Thursday, May 26
6 pm - 2 am
Bible of The Devil
<>
They`re on the heavier side of classic rock with a ace dual guitar combo that seeks to re-live the glory days of your favorite guitar duos - Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham, Buck Dharma and Allan Lanier, Bruce Franklin and Frank Wartell, KK Downing and Glenn Tipton, and Slash and Izzy. You get the idea. These guys can bring it: Marshall stacks cranked all the way, bowel-moving bass, and tight speedball drumming.
Recent Recording: Bible of the Devil/The Last Vegas - Split 7 inch (Scarey Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Guns n’ Roses - when they were great, Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, early Aerosmith, Rainbow
Test-Site
<>
I suppose the reason Test-Site gave themselves their name is because their sound is like that of a nuclear test site. Or perhaps the sound of a super collider? Either way, Test-Site are the sound of math, metal, and fucking loud ass noise coming together to create a sonic brew that`s as heavy as quantum physics and louder than hell.
Recent Recording: Self Titled (Daimajin Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, Helmet
King Valley
<>
StonerRock.com`s own musical bon viviant John Pegorao says about King Valley, “...a solid take on what can only be described as American Hard Rock, distilled from muscle cars and Kyuss. It`s good stuff, catchy without being cloying, and rocks consistently from start to finish.” Who could disagree with that? And by all reports, this is one of those “must see” live bands. Get your head ready, man. It`s King Valley, motherfucker!
Recent Recording: Greatest Hits Volume 8 (Self Released), 2004
Sounds Like: Kyuss, Orange Goblin, Unida
Amplified Heat
<>
Three brothers from Austin, Texas named Ortiz banded together with a cache of nearly broken down old ass gear to try to break the world land speed record for a band. These guys are obviously in love with their retro gear and ideals, but they`ve put everything into a fairly modern context. It`s all about speed, power, and timing with a classic rock sound that brings to mind the greats of the past without being at all nostalgic.
Recent Recording: In for Sin (Arclight Records), 2004
Sounds Like: ZZ Top, Thin Lizzy, Cream
GreatDayForUp
<>
Dirty, kick ass, and did I mention dirty? These guys play with their noses to the proverbial grindstone, making a sound that is explosive and captivating in a way that few bands do.
Recent Recording: Solace/Greatdayforup Split CD (Underdogma Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Sound like a heavier Fu Manchu, but play like the Stooges.
Deadbird
<>
Fayetteville, Arkansas is ground zero for this doom, punk, black, and traditional metal outfit. Deadbird write songs emphasizing the use of atmosphere to express the general feeling of hopelessness, anger, and despair that coming from Arkansas seems to foster.
Recent Recording: The Head and The Heat (Codebreaker Records), 2005
Sounds Like: Neurosis, Today Is The Day, and other sick sounding shit.
Friday, May 27
6 pm - 2 am
Dot(.)
<>
Hailing from across the Pacific, Dot(.) are Japanese ambassadors of all that is heavy, slow, and hateful. Their riffs pound you into the ground with sheer heaviosity and slow-motion ugly sludge with some mid-tempo crushing parts. Dual vocals from both the guitarist and bassist keep things fresh in that department, as they switch from low guttural grunts to higher-pitched shrieks reminiscent of Bongzilla.
Recent Recording: Self Titled (Blind Date Records), 2005
Sounds Like: Eyehategod-eque sludge doom filtered through Japanese Horror.
Dixie Witch
<>
They say that everything is bigger in Texas and Dixie Witch are out to prove that saying is true. Dixie Witch feature bigger than life guitars paired with gigantic riffs and howling at the moon vocals while drinkin` a big ole bottle of Texas whiskey.
