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

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal Playlist: Episode 52

Posted in Radio on February 5th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk show banner

Whatever, it’s my show. I can throw 16 Horsepower in between Genghis Tron and Yawning Sons if I want. I can start with a 19-minute West Coast jam from Terry Gross, followed by a 12-minute Swedish jam from CB3 followed by a 15-minute jam from Croatian bizarros The Freak Folk of Mangrovia followed by nine minutes of pummeling noise from Gangrened. You don’t care. Don’t pretend you do. The weirder this show gets the better it gets as far as I’m concerned.

So yeah, there’s some Ulcerate after Coma Wall. Maybe incongruity is fun sometimes. I think so, and again, even if you’re reading this, you don’t give a crap. You’ll either listen or you won’t. My show’s on after the artist-hosted stretches, which is primo positioning as far as Friday goes — frickin’ drive-time, if such a thing still exists — and most of what I hear from people is that The Pecan sounds cute. Well, he is cute. I’m pretty sure that’s how children don’t get abandoned in the woods more often. They’re cute.

What were we talking about? The show. Right. Whatever. It’s fucking awesome. Yeah, I hope you dig it. Okay. You got me. It matters to me. Fine.

Thanks for listening and/or reading.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 02.05.20

Terry Gross Space Voyage Mission Soft Opening
CB3 Acid Haze Aeons Live Session
The Freak Folk of Mangrovia Lunar Ritual Temple of the Second Moon
Gangrened Triptaani Deadly Algorithm
Dozer Vinegar Fly Vultures
Holy Monitor Naked in the Rain Southern Lights
Coma Wall Breathe in the Ether Ursa Minor
Ulcerate Stare into Death and Be Still Stare into Death and Be Still
Blind Monarch Blind Monarch What is Imposed Must Be Endured
Genghis Tron Dream Weapon Dream Weapon
16 Horsepower Wayfaring Stranger Secret South
Yawning Sons Shadows and Echoes Sky Island
Wolvennest Disappear Temple

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Feb. 19 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

The Obelisk on Thee Facebooks

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

Quarterly Review: Mrs. Piss, Ulcerate, Shroom Eater, Astralist, Daily Thompson, The White Swan, Dungeon Weed, Thomas V. Jäger, Cavern, Droneroom

Posted in Reviews on October 9th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

Today is what would be the last day of the Fall 2020 Quarterly Review, except, you know, it’s not. Monday is. I know it’s been a messed up time for everybody and everything, but there’s a lot of music coming out, so if you’re craving some sense of normalcy — and hey, fair enough — it’s right there. Today’s an all-over-the-place day but there’s some killer stuff in here right from the start, so jump in and good luck.

And don’t forget — back on Monday with the last 10 records. Thanks for reading.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Mrs. Piss, Self-Surgery

mrs piss self surgery

If “Nobody Wants to Party with Us” as the alternately ambient/industrial-punk fuckall of that song posits, most likely that’s because they’re way too intimidated to even drop a text to invite Mrs. Piss over. The duo comprised of vocalist/guitarist Chelsea Wolfe and guitarist/bassist/drummer/programmer Jess Gowrie issue Self-Surgery as an act of sheer confrontation. The screams of “You Took Everything.” The chugging self-loathing largesse of “Knelt.” The fuzzed mania of ‘M.B.O.T.W.O.,” which, yes, stands for “Mega Babes of the Wild Order.” The unmitigated punk of “Downer Surrounded by Uppers” and the twisted careen-and-crash of the title-track. The declaration of purpose in the lines, “In the shit/I’m sacrosanct/I’m Mrs. Piss” in the eponymous closer. Rage against self, rage against other, rage and righteousness. Among the great many injustices this year has wrought, that Wolfe and Gowrie aren’t touring this material, playing 20-something-minute sets and destroying every stage they hit has to be right up there. It’s like rock and roll to disintegrate every tired dude cliché the genre has. Yes. Fuck. Do it.

