One has to wonder if the fact that Greenleaf are now confirmed to be playing both the Berlin and the London Desertfests means that we’ll have the chance to hear their new album before April. If that’s the case, all the better. I’m dying to get the chance to see how they follow up 2007′s most righteous Agents of Ahriman, and whatever the new one is called, and whenever it comes, it’s definitely one of my most anticipated records of 2012. Hope you’re half as stoked as I am.

Here’s the confirmation from Sound of Liberation of Greenleaf‘s slot in Berlin:

Alright Desertfest Folks, a couple of news from the headquarters. We will announce more great bands during this week, so stay tuned for some acts you surely don’t expect. Anyhow, today we are delighted to confirm the presence of Swedish Super Stonerrockers from Greenleaf to the lineup!

Featuring a revolving cast of fellow musicians who share a love of heavy fuzz rock, Greenleaf has consistently defined what rock ‘n’ roll was, is, and should be, and they will prove it to you at Desertfest Berlin on Thursday 19 April 2012 !!!!!

This time, guitarist Tommi Holappa (Dozer) and bassist Bengt Bäcke are joined by Oskar Cedermalm (Truckfighters) on vocals, and Erik Bäckwall (ex-Dozer drummer) on drums.

Take note: this is what rock bands should sound like — a righteous kick in the ass and a testament to the almighty riff!

 

As every new year starts, there’s always a glut of rumors that kick around. So-and-so is going to have a new record, this or that band is going to reunite, someone just got signed, etc. However, when I look to my left at the post-it note on my wall of threatened 2012 releases, the prospect is actually daunting. Could we as a species actually live to see a year that boasts releases from Clutch, Kyuss, Neurosis and Saint Vitus?

It’s the kind of thing that, centuries from now, some puffy-haired weirdo (not the good kind) will get on tv and say must have been the work of ancient aliens. These things have a habit of not working out as planned, but even the thought is staggering.

These releases have all been announced one way or another, so like I said last year, I’m not breaking any news, and unlike yesterday, I haven’t actually heard any of them yet. Basically I just wanted to nerd out for a bit on cool stuff that’s supposed to be coming out in 2012.

So here goes:

Ufomammut, Oro: Their 2010 effort, Eve, was a defining moment, both for them as a trio and pivotal act within their genre, and for the genre itself. With Eve (review here), Italian three-piece Ufomammut took cosmic doom to new reaches of psychedelic complexity, and though I know I’ve said it a few times, it’s worth repeating that it was a true work of mastery. It’s only grown richer with time, and Ufomammut‘s two-part follow-up, Oro — which will be divided into Opus Primum and Opus Alter, both of which are set for issue on Neurot in 2012 — is set to expand on the form, if such a thing is possible. We’ll find out.

 

Saint Vitus, Lillie: F-65: I wouldn’t be surprised if it showed up under a different name, and likewise if it didn’t show up in time for its currently-slated March 27 Season of Mist issue, but whenever and however it arrives, the first Saint Vitus album since 1995 and the first with Scott “Wino” Weinrich on vocals since 1990 is easily the most anticipated doom release of the year. Put to tape by Tony Reed — with whom I was fortunate enough to recently speak about making the album — most of the record was recorded live, and since that’s where Vitus has shined since coming back in 2009, I’m definitely looking forward to hearing how they translate their momentum into a new studio outing.

 

Colour Haze, She Said: I can’t imagine how frustrated the German heavy psych progenitors must be by now. Seriously — She Said was on my list last year. The trio, led by guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, who also helms the Elektrohasch label, spent all of 2011 hindered by technical problems, and though we did a track premiere back in October for the song “Transformation,” the album has yet to materialize around it. It’s a heartbreaker every time Koglek sends an update, and we can only hope at this point that they continue to stick with it, because if there’s ever been a worthy cause, it’s a new Colour Haze record.

 

Greenleaf: According to reports, the Swedish trad-rock supergroup with members of Dozer, Truckfighters and Demon Cleaner started recording the follow-up to 2007′s fucking incredible Agents of Ahriman in November, and the latest is that Oskar Cedarmalm was set to start vocals on Dec. 26. I’ll tell you flat out that when this record arrives, I’m gonna be such a dork for it that you’re going to be tired of hearing about it. You’re going to load up this page and be like, “Ah Jeebus, not another post about how much ass Greenleaf kicks.” They’re the reason I’m going to London Desertfest in April and the prospect of a new album kept me from jumping in front of a train on several occasions throughout the recent holiday season. No shit.

