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View / Share MISS LAVA’s “Fourth Dimension” HERE. Lisbon’s premier heavy rockers MISS LAVA will release their long-awaited new full-length, Doom Machine, this January via Small stone.  The perfect soundtrack for the post-lockdown world, the band’s fourth album and follow-up to 2017’s Dominant Rush EP stands as their densest output to date doused in kaleidoscopic riff explorations and hypnotic interludes; a multi-textured sonic journey that’s at once deep, heavy, mesmerizing, and cathartic. Captured live at Generator Music Studios in Sintra, Portugal by Miguel “Veg” Marques, the record carries with it the warmth and soul of a band full of fresh vigor and perhaps the demons of these tumultuous times. The record is loosely focused on the tragic death of guitarist K. Raffah’s baby son and the other members’ children born during the creative process. “Doom Machine is a very emotional experience for us…,” Raffah shares. “[My son] was only here for a month and a half, but his light was very bright. We feel his presence every time.” Thematically vocalist Johnny Lee adds, “This album reflects on how each one of us can breed and unleash our own self-destructive force, assembled to be part of a giant ‘Doom Machine.'” In advance of the record’s release, today the band is pleased to unveil a video for first single, “Fourth Dimension,” noting, “this is a riff raff explosion that urges people to get out of the cave allegory they live in.”Directed by José Dinis, view MISS LAVA’s “Fourth Dimension” at THIS LOCATION.

Doom Machine will be released on CD and digitally via Small Stone with Kozmik Artifactz handling a limited vinyl edition. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION. Doom Machine Track Listing: 1. Fourth Dimension2. In The Mire3. Magma4. Brotherhood Of Eternal Love5. Sleepy Warm6. The Great Divide7. Karma8. The Fall9. Alpha10. The Oracle11. Terra12. Doom Machine13. God Feeds The Swine *14. Feel Surreal *15. Red Atlantis *** Bonus tracks on CD and digital only  Doom Machine is the successor to MISS LAVA‘s Dominant Rush EP (2017), Sonic Debris (2016), Red Supergiant (2013), and Blues For The Dangerous Miles (2009) – named by Loud Magazine as one of the Top 5 Portuguese Albums Of The Year – as well as a limited edition self-titled blood red vinyl EP (2008). MISS LAVA has brought their explosive presence to stages in the UK, Spain, and Germany and played slots at festivals like Stoned From The Underground, Stonefest, Super Bock Super Rock, Rock In Rio Lisboa, Reverence Valada, Vagos Open Air, Barroselas Metal Fest, and Faro Bike Meeting in their home country. In addition to having traveled to play an exclusive one-off at the legendary Whisky a Go-Go in Los Angeles, the band has shared stages with Queens Of The Stone Age, Graveyard, Ufomammut, Greenleaf, W.A.S.P., Kyuss Lives!, Fu Manchu, Valient Thorr, Entombed, Truckfighters, and many more. The band hopes to return to stages in 2021 to showcase that audio crush that is Doom Machine.

Stream / Share TIA CARRERA’s “Layback” At THIS LOCATION 

Austin, Texas-based heavy psych/blues rock instrumental trio TIA CARRERA will release their long-awaited Tried And True full-length via Small Stone June 12th.Guitarist/engineer Jason Morales and drummer Erik Conn are pushing two decades under the TIA CARRERA banner. Thus, latest endeavor Tried And True, has more than earned its name. Ahead of 2019’s two-song Visitors/Early Purple LP, the founding duo recruited longtime friend and Austin legend Curt Christenson (Dixie Witch, Crimson Devils) as a permanent member, and his well-established bass wizardry has served to embolden the band’s sound, dynamics, and unspoken communion as artists. Tried And True represents in blistering fashion TIA CARRERA‘s unwavering trajectory of heavy psych/blues bliss exploration.  

