Feral Ohms – Live In San Francisco
Continuing Castle Face’s Live In San Francisco series, which already includes hot drops from the likes of FUZZ, the Ty Segall Band, Destruction Unit and Thee Oh Sees, Feral Ohms (or Ωhms, if you prefer) are frontman and guitarist Ethan Miller of Comets On Fire fame (and, more recently, Howlin’ Rain infamy), drummer Chris Johnson of Drunk Horse, as well as bassist Josh Haynes of recent [sic] magazine review stars Nudity. Together, the Oakland trio have just a couple of singles to their name, as well as a fearsome stage reputation, but are yet to convert their sweaty wail to LP format – one will, incidentally, follow in 2017 on Miller’s own Silver Current label. In the meantime, logic prevails in the form of this searing soundboard recording and, while its six tracks suffer minutely from noisy no-fi capture and brutal cuts between songs, its punishing 18 mins play out with pure, wah-fuelled guitar indulgence.
Don’t think that’s long enough to be an endurance test? Try holding your breath throughout because it sure sounds like Miller did during the set. Though barely audible (bar certain acerbic chorus structures) through a veritable maelstrom of feedback, he sneers, spits and screams like he means it throughout. His band are urgent and vital too, dirty 100-mph drums running riot amidst speaker-blown guitars set to total abandon. Always capable of finding another level, these muscular bruisers sound like lost proto-metal psych-punk demos, full throttle biker-psych whipping itself into vicious vortexes out of which white-hot solos are flung as they collapse under their own weight. The live show is no doubt still preferable, but this is one that’ll leave your ears stinging all the same until you get there. Grab a beer and get stupid as it spins.
~Feral Ohms Live In San Francisco is released November 11th 2016 via Castle Face.~