Tag Archives: stoner rock

Calgary’s WOODHAWK – new album, cross-Canada tour

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After five years of anticipation, Calgary’s stoner groove rock trio Woodhawk announces they will be hitting the road this August through October for tour dates across Canada (dates listed below). The show dates are in support of their latest and third album, “Love Finds a Way,” released on June 6th of this year via Grand Hand Records. Fans can expect a high-energy set packed with new material and favorites from their discography that will be delivered with the raw power and passion.

Their most personal and powerful release to date, their new full-length album, “Love Finds a Way”, marks a turning point for Woodhawk.  Demonstrating their evolution from early stoner rock roots into something more emotionally complex while maintaining the infectious grooves and memorable hooks that have defined their sound.

“Love Finds a Way” explores themes of darkness, healing, and hope, while still delivering the infectious hooks and thunderous riffs fans have come to expect. With contributions from longtime collaborator Jesse Gander on synth, the band expands their sonic palette without losing their edge. The trio of Turner Midzain (guitar/vocals), Mike Badmington (bass), and Kevin Nelson (drums) poured five years of growth, struggle, and creative evolution into this record.

“We are over the moon to get this album out. Love Finds a Way is easily the hardest we have worked on an album to date. We poured our heart and soul into this one. It really is a journey of getting out of the darkness and into the light. Check in with your friends and loved ones. Hug the ones you love. Be nicer to each other. Love will always prevail and be stronger than anything else. After 10 years of being a band, I feel like we are still just getting started!” adds the band.

After a decade together, Woodhawk is proving they’re just getting started. “Love Finds a Way” is more than an album; it’s a statement of resilience, connection, and the enduring power of rock.

Recommended for fans of The Sword, Red Fang, and Thin Lizzy, the album is a dynamic journey from start to finish, balancing soft and heavy, slow and fast, light and dark.

L to R: Kevin Nelson (Drums), Turner Midzain (Vocals/ Guitar), Mike Badmington (Bass/ Vocals). Portrait by Mark Kowalchuk

Album order: https://woodhawk.bandcamp.com​

Spotify – https://bit.ly/44veRdv​

YouTube – Album Stream – https://youtu.be/Ceju8SRiVeA

*Woodhawk will be performing on day three of this year’s LOUD AS HELL OPEN AIR FESTIVAL on August 3rd in Drumheller, AB alongside Revocation, Cyborg Octopus, Beguiler, Thirteen Goats, Famous Strangers, and more! Full details on LAH can be found at www.loudashell.ca.

Show Dates: ​
Aug 3 – Drumheller, AB – Loud As Hell Open Air
Aug 27 – Calgary, AB – Ship & Anchor
Aug 28 – Lethbridge, AB – The Owl Acoustic Lounge
Aug 29 – Regina, SK – The Exchange
Aug 30 – Winnipeg, MB – Side Stage
Sept 2 – Windsor – Phog Lounge
Sept 3 – Hamilton, ON – Club Absinthe
Sept 4 – Ottawa, ON – House of Targ
Sept 5 – Montreal – Turbo Haus
Sept 6 – Toronto, ON – The Monarch
Sept 7 – Kingston, ON – The Mansion
Sept 9 – Oshawa, ON – The Atria
Sept 10 – Sault Ste. Marie, ON – Soo Blaster
Sept 11 – Thunder Bay, ON – Black Pirates Pub
Sept 12 – Brandon, MB – The 40
Sept 13 – Saskatoon, SK – Black Cat Tavern
Sept 25 – Kelowna, BC- Jackknife Brewery
Sept 26 – Vancouver, BC – Green Auto
Sept 27 – Victoria, BC – Lucky Bar
Oct 10 – Red Deer, AB – The Vat
Oct 11 – Edmonton, AB – The Aviary

LINKS:​
​https://www.woodhawkriffs.com​
​https://www.instagram.com/woodhawkriffs​
​https://www.facebook.com/woodhawkriffs

WOLFNAUT – to release Return Of The Asteroid

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Heavy doom/metal trio WOLFNAUT, hail from Norway, and this will be the band’s 4th album, though the 2nd under their altered name from Wolfgang. Return Of The Asteroid is a good album start to finish, with some cool different sounding songs, aside from the heavy rockin’ cuts which stand out like the opener “Brother Of The Badlands”, “My Orbit Is Mine”, the faster paced “G.T.R.”, and “Something More Than Night” (something in that guitar break reminds me of Thin Lizzy). Best cut here tho’ is the slow haunting ballad “Arrows”; pretty unique atmospheric track. 9 tracks in all, ending with the 10-minute+ slow, dark epic “Wolfnaut’s Lament”.

*Return of the Asteroid will be released on black vinyl, limited colored vinyl, CD and digital on April 21st through Ripple Music. For more info, check out the band bio / press release below.

WOLFNAUT (formerly known as Wolfgang) started life in the mid-1990s in the town of Elverum, a two-hour drive northeast of the Norwegian capital Oslo. Their energetic live shows and debut album, ‘Welcome to the Cactus Mountains’, went down a storm in their hometown, and the album even garnered a solid review in Kerrang! WOLFNAUT reformed again in 2013, and the band released its second album, ‘Castle in the Woods’, to raving reviews in 2016. The band’s aptly titled third album “III” was released in 2022. “III” brought the Norwegian trio’s blend of catchy tunes and heavy stoner riffs to a larger international audience. For their fourth album, WOLFNAUT has teamed up with US-based label Ripple Music to spread the word even further.

