The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition – Limited Vinyl // CD // DD
Pepper Shaker Records & Headspin Records – released November 1, 2018
Review by Terry “The Ancient” One Cuyler
“Psychedelic Snake Oil”
The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition
I.Oddball Sundae (00:00-05:15)
II.The Juggler (05:16-10:08)
III.Introducing… Oxandra Lanceolata (10:09-16:26)
The Talking Juice (16:27-27:31)
Swords For Hire (27:32-31:47)
Never Should Have Left Town With A Whistling Monkey By My Side(31:48-39:29)
2 Encore: A Herbal Miracle (6:02)
Review:
Step right up ladies and gentlemen, so I can tell you about The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition by Australia’s Heavy Psych trio Frozen Planet ….1969 made up of Paul Attard & Frank Attard of Mother Mars and Lachlan Paine of Looking Glass who planted the seeds to the band in 2012 in a jam session at the Frank Street Studio, the home of Pepper Shaker Records. Then a little more than a year later the guys got back together and decided to release the recordings as a side project they would call Frozen Planet 1969.
To date, the band has only played a handful of shows. Each show has been uniquely different with the band continuously jamming for thirty to forty minutes. No rehearsal necessary. Every time Frozen Planet 1969 gets together it’s either to record or play live. And it’s All improvised! Although this is a style of creating and playing music that can cause friction it seems to work quite well for Frozen Planet 1969 who has released a total of 6 albums and 2 singles since their 1st “Self Titled” album.
The bands latest offering is on it’s surface a 2 song album which might be disappointing if they were only 3 to 5 minute songs and leave me hoping they were just appetizers for an upcoming album. However as masters of improvisation who love to jam, Frozen Planet 1969‘s album The Heavy Medicinal Grand Exposition is not just two songs. it is in truth a Psychedelic / Acid Rock opera about a traveling medicine show.
In the album description on Bandcamp ‘I’ through ‘VI’ of the title-track serve as the acts of the show. The band takes twists and turns to help guide you through the story, while Doctor Berner, with the help of some colorful characters, are on a quest to sell bottles of his glowing green elixir (which will apparently cure any pain or deliver anyone from evil!). After listening to this I am hooked and want to see one of those rare shows.
Ripple Music & Magic Moustache Records – December 1, 2018
Reviewed by Ric “Suisyko” Dorr
Formed: 2014
Location
The Island of Guernsey, off the coast of Normandy, France
Members: Joe Le long – Bass, Vocals Christiaan Mariess – Drums Henry Fears – Guitar, Vocals
Previous Releases: ‘Self Titled’ EP (2014)
‘Mill Street Blues’ (2016)
‘Through The Doors Of Kukundu’ single (2017)
Review:
I have always been one who is ‘down’ for something cool to ‘smoke into’ and chill, riding the dissonant waves of what is referred to as stoner-metal. For me, I ask for thick guitars and enough bass to rattle my fillings while a nice tempo is a good ‘carry’ to lift the rest even higher, as it were. Through the previous releases, Lord Vapour has been one of the genre’s highlights with the flow-of-low they deliver with every track and I had high-hopes for this true-sophomore effort offered with this album. And then I pushed ‘play’…
Opener ‘Burning Planet’ gave me just over three minutes of drums, bass and guitar flow-of-low that is seamless in tone and sets the pace perfectly, with all the rise and fall of soaring notes that wrap around you effortlessly and then Joe’s vocal hits you right between the eyes with another tale of outer-space that will shake your thirst for fuzzed out low-end. Henry’s screaming guitar leads and all the thunder you could ask from Christian’s kit that is dripping in groove as it fades slowly into the opening bass riff of ‘The Spice’, carrying you further along the path of Lord Vapour’s journey this time out. The sudden time shift two minutes in, gives Henry’s fingers another chance to fly before Joe’s voice commands your attention and you can’t help but give in to catch each moment with clarity so as to not miss a crumb.
All six tracks show the polishing of their craft in the almost two years since the last release and will be on quite a few ‘top-of’ lists for quite a few and with the sheer might of power chord progressions such as in ‘Through The Doors Of Kukundu’ to the ‘funky-wah’ opening of ‘Semuta Music’, these guys are not afraid to show how DEEP the power of their prowess in crafting tracks that are HUGE in composition and execution. The layering of “The Mothership Connection’ delivers the complexity and sonic force that permeate each of Lord Vapour’s tracks to date.
