Posted in Whathaveyou on February 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Scott Reagers, Ron Holzner, Karl Agell, Lothar Keller, Henry Vasquez and Victor Griffin are Legion of Doom. Wow, huh? I’d be interested to hear a collective count of the members of this band’s years of experience. Griffin started Death Row in 1980. Reagers goes back to the ’80s with Saint Vitus. Holzner joined Trouble in ’86. Karl Agell sang for Corrosion of Conformity circa Blind in 1991. Vasquez started out in Archie Bunker in 1997. And Keller started Sacred Dawn in 2005 and was founding guitarist for The Skull beginning in 2012. That’s arguably 150 years of doom and metal from these guys. A collection of lifers.
So you’ve got the metal-leaning style of Lothar Keller sharpening edges around the unmatched-in-doom tonality of Victor Griffin, two singers and they’re Karl Agell and Scott Reagers, Holzner locked in and smiling on bass while Vasquez is swinging away on drums? That’s a pretty serious fucking band. Every one of them a master at what they do.
And they’re gonna do a record? And play songs from everybody’s catalog? Shit that sounds good. I hope it works. They’re playing the not-to-be-confused-with Legions of Metal fest in Chicago and Hellfest in France in June. Doom on:
LEGION OF DOOM: Metal/Doom Supergroup Featuring Current And Former Members Of The Skull, Trouble, Saint Vitus, Corrosion Of Conformity, Pentagram, And More Solidifies Lineup; First Festival Dates Announced
Have you ever wanted to hear all the heavy in one place? From its origins onward?
After the untimely passing of Eric Wagner (Trouble, The Skull), one of doom metal’s most notable and esteemed singers and songwriters, The Skull bassist and bandleader, Ron Holzner, contemplated long and hard on whether it would be possible to carry on. Nine months and a lot of soul searching later, an idea was born.
Recalls Holzner, “I decided I want to honor the memory of Eric by playing songs that he crafted. I want his spirit to become eternal through his words and melody. And I also want to play songs from the catalogs of everyone involved.”
Alongside guitarist Lothar Keller (The Skull, Sacred Dawn) and drummer Henry Vasquez (The Skull, Saint Vitus, Blood Of The Sun), Holzner decided to reach out to his longtime comrade, vocalist Karl Agell (Corrosion Of Conformity, Blind, Leadfoot, Lie Heavy) as well as vocalist Scott Reagers (Saint Vitus) and riff master general, guitarist Victor Griffin (Death Row, Pentagram, Place Of Skulls). And so LEGION OF DOOM has come to exist with an all-star lineup of doom’s most prestigious figureheads, here to share their ultimate heavy truth, taking the genre from what is known into uncharted territories.
Comments Keller, “Continuing The Skull in some kind of form seems like the right thing to do. LEGION OF DOOM is a perfect way to continue bringing doom metal to the fans! There is new music to finish and it’s important for us to follow through with bringing it out for everyone to hear.”
“This is gonna be a monster,” adds Vasquez.
“I have always gravitated towards heavier music. I have been involved with making it for over four decades,” reflects Agell. “When Ron asked me to join him in carrying on the doom metal tradition that he was part of and established first with Trouble and then The Skull, there was only one path forward. It’s been a great honor to sing Eric Wagner’s words and melodies and I truly look forward to performing songs from the massive legacy of all the members of LEGION OF DOOM.”
“It’s a great combination of experience and lineage with everyone involved,” says Griffin. “Though I prefer to avoid hype… regardless, it’s gonna be heavy!”
“Ron approached me and asked if I would be interested in participating in first a tribute to Eric Wagner who was a dear friend of mine and then a new musical adventure,” recalls Reagers. “We both concluded that we were not done with metal. How could I say, ‘no?!’ Karl, whom I respect and admire, adding his incredible vocals to this ensemble… Victor Griffin! My dear friend and bandmate Henry, the great Lothar Keller, and Ron whom I have known forever… This venture is gonna be fun. I look forward to working with these gentlemen!”
Concludes Holzner, “We are all seasoned veterans of the music business and prefer to let our music do the talking… And our music is gonna be speaking loudly! All the fans and bands…We are family. Combined, we are all the Legions Of Doom!”
LEGION OF DOOM will make its debut appearance at Legions Of Metal Fest in Chicago this June before heading overseas for a performance at Hellfest in France with more live dates to be announced in the weeks to come.
LEGION OF DOOM: 6/03/2023 Legions Of Metal Fest @ Reggies Live – Chicago, IL 6/18/2023 Hellfest – Clisson, FR
LEGION OF DOOM: Ron Holzner – bass Lothar Keller – guitars Henry Vasquez – drums Karl Agell – vocals Scott Reagers – vocals Victor Griffin – guitars
Posted in Reviews on September 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Here we go again as we get closer to 100 records covered in this expanded Fall 2022 Quarterly Review. It’s been a pretty interesting ride so far, and as I’ve dug in I know for sure I’ve added a few names (and titles) to my year-end lists for albums, debuts, and so on. Today keeps the thread going with a good spread of styles and some very, very heavy stuff. If you haven’t found anything in the bunch yet — first I’d tell you to go back and check again, because, really? nothing in 60 records? — but after that, hey, maybe today’s your day.
Here’s hoping.
