Posted in Whathaveyou on December 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
After celebrating five decades of Pentagram with a short stint of shows earlier in 2022, the band’s founding frontman, Bobby Liebling, will head to Texas in January to join forces with members of Sanctus Bellum, Blues Funeral, Doomstress — and a ton of other bands those dudes are in; Haserot in the case of bassist Ben Yaker and guitarist Maurice Eggenschwiler, James Rivera’s Metalwave in the case of Eggenschwiler and fellow guitarist Jan Kimmel, The Scourge in the case of drummer Alex Erhardt, etc. — under the banner of Bobby Liebling and The Rivetheads, playing rare Pentagram and Bedemon tunes and who even knows what else.
Liebling is an ever-divisive figure at this point, but someone without whose influence American doom wouldn’t be what it is. Interestingly he seems to have taken more of a reputation-tarnishing from punching his mom than the allegations of sexual harassment on tour, but any way you look at it, the story isn’t pretty. Nonetheless, dude’s lived at least eight lifetimes in his one, and with the likes of Fostermother, Stone Nomads, Mr. Plow and Bridge Farmers in opening slots for these two shows, it seems like good times will be had one way or the other. I’m not justifying anybody’s behavior or saying I support it in any way, but 50 years in doom later, Bobby Liebling is still relevant to the genre and there aren’t a lot of people you can say that about.
Announcement comes courtesy of the PR wire:
Pentagram’s Bobby Liebling to Play Solo Shows Highlighting Rare Material
Pentagram frontman Bobby Liebling announces two solo shows in Texas this January. Playing under the name Bobby Liebling and the Rivetheads, the singer will play a set of deep cuts and rare gems from throughout his storied career, including songs from both the Pentagram and Bedemon catalogs. Most of these songs have rarely, if ever, been played live previously. Joining Liebling for these shows will be a Houston-based backing band featuring members of Doomstress, Sanctus Bellum, and Blues Funeral. These shows promise to be an event that fans in attendance will not soon forget.
Bobby Liebling and the Rivetheads
Fri. Jan 27, 2023 – Houston, TX, Black Magic Social Club Feat. Fostermother, Mr. Plow, Stone Nomads Event page:https://fb.me/e/4bTU3bF9i
Sat. Jan 28, 2023 – Austin, TX, The Lost Well Feat. Bridgefarmers, 1 more TBA Event page:https://fb.me/e/30dxuJhyZ
Bobby Liebling and The Rivetheads: Bobby Liebling – Vocals Jan Kimmel – Guitar Maurice Eggenschwiler – Guitar Ben Yaker – Bass Alex Erhardt – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
There’s a lot of info here, so to sum it up: Austrian funk-infused heavy rockers Mother’s Cake are looking to release a special 2LP edition of their live-recorded 2014 outing, Off the Beaten track. That six-tracker, recorded live in the studio, has seen new life through YouTube streams, and the three-piece are obviously looking to honor that and provide collectors with something righteous to chase down. The band, whose latest LP, Cyberfunk, came out in 2020, accordingly have lined up expanded artwork, an etched side D, and 20 limited artwork, maybe-data-containing floppy discs that will be included randomly with the first 100 preorders.
Sounds neat? I agree, hence the post. The kicker is they need to get to 100 preorders to have the requisite cash on hand to make the thing, so the project at this point is a kind of self-contained crowdfunding. I’m not telling you how to spend your money, especially during the holidays when everybody’s strapped, but Off the Beaten Track is a cool outing — maybe the algorithm has bumped you into it, or maybe you’ve found it on Bandcamp (that stream is below) — and as the band say in their semi-pitch video, if it works out, they might do more of this kind of thing. So there you go. It’s not my job to sway you either way, but this is a thing that is in progress and a good example of how listener support directly steers the work a band might or might not do, since it wouldn’t be happening if the original release didn’t get the play it has, and it seemingly won’t happen without the preorders. There you go.
Info follows, as snagged from socials. Note that Mother’s Cake have also been confirmed for 2023’s Bear Stone Festival (info here) in Croatia. No doubt there’s more to come:
MOTHER’S CAKE – ‘Off the Beaten Track’ Special Edition
„Off the Beaten Track“ was always very special for us! When we decided to record a live version of our first album, quite a few doubted that decision.