Personal stand-out for me is closer ‘Nasubi’ with the lush wash-cymbals, jazz tempo’d time shifts and that ultra thick low-end that gives the ultimate room for the slides and grinds up and down that six-string and has a flow that would not relent until another mega-shift almost three minutes into this opus that clocks in at over eight minutes. This record is so good that it has been re-released to lauds and positivity throughout by European label Argonauta Records and by Ripple Music in The States if that tells you anything. Everyone wants to jump onboard Lord Vapour’s proverbial “Freight Train”!!
The previous releases, to ME, hinted quietly about what was to come, but this record will force the rest of the world to climb aboard and just ride… support them if they come anywhere close and share with ALL in your realm and most importantly, keep it LOUD!!
Tracklist: Rise Of Beesus 07:31
6ft Under Box 03:55
Stonerslam 03:16
Waltzer 03:38
Kusa 06:53
Zenza 03:26
Sonic Doom/Stoner Youth 06:21
Mata La Vergüenza 04:41
Beesus In Dope 07:40
…And 02:28
Review:
BEESUS are a rock band from Rome, Italy. This album is a strange mix of 90’s influences like; Grunge/Alternative Metal and Stoner Rock and even some Doom Metal. They have their guitar’s gain almost all the way up, making them buzz… Kind of like a bee.
You can hear the influence of a band they name in the first word and last word title of their seventh song, Sonic Youth. The album is a strange mix of Alice in Chains, John Corabi led Motley Crue, Sonic Youth, and Hobo Magic. Which doesn’t sound like it would sound good or work but here it really does.
Track-by-Track:
Rise Of Beesus 07:31 – The album starts with feedback, buzzing, and distant moaning. Then suddenly the rise begins. “I saw the prophet, who called his name, by a strange language I’ve never, never heard”. The world of the song becomes darker and soon the almost chant of “He’s here” makes it even stranger.
6ft Under Box 03:55 – The crunchy beginning sets up the atmosphere of this song. The vocals and music almost sound like it is coming from a box, there is no reverb, and even the vocals seem dry and crushed. The tracks builds to a neck breaking Shout out loud lyrics “6 Feet Under Box” which is accompanied with a powerful Riff that would knockout Mike Tyson in his heyday with its strength and power!
Stonerslam 03:16 – The reverb is back and with a grove. We are told; “so stand up crowd and start to dance, because your fears are near the end” even though we are barley into the album and song giving a somewhat false sense of ease but soon we are told to; “Create and destroy, well, you can, at Stonerslam” and to; “stand up sisters, stand up brothers, all together, altogether, stand up people, stand up now, and all together let’s start to dance” ending in feedback into
Waltzer 03:38 – This song is a heavy groove too and as the song progresses he tells us repeatedly; “I’m not enough fool, to be your slave, I’m not enough freak, to know your faith/to like our pain, ‘Cause I won’t be lost, I won’t be sold” and finally “I won’t be yours”
Kusa 06:53 – This is a heavy track in more ways than one… The lyrics, like; “Your choosing wrong ways, won’t take you so far away, (it always seems so easy), meanwhile she’s falling down” and musically, there is a constant bass plucking that is on the edge of being too distorted plodding along under the whole track. There are also little sound effects like breathing and a higher pitched note in the distance.
Kusa is Japanese for Grass or Herb. 草
Beesus is currently Touring Europe!
Zenza 03:26 – I’ll quote the singer on what this track is “uncontrolled madness” It sounds like everyone is just jamming away and rocking out. The way that the vocals are; main on the left (and a little on the right) and a second vocal joining on the right (and sometimes on the left) This track is just a wild ride.
“Zenza is just a name of a guy we know” says the band.
Sonic Doom/Stoner Youth 06:21 – This title shows what a few of the influences are for the band and album; Sonic Youth, Doom, and Stoner. The track mixes those three well; There is a sense of doom,there is the sound of stoner rock, and an influence of the musical stylings of Sonic Youth. (Stoner and Doom take the most focus though.
