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EZRDR 179LP
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"Mammoth is a grabber right out of the gate, every step they take is unleashed with deadly economical precision. They may flash on Lynyrd Skynyrd and other vintage southern rock traditions but the brilliant way the vocals are recorded and the to-the-point interlocking guitar moves will fire up anybody into any sort of hard rock. They can rip it up with hot leads, probably jammed out on these songs at live shows but lucky us, they laid them down for all times here with the sort of thought-out unified force and construction that screams hit radio. Loads of personality, accessible, produced and mixed with the clarity of classic rock that never loses its perfectly deployed impact. The uncluttered arrangements leave plenty of space, crafted with the kind of balanced mojo in the mix where every detail adds to the whole. Down and dirty but also achieving a universal pop-friendly appeal! The Mammoth LP was recorded in 1981 at Relayer Studios in DeLand, Florida with the two guitars, bass and drums quartet line-up sounding like it could have been a decade earlier. Buzz Fetters on lead guitar, Bill Abell on rhythm guitar, Joey Costa on bass, and Ron Herman on drums, with everybody contributing to the vocals. Rather than having a strong up front emotive singer the lead vocals here are multi-tracked and integrated into the songs with plenty of attitude but also a genre-transcending presence, you can imagine the vocal ambience working in punk, glam, even psychedelic contexts. Mammoth have a sound informed by roots music but it is really in the rear-view mirror the way they roll. The songwriting here is terrific, they have a way of saying things that comes off as sincere but not too serious. You get plenty of in-your-face hard rock action but also several melodic tracks that have a more reflective charm to round out the trip. These guys keep it real, whether they're being bad ass or vulnerable they express themselves with 100% genuine feeling as contagious and life-affirming as it gets!"
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EZRDR 166LP
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"Of the plethora of touted 'private press hard rock monsters' out there, very few live up to the swaggering riff-fury of west coast blasters ODA. Commonly known as the 'Black Album,' the first clobbering platter by the quartet was released on their own tiny Loud Phonograph Records imprint and now commands large sums -- but is actually worth the heavy hype. The band naturally centered around Randy Oda, a multi-talented ax shredder and keyboardist, and the lineup was filled out by his brother Kevin on drum assault, Art Pantoja on lead bellows and rhythm guitar, and galloping bassist Kyle Schneider. ODA was influenced by hard UK rockers like Deep Purple, Zep, Free, and the Who, and they gigged all over the Bay Area, with Randy garnering comparisons to Jeff Beck's molten six-string mastery. This 1971 self-titled LP (aka the 'Black Album') fully displays their blistering talents, but despite some local airplay on KSAN radio, the band packed it in by '73. This would not be the end of the Oda story, as Randy joined CCR's Tom Fogerty in the outfit Ruby afterwards, laying down his licks on two LPs that flirted with the mainstream, while staying true to his highly electric guitar muse. In the 2000s, Randy would start another band with his brother called OPO which means 'to lay a foundation' in Hawaiian, and ODA would reform to play a benefit in 2015 along with other obscure and heady/heavy Bay Area rockers like Savage Resurrection and Country Weather (some live footage of the event shows the band still rocking hard). At last, Riding Easy is legitimately reissuing ODA's first smoking, gargantuan LP with bonus tracks, so crank this one up in the '70s Camaro with the windows open, and some dirt weed joints a-blazin'."
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EZRDR 178LP
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"Another unearthed ripper from St Louis MO recorded during the years 1968-1973 and never released until now! Over the course of about five years beginning in late 1968, several musicians living in eastern Missouri rocked the area clubs and festivals with a mix of cover and heavy original songs. The band's name, Parchment Farm, came from a song on Blue Cheer's debut LP, Vincebus Eruptum. In their first iteration, lasting from 1968 to 1971, they opened up for such acts as Sons of Champlin and Brian Auger & Trinity. Following a line-up change in 1971, the development of original songs ramped up and they began playing and recording them right away. Opening slots for ZZ Top, Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes, and the Velvet Underground & Brownsville Station followed. More line-up changes occurred and more opening gigs for the likes of Canned Heat, The Hollies, Rare Earth, and REO Speedwagon. They disbanded in late 1973."
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EZRDR 177LP
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"Over the course of a couple of years in the mid-1970s, several musicians from the St. Louis, Missouri area gave notice to club and festival crowds that they were there to rock the house down. Their cover and original songs were accentuated by a bedrock rhythm section, heavy guitar riffs and tasty solos, topped off with powerful vocals. Rockers that witnessed them agree -- Back Jack created solid songs and high-energy performances. Beginning in 1971 as Trellis, the band members changed their name to Back Jack when they saw the bumper sticker that Kim McKinney's dad, Jack McKinney, distributed during his election bid for the Mayor of Pacific, Missouri, home of the core three-piece band: Kim McKinney, Mike Collier, and Hans Myers (RIP). The 1974 version of Back Jack was active from very early 1974 to late-fall of 1974. The core three-piece band, Collier, McKinney, and Myers, recorded several tracks during their tenure and four of those tracks are included on this release. Temporary band members not on the recordings were Gary Reed (piano, RIP), Greg Witt (guitar, keyboards), Paul Cockrum (guitar), and Bill Niehoff (drums). The four-piece, 1975 version of Back Jack was a merging of members of Back Jack 1974 (Mike Collier and Kim McKinney) and another local band, Osage Lute (Jeff Ballew and Mike Lusher). They were active from late-fall of 1974 to late-summer of 1975. Four of the tracks on the Back Jack LP were recorded by these four musicians."
