Posted in audiObelisk on September 23rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Port Orchard, Washington’s Mos Generator and Milan, Italy’s Di’Aul will release a split LP this Friday through Argonauta Records. It’s a vinyl-only, limited-to-250 copies pressing, and if the pairing of bands seems random or at very least plucked out of the ether, the story behind how it came together could hardly be simpler. Reportedly, members of Di’Aul went to see Mos Generator on tour a few years back and hit up guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed about making something happen. Couple years after the fact, here we are. The life lesson is you lose nothing by sending that email, and maybe you get to put out a split with Mos Generator.
The Pacific Northwest heavy rock institution offer three tracks on side A of the quite-manageable 32-minute outing, and bring forth an installment of their ‘Plundering of the Vaults’ series with demos recorded between 2014 and 2018. As self-sufficient as they are in the studio with Reed working as producer as well as helming mixing and mastering, it’s hard to imagine the vaults aren’t overflowing at any given time, but the three inclusions here run shortest to longest and feel particularly choice.
“I Spoke to Death” opens in Sabbath-rock fashion while also invoking Americana folk, while “The Paranoid” rolls at a lumbering pace in contrast to its own obvious reference while the lyrics nod to The Stooges‘ “TV Eye” and vocal lines intertwine behind one of the most outwardly doomed progressions I’ve heard from the band. Somehow fitting, a cross-lineup (explained below) cover of Pink Floyd‘s “Fearless” — also recently taken on by Seattle/Los Angeles heavies Snail — caps Mos Generator‘s portion of the release with clarity cutting through psychedelia and a kick of energy bolstering the mellow vibe of the Meddle original while still ending with a crowd chant, maybe backwards in this case.
Meanwhile, in Milan, Di’Aul crush it. The four-piece of vocalist MoMo, guitarist LeLe, bassist Jeremy Toma and drummer Diego Bertoni celebrate 10 years of the band’s existence in 2020, and their two assembled cuts — “The House on the Edge of the World” (8:47) and “Three Ladies” (7:56) — stand in immediate contrast to side A in their focus on sheer tonal heft and impact. Beginning with two minutes-plus of ambience and stark guitar, “The House on the Edge of the World” builds into a massive and righteous nod without losing its hook in the ensuing fray.
It is H-E-A-V-Y, and harsher in its approach than Mos Generator, but makes a better complement for the fact that each act brings something different to the release. There’s sludge underlying what Di’Aul are doing, and some jabs and turns of riff in “The House on the Edge of the World” remind of YOB, but as the track chug-stop-chugs to its end, its gravity is its own. More immediate, “Three Ladies” starts out with bass and drums and is underway soon enough with its own stomp and drawl, a solo break as it heads into its midsection proving only a brief respite from the willful repetition and concrete-on-skull vibe that surrounds.
If you think you can hang, you probably can. Splits like this often become a footnote in the respective catalogs of the bands that take part in them. Mos Generator always have a slew of things going on, and Di’Aul are two years removed from their second LP, Nobody’s Heaven (review here), but for an offering that asks next to nothing of the listener beyond the time involved in hearing the thing, and for the quality of work put in by both groups, you can’t really go wrong, whether either band is new to you or not. The relatively few physical copies that exist create some urgency around it, so I’m that much more appreciative of being able to host the full stream of the split for you to check out in advance of the proper release this Friday.
More PR wire info follows under the player.
Please enjoy:
Mos Generator & Di’Aul, Split official premiere
Heavy rock icons, Mos Generator, have teamed up with Italy’s doom and sludge rock heavy weights Di’Aul for the release of a 5-track split vinyl-only LP, coming out on September 25th, 2020, via Argonauta Records!
