We’re eight tracks deep now into All Them Witches‘ year-long ‘Baker’s Dozen’ singles project, and “Tiger’s Pit” continues the band’s streak of offering something different each time out. Though that’s basically their thing anyhow, which makes it doubly impressive that I could’ve just as easily started out this post talking about how consistent they are and been no less correct.
I’m struck by the breadth of the production for “Tiger’s Pit,” as well as the heft of the tones that fill it, reminding and almost threatening how heavy the Nashville four-piece can be when they do choose — shout out to their 2019 single “1×1” (posted here) — but also that they are much more than just that. More song-based than some of the other ‘Baker’s Dozen’ pieces so far, certainly more straightforward than July’s “6969 WXL The Cage” — it had its own post but just stream it below in the giant block of videos-to-date — it follows a linear course and just kind of ends in a fade, but still leaves an impression through its verses and overarching clarity.
A new track every month has been a fair amount to keep up with, but it brings to light the creative scope of All Them Witches at this point and the trust they’ve engendered that they can basically go wherever they want and those who follow will follow. As for new listeners, well, there’s plenty to dig into, for sure, and so long as you keep in mind that they almost never want to do the same thing twice, you should be fine. Might want to go with a proper full-length, though, for initial digging. Still, if this leads to that somehow, all the better.
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, “6969 WXL The Cage”
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
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The bottom line here is it looks like The Skull are going to keep going. Guitarist Lothar Keller and bassist Ron Holzner — the two remaining founding members following the death last year of vocalist Eric Wagner (pictured above, in purple) — teamed up with singers Karl Agell (C.O.C. Blind) and Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) for a tribute show earlier this summer, and Agell and Saint Vitus vocalist Scott Reagers this weekend will take the stage again for the same reason, except this time it’s a festival. I guess the proof-of-concept turned out alright in June.
Seems to me Holzner and Keller are well within their rights here, and if they wanted to do a record certainly with the likes of Reagers, Agell, Lamont or someone else of that ilk, I know I’d only look forward to hearing it. There’s a ways to go before they get to that point, I imagine, but creativity doesn’t stop, so maybe it’s possible sometime in the next few years.
Also of note — and the PR wire notes it below — Kulvera. Check out Brian “Butch” Balich (Argus, Arduini/Balich, Penance, etc.) and other known Wagnerian associates Dave Snyder, Chuck Robinson, Matt Cross and Earthride‘s Greg Ball getting together in homage. Those guys will decide to do an album (speculation, but a bet I’m willing to make). So as the effects of Wagner‘s death continue to ripple out, at least we’re seeing new doom born out of old doom. It’s the circle… of doom.
I leave you in the capable hands of the PR wire for details:
THE SKULL Announces Two Memorial Shows Celebrating The Life Of Eric Wagner
THE SKULL has invited vocalists Karl Agell (C.O.C. Blind, Leadfoot) and Scott Reagers (Saint Vitus) to front two memorial concerts celebrating the life and music of late singer Eric Wagner: The Midwest Metal Anthem in Lombard, Illinois on August 27th and the Hammer Of Doom Festival in Wurzburg, Germany on November 18th.
Midwest Metal Anthem will pay tribute to Wagner with two stages of music featuring THE SKULL with Agell and Reagers on vocals as well as the Eric Wagner Allstars (AKA Kulvera) featuring Chuck Robinson (Trouble, Black Finger, Eric Wagner), Dave Snyder (Trouble, Black Finger, Eric Wagner), Brian Balich (Penance, Argus), Greg Ball (Earthride), and Matt Cross (Black Finger, Eric Wagner) and the debut of Legion Of Doom featuring members of THE SKULL, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, and others playing songs from their collective past. See below for confirmed dates and further info.