The band is famously selective about what they release to the public. With each performance unique by virtue of improvisation, they’ve amassed a huge, never-issued collection of recorded material, both live performances and private studio tracks.  Tried And True is a sonic voyage culled from their latest studio work and across a thirty-seven-minute LP (the compact disc runs seventy-one minutes with the only-previously-on-vinyl “Visitors” and “Early Purple” as CD bonus tracks) the three-piece once again scorches their way into the hearts of the lysergic converted. As veterans, TIA CARRERA remains fueled by passion and creative drive, and any time they’ll let us hear what they’ve been up to, we can only consider ourselves lucky.  

Recorded and mixed at The BBQ Shack in Austin, engineered by the band’s own Jason Morales, mastered by Jerry Tubb at Nova Mastering (also in Austin) and swathed in the eye-catching artwork of Alexander Von Weding, Tried And True will see release on CD, digital, and limited edition vinyl formats. Fans of Earthless, Jimi Hendrix, All Them Witches, Fu Manchu, Black Elephant, and Kyuss pay heed. 

For preorders and to sample first single, “Layback,” visit the Small Stone Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION. 

Tried And True Track Listing:
1. Layback 
2. Taos 
3. Swingin’ Wing 
4. Zen And The Art Of The Thunderstorm 
5. Tried And True 
6. Visitors* 
7. Early Purple* 
* CD Only Bonus Tracks 

TIA CARRERA: 
Jason Morales – guitar 
Curt Christenson – bass 
Erik Conn – drums  

“…groovy heavy rock jams with psychedelic mood, lengthy, tasty solos and hazy atmosphere. Alcohol consumption is strongly advised during the listening…”  – Downtuned Mag

Connecticut riff rock/retro metal unit LORD FOWL will release their Glorious Babylon full-length April 24th via Small Stone.

LORD FOWL took shape in New Haven in the summer of 2007 with one goal: to write songs like those they grew up hearing. Songs that drive you. Songs that come alive. Songs that rock. With Glorious Babylon, their third LP and second to see release via Small Stone Records, LORD FOWL refuses to compromise this high standard, bringing forth the energy of their dynamic stage presence and dual lead vocals, as the song-craft of singer/guitarists Vechel Jaynes and Mike Pellegrino reaches its next level of progression. 

 Recorded at BirdsEye Studios in West Haven, producer and bassist Jon Conine (with the assistance of by Steve Hill) captures LORD FOWL‘s vitality as only one part of the fray could hope to do, and though drummer Michael Petrucci has since left the band with Van Hartley stepping in to fill his significant percussive shoes, the drums provide the foundation of Glorious Babylon.  

Across the record’s ten-track/thirty-seven-minute span, LORD FOWL raises their own bar. Following 2008’s Endless Dynamite and 2012’s Moon Queen, Glorious Babylon arrives as an awaited third chapter in LORD FOWL‘s peculiar mythology, harnessing the spirit they’ve brought to stages up and down the East Coast, at SXSW, and beyond, breathing life once more into classic, soulful, and psychedelic heavy rock and roll.  

With a sound just as likely to nod to Thin Lizzy and a heavy Funkadelic as to early Queen or Paul Di’Anno-era Iron Maiden, it is still the vision and classic purpose of their songwriting that brings the band together. Songs that rock. Old heads, new heads, riff-worshippers, and freaks: LORD FOWL have built a city just for you. Fans of Queen, Dirty Honey, Rival Sons, Freedom Hawk, Crobot, Rival Sons, Greenleaf, Fu Manchu, La Chinga, and the like pay heed. 

Glorious Babylon will see release via Small Stone Recordings on CD, digital, and deluxe gatefold vinyl formats on April 24th. The vinyl edition — a German import pressing via Kozmik Artifactz — is limited to 500 and will be available in two color variants: transparent pink or clear with purple and white splatter.

For preorders and to stream opening track “Fire Discipline,” visit the Small Stone Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION.

Glorious Babylon Track Listing: 
1. Fire Discipline 
2. Glorious Babylon 
3. Get Lost 
4. Deep Empty 
5. The Wraith 
6. In Search Of 
7. The Gramercy Riffs 
8. Red Cloud 
9. Epitaph 
10. Space Jockey  

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West Virginia-based heavy instrumentalists SEVEN PLANETS will release their third full-length, fitting titled Explorer, in early 2020 through Detroit’s Small Stone Records.

