Posted in Radio on September 4th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
I guess the last couple episodes I’ve been trying to mix up the approach a little, pull back from starting off with rock tracks, then getting heavy, then tripping out. It was feeling a little formulaic, maybe. Not that we didn’t trip out at the end last time, but I pushed a block of noise up front and that was different at least. This time I’m pulling back from just doing new music and throwing in some older stuff that’s just been on my brain. Some Elder, some Mars Red Sky, and mixing that in with Neurosis and Isis and new Bitchwax and a few bands from Latvia just because I found them all at the same time and figured I’d present them the same way.
Simple change, right? I don’t know about you but I get locked into modes of doing things — even the format of these posts carries over from one to the next — and every now and then I want to shift how it’s done. Not so much to take myself out of my own comfort zone — heaven forbid — but mostly so I can tell myself I’m not completely compulsive about everything even though, yes, I very much am. Whatever. You know what I’m saying.
I hope you enjoy the show.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 09.04.20
Elder
Dead Roots Stirring
Dead Roots Stirring
Mars Red Sky
Way to Rome
Mars Red Sky
Saturndust
Saturn 12.c
Saturndust
VT
Saturn’s Husk
Black Nebula
The Conduit*
VVZ
Dzeguze
>>z*
Zintnieks
Tumsais Zintnieks
Demo Ieraksti
Acid Moon and the Pregnant Sun
Creatures of the Abyss
Speakin’ of the Devil
Pelican
March into the Sea
March into the Sea
Mos Generator
Stolen Ages
Shadowlands
Floor
Sister Sophia
Oblation
The Atomic Bitchwax
Scorpio
Scorpio
VT
Isis
False Light
Oceanic
Neurosis
Reach
Fires Within Fires
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Sept. 25 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
It turns out that, yes indeed, I will be able to add another day to the Quarterly Review this coming Monday. Stoked on that. Means I’ll be trying to cram another 10 reviews into this coming weekend, but that’s not exactly a hardship as I see it, and the stuff I have picked out for it is, frankly, as much of a bonus for me as it could possibly be for anyone else, so yeah, look out for that. In the meantime, we wrap the Monday-to-Friday span of 50 records today with another swath of what’s basically me doing favors for my ears, and I hope as always for yours as well. Let’s dig in.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
Ecstatic Vision, Raw Rock Fury
Hard touring and a blistering debut in 2015’s Sonic Praise (review here) quickly positioned Ecstatic Vision at the forefront of a Philadelphia-based mini-boom in heavy psych (see also: Ruby the Hatchet, Meddlesome Meddlesome Meddlsome Bells, and so on), and their Relapse-issued follow-up, Raw Rock Fury, only delves further into unmitigated cosmic swirl and space-rocking crotchal thrust. The now-foursome keep a steady ground in percussion and low end even as guitar, sax, synth and echoing vocals seem to push ever more far-out, and across the record’s four tracks – variously broken up across two sides – the band continue to stake out their claim on the righteously psychedelic, be it in the all-go momentum building of “You Got it (Or You Don’t)” or the more drifting opening movement of closer “Twinkling Eye.” Shit is trippy, son. With the echoing-from-the-depths shouts of Doug Sabolik cutting through, there’s still an edge of Eastern Seaboard intensity to Ecstatic Vision, but that only seems to make Raw Rock Fury live up to its title all the more. Still lots of potential here, but it’ll be their third record that tells the tale of whether they can truly conquer space itself.
Issued through Brutal Panda, Too Many Winters is the second full-length from Portland five-piece Norska, and its six tracks/48 minutes would seem to pick up where Rwake left off in presenting a progressive vision of what might be called post-sludge. Following an engaging 2011 self-titled debut, songs like the title-track and “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” churn and careen through Sourvein-style abrasion, vaguely Neurosis-style nod and, in the case of the latter or closer “Fire Patience Backbone,” soundscaping minimalism that, in the finale, is bookended by some of the record’s most intense push following opener “Samhain” and the subsequent “Eostre.” That salvo starts Too Many Winters with a deceptive amount of thrust, but even there atmosphere is central as it is to the outing as a whole, and a penultimate interlude in the 2:22 “Wave of Regrets” does well to underscore the point before the fading-in initial onslaught of “Fire Patience Backbone.” Having Aaron Rieseberg of YOB in the lineup with Jim Lowder, Dustin Rieseberg, Rob Shaffer and Jason Oswald no doubt draws eyes their way, but Norska’s sonic persona is distinct, immersive and individualized enough to stand on its own well beyond that pedigree.
