Brimstone Howl

by Mark Deming
Lincoln, Nebraska-based rockers Brimstone Howl take their garage rock seriously enough that ever since the stuff went mainstream thanks to the White Stripes, they've decided they don't much care for the term anymore. But they still play a Sixties-influenced blend of blues, beat and punk that's earned them a passionate following both at home and abroad. Built around a core lineup of Nick Waggoner (guitar and vocals), John Ziegler (guitar and vocals) and Calvin Retvlaff (drums), with a number of other musicians drifting in and out of the group, Brimstone Howl began life in 2002 under the name Caesar the Greaser, and they changed their moniker to the Zyklon Bees in 2004. Steady gigging in the Midwest led to a firm reputation as one of Nebraska's finest garage punk outfits, and the Zyklon Bees released their debut album, Seven Means Run, in 2005. However, the group's name (which referred to Zyklon B, the poison gas used in Nazi extermination camps during the Third Reich) attracted more controversy than it was worth, and the disc was later reissued under the group's new name, Brimstone Howl. Lots of live work led to second album, Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!, issued later the same year, and a fistful of seven-inch singles followed on a variety of small labels (including "Blood On The Rocks, Blood In The River", produced and engineered by Jay Reatard.) Brimstone Howl hooked up with Alive Records for their third full-length album, Guts Of Steel, which arrived in stores in May 2007. We Came in Peace followed in 2008, also on Alive Records.