Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 8th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Boasting familiar faces from the likes of Greenleaf, Domkraft, Besvärjelsen, The Moth Gatherer and Grand Cadaver, obviously the newcomer five-piece’s lineup will be a draw, and Young Acid meet pedigree-born anticipation with an absolute blast of electric heavy punk on their debut album, Murder at Maple Mountain, which arrives in the coming thaw courtesy of Majestic Mountain Records. Oh, and also all the lyrics are about Astrid Lindgren, who wrote Pippi Longstocking (also The Tomten, which I love but my daughter hates I think because it makes her feel feelings, and a ton of others) and is rightly revered for that. As a believer generally in the power of books written to and for children to help shape minds and frame perspectives on the world, from Lindgren to Mo Willems and the not-racist Dr. Seuss books and Curious Frickin’ George, if I’m honest, most of my favorite books ever are probably picture books from when I was a kid. I even wrote a couple over the years.
So the concept, right on. I’m down. But what’s going to hit you most on first impression with “Run, Boy, Run” more than the theme of the lyrics, which requires a deeper dive generally, is the energy with which guitarists Alex Stjernfeldt and Andreas Baier, bassist Martin Wegeland, drummer Svante Karlsson and vocalist Arvid Hällagård — who all don the first name Mio in honor of Lindgren’s 1954 novel, Mio, My Son, as you can see in the lineup listing in blue text below — hurl forth this lusty, fuzzy, sometimes bluesy, inevitably-heavy-grooving-regardless-of-tempo, we-gotta-make-our-own-good-times blowout vibe. There is no pretense here toward being anything other than what the album is even as closer “2002” dares to cross the four-minute mark and turn all that punker restlessness into voluminous, shimmering, gorgeous expanse. At 34 minutes, they could hardly make it easier to get on board if they came to your house and handed you a copy of the LP.
I might be streaming the full album before the release — definite maybe at this point — but will hope to have more on it either way before it’s out. Until then, “Run, Boy, Run” premieres below, followed by more from the PR wire:
Young Acid, “Run, Boy, Run” visualizer premiere
Introducing Young Acid, the new kickass garagerock powerhouse! Young Acid is a new super group with members from Greenleaf, Grand Cadaver, Besvärjelsen, The Moth Gatherer and Domkraft! With blistering guitar riffs, raw energy, and rebellious lyrics celebrating the legacy of Astrid Lindgren, this fierce fivesome is here to ignite the stage!
What happens when you combine members from Greenleaf, Domkraft, Grand Cadaver, Besvärjelsen and The Moth Gatherer? Well… disappointment happens. Disappointed in the sense that it does not sound the way you think!
Young Acid plays Punk infused Rock with great storytelling influenced by a famous Swedish author. But is it any good? Of course it is! At least if you ask some members of the band.
Young Acid was formed around the motto: Nobody can ruin our day, ‘cause we’re probably going to ruin it ourselves!
The polarising debut album will be out early 2024 via Majestic Mountain Records!
‘Run Boy Run’ is the second singel from the upcoming debut album ‘Murder at Maple Mountain” to be released on Majestic Mountain Records in Spring 2024!
Recorded at Welfare Sound, CrookedTeeth and Midlake Production Mixed by Per Stålberg & Kalle Lilja at Welfare Sound Mastered by Johan Reivén (Audiolord)
Posted in Radio on October 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Good show. Gets heavy. I started thinking about how my knee hurt and that reminded me of Høstsabbat (where I hurt it) earlier this month and I decided to dedicate the second hour-ish of the program to celebrating that lineup. And, well, that lineup was really god damned heavy — though, I say in the voice tracks too, it was way more sonically diverse a proceeding than it appears on the playlist below. So it goes. I’ll plead guilty on that.
Before that though, each one of the first three tracks is something I genuinely hope people will check out. Brant Bjork because he’s Brant Bjork and 14 records in he’s still trying new stuff. UWUW because Ian Blurton is a master and psychedelic heavy soul rock needed to happen. Dead Shrine because it’s new stuff from Craig Williamson (also of Lamp of the Universe) in a heavy style like Arc of Ascent, but with some different kinds of spaces thrown in. Dude just riffs and riffs and riffs. Yes.
Not saying the rest isn’t worth checking out in Ruby the Hatchet, Love Gang, or The Otolith, which is really the rest of the new stuff. The Otolith I’ve been listening to all week to review it and it’s bludgeoningly beautiful and has me wondering how to add a sixth inclusion to my top five for the year. Ruby the Hatchet are like if 1971 happened in 1981, and Love Gang are like if Motörhead were from Southern California or, in other words, from Denver. I certainly thought that song was killer when I premiered it. And a couple classics, some recent Enslaved, Orange Goblin, then the turn up to Norway for the fest-homage. As I said at the top, good show.
Thanks if you listen and thanks for reading.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 10.28.22 (VT = voice track)
Brant Bjork
Bread for Butter
Bougainvillea Suite
UWUW
Staircase to the End of the Night
UWUW
Dead Shrine
The Formless Soul
The Eightfold Path
VT
Ruby the Hatchet
Deceiver
Fear is a Cruel Master
Love Gang
Meanstreak
Meanstreak
The Otolith
Ekpyrotic
Folium Limina
Saint Vitus
The Psychopath
Saint Vitus
Enslaved
Kingdom
Kingdom
Orange Goblin
Cozmo Bozo
The Big Black
VT
Norna
The Perfect Dark
Star is Way Way is Eye
Bismarck
The Seer
Oneiromancer
The Moth Gatherer
The Drone Kingdom
Esoteric Oppression
Dopelord
Your Blood
Reality Dagger`
Graveyard
Please Don’t
Peace
Indian
Directional
From All Purity
VT
Slomatics
Buried Axes on Regulus Minor
Ascend/Descend
Kanaan
Return to the Tundrasphere
Earthbound
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Nov. 11 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Features, Reviews on October 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Before, during Kanaan soundcheck
Almost three years to the day since I was last in Norway for Høstsabbat. Some things are different, some are not. I slept almost the entire flight. Blessed by Apollo (or whoever) with an empty seat next to me in a two-person row, I was able to lie down if not stretch out, and that second airline pillow is key.