 

High on Fire: The prospect of a new High on Fire album in 2012, on the other hand, wasn’t all that exciting to me initially, but when it was announced that Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou was manning the production at his GodCity studio, that was more than enough to change my mind. My whole complaint with High on Fire‘s last album, 2010′s Snakes for the Divine, was that it sounded too watered-down and there wasn’t enough grit in the production. If anyone’s going to fix that, it could be Ballou, who recently brought Black Cobra‘s massive thrash intensity to bear on the excellent Invernal. Either way, will be interesting.

 

Neurosis: I don’t even remember where I saw it at this point, whether it was Thee Facebooks or the forum or what, but the news that Neurosis had started preliminary recordings with Steve Albini for their next album filled me with enough dorkish glee that I chose to include them as the sixth in a five-band feature, despite having zero confirmation either that such has actually happened or that the album will be out by the close of this year. And really, it doesn’t matter. If Neurosis are possibly making a new record, then I’m definitely looking forward to it, and that’s just the way the universe works. Hard to believe it will have been half a decade since Given to the Rising was released, since I feel like I still haven’t digested that record, but if it takes the rest of my life to catch up (and it probably will), then I know my time won’t have been misspent.

Ditto the Pt. 1 post: there’s more. Full-lengths to (possibly) come from Kyuss, Ancestors, Conan, Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Night, Samothrace, Crippled Black Phoenix, Earth, Wight, Curse the Son, Cathedral, Wino/Conny Ochs, Shrinebuilder, Om and I don’t even know how many others set up 2012 as an incredible year yet to unfold, and tired as I am even just thinking about all the adjectival phrases it’s going to take me to get through it, I can’t fucking wait.

Because, really, it’s the music. If we don’t have anything else, we’ve got that, and it’s comforting to know that on the hardest days this year will bring — and I don’t doubt that for many of us it will bring no shortage of hard days — we’ll still have music. I look forward more than I can say to hearing these creative works, and hopefully sharing them with you as much as this weird internet portal makes me able to do so.

If I’ve missed anything, I hope you’ll leave a comment to remind. The only thing better than a bunch of records to look forward to is even more records to look forward to, so have at it.

Well, I’d been on the fence pretty much since Orange Goblin was announced for it, but Greenleaf seals the deal: I’m going to do everything in my power to head to the UK the weekend before Roadburn to catch Desertfest in London. Sorry (and yes, that apology is directed specifically to The Patient Mrs.), but I can’t miss it. More info on the fest is here. I hope to have more on the lineup as it develops.

The excellent news continues with the update that showed up on the forum yesterday that Greenleaf will also have a new record out next year. Check it out:

We have some Greenleaf recording updates (from Small Stone HQ). The band will start recording their new album this Friday (November 4th) in Sweden, with a target completion date being sometime in February of 2012. With that said, you can look for a new Greenleaf album out on Small Stone late Spring of 2012… On all formats: CD, Digital, and the LTD 180g LP.

And here’s the confirmation of their Desertfest slot:

Here at Desertfest we have been working hard and have lots of exciting news in the coming weeks. We are kicking it off in style. We can confirm that Swedish super group Greenleaf is to play Desertfest London. With a mix of Dozer members and Ozo from Truckfighters on vocals this is a festival must see.

Here in the States, today is Memorial Day, which is basically yet another excuse for everyone to get their jingoism going and glorify war, blow fingers off with fireworks and blah blah blah. What it means to me is the official start of grilling season. True, I hate the heat and I have in fact been grilling all winter, but now it’s the season, which means eating outside, which means grilling music. Killer.

Because I’m all about sharing, here are my seven favorite barbecue records, presented in the order in which they should be played:

1. Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. What this says is, “I am here to grill. I don’t care what else happens in the universe, I am going to have a good time and that is that. Now rock with me as I cook this meat.” Perfect starter album.

2. C.O.C., Wiseblood. Like Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, it’s a fun collection of songs, but Wiseblood is a little thicker sound-wise. It’s great to sing-along to, and the groove seems to run throughout the whole album, so it’s consistent too. A definite necessity.

3. Greenleaf, Agents of Ahriman. By now you’ve had a few beers and it’s time to let loose. Greenleaf‘s Agents of Ahriman is catchy, rocking and has a freedom to its sound that seems to be made for the outdoors.

4. Queens of the Stone Age, Songs for the Deaf. I confess, I love this record regardless of the food and/or climate surrounding. I try to take it everywhere, so it comes out for grilling for sure. “Go with the Flow?” Come on, man. Can’t beat that.

