Quarterly Review: Darsombra, Bottomless, The Death Wheelers, Caivano, Entropía, Ghorot, Moozoonsii, Death Wvrm, Mudness, The Space Huns

Posted in Reviews on October 5th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk winter quarterly review

Welcome to Thursday of the Fall 202 Quarterly Review. It’s been a good run so far. three days and 30 records, about to be four and 40. I’ve got enough on my desktop and there’s enough stuff coming out this month that I could probably do a second Fall QR in November, and maybe stave off needing to do a double-one in December as I had been planning in the back of my head. Whatever, I’ll figure it out.

I hope you’ve been able to find something you dig. I definitely have, but that’s how it generally goes. These things are always a lot of work, and somehow I seem to plan them on the busiest weeks — today we’re volunteering at the grade school book fair; I think I’ll dig out my old Slayer God Hates Us All shirt from 20 years ago and see if it still fits. Sadly, I think we all know how that experiment will work out.

Anyway, busy times, good music, blah blah, let’s roll.

Quarterly Review #31-40:

Darsombra, Dumesday Book

darsombra dumesday book

Forever touring and avant garde to their very marrow, ostensibly-Baltimorean duo DarsombraAnn Everton on keys, vocals, live visuals, and who the hell knows what else, Brian Daniloski on guitar, a living-room pedal board, and engineering at the band’s home studio — unveil Dumesday Book as a 75-minute collection not only of works like “Call the Doctor” (posted here) or “Call the Doctor” (posted here), which appear as remixes, but their first proper album of this troubled decade after 2019’s Transmission (review here) saw them reach so far out into the cosmic thread to harness their bizarre stretches of bleeps and boops, manipulated vocals, drones, noise and suitably distraught collage in “Everything is Canceled” — which they answer later with “Still Canceled,” because charm — but the reassurance here is in the continuation of Daniloski and Everton‘s audio adventures, and their commitment to what should probably at this point in space-time be classified as free jazz remains unflinching. Squares need not apply, and if you’re into stuff like structure, there’s some of that, but all Darsombra ever need to get gone is a direction in which to head — literally or figuratively — so why not pick them all?

Darsombra on Instagram

Darsombra on Bandcamp

Bottomless, The Banishing

bottomless the banishing

Cavernous in its echo and with a grit of tone that is the aural equivalent of the feeling of pull in your hand when you make a doom claw, The Banishing is the second full-length from Italian doom rockers Bottomless. Working as the trio of vocalist/guitarist Giorgio Trombino (ex-Elevators to the Grateful Sky, etc.), drummer David Lucido (Assumption, among a slew of others) and bassist Sara Bianchin — the latter also of Messa and recently replaced in Bottomless by Laura Nardelli (Ponte del Diavolo, etc.) — the band follow their 2021 self-titled debut (review here) with an eight-track collection that comes across as its own vision of garage doom. It’s not about progressive flourish or elaborate production, but about digging into the raw creeper groove of “Guardians of Silence” or the righteous post-Pentagram chug-and-nod of “Let Them Burn.” It is not solely intended as worship for what’s come before. Doom-of-eld, the NWOBHM, ’70s proto splurges all abound, but in the vocal and guitar melody of “By the Sword of the Archangel” and the dramatic rolling finish of “Dark Waters” after the acoustic-led interlude “Drawn Into Yesterday,” in the gruel of “Illusion Sun,” they channel these elements through themselves and come out with an album that, for as dark and grim as it would likely sound to more than 99 percent of the general human population, is pure heart.

Bottomless on Facebook

Dying Victims Productions website

The Death Wheelers, Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness

The Death Wheelers Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness

Look. I don’t know The Death Wheelers personally at all. We don’t hang out on weekends. But the sample-laced (“We wanna be free to ride our machines without being hassled by the Man — and we wanna get loaded!” etc.), motorcycle-themed Québecois instrumental outfit sound on their second LP, the 12-track/40-minute riff-pusher Chaos and the Art of Motorcycle Madness, like they’re onto something. And again, I don’t know these cats at all. I don’t know what they do for work, what their lives are like, any of it. But if The Death Wheelers want to get out and give this record the support it deserves, the place they need to be is Europe. Yeah, I know there was The Picturebooks, but they were clean-chrome and The Death Wheelers just cracked a smile and showed you the fly that got splattered on their front tooth while they were riding — sonically speaking. The dust boogie of “Lucifer’s Bend,” the duly stoned “Interquaalude” ahead of the capper duo of “Sissy Bar Strut (Nymphony 69)” and “Cycling for Satan Part II” and the blowout roll in “Ride into the Röt (Everything Lewder Than Everything Else)” — this is a band who should bypass America completely for touring and focus entirely on Europe. Because the US will come around, to be sure, but not for another three or four month-long Euro stints get the point across. I don’t know that that’ll happen or it won’t, but they sound ready.

