Posted in Whathaveyou on December 28th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The following festival announcement — under the poster in the blue text; come on, you know how we do — was put through a major internet company’s translation matrix, so I will not at all vouch for the accurate swapout of English for Swedish generally, though it was kind of fun to see Domkraft called ‘Power of Domination,’ DRÖÖG come up listed as ‘DARE’ and Slôdder become ‘Slodger,’ which at least is pretty close. You might’ve seen the initial lineup reveal for the inaugural Västerås Doomfest in its native Swedish or another language entirely, depending on your preferences/geolocation tracking.
Wherever you’re coming from, those three — Domkraft headlining, and well they should — will be joined by 10,000 Years, who have a new record coming and whose Alex Risberg is among those putting the event together, as well as Mushroom Caravan Overdrive, Steel Freight and Käpprätt, rounding out a seven-band all-dayer on June 1 at O’Leary’s (a fine Swedish name if e’er my American ears heard one) as a beginning, a testing of concept and waters, and what looks like a hell of a show.
Kudos to Risberg and company (assuming he’s got some in the endeavor) on getting a thing going, and in the spirit of well wishes on a first-fest, here’s the lineup announcement and appropriate linkage:
Västerås Doomfest 2024
Death Valley Productions presents, in collaboration with O’Learys, the Contact Network and Merchprint, the first edition of Västerås Doomfest! This year’s big gathering, and definitive highlight, for all worshipers of the Riffet and all lovers of heavy, hard underground metal. A delight for both eyes (? ) and ears are promised!
Domkraft is one of Sweden’s biggest bands in the genre and one of the best and most respected worldwide. With their latest masterpiece “Sonic Moons”, and three more modern classics, in the luggage, they honor the festival’s first edition Västerås with a visit for the first time. As everyone who has seen Domkraft before can attest, it is a special experience to be crushed by Domkraft’s gravity in the live format and thus nothing you want to miss when the opportunity is given. We are therefore extremely proud to present Domkraft as the main act at Västerås Doomfest 2024! Riff hook repeat until numb.
10,000 YEARS
Västerås own stonermetal heroes! This trio has gone from clarity to clarity since the start of 2020. So far, they have gotten three shelved plates and a new one is on the way in 2024 via a new, exciting record contract. This together with intensive live performances around Sweden has made 10,000 Years a hot name in the heavy underground and now they finally make their home debut with us at Västerås Doomfest!
DRÖÖG
These Dalmas themselves call their music lumberjack jazz, and there’s something to it. Slightly retro-scented doomrock with prog vibes is also close to the truth, a bit like Witchcraft but better. But to really understand Dröög, you have to hear and see them yourself, and dive into Dröög’s dark tales.
MUSHROOM CARAVAN OVERDRIVE
Mushroom Caravan Overdrive worships daily life at Riffet’s altar and delivers heavy, draggy and psychedelic stonerdoom in Sleep school. Transcendental from start to finish and twenty-minute songs are promised. Did we mention that they are also the brains behind the legendary Krökbackenfestivalen?
SLÔDDER
Did you know that Värmland’s deep forests double as Sweden’s New Orleans? Well, that’s the truth. The Yankees have Eyehategod and we have Slôdder, that’s proof enough. With the fantastic “A Mind Designed To Destroy Beautiful Things”, Slôdder delivered one of the best albums of 2023 and their dirty sludge metal does not leave many listeners consciously after completed acquisition.
STEEL FREIGHT
Is it hardcore? Is that death metal? No, it’s steel freight! It’s a hell of a hard, angry and unique blend of said genres, perfect for those who are not afraid of the mosh pit.
KÄPPRÄTT
The raw punk swingers from Västerås open the festivities with dist, dance and a fist in solar plexus at the establishment.
See you in front of the stage, because in the beginning there was Riffet. And nothing would ever be after the Riffet.
[Click play above to stream ‘III’ by 10,000 Years in full. It’s out Friday June 24 on Interstellar Smoke Records (LP), Death Valley Records (CD) and Olde Magick Records (K7).]
