The effect Neal has on Sun Gods in Exile’s sound is to add melodic range and complement the riffs with long-sustained notes, as on a song like “Smoke and Fire” on the second half of the album, on which he fills out the verses behind Hitchcock’s lead vocals (everyone but D’Agostino provides backups), or “Since I’ve Been Home,” a classic road song in the same tradition with which labelmates Dixie Witch often align themselves. Despite its liberal soloing and guitar prominence, “Since I’ve Been Home” – as close as the 10-track Thanks for the Silver gets to a centerpiece – is a highlight more for Hitchcock’s vocals and those that back him for what’s probably the album’s most memorable chorus. Earlier cuts like the opening duo “Hammer Down” and “Moonshine” find D’Agostino and Hitchcock, as well as bassist JL (since replaced by his brother, Mark Lennon) and drummer John Kennedy, purposefully making room to account for Neal in the songwriting. The Hammond sounds add flourish to the riffs but are almost always in service to the guitar, as are the bulk of the rhythms, as are the structures, the vocals, and so on. If you’re someone who tunes out solos or thinks they’re needless wankery or if you’re even slightly unimpressed by scorching leads, Sun Gods in Exile simply is not the band for you. Their ballsy classicism – excellently balanced by Benny Grotto’s recording job and mix – won’t so much touch a nerve as get on one, and, frankly, you’ll miss the point of Thanks for the Silver, which if I haven’t yet made it clear, is all in the guitar.

Hell, I like riffs, and I like solos, and there were still parts of the album where I felt like I was being tested. Seven out of the 10 of these songs start with guitar, and only one begins with another instrument solo (that’d be “Moonshine,” and the drums), and most follow the same kind of structure and pacing so that, by the time the 55-minute album is over, it’s easy to feel like parts of it are a mash of boozy leads. Songs like “Climb Down” and the more grooving “Smoke and Fire” rock and rock hard, but Thanks for the Silver starts to feel samey after a while, and although the title-track is a Black Crowes-style ballad and a marked change of mood and tempo, it’s also the second to last song on the album in front of closer “I Buried My Bitch’s Car” and comes well after it should in the overall progression of the record. These songs flow – and the titular one easily has Neal’s best performance on keys; leaving behind the organ for genuine piano sounds – but are bloated at around 4:30-5:45 apiece (the first seven, anyway – “Nobody Knows” is a barn-burner at 3:17 and the last two are longer) and wind up detracting from Sun Gods in Exile’s obviously capable songwriting through methodological similarities and consistency in pace.

Add to that the feeling that the band is still adjusting to the inclusion of Neal to the lineup in terms of their craft, and Thanks for the Silver can seem off-balance as compared to the first album, which was nothing if not assured in its whiskey-breath swagger. That said, I think it’s also stronger from a songwriting standpoint, and an interesting beginning of a new era for the band, with added potential from the keys for sonic variety and more breadth of mood. They’re not there yet, though. Sun Gods in Exile still have some growing to do in terms of honing their Southern rock craft, but after two albums, I’m still pulling for them, and I still think there’s a lot of potential here. As it is, they’re good at what they do – if they weren’t, these solos would fall completely flat, and they don’t at all – but Thanks for the Silver comes off more as a collection of decent tracks than the cohesive whole one might want it to be. Still, one can’t argue with a killer riff, and there’s nothing to Sun Gods in Exile if there isn’t a steady supply of those.

Sun Gods in Exile on Thee Facebooks

Small Stone Records

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!

The label just announced their 2012 schedule with an exceptionally well-constructed press release — I mean, seriously, whoever wrote the thing should be hired for some cushy work-from-home newsletter-writing gig at a major corporation with money to spend so he can spend his days blogging about European heavy psych records — and the lineup is enough to make me wistful for the hazy memories that could be.

Mic check!

Now entering its 17th year of operation, Small Stone Records has announced the final lineup for its 2012 SXSW showcase, set to take place Friday, March 16, on the outside back patio at Headhunters on Red River in Austin, TX. The label, home to the best in heavy and ‘70s-fueled motor rock, has assembled a roster of new and old blood for a night that’s sure to remind Austin why it loves volume so much in the first place.

Says label honcho Scott Hamilton, “We are very much looking forward to our yearly showcase in Austin. We have a great lineup that we’ll stuff into Headhunters, which is also one of our favorite little watering holes on Red River. It is always nice to tilt some back with some old friends, and some new ones too! Save the date, Friday March 16th!”

