Astrosoniq have always been willing to be just that little bit extra oddball, and in terms of their studio output, this is a thing to be celebrated. They haven’t done much since the aughts owing to health concerns and the other whathaveyou of life, but as record labels have started plunging into turn of the century heavy rock and roll for reissues from the pre-social-media-mobilization era, the ‘Wizards of Oss,’ the Netherlands, are for sure worth another look.

Begun as a project of guitarist Ron van Herpen and drummer/synthesist/producer Marcel van de Vondervoort, the latter of Torture Garden Studio, the band made their debut in 2000 with Son of A.P. Lady (discussed here; also here) through Freebird Records. At that point, Fred van Bergen and Erik de Vocht were listed as guest performers, but by the time Astrosoniq offered the follow-up, Soundgrenade, in 2002, de Vocht was in the now-four-piece on bass/vocals and van Bergen was the frontman. As if it could be otherwise.

Soundgrenade turns 20 this year, and in some ways it’s very much the successor from Son of A.P. Lady. It was tracked with Sylvia Vermeulen, who also worked on the first record, with van de Vondervoort helming the mix and additional recording, overdubs, etc., but true to the solidified lineup behind it, it’s also a correspondingly more cohesive approach they take. They align themselves to alternative culture immediately, telling you to get out your decoder ring that, one assumes, you ordered out the back of a grainy comic book, and their push into “Secret Passage/Soundgrenade” emphasizes their readiness to twist the tropes of what was then stoner rock to their progressive, semi-experimental will. Van Bergen‘s echoing voice before the last verse, or the way the drums hold back at the start; the willful wankery of the guitar — it’s all over the top in a way that is very much Astrosoniq‘s own. They know they’re being a bit ridiculous, and that’s why it’s fun.

Every song on Soundgrenade offers something to distinguish it from the others. “Astronomicon” has a dense thrust of low-end fuzz and rolls out like Kyuss from space but weirds out the guitar late and has layered vocal harmonies. At nearly 10 minutes long, “Aphrodite’s Child” may or may not be paying homage to the ’70s prog band of the same name, but it unfolds with added synth wash behind the repeated drums and is more languid as it moves through its galloping, percussion-laced freakout, an improv-sounding jam that would utterly derail many records but that makes a weird kind of sense in the context of the eight-song/50-minute offering from Astrosoniq, drawn together as it is by the band’s performances and tonal range, as well as seamless transitions like that which brings back the song’s chorus after that freakout.

“Evil Rules in Showbizzland” starts with a sample and a lazier rollout, almost lounge with the vocals over it, but a play on goth that prescient of acts like Årabrot heavying up earlier Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds while still bringing more melodic complexity than it at first seems, and the subsequent “Hit and Run” has a sample as well but it’s hardly done before the all-go 3:24 shortest cut on the album begins its careening. The guitar and bass drop out for verse lines but pick up again in the chorus, catchy and quick enough to sound like a KISS LP played at 45RPM. Some of the burl of “Astronomicon” returns in the quadruply-exclamatory “Sod Off!!!!,” and if you ever wanted an argument for Ron Van Herpen as one of the most underrated guitarists of this era, the classy solo that unfolds in the second half there should do nicely.

Must be time to get really out there, and sure enough they do, with the record scratches, and throaty scat that send up nü-metal at the outset of the penultimate “So Be It,” with Eugène “U-Gene” Latumeten of Urban Dance Squad and an entire host of others stepping in on vocals and keys over a markedly funky movement, rolled out across almost five and a half minutes of soul and groove before its fadeout, which gives 11-minute closer “Daemonology” its own ground to begin from. The theme from the Addams Family tv show and a sample overtop begin, but they’re dug into a choice riff soon after, building tension over the next couple minutes with the riff and call and response vocals until after four minutes in, a stop brings transition to the nod that consumes the track until it’s time for takeoff.

And I mean that — it sounds like a rocket taking off, all howling noise and multifaceted chicanery. For sure, Astrosoniq would explore space-minded works further on future outings, but “Daemonology” answers the scope of “You Lose” from Son of A.P. Lady and the far-gone vibe of “Aphrodite’s Child” while being sonically distinguished from both. Further, rather than summarizing the songs across the record before it, “Daemonology” emphasizes one of the great strengths of Astrosoniq both on Soundgrenade and the rest of their studio work: They’re a band willing to take risks that other bands wouldn’t take. Whether that means playing loud or quiet in a given part, flirting with other genres, taking a song to place that’s unexpected or topping it all off with sometimes disturbing cover art, Astrosoniq are built for individualism and they always have been.