Think about the two choices. You are Not the Ocean You are the Patient. Isn’t it the difference between something acting – i.e., an object – and something acted upon – i.e., a subject? As British Columbian heavy rockers Bison return after half a decade via Pelagic Records, their fourth album seems to find them trying to push beyond genre lines into a broader scope. “Until the Earth is Empty,” “Drunkard,” “Anti War” and “Raiigin” still have plenty of thrust, but the mood here is darker even than 2012’s Lovelessness found the four-piece, and “Tantrum” and closer “The Water Becomes Fire” bring out a more methodical take. It’s been 10 years since Bison issued their debut Earthbound EP and signed to Metal Blade for 2008’s Quiet Earth, and the pre-Red Fang party-ready heavy rock of those early works is long gone – one smiles to remember “These are My Dress Clothes” in the context of noise-rocking centerpiece “Kenopsia” here, the title of which refers to the emptiness of a formerly occupied space – but if the choice Bison are making is to place themselves on one side or the other of the subject/object divide, they prove to be way more ocean than patient in these songs.
With its churning, swirling waves of cosmic death, one almost expects Valborg’s Endstrand (on Lupus Lounge/Prophecy Productions) to be more self-indulgent than it is, but one of the German trio’s greatest assets across the 13-track/44-minute span of their sixth album is its immediacy. The longest song, “Stossfront,” doesn’t touch five minutes, and from the 2:14 opener “Jagen” onward, Valborg reenvision punk rock as a monstrous, consuming beast on songs like “Blut am Eisen,” “Beerdigungsmaschine,” “Alter,” “Atompetze” and closer “Exodus,” all the while meting put punishment after punishment of memorable post-industrial riffing on “Orbitalwaffe,” the crashing “Ave Maria” and the noise-soaked penultimate “Strahlung,” foreboding creeper atmospherics on “Bunkerluft” and “Geisterwürde,” and landmark, perfectly-paced chug on “Plasmabrand.” Extreme in its intent and impact, Endstrand brings rare clarity to an anti-genre vision of brutality as an art form, and at any given moment, its militaristic threat feels real, sincere and like an appropriate and righteous comment on the terrors of our age. Fucking a.
Probably fair to call the current status of German post-doomers Obelyskkh in flux following the departure of guitarist Stuart West, but the band has said they’ll keep going and their fourth album, The Providence (on Exile on Mainstream) finds them capping one stage of their tenure with a decidedly forward-looking perspective. Its six-song/56-minute run borders on unmanageable, but that’s clearly the intent, and an air of proggy weirdness infects The Providence from the midsection of its opening title-track onward as the band – West, guitarist/vocalist Woitek Broslowski, bassist Seb Fischer and drummer Steve Paradise – tackle King Crimson rhythmic nuance en route to an effects-swirling vision of Lovecraftian doomadelia and massive roll. Cuts like “Raving Ones” and 13-minute side B leadoff “NYX” play out with a similarly deceptive multifaceted vibe, and by the time the penultimate “Aeons of Iconoclasm” bursts outward from its first half’s spacious minimalism into all-out High on Fire thrust ahead of the distortion-soaked churn of closer “Marzanna” – which ends, appropriately, with laughter topping residual effects noise – Obelyskkh make it abundantly clear anything goes. The most impressive aspect of The Providence is that Obelyskkh manage to control all this crunching chaos, and one hopes that as they continue forward, they’ll hold firm to that underlying consciousness.