Mos Generator’s plundering of the Vaults continues with three demos recorded between May 2014 and June 2018. Says Tony Reed, “All three of these songs were recorded live in our rehearsal space and then layers were added later in the studio. There are a few interesting things about these songs. First, they are loosely arranged ideas that were only played two or three times before we recorded them, and I think that is what helps give them the raw edge that they have. And two, there is a crossover of band line-ups. On the Pink Floyd cover “Fearless”, original drummer Shawn Johnson is playing with second line-up bassist Sean Booth. That has happened before with other configurations and I enjoy it. Someday I would like to record with both rhythm sections at once.”
After a decade of shows across Europe and four albums to date, Di’Aul have grabbed the chance to team up with one of the best rock bands of our time: Mos Generator. “We saw them live with Saint Vitus during their European tour, completely astonished from their sound, MoMo and Rex decided to write a message to Mr. Tony Reed and ask him to make a record together. And so it is!”
Di’Aul recorded two brand new songs in a one day session with longtime friends and producers Federico Lino and Alessio Massara of the Iron Ape Studio in Vigevano (Pavia – Italy), mastered at HeavyHead Recording Co. by Tony Reed himself.
Tracklist: A Side Mos Generator – “Plundering of the Vaults : Vol II” 1. I Spoke to Death 2. The Paranoid 3. Fearless ( Pink Floyd Cover )
B Side Di’Aul 1. The House on the Edge of the World 2. Three Ladies
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 17th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
I feel no shame in admitting that at this point I can’t keep up with Mos Generator‘s release schedule. Founding guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed has an acoustic record coming out and I’ve heard that and it’s brilliant, but the full band also has this split in the works with Italy’s Di’Aul, as well as another split if I’m not mistaken and Reed‘s writing for at least one side-project concurrently, so yeah, there’s a fair amount to take it at any given point. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time Reed/Mos Generator has released through Argonauta Records. Di’Aul, on the other hand, put out Nobody’s Heaven (review here), through the label in 2018.
Di’Aul‘s songs are new, Mos Generator‘s are older demos, but you get a Floyd cover in there too, and that’s a win. The PR wire has the details:
MOS GENERATOR and DI’AUL team up for crushing split LP!
Coming September 25th on Argonauta Records!
Heavy rock icons, Mos Generator, have teamed up with Italy’s doom and sludge rock heavy weights Di’Aul for the release of a 5-track split LP, coming out on September 25th, 2020, via Argonauta Records!
Tony Reed’s Mos Generator, who formed in 2000 in Port Orchard, Washington from the ashes of a ten year off & on collaboration between it’s three members, all of which are long time veterans of road & studio, inspired the heavy music scene since decades. The need to strip down to the basics of hard rock was apparent from their start and continues to be the foundation for all the bands recent material. Mos Generator have released 9 full length studio albums, a retrospective album, 2 live albums and a plethora of split 7″ and 12” singles on such labels as Listenable, Roadburn, Small Stone, Ripple, Nasoni, Lay Bare, Hevi Sike, H42, Devil‘s Child, Kozmik Artifactz and Heavy Psych Sounds. Touring has been just as important to the profile of the band as making records has. Over the years Mos Generator has shared the stage with many great heavy rock bands across Europe and North America including extensive tours with Saint Vitus, FU Manchu, Elder, Spirit Caravan and Atomic Bitchwax. They have also played many prestigious festivals throughout Europe including 2 appearances at Hellfest in France, opening up a whole new fan base to the Mos Generator sound. After 20 years of making music Mos Generator show no signs of slowing down. September 25th, 2020, will see them release a split with Di’Aul, says Mos Generator mastermind, Tony Reed, about the upcoming record:
“The plundering of the Vaults continues with three demos recorded between May 2014 and June 2018. All three of these songs were recorded live in our rehearsal space and then layers were added later in the studio. There are a few interesting things about these songs. First, they are loosely arranged ideas that were only played two or three times before we recorded them, and I think that is what helps give them the raw edge that they have. And two, there is a crossover of band line-ups. On the Pink Floyd cover “Fearless”, original drummer Shawn Johnson is playing with second line-up bassist Sean Booth. That has happened before with other configurations and I enjoy it. Someday I would like to record with both rhythm sections at once.”
