Posted in Radio on November 8th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
It’s been forever since there was an episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio, but I’m glad to say that there was never any chance of it not continuing eventually. At least not one that I was told about — ha. Gimme had a bunch of specials booked, and well, if it’s me or the dude from Enslaved, or really anybody, I can’t really put up much of a fight that I should be given preference. I’m the dude who plays heavy rock on a metal station, and I’ve got a pretty good timeslot to do it. Yeah, I’m gonna get picked off in favor of special episodes. No worries. I kind of needed a break anyway.
So maybe think of this as the start of Season 2 of The Obelisk Show. I know that all the The Next Generation-era Star Trek shows operated with 24-episode seasons, but I don’t think anyone will begrudge me one fewer. Enterprise might’ve had a 23-episode season somewhere in there. I’d have to check. Either way, Season 2 picks up pretty much where Season 1 left off: a butt-load of new music and me nerding out about Colour Haze.
I talk a bit about the Høstsabbat fest in Norway that I went to last month, give the Brume record a plug and am a total geek for Al Cisneros’ bass tone on that new Om live release, so yes, pretty much the show is getting caught up with what’s been going on around here while it was off the air. A bit of shaking off the rust, but the playlist rules and I tried not to screw it all up too badly on mic. I haven’t heard the finished product yet, so we’ll see if it was a success. In any case, I hope you dig it.
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs at 1PM Eastern today.
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Friday at 1PM Eastern, with replays every Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next show is Nov. 22. Thanks for listening if you do.
[Click play above to stream ‘Dance Like a Reptile’ from Deaf Radio’s Modern Panic. Album is out Nov. 15 on Ihaveadrum.]
Denizens of the fervent, driven and admirable Athenian heavy underground, Deaf Radio made their debut with 2017’s Alarm (review here), released through their own imprint, Ihaveadrum. Like that record, the follow-up, Modern Panic, is self-released and sees the four-piece exploring a post-Josh Homme aesthetic, this time seeming to be in direct conversation with Queens of the Stone Age‘s 2013 album, …Like Clockwork. The clarity of production, the spaciousness of quieter moments like the title-track and the earlier “Animals” and even the striking colors and design of the cover art feed into this impression, as well as the vocal style of guitarist Panos Gklinos, joined in the band by guitarist/vocalist Dimitris Sakellariou, as well as bassist Dimitris Georgopoulos and drummer George Diathesopoulos, both of whom handle backing vocals, the compression of the guitar tone in up-front rockers like “Death Club” and “Dance Like a Reptile,” and the fact that it’s in the reaches of side B that Modern Panic makes its greatest and in this case most individualized statement. They do what they do exceedingly well, and I likely wouldn’t hold the Homme influence against them even if they didn’t — they’re hardly the only outfit with one, in any case — and the softer strum and underlying sense of build in the minute-long “Intro” before the rush of “Death Club” kicks in prefaces some of the more atmospheric elements at play both in Modern Panic‘s most thrusting moments and in its broader stretches.
As with Alarm, it is the job of Deaf Radio‘s songwriting to distinguish itself on the whole, and once again it does so with a marked fluidity throughout. “Animals” follows “Death Club” and pits airy, falsetto-leaning vocals against an atmospheric-sounding build as the band establish early on that their second LP will be about more than just careening riffs and the accompanying rhythmic rush. Nothing against that either, mind you. “Dance Like a Reptile” revives the momentum with one of Modern Panic‘s best hooks in its chorus and lead line, and the nine-track/43-minute offering makes a centerpiece of the prior-issued single, “Astypalea” (posted here), and reasonably so. Standing on its own, the song gave an initial ambience in its shimmering guitar and bass, but built up to a straight-ahead verse and chorus that was a sign of the growth Deaf Radio had undertaken in the couple years since their debut. Positioned as it is on Modern Panic, “Astypalea” plays an all the more critical role in providing the transition between the two halves of the record, the first of which is more forward and the second, which moves into broader-reaching and semi-psychedelic fare, almost post-rock at times, but always with a strong current of purpose and structure beneath. In addition to some highlight vocal interplay — an as-yet-underutilized asset on the part of the band; you’ve got four singers listed in your lineup, so make with the arrangements already — “Astypalea” shows the path forward for Deaf Radio in terms of establishing their own personality within the sonic sphere in which they’ve chosen to operate. What they do — if anything — with that potential avenue will of course be up to them, but it’s there should they want to see it.