Quarterly Review #61-70:
Spirit Adrift, 20 Centuries Gone
The second short release in two years from trad metal forerunners Spirit Adrift, 20 Centuries Gone pairs two new originals in “Sorcerer’s Fate” and “Mass Formation Psychosis” — songs for our times written as fantasy narrative — with six covers, of Type O Negative‘s “Everything Dies,” Pantera‘s “Hollow,” Metallica‘s “Escape,” Thin Lizzy‘s “Waiting for an Alibi,” ZZ Top‘s “Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings” and Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Poison Whiskey.” The covers find them demonstrating a bit of malleability — founding guitarist/vocalist does well with Phil Lynott‘s and Peter Steele‘s inflections while still sounding like himself — and it’s always a novelty to hear a band purposefully showcase their influences like this, but “Sorcerer’s Fate” and “Mass Formation Psychosis” are the real draw. The former nods atop a Candlemassian chug and sweeping chorus before spending much of its second half instrumental, and “Mass Formation Psychosis” resolves in burly riffing, but only after a poised rollout of classic doom, slower, sleeker in its groove, with acoustic strum layered in amid the distortion and keyboard. Two quick reaffirmations of the band’s metallic flourishing and, indeed, a greater movement happening partially in their wake. And then the covers, which are admirably more than filler in terms of arrangement. Something of a holdover, maybe, but by no means lacking substance.
Just because it’s so bludgeoning doesn’t necessarily mean that’s all it is. The melodic stretch of “Forbidden World of Light” and delve into progressive black metal after the nakedly Crowbarian sludge of “A Path Beyond Grief,” the clean vocal-topped atmospheric heft of “What Must Be Done” and the choral feel of centerpiece “Carried,” even the way “Of Shadow and Sanguine” seems to purposefully thrash (also some more black metal there) amid its bouts of deathcore and sludge lumbering — all of these come together to make Northless‘ fourth long-player, A Path Beyond Grief, an experience that’s still perhaps defined by its intensity and concrete tonality, its aggression, but that is not necessarily beholden to those. Even the quiet intro “Nihil Sanctum Vitae” — a seeming complement to the nine-minute bring-it-all-together closer “Nothing That Lives Will Last” — seems intended to tell the listener there’s more happening here than it might at first seem. As someone who still misses Swarm of the Lotus, some of the culmination in that finale is enough to move the blood in my wretched body, but while born in part of hardcore, Northless are deep into their own style throughout these seven songs, and the resultant smashy smashy is able to adjust its own elemental balance while remaining ferociously executed. Except, you know, when it’s not. Because it’s not just one thing.
Comprised of five songs running a tidy 20 minutes, each brought together through ambience as well as the fact that their titles are all three letters long — “Aer,” “Hyd,” “Orb,” “Wiz,” “Rue” — AER is the debut EP from German instrumentalists Lightrain, who would seek entry into the contemplative and evocative sphere of acts like Toundra or We Lost the Sea as they offer headed-out post-rock float and heavy psychedelic vibe. “Hyd” is a focal point, both for its eight-minute runtime (nothing else is half that long) and the general spaciousness, plus a bit of riffy shove in the middle, with which it fills that, but the ultra-mellow “Aer” and drumless wash of “Wiz” feed into an overarching flow that speaks to greater intentions on the part of the band vis a vis a first album. “Rue” is progressive without being overthought, and “Orb” feels born of a jam without necessarily being that jam, finding sure footing on ground that for many would be uncertain. If this is the beginning point of a longer-term evolution on the part of the band, so much the better, but even taken as a standalone, without consideration for the potential of what it might lead to, the LP-style fluidity that takes hold across AER puts the lie to its 20 minutes being somehow minor.
Cleanly produced and leaning toward sleaze at times in a way that feels purposefully drawn from ’80s glam metal, the second offering from Poland’s 1965 — they might as well have called themselves 1542 for as much as they have to do sound-wise with what was going on that year — is the 12-song/52-minute Panther, which wants your nuclear love on “Nuclear Love,” wants to rock on “Let’s Rock,” and would be more than happy to do whatever it wants on “Anything We Want.” Okay, so maybe guitarist, vocalist and principal songwriter Michał Rogalski isn’t going to take home gold at the Subtlety Olympics, but the Warsaw-based outfit — him plus Marco Caponi on bass/backing vocals and Tomasz Rudnicki on drums/backing vocals, as well as an array of lead guitarists guesting — know the rock they want to make, and they make it. Songs are tight and well performed, heavy enough in tone to have a presence but fleet-footed in their turns from verse to chorus and the many trad-metal-derived leads. Given the lyrics of the title-track, I’m not sure positioning oneself as an actual predatory creature as a metaphor for seduction has been fully thought through, but you don’t see me out here writing lyrics in Polish either, so take it with that grain of salt if you feel the need or it helps. For my money I’ll take the still-over-the-top “So Many Times” and the sharp start-stops of “All My Heroes Are Dead,” but there’s certainly no lack of others to choose from.
