With the pickup of Toronto heavy rockers Ol’ Time Moonshine for the release of their upcoming debut album, The Apocalypse Trilogies, the roster of Salt of the Earth Records expands to cover international ground. Already in 2016 the upstart Connecticut imprint has announced alliances with New England acts Scissorfight, Cortez, Buzzard Canyon and When the Deadbolt Breaks — the latter just last week — and worked quickly to actually get material out from these bands, so I tend to believe it when the label says The Apocalypse Trilogies will be out before the end of 2016.

As advance notice/warning of the album’s arrival, Ol’ Time Moonshine today premiere the track “Raven vs. Hawk” in addition to announcing the signing and their impending first album, which follows their 2014 EP, The Demon Haunted World (review here). Look for more on this one in the months to come, but in the meantime, here’s info and audio, courtesy of the PR wire:

The END of the world soon approaches and it all begins with a bite from a space werewolf! That’s right… A space werewolf! And things are about to get real heavy.
SALT OF THE EARTH RECORDS is intensely proud to be welcoming Toronto’s riff firing heavy hitters Ol’ TIME MOONSHINE to the family!

Ol’ TIME MOONSHINE’s brand new album “The Apocalypse Trilogies” was recorded at the capable hands of Dave Draper, a film sound technician, microphone enthusiast and tone hound. Capturing the essence of the band’s heavy live sound while still incorporating the dark, layered melodies that grace their debut, the album’s 12 tracks show the band progressing into new territory without abandoning the foundation of their sound.

An album filled with unforgiving riffs that hold captive to whiskey scorched vocals…combine that with a thunderous rhythm section… Ol’ TIME MOONSHINE hits like a freight train and doesn’t let up!

Conceived as THE trilogy of trilogies about the apocalypse, the album is presented in the style of classic, horror and sci-fi anthologies and features Ol’ Time Moonshine’s potent and distilled blend of doom, southern rock and heavy metal. Lyrically, it spins tales of the end of humanity – annihilation comes via space werewolf, pagan goddess, and ancient magic. While the songs share common themes, the album is diverse in scope and sound and fans of heavy music will find tons to sink their teeth into here.

“The Apocalypse Trilogies” will be released through SALT OF THE EARTH RECORDS in late 2016.

Ol’ TIME MOONSHINE is:
Bill Kole (vocals, guitar)
Brett Savory (drums)
Chris Coleiro (guitar)
John Kendrick (bass)

https://www.facebook.com/oltimemoonshine/
https://oltimemoonshine.bandcamp.com/
http://saltoftheearthrecords.com/

Ol’ Time Moonshine, “Raven vs. Hawk”

First of all, before we even get started, kudos to German heavy psychedelic rockers Suns of Thyme on the title. “Deep Purple Rain” comes from the band’s second album and Napalm Records debut, Cascades, which arrived earlier this year, and like a lot of the record it calls home, it runs a line somewhere between progressive krautrock impulses and psychedelic texturing. The band seem perfectly comfortable in that space — and why not — and even go so far as to add some bluesy inflection to “Deep Purple Rain,” like a less Doors-driven, more modernly influenced The Flying Eyes.

I’ll admit I was somewhat surprised when Napalm picked these cats up. Don’t get me wrong, they’re young, they’ll probably tour, they’re good — all that fun, signable stuff — but Europe’s heavy psych scene is loaded with bands, and Suns of Thyme seemed kind of drawn out of a hat. “Deep Purple Rain” — the song, not just the title — goes a long way toward explaining the appeal. It’s in the nuance of the songwriting and the still-organic vibe of the performance, the mixture of earthy undertones and otherworldly spaces that they make work in natural concert with each other. Took me a while, but I think I get it.

If you’ve been on the fence, it might do you some good to check out “Deep Purple Rain” as well. I’m kind of taking the Native American visual theme stuff with a grain of they’re-from-Germany salt — in any case, it’s not going to be the most offensive video posted this week — and would suggest you do the same should you decide to dig in, which you can do below.

PR wire info follows. Enjoy:

Suns of Thyme, “Deep Purple Rain” official video

The brand new album Cascades by German Krautgaze sensation Suns of Thyme has already hit the stores. Suns of Thyme blends space rock, shoegaze, and psychedelia reminiscent of Velvet Underground on its sophomore album. Cascades is now available HERE.

