I’ve been violently cranking Religious Knives as of late. I saw them once with, I think, Wizzardz (a Lightning Bolt side project). Or maybe it was Zodiac Mountain. I don’t remember. Either way, Religious Knives is boss, and reminds me of one of my forgotten favorites – Loop. More on that in a bit.

Religious Knives‘ latest is called Resin, just released on No Fun with my friends Hair Police. For those who haven’t roomed with pot dealers like I have, resin is the residue left in pipes and bongs after, um, religious marijuana use. I think pothead lexicons are funny, and New York-based Religious Knives makes no bones about what they’re, ya know, about. Or perhaps it’s tongue-in-cheek. You can never tell on paper. Regardless, tune in, turn on, drop out. Hallucinogenic anthems abound.

Loop was a nasty, abominable scourge on the pop-friendly C86 camp in late ’80s Britain. Foul beasts they were, Loop demonstrated their intent to keep music solemnly evil with 1989’s Fade Out. Neither image above is the cover of Fade Out, by the way. The one on the left might be 16 Dreams, which I do not have. There just aren’t a lot of Loop photos floating around.

Lore has it that Spacemen 3 hated them for reasons that remain unclear. They’re often compared to Spacemen 3, but Loop is decidedly closer to Blue Cheer and Hawkwind. They never changed their sound, so all their albums are equally good. I just tend to gravitate toward Fade Out, I guess, because it has the best hooks. Loop albums are extremely difficult to find. I nabbed my burned copy from my college’s radio station about four years ago. Best stoner metal ever recorded, in my not-humble opinion. Loop got off the couch long enough to start a MySpazzz for your soc-networking pleasure.

Since we’re dealing with some evil, sinister psych that you might hear at an Aleister Crowley-hosted dinner party… dude, czech out these skulls. Animated GIFs are awesome. Skulls are awesomer. CRUCIAL!

Throw them horns up.

MP3 :::
Religious Knives – In the Back
Loop – Black Sun
Loop – Fade Out