Gnome Post “Ambrosius” Video; King Coming May 6
A while ago, I was fortunate enough to be asked to sit in for an episode of the Blynd Submyshynz podcast with Jeff Wilson (Kook, etc.) and JD Norton, both very nice guys. It was fun, and true to the name of the show, part of the thing was they played bands I’d never heard before and asked what I thought of them. Fun game. One of the bands they played was Antwerp, Belgium’s Gnome, and I recall digging it pretty well. At very least, I don’t remember talking crap about it, which, listening to a couple of the tracks from the band’s new album, King, is all the more fortunate because it saves me the trouble of having to eat my words. Nothing like efficiency.
“Ambrosius” — which grammatically
speaking is the masculine singular form of “ambrosia” if I recall my Latin — is the first audio (or video) to be made public from King, which is set to release on May 6 through esteemed Belgian noise purveyor Polderrecords, and the heavy rock quotient is high compared to some of the label’s noisier fare, but certainly still hits hard enough to get the point across. In following up 2018’s instrumental Father of Time — which was what I heard — the band not only bring in The Vintage Caravan‘s Óskar Logi for a guest spot on the hooky “Your Empire,” but find a balance on “Ambrosius” between largesse of groove and a corresponding initial tension in the guitar, making a spot for themselves and their silly hats that allows them to move fluidly between tempos and some harder-hitting moments, as with the growls later on in the track.
Again, I haven’t heard the full record as yet — the other song I got to sample, “Kraken Bastard,” is instrumental but emphasizes the above-noted shifts just the same — but the video that follows here for “Ambrosius” should be enough to pique interest if your interest is up for piquing. Looks like they’re in a greenhouse or some such, which is fun.
More info on the album follows.
Enjoy:
Gnome, “Ambrosius” official video
“Ambrosius”, the first track taken from Gnome’s upcoming album “King”. Out May 6th, 2022 on Polderrecords.
Music by Gnome – http://www.facebook.com/officialgnomeband/
Recorded & Mixed at Rockstar Recordings by Frank Rotthier – Mastered by Larsson Mastering
Video by Rutger Verbist
Gnome packs a bigger punch than their name suggests: combining irresistible hooks and thundering guitars, drums and bass with adventurous twists, they brew their unique and ultimately satisfying potion of stoner, prog and hardrock.
After the success of 2018 debut ‘Father of Time’, which demonstrates their knack for stacking riffs like lego bricks, and having conquered stages across Europe with their shin-kicking live sets, the power trio from Antwerp raise the bar with their majestic second outing ‘King’.
They sound bigger and heavier with more vocals (including special guest Oskar Logi from The Vintage Caravan) but never losing sight of the quest for the golden riff.
‘King’ was recorded with Frank Rotthier at Rockstar Recordings in between lockdowns in the fall of 2020 and will be released by POLDERRECORDS digital, on cd and on vinyl May 6th, 2022.
Tags: Antwerp, Belgium, Gnome, Gnome King, King, Polderrecords
