Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Blue Cheer guitarist Randy Holden's 'Population II' (1970) reissue streaming in full ahead of release


"It’s not hard to hear how influential it is and how timeless it still sounds today." -- Brooklyn Vegan

"Population II is considered one of the world's first doom albums ever." -- Metal Injection


RidingEasy Records officially reissues on physical and digital formats the extremely rare 1970 proto-metal album Randy Holden - Population II this Friday. In anticipation, the full album is available to stream via Brooklyn Vegan HERE. (Direct YouTube & Bandcamp.)

Considered one of the first doom metal albums ever, the ex-Blue Cheer guitarist's solo debut has long been sought out by collectors. The remastered full length will be available on all streaming platforms for the first time, with a master more true to the original mix on LP, CD and streaming.

"Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open." 

To hear Randy Holden describe the audience's reaction in 1969 to his solo debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps is about as close as many of us will get to truly experience the moment heavy metal music morphed into existence. However, at last we have unearthed the proper fossil record.

Population II, the now legendary, extremely rare album by guitarist/vocalist Holden and drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed is considered to be one of the earliest examples of doom metal. Though its original release was a very limited in number and distribution, like all great records, its impact over time has continued to grow.

In 1969, Holden, fresh off his tenure with proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer (appearing on one side of the New! Improved! Blue Cheer album and touring for the better part of a year in the group), aimed for more control over his band. Thus, Randy Holden - Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. 

"I wanted to do something that hadn't been done before," Holden explains. "I was interested in discordant sounds that could be melodic but gigantically huge. I rented an Opera house for rehearsal, set up with 16 Sunn amps. That's what I was going for, way over the top." 

And over the top it is. The 6-song album delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It's incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic, sensibility. 

"At the time, I was hearing these crazy melodies everywhere I went," Holden says. "I thought I was going crazy." For example, one day he slowly rooted out a powerful sound that had been nagging him and discovered it coming from a ceiling fan. "Machinery all around us doesn't turn in a perfect rhythm. That's what I was tuning into, I heard the music and the discordant sounds coming from the machinery. It was perfect for rendering the machine we built."

Troubles with the album's release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. It was bootlegged several times over the years, but until now hasn't seen a proper remaster and has yet to be available on digital platforms. "The original mastering just destroyed the dynamics of it," Holden says. "They flattened it out. Now we got a really nice remaster that should be the closest thing to the original recording." 

Population II will be available on LP, CD and download on February 28th, 2020 via RidingEasy Records





Artist: Randy Holden
Album: Population II
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: February 28th, 2020

01. Guitar Song
02. Fruit & Iceburgs
03. Between Time
04. Fruit & Iceburgs (Conclusion)
05. Blue My Mind
06. Keeper of My Flame


On The Web:



Thursday, February 20, 2020

Announcing 'Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip': Series of rare 60s-70s pre-metal singles hits double-digits

"So rare that diehard fuzz junkies say you'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding a physical 45 rpm single by one of the bands featured on their latest installment." -- Dangerous Minds

"Will do for hard rock, proto-metal and heavy psych what Nuggets did for garage rock, and bring it to a wider audience of collectors and music fans." -- The Guardian

"Mining the surprising rich reserves of heavy rock and proto-metal from the '60s and '70s, these collections have been crucial to understanding the history of a subgenre of rock that had far deeper roots than most fans realize." -- Paste Magazine


The forthcoming tenth edition -- #10! -- of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip will be available, fittingly, on April 20th, 2020. As the celebrated series reaches landmark double-digits, there are no indications it will slow down in the near future. Hear and share the first single, "Tensions" released in 1969 by Detroit rockers Sounds Synonymous via YouTube and Bandcamp.

The Brown Acid series is curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and retailer/label Permanent Records. Read interviews with the series curators via Paste Magazine HERE and LA Weekly HERE. 

