Posted in Whathaveyou on September 25th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I usually try to keep it reasonable as regards file sizes around here, mostly because I have a voice in my head that sounds a lot like Slevin (who built the site) berating me for not doing so, but every now and again you gotta just give a piece of art its due. Accordingly, click the image above to greatly enlarge the full two-sided cover for Holy Grove II, the impending second album and Ripple Music debut from Portland, Oregon’s Holy Grove. The art, of course, is by Adam Burke.
The striking artwork was a factor as well on Holy Grove‘s 2016 self-titled debut (review here), released by Heavy Psych Sounds, and like producer Billy Anderson, Adam Burke is a returning party in adding his visuals alongside Holy Grove‘s tracks. I haven’t heard the record yet — it’s a Nov. 9 release date, so we might be a while before we get there — but the band previously announced the tracklisting and offer some more comment about the record, and because one likes to be thorough, you’ll see the front-cover version of the art below, complete with a fancy Holy Grove logo that seems just about ready to become my new favorite t-shirt.
More on Holy Grove‘s Holy Grove II as I hear it (and hopefully I hear it soon — ha.), but for now here’s what I’ve got:
Holy Grove on Holy Grove II:
For us this record represents a rebirth of sorts…we went through a trying few years where the future of the band was in doubt and making another record seemed like it may never happen. We continued on, believing that we had more to accomplish. This record is a result of that belief, as well as a lot of hard work. We’re all very proud of it, and are looking forward to sharing it.
Holy Grove II tracklisting: Blade Born Aurora Valley of The Mystics Solaris Cosmos
Holy Grove is: Andrea Vidal – Vocals Trent Jacobs – Guitar Gregg Emley – Bass Eben Travis – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 25th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Demon Head hit the road at the end of last week doing both headlining gigs and support spots for Magna Carta Cartel. Their latest EP, The Resistance (review here), came out earlier this year on The Sign Records, and it’s for the title-track of that two-songer that the band have a new live video. Shot at Muskelrock 2018 in the great outdoors of Southern Sweden — because fucking a right — the clip finds the Copenhagen outfit right at home for their proto-metallic vibes and the assembled masses before them seem largely to be eating up their classic-style riffs like so much fare cooked on a portable campground stove. Sounds gnarly. Looks gnarly. Is probably gnarly.
They’re no strangers to touring at this point, and especially after The Resistence provided the ‘two’ in a one-two wallop after 2017’s long-player, Thunder on the Fields (review here), one only looks forward all the more to what their inevitable third record might bring. Dark grooves and warm tones? That’ll work just fine, thanks.
Here’s the remaining tour dates, should you happen to be in that part of the world, and the video to dig into:
DEMON HEAD EUROPEAN TOUR
The diabolic rock band Demon Head is once again on their way out on a tour. The band is doing a headline tour in Scandinavia and are then heading out in Europe supporting MCC [Magna Carta Cartel].
In April Demon Head released their ‘The Resistance’. The EP was an epilogue to their second album ‘Thunder on the Fields’ released in 2017. Demon Head did a large tour all over Europe in May 2018 where the final show took place at Muskelrock Festival. The song ‘The Resistance’ was caught on tape and is now released as a live video.
+++ ILDFÆRD OVER SKANDINAVIEN +++ Let’s go!
– 25. Sep. Stockholm, SWE – Geronimo – 26. Sep. Malmö, SWE – Plan b – 27. Sep. Oslo, NO – Krøsset – 28. Sep. Haugusund, NO, heavy nights Fest – 29. Sep. Aarhus, DK – HQ – 30. Sep. Oldenburg, DE – MTS – 1. Oct. Leipzig, DE – Black Label – 2. Oct. Hamburg, DE – Logo* – 3. Oct. Berlin, DE – BiNuu* – 4. Oct. Cologne, DE – Luxor* – 5. Oct. Paris, FR – Etoiles* – 6. Oct. Leiden, NL – Gebr de nobel* – 7. Oct. Vosselaar, BE – Biebob*
Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 25th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Semi-psych dirt sludgers Mad God are taking preorders now via Bandcamp for their sophomore full-length, Grotesque and Inexorable. The six-song/47-minute long-player follows the Johannesburg, South Africa, trio’s 2017 debut, Tales of a Sightless City, and boasts Lovecraftian themes and a horror-minded atmosphere worthy of the occasion. Amps tuned to 666, riffs a-murky and a plod in Pat Stephansen‘s drumming that finds ground beneath the floating, visibility-zero haze surrounding — it’s got all the makings of stoner ritualism, yet manages to balance its influences from earlier Electric Wizard, with a traditional doom sensibility, guitarist/principal songwriter Tim Harbour offsetting effects-drenched moans with cleaner, clearer vocals in the shifts between songs like “The DeZalze Horror” and the particularly memorable, Manson-themed “I Created God,” the lurch of which you can experience for yourself in the lyric video premiere below.