Blacklab — also stylized BlackLab — are the Osaka, Japan-based duo of guitarist/vocalist Yuko Morino and drummer Chia Shiraishi, but if you’d enter into their second full-length, In a Bizarre Dream, expecting some rawness or lacking heft on account of their sans-bass configuration, you’re more likely to be bowled over by the sludgy tonality on display. “Cold Rain” — opener and longest track (immediate points) at 6:13 — and “Abyss Woods” are largely screamers, righteously harsh with riffs no less biting, and “Dark Clouds” does the job in half the time with a punkier onslaught leading to “Evil 1,” but “Evil 2” mellows out a bit, adjusts the balance toward clean singing and brooding in a way that the oh-hi-there guest vocal contribution from Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab (after whom Blacklab are partially named) on “Crows, Sparrows and Cats” shifts into a grungier modus. “Lost” and “In a Bizarre Dream,” the latter more of an interlude, keep the momentum going on the rock side, but somehow you just know they’re going to turn it around again, and they absolutely do, easing their way in with the largesse of “Monochrome Rainbow” before “Collapse” caps with a full-on onslaught that brings into full emphasis how much reach they have as a two-piece and just how successfully they make it all heavy.
I guess the only problem that might arise from recording your first two-songer with Steve Albini is that you’ve set an awfully high standard for, well, every subsequent offering your band ever makes in terms of production. There are traces of Karma to Burn-style chug on “Ectotherm,” the A-side accompanied by “Writhing Mass” on the two-songer that shares the same name, but Chicago imstrumental trio Sun King Ba are digging into more progressively-minded, less-stripped-down fare on both of these initial tracks. Still, impact and the vitality of the end result are loosely reminiscent, but the life on that guitar, bass and drums speaks volumes, and not just in favor of the recording itself. “Writhing Mass” crashes into tempo changes and resolves itself in being both big and loud, and the space in the cymbals alone as it comes to its noisy finish hints at future incursions to be made. Lest we forget that Chicago birthed Pelican and Bongripper, among others, for the benefit of instrumental heavy worldwide. Sun King Ba have a ways to go before they’re added to that list, but there is intention being signaled here for those with ears to hear it.
Despite the somewhat grim imagery on the cover art for Kenodromia‘s self-titled debut EP — a three-cut outing that marks a return to the band of vocalist Hilde Chruicshank after some stretch of absence during which they were known as Hideout — the Oslo, Norway, four-piece play heavy rock through and through on “Slandered,” “Corrupted” and “Bound,” with the bluesy fuzzer riffs and subtle psych flourishes of Eigil Nicolaisen‘s guitar backing Chruicshank‘s lyrics as bassist Michael Sindhu and drummer Trond Buvik underscore the “break free” moment in “Corrupted,” which feels well within its rights in terms of sociopolitical commentary ahead of the airier start of “Bound” after the relatively straightforward beginning that was “Slandered.” With the songs arranged shortest to longest, “Bound” is also the darkest in terms of atmosphere and features a more open verse, but the nod that defines the second half is huge, welcome and consuming even as it veers into a swaggering kind of guitar solo before coming back to finish. These players have been together one way or another for over 10 years, and knowing that, Kenodromia‘s overarching cohesion makes sense. Hopefully it’s not long before they turn attentions toward a first LP. They’re clearly ready.
Mezzoa are the San Diego three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Ignacio “El Falcone” Maldonado, bassist Q “Dust Devil” Pena (who according to their bio was created in the ‘Cholo Goth Universe,’ so yes, charm is a factor), and drummer Roy “Bam Bam” Belarmino, and the 13-track/45-minute Dunes of Mars is their second album behind 2017’s Astral Travel. They sound like a band who’ve been around for a bit, and indeed they have, playing in other bands and so on, but they’ve got their approach on lockdown and I don’t mean for the plague. The material here, whether it’s the Helmet-plus-melody riffing of “Tattoos and Halos” or the more languid roll of the seven-minute “Dunes of Mars” earlier on, is crisp and mature without sounding flat or staid creatively, and though they’re likened most to desert rock and one can hear that in the penultimate “Seized Up” a bit, there’s more density in the guitar and bass, and the immediacy of “Hyde” speaks of more urgent influences at work. That said, the nodding chill-and-chug of “Moya” is heavy whatever landscape you want to say birthed it, and with the movement into and out of psychedelic vibes, the land is something you’re just as likely to leave behind anyway. Hit me as a surprise. Don’t be shocked if you end up going back to check out the first record after.
Released through emergent Texas-based imprint Gravitoyd Heavy Music, Stone Nomads‘ Fields of Doom comprises six songs, five originals, and is accordingly somewhere between a debut full-length and an EP at half an hour long. The cover is a take on Saint Vitus‘ “Dragon Time,” and it rests well here as the closer behind the prior-released single “Soul Stealer,” as bassist Jude Sisk and guitarist Jon Cosky trade lead vocal duties while Dwayne Crosby furthers the underlying metallic impression on drums, pushing some double-kick gallop under the solo of “Fiery Sabbath” early on after the leadoff title-track lumbers and chugs and bell-tolls to its ending, heavy enough for heavy heads, aggro enough to suit your sneer, with maybe a bit of Type O Negative influence in the vocal. Huffing oldschool gasoline, Fields of Doom might prove too burled-out for some listeners, but the interlude “Winds of Barren Lands” and the vocal swaps mean that you’re never quite sure where they’re going to hit you next, even if you know the hit is coming, and even as “Soul Stealer” goes grandiose before giving way to the already-noted Vitus cover. And if you’re wondering, they nail the noise of the solo in that song, leaving no doubt that they know what they’re doing, with their own material or otherwise.
