…the four-piece have conjured ghosts of ’70s heavy fuzz and ’90s riff mongering offering up a sonic brew that’s both potent and thoroughly modern….

View / Share BLACK ELEPHANT’s “Walking Dead” At http://youtu.be/Tot5JORQiMo

Cosmic Blues, the impending new full-length from Italian psychedelic fuzz/heavy rock troupe BLACK ELEPHANT, will see release next month via Small Stone. In advance of its release, The Obelisk is pleased to unveil the band’s official video for “Walking Dead” alongside an extended review of the record.

Issues the esteemed blog, “While BLACK ELEPHANT don’t necessarily go anywhere that heavy and/or psychedelic rock hasn’t gone before, they do an excellent job of finding their niche in the genre and do even better in tipping the balance in their aesthetic to one side or the other. Some will dig it for its variety. Some will dig it for its familiarity. And some will just dig it because riffs… The varied appeal speaks to BLACK ELEPHANT knowing their audience… and knowing how to communicate their ideas through sound.”

Read more and view “Walking Dead” at THIS LOCATION.

BLACK ELEPHANT’s Cosmic Blues was recorded and mixed by Giulio Farinelli, mastered by Maurizio Giannotti, and cames wrapped in the cover design of Robin Gnista. The record will see release on July 20th on CD, digitally, and limited edition purple vinyl.

For preorders, go to the Small Stone Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION where album opener “Cosmic Soul” can be streamed.

One would be hard-pressed to come up with a better descriptor for BLACK ELEPHANT’s Cosmic Blues full-length than the title of the album itself. Based in Savona, Italy, the four-piece have conjured ghosts of ’70s heavy fuzz and ’90s riff mongering offering up a sonic brew that’s both potent and thoroughly modern. Cosmic Blues follows 2014’s Bifolchi Inside and 2012’s Spaghetti Cowboys (get it?) and marks their debut on Small Stone Records. Comprised of lead vocalist/lead guitarist Alessio Caravelli, rhythm guitarist Massimiliano Giacosa, bassist Marcello Destefanis, and drummer Simone Brunzu, BLACK ELEPHANT makes their mark in their home country’s booming heavy rock underground with memorable songs and a sound that’s just as comfortable getting funky on “Chase Me” as it is re-imagining Soundgarden as a riff rock outfit à la peak-era Dozer, rolling out huge grooves en route to “Cosmic Blues For Solitary Moose,” loaded with fuzz and scorching solos.

Given a brisk, live sound in its production – fitting for a group with hundreds of shows under their collective belt – Cosmic Blues comes across natural and at times maintains the intensity of BLACK ELEPHANT’s earlier work (closer “Inno” walks by and waves), while simultaneously exploring more spacious realms in the not-a-cover “Helter Skelter” and the takeoff jammer “Baby Eroina,” which eases into and out of its nodding rhythm with a smoothness worthy of a group’s third album and a fluidity that typifies the record’s entire thirty-four-minute run. Leaving their own tracks in the footsteps of bands like Small Stone’s own Isaak, BLACK ELEPHANT hits a new level of craft with Cosmic Blues, and if the righteous drive of opener “Cosmic Soul,” the flowing progression of the LP that ensues, and the name they’ve given the whole affair are anything to go by, they know it for sure. All the better

BLACK ELEPHANT is:
Alessio Caravelli – lead vocals, lead guitar
Massimiliano Giacosa – rhythm guitar
Marcello Destefanis – bass guitar
Simone Brunzu – drums

View / Share “The Deepest Sea” Video At THIS LOCATION

Solar Plexus, the forthcoming new full-length from Iberian stoner rock trio, GREEN DESERT WATER, will see release via Small Stone Records later this month.

In advance of its official unveiling, today The Obelisk is pleased to debut the band’s video for “The Deepest Sea.” Writes the esteemed online publication of Solar Plexus overall, “If your ears don’t automatically perk up on hearing the phrases ‘classic-style heavy rockers’ and ‘on Small Stone Records’ in the same sentence, well, to put it mildly they should. Thus, we find Spanish classic-style heavy rockers GREEN DESERT WATER making their debut on Small Stone Records with their second album overall, Solar Plexus. Quick to make an impression and earn immediate points with the opener and longest track ‘Open Your Wings,’ the band trio channels earliest AC/DC on the swinging heavy blues of ‘Souls Of The Woodland,’ and offers a fluid dose of fuzz in ‘Chaman,’ demonstrating a propensity both for hooks and for adding modern flair to the core heavy ’70s influence. The shuffle that emerges near the midsection of ‘Chaman,’ for example, or the tambourine-laced jam in the penultimate ‘Mother Moon.’ These are well-established methods, but as Small Stone has endeavored in recent years to demonstrate, a balance can surely be struck between the classic and the modern. GREEN DESERT WATER do this exceptionally well.”

