The ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the varied responses of publics and governments worldwide, and the disruption to lives and livelihoods has reached a scale that is unprecedented. Whatever the month or the month after or the future itself brings, more than one generation will bear the mark of having lived through this time, and art, artists, and those who provide the support system to help uphold them have all been affected.
In continuing the Days of Rona feature, it remains pivotal to give a varied human perspective on these events and these responses. It is important to remind ourselves that whether someone is devastated or untouched, sick or well, we are all thinking, feeling people with lives we want to live again, whatever renewed shape they might take from this point onward. We all have to embrace a new normal. What will that be and how will we get there?
Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan
Days of Rona: Jake Wallace of Elder Druid (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
—
How have you been you dealing with this crisis as a band? As an individual? What effect has it had on your plans or creative processes?
As a band, we initially did a livestream from our rehearsal space on the 20th March, just before full lockdown came into play in the UK so that was the last time we were all together. It was cool knowing that so many people were sitting at home watching us jam out and within a few days, we had 6k views on the video so we were pretty happy and surprised with that. We’ve all been playing our respective instruments at home and writing bits and pieces but we always need to play together in the room to make it all gel. That has always been the formula.
We got our first ever batch of vinyl at the start of April so that was a bit frustrating as it was probably the worst time to end up with boxes and boxes of records, with no gigs to play and no merch tables to lay them on. We had a few festivals cancelled, as well as main support for Stoned Jesus & Conan on their respective Irish tours. Really shitty luck but everyone is in the same boat so we can’t let it get to us.
Personally I’ve just been buying/listening to a load of new records and playing games on my PS4. Luckily, I’ve been in lockdown with my girlfriend so it’s great to have each other’s company during all of this.
How do you feel about the public response to the outbreak where you are? From the government response to the people around you, what have you seen and heard from others?
Honestly, Belfast seems to be heeding the advice a lot better than other parts of the UK. Northern Ireland has had the least deaths out of the 4 nations in the UK so I guess that’s something. There’s definitely a lot less people on the streets and it’s a weird ghostly atmosphere in the city centre with all the shops/bars etc. being closed. Our local bar/metal venue Voodoo has launched a funding page to help support them through the crisis so hopefully the guys can pull through unscathed as we’ve played more shows there than anywhere else and it’d be devastating to lose somewhere like that.
What do you think of how the music community specifically has responded? How do you feel during this time? Are you inspired? Discouraged? Bored? Any and all of it?
I think it has been very encouraging to see most of the music community trying to support each other as everyone is being hurt in one way or another. Most notably, I really loved the fact that Bandcamp waived their fees on the first Friday of the month to allow artists to earn that little bit more. It’s a great gesture and it really encourages fans to spend, especially with it being straight after payday. At the same time, I’ve seen a lot of bands profiteering off the pandemic and selling masks etc. at extortionate prices and I don’t agree with that at all, especially when they’re just an accessory and not actually useful in stopping the spread of the virus.
What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything? What is your new normal? What have you learned from this experience, about yourself, your band, or anything?
We’d love everyone to know that we’re gonna be working to reschedule all the shows that have been cancelled over the next few months, as well as booking new shows for later in the year and next year, all being well. I’d say we’ve learned that paying rent for a rehearsal space that we can’t use really sucks and if we’re ever getting a vinyl order in the future, we’ll make sure and do our research on the world’s vulnerability to pandemics and the likes.
If anyone wants to support us by picking up our latest album ‘Golgotha’, it’s available on vinyl/CD/digital over on our Bandcamp page, as well as loads of new shirt designs. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Posted in Reviews on March 27th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
I’m not saying I backloaded the Quarterly Review or anything — because I didn’t — but maybe subconsciously I wanted to throw in a few releases here I had a pretty good idea I was gonna dig beforehand. Pretty much all of them, as it turned out. Not a thing I regret happening, though, again, neither was it something I did purposefully. Anyone see A Serious Man? In this instance, I’m happy to “accept the mystery” and move on.
