"Lava Lamp Pisco" by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets

It would have been enough good news to know that Psychedelic Porn Crumpets (everyone's favorite tea time soundtrack) will release their fifth album in 2022. But we get more! Specifically, we get the thundering psychedelic jam "Lava Lamp Pisco" just to remind us how good this band is. Follow the droning riff down the crazy wormhole and then go get the single and headbang through the weekend.

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Various links for "Lava Lamp Pisco'

“Back to Nothing” by The Joy Formidable

The Joy Formidable has been making heavy, melodic guitar rock for years, and this new song is a strong indicator for the quality of their upcoming summer release Into the Blue. Lead singer and guitarist Ritzy Bryan says, "Back To Nothing takes a stance on self-compassion, realizing your worth and your boundaries and deciding not to give your love to an undeserving other.” Their trademark sound is Bryan’s clear, strong vocals over swirling guitars and a power trio sound base, and this track has that quality:

 

 

 The album is due out in August, and probably some news about touring will be shared by then. The Joy Formidable have toured arenas with the Foo Fighters and played some huge festivals - their big sound plays well in a big space, so stay tuned. For now, you can add this track on whatever streaming service you use, and enjoy it until they share more music. 

  The Joy Formidable site (pre-order and save)

REISSUE: Cream - Goodbye Tour - Live at the Forum - remastered, new vinyl edition out now

 

Out now on UMe/Polydor is a reissue of the full Cream concert at the Forum from 1968, featuring a heartwarming intro by Buddy Miles and full, well-mastered versions of 9 songs over 4 sides of vinyl that will convince you (or reinforce, if you already were convinced) that Cream live was probably as good as blues-derived rock (which is to say, rock) ever got. The “Crossroads” on here, starting from a standstill and with Eric Clapton singing lead on a cover of his favorite blues artist, is masterful and by itself probably worth the cost of this package. 

I remember having the original Goodbye and Wheels of Fire on, respectively, 8-track and scratchy vinyl hand-me-downs, and have to say that, if your experience is similar, you may want to revisit this music. You will be amazed. There are moments that reveal themselves more clearly here - Jack Bruce’s thundering bass runs on “Crossroads” and Ginger Baker’s crackling drum work on “White Room” among many - that compliment Bruce’s vocals and Eric Clapton’s legendary guitar work and will transport you. In addition to the blue vinyl rendition of the Forum concert, there is also a 4-CD box set containing four concerts from this same time period. I’m so glad this is out of the vault.

Cream Goodbye Tour Vinyl/CD Site

Hooveriii - Water For the Frogs

Hooveriii (Hoover Three) are a 5-piece band from LA, playing heavy psychedelic prog rock with a few twists. Over the course of their latest, Water For the Frogs, they cycle through a variety of sounds. From heavy guitars on “Cindy” and “Hang Em High”, to a drum-driven motorik workout, “Control”, they explore the crossroads of prog and psych. 

   

I love the pace and glorious chaos of "Control" - it's probably my favorite track here. 

Then there’s a super slowed-down number, a cover of Lou Reed's “Shooting Star” that sounds like nothing so much as a doom rock take on Neil Young’s already slowed-down take on Don Gibson’s “Oh Lonesome Me”, only with a treated saxophone in the background (which eventually takes over the song for about a 45 second outro). And another motorik inspired cut, “We’re Both Lawyers” - an instrumental with some tasty, slowly building guitar solos over the barely-controlled tempo of the drumming, until it all speeds up and explodes, then settles back down into the slashing guitar lines that fade into a beeping synthesizer in the close-out. So, while it all fits nicely under the “psychedelic” label, there’s a good bit of variety here, and elements that make it worth coming back to - falsetto vocal choruses, short guitar solos, and a variety of synthesizer sounds pulse in and out of the steady, drum-driven rhythm. 

The penultimate track, “Erasure”, delivers a rollicking 3:45 of drum and guitar blasts:

 

And the whole thing closes out, fittingly, with a 9:53 workout called "Gone" that includes all elements, including the sax, adding a bit of free jazz that, given everything that's come before, is not at all out of place. There's a lot of creativity here and some inspired playing, and the band claims as influences Bowie, Iggy Pop and Soft Machine. Given that this is their first album full of new (nothing from pre-recorded parts) music, it's evident how much fun they had putting this together. And it's a lot of fun to listen to. It’s out now from Reverberation Appreciation Society. 

