Posted in audiObelisk on June 6th, 2012 by H.P. Taskmaster
Today it is my extreme pleasure to host the first of what I hope will be many batches of audio streams from Roadburn 2012. This year, instead of links, I’m honored to host the audio streams themselves, which you’ll find on the players below. Extra special thanks to Walter and the Roadburn crew, and to Marcel van de Vondervoort and his team for recording these sets.
Please enjoy:
Alkerdeel – Roadburn 2012
Ancestors – Roadburn 2012
BarnOwl
BlackCobra – Roadburn 2012
Bong – Roadburn 2012
Horisont – Roadburn 2012
Sigiriya – Roadburn 2012
YOB – The Unreal Never Lived live at Roadburn 2012
Posted in audiObelisk on May 8th, 2012 by H.P. Taskmaster
Bong‘s is a swirling cosmic atmosphere of psychedelic exploration and ritualistic drone. Among the countless live albums, splits, EPs and other limited releases, each time they coalesce in the form of a full-length, it’s more of an event than an album, and the fourth and latest, Mana-Yood-Sushai (out May 14 through Ritual Productions) is the grandest yet. Taking the Newcastle four-piece’s methods of crafting huge, expansive works of riff hypnosis and coupling them with a genuine studio production at the hands of Greg Chandler of Esoteric, the latest outing gives Bong a shape without limiting their movement into, through and around it.
It’s heady shit, in other words — and I absolutely mean that as a compliment. Comprised of just two tracks, Mana-Yood-Sushai is at once complex and minimalistic, its psych wash and chants dense, and there are times listening to the 27 minutes of “Dreams of Mana-Yood-Sushai” when you feel like there’s no path out of it, like Bong have locked you in the temple and the only option you have left is to join them in their worship. Doom by way of Stockholm Syndrome? Maybe, but it’s glorious, either way.
And yet there’s something blissful in “Dreams of Mana-Yood-Sushai” by the end of it, the gradual evolution of the guitar line leading to a sort of melodic hum underlying the weight of the ambience. Bong‘s prior LP outing, Beyond Ancient Space (review here), was nearly 80 minutes long, and at just over 46, Mana-Yood-Sushai isn’t so much a change in methodology as it is a charted course into the band’s peculiar and impeccably constructed tonal abyss.
I’m fortunate enough today to be able to stream “Dreams of Mana-Yood-Sushai” in its 27-minute entirety. Please find the track on the player below, followed by some info from the label, and enjoy:
Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
Psyched-out, marvelously prolific doomlords Bong have returned once again from the outer limits of doom, drone, and Eastern melody to grace and glorify the riff upon their latest offering, a brand new album, Mana-Yood-Sushai. The album will be released on May 14 by England’s Ritual Productions, longtime supporters and purveyors of the doomed. The ethereal cover artwork is an image of a Nicolas Roerich painting titled “Mount of Five Treasures.”
Following last year’s masterpiece Beyond Ancient Space, this two-horned behemoth was recorded, mixed and mastered in just two days in December 2011, marking the first time Bong have ever entered a professional studio and recorded with an engineer. The esoteric outfit previously preferred to record live, and in shed, and in fields, and wherever the riff saw fit to lead them.
At the helm was Greg Chandler of Esoteric, who had this to say about the experience:“It was really great to record an album live in the studio with Bong, whose heavy, droning, psychedelic improvisations unfolded like a lucid, transcendental journey. Great vibe to the session with these guys, and a real pleasure to work with. I really enjoyed the session, was cool to work with a band that can just get in and do their thing with a completely no nonsense approach!”
Bassist/vocalist DaveTerry commented, “Two tracks emerged from our battles with the unfamiliar disconnectedness of studio recording, inspired in turn by the stories of LordDunsany and the meandering psychedelic rock of Träd Gräs och Stenar. We hope you enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoy playing them.”
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 21st, 2011 by H.P. Taskmaster
The fun never ends when it comes to Roadburn updates, though I’m pretty sure by now there are enough bands on the bill to fill up five or six days. Hell, Roadburn should just make it a full week and be done with it. This time around we learn that Nachtmystium will play all of Instinct: Decay and Witch, Valient Thorr and Bong have joined the crusade.
Check it out:
Roadburn’s extremely pleased to report that Nachtmystium will be playing a very special show at Roadburn 2012′s Voivod-curated Au-delà du Réel event on Friday, April 13th. For the first and only time, Nachtmystium will play their landmark USBM album Instinct: Decay in its entirety.
“Nachtmystium is extremely honored to be a part of Roadburn again”, says BlakeJudd, “The fact that we were picked by one our idols and perhaps the most forward thinking metal bands of all time, Voivod, makes it even more that extraordinary. We decided to do something hopefully just as equally special for everyone there. We’ll be playing our album, Instinct: Decay, from start to finish. We hope you enjoy it.” More info on Nachtmystium at Roadburn Festival 2012 / Au-delà du Réel event here.
Much to the mutual pleasure of Voivod and ourselves, Witch will be playing a one-off show at the Voivod-curated Au-delà du Réel event at Roadburn 2012 on Friday, April 13th, 013 venue, Tilburg, Holland. Founded in 2006, Witch churn out an punk-inspired style of psychedelic stoner doom that features DaveSweetapple (SweetApple), GrahamClise (AnnihilationTime/Lecherous Gaze), KyleThomas (Feathers), and marks the return of J. Mascis to drums (his first instrument, back in the DeepWound days). More info on Witch at Roadburn Festival 2012 / Au-delà du Réel event here.
We’re elated to announce a very special one-off show at Roadburn 2012: A heavy jam by J. Mascis, Mario Rubalcaba (drums, Earthless), MikeEginton (bass, Earthless) and Graham Clise on Saturday, April 14th. This will be one epic jam session for fans of shredding psychedelia. More info on Heavy Jam at Roadburn Festival 2012 here.
Thorriors of the world rejoice, ValientHimself and his minions from Burlatia have been confirmed for Voivod‘s Au-delà du Réel event at Roadburn 2012 on Friday, April 13th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland. For those who like high-energy speed rock-n-roll, sweat drenched heavy metal or ass-shaking punk gospel, ValientThorr are here to give you what you need. More info on ValientThorr at Roadburn Festival 2012 / Au-delà du Réel event here.
Once again, the RoadburnAfterburner scheduled on Sunday, April 15th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland, will be a full-on festival day with bands playing on the Main Stage and the Green Room. Technical thrash metal legends Coroner (headliner), along with YOB, Bongripper, BlackCobra, InternalVoid, The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation, Bong, Urfaust, Dragged into Sunlight, Fleshpress and Atlantis have been confirmed for the Roadburn 2012 Afterburner. More info here.
Bong, Farflung, SaturnaliaTemple, Year of the Goat, AncientVVisdom, Priestess, Danava, Conan, Atlantis and Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell have also been confirmed for Roadburn Festival 2012.
Tickets for Roadburn 2012 will go on sale Saturday, November 26th, 10:00 Central European Time. There will be a 2 ticket limit (per order) for 3-day and 4-day passes and Afterburner tickets –the same goes for the Campsite Tickets. Please visit www.roadburn.com for more info.
Posted in Reviews on April 28th, 2011 by H.P. Taskmaster
With its slew of 20-plus splits, EPs, live albums and compilations, Bong’s discography over the last four years is almost as murky as the UK four-piece’s music itself. On their Ritual Productions (who released Ramesses’ album last year and will have more from them shortly) debut, Beyond Ancient Space, Bong don’t so much affect an atmosphere as inflict it. From within a haze so thick you can’t see out of it, Bong straddle a line between sludge and drone that’s unquestionably heavy despite its jammed-out, live feel. The repetition on Beyond Ancient Space’s three tracks – which cover an overwhelming 79:51 runtime – is encompassing. In succession, “Onward to Perdóndaris” (25:33), “Across the Timestream” (25:03) and “In the Shadow of the Towers” (29:16) mesmerize with riffs, or rather, with riff, because despite an evolution within each track, Bong’s tendency is to spend an awfully long time jamming out the same part.
If you’ve ever seen a solo drone performance or someone constructing soundscapes with guitar, you’ve probably watched as they set a bed of loops that gradually, as the piece progresses, is built upon. As a full band, Bong nonetheless feel like they’re doing the same thing on Beyond Ancient Space’s component material. Each song begins gradually. “Onward to Perdóndaris” opens with silence before someone – presumably bassist Dave Terry, who handles vocals when they pop up – says “Perdóndaris” and the bass kicks in, soon followed by the drums of Mike Smith and Mike Vest’s guitar. Ben Freeth contributes sitar and Shahi Baaja, which rests repetitive figures on top of the aforementioned bed of drones. Smith does the honor of keeping Bong’s Beyond Ancient Space moving forward, which is no easy task, and one gets the sense that without his (again) gradual slowdown on “Across the Timestream,” the song might just go on forever into perpetuity.
Posted in audiObelisk on June 10th, 2010 by H.P. Taskmaster
Today The Obelisk is proud and thrilled to have been given permission to host the next batch of audio streams from the 2010 Roadburn Festival, which took place April 15-18 in Tilburg, Netherlands at the 013 Popcentrum. Please click the links below to listen, and enjoy.
Today it is my extreme pleasure to host the first of what I hope will be many batches of audio streams from Roadburn 2012. This year, instead of links, I’m honored to host the audio streams themselves, which you’ll find on the players below. Extra special thanks to Walter and the Roadburn crew, and to Marcel van de Vondervoort and his team for recording these sets.
Bong live at Roadburn 2010
