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RIDING EASY RECORDS

Various Artists

Brown Acid: The Eighteenth Trip

    EIGHTEEN AND I LIKE IT… if you survived trips 1-17 with one tiny speck of psychedelic sunshine intact, Brown Acid The 18th Trip will be your coming of age nightmare. Vintage underground '70s hard rock, coming at you from bizarre angles, local scene wasteland America when everybody was out for themselves and the drugs went bleak. The guitars kill, the attitude is twisted, even the sex is headed down the wrong road. Real people, no compromise, pure and potent. Get stoked, take the 18th Trip and know that the artists will get paid for pulverizing your soul!

    "People… are you ready?, 'cause the music now is getting so heavy"… Back Jack out of St. Louis, Missouri in 1974 launch our trip with "Bridge Waters Dynamite". It's an invocation to rock flashing on Mark Farner whooping up a Grand Funk crowd, then getting to the point quickly with berserk guitar assaults. Heavy riff with power chord stalks beneath as you take their advice… get loose and blow up the past.

    Smokin' Buku Band dropped my jaw with the audacious track "Hot Love" coming on like some fractured fever dream burlesque of Led Zep moves out of Hollywood in 1980. Swooping elongated vocals above, a total Zep chord move at the end of each verse. Writer/producer Steve Shauger aka Shag Stevens gets a brilliantly messed up sound quality here, the ideal polar opposite of slick. The extended guitar break is an epitome of serendipitously crude virtuosity, simply outrageous!

    Coming at you from way outta left field is "Moby Shark" by Atlantis, a hilarious and strange Baltimore pre-punk vibed dose of D.I.Y. meets hard rock. Lon Talbot is the mastermind, the flip side of this impossibly rare Mekon Records label single was featured in an obscure 1978 B-movie titled "The Alien Factor". Follow the lyrics closely, when the ominous jaws jaws jaws start coming after you you you… the song's big hook is so preposterously catchy the shark attack feels like good news. Inquiring minds should know that the band formerly known as Atlantis can now be found by searching for the Lon Talbot Group!

    Tommy Stuart and the Rubberband's "Peeking Through Your Window" from 1970 opens with a spooky organ riff, slips into a gushy fuzz/organ groove akin to "Mustache In Your Face” by Pretty. The singer creates downright creepy vibes,

    a stalker peeking through the girl's mind like a peeping Tom at the window up to no good. The lyrics evoke a disturbing scenario. Tommy Stuart also made a strange LP titled Hound Dog Man in 1977 and some terrific rare garage singles under the names Magnificent Seven and The Omen & Their Love in the mid '60s.

    Nothing better than an angry two chord guitar attack with cowbell to set the stage for this rant about getting "Ripped Off" by love. Taken from their rare 1977 LP on Dynamite Records, Chicago Triangle was Marvey Esparza, Dave Guereca, Jose 'Tarr' Perez and Robert Aguilera. They unleash such strong brain-scrubbing wah wah frenzy in the guitar break here that it seems to perversely mock it's own intensity! Like I said, Brown Acid the 18th Trip comes at you from all kinds of uncanny angles.

    Damnation of Adam Blessing out of Cleveland, Ohio unleashed a stone killer psychedelic hard rock classic "Cookbook" in the late '60s, this track "Nightmare" from 1973 has them cooking again at full power. A different singer, name change to Damnation and then Glory, unleashing a deadly dose of dark progressive heavy rock drama peaking when spooky 'oooo-wa-oooo' background vocals emerge during a bizarre spoken bit. It unfolds like a mini-epic and includes some remarkably brutal guitar and turbulent organ, too.

    "Swing your sword, all aboard… bid farewell to the dreamer" Dalquist exclaims. Cynical view of human nature, idealism is over, war is coming, it always does. Opens with a cold menacing riff and atmosphere reminiscent of "Synthezoid Heartbreak" by Maya. Mournful despondent vocals ride an insistent churning groove, gnarly guitar break moves into free noise territory. This rare track is from a local various artists benefit album titled Kangaroo Jam issued for the Waco Family Abuse Center in Texas circa 1980.

    The Pawnbrokers "Realize" is prime proto heavy rock emerging out of psychedelic garage roots in 1968 Fargo, North Dakota. Unusual arrangement, terrific sustain guitar tones like on the first Blue Cheer LP, even a rip on Hendrix "Manic Depression" with unison voice and guitar ascent near the end. They made three 45s and were active from '65 to '69. Hats off to Blake English, Kent Richey, Paul Rogne and Steve Harrison, you nailed it in just a hair over two minutes! As pure and creative as the original psychedelic garage hard rock gets.

    Parchment Farm from Union, Missouri gigged with the likes of ZZ Top and Foghat back in the day and unleashed the amazing "Songs Of The Dead" in 1971. Primitive riff/chord pattern dosed with some funky prog moves, sky turning black, 'is this heaven or hell' type disoriented confusion… may as well grab your guitar and sing songs to the dead. Robert 'Ace' Williams on bass, Paul Cockrum on guitar, Gary Reed on keys and Micky Waterman on drums, replacing Mike Dulany (R.I.P.) Cool that they use the Blue Cheer misspelling from Vincebus Eruptum for the band name!

    Ominous organ, thick minimalist fuzz riff, funky psychedelic wah wah flashes and freaky sex combine in one twisted dance titled "Rockin' Chair" by Brothers Of The Ghetto. Out of Chicago in 1975 with some Santana atmospherics and a delicious fuzz wah screamin' guitar break, the groove is highlighted by an off the wall vocal which sounds eerily detached in a subtly sleazy way. Rene Maxwell is the writer of this hard-rock boogie-down hybrid straight out of the twilight zone. It was issued on Ghetto, a subsidiary of the peculiar Kiderian label that released the Creme Soda LP. Now that your head is totally skewered, go Back Jack and play side one again! (Words by Paul Major).

    TRACK LISTING

    SIDE A
    Back Jack - Bridge Waters Dynamite
    St. Louis, Missouri 1974

    The Smokin' Buku Band - Hot Love
    Hollywood, California 1980

    Atlantis - Moby Shark
    Baltimore, Maryland 1975

    Tommy Stuart & The Rubberband - Peeking Through Your Window
    Tuscaloosa, Alabama 1970

    The Chicago Triangle - Ripped Off
    Chicago, Illinois 1977

    SIDE B
    Parchment Farm - Songs Of The Dead
    Union, Missouri 1971

    Glory (Damnation Of Adam Blessing) - Nightmare
    Cleveland, Ohio 1973

    Dalquist - Farewell To The Dreamer
    Waco, Texas 1980

    The Pawnbrokers - Realize
    Fargo, North Dakota 1968

    Brothers Of The Ghetto – Rockin' Chair
    Chicago, Illinois 1975

    Early Moods

    A Sinners Past

      Early Moods’ sophomore album A Sinner’s Past is the ultimate dosage of classic early 70s proto-metal, 90s grunge riffing and timeless songwriting delivered with an explosive youthful energy.

