Reviews for Early Man...

PLANET FUZZ

There were so many amazing talents on Mans Ruin who just seemed to go away following the demise û thank God Tummler didnÆt follow that route. After a near breakup following their fantastic debut on the short-lived Mans Ruin roster, Tummler has re-loaded and re-vamped itself into a true brutal low end force with their 2nd full length on Small Stone. The sound on this record kills ôQueen To Bishop VIö û crisp highs and brutal lows, with an even vocal mix, and not one ounce of that muffled garage production heard on the last record. ôEarly Manö starts off with the powerhouse ôShooting Blanksö û a track that is so tightly constructed, you have no choice but to get caught up in their groove. What is ôARLOö? Who knowsà.maybe itÆs the weird space stormtrooper astronaut on the cover or maybe its TummlerÆs answer to 2001Æs HAL. Whatever it is, it has a stop-start crunchy riff that will chew you up and spit you out like day old gum. ôPlanet Moaiö is 2002Æs answer to ôSoul Driverö from their debut û a slow and brutal 11+ minute space dirge that is executed exclusively for floating through spaceÆs ôuntamed voidö. Then, finally, a true rehashing of their classic ôLost Sense of the Cosmicö. Tummler achieve a perfectly even mix right across the board on this track, with every guitar and bass nuance getting its proper treatment - not to mention the bass and drums, which, if harnessed correctly, could literally blot out the sun. There are 2 bonus tracks as well, (which I will not divulge) rounding this disc out to 8 smokinÆ cuts û donÆt worry, you will not be disappointed. The educated few will be able to pick out track 8 no problem. All tolled, 47+ minutes and not a dud to be found anywhere on ôEarly Manö. Another must-have from Small Stone.

Nic Muck
November, 2002

HELLRIDE MUSIC

Everything about Tummler is "thick" - thick utterances from overdriven amplification; thick percussive blasts, hell, even Brad Buldak's trademark delivery is thick. A kinetic wall of huge sound. This is the kinda stuff where you stand away from the club's PA for fear of spontaneous peristalsis in the lower intestine. Hearing damage at the very least.

This is Tummler's second major release, pert near three years after the release of Queen to Bishop IV on Man's Ruin. And we all know what happened there. The signature Man's Ruin kitty ended balls up on a lonely San Fran street.

So God bless Small Stone for stepping up to plate and knocking one out of the park for the boys from Illinois. Early Man will not disappoint those that dug the rich n' heavy druggy space doom vibes emanating from Queen to Bishop IV. I'll tell ya right now that "Arlo" with it's Danzig-on-Percoset crush and "Planet Moai"'s epic long space funeral dirge have the makings of classics. While I liked "Here's to Your Destruction"'s decidedly upbeat instrumental sentiment than the rest of the album, it doesn't detract from the remainder. I just don't really like instrumentals that much. But that's my own trip. And we all know I have issues. It's great to have Tummler back in action. Early Man is an equal opportunity release. Stoner and Metal fans alike ought to embrace this one in equal measure.

Chris Barnes
November, 2002

DAREDEVIL MAGAZINE

I'm happy, cause I received the new CD of Tummler today. I know these guys from back in 1999 when they brought out their first killer demo. This is another masterpiece of Heavy-Rock. The guitars are tuned down to the max and the bass and drums are crashin? through the whole CD. This release has so much power you can't believe. I would describe the music as a mixture between old High On Fire (voice) and Awesome Machine (music). I think that'll give you a little bit of a picture. This is just fat and syruplike, this is planet Tummler. 6 epic songs with lots of aura and heaviness. I highly recommend this CD to fans of Heavy-Rock. Thank you!!!