Before we dive into the last day, of course I want to say thank you for reading if you have been. If you’ve followed along all week or this is the only post you’ve seen or you’re just here because I tagged your band in the post on Thee Facebooks, whatever it is, it is appreciated. Thank you. Especially given the global pandemic, your time and attention is highly valued.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
Ocean Chief, Den Tredje Dagen
The first Ocean Chief record in six years is nothing if not weighted enough to make up for anything like lost time. Also the long-running Swedish outfit’s debut on Argonauta Records, Den Tredje Dagen on CD/DL runs five songs and 59 minutes, and though it’s not without a sense of melody either instrumentally or vocally — certainly its guitars have plenty enough to evoke a sense of mournfulness at least — its primary impact still stems from the sheer heft of its tonality, and its tracks are of the sort that a given reviewer might be tempted to call “slabs.” They land accordingly, the longest of them positioned as the centerpiece “Dömd” seething with slower-Celtic Frost anxiety and the utter nastiness of its intent spread across 15-plus minutes of let-me-just-go-ahead-and-crush-that-for-you where “that” is everything and “no” isn’t taken for an answer. There’s respite in closer “Den Sista Resan” and the CD-bonus “Dimension 5,” but even these maintain an atmospheric severity consistent with what precedes them. One way or another, it is all fucking destroyed.
Come ye historians and classic heavy rockers. Come, reap what Rise Above Relics has sown. Though it’s hard sometimes not to think of the Rise Above Records imprint as label-honcho Lee Dorrian (ex-Cathedral, current With the Dead) picking out highlights from his own record collection — which is the stuff of legend — neither is that in any way a problem. Barnabus, who hailed and apparently on occasion still hail from the West Midlands in the UK, issued the Beginning to Unwind in 1972 as part of an original run that ended the next year. So it goes. Past its 10-minute jammy opener/longest track (immediate points) “America,” the new issue of Beginning to Unwind includes the LP, demos, live tracks, and no doubt assorted other odds and ends as well from Barnabus‘ brief time together. Songs like “The War Drags On” and “Resolute” are the stuff of ’70s-riff daydreams, while “Don’t Cry for Me My Lady” digs into proto-prog without losing its psych-folk inflection. I’m told the CD comes with a 44-page booklet, which only furthers the true archival standard of the release.
To those for whom Helen Money is a familiar entity, the arrival of a new full-length release will no doubt only be greeted with joy. The ongoing project of experimental cellist Alison Chesley, though the work itself — issued through Thrill Jockey as a welcome follow-up to 2016’s Become Zero (review here) — is hardly joyful. Coping with the universality of grief and notions of grieving-together with family, Chesley brings forth minimalism and electronics-inclusive stylstic reach in kind across the pulsating “Nemesis,” the periodic distortion of her core instrument jarring when it hits. She takes on a harp for “Coppe” and the effect is cinematic in a way that seems to find answer on the later “One Year One Ring,” after which follows the has-drums “Marrow,” but wherever Chesley goes on Atomic‘s 47 minutes, the overlay of mourning is never far off.
Belfast dual-guitar sludge five-piece Elder Druid return with seven tracks/39 minutes of ready punishment on their second album, Golgotha, answering the anger of 2017’s Carmina Satanae with densely-packed tones and grooves topped with near-universal harsh vocals (closer “Archmage” is the exception). What they’re playing doesn’t require an overdose of invention, with their focus is so much on hammering their riffs home, and certainly the interwoven leads of the title-track present some vision of intricacy for those who might demand it while also being punched in the face, and the transitional “Sentinel,” which follows,” brings some more doomly vibes ahead of “Vincere Vel Mori,” which revives the nod, “Dreadnought” has keys as well as a drum solo, and the penultimate “Paegan Dawn of Anubis” brings in an arrangement of backing vocals, so neither are they void of variety. At the feedback-soaked end of “Archmage,” Golgotha comes across genuine in its aggression and more sure of their approach than they were even just a couple years ago.
I know the whole world seems like it’s in chaos right now — mostly because it is — but go ahead and quote me on this: a band does not come along in 2020 and put out a record like Lost Orbiter and not get picked up by some label if they choose to be. Among 2020’s most promising debuts, it is progressive without pretense, tonally rich and melodically engaging, marked out by a poise of songcraft that speaks to forward potential whether it’s in the coursing leads of “Drake’s Equation” or the final slowdown/speedup of “Trappist-1” that smoothly shifts into the sample at the start of closer “Dead Space.” Mindcrawler‘s first album — self-recorded, no less — is modern cosmic-heavy brought to bear in a way that strikes such a balance between the grounded and the psychedelic that it should not be ignored, even in the massively crowded international underground from which they’re emerging. And the key point there is they are emerging, and that as thoughtfully composed as the six tracks/29 minutes of Lost Orbiter are, they only represent the beginning stages of what Mindcrawler might accomplish. If there is justice left, someone will release it on vinyl.
