Solace, Orodruin, While Heaven Wept and Snake Dance Added to Days of the Doomed II

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 16th, 2012 by H.P. Taskmaster

That Days of the Doomed II poster is starting to get awfully crowded. Over the weekend, the Mercyful Mike Smith, the organizer of the fest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, announced that While Heaven Wept and a reunited Solace (I think we all saw it coming) would be taking part, and today brings two more additions: Orodruin and Snake Dance.

And so an impressive bill gets even more impressive. Here’s the full update from Smith himself:

It is an absolute honor to announce to all of you that the mighty While Heaven Wept will be performing at the second installment of Days of the Doomed Fest this June in Kenosha, WI!!! I’d like to share with you the official statement I received from the band:

“We’re extremely happy to announce that we will be appearing at the Days of the Doomed II festival in June 2012! We’d actually been in discussions with Mike [Smith, fest organizer] even prior to the first edition, so this has been a long time coming indeed! While there was a time when we faced some challenges in making this happen, ultimately the planets have aligned! We look forward to sharing the stage with all of our old friends and bringing the music of While Heaven Wept to the Midwest for the first time! Don’t miss this event as it is the culmination of many years of “homegrown” doom metal events in the USA reaching a level of maturity and passion previously unseen!”

I also have the pleasure of announcing that the masters of heaviness and volume known as Solace will also be making the trek to Days Of The Doomed Fest II! Prepare for ear damage!!!

Want more? Back by popular demand! Rochester, NY, doom mongers Orodruin will be returning to pummel all of you!

One last announcement! I’m happy to introduce Chicago‘s stoner/doom rockers Snake Dance as the fest’s official openers on Friday!

In other fest news, I have been informed by Henry Vasquez that Blood of the Sun will be forced to pull out of Days of the Doomed due to his commitment with Saint Vitus. This is 100 percent understandable, and I wish Henry and the legendary Saint Vitus all the best on their 2012 tour!

And don’t forget the “Raffle of Doom” is in full swing!!! $5.00 gets you a shot at winning some seriously killer loot!!! Visit the official Days Of The Doomed Fest site (www.daysofthedoomed.com) for a full listing of what’s up for grabs!

Tickets are on sale now, and will move fast! Visit www.daysofthedoomed.com to purchase tickets, and to get all the updates on Days of the Doomed Fest II!

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Sleestak Release Altrusian Moon Collection of Improv Jams

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 2nd, 2012 by H.P. Taskmaster

Immediate kudos to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, four-piece Sleestak. To honor the coming of 2012, the adventurous doomers have made a collection of unreleased jams available for a pay-what-you-want download at their Bandcamp page. Given the name Altrusian Moon and a gorgeous cover befitting the psychedelic mood of the material, it’s as much a joy to hear as it is to appreciate the band’s bravery in stepping outside their songwriting comfort zone — or maybe just giving as a deeper look within it. Either way, as I said, kudos.

Sleestak is on Bandcamp here. Here’s the news and the stream of the songs:

Sleestak is kicking off the New Year with a new release called Altrusian Moon – A Lo-Fi Collection of Psychedelia and Space Rock. Yes, we know: we didn’t warn you.

It is available at Bandcamp and is a “pay what you want” digital album — you can pay $0 or be as generous as you wish. We dug deep into our rehearsal archives to give our fans a glimpse into our relaxed freeform jams, a very psychedelic improvised musical exploration of song ideas. Yes, there are mistakes, missed drum hits, wrong notes, etc. but the journey is there — a raw yet sublime document of our times playing together in the basement over the years. Also included is the live remix jam version of “The Fall of Altrusia” from 2009. You’ll hear some of our wider influences in this material and may appeal to fans of Bardo Pond, Hawkwind, USX, Red Sparowes, Dead Meadow, White Hills, and Yawning Man.

If you dig it, please consider purchasing the download as we start gathering funds to record the studio follow-up to Altrusia, hopefully to be released in 2012.