About  The Tenth Trip:

Here we are, arriving at the tenth edition of Brown Acid in just half as many years! As always, we packed in the highest highs of the dankest hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks previously lost to the sands of time. Like we've done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. It's hard to believe we're already up to 10 volumes of this lysergic Neanderthal wail, but the long-lost jams just keep-a-coming like Texas crude to fuel your rock 'n' roll engine and melt your metal mind. 

This Trip kicks off with the Hammer of the Gods howl of "Plastic Thunder" by Bitter Creek. The Atlanta, GA quintet's lone single from 1970 on Mark IV Records is rated #6 of the Top 50 Heaviest Songs Before Black Sabbath by GuitarWorld Magazine. You can hear why in the ominous riff and larynx-ravaging chorus that merges the deepest of Deep Purple sludge with The Who's rollicking psychedelia. 

Not much is known about The Brood's 1969 bluesy paean to dirtbag weed consumption "The Roach" on the It's A Lemon imprint, except that it's a big, growling rocker with a crazed in-the-round blowout of wailing guitar solos, screeching organ blasts, wildly overlapping vocals and drum rolls for days. 

Nova Scotia, Canada sextet Brothers and One's double-entendre laden single "Hard On Me" certainly pushes the boundaries of what would be acceptable at the time (especially amongst their ever-polite Canadian brethren.) Their lone full length was released in 1970 on short-lived Audat label, the group featuring two sets of brothers (hence the name) recorded the album while all members were between age 13-18-years-old. This glam-influenced single was privately released on the band's own label nearly 4 years later. 

Louisville, KY quartet Conception's excellent revision of Blue Cheer's "Babylon" (1969, Perfection Records) adds heavy phaser effect on the guitar and a more driving rhythm to make the song entirely their own. Lead guitar and high harmony vocals by Charlie Day (not to be confused with the Sunny Philadelphian actor) are assertive and commanding as he implores listeners onward to hallucinagenic nirvana. 

Not exactly a typically psychedelic band name for the era, but First State Bank's "Mr. Sun" (1970, Music Mill) pays hearty dividends of boogie bustle. The Central Texas band led by guitarist/vocalist Randy Nunnally released only 3 singles in its career from 1970-1976. For those keeping score at home, their song "Before You Leave" was featured on The Third Trip back in 2016. "Mr. Sun" is the heavy B-Side to "Coming Home To You."

Clearly inspired by Jimi Hendrix, Tucson quartet Frozen Sun topped the local charts in 1969 with this barnstorming rocker "Electric Soul" (Capt. Zoomer Records.) The song is replete with guitarist/vocalist (with big Hendrix hair) Ron Ryan's spoken interlude, "Well have you been electrically stoned? You know, living in the danger zone?" We say yes. 

Ralph Williams and the Wright Brothers took flight with "Never Again" on Hour Glass Records in 1972, and apparently never landed after this 45 with "Dark Street" on the A-side. The serpentine riff and sexually-charged backing vocal grunts drive this archetypical tale of a young man's chemical odyssey... or, should we say, trip?  

Sounds Synonymous pretty much epitomized heavy fuzz from Michigan with their 1969 single "Tensions" on the Wall Productions label. The Hendrix "Fire" meets Arthur Brown's "Fire" track lunges and lurches with glee throughout its 3-minutes and change of unbridled crunch. Tabernash's "Head Collect" (1972) is the suburban Denver quartet's only release following the name change from The Contents Are and a move from Davenport, IA. This more stately psych-rock chune features Byrds-like harmonies, twangy reverse-looped guitar soloing and Keith Moon-esque drumming that should've made it a chart-topper, but we all know there's no justice in rock'n'roll. 

The Tenth Trip closes, appropriately, with the "War Pigs" reminiscent fuzz of New Orleans quartet The Rubber Memory's 1970 tune "All Together." The band self-released only 110 copies of their lone album, making it an incredibly sought-after rarity for decades. Alongside a limited edition reissue in 2000, the group reformed for a one-off show before quickly bouncing back into our collective cosmic consciousness. 