THE SKULL – Eric Wagner Memorial Shows: 8/27/2022 Midwest Metal Anthem – Lombard, IL 11/18/2022 Hammer Of Doom Fest – Wurzberg, DE
THE SKULL was founded by three former members of American doom metal legends Trouble – vocalist Eric Wagner, bassist Ron Holzner, and drummer Jeff “Oly” Olson – and guitarist Lothar Keller (Sacred Dawn).
Eric Wagner passed away on August 22nd, 2021 from Covid pneumonia contracted while on tour with THE SKULL in early August 2021. THE SKULL, featuring Holzner, Keller, Henry Vasquez (Saint Vitus), and Matt Goldsborough (Pentagram) performed for the first time on June 18th for a banner ceremony honoring Eric Wagner at Reggies Rock Club in Chicago, Illinois. Karl Agell (C.O.C. Blind) and Bruce Lamont (Yakuza, Led Zeppelin 2) joined the band on vocals.
THE SKULL: Ron Holzner – bass Lothar Keller – guitar Henry Vasquez – drums Matt Goldsborough – guitar
Posted in Questionnaire on August 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
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: Alessandro Trerè of Herba Mate
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
My name is Alessandro Trerè, I am a 45-year-old father of two kids, I’ve been playing for 20 years with my two pals, Andrea and Ermes in the band Herba Mate, I am not a professional musician, I have a full-time job in a MedDev company, but music is my life: I am a record collector, bass collector, solid state amps fanatic, part time consultant in my wife’s record shop in my hometown Faenza…
Herba Mate is a trio who comes from the same musical background: me, Andrea and Ermes are almost the same age and we have lived the golden age of ’90s/’00s international rock music in our teens; even though we are in a geographically and linguistically distant country (Italy) we were fed with bread and US/UK rock music thanks to local small but very well stocked record shops and good TV broadcasts! We started playing grunge covers with zero experience, no cash in our pocket, borrowing crappy instruments…and when stoner rock came up, we got hit by the sound of Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Fatso Jetson, the Heads, Core etc.: in particular, the live performance of Homme & Co. on the Italian TV program “Segnali di Fumo”, back in 1995, was the turning point; watching it in real time, on a national TV program, just after lunch, back from school, was the moment when we understood that a new musical concept was born. So we started to tune down our axes, to crank up the gain on our self-distorted cheap amps, to put aside our pocket money for affording still cheap, but more powerful amps and Herba Mate was born.
No doubt, our music is then strongly inspired by stoner rock / desert rock, it spans from ’70s heavy rock to groovy stoner rock, with a touch of ’60s psych and a bit of Krautrock motoric iterations. It’s the sound coming out from our amps that gives us the fuel for our musical inspiration.
Frankly speaking, what we listen to, now, is distant from the stoner rock we were listening to when we started our journey back in 2000: the three of us have different musical tastes that, in most of the cases, don’t involve heavy distorted guitar sounds! But, when we plug in and switch our amps on, there’s nothing better than a heavy psych jam to take us to our own comfort zone, our own paradise.
Describe your first musical memory.
There was a sort of MTV in Italy, back in the ’80s, and I remember quite clearly the video of “it’s a shame” by Talk Talk… that sound told me something, and nowadays I can’t help but having goosebumps when I hear Mark Hollis’ voice.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Hard to say, I am not able to isolate just one single, best musical memory. As I love lists, please allow me to write down the following short one:
– When I first touched a bass string on a secondhand Fender Jazz bass
– The first time I saw Kyuss on a TV show (see my answer above)
– The day I listened to the first 15 seconds of track #1 of Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart
– Watching Morphine live in Imola (my first rock concert when I was 14-15 years old)
– Attending Slint performing Spiderland live in Bologna.
– First time I saw Fatso Jetson live at Sidro Club in Savignano, few years ago: that’s the day I met my idol and actual friend Mario Lalli for the first time! Few months later my band Herba Mate supported them live and then we received from Mario a bunch of their unreleased tracks, for our split album Early Shapes… What a man, what a band!
