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LP
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EZRDR 147LP
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$26.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 9/29/2023
"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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CD
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EZRDR 158CD
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$15.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 9/15/2023
"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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LP
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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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LP
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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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EZRDR 141CD
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"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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EZRDR 143CD
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"Featuring long-lost gems from ultra-rare 45s and private press singles -- plus one previously unreleased banger -- Scrap Metal Vol. 2 maintains a steady NWOBHM course. Packed with infectious outliers and supremely talented one-and-done metal warriors from the crucial British movement of the late '70s and early '80s (and some killer American obscurities inspired by them), this collection delivers all the fist-pumping, riff-mongering and flashy solos of heavy metal's golden age. As always, every track has been officially licensed and every artist gets paid. Some examples include: As a late entry into the NWOBHM sweepstakes, JJ's Powerhouse was formed in Merseyside, England, by guitarist Jon 'J.J.' Cox with members of his previous band, Quad. Much like the opener to the original Scrap Metal comp, one can hear early Metallica coursing through this legendary ripper. Coincidentally, this ultra-rare 45 was released in '83, the same year as Kill 'Em All. Taking their name from a 1978 sci-fi novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Welsh super troopers Storm Queen reveled in animal-print clothing and flying Vs. The Motörhead-meets-Priest anthem 'Raising the Roof' is the flipside to their only single, which the band self-released in 1982. Led by guitarist Dave Morse, Storm Queen's earliest lineup included bassist Bryn Merrick (RIP), who would go on to join The Damned. Roaring out of Birmingham, England, in 1975, Jameson Raid palled around with fellow Brummies Black Sabbath and named themselves after a failed 19th century attack that helped kick off South Africa's Second Boer War. Their three-song 1979 debut featured the infectious 'It's a Crime,' which comes across like a deadly hard-glam version of Budgie. Still fronted by vocalist Terry Dark, they're going strong as of 2022. Both sides of Metropolis' sole single bear the legend, 'Unauthorized duplication shall result in getting your ass beat.' This San Jose metal squad released their only single in 1986 and dedicated it to Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who had recently been killed in a bus accident. 'The Raven' is the serpentine NWOBHM- and Edgar Allan Poe-influenced flipside to 'Time Heals Everything.'"
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LP
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EZRDR 143LP
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2023 repress; LP version. "Featuring long-lost gems from ultra-rare 45s and private press singles -- plus one previously unreleased banger -- Scrap Metal Vol. 2 maintains a steady NWOBHM course. Packed with infectious outliers and supremely talented one-and-done metal warriors from the crucial British movement of the late '70s and early '80s (and some killer American obscurities inspired by them), this collection delivers all the fist-pumping, riff-mongering and flashy solos of heavy metal's golden age. As always, every track has been officially licensed and every artist gets paid. Some examples include: As a late entry into the NWOBHM sweepstakes, JJ's Powerhouse was formed in Merseyside, England, by guitarist Jon 'J.J.' Cox with members of his previous band, Quad. Much like the opener to the original Scrap Metal comp, one can hear early Metallica coursing through this legendary ripper. Coincidentally, this ultra-rare 45 was released in '83, the same year as Kill 'Em All. Taking their name from a 1978 sci-fi novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Welsh super troopers Storm Queen reveled in animal-print clothing and flying Vs. The Motörhead-meets-Priest anthem 'Raising the Roof' is the flipside to their only single, which the band self-released in 1982. Led by guitarist Dave Morse, Storm Queen's earliest lineup included bassist Bryn Merrick (RIP), who would go on to join The Damned. Roaring out of Birmingham, England, in 1975, Jameson Raid palled around with fellow Brummies Black Sabbath and named themselves after a failed 19th century attack that helped kick off South Africa's Second Boer War. Their three-song 1979 debut featured the infectious 'It's a Crime,' which comes across like a deadly hard-glam version of Budgie. Still fronted by vocalist Terry Dark, they're going strong as of 2022. Both sides of Metropolis' sole single bear the legend, 'Unauthorized duplication shall result in getting your ass beat.' This San Jose metal squad released their only single in 1986 and dedicated it to Metallica bassist Cliff Burton, who had recently been killed in a bus accident. 'The Raven' is the serpentine NWOBHM- and Edgar Allan Poe-influenced flipside to 'Time Heals Everything.'"
