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

Quarterly Review: Ocean Chief, Barnabus, Helen Money, Elder Druid, Mindcrawler, Temple of Void, Lunar Swamp, Huge Molasses Tank Explodes, Emile, Saturno Grooves

Posted in Reviews on March 27th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

quarterly review

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

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.

Ocean Chief on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records store

 

Barnabus, Beginning to Unwind

barnabus beginning to unwind

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.

Barnabus on Thee Facebooks

Rise Above Relics store

 

Helen Money, Atomic

helen money atomic

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.

Helen Money on Thee Facebooks

Thrill Jockey Records store

 

Elder Druid, Golgotha

elder druid golgotha

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.

Elder Druid on Thee Facebooks

Elder Druid on Bandcamp

 

Mindcrawler, Lost Orbiter

mindcrawler lost orbiter

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.

Mindcrawler on Thee Facebook

Mindcrawler on Bandcamp

 

Temple of Void, The World That Was

Temple of Void The World that Was

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.

Temple of Void on Thee Facebooks

Shadow Kingdom Records store

 

Lunar Swamp, Shamanic Owl

Lunar Swamp Shamanic Owl

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.

Lunar Swamp on Thee Facebooks

Lunar Swamp on Bandcamp

 

Huge Molasses Tank Explodes, II

Huge Molasses Tank Explodes II

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.

Huge Molasses Tank Explodes on Thee Facebooks

Retro Vox Records on Bandcamp

 

Emile, The Black Spider/Det Kollektive Selvmord

Emile The Black Spider Det Kollektive Selvmord

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.

Emile on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds store

 

Saturno Grooves, Cosmic Echoes

saturno grooves cosmic echoes

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.

Saturno Groove on Thee Facebooks

LSDR Records store

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio Playlist: Episode 29

Posted in Radio on March 6th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk show banner

Everything here is new. All of it. I didn’t do a classic track or anything like that. Just straight up new music. This playlist originally started coming together before I did the last episode, and I wound up scrapping it and going with the Reed Mullin tribute instead. Certainly no regrets there, but it’s not like I didn’t want to play new Candlemass, so here it is a couple weeks later.

So everything is new. Some of it is instrumental. Cegvera, Kanaan, Saturno Grooves and Kungens Män at least, and if I think a full two-hour show with 13 songs might be the fewest I’ve ever done, which means that, on average, these are the longest songs. Whatever. I thought the show hit a good flow with some rocking stuff early in new Geezer and the Maryland doom of Galactic Cross, gets super-heavy for a minute and then trips out, but whatever. If you don’t agree, don’t listen I guess. I don’t get ratings figures or anything, but I don’t imagine I’m busting the doors down at Gimme Radio every Friday at 5PM.  I know that’s drive-time, but do the ancient ways of broadcast timeslots still apply when people are using apps to hear it? Rest assured, I have no idea.

Either way, thanks if you can listen. Sorry to be a bother if you can’t. If you want to look at this is as a list of bands I think you should check out, then fine. I ain’t trying to sell anyone anything, but of course appreciate your support.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today at http://gimmeradio.com

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 03.06.20

Geezer Dig Groovy*
Galactic Cross Spellbound Galactic Cross*
Candlemass The Pendulum The Pendulum*
DOOL Sulfur & Starlight Summerland*
BREAK
Cegvera Red Swarm Beyond The Sixth Glare*
Dwaal Like Rats Gospel of the Vile*
Voidlurker Rotten Seed Industrial Nightmare*
Ryte Monoilth Ryte*
BREAK
Kanaan Seemingly Changeless Stars Odense Sessions*
Saturno Grooves Forever Zero Cosmic Echoes*
Foot Green Embers The Balance of Nature Shifted*
Humulus Hajra The Deep*
BREAK
Kungens Män Trappmusik Trappmusik*

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is March 20 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Radio website

The Obelisk on Thee Facebooks

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturno Grooves Release New Album Cosmic Echoes

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 3rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan

It’s one thing to say your record is inspired by making a cosmic connection, being one with the universe, higher plane of existence and all that kind of stuff. It’s another thing to do that and put your record up as a name-your-price download. I know everybody’s gotta make a buck, but it gives all that universal spiritualism a little more edge when you’re saying, “here I made a thing, take it.” Just a tip.