But it became somewhat of a signature move for all other recordings to come. „ No Rhyme No Reason” got its „Live at Bergisel“ and „Cyberfunk!“ the analogue tape session „Live at Little Big Beat“
We saw that you share our love for „Off the Beaten Track“, which has now a total of more than 600.000 clicks on Youtube with all its spin offs. The Vinyl Release already got a face lift once before, when we updated the original cover, done by Jan, to a more artistic approach done by Austin Settle. Time to take it a little bit further and make this a truly special Release: „Off the Beaten Track“ Special Edition
– Double LP – marbled color Vinyl (140g) – Gatefold – Numbered & Limited to 500 pcs – Etched Side D – Finally all songs including „Runaway”
Also the cover artist Austin Settle will throw in 20 specially designed floppy discs, which will be distributed randomly within the first 100 preorders. Think of it as a golden ticket, that only a few lucky ones will own as a unique art piece for them.
There is a catch though: As we are producing this on our own, we first need to generate 100 preorders before we can start manufacturing . We hope you are as excited as we are, to make this happen. Feel free to share and spread the word.That would help immensely.
Place your order in our store. Bear in mind, when you add other items than „Off the Beaten Track“ in the same order, that we can only ship them together and that might take a while. After paying you will receive an email confirmation for your order. Make sure to keep that.
When we exceed 99 orders, we’ll give the go ahead for the manufacturing plant to press the Vinyl. Waiting times for vinyl can be up to 6 months. We will of course try our best to keep that to a minimum but you will have to be patient.
In case that we don’t reach 100 preorders, we will of course refund you with all processing fees taken care of by us. We will send regular updates via our newsletter and social media postings.
Posted in Reviews on December 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Given that all-caps, all-improv jammers DUNDDW went so far as to create an entire-album visualizer of manipulated psychedelic mirror-screen colorizations peppered throughout with (parts of) philosophical quotes, it seems fair to say that the actual audio of Flux — the debut full-length from the Nijmegen, the Netherlands-based trio — is only part of the point. The three-piece comprised of bassist Huibert der Weduwen (also in Bismut and part of the arts duo PhosPhor, responsible for the aforementioned video and live visuals), guitarist Gerben Elburg (also of Mt. Echo) and drummer Peter Dragt (also in Bismut) present three longform, improvised pieces across the 44 minutes of Flux, recorded at Studio 888 and mastered by the esteemed Pieter Kloos at The Void Studio, it is an immersive and purposeful glimpse at the band’s beginnings.
Which is to say, another part of the point that goes beyond the audio itself when it comes to Flux is that it is formative. Across opener “VII – Part 4” (11:21), centerpiece “VI – Part 1” (22:26) and closer “VII – Part 2” (10:16) — and I’ll just go ahead now and wish you the best of luck keeping those titles straight — DUNDDW take a relatively raw-sounding approach to their style. Not that they don’t trip out, as toward the later reaches of the finale, or offer any semblance of drift, as in the swirling middle build of the leadoff cut, but all of this is offered with a clear mindset intent on remaining as organic as possible. There might be some layered overdubs, but if there are, it isn’t much, and nobody in the band is going back to touch up parts. The idea here is that DUNDDW are chasing an ideal of sonic and creative purity — the inspiration of the moment, at the moment it happens, recorded directly as it happened and offered in the most honest terms possible.
It’s true they’re not the first to do this, but they acquit themselves well across Flux with these extended snippets presumably cut from more extended jams. And that’s a kind of shaping of a release too, right? There’s an editorial decision being made there in carving out ‘part two’ of a thing instead of including the whole thing itself, but listening to the way “VII – Part 4” comes down with its drawling lead guitar over residual swirling effects and are-we-finished inquisitive toms, it legitimately feels like the last piece of whatever jam led them to the bassy start of the beginning of its fourth part. Does that make sense? Probably not.
Think of it this way: Flux is not completely untouched by human hands. You might say human hands made it. It is raw, but it is not just a rehearsal-room-on-iPhone recording, and as much as DUNDDW are setting their course for the heart of the jam, letting each piece find its path in ultra-organic fashion relying on what’s already a marked and palpable chemistry between the three of them — it better be, because they’re pretty light on fancy tricks otherwise at this point — they’re not at all un-mindful about what they’re doing. Even at their farthest-out points, they remain conscious, aware.