      The Los Angeles area quartet burst onto the scene fully formed with a sound that somehow simultaneously merged gritty underground Street Doom with slick “big box” Heavy Metal melodies on their self-titled RidingEasy debut album in 2022. And it’s the band’s highly skilled musicianship paired with exquisite aesthetic taste — in addition to their killer live show — that has made them an immediate popular favorite.

      A Sinner’s Past takes those elements several steps higher with a nod to Soundgarden’s huge sonic depth, the low-mid fuzz drenched tones of Sabotage and classic 70s melodies and structures of Ulli Roth-era Scorpions. The latter in particular inspiring the album’s intricate tonal shifts and shimmering twin leads.

      “I’m very proud of these songs,” says guitarist Eddie Andrade. “We did a lot of different things, took a lot of chances and show a lot of growth, and I think people will pick up on it. I was trying to use more open chords, not the typical styles. We came off touring with Candlemass and Pentagram, sharing those shows with our heroes really pumped us up. We went into the studio just hungry to record.”

      The album was recorded near the band’s home base in Pico Rivera, CA by Allen Falcon of Birdcage Studios, who also mixed their debut album. “He’s a good friend of the band and we wanted to be more comfortable, in a relaxed environment for this,” Andrade says. “He had a lot of input and his ideas made a lot of impact on this recording.” The band started recording in May 2023, then worked on the album on and off for 3 months between tours, which also lends to its very refined sound.

      Early Moods was founded in 2015 by Andrade and vocalist/keyboardist Alberto Alcaraz after a few years of playing in thrash and death metal projects before the two realized that the classic doom that they’d grown up with was what they really wanted to explore. Going through a few lineup changes while delving deeper into the diverging influences that were calling, Early Moods arrived at the sound and lineup that grew their fanbase locally. The band released their debut EP Spellbound in 2020 on German label Dying Victim Productions, followed by their self-titled debut full length on RidingEasy Records in 2023. Early Moods is Oscar Hernandez on lead guitar, Chris Flores on drums, Elix Felciano on bass, Alcaraz on vocals/synth and Andrade on guitar.

      TRACK LISTING

      1. Last Hour
      2. Blood Offerings (CD Only Track)
      3. A Sinner’s Past
      4. Walperguise
      5. Unhinged Spirit
      6. The Apparition
      7. Hell’s Odyssey
      8. Soul Sorcery

      Various Artists

      Brown Acid: The Seventeenth Trip

        Lucky number 17? You better believe it. We here at Brown Acid have been scouring the highways and byways of America for even more hidden stashes of psych/garage/proto-punk madness from the so-called Aquarian Age. There’s no flower power here, though—just acid casualties, rock stompers and major freakouts. As always, the songs have been officially licensed, and all the artists get paid.

        Kicking off this trip, Grapple’s “Ethereal Genesis” is a heavy psych gem from 1969 written by J. Bruce Svoboda, a.k.a. Jay Bruce, formerly of The Hangmen and The Five Canadians (who were actually the same San Antonio band). The latter’s 1966 garage favorite “Writing on the Wall” has been endlessly covered, but Grapple were never heard from again.

        With a guitar riff that blatantly rips off Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath,” Image’s mostly instrumental lysergic obscurity “Witchcraft ’71” (originally unveiled that very year) also boasts a horror-movie organ intro, a voodoo drum break and some championship chanting. Private press heads might recall late Image drummer John Beke from his ’80s reemergence with country rockers Crossfyre.

        Stone Hedge were a seven-piece rock band out of Michigan with a penchant for Creedence and anthropomorphism. “Smokey Bear” is their 1972 tribute to the official mascot of the U.S. Forest Services—not to mention the A side of their sole single—and it recalls the kind of organ-drenched swamp jam that soundtracked many a Burt Reynolds flick back in the day.

        If you think being a Southern rock band from Milwaukee doesn’t make much sense, that’s probably why Crossfire changed their sound along with their name—to Bad Boy—after signing with United Artists. Bad Boy’s severely underappreciated second album, Back To Back, is a 1978 hard rock jewel, but you can hear their boogie-woogie roots on this rare 1975 single.

        With a band name like Primevil and song title like “Too Dead To Live,” you probably expect some gnarly proto-metal riffage. Instead, you a get a harmonica-drenched, soul-infused rock rave-up from 1972. Primevil would release their sole LP two years later: Entitled Smokin’ Bats at Campton’s, it’s a reference to their trusty singer, harp player (and bat smoker?), Dave Campton.

        Brown Acid regulars already know Pegasus from their appearance with “The Sorcerer” on our Seventh Trip. “Ready to Rave” is the flipside to that 1972 single, in which they explain how they like their whiskey cold and their women hot. It’s another killer glimpse of what might have been if these one-and-done Baltimore hard rockers had been able to keep it together.

        One of two obscure singles released by Texas musician Bobby Mabe in 1969 (the other appears under the name The Outcasts), “I’m Lonely” delivers a heavy dose of vocal soul to the otherwise psych-garage presentation. Fans of fellow Houstonians the Moving Sidewalks—whom Bobby and his Outcasts may well have gigged with—will especially dig this one.

        Cedar Rapids, Iowa, may not be known as a cultural mecca, but they did give us Truth & Janey. This deadly hard rock trio delivered their holy grail full-length, No Rest for the Wicked, back in 1976. “Around and Around” is a Chuck Berry cover that originally appeared on a 1973 single the band released under the earlier name Truth.

        Originally released in 1973, “High School Letter” is the debut single from San Diego rock squad Glory. This infectious bonehead cruncher features future Beat Farmer Jerry Raney and the original rhythm section of Iron Butterfly in bassist Greg Willis and drummer Jack Pinney. Glory is what they got up to after their former bandmates left for L.A.’s garden of Eden.

        “Jack the Ripper” is a mercilessly bootlegged Cleveland classic from 1978 with a serrated punk edge and vocals that recall Mick Blood of Aussie savages the Lime Spiders. Or maybe it’s the other way around—the Lime Spiders formed the year after Strychnine carved off this lethal paean to the infamous Whitechapel slasher of olde.