Michigan doom-death five-piece Temple of Void have pushed steadily toward the latter end of that equation over their now-three full-lengths, and though The World That Was (their second offering through Shadow Kingdom) is still prone to its slower tempos and is includes the classical-guitar interlude “A Single Obulus,” that stands right before “Leave the Light Behind,” which is most certainly death metal. Not arguing with it, as to do so would surely only invite punishment. The extremity only adds to the character of Temple of Void‘s work overall, and as “Casket of Shame” seems to be at war with itself, so too is it seemingly at war with whatever manner of flesh its working so diligently to separate from the bone. Across a still-brief 37 minutes, The World That Was — which caps with its most-excellently-decayed nine-minute title-track — harnesses and realizes this grim vision, and Temple of Void declare in no uncertain terms that no matter how they might choose to tip the scale on the balance of their sound, they are its master.
Lunar Swamp have spawned as a blusier-directed offshoot of Italian doomers Bretus of which vocalist Mark Wolf, guitarist/bassist Machen and drummer S.M. Ghoul are members, and sure enough, their debut single “Shamanic Owl,” fosters this approach. As the band aren’t strangers to each other, it isn’t such a surprise that they’d be able to decide on a sound and make it happen their first time out but the seven-minute roller — also the leadoff their first EP, UnderMudBlues, which is due on CD in June — also finds time to work in a nod to the central riff of Sleep‘s “Dragonaut” along with its pointed worship of Black Sabbath, so neither do they seems strictly adherent to a blues foundation, despite the slide guitar that works its way in at the finish. How the rest of the EP might play out need not be a mystery — it’s out digitally now — but as far as an introduction goes, “Shamanic Owl” will find welcome among those seeking comfort in the genre-familiar.
The nine-track/42-minute second LP, II, from Milano post-this-or-that five-piece Huge Molasses Tank Explodes certainly finds the band earning bonus points based on their moniker alone, but more than that, it is a work of reach and intricacy alike, finding the moment where New Wave emerged from out of krautrock’s fascination with synthesizer music and bring to that a psychedelic shimmer that is too vintage-feeling to be anything other than modern. It is laid back enough in its overarching affect that “The Run” feels dreamy, most especially in its guitar lines, but never is it entirely at rest, and both the centerpiece “No One” and the later “So Much to Lose” help continue the momentum that “The Run” manages so fluidly to build in a manner one might liken to space rock were the implication of strict adherence to stylistic guidelines so implicit in that categorization. They present this nuance with a natural-seeming sense of craft and in “High or Low,” a fuzzy tone that feels like only a welcome windfall. Those who can get their head around it should seek to do so, and kudos to Huge Molasses Tank Explodes for being more than just a clever name.
Set to release through Heavy Psych Sounds on the same day as the new album from his main outfit The Sonic Dawn, The Black Spider/Det Kollective Selvmord is the debut solo album from Copenhagen-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Emile Bureau, who has adopted his first name as his moniker of choice. Fair enough for the naturalism and intended intimacy of the 11-track/39-minute outing, which indeed splits itself between portions in English and in Danish, sounding likewise able to bring together sweet melodies in both. Edges of distortion in “Bundlos” and some percussion in the second half’s title-track give a semblance of arrangement to the LP, but at the core is Emile himself, his vocals and guitar, and that’s clearly the purpose behind it. Where The Sonic Dawn often boast a celebratory feel, The Black Spider/Det Kollective Selvmord is almost entirely subdued, and its expressive sensibility comes through regardless of language.
Sonic restlessness! “Fire Dome” begins with a riffy rush, “Forever Zero” vibes out on low end and classic swing, the title-track feels like an Endless Boogie jam got lost in the solar system, “Celestial Tunnel” is all-thrust until it isn’t at all, “Blind Faith” is an acoustic interlude, and “Dark Matter” is a punk song. Because god damn, of course it is. It is little short of a miracle Saturno Grooves make their second album, Cosmic Echoes as remarkably cohesive as it is, yet through it all they hold fast to class and purpose alike, and from its spacious outset to its bursting finish, there isn’t a minute of Cosmic Echoes that feels like happenstance, even though they’re obviously following one impulse after the next in terms of style. Heavy (mostly) instrumentalism that works actively not to be contained. Out among the echoes, Saturno Grooves might just be finding their own wavelength.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 13th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Later this week, Northern Irish sludgebringers Elder Druid will issue their second full-length album, Golgotha. I’ve heard it. It’s a beast, and what’s more, it sees Elder Druid beginning to manifest their potential in terms of tone and general aggression level, starting to show themselves as willing, able and actively trying to branch out from their root influences. Also it’s very, very heavy. So all the way around, it’s a 39-minute win of a pummeler.
