Raziel’s Tree
“This is hard rock/metal music, no bones. Minimalist and like most post-hardcore stripped of all pretense or artifice.” -Nippertown, July 2021
“This Albany, NY power trio somehow makes visceral sludge incredibly catchy. I hear equal parts early Sub Pop (Tad), Buzzoven, prime NYC noise rock, and damn good songwriting.” – Jeff Gallagher of Mule Thrower
“Murder & Cuddles, [the latest album from] … Raziel’s Tree is a very solid Doom/Sludge release from a group of talented students of the genre. Clearly they have been long time lovers of the sonic frequencies and adapted it to their own vision which gave me hints of legendary bands such as Electric Wizard, Bongzilla, Weedeater, Acid Bath and the more aggressive side of early Type O Negative. There are many things to appreciate about this release. Do you like your doom groovy? BAM here you go! Do you like your doom with a side of grungy punk flare? BAM here you go! Do you like your doom to not take its self too seriously and have a bit of fun…BAM here you go! One thing that stood out to me was that mixed in with these heavy riffing songs are snippets of sounds and music of a temperate nature which used as they are brings more thunder to the heavy riffing upon their return to your ears. Do your self a favor smoke up and experience Murder & Cuddles by Raziel’s Tree.” -Steven Wagner of Red Rumm
“Jagged sludge & raw desperate noiserock meet up for bong rips ” – Jason Krak of the Schenectadvoidz
“Comes out of the gate and the momentum keeps up. Heavy like Helmet with a splash of Ween to take you on a sonic ride. This album will fuzz you up on a cold winter’s day” – Jimmy McFarland of Nine Layers Deep
*
*
*
The Dionysus Effect
The Dionysus Effect is a decadent dive bar alt-rock trio who spread the urge to dance like corona with their catchy, hard-driving tunes. If you’re a fan of Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Electric Six and Supersuckers, definitely check these guys out!
*
*
*
Past Musical Projects
My Solo Music
Brett Petersen is ‘the Daniel Johnston of metal;’ an eccentric loner who dabbles in musical genres as diverse as doom/sludge metal, drone/ambient, acoustic, folk, blues, lo-fi, punk and plain ol’ rock’n’roll. He’s been at it since 1998, recording with his buddies on a boom box in his parents’ basement and playing in bands such as Aluvium, Dynamite Pleasure Chair, Blank Slate and Raziel’s Tree with no sign of slowing down.
*
*
*
Blank Slate
Blank Slate is actually Brett Petersen’s first band. His father Glenn detected an aptitude for drumming in nine-year-old Brett and decided to buy him a used drum kit. Since Glenn played guitar and sang, he hoped that his son would one day be able to drum for him.
Fast forward twenty years.
Glenn has retired from his thirty year teaching career and Brett’s band Dynamite Pleasure Chair has recently broken up. Father and son seize this golden opportunity, recruit bassist Pat and revamp the formerly hypothetical band Blank Slate into a performing act. Since 2015, the band has played several local venues and aims to expand its horizons in the near future.
As far as their sound goes, Blank Slate fits pretty snugly into the ‘classic rock’ pigeonhole although they are influenced by everything from Husker Du to the Stone Temple Pilots and Led Zeppelin. A little Sabbath might’ve seeped in somehow, but the guys are fine with that.
The bottom line however, is playing music that rocks. Blank Slate will continue to rock ‘n’ roll until, like the creatures of the Triassic Period, they become the clay on which future generations will stand.
Update: Blank Slate no longer exists, but Glenn, a.k.a. Derek Slate now plays in a classic rock cover band called Vinyl Vault
*
*
*
Dynamite Pleasure Chair
A band whose name came about as the result of a game of chance, Dynamite Pleasure Chair brought energy, chaos and wacky Dr. Seuss and video game inspired hijinx to the Capitol Region of New York State for a solid four years. With songs like “Dr. Mario,” “Why Don’t You Make Like a Tree and Get Out of Here,” “Cyanide Sugar Bear” and “I Wanna Be a Cage Fighter,” the band laid its sonic eggs in the brains of the populace and they are continuing to hatch long after the breakup of the band. Though they may have gained some haters toward the end (due to drama and bullshit extraneous to the music,) the legacy of D.P.C. still remains in the form of their full-length release “Sudden Impact,” as well as their live recordings and memories kept in the hearts of true Pleasure-Heads (all two of them, *laughs.*) Whether one laughs at or with D.P.C., the fact that laughter is evoked at all is concurrent with their original goal: to simply have fun. D.P.C. was a fun band. May the fun R.I.P.
*
*
*
Aluvium
At their peak, Aluvium was a two-piece blues band inspired by the White Stripes, the Gories, the Stooges and other manifestations of minimalist trash-rock. Singer/guitarist Ryan LeGere would hop around stage like a mummy with its bandages on fire and drummer Brett Petersen would bang on shit with his companion, a red cup filled with beer and whiskey, always at his side. The band would go down in at least a few people’s history books for playing drunken ragers in sketchy Schenectady neighborhoods where Ryan’s amp would short out and Petersen would jump up and down on his kick pedal in perfect time with the music before tearing his drum set apart, throwing it across the lawn and smashing a few beer bottles for good measure.
They broke up after Petersen was institutionalized for hypomania. It was probably for the best, considering that if he had continued his lifestyle of drinking, smashing bottles and worshiping G.G. Allin, he would’ve ended up having a bad time.
As for Ryan, nobody knows what happened to him. Some say he disappeared on a gust of wind. Others claim to have heard rumors about him forming a band called Krowe. If this band is real and has any recordings, please get in touch with Brett Petersen: he would very much like to listen to anything they have produced.
Update: While not working as an RN at a hospital in Nashville, Ryan enjoys hunting varmints in the hill country, relaxing on his front porch and banging out riffs on his cigar box guitar while drinking Jack Daniel’s and smoking fresh-picked tobacco.
Welcome to the garden of the jellyfish! 