SONIC ELECTRIFICATION FROM NORMAN, OK Rainbows Are Free's sonic locus appears on the rock n’ roll family tree at the point where proto-metal and heavy psychedelia shared a common apocryphal ancestor before branching off into their own distinct lineages. RAF formed in late 2007 as the conglomerate of several long-time heavy rock bands from Norman, OK. In February 2008, RAF self-released an eponymous demo EP. A year later they began work on a full length album Believers In Medicine, which was released in April 2010 on Guestroom Records Records (GRR). They followed up with their second album on GRR in 2014 with the release of Waves Ahead of the Ocean, which saw international distribution by Cargo Records UK. All three releases were recorded at the legendary Bell Labs recording studio (engineered and mixed by Trent Bell of Chainsaw Kittens fame) in Norman, OK. The release of the band’s third full length album, Head Pains, on Italian Stoner/Doom/Sludge label Argonauta Records (Arenzano, GE) with vinyl support from Horton Records (Tulsa, OK USA), has firmly established the band as a mainstay of underground heaviness while further exhibiting the band’s unique voice -- setting them apart from contemporaries of heavy psychedelic, doom, and stoner rock with whom they’ve shared the stage (High on Fire, Dead Meadow, St. Vitus, The Sword, Big Business, Pallbearer, Kylesa, etc.). Often appearing in costumed stage dress, the band, fronted by the soaring and snarling nigh 7-foot cyclone of weirdness that is Brandon Kistler, continues to shock and amaze fans by introducing an element of good- humored theatrics to accompany their live sonic assault. This is achieved in no small part due to the guitar prowess and songwriting of Richie Tarver, joined by the ambient soundscapes of Joey Powell on rhythm guitar, and the thunderous low end of Jason Smith on bass, and Bobby Onspaugh on drums. 

It’s been an odd and unpredictable past few years but for Oklahoma heavy psychedelic mainstays Helen Kelter Skelter, it hasn’t all been a wash. Thus far, HKS has enjoyed a fairly typical indie band trajectory.  A solid decade in, they’ve released an EP and two full length albums: 2015’s self-titled debut and 2018’s Melter, both to decent acclaim.  All the while, they’ve kept busy playing local and regional shows, sharing the stage with Polyphonic Spree, The Sword, Dead Meadow, And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Pallbearer, Broncho, Blushing, Sun & Stone, Ringo Deathstar, Rainbows Are Free and countless others.   Things had been looking bright.  But then, like with all bands, the pandemic happened, and schedules and plans got scrapped.  Thankfully, HKS eventually made productive use of the supposed “downtime” and got to work – the first results of which will see daylight on their new EP scheduled for release in June on Tulsa label, Horton Records.  Recorded in December 2019 at an undisclosed church in northwest Oklahoma City, HKS’s new EP showcases the band’s established wild-yet-tuneful style while still showing off new ways to keep things fresh.  With their trademarked, reverb-drenched, chill vibe intact, the band fearlessly joust in several directions – all successfully – whether it’s the Hawkwind versus Krautrock tug-of-war in EP opener ‘Best Friends’ which brilliantly dives into a Sabbatherian outro complete with extra trippy percussion or if it’s the slow and lurching ‘Sceptre,’ summoning Red-era King Crimson with its ominous shifting time signatures with Eastern-tinged riffs that twist uneasily but resolve just in time before becoming sinister.  It’s a quick and compelling ride for fans of Black Mountain but who also might desire a more song-conscious path – for the quickest evidence, check out guitarist/vocalist Eli Wimmer’s melody in the EP’s closer ‘Chill.’ The good news doesn’t end there.  The band recorded an additional batch of songs at Breathing Rhythm in Norman and are prepping for their third full-length LP to be released in October, also on Horton Records.  Appropriately, their live schedule hasn’t relented and shows for 2023 are ramping up even more.  This highly creative and capable band is firing on all cylinders and there isn’t a better time to catch them.  Helen Kelter Skelter deserve your attention.  And after an uncertain number of years, one thing has become certain:  their patience and work ethic seem to be paying off.

Sisteria is a thunderous new psychedelic band from Norman, OK, spearheaded by folk-singer-turned-rock- goddess Katie Williams. With an alliance of accomplished players at her side, she spelunks into deep, primal consciousness to reclaim buried treasures of the self. If it is taboo to fraternize with raw mineral deposits of untempered life force, Sisteria wears its adultery with the purest scarlet. Dark Matter -- and Sisteria itself -- is a testament to what feels right. From the outset of the album's incarnation, the band unchained itself from streaming algorithms and audience expectations, choosing instead to feed the desires of the art itself. Naturally, this fits the nature of psychedelic rock to a tee, but it also captures the album's themes of embodied spirituality. What better way is there to rekindle unity within (and beyond) the self than through the transformative power of unadulterated music? –Evan Jarvicks, Make Oklahoma Weirder   “Conjuring Fillmore Auditorium circa 1966 Sisteria burns with an incandescent 21st century psychedelic glow. Williams whispers sex into a throbbing tumult of cheerful aural assault. Cinema soundtrack for a mescaline flick’s montage of bass, drums and guitar.” -Doug Hill, Norman Transcript