Drawing from various corners of punk, noise rock and heavy rock’s accessibility, Munich trio Blind Mess offer their third full-length in After the Storm, which is aptly-enough titled, considering. “Fight Fire with Fire” isn’t a cover, but the closing “What’s the Matter Man?” is, of Rollins Band, no less, and they arrive there after careening though a swath of tunes like “Twilight Zone,” “At the Gates” and “Save a Bullet,” which are as likely to be hardcore-born shove or desert-riffed melody, and in the last of those listed there, a little bit of both. To make matters more complicated, “Killing My Idols” leans into classic metal in its underlying riff as the vocals bark and its swing is heavy ’70s through and through. This aesthetic amalgam holds together in the toughguy march of “Sirens” as much as the garage-QOTSA rush of “Left to Do” and the dares-to-thrash finish of “Fight Fire with Fire” since the songs themselves are well composed and at 38 minutes they’re in no danger of overstaying their welcome. And when they get there, “What’s the Matter Man?” makes a friendly-ish-but-still-confrontational complemement to “Left to Do” back at the outset, as though to remind us that wherever they’ve gone over the course of the album between, it’s all been about rock and roll the whole time. So be it.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 13th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
In my head it’s still August, if not June, so seeing an album announcement for March 2023 is a little jarring, but in light of the traditional music-industry slowdown over the winter, it makes sense, and certainly a new REZN album is going to be anticipated. The band, who are also taking part in PostWax in collaboration with Vinnum Sabbathi — gotta get those liner notes done — have toured West and East Coasts since things opened back up, supporting 2020’s Chaotic Divine (review here), are due for a trip to Europe, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to find them headed over for next Spring’s festival season, though that’s pure conjecture on my part. The usual disclaimer: I know nothing.
Except that the new song rocks. You can stream “Possession” now as a well-in-advance preview of Solace to come. Obviously March 8 is a ways off, but I’d be very surprised if this is the last glimpse they give of where they’re at before the release. Though, to that end, it’s worth noting that these recordings will be well over a year and a half old by the time the vinyl arrives. I’d be itching to get a single out too. That’s a long-ass time to sit on a release, though somewhat par for the course of the age we’re living through.
The following comes from Bandcamp, where LP preorders are already up:
REZN – Solace
“Our new album ‘Solace’ will be release March 8, 2023. Until then, stream the single and check out the pre-order edition vinyl. See you on the road ✌️ ~REZN”
Pre-order, streaming links, and tour dates can be found here:linktr.ee/rezzzn
TRACK LISTING: 1. Allured by Feverish Visions 2. Possession 3. Reversal 4. Stasis 5. Faded and Fleeting 6. Webbed Roots
Releases March 8, 2023.
Recorded in July of 2021 at Earth Analog in Tolono, IL
Engineered, Mixed, Produced, & Reduced by Matt Russell
Mastered by Zach Weeks at God City Studio in Salem, MA
Album art by Adam Burke/Nightjar Illustration
Written and Performed by REZN
REZN FALL 2022 SHOWS
Sep 16: Taos, NM @ Monolith on the Mesa
West Coast w/ Russian Circles Sep 17: Englewood, CO @ The Gothic Theatre Sep 18: Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge Sep 20: Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile Showroom Sep 21: Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall Sep 23: San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall Sep 24: Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall Sep 25: Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent Sep 26: Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom Sep 29: Austin, TX @ Empire Garage Sep 30: Dallas, TX @ Amplified LIve Oct 1: Memphis, TN @ Growlers
Exclusive European appearance Oct 7: Oslo, Norway @ Høstsabbat
East Coast & Canada w/ Russian Circles Oct 27: St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall Oct 28: Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s Oct 29: Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West Oct 30: Orlando, FL @ The Social Nov 1: Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle Nov 2: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Nov 4: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club Nov 5: Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live Nov 6: Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw Nov 8: Boston, MA @ The Sinclair Nov 9: Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount Nov 10: Toronto, ON @ The Opera House Nov 11: Detroit, MI @ El Club Nov 12: Chicago, IL @ The Metro
Rob McWilliams: Guitar + Vocals Phil Cangelosi: Bass + Rainstick Patrick Dunn: Drums + Percussion Spencer Ouellette: Sax + Synth + Piano + Flute
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The bottom line here is it looks like The Skull are going to keep going. Guitarist Lothar Keller and bassist Ron Holzner — the two remaining founding members following the death last year of vocalist Eric Wagner (pictured above, in purple) — teamed up with singers Karl Agell (C.O.C. Blind) and Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) for a tribute show earlier this summer, and Agell and Saint Vitus vocalist Scott Reagers this weekend will take the stage again for the same reason, except this time it’s a festival. I guess the proof-of-concept turned out alright in June.
Seems to me Holzner and Keller are well within their rights here, and if they wanted to do a record certainly with the likes of Reagers, Agell, Lamont or someone else of that ilk, I know I’d only look forward to hearing it. There’s a ways to go before they get to that point, I imagine, but creativity doesn’t stop, so maybe it’s possible sometime in the next few years.
Also of note — and the PR wire notes it below — Kulvera. Check out Brian “Butch” Balich (Argus, Arduini/Balich, Penance, etc.) and other known Wagnerian associates Dave Snyder, Chuck Robinson, Matt Cross and Earthride‘s Greg Ball getting together in homage. Those guys will decide to do an album (speculation, but a bet I’m willing to make). So as the effects of Wagner‘s death continue to ripple out, at least we’re seeing new doom born out of old doom. It’s the circle… of doom.