About the Brown Acid series:

Some of the best thrills of the Internet music revolution is the ability to find extremely rare music with great ease. But even with such vast archives to draw from, quite a lot of great songs have gone undiscovered for nearly half a century -- particularly in genres that lacked hifalutin arty pretense. Previously, only the most extremely dedicated and passionate record collectors had the stamina and prowess to hunt down long forgotten wonders in dusty record bins -- often hoarding them in private collections, or selling at ridiculous collector's prices. Legendary compilations like NuggetsPebbles, ad nauseum, have exhausted the mines of early garage rock and proto-punk, keeping alive a large cross-section of underground ephemera. However, few have delved into and expertly archived the wealth of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock tracks collected on 
Brown Acid

Lance Barresi, co-owner of L.A./Chicago retailer Permanent Records has shown incredible persistence in tracking down a stellar collection of rare singles from the 60s and 70s for the growing compilation series. Partnered with Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, the two have assembled a selection of songs that's hard to believe have remained unheard for so long. 

"I essentially go through hell and high water just to find these records," Barresi says. "Once I find a record worthy of tracking, I begin the (sometimes) extremely arduous process of contacting the band members and encouraging them to take part. Daniel and I agree that licensing all the tracks we're using for
Brown Acid is best for everyone involved," rather than simply bootlegging the tracks. When all of the bands and labels haven't existed for 30-40 years or more, tracking down the creators gives all of these tunes a real second chance at success. 

"There's a long list of songs that we'd love to include," Barresi says. "But we just can't track the bands down. I like the idea that Brown Acid is getting so much attention, so people might reach out to us."


Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on April 20, 2020 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records



Artist: Various Artists
Album: Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip 
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: April 20, 2020

01. Sounds Synonymous "Tensions"
02. Ralph Williams and the Wright Brothers "Never Again"
03. Conception "Babylon" 
04. Bitter Creek "Plastic Thunder"
05. The Rubber Memory "All Together" 
06. First State Bank "Mr. Sun" 
07. Brothers and One "Hard On Me"
08. Frozen Sun "Electric Soul"
09. The Brood "The Roach"
10. Tabernash "Head Collect" 

On The Web:




Wednesday, February 19, 2020

WARISH share new single "Woven", tour w/ Black Lips starts today!

"Remember when indie rock sounded all grimy, corroded and metal-sludgy -- the last thing you'd hear in a commercial or being played at an arena show? Warish do. It's music to the ears of anyone who wants to damage their ears." -- Rolling Stone

"Warish totally rules... An awesome mixture of punk energy, biker rock fuzz, and grunge growl." -- Kerrang!

"Sludgy and punk-y at the same time, with an Iggy and the Stooges meets Misfits vibe, plus a bit of stoner rock and metal mixed in, as well." -- Consequence of Sound


Southern California trio Warish share a new single today to kick off East Coast tour dates with The Black Lips. The song, "Woven" is available on all platforms. Hear & share via YouTube, Bandcamp and Spotify

Rolling Stone previously hailed Warish as a Song You Need To Know feature HERE

Warish hit the road this week supporting The Black Lips on the East Coast. Please see all upcoming dates below. 

Imagine if early, weird Aberdeen Nirvana were crossed with low budget horror-obsessed garage-punks. You'd have sinister vibes with a visceral, twisted weirdness and bludgeoning riffs. Some might call it nightmarish, we call it Warish

Warish is a very newly minted SoCal trio formed in early 2018 that has wasted no time making its presence known. The band formed when guitarist/vocalist and pro-skater Riley Hawk (son of skating legend Tony Hawk) and drummer Nick (Broose) McDonnell decided they wanted to try their hand at something more distinct than they'd done previously.

"We wanted to do simpler riffs and a fun live show," Riley explains. "A little more punk, a little bit of grunge... a little evil-ish."