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EZRDR 191LP
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"The origin of this record is a weird one. In 2019, we had just returned from two long European tours when we decided to take a 'little break' from the road. You all know what happened next. That 'little break' turned into a couple of years and during that time Dane, our drummer, decided to quit the band and music in general (no hard feelings). Sean [Hoffman] and I had a discussion and thought about ending the band as a whole, but I knew I had to go out on my own terms. I had an ace in the hole, though. Jeff Murray, drummer from LA rippers The Shrine. I had been friends with Jeff and The Shrine's founder, Josh Landau since our Scavenger 7-inch came out, around 2012. We had run into them in Berlin a few months back and I knew they weren't playing anymore. I called Josh first, 'cause asking a dude if you can take his drummer, is like asking your girlfriend's dad if you can marry her. And Josh said 'go for it.' And Jeff was in. Honestly if he had said no, that would have been the end. I had written a ton of stuff since our last album but I had shelved most of it. I was trying too hard -- basically. Eventually Sean, Jeff and I said, 'Fuck it, let's make a 'Fake Live' record -- like Kiss or Slayer did. John Dwyer from Osees was opening his new studio, Discount Mirrors, and it seemed like the perfect place to record it. We settled on re-recording a bunch of old stuff while simultaneously demoing our new material, as the three of us were now starting to really get in the groove. The result is Strange Masters Vol. 1. These are not new songs. These are Zig Zags classics re-recorded with a ripping-ass band that's old and angry and just wants to get on with it. We are already on to recording the next album of new songs. That one is coming soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this one while you still can!" --Jed Maheu (guitars/vocals for Zig Zags)
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EZRDR 183CD
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"If one survived trips one through seventeen with one tiny speck of psychedelic sunshine intact, Brown Acid: The Eighteenth Trip will be the coming of age nightmare. Vintage underground '70s hard rock, coming at one from bizarre angles, local scene wasteland America when everybody was out for themselves and the drugs went bleak. The guitars kill, the attitude is twisted, even the sex is headed down the wrong road. Real people, no compromise, pure and potent. Get stoked, take The Eighteenth Trip and know that the artists will get paid for this soul pulverizing! Here's just some of the tracks included: Back Jack out of St. Louis, Missouri in 1974 launch the trip with 'Bridge Waters Dynamite.' It's an invocation to rock flashing on Mark Farner whooping up a Grand Funk crowd, then getting to the point quickly with berserk guitar assaults. Heavy riff with power chord stalks beneath as one takes their advice; get loose and blow up the past. Smokin' Buku Band dropped Riding Easy's jaw with the audacious track 'Hot Love,' coming on like some fractured fever dream burlesque of Led Zep, moves out of Hollywood in 1980. Swooping elongated vocals above, a total Zep chord move at the end of each verse. Writer/producer Steve Shauger aka Shag Stevens gets a brilliantly messed up sound quality here, the ideal polar opposite of slick. The extended guitar break is an epitome of serendipitously crude virtuosity, simply outrageous! Nothing better than an angry two chord guitar attack with cowbell to set the stage for this rant about getting 'Ripped Off' by love. Taken from their rare 1977 LP on Dynamite Records, Chicago Triangle was Marvey Esparza, Dave Guereca, Jose 'Tarr' Perez, and Robert Aguilera. They unleash such strong brain-scrubbing wah wah frenzy in the guitar break here that it seems to perversely mock its own intensity! Brown Acid: The Eighteenth Trip comes at one from all kinds of uncanny angles."
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EZRDR 183LP
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LP version. "If one survived trips one through seventeen with one tiny speck of psychedelic sunshine intact, Brown Acid: The Eighteenth Trip will be the coming of age nightmare. Vintage underground '70s hard rock, coming at one from bizarre angles, local scene wasteland America when everybody was out for themselves and the drugs went bleak. The guitars kill, the attitude is twisted, even the sex is headed down the wrong road. Real people, no compromise, pure and potent. Get stoked, take The Eighteenth Trip and know that the artists will get paid for this soul pulverizing! Here's just some of the tracks included: Back Jack out of St. Louis, Missouri in 1974 launch the trip with 'Bridge Waters Dynamite.' It's an invocation to rock flashing on Mark Farner whooping up a Grand Funk crowd, then getting to the point quickly with berserk guitar assaults. Heavy riff with power chord stalks beneath as one takes their advice; get loose and blow up the past. Smokin' Buku Band dropped Riding Easy's jaw with the audacious track 'Hot Love,' coming on like some fractured fever dream burlesque of Led Zep, moves out of Hollywood in 1980. Swooping elongated vocals above, a total Zep chord move at the end of each verse. Writer/producer Steve Shauger aka Shag Stevens gets a brilliantly messed up sound quality here, the ideal polar opposite of slick. The extended guitar break is an epitome of serendipitously crude virtuosity, simply outrageous! Nothing better than an angry two chord guitar attack with cowbell to set the stage for this rant about getting 'Ripped Off' by love. Taken from their rare 1977 LP on Dynamite Records, Chicago Triangle was Marvey Esparza, Dave Guereca, Jose 'Tarr' Perez, and Robert Aguilera. They unleash such strong brain-scrubbing wah wah frenzy in the guitar break here that it seems to perversely mock its own intensity! Brown Acid: The Eighteenth Trip comes at one from all kinds of uncanny angles."