Ever since their inception in 2010, Di’Aul, who are no longer one of Italy’s best kept doom metal and hard rock secrets, strive a distinctive, heavy yet catchy sound. Their latest, fourth album “Nobody’s Heaven”, released in 2018 on Argonauta Records, gained the band high praise from both fans and critics alike. The four-piece collective mixes the elements of ’70s rock, a modern metal groove with a heavy dose of the doom. From a harsh distortion to slow-paced sludge infusions, powerful, fuzz-fueled riffs, big grooves and expressive vocals, Di’Aul take you on a trip through all that is heavy.
After a decade of shows across Europe and four albums to date, Di’Aul have grabbed the chance to team up with one of the best rock bands of our time: Mos Generator. “We saw them live with Saint Vitus during their European tour, completely astonished from their sound, MoMo and Rex decided to write a message to Mr. Tony Reed and ask him to make a record together. And so it is!”
Di’Aul recorded two brand new songs in a one day session with longtime friends and producers Federico Lino and Alessio Massara of the Iron Ape Studio in Vigevano (Pavia – Italy), mastered at HeavyHead Recording Co. by Tony Reed himself.
Both tracks represent a vibrant sound of heavy as hell rock, sludge-infused doom tunes with a melancholic atmosphere: a mix between the ’70s Sabbath sound and the power of 90’s heavy music.
The split will be available as Vinyl only on September 25th, 2020, via Argonauta Records, the pre-sale has just started at THIS LOCATION!
Tracklist:
A Side Mos Generator – “Plundering of the Vaults : Vol II” 1. I Spoke to Death 2. The Paranoid 3. Fearless ( Pink Floyd Cover )
B Side Di’Aul 1. The House on the Edge of the World 2. Three Ladies
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 Reviews on March 23rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
I’ve got a fresh cup of coffee and 50 records that need to be reviewed, so it must be time for… constant distractions! Oh, no, wait, sorry. It must be time for the Quarterly Review. Yeah, there it is. I know there’s a global-pandemic-sized elephant in the room as a backdrop for the Spring 2020 Quarterly Review, but it seems to me that’s all the more reason to proceed as much as possible. Not to feign normality like people aren’t suffering physically, emotionally, and/or financially, but to give those for whom music is a comfort an opportunity to find more of that comfort and, frankly, to do the same for myself. I’ve said many times I need this more than you do, and I do.
So, you know the drill. 10 records a day, Monday to Friday through this week, 50 when we’re done. As Christopher Pike says, let’s hit it.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
Total Fucking Destruction, …To Be Alive at the End of the World
The long-running experimentalist grind trio Total Fucking Destruction remain a sonic presence unto themselves. Their strikingly apropos fifth LP, …To Be Alive at the End of the World, begins with the five-minute psychedelic wash of its unrepentantly pretty, somewhat mournful title-track and ends with a performance-art take on “The Star Spangled Banner” that shifts into eight or so minutes of drone and minimalist noise before reemerging in manipulated form, vocalist/drummer Richard Hoak (also the odd bit of flute and ocarina), bassist/vocalist Ryan Moll and guitarist Pingdum filling the between space with the blasts and jangles of “A Demonstration of Power,” the maddening twists of “Attack of the Supervirus 1138” and other mini-bursts of unbridled aggression like “Stone Bomb,” “Doctor Butcher” and the outright conceptual genius of “Yelling at Velcro,” which, indeed, is just 20 or so seconds of yelling ahead of the arrival of the closer. In an alternate future, Total Fucking Destruction‘s work will be added to the Library of Congress. In this future, we’re boned.
