“Mullenhour's vocals rise to heated roars worthy of stardom, which lend themselves perfectly to Touched by Ghoul's brand of rock that is loud and heavy..." -- Gaper's Block
Chicago quartet Touched By Ghoul announce their forthcoming sophomore album Cancel The World today, sharing the first single via New Noise Magazine. Hear and share "Better Than Me" HERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)
Funny story: Chicago’s quartet of weirdos Touched By Ghoul recorded their sophomore album Cancel The World at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio in July 2019 with the title already in place. They mixed it in January 2020, and then the world was actually cancelled. After idling for months, the album was sent for pressing the vinyl to support tour dates. Tours were again cancelled. And, the pressing plant’s press was broken. Cancelled once again.
Of course, everyone’s been through the wringer over the past couple of years, and some much more severe than this. But, Cancel The World may just be the forbidden music so many artists have sought to make. Ironically, the album finds the band taming its aggressive Birthday Party / Babes In Toyland noiserock attack ever so slightly in order to embrace melodies and allow their tousled cynicism to truly shine on songs like “Better Than Me”, “Lost At The Costco” and the title track. but that doesn't mean their acerbic wit isn't on full display.
Touched By Ghoul is fronted by former Sybris singer/guitarist Angela Mullhouer, along with guitarist Andrea Bauer and the rollicking rhythm section of bassist Alex Shumard and drummer Paige Sandlin. The intrepid group made its debut with 2016’s Murder Circus album (also on Chicago imprint Under Road Records) and for a while things were going pretty great pre-pandemic: TBG played some awesome shows (supporting Foo Fighters at Wrigley Field, Wayne Kramer's MC50, Local H), received great press and built up a small army of zombified followers.
At last, with nothing more than this album on the horizon for the time being, Touched By Ghoul are here to undo whatever star-crossed curse they’ve brought unto the world, one gloriously weird, catchy song at a time.
Cancel The World will be available on LP, download and streaming on December 3rd, 2021 via Under Road Records. Pre-orders are available HERE.
"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 latest edition of the popular compilation series featuring long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid: The Thirteenth Trip will be released on Halloween 2021. Today, Dangerous Minds is streaming the album in full ahead of its release. Hear and share Brown Acid: The Thirteenth TripHERE. (Direct YouTube.)
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 MagazineHERE and LA WeeklyHERE.
About The Thirteenth Trip:
Max, from Montreal, QC — originally known as Dawn, before Tony Orlando & Dawn forced a name change — kick things off with “Run Run” from their lone 1970 single. It’s a hard-hitting rocker with scale climbing crunching guitars and powerful Bonham-esque drumming. Sadly, the band didn’t last long due to poor management and various other factors, so this is the only surviving document according to guitarist Gerry Markman. And what a document it is, paired with the A-side “The Flying Dutchman.”
You might remember Ralph Williams and the Wright Brothers from their track “Never Again” on Brown Acid: The Tenth Trip. Here they make their return to the series with the A-side of their 1972 Hour Glass Records 45, which sounds like Blue Cheer mangling Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman” (that’s right, several years before Van Halen actually did so.) Alas, Ralph and these Wright Brothers soon disappeared from terrestrial airspace.
“Feelin’ Dead” is extremely heavy blues from this also extremely rare 1974 single by Detroit, MI’s Master Danse, which was only released as a promo 45. Think Led Zeppelin’s “Since I’ve Been Loving You” and you’re on the right track. A little dose of Hendrix acid blues and a heartfelt groove, and you’ll wonder why this single never even made it to official release. The unavoidable tell in the lyric, “help me get this damn thing out of my arm” hints at the post-Vietnam heroin epidemic as a potential clue why we never heard more from Master Danse.
Folks, Gary Del Vecchio is “Buzzin’” hard on this one, and from what sounds like an in-studio party of yelps and chatter at the start of the song, it seems that the whole band was in on the festivities. The funky blues riff, reminiscent of Led Zeppelin’s “Heartbreaker” and rollicking rhythmic changes certainly keep the buzz a rollin’.The recording is technically credited as Gary Del Vecchio with Max, though not the same band as the one that kicks off this Trip.