Perhaps most crucially, “Astypalea” does this by bringing together the two sides of Modern Panic‘s persona as noted. The division between what comes before “Astypalea” and what comes after isn’t so thick a line, necessarily — there are rocking and atmospheric moments on both sides — but the centerpiece does the work often given to a closer in summarizing the outing as a whole. Where it is, however, that means it’s also an introduction from which a song like the title-track can launch outward, which it most definitely does. It’s here that Deaf Radio are maybe their most like …Like Clockwork, from the brooding croon at the outset to the payoff at the end, calling to mind the blend of linearity, methodical riffing and ambience in songs like Queens of the Stone Age pieces like “I Appear Missing” and “Kalopsia” from the mentioned album. Again, Deaf Radio wear it well, and on their sleeve. “Colours” comes to ground around some tighter fuzz and a more stead-ahead rhythm, with a dark boogie and that moves into an effective melodic wash in the chorus tying it to where it lies on the record — that is, making it fit between “Modern Panic” and the subsequent “Fossils” — a sudden ending after about four minutes in bringing a quiet reprise of the central guitar figure en route to the start of “Fossils,” which is the longest inclusion at 6:44.
Like “Astypalea,” “Fossils” draws a bit from all sides, but its divisions are less stark and so it’s all the more cohesive, and its slot as the penultimate cut on Modern Panic is of course no coincidence. Its immersive final push is the crescendo of the album as a whole, and it works well toward that end, less concerned with summary than with its own sweeping energy, and rightly so, as the one takes care of the other. That leaves closer “Gas Station People” as something of an epilogue, but an earned one, with a final showcase of Deaf Radio‘s emerging patience of craft and their ability to reshape their approach to suit the needs of a song’s mood. In this case, that means crashing out hard and slow into a long fadeout that leaves a weighty silence when the song, and thus album, is over. So be it. As much as Deaf Radio pull off the blend of edge and accessibility that so typifies the chief influence under which they’re working, the most satisfying impacts of Modern Panic come from the moments when the band let their more individualized side come through. “Gas Station People” is one, and whatever familiarity might coincide, even the most reminiscent parts of Modern Panic see some of the band’s spirit manifest. They are, then, headed in the right direction and working quickly to establish their place among the crowded sphere of Greek heavy rock. They’ve got the songs to get there — almost sneakily memorable, they are; you know them before you know you know them — and ultimately, that is what will continue to serve them best.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 18th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Greece’s Deaf Radio teased the promise of their next album with the release of the single ‘Astypalea’ (posted here) back in June. It’s been some three months since that track went out, so getting news of said album is welcome. It’s called Modern Panic and the release is set for Nov. 15 through Ihaveadrum Records. The art, which you can see below, is on-theme with what accompanied the single as well, and the band offers some illumination about what the general thematic is this time around, specifically citing, “lonerism, homophobia, racism, drug use and social media addiction.”
That’s not a little ground to cover, but if you’ll recall, one of the things that their debut, 2017’s Alarm (review here), had working in its favor was efficiency, so I have little doubt the Athens four-piece will get where they’re going this time out.
The PR wire has it like this, preorder link and all:
Rising Psychedelic Rockers DEAF RADIO Return with New Album, Modern Panic
Following the release of their ‘Astypalea’ single in June, Athens’s leading psych rock quartet Deaf Radio are thrilled to announce the official release of their sophomore album on 15th November via ihaveadrum.
As chief proponents of hard rock and grievous genre assault, ever since the release of their debut album in 2017, the band has been hailed by many as one of the most exciting alt-rock bands to emerge from Greece in recent memory. With Alarm garnering thousands of streams online and gaining ecstatic praise from sell-out crowds when performed live across Europe, expectation are high for the release of Modern Panic; a sprawling, exhilarating and breathtaking record that promises to leave no ear unturned:
“Modern Panic isn’t just Alarm’s successor,” explains guitarist, Panos Gklinos. “It’s a record through which we redefine the band’s identity. Composing it felt like looking at a mirror, suddenly noticing something is changed and then embracing it. Musically there are moments where raw and powerful elements come to surface and others in which we our reveal darker shades. Written between London, New York, Athens and Crete, the changes in the mood of the record are ferocious, while lyrically it reflects on modern society’s issues such as lonerism, homophobia, racism, drug use and social media addiction.”