Should they continue to pursue such ethereal ends, working to capture the flash of a creative spark, that consciousness will serve them well if ultimately lead to some kind of direction, but part of the appeal of Flux as a debut album is that they aren’t there yet, and part of the reason it works — part of the point, if you want to go back to the start — is that they’re feeling their way through this material as it happens, not unlike the listener taking them on for the first time, someone maybe who has heard Mt. Echo or Bismut or who hasn’t and is just lumping around Bandcamp and stumbles onto them accordingly.
This mirrored exploration, the shared joy of not knowing what’s coming next, is central to the understanding of Flux, and even after one has been through the vastness of “VI – Part 1” multiple times, from its relatively quick emergence with the drums setting the pattern behind guitar effects intro, the bass joining, the guitar coming back around next over the funky progression that, suddenly, is underway, to its more thudding, more low-end pushing second-half roundabouts, resolving in a last stretch of chug before swirl eats it whole, they still surprise. Flux almost dares you to read it closely, to sit with each measure and movement DUNDDW make, to fully engage. Different audiences will, of course, have varied experiences.
Hearing again the sort of moaning soloing that tops “VII – Part 2” in its early going, I can’t help but wonder what role live performance will have for DUNDDW as they move forward; if they’ll be a band who records and releases every show they play à la Øresund Space Collective and others of an improvisational ilk, how they’ll work to bridge their multimedia impulses over time, and so on, but again, this too is part of what makes Flux so enjoyable — wondering, not knowing. For a record that sounds so open, it shows the band’s future to be much the same in that they very purposely set themselves to the task of conveying complete aural freedom.
That is not nearly as easy as it sounds, and DUNDDW do not seem to be thinking of it as a one-and-done kind of project — that is, just going by the sound here, how they progress over time will be part of their appeal in the longer term — but admirably, they do not sound cowed by such considerations, and the most resonant impression that comes out of Flux is the joyfulness behind its making. While not necessarily blinding in its shimmer (or trying to be), Flux is by no means dark or lacking in color even before one takes on its visual incarnation; its deep, earth-toned hues like hippie dyes made from berries found in the woods. A somewhat low-key celebration, maybe, but a celebration just the same, it is Elburg, der Weduwen and Dragt bidding welcome to those willing to take this voyage with them, and only the first chapter hinting toward a much longer tale. Here’s looking forward.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
This past Spring, Ozium Records offered up God Damn Rare, collecting together demos and off-album pieces, outtakes and so on from long-defunct Swedish troupe The Awesome Machine. The Gothenburg-based band, who might be considered one of the multitudes whose work demonstrated the inevitable unreliability of corporate social media to archive with any sense of permanence — that is, when MySpace disappeared, so did much of their presence other than on the CD/LP racks of those who already owned their records; there’s a lesson in there somewhere but sometimes it feels like humanity is trapped in the current social media sphere even as it evolves, disintegrates in part — called it quits in 2006, and just the other day announced that the same label will stand behind a God Damn Rare Vol. 2 in 2023.
I’m not saying The Awesome Machine are back together, that they should get back together, or that I know anything in any regard about anything, ever, but two rare tracks collections shows an awful lot of contextual interest on the part of a group who aren’t looking to get back out again in any way, not to mention Ozium, and the hint dropped below with ‘In 2023 many great things will happen’ feels significant. These guys were ahead of the pack in the aughts, and it would be interesting to see how they fared in a return, if in fact the God Damn Rare offerings are a precursor to such a thing, but even if not, they’re worth investigating for the generation of listeners who’ve come up in heavy rock since they broke up. If these pique interest even just toward that, so much the better.
The band’s posting of the complementary cover art and quick announcement of the release follows from the aforementioned modern social media sphere. Preorders to follow:
So 2022 is almost to an end, a year that brought many surprises in The Awesome Machine bandcamp. And it’s not over yet. In 2023 many great things will happen, this being one of them. The great label @ozium_records will release God Damn Rare vol 2.
We dug out even more demo’s, outtakes and rare/unreleased stuff. Artwork is once again created by the fantastic Johan Anderberg.
Pre-orders will soon be available so keep an eye on Ozium records bandcamp website.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Early in 2022, Iowan two-piece Twin Wizard revisited their 2020 initial offering, Glacial Gods (review here), by presenting a (new version of the record) featuring the band’s then-newly-acquired guitarist/vocalist Matt Larson. Larson came aboard in place of Brad Van (also of Wisconsin’s Droids Attack), and fair enough to have another edition of the album to coincide. The lead presence in a duo, even if drummer Anthony Dreyer (ex-Telekinetic Yeti) is the founder, is not a minor change to make once a release is out, and if you’re trying to make an impression with a new band who’s going to be touring as Twin Wizard have, then you probably want a recording on hand that represents that.