Like destructive clockwork, Sweden’s 10,000 Years offer their second full-length and third overall release, III, precisely one day less than a full year from its predecessor, II (review here). It is the final installment of a narrative trilogy that began on the Västerås-based trio’s 2020 self-titled debut EP (review here) — which they might honestly be calling a full-length by now just for the ease of it, I don’t know, but it was an EP at the time — but if a listener is new to the band, hearing them for the first time, that shouldn’t be taken as a barrier to entry. For those looking to catch up, here’s the story as they have it:
“III”
As the crew of the “Albatross” make efforts to repair the ship and prepares to take it out into orbit in order to travel back through the rift in the space-time continuum in an attempt to seal it and restore earth to what it was, the Green King mobilizes his unholy forces to stop them from erasing the latest addition to his interdimensional imperium from existence.
Through unspeakable trials and tribulations, the remaining crew manages to narrowly escape the Green Kings wrath and finally take the “Albatross” back into space. After piloting the damaged ship out of the atmosphere and back to the point of the tear, they take it through the rift once more.
As they once again travel to suns beyond for the fate and future of humanity, they face the terrible uncertainty of oblivion and a destiny unknown…
However it may tie into the entirety of their work to this point, there’s no mistaking III as the richest and most realized output yet conjured by the returning trio of guitarist Erik Palm, bassist/vocalist Alex Risberg and drummer Espen Karlsen. The defining influence to this point has been the furious Matt Pike riffs and marauding gallop/crash of High on Fire, and just in the interest of realism it’s been two years since they started, so is and definitely should still be a strong current across the eight songs and 46 minutes of III, but even in the “Fury-Whip”-ish-but-faster launch of “Cult Axe” and the alternating thrash and nod that ensues across that first track’s 4:57, the sense of the band reaching out creatively comes through.
To wit, the thrash. “Cult Axe” throws a gauntlet down for the band themselves, and feels like the result of a discovery of identity happening early in their overarching progression (maybe fast bands do things faster), with an apparently conscious decision to step back from playing to genre resulted in an inherently more individual take. 10,000 Years — who, yes, are still named after a High on Fire song; it’s not like they’ve ever been trying to get away with anything in terms of letting the listener know where they’re coming from — are raging here. It’s a logical step forward from a year ago in the end result, but it really is the palpable feeling of the three-piece pushing themselves physically as well as creatively that comes through in the material, whether that’s Karlsen‘s creative timekeeping in “Megafauna,” Palm‘s ripping solo late in the track after Risberg lets out a gotta-respect-it “ough” and raw-throats another verse, or the largesse of nod that ensues as “Desert of Madness” is introduced on a sweeping guitar lead and massive undulation.
What ensues there is further evidence of the band’s growth, finding a noise rock style that calls to mind Souls at Zero-era Neurosis while remaining the band’s own in terms of structure and course. There are these moments throughout III, whether it’s the momentary dip into tense, but mellow atmospherics in the instrumental “The Secret of Water,” the memorable hook and fierce cymbal crashes of “The Green King Rises,” or the outright Slayer idolatry on “Il Cattivo” (as opposed perhaps to ‘il bene’ or ‘il brutto?’) that will put the listener subtly in different places and moods. These are enhanced particularly during the most aggressive moments in “Megafauna” and “Il Cattivo” — the second half of which is a highlight bass-wise from Risberg — but it’s also driving toward the closing duo of “Escape From Earth” and “To Suns Beyond,” given all the more import as the final chapters of the story being told through their position.
They’re the two longest cuts at 7:47 and 8:56, respectively, and the point of arrival of a subtle build that’s been taking place since “The Secret of Water,” charged with tying together the varied elements at play throughout the record prior. They do, with Risberg pulling a more than respectable younger-days-Scott–Kelly-style vocal on “Escape From Earth” to coincide with a consuming groove that reminds of the kinship 10,000 Years began to form sound-wise with noisemaking countrymen like Domkraft or Cities of Mars, though like those bands, this one isn’t content to simply repeat what’s been done before. “Escape From Earth” crashes out — a breath; whew — at 4:40 and launches into a build toward a crescendo that, if it had ended III, one probably wouldn’t say anything was missing as it fades to silence, but that also finds a direct continuation in theme in “To Suns Beyond.”