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Sat-r-dee Cuda

Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 15th, 2011 by H.P. Taskmaster

6:14AM - Woke up a bit ago from a dream that The Patient Mrs. was pregnant. There wasn’t much action happening — it’s not like she was pregnant and we were in a car chase; that was a separate dream — but it was one of those super-realistic dreams that you’re not sure when you come out of it which side of reality you’re on. Funny shit. I can’t even go to sleep without being hounded to reproduce. You’d almost think my genes weren’t totally fucked.

Anyway, once I was up, the thought of there being writing to do assured I wouldn’t go back to sleep — if you’re awake, you might as well be productive — so here I am. The four hours I got should suffice, or maybe I’ll be lucky and crash back out after this post. I’m not too worried about it. And hey, there’s Cuda, doing “Hellfire.” Who doesn’t want to be awake for that?

It might seem a strange choice to wake up and suddenly say, “I’m gonna go post a Cuda clip!” but it makes sense on some level as I was thinking about the nature of obscurity last night as I started to put together the new podcast — oh yeah, there will be a new podcast this weekend — and was ripping tracks from bands who had vastly different levels of success in their time. I don’t want to give away the theme in advance, but it got me thinking about all the stoner bands that popped up in the period between the mid-’90s and early-’00s and how many if any of them will have the chance to be rediscovered however far down the line.

Cuda was a one-shot offshoot from Bongzilla. Guitarist Spanky and bassist Cooter Brown assembled a four-piece and released the stonerly Hellfire EP on 12th Records in 2001. It’s the only thing they ever put out that I know of. Under half an hour of music 10 years ago and that’s it. Amazing how many acts have come and gone on one official release over the years. Hell, my band did it, if you want to put “official” in quotes.

This coming week, aside from that new podcast I already mentioned, I’ll get that Sungrazer interview posted. It’s not long, but there’s some insight to it that I think is cool and guitarist Rutger Smeets talks about being on tour with Colour Haze and RotoR, which is badass. I’ll also have reviews of discs from El Camino, Nordic Nomadic, The Dive and Russian Circles (and someone else), and in case the podcast isn’t enough audio for you, a premiere of a new track from SerpentCult. Lots of good stuff to come.

If you’ve emailed me in the last week or two and I haven’t gotten back yet, I apologize. Things have been really busy for me between work and school, and I just haven’t had the chance to be on my laptop and conscious at the same time. I’ll hammer all that out this weekend. Hope you have a good one. Be safe and we’ll see you on the forum and back here Monday for more zany fun.

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Sleestak Update on Writing and Shows

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 13th, 2011 by H.P. Taskmaster

Busy times for Milwaukee psych-doomers Sleestak, and not just because the Brewers are gunning to get in the World Series. The four-piece have a gig coming up in Chicago and some new material in the works that they were kind enough to send over an update on. I’m waiting on them to get a Six Dumb Questions interview back over, so stay tuned on more from these guys around here.

Until then, here’s the latest:

We will be playing a somewhat last minute show with Ravensthorn and Stone Magnum. It will take place Oct. 21, 2011 at Cafe Lura, 3184 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL. Please join us if you are in the area!

We’re currently writing new material, hoping to record in spring or early summer. I’m not sure what it will be for (EP, full-length, etc) but what I do know is that it is absolutely CRUSHINGLY HEAVY along with some psychedelic moments. There is also some recent talk of a split 7″ or 10″ — but for now that will remain under wraps.

We’ll be hosting the Days Of The Doomed preparty on June 21, 2012, with the venue to be announced very soon. So far, bands include Sleestak and Queen Elephantine with more TBA. Stay tuned on this bad mutha…

And lastly we’ll be in attendance Dec. 1st at the Kyuss Lives!/The Sword/Black Cobra show here in Milwaukee at Turner Hall Ballroom. If you’re going to this show and don’t have the newest Sleestak CD, this will be a great chance to snatch up an exclusive free promotional copy that highlights the first half of the album. We’ll be passing them out after the show!