So, Glacial Gods (Purple) — so named for the color of the sky on the cover art, which was originally red — is streaming below, and Twin Wizard will continue to support the cause as we move into 2023, with a healthy stretch of winter tour dates lined up that includes shows with King Buffalo, Greenbeard and a stint with North Carolina’s Ape Vermin, who released their Arctic Noise EP in 2021. As both groups have shows on either side of the tour together, you’ll find them listed separately below, which sounds a little confusing at first since obviously there’s overlap and that’s the point, but I believe in you and know you can handle it. In any case, RIFFS.
Here you have it:
TWIN WIZARD – Winter Tour 2023
Twin Wizard is thrilled to announce they are hitting the road this winter and joining forces with the mighty APE VERMIN! Twin Wizard is touring in support of their re-released record “Glacial Gods Purple”. Other dates will include bands such as King Buffalo and Greenbeard. Come party with us and Ape Vermin, see you all soon!
Twin Wizard’s Dates
Jan 14 Romeoville, IL @ Metal Monkey Brewing Jan 17 Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s w/ King Buffalo Jan 20 Rock Island, IL @ Ribco Jan 25 Cedar Falls, IA @ Octopus College Hill Jan 26 Kansas City, MO @ Farewell Jan 27 Oklahoma City, OK @ Blue Note w/ Greenbeard Jan 28 Wichita Falls, TX @ The Iron Horse w/ Greenbeard Jan 29 Amarillo, TX @ Leftwoods w/ Greenbeard Jan 31 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar Feb 1 El Paso, TX @ The Rockhouse * Feb 2 Tucson, AZ @ House Of Bards * Feb 3 Phoenix, AZ @ Blooze Bar * Feb 4 San Diego, CA @ Til Two Club * Feb 5 Palmdale, CA @ Transplants Brewery * Feb 6 Santa Cruz, CA @ Blue Lagoon * Feb 7 San Francisco, CA @ TBA * Feb 8 Santa Rosa, CA @ TBA * Feb 10 Seattle, WA @ The Funhouse * Feb 11 Portland, OR @ The Six * Feb 12 Spokane, WA @ Mootsy’s * Feb 13 Boise, ID @ The Shredder * Feb 15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Aces High Saloon * Feb 17 Cheyenne, WY @ Ernie November * Feb 18 Colorado Springs, CO @ The Six Two * * = With Ape Vermin
Ape Vermin’s Dates
Jan 27 Atlanta, GA @ Sabbath Brewing Jan 28 New Orleans, LA @ Sydney’s Saloon Jan 29 Houston, TX @ The Acadia Jan 31 Dallas, TX @ Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studio Feb 1 El Paso, TX @ The Rockhouse * Feb 2 Tucson, AZ @ House Of Bards * Feb 3 Phoenix, AZ @ Blooze Bar * Feb 4 San Diego, CA @ Til Two Club * Feb 5 Palmdale, CA @ Transplants Brewery * Feb 6 Santa Cruz, CA @ Blue Lagoon * Feb 7 San Francisco, CA @ TBA * Feb 8 Santa Rosa, CA @ TBA * Feb 10 Seattle, WA @ The Funhouse * Feb 11 Portland, OR @ The Six * Feb 12 Spokane, WA @ Mootsy’s * Feb 13 Boise, ID @ The Shredder * Feb 15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Aces High Saloon * Feb 17 Cheyenne, WY @ Ernie November * Feb 18 Colorado Springs, CO @ The Six Two * Feb 19 Kansas City, MO @ The Flesh Pit Feb 21 St Louis, MO @ TBA Feb 22 Cincinnati, OH @ Legends Bar Feb 23 Louisville, KY @ Mag Bar Feb 24 Nashville, TN @ Springwater Supper Club Feb 25 Asheville, NC @ Fleetwoods *= With Twin Wizard
TWIN WIZARD is : Anthony Dreyer – Drums Matt Larson – Guitar/Vocals
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
A couple things to note here for context. The version of “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” in the video below comes not from Enslaved‘s impending Heimdal album, due March 3 on Nuclear Blast, but from their prior livestream ‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience.’ A bluray of that stream, a sort of culmination for the Bergen, Norway-based progressive black metal forebeards — that was a typo but I’m leaving it — from their ‘Cinematic Tour’ series that was released as a CD/DVD box set in 2021, will be included in the special edition of the new record, and featured a collaboration with the band Shaman Elephant. So when you see the glut of dudes in the video and say to yourself, “I don’t remember Enslaved being an orchestra,” well, there’s your explanation.
