Gallactus
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Gallactus

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""their most inspired work to date... awesome doom filled stoner rock""

I have been following this Canadian stoner/doom/bong-hit rock’n’roll machine for many years now, hoping they’d be able to break out. They’re still working on it. While not as popular as bands like Cluth, Fu Manchu or Scissorfight (R.I.P.), Gallactus has always been able to deliver the goods. I’m digging the new tracks “The Doom�, “Scars of the Axehandle� (break out the bong!) and the title track. I’ll admit that past albums I’ve loved most of the work but some songs didn’t connect with one another and left me skipping tracks. Nine Mile Woods is easily their most inspired work to date, and album that finds the band hitting the right stride and writing the right songs to get noticed, while at the same time dishing out some awesome doom-filled stoner rock. Again, pass the bong, kids! <A. Bromley> -7.5- - Unrestrained Magazine


""imposing atmosphere and effective dynamics""

Nine Mile Woods is the closest your ears will ever come to the feeling of being violated in your back door — and East Coast metal-heads Gallactus will be smiling the whole time they’re making you squeal like a pig. Dirty, under-produced sludge-metal on speed, Nine Mile Woods takes the most abrasive elements of Discharge, Venom and Dukes of Nothing and amplifies those already-furious bands by another notch or two. From a gurgling, demonic vocal attack that is virtually all static to thunderous drums worthy of The Melvins, with crunchy guitars bleating away in between, there is much to be impressed with. Occasionally, they do slow down to a Clutch-ish pace, but they still refuse to lay off the overdrive, creating an imposing atmosphere and effective dynamics. One walks away from Nine Mile Woods feeling as if something is out of place internally, but the incident causing the torment was entirely enjoyable. Canadian stoner rock — if one can call surly dudes wanting to bite your head off “stoners� — is clearly spawned somewhere in the depths of hell. - Chart Attack Magazine


""I would look no further than Nine Mile Woods. This disc has the subsidiary distortion piled a mile high.""

The self-proclaimed purveyors of “Cosmic Bong Rock� have entered the Death Metal Douglas dimension from Diminished Fifth. If you want to compete with Gallants for the sludge and grunge glory, you had better set your cock clocks for four in the morning. These guys always know what time it is. Ask any one them and you get the same reply. Fuzz thirty!! If I ever sought to experience the power of a Gibson Thunderbird bass through three Big Muffs, I would look no further than “Nine Mile Woods�. This disc has the subsidiary distortion piled a mile high. The gruff vocals are the same all the way through but it works.

“The Fury� opens with the aforementioned Gibson four string fuzz on top of some thrash drums. Kinda neat how they mix it in with the occasional clean guitar. It’s hard not to dig how the bass and guitar are hard panned on “Locust Noose". Without that kind of separation there would be no way of distinguishing the two. “12 Point Buck� hits the QOTSA button sonically while title wise I can’t help but conjure up images of KILLDOZER. “Solar Eyes� mixes the clean with the distorted and the band obtains a slight bit of melody. The title track has some interesting chord shifts and the vocals actually do different things in the middle of the tune. “16 volts� has a nice grind to it. “Kilminster�, as one would imagine, sounds like MOTÖRHEAD. “The Doom� is as good a sludge instrumental as you’d expect. The last untitled tune is fast, furious and somehow fun. Although I can’t say these guys blow me away the same way their label mates in IRON GIANT do, they at least make doom doable.
- PeaceDogMan.com


""Stoner rock fans definitely need Nine Mile Woods.""

Dubbing your music 'Cosmic Bong Rock' is a sure fire way to get people to notice your music. This is exactly what Canadian stoner rock/sludge band Gallactus has done on their newest album Nine Mile Woods. But unlike some bands that give their music intriguing names and fail to live up to them, Cosmic Bong Rock sounds like a perfect way to describe Gallactus’ sound. Raw, dirty, and full of energy, this is a group that stoner fans need to check out if they haven’t already.