Spanning genres from the fuzz-drenched psychedelic improv jams of Austin natives Tia Carrera, who will close out the night, to the crunchy, noise-driven blues of New Orleans trio Suplecs, Small Stone’s showcase is an annual high point of South by Southwest for those who manage to remember it the next morning. The complete lineup is as follows:

Friday, March 16
Headhunters (Outside Back Patio) 720 Red River at 8th St.:
1am: Tia Carrera
12am: Dixie Witch
11pm: Suplecs
10pm: Lo-Pan
9pm: Gozu
8pm: Backwoods Payback
7pm: Dwellers

Original 18″x24″ silk screen concert poster available by New York-based artist and illustrator Joshua Marc Levy.

It hasn’t yet been a full week since I reviewed Good Morning Harakiri, so I’ll spare the long-winded descriptions of how the album as a whole functions and just say that the pairing of former Iota guitarist/vocalist Joey Toscano with the rhythm section of bassist Dave Jones and drummer Zach Hatsis — both of post-metal unit  SubRosa — results in a unique mixture of riff-driven heaviness and thickened jam explorations. While this elements aren’t necessarily uncommon, Dwellers‘ blend of space and blues winds up being almost entirely their own.

Case in point, “Vultures” is the longest track on Good Morning Harakiri at just over 10 minutes. It’s got a bluesy semi-Southern riff and Toscano‘s vocals are graveled as they deliver the initial verses, but the song soon opens up to an expansive heavy jam with a waltzing progression that feels born as much from willful exploration as from its classic rock soloing.

Small Stone was kind enough to let me host “Vultures” for your streaming pleasure, and you’ll find it on the player below. Hope you enjoy:

Dwellers‘ Good Morning Harakiri is available now on iTunes through Small Stone Records, and is set for CD release at the end of January. The band will be playing Burt’s Tiki Club in their native Salt Lake City, Utah on Jan. 21 with YOB and Old Timer, and will also take part in Small Stone‘s annual showcase at SXSW in Austin, Texas, on March 16. More info on that is here, and you can check out Dwellers on Thee Facebooks here.

In that way, Good Morning Harakiri is a fitting follow-up to Iota’s excellent 2008 Small Stone debut and swansong, Tales, which melded heavy and space rock together seamlessly and added psychedelic flourish even in Toscano’s vocals, which were melodic echoes from the deep reaches of the Andy Patterson mix (the label’s go-to knob-twiddler, Benny Grotto, also got a word in that regard). Patterson, who also drummed in Iota, handled production for Dwellers (he also did the SubRosa), and dials back that echo somewhat on Toscano’s singing, bringing him forward more early in the album so that, aside from closer “Old Honey,” the singing sounds more confident. And as much as one can read Good Morning Harakiri as an extension of some of Iota’s ideas – Toscano presumably being at the fore creatively in both bands adds to the validity of that read – there’s no discounting the fluidity and the depth of Jones’ and Hatsis’ contributions. Not only do they hold down the extended side A and B closers “Vultures” (10:12) and the aforementioned “Old Honey” (9:53) but they do so with range and personality befitting players well accustomed to working with each other. Also, rather than let Toscano range, so that it’s melody on one side and rhythm on another, with Dwellers, it’s the guitar, bass and drums working together as a solid unit, which is the power trio ideal, so that although every cut on Good Morning Harakiri begins with guitar, the album never strays too far in its indulgences.

Rather, it keeps somewhat to the sort of duality Iota showed in songwriting on Tales, balancing shorter, more straightforward material against longer pieces. With the exception again of “Old Honey,” the songs on Good Morning Harakiri are less space-oriented (and certainly less space-thematic), and though opener “Secret Revival” sets a bruising course after its crisply-strummed intro, the overall affect is more like an expansion on Facelift-era Alice in Chains, particularly given the tone of Toscano’s vocals. Hatsis’ kick is prominent but not dominating, and the already-considerable fuzz in Toscano’s guitar is given low-end boost by Jones on bass, which is smoothly toned and rich. Still, the song is notable in comparison to “New Mantis,” which opened Tales, for the intensity it doesn’t have. Where that song and “We are the Yithians” seemed almost in a rush get through themselves, both “Secret Revival” and “Black Bird,” which follows, replace that intensity with a firm grasp on a bluesy approach, and in the case of the latter, dead-on grooving stomp to match a semi-Southern riff. Not to belabor the point, but Good Morning Harakiri’s clear LP-minded presentation (that is, the two distinct sides that come through even on a CD or digital listen) marks another departure from Iota’s method, which bunched its longer songs together in a linear flow. Both work, but Dwellers shows more diversity in songwriting, so that while “Black Bird” veers into psychedelic guitar layering in its second half, “Vultures” is out of place neither with that nor the verses and chorus preceding, despite being longer and providing more room to jam.

