Interesting that New Jersey heavy rockers The Atomic Bitchwax, who’ve heretofore always named records numerically, are switching to a title for their fifth album, The Local Fuzz, the release announcement for which you’ll find below. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that The Local Fuzz is comprised entirely of one track, or maybe there’s some other, more elusive reason. Whatever the case, rest assured, rock will be had.

The Atomic Bitchwax will also be headlining Tee Pee Records‘ European label tour leading up to the album release. Here’s all the info from the PR wire:

Legendary New Jersey hard rock band The Atomic Bitchwax (also TAB) will release its new album The Local Fuzz on April 26 via Tee Pee Records. The trio’s fifth full-length effort delivers an advanced take on its blistering, virtuosic sound via a single, glorious 42-minute song titled “The Local Fuzz” that contains no less than “50 riffs back to back,” perfectly capturing the unit’s vivid execution and ambitious vision.

Recorded at the Panic Room in Neptune, NJ, The Local Fuzz pushes The Atomic Bitchwax‘s high-octane groove and powerful strut to new heights of unencumbered artistic expression. The band’s “Rush-like riff mazes” weave through natural pop structures nearly effortlessly while the record’s out-of-site production showcases the musicians’ prowess at the apex of their career to date. Widely recognized as pioneers of the modern hard (or “stoner”) rock sound, The Local Fuzz shows The Atomic Bitchwax as a forward-thinking band not content to rest on career accomplishments; instead surging forward to give fans a brand new way to re-experience the exhilarating rush and sonic assault of heavyweight rock ‘n’ roll.

Prior to the release of The Local Fuzz, The Atomic Bitchwax will headline a Tee Pee Records European label tour which will kick off on April 5 in Wiesbaden. Co-sponsored by the UK’s Classic Rock magazine, the tour will also feature Brooklyn heavy psych band Naam, Toronto-based psych rock band Quest for Fire and NYC rockers Mirror Queen. The band has also been announced as one of the featured acts at the 2011 Roadburn Festival, set to take place April 14-16 in Tilburg, Holland.

Tee Pee Records 2011 European Tour featuring The Atomic Bitchwax with Naam, Quest for Fire and Mirror Queen:
04/05 Wiesbaden, Germany Schlachthof
04/06 Vienna, Austria Arena
04/07 Würzburg, Germany Cafe Cairo
04/08 Dresden, Germany Groovestation
04/09 Hohenstein, Germany Schützenhaus
04/10 Berlin, Germany Magnet
04/11 Hamburg, Germany Molotow
04/12 Marburg, Germany KFZ
04/13 Dortmund, Germany Piano
04/14 Tilburg, Netherlands * Roadburn Festival (feat. The Atomic Bitchwax, Naam, Quest for Fire)
04/15 Jena, Germany Rosenkeller
04/16 Salzburg, Austria B. lack
04/17 Millstatt, Austria Bergwerk
04/18 Maribor, Slovenia Dvorana Gustaf -Pekarna
04/19 Torino, Italy United Club
04/20 Brescia, Italy Latte & Live
04/21 Luzern, Switzerland Sedel
04/22 Winterthur, Switzerland Gaswerk
04/23 Weil der Stadt, Germany JH Kloster
04/24 Paris, France Nouveau Casino
04/25 Rotterdam, Netherlands Baroeg
04/26 Antwerpen, Belgium Trix
04/27 London, UK Underworld

Well, now that the forums are back online and everything seems to be working in the back end of the blog proper as well, I thought it was only fair to close out the week. A little psychedelia for your Sunday from what I think was one of the year’s best records in the genre: Quest for Fire‘s Lights from Paradise. The song is “Greatest Hits by God.” Hope you enjoy.

Next week is Xmas, but we’ll pick up the top 20 of 2010 countdown with number eight, and keep moving despite holidays and the rest of it. I’ll also have an EPIC interview with Victor Griffin of Place of Skulls/Death Row/Pentagram fame in which he opens up about his spiritual beliefs, working with Bobby Liebling on the new Pentagram and much more, so please, stick around for that. I was on the phone with the guy for over an hour spread across two days and I really think it’s one of the best interviews to come on this site yet. I’m very excited.