Hooveriii at Bandcamp

Hooveriii on Instagram

New Metal track - Pentral: “ All My Wounds”

 

Pentral is a Brazilian band playing a slightly different turn on heavy metal. They sing in English and are up front about the message in their music. They are heavy, but melodic. Like most bands, they stand at an intersection between their local (Amazon region) influences and the global music genre they are a part of. And their concerns, while also local, are universal - what is changing, what’s been taken away, and how to cope with forces you cannot hope to counteract alone. 

Or you can just turn it up and throw your hair around. Like all good metal, this is conducive to that. Their latest song is “All My Wounds”, a strong, fast-paced drum-driven track. They’re excellent musicians and play well together. Producer is Tim Palmer, who’s worked with, among others, Ozzy Osbourne and Pearl Jam.

It’s from a forthcoming album What Lies Ahead of Us - available to pre-order now, due for release on May 7. 

Pentral band website

REVIEW: Radio Moscow - Magical Dirt

Radio Moscow is an Iowa power trio - Parker Griggs on vocals and guitar, Anthony Meier on bass and Paul Marrone on drums - playing an alternatively pounding and soaring heavy, blues-inspired psychedelic guitar rock. They're young - the blues, Hendrix and Cream records they make me think of probably belonged to their grandparents - but have talent and a command of this material that would be impressive in someone who had been jamming the blues for 30 years. Griggs has a strong voice that dominates the sound once he joins in, but all the tracks have long, drum/bass/guitar heavy intros and plenty of guitar solos. This is not post-punk, it's not post-anything. It's rock for rock's sake, by a band who knows exactly what they want to do and has continued to improve their ability to do it.

We recently posted "These Days", a new track from Magical Dirt (WYMA post here), and now the album is available (out June 17 on Alive/Naturalsound). This is their fourth* album on Alive, and their heaviest, and best, yet. Here's "Death of a Queen" - which sounds to me like the most Hendrix-inspired track on here:



The album is out now and, if you are a fan of hard rock and heavy guitar sounds, don't miss it. In the words of Jack Black, just put it on and let it melt your face. You'll thank me.

*[EDIT: Magical Dirt is their FOURTH studio album for Alive/Naturalsound. There's the self-titled debut - produced by Dan Auerbach, etc, there's Brain Waves, there's The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz- WYMA review here - and then Magical Dirt. If you're missing one, you're in for a treat.]

Radio Moscow website
Facebook
Alive/Naturalsound Records

"For Those Who Stay" by PS I Love You

Been kind of enthralled by Kingston, Ontario's PS I Love You since I first came across a video showing Paul Saulnier doing amazing things to a guitar back in 2010. Their heavy guitar rock has been consistently strong and appealing, and we're happy to share a new track in advance of their next album, due in July. Here's a short preview video for the album:



And another:





If you're unfamiliar, well, good for you. You've got the opportunity to catch up on a bunch of good guitar rock. You can learn, hear and see more at their sites below. Saulnier does the tweeting and can be pretty entertaining. He had a bit of an existential crisis when the Canadiens lost to the Rangers earlier this week, even unfollowing Jimmy Fallon. Based on this track and preview, the album promises to be an event. I'm looking forward to it.

PS I Love You website
Twitter

NEW SONG: Radio Moscow - "These Days"

Radio Moscow is back... here's a hard-stomping, heavy guitar freakout "These Days" which will be featured on their next album, Magical Dirt. It's been a couple of years since their last album The Great Escape of Leslie Magnafuzz (WYMA review here), and Parker Griggs' voice and the psychedelic guitars sound better than ever.



They're heading over to Europe for the next month or so, then back to the states to support the album:

RADIO MOSCOW EUROPEAN TOUR DATES
May 15 @ L’escargot – Hossegor, France
May 16 @ Bootleg – Bordeaux , France
May 17 @ La Nef – Angouleme, France
May 18 : France TBA
May 20 @ Secret Place – Montpellier, France
May 21 @ Sala Appolo – Barcelona, Spain
May 22 @ Shoko Club – Madrid, Spain
May 23 @ Cafe Antzokia – Bilbao, Spain
May 24 @ Sala Bukowski – San Sebastian, Spain
May 25-26-27 : France / Spain TBA
May 28 @ Vk – Brussels, Belgium
May 29 @ Freak Valley Festival – Siegen, Germany
May 30 @ De Piek – Vlissingen, Netherlands
May 31 @ Winston – Amsterdam, Netherlands
June 1-2 : Benelux / France TBA
June 3 @ TBC Cav’Conc TBC – Mayenne, France
June 4 @ Glazart – Paris , France
June 5 : Germany TBA
June 6 @ Loppen – Copenhagen, Denmark
June 7 @ Truckstop Alaska – Gottborg, Sweden
June 9-10 : UK TBA
June 11 : Germany / Swiss TBA
June 12 @ Init – Roma, Italy
June 13 @ L’ars Festival – Siena, Italy
June 14 @ Rocka ‘n’ Roll Festival – Mentova, Italy

We'll have more here once we have had a chance to hear the album...

