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Review & Track Premiere: Summoner, Beyond the Realm of Light

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on April 27th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Summoner-Beyond-the-Realm-of-Light

[Click play above to stream ‘Into Oblivion’ from Summoner’s Beyond the Realm of Light. Album is out May 12 on Magnetic Eye Records.]

As they approach a decade of making music together, Boston four-piece Summoner bring forth the album which all that time seems to have been building toward. One can quibble on the “decade” figure depending on when they got going under their original moniker, Riff Cannon, but what’s undeniable is the mindful songcraft and crisp delivery across the two sides of Beyond the Realm of Light, released on Magnetic Eye Records as their third full-length. The basic elements at play aren’t all that different from what Summoner offered on 2013’s Atlantian (discussed here) or even their 2012 debut, Phoenix, but from the patience they bring to the post-rock textures early in “Skies of the Unknown” to the crushing roll in the apex of their near-eight-minute title-track, there’s a mature sensibility underlying this material that steers itself away from self-indulgence.

Instead, what bassist/vocalist Chris Johnson, guitarists A.J. Peters and Joe Richner and drummer Scott Smith conjure is a dynamic and efficient six-song/32-minute run that never stagnates and never overwhelms the listener with its technicality — though, as ever, Summoner tear it up; check the solo in “Into Oblivion” to confirm — at the cost of the impact either of a given track or the record as a whole. They pull together a brisk full-album flow that’s not overthought or hyper-cerebral, and while some will hear the initial vocal melody of opener “New Sun” and the subsequent “The Huntress” and compare them to Elder for their locality and proggy bent, Summoner emerge from Beyond the Realm of Light as their own entity driven by their own motivations toward their own ends.

That in itself is significant, as is the fact that Beyond the Realm of Light arrives four years after Atlantian, which itself came only one year after their debut. Summoner have played shows all the while, and no doubt a good portion of “real life” happens in a four-year stretch as well, but as “New Sun” and “The Huntress” unfold the okay-are-we-all-here-good-let’s-do-this-thing beginning of the album, the band displays a growth in their songwriting that simply can’t be faked. At four and five minutes, respectively, the opening duo are a pivotal introduction — not to mention a third of the tracklist, which is only six songs, remember — to where Summoner are at this stage in their tenure, and though they’re energetic and given to a thrust that’s long been present in their sound, the band themselves don’t actually sound hurried or like they’re in anything but total control of their direction.

In the sphere of modern progressive heavy rock, post-Baronesstodon, that’s important, but more so is the balance with which Summoner execute their prog influence, and the rocking start of “New Sun” and “The Huntress” leading into the longer, grander title-track is essential in establishing that. It affects the whole album following, so that when they do begin to unroll “Beyond the Realm of Light” itself, with its measured drum march, far-back echoing clean-sung verse and stomping largesse, the effect is that the palette is gracefully expanded rather than haphazardly thrown together. Summoner push further, and further still as “Beyond the Realm of Light” digs into a quick atmospheric midsection before resuming its roll toward a piano-topped apex and subsequent ambient epilogue, but because they’ve shown such mastery of their songwriting up to this point, there’s no question about the listener being able to follow them on the drifting fadeout that ends the record’s first half.

summoner

If there’s a narrative at work in Beyond the Realm of Light, one finds it growing richer on side B along with the band’s sound, a resolution perhaps in the melodic hook of “The Emptiness,” the multifaceted push of “Skies of the Unknown” and aforementioned bring-it-all-full-circle closer “Into Oblivion” that complements and builds on what the band accomplished with “New Sun,” “The Huntress,” and the title-track. One doesn’t want to speculate on their methodology in piecing the record together, but part of the front-to-back flow that proves so resonant across this still-brief span is a perceptible deepening of the exploration side A began.

To wit, “The Emptiness” is short at just over four minutes, but offers one of Beyond the Realm of Light‘s most engaging moments in its chorus, and the longer “Skies of the Unknown” seems to answer the title-track’s purposes with the winding course of its own, led as ever by the guitars through purposeful shifts in tempo and texture through its 6:42 that draw together the nuance thus far displayed and at about 4:30 in align them toward the solo crescendo of the album as a whole, which pulls back to the NWOBHM-style gallop and hook to finish ahead of the introductory crash of “Into Oblivion,” continuing the momentum with fist-raising righteousness. A last forward shove in “Into Oblivion” makes a fitting way to tie Beyond the Realm of Light together, but even this is just a part of the overarching and more complex trajectory Summoner have set for themselves.

