Rising Stars: SNAIL – Stoner/Psych/Doom from Seattle

Today we are introducing a brand new section to Neutronium Core called “Rising Stars.” We will be using Rising Stars to bring your attention to bands that you most likely haven’t heard of, but really need to check out as we feel these bands have what it takes.

Many bands often come to an end far too soon, well before they really get the chance to truly make it. One prime example would be Kyuss, a band that had all of the goods to make it big in the music industry. Sadly Kyuss broke up back in 1995 for several different reasons and never really enjoyed the success that they deserved when they were still a cohesive unit. Today, it seems like everyone who enjoys Stoner/Desert Rock points to Kyuss as the high-water mark when it came to defining the genre. Take a look at any forum dedicated to Stoner/Desert rock and you will find many calls for the group to get back together and for good reason, they rocked it! Big time.

Rarely do bands that flew under the radar give us a second chance to enjoy them, case in point – SNAIL. SNAIL formed back in the early 90s and put out a self-titled album and an EP called All Channels Are Open. They were a powerful three-piece unit consisting of singer/guitarist Mark Johnson, drummer Marty Dodson and bassist Matt Lynch. When they had completed writing material for their sophomore release, the band succumbed to a lack of success and the rock ‘n roll lifestyle and sadly called it quits.


At the beginning of last year a remarkable thing happened, Johnson, Dodson and Lynch decided to give it a second shot and get that second album recorded and out into circulation. This time around the trio added a long time friend, Eric Clausen (guitar), as a fourth member to round out the band’s sound. SNAIL went back into the studio and recorded the long-lost album, that they have titled Blood, on their own dime and began shopping it around. As luck would have it, they landed with the legendary Stoner/Doom label MeteorCity who will be distributing the album within the next two months or so.

We conducted an interview with founding member and Mark Johnson, the lead singer/guitarist to pick his brain about what happened, what they are up to and find out more about SNAIL in general.

The Core: You just signed with MeteorCity, how did you get on their radar?

Mark Johnson: We sent them a demo. We recorded the latest album Blood on our own in summer/fall of 2008 with the goal of finally recording tunes we had written before we broke up. We had initially thought that we would self-release the album for free but as interest grew we realized that, if we wanted to get wider distribution for the album, we would need a record label's help. We sent out a bunch of demos and were contacted by Dan from MeteorCity who was interested in releasing the album. Of course we were very excited because StonerRock.com is the Stoner/Doom center of the universe. Plus Dan really seems to care about the artists. So after some short negotiations we signed with them.

The Core: Snail has an amazingly heavy, fuzzy but groovy sound, what bands do you cite as your main influences and what is your inspiration?

Mark Johnson: I would say our main influences for the blood album are Black Sabbath, the Melvins, Pink Floyd, My Bloody Valentine and to a lesser extent Iggy Pop and the Velvet Underground. For the psychedelic elements we draw from early Pink Floyd and early Psychic TV. We are inspired by great rock n roll bands - we're all total rock fans and we love to sample from the rich history of rock for ideas. Personally I'm inspired by compassion and you'll find a compassionate subtext in many of our tunes.

The Core: When can we get our grubby paws on Blood?

Mark Johnson: The release date has not been set yet but the album is currently being duplicated so I would guess within a month or two. We'll announce it on our MySpace page and I'm sure Dan will send out notification so sign up for the StonerRock.com newsletter.

The Core: How do you get your amazing tone?

Mark Johnson: We used a variety of tube amps on Blood but generally speaking we get tone by turning the amp all the way up. With one of the amps it really sounded like a fuzz box but I assure you that there is only one fuzz track on the entire album; on the tune "committed." We used Laney and Orange amps as well as a secret tube amp that gets that shredded sound. :)


The Core: Any plans for a tour to support Blood?

Mark Johnson: So far we are trying for a west coast tour of the U.S. with either Nebula or Fu Manchu, who are our close friends. No dates yet, but probably in the fall.

The Core: You originally formed in 1992, but as you put it, succumbed to the "sex, drugs and Rock 'n Roll", how is your sound different today than it was back then?

Mark Johnson: I'd say that the Blood album is pretty faithful to our sound back then because most of the tunes were written back then. The exceptions are "Mental Models" and "Via/Penny Dreadful" which were written in 2008 and reflect our move to an even heavier sound. Currently we're working on finishing up our next album and I can tell you it’s much heavier than Blood. Our goal has always been to try to get heavier with every album. So our current stuff is partially influenced by post-Sabbath Ozzy and Dio as well as Sleep from the Dopesmoker era.

The Core: Any chance Blood will be available on vinyl?

Mark Johnson: Yes. MeteorCity suggested that at the outset and also expressed interest in re-releasing our first album on vinyl as well. Stay tuned.

The Core: Anything else?

Mark Johnson: Yes. Please support marijuana decriminalization and legalization. Our prisons in the U.S. are full of innocent pot smokers and dealers who are unjustly imprisoned and educated in violence and crime. They are being forced into a world of violence, murder and survival that transforms many of them into hardcore criminals.

Thank you Mark! We truly wish you and SNAIL nothing but the best. We will see you when you swing through the Bay Area!

If you are into any kind of Stoner/Doom rock, SNAIL is going to rock your world. Please take the time to listen to SNAIL on their MySpace page, which you can find here

We will keep you up-to-date on when the album will be released. SNAIL has said that the first album and the EP will also be reissued, so make sure to keep an eye out for that. Once we find out if they are touring with Fu Manchu or Nebula (WE HOPE BOTH!!!), we will post the tour dates. We will also provide a full review when Blood hits the streets.

Remember to support Indie music with your dollars. We need bands like SNAIL to stick it out for the long haul this time!