Mata La Vergüenza 04:41 – This is one of, if not the, most metal tracks on the album. Well the song is bookended by the two most metal parts on the album. In the middle it goes slow while the vocalist says that; “We only have to forgive the blame we only have to play this game, we only have to kill the shame” and finally “now we need to find some better place”
Spanish for Kills The Shame
Beesus In Dope 07:40 – This track sounds like a very strange mix of Black Sabbath and Alice in Chains. There is a slow and heavy groove and little lyrics. “Some drifting life, no time for dying, 4 single men, one single soul, We’re in dope, Forget your pain, trust in her powers, let her get inside, your body and mind, We’re in dope”
…And 02:28 – Is another crazy track that is a weird bonus track that sounds like a nightmare soundscape with yelled vocals and a late Nirvana song with heaver instruments.
Final Thoughts:
Even though most of the influences are from the 90s Beesus has made a modern sounding record. Could that be because everything is recorded so cleanly without compression?
This album is definitely a rise, and it is a great first album. Pick it up HERE
Tracklist: Intro 0:12
El Dude 3:34
Dubblegum Boom Metla 4:47
Nuña y Freña 9:25
Reichl 3:24
I Don’t Wanna Be 3:37
Junk Around 3:55
Beaux 9:56
Outro 0:14
Review:
Earlier this year the band made a Pledge Music page to promote and raise money for there second album. It is now closed (of course) and, luckily, reached 101% of its goal. It had some interesting options like, a cover song of your choice, a in your house performance, and an executive producer credit. Sadly the website doesn’t tell you how much of each option was bought so I can’t tell you what got bought the most. But anyway to the review…
Beesus’ second album has more of a venom and late 80s grunge, noise rock feel. The production and playing on this album has tightened up. There is also a more punk feel and the fuzz is still present but is toned down.
For a couple of songs the band have introduced a vocoder. It makes it’s entrance in “I Don’t Wanna Be” and it’s exit is “Beaux”.
The “Intro” and “Outro” are a strange mix of keys and maybe a garage door opening.
“El Dude” starts with a lot of noise and a solid bass riff. It also sounds like it could be the first part to a later track (I Don’t Wanna Be).
“Dubblegum Boom Metla” has four movements the first part which is medium passed and has a repeating riff and speeds up as it gets to the the second which is faster and then it speeds up and suddenly slows to the background screaming and slow churning fuzzy guitars. It then speeds up again, back to the second pace, but only briefly and then it fades out.
“Nuña y Freña” is somewhat of a throwback to their first album kind of like “Kusa”.
“Reichl” is the roughest and noisiest of the main tracks. “Take the cure, my man” is repeated many times throughout the song. Sonic Youth will definitely approve!
“I Don’t Wanna” be is a mix of stoner, punk, and a few moments of rapid, almost rapped vocals. This is the first track with the vocoder. It is in the background emphasizing some of the vocals.
“Junk Around” has the most affects added to it. Strangely enough it is also the most punk of the tracks. There is “You’ll succumb to me.” and “On your knees” are the phrases for this song.
In “Beaux”, the vocoder returns. It is more prominent. This song is also the slowest, and longest, on the album. Has a well executed sludgy feel to it.
Final Thoughts:
“Sgt. Beesus and the lonely ass Gangbang!” is definitely an improvement on their first album and I am excited to hear some of those cover songs if anyone bought that perk.
France-based doom stalwarts Witchthroat Serpent will release their new single Striped Dragon on June 15 through Svart Records. The newest offering from guitarist/vox Fredrik Bolzann, drummer Niko Lass and bassist Lo Klav finds the trio adding some psyche-heavy flourishes to this superb selection. The song and its B-side were recorded live at Drudenhaus Studio during the sessions for the band’s previous release, 2016’s Sang-Dragon. It is arriving just in time for the trio’s upcoming road trek (dates below).
“Striped Dragon” is presented in a deluxe gatefold cover, a carefully-crafted work of art by Branca Studio. This piece is limited to 300 copies and is a one-time pressing.
– Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker
WITCHTHROAT SERPENT “RISING SUN TOUR” June 2017:
19/06 BE Antwerpen “Kid’s Kaffee”
20/06 GER Berlin “Tiefgrund”
21/06 GER Dresden “Ostpol”
22/06 GER Leipzig “Black label Pub”
23/06 GER Nuremberg “Kunstverein”
24/06 GER Munich “St Helena Festival”
25/06 FR Paris “Dr Feelgood”
From the heart of Deventer, Netherlands comes the latest studio offering from the hazily fuzzened foursome Drive By Wire, ‘The Whole Shebang‘. Issued just yesterday (May 19th) through Argonauta Records comes this heady, wholesome opus of psychedelia-laden Desert/Stoner Rock. It’s one that is made that much more the powerful thanks to the full-on sultriness of singer Simone Holsbeek. Her vocals, merged with the magnificent musicality provided by Alwin Wubben, Jerome Miedendorp de Bie, Marcel Zerb and Rene Rutten, make this a record that is impossible to ignore.
