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please for the love of god listen to weed demon
Ohio’s WEED DEMON Drop Gritty Frank Zappa Cover of “Willie The Pimp”
~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~
By Billy Goate
Today, we bring you three things we love: WEED DEMON, Frank Zappa, and Electric Valley Records. The dank stoner-doom-sludge four-piece from Columbus, Ohio are veterans of both Chicago Doomed & Stoned Festival and Ohio Doomed & Stoned Festival, and were featured on our compilation Doomed & Stoned in Ohio some years back. I've filmed them before, and I can tell you there are few bands that are as frightening live.
Recorded at StoneRipper Studio, the band had this to say about the ripping new single, "Willie The Pimp":
It was an easy choice doing a Zappa cover. Frank was always pushing boundaries and creating music that was intentionally outside of the box. We also find ourselves writing music that doesn’t quite fit into your standard stoner-doom song structure. "Willie The Pimp" is a perfect example of the melting pot of groove that is Zappa, and if there’s one thing we love it’s a solid groove. In the spirit of what an absolute jammer this song is, we tracked our version live. We hope you weirdos dig it as much as we do.
With hints of southern metal in their stoner riffs, this cover transforms the song into a real smokeout, while still paying loving homage to the unhinged original from the record Hot Rats (1969). It was ripe for the picking in Weed Demon's hands. Definitely re-listenable, too, with its irresistible slow-headbanging grooves, stinging guitars, gnarly bass licks, and a brutal heartbeat. I had it set on repeat myself.
It's good to see Jordan Holland (bass, vox), Brian Buckley (guitars, backing vox), Andy Center (guitar, backing vox) and Nick Carter (drums) back in action after their devastating full-length, 'Crater Maker' (2020). I imagine we can expect more from the band as time unfolds.
And now the Doomed & Stoned premiere of "Willie The Pimp," done as only Weed Demon can. Look for the single to be released for download on Friday, May 17th (get it here).
Give ear...
Lyrics
I'm a little pimp with my hair gassed back Pair a khaki pants with my shoe shined black Got a little lady, walk that street Tellin' all the boys that she can't be beat Twenty dollar bill, I can set you straight Meet me on the corner boy and don't be late Man in a suit with a bow-tie neck Wanna buy a grunt with a third party check Standin' on the porch of the Lido Hotel Floozies in the lobby love the way I sell
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Ohio’s WEED DEMON Drop New Music Video on 4/20
~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~
By Billy Goate
If you've ever seen WEED DEMON in concert (as indeed we did at Chicago Doomed & Stoned Festival and Ohio Doomed & Stoned Festival in years gone by), you know they have a ferocious presence when the lights go down and the smoke starts spewing.
It's relieving to know they have a sense of humor, too. Witness the Doomed & Stoned premiere of their music video, "The Elder Tree Pyre" (from the LP Crater Maker on Electric Valley Records -- reviewed here). It starts as role players are bantering about a game play, when suddenly they're taken into the game at the break of grandma's bong. The world changes radically, trapped in the frames of a comic book.
Surrounding this is a swirl of grinding southern-tinged guitar, bruising bass action, and drums that hammer relentlessly into the hazy void. A cultic rhythm emerges and vocalist Jordan Holland roars, telling a tale of unseen horrors. "I see the devil in you." The guitar plays a hooky Sabbath riff. "I gotta smoke him out!" The song ends on a reassuring note, with downtuned instruments welcoming our release.
We asked the band to say a little something about this kick-ass vid:
Three years, 3000 still images, 1 green screen and a bajillion bong rips later, we are proud to finally release our video for The Elder Tree Pyre. All good things are worth waiting for or something like that. Many thanks to everyone involved in the process of filming, animating, prop creation, and supplying of essential LARP gear.
If you aren’t too stoned by the time you watch this, feel free to share with your friends. On this holiest of high holidays, we hope all of your dice rolls are a natural 20.
Disclaimer: No bongs were harmed in the filming of this video.
Produced by Danny Rogers, with animation by Derek Stewart & Dan Simone, and props by Kevin Buckley
Give ear...
WATCH & LISTEN: Weed Demon - "The Elder Tree Pyre"
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25 Records for a Moonwalk
~By Svempa Alveving~
Photo credit: NASA
During this week long retrospective on the best albums of 2020, Doomed & Stoned contributors are sharing 25 of their personal favs from a year that was full of surprises, some dreadful and others delightful. Svempa Alveving (IG: @doomsdayjesus) is the curator of our beloved compilation Doomed & Stoned in Sweden and a periodic guest on the Into The Void podcast.