Drawing on classic metal, heavy boogie, and blues rock, the group formed in 2007 and consists of guitarists Leonard Hanks and Jim Way, bassist Mike Williams, and drummer Ben Pitt, all of whom have played in bands together in different configurations for over twenty-five years. Its groove-anchored sound has drawn comparisons to Brant Bjork and Clutch-offshoot The Bakerton Group with The Obelisk noting, “the instrumental chemistry and stylistic foundation… fuse the varying sides of their sound into a cohesive funky, heavy psychedelic whole, entirely their own.”

Written and recorded over a period of personal difficulties and individual strife for the four band members, Explorer captures a sense of escapist freedom in its deep grooves, burly riffs, and expansive atmosphere, which further illustrates what Heavy Planet stated in its review of the band’s self-titled 2012 LP, “SEVEN PLANETS take you on an amazing journey into another cosmic dimension.”

Notes Hanks, “The writing and recording of Explorer was a long and interrupted process. We started writing the album in early 2014. But in April of that year I was diagnosed with cancer and had to have surgery so there was a hiatus while I recovered. Then Jim was unavailable the last few months of that year. 2015 started with the same intentions of getting the album done but more personal issues came up, so it wasn’t until 2016 that we were really able to get to work on it. Finally, in 2017 we were able to pull everything that we had been working on together and get a cohesive album mixed. Mike who had been dealing with some things had to leave the band after the album was done. Fortunately for us, our good friend Chris Berry stepped right in to pick up where he left off. One thing we wanted to do with this album was have a few more up-tempo, straight forward songs. ‘Vanguard,’ ‘206,’ and ‘The Buzzard’ came from that. The other songs on the album feel like an evolution of what we’ve been doing for years.”

Explorer features artwork by renowned German illustrator Alexander von Wieding (Monster Magnet, Brant Bjork, Karma to Burn, etc.), giving further representation to the idea of escape with a spacebound retro-style rocket headed to the unknown. Exploration in the truest sense.

Explorer will be released CD, digital, and limited-edition vinyl formats (available in two color variants: 200 green marble and 300 purple) and February 7th, 2020.

For preorders and to sample opening track “Vanguard,” visit the Small Stone Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION. Fans of Clutch, Brant Bjork, and Monster Magnet pay heed.

Explorer Track Listing:
1. Vanguard
2. Plain Truth In A Homespun Dress
3. Explorer
4. 206
5. Seven Seas
6. Great Attractor
7. Grissom
8. The Buzzard