 

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Sleestak, The Fall of Altrusia: Woe Be the Architect of Our City

Posted in Reviews on August 2nd, 2011 by H.P. Taskmaster

More than anything I’ve listened to in a long while, The Fall of Altrusia — the second self-released album from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, doom explorers Sleestak – demands to be taken as a whole. Although the Land of the Lost references of the double-guitar, bass and drums four-piece are easily enough traced, their music is actually far more complex, never quite delving completely into meandering psychedelia, but adding a darkened jam feel to at times surprisingly metallic doom. The Fall of Altrusia is broken into chapters in the tracklisting, and though there’s an element of indulgence in that and in the music likewise, it’s justified by the songs themselves. Sleestak blend genres, fuse wavy guitar sounds and noisy drones, contrast deep growls with Wovenhand-style musing, and most of all, craft a coherent musical narrative from these seemingly disparate and usually isolated elements. It might take a few listens to fully appreciate, but The Fall of Altrusia is propelled by an intense and self-aware creativity – that is, Sleestak know the genres they’re toying with and clearly didn’t just happen upon their sound, but though the material is dense at times, it’s also refreshingly individual.

As the appropriately-titled “Chapter 1 – In the Beginning” starts to lay out the narrative, and guitarist/vocalist/organist Matt Schmitz follows an ambient intro and heavy-riff-into-Opethian-pretty-part tradeoff to deliver the first lines of the album as “War, fear, evolution/Civilization, technology/Manipulation breeds anarchy,” I feel more like I’m listening to Fear Factory than anything that would fall under the doom heading, despite the somewhat languid pace. Drummer Marcus Bartell adds to the metallic atmosphere with pulsing double-kick bass drumming later in the song, betraying a bit of Godflesh-style extremity while bassist Dan Bell and guitarist Brian Gresser relish in thick tones soon to be relinquished again as the lighter pre-vocal movement returns to set up the apex and conclusion. “Chapter 1 – In the Beginning” is ably done, but what’s even more notable about it is how well it flows into “Chapter 2 – Exiled From the City.” I don’t know if Sleestak wrote The Fall of Altrusia as one long piece or as separate songs they then wove together, but the flow between cuts is one of the strongest facets of the album. “Chapter 2 – Exiled From the City” finds Schmitz employing some David Eugene Edwards-style clean vocals over organ and tense strumming guitars, and an extended semi-jam on which Bartell’s ride cymbal seems to cut through everything else in the mix.

That’s all the more a shame for the subtle charm Bell puts into his bassline, but what really stands out about the drumming on “Chapter 2 – Exiled From the City,” and on The Fall of Altrusia as a whole, is how processed the drums sound. It’s not so much what Bartell is playing as it is the production thereof. The snare sounds too uniform and mechanized, too bright and forward for the soft pull of the latter part of that track, so that it undoes the melodic work of Schmitz’s organ, which is doubly unfortunate for how it disrupts the aforementioned flow Sleestak have clearly worked so hard to establish across the seven tracks, and which for the most part is impeccably maintained, even as the plodding, thickly-riffed doom groove of “Chapter 3 – The Prophecy of the Great Sleep” takes hold. One of two prophecies Sleestak have in store for The Fall of Altrusia, this one finds Schmitz once again utilizing his growl over one of the record’s best riffs that marches along until 3:19 in, when the song changes to a more rocking progression that carries it into another slowdown finale, setting up “Chapter 4 – Regression within the Hive” and its more outwardly progressive feel.

Read more »

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On the Radar Update: Romero Have a New Single and Tour Dates

Posted in On the Radar on March 2nd, 2011 by H.P. Taskmaster

This past December, a mere two days after Xmas, I did an On the Radar post on Wisconsin trio Romero, who feature in their ranks former Naked Aggression drummer Jeffrey Mundt. Here we are not even three months later and Mundt checks in to report the band has a new single out and are taking to the road to support it. Good news, as far as I’m concerned, at least for the towns they’re hitting. If you’re in one of them, take note of the Orange-amplified goodness:

Romero’s “Solitaire” single released online by J. Randall from Agoraphobic Nosebleed‘s new label Grindcore Karaoke (website here)! Available for free download in multiple formats.