Radio Moscow website
Facebook
Twitter

REVIEW: The Shackeltons - Records

Already a passionate band with a furious, straight-ahead postpunk style, The Shackeltons seem to have drawn power (and, to my ears, grace - no, majesty) from singer/songwriter Mark Redding's personal journey of late. As the band was growing in stature between 2006 and 2010, he learned that his mother was ill and eventually, he took time away in order to be with her. As is the case so often, a decision made for the right reason, is often proven right for many other reasons. Redding's mother appears on the record in a couple of recordings which strike a just-right tone surrounding the angular guitar noise, squalling sax and pounding rhythms. But it's the passion evident in this music that shows how Redding came back to rock and roll with a renewed spirit and, in that, he honors his mother greatly.

Of course, if the music wasn't so thrilling, this would just be a nice story and, while Redding would always be admirable for risking his music career to attend to his mother, we would probably not know about Records. This album is a tremendous accomplishment - heavy, ferocious, and somehow at the same time heartfelt and emotionally full.

Here's "Call Call" - raging guitars compete with a resonant saxophone over the latter half of the track:



Here's "California", probably the heaviest track on the record:



Here's a video for "The Ache". There's a band I was reminded of during this one, and it's not a comparison I make often - The Minutemen:



I've also seen Pixies comparisons, and perhaps that's apt - you can hear it somewhat in the bass rumble, frantic-sounding vocals and overall heaviness of a lot of the material. But The Shackeltons are their own band, having matured a ton between their debut and this long-awaited followup. Records is available now (out Apr. 22) on Think Loud.

Shackeltons website
Think Loud Entertainment

REVIEW: Cheatahs - Cheatahs

Cheatahs are a UK shoegaze/guitar rock band, consisting of Nathan Hewitt (vocals/guitar), Marc Raue (drums), Dean Reid (bass/vocals), and James Wignall (guitar/vocals). They've gotten in touch with us three times about their music, and we've been glad to share it with our readers because their fast, roaring mix of noise, drone and heavy guitar glaze is hitting every rock button we hold dear. Last year we wrote about Extended Plays, a collection of tracks (WYMA review here), and the singles "Cut the Grass" and "Kenworth" (WYMA post here). Both of those tracks are on the album, Cheatahs, out now (Feb. 11) via Wichita Recordings.

To begin with, quoting Scott's review of Extended Plays, I can't really improve on his characterization of Cheatahs music as a "prime rock cocktail" - so just know that plenty of 90's guitar rock influences are on full display and very well-played here. The album features plenty of melody - to me, that's its strong point. There is also plenty of noise - though the drums and bass are sort of behind the guitars, there is a full-on pounding quality to the rhythm section, especially on tracks like "Geographic", which also features vocals that put me in mind of a cross between Teenage Fanclub and Swervedriver.



The band is not plowing new ground, but they certainly are playing great guitar rock. This record is a really fun listen, one that won't wear out its welcome even though you'll feel you've heard most of these sounds before.

Here's one of the more aggressive tracks, "Get Tight" - I love the layers of guitars and noise on this one:





Here's the soaring, driving guitar anthem "Fall" - the repeated background guitar figure is a beautiful touch amid all the noise:



And here's "Get Tight" - melody in the vocals, pounding drums and echoing, treated guitars throughout, plus the track length (3:25) might make this one the single. It's certainly plenty catchy:



Much like those Swervedriver and Dinosaur Jr. records this points to, I feel like this one will still sound good years from now... great guitar rock never really goes out of style, does it?