RB
December, 2002

LOLLIPOP MAGAZINE

Yet another fine band who had the misfortune of releasing an album on ManÆs Ruin at the depths of that labelÆs ôWe donÆt know the meaning of the term æquality controlÆö period, TummlerÆs debut full-length Queen to Bishop VI very nearly slipped past me. If not for a buddy who bravely picked it up on blind faith, I probably wouldÆve remained in the dark about this excellent band. Actually, if IÆm gonna be honest, the debut didnÆt exactly bowl me over at first. Seemed like pretty generic stoner rock, actually, but a few spins and attendance at one of the bandÆs overpowering live performances sold me. Now, IÆm the sort of person who generally tends to avoid making the Black Sabbath comparison when reviewing a stoner rock band, and IÆll tell you why. ItÆs the most obvious comparison made when reviewing these bands, and most times itÆs made out of sheer laziness and/or ignorance more than anything else. Most of the time, these bands simply do not sound like Black Sabbath. No one does. Most of the people who make these comparisons probably couldnÆt distinguish between a Sabbath song and an Ozzy solo song.

BUTà.Tummler really do sound quite Sabbath-like at times. ItÆs not that the two bands are especially sonically similar, and singer Brad BuldakÆs yowly vocals arenÆt especially Ozzy-like, but the similarity really comes into play on something like ôPlanet Moai,ö whose monolithic riff crawls sloooooowly over a stone floor for eleven minutes or so like the song ôBlack Sabbath.ö ItÆs the sorta thing thatÆs likely to bore your average listener to tears, but for those in the audience who appreciate and covet the half-speed lurch of their own doom, it is ambrosia itself.

Fortunately, though, the whole album does not stick to this course. DonÆt get me wrong, I like a head trauma caused by excessive blows from the granite doom bludgeon as much as the next fella, but I sure as hell donÆt need a whole album of it. Luckily, it seems, neither does Tummler. Opener ôShooting Blanksö approaches actual uptempo status, the kinda tune thatÆll probably cause a speeding ticket or two during its time. Another pleasant surprise is emotional centerpiece ôArlo,ö which is, shock of shocks for those of you with an attitude about stoner bands, a good song. YÆknow, with prechoruses and everything!

There are two unlisted songs on the disc, which is sorta annoying (I mean, if the songÆs worth putting on the disc, isnÆt it at least worth mentioning?), but theyÆre both pretty good and theyÆre each on their own track so you donÆt have to skip through 25 minutes of dead space to get to them. These are minor quibbles, though, and I will not trouble you unnecessarily with them, lest you come away from this review with a negative impression. This is certainly not my intention, as Early Man is an extremely fine collection of heavy rock which you should buy and buy often.

Brian Varney
January, 2003

METAL-RULES.COM

hhh, itÆs good to be back and rockinÆ with my pals from Small Stone Records. As I mentioned a couple months back in my review of their comp SUCKING THE 70S, this label has knocked me on my ass numerous times in the past year or so. Their roster of thick, heavy, fuzzy, 70s-influenced rockers is second to none. Well, now we can welcome yet another new addition into the fold, as Tummler easily their place alongside the rest.
replacements, and also say hello to Small Stone Records and this new album, EARLY MAN.

Tummler fit perfectly into Small StoneÆs stoner niche. The band has that wonderfully huge, lumbering, massive quality that sounds so kick ass when they plug in that you just canÆt help loving it. ItÆs almost like witnessing an avalanche of sludge rolling down the mountainside towards you: youÆre too mesmerized to run. Brad BuldakÆs vocals are equally commanding and echoed, making the whole thing a heart palpitating madness machine.

In the end though, Tummler is a rock and roll band, pure and simple. You can throw on this disc and just have fun with it. ôFreightlinerö is an especially rockinÆ affair. Of course, the band also shares their many counterpartsÆ fascination with outer space, at least in the song titles and imagery, if not the lyrics.

IÆm telling you, Small Stone Records is one of the best labels out there right now, constantly releasing quality product. Check æem out. Tummler would be a great place to start.

Rating: 4.0/5

WASPMAN
February, 2003

SLEAZEGRINDER MAGAZINE

Chicago space doom pioneers Tummler return from the far reaches of man's murky past to pummel us once again with their signature astrofuzz. The addition of Swampass's own spandex tyrant Ginchy on bass adds considerable beef to the spaceman stew, and perhaps some of his trademark punkitude as well, particularly on "Freightliner", which sounds like some snotty CBGB's band beating the shit out of a Fu Manchu song. Elsewhere it's all varying tempos and thrusts of chunky drug metal, hard and muddy and cosmic. Oh yeah, and Brad Buldak sounds like he left his space helmet on when he was recording the vox, which is pretty cool.