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EZRDR 180CD
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"Early Moods' sophomore album A Sinner's Past is the ultimate dosage of classic early '70s proto-metal, '90s grunge riffing and timeless songwriting delivered with an explosive youthful energy. The Los Angeles area quartet burst onto the scene fully formed with a sound that somehow simultaneously merged gritty underground street doom with slick 'big box' heavy metal melodies on their self-titled Riding Easy debut album in 2022. And it's the band's highly skilled musicianship paired with exquisite aesthetic taste -- in addition to their killer live show -- that has made them an immediate popular favorite. A Sinner's Past takes those elements several steps higher with a nod to Soundgarden's huge sonic depth, the low-mid fuzz drenched tones of Sabotage and classic '70s melodies and structures of Uli Roth-era Scorpions. The latter in particular inspiring the album's intricate tonal shifts and shimmering twin leads. The album was recorded near the band's home base in Pico Rivera, CA by Allen Falcon of Birdcage Studios, who also mixed their debut album. Early Moods was founded in 2015 by guitarist Eddie Andrade and vocalist/keyboardist Alberto Alcaraz after a few years of playing in thrash and death metal projects before the two realized that the classic doom that they'd grown up with was what they really wanted to explore. Going through a few lineup changes while delving deeper into the diverging influences that were calling, Early Moods arrived at the sound and lineup that grew their fanbase locally. The band released their debut EP Spellbound in 2020 on German label Dying Victim Productions, followed by their self-titled debut full length on Riding Easy Records in 2023. Early Moods is Oscar Hernandez on lead guitar, Chris Flores on drums, Elix Felciano on bass, Alcaraz on vocals/synth and Andrade on guitar."
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EZRDR 180LP
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LP version. "Early Moods' sophomore album A Sinner's Past is the ultimate dosage of classic early '70s proto-metal, '90s grunge riffing and timeless songwriting delivered with an explosive youthful energy. The Los Angeles area quartet burst onto the scene fully formed with a sound that somehow simultaneously merged gritty underground street doom with slick 'big box' heavy metal melodies on their self-titled Riding Easy debut album in 2022. And it's the band's highly skilled musicianship paired with exquisite aesthetic taste -- in addition to their killer live show -- that has made them an immediate popular favorite. A Sinner's Past takes those elements several steps higher with a nod to Soundgarden's huge sonic depth, the low-mid fuzz drenched tones of Sabotage and classic '70s melodies and structures of Uli Roth-era Scorpions. The latter in particular inspiring the album's intricate tonal shifts and shimmering twin leads. The album was recorded near the band's home base in Pico Rivera, CA by Allen Falcon of Birdcage Studios, who also mixed their debut album. Early Moods was founded in 2015 by guitarist Eddie Andrade and vocalist/keyboardist Alberto Alcaraz after a few years of playing in thrash and death metal projects before the two realized that the classic doom that they'd grown up with was what they really wanted to explore. Going through a few lineup changes while delving deeper into the diverging influences that were calling, Early Moods arrived at the sound and lineup that grew their fanbase locally. The band released their debut EP Spellbound in 2020 on German label Dying Victim Productions, followed by their self-titled debut full length on Riding Easy Records in 2023. Early Moods is Oscar Hernandez on lead guitar, Chris Flores on drums, Elix Felciano on bass, Alcaraz on vocals/synth and Andrade on guitar."
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EZRDR 163LP
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"The incendiary proto hard rock and ambitious epic journeys this album delivers are all the more uncanny and devastating when you realize Gary Del Vecchio was a mere 16 years old when the title track 'Buzzin' was unleashed! Even more astonishing is how far he travelled over the next five years, documented in this brilliant selection of nine tracks from the classic daze of early 1970s underground rock. Gary's music grabs you immediately and grows over time. The guitar action is incredible, shards of sound flying free yet hitting the bullseye continuously, vocals confident with none of the macho posturing that ages poorly in much early hard rock. These tracks are all vividly recorded and meticulously mixed in a way that balances fiery performance and intelligent structure to maximum effect. The bass and drumming here are phenomenally inventive and propulsive, the several players involved across the album nail it in their support of Gary's vision. This is rock music born in the 'anything is possible' life affirming energy of the late '60s right on time with where the most enduring artists of the early '70s took it. The music on this album is both uncompromising and accessible. In particular, the two long tracks 'Wasted King' and 'Starman' have all the moves needed to grab fans of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and the likes by the throat and brain in the extended progressive epic department. Buzzin' opens with a smattering of studio party chatter and instantly grips you with a tough groove, heavy riffage and a gnarly dual guitar break sounding like what the words are saying about flying free and high. Gary cites contemporary local heroes Joe Walsh and Phil Keaggy as inspiration."