Cheatahs 2014 US tour dates:

FEB. 22 PORTLAND, OR BUNK BAR
FEB. 23 SEATTLE, WA TRACTOR TAVERN
FEB. 27 LOS ANGELES, CA THE ECHO
MAR. 1 SAN FRANCISCO, CA BRICK & MORTAR MUSIC HALL (Noisepop)
MAR. 4 BROOKLYN, NY ROUGH TRADE
MAR. 5 PHILADELPHIA, PA BOOT & SADDLE
MAR. 6 WASHINGTON, DC U STREET MUSIC HALL

Cheatahs website
Facebook
Wichita Recordings

Bardo Pond - Peace on Venus

Peace on Venus is the kind of album I get lost in.  Happily lost, I should add.  It consists of five tracks of psychedelic rock from Philadelphia's Bardo Pond.  The framework for the band was formed twenty-two years ago by sibling guitarists Michael and John Gibbons.  In 1991 they added Isobel Sollenberger on vocals and flute, Clint Takeda on bass, and Joe Culver on drums.  The current lineup remains the same except that Ed Farnsworth, and now Jason Kourkounis, has replaced Culver on the drums, and Aaron Igler adds synths and electronics.

The music of Bardo Pond is a sonic exploration.  The explorers' targeted landscapes are shoegaze, heavy rock, psychedelia and drone; their tools are reverb, feedback, and heavy riffs, with counterpoint provided by soaring female vocals and floating flute figures.  The listener is invited into a world of textures, hypnotic tempos and unexpected structures.  Put on your headphones and go for a sonic ride.  If you know Bardo Pond, you likely know that you want to listen to the album.  If the band is new to you, try out the second track, "Taste", below.



Peace on Venus is out now on Fire Records.

Website
Alternative Website
Facebook
Fire Records page for album

REVIEW: Mirror Travel - Mexico

Mirror Travel is an Austin-based guitar rock trio: Tiffanie Lanmon (drums), Paul Brinkley (bass/vocals) and Lauren Green (guitar/vocals). They're playing a warm, intriguing style of music - it seems to inhabit the place where classic indie guitar rock and dream pop might intersect.

They've got the total package. To start with the foundation, Lanmon's a great drummer, able to vary tempos with impressive agility. This sets the stage for Brinkley and Green's vocals, bass and guitars to play in all kinds of settings and speeds. The dominant theme is tension/release on the guitars with dreamlike, reverb-laden vocals. Breeders and Pixies comparisons wouldn't be out of place, nor would comparisons to more "shoegaze"-leaning guitar rock acts like Swervedriver and Galaxie 500. And the reverb adds an element of surf-rock to some of the songs.

Check out the advance track, "Mexico":



And "I Want You To Know" - a much faster pace on this one, with kind of an uptempo motorik beat:



Like most very good bands, they've come together through a variety of experiences (band name changes, label problems, touring with name-brand artists like Trail of Dead and Bill Callahan) to make a sound that is intriguingly their own.

Check out the slowed-down, heavy guitar/bass dominated "Stoner" at Soundcloud. It gets almost heavy-metal in places. Here's a live video - you may want to adjust the bass on your EQ:



This is a great driving record - likely in part due to its recording in the West Texas wastelands, where the horizon can go on forever... Mexico is out October 15th, 2013 on Modern Outsider Records. It's highly recommended.

Mirror Travel website
Modern Outsider Records
Facebook

NEW SONGS: Dead Meadow - Three Songs from Warble Womb, due in Oct.

Dead Meadow has a new album, Warble Womb, coming soon, and that's great news for fans of heavy psych (like yours truly). While their label, Xemu Records, has given us two of my favorite albums of 2013, Matthew J Tow's The Way of Things and the self-titled Strangers Family Band, Dead Meadow themselves haven't released an album in years.

They've given us every reason to be excited about the upcoming release - three songs have surfaced, all with great guitars and heavy rhythms. Here's "Copper is Restless ('Til It Turns to Gold)":



Here's a new live in-studio performance by Dead Meadow of album track "In the Thicket":



And here's a link to listen or download album track "Yesterday's Blowin' Back".

And it's not like they're giving the whole thing away - there's plenty more to look forward to. It's reported to be a 75-minute double album... so plenty of room to stretch out.

Dead Meadow website
Xemu Records

REVIEW: Pond - Hobo Rocket

On their fifth album, Hobo Rocket, Pond is playing heavy, psychedelic stoner rock and coming down unapologetically on the side of "heavy". They combine the meandering experimentalism of early Pink Floyd with rhythms and guitars reminiscent of much heavier guitar bands like Led Zeppelin, and they sometimes do it in one song (lead track "Whatever Happened to the Million Head Collide?"). Then again, they're just as likely to break out into a heavy-booted glamfest like "Xanman", which seems to pay a bit of a tribute to T Rex, when it's not soaring off on wild guitar tangents.