Vocalist Dan Hodgson definitely deserves to be known as well as some of his other sludge/stoner rock competitors, as his voice is raw and very deep. At times it reminds me a bit of your typical gruff hard rock singer, but at other times Hodgson’s rough edge is reminiscent of hardcore bands such as Coliseum and Throwdown. Granted Gallactus’ music is much slower and therefore the vocals are delivered in a slower manner as well, but this doesn’t make them any less intense. The vocals always sound as though they are going for the throat, and give Nine Mile Woods that boost of energy it needs to be not only crushingly intense, but also addictive to listen to.

If you’ve listened to any stoner rock band lately, then you should know what to expect from Gallactus. As one might expect, there is a heavy Black Sabbath influence evident in many of the riffs on this disc. But unlike others, Gallactus’ latest album has been mixed so that the chunky guitar riffs are quite audible over top of the pounding drums. The production values here are very raw and unpolished, which is perfectly suited for a band of this type. Though their riffs may not be that different from what you’ve heard before there is just something about them that is near hypnotic, ensuring that listeners will come back to this group time and time again.

Stoner rock fans definitely need Nine Mile Woods. It’s an example of how to do the genre right and creates a crushing, chunky sound that is slower paced than some of its competitors but just as addictive. Along with fellow label mates Iron Giant, Gallactus is a showcase of the talent the Canadian scene has right now and hopefully we’ll be hearing more from them in the near future. Props to Diminished Fifth Records for giving this band a wider audience, as they deserve it.

http://www.diminishedfifthrecords.com/

Chris Dahlberg

August 07, 2008 - Cosmos Gaming


"" One listen to Nine Mile Woods simply will not suffice.""

Gallactus offer a ball-crushing blend of doom metal and stoner rock and continue to solidify their ever-growing reputation for punishing music on this, their third record. Vocalist Dan Hodgson at times sounds possessed by the devil himself, while his band mates lay on a ruthlessly thick and relentless soundtrack in the background. While this type of music isn't normally something I'd throw on in the normal course of my day, there's something devilishly wonderful about the band cutting loose and giving their all on 12 Point Buck, Locust Noose and Scars of the Axe Handle while also slowing things down to a sludgy crawl on tracks like Skin Job and 16 Volts.

Solid as a brick shithouse, Gallactus will leave you wanting more. One listen to Nine Mile Woods simply will not suffice. - HERE N.B.


""take equal parts stoner rock, sludge, and doom and bash them all together""

Gallactus - Nine Mile Woods
Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)
Diminished Fifth Records
Release date: Summer 2008


Apparently this is The Summer of The Long Gestating Follow-Up. This month alone I've checked out new albums by Roadsaw (at least six years since their last release) and Iron Giant (about the same). While New Brunswick's Gallactus formerly Galactus 77 hasn't been out of the picture as long as those two, it's still been four years, which is long enough to forget all about them.

Here's your refresher take equal parts stoner rock, sludge, and doom and bash them all together until you get a thick, syrupy paste that coats your ears and pollutes your mind. Nine Mile Woods rumbles loudly and effectively, as evident on The Fury, 12 Point Buck, and the thoroughly aptly named The Doom. Solar Eyes has a great loud-soft dynamic and a rollicking rhythm, sort of like Nirvana and Clutch as interpreted by Iron Monkey. And the band pays great tribute to the hardest living man in rock with Kilmister. It is as Lemmy-worthy as you could imagine.

Those are all killer numbers, but the best way of summing up Nine Mile Woods is through the second track. I first heard Locust Noose about five years ago, when the StonerRock.comp series first rolled out. The song's aged remarkably well and remains a unique and inspired example of what this genre's all about. On Nine Mile Woods, it's in good company. - StonerRock.com


""Sci-Fi Geeks push Doom up the evolutionary ladder""

It takes a lot for me to feature a band labeled as “Doom� here on 500 Words because, quite honestly Doom can be really boring. In sticking to the genre bullet points Doom is often so slow it becomes boring or so sludgy it loses any and all definition to the music. To lay to rest the myth of Doom being a one trick pony is Gallactus who take the elemental vibe of Doom and combine it with some damn fine meaty riffs. Don’t get worried there guys aren’t some seventies rock retro band either they are way too aggressive for that but still, they don’t mind a good groove.