Whether it’s marching rhythm of that track, given low-end heft via the basswork of Evert Snyman, or the purposeful force-your-head-under-muddy-water deep-dive of opener “Haunting the Graves of the Unhallowed,” there’s a clarity of purpose and intent that underscores the slow-motion onslaught, and there’s an emergent sense of atmosphere especially as the album plays out subsequent to that opener that by the time they get around to “The Crawling Chaos,” fourth of the six inclusions, sees a progressing change in the shape of the record’s personality. I don’t know if they’re following a narrative arc from one song to the next, but the flow between tracks speaks to Grotesque and Inexorable as a linear work despite its obvious vinyl-readiness. The arrangement of the songs with three eight-plus-minute cuts on side A and three shorter (not by much, but still) pieces on side B speaks a platter-ist mindset as well, but the point is the album flows either way.
Though perhaps “churns” would be a better word for what it does, since Mad God seem mostly to be stirring a doomly cauldron with their material, sending slow undulations rippling outward as they make their repetitive motions with the aforementioned shifts along the way. The closing salvo of “No Prayers, No Fires” and “The Hunt Begins” reinforces the ethereal presence in Harbour‘s vocals and chugs to oblivion, leaving the bounce in the finale as a kind of revelry of the damned that not only echoes the movement of “I Created God” in the same position or rounding out side A, but pushes further along the same line, dragging the audience into a horror-infused, radioactive creep.
Grotesque and Inexorable arrives Nov. 2. Please enjoy “I Created God” below, followed by more info from the PR wire:
Mad God, “I Created God” lyric video premiere
Johannesburg’s purveyors of sludgy-stoner-doom Mad God are set to release their second album Grotesque and Inexorable on the 2nd November. As a little taste for things to come they’ve unveiled a lyric video for the track I Created God taken from the album.
“This song was written after watching a Charles Manson documentary following his death in 2017. This song does not condone the actions of the cult leader but rather delves into the psyche and motives of both him and his followers around the time of the murders that took place in 1969.” – Tim Harbour
Mad God is: Tim Harbour – Vocals and Guitar Pat Stephansen – Drums Evert Snyman – Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 25th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Hailing, as metal bands do, from Norway, Hex A.D. have set a Nov. 9 release date for their new album, Netherworld Triumphant, through the Fresh Tea label. They have a teaser up now for the record, which is their third and follows behind 2016’s The Last Nail in the Coffin Lid, which, apparently, wasn’t. The new record marks the arrival of new guitarist Rowan Robertson, noted for having played on Dio‘s 1990 outing, Lock up the Wolves, and for having toured as part of Dio Disciples as well. He contributes to one song on Netherworld Triumphant, but has reportedly joined Hex A.D. as a member for future studio and touring work.
You can see the album teaser below, and the PR wire dutifully fills in on the details for the release as follows:
Norwegian doom metal band Hex A.D. will release their third album Netherworld Triumphant November 9th via Fresh Tea.
This album is the most layered and organic Hex A.D. recording so far. The songs combine the heavygrooves and doomy riffs the band is known for, but clearly explores tendencies that harks back to the start of progressive rock. Featuring a breathtaking guest appearance by former Dio guitarist Rowan Robertson on the song “WarChild”.
Frontman Rick Hagan has following comment on the new album:
“A huge musical inspiration on “Netherworld Triumphant” are the albums that the biggest hardrock bands from the seventies released in the early eighties. Lyric wise the songs deal with many different themes, such as religious mysticism, war romanticism and spiritual unbalance.”
In May Hex A.D. released their first single from the upcoming album; “Netherworld Triumphant pt. I”. The title track is a story in two parts consisting of 14 minutes of groovy heavy rock. Like Uriah Heep meets Kyuss who suddenly floats into Pink Floyd and infernal King Crimson riffs.
Pre-order your copy from Tiger record store or directly from the label Fresh Tea.
TRACKLIST 1. Himmelskare 2. Skeleton Key Skeleton Hand 3. Netherworld Triumphant pt. I 4. Netherworld Triumphant pt. II 5. WarChild 6. Boars On Spears 7. Ladders To Fire
Hex A.D.’s music is doomy and heavy, based on heavy guitar riffs. But their music also clearly shows the members’ progressive preferences. The band’s classic rock sound reminds a bit of the 1970s, without being retro.
Frontman Rick Hagan composes both lyrics and melodies, and he takes the main responsibility in the studio where he plays all instruments besides keys. Organ and mellotron are handled by maestro Magnus Johansen, both live and in studio. Since 2011, the band has been working closely with producer Chris Tsangarides who has done his magic with the band’s albums.
On stage the band emphasizes spontaneity and improvisation, and this is where the magic really happens. For a number of years, Magnus has been working closely with Jon Lord from Deep Purple, and if there is one person who really knows what it means to play on the edge, it must be him. This love for the spontaneous and intense is also shared by the band’s rhythm section; bassist ‘Arry Gogstad and drummer Matt Hagan prefer it loud, dangerous and alive.
Several of the band members have for a number of years been touring in Europe and Asia with artists like Blaze Bayley, Paul Di’Anno, Geoff Nicholls, Bernie Marsden, Ripper Owens and Rowan Robertson, known for his time in Dio. Robertson has on several occasions been a guest with Hex A.D. on stage. Not only is he contributing to the band’s upcoming album, he will also be seen on future concerts.
UPCOMING SHOWS 09.11.2018: Krxsset, Oslo (with Sahg) 10.11.2018: The Note, Sandefjord (with Sahg)
BAND MEMBERS Rick Hagan: Vocal, guitar Mags Johansen: Organ, mellotron, keyboard ‘Arry Gogstad: Bass Matt Hagan: Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 25th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
If you’re wondering why the Doom Over Karalis festival might take place in Cagliari, they’re the same place. Karalis is the ancient name for the Sardinian capital city, and amidst the ruins of the Tuvixeddu necropolis and the hundred steps, headliners Caronte and Fuoco Fatuo will represent different sides of Italian doom while three more local Sardinian acts provide support. It’s a one-night affair set for Oct. 6 at CuevoRock Live and as someone who spends a significant amount of time daydreaming on hitting faraway festivals in likewise faraway places, hopping over to Sardinia for a lineup of darkened Italian metal sounds like a killer time for someone with unlimited funds and the wherewithal to make it happen.
Doom on, everywhere:
Cagliari – DOOM OVER KARALIS VII Festival
6 October 2018, CuevaRock Live, Quartucciu (CA), Sardinia
The “do it your self” festival Doom Over Karalis, which is devoted to Doom and all its sub-genre, reaches its 7th edition.
This Year the festival is dedicated to the Italian Doom and it will bear on the stage of CuevaRock Live, located in Quartucciu (CA), two of the most established Doom bands on the national scene: Caronte and FUOCO FATUO.
CARONTE, Doom / Stoner Band from Parma (2011) will promote their last LP “YONI” (Ván Records, 2017). The Band comes from important festivals as the Desertfest Belgium in Antwerp and the MetalDays in Tolmin.
FUOCO FATUO, Funeral Doom/Death Band from Varese (2011) comes from the major stage of the Roadburn Festival 2018 in Tilburg and the Saint Helena Festival in Munich. The Band will promote their last LP “BACKWATER” (Profound Lore Records, 2017).
The line up will be completed by: – Ilienses Tree (Doom Death Metal from Cagliari), – Greenthumb (Sludge from Alghero), – Doom’s Obsession (Heavy Metal from Iglesias)
The three Sardinian Bands will alternate the stage before the two Headliner.
Everything will be accompanied by resident Dj “Heavy Metal Thunder” and his Old School selection.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 24th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
As they make ready to appear next month at Desertfest Belgium 2018, Swedish trio Domkraft announce they’ve signed on with Blues Funeral Recordings — founded by the enviable tastes and entrepreneurship of Jadd Shickler, who once upon a time started a little company called MeteorCity and thereby helped shaped heavy rock as we know it today — for the release of their second album, titled Flood. They’re streaming a new song from the record now called “The Watchers,” and one can only hope that The Watchers will respond with a track called “Domkraft,” but in the meantime, the Stockholm outfit will also feature on Magnetic Eye Records‘ impending Pink Floyd tribute, The Wall [Redux], about which you should stay tuned for more to come around these parts.
Domkraft‘s debut LP, The End of Electricity (review here), was issued in 2016. The PR wire fills in on everything they have going on, and there’s plenty:
Domkraft share first track from forthcoming sophomore album Flood
Swedish trio Domkraft share the first track from their forthcoming sophomore album Flood.
