England's The Sleeping Shaman is the "heavier than thou" webzine. Check out what almighty Ollie has to say about our split single with Stone Axe -
So you've heard the proverbial saying about the unlucky loser who falls into a barrel of tits and comes out sucking his thumb? Well, Ripple Music at the moment seem to be riding a wave of good fortune and would be capable of falling into a barrel of shit and coming out having a foursome with Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Anniston and Scarlet Johanssen such is the quality of their releases and the praise that is getting lavished on them.
7" singles have, of late, become something of a holy grail for the devout music lover; a short, sharp 2 track shock that delivers a tantalising snapshot of a bands capabilities on some sexy wax. Split singles, even more so offering up a track each with which to grab the attention before selling out of whatever limited run they may come in. This latest release from Ripple pulls together two of America's finest exponents of retro rocking goodness to tease and delight us.
Stone Axe have, over the last year or so, gained a reputation that is second to none as 70's rock revisionists with their note perfect and passionate repackaging of heavy retrogressive blues rock that draws on the vibes originally laid down by bands such as Free, Led Zep, Sabbath, Thin Lizzy et al. Who would have thought that their backwards thinking rock and roll would also take in the nascent metal of Judas Priest and the early NWOBHM bands. On "Metal Damage" (the title should have been a clue), Stone Axe have rolled up their sleeves, donned a studded wristband, stuck out their tongues and flexed a metal muscle that has lain pretty dormant in their sound until now. Imagine some classic "Stained Class" or "Hell Bent For Leather" Priest style metal coming within the radar of that Stone Axe sound. Dru Brinkerhoff's vocals retain their soulful vibe but the riffs of Tony Reed display a tougher bite that we may have come to expect. The groove remains rock solid but the claws are out. This is possibly the best lost song from the "Sad Wings Of Destiny" sessions!!!
Mighty High have never fully targeted their heroes' sound as diligently as Stone Axe in their take on classic rock and roll. Their own self definition of "Black Flag Railroad" pretty much sums them up. This is a vicious punk fuelled, weed ridden take on some classic boogie. Imagine if Status Quo had been brought up on hardcore while a drug crazed maniac rants over the top as if the cops are knocking on the door and his hash stash is about to get flushed!!! "Don't Panic, It's Organic" shows a tighter, thicker and meaner sound than their "...In Drug City" album and owes more to Foghat on Ketamine than The Circle Jerks on downers.
Two awesome bands, a truckload of awesome retro riffery and all on one shiny little black disc...kicking it old school and definitely essential.
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album/StoneAxe-MightyHigh.php
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
"Maybe you and your dad need to bond over a six-pack and some shitty weed."
Shane Mehling's review of the Mighty High/Stone Axe split 7" single in the December 2010 issue of Decibel magazine. Best bad review to date!
I am not into party rock, and this record’s definitely not going to change that for me. Here we have both lame ‘80’s metal worship (Stone Axe’s “Metal Damage”) and some mundane ‘70s rock/’80s hardcore hybrid (Mighty High’s “Don’t Panic It’s Organic”). This shit is just shallow and forgettable and not fun to listen to, but maybe you and your dad need to bond over a six-pack and some shitty weed. So, go for it.
I am not into party rock, and this record’s definitely not going to change that for me. Here we have both lame ‘80’s metal worship (Stone Axe’s “Metal Damage”) and some mundane ‘70s rock/’80s hardcore hybrid (Mighty High’s “Don’t Panic It’s Organic”). This shit is just shallow and forgettable and not fun to listen to, but maybe you and your dad need to bond over a six-pack and some shitty weed. So, go for it.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Concert review - "Loud in that basement, too."
JJ Koczan of The The Obelisk was nice enough to write a review of the HEAVY ROCK CONCERT that went down at the Charleston 9/24/10. He was also modest enough to neglect mentioning that his epic doom metal band Maegashira also played and kicked major ass.
If you’ve never been, the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn is to hipsters what the Ent forest is to orcs. They seem to just spring up out of the ground. It’s a nonstop fashion show of apathy, misdirected misogynist irony, and expensive beer. Good sushi, but you pay for it in more than just dollars. It’s like a theme park. Hipster Disneyland.
Nonetheless, for Mighty High, Cortez and The Crimson Electric, I’d gladly hoist my fat ass off the couch to brave such unwelcoming climes. Some band no one ever heard of opened the show at The Charleston, to which I’d only been once prior, to see Kings Destroy. It was now as it was a couple months ago: a basement with surprisingly good sound. Kind of like Lit Lounge in that way, but if dank and moist isn’t your thing, you probably weren’t going to the show anyway.
