Stoner rock – Page 9 – 7th Level Music

RidingEasy Records is reissuing Randy Holden’s rare 1970 doom metal album – “Population II.”

RidingEasy Records proudly announce the official reissue on physical and digital formats of the extremely rare 1970 proto-metal album Randy Holden – Population II. Considered one of the first doom metal albums ever, the ex-Blue Cheer guitarist’s solo debut has long been sought out by collectors. The remastered full length will be available on all streaming platforms for the first time, with a master more true to the original mix on LP, CD and streaming.

This weekend, Saturday December 21st, Holden will perform a rare live show at the Whiskey A-Go-Go in L.A. supported by drummer Mario Rubalcaba (Earthless, RFTC, OFF!) It will be a career-spanning set featuring songs from the Fender IV, the Sons of Adam, the Other Half, Blue Cheer, and his solo work, including Population II. Tickets and info HERE.

“Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open.”

To hear Randy Holden describe the audience’s reaction in 1969 to his solo debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps is about as close as many of us will get to truly experience the moment heavy metal music morphed into existence. However, at last we have unearthed the proper fossil record.
Population II, the now legendary, extremely rare album by guitarist/vocalist Holden and drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed is considered to be one of the earliest examples of doom metal. Though its original release was a very limited in number and distribution, like all great records, its impact over time has continued to grow.

In 1969, Holden, fresh off his tenure with proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer (appearing on one side of the New! Improved! Blue Cheer album and touring for the better part of a year in the group), aimed for more control over his band. Thus, Randy Holden – Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present.

“I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before,” Holden explains. “I was interested in discordant sounds that could be melodic but gigantically huge. I rented an Opera house for rehearsal, set up with 16 Sunn amps. That’s what I was going for, way over the top.”
And over the top it is. The 6-song album delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It’s incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic, sensibility.

“At the time, I was hearing these crazy melodies everywhere I went,” Holden says. “I thought I was going crazy.” For example, one day he slowly rooted out a powerful sound that had been nagging him and discovered it coming from a ceiling fan. “Machinery all around us doesn’t turn in a perfect rhythm. That’s what I was tuning into, I heard the music and the discordant sounds coming from the machinery. It was perfect for rendering the machine we built.”

Troubles with the album’s release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. It was bootlegged several times over the years, but until now hasn’t seen a proper remaster and has yet to be available on digital platforms. “The original mastering just destroyed the dynamics of it,” Holden says. “They flattened it out. Now we got a really nice remaster that should be the closest thing to the original recording.”

Population II will be available on LP, CD and download on February 28th, 2020 via RidingEasy Records.

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The Well announce winter tour dates through the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Europe.

Austin trio The Well announce yet another round of North American, EU and UK tour dates in support of their critically acclaimed new album Death and Consolation (RidingEasy Records.) The band has spent much of the year on tour, and now continue the trek into 2020, sharing some US dates with label mates Zig-Zags and R.I.P. These will be The Well’s first ever tour in the UK, having only played London’s DesertFest in 2019, and fans’ first opportunity to see the band performing songs from the new album. Please see all dates below.
The band also recently shared a new video via Brooklyn Vegan. Watch & share the 4K UHD video for album track “Raven” which was directed, shot and edited by William Orendorff HERE. (YouTube.) Death and Consolation is without a doubt a weighty album title. And, The Well is among the heaviest heavy psych bands in existence. So when we say that there’s even more darkness and intensity to the band’s third album than previous efforts, take heed. It’s a deep sea diving bell of enveloping heaviness and longing.

“This one is a little more personal,” says guitarist/vocalist Ian Graham. “2018 was a strange, dark year. A lot of change going on in my life, there was a lot of depression and coming out of it over the last year. I wanted to call this Death and Consolation, because in life that’s a constant.”
While The Well continue to walk an intriguing line between authentic early 70s doom/heavy psych and frayed weirdness of dark folk – especially with their haunting unison male/female vocals – the new album also adds the stark vibe of post-punk acts like Joy Division and early The Cure. “I feel like this album is almost more gothic. We’re big fans of post-punk,” Graham says. There’s also much less jamming, the songs are tight and concise. And, did we mention, heavy? The band tuned down a full step to C-standard tuning for this album, which gives the proceedings its monstrous sound.