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EZRDR 115CD
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$15.00
PREORDER
RELEASE DATE: 2/10/2023
Delayed... "Standout favorites of Riding Easy Records' Brown Acid compilation series, White Lightning's stellar discography of rare and under-appreciated heavy psych, proto-metal rock gets a vital revival for new generations to learn how swinging, swaggering and often blazingly fast rock'n'roll is done. White Lightning was formed in Minneapolis, MN in 1968 by guitarist Tom 'Zippy' Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich after leaving garage psych band The Litter (themselves popular standouts from the Nuggets and Pebbles series of garage rock rarities.) Originally a power trio, the band later expanded to a five-piece in 1969 while shortening its name to Lightning. The quintet's brilliant and rare 1970 self-titled album on Pickwick International's P.I.P. imprint provides six of the ten tracks on Thunderbolts Of Fuzz. The original White Lightning trio only released the one 45-rpm single 'Of Paupers And Poets' during their existence (on local Hexagon label in 1968, later reissued by major label ATCO Records in 1969.) A long out-of-print posthumous album released in 1995 gathered unreleased recordings, three of which are found here. This rounds out this collection of recorded highlights from the band's rocky history. Taking their name from a particularly potent type of LSD, White Lightning laid out from the start that it was not cute and cuddly '70s rock. In fact, the band's aggressive tempos are like punk rock way before punk. However, their dirty blues groove and musical prowess shows the band was more than unrefined ne'er-do-wells, they had true versatility."
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EZRDR 146LP
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LP version. "The self-titled full-length debut of Los Angeles quintet Early Moods is a marriage of classic underground doom like Candlemass, Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Trouble and Saint Vitus, paired with traditional 'big box' heavy metal melodies and song structure. These two contrasting aesthetics may seem incongruous, but the skilled musicianship of Early Moods -- some of whom have played music together since their early teens -- manages to find the perfect balance between grit and gloss. 'From the beginning, the purpose for this band was to incorporate our love of traditional doom metal with a heavy metal approach,' guitarist Eddie Andrade says. 'We wanted to show that heavy doom can be complemented with melodies and harmonies. Black Sabbath meets NWOBHM is what we aim for, really.' The band was founded in 2015 by 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 soon captured the attention of German label Dying Victim Productions, who released their debut EP, Spellbound in 2020. Early Moods is Oscar Hernandez on lead guitar, Chris Flores on drums, Elix Felciano on bass, Alcaraz on vocals/synth and Andrade on guitar. Early Moods was recorded at 7th Street Studios in downtown L.A. by Carlos Cruz (Warbringer, Chris Poland, Power Trip) from October to December of 2021. It was mixed by Allen Falcon of Birdcage Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright of Audio Siege who has worked with bands like Sleep, Obituary, and High On Fire."
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EZRDR 146CD
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"The self-titled full-length debut of Los Angeles quintet Early Moods is a marriage of classic underground doom like Candlemass, Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Trouble and Saint Vitus, paired with traditional 'big box' heavy metal melodies and song structure. These two contrasting aesthetics may seem incongruous, but the skilled musicianship of Early Moods -- some of whom have played music together since their early teens -- manages to find the perfect balance between grit and gloss. 'From the beginning, the purpose for this band was to incorporate our love of traditional doom metal with a heavy metal approach,' guitarist Eddie Andrade says. 'We wanted to show that heavy doom can be complemented with melodies and harmonies. Black Sabbath meets NWOBHM is what we aim for, really.' The band was founded in 2015 by 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 soon captured the attention of German label Dying Victim Productions, who released their debut EP, Spellbound in 2020. Early Moods is Oscar Hernandez on lead guitar, Chris Flores on drums, Elix Felciano on bass, Alcaraz on vocals/synth and Andrade on guitar. Early Moods was recorded at 7th Street Studios in downtown L.A. by Carlos Cruz (Warbringer, Chris Poland, Power Trip) from October to December of 2021. It was mixed by Allen Falcon of Birdcage Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright of Audio Siege who has worked with bands like Sleep, Obituary, and High On Fire."