That jam comprises pretty much everything after the midpoint of “Vultures,” and though Hatsis and Jones bring a clear-mindedness to the rhythms, I still wish for the purposes of structure that the chorus in the first half could have been revived at the end as a cap for side A. Instead, Toscano leads Dwellers with an extended solo into a slowdown of the central rhythmic figure and that’s how the track concludes. It’s a minor gripe, but in a way, it feels like Dwellers abandon the ideas they presented just a few minutes prior, and they were good ideas, and where they could have imbued “Vulture” with a sense of construction, they choose the admittedly more naturalistic approach of just letting it go. Toscano’s solo rages, so I can’t argue, and as side B opens with highlight cut “Ode to Inversion Layer,” any fix for structure is satisfied in the revival of the record’s earlier swampy drive. Likewise to Toscano’s vocals, which, as he repeats the lines, “I am not here/I’m dust and bones,” remind their most of Layne Staley and give Good Morning Harakiri its most instantly retainable hook. He’s farther back in the mix, and more echoed than on “Secret Revival” or “Black Bird,” which sets the tone for some of the second half of the album’s more psychedelic elements, but still sounds sure of himself in his singing. And where “Vulture” didn’t, “Ode to Inversion Layer” does revive its chorus following a solo break – at least musically – which proves enough to make the track a standout among its surroundings.

“Lightening Ritual” is both the shortest and most straightforward song on Good Morning Harakiri, and reminds some of Tales’ bluesier stretches, however bolstered it is – and it is – by the pulse of Hatsis’ kick. It is as close as Dwellers come to basic riff rock, and the heavy-landing start-stop of the second-half bridge to the final chorus justifies its position as a late-arriving anchor for the album, especially leading into “Old Honey,” which immediately communicates its more psychedelic feel with vibraphone (Hatsis) and warm bass rumbling beneath a moody and subdued vocal from Toscano. A short build ensues that brings slower-paced riffing a sense of spaced-out grandeur the rest of Good Morning Harakiri seemed to want to avoid. It’s well placed where it is, long after proper context is established, so that Toscano’s echoing yells weaving through the mass of guitar and bass seem to be a cosmic ebb and flow coming from the proverbial “somewhere else” to arrive at the ear. Expectedly, “Old Honey” has its jam, following a purposefully repetitive guitar lead with bass-propelled atmospherics that are both dark and engaging. The payoff arrives announced by a ride-cymbal wash and two tom thuds from Hatsis at 7:09, and is potent enough to act as culmination of Good Morning Harakiri as a whole. One imagines the lurching groove piped through a P.A. louder than god as a fitting apex, but even on a stereo the energy and vibe is there as the band hits their final crashes and thumps to their close.

As someone who still revisits Tales periodically to be ensnared in its balance of space and heavy rock, hearing those elements come forward again on “Old Honey” is like a new letter from an old friend, but Dwellers work quickly on Good Morning Harakiri to establish that although Toscano plays a prominent role in both bands, this is a different trio than was Iota, with different goals for sound and a distinct approach. For what it’s worth, I can see greater potential for future development in Dwellers, whose avenues for exploration of the blues, spaced jamming and heavy riffing seem wide open, and if I was going to mourn the loss of Iota, Good Morning Harakiri more or less disembowels that impulse. As Toscano, Jones and Hatsis grow as a unit, doubtless too their sonic palette will expand as well, and given what comes through on these six tracks, that potential isn’t worth any trade that might or might not be on offer. Recommended without reservation both to those who experienced Iota and those who didn’t.

