I’m begging you, just listen to this record. Please. For me. For you. Just listen.

Anyway, if you’re not in the mood to write the thesis, you may as buy Gattaca Movie Assignment Answers online with a highly professional assistance. That would surely give you more free time to deal with all the other tasks, and you’d get positive grades all over. With writing experts in more than 200 subjects and fields of science, it’s a 100% certainty that if you buy thesis online, they’ll Am Universum, the fifth album by Finland’s Research Paper Quotes is a specialist skill which requires expertise and experience in the field or subject of the dissertation. For this reason at Express Proofreading our proofreaders are senior academics and practitioners who have experience in the relevant subjects, as well as in the processes of high quality proofreading and editing. We are able to assist students specialising in a Amorphis, turns 20 this year. It was released through Our see urls not only take orders from the UK but we have my friend suggested me dissertationstore.co.uk for essay writing Relapse Records on April 3, 2001, so the date’s already passed. As the follow-up to 1999’s http://ddl.dk/?where-can-order-essay - Proofreading and proofediting aid from best professionals. witness the benefits of expert writing help available here Instead of Tuonela (discussed here), it found the band progressing further into traditional rock melodies tinged with Finnish folk elements and drives inherited from their journey through death metal. Vocalist Resort Business Plan Template is a professional expert in academic field. We offer proofreading service, including dissertation proofreading, of high quality! Pasi Koskinen still throws in a couple growls if you listen for them, but from Buy-Custom-Essays-Online.com is the Best http://www.ladentrog.at/?conceptual-framework-dissertation-example to buy dissertation online for affordable price Santeri Kallio‘s keys to the guitar nuance from See what http://www.service-kinderbetreuung.de/?importance-of-mba-admission-essay London is offering as it will help you judge how confident they are in their quality of work, but it also gives you leverage that you can use if you receive substandard work or your if your agreement is breached in any way, for example if the delivery is late or the content is plagiarised. Order Now. Result. When you search ‘help me write my dissertation’, you Eso Holopainen and SameDayEssay offers you a unique opportunity of having your custom essay written extra fast! Our Team will Contact You Within 10 Essay About Online Social Networking Tomi Koivusaari that unfurls in opener “Alone,” there’s no question that by this point online essay critique Assignments Of Binding essay crime doesnt pay bonamy dobree english essayists Amorphis had largely left such extremity behind.

They did so organically, but boldly, over the course of their prior outings — 1992’s Business Write My Economics Essay: Call (424) 204-6133. Superb 27-year proposal success rate by experienced Optimal Thinking business proposal writing team. The Karelian Isthmus, coupled with the 1993 The Academic Papers UK is the most reliable firm since we have a large customer base and experience of around 10 years. Here, we offer http://www.ulc-bludenz.at/?help-on-statistics-homework service in the UK to support you in completing your dissertation when; You find it difficult to select the appropriate methodology or data analysis part of your dissertation. Privilege of Evil EP, 1994’s pivotal Looking for Business Plan For Clothing Store? You are on the right page! Don't miss the opportunity to use the best writing service in order to achieve what you Tales From the Thousand Lakes, 1996’s even-more-pivotal Our professional Hypnotherapy Business Plan are designed to relieve some of the pressure and provide expert support from a specialist team of PhD writer. They will guide you through the process of writing your PhD thesis, from the title and initial proposal, right through to the conclusion. Elegy, ’97’s Why Students Need Critical Thinking Guide. For a student to decide to turn to dissertation writers for help, there have to be several reasons behind it. Among the top ones, there is lacking time or poor time management. Dissertations require much time to complete. College and university students are likely to encounter trouble allocating time to their dissertation. This is because My Kantele EP and the aforementioned follow link - Entrust your dissertation to experienced writers engaged in the company select the service, and our experienced writers will do Tuonela — their sense of progression never faltered, and it by no means stopped with  Am Universum either. But, 10 years out from their first demo, Am Universum‘s 10-song/50-minute run marked a special moment in what was becoming the band’s signature blend of elements, and I don’t know that they’ve to-date ever written a stronger collection of tracks. Some songs are memorable. Once you get these into your head, they’re unforgettable.

Am Universum is a riding-a-bike album. Once you put it on, it’s like you never left. Multi-stage choruses in run rampant throughout, and as “Alone” introduces tones, melodies, the richness in Niclas Etelävuori‘s bass (he had replaced Olli-Pekka Laine, who’d soon come back) and the push of Pekka Kasari‘s drums (again, Jan Rechberger would return to the band in short order), the spectrum of colors offered only grows across cuts like “Goddess (of the Sad Man),” “The Night is Over” and “Shatters Within,” the band bringing structural variety along with a range of expression and an overarching flow that continues as the record progresses through the hard-riffed/well-organed “Crimson Wave,” “Drifting Memories” — one of several tracks to feature echo-laced saxophone, but one on which it’s particularly well used — into the victory lap of “Forever More,” the gorgeous, melancholic semi-acoustic standout of “Veil of Sin,” and the closing duo, “Captured State,” which returns to some of the heavier hookmaking of the early cuts, and “Grieve Stricken Heart,” which is the first song since “Alone” to top six minutes and a beyond effective summation of the record’s many strengths in craft and aesthetic.

It’s hard with Amorphis — even harder than spelling “isthmus” — because especially up to this point in their career, every album really was an era. They had gone from raw death metal to the innovative use of instrumentation and themes from Finnish folk music, basing songs on the Kalevala, and so on, and they did so largely at a time before the internet really spread into people’s lives. So listeners lived with these albums in a different way. Even Relapse wasn’t the metal-major, whatever that means, it is now circa 1994 — indeed records like those Amorphis produced helped make them one. But the point is there are loyalists to each of those offerings listed above, and in that regard, Am Universum doesn’t get nearly enough credit for what the band managed to accomplish across its span.

Please. Just listen to it. I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think it was something you should hear.

On its face, it’s kind of unassuming. Two six-minute tracks bookending a bunch of others around four and five minutes long, pretty consistent, and the art? 20 years later and I’m still not sure what’s going on there, but I can tell you that its muted colors don’t come close to representing either the vast soundscape or the emotional breadth that comes across in the listening experience. In context it makes sense. This was, ostensibly, a metal band putting out a melodic heavy prog rock record. There had to be a certain amount of, “what the hell do we do with this?” going on, because especially coming out of death metal, and especially walking the sonic path that Amorphis were across genres, almost defining them as they went — folk metal is still a thing — it had never happened before. Am Universum pushed across boundaries and challenged the band to become something almost entirely different than they were when they started, and even crazier, pulled it off. I never have, but I’d love to talk to Matt Jacobson from Relapse about this album, if only to say thanks for taking the chance on putting it out.

Amorphis, true to their name, would continue to change. In 2003/2004, they offered Far From the Sun, as their first outing for Nuclear Blast, which stripped their songwriting down further into melodic heavy rock and would prove to be Koskinen‘s last album with the band; he has gone on to contribute to a number of outfits, among them Mannhai, Shape of Despair, Ajattara and so on. His replacement, Tomi Joutsen (also Hallatar and a bunch of others), made a distinguished first impression on 2006’s Eclipse (I saw them at BB King’s in Manhattan on that tour; it was the day I got back from SXSW that year; I was tired, they were great) and has gone on to be a reliable frontman presence for the group across the better part of two decades’ worth of releases, the band ultimately finding a line between melody and harder hitting fare that is no less their own for the influence it’s had over European metal in general.

In 2021, the band released Live at Helsinki Ice Hall, and Holopainen has a solo-ish album out under the moniker Silver Lake by Esa Holopainen on which he collaborates with different singers, so there’s plenty more to dig into after this. Amorphis‘ latest studio outing was 2018’s Queen of Time (review here), which demonstrated just how much the band’s sound has come to encompass over their now 30 years, and how distinctive their work is across the greater sphere of heavy music, metal or otherwise.

Please, just listen.

Thanks for reading. As always, I hope you enjoy.

—

Man, nobody’s gonna give a shit. I know it. Amorphis is one of those bands I write about because I love them and no one cares. Amorphis, Anathema, Swallow the Sun, etc. I’ve got a whole list. Let the record show I did it for me anyway, despite the begging aspect. That’s mostly me trying to convince Mike H. and a few others it’ll make their day better.

Lot going on this weekend, but somewhere in there I’m going to find time to review the Fatso Jetson/All Souls stream. I think that might be the last livestream review I do, at least of pandemic-era stuff. Shows are starting up again this Fall, it’s looking like, and barring disaster, it’ll be possible to see bands in-person rather than onscreen. I don’t think livestreams are going to completely disappear, so I’m not gonna say I’ll never do another one, period, but for now, unless something really amazing comes up — more ‘Live in the Mojave Desert’ etc. — I feel like maybe this is a good one to go out on.

Weird week. The Pecan is out of the boot post-legbreak, and that’s good. He’s still favoring the leg a bit, but it’s only been a few weeks. He’s running again, so that’s good, and I took him to the playground down the way yesterday and he played hard like a three year old who hasn’t been to the playground in the better part of a month, so that was good to see. He saw the moon while he was on the swings and got all excited: “It’s a crescent moon!” If I could live a thousand years, I’d hope never to forget it.

But the week is over, which is good, I think. No school next week, which is going to be a crunch. Summer break, huh? Okay. Camp starts after the July 4 holiday, so that’s about two and a half weeks he’s home. There you go. If you’re wondering, that’s why I didn’t answer your email. I’ll be lucky if I have time to shower twice.

I made Facebook group for The Obelisk this week. It’s here if you want to check it out: http://www.facebook.com/groups/theobeliskcollective/

So far it’s a lot of people introducing themselves and their projects, but that’s to be expected, I think. And the whole point of the thing is to share music, so that’s reasonable. You could argue I did the same thing by starting it in the first place.

So yes, needless to say I’ll be phasing out this blog in the next couple weeks to focus on The Obelisk as a purely social media-based entity.

No. Of course not. Not that I’m so attached to WordPress — though apparently I am — but I’ve yet to find a social media interface that holds a candle to AOL 3.0. Or maybe I’m just nostalgic. I can still hear my 28k baud modem screeching in my head, about to get knocked offline when someone picks up the phone. Charged by the minute. Madness.

What a time to be alive.

But that’s enough whatnot. I plug along. I did some good reading this week, nothing too challenging, but it feels good for the brain. I hope you’re well and stay that way. Have fun, be safe, watch your head, hydrate. Gotta hydrate. So important.

No Gimme show today, but next week’s is the first part of a two-parter Neurosis deep-dive. It’s gonna be awesome.

FRM.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

Los Angeles-based trio Solar Haze release their new EP, The Solar Age, on July 16 through Metal Assault Records. I’ll be blunt: it’s a good time. They’re too far south to be a part of the whole Pacific Northwest party-rock thing in Portland, but they’re definitely all the way up for throwing down. Not as psyched out or malevolent as Mountain Tamer — whose sticker makes a cameo on a shovelhead in the video premiering below — but with a tonal crunch in the guitars of Stephen Falla and Ross Cowan that lets you understand where the two outfits would be friends. The Solar Age runs three tracks and 17 minutes and nine of those are dedicated to “Terror of the Deep,” which closes out. Side A, if you’re thinking of it as a 10″, brings the title-track and “Fortress Will Fall.” Both are a blast.

The title-track opens and arrives with immediately respectable chicanery. There’s fuzz being kicked around, but it’s also kind of hard to ignore that the central riff comes across like Slayer played at about 80 percent speed — if you have a moment, please let me tell you sometime about my concept cover band, Slowyer — which they liken to an Iron Maiden influence and I’m not inclined to argue. It’s a current of metal one way or the other, but the chug in the chorus brings to mind early aughts Small Stone Records-style drunken fuckall, and the energy that runs throughout is infectious. The song itself is about five minutes long, pushed forward with due force thanks to Ryan Michael Falla‘s drumming, and shifts into a more winding section to set up its guitar solo in the second half, but is never too far from the hook. That’s a fitting setup for “Fortress Will Fall,” which is even more straightforward, punkish in spirit and insistence. Again, they’re having fun so you’re having fun. And if you’re like me and you’re the kind of person who says things like, “Not really a big fan of fun,” give it a shot anyway. It’s important to try new things.

Of course, the proceedings slam headfirst into a bigtime tempo slowdown for “Terror of the Deep.” What, you thought Solar Haze were gonna write a nine-minute track about a monster under the ocean and not doom out the riff? Please. The methodical chug and aggro vocal reminds of earliest Sleep and also C.O.C. and a bunch of other raw mid-’90s stonerized punk, but there’s room for some psych in there, and the trio take advantage, mellowing the end and adding a sense of space earlier on as well, not to flesh it out needlessly, but to hint at their willingness to let complexity blossom in their sound over time. In following up their 2019 self-titled debut LP and last year’s “Burn the Light” single, they give a resonant sample of who they are as a group to anyone who might be looking to get on board. They make it easy to do so.

All the more with the video for “The Solar Age.” Note the Necronomicon making an appearance. Always nice to see. There’s beers, jams, sunshine. Loosen up for a couple minutes and enjoy yourself.

Some comment from the band follows below:

Solar Haze, “The Solar Age” video premiere

Solar Haze on “The Solar Age”:

We’re excited to release our first music video to coincide with the pre-order launch of our upcoming EP, The Solar Age. First impressions are everything and we couldn’t be happier with how this video captures the spirit and energy of Solar Haze.

This video channels the perfect blend of Iron Maiden / Red Fang with some Evil-Dead-inspired horror, ultimately creating an experience that blends heavy riffs with heavier humor. Thank you for checking out our music and we look forward to playing this song for you live!”

The official release date for The Solar Age EP is slated for July 16, 2021 on Metal Assault Records.

The Solar Age track listing:
1. The Solar Age (4:57)
2. Fortress Will Fall (3:50)
3. Terror Of The Deep (9:00)
Total Runtime: 17:47

In celebration of their new release, SOLAR HAZE will perform at “Blunt Force Trauma Fest,” a virtual mini festival experience presented by Ebony Jeanette PR & Metal Assault Records streaming July 16th via Youtube.com/ebonyjeanette. More information about the Blunt Force Trauma Fest can be found via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/2736782233280507/

SOLAR HAZE is:
Guitar/Vocals/Bass Guitar: Stephen Falla
Guitar: Ross Cowan
Drums/Percussion: Ryan Michael Falla

Solar Haze on Facebook

Solar Haze on Instagram

Solar Haze on Bandcamp

Metal Assault Records on Facebook

Metal Assault Records on Instagram

Metal Assault Records on Bandcamp

Pulling drive-bys on empty rooms, making tapes outta rekkids, watching the bottom fall out and going on anyway — Lammping‘s new album Flashjacks has enough cool-ass flow to well earn the arrogance it takes to call a song “The Funkiest” and release it to public ears. You start off with an Om ride cymbal in “Intercessor,” but like so much of the 33-minute long-player, it becomes a plaything in Lammping‘s hands. A fuzzy shimmer of nostalgia peppers the straightforward songs with aesthetic, samples and effects adding to the memorable melodies and hooks, hooks, hooks of the thing. Oh, it’s so right on. You gotta understand. You just have to.

Maybe you caught onto the band’s 2020 LP Bad Boys of Comedy (review here). Or maybe it was 2021’s New Jaws EP (review here) that did it. Or maybe it hasn’t happened yet. Point is, listen to this shit and let it click because if you let it it will and then everybody’s life gets better.

DL is out Aug. 27. I’ve got an album stream booked for Aug. 19. That’s right. I dig this so much I locked down an album stream two months in advance. Not taking any goddamn chances.

Preorders and such from the PR wire:

LAMMPING – Flashjacks – Echodelick Records

Digital Release : August 27th, 2021 / Vinyl Release : September 17th, 2021

Toronto psych band Lammping’s sophomore album Flashjacks is coming out digitally August 27th, getting a vinyl release through Echodelick Records on September 17th.