The Death Wheelers on Facebook

RidingEasy Records store

Caivano, Caivano

Caivano Caivano

The career arc of guitarist Phil Caivano — and of course he does other stuff as well, including vocals on his self-titled solo-project’s debut, Caivano, but some people seem to have been born to hold a guitar in their hands and he’s one of those; see also Bob Balch — is both longer and broader than his quarter-century as guitarist and songwriting contributor to Monster Magnet, but the NJ heavy rock stalwarts will nonetheless be the closest comparison point to these 10 tracks and 33 minutes, a kind of signature sleazy roll in “Talk to the Dead,” the time-to-get-off-your-ass push of “Come and Get Me” at the start or the punkier “Verge of Yesterday” — touch of Motörhead there seeming well earned — a cosmic ripper on a space backbeat in “Fun & Games,” but all of this is within a tonal and production context that’s consistent across the span, malleable in style, unshakable in structure. Closer “Face the Music” is the longest cut at 5:04 and is a drumless spacey experiment with vocals and a guitar figure wrapped around a central drone, and that adds yet more character to the proceedings. I’d wonder how long some of these songs or parts have been around or if Caivano is going to put a group together — could be interesting — and make a go of it apart from his ‘main band,’ but he’s long since established himself as an exceptional player, and listening to some of this material highlights contributions of style and substance to shaping Monster Magnet as well. Phil Caivano: songwriter.

Caivano on Instagram

Entropía, Eclipses

Entropía Eclipses

Together for nearly a decade, richly informed by the progressive and space rock(s) of the 1970s, prone to headspinning feats of lead guitar like that in the back end of second cut “Dysania,” Entropía offer their second full-length in Eclipses, a five-track/40-minute excursion of organ-inclusive cosmic prog that reminds of Hypnos 69 in the warm serenity at the start of “Tarbes,” threatens the epic on seven-minute opener “Thesan” and delivers readily throughout; a work of scope that runs deep in the pairing of “Tarbes” and “Caleidoscopia” — both of which top nine minutes long — but it’s there that Entropía reveal the full spectrum of light they’re working with, whether it’s that tonal largesse that rears up in the latter or the jazzy kosmiche shove in the payoff of the former. And the drums come forward to start closer “Polaris,” which follows, as Entropía nestle into one more groovy submersion, finding heavy shuffle in the drums — hell yeah — and holding that tension until it’s time for the multi-tiered finish and only-necessary peaceful comedown. It’s inevitable that some records in a Quarterly Review get written about and I never listen to them again. I’ll be back to this one.

Entropía on Facebook

Clostridium Records store

Ghorot, Wound

Ghorot Wound

God damn, Ghorot, leave some nasty for the rest of the class. The Boise, Idaho, three-piece — vocalist/bassist Carson Russell (also Ealdor Bealu), guitarist/vocalist Chad Remains (ex-Uzala) and drummer/vocalist Brandon Walker — launch their second LP, Wound, with the gloriously screamed, righteously-coated-in-filth, choking-on-mud extreme sludge they appropriately titled “Dredge.” And fuck if it doesn’t get meaner from there as Ghorot — working with esteemed producer Andy Patterson (The Otolith, etc.) and releasing through Lay Bare Recordings and King of the Monsters Records — take the measure of your days and issue summary judgment in the negative through the mellow-harshing bite of “In Asentia,” the least brutal part of which kind of sounds like High on Fire and the death/black metal in centerpiece “Corsican Leather.” All of which is only on side A. On side B, “Canyon Lands” imagines a heavy Western meditation — shades of Ealdor Bealu in the guitar — that retains its old-wizard vocal gurgle, and capper “Neanderskull” finally pushes the entire affair off of whatever high desert cliffside from which it’s been proclaiming all this uberdeath and into a waiting abyss of willfully knuckledragging blower deconstruction. The really scary shit is these guys’ll probably do another record after this one. Yikes.

Ghorot on Facebook

Lay Bare Recordings website

King of the Monsters Records website

Moozoonsii, Outward

Moozoonsii Outward

With the self-release of Outward, heavy progressive psych instrumentalists Moozoonsii complete a duology of pandemic-constructed outings that began with last year’s (of course) Inward, and to do so, the trio based in Nantes, France, continue to foster a methodology somewhere between metal and rock, finding ground in precision riffing in the 10-minute “Nova” or in the bumps and crashes after eight minutes into the 13-minute “Far Waste,” but they’re just as prone to jazzy skronk-outs like in the midsection solo of “Lugubris,” and the entire release is informed by the unfolding psychedelic meditationscape of “Stryge” at the start, so by no, no, no means at all are they doing one thing for the duration. “Toxic Lunar Vibration,” which splits the two noted extended tracks, brings the sides together as if to emphasize this point, not so much fitting those pointed angles together as delighting in the ways in which they do and don’t fit at certain times as part of their creative expression. Pairing that impulse with the kind of heavy-as-your-face-if-your-face-had-a-big-boulder-on-it fuzz in “Tauredunum” is a hell of a place to wind up. The unpredictable character of the material that surrounds only makes that ending sweeter and more satisfying.