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EZRDR 139LP
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2023 restock; LP version. "Lo and behold, Brown Acid - The Fifteenth Trip is here, and it's another mind-melting dose of brilliant long-lost, rare, and unreleased hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks from the 60s -70s. Riding Easy's crate-digging mining expeditions, and growing network of the original artists keeps on giving with more and more incredible discoveries every time they go back for more. Like they've done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. Make oneself comfortable and prepare for yet another deep, deep dive into the treasure trove of dank, subterranean, wild-eyed and hairy rock n' roll of yesteryear. Some key examples include: As usual, this Trip opens strong, as 'Take The Time' swaggers along with switchblade stabs of guitar twang and frantic drumming that sounds like Nick Cave's '80s post-punk barbarians The Birthday Party on this 1969 single from the mysterious Boston area band The Looking Glass. Negative Space toil in the dark web of The Seeds, and dwell in the mystic haze of working-class suburbs in Camden, NJ circa 1970. Their angry, nasty guitar sounds and frustration-bogged frontman Rob Russen ensure that the aggro fueled 'Forbidden Fruit' -- in which he confesses his love for his sister-in-law -- will hit one right in the face. Truth & Janey might be familiar from their 45-only 'Midnight Horseman' single heard way back on the Sixth Trip, and/or their incredible 1976 album No Rest For The Wicked. Their super-driven soul leaning cover of 'Under My Thumb' is almost like The Who had penned the track, with relentless drums, jackhammer rhythm guitar and near-falsetto vocals."
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CD
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EZRDR 139CD
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"Lo and behold, Brown Acid - The Fifteenth Trip is here, and it's another mind-melting dose of brilliant long-lost, rare, and unreleased hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks from the 60s -70s. Riding Easy's crate-digging mining expeditions, and growing network of the original artists keeps on giving with more and more incredible discoveries every time they go back for more. Like they've done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. Make oneself comfortable and prepare for yet another deep, deep dive into the treasure trove of dank, subterranean, wild-eyed and hairy rock n' roll of yesteryear. Some key examples include: As usual, this Trip opens strong, as 'Take The Time' swaggers along with switchblade stabs of guitar twang and frantic drumming that sounds like Nick Cave's '80s post-punk barbarians The Birthday Party on this 1969 single from the mysterious Boston area band The Looking Glass. Negative Space toil in the dark web of The Seeds, and dwell in the mystic haze of working-class suburbs in Camden, NJ circa 1970. Their angry, nasty guitar sounds and frustration-bogged frontman Rob Russen ensure that the aggro fueled 'Forbidden Fruit' -- in which he confesses his love for his sister-in-law -- will hit one right in the face. Truth & Janey might be familiar from their 45-only 'Midnight Horseman' single heard way back on the Sixth Trip, and/or their incredible 1976 album No Rest For The Wicked. Their super-driven soul leaning cover of 'Under My Thumb' is almost like The Who had penned the track, with relentless drums, jackhammer rhythm guitar and near-falsetto vocals."
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LP
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EZRDR 145LP
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"In the 1970s era of rock's theatrical excesses, Sorcery delivered next level performances in which a battle ensued on stage between illusionists portraying Merlin versus Satan. While Alice Cooper and KISS brought costumes, gore and flashpots to the mainstream, these Los Angeles hard rockers integrated live magic, theatrical drama and fourth wall breaking performance for new heights in musical storytelling. While Sorcery consists of professional musicians -- the core group being guitarist Richard (Smokey) Taylor, vocalist Greg Magie and bassist Richie King -- two magicians also performed on stage when they played live. The band's nearly immediate local popularity from their debut in 1975 also made them in demand for film and TV. Enter: Stunt Rock. Way before Jackass, before Crocodile Dundee, contemporaneous with Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park and as timeless as classic Heavy Metal, there was Stunt Rock. The 1978 low budget, high concept B-movie integrated hard rock, magic, dangerous stunts and an early form of mockumentary filmmaking into an epic feature film about an Australian stunt man reunited with his American cousin (and Sorcery member) in L.A., and all Hell breaks loose. Sorcery composed the soundtrack -- which also served as the band's debut album -- and were shown performing songs throughout the film. The Stunt Rock soundtrack highlights the sweet spot between the playful, campy occult imagery of the '70s before Satanic Panic and the religious right's kayfabe outrage pushed bands to tone things down in favor of glam pomp. What one gets here is pure, knobby occult heavy metal that sounds something like Sin After Sin-era Judas Priest with Robert Plant on vocals, crossed with the melodrama of Alice Cooper and The Who's rock operas. The songs are taut, quickly shifting from part to part, motif to overture. The tunes are infinitely catchy and laden with attention grabbing titles like 'Talking To The Devil', 'Mark of The Beast', 'Stuntrocker' and 'Burned Alive.' On the surface, the film Stunt Rock seems campy and crazy enough to be embraced even if the music weren't all that exciting, but Sorcery proves that their work deserves to be seriously appreciated in the canon of classic rock."