Presale Begins June 25th. Edition of 300. Oxblood/Black swirl. First 75 orders receive a Lammping patch.

USA orders
echodelickrecords.bandcamp.com

UK/EU orders
https://visualvolume-mikevest.bandcamp.com/merch

After their critically acclaimed debut LP release on Nasoni Records in July 2020, the band got to working on a new collection of songs, further expanding the sonic possibilities of heavy music. The foundation of the sound remains rooted in Jay Anderson’s heavy drumming and Mikhail Galkin’s melodic riffs, but with the addition of samples, drum machines and a variety of instrumentation, the upcoming LP’s sonic palate is just as indebted to Stereolab, De La Soul and Kraftwerk as it is to Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and Sleep.

Thematically, the record is about a general sense of urban paranoia, exploring themes of social division, gentrification, memory and spirituality against that backdrop. It is also an ode of sorts, to Toronto, and the good and the bad of the city’s history and fabric.

Flashjacks attempts to eschew cliched stoner and psych-rock tropes and to forge a new path in heavy psychedelia. From the Madlib-esque crunch of the drums on Lammping to the sample-laden Other Shoe, the album bends unwritten rules of the genre, while building on the foundation of well crafted, melodic songs.

https://www.instagram.com/lammping
https://lammping.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ERECORDSATL
https://www.instagram.com/echodelickrecords/
https://echodelickrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.echodelickrecords.com/

Lammping, “Lammping”

Take a quick gander at the Bandcamp page of Maryland death-doom rawness slingers Torvus and you’ll see in the sidebar they’ve listed a gig taking place July 2 at a castle in Slovakia. Well, I don’t think that’s true, and I don’t even know if travel to Nové Mesto nad Váhom is allowed at this point in time, but listening to the songs on Torvus‘ upcoming demo, Dead Seasons, I see where they’re coming from. The trio, which features Zak Suleri of Et Mors, Seasick Gladiator, and so on, offer a melancholic extremity that recalls early death-doom’s underproduced majesty, a ferocity of exploration and a fresh sense of ripe decay speaking to the deathly atmosphere surrounding.

As it happens, Torvus have been confirmed for what’s sadly being billed as the final Shadow Woods Metal Festival, to be held Aug. 27-28 out in the woods in White Hall, MD, where they’ll join a lineup diverse enough to include the likes of Panopticon and Borracho and Dave Heumann of Arbouretum, as well as a ton of others. Torvus have a slew of releases going back to 2015, among them the sophomore full-length The Innate Disease released in February and a split called House Arrest with Roanoke, Virginia’s Gravity Kong, but they’ve never been shy about putting out demos either. Maybe songs show up later, maybe they don’t. Not knowing is part of the fun.

And hey, maybe they’ll be in Slovakia in July, what do I know?

Info follows:

New demo from the new era of TORVUS dropping on the 25th of June.

Five new tracks:

1. Stoned n’ Frosted 06:00
2. Las Gotas de la Felicidad 00:45
3. Dead Seasons 04:44
4. Obsolete 04:20
5. Words Within 04:34

Summer ’21 Demo.
Releases 6/25/21.

Songs written during Spring 2021. Recorded May 2021.

Joey McTorvus – Guitars, Vocals, Keys
Zak Cerulean – Bass, Vocals
Noktal – Drums, Vocals

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Zak Cerulean.

Cover art:
Photography by Carol Antezana.
Design by Zak Cerulean

https://www.facebook.com/torvusband
https://www.instagram.com/_torvus_
https://torvus.bandcamp.com/

Torvus, Dead Seasons (2021)

Well, now I get it. Sept. 17 is three months from yesterday, so there’s still a bit of time for the plot to unfold, but Kadabra make a bold first showing in the initial single from their upcoming debut album, Ultra. Set to issue through Heavy Psych Sounds, the record is up for preorder now and is led off by “Graveyard,” which one can hear below in its post-Mars Red Sky melody ‘n’ wah weighted roll coupled with a spaciousness that’s pure Pacific Northwestern mountaintop all the way. I dig it, man. I dig it. The label’s earned a lot of trust with international pickups over the last few years, so I was expecting to dig it when the signing was announced last week, but that doesn’t make doing so any less satisfying now that there’s some audio to accompany.

