Canada is home to some of the best fucking bands in the world. Sorry, that outburst wasn’t very politely Canadian of me, but it’s fucking true. I’ve got the proof right here, ten times over. I’d crank any one of these albums while I’m watching the hockey game. I can’t bring myself to rank ‘em because, well, I’m just so goddamn proud of all of ‘em, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the time get to know ‘em right now. Here then, in alphabetical order, is this year’s cream of the Canadian crop. Oh, and that crop also includes a case of Pil and some weed.
Yeah, that’s right, Vancouver’s Bison B.C.’s new album, Dark Ages, kicks off with horns, and I’m not just talking about goat horns or Devil horns, son. No, I’m talking about French horns and trumpets, and if you think that kind of high brow musicianship seems unusual coming from a stoner metal band, you’d be right. Here’s the thing, though. Bison B.C. don’t sound like a stoner metal band so much anymore and that bit with the horns is just their way of channeling the war cry of a battle hymn and the death and darkness of a funeral dirge into a growling, seven song assault of angry riffs and underworld anarchy. Where Earthbound and Quiet Earth held us on this particular plane in the raw n’ strong grip of a thick-chested, heavy-bearded mountain man, Dark Ages now binds our hands and feet with snakes and drags us down into the ash and brimstone of Hell’s half acre so we can do Satan’s evil bidding. As heavy and black as this album is, however, it’s still the product of slackers (I mean that in the best possible way), and as such it’s not without its tongue-in-cheek moments (“Melody, This is For You”), its alcoholic allegiance (“Two-Day Booze”), and the continuation of the Wendigo saga (“Wendigo Pt. 3 [Let Him Burn]”). So, yeah, it’s a bit of a dark departure for Bison B.C. this time around, but that just means they now sound like High on Fire with twin guitars, and that’s pretty fucking awesome.
Listen to/watch a not-so-great sounding version of “Two-Day Booze” from Dark Ages!
Ok, so I’m not sure this album is entirely new, but it’s new to me, and as you’re reading this the young Canucks in Black Wizard are putting the finishing touches on the vinyl version, so that’ll be new, got it? And by finishing touches I mean they are silk screening every single goddamn record jacket. That’s instant cred right there, and not just because I have a raging boner for all things rock n’ roll and all things silk screen, but because there’s no doubt that during this awesomely messy DIY process one of ‘em will get ripped to the tits on cheap beer, lose a finger tip in a freak silk screening accident, and bleed all over the freshly painted jackets. I would kill a child with a shoe to get my hands on one of those soiled copies, let me tell you.
Bison B.C.
Black Wizard