{"title":"Randy Holden","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"population-11","title":"Population II","description":"\u003cp\u003e“Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open.” To hear Randy Holden describe the audience’s reaction in 1969 to his solo debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps is about as close as many of us will get to truly experience the moment heavy metal music morphed into existence. However, at last we have unearthed the proper fossil record. \u003ci\u003ePopulation II\u003c\/i\u003e, the now legendary, extremely rare album by guitarist \/ vocalist Holden and drummer \/ keyboardist Chris Lockheed is considered to be one of the earliest examples of doom metal. Though its original release was a very limited in number and distribution, like all great records, its impact over time has continued to grow. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1969, Holden, fresh off his tenure with proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer (appearing on one side of the New! Improved! Blue Cheer album and touring for the better part of a year in the group), aimed for more control over his band. Thus, Randy Holden - \u003ci\u003ePopulation II\u003c\/i\u003e was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. \u003cbr\u003e“I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before,” Holden explains. “I was interested in discordant sounds that could be melodic but gigantically huge. I rented an Opera house for rehearsal, set up with 16 Sunn amps. That’s what I was going for, way over the top.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd over the top it is. The 6-song album delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It’s incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic, sensibility. “At the time, I was hearing these crazy melodies everywhere I went,” Holden says. “I thought I was going crazy.” For example, one day he slowly rooted out a powerful sound that had been nagging him and discovered it coming from a ceiling fan. “Machinery all around us doesn’t turn in a perfect rhythm. That’s what I was tuning into, I heard the music and the discordant sounds coming from the machinery. It was perfect for rendering the machine we built.” \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTroubles with the album’s release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. It was bootlegged several times over the years, but until now hasn’t seen a proper remaster. “The original mastering just destroyed the dynamics of it,” Holden says. “They flattened it out. Now we got a really nice remaster that should be the closest thing to the original recording.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Riding Easy Records","offers":[{"title":"LP - Black","offer_id":50445537247563,"sku":"1089452","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50445537870155,"sku":"1089451","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"LP - Purple","offer_id":56078791475531,"sku":"R9498-4712","price":39.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4c3fd553-0b5e-4f94-96ef-91e331032abd_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727040339"},{"product_id":"population-iii","title":"Population III","description":"\u003cp\u003eHow do you follow up one of the most legendary, yet rarest albums said to signal the birth of doom metal?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re Randy Holden, you give everyone about 50 years to catch up, then casually drop a tastefully modernised reinterpretation of that sound. Population III picks up where Holden’s 1969 solo debut left off, updated with several decades worth of technological advances and personal hindsight.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing his tenure in proto-metal pioneers Blue Cheer in 1969, the guitarist aimed for more control over his next project. Thus, Randy Holden - Population II was born, the duo naming itself after the astronomical term for a particular star cluster with heavy metals present. Along with drummer\/keyboardist Chris Lockheed, Holden created what many say is one of the earliest forms of doom metal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Godzilla just walked into the room. People just stood there with their eyes and mouths wide open,” Holden says of the audience’s reaction to their live debut performing with a teeth-rattling phalanx of 16 (sixteen!) 200 watt Sunn amps.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLikewise, their 6-song debut album Population II delves into leaden sludge, lumbering doom and epic soaring riffs that sound free from all constraints of the era. It’s incredibly heavy, but infused with a melodic, albeit mechanistic, sensibility. However, troubles with the album’s original 1970 release bankrupted Holden, who subsequently left music for over two decades. For good reason, it’s widely hailed as a masterpiece, and until finally getting a proper formal release in 2020 on RidingEasy Records, was a longtime Holy Grail for record collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFlash forward 40 years to 2010, we find the guitarist\/vocalist quietly coaxed into recording a followup album by Holden superfan and Cactus member Randy Pratt. Joined by drummer Bobby Rondinelli (who has played with Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Rainbow), the trio cut the 6-song collection of leaden future blues, Population III. “Randy Pratt had written the basic song structures, he understood my music and where I come from quite well,” Holden says. “He nailed it.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut the recording was ultimately shelved for over a decade. “A year ago, in 2021 I listened to the songs and was delightfully surprised,” Holden says. “I think it’s the best album I’ve ever done.”\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThroughout Population III, Holden effortlessly dishes out squealing, soaring leads and skull-thwacking riffs with his signature low end grit and penchant for Middle Eastern scales. Coupled with Pratt’s pocket-locked bass, the slight flanging effect on Rondinelli’s drums and his pugilistic beats, the album occasionally brings to mind Presence-era Led Zeppelin, particularly on the 22-minute epic “Land of The Sun.” Elsewhere, “Swamp Stomp” echoes more the troglodyte blues of Holden’s older work, with his evermore searing solos showing hints of early Clapton\/Hendrix era guitar prowess to drive home the stomp of the song’s namesake. At times, Holden sounds reminiscent of Neil Young leading Crazy Horse’s ruptured grunge as his lilting falsetto vocals push and pull his guitar’s siren’s call. Taken as a whole, there’s a very distinct difference between the way these veterans of hard rock’s formative years carry the songs compared to the more lugubrious riffing of today’s young doom purveyors. Population III is the real deal — a powerful continuation of a sound forged 50 years ago, that almost didn’t happen. Somehow, Randy Holden’s music always finds a way to stand the tests of time. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Riding Easy","offers":[{"title":"CD.","offer_id":50456045355339,"sku":"1154962","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP.","offer_id":50456047878475,"sku":"1154961","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/dda3bd07-72f1-4b94-ae84-726f18b0da84_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727195986"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/collections\/randy-holden.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}