Dwellers on Thee Facebooks

Small Stone Records

The band returned to Andrew Schneider (Throttlerod, The Brought Low, partner in Coextinction Recordings) to record the full-length, and with what he was able to bring out of them on the demo, it’s no surprise. It’s easy to view Last Rays of the Dying Sun as an extension of their previous outing, both sonically and in terms of content. All four songs from Infernal Overdrive show up on side A of Last Rays of the Dying Sun, and in three-fourths the same order as they appeared before, opening with “I-95” and moving into “The Edge” and “Duel.” The longer “Motor,” which was 12 minutes on the demo and approaching 14 here, keeps its position as the closer, so in a way, that’s the same as well, but there are four other tracks between “Duel” and it that comprise the previously-unheard portion of the record. Both the newer and older material though sound crisp and fluid (Chris Goosman mastered), the shorter “I-95” and “The Edge” setting the tone quickly with unpretentious shuffle and Miele’s smooth leads, and stating in certain terms the rock ethic to be expanded on as the album progresses with songs like “Cage” and “Electric Street Cred.” “I-95” is no less engaging as an opener than it was on the demo, and Mike Bennett’s drumming (probably the most direct beneficiary of Schneider’s production; the guy just knows how to mic drums) and Keith Schleicher’s bass allow the guitars a solid foundation on which to speed up the motoring riff of “The Edge,” setting up the hooky chorus with a well-honed casual air, like it’s just the way it goes, man.

That sense of casualness – it’s not exactly laid back, but has a pack of cigarettes rolled up its sleeve and at least one hole in its jeans – adds a lot of the charm to what Infernal Overdrive are doing musically, which is neither lazy nor unstudied. Wails and one of Last Rays of the Dying Sun’s several big rock finishes cap “The Edge,” as if to highlight the idea that no one is taking themselves to seriously, and “Duel” commences with what can only be the basis for the song’s title in the interplay between Schleicher and Miele’s guitars. Bennett’s drums stomp and the bass walks in lock step with the guitar for the verses, but ultimately steps back to give the soloing room to breathe, and handclaps, tambourine and some guest vocals from Schneider in the final chorus give a party atmosphere to the ensuing and somewhat predictable conclusion, and following a quiet intro, “Cage” keeps the momentum going with thicker-sounding guitar, more claps and plenty of “mm-hmm” and “alright” peppering from Schleicher. The vibe of “Cage” is more modern, but the chorus asking the question “Can I be your little animal?” is all classic rock and a pretty good example on the grander scale of the way Infernal Overdrive mix the modern with the big-engine ‘70s. It’s something of a comedown after “Duel,” but “Cage” picks up at the end with some righteous solo work and Keith’s most impressive bassline underneath. Three big rock finishes in a row might seem ballsy, but it’s nothing in comparison to the fade-out/fade-back of highlight cut “Deported to Jersey,” which ends side A with a preview of what “Motor” will later do for the album as a whole, working deft riffing, skillfully arranged vocals and unashamed catchiness into the first four minutes before the fadeout starts. They go all the way to silence and rest there for a couple seconds before coming back to wrap in what can increasingly be thought of as the standard fashion for Last Rays of the Dying Sun.

“Deported to Jersey” takes a step back from the complex vocal arrangements and finds Marc layering a chorus on his own (there are some well-placed backwards loops in there too). They probably could just as easily had Keith or Miele offer support in backing vocals, but the change does well to shift the expectation for Infernal Overdrive, and anyway, with the intricate riffing and precision placement of the notes, both guitars and the bass should be plenty busy. Ditto that for Bennett, who takes a drum solo at 3:14 that and works quickly to impress with it, maintaining the beat and groove of the song while also embarking on a tom and cymbal freakout worthy of the space compression it gets. A seamless transition beings the verse and chorus back to close out and Infernal Overdrive revert back to a shorter-song approach with the Ace Frehley cover “Rip it Out,” which appeared as the opener of the Kiss guitarist’s 1978 solo album. It’s a good fit for Last Rays of the Dying Sun, with its “woman done wrong” lyrical sensibility and pop appeal, and Marc roughs up his vocals a bit during the verse to match Frehley’s approach without sounding like he’s trying to do an impression, setting up “Motor” to finish the record with its more expansive (musically and temporally) feel. There are some psychedelic elements in the guitar in the beginning, but Infernal Overdrive keep their straightforward methods in line, however much echo might be added to the lead guitar, and when Marc and Rich meet up for some NWOBHM-style runs, it’s not so much a surprise as a rush of energy.