Mighty High gave the Stooges a stoner boot to the ass, debuting their new lineup, vocalist/guitarist Woody High and drummer Jesse D’Stills joined by new guitarist Kevin Overdose and bass player Labatts Santoro. The foursome ran through probably twice as many songs as anyone else played that night, hitting high marks with “Cable TV Eye,” “Breakin’ Shit” and the “prog rock epic,” “Yes Sucks.” It was the first time I’d ever seen them, and they didn’t disappoint in the slightest. Their music and their presentation is completely without pretense. They don’t dress up, don’t bullshit around, just play their songs and have a good time. Amazing that in a borough so full of assholes, there’s any room on the other end of the spectrum for Mighty High.
Loud in that basement, too. Kevin Overdose and Woody High split some vocal duties, but for the most part it was straight-ahead motion the whole time. And there was some motion. They had the best crowd of the night (being the hometown heroes) and you just can’t watch them and not enjoy yourself if you have anything even close to a sense of humor. This won’t be the last set of theirs I catch.
It had been a while since I’d seen Boston‘s Cortez — long enough for drummer Jeremy Hemond (also of Roadsaw) to get a haircut, anyway — and as always, it was a pleasure. Not only are they some of the nicest guys on earth, but they riff with an energy and crispness that makes me think of what it must have been like to see stoner rock when stoner rock was young. Their sound and style is more solid than ever, and as they said a new album was in the works, I can’t wait to hear it. I wonder who’s going to put it out…
They put a couple older songs in the mix, among them “Stone the Bastards” from the 2007 Thunder in a Forgotten Town EP, which I managed to capture for the video you can see below. It was kind of dark, but I think you can still get the idea. Scotty Fuse‘s riffs, Hemond‘s giant cymbals, Matt Harrington‘s vocals and Jay‘s bass all managed to balance out pretty well down there (though admittedly, there’s an awful lot of cymbal on that video), and their set, as always, was a highlight of the night.
The Crimson Electric were down a bass player as of about two weeks, and they struggled some because of it. Their solution to the issue was to run one of the guitars through a bass and guitar cabinet both to fill out the low end, and it actually worked pretty well to thicken the sound, but there were some technical issues that took some momentum out of their set. I don’t doubt they did the best they could with what they had, and they still rocked, so I’m certainly not about to complain.
That said, being the last band on stage at a show like that has one distinct disadvantage: you’ve already done a full night’s drinking when you start, and you still have to get through the material. There was some shit-talking from the stage and it very nearly crossed the fine line between friendly joshing and dickery, but everyone in the crowd, myself included, knew the deal, and at the end of the show, The Crimson Electric still sounded killer. I remembered how great they were at last year’s Stoner Hands of Doom in Maryland, and I’m sure once they get their lineup nailed down again they’ll have no trouble getting back there.
I got back to my humble river valley shortly after three and was up for maybe another hour. I’d managed (somehow) to stay sober, though I’d swear I saw some dudes taking beers out of their socks at the club. A little recession-special espionage. You do what you have to, I guess.
Good people, good tunes, good times. It’s nights like this, when the “scene” and the inherent politics thereof stay at the bar upstairs, that remind me why I love this music so much.
http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2010/09/27/mightyhighcortezcrimsonelectricbrooklyn/
If you’ve never been, the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn is to hipsters what the Ent forest is to orcs. They seem to just spring up out of the ground. It’s a nonstop fashion show of apathy, misdirected misogynist irony, and expensive beer. Good sushi, but you pay for it in more than just dollars. It’s like a theme park. Hipster Disneyland.
Nonetheless, for Mighty High, Cortez and The Crimson Electric, I’d gladly hoist my fat ass off the couch to brave such unwelcoming climes. Some band no one ever heard of opened the show at The Charleston, to which I’d only been once prior, to see Kings Destroy. It was now as it was a couple months ago: a basement with surprisingly good sound. Kind of like Lit Lounge in that way, but if dank and moist isn’t your thing, you probably weren’t going to the show anyway.
Mighty High gave the Stooges a stoner boot to the ass, debuting their new lineup, vocalist/guitarist Woody High and drummer Jesse D’Stills joined by new guitarist Kevin Overdose and bass player Labatts Santoro. The foursome ran through probably twice as many songs as anyone else played that night, hitting high marks with “Cable TV Eye,” “Breakin’ Shit” and the “prog rock epic,” “Yes Sucks.” It was the first time I’d ever seen them, and they didn’t disappoint in the slightest. Their music and their presentation is completely without pretense. They don’t dress up, don’t bullshit around, just play their songs and have a good time. Amazing that in a borough so full of assholes, there’s any room on the other end of the spectrum for Mighty High.
Loud in that basement, too. Kevin Overdose and Woody High split some vocal duties, but for the most part it was straight-ahead motion the whole time. And there was some motion. They had the best crowd of the night (being the hometown heroes) and you just can’t watch them and not enjoy yourself if you have anything even close to a sense of humor. This won’t be the last set of theirs I catch.