Accordingly, when they hit into the last solo and around again through one last verse and chorus before a somewhat sudden, thudding stop, the sense of determination isn’t lost. It’s not that Summoner couldn’t say more or couldn’t keep going — Atlantian was 43 minutes, Phoenix 49 — but that they’ve come to know what best serves the purposes of the outing’s entirety, and the length of Beyond the Realm of Light becomes another aspect emblematic of that; less immediate than the progress they’ve made in songwriting or honing a flow between a given song’s parts and between the songs themselves, certainly, but important nonetheless. On the whole, Beyond the Realm of Light finds Summoner a more grounded, more engaging band than they’ve ever been, but among the most encouraging signals it sends is that even as they enter this new stage of their time together, they show no signs of slowing their creative development, and it is ultimately that will toward growth that defines them.

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Magnetic Eye Records webstore

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Paradise Lost: New Album Medusa Due this Summer

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 27th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Those who’ve followed UK death-doom groundbreakers Paradise Lost for the better part of the last decade have been rewarded thoroughly by the band’s return toward darker and more extreme sounds. Their 2015 outing, The Plague Within (review here), was perhaps the bleakest step in this somewhat reformed direction to-date, and it would seem that the forthcoming Medusa — which will be the band’s 15th album and label debut on Nuclear Blast after working with Century Media since 2007 — intends to continue that thread. Nothing to complain about there. When Paradise Lost go dark, they go really, really dark.

Good news that they’re in the studio now — including artsy shots of them at work — follows, courtesy of the PR wire:

PARADISE LOST reveal new album title and details

At this moment, iconic UK metallers, PARADISE LOST, are putting the final touches to their upcoming album, recorded at Orgone Studios in the misty countryside of Woburn, England. Together with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano, they have forged the follow-up to their highly acclaimed release The Plague Within (2015), which brought them a step closer to their death metal roots. This time, PARADISE LOST will haunt their fans with a heavy, doom-ridden monster, as lead guitarist and songwriter Greg Mackintosh reveals:

“The new album will be slower, sludgier and more doom filled than ever before. Eight riff laden monster tracks of sheer Northern misery.”

This 15th studio album will see the light of day at the end of summer via Nuclear Blast and is entitled Medusa. As some might know, Medusa is considered a hideous Gorgon in Greek mythology – a winged female monster with living venomous snakes in place of hair and everyone who dares taking a look at her will immediately turn to stone! So watch out for new details about the album being revealed soon – if you dare.

PARADISE LOST are:
Nick Holmes | vocals
Greg Mackintosh | lead guitars
Aaron Aedy | rhythm guitars
Steve Edmondson | bass
Waltteri Väyrynen | drums

www.paradiselost.co.uk
www.facebook.com/paradiselostofficial
www.nuclearblast.de/paradiselost
https://www.facebook.com/nuclearblastusa
https://twitter.com/nuclearblastusa
https://www.instagram.com/nuclearblastusa/
http://shop.nuclearblast.com/en/shop/index.html

Paradise Lost, The Plague Within (2015)

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Purson Announce Final Single and Breakup

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 27th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

If you’re thinking the demise of Purson is the last we’re likely to hear from guitarist/vocalist Rosalie Cunningham, I’ll just say that seems deeply unlikely. Though the London-based psych rock outfit released what has now become their swansong full-length in last year’s Desire’s Magic Theatre (discussed here), the fact that they’re not even able to break up without putting out a new single speaks to a desire on the part of Cunningham to keep things going. And she’s not the only one. Guitarist George Hudson premiered a new project called Flare Voyant in London last weekend, so things are already afoot in the Purson aftermath, and that only seems likely to continue as the rest of 2017 plays out into the unknown beyond.

For now though, kind of a bummer to lose Purson, because while a primary part of their expression was always their hyperstylization, they were also legit songwriters. Their last single, “Chocolate Money,” is out now through Spinefarm, as the PR wire informs:

purson photo peter brenchley

PURSON RELEASE FINAL SINGLE “CHOCOLATE MONEY”

BAND CONFIRMS DECEMBER 2016 LONDON SHOW WAS ITS LAST

“FAREWELL” SINGLE SET FOR RELEASE VIA SPINEFARM RECORDS AS SINGER/SONGWRITER/GUITARIST ROSALIE CUNNINGHAM PLANS NEXT MUSICAL MOVE

PURSON are officially no more.

