Posted in Features on October 11th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
[TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment on this post and make sure your email address is filled in the form so I can contact you if you win. Yup, that’s it.]
You can buy tickets now for the first-ever Prophecy Fest USA, being held Nov. 2-3 in Brooklyn, NY, at the Knitting Factory, and I’m not going to dissuade you from doing that, but if you leave a comment on this post, you can also just win a pair and go that way. I know money’s tight, so if you’ve got room in your heart for the likes of Novembers Doom and Alcest, Kayo Dot and Year of the Cobra over the course of two nights — and well, I think you do — then yeah, you might just want to go for this one.
I want to keep this post short, so I’ll spare you the wax-critique of the varied and righteous bill and just let you see it for yourself. The schedule as per the fest:
Saturday, November 3rd 7-7:30 || 1476 8-8:30 || Year of the Cobra 9-9:30 || Crowhurst 10-10:45 || Eye Of Nix 11:15-End || Alcest
Pretty badass, and again, this is the first time Prophecy Fest is being held on American soil, so all the more worth showing up.
And I don’t know if I have to say this at this point, but I will anyway: if you enter a contest here, I don’t keep your email. You’re not added to a list. Your information isn’t sold. I wouldn’t know how to do that if I wanted to, and I don’t want to, so yeah. The lizard people already have your information, but I didn’t give it to them.
[TO ENTER GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment on this post and make sure your email address is filled in the form so I can contact you if you win. Yup, that’s it.]
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 2nd, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Man, I knew something was up with Prophecy Productions. The fact that Martin Koller, the founder of the long-running German imprint moved to California, is not to be understated in its importance. Prophecy is not a label of minor consideration when it comes to taste on the whole, and as they’ve picked up bands like Khôrada and Year of the Cobra, it not only speaks to those groups’ individual achievements, but the forward-moving nature of the current US heavy underground as a whole. The first-ever Prophecy Fest to be held in America will take place this November at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, with Eye of Nix, Alcest, Volur, Xasthur, Kayo Dot, Novembers Doom, Year of the Cobra, 1476 and So Hideous on the bill. Two nights and a pretty unbelievable international assemblage, featuring special sets. It’s the kind of event that you want to get dressed up for. I’m not saying you have to wear a suit, but we do want to make a good impression.
And would it kill you to put on a suit?
Very interested to see where Prophecy‘s US adventure takes the label over the next couple years, and Prophecy Fest, which is presented in conjunction with Stardust NYC, looks like a great place to start to find out.
From the PR wire:
PROPHECY PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES U.S. EXPANSION & PROPHECY FEST USA
Following two decades of acclaimed success, with revered releases from some of the most prolific and groundbreaking acts in eclectic heavy music, Germany based Prophecy Productions has officially announced their expansion to North America with a division of the label now established in Los Angeles.
Further affirming their presence, Prophecy has unveiled the first edition of Prophecy Fest USA, which will take place at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY on November 2nd and 3rd. The inaugural event will feature performances by Alcest, Xasthur, November’s Doom, So Hideous and more. Those who purchase tickets to the Fest will receive a special edition 2xCD Prophecy Compilation. Two day tickets are available now athttp://us.prophecy.de/prophecy-fest/prophecy-fest-us-ticket.html.
Prophecy Productions emerged in 1996, quickly earning worldwide regard for high quality releases and a selective, eclectic roster. Beginning as a self-run mail order, Prophecy owner & founder Martin Koller released Empyrium’s 1996 debut, A Wintersunset… To this day, he has continued to nurture and develop artists he loves, resulting in a staggering roster which sports artist such as Alcest, Khôrada, Bethlehem, Lantlôs, Falkenbach, etc.
With growing awareness of the vast differences and growing possibilities in the US metal community, Koller chose to expand into the US by opening a North American division. In 2017, Koller moved to California to explore new possibilities in the American market, establishing a diverse, talented and dedicated American team, consisting of Rayshele Teige (ex-Century Media and Osmose), Kay Shelton (ex-20 Buck Spin & Wolves in the Throne Room, Northwest Terror Fest), and Matt Bacon (Metal Injection, Dropout Media).