Having shared bills with the likes of The Killers, All Them Witches, 1000mods and The Kills while touring in 2017 and 2018, Deaf Radio honed the sound and feel of these new songs on the road, live and in-person with thousands of fans in over thirty different cities across Europe. An endeavour which opened the band up to the most perfect proving grounds for testing new material, when seeking to make that perfect next record.
“There’s no doubt that Alarm’s success set the bar high, but in reality, once you put a record out there it’s all out of your control. People can resonate to it and give it a whole new meaning. It’s a chess game, we made our move, now we can’t wait to see how people react and how they will experience Modern Panic.”
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 7th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
After making their debut in 2017 with Alarm (review here), Greek heavy rockers Deaf Radio hit the road pretty hard last Fall in Europe, so my only question as regards their new record, yet untitled, is whether it was recorded before or after that extended stint took place. I’d assume after — the tour wrapped just before the holidays in 2018, but there’s been six months between then and now to put it to tape — and if that indeed is the case, I’ll look forward all the more to hearing how the group has come together in the time since their first outing, which was already well schooled in its approach to warm-toned heavy and catchy songwriting. They’re streaming the new single “Astypalea” — an island, not a new diet craze — and you can hear that below, as well as read about the record courtesy of the PR wire.
More to come, I hope:
DEAF RADIO: Rising Athens Rockers Return with New Single | Sophomore Album Released Late 2019
New single ‘Astypalea’ is released today and is taken from their new album, which arrives later this year
Chief proponents of hard rock and grievous genre assault, Deaf Radio, the Athens’ based quartet make a much-welcomed return this month with the release of the brand-new single, ‘Astypalea’.
The first song composed, recorded and lifted from their as-yet-untitled second album, which is due for release later this year, ‘Astypalea’ is a captivating glimpse of things to come
Written on the rooftops of old churches in Astypalea, a secluded Greek island in the Dodecanese, lyrically it focuses on the connections and experiences between each band member, with marauding and majestic guitars reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age and Rise Against. A song that begs to be played loud, this is the first recording made by the desert rockers since the release of their successful debut album, Alarm in 2017. Hailed as one of the best alt-rock albums from Greece in recent memory, it has since gone on to garner hundreds of thousands of streams online, and praise from ecstatic sell-out crowds when performed live across Europe.
Having shared stages with the likes of The Killers, All Them Witches, 1000mods and The Kills, Deaf Radio toured Europe throughout 2017 and 2018 and played in over thirty cities, serving as the perfect test ground material soon to be released on their second full-length album, due for release in the autumn.
Deaf Radio’s brand-new single ‘Astypalea’ is released on 5th June 2019 via ihaveadrum. Listen and find out more about ‘Astypalea’ now.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 2nd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Hell yeah, go go go. Deaf Radio on Nov. 14 will launch a 33-date European tour that spans from Russia to the UK with plenty of stops in between. They’ll be closing the book on their 2017 debut album, Alarm (review here), ahead of hitting the studio to record their second outing, and presumably they’ll be finalizing that new material on the road as well. Would be a waste not to, anyhow. The first full-length was rife with post-Queens of the Stone Age vibes, in the drums almost as much as the guitar and vocals, but with added beef to the tonality and hooky songcraft, they had no trouble making a rousing first impression in their own right. I don’t know when in 2019 their new collection will see release, but it’ll be worth keeping an eye out for, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find some label or other swooping in to pick them up for it.
You can stream Alarm below via Bandcamp, and here are the dates from the PR wire:
DEAF RADIO | LIVING IN BACKSEATS TOUR 2018
From London and Berlin to Warsaw and Athens, Deaf Radio are about to finish on the road what started as an internet burst two years ago.
Internet -being the new underground- proved fertile ground for Deaf Radio’s debut “Alarm” and made it one of the most successful independent rock albums of the recent years. Since then, the band has built upon it with a series of live appearances (among which emphatic shows with The Killers, The Kills and All Them Witches), but now it’s ready to take a big step. For more than a month they will be watching the world from the backseats of their van, crossing Europe’s fields this November and December.
More than 30 dates have been announced and an estimate of 15,000km including Germany, UK, France, Eastern Europe and the Balkans is to be covered. According to the band this tour will be “the final scene of Alarm’s era” and they will enter the studio to record their second full-length album during 2019.