Recent Recording: One Bird Two Stones (Small Stone), 2003
Sounds Like: Southern rock in the vein of ZZ Top infused with British metal ala Sabbath, and with leads like Judas Priest
Darediablo
<>
StonerRock.com`s John Pegoraro describes these guys as “smarter than average instrumental rock.” Primarily a rock band with a thick rhythm section, they spice things up by adding keyboard accents here and there give the band a unique personality amongst a sea of very similar sounding outfits.
Recent Recording: Twenty Paces (Southern Records), 2005
Sounds Like: AC/DC and Deep Purple with the mentality of a prog-rock group.
Torche
<>
Features members of Floor, Cavity and Tyranny of Shaw. Truly anthemic, triumphant and absolutely massive heavy metal has never been so blatantly catchy. With gloriously sung harmonized and soaring vocal arrangements accompanying the most monolithic riffs of modern times, Torche reaches to push the heavy envelope and then engulfs it in flames.
Recent Recording: Self Titled (Robotic Empire), 2005
Sounds Like: Floor, Cavity, Dove
Fistula
<>
Fistula don`t really seem to care that they`re on the far side on “unlistenable.” Liberal doses of hardcore inspired, from the back of the throat vocals combined with lock step bass and guitar with measured drums. If you`re lucky they`ll play their sickly, sludged out and nearly unrecognizable cover of Eric Clapton`s “Cocaine.”
Recent Recording: Idiopathic (Shifty Records), 2003
Sounds Like: Burning Witch, Eyehategod, Bongzilla
Mouth of the Architect
<>
There’s no verse-chorus-verse simplicity here; instead they start with an intricate riff and let it unfold into whatever shape it wants to take. Fortunately, the band doesn’t jump haphazardly from one odd time signature to another seemingly random one. Everything flows. Additionally, the songs travel into mellower moments, giving them a deeper resonance and more emotional heft. Mouth of the Architect are excellent and deserves your full attention.
Recent Recording: Time and Withering (Translation Loss Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Pelican, Isis, Neurosis
Beaten Back to Pure
<>
BBTP are an acquired taste of guttural “I just puked up my small intestines” vocals and super buzzed out guitar grind with beastly doomed out rock drum beats. Lead singer and StonerRock.com regular Ben Hogg can best be described as cheerfully belligerent.
Recent Recording: The Burning South (This Dark Reign Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Eyehategod and Warhorse blended with a generous helping of Southern Rock groove.
Pale Divine
<>
Kevin McHugh says, “If you’re up for it, this music can connect you with another reality, a higher reality, a psychedelically-inspired world that plugs you into the very essence of existence. How do they do it? By projecting themselves into the music until they become one with it, allowing it to directly express their thoughts. You may think I’m blowing smoke here, but this is straight up! The lyrics are idealistic and angry, condemning all those who’ve betrayed us while constructing our world out of deception and lies for their own benefit.”
Recent Recording: Eternity Revealed (Martyr Music), 2004
Sounds Like: Pentagram, Trouble, Obsessed
Devil to Pay
<>
Never in a rush and always on time, Devil to Pay redefine the execution of groove in a all wrapped up in a appetizing southern fried blues doom vibe that rocks like no other band from the mid west has any right to do. Lead singer Steve Janick`s tasteful and soulful vocals put this group into a class of their own. Best enjoyed with a smile on your face and repeated nod of the head. The Lord loves a good groove.
Recent Recording: Thirty Pieces of Silver (Benchmark Records), 2003
Sounds Like: Corrosion of Conformity, Alice in Chains
Saturday, May 28
2 pm - 2 am
Witchcraft
<>
What is it about the Swedish and their slavish devotion to detailed retro art rock aesthetic that produces bands like Witchcraft? Is it something in cool arctic air or is the government grants? Is it the fine buxom blond women or the delicious vodka? I don`t know, but I know that I`d be worshiped as a god in Sweden and if there`s any justice Witchcraft will be worshiped as Gods when they come over to the United States this spring to ply their particular grade of retro-doom rock.
Recent Recording: Self Titled (Rise Above Records), 2004
Sounds Like: The first two Black Sabbath records and a little Captain Beyond.
