If you can feel a deep rumbling through your walls and floors it could be an earthquake but just as easily it could be that someone in your immediate vicinity is spinning “Rambler’s Axe” (This Charming Man Records), the new release from Germansludge/doom/stoner metal titans PIECE. If its the former find yourself a sturdy and safe place to shelter, if it’s the latter do exactly the same thing….. both are powerful forces of nature.
Desert Psychlist may not know who wrote the liner notes describing PIECE’s latest opus as “thick like lava, black like ebony, angular and rough like the chin of Conan the Barbarian,” but they certainly are deserving of a hefty bonus. In just one sentence, the writer of those words has perfectly captured what it is listeners should expect when “Rambler’s Axe” erupts from their speakers and proceeds to turn their brains to mush. From the opening track “Heria,” with its sampled narrative and ominous, throbbing blackened grooves overlaid with low guttural vocals, to the closing song “Serpentfolk Tyel“, PIECE rarely give their audience a moment to catch their breath with listeners being bombarded with an unrelenting assault of gravelly vocalizations, thunderous riffage, and war drum-like rhythms. Tracks like “Demigod,” “Bastard Sword“, “Spheres” title song “Rambler’s Axe” and “Owl Eyes” all groan and creak beneath the weight of their own intensity, yet, these songs are far from ponderous or heavy-handed; there is musicality here, and if you listen closely, also melody. As an album PIECE’s “Rambler’s Axe” is both heavy and intense but offsets that heaviness and intensity with unexpected “where did that come from” moments, those moments not so much beacons of light in waves of oppressing darkness but more serving as a subtle greying at the edges of that darkness.
If you like your metal to conjure up images of hordes of animal skin clad warriors brandishing medieval weaponry while charging across fields already littered with the remnants of the dead and dying then PIECE’s “Rambler’s Axe” is going to meet all your needs, if on the other hand you simply want to hear metal that is loud, heavy and intense then “Rambler’s Axe” also delivers in that department.
If you can feel a deep rumbling through your walls and floors it could be an earthquake but just as easily it could be that someone in your immediate vicinity is spinning “Rambler’s Axe” (This Charming Man Records), the new release from Germansludge/doom/stoner metal titans PIECE. If its the former find yourself a sturdy and safe place to shelter, if it’s the latter do exactly the same thing….. both are powerful forces of nature.
Desert Psychlist may not know who wrote the liner notes describing PIECE’s latest opus as “thick like lava, black like ebony, angular and rough like the chin of Conan the Barbarian,” but they certainly are deserving of a hefty bonus. In just one sentence, the writer of those words has perfectly captured what it is listeners should expect when “Rambler’s Axe” erupts from their speakers and proceeds to turn their brains to mush. From the opening track “Heria,” with its sampled narrative and ominous, throbbing blackened grooves overlaid with low guttural vocals, to the closing song “Serpentfolk Tyel“, PIECE rarely give their audience a moment to catch their breath with listeners being bombarded with an unrelenting assault of gravelly vocalizations, thunderous riffage, and war drum-like rhythms. Tracks like “Demigod,” “Bastard Sword“, “Spheres” title song “Rambler’s Axe” and “Owl Eyes” all groan and creak beneath the weight of their own intensity, yet, these songs are far from ponderous or heavy-handed; there is musicality here, and if you listen closely, also melody. As an album PIECE’s “Rambler’s Axe” is both heavy and intense but offsets that heaviness and intensity with unexpected “where did that come from” moments, those moments not so much beacons of light in waves of oppressing darkness but more serving as a subtle greying at the edges of that darkness.
If you like your metal to conjure up images of hordes of animal skin clad warriors brandishing medieval weaponry while charging across fields already littered with the remnants of the dead and dying then PIECE’s “Rambler’s Axe” is going to meet all your needs, if on the other hand you simply want to hear metal that is loud, heavy and intense then “Rambler’s Axe” also delivers in that department.
Froggy and the Gremlins from left: Mike Shields (organ), John McClusky (drums), Bill Thomason (lead vocals), Pat [surname?] (lead guitar), and Craig Gardner (bass)
Our band started one Friday night in late 1964 literally in a garage in Vestavia, Alabama when I (Froggy) was singing while two friends were playing the drums and the guitar. The three of us attended Berry High School. The drummer’s cousin, Craig Gardner stopped by to show off his new Oldsmobile 442 and he listened to us perform a tune or two. The next day Craig called me and said that he and a few guys from Shades Valley High School were starting a band and asked if I was interested in being the lead singer. Of course, I said yes.