Drive By Wire manages to distill their inspirations and influences into a warmly organic sound, but one with the urgency and dynamics of 90′s grunge (Soundgarden, Alice in Chains), the sensuality of PJ Harvey and the deliciously heavy psychedelic fuzz grooves of all the great 70′s bands. I am pretty confident in saying that once you start this album to playing, you won’t be able to turn itoff until the last song wraps up…and even then you will probably be inclined to hit Repeat again.
See if what I’m saying is true by giving Drive By Wire‘s ‘The Whole Shebang‘ a precursory spin via the Soundcloud embed below. In the meantime, don’t forget, the album is out right now from Argonauta Records!
A name like Green Slumbermight inspire certain stereotypical expectations in most folks merely upon just hearing the name alone. In today’s heavily pro-marijuana music culture, there has been a grandiose movement within the aptly related genre moniker Stoner Rock that celebrates weed culture. And with that aforementioned name, Green Slumber, some might expect music of a more melodic style with laid back atmospherics and prevalent trippy content. Nothing could be more wrong or further from the truth here with Green Slumber‘s 4-song debut, the ‘Soulfuzz‘ EP. Sure, there’s references to the herb but the music is not at all inclined toward ethereal headiness or otherworldly escapism. No, not at all because this is flat-out fuzzed-up, groove-fueled Stoner Rock inspired by early progenitors such as Fu Manchu or Nebula.
Deeply drenched in Desert Rock inspirations, the tracks ‘Still Floatin’…‘, ‘GoGoGo‘, ‘Soulfuzz‘ and ‘Diagnostic: Brain Death‘ are rich with fat-ass riffs and sticky rhythms. Green Slumber may be based in Traunstein, Germany but it sure sounds like gtrst/vox Done, bassist Maxi and drummer Bene have had more than their fare share of fuzzened Americana feeding them. They put it all on full aural display here too as they navigate along to some highly infectious, utterly fantastic hard rock. You can check it out via the Bandcamp embed below and get your own smoke on to the solid sounds of ‘Soulfuzz‘, my friends.
We hear terms like ‘retro’ and ‘vintage’ tossed around like so many go-to catchphrases these days. Used with little to no actual regard for their validity or application to the subject matter at hand. Well today the subject happens to be Calgary, Alberta’s Woodhawk who just released their new album, ‘Beyond The Sun‘, on April 7th. Their first new offering since 2014’s self-titled EP finds guitarist/vocalist Turner Midzain, bassist/vox Mike Madmington and drummer Kevin Nelson melding those more archaic aural qualities further into their sound. The prevalent presence of older influences on their music is a most fitting trait but make no mistake, this is modern Rock through and through.
Taking pages from such inspirational elements as psychedelia, stoner/desert rock and the like, these nine tracks are most stellar specialties indeed. From the heady introduction provided via the first cut, the ‘Beyond The Sun‘ title track, things are soon speeding into some progressive rock territory. The energy and tempos stay..well, high on ‘The High Priest‘ with its groove-driven content. In fact, it is groove and powerfully enhanced music that drives the fantastic songs here while the laid back but emotionally solid vocals are built to impress.
Impressing is what this album is all about, from the off-the-hook heavy jam of ‘Living In The Sand‘ to the heady blues-ish traits of ‘Magnetic North‘. Everything is tight knit and super relaxed as the rollercoaster ride of ever-alternating tempos on the organ-laden ‘Lawless‘ and the apparent ode to Star Wars, ‘A New Hope‘, revel in their incredibleness. For me personally, my favorite here is the album-closing ‘Chrononaut‘ and its preceding introductory instrumental opener, ‘Foresee The Future‘. This is what the modern era of serious stoner rock sounds like, my friends.
I dare say that Woodhawk‘s ‘Beyond The Sun‘ is going to do wonders in establishing the band as one of underground music’s premiere rising bands. The vast realm of musical ground covered here is just astounding and it is explored with determination and confidence. Things are further augmented by the crystalline sound quality and high production standards that allow for already amazing tracks to be all that they can be. This is phenomenal rock that is going to strike an enthralling chord with fans of such bands as The Sword, Truckfighters or Valley Of The Sun.