If you’re reading this, thanks. I’m sorry about the glitch in the forums that caused them to bite it, and like I said yesterday, I’m going to do my best to see that doesn’t happen again. Database backups abound!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I’ll be on the couch reading and listening to music with the little dog Dio for as much of today as possible, and tomorrow we’ll pick back up with reviews and regular posting. I look forward to it.

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This is the mother of them all. Short of doing three songs in as many hours, which I could have done just as or even more easily, I don’t see how any audiObelisk Transmission could get heavier than this one. It’s just a little bit of an excuse on my part to have an easily accessible copy of Dopesmoker at all times, but with new music as well from Hypnos 69, a classic dirge from Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine and one of Boris‘ most avant garde moments, Transmission Zero Zero Nine is an absolute monster. I hope you dig it.

No need to hide the tracklist after a jump since it’s only four songs. Click the banner at the top of this post to get the file, or stream it on the player above. Here’s what we’ve got:

0:00:08 Sleep, “Dopesmoker” from Dopesmoker (Tee Pee, 2003)
There was no way I was going to make this podcast and not include this song. It’s the riff that launched a thousand clone bands, and Sleep‘s shining hour. Literally, an hour. Plenty of time to worship.

1:03:42 Hypnos 69, “The Great Work” from Legacy (Elektrohasch, 2010)
New music from these Belgian classic proggers. It’s the last cut on their new album, Legacy, and maybe their most aptly-titled song ever. Their sense of melody is second to none and the progressive elements in their approach have never shined brighter than they do here.

1:21:53 Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine, “He Who Accepts all That is Offered (Feel Bad Hit of the Winter)” from Rampton (Southern Lord, 2002)
The lineup of Lee Dorrian (Cathedral), Stephen O’Malley (SunnO)))/Khanate), Justin Greaves (Iron Monkey/now-Crippled Black Phoenix) and Greg Anderson (Goatsnake) only put out one album under this cumbersome moniker, taken from a song title on Earth‘s Earth 2. It’s a good thing. I don’t think the universe could handle a second without ripping in half.

1:51:35 Boris, “Flood” from Flood (MIDI Creative, 2000)
Is that guitar forward or backwards? Both? I doubt anyone really knows what Boris are getting up to for the entirety of this song, Boris included. I remember interviewing drummer Atsuo Mizuno a couple years back and he looked at me like my head was on backwards when I asked about it. See if you can figure it out.

Download audiObelisk Transmission 009 here.

Los Angeles-based double-guitar five-piece Night Horse treat classic rock like it’s a pretty lady. They take it out do a nice dinner, they hold the door, they pick up the tab, maybe they go to a show afterwards, and all the while they’re perfectly charming. Of course, sweet love is later made, and the end result is the band’s second album for Tee Pee Records, Perdition Hymns, which is 11 tracks of high-grade rock and roll genetics that, listening through, I’m honestly surprised didn’t come out on Small Stone. Where Tee Pee has mostly diverted into the heavy psych realm — bands like Quest for Fire, Naam, Earthless, etc. – Night Horse seem more suited to accompany the likes of Sasquatch, the recently-reviewed Red Giant, Gozu and perhaps most of all Sun Gods in Exile, whose 2009 album Black Light, White Lines, was equally shy about showing off its riff and solo prowess. And by that I mean not at all.

But there’s a Tee Pee connection in that Night Horse guitarist Justin Maranga also plays in Ancestors, so there you go, mystery solved. And honestly, after hearing the kind of blues-driven ‘70s jams Night Horse traffic in, I can’t imagine not wanting to put out a record like Perdition Hymns, no matter what sound you’re trying to associate your label with. Songs like the powerful opening trio of “Confess to Me,” “Angel Eyes” and “Rollin’ On” provide the kind of rock wallop you’d usually expect from an older bunch of dudes, but Night Horse’s love for what they do is evident. You can hear it in the playing of Maranga and fellow six-stringer Greg Buensuceso, in the straight-ahead rhythms of bassist Nick D’Itri and drummer Jamie Miller, and in the vocals of Sam James Velde, whose performance was also a highlight on Night Horse’s debut, The Dark Won’t Hide You, but is perhaps even stronger on Perdition Hymns, standing up with no trouble to the considerable instrumental competition provided by the band behind him.