        TRACK LISTING

        Side A
        Grapple “Ethereal Genesis” - San Antonio, Texas 1969
        Image “Witchcraft 71” - Illinois 1971
        Stone Hedge “Smokey Bear” - Battle Creek, MI 1972
        Crossfire “I Gotta Move” - Milwaukee, Wisconsin 1975
        Primevil “Too Dead To Live” - Hancock County, Indiana 1972

        Side B
        Pegasus “Ready To Rave” - Baltimore, Maryland 1972
        Bob Mabe & The Outcast “I’m Lonely” - Galveston, Texas 1969
        Truth & Janey “Around And Around” - Ames, Iowa 1973
        Glory “High School Letter” - San Diego, California 1973
        Strychnine “Jack The Ripper” - Cleveland, Ohio 1978

        Deathchant

        Thrones

          “This is definitely the most honest and mature record Deathchant has ever made.”

          That’s Deathchant vocalist and guitarist T.J. Lemieux talking about the band’s third and latest album, Thrones. Think of it as not just the follow-up to 2021’s Waste, but the other side of the coin. “While Waste and our self-titled album touched on similar themes, they were sort of from a problem standpoint,” he explains. “Thrones is full of reflection, self-realization, and solutions for moving forward and conquering those problems.”

          Which isn’t to say that Deathchant have gone soft. Far from it, dude. In fact, Thrones just might be their heaviest record thus far. The band’s seamless swirl of classic rock guitar harmonies, syrupy sludge, blues boogie and psych bombast has reached a thrilling new apex as Lemieux spins high-powered tales of reckoning from beyond the wall of sanity.

          Thematically, Lemieux and his bandmates—bassist George Camacho, guitarist Doug Stuckey and drummer Joe Herzog—peel back the veneer of self-delusion to expose the fork in the road. “Thrones is meant to represent things that rule you, things you worship, things you rely on or think you need,” Lemieux says. “Sometimes those things make you feel in control, safe, on top of the world like you're in power—which over time often proves untrue.”

          Witness lead single “Mirror”: Kicking off with gleaming Lizzy-isms, the song rumbles into a thick groove overlaid with lysergic fireworks that conjure the shaggy European movers of decades past. “‘Mirror’ is the key to the whole Thrones theme,” Lemieux explains. “It’s about looking inward to realize what's ruling you, what's consuming you, and how delusional you've been about those things. Your sense of self is so damn important, and fully facing your truths is not an easy thing to do. It’s admitting that you’ve intentionally dulled and quieted your mind to distract, avoid and run from yourself, from memory, from loss and truth. At some point, you have to face that shit.”

          The languid and dreamy “Mother Mary” is also crucial to Thrones’ trajectory. “If the album was a book, ‘Mirror’ would be the first chapter and ‘Mother Mary’ would be the last chapter, though they’re not the first and last track for sonic reasons,” Lemieux explains. “‘Mirror’ is saying, ‘I’m looking inward because some things need to change,’ while ‘Mother Mary’ is saying, ‘Okay, things are fucked and have gone way too far but now we have this understanding—and acknowledging things is key to overcoming.’”

          Thrones was recorded live in a cabin in the remote mountain community of Frazier Park, CA, with trusty engineer Steve Schroeder (a.k.a. Schroeds). “We moved in for a week, rehearsed a bit and went for it,” Lemieux says. “Each tune got three or so takes, but we nailed ‘Mother Mary’ and ‘Canyon’ right away.” Overdubs were done at the cabin, Schroeder’s Studio 3, and Lemieux’s place. The album was produced by Lemieux and Schroeder.

          “Overall, it’s a pretty dark record,” Lemieux says. “It's serious and leans into heavy themes, sometimes using metaphor and imagery to soften those blows, but sometimes it hits direct. It’s positive, though—and cathartic. Forever riding on the line of total insanity and flirting with mental degradation. It’s our most realized and ambitious record to date.”

          TRACK LISTING

          1. CANYON
          2. THRONES
          3. MIRROR
          4. MOTHER MARY
          5. CHARIOT
          6. HOAX
          7. EARTH
          8. TOMB

          Mondo Drag

          Through The Hourglass

            It’s been nearly eight years since the last Mondo Drag album came out. In that time, the Bay Area psych-prog band toured the US and Europe, performed at major festivals and—once again—reformed their rhythm section. But in the context of the band’s nearly two-decade existence, this period may have been the most fraught. Vocalist and keyboardist John Gamiño lost friends and family members. Meanwhile, humanity suffered the throes of a global pandemic.

            “It was a dark chapter,” he recalls. “I was going through a lot of stuff personally—there’s been a lot of death, loss of family members, and grief. Plus, the band was inactive. It felt like time was slipping away from me. I felt like I was wasting my opportunities. I felt like I wasn’t participating in my story as much as I could have.”

            This feeling of time slipping away is the prevailing theme on Mondo Drag’s new album, Through the Hourglass. “For me, Through the Hourglass really encompasses the quarantine/pandemic years,” Gamiño says. “But in a way that includes a couple of years before that for us, because the band was stagnant during that time. Living with that was really impactful on our daily lives. So, the album is reflective. It’s looking at time—past, present, future.”

            Luckily, Mondo Drag emerged from this dour period reborn. Freshly energized by bassist Conor Riley (formerly of San Diego psych squad Astra, currently of Birth), who joined in 2018, and drummer Jimmy Perez, who joined in 2022, Gamiño and guitarists Jake Sheley and Nolan Girard have triumphed over the seemingly inexorable pull of time’s passage.

            “Astra was the one contemporary band that we felt was on the same tip as us,” Gamiño says. “We saw the similarities and felt the same vibe. Conor moved to San Francisco in 2018 and heard we were looking for a bassist, so we got in touch. For us, it was like, ‘The synth player from Astra wants to play bass for us?’ We couldn’t think of anybody more perfect.”

            Perez, meanwhile, brings deep psych-prog knowledge and impeccable skill. “He’s an amazing drummer, and he allowed us to do what we’ve been trying to do,” Gamiño says. “Before he came along, it was like, ‘Where are the drummers who like psych and prog and can play dynamically?’ We ended up trying out metal drummers, but they couldn’t swing. Jimmy was the final piece of the puzzle.”

            The result is a dazzling and often plaintive rumination on the hours, days, and years—not to mention experiences—that comprise a lifetime. Two-part opener “Burning Daylight” smolders with melancholy, offering a whirl of multi-colored and hallucinatory imagery. “It’s about the California wildfires and a feeling of helplessness,” Gamiño explains. “There’s a juxtaposition between the dark lyricism and upbeat music which is meant to imply a sort of delusional state—and choosing our own delusion to overcome the crushing despair of reality.”