I remembered to go to the right at Oslo airport to get to the trains even before I saw the sign not quite screaming in my face to do so, and got into town with enough time to crash for another hour before showering and trying to make myself look human enough to be in public for a while. One does one’s best, anyhow. We must acknowledge some causes long since lost. I’ve always thought of myself as more bridge than cave troll, but even that’s perhaps more romantic than “doughy suburban dad.”
In any case, people are busily busying themselves with busy-looking stuff. Laptops are out. I got told to remove my ass from the balcony a brief moment after taking a picture of the church itself — the venue, Kulturkirken Jacob, is an old church repurposed as an arts/performance space, which is about the best fate one could ever hope for concerning a religious institution — so came downstairs to write, get more coffee and see who’s where. I have a press pass, so I think I can wander a bit. With an hour and a half till showtime, I should probably do that.
My expectations are high here based on prior experience with Høstsabbat, but more than anything I am humbled to be here at all among these incredible people and the likewise incredible event they’re about to make happen. One hopes to stay out of the way, will likely fail. Fair enough.
Kanaan just started playing full volume. Only for a minute, but it was a welcome reminder: Everything’s going to be okay once the music starts. One more coffee before then, maybe.
HØSTSABBAT 2022 NIGHT ONE
Kanaan
Says something that even as Oslo’s own Kanaan celebrate their 2021 Earthbound (review here) LP by performing it in full, they’ve got two newer works out there as well in the 27-minute piece “Beyond” included on a four-way split through Worst Bassist Records and the forthcoming album, Diversions Vol. I: Softly Through Sunshine on Jansen. They are ascendant as well as prolific, each outing offering something new or at least a broadened take on what came before. I feel like I have a better understanding having seen them live, even if a full-album set isn’t the most representative of their work on the whole, their range was by no means absent from that material, however terrestrial it may be on relative terms. Drums, guitar/bass/synth, and guitar all in a line near the front of the stage, Kanaan pulled a packed house early crowd and the audience clearly were not showing up by happenstance. All hall the next generation. Capital-‘h’ Heavy needs this turnover to happen desperately in the next few years, and if Kanaan are among the vanguard for it, so much the better for the intricacy of what they play and the obvious heart with which they play it. They killed and sound like they’re only getting better. Now I get to say both I’ve seen them and that I ‘prefer the live version’ of Earthbound. Ultimate snobbery.
Kosmik Boogie Tribe
My camera fell out of my bag before their set. Full height, cosmic backpack betrayal. Imagine seeing the nicest thing you own bounce off a cement floor. I said a very loud, very much in English “fuck!” but it turned out okay. Might be time for a new camera bag, but will be extra careful in the meantime. Fortunately Kosmik Boogie Tribe were a salve for such concerns, blowing the dust off soul and floor alike with their classic, somehow punk-ish heavy rock and roll. This was riffs, beer, maybe the odd bit of what they call ‘flower’ now that it’s legal where I live. Good vibes, high energy, and no screwing around despite all the screwing around. Aside from my relief and not, you know, needing a new camera, I was pulled in by Kosmik Boogie Tribe’s infectious energy and shut-up-and-go, 1-2-3-4-play verve. Rock and roll can be an outright blast when you do it right. I was only passingly familiar before, so relished the chance to see them open in the crypt, which was immediately full. I hate to think of Høstsabbat outgrowing that space — they say to show up early, and I did — but they had a line of people waiting to get into the space in front of the not-quite-a-stage, and reasonably so. It was packed in there. Better show up early next time too. Kosmik Boogie Tribe had a couple live LPs for sale, and seemed well on board for sonic shenanigans, leaving me with the best kind of homework to do later on.
Needlepoint
I suppose it would be too unsuitable to their ultra-mellow, vibe-minded style to say Needlepoint made waves with 2021’s Walking Up That Valley (review here). Gentle waves, then, to coincide with the melodies with which they and you while listening seem to be taking a casual pleasant stroll that then turns into the kind of conversation about life that changes the way you think, ever so slightly, but more than you realize. I would be willing to bet actual kroner that every single guy in this band was at some point the best player in another band. They’re technical enough to be a showcase, but that melody highlights an utter disinterest in that particular kind of indulgence. Instead, Needlepoint, who are from here, focus on the organic, a kind of particularly Scandinavian folk moving in along with the jazzy drums, smooth, smooth, smooth basslines and interweaving progressions of keys/organ and finger-plucked guitar, Bjørn Klakegg’s likewise soft vocal delivery reinforcing the intent without over-selling it or coming across as hackneyed. I went upstairs to the balcony to watch the full set and they were done before I even knew it was time. Bonus kudos, as the dudes from Kanaan were down the front the whole set. One can only imagine the drummer-chat that will ensue likely a respectable amount of time after Needlepoint’s gear is off stage. These guys are classy, no need to bother immediately.
U-FOES
I must’ve listened to U-FOES before but could not tell you when. In any case, their noise, sludge-more-in-tone-than-mindset take on hardcore-bred riffing was a hilarious enough contrast to Needlepoint immediately prior that it felt like everyone was in on the gag, which is how it should be if you’re going to do that kind of thing. I didn’t stay long, wanted to grab more coffee, check in at home, etc., but I could hear them through the floor up in the chapel a few minutes later and they sounded duly caustic. Hey, I’m from the Northeastern corridor of the United States, ergo, it’s not my first time hearing hardcore and metal and sludge get slammed together for the sake of aural and artistic release, and while they weren’t really my thing, rest assured that’s on me, not them. Dressed all in white with strobe a-plenty for lighting, they balanced a raw sound of guitar, drums, vocals against a markedly severe atmosphere and hit into some hard grooves along the way.