With Prophecy in the USA, this powerhouse team aims to enrich and expand the Prophecy roster, uncovering and cultivating fresh artists and supporting icons alike. So far, the US roster reads eccentric, eclectic and nicely unpragmatic; US black metal pioneers Nachtmystium and Xasthur, highly speculated and anticipated supergroup Khôrada (ex-Agalloch, Giant Squid), blackened-sludge abyss Eye of Nix, Oakland surrealists Silence in the Snow, black metal/noise crossover superstar Crowhurst, and brute-doom experimentalists Year of the Cobra.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 15th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I don’t have any idea what Shadow Woods IV — the name trimmed down from the original Shadow Woods Metal Fest for reasons that will become clear as you continue to read — would possibly have to gain from any kind of endorsement on my part, official or not, but let me say anyway that if you can’t respect this idea, the fact that they’ve done it four years running, and the obvious blood-borne passion that goes into making each edition an event unlike anything else in the US when it comes to the mix of bands, the locale, the vibe and the very concept from which it’s working, you can basically fuck off. I may not be into every band on this list — it’s a really, really long list — but there are plenty here who would justify a trip to Harpers Ferry in September, and yeah, all this is is something special year after year.
The lineup this time around is completely over the top, as you can see first in the grim-grim-grim poster below, then in the running order for each for Shadow Woods IV‘s three nights, and then, finally, in alphabetical order, because they are thorough and that’s only one more reason to hold Shadow Woods in such high regard.
Behold:
Shadow Woods Productions LLC presents the fourth edition of Shadow Woods Metal Fest, now simply referred to as Shadow Woods IV.
What: Shadow Woods IV is a multi-day open air music and camping event in that includes bands from many subgenres of metal, rock, folk, experimental and noise. The fest will host more than 40 bands on two alternating stages with no overlapping sets so attendees can enjoy every set. There will also be delicious food, craft beer, a vendor marketplace with art, jewelry, home decor, music, and rock and metal merchandise.
Where: Our new fest venue is the Harpers Ferry Adventure Center (HFAC) located at 37410 Adventure Center Lane in Purcellville, VA 20132, situated in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains at the confluence of the Shenandoah and the Potomac rivers. HFAC features zip lines, ropes courses, tubing, white water rafting, cabins, campsites and an onsite craft brewery. It is located just a little more than a hour from Washington DC and Baltimore, MD near the intersection of the Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia state lines. Festival attendees receive a discount of HFAC activities as well as on the cost of campground and cabin rental with the Shadow Woods group rate.
When: Sept 20-22, 2018. Thursday night features primarily acoustic, folk and ritual noise from 6 p.m. until 11 pm. Friday and Saturday showcases rock and metal bands from noon until 11 pm each day.
How: Tickets are on sale now. A full weekend event pass is $130. Day passes for Thursday are $30; Friday and Saturday passes are $60 each. (Important note: Tent camping and cabin are not included in the tickets. Reservations must be made directly through the HFAC and you must request the Shadow Woods group rate. The venue is requesting that attendees hold off on reserving sites for the time being until a system can be put in place for managing this.)
Why: “It was pretty clear from the positive feedback I received after the 2017 fest that festival goers did not want to see Shadow Woods end, even though our property in Maryland had been sold,” said Mary Spiro, fest founder. So without a venue or a confirmed lineup, I started quietly raising the funds to do a new fest via the contributions of past attendees. In January 2018, I was able to find an fantastic site to host the fest that was even better than what we had before. The lineup came together very quickly and I am extremely proud and excited to present these past favorites and new discoveries.”
Here is lineup by day in roughly the reverse order of playing (so headliner at the top) subject to change of course. Then the lineup is in ABC order at the bottom. Brian Sheehan has done the poster.
At this time in terms of Vendors, you can say expect to see some of the ones seen last year plus many new ones.
Don’t have any food vendors or specific sponsors named yet. Beer is the Harpers Ferry Brewing Company which is part of the venue.
