Posted in Whathaveyou on April 24th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
As noted back in February, the new group Big Scenic Nowhere brings together guitarists Bob Balch of Fu Manchu and Gary Arce from Yawning Man. The band inherits its name from a past Arce project but ultimately doesn’t have much more to do with it than that. Fine. Over the last two months, more and more has been trickling out as progress on their first recordings has been made. Nick Oliveri was announced as playing bass, Bill Stinson was announced as drumming. Awesome.
Then came the guests. Thomas Jäger from Monolord. Tony Reed from Mos Generator. Lisa Alley and Ian Graham from The Well. Oh, and then fucking Per Wiberg is on keys? Come on. And Mario Lalli takes over on bass for the second of the two tracks? Seriously?
The finished result is called Dying on the Mountain and it will be released through Blues Funeral Recordings‘ PostWax subscription series, for which I’ll be writing the liner notes. Needless to say, there’s plenty to talk about. Most of it rounds out to “holy crap this is awesome.”
Balch announced the EP was done thusly:
The first BIG SCENIC NOWHERE E.P. is all done! Should be out mid summer. Working on the full length now which should be out in the fall. More guest musicians too! From the BIG SCENIC NOWHERE instagram…
Our first EP is done! “Dying On The Mountain” features two songs. A 19 min space rock jam named “Dying On The Mountain (including “Altered Ages”)” featuring Gary Arce on guitar, Bob Balch on guitar, Nick Oliveri on bass and Bill Stinson on drums. Ian and Lisa from THE WELL sing the intro and outro, Tony Reed from MOS GENERATOR has a five minute track within the jam named “Altered Ages” and Per Wiberg from OPETH, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS, CANDLEMASS is on keys.
The second song, “Towards The Sun” is super heavy and hooky and features Gary Arce on guitar, Bob Balch on guitar, Mario Lalli on bass and Bill Stinson on drums. Tony Reed and Thomas Jäger from MONOLORD both sing on that track. Thanks to everyone involved on this EP! Should be out mid summer. Now on to the full length which will be released in the fall. More guest musicians on that one too!
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 24th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I can think of fewer tour pairings less broken than Corrosion of Conformity and Crowbar, who were out together co-headlining earlier this year on what turned out to be the first leg of a tour that will continue this July. Of particular note is the addition of Lo-Pan this time around, who’ll be out supporting their new record, Subtle. That record is a beast and they’ll no doubt bring an infusion of energy to the run as they provide support and Quaker City Night Hawks open. Starland Ballroom, you say? That’ll be just about the most Jersey shit ever, methinks. See you there.
Though I wouldn’t mind catching C.O.C. at the Psycho Swim party in Vegas either. Really I’ll take what I can get.
Dates follow from the pr IWRE:
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY Announces North American Summer Headlining Tour With Crowbar + Band To Headline Psycho Las Vegas Pre-Party And More!
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY will kick off the second leg of their North American headlining tour this July. The A Quest To Believe, A Call To The Void II Tour will commence on July 26th in Poughkeepsie, New York and run through August 25th in Providence, Rhode Island. Support will be provided by their comrades in Crowbar as well as Lo-Pan and Quaker City Night Hawks. Tickets go on sale this Friday at all local ticket outlets.
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY will also play a special one-off show with country singer Cody Jinks next month in addition to festival appearances at Rocklahoma, Heavy MTL, KISW’s Pain In The Grass, and a headlining performance at Psycho Swim, Psycho Las Vegas’ annual pool-bound kick-off party where the band will be joined by Lucifer, Danava, ASG, Primitive Man, and more. In October, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY will appear on the inaugural MegaCruise alongside Megadeth, Anthrax, Testament, Overkill, and so many others with more shows to be announced in the months to come. See all confirmed dates below.
No Cross No Crown is available on CD, digital, vinyl, and cassette formats. Various order bundles are available at nuclearblast.com/coc-nocrossnocrown.
