Sod Hauler

(Rendezvous) Is stoner rock the modern white man's blues? Obviously, both forms revolve around the guitar. But more specifically, they both rely on that basic minor pentatonic scale, that instinctive progression of notes that seems to exist specifically for the guitar. The natural ease with which the standard blues lick or stoner-rock riff rolls off the fingers allows guitarists to play with a certain unfettered zeal. Groove is prioritized over melody. So while the succession of notes can be obvious at times, the template provides freedom to express pain and anguish without having to think too much about music theory. Sod Hauler's reefer-infused riffage is a classic example of the parallel. And, like Robert Johnson, these men probably sold their souls to the devil. - Kaleb Gubernick, The Stranger

When Adrian of Locust Tree Records sent this record over he described it as a "rifftastic masterpiece" and I really can't say that I disagree. This is a split from (Denver band) Kingdom of Magic and (Seattle band) Sod Hauler and since this is actually a pretty amazing split and also something that would be difficult to come across without a bit of friendly promotion, allow me to proudly uptalk this in the remainder of this post.

So yeah - here are two hard rocking bands that are really on their way to making their mark on the face of heavy music; Kingdom of Magic starts the split off with a raging couple of tracks with a noise rock touch and lots of mind bending, catchy riffs, then Sod Hauler turns the rock up even harder with some low end, doom-tinged heavy rock tracks. All in all the high levels of awesome riff-age and unexpected twists and turns in this split make it a really fun listen. Below I included a track listing and a download of "They Say She's Evil" by Sod Hauler. Listen, enjoy, and buy the 12" (go to the label's myspace page here... it's kind of worth purchasing for the album art alone in my mind) if you like what you hear. - Cara

“Sims' band Plaster was one of several local bands at El Corazon last Friday in support of Jucifer. Despite all the talent on that lineup, I walked away from the show most impressed, surprisingly, by Sod Hauler, an elephantine-heavy trio equally informed by doom-driven down-tempo and sweeping stoner rock. They've been around for a while, but never seem to have gotten the attention they clearly deserve. Their songs are not suited for listeners with short attention spans, but anyone who prefers their sonic sludge cooked slow and low will be pleased. You can catch them live next Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the Rendezvous.” - Hannah Levin

First off, Kingdom of Magic packs a whole lot of ass kickery into jams stretching well beyond the ten minute mark. However, they are outside our realm so we’ll have to let their local rock guys talk ‘em up. Seattle's own Sod Hauler, on the second half of this split, delivers some tracks that are sick-made rough. They sound rough in all the right ways, and the playing is rough – not amateurish rough, more like you feel sorry for these dudes’ instruments. That kind of rough. Rough like a bar brawl. Rough like roller derby. Like many other bands carrying the torch today, it ain’t nothing new but damn it sounds good when it’s done right. - http://www.seattlerockguy.com/