            Eleven-minute centerpiece “Passages” is a sprawling prog-rock adventure, festooned with lofty guitar melodies, sweeping organ flourishes and a delicately finger-picked outro. But the heaviest song, thematically speaking, might be the mournful and hypnotic “Death in Spring,” which borrows its title from the like-named Catalan novel.

            “In the novel, people are placed inside opened trees and their mouths filled with cement before they die to prevent their souls from escaping,” Gamiño explains. “The song is about three people I knew who lost their lives to gun violence, addiction, and mental health. It’s my way of cementing their souls in song form.”

            Mondo Drag fans might be surprised by this blend of hard reality with literary surrealism, but it’s a perfect example of how the last several years have impacted Mondo Drag—and Gamiño in particular. “On all of our previous albums, the lyrical content is more psychedelic and out there,” he acknowledges. “This is the most personal stuff I’ve ever done, so I’m definitely feeling vulnerable on this one.”

            The title Through the Hourglass comes from the opening of the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives. It’s less inspired by a predilection for daytime TV than Gamiño’s connection with his late mother, who passed during the time since the last album. “I used to watch Days of Our Lives with her everyday growing up,” he explains. “The song is kind of a reinterpretation of the theme song, although it’s different enough that probably no one will catch it. Now that I’m getting older, I like to put these little Easter eggs in the songs for myself and for archival purposes—for memories.”

            Through the Hourglass was tracked at El Studio in San Francisco, with an additional ten days of recording at the band’s rehearsal space, which doubles as a hybrid analog-digital recording studio. The album was engineered and mixed by Phil Becker, drummer of space-punk mainstays Pins Of Light. “We’re still here,” Gamiño says. “We’ve been in the studio working on our craft and honing our skills. Now we’re re-emerging for the next stage of our life cycle.”

            TRACK LISTING

            1. Burning Daylight Pt. 1
            2. Burning Daylight Pt. 2
            3. Passages
            4. Through The Hourglass
            5. Death In Spring
            6. Run

            Brotherhood Of Peace

            Cuttin' Loose

              Brotherhood Of Peace (aka B.O.P.) brought the world some of the best breezy power pop, Southern rock and heavy boogie all packed into one brilliant album in 1976, the fittingly titled Cuttin’ Loose. The album is a free-flowing nine song collection of genre blending would-be hits suited for both ’70s AM gold and FM album rock that never received its proper due, until now. The album flows somewhat similar to the way Big Star combined heavy riffs with airy pop sweetness, but B.O.P. brought more of a blues rock groove to the proceedings, resulting in heavier undercurrents to songs with glowing three-part harmonies and impeccable power trio musicianship. By the mid-’70s, rock ’n’ roll was truly anything goes. Experimentation, excess and inventing new genres was all the rage, and the trio of spritely young men—guitarist / vocalist Dennis Tolbert, bassist / vocalist Mike Arrington and drummer / vocalist Ronnie Smith—gamely tackled whatever sound they pleased. Fortunately, the band captured it all on their lone album, released on the small independent label Avanti Records in March 1976.

              The Mount Airy, North Carolina trio got its start as teens in 1969 as the backing band to a large 20-50 person traveling church choir called the New Americans. By 1970, the band was ready to move on to performing on their own. First as a sextet, the band soon trimmed down to a three-piece, working the local club circuit like madmen, sometimes playing three shows a day. At the height of their live tightness, B.O.P. recorded the album with local musicians Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland of the band Arrogance who worked at Charlotte recording studio Reflection Sound in October 1975. The band laid out the highlights of their live set in the studio, which ran the range of influences from The Raspberries to Deep Purple, Doobie Brothers to Nazareth, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Grand Funk. The initial pressing of 1000 copies was released in March 1976, but without major label machinery for retail distribution, radio and press, the album never took off. The band mostly sold them at live shows, via consignment at local stores and in limited distribution in the Southeastern region. However, to date, the record still occasionally pops up for sale online worldwide at exorbitant collectors’ prices. Until now, finally getting a proper reissue via Riding Easy Records.

              The Death Wheelers

              Chaos & The Art Of Motorcycle Madness

                Cursed to ride forever on this mortal plane after partaking in a satanic drug ritual, the Death Wheelers pledge allegiance to the god of hell and fire. However, in order to prove themselves to their newly anointed leader and for the spell to take effect, the club Will need to engage in a series of lewd acts of sex and violence across the country.Immortality comes at a price and you’re about to pay for it…

                The beating heart of The Death Wheelers is a rumbling engine. Since their self-titled debut in 2015 and in 2020’s cinematic-storytelling breakout, Divine Filth, the Canadian outfit have tapped into wind-through-hair freedom and careened down open roads of groove, not a cop in sight. Their third record, Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness, more than lives up to its name on all fronts. With songs like “Morbid Bails” and “Lucifer’s Bend,” the in-the-know references abound, and The Death Wheelers draw from classic underground metal, scummer heavy rock and cast themselves into a cauldron of cultish biker devil worship, reveling in any and all post-apocalyptic dystopias with genuine glee at having just seen the world eat itself. You might hear some surf guitar. Crazy things can happen.

                A sample in “Triple D (Dead, Drunk and Depraved)” underscores the message: “We want to be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the man. And we want to get loaded.” That line, from Roger Corman’s 1966 film The Wild Angels, serves as a mission statement, and as “Lucifer’s Bend” starts by laughing about how you can’t get away from Satan, they might as well carve it into their forearms to be ready when the blast of distortion hits, as much Entombed as Motörhead, galloping and sinister, coated in road dust and blood.

                The band tells the story like this: “Cursed to ride forever on this mortal plane after partaking in a satanic drug ritual, the Death Wheelers pledge allegiance to the god of hell and fire. However, in order to prove themselves to their newly anointed leader and for the spell to take effect, the club will need to engage in a series of lewd acts of sex and violence across the country. Immortality comes at a price and you’re about to pay for it…”

                While forging songs adherent more to ideology than style, The Death Wheelers cast their biker cult in their own image, and on Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness, they challenge death head-on as only those with no fear of it could hope to do.

