[TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment on this post with your email address in the form. You’ll be contacted at that address if you win.]
Two albums available this time, free of charge, from Minotauro Records. New stuff from Italian classic-style doom metallers Strange Here, and Peruvian conjurers El Hijo de la Aurora, going out. Two very different albums, to be sure, but both standing on their own merits as well, the former with a foot solidly in in the canon of doom and the latter off on a more bizarre, ambient tangent. Either way you go, you can’t beat the price.
Which, once again, is nothing. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post to be entered to win both CDs courtesy of Minotauro, which sent along the following background on both albums:
STRANGE HERE, II
In 2006, Alexander Scardavian (Paul Chain, Steve Sylvester) met Domenico “Dom” Lotito, a 20 year-old guitarist from Milan who had played in a few local bands, including the renowned Error Amplifier. The two immediately developed a strong friendship, and started to lay down the foundation of a new version of Strange Here with Dom moving over to the bass. Soon the two started to develop more material with the help of a few studio musicians on keyboards and drums, and in 2013 the pair started to focus more intensely on their objective, notwithstanding a geographical distance that separated them.
In August 2014 they entered into the studio with three songs ready and many more ideas. This was the culmination of 12 years of soul-searching and existential uneasiness. And so the Strange Here II came to be, recorded and mixed in 20 hours at Atomic Studios in Longiano, Italy. Recorded live, with lots of improvised meanderings, Alexander’s and Dom’s anger, frustration and suffering over the years was conveyed through intense and obscure music.
EL HIJO DE LA AURORA, The Enigma of Evil
EL HIJO DE LA AURORA (The Son of Dawn) is an experimental doom metal band formed in Lima, Peru in May, 2008 by the musician and writer Joaquin Cuadra and guitarist Manolo Garfias. Over the years the lineup has changed several times, leaving Joaquin as the only remaining original member. In their lyrics, the band explores elements of philosophy, occultism, witchcraft, esotericism and spirituality. The album explores new sonic territories, and is a balance between classic 70s doom and experimental sounds with unconventional instruments like Tibetan bowls and gongs.
“The Enigma of Evil” explores the origin of the cosmos, and how we establish our relationship with the spiritual world. The album recalls concepts covered by Copernicus and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky in her books Isis Unveiled, and The Secret Doctrine.
Again, how to enter:
Leave a comment on this post with your email address in the form provided. Please note: I neither have the interest nor the capacity to save or sell any personal information given to me. You will not be added to any email lists as a result of entering. Frankly, I’m not that savvy.
Thanks to Minotauro Records for offering up the discs, and good luck to all who enter!
It starts out quiet and unassuming enough, but don’t be fooled. Lille, France, trio Glowsun will release their third full-length, Beyond the Wall of Time, this summer via Napalm Records, and the fuzz they proffer on “Behind the Moon” might begin softly, but the instrumental roll it soon undertakes is righteously grooved and fully toned. “Behind the Moon” is the first audio — also the first video — to come from Beyond the Wall of Time, so in addition to a visually creative look at the three-piece rocking out amid psychedelic imagery laced between and among the persons of guitarist/vocalist Johan Jaccob (also graphic art), bassist Ronan Chiron and drummer Fabrice Cornille, we’re also getting an early glimpse at what the album itself might, at least in part, have on offer.
And if the titles aren’t enough of a clue — Glowsun are “beyond” this, “behind” that — the song itself is all about movement. Turns are executed quickly and fluidly, but not without precision, and as the three-piece make their way over to the dark side, they do so fostering a balance between natural tones and a linear drive that takes them from their subdued beginning to a memorable stretch of chugging verses and chorus-style leads, sampling, and an open-structured creativity that seems to be focused on where “Behind the Moon” needs to go without coming off as forcing it to get there. They end louder and with more push than they started, but remain under control for the duration, and while it has its sense of space and remains entirely instrumental, the track never veers into all-out jamming. Glowsun seem to be on a different mission entirely.
