The mantle of being the hardest working person in show business has been worn by many over the last century-plus, perhaps most notably James Brown, but if we’re talking about heavy rock and roll, Port Orchard, Washington’s Tony Reed makes a strong case for himself. The frontman of the long-running Mos Generator is also near ubiquitous in his studio work on the production side, recording, mixing and mastering bands far and wide. He’s taking part alongside Bob Balch of Fu Manchu and Gary Arce of Yawning Man in the reincarnated Big Scenic Nowhere, and he’s just recorded the first Saint Vitus LP to feature Scott Reagers in over two decades. In August, he’ll tour for the second time in Europe playing bass for Melbourne’s Seedy Jeezus, whom he’s also recorded.

Oh, and for having what he calls a “mellow year,” Mos Generator have already released a hand-assembled live album through Devil’s Child Records and have a collection of studio jams on the way through Kozmik Artifactz. Reed is also learning to cut his own records, so expect much more to come. Like maybe that country rock project he’s got, Hot Spring Water! They’d be perfect for a cut 12″. He’s also been kicking around doing some reunion shows with Twelve Thirty Dreamtime, his band before Mos.

Clearly the man cannot be stopped.

Reed sent a raven recently with details on all of the above and a bunch more and, frankly, it was staggering. I didn’t even know where to start, but we went back and forth and what made the most sense to me was to get an interview together — as always, it took me forever to actually write out the questions — and give him the chance to talk about what’s going on with each of these things, say what he can say at this point and roll like that. With so much going on, some he can talk about and some he can’t, it was really the only way. Expect more news on a lot of this stuff as it continues to develop — the Big Scenic Nowhere LP, the Mos Generator jams release, record cutting, etc. — but the point is that, in all seriousness and all sincerity, I find Reed‘s singular level of passion to be deeply inspiring. He is relentlessly creative, and he doesn’t know how else to be. That kind of person is rare and with the consistent level of his output across such a wide variety of contexts, it’s only all the more impressive.

He talks about Mos Generator touring Australia with The Atomic Bitchwax early next year. I look forward to inviting myself on that run. I’d write a whole book about it.

Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:

Six Dumb Questions with Tony Reed

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First up, what’s up with Mos Generator for the rest of this year?

It’s been a pretty mellow year for the band. We’ve spent a lot of time on the road over the last four years and thought we would kick back for a bit. It looks like we will only play four shows this year. Two of them are with Red Fang and Clutch so we will be able to reach a new audience with the touring. Early 2020 we will be going over to Australia to tour with The Atomic Bitchwax. We’ve been out with them before so that was great news to hear we would be doing our first Aus tour with them.

In May Devil’s Child Records released a live album called Night of the Lords recorded in Manchester, England, in 2017 and later this year, Kozmik Artifactz out of Germany will release an album of freeform jams called Spontaneous Combustions. I just submitted the masters so hopefully it will be out by Fall. Like The Firmament and Lies of Liberty, Spontaneous Combustions is very different from our usual studio albums. I really enjoy adding new textures to the band and although we usually do a freeform jam section in our live shows, this is a whole album of them. All recorded in a six-hour time period.

You’re involved with Bob Balch and Gary Arce’s Big Scenic Nowhere project. You toured with Fu Manchu of course, and Gary is Gary, but how did you end up getting involved there, and will you continue to be a member of that band?

Bob contacted me to work on a song with him and I’m pretty sure it was a mix of touring with Fu Manchu and my contributions to his site PlayThisRiff that gave him the idea to contact me. We got along well on the road and we both work very hard at our craft.

After I finished the first song he just started sending more to see if I was inspired. I ended up doing vocals on quite a bit of the songs across the EP and the full-length. I also added Mellotron and synths to a few songs. A song I wrote has me on drums/vocals, Bob on guitar and my son Kylen on bass. How cool is that?

Bob, Gary and I have been talking about being the core lineup and continue to have guests come in. There are some really cool musicians playing on this that I am totally honored to be associated with. I’ve also started to call on people I know and respect to participate and everybody has been really cool. Musically there doesn’t seem to be any boundaries and that is great.

You’re also playing bass on tour again with Seedy Jeezus in Europe. How was that experience last time and how does being in the band differ from recording them?

I really enjoy hanging out with Lex and Mark. They know each other so well. They will have these massive blowup arguments that you feel might end the tour and right at its zenith, then it will be like ,“so where are we gonna eat mate?” like nothing ever happened. Total entertainment. I’ve got some great audio and video clips on my phone.

After recording two albums with them and doing the tour last year I feel like I’m part of the band. It was like that from the first time we met. Easy to get along with. I’ll be back over there to record the next Seedy full-length right before the Mos boys fly over for the tour.