Moozoonsii on Facebook

Moozoonsii on Bandcamp

Death Wvrm, Enter / The Endless

Death Wvrm enter

An initial two tracks from UK trio Death Wvrm, both instrumental, surfaced earlier this year, one in Spring around the time of their appearance at Desertfest London — quiet a coup for a seemingly nascent band; but listening to them I get it — and after. “Enter” was first, “The Endless” second, and the two of them tell a story unto themselves; narrative seeming to be part of the group’s mission from this point of outset, as each single comes with a few sentences of accompanying scene-setting. Certainly not going to complain about the story, and the band have some other surprises in store in these initial cuts, be it the bright, mid-period Beatles-y tone in the guitar for “The Endless” (it’s actually only about four and a half minutes) or the driving fuzz that takes hold after the snap of snare at 2:59, or the complementary layer of guitar in “Enter” that speaks to broader ambitions sound-wise almost immediately on the part of the band. “Enter” and “The Endless” both start quiet and get louder — the scorch in “Enter” isn’t to be discounted — but they do so in differing ways, and so while one listens to the first two cuts a band is putting out and expects growth in complexity and method, that’s actually just fine, because it’s exactly also what one is left wanting after the two songs are done: more. I’m not saying show up at their house or anything, but maybe give a follow on Bandcamp and keep an eye.

Death Wvrm on Instagram

Death Wvrm on Bandcamp

Mudness, Mudness

Mudness Mudness

Safe to assume some level of self-awareness on the part of Brazilian trio Mudness who, after unveiling their first single “R.I.P.” in 2020 make their self-titled full-length debut with seven songs of hard-burned wizard riffing, the plod of “Gone” (also an advance single, if not by three years) and guitarist Renan Casarin‘s Obornian moans underscoring the disaffected stoner idolatry. Joined by Fernando Dal Bó, whose bass work is crucial to the success of the entire release — can’t roll it if it ain’t heavy — and drummer Pedro Silvano, who adds malevolent swing to the slow march forward of “This End Body,” the centerpiece of the seven-song/35-minute long player. There’s an interlude, “Lamuria,” that could probably have shown up earlier, but one should keep in mind that the sense of onslaught between the likes of “Evil Roots” and “Yellow Imp” is part of the point, and likewise that they’re saving an extra layer of aural grime for “Final Breeze,” where they answer the more individual take of “This End Body” with a reach into melodicism and mark their appeal both in what they might bring to their sound moving forward and the planet-sucked-anyhow despondent crush of this collection. Putting it on the list for the best debuts of 2023. It’s not innovative, or trying to be, but that doesn’t stop it from accomplishing its aims in slow, mostly miserable stride.

Mudness on Facebook

Mudness on Bandcamp

The Space Huns, Legends of the Ancient Tribes

The Space Huns Legends of the Ancient Tribes

I’m not generally one to tell you how to spend your money, but if you take a look over at The Space Huns‘ Bandcamp page (linked below), you’ll see that the Hungarian psych jammers’ entire digital discography is €3.50. Again, not trying to tell you how to live your life, but Legends of the Ancient Tribes, the Szeged-based trio’s new hour-long album, has a song on it called “Goats on a Discount Private Space Shuttle Voyage,” and from where I sit that entitles the three-piece of guitarist Csaba Szőke, bassist Tamás Tikvicki and drummer Mátyás Mozsár to that cash and perhaps more. I could just as easily note “Sgt. Taurus on Coke” at the start of the outing or “The Melancholic Stag Beetle Who Got Inspired by Corporate Motivational Coaches” — or the essential fact that in addition to the best song titles I’ve seen all year (again, and perhaps more), the jams are ace. Chemistry to spare, patience when it’s called for but malleable enough to boogie or nod and sound no less natural doing either, while keeping an exploratory if not improvisational — and it might be that too — character to the material. It’s not a minor undertaking at 59 minutes, but between the added charm of the track names and the grin-inducing nod of “Cosmic Cities of the Giant Snail Kingdom,” they make it easy.

The Space Huns on Facebook

The Space Huns on Bandcamp

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Ghorot Announce West Coast Tour; Wound Due Oct. 7

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

You’ll forgive me if I’m late posting these Ghorot tour dates. The Boise-based deathbringers will issue their second album, titled simply Wound, on Oct. 7, and the tour starts that very same night n their hometown. They’ve got Chrome Ghost out for part of the trip, but if you look at the list of shows, badassery abounds from all sides, with the likes of Destroyer of Light, Sorxe, Behold! The Monolith, The Cimmerian, Nebula Drag, Sky Pig, and others showing up on bills throughout the West Coast and Midwest, whatever Texas considers itself part of these days. Another universe, maybe, if you ask their dickweed of governor.

But don’t let me get sidetracked. The news of Ghorot‘s release date is welcome and I’ve been waiting for it. Fall should work well for the band’s particular brand of extreme sludge, which at least on their 2021 debut, Loss of Light (review here), carried a fervent scent of rotting dirt along with its harsh tones and purposes. One would expect no less of Wound upon its arrival in October, which the band confirms through the PR wire below:

Ghorot tour poster

GHOROT – MAJOR TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT

Boise’s blackened-doom bastards Ghorot are headed out on an 18-date Western US Tour this October in support of their sophomore album WOUND, which drops on Friday 10/7 on Lay Bare Recordings, King Of The Monsters Records, and Transylvanian Recordings!! Tour support on our west coast leg will be provided by Sacramento’s sludge heroes and our TR label-mates Chrome Ghost!!