Romero on tour:
03/11 Winona, MN Canswer Haus
03/12 Fargo, ND Red Raven Espresso Bar
03/13 Rapid City, SD Skullets
03/14 Great Falls, MT 406 Club
03/16 Seattle, WA The Funhouse
03/17 Portland, OR Plan B
03/18 Portland, OR The Know
03/19 Boise, ID The Shredder
03/20 Salt Lake City, UT Bar Deluxe
03/21 Denver, CO Rockaway Tavern
03/23 Kansas City, MO Harling’s Upstairs Bar & Grill
03/25 Milwaukee, WI Ground Zero
03/26 Green Bay, WI The Crunchy Frog

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On the Radar: Romero

Posted in On the Radar on December 27th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

Loud, riffy and full of the à la mode style of heavy found in bands like Torche, the Wausau, Wisconsin, trio Romero debut with a raucous self-released 7″ called Solitaire. Those who pay attention to such things will note guitarist/vocalist Jeffrey “Madman” Mundt (I don’t know if anyone actually calls him that, but as a fan of Barton Fink, one can hope) is a former drummer of Naked Aggression, but more pivotal to Romero‘s sound than anyone’s past is the grooving riffage, the heavy crashes of drummer/vocalist Ben Brooks and the rumble of Josh Stanchik, which turns an already engaging finale of the first and title-track into a moment of genuine asskickery. Romero will probably be familiar to those acquainted with modern stoner metal, but in both “Solitaire” and “El Sentido Morboso,” they prove they’re definitely worth a look at either their Facebook or Bandcamp pages.

Their intent and their experience is clear. Romero doesn’t come off like a “new” band, and I don’t mean that to say their sound is stale, just that they execute these tracks professionally and with a confidence that comes from years of playing. Mundt sticks to a semi-melodic shout vocally, and his riffs are obviously leading the charge, but he has a few flourishes in his playing on “El Sentido Morboso” that work well with the the intricate style of Stanchik, whose low end is a major source of Solitaire‘s appeal. They run the social networking gamut, with the aforementioned sites as well as a MySpace page, YouTube channel and Twitter feed, so the expectation is that one way or another, we’ll be hearing from them again soon. For now, the vinyl is available at any of the links above, and for those who’d stream it first, the Bandcamp player below allows for just that. There’s even a bonus track to go along with the full 7″.

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Here’s How I Know Droids Attack are Badass: Not Even a Burst Appendix Will Keep Them from Opening for Floor Tonight

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 22nd, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

This story pretty much speaks for itself. Much respect and wishes for a speedy recovery to Droids Attack guitarist/vocalist and all around good dude, Brad Van.

Via the PR wire:

Droids Attack has just returned from their latest tour in support of their newest full-length album, Must Destroy, released on Crustacean Records in February of 2010. It was a 15-day trip playing 14 different cities encompassing some of the biggest markets east of the Mississippi including New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, The Twin Cities, Detroit, Philadelphia and others. Including their southern tour at the end of April and numerous regional extended weekend jaunts, Droids Attack has played over 20 states over the course of 50 shows in the first half of 2010 while putting tens of thousands of miles on their late 90′s Dodge van.

Things took a turn for the life threatening on the third to last show of tour when Brad Van, singer/guitarist/songwriter for Droids Attack, began to take ill with stomach pains before their set at the Cobra Lounge in Chicago. He continued to finish the tour in pain and discomfort playing two more smoking sets in La Crosse, Wisconsin and Minneapolis, MN before finally getting to an emergency room Sunday morning at 5AM after finishing the tour at the Triple Rock Social Club.