Sonically, Death and Consolation picks up where The Well — Graham, bassist/vocalist Lisa Alley and drummer Jason Sullivan — left off with their widely heralded 2016 RidingEasy album Pagan Science. The band once again recorded with longtime producer/engineer Chico Jones at Estuary Studio in 2018, who has turned the knobs for all three of their albums (Jones engineered the band’s debut album Samsara with producer Mark Deutrom [Melvins, Sunn0)))] in 2013.) Samsara, released late September 2014 was ranked the #1 debut album of 2014 by The Obelisk and Pagan Science among the Best of 2016 from the Doom Charts collective. Likewise, the band’s intense — some even say “possessed” — live performances have earned them featured slots at Austin’s Levitation Fest, as well as tours with Kadavar, All Them Witches, Black Tusk and more.

“This album might be a little less produced, because I didn’t want to push technical stuff as much,” Graham says. “I’m so scared of getting too complicated when getting better at guitar. This is still kind of punk rock.”

Death and Consolation is available on LP, CD and download via RidingEasy Records. Orders are available HERE.

THE WELL TOUR 2020: 01/22 – Milan, IT @ Ligera 01/23 – Bologna, IT @ Freakout 01/24 – Turin, IT @ Ziggy 01/26 – Lille, FR @ La Bulle Cafe 01/27 – Tours, FR @ Le Canadian Cafe 01/28 – Nantes, FR @ La Scene Michelet 01/29 – Bordeaux, FR @ Les Voutes 01/30 – Dijon, FR @ Peniche Cancale 01/31 – Rennes, FR @ Le Melies 02/01 – Paris, FR @ Espace B 02/03 – Brighton, UK @ Hope & Ruin 02/04 – Milton Keyes, UK @ The Craufurd Arms 02/05 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast 02/07 – London, UK @ Black Heart 02/08 – Bree, BE @ Ragnarok 02/09 – Berlin, DE @ Zukunft am Ostkreuz 02/10 – Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse
02/19 – El Paso, TX @ Monarch 02/20 – Phoenix, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room 02/21 – San Diego, CA @ Til Two Club *02/22 – Oceanside, CA @ The Pourhouse *02/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ Permanent Records Roadhouse *02/25 – San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout 02/26 – Nevada City, CA @ The Brick 02/27 – Portland, OR @ High Water Mark +02/28 – Seattle, WA @ Substation +02/29 – Vancouver, BC @ TBA +03/02 – Kalispell, MT @ Old School Records 03/03 – Missoula, MT @ TBA 03/04 – Boise, ID @ The Shredder 03/05 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court 03/06 – Denver, CO @ Streets of London 03/07 – Albuquerque, NM @ The Launchpad
* w/ Zig-Zags+ w/ R.I.P.

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All Them Witches unload heavy new single, “1×1,” ahead of European tour.

Nashvilly psych-rockers All Them Witches have released a new single, “1×1,” ahead of a European tour with Ghost and Tribulation and well as three shows to finish the year at Nashville’s Exit/In. Tour dates are below.

The new single is almost doom metal in its weight and is available on most streaming services. Give it a listen. It’s great.

NOV 16 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham, United Kingdom
NOV 17 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff, United Kingdom
NOV 18 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow, United Kingdom
NOV 20 – 3Arena – Dublin, Ireland
NOV 22 – The SSE Arena, Wembley – London, United Kingdom
NOV 23 – First Direct Arena – Leeds, United Kingdom
NOV 25 – Black Box Pangea – Kobenhavn, Denmark
NOV 28 – Hartwall Arena – Helsinki, Finland
NOV 30 – Spodek – Katowice, Poland
DEC 1 – Universum – Prague, Czech Republic
DEC 3 – BSA – Budapest, Hungary
DEC 4 – Močvara – Zagreb, Croatia
DEC 5 – Palabam – Mantova, Italy
DEC 6 – Halle 622 – Zürich, Switzerland
DEC 8 – Palau Sant Jordi – Barcelona, Spain
DEC 10 – Altice Arena – Lisboa, Portugal
DEC 11 – WiZink Center – Madrid, Spain
DEC 13 – Zenith Of Strasbourg – Strasbourg, France
DEC 14 – Stattbahnhof – Schweinfurt, Germany
DEC 15 – Zenith – München, Germany
DEC 17 – Rockhal – Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
DEC 18 – Zenith Nantes Metropole – Saint-herblain, France
DEC 19 – Zénith de Toulouse – Toulouse, France
DEC 27 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
DEC 28 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN
DEC 29 – Exit/In – Nashville, TN

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Review: Holy Serpent – Endless

Despite the hot (literal and figurative) cover image of two naked women standing in a dried out lake and staring at fiery horizon, Endless, the third album from Australia’s Holy Serpent (Dave Bartlett – bass, Nick Donoughue – guitar, Lance Leembruggen – drums, Scott Penberthy – guitar / vocals) is heavy on ocean imagery. Stories of coasts, waves, sea trenches, undertow, and frightening denizens of the deep are all over the doom metal album. It almost threatens to drown you.