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
When I realized that I could handle health problems, both physical and mental, not relying solely on medical / pharmaceutical prescriptions based on conventional drugs and conventional medical approaches.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Artistic progression leads to peace and harmony, individually and globally. As a human being, the gift of embracing an artistic path is helping me releasing personal tensions and gloom, which results in an open minded, proactive approach towards the outside world; and the more I feed my art “hunger”, the better I face the world and who lives in it. Anyone should let art in.
How do you define success?
Success is when you find the right tuning and the right frequency in everyday life: for instance, when you tune your instrument on the stage or during rehearsals, when the song you play is in-tune, but also when you properly tune your talking to your children, your wife, your working colleagues, your friends…Tuning is a form of empathy you should tend to, and when you find the right balancing and frequency, you are on your way for a daily success.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
The most shocking one has been the accidental viewing of a scene from Deep Red movie (from Dario Argento) on TV, when I was six years old: the reflection of the murderer on a mirror, with a spooky picture on the back wall, is a frame that haunted my dreams for years and has probably had a negative effect on my growth… over time, I got over it and that movie became one of my all-time favorite, but I really think that, those days, this small event helped making me a shy and introvert kid.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I haven’t yet finished to shape myself for becoming the human being I’d like to be; but I am working on it, I still have to refine some roughness. (#128521#)
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Art is an essential element: it should be mentioned in Mendeleev’s table somewhere in between Carbon and Oxygen.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Posted in audiObelisk on August 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Vancouver three-piece Eye of Doom will release their debut full-length, The Sapient, on Nov. 11 through Majestic Mountain Records. The album follows the success of the band’s 2020 EP, Curse of the Pharaoh — they also had a self-titled EP out in 2018 — and is preceded today by the unveiling of “Eye of Doom Pt. I.”
A couple things about the track outright. First, it’s 10 minutes long. You’re announcing your debut album and the first single you’re streaming for people to check out is the first of a don’t-know-how-many-part procession and it crosses the line into a four-number runtime? This is a marketing plan I can get behind. Second, from mellowing out the impact of Monolordian riffing to delving into more lysergic reaches, maybe some Green Lung in the organ-laced melody circa 8:20, and doing it in a way that makes its own kind of sense — that’s all one ever needs — and makes a hook of its riff while conveying to the listener a feeling of atmosphere and still having room to jam it out, let it develop, and make it go.
They’re not pushing the limits of genre at this point — it’s a first record, slow down — but “Eye of Doom Pt. I” is an immersive celebration of heavy for a band who seem to be finding their place and establishing the sides they want to bring together as they forge their sound from the foundation of their influences.
Or if you want it simple: hey, I think this song’s pretty cool. Haven’t heard the full album yet, but if you’re still reading, I think this might be worth checking out. Stick around for when they bring back that riff at the end. It’s worth the trip, especially because the ‘going’ part of that trip is no less right on.
I actively like the loose feel. That doesn’t mean the band are sloppy, but as they open riff-into-solo early on in the track’s going, the nod is paced just right so that it’s not too fast but shifts into the verse, feeling intentional in trying to carry the listener along for the ride and thus all the more satisfying when it does precisely that. It’s heavy and not any more repetitive than it needs to be; deceptively thoughtful in its construction, and it’s easy to appreciate a band that strikes a hard balance and makes it sound easy. That’s very much what’s happening here.
To wit, I hope you enjoy:
Eye of Doom, “Eye of Doom Pt. I” premiere
‘Eye of Doom’ is the first single from the new album ‘The Sapient’ that will be released this Autumn on Majestic Mountain Records.
Majestic comes knocking once again as the harbinger of kick ass doom metal from the Mountain’s roster with news of Canadian three piece Eye of Doom unleashing the first single ‘Eye Of Doom Part I’ from their first full-length release ‘The Sapeint’ due out on the 11th of November.