One can hardly begrudge Enslaved getting some mileage out of ‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience’ or the streams in general, considering the quality of the audio/visual production at hand. Considering that alongside the adventurous nature of the project to start with, it’s pretty emblematic of who Enslaved are at this point in their career, masters of their sound who refuse not to explore new ideas. That’s been true of their work all along — one can trace a linear path across decades in their studio albums; if you never have, it’s a fun listening project provided you keep an open mind — but the farther out they go from their rawest beginnings, the more daring they seem to become. Special thanks to whoever it was that introduced them to krautrock, however many years ago now that might’ve been. At least 20.
You might also recall “Caravans to the Outer Worlds” was the title-track on an EP (review here) the band released last year. I don’t know if that version is the same one on Heimdal to come, but fair enough if it is, and while I haven’t heard the record yet, with the recent announcement of North American touring alongside Insomnium and Black Anvil, I look forward all the more to being immersed in that special expansiveness that is so quintessentially Enslaved‘s own when the time comes.
For now, dig into this and watch for flashing lights:
Enslaved, “Caravans to the Outer Worlds (Live from The Otherworldly Big Band Experience)” official video
Bergen visionaries Enslaved present, ‘Caravans to the Outer Worlds (Live from The Otherworldly Big Band Experience)’, taken from the bonus version of the upcoming album HEIMDAL. Pre-order / pre-save the album: https://enslaved.bfan.link/heimdal.yde
Left-field metal luminaries Enslaved have revealed a single and video for ‘Caravans to the Outer Worlds (Live from The Otherworldly Big Band Experience)’. The track, which comes from their forthcoming new studio album Heimdal (out March 3rd), as well as last year’s EP of the same name, sees an innovative, alternative live recording and stellar presentation of the song, with nuanced accompaniment from fellow psychedelic Norwegian prog band Shaman Elephant.
This extraordinary performance took place one year ago, on last year’s Winter Solstice, via the streaming event The Otherworldly Big Band Experience.
Grutle Kjellson commented, “Caravans To The Outer Worlds’ was the first material written for our upcoming album, and that first song usually points in a certain direction. However, this song points in several directions, and that really made the whole process immensely interesting, and ultimately pushed us making our best album ever!
This live-version, taken from ‘The Otherworldly Big Band Experience’, our last big project keeping us alive during the pandemic, is the first of hopefully many opportunities to behold a performance of this energetic song. We hope you’ll enjoy it. God Jól!”
ENSLAVED – ALBUM LAUNCH EVENT HEIMHUG 03 March NO, Bergen – USF Verftet Head to enslaved.no/Heimhug for more information.
ENSLAVED + INSOMNIUM NORTH AMERICAN CO-HEADLINE TOUR 2023 w/ Black Anvil 05 April New York, NY – Irving Plaza 06 April Boston, MA – Big Night Live 07 April Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre 08 April Toronto, ON – The Opera House 10 April Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall 11 April Chicago, IL – House Of Blues 12 April Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater 14 April Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre 15 April Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex 17 April Seattle, WA – The Crocodile 18 April Vancouver, BC – The Rickshaw 19 April Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre 21 April Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall 22 April Los Angeles, CA – The Fonda Theatre 23 April Phoenix, AZ – Nile Theater 25 April Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live 26 April Dallas, TX – The Echo Lounge & Music Hall 28 April Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse 29 April Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre 30 April Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
ENSLAVED – 2023 FESTIVAL SHOWS 03 Feb 2023 DK, Fredericia – Winter Metal Magic 13 May 2023 UK, London – Incineration Festival 10-11 Nov 2023 MX, Monterrey – Mexico Metal Fest
Posted in Reviews on December 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Fuzz gratia fuzzis. France’s Deadly Vipers have dug their hands into pilot-ready dunes and emerge with their second album and first for Fuzzorama Records, Low City Drone, collecting eight tracks that, while varied in their individual purposes, speak to an overarching love of the form and play to desert rock stylizations with marked and particular aplomb. The follow-up to 2017’s well-received Fueltronaut (review here), the 45-minute offering sounds bigger, broader in its soundscapes and brighter in the sunny warmth beating down thereupon, finding sonic kinship not only with the likes of Kyuss and Slo Burn, Dozer, Astrosoniq and Truckfighters — who of course run the Fuzzorama label and whose Niklas Källgren mixed and mastered the recording; David Hannier at Seven Theory Studio, SJPC, France, engineered — but with the generation of bands they helped plug in and turn up: the likes of earlier 1000mods, Valley of the Sun, and so on.