For the six-song/51-minute The Deep, Italian three-piece Humulus somewhat depart the beer-rocking ways of 2017’s second LP, Reverently Heading into Nowhere (review here). Sure, the riff of “Gone Again” is pure Kyuss idolatry (not a complaint), and “Devil’s Peak (We Eventually Eluded Death)” brims with drunkard’s swagger, but factor in the wonderfully executed linear build that takes place across the eight-minute “Hajra,” the mellow emotionalism of the penultimate acoustic track “Lunar Queen,” and the two extended psychedelic bookends in opener “Into the Heart of the Volcano Sun” (14:48) and closer “Sanctuary III – The Deep” (14:59), and the narrative becomes decidedly more complex than just “they drink and play riffs.” These elements have been in Humulus‘ sound all along, but it’s plain to hear the band have actively worked to push themselves forward in scope, and the range suits them, the closer particularly filled with a theatricality that would seem to speak to further storytelling to come on subsequent releases. So be it. They called the album The Deep and have dived in accordingly.
An atmosphere of melancholy is quickly established on The River‘s third LP, Vessels into White Tides (on Nine Records), and for being the London four-piece’s first album 10 years, it takes place in a sense of unrushed melody, the band rolling out a morose feel born of but not directly aping the likes of My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost as the vocals of guitarist Jenny Newton (also strings, percussion) — joined in the band by guitarist Christian Leitch, bassist Stephen Morrissey and drummer Jason Ludwig — make their presence felt soon in opener “Vessels,” which unfolds gracefully with a crash and rumble fading into the beginning of the subsequent “Into White” (15:01) with the four-minute string-laced “Open” and the 9:44 shifting-into-intensity “Passing” preceding closer “Tides,” which is duly rolling in its progression and offers a sweet bit of release, if wistful, from some of the more grueling moments before it, capping not with a distorted blowout, but with layers of strings reinforcing the folkish underpinning that’s been there all along, in even the most tonally or emotionally weighted stretches.
Mountain Pass, which begins with “The Northern Face,” ends with “The Southern Face” and along the way treks through its on-theme title-track and the speedier “You Don’t Know Death,” catchy “Thunder I Am” and fairly-enough bluesy “Devil Blues,” has its foundations in oldschool metal and punk, but is a decidedly rock-based offering. It’s the debut from Oakland’s Phantom Hound, and its eight component tracks make no attempt to mask their origins or coat their material in unnecessary pretense — they are what they are; the album is what it is. The three-piece dip into acoustics on the instrumental “Grace of an Angel,” which shifts with a cymbal wash into the lead guitar at the outset of the eight-minute title-track — the stomp of which is perhaps more evocative of the mountain than the passing, but still works — but even this isn’t so far removed from the straightforward purposes of “Irons in the Fire,” which stakes its claim to dead-ahead metal and rock, barely stopping along the way to ask what else you could possibly need.
Munich-based trio Chang, with clear, modern production behind them, present their debut EP release with the 29-minute Superlocomotodrive, and though it’s short, one is left wondering what else they might need to consider it an album. What’s missing? You’ve got the let’s-jam-outta-here in the six-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Mescalin,” and plenty of gruff riffing to back that up in “Old Rusty Car” and the later title-track, with a bit of Oliveri-era Queens of the Stone Age edge in the latter to boot, plus some psychedelic lead work in “Sterne,” some particularly German quirk in “Bottle Beach” and a massive buildup in tension in the finale “Bombs Whisper” that seems to arrive at its moment of payoff only to instead cut to silence and purposefully leave the listener hanging — an especially bold move for a first release. Yeah, it’s under half an hour long, but so what? The heavy rock terrain Chang are working in is familiar enough — right down to the less-than-P.C. lyrics of “Old Rusty Car” — but there’s no sense that Superlocomotodrive wants to be something it isn’t. It’s heavy rock celebrating heavy rock.
Though the grunge influence in the vocals of guitarist Simone Pennucci speak to more of a hard-rocking kind of sound, the basis of The Dhaze‘s sprawl across their ambitious 53-minute Sound Effect Records debut album, Deaf Dumb Blind, is more in line with progressive metal and heavy psychedelia. Bassist Vincenzo La Tegola backs Pennucci on vocals and locks in fluid mid-tempo grooves with drummer Lorenzo Manna, and makes a highlight of the low end in “Death Walks with Me” ahead of the titular trilogy, presented in the order of “Deaf,” “Blind” and “Dumb,” which flow together as one piece thanks in no small part to the synth work added by La Tegola and Pennucci together. Obviously comfortable in longer-form stretches like “Death Walks with Me” or the earlier “Neurosis,” both of which top nine minutes, the Napoli trio bring a fervent sense of variety to their work while leaving themselves open to future growth in terms of sound and playing with the balance between elements they establish here.
Hailing — because metal bands hail, to be sure — from the Pittsburgh area, newcomers Lost Psychonaut boast in their ranks two former members of sludgers Vulture in guitarist/vocalist Justin Erb and bassist Garrett Twardesky, who, together with drummer Tristan Triggs, run through a debut LP made up of five tracks that skirt the line between groove metal and heavy rock, tapping-like-flowing-kegs influences from the likes of ’90s-era C.O.C. and others such burl-laced groovers. Tales of day-to-day struggles make a fitting enough backdrop to the riff-led proceedings, which commence with the prior-issued single “My Time” and roll-groove their way into a duo of longer cuts at the end in “Restitution Day” (8:46) and “On a Down” (7:44). Frankly, any mention of the word “Down” at all in a song that feels so outwardly “buried in smoke” can hardly be coincidental, but that nod is well earned. With a couple years behind them, they know what they’re going for in this initial batch of songs, and the clearheaded nature of their approach only gives their songwriting more of a sense of command. There’s growth to be undertaken, but nothing to say they can’t get there.
I suppose you could, if so inclined, live up to Liquido di Morte‘s slogan, “We play music to take drugs to,” but you’d be shorting yourself on the experience of a lucid listen to their third long-player IIII. Issued in limited handmade packaging by the band, the Milan instrumentalists offer a stylistic take across the late-2019 five-tracker that stands somewhere between heavy post-rock and post-metal, but in that incorporates no shortage of thoughtful psychedelic meditations and even some kraut and space rock vibes. The primary impact is atmospheric, but there’s diversity in their approach such that the centerpiece “Tramonto Nucleare” begins cosmic, or maybe cataclysmic, and ends with an almost serene roll into the floating guitar at the outset of the subsequent “Rebus (6,5),” which is the longest inclusion at 13:40 and an encompassing, hypnotic srpawl that, whether you take drugs or not, seems destined to commune with expanded or expanding minds. The front-to-back journey ends with “The Fattening,” a cinematic run of synth after which a slaughter feels almost inevitable, even if it arrives as silence.
Bonus points to Netherlands four-piece Black Burned Blimp for including song titles like “What Doesn’t Kill You, Makes You Weirder” and “The Good, the Bad and the Fucking Horrific” and, at the start of “Desert Wizard,” the sample from Trailer Park Boys wherein Mr. Lahey declares, “I am the liquor” on their debut LP, Crash Overdrive. Native to a heavy rock legacy that includes acts like 13eaver, 35007, Astrosoniq and Celestial Season, among many others, the band hint toward melodic complexity while remaining focused on raw energy in their songwriting, such that even the drumless, harmonized and minute-long “Flock” seems to seethe with unstated tension for “Robo Erectus,” which follows, to pay off. It does, though perhaps with less of a tempo kick than one might expect — certainly less than the careening “The Good, the Bad and the Fucking Horrific” a few tracks later — but somehow, no matter what speed they’re actually playing, Black Burned Blimp seem to make it sound fast. Vitality will do that.
Though their arrival comes amid a German heavy rock underground that’s nothing if not well populated, Fulda-based five-piece Crimson Oak present with their self-titled debut long-player a stylistic take that’s both modern and genuine sounding, finding solid ground in well-crafted songs drawing more from ’90s-era heavy and punk in “Danger Time,” which follows the contemplative “Of My Youth,” the bulk of what surrounds expressing a similar level of self-awareness, up to and including the nine-minute side B opener “Brother of Sleep,” which sets psychedelic guitar against some of the album’s biggest riffs (and melodies). There’s middle ground to be had in cuts like “Displace” and “Sunset Embrace” still to come and “Fulda Gap” earlier, but Crimson Oak seem to touch that middle ground mostly en route to whichever end of the spectrum next piques their interest. At seven songs and 42 minutes, it’s not an insubstantial LP, but they hold their own with confidence and a poise that speaks to the fact that some of this material showed up on prior EPs. That experience with it shows but does not hold the band or songs back.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 25th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Italy’s Giöbia return after four years on Feb. 7 with their new album, Plasmatic Idol, which is as unplaceably ’80s synthy as the name would seem to indicate, on Heavy Psych Sounds, and following a release gig in their native Milan, the band will embark on a round of European tour dates — you know, Germany and some of those other nations who aren’t Germany — to support the record. Notable are three stops at the Heavy Psych Sounds Fest that’s of course thrown by their label, and a secret show in Bielefeld that rounds out on May 30. I don’t know about you, but I’m curious as to what’s going on in Bielefeld, Germany, on May 30. Club show? Secret headliner? Can’t-talk-about-it-yet festival appearance? Inquiring minds want to know.
I may or may not actually find out, but so it goes. There are a couple shows without venues listed, so I’ll assume those confirmations are in the works, but either way, looks like a good run and the album rules, so keep an eye/ear/tongue out, and if you’re somewhere in the world where you get to go, good on ya.
Dig:
GIÖBIA – PLASMATIC IDOL EUROPEAN TOUR 2020
We are so happy to present a very special tour !!!
A lot of single shows but also great festivals such as Heavy Psych Sounds Fests in Paris, London and Antwerp !!!
*** GIÖBIA – PLASMATIC IDOL EUROPEAN TOUR 2020 *** 22.02.2020 IT Milano-Cox („Plasmatic Idol“ Release Party) 27.02.2020 CH Olten-Coq D’Or 28.02.2020 CH Winterthur-Gaswerk 29.02.2020 DE Siegen-Vortex 01.03.2020 DE Munich-Backstage 02.03.2020 DE Tubingen-Hausbar neben der Stifskirche 03.03.2020 DE Mannheim 04.03.2020 FR Lille 05.03.2020 FR Paris-Glazart HPS Fest 06.03.2020 BE Antwerp-Trix HPS Fest 07.03.2020 UK London-Underworld HPS Fest 19.03.2020 FR Chambery-Le Brin Du Zinc 20.03.2020 FR Bordeaux 21.03.2020 FR Nantes-La Scene Michelet 22.03.2020 FR Lyon 22.05.2020 SL Ljubljana-Channel Zero 23.05.2020 AT Linz-Kapu 25.05.2020 AT Salzburg-Rockhouse 26.05.2020 DE Weimar-C Keller 27.05.2020 DE Dresden-Ostpol 28.05.2020 DE Berlin-Zukunft 29.05.2020 DE Munster-Rare Guitar Shop 30.05.2020 DE Bielefeld-”secret show”
The new Giöbia album “Plasmatic Idol” is simply impressive: a collection of different sounds and atmospheres, brings the listener to another sidereal world full of dreams and mind travels. You can clearly feel the influence of certain Pink Floyd in some passages but also pinches of Italian Progressive Rock, Horror Soundtrack from 70’s movies, garage 60’s influences, US West Coast Psychedelia, and late 60’s Space Rock a la Hawkwind The production is delicate and smooth, the album flows without interruptions and the music immerses your mind in a cosmic dimension. The vintage organs and synthesizers are used in the best way possible, 8 tracks that capture your attention without distraction. Produced by Bazu the guitar player and singer of the band and Mixed and Mastered By Brett Orrison (Black Angels, Jack White) at Spaceflight Records in Austin, Texas. The Great cover album and artwork is by Metastazis.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 27th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I think maybe it was last week that the news about there being a new record from Giöbia came through and I went off about how good it was? Wasn’t much longer than a week, if it was that long. In any case, I maintain the position. Good album, kind of blows the doors down from what they’ve done before in some cool ways. They’re streaming a track now to give some idea about that, and since later today I’m calling Shadow Witch‘s stream out for being early, I’ll do the same here. February is a ways away. Preorders are up though, so probably best to give people some idea what they’re in for. Though, really, it is just a glimpse of the whole.
The PR wire has it like this:
GIÖBIA new album PLASMATIC IDOL – presale starts TODAY
Today we start with the presale of the GIÖBIA first album after 4 years!!!
The brand new release is called PLASMATIC IDOL !!!
The new Giöbia album “Plasmatic Idol” is simply impressive: a collection of different sounds and atmospheres, brings the listener to another sidereal world full of dreams and mind travels. You can clearly feel the influence of certain Pink Floyd in some passages but also pinches of Italian Progressive Rock, Horror Soundtrack from 70’s movies, garage 60’s influences, US West Coast Psychedelia, and late 60’s Space Rock a la Hawkwind The production is delicate and smooth, the album flows without interruptions and the music immerses your mind in a cosmic dimension. The vintage organs and synthesizers are used in the best way possible, 8 tracks that capture your attention without distraction. Produced by Bazu the guitar player and singer of the band and Mixed and Mastered By Brett Orrison (Black Angels, Jack White) at Spaceflight Records in Austin, Texas. The Great cover album and artwork is by Metastazis.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 19th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I’m not saying I’ve heard it or anything, but if you think you have a sense of what Giöbia are all about, you’re probably want to going to expand that definition. The Milan-based four-piece get even more spaced out on their next full-length than they were on 2015’s Magnifier (review here), which is fair enough since it was four years ago. They’ve of course been plenty busy since that last album, touring Europe and playing fests like Freak Valley, which they hit in 2016 and released a set from the next year as the Live Freak live album that you can stream below, as well as the 2017 7″ What Have You Done through H42 Records. If you heard any of that stuff, you know it was plenty spaced. Well, get ready to get more spaced. Space space space.
Let’s assume that since the announcement of the album’s existence came in the other day and I’m only now getting this posted that the title and album details have been unveiled as of about three minutes ago and this post is already out of date. The internet is awesome.
From the PR wire:
Heavy Psych Sounds to announce a band re-signing: GIÖBIA are coming back with a brand new album
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS is so stoked to welcome back one of the best european psychedelic bands GIÖBIA with a brand new album coming out in early 2020 !!!
The mystical day 60s rock met neopsychedelic rock mixing up to the point of losing consciousness of their own essence, in an overwhelming and incessant soundtrack with an unmistakable Italian taste, that’s when Giöbia’s acid rock was born. In a vortex that leaves no way out, the unique melodies of this quartet take the listener into a world where the boundaries of reality are no longer defined and anything can ever happen. After their debut in 2009 with ‘Hard Stories’, the band firmly established itself in 2013 with ‘Introducing Night Sounds’, which suddenly brought them to the most important stages of Europe. In 2016 the milestone ‘The Magnifier’ assigned them a place among the most influential bands of the scene. Unable to stop in front of any challenge, Giöbia decided to go on astonishing their audience again finally forging a NEW ALBUM, which will see the light in 2020 via Heavy Psych Sounds, with the promise to upset and reconfirm them as the forefather of a genre that fascinates and amazes anyone who dare to leave themselves behind without fear of never returning.
