Posted in Radio on October 16th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
If you read any of the Quarterly Review that wrapped up earlier this week, some of the names in the playlist below might be familiar. These aren’t all the highlights from the 60 records that were covered in that somehow-still-too-short barrage of writeups, but a two-hour sampling seemed like enough time to ask out of your busy day and I recognize that if you check any of it out at my say-so, it is an honor and a humbling thing for me to be a part of. So yeah. Thanks.
My hope is that it flows. I’m interested to hear the finished product — and I do intend to listen and be in the chat on the Gimme Metal app — but I put it together with the idea that the songs would interact well with each other and even where something brought a departure, it seemed a reasonable shift. Did it work? I don’t know. If you listen, you can tell me. But I’m looking forward to finding out, especially since the playlist was built out of such a massive swath of stuff covered recently.
In any case, thanks for listening if you do. 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 – 10.16.20
Hymn
Exit Through Fire
Breach Us*
Polymoon
Sliver Mountain
Caterpillars of Creation*
The Pilgrim
Secrets in the Kingdom
…From the Earth to the Sky and Back*
Shroom Eater
God Isn’t One Eyed
AD.INVENTUM*
VT1
Turtle Skull
Heartless Machine
Monoliths*
The White Swan
Purple
Nocturnal Transmissions*
Slow Green Thing
All I Want
Amygdala*
Mos Eisley Spaceport
Further When I’m Far
The Best of Their Early Year*
Brimstone Coven
Live with a Ghost
The Woes of a Mortal Earth*
White Dog
The Lantern
White Dog*
Mábura
Bong of God
Heni*
Cracked Machine
Cold Iron Light
Gates of Keras*
Kairon; IRSE!
Altaïr Descends
Polysomn*
Thomas V. Jäger
Creatures of the Deep
A Solitary Plan*
Hum
The Summoning
Inlet*
VT2
Atramentus
Stygian I – From Tumultuous Heavens (Descended Forth the Ceaseless Darkness)
Stygian*
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Oct. 30 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Reviews on October 5th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Oh hi there. It’s Quarterly Review time again, and you know what that means. 50 records between now and Friday — and I may or may not extend it through next Monday as well; I think I have enough of a backlog at this point to do so. It’s really just a question of how destroyed I am by writing about 10 different records every day this week. If past is prologue, that’s fairly well destroyed. But I’ve yet to do a Quarterly Review and regret it when it’s over, and like the last one, this roundup of 50 albums is pretty well curated, so it might even be fun to go through. There’s a thought. In any case, as always, I hope you find something you enjoy, and thank you for reading if you do or as much as you do.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
Steve Von Till, No Wilderness Deep Enough
Neurosis guitarist/vocalist Steve Von Till seems to be bringing some of the experimentalism that drives his Harvestman project into the context of his solo work with No Wilderness Deep Enough, his fifth LP and first since 2015’s A Life unto Itself (review here). Drones and melodic synth backs the deceptively-titled “The Old Straight Track,” and where Von Till began his solo career 20 years ago with traditional folk guitar, if slower, on these six tracks, he uses that meditative approach as the foundation for an outward-reaching 37-minute run, incorporating ethereal strings among the swirls of “Shadows on the Run” and finishing with the foreboding hum of “Wild Iron.” Opener “Dreams of Trees” establishes the palette’s breadth with synthesized beats alongside piano and maybe-cello, but it’s Von Till‘s voice itself that ties the material together and provides the crucial human presence and intimacy that most distinguishes the offerings under his own name. Accompanied by Von Till‘s first published book of poetry, No Wilderness Deep Enough is a portrait of the unrelenting creative growth of its maker.
Cyttorak, Simultaneous Invocation of Apocalyptic Harbingers
Take a breath before you hit play only to have it punched right out from your solar plexus by the brutalist deathsludge Cyttorak cleverly call “slowerviolence.” Dominated by low end and growls, screams, and shouts, the lumbering onslaught is the second standalone EP for the three-piece who hail from scenic Pawtucket, Rhode Island (former home of the PawSox), and throughout its six-track run, the unit conjure an unyieldingly punishing tonal morass set to aggressive purpose. That they take their name from the Marvel Universe character who controls X-Men villain Juggernaut should not be taken as coincidence, since their sound indeed seems intended to put its head down and smash through walls and/or anything else that might be in its path in pursuit of its quarry. With Conan-esque lyrical minimalism, the songs nonetheless give clues to their origins — “Royal Shokan Dismemberment” refers to Goro from Mortal Kombat, and finale “Domination Lord of Coldharbour” to Skyrim (which I still regret not playing) — but if you consider comics or video games to be lighter fare, first off, you’re working with an outdated mentality, and second, Cyttorak would like a bit of your time to smother you with volume and ferocity. They have a new split out as well, both on tape.
Also signified by the Greek letter from which they take their moniker, Czech four-piece Lambda represent a new age of progressive heavy post-rock. Influences from Russian Circles aren’t necessarily surprising to find coursing through the instrumental debut full-length, Heliopolis, but there are shades of Elder as well behind the more driving riffs and underlying swing of “Space Express,” which also featured on the band’s 2015 EP of the same name. The seven-minute “El Sonido Nuevo” did likewise, but older material or newer, the album’s nine-song procession moves toward its culminating title-track through the grace of “Odysea” and the intertwining psychedelic guitars of “Milkyway Phaseshifter” with an overarching atmosphere of the journey to the city of the sun being undertaken. And when they get there, at the closer, there’s an initial sense of peace that gives way to some of the most directly heavy push Heliopolis has to offer. Payoff, then. So be it. Purposeful and somewhat cerebral in its execution, the DIY debut brings depth and space together to immersive effect.
Following his 2016 debut, Rotgut (review here) and 2018’s Go to the Devil (review here), Godless is the third full-length from former Iron Man and current Spiral Grave frontman Dee Calhoun, and its considerable 63-minute runtime finds him working in multiple directions while keeping his underlying roots in acoustic-based heavy metal. Certainly “To My Boy” — and Rob Calhoun has appeared on his father’s releases before as well — has its basis in familial expression, but its pairing with “Spite Fuck” is somewhat curious. Meanwhile, “Hornswoggled” cleverly samples George W. Bush with a laugh track, and “Here Under Protest,” “The Greater Evil,” “Ebenezer” and “No Justice” seem to take a worldly view as well. Meanwhile again, “Godless,” “The Day Salvation Went Away” and “Prudes, Puritanicals and Puddles of Piss” make their perspective nothing if not plain for the listener, and the album ends with the two-minute kazoo-laced gag track “Here Comes the Bride: A Tale From Backwater.” So perhaps scattershot, but Godless is nonetheless Calhoun‘s most effective outing yet in terms of arrangements and craft, and shows him digging further into the singer-songwriter form than he has up to now, sounding more comfortable and confident in the process.
Melodic vocal lines weave together and float over alternately weighted and likewise ethereal guitars on Turtle Skull‘s second album, Monoliths. The percussion-inclusive (tambourine, congas, rain stick, etc.) Sydney-based heavy psychedelic outfit create an immersive wash that makes the eight-song/55-minute long-player consuming for the duration, and while there are moments of clarity to be found throughout — the steady snare taps of “Why Do You Ask?” for example — but the vast bulk of the LP is given to the overarching flow, which finds progressive/space-rock footing in the 11-plus minutes of finale “The Clock Strikes Forever” and is irresistibly consuming on the drifting wash of “Rabbit” or the lysergic grunge blowout of “Who Cares What You Think?,” which gives way to the choral drone of “Halcyon” gorgeously en route through the record’s back half. It’s not the highest profile heavy psych release of 2020, but neither is it to be overlooked for the languid stretch of “Leaves” at the outset or the fuzz-drenched roll in the penultimate “Apple of Your Eye.”
In some ways, the dichotomy of Diuna‘s 2019 sophomore full-length, Golem, is set by its first two tracks, the 24-second intro “Menu” and the seven-minute “Jarmark Cudów” that follows, each longer song throughout is prefaced by an introduction or interlude, varying in degrees of experimentation. That, however, doesn’t cover the outsider vibes the Polish trio bring to bear in those longer songs themselves, be it “Jarmark Cudów” devolving into a post-Life of Agony noise rock roll, or the thrust in “Frank Herbert” cut into starts and stops and shouting madness. Heavy rock, noise, sludge, post-this-or-that, it doesn’t matter by the end of the 12-track/44-minute release, because Diuna establish such firm control over the proceedings and make so clear the challenge to the listener to keep up that it’s only fun to try. It might take a couple listens to sink in, but the more attention one gives Golem, the more one is going to be rewarded in the end, and I don’t just mean in the off-kilter fuckery of closer “Pan Jezus Idzie Do Wojska.”