John Kitko’s 1973 heavy psychedelic rager “Indecision” is the only recording known to exist by the mysterious artist. The Twin Record Productions release features a different artist, Tom Poff on the B-side, which is truly a shame, considering the smoldering ashes Kitko leaves of the turntable by song’s end. It starts out more like a late 60s Acid Rock jam before leaping into a blazing double-time gallop, whipped into a frenzy by wailing, neck-pickup guitar squeals and Kitko’s barely audible howls.
Tampa, FL’s Bacchus made their Brown Acid debut way back on the very first Trip with “Carry My Load.” This 1972 B-side, “Hope” is a huge sounding swinging rocker replete with roadhouse piano bolstering the chunky riffs and confident vocals. After relocating to Southern California a few years later, the band morphed into Fortress, an 80s melodic metal act whose Hands In The Till album of Pomp Rock on Atlantic Records still draws chatter today.
Orchid’s “Go Big Red” is perhaps the most garage-y sounding offering here, with loose rhythms and straightforward stop-and-start riffing. Nonetheless, the stomping energy and fried-amp guitar tone make this one a charming skull thwack. The band’s 1973 single on American records, backed with a cover of Johnny Russell and Voni Morrison’s “Act Naturally” (popularized by Buck Owens and the Buckaroos) is their only release, so the world never did see this Orchid fully blossom.
By the title alone of Dry Ice’s “Don’t Munkey with the Funky Skunky” you know you’re in for a good time. The 1974 barnstormer seems aimed to the novelty tunes crowd, with its kooky lyrics and silly-voiced spoken catchphrase break, “peeyew, you’ll be sorry if you do.” But, the Ohio band’s maniacal drumming, crunching guitars and, of course, drug euphemistic lyrics make it a shoo-in for the Brown Acid series of erudite rock’n’roll.
Good Humore’s swaggering 1976 rocker “Detroit” is a slick and smooth paen to the Motor City. It most likely doesn’t predate “Detroit Rock City” by Kiss, also released in 1976, and it has more rock’n’roll swing, but it could fit comfortably alongside the era’s arena anthems. Not much else is known about the one-off release on P.V. Records, but songwriter Mike Moats is noted to also have been a recording engineer in later years and this well produced track sounds like a labor of love.
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 Nuggets, Pebbles, 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.-based Permanent Records and the Permanent Records Roadhouse 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 Thirteenth Trip will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on October 31, 2021 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.
Longstanding California record label Zum Audio shares 4 new tracks from the forthcoming 32-track compilation Zum Audio Vol 4 today via Treble. Hear songs by Barbican Estate, Somnambulists, Cube and CarromHERE. (Direct Bandcamp.)
Brooklyn Vegan recently hosted Zum Audio Vol 4 tracks by Zach Hill (Death Grips, Hella), Xiu Xiu, Body Double and Prissy WhipHERE.
Zum Audio Vol 4 surveys a cross-section of this decade’s art rock, punk, damaged electronics, and improvised music. Unconstrained by the limitation of previous CD incarnations, the thirty-plus tracks here span musicians from the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, Italy, and Australia. Curated by George Chen (KIT, Common Eider, King Eider, Chen Santa Maria), a writer and musician-turned-comedian, these international connections grew out of years touring the US and Europe as well as promoting all-ages events in the San Francisco Bay Area.
For more details and short bios for all 32 artists, click HERE.
The wishlist for this compilation was like putting together a virtual festival, which was conveniently the only type of festivity during COVID-19. Between established legacy acts on the Zum label (Body Double, The Acharis, My Heart, an Inverted Flame, Core of the Coalman, Somnambulists, Neil Campbell), veteran associates playing in new configurations (Spaceburn, The Skin Horse, Carrom, Gabriel Saloman), and newfound discoveries (Barbican Estate, It Sound, Bavaria), one senses the continuity of expansive tastes that has defined the long-running series.