Penberthy has said that the album’s title refers to the endless nature of the ocean and the story of two lovers standing on opposite sides of an ocean as they long for each other is weaved through the lyrics. The opening track, “Lord Deceptor,” is heavy fuzz with giant tortoise-level sludge prowling along its edges while Penberthy sings about ocean graves. “Into the Fire” is perhaps the story of the two women on the cover or the tale of sailing straight into a blazing sunset at sea (“Where the ocean meets the sky, I’ll be waiting…”). It’s a blistering track either way with Bartlett’s bass growling like a wild animal and Leembruggen’s drums smashing like an icebreaker.

The guitars on “Daughter of Light” push against the reverb-laden vocals while Leembruggen’s cymbals crash like waves against sharp rocks. I once described “For No One” as a tidal wave you see coming but can’t avoid. It’s a monster bearing down on you and there’s nothing to do but let it wash over you. Penberthy’s vocals sound like he’s tumbling inside the wave while Donoughue, Leembruggen, and Barlett sould like a shark racing up to meet him. The title of the final track “Marijuana Trench” is a play on “Mariana Trench” – the deepest place on Earth. It starts with acoustic guitar chords and sea shell-echo lyrics before space rock guitars zoom in and flatten you.

Endless is practically a soundtrack for a modern Conan movie if someone finally decided to shoot a movie about the famous Cimmerian’s adventures at sea. Someone should get on that, and you should hear this record.

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Holy Serpent’s new single, “For No One,” is like a tidal wave you see coming but can’t avoid.

Australian quartet Holy Serpent share a new track from their forthcoming third album Endless on RidingEasy Records today via CvltNation. Hear and share “For No One” HERE. (Direct YouTube.)

Brooklyn Vegan recently hosted lead single “Lord Deceptor” HERE.(Direct YouTube.)

The Obelisk launched “Hourglass” HERE.

The forthcoming third album by Melbourne, Australia’s Holy Serpent could likely be its defining moment. Seemingly bottomless in its relentless heft, with billowing and suffocating riffs leading glistening melodies, it’s the sound of a band that has locked on to something unique. Endless is fully conceptualized throughout, encapsulating an oceanic theme from the lyrics and art, even to the very structure of the sounds themselves.

“Lyrically, it’s heavily influenced by the ocean,” explains vocalist/guitarist Scott Penberthy. “Lots of ocean metaphors and imagery was used. Also the title of the album Endless, is an homage to the ocean: Its mystery, power and its ability to give and take life.” The album loosely follows the lyrical theme of two lovers, oceans apart, waiting for each other on the shores of eternity. Their love is so strong, they eventually walk into the water, ending their lives to be together in the afterlife.

Fitting to these themes, the band experiments with sound throughout the album, such as layering in a wobbly synth sound reminiscent of tape push and pull, mixed just loud enough to blend with the instruments. “It’s sort of a haunting sound which gives the album an ebb and flow, much like an ocean’s current or tide,” Penberthy says.

The 6-song, 40-minute album finds Penberthy, guitarist Nick Donoughue, bassist Dave Bartlett and drummer Lance Leembruggen expanding their melodic hooks while simultaneously taking listeners on a rigorous journey. It was written over the course of 2 months, then recorded in seclusion at Beveridge Road Recording Studios near Australia’s beautiful Dandenong Ranges with head engineer Marc Russo and mixed by Mike Deslandes. Surrounding themselves with nature and no distractions allowed the band to focus on every detail of the album as a coherent whole.

In the time since their self-titled RidingEasy debut in mid-2015, Melbourne, Australia’s Holy Serpent have gained a lot of attention for their rather punk version of heavy psych and metal. Their 2016 skate-metal leaning album Temples further defined their more experimental blend of early Soundgarden, Saint Vitus and Kyuss that eschews simplistic 70s-worship in favor of shimmering sonics and uncommon production techniques. Nonetheless, Endless is like all of the band’s earliest visions fully realized and honed into an album beyond easy classification.