The full list of shows: Living In Backseats Tour 2018 14.11 – Rover Bar / Thessaloniki [GR] 15.11 – Aigli / Serres [GR] 16.11 – Live n Loud / Sofia [BG] 17.11 – Mylos Bar / Drama [GR] 18.11 – Bee Bop / Plovdiv [BG] 19.11 – Expirat / Bucharest [RO] 20.11 – Moonshine / Cluj Napoca [RO] 21.11 – Reflektor / Timisoara [RO] 22.11 – ?KC Kombinat / Beograd [SRB] 23.11 – CK 13 / Novi Sad [SRB] 24.11 – Fusion Club / Kladovo [SRB] 25.11 – Klub Mocvara / Zagreb [HR] 26.11 – ?nstant / Budapest [HU] 27.11 – Grand Café / Szeged [HU] 28.11 – Fuga / Bratislava [SK] 29.11 – Klub Alchemia / Krakow [PL] 01.12 – Hydrozagadka / Warsaw [PL] 02.12 – Pod Minoga / Poznan [PL] 04.12 – Junction Bar / Berlin [DE] 05.12 – City Club / Augsburg [DE] 06.12 – Dirty Dancing / Osnabruck [DE] 07.12 – ?unker / Rostock [DE] 08.12 – The Lion City Pub / Magdeburg [DE] 10.12 – ?he Lanes / Bristol [UK] 11.12 – Gullivers / Manchester [UK] 12.12 – The Victoria / London [UK] 13.12 – Le Bar Hic / Rennes [FR] 14.12 – TBC 15.12 – Le Galion / Lorient [FR] 18.12 – KC Ummus / Kragujevac [SRB] 19.12 – Blues Bar / Karditsa [GR] 20 12 – TBC 21.12 – Temple / Athens [GR]
It turns out that, yes indeed, I will be able to add another day to the Quarterly Review this coming Monday. Stoked on that. Means I’ll be trying to cram another 10 reviews into this coming weekend, but that’s not exactly a hardship as I see it, and the stuff I have picked out for it is, frankly, as much of a bonus for me as it could possibly be for anyone else, so yeah, look out for that. In the meantime, we wrap the Monday-to-Friday span of 50 records today with another swath of what’s basically me doing favors for my ears, and I hope as always for yours as well. Let’s dig in.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
Ecstatic Vision, Raw Rock Fury
Hard touring and a blistering debut in 2015’s Sonic Praise (review here) quickly positioned Ecstatic Vision at the forefront of a Philadelphia-based mini-boom in heavy psych (see also: Ruby the Hatchet, Meddlesome Meddlesome Meddlsome Bells, and so on), and their Relapse-issued follow-up, Raw Rock Fury, only delves further into unmitigated cosmic swirl and space-rocking crotchal thrust. The now-foursome keep a steady ground in percussion and low end even as guitar, sax, synth and echoing vocals seem to push ever more far-out, and across the record’s four tracks – variously broken up across two sides – the band continue to stake out their claim on the righteously psychedelic, be it in the all-go momentum building of “You Got it (Or You Don’t)” or the more drifting opening movement of closer “Twinkling Eye.” Shit is trippy, son. With the echoing-from-the-depths shouts of Doug Sabolik cutting through, there’s still an edge of Eastern Seaboard intensity to Ecstatic Vision, but that only seems to make Raw Rock Fury live up to its title all the more. Still lots of potential here, but it’ll be their third record that tells the tale of whether they can truly conquer space itself.
Issued through Brutal Panda, Too Many Winters is the second full-length from Portland five-piece Norska, and its six tracks/48 minutes would seem to pick up where Rwake left off in presenting a progressive vision of what might be called post-sludge. Following an engaging 2011 self-titled debut, songs like the title-track and “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” churn and careen through Sourvein-style abrasion, vaguely Neurosis-style nod and, in the case of the latter or closer “Fire Patience Backbone,” soundscaping minimalism that, in the finale, is bookended by some of the record’s most intense push following opener “Samhain” and the subsequent “Eostre.” That salvo starts Too Many Winters with a deceptive amount of thrust, but even there atmosphere is central as it is to the outing as a whole, and a penultimate interlude in the 2:22 “Wave of Regrets” does well to underscore the point before the fading-in initial onslaught of “Fire Patience Backbone.” Having Aaron Rieseberg of YOB in the lineup with Jim Lowder, Dustin Rieseberg, Rob Shaffer and Jason Oswald no doubt draws eyes their way, but Norska’s sonic persona is distinct, immersive and individualized enough to stand on its own well beyond that pedigree.