The Moth Gatherer
Stockholm’s The Moth Gatherer had me by the time they were halfway into “The Drone Kingdom” from 2019’s Esoteric Oppression, and that opened the set. Best bit of post-metal I’ve seen on this stage since Amenra, and I remembered seeing The Moth Gatherer here in 2018 (review here), the difference between that set and this one is this time they were upstairs and absolutely owned the room. Barking vocals, undulating nod, atmospheric sludge-style riffing, lurch, immersion, the whole nine. Some clean vocals changed things up fluidly, but the lesson learned is that clearly I should go back an album or two and give them another shot. Not too many surprises — and to be fair, they’re not really playing to a style that offers them once you know what you’re looking for, but their stage presence was unquestionable and they found a place between the destructive and restorative that made them hypnotic to watch even before the video projections or strobe effects were factored in. Høstsabbat has expanded enough that it’s impossible to see all of it — that’s freeing, in a way, since one feels less obliged to do so — but I felt no doubt in watching The Moth Gatherer that I was at the right place at the right time.
Orkan
Jetlag and boogie do not historically mix, but Orkan are infectious just the same. With the Swedish five-piece taking the floor in the Crypt, Høstsabbat enters the sax-inclusive portion of the evening, and Orkan put theirs to good use, incorporating the brass as part of their classic-heavy-derived sound while leaving room for the dual guitars and the harmony-prone, just-about-everybody-sings-at-one-point-or-another vocal arrangements. Zero complaints whatsoever, except perhaps the lack of room with the crowd press behind me to give their songs the softshoe they deserved. Also I did something to my knee, because I am old. The point is that Orkan, who were had all the ’70s in their sound you could possibly ask for without actually being 70 years old, were a band I’d probably just about never get to see, and that’s worth cherishing, softshoe or no. I scuttled off to the side of the room and sat for a few, just kind of taking in that vibe, and as with everything else I saw at Høstsabbat night one, they were united to the rest of the lineup by a broadly-defined sense of what makes music heavy. In this case, it was their ability to make their sound move, and to make it fun. They seemed pretty serious about what they were doing, but loosened up as they went on, and sure enough, it was a party.
REZN
I’ve written a fair amount about Chicago’s REZN, and as soon as I hammer out the liner notes for their upcoming PostWax collaboration with Vinnum Sabbathi from Mexico I’ll have written more, but I don’t think I ever really got it until seeing them play. They hit the Chapel stage with little to no ceremony and set about unfolding a droney, psychedelic reach that felt like it was going for miles — kilometers, if you’d rather. Peppered with sac and synth, further distinguished by soft-delivered soulful vocals that brought an entirely serene spirit to even the heaviest moments, they were powerful in the sense of making air move from and around amps, but there’s just so much to hear in their sound. Sometimes it’s Dead Meadow offset by Chicagoan post-metallic crunch, and sometimes it’s the bounce and melodymaking of Mars Red Sky with synth filling out what might otherwise be empty spaces in the sound, but any angle you want to take, their set was gorgeous and I feel like I better appreciate what they do having witnessed it in person; a clarification of who they are on record and a singular impression on the day. I went up and watched from the balcony and as they mood-drenched the whole church. Preach, dudes. They just announced a new record, too. I won’t say I wasn’t looking forward to it before, but only more so now.
MoE
They were awesome. Signed to the fest-associated Vinter Records label — see also Norna tomorrow — MoE, just to be clear, have nothing to do with the US jam band of the same name. They’re homegrown Norwegian, and with killer art-rock-via-Melvins-crunch, they were indeed a wondrous abomination to behold. The room was packed well in advance of their start. Between the push — all these humans — and the fact that if I hung out there much longer I was going to topple over the stage monitor, which would help nothing, I backed out quick and with not much mercy or apology. I guess you get to a certain point in the evening and there you go. I sort of hobbled to the back and stayed there for a while, the dual-vocal all-onslaught lumbering like a reminder that, yes, Indian were soon enough to go on upstairs. Another stark shift in style to suit the theme of the day of Høstsabbat gleefully refusing to only be one thing. MoE actually made the point pretty well, since they too were unhindered by whatever self-imposed rules might’ve otherwise held them back. Oh, and also? They were fucking loud. Don’t mistake me — everyone’s been loud. Needlepoint were loud. This was another kind of loud though. Your-earplugs-mean-nothing loud. Brutal without the death. Today was Bandcamp Friday. Next one I know where to put some money.
Indian
There are very few bands who are able to sound so specifically violent. Never mind the fact that they seem not so much to play their songs as to punch them, the scathing guitar noise, visceral screams and each and every crash-and-kick-drum combo hit all feel more like punishment than just about anyone else I can think of in any genre. They’re an emdgame for this thing that they do. There could not be anyone more extreme without it losing something from one side or another. Playing under plain white light that they demanded be brighter before starting, the Chicago four-piece set immediately about physically punishing the crowd and themselves alike with their music, an act of apparently empty catharsis otherwise surely they would’ve stopped by now. They are a tonal force, but it’s not even that, or the feedback, or the screaming or the floor took echoing through the church hall like it’s beating out a march to slaughter, it’s the way in which all of it bus so overwhelming as to trigger this fight or flight panic, like you either need to protect yourself from it or get the fuck out. I’ve seen a lot of bands. A stupid number; I couldn’t even guess. But Indian are their own nightmare. There’s blood and sharp things and I think someone’s crying somewhere? You’ll remember it when you wake up. An infliction of a band and more. Fuck it. None nastier.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 17th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Swedish post-metallers The Moth Gatherer have teased the release of a new single to precede their upcoming album, Esoteric Oppression, out Feb. 22 on Agonia Records. They say the new song will be out “before the end of the year.” I’ll just assume that means that as soon as this post goes live, they’ll post the track, which will render this news immediately obsolete in terms of keeping up with the band. And if that happens, I’ll post that song here, just so I can say — to myself, mind you — I told you so. Because that’s how I do.
Esoteric Oppression follows 2015’s sophomore outing, The Earth is the Sky (review here), which was an expansive and atmospheric push into weight of tone and ambience alike. You can stream that below, if you like, and find yourself caught in the maddening tension of 11-minute closer “In Awe Before the Rapture.” Frankly, there are far worse ways to lose your mind.
