#foghound

~By Tom Hanno~

As November takes us deeper still into the darkness, I've got a record here that will rock your god damned socks off. The latest full-length from FOGHOUND is not only a steady riffer, it is longtime bassist Rev. Jim Forrester’s swan song. As many of you know, it was almost one year ago that Jim was tragically gunned down outside the East Baltimore tattoo parlor where he worked. With this in mind, 'Awaken To Destroy' (2018) serves as a memorial to a fallen brother. Foghound began recording it in 2016 and had just wrapped up initial tracking, when the shocking news of Jim's death brought everything to a halt.

“We had a few vocal and guitar tracks to finish, along with mixing," drummer and vocalist Chuck Dukeheart III told me. "We were going to go track a few more, but then Jim died. After his passing, we found a few demos he sent. The song 'Ave!' is him in his bedroom with an acoustic guitar. We added the keys in studio. It's a tribute to him of sorts. And 'Death Will Tremble' was an improv cutting room floor jam. We were going to cut into segues between tracks, but we recut guitars and I added vocals. The first verse of 'Bukowski' was on the memorial cards at Jim's funeral.”

Awaken to Destroy is the follow up to 2016's The World Unseen, which is also a very fine offering from the Maryland heavies. The new album is full of sweet guitar riffs, great bass playing, thunderous drumming, and killer vocals. But let's talk about a few of these songs, yeah?

Awaken to Destroy by Foghound

The record opens with "Awaken to Destroy," which is a great choice for starting a record. This track comes in with slow tempo guitar, which graciously accelerates, builds momentum, and becomes a powerful groove. I really dig the vocal work and there's such a sweet palm-muted guitar groove during the verses. One thing I notice already is the mix on this record is excellent. I love being able to hear everything so smoothly, especially the bass, which stands out perfectly in the songs.

Awaken to Destroy by Foghound

"Known Wolves" sees the tempo pick up right from the onset of the tune. There's a slight Motörhead feel to that riff, as well. This song, though, is cool for so many other reasons. The mid-section sees a shift in tempo, and there's some very tasteful bass playing going on, as well. After that midsection, the song picks back up and charges its way to the end by way of a dastardly chorus.

Awaken to Destroy by Foghound

"Cut the Cord" is a short little number, but has a serious punk sound to the majority of it, thanks to a tight musical arrangement. Sure it's somewhat atypical of the band's sound, but the instrumentation, tempo, and vocals all come together so well to make this thing work.

Awaken to Destroy by Foghound

"Ave!" Is Jim Forrester’s composition, which he'd saved for possible future use. The band found it after he died and had Dee Settar add some keyboard work to Jim’s original performance. It's a somber acoustic track, made even more so by the presence of keys. A very cool piece of music, indeed.

Awaken to Destroy by Foghound

"Keep On Shovelin’" was released as a single to benefit Jim's family, and is one of the cooler songs on the album. There are some really nice grooves going on and some more kick-ass bass playing. Jim did the spoken word section, which is only fitting since the song was influenced his health issues at the time.

Awaken to Destroy by Foghound

My favorite track is "Staring Down the Demons," which strikes a great balance between light and darkness, while also fairly diverse in its sound. I really dig every aspect of this track. It's just written and performed so damned well!

Awaken to Destroy by Foghound

The album closer, called "Death Will Tremble," came about during these same studio sessions, as well. The band says it was "originally tracked as an off the cuff improvisational warm up jam during the record's initial recording sessions, with the intention of possibly cutting into segue passages between tracks." However, "the decision was made to flesh it out to highlight Forrester's signature bass style and the unspoken interplay between the musicians that spent so much time playing together that was well on display." A very cool way to honor the musical talent of a friend, bandmate, and brother.

Awaken to Destroy is Foghound doing what they do best: churning out heavy, groovy riffs and writing killer songs. It's really damn good, not to mention that it's being issued on the Ripple Music label (can't go wrong there). Enjoy!

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THE DOOM CHART COUNTDOWN RETURNS!

We're just days away from the latest rankings from Doom Charts. While you anxiously await the new list, catch up with the present one on this brand new episode of The Doomed & Stoned Podcast. Bucky Brown from The Ripple Effect and Billy Goate, Editor in Chief of Doomed & Stoned, share our thoughts and favorite songs from records by Astral Mass, Catapult The Smoke, Clouds Taste Satanic, Corrosion of Conformity, Dead Quiet, Doomstress, Electric Wizard, Fuzz Evil, Foghound, Galactic Gulag, Gypsy-Sun-Revival, Heavydeath, HELA, King Buffalo, Legba, Monolord, Mother mars, Motherslug, Purple Hill Witch, Shadow Witch, Snowy Dunes, Spectral Haze, Switchblade Jesus, The Age Of Truth, The Atomic Bitchwax, The Re-Stoned, and The W Likes. Info about the purchase of the music in today's program at www.DoomCharts.com.

PLAYLIST

INTRO

1. The W Likes - "Cometh" 00:26 2. Foghound - "Keep on Shoveling" 05:53

THE COUNTDOWN

3. Host Segment I 10:36 4. Red Stone Souls (#25) - "Night's Watchful Eye" 19:04 5. Dead Quiet (#24) - "Dear Demon" 25:06 6. Legba (#23) - "Necromance" 33:30

7. Host Segment II 39:58 8. Monolord (#22) - "Wormland" 45:08 9. Switchblade Jesus (#21a) - "Snakes & Lions" 51:12 10. Fuzz Evil (#21b) - "Flighty Woman" 56:21 11. Motherslug (#20) - "Serpents" 1:02:43

12. Host Segment III 1:09:30 13. Galactic Gulag (#19) - "To The Hollow Moon" 1:14:44 14. Catapult The Smoke (#18) - "Spread That Evil Tone" 1:23:30 15. HELA (#17) - "Bodies In Hell" 1:27:52

16. Host Segment IV 1:31:42 17. HEAVYDEATH (#16) - "Path To The Altitude" 1:37:02 18. King Buffalo (#15) - "Centurion" 1:44:16 19. The Age of Truth (#14) - "Come Back A God" 1:50:11

20. Host Segment V 1:55:18 21. Clouds Taste Satanic (#13) - "Greed" (radio edit) 1:59:45 22. Doomstress (#12) - "Bitter Pleas" 2:09:28 23. Spectral Haze (#11) - "The Dawn of the Falcon" 2:13:55

24. Host Segment VI 2:18:26 25. Purple Hill Witch (#10) - "Around The Universe" 2:22:53 26. Astral Mass (#9) - "Cosmic String" 2:27:57 27. Mother Mars (#8) - "On Lunar Highlands" 2:33:59

28. Host Segment VII 2:42:39 29. Gypsy Sun Revival (#7) - "Growing Shadows" 2:47:30 30. The Re-Stoned (#6) - "Save Me Under The Emerald Grass" 2:52:03 31. Corrosion of Conformity (#5) - "Cast The First Stone" 2:57:04

32. Host Segment VIII 3:00:51 33. Electric Wizard (#4) - "Necromania" 3:06:41 34. Shadow Witch (#3) - "Cruel" 3:12:58 35. Snowy Dunes (#2) - "Testify" 3:17:42

36. Host Segment IX 3:26:19 37. The Atomic Bitchwax (#1) - "Shell of a Man" 3:29:58

Big thanks to Jason Ogle for composing the show's new opening theme!

*Also streaming at soundcloud.com/doomedandstoned

* Check out Doomed & Stoned's ongoing, scene-by-scene doom-stoner compilations, available por nada at doomedandstoned.bandcamp.com

Foghound - Awaken To Destroy (Ripple Music, 2018)