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LP
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EZRDR 140LP
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LP version. "How does one follow up one of the most legendary, yet rarest albums said to signal the birth of doom metal? If you're Randy Holden, you give everyone about fifty years to catch up, then casually drop a tastefully modernized reinterpretation of that sound. Population III picks up where Holden's 1969 solo debut left off, updated with several decades worth of technological advances and personal hindsight. Following his tenure in proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer in 1969, the guitarist aimed for more control over his next project. Thus, Randy Holden -- Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. Along with drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed, Holden created what many say is one of the earliest forms of doom metal. Their six-song debut album Population II delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. However, troubles with the album's original 1970 release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. For good reason, it's widely hailed as a masterpiece, and until finally getting a proper formal release in 2020 on Riding Easy Records, was a longtime Holy Grail for record collectors. Flash forward forty years to 2010, one finds the guitarist/vocalist quietly coaxed into recording a follow-up album by Holden superfan and Cactus member Randy Pratt. Joined by drummer Bobby Rondinelli (who has played with Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow), the trio cut the six-song collection of leaden future blues, Population III. 'Randy Pratt had written the basic song structures, he understood my music and where I come from quite well,' Holden says. 'He nailed it.' But the recording was ultimately shelved for over a decade. Throughout Population III, Holden effortlessly dishes out squealing, soaring leads and skull-thwacking riffs with his signature low end grit and penchant for Middle Eastern scales. Coupled with Pratt's pocket-locked bass, the slight flanging effect on Rondinelli's drums and his pugilistic beats, the album occasionally brings to mind Presence-era Led Zeppelin. At times, Holden sounds reminiscent of Neil Young leading Crazy Horse's ruptured grunge as his lilting falsetto vocals push and pull his guitar's siren's call. Population III is the real deal -- a powerful continuation of a sound forged fifty years ago, that almost didn't happen. Somehow, Randy Holden's music always finds a way to stand the tests of time."
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LP
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EZRDR 137LP
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LP version. "Sometimes a band grows so exponentially from one record to the next, it's almost jarring. Hell Fire has already established themselves as the preeminent masters of a new hybrid breed of Bay Area thrash and NWOBHM in just a few short years, but their fourth album Reckoning is the type of ascendance that truly sets a band apart. Reckoning is their Master Of Puppets, their Number Of The Beast, their Defenders Of The Faith. From the very first notes of the album opening title track, you can feel a vital new energy and inspiration to their music. To say Hell Fire used the recent global downtime to dig within and fully refine their sound would be an understatement. It truly is a reckoning. 'This album is every aspect of our band amplified to its maximum potential,' says singer/guitarist Jake Nunn. 'This is the record we've always wanted to make, and it feels like we're just getting started,' guitarist Tony Campos adds. 'We wanted to push ourselves musically and capture some of our frustrations, anger, loneliness, and rage over being locked inside and dealing with life during a global pandemic in the days when no one really knew how to navigate,' says drummer Mike Smith. With no touring on the horizon in 2020, the band hunkered down and recorded nearly a full album in preproduction home demos. 'I set up a little studio in my garage to record guitar, bass, and vocal tracks,' Campos says. 'While Mike bought an electronic drum set and we demoed every song so we were more prepared going into the studio.' Each of them found themselves practicing more on their own and ironing out every last detail and nuance before finally being able to once again play in a room together. The band's heightened professionalism also brings in guest bassist Matt Freeman (of Rancid and Operation Ivy fame) on the album after original bassist Herman Bandala departed the band amicably during the initial writing process. New bassist Kai Sun joined Hell Fire in Fall 2021."