Argonauta Records – Release Date: Digital album releases February 27, 2017 /
Physical Album Ships around March 10, 2017
Ship: Void Cruiser mod.1.0 (Interstellar heavy metal exploration vessel)
Destination: Unknown
Last known location: The Andromeda galaxy
CREW – T-Hug: Low Frequency Engine, Ambience Generator
V-Salo: Soundscape Systems
T-Bag: Battering Apparatus
S-Salo: Fuzz Machinery, Communications
Post: Void Cruiser has always been there. Only now the crew have awakened from their cryogenic sleep and they are on a holy quest. A quest for The Massive Resonance. This is how we begin…
And so is how my introduction to VOID CRUISER began. I discovered that this is the third release, the first being 2013’s EP ‘Motherload’ followed in 2015 with the full length “Overstaying My Welcome” and now in 2017 we are gifted with “Wayfarer,” a seven song collection of pure stoner-metal bliss; fuzzed out bass lines, staggered tempo’s and fills running amok with searing, soaring guitar solos that perpetuate every minute that has no other voice voiced communications. Grab your vaporizer/pipe/bong/etc. as we travel along with this mod 1.0 vessel.
‘A Day In Which No Man Was Born’ serves as the lift-off and slowly takes you through the entry of the edge of this sector as the background becomes the majesty that is the interwoven expansive net that is propelling you into the unknown ahead with no apprehension. Instead anticipation as the power chord driven final section of this track shifts as you can almost feel the turning of this vessel which effortlessly flows to the next track ‘I Didn’t Lie, But Know Now I Should Have.’ The band swings right into a blues-tempo’d, doom-slow and low tale of Salo speaking of the “voice” inside of him, letting us see through his eyes what is transpiring within and why he knows why he should have. As the last note rings out, we suddenly hear footsteps and a quick staccato snare pulls us into ‘As We Speak’ where we are told that we will ‘hear with your eyes and see with your ears’ as if he could reach you. Electronic sputters lead us right into the power chord beginning of ‘Madonnas And whores’ where Salo tells us that when he was all alone, in his own narcissistic way, all he could feel was love for everything. Now that he is willing in his own altruistic way, all he can feel is just jealousy as he further exposes the events of the ‘looking for comfort’ and there is no way it’s gonna fall. At the four minute mark, we begin the turnaround portion of this leg of the journey with the tastiest guitar section this record has offered up so far and filled the void around this spinning vessel perfectly carrying you though the ectoplasmic expansion that surrounds you outside until you are told that the ship has been taken over.
‘Seven Years Late’ is a tale of Salo speaking of ‘your heart of gold, my heart of steel’ and his careening vocal carries you further long. telling of a dream he had, saw his grave, seven years late. Faster footsteps, a coughing man and ‘All Over Nowhere’ begins that Salo is ‘The man that helped you, he’s the man that stabbed your back…’ and then asked if ‘you’re having a good time baby’ with the same monotone sneer you would expect from somebody that tells you he knows for sure that you ‘go around.’ Perfectly accentuated at the end with the same running footsteps at the beginning before final track ‘Maailmann Kallien Kaupunki’ which per a translator means ‘The most expensive House’ which leads me to imagine some spectral equivalent of The House of Heaven or some such. Speaking no Finnish, I can not be positive, but the music of this 10-minute soliloquy gave me a feeling of bliss that carried to the very end as the very last faded out through a backdrop of white noise that seemed endless until it was no more…
Compared to the previous releases, VOID CRUISER have come a long way with “Wayfarer” and have grown not only as a unit, but as a concept and they have executed the concept quite well here. If given the opportunity, I encourage you, the reader, to find their tour schedule and get out and see how this outstanding studio effort is translated to a live forum. We can not recommend this album enough…
Outlaw Nation – Joint Interview – An Interview with MR OZO from TRUCKFIGHTERS
Truckfighters are a band that need no introduction. They’ve been playing their own blend of Fuzz/Desert/Stoner Rock to the masses for over 15 years now. Countless tours have seen them labelled as one of the best live acts around within the Desert/Stoner Rock scene.
