https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Djiin Announce Spring Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 9th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Djinn (Photo by Maureen Piercy)

Having been fortunate enough to see French heavy psychedelic rockers Djiin at last year’s Freak Valley Festival (review here) in Germany as they took to the stage in support of their 2021 album, Meandering Soul (review here), I’ll tell you first-hand that they put on a hell of a show. Yes, part of that is the distinguishing visual presence of a harp up there with them — never mind the corresponding aural distinction when vocalist Chloé Panhaleux actually starts to play the thing — but by no means all of it. Their sound is particularly rich, classic in an of-genre kind of way and fluid even at its heaviest moments. They are a full-range band, the quiet and loud stretches of their work are pulled together by the chemistry of the players and the overarching flow of their grooves.

In other words, cool band, worth catching if you can. They’ll be on the road in France, Germany and Belgium this April, with some slots still open, joined by Decasia in the going. There are some ticket links below — probably more available by now, honestly; the tour was announced a few days ago — and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re playing some new material on the run, which if you’re looking for added incentive to get out of the house, well, there you go.

Info follows from the old-style social media:

Djinn tour

DJIIN – SPRING TOUR 2023

We’re excited to reveal the dates of our next tour! Looking forward to getting back on the road alongside our friends at DECASIA with whom we’ll be sharing most of the shows (#129304#)

Big thanks to More Fuzz Booking ❤

(#127912#) Artwork by Lise Goujon

EVENT :
05/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) at Ty Anna, Rennes
06/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) at le lezard bar , Le Mans
07/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) at L’INTERNATIONAL, Paris https://fb.me/e/2FDOuJtW8
08/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) at La Taverne Elektrik, Amiens
09/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) TBA, Lille
11/04 (#127463#)(#127466#) at Maboel in ‘t Gildenhuis , Zottegem
12/04 (#127463#)(#127466#) at Local Autogéré du Borinage – LAB , Mons https://fb.me/e/2C1enDNrc
13/04 (#127463#)(#127466#) at Café Central, Bruxelles
14/04 (#127465#)(#127466#) at FZW, Dortmünd https://fb.me/e/5XVgVUrBm
15/04 (#127465#)(#127466#) at Oetinger Villa, Darmstadt
16/04 (#127465#)(#127466#) at Zollkantine, Bremen https://wanderlust.ticket.io/4ttnehy4/
17/04 (#127465#)(#127466#) at Bar 227, Hamburg https://fb.me/e/3eb2Uhv3F
18/04 (#127465#)(#127466#) at Loophole Berlin, Berlin https://fb.me/e/2FJFc2j4z
20/04 (#127465#)(#127466#) at Vinyl-Reservat, Göttingen
21/04 (#127465#)(#127466#) OPEN SLOT !
22/04 (#127465#)(#127466#) at P8, Karlsruhe !
23/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) TBA
24/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) TBA
28/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) TBA
29/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) at Salem Bar, Bordeaux
30/04 (#127467#)(#127479#) at Barberousse Nantes, Nantes

Djiin are:
Chloé PANHALEUX – Singer / Electric Harp
Allan GUYOMARD – Drums / Backing vocals
Tom PENAGUIN – Guitar / Backing vocals
Charlélie PAILHES – Bass / Backing vocals

https://www.facebook.com/djiin.theband
https://djiin.bandcamp.com

https://www.klonosphere.com
https://www.facebook.com/KLONOSPHEREPR

Djiin, Meandering Soul (2021)

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Quarterly Review: Sons of Alpha Centauri, Doctors of Space, River Flows Reverse, Kite, Starless, Wolves in the Throne Room, Oak, Deep Tomb, Grieving, Djiin

Posted in Reviews on September 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-fall-2016-quarterly-review

Today we pass the halfway point of the Fall 2021 Quarterly Review. It’s mostly been a pleasure cruise, to be honest, and there’s plenty more good stuff today to come. That always makes it easier. Still worth marking the halfway point though as we move inexorably toward 70 releases by next Tuesday. Right now, I just wish my kid would take a nap. He won’t.

That’s my afternoon, I guess. Here we go.

Quarterly Review #31-40:

Sons of Alpha Centauri, Push

sons of alpha centauri push

Never ones to tread identical ground, UK outfit Sons of Alpha Centauri collaborate with Far/Onelinedrawing vocalist Jonah Matranga and Will Haven drummer Mitch Wheeler on Push, their material given relatively straight-ahead structural purpose to suit. I’m a fan of Sons of Alpha Centauri and their willingness to toss out various rulebooks on their way to individualized expression. Will Push be the record of theirs I reach for in the years to come? Nope. I’ve tried and tried and tried to get on board, but post-hardcore/emo has never been my thing and I respect Sons of Alpha Centauri too much to pretend otherwise. I admire the ethic that created the album. Deeply. But of the various Sons of Alpha Centauri collaborations — with the likes JK Broadrick of Godflesh or Gary Arce of Yawning Man — I feel a little left out in the cold by these tracks. No worries though. It’s Sons of Alpha Centauri. I’ll catch the next one. In the meantime, it’s comforting knowing they’re doing their own thing as always, regardless of how it manifests.