Info comes from the PR wire:
THE MOTH GATHERER detail new album “Esoteric Oppression”
Sweden’s THE MOTH GATHERER, an atmospheric doom/sludge/post metal band based in Stockholm, will release its third studio album, successor to critically acclaimed “The Earth Is The Sky” (2015) on February 22nd via Agonia Records. The new album is titled “Esoteric Oppression”. Its cover artwork and tracklisting are available below, in anticipation of a new single, due out before 2019.
THE MOTH GATHERER is a band of varying genres, centered around atmospheric doom, sludge and post metal. Their prolific approach includes electric musical stylings, along with traces of melodic post-rock.
The band commented on the new album: “We’ve put our very fabric into it. Its creation has been a path paved with distress and frustration; one that has left us totally exhausted. But all our effort shows in the music and we can now say that it was worth the turmoil. We’re extremely proud to present Esoteric Oppression to you all. We hope you love it as much as we do”.
THE MOTH GATHERER emerged in 2008 on the initiative of Victor Wegeborn and Alex Stjernfeldt, as a form of therapy to help them deal with loss. The name of the band is an allegory for finding hope; similairly to moths who are always searching for the light. Operating as a duo, they released a debut album “A Bright Celestial Light” in 2010. The recording showcased an attraction towards long and complex compositions, rich in content, and exposed thet band’s urge to channel emotions and difficult experiences into music. Their sound evolved on the second and last album, “The Earth Is The Sky”, from 2015, which took the songwriting to a whole new level, and have deepened the band’s subtle, yet significant electronic aesthetic. The music clearly matured, along with the line-up, which now included Svante Karlsson on drums. Their sophomore work met with warm reception from fans and critics alike, with two singles featured on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter, and numerous inclusions on year-end lists from magazines and websites. Having recruited Ronny Westphal on guitars, they later released an EP “The Comfortable Low” (2016), which featured a guest appearance from Dennis Lyxzén (Refused/INVSN) and Fred Burman (Satan Takes A Holiday). The EP also landed on Radio 1’s Rock Show, thanks to the track “This Providence Of Bones”. While the new album, “Esoteric Oppression”, follows in the same direction as previous works, the band went through a transformation, which left co-founder Alex behind. Even though he participated in writing lyrics for the album, bass duites have been taken over by Victor, who also handles vocals, guitars and electronis. Dan Hemgren has been introduced as a new bass player, who’ll continue with the group post the new album.
“Esoteric Oppression” was worked on in several recording studios. Guitars, bass and drums were tracked at Studio Underjord with Joona Hassinen, who later mixed the entire album. Electronics and vocals were recorded at The Lifestream Studio. Magnus Lindberg (Cult Of Luna) mastered the album at Redmount Studios, while the production was laid out by THE MOTH GATHERER. The recording features a guest appearance from Messy Mathi (Barst) on the track “The Drone Kingdom”. SCG prepared the album’s cover artwork and layout.
Tracklist: 1. The Drone Kingdom 2. Motionless In Oceania 3. Utopia 4. The Failure Design 5. Phosphorescent Blight
Line-up: Ronny Westphal – guitars Svante Karlsson – drums Victor Wegeborn – vocals, guitars, electronics Dan Hemgren – bass
Posted in Reviews on October 6th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I knew this was going to be a quick trip, but now that I’m sitting on the other end of Høstsabbat 2018 it feels even quicker than it did on paper. Today was — church pun totally intended — little short of immaculate. It picked up from the energy and personality of yesterday’s show and directed the personalities of each stage in a different way. Upstairs on the altar, it was rock and psych for most of the night, while downstairs in the Crypt, it dug deep into post-metal. Then, for the final two acts, they pulled a total swap. Just when you think you’ve caught the pattern: no dice.
Slept hard after posting that last review and stopped at the organic market on my way back to the Kulturkirken Jakob and picked up a little natural-rubber frog for The Pecan back home, then hit the venue to check in. I should note: Coffee was had. In bulk. I didn’t count cups, but I wouldn’t have been able to keep track anyhow. I know I put down two or three before Taiga Woods were finished opening the day in the basement, and I stopped in for more several times along the way after that. Big quality of life improvement.
I’m not sure how else to say it — today was a special day. I am not young, and I have been to many shows in my time. That’s not bragging; I’ve by no means seen the most shows. But I’ve seen a few. And a day like this doesn’t come along all that often. I know already I’ll be looking back on my time here fondly. I haven’t even left the hotel to go to the airport yet, and frankly I’m already feeling nostalgic.
Thank you for reading. This is how it went:
Taiga Woods
Rockin’ start to the proceedings. Oslo’s own Taiga Woods tapped into a traditional style of desert heavy, showing shades of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age early on, but working their way toward their own identity in style and presence. Most of what they played came from their 2017 self-titled debut, though it’s worth noting that it would seem guitarist/vocalist Erik Skundberg has undergone a total revamp of the band in the 13 months since that LP was released, bringing on board drummer Jonatan Eikum as well as guitarist Jøran Normann, who played upstairs yesterday as a member of Lonely Kamel, and bassist Ole Ulvik Rokseth, who opened the Crypt yesterday as part of SÂVER. Familiar faces or no, that’s not a minor change when it’s three-fourths of the lineup. But as refreshing as it was to see an act get down to the ’90s roots of modern-style heavy rock, they lacked nothing for chemistry between them, and the new song “Step Up” fit well ahead the catchy “Slow Burning” as they made their way toward finishing with “The Great Machine.” I didn’t see CDs for sale, which only says to me they’re ready for someone to step up and put that record out either before or in conjunction with a new one to come.