Raging Slab
<>
This ain`t no joke. Raging Slab are the original southern rock band from the North. Something about the northerners doing the southern rock vibe” makes a man want to drink a lot of cheap domestic beers.
Recent Recording: (pronounced eat shit) (Tee Pee Records), 2002
Sounds Like: Molly Hatchet, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent, Guns N` Roses
Weedeater
<>
Tell ya what, I don`t like Weedeater all that much. They`re just a big mess of tuned down guttural buzz-to-the-fuzz-to-nuts guitars with vocals that sound sound nothing like Billy Joel. Word is that it`s not a Weedeater performance unless vocalist Dixie Dave has vomited behind the drum kit. I guess it`s that extra coat of bile on his throat that makes the difference between the limo and the stretch limo, if ya know what I mean.
Recent Recording: Sixteen Tons (Berserker/Crucial Blast), 2002
Sounds Like: Goatsnake without the tasteful vocals.
Alabama Thunderpussy
<>
Everything about ATP is just done right. They have the most bitchen guitar tones, the perfect combination of gut level rocked out song arrangements, and pissed off sounding off the cuff guitar solos. No longer new vocalist John Weils has settled into the band like an adopted hound dog. Chances are they may be the best band to call themselves “hard rock” playing that shit right now. Consider yourself blessed to be in the presence of greatness.
Recent Recording: Fulton Hill (Relapse), 2004
Sounds Like: Sabbath meets Skynyrd at the hardcore show.
Honky
<>
Fucking Pinkus, man. Satanic siblings of ZZ Top. Bassist Jeff Pinkus is a crazy quilt of tattoos who used to play in the Butthole Surfers. Guitarist Bobby Rock moonlights in Gahdzilla Motor Company and drummer Lance Farley handles the majority of Honky`s lead vocals. In their own words, Honky plays “dirty white boy rock`n`roll.” The Supersuckers got nothin` on Honky.
Recent Recording: House of Good Tires (Hall Of Records), 2001
Sounds Like:” ZZ Top, Black Oak Arkansas, Butthole Surfers
Sons Of Otis
<>
You know where Sons Of Otis are coming from? Odds are you might think you know, but the truth is that there is no way possible with currently available technology to know exactly where these guys are coming from. I mean, we`ve only just now confirmed that there are other planets orbiting stars in galaxies millions of light years away. Space is pretty big. Sons Of Otis are probably from one of these sentafentabemilzion planets from a bezillion galaxies. So, we`ll never know where they`re from - but let`s all be glad they`re here and our human ears can listen and appreciate the cosmic sounds they produce.
Recent Recording: X (Small Stone Records), 2005
Sounds Like: Hawkwind, Melvins, Goatsnake, Pink Floyd
Rebreather
<>
Described as “heavier than fuck,” Youngstown, Ohio’s own Rebreather are all about bringing the heavy with simple yet effective riffs, wailing feedback noise, and a constant vibe of menace.
Recent Recording: Split EP with Starchild (Twin Earth Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Godflesh, Eyehategod, Goatsnake
Rwake
<>
Sick sounding metal for sick people. Seriously. It sounds like any one of these dudes is going to keel over and kack out at any moment. What exactly is keeping them alive? Is the buzzed out bass or the unrelenting screeching wall of waling vocals? Perhaps it`s the minor key harmonic guitars or just a whole lot of chemicals. Either way, just be glad it`s Rwake and not you.
Recent Recording: If You Walk Before You Crawl You Crawl Before You Die (At A Loss Recordings), May 2004
Sounds Like: Today is the Day , Eyehategod, Bongzilla
Roadsaw
<>
StonerRock.com`s retired musicologist and all around know-it-all Robwrong says of Roadsaw, “..the same sort of energy that Orange Goblin had on The Big Black, but seems to travel in more places, or different places I should say. Dueling guitars that sound like the classic Les Paul/ Gibson type through a cranked up Marshall. The rhythm section is tight and well rehearsed. They has so many cool hooks and grooves and just flat out rock the whole time.”
