Pet Sounds #62: Wolves Bassist Is Obsessed With His … You Guessed It: His Cat

Posted in Features, Interviews, Pet Sounds with tags , on 09/18/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Earlier this month, post-rock and post-metal heathens Wolves dropped their latest record, which is self-titled but features snarky artwork referring to the effort as This Is a Record Called Self-Titled by a Band Called Wolves. Issued through Ripcord Records (whose mascot features a cat’s face), it finds the five-piece gnawing at the confines of genre with a ferocity that commands a feral-like instinct to pay attention on both carnal and cerebral levels.

Wolves, founded in 2016, consist of Mark Howes (vocals, guitar); Andrew “Beard” Rodger (guitar, vocals); Ryan Tyrrell (guitar, vocals); Andy Price (bass, vocals); and Robbie Tewelde (drums). They’re based throughout the Coventry in the Midlands County of England. If you just overlooked the fact that four of the five dudes contribute vocals, you won’t when you hear their seismic onslaught of a sound, which will reel in fans of Dillinger Escape Plan hook, link and sinker:

Incidentally, it’s not just Ripcord that’s obsessed with cats; so are the musicians who comprise Wolves. And many of their names are equally colorful and hilarious. Among Tewelde’s cats is Pharrell Williams, Howes’ cat is named Chairman Meow, (nicknamed “The Chairman” or “Mr. Bitey”). Price has one too, and in celebration of Wolves’ new, certifiably and quantifiably insane beast of a record, we invited him to participate in the latest edition of our long-running series, Pet Sounds.

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From the Vault: Exclusive – Russian Circles’ Track-By-Track Tour of Geneva

Posted in Features with tags on 09/18/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Maybe the guys in Russian Circles were told that too many times by their moms. ‘Cause they’re certainly not the types to open their traps.

The Chicago cell is just about ready to introduce to the world the third Russian Circles record, Geneva – and like its predecessors, the heady adventure is vocal-free. Fortunately, though, we got guitarist Mike Sullivan to pipe up to us about the record.

Relaxed and genial, Sullivan quickly allayed our suspicions that social awkwardness might be behind Russian Circles’ speechless approach to heavy rock. We’re pretty sure he isn’t a hermit, even if he is in a band. Well, pretty sure.

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From the Vault: Inside the Label – Ipecac Recordings

Posted in Features, Inside The Label with tags , , , , , , , on 09/18/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

You know a label is cool when it doesn’t even bother keeping track of how many records it sells. And while such slackerish business practices would seem to spell doom for any label, Ipecac Recordings is puking in the face of its naysayers as the company founded by Mike Patton and Greg Werckman blows out 10 candles this year.

“We don’t really count record sales that well,” Werckman sheepishly admitted to IndiePit in a recent chat. “For Mike and I … we’ve only been around 10 years, but man, we’ve done these records. And the records we’re proudest of are definitely not always the ones that sell the most. It’s just cool to work with so many talented people.”

Lest ye doubt the merit of Werckman’s word, try on for size the Melvins, Isis, Peeping Tom and Queens of the Stone Age – just a small nibble of the big cookie that is the Ipecac Recordings oeuvre.

“We have a foundation of artists who have been around for a while and have a built-in fanbase,” Werckman says of the aforementioned acts. “It would’ve been pretty hard for us to fail completely. … We have a base of Mike Patton’s projects since Faith No More – that’s a pretty strong fanbase. And then, right off the bat, we had the Melvins, who have a good, strong fanbase. The one band we’ve been able to grow and establish a fanbase with is Isis. And then Josh Homme, a good friend of ours from Queens of the Stone Age” who is a constant co-conspirator.

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Timo Ellis Lauds Gojira’s Joe Duplantier as ‘Genius,’ Discloses Autism Diagnosis

Posted in Interviews with tags , , , , , , , on 09/18/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

What do Gojira, Yoko Ono and Money Mark have in common? A man named Timo Ellis, with whom they and a litany of other music legends have collaborated over the years. As prolific as Stephen King, Ellis is a pro at dozens of instruments and boasts tenure with a vast array of bands, including his own projects Netherlands and OOMASOOMA. On October 10, he will roll out El Bronco Blanco, the third collection of material by the latter affair. It succeeds Endless Future and Delireal, an EP that was released in August.

The self-described “genre-fluid” Ellis recently granted The Bad Penny an exhaustive examination of his artistic mind and endeavors, some of the tricks to his trade, and an honest account of his experiences working with a slew of musicians. (He also disclosed that a new Netherlands record is on the way.)

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Video Interview: Der Weg Einer Freiheit Frontman Nikita Kamprad Delivers Straight Talk

Posted in Interviews, Videos with tags , on 09/18/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Thorsten Schaeben and I recently interviewed from Veil of Sound interview Der Weg Einer Freiheit frontman Nikita Kamprad about the German melodic death band’s new record for Season of Mist, Innern. The very well-spoken music vet was about as candid as you can get. Check out the conversation:

Kontusion Vocalist: ‘I Started Puking Out This Black-Red Shit’

Posted in Interviews with tags on 09/17/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Read my insightful Post-Trash interview with Kontusion vocalist/guitarist/bassist Mark Bronzino on the creation of his punk-peppered, death-metal band’s debut album, Insatiable Lust for Death.

On Tyranny: Russia Sentences 5 Members of Pussy Riot to Prison

Posted in Features, News, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , on 09/15/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Five members of exiled feminist protest punk-rockers Pussy Riot are facing lengthy prison sentences after a Moscow court ruled them guilty for staging anti-war performances that criticized Russia’s military actions, the performance-art group’s website, Mediazona, reported Wednesday.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court handed down the ruling in absentia for Maria Alyokhina, Diana Burkot, Taso Pletner, Olga Borisova and Alina Petrova, who could face eight to 13 years apiece in prison, according to the website.

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Pharaoh Overlord’s ‘Louhi’: Two Cent Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags on 09/11/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Consisting of two 19-minute-plus songs that lumber, stomp, and trudge along from start to finish, Pharaoh Overlord’s Louhi is one of those rare records that makes you reflect, “How did someone come up with the idea to make music like this?” Check out my review of the record on Post-Trash.

On Tyranny: Bad Bunny Bypasses US on Tour Due to ICE Raids

Posted in News, On Tyranny with tags on 09/10/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

From i-d.com:

You said you wouldn’t be giving any concerts in the United States. Was this out of concern about [the mass deportations of] Latinos in the United States?

Man, honestly, yes. There were many reasons why I didn’t show up in the US, and none of them were out of hate – I’ve performed there many times. All of [the shows] have been successful. All of them have been magnificent. I’ve enjoyed connecting with Latinos who have been living in the US But specifically, for a residency here in Puerto Rico, when we are an unincorporated territory of the US… People from the US could come here to see the show. Latinos and Puerto Ricans of the United States could also travel here, or to any part of the world. But there was the issue of – like, fucking ICE could be outside [my concert]. And it’s something that we were talking about and very concerned about.

Go to The Bad Penny’s On Tyranny hub for more installments in this series.

Ganser’s ‘Animal Hospital’: Two Cent Review

Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags on 09/09/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Ganser’s Alicia Gaines (bass, vocals) Brian Cundiff (drums) and Sophie Sputnik (vocals, synth, guitar) tap into the artistic wisdom they’ve cultivated together for a decade – not gimmickry, not for a damn minute – to come up with sinister, seductive sounds that serve as the audio equivalent of a red light district or an opium den: irresistible, illicit temptations that even the strongest-willed among us aren’t strong enough to resist. Read my full review on Spectrum Culture.