                TRACK LISTING

                1. The Scum Always Rises To The Top
                2. Morbid Bails
                3. Les Mufflers Du Mal
                4. Ride Into The Rot (Everything Lewder Than Everything Else)
                5. Triple D (Dead, Drunk, Depraved)
                6. Lucifer?s Bend
                7. Brain Bucket
                8. Open Road X Open Casket
                9. Motortician
                10. Interquaalude
                11. Sissy Bar Strut (Nymphony 69)
                12. Cycling For Satan Part II

                Various Artists

                Brown Acid: The Sixteenth Trip

                  Sixteen trips might fry the fragile psyche of your average teenager, but us hoary old heads at Brown Acid boiled our brain pans long ago! As such, we’re bringing you EVEN MORE hard rock, heavy psych, and garage rock rarities from the North American wasteland of the 1970s. From L.A. to Youngstown, OH, from Toronto to Charlotte, The Sixteenth Trip has got you covered. As always, original copies of these 45s would cost you a pretty penny—if you could find ’em in the first place. And by now you know the drill: This ain’t no bootleg. All songs are officially licensed.

                  Our 16th installment kicks off with “Shuckin’ and Jiving,” a seven-minute power jam from L.A.’s kings of garage psych, the Seeds. The song appeared as a single in 1972 with “You Took Me By Surprise” on the flipside. It was the only release on Productions Unlimited, a label created by (or for) the Seeds at the tail end of their late ’60s/early ’70s run as Sky Saxon and the Seeds. Get shucked!

                  Very little is known about the band Nothing, beyond the fact that “Young Generation” is the flip of “Sittin’ On Top Of The World,” one of four singles released by the ASG label out of Cincinnati in the mid-70s. What we can tell you for sure is that “Young Generation” is a funk-injected hard rock banger of Buckeye State proportions, complete with what sounds like anonymous oral…

                  Macbeth released their one and only 45 in 1978, with the steamrolling “Freight Train” as the B-side to “Didn’t Mean (To Come This Far).” Boasting a thick-ass riff, a tasty stereo-panned guitar solo and at least one space laser sound effect, this one should satisfy fans of Blue Cheer and Grand Funk alike. Macbeth’s bassist, Ned Meloni, went on to play with UFO guitarist Paul Chapman, Virgin Steele guitarist Jack Starr and do a brief stint with doom legends Pentagram.

                  As it turns out, Saturday night ain’t just for fighting. One-and-done Canadian psych-rock warriors Sarawest will tell you it’s also for gettin’ “Hot & Heavy,” and they’re not wrong. This swirling 1974 freak rock fuzz-bomb will get the party started every time. And that porno guitar? Outta sight.

                  After releasing their full-length debut, Cuttin’ Loose, in 1976, North Carolina rockers Brotherhood Of Peace shortened their name to BOP and dropped this single two years later. “Feel The Heat (In The Driver’s Seat)” is freeway funk-rock in the classic Southern style.

                  Released in 1969 as the flip to “School Daze” (which opened The Eighth Trip in high style), Attack’s "Dream” was written by Thom Strasz. That’s the same St. Clair Shores, Michigan, resident who penned the highly sought-after garage-rock diamond “City Of People” under the name The Illusions in ’66. And this acid-drenched rocker rocks hard.

                  Brown Acid favorite Marty Soski rides again! After appearing on our third & eighth trips with his band Inside Experience and the fifth with Lance’s “Fireball,” the Ohio guitarist/vocalist graces our 16th with “Marilyn,” the 1976 A-side to “Fireball.” This time, our man unwinds a psychedelic threnody to the artist formerly known as Norma Jean Mortenson, perhaps inspired by Elton John’s then-recent “Candle In The Wind.”

                  Formed by three brothers—David, Bruce and Barry Flynn, all GM factory workers—along with organist Tom Applegate, The Headstones (also known as simply Headstone) lent their 1974 garage boogie “Carry Me On” to The Fourth Trip. This time, the Midwest psych rockers return with their killer 1975 instrumental “Snake Dance.” You can hear echoes of this particular guitar style in the recent work of Swedish adventure rock overlords Hällas.

                  The band Clinton might’ve been from Pennsylvania, but that didn’t stop them from writing about New York City. “Midnight In New York” is the flipside to their sole single, 1976’s “Falling Behind.” Stylistically and thematically, it’s not unlike something famous New Yawker Ace Frehley would’ve written for KISS around the same time.

                  TRACK LISTING

                  1. Seeds - “Shuckin’ And Jivin'”
                  2. Nothing - “Young Generation”
                  3. Macbeth - “Freight Train”
                  4. Sarawest - “Saturday (Hot & Heavy)”
                  5. Brotherhood Of Peace - “Feel The Heat (In The Driver’s Seat)”
                  6. Attack - “Dreams”
                  7. Lance - “Marilyn”
                  8. Headstones - “Snake Dance”
                  9. Clinton - “Midnight In New York”

                  Acid King

                  Acid King - 2023 Reissue

                    When Acid King pressed up their self-titled debut EP on a tape and started handing them out at shows with business cards, it wasn’t an aesthetic choice. It was 1993.

                    And while the world was still reeling in the aftermath of grunge breaking big on rock radio, this dirty-as-hell trio founded by guitarist/vocalist Lori S. were digging into even heavier vibes. Born out of Lori's shiftless days of wasted youth hanging around Chicago-area public parks, Acid King laughingly adopted the name from the book 'Say You Love Satan' and its subject Ricky Kasso, a local drug dealer who killed a friend over angel dust, thereby becoming the stuff of Satanic Panic local news broadcasts all over the country.

                    Founded after a move to San Francisco, Acid King were outliers on punker bills in the tradition of West Coast rifflords like Saint Vitus and Sleep, and this four-song outing captures them at their rawest. Long before the career-defining roll of Busse Woods (1999) and the psychedelic mastery of their latest offering, Beyond Vision, this EP set in motion one of American heavy rock’s most landmark careers.

                    Presented on reissued vinyl through RidingEasy Records – the original 10” was on Sympathy for the Record Industry – Acid King’s Acid King also established one of the most crucial partnerships in underground rock in that between Lori S. and producer/engineer Billy Anderson (see also: Neurosis, Sleep, Om, Amenra, Eight Bells, Cattle Decapitation and too many others to list). As Acid King went on to help define stoner rock in the mid and late ’90s with Zoroaster (1995), their Man’s Ruin Records split with Altamont (‘97) and Busse Woods, that creative relationship would flourish no less than the band’s sound, and here it is distilled to its meanest and most elemental self.