Cascades Track list:
1. Do Or Die
2. Intuition Unbound
3. Ich Träum Von Dir
4. To Vanish
5. Rush
6. Schweben
7. Deep Purple Rain
8. Val Verde
9. The Field
10. Aphelion
11. Prelude
12. In Dreams Awake
13. Kirwani
14. Kirwani II

Suns of Thyme is:
Tammo Dehn / Synths, Percussions, Sampler
Tobias Feltes / Vocals, Guitars, Sitar
Tim Hoppe / Guitars
Jascha Kreft / Drums, Vocals
Jens Rosenkranz / Bass

Suns of Thyme on Thee Facebooks

Suns of Thyme on Instagram

Suns of Thyme website

Napalm Records webstore

The Wounded Kings began their career in 2004. They ended it in 2016. By the time they got around to releasing their first album, 2008’s Embrace of the Narrow House, their lineup consisted of guitarist Steve Mills and vocalist George Birch. The UK outfit’s fifth and last long-player, Visions in Bone (released by Candlelight/Spinefarm), was recorded in part by Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio and also features those two founders, but to call the route they took to get to that point circuitous would probably be underselling it. They’d appear together again on 2010’s The Shadow over Atlantis (review here), but by the time the band got around to releasing their split with Cough, An Introduction to the Black Arts (review here), that same year, the lineup had begun to shift from a duo to a four-piece, and the changes would continue for the next half-decade-plus.

By the time 2011’s In the Chapel of the Black Hand (review here) arrived, Birch was out and Mills had already revamped the rhythm section, as he’d continue to do for the next several years. Vocalist Sharie Neyland took the reins and worked fluidly enough with the band’s cultish themes that 2014’s Consolamentum (review here) found them swapping labels from I Hate to Candlelight, taking advantage of wider distribution despite continued lineup shifts. They were a double-guitar five-piece at that point, but Visions in Bone brings their number back down to four, with Mills and Birch joined by drummer Mike Heath (on board since 2011) and bassist Alex Kearney (who also joined in 2011, but on guitar).

In some ways, it feels like a miracle The Wounded Kings pushed ahead as long as they did, and I’d call it a miracle but for all of the obvious hard human effort put into their songwriting and presentation, which have always provided stability despite whatever tumult surrounded. The Wounded Kings never had a “down” album. Well, unless you count in mood, in which case they’re all pretty “down,” but whoever happened to be in the band at any given time, they never failed to deliver quality output and as they wrap their tenure after a respectable 12-year run with these five tracks, they remain a forward-thinking, progressive outfit working in defiance of expectation for what one might commonly think of as “traditional doom,” turning convention on its head with a sound it nonetheless seems fair to think of as classic in its roots.

Birch‘s vibrato makes itself welcome almost immediately as he takes command of 14-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Beast,” and while his reunion with Mills — whose guitar, as ever, conjures the kind of darkened swirl that worshipers of Electric Wizard would envy if they knew what was good for them — is a bit part of the narrative of Visions in Bone, as is the ending of the band, neither should be considered without due thought to the level of execution across the album’s 48 minutes, “Beast” webbing its way into a creeper solo section around the halfway mark and building to a Candlemass-worthy crescendo before Birch returns and a final slowdown brings on “Vultures.”

Visions in Bone‘s structure is such that it works from longest to shortest in terms of track runtimes, but on two different wavelengths. Three longer tracks — “Beast” (14:03), “Kingdom” (11:14) and “Vanishing Sea” (10:12) — appear as the opener, centerpiece and closer, while two shorter ones — “Vultures” (8:40) and “Bleeding Sky” (4:21) — split them. Probably still fair to call “Vultures” extended, but particularly coming right after “Beast,” it feels like a marked shift in approach, is speedier and more raucous in its crash early on and the hypnotic wash of bleak psychedelia in its second half, to which Birch adds far-back chants even as Mills‘ last solo rounds out, bringing on the big-rock opening of “Kingdom,” soon giving way to a more swinging doom boogie that the band have rarely embraced.

It swings in the first half, but the song essentially breaks in two, a long sample setting up the foundation for another dark-psych build to start, but Heath‘s drums signal a change and a slower rumble begins as the vocals return and the band rides out the slower groove for the remaining two minutes, fading on feedback as the penultimate “Bleeding Sky” takes hold with a simple hi-hat march soon joined by guitar, bass and vocals.

One might expect “Bleeding Sky” to be more straightforward with its relatively abbreviated runtime, and that’s more or less how it works out, though The Wounded Kings never really depart from the dreary lurching mood regardless of tempo or structure. They end with “Vanishing Sea,” which announces the arrival of its first verse with a quick sample and a righteous roll, Birch once more obscure in the mix but unmistakably present. Layers of guitar surround, the bass and drums provide effective anchor and movement, and the band once more follow the construction of breaking around halfway through to set up a larger build, this time going deeper and closer to absolute silence before working their way back to that pivotal explosive moment of resurgence.

The last two-plus minutes of Visions in Bone are dedicated to an instrumental apex of multi-tiered soloing, rolling crash and rumbling low end. It’s as fitting an end to The Wounded Kings‘ swansong — if it is (never say never in rock and roll) — as anything one might script, since it underlines just how much they went from “project” to “band” during their time together and what a force they ultimately were by the end. In a crowded UK market for doom and other forms of underground heavy, The Wounded Kings never failed to distinguish themselves in their atmospherics, their tone and their craftsmanship, and it’s easy to imagine their records will continue to be discovered for years to come.

As a final edition to their catalog, Visions in Bone answers their earlier work in summarizing some of what’s always been best in their sound, but even more appropriately, it represents the band’s ethic never ceasing to progress from one release to another. 12 years seems like too few.

The Wounded Kings, “Beast”

The Wounded Kings on Thee Facebooks

The Wounded Kings on Twitter

Candlelight Records

Spinefarm Records

Chicanery-prone tye-dye aficionados Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters — just rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? — were last heard from this Spring when they posted the bonus track from the vinyl version of their debut release, Earth Hog (review here). That LP was released by Stone Stallion Rex and that song was the seven-minute “Bongwater Blues,” which was posted for streaming. It lives up to its title on both fronts — the bongwater and the blues — moving from early swing into driving and almost punkish heavy rock by the end. Even when these guys sound like they’re doing absolute tossoffs, they make it memorable. I’m gonna have “Yes my baby, got the bongwater blues” stuck in my head for the rest of the day and I don’t even smoke.

Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, however, very likely do. They’re heading out on tour in November alongside UK countrymen Ten Foot Wizard from Manchester, and they’ll hit cities across the Channel in Belgium and the Netherlands — they have one last date open if you happen to be in that part of the world and have a space they can play on Nov. 7 — before returning to England so Chubby Thunderous can play at the Buried in Smoke All-Dayer in Oxford on Nov. 12.

If you feel like you can dig it, then dig it:

Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters – TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT

We are joining our hallucinogenic feline brothers Ten Foot Wizard on tour this November and need help filling the last date.

Can anybody help us in filling our last date on Monday 7th November in either Northern France, Western Germany or The Netherlands?

Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters and Ten Foot Wizard
3/11 Rock Cafe Jinx Zaandam NL
4/11 De Loft Herent BE
5/11 Kinky Star Ghent BE
6/11 Music City Antwerp BE
7/11 Need Help! BE FR NL
12/11 Buried in Smoke All-Dayer Oxford UK*
*Chubs only

http://chubbythunderousbadkushmasters.bigcartel.com/
https://chubbythunderousbadkushmasters.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/chubbythunderousbadkushmasters/
http://stone-stallion-rex.de/

Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters, “Bongwater Blues”

Nola sludge progenitors Crowbar will release their 11th studio album, The Serpent Only Lies, via eOne Heavy on Oct. 28. The band’s last outing was 2014’s Symmetry in Black, which was preceded in 2011 by Sever the Wicked Hand (review here) — their first for eOne — which marked a resurgence that’s now five years running and finds Crowbar among underground metal’s most respected mainstays. They’ve been everywhere, they’ve seen everything, and rather than give into any of what is no doubt a copious amount of bullshit they’ve been through in their years together, they continue to push forward.

Particularly interested in guitarist/vocalist Kirk Windstein saying he went back to old Crowbar and old Crowbar influences this time out, as some of the more modern metallurgy of their recent output had marked a big sonic turn for the band.

Many tour dates, much info, and a teaser, from the PR wire:

CROWBAR ANNOUNCE THE SERPENT ONLY LIES, DUE OUT 10/28

TEASER AVAILABLE NOW!

New Orleans sludge masters Crowbar have announced their eleventh new LP titled The Serpent Only Lies, due out October 28, 2016. “We are so excited about our 11th studio record! The Serpent Only Lies is a powerful follow up.” says frontman and riff lord Kirk Windstein. “Eliran Kantor did a brilliant job with the artwork! Our first release, “Falling While Rising”, is Crowbar at its finest… HEAVIER THAN EVER!!!”

The Serpent Only Lies will be the follow up to the highly buzzed about Symmetry in Black that sold over 4,000 copies in its first week of release in 2014, the highest of any LPs in the band’s 27 year career, beating out its predecessor, 2011’s Sever the Wicked Hand.

For nearly three decades, the name Crowbar has been synonymous with HEAVY. Since rising ominously from the swamplands of New Orleans in 1990, they’ve been hailed internationally as one of the world’s foremost purveyors of crushing, melodic sludge. The Serpent Only Lies, is both an affirmation of the band’s staying power and a nod to their legacy. “To me, it’s a fresh-sounding version of old-school Crowbar,” says Windstein.

“I intentionally went back and listened to a lot of old Crowbar stuff, like the self-titled and Broken Glass albums, to get a feel for what my mindset was 20-plus years ago. I also went back and listened to the bands that influenced Crowbar in the beginning, like Trouble, Saint Vitus, Melvins, and the first Type O Negative record. So it was kinda me doing my homework.”

The result is an album that stands toe-to-toe with those early Crowbar classics while maintaining the lumbering hooks of mid-period standouts like 1998’s Odd Fellows Rest and 2000’s Equilibrium. “Even lyrically, the approach was a little more old-school,” Windstein offers. “Some of the songs have less lyrics to let the riffs breathe a little more, which I had kind of gotten away from over the years. It was a conscious thing to go back to that.”

The tour cycle for The Serpent Only Lies marks the return of original Crowbar bassist Todd “Sexy T” Strange, who left the band back in 1999 but now joins Windstein, drummer Tommy Buckley and guitarist Matt Brunson in forging Crowbar’s future. “Todd helped start the band, so having him back is important to me and, I think, the fans,” Windstein offers. “It’s a great feeling to be standing onstage next to him. It’s a breath of fresh air for the band and makes us stronger.”

“Having this be our eleventh record, we’re very fortunate because so many bands don’t last this long,” Windstein adds. “My whole outlook on music as a career is the Motörhead outlook, which is that slow and steady wins the race. If you continue to put out killer records, continue to kick ass onstage every night and continue to treat your fans with respect, that’s the stuff people will remember.”

Sep 13 JJ’s Bohemia Chattanooga, TN
Sep 15 The Agora Theatre and Ballroom Cleveland, OH
Sep 16 Reggies Music Joint Chicago, IL
Sep 17 Harpos Detroit, MI
Sep 18 Town Ballroom Buffalo, NY
Sep 20 The Westcott Theater Syracuse, NY
Sep 21 The Ballroom at The Outer Space Hamden, CT
Sep 23 Amityville Music Hall Amityville, NY
Sep 24 THE COLOSSEUM/ THE RUINS @ THE COLOSSEUM Providence, RI
Sep 26 Saint Vitus Brooklyn, NY
Sep 27 Dingbatz Clifton, NJ
Sep 28 Shakas Live Virginia Beach, VA
Sep 29 The Throne Theater Wilmington, NC
Sep 30 The Sparrow North Charleston, SC
Oct 01 New Brookland Tavern Columbia, SC
Oct 02 The Warehouse Clarksville, TN
Oct 03 Manchester Music Hall Lexington, KY
Oct 06 Nighthawks Jacksonville, FL
Oct 07 The Orpheum Ybor City, FL
Oct 09 Churchills Pub Miami, FL
Oct 10 House of Blues Orlando Orlando, FL
Oct 22 Empire Control Room & Garage Austin, TX

https://www.facebook.com/crowbarmusic
https://twitter.com/crowbarrules
http://www.facebook.com/eoneheavy
http://www.twitter.com/eoneheavy

Crowbar, The Serpent Only Lies teaser

At this point, one almost receives an email with a subject announcing a Windhand tour and expects it to list a month-plus of dates. That’s kind of just how the Virginian outfit have operated for the last couple years — already they’ve put in considerable time supporting last fall’s Jack Endino-produced Grief’s Infernal Flower (review here) — but this time around it’s just a handful of gigs for December alongside Relapse Records labelmate extremists Ilsa that will take them as far north from Richmond as the Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn before they head back, a quick run of pre-holiday dates.