This is a tight rope that Gallactus walks wonderfully on their new release “Nine Mile Woods� a record that helps turn Doom on it’s sludgy ear. At no point during these eleven songs do Gallactus feel like the standard model for Doom Metal. The volley of the music is too back and forth the depth way too rich. Gallactus manages to be thick but not overbearing, they can drone with the best of them but then kick your nuts into the room of your mouth with their groove-boots.

Coming from Canada Gallactus came into being in 2001 and as with most bands who really understand what it is to tour began playing as many shows as they could wracking up nearly 100 so far. The constant live shows tightened Gallactus into a wrecking machine that released the well-received independent album Empire Of The Eye. Though their earlier recordings have the same power “Nine Mile Woods� is their most mature and well thought out record to date.

Another place Gallactus seem to diverge with other Doom bands is in the subject matter they choose for their songs. Doom bands tend to write about weed, being high or dark or at the most have some kind of fantasy element. Instead Gallactus are geeks, sci-fi comic geeks who’ve fired up the bong and decided to perform tunes based on things like giant robots, deep sea tyrants and alien drug dealers. Even the name Gallactus is taken from comic books (at least I think it is). I love when I get to hear bands like Gallactus because it shows that no matter what the genre there are those who fight to push it forward as opposed to resting on the laurels.

For example, while most in the Doom genre lay back on their songs to a point where the mellow vibe sours quickly into boredom Gallactus have decided to use their grooves as a battering ram. They don’t want to smoke weed and hang “bro� they want to get high in their dark homes and then come out and beat your ass senseless.

Sure the topics of the songs are geeky but the sound itself draws from not just doom but also punk and even elements of old hardcore. Want a final cherry on top to why Gallactus kick so much ass? They have an entire song written and dedicated to Lemmy from Motorhead. As if a dirty, punk driven doom band that write songs about aliens and robots didn’t inspire you enough to go buy their catalog they also bow to the alter of Lemmy as we all do or at least as we all should. I haven’t experienced Gallactus live but I’m hoping to change that very soon, I’m also hoping they are as good on stage as they are recorded. I don’t think I have much to worry about; Gallactus seem like a live band as well as a band I’m expecting great things from. - None Louder


Discography

Nine Mile Woods (2008 - Diminished Fifth Records)

Teletran 1 EP (2005 - Independent)

Empire of the Eye (2004 - Independent)

Self Title (2002 - Independent)

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Bio

Exhaled in 2001, New Brunswick whiskey-fueled Gallactus are like a fuzzy mallet to the eardrums. With their devil horns saluting the dark blues of Black Sabbath and the gravel throat of Motorhead, the four-piece are one of the forefathers of New Brunswick stoner metal, along with Iron Giant and Mood Cadillac. With the new release of their fourth album Nine Mile Woods, Gallactus are ready to up the ante when it comes to earth-shaking heaviness.

Released on Diminished Fifth Records, the album runs the gamut of plodding doom, sun-baked southern rock and fuzzy punk. The 12-track affair, engineered by Nathan Jones, has already been getting great reviews from many publications such as Unrestrained!, Chart Attack, AltSounds UK, Cosmos Gaming and has made a fan in former MTV VJ Iann Robinson. The album has recently been released in Europe, via Code 7 / Plastichead Distribution

Nine Mile Woods was also named #1 Canadian Release by Metal DJ Zombie Boy on Concordia Radio in Montreal Quebec and named Top Album of 2008 by DJ Johnny Suck

However, it is the live setting that gives the band its true identity. Gallactus shows center around one thing - volume. With fuzzed-out guitar and bass and thunderous drums, the band is rounded out with whiskey-burned vocals.
The four-piece has shared the stage with national acts such as Alexisonfire, Misery Index, Krisiun, Neuraxis, Goat Horn.

2009 is already proving to be a great year for Gallactus. The band has already been nominated for the first-ever Loud category for the East Coast Music Awards.

They also gave the Halifax Pop Explosion some heaviness this past October when they performed at the Diminished Fifth Records Heavy Music Showcase.

FOR FANS OF: Motorhead, Black Sabbath, Orange Goblin, Church of Misery, Entombed, and High on Fire