WOUND ACROSS THE WEST TOUR DATES
10/7 Boise, ID @ Neurolux with Possessive + TBA
10/11 SLC, UT @ Aces High Saloon with Swarmer + Harvest of Ash
10/12 Denver, CO @ HQ with Matriarch + VOIDEATER
10/13 Albuquerque, NM @ Ren’s Den with High Hover + Nomestomper + FaceRipper
10/14 Dallas, TX @ Three Links – Deep Ellum, TX with Mountain of Smoke + Imperial Slaughter + Kólga
10/15 San Antonio, TX @ Hi-Tones with Nocturnal Hell + Earthen
10/16 Corpus Christi @ Boozerz Rock Bar with TBA
10/17 Austin, TX @ The Lost Well with Destroyer of Light + Deathblow + Ungrieved
10/18 El Paso, TX @ Rockhouse Dive Bar Kitchen Venue with Heinous Mutation + TBA
10/19 Tempe, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room with MutilatedTyrant + Sorxe + Stone Witch
10/20 San Diego, CA @ Til Two Club with Chrome Ghost + Nebula Drag + TBA
10/22 Palmdale, CA @ Transplants Brewing Company with Chrome Ghost + Behold! The Monolith + The Cimmerian
10/23 San Francisco, CA @ Kilowatt Bar with Chrome Ghost + Snakemother
10/24 Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial with Chrome Ghost + SKY PIG
10/25 Eugene, OR @ Sam Bond’s Garage with Chrome Ghost + Red Cloud
10/26 Portland, OR @ High Water Mark Lounge with Chrome Ghost + Drouth + TBA
10/27 Seattle, WA @ Funhouse Seattle with Chrome Ghost + Empress + Grim Earth
10/28 Bellingham, WA @ Karate Church with Chrome Ghost + Empress + Inpathos

PREPARE THYSELF // YOU ARE NOT READY

Ghorot are:
Carson Russell: Bass Guitar, Vocals
Brandon Walker: Drums, Vocals
Chad Remains: Guitars, Amplifiers, Vocals

https://facebook.com/ghorot
https://instagram.com/ghorotdoom
https://ghorot.bandcamp.com

https://laybarerecordings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laybarerecordings/
https://www.instagram.com/laybarerecordings/
https://laybarerecordings.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kingofthemonstersrecords/
https://www.instagram.com/kotmrecords/
https://kingofthemonstersrecords.limitedrun.com/
https://kingofthemonstersrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://kotmrecords.com/

Ghorot, Loss of Light (2021)

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Ealdor Bealu Working on New Album

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 26th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

After supporting Earth last month and gigging with the touring Cortége in their native Boise, Idaho, melodic progressive heavy rockers Ealdor Bealu entered The Chop Shop to begin recording their fourth long-player, presumably for release sometime next year. The band comprised of guitarist/vocalists Carson Russell (also Ghorot) and Travis Abbott (also Sawtooth Monk), bassist/vocalist Rylie Collingwood and new drummer Cameron Elgart (also guitar in Crush the Monster) are now finished at least with some part of that process, having spent four days working with Andy Agenbroad on the follow-up to 2022’s Psychic Forms (review here), which came out through Metal Assault Records and whose echoing strains I don’t even have to put on to hear in my head. Not a complaint.

Questions abound. What does the new album hold and what’s next and is there more to do — overdubs? on to mixing/mastering? timeline on the release? — and what’s the big show they’re about to announce later this week, perhaps even seven or so minutes after this post goes live if my usual luck for these things holds? Well, this is usually the part where I tell you I sent the band a message or something to find all this stuff out, but the truth is I keep up pretty vigorously on Ealdor Bealu‘s doings, and after a while it kind of starts to feel a little stalker-ish. Like, maybe this band from more than halfway across the country has something better to do than field who-what-when-wheres from my couchbound ass. Maybe for today we can just be stoked the recording is nearly done and leave it at that? Yeah? Cool.

Here’s what they had to say for the time being, emojis and all:

ealdor bealu with Andy Agenbroad

That’s a wrap on 4 incredible days recording at The Chop Shop recording services!! It was such a pleasure to reunite with the legendary Andy Agenbroad, a consummate professional and an excellent human being (#128420#)

One more short session to go next Monday and we’ll have this thing in the bag!! Next up will be Z.V. House of Rabbitbrush Audio on the mix, can’t wait to see this music continue to evolve and grow (#127926#)

Next Ealdor Bealu show will be announced later this week, and it’s gonna be a BANGER!! Stay tuned…

EALDOR BEALU is:
Carson Russell: Guitar, Vocals
Rylie Collingwood: Bass, Vocals
Travis Abbott: Guitar, Vocals
Cameron Elgart: Drums

https://www.facebook.com/ealdorbealu/
https://www.instagram.com/ealdorbealu/
https://ealdorbealu.bandcamp.com/

http://facebook.com/metalassaultla
http://instagram.com/metalassault
https://metalassault.bandcamp.com/

Ealdor Bealu, Psychic Forms (2022)

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Ghorot Sign to Lay Bare Recordings and King of the Monsters Records; Announce New Album

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

The upcoming second album from Ghorot — no, I don’t know when it’s out with any further specificity than the “Fall 2023” stated below, and since they don’t I’ll refrain from giving you the title though I will say it’s appropriate for the brutality of the band’s intentions — has been in my possession for a couple hours. That’s barely enough time to skim through it, but in doing so I can confirm what they also say in this signing announcement as regards “fucking brutal.” If you heard 2021’s Loss of Light (review here), you know that’s part and parcel to who they are as a band, but they do seem to wield the caustic with increased lethality, and next time I’m really, really pissed off about some probably inconsequential bullshit and want to smash my face into the fucking wall, I’m looking forward to greeting that impulse with the volume of Ghorot‘s new effort.