After a career spanning five years, two studio albums, one EP, a number of singles and videos, plus live shows and festivals in both Europe and America, including a full U.S. run guesting with Ghost, the acclaimed, award-winning, ever-flamboyant UK outfit have decided to call a halt to proceedings.

Singer and guitarist Rosalie Cunningham, the creative force behind the project and the one who provided both the songs and the vision while playing most of the instruments in the studio, had this to say about Purson’s split.

“The past five years have been an unforgettable whirlwind, for which I have to thank our wonderful fans around the world, the band, and all the people who have contributed to Purson’s success over the years. Their support has been overwhelming, but the Purson framework has gone as far as it could go, and now it’s simply time to move on. I feel strongly drawn to a more DIY approach to my career in music, and look forward to the freedom to explore many avenues as a solo artist.”

As a way of going out with a (glam rock) bang, Spinefarm Records released a farewell Purson single on April 21.

“Chocolate Money” was and produced and mixed by Cunningham and John Mitchell (Steven Wilson, It Bites). The song features guest contributions from Jon Seagroatt (Comus) on saxophone and Vodun frontwoman Chantelle Brown on backing vocals. It also boasts wickedly tongue-in-cheek lyrics, taking in “cocoa casanova,” “raison d’etre cake,” and more. The song joyfully celebrates an era when bands like Slade and Wizard ruled the charts, Top of the Pops was essential viewing and vinyl was king.

“‘Chocolate Money’ is a snapshot of the ostentatious decadence of the ’70s,” said Cunningham. “The mythical rock star character with his double-entendre and self-centred hedonism. The industry has become a very different world since then, which is something I will expand on lyrically with my next album. It has inspired my desire to go back to basics and remember what music is supposed to be about.”

“Chocolate Money” does not live on Purson’s last album Desire’s Magic Theatre, which is out now.

https://www.facebook.com/pursontheband/
http://purson.tmstor.es/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/chocolate-money-single/id1225790684
https://www.facebook.com/spinefarm
https://twitter.com/spinefarm
http://www.spinefarmrecords.com/usa/

Purson, “The Window Cleaner” official video

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Bellringer Releases Vinyl-Only 4-Way Split

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

There’s little that’s more punk rock on this planet than DIY split vinyl singles. Yeah, yeah, mohawks, left-wing disaffection, etc., but seriously, there’s nothing more punk than a couple of bands getting together and pooling their utter lack of resources to put out the smallest of records, trinkets to sell in basements and so on. I’m not going to speculate as to the collective incomes of Bellringer, Toranavox, Flyin’ Lion and/or John Wesley Coleman III, but I’m going to guess their choice to combine their efforts on a new split 7″ is more about showcasing pan-Texan weirdness than not being able to afford any other option. Still, punk rock, dude.

Interesting to note that Bellringer‘s track, “A Girl Did It,” is only available on the vinyl, i.e., no streaming. You might recall Bellringer honcho Mark Deutrom did similar last year in a split with Australia’s Dead (review here). Seems like there might be a theme emerging there.

Here’s what the PR wire had to say about it:

bellringer split

BELLRINGER: Four-Way-Split EP With Other Texas Artists Available

Austin hooligan rock squad BELLRINGER — the live entity for the music of guitarist/vocalist Mark Deutrom (ex-Melvins, Clown Alley) – has released a limited four-way split 7″ EP, and has plans of releasing other new tunes in the months ahead.

The new BELLRINGER release sees the bandits uniting with three fellow Texan acts, Flyin Lion, John Wesley Coleman III, and Toranavox, each of whom provide their own spin on the record. The new single, “A Girl Did it” tells the story of what happens when girls get mad in the Lone Star State. Here, the outfit cranks up a solid, megafuzz slam-jam riff-rammer; a mostly-straightforward yet slightly off-kilter clock-cleaner that will get you fired-up for a bar-brawl-boogie in no time.

BELLRINGER’s “A Girl Did It” is available exclusively through this split on vinyl only — no digital, no 8-track. Order it while they last RIGHT HERE.