Starting with the slow, exaggeratedly compressed 4/4 drum lead in to “Lord Deceptor” — something of a hi-dive anticipation before we plunge headlong into the ensuing depths — crushing and crackling guitars burst in as Penberthy sings in low baritone, “ocean grave, carry me upon a wave / I’m hypnotized in prophecy, what Is left for you and me?” Harmonies drift in and out of the main motif as it sways along into the tempest of “Into The Fire.” Here, a churning riff gathers intensity as the rhythm section builds to a lurching 3/4 time. Reverb-soaked vocals sing, “where the ocean meets the sand, I’ll be waiting, I’ll be waiting there.” Elsewhere, on “For No One,” impossibly low droptuned guitars slink along as the music swells with space rock abandon. Album closer, “Marijuana Trench” is a play on the Mariana trench, the deepest place on earth. Appropriately, the song plunges from gently strummed acoustic guitar into a tsunami crest that pulls the listener under the dark and enveloping weight of sound as Penberthy’s soothing vocals seem to ease us into the end, subsumed in the album’s powerful allure.

Endless will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on October 18th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Preorders are available HERE.

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Review: Blackwater Holylight – Veils of Winter

Mixing power doom riffs with shoegaze, psychedelia, and, for all I know, mystic rituals carved onto pillars in Atlantean ruins, Blackwater Holylight‘s second album, Veils of Winter, is another fine, mysterious, heavy album from them.

The opener, “Seeping Secrets,” is doom metal perfection, and those doom metal riffs continue onto “Motorcycle” – which even puts into krautrock beats and synths. “Spiders” is so close to post-punk grooves that I kept expecting to hear a saxophone solo in it. We get spooky house synths instead, which is even better.

“The Protector” seems to be about some sort of forest spirit that is an absolute beast if crossed. The heavy drums and fuzzed guitars sure seem to indicate this. The haunting vocal harmonies on “Daylight” are counterbalanced by war hammer bass and drums. “Death Realms” has a foreboding title, but it’s a lovely track with some of the brightest guitars on the record and dreamwave-like synths. It’s a great example of Blackwater Holylight‘s love of musical contrasts and toying with the listener’s expectations.

“Lullaby” has a hypnotic, repeating three-note structure that builds into a lush, trippy track with a neat fuzzy punch near the end. The album’s closer, “Moonlit,” combines psychedelia with Middle Eastern rhythms and more fascinating vocal harmonies.

I’ve tried to figure out what “veils of winter” could be. The first image that came to mind was a winter day with a cloudless sky and bright sun but bone chilling temperatures. The sun is a veil over the cold. Another was a moonlit winter night over a snow-covered landscape with the moonlight reflecting off the snow to push back the veil of the surrounding dark.

I could also be reading far too much into the album’s title, but those images that came to my mind seem fitting for Blackwater Holylight’s music. They veil and unveil their musical influences throughout Veils of Winter whenever the mood strikes them. It becomes mysterious, thrilling, and sometimes chilling.

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Review: Weeping Icon (self-titled)

Noise rock is a weird genre. The name itself is appropriate for some, oxymoronic for others. There are plenty of bands out there blending distortion and noise with unintelligible vocals, but few that do it in a way that intrigues the listener and doesn’t make them think, “What is that racket?”

Brooklyn’s Weeping Icon is such a band. Their self-titled debut is a fascinating mix of noise rock, punk, shoegaze, synthwave, and other things I can’t define. The cover image is a wild piece of art showing waves of…something (Sound? Images? Psychic projections? All three?) emanating from two skulls to form things that resemble cityscapes, forests, cemeteries, nuclear explosion test footage, and dust clouds in the hearts of galaxies.

The songs on the album sway back and forth between short, dystopian future instrumentals and full-length tracks with vocals. “Ankles” bursts at the seams with pounding riffs, drums from Lani Combier-Kapel that sound like they’re falling down a flight of stairs at one point (and I mean that in the best possible way – How does she produce those wild, weird fills?), and vocals on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The pedal-to-the-metal groove of “Be Anti” has singer / guitarist Sara Fantry wondering how to stand up against the establishment and whom to blame for her troubles (instead of looking in the mirror). The whole album explores concepts like this – lives lived online, addiction to technology, the fake self we project to hundreds (if not millions) of people we’ve never met.