5. Fu Manchu, King of the Road. The last of the real rockers on the list, it’s great to finish the meal with some righteous fuzzery, and for that, there’s nowhere to go but to Fu Manchu. If you’ve got ice cream for dessert, this’ll work with it.

6. Monster Magnet, Spine of God. You’ve rocked, you’ve stuffed yourself, you’re probably more than a little intoxicated and you feel like if you ever even see another burger, your heart will explode in your chest. Clearly you’ve yanked on the spine of god and it’s time for some penance.

7. Masters of Reality, Flak ‘n Flight. This is for your cleanup. When you’ve drunkenly insulted all your relatives or friends and they’ve left and it’s just you and the mess. You put this one on and sing along as you throw away paper plates, beer bottles and the bloody packaging that once contained the meat now blocking up your colon. It’ll help ease the pain.

I’ve also found that Enslaved‘s Ruun album is great for cleanups, so if it persists longer than Flak ‘n Flight lasts, you might want to have that on-hand for reinforcements. Or maybe you just want to sit on a plastic chair in the dark for a while. It’s good for that too.

Of course, if you’re in it for the full-day barbecue experience, you’re going to need more than seven albums, but hopefully this is a decent start. If you have any longtime favorites, leave a comment and let me know about them. You can never have too much grilling music.

We were all saddened last year to read that Swedish heavy rock legends Dozer were calling it even temporary quits so that Fredrik Nordin could go back to school. I mean, if you gotta do it, you gotta do it — it’s not unreasonable — it’s just a bummer because it means no Dozer records.

The upshot as I saw it then was that it would give guitarist Tommi Holoppa more time to work on Greenleaf with Vaka-mainman and ex-Demon Cleaner drummer Karl Daniel Lidén. As it turns out, Holoppa is going to be working with Lidén, and Dozer bassist Johan Rockner as well — and a yet-unnamed singer — but on a new project, which The Obelisk is glad to reveal will be called Dahli.

Lidén has hinted that Dahli‘s music will take a heavier direction, but in the brief Q&A below, the talented multi-instrumentalist and producer gets more specific than he has yet about the project and what the goals are for the new band. As ever, the interview is after the jump. Enjoy.

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Now I know how the Libyans must have felt when they found old Doc Brown in that mall parking lot…

After months of fruitless searching, pointless eBaying and Amazon scouring, download-refusing and wishful thinking, I finally found a place online selling Greenleaf‘s Revolution Rock that, when I ordered it, didn’t tell me, “Oh sorry, we were just kidding about that, please go fuck yourself now, thanks for ordering.” I finally feel like I can sleep at night.

Thanks to the good people at the Freebird Records mailorder, the package arrived in the valley Saturday afternoon in a conspicuous black envelope which I tore into like radiation through a cancer patient. When I found a padded envelope inside the flat envelope (postage is cheaper that way, it’s an old shipping trick), I had visions of unwrapping envelope after envelope until I finally got to a tiny, one inch by one inch one with a note inside that “Gotcha!” with a smiley face under the exclamation point.

But nope, within that second envelope was Revolution Rock in all its glory and though I didn’t get to listen to it until nigh on 4AM Saturday night/Sunday morning, it was worth every second of the wait. And with the Greenleaf lineup of Tommi Holappa (Dozer), Fredrik Nordin (Dozer), Daniel Lid?n (ex-Dozer, Demon Cleaner, Vaka and recent The Obelisk comment-leaver) and Bengt B?cke (who near as I can tell was never in Dozer), you really get a sense of the band’s side-project beginnings. It’s almost like a bonus early Dozer record, actually. Can’t go wrong with that. I’m just relieved that, after all this time looking, it doesn’t suck.

Thanks again to Freebird, for, you know, existing. If anyone needs me, I’ll be drowning myself in the fuzz of “The Shipbuilder.”

Back in December, when I had income I could at least vaguely argue was disposable (kind of hard to justify spending your unemployment check on stoner rock CDs to your wife, in case you’ve never tried), I treated myself to buying an album which I’d been trying to track down for some time; Greenleaf’s Revolution Rock on Molten Universe, released in 2001 and featuring members of Swedish stoner legends Dozer and Demon Cleaner.

It was a hard fight to even find it. I scoured websites the world over and even then, it was only on Amazon.de that I found it, not even Amazon.com. After watching the price bobble up and down for a couple days because of the exchange rates, I decided the time was now. It cost over $40 US.

The other day I got this in my email:

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