BELLRINGER ‘s most recent LP, Jettison, was released in September of last year. An expedition into dementia, exploring the back-alleys of psychedelic jazz/blues-infused rock, and the entire record backed by the feeling of chewing napalm bubble gum while tripping on peyote in a video game sequence.

Created as the live entity for the music of Deutrom, who performed bass in the Melvins’ Prick/Stoner Witch/Stag/Honky-era, preceded by Clown Alley, was a touring member of Sunn O))) and others, BELLRINGER also embodies musicians James Flores, Aaron Lack, Monique Ortiz, and Brian Ramirez. The outfit’s Jettison LP was fully written and produced by Deutrom, the album recorded in Austin earlier this year. The six expansive tracks on this new auditory trip traverse an immense volume of genre territory with nearly forty minutes of action, fusing elements of psychedelic and exploratory rock with bluesy and jazzy jam elements, all coalescing in the signature Mark D style. Outer-cosmos radioactive dust cloud soundscapes go head-to-head with lush, organic, earthling grooves, while a quirky edge stimulates hallucinations of animated characters colonizing psychedelic parallel existences.

http://www.facebook.com/BellringerTX
http://markdeutrom.com
http://markdeutrom.bandcamp.com
http://soundcloud.com/mark-deutrom
http://rockishell.bigcartel.com

Bellringer, “Cowboy Fight” official video

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Evoken Reissue Embrace the Emptiness 2LP on Season of Mist

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

So there had to be some measure of self-awareness at work back in 1998 when New Jersey death-doomers Evoken titled their hour-long debut album Embrace the Emptiness, right? I’m not sure even the band could’ve known just quite how much that would become the ethic by which just about everything they did following would abide. I was fortunate enough in my time to play a couple shows alongside Evoken, and whatever room they were in, they never failed to cast a dark, ultra-bleak pall over the place. Just astoundingly heavy and astoundingly miserable in a way that sometimes gets lost in bands of their ilk in favor of theatrical melodrama. No way. Evoken were always onto a rawer vision of the form.

Season of Mist has Embrace the Emptiness as a 2LP up for ordering now. If you didn’t see the date above, this record turns 20 next year. If you’re unfamiliar, I’ve included a YouTube stream below. It kills.

From the PR wire:

evoken embrace the emptiness

EVOKEN reissue classic album ‘Embrace the Emptiness’

EVOKEN have announced the re-issue their much sought-after debut album ‘Embrace the Emptiness’ (1998) as a limited vinyl edition via Season of Mist. The album is available as a limited pressing of 666 hand-numbered copies on 180 gram black double vinyl. Pre-orders are available at the Season of Mist E-Shop.

EVOKEN’s debut album ‘Embrace The Emptiness’ is an underground doom metal classic. It’s seven tracks are absolutely crushing without sacrificing an ounce of melancholic and melodic beauty. ‘Embrace The Emptiness’ is the true essence of classic deathly Doom.

Track-list
Side A: Intro / Tragedy Eternal
Side B: Chime the Centuries’ End / Lost Kingdom of Darkness
Side C: Ascend into the Maelstrom / To Sleep Eternally
Side D: Curse the Sunrise

‘Embrace the Emptiness” Recording line-up
Vince Verkay (ex-FUNEREUS): drums
Nick Orlando (ex-FUNEBRARUM, ex-FUNEREUS): guitars
John Paradiso (GRIM LEGION): vocals, guitars
Steve Moran (ex-RIGOR SARDONICOUS): bass
Dario Derna (KROHM, ex-FUNEBRARUM, RITUAL CHAMBER, VETUS OBSCURUM): keyboards

https://www.facebook.com/evokenhell
https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=evoken

Evoken, Embrace the Emptiness (1998)

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Six Dumb Questions with Electric Moon

Posted in Six Dumb Questions on April 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

electric moon

When an artist takes on a stage-name, the proper format is to write it in quotes, like a nickname, but somehow whenever I end up putting together a piece about the work of founding Electric Moon guitarist, synthesist, sitarist, producer, label honcho, etc., Dave “Sula Bassana” Schmidt, I always feel like I’ve got it backwards. Like it’s Dave Schmidt that should be in quotes and Sula is the true identity beneath. Ditto that for bassist/vocalist/graphic designer “Komet Lulu” Neudeck. A big part of the reason why is the continued stamp Sula, Lulu and drummer Marcus Schnitzler have left on heavy psychedelia over the course of this decade.