“Ripe for Consumption” is a fine example of this, too. We make ourselves easy prey for Madison Avenue. Fantry’s guitar launches like a drag strip car and never stops through the whole track, an effect that really flows through the entire album with the instrumentals linking each track. “Natural Selection” is near goth perfection with its haunted house synths from Sarah Lutkenhaus, Bauhaus guitars, and often hissed vocals from Fantry about a corporate goon discussing how it’s not up to him to fix problems he didn’t create. “Power Trip” brings back punk anger and guitars that hit like hammers on anvils.

Sarah Reinhold‘s crispy yet creepy bass opens “Like Envy” – a witty song about a social media addict who learns too late that she’s lost her sense of self by giving away bits of herself every day at 11am and 3pm. The song builds to an eye-watering speed as Fantry chants, “Do you like my content?” The opening fuzz of “Control” sounds like some sort of rock crushing machinery that’s been set on fire. Fantry’s guitar comes in with stoner metal riffs to keep the fire at bay, however, and Combier-Kapel hits her cymbals so hard that I wouldn’t be surprised if she broke them and at least two sticks doing it.

Weeping Icon have become a must-see band for me thanks to this record. It’s a powerhouse of an album and a kidney punch to the expectations (self-imposed and from others) of modern social life.

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Review: Acid King – Busse Woods (2019 reissue)

I grew up in a small town. We lived across the street from the more expensive lake houses and next to a woods that was part of a pine tree farm. I spent many hours in that woods, crafting stories, searching for treasure, fighting imaginary battles, and listening for monsters. Every kid has a place like this, and for the members of stoner metal legends Acid King (Brian Hill – bass, Joey Osbourne – drums, Lori S. – vocals and guitar) it was Busse Woods.

Their 1999 album has received a full reissue from RidingEasy Records to celebrate Busse Woods‘ twentieth anniversary. The album has become almost a mystical tome in the last two decades with its tales of nature’s power over man, creepy things in the shadows of old trees, and good ole fashioned heavy riffs.

The opener, “Electric Machine,” has such heavy bass thumps that you’d think a giant was tap dancing next to you. “Silent Circle” starts with a guitar riff that’s like a burning trail of gasoline heading straight for an ammunition warehouse. It only gets louder and heavier from there. “Tell all the people I’m on my way. There is no tomorrow for me…Silent circle breaks the chain,” Lori S. sings. It’s a song about death, at least on its surface, but it might also be a song about resurrection – whether that resurrection is beneficial or harmful to her (or mankind, perhaps) is up to the interpretation of the listener.

The title of “Drive Fast, Take Chances” is certainly a reflection on the band’s wild times in Busse Woods not far from their Illinois hometown, smoking weed, listening to metal, and ditching school and the cops. The riffs and drums on it are as heavy as the fallen trees in their favorite stomping grounds. An unexpected treat is Acid King’s cover of “39 Lashes” from Jesus Christ Superstar. The onslaught of the drums is only outweighed by the battle axe-heavy guitar chords and thunderous bass.

“Carve the Five” starts off with a languid bass line from Brian Hill that lures you into what almost feels like a safe place, but Joey Osbourne’s drum fill at the start of the track is akin to a rattlesnake’s rattle (if that rattlesnake were a giant 8HD variety) warning you to tread carefully. The title track finishes the album with a long instrumental that boils and bubbles like the contents of cauldron.

It’s great that Busse Woods (pronounced “buss-ee,” by the way) is getting a nice reissue for its twentieth anniversary because this album should be even more known than it already is. It’s a bit of a secret classic. Those who know about it revere it. Those who have only heard of it are intrigued by it. Those who don’t know of it are changed after discovering it.

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If you’re already putting together a Halloween playlist, Firebreather’s “Closed Gate” awaits you.

“Firebreather veer towards roaring, High On Fire-esque sludge, and they’ve got the chops and the grit to pull this kind of thing off.” — Brooklyn Vegan

Swedish trio Firebreather share a new track from their forthcoming debut on RidingEasy Records, Under a Blood Moon. Hear and share “Closed Gate” via YouTube.

Brooklyn Vegan previously hosted the lead single “Dancing Flames” HERE.