KM
February, 2003

TANGERINE MAGAZINE

Buzz fuzz massive, slow, groove monster. The quintessential stoner groove doom band. Like Black Sabbath on Tuinals, or even more Tuinals. Bless the bands that are not afraid to play heartbeat slow. Crawls relentlessly into your brain/soul and owns your host ghost weed-stoned spirit zeitgeist. Down-tuned slabs of warm red thick chords of pure pentatonic pleasure. Carries on the Kyuss THCement heavy tradition with verve and vitality. An unstoppable rock avalanche of ten ton boulders of petrified power. Positively obese in its heaviness. Lipid fat loveliness made real and narcotically addictive. One toke over the line sweet Jesus. I'll Tummler for ya.

Glenn Tillman
May, 2003

THUNDER GROOVE

DonÆt ask me how do an Easter Islands stonehead and a spacemen come together but thatÆs the cover scene of TummlerÆs Early Man. As great as itÆs simple û the saying goes! TummlerÆs debut LP, titled Queen To Bishop VI was realeased by ManÆs Ruin in 2000 with members Brad Buldak - Guitar, Vox Ryan Jerzak - Guitar, Backing Vox, Ginchy û Bass and J Vance û Drums. The band plays really heavy, downtuned music sometimes as simple as Fu Manchu or as psychedelic as Kyuss. What makes them a little more different is their vocalist, who has that HC-punk feeling in the throat. I would say heÆs quite good but the stress seems to be on the instruments. Besides concrete-smashing riffs they seem to have put some real effort into melodies as well which again reminds me of what Fu Manchu does. Well, not exactly but Tummler has a lot of the same grooves. The band is also represented on the fine compilation, Sucking the 70Æs with Working Man, a Lynyrd Skynyrd cover. ItÆs worth remembering their name, especially for all those who like their speakers blasted off by low tunes. In fact, I am one of those and hope I am not alone.

Radics Karoly
June 2003

COSMICMASSEUR

From the moment the album starts out and the guitar riff of "Shooting blanks" kicks in the listener is bombarded with catchy, groovy and mid-paced low tuned mammoth rock complemented with Brad's good voice who sound exactly like Lee "Have a Beer with Fear" Ving. "Planet Moai" has a few references to Pink Floyd and Thin Lizzy in the middle part with its spacey and celtic-like guitarwork. In fact, a great feel of 70's heavy rock prevails throughout the album The cover of "War is our destiny" (Saint Vitus) is a hidden track and gets the job done, just pounding out a great tune. "Early man" comes much more fresher and more varied than its previous release and i guess we will hear more of this talented combo from Illinois. Another great release of Small Stone Records.

Cosmicmasseur
June 2003

MONOLITH (Greece)

This second album from Tummler represents perfectly what we mean with the word "integration". All the elements of this work fit between them really tight, and that's the reason why this album fits equally well with our tastes. From the excellent and unique (especially for the genre) artwork to the absolutely suitable (crystal cleat but also heavy as needed) sound production, this album seems and it actually is quite looked-after. And talking about songs, I really can't find many bands out there that move in the wide space among '70s hard rock, modern stoner rock and traditional doom metal with such success and with so much inspiration. If you don't know or you haven't listened to Tummler yet, you owe yourself a taste of this exceptionally talented band. And their excellent cover version of "War Is Our Destiny" (Saint Vitus) will surely give you another explanation of what we mean!

Rate: 11/13

Francoise Massacre
July, 2003
www.monolith.gr

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1. Shooting Blanks
2. Ario
3. Freightliner
4. Planet Moai
5. Here's to Your Destruction
6. Lost Sense of the Cosmic
7. Dreaming of a Real Life *
8. War is Our Destiny *