PRESALE STARTS: September 26th
The band will be also touring Europe in two slots: – from February 28th to March 11th, including HPS Fests in Paris, Antwerp and London – from May 22nd to June 2nd
Milano death-doomers Esogenesi will release their self-titled debut album on Oct. 4 through Transcending Obscurity Records. The four-piece are a relatively new band, having formed in 2016, but as the five-track/39-minute full-length plays out, it becomes increasingly clear they’re doing more with the collection than just getting their feet wet in the style. They’re doing that too, to be sure, but if we’re sticking with the liquid idiom, they’re much more “up to neck” than “wet feet” when it comes to the particular grueling atmosphere that typifies the death-doom aesthetic — that ultra-dark churn marked out by a severe emotional conveyance, a mournfulness that gives the death metal aspects of the sound a that-much-truer resonance. Esogenesi‘s background as players varies, between black metal, hardcore, classical and, presumably, some doom as well, but even as album-closer “Incarnazione Della Conoscenza” hits its crescendo with blastbeating insistence, the commitment to the whole-album ambience remains firm. In other words, though they haven’t done it before, they know what they’re doing.
There’s comfort in that for the present and promise for the future, of course. Esogenesi show quickly what the crux of their first offering will be in the brooding guitar and bass intro of opener “Abominio,” one of three cuts to top nine minutes on the vinyl-ready outing. Soon double-kick enters, but the tone of patience is already set, and that will prove crucial to both band and listener as “Abominio” unfolds into its morose riff and speedier chug en route to the subsequent “Decadimento Astrale,” which essentially flips the structure to fast-slow instead of slow-fast in terms of its buildup, establishing a fluidity that carries into the standalone guitar of “…Oltregenesi…” — which in another context I’d directly liken to Dylan Carlson — which is joined in its second half by understated drums before it kind of disintegrates into the start of “Esilio Nell’Extramondo,” the penultimate and longest inclusion on Esogenesi at 9:51 and perhaps also the darkest of processions the band here unfurls. A quiet beginning is mirrored in the ambient midsection, but on either side of that is a dirge procession that finds the band — guitarist Davide Roccato bassist Carlo Campanelli, vocalist Jacopo Marinelli and drummer Michele Adami — pushing toward a new level of extremity in aural gruel that, yes, will pick up some speed by the end, but still remains pummeling in its finish in a manner consistent with how they started out. It’s a gorgeous execution of style.
And taken in kind with “Incarnazione Della Conoscenza” as it would be on side B of a vinyl release, it further demonstrates where Esogenesi are coming from in their initial approach to death-doom, which is straightforward at least in the microgenre’s own terms. I wouldn’t be surprised to find them adding keyboard, or strings, or even just more guitar effects to flesh out arrangements as they move forward, but as a flag-planting endeavor, Esogenesi‘s self-titled lays claim to a chunk of space in death-doom and proceeds to make that space its own. The band’s trades between loud and quiet stretches, fast and slow stretches, the interlude vibe in “…Oltregenesi…” and the sharper-edged riffing that caps the pre-apex burst of “Incarnazione Della Conoscenza” — they end on their most extreme push, as noted — all feed together to make an overarching impression of bleakness that is consuming, but still not overwhelming or redundant simply because at under 40 minutes, it doesn’t stick around long enough to be. A certain amount of repetition is fair game, one might argue essential, to what they’re doing, but one of the things Esogenesi get right on their first LP is realizing that it doesn’t need to be 65 minutes long to get its point across, and whether that’s a conscious decision on their part or an instinct and how it worked out with the timing of recording or whatever else, it’s another impulse that will only serve the band well as they seek to follow-up this impressive debut.
Happy today to host the premiere of “Decadimento Astrale” below, which you’ll find followed by more info from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Esogenesi, “Decadimento Astrale” official track premiere
Death/doom metal band Esogenesi have concocted a sublime blend that harnesses the power of death metal with the poignancy of doom metal, backed with an able, organic yet powerful sound that the band can call it their own. Even though this is only their debut, the quartet have outdone themselves in creating music with unfathomable depth and emotional poise. The five songs plod along with subtle but effective changes in mood, tempo and groove, and it often becomes imperative to revisit them to catch the brilliant nuances ensconced in the rumbling death metal-spiked parts. This is as good a debut as any to come out in the genre and it only solidifies the band’s place in the increasing death/doom roster of Transcending Obscurity.