Former Mayhem/Aura Noir guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Ericksen leads breadth-minded Portuguese four-piece Earth Electric, and their devil-in-the-details Season of Mist debut, Vol. 1: Solar, runs a prog-metal gamut across a tightly-woven nine tracks and 35 minutes, Ericksen’s vocals and those of Carmen Susana Simões (Moonspell, ex-Ava Inferi) intertwine fluidly at the forefront of sharply angular riffing and rhythmic turns from bassist Alexandre Ribeiro and drummer Ricardo Martins. The organ-laced push of “Meditate Meditate” and “Solar” and the keyboard flourish of “Earthrise” (contributed by Dan Knight) draw as much from classic rock as metal, but the brew Earth Electric crafts from them is potent and very much the band’s own. “The Great Vast” and the shorter “Set Sail (Towards the Sun)” set up a direct flow into the title cut, and as one returns to Earth Electric for repeat listens, the actual scope of the album and the potential for how the band might continue to develop are likewise expansive, despite its many pulls into torrents of head-down riffing. Almost intimidating in its refusal to bow to genre.
After debuting in 2014 with I (review here), Toronto’s Olde return via STB Records with Temple, proffering sludge-via-doom vibes and a center of weighted tonality around which the rest of their aesthetic would seem to be built, vocalist Doug McLarty’s throaty growls alternately cutting through and buried by the riffs of guitarists Greg Dawson (also production) and Chris “Hippy” Hughes, the bass of Cory McCallum and the rolling crashes of drummer Ryan Aubin (also of Sons of Otis) on tightly constructed pieces like “Now I See You” and the tempo-shifting “Centrifugal Disaster,” which reminds by its finish that sometimes all you need is nod. Olde have more to offer than just that, of course, as the plodding spaciousness of “The Ghost Narrative” and the lumbering “Maelstrom” demonstrate, but even in the turns between crush and more open spaces of the centerpiece title-track and the drifting post-heavy rock of closer “Castaway,” the underlying focus is on capital-‘h’ Heavy, and Olde wield it as only experts can.
Based in Athens and self-releasing their debut album, Alarm, in multiple vinyl editions, the four-piece of Panos Gklinos, Dimitris Sakellariou, Antonis Mantakas and George Diathesopoulos – collectively known as Deaf Radio – make no bones about operating in the post-Queens of the Stone Age/Them Crooked Vultures sphere of heavy rock. To their credit, the songwriting throughout “Aggravation,” “Vultures and Killers” and the careening “Revolving Doors” lives up to that standard, and though even the later “Oceanic Feeling” seems to be informed by the methods of Josh Homme, there’s a melodic identity there that belongs more to Deaf Radio as well, and keeping Alarm in mind as their first long-player, it’s that identity that one hopes the band will continue to develop. Rounding out side B with the howling guitar and Rated R fuzz of the six-minute “…And We Just Pressed the Alarm Button,” Deaf Radio build to a suitable payoff for the nine-track outing and affirm the aesthetic foundation they’ve laid for themselves.
The further you go into Saturndust’s 58-minute second LP RLC, the more there is to find. At any given moment, the São Paulo, Brazil-based outfit can be playing to impulses ranging from proggy space rock, righteously doomed tonal heft, aggressive blackened thrust or spacious post-sludge – in one song. Over longform cuts like “Negative-Parallel Dimensional,” “RLC,” “Time Lapse of Existence” and closer “Saturn 12.C,” the trio cast a wide-enough swath to be not quite genreless but genuinely multi-tiered and not necessarily as disjointed as one might expect in their feel, and though when they want to, they roll out massive, lumbering riffs, that’s only one tool in a full arsenal at their apparent disposal. What tie RLC together are the sure hands of guitarist/vocalist Felipe Dalam, bassist Guilherme Cabral and drummer Douglas Oliveira guiding it, so that when the galloping-triplet chug of “Time Lapse of Existence” hits, it works as much in contrast to the synth-loaded “Titan” preceding as in conjunction with it. Rather than summarize, “Saturn 12.C” pushes far out on a wash of Dalam’s keyboards before a wide-stomping apex, seeming to take Saturndust to their farthest point beyond the stratosphere yet. Safe travels and many happy returns.