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LP
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EZRDR 136LP
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2023 restock; LP version. "Here's just a few of the gems on Brown Acid - The Fourteenth Trip, the much beloved series that is the Nuggets of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock: The Legends' 'Fever Games' is a 1969 fever dream of heavy psych on par with Blue Cheer at their heaviest, featuring an incredible intro with whammy-bar gymnastics through an Echoplex. This Harrisburg, PA power trio, featuring Dan Hartman (Edgar Winter Group, et al) and his brother Dave, also name-checks Jimi Hendrix Experience in the midst of the song's most blatant Hendrix rip. Perhaps that's how Fever Games work? Transfer's velvet smooth groove has an almost proto-punk feel like a mashup of the Velvet Underground and The Flamin' Groovies. But the lyrics referencing tokin' reefer and the twanging surf lead situate them closer to their heavy rock brethren. This very rare 1974 self- released 45 is this lone archive of the band's existence -- assume they just kept right on playin' it cool into oblivion. Cox's Army deploy the grungy rocker 'I'm Tired' which sounds like if Jimi Hendrix fronted Mudhoney. Yes, please! Though they hailed from Aurora, IL, it sounds like there's definitely some Pacific Northwest in their blood. Particularly in the gritty production, which hints at The Sonics' 'bustin' outta lo-fi' style. Not much is known about the enigmatic Columbus, OH musician known as Raven, whose 'Back to Ohio Blues' closes this edition. The mantra-like droning riff of this eight-minute jam is a Black To Comm-style epic, driven by Raven's hostile, no-bullshit diatribe until it all busts open for an insane two-minute long drum solo soaked in odd effects that sounds like it was copped from a Melvins album."
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LP
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EZRDR 115LP
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LP version. "Standout favorites of Riding Easy Records' Brown Acid compilation series, White Lightning's stellar discography of rare and under-appreciated heavy psych, proto-metal rock gets a vital revival for new generations to learn how swinging, swaggering and often blazingly fast rock'n'roll is done. White Lightning was formed in Minneapolis, MN in 1968 by guitarist Tom 'Zippy' Caplan and bassist Woody Woodrich after leaving garage psych band The Litter (themselves popular standouts from the Nuggets and Pebbles series of garage rock rarities.) Originally a power trio, the band later expanded to a five-piece in 1969 while shortening its name to Lightning. The quintet's brilliant and rare 1970 self-titled album on Pickwick International's P.I.P. imprint provides six of the ten tracks on Thunderbolts Of Fuzz. The original White Lightning trio only released the one 45-rpm single 'Of Paupers And Poets' during their existence (on local Hexagon label in 1968, later reissued by major label ATCO Records in 1969.) A long out-of-print posthumous album released in 1995 gathered unreleased recordings, three of which are found here. This rounds out this collection of recorded highlights from the band's rocky history. Taking their name from a particularly potent type of LSD, White Lightning laid out from the start that it was not cute and cuddly '70s rock. In fact, the band's aggressive tempos are like punk rock way before punk. However, their dirty blues groove and musical prowess shows the band was more than unrefined ne'er-do-wells, they had true versatility."
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CD
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EZRDR 137CD
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"Sometimes a band grows so exponentially from one record to the next, it's almost jarring. Hell Fire has already established themselves as the preeminent masters of a new hybrid breed of Bay Area thrash and NWOBHM in just a few short years, but their fourth album Reckoning is the type of ascendance that truly sets a band apart. Reckoning is their Master Of Puppets, their Number Of The Beast, their Defenders Of The Faith. From the very first notes of the album opening title track, you can feel a vital new energy and inspiration to their music. To say Hell Fire used the recent global downtime to dig within and fully refine their sound would be an understatement. It truly is a reckoning. 'This album is every aspect of our band amplified to its maximum potential,' says singer/guitarist Jake Nunn. 'This is the record we've always wanted to make, and it feels like we're just getting started,' guitarist Tony Campos adds. 'We wanted to push ourselves musically and capture some of our frustrations, anger, loneliness, and rage over being locked inside and dealing with life during a global pandemic in the days when no one really knew how to navigate,' says drummer Mike Smith. With no touring on the horizon in 2020, the band hunkered down and recorded nearly a full album in preproduction home demos. 'I set up a little studio in my garage to record guitar, bass, and vocal tracks,' Campos says. 'While Mike bought an electronic drum set and we demoed every song so we were more prepared going into the studio.' Each of them found themselves practicing more on their own and ironing out every last detail and nuance before finally being able to once again play in a room together. The band's heightened professionalism also brings in guest bassist Matt Freeman (of Rancid and Operation Ivy fame) on the album after original bassist Herman Bandala departed the band amicably during the initial writing process. New bassist Kai Sun joined Hell Fire in Fall 2021."
