My first official gig of 2025 and I got to try out a new venue for size. Tucked away under Glasgow Central lives Audio: an intimate yet lively venue fitting for a community focused gig where music fans can have a heightened experience. On the agenda was stoner rock pioneer Brant Bjork blowing in from California (no credit to Storm Eowyn) as part of his tour in the Brant Bjork Trio with from Auld Reekie natives Earl of Hell, and another Edinburgh representative Robot Death Monkey.
Laying our foundation for the evening was self-proclaimed ‘beer drinking stoner machine’ Robot Death Monkey. I have had the joy of seeing these guys before back in December at Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh, for the Kryss Talmeth experience and their track ‘Kittens and Coke’ piqued my interest.
I would describe their sound as a hazy pint of deepened stoner riffs, with a hint of hoppy southern influence in the vocals of bassist Shaun. While people were still trickling in during their set as most do with openers, they caught everyone’s attention with their strong riffs, and with their song ‘Keghammer’, reminding me of Jack Black’s vocals in ‘I am the Warlock’. Once their set ended they left the crowd hyped for what was to come.
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Next up was Earl of Hell, another band who I have also had the pleasure to see once before. With their unique sound I was convinced they were from the U.S of A, until I heard the singer speak a teeny bit of Scots when having banter with the crowd.
Earl of Hell gave us a preview to their new album that is due to come out on the 25th April, with their freshly released single ‘The Infernal Dream’. With beautiful inspiration from Alice in Chains, their new tracks bring a more modern sound making their sets adaptable to any mood the crowd might be feeling, whilst also maintaining their known styles that were in the spirit of Black Sabbath, blended with a punk edge.
For first time listeners, Earl of Hell’s songs are easy to get onboard with, whilst also giving you that exciting unpredictability you want from a gig.
Headlining the evening was the Brant Bjork Trio. Unlike our ing bands, our headline for the evening was a first time listen for me… almost.
Though I had not seen Brant Bjork in the flesh before I had built up anticipation as many of his projects (e.g., Kyuss; Fu Manchu) has been heavily featured in many of my playlists for zoning out and relaxing after a long day of being a human, so I was looking forward to witness the legend who is known around every hemp campfire.
The Trio’s tour stop in Glasgow was motivated by their new album Once Upon a Time in the Desert. The album presented itself with sandy grooves that are well known within desert rock, and with cool and collected vocals that allowed you to just vibe along. Throughout their set few words were spoken between songs which added to the musically spiritual atmosphere that the crowd was feeling.
At the end of the night, we encouraged an extended encore, with a quick little Ramones riff as Bjork humoured the crowd chanting ‘A-O, let’s go!’.
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Photos by Love And War Photography
