Posted in Questionnaire on November 4th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Dimos Ioannou of Khirki
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I am a musician. I play guitar and I sing in a rock ‘n’ roll band called Khirki. We are from Athens, Greece.
I realized early on I have the gift of music and I have devoted my life to honor it.
Listening to Metallica’s “Kill ‘em All” at the age of 13 made me fall in love with the electric guitar, listening to Mastodon’s “Leviathan” taught me the power of the Riff, listening to Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung” showed me the elegance of folk music.
I am also a Ph.D. student in Physics, currently working on my thesis in the field of Nanotechnology.
Describe your first musical memory.
I remember Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” vinyl spinning and my mom explaining the concept to me. It was a thrilling experience that haunted me for the rest of my life. I was 5 years old.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Every time we play and I see people I’ve never met in my life singing my lyrics, dancing and enjoying themselves because of our music is a special moment I hold dear in my heart.
As a fan my best musical memory would have to be the very first time I listened to Mastodon’s “Crack the Skye”. Instant classic! My jaw dropped, my mind was blown and I was inspired beyond words.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Standing in front of an audience for the first time at the age of 14, playing my first show and deciding to be myself however awkward or weird I might be. It was totally worth it.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
We chase something almost impossible to catch. The essence! We all have one magic song inside of us and all we play is variations of that one song. The more we dig, the faster we run, the harder we play we come closer and closer. If we are being honest and devoted we might get a true glimpse of it one day.
How do you define success?
To earn a decent living doing what you love without sacrificing yourself.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Members of my family being really worried or sad.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’d like to write a symphony for an orchestra one day. Something like “Tubular Bells” but with lyrics.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Communication. Art is expressing yourself and being felt rather than understood.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I am looking forward to visiting some places of the world like southern Italy, Morocco, Jordan, Scotland and Sweden. I would love to see the Aurora Borealis! I would love to ride a camel through the desert and visit ancient sites to marvel at monuments.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 13th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Athenian progressive heavy rockers Half Gramme of Soma will release their third album, Slip Through the Cracks, on Sept. 30 through Fuzz Ink Records and SOL Records. The former imprint covers Greece, the latter greater EU (maybe North America? I honestly don’t know.) with distribution through The Orchard, and is a newly incarnated wing of Sound of Liberation, the booking agency responsible for, among others, a slew of festivals that Half Gramme of Soma are about to play while they tour with Naxatras to support this upcoming release.
That’s Up in Smoke, Keep it Low and the SOL-friendly Desertfest Belgium in Antwerp, and those probably won’t be the last at which the band features. Their video streaming below for “Muck & Cheese” represents them well with a mind toward groove and rhythmic intricacy. It’s a little more of a rager than psychedelic, but I’m not going to argue with it either way, especially not having heard the rest of Slip Through the Cracks yet. I hope it doesn’t.
From the PR wire:
Sound Of Liberation Launches SOL Records: Athens Rock Act HALF GRAMME OF SOMA To Release Brand New Album On September 30th!
On Tour With NAXATRAS This October!
Sound Of Liberation – the renowned, international live and booking institution for all that is heavy in the realms of stoner and heavy rock, psychedelic, doom and sludge metal, hosts of events such as Desertfest, Keep It Low, Up In Smoke and many more acclaimed festivals of the heavy music underground – has launched its own record label! Distributed by The Orchard, September 30, 2022 will see SOL Records proudly present their first record release, the new album by Athens-based rock act HALF GRAMME OF SOMA!
Formed in early 2011, HALF GRAMME OF SOMA unleashes an enthralling blend of heavy rock and a wide range of eclectic influences. 90’s-fueled, orgasmically monolithic and with a deep psychedelic soul, the band’s sound is groovy and trippy at the same time, based solely on successful teamwork rather than meaningless individual show-offs.
With their self-titled debut album in 2013, the Greek five-piece took the rock community by storm: In 2014, the band released their much acclaimed Marche au Noir EP, followed by extensive touring schedules and shows with bands such as Monster Magnet, Elder, Stoned Jesus, 1000mods, Mars Red Sky and many more. Groove Is Black, HALF GRAMME OF SOMA’s sophomore album, was released in 2017.
Just recently, the band has shared a first song taken of their upcoming, third studio album, Slip Through The Cracks, which will see the light of day on September 30, 2022 via SOL Records (PRE-ORDER HERE!). Their new album raises the bar even more, with memorable riffs, genuine heaviness, an increased use of 90’s influences, powerful driven vocals and a tight rhythm section that never ceases to impress with its precision and effectiveness. HALF GRAMME OF SOMA are once again not aiming for commercial success or innovations, but they revolutionize the modern approach to classic ingredients, creating an addictive yet effortless magma of straightforward heavy rock music and unpretentious punkery!
In support of their upcoming record release, the band will hit the road with NAXATRAS in October; make sure to catch this killer tour package of up-and-coming Greek rock gods live at the listed dates below! HALF GRAMME OF SOMA’s new video for first single and album opening track, “Muck & Cheese”, is streaming here.
HALF GRAMME OF SOMA & NAXATRAS LIVE: 02.10.2022 (CH) Pratteln / Up in Smoke 03.10.2022 (ITA) Bologna / Freak Out Club 04.10.2022 (AT) Innsbruck / PMK 05.10.2022 (AT) Salzburg / Rockhouse 06.10.2022 (DE) Passau / Zauberberg 07.10.2022 (DE) München / Keep It Low 08.10.2022 (CZ) Prague / Rock Café 10.10.2022 (PL) Warsaw / Hydrozagadka 11.10.2022 (DE) Berlin / Zukunft am Ostkreuz 12.10.2022 (DE) Wiesbaden / Schlachthof 14.10.2022 (DE) Oldenburg / Cadillac 15.10.2022 (BE) Antwerp / Desertfest 16.10.2022 (NL) Utrecht / DB´s
Slip Through The Cracks Album – Tracklist: 01. Muck & Cheese 02. Voyager 03. Magnetar 04. High Heels 05. Mind Game 06. Sirens 07. Wounds 08. 22:22
Posted in Questionnaire on August 16th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Vagg Oikonomou of Honeybadger
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Channeling my inner fears, feelings, and energy into music through the communication with three other people, combining their ideas and forming them into something special (I hope so).
As for how I came to do it, well I had to find a way to stop banging tables, my feet, other’s feet, and everything that had a drum sound in my ears, just to stay concentrated…
Describe your first musical memory.
I remember my mother arguing with my older brother about the cover of Iron Maiden’s “Live after Death”, that she didn’t want that monster in our house. That’s when I thought I must listen to this music. I did some favors to my brother and voila, my first Cassette and Walkman, and a blown mind!
Describe your best musical memory to date.
I remember hours and hours recording vinyl to cassettes, then blasting my Walkman up to 11 so the music would bleed through the old headset (the one with the metal thing and the spongy speakers), just to impress the girls… Metallica wasn’t a good choice then, but Offspring did the work.
I really miss this process of listening to music, to listen to the whole album with no distractions, as a part of a “Litany”.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
When my father had a heart attack. The image of a powerful figure collapsed.
Then he told me the story of how he ended up in hospital: He felt chest pain, took the car, drove to the hospital, and with a cigarette in his mouth, said to the guy at the gate: “I’m having a heart attack, let me in.”
That’s when I believed that he is just NUTS!
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Simplicity, I guess. Can I answer again in 30 years?
How do you define success?
Success is when your music has an impact on another person. If it creates a memory, a crack in his timeline and gets entombed in their heart, their soul.
Oh, and sold-out shows, definitely!
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
That’s a difficult question for me, because as a person I always try to extract the positive essence of an experience. Seeing something bad makes me appreciate something else.
Every experience is a “train station,” I guess. In some you stay longer than another.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A stand-up show.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Thanks for this question, it really had me digging.
The personal function of art is vague and that is what makes it so interesting. Everyone experiences art differently. The artist speaks a language, and the “receiver” understands something completely different, maybe the same or something in between. Is that bad? I guess not, because it all comes down to the subject’s perception. No one can control the use of an artistic piece.
Lyrics and poetry in general, are a great example. And classical music. I remember my first music teacher had us listen to Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons”, close our eyes, and write down what pictures the music produced. Everyone had a different experience!
By the way, if a kid paints the sky purple is it wrong? Is it Art? (Maybe it is young “Prince”)
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Posted in Questionnaire on August 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Greg ‘Maddog’ Konstantaras of Seer of the Void
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Generally, in music you can define everything, but in our case things are pretty simple and they are characterized by an also simple procedure: we love jamming as a heavy doom trio; we just grab a beer and we play. Everything is about straightforward, honest, heavy, and ominous riffs.
Sometimes we like it slow sometimes like it fast.
Nevertheless, it’s always an honest manifestation of our own worlds.
Describe your first musical memory.
Listening to Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” on a mix-tape in the early ’90s — that my parents actually had labeled as “Slow Rock”.
This song was blowing my mind at this time! As a child, I couldn’t understand the meaning but the energy of the melody is living inside my head until now.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
On a more personal level – as band: the timing of our “birth” was very unfortunate due to the pandemic. Nonetheless, recently we played a live show, after 2 years, for our debut album “Revenant”. The audience included very close friends and quite a few fans in our hometown (Athens, Greece). The atmosphere was incredible and despite the COVID-19 aftermath; everything almost felt like before. We were all there – enjoying the music.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
None of the members of the band is narrow – minded. We are always open to discussion and new ideas.
Thus, each and every time we join a discussion we are open to any exchange of views. However, and possibly on more personal level, we evaluate current facts and personal beliefs every day. I am not sure if the question alludes to a more ethical or political level; but the only thing that I can say for sure is that from thorough assessment comes improvement and development.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
First and foremost; there is no parthenogenesis in music.
Nevertheless, someone could say that “artistic progression” lead to general improvement.
It can also lead to further artistic voyages – and possibly to further musical soundscapes.
How do you define success?
Success for me is to make your own music; and people embrace it with their own unique way.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Is that a trick question? Haha! I could say many things.
I could say that I wish I hadn’t seen the tragedy of this world and the irony of this life; but the hard truth is that we actually HAVE to witness it and fight for “better things to see”.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A time-traveling machine would be great – I guess.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To connect and interact with the audience. To inspire. And to make other feel each and every piece of art with their own intensity.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Summer – for sure! I am not sure if mean “summer” literally or in a more poetic / redeeming way though.
Posted in Questionnaire on August 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Diamond Pr of The Same River
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
All of us, have a different perspective on what we call journey of life. I define everything I do as a need filtered through the idealistic obsessions that feed my soul. There’s a chain of events
from the day we were born until our last breath, that keep pushing our personal ascendance and that’s what I call instinct.
Describe your first musical memory.
I was around 5 years old when my dad gave me a mixtape and I remember the first song I felt in love with. The second song of this tape, Stranglers- Nice ‘n’ Sleazy.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Back in 2005 when I saw the original Black Sabbath lineup live.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
The day I saw my grandpa at the hospital, I realise that nobody’s a god and one day will all face the consequences of time.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
The gift of artistic expression, is undoubtedly a way for our soul to speak in ways that otherwise couldn’t. The reaction and resonation of this procedure leads, at least for me, to be a better man.
How do you define success?
Success is believing to yourself and chasing your dreams until your last breath.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I have seen Belgrade after the war and the image with the starving children can’t leave my head.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I would like to write a book. A novel actually.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Commitment is the most important factor. Without it you have no chance of creating something that vibrates even to yourself.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
My little daughter to start talking and call me dad.
Last day. Maybe I’m supposed to have some grand reflection as we hit 100 of 100 records for the Quarterly Review, but I’ll spare you. I’ve put a few records from the bunch on year-end lists, enjoyed a lot of music, wondered why a few people got in touch with me in the first place, and generally plotzed through to the best of my ability. Thanks as always to The Patient Mrs., through whom all things are possible, for facilitation.
And thank you for reading. I hope you’ve managed to find something killer in all this, but if not, there’s still today to go, so you’ve got time.
Next QR is probably early October, and you know what? I’ve already got records lined up for it. How insane is that?
Quarterly Review #91-100:
Jo Quail, The Cartographer
To list the personnel involved in Jo Quail‘s Roadburn-commissioned five-movement work The Cartographer would consume the rest of this review, so I won’t, but the London electric cellist is at the center of an orchestral experiment the stated purpose of which is to find the place where classical and heavy musics meet. Percussion thuds, there’s piano and electric violin and a whole bunch of trombones, and whatever that is making the depth-charge thud underneath “Movement 2,” some voices and narration at the start by Alice Krige, who once played the Borg Queen among many other roles. Though Quail composed The Cartographer for Roadburn — originally in 2020 — the recording isn’t captured on that stage, but is a studio LP, which lets each headphone-worthy nuance and tiny flash of this or that shine through. So is it heavy? Not really in any traditional sense, but of course that’s the point. Is SunnO))) heavy? Sure. It’s less about conforming to given notions of genre characteristics than bringing new ideas to them and saying this-can-be-that in the way that innovative art does, but heavy? Why the hell not? Think of it as mind-expansion, only classy.
An aptly named second full-length from Buenos Aires trio Experiencia Tibetana greatly solidifies the band’s approach, which of course itself is utterly fluid. Having brought in Gaston Saccoia on drums, vocals and other percussion alongside guitarist/vocalist Walter Fernandez and bassist Leandro Moreno Vila since their recorded-in-2014-released-in-2020 debut, Vol. I (review here), the band take the methodology of meditative exploration from that album and pare it down to four wholly expansive processions, resonant in their patience and earthy psychedelic ritualizing. Each side of the 48-minute LP is comprised of a shorter track and a longer, and they’re arranged for maximum immersion as one climbs a presumably Tibetan mountain, going up and coming back down with the longest material in the middle, the 16-minute pair “Ciudad de latahes” and “(Desde el) Limbo” running in hypnotic succession with minimalism, noise wash, chanting, percussive cacophony, dead space, bass fuzz, spoken word and nearly anything else they want at their disposal. With “El delito espiritual I” (8:18) and the maybe-eBow(?) ghost howls of “El delito espiritual II” (7:19) on either side, Vol. II charts a way forward for the trio as they move into unknown aural reaches.
People of the Black Circle, People of the Black Circle
Not quite like anything else, Athenian conjurors People of the Black Circle plunge deep into horror/fantasy atmospheres, referencing H.P. Lovecraft and Robert Howard within the five tracks of their nonetheless concise 34-minute/five-track self-titled debut. Weighted in tone and mood, almost garage-doom in its production, the synth-backing of “Cimmeria” unfolds after the outward crunch of leadoff “Alchemy of Sorrow” — like Euro doom dramaturge transposed onto a bed of ’80s synths with Om-style bass — and from centerpiece “The Ghoul and the Seraph (Ghoul’s Song II)” through the bookending choral figures and either sampled or synthesized horns over the resolute chug of “Nyarlathotep” and more straight-ahead slow-motion push of closer “Ghosts in Agartha,” which swirls out a highlight solo after a wailing verse lets go and seems to drift away after its payoff for the album as an entirety. While in concept, People of the Black Circle‘s aesthetic isn’t necessarily anything new, there’s no denying the boundaries of dungeon synth and horror/garage doom are being transcended here, and that mixture feels like it’s being given a fresh perspective in these songs, even if the thematic is familiar. A mix of new and old, then? Maybe, but the new wins out decisively. In the parlance of our times, “following.”
It always seems to be a full moon when Black Capricorn are playing, regardless of actual cloud cover or phase. The Sardinian trio of guitarist/vocalist Fabrizio Monni (also production; also in Ascia), bassist Virginia Pras and drummer Rachela Piras offer an awaited follow-up to their 2019 Solstice EP (discussed here). Though it’s their fifth full-length overall, it’s the second with this lineup of the band (first through Majestic Mountain), and it comes packed with references like the doomly “Worshipping the Bizarre Reverend” and “Snake of the Wizard” as distorted, cultish and willfully strange vibes persist across its 44-minute span. Doom. Even the out-there centerpiece kinda-interlude “Godsnake Djamballah” and the feedback-laced lurch-march of the nine-minute “Witch of Endor” have a cauldron-psych vibe coinciding with the largely riff-driven material, though, and it’s the differences between the songs that ultimately bring them together, closer “Uddadhaddar” going full-on ritualist with percussion and drone and chanting vocals as if to underscore the point. It’s been five years since they released Omega (review here), their most recent LP, and Cult of Blood wholly justifies the wait.
The Danish title Skyggekæmper translates to English as “shadow fighter,” and if punk-informed heavy rocking Aarhus three-piece SABOTØR mean it in a political context, then fair enough. I speak no Danish, but their past work and titles here like “2040-Planen” — seemingly a reference to Denmark’s clean energy initiative — the stomping, funky “Ro På, Danmark!” (‘calm down, Denmark’) and even the suitably over-the-top “King Diamond” seem to have speaking about Danishness (Danedom?) as an active element. Speaking of “active,” the energy throughout the nine-song/49-minute span of the record is palpable, and while they’re thoroughly in the post-Truckfighters fuzz rock dominion tonally, the slowdowns of “Edderkoppemor” and the closing title-track hit the brakes at least here and there in their longer runtimes and expand on the thrust of the earlier “Oprør!” and “Arbejde Gør Fri,” the start-stop riffing of which seems as much call to dance as a call to action — though, again, I say that as someone without any actual idea if it’s the latter — making the entire listening experience richer on the whole while remaining accessible despite linguistic or any other barriers to entry that might be perceived. To put it another way, you don’t have to be up on current issues facing Denmark to enjoy the songs, and if they make you want to be afterward, so much the better.
Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Van Bassman, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Benjamin J. Davidow and bassist/backing vocalist/percussionist Charles Wiles are The Buzzards of Fuzz. I’m not sure who that leaves as drummer on the Atlanta outfit’s self-titled Sept. 2021 debut LP — could be producer/engineer Kristofer Sampson, Paul Stephens and/or Nick Ogawa, who are all credited with “additional instrumentation” — and it could be nobody if they’re programmed, but one way or the other, The Buzzards of Fuzz sure sound like a complete band, from the trippin’-on-QOTSA vibe of “Tarantulove” and “Desert Drivin’ (No Radio)” (though actually it’s Kyuss alluded to in the lyrics of the latter) to the more languid psych pastoralia of “All in Your Head” and the spacious two minutes of “Burned My Tongue on the Sun,” the purposeful-feeling twist into Nirvana of “Mostly Harmless” and the nod to prior single “Lonely in Space” that is finale “Lonely in Space (Slight Return).” Sleek grooves, tight, hooky songwriting and at times a languid spirit that comes through no matter how fast they’re playing give The Buzzards of Fuzz, the album, a consistent mood across the 11 songs and 32 minutes that allows the delivery to play that much more of a role in making short pieces feel expansive.
Crawl into Temple of Void‘s deathly depths and you may find yourself duly consumed. Their style is less outright doom than it used to be, but the Detroit extremist five-piece nonetheless temper their bludgeoning with a resilient amount of groove, and even at their fastest in songs like “Hex, Curse & Conjuration” and some of the more plundering moments in “A Sequence of Rot” just prior, the weight behind their aural violence remains a major factor. The keys in “Deathtouch,” which follows down-you-go opener “Behind the Eye” and leads into “Engulfed” branches out the band’s sound with keyboards (or guitar-as-keyboards, anyway) and a wider breadth of atmosphere than they’ve enjoyed previously — “Engulfed” seems to touch on Type O Negative-style tonality as it chugs into its midsection — and the concluding “Dissolution” introduces a quieter, entirely-clean approach for just under three key-string-laced minutes that Temple of Void have legitimately never shown before. Seems doubtful they’ll take that as far as Opeth in putting out Damnation — though that’s just crazy enough to work — but it shows that as Temple of Void move toward the 10-year mark, their progression has not abated whatsoever. And they still kill, so no worries there.
Psych jazz, instrumental save for some found voice samples which, if you were listening on headphones out in the wild, say, might have you wondering if you’re missing the announcement for your train at the station. Based in Thessaloniki, Greece, Anomalos Kosmos brim with experimentalist urgency on the half-hour of Mornin Loopaz, the seven tracks of which are titled playing off the days of the week — “Meinday,” “Chooseday,” “Whensday,” etc. — but which embark each on their own explorations of the outer reaches of far out. The longest of the bunch is “Thirstday” at just over five minutes, and at 30 minutes one could hardly accuse them of overstaying their welcome. Instead, the shimmering tone, fluid tempos and unpredictable nature of their style make for a thrilling listen, “Thirstday” remaining vital even as it spaces out and “Friedday” picking up directly from there with a ready sense of relief. They spend the weekend krautrocking in “Shatterday” and managing to squeeze a drum solo in before the rushing Mediterranean-proggy end of “Sinday,” the crowd noise that follows leaving one wondering if there aren’t more subversive messages being delivered beneath the heady exterior. In any case, this is a band from a place where the sun shines brightly, and the music stands as proof. Get weird and enjoy.
This third full-length from Quebec-based doom outfit Cauchemar brings the band past their 15th anniversary and makes a bed for itself in traditionalist metallurgy, running currents of NWOBHM running through opener “Jour de colère” and “Rouge sang” while “Danger de nuit” takes a more hard rock approach and the penultimate roller “Volcan” feels more thoroughly Sabbathian. With eight songs presumably arranged four per vinyl side, there’s a feeling of symmetry as “Le tombeau de l’aube” tempts Motörhead demons and answers back with wilful contradiction the late-’70s/early-’80s groove that comes late in “Notre-Dame-sous-Terre.” Closer “La sorcière” tolls its bells presumably for thee as the lead guitar looks toward Pentagram and vocalist Annick Giroux smoothly layers in harmony lines before the church organ carries the way out. Classic in its overarching intentions, the songs nonetheless belong to Cauchemar exclusively, and speak to the dead with a vibrancy that avoids the trappings of cultism while working to some of its strengths in atmosphere, sounding oldschool without being tired, retro or any more derivative than it wants to be. No argument here, it’s metal for rockers, doom for doomers, riffs for the converted or those willing to be. I haven’t looked to see if they have patches yet, but I’d buy one if they do.
If you ever wanted to hear Weedeater or Dopethrone hand you your ass with Sons of Otis-worthy tones, Seum‘s Blueberry Cash has your back. The no-guitar-all-bass-and-drums-and-screams Montreal three-piece are just as crusty and weedian as you like, and in “Blueberry Cash,” “John Flag” and the seven-minute “Hairy Muff,” they reinforce sludge extremity with all that extra low end as if to remind the universe where the idea of music being heavy in the first place comes from. Grooves are vital and deathly, produced with just enough clarity to come through laced with what feels like extra nastiness, and “John Flag”‘s blues verse opens into a chasm of a chorus, waiting with sharpened teeth. Rounding out, “Hairy Muff” is a take on a song by vocalist Gaspar‘s prior band, Lord Humungus, and it’s drawn out into a plodding homage to liberation, pubes and the ability of sludge to feel like it’s got its hands on either side of your face and is pressing them together as hard as it can. These guys are a treasure, I mean that, and I don’t care what genre you want to tag it as being or how brutal and skinpeeling they want to make it, something with this much fuckall will always be punk rock in my mind.
I’ll find out for sure in a bit, but I think this might be one of those supremely weird Quarterly Review days where it’s a total mash of styles and it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever from one release to the next so that by the time the batch of 10 records is done we’ve ended up covering a pretty significant swath of heavy music’s spectrum. I ain’t out here trying to be comprehensive, you understand. I’m just doing my best to keep up. And in that, sometimes you hit a weird day.
In fact, I think “weird” might be the operative word for the Quarterly Review so far. I think about this music, who it’s for, why, and it’s weird and it’s for weirdos in my head. Both of those things are meant in a spirit of reverence for weirdness. Weird is interesting. Weird stands out. Weird is… also how I feel basically any time I’m out of the house among other adults unless I’m at a show. Weird is that beautiful thing that unites those people who don’t seem to fit anywhere else but in this.
So yeah, today’s weird. Strap in, kids.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Church of the Sea, Odalisque
Electronic beats, live guitar, and a resonant human voice make for a fascinating blend on Church of the Sea‘s richly atmospheric Odalisque. The Athenian trio of vocalist Irene, guitarist Vangelis (a different Vangelis) and synthesist/sampler Alex conjure a deep sense of mood in songs like “Mirror” and the closer “Me as the Water, Me as a Tree,” operating from the weighted beginning of opener “No One Deserves” onward in a slow-moving, open-spaced take on heavy post-rock that staves off the shimmering guitar in favor of adding the rumble of distortion often as a backing drone to fill out the sound alongside the synth behind Irene‘s voice. There are shades of Author & Punisher‘s latest — but Odalisque is less about slamming impact than spreading out the landscape of its title-track and the personal examinations of its lyrics, though “Raindrops” doesn’t seem fully ready to commit to one or the other and it’s easy to appreciate that. A striking debut from a band whose individualized purpose sets them apart even within Greece’s crowded and wildly creative underground.
Drummer Edu Escobar, bassist Raúl Burrueco and vocalist/synthesist Alejandro Ruiz are Gu Vo, and given their lack of guitar, it should come as little surprise that their Sentencia Records self-titled debut is a markedly rhythmic experience. Taking some example perhaps from Slift‘s uptempo space/krautrockism, the Spanish three-piece bring an avant garde vibe even to the ultra-smooth build of “Crab Ball Gate,” hypnotizing through repetition in the low end and drums while the keys weave in and out of prominence, “Little Lizard” arriving with storybook fanfare before toying with willful-sounding low- and high-end frequency imbalance — you go this way and I’ll go that, etc. — and vocals that are duly spaced. The nine-song/49-minute outing is ambitious, droning large in “USG Ishimura” and actually maybe-actually-sampling Altered Beast for the chiptunery of “Rise From Your Grave.” “TuunBaq” brings some of these impulses together at the end, but Gu Vo‘s Gu Vo is more about the trip you take than where you end up, and that’s much to its advantage.
Watch out for the slowdown in about the last minute and a half of “The Maze” (6:28) which is the first of two songs on Witchfinder‘s Endless Garden EP. Things are rolling along, some Acid King nod in that main riff, and then, wham, screams and meaner sludge pushes into the proceedings without so much as a s’il vous plaît from the Clermont-Ferrand-based four-piece. The keyboard later in the subsequent “Eternal Sunset” (10:41) running alongside the slower movement there calls to mind Type O Negative — though I understand it’s Hangman’s Chair holding down such vibes in France these days, so maybe or maybe not an influence — plays a similar function in distinguishing the ending from what’s come before, but it’s the overarching heft of Endless Garden that makes it such a fulfilling answer to 2019’s Hazy Rites (review here), the band perhaps pushing back against some of the more cultish tendencies of current heavy in favor of a more individual statement of fuzz and psych-doomer spaciousness. It’s been a hell of a three years since the album. A reminder of Witchfinder‘s growth in progress is welcome.
Imagine yourself having a dream about surfing and you might be on your way to Centre El Muusa‘s sound. The Estonian instrumentalist four-piece debuted on Sulatron with their 2020 self-titled (review here), and they cohesively explore various realms here, dream-beach among them, but also some twangy slide guitar in opener “Pony Road” and “Desert Song,” the band using the titles seemingly to drop hints of the vibes being captured. Sure enough, the dirty fuzz in “Boomerang” comes back around, “Keila Train” — it’s about a 15-mile trip from Talinn, where the band are from, to Keila — has a distracted line of keys over mellow jazz drumming and meandering guitar, and “Pilot on Board” brings a subtle kosmiche push with an undulating waveform drone that’s like the wind passing under and over the wings of an airplane. Each of these moments of (assisted) evocation can be experienced or not depending on how far in a given listener wants to plunge — or how high they want to float, in the case of “Pilot on Board” — but the abiding sense of exploration in sound remains vital just the same. Wherever it may want to take you at a given moment, it wants to take you. Let it.
I’ll admit that Unwavering Resonance is my first exposure to Slovakia’s 0N0, but it won’t be the last. Their third full-length following 2016’s Reconstruction and Synthesis with an EP and a split between, the new outing collects four cuts across a manageable 36 minutes and begins with its longest track (immediate points) in the 12-minute declaration of purpose “Clay Weight.” Though reputed for more industrialized fare in the past — and still definitely utilizing programming for the ‘drums’ and other synthy sounds — one cannot ignore the chug that rises to prominence in the leadoff, or the malevolence of purpose in the deathly use to which it’s put. Post-metal and death-doom come together fluidly enough in “Clay Weight” and the subsequent “Shattering” (5:12) with a balance tipped to one side or another — the second track, shortest, blasts furiously — and one wouldn’t call what happens in the nine-minutes-each pair of “Unwavering Resonance” and closer “Wander the Vacant Twilight” an evening out, since they continue to lean to particular aspects of their crushing sound in a given stretch, but hell’s bells it’s heavy, and its catharsis is less about making your skin crawl than turning bones into powder. Methodical, not chaotic, but ready to bask in the chaos surrounding. More brutalism than brutal.
Shit, that’s heavy. Released on cassette and download, the 2021 self-titled debut long-player from Savannah, Georgia’s Faeries is a beast working under suitably beastly traditions. Tapping into a tonal density and an and-yet-it-moves crush of riff that reminds of the earliest days of fellow Peach Staters Mastodon, there’s a more straight-ahead, heads-down, push-through-with-the-shoulder sensibility to David Rapp‘s solo outfit, an underlying sense of riff worship in “March March,” “Megadrone,” and the rest of the nine-song/45-minute outing that — much to Rapp‘s credit — are set for destructive purposes rather than self-indulgent progressivism. That’s not to say Faeries, the album, is dumbed down. It’s not, and even in the vocal gruel of “Fresh Laces” and “The Pain of Days” or the chug-‘n’-swing instrumental “The Volcano,” that can be heard in the structure of the songs — “Slurricane” deviates to somewhat lighter tone and also-instrumental closer “Traces” echoes that — but Rapp‘s clear intention here is to base his songwriting around the heaviest sounds possible, and while it’s exciting to think maybe he got there on this first outing, it’s even more exciting to think maybe he didn’t and is going to try again sometime soon. Either way, happy bludgeoning/being bludgeoned.
The Cult of Dom Keller, Raiders of the Lost Archives: Demos & Rarities 2007-2020
Somewhat inevitable that a 100-minute collection of lost tracks, demos, alternate versions and live takes from UK psych adventurers Cult of Dom Keller would be something of a fan-piece. Still, as Raiders of the Lost Archives: Demos & Rarities 2007-2020 spans its 20-song run and multiple lineups of the band, its moving between years and methodologies has plenty of flow if you’re willing to open yourself to the essential fact that the band can do whatever. the. fuck. they. want. To wit, “Monarch” with its relatively forward verses and choruses and the lo-fi howling feedback of “QWERTYUIOP,” or 2020’s creep-into-wash “Dead Don’t Dream” and the garage-psych urgency of 2007’s “We Left This World Behind for a Place in the Sun.” Those who’ve followed Cult of Dom Keller on their merry path will dig the (again, relatively) efficient look at how far they’ve come and in how many different directions, while those unfamiliar with the band might want to find something less inherently uneven to dig on (start with 2020’s Ascend! (review here), then work back), but cuts like “Broken Arm of God” and “Jupiter’s Beard” are ready to catch ears either way, and if it takes time to digest, well heck, you’ll have all the time in the world if you quit your day job, so why not just go ahead and do that?
The narrative — blessings and peace upon it — holds that Supplemental Pills got together at the behest of vocalist/guitarist Ezra Meredith when his main outfit, Hearts of Oak stepped back for pandemic lockdown. Fair enough. With Joel Meredith on guitar, bassist/synthesist Aron Christensen (also Hearts of Oak) and drummer/vocalist Mark Folkrod, these seven songs feel carved out of jams as the reportedly were, with “Feel It” blinking momentarily into Endless Boogie-sounding improv preach while mellower and more spacious pieces like opener “Run On,” the nine-minute drone-drawler “Floating Mountains Over Rivers” and the 11-minute fuzz-go repetitions of “Gonna Be Alright” — a decent mantra if e’er there was one — ooze deeper into vibe rock far-outreach. “Freedom March” is fairly active, with Ezra‘s vocals there and in “Run On” seeming to nod at the departed Mark Lanegan, and “The Wizard Was Right” has a sense of movement as well that suits its overlaid verses. If it feels right, it is right. Drone what thou wilt. And if this is what they’re coming up with essentially by accident, one shudders to think what might happen if they actually tried to write a song. It’s just crazy enough to work.
Some sonic coincidence brings Amorphis‘ “Forever More” to mind in hearing the winding guitar figure featured in Green Hog Band‘s instrumental-but-for-the-sample “Iron Horses,” but that’s not a direct influence. The Brooklynite trio’s third full-length, Crypt of Doom, follows last year’s Devil’s Luck (review here) and sees the self-recording trio of vocalist/bassist Ivan Antipov, guitarist Mike Vivisector (also lyrics) and drummer Ronan Berry weaving into and out of Russian-language lyrics on top of their thick-toned sludge rock, which they shove resolutely on “Sweet Tea, Banana Bread” and even give a little shuffle on the penultimate “New Year Massacre,” but which is invariably more suited to the doomly lurch of opener “Dragon” or its later giant-lizard-thing counterpart “Leviathan.” Still, that these guys can make that bubbling cauldron of sludge and are even vaguely interested in doing anything else is admirable, and as raw as Crypt of Doom is, even the air seems to be stale, never mind the bare walls of rock and dirt surrounding. Dig a hole, reside therein, riff.