Adds the band of the kaleidoscopic video clip, “What do you hold on to when the deepest sea extends below your feet?”

Read more and view “The Deepest Sea,” courtesy of The Obelisk, at THIS LOCATION.

Solar Plexus was recorded and mixed by Pablo Martínez Pérez at Ovni Estudio, mastered by Kike Sanchís at Green Desert Mastering and comes wrapped in the cover art of Héctor Castañón. The six-track offering will see release on CD, digital, and limited-edition vinyl formats on April 27th via Small Stone.

For preorders visit the Small Stone Bandcamp page HERE where opening track “Open Your Wings” can be streamed.

After getting their feet wet in a molten pool of heavy blues on their 2012 self-titled debut EP, GREEN DESERT WATER is ready for their next conquest. The Oviedo, Spain-based three-piece have been making a name for themselves as one of the best-kept-secrets of the Iberian heavy underground, and with Solar Plexus they’ve never sounded readier to let the cat out of the proverbial bag. And by “cat out of the bag,” we mean unleashing classic power trio grooves – all primo, all soul, but heavier and thicker and more modern than the first record.

Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Kike Sanchís, bassist Juan Arias García, and drummer/backing vocalist Javi González, GREEN DESERT WATER sinks its teeth into hellacious boogie on songs like “Open Your Wings” and find the place where Black Sabbath and Mountain could’ve met on “Souls Of The Woodland” – and when it comes to the title-track? Well, at least you know where they’re going to hit you. With six songs split up over two glorious vinyl sides, GREEN DESERT WATER’s Solar Plexus indeed puts itself right in the center of attention – refusing to commit to one single vibe or another as it captures the best energy of classic heavy rock and brings it forward to a modern era where it’s so desperately needed.

GREEN DESERT WATER:
Juan Arias García – fuzz bass
Javi González – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Kike Sanchís – guitars, vocals
Additional guitar on “The Deepest Sea” by Pablo Martínez Pérez.

With the purple sun, the hermit was introduced into the wild, through the mountains and the long desert to back home…

Available on Bandcamp now! Sonic Debris witnesses the band exploring new sonic landscapes and an open and inclusive creative process. Throughout, they design explosive sound textures, get high on psychedelic asteroids and unleash obscure beasts. The album is a sonic voyage with a diversity beyond anything yet evidenced by the band.

Digital Album

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
$10 USD

CD + DOWNLOAD

Pre-Order the CD and get the download of the entire album on 5/06/2016.
$10 USD

LIMITED EDITION 180gr VINYL + DOWNLOAD

Limited to 500 units WORLDWIDE in light blue, 180 gram, beautiful vinyl! We will only have 50 of these on hand. The download will be released on May 20th, 2016. Includes unlimited streaming of Sonic Debris via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
$25.99 USD

https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/sonic-debris

Some words have been pinched from The Obelsik… Thanks JJ.

Swedish heavy rockers Deville have a new video for the song “The Knife.” The track comes from the Malmö four-piece’s 2013 full-length, Hydra (review here), which was also their first release on Small Stone Records. As timing would have it, Deville head out on a European tour this week, having finalized the dates at the start of April, and “The Knife” makes a solid argument for showing up to see them if you happen to be in that part of the world. One doubts they’ll be playing on top of a giant guitar or that there will be huge spinning blades — probably for the best — but as Deville stand in a fine tradition of their country’s heavy rock without bowing to the retro pressures of the current scene, they only make themselves more individualized for their efforts.

Between that conceptual appeal and the actual fruit of Deville‘s songwriting, it doesn’t seem like a way to lose out. “The Knife” was among the most memorable cuts on Hydra, so whether you caught wind of the album or not last year, it’ll be worth either the refresher or the initial exposure to check it out. Rock and roll:

Music video by Deville performing The Knife.
Taken from the album “Hydra” Small Stone Records 2013.
Directed by: Henrik Christoffersson
Filmed by: Henrik Christoffersson & Peter Tarpgaard
Edited by: Henrik Christoffersson

Europe spring tour is up! New dates added!

25/4 GER Duesseldorf-Pitcher
26/04 CH Lugano TI/STREET/ART Festival
27/04 IT Pescara-Orange Rock Cafè
28/04 IT Roma-Sinister Noise
29/04 IT Santa Croce Sull’ Arno-Rock City
30/04 IT Montecchio Maggiore-E20
01/05 IT Piacenza-Cuncertass Festival
01/05 IT Seregno-Sala Malasangre
02/05 CH St Gallen-Rumpeltum
03/05 IT Torino-Cafè Liber
04/05 FRA Lyon-Le Moko
05/05 FRA Draguignan-Bucephale
06/05 IT Padova-Sotterranei
07/05 FRA Besanqon-Les passagers du Zinc
08/05 BEL Hasselt-Carpe Diem
09/05 GER Munster-Rare Guitar
10/05 GER Berlin-Jaegerklause