“Ambitious” doesn’t begin to cover it. With eight songs (plus a bonus track) and 11 listed guest musicians, the debut full-length, Hollow, from Tel Aviv-based death-doomers Tomorrow’s Rain seems to be setting its own standard in that regard. And quite a list it is, with the likes of Aaron Stainthorpe of My Dying Bride, Greg Mackintosh of Paradise Lost, Fernando Ribeiro of Moonspell, Mikko Kotamaki of Swallow the Sun, and so on, it is a who’s-who of melodic/gothic death-doom and the album lives up to the occasion in terms of the instrumental drama it presents. Some appear on one track, some on multiple tracks — Ribeiro and Kotamaki both feature on “Misery Rain” — and despite the constant shifts in personnel with only one of the eight tracks completely without an outside contributor, the core six-piece of Tomorrow’s Rain are still able to make an impression of their own that is bolstered and not necessarily overwhelmed by the extravagant company being kept throughout.
Mother Eel‘s take on sludge isn’t so much crushing as it is caustic. They’re plenty heavy, but their punishment isn’t just meted out through tonal weight being brought down on your head. It’s the noise. It’s the blown-out screams. It’s the harshness of the atmosphere in which the entirety of their debut album, Svalbard, resides. Five tracks, 33 minutes, zero forgiveness. One might be tempted to think of songs like “Erection of Pain” as nihilistic fuckall, but that seems incorrect. Nah, they mean it. Fuckall, yeah. But fuckall as ethos. Fuckall manifest. So it goes through “Alpha Woman” and “Listen to the Elderly for They Have Much to Teach,” which ends in a Primitive Man-ish static assault, and the lumbering finish “Not My Shade,” which assures that what began on “Sucking to Gain” half an hour earlier ends on the same anti-note: a disaffected malevolence writ into sheer sonic unkindness. There is little letup, even in the quiet introductions or transitions, so if you’re looking for mercy, don’t bother.
The four-song/39-minute atmospheric sludge long-player Filled by Empty Spaces is listed by Brazilian solo outfit Umbilichaos as being the third part of, “the Tetralogy of Loneliness.” If that’s the emotion being expressed in the noise-metal post-Godflesh chug-and-shout of “Filled by Empty Spaces Pt. 02,” then it is loneliness viscerally presented by founding principal and multi-instrumentalist Anna C. Chaos. The feel throughout the early going of the release is plodding and agonized in kind, but in “Filled by Empty Spaces Pt. 01” and “Filled by Empty Spaces Pt. 03” there is some element of grim, crusted-over psychedelia happening alongside the outright dirge-ism, though the latter ultimately wins out in the four-minute instrumental capper “Disintegration.” One way or the other, Chaos makes her point through raw tonality and overarching intensity of purpose, the compositions coming across simultaneously unhinged and dangerously under control. There are many kinds of heavy. Filled by Empty Spaces is a whole assortment of them.
Fueled by avant grunge/noise impulsion, Radar Men From the Moon‘s latest foray to Planet Whothefuckknows arrives in the eight-song/41-minute The Bestial Light, a record alternately engrossing and off-putting, that does active harm when the sounds-like-it’s-skipping intro to “Piss Christ” comes on and then subsequently mellows out with psych-sax like they didn’t just decide to call the song “Sacred Cunt of the Universe” or something. Riffs, electronics, the kind of weirdness that’s too self-aware not to be progressive, Radar Men From the Moon take the foundation of experimentation set by Astrosoniq and mutate it via Swans into something unrecognizable by genre and unwilling to compromise its own direction. And no, by the time “Levelling” comes on to round out, there is no peace to be found, though perhaps a twisted kind of joy at the sheer postmodernism. They should score ballets with this stuff. No one would go, but three centuries from now, they’d be worshiped as gods. Chance of that anyway, I suppose.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 24th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Kind of a note to myself here. This record came in this morning and I was curious, so checked it out and I think it might be awesome. It’s the Sydney-based band’s second full-length behind a 2018 self-titled and it’s coming out through Art as Catharsis and Kozmik Artifactz, so that’s good backing either way, but it was the actual sound of the thing that might’ve sold me. Folky, bright, but still heavy underpinnings to the psychedelic flow to what I’ve heard. I guess everything coming out of Oz at this point is represented as being influenced by King Gizzard but I can’t really speak to that one way or the other, but if you know that Khruangbin record and Kikagaku Moyo, you know that’s good territory to be in.
So why the post? Well, my time’s pretty bare these days so it’s a reminder to myself to put on the record tomorrow and listen through the entire thing when this post goes live. It’ll be Thursday so I’ll have a couple extra minutes. If I told you what was going on on my right-hand side right now — first, it would be a longer explanation than the press release below, but second, it still wouldn’t make any sense. It’s been quite a week. I’m looking forward to checking Monoliths out.
Dig:
TURTLE SKULL – Monoliths 28.08.2020, Art As Catharsis / Kozmik Artifactz
Art As Catharsis are proud to announce the release of Turtle Skull’s second album, Monoliths – a texture-rich record that dances between bone-crushing lows and ethereal highs.
Taking inspiration from Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd and Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Turtle Skull’s blend of warped psychedelia, shattering doom and indie-rock sensibility merges into their own brand of music dubbed ‘flower doom’.
While the final product contains a faint similarity to the sounds of King Gizzard & The Lizzard Wizard, Khruangbin, or Kikagku Moyo, Monoliths is distinctively its own beast. It’s a record that heaves and soars, taking joyous compositions and steering them headfirst into a realm of fuzz and fury.
“For me this album and this band was an opportunity to take everything back to the simplest form,” says vocalist/guitarist Dean McLeod. “I’d been listening to lot of drone, heavy psych, stoner doom, ambient stuff, and one of the things that often unite these somewhat disparate genres is the extensive use of drones and ambient synths.
“This record is about the intimate connection we share with the Earth on which we stand. It’s about the world and your place in it. It’s about looking deep inside yourself and seeing what you find. It’s about life and death and everything in between… and most of all it’s about the pure joy of creation. We are very happy to share it with you.”
At the end of its runtime, Monoliths undeniably displays a much more fleshed-out realisation of the doom, psych rock and indie fusion that launched the five-piece into the public eye following their self-titled release. Tipping between heavy and catchy is the strength of Monoliths – the roar of the fuzzed-out amps is counterbalanced by feather-light vocals, creating a contrast as clear and harmonious as sun and sky. For fans old and new, this is fusion at it’s finest – a record with something to offer every listener.
1. Leaves 2. Rabbit 3. Heartless Machine 4. Why Do You Ask? 5. Who Cares What You Think? 6. Halcyon 7. Apple Of Your Eye 8. The Clock Strikes Forever
This record is about the intimate connection we share with the Earth on which we stand. It’s about the world and your place in it. It’s about looking deep inside yourself and seeing what you find. It’s about life and death and everything in between. It’s about greed, racism, colonialism and technological destruction. It’s about hopelessness and despair. It’s about self love and introspection. It’s about friendship and the power of shared experience. It’s about life-changing psychedelic journeys. It’s about connecting with the source. And most of all it’s about the pure joy of creation. We are very happy to share it with you.
Tobia Blefari – Percussion (congas, rain stick, shaker, tambourine) Julian Frese – Bass, piano, vocals Dan Frizza – Synths Charlie Gradon – Drums, vocals Dean McLeod – Guitars, vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 25th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
In case you’ve forgotten how the world works, reality isn’t polite enough to wait for one global crisis to end before the next one begins, and though the media cycle spotlight worldwide may have moved on to brighter, shinier travesties, the fallout from Australia’s wildfires earlier this year is still being felt and will be for many years to come. Ecosystem damage like that doesn’t disappear in a day. Particularly when humans are involved. We suck at that stuff. Good destroyers, bad rebuilders.