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY: 5/09/2019 Coyote Joe’s – Charlotte, NC w/ Cody Jinks 5/24/2019 Rocklahoma – Pryor, OK
w/ Crowbar, Lo-Pan, Quaker City Night Hawks: 7/26/2019 The Chance – Poughkeepsie, NY 7/27/2019 Westcott Theater – Syracuse, NY 7/28/2019 Heavy MTL – Montreal, QC * 7/29/2019 Dallas Nightclub – Kitchener, ON 7/31/2019 Mercury Ballroom – Louisville, KY 8/01/2019 Elevation – Grand Rapids, MI 8/02/2019 The Rave II – Milwaukee, WI 8/03/2019 KISW’s Pain In The Grass @ White River Amphitheatre – Auburn, WA * 8/05/2019 Deluxe @ Old National Centre – Indianapolis, IN 8/06/2019 Pop’s – Sauget, IL 8/07/2019 Slowdown – Omaha, NE 8/10/2019 Fox Theatre – Boulder, CO 8/11/2019 Mesa Theater – Grand Junction, CO 8/13/2019 Knitting Factory Concert House – Boise, ID 8/14/2019 The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT 8/15/2019 Psycho Swim @ Daylight Beach Club – Las Vegas, NV * 8/16/2019 Encore – Tucson, AZ 8/17/2019 Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM 8/19/2019 Come And Take It Live – Austin, TX 8/21/2019 1904 Music Hall – Jacksonville, FL 8/22/2019 The Tarheel – Jacksonville, NC 8/23/2019 Elevation 27 – Virginia Beach, VA 8/24/2019 Starland Ballroom – Sayreville, NJ 8/25/2019 Fete Music Hall – Providence, RI 10/13/2019 MegaCruise 2019 – Los Angeles, CA * * COC only
[Click play above to stream ‘Visions from Beyond’ from Worshipper’s new album, Light in the Wire, out May 17 on Tee Pee Records. European tour dates here.]
“Become one with the circuit/Come alive with a purpose/You are light in the wires/Transcend, higher and higher,” croons Worshipper frontman John Brookhouse on the mid-paced pluralized-title-track “Light in the Wires” from his band’s second album, Light in the Wire. Brookhouse, guitarist Alejandro Necochea, bassist Bob Maloney and drummer Dave Jarvis make their return through Tee Pee Records and find a suitable home for their richly melodic, guitar-based proggy heavy rock, seeming to draw influences from across decades — and no, that’s not limited to the ’70s and ’90s, as one might usually expect; there’s an unmistakable ’80s sheen to the sound, and the interplay of humans and technology is as much of a theme as I could possibly think of for the aughts, unless they wanted to write about needless war — to create a sound that’s forward thinking, impeccably modern, righteously arranged, sharply executed, and engaging in its craft and structure, with verses, choruses, solos aplenty and an overarching atmosphere that all work to pull the listener in further as the band progresses.
It feels like a relatively quick turnaround but isn’t for Worshipper, whose debut, Shadow Hymns (review here), was released through Tee Pee in 2016 and who also had the Mirage Daze EP (review here) out last year as a stopgap with covers of Uriah Heep, The Oath, Pink Floyd and The Who, but more important than the span of time between records is the clear growth the Boston-based outfit have undertaken since their first record. They’ve had songwriting on their side since their 2015 singles, Black Corridor b/w High Above the Clouds (review here) and Place Beyond the Light b/w Step Behind (discussed here), but as dynamic tracks like “Wither on the Vine” and the second cut “Who Holds the Light” demonstrate, the level at which they’re working has simply become more complex and more cohesive at the same time. Worshipper‘s identity as a band, and more, their identifiability — that is, the “hear a song and know it’s them” factor — is more prevalent and offers more depth throughout Light in the Wire, and with that same foundation in craft and performance supporting that the first album made so plain, it is the work of a band beginning to realize their potential and one of the best albums of 2019. “Come alive with a purpose.” And so they have.