All the better for signaling the promise the record holds. Beyond the Wall of Time is the follow-up to 2012’s Eternal Season (discussed here) and is out in North America on July 7. Please find the video for “Behind the Moon” on the player below, tailed by a few words from the PR wire, and enjoy:
Glowsun, “Behind the Moon” official video
French trio GLOWSUN are back with their third studio album and strongest record to date: Beyond The Wall Of Time! The sound and tone of the new album perfectly fits into Instrumental Psychedelic Rock realms. From the start the listener is kidnapped by the spherical sound, between enormous atmospheric compositions with pure rock riffs and psychedelic melodies that are perfectly intertwined.
Beyond The Wall Of Time will be released June 29th in the UK & July 7 in the US on Napalm Records! Get ready for this journey with Psychedelic Rockers GLOWSUN!
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 27th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
As discussed before and after their set at Roadburn 2015, this is actually my favorite period of Anathema‘s work: the middle stage where the near-gothic death-doom dramas of their early days gave way to melodic Floydian spaciousness without letting go of its melancholic sensibility or emotional rawness that seemed all the more laid bare on songs like “One Last Goodbye,” “Temporary Peace” and “Flying” without waves of distortion to cover them up. Wider regard for their catalog before and after will be what it is — the ability to conjure opinions has always been a strong point for the Liverpool outfit — but this stuff is where my heart lies when it comes to Anathema.
As such, it’s with a somewhat wistful eye I look at the info below for 180g vinyl remasters and a box set compiling all of what I consider to be their best stuff, The End Records continuing to do well after having picked up the Music for Nations catalog however many years ago it was. Exclusive bundle, 3CD box, 180g vinyl, this one’s got all the keywords.
From the PR wire:
ANATHEMA REISSUES 3 TITLES ON VINYL WITH CD PLUS COLLECTOR’S BOXSET & EXCLUSIVE ALBUM BUNDLE
AVAILABLE NOW IN LIMITED EDITIONS VIA THE OMEGA ORDER
OUT 6/30 VIA THE END RECORDS/ADA
British rock group Anathema announces the remastered reissues of Judgement, A Fine Day To Exit, and A Natural Disaster on 180-gram vinyl and CD via The End Records/ADA. All three albums are also available as a 3-CD collector’s boxset, which includes the 38-song DVD mediabook, Were You There?.
This reissue makes available the first ever Anathema collector’s set, including an exclusive album bundle configuration of all three titles, boxset, and screenprinted slipmat. All Titles Limited Edition
AVAILABLE NOW ON THE OMEGA ORDER!
Judgement Remastered 180-gram LP + CD 01 Deep 02 Pitiless 03 Forgotten Hope 04 Destiny Is Dead 05 Make It Right (F.F.S) 06 One Last Goodbye 07 Parisienne Moonlight 08 Judgement 09 Don’t Look Too Far 10 Emotional Winter 11 Wings of God 12 Anyone, Anywhere 13 2000 & Gone
A Fine Day To Exit Remastered 180-gram LP + CD 01 Pressure 02 Release 03 Looking Outside Inside 04 Leave No Trace 05 Underworld 06 Barrier 07 Panic 08 Fine Day To Exit 09 Temporary Peace
A Natural Disaster Remastered 180-gram LP + CD 01 Harmonium 02 Balance 03 Closer 04 Are You There? 05 Childhood Dream 06 Pulled Under at 2000 Metres a Second 07 A Natural Disaster 08 Flying 09 Electricity 10 Violence
Fine Days: 1999-2004 3 Remastered CDs & DVD Mediabook Disc 1: Judgement (13 Songs) Disc 2: A Fine Day to Exit (10 Songs) Disc 3: A Natural Disaster (9 Songs) Disc 4: Were you There? (38 Songs – DVD)
Exclusive Reissue Bundle Screenprinted slipmat Judgement (LP + CD) A Fine Day To Exit (LP + CD) A Natural Disaster (LP + CD) Fine Days 1999 – 2004 (3CD + DVD)
For as long as I have a brain with which to remember it, I will consider myself fortunate to have been at Roadburn 2009 to witness the beginning — barring a warm-up show or two they played before leaving the US — of Saint Vitus‘ reunion. They hadn’t put out a record in 14 years by that point, and you’d have to add five more to that to get back to 1990’s V, their last studio outing to be fronted by Scott “Wino” Weinrich. Even though that Vitus reunion continued for the next half-decade, produced a righteous comeback in the form of 2012’s Lillie: F-65 (review here) and introduced a new generation to some of the finest American doom ever riffed through a Marshall, the beginning moments were a landmark. The start of a band getting its long over-due.