Think about the two choices. You are Not the Ocean You are the Patient. Isn’t it the difference between something acting – i.e., an object – and something acted upon – i.e., a subject? As British Columbian heavy rockers Bison return after half a decade via Pelagic Records, their fourth album seems to find them trying to push beyond genre lines into a broader scope. “Until the Earth is Empty,” “Drunkard,” “Anti War” and “Raiigin” still have plenty of thrust, but the mood here is darker even than 2012’s Lovelessness found the four-piece, and “Tantrum” and closer “The Water Becomes Fire” bring out a more methodical take. It’s been 10 years since Bison issued their debut Earthbound EP and signed to Metal Blade for 2008’s Quiet Earth, and the pre-Red Fang party-ready heavy rock of those early works is long gone – one smiles to remember “These are My Dress Clothes” in the context of noise-rocking centerpiece “Kenopsia” here, the title of which refers to the emptiness of a formerly occupied space – but if the choice Bison are making is to place themselves on one side or the other of the subject/object divide, they prove to be way more ocean than patient in these songs.
With its churning, swirling waves of cosmic death, one almost expects Valborg’s Endstrand (on Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions) to be more self-indulgent than it is, but one of the German trio’s greatest assets across the 13-track/44-minute span of their sixth album is its immediacy. The longest song, “Stossfront,” doesn’t touch five minutes, and from the 2:14 opener “Jagen” onward, Valborg reenvision punk rock as a monstrous, consuming beast on songs like “Blut am Eisen,” “Beerdigungsmaschine,” “Alter,” “Atompetze” and closer “Exodus,” all the while meting put punishment after punishment of memorable post-industrial riffing on “Orbitalwaffe,” the crashing “Ave Maria” and the noise-soaked penultimate “Strahlung,” foreboding creeper atmospherics on “Bunkerluft” and “Geisterwürde,” and landmark, perfectly-paced chug on “Plasmabrand.” Extreme in its intent and impact, Endstrand brings rare clarity to an anti-genre vision of brutality as an art form, and at any given moment, its militaristic threat feels real, sincere and like an appropriate and righteous comment on the terrors of our age. Fucking a.
Probably fair to call the current status of German post-doomers Obelyskkh in flux following the departure of guitarist Stuart West, but the band has said they’ll keep going and their fourth album, The Providence (on Exile on Mainstream) finds them capping one stage of their tenure with a decidedly forward-looking perspective. Its six-song/56-minute run borders on unmanageable, but that’s clearly the intent, and an air of proggy weirdness infects The Providence from the midsection of its opening title-track onward as the band – West, guitarist/vocalist Woitek Broslowski, bassist Seb Fischer and drummer Steve Paradise – tackle King Crimson rhythmic nuance en route to an effects-swirling vision of Lovecraftian doomadelia and massive roll. Cuts like “Raving Ones” and 13-minute side B leadoff “NYX” play out with a similarly deceptive multifaceted vibe, and by the time the penultimate “Aeons of Iconoclasm” bursts outward from its first half’s spacious minimalism into all-out High on Fire thrust ahead of the distortion-soaked churn of closer “Marzanna” – which ends, appropriately, with laughter topping residual effects noise – Obelyskkh make it abundantly clear anything goes. The most impressive aspect of The Providence is that Obelyskkh manage to control all this crunching chaos, and one hopes that as they continue forward, they’ll hold firm to that underlying consciousness.
Former Mayhem/Aura Noir guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Ericksen leads breadth-minded Portuguese four-piece Earth Electric, and their devil-in-the-details Season of Mist debut, Vol. 1: Solar, runs a prog-metal gamut across a tightly-woven nine tracks and 35 minutes, Ericksen’s vocals and those of Carmen Susana Simões (Moonspell, ex-Ava Inferi) intertwine fluidly at the forefront of sharply angular riffing and rhythmic turns from bassist Alexandre Ribeiro and drummer Ricardo Martins. The organ-laced push of “Meditate Meditate” and “Solar” and the keyboard flourish of “Earthrise” (contributed by Dan Knight) draw as much from classic rock as metal, but the brew Earth Electric crafts from them is potent and very much the band’s own. “The Great Vast” and the shorter “Set Sail (Towards the Sun)” set up a direct flow into the title cut, and as one returns to Earth Electric for repeat listens, the actual scope of the album and the potential for how the band might continue to develop are likewise expansive, despite its many pulls into torrents of head-down riffing. Almost intimidating in its refusal to bow to genre.