Mrs. Piss on Instagram

Sargent House website

 

Ulcerate, Stare into Death and Be Still

Ulcerate Stare into Death and Be Still

As progressive/technical death metal enjoys a stylistic renaissance, New Zealand’s Ulcerate put out their sixth full-length, Stare into Death and Be Still and seem right in line with the moment despite having been around for nearly 20 years. So be it. What distinguishes Stare into Death and Be Still amid the speed-demon wizardry of a swath of other death metallers is the sense of atmosphere across the release and the fact that, while every note, every guitar squibbly, every sharpened turn the 58-minute album’s eight tracks make is important and serves a purpose, the band don’t simply rely on dry delivery to make an impression. To hear the cavernous echoes of the title-track or “Inversion” later on, Ulcerate seem willing to let some of the clarity go in favor of establishing a mood beyond extremity. In the penultimate “Drawn into the Next Void,” their doing so results in a triumphant build and consuming fade in a way that much of their genre simply couldn’t accomplish. There’s still plenty of blast to be found, but also a depth that would seem to evoke the central intention of the album. Don’t stare too long.

Ulcerate on Thee Facebooks

Debemur Morti Productions on Bandcamp

 

Shroom Eater, Ad.Inventum

shroom eater ad inventum

Nine songs running an utterly digestible 38 minutes of fuzz-riffed groove with samples, smooth tempos and an unabashed love for ’90s-style stoner rock, Shroom Eater‘s debut album, Ad.Inventum feels ripe for pickup by this or that heavy rock label for a physical release. LP, CD and tape. I know it’s tough economic times, but none of this vinyl-only stuff. The Indonesian five-piece not only have their riffs and tones and methods so well in place — that is, they’re schooled in the style they’re creating; the genre-converted preaching to the genre-converted, and nothing wrong with that — but there are flashes of burgeoning cultural point of view in the lead guitar of “God Isn’t One Eyed” or the lyrics of “Arogant” (sic) and the right-on riffed “Traffic Hunter” that fit well right alongside the skateboarding ode “Ride” or flourish of psychedelia in the rolling “Perspective” earlier on. Closing with “Dragon and Tiger” and “Friend in the High Places,” Ad.Inventum feels like the work of a band actively engaged in finding their sound and developing their take on fuzz, and the potential they show alongside their already memorable songwriting is significant.

Shroom Eater on Instagram

Shroom Eater on Bandcamp

 

Astralist, 2020 (Demo)

astralist 2020 demo

I’m not usually one to think bands should be aggrandizing their initial releases. It can be a disservice to call a demo a “debut EP” or album if it’s not, since you only get one shot at having an actual first record and sometimes a demo doesn’t represent a band’s sound as much as the actual, subsequent album does, leading to later regret. In the case of Cork, Ireland’s Astralist, it’s the opposite. 2020 (Demo) is no toss-off, recorded-in-the-rehearsal-space-to-put-something-on-Bandcamp outing. Or if it is, it doesn’t sound like it. Comprised of three massive slabs of atmospheric and sometimes-extreme doom, plus an intro, in scope and production value both, the 36-minute release carries the feel and the weight of a full-length album, earning its themes of cosmic destruction and shifting back and forth between melodic progressivism and death-doom or blackened onslaught. In “The Outlier,” “Entheogen” and “Zuhal, Rise” they establish a breadth and an immediate control thereof, and their will to cross genre lines gives their work a fervently individualized feel. Album or demo doesn’t ultimately matter, but what they say about Astralist‘s intentions does.

Astralist on Thee Facebooks

Astralist on Bandcamp

 

Daily Thompson, Oumuamua

daily thompson oumuamua

Lost in the narrative of initial singles released ahead of its actual arrival is the psychedelic reach Dortmund trio Daily Thompson bring to their fourth album, Oumuamua. Yes, “She’s So Cold” turns in its second half to a more straightforward heavy-blues-fuzz push, but the mellow unfurling that takes place at the outset continues to inform the proceedings from there, and even through “Sad Frank” (video posted here) and “On My Mind” (video posted here), and album-centerpiece “Slow Me Down,” the vibe remains affect by it. Side B has its own stretch in the 12-minute “Cosmic Cigar (Oumuamua),” and sandwiched between the three-minute stomper “Half Thompson” and the acoustic, harmonized grunge-blues closer “River of a Ghost,” it seems that what Daily Thompson held back about the LP is no less powerful than what they revealed. It’s still a party, it’s just a party where every room has something different happening.

Daily Thompson on Thee Facebooks

Noisolution website

 

The White Swan, Nocturnal Transmission

The White Swan Nocturnal Transmission

Following up 2018’s Touch Taste Destroy (review here), Ontario’s The White Swan present their fourth EP in Nocturnal Transmission. That’s four EPs, in a row, from 2016-2020. If the trio — which, yes, includes Kittie‘s Mercedes Lander on vocals, drums, guitar and keys — were waiting to figure out their sound before putting out a first full-length, they were there two years ago, if not before. One is left to assume that the focus on short releases is — at least for now — an aesthetic choice. Like its predecessor, Nocturnal Transmission offers three circa-five-minute big-riffers topped with Lander‘s floating melodic vocals. The highlight here is “Purple,” and unlike any of the other The White Swan EPs, this one includes a fourth track in a cover of Tracy Bonham‘s “Tell it to the Sky,” given likewise heft and largesse. I don’t know what’s stopping this band from putting out an album, but I’ll take another EP in the meantime, sure.

The White Swan on Thee Facebooks

The White Swan on Bandcamp

 

Dungeon Weed, Mind Palace of the Mushroom God

Dungeon Weed Mind Palace of the Mushroom God

A quarantine project of Dmitri Mavra from Skunk and Slow Phase, Dungeon Weed is dug-in stoner idolatry, pure and simple. Mavra, joined by drummer Chris McGrew and backing vocalist Thia Moonbrook, metes out riff after feedback-soaked, march-ready, nod-ready, dirt-toned riff, and it doesn’t matter if it’s the doomier tolling bell of “Sorcerer with the Skull Face” or the tongue-in-cheek hook of “Beholder Gonna Fuck You Up” or the brash sludge that ensues across the aptly-named “Lumbering Hell,” all layered solos and whatnot, the important thing is that by the time “Mind Palace” comes around, you’re either out or you’re in, and once you make that choice there’s no going back on it. Opener “Orcus Immortalis/Vox Mysterium” tells the tale (or part of it, as regards the overarching narrative), and if ever there was a band that could and would make a song called “Black Pudding” sound heavy, well, there’s Dungeon Weed for you. Dungeon Weed, man. Don’t overthink it.

Dungeon Weed on Thee Facebooks

Forbidden Place Records website

 

Thomas V. Jäger, A Solitary Plan

thomas v jager a solitary plan

The challenge of rendering songcraft in the nude can be a daunting one for someone in a heavy band doing a solo/acoustic release, but it’s a challenge Thomas V. Jäger of Monolord meets with ease on the home-recorded A Solitary Plan, his solo debut. Those familiar with his work in Monolord will recognize some of the effects used on his vocals, but in the much, much quieter context of the seven-song/29-minute solo release — Jäger plays everything except the Mellotron on the leadoff title-track — they lend not only a spaciousness but a feeling of acid folk serenity to “Creature of the Deep” and “It’s Alright,” which follows. Mixed/mastered by Kalle Lilja of Långfinger, A Solitary Plan is ultimately an exploration on Jäger‘s part of working in this form, but it succeeds in both its most minimal stretches and in the electric-inclusive “The Drone” and “Goodbye” ahead of the buzzing synth-laced closer “The Bitter End.” It would be a surprise if this is the only solo release Jäger ever does, since so much of what takes place throughout feels like a foundation for future work.

Thomas V. Jäger on Bandcamp

RidingEasy Records website

 

Cavern, Powdered

CAVERN POWDERED

Change has been the modus operandi of Cavern for a while now. They still show some semblance of their post-hardcore roots on their new full-length, Powdered, but having brought in bassist/vocalist Rose Heater in 2018 and sometime between then and now let out of Baltimore for Morgantown, West Virginia, their sonic allegiance to a heavier-ended post-rock comes through more than ever before. Guitarist/synthesist Zach Harkins winds lead lines around Heater‘s bass on “Grey,” and Stephen Schrock‘s drums emphasize tension to coincide, but the fluidity across the 24-minute LP is of a kind that’s genuinely new to the band, and the soul in Heater‘s vocals carries the material to someplace else entirely. A song like “Dove” presents a tonal fullness that the title-track seems just to hint at, but the emphasis here is on dynamic, not on doing one thing only or locking their approach into a single mindset. As Heater‘s debut with them, Powdered finds them refreshed and renewed of purpose.

Cavern on Thee Facebooks

Cavern on Bandcamp

 

Droneroom, …The Other Doesn’t

droneroom the other doesnt

Droneroom is the solo vehicle of guitarist Blake Edward Conley and with …The Other Doesn’t, experiments of varying length and degree of severity are brought to bear. The abiding feel is spacious, lonely and cinematic as one might expect for such guitar-based soundscaping, but “Casual-Lethal Narcissism” and “The Last Time Someone Speaks Your Name” do have some measure of peace to go with their foreboding and troubling atmospherics. An obvious focal point is the 15-minute dronefest “This Circle of Ribs,” which feels more forward and striking than someone of Droneroom‘s surrounding material, but it’s all on a relative scale, and across the board Conley remains a safe social distance away from structural traditionalist. Recorded during Summer 2020, it is an album that conveys the anxiety and paranoia of this year, and while that can be a daunting thing to face in such a way or to let oneself really engage with as a listener — shit, it’s hard enough just living through — one of the functions of good art is to challenge perceptions of what it can be. Worth keeping in mind for “Home Can Be a Frightening Place.”

Droneroom on Thee Facebooks

Humanhood Recordings on Bandcamp

 

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

Roadburn 2019: Thou to be Artist-in-Residence; Cave In, Daughters, Messa, Ulcerate and More Added

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 13th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

roadburn 2019 banner

Oh, Roadburn. Even after all these years, you continue to be the stuff of daydreams. In some of my grimmest hours of self-loathing and if-you-need-me-I’ll-be-sticking-a-t-shirt-in-the-muffler-and-listening-to-Anathema-in-the-car fetishizing, I think of the sun shining through the henge of Weirdo Canyon and press on toward another April to come. You are the center of every year and you continue to inspire. As exhausting as you are — and you are — you are a spiritual rejuvenation that is unparalleled in my experience. I consider myself fortunate and a richer person for having you in my life.

Here’s only a small part of why. If you get it, you get it. Tickets are on sale Oct. 4. They’ll go. Don’t miss them:

More names for Roadburn 2019 – including Artist In Residence; ticket onsale date confirmed.

– CAVE IN to play Roadburn 2019
– OLD MAN GLOOM return to the festival
– THOU confirmed as Artist In Residence
– Plus more…

CAVE IN

We are thrilled to confirm that CAVE IN will be performing at Roadburn. At the 2018 edition of Roadburn, Stephen Brodsky and Adam McGrath paid a moving tribute to bandmate Caleb Scofield who died the previous month, with an acoustic set of covers and CAVE IN tracks. As the audience and band members alike found catharsis through music, we wouldn’t have begrudged them one bit if this performance was the closest we ever got to CAVE IN at Roadburn.

When whispers reached us that CAVE IN would potentially be open to a Roadburn set for 2019 – our interest was well and truly piqued. Some months later, we’re beyond delighted to say it’s true – it’s really happening.

Stephen Brodsky comments:

“Without question, it’s a high honor of artistic merit to perform at Roadburn. Members of CAVE IN have had the fortune of playing with other bands/projects in years past. Seems only a matter of time that we’d do a proper set at one of the best festivals on the planet devoted to forward-thinking music. We hope you’ll join us for a celebratory sonic lift-off into Roadburn 2019.”

CAVE IN will perform on Saturday, 13 April.

OLD MAN GLOOM

Since OLD MAN GLOOM last played Roadburn in 2014, a lot has changed. Later that year they released The Ape of God, and The Ape of God… a pair of identically named albums which were challenging in all the right ways, and a few of the wrong ways too.

Following the death of bassist, Caleb Scofield, earlier this year, OLD MAN GLOOM vowed to continue what they had already started. Stephen Brodsky will be handling bass duties for this performance, and in turn Nate Newton will be taking on the role for Cave In’s set. This collaborative trip across the pond is made by a group of friends united by love and a desire to celebrate the life of Caleb. To that effect, OLD MAN GLOOM promise a special set at Roadburn and more details will be available in due course.

OLD MAN GLOOM will perform on Sunday, 14 April.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: THOU

There are a few pretty immovable parts of Roadburn these days; traditions that we maintain to showcase the best and brightest in our little world. One of these cornerstones is our Artist In Residence – a band or solo artist who will perform multiple times across the weekend, and with each set they showcase a different facet of their creativity. Past artists in residence include Earthless, Gnod and Misþyrming

The choice for 2019 was… easy. If there’s one band who have surpassed themselves – and arguably many of their peers – in terms of creative output this year, it’s THOU. They will play four times across the weekend; there will be a collaborative set, a covers set, an acoustic set, and a Magus era set. What exact form those performances take, and the details of them will unfold between now and… well, the moment they step on stage for each of those specific sets.

THOU will perform on each day of the festival.

CURATED: HENRIK PALM

The first artist out of the bag for Tomas Lindberg’s The Burning Darkness curated event at Roadburn 2019 is none other than HENRIK PALM. Tomas explains his choice:

“His name should ring a bell with everybody into anything heavier in our beloved alternative underground scene. He has been a part of seminal bands such as In Solitude and Ghost, and also more “off the map” bands such as the groundbreaking Pig Eyes.

“When I finally got to see him live some time ago, the performance just blew me away. Be sure to not miss out on this. It’s a must see show.”

HENRIK PALM will perform on Saturday, April 13 as part of Tomas Lindberg’s The Burning Darkness curated event.

ALSO ANNOUNCED:

Chaotic shapeshifters DAUGHTERS will make their Roadburn debut

DRAB MAJESTY will transcend time and space at Roadburn 2019

Prepare for a brain-altering, bone-shifting experience with ULCERATE

IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT will exclusively perform tracks from their recent release Vile Luxury

GOLD return to Roadburn and will showcase new material and launch their new album

WOLVENNEST will perform Void in full on the Main Stage with special guest musicians

MESSA will take us on a transcendent journey

Poland’s MORD’A’STIGMATA to crush all hope when they play Roadburn 2019.

TICKETS:

Tickets for Roadburn 2019 will go on sale on Thursday, October 4. They will be available to purchase in person from Sounds Tilburg record store (from 6pm) for those in the vicinity. For those further afield, tickets will be available from Ticketmaster.nl from 8pm CEST/ 7pm BST/ 2pm EDT. We recommend setting up a Ticketmaster.nl account in advance.

Tickets will be priced as follows:
3 days ticket €181 + €4,50 service fee
4 days ticket €204 + €4,50 service fee
Day ticket (Thu, Fri or Sat) €62 + 4,50 service fee
Sunday ticket €55,50 + €4,50 service fee

News regarding the the new luxury cabins at the Beekse Bergen Safari Park, and information regarding the 2019 Urban Campsite in Tilburg will be available ahead of tickets going on sale.

The artists performing at Roadburn 2019 are:
Birds In Row
Cave In
Curator: Tomas Lindberg
Daughters
Drab Majesty
Gold
Gore
Have A Nice Life
Heilung
Henrik Palm
Imperial Triumphant
Louise Lemón
Messa
Midnight
Mord’a’Stigmata
Old Man Gloom
Seven That Spells
Sleep
Thou
Ulcerate
Vile Creature
Wolvennest

https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival/
http://www.twitter.com/Roadburnfest
http://www.instagram.com/roadburnfest
http://www.roadburn.com

Stephen Brodsky & Adam McGrath, Tribute to Caleb Scofield at Roadburn 2018

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