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EZRDR 172CD
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"For the better part of the last fifteen years, the duo of Max Dameron (guitar/vox) and Sam Ford (drums/vox) have been too weird and too wild for this lame-ass planet. After enjoying vagabond stints living in Portland, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn, they now call Detroit home. Here they rebuild, out of the scraps and wreckage of the 21st century, something which casts aside any rules or adherence to banal tropes: Psychic Trash. Specializing in the unexpected, Dameron and Ford have wrought an individual sound that's as much post-Melvins sludge punk as it is futurist prog-metal. Their forthcoming self-titled debut, recorded in 2022 at High-Bias in Detroit, puts on display the fruits of their metamorphosis. From the soaring triumphal fuzz of 'Uncanny Valley' or the sweep and thrust of 'House Of Butterflies,' their craft is precise -- they're just making up their own shapes to sculpt. Times change and artists mature: under the name Psychic Trash, Ford and Dameron come to Riding Easy Records as veterans turning a fresh page, reinvigorated at the prospect of forging a new path and the beneficiaries of about a decade and a half's slog through the underground. Psychic Trash's self-titled debut is unmistakably uncompromising, a little theatrical, intermittently manic, and deceptively broad in style for just how much punk rests beneath."
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EZRDR 172LP
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LP version. "For the better part of the last fifteen years, the duo of Max Dameron (guitar/vox) and Sam Ford (drums/vox) have been too weird and too wild for this lame-ass planet. After enjoying vagabond stints living in Portland, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn, they now call Detroit home. Here they rebuild, out of the scraps and wreckage of the 21st century, something which casts aside any rules or adherence to banal tropes: Psychic Trash. Specializing in the unexpected, Dameron and Ford have wrought an individual sound that's as much post-Melvins sludge punk as it is futurist prog-metal. Their forthcoming self-titled debut, recorded in 2022 at High-Bias in Detroit, puts on display the fruits of their metamorphosis. From the soaring triumphal fuzz of 'Uncanny Valley' or the sweep and thrust of 'House Of Butterflies,' their craft is precise -- they're just making up their own shapes to sculpt. Times change and artists mature: under the name Psychic Trash, Ford and Dameron come to Riding Easy Records as veterans turning a fresh page, reinvigorated at the prospect of forging a new path and the beneficiaries of about a decade and a half's slog through the underground. Psychic Trash's self-titled debut is unmistakably uncompromising, a little theatrical, intermittently manic, and deceptively broad in style for just how much punk rests beneath."
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EZRDR 159CD
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"'This is definitely the most honest and mature record Deathchant has ever made.' That's Deathchant vocalist and guitarist T.J. Lemieux talking about the band's third and latest album, Thrones. Think of it as not just the follow-up to 2021's Waste, but the other side of the coin. Thrones just might be their heaviest record thus far. The band's seamless swirl of classic rock guitar harmonies, syrupy sludge, blues boogie and psych bombast has reached a thrilling new apex as Lemieux spins high-powered tales of reckoning from beyond the wall of sanity. Thematically, Lemieux and his bandmates -- bassist George Camacho, guitarist Doug Stuckey, and drummer Joe Herzog -- peel back the veneer of self-delusion to expose the fork in the road. Thrones was recorded live in a cabin in the remote mountain community of Frazier Park, CA, with trusty engineer Steve Schroeder (a.k.a. Schroeds). Overdubs were done at the cabin, Schroeder's Studio 3, and Lemieux's place. The album was produced by Lemieux and Schroeder."
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EZRDR 156CD
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"Lucky number seventeen? Believe it. Those at Brown Acid have been scouring the highways and byways of America for even more hidden stashes of psych/garage/proto-punk madness from the so-called Aquarian Age. There's no flower power here, though -- just acid casualties, rock stompers and major freakouts. As always, the songs have been officially licensed, and all the artists get paid. Some samples of this trip include: Stone Hedge were a seven-piece rock band out of Michigan with a penchant for Creedence and anthropomorphism. 'Smokey Bear' is their 1972 tribute to the official mascot of the U.S. Forest Services -- not to mention the A side of their sole single -- and it recalls the kind of organ-drenched swamp jam that soundtracked many a Burt Reynolds flick back in the day. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, may not be known as a cultural mecca, but they did produce Truth & Janey. This deadly hard rock trio delivered their holy grail full-length, No Rest For The Wicked, back in 1976. 'Around and Around' is a Chuck Berry cover that originally appeared on a 1973 single the band released under the earlier name Truth. Originally released in 1973, 'High School Letter' is the debut single from San Diego rock squad Glory. This infectious bonehead cruncher features future Beat Farmer Jerry Raney and the original rhythm section of Iron Butterfly in bassist Greg Willis and drummer Jack Pinney. Glory is what they got up to after their former bandmates left for L.A.'s garden of Eden. 'Jack the Ripper' is a mercilessly bootlegged Cleveland classic from 1978 with a serrated punk edge and vocals that recall Mick Blood of Aussie savages the Lime Spiders. Or maybe it's the other way around -- the Lime Spiders formed the year after Strychnine carved off this lethal paean to the infamous Whitechapel slasher of olde."