Lay Bare Recordings in the Netherlands and King of the Monsters in the US Southwest will handle the release, and just for a refresher, bassist/vocalist Carson Russell doubles in Ealdor Bealu and guitarist/vocalist Chad Remains formerly conjured riffs in Uzala, which remains relevant information even though Ghorot are far more geared toward slow-motion throatripping than either of those outfits. To wit, Loss of Light streams below. Have at it if you’re in that kind of place.

From the PR wire:

Ghorot signing announcement

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT

We are beyond stoked to announce a new partnership between Ghorot and 2 world-class record labels; the mighty Lay Bare Recordings (Nijmegen, Netherlands) and King of the Monsters (Phoenix, AZ)!!

LBR and KOTM will be working with us on the release of our sophomore full-length album, which officially drops this Fall 2023!! We can’t wait to share more details with you all soon…

IT’S GOING TO BE FUCKING BRUTAL

Ghorot are:
Carson Russell: Bass Guitar, Vocals
Brandon Walker: Drums, Vocals
Chad Remains: Guitars, Amplifiers, Vocals

https://facebook.com/ghorot
https://instagram.com/ghorotdoom
https://ghorot.bandcamp.com

https://laybarerecordings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/laybarerecordings/
https://www.instagram.com/laybarerecordings/
https://laybarerecordings.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/kingofthemonstersrecords/
https://www.instagram.com/kotmrecords/
https://kingofthemonstersrecords.limitedrun.com/
https://kingofthemonstersrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://kotmrecords.com/

Ghorot, Loss of Light (2021)

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Ealdor Bealu Announce Southwestern Tour Dates; Playing Crucial Fest and More

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Ealdor Bealu

You know what? I’d really like to see this band. Like, right now, for this record. I have no idea if their touring plans would ever bring them to the Eastern Seaboard, but listening back to their 2022 third album, Psychic Forms (review here), I sure wouldn’t argue against showing up if they did. I guess something like the Fire in the Mountains fest is ideal for their sound, but honestly, I’d take it as it comes. Happy to make my own ritual out of whatever show I’m lucky enough to see.

Maybe I’ll run into them somewhere, sometime, ever, but they’ve got three killer records to their credit now, so hell yes. Show up to that show and maybe they’ll tour more. Don’t make me book a thing. Nobody wants that, me least of all.

From the PR wire:

Ealdor-Bealu tour

EALDOR BEALU Announce Upcoming Southwest US Tour In Support Of The New Album Psychic Forms

EALDOR BEALU is a progressive stoner rock quartet from the high desert of Boise, ID. With a focus on shifting dynamics from the ambient to the massive and back again, their sound expands beyond the boundaries of genre to create a mosaic of sonic praise. EALDOR BEALU are preparing to embark on their Southwest US tour this Autumn.

The band comments:

“We’re thrilled to announce our upcoming 2022 Southwest US Tour in support of our new record Psychic Forms, out on vinyl/cd/digital via Metal Assault Records! We’ll be hitting a ton of new cities on this run, and can’t wait to venture west for shows with GREEN DRUID, TEMPTRESS, DESTROYER OF LIGHT, and tons of other killer bands!”

The band’s first full-length offering Dark Water At The Foot Of The Mountain (Independent 2017) drew local, regional, and even international praise as a standout debut offering. With the release of EALDOR BEALU’s sophomore full-length album Spirit Of The Lonely Places on July 20th 2019 on vinyl/digital the band has seen new levels of success around the globe. The band took a step further in that direction, with the signing to Metal Assault Records in July 2021. The signing announcement was accompanied by the label immediately issuing Spirit Of The Lonely Places on CD.

EALDOR BEALU made a successful appearance at Treefort Music Fest in their hometown in March 2022, and shortly after, on April 22 2022, the band released their third full-length studio album, Psychic Forms, via Metal Assault Records, on digital, CD and vinyl.

Psychic Forms is streaming on all digital platforms, and is available for purchase on digital download, CD and vinyl formats via ealdorbealu.bandcamp.com.