Sons of Alpha Centauri on Facebook

Exile on Mainstream Records website

 

Doctors of Space, Studio Session July 2021

Doctors of Space Studio Session July 2021

The programmed drums do an amazing amount to bring a sense of form to Doctors of Space‘s ultra-exploratory jamming. The Portugal-based duo combining the efforts of guitarist/programmer Martin Weaver (best known for his work in Wicked Lady) and synthesist/keyboardist Scott “Dr. Space” Heller of Øresund Space Collective (and many others) have been issuing jams by the month during a time largely void of live performances, and their get-together on July 30 resulted in seven pieces, four of which make up the 62 minutes of Studio Session July 2021. It’s hard to pick a highlight between the mellower, almost jazzy flow and cosmic wash of the 19-minute “Nighthawk,” and the more urgent setting out that “They Are Listening” provides, the more definitively space-rocking “Spirit Catcher” closing and “Bombsheller” with what feels like layers upon layers of swirl with keyboard lines cutting through, capping with a mellotron chorus, but any one of them is a worthy pick, and that’s a good problem to have.

Doctors of Space on Bandcamp

Space Rock Productions website

 

River Flows Reverse, When River Flows Reverse

River Flows Reverse When River Flows Reverse

In its readiness to go wherever the spirit of its eight included pieces lead, as well as in its openness of arrangement and folkish foundation, River Flows Reverse‘s first offering, the semi-eponymous When River Flows Reverse, reminds of Montibus Communitas. That is a compliment I don’t give lightly or often. The hour-long 2LP sees issue as part of the Psychedelic Source Records collective — Bence Ambrus and company — and with members of Indeed, Lemurian Folk Songs, Hold Station, on vocals and trumpet and banjo, etc., and a variety of instruments handled by Ambrus himself, the record is serene and hypnotic in kind, finding an outbound pastoralism that is physical as much as it’s swirling in mid-air. “Oriental Western” taps 16 Horsepower on the shoulder, but it’s in a meditation like “At the Gates of the Perennial” or the decidedly unraging “Rain it Rages” that the Hungarian outfit most seem to find themselves even as they get willfully lost in what they’re doing. Beautiful.

Psychedelic Source Records on Facebook

Psychedelic Source Records on Bandcamp

 

Kite, Currents

kite currents

Even amid the lumbering noise rock extremity of the penultimate “Heroin,” Kite manage to work in a willfully lunkheaded Melvins riff. Cheers to the Oslo bashers-of-face on that. The second long-player from the Oslo-based trio featuring members of Sâver, Dunderbeist, Stonegard and others sets out in moody form with “Idle Lights” building to a maddening tension that “Turbulence” hits with a brick. Though not void of atmosphere or complexity in its construction, the bulk of Currents is harsh, a punishment derived from sludge-thickened post-hardcore evidenced by “Ravines” stomping into the has-clean-vocals centerpiece title-track, but it’s also clear the band are having fun. Closer “Unveering Static” brings back the non-screaming shouts, but it’s the earlier longest track “Infernal Trails” that perhaps most readily encapsulates their work, variable in tempo, building and crashing, chaotic and raging and lowbrow enough to be artsy, but still given an underpinning of heft to match any and all aggression.

KITE on Facebook

Majestic Mountain Records webstore

 

Starless, Hope is Leaving You

Starless Hope is Leaving You

A sophomore full-length from the Chicago-based four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Jessie Ambriz and Jon Slusher, bassist/vocalist Alan Strathmann and drummer/vocalist Quinn Curren, StarlessHope is Leaving You runs a melancholy gambit from the prog-metal aggression of “Pendulum” to “Forest” reimagining Alice in Chains as a post-rock band, to soaring escapist pastoralia in “Devils,” to the patient psychedelic unfurling of “Citizen,” all the while remaining heavy of one sort or another; sonic, emotional, whatever it might be. Both. Cellist Alison Chesley (Helen Money) guests on “Forest” and the devolves-into-chaotic-noise closer “Hunting With Fire,” and Sanford Parker produced, but the band’s greatest strengths are the band itself. Hope is Leaving You isn’t going to be the feel-good hit of anyone’s summer in terms of general mood or atmosphere, but it’s the kind of release that’s going to hit a particular nerve with some who take it on, and I think I might be one of them.