Elephant Tree
Maybe once — maybe — at a festival like this, I’ll see something that makes me pull the plugs out of my ears. Elephant Tree were that band at Høstsabbat. Kind of hard not to feel like the universe was doing me favors, lining up them, Asteroid and Electric Moon one into the next on the upstairs stage. The London three-piece were freshly arrived off a tour with Mothership and Stoned Jesus, and they sounded like it. I was lucky enough to see them in their hometown this past May (review here), and of course the context was different them play on an actual church altar in a room with a ceiling at least three stories high, but even so, they were locked in like a band who’ve been touring, and while they were joking around and guitarist/vocalist Jack Townley and bassist/vocalist Peter Holland were ragging on drummer Sam Hart for forgetting to get a beer before they took stage — someone brought him one — they were utterly locked in through “Dawn,” “Surma” and “Aphotic Blues” from their 2016 self-titled debut (review here). The harmonies between Townley and Holland were dead on, and they only showed progression in that regard with two new songs that carried the tentative titles “Wasted” and “Bella” before they closed out with a slowed-down cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Paranoid.” Because of the tempo, I actually thought they might dip into the Type O Negative version, but they ultimately stayed loyal at least in structure to the original. To call them a highlight of the trip would be underselling it viciously. A blast all the way through. They played Psycho Las Vegas last year, but I hope their next album brings them to the US for a full tour. They sounded ready and well up to the task.
Dwaal
I knew nothing about Dwaal going into their set, and sometimes I like that. Also based in Oslo, they packed their five-piece lineup into the basement stage such that bassist Stian spent a decent portion of the set playing at least half behind a concrete support pillar. Metal. Actually, post-metal, and sludge, and doom, but fittingly atmospheric for an evening that would be headlined by Amenra. Their debut EP, Darben, came out last year comprised of two extended cuts — I’d call it a full-length since it topped 30 minutes, but why argue? — and they’ve reportedly got an album in the works, and while I don’t know if the bulk of what they played was new or older, their aggression and their level of crushing riffing were obviously a far cry from both Elephant Tree and Taiga Woods, but they marked the beginning point of a second thread running throughout the evening, which comprised more ambient and aggro post-whatnottery in contrast to the more rock-minded or psychedelic fare. Either way, the room knew them more than I did and they had heads banging and nodding in front of the “stage” — that’s not to say “the spot on the floor where the rug was” — and on the side as well, which was closed yesterday and opened today presumably to accommodate a broader flux of attendees. It was full for Dwaal, and reasonably so.
Asteroid
Such boogie. Such warmth. I mean, come on. All other things in the universe being equal — especially money — the chance to see Asteroid alone would’ve justified this trip. I made my way up early to the Chapel stage, to make sure I got a spot up front to see them, and was rewarded with a set that gracefully spanned all three of their albums to-date and found them jamming out psychedelic heavy blues with a naturalism that was present not only in the individual tones and voices of guitarist/vocalist Robin Hirse and bassist/vocalist Johannes Nilsson, or the swing and shuffle in Jimmi Kohlscheen‘s drumming, but in the sonic conversation between the the three of them. That might be the most classic aspect of the Örebro trio’s sound, and it’s something that comes across on their records as well — their 2007 self-titled debut (discussed here), 2010’s II (review here) and 2016’s return from hiatus, III (review here) — but of course, to see it in the moment as it’s happening, to see them make the easy shift between “Garden” and “Disappear” or to have them turn to the riffy “Speaking to the Sea” from the first album ahead of “Mr. Strange” from the latest one, it was all the more powerful of an impression made. I hear tell there’s new material in the works; songs coming together for the next record and plans to tour ahead of hitting the studio. As Asteroid have been off and on the better part of the last five years, it only bodes well to know they’re thinking ahead for good things to come. They only make the world a better place for existing, and the more they do that, the merrier.
The Moth Gatherer
Back downstairs for more post-metallic volume assault. Sweden’s The Moth Gatherer in some ways picked up where Dwaal left off, but traded in some of the rawness of their Crypt-stage predecessors for an even-more atmospheric take. They had an EP out last year called The Comfortable Low, but their latest full-length was 2015’s The Earth is the Sky (review here), and their more post-rock-based style sat well with the crowd downstairs that was packed to capacity with a line outside waiting to get in as other people made their way out. A very thoughtful, progressive sound nonetheless had its share of claustrophobia, which was all the more fitting given the basement where they played, and watching them, it was evident just how righteously Høstsabbat had managed to capture not just a “club show” experience with its smaller stage, but more like a house show. To low light and periodically bludgeoning intensity, The Moth Gatherer filled that Crypt with sound as much as people, and they were a band I’d probably never have the chance to see anywhere else, so I felt all the more fortunate for the chance to do so here, in that small room where the walls seemed so ready to cave in at a moment’s notice. The thread that started with Dwaal and continued with The Moth Gatherer would pick up again with Amenra at the end, but there was still more rock to be had first.
Electric Moon
Before the German instrumentalist space/psych jammers got started, they shared a hug on the side of the stage, and then guitarist Dave “Sula Bassana” Schmidt got on mic and wished everyone a pleasant flight. With the core trio of the band made all the more lush owing to guest synth from Burt Rocket (SEID) at the center of the stage, that trip took off quickly and didn’t bother to look back at ground below. Schmidt and bassist/sometimes-vocalist “Komet Lulu” Neudeck were rejoined by original drummer Pablo Carneval about a year ago, and their adventures only seemed to take them farther and farther out as their set went on, washes of guitar and synth floating up to the high ceiling while the bass and drums held together a fluidity of groove that showed the band for the masters of the form — such as it is a “form” with a sound so utterly molten — that they are. I’ve been lucky enough to catch them at Roadburn in years past (review here) and with their members in various projects, as the band’s pedigree runs through acts like Zone Six and Weltraumstaunen, Krautzone, etc., but to see Electric Moon on stage is something unto itself. They’re never overly showy in terms of thrashing about or anything, but the experience of their sonic exploration comes through vividly as they play, and that suits the laid back feel of the resultant material itself perfectly. They did not in any way fail to invite the audience along on what indeed turned out to be a pleasurable, radiant-in-the-sense-of-light journey.