The doctors diagnosed Brad with a burst appendix and rushed him into surgery immediately. He was finally discharged on Tuesday afternoon and is back home resting and recovering Madison, Wisconsin. Despite the ill health Brad has vowed to play their set Tuesday June 22nd at the Empty Bottle in Chicago opening for reunited and influential Florida doom metal band, Floor. The band is much revered by Droids Attack and considered an influence along with the post-Floor offshoot bands. According to Brad Van, “To me both Floor and Steve‘s other project Torche, are the most important bands I’ve heard in the last 15 years. This reunion show is a very rare and special performance and I can’t believe we got the gig. I’m very honored and excited that they asked us to perform with them.”

Beyond the Empty Bottle show, Droids Attack has a steady stream of regional shows upcoming including being slated to play Chicago‘s legendary Riot Fest Oct 6-10 with details to be announced regarding date and time.

Upcoming Droids Attack shows:
6/22 @ The Empty Bottle Chicago, IL opening for Floor
7/15 @ The Wisco Madison, WI w/ The Fuck Knights and Cloth Sea
7/17 @ Reptile Palace Oshkosh, WI w/ Admiral Black and Bloodhawk
7/22 @ Quenchers Chicago, IL
7/31 @ The Triple Rock Minneapolis, MN w/ 20 Dollar Love, Imperial Battlesnake and Bloodcow

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Live Review: Droids Attack and Kings Destroy in Brooklyn, 06.04.10

Posted in Reviews on June 7th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

I guess I’d never seen Williamsburg on a Friday night before. I would’ve thought at some point I must have, but as I rolled down Bedford Ave. and bore witness to the hedonistic hipster fashion show — like something out of Valley of the Dolls, but sucky and pretending to be environmentally conscious at the same time — I swear I’ve never seen anything like it. Next-gen aristocrats everywhere pretending to be edgy for each other. The whole place smelled like sex, alcohol and axle grease. Get me the fuck out.

My timing was meh. I walked into the Charleston first as the band before was on and second after Droids Attack‘s set had already begun (I went to hide my head in the meantime; here I’ll point out that my terror was all the worse in my surroundings because I wasn’t drinking). The “stage” was basically just the end of the room in the basement, which, as far as I’m concerned, rules. If there’s one redeeming value about a small show in New York, whether it’s at Lit Lounge, the Delancey, or back at Club Midway when they put on shows — and at countless others, I don’t doubt — is that the show is downstairs while the assholes are upstairs. I’ll take that every time.

The sound is never great in a basement, what with all the concrete, but the sound is never great anywhere and Droids Attack certainly made the most of it, guitarist/vocalist Brad Van playing through a new Orange amp as well as the Dr. Z you can hear on their Must Destroy album. Van had a couple extended solos and there was a sizable jam at the end of the set — take that, Mr. “This Is Your Last Song” Sound Guy — and bassist Nate Bush and drummer Tony Brungraber locked down killer grooves throughout the proceedings. The vibe was good times, irony and bullshit free, and Droids Attack rocked out with clear love for what they were doing. By the end of the set, I was up front.

It was getting late and I had a two-hour drive ahead of me (as opposed to the prior two-hour drive it took me to get to the Charleston in the first place), but Kings Destroy were quick in setting up their gear, so I managed to stay for their whole set and barely a minute longer. This was, I believe, their third show — remember the first? — and just between the two I’ve seen they already seem more established on stage. Carl Porcaro and Chris Skowronski, both on guitar, played a little slower than in Hoboken, giving an ultra-doom feel to the songs they didn’t have last time I heard them. I recognized a good portion of the material, which if I didn’t say this in my last review bodes well for the full-length to be recorded this summer, and though I wanted them to be a little louder (they were un-miked and competing with two guitar and bass amplifiers as well as the P.A.), Rob Sefcik‘s drums turned out to make the night. Not too many frills in his playing, but a steady hand and some enticing fills that did well accenting Steve Murphy‘s vocals, which also felt more confident over the songs.

If I haven’t mentioned him yet, it’s only because bassist Ed Bocchino was a little lower in the overall mix than I would have liked — doom needs rumble — but that could just as easily be caused by the concrete eating the low end as by an amp needing to be turned up. I also noticed it with Nate Bush during Droids Attack‘s set, so it very well could have just been the room.