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EZRDR 156LP
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LP version. "Lucky number seventeen? Believe it. Those at Brown Acid have been scouring the highways and byways of America for even more hidden stashes of psych/garage/proto-punk madness from the so-called Aquarian Age. There's no flower power here, though -- just acid casualties, rock stompers and major freakouts. As always, the songs have been officially licensed, and all the artists get paid. Some samples of this trip include: Stone Hedge were a seven-piece rock band out of Michigan with a penchant for Creedence and anthropomorphism. 'Smokey Bear' is their 1972 tribute to the official mascot of the U.S. Forest Services -- not to mention the A side of their sole single -- and it recalls the kind of organ-drenched swamp jam that soundtracked many a Burt Reynolds flick back in the day. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, may not be known as a cultural mecca, but they did produce Truth & Janey. This deadly hard rock trio delivered their holy grail full-length, No Rest For The Wicked, back in 1976. 'Around and Around' is a Chuck Berry cover that originally appeared on a 1973 single the band released under the earlier name Truth. Originally released in 1973, 'High School Letter' is the debut single from San Diego rock squad Glory. This infectious bonehead cruncher features future Beat Farmer Jerry Raney and the original rhythm section of Iron Butterfly in bassist Greg Willis and drummer Jack Pinney. Glory is what they got up to after their former bandmates left for L.A.'s garden of Eden. 'Jack the Ripper' is a mercilessly bootlegged Cleveland classic from 1978 with a serrated punk edge and vocals that recall Mick Blood of Aussie savages the Lime Spiders. Or maybe it's the other way around -- the Lime Spiders formed the year after Strychnine carved off this lethal paean to the infamous Whitechapel slasher of olde."
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EZRDR 159LP
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LP version. "'This is definitely the most honest and mature record Deathchant has ever made.' That's Deathchant vocalist and guitarist T.J. Lemieux talking about the band's third and latest album, Thrones. Think of it as not just the follow-up to 2021's Waste, but the other side of the coin. Thrones just might be their heaviest record thus far. The band's seamless swirl of classic rock guitar harmonies, syrupy sludge, blues boogie and psych bombast has reached a thrilling new apex as Lemieux spins high-powered tales of reckoning from beyond the wall of sanity. Thematically, Lemieux and his bandmates -- bassist George Camacho, guitarist Doug Stuckey, and drummer Joe Herzog -- peel back the veneer of self-delusion to expose the fork in the road. Thrones was recorded live in a cabin in the remote mountain community of Frazier Park, CA, with trusty engineer Steve Schroeder (a.k.a. Schroeds). Overdubs were done at the cabin, Schroeder's Studio 3, and Lemieux's place. The album was produced by Lemieux and Schroeder."
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EZRDR 147LP
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"Brotherhood Of Peace (aka B.O.P.) brought the world some of the best breezy power pop, Southern rock and heavy boogie all packed into one brilliant album in 1976, the fittingly titled Cuttin' Loose. The album is a free-flowing nine song collection of genre-blending would-be hits suited for both '70s AM gold and FM album rock that never received its proper due, until now. The album flows somewhat similar to the way Big Star combined heavy riffs with airy pop sweetness, but B.O.P. brought more of a blues rock groove to the proceedings, resulting in heavier undercurrents to songs with glowing three-part harmonies and impeccable power trio musicianship. By the mid-'70s, rock n' roll was truly anything goes. Experimentation, excess and inventing new genres was all the rage, and the trio of spritely young men -- guitarist / vocalist Dennis Tolbert, bassist / vocalist Mike Arrington and drummer / vocalist Ronnie Smith -- gamely tackled whatever sound they pleased. Fortunately, the band captured it all on their lone album, released on the small independent label Avanti Records in March 1976. The Mount Airy, North Carolina trio got its start as teens in 1969 as the backing band to a large 20-50 person traveling church choir called the New Americans. By 1970, the band was ready to move on to performing on their own. First as a sextet, the band soon trimmed down to a three-piece, working the local club circuit like madmen, sometimes playing three shows a day. At the height of their live tightness, B.O.P. recorded the album with local musicians Don Dixon and Robert Kirkland of the band Arrogance who worked at Charlotte recording studio Reflection Sound in October 1975. The band laid out the highlights of their live set in the studio, which ran the range of influences from The Raspberries to Deep Purple, Doobie Brothers to Nazareth, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Grand Funk. The initial pressing of 1000 copies was released in March 1976, but without major label machinery for retail distribution, radio and press, the album never took off. The band mostly sold them at live shows, via consignment at local stores and in limited distribution in the Southeastern region. However, to date, the record still occasionally pops up for sale online worldwide at exorbitant collectors' prices. Until now, finally getting a proper reissue via Riding Easy Records."