Tour Dates:

10.6 Pocatello, ID SIXES
10.7 Denver, CO HI-DIVE (with Green Druid)
10.8 Wichita, KS Barleycorn’s
10.9 Dallas, TX RUINS (with Megafauna and Temptress)
10.10 Austin, TX Sagebrush (with Destroyer of Light)
10.11 San Angelo, TX The Dead Horse
10.12 El Paso, TX The Rockhouse
10.13 Albuquerque, NM Moonlight Lounge
10.14 Phoenix, AZ Yucca Tap Room
10.15 Las Vegas, NV The Usual Place

Festival Appearances:

August 27
Crucial Fest 2022
Salt Lake City, UT
Metro Music Hall
with MIZMOR, MARISSA NADLER, THE OTOLITH, and more

September 23-25
Flipside Fest 2022
Garden City, ID

EALDOR BEALU is:
Carson Russell: Guitar, Vocals
Rylie Collingwood: Bass, Vocals
Travis Abbott: Guitar, Vocals
Michael Mulcock: Drums

https://www.facebook.com/ealdorbealu/
https://www.instagram.com/ealdorbealu/
https://ealdorbealu.bandcamp.com/

http://facebook.com/metalassaultla
http://instagram.com/metalassault
https://metalassault.bandcamp.com/

Ealdor Bealu, Psychic Forms (2022)

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Ghorot Announce Tour Dates & New Album Recording Plans

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 7th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

ghorot

As will happen pretty much every year, the lineup for Crucial Fest in Salt Lake City this August is smokin’, and it includes Boise-based trio Ghorot, who also toured the West Coast last Fall in order to promote their 2021 debut album, Loss of Light (review here). That was a nine-day stretch in the Northwest and this is nine days in the Southwest, so there’s perhaps some indicator of how much touring the band will do on any given run, but one way or the other, like that last tour, they’ve got some good shows with killer acts — Denver with Velnias walks by and waves — and word that they’re getting ready to record their second album, with Andy Patterson no less, is certainly welcome too. One imagines they’re playing new songs on the road, and I’m sure I won’t be the first one to tell you that’s how you do it. Walk right off stage and into the studio.

Safe travels and kick ass to the band. Not a doubt in my mind they’ll trip it up at the shows and then make sure it’s dead in the studio with Patterson at the helm. If you’re not looking forward to that record yet, you probably should be.

The following dates came from the internet. I asked bassist/vocalist Carson Russell for a quote to go with, just something to make it more than a post cut and pasted from social media — they call it “value added content” in a corporate world I’m so, so, so happy I no longer inhabit — and he dropped the notice of the new recording, so there you go. Sometimes it’s good to ask, even if it means you have to wait an extra couple minutes (that were being waited anyway) to put the post up. Lesson probably not learned.

Info:

ghorot tour poster

Ghorot rides through the Southwest US this August!! Where will we see you on our path of destruction?

“Ghorot is bringing the blackened doom-metal punishment to the Southwest US this August,” says bassist/vocalist Carson Russell “We’re thrilled to be hitting a bunch of new cities on our path to Crucial Fest 11 in Salt Lake City. Following the festival, Ghorot will be remaining in SLC to record our sophomore full-length album at The Boar’s Nest with legendary engineer Andy Patterson. PREPARE THYSELF.”

8.18 The Elbow Room Bar with @flawlessvictory775 + the scattering
8.19 Thee Parkside with Slegë + @vindulaband (presented by SubliminalSF)
8.20 The Blue Lagoon with Vultures At Arms Reach + @_dvvell_
8.21 @knucklehead_hwood with TBA (presented by The Elegy Ensemble)
8.22 Til Two Club with Kushtaka + Lvciferian Death Mechanism
8.23 Yucca Tap Room with MutilatedTyrant + Mosara
8.24 Moonlight Lounge with @ritualnoiseabuse + TBA
8.25 Hi-Dive Denver with Velnias + Celestial Wizard
8.26 Crucialfest at Metro Music Hall with Mizmor, Marissa Nadler, The Otolith, and more

SEE YOU BASTARDS ON THE ROAD
Artwork by @neosabbathh

US Label Transylvanian Recordings
EU Label Inverse Records

Ghorot are:
Carson Russell: Bass Guitar, Vocals
Brandon Walker: Drums, Vocals
Chad Remains: Guitars, Amplifiers, Vocals

https://facebook.com/ghorot
https://instagram.com/ghorotdoom
https://ghorot.bandcamp.com

https://youtube.com/channel/UCyyMi4his1tCFb-uwG4QGhA
https://transylvaniantapes.bandcamp.com/

https://inverserecords.bandcamp.com/

Ghorot, Loss of Light (2021)

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Review & Video Premiere: Ealdor Bealu, Psychic Forms

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Reviews on March 18th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

EALDOR BEALU MIRROR REFLECTING MIRROR VIDEO

Ealdor Bealu release their third full-length, Psychic Forms, April 22 as their first offering through Metal Assault Records. The still above comes from one of the very last shots from the band’s video for album-closer “Mirror Reflecting Mirror,” which you can see premiering below, and while certainly the image of guitarist/vocalist Carson Russell (also of Ghorot) holding a sign that reads ‘the end is nigh’ is relevant to the storyline that accompanies the eight-minute track, if you want to get a real sense of where the band are coming from in terms of style and message, look at those fucking mountains behind him. They’re way up, out of town, high Rocky Mountains, their points looming, present even at a distance. If you want to hear those mountains beckoning, Ealdor BealuRussell, bassist/vocalist Rylie Collingwood, guitarist/vocalist Travis X. Abbott (also Sawtooth Monk) and new drummer Michael Mulcock — do a pretty good job of translation across the fluidly executed and at times surprisingly lush five songs and 40 minutes that comprise Psychic Forms. They are the very definition of the earthy ethereal. Ealdor BealuMountain pastoralism. And they’re not hiding it. It’s right there on the album cover.