The band tells us that “Eye of Doom Part I” draws lyrically from science fiction horror themes to narrate the demise of a lone space-dweller who while traversing the now colonized, yet mysteriously desolate planet Venus, experiences an array of extreme physical and mental obstacles akin to the human condition. He perseveres through this hardship and, upon contacting a long-lost comrade, is met with a horrific surprise. The story is concluded in “Eye of Doom Part II”, which appears on our upcoming album The Sapient.
We’re saying that this track is one hell of a ride through massively malevolent and eerie soundscapes, menacingly searing guitar solos, and richly reverb laden vocal textures. Ten minutes and fifty-eight seconds of pure, fuzz driven, progressive stoner doom metal from our favourite Canadians and we’re psyched to get this into your ears.
‘Eye Of Doom Part I’ challenges the senses with its melodically spectacular scope and through pristine production, musicianship and crushing composition sets the tone for what’s to come with the band’s first full length ‘The Sapient’ this November.
The bar is high and believe us when we say ‘The Sapient’s’ five tracks are bone crushing brilliance from this three-piece juggernaut from the great white north.
PRE ORDER on Friday 02.09
Official release on 11 November
Recorded and produced by the band at River Serpent Records Studios,
mixed and mastered by Esben Willems at Studio Berserk, Sweden.
Summoned from the forests of Vancouver, Canada, Eye of Doom is a doom metal band made up of Adam Mattsson (guitar), Alex Kadhim (bass) and Derrick Staines (drums). The band infuses progressive rock soundscapes with psychedelic notes from outer space.
Eye of Doom is: Adam Mattsson – Guitar Alex Kadhim – Bass Derrick Staines – Drums
Anyone notice how the new Enslaved video has a better framerate than real life? Shit looks gorgeous. Also, I actually LOL’ed when the piggyback happened at 3:02. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all very artsy and I know it’s a metaphor and so on, but it’s also a guy doing light parkour in the wilderness and then running on a beach and having an old man climb on his back. So, video of the year? Maybe. In any case, you know it’s Iceland even before you look at the names in the credits and see all the ‘ð,’ ‘fn,’ ‘Þ,’ etc. As I said, gorgeous.
“Kingdom” — for that is the name of the song in question — doesn’t come from the band’s new album or anything (they’ve got a record due in Feb.; thanks Mike H. for the info), but it’s definitely, definitely Enslaved. And by that I mean a band who’ve been together over 30 years and have a continuous creative progression the likes of which just about nobody else can boast. I guess you would say “Kingdom” is of the era of 2020’s Utgard (review here) and its Caravans to the Outer Worlds (review here) companion EP, but mostly because that means the band and guitarist/songwriter Ivar Bjørnson are doing whatever the hell feels right and following no other apparent standard. To be fair, that is all they need to do. I do not think Bjørnson or anyone else composing material in Enslaved sits down and says, “now we are going to try adding krautrock rhythmic repetitions to our progressive black metal foundation,” but they keep going and all that stuff comes out. They are exploratory unto themselves.
In the PR wire info below, you might note that in the quote from Bjørnson, he talks about a ‘coming trek.’ I do not know if that means a tour announcement is to follow shortly — I could live 400 years and I’d never be cool enough to have inside info on this band — but it’s something to keep an eye on. Enslaved were in North America this year, curating at the Fire in the Mountains festival in Wyoming, which if you’ve seen as many pictures of it on your social media as I have of mine, you know was quite a thing to miss out on as I did, sad to say. If you were there, you probably don’t need me to tell you about it. Right on.
This is Enslaved‘s second single of 2022 behind the live version of “Bounded by Allegiance” (posted here) earlier this year as taken from their ‘Otherworldly Big Band Experience’ collaborative streaming concert. I would not attempt to guess what they might do from here, but if it is a tour, the arguments in favor of showing up are about as vast as the Icelandic countryside through which all the admirably athletic Icelanders are running in the “Kingdom” video. Don’t worry, they get where they’re going.