With album number five around the corner – Originally titled V. The Truckfighters juggernaut shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. The new album builds on the sounds created on Universe with the sounds of their previous albums making a welcome return. Though it’s still a different kind of sound that will only enhance their reputation further.
For this interview I’ve teamed up with Matthew over at Taste Nation to do a joint interview with Oskar aka MR OZO where we discussed their new album, touring plans and Fuzzorama Records.
So sit back and ENJOY THE FUZZ!!!!
OOTS – Outlaws Of The Sun
TN – Taste Nation
OOTS – Hi Oskar. Thanks for doing this joint interview between Matthew and myself. Hope things are well with you all in the Truckfighters camp.
Yes, everything is amazing actually. Every time you finished a new album and just sit and wait for the album to be released is awesome… We don’t sit that much just relaxing, but you know what I mean. The hard work finishing an album is always a very, very hard work, not only time wise, but it takes a lot of energy from your mind as well.
TN – Congratulations on reaching the your 5th ‘V’ album milestone and your “Unholy Union” with Los Angeles based Century Media. Would you like to share the catalyst of partnering with Century Media? With the label in my backyard, Steve can agree that I’m a bit obsessed and curious on why you chose Century Media solely based on their roster of bands who bring more fake blood and face paint than Fuzz.
Haha, yes, you could look at Century Media as a label who releases a lot of heavy stuff and Truckfighters are without no doubt one of the softer acts. Well, we got interest from Nuclear blast, Napalm and Century… All are three good labels, but in the end we trusted our instinct, it seemed like Century Media where the most inspiring label and the label that where most eager to work with us and understand our potential haha 😉
OOTS – Yeah V is a stunning album. You’ve been busy with releasing your Live Album and releasing V in quick succession. In regards to the Live album. How has the response been to that record. Our reviewer – Bruno loved the hell out of it. And I did as well. Why did you choose that London gig to release as your first Live album. Will you be open to releasing more live albums in the future.
Ohh, two questions in one 😛 Well, first of all, thank you so much for the kind words, we couldn’t agree more… I personally spent extremely much time just to get everything the way I wanted and as good as possible, I spent alone approx 4 months with the bass and vocals, full time! I almost lost my mind, but I can’t simple just leave something that doesn’t feel like it’s spot on.
We’ve been a bit lazy recording our shows live with a proper multitrack thing for the past (well, all years) years… London always has been a really good place for us, so we decided to record it… We had ideas to maybe get equipment on the road and record more than one show so we could choose the best gigs, but we did only one recording… no rooms for errors haha 😛 We will probably do it sometime in the future as well, but we need to release at least a few more albums so we can play some new songs 😉
TN – Want to share your approach in making this album compared to previous releases? With your ever growing fan base, was/is there more pressure to satisfy your loyal fan base while appealing & attracting to new fans. A fine line most bands never have a chance to experience. Is it a good problem to have or do you even think about such things?
This might sound weird and arrogant, but that’s the least thing I am… but when I’m in the state of creating music the only thing I care about is that I must love it… I mean you can’t do art or music if you’re not true to your passion and what you’re heart tells you to create/do. My main goal is to do something that I’m satisfied with… But what a great life we have, when a lot of people like it! We couldn’t continue doing what we do if it wasn’t for you fans of course, so thanks 😀
OOTS – V has quite a different sound compared to Universe. Some fans have commented recently they want you to return to your earlier FUZZ based sounds. Did you notice those comments from your fans yourselves. Would you ever go back to the fuller Desert/Fuzz sound you created on your earlier albums.
We never look back, we never want to do a copy of ourselves… But if we do an album that is more fuzzy and might sound familiar to our old works it won’t be because we’re looking back and trying to re-create this sound. We intentionally always change something in the recording and sound shaping process. Change drums, mics, the way we want the finish product to sound like… anything that makes it more interesting and “new” to us as well.