That Wino/Vitus reunion may continue, it may not. Following the former’s arrest last fall in Norway, the band linked up again with original vocalist Scott Reagers, and the future remains uncertain. But even if it is over, Saint Vitus have left behind a mark on their genre that will continue to be felt for years to come — not just for that full-length they were able to put together after so long away, but for the force with which they got on stage and delivered their classic material. It’s toward that classic material we turn for this week’s Wino Wednesday, finding Saint Vitus at Hellfest 2009 in Clisson, France, for “Mystic Lady,” which originally appeared on their 1985 sophomore outing, Hallow’s Victim (on which Reagers sang). Drummer Armando Acosta had already by then left the band prior to his death in 2010 and Henry Vasquez joined guitarist Dave Chandler, Wino and bassist Mark Adams, so even as they kept moving forward, the character of the band changed.
Still, these moments remain something special within doom, proving the timelessness of this band and their work. I hope you enjoy:
Somehow, this one felt like it was for all the marbles. Over the course of the six nights prior, I’d been to three shows — Clutch (review here), Ufomammut (review here) and Conan (review here) — and with the addition of this one, it would be four shows in three different states. I don’t mind telling you I was dragging ass after driving from Brooklyn to Connecticut after the Conan show the night before, and tacking a drive home to Massachusetts onto that and then another 90 minutes north to Manchester, New Hampshire’s The Shaskeen Pub had some pretty stiff competition from, well, the couch, but ultimately the “gotta go” impulse won out. It had been an obscenely long time since I last caught Gozu — one full year and three days, to be exact — and I was likewise eager to check out newcomers Shatner, who feature two-thirds of We’re all Gonna Die in their lineup, as if the moniker wasn’t enough of a sell.
Put together with New Hampshire’s own Thunderhawk and American Burn, it was a four-band Saturday at the Shaskeen that easily warranted attendance. My first time at the Irish-style pub, I found it inviting for more than its lack of a cover charge. Bands played on a stage in the back room, which had its own bar for those inclined to imbibe — there were plenty of them around — and stools strewn about the place even aside from a dedicated merch area. Up front played hits from the ’90s and I guess in the back it was the metal version of the same idea, with your Panteras, Sepulturas, Megadeths, and so on. It was after 9:30 when the show got going, so I knew it would be a late one, but screw it. This was the final stage of my week-long blowout before starting a new job after Memorial Day, and if you can’t get up for that, you might as well already be at the office in your business casual.
Here’s how it went down:
Shatner
My first time seeing the Boston trio felt overdue, though as guitarist/vocalist Jim Healey pointed out from the stage, it was only their third show, so I guess not that overdue. It will be a sad day for Beantown heavy rock and roll if Healey ever loses that chip on his shoulder — the aggressive edge he brings to his songwriting and delivery is a typifying staple of the city’s specific style. He and bassist/backing vocalist Jesse Sherman are veterans of We’re all Gonna Die, but Shatner are less metal on the whole, such that when they broke into a cover of Thin Lizzy‘s “Bad Reputation” amid a slew of yet-unfamiliar originals — their first recording session took place this past Feb. at Amps vs. Ohms in Cambridge, but the results have yet to hit public ears — the transition was natural and unforced. Their time was relatively brief and the set offered some symmetry in opening with “Dead in Your Eyes” and closing with “Death Reheated,” perhaps working on a theme, but the latter made a particularly resonant impression, Healey out front in a catchy, building chorus propelled forward by Cocked ‘n’ Loaded drummer Rob Davol. They’re experienced players searching out a new dynamic, but the songwriting seemed to be there, and the first impression was a positive one. I’m sure it won’t be the last time I see them and that’s completely cool by me.