I leave you in the capable hands of the PR wire for details:
THE SKULL Announces Two Memorial Shows Celebrating The Life Of Eric Wagner
THE SKULL has invited vocalists Karl Agell (C.O.C. Blind, Leadfoot) and Scott Reagers (Saint Vitus) to front two memorial concerts celebrating the life and music of late singer Eric Wagner: The Midwest Metal Anthem in Lombard, Illinois on August 27th and the Hammer Of Doom Festival in Wurzburg, Germany on November 18th.
Midwest Metal Anthem will pay tribute to Wagner with two stages of music featuring THE SKULL with Agell and Reagers on vocals as well as the Eric Wagner Allstars (AKA Kulvera) featuring Chuck Robinson (Trouble, Black Finger, Eric Wagner), Dave Snyder (Trouble, Black Finger, Eric Wagner), Brian Balich (Penance, Argus), Greg Ball (Earthride), and Matt Cross (Black Finger, Eric Wagner) and the debut of Legion Of Doom featuring members of THE SKULL, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, and others playing songs from their collective past. See below for confirmed dates and further info.
THE SKULL – Eric Wagner Memorial Shows: 8/27/2022 Midwest Metal Anthem – Lombard, IL 11/18/2022 Hammer Of Doom Fest – Wurzberg, DE
THE SKULL was founded by three former members of American doom metal legends Trouble – vocalist Eric Wagner, bassist Ron Holzner, and drummer Jeff “Oly” Olson – and guitarist Lothar Keller (Sacred Dawn).
Eric Wagner passed away on August 22nd, 2021 from Covid pneumonia contracted while on tour with THE SKULL in early August 2021. THE SKULL, featuring Holzner, Keller, Henry Vasquez (Saint Vitus), and Matt Goldsborough (Pentagram) performed for the first time on June 18th for a banner ceremony honoring Eric Wagner at Reggies Rock Club in Chicago, Illinois. Karl Agell (C.O.C. Blind) and Bruce Lamont (Yakuza, Led Zeppelin 2) joined the band on vocals.
THE SKULL: Ron Holzner – bass Lothar Keller – guitar Henry Vasquez – drums Matt Goldsborough – guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 3rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
For my money, which I just might spend on this reissue, Pelican‘s Australasia (discussed here) is one of the best heavy records of all time. If you narrow those parameters to instrumental releases, it only moves higher up the list. Issued through Hydra Head, it broke ground for heavy atmospherics in a way that continues to resonate, and as one of series of reissues through Thrill Jockey Records (more info here), this reissue follows a stint for the band in Europe that included a headline slot at Freak Valley 2022 (review here) in Germany that I felt lucky to be able to witness. Guess that saves you the trouble of reading the review, which I’m pretty sure no one was going to do anyhow.
The release date is Aug. 19 and the vinyl is colored to the cover’s theme — always classy, I think — with preorders up through Bandcamp. I have to imagine that if these don’t go beforehand, they will by the time the band plays a weekender in September that includes a stop at Post Festival in Indianapolis. I’ve never been to X-Ray Arcade in Cudahy (unless it’s the old Blue Pig), but I’ve hit Pyramid Scheme in Michigan before, and that place is fabulous. But really, anywhere Pelican are showing up is where you want to be.
From the PR wire:
Pelican announces deluxe reissue of their classic debut album Australasia Out on August 19th, 2022
Featuring never-before released material from the era, remastered audio by Josh Bonati, and expanded artwork
Original guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec has rejoined the quartet, reinstating the band’s original lineup
Following a headlining European tour including sets at Dunk! Festival, Freak Valley Festival, and Hellfest, Chicago/Los Angeles quartet Pelican have announced the first of their Thrill Jockey reissues, Australasia, out on August 19th. The deluxe reissue will feature remastered audio by Josh Bonati and bonus material, including a never-before shared track, a live recording of the album’s title track from the era of the album’s release, a remix by James Plotkin, and artwork by ISIS/SUMAC/Hydra Head founder Aaron Turner.
Pelican’s debut album Australasia, originally released in late 2003 by Hydra Head Records, is a landmark record in the shifting tides of heavy music that took place at the turn of the millennium. 20 years since its release and with several sold out represses, Australasia is a proven essential for any listener exploring the bounds of rock music. Following the release of the band’s auspicious self-titled EP, Australasia’s singular integration of melodic complexity and tremendous density redefined conceptions of what constituted “heavy.” Pelican’s unique manipulation of atmosphere and dynamics seamlessly alchemized their disparate influences beyond metal into music grand, mercurial and utterly sublime, worthy of the album’s namesake.
Billowing clouds of strange serenity give way to tectonic riffs. Hypnotic rhythms chug at the precipice between doom and euphoria. Guitarists Trevor Shelley de Brauw and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec twirl soaring harmonies around the roaring thunder of bassist Bryan Herweg and drummer Larry Herweg. Throughout the album, the quartet move as one like a glacier, awesome and forever imbuing the landscape with their mark. Australasia stands as a pioneering work, unmatched in the level of unbridled beauty and devastation.
Pelican will be playing a handful of Midwest shows this September, including a headlining set at Indianapolis’s Post Festival.