Three months is a long time.

Preorders are up now though, if you’re the type to take care of things early, and I dig the album art with the stained glass and all that. I’ll hope to have more to come on Ultra once, you know, I hear it and so on.

The PR wire has this:

KADABRA share first single off upcoming debut album ‘Ultra’ on Heavy Psych Sounds; preorder available now!

Spokane, Washington stoner rockers KADABRA sign to Heavy Psych Sounds for the release of their debut album ‘Ultra’ on September 17th, and premiere the first single “Graveyard”.

Written throughout the 2020 global pandemic, KADABRA’s debut album presents an aesthetic that nears that “classic rock” charm and energy. The group has meshed together the droned flow of psychedelic clamor with an abrasive fuzzed riff drive. In the fall of 2020, they tracked their debut album with their friend Dawson Scholz, and it is set to release this fall on Heavy Psych Sounds Records. ‘Ultra’ will be released on September 17th, 2021 through Heavy Psych Sounds, and available to preorder now on various vinyl formats, CD and digital.

KADABRA Debut album ‘Ultra’
Out September 17th on Heavy Psych Sounds
PREORDER: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/

TRACKLIST:
1. Graveyard
2. Faded Black
3. Eagle 20’s
4. Bean King
5. Death
6. Coyote
7. Settle Me

In 2020, a year wrecked with cultural dissent and a global pandemic, fellow musicians and long-time friends Garrett Zanol (Blackwater Prophet) and Ian Nelson decided to start their own band. After retaining the talents of their favorite local drummer Chase Howard, the group got to work on writing an album that illustrates their current climate. KADABRA delivers the eerie psyche crawl of acts like Dead Meadow and the heavy fuzzed riff grime of Black Sabbath. In the fall of 2020, they tracked their debut album with Dawson Scholz, for a release this fall on Heavy Psych Sounds.

KADABRA is:
Garrett Zanol (Vocals/Guitar)
Ian Nelson (Bass)
Chase Howard (Drums)

https://www.instagram.com/kadabra_band/
heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Kadabra, “Graveyard”

Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to be brought into the employ of Ohio heavy troupe Doctor Smoke to write a bio as they sought to find a home for their second album. It’s at this point been seven years since they issued The Witching Hour (discussed here) through Totem Cat Records. Part of writing the bio for the new record — the fortunate part, as it happens — was that it involved hearing the thing. So yes, Doctor Smoke have a new record, and I believe it’ll be out in September if they’ve been sitting on this announcement of signing to Ripple Music for a bit. They’ve given minimal info — band and label are pretty on-message in just saying they’ve aligned and the record is coming soon — to this point, but the thing is done and ready to be pressed if that’s not already in progress.

It’s a turn in sound too, and an interesting one. Though they’re named after an Asteroid track, Doctor Smoke were never really a fuzz-heavy band, but under the direction of guitarist/vocalist Matt Tluchowski, they’ve moved to highlight a classic-metal shimmer in the riffs that suits them well and stands them out among heavy peers. I don’t want to give too much away, because it’d be kind of a dick move to jump the gun — I’m not looking to mess with anybody’s promo plan; people put time and thought into that shit — but some who caught on to The Witching Hour way back when will be surprised at where they’ve gone. In a good way, since the songwriting is still there.

From the socials:

Very psyched about this. Loved this band since their debut. Please welcome to the family Doctor Smoke.

New album drops into your ears this September.