They know what they’re going for, in other words, and the mindful impact and flow of Low City Drone is the result — a groove that permeates loud or quiet, fast or slow, and carries the listener from the intro “Echoes From Wasteland” with its quiet beginning and click-pedals-on springing forth, gradually unveiling the full heft that Deadly Vipers have on offer, all the way to the seemingly complementary finisher “Big Empty,” which likewise starts quiet and builds its way engagingly toward a satisfying last crescendo, peaking, spacing out, and ultimately returning to cap with a riff that subtly calls out Kyuss‘ “Asteroid” and the earlier “Atom” as if to underscore the message they’ve been transmitting all along. I do not know the geology of Perpignan, France, from whence they hail and if you think desert rock can only come from the American desert, by now there are at least a quarter-century’s worth of killer bands to readily demonstrate otherwise. Deadly Vipers elbow their way onto that list with this record.
A highlight and focal point for the four-piece — the lineup: standalone vocalist Fred Chinarro, guitarist David Migaud, bassist Thomas Gronnier and drummer Rudy Carretero, any of whom might provide backing vocals — is the nine-minute title-track, “Low City Drone,” which is a standout in more than runtime, but before they get there, “Atom” picks up from “Echoes From Wasteland” with the first declaration of Kyussism in its riff and Chinarro‘s John Garcia-esque melodic belt-out. Catchy, the post-intro leadoff breaks at about its halfway point and throws in some speedier push and some well-placed distinguishing keyboard from Gronnier before turning back to the slower progression, mellowing out, building back up. A sense of Deadly Vipers weaving their way from one part to the next — not ever more abrupt than they want to be, but not staying still by any means — pervades Low City Drone, and much to its benefit.
The title-track puts the bass forward in the mix (not a complaint) early and sweeps into its hook at about 90 seconds into its comparatively extended runtime, verse vocals laced with echo to add to the spaciousness. The second verse/chorus trade finds the bassline holding across a break and guitar solo peppered with statistically significant crashes and jamming gradually toward organ-topped boogie and thrust, the chorus reemerging over top to effectively convey an uptick in intensity. They calm it down and mellow it out, but it’s just taking a breath before the last push — bass bouncing all the while — after which they bring it down gracefully, hit a final crash and precede side A closer “Welli Welloo” with a few seconds of silence before diving into the more straight-ahead hook, the backing vocals behind Chinarro subtly adding to the memorability of the song from within that wall of fuzz surrounding. The mini-closer marks the album’s midpoint with a summary of what’s worked best so far about Low City Drone in its tone, its awareness of craft and where it’s going, its pacing for maximum groove, etc. Deadly Vipers make their lack of pretense an essential facet of their style, and their clear passion and celebration of the fuzz feels sincere and is all the more engaging for that.
Marked by some sitar-y psych-leaning guitar in its second half before its big blowout — that’ll come back in the closer, briefly — the four-minute instrumental (more than an intro in substance as well as length) “Meteor Part II” leads side B in an apparent answer to “Meteor Valley” from the first record, not quite hypnotic and not quite trying to hypnotize, but comfortable in its nod just the same. “Last Rise” arrives with near-immediate ceremony in its lumbering beginning and the “ahh” vocals that come to back the chorus. The fuzz sounds like it just ate a very large dinner, and is what the comedian Patton Oswalt once referred to as ‘B-word fat,’ but Deadly Vipers still manage to bring it down to a stretch of dreamy guitar and melodic bass before blending the heavier low end back in, keys complementing en route back to the verse. They don’t bring back that “ahh” hook, but “Last Rise” ends with satisfyingly massive plod just the same, the organ the last thing to go before the penultimate “Ego Trip” picks up like nothing just happened; riffy business as usual on Low City Drone.