Enjoy:
Enslaved, “Kingdom” official video
ENSLAVED Reveal New Single “Kingdom” Alongside Concept Video
ATOMS HUM.
THE ORDER OF ALL. THE OLDEST OF DREAMS.
Today, Enslaved release a stunning new track titled ‘Kingdom’ alongside an evocative concept video. The unorthodox Norwegians have found themselves at an intersection of sorts, where the momentum of living time rushes forward at an ever-increasing pace, imperceptibly modulated by the primeval echoes of eons past.
Ivar Bjørnson stated: “Kingdom – a tribute to the endurance of ideas and the people that carry them forward through hardship and fatigue, for the benefit of us all.
Musically, it is a tribute to the Riff and the Rite: to the Teutonic Thrash kings, to Space Rock, to the Ambient pioneers of the 70s.
With this we ask you to join us on this coming trek. Thanks for listening!”
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Desert rock progenitors Yawning Man have announced reissues through Heavy Psych Sounds for 2016’s Historical Graffiti (review here), 2010’s Nomadic Pursuits (review here) and the 2007 tape demo compilation, The Birth of Sol (discussed here), continuing a stretch of catalog deep-diving that has also seen them issue their 2005 debut album, Rock Formations (discussed here), on Ripple Music, as well as the Live at Giant Rock LP, also on Heavy Psych Sounds. Can a reissue of the 2013 Euro tour split between Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson (discussed here) be far behind? Only time and the PR wire will tell.
Plenty to chew on, either way. NomadicPursuits, which gets new art here, stands as a sentimental favorite for me personally, while Historical Graffiti marked a moment of departure for the long-running instrumentalist three-piece, recording in Buenos Aires with an expanded lineup to produce something distinct even within Yawning Man‘s varied discography. The Birth of Sol is rough in its actual sound — as a collection of ’80s and/or ’90s-era demos might be — but has a cult following even within that of the band itself, and was previously released on a double-cassette in 2018. I bought that shit. No regrets.
Might buy this version too, because, well, it’s Yawning Man, and the more you get this, the more likely they are to make another new record, and that’s how this thing works.
So work it:
YAWNING MAN – THE BIRTH OF SOL + HISTORICAL GRAFFITI + NOMADIC PURUSITS
Today we are stoked to start the presale of 3 YAWNING MAN reissues: The Birth Of Sol, Historical Graffiti and Nomadic Pursuits !!!
REISSUE of the legendary album with brand new cover and coloured vinyls
RELEASED IN DOUBLE GATEFOLD VINYL:
10 ULTRA LTD TEST PRESS VINYLS 100 ULTRA LTD TRANSPARENT BACK. SPLATTER BLACK AND RED VINYLS 400 LTD RED VINYLS BLACK VINYLS DIGIPAK
PRESALE STARTS: AUGUST 24th
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 14th
TRACKLIST
SIDE A Tuff Dude Dots, Lines And Mesh Faith Cakes Devil’s Ladder Sour Glaze Kone Of Meet Menso Sinkhole
SIDE B SLAB Fires Of Pap’s Chile Saucey And Saggy Paseo Lindo Change For A Beggar Bet I’ll Six
SIDE C Sweet Nuggat Saco Three Legged Table Deaf Conductor
SIDE D Catamaran Crack, Harden & Dry Friends Of Me The Lonely Rancher
ALBUM DESCRITPION Heavy Psych Sounds is reissuing the Yawning Man old demo recordings The Birth Of Sol in brand new coloured vinyls and new cover.
Dating back to 1986, these demo recordings by Yawning Man were originally only spread amongst close friends of the band. They were released on iTunes in 2009. Today you can have them on brand new coloured vinyls in gatefold sleeve.