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Just last week, I posted Night Horse tour dates and made my complaint known that the band wasn’t going to be coming out to the East Coast. Lo and behold, last night I check the PR wire and what’s there but a new batch of shows for guitarist Justin Maranga‘s other band, the heavy-psych awesomeness known as Ancestors, and they’re not coming east either! What is it, man? Do I smell?

The answer to that question, inevitably, is yes. While I go track down some deodorant to reapply, check out these Ancestors dates with new Tee Pee labelmates, The Fucking Wrath:

Ancestors and The Fucking Wrath will embark on a string of West Coast tour dates in late October. The Fucking Wrath recently signed with Tee Pee Records and will be releasing the EP Terra Fire on October 19. Ancestors are supporting their 2009 critically acclaimed sophomore album Of Sound Mind.

Ancestors/The Fucking Wrath tour dates:
10/20 Zahn Zillas, Ventura, CA
10/21 Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco, CA
10/22 East End, Portland, OR
10/23 Comet Tavern, Seattle, WA
10/25 Jambalaya, Arcata, CA
10/26 Nick’s Night Club, Chico, CA
10/27 Jose’s Mexican Bar & Grill, Monterey, CA

I still haven’t listened to Night Horse‘s second album, Perdition Hymns. I’ll get there. It’ll be reviewed soon enough. Not like I need to worry though, because the band’s upcoming tour is headed nowhere near Jersey, so even if I was to immerse myself in their ultra-bluesy ’70s rock, I wouldn’t get the chance to complement that experience with a live show. Crazy California gets everything. Fuckin’ hoverboards.

Alright. Here’s tour dates from the PR wire:

Night Horse returned with their highly-anticipated sophomore effort Perdition Hymns on Aug. 3, produced and mixed by Matt Bayles (Pearl Jam, Mastodon, The Sword). Perdition Hymns is a patent demonstration of a group that has quickly become a well-refined songwriting machine. The band has chiseled the six-minute jam style songwriting of their debut The Dark Won’t Hide You into the hook-laden gems that comprise Perdition Hymns; with riff driven catchiness and soaring melodies that stick.

Perdition Hymns is a rock and roll classic for current times; a statement of what’s to come within today’s musical landscape; a missing link to years gone by; and a glimpse into what is about to become.

Night Horse tour dates:
Aug. 20 Los Angeles, CA Vacation Vinyl (Free in-store)
Aug. 28 San Diego, CA Soda Bar
Sept. 10 San Diego, CA The Casbah (w/Olivelawn)
Sept. 14 Long Beach, CA The Prospector (w/Radio Moscow)
Sept. 15 Ventura, CA Zan Zillas (w/Radio Moscow)
Sept. 16 Los Angeles, CA Spaceland (w/ Radio Moscow)
Oct. 7 San Francisco, CA The Hemlock
Oct. 8 Portland, OR East End
Oct. 9 Seattle, WA The Comet

When Tee Pee Records put out Quest for Fire’s self-titled full-length last year, I got a promo of it, and it went promptly on my shelf. I didn’t even listen. You know why? Because I knew that if I listened to it, I’d like it, and then it would be one more god damn album to buy, one more god damn band to like, one more god damn show to trek out to. Blah.

Of course, I got mine in the end, as Tee Pee now releases the follow-up from these Toronto argonauts, Lights from Paradise. Sure enough, a promo of the record came in the mail, and I put it on, and now I want both albums. So yeah, thanks a lot.

Lights from Paradise is eight tracks of sprawling psychedelia from the Canadian four-piece, ranging from the ritualistic stillness of opener “The Greatest Hits by God,” which seems to capitalize on what Om might sound like with two guitars, to the semi-raucousness of “Set Out Alone” or the Dead Meadow freakout of “In the Place of a Storm.” Of the sundry personality traits the band shows on the album, I prefer the moody, subdued side that comes out on the first track or “Psychic Seasons,” which boasts one of Lights from Paradise’s few excursions into acoustics and also features some strings for a classy touch. Of course, there’s something to be said for the extended Beatles-style solo in closer “Sessions of Light” as well, which shows Quest for Fire as a band with more than just a reverb pedal and propensity for jamming, complex as its melody structure and progression are. Take your pick, really.

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Aggressive stoner metallers The Fucking Wrath have been picked up by Tee Pee Records. For a label whose recent output has been closer to Dead Meadow-style psychedelic post-rock, it’s something of a surprise, given all the hardcore punk The Fucking Wrath inject into their music, but I guess you gotta change things up. Either way, it’s pretty god damn heavy.

The Fucking Wrath will have a new EP out this year and are set to hit the road this Fall alongside Ancestors. No, they’re not coming East. The PR wire speaks, we listen:

Tee Pee Records is proud to introduce the newest addition to their roster: The Fucking Wrath. The band will issue the EP Terra Fire in October on Tee Pee Records followed by a full-length in the spring of 2011. The Fucking Wrath will be performing at the recently-announced Power of the Riff Festival taking place on August 8th in Los Angeles. October dates have also been announced with new labelmates Ancestors!

Tour Dates:
08/08/2010 The Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA (Power of the Riff)
10/20/2010 Zahn Zillas, Ventura, CA*
10/21/2010 Hemlock Tavern, San Francisco, CA*
10/22/2010 East End, Portland, OR*
10/23/2010 Comet Tavern, Seattle, WA*
10/25/2010 Jambalaya, Arcata, CA*
10/26/2010 Nick’s Night Club, Chico, CA*
10/27/2010 Jose’s Mexican Bar & Grill, Monterey, CA*
* w/ Ancestors

Calling the citywide hippie commune known to outsiders as Columbus, Ohio, home, retro-alterna-psych-folk rockers The Main Street Gospel make their Tee Pee Records debut with the casually ominous Love Will Have Her Revenge. The trio take notes from Neil Young (“Getting Through”) and The Black Keys (“I Won’t be Stayin’”), but occasionally let guitarist/vocalist Barry Dean (ex-Brian Jonestown Massacre) go off on a singer-songwriter tangent (“Truly (Hymn),” “Give Your Love Away”) that pulls back from the full-band aesthetic. This interrupts the flow of the album, but also gives some ground to the material, which after a song like the spacey, bass-led “Ready to Shine,” isn’t such a terrible idea.

Although “Ready to Shine,” on which bassist Ryan “Tito” Ida does just that, is among the highlights of Love Will Have Her Revenge, so perhaps The Main Street Gospel would be better off tipping over the edge of the acid folk abyss. It’s hard to say, and in fact, that statement could be extrapolated to apply more or less to the whole album. The first time I listened to it, I barely made it through, found myself skipping tracks later in the record and saying, “Okay, I got it, you like reverb. Next.” On subsequent hearings, though, Love Will Have Her Revenge, with its subtle shifts from quiet to “loud” and back, its subdued movements and airiness, had me hooked solid for the duration. As far as listening recommendations, I’ll say The Main Street Gospel are better suited to stillness than motion. Love Will Have Her Revenge is not the album you put on speeding down the highway, but perhaps the one you put on once you’ve reached your destination and require decompression from the frustrations of traffic, life, etc.

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I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz, California, but I think we all know that crepes are the world’s most perfect food. It’s like a pancake, a burrito and the best wrap you’ve ever had all put together. You can get a crepe for breakfast, you can get a crepe for lunch or dinner. The planet is worth keeping around as long as crepes exist on it.

Thus, it’s pretty obvious that San Francisco‘s Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound and Sleepy Sun are just using their upcoming string of five tour dates together (it’s a solar thing) as a way to justify getting everyone together and driving an hour and a half to Santa Cruz for crepes. I know for a fact crepes are available in San Francisco, but maybe The Crepe Place‘s are just that much better. Judging by their menu, and their name, it seems to be a specialty.

I salute Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound and Sleepy Sun for their initiative and their taste in casual European-style cuisine. Were I not on the opposite end of the country, I’d happily join them for a pre-show crepe brunch next month.