Stream / Share PALE GREY LORE’s Eschatology At THIS LOCATION  Eschatology, the latest full-length from Columbus, Ohio-based psychedelic doom conjurors PALE GREY LORE is out now and streaming via Small Stone Recordings.  PALE GREY LORE blends elements of garage psych, space rock, post-punk, and stoner doom to create focused, hook-driven, heavy, rock ‘n’ roll. Eschatology was produced by the band’s own Xander Roseberry and Michael Miller, engineered and mixed by Andy Sartain, and mastered by Harold LaRue, with artwork and layout by Adam Eckley.  Stream Eschatology in its entirety at THIS LOCATION. Eschatology is out now on CD, limited LP, and digital formats. For orders, visit the Small Stone Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION. “Eschatology tells the story of a depleted planet beset by vast inequality, ravaged by climate catastrophe, and poisoned by nuclear disaster,” relays the band of the record’s themes. “The masses are left to suffer and die while the wealthy techno-industrialists responsible for the destruction flee in luxury spacecraft that will become their tombs. The sheer magnitude of this planetary devastation summons cosmic beings whose presence warps reality itself, and the world is utterly transformed as the present collides with an ancient timeline. When the survivors finally emerge from their underground shelters, they discover that half the planet remains a post-apocalyptic wasteland while the other half has become lush and verdant. One hemisphere is strewn with melted reactors, crashed spacecraft, and bombed-out ruins; the other is an untamed wilderness, teeming with strange creatures, and dotted with ominous towering edifices that pulsate with eldritch power.”  Catch PALE GREY LORE live in the coming weeks including a performance at this year’s edition of Descendants Of Crom.   PALE GREY LORE: 9/21/2019 Descendants Of Crom III @ Cattivo – Pittsburgh, PA     9/24/2019 Skully’s Music-Diner – Columbus, OH 9/28/2019 Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH       10/19/2019 The Union – Athens, OH        11/08/2019 Ace Of Cups – Columbus, OH  PALE GREY LORE began as a collaboration between brothers Michael (guitar, vocals) and Adam Miller (drums), with Donovan Johnson (bass) joining up in the summer of 2014. Xander Roseberry (guitar, backing vocals) was added to the lineup in the winter of 2016, just prior to their signing with Oak Island Records, an imprint of German label Kozmik Artifactz.  The band’s eponymous debut full-length was originally self-released on limited-run CD and digitally in June of 2016 and consequently landed at the #13 spot on TheObelisk.net‘s Top 20 Debut Albums of that year. Conceived as a series of surreal vignettes, it brought forth allegorical scenes from a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world in which the lines between science and the occult, technology and superstition, were hopelessly blurred. The album was released on vinyl in December 2017 via Oak Island Records.  Building on the momentum of the vinyl release, PALE GREY LORE began playing more live shows throughout the Midwest, landing spots on heavy music festivals such as the Chicago Doomed & Stoned Fest, Descendants Of Crom, and the Maryland Doom Fest. They’ve shared the stages with the likes of Pelican, Monolord, Lo-Pan, and Le Butcherettes, and are primed to release second album Eschatology. Fans of Failure, Lo-Pan, Black Sabbath, Irata, and Sundrifter, pay heed.  “…positively ballooning with fresh ideas, ever-weaving melodicism, and the right sort of cathartic narrative that’ll grip the listener by their chest and shake them free of the catatonia-inducing chaotic reality of today.” — Grizzly Butts  “Eschatology is a record full of purpose, and the realization of not just a plotline, but a creative vision fleshed out across the work…of multiple songwriters coming together toward a common end. It is simultaneously gorgeous and troubling, thoughtful in composition and impact-making in result.” – The Obelisk”Eschatology draws equally on network news tickers and D&D, and also finds singer/guitarist Michael Miller and Co. blasting Elon Musk and his ilk into space to die” — Columbus Alive  “While PALE GREY LORE‘s debut album set up a solid foundation in 2016, Eschatology is where things really get interesting. A noticeable boost in heaviness gives the group some extra weight but they never lose sight of their psychedelic roots. The conceptual angle, in turn, sets a strong precedent for what will hopefully be even more trippy freak-outs to follow. If albums like this and the newest efforts by Merlin, Book of Wyrms, and Ecstatic Vision are anything to go by, the space rock scene is in good hands.” – Indy Metal Vault  “The songs are epic bites of timeless rock, with fabulous little touches to make the listener engage (including some mystical bells to the title track)… The sounds engage slowly, like friends who become stronger over time. The guitar work is bottom heavy, but melodic. The top end frequency only exists in a parallel universe.” — Metal Nexus  “These guys play a heavy-handed version of drug laced Camaro rock. The vocals offer more hopefully floating sense of melody. The tight syncopated feel of what they do has as much as in common with Helmet as they do Kyuss.” — Abysmal Hymns “Heavy but at the same time groovy…. With this excellent debut album, PALE GREY LORE have added their own chapter to the great rock and roll story.” — More Fuzz “…a thundering good time from smoldering start to the winding end of the closing title track. Equal parts color and clout, the vibrancy of the guitar flourishes, with the vast musical textures being matched in the album’s cover (an element of artistic work I find to be often brushed over these days). A colorful but bleak snapshot of the aftermath of a civilization’s downfall, the mystery of the artwork captured my interest. The music all but held it hostage. What lies beyond the doorway of that cryptic tower?” — Everything Is Noise For PALE GREY LORE coverage contact liz@earsplitcompound.com.   http://www.facebook.com/palegreylore/ http://www.smallstone.com http://www.facebook.com/smallstonerecords http://www.smallstone.bandcamp.com