My neighbor was Ray Edwards, the lead singer with The Knights and the first time I saw them perform I resolved to one day do the same. This was my chance! So, the following weekend, Froggy and the Gremlins band was born in Mike Shields living room and the first song we learned was a cover of the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There”.
Members in the photo at top:
Mike Shields – electric organ
John McClusky – drums
Bill Thomason – lead singer
Pat ? – lead guitar
Craig Gardner – bass
Before long, Pat dropped out and was replaced by lead guitarist Jerry Meadows.
After learning a set list of about 25 songs we hit the road and were very popular locally in Birmingham and North Alabama. Venues consisted of many fraternity parties at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa and in Birmingham, and teenage dances and sock-hops at local National Guard Armories around northern Alabama. We were invited to a Battle of the Bands at the Huntsville coliseum and placed third. WBRC-TV in Birmingham televised a weekly Battle of the Bands and we were matched against the late, great Rooster Gallagher and the Townsmen who I believe eventually won the entire competition later that year.
Pizitz Department Store in downtown Birmingham would hold regular dances and Go-Go demonstrations in the teen clothing section which was a brilliant marketing idea since it drew hundreds of teens (and their mothers) to the store. We played these events several times and once opened for The Swingin’ Medallions there.
Over time as all the other bands were adding horns and reeds, we added:
Bill Roberts – alto sax
Mark Stevens – trumpet
I was also a trumpet player so we had a full, solid sound and were consistent with what was popular at the time. Also, we dropped the “Froggy” and were just “The Gremlins” to project a more contemporary and professional image.
Jerry Meadows was a song writer so like practically every other band on this site, the time came for our rite of passage in Ed Boutwell’s studio at an old church on 2nd Avenue North in Avondale. We created an eight-song demo tape of six cover songs and two songs that Jerry had composed. One was titled “Summer Girl” and the other one I do not remember. We had no money to afford a record press so we hawked the reel-to-reel demo tape around to several radio stations with favorable results but of course there was no air time since there was no vinyl to play.
Finally, in the fall of 1966 most everyone was leaving for various colleges around the state. I, on the other hand having primarily been interested in dedicating most of my time to The Gremlins rather than to high school academics, was shipped off to military school at Lyman Ward Military Academy in south Alabama. Thus, The Gremlins band officially came to an end.
Over the years, I saw Mike Shields occasionally at church and later heard he moved to Carmel, California and became an artist. I also occasionally saw Bill Roberts at the University of Alabama-Tuscaloosa when we were both students there. Ironically, John McClusky was the drummer for String and the Beans when they played at my High School senior military ball. He eventually became a lawyer in the Birmingham area. I lost touch with Jerry Meadows, Craig Gardner and Mark Stevens after our last gig in the late summer of 1966.
Regrettably, as the years passed and my focus turned to college, kids and careers, my copy of the demo tape disappeared. Several years ago, I reached out to Mark Harrelson at Boutwell Studios right after they moved to their beautiful new facility on Central Avenue in Homewood. He told me that had I been a year earlier they probably would have had the master tape but that after all those years they had finally purged the old archives in the latest move.
What an exciting time it was to be a teenager and part of the incredible ‘60’s music scene. Music has remained a big part of my family and these days even one of my college-aged grandsons is carrying on the tradition with a country music solo act.
Italy’sSuperNaughty, Filippo Del Bimbo (guitar), Alessio Franceschi (drums), Angelo Fagni (vocals), and Luca Raffoni (bass), may not be the heaviest or most original band out there, but they do have a knack for crafting memorable riffs and melodies. While “accessible” is an often frowned-upon term in the world of “underground” rock, it perfectly describes SuperNaughty. Despite their crunching riffs and hard-driven rhythms Supernaughty deliver an undeniable array of toe-tapping tunes, tunes that can be found aplenty on the bands new album, “Apocalypso” (Ripple Music).