Here’s the PR wire info on the tour:

Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound have announced a handful of California tour dates with fellow San Francisco natives Sleepy Sun. Assemble Head released their critically acclaimed third album When Sweet Sleep Returned in April 2009 on Tee Pee Records.

Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound w/ Sleepy Sun
7/21 The Crepe Place – Santa Cruz, CA
7/22 The Cellar Door – Visalia, CA
7/23 Spaceland – Los Angeles, CA
7/24 Pappy and Harriet’s – Pioneerstown, CA
7/25 Casbah – San Diego, CA

I think maybe because they didn’t have the same grandiose scope as Ancestors, with whom they share guitarist and occasional Obelisk checker-inner Justin Maranga, Los Angeles‘ Night Horse didn’t get the attention they really deserved on their first record. As we all know, there’s no fix for that except releasing another, and that seems to be the plan for Night Horse, whose sophomore Tee Pee Records full-length of classically styled rock is due the first week of August.

The band has uploaded the track “Good Bye Gone” to their MySpace now and will have a new EP for free download on their website come June 15. I’m sure there will be more on that later. Till then, here’s what the PR wire has to say about the new album, Perdition Hymns:

Celebrated Los Angeles, CA, rock ‘n roll band Night Horse has completed work on its sophomore album. Titled Perdition Hymns, the record will see an August 3, 2010 release date via NYC’s Tee Pee Records.

Recorded in East L.A. at Infrasonic Sound (Beck, The Mars Volta, No Age), Night Horse’s Perdition Hymns is an album made by fans of rock, for fans of rock! Produced and mixed by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, PearlJam, Isis), the record is a classic for current times, made up of all the peaks and valleys, textures and nuances that timeless records yield over repeated listens. Songs like “Choose Your Side” and “Shake Your Blues” demonstrate guitarists Justin Maranga (Ancestors) and Greg Buensuceso’s flair for intricately weaving guitar leads and rhythmic patterns, much like their classic predecessors Thin Lizzy or The MC5 did, while vocalist Sam James Velde (ex-Bluebird) invokes the ghosts of every classic rock singer you’ve ever loved by flat-out refusing to hold anything back; the singer teeters on the edge of total abandon while the band pushes him closer to the brink.

“Writing and recording Perdition Hymns was an amazing experience,” says Velde in a statement. “The collaborative effort and the productivity we all showed were intense, but fun. Everyone was so focused and enthusiastic. The songs just came to us so quickly. We’d start with a riff, then POW it was on! Same went for writing the lyrics. I’d get a few words or ideas stuck in my head and then the melody was just there. It was magical, really.”

Perdition Hymns track listing:
1. Confess to Me
2. Angel Eyes
3. Rollin’ On
4. Good Bye Gone
5. Black Clouds
6. Come Down Halo
7. Blizzard of Oblivion
8. Hard to Bear
9. Shake Your Blues
10. Choose Your Side
11. Same Old Blues

My theory on San Diego/Tee Pee Records epic instrumental rockers Earthless is they play the parts of the ’70s live jam everyone liked best. You know the part where “the song” was like half an hour ago and the band has gone totally apeshit on one guitar solo for like 15 minutes, Dio has left the stage and Ritchie Blackmore looks like the muse just gave him brain damage? Yeah, that’s where Earthless live pretty much all the time. Only thing is the song never kicks back in and Earthless just keep jamming. Forever. That’s how they do, and apparently, they’re about to head over and do it in Europe. Quoth the PR wire:

Earthless are set to kick off a two week tour with Russian Circles! The band will also be performing at the Roadburn festival in Tilburg, Holland.