Massachusetts doomers Birnam Wood have two prior EPs under their collective belt in 2015’s Warlord and a 2014 self-titled, but the two-songer single Triumph of Death (kudos on the Hellhammer reference) is my first exposure to their blend of modern progressive metal melody and traditional doom. They roll out both in able fashion on the single’s uptempo opening title-track and follow with the Black–Sabbath-“Black-Sabbath” sparse notemaking early in their own “Birnam Wood.” All told, Triumph of Death is only a little over nine minutes long, but it makes for an encouraging sampling of Birnam Wood’s wares all the same, and as Dylan Edwards, Adam McGrath, Shaun Anzalone and Matt Wagner shift into faster swing circa the eponymous tune’s solo-topped midpoint, they do so with a genuine sense of homage that does little to take away from the sense of individuality they’ve brought to the style even in this brief context. They call it stoner metal, and there’s something to that, but if we’re going on relative balance, Triumph of Death is more doom-stoner than stoner-doom, and it revels within that niche-within-a-niche-within-a-niche sensibility.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 18th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Hey, if you’re going to go broke, let’s face it: You’re not likely to run into many causes as worthy as the lineup culled together for Psycho Las Vegas. It ain’t cheap — any event that advertises a payment plan obviously knows it’s a considerable ask — but whether you’re going to see Slo Burn for their only US gig or King Diamond doing Abigailor Mulatu Astatke because going to see Mulatu Astatke is a life-event, the arguments in favor are plentiful and convincing. Whatever else you want to say, Psycho Las Vegas is the first annually-held American festival with a focus on heavy and underground rock to really establish itself as world class.
That in itself is a reason to support the cause, whether it’s through a day ticket or a pass for the entire weekend, but it doesn’t necessarily lesson the expense of making the trip or staying in one of the US’ most lucrative tourist traps, let alone things like band merchandise, meals and the occasional adult beverage if you’re inclined to have one. The thought of seeing Neurosis, Sleep and Carcass share a stage over the course of a weekend or watching Conan, the new trio-incarnation of Pentagram and Yawning Man poolside or from the balcony of a room in the Casino Tower is incredible, and after hearing stories from those who undertook the journey in 2016 or attended the prior Psycho California in 2015, the idea wants nothing for appeal. Fiscal issues can be a bummer. By the time August rolls around, I’ll have been out of paid work for two months. I know how it goes.
And I’m hardly the most responsible person when it comes to money, but the truth of the matter is there are ways to mitigate costs for travel, lodging and other concerns, and if the thing preventing you from picking up a ticket to the show has been the seeming impossibility of affording a stay at the Hard Rock or of finding a cheap-enough flight to get there, maybe it’s worth trying to shift finances around to make it happen. Music is important, and when debt collectors are spamming your phone it’s hard to think about the non-cash value of life experiences, but the fact is the bills you need to pay will still be there. The bill with Corrosion of Conformity in a lineup alongside Kylesa‘s Laura Pleasants, Domkraft, Swans, Elephant Tree and Heavy Temple? Much less so.
Here are a few pointers that hopefully can save you a couple bucks. Some of it’s day-one stuff, but things like hotel picks and transportation nuances are good to know either way.
Check it out:
Flying In • Buy tickets on a Tuesday for the cheapest rates. • Use a discount flight search. • If you can, fly in on Thursday and leave on Monday for better rates, search different days and times to come in and leave. • Book early. Rates go up in the summer.
Getting There • Ride apps cost less than cabs. • The Hard Rock is less than a mile from the airport. Cheap trip anyway. • There are free shuttles from most Vegas hotels to the strip and tourist attractions.
Staying There • This one is huge… don’t stay at the Hard Rock if you can’t afford it! Alexis Park, RUMOR, Red Roof Inn are all across the street and cheap. Scope out a position on a map if you need to; that’s what Street View is there for. • Partner up to share rooms. You’ve got social media and it’s not like you’re going to do more than sleep and (hopefully) shower there anyway. Might as well join forces and save expense where you can.
Drinks • BYO. Vegas has open-container laws. If you think hooch is too expensive at the Hard Rock, get loaded on the sidewalk before you go in. • One way or another, hydrate. You’re staying in the desert in August. Don’t be stupid.