Fire is what happens when a carbon based object is consumed by oxygen. That chemical reaction is fitting to the sound of Firebreather: The riffs are suffocating, the rhythms fast moving and all-consuming. It’s so blindingly and deafeningly monolithic, don’t be surprised to find yourself gasping for air while listening. The Gothenburg, Sweden trio has a streamlined focus on driving, symphonic riffs in the vein of High on Fire, Inter Arma and their tour- and label-mates Monolord. The guitar and bass tones are, quite simply, entrancing. Like watching flames engulf a forest, the billowing guitar tones are simultaneously beautiful and destructive, while the rhythms sway and lunge with vicious precision.

“It’s riff based, heavy as fuck, but with a groove to it,” explains vocalist/guitarist Mattias Nööjd, formerly of popular Swedish doom merchants Galvano. “We had gotten off a tour with Monolord in February of 2018 and by that time we had the song ‘Firebreather’ done,” but soon thereafter new drummer Axel Wittbeck joined the fold. “Once Axel had joined, it was like the flood gates opened,” says bassist Kyle Pitcher. “The rest of the album just came together.”

Under a Blood Moon was recorded at Elementstudion in Gothenburg with engineer Oskar Karlsson, who also recorded the band’s lauded 2017 self-titled debut on Suicide Records.

Album opener “Dancing Flames” sets the stage for the onslaught to come with a slinking, serpentine riff over slow churning rhythms. Nööjd’s hushed, gravelly vocals sink into the mix, more like a baritone guitar than a human voice. “Our Souls, They Burn” nicely exemplifies the band’s furious grind that makes even faster tempo songs sound impossibly heavy, like a slow motion stampede. Elsewhere, “We Bleed” perfectly sums up the band’s focus on the riff and groove, honing in on the power of hypnotic attrition. Closing epic, “The Siren” opens with lugubrious, slightly swinging drums and rumbling bass building tension over delay- and phaser-soaked guitar harmonics, until a massive, sliding riff crashes headlong into the proceedings. The song seems to cleverly shape shift across several harmonic and rhythmic parts, without losing the core groove underneath. A short pause for breath, then it’s off to the races with a galloping crescendo for succinct closure.

Under a Blood Moon will be available on LP, CD and download September 27th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Preorders are available HERE.

FIREBREATHER LIVE 2019: Sep 20 Gothenburg, SE @ Musikens Hus w/ Halshug Oct 01 Utrecht, NL @ De Helling * Oct 02 Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4 * Oct 03 Pratteln, CH @ Up In Smoke Festival * Oct 04 Reims, FR @ La Cartonnerie * Oct 05 Paris, FR @ Saturday Mud Fever Festival * Oct 07 Dortmund, DE @ Junkyard * Oct 08 Nuremberg, DE @ Z-Bau * Oct 09 Cologne, DE @ Helios 37 * Oct 10 Mainz, DE @ Schon Schon * Oct 11 Hamburg, DE @ Molotow * Oct 16 Oslo, NO @ John Dee * Oct 17 Gothenburg, SE @ Sticky Fingers * Oct 18 Malmo, SE @ Babel * Oct 23 Linkoping, SE @ The Crypt * Oct 24 Stockholm, SE @ Close Up Baten * Oct 25 Tampere, FI @ Olympia * Oct 26 Helsinki, FI @ Nosturi * * w/ Monolord

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Blackwater Holylight take us on a “Motorcycle” ride ahead of their new album – “Veils of Winter.”

“An ambient blend of psychedelic vintage poppy hooks and crushingly heavy sludge.” — Metal Hammer

“This quartet has been burning up stages all around their hometown, fueled by their abrasive blend of doom metal, psych rock, goth and a tangy soupçon of pop music… They landed a spot on the 2018 Best New Band poll in alt-weekly Willamette Week, but could quickly take over the world.” — Paste Magazine

“They mesh elements of doom, Krautrock and atmospheric indie into one bewitching rock whole.” —Classic Rock Magazine

Portland, OR quintet Blackwater Holylight announce their forthcoming sophomore album Veils of Winter (RidingEasy Records) today, sharing the lead single. Hear and share the immediately classic hooks of “Motorcycle” via Bandcamp and YouTube.

Blackwater Holylight hit the road hard this Fall, supporting former RidingEasy label mates Monolord throughout the US in November, as well as Thou in September, plus a handful of hometown shows. Please see complete dates below.