Starless on Facebook

Starless on Bandcamp

 

Wolves in the Throne Room, Primordial Arcana

wolves in the throne room primordial arcana

Some 15 years on from their landmark first album, Olympia, Washington’s Wolves in the Throne Room make their debut on Relapse Records with duly organic stateliness on Primordial Arcana, bringing their particular and massively influential vision of American black metal to bear across tracks mostly shorter than those of 2017’s Thrice Woven (review here) — exceptions to every rule: the triumphant 10-minute “Masters of Rain and Storm” — as drummer/keyboardist/vocalist Aaron Weaver, guitarist/vocalist Nathan Weaver, guitarist/vocalist Kody Keyworth and guest bassist/vocalist Galen Baudhuin readily draw together ripping blasts with cavernous synth, acoustic guitar, percussion and whatever the hell else they want across eight songs and 49 minutes (that includes the ambient bonus track “Skyclad Passage,” which follows the also-ambient closer “Eostre”) for an immersive aesthetic victory lap that’s all the more resonant for being the first time they’ve entirely produced themselves. One hopes and suspects it won’t be the last. Their sixth or seventh LP depending on what one counts, Primordial Arcana sounds like the beginning of a new era for them.

Wolves in the Throne Room on Facebook

Relapse Records website

 

Oak, Fin

oak fin

London heavy rockers Oak perhaps ultimately did themselves a disservice by not putting out a full-length during their time together. Fin, like the end screen of a fancy movie, arrives as their swansong EP, their fourth overall in the last six years, and is made up mostly of two five-plus-minute tracks in “Beyond…” and “Broken King,” with the minute-long intro “Bells” at the start. With the soaring chorus of “Beyond…” led by vocalist Andy Valiant with the backing of bassist/mellotronist Richard Morgan and guitarist/synthesist Kevin Germain and the shove of Alex De La Cour‘s drums at their foundation, the clarity of production by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse (Green Lung, Terminal Cheesecake, etc.) and the gang shouts that rouse the finish of “Broken King,” Oak end their run sounding very much like a band who had more to say. If their breakup really is permanent, they leave a lot of potential on the proverbial table.

Oak on Facebook

Oak on Bandcamp

 

Deep Tomb, Deep Tomb

Deep Tomb Deep Tomb

By the time Los Angeles’ Deep Tomb get into the stomp of the 12-minute finishing track on their four-song/29-minute self-titled, they’ve already well demonstrated their propensity for scathing, harsh sludge. Opener “Colossus” has some percussion later in its seven minutes that sounds like something falling down stairs — maybe those are just the toms? — but it and the subsequent “Ascension From the Devoured Realm” aren’t exactly shy about where they’re coming from in their pummel and fuckall, and even though “Endless Power Through Breathless Sleep” starts out mellow and ends minimalist, in between it sounds like a they’re trying to use amps to remove limbs. And how much of “Lord of Misery” is song and how much is noisy chaos anyway? I don’t know. Where’s the line from one to the other? When does the madness end? And what’s left when it does? The broken glass from tube amps and soured everything.

Deep Tomb on Facebook

King of the Monsters Records webstore

 

Grieving, Songs for the Weary

Grieving Songs for the Weary

A band that, sooner or later, somebody’s going to refer to as “heavyweights.” Perhaps it’s happened already. Justifiably, in any case, given the significant heft Poland’s Grieving bring to their riff-led fare on their first LP, built on a foundation of traditionalist doom but not necessarily eschewing modern methods in favor thereof throughout its six component tracks — the three-piece of vocalist Wojciech Kaluza, guitarist/bassist/synthesist Artur Ruminski and drummer Bartosz Licholap are willfully Sabbathian even in the shuffle of “This Godless Chapel” but neither are they shy about engaging more psychedelic spaces on “Foreboding of a Great Ruin,” however grounding the clear-headed melodies of the vocals might be, and the riff at the core of the hard-hitting “A Crow Funeral” would in another context be no less at home on a desert rock record. Especially as their debut, Songs for the Weary sounds anything but.

Grieving on Facebook

Interstellar Smoke Records webstore

Godz ov War Productions webstore

 

Djinn, Meandering Soul

Djiin Meandering Soul

Heavy blues is at the core of Djiin‘s second album, Meandering Soul, but the Rennes, France, four-piece meet it head-on with both deeper weight and broader atmospherics, and lead vocalist Chloé Panhaleux owes as much to grunge as to post-The Doors brooding, her voice admirably organic even unto cracking in “Red Desert.” With the backing of guitarist Tom Penaguin, bassist Charlélie Pailhes and drummer Allan Guyomard, Djiin are no less at home in the creeping lounge guitar stretches of “Warmth of Death” than in the bursts of volume in opener “Black Circus” or the what-the-hell-just-happened-to-this-song prog jam out that caps the erstwhile punk of finale “Waxdoll.” Clearly, Djiin go where they want, when they want, from the folkish harmonies of “The Void” to the far-less-hinged crushing aggro “White Valley,” each piece offering something of its own on the way while feeding into the immersion of the whole.