With a slew of live offerings, a strong improvisational foundation in the tenets of krautrock, classic prog and of course all things kosmiche, the German three-piece long ago set the controls for the heart of creation itself. Their works are often raw glimpses at their own making — the songs captured as they happened, unfolding as organically as possible to rich and singularly immersive effect. After years outside the studio, Electric Moon have newly released the four-track album, Stardust Rituals (review here), through Schmidt‘s Sulatron Records imprint, and for being six years after 2011’s The Doomsday Machine (review here), the arrival could hardly be more welcome.

Whether it’s the dug-in sitar-laced 22 minutes of vibe they decided to call “(You Will) Live Forever Now” or more song-based pieces “Stardust (The Picture)” and opener “The Loop,” Electric Moon gracefully subvert listener expectation and adjust the balance between improv and structure, and to call the resulting liquidity of Stardust Rituals one of 2017’s best in heavy psych is probably underselling the actual quality of the work itself. Even putting aside the fact that a studio outing from Electric Moon doesn’t happen every day, month, or year, Stardust Rituals gives its audience a solar system to inhabit and worlds or swirl to explore, and if it needs to carry over for a while as the band once more hits stages around Germany and greater Europe, recording and releasing sets as they go (never something to complain about), it should have no trouble doing so.

Sula and Lulu were both kind enough to take some time out to talk about the record and Electric Moon‘s methods in general, and you’ll find the results of that Q&A below.

Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:

electric moon stardust rituals

Six Dumb Questions with Electric Moon

Tell me about how Electric Moon has grown since you started the project. So much of what you do is based on the chemistry between the three of you. How has that developed over time?

Lulu: When we founded the band with the drummer Pablo Carneval, we found out that we had to do nothing else than just start to play and we became one… Over the years, it changed a bit into more frame-based improvisations to get a picture. If you’re on tour, it’s important NOT to fuck up cause 100 percent free improvising night after night can kill creativity and you’re empty then. But we still do it, of course.

Over the years, we had many different drummers so there were also different influences.

But we always try to keep our thing: LET IT FLOW and feel the love. If we feel the love, the music floats automatically!

Sula: In the very first recording sessions we did everything alone, I mean Lulu and me. But then Pablo joined us and we knew we are able make this on stage! That was a great feeling!

What made you decide to go for a more song-based approach on Stardust Rituals? Each track still goes pretty far out, but tell me about incorporating more vocals in the studio. How did these tracks come together to be what they are?

Lulu: First I must say, we did what we’ve always been doing: keeping our studio albums more “song-based” than our live albums cause we have the possibility to do overdubs and recreate stuff, etc.

Sula and me also have so many ideas for songs so we can put them into the music in the studio! “The Loop” for example, was Dave‘s idea on the organ and he showed Marcus and me what he thought and told us what he thinks we should play, and then we did. It took not much time and we got it. It was a lot of fun playing this, by the way!

Also it’s much fun creating vocals for the music while listening to it. The music just tells you what is good for “her”… That’s a loop, haha, but really! I’m spacing out every time I think about these things… So I’m sorry for my weird sentences! Hahaha.

The second thing is, that our live albums are the essence when we three play together. The last records we’ve put out were live albums and we just needed a new impulse, again. So we’re happy that we got the impressions for Stardust Rituals to get it ready. Sometimes it’s hard ’cause the ideas wouldn’t find the way to your soul. But most of the time it’s pure magic.

For me, overdubbing is like talking to myself and, of course, the band. It’s very intimate! Having an idea, sitting down, listening to the song, being alone in the studio, feeling the energy of the music and then do the overdub. It’s really magic. I love doing my overdubs being on my own and it’s also always big excitement when the others listen to them the first time… Do they like what you did or don’t they? It’s big fun to make music with yourself, by the way.

Sula: The first basic recording was in 2014, and was untouched till we started overdubbing. Three of the track’s basics were within three days before we went to the Freak Valley Festival for a gig. That was in early summer 2015. In 2016, we slowly started cutting/arranging the recordings and doing the overdubs. Finally the mastering was done (by Eroc) in early 2017.

Is there something specific about the spirit of jamming that speaks to you with Electric Moon as opposed to other bands you’ve been involved in? Can you hear a part as the foundation of an Electric Moon jam as opposed to, say, something that would become a Sula Bassana piece?