Anyhoo, there are those who do what they can, and among them stand organizations like WIRES and the Australian Red Cross, who are the beneficiaries of Copper Feast Records‘ new compilation out March 27, titled Hidden Noise. Australia’s one-of-a-kind environment and wildlife can’t be replaced, or cloned by futures usses, and the planet needs that ecosystem and those animals now. And not to mention the cost to humanity too in lost homes, livelihoods and lives. If a comp with killer tracks by killer bands gets any dollars — Australian or otherwise — to those causes, then that’s only a good thing.
So here’s the info:
Copper Feast Records – ‘Hidden Noise’ Charity Compilation
The world is on fire. Australia is on fire. Things will not get better until things change.
In late 2019 and early 2020, Australia was ravaged by bushfires which have destroyed vast expanses of its unique natural environment, pushing some species to the verge of extinction and causing the loss of many lives, livelihoods and homes. As our way of giving back, 100% of the profits from ‘Hidden Noise’ will be going to charity.
‘Hidden Noise’, a compilation from Copper Feast Records, showcases unreleased tracks from some of the best ‘hidden’ psych rock and stoner rock bands that Australia has to offer. In addition, a small number of previously released tracks from even more amazing bands completes the compilation.
Some of the artists that have contributed brand new songs include Planet of the 8s, Turtle Skull and The Black Heart Death Cult. We also have new mixes of existing tracks from the likes of Sleeping Giant and Narla.
The compilation title ‘Hidden Noise’ takes on a variety of different meanings in relation to this project. These are all Australian bands that are massively deserving of a greater following than they currently receive. Their music may be somewhat hidden for now, but I urge you to explore them all further. Albums, singles and even demos can be found on each band’s own Bandcamp page with links provided below.
‘Hidden Noise’ also references how at-risk persons and families have found their voice lost when requiring assistance before and after the bushfire crisis affecting the country. This is in addition to the vast number of wildlife voices that go unheard at this time as humans exploit their habitats causing their destruction.
Last but not least, the compilation title is in reference to the media obstruction and government inaction all over the world regarding climate change and the crisis affecting not only Australia, but every country in the world as a result of this.
We need change. Please enjoy the music and be a part of it.
Thank you to all the artists above for their contribution and support to this project. Thank you to Carl Saff for ensuring such a broad-ranging sound compiled into one record sounds cohesive. Thank you to you, the listener, for your support.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 1st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I like to think that maybe all of Australia and New Zealand found out Wo Fat were heading their way and the bands were fighting over who was going to play with them in Melbourne and then finally Your Mate Bookings was like ah screw it we’ll just do a festival and you all can play. That’s probably not how it happened — for one thing, sick as this lineup is, it’s by no means all the bands — but it’s fun to pretend, and if there were multiple acts lining up to be in the lineup, you’d have to understand where they’re coming from. I mean, it’s Wo Fat. Who wouldn’t want to partake?
The Texas mavens of fuzz-based explorando will hit Aunz in June and accordingly, Wo Fest is set for Jun 8 at the famed Bendigo Hotel in Melbourne. I haven’t seen a full list of tour dates as yet, but one expects those are forthcoming, and maybe some word of a new album? Maybe? An Australia/New Zealand tour is its own excuse for being, certainly, but a new record coming out would most certainly sweeten the deal. Also the year.
Nothing concrete on that front either, just speculation to keep my brain busy. Here’s the lineup and info for Wo Fest as per the social medias:
YOUR MATE Bookings, Young Henrys, Ripple Music, Rocknrollbrat Presents WO FEST
June 8, 2019
Melbourne’s Premium ALL DAY / ALL NIGHT Music, Art and Tattoo Festival
WO FEST will feature some of Australia & New Zealands greatest bands and solo artists in the Blues, Stoner, Psychedelic, Progressive, Sludge and Doom genres of Australia; Headlined by the one and only Texan Swampadelic Wizards Wo Fat & supported by NZs Pieces Of Molly along with local and interstate talent Subterranean Disposition, Turtle Skull, Motherslug, Honeybone, Pseudo Mind Hive, Full Tone Generator, Thaw, Burden Man.
Wo Fest will also feature Melbournes Jake Fraser Tattoo, a light show from Electric Light Brigade resident DJs and Artists.
This show will really go down as one to remember keeping Melbourne city at the forefront as one of the greatest musical cities in the world.
The event will be held on Saturday June 8th from midday at Bendigo Hotel in Collingwood.