                    Led as ever by Lori, Acid King at the time featured bassist/vocalist Peter Lucas and drummer Joey Osbourne – legend has it both had to read 'Say You Love Satan' before joining – and Melvins drummer Dale Crover had a hand in producing it as well as singing lead on “The Midway” after Lucas took a turn on “Drop.” A preface to the many majesties to come throughout Acid King’s many-storied career, behold the formative incarnation that started it all. A piece of heavy rock history AND killer riffs? You can’t possibly go wrong. - JJ Koczan, May 2023

                    TRACK LISTING

                    SIDE A
                    1. Lead Paint
                    2. Blasting Cap
                    SIDE B
                    1. Drop
                    2. Midway

                    Master Danse

                    Feelin' Dead

                      You heard them first on Brown Acid “The Thirteenth Trip”. We are very excited to present to you the full unreleased recordings from this amazing band from Detroit. Master Danse was formed in late 1973 in Detroit, Michigan when drummer Tom Riss and bassist Cary Fletcher, formerly of the Detroit band Licking Stick, went looking for a new guitarist/lead vocalist and jammed with John Giaier, who had most recently played in the band Crawdad. The three musicians hit it off immediately, and a new power hard rock trio was born. 
                      In 1973, Detroit was clearly “Rock City”, featuring such local icons as Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad, Ted Nugent, and Mitch Ryder, and the high energy punch of Master Danse reflected this proud heritage. Unfortunately, this union would only last one year, and by the end of 1974 the power rock trio known as Master Danse had disbanded. What was left for posterity were only two live reel to reel recordings and one promo 45 single. Some forty-seven years later, the 45 found its way onto the internet and a small cult following of audiophiles was born, people who appreciate the raw power and high energy of early ‘70s rock. Bands like Master Danse and others from this era were riding the wave of transition from the pop rock sound of the ‘60s to an edgier sound that would eventually lead to metal and punk music.

                      With the help of modern-day tape restoration techniques, the two live recordings were restored, and together with the 45, the best versions of the eight songs that have survived the decades are featured on this album. Although recorded live forty-eight years ago on a two-track stereo tape recorder, you can still feel the power of Giaier’s Marshall stack, Fletcher’s twin Acoustic 360 amps, and the relentless attack of Riss’ Ludwig drums. So, sit back and enjoy. Rock on!

                      TRACK LISTING

                      Side One
                      1. Detroit City
                      2. Givin' In
                      3. I. O.U.
                      4. Sunday Morning
                      Side Two
                      1. Train To Love
                      2. We're Not Alone
                      3. Feelin' Dead
                      4. En Route To Fame

                      Maximillian

                      Maximillian

                        RidingEasy Records has teamed up with Permanent Records in Los Angeles to bring this very special heavy psych rocker back into the fold. New York City based African-American & Latino hard rock/psych trio Maximillian released their sole self-titled album on ABC Records in 1969, then promptly vanished. It has remained a collectors’ conversation piece ever since.

                        Maximillian combined elements of beat poetry, a little bit of The Fugs, a hit of Funkadelic, a lick of Cream and a vibe of Hendrix worship with an ambition that seems to have jumbled these influences. The Maximillian album is a rare artifact of late-60s psychedelic rock whose appeal is not the skill of their musicianship, but the downright strangeness of it. While at times it sounds like the trio is playing entirely different songs at the same time, it’s said that producer Teddy Vann had a hand in the album’s sometimes confusing production.

                        The group credited on the album consists of singer Buzzy Bowzer (aka Maximillian), lead guitarist Mojack Maximillian, and bassist Moby Medina (aka Moby Maximillian) with drummer Jerry Nolan later of the New York Dolls oddly uncredited on the LP. However, according to Nolan’s official biography, the band was actually co-founded by Buzzy and Nolan in 1968. The drummer was reported to have feuded with Vann, who disliked his Mitch Mitchell influenced style, and was subsequently mixed very quietly and not credited on the album.

                        The album’s eye-catching artwork features the sharp dressed band crucified on flower-covered crosses, with a cryptic and self-aggrandizing manifesto describing them as “new prophets of love and truth.” Be that as it may, their prophecy was short-lived, though it may have foretold the chaotic, rudimentary sounds to come in punk, and even, the grunge era.

                        The album opens with what sounds like an alternate reality version of Procol Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale” here re-tripping the light fandango under the guise of “Naked Ape.” A short 4-second sputtering of a violin tuning starts and abruptly ends as funereal fuzz bass and drums set up the melody and shimmering organ, violin squall and Bowzer’s howling voice wails of the failures of human evolution. “Kickin’ 9 to 5” starts like an early Hendrix groove before turning on a dime into a Bo Diddley-esque dirge, replete with the drums hard panned to the left channel and a persistent maraca on the right. Bowzer’s diction on “Scar On My Memory” predates Mark E. Smith of The Fall’s signature added vowels at the end of most words, while the music sounds like a more acid damaged take on fellow NYC freak-folkers Exuma. Elsewhere, “The Name of The Game” echoes “Manic Depression” with churning, rolling drums and a chiming guitar following Bowzer’s growling blues until the song suddenly shifts into a lurching rave-up, then a blues rumble for a few bars before mutating back to the original riff. Album closer “Moby’s House” is by far the most unusual track, sounding like a pastiche of the album’s songs cut and spliced together in random fashion, perhaps in homage to The Beatles’ “Revolution No. 9.” Throughout the album, random percussion and other instruments pop up as though the producer were assuring he could take credit for song arrangements. 

                        Westing

                        Future

                          For fans of - Led Zeppelin, All Them Witches, Rival Sons, Great Von Fleet

                          Late in 2021, Slow Season announced they’d become Westing, and that Ben McLeod (also of Nashville’s All Them Witches) was now in the four-piece on lead guitar alongside guitarist, vocalist and keyboardist Daniel Story Rice, bassist Hayden Doyel and drummer/recording engineer Cody Tarbell. Their new LP (fourth overall for RidingEasy), Future, is not coincidentally titled.

                          Says Rice, “We wanted to hit the reset button on some things and so we included a new band name to that list. Fresh start, for the psychological effect of it. We first met Ben in 2014 opening for All Them Witches in San Diego, and we did that again in 2016 and he and Cody corresponded about tape machines, music production, and other similar nerd stuff. We started swapping a few ideas early in 2021 and then flew him out for four days in August 2021. We got Future mostly down in that short span and did some remote stuff for overdubs, but nothing major. Obviously, our creative processes jelled pretty well to allow for such an efficiently productive session.”

                          So the story of Westing, and of Future, is about change, but the music makes itself so immediately familiar, it’s so welcoming, that it hardly matters. For about 10 years, the Visalia, California, outfit wandered the earth representing a new generational interpretation of classic heavy rock. The tones, warm. The melodies, sweet. The boogie, infectious. They went to ground after supporting their 2016 self-titled third album, and clearly it was time for something different.