Brutus
I did not see nearly enough of Brutus. They were killer, and they were killing, and I did not see nearly enough of them doing it. To be fair to myself, I’d probably say the same if I’d managed to watch their full set, but the Norwegian traditionalist heavy rockers headlined in the Crypt, and they had the basement of Kulturkirken Jakob so jammed with bodies that for the first time in the whole weekend, I felt the press of the crowd almost knock me over up front. And even if I do at some point in my life get to see Brutus again, chances are, it won’t be in the kind of situation where I’m in danger of tripping over the stage monitors on the floor because of the push of people behind me, so I relished the opportunity while I could. And Brutus — clearly hometown heroes of boozy riff-purveyance — were a thrill to behold in that headlining spot. They could’ve played upstairs easily, I’m sure, but despite their sonic discrepancy with The Moth Gatherer and Dwall directly before, they made that basement into a party all the way, and while I knew that in just a little while, Amenra were going to close out the festival on a much darker note, the chance to see Brutus play, and to play in a place that small, wasn’t to be overlooked. I didn’t see enough of it, but I’m grateful for what I did catch, because that’s not an opportunity that will come along often, if it ever does again at all.
Amenra
The Belgian post-metal kingpins have toured the US more than a couple of times at this point, I believe most recently as support for the wallop duo of Neurosis and Converge — their also on the former’s label, Neurot Recordings — but I’m still not sure America really appreciates just how huge Amenra are in Europe. They’re gods here. I knew that from seeing them at Roadburn in 2016, but the intervening years have only seen them all the more don a headliner role. They would seem to have taken the post-metal crown that once belonged to Cult of Luna, and while I’ll admit I could in no way match my fellow fest-goers’ sense of worship when it came time for them to go on, there’s absolutely nothing one can take away either from their intensity or their obvious dedication to how they present themselves. I don’t know if it would be possible to find a more fitting locale for Amenra to play than in a church with cathedral ceilings of height enough for their projections to be shown massively to the assembled congregation, but even if you discount all of that, and ignore the we-play-in-the-dark-until-the-strobes-hit lighting and the fact that frontman Colin H. van Eeckhout doesn’t face the audience until the last song, if then, they’re still a formidable presence live, and there would’ve been nowhere else to put them on the Høstsabbat bill if they weren’t at the top of it. I’m not 100 percent sure I’m ready to call myself a full-on convert to the “church of ra,” as they put it, but I definitely didn’t have any trouble seeing the appeal of their dogma. And I reserve the right to become a total fanboy at some later date.
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I left out of Kulturkirken Jakob into the chilly Oslo air without my hoodie on. Just wanted to feel that cold as it was rather than shy away from it. Something about the sensory experience on my bare neck and forearms seemed like a good idea at the time. It’s coming up on three in the morning CET and my flight is at nine-something, so I won’t get to see a lot of the city on this trip. Maybe that was my way of taking as much of it in as I could.
When I got back around the block to the Anker Hotel, I messaged Johannes from Asteroid. We had talked earlier in the day about doing an interview for “The Obelisk Show” on Gimme Radio, and it didn’t happen at the venue, but I thought if they were around the hotel maybe it could work. Was worth a shot, anyhow. Robin was asleep, but I chatted in the hotel bar with Johannes and Jimmi, and that was a blast. I spoke with Elephant Tree earlier in the day as well, and with Ole Helstad and Jens Storaker, who run the fest, so I think I’ll probably just dedicate a whole episode to having been here. I think I have a few weeks before I get there, but I’ll keep you posted.
I haven’t sorted any pics yet from tonight, so need to do that, but I’m not sleepy yet, so hopefully my brain won’t come crashing down before I have to leave for the airport. Help me, last tiny drops of adrenaline.
My eyelids are getting heavy just thinking about it.
I can’t possibly thank you enough for reading if you have.
Thank you.
Thank you so much to Jens and to Ole for having me back here. Thank you to The Patient Mrs. and to Cate Wright for taking on my Pecan duties in my absence. Thank you to my mother and my sister for their undying support. My only hope is they know how grateful I am for it. Thanks to Falk-Hagen Bernshausen for always being so great to run into at fests, to Andrea who I met here, to Kai, who is an institution unto himself, to Pete, Jack and Sam from Elephant Tree, to Robin, Johannes and Jimmi from Asteroid, to Sula Bassana, Martin from Domkraft, Jens Heide, Lex and everyone else I spoke to over the last two days who said hi. It’s hugely appreciated and humbling. People say nice things. It feels good. Thank you.
Alright. On to photos, and then to shower, and then to airport. I doubt I’ll have it in me to post again before I’m back home, and don’t look for much on Monday, but really, one more time, thank you. So much. I don’t even get it, how lucky I am. My soul feels restored for having been here.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 16th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
The roster of acts for Høstsabbat 2018 continues to broaden in both number and sonic context with the addition of Swedish heavy post-rock/drone explorers The Moth Gatherer. Based out of Sweden, the band released their last album, the Karl Daniel Lidén-produced The Earth is the Sky (review here), in 2015 on Agonia Records, and impressed with their depth and textures. I wouldn’t necessarily speculate as to what their apparently-done new album has in store, but given the progressive turns they were making between organic and electronic elements three years ago, I’d be interested in finding out.
I was fortunate enough to attend and cover the last Høstsabbat in 2016, and this one seems poised to be even bigger on just about every level. Tickets are on sale now. Here’s the latest from the Høstsabbat social medias:
Oooh… this week has been awesome. Finally the tickets for this years’ Høstsabbat went live, and we couldn’t be happier with the lineup so far.
BUT! We still have some gems to announce for you guys.
We’ve been gathering souls and sinners since we first started, so this year we’re adding moths to the list. The Moth Gatherer out of Stockholm/Gøteborg is a force of nature when they hit the stage. Their sound leaning towards super heavy post-rock, mixed with jazzy drums, fierce vocals, pure energy and tasty electronic samples, make them a class-act to witness. We had them over for a club night some years ago, and we’re stoked to have them on our festival bill this time. Known for bringing guest vocalists to their recordings, spanning from from Refused’s Dennis Lyxzen, to Thomas Jäger from Monolord, The Moth Gatherer just finished their upcoming album in Studio Underjord some days ago, and rumour has it they’ve outdone themselves again.