Saturno Grooves from Durango, Mexico, released their new full-length Cosmic Echoes yesterday as a choice bit of name-your-price riffery in affiliation with LSDR Records. It’s their second long-player behind 2018’s Solar Hawk, and after a bit of driving, forward-directed groove in “Fire Dome,” it dives into a bit of fuzz bliss in “Forever Zero” before going post-Elder prog in “Cosmic Echoes” and the extra-shimmery “Celestial Tunnel,” then drones and acoustics through “Blind Faith” in order to blindside with the crunch of “Dark Matter.” All told, you’ve got six tracks/31 dynamic, pretense-free minutes of spacious heavy to soak your head. Plus it’s a bargain.

Here’s hoping they do a CD at some point:

saturno grooves cosmic echoes

Saturno Grooves – Cosmic Echoes

Cosmic Echoes is inspired by the human connection with the cosmos, its attempt to know and understand its nature, the use of psychedelics as a bridge of communication, all reflected in six compositions based on improvisation exploring different styles and addressing different themes, which in turn they intertwine the close relationship between the higher self and the universe.

Saturno Grooves is a Mexican band formed in Durango in early 2013 by Oscar Cisneros on bass, José Peyro on guitar and Adolfo Solís on drums. The band was born thanks to the common interest of its members to explore psychedelic sounds and develop them within instrumental rock.

In May 2018 comes to light Solar Hawk through LSDR Records composed of six themes inspired by discourses and nature-related events translated into ancient mythologies and urban legends, which in turn are reflected in the continuous exploration of sounds under the influence of psychoactives. This material has been the work of compositions that through 2016 and 2017 were restructured and modified giving this result, is music in order to be enjoyed with high volume and away from distractions.

Tracklisting
1. Fire Dome 05:04
2. Forever Zero 07:15
3. Cosmic Echoes 08:10
4. Celestial Tunnel 07:25
5. Blind Faith 01:45
6. Dark Matter 02:06

All music by Saturno Grooves.
Lyrics: José Peyro, Oscar Cisneros.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by KB in Testa Estudio
León, Gto. México. Jan. 19-20 2020.

Saturno Grooves are:
Adolfo Solis – Drums, Vocals and Acoustic Guitar in “Blind Faith”
José Peyro – Guitars, Vocals
Oscar Cisneros – Bass

https://www.facebook.com/saturno.grooves
https://www.instagram.com/saturnogrooves/
https://saturnogrooves.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/lsdrrecords/
https://lsdr.bandcamp.com/
https://www.storenvy.com/stores/823500-lsdr-records-distro

Saturno Grooves, Cosmic Echoes (2020)

Tags: , , , , ,

Review & Full Album Premiere: Saturno Grooves, Solar Hawk

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on May 21st, 2018 by JJ Koczan

saturno grooves solar hawk

[Click play above for the premiere of Saturno Grooves’ Solar Hawk, out in June via L.S.D.R. Records]

Some albums work better on vinyl or tape, with that split down the (roughly) middle, and some work better on CD or digital, where you can listen straight through in one sitting with no interruption to the process. Saturno Grooves‘ debut full-length, Solar Hawk, arrives via L.S.D.R. Records as a record that feels designed to go either way and still not lose its grasp on the listener. With a split between its first three and second three tracks, it allows one to pause for a second and catch their breath before immersing in the broader explorations to come that the six-minute-on-the-dot “Cherna Bong” sets up at the end of side A.