Zum Audio Vol. 4 will be available for download & streaming via Bandcamp on November 5th, 2021. Other digital streaming platforms will have the compilation a few weeks later on November 19th. Pre-orders are available HERE.
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Zum Audio Vol 4
Record Label: Zum Audio
Release Date: November 5th, 2021
01. Alien Owl Cafe - Magick Matcha Moment 02. My Heart, an Inverted Flame - Five Felt Sevenly, Pallid and Sallow 03. Looose - It Was All Nearly Mine! 04. Kris & Tavi - Carrington Event 05. Earth Jerks - July 17th, 1959 06. The Urxed - Re-Regional 07. Prissy Whip - Not Impressed 08. The Acharis - Nothing’s Sacred 09. Body Double - Prisonous Mind 10. Watkins/Peacock - Stone Cold Stole Dub One 11. It Sound - Inbetween the Seas (Lectric Sand Dub Mix) 12. Michael Beach, Bonnie Mercer, Carla Oliver, Peter Warden - Kyneton #1 13. Barbican Estate - Abandon 14. Maskara - Dear Inertia… (#3) 15. Xiu Xiu - A Bottle of Rum (Live Radio) 16. Core of the Coalman - Incarnate Words 17. Somnambulists - Discordances 18. Spaceburn - New Growth 19. Pod Blotz - Remote Viewing Case #80787 20. Cube - Carpet ESP 21. Zach Hill - Startled Ea 22. Necking - Abyssal Joy 23. Chris Brian Taylor - Super Reverse Commuter 24. Jasmine Dreame Wagner - Three Themes from Drifts (Red Zone, Blue Ice, White Snow) 25. Father Murphy - His Face Showed No Distortions (Live at WFMU) 26. Neil Campbell - Rickety Bridge in the Rain 27. Bavaria - Nouveau Couteaux 28. Carrom - Number 4 (A.T.S.T.S.) 29. Kern Haug - to Mass 30. The Skin Horse - High Desert 31. Gabriel Saloman - Spatial Poetics 32. John Benson - Blood and Milk
“Neckbolt are truly onto something special... Making noise rock in their own way, deranged and slurred, loud and abrasive, but colorful and a bit psychedelic.” — Post-Trash
"An intense, heavy and trippy noise rock sound, balancing the thunderous punch of Lightning Bolt with the squealing psychedelia of early Flaming Lips." -- Treble
"Sonically challenging—think N8NOFACE meets Flaming Lips’ recent experimental records, but with strong hooks at the core." -- New Noise
Austin, TX band Neckbolt share a new single and video from their forthcoming debut album Midwestern Drawl today via CvltNation. Hear and share the album version of "...Over The Lake" and see a professionally recorded & shot live video of the song from the upcoming VHS release HERE. (Or via Bandcamp, YouTube.)
Post-Trash recently launched "Jawline" track HERE. Treble previously hosted "The Lighted Chamber" HERE. New Noise Magazine premiered "Unlighted Chambers" HERE.
The name Neckbolt might evoke images of Frankenstein’s monster’s appendages, or it might suggest a critical piece of guitar hardware. And, both are very fitting for the music of Neckbolt: a freakish hodgepodge of musical body parts rendered in nightmarish form, while also still reminiscent of rock’n’roll canon at its heart.
This outsider noise-rock project from Austin, TX requires close listening to parse out the informed musicianship that binds the skewed and screeching elements together. Neckbolt’s unrelenting twang, invasive visual and lyrical concepts, and uncharted sonic challenges to the experimental and noise rock genres are reminiscent of the early Skin Graft label’s pugilistic skronk, while also hinting at the subsumed melodies within recent Flaming Lips noise outings.
Neckbolt was formed in 2020 by multi-instrumentalist Benjamin Krause and vocalist James Roo after Krause had relocated from Colorado. All instruments on the bannd’s debut album Midwestern Drawl were recorded and performed by Krause during 2020 and 2021, with Roo providing vocals, lyrics, and artwork. With the 11-song album’s completion, the duo opted to expand the lineup in order to play live. Enter Bill Indelicato from Austin’s noise-rock powerhouse Exhalants, along with Kilyn Massey and Brent Hodge from OKC’s shoegaze masters Power Pyramid to complete the lineup.