Recent Recording: Rawk `n` Roll (Abstract Sounds), 2001
Sounds Like: Orange Goblin, Nebula, the Atomic Bitchwax
5ive
<>
One guitarist, one drummer, and a whole lot of noise. Boston`s 5ive create a tapestry of sound, both epic and minimalist. Don`t be surprised to find yourself slackjawed after their set.
Recent Recording: Versus (Odd Halo Recordings), 2004
Sounds Like: Boris, 35007, Pelican
Delicious
<>
If you like your rock a little bit slower and quite a bit more spaced out, then Delicious may be exactly the band you’re looking for. This all instrumental trio has a strong collection of expansive psychedelic rock, fluid songs that have the better qualities of jams without meandering aimlessly.
Recent Recording: Self Titled (Sancho Records), 2003
Sounds Like: A heavy but more prone to jamming Hawkwind
Hope and Suicide
<>
Complex and perplexing as well as heavy as shit, with some melodic interludes thrown in there. The vocals are vicious, entertaining and chaotic. They`ve got thundering riffs and odd time signatures and stand out guitar work” Hope and Suicide put on a big ass, beer guzzling, weed smoking rock show. You could say that this is brilliantly put together music, mixing metal and post hardcore.
Recent Recording: Split with Emmanuel 7 (Protocol One Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Clutch, Scissorfight, Coalesce
Minsk
<>
Chicago`s own Sanford Parker retired his megalithic doom outfit Buried At Sea only to rediscover his hidden legacy in the name of an iced over Russian Sea town. Sounding as cold and foreboding as a Siberian Gulag, Minsk are similar to Buried At Sea in that they`re dabble with slow, but measured tempos but add in much more sonic varity with sweeping atmospheric guitar sounds and other bizarre sounding shit that could very well be the most intense and brutally cold music you`ll hear all year.
Recent Recording: Out of a Center Which is Neither Dead Nor Alive (At a Loss Records), Summer 2005
Sounds Like: Buried At Sea, Isis, Pelican, Warhorse, Neurosis.
Sunday, May 29
2 pm - 2 am
Eyehategod
<>
Underground legends don`t get much bigger than Eyehategod. Time may be the ultimate test of a bands worth and if that`s the case then EHG have busted open the hourglass, shit on the sundial, pissed in the grandfather clock and threw the pocket watch in the river. Everyone and their brother who has tuned their guitar down, and I mean down” or slowed down their tempos owes a debt of gratitude to EHG for knocking that door down with it`s booze and cough syrup filled belly.
Recent Recording: Confederacy of Ruined Lives (Century Media), 2000
Sounds Like: Other bands sounds like Eyehategod. Eyehategod sound like Eyehategod.
Today is the Day
<>
TITD are less of a band and more of a series of painful experiences brought to life by electrified sound. Imagine if you will a giant satellite dish mounted on TITD mastermind Steve Austin`s head that is a funnel for all of the world`s pain and misery . That pain and misery is then rebroadcasted out through his hands and mouth in the form of a truly awesome sound that is as heartbreaking as it is exhilarating. TITD combine dissonance, break neck tempos and intricate griding musical arrangements that challenge anyone`s concepts of what is musical and what is just a bunch of loud ass fucking noise.
Recent Recording: Kiss The Pig (Relapse Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Totally unique sound. No other bands sound like this and no others should.
Pig Destroyer
<>
Kids and Mom`s a like love Pig Destroyer.
Recent Recording: Terrifyer (Relapse Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Your record collection put in a blender.