Lulu: No, that never happened yet! It’s more like you hear the Sula Bassana soul in Electric Moon when he did most of the instruments, for example, cause he would influence the song then!

The specific in Electric Moon from the beginning is: Becoming one, let it flow, let the music lead your hands playing your instrument!

Sula: The spirit in the improvisations in the other bands is slightly different, because everyone brings his soul, mood, feelings in. For example, Rainer [Neeff, of Zone Six]’s way of playing guitar is different than mine. So the whole thing has a different energy. The music in Krautzone has a completely different feel and intention as the Electric Moon music. And as Lulu already told, I would never take a Electric Moon recording for a Sula song. Maybe one day I use a lick I played in an Electric Moon concert for a Sula song. But I would do new recordings, with everything played by myself, which will lead to a totally different result.

Lulu: I guess this sometimes happens “by accident” that you play the same lick twice!

Sula: Exactly what I mean!

Where does the title Stardust Rituals come from, and what does it mean for you?

Lulu: I had this idea when I was thinking and feeling a lot about life and death and space!!!

I was reading loads of space magazines and books and thought a lot about the fact that we all are made of stars! Everything and every creature, every plant and every ANYTHING is made of stardust! Our whole planet earth is made of the sun powder… That is so great, it feels so familiar and it’s so soothing when you are sad, for example…

Imagine – nothing and nobody could ever get lost – even if we die! ‘Cause we’d still be stardust in some way… And where should we disappear to? We’re all in space and will be… It feels so true to me.

So the title and also the vocal themes for the album were born. Stardust Rituals is like a complete reflection about this all. The music was talking to me…

And when Sula did the Mellotron in the last track, the complete thing was changing so much – it was so stunning – suddenly the whole piece turned into something different, more intense and beautiful so it made me cry… And then I wrote the vocals and it became the track “(You Will) Live Forever Now.”

Has releasing your own work through Sulatron changed your perspective on writing or recording at all? If so, how? If not, why not?

Sula: No. We always did everything by ourselves and the labels, who released our non-Sulatron-stuff, never told how to do it. They always accepted our music and artwork. So we can say we always produced our music the way we want it! Which is great!

Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

Sula: We have a lot plans for recordings, releases and so on. Also we could talk about the horrible situation on this planet. But that would take hours… and I hope everyone who is interested in our music is some kind of same-minded, trying to be a good person, without being aggressive or a racist, being without hate, and full of love and positive vibrations. Mankind needs love, peace and freedom. That’s it!

Lulu: And if there are any racists listening to our music we hope they can feel love and forget the racism…

Also – remember: We’re all made of the sun….. We’re one indeed! Physically! We’re all in the same space(ship)! LOVE! Man, I sound like a hippie, hahaha, but my heart feels it like this!

Electric Moon, Stardust Rituals (2017)

Electric Moon on Thee Facebooks

Electric Moon on Bandcamp

Sulatron Records

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Nudist Premiere “Bury My Innocence” Video; New Album out Now

Posted in Bootleg Theater on April 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Dudes having a sitdown.

Like the song from which it takes its name, Nudist‘s fourth album, Bury My Innocence, is a short burst of an offering that sets its core balance between aggression and atmosphere. Its five component tracks draw lines across post-hardcore and sludgy territories, but as a song like “Dead Leaves” shows, the undercurrent is noise rock all the way, and indeed that’s where the Firenze three-piece have their roots. Starting out as instrumental, they’ve been doling out punishment since their self-titled showed up in 2010, and Bury My Innocence marks their debut on Argonauta Records.

They’re a group you want to be as specific as possible when Googling — I did “nudist band italy” with my fingers crossed it wouldn’t cause my laptop to explode and came out of it okay — but if you make your way over to their Bandcamp, all of their releases, including the new one, are available as name-your-price downloads. The CD was issued last month through Argonauta, though, and as it moves through the pummel of “Strengthless” and “Bury My Innocence” into the more ambient finish of “Drift,” the offsetting of punishment with atmospheric immersion would seem to justify the physical presence. That is to say, it makes sense they got picked up for the release.

Call it an EP or an LP if you want, but at 25 minutes, Bury My Innocence brings no shortage of fury to its assault. And I don’t know where the band found the female lead they cast in the video for “Bury My Innocence” below, but yeah, she’s pretty creepy as well.