They make that clear early on in opening with “Coming Through.” Also the longest track on Light in the Wire (immediate points), it is the proverbial closer-as-opener, with a stirring build to its crescendo beginning at about the halfway point that consumes much of the rest of what follows, a resonant sense of melody throughout and a style that blends psychedelia, heavy rock, cult riffing, classic metal and probably six or seven other factors that blend together naturally to give Worshipper their own style. Whatever else it might be, it is guitar rock, most certainly. Necochea is a six-stringer’s six-stringer, and his interaction with Brookhouse‘s melodies is a big part of what makes Light in the Wire — and “Coming Through” at the outset — so fluid. That’s not to minimize the work of Maloney on bass or backing vocals or Jarvis on drums, just to note that it’s called “lead guitar” for a reason, and “Coming Through” very much sets that tone for the rest of the record to follow, as well as establishing the science-fiction thematic that continues to play out loosely to some degree or other in tracks “Lights in the Wire,” “Visions from Beyond” and closer “Arise.”
In terms of lyrics, these ideas are brought into an interpersonal context, so Worshipper aren’t just talking about uploading your consciousness into the cloud and attaining digital immortality, but approaching these concepts from a perspective based around the human heart. That suits the emotionality of Brookhouse‘s vocals well, and in songs like “Nobody Else,” which follows “Who Holds the Light” as side A plays out, that plays a forward role in the delivery of the songs while also setting up the easy flow into the subdued beginning of “Light in the Wires,” which slows down the forward push but still moves readily and gives way to “Visions from Beyond” with the kind of smooth transition that argues for linear formats. Otherwise, “Visions from Beyond” starts side B with a subtle urgency to its central riff and rhythm and one of Light in the Wire‘s strongest hooks.
Plenty of competition in that regard, but the turns from “Nobody Else” to “Light in the Wires” and “Visions from Beyond” should serve to emphasize the reach that Worshipper have made their own here. While remaining consistent in tone, they’ve massively expanded their sound, and done so with confidence and poise enough to actually pull it off. “It all Comes Back” ups the tempo in its central progression and features some highlight bass from Maloney in its second half before turning back to the guitar to show the way out, and the arrival of “Wither on the Vine” with a stomping riff that immediately conjures images of early-’80s Iommi feels like a landmark indeed for the entire album. Momentum is long since on Worshipper‘s side, and they make the most of it in the 6:37 cut, playing with pace and melody while holding to that central figure on a long fade that mirrors what “Coming Through” did at the beginning of the record as it provides a seeming apex for the end of it. That would seem to make “Arise” something of an afterthought, which it isn’t really, despite a more straightforward progression and a right-on wash of crash from Jarvis behind the lumbering guitars.
Another particularly Sabbathian riff — I’m thinking Vol. 4, but could be the mid-’70s era — serves as the foundation for the finale, and Worshipper seem happy to ride that groove all the way through, leaving the listener off with some residual amp noise feeling refreshed and, as perhaps was the intent, not overwhelmed by the twists and turns preceding. It’s almost as though in putting the closer first with “Coming Through,” they also decided to put what would otherwise be the rocking opener “Arise” as the closer. Tricky, tricky. Bottom line, it works, and it’s another example of Worshipper knowing just what the album needs not only to stand out from its predecessor or the heavy rock underground at large, but to create a more memorable impression generally as an entire piece. Light in the Wire very much functions in that way, and while that leads one to wonder if a concept record might be in their future, what matters now is the sheer accomplishment Worshipper have made with these songs and how they’re put together. That is not a minor consideration, and if Light in the Wire has any core statement to make, it’s that Worshipper are onto something that could be really special. I don’t know about becoming one with the circuit, but there would seem to be plenty of transcendence to go around.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 24th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Way back in January, you might recall a track was premiered from Ian Blurton’s Future Now called “Space is Forever.” That first single will be issued as a 7″ next month and even when that was being posted, it was intended as a lead-in for Blurton‘s upcoming solo-ish record, Signals Through the Flames. Well, I got the album yesterday and the short version is it kicks ass, which is why I’m writing about it now. It’s due out June 7 and I’m sure there will be preorders and advance public audio all that fun stuff, but consider this a heads up. If you’re not from Toronto or the surrounding area, maybe you’re less familiar with Blurton‘s three-decade-plus career in bands and producing, and that’s fine. Don’t worry about it. That context is nice, but in listening to Signals Through the Flames, the songs stand on their own. I’m going to hope to have more on the record before it’s out, but yeah, just early warning here, that’s all. It’s the kind of record that’s really going to hit with some people. I think I might be one of them.