Pelican tour dates Sep. 9 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Pyramid Scheme Sep. 10 – Indianapolis, IN – Post Festival at The Vogue Theatre Sep. 11 – Cudahy, WI – X-Ray Arcade
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Hammerheart Records has been dutifully working through the Trouble catalog, reissue by reissue, since the Chicago doom legends signed with the label in 2020. At the time, the band and founding guitarists Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin — who are about as close as human beings could come to being the bridge between Sabbath‘s doom and Priest‘s double-guitar metal — said at the time that a new album was in the works, and you know what? It probably was. It’s been a hell of a couple years, as you already know, so sometimes these things get put to the back burner of one’s existence.
By the time whatever-the-next-record-is-called arrives, it will have been a decade since 2013’s The Distortion Field (review here), Trouble‘s most recent album in their many-storied career. The album also will be their second with Kyle Thomas (Exhorder, Alabama Thunderpussy) on vocals and their first since the death last year of original frontman Eric Wagner. If 2023 sounds like the future, it is. It’s also like four months away.
I’m curious who’s producing — Chicago’s not short on quality in that regard, from Steve Albini to Sanford Parker and beyond — but there’s time for discovery. For now here’s the doing-a-thing announcement from the label via the PR wire:
TROUBLE ANNOUNCES RECORDING OF NEW ALBUM
Last week Trouble founding member Rick Wartell announced that Trouble has begun recording a new album, yes finally! The last album “The Distortion Field” dates back to 2013. When Trouble announced their co-operation with Hammerheart Records in January 2020 it was already planned to record a new album in the Summer of 2020. We all know that did not happen, because the World was a different place in 2020 (and in 2021 as well). But recording has finally started in July 2022.
Hammerheart Records expects a release in 2023. When asking Rick Wartell what to expect he said it will be a real Trouble album, with all the trademarks. Trouble is: Kyle Thomas (vocals), Rob Hultz (bass), Mark Lira (drums) and as always on guitars: Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell!
Trouble is: Kyle Thomas : vocals, Bruce Franklin : guitar, Rick Wartell : guitar, Rob Hultz : bass, Marko Lira : drums
Day seven of a Quarterly Review is pretty rarefied air, by which I mean it doesn’t happen that often. And even with 100 records in the span of these two weeks, I’ll never ever ever ever claim to approach being comprehensive, but the point is take it as a sign of just how much is out there right now. If you find it overwhelming, me too.
But think about our wretched species. What’s our redeeming factor? Treatment resistant bacteria? War? Yelling for more war? Economic disparity? Abortion rights? Art. Art’s it. Art and nothing.
So at least there’s a lot of art.
Quarterly Review #61-70:
Trigona, Trigona
With independent label distribution in the UK, US, Australia and Europe, Trigona‘s Trigona is about as spread out geographically as sonically. The Queensland, AUS-based instrumental solo outfit of Rob Shiels — guitar, bass, synth, drum programming, effects, noise, etc. — released the Meridian tape earlier in 2022 on Echodelick and I’m honestly not sure if this six-song self-titled is supposed to count as a debut full-length or what, expanded as it is from Trigona‘s 2021 EP of the same name, albeit remastered with a new track sequence and the eight-minute “Via Egnatia” tagged onto the end of side B to mirror side A’s eight-minute finale, “Rosatom.” Sweet toned progressivism and semi-krautrock bass meditation pervades, debut or not, as Shiels touches on more terrestrial songwriting in “Monk” only after “Shita Ue” has offered its uptempo, almost poppy except not at all pop take on space rock outwardness, a mirror itself somewhat for album opener “Von Graf,” while second cut “Nudler” spreads proggy guitar figures over a sunshiny movement, letting “Rosatom” handle the wash-conjuring. There’s a slowdown at the finish of “Via Egnatia,” its effect lessened perhaps by the programmed drums, but Trigona‘s Trigona is so much more about atmosphere than heft it feels silly to even mention. Debut or not, it is striking.
Hells yeah J-psych. Nagoya-based three-piece Blasting Rod — guitarist/vocalist S. Shah (also electronics), bassist/guitarist Yoshihiro Yasui and drummer Chihiro (everybody also adds percussion) — already have a follow-up LP, Of Wild Hazel, on the way/streaming for the two-songer Mirror Moon Ascending, and that and some of their past work has aligned them with US-based Glory or Death Records, but if you’re looking to be introduced to their world of sometimes serene, sometimes madcap psychedelia, these two mono mixes by Eternal Elysium‘s Yukito Okazaki, with the drift and languid crash, far-back drums of “Mirror Moon Ascending” and the shaker-inclusive insistence of “Wheel Upon the Car of Dragonaut,” which turns its title into a multi-layered mantra, can be a decent place to start as a springboard into the band’s and S. Shah‘s sundry other projects. Their experimentalism doesn’t stop them from writing songs, at least not this time around, and it seems to drive aspects of what they do like mixing in mono in the first place, so there’s meta-screwing with form as well as get-weird-stay-weird heavy space rock push. After this, check out 2021’s III and then the new one. After that, you’re on your own. Good luck and have fun.