Psycho Las Vegas 2017 Lineup Abbath, Ace Frehley, Black Anvil, Blood Ceremony, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Buzzov*en, Carcass, Celeste, Chelsea Wolfe, Cirith Ungol, Cloud Catcher, Code Orange, Conan, Corrosion of Conformity, Cough, Cult Leader, Cult Of Luna With Julie Christmas Diamond Head, Domkraft, Earthless, Elephant Tree, Eternal Tapestry, Fister, Floorian, Gatecreeper, GEQ, Gojira, Gost, Graf Orlock, Heavy Temple, Hollow Leg, Inter Arma, Khemmis, King Diamond, Laura Pleasants & Special Guests, Magma, Manilla Road, Merlin, Minsk, Morne, Mothership, Mouth of the Architect, Mulatu Astatke, Murder City Devils, Mustard Gas & Roses, Myrkur, Neurosis, North, Oathbreaker, Pelican, Pentagram, Psychic TV, The Rods, Ruby the Hatchet, Sasquatch, Saturndust, Sleep, Slo Burn, Slomatics, Snail, Sons of Otis, Sumac, Summoner, Swans, The Skull, Toke, Urchin, Usnea, Vhol, Weedeater, Windhand, Wizard Rifle, Wolves in the Throne Room, Yawning Man, Year of the Cobra, Youngblood Supercult, Zeal & Ardor.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 28th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
The Psycho Las Vegas lineup wasn’t exactly lacking in ‘holy shit’-factor before, but, uh… holy shit. The poster below is so god damned packed it’s got me wondering if they’re going to sneak in an extra day to fit it all. Well, I guess they are if you count the pre-party — a fest unto itself with the additions of Ruby the Hatchet, Sasquatch, Conan, Yawning Man and Great Electric Quest — but to see acts like Earthless, Corrosion of Conformity, Diamondhead, Laura Pleasants of Kylesa, Mothership, Saturndust, Heavy Temple, Toke and so many others added to the bill for the fest proper, it borders on the overwhelming. Sons of Otis? Year of the Cobra? Eternal Tapestry? I take back that part about “borders on.” Shit’s giving me the vapors.
Swoon.
Blah blah blah tickets, blah blah blah on sale, blah blah blah how much you don’t need me to tell you this is probably the best heavy lineup the US has ever seen. Also Ace Frehley will be there.
Full lineup follows:
Psycho Las Vegas 2017
-CONFIRMED LINEUP- KING DIAMOND (USA 2017 Exclusive) THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE ACE FREHLEY GOJIRA SWANS NEUROSIS MAGMA SLEEP MELVINS CARCASS MURDER CITY DEVILS CORROSION OF CONFORMITY SLO BURN DIAMONDHEAD CIRITH UNGOL ABBATH CHELSEA WOLFE CULT OF LUNA WITH JULIE CHRISTMAS WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM MULATU ASATKE PSYCHIC TV EARTHLESS SUMAC MANILLA ROAD CELESTE WINDHAND PELICAN BLOOD CEREMONY CODE ORANGE WEEDEATER MINSK COUGH VHOL ZEAL & ARDOR OATHBREAKER MYRKUR BUZZOV-EN THE SKULL INTER ARMA SLOMATICS GOST YOUNG AND IN THE WAY GATECREEPER MOTHERSHIP CULT LEADER LAURA PLEASANTS & SPECIAL GUESTS MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT SONS OF OTIS SNAIL MORNE DOMKRAFT KHEMMIS ETERNAL TAPESTRY JEX THOTH FISTER NORTH WIZARD RIFLE USNEA ROYAL THUNDER YOUNGBLOOD SUPERCULT TOKE SATURNDUST HEAVY TEMPLE SUMMONER BLACK ANVIL FLOORIAN HOLLOW LEG YEAR OF THE COBRA MERLIN ELEPHANT TREE CLOUD CATCHER
PSYCHO PRE-PARTY: PENTAGRAM CONAN YAWNING MAN SASQUATCH MUSTARD GAS & ROSES GRAF ORLOCK RUBY THE HATCHET URCHIN GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST
Psycho Las Vegas 2017 is set for Aug. 18-20 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Tickets are available athttps://www.vivapsycho.com
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 12th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
In what can only be called a natural extension of the impulse to spread quality music, Abraxas Events announces a new label venture in the form of Abraxas Records. For the last three years, brothers Felipe Toscano and Rodrigo Toscano have worked under the Abraxas banner to bring outside acts to Brazil and wider South America, and from Mars Red Sky to Stoned Jesus to Kadavar the recently-announced March 2017 run for Samsara Blues Experiment (info here), they’ve been wildly successful. My understanding is that Radio Moscow‘s first South American tour has already become something of a legend.
