Rising Portland metal band Hippie Death Cult returns to the Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO -- In the short space of five years, Portland, OR-based group Hippie Death Cult has become one of the leading lights of the Northwest's active heavy music scene. Multi-instrumentalist Eddie Brnabic had already made a name for himself playing with Los Angeles stoner-rock band Beggars Ball in the 2000s, releasing two albums playing guitar with the group during its brief three years in existence.
Brnabic would play in a number of other LA hard rock and psych bands (Blessid Electric, Moto-Shiner, the Brothership Connection with former Slash's Snakepit singer Rod Jackson) as well as recording heavy psych music both on his own -- releasing the solo effort Beatitude in 2010 -- and with the band Cosmic Fellowship before he eventually relocated to Oregon.
Once there, it didn't take long for Brnabic to start thinking about a new musical project. Initially based in Eugene, the guitarist began writing new material prior to the realization that he would find the collaborators and the supportive scene the new band Hippie Death Cult would need in Portland. He cycled through a number of different line-ups before bringing girlfriend Laura Phillips on to play bass, who in turn recommended powerhouse drummer Ryan Moore from her previous band experience. The addition of singer/keyboard player Ben Jackson rounded out the quartet that recorded HDC's debut album 111 for Danish metal imprint Cursed Tongue Records.
The 2019 album earned the band solid reviews, leading not only to them contributing a version of "Faeries Wear Boots" to the Magnetic Eye Records' Best of Black Sabbath covers compilation and a deal with US/Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds, who issued the band's split with fellow travelers and labelmates High Reaper (entitled Doom Sessions Vol. 5) and last year's acclaimed sophomore record Circle of Days, that found Hippie Death Cult hitting its stride with a mix of tuneful riffs, pulverizing grooves and compelling dynamics that recall classic '70s metal but still nod to modern heavyweights like Mastodon and fellow Portlanders Red Fang.
The band was dealt a blow when Jackson decided to leave the band only months after the album's release, but Hippie Death Cult has soldiered on admirably as a three piece with Phillips taking over as lead singer. A bracing set at the Heavy Psych Sounds Festival in San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend in 2022 proved to be one of the highlights of the two-day fest, showing that fans had nothing to worry about as far as Jackson's departure.
The power trio was busy last summer, releasing its first recording with the pared-down line-up (the digital single "Nice to Know You") before heading out on a nationwide tour in mid-July that brought the band to Ripplefest in Austin, TX, as well as the massive three-day metal blowout Psycho Las Vegas. While the band announced that Moore would be leaving the group, HPD welcomed Harry Silvers (Robots of the Ancient World, Blue Rumble) before recording their latest full-length album for Heavy Psych Sounds set for release on October 20th. Helichrysum marks another quantum leap forward for the band.
On their current tour, Hippie Death Cult are joined by like-minded psychedelic rockers Spirit Mother. The moody Long Beach-based outfit echoes the headliner's sometimes languid and experimental approach to heavy sounds. The power trio of bassist/singer Armand Lance, drummer Landon Cisneros and guitarist Sean McCormick are joined by classically trained violinist and vocalist Sarah Jane "SJ" Long.
While the band has only put out one full-length -- Space Cadets, issued in 2020 right before the pandemic hit -- Spirit Mother's compelling combination of ominous atmospherics, punchy riffs and tandem melodic vocals by Long and Lance has made a name for the foursome as one of the more unique groups on the SoCal stoner/psych scene. They were one of the younger acts to be included as part of the Giant Rock Records' pandemic concert recording series Live in the Mojave Desert that included such established greats as Earthless, Nebula and all-star trio Stoner releasing live albums and blu-rays of their performances among the Mojave's majestic rock formations after their sets were livestreamed for quarantined fans.
More recently, the group added second violinist/vocalist Camille Getz. Spirit Mother has paid regular visits to the Bay Area in the last couple of years, sharing stages with notable heavy acts like Blackwater Holylight and King Buffalo and appearing at the afterparty for last year's Heavy Psych Sounds festival. Oakland stoner doom band Phantom Hound opens the show at the Ivy Room Saturday night. The afternoon show at the Kilowatt in San Francisco Sunday is free.
Hippie Death Cult with Spirit Mother
Saturday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m. $12-$15
The Ivy Room
Sunday, Oct. 1, 2 p.m. Free
The Kilowatt
