour with the Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley's drone outfit Sunn O))) and top-notch noise heroes Isis.

After the critically acclaimed debut Laments (2003), the guys locked themselves in the studio and recorded nine tracks that demonstrate a huge step forward and a new direction. Shepherd kicked in their 70's riffrock beliefs and noise/sludge influences. Whilst still immersed a hundred feet deep in doom tradition, they opened their hearts to the likes of Trapeze and Zeppelin on one hand, and the sick, slow-moving sludge of Grief and 13 on the other. Shepherd brought these new touchstones together and The Coldest Day's completely new sound was the result.

This album is one of the few that is a complete listen from start to finish. Sure, some parts are better then others ("Wednesday" is a real standout) but it flows nicely from one day to another like a bad dream. "Doomsday" is just a miserably depressing 17-minute dirge of noise and babbling, prefect background noise for a suicide. Great for a long drive or standing in line at the post office. The band broke up in 2004, RIP.

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