Blackwater Holylight, as the name suggests, is all about contrasts. It’s a fluid convergence of sound that’s heavy, psychedelic, melodic, terrifying and beautiful all at once.

As a heavy band, their songs aren’t anchored to riffs, but rather riffs come and go in waves that surface throughout the band’s meditative, entrancing songs. It’s a hypnotic sound, with orchestral structures that often build tension and intrigue before turning the song on its head — not by simply getting louder or heavier, nor by just layering elements. They expertly subvert the implied heaviness of a part, dissecting it and splaying the song’s guts out to seep across the sonic spectrum.

Now, having toured extensively following the band’s wildly-successful breakout self-titled debut in 2018, Blackwater Holylight has honed their sound and identity to a powerfully captivating beast. Their live set is all about the slow build, seeming to combine the melodic tension of early Sonic Youth crossed with the laconic fever-dream blues of the first Black Sabbath album and wiry experimentation of post-punk and krautrock.

The lineup on this album is Allison (Sunny) Faris (bass/vocals), Laura Hopkins (guitar/vocals) and Sarah McKenna (synths), with new guitarist Mikayla Mayhew and drummer Eliese Dorsay fleshing out their sound in exciting ways.

“The process of this album was vastly different from our first record,” says Faris. “One, because we recorded it over the course of a few weeks, whereas the first record was over the course of about a year. And two, this album was a true collaboration between the five of us. Each of us had extremely equal parts in writing and producing, we all bounced ideas off each together, and we all had a say in what was going on during every part of the process.”

“One of our favorite things about this album is that because it was so collaborative, we didn’t compartmentalize ourselves into one vibe.” She continues. “It’s heavy, psychedelic, pop, shoegaze, doom, grunge, melodic and more. The whole process was extremely organic and natural for us, we were just being ourselves.”

Veils of Winter opens with fuzzed-drenched, drop-tuned bass and baritone guitar leading a dirge riff on “Seeping Secrets.” Faris’ lilting and funereal vocals drop in, adding to the mournful atmosphere until a short turnaround progression hints at changes to come, as Faris and Hopkins harmonize eerily and the tune suddenly turns into a krautrock charge. “Motorcycle” kicks off deceptively with a heavy grunge riff building up for about 40-seconds before the song abruptly shifts gears into a synth-led post-punk harmony, sounding something like Lush meets Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd. “Death Realms” is perhaps the poppiest track, based around soaring shoegaze guitars and interwoven light vocal harmonies. Soft piano notes, occasional woozy whammy bar dives and a driving tom-tom beat solidify its hooks. “Spiders” is a creepy-crawly guitar riff and counterpoint keys, while “Moonlit” explores prog-structures with a shredding guitar solo crescendo. The penultimate track, “Lullaby” is exactly that, a lulling, expansive tune exemplifying Blackwater Holylight’s genre smashing sound as it subtly moves across a vast sonic landscape atop a hypnotic 6/8 beat and repetitive 3-note motif. Throughout the album, their songs shirk traditional verse-chorus-verse structure in favor of fluid, serpentine compositions that move with commanding grace.

Veils of Winter will be available on LP, CD and download on October 11th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available at www.ridingeasyrecs.com.

BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT LIVE 2019: 08/24 Portland, OR @ Star Theater w/ Kadavar, Danava 09/23 Tallahassee, FL @ The Bark # 09/24 Tampa, FL @ The Blue Note # 09/26 Miami, FL @ Las Rosa’s # 09/27 Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub # 09/28 Gainesville, FL @ The Atlantic # 09/29 Pensacola, FL @ Chizuco # 10/24 Portland, OR @ Star Theater – Album release show 11/05 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick * 11/06 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress * 11/07 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister * 11/09 Austin, TX @ Barracuda – Levitation Fest – RidingEasy Stage 11/10 Lafayette, LA @ Freetown Boom Boom Room * 11/11 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks * 11/12 Atlanta, GA @ 529 * 11/13 Asheville, NC @ Mothlight * 11/14 Richmond, VA @ Camel * 11/15 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery * 11/16 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church * 11/17 New York, NY @ Saint Vitus * 11/20 Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s * 11/21 Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Brewing * 11/22 St. Louis, MO @ Fubar * 11/23 Lawrence, KS @ The Bottleneck * 11/25 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater * 11/27 Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom * # w/ Thou * w/ Monolord

Keep your mind open.

[Ride over to the subscription box while you’re here.]