It had been a while since I’d seen Boston‘s Cortez — long enough for drummer Jeremy Hemond (also of Roadsaw) to get a haircut, anyway — and as always, it was a pleasure. Not only are they some of the nicest guys on earth, but they riff with an energy and crispness that makes me think of what it must have been like to see stoner rock when stoner rock was young. Their sound and style is more solid than ever, and as they said a new album was in the works, I can’t wait to hear it. I wonder who’s going to put it out…
They put a couple older songs in the mix, among them “Stone the Bastards” from the 2007 Thunder in a Forgotten Town EP, which I managed to capture for the video you can see below. It was kind of dark, but I think you can still get the idea. Scotty Fuse‘s riffs, Hemond‘s giant cymbals, Matt Harrington‘s vocals and Jay‘s bass all managed to balance out pretty well down there (though admittedly, there’s an awful lot of cymbal on that video), and their set, as always, was a highlight of the night.
The Crimson Electric were down a bass player as of about two weeks, and they struggled some because of it. Their solution to the issue was to run one of the guitars through a bass and guitar cabinet both to fill out the low end, and it actually worked pretty well to thicken the sound, but there were some technical issues that took some momentum out of their set. I don’t doubt they did the best they could with what they had, and they still rocked, so I’m certainly not about to complain.
That said, being the last band on stage at a show like that has one distinct disadvantage: you’ve already done a full night’s drinking when you start, and you still have to get through the material. There was some shit-talking from the stage and it very nearly crossed the fine line between friendly joshing and dickery, but everyone in the crowd, myself included, knew the deal, and at the end of the show, The Crimson Electric still sounded killer. I remembered how great they were at last year’s Stoner Hands of Doom in Maryland, and I’m sure once they get their lineup nailed down again they’ll have no trouble getting back there.
I got back to my humble river valley shortly after three and was up for maybe another hour. I’d managed (somehow) to stay sober, though I’d swear I saw some dudes taking beers out of their socks at the club. A little recession-special espionage. You do what you have to, I guess.
Good people, good tunes, good times. It’s nights like this, when the “scene” and the inherent politics thereof stay at the bar upstairs, that remind me why I love this music so much.
http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2010/09/27/mightyhighcortezcrimsonelectricbrooklyn/
Friday, September 24, 2010
Fryday Zeptember 24 - Mighty High Mk.IV debut at The Charleston, Brooklyn NY
First show from the new & best Mighty High line up ever. Fun, fun, fun show with Maegashira, Cortez and The Crimson Electric at the Charleston in Brooklyn.
Set list: Cable TV Eye; Albert Hofmann; Chemical Warpigs; Loaded Loaded; I Don't Wanna Listen To Yes; Don't Panic It's Organic; Hempophobic; Breakin' Shit; High On The Cross; Speedcreep.
Set list: Cable TV Eye; Albert Hofmann; Chemical Warpigs; Loaded Loaded; I Don't Wanna Listen To Yes; Don't Panic It's Organic; Hempophobic; Breakin' Shit; High On The Cross; Speedcreep.
Photos by Theo Wargo.
Monday, September 20, 2010
"Twin-guitar flamethrower rock with Detroit and Dictators overtones, with the wrestling schtick replaced by drug references..."
The I94 Bar is Australia's main hub for regressive rock. Check out their review of our Mighty High...Drops A Decuce 7" single -
Brooklyn's Mighty High delight in receiving lousy reviews and then using them as promo so I'm not going to give them the satisfaction. Like the long lost cousins of Sydney's Psychotic Turnbuckles they play twin-guitar flamethrower rock with Detroit and Dictators overtones, with the wrestling schtick replaced by drug references. "Hands Up!" (rest of the lyric: "If you want to get high") couldn't be more like the 'Tators, circa "Blood Brothers", if it tried. That's absolutely fine with me, overdubbed crowd sounds and all. "Cable TV Eye" is nearly as good. A band that sounds like it knows how to have a bleary-eyed good time.
http://www.i94bar.com/singlesbar.html
Brooklyn's Mighty High delight in receiving lousy reviews and then using them as promo so I'm not going to give them the satisfaction. Like the long lost cousins of Sydney's Psychotic Turnbuckles they play twin-guitar flamethrower rock with Detroit and Dictators overtones, with the wrestling schtick replaced by drug references. "Hands Up!" (rest of the lyric: "If you want to get high") couldn't be more like the 'Tators, circa "Blood Brothers", if it tried. That's absolutely fine with me, overdubbed crowd sounds and all. "Cable TV Eye" is nearly as good. A band that sounds like it knows how to have a bleary-eyed good time.
http://www.i94bar.com/singlesbar.html
Saturday, September 18, 2010
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