That stretch of harmonic chicanery paves the way for the verse to return and gradually unfold into an extended jam that accounts for most of “Motor”’s extra runtime as compares to the other songs on Last Rays of the Dying Sun. Solos are taken as the rhythm is maintained, and gradually, extra percussion is brought in to add to the suddenly subdued feel of the song. It’s not an easy task for Infernal Overdrive to cut the energy level with about five of the record’s total 46 minutes left – one almost can’t let go of the momentum brought on by the material preceding – but the jam brings the album down gradually, sleepily, before building it up again. It’s a wonder Bennett’s cymbals lived to tell the tale, and as they fade to windy noise after 11 minutes, they do so perhaps having cut the payoff a little short, leaving room for the sampled speech a minute and a half later to lead the way for (what else?) a big rock ending. Not as big as they do it live, but grand nonetheless. And when they’re done this time, they’re really done. Perhaps the relative lack of ceremony – thinking of the end of “Duel” or “The Edge” – is meant to suggest that the party’s over, that the ceremony has already happened and that there’s nothing more to do but pack up and go home. Fair enough if that’s the case; Infernal Overdrive have already wrought enough raucous rock destruction to account for a two-day hangover, but sue me for wanting more anyway. If nothing else, that should probably speak to the level of asskickery Last Rays of the Dying Sun attains. As a debut, it will no doubt impress among the converted, and as Small Stone’s first release of 2012, it shows the label continuing its leadership role among American heavy rock imprints. Now if only we can get another Halfway to Gone record, I’ll stop bitching about there being no rock in New Jersey.

Infernal Overdrive on Thee Facebooks

Small Stone Records

Emissions from the PR wire:

Backwoods Payback will head out on the road this December for one final run in 2011. The tour will take them through the Southeast and wrap up with their final show of the year in Columbus, Ohio, with labelmates Lo-Pan.

Along for much of the trek will be drum and bass noise machines Akris from Virginia.

The tour wraps up a year of the highest of highs and most earth-shattering of lows for the band. The shows promise a mix of tacks from their Small Stone Records debut, Momantha, and a preview of brand new music written since its release this past August.

Backwoods Payback on tour:

11/30 Harrisonburg, VA Blue Nile
12/01 Durham, NC Casbah
12/02 Charleston, SC Jimbo’s Rock Lounge
12/03 Savannah, GA The Wormhole
12/04 Atlanta, GA TBA
12/05 Nashville, TN Springwater
12/06 Birmingham, AL The Nick
12/07 Johnson City, TN The Hideaway
12/08 Blacksburg, VA 130 Jackson
12/09 Cleveland, OH Now That’s Class *
12/10 Columbus, OH Carabar w/ Lo-Pan *
* No Akris

I thought we’d end this week with a clip from Los Natas, because over the course of the last week, the mainstay Argentinian heavy rockers have re-uploaded a boat-load of their videos to the Tubes of You. Check out their channel here, if you’re so inclined. The video above is for the song “Patas de Elefante,” which comes from the ridiculously underrated Corsario Negro from 2002.

It’s not what I most often reach for when I’m grabbing Los Natas off the shelf — that’s probably Delmar, the debut — but I look at Corsario Negro in the context of what the band’s done since as a great transitional record. It’s like Dozer‘s Call it Conspiracy (coincidentally released the same year) in that it showed the band as having mastered the form of their earliest work even as they began to progress beyond it. Anyway, I’m a dork for Los Natas, so I hope you enjoy the video.

Tonight I went and saw Judas Priest on their “Epitaph” farewell tour at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was the biggest concert I’d seen (in terms of crowd-size) in I don’t even know how long. I may write it up Monday or I may just post some pics I took — I scammed my way into a photo pass — and leave it at that. Either way, the show was killer and I’ll have something on it come Monday.

Also next week, stay tuned for a by-request stream of some of Electric Moon‘s heady psych jamming, and before the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ll also have some audio from the HeavyPink 7″, as I’ve heard from a couple people at this point saying they’d like to hear how the tunes came out before investing $11 to buy a copy. Seems perfectly reasonable to me, so sometime shortly I’ll have some sounds from that up.

I didn’t get to post my Elder interview this week, which was disappointing, so I’ll try to have that as soon as I can, and Wiht sent back their Six Dumb Questions Q&A, so I should be able to get that up as well. It is Thanksgiving though, and I’ll be in Connecticut to celebrate with my wife’s family, so I’m thinking about swinging down to Redscroll Records for their Black Friday earlybird sale. I think it’s at 6AM or something like that. Could be fun, but a lot depends on where the evening and the wine take me.

Beyond that, stick around for reviews of VRSA and Cathedral and as many more as I can fit. As always, I hope you have a great and safe weekend. I’ll be spending mine doing homework, so you can pretty much expect I’ll spend significant amounts of time dicking around on the forum. Hope to see you there and back here Monday for more adventure.

The band, on the other hand, rock universal. Definitely have this record on my list of anticipated 2012 releases, but here’s a glimpse at the cover in the meantime: