Posted in Whathaveyou on February 27th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Listening to TEL‘s 2017 single, ‘Daybreak,’ it’s easy to imagine what an engineer like Garrett Morris (also of Windhand) might be able to bring to their sound in terms of a fullness of tone and a more forward sense of volume. The Richmond, Virginia, outfit have signed to Italy’s Aural Music, thereby becoming labelmates with Messa, Imperial Triumphant and many others, and their approach indeed speaks to a measure of extremity in its doomed feel, drawing on stated influence from the emotionalism of Katatonia and the deathly ways of early Paradise Lost and blending it with the particular air of disaffection that has remained so resonant from those bands’ work in the early and mid 1990s.
The album is set to arrive on March 29, and I’ll hope to have more to come on it around then, but there hasn’t been any official audio or even a tracklist leaked as yet, so, you know, maybe they’re looking to keep it secret. That happens sometimes.
From the PR wire:
TEL sign with Aural Music
Richmond VA sludge/doom metal band TEL have signed with Aural Music and will release Lowlife on March 29 2019. The album was produced by Garrett Morris (the guitarist of Windhand) and mastered by Dan Randall of Mammoth Sound Recordings (Iron Reagan, Ghoul, Cannabis Corpse).
The band commented “We are extremely excited to be releasing this album through Aural Music. Quite a few albums that we love or were inspired by have come from this label. The music on this album is incredibly personal and dear to us, so to have recorded it with one of my favorite songwriters (Garrett Morris of Windhand), and then get to release it with an international label is amazing and surreal for us.”
More information will be made available in the next few days!
TEL is: Dante DuVall – Vocals Michael Potts – Guitars Ed Fierro – Bass Matt Grigsby – Drums
Posted in Reviews on February 26th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Italian four-piece Messa conjure a genre cornucopia with their second record for Aural Music. The somewhat quizzical title Feast for Water, taken in context with the cover art of a diver breaking the surface to plunge beneath, speaks directly to the idea of immersion; there’s no guarantee that diver is going to reach the air again, in other words. With eight richly varied tracks presented in a front-to-back linear flow across a still manageable 49 minutes, the band demonstrates a clarity of purpose and a heaviness beyond tone that do indeed seem to be geared toward swallowing the listener as a part of the experience of the album itself.
In quiet stretches of drone, it is hypnotic, and at times it owes some elements of cultistry like those that emerge in the galloping post-intro opener “Snakeskin Drape” to The Devil’s Blood, the impressive lead work of guitarist Alberto playing well off Marco‘s riffing and Sara‘s overriding vocal melodies while Rocco‘s snare pushes the charge from deep enough in the mix to still be a presence, but not dominant.
From the very humming start of the 2:31 intro “Naunet,” Messa set an ambient foundation in cello-style string sounds and backing drones — courtesy of Marco — but there’s a tension created as well as the short cut builds a high-pitched tone to a wash of noise before cutting cold to the quiet beginning of “Snakeskin Drape,” so clearly a drive toward a dynamic approach is a factor as well. That was the case on Messa‘s 2016 debut, Belfry (discussed here), but creative growth is evident in the fluidity of the band’s presentation, and Feast for Water has a sonic persona that transcends its familiar aspects and casts an individual identity that continues to expand its depth as the tracks play through.
To wit, as “Snakeskin Drape” so intentionally builds momentum throughout its five-minute run, the subsequent “Leah,” at eight minutes, brings together Rhodes-infused lounge jazz topped with Sara‘s breathy vocals with crush-minded noise riffing, angular and catchy at the same time and crafted in cyclical fashion to contradict the quieter stretches without necessarily undercutting their effectiveness in terms of mood.
Rounding out with a brazen display of low-end wash before ceding ground to “The Seer,” “Leah” is a standout and a highlight for its central riff alone, but it remains best when taken in the context of following the metallic thrust of “Snakeskin Drape” and leading into the bluesy guitar that follows in “The Seer,” which itself arrives married to significant tonal heft. There isn’t a centerpiece on Feast for Water, but if one examines the record front-to-back, it not only breaks into even vinyl sides, but follows a parabolic course in putting its “meat,” as it were, in the middle. “Leah,” “The Seer” — which returns a bit to the gallop of “Snakeskin Drape” while adding some minor-key Eastern inflection in the guitar around a riff that, in another setting, one might say was culled from Goatsnake — and the following pair of “She Knows” and “Tulsi” each broadening the range from the track before it.
At what one presumes would be the start of side B, “She Knows” digs into further Rhodes-ery courtesy of Alberto as quiet drums from Rocco build toward a post-metallic roll somewhat hopeful in mood but still very much as it approaches the midpoint in the vein of what’s come before, cutting back to quiet at the midpoint and this time being joined for a verse by Sara, whose vocal command is able to carry these quiet parts and the heavier stretches with likewise malleability. That makes “She Knows” all the more an exemplar of Messa‘s dynamic as it stands throughout their second long-player, and as it hits its crescendo, the song is neither overblown nor underserved, feeding directly into the grunge-style riff and solo that begin “Tulsi.”
To an extent, the shift between “She Knows” and “Tulsi” mirrors that between “Naunet” and “Snakeskin Drape,” but it’s not necessarily a reintroduction happening so much as a perpetuation of flow. Sweeping into and out of blastbeats with blackened screams from Rocco for atmospheric effect, the beginning of “Tulsi” is the most blatant nod to extreme metal on Feast for Water, but through guitar squibblies play a role in the subsequent verse, the chug they complement is all doomer bounce.
An ambient break leads to a second half revitalizing the jazz feel with sax (yup) atop echoing drums and guitar, and it’s with “White Stain,” which follows, that Messa hit the inevitable reset point and returns to the Rhodes-backed loud/quiet trades heard earlier. That this in itself feels familiar shows how thorough a job the band does in setting their own terms across the long-player’s span, and if they take a victory lap anywhere in these songs for that success, it’s in the soaring guitar solo in the second half of “White Stain,” which recedes into roll and rumble in order to let the quieter “Da Tariki Tariqat” finish out.
There’s a linear build to the four-minute guitar-led instrumental-save-for-ambient-buried-singing piece, backed by cymbal washes and string and/or sax sounds, but as it comes to its loudest and most distorted point, the tension built leads not to a blowout noise-laden finale but a smoothly executed, classy apex that’s come and gone in under a minute’s time, letting the atmospherics end the proceedings. As they do so, it’s hard not to appreciate the boldness of that choice and the confidence in their approach that it represents.
Ultimately it’s one such move among many peppered across Feast for Water, but like everything before it, the contemplative capping of “Da Tariki Tariqat” echoes the notion of willfully progressive songwriting that serves to unite this material nearly as much as the overall quality level of the craft itself. Might take some time to grow on a certain type of listener looking for a more immediate impact, but if one is willing to chance diving in like the figure on the cover art, Feast for Water unfolds a world well worth taking the risk of not making it back.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 19th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Keep an eye out for this one. Really. With their second record, Feast for Water, Italian four-piece Messa take a massive swath of influences from across various styles of heavy and make them their own, and I’m not just talking about the angular crunch early in “Leah” or the derived-from-black-metal gallop of the preceding “Snakeskin Drape,” but you can hear it in the vast, open, drone-infused ambient stretches in those tracks and others as well, the band establishing firm command of grunge riffing on “Tulsi” and trading between dense, rolling riffs and key-led atmospheres on “White Stains,” which follows — they’ve got genuine breadth and depth to their approach. With the unflinching soulfulness from vocalist Sara out front, the songs shift smoothly through a range of moods and expressive sensibilities.
Not that I’ve heard it or anything.
The album is out April 6. Here’s details from the PR wire:
MESSA: new album “Feast For Water” to be issued April 6th on Aural Music
Italy’s peerless “scarlet doom” foursome MESSA have announced the release of their sophomore full-length “Feast For Water”, to be issued April 6th on Aural Music. MESSA play evoking doom metal with a dark jazz twist. Deliciously haunting female vocals, Rhodes piano and 70’s fuzz guitars combine to conjure a sound that is all of their own. With influences as diverse as Windhand, Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore, The Devil’s Blood, Jex Thoth, Angelo Badalamenti, Bellwitch, Urfaust, John Coltrane and Aluk Todolo, the band has moved from the droning occult doom of their first LP ‘Belfry’ to a new, darker and more atmospheric approach clearly showcased in their new record ‘Feast for Water’, a concept album centered on the introspective, symbolic and ritual features of the liquid element.
MESSA – New album “Feast For Water” Out April 6th on Aural Music Pre-order from March 2nd at this location
TRACK LISTING: 1. Naunet 2. Snakeskin Drape 3. Leah 4. The Seer 5. She Knows 6. Tulsi 7. White Stains 8. Da Tariki Tariquat
MESSA emerged on the first day of 2014. Marco and Sara started to develop the basic concept while writing the first songs. Later on, Alberto and Rocco joined the band. The extreme diversity of their musical background immediately proved to be essential in the construction of the band’s sound. In 2016, Messa signed a deal with Aural Music and subsequently released their first opus, ‘Belfry’, which was brought on tour extensively across Europe and USA. A flexy disc and a Picture 7’’ were released before the band got to work on their second album titled ‘Feast for Water’, a mind blowing Dark Jazz Doom ritual drenched in Occult Blues from hell.
MESSA IS Marco – Guitar, Bass, Ambient Sara – Voice Rocco – Drums, Screams Alberto – Lead Guitar, Rhodes piano
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 5th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
UK doomers King Goat have signed to Aural Music to release a new album in 2018. Before they get there, the Italian imprint will also reissue the Brighton five-piece’s 2016 debut full-length, Conduit, in December, compiled with bonus tracks culled from the prior self-titled EP the band first put out in 2014. It’s a striking blend of doom groove and more straightforward, prog-tinged metal that King Goat elicit, and if they’re a new entity for you as they are for me — which I’m sure they’re not because you’re way more hip to what’s going on than I am, if history is anything to go by — you can get a handle on the original release of Conduit below, streaming in full from King Goat‘s Bandcamp. Because convenience.
And here’s word from the PR wire. Because information:
King Goat Sign to Aural Music
Progressive doom-mongers King Goat are excited to announce their signing with cult label Aural Music, marking the beginning of a very exciting new era for the band.
King Goat tease news of their highly anticipated second LP which is scheduled to arrive in early 2018. The band state: “Our latest recordings are further exploring the progressive elements of doom. We’ve pushed our dynamic boundaries further, experimented with songs in open tunings, more complex time signatures and more varied vocal textures. We’re eager to bring these new songs to the stage.”
Home of Ne Obliviscaris, Ephel Duath and more, Aural Music are also to re-release King Goat’s first EP and debut LP Conduit as one record – further details to be revealed over the coming weeks.
The momentous news continues King Goat’s steady rise as one of the most highly-regarded bands in British doom.
The band have previously played at Bloodstock Open Air, Mammothfest, Doom Over London; and alongside Enslaved, Grand Magus, Solstafir and others.
Italian four-piece Messa released their debut album, Belfry, this past Friday via Aural Music. The band waste little time in getting to the hook of “Babalon,” their first video from the record, or in setting a grim mood through their slow pacing, grainy black and white visuals (also red) and the vocals of Sara, joined by guitarist Alberto, bassist/guitarist Mark Sade and drummer Mistyr. They demonstrate some affinity for extreme metal in their aesthetic — there’s a fire in the woods in the video, etc. — but the groove of “Babalon” is all doom, the group exhibiting a style they call “scarlet doom.” I’m not quite sure what it means, but if it’s their summary of what they bring to songs like this one, then fair enough. The slow, bluesy roll of the riff, the easy nod and the engaging chorus aren’t so out of line with expectation, but it’s encouraging to find Messa working to distinguish themselves with their first album all the same.
To that point, I haven’t heard the full record as yet, so I wouldn’t attempt to speak for its entirety, but “Babalon” makes for an enticing sample. The video swaps back and forth between black and white and red footage as we see Sara developing and subsequently burning photos, and all the while the weighted lumber and spacious, melodic verses play out accordingly, swelling in volume for the aforementioned chorus and receding again as we see the band out in a forest gathering wood for the subsequent bonfire. In the end, it winds up being the roll that typifies the song — maintained during a lead from Alberto in the second half — and as the fire crackles at the finish of the track, it makes a suitable accompaniment to the final credits, which somewhat quizzically list the band lineup as numbers — 302 (vocals), 208 (drums), 508 (guitar), 231 (bass) — before giving the coordinates 46 degrees 48 minutes north 10 degrees 31 minutes east. No idea where those might lead, though it would be fun to find out.
If you happen to have an answer on that one, please leave a comment, but otherwise I’m content with the mystery. Check out Messa‘s video for “Babalon” below, followed by some more info on Belfry courtesy of Aural Music, and please enjoy:
Messa, “Babalon” official video
MESSA is an italian 4-piece band born in 2014 playing obscure and evoking doom with deliciously haunting female vocals, influenced by Pentagram, Bellwitch, Windhand, Jex Thoth, Sabbath Assembly, Bathory, La Piramide di Sangue.
Their debut album titled “Belfry” mix dark ambient drones with vintage occult doom and mesmerizing female vocals that will drive you through a scarlet velvet trip.
Aural Music will release “Belfry” in May 6th, 2016.
The tracklist goes as follow: 1- Alba 2- Babalon 3- Fa?ro? 4- Hour Of The Wolf 5- Blood 6- Tomba 7- New Horns 8- Bell Tower 9- Outermost 10- Confess
MARK SADE bass/guitars (the sade, sultan bathery) SARA voice (restos humanos) ALBERTO lead guitar (glincolti, douge) MISTYR drums (nox interitus)
Italian horror-themed doom rockers Arcana 13 released their debut album, Danza Macabra, last month via Aural Music, and their new video is comprised of footage from Dario Argento‘s 1980 film, Inferno. Not exactly small potatoes in terms of what they’re taking on to accompany the track in question, “Hell Behind You,” but the scale of the song works on a likewise ambitious scale, culling the raw classic doom of Pentagram and the more poised approach of Candlemass and setting it to a modern swing that’s not quite indebted to Uncle Acid, but definitely aware of the rise of garage doom this decade has wrought. It’s as much traditional as it is forward thinking, and while the roots are metallic, “Hell Behind You” finds the Ravenna foursome with a corresponding heavy rock sensibility.
That comes through especially in the solo section of “Hell Behind You” and in the drumming of the chorus, but as the horror show plays out in the video, the song develops a strong rhythmic push with cinematic elements of its own, layers of effects or keys and dramatic tempo changes, opening to crash cymbals and a brooding setup for the grand finale that ends out just as Inferno seems to be most living up to its title. If you’re not familiar with the movie, it’s got witches, murder, bizarre rituals, of course fire — pretty much everything one could ask, and the video does a good job of setting its timing to the song. Which you could find out for yourself easily enough just by watching the thing.
Danza Marcabrais out now. More info follows the clip itself, which you’ll find on the player below.
Enjoy:
Arcana 13, “Hell Behind You” official video
ARCANA 13 – “Hell Behind You” official video from the album DANZA MACABRA with images taken from Dario Argento’s masterpiece “Inferno” (1980). Order DANZA MACABRA NOW (LTD MUSIC BOX / Digipak CD / 2xLP):http://www.auralwebstore.com
Italy-based Heavy Occult Rock legion ARCANA 13 unveil their Italian horror inspired debut album featuring cover artwork by legendary Enzo Sciotti. Imagine the ominous mystique of Lucio Fulci’s classic The Beyond or Dario Argento’s Inferno set to a Black Sabbath or Pentagram-inspired soundtrack: this is ARCANA 13.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 16th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Italian outfits Void of Sleep and Three Eyes Left have paired up and will tour together early in March. The two acts are both supporting 2015 releases — for Three Eyes Left, their second album, Asmodeus, on Go Down Records; for Void of Sleep, their own sophomore LP, New World Order (review here), on Aural Music — and the four-night run is sponsored by both labels. With Void of Sleep‘s take on progressive metal and Three Eyes Left‘s doomy brew, it should make for a heavy pairing as they make their way through Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland, heralding both records and covering a good bit of ground as they go.
Dates and other info follow here, as seen on the social medias:
Lords of the Occult Vol.I – Void of Sleep – Three Eyes Left
Aural Music and Go Down Records proudly present: LORDS OF THE OCCULT VOL.I
Void of Sleep and Three Eyes Left will play four exclusive gigs in Europe the first week of March, four cities, four contry. Void Of Sleep presents their new opus “New World Order”, an album of progressive occul metal that was included in many 2015’s best albums charts. Three Eyes Left will show you the power of “Asmodeus”, their last album, a great example of occult-inspired doom. You will enter in the deep and obscure doom without a way out. Don’t lose you chance to see you facing a real wall of sound.
THREE EYES LEFT are an Heavy psych doom band from Italy under GODOWN RECORDS, hailing from Bologna (IT). Started in 2004, becoming fastly a breath of fresh air in the heavy psich-doom genre. After a demo and two Ep releases, TEL were reached by GO DOWN RECORDS, on of the most valued heavy-rock label in Italy. Now releasing their second full length ASMODEUS.
These are the places: -2/3 Viper Room Vienna (Wien, Austria) -3/3 Sb?rné suroviny (Prague, Czech Republic) -4/3 Devils Place Rockclub Saarbrücken (Saarbrucken, Germany) -5/3 Das O (Spiez, Switzerland)
Posted in audiObelisk on September 25th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Italian outfit Void of Sleep will release their new album, New World Order, on Oct. 19 through Aural Music. It’s their second full-length behind 2013’s Tales Between Reality and Madness and arrives anchored in the rather bleak theme of a hopeless future, not so much telling about a character’s struggle against it as reveling in the futility of that struggle to start with across seven tracks/44 minutes that only become more expansive as they go. The four-piece — guitarist/vocalist Andrea “Burdo” Burdisso, guitarist/backing vocalist Marco “Gale” Galeotti, bassist Riccardo “Paso” Pasini and drummer Andrea “Allo” Allodoli — cast a broad stylistic net, varying in poise and aggression throughout, but ultimately land in a comfortable space that blends the impact of sludge riffing with the purposefulness of prog.
Split into two sides, New World Order presents its atmosphere through its theme and through the sound of the material itself — precise but not too clean. Early on, with the opening duo of “The Devil’s Conjuration” and “Hidden Revelations,” Void of Sleep show themselves to be capable of melding complex structures with resonant hooks, the melodies and shouts banding together in order to make an individual impression as “Slaves Shall Serve” takes hold leading into the side A closer “Ordo ab Chao,” which slows down and spreads out earlier intensity as a precursor to some of the second half of the album’s more grandiose sensibilities. Those manifest quickly in the side B intro “Lords of Conspiracy” — one may recognize the same from which this record derives its title from Ministry‘s use of it in “N.W.O.” circa 1992 — but only get more expansive as Void of Sleep push through the title-track and into the 14-minute closer “Ending Theme.”
Compared to what follows, the first half of New World Order is more straightforward. Its choruses are hooks and it feels put together on the basis of its individual songs. Side B, on the other hand, is meant to feed right from its intro into “New World Order” and into “Ending Theme,” which also breaks into three component parts over its extended runtime. Accordingly, Void of Sleep come across as more theatrical and narrative, though many of the elements they’re using to give that vibe are similar to what they presented earlier on — tight rhythms, crisp melodies, a generally progressive ambience around what they’re touring and why they’re doing it, and so on. As such, though it doesn’t quite account for a complete summary of what New World Order has to offer, I’m thrilled today to be able to host the premiere of “Hidden Revelations” ahead of the album’s release next month.
The longest cut on side A at 6:36, it boasts a particularly engaging interplay from the two — that’s not to say “dueling” — vocalists and an aggro mood resulting that only develops and grows richer as the rest of New World Order plays out.
Please find “Hidden Revelations” on the player below, followed by info off the PR wire, and enjoy:
Italian progressive occult metal visionaries, VOID OF SLEEP, will release their sophomore full-length next month via Aural Music. Titled, New World Order, the seven track concept album and follow-up to 2013’s acclaimed Tales Between Reality And Madness long player was captured by bassist Riccardo Pasini (Ephel Duath, The Secret) at Studio73 in Ravenna, Italy and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room in Chicago, Illinois.
“New World Orderrepresents to us a new culmination of our sound,” issues of the band of their latest compositions. “Now more than ever you can call it visionary, sludgy and progressive. It’s an occult, esoteric and wicked metaphor to the modern society as we consider it: with no positive expectations of the future of this world. This album embraces the concept of evil in its purest form. Since the beginning, man has been doomed to consume and enslave and destroy his own kind in an absurd discord to the final extinction.”
New World Order comes shrouded in the arcane cover creation of Simone Bertozzi who relays of the work, “while doing it I experienced the breath of Lucifer on my back, the Illuminati around the corner and reptilians getting ready for my abduction. Coincidence? I think not.”
New World Order Track Listing: 1. The Devil’s Conjuration 2. Hidden Revelations 3. Slaves Shall Serve 4. Ordo Ab Chao 5. Lords Of Conspiracy 6. New World Order 7. Ending Theme (l. Mourn ll. Triumphant lll. Void)