Keelhaul
<>
Ever wondered what Mack Truck would sound like if you`re sitting inside the combustion cylinder? Probably a lot like Keelhaul. They`re the musical representation of gasoline exploding in a steel chamber, turning a piston attached to crankshaft. It`s mechanical, but it`s real. It`s organic `cause it`s made by humans - but make no mistake, this is machine and it`s bearing down on you with the throttle open wide and 10 metric tons of American made speed.
Recent Recording: Subject To Change Without Notice (HydraHead), 2003
Sounds Like: Helmet, Slayer, Clutch, Black Flag
Meatjack
<>
Anchored by massive bass tone and constantly changing melodic guitars, Meatjack aren`t out to fit into any particular metal formula. What these guys do is very natural and not at all forced. You get the idea that they`d sound just this heavy if they were playing banjos and bongos. Technical and sludgy music for the discerning metal head who heard it all before and likes hearing it done well.
Recent Recording: Days Of Fire (At A Loss Recordings), 2003
Sounds Like: Neurosis meets the Melvins meets Mastodon
Stinking Lizaveta
<>
Philadelphia progressive instrumental psycho-toxic-guitar-freak-out-hard-core-rock. Stinking Lizaveta are a band best left open for interpretation, like good poetry or modern art.
Recent Recording: Caught Between Worlds (At a Loss Records), 2001
Sounds Like: “Combining a heaping scoop of Black Sabbath’s leaden grind and two pinches of King Crimson’s geometric calculations.” (Cheshire Press Drum Magazine)
YOB
<>
YOB are kind of like this club that you can only join if you know the secret code. Once you know the secret code, you`ll have no problem understanding what is going on, but until you get that code it doesn`t make any fucking sense. Additionally, other people who don`t have the secret code will listen to YOB and make fun of you for listening to such silliness. Fuck them! You`ve got the secret code, you`ve got your YOB records. YOB are fucking awesome.
Recent Recording: Illusion Of Motion (Metal Blade Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Sleep + Maggot Brain era Funkadelic = Yob
Solace
<>
Let`s count the ways in which Solace rule. Tommy`s guitar tone is perfect. It`s loud, it`s really loud. It`s smooth, it`s fuzzy, but not too fuzzy. It`s covers so much sonic ground yet is open enough to allow the grizzly bear growl of the bass to buzz in. Jason`s vocals soar above the band like Ozzy, but fuck Ozzy! Jason is better than Ozzy, and he`s from New Jersey! I`m so tired of these fucking Brits thinking they got the market cornered on fucking rock and roll. Fuck you U.K., we`ve got Solace!
Recent Recording: Solace/Greatdayforup Split CD (Underdogma Records), 2004
Sounds Like: The epitome of stoner rock - Solace sound fucking awesome!
Player`s Club
<>
Players Club take the raw, bruising but musical sound of the Unsane and move it into a more rock and roll context. These guys are bursting with original sounding songs, amazing arrangements and a unique sound that is unmistakably Player`s Club. True modern rock doesn`t get any better than this.
Recent Recording: Regenesis (Dead Teenager Records), 2004
Sounds Like: Unsane playing `70`s rock with a bit of new wave weirdness.
Disengage
<>
Redefining the term “tight” in the rock and roll context, Cleveland, Ohio`s own Disengage are as tight as cancer is serious. And believe me, tight is what you need to hold together something that moves this fast, changes direction adds on weight and then flings it off like a super steroided weightlifter on a twenty day crystal meth death binge.
Recent Recording: Application For An Afterlife (Fractured Transmitter), 2004
Sounds Like:“ Fugazi, Clutch, Black Flag
Lair of the Minotaur
<>
LOTM are heavy metal specifically crafted to make a visceral impact. It’s performed at a gut level with maximum bravado. LOTM may be wearing the faded, but proud t-shirts of their obvious influences like Slayer, Venom, and Sabbath, but they put in all into a highly palatable metal stew that is itself something entirely different and very fresh.
Recent Recording: Carnage (Southern Lord Recordings), 2004
Sounds Like: Venom, Slayer, and Sabbath