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Catalog # |
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CD
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EZRDR 136CD
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"Here's just a few of the gems on Brown Acid - The Fourteenth Trip, the much beloved series that is the Nuggets of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock: The Legends' 'Fever Games' is a 1969 fever dream of heavy psych on par with Blue Cheer at their heaviest, featuring an incredible intro with whammy-bar gymnastics through an Echoplex. This Harrisburg, PA power trio, featuring Dan Hartman (Edgar Winter Group, et al) and his brother Dave, also name-checks Jimi Hendrix Experience in the midst of the song's most blatant Hendrix rip. Perhaps that's how Fever Games work? Transfer's velvet smooth groove has an almost proto-punk feel like a mashup of the Velvet Underground and The Flamin' Groovies. But the lyrics referencing tokin' reefer and the twanging surf lead situate them closer to their heavy rock brethren. This very rare 1974 self- released 45 is this lone archive of the band's existence -- assume they just kept right on playin' it cool into oblivion. Cox's Army deploy the grungy rocker 'I'm Tired' which sounds like if Jimi Hendrix fronted Mudhoney. Yes, please! Though they hailed from Aurora, IL, it sounds like there's definitely some Pacific Northwest in their blood. Particularly in the gritty production, which hints at The Sonics' 'bustin' outta lo-fi' style. Not much is known about the enigmatic Columbus, OH musician known as Raven, whose 'Back to Ohio Blues' closes this edition. The mantra-like droning riff of this eight-minute jam is a Black To Comm-style epic, driven by Raven's hostile, no-bullshit diatribe until it all busts open for an insane two-minute long drum solo soaked in odd effects that sounds like it was copped from a Melvins album."
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CD
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EZRDR 140CD
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"How does one follow up one of the most legendary, yet rarest albums said to signal the birth of doom metal? If you're Randy Holden, you give everyone about fifty years to catch up, then casually drop a tastefully modernized reinterpretation of that sound. Population III picks up where Holden's 1969 solo debut left off, updated with several decades worth of technological advances and personal hindsight. Following his tenure in proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer in 1969, the guitarist aimed for more control over his next project. Thus, Randy Holden -- Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. Along with drummer/keyboardist Chris Lockheed, Holden created what many say is one of the earliest forms of doom metal. Their six-song debut album Population II delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. However, troubles with the album's original 1970 release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. For good reason, it's widely hailed as a masterpiece, and until finally getting a proper formal release in 2020 on Riding Easy Records, was a longtime Holy Grail for record collectors. Flash forward forty years to 2010, one finds the guitarist/vocalist quietly coaxed into recording a follow-up album by Holden superfan and Cactus member Randy Pratt. Joined by drummer Bobby Rondinelli (who has played with Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow), the trio cut the six-song collection of leaden future blues, Population III. 'Randy Pratt had written the basic song structures, he understood my music and where I come from quite well,' Holden says. 'He nailed it.' But the recording was ultimately shelved for over a decade. Throughout Population III, Holden effortlessly dishes out squealing, soaring leads and skull-thwacking riffs with his signature low end grit and penchant for Middle Eastern scales. Coupled with Pratt's pocket-locked bass, the slight flanging effect on Rondinelli's drums and his pugilistic beats, the album occasionally brings to mind Presence-era Led Zeppelin. At times, Holden sounds reminiscent of Neil Young leading Crazy Horse's ruptured grunge as his lilting falsetto vocals push and pull his guitar's siren's call. Population III is the real deal -- a powerful continuation of a sound forged fifty years ago, that almost didn't happen. Somehow, Randy Holden's music always finds a way to stand the tests of time."
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