When Mars Red Sky couldn’t get into the US in 2014 and wound up recording their second album, Stranded in Arcadia (review here), in Rio at Estudio Superfuzz with Gabriel Zander, that was coordinated through Zander‘s partnership with Abraxas. In fact, the company has handled logistics for multiple Superfuzz recordings, and as Abraxas Records comes together, they seem to be keeping that relationship as a central feature of what they have to offer.
The key switch? Where Abraxas Events is known for bringing bands in, Abraxas Records seems more immediately geared toward spreading South American and particularly Brazilian acts to the world at large (it’s worth noting that anyone the company books from elsewhere is usually paired with choice locals as well, so not like they weren’t promoting South American acts before). And they’re not exactly starting off light. First release is from boogie rockers Necro, who today unveil the album art for their third full-length, Adiante, which will be out through Abraxas Records on Dec. 20.
That’s hardly the end of the story. The label has also picked up Saturndust, Fuzzly, Son of a Witch, Anjo Gabriel, Monster Coyote, and The Muddy Brothers. Seven bands on day one. Hard not to be impressed by the ambition, and given the quality of work Abraxas has done up to now, I look forward to this next phase and wish good luck to the Toscano brothers. Like my nation’s vice president once said, “This is a big fuckin’ deal.”
As it should be, there’s a lot of audio linked below, but you’ll also find the details of the label’s formation and background, as well as two new tracks from Necro, whose album will be streaming here one week from today in full.
Dig it:
Abraxas Label Announcement – Necro New Album Release – Artwork Revealed
After 3 years booking tours in South America for international bands like Radio Moscow, Mars Red Sky, Kadavar and Stoned Jesus, just to name a few, and also actively promoting the Brazilian heavy rock scene, Abraxas officially announce a new record label branch.
“Although we have already recorded and released a lot of albums of Brazilian bands in the past years, we have never considered ourselves a proper label, more like a booking agency and event planning company (what is in fact what we do the most), but now it’s time to formalize this other aspect as well.” explains Felipe Toscano, founder of Abraxas with his brother Rodrigo.
The label’s first release will be Necro’s third studio album named “Adiante”. Now singing in Portuguese, the band had a substantial creativity boost, as it is much easier to create complex and interesting lyric structures in their mother language, not to mention the rhythm parts that have gotten even better due to such smart change.
São Paulo band Saturndust will be another solid name in the label’s roster. Their first album (https://saturndust.bandcamp.com/ – LP released by Helmet Lady Records) was recorded by the Abraxas brothers and Gabriel Zander at Superfuzz studio in Rio de Janeiro back in September 2014, and the hazy doom trio had just finished recordings of their second work, release due March 2017.
“All bands in the label are long time friends and have supported and worked with us several times since the beginning of Abraxas. Actually, some of them have already been produced/recorded at Superfuzz in our partnership with Zander, like Saturndust and Son of a Witch (https://sonofawitch666.bandcamp.com/ – LP released by Kozmic Artifactz) and I think all of them have opened for a foreign headliner at least once in the tours and gigs we have organized”, Felipe highlights.