We can’t wait for some new material to be unleashed from the stage! Gather the souls, gather the sinners, gather the moths \m/
Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 14th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
It’s basically a rehearsal-space video, but even that takes on an atmospheric flair when it comes from Swedish four-piece The Moth Gatherer. Taken from their second album, The Earth is the Sky (review here), which was released late last year on Agonia Records, the real miracle of the track “Probing the Descent of Man” might be the prescience of its title, as it’s easily the most apt description I’ve heard of the current US presidential campaign. I doubt that was The Moth Gatherer‘s intention, but the song is instrumental, so I’m just gonna go with it anyway. Clearly they’re looking to leave a certain amount open to interpretation.
Actually, it seems like The Moth Gatherer were most likely talking about a more personal situation when it comes to this title and the record overall, at least if the quote below is anything to go by. Fair enough. Mixed and mastered with Karl Daniel Lidén, The Earth is the Sky played out with a variety of post-metallic textures, and though most of what we get in “Probing the Descent of Man” is dudes-in-a-room-style rocking and nodding, plus some ambient shots presumably outside somewhere nearby, the effect gets to a creative root that acts in their genre rarely show, preferring a somewhat less personal touch to their visuals. There’s nothing like a poster for Evil Dead 2 to humanize someone in my mind, I guess.
More info follows the clip below, courtesy of the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
The Moth Gatherer, “Probing the Descent of Man” official video
Swedish atmospheric post-rock/doom metal visionaries with ambient and electronic fangs, THE MOTH GATHERER, premiere a new music video for the song “Probing The Descent Of Man”, taken from their last year’s album “The Earth Is The Sky” released on Agonia Records. The video was directed by Albin Sköld (Illusive Illustration) and recorded at the band’s rehearsal space in Sweden earlier this year.
Commented by the band: “The Earth Is The Sky is an album where we tried to take everything as far as we could. There where points during the recording where we honestly spoke about giving up and calling it a day, it felt like we would crumble under the album. But we suffered through. The result is a desperation about how humanity drags it all to the end. Where A Bright Celestial Light (debut album) was an introvert journey into decay, The Earth Is The Sky is a journey to the highest point on Earth where you sit down and contemplate about our existence while watching the flames from the burning world”.
Line-up: Alex Stjernfeldt: Vocals & Bass Victor Wegeborn: Vocals, Guitars & Electronics Svante Karlsson: Drums Ronny Westphal: Guitars
Posted in Reviews on January 6th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Well, this is where we hit and pass the halfway point. It’s been a good week so far. Busy, but good. I hope you’ve found something that you dig or agree with or whatnot. I know it’s kind of hard to dig through 10 releases at once, but even if you see cover art that strikes a nerve, going with that impulse is rarely a bad idea, particularly when the level of commitment involved is clicking play on a Bandcamp player to get a taste. Pretty wide range today, so let’s dig in.
Quarterly review #21-30:
Corrections House, Know How to Carry a Whip
Since they made their debut as a unit in 2013 with Last City Zero (also on Neurot), the don’t-call-it-a-supergroup Corrections House – vocalist Mike Williams (Eyehategod), guitarist/vocalist Scott Kelly (Neurosis), saxophonist/vocalist Bruce Lamont (Yakuza, Bloodiest) and programmer Sanford Parker (Buried at Sea) – have spread their bleak gospel of totalitarian industrial vehemence to audiences in the US and Europe. Their second offering, Know How to Carry a Whip, is bolder sound-wise and retains a very human, punk rock core with Williams’ sneer playing off Kelly’s gutturalism on “White Man’s Gonna Lose” and nearly goes goth in doing the same with Lamont in the later “When Push Comes to Shank,” but across the 45-minute span, the songs remain in the key of abrasion, and ultimately that’s what most unites them. As noisy as closer “Burn the Witness” gets, I can’t help but think of the acoustic, Lamont-led centerpiece “Visions Divide” as the bleakest moment of the record, twisting folkish conventions into a dystopian soundscape, but Williams’ spoken drug-poetry on “I was Never Good at Meth” provides stiff competition.
Lush in its arrangements and doling out extreme measures of melancholy across its 56 minutes, Antimatter’s sixth album, The Judas Table (on Prophecy Productions), brings sonic depth to bear in rich textures of electric and acoustic guitars, keys, and the strength-through-fragility vocals of remaining founder and songwriter Mick Moss. The group’s last offering, 2012’s Fear of a Unique Identity (review here), pushed them into fuller tones, and an early cut like “Killer” builds on that, but the crux of The Judas Table is in subdued and brooding pieces like “Little Piggy,” remorseful and seething in kind as it moves through an acoustic-led arrangement marked out by strings and a sense of grace. “Integrity” asks the question, “What’s the point if no one else has any?” and sets a depressive run through one of the record’s grader builds, but Antimatter are hardly contained to one style here, as the New Wave inflection on “Can of Worms” or the rumbling apex of highlight “Stillborn Empires” demonstrate.
Not to be confused with their Swedish countrymen who operated under the same moniker and whose lineup included a post-and-pre-Candlemass Messiah Marcolin, Stockholm’s Colossus play a decidedly progressive blend of Peaceville-style doom and metal, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Niklas Eriksson, bassist Peter Berg and drummer Thomas Norstedt adding a near-immediate inflection toward the epic via Primordial-style vocal patterning on opener “Yehi Aour/Wanderers” that holds for much of their 48-minute sophomore outing, The Breathing World (on Perennity Records). “Darkling Root” and more so the chugging “Fuga Mundi” delve into blackened fare in the guitar, but it’s just one of an array of genres in Colossus’ arsenal and in the case of the latter, soon enough complemented by Opethian prog noodling and soulful vocalizing. These turns, which more often than not happen in an instant, are a great strength of The Breathing World, but would fall flat without the crisp, confident delivery the band provides leading to the grand sprawl and long fade of 10-minute closer, “The Silent City.”
One thing we’ve learned about Twin Earth Records thus far into the long-established label’s recent surge of activity is that it knows tone when it hears it. Thus comes treading Bastard Lord out of Buffalo, New York, whose four-song self-titled debut was initially self-released and remastered for a CD issue, rumble-fuzzing a murky Sabbath worship that oozes from the amps of bassist/vocalist David Braymiller and guitarist Mike Hermann – hard to tell at times in 13-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Cimmerian” where the one instrument ends and the other begins – and set to a suitable plod by Jeremy Coupe’s drumming. It’s little surprise when they pay homage to “Snowblind” in “Wormwood,” but the psychedelic edge in Braymiller’s vocals – drowned in effects, buried in the mix; both appropriately so – gives Bastard Lord a personality of its own the holds even into the faster closer “Into the Sea,” a Toner Low-style lysergic depth unflinching through that song and “Summoner” before it as Bastard Lord emerge from the mire with their intentions clear.