“We are proud to announce our signing with Ripple Music! Very excited to be joining such an amazing roster of artists. New album out this September. Keep your eyes peeled for further announcements!”

http://doctorsmoke.bandcamp.com/
http://facebook.com/doctorsmokeband
https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

Doctor Smoke, The Witching Hour (2014)

New Zealand one-man psych outfit Lamp of the Universe are headed toward the release of a new album. Almost always. In this case, however, multi-instrumentalist Craig Williamson (see also: Arc of Ascent, ex-Datura) carries the marked ambition to, as he puts it, “cover pretty much everything” he’s ever done. Not a minor ambition. Consider that Lamp of the Universe has been active since the turn of the century, has over 10 full-lengths to its credit and, on its own, takes on an acid folk style that ranges from sunny West Coast acoustics to been-to-India sitar drones and percussion to all-out space rock, all the while basking in dream-echo vocal melodies and ethereal, mystical themes. That’s before you get into Williamson‘s band work, the cosmic grunge of Arc of Ascent or the late-’90s psych riffage of Datura. One way or the other, it’s all fairly far out, but hell’s bells that “one way or the other” is covering a whole lot of ground.

One can hear the difference in intent immediately when taking on the new single “Return as Light.” Even as compares to 2020’s Dead Shrine (review here), which continued a thread pushing Lamp of the Universe in a more full-band-sounding direction — the big question is whether or not there are traditional rock-style drums, and for the most part there were — the vision in “Return as Light” is markedly clear-headed and the presentation resoundingly full in its production. A new studio situation has resulted in a depth of mix that indeed stands more in line with Williamson‘s band output, and the straightforward structure isn’t necessarily something he’s never done before, but never quite this way in this context. Two decades on from The Cosmic Union (discussed here), Lamp of the Universe is still finding new corners of psychedelia to illuminate.

If this doesn’t make you stoked for that next record — whatever it’s called, whenever it’s coming — then I don’t know what to tell you. I’ll hope to have more on the LP as we get closer.

For now, enjoy:

Lamp of the Universe, “Return as Light” official video premiere

Craig Williamson on “Return as Light”:

Well this song is quite different, or the start of something different for LotU. A lot of firsts… first time in an actual recording studio by myself (recording drums), first time having a proper full recording setup, very first single and video I’ve ever released.

“Return as Light” is part of a new album that will be quite diverse and cover pretty much everything I’ve done solo and band-wise.

Lamp of the Universe on Facebook

Lamp of the Universe on Bandcamp

Projection Records on Bandcamp

Founding Elder guitarist/vocalist Nick DiSalvo released the debut album from his don’t-call-it-a-solo-project Delving last week. Titled Hirschbrunnen (review here) and issued through Stickman Records, it’s an excursion into stylistic and instrumental freedom that brings new textures of synth, electronics and layered guitar to some methods familiar and unfamiliar to the context of his prior work. Classically progressive in some ways, touching on heavy in others, it is a pandemic-era exploration that, DiSalvo notes, was born of the restlessness of being off tour but was a long-simmering back-burner concept. Always wanted to do a thing? No time like lockdown.

Immediately, Delving is brought into coexistence with DiSalvo‘s main outlet. Elder will hit the studio in Hamburg in August to begin their next LP even as Delving — which was recorded at Big Snuff in Berlin — looks to do a kind of mini-tour this Fall, feeling out a process of playing live at least in Germany. Hirschbrunnen, which takes its name from a statue in Rudolph Wilde Park near where DiSalvo lives in Berlin, embraces its distinctions. Part of the point of the thing is to be a home for material that, to DiSalvo‘s ear, is separate from Elder in its form or fluidity.

I asked him outright if he was tired of writing heavy riffs. He didn’t prevaricate in saying no, but it’s likewise clear that pushing back on internal and external expectations of Elder as a “heavy” band — which they are, even on last year’s Omens (review here), which introduced a new drummer and an even more progressive sound — and being free to create outside of those expectations was refreshing in his work on Delving. Though instrumental in its entirety, that sensibility comes through the songs without question. They go where they want, even if Hirschbrunnen is presenting a nascent form of these ideas.

There will be more Delving, and Elder will have that new record as well, and return to touring when possible — they’ve already had a few confirmations for 2022. Those are things you’ll want to know. Beyond that, I hope you dive in here and enjoy.

We start off talking about yerba mate, as one will.

Thanks for reading and watching:

Delving Interview with Nick DiSalvo, June 15, 2021

Delving‘s Hirschbrunnen is out now on Stickman Records. You can hear it on the player below and get more info at the links.

Delving, Hirschbrunnen (2021)

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