Buy the Ticket is a four song EP from She Rides, Providence, Rhode Island’s drunk tornado of junkyard rock and biker metal, whose label, Rusty Knuckles Records, is home to such hideous outlaws as ANTiSEEN and Crank County Daredevils, so you know the kind of cocaine and gasoline fun you’re gonna get here. It’s been about three years since their self-titled debut, so the fact that there’s only four songs means they had to stuff an awful lot of sleaze into each one of ‘em for maximum effect, and I’ll be damned if the whole thing isn’t as bloated as a dead possum who overdosed on a lethal mix of Ironboss, The Misfits, Peter Pan Speedrock, and Damn 13. Take one Hunter S. Thompson reference, a bunch of nasty riffs, and the words party, piss, and dude, and you’ve got an EP aimed to tickle saggy-titted trailer trash in that special spot usually reserved for their cousin’s greasy shotgun.
Black Pyramid Stormbringer EP
Hydro-Phonic Records
Black Pyramid’s 2009 self-titled full-length debut was nothing short of devastating, and I mean that in the best way possible, of course. It’s a festering slab of warmongering fuzz often compared to a maligned mix of Black Sabbath, Sleep, and High on Fire, and it’s as close as you’ll get to a modern day doom classic, if such a thing exists. Well, the Massachusetts trio is back (on their own after a few splits) with two new songs, side A’s “Stormbringer” (not a Deep Purple cover) and side B’s “Cloud of Unknowing,” and both remain true to Black Pyramid’s rotting character but offer some subtle twists that hint at an evolving metal sound; “Stormbringer,” for instance, rides into battle at a Sword-like tempo and contains a mid-song breakdown reminiscent of Metallica’s “Orion” or “The Call of Ktulu” while “Cloud of Unknowing” opens in a more haunting, melodic death fashion akin to Swallow the Sun before it converts to crushing. If you’re not into Black Pyramid yet, now is the time. Guitarist/vocalist Andy Beresky is quickly emerging as one of my favourite in the genre, and assuming they haven’t sold out, this 7″ has an amazing die-cut cover and is available in both a standard and deluxe edition.*
*I was lucky enough to snag one of the 100 deluxe editions before they sold out. It came with glow-in-the-dark vinyl and a CD containing six songs (the two from this EP, three from Black Pyramid’s 2007 demo, and the vinyl-only track, “Macedonia,” from the self-titled full-length). To the best of my knowledge, though, the standard edition is still available.
Check out a video of Black Pyramid performing “Stormbringer” live!
So, are the Biters the biggest band in the world yet? I think we need to look into it. They have to be by now. Have to be. They’re circling the skies above Tokyo at this very moment in a private jet piloted by a chimp in aviator shades and a rhinestone vest, right? Well, while I wait for confirmation on this, I’m gonna try to wrap my head around another EP from Atlanta’s shock n’ awesome rock n’ roll show, because, truth be told, I’m still not over the first two yet. With album-of-the-year hardware still warm in their hands, the Biters refuse to take their cheetah-skinned shoes off of the accelerator for even a minute, intent on driving headlong into candy-land in the middle of the starry night instead of slowing down to enjoy the ride. But can you blame ‘em? Tuk and Co. are pumping out hits like a gumball machine with a broken dispenser and the resulting sugar high is beyond euphoric. Like the previous two EPs, All Chewed Up is a glam-pop junkie’s dream come true, but manages to separate itself slightly by offering a few extra songs (seven instead of the customary five) and adding Bolan (“Rock N Roll Loser”) and Poon (“[Oh Yeah] The Bitch Wants More”) to the roll call of influences that already includes Nielsen and Thunders. The Biters do it again, my friends. The question is, how many more times are they gonna do it before the year is out?
She Rides
Black Pyramid
Biters