From Those Ashes, a double-guitar four-piece from Chicago, present four songs in Contagion of thrash-derived but ultimately mostly mid-tempo metal, vocalist/guitarist Aaron Pokoj (also production) leading the charge with Jose “Mop” Valles ripping solos for good measure and bassist Ryan Compton and drummer Omar “Pockets” Mombela holding together tight grooves amid the deathlier moments of the title-track. Pokoj‘s trades between harsh and clean vocals show a firm grasp of melody and arrangement, and though their lyrical perspective is disaffected until basically the last two lines of EP-closer “Light Breaks,” the aggression doesn’t necessarily trump craft, though “The Reset Button” moves through throwing elder-hardcore elbows and the first words shouted on opener “Devoid of Thought” are “fuck it.” Fair enough. The Iron Maiden-style opening of “Light Breaks” is a standout moment, though guitar antics aren’t by any means in short supply, but when From Those Ashes build their way into the song proper, the death-thrash onslaught is fervent right up to the end. And those last lines? “As light breaks through the shadow and gives way to life/Sustained emergence of the soul and the will to survive?” Brutally, righteously growled.
Rarely does music itself sound so stoned. Across six tracks of bassy, at least partially Dune-referential — the hand-drummed “Shai Hulud,” etc. — meditative heavy, the anonymous outfit Hashishian from somewhere, sometime, convey a languid, loosely Middle Eastern-informed, vibe-dense aural weedianism. And much to their credit, “Mountain of Smoke” seems to live up to its name. Less so, perhaps, “Let Us Reason,” which is drawn out in such a way that the moderation implied, maybe with desperation, is inhaled like so much pine-smelling vapor. “Shai Hulud” is the longest cut, mostly instrumental, and might be as far out as Hashishian go, but even the twisting feedback and lead notes at the beginning of closer “Nazareth” feel like a heavy-eyelidded march toward the riff-fill’d land, never mind the bass-led procession of the song itself, manifesting the ethic of opener “Onward” that seems to be the mentality of the 39-minute self-titled as a whole. It is molten in a way not much can claim to be, more patient than the most patient person you know, and seems to find way to make even the tolling bell of the penultimate “High Chief” a drone. Definitely post-Om in sound, Hashishian‘s Hashishian is a sprawl of sand waiting to engulf you. And to whoever is playing this bass, thank you.
Ohio-based industrialists Above & Below — primarily Plaguewielder‘s Bryce Seditz on vocals, guitar, synth, programming with Chrome Waves‘ Jeff Wilson adding bass, noise, production and a release through his Disorder Recordings imprint — make their debut with the seven tracks/27 minutes of Suffer Decay Alone, which digs into modern stylistic features like the weighted tonality of the guitar in “Isolate” and the screams on top, some The Downward Spiraling atmosphere given a boost in rhythm from the dense machine churn of Author & Punisher there and on the prior “Hope,” while “Rust” approaches danceable but for all that screaming. “Dead” sounds like something Gnaw might come up with, but the cold realization of craft in “Tear” feels like a signpost telling the project where it wants to head, and the same applies to the 3Teeth-style horror noise of “Covered.” I don’t know which impulse will win out, songwriting or destructive noise, and I’m not sure it needs to be one or the other, but Suffer Decay Alone sets out with a duly harsh mentality and sounds to match. If this is Rust Belt fuckall circa 2022, I’m on board.
Shades of Earthless‘ more meandering stretches pervade “Cosmic Awakening Pt. I – Forsaken Slumber,” the opener of Lord Elephant‘s Heavy Psych Sounds debut, Cosmic Awakening, and those are purposefully brushed away as “Cosmic Awakening Pt. II – First Radiation” brings on more straight-ahead instrumental shove. The Florence, Italy, trio issued the eight-track album independently in 2021 and their being on the label they are earns them a certain amount of trust before one even listens, but the vibe throughout the outing’s 43 minutes is a don’t-worry-we-know-what-we’re-doing blend of psychedelia and underlying tonal heft. Bass. Tone. Guitar. Tone. Drums. On point. There’s nothing overly fancy about it and there doesn’t need to be as “Raktabija” is a rush and a blast at once, “Covered in Earth’s Blood” crunches and builds and builds and crunches again and “Stellar Cloud” has enough low end to make you feel funny for staring. I wouldn’t put it past them to make friends with an organist at some point, but they’ve got everything they need for right now even without vocals, and the combination of weight and breadth is effectively conveyed from front to back, with closer “Secreteternal” executing a final slowdown until it just seems to come apart. Right on.
French double-guitar four-piece Dirty Shades released their debut EP in March 2020, so yeah, there goes that. Lift Off is the four-song follow-up short release, tagged as a ‘live session,’ and given the organic vibe of the performances, I’m inclined to believe it. Vocalist/guitarist Anouk Degrande leads the way as “Dazed” picks up in winding style from the more ethereal opening across the two-minute “Ignition,” her voice reminding in places of No Doubt-era Gwen Stefani, albeit in a much different context. Fellow guitarist Nathan Mimeau provides backing for the chorus, ditto bassist Martin Degrande, and drummer Mathurin Robart is charged with keeping the patterns together behind the various turns in volume and intensity through “Dazed” and the subsequent “Running for Your Life,” which is full, spaced and surprisingly heavy by the time its five minutes are done but is still somehow more about the trip getting there. And a shorter take on now-closer “Trainwreck” appeared on 2020’s Specific Impulse, but its added dreaminess serves it well. Jazzy in spots and showing the band still seeking their stylistic niche, Lift Off may well prove to be the foundation from which the band launches.