The band then shot Neckbolt Live! at the Museum of Human Achievement, the forthcoming live performance companion video to be released on VHS & online. The group not only performed in the live band, but members also tracked, edited, filmed, and mixed the VHS release. This was all done in a six hour window in an intensely hot room without air conditioning on a particularly sweltering Texan summer day. To say this was a challenge would be a gross understatement. You can probably hear the sweat.
Midwestern Drawl will be available for download and on vinyl and cassette on November 5th, 2021 via Bandcamp and distributor Digital Hotdogs. Neckbolt Live! at the Museum of Human Achievement will be available the same day on VHS and online. Preorders are available here: neckbolt.xyz
"Nine face-melting, gut-busting tracks that run the gamut from New Wave of British Heavy Metal to thrash to glam metal." -- Ultimate Classic Rock
The curators of the popular Brown Acid compilation series of long-lost vintage 60s-70s proto-metal singles share a new track today from the first edition of a new series titled Scrap Metal. Following chronologically where Brown Acid leaves off, Scrap Metal scours the world for long-lost, rare and unreleased Heavy Metal from the late-70s through late-80s. Hear/share long-running thrashers Hades' 1982 single "Girls Will Be Girls" via YouTube and Bandcamp.
Album opener Rapid Tears' anthem "Headbang" premiered previously via Metal InjectionHERE (And YouTube.) "69 in a 55", a 1983 track from Bay Area band Air Raid launched via Ultimate Classic RockHERE (and YouTube.)
By now you’re probably familiar with our wildly popular Brown Acid series of rare, lost and unreleased proto-metal and stoner rock singles from the 60s-70s. In the endless pursuit of those glorious gems, we often uncover equally brilliant rarities from the late-70s to late-80s Golden Age of Heavy Metal that also just must be heard, but they don’t fit the series’ aesthetic. Scrap Metal: Volume 1 collects some of the greatest unknown and lost Heavy Metal tracks, long buried beneath the avalanche of the era’s classic output.
We all know the old adage that history is told by the winners. But sometimes the losers tell the best stories. And while none of these bands found fame and fortune, this artifact and the volumes to come are testament to the enduring power of heavy music. You can hear the blood, sweat and beers that went into each of these singles. The recordings may be low budget, but the inspiration and talent is immutable. Not only are the amps turned up to 11, the boyish sexual innuendo is cranked to 69. You can hear the convergence of influences — NWOBHM, thrash, glam metal, doom, etc — colliding at once as the era birthed a wellspring of subgenres.
Many of these singles are self-released and were thus limited to a small run of copies. Those that remain are hoarded by collectors and sold for exorbitant amounts. We’ve collected the best of the best for you here. As with Brown Acid, all of these tracks are licensed legitimately and the artists all get paid. Because it’s the right thing to do.
About Scrap Metal: Vol. 1:
Rapid Tears launch this series with the perfect christening. The Toronto, ON quintet’s 1981 single “Headbang” is such the pinnacle of heavy metal madness that it almost sounds like a spoof. There’s also enough of the rapid-fire sputum that inspired Metallica to bang the head that doesn’t, as such, engage in said practice, to be found on the band’s sole full length Honestly. But “Headbang” is a straightforward glammy anthem for the ages.
Air Raid’s “69 In A 55” may be lyrically so sophomoric that it’s actually pretty clever, but this 1983 Bay Area power metal single is loaded with sleek Judas Priest riffs and interwoven melodies that are downright sublime. The band’s sole release, the 2-song Rock Force 7” features a curious band photo in which 3 band members — dolled up in Crüe makeup and leather — are sexually menacing the lead singer/guitarist tied to a bed. Another low budget highlight is when singer/guitarist Tommy “Thrasher” Merry imitates a delay effect on his vocals as he sings, “tonight!…tonight…night.”