Djiin on Facebook

Klonosphere Records website

 

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Djiin to Release Meandering Soul Oct. 15; “Black Circus” Video Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 15th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Djiin

Heavy blues atmosphere oozes, creeps out of the opening track of Djiin‘s new long-player, Meandering Soul, and it’s striking in its volatility in a way that begs further investigation. The Rennes, France, four-piece — don’t try writing their moniker on your phone unless you want to spend some time running in circles of autocorrect — released their debut, The Freak, in 2019 and offer “Black Circus” as a first impression of their second album, which will see release through Klonosphere on Oct. 15 and which is up for preorder now through Bandcamp.

There’s a video to coincide — maybe NSFW? hard to tell — but the song is also streaming if you’re not feeling the visuals, and I think its starker aspects come across well even without the band-and-ritual-in-woods accompaniment. Pick your poison, I guess. In any case, the vibe here was enough to hook me, and since that’s exactly what an opener should be doing, if you’ll pardon, I’ll just go ahead and dig into the rest of the album. Got a Quarterly Review coming up, you know. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to find this one in there.

PR wire info follows:

Djiin Meandering Soul

Djiin – French Psychedelic-Stoner Rockers Announce New Album “Meandering Soul”

Reveal New Video For “Black Circus”

French psychedelic/stoner-rock four-piece band Djiin will release their third full-length album “Meandering Soul” on October 15 via Klonosphere Records/Season of Mist.

The follow-up to 2019’s “The Freak” album was recorded by Justin Nicquevert at The Blue Anvil Sound and mixed and mastered by Pierre Le Gac and Nicolas Moreau at Le Garage Hermétique, and features six new songs replete with powerful and fuzzy riffs, thunderous and soulful beats, psychedelic melodies and the enchanting vocals of Chloé Panhaleux.

Meandering Soul is a concept album that presents the story of a tortured mind being and his evil fiends. The listener is going through a trip where he/she will meet many characters and will be surrounded sometimes by dark and frozen landscapes, other times by a hot and mesmerizing desert, or otherwise by oppressing and sensual places. All these elements are sailing on various musical influences.

Influenced by 70’s progressive rock and krautrock bands, doom scene and heavy rock from the glory days of the early Sabbath, as well as other modern references based on the diversity between western and traditional eastern sounds, Djiin crafted a sound of their own, a truly captivating and other-worldly musical universe that will impress fans of Kadavar, Blue Pills and Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats. Pre-orders are now available at this location: https://djiin.bandcamp.com/album/meandering-soul-2

Meanwhile, a music video for leading single “Black Circus” is now playing here.

1. Black Circus
2. The Void
3. Red Desert
4. Warmth of Death
5. White Valley
6. Wax Doll

Engineered by Justin Nicquevert (The Blue Anvil Sound). Mixed and Mastered by Pierre Le Gac and Nicolas Moreau (Le Garage Hermétique).

Djiin are:
Chloé PANHALEUX – Singer / Electric Harp
Allan GUYOMARD – Drums / Backing vocals
Tom PENAGUIN – Guitar / Backing vocals
Charlélie PAILHES – Bass / Backing vocals

https://www.facebook.com/djiin.theband
https://djiin.bandcamp.com
https://www.klonosphere.com
https://www.facebook.com/KLONOSPHEREPR

Djiin, Meandering Soul (2021)

Djiin, “Black Circus” official video

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Hermit’s Weedsom Release New Album As Above, So Below

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 25th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

While I admit I wasn’t expecting a new Hermit’s Weedsom album to drop today — kudos to the Rennes, France-based duo on the oldschool-style Tuesday release day — neither am I sorry to see it. Or to hear it, for that matter. The instrumentalist two-piece impressed late last year with their have-apparently-intended-to-review-it-for-the-last-seven-months debut, He Who Sees in the Dark, and the new offering dives further into weedian nod and fervent push, a song like “Empress Crown” clocking in at just under nine minutes with a hard-hitting forward drive while the earlier “Emperor’s Fall” is pure nodding delight topped with spacious soloing.

They start at a rush with the drum fill at the head of opener “Wheel of Fortune” — and you’ll pardon me if the Karma to Burn comparison feels overly timely, it fits just the same — and hold that momentum all the while, twisting and turning as they go until just-over-nine-minute closer “Luna” rounds out with their most atmospheric stretch. Not a minor journey along the way and clearly not intended to be.

It’s streaming up on their Bandcamp — which I guess is ‘above’ since the player is also ‘below’ at the bottom of this post — and available in a digipak CD with the following nifty art:

hermits weedsom as above so below

As the Emerald Tablet says: “As Above, So Below”.

Guided by the arcane, Hermit’s Weedsom delivers a second stoner/doom prog-infused metal album.