Their sound takes cues from a variety of cool underground sounds and twists it all into an energetic and exciting fist to the face of dark fury. Hawk's effect-laden vocals hearken to 90s industrial monsters Ministry and David Yow's tortured caterwaul in Scratch Acid. The guitars are heavy and powerful, though decidedly not straightforward cookie cutter punk; more like Cobain's and Buzz Osbourne's wiry contortions. The rhythms bash and pummel right through it all with aggressive force ensuring that nothing gets overly complicated and the horrors keep coming throughout the band's uh, warlike assault.

The band's debut album Down In Flames is available on LP, CD and download, released on September 13th, 2019 via RidingEasy Records. Available to order in all formats HERE

WARISH LIVE 2020:
02/19 Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle *
02/20 Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club *
02/21 Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes *
02/22 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church *
02/23 Washington, DC @ Union Stage *
02/24 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg *
02/26 Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair *
02/27 Portsmouth, NH @ 3S Artspace *
02/28 Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Electriques *
02/29 Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace *
03/01 Detroit, MI @ Deluxe Fluxx *
03/02 Chicago, IL @ Subterranean 
03/05 Denver, CO @ Streets Denver
03/10 San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
08/14 Las Vegas, NV @ Mandalay Bay - Psycho Las Vegas


* w/ Black Lips


Artist: Warish
Album: "Woven" single
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: February 19th, 2020

01. Woven



Thursday, February 13, 2020

Gaytheist share first single from forthcoming album via Brooklyn Vegan

"Infectiously catchy, and right in the middle of the sludge, pop, and punk Venn diagram that is so ingrained in the history of Pacific Northwest heavy music." -- Metal Sucks


Portland, OR trio Gaytheist share the lead single from their forthcoming 5th album today via Brooklyn Vegan. Hear & share "The Dark Deep" HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)

The band plays a handful of Pacific Northwest shows around the release date in April, followed by more extensive North American dates in summer. Please see current shows below. 

Gaytheist return Spring 2020 with their 5th full length record and their finest work to date, How Long Have I Been On Fire? Following several years of living on opposite ends of the country, the band reassembled in Vancouver, Washington and delved into a writing frenzy.

Once again under the watchful eye of master engineer Stephan Hawkes, Gaytheist recorded all of HLHIBOF on the last weekend of June, 2019. Thirteen songs of KABOOM rock, depression anthems and various attempts at communication. Feedback, rhythm and speed, it is an amalgamation of punk, hardcore, metal, and wild rock.

Incredibly catchy leads and soaring vocals are carried by subatomic, weighty bass grumblings while a tornado of drum wailing knocks the listener on their ass. Oh, and they're really funny too.  Who says metal has to be so serious all the time?

How Long Have I Been On Fire? will be available on LP and digital on April 10th, 2020 via Hex Records. Pre-orders are available HERE

GAYTHEIST LIVE:
02/28 Chehalis, WA @ McFiler’s w/ C-AVERAGE
02/29 Bellingham, WA @ The Firefly w/ PINK BOA, SMOOTH SAILING
03/13 Portland, OR @ Kenton Club w/ VIA VALE, INTERNET BEEF
04/10 Portland, OR @ High Water Mark w/ PINKO, SEA MOSS, DUNZO
04/11 Seattle, WA @ Substation w/ PINKO, POST/BOREDOM
04/16 Eugene, OR @ Old Nick’s w/ HOLY GROVE, RED CLOUD
07/17 Calgary, AB @ The Palomino




Artist: Gaytheist
Album: How Long Have I Been On Fire?
Record Label: Hex Records
Release date: April 10th, 2020

01. The Dark Deep
02. Let The Wrong One Out
03. Hashbrownblessed
04. Crooked
05. Hornsoggled
06. Fetid Delights
07. Dental Records
08. Border Patrol
09. Anticestry
10. It's Reigning Men
11. All Choices End In Death

On The Web:




Tuesday, February 11, 2020

Hear extremely rare track from Blue Cheer guitarist Randy Holden's 'Population II' (1970) reissue on RidingEasy


"Population II is considered one of the world's first doom albums of all time." -- Metal Injection


RidingEasy Records proudly announce the official reissue on physical and digital formats of the extremely rare 1970 proto-metal album Randy Holden - Population II. Considered one of the first doom metal albums ever, the ex-Blue Cheer guitarist's solo debut has long been sought out by collectors. The remastered full length will be available on all streaming platforms for the first time, with a master more true to the original mix on LP, CD and streaming.

