The Numero Group continues its eternal search for those buried gems that need to be dug up and presented to the public, the latest find is the “Warfaring Strangers: Darkscorch Canticles” compilation. Out of shrouded depths were summoned a horde of 16 bands whose sole release justified their entire rock & roll mythos. In this collection, medieval Bonham thunk and febrile Iommi guitar leads crowd out the bluesy Americana that foregrounded those bands, replacing hippie pastoralism with mythology, armored conflict, sorcery, and doom. These worried, warlike canticles occupy a minuscule niche in the American underground of self-released rock, but their appeal is more broad today than in any previous era.

[powerpress]