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EZRDR 158CD
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"It's been nearly eight years since the last Mondo Drag album came out. In that time, the Bay Area psych-prog band toured the US and Europe, performed at major festivals and -- once again -- reformed their rhythm section. But in the context of the band's nearly two-decade existence, this period may have been the most fraught. Vocalist and keyboardist John Gamiño lost friends and family members. Meanwhile, humanity suffered the throes of a global pandemic. 'It was a dark chapter,' he recalls. 'I was going through a lot of stuff personally -- there's been a lot of death, loss of family members, and grief. Plus, the band was inactive. It felt like time was slipping away from me. I felt like I was wasting my opportunities. I felt like I wasn't participating in my story as much as I could have.' This feeling of time slipping away is the prevailing theme on Mondo Drag's new album, Through The Hourglass. 'For me, Through The Hourglass really encompasses the quarantine / pandemic years,' Gamiño says. 'But in a way that includes a couple of years before that for us, because the band was stagnant during that time. Living with that was really impactful on our daily lives. So, the album is reflective. It's looking at time -- past, present, future.' Luckily, Mondo Drag emerged from this dour period reborn. Freshly energized by bassist Conor Riley (formerly of San Diego psych squad Astra, currently of Birth), who joined in 2018, and drummer Jimmy Perez, who joined in 2022, Gamiño and guitarists Jake Sheley and Nolan Girard have triumphed over the seemingly inexorable pull of time's passage. The result is a dazzling and often plaintive rumination on the hours, days, and years -- not to mention experiences -- that comprise a lifetime. Through The Hourglass was tracked at El Studio in San Francisco, with an additional ten days of recording at the band's rehearsal space, which doubles as a hybrid analog-digital recording studio. The album was engineered and mixed by Phil Becker, drummer of space-punk mainstays Pins Of Light. 'We're still here,' Gamiño says. 'We've been in the studio working on our craft and honing our skills. Now we're re-emerging for the next stage of our life cycle.'"
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EZRDR 158LP
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LP version. "It's been nearly eight years since the last Mondo Drag album came out. In that time, the Bay Area psych-prog band toured the US and Europe, performed at major festivals and -- once again -- reformed their rhythm section. But in the context of the band's nearly two-decade existence, this period may have been the most fraught. Vocalist and keyboardist John Gamiño lost friends and family members. Meanwhile, humanity suffered the throes of a global pandemic. 'It was a dark chapter,' he recalls. 'I was going through a lot of stuff personally -- there's been a lot of death, loss of family members, and grief. Plus, the band was inactive. It felt like time was slipping away from me. I felt like I was wasting my opportunities. I felt like I wasn't participating in my story as much as I could have.' This feeling of time slipping away is the prevailing theme on Mondo Drag's new album, Through The Hourglass. 'For me, Through The Hourglass really encompasses the quarantine / pandemic years,' Gamiño says. 'But in a way that includes a couple of years before that for us, because the band was stagnant during that time. Living with that was really impactful on our daily lives. So, the album is reflective. It's looking at time -- past, present, future.' Luckily, Mondo Drag emerged from this dour period reborn. Freshly energized by bassist Conor Riley (formerly of San Diego psych squad Astra, currently of Birth), who joined in 2018, and drummer Jimmy Perez, who joined in 2022, Gamiño and guitarists Jake Sheley and Nolan Girard have triumphed over the seemingly inexorable pull of time's passage. The result is a dazzling and often plaintive rumination on the hours, days, and years -- not to mention experiences -- that comprise a lifetime. Through The Hourglass was tracked at El Studio in San Francisco, with an additional ten days of recording at the band's rehearsal space, which doubles as a hybrid analog-digital recording studio. The album was engineered and mixed by Phil Becker, drummer of space-punk mainstays Pins Of Light. 'We're still here,' Gamiño says. 'We've been in the studio working on our craft and honing our skills. Now we're re-emerging for the next stage of our life cycle.'"
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EZRDR 152LP
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"Cursed to ride forever on this mortal plane after partaking in a satanic drug ritual, The Death Wheelers pledge allegiance to the god of hell and fire. However, in order to prove themselves to their newly anointed leader and for the spell to take effect, the band will need to engage in a series of lewd acts of sex and violence across the country. Immortality comes at a price and the listener is about to pay for it... The beating heart of The Death Wheelers is a rumbling engine. Since their self-titled debut in 2015 and in 2020's cinematic-storytelling breakout, Divine Filth, the Canadian outfit have tapped into wind-through-hair freedom and careened down open roads of groove, not a cop in sight. Their third record, Chaos And The Art of Motorcycle Madness, more than lives up to its name on all fronts. With songs like 'Morbid Bails' and 'Lucifer's Bend,' the in-the-know references abound, and The Death Wheelers draw from classic underground metal, scummer heavy rock and cast themselves into a cauldron of cultish biker devil worship, reveling in any and all post-apocalyptic dystopias with genuine glee at having just seen the world eat itself. One might hear some surf guitar. Crazy things can happen."