TN – ‘V’ seems to be a bit of a Sea Change for the band particularly from your prior 2014 release ‘Universe’. The Fuzz Pedals are at 11!! Bass-lines are heavier and the vocals muted from start to finish. (Also See Pennsylvania’s Nothing) It appears you traded in riffs for heavier hooks and grooves and clean vocals for fuzzy, muted making it a 4th instrument and also making this one of your heaviest releases.
hmm, is it… It’s hard for us to see that this almost is so much different than Universe. For it it feels like a natural evolvement… But I can agree that it somehow seems heavier, but in the same time a bit mellower perhaps? I wonder how next album will be? 😛
TN – Admittedly, it took me a few extra listens of ‘V’ to wrap my pedestrian brain around it. I’m glad I did I’m finding this to be my favourite release to date. It’s somewhat refreshing to hear a new album from a band of your calibre and not have it over-produced. Was that your intention going in the studio. Did you plan to make a more gritty, heavier album or let things flow more organically??
yeah, we had maybe one idea before we started recording and that was that we wanted it to sound a bit more aggressive, gritty and heavier in the sound… other from that we just created what ever song that came to our mind at the point. But you’re totally right, it’s probably a more in your face album, but without feeling over produced or over limited, we still want it to sound very natural in some ways.
OOTS – It seems that Fuzzorama Records have been going from strength to strength recently. Congratulations on your recent success. Originally you just distributed your own albums. When did you decide to release other artists on your label.
Actually we did a compilation with a lot of other bands as record number two, called The ultimate fuzz-collection. We decided even before we started the label that this is not just going to be a demo band creating a label just to release their own shitty stuff haha… Our intention with Fuzzorama where to do it as a real label and become a really good label. Now when I can compare with a label like Century Media I’m proud to say that Fuzzorama is probably the best smaller independent label there is.. We worked really hard for many, many years… We got some of the best distro deals in the business and we’re constantly trying to improve and never settle with “just” releasing stuff.
OOTS – Was it a hard decision to release another band on your label. Or did you need to expand more.
No, it was a must to become a “real” label in order to become a label that could land good distro deals and so on.. It’s not enough releasing an album every 2 or 3 year… + we think it’s so much fun running our own label
OOTS – Do you have a set of rules and ideals when signing a band to your label.
No not really, we sign bands we like, that’s it. The only rule that might apply is that we don’t wanna sign bands that sound the exact same, they should differ a bit in sound, but still be rock of course 😉
OOTS – Apart from your own album being released soon, Do you have any other releases being released soon. I’ve heard that you maybe releasing Asteroid’s long awaited new album.
Yes, that’s actually true, the new Asteroid album “III” will be released this fall, 11th of Nov in EU and 9th of Dec in US, six years have past since the previous album so it’s a long awaited album for sure… seems like the buzz around the band only grew bigger when they where away… Maybe that’s the effect a break have on great bands 😛 We will of course send you their album for review etc, don’t worry… starting next week 😉
TN – What would you like to share with the new Truckfighters fans here in The States about the band and new album? For those living outside Sweden and want to avoid international shipping, is this where Century Media’s role comes into play? Help expand your footprint in America?
Yes you can order the album directly through Century Media from the states and in that way get cheaper shipping of course. BUT our fuzzoramastore ships worldwide, and we use fixed shipping so only one rate no matter how much you order, so if you order more than one item I reckon the shipping is too bad + we have two vinyl colours strictly limited to our shop, as Century Media also have… so in the end you might be forced to order from both 😛 Or see us live, even better 😉
OOTS – Truckfighters have a phenomenal live reputation on stage. I’ve seen you guys multiple times in concert and you always impress the hell out of me. It looks you’ll be busy again promoting the new album. What can people expect from the new tours. And is it becoming harder for you as a band to keep doing all the energetic performances your band is known for.
Sure you’re always trying to improve, not only the scenic part of the live shows but also the sound and the way we perform, of course it’s getting harder the older you get but we’re also one of those bands that realised very early in our career that you need to look after yourself and your body in order to last for a long time. None of us been into drugs and to party (that much at least). We’ve always been interested in keeping us in shape and these days that is even more important, I usually exercise 5-6 times a week and feel stronger and more focused than ever. + the music gets more interesting to play and also demands more of us. But I think you need to challenge yourself all the time in order to keep doing what you do and to keep in being interesting for the audience 😉
OOTS/TN – Well guys thanks for doing this interview. All the best with V and future tours. Hopefully we will see you in concert on both sides of the Atlantic soon. Matthew in the USA and Steve in the UK.
Yes, hope to see you to guys, let me know when we’re close by and we’ll put you on the list, maybe we can have a chat as well. Thanks for the support in the band and the label 😉
Words by Steve Howe, Matthew Thomas and MR OZO
Thanks to Oskar aka MR OZO for taking the time out to talking to Matthew and myself. V will be out available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl from Fuzzorama Records and Century Media Records – US.
