Yet again, The Obelisk asks the big questions.

Speaking of British bands whose songs get irreparably caught in my head and in whose riffs I want to immerse myself for weeks at a time and who are allegedly releasing a new album this year, fucking Electric Wizard, man. I don’t really have a point other than that. Fucking Electric Wizard. In an effort to better your afternoon at work or wherever the hell you are, here’s “Stone Magnet” from their 1995 self-titled debut:

Just one month after it was announced that frontman Ben Ward was leaving Ravens Creed, in a statement directed solely to me, UK thunderdoomers Orange Goblin said the following:

“Oye! I bet you’d like us to go ahead and put out a bloody new album so you could review it and talk about how fucking awesome we are. Well, fuck off, mate. We’re not gonna put out a fucking record this year. In fact, we might not ever put out a new album at all. What about that, eh? Ah, bugger off, you bloody tosser…” [At this point the statement devolved into a long series of specifically British insults that it would be pointless for me to print since no one would understand them.]

Yes. That definitely happened. Or, they said this:

With everybody’s commitments to work, family and other things, we have decided that it is best that we do not commit to any deadline for the next album as we wouldn’t want to rush and deliver a record that we are not 100 percent happy with. Songwriting will continue as and when we can, but we honestly couldn’t say when we will be ready to go into the studio to record again. It will definitely NOT be in 2010. Please rest assured that it will happen, but sometimes it is better to stop and think of what is best for Orange Goblin as a band!

I’ll leave it up to you to decide which one’s more plausible. Any way you slice it you don’t get an Orange Goblin record, so knock yourself out.

When they made their debut in 2008 with Embrace of the Narrow House (Eichenwald Industries), the then-duo of multi-instrumentalist Steve Mills and vocalist/guitarist George Birch inserted themselves into the ever-growing sphere of bands with a direct line to Black Sabbath’s darkest moments we commonly know as traditional doom. Though subgenre designations are debatable (endlessly so), what comes across centrally in the material of the UK’s The Wounded Kings is not the band paying homage in the form of imitation, but rather, striving to bring something new to the foundations on which they’re working.

With their follow-up, sophomore effort, The Shadow over Atlantis, on Sweden’s I Hate Records, Mills and Birch have developed this ethic even further, incorporating linear songwriting and threaded themes running the course of the record’s six tracks. Not only is the sound (recorded by Mills) working within and beyond the parameters of doom, but by injecting elements of darkened psychedelia and classical compositions, The Wounded Kings are ensuring none who hear The Shadow over Atlantis will come out of it without realizing the individuality driving the band who wrote those songs.

Though The Wounded Kings have since made permanent their two live members — bassist Luke Taylor and drummer Nick Collings — and are scheduled to participate in this year’s Roadburn Festival in The Netherlands, and though The Shadow over Atlantis was recorded nearly a year ago, Mills recently took some time out for a cross-continental phone interview to discuss the album, its concept and the band’s motivations and outlook going forward. You’ll find it available for reading after the jump. Enjoy.

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A double album is always a curious read, and Cathedral’s ninth full-length, The Guessing Game, with which the legendary UK doom outfit celebrates their 20th anniversary, is no exception. All the more so considering The Guessing Game is so close to the 80-minute limit of what would fit on a regular compact disc that, if the band had nixed the two two-and-a-half-minute intros, the record would have fit easily. So it’s not like they’ve come up with such an abundance of material as a follow-up to 2005’s The Garden of Unearthly Delights, but the jeans are just a little too tight to hold what they’ve got. I think we’ve all been there at one time or another.

Please don’t take that as calling The Guessing Game bloated. As one of the bands who set the course for the genre of traditional doom with classic albums like 1993’s The Ethereal Mirror and 1995’s The Carnival Bizarre, they know what it takes to make a good record, and although I generally fall on the side of cut what you need to to make it work — to the point of agreeing with George Martin that The White Album should have been a single disc (would the world really miss “Rocky Raccoon” or “Revolution No. 9?”) — if after two decades of existence, Cathedral want to make a 2CD, I’m not about to fault them for doing so. After five years, I’m just happy to have a new record. Any issue of how to interpret whether to take it as one whole work or two separate albums is secondary to that. Maybe that’s The Guessing Game.

In any case, the remaining original and principal members of the band, vocalist Lee Dorrian (whose back story by now shouldn’t need retelling) and guitarist Garry “Gaz” Jennings, both give remarkable performances throughout The Guessing Game. From “Funeral of Dreams” and down the line of the first disc’s material, Dorrian’s voice is a constant high point. Even as “Funeral of Dreams” pays bizarre homage to ritualistic ‘70s prog — think bands like Black Widow and Coven — Dorrian stays in character and on point vocally. And it’s a hearty “holy shit” moment nearly every time Jennings kicks into a solo, perhaps most especially on “Painting in the Dark.”

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I don’t know if all the crap in the title of the above video is true or not. It sounds like a load to me, but on the other hand, the audio within of Deep Purple doing “Maybe I’m a Leo” from Machine Head live at the BBC rules, so I’ll put up with whatever the title wants to say about it. I’m partial to this song not only because I’ve been feeling the old man rock lately, or The Atomic Bitchwax covered it, and they’re Jersey like me, but also because I think it’s one of the earliest and best examples of the stoner rock bop that bands today still try and emulate. Killer riff, and I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you about it.

Was a hell of a week around these parts. Thanks again to everyone who checked in to read the Solace in-studio stuff. There was a lot of it, but the report from Justin is that they got through the two songs the next day and, pending the approval of vocalist Jason and one final go-over, the long-awaited A.D. is mixed. Pretty badass if you ask me.

One thing I think got overshadowed and maybe shoved off to the side by all the Solace posts was the news Karl Daniel Lidén revealed in our brief Q&A about his new project with Dozer’s Tommi Holoppa and Johan Rockner, called Dahli. If you missed that, it’s here.

Enjoy your weekend and get some rest if you can. I know I’ll be trying. If all goes according to my evil plan, next week starts off with a new podcast, so keep it tuned in. Hopefully it’ll be up at some point over the next day or two.

…Actually, they don’t. They pretty much lay it all out there when it comes to their new album, The Guessing Game, due out in March on Nuclear Blast. Blabbermouth had the story — though it looks like something off the PR wire — but here it is, cut and pasted for your viewing convenience:

Veteran British doom/stoner band Cathedral will release its ninth full-length album and second for the Nuclear Blast label, The Guessing Game, on March 26. The CD was recorded at the Chapel studios (The Darkness, Napalm Death, Uriah Heep, Wet Wet Wet, Simple Minds) in Lincolnshire, UK and was once again produced by Warren Riker (Down, Crowbar). It also sports stunning new artwork from band collaborator Dave Patchett.

The Guessing Game tracklisting:
01. Immaculate Misconception (2:24)
02. Funeral of Dreams (8:28)
03. Painting in the Dark (6:18)
04. Death of an Anarchist (7:12)
05. The Guessing Game (3:08)
06. Edwige’s Eyes (7:08)
07. One Dimensional People (2:30)
08. Casket Chasers (6:41)
09. La Noche del Buque Maldito (AKA Ghost Ship of the Blind Dead) (5:46)
10. The Running Man (8:46)
11. Requiem for the Voiceless (9:50)
12. Journey’s Into Jade (10:36)

UK rockers Grifter, who practice what they preach on their new EP, The Simplicity of the Riff is Key, are getting set to head out with Sun Gods in Exile on a short tour. In addition, the aforementioned EP is also at the presses, and there’s going to be a limited Grifter/Sun Gods in Exile split for the shows. Here’s an update from the band with more details:

The new EP on Catacomb Records entitled The Simplicity of the Riff is Key is going to pressing, the artwork is all complete and there is a tentative release date of the first week in April. Obviously we’ll be letting the world know as soon as it’s available so you can rush to buy copies!!!!

To coincide with the EP’s release we’ll be going on tour in the first week in April with Sun Gods in Exile from Boston [actually Maine – ed.] on their first visit to the UK. Their debut album on Small Stone Records, Bright Light White Lines has been getting awesome reviews pretty much everywhere so this tour is certain to kick some ass!!! There are plans to put out a split EP with Sun Gods featuring a couple of unreleased tunes by each band. This will be strictly limited edition and low key for the tour.

Catch both bands at:
Truro – Bar 200 (Live Bar) Monday April 5th
TBC Tuesday April 6th (hopefully Bristol)
Birmingham – The Old Wharf Digbeth Wednesday April 7th – support from Alunah
Sheffield – The Cremorne Thursday April 8th – support from Alunah
Leicester – Retribution Friday April 9th – support from Alunah
London – Loud Howls Festival at The Gaff, Holloway Road alongside End of Level Boss, The Freezing Fog, Suns of Thunder, Domes of Silence, Alunah, Stubb, Bodukwe and Obiat – DJ set from Orange Goblin

Plans are also afoot for our first trip to Europe as we’re looking at a couple of gigs in northern France…more news as we have it.

The reason this is a Buried Treasure and not a review or something — aside from album’s having been already reviewed — is that I just finally got around to buying a physical copy last night at Vintage Vinyl. I was there for the Crippled Black Phoenix, The Resurrectionists/Night Raider box and figured since opening track “As Horizons End” has been in my head for a couple days, I’d grab the 2009 Paradise Lost release as well. Maybe there was some subliminal connection because both bands are British. In any case, I had some store credit to burn.

Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us is not an album I’ve consistently gone back to, but for some reason, I recently clicked open the folder of promo mp3s from which the review was written and gave it another shot. It’s still formulaic, but as I stood with the copy of it in my hands and debated taking it to the register, I realized formulaic was exactly what I wanted. There’s no question there’s some filler toward the record’s back half — I know that now even more than the first time around — but that’s what I wanted. A metal album. Something I could put on and not think about. A couple catchy choruses, some decent guitar work, and done. Mind-boggling complexity is wonderful, but sometimes you just want to relax.

I felt way back in August and still feel “As Horizons End” is the strongest cut on the record. It’s the one that led me back to Faith Divides Us – Death Unites Us, and a good portion of motivation for any subsequent listens will be to hear that one song. But what follows it, at least for the next four songs until you get past the title track, isn’t half bad either. I doubt the purchase will instill in me a wholesale new affection for the album, but hey, at least I know it’s on the shelf should I decide to pay it another visit half a year from now.

Whenever I hear a record like the The Shadow over Atlantis, the jaw-dropping sophomore outing from UK doomers The Wounded Kings (and contrary to whatever hyperbole is yet to come, reason knows there are other albums that have provoked this reaction), I feel oppressed by it, like I’m drowning in it — and yes, that is a very good thing. The duo’s I Hate Records label debut crosses traditional lines with newer atmospheres, and maintains a punishingly, torturously slow approach that simply is the essence of doom. As the cover art harkens to the vinyl days of yore while keeping a mystical, occult vibe, so too does the music fall into line across the six tracks of the album.

The Shadow over Atlantis is bookended by two 10-plus-minute tracks; “The Swirling Mist” and “Invocation of the Ancients.” Between them are four interestingly timed pieces, “Baptism of Atlantis” (8:11), “Into the Ocean’s Abyss” (2:02), “The Sons of Belial” (8:01) and “Deathless Echo” (2:50). The shorter tracks are essentially mood pieces and interludes, “Deathless Echo” setting up the closer especially well with multi-layered organ synth work from multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Steve Mills. The structure of the album isn’t necessarily based solely on the timing of these songs — that is, it doesn’t depend on them for flow or its overarching melancholic groove — but the numbers are interesting nonetheless, and add somehow to the mystery of the listening experience.

This is occult doom, through and through. It comes out in both the music’s slow ritualism and in the lyrics, which are delivered with a sort of far-off vibrato like Pete Stahl of Goatsnake in an echo chamber with Messiah Marcolin. There is a traceable narrative of mythological destruction (that of Atlantis comes to mind), but The Shadow over Atlantis isn’t a concept record in the Ayreon sense. Each track offers a complete and satisfying listen — interludes notwithstanding; though I might argue for either piece out of context delivering something on its own as well — and it’s just when they all come together that The Wounded Kings’ doomly immersion is complete.

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What starts out as a litmus test for how much drone punishment a listener can handle not so quickly becomes an encompassing ritual nearly religious in its scope. Skullflower’s Strange Keys to Untune Gods’ Firmament (Neurot) is a double-disc, 12 track excursion to the outer limits of instrumental noise. There are no songs, no catchy choruses, no pop structures. UK-based guitarist Matthew Bower continues his 20-plus year run of unbridled experimentation, now as the sole creative force within the band.

It is, for most who’d even be brave enough to take it on, completely unlistenable. Bower makes no attempt to meet his audience halfway or do anything that might make his music more accessible. This, for a small but loyal cult segment of the underground, is precisely what has earned him such acclaim these past decades in his various projects, and with Strange Keys to Untune Gods’ Firmament, the idea seems not so much to expand the horizons of noise — because Bower’s already done that — but rather to engage in the rites of the unhinged and to make a work that, apart from the already-stretched limits of its instrumentation, is truly without borders.

That said, there can be no doubt that Skullflower’s latest is bound to be more appreciated than heard. The destructive chaos of these tracks is rampant throughout, and makes most bands who talk of their sound as apocalyptic seem even sillier than they did themselves. Take the vocals out of the first two Godflesh records and play them at quarter-speed. Repeat for two hours and enjoy. Or, more likely, don’t. Doesn’t seem to matter to Bower.

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In and out in a little over 12 minutes, this split 7” between British rockers Alunah (whose ending ‘h’ seems a recent addition) and multi-continental experimental droners Queen Elephantine is a quick trip, but a satisfying one nonetheless. Limited to 250 copies and issued through Catacomb Records, each side of the vinyl features one song just past six minutes long and though the two bands work in different atmospheres, there’s a far-off echo that permeates both pieces and builds cohesiveness between the styles.

With “Song of the Sun,” Alunah offer comparatively straightforward riff-based heavy rock, set apart from the pack by the lead vocals of Sophie (no last name given), for whom Acid King comparisons can’t possibly be anything new. Nonetheless, the band spend their time wisely, fading out and back in at the end for an additional few seconds of riffing and lead lines. The four piece aren’t really breaking any new ground for stoner rock, but neither are they offensive. They’re recording a new full-length this year, and I’d be interested to check it out, so if the idea of “Song of the Sun” was to get people interested in the band by giving them a small taste, then it worked.

Whether they’re hailing on any given day from New York, Providence, RI, or Hong Kong, the prolific Queen Elephantine always seem up for a little mind expansion. Somewhat ironic is that by keeping their contribution, “Mephistopheles,” to around six minutes, they’re actually more reigned in than usual. I get the feeling there’s a half-hour version of this song out there somewhere. As it stands on the split, though, the band, led by Indy Shome continue their progressive journey through deconstructed psychedelia. In contrast to Alunah, Queen Elephantine care little for structure and ride their song out to wherever it takes them. In the context of an LP, this can be challenging, but here they keep it relatively on track, which makes for a fascinating balance.

For Alunah, this is their second release following the Fall to Earth EP (also on Catacomb), and Queen Elephantine seem to have a new split or online-only release every few months, so it’s a fair bet we’ll be hearing more from both bands. Going by the tracks included on this 7”, that’s just fine, since they each have something of their own to offer but don’t stray so far from the other as to make for incongruous listening.

Alunah on MySpace

Queen Elephantine on MySpace

Catacomb Records

Amongst doomers and headbangers in general, Birmingham, England is a town whose legacy need not be elucidated, and while stoner sludgers Sonic Lord probably aren’t about to inspire the same multi-generational appeal as Black Sabbath or Napalm Death, they do alright with the Goatsnake riffs and the C.O.C. vocals. The two songs on their Catacomb Records 7”, Trawling through Sludge each have a solid, if expected, presentation of stoner boogie and heavier aggression. It’s nothing what hasn’t been done before, but if we condemned every band who took Sabbath as an influence, there’d be no point to life.

I don’t find Trawling through Sludge to be wholly redundant, though no doubt some others will. Their blend of Sleep-style stoner metal riffing and shouted vocals makes for a decent listen at least across the 10-plus minutes of this 7”, with both “The Fallen” and “The Prophecy” delivering meat and potatoes sludge. They keep a groove locked in throughout and don’t seem to ask more of their audience than up and down nodding and vague appreciation, both of which are easily enough earned.

As it was released in 2008 and limited to 250 copies (the first 100 of which came with a Sonic Lord guitar pick), I’m not sure as to the availability of Trawling through Sludge at this point, but if nothing else, take this review as notice that Sonic Lord are out there, riffing into the ether. The four-piece aren’t changing the world, but they seem to do just fine as they are, and should they decide going forward to expand on the feedback-laden, grueling pace of “The Prophecy,” they’ll have no problems making friends in the heavy underground.

Sonic Lord on MySpace

Catacomb Records

Every year there’s a last-minute sneak onto the countdown. Two years ago, Primordial’s To the Nameless Dead came out in November and was my pick for album of the year. I stand by that, by the way. I guess the closest thing to that happening this year is Shrinebuilder, though they more or less had a spot waiting for them, it was just a matter of assigning the proper number when the time came. Last year, there were two late-released records that made my top 10 that I think are worth another mention as we get ready to close the books on 2009.

Namely, Beyond Colossal by Dozer and II by The Kings of Frog Island.

We’ll take them one at a time. For Dozer, who have since relinquished their crown as the kings of Swedish stoner metal to go on hiatus, Beyond Colossal was a further step away from their riff rock beginnings. Their fifth album overall — second for Small Stone — it was a heavy and aggressive exploration of sound that resulted in a collection of memorable tracks including “Empire’s End” and “Two Coins for Eyes,” both of which featured guest vocals from Clutch’s Neil Fallon. But it wasn’t just his appearance that made Beyond Colossal special. The energy in “The Flood,” the dynamism of “The Ventriloquist” and even the bravery of quiet closer “Bound for Greatness” all shine both within the Dozer catalog and without.

For the UK’s The Kings of Frog Island, II was an appropriately-titled second offering via Elektrohasch Schallplatten. While what I recalled of their first album was that it was fuzzy, stoned and riffy with psychedelic undertones, this one came and blew it away in almost every sense of the word. For the hair grown on the guitar tone in “Welcome to the Void” alone — the riff to which I can’t get out of my head just from thinking about it as I type — II has been a mainstay in my CD player throughout 2009. The transposed down-home blues of “The Watcher” and the darker, more sinisterly rhythmic “Witching Hour” are constant fixtures in the mental jukebox, and those are just the tracks I can think of off the top of my head. Once the record actually goes on, it’s simply a matter of being taken someplace else. Leicester, perhaps, where the band is from. Who knows.

Point is this, both Beyond Colossal and II have already shown that they can hold up for a solid year (which, as we all know, is a lot more than plenty of albums) without losing their appeal. If nothing else, that’s definitely worth some consideration. “Attention could be paid,” and so forth.

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One has to assume that newborn UK stoner jammers Wiht pronounce their name “white,” like the color, though to my eyes the way they spell it looks more like it should be “wit.” Throw a ‘g’ in there and you might get Wight, which works, but looks kind of silly. Come to think of it, so does Wiht.

But whatever. They’ve got a logo, a guitarist, drummer, bass player and a few rough sample recordings on their MySpace page, ergo they are a band. And a riffy instrumental one, too. Chris Wayper, Rick Contini and Joe Hall (guitar, drums and bass, respectively) don’t screw around with adding flash to their songs and they don’t bother with vocals. Wayper’s guitar leads the charge, and Contini and Hall keep up ably across the MySpace tracks, dooming out on “Into Ruin,” stoning it up on “…And the Thunder Rolls” (let’s assume that’s not a Garth Brooks reference) and adding some appropriate largess to “Vasta.”

Things are almost a little too by the book in listening to these samples, but I don’t doubt Wiht are doing it with conviction. They don’t have CDs available yet, but they’re working on it. In the meantime, judging by what they’ve got on offer so far, they’re probably worth keeping on the radar.

The UK has a long, storied love affair with blues-based rock and roll, and stepping right in line with the tradition are Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight, a passionately independent trio from St. Albans whose latest full-length, Movin’ On, was recently reviewed here. Comprised of Pete “Trippy Pierre” Holland on guitar/vocals, Dicky King on bass and Chris West on drums, Trippy Wicked harnesses a totally live feel on record while balancing it with clarity of sound and a modern production. Similar to the criminally underappreciated Shovelhead, the dynamic between the three players is as much a part of their sound as the guitar tone.

West was kind enough to take time and field some questions via email about the band, their experience recording at Chuckalumba Studios (Electric Wizard), self-releasing albums in the digital age and bringing the blues into a heavy context. Q&A, as ever, is after the jump. Please enjoy.

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