In a linear format, with no break in the six-track/34-minute run, Solar Hawk unfolds gracefully and sets up its flow early on the shorter opening duo “Beaumont” (3:24) and “Seven Hills” (4:20) before “Cherna Bong,” the title-track (6:22), “White Sand” (7:42) and closer “Red Sun Arising” (6:56) push further outward into a heavy desert psychedelia that seems as much about the Durango, Mexico-based trio’s enjoyment of the trip as the audience’s experience of the results. Guitarist José Peyro, bassist Oscar Cisneros and drummer Adolfo Solís make no claim that I’ve seen of their debut being a concept album — they seem to cite a variety of cultural and thematic influences — but the fluidity with which they loose their material speaks to a certain wholeness just the same.

That turns out to be a strength particularly when taking the album in one single dose: by the time the rolling apex of “White Sand” seems to provide the album’s culmination, the rest of Solar Hawk — apart from “Red Sun Arising,” obviously — has hit the bloodstream and already had its engaging effect, whether it’s the feedback drenched largesse that initiates the post-Kyuss semi-prog thrust of “Seven Hills” or the drawn out and echoing lead that Peyro layers atop the title-track as it oozes toward its midsection, which drops momentarily to a quiet space of guitar-only desert tonality that, frankly, I wish there was more of throughout. With an EP and a single behind them in their five years together, Saturno Grooves clearly constructed this debut out of jams — note that the “construction” is very much a factor; this isn’t just jams put to tape — but it’s in the flashes of patience like that of the title-track or the start of “White Sand” that offer flashes of the dynamic developing within their sound.

saturno grooves

I’m not saying they need to start doing loud/quiet tradeoffs or straight-up quiet-to-loud builds exclusively or anything, simply that in the tones of Peyro and Cisneros, there’s enough presence to hold up those subdued moments perhaps more than the band are willing to give themselves credit for. Hell, in “White Sand,” even Solís gets to take the fore briefly to lay down a shuffling foundation for the push to come. There’s a lot of all-three-together here, and it works very, very well. Where Saturno Grooves have room to grow is in toying with the balance between all-three-together and highlighting each individual’s contributions and presence as well as the balance between louder and softer, faster and slower parts, which they already do exceedingly well, blending shades of the aforementioned Kyuss with some of Earthless‘ cyclical virtuosity and Sleep‘s penchant for nod, which again, makes “White Sand” seem like the peak of Solar Hawk when it hits into its moment of arrival.

And I’ve used “seem” twice now as regards that track only because when the subsequent “Red Sun Arising” begins to land its bombastic, plodding crashes, the effect of that stomp is nearly resonant enough to leave footprints. Saturno Grooves thud and riff their brains out on the finale, and by the time it’s about 2:45 into its nearly seven minutes and they seem to draw back for a second, one has to wonder where they’ll head next, but the answer is into a speedier, solo-topped middle third that soon enough gives way to a far, far gone section of molten roll, again showcasing Peyro‘s impressive lead work as it sort of flowingly dances — because it’s not marching, and it’s not lumbering anymore, and it’s still too cohesive just to be melting away — to its finish, which upon its arrival feels somewhat sudden, as “Red Sun Arising” sound both like it could just keep going and like it’s destined for a gentle fadeout rather than the cold snap ending it receives.

Maybe that’s Saturno Grooves‘ way of subverting expectation, but either way, when one goes back and revisits “Beaumont” at the outset, its galloping progression and straightforward riffing underscore the point of the distance the three-piece travel from one end of the LP to the other. However one chooses to connect with it, the most important factor is that Saturno Grooves make that connection while sounding natural and utterly in their element as they progress throughout. Again, I don’t think it’s a concept album from their end, but even in its instrumental form, it’s easy to read a narrative progression into the songs themselves, let alone any other tale they might actually be telling. While this is technically their first album, Saturno Grooves sound like a group who’ve played together for a while, who have developed a sense of musical conversation between themselves and the common language for that to take place. One only hopes that dialogue will be ongoing.

Saturno Grooves on Thee Facebooks

Saturno Grooves on Bandcamp

L.S.D.R. Records on Thee Facebooks

L.S.D.R. Records on Bandcamp

Tags: , , , , ,