Art and PR wire info follow:
Ian Blurton – Signals Through The Flame – Pajama Party
Release: 7 June 2019
It’s time for a veteran to show the new generation how it’s done. After 35+ years in the Canadian music industry, playing in over 40 bands and producing, engineering and mixing over 100 albums, Ian Blurton is finally releasing a solo record. You’ve probably seen Blurton play in your town, fronting Change of Heart, Blurtonia, Bionic, C’mon, or the still-active Public Animal. If you missed those bands, his name is still likely to pop up somewhere in your record collection; you’ll find Blurton’s producer credit on career-defining albums for Blood Ceremony, Cursed, Tricky Woo, the Weakerthans and more. Or you may have caught him guest with acts as diverse as Richard Lloyd, Buffy Sainte-Marie , the Sadies, Teenage Head, Twink or The Viletones.
It’s no surprise that Blurton’s inaugural solo effort pulls from an impressive pool of talent and a range of influences. In 2017 a sudden torrent of inspiration brought him a slew of songs best suited to a power-trio format. Enlisting friends who also happened to be some of his favorite drummers and bassists, he set out on a quest to create a combination of dark pop hooks, molten riffage and ambient soundscapes that is his heaviest work to date. Between Blurton’s layers-upon-layers of guitar, a plethora of gifted musicians such as Mike Armstrong (King Cobb Steelie), PJ Dunphy (Iron Giant), Eric Larock (Tricky Woo), Glenn Milchem (Blue Rodeo), Damon Richardson (Danko Jones), Anna Ruddick (Randy Bachman), Nick Sewell (Biblical), and Darcy Yates (Flash Lightnin’) all make appearance on Signals Through the Flames. The result is a heavy music melting pot with one foot in the past and the other planted firmly in the future.
Mixed by Daryl Smith (Godspeed You! Black Emperor) at Chemical West and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, Signals Through The Flames will be released by new Toronto imprint Pajama Party digitally, on vinyl and cassette June 7, 2019.
The first single, Space Is Forever b/w Upon Yesterday, is out May 4 on Yeah Right! Records, launching at a release show at Toronto’s Dakota Tavern and can be heard here: ianblurton.bandcamp.com
The live band, Ian Blurton’s Future Now, draws from the same talent as the record, and currently features drummer Glenn Milchem, bassist Anna Ruddick and Aaron Goldstein as second guitarist. This spring and summer sees the band playing dates between Montreal and Calgary, including appearances at Sled Island and Hillside Festival.