Maybe they’re testing out new material ahead of 2017? Maybe they’re taking a victory lap for Grief’s Infernal Flower? Or maybe they just feel like getting out and doing a couple nights to wrap the year. Can hardly hold it against them either way.

The PR wire has details and a couple September shows as well:

WINDHAND Announce US Tour Dates With ILSA

Stoner/doom heavyweights WINDHAND have announced a new run of US tour dates this coming December along with labelmates and recent Relapse signees ILSA. The bands will be leveling Washington D.C., Boston, and New York beginning December 1; WINDHAND will also be playing select US dates in September. Check out a full itinerary below.

WINDHAND Live:
Sep 06 Atlanta GA The Earl
Sep 07 Nashville TN Exit/In
Sep 15 Durham NC Motorco Music Hall

***All Dates With Ilsa***
Dec 01 Washington DC Black Cat Mainstage
Dec 02 Boston MA Brighton Music Hall
Dec 03 New York NY Mercury Lounge
Dec 04 Brooklyn NY St Vitus

WINDHAND are still touring in support of their critically-acclaimed 2015 full-length Grief’s Infernal Flower, which can be streamed and purchased at the band’s Bandcamp page here.

D.C. death metal crew ILSA signed to Relapse last year and released a two-song split with labelmates COFFINS this past February. The split is available for streaming and purchase at this location.

https://www.facebook.com/WindhandVA/
https://www.instagram.com/windhand/
http://windhandva.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ILSADC/
https://ilsa.bandcamp.com/
http://store.relapse.com/

Windhand, Grief’s Infernal Flower (2015)

More details have started to trickle out about Witchcraft frontman Magnus Pelander‘s debut solo album. The title, for example, will be Time, and it will feature six tracks plus a bonus cut and run about an LP-ready 44 minutes. No artwork or audio or even a solid release date yet, but Nuclear Blast seems to be doling out details one or two at a time — the last press release was “Hey, an album exists and we’re putting it out” and this one is “Hey, it has a name and songs” — so you know, there’s still plenty to learn in the months ahead. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect a release date sometime in October/November, but don’t go quoting that or anything. Pure speculation on my part.

And not to give away state secrets or anything, but if you’ve been missing Witchcraft‘s pioneering retro-doom aesthetic, there are definitely some parts of this record to which you’re going to want to pay particular attention. There. I can be vague with the best of ’em.

This is the part where there’s a photo and then the text changes color to signify its origins on the PR wire:

PELANDER – WITCHCRAFT main man’s solo project announces title & track list

WITCHCRAFT main man, Magnus Pelander’s solo project PELANDER has announced the title as well as the track list for his upcoming debut album.

Time will contain 7 tracks with an approximate running time of 44 minutes.

Time track list:
1. Umbrella
2. Family Song
3. The Irony Of Man
4. True Colour
5. Precious Swan
6. Time
7. Rebecka (BONUS TRACK)

After his latest journey with WITCHCRAFT, Nucleus, multi instrumentalist and lyricist extraordinaire, Magnus Pelander, returns to his solo career which without a doubt can be recognized as being tied to the cult doom/rock band, still exploring other paths and going full on acoustic.

Magnus Pelander comments: “At last my first solo album is done and soon to be released. I cannot believe this is true.”

Commented Nuclear Blast A&R representative Markus Jakob: “We’re thrilled to not only work with a gifted artist as Magnus on his main band but now also on his solo career. Both WITCHCRAFT and PELANDER have always stood for variety, artistic freedom and development which we’re more than happy to support. Prepare yourself for another deep and intense look into the mind and musical vision of a genius!”

www.nuclearblast.de/pelander
https://www.facebook.com/nuclearblastusa/

Magnus Pelander, “Stardust” Live in Gothenburg, Sweden, 2010

[Click play above to stream Quin Galavis’ My Life in Steel and Concrete in full. Album is out now on Super Secret Records.]

True, the new double-LP My Life in Steel and Concrete from Austin-based singer-songwriter Quin Galavis might be singular in the construction of its title, and in the moniker of the performer who indeed is at its core, but it’s far from a solo offering. Long ways off. The Super Secret Records release, which spans 20 tracks/75 minutes of has-a-lot-to-say varied craftsmanship, instead often boasts the sound of a full four-piece, if not more, and like Galavis‘ prior work under his own name (as opposed to his work with bands like Nazi Gold, False Idol and The Dead Space), it brings in a host of guests from around Austin’s populous weirdo scene, including Thor Harris (Swans), and in the past, Eva Vonne of Sans Soleil.

Songs jump from style to style easily, from the joyous and string-inclusive Wes Anderson-ready indie of “Can’t Erase” to the more raging noise punk of “Dead Born,” blown out vocals and all, but being disjointed seems to be part of the fun for Galavis and company. Each side of the 2LP receives a subtitle — A is ‘The Tragedy of Miss Foster,’ B ‘The Long Walk of Mr. Morrow,’ C ‘The Tears of Lady Guadalupe’ and D ‘The Ancient Fire of Northway’ — but if there’s some narrative connecting them, I wouldn’t dare speculate as to its plotline.

Also worth noting that none of the characters mentioned in those subtitles are Galavis himself, so it’s entirely possible that My Life in Steel and Concrete, despite its autobiographical and somewhat indulgent veneer, isn’t about Galavis at all. Not knowing is part of what ultimately makes the record fun, in a similar fashion to how, as one track moves into the following à la the post-grunge crunch of “Distaste” going right into the Angels of Light-style neofolk of “Glorious Man,” it’s never quite clear what’s coming next. These shifts are stark, as noted, but what anchors My Life in Steel and Concrete across its considerable breadth is the songwriting.

No matter in what form Galavis and company — in the past his band has included Graham Low on bass/cello, Shelley McKann on keys/glockenspiel/vocals and Matt Hammer on drums, but the exact lineup here is unclear — choose to express this kind of post-modern disaffection of caring too much to care at all, it comes through with a defined structure, each track a world that seems to have its own rules and parameters that become clearer as it progresses, from the stomp and jangle of foreboding opener “Hand of Light” through how “Manuel’s Rose Garden” and “Powell’s Rose Garden” seem to mirror each other despite the varied theatrics contained within them.

Galavis is hardly the first songwriter to show range, but even more impressive are the turns of mood My Life in Steel and Concrete makes as it plays out and the fact that as the darkened echoes of “Turn You In” and the wrenching intensity of “Hate” move through the push of “Be Patient” into the minimalist pastoralia of “A Gift for Salt,” there’s no dip in the quality of execution or the seeming purposefulness of the arrangements. As easy as it is to tag Galavis as “experimental” and be done with the issue of classification — about as descriptive as tagging the moon as “round” — there’s very little even in the feedback peppering “Vile and Disgusting” that feels accidental.

Each side ultimately has its personality, though I’ll admit that’s harder to get a handle on in digital form than it probably would be on the vinyl, and a darker ambience unites much of the material, but Galavis saves some brighter moments for the final movement. “Idumea” — the title from a region in Southern Israel — is a retitled take on the 18th century hymn sometimes simply called “And am I Born to Die,” which Neil Young, Steve Von Till and Current 93 have also recorded in years past. Galavis‘ version is a stunner of a violen-led duet following the poetic drama of “Powell’s Rose Garden,” duly mournful but effective in capturing the feeling that they might be leading a chorus in a small, box-shaped church.

The subsequent tracks, from the swinging “Tree Burning” to the banjo-inclusive ramble of “Those Little Dreams” and into the Elton John-esque piano ballad of closer “Wake Up” let go of some of the severity of earlier cuts like “Dead Born” or “Hand of Light” or “Hate,” and if there is a narrative thread telling a story in My Life in Steel and Concrete, one imagines the album’s final side is where that story finds its resolution. In this way, ‘The Ancient Fire of Northway’ becomes a kind of exhale through which Galavis et al can at last breathe out, and the sense of relief is palpable from “Idumea” onward to the end.

Could it have been two albums instead of a 2LP? It probably could’ve been three, each with a different aesthetic, but the diversity of the songwriting and the immersiveness of the work as a whole would lose impact were such capitulations toward accessibility made. It’s supposed to be a challenge. That’s the idea.

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Quin Galavis website

Super Secret Records webstore