Hades’ “Girls Will Be Girls” has a real demo cassette feel to its vastly uneven mix, but the energy to the performance makes this an undeniable keeper. The long running Paramus, NJ quintet’s 1982 2-song debut 7” titled Deliver Us From Evil features this blistering thrasher dominated by shimmering leads and confident vocals that show why the band went on to near-fame on Metal Blade Records.
Resless don’t need no T to prove that they’ve got “The Power” with this 1984 driving mid-tempo rocker in the vein of Mötley Crüe and Ratt. The River Vale, NJ quartet’s tight crunch wails all over Bon Jovi posers but it’s the band’s unique and subtle deployment of background vocals that gives this rager its staying power.
Pittsburgh, the Steel City, is home to Don Cappa, a band that pays tribute to the burgh, the metal, and the awesomeness of both with “Steel City Metal.” Their lone single, issued in 1987 with only 300 copies released, sounds like the work of some serious steel driving men, with a drummer who might’ve forgotten to wear a hard hat one too many times on the construction site.
The Beast has more of a punk feel to their aggressive “Enemy Ace” track from the 4-song Power Metal EP from 1983 — something like Dr. Know meets D.O.A. But their look, artwork and lyrics all prove that Heavy Metal is where their hearts lie. And this hook filled monster delivers repeated lines like, “I command them all in my lofty realm,” with commendable conviction.
Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, debuting in 1984 is not to be confused with Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, who also debuted in 1984. The former a workman’s hard rock bar band, the latter a political peace punk band and neither knowing of the other’s existence throughout their tenure. The pre-internet days were a marvel, indeed.This Dead Silence spits out a slick, Nugent tinged rocker called “Can’t Stop” about life on the road.
The Danger Zone is, by all accounts, not the place to be. And, Hazardous Waste of Boston, MA saw fit to add their two cents on the matter with this 1986 single that combines Van Halen’s flashy musicianship with NWOBHM aggression that sounds so awesome it teeters on itself entering the “Danger Zone.”
Czar’s heavy, doomy “Iron Curtain” single from 1982 hearkens to the sleazy sounds of Saint Vitus and Pentagram with its cranked up DOD Distortion pedal in a Peavey combo amp guitar tone and meaty, barking vocals. The upstate NY quintet only issued this 2-song single, but its driving rhythm, nosedive whammy-bar guitar solos and comparatively mature Cold War subject matter show they had real potential.
Not much is known about Real Steel’s majestic “Viking Queen” from 1987, other than it rocks hard and the 7” 45 sells for upwards of a grand on the collectors market. The Flint, Michigan band recorded at the home studio of local radio personality Bill Lamb, who primarily released Christian Gospel recordings. So, perhaps the band was struck down by a bolt of lightning shortly after this rare single’s release. Whatever the case may be, it’s a must have for fans of classic metal mayhem.
Scrap Metal: Vol. 1 will be available everywhere on LP, CD and download on November 12th, 2021 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are available for digital at Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.
Artist: Various Artists
Album: Scrap Metal: Excavated Heavy Metal From the Era of Excess
"An abrasive blend of doom metal, psych rock, goth and a tangy soupçon of pop music." -- Paste Magazine
"They mesh elements of doom, Krautrock and atmospheric indie into one bewitching rock whole." --Classic Rock Magazine
"A blissful headphone journey you won’t want to end.” -- Loudwire
Portland, OR band Blackwater Holylight share a powerful new video for the title track to their third album Silence/Motion, which is out today on RidingEasy Records. Watch/share "Silence/Motion" video on YouTube HERE.
Revolver Magazine recently hosted the dreamy video for the lead single “Around You," which is available to watch/share HERE or via YouTube.
Blackwater Holylight also launch tour dates with former RidingEasy labelmates Monolord in Europe in November-December, followed by North American shows with All Them Witches. Please see all dates below.
Empty surrounds all of me. It’s a poignant line from the third album by Blackwater Holylight that encapsulates the search for self when suddenly everything has changed. There’s a theme of processing vast personal trauma throughout Silence/Motion that eloquently — both lyrically and musically — and simultaneously embodies the crushing emptiness, sorrow, strength and rebuilding of recovering from personal devastation.