Most of all, one has to give kudos to Los Angeles experimentalist outfit for daring to cross the line between hard industrial music and the hip-hop it’s been summarily ripping off for the last quarter-century-plus. Alabaster is the third full-length from the unit not-so-secretly led by bassmaster/programmer/etc.-ist Collyn McCoy (also Night City, Aboleth, a bunch of others), and in addition to guest rappers A-F-R-O, Zombae and Kayee on cuts like “Anatomy Autonomy” (relevant) and the becomes-a-black-metal-onslaught “Copy Planet,” the nine-song/32-minute outing regurgitates genre expectations in a spew so willfully individual it can’t help but make its own kind of sense even unto the sound collage of “Segue-08” or “ec63294e-0dcf-4947-bb7c-965769967dbd,” which answers the freak-dance of “A Magical Journey of Love” with sentient-AI-knows-where-you-live moodsetting, which of course is an excellent precursor to the organ-laced cult extremity of “FLESHSELF: Abandon the Altars.” This is never going to be for everyone, but Alabaster‘s willingness to play with risk in sound makes just about everything that ‘fits in’ feel ridiculous. You think you’ve heard it all? Think you’re bored? Check this shit out and see how wrong you are.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 19th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Tour on, tour off. As previously noted, this inaugural Planet of Zeus tour in the US (a couple shows in Canada as well; not to be forgotten) was scheduled for 2020, and it was a bummer when it was canceled the first time, though of course everything was canceled at that point, so it was just one more for the pile. Now that some tours are actually happening, seeing this one fall by the wayside is even harder. They were to have appeared at Desertfest New York, playing the pre-show at the Saint Vitus Bar, and as you can see for the list of affected dates below, that was just one righteous stop they were making on a coast-to-coast-and-then-some run. I’ve seen no word on whether they’ll try again.
I do not envy any band trying to get to the States my country’s ridiculous visa application process, either in terms of inconvenience or expense. Rest assured, if America was the greatest country in the world as the slogan says, its doors would be open to any and all who might approach them. The problem here lies not with those seeking to share their art, thereby benefiting themselves, their dedicated audience and the community at large.
From social media:
PLANET OF ZEUS – NORTH AMERICAN TOUR CANCELLED
We’re absolutely devastated to have to announce this, but our planned shows in North America, Canada and festival appearance at Desertfest are unfortunately cancelled.
We took every measure to ensure our visas were granted in time but at this point we’re still lacking the correspondence and reassurance that we need in order to go ahead with the tour. We wanted nothing more than to make some noise on US soil but the odds are stacked against us and we simply just can’t make it happen.
Please know that we’re working hard to reschedule the shows and we hope to have clarity on our visa situation soon.
Sincerest apologies to everyone that was hoping to see us and thank you in advance for your understanding.
CANCELLED DATES May 4 – Des Moines, IA – XBK LIVE MAY 5 – Chicago, IL – REGGIE’S May 6 – Youngstown, OH – WESTSIDE BOWL May 7 – Toronto, ON – BOVINE SEX CLUB May 8 – Ottawa, ON – DOMINION TAVERN May 9 – Quebec City – QC – LA SOURCE DL MARTINIERE May 10 – Providence, RI – ALCHEMY May 11 – Frederick, MD – CAFE 611 May 12 – Brooklyn NY – DESERTFEST – ST VITUS BAR May 13 – Virginia Beach – THE BUNKER BREWPUB May 14 – Atlanta, GA – BOGGS SOCIAL May 15 – New Orleans, LA – PORTSIDE LOUNGE May 16 – Lafayette, LA – FREETOWN BOOM BOOM ROOM May 17 – Austin, TX – INDEPENDENCE BREWING May 19 – Tempe, AZ – YUCCA TAP ROOM May 20 – San Diego, CA – KENSINGTON CLUB May 21 – Costa Mesa, CA – THE WAYFARER May 22 – San Francisco, CA – BOTTOM OF THE HILL May 24 – Portland, OR – DANTES May 25 – Seattle, WA – FUNHOUSE May 26 – Boise, ID – SHREDDER May 27 – Salt Lake City, UT – THE LOADING DOCK May 28 – Denver, CO – HQ
Art by Bewild Brother
PLANET OF ZEUS is: Babis Papanikolaou – Vox & Guitars Stelios Provis – Guitars Giannis Vrazos – Bass Serafeim Giannakopoulos – Drums