American Burn
I was surprised to find out that American Burn, who seemed to be no strangers to The Shaskeen, had only formed in 2013. They’ve obviously made an impression in that time with their dudely dual-guitar groove, rooted in metal but grown to border on heavy rock — the transition in influence from Pantera to Down, if you want to trace it so specifically. Not really my thing, but they were tighter than their two years would lead one to believe, and they absolutely packed the room out with the biggest crowd of the night. I didn’t do a head count, but if you told me it was upwards of 100 people, I wouldn’t argue. There was barely space to move in that back room while they played, and those who came out not only showed up, but were legitimately into it, singing along, headbanging and so on. Credit to the locals for filling the place up. I don’t know how much touring they’ll do or how they’d pull outside Manchester at this point, but seems safe to say they’ve got their hometown conquered, or at least they did this night.
Thunderhawk
Also native to Manchester, double-guitar four-piece Thunderhawk (also stylized with a capitalized second ‘h’) released their Do or Die debut full-length last October. Their style was less metal than American Burn‘s, more Easy Rider than Sons of Anarchy, and laced with a solid dose of modern stoner push, like The Sword if they’d binged on Motörhead or, if you prefer, High on Fire at their most rolling. Lead guitarist Logan Larocque was a quiet presence on the right side of the stage compared to guitarist/vocalist Bryan McCarthy, bassist/vocalist Christopher Shelton and drummer Jon Kirsch, but seemed content to let his leads to the talking, and that turned out to be fair enough. Shelton and McCarthy, the latter in an American flag t-shirt with the slogan “the best things in life are free,” kicked out weighted groove with punker’s abandon, and for a bonus round a the end of their set, they brought up Ichabod vocalist John Fadden — apparently local to the area — for a cover of Black Sabbath‘s “War Pigs.” It seemed they’d done it before, but either way, it was a bit of fun for the crowd to sing-along to (myself included), and did well to show Thunderhawk could both nail their own material while fostering swinging grooves and let loose and have a good time. I knew nothing about them going into the performance and came out on the other side feeling like I needed to check out that album.
Gozu
Like I said, it had simply been too damn long since the last time I saw Gozu. The four-piece would be playing New Hampshire two weekends in a row, and the next week doing a tribute to Scissorfight on the occasion of Smuttynose Brewing‘s beer in homage to the Granite State Destroyers. That would’ve been cool to see, but even more than that, I was hoping to catch Gozu — the now-solidified lineup of guitarist/vocalist Marc Gaffney, guitarist/backing vocalist Doug Sherman, bassist Joe Grotto and drummer Mike Hubbard — playing something new, and along with the familiar swagger of “Disco Related Injury,” the thrust of “Meat Charger” and the mega-hook in “Ghost Wipe,” the band threw in two recent pieces. Titled “Bubble Time” and “Lorenzo Lamas” in their tradition of putting silly names onto killer tracks, both had a somewhat moodier vibe than, say, “Mr. Riddle” or the aforementioned “Ghost Wipe” — however grim the lyrical themes of either of those might be — but being the first to emerge from this incarnation of the band and more directly this rhythm section, they fit well in the set along with some of the faster, older songs. I know better than to try to suppose anything about the next Gozu record after one airing of two songs live, but nothing I heard sounded like a step backward. Informed they had 10 minutes left, they kicked into the eight-minute “Alone,” its peaks and valleys executed without any rush whatsoever, and then snuck in “Bald Bull” right after, giving the night a more raucous sendoff. How I let it go quite so long from one gig to the next, I’m not really sure, but as they continue to put ideas together for their next record, I’ll have my eye out to catch them again sooner than later. Maybe not this weekend, but soon.