“Follow the cards toward the absolute consciousness point”

The band says: “Hi everyone, 7 months after the release of our 1st album, we are back with a new one. Still instrumental, still self-produced. We put in this record and its 8 tracks, a mix of everything we like to listen to and we hope you will like it too. Take care of yourself! See you soon.”

Tracklisting:
1. Wheel of Fortune 07:31
2. End of Cycle 07:29
3. Broken Chariot 08:08
4. Emperor’s Fall 06:58
5. Hierophant’s Rule 07:40
6. Empress Crown 08:55
7. Eliphas Synthesis 08:30
8. Luna 09:02

Drums : Robin Leplumey
Guitar / Bass : Valentin Cabioch

https://www.facebook.com/HermitsWeedsom
https://www.instagram.com/hermitsweedsomband/
https://hermitsweedsom.bandcamp.com/

Hermit’s Weedsom, As Above, So Below (2021)

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Orgöne Sign to Heavy Psych Sounds; Mos/Fet Available to Preorder

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 5th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

Those seeking a preview of the kosmiche shenanigans to which French outfit Orgöne get up on their upcoming Heavy Psych Sounds label debut would do well to check out their 2018 live release, Anubis Rising (Live at Ubu Club 5/5/2018). It’s my first time hearing the band, and they sound like total noised-out freaks — or is that freaked-out noise? — so issuing the forthcoming Mos/Fet 2LP and bringing a bit of the weird to Heavy Psych Sounds makes sense. The PR wire lists it as their first record, but on their social media, the band notes one in 2016 called Hällo Späce Tertön and Anubis Rising (Live at Ubu Club 5/5/2018) both as “albums,” so I don’t really know what’s counting as what here. Sometimes when things get all spaced and avant-this-and-that, it happens on multiple levels and facets of existence. Dimensional planes, you know. There are a few of those around.

Album’s up for preorder and will be out on May 29. To the PR wire:

orgone mos fet

ORGÖNE – MOS/FET

Oh La La!! “MOS/FET” … what an album … 80 minutes of pure craziness: you can feel the flow of many different genres. The geniality and the genuineness of this band pop up really soon after the beginning of the first notes and riffs. There’s a background path made of prog-rock mixed with space-rock, avant garde and heavy psych. Everything is melted together with the wonderful vocals of the lead singer Olga. The french based band released four massive suites of 20 minutes each, made of different movements, this is absolutely a non-conventional debut album… that’s why HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS RECORDS was so astonished to release this incredible project. Heavy organs, synthesizers, hypnotic bass lines, gurgling, Arabian melodic lines… and much much more to discover inside this MONSTERPIECE!

2015 saw the meeting of Nick Le Cave (bass) and Marlen Stahl (guitar), veterans of numerous Indie-Rock, Free Rock and Rock In Opposition/Avant-Garde french bands. Together with Mat La Rossa on drums, they decided to create a « back to basics » rock band, in their hometown of Rennes (Brittany). This led to the birth of Orgöne in 2016, with the arrival of the wild French-Polish Olga Rostropovitch on lead voice.

Orgöne began to experiment and to explore many territories, mixing stoogian rock, noise-rock, krautrock « motorik » tracks, long impros… Those experiments led to a specific sound tainted more and more with psychedelic textures, space rock and noise elements, with progish hints.

Then in 2018, the departure of Mat La Rossa, who disagreed with the idea of long, epic tracks led to a radical but natural change : with the arrival of Allan Barbarian on drums and Tom Angelo on keyboards (both are also playing with the stoner band Djiin, who shared the stage with Orgöne), the band went almost back to zero and was then able to focus on long « Suites », with movements, in a prog-rock way, allowing the band to mix elements of tribal, arabic sounds, motorik rythms, organic space rock wall of sound and much more, in a very specific way. “MOS/FET”, their first double album, reflects all those experiments, in 80 epic minutes.

ALBUM PRESALE:
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS132

TRACKLIST:
LP
Side A : Erstes Ritual
Side B : Soviet Suit
a/ Requiem For A Dead Cosmonaut
b/ Soviet Hot Dog (Le Tombeau de Laïka)
c/ East Song
Side C : Anubis Rising
a/ Ägyptology
b/ Mothership Egypt
c/ Rhyme Of The Ancient Astronaut
Side D : Astral Fancy

DIGIPAK
1/ Erstes Ritual
2/ Soviet Suit
a/ Requiem For A Dead Cosmonaut
b/ Soviet Hot Dog (Le Tombeau de Laïka)
c/ East Song
3/ Anubis Rising
a/ Ägyptology
b/ Mothership Egypt
c/ Rhyme Of The Ancient Astronaut
4/ Astral Fancy

ORGÖNE is:
Allan Barbarian: drums & percussions, backing vocals
Nick Le Cave: bass, backing vocals
Tom Angelo: electric organ, synths, pianet t, mandolin, clarinet, recorder
Marlen Stahl: guitar, cello, violin, backing vocals
Olga Rostropovitch: lead voice

https://www.facebook.com/orgone.band/
https://orgone23.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com/
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/

Orgöne, Anubis Rising (Live at Ubu Club 5/5/2018) (2018)

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Review & Full Album Stream: Huata, Lux Initiatrix Terrae

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on November 22nd, 2018 by JJ Koczan

huata lux initiatrux terrae cover

[Click play above to stream Huata’s Lux Initiatrix Terrae in full. Album is out Nov. 23 on Sludgelord Records, Seeing Red Records and Musicfearsatan.]