SuperNaughty’s third album opens its account with “Poseidon” a song that perfectly highlights the “accessible” qualities of SuperNaughty’s sonic attack, riffs here are more fizzyand fuzzy than they are crunchy, the songs groove is industrious and tight but also bouncy and the songs vocal melodies are pitched clean and punkishly melodic, the sort of song that you could imagine gracing a rock radio playlist but also being the catalyst for stage diving and circular pits in a live environment. The following “Black Witch Mountain” does boast a little more grit and growl when compared to its predecessor, especially in rhythmic department, but again is graced with vocals that possess an easy on the ear fluidity, albeit with a bit more added grittiness this time out. The superbly titled “Amsterdamned” is an excellent blend of desert and hard rock featuring a great vocal melody underscored by booming bass lines and busy on point drumming over and around which absolutely delicious lead guitar work is layered. Next two tracks “Weird Science” and “Queen of Babylon” are faultless examples of SuperNaughty’s ability to combine musical muscle with melody, the former featuring chugging refrains and thundering rhythmic patterns supporting a gritty upbeat vocal, the latter a blues tinted groove machine overlaid with vocals in possession of a slightly more relaxed dynamic. “In(O)culation” combines gritty circular refrains and recurring motifs and searing guitar solos with hell for leather drumming beneath a dynamically forceful vocal while penultimate number “King Again” finds the band layering wearied vocal tones over a mid tempo throbbing groove that also incorporates a slightly faster middle-section decorated in searing eastern flavoured guitar texturing. SuperNaughty sign out with title track “Apocalypso” a powerhouse groove monster that pulses, throbs and gallops in equal measure beneath yet another clean and flowing vocal, a raucous and rocking finale to a highly enjoyable album.
There will be those who will think that Desert Psychlist describing SuperNaughty’s music as “accessible” in the first part of this review is our way of saying that the bands music has a mainstream or commercial leaning but that is just not accurate. By calling SuperNaughty’s “Apocalypso” “accessible” what we are really trying to say is that it is an album which will appeal not just to a select few of fuzz loving devotees but also to those from all walks of the rock and metal spectrum.
Italy’sSuperNaughty, Filippo Del Bimbo (guitar), Alessio Franceschi (drums), Angelo Fagni (vocals), and Luca Raffoni (bass), may not be the heaviest or most original band out there, but they do have a knack for crafting memorable riffs and melodies. While “accessible” is an often frowned-upon term in the world of “underground” rock, it perfectly describes SuperNaughty. Despite their crunching riffs and hard-driven rhythms Supernaughty deliver an undeniable array of toe-tapping tunes, tunes that can be found aplenty on the bands new album, “Apocalypso” (Ripple Music).
SuperNaughty’s third album opens its account with “Poseidon” a song that perfectly highlights the “accessible” qualities of SuperNaughty’s sonic attack, riffs here are more fizzyand fuzzy than they are crunchy, the songs groove is industrious and tight but also bouncy and the songs vocal melodies are pitched clean and punkishly melodic, the sort of song that you could imagine gracing a rock radio playlist but also being the catalyst for stage diving and circular pits in a live environment. The following “Black Witch Mountain” does boast a little more grit and growl when compared to its predecessor, especially in rhythmic department, but again is graced with vocals that possess an easy on the ear fluidity, albeit with a bit more added grittiness this time out. The superbly titled “Amsterdamned” is an excellent blend of desert and hard rock featuring a great vocal melody underscored by booming bass lines and busy on point drumming over and around which absolutely delicious lead guitar work is layered. Next two tracks “Weird Science” and “Queen of Babylon” are faultless examples of SuperNaughty’s ability to combine musical muscle with melody, the former featuring chugging refrains and thundering rhythmic patterns supporting a gritty upbeat vocal, the latter a blues tinted groove machine overlaid with vocals in possession of a slightly more relaxed dynamic. “In(O)culation” combines gritty circular refrains and recurring motifs and searing guitar solos with hell for leather drumming beneath a dynamically forceful vocal while penultimate number “King Again” finds the band layering wearied vocal tones over a mid tempo throbbing groove that also incorporates a slightly faster middle-section decorated in searing eastern flavoured guitar texturing. SuperNaughty sign out with title track “Apocalypso” a powerhouse groove monster that pulses, throbs and gallops in equal measure beneath yet another clean and flowing vocal, a raucous and rocking finale to a highly enjoyable album.
There will be those who will think that Desert Psychlist describing SuperNaughty’s music as “accessible” in the first part of this review is our way of saying that the bands music has a mainstream or commercial leaning but that is just not accurate. By calling SuperNaughty’s “Apocalypso” “accessible” what we are really trying to say is that it is an album which will appeal not just to a select few of fuzz loving devotees but also to those from all walks of the rock and metal spectrum.
by Jadranka Jade– Photo Jorunalist — Chalk, Brighton, United Kingdom – August 1, 2025 Sophie Lloyd recently made a stop at Chalk a music venue in Brighton in the United Kingdom. Her show was captured […]