Earthless w/ Russian Circles
Apr 6  Hafenklang – Hamburg, Germany
Apr 7  Patronaat – Haarlem, Holland
Apr 8  Thekla – Bristol, UK
Apr 9  Brudenell – Leeds, UK
Apr 10 Captain’s Rest – Glasgow, UK
Apr 11 Islington Mill – Manchester, UK
Apr 12 Rock City Basement – Nottingham, UK
Apr 13 Underworld – London, UK
Apr 15 Roadburn Festival – Tilburg, NL
Apr 16 Impetus Days Festival – Lausanne, Switzerland
Apr 17 Sidecar – Barcelona, Spain

Actually, I’m the one doing the posting, but the bands will definitely be the ones playing the shows, and that’s what counts. In the case of Ancestors guitarist Justin Maranga, it counts twice since he’s in both bands. Double duty! Ah, these kids and their rock and roll. Best wishes to both bands for safe travels. Here’s the info straight off the PR wire:

Ancestors and Night Horse are set to begin a tour in support of their April 15th appearance at the internationally renowned Roadburn festival. The tour will begin on April 9th in Essen, Germany. These will be the first overseas shows for both bands. Dates below.

April 9  Essen, Germany Cafe Nova
April 10 Arlon, Belgium L’ Entrepot
April 11 Fidenza, Italy Circolo Arci Q
April 13 Wien, Austria Arena
April 14 Munich, Germany Sunny Red
April 15 Tilburg, Netherlands Roadburn Festival
April 16 London, UK South of the Border
April 17 Plymouth, UK White Rabbit

I don’t know nothin’ about nothin’, but Brooklyn Vegan‘s down at SXSW in Austin, TX, this week, and according to them, Nebula has broken up. Here’s what they had to say about it:

Tee Pee band Nebula broke up, thus changing their plan to head to Austin to play five shows. Naturally one of those shows was a BV (Attitude Adjustment at Red 7). Replacement still TBA, and assuming the break up sticks, full tour cancellation still TBA too.

Given the hundreds and thousands of people who’ve played in the band over the course of its existence, should anyone really be surprised if Nebula called it quits? No. Should we all look forward to the original lineup reunion bound to happen in about three years? Most definitely.

More on this as I hear it. Here’s “Aphrodite” from last year’s Heavy Psych, live at The Ottobar in Baltimore.

Fabled West Virginian instrumental stoner metallers Karma to Burn are reissuing two out of their three albums. Bet you can’t guess which ones?

Hint: It’s the two that Roadrunner didn’t make them hire a vocalist on. Zing!

Tee Pee Records via the PR wire gives the lowdown on the vinyls, plus some Euro dates. Nifty:

Tee Pee Records is very proud to announce the vinyl reissues of Wild Wonderful Purgatory and Almost Heathen from legendary stoner rock pioneers Karma to Burn. Both albums will be released on April 6th 2010 and will coincide with Karma to Burn‘s April 2010 UK/European tour.

Wild Wonderful Purgatory and Almost Heathen will each come with a 10″ vinyl of bonus material including demos from the first album, newly recorded versions of “20” and “30” and all new artwork by Alex Von Wielding.

Karma to Burn UK/European tour:
04.01.10 DE – Karlsruhe / Substage
04.02.10 FR – Paris / Nouveau Casino
04.03.10 NL – Schijndel / Paaspop Festival
04.04.10 DE – Weil der Stadt / JH Kloster
04.05.10 DE – Hamburg / Molotow
04.06.10 DE – Berlin / Magnet
04.07.10 DE – Marburg / KFZ
04.08.10 DE – Köln / Underground
04.09.10 DE – Osnabrück / Westwerk
04.10.10 BE – Leuven / Het Depot
04.12.10 CH – Basel / Hirscheneck
04.13.10 CH – Zürich / Rote Fabrik
04.14.10 IT – Milano / Circolo A.R.C.I. Magnolia
04.15.10 CH – Bern / ISC
04.16.10 NL – Tilburg / Roadburn Festival
04.19.10 UK – Newcastle / Academy 2
04.20.10 UK – Glasgow / Cathouse
04.21.10 UK – Manchester / Academy 3
04.22.10 UK – Sheffield / Corporation
04.23.10 UK – Dublin / Academy 2
04.24.10 UK – Birmingham / Academy 2
04.25.10 UK – Bristol / Academy 2
04.26.10 UK – London / Garage
04.27.10 UK – Southampton / Talking Heads
04.30.10 GR – Thessaloniki / 8 Ball club
05.01.10 GR – Athens /AN Club