It's an intense journey, for such a short album (34 minutes total). You'll follow Pond from the spoken word of the title track with Perth character Cowboy John on vocals (reminiscent of the heaviest Small Faces album Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, if Stan Unwin had been permitted to sing!), to the gentle psych of "O Dharma", which leads directly into the metallic stomp of "Aloneaflameaflower." My favorite track on here is "Giant Tortoise", which combines the album's trademark heavy stomp with equally heavy guitars, but takes several breaks to meander into psychedelic territory, and contains the strongest riffing on the album.



Hobo Rocket concludes with its longest cut, "Midnight Mass (at the Market Street Payphone)", a song that contains some of the prettiest guitar work on the record. It's a fitting closer, one that shows all sides of this talented, assured heavy rock band. The band consists of former Tame Impala bassist Nick Allbrook, Jay Watson, Cam Avery, Joseph Ryan and Jamie Terry. Allbrook describes some of their motivation: "It was the kind of mindset of finding our own little place in music, and being more of a functioning band, which is what makes it noisier and denser. This one we went as brutally hard as we would at a show. We wanted the songs to sound loose and live." If they got a little extreme (and they happily did), it may be a reaction to having been perceived as a "Tame Impala side project". Like a lot of productive band splits, this one has yielded two sources of terrific guitar rock. Hobo Rocket is out now on Modular Recordings (released Aug 6) and you can get a free download of "Giant Tortoise" at their website, or look up tour dates, or buy the record, at the sites below.

Pond website
Facebook
Modular Recordings

Performance: Humble Pie: Rockin’ The Fillmore – The Complete Recordings

It is Humble Pie weather. The soundtrack of the humid Midwest summer, sweltering days, expectant nights, conservation club corn and sausage roasts, backyard bbq's, dirt track concerts, V-8's and V-twins, bellbottom jeans and halter tops, outlaw biker wannabes (oftentimes the real thing) and more than an underlying possibility of sex or violence.  

An upcoming release by Omnivore Records gives me a good reason to remember those nights and post some of the finest rocking blue-eyed soul of the era.  When Steve Marriott left the Small Faces (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2012) to launch a new band in 1968, expectations were high. Marriott was creating a nascent Brit supergroup with 18-year old guitarist Peter Frampton, already a U.K star through his work with The Herd, along with bassist Greg Ridley from Spooky Tooth, and 17 year old drummer Jerry Shirley.  

Their U.S. breakthrough was 1971's double live album - Rockin' the Fillmore.  Omnivore is releasing a remastered 4 CD set including all songs from all 4 shows.  Included are the original seven songs plus 15 previously unreleased gems.  The songs were remixed and remastered under the supervision of the surviving members of Humble Pie - the kids Peter Frampton and Jerry Shirley.  "Performance: Rockin' the Fillmore - The Complete Recordings" will be released October 29.  

Start rockin' with some live performances. 

Omnivore Records Website

REVIEW: True Widow - Circumambulation

True Widow is a Texas band playing a heavy, heavy take on the shoegaze/noise pop genre. On Circumambulation, they feature a thunderous bottom end, alternating male/female vocals, and some guitar tones that are, frankly, reminiscent of Nirvana. It's a very interesting sound, and it certainly provides a workout for the bass portion of your speakers. 

The band consists of guitarist/vocalist Dan Phillips, bassist/vocalist Nicole Estill and drummer Slim, TX. Their producer is none other than WYMA hero Matt Pence (Centro-matic's drummer and co-owner of Echo Lab in Argyle, TX) and they credit him with helping them get the thick, heavy sound they are looking for. Phillips' vocals are a bit understated, whereas Estill's seem to be a little bit more out-front. It's a pleasant contrast and provides a sense of balance to an album that consists of eight rather lengthy songs.

For a little more background, go check out this good Dallas Observer interview with the band about their process, their dedication to this signature heavy sound, and even the reason their song titles look like that.

Video for "S:H:S"



Here's "HW:R":



And here's my favorite track - one that features the full array of their formidable sound, including a terrific Estill vocal - "Four Teeth":



This is a tremendous album, one of my favorites of 2013 so far. It's out now on Relapse (released July 23), which is responsible for another of my 2013 favorites, ASG's Blood Drive. You can listen to more at the Bandcamp link - click through the "Four Teeth" stream above. Or you can visit their website or Facebook.