When I was over I shook hands and was out quick to hit the road. It was well past one in the morning and I’d be lucky to make it to Connecticut before three — which, luckily, I did — but even taking that into account, and even with the hipster douchery surrounding, I don’t regret having gone to the show. Smaller gigs like that are my favorite, being neither especially friendly nor able to see the charm in having beer spilled on my sandaled feet. The Charleston may have been beset on all sides, but the basement was like a fallout shelter and I was only to happy to soak up whatever sanctuary I could.

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Droids Attack Premiere New Video, Announce Tour

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Whathaveyou on May 12th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

It’s a newsly double-whammy for Wisconsin rockers Droids Attack, now supporting their new album, Must Destroy (stream it here). Not only have they got a new video for the most excellently titled song “Great Wall of ‘Gina,” but they’ve just posted tour dates that will bring them all the way out to the East Coast, where you can bet your ass I’ll be seeing them live. Here’s the video and info from the intrepid and timely PR wire:

Following the release of Madison, Wisconsin‘s doom-laden guitar assault that is Droids Attack’s new album, Must Destroy, the band has premiered the video for the song, “Great Wall of ‘Gina.” Produced and directed by Natalie Hinckley of Hinckley Design, and edited by Droids Attack frontman Brad Van, the video features burlesque star Moxie Rhoads.

In addition to the new video, Droids Attack have announced a series of US tour dates taking the band throughout the Midwest and along the East Coast for the first time since the release of their new album.

Droids Attack live:
5/28 – The Dojo, Indianapolis IN
5/29 – Third Street Dive, Louisville KY
5/30 – The Longbranch Saloon, Knoxville TN
5/31 – The Eastside Lounge, Atlanta GA
6/1 – The Reservoir, Carrboro NC
6/2 – The Hexagon, Baltimore MD
6/3 – Sweeney’s, Philadelphia PA
6/4 – The Charleston, Brooklyn NY

6/6 – The Smiling Moose, Pittsburgh PA
6/7 – The Royal Oaks, Youngstown OH
6/8 – Now That’s Class, Cleveland OH
6/9 – The 734, Ypsilanti MI
6/10 – The Cobra Lounge, Chicago IL
6/11 – The Joint, La Crosse WI
6/12 – The Hexagon Bar, Minneapolis MN

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Aquilonian and Sollubi: Two Great Heavy Flavors, One Very Packed Disc

Posted in Reviews on April 27th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

Notable apart from its hour-plus length for being the first recorded output of the post-Bongzilla project Aquilonian, who’ve been threatening for a while now with MySpace samples and teases of the like, this split CD between them and Ohio sludge demons Sollubi (whose previous At War with Decency full-length might just have been victorious in its conflict) is two tracks — one from each band, each over a half-hour long — that seems to create an economy all its own. If you’ve ever thought of buying music in terms of “bang for your buck,” I fail to see a better option than getting two short LP-length offerings from these bands. Most splits feel like throwaway tracks. This feels like home.

Aquilonian go first, which given the built-in interest that will no doubt lead many to check out this split is only proper. The duo of guitarist/vocalist Michael Makela and drummer/vocalist Michael Henry (though neither is particularly busy in the vocal department) have composed “Symphonica de Levita” for the occasion, and with it they put on a master class in how to transpose a groove on top of repetitive riffing. Anyone expecting Bongzilla-type grime will be surprised to find Aquilonian residing in a different, less sludge-laden niche, as though all the stoner in the band was distilled to its essential weedian elements. “Symphonica de Levita” reminds heavily of Sleep’s Holy Mountain, but even more than Makela’s tone or vocals, it’s the drum work of Henry that provokes the association. The ready snare taps that Chris Hakius used to make the best material on that album as memorable as it is, Henry seems apt to employ here, and it works to similar effect. The simplicity of their groove is essential, and even when the track breaks down at about 24 minutes in, it is all the more satisfying when it picks up again to finish with some of its most active guitar/drum interplay.