They’ll play a couple shows this weekend in Belfast and Dublin to mark the release, and then next month, they head out on their first European tour, with gigs in Belgium, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. It’s five dates, so yes, very much an initial incursion, but I’ve seen tours go much longer and not cover as much ground, so there you go. All the best to them, safe travels, lock the van and all that stuff.
In case an album release and tour announcement weren’t enough for you — the internet be greedy — the five-piece also have a new video for the instrumental track “Sentinel” from the new record. At a little over three minutes, it’s the shortest cut on the outing, and it doesn’t have Gregg McDowell‘s varying sludge-metal gutturalisms over top, but it should still give you some idea of where Elder Druid are coming from atmospherically and in terms of their general approach. Enough to whet your appetite ahead of Friday, anyhow.
From the social medias:
ELDER DRUID – EUROPEAN TOUR 2020
Delighted to finally announce we’ll be going on our first European tour in February 2020, celebrating the release of our new album ‘Golgotha’, due out on 17.01.2020.
We’ll be doing shows across Belgium, Germany and Poland on this tour and the dates are as follows:
12.02 • GHENT, BELGIUM Kinky Star w/ Welcome to Holyland
13.02 • BERLIN, GERMANY Toast Hawaii w/ Witch Ritual
14.02 • DRESDEN, GERMANY Eichenkranz w/ Swan Valley Heights, Morbus Kinski
15.02 • KATOWICE, POLAND Drzwi Zwane Koniem Fellowship of the Riff Vol. 6 w/ Fish Basket, Plaster Cast, Hermopolis, Raskolnikow
16.02 • OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC Galerie Nibiru Klubovna Jeden Tag
Cheers to all the promoters and venues who have helped us organise these shows and to all the absolutely killer bands we have playing with us. The final show will be announced in the coming days. We can’t wait. Cheers to the guys at Galactic SmokeHouse for helping complete the tour dates. Legends.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 20th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I don’t mind telling you that I’ve seen at this point in my life a fair amount of videos that feature a band walking around, either playing or doing something spooky, in the woods. Like, a lot of them. In the era of the-technology-is-so-cheap-that-every-band-is-basically-expected-to-make-at-least-one-per-LP, it’s only fair there would be some overlap in subject matter in a genre — that’s what genre is, essentially — and in any case, it’s certainly not something to hold against anyone. I like walking in the woods sometimes too, as long as it’s dry. Actually, who the hell am I kidding? I like sitting on my ass on the couch and watching Star Trek. Going grocery shopping for me is like a major effort these days.
Before I get any further off-track here, Elder Druid‘s new clip for the title-track of their impending album, Golgotha — confirmed for a Jan. 17, 2020, release — is indeed one of the off-to-the-forest-type clips, and yet, having seen a number of them as I have, I’m still struck by the woods in question. They’re beautiful. The band apparently filmed in Woodburn Forest, in Carrickfergus, about 35 minutes southeast from their home in Ballymena toward the Northern Irish eastern coastline, and yeah, the scenery is just gorgeous. There’s some shaky-cam stuff in the video — fair enough considering the sludge-doom assault happening at concurrently in the music — but the video is otherwise shot in a kind of sepia filter that plays up the visual impact of the place, and having been in Northern Ireland for a few days earlier this year and felt like I saw any number of righteous sights, I clearly also missed one along the way. Guess my trip’s itinerary was too focused on politically-driven murder to go spend any time dicking around among the trees. So it goes.
Oh, and kudos to the band on finding a sunny day to shoot. That couldn’t have been easy either.
Elder Druid play this week in Bangor (not Maine) and then head across to England for four dates with Barbarian Hermit next week. They’ll do Crypt of the Riff, which they’re involved in organizing, and then it’s on to the album release party — a two-parter party, no less — and more festivals later in 2020 that one assumes will be supplemented by tour dates to come. Nothing like keeping busy.
Or sitting on ass, enjoying the view:
Elder Druid, “Golgotha” official video
Official music video for ‘Golgotha’, the title track from our upcoming album ‘Golgotha’ due for release in January 2020.