True Widow website
Facebook

NEW SONGS: Flamingo Bay - "Serpentine" b/w "Bleed" from upcoming album Loco Pony

Calling their music "Northern swamp rock", Flamingo Bay has the stomp, swagger and best of all, the guitar noise to make good on the promise of a Canadian band who entitle an album Loco Pony. Yeah, I didn't get it at first... but on my second listen, as the first track "Serpentine" hit about the 0:50 mark, I got it... Crazy Horse. The turnarounds in the song, the guitar riffs, the crashing drums - all of it is impeccably done but simple and just dirty as hell. And the vocals contain more than a passing resemblance to the great Alejandro Escovedo. If that's not enough for you to check these guys out, you probably hate rock and roll. Which is fine, but I just don't know what you are doing here. Here's "Serpentine":





Here's "Bleed" - which contains all the guitar swagger, but is more uptempo with a lot of punk energy, and some guitar feedback:



The band consists of Dillon Henningson, Kris Gies and Vince Rankin - a hard-working power trio with a ton of promise. This single is free for now on Bandcamp (just click through the links above), the album's due out in September - if you like guitar rock, don't waste any more time. Grab this gift from north of the border.

Flamingo Bay Facebook

REVIEW: Cuzo - Son Imaginaciones Teves

The roaring, driving sound of Spanish hard rock power trio Cuzo is back, and great news - they've lost none of their fire.

Here's the opening track, "Caída y Auge del Heavy Metal" - you could call the title a bit of statement of purpose:



And here's "Turbisofon", a heavy boogie/krautrock number with great drum, bass and synths:



The Spanish label BCore Disc has announced that, for a limited time, this and other releases are available for "name your price" on Bandcamp. Do not delay - this stuff will improve your collection immediately.

REVIEW: Dirty Streets - Blades of Grass

Formed by Thomas Storz (bass, percussion), Justin Toland (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Andrew Denham (drums, percussion) the heavy blues-rock power trio Dirty Streets now calls Memphis home (they're originally from Mississippi). Ardent Studio in Memphis is where they recorded their new album Blades Of Grass. They share a label with WYMA favorites Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires, and have opened for them. That was certainly enough to earn a listen, and from there, the deep groove, guitars and pianos are plenty of incentive to stick around for the whole album.

Here's the album opener, "Stay Thirsty", from which you'll absolutely get a Jeff Beck Group vibe - check out the guitar/piano interplay about :45 into the track... it reminds me of an old favorite, "Goin' Down":



The free download of that one may still be available.

Here's the title track - in addition to the way the rhythm section boogies, check out those deep, heavy guitar tones and the interplay with the vocals, which call to mind both psychedelic rock and blues at the same time:



The band already has two independent releases under their belt, including an album with renowned Memphis producer Doug Easley (Grifters, GbV, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Reigning Sound - just to name a few). They also recently toured with labelmates Radio Moscow. If you like heavy blues rock, and some of the other Alive/Naturalsound bands we've featured in the past (Radio Moscow, Lee Bains, John the Conqueror), this will please you. You can learn more and buy at Alive/Naturalsound, or get the limited edition color vinyl at Bomp! Records.

Dirty Streets Facebook
Alive/Naturalsound Records
Bomp Records

REVIEW: ASG - Blood Drive

ASG is a North Carolina metal/heavy rock band, and has just released its fourth album and Relapse debut Blood Drive. On first listen, I'm knocked out by the heavy groove they ride in... but what makes me keep coming back is singer/guitarist Jason Shi’s voice. Unlike so many metal bands whose riffs and groove make me want to like them, but whose Cookie Monster vocals just don't appeal to me, ASG has risen to the all-around excellence of Relapse label-mates like Baroness and Mastodon, or other WYMA favorites Torche.

Here's "Avalanche" - the opening riff, the building guitar sounds, it's all in service of great songcraft. Shi's voice is terrific - reminiscent of Layne Staley - and he has a tremendous presence:

It gets heavier - some of these songs are amazing riff-fests, where the guitars and the vocal lines resemble a harder-edged, heavier Judas Priest, and Shi shows he's got the chops to scream along with (or on top of) even the heaviest material. Here's "Castlestorm":

And those guitars, and the rhythm section, would be enough to make ASG worth a second, and third listen. Heavy, but very melodic, some of the guitar work is so well-realized I would almost call it delicate, if it wasn't absolutely skull-pounding. But it's certainly beautiful - and some of the songs, bluesy ballads like "Blues For Bama", are enchanting. It's out tomorrow (May 28) on Relapse - you can learn more at the website, and order a vinyl edition which will contain a bonus track "Mourning of the Earth".

ASG at Relapse Records
ASG Facebook