Fair enough, since that’s kind of true, and pretty clearly intentional on the part of the band. In its pace and progression, there’s a bit of cowbell in there past the midsection and it comes back at the end, later bass quirk in the suddenly-jazzy synth-accompanied bridge, and near-shouted resurgence, “Ego Trip” is maybe the most clearly aligned of the bunch with Truckfighters, but the personality it shows serves the album well carrying into “Big Empty,” which spaces the vocals out more, again leans on the bass like in the title-track (still not a complaint), and ties together the desert and the expanse atmospheres with one more fluid execution, lead guitar rising here, there a quick breath setting up the final movement across the last minute and a half, the moment of arrival as they harken back in the ending to “Atom” for just a measure before closing.
That’s fairly emblematic of Low City Drone as a whole, not just in its summary of what Deadly Vipers have wrought across the record, but also the depth that coincides with its forward shove and the sense of atmosphere that results organically from the amalgam that is their approach. Along with songwriting, one of the band’s strengths is their ability to hold their material together amid such tonal reverie, to not lose themselves in the world they’re making. That they’re ultimately clearheaded isn’t necessarily a surprise given how they presented themselves on Fueltronaut, but Low City Drone pushes them further along their charted course and feels purposeful in the moves its makes, delivering on potential while setting them up for continued growth and intricacy. One could ask no more of Low City Drone than one receives, and patient, repeat listens are all the more rewarded. It may be a wasteland, this ‘big empty,’ but it teems with life just the same.
Posted in Questionnaire on December 27th, 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: Jussi Hänninen of The Bleak Picture & Fall of the Leafe
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I make music and I have done that since I got my first guitar when I was 14 years old. The electric guitar started to fascinate me and I just had to get one. When I learned to play that thing I never liked that much of playing other bands songs so basically I always play what comes to my mind and sometimes there can be found something that needs to be memorized for later use. It is such a blessing that we live in a world where it can be recorded and saved in an instant. To create something own and new is what keeps me doing it.
Describe your first musical memory.
When I was little my parents often listened some Carmen parody made by Spike Jones. That is probably something that can be described as first musical memory. I didn’t understand anything of it but there were all kinds of funny noises.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
When I was a teenager I was a huge New Model Army fan (actually that hasn’t changed) and the first time I heard the album No Rest for the Wicked it totally blew me away. The bass sound and the playing was something that I haven’t heard before and it made such an impact on me. I had listened a lot of their later albums but when I bought that album it was something different for me. Sadly the bass player on that album left the band after that.
If it seems weird that I tell you about some bass sound and all that, it’s just that as a guitarist I value the bass as much as the guitar. It is equally important part of the music for me.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
If I look back at my musical career one thing comes to my mind. With Fall of the Leafe we made two extreme metal albums and then quite suddenly decided to change our music to more acceptable form… or so we thought. I always was in a belief that if there are clean vocals and music is more or less mid tempo, it would be so much easier to achieve wider audience and great things would happen. How wrong was I. Of course there were other issues as well that made us to change our sound but it would have been so much better to continue with the path we were on.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
For myself it pretty much goes in cycles. I have never fully got the chance to create freely without having to worry about other things in life so my progression isn’t going much forward. The more I can create my music interruptedly the more I start to experiment. And sometimes the creative energy just drains out. The well is empty. I have to take a break and a whole new cycle begins some time later.
How do you define success?
If I have achieved something that I was hoping to achieve, that is success for me. Nothing to do with fame and fortune.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
A few years back my cat was hit by a car and she managed to get back home even though she was badly injured. The instant moment I saw her I realized nothing can’t be done for her and she’s beyond repair so to speak. She had been with me over a decade and was a survivor and such a bad ass cat but it was heartbreaking to see her like that and knowing it’s time to let go. The only thing left was to put her down.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
If I could some day create a musical piece that is absolutely perfect, that would be brilliant. There wouldn’t be a single thing that I’d want to change later. I think that’s impossible though but never knows.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
The function of art is to give something uplifting or comforting to the listener. Or whatever the art form is in question. To give different feelings, experiences.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
For now I just wait for the spring to come. It’s now the darkest and coldest season of the year and for me it’s somewhat a survival battle every year. So sick of that. People tend to romanticize the winter but if you live in a middle of nowhere without street lights or anything – like me – you know it’s hard. Nothing fancy about it.