Tracklisting 01 EYE OF THE NEEDLE 4:55 02 SEVEN BELLS 3:34 03 DAYS WILL REMAIN 3:30 04 THE MARCH OF MARS 4:18 05 NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE 3:16 06 ICQ 2:58 07 KICK OUT THE LIGHTS 4:53 08 NIGHT OF THE BLACK GOAT 4:47 09 INTO DUST 6:37
Tour dates May 1 Montreal – Turbo Haus w/ Dead Quiet, Mountain Dust May 4 Toronto – Dakota Tavern w/ Sick Things, Rough Spells May 17 Peterborough – Gordon Best Theatre w/ Mokomokai June 6 Toronto – Sneaky Dees w/ Spirit Adrift June 7 Kitchener – The Starlight w/ Hawkeyes June 14 Toronto – secret show NXNE June 17 Sudbury – The Townehouse June 18 Thunder Bay – The Apollo June 19 Winnipeg – The Handsome Daughter June 20 Saskatoon – Amigo’s June 21 Edmonton – The Rec Room Edmonton South June 22 Calgary – The Palomino/Sled Island Festival June 23 Regina – The Club at The Exchange July 14 Guelph – Hillside Festival July 19 Hamilton – This Ain’t Hollywood July 20 Toronto – The Horseshoe Signals Through The Flames record release
Let’s face it, when someone like Brooklyn’s The Mad Doctors comes to you and says, “Hey we’ve got a video for a song called ‘Shit Hawks at Blood Beach’ do you want to premiere it?,” the correct answer is not no. All the better that the clip in question takes animation influence from the likes of Bill Plympton and Terry Gilliam and probably eight or nine other animators I’m not cool enough to recognize and looks as disturbing as the track itself — which features guest spoken vocals from Matt Witte alongside the core Mad trio of guitarist/vocalist Seth Applebaum, bassist Joshua Park and drummer Greg Hanson — sounds, with the band’s weirdo take on surf rock chilling out a bit from some of the more uptempo fare surrounding on 2017’s No Waves, Just Sharks (discussed here) from whence it comes in order to set a creeper vibe like Faith No More‘s “RV” if someone had parked it in the sand and left it there for a month to bake in the sun.
Oh, it’s strange and oh, it’s fun. The clip, directed by Jordan Wason, is an inventive work of line animation and stop motion that much like the song seems to grow more psychotic as it plays out, starting innocently enough if with something sinister happening beneath. Soon enough there’s a plastic gun and garbage and bottles and oil paint being used to convey, what, sunburn, maybe? But like an existential sunburn? It’s hard to read and that’s pretty clearly the intention, but again, it meshes really well with the echoing guitar jangle of “Shit Hawks at Blood Beach” itself, which takes the innocence of early-’60s surf — before punk had the chance to dirty it up — and turns it into a bad trip unfolding right in front of the listener. Watch it fullscreen and be creeped out. I think it’s better that way. This isn’t the kind of thing I cover every day, and nothing against the standard or anything, but that’s kind of why I like it.
The Mad Doctors released a single in January called “Fuck Sean Hannity” that’s available name-your-price at their Bandcamp and well worth your time. Their work sees release through Hanson‘s imprint, King Pizza Records, and they play Pizzafest VI at The Gutter in Brooklyn on June 6. More info on that here.
Please enjoy:
The Mad Doctors, “Shit Hawks at Blood Beach” official video premiere
Jordan Wason on “Shit Hawks at Blood Beach”:
“The animation blends together antique photos and found toys from Brooklyn’s own Glass Bottle Beach at Dead Horse Bay. The beach is a former landfill from the 1930s, and some ghosts from the photos may be of the same era as the trash buried there. I thought it was appropriate to let them play together again, reunited at Blood Beach.”
The Mad Doctors on “Shit Hawks at Blood Beach”:
“Jordan is an amazing animator and we are stoked he took on the project — stylistically, his sensibilities lie at the crossroads of 80s/90s underground film, Svankmeyer/Brothers Quay stop motion, mixed media, and a dash of roadshow exploitation and that really suits our tastes. His choice of song makes perfect sense as it’s probably our strangest and most atmospheric. The vocals/monologue by Coach n Commando’s Matt Witte really set it apart for us and it’s cool to see it all set to some truly unsettling images. It’s rad to release it so close to the anniversary of ‘No Waves, Just Sharks’ release and we can’t be more excited to share it.”
“Shit Hawks at Blood Beach” Music by The Mad Doctors Lyrics and vocal performance by Matt Witte Video concept and animation by Jordan Wason Band photo by Jeanette D. Moses / Blood Sweat and Beers NYC
Off the album “No Waves, Just Sharks” by The Mad Doctors, available from King Pizza Records.
The Mad Doctors are: Seth Applebaum – Gtr/vox Joshua Park – Bass Greg Hanson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 24th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I’m holding out hope for a new Wo Fat record this year. Their last two, 2016’s Midnight Cometh (review here) and 2014’s The Conjuring (review here), were both Spring releases, out in June and May in their respective years, so that seems unlikely for 2019 unless there’s news coming, like, right now, about it. I just checked my email again, and nope. Maybe tomorrow. But Wo Fat have worked on an every-other-year schedule since 2012, and that alone was enough to make me speculate they’d have an album out last Fall in time for their European tour, which obviously didn’t happen.