One might be forgiven for entering into Monocluster’s self-titled, self-released debut album with an expectation for traditional stoner rock, between the band’s moniker and album cover – and if that’s what came through in playing the 35-minute, five-track outing, I very likely wouldn’t complain – but the German-language four-piece subtly veer into and out of spacier interludes in cuts like “Dantes Inferno” and “8 Stunden” and the later “Ich Atme” pushes even further along those lines, jamming out vast and echoing over a foundational bassline that holds the track together before it stops outright and resurfaces with Monocluster’s most righteous single nod. Centerpiece “Straße” demonstrates a touch of Colour Haze influence as well, but on the whole the Cologne four-piece seem headed in a different direction, and as the 10-minute closer “12 Minuten” ranges farther and heavier than everything before it, I’m only more intrigued to find out where they might end up. Heavy psych that’s not afraid to tighten up and make a more pointed impact when it feels one is needed.
I have two reasons for writing a review of Valley’s Sunburst EP, and they are both ridiculously simple. Yes, the Swedish five-piece were featured in two podcasts (one here, one here) and mentioned in the roundup of 2015’s best short releases – however, reviewing Sunburst now gives me another excuse to put it back on and it gives me something to fall back to later when I’m praising the crap out of whatever they do next and want to link a past review. Simple reasons. If you haven’t yet heard the 2015 debut outing from the Stockholm post-heavy rock instrumentalists, basked in the warm, organic psychedelia of “Tunguska” and “Kiro” or the peaceful folk-jam of “Dream Shooter, Golden!” and the tense-and-release percussion and sample-topped progressive course of “Picture Puzzle Pattern Door,” then you have quite simply missed out. I’m sure plenty have and plenty more will liken it to a desert sound – in no small part because of the cover art – but the smooth melodicism goes beyond landscape here and is made to be appreciated regardless of climate or locale.
An edge of Northeastern aggression is unmistakable at the core of Shatner’s 20-minute self-released six-track EP. Based in Boston, the tree-piece boasts guitarist/vocalist Jim Healey (Black Thai, We’re all Gonna Die), bassist/backing vocalist Jesse Sherman (We’re all Gonna Die) and drummer Rob Davol (Cocked ‘n’ Loaded), and so a touch of anger isn’t unexpected given the personnel – even Healey’s acoustic work has brooding tension underlying – but if “Special” and “Black Market Liver” are variations on an ongoing theme, they’re of consistent quality in terms of songwriting, and the Thin Lizzy cover “Bad Reputation” is positioned well just past the halfway point to add variety amid a slew of potent hooks. Not their first time working together, but Healey and Sherman’s voices complement each other well on “Dead in Your Eyes” and “Death Reheated,” and with the solid foundation that Davol provides throughout, Shatner’s EP is an encouraging start to what’s hopefully an ongoing development.
Harvested, sometimes manipulated samples and synthesized textures permeate Notturno, the mostly-instrumental second album from Italian atmospheric project Australasia. Comprised solely of Gian Spalluto, it’s somewhat more surprising that songs like the cascading “Lumen” and “Kern” are able to conjure such full-band progressions, but layering was bound to be a factor one way or another in Australasia’s approach, so if it’s Spalluto’s vision at play, so be it. Sonically, the impression of much of the material – including the guest-vocalized centerpiece “Invisibile” – winds up somewhere between the dystopian ambience of Red Sparowes and the brighter aspirations of post-black metallers Alcest, but songs like “Haxo” and the closing title-track, a (mostly) solo piano piece, have a cinematic edge as well. Rather than play one side against the other, Spalluto brings them together in one overarching flow that engages conceptually and sonically throughout a nine-track/39-minute course that willfully refuses to acknowledge a line between post-rock and post-metal.
Synth ambience and distorted severity meet head-on with the second full-length from Swedish post-metallers The Moth Gatherer, The Earth is the Sky (on AgoniaRecords). Produced over a two-year span with Karl Daniel Lidén (Greenleaf, VAKA, etc.), it punishes intensely on “The Black Antlers” with no less underlying fluidity than it had on the quietly atmospheric “Dyatlov Pass” preceding, the four-piece of bassist/vocalist Alex Stjernfeldt, guitarist/vocalist/programmer Victor Wegeborn, guitarist Ronny Westphal and drummer Svante Karlsson finding a place sound-wise that swaps between peaceful and threatening, delving into extreme progressive metal and electronica in kind on “Attacus Atlas” while setting up the consuming, gradual push of 11-minute closer “In Awe Before the Rapture,” which seems in conversation with the synth of the earlier “Probing the Descent of Man” in creating a layered structure of sound, while also attempting to marry the various impulses displayed throughout. Familiar to a degree, but immersive in its bringing earth and sky together.
You might wonder just what kind of neighborhood it is that would pair “The House that Dripped Blood” next door to “House of Warlocks” – perhaps that street is on the “Island of Lost Souls” – but then you probably wouldn’t get the crux of Memphis heavy punk foursome Super Witch’s debut full-length, Super Witch Has Risen, which has tales of horror front to back, “Spaceship Cadillac” notwithstanding. The Tennessean outfit dip into garage grunge on “Night of the Hunter” and stomp out call and response and Melvins chug on on “The Need,” show some more patient swing on “Smash Your Own Face,” but it’s “Army of Werewolves” and the opening “Super Witch Has Risen” that tell the story of the band’s intent more than the semi-swirl of “Smash Your Own Face” or the all-the-way swirl of closer “With the Lights Out,” as satisfying as the closer is in pulling off a rare feat – psychedelic punk. Split between two recording sessions, there are some changes in sound throughout, but it would take a supernatural force to derail Super Witch from their underlying purpose.