Songs become grandiose riff ceremonies and the album as a whole becomes a ritual rooted in harmonized meditations and weighted progressive instrumentalism. Atmosphere is paramount. Texture is everywhere. And if it’s a ritual, then despite their penchant for donning a robe or two, France’s Huata bring a feeling of celebration to their second album, Lux Initiatrix Terrae, and that pushes beyond horror-minded cultish tropes. Those themes may be somewhere in 15-minute opener “Mythical Beast of Revelations,” to be sure, but they’re buried so deep beneath organ and the vocal work of Ronan Grall, who also handles drums and is joined in the band by guitarist/bassist Benjamin Moreau, that they’re harder to discern in the first place. The Brittany duo work primarily in longform stretches across the willfully unmanageable 68-minute runtime, with five tracks over 10 minutes long and two interludes under three, and Moreau and Grall bring in a host of outside players — presumably to contribute vocals and keys, etc. — to help them flesh out the ensuing complexity of the material. Five other names are credited: Gurvan Coulon, David Barbe, Alexis Degrenier, Laetitia Jehano, Marion Le Sollier, but as to who does what, it’s unclear.

In any case, the resulting contributions of all parties are wildly immersive, as between the bookends of “Mythical Beast of Revelations” and 16-minute closer “Third Eyed Nation,” the band unfolds a perpetually widening cascade of moods and sounds, such that the eerie organ and synth in the closer are consistent in approach with what’s preceded even as they seem to reach further into a kind of colorful abyss — Huata‘s sound too rich and too vibrant to simply conjure images of light-absent emptiness. Theirs is the proverbial shining void, and their material finds them churning this multi-hued, potent cauldron of sound with witchy glee, even as their overarching direction seems to be intent on taking them downward into it.

There’s a dichotomy there, and it’s brought to life in the recording and mix of Cyrille Gachet (Year of No Light, Chaos Echoes, The Great Old Ones), which allows for a broad reach between the Electric Wizard-gone-interstellar start of “Child of the Cosmic Mind,” samples and organ and low riffs all circling around each other in slowly building wash, but it’s elements like the tone of the guitar and bass, the compression effects on the oft-harmonized vocals and the inclusion of various keys — church organ among them and feeling particularly appropriate, given the overall aesthetic — that tie everything together and make Lux Initiatrix Terrae so fluid. The distorted heft comes and goes, but so do nearly all the other elements at work throughout, as nothing seems to be permanent or beyond the band’s reach. A slow march in “The Solar Work” picks up where “Child of the Cosmic Mind” leaves off, and might be the closest thing to a title-track present on the album, the first and last word of which are Latin for “light” and “world” and the middle which puts together ideas of beginnings and so that it’s something like light begetting the world — “The Solar Work” doesn’t seem so far off from that.

huata lux initiatrux terrae

Either way, in the second half of the 10:35 piece, the vocals give way to melodic shouts in a kind of relative apex, but by then the idea is made plain that repetition is a key part of this ritual. Huata‘s songs — reminiscent of more recent Ancestors in their vocal approach and progressive lean — are mantras. It’s not going to be about hooks or about roping the listener in with a catchy solo or sharp rhythmic turn. The three-song salvo tops 36 minutes and is an album unto itself, let alone the second LP that follows it as the 2:50 “Part I – Gathering in Sin Wur” makes its way via organ and soft guitar toward the lung-crushing weight — worthy of whatever comparisons to Slomatics or Conan or Ufomammut one might want to draw — and ranging scale-work melody of “The Golden Hordes of Kailash,” which furthers the thread of a purposeful delve into hypnotics, a post-midsection break meshing together different layers of keys in order to set the stage for a return to the nodding, lumbering push that draws the listener back into the multi-tiered wash of distortion and melody before what even after 10-plus minutes feels like a sudden stop.

