Archive for March, 2011

Album of the day: Wooden Stake – Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades

Posted on Saturday, March 26th, 2011

Praise for Wooden Stake‘s Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: Now, our appetites fully whetted by their debut out of print CD-R EP, their more recent split CD with Blizaro, and their 7″ single reviewed last list, here at last is the first full-length from the ultra-cult (cultra?) Wooden Stake, one of the only boy-girl doom-death duos around, and in any case our fave, as the most “extreme metal” example of the female-fronted occult rock mini-phenomenon happenin’ now, a la Jex Thoth, Blood Ceremony, The Devil’s Blood, etc.

We’ve described ‘em as playing “slomo sludge”, that’s “part Black Sabbath, part Jex Thoth, part Obituary” and that’s still just about right. Yeah, imagine Jex Thoth occasionally channelling her inner Cookie Monster, that’d be Wooden Stake’s Vanessa Nocera. She’s the wicked, witchy woman on vocals and bass, while Wayne “Elektrokutioner” Sarantopoulos (also of Decrepitaph, Encoffination, Father Befouled, etc.) handles the guitar and drums, and would slay you in a staring contest, no doubt, to judge from his picture here.

Their music is scary stuff, too, and also wonderfully underground, old-school, and horror-kitschy. The album opens with ‘Cadaverum Caecorum Liber’, yet another of metal’s tributes to the Blind Dead movies, from ’70s Spain. Nocera first intones the lyrics in spoken rather than sung style, double tracked, over a quietly gloomy guitar backing, lulling and almost lovely, before busting out some raspier vokills (and she’ll have you know, by the way, that no effects were used on her voice anywhere on this album).

The next track, ‘Salem, 1692′, showcases her more melodic siren song style of singing, that’s where the Jex Thoth comparisons come in (and we’re also thinking Bliss Blood, a bit). But her throat-shredding deathlier vocals are also employed for contrast. Musically, the gloominess of course continues, lo-fi rumbling riff repetition that’s a doomic delight, grinding down down down into the ground. And so it goes, the many moods of Wooden Stake (gloomy, gloomier, gloomiest) highlighted by the multitracking of Nocera’s varied vocal personas – she’s a one-woman coven, indeed.

All nine of the Dungeon Prayers and Tombyard Serenades found here hit the spot for us, this album never lacking for eldritch atmosphere, whether conveyed by quiet creepiness or loud riffiness. Ferinstance, behold the instrumental interlude ‘Cemetery Closes At Sundown’, a gentle somber solo, leading into the lumbering lurch-out of ‘Skullcoven’, a composition combining bashing brutality with sloppy psychedelic Sabbathry. Which would describe a lot of this record, really. Electric Wizard fans, here’s a witchier witchcult for you!

Well, hopefully we’ve already convinced you in previous reviews to worship Wooden Stake, and like us, you were just waiting for this to come out. But if you haven’t yet been initiated, appropriate attention to this album under certain conditions (by the light of the full moon, in a graveyard) ought to do the trick…of course, that’s right where it puts you, anyway.

At 40 years old, Aquarius is the oldest independent record store in San Francisco. We try to only carry music we love, and we’re always searching for more new, cool, weird and wonderful music. All of which we then share with you, our loyal customers.

Tags: Album of the day, Aquarius Records, Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades, Occult Rock, Razorback Records, Vanessa Nocera, Wayne Sarantopoulos, Wooden Stake
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ST VITUS AND DEVIL ADDED TO HOLE IN THE SKY 2011 (TERRORIZER)

Posted on Friday, March 25th, 2011

Hole in the Sky 2011 is looking to be cracker with Saint Vitus and Devil being added to a line up that already includes Ghost, Marduk, Godflesh and Virus. These two acts tie in perfectly with the festivals aim of bringing new talent and tradition together. Doom metal has gone ...read more

SXSW 2011: Watch The Frontmen Of Yakuza And Eyehategod Improv (Self-Titled Magazine)

Posted on Friday, March 25th, 2011

Talk about primal scream therapy… Watch more footage here: SXSW 2011: Watch the Frontmen of Yakuza and Eyehategod Improv | self-titled magazine :: s/t daily.

“Unspeakable Fire Flowing Through Art:” TONEAudio’s Bob Gendron Interviews Walter of the Roadburn Festival

Posted on Friday, March 25th, 2011

An intimate four-day gathering of psychedelic, avant-garde, heavy, and nearly every other imaginable cutting-edge sonic delight, Roadburn Festival is without peer. Every April, dozens of bands and eager listeners from more than 40 countries descend upon a quaint town in the Netherlands to share in a common love of sensory-absorbing ...read more

Album of the day: Moon Duo – Mazes

Posted on Friday, March 25th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from Pitchfork: For artists from David Bowie to the Birthday Party to Liars, seeking refuge to record in Berlin has resulted in some very dark, very far-out releases. So when psychedelic pop twosome Moon Duo – which features Wooden Shjips’ Erik “Ripley” Johnson on guitar and fellow San ...read more

Album of the day: Megaton Leviathan – Water Wealth Hell on Earth

Posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: Released by Spanish imprint Féretro Records in a limited edition CD run of 500, the full-length debut by psyched-out Portland, Oregon (where else?), doomly droners Megaton Leviathan doesn’t so much walk the fine line between hypnotic ambience and crushing aural plod as much as it ...read more

Dream of an Opium Eater: Quality Video Footage of Roadburn 2010; New Track Availble For Streaming

Posted on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Dream of An Opium Eater, a special collaboration between ace-metal musicians like Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson, Reuben Gotto (Johnny Truant), Ben Calvert (ex-Killing Joke) and Julia Ruzicka from Million Dead, has uploaded brand-new professionally filmed concert footage of their 2010 Roadburn performance, shot by Roadburn’s video director Lee Sakura. Audio by Marcel van ...read more

Album of the day: SubRosa – No Help for the Mighty Ones

Posted on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: Highly-stringed Salt Lake City five-piece SubRosa released their Strega full-length debut in 2008 on I Hate Records. Making the jump to Profound Lore for the 2011 follow-up, the band, which includes two violinists, guitar, bass and drums, now unveils No Help for the Mighty Ones, ...read more

Album of the day: Clagg – Lord of the Deep

Posted on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

Lovingly pinched from The Obelisk: When done right, stoner / doom riffage and brutal vocals can be a lethal combination. Melbourne plodders Clagg go out on a limb to prove the idea again on their third full-length, Lord of the Deep. The album, which was originally released as five-tracks in ...read more

Sleep Announces Summer 2011 Tour Dates

Posted on Monday, March 21st, 2011

Legendary stoner rock band Sleep has just announced a string of summer North American tour dates.  On the heels of its sold out U.S. tour run last September, the California trio will return to the stage this summer by popular demand.  Live dates in NYC (June 22) and Los Angeles ...read more