—
I guess the Shaskeen had come pretty close to curfew by the time Gozu were done, because the lights came on quickly and those still hanging around were told in no uncertain terms to finish drinks, close tabs and get out. Fair enough. The ride back down south on I-93 was uneventful enough if one didn’t mind avoiding swerving drivers who’d started their holiday early, and I got home a couple minutes before 3AM, same as the night before, carried largely by the adrenaline at having pulled off this monumental week of travel and shows. I’d have called it a mini-tour if there were maybe one or two other gigs involved, but there was enough road-time even without, and I’m glad to say that in this case as in the others, it was well worth getting there and getting back.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 27th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
This year has already brought a handful of surprises from long-running Port Orchard, Washington, heavy rock trio Mos Generator. Like a new lineup. And touring. And live records. And splits. If you don’t believe me, go back a few posts. Today the hyper-active riffers keep the thread going with the announcement that Tony Reed, founder, songwriter and driving force behind the band, will step back from playing guitar on their upcoming East Coast tour in order to fill-in on drums.
He’ll still be singing, but I’m pretty sure this marks a first for Mos Generator, though Reed‘s history drumming goes back farther than that. Reed and still-relatively-newcomer bassist Sean Booth will be joined by new guitarist Scott Riley for the run — which ends giving them just one day’s break before they leave for a European tour with Elder — as the man himself explains:
2015 has been a very hectic and interesting year for Mos Generator. I have had many firsts since January, including playing acoustic shows and doing the longest U.S. tour of my career. Since the split with the original rhythm section in September of 2014 it’s been a rough road keeping a complete rhythm section intact. I’m not surprised, I knew it would be tough but I never thought I would have to end up playing drums and singing for some dates. As I am writing this I am thinking to myself that this is complete insanity, but, as insane as it sounds I am also looking forward to the challenge. So… May 5 through May 13, rather than cancel the tour I will turn my guitar duties over to my old friend Scott Riley and I will mount the kit with one of those horrible Sammy Hagar microphones and do my damnedest. It’s a good thing we’ve got the steady bass playing of Sean Booth to keep it all together. He’ll be the only one that doesn’t look like a deer in headlights. TR
MOS GENERATOR on tour: with Wounded Giant 6/3 Sioux Falls, SD, Total Drag Records 6/5 Philadelphia, PA, Millcreek Tavern 6/6 Baltimore, MD, The SideBar (Moving The Earth Fest) 6/7 Washington DC, The Pinch 6/9 New Haven, CT, Three Sheets 6/10 Cambridge, MA, TT The Bear’s 6/11 Dover, NH, Dover Brickhouse 6/12 Portland, ME, Empire 6/13 Amityville, NY, Amityville Music Hall (Eye Of The Stoned Goat 5)
Posted in audiObelisk on May 27th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
It’s been more than a month now since Roadburn 2015 ended, and that means it’s time to really start digging into the audio aftermath. As always, this batch of streams was captured by Marcel van de Vondervoort and his team, and there are more than a few gems here, from Bongripper playing all of their 2014 album Miserable (review here) to The Golden Grass closing out the fest in the Green Room during the Afterburner.
I was particularly stoked this year for the Afterburner, and not the least because it meant Lo-Pan were rolling into town. The Ohio fuzz four-piece were on their first European tour at the time, capping the first leg of it with Abrahma, who played at Cul de Sac, and soon to pick up again with Black Pyramid and continue their roll, but being a fan of the band and having seen them the many times that I have, it was special to watch them take the stage at Roadburn and level the place as vigorously as they did. That set is included here, along with the devastatingly heavy likes of Primitive Man and Goatwhore, the weird stoned occultism of Salem’s Pot, and Scott H. Biram‘s one-man outlaw idolatry.