From Psychedelic Prog to Sludge Metal, Abraxas aim to erect a milestone in Brazilian rock scene, and as from December 19 all of those bands will be strategically delivered by ONErpm. For physical needs, Abraxas plans the launch of the e-commerce with CDs, LPs, t-shirts and many more stuff by April 2017.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 9th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Well that didn’t take long. Brazilian trio Saturndust released their self-titled debut album on Jan. 26 — the song “Realm of Nothing” was included in the latest podcast — and today word came down that the São Paulo unit have signed a deal with Nashville newcomer Helmet Lady Records to release it on vinyl. Pretty indicative of a good reception when your record gets snagged for a physical pressing in about two weeks’ time. Cheers to Saturndust, who recorded at Estudio Superfuzz, which was where Mars Red Sky also did last year’s Stranded in Arcadia, and to Helmet Lady on the cool pickup.
If you haven’t heard the record yet, the full stream from Saturndust‘s Bandcamp is below:
HLR Announces Signing of Saturndust
We are extremely excited that Brazilian space/stoner/doom trio Saturndust has joined the HLR family!
This is an album we fell in love with right away and knew we wanted to get out on vinyl in a special, limited release. The album is full of nasty, crushing doom coupled expertly around a backdrop of space psych and cosmic tone. It’s a stunning embodiment of what Helmet Lady Records cherishes in the heavy music and art realm, and we know that you will love it, too!
Keep your eyes peeled for release particulars and pressing information, but until then, please head over to the Saturndust bandcamp and enjoy the heck out of these wonderful tracks.
Bio:
This year, Saturndust enters the void to give life to the first full-length. After months of a negative phase, they are ready to drop their self-titled album, until now the deepest experience.
‘Saturndust’ transmutes the weight of the asteroids into the magnitude of the riffs, explosive grooves, and bleak vocals that absorbs you to unknown realms of the deep space and in your mind. The 6 tracks show how the human is weak and small, closer to it’s own discoveries and the infinity of the cosmos.
With a different perspective than the previous work, ‘Gravitation Of A Hollow Body’ opens the album with an astonishing doom-heaviness, ‘All Transmissions Have Been Lost’ ascends calmly between it’s parts, until decay in bitterness. The side-B begins with ‘Hyperion’ which explores the melodies and more crushing cadenced riffage. There is no god in this journey to beyond.
I’m happy to report that of all the podcasts I’ve ever put together, front to back, I think this one came together the smoothest. No programs crashed, no uploads were interrupted halfway through. Unless I click “Publish” and the internet eats this entire site, it’s safe to say this was the easiest time I’ve had putting together a collection of tracks to be featured here. Could it be I’m getting better at it? Nah. Dumb luck all the way. As I recall, last time I said something of the sort, the next month my editing software crapped out and it was a year before I got another program that worked. You’d think I might learn to keep my mouth shut.
Keeping current with this month was something of a concern. It’s hard to fill out 2015 releases since we’re only a month into the year, but even if some of this stuff is 2014, it’s later 2014 for sure, and the vast majority of it did wind up being 2015. The second hour, which has become a sort of psych blissout over the last however-many podcasts, actually gets pretty heavy and doomed this time around. Change is good for the soul. As always, hope you enjoy:
First Hour:
Torche, “Loose Men” from Restarter
Bloodcow, “Crystals and Lasers” from Crystals and Lasers
Elder, “Compendium” from Lore
Lacertilia, “Do Something!” from Crashing into the Future
Ruby the Hatchet, “Tomorrow Never Comes” from Valley of the Snake
Carpet, “Riot Kiss” from Riot Kiss 7”
Black Moon Circle, “Supernova” from Andromeda
Desert Storm, “House of Salvation” from Omniscient
Spidergawd, “Fixing to Die Blues” from Spidergawd II
Bellringer, “Von Fledermaus” from EP
Romero, “Gold for the Hunt” from Gold for the Hunt Single
Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, “Lava” from Brothers of the Sonic Cloth
Second Hour:
Sumac, “Blight’s End Angel” from The Deal
Horsehunter, “Stoned to Death” from Caged in Flesh
The Devil and the Almighty Blues, “Storm Coming Down” from The Devil and the Almighty Blues
Saturndust, “Realm of Nothing” from Saturndust
Sonny Simmons & Moksha Samnyasin, “We are Entering a Place of That” from Nomadic