Filming and editing: Exposing Shadows Photography. Performances: Patrycja Dziedzic, April Morgan & Elder Druid. Special thanks: Fresh Garbage for providing costumes and Peter Clarke for his assistance in shooting the video.
Music: Written and performed by Elder Druid. Produced by Dale Hughes in Blackstaff Mill, Belfast.
Elder Druid live: 22.11: Elder Druid & Nomadus | The Goat’s Toe, Bangor 28.11: Elder Druid / Barbarian Hermit / Satlan / Gandalf the Green | Temple of Boom, Leeds 29.11: Elder Druid / Barbarian Hermit / Satlan / Slowbro | The Phoenix, Coventry 30.11: Elder Druid / Barbarian Hermit / Bad Kush | The Lounge 666, London 01.12: Elder Druid / Barbarian Hermit / Satlan / Kong Lives | Fuel Rock Club, Cardiff 13.12: Crypt of the Riff Vol. 4 17.01: Elder Druid • ‘Golgotha’ Album Launch • Voodoo, Belfast 18.01: Elder Druid • ‘Golgotha’ Album Launch • Fibber Magees, Dublin 01.05: Iron Mountain Metal Festival 2020 06.06: Stonebaked Festival 31.07: Monolith 2020
Elder Druid is: Gregg McDowell – Vocals Jake Wallace – Lead Guitar Mikey Scott – Rhythm Guitar Dale Hughes – Bass Guitar Brien Gillen – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 31st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Elder Druid will hop islands at the end of November to do a four-show British run of shows with Barbarian Hermit and Satlan. My understanding from this past Spring was that the Northern Irish five-piece were planning to release their new album, Golgotha, before the end of 2019. I haven’t heard word either way as to whether that’s still going to happen as was initially laid out, but figure if it is, this tour would either be the band’s way of celebrating the record’s arrival or maybe heralding it for early next year, barring some kind of more significant delay.
Either way, good for them getting out. Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters will sit in for Satlan on the London show, and there’s local support as well. More on Golgotha when I hear it — either the news or the album, that is. Ha.
Here’s the tour info:
ELDER DRUID – UK TOUR UPDATE – CARDIFF SHOW
Very stoked to finally announce our English tour coming up at the end of November. We’ll be joined by the incredible Barbarian Hermit and Satlan as our main tour supports, with the lads in Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters stepping in for Satlan on the London date.
We can finally announce the last date of our UK shows at the end of November/start of December.
We’ll be playing FUEL ROCK CLUB in Cardiff, Wales on Sunday 1st December with our touring heavyweights Barbarian Hermit, Satlan and Wales’ very own stoner doom/post-metallers Kong Lives.
TOUR DATES:
28.11 • LEEDS • Temple Of Boom Leeds Elder Druid / Barbarian Hermit / Satlan / Gandalf the Green
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 2nd, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Northern Irish riffers Elder Druid are preparing to release their second full-length later this year. Titled Golgotha, it will be the answer to 2017’s Carmina Satanae, which saw them blending sludge burl and doomed atmospheres and themes to encouraging and engaging degrees. What does the new album hold? Beats the hell out of me — I haven’t heard it yet. But if the cover art by Mariusz Lewandowski is anything to go by, things won’t be any less bleak this time around. Lewandowski was the painter behind the the striking cover of Bell Witch‘s Mirror Reaper, and Golgotha would seem to be on-point in terms of its general outlook. Murky and depressive. Heavy like slumped shoulders.
There’s no audio from the record as yet, or even a solid release date made public, so there’s probably more to come before the album is actually out — unless they get sneaky and just drop it without telling anyone first; it happens — but until then, the cover art and tracklisting are what there is to go on, so that’s what I’m going on. If you’re curious to learn what a song called “Paegan Dawn of Anubis” sounds like, me too. I’ll look forward to finding out.
Here’s the art and their corresponding post:
ELDER DRUID – ‘GOLGOTHA’
Delighted to finally reveal the artwork and tracklist for our second full-length album, ‘Golgotha’, due for release in late 2019.
We have the honour of using this piece by one of the greatest surrealist painters in the world right now… the mighty Mariusz Lewandowski. (The artist behind Bell Witch’s ‘Mirror Reaper’ and Shrine Of The Serpent’s ‘Entropic Disillusion’).
Recorded in our rehearsal space in Belfast.
TRACKLIST: 1. Golgotha 2. Dreadnought 3. Sleeping Giant 4. Vincere Vel Mori 5. Sentinel 6. Paegan Dawn of Anubis 7. The Archmage