After all the cacophony and onslaught prior, fast, not-as-fast, pummeling, not-as-pummeling, “To Suns Beyond” — the title of which answers the inevitable question asked by “Escape From Earth” — is another instrumental, expanding on what “The Secret of Water” did earlier, with a near-proggy tone in the guitar and an overarching fluidity that holds to the noisy underpinnings of the recording as a whole thanks in no small part to 10,000 Years‘ continued alliance with the famed Sunlight Studio and likewise famed producer/mixer Tomas Skogsberg, who also helmed II and their self-titled. They end big starting about halfway through as one would hope, but as Palm‘s guitar moves past the final shredding solo, there’s an exploratory, open feel to the manner in which the track comes about on a coursing fade of residual effects that could hardly sound more like an ellipse.
Which is to say, “to be continued…?” That last minute or so of “To Suns Beyond” may be a signal of future ground the band will continue to feel out — one wouldn’t be surprised either of a less-full-throttle piece like that or “The Secret of Water” had vocals next time around — and one is of course curious to know where they might go from here in terms of theme, if they’ll continue to tell stories or not or launch a new trilogy or call it quits altogether, their work done. I don’t have those answers for what they might do next as songwriters, but the least likely scenario in my mind is that they’d stop. Momentum like this isn’t easily let go, and as much as they’ve come into their own in III, the beastliness on display is emblematic of the fact that the band have more to say.
And if they should continue to push in multiple directions at once as they do on III, so much the better. As already noted, this is the most refined work 10,000 Years have yet done, and it is no less vicious for that refinement, seeming to build and tear down atmospheres as it goes. If you can manage to keep pace with the band, it’s quite a ride.
It’s been a load road, getting from there to here, and here isn’t even there yet if you know what I mean. Alas, Thursday. Day four — 4, IV, I can’t remember how I’ve been writing it out — of the Spring 2022 Quarterly Review, and it’s a doozy. These things are always packed, in fact it’s pretty much the idea, but I still find that even this week as I’m putting out 10 reviews a day — we’ll get to 60 total next Monday — I’m playing catchup with more stuff coming down the pike. It seems more and more like each Quarterly Review I’ve done out of like the last five could’ve been extended a day beyond what it already was.
Alas, Thursday. Overwhelmed? Me too.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Messa, Close
After two LPs through Aural Music, Italy’s Messa arrive via Svart with a crucial third album in Close. The hype surrounding the record has been significant, and Close earns every bit of it across its 10-song/64-minute run, intricately arranged as the Italian four-piece continue to bridge stylistic gaps with an ease born of expansive songcraft and stunning performance, first from vocalist Sara Bianchin (also percussion) and further from guitarist Alberto Piccolo (also oud, mandolin), bassist/synthesist/vocalist Marco Zanin (also various keys and percussion), and drummer Rocco Toaldo (also harsh vocals, percussion), who together create a complete and encompassing vision of doom that borrows periodically from black metal as anything artsy invariably must, but is more notable for its command of itself. That is, Messa — through the entirety of the hour-plus — are nothing but masterful. There’s an old photo of The Beatles watching Jimi Hendrix circa 1967, seeming resigned at being utterly outclassed by the ‘next thing.’ It’s easy to imagine much of doom looking at Messa the same way.
If what goes around comes around, then don’t be surprised when “Fire & Ice” goes circle-mosh near the end and you get punched in the head. Old. School. Southern. Sludge. Metal. Dudes play it big, and mean, and grooving. Think of turn of the century acts like Alabama Thunderpussy and Beaten Back to Pure, maybe earlier Sourvein, but with a big old lumbering update in sound thanks to a Phillip Cope recording job and a ferocity of its own. They’ve got a pedigree that includes Black Skies, Manticore and Black Hand Throne, and though The Weight of Death is their first long-player, they’ve been a band for seven years and their anti-dogmatic culmination in “Mr. Miserum” feels sincere as only it can coming from the land of the Southern Baptist Church. Aggression pervades throughout, but the band aren’t necessarily monochromatic. Sometimes they’re mad, sometimes they’re pissed off. Watch out when they’re pissed off. And am I wrong for feeling nostalgic listening? Can’t be too soon for them to be retro, right? Either way, they hit it hard and that’s just fine. Everybody needs to blow off steam sometime.
Do I even need to say it, that a band called Dirty Nips offering up a demo called Can O’ Dirty Demo Nipples get up to some pretty cheeky shenanigans therein? I hope not. Still, as the Bristol-via-Poland outfit crunch out the riffs of “The Third Nipple” and harmonica-laced Hank Williams-style country blues on “As I Stumbled” and touch on psychedelic jamming in opener “The Basement” and the later experimental-feeling “Dirty Nips Pt. II,” which just drops to silence in the middle enough to make you wonder if it’s coming back (it is), there’s clearly more going on here than goofball chicanery. “Jechetki” builds on the blues and adds a grunge chug, and closer “Mountain Calling” is — dare I say it? — classy with its blend of acoustic guitar and organ, echoing spoken vocal and engagingly patient realization. They may end up wishing they called themselves something else as time goes on, but as it stands, Dirty Nips‘ demo tape heralds a sonic complexity that makes it that much harder to predict where they might end up, and is all the more satisfying a listen for that.
Though they’re by no means the only band in Sweden to dig into some form of traditionalism in heavy rock, Västerås five-piece Ocean to Burn evoke a decidedly more straight-ahead, Southern-heavy feel throughout the nine songs and 33 minutes of Vultures, their self-released full-length. The throaty grit of vocalist Adam Liifw is a big part of that impression, but in the guitars of Mathilda Haanpää and Fredrik Blomqvist, the tone is more stripped-down than huge-sounding, and the grooves from bassist Pontus Jägervall and drummer Fredrik Hiltunen follow suit. That central purpose suits songs like “Wastelands” and the more strutting “Nay Sayer,” and though they largely stick to their guns style-wise, a bluesier nod on “No Afterlife” early and a breakout in closer “Vulture Road” assure there’s some toying with the balance, even as the tracks all stick to the three- to about four-and-a-half-minute range. They’ve been at it for a while, and seem to revel in the ‘nothin-too-fancy’ attitude of the material, but honestly, they don’t need tricks or novelty to get their point across.
Following an encouraging start in 2019’s Cirrus (review here), Nijmegen instrumentalists Mt. Echo return with the conceptual-feeling Electric Empire, still holding some noise rock crunch in “Automaton” following the opener “Sound & Fury,” but saving its biggest impacts for the angular “50 Fanthoms,” the 10-minute “Flummox” and subsequent “As the Tide Serves,” and on the whole working to bring that side of their approach together with the atmospheric heavy post-rock float of “The End of All Dispute” and the early going of “These Concrete Lungs.” At 10 songs and just under an hour long, Electric Empire has room for world-building, and one of Mt. Echo‘s great strengths is being able to offset patience with urgency and vice versa. By the time they cap with “Torpid,” the trio of Gerben Elburg, Vincent Voogd and Rolf Vonk have worked to further distinguish themselves among their various sans-vocals proggy peers. One hopes they’ll continue on such a path.
Vocalist Eric Brock, guitarist/backing vocalist/principal songwriter Lewis Inglis, bassist Dean Gordon and drummer Ryan Wilson are Edinburgh’s Earl of Hell, and their debut EP, Get Smoked, builds on the brash grooves of prior singles “Arryhthmia” (sic) and “Blood Disco,” the latter of which appears as the penultimate of the six included tracks on the 23-minute outing. More stomp-and-swing than punch-you-in-the-face, “I Am the Chill” nonetheless makes its sense of threat clear — it is not about chilling out — as if opener “Hang ’em High” didn’t. Split into two three-song sides each with a shorter track between, it’s in “Parasite” and “Blood Disco” that the band are at their most punk rock, but as the slower “Bitter Fruits” mellows out in opening side B, there’s more to their approach than just full-sprint shove, though don’t tell that to closer “Kill the Witch,” which revels in its call and response with nary a hesitation as it shifts into Spanish-language lyrics. High-octane, punk-informed heavy rock and roll, no pretense of trying to push boundaries; just ripping it up and threaten to burn ladies alive, as one apparently does.
Released on New Year’s Day after being recorded in Dec. 2021 in the trio’s native Rome, “Yonder” serves as the initial public offering and first single from Slugg, and at 9:59, it is more than a vague teaser for the band they might be. The guitar of Jacopo Cautela and the bass of Stephen Drive bring a marked largesse that nonetheless is able to move when called upon to do so by Andrea Giamberardini‘s drumming, and Cautela‘s corresponding vocals are pushed deeper back in the mix to emphasize those tones. Much of the second half of “Yonder” is given to a single, rolling purpose, but the band cleverly turn that into a build as they move forward, leaving behind the gallops of the first few minutes of the song, but making the transition from one side to another smoothly via midsection crashes and ably setting up the ring-out finish that will draw the song to its close. Not without ambition, “Yonder” crushes with a sense of physical catharsis while affecting an atmosphere that is no less broad. They make it easy to hope for more to come along these lines.
Joe Freedman, also of Banshee, first saw Telepathic Radio released as the debut full-length from Mirage in 2021 through Misophonia Records on tape. There are still a few of them left. That version runs 30 songs and 90 minutes. The Cardinal Fuzz/Centripetal Force edition is 50 minutes/20 tracks, but either way you go, get your head ready for dug-in freakness. Like freakness where you open the artwork file for the digital promo and all three versions are the cover of a Rhapsody album. Ostensibly psychedelic, songs play out like snippets from a wandering attention span, trying this weird thing and seeing it through en route to the next. In this way, Telepathic Radio is both broad-ranging and somewhat contained. The recordings are raw, fade in and out and follow their own paths as though recorded over a stretch of time rather than in one studio burst, which seems indeed to be how they were made. Horns, samples, keys, even some guitar, a bit of “TV Party” and “TV Eye” on “TV Screens,” Mirage howls and wails out there on its private wavelength, resolved to be what it is regardless of what one might expect of it. By the time even the 20-track version is done, the thing you can most expect is to have no clue what just happened in your brain. Rad.
With its first, self-titled release, An Evening Redness basks in morose Americana atmospheres, slow, patient guitar drones, warm bass and steady rhythms giving way to periodically violent surges. Founded perhaps as a pandemic project for Brandon Elkins of Auditor and Iron Forest, the six-song full-length explores the underlying intensity and threat to person and personhood that a lot of American culture just takes for granted. The name and inspiration for the project are literary — ‘An Evening Redness in the West’ is the subtitle of Cormac McCarthy’s 1985 novel, Blood Meridian — and An Evening Redness, even in the long instrumental stretch of 12-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) “Alkali,” treats the subject matter with duly textured reverence. Elkins isn’t alone here, and the vocals of Bridget Bellavia on the brooding “Mesa Skyline” and the closing pair of “Pariah” and “Black Flame at the Edge of the Desert,” as well as the contributions of other guests in various locales around the world up to and including Elkins‘ native Chicago should not be downplayed in enriching these explorations of space and sound. Bands like Earth and Across Tundras warrant mention as precursors of the form, but An Evening Redness casts its own light in the droning “Winter, 1847” and the harmonica-wailing “The Judge” enough to be wholly distinct from either in portraying the sometimes horrifying bounty of the land and the cruelty of those living in it.
Brothers John and Marc Beaudette — who if they aren’t twins are close enough — comprise New Hampshire’s Cryptophaser, and XXII is their first demo, pressed in an edition of 50 purple tapes. Dudes might as well just open my wallet. Fair enough. In what’s a show of chemistry and musical conversation that’s obviously been going on longer than these songs — that is, I highly suspect the maybe-twin brothers who drum and play guitar have been playing together more than a year — they bring an adversarial bent to the conventions of heavy fuzz, and do so with the proverbial gusto, breaking away from monolithic tones in favor of sheer dynamic, and when they shift into the drone in “October 83,” they make themselves a completely different band like it isn’t even a thing. Casual kickass. At 13 minutes, it flows like a full-length and has a full-length’s breadth of ideas (some full-lengths, anyway), and the energy from one moment to the next is infectious, be that next part fast, slow, loud, quiet, or whatever else they want it to be.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 17th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Announced as completed in January, the upcoming third releases from Sweden’s 10,000 Years has now been granted a June 24 release date through Interstellar Smoke Records (LP), Death Valley Records (CD) and Olde Magick Records (tape, with glitter no less!). The three-piece outfit from Västerås have been following a plot thread described as the ‘Albatross Trilogy’ through their first two outings, their 2020 self-titled EP (review here) and last year’s debut long-player, II (review here), and indeed, III would seem to bring about the ending of that story.
I’m a little bit left wondering what might come next for 10,000 Years, if they’ll simply begin a new story perhaps set in the same reality, abandon the conceptual ethic altogether or find some other way to manifest that impulse in their work. In any case, this conclusion for the ‘Albatross Trilogy’ marks a turning point for them that they’ve worked diligently over the last couple years to set up, so in the spirit of a “big rock finish,” I’m looking forward to hearing this album.
I did the premieres for the self-titled and II. Seems like maybe I should bug the band to see if I can follow-through here as well. They might have other plans, of course, but if not, there’s no sense in leaving the story untold.
First single lands March 21. From the PR wire:
THE TRILOGY ENDS
We are extremely proud to announce that June 24th will see the arrival of our new album “III”.
This is the third record we’ve done in two years and it is the final chapter in what’s become known as the Albatross Trilogy. We firmly believe that this is the crowning achievement of everything we’ve done so far, and we hope that you will enjoy it as well.
The first single, “The Green King Rises”, will be released March 21st with a second single, ”Cult Axe” complete with musicvideo, following in late April.
The album will be released in the following formats: Cosmic Horror Edition vinyl from Interstellar Smoke Records 12″ purple vinyl with black splatter, A3-poster and 2-sided insert
CD from Death Valley Records Limited to 100pcs including exclusive woven patch
Limited Edition cassette tape from Olde Magick Records Clear tape with cosmic glitter housed in a classic-style case
The album will be available on Bandcamp and all the usual streaming services as well
Preorders for CD and digital will start on April 1st (which also happens to be Bandcamp Friday). Vinyl and cassette will be available from the respective labels in due time.
10,000 Years: Erik Palm – Guitars Alex Risberg – Bass/vocals Espen Karlsen – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 18th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Swedish riffcrunchers 10,000 Years have reportedly finished recording their next full-length, titled III, for release sometime later this year. No fewer than three different labels are on board to back the project, which is the second long-player from the trio behind last year’s II (review here) and their prior self-titled debut EP (review here), which came out in 2020.
To this point, they’ve worked pretty quickly from one outing to the next, as you can tell — for context, the entirety of their discography has come out “post-pandemic” — but if you heard the EP and subsequent album, you don’t need me to tell you there was palpable growth between the first and second releases.
The band announced they were done in a kind of short social media check-in, so I decided to bother bassist/vocalist Alex Risberg to find out more and he was kind enough to elucidate as follows:
The recording of ”III” is officially done. Due out later this year via Death Valley Records, Interstellar Smoke Records & Olde Magick Records.
We recorded the new album over three days in Studio Sunlight with Tomas Skogsberg producing. The material feels like a natural continuation and evolution from the last album. We’ve taken the stuff we feel worked best, like the thrasy High On Fire type stuff and the more epic stuff like ”Dark Side Of The Earth” and expanded on that. And there’s some weird stuff on there too.
As the title suggests its the third and final part of the Albatross trilogy. It ends with the remaining crew taking the ship back out into space back Through the wormhole in order to close it and it ends when they pass through so you never know If they made it or what happens.
CD/digital: Death Valley Records Vinyl: Interstellar Smoke Records Tape: Olde Magick Records
The mastering will be done by Magnus Andersson and the art by Negative Crypt Artwork.
No releasedate yet
We’re extremely happy with How it all came out and its quite an insane Record. Superstoked to get it out and hopefully people will dig it as much as we do.
#10000YearsIII #TheTrilogyEnds
10,000 Years: Erik Palm – Guitars Alex Risberg – Bass/vocals Espen Karlsen – Drums
[Click play above to stream ‘II’ by 10,000 Years in full. It’s out Friday June 25 on Interstellar Smoke Records, Ogorekords and Olde Magick Records.]
Marauding, riff-led stuff-breakers 10,000 Years made a striking debut in 2020 with their self-titled EP (review here), finding a niche for themselves in post-High on Fire heavy all the more bolstered through the grit of a production at the famed Sunlight Studio by Tomas Skogsberg (Entombed, Grave, many, many more). With their follow-up debut long-player, somewhat confusingly titled II, the Västerås, Sweden-based trio of guitarist Erik Palm, bassist/vocalist Alex Risberg and drummer Espen Karlsen waste little time in letting listeners know how they’ve fleshed out their sound. Comprised of eight songs running a sharp 39 minutes, II is rife with dirt-coated efficiency, still casting its lot in Pike-style riffing, but finding sludge and noise rock aspects as well in Risberg‘s vocals, lending a rhythm that puts the band at least partially in league with the likes of Domkraft or Cities of Mars.
The songs by and large are a little longer than on the EP, but the main difference is that they’re more tied around the central concept, expanding on a sci-fi storyline set up on the EP that finds the crew of a spaceship crashed on an alternate reality future Earth populated by ancient gods and, apparently, riders on mooseback. Or such as “The Mooseriders” would have one believe. So it goes. Tempo shifts mark another point of growth, and again, 10,000 Years tip their hand early in that regard, with the speedy opener “Descent” — obviously setting up a crash landing via frenetic riffage — giving way not to a subsequent blast of an all-out speed-riff assault as it seems to telegraph, but to a mellower opening for “Gargantuan Forest” and the more nod-paced fare that ensues. I don’t know at what point the lyrics came into the picture, but the songs don’t bend to the story so much as set a fitting backdrop for what plays out across the span, trading intensity back and forth in a way indicative of the burgeoning dynamic in the band’s sound even as they willfully revel in some more familiar stylistic tenets.
For my own version of posterity, and to go with the stream above, below is the story as they tell it, quoted from their Bandcamp page:
After narrowly escaping the confines of the strange planet and its surrounding dimension, the “Albatross” and its crew finally returns home to Earth. The re-entry is rough and the ship crashlands in a forest. The earth that greets them is vastly different from the one that they left.
When the ship travelled back to earth through the wormhole it created a rift in the space-time continuum which propelled them far into the future as well as allowing the Green King and other ancient gods from the other dimension to cross over to our dimension.
They have since taken control of not just the earth, but the entire solar system.
After various harrowing experiences and encounters, the truth finally dawns on the surviving members of the crew. They are indeed back on earth, but ten thousand years in the future from when they started their journey. And to make matters worse, they find evidence that the Green King have been known and worshipped by secret cults and societies on earth for millennia, since before what we today know as humankind even existed.
The surviving members of the crew come to the conclusion that the only way to set things right again is to repair the “Albatross” and take it back through the rift again in order to close it.
The narrative brings depth to the proceedings but is by no means a crutch, and through the brash shove of “Spinosaurus” to the unmitigated good-time march that is “The Mooseriders” and into “Angel Eyes” with its ready lumber, 10,000 Years remain committed to their purpose both as storytellers and as songwriters. The latter track, at just four and a half minutes long, boasts a standout lead and a kind of jammier vibe, the rhythm and solo guitar layers working the band’s way into an instrumental finish that sounds as if it could easily go on longer than it does and, from a stage in a live setting, provide righteous hypnosis to the audience. In context, it sets up the transition to “March of the Ancient Queen,” “Prehuman Walls” and eight-minute closer “Dark Side of the Earth” on side B, and that is a worthy-enough cause in itself.
While the trio won’t quite touch the same level of brash as “Spinosaurus” again, there’s still plenty of damage to be done on II, and they set about it with glee on “March of the Ancient Queen,” an interplay of chug and crash early giving ground later to an almost psychedelic careening solo in one channel, then the other, then both, atop galloping drums, finishing clean despite all the dust they’ve kicked up behind them. They get more under their proverbial fingernails in “Prehuman Walls,” perhaps, the penultimate cut shorter in its procession but as low down into sludge as 10,000 Years go on this first album, at least until about three minutes in, when they pause before kicking into higher gear once again, if momentarily ahead of a giant Sleep-style slowdown finish.
That sets up “Dark Side of the Earth” as the finale, which enters patient with quiet guitar and unfolds with tragedy-tinged vocals in its early verses before a quiet break leads to a rousing, cacophonous end. II, and not just for its title, makes it easy to forget that it is a debut. So assured is it on an aesthetic level, and so complete in its purpose, that it emphasizes how schooled 10,000 Years are in what they’re doing. That is to say, they are not strangers to the music they’re making, but fans themselves, and so even as they bring forth this pummel that can make one feel bashed about the skull by the time “Dark Side of the Earth” has turned, an abiding sense of joy is resonant in their presentation. Ultimately, that is the greatest takeaway from II, and one could hardly ask anything else of it than to express the richness and vitality that inspired it in the first place. It does this and more.
We’re a month away now from the June 25 release of 10,000 Years‘ deceptively-titled debut album, II, and the band have newly unveiled the second of presumably three tracks they’ll showcase before the big day comes. “Gargantuan Forest” is the second of the eight songs on the record and follows behind the previously-streamed “March of the Ancient Queen” with a new video that starts out in the woods and ends up in the band’s rehearsal space — also seen in the photo above (and in color!) as well as here — as they rock out and deal with being haunted by some unknown but apparently highly referential malevolence. You know, like you do.
It is good fun and accompanies the lyrics-when-we-feel-like-itn sludgily-shouted verses of the track well, bassist/vocalist Alex Risberg‘s gruff approach in a higher register but no more off-putting than it necessarily wants to be. His bass gets a highlight moment as the proceedings — the narrative as well as the song — lumbers into its second half and Erik Palm‘s guitar drops out to noise, leaving Espen Karlsen‘s drums and the low end to hold the tension in its place. They pick up again and riff the track to a suitably loud finish, and introduce listeners to the “Espbeast” in the process, finding that rare combination of drummer and mascot that makes the truly special bands stand out.
According to my notes for such things, I’m slated to stream II in its entirety on June 22, three days before it’s out. Stay tuned for that as you enjoy this, and you’ll also find “March of the Ancient Queen” at the bottom of the post for good measure.
Dig:
10,000 Years, “Gargantuan Forest” official video
The second single from our upcoming album ”II”.
In this ABSURD (1981) video 10,000 Years enter a FOREST OF FEAR (1980) as they access THE BEYOND (1981) and enter a BLOODBATH (1971) with THE BOOGEY MAN (1980), otherwise known as the Espbeast. The Espbeast stalks and haunts the bodies and minds of the characters in this C-grade homage to the horrormovies of yesteryear.
The characters FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE (1976) through insane NIGHTMARES IN A DAMAGED BRAIN (1981). If they survive the AXE (1977) they may still end up in an INFERNO (1980) and risk to be EATEN ALIVE (1976). All the same risks face the viewer, so don’t watch with the lights out, don’t watch by yourself and DON’T GO IN THE WOODS ALONE (1981). Because after all, isn’t there an Espbeast in all of us?
Picking up right where the EP left off, “II” continues the story of the ill-fated Albatross-mission and its exploration of time and space through a skullcrushing mixture of stonerrock, doom- & sludge metal.
The album was recorded in the legendary Studio Sunlight with the equally legendary Tomas Skogsberg manning the controls.
10,000 Years: Erik Palm – Guitars Alex Risberg – Bass/vocals Espen Karlsen – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 15th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
10,000 Years tracking riffs at Sunlight Studio — the place that gave birth to the grittiest of Swedish death metal; see Entombed, Dismember, Grave, on and on — is a proposition that only sounds enticing as far as I’m concerned. The Västerås-based trio will issue II in the coming months through Interstellar Smoke Records, Ogo Records, Death Valley Records and Olde Magick Records, and the cover art — very Empire Strikes Back as it is — has just been posted along with the tracks that will be included. I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to wager “Gargantuan Forest” and “March of the Ancient Queen” will sound pretty big. That’s just fine.
Looking forward to hearing this one, if that even needs to be said, and though no audio is out yet, you can still hear their self-titled debut (review here) at the bottom of this post, with hopes of more to come before the new release.
Dig:
10,000 YEARS “II”
We are very proud to unveil the artwork and tracklisting for our new record!
The album is called “II” and it was recorded in the legendary Studio Sunlight in Norrtälje, Sweden 18-21 February with the equally legendary Tomas Skogsberg manning the controls. Mastering was done by Magnus Andersson in Endarker Studio Sweden in Norrköping.
The brilliant artwork was made by Francesco Bauso at Negative Crypt Artwork who continually blows our minds by coming up with the perfect stuff for us.
“II” tracklisting: 1. Descent 2. Gargantuan Forest 3. Spinosaurus 4. The Mooseriders 5. Angel Eyes 6. March Of The Ancient Queen 7. Prehuman Walls 8. Dark Side Of The Earth
The album will be released on the following formats:
Green King Edition vinyl from Interstellar Smoke Records CD & digital from Death Valley Records European Edition cassette from Ogo Rekords American Edition cassette from Olde Magick Records
The first taste of new music will come soon in the form of a digital-only single that will be released on Bandcamp and Spotify. There will be a separate announcement regarding that in due time.
More info regarding release date and preorders coming soon as well.
“II” IS COMING!
10,000 Years: Erik Palm – Guitars Alex Risberg – Bass/vocals Espen Karlsen – Drums