You can check out the premiere of the new clip followed by more info from the label.

Please enjoy:

Nudist, “Bury My Innocence” official video

The project Nudist born in 2008 as a Noise Instrumental Power Trio and two self-produced albums: “Nudist” and “Appetizer for Monsters”. After formation changes, Gabo and France have found in Lore a worthy travel companion. From there they started an evolution, still in place, of style and sound. With the inclusion of vocals, their third album “See The Light Beyond The Spiral” (2015) have resulted in sounds ranging from post-metal, sludge and post-hardcore.

NUDIST are used to have intense live activity, opening in Italy for acts as Red Fang, Jucifer, ZU, Conan and more, and touring in Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Poland. In August 2016 they recorded their new album “Bury my Innocence”. The songs were recorded live in a small theater in Prato, edited by Niccolò Gallio and later mixed and mastered by the expert hands of Eraldo Bernocchi.

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Nudist on Bandcamp

Nudist website

Argonauta Records website

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Argonauta Records on Twitter

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Desertfest Belgium 2017 Makes First Lineup Announcements: Radio Moscow, Windhand and More to Play

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 26th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

desertfest belgium 2017 banner

Here we are, about to kick off the Spring incarnations of Desertfest, and Desertfest Belgium 2017 has already started representing the Fall season. And formidably, with Windhand and Radio Moscow providing immediate heft and scorch for a bill that’s only bound to continue to grow over the next couple months as we move into and through the summer. Also part of this first lineup announcement are Part Chimp and Hemelbestormer, so it seems there’s a pretty wide spread of styles and geography already to Desertfest Belgium this year. That’ll very likely continue to be a running theme as well.

More to come, most certainly:

desertfest belgium 2017 poster

DesertFest Antwerp 2017 First Names – WINDHAND, RADIO MOSCOW and more!

We know you all have been aching for this, so without further ado let us present the first names for the 2017 edition of Desertfest Antwerp!

We kick things off with Windhand, a scene favorite that has also managed to capture the hearts and minds of rock fans worldwide with their unique brand of female-led Sabbathian worship. Radio Moscow is another winner with a stone solid live reputation that will be sure to set the DF stage on fire.

Next up, something more out of the ordinary: Part Chimp blends sludgey riffage with the acid bite of Amphetamine noiserock, and will delight anyone with a fine ear for heavily distorted blues. Finally, we keep the tradition of presenting Belgian bands to our international crowd. Hemelbestormer (that’s Dutch for ‘Stormer of Heaven’) is a local postmetal band that has been making waves in Europe and the States for the last couple of years.

WINDHAND

WINDHAND convey an irrepressible sense of motion even within the slowest of songs. The unique siren voice of Dorthia Cottrell combines beauty with enormous power, while the twin-guitar attack of Garrett Morris and Asechiah Bogdan can deliver both perfect riffs and fuzzed-out bliss. Add the colossal rhythmic mastery of bassist Parker Chandler and drummer Ryan Wolfe, and it’s easy to see how Windhand has become one of the premier metal bands of our time.

RADIO MOSCOW

How to describe a RADIO MOSCOW live show? Imagine the feeling of being blown back by a whirlwind of energy and power, concocted by three guys locked in a groove. This is heavy blues-infused rock at its finest! The San Diego outfit has recently made the leap to a worldwide deal with Century Media Records, for whom they are currently preparing their next upcoming studio album to be released in late-summer 2017.

PART CHIMP

PART CHIMP emerged from South London in 2003 as a full formed noise rock leviathan. The band’s penchant for shockingly large riffs and monumental volume earned them a fully blown cult status by the time they split up in 2011. Recently reformed, their comeback shows already proved that time has far from diminished their extraordinary power. This year will see them deliver a new album for Rock Action – we can’t wait to hear what they’ll cook up next!

HEMELBESTORMER

“HEMELBESTORMER” is a Dutch word which is literally translated as “stormer of heaven”, but is used to describe the outsiders with revolutionary and idealist minds. Since 2012 the Belgian band has combined post-rock, sludge, ambient, doom and even black metal into an instrumental sound that balances between light and dark. Hemelbestormer aims for quality, not quantity. With the visual spectacle of their custom sigils and entrancing wall projections, each live show feels like being sucked into a black hole.

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Radio Moscow, Live in California (2016)

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