                          Listening to Future opener “Back in the Twenties,” the message comes through clear (and loud) that however much Westing’s foundations might be in ‘70s styles, the moment that matters is now. It’s the future we’re living in, not the future that was. The big Zeppelin vibes at the outset and on “Big Trouble (In the City of Love)” and the local-bartender remembrance “Stanley Wu,” the dare-to-sound-like-Rocka-Rolla “Lost Riders” and the softshoe-ready shuffle of “Coming Back to Me” that leads into the payoff solo for the entire record, on and on; these pieces feed into an entirety that’s somehow loyal to homage while embodying a vitality that can only live up to the title they’ve given it.

                          “To me, ‘future’ is a word that embodies both hope and dread,” explains Rice, “and the future seems to be coming at us pretty quick these days. In some ways, it really feels like I am living in “the future,” as if I time traveled here and don't really belong. That feeling pervades this band's ethos in some ways. I thought Instagram was a steep climb until I met TikTok.”

                          Is Future the future? Hell, we should be so lucky. What Westing manifest in these songs is schooled in the rock of yore and theirs purely, and in that, Future looks forward with the benefit of the lessons learned across three prior full-lengths (and the accompanying tours) while offering the kind of freshness that comes with a debut. No, they’re not the same kids who released Mountains in 2014, and the tradeoff is being able to convey maturity, evolving creativity and stage-born dynamic on Future without sacrificing the spirit and passion that has underscored their work all along. – Words by JJ Koczan

                          TRACK LISTING

                          1. Back In The Twenties
                          2. Nothing New
                          3. Lost Riders Intro
                          4. Lost Riders
                          5. Big Trouble
                          6. Artemisia Coming Down
                          7. Silent Shout
                          8. Stanley Wu
                          9. Coming Back To Me

                          Various Artists

                          Brown Acid: The Fifteenth Trip

                            Lo and behold, the Fifteenth Trip is upon us, and it’s another mind-melting dose of brilliant long-lost, rare, and unreleased hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks from the 60s-70s. Our crate-digging mining expeditions, and growing network of the original artists keeps on giving with more and more incredible discoveries every time we go back for more. Like we’ve done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid.

                            Make yourself comfortable and prepare for yet another deep, deep dive into the treasure trove of dank, subterranean, wild-eyed and hairy rock ’n’ roll of yesteryear: As usual, this Trip opens strong, as “Take The Time” swaggers along with switchblade stabs of guitar twang and frantic drumming that sounds like Nick Cave’s 80s post-punk barbarians The Birthday Party on this 1969 single from the mysterious Boston area band The Looking Glass (not to be confused with the 70s soft-rock one-hit-wonders of “Brandy [You’re a Fine Girl]” fame.) But, as one might expect of a band this ahead of their time, the Looking Glass were soon to disappear down the rabbit hole. The Zoo’s “444” is a 1969 single out of Michigan that’s exactly the brand of rolling, grooving MC5/Stooges/Bob Seger System made famous in the Motor City. And this anthem slams as hard as the best of those well worn classics, which begs the question — whither The Zoo’s day in the limelight? We can only imagine that these animals were too wild to tame in the studio. Black Hawk was a trio out of Long Beach, CA who frequently played the SoCal club scene. Their lone 1971 single "Little Suzie Looker" features stomping pop hooks driven by some mean soundin’ Leslie West style guitar riffing. Originally named SMG for the members’ initials Sam/McCoy/Giles, the new name assigned by their management failed to take wing, and this Black Hawk was down permanently. Truth & Janey might be familiar to you from their 45-only “Midnight Horseman” single heard way back on the Sixth Trip, and/or their incredible 1976 LP No Rest For The Wicked. But their super-driven soul leaning cover of “Under My Thumb” gives the track more of a “lean in” to the descending riff than the original, which adds to its power. It’s almost like The Who had penned the track, with relentless drums, jackhammer rhythm guitar and near-falsetto vocals. Negative Space toil in the dark web of The Seeds, and dwell in the mystic haze of working class suburbs in Camden, NJ circa 1970. Their angry, nasty guitar sounds and frustration-bogged frontman Rob Russen ensure that the aggro fueled “Forbidden Fruit” — in which he confesses his love for his sister-in-law — will hit you right in the face. Russen self-financed and hand-stamped the otherwise plain white sleeves of their sole LP, proving that DIY aggression predates punk rock by several years. Scrapiron, out of Carteret, NJ provided history with only this 1971 lone single, “Roxanne” backed with “Poopsie.” The quartet’s over-the-top wailing vocals and warbling sounding guitars and organ give the sexually-charged paean a hint of (Crazy World of) Arthur Brown’s mania, mixed with early Deep Purple’s free-flowing style. White Lightning returns to the series here, last heard on The Twelfth Trip, and their blazing theatrical drumming, sizzling melodic riffs and Jim Dandy howls of “Under Screaming Double Eagle" perfectly sums up the raison d’être of this series. The Minneapolis band formed by guitarist Tom “Zippy” Caplan after he left garage psych heroes The Litter, later shortened its name to Lightning. The group only issued one proper album before disbanding in 1971. However, with the late 1990’s reissues and revival of The Litter, Lightning’s bevy of unreleased recordings also surfaced as a self-titled LP and Strikes Twice 1986-1969 CD compilation. Crazy Louie remains to this day a celebrated novelty rock act in their Rapid City, South Dakota home, reuniting from time to time to ensure that the insanity defense remains intact in the band’s psych ward files. "My Pants" is a chugging bit of tongue-in-cheek bravado that would do Bonn Scott proud. The release date of this B-side to “What The People Say” is unknown, but predates their Intro Into Craziness album from 1982. We’re not sure if they chose their name after the popular British cider or otherwise, but Strongbow’s "Change" is an ultra-slick and tight tune, anchored around a shimmering Hammond B-3 organ riff reminiscent of The Edgar Winter Group’s “Frankenstein” meets Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold.” The 1975 B-side to the single “If You’re Goin’ To The City” is a fun dose of throw-everything-at-the-wall prog rock outta Columbus, OH. Closing out this wild psych sesh is the hooky, heavy funk groove of Detroit’s Robert Stark. Fully credited to Robert Starks & The Geniuses this dose of lysergic Hendrix worship is summed up nicely by its title, “Space Traveling (Part 2).” The lo-fi recording adds to the haunted vibe of this deep Mississippi swamp blues jam, replete with Exuma-esque drum breakdowns. We recommend listening to “Space Traveling (Part 2)” not necessarily stoned, but… beautiful.