Their 2004 Made in Oss EP (discussed here) preceded 2006’s Speeder People (discussed here), and one might consider 2009’s expansive and still-plenty-experimental Quadrant (review here) as the final LP from this era of the band. It seemed like it might be their last until 2018’s Big Ideas Dare Imagination (review here) arrived in tribute to friend, collaborator and close associate Bidi van Drongelen, who passed away the year before. That last one was bittersweet, laced with guest appearances around a restored core duo of van Herpen and van de Vondervoort, but a reminder nonetheless of Astrosoniq‘s creativity and their readiness to find new ground for adventuring through and new ways to be thoroughly rock and roll while sounding like roughly none of its other many practitioners.

Maybe though, if there’s ever gonna be a reissue, a different cover? For some reason I find that face-shoulder thing really, like, viscerally discomforting. One assumes that’s the point, but still.

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

—

We pushed The Pecan’s bedtime back by about 45 minutes this week, in hopes that he might sleep a corresponding 45 minutes later. After a crazy busy Tuesday, he slept until 6:10AM on Wednesday and it’s the latest he’s slept in more than a month. The latest in recent memory. By this morning? He came downstairs the first time at around 4:25AM — I had barely started writing this post; my coffee was still too hot to drink — and went to the bathroom, then I sent him back upstairs and that bought me another half-hour.

Half-hour isn’t nothing, but here’s a comparison. On Wednesday, I was able to write the entire My Sleeping Karma review all in one shot. There was no interruption to that process, nothing to pull me out of the groove, and — most importantly — it was fucking done when it was done and I didn’t have to think about it again. Les Nadie, by contrast, was the product of him getting up at 5AM yesterday, and I had to stop after about 400 words before picking up again hours later. This seems like a bullshit complaint but I can’t emphasize enough how much that undone-thing weighs on my mind, never mind not actually knowing when it’s going to be finished and having to improv my way through doing news posts and shit on my phone. That’s no way to go through life. Plus I’m pissed all morning at myself for not finishing and resentful of him for wanting to come down and watch the video for Red Fang’s “Wires” when it’s ‘my time’ to get work done.

Not that the “Wires” clip isn’t great, mind you. It is. It holds up over 500 viewings.

Anyways, finding time. Always a challenge. Never enough. He’s with the not-babysitter now as we approach 10AM, so yes, this sat for a few hours while I took him out for a long walk to one of the local playgrounds. He needs to move as much as possible throughout the day, or by the afternoon he’s just intolerable. Last winter was hard. This one will be too, I think. The next few until I can basically open the door, say, “Go!,” and feel reasonably confident he won’t immediately sprint in the direction of oncoming traffic. Much to be done in terms of building impulse control before we get there. “A Toyota!” Points. Runs. Splat.

He also runs away in parking lots, which even for a kid under five I have a hard time not being like, “What’re you, stupid?” which is exactly what my mother would have said to me. As Bluey teaches us, though, the ’80s are over. More in some ways than others, mind you. No, I have never called him stupid. Nor would I. The day will come, however, when I tell him with all love and sincerity that he’s a pain in my ass. The Patient Mrs. will no doubt follow-up with, “Being annoyed is one way Daddy shows love.” And that is true.

Next week? Uh… new Psychlona track on Tuesday. Gonna review the Nebula record if I can. Feels a bit neglectful to not have done that yet. Got a video for Echolot going up next Wednesday that’s gonna get like no play or likes or whatever but I’m doing it anyway because I dig it, and Thursday is a song from Gone Cosmic that I got pitched this morning, so that’ll be fun. My to-do list is pretty long at this point, and I’m behind on news and questionnaires too, perpetually, so yeah. Plenty of fodder to frustrate my shortened mornings.

Have a great and safe weekend. Hydrate as best you can, watch your head. Wear earplugs if you’re out. And thanks for reading.

FRM.

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The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: James Farwell of Bison B.C.

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

“I write songs for sad people to be sad”. That’s a quote from my son, George. Pretty much sums it up. I am constantly pulling myself back together with the songs I write.

Describe your first musical memory.

Watching the video for “Dancing With Tears in my Eyes”, creating my own feelings about love and death as I hid under my blankets.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Watching Chi Pig hanging from the rafters at the Cauldron in Winnipeg (’88?)