The second interlude, “Part II – The IXth Arch Assembly” follows the diversionary modus of its predecessor, drifting with soft guitars and underlying keys that resolve in wistful notes ahead of the arrival of “Third Eyed Nation,” which makes its way in gradually — of course — with complementary ambience before the vocals start less than a minute in. Those expecting a grand finale after what’s already been an hour-long listen should be sated by “Third Eyed Nation,” which even in its first half seems to signal its spot as culmination of the proceedings, though after seven minutes, the drums cut out and a stretch of spoken samples and almost siren-esque synth sounds in a high frequency and others in a lower frequency take hold before guitar sneaks back in to signal the return of the tonal onslaught and the beginning of the real apex.

They get there, in other words, and frankly, if one is making the journey through Lux Initiatrix Terrae and gets as far as “Third Eyed Nation,” the expectation that Huata are going to take their time getting to where they want to go should be well ingrained. It’s hard to imagine making it across the songs otherwise, since that head-down, prog-tinged dirge vibe is so writ large and so consistent throughout the material. That’s not to say Moreau and Grall don’t make efforts to change their approach in terms of surroundings, personnel and mood, but the aspects of their sound that they carry with are what enable them to create the world that one seems to inhabit while listening. And one of Lux Initiatrix Terrae‘s greatest strengths stems from the band’s ability to put the listener in the mindset they intend, the place they intend. That world may be created by light, I don’t know, and it may certainly be chaotic, but Huata guide their audience through it with a sure hand that’s well evocative of the dogma they’ve envisioned.

Huata on Thee Facebooks

Huata on Bandcamp

Musicfearsatan on Thee Facebooks

Musicfearsatan webstore

Sludgelord Records on Thee Facebooks

Sludgelord Records on Bandcamp

Seeing Red Records on Thee Facebooks

Seeing Red Records on Bandcamp

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Brain Pyramid Stream Debut Album Chasma Hideout in its Entirety

Posted in audiObelisk on September 17th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

brain pyramid

It’s good to get the basics covered. Grooving riffs, songs about space and monsters, a Kyuss influence, some blues. French heavy rock trio Brain Pyramid hit their marks on their debut full-length, Chasma Hideout. The album will be released on Oct. 1 by Acid Cosmonaut Records, and shortly thereafter, the three-piece — guitarist/vocalist Gaston Lainé, bassist Ronan Grall and drummer Baptiste Gautier-Lorenzo — head out on a European tour to support. They’re newcomers, having formed just at the end of 2012, but as the seven tracks of Chasma Hideout demonstrate, they know what makes stoner rock go.

They have a structured but still jammy approach, as the Sabbathian beginning of “Lucifer” unfolds topped with psychedelic guitar effects swirl, and a crisply layered production that results in a fat, front-of-the-speaker kind of sound. The preceding “Landing on the Pyramind” offers bluesy bounce after the jammier open of “Living in the Outer Space” and subsequent shuffle of “Lazy,” and while “Lucifer” is about as far into doom as Brain Pyramid move, they never lose sight of the heavy psych elements at work in what they do. It’s their propensity for making these sounds cohesive that makes the album a satisfying listen — how Lainé tears into a solo just as the tempo kicks up or how Grall‘s bass subtly carries the melody of “Twin Headed Giant” — and while they’re far from reinventing the wheel sonically, they’re starting out ahead of the game by working to find a place of their own within thebrain pyramid chasma hideout style, learning the rules even as they determine which ones they want to break and how they want to go about it.

The boogie runs strong in “Into the Lightspeed” — if you’re wondering about the extra “the”s in that title and “Living in the Outer Space,” it could be a translation issue, it could be on purpose — and which incorporates some organ to go with the wah bass jam, spaced out guitar and Gautier-Lorenzo‘s thudding tom rolls. They ebb and flow and get hypnotic across that song and the 11-minute closing title-track, though it’s probably the latter that makes Chasma Hideout‘s definitive statement, pushing away from verses and choruses for a linear instrumental build based around psychedelic soundscaping early and extra-blown-out fuzz later on, Lainé shredding a head-turner of a solo before embarking on the riffing that will carry the record to its raucous conclusion, a wash of amp noise, rumble and feedback leading the way out in the last minute as Brain Pyramid make their exit on a final, fading tone.

While it’s true they still have some stuff they’re figuring out — vocals are a little high here and there, including on “Living in the Outer Space,” and there’s development to be undertaken all around — Chasma Hideout is all the more impressive considering these dudes have basically been a band for not quite two years’ time. Ahead of the aforementioned Oct. 1 release, I’m happy to be able to stream the album in full. Please find it on the player below, followed by their tour dates, and enjoy:

Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!