Psychic Forms follows three years after 2019’s Spirit of the Lonely Places (review here), and is in some ways less up front about its sense of communion, but as opener and longest track (immediate points) “Be Ye Gone” unfurls with a multi-tiered progression of acoustic and electric guitar and adds vocals not so much to beat the listener over the head with verses and hooks, but to add to the atmosphere, it proves to be Ealdor Bealu‘s most expansive production to-date, reaching outward in ways that the prior release seemed to turn its meditative crux inward. No complaints with that offering, or 2017’s Dark Water at the Foot of the Mountain (review here) for that matter, but Psychic Forms works smoothly to convey high-altitude warmth, the crispness of the guitar evocative of a light breeze, the thoughtful changes and shifts progressive in tone and structure, moving into a solo-topped heavier push that comes together to remind just a bit of Valley of the Sun‘s “Riding the Dunes” in its rhythmic urgency. Given the span of time between Ealdor Bealu‘s second album and the third, one wonders if there isn’t an escapist impulse playing out in the material as well.

The video for “Mirror Reflecting Mirror,” which is the second single from Psychic Forms behind the opener, nods in its narrative to escapism as well, with the band as a supporting cast. Fair enough, frankly. Though like “Fade into Nothing” earlier on, “Mirror Reflecting Mirror” veers into some shredding guitar and bombast before three of its eight minutes are up, the bulk of the impression Ealdor Bealu are looking to make is in the atmosphere and mood of the piece, as the balance of vocals in the mix as well as the more languid groove that takes hold demonstrate. With Collingwood echoing out soothing “ooh”s as they move into the last comedown and strums, any and all freneticism is gone, and just maybe they’ve arrived at that other place for which they’ve seemed all along to present such a longing — even if that’s not necessarily how it works out in the video. In any case, between “Be Ye Gone” and “Mirror Reflecting Mirror,” Psychic Forms heathen dances and twists through “Fade into Nothing,” the centerpiece “Way of the Sudden Storm” and “Laid on Display,” bringing individualist purpose to an aural ideology that is classically heavy and yet brought to bear as informed by the modern prog of Elder, a European Ealdor Bealu Psychic Formsfolk-metal aesthetic and a deep sense of Americana as well. From the graceful manner in which “Way of the Sudden Storm” executes its midpoint sweep to its last drift into the highlight serenity in the opening moments of “Laid on Display,” which will bring forth its crunch in its own time thank you very much, the forward steps the band are taking as a collective are considered, plotted skillfully, and presented to the listener with an intention toward immersion and communicating identity through sound.

And while Psychic Forms is declarative in that way, it does not impose. The shove in “Be Ye Gone” is gentle — answered with nearly-subconscious-seeming symmetry in “Mirror Reflecting Mirror” — and even at its most forceful, “Fade into Nothing” uses heft and intensity — you’ll note the screams late for a touch of blackened extremity amid the solo — as means rather than ends, and for however much time they spend exploring the air around them, Ealdor Bealu refuse to lose their footing. This dynamic, perhaps with Mulcock shifting the chemistry somewhat as a new member of the band, still feels built off their prior accomplishments, but the fluidity of “Way of the Sudden Storm” alone is enough to demonstrate the clarity with which they approach their craft. Psychic Forms is consciousness speaking to the organic. Not light on ambition by any means, but the scope of shimmering highs and dug-in lows realizes the aims of Psychic Forms in such a way as to be wholly satisfying and almost impressionistic in its brush strokes. They are not necessarily telling you at any moment where they’re putting you, but you end up there and they’re ready to greet you just the same. The listening experience is ultimately rewarding in proportion with the effort one puts into it. To engage and be engaged.

As to Russell‘s message in the sign above, I might only argue that ‘the end,’ such as it is, is neither one thing nor ‘near’ as much as unfolding on multiple fronts before our unwilling-to-see-it eyes. No shortage, then, of fodder for escapism. May the world that Ealdor Bealu seem to find in this music actually come to pass.

And if there’s any message being delivered here, it is the old adage: quit your fucking job.

Off we go:

Ealdor Bealu, “Mirror Reflecting Mirror” video premiere

We’re thrilled to finally announce that our new album Psychic Forms will be released into the world on Friday, April 22nd on Vinyl/CD/Digital via Metal Assault Records!! Recorded in Boise, ID by Z.V. House of Rabbit Brush Audio and mastered by the legend himself James Plotkin, Psychic Forms is the strongest album Ealdor Bealu has ever achieved in all aspects of song craft, performance, and production. It is also our first offering with new drummer Michael Mulcock steering the rhythm section to prolific and uncharted territory, as well as our first to be fully supported by a record label. Metal Assault Records has an incredibly creative and formidable roster, and we’re honored to be able to work with this rapidly growing label on our new album.