They’re all good batches, but I know I’ll look forward to reliving the Lo-Pan set and whether you hit that up or something else, I hope you enjoy:
Bast – Live at Roadburn 2015
Black Anvil – Live at Roadburn 2015
Bongripper – Live at Roadburn 2015
Goatwhore – Live at Roadburn 2015
Lo-Pan – Live at Roadburn 2015
Primitive Man – Live at Roadburn 2015
Salem’s Pot – Live at Roadburn 2015
Sammal – Live at Roadburn 2015
Scott H. Biram – Live at Roadburn 2015
The Golden Grass – Live at Roadburn 2015
Special thanks to Walter as always for letting me host the streams. To read all of this year’s Roadburn coverage, click here. For the first batch of streams, click here.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 27th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Well that’s about as easy a sell for a bill as you can get. Neurosis — on their longest US run in a decade and a half — partnered with Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, with support from Isis-offshoot Sumac and The Body. It’s like a moment of clarity, almost obvious, even though it’s a surprise to have Neurosis hitting the road so hard after so long. Mark your calendars. Attendance is mandatory.
From the PR wire:
NEUROSIS To Embark On Their Most Extensive Stateside Tour In Over Fifteen Years This Summer
As their thirtieth anniversary nears, NEUROSIS will be hitting the road in their most extensive touring of the North American continent in over fifteen years this Summer, the announcement falling as the dust still settles on Baltimore following their crushing performance at this year’s Maryland Deathfest.
Not since prior to the turn of the millennium has the mighty NEUROSIS embarked on a tour of this size, as this week the band confirms more than a dozen new tour dates between the end of July and the middle of August throughout the Midwestern, East Coast, and Southern US states and the lower Eastern portion of Canada. Besides the extensive nature of the tour, they will also be playing in cities and states which they have not visited since the ’90s.
For this widespread endeavor, NEUROSIS will bring an array of excellent acts to the stage with them, including support from labelmates Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, featuring Tad Doyle, for the entire trek, as well as eight shows with nomadic doomsday cult, The Body, five dates with expansive rock duo, Sumac (members of Baptists, Old Man Gloom, ex-Isis, etc.), and one show each with Pinkish Black and labelmates Iron Tongue. This all comes in addition to NEUROSIS’ previously announced inclusion in the massive, three-day Heavy Montréal Festival consuming August 7th-9th, where the band will perform the opening night with the likes of Mastodon, Meshuggah, Gorguts, Arch Enemy and many others.
Tickets for the impending NEUROSIS tour will go on sale for all shows this Friday, May 29th.
NEUROSIS Tour Dates: 7/31/2015 Liberty Hall – Lawrence, KS w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, The Body 8/01/2015 Mill City – Minneapolis, MN w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, The Body 8/02/2015 The Majestic – Madison, WI w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, The Body 8/03/2015 Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, The Body 8/04/2015 Expo Five – Louisville, KY w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, The Body 8/05/2015 St. Andrews – Detroit, MI w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, The Body 8/06/2015 Opera House – Toronto, ON w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, The Body 8/07/2015 Heavy Montréal- Montréal, QC w/ Mastodon, Meshuggah, Gorguts, Arch Enemy 8/08/2015 Paradise – Boston, MA w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, Sumac, The Body 8/09/2015 Warsaw – Brooklyn, NY w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, Sumac 8/11/2015 Union Transfer – Philadelphia, PA w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, Sumac 8/12/2015 Broadberry – Richmond, VA w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, Sumac 8/14/2015 Masquerade – Atlanta, GA w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, Sumac 8/15/2015 House Of Blues – New Orleans, LA w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, Iron Tongue 8/16/2015 Warehouse Live – Houston, TX w/ Brothers Of The Sonic Cloth, Pinkish Black