“Return of the Asteroid” is the slightly darker and doomier cousin of “III”. Wolfnaut’s penchant for writing catchy rockers is still very much alive and well on songs like “Brother of the Badlands”, “My Orbit Is Mine” and “G.T.R.”, but “Return of the Asteroid” also sees the band developing their love for more dynamic songs. There is more of both light and shade on Wolfnaut’s fourth long-player, which can clearly be heard on offerings like “The Mighty Pawns”, “Crates of Doom” and “Wolfnaut’s Lament”. The album even introduces a first for the band: a ballad! “Arrows” was originally released on “Castle in the Woods” in 2016, but the band didn’t feel that the hard rock approach on the original recording did the song justice. Stripped down to its core elements, the song now has a new lease on life.

“Return of the Asteroid” was recorded at Audioskop studio, Sofiemyr, Norway. Production was handled by the band, with invaluable help from engineer extraordinaire Bjørn Barstad. Swedish sound wizard Karl Daniel Lidén (Greenleaf, Lowrider, Dozer, Demon Cleaner) was enlisted to mix, master, and put the finishing touches to the album. Eminent graphic designer Mirko Masala created the visuals. With a career now spanning 25 years, four albums and countless live shows, WOLFNAUT is ready to spread the word of Norwegian stoner rock to an even wider international audience. Now part of the Ripple Music family, expect to see the band somewhere on the road in the not-so-distant future.

TRACKLIST:
1.    Brother of the Badlands 
2.    My Orbit Is Mine
3.    The Mighty Pawns
4.    Crash Yer Asteroid
5.    Arrows
6.    G.T.R.
7.    Something More Than Night
8.    Crates of Doom
9.    Wolfnaut’s Lament

WOLFNAUT :
Tor Erik Hagen – Bass
Ronny «Ronster» Kristiansen – Drums & Percussion
Kjetil Sæter – Guitars, Vocals & Piano

WOLFNAUT Links:
Website⎪Facebook⎪Bandcamp⎪Instagram⎪Spotify

BLACKWÜLF release title track from forthcoming album

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Californian stoner metal stalwarts BLACKWÜLF issue a brand new excerpt taken from their forthcoming fourth studio album Thieves & Liars, due out February 3rd on Ripple Music. Hear their galvanizing metal spell with the title track Thieves & Liars now…

Oakland, California’s BLACKWÜLF have roared back from the pandemic hiatus with their new Ripple Music album “Thieves and Liars”, recorded and produced in Oakland by Jesse Nichols (Iggy & The Stooges, Ty Segall, James Williamson). Borne out of the disintegration of the world around them, the new album encapsulates what the mighty five-piece does best: fist-pumping riffs, dark progressions, apocalyptic visions and plenty of epic heavy rock swagger. 

*Listen to their new single “Thieves & Liars” at this location

Forging melody, message, and authenticity with heavy raw power, BLACKWÜLF have been purveying massive riff rock for over a decade. Drawing from influences found in the darker corners of your stepdad’s vinyl collection, the vintage five-piece outfit’s electric live performances and headbanging heaviness have converted a wide base of ravenous fans from Los Angeles to London. What distinguishes BLACKWÜLF from many of their contemporaries is a strong emphasis on “songs” rather than “sounds”, delivering a wide slab of listenable vintage-style heavy metal that draws its strengths from imaginative content and quality performance. Watch Blackwülf’s latest “Shadows” video –

New album “Thieves & Liars”
Out February 3rd, 2023 on Ripple Music
US preorder – World preorder

Tracklist:
1. Shadow
2. Seems To Me
3. Killing Kind
4. Thieves And Liars
5. Failed Resistance
6. Psychonaut / Edge Of Light
7. Mysteries Of This
8. Brother
9. Cries For A Dying Star

Comprised of rock veteran players, BLACKWÜLF features Alex Cunningham on vocals, Pete Holmes on guitar, Jesse Rosales on guitar, Scott Peterson on bass, and Dave Pankenier on drums. Founded in 2012 in the San Francisco Bay Area, the band’s first vinyl release, “Mind Traveler” was released on Wickerman Records and met to critical acclaim. 2015 saw BLACKWÜLF aligning with premier California heavy rock label Ripple Music, and releasing their signature second album, “Oblivion Cycle”, a riffed-out metal tour de force, whose “serious stoner vibes” were praised by Decibel Magazine. 2018 found the band digging deeper into vintage metal roots, releasing their second Ripple Music vinyl, “Sinister Sides”; the album featured three guest tracks from a fan (and now friend) of the band, Geof O’Keefe, an original founder of Pentagram. BLACKWÜLF celebrated the release in the Spring of 2018 by performing as a featured artist at Austin’s South By Southwest Festival and then again across the pond at Desertfest Festival in London.BLACKWÜLF is
Alex Cunningham — vocals
Pete Holmes — guitar
Jesse Rosales — guitar
Scott Peterson — bass
Dave Pankenier — drums

BLACKWÜLF links
Website⎪Facebook⎪Bandcamp⎪Instagram⎪Spotify

RIPPLE MUSIC links
Website⎪Facebook⎪Bandcamp⎪Instagram