Volcom are known for their surf/skate/snowboard gear, but
they also have a record label! Every year Volcom Entertainment Vinyl Club
releases six limited edition records from various artists, usually stoner,
psychedelic or punk rock. One from this year’s vinyls features Scott “Wino”
Weinrich of Saint Vitus fame on it, as well as the awe-inspiring Earthless, so
I decided to review it.
Earthless is not frigid black metal or punishing grindcore
or swamp beast sludge, it’s not even metal at all – in short it’s are not the
kind of music this blog is dedicated to. But damn! does this band gets me, and
damn are they heavy. Although I’ve been known to love it, psych jamming is
something in my opinion that is often done wrong, sometimes based on misguided
heroic ideals, or more often than not falling into the ether of dudes getting
high and playing together in the drummer’s mother’s garage, dreaming of money
and fans, imagining the groupies and the outstretched arms, lost in a world of
fantasy and love, one of the fatal consequences of reality that can happen when
beauty and stupidity meet. But Earthless, no. Earthless does not fall victim to
these pathetic weaknesses. Earthless think about one thing: How to rock the
fuck out. This epic twenty-minute track is on the run, and it gets faster and
faster. From the beginning the lead is improvising solos, and man, this guy (Isaiah
Mitchell) is totally ripping it. Build up and break down and rock solidly til
the very end. This is the concept here – deadly, as you can see. Epic fucking
psych jams that hit home – BLAM!
Wino is a legend, as any true metalhead knows, and one of
his newest projects, Premonition 13, contributes a fourteen-minute instrumental
to the split. Quality psyched-out stoner jams roll along smoothly and solos
glide calm and cool over the surface. Split into two segments each is
satisfying, and falls closer to psychedelic rock than Wino’s trademark doom or
stoner sound (though both are certainly integrated). This man has been rocking
for years and it shows through in everything he does these days. “Noche Oscura”,
the featured song, is yet another piece of evidence of his quality songwriting
and musicianship, a fine piece of light metal to chill back to.
Radio Moscow finish it with the most retro vibes on the
album, playing two tracks of Jimmy-esque psychedelic rock. This is not a band I’m
familiar with, and personally it’s not my style, but these tracks are still
pretty cool ‘70s emulations with on-the-mark musicianship. The first track is
the only song on here with vocals, and apart from the production it could be
straight off of a Zeppelin or Cream album. The second track is instrumental and
I prefer this one as it finishes with some pretty trippy Middle Eastern
sounding string instrument accompanied by lots of crazy drumming and wacky
effects. However, it still sounds like music the music of an era gone stagnant and is my least favorite of the bunch.
In short: Psychedelic fans will love this. Although there’s
really only a morsel of metal in here, it is truly a rocking collaboration. The
vinyl is limited to only 1500 copies, so get it while you can!
Standout tracks: Earthless take the medal here hands down!
Score: 8.0
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