As they head to Australia and New Zealand this June, I’m not necessarily thinking they’ll put one out in time for the trip because, again, we’d probably know about it by now if that were happening, but maybe later in the year? Maybe in the Fall? Maybe I just want to hear a new Wo Fat album so I’m trying to project a timeframe for it to be released? That seems possible to me. Indeed, likely.
Fine.
Their label, Ripple Music, posted the Aus/NZ dates as follows:
Wo Fat announce Australian and New Zealand Tour!! This is gonna be killer!
Thursday 6/6 The Bendigo Hotel, Collingwood W/ Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows Tickets: http://rcl.ink/bO3
Friday 7/6 The Barwon Club Hotel, Geelong W/ Turtle Skull & Peeling Sun Tickets: http://rcl.ink/bO6
Saturday 8/6 WO FEST at The Gold Mines Hotel, Bendigo W/ Pieces Of Molly (NZ), Turtle Skull, Motherslug, Pseudo Mind Hive, Burden Man, Thaw, Honeybone, Kitchen Witch, Full Tone Generator and @SubterraneanDisposition Tickets: http://rcl.ink/bOu
Sunday 9/6 Crown and Anchorl, Adelaide W/ Planet of the 8s & Howl n Bones Tickets: http://rcl.ink/bOE
Tuesday 11/6 Whammy Bar, Auckland W/ Bloodnut & The Deadbeat Dads Tickets: http://rcl.ink/bO8
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 23rd, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Bible of the Devil are riding high (in the night) coming off the release of their new album, Feel It (review here), and this summer, they’ll put tires to pavement in support of the record and their 20th anniversary on the “Feel it for Life” tour beginning July 25. While that name kind of sounds like a charity event, I’m pretty sure all proceeds go to gas to get to the next gig, and that’s fair enough. If you’ve never had the pleasure of stumbling into a Bible of the Devil gig during a drunken afternoon at SXSW circa 2005 and hearing their two guitars tear classic metal a new ass — just as an example — they’re primed to destroy everything in their path once they hit the stage, and the songs on Feel It should make the perfect ammunition to allow them to do so on this run.
They’re playing with some killer bands throughout — Hey Zeus, Apostle in Solitude, Wolf Blood, Freedom Hawk, and so on — so find where they’re gonna be and then find where you’re gonna be and then work to make sure those two places are the same.
Behold:
BIBLE OF THE DEVIL – 20 Year Anniversary Tour Summer 2019
Greetings BOTD fans! Lots of stuff in store for you over the next few months. Our new album, Feel It, came out in March and we appreciate all your support and the great response it has gotten. In honor of this release we’ll be doing a huge show in May at Liar’s Club, then moving on to Indianapolis in June and back to Chicago again for our 20 year anniversary celebration at The Burlington.
This will be followed up by the “Feel It For Life” Tour that begins in Madison on July 25th. For those of you who’ve been with us from beginning, this will be the 29th Bible of the Devil US tour. Feel it.
All shows are listed below. We encourage you to come rock and feel the night with us!
May 24th Fri. Racine, WI @ McAuliffe’s w/Hey Zeus, Callous Wizard May 25th Sat. Chicago, IL @ Liar’s Club Feel It Album Release Show w/Hey Zeus, Holy Warheads, Ghost Forest
Jun. 28th Fri. Indianapolis, IN @ Black Market Brewing w/The Cocaine Wolves, Apostle of Solitude Jun. 29th Sat. Chicago, IL @ The Burlington BOTD’s 20 Year Anniversary Show w/The Cocaine Wolves, Mama, Midnight Dice
“Feel It For Life” 20 Year Anniversary Summer Tour 2019
July 25th Thurs. Madison, WI @ Bos Meadery w/Joe Price and the Cost, Ruin Dweller July 26th Fri. Minneapolis, MN @ Lee’s Liquor Lounge w/United Teachers of Music, Wolf Blood, Nightosaur July 27th Sat. Omaha, NE @ O’Leaver’s w/Pro Magnum, Jump The Tiger July 28th Sun. Tulsa, OK @ Mercury Lounge w/Blind Oath July 29th Mon. San Antonio, TX @ The Limelight w/Over the Top, Thunderhorse July 30th Tues. Austin, TX @ The Lost Well w/Broken Teeth, Crimson Devils, Hot Crimes July 31st Wed. Hattiesburg, MS @ The Tavern w/AstroTrain August 1st Thurs. Atlanta, GA @ 529 w/The Pinx, Dusty Booze and the Baby Haters, Timmy James and the Blue Flames August 2nd Fri. Wilmington, NC @ Reggie’s 42nd Street Tavern w/Thunderlip, Freedom Hawk August 3rd Sat. Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 w/Thunderlip, Knightmare August 4th Sun. Lexington, KY @ The Green Lantern w/The Vibrolas
Bible of the Devil is: Nathan Perry: Vocals, Guitars Greg Spalding: Drums, Loathing Darren Amaya: Bass, Vocals Chris Grubbs: Guitars
It is exceedingly hard to discuss depression. The second one enters into the classification of a diagnosis, the conversation changes. You become less of a person than the manifestation of an idea. This is true of any diagnosis. Think of the simple language involved sometimes. Depressives. Schizophrenics. Cancer patients. Not “people with…” but a simple, easily-filed categorization that saps the individual of their humanity when, let’s face it, acknowledging one’s humanity could potentially go a long way as a first step to addressing the issue in question. It doesn’t always help — it’s not going to make tumors stop growing — but it never hurts.
Making their return after an even-longer-feeling four-year absence, French progressive heavy rockers Abrahma are tackling the issue of depression head on with their new album, In Time for the Last Rays of Light, which is out May 24 on Small Stone and Deadlight Entertainment. The follow-up to 2015’s Reflections in the Bowels of a Bird (review here) indeed puts a human face on depression and the effects thereof on oneself and those surrounding. The video for “Lost Forever” directly portrays the despondency and loneliness that one can feel, even when in the company of loved ones. It manifests in the clip directed by Michael Leclere as a grueling agony with a tragic end and is by no means easy to watch.
“Lost Forever” is the opening track on In Time for the Last Rays of Light. I’m hoping to set up a premiere with a review as we get closer to the release, so keep an eye out for that (or, you know, don’t, if it doesn’t happen), but in the meantime, you can see the clip for “Lost Forever” below, followed by more info from the PR wire. I’d normally say “enjoy” here, but it seems crass given the context. Maybe just understand?
Here goes:
Abrahma, “Lost Forever” official video
In Time For The Last Rays Of Light is the third full-length from French progressive heavy rock outfit ABRAHMA. Set for release next month via Small Stone, the record follows three tumultuous years of personal challenges and lineup changes and is a chronicle of the ravages of coping with loss and mental illness, brought to bear with heavy and progressive songwriting, melodic catharsis, and an impact that goes beyond the material itself.
In advance of its release, the band has unveiled the moving video clip for “Lost Forever.” Offers director Michael Leclere, “‘Lost Forever’ unequivocally deals with depression, so I wanted to evoke identity quest as a parry to nothingness; when you lose yourself into the wilderness and have to draw in your own resources, facing yourself and looking after your animus, finding the strength to fight for things that may seem meaningless. Moving slowly toward an inextricable death, whether you do it to get a little more time or to find epiphany as a last shield before the abyss. We keep scattering pieces of ourselves through our constant efforts to stay alive. It’s like dying a little more each time. And it’s what will get us in the end.”
ABRAHMA’s In Time For The Last Rays Of Light will be released May 24th on CD and digital formats worldwide via Small Stone Records and in France on Deadlight Entertainment. For preorders go to THIS LOCATION.