After debuting in 2014 with I (review here), Toronto’s Olde return via STB Records with Temple, proffering sludge-via-doom vibes and a center of weighted tonality around which the rest of their aesthetic would seem to be built, vocalist Doug McLarty’s throaty growls alternately cutting through and buried by the riffs of guitarists Greg Dawson (also production) and Chris “Hippy” Hughes, the bass of Cory McCallum and the rolling crashes of drummer Ryan Aubin (also of Sons of Otis) on tightly constructed pieces like “Now I See You” and the tempo-shifting “Centrifugal Disaster,” which reminds by its finish that sometimes all you need is nod. Olde have more to offer than just that, of course, as the plodding spaciousness of “The Ghost Narrative” and the lumbering “Maelstrom” demonstrate, but even in the turns between crush and more open spaces of the centerpiece title-track and the drifting post-heavy rock of closer “Castaway,” the underlying focus is on capital-‘h’ Heavy, and Olde wield it as only experts can.
Based in Athens and self-releasing their debut album, Alarm, in multiple vinyl editions, the four-piece of Panos Gklinos, Dimitris Sakellariou, Antonis Mantakas and George Diathesopoulos – collectively known as Deaf Radio – make no bones about operating in the post-Queens of the Stone Age/Them Crooked Vultures sphere of heavy rock. To their credit, the songwriting throughout “Aggravation,” “Vultures and Killers” and the careening “Revolving Doors” lives up to that standard, and though even the later “Oceanic Feeling” seems to be informed by the methods of Josh Homme, there’s a melodic identity there that belongs more to Deaf Radio as well, and keeping Alarm in mind as their first long-player, it’s that identity that one hopes the band will continue to develop. Rounding out side B with the howling guitar and Rated R fuzz of the six-minute “…And We Just Pressed the Alarm Button,” Deaf Radio build to a suitable payoff for the nine-track outing and affirm the aesthetic foundation they’ve laid for themselves.
The further you go into Saturndust’s 58-minute second LP RLC, the more there is to find. At any given moment, the São Paulo, Brazil-based outfit can be playing to impulses ranging from proggy space rock, righteously doomed tonal heft, aggressive blackened thrust or spacious post-sludge – in one song. Over longform cuts like “Negative-Parallel Dimensional,” “RLC,” “Time Lapse of Existence” and closer “Saturn 12.C,” the trio cast a wide-enough swath to be not quite genreless but genuinely multi-tiered and not necessarily as disjointed as one might expect in their feel, and though when they want to, they roll out massive, lumbering riffs, that’s only one tool in a full arsenal at their apparent disposal. What tie RLC together are the sure hands of guitarist/vocalist Felipe Dalam, bassist Guilherme Cabral and drummer Douglas Oliveira guiding it, so that when the galloping-triplet chug of “Time Lapse of Existence” hits, it works as much in contrast to the synth-loaded “Titan” preceding as in conjunction with it. Rather than summarize, “Saturn 12.C” pushes far out on a wash of Dalam’s keyboards before a wide-stomping apex, seeming to take Saturndust to their farthest point beyond the stratosphere yet. Safe travels and many happy returns.
Massachusetts doomers Birnam Wood have two prior EPs under their collective belt in 2015’s Warlord and a 2014 self-titled, but the two-songer single Triumph of Death (kudos on the Hellhammer reference) is my first exposure to their blend of modern progressive metal melody and traditional doom. They roll out both in able fashion on the single’s uptempo opening title-track and follow with the Black–Sabbath-“Black-Sabbath” sparse notemaking early in their own “Birnam Wood.” All told, Triumph of Death is only a little over nine minutes long, but it makes for an encouraging sampling of Birnam Wood’s wares all the same, and as Dylan Edwards, Adam McGrath, Shaun Anzalone and Matt Wagner shift into faster swing circa the eponymous tune’s solo-topped midpoint, they do so with a genuine sense of homage that does little to take away from the sense of individuality they’ve brought to the style even in this brief context. They call it stoner metal, and there’s something to that, but if we’re going on relative balance, Triumph of Death is more doom-stoner than stoner-doom, and it revels within that niche-within-a-niche-within-a-niche sensibility.