Best case scenario when a band revamps its lineup is that listeners get another killer band out of it. With that, bid hello to Venus Principle‘s debut album, Stand in Your Light. With vocalist/guitarist Daniel Änghede (also Astroqueen), pianist/vocalist Daisy Chapman, guitarist/keyboardist Jonas Stålhammar (also At the Gates), keyboardist/backing vocalist Mark Furnevall and drummer Ben Wilsker all having been in Crippled Black Phoenix — only bassist Pontus Blom would seem not to be an alumnus — this more recent project perhaps unsurprisingly digs into a deeply, richly melodic, expanded-definition-of-heavy post-rock. The songs across the 68-minute 2LP, which starts with its longest track (immediate points) in the 10:34 “Rebel Drones,” are afraid neither to be loud nor minimal, and standout moments like “Shut it Down” or the Mellotron into absolute-melody-wash of “Sanctuary” bear out that vibe as a reminder of the gorgeousness that can come from emotions normally thought negative. The promo text for this record says it, “provides balm for the wound that the split of ANATHEMA has caused,” and that’s a lofty claim from where I sit, but you know, it’s a start, and clearly a lineup capable of a certain kind of magic that they represent well here.
One doesn’t imagine it’s easy to be a new band in London at this point, with the seen-it-all-plus-we’re-all-in-like-10-bands-ourselves crowd and so many acts in and around the sphere of Desertfest, etc. — or maybe I’m way off and the community is amazing; I honestly don’t know — but Troy the Band distinguish themselves through the pendulum swing in their debut EP, The Blissful Unknown, guitars and bass both fuzzed to and beyond the gills and just a bit showy in “Michael” to give the outing a hint of strut despite its generally laid back attitude. Opener “I Wage a War” is the shortest inclusion by far on the 26-minute offering, and it’s a sprint compared to the more plodding, drone-hum-backed “Less Than Nothing,” and after “Michael” chugs and sways to its noisy finish, the title-track blows it all out to end off by underscoring the encouragingly atmospheric impression made by the songs prior, loose-sounding but not at all sloppy and occupying an expanse that comes across like it only wants to grow bigger. Here’s hoping it does exactly that. In the meantime, even in England’s green, pleasant and perpetually-full-of-riffs land, Troy the Band carve a fascinating place for themselves between various microgenres, psychedelic without being carried off by self-indulgence.
Oakland, California’s Mount Desert make an awaited full-length debut with Fear the Heart a full seven years after releasing their self-titled two-songer (review here), both cuts from which feature on the record. Hey, life happens. I get that. And if the tradeoff for not putting out two or three records in the interim is the airy float of guitar throughout and the subtle-then-not-so-subtle build in “Semper Virens,” I’ll take it. Who the hell needs more records when you can have one that speaks to your unconscious like that? In any case, Fear the Heart is striking in more than just its moments of culmination, “Blue Madonna” and “New Fire” at the outset casting a fluidity that “The River I” and “The River II” perhaps unsurprisingly further even as they find their own paths into the second half of the record. “The Wail” closes with nighttime howls only after “Fear the Heart” — one of the two from the first outing — and the aforementioned “Semper Virens” have their say in progressive guitar and weighted psychedelicraft, earthbound thanks to vocal soul and ‘them drums tho,’ and especially as a debut, and one apparently a while in the making, Mount Desert‘s first LP justifies all that hype from more than half a decade and 15 lifetimes ago. They’re a band with something to say aesthetically and in songwriting. I hope they continue to move forward.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
There’s a moment right at four minutes and 30 seconds into Exosphere‘s new single where everything seems to be thudded into place and someone — guitarist Steven Graff, perhaps — lets out a throatripping scream that pushes into a another register higher and yeah, right in that moment, that’s where “Beg Towards the Sky” reminds me of Strapping Young Lad. And to be honest, even if the rest of the song wasn’t a charge of hardcore-informed mostly-but-not-entirely screamy aggro sludge, that’d be enough to get me on board. Just that extra push. Sometimes that kind of thing can make all the difference.
Nonetheless, in my head, I feel like the song should be “Beg Toward…” without the ‘s’. I actually went and looked it up though, and here’s what Merriam-Webster said: “Both toward and towards are fine to use and have been used interchangeably since their creation in the 9th century.” First of all, I love the fact that this has been a question for minimum 12 centuries. Also, I like finding stuff out about words. Maybe we’ll go towards this, toward that. Exosphere, clearly, will be skybound either way in the song. Also nodule-bound if they keep up that screaming. Gotta take care of yourselves, dudes.
Track’s at the bottom of the post. Enjoy:
Exosphere Release Blistering New Track – “Beg Towards The Sky”
“Beg Towards The Sky is a blistering track that captured the universal fear of AI autonomy/free will and presents it with riff after pummeling riff of energetic grooves and grandiose atmosphere.”
Exosphere is a psychedelic sludge band hailing from the suburbs of Chicago. Combining thick grooves, dissonant riffs, and shoegazey post rock inspired clean passages. This 4-piece channels equal parts peace and chaos to create an unparalleled combination of sounds that leaves the audience perplexed and captivated.
EXOSPHERE IS Jackie Frank Russell III – Vocals, Guitars Steven Graff – Guitars, Screams Henry Edward’s – Bass Guitar Bill Kaszubowski – Drums