[TBC] Friday 10/10/14 : Le Mans
[TBC] Saturday 11/10/14
[TBC] Sunday 12/10/14
Monday 13/10/14 : Caen w/ Missingmile @ Le bocal
[TBC] Tuesday 14/10/14
Wednesday 15/10/14 : Amiens/w Cheap Wine
Thursday 16/10/14 : Lyon @ Trokson
Friday 17/10/14 : Montpellier @ Le MAT
[TBC] Saturday 18/10/14 : Perpignan/Toulouse
Sunday 19/10/14 : Barcelone @ rocksound
[TBC] Monday 20/10/14 : Valencia TBC
Tuesday 21/10//14 : Madrid @ Wurlitzer Ballroom w/Mr. Wilfried
Wednesday 22/10/14 : Ourense @ Centro Cultural Auriense
Thursday 23/10/14 : Lisboa @ Stairway Club
Friday 24/10/14 : Barcelos
Saturday 25/10/14 : Viseu @ fora de rebanho
[TBC] Sunday 26/10/14 @ Xijon
Tuesday 28/10/14 : Bilbao w/ The wizards
Wednesday 29/10/14 : Bordeaux @ Le Capharnaüm
Thursday 30/10/14 : Paris @ Le Klub
Saturday 1/11/14 : Tours @ Hurricane’s w/ Crackhouse booked
Wednesday 5/11/14 : Rennes @ Le Gazoline + Cuzo
[TBC] Thursday 6/11/14 : Alençon w/Birth of Joy
Tuesday 20/11/14 : Nantes @ Scène michelet w/ Fange

Brain Pyramid on Thee Facebooks

Acid Cosmonaut Records on Bandcamp

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Brain Pyramid to Tour Europe Next Month

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 4th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

brain pyramid

French trio Brain Pyramid seem to have recently suffered the loss of their boogie van. Yes, it looks like the “King of the Road” is going to be way too slow from here on out, and by that I mean not going anywhere because it broke down. I’m not sure what they’ll be hitting the road in to memorialize the vehicle — one imagines another, comparable van — but they’ve got another month to figure it out, with the string of Western European dates starting Oct. 10.

Their debut LP, Chasma Hideout, will be released by then on Acid Cosmonaut Records, and as you can see in the list, they’re still looking for help with a couple shows, so if you happen to be in Toulouse or Perpignan or Xijon and have a room that could use some riffs, you might want to drop them a line.

Here are the dates:

brain pyramid euro tour

Brain Pyramid was formed in November 2012, in Rennes (Brittany-France). This is the initiative of the actual lead guitarist Gaston Lainé and the drummer Baptiste Gautier-Lorenzo.

Influenced by the sweet old rock n roll (Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Sabbath, Motörhead, Blue Cheer, etc.), but also by stoner rock and actual psychedelic scene (Kyuss, Sleep, Nebula, Earthless, Orange Goblin, etc.) they decided to create a band to play like these masters.

After the release of their first EP Magic Carpet Ride, the former bassman left his place to Ronan Grall, spiritual Guru from the French Doom band Huata. Then they toured in Spain, Portugal, France, having some great gigs with bands like Blues Pills, The Atomic Bitchwax, Prisma Circus, Cuzo, Fungus…

Brain Pyramid is a Heavy Bluesy Stoner Psychedelic Rock And Roll band. They play loud enough to make you feel like blown by a LSD dose. They are actually searching for lots of gigs to expend their experience and grow up to the sun.

[TBC] Friday 10/10/14 : Le Mans
[TBC] Saturday 11/10/14
[TBC] Sunday 12/10/14
Monday 13/10/14 : Caen w/ Missingmile @ Le bocal
[TBC] Tuesday 14/10/14
Wednesday 15/10/14 : Amiens/w Cheap Wine
Thursday 16/10/14 : Lyon @ Trokson
Friday 17/10/14 : Montpellier @ Le MAT
[TBC] Saturday 18/10/14 : Perpignan/Toulouse
Sunday 19/10/14 : Barcelone @ rocksound
[TBC] Monday 20/10/14 : Valencia TBC
Tuesday 21/10//14 : Madrid @ Wurlitzer Ballroom w/Mr. Wilfried
Wednesday 22/10/14 : Ourense @ Centro Cultural Auriense
Thursday 23/10/14 : Lisboa @ Stairway Club
Friday 24/10/14 : Barcelos
Saturday 25/10/14 : Viseu @ fora de rebanho
[TBC] Sunday 26/10/14 @ Xijon
Tuesday 28/10/14 : Bilbao w/ The wizards
Wednesday 29/10/14 : Bordeaux @ Le Capharnaüm
Thursday 30/10/14 : Paris @ Le Klub
Saturday 1/11/14 : Tours @ Hurricane’s w/ Crackhouse booked
Wednesday 5/11/14 : Rennes @ Le Gazoline + Cuzo
[TBC] Thursday 6/11/14 : Alençon w/Birth of Joy
Tuesday 20/11/14 : Nantes @ Scène michelet w/ Fange

https://acidcosmonautrecords.bandcamp.com/album/chasma-hideout
https://www.facebook.com/acid.cosmonaut
https://www.facebook.com/brainpyramid

Brain Pyramid, “Living in the Outer Space”

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