First Class Ticket to Slab City

Steak ~ Slab City (2014)

Steak's last EP "Corned Beef Colossus" was one of my first reviews for the blog, and my first introduction to the band. That was some cool, party worthy Stoner Rock, and their full length is more of the same. Actually traveling to the California desert to record, the birth place of that fuzz laden sound we love so much. With a staggered release over the first part of the month, just going live in North America yesterday, and everywhere else that's left today. If you already know who Steak are, then this is nothing less than what you'd expect, they're doing the Steak thing, and doing it damn well, with excellent production and seriously swinging riffs, even getting John Garcia in on a track. With that thick riff, groove assault they have thrown their "Slab City" hat the in ring to be a contender for Stoner Rock album of the year. The title track of the album pretty much sums everything up for you, an excellent representation of their sound, and one of, if not, my favorite of the entire album. After opening with some spacey sounds, it doesn't take long at all for the fuzz to drop and you're immersed in Stoner Rock goodness. The huge, commanding vocals come in just after a swinging riff that is fuzzier than a werewolf's ball-sack. The rolling drum line and rumbling bass guitar fill up the back of the mix with a colossal wall of sound to round everything out, turning the track into exactly what the title alluded to, a slab. If you are looking for an album to have a smoke session with, look no further, if you're looking for an album to turn any old party into a rager, then look no further my friends, you have made it. You can find all the necessary items to fulfill your listening needs at the Napalm Records Shop, and catch up on their back catalog at their bandcamp. One piece of Steak just isn't good enough.
~Skip

For Fans Of;  Astroqueen, Kyuss, Truckfighters

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So, How Do You Like Your Steak?...

Steak ~ Corned Beef Colossus(2013)

Let me start by saying that "Corned Beef Colossus" is one hell of a title, now that we have that out of the way. Steak is a by the numbers Stoner Rock band out of the UK, home to so many great Stoner bands, and if this EP is an indication of things to come, be ready to add another. From their sound, you could make an argument that Steak is a bastard love child conceived during a drunken one night stand between Fu Manchu and Orange Goblin. Now, how can that be anything but a good thing?

The opening track "Black Milk" is like the heaviest Blues song you've never heard. It starts off with a relentless bass groove which is joined by a fuzzed out guitar shortly, but that bass groove absolutely carries the song. Even the singer is belting out what could pass for a Blues song, just through a more modern filter. After hearing this one, I was sold on the rest of it without even hearing it. Following that is "Liquid Gold", which is quite possibly my favorite track of the release. More distorted guitars, and the vocals are awesome, going from soft to huge dynamically along with the instruments. This one starts up and immediately brings to mind Astroqueen for me, it's heavy in all the right ways and goes perfectly with any of the usual mind altering goodies. The closer "Acid Dave" is another prime example of Stoner/Desert Rock at it's finest, they're not re-writing history or anything, but they're better than your run of the mill stoner band by a long shot. If you've been feeling that the Stoner Rock genre is a little stale as of late, some Steak is just what you need.

Now, to get your hands on this stuff, just go to their bandcamp. You can grab up a digital copy or your CD and vinyl versions, even your merch needs.
And from the looks of their videos they put on one hell of a party, so if you get the chance, they'll be playing some gigs coming up:

Nov. 28  -  Blizzard Mountain Fest, Grenoble (Fr)
Jan. 28  -  ISPO, Munich (Ger)
Feb. 5  -  w/ Monster Magnet, Barcelona (Sp)
Feb. 6  -  w/ Monster Magnet, Madrid (Sp)
Feb. 8  -  w/ Dozer & Lowrider, London (UK)

~Skip

For Fans Of; Orange Goblin, Fu Manchu, Astroqueen, Kyuss, Truckfighters, Cowboys and Aliens 

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And So, It Spreads Outwards...

The Ripple Effect - Volume 1: Head Music (2012)

The music industry and the internet have had a shaky history together, mainly because of the degradation of the cd and vinyl by mp3 downloads. But it’s this kind of thing that reestablishes my faith in the relationship between the two. What started out as a simple forum created by two music lovers, Todd Severin and John Rancik , 5 years ago has evolved into a full on record label, radio show, and a kickass website. And now to celebrate this timely benchmark, they’ve released a compilation of the best tracks they’ve put on their site and some other tracks from their favorite acts that haven’t been previously been released. This is the first time that I’ve had to review a compilation for the blog and I think that when you’re listening to the album itself, you have a different approach critically than if you were listening to an album by just one band. You have to be more open to variety within the album, but you don’t have to worry as much about quality because these songs were specifically handpicked because they’re good. The compilation truly is great, filled to the brim with southern fuzz, gritty vocals, reverbed psych bits and awesome bass lines. I’ve been listening to this album for a couple of days, and because of it I’ve pretty much found out about 10 different bands that I now love, I’m sure you will want to research each one of these bands further like I did, and maybe even visit the ripple effect site. JUST DON’T FORGET ABOUT US HERE AT RIDE WITH THE DEVIL! Especially because we have a compilation of our own, so stay tuned at the end of the year for it. The compilation is apparently the first of many and it’s available for free on the site’s bandcamp page.
~Bernardo

 For Fans Of; Orange Goblin, Asteroid, Torso, Stubb, DeepSeaGreen

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Volume 1: Head Music (320kbps)

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Prime Cut...

Steak - Disastronaught (2012) 

It's been a little while since we've been sent a real bare bones kick ass desert/southern rock band. So when I stumbled upon these it's pretty safe to say I was anticipating something a little special and ya know what?... I wasn't disappointed too!
So whats on the menu (yes, pun entirely intended) with these guys then? I'll tell you exactly what; huge fuzzy Nebula inspired riffs, John Garcia esque yelled vocals and some crushing drumming that would Brant Bjork would be proud to put his name too. So all the boxes on my list for some ass kicking rock n roll are checked, but does it all actually work together? After all, these guys are a long way from the Palm Desert scene to be incorporating these kinda elements and that could be deemed as quite a ballsy move if they can't back it up with a certain substance. Well when you bare in mind that the album may only be 5 tracks long Steak have still managed to pack as full with diversity and awe as any classic desert rock classic you'd care to mention, whether it be Blues For The Red Sun or Rock Formations. Yeah thats one hell of a bold statement, but you have a listen to the album and how it flows and transgresses from an echoed harmony to ferocious fret crushing groove and tell me I'm not right.
I'm not going to say anymore about the album because it truly needs to be heard to be appreciated. Plus it's free so what the hell are you waiting for!?
The guys are also currently doing the rounds on the UK circuit with the titans that are Truckfighters, so if you can please go check them out live. I'm sure you wont leave disappointed.
~Jay

For Fans Of; Nebula, Causa Sui, Unida, Artimus Pyledriver, Roadsaw

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Disastronaught (320kbps)