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

When we decided to leave a big label.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Poverty. Solitude. Smaller rooms. Happiness.

How do you define success?

Success? There is no success. My children are inheriting a dying world. Success would be a time machine.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

A man bleeding and wanting to die with his dog standing by his side.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A book of poetry. I’ve always loved poetry. Song lyrics can be poetry, but they are more put together as a puzzle, fit to the music that inspired them. Poetry is inspired by silence and the rage within. Art that has no origin, it simply has always existed.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To make welcome new feelings that may be alien or jarring.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

A summer of bike rides with my sons, George and Charlie.

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Bison, You Are Not the Ocean, You Are the Patient (2017)

Destierro y Siembra is not only the debut full-length from Córdoba, Argentina, duo Les Nadie, but the band’s first release of any kind as well. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Juan Codne and drummer Rodri Deladerova, the seven-song offering is low on hype and big on creativity, culling together a half-hour’s worth of material that brings a striking amount of character to largely familiar elements. Right at the outset, with the manner in which the post-Melvins roll-and-crash of lead cut “Gritó el Indio” gives way to layered ethereal howls (presumably representing the titular gritó, or cry) as it moves into its middle third, guitar effects placed overtop to add to the weirdness, turning back to the main riff soon enough before picking up the speed and shifting to a modified ending, Les Nadie signal their intention toward inventive structures and an unwillingness to play by traditional verse/chorus rules that only becomes a source of strength as the rest of the release unfolds.

Only the centerpiece “Helledén” (5:38) is longer than “Gritó el Indio” (5:35), and not by much, but quickly Les Nadie‘s work becomes as much about atmosphere, if not more, as about the riffs being played or the weight of the opener’s nod. “Zhonda” follows and begins with a more urgent pace and harder hitting drums from Deladerova, Codne‘s guitar turning from the crunch to an almost-noodling-but-not-quite succession of notes in what becomes the first real verse on Destierro y Siembra, all the more effective in the clarity of its delivery with that shimmer behind it and the fact that the band have gone about seven minutes into the offering without saying a word, despite the voice-as-instrument work on the first song. The lyrics, which translate to either a request for or a story about a wind from the south coming to bring rebirth — “Viento/Del sur viento/Baja a mi encuentro/Y resurrección” — are delivered twice through before the crunch resumes, sounding all the more grunge for the held note at the finish of the second time. The duo cycle through again before building into an early payoff of groove that gets accompanied by some howls not dissimilar from those in “Gritó el Indio,” but modified in purpose, now representing the wind itself as the song comes to its sudden end and “Siembra / Destierro,” which is as close to a title-track as Destierro y Siembra gets.

The ambience and feeling of open space in the recording, reverb on the guitar, continues in “Siembra / Destierro,” offset by a more solidified, fuzzier fluidity. Again, layering is a factor in the presentation, and as Destierro y Siembra was tracked between March 2020 and July 2021 (sounds about right) at studios in Córdoba and Catalonia, working with Manu Collado and the Lleida-based Xavi Esterri in the northern part of Spain, the fluidity of that jam comes across as well-honed, Codne‘s guitar swaying through the early procession — “Siembra,” presumably — before extending the method to the vocals of the following “Destierro,” which in their drawling, bottom-mouth layers recall the darker moments of Alice in Chains‘ Dirt over suitably heavy crashes and thuds. Thus the song ends, a final strum filling the silence before the airier, bouncing guitar figure of “Helledén” starts. After the first minute, the aforementioned centerpiece arrives at a lighthearted movement of guitar that becomes a recurring theme, balanced against jazzy jabs with vocals overtop. It is a willful contradiction of purpose that shouldn’t work but which the duo pull off readily, resolving in sweet, early Mars Red Sky rawness and melody, the guitar meandering to the end with just a flourish of cymbal wash.

As with “Zhonda” after “Gritó el Indio,” “Babas D’Allah” follows “Helledén” with a more straight-up riff, announcing itself via dense distortion before desert-hued noodling takes hold. With no more conflict than in “Helledén,” “Babas D’Allah” basks in its point and counterpoint, each change between them highlighting the differences and the unlikely flow that results as Les Nadie shift between the one and the other, the god-slobber’s 1994-ish Fu Manchu-style heavier riff seeming to find a complement in the intro to the penultimate “Del Pombero,” which starts out organic and weighted in a nod that comes through like a response to “Gritó el Indio” and that likewise builds out some of the Mars Red Sky melodicism as it breaks from the march for its verse before resuming the procession once more, a change that’s nowhere near as stark as some of those that come before it but that nonetheless finds the guitar resting to give space to the vocals, and solo lines and rhythm tracks working in layers as Codne and Deladerova summarize a good portion of what’s worked well in Destierro y Siembra — doing whatever they want, when they want to do it. Exploratory as the album may feel, there’s no questioning the confidence in Les Nadie to pull it off. And really, that and the creativity behind it in the first place is what it takes.

So, having been up, down, fast, slow, hither, yon, the desert, the beach, the garden, the boogie van and the monster truck, they end subtle and quiet with the guitar epilogue “Venenauta,” which is some reference to poison I can’t quite place translation-wise but that underscores how much of what makes Destierro y Siembra such an engaging listen across its relatively brief span comes down to the atmosphere in the material itself. There’s pastoralism, or at least a drive toward escape in the songs, but Les Nadie are neither cloying in their use of structure — not beating you over the head with a hook — nor so psychedelic as to be tripped out to the exclusion of conscious craft. Their efforts here stand as testament to the undervalued status of South American heavy rock in the broader, worldwide underground, but more crucially and more immediately, they announce Les Nadie as a band and Codne as a songwriter looking to break from the norm of sand-worship, riff-worship, worship-worship, etc., while remaining steadfast in their use of the tenets of genre. These two sides, like the banishment and sowing in the album’s title, feel disparate, but in Les Nadie‘s capable hands are the stuff of a richness that speaks to present immersion and future possibility all at once.

Les Nadie, Destierro y Siembra (2022)

Les Nadie on Instagram

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Les Nadie on Bandcamp

Four dates in Tennessee? That’s a Darsombra tour. In accordance with the duo’s perpetual wont, Darsombra have announced a slew of East Coast tour dates that will account for the bulk of September and October as they run north and south and in between, swinging as far as Texas — note the trio of gigs with Austin’s Cortège — as they continue to spread their particular brand of art-rocking drone-out psychedelic bliss. You’ll recall they were on the West Coast this past Spring, so Fall on the Eastern Seaboard makes sense. Colorful leaves to see and all that.

Brian Daniloski and Ann Everton have a remix project in the works, and they’re looking for participants, so if you find you need a bit more weird in your life and you’ve got the software, reach out. I can think of way worse ways to spend your time than tooling around with the open spaces Darsombra inhabit. Like capitalism. And war. And having a day job. You should really quit that.

From the PR wire:

DARSOMBRA: Baltimore Psychedelic Duo Announces Dozens Of Summer And Fall US Tour Dates; New Album Under Construction

Baltimore, Maryland psych/prog duo DARSOMBRA has just rolled out nearly three dozen new tour dates for the late Summer and early Fall months while they slowly continue to construct their next album.

DARSOMBRA released their Call The Doctor/Nightgarden single in April 2021 as a bridge between their 2019-issued Transmission LP and its successor, a massive double-album, which is currently under construction. For their Spring 2022 tour, the band released a cassette maxi-single of Call The Doctor/Nightgarden, featuring two exclusive bonus tracks – “Thunder Thighs” (live 2020) and “Fill Up The Glass” – on the B-side, totaling more than fifty-three minutes of sonic bliss.

Brian Daniloski writes, “DARSOMBRA is excited to report that after a very quiet June and July following our return from our spring tour in late May, we have a fantastically loud rest of the year planned for you all, with local and domestic shows aplenty!”

DARSOMBRA is also working on a remix project, collecting re-imagined versions of their song “Call The Doctor.” Artists interested in taking part in the remix project are invited to contact the band through their website or social media channels.

