Elder Devil gives you 'Everything Worth Loving' on crushing, noise-filled new album
Plus, who are Mom Jeans? And Neil Young is coming to Vina Robles.
In the most simple terms, Elder Devil is heavy metal.
But not in the way of Black Sabbath or Judas Priest or Slipknot, even. Here, heavy metal is two words of equal description. Heavy. Metal.
One is the music’s most generic genre identification (metal). The other is the form that music takes (heavy).
As in, dense, crushing and oppressive.
Which is what the Fresno band offers in both its live performances (they were at the Frozen in Time festival Friday night, will be at Destructive Warehouse this Friday and head out on tour in July) and on its new release, “Everything Worth Loving.”
The 13-track album dropped Friday. It is streaming everywhere and available via Bandcamp and on physical media through Prosthetic Records.
One could go deep and argue the Fresno band’s classifications. Most media (and Discogs) list them as grindcore. The site Kronos Mortus calls it “corruscating grindcore” and adds “apoplectic sludge,” which I like. You could also pick out pieces of black metal, old fashioned hard core and punk and some experimental noise (via drummer Pete Ruacho, who added a layer of random noises throughout “Everything Worth Loving”).
It make sense the album is getting so much hype. Elder Devil has been added to multiple playlists and is being reviewed by outlets across the metal spectrum. See: Metal Purgatory, Metal Noise, and Silence Metal Magazine (for the German fans).
Locally, the band will be featured on the Homegrown show 8 p.m. tonight on New Rock 104.1. I’ll be interviewing the band and playing a few track from the album.
Who are Mom Jeans?
Strummer’s had a two-night run of sold-out shows this month from the Virginia indie-rock band Turnover and the Sacramento poet/rapper/singer (and one-time viral sensation) Hobo Johnson.
Neither seemed to have the hype of Mom Jeans.
The venue announced the show on Wednesday with tickets on sale Friday morning. By Saturday, the show had sold out and had to be moved to a larger venue to accommodate the interest.
The band will now play July 30 at Tioga Sequoia. Original tickets will be honored. New tickets on sale now.
While it might seem (to me at least) that this hype for Mom Jeans came out of nowhere, the Berkeley band has been playing since 2014 and built a big large fanbase with its brand of emotional (emo) pop-punk. It’s latest album, “Sweet Tooth,” was released on Counter Intuitive Records last year.
The band likely built some of its fanbase in Fresno through its connections with the scene, guitarist Bart Thompson being a familiar face in that he is from Fresno and played in Graduating Life and Meet Me in Montauk.
Neil Young is coming to Vina Robles. But at what cost?
Last week, Neil Young announced a limited run of solo performances.
It is a dozen or so shows starting July 1 and sees Young performing at mid-to-small size amphitheaters along the West Coast (mostly California with one night in Oregon and two in Washington). Included in the run is a stop July 8 at Vina Robles Amphitheater.
Those who have been to Vina Robles realize what a score this is for fans in terms of the intimacy and setting of the venue.
Of course, for those who missed or waited on presales, the tickets are already extremely limited. And costly.
According to Ticketmaster, the remaining tickets are premium platinum seats and run $395 to $720 (plus fees).
That’s it for this week. Remember you can now hear me on the Homegrown Show Sundays at 8 p.m. on New Rock 104.1 FM and follow my other writing at The Fresno Bee. If you have anything you think I need to be looking at or listening to, feel free to let me know: jtehee@gmail.com