Metal Injection has the first taste of the remastered album, "Blue My Mind" to hear & share HERE. (Direct Bandcamp, YouTube.) 

"Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open." 

To hear Randy Holden describe the audience's reaction in 1969 to his solo debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps is about as close as many of us will get to truly experience the moment heavy metal music morphed into existence. However, at last we have unearthed the proper fossil record.

Population II, the now legendary, extremely rare album by guitarist/vocalist Holden and drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed is considered to be one of the earliest examples of doom metal. Though its original release was a very limited in number and distribution, like all great records, its impact over time has continued to grow.

In 1969, Holden, fresh off his tenure with proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer (appearing on one side of the New! Improved! Blue Cheer album and touring for the better part of a year in the group), aimed for more control over his band. Thus, Randy Holden - Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. 

"I wanted to do something that hadn't been done before," Holden explains. "I was interested in discordant sounds that could be melodic but gigantically huge. I rented an Opera house for rehearsal, set up with 16 Sunn amps. That's what I was going for, way over the top." 

And over the top it is. The 6-song album delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It's incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic, sensibility. 

"At the time, I was hearing these crazy melodies everywhere I went," Holden says. "I thought I was going crazy." For example, one day he slowly rooted out a powerful sound that had been nagging him and discovered it coming from a ceiling fan. "Machinery all around us doesn't turn in a perfect rhythm. That's what I was tuning into, I heard the music and the discordant sounds coming from the machinery. It was perfect for rendering the machine we built."

Troubles with the album's release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. It was bootlegged several times over the years, but until now hasn't seen a proper remaster and has yet to be available on digital platforms. "The original mastering just destroyed the dynamics of it," Holden says. "They flattened it out. Now we got a really nice remaster that should be the closest thing to the original recording." 

Population II will be available on LP, CD and download on February 28th, 2020 via RidingEasy Records





Artist: Randy Holden
Album: Population II
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: February 28th, 2020

01. Guitar Song
02. Fruit & Iceburgs
03. Between Time
04. Fruit & Iceburgs (Conclusion)
05. Blue My Mind
06. Keeper of My Flame


On The Web:



Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Melted Bodies (ex-Local Natives) share new single along with "Tim & Eric meets Mr Bungle" video via Metal Injection


"Throw David Lynch in the pit of a 2020 grind show and the noise that it makes might resemble Melted Bodies... The soundtrack to a radioactive spaghetti western where everyone’s throwing up." -- Kerrang


Los Angeles quartet Melted Bodies share a new single today via Metal Injection. Hear & share the caustic "Club Anxious" HERE, and Bandcamp, Spotify

The band also recently released their insanely clever video for their single "Ad People." The hilarious video spoofs our vapid Internet content spewing culture and is available to watch and share on YouTube.

About Melted Bodies:

Melted Bodies creates music for people to propel their limitless potential. We aim to inspire a can-do attitude that's culturally relevant, relatable, safe, and accessible to everyone. Instead of breaking boundaries, let's shatter them into a million mobile-friendly pieces, together. Motion creates emotion, and emotion creates content that challenges our core cultural influencers in our ever-increasingly connected world. 

These are all ideas and themes that we can leverage and take advantage of in the new media democracy. We are here to target influencer content and engage media partners through collective storytelling and game-changing ideas. Autonomous social media helps drive peer to peer authentic engagements that can be tracked and measured to create augmented experiences which can then be leveraged to connect human truths. Our aim is to pander to the needs and wants of these global progressive influencers and pander we will. 



On The Web: