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Soldat Hans Premiere Title-Track of New Album Anthaupt

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on March 15th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Soldat Hans

Anthaupt, the third full-length from Swiss post-metallers Soldat Hans, will see release vinyl May 20 through Wolves and Vibrancy Records with a digital edition preceding on April 22, and if you’re unfamiliar with the band, be ready for a multi-tiered heft of atmosphere and tone, a resonant feeling of exploration, and a due portion of skin-peeling harshness and pummel. Last heard from with 2018’s Es Taut (review here) and having made their debut with 2014’s Dress Rehearsal (review here), the band bring a simmer of tension beneath their ambience, and in those moments when the destructive impulse hits, as is the case as the gorgeous instrumental opener “Eighty-Two Percent Chance of Rain” gives way to Anthaupt‘s title-track (premiering below), the impact is no less palpable than the increase in distortion or volume. In six songs and 66 minutes — the runtime of the beast — the five-piece of vocalist/guitarist Omar Hetata, guitarist Omar Fra and Tobias Pfenninger, bassist Jonathan Chaclan, drummer Justin Harrison and various other collaborators — some evidently related, some not — bring to life an engrossing and expansive sound, coming across like the culmination of the band’s willful growth to this point.

To wit, “Anthaupt” finds an early apex as Carol Schuler joins Hetata on vocals, melodic and screaming voices uniting over dense-toned riffing. An organ-laced stretch follows, the melancholy ambience bolstered by trombone from Sebastian Koelman, and as the ensuing procession marches slowly to its finish, it’s the scathe that returns. Schuler proves to be a major presence as Anthaupt plays out, adding to extended pieces like “Speechwriter,” “Cineaste, Cineaste” and closer “The Jubilant Howl” such that the prevailing vibe of Soldat Hans reaching beyond themselves mirrors their forward-thinking creative mindset. The organ/synth contributions of Daniel Gisler — turns out Soldat Hans might just need to become a six-piece — Koelman, the cello by Julia Pfenninger and the backing vocals of Philip Harrison aren’t to be ignored either. Anthaupt is all the more consuming for what each player brings, marking out depths as it moves further through its course, minimal in the early going of “Horse Funeral” butSoldat Hans Anthaupt vibrant in the slow, echoing-feedback-led dirge that results. Comprising the entirety of side B, “Speechwriter” conveys immediacy through a shouted vocal part in its second half set against its lumbering tempo, fiinally giving way to screams that feel brutal in their urgency as well as what they might be doing to the vocal cords responsible for them.

All the while, Soldat Hans as a whole are patient, almost calm in how they bring it all about. Each move is constructed fluidly, and the scope of arrangement adds a cinematic quality, certainly to the ensuing instrumental wash of “Speechwriter” as well as to the build that seems to sweep up the early, wholesome verses of “Cineaste, Cineaste,” an echo of the subtle twang with which the guitar announces “Horse Funeral” prior, before receding once again to a ’70s singer-songwriter duet and, finally, righteously, combining the two ideas before finding even ground at the end. As an album, Anthaupt is plotted and ultra-modern in its evocative breadth, drawing from Earth and Europe’s post-metallic sphere and crafting something individual from them that’s likewise willing to be harsh and beautiful. Soldat Hans have grown bolder since their Dress Rehearsal those eight years ago, and it does not seem that the four since Es Taut have been wasted either if the final, agonizingly mournful march of “The Jubilant Howl” plays out across Anthaupt‘s final minutes, daring to inject a sense of hope — or jubilance, if you like — via guitar amid the harsh screams and lumbering, slow rhythm, readily grandiose and masterfully executed. A beauty of grief that ends where they began, if in a different realization.

Like Es Taut before it, Anthaupt challenges its listener to listen deeper, to appreciate the detail and the level of care put into the execution of these songs, the mixes through which they’re presented, and the complete effect of the textured oil brushstrokes with which the album is ultimately painted. In thinking of how “Anthaupt” represents the 2LP that shares its name, one will not find the picture complete in the 10-minute title-cut, but it does answer for the entirety of the the offering being made in terms of its melody and heft, and its willingness to depart from the early riff-led force of its delivery into and through its peaceful moment before growing even more oppressive. That is, it shows what Soldat Hans are capable of in terms of arrangement and of making their music a physical presence within itself, and the result of hearing it is correspondingly like being physically moved.

Track premiere follows here, along with the preorder link, vinyl breakdown, etc., courtesy of the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

3rd album by Soldat Hans.

Preorder: https://wolvesandvibrancyrex.bigcartel.com/product/soldat-hans-anthaupt-2×12

ANTHAUPT (WVR 055)
SIDE A:
Eighty-two Percent Chance of Rain (06:48)
Anthaupt (10:44)

SIDE B:
Speechwriter (15:04)

SIDE C:

Horse Funeral (09:37)
Cinéaste, Cinéaste (12:05)

SIDE D:
The Jubilant Howl (11:49)

Mastered by Magnus Lindberg Productions
– limited to 300 copies (200 x black purple egg / 100 x light blue transparent)
– gatefold sleeve inside / out
– 2 x inlays / lyrics sheets
– incl. DL code

Physical Release: May 20, 2022.

Band:
Justin Harrison – Drums
Omar Hetata – Guitar / Vocals
Omar Fra – Guitar
Tobias Pfennninger- Guitar
Jonathan Chaclan – Bass

Collaborators:

Carol Schuler – Vocals
Daniel Gisler – Rhodes, Organs, Synthesizer
Sebastian Koelman – Trombone
Julia Pfenninger – Cello
Philip Harrison – Backing Vocals

Soldat Hans on Facebook

Soldat Hans on Instagram

Soldat Hans on Bandcamp

Soldat Hans website

Wolves and Vibrancy Records store

Wolves and Vibrancy Records website

Wolves and Vibrancy Records on Facebook

Wolves and Vibrancy Records on Bandcamp

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Quarterly Review: Ufomammut, Horehound, Lingua Ignota, Valborg, Sageness, Glacier, MNRVA, Coroza, Noosed, zhOra

Posted in Reviews on October 4th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

quarterly review

Oh hi, I didn’t see you there. Earlier this week — Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and yes, even Wednesday — the alarm went off at 4AM as usual and I got up, got coffee going and a protein bar and sat down to write, starting basically around quarter-after with a quick email check and whatnot. In terms of basic timing, this last morning of the Fall 2019 Quarterly Review is no different. I even have the baby monitor streaming on my phone as I would most mornings, so I can keep an eye on when The Pecan gets up. What’s changed is I’m sitting in a hotel lobby in Oslo, Norway, having just arrived on an overnight flight from Newark. Managed to sleep some on the plane and I’m hopeful adrenaline will pick up the rest of the slack as regards getting through the day. That and caffeine, anyhow.

Although, speaking of, my debit card doesn’t work and I’ll need to sort that out.

First thing’s first, and that’s reviews. Last batch of 10 for the week. We made it. Thanks as always for reading and being a part of this thing. Let’s wrap it up in style, and because I like working on a theme, three Irish bands in a row close out. Hey, I went to Ireland this year.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Ufomammut, XX

UFOMAMMUT XX

Five years ago, Roman cosmic doom masters Ufomammut took a reflective look back at their career for its 15th anniversary with the documentary/live-performance DVD XV (review here). And since one might define the arc of their tenure as constantly trying to top themselves, for their 20th anniversary, they’ve issued a 12LP boxed set, titled simply XX, that compiles their nine albums to-date and tops them off with the mostly-subdued-style XX itself, which reimagines past cacophonies like “Mars” and “Plouton” in a quieter context. That part of the mega-offering issued through their own Supernatural Cat imprint comprises six songs recorded live and makes highlights out of the hypnotic strum and incantations of “Satan” as well as the rumbling drone of “Lacrimosa,” which takes on new emotional resonance for the shoegazy treatment it receives. I’ve said on multiple occasions throughout the years that Ufomammut are a band to be treasured, and I stand by that 100 percent. The XX box should be perceived by fans as an opportunity to do likewise.

Ufomammut on Facebook

Supernatural Cat website

 

Horehound, Weight

horehound weight

Less than a year after issuing their second long-player in the form of Holocene (review here) through Blackseed and Doom Stew Records, Pittsburgh atmosludgers Horehound align with DHU Records for the two-song 8″ EP Weight, which brings “Unbind” and “The Heavy,” two new cuts that, while I’m not sure they weren’t recorded at the same time as the last album — that is, they may have been — they nonetheless showcase the emergent melodic breadth and instrumental ambience that is developing in their sound. Even as “Unbind” rolls toward its low-end tempo kick, it does so with marked patience and a willingness to stay slow until just the right moment, which is not something every band cane effectively do. “The Heavy,” meanwhile, builds itself around a Crowbar-style dirge riff before Shy Kennedy‘s verse arrives as a standalone element, all the instruments around her dropping out from behind. That moment alone, frankly, is worth the price of admission, as whether it’s through that extra inch in diameter of the platter itself or through the audio of the tracks in question, Horehound continue to distinguish themselves.

Horehound on Facebook

DHU Records BigCartel store

 

Lingua Ignota, CALIGULA

LINGUA IGNOTA CALIGULA

I’m not sure I’m qualified to write about Lingua Ignota‘s CALIGULA (on Profound Lore), but I’m not sure anyone else is either. Like a self-harmonizing mega-Jarboe turning existential horror into epic proclamations of “I don’t eat/I don’t sleep” on “DO YOU DOUBT ME TRAITOR?” amid bass throb and terrifying melodic layering before making bedroom black metal sound like the lightweight self-indulgence it’s always been on the subsequent check-out-the-real-shit “BUTCHER OF THE WORLD,” Kristin Hayter‘s work is little short of experimentalist brilliance. She is minimal and yet over-the-top, open in creative terms but unwaveringly dark and rife with melody but severe to the point now and again of true aural abrasion. She weaves a context of her own into “FUCKING DEATHDEALER” as she recalls the lyrics to the aforementioned “BUTCHER OF THE WORLD,” while the outright brutality of “SPITE ALONE HOLDS ME ALOFT” is married to a piano-led meditation that, even without the noise wash from whence it comes, is enough to recast visions of what heavy is and can be in musical terms. I won’t pretend to get all the references like “kyrie eleison” (“lord have mercy”) worked into “IF THE POISON WON’T TAKE YOU MY DOGS WILL” and the violent strains surrounding, but it’s impossible not to realize the power of what you’re hearing when you listen.

Lingua Ignota on Facebook

Profound Lore Records on Bandcamp

 

Valborg, Zentrum

valborg zentrum

With an intensity born out of a history of industrial music and focus on tight rhythms making an impact in even-tighter songwriting, Valborg are neither beholden to death metal nor entirely separate from it, but their style has taken on a life of its own over the course of the last 10 years, and their latest offering, Zentrum (on Prophecy Productions), is the German trio’s most individualized take yet, whether that’s shown in the unbridled melodicism of “Anomalie,” the sludgy riff that drives the barking “Ultragrab” or the seemingly unrelenting snare pops of “Kreuzer” that, even when they finally release that tension, still make it only a temporary reprieve. Valborg‘s sense of control through the epic “Nonnenstern” should not be understated, and though the track is under four minutes long, yes, “epic” very much applies. Suitably enough, they close with “Vakuum” and throw everything at the listener at once before resolving in relatively peaceful atmospherics that could just as easily serve as an introduction to the next round of malice to come, whenever it shows up.

Valborg on Facebook

Prophecy Productions webstore

 

Sageness, Akmé

sageness akme

Spanish trio Sageness — also written SageNESS — conjure smooth Electric Moon-style soundscapes on their second album, Akmé, and yes, that is a compliment. The record brings forth six tracks of easy-rolling instrumentalist jam-based heavy psychedelia that offer much and take little in return, the richness of the guitar tone from Dawyz and Michi‘s bass given jazzy fluidity by Fran‘s drumming. “Ephemeral” touches most directly on a Colour Haze, as it would almost have to, but even there, the feeling of spaciousness that Sageness present in the recording is a factor that helps them come across as more individual. Earlier, “The Thought” is a little more directly space rock, but opener “Andromeda” seems to be charting the course with its liquefied effects and somehow-even-more-liquefied groove, and if you can’t get down with that, I’ve got nothing for you and neither does the rest of the universe.

Sageness on Facebook

Spinda Records website

 

Glacier, No Light Ever

glacier no light ever

It’s not exactly true, about their being no light ever on Boston post-metallers Glacier‘s latest full-length, No Light Ever. Sure, it’s plenty dark and heavy and brooding and all that fun stuff, and the riffs get loud and the drums break stuff and all that, but it’s certainly colorful in its way as well, and more than just shades of black on black. Comprised of four tracks cumbersomely titled in keeping with the traditions of the likes of Red Sparowes and the band’s own past work, cuts like “O World! I Remain No Longer Here.” and “The Bugles Blow, Fanned by Hysteria.” stretch themselves out along a scope as massive as the tonality the band emits, and as the wash of “We Glut Our Souls on the Accursed,” — the comma is part of the title there — gives way to feedback and the onset of “And We Are Damned Amid Noble Sound.” the sense of immersion is complete and clear as the priority under which they’re working. It’s about the whole album, or at least the two sides, as a unified work, and about crafting a world through the atmosphere evoked in the material. It works. If they say there’s no light in that world, so be it. It’s whatever they want it to be.

Glacier on Facebook

Wolves and Vibrancy Records webstore

 

MNRVA, Black Sky

mnrva black sky

Not-entirely-bereft-of-vowels South Carolina heavy trio MNRVA make their debut with the three-song EP Black Sky, a beast of a short release led by the riffs of guitarist Byron Hark on a stretch of ’90s-style crunch and sludge, with bassist/vocalist Kevin Jennings and drummer Gina Ercolini adding to the weight and shove of the proceedings, respectively. “Not the One” has the hook, “No Solution” has the impact and the title-track has both, and though I’m by no means saying the issue of their sound is settled 100 percent and they won’t grow or find their way from this — again, their debut — EP, they do prove to be well in charge of where their songs head in terms of mood and the atmosphere that comes through elements like the blown-out vocals and the rumbling bass beneath the lead guitar in the second half of “Black Sky” itself. Indeed, it’s those harsher aspects that help MNRVA immediately establish their individuality, and the vibe across these 18-plus minutes is that the punishment is only getting started.

MNRVA on Facebook

MNRVA on Bandcamp

 

Coroza, Chaliceburner

coroza chaliceburner

Just because Irish four-piece Coroza — guitarist/vocalists Ciaran Coghlan and Jack O’Neill, bassist/vocalist Jonny Canning and drummer Ollie Cunningham — might write a song that’s 18 minutes long, that doesn’t mean they forgot to actually make it a song as well. Thus it is that extended cuts like “The Plutonian Drug” (18:24) and closer “Iron from the Sky” (19:30) have plenty of room to flesh out their more progressive aspects amid the other three also-kind-of-extended pieces on Chaliceburner, the group’s ambitious hour-plus/five-track debut full-length. Each song essentially becomes a front-to-back movement on its own, with shifts between singers arranged thoughtfully from one part to the next and hooks along the way to serve as landmarks for those traversing, as in the opening “Chaliceburner” or the gruff winding moments of “Mountain Jaw,” which follows the nine-minute sax-inclusive centerpiece “Scaltheen,” because of course there’s a saxophone in there somewhere. All of this is a recipe for a band biting off more than they can chew stylistically, but Coroza manage pretty well the various twists and turns of their own making, particularly considering it’s their first album.

Coroza on Facebook

Coroza on Bandcamp

 

Noosed, She of the Woods

noosed she of the woods demo

Encased front and back by witchy samples and creepy vibes, Sept. 2019’s She of the Woods is the second demo in two months to come from Cork, Ireland’s Noosed. And you know it when they get around to the closing seven-minute title-track because it’s just about the only thing other than “Intro” that isn’t raging with grind intensity, but that stuff can be fun too. I don’t know how much witch-grind-doom is out there, but Noosed‘s first, self-titled demo (released in August) had a sludgy edge that seems to have separated out to some degree here into a multifaceted personality. Can one possibly be certain of the direction the band will ultimately take? Shit no. It’s two demos with basically no time differential between them. But if they can effectively bridge the gap between “Fuck Up,” “Wretch” and “She of the Woods,” or even play directly with the contrast, they could be onto something with all this noise and fuckall.

Noosed on Facebook

Noosed on Bandcamp

 

zhOra, Ruthless Bastards

zhora ruthless bastards

The narrative — blessings and peace upon it — has it such that Irish four-piece zhOra wanted to do something less complicated than was their 2017 album, Ethos, Pathos, Logos (discussed here), so they went ahead and wrote a song that’s five minutes long and purposefully hops between subgenres, going from sludge to doom to a deathcore breakdown, with a snare-pop count-in, to blackened death metal and then back to a lumbering chug to finish out. Okay, zhOra, “Ruthless Bastards” is a an awful lot of metal and an awfully good time, but you missed the mark on “simple” by a considerable margin. If indeed the band had been plotting toward something, say, easier to play or to compose, “Ruthless Bastards” ain’t it. They’ll have to settle for being brutal as fuck instead. Something tells me they’ll survive having made that trade, as much as anything will.

zhOra on Facebook

zhOra on Bandcamp

 

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Hypnodrone Ensemble to Release Plays Orchestral Favourites Oct. 26

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 5th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

hypnodrone ensemble

As a five-minute sampling of the upcoming album, Plays Orchestral Favourites, ‘Serial Staging’ presents Hypnodrone Ensemble‘s ambient breadth as encompassing and far-ranging in kind. Tracked as a nine-piece in true-enough “ensemble” fashion, the offering is due out Oct. 26 through Wolves and Vibrancy and features at its core the likes of Aidan Baker of Nadja and Thisquietarmy‘s Eric Quach. It’ll be their third record but first through Wolves and Vibrancy, and will feature arrangements of violin, baritone guitar and synth alongside drones, three drummers and, one assumes, whatever else they could possibly think of at that given moment. Sounds like fun to me.

I’m not always able to keep up with Aidan Baker‘s prolific output — who possibly could? — but I’ll point out that I don’t think I’ve ever checked out anything he’s been involved in, be it Nadja, his solo work, or some other collaboration, and been sorry I did. Considering how much he’s put out, that’s a significant track record.

News from the PR wire:

hypnodrone ensemble plays orchestral favorites

Hypnodrone Ensemble – Ambient Space Rock Collective Featuring Members Of Nadja, thisquietarmy And Caudal Share New Track “Serial Staging”

Hypnodrone Ensemble have recently shared the first track off their forthcoming new album “Plays Orchestral Favourites”, which is set for release on October 26th via Wolves And Vibrancy Records.

Titled “Serial Staging”, this new track is now playing at this location.

Hypnodrone Ensemble was formed in Berlin in 2014 by the Canadian experimental/ambient guitars Aidan Baker (also of Nadja) and Eric Quach (aka Thisquietarmy), along with the drummers David Dunnett, Jérémie Mortier (also of Alice In The Cities, Nearest Gas Station), and Felipe Salazar (also of Caudal).

A quintet at its core, though occasionally expanding or changing members, the group creates free-form, semi-improvisational studies in rhythmic, psychedelic, atmospheric spacerock. Hypnodrone Ensemble released its self-titled debut, a live recording from NK in Berlin, on Consouling Sounds in 2014 and followed that up with the studio album, The Shape of Space, released on Calostro Recordings and Little Crack’d Rabbit Records in 2015.

Following an expanded line-up performance in 2016 in Berlin, the group returned to the studio in 2017 to record ‘Plays Orchestral Favourites’ as a 9-piece group, with Simon Goff (also Molecular, Bee And Flower) on violin, Duchamp on baritone guitar, Felix-Florian Tödtloff (ex-Sun Worship) on bass, and Diego Ferri on synths.

https://www.facebook.com/AidanBakerMusic
https://www.facebook.com/thisquietarmy
http://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.com
https://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.bandcamp.com

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Quarterly Review: Glanville, Destroyer of Light, The Re-Stoned, Ruff Majik, Soldat Hans, High Priestess, Weed Demon, Desert Storm, Ancient Altar, Black Box Warning

Posted in Reviews on July 17th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

quarterly-review-CALIFORNIA-LANDSCAPE-Julian-Rix-1851-1903

So Day 1’s done and it’s time to move on to Day 2. Feeling stressed and totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff still to be done? Why yes, I am. Thanks for asking. In the past, I used to handle the Quarterly Review well ahead of time. It’s always a lot to get through, but the week before, I’d be setting up back ends, chasing down links and Bandcamp players, starting reviews, etc., so that when it came time, all I had to do was the writing and plug it all into a post and I was set.

There was some prep-work done this past weekend, but especially this time, with my old laptop having been stolen in May, it’s all been way more jazz-improv. I was still adding releases as of last Friday, and writing beforehand? Shit. With the baby having just figured out how to climb? Not bloody likely. Accordingly, here we are, with much to do.

It’ll get done. I haven’t flubbed a Quarterly Review yet, and if I took an extra day to get there, I’m under no delusion that anyone else would care. So there you go. Let’s hit it for Day 2:

Quarterly Review #11-20:

Glanville, First Blood

glanville first blood

First Blood is the aptly-titled five-song debut EP from Glanville, a newcomer dual-guitar outfit with established players Philip Michel (The Earwix) on lead and Christopher West (Named by the Sun, ex-Stubb, etc.) on rhythm, Wight’s Peter-Philipp Schierhorn on bass and René Hofmann on vocals, and Thomas Hoffman (ex-Bushfire) on drums. Based in Germany and the UK, the group present 23 minutes of material on their first outing, drawing from the guitar-led likes of Thin Lizzy and Judas Priest to capture early metal and present it with a heavy rocking soulfulness and modern production. The most raucous of the cuts might be centerpiece “Durga the Great,” but neither “God is Dead” nor “Dancing on Fire” before nor “Demons” and “Time to Go” after want for action, and especially the latter builds to a furious head to close out the release. Hofmann as a standalone singer wants for nothing in range or approach, and the band behind him obviously build on their collective experience to dig into a stylistic nuance rarely executed with such confidence. They’ve found a place willfully between and are working to make it theirs. Can’t ask for more than that.

Glanville on Thee Facebooks

Glanville on Bandcamp

 

Destroyer of Light, Hopeless

destroyer of light hopeless

Having just recently signed to Argonauta Records for a new album in 2019, Austin doomers Destroyer of Light follow their 2017 long-player, Chamber of Horrors (review here), with a further auditory assault in the lumbering Hopeless. Psychedelic and yet still somehow traditional doom lingers in the brain after “Nyx” and “Drowned” have finished – the latter with an Alan Watts sample discussing alcoholism – and the band moves into demos for Chamber of Horrors cuts “Into the Smoke,” “Lux Crusher” and “Buried Alive.” Between the two previously unreleased songs and those three demos, Hopeless pushes to 39 minutes, but it’s probably still fair to call it an EP because of the makeup. Either way, from the miserable plod of “Nyx,” in which each chug in the riff cycle seems to count another woe, to the rolling nod early and surprising melody late in “Drowned,” Hopeless is anything but. Anticipation was already pretty high for Destroyer of Light’s next record after the last one, but all Hopeless does is show further depth of approach and more cleverly-wielded atmospheric murk. And the more it sounds like there’s no escape, the more Destroyer of Light seem to be in their element.

Destroyer of Light on Thee Facebooks

Destroyer of Light on Bandcamp

 

The Re-Stoned, Stories of the Astral Lizard

the re-stonEd stories of the astral lizard

The inevitable question is “Why a lizard?” and if you make it four minutes into 11-minute opener “Fractal Panorama” and don’t have your answer, go back ad start over. Moscow heavy psych instrumentalists The Re-Stoned intend the reptile as a spirit guide for their new outing Stories of the Astral Lizard (on Oak Island Records), which follows quickly behind their late-2017 offering, Chronoclasm (review here), and given the ultra-patient desert vibes in the opener, the acoustic-laced folk-prog of “Mental Print for Free,” the languid meander of “A Companion from the Outside,” the swirling sprawl of the 16-minute “Two Astral Projections” and the final cowpoke drift of “The Heather Carnival,” one might indeed just find a lizard sunning its belly amid all the atmospheric evocations and hallucinatory vibes. I’ll take “Two Astral Projections” as the highlight, but mostly because the extra length allows the band to really dig in, but really the whole album feeds together gorgeously and is a new level of achievement when it comes to atmosphere for The Re-Stoned, who were already underappreciated and find themselves only more so now.

The Re-Stoned on Thee Facebooks

Oak Island Records on Thee Facebooks

 

Ruff Majik, Seasons

Ruff Majik Seasons

Right on fuzz, right on groove, right on vibe – there isn’t much else one might say about Ruff Majik’s Seasons (on Rock Freaks Records and Forbidden Place Records) beyond “right on.” Heavy rock with twists of psychedelia, the Pretoria, South Africa, three-piece of Johni Holliday, Jimi Glass and Benni Manchino make their home on the lines of various subgenres, but wherever they go, the proceedings remain decisively heavy. To wit, a cut like “Breathing Ghosts” or the later “Birds Stole My Eyes” might dig into shuffle boogie or extreme-metal-derived thrust, but there’s a chemistry between the members and a resonant looseness that ties the material together, and as the last 14 of the total 66 minutes are dedicated to “Asleep in the Leaves,” there’s plenty of progressive weirdness in which to bask, one song moving through the next such that neither “Hanami Sakura (And the Ritual Suicide” nor the semi-doom-plodding “The Deep Blue” nor the funky twists of “Tar Black Blood” come across as predictable. Seasons might take a few listens to sink in, but it’s easily worth that effort.

Ruff Majik on Thee Facebooks

Ruff Majik at Rock Freaks Records webstore

Forbidden Place Records on Bandcamp

 

Soldat Hans, Es Taut

SOLDAT HANS ES TAUT-750

Hyperbole-worthy post-ism from Switzerland’s Soldat Hans makes their sophomore outing, Es Taut – on Wolves and Vibrancy Records as a 2LP – a forward thinking highlight. As rich in atmosphere as Crippled Black Phoenix and as lethal as Converge or Neurosis or anyone else you might dare to put next to them, the six-piece made their debut with 2014’s Dress Rehearsal (review here) and served notice of their cross-genre ambitiousness. Es Taut finds them four years later outclassing themselves and most of the rest of the planet across three extended tracks – “Story of the Flood” (26:15), “Schoner Zerbirst, Part I” (8:03) and “Schoner Zerbirst, Part II” (18:56) – that sprawl out with a confidence, poise and abrasion that is nothing short of masterful. Es Taut may be a case of a band outdoing their forebears, but whatever their legacy becomes and however many people take notice, Soldat Hans singlehandedly breathe life into the form of post-metal and prove utterly vital in so doing, not only making it their own, but pushing forward into something new in ambience and heft. This is what a band sounds like while making themselves indispensable.

Soldat Hans on Thee Facebooks

Wolves and Vibrancy Records website

 

High Priestess, High Priestess

high priestess high priestess

Calling to order a nod that’s immersive from the opening strains of leadoff/longest-track “Firefly” (still immediate points), Los Angeles trio High Priestess build out the psych-doom ritualizing of their 2017 demo (review here) to make their self-titled full-length debut through Ripple Music. The difference between the demo and the album in terms of what’s included comes down to artwork and the track “Take the Blame,” which adds its bell-of-the-ride swing between the atmosphere and melodic focus of “Banshee” and the spacious roller “Mother Forgive Me.” Potential is writ large throughout from guitarist/vocalist Katie Gilchrest, bassist/vocalist Mariana Fiel and drummer Megan Mullins, as it was on their demo, and even the harsh growls/screams on “Despise” seem to have found their place within the proceedings. As they wrap with the guitar-led jam of “Earth Dive,” High Priestess put the finishing touch on what’s hands-down one of 2018’s best debut albums and offer a reminder that as much potential as there is in their sound for future development, the accomplishments here are considerable unto themselves.

High Priestess on Thee Facebooks

Ripple Music website

 

Weed Demon, Astrological Passages

weed demon astrological passages

Four tracks of gurgling riffy plunder pervade Astrological Passages, the 41-minute – longer if you get the digital version or the tape/CD, which includes the 7:24 “Dominion of Oblivion” – debut album from Columbus, Ohio’s Weed Demon. Delivered on vinyl through Electric Valley Records, the nodder/plodder carves out a cave for itself within a mountain of tonally thick stoner metal riffing, infusing a sense of sludge with shouted and growled vocals from guitarists Andy and Brian and bassist Jordan – only drummer Chris doesn’t get a mic – and an overarching sense of bludgeoning that’s Sleep-derived if not Sleep-adjacent in terms of its actual sound. Nasty? Why, yes it is, but as “Sigil of the Black Moon” heads toward the midpoint of its 10-minute run, the repetitive groove assault makes the band’s intention plain: worship weed, worship riff. They get faster on “Primordial Genocide” and even sneak a bit of speed in amidst the crawl before the banjo takes hold in the second half of 12-minute closer “Jettisoned” – more Americana sludge please; thank you – but they never lose sight of their mission, and it’s the uniting factor that makes their debut hit like the brick to the head that it is.

Weed Demon on Thee Facebooks

Electric Valley Records website

 

Desert Storm, Sentinels

desert storm sentinels

With Sentinels, Oxford, UK, five-piece Desert Storm pass a decade since making their self-titled debut in 2008. They followed that with 2010’s Forked Tongues (review here), 2013’s Horizontal Life and 2014’s Omniscient (review here), and though they had a single out in 2014 on H42 Records as a split with Suns of Thunder (review here) in 2016, Sentinels is their first outing on APF Records and their first long-player in four years. Burl has always been an important factor in what they do, and the High on Fire-meets-Orange Goblin slamming of “The Brawl” backs that up, but Desert Storm have left much of the hyper-dudeliness behind in favor of a more complex approach, and while Sentinels isn’t a minor undertaking at 10 songs and 51 minutes, longer cuts like “Kingdom of Horns” and “Convulsion” demonstrate the maturity they’ve brought to bear, even as the one-two punch of “Drifter”  and “The Extrovert” offer swinging-fist hooks and beard-worthy chug that assures any and all testosterone quotas are met.

Desert Storm on Thee Facebooks

APF Records on Bandcamp

 

Ancient Altar, Cosmic Purge/Foie Gras

ancient altar cosmic purge foie gras

Based in Los Angeles, Ancient AltarScott Carlson (bass/vocals), Barry Kavener (guitar/vocals), Jesse Boldt (guitar) and Etay Levy (drums) – were last heard from on 2015’s dug-in atmosludger Dead Earth (review here), and they return lo these several years later with the two-tracker Cosmic Purge/Foie Gras, pushing into more extreme crush-of-riff with an abandon that’s anything but reckless. On the contrary, there’s some clear development in the 10-minute “Cosmic Purge” and 13-minute “Foie Gras,” rolling out oppressive grooves with blended screams/shouts and cleaner vocals. As with the last album, a drive toward individuality is central here, and Ancient Altar get there in tone while bringing forth a sense of scope to a sound so regularly thought of as closed off or off-putting in general. In its early going, “Foie Gras” hypnotizes with echoing melody and spaciousness only to resolve itself in a deeply weighted dirge march, furthering the pummel of “Cosmic Purge” itself. I don’t know if the EP – on vinyl through Black Voodoo Records, CD on Transcendental Void Records – will lead toward another album or not, but the sense of progression in Ancient Altar’s style is right there waiting to be heard, so here’s hoping.

Ancient Altar on Thee Facebooks

Black Voodoo Records on Thee Facebooks

 

Black Box Warning, Attendre la Mort

black box warning attendre la mort

Listen to it on headphones and the kickdrum on Black Box Warning’s Attendre la Mort is downright painful. Next-level blown-out aggro pulsations. Brutal in a physical sense. The rest of the band doesn’t follow far behind in that regard. Riffs are viscous and violent in noise rock tradition, but denser in their tone despite some underlying punkishness, and the vocals are likewise distorted and abrasive. The five-song/23-minute EP’s title translates to “Waiting for Death,” and each of the tracks is a dose: Opener “5 mg” is followed by “4 mg,” “1 mg,” “2 mg” and “3 mg.” Unsurprisingly, pills are a theme, particularly on “4 mg,” and the sense of violent threat is clear in “2 mg” and 3 mg,” which boast lines like, “Watch them all scream/Watch your enemy bleeded,” and “You are the pig/I am the butcher,” respectively. Between the lyrical and the general aural cruelty, the dis-ease is consuming and unmitigated, sludge becoming a slow-motion grindcore, and that’s clearly the point. Not stabbing, but gouging.

Black Box Warning on Thee Facebooks

Black Box Warning on Bandcamp

 

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Soldat Hans to Release Es Taut April 28

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 27th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

solldat hans

This band is fucking awesome. I’m serious. You like Amenra? That’s cool. Soldat Hans are better. You think Cult of Luna are the shit? Soldat Hans will eat your fucking soul. I said as much when they put out Dress Rehearsal (review here) in 2014, but they’re something special, and having now listened to the follow-up, Es Taut, which is out at the end of April via Wolves and Vibrancy Records, their potency has diminished none in the intervening four years between releases. Some music is just powerful. That’s pretty much the story here.

You can stream the 26-minute opener “Story of the Flood” at the bottom of this post, and I recommend you do so. Es Taut has more melody but no less impact than its predecessor, and yeah, it basically makes mincemeat out of the current sphere of post-metal, atmospheric sludge, or whatever the hell else you might want to call it. Will be on my best of 2018 list for sure. Already is, in fact.

From the PR wire:

Soldat Hans Es Taut

Soldat Hans – Es Taut – Wolves And Vibrancy Records

Switzerland-based sextet Soldat Hans began their career as an instrumental noise band playing solely improvised sets. The turning point happened around 2013 when they settled to write some material for their first album “Dress Rehearsal”, which was released in November 2014. Taking their name from the old fairytale “Des Teufels russiger Bruder” by the brothers Grimm, the sound of Soldat Hans somehow echoed the desolate feeling of this very tale, also making reference to others like Mahler and Schubert. “Dress Rehearsal” was an adventurous journey crossing disparate musical genres like doom, post-rock, drone and dark jazz.

After playing numerous gigs in support of their debut album the Swiss group now returns with their sophomore album, “Es Taut”. A three song album spanning 54 minutes, “Es Taut” was recorded in Winterthur by Philip Harrison, who also recorded the band’s debut, and mastered by Magnus Lindberg in Stockholm. The album sees the band following the same trajectory explored on “Dress Rehearsal”, merging elements of doom, post-rock, drone and dark jazz to craft music that sounds utterly depressing, haunting and enigmatic and yet extremely engaging.

Tracklisting:
1. Story Of The Flood 26:15
2. Schoner Zerbirst Part I 8:03
3. Schoner Zerbirst Part II 18:56

Soldat Hans is:
Omar – Guitar, Vocals
Tobias – Guitar
Omar – Guitar
Jonathan – Bass
Clemens – Keys
Justin – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/soldathansband/
https://soldathans.bandcamp.com/
https://soldathans.org/
http://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/wolvesandvibrancyrecords
https://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.bandcamp.com

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Hundred Year Old Man Announce Rei EP out Jan. 26; Title-Track Streaming

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 30th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

hundred year old man

Got nine minutes to spare and a skull that wants cleaving? If so, Leeds-based post-sludgers Hundred Year Old Man would like to share with you the title-track of their forthcoming debut EP, Rei. Set for release on Jan. 26 through Gizeh Records and Wolves and Vibrancy Records, Rei answers the band’s initial single “Black Fire” and while I usually see phrases like “debut EP” and wistfully remember the days when we called such things “demos” and left it at that, I think a listen to “Rei” itself — stream it at the bottom of this post — justifies the distinction in its cohesiveness and bludgeonry alike. In other words, it’s pretty clear these cats know what they’re doing.

I haven’t heard the full thing yet, but the groove on “Rei” kind of kicked my ass, so here’s info from the PR wire including current and future live dates:

hundred year old man rei

HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN ANNOUNCE NEW EP

Leeds-based post-metal six-piece Hundred Year Old Man follow up their stunning debut single Black Fire with Rei, a three track EP, released via Gizeh Records and Wolves & Vibrancy on January 26th. Rei is released as a limited 12” vinyl with an etched b-side in an edition of 300. With a debut album due for release in 2018, this EP is the perfect offering to stoke the fires for a full-length whilst comfortably holding its own as a stand-alone piece of work.

Pre-orders are now open and we have an assortment of different bundles on offer. These will ship in late January. Hundred Year Old Man take to the road in February in support of the release. Stream the lead track from the EP below.

Pushing even further into the abyss, this new work opens with Sun & Moon and a monstrous slab of heaving guitars fall out of the atmospheric beginnings. Paul Broughton’s vocal erupts and the track explodes into life, destroying everything in its path until the shadows return to close, leading the way into an interlude that corrodes and drifts before joining these two monolithic pieces together. The title track demonstrates the staggering ambition that Hundred Year Old Man posses. Ripping into a cathartic sludge reminiscent of Neurosis at their best, it’s a towering, immersive, nine minute journey that refuses to loosen its grip until the dying moments.

TOUR DATES
02.12 – Newcastle (UK) – Byker Grave Festival
02.12 – Bradford (UK) – Lizardfest
15.12 – Nottingham (UK) – The Angel
01.02 – London (UK) – The Black Heart
02.02 – Boulogne (FR) – L’Horloge
03.02 – Paris (FR) – Olymipic Cafe
04.02 – Mouscron (FR) – El Bar
06.02 – Hamburg (DE) – AstraStube
07.02 – Braunschweig (DE) – Nexus
08.02 – Prague (CZ) – Eternia
09.02 – Berlin (DE) – Nuke Club
16.02 – Birmingham (UK) – tba w/ Nadja
17.02 – Manchester (UK) – Gizehfest
21.02 – Liverpool (UK) 27 Club
?23.02 – Sheffield (UK) Mulberry
+ more to be announced

http://facebook.com/hundredyearoldman
http://twitter.com/hyomband
http://instagram.com/hundredyearoldman
http://www.gizehrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gizehrecords
http://wolvesandvibrancyrecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/wolvesandvibrancyrecords/

Hundred Year Old Man, “Rei”

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