Read more »

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Who are Test-Site Covering?

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 28th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

I seem to recall lamenting at one point or another how Milwaukee-based stoner metallers Test-Site put out one awesome album and then — poof — nothing. Well, nothing except for the Fallout DVD, anyway, which is pretty good. Turns out they’ve been working on new material for a while now and although they’re about to take a break because drummer Tim Wick is going to have a kid (damn procreating percussionists), the trio has posted a mysterious new cover tune, which sounds familiar but I just can’t put my finger on. If you recognize it, leave a comment and let me know. Here’s an update from the band:

There is an unmastered NEW track (although it’s a cover) from the last recording session for everyone to hear. Check out the MySpace to listen. See if you recognize it. It’s the song labeled “coveRed.”

It’s been a while since we’ve posted any updates. So… First off, we are currently working on new songs that are by far 10 steps above everything we’ve done. We are finished recording for CD number two (name TBD) mixing will begin again once Tim returns from break. He has a baby boy on the way in the next few weeks which will mean Test-Site will be on a break for an undetermined amount of time, however, keep your ears and eyes open as we might be still found playing live.

We will be posting one of the new unmastered tracks in the next couple days…

We have recently discovered our self-titled CD is running low. We have only about 50 left and will be selling them here in the next week or so at reduced prices as gratitude to our fans. Thank you all soooo much for your constant support! We are working on some new and interesting ways to help bring Test-Site‘s music to you. Stay tuned in!

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Frydee Bongzilla

Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 26th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

Neither Bongzilla, nor the foot of snow that fell on the valley last night (with more allegedly on the way) is subtle. Both are sloppy, and if you’re subject to prolonged exposure to either, it can have a serious effect on your mental state. Hence, “Keefmaster” from the 2003 Relapse Contamination Festival. Dig.

February, in everything but the weather, is winding down, but this was still a pretty busy week, with the Apostle of Solitude interview that went up today and the Cathedral and Ufomammut reviews yesterday, The Brought Low on Tuesday, etc. Lots of great stuff, and thanks for reading and commenting. I know there’s the banner on the side of the page, but it’s worth repeating that if you haven’t checked out the March podcast yet, you should do so immediately because it rules.

Enjoy your weekend and stay tuned. More good times to follow.

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Droids Attack Interview with Brad Van: More Than Just Riffs and Robots

Posted in Features on February 19th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

Raucous riff and roll from the Midwest isn’t something that comes across my desk every day, so when Must Destroy, the third album from Madison, Wisconsin, trio Droids Attack landed, robot-laden artwork facing up, I was immediately interested. Not only did the record live up to song titles like “The Great Wall of ‘Gina” and “Koko Beware,” but it proved to operate on a deeper level than just that surface goofiness as well. A win all around.

The Obelisk is streaming the album here if you haven’t heard it yet, and of course there’s the review as well, but I thought there might be more to say about Droids Attack, so I dialed up guitarist/vocalist/chief robot constructor Brad Van for a chat about the band’s outlook, past and future. In our extended discussion, presented after the jump, Van details his working relationship with bassist Nate Bush and drummer Tony Brungraber, their writing process, attitude on making music — and yes, robot manufacturing technique.

Please enjoy the Q&A after the jump.

Read more »

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audiObelisk Exclusive Stream: Droids Attack, Must Destroy

Posted in audiObelisk on February 16th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster

Share it with a loved one.

Madison, Wisconsin heavy riffers Droids Attack have been kind enough to let The Obelisk play host to an exclusive stream of their third album, Must Destroy, which is out now on Crustacean Records (review here). We all know how long exclusivity lasts on the internet, but yes, I do feel privileged, and thanks to the band — Brad Van, Nate Bush and Tony Brungraber — and Solid PR for making it happen. By way of a cheap plug, an interview with Van is online now at this location.

Until then, whether you want to scale “The Great Wall of ‘Gina” or take on “Koko Beware,” you can do so using the fancy little player below. A personal recommendation? All of them. Enjoy.

Droids Attack on MySpace

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