                            TRACK LISTING

                            Side A
                            The Looking Glass "Take The Time"
                            The Zoo "444"
                            Black Hawk "Little Suzie Looker"
                            Truth And Janey "Under My Thumb"
                            Negative Space ?Forbidden Fruit?
                            Side B
                            Scrapiron "Roxanne"
                            White Lightning "Under Screaming Double Eagle"
                            Crazy Louie "What The People Say"
                            Strongbow "Change"
                            Robert Starks "Space Traveling (Part 2)

                            Blackwater Holylight

                            Silence / Motion

                              Empty surrounds all of me. It’s a poignant line from the third album by Blackwater Holylight that encapsulates the search for self when suddenly everything has changed. There’s a theme of processing vast personal trauma throughout Silence/Motion that eloquently — both lyrically and musically — and simultaneously embodies the crushing emptiness, sorrow, strength and rebuilding of recovering from personal devastation.

                              “There was so much grief both in the world and interpersonally during the process of creating Silence/Motion,” says vocalist/bassist Allison “Sunny” Faris. “The four of us gave one another more space to be ourselves, to experiment with each other’s ideas and to be gentle with one another more than we ever have before. So, we knew this tenderness would manifest in extremely honest arrangements, and I think that you can hear that throughout the record.”

                              Curiously, considering the dark times in which it was created, this is the band’s most melodic and catchy music so far. 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. And, Silence/Motion finds the band honing those contrasts, letting ideas and moods fully develop from song to song, rather than filling every song with a full range of their capabilities. It allows the band to go fully prog-rock here, and simply stay hushed and intimate there. There’s a new confidence to the band in how seamlessly they wield their stylistic amalgam.

                              “Writing this album was extraordinarily difficult emotionally, however it did come to fruition fairly quickly,” Faris says. “In the past, the theme of vulnerability has always been a big player and it definitely showed up full force while writing this album.”

                              Blackwater Holylight recorded the album as a four piece: Faris on vocals and guitar (on “Silence/Motion”, “MDIII”, “Around You” and “Every Corner”) and bass for the remainder, Sarah McKenna on synths, Mikayla Mayhew on guitar (and bass when Faris plays guitar) and drummer Eliese Dorsay. New second guitarist Erika Osterhout will perform the songs with them live. For Silence/Motion the band chose to work with a producer for the first time, bringing in A.L.N. (of Mizmor, Hell) to produce, along with recording engineer Dylan White — who also helmed their previous album Veils of Winter (2019) — at Odessa Recording Studio in Portland, OR. Guest vocals on album opener “Delusional” are by Bryan Funck (Thou.) Mike Paparo (Inter Arma) and A.LN. (Mizmor, Hell) lend guest vocals to album closer “Every Corner.”

                              Silence/Motion opens softly with interwoven folky single note guitars over an ominous sounding drone for the first minute, akin to moments from Pink Floyd’s Echoes. Suddenly an irresistibly head-nodding, groovy droptuned riff kicks in with the drums and it’s a full on blackened rocker with soaring synths and Funck’s witchy whispers over the top. “Who The Hell,” the track quoted above, takes proceedings into a Krautrock direction, centered around McKenna’s arpeggiated synth loop and Dorsay’s tom-tom triplets, while 16-note guitar strums add tension as Faris wearily sings, “So tell me who the hell would want to live this way — so afraid/ To feel this void, to dwell in it… I can’t describe this pain I wear/ It suffocates and you left it here.” It’s an incredibly powerful 6 minutes. The title track delivers the 1-2-3 punch of the album’s brilliant opening trilogy. It starts with lightly plucked acoustic guitar, plaintive piano chords and Faris’ voice gliding so softly it sounds more like a Mellotron. The song builds slowly toward crescendo, led by a swinging tom pattern, that abruptly switches back to a heavier version of the opening melody.“Silence/Motion” is about digesting and healing from sexual assault. As Faris explains, “It is an ode to the juxtaposition of feeling paralyzingly blank and and like your entire life is moving through you simultaneously.” Elsewhere, Black Metal guitars collide with dreamlike melodies. “Around You” brandishes a hopeful, hummable synth melody and shimmering shoegaze guitars like throwing down a gauntlet. In the end, it becomes undeniably clear just how completely into their own Blackwater Holylight has come.

                              “The analogy is that with our first record (Blackwater Holylight, 2018) we were getting into to the car and buckling up,” Faris says. “The second (Veils of Winter, 2019) we were turning the car on, and with this third we have kicked into drive toward our destination. Our destination is a bit mysterious and has the ability to change from day to day, but we’re on our way.”

                              TRACK LISTING

                              01. Delusional
                              02. Who The Hell?
                              03. Silence/Motion
                              04. Falling Faster
                              05. MDIII
                              06. Around You
                              07. Every Corner

                              Here Lies Man took the music world by storm in 2017 with their self-titled debut positing the intriguing hypothesis: What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?

                              'We’re very conscious of how the rhythms service the riffs,' explains founder and vocalist / guitarist/ multi-instrumentalist Marcos Garcia (who also plays guitar in Antibalas) of the band’s sound. 'Tony Iommi’s (Black Sabbath) innovation was to make the riff the organizing principle of a song. We are taking that same approach but employing a different organizing principle: For Iommi it was the blues, for us it comes directly from Africa.'

                              Sonically, on "You Will Know Nothing" the dynamic range is thicker, crisper and more powerful. It glistens as much as it blasts. The songs are even catchier, more anthemic, and the production reflects that of a band truly come into its own. Lyrically, it’s an equally more conceptualized effort that reflects upon states of being and consciousness — a driving force that carries throughout the words and moods of all of the band’s releases, interconnected to their trancelike music. Here Lies Man have honed their sound and their focus, and soon, you will truly know Nothing.


                              Garcia and Mann recorded the album much like they did the debut, at their own L.A. studio on a Tascam 388 8-track tape machine. Congas were later recorded by percussionists Richard Panta and Reinaldo DeJesus. Then, Garcia went to NY to record interludes with former Antibalas keyboardist Victor Axelrod. Mixing took the most time in order to find the proper sonic space for each layer of musical detail, with first album engineer Jeremy Page mixing the drums and the band tackling the remainder while also juggling a hectic touring schedule.


                              STAFF COMMENTS

                              Barry says: Bringing the frantic, almost percussive snapping guitars over the top of galloping toms and distorted, psychedelic vox, Here Lies Man have presented a fascinating and head-nodding stoner throb to the masses. 'You Will Know Nothing' pits nuanced stoned heft against swooning, psychedelic groove to great effect.


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