DARSOMBRA Tour Dates:
8/12/2022 Sacred Root – Ithaca, NY w/ Human Resources, Staticer, and Microbes, Mostly
8/13/2022 Neitzche’s – Buffalo, NY w/ Chloroform, Wickerman, shapesrepeat
8/14/2022 Rosen Krown (early brunch show) – Rochester, NY
9/03/2022 Space 4321 – Baltimore, MD
9/07/2022 Mama Tried – Brooklyn, NY w/ GRIDFAILURE, Breeeze
9/08/2022 Sun Tiki Studios – Portland, ME w/ Cadaverette, Snap! Thee Asparagus
9/13/2022 The Loading Dock – Littleton, NH
9/14/2022 Radio Bean – Burlington, VT
9/15/2022 O’Brien’s – Allston, MA w/ Jarvaland, Blackwolfgoat, This Bliss
9/16/2022 AS220 – Providence, RI w/ Minibeast, Burr, LVMMVX
9/17/2022 Century – Philadelphia, PA w/ Stinking Lizaveta, Kohoutek
9/23/2022 Shadow Woods Reunion @ The Kennel at West York Inn – West York, PA w/ Barishi, Cultic, Seasick Gladiator, Ralph
10/05/2022 Spot on Kirk – Roanoke, VA w/ Dover
10/06/2022 The Hideaway – Johnson City, TN
10/07/2022 Static Age – Asheville, NC
10/08/2022 Corner Lounge – Knoxville, TN
10/09/2022 Springwater – Nashville, TN w/ Weird Sisters
10/11/2022 Hi Tone – Memphis, TN
10/12/2022 White Water Tavern – Little Rock, AR w/ The Lights Inside The Woods
10/13/2022 Division Brewing/Growl Records – Arlington, TX w/ Pastel Dynasty
10/14/2022 The 101 – Bryan, TX w/ Cortège
10/15/2022 Faust Tavern – San Antonio, TX w/ Cortège
10/16/2022 Chess Club – Austin, TX w/ Cortège
10/18/2022 Freetown Boom Boom Room – Lafayette, LA
10/19/2022 The Goat – New Orleans, LA w/ Three Brained Robot, Cloud Powers, Soul Glimpse
10/20/2022 The Kelly – Wetumpka, AL
10/22/2022 Sabbath Brewing – Atlanta, GA w/ Posadist
10/23/2022 The World Famous – Athens, GA w/ Sacred Bull, Rat Babies
10/25/2022 El-Rocko – Savannah, GA
10/26/2022 Tua Lingua – N. Charleston, SC w/ data_corrupter
10/27/2022 New Brookland Tavern – Columbia, SC
10/28/2022 Monstercade – Winston-Salem, NC w/ Elevated Weirdo Gameshow
10/29/2022 TBA – Greenville, NC

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Darsombra, Call the Doctor / Nightgarden (2021)

Darsombra, “Transmission” official video

This is precisely the sort of thing I was hoping that All Them Witches‘ reunion with keyboardist/Rhodes pianist/violinist Allan Van Cleave wouldn’t preclude. The band’s 2020 album, Nothing as the Ideal (review here), will forever be a standout in their catalog for the fact that it was made as a three-piece with Charles Michael Parks, Jr. on bass/vocals, Ben McLeod on guitar and Robby Staebler on drums — and visuals, as always — and no one else. The Nashville-based outfit had kind of struggled since Van Cleave left, first trying to replace him with Jonathan Draper on 2018’s ATW (review here), then finally continuing on without a full-time fourth member at all. To their credit, they made it work.

Clearly they felt something was lacking — hence bringing Van Cleave back in — but in the interim, Nothing as the Ideal introduced the use of tape loops and ethereal effects sounds as a way of fleshing out the work of the guitar, bass, drums and vocals, and that brought an experimentalist backdrop for the songs that was legitimately unlike anything the band had done before. The new single “6969 WXL The Cage” answers whether or not such ideas are still fair game for All Them Witches in 2022 with a decisive yes. Marked by hypnotic electronic beats and manipulated radio-style voiceovers — there are a couple song dedications there — to give a sense that you’re driving along an empty highway, possibly at night, scanning through the FM wasteland and reconciling yourself to listening to the droning on about nothing just to have some human connection. Shout-outs and so on. What a wreck of a great idea is commercial radio.

“6969 WXL The Cage” is July’s installment of the Baker’s Dozen singles project the band has been doing since the start of the year. They’ve all been posted here before, but I’ll spare you the link dump. The videos are down below — there are six; can’t miss ’em — and as we plunge deeper into the second half of 2022, it’s refreshing to find All Them Witches doing so by breaking new ground for the band.

Watch out for snakes:

All Them Witches, “6969 WXL The Cage”

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All Them Witches is:
Charles Michael Parks, Jr – bass, vocals
Ben McLeod – guitar, vocals
Robby Staebler – drums, vocals
Allan Van Cleave – Rhodes piano, keys, violin

All Them Witches, “L’Hotel Serein” official video

All Them Witches, “Acid Face” official video

All Them Witches, “Blacksnake Blues”

All Them Witches, “Fall Into Place” official video

All Them Witches, “Silver to Rust” official video

All Them Witches, “Slow City” official video

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Welcome bit of good news on the day as Brooklyn trio Somnuri sign to MNRK Heavy for the release of their upcoming third album in 2023. This almost invariably means they’ll tour with Crowbar, who they’ll also join for a hometown gig at Saint Vitus Bar on Aug. 9, as the two are now labelmates, and a support slot for High on Fire doesn’t seem impossible either, frankly. Bottom line is this puts them in a different league of bands.

All the better since they earned it. Their second record, 2021’s Nefarious Wave (review here), came out on Blues Funeral Records and remains a ripper even as the three-piece post the new song and clip, “Coils.” In addition to the Vitus Bar date, they’ll be at Tattoo the Earth, and one imagines there’s more to come, particularly in the New Year with a new album. Right on.

The PR wire made it official:

SOMNURI: Brooklyn Stoner/Sludge Trio Joins MNRK Heavy Roster; “Coils” Video Unveiled

Brooklyn, New York stoner/sludge trio SOMNURI has united with MNRK Heavy for the release of their upcoming, third full-length today, unveiling a stand-alone video single, “Coils.”

Among other hustles, hitting the pavement and providing a cannabis delivery service was one of the main catalysts in SOMNURI’s infant stages and a DIY ethos was adopted early on. The grind it takes to survive in New York City seeps into their music and it’s hard not to hear elements of the city throughout: sludge, atmosphere, and at times brutal dissonance, layered with pounding and entrancing rhythms and low-end frequencies that make your guts rattle. SOMNURI’s sound weaves in and out of hauntingly infectious melodies and bludgeoning riffs and grooves that shift time and tempo often.

In celebration of their signing, the band is pleased to reveal their new single, “Coils.” The track seamlessly fuses rugged heaviness with epic and melodic instrumentals. Their groove-forward, bludgeoning riffs, and psychedelic atmosphere is in spirit with the likes of High On Fire, Mastodon, and Torche.

Notes the band, “The song ‘Coils’ is about getting stuck in loops. It’s about repeating the same mistakes and searching deep within to overcome them.”

SOMNURI Live:
8/09/2022 Saint Vitus Bar – Brooklyn, NY w/ Crowbar, Spirit Adrift, Stabbed
8/26/2022 Tattoo The Earth Festival Pre-Party @ The Palladium – Worcester, MA w/ Unearth, Sworn Enemy, Boundaries, Hazing Over

SOMNURI started when two multi-instrumentalists joined forces after sharing the stage and practice spaces in previous Brooklyn-based bands. Justin Sherrell (guitar/vocals) had guitar ideas he wanted to develop further and soon linked up with drummer Phil SanGiacomo. The ability for both founding members to explore ideas on guitar, bass, drums, and vocals continues to be the band’s lifeblood.
The band’s first and second LPs were very well-received. With a willingness to venture into new sonic spaces of heavy music, SOMNURI’s upcoming full-length is in the works and due out in 2023 via MNRK Heavy. Further info will be unveiled in the coming months.

SOMNURI Live Lineup:
Justin Sherrell – guitar, vocals
Phil SanGiacomo – drums
Mike G – bass

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Somnuri, “Coils” official video

Eight shows, eight nights, no breaks. Cheers to Indianapolis doom-plus-sludge rockers Void King on getting out while the getting’s good to promote their 2019 offering, Barren Dominion (review here), and herald the coming of new music that, as they tell it, will hopefully be available at least digitally before they go. Does that mean a new album? I’d think probably not, if only because if there was a full-length on the way, the “brand new music for you to have digitally” would probably say “brand new album” instead, but as they head through this run of Midwestern and Southeastern tour dates between the end of Sept. and the beginning of Oct., I’m not one to quibble with an independent band doing a stretch on their own terms in 2022. We’re lucky this shit is happening at all.

This past weekend, Void King shared the stage with Wolftooth and Hudson Hill for what was apparently a banger at the Hi-Fi in their hometown, and that would seem to be what they’re talking about below when they reference “one of the best shows we’ve ever played,” just FYI. If they’re in the studio between now and the Sept. 24 start of these shows, one hopes they can carry some of that momentum with them.

From social media:

Void King – Midwest Live Dates

Ladies and gentlemen. To celebrate one of the best shows we’ve ever played, Void King is happy to announce our fall run of dates in the Midwest, west, and south parts of this lovely country.

Our goal is to have some brand new music for you to have digitally, and support that music through this humble tour of our wonderful countryside.

The dates can be found on the flyer. We will post specifics about bands and venues as the dates get nearer. If you live in one of these areas, please keep an eye out for those events.

Couldn’t be more excited to spread the word of the Void once more, and to start our cult in some new towns.

Void King live:
09/24 Tolono, IL
09/25 Lawrence, KS
09/26 Tulsa, OK
09/27 Ruston, LA
09/28 Memphis, TN
09/29 Atlanta, GA
09/30 Lexington, KY
10/01 Lafayette, IN

VOID KING is:
Derek Felix – Percussion
Chris Carroll – Bass
Jason Kindred – Vocals
Tommy Miller – Guitar

http://voidking.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/voidkingband/
https://www.offtherecordshop.nl/

Void King, Barren Dominion (2019)

New York (and then some) atmospheric post-sludge explorers Guhts will be appearing Aug. 26 at Crucial Fest 11 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Now a five-piece, the band premiere their new single “Burn My Body” (below) ahead of their excursion west, and announce that they’ll record the instrumental portion of their first full-length while they’re out there with the esteemed Andy Patterson (The Otolith, SubRosa, Insect Ark, Iota, etc.) at his The Boar’s Nest studio. Which, if you’re going to do it, is a good way to go, especially since you’re already making the trip.

The group, who were a trio that began to come together on the side from Scott Prater and Amber Burns‘ main outfit, Witchkiss, during 2020’s lockdown, issued their debut EP, Blood Feather (review here), in Aug. 2021 to a resounding reception. At the time, Burns and Prater were joined by North Carolina’s Dan Shaneyfelt on guitar, synth and vocals, and drums were programmed. Now, after a run of shows with as a five-piece with Daniel Martinez on bass and Brian Clemens on drums that led them to Maryland Doom Fest last month, they unveil “Burn My Body” as a demonstration of proven-concept post-metal and an intention to move forward with more.

One might discern shades of Amenra‘s lurching flow in “Burn My Body,” some of the severity of the rhythm, maybe some Isis specifically in the guitar, but as the repeated title line seems almost to arrive begging for the release implied in cremation, the synthesizer responds with open ambience, as thought to manifest the air with which one’s form joins as smoke. “Burn My Body” is more aware of what it wants to be than was Blood Feather, and more assured in its execution of that, from the soft but tense intertwined guitars of the intro to the grandiose keyboard lines that ensue once the procession kicks in, a horn sound calling to mind Imperial Triumphant without, you know, all that pesky death metal.

Resonance is key, as well as the subtle and not-subtle layering happening in the vocals. I don’t know if all five members of the band were involved in the recording — if you told me the drums were programmed again, I’d believe it — but there is a poise in the new single that speaks to Guhts having begun to ‘figure it out,’ which only makes me look forward more to the record they’ll begin to make with Patterson before returning to New York to finish with the also-esteemed Andrew Schneider (Pelican, Unsane, Cave In, Lo-Pan, so many more). It’s a five-and-a-half-minute track that announces Guhts‘ EP as not a fluke of lockdown restlessness, but the beginning point from which they’ll continue to build out their sound and style.

Therefore, in short, fucking a.

With an eye toward the future, enjoy this in the present:

Guhts, “Burn My Body” premiere

We are playing Crucial Fest in SLC on August 26th with Marissa Nadler, Mizmor, The Otolith and many more. While were out there we will be recording the music for our full length with Andy Patterson (Subrosa) at The Boars Nest in SLC. Sometime in September/October Amber will be recording Vocals with Andrew Schneider in NY.

Plans for releasing the album are still in the works and there is no set release date yet.

This song will be released on 8/2 via all the streaming services and 7/28 via Bandcamp.

GUHTS are:
Amber Burns – Vocals
Scott Prater – Guitar & Synth
Dan Shaneyfelt – Guitar & Synth
Daniel Martinez – Bass
Brian Clemens – Drums

Guhts, Blood Feather (2021)

Guhts on Bandcamp

Guhts on Facebook

Guhts on Instagram

Guhts on Twitter

Guhts website