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EZRDR 151CD
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"Sixteen trips might fry the fragile psyche of the average teenager, but the hoary old heads at Brown Acid boiled their brain pans long ago! As such, Riding Easy is bringing even more hard rock, heavy psych, and garage rock rarities from the North American wasteland of the 1970s. From L.A. to Youngstown, OH, from Toronto to Charlotte, The Sixteenth Trip has got everything covered. As always, original copies of these 45s would cost a pretty penny -- if one could find 'em in the first place. And by now one knows the drill: This ain't no bootleg. All songs are officially licensed. This sixteenth installment kicks off with 'Shuckin' and Jiving,' a seven-minute power jam from L.A.'s kings of garage psych, the Seeds. The song appeared as a single in 1972 with 'You Took Me By Surprise' on the flipside. It was the only release on Productions Unlimited, a label created by (or for) the Seeds at the tail end of their late '60s/early '70s run as Sky Saxon And The Seeds. Get shucked! Macbeth released their one and only 45 in 1978, with the steamrolling 'Freight Train' as the b-side to 'Didn't Mean (To Come This Far).' Boasting a thick-ass riff, a tasty stereo-panned guitar solo and at least one space laser sound effect, this one should satisfy fans of Blue Cheer and Grand Funk alike. Macbeth's bassist, Ned Meloni, went on to play with UFO guitarist Paul Chapman, Virgin Steele guitarist Jack Starr and do a brief stint with doom legends Pentagram. Formed by three brothers -- David, Bruce and Barry Flynn, all GM factory workers -- along with organist Tom Applegate, The Headstones (also known as simply Headstone) lent their 1974 garage boogie 'Carry Me On' to The Fourth Trip. This time, the Midwest psych rockers return with their killer 1975 instrumental 'Snake Dance.' One can hear echoes of this particular guitar style in the recent work of Swedish adventure rock overlords Hällas. The band Clinton might've been from Pennsylvania, but that didn't stop them from writing about New York City. 'Midnight In New York' is the flipside to their sole single, 1976's "Falling Behind." Stylistically and thematically, it's not unlike something famous New Yawker Ace Frehley would've written for KISS around the same time."
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EZRDR 154LP
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"When Acid King pressed up their self-titled debut EP on a tape and started handing them out at shows with business cards, it wasn't an aesthetic choice. It was 1993. And while the world was still reeling in the aftermath of grunge breaking big on rock radio, this dirty-as-hell trio founded by guitarist/vocalist Lori S. were digging into even heavier vibes. Born out of Lori's shiftless days of wasted youth hanging around Chicago-area public parks, Acid King laughingly adopted the name from the book Say You Love Satan and its subject Ricky Kasso, a local drug dealer who killed a friend over angel dust, thereby becoming the stuff of Satanic Panic local news broadcasts all over the country. Founded after a move to San Francisco, Acid King were outliers on punker bills in the tradition of West Coast rifflords like Saint Vitus and Sleep, and this four-song outing captures them at their rawest. Long before the career-defining roll of Busse Woods (1999) and the psychedelic mastery of their latest offering, Beyond Vision, this EP set in motion one of American heavy rock's most landmark careers. Presented on reissued vinyl through Riding Easy Records - the original 10-inch was on Sympathy For The Record Industry -- Acid King's Acid King also established one of the most crucial partnerships in underground rock in that between Lori S. and producer/engineer Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Sleep, Om, etc). As Acid King went on to help define stoner rock in the mid and late '90s with Zoroaster (1995), that creative relationship would flourish no less than the band's sound, and here it is distilled to its meanest and most elemental self. Led as ever by Lori, Acid King at the time featured bassist/vocalist Peter Lucas and drummer Joey Osbourne -- legend has it both had to read Say You Love Satan before joining -- and Melvins drummer Dale Crover had a hand in producing it as well as singing lead on 'The Midway' after Lucas took a turn on 'Drop.' A preface to the many majesties to come throughout Acid King's many-storied career, behold the formative incarnation that started it all. A piece of heavy rock history and killer riffs? You can't possibly go wrong." --JJ Koczan
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EZRDR 151LP
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LP version. "Sixteen trips might fry the fragile psyche of the average teenager, but the hoary old heads at Brown Acid boiled their brain pans long ago! As such, Riding Easy is bringing even more hard rock, heavy psych, and garage rock rarities from the North American wasteland of the 1970s. From L.A. to Youngstown, OH, from Toronto to Charlotte, The Sixteenth Trip has got everything covered. As always, original copies of these 45s would cost a pretty penny -- if one could find 'em in the first place. And by now one knows the drill: This ain't no bootleg. All songs are officially licensed. This sixteenth installment kicks off with 'Shuckin' and Jiving,' a seven-minute power jam from L.A.'s kings of garage psych, the Seeds. The song appeared as a single in 1972 with 'You Took Me By Surprise' on the flipside. It was the only release on Productions