Blaak Heat | |
---|---|
Origin | Los Angeles/Paris |
Genres | Psychedelic rock, Progressive rock, Surf rock, experimental |
Years active | 2008–present |
Labels | Svart Records Tee Pee Records Improvising Beings |
Members | Thomas Bellier Mike Amster Guillaume Théoden Nicolas Heller Henry Evans |
Past members | Tom Davies Antoine Morel-Vulliez Timothée Gacon |
Website | Blaak Heat official website |
Blaak Heat (formerly known as Blaak Heat Shujaa) is a French-American musical group whose recordings blend psychedelic rock with a number of outside sources, such as traditional Middle Eastern music, progressive rock, surf rock, spaghetti western, and metal.
The band was founded by Thomas Bellier and Antoine Morel-Vulliez in 2008 in Paris while they were graduate students at Sciences Po. [1] In 2012, the band relocated to Los Angeles, signed to Tee Pee Records, and subsequently hired Orange County-based drummer Mike Amster. [1] Blaak Heat has toured Europe and the United States, appearing at festivals such as Levitation Austin, Reverence Valada, and Red Smoke Fest. [2] The band collaborated with Nobel Prize-nominated Gonzo poet Ron Whitehead on two of their releases, leading to multiple live appearances with Whitehead in the US and Scandinavia. Blaak Heat's latest full-length album, Shifting Mirrors, was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Matt Hyde and came out in the Spring of 2016. [3] It has been called "A new standard for a new generation" by PopMatters [4] and "Almost too good to be believed" by Loudwire. [5]
Spock's Beard is an American progressive rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1992 by brothers Neal and Alan Morse (guitars), John Ballard (bass), and Nick D'Virgilio (drums). Ballard was replaced by Dave Meros before the release of their debut album, The Light (1995), and Ryo Okumoto (keyboards) joined soon after. Neal Morse left the band following the release of their sixth album, Snow (2002), and D'Virgilio took over as the band's frontman. In 2011, D'Virgilio also left and was replaced by Jimmy Keegan (drums) and Ted Leonard, from Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep (2013) onwards. As of 2025, the band have released thirteen studio albums and numerous live recordings.
Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a wide range of musical styles. Their sound has merged rock, pop and R&B/soul music with big band jazz.
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted of Pollard, his brother Jim, Mitch Mitchell, Tobin Sprout, Kevin Fennell (drums), and bassist Greg Demos. Noted at first for its lo-fi aesthetic and Portastudio four-tracks-to-cassette production methods, Guided by Voices' music was influenced by early post–British Invasion garage rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, punk rock and post-punk. The band has had a prolific output, releasing 40 full-length albums along with many other releases, and has garnered a dedicated cult following. Their songs are known for their frequent brevity and for ending abruptly or intertwining with homemade sound effects.
Belly is an alternative rock band formed in Rhode Island in 1991 by Tanya Donelly. The original lineup consisted of Donelly on vocals and guitar, Fred Abong on bass, and brothers Tom and Chris Gorman on guitar and drums respectively. The band released two albums during the early 1990s alternative rock boom before breaking up in 1995. They reunited in 2016 and mounted limited tours in the United States and United Kingdom that year.
Omnium Gatherum is a six-piece melodic death metal band from Finland, founded in the autumn of 1996. Although the band mainly follows the path of the melodic death metal genre, much of their work shows strong influences from progressive metal, especially their later albums. Their music is influenced by Gothenburg-style bands such as At the Gates, In Flames, Dissection, and Dark Tranquillity, but also Iron Maiden, Death, Anathema, and Megadeth among others.
Nebula is an American stoner rock band formed by guitarist Eddie Glass and drummer Ruben Romano upon departing Fu Manchu in 1997.
To/Die/For are a gothic metal band from the town of Kouvola in southeast of Finland, originally assembled in 1993 as a hard rock band under the name Mary-Ann. In 1999, they decided to change their musical style to gothic metal, changing their band name as well. The band disbanded in April 2009, but reformed in July 2009, and played their final concert at John Smith Rock Festival in Finland on 22 June 2016. They reformed once again in early 2020.
Hermano is an American stoner rock band formed in 1998.
Clearlight is an American instrumental rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are also known as the Mystick Krewe of Clearlight due to other bands using the same original name.
Maserati is a band formed in 2000 in Athens, Georgia. They are currently signed to Temporary Residence Limited.
Earthless is a mostly instrumental psychedelic rock band from San Diego, California, consisting of guitarist Isaiah Mitchell, bassist Mike Eginton and drummer Mario Rubalcaba.
SPINDRIFT is an American psychedelic rock band, created by singer-songwriter-composer-producer-actor Kirpatrick Thomas. Founded in 1992, the band originated in Newark, Delaware along with such other local bands of the period including Jake and the Stiffs, The Verge, Boy Sets Fire, Zen Guerilla and Smashing Orange. Heavily influenced by The Doors, My Bloody Valentine, Hawkwind, Bruce Haack, and Chrome, SPINDRIFT's early stages were experimental and differed greatly from their present sound though the band's musical style is ever in a period of flux.
Ancestors were an American five-piece doom metal ensemble, residing in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Night Horse is an American hard rock band based in Los Angeles.
Graveyard is a Swedish hard rock band from Gothenburg, formed in 2006.
Woods is an American folk rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2005. The band consists of Jeremy Earl, Jarvis Taveniere, Aaron Neveu (drums), Chuck Van Dyck (bass), and Kyle Forester. The band's former bassist, Kevin Morby, left the band in 2013.
The Skull is an American doom metal band founded by three former members of Trouble, vocalist Eric Wagner, bassist Ron Holzner, and drummer Jeff "Oly" Olson. It was founded in 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. The band's name is derived from Trouble's second studio album, The Skull.
The discography of American psychedelic rock band Earthless consists of three studio albums, two live albums, and various miscellaneous releases, including a number of split albums.
Kadavar is a German rock band from Berlin, founded in 2010. It currently consists of guitarist/lead vocalist Christoph "Lupus" Lindemann, drummer Christoph "Tiger" Bartelt, bassist Simon "Dragon" Bouteloup, and guitarist and keyboardist Jascha Kreft. Their retro style, incorporating psychedelic rock and stoner rock, has been compared to bands of the 1970s hard rock/heavy metal era such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. Bartelt and Lindemann formed Kadavar as a trio with bassist Philipp "Mammut" Lippitz. When Lippitz left the band in July 2013, he was replaced by Bouteloup. After releasing six studio albums, Kadavar became a quartet in March 2023 with the addition of Kreft.
The Murlocs are an Australian rock band from Melbourne. They are composed of Ambrose Kenny-Smith on vocals and harmonica, Cal Shortal on guitar, Cook Craig on bass guitar, Tim Karmouche on keyboards, and Matt Blach on drums. They were formed in 2011 by Ambrose Kenny-Smith, and they have released six studio albums since then. They are signed to Flightless Records, and many of the band members are a part of other bands signed to Flightless, including King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and ORB. Their sound is a mix of rock and R&B, with the distorted harmonica of Kenny-Smith providing the band with a distinctive sound.