The album will be the first release on new label Blues Funeral Recordings, founded by former MeteorCity (Truckfighters, Nebula, The Obsessed) cofounder Jadd Shickler.
Domkraft will also appear on Magnetic Eye Records’ massive Pink Floyd homage, THE WALL [REDUX]. Out in November, the song-by-song recreation and reimagining of the iconic Floyd double album features recognizable artists including The Melvins, Mark Lanegan, ASG, Pallbearer, Ruby the Hatchet and Scott Reeder, and includes Domkraft’s rendition of the song, “Empty Spaces.”
Musically, Sweden has always been exceptional at sensing and seizing upon significant moments. And at a time when political chaos and societal unrest have deadened our senses, it takes a band with monolithic, hypnotic power to secure our attention and offer a mollifying score to civilization’s decline. Domkraft are that gloriously massive and land-levelling band.
If debut album The End of Electricity was the soundtrack to the impending apocalypse, then follow-up Flood provides the musical backdrop to armageddon in full, The Purge-style swing. A strong contender to dominate a style some are calling the New Wave of Swedish Doom Metal, Domkraft wield a mindbending soundscape of obeliskian riff-majesty, layer upon layer of crushing fury weaving through the wormhole punctures of spacetime in defiance of beginnings and endings.
Majestic, annihilating, reductive and roaring, Flood merges blackwater tributaries from Neurois, YOB, Monolord, and Windhand into an all-encompassing torrent of nothingness and resignation, but in the most singable, appealing way imaginable. There is no fan of blistering, melodic doom on earth who should be without this record.
DOMKRAFT. Their name combines the Swedish “DOM” for judgement and “KRAFT” for power.
The seeds for this monolithic Stockholm band were planted in Gothenburg, where bassist/singer Martin Wegeland, guitarist Martin Widholm and drummer Anders Dahlgren met while playing in various musical constellations.
Bonding over the likes of Spacemen 3, Monster Magnet, Sleep and Hawkwind, plus a fascination with trudging, 10-minute/three chord songs, they finally came together after each relocated to Stockholm. Drawing from the heaviest of their combined influences, the three spent spent years shaping and crafting a sound that blends towering dirges of annihilating doom, mindbending psychedelia, and hypnotic minimalism.
“Our songs build from one riff, played LOUD, then we add and lose parts to mold it into something powerful,” says bassist/vocalist Martin Wegeland. “Focusing on the dramaturgy of the songs, we have clear images in mind when writing, often inspired by films like Jake Paltrow’s Young Ones, Stephen Fingleton’s The Survivalist and (of course) The Road Warrior, though we never let it interfere with the groove and energy. The results of our songwriting method may differ in shape from one song to the next, but the foundation is always the same — repetition and volume! You’ll eventually get sick of every melody, but grooves are forever.”
Flood will be available on LP and download on October 19th, 2018 via Blues Funeral Recordings.
Artist: Domkraft Album: Flood Record Label: Blues Funeral Records Release Date: October 19th, 2018
01. Landslide 02. The Watchers 03. Flood 04. They Appear To Be Alive 05. Sandwalker 06. Octopus 07. Dead Eyes, Red Skies
Domkraft is: Martin Widholm – Guitar Martin Wegeland – Bass & Vocals Anders Dahlgren – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 24th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Ohio-based post-metal-tinged progressive heavy rockers Akula self-released their self-titled debut (discussed here) in the early hours of 2018, right about the time everyone’s New Year’s headaches were dissipating and it was time to get back to real life. The four-track outing arrived without much fanfare, which was true enough to the motivations behind its making — basically the players involved wanted to do a thing and they did it — but it doesn’t take much more than one listen, if that, to realize the thing deserves a place in physical reality. Hellmistress Records has stepped up to bring Akula‘s Akula into the third dimension and will have the record out later this week on limited 12″ vinyl and ye olde compact disc for those of us without an entire wing of the house to dedicate to our sprawling collections.
As it happens, I wrote the bio that’s included in the press release below (paragraph starting “Comprised of…” and ending with the sentence “It could take them…”), but with the issue-date fast approaching and obviously my thinking the album’s worth your time anyhow, what with the interview linked above, it seems only fair to mark the occasion, which the PR wire facilitates thusly:
AKULA: Ohio-Based Progressive/Psychedelic Heavy Rock Collective Featuring Members Of Lo-Pan To Release Self-Titled Debut Via Hellmistress Records; New Track Streaming + Preorders Available
Ohio-Based progressive/psychedelic heavy rock collective AKULA — featuring within its ranks members of Lo-Pan — will release its self-titled debut September 28th via Hellmistress Records.
Comprised of four immersive tracks weighted as much in tone as emotional resonance, AKULA runs an atmospheric gamut led by the undulating and spacious riffing of guitarist Chris Thompson and Sergei Parfenov and the soulful melodies of vocalist Jeff Martin.
Martin is best known for his work in heavy rock unit Lo-Pan, but in the four songs of AKULA’s self-titled debut, he, Parfenov, Thompson (also now in Lo-Pan), bassist Scott Hyatt, and drummer Ronnie Miller hone an ambience that erases the line between progressive heavy rock and post-metal, capturing a vast reach on opener “A Pound Of Flesh” and holding it for the duration of the churning and memorable “Force Me Open,” the later crush in “Born Of Fire” and the consuming march that bookends twelve-minute closer “Predators.”
“I was feeling an overabundance of creative energy,” Martin explains. “I had been listening to a lot of heavier psychedelic stuff in the vein of YOB, Neurosis, and even some Mastodon. I knew Chris could do pretty much anything from seeing him play. I contacted him and asked if he would be interested in getting some people together for a purely fun project. He was all for it. I told him what I was thinking in terms of style and he said he actually already had some part ideas he had been messing around with that might be a fit.
“We talked about bass players and drummers and rhythm guitarists and invited some guys to meet up and discuss,” he continues. “And stylistically, everyone seemed to understand what we were looking for: a darker, heavier psychedelic sound with melodic vocals. Longer format and prog shifts seemed like a natural thing for everyone. So we got to work.”
The result of that work is as stylistically ambitious for AKULA as it is engaging for the listener, and the balance they strike belies the notion of Akula being their first full-length. Now aligned with Hellmistress Records for a physical release of the previously digital-only tracks, AKULA begins a larger exploration of sound with that same restlessness. It could take them just about anywhere.
Akula will be available on CD and limited-edition vinyl in three color variants – 150 baby blue/ opaque yellow/white bleed, 175 heavy orange splatter on translucent green, and 175 on translucent blue. For vinyl preorders, visit Hellmistress Records at THIS LOCATION. For CD orders go HERE.
Akula Track Listing: 1. A Pound Of Flesh 2. Force Me Open 3. Born Of Fire 4. Predators
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 24th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
The then-newcomer trio Sanador gave a glimpse at their overarching scope on their late-2017 self-titled debut EP when they included the three-part “Hijo del Hombre” as the final three of the total four-included tracks. With members of Humo del Cairo, Viaje a Ixtlan and Lo Bruto working together for the first time and self-releasing through the Errantes Records imprint that also issued the final outings from Humo del Cairo, Sanador benefited from its members experience in eliciting a patient groove of surprising impact, somewhere between post-metal and the nodding tendencies of heavy rock. Ambience was a key factor in the EP, though, and one expects no less as the three-piece put the finishing touches on their debut long-player, set to release through yet-unknown circumstances — could be Errantes, could be otherwise — presumably sometime next year.
That EP is available now as a free download, so yes, grab it, and I’ll hope to have more to come on the album when we get there, however we get there.
Some basic info (and the EP audio) follow here, as per the PR wire:
Sanador – New Album
The name of the band refers to the internal and emotional process arising from the conflicts of human relationships, taking the music as a cathartic and therapeutic method of spiritual overcoming.
Extreme rhythms coexist with oneiric passages inside the band sonic horizons, influenced by transgressive genres such as Post metal, Post hardcore and Post rock.
Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, founded in 2017, the band is formed by : Juan Manuel Diaz (Humo del Cairo), Guitar and vocals, Mariano Bertolazzi (Viaje a Ixtlan, Narcoiris), Bass guitar and synths. Rodrigo Ioio Vega (Pornobot, Lo bruto) on drums.
Their members have an interesting trajectory on the underground local scene, linked to the heavy music and the DIY ethic, SANADOR implies a different take on music and lyrics.
The first EP was digitally released in 2017 under their own label Errantes records and by the end of that year they played as supporting act for the legendary Neurosis in their first show in Argentina.
Currently they are finishing their new record, 5 songs that will prove the vastly Sonic landscape where SANADOR´s music transits.
Sanador is: Juan Manuel Diaz: Voz y Guitarras Mariano Bertolazzi: Bajo y Sintetizadores Rodrigo Ioio Vega: Bateria