Electric Hydra - Electric Hydra
Thou and Emma Ruth Rundle - May Our Chambers Be Full
Novarupta - Marine Snow
Elder - Omens
Hällas - Conundrum
Steve Von Till - No Wilderness Deep Enoug
Lowrider - Refractions
Covenspell - Circle of 13
Dopelord - Sign Of The Devil
Kvll - Death/Sacrifice
Ockultist - Festering Wounds
Occlith - Gates, Doorways, and Endings
Sleepwulf - Sleepwulf
Bonehawk - Iron Mountain
End - Splinters From an Ever-Changing Face
Huanastone - Third Stone From The Sun
Malsten - The Haunting of Silvåkra Mill
Hymn - Breach Us
Bongtower - Oscillator
Pallbearer - Forgotten Days
Slift - Ummon
Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin - Stygian Bough
Weed Demon - Crater Maker
Convocation - Ashes Coalesce
Vinnum Sabbathi - Of Dimensions And Theories
Weed Demon Drop Bombshell Sophomore Record ‘Crater Maker’
~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~
By Billy Goate
Album art by Luca Solo Macello
Having witnessed Jordan Holland (bass, vox), Andy Center (guitar), Brian Buckley (guitar), and "Big Nick” Carter (drums) play now twice within the span of just a few months at Chicago Doomed & Stoned Festival and Ohio Doomed & Stoned Festival, one thing I can say with assurance: when WEED DEMON hit the stage, they aren't just playing around.
A certain seriousness overtakes the band when the smoke rises and surrounds them, as though falling into a deep trance that will transport them into some sacred swampy place known only to the ancient sludge lords. We bore witness to the band's intensity on their last record, 'Astrological Passages' (2017), and now the Columbus, Ohio quartet threaten to up the ante with their forthcoming sophomore effort, 'Crater Maker' (2020).
The crusty, bluesy acoustic intro "Atmospheric Drag" continues where the last album left off, and bears gentle warning to the horrors that lie ahead. Nothing, however, could quite settle our feet for the mighty "Birthquake" that saws and grinds the record wide open. Weed Demon repeat the Sabbathian theme ritualistically, building upon its foundation layer upon layer with increasing intensity, as though attempting to conjure some unknown god from the bog.
The roar of "Serpent Merchant" answers all mysteries, as Jordan's mighty vocals reverberate with a thousand years of ancient wrath. Weird picking and strumming in the song's midsection adds to the chilling enigma of it all.
Unholy serpent Our vessel to the underworld below Venomous sentinels Overseers of the dank ritual
Your fate is sealed Once you’ve signed the deal Feel as The venom start to flow As you begin your descent below
Film by No Culture
The album's namesake "Crater Maker" is a headbanger-and-a-half, dense with atmosphere. A hideous dirge dominates the first four minutes, pulling us deeper still into the muddy sinkhole. A psychedelic interlude prepares us all but briefly for the cacophony of riffs that pummel us in the second-half of this eight-and-a-half-minute hurricane.
"Elder Tree Pyre" is a grungy little number with rhythms and riffs reminiscent of the weirdness one encounters on Nirvana's Incesticide and those early-Soundgarden EPs.
I see the Devil in you Gnarled, black, twisted roots I see the Devil in you Gnawing, demon, breaking loose I see the Devil in me There can be no doubt The only way to cleanse my soul I gotta smoke him out
Album closer "Sporelord" enters with a frightful screech, contrasting Jordan's brawling pipes with various iterations of clean singing, from wicked wailing to witchy whispers. "Join us..." beckons the Weed Demon.
And now, Doomed & Stoned is pleased to bring you the world premiere of Crater Maker ahead of its general release on Friday, April 3rd via Electric Valley Records on three vinyl variants (pre-order here).
Give ear...
Crater Maker by Weed Demon
Some Buzz
Appearances can be deceiving - Weed Demon from Columbus, Ohio, will be the first to tell you that. While it would be a lie to say that Mary Jane had no influence on their music whatsoever, the quartet already showed in 2017 that they offer more than that. Astrological Passages was a notable evolution from their début EP, and second album Crater Maker walks even further down that path.
By and large, there are still swathes of the sludge/doom metal sound on which Weed Demon made their name. “Birthquake”, for instance, starts out in familiar Sabbathian territory, and later takes notes from Earthless in the off-the-wall soloing. Speaking of names, it’s clear that the band have retained their tongue-in-cheek sense of humor with their song titles, such as the rhyming “Serpent Merchant”, “Crater Maker”, and “Sporelord”. There’s also a continuation of the cosmic theme established on Astrological Passages, as tracks like “Serpent Merchant” drop into psychedelic space rock that would make Hawkwind proud.
Film by Billy Goate
But those familiar moments are frequently contrasted with unchartered territory. Opening track “Atmospheric Drag”, for instance, has more in common with dark country and Western, with its harmonica and strumming acoustic chords. It’s also intriguing to note the vocals of bassist Jordan Holland, whose guttural growls surprisingly work both here and in brutal death metal outfit Domestic Terror. Perhaps the most jarring moment, though, is the blackened death metal onslaught that emerges during the title track, powered by drummer "Big Nick” Carter and truly representative of the monster adorning the cover art.
There’s plenty more besides to dive into on the record; Weed Demon have done an excellent job of distilling a host of ideas into one lumbering entity. While they may forever wander down the road searching for the tone eternal, Crater Maker is a mighty fine pit stop along the way.
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Weed Demon -Astrological Passages (2017)
Sludge/Stoner/Doom Metal from Columbus, OH
Christopher Harding reviews the new album from Weed Demon. Read his review of Astrological Passages here on Distorted Sound!