Unlimited, a label created by (or for) the Seeds at the tail end of their late '60s/early '70s run as Sky Saxon And The Seeds. Get shucked! Macbeth released their one and only 45 in 1978, with the steamrolling 'Freight Train' as the b-side to 'Didn't Mean (To Come This Far).' Boasting a thick-ass riff, a tasty stereo-panned guitar solo and at least one space laser sound effect, this one should satisfy fans of Blue Cheer and Grand Funk alike. Macbeth's bassist, Ned Meloni, went on to play with UFO guitarist Paul Chapman, Virgin Steele guitarist Jack Starr and do a brief stint with doom legends Pentagram. Formed by three brothers -- David, Bruce and Barry Flynn, all GM factory workers -- along with organist Tom Applegate, The Headstones (also known as simply Headstone) lent their 1974 garage boogie 'Carry Me On' to The Fourth Trip. This time, the Midwest psych rockers return with their killer 1975 instrumental 'Snake Dance.' One can hear echoes of this particular guitar style in the recent work of Swedish adventure rock overlords Hällas. The band Clinton might've been from Pennsylvania, but that didn't stop them from writing about New York City. 'Midnight In New York' is the flipside to their sole single, 1976's "Falling Behind." Stylistically and thematically, it's not unlike something famous New Yawker Ace Frehley would've written for KISS around the same time."
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EZRDR 138LP
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"After one heard them first on Brown Acid's The Thirteenth Trip, Riding Easy are very excited to present Feelin' Dead, the full unreleased recordings from that amazing band from Detroit, Master Danse. Formed in late 1973 in Detroit, Michigan, when drummer Tom Riss and bassist Cary Fletcher, formerly of the Detroit band Licking Stick, went looking for a new guitarist/lead vocalist and jammed with John Giaier, who had most recently played in the band Crawdad, the three musicians hit it off immediately, and a new power hard rock trio was born. In 1973, Detroit was clearly 'Rock City', featuring such local icons as Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad, Ted Nugent, and Mitch Ryder, and the high energy punch of Master Danse reflects this proud heritage. Unfortunately, this union would only last one year, and by the end of 1974 the power rock trio known as Master Danse had disbanded. What was left for posterity were only two live reel-to-reel recordings and one promo 45 single. Some forty-seven years later, the 45 found its way onto the internet and a small cult following of audiophiles was born, people who appreciate the raw power and high energy of early '70s rock. Bands like Master Danse and others from this era were riding the wave of transition from the pop rock sound of the '60s to an edgier sound that would eventually lead to metal and punk music. With the help of modern-day tape restoration techniques, the two live recordings were restored, and together with the 45, the best versions of the eight songs that have survived the decades are featured on this album. Although recorded live forty-eight years ago on a two-track stereo tape recorder, one can still feel the power of Giaier's Marshall stack, Fletcher's twin Acoustic 360 amps, and the relentless attack of Riss' Ludwig drums. So, sit back and enjoy."
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EZRDR 141LP
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LP version. "Late in 2021, Slow Season announced they'd become Westing, and that Ben McLeod (also of Nashville's All Them Witches) was now in the four-piece on lead guitar alongside guitarist, vocalist and keyboardist Daniel Story Rice, bassist Hayden Doyel and drummer / recording engineer Cody Tarbell. Their new LP (fourth overall for RidingEasy), Future, is not coincidentally titled. Says Rice, 'We wanted to hit the reset button on some things and so we included a new band name to that list. Fresh start, for the psychological effect of it. We first met Ben in 2014 opening for All Them Witches in San Diego, and we did that again in 2016 and he and Cody corresponded about tape machines, music production, and other similar nerd stuff. We started swapping a few ideas early in 2021 and then flew him out for four days in August 2021. We got Future mostly down in that short span and did some remote stuff for overdubs, but nothing major. Obviously, our creative processes jelled pretty well to allow for such an efficiently productive session.' So the story of Westing, and of Future, is about change, but the music makes itself so immediately familiar, it's so welcoming, that it hardly matters. For about ten years, the Visalia, California, outfit wandered the earth representing a new generational interpretation of classic heavy rock. The tones, warm. The melodies, sweet. The boogie, infectious. They went to ground after supporting their 2016 self-titled third album, and clearly it was time for something different. Is Future the future? Hell, we should be so lucky. What Westing manifest in these songs is schooled in the rock of yore and theirs purely, and in that, Future looks forward with the benefit of the lessons learned across three prior full-lengths (and the accompanying tours) while offering the kind of freshness that comes with a debut. No, they're not the same kids who released Mountains in 2014, and the tradeoff is being able to convey maturity, evolving creativity and stage-born dynamic on Future without sacrificing the spirit and passion that has underscored their work all along." --JJ Koczan
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