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HPS202 *** YAWNING MAN – HISTORICAL GRAFFITI ***
REISSUE of the legendary album with brand new cover and coloured vinyls
RELEASED IN:
10 ULTRA LTD TEST PRESS VINYL 100 ULTRA LTD 3 COLORS STRIPED VINYL 400 LTD PINK VINYL BLACK VINYL DIGIPAK
PRESALE STARTS: AUGUST 24th
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 14th
TRACKLIST
SIDE A The Wind Cries Edalyn – 8:32 Her Phantom Finger Of Copenhagen – 6:58 Naomi Crayola – 3:05
SIDE B The Secret Language Of Elephants – 6:27 Historical Graffiti – 7:49
ALBUM DESCRITPION Heavy Psych Sounds is reissuing the Yawning Man legendary album Historical Graffiti in brand new coloured vinyls.
Historical Graffiti is the band’s fourth full-length, out in 2016. Gary Arce, the guitarist, seems comfortable sitting on a single vamp throughout the opener ‘The Wind Cries Edalyn’, allowing the additions of violin and bandoleon accordion (played by the tango musicians Sara Ryan and Adolfo Trepiana, respectively) to weave melodies in between. Despite the titular connection to the Jimi Hendrix song, it bears no discernible resemblance to ‘The Wind Cries Mary’ and it is a deceptive number; what seems such a simple, almost easy-listening song reveals more colour with every listen.
‘Her Phantom Finger of Copenhagen’ is slightly darker and almost sounds, with the slight distortion on Arce’s guitar, as if it could have come from Pot Head, the EP the band released in 2005. Mario Lalli, the bass player, begins the third song, ‘Naomi Crayola’ with a throbbing single note, aided by Bill Stimson’s metronomic drumming. Imagine if Can grew up near the beach, it’s that sort of vibe. The only problem with the song – and the album, as it happens – is that it is too short. Ryan’s violin returns in ‘The Secret Language of Elephants’, this time playing the role of keeping the main vamp alive while Arce’s guitar generates an evocative soundscape that opens in your mind a wide, violet sky like that above a desert the moment after the sun disappears for the night.
The closing song and title track is the most free of the five on the album, with Stimson’s beat conjuring memories of Kyuss’s more mellow moments from Welcome to Sky Valley, Lalli’s bass marking the simplest of bottom ends and Arce having a ball over the top. (taken from the band’s Bandcamp)
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HPS203 *** YAWNING MAN – NOMADIC PURSUITS ***
REISSUE of the legendary album with brand new cover and coloured vinyls
RELEASED IN:
10 ULTRA LTD TEST PRESS VINYL 100 ULTRA LTD TRANSPARENT BACK. SPLATTER BLUE/ORANGE VINYL 400 LTD GREEN VINYL BLACK VINIYL DIGIPAK
PRESALE STARTS: AUGUST 24th
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 21st
TRACKLIST
SIDE A CAMEL TOW 5:02 SAND WHIP 6:54 FAR-OFF ADVENTURE 8:28
SIDE B BLUE FOAM 4:31 GROUND SWELL 6:16 CAMEL TOW TWO 5:00 LASTER ARTE 4:28
ALBUM DESCRIPTION
Heavy Psych Sounds is reissuing the Yawning Man legendary album Nomadic Pursuits in brand new coloured vinyls and new cover. Nomadic Pursuits is the second Yawning Man studio album, released in 2010. With a five-year gap between the first album and this one, the band had time to further expand on their freeform desert sound. Heavy Psych Sounds is now giving new life to this psychedelic gem with a new special edition!
YAWNING MAN IS: Gary Arce – Guitar Mario Lalli – Bass Bill Stinson – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
This has been in the works for a while. A Black Math Horseman reunion was teased in 2019, and made manifest in Feb. 2020 with a return to the stage slated for the next month.
The next month, of course, was March 2020. So much for that.
The news that the Los Angeles band damn near every post-rock act for the last decade has been trying to sound like have signed to Profound Lore and will release a self-titled EP on Oct. 21 is some of the best news you’ll see for the rest of the year. I mean that. The legacy of their 2009 album, Wyllt (discussed here, also here), is the real deal, and more than that, it holds up to the 13 years that have passed since it was first released. I know that’s not an eternity or anything, but think of all the shit that’s come and gone since then. Record is a monument.
Their new video for “The Bough” is playing below. Preorders are up for the EP. You know the deal. PR wire info follows.
BLACK MATH HORSEMAN: Self-Titled Comeback EP Set For Release October 21st Via Profound Lore Records; “The Bough” Video Unveiled + Preorders Available
BLACK MATHHORSEMAN have re-emerged from the fog of time and memory with a stunning new self-titled comeback EP, set for release on October 21st via Profound Lore Records.
In 2009, BLACK MATH HORSEMAN released their debut album, Wyllt. The band’s music was unlike almost everything that existed at the time. It was hypnotic, heavy, sonic alchemy that seemed to emanate from another time, another place. The members — vocalist/bassist Sera Timms, guitarists Ian Barry and Bryan Tulao, and drummer Sasha Popovic — had somehow tapped into heavy music’s collective subconscious. A European tour, along with appearances at Roadburn and Primavera Sound, solidified BLACK MATH HORSEMAN’s reputation as a mesmerizing live band. Then, just a few years later, they were gone.
Thirteen years later, their follow-up to Wyllt makes it seem as if the band never stopped playing together. A trance-inducing journey to the center of humanity’s inner turmoil, Black Math Horseman is meant to be listened to as a single, continuous composition.
Conceptually and lyrically, the record continues the storyline from Wyllt, which follows the mysterious character known as the Black Math Horseman. “This is where the character really comes into full bloom with their ‘black math,’ which is aggressive, manipulative reality shaping,” Timms explains.
“The essence of the album is overcoming a great enemy, a great adversarial force, and reaching a place of harmony that has never been found before,” she continues. “You go to a dark place and destroy relationships that you love, all based on ego. Eventually, you have nothing. And when you have nothing, you have to find a new way of doing things. That’s where we’re at now as a band and family, and that’s also the theme of the record.”
Much of Black Math Horseman was recorded in the band’s rehearsal space with engineer Manny Nieto. Covid lockdown kicked in the very next day, so Timms didn’t track her vocals —this time in the studio — until five months later. All subsequent overdubs and mixing were handled by Ian Barry, with guidance from Ben Chisholm.
Though the album was composed as one long song, the band divided it into chapters to accommodate today’s listening habits. Gorgeous centerpiece, and first single, “The Bough” captures a moment of clarity in the main character’s trajectory. “‘The Bough’ is essentially that moment when you realize you have been courting an illusion,” Timms explains. “You’ve put every bit of your heart and soul into courting this illusion, but when you realize that there’s nothing behind it, you want to destroy everything — not only the illusion, but reality and yourself. It’s that lightning bolt of clarity that comes through destruction — that’s what the song is.”
View the band’s captivating video for “The Bough,” directed by Travis Shinn and Jeremy Danger, at THIS LOCATION.
Black Math Horseman will be released on vinyl and digital formats. Find preorders at THIS LOCATION: https://linktr.ee/blackmathhorseman
Black Math Horseman Track Listing: 1. Black Math Horseman 2. Boar Domain 3. The Bough 4. Cypher
“When we came together initially as a band, we had no goals aside from seeing if we could make beautiful music together,” Timms explains of the group’s beginnings. “We made a demo, which turned into an album because it was liked. And then we became a working band that was being asked to play shows and tours. But we had never discussed what the long-term goals of the band were. There became a schism between some members wanting to become a professional band and others wanting to remain in the creative center of the rehearsal space. Those disagreements led to the band dissolving.”
In 2018, the members of BLACK MATH HORSEMAN reconvened. “At first, the conversation was about how we were all in different places now, and could we even go back to being that band that we were?” Timms offers. “It feels like it’s been a thousand years since we wrote that music. Since then, I’d gone in a very different direction and barely even listened to heavy music anymore. So, initially we just got back together as friends to see what would happen. Maybe we’d write completely different music now — and we were all open to that.”
But that’s not how it worked out at all. “When we started jamming again, we didn’t sound any different,” Timms says. “We discovered that the music that comes from us four together is something that we have no control over. It just happens. It’s a recipe that’s beyond us.”
Unlike with Wyllt, Timms chose not to play bass on the new offering. Instead, multi-instrumentalist Rex Elle graciously filled in. “Rex played everything that I wrote and added a few parts of her own, but I didn’t play bass on the album because I wanted to just focus on singing,” Timms explains. “I’m going to be performing without playing bass, and I don’t want my vocal parts to be limited to what I can do while I’m playing bass.”
Ultimately, Black Math Horseman is so much more than a reunion release. It’s a celebration of familial bonds and shared history. “The core essence of the band is the family that we have, and the music we make within that family,” Timms concludes. “There’s nothing else.”
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Tampere, Finland, heavy psych proggers Polymoon have a slew of live dates set up in Europe for October around a slot at Desertfest Belgium in Antwerp. There are club dates and a couple TBAs, as will happen, but it’s a fitting answer to the tour the five-piece did this past Spring supporting their 2020 debut album, Caterpillars of Creation (review here), which came out on Svart and found the band last year getting picked up by Robotor Records, the label run by Kadavar.
In style and substance, that’s a good fit. And I’ve been kind of hoping that Polymoon would get down to business on a follow-up to Caterpillars of Creation sometime soon, but neither will I begrudge them giving the first record its due. Not their fault that’s happening two years later. Let the album come in 2023 if that’s when it comes. And maybe it’s not, mind you. I have no idea.
I’m just a caveman, and so on.
From the PR wire:
POLYMOON – BATTLING SLAKES TOUR 2022
Polymoon, whose debut album Caterpillars of Creation garnered international recognition and praise, announces an European tour.
Polymoon released their debut album Caterpillars Of Creation in the fall of 2020 through Svart Records and later signed to the German Robotor Records. The European tour is called the Battling Snakes Tour and it is set to happen in October 2022. During the tour the band will perform at Desertfest Antwerp, among others!
Polymoon is a quintet based in Tampere, Finland. Since 2019, they’ve adventured in the blossoming psychedelic music scene of Finland where the band is known for its energetic and spectacular live performances. In the music of the band, both euphoria and melancholy are merged guiding the listener to a new level of being – to embrace the psychedelic monolith.
The band’s debut album Caterpillars Of Creation, released through Svart Records, saw the light of day in September 2020, gathering attention around the world. At the end of the year, Caterpillars Of Creation found its way to a dozen “Best of 2020” lists and received a vast array of excellent reviews. During the spring of 2022, Polymoon did its initial live experimentations outside of Finland. These included performances at Sonic Whip and Desertfest Berlin. During the pandemic, the band performed at the online version of the legendary Roadburn Festival (Redux).
The band, who quickly sold out the first edition of their debut album, signed a recording contract in the summer of 2021 with German Robotor Records, led by the band Kadavar.
Battling Snakes Tour 2022: Fri 7.10. Lepakkomies, Helsinki Sat 8.10. Vastavirta, Tampere Wed 12.10. Schaubude, Kiel Thu 13.10. TBA Fri 14.10. TBA Sat 15.10. De Onderbroek, Nijmegen Sun 16.10. Desertfest Antwerp Tue 18.10. C.Keller, Weimar Wed 19.10. Zukunft Am Ostkreuz, Berlin Thu 20.10. Klub RE, Kraków Fri 21.10. Lemmy, Kaunas Sat 22.10. Depo, Riga Sun 23.10. Sveta Baar, Tallinn
POLYMOON is: Tuomas Heikura / Drums Jesse Jaksola / Guitar Otto Kontio / Guitar Kalle-Erik Kosonen / Vocals, Synthesizer Juuso Valli / Bass