The majestic, sprawling gate-fold artwork for the record was created by Italy’s Leoncio Harmr, and lends itself perfectly to the diverse and unpredictable album it bears. Always with a mind toward the natural world around us, but steeped in the intricacies of our own human existence and struggles, Psychic Forms delves deep into the path Ealdor Bealu has carved out over these past 7 years all the while pushing toward bold and surprising new realms.

Track Listing:

Be Ye Gone 9:28
Fade into Nothing 8:15

Way of the Sudden Storm 7:05
Laid on Display 7:04
Mirror Reflecting Mirror 8:07

Recorded & Mixed by Z.V. House @ Rabbit Brush Audio (Boise, ID)
Mastered by James Plotkin
Album Art by Leoncio Harmr
Album Layout by Adam Rosenlund

Ealdor Bealu is:
Carson Russell: Guitar, Vocals
Rylie Collingwood: Bass, Vocals
Travis Abbott: Guitar, Vocals
Michael Mulcock: Drums

Ealdor Bealu, Psychic Forms (2022)

Ealdor Bealu on Facebook

Ealdor Bealu on Instagram

Ealdor Bealu on Bandcamp

Metal Assault Records on Facebook

Metal Assault Records on Instagram

Metal Assault Records on Bandcamp

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Ealdor Bealu Announce New Album Psychic Forms

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Ealdor Bealu

Brazen in its forward reach, the upcoming third album, Psychic Forms, by Boise, Idaho, four-piece Ealdor Bealu, is set to release April 22 through Metal Assault Records. And oh my goodness. Its five tracks run a particularly gorgeous and progressive 40-minute stretch, and with preorders coming Feb. 18, I know word’s out early here, but wow this record right on. With vocal contributions from guitarists Carson Russell (also Ghorot) and Travis X. Abbott (also Sawtooth Monk) as well as bassist Rylie Collingwood — I never realized how many double-letters there were in this band; I wonder if drummer Michael Mulcock feels left out, though at least he’s got some alliteration — their earthen psychedelic procession has never sounded more vital or patient in its flow and you’ll pardon me if I just cut to the chase, save the review for the review, and tell you that it’s already on my best of 2022 list.

So think of this as a heads up, or a keep-your-eyes-peeled or just a more-to-come if you want. Whatever gets you there. There’s no audio from Psychic Forms yet to share, much to my chagrin — opener “Be Ye Gone” makes the point beautifully and will serve as the lead single next month — but 2019’s Spirit of the Lonely Places (review here), which was also one of that year’s favorite offerings, is streaming below to give you a base to work from as it seems they’ve also done.

Go ahead:

Ealdor Bealu Psychic Forms

EALDOR BEALU – Psychic Forms – April 22

New Full-Length Album(3rd): Psychic Forms
Release Date: Friday April, 22nd 2022
First Single/Vinyl Pre-Order: Friday February, 18th 2022

Record Label: Metal Assault Records (LA)
Medium: 200 Multi-Color Vinyl, 200 CD, Digital
Recorded and Mixed by: Z.V. House @ Rabbit Brush Audio (Boise, ID)
Mastered by: James Plotkin
Album Artwork: Leoncio Harmr

We’re thrilled to finally announce that our new album Psychic Forms will be released into the world on Friday, April 22nd on Vinyl/CD/Digital via Metal Assault Records!! Recorded in Boise, ID by Z.V. House of Rabbit Brush Audio and mastered by the legend himself James Plotkin, Psychic Forms is the strongest album Ealdor Bealu has ever achieved in all aspects of song craft, performance, and production. It is also our first offering with new drummer Michael Mulcock steering the rhythm section to prolific and uncharted territory, as well as our first to be fully supported by a record label. Metal Assault Records has an incredibly creative and formidable roster, and we’re honored to be able to work with this rapidly growing label on our new album.

The majestic, sprawling gate-fold artwork for the record was created by Italy’s Leoncio Harmr, and lends itself perfectly to the diverse and unpredictable album it bears. Always with a mind toward the natural world around us, but steeped in the intricacies of our own human existence and struggles, Psychic Forms delves deep into the path Ealdor Bealu has carved out over these past 7 years all the while pushing toward bold and surprising new realms.

The first single from Psychic Forms, Be Ye Gone, arrives on Friday, February 18th as well as the Vinyl Pre-Order kickoff via Metal Assault Records. Follow us on all platforms for tons of new content over the coming weeks and months as our album release draws closer!!

Track Listing:

Be Ye Gone 9:28
Fade into Nothing 8:15

Way of the Sudden Storm 7:05
Laid on Display 7:04
Mirror Reflecting Mirror 8:07

Ealdor Bealu is:
Carson Russell: Guitar, Vocals
Rylie Collingwood: Bass, Vocals
Travis Abbott: Guitar, Vocals
Michael Mulcock: Drums

https://www.facebook.com/ealdorbealu/
https://www.instagram.com/ealdorbealu/
https://ealdorbealu.bandcamp.com/
http://facebook.com/metalassaultla
http://instagram.com/metalassault
https://metalassault.bandcamp.com/

Ealdor Bealu, Spirit of the Lonely Places (2019)

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