“There was so much grief both in the world and interpersonally during the process of creating Silence/Motion,” says vocalist/bassist Allison “Sunny” Faris. “The four of us gave one another more space to be ourselves, to experiment with each other’s ideas and to be gentle with one another more than we ever have before.So, we knew this tenderness would manifest in extremely honest arrangements, and I think that you can hear that throughout the record.”
Curiously, considering the dark times in which it was created, this is the band’s most melodic and catchy music so far. Blackwater Holylight, as the name suggests, is all about contrasts: It’s a fluid convergence of sound that’s heavy, psychedelic, melodic, terrifying and beautiful all at once. And, Silence/Motion finds the band honing those contrasts, letting ideas and moods fully develop from song to song, rather than filling every song with a full range of their capabilities. It allows the band to go fully prog-rock here, and simply stay hushed and intimate there. There’s a new confidence to the band in how seamlessly they wield their stylistic amalgam.
“Writing this album was extraordinarily difficult emotionally, however it did come to fruition fairly quickly,” Faris says. “In the past, the theme of vulnerability has always been a big player and it definitely showed up full force while writing this album.”
Blackwater Holylight recorded the album as a four piece: Faris on vocals and guitar (on “Silence/Motion”, “MDIII”, “Around You” and “Every Corner”) and bass for the remainder, Sarah McKenna on synths, Mikayla Mayhew on guitar (and bass when Faris plays guitar) and drummer Eliese Dorsay. New second guitarist Erika Osterhout will perform the songs with them live. For Silence/Motion the band chose to work with a producer for the first time, bringing in A.L.N. (of Mizmor, Hell) to produce, along with recording engineer Dylan White — who also helmed their previous album Veils of Winter (2019) — at Odessa Recording Studio in Portland, OR. Guest vocals on album opener “Delusional” are by Bryan Funck (Thou.) Mike Paparo (Inter Arma) and A.LN. (Mizmor, Hell) lend guest vocals to album closer “Every Corner.”
Silence/Motion opens softly with interwoven folky single note guitars over an ominous sounding drone for the first minute, akin to moments from Pink Floyd’s Echoes. Suddenly an irresistibly head-nodding, groovy droptuned riff kicks in with the drums and it’s a full on blackened rocker with soaring synths and Funck’s witchy whispers over the top. “Who The Hell,” the track quoted above, takes proceedings into a Krautrock direction, centered around McKenna’s arpeggiated synth loop and Dorsay’s tom-tom triplets, while 16-note guitar strums add tension as Faris wearily sings, “So tell me who the hell would want to live this way — so afraid/ To feel this void, to dwell in it… I can’t describe this pain I wear/ It suffocates and you left it here.” It’s an incredibly powerful 6 minutes. The title track delivers the 1-2-3 punch of the album’s brilliant opening trilogy. It starts with lightly plucked acoustic guitar, plaintive piano chords and Faris’ voice gliding so softly it sounds more like a Mellotron. The song builds slowly toward crescendo, led by a swinging tom pattern, that abruptly switches back to a heavier version of the opening melody.“Silence/Motion” is about digesting and healing from sexual assault. As Faris explains, “It is an ode to the juxtaposition of feeling paralyzingly blank and and like your entire life is moving through you simultaneously.” Elsewhere, Black Metal guitars collide with dreamlike melodies. “Around You” brandishes a hopeful, hummable synth melody and shimmering shoegaze guitars like throwing down a gauntlet. In the end, it becomes undeniably clear just how completely into their own Blackwater Holylight has come.
“The analogy is that with our first record (Blackwater Holylight, 2018) we were getting into to the car and buckling up,” Faris says. “The second (Veils of Winter, 2019) we were turning the car on, and with this third we have kicked into drive toward our destination. Our destination is a bit mysterious and has the ability to change from day to day, but we’re on our way.”
Silence/Motion will be available on LP, CD and download on October 22nd, 2021 via RidingEasy Records.