Thursday Xasthur – doomgrass, folk rock (Los Angeles, CA) On The Water – strange folk (Philadelphia) Goblin Hovel – metal folk (NY/PA) Skulsyr – occult noise (Doylestown, PA) Jerome Deppe and Miss Elizabeth’s All-Girl Band – folk ballads of the damned (Baltimore, MD) Bound For The Ground – the devil’s blues supergroup with members of Grave Gnosis, The Owls Are Not What They Seem, and Cultic (GA/FL/PA) Earendel – acoustic folk duo (Baltimore)
Friday Tombs – post metal (NYC) Rozamov – psyche-tinged grueling doom (Boston) Heavy Temple – Hard Fuzz, Psych and Doom (Philadelphia) Barishi – Gritty Progressive Metal (Brattleboro, VT) Aether Realm – Viking folk metal (Greenville, NC) Destroyer of Light – doom and roll (Austin, TX) Electropathic – doom hard rock with members from several foundational Maryland doom groups (Wheaton, MD) Husbandry – Fugazi meets Aaliyah (NYC) God Root – ritualistic sludge (Philadelphia) Dysfigure – modern heavy metal (Martinsburg, WV) Windfaerer – extreme aural entity (New Jersey) Witch Hazel – occult rock and roll/doom (York, PA) Forest of Legend – doom/stoner/sludge (Virginia Beach, VA) Hepatagua – sludge/doom/thrash (Boston) Flummox – nongenre specific doomy metal (Murfreesboro, TN) Ferus Din – black metal and flutes (Buffalo, NY) Haze Mage – stoner metal (Baltimore) Malphas – progressive blackened melodeath (Philadelphia)
Saturday Uada – black metal (Portland, OR) Cloak – black and roll (Atlanta, GA) Panzerfaust – black metal (Toronto, ON) Voarm – black metal (Richmond, VA) Imperial Triumphant – black metal (NYC) Athame – black metal (MD/WV) Hubris – black metal (Buffalo, NY) Enthauptung – atmospheric black metal (Rochester, NY) A Sound of Thunder – traditional/NWOBHM heavy metal (DC/VA) Bound By The Grave – death metal (Baltimore) Destroying Angel – dark folk rock (Philadelphia) All Hell – black and roll (Asheville, NC) Black Mass – death thrash (Boston) Hexxus – sludge metal (Birmingham, AL) Replicant – death metal (NJ) Tyrannis – death metal (Radford, VA) Sluagh – progressive metal (Martinsburg, WV) Sickdeer – death metal (DC)
Alphabetical Aether Realm All Hell A Sound of Thunder Athame Barishi Black Mass Bound By The Grave Bound For The Ground Cloak Jerome Deppe and Miss Elizabeth’s All-Girl Band Destroyer of Light Destroying Angel Dysfigure Earendel Electropathic Enthauptung Ferus Din Flummox Forest of Legend Goblin Hovel God Root Haze Mage Heavy Temple Hepatagua Hexxus Hubris Husbandry Imperial Triumphant Malphas On The Water Panzerfaust Replicant Rozamov Sickdeer Skulsyr Sluagh Tombs Tyrannis Uada Voarm Windfaerer Witch Hazel Xasthur
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 7th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
Oh, what a difference a decade can make. 2004 was Scott Conner‘s most productive year working with the name Malefic under the Xasthur banner, with two full-lengths, a demo and splits with other US black metal pioneers Leviathan and Nachtmystium,as well as Denmark’s Nortt and Germany’s Angra Mainyu, all out by the time the year was done. Conner was prolific as Xasthur until putting the project to rest in 2010, but never quite with the same intensity.
10 years later, Conner is readying the third album from his acoustic/bluegrass outfit, Nocturnal Poisoning — also the name of the first Xasthur album — for release via The End Records. Doomgrassis available now to preorder from the label and will be out Oct. 7.
NOCTURNAL POISONING SET TO RELEASE NEW FULL-LENGTH ALBUM DOOMGRASS VIA THE END RECORDS OUT OCTOBER 7TH
PRE-ORDERS NOW AVAILABLE!
Widely known as a pioneer within the often isolated world of black metal, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Scott Conner has forged ahead to once again reshape what the music community may come to expect from him with Nocturnal Poisoning’s third full-length album – Doomgrass.
Scheduled for release on October 7 via The End Records, Doomgrass is a distinctive, demanding, and altogether rewarding listening experience, one that finds Conner using country and bluegrass guitar playing techniques as well as American folk music weaving dark yet melodious arrangements that are dissonant and melancholic.
Rhythms of finger-picked guitars layered upon each other ebb and flow throughout creating a stirring and galvanic atmosphere, while the vocals are delivered by Robert N. in a bluesy, chant-like style, gritty but clean, adding yet another layer to Nocturnal Poisoning’s unconventional sound.
“I think Doomgrass is probably the most fearless record I’ve done,” says Conner. “I think a lot of the ‘melancholic and ethereal’ elements have taken a backseat and more of a country, western, murky side is coming out in the music more, with a touch of doom, of course. I can learn and change as I go along with Nocturnal Poisoning; and this new album is an indication of that. Third time’s the charm and I think I have the hang of what I want to do now more than ever and how to get the results.”
As the creative force and sole member of Xasthur, the highly influential black metal project that Conner launched back in 1996, while never playing a single show, he went on to release a total of eight studio albums before dissolving the Xasthur project in 2010 to afford him the time to pursue more challenging musical endeavors, namely Nocturnal Poisoning (a name taken from Xasthur’s first official album released in 2002).
01. Slowly Passing Through 02. Prisoners Of Their Own Needs 03. Doomgrass 04. Starstruck By Garbage 05. Bet It All 06. Source Of Survival 07. Fight For Another Life 08. Illusion Of Worth 09. Old Light 10. Closure In Reach 11. Vagrant, Seeker Of Empty Treasures 12. Can’t Find The Sky 13. Running Out Of Highways 14. Question The Screen
Friday, November 2nd