You recorded Saint Vitus’ new self-titled album. What was it like having them in the studio again? Did you get Dave Chandler to put any mids in his guitar this time?

They were less prepared this time but everybody really worked to make a great album that ended having classic Vitus elements and some new textures. Henry and Pat both contributed to the writing so that gave the album some diversity while still sitting in the spot the fans are used to. Also, Reagers is a stud. Great vocalist and one of the nicest dudes you’ll ever meet. Always positive and professional without being too serious. Chandler kept his classic EQ settings. :)

Tell me about the record cutting project.

Well… my buddy Jeremy Deede brought up the idea of buying a record lathe. We found a guy in Germany that builds them so we contacted him and he told us he won’t sell it to us if we don’t take the class so I flew over to Germany a few weeks ago and took the 15-hour one day crash course in record cutting. I did get to bring home my first few attempts at it and they sounded better than I thought they would. We should have the machine and a whole bunch of blanks next week and I’ll start to get grip on making some nice cuts. After I get comfortable with it we are going to launch a site where people can have one-off records cut. Needless to say I’ll be making records of everything I ever wanted on vinyl. Exciting stuff!!!

What keeps you going, Tony? Every year you seem to have your hand in so much and so much going on. What is it that lets you do that? Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff happening at any given time?

I discovered that I had musical ability when I was around 12 and ever since then I pretty much haven’t stopped. I’ve written and recorded more music than I can even remember. I’ve been going through 40 years of tapes and other recorded media that I am cataloging and saving and I’m finding so much music I forgot I even made. From ideas recorded on a boombox in 1985 to complete songs from even just a few years ago. When I think about how much time I’ve spent next to some kind of recording device with a guitar in my hand or behind a drum kit it’s staggering. I have so many musical endeavors going on (including my job) that it is sometimes hard to finish stuff. My dry erase board in the studio always has scribblings all over it. I like it that way. Leaving a legacy has always been important to me and that along with not knowing, and not wanting to know, anything else in life is what keeps me going. I’ve always been very prolific. I often wonder if that will ever disappear.

Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

I’m putting a lot of time into a project called Hot Spring Water. It’s a country rock project in the style of early ’70s artists like Leon Russell, Graham Nash and Neil Young. Mykey and Mike were the rhythm section from Stone Axe and we actually started this project in 2011. A few months ago we added Bo Mcconaghie on guitar with me and started rehearsing for shows. We’ve played two shows and they have been really fun. It’s so much different than Mos Generator. Bo and I use six watt Fender Champ amplifiers so we have a six watt ceiling for live volume. It’s great! people can enjoy the show without getting their ears blasted. It’s also challenging because playing that clean and quite means your can hear every mistake. Challenges are good.

Tony Reed, Assembling Night of the Lords

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In the bleary-eyed early hours of 2019, when most heads were still clearing from the panicked revelry celebrating the march into an unknown and horrifying future, there came Kiss the Ring (discussed here), the debut EP/demo from Bellingham, Washington’s Mount Saturn. Then a four-piece and currently a trio seeking a drummer, the upstart outfit follows in the Pacific Northwestern tradition of putting the focus on riffs and melody, with guitarist Ray Blum and vocalist Violet Vasquez working in partnership to set a solid foundation of both throughout Kiss the Ring‘s four tracks, with bassist Cody Barton and then-drummer Tanner Scinocco locking down a duly weighted groove to counterbalance the spaciousness of the vocals and guitar.

The EP, preceded only by a single-version of its opening track “Dwell,” holds to a central method, but is varied in mood and approach around that enough to give its songs an organic sense of character, and as statements of intent go, it shows both a will toward progression and an ingrained penchant for songcraft, and it makes it clear that the band know where they want to reside on the spectrum of heavy and, most importantly for the longer term, they’re willing to adjust that balance as called for by their material and progressive intent.

I know you heard the thing, so I won’t prattle on, but just in case, there’s a full stream below from Bandcamp and tapes are newly available from Ice Fall Records. I wanted to get the basic background on the band and how they worked together to make the EP, and Vasquez and Blum were both kind enough to offer insight.

Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions.

Six Dumb Questions with Mount Saturn

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How did Mount Saturn get together? Give me the origin story for the band.

Violet Vasquez: So myself and my partner Ray knew we wanted to start making “doom” or something that strayed a bit from conventional metal together, and starting by jamming together in an old storage unit. I had never sung before in a band, but really wanted to give it a shot, and Ray had been playing guitar for a while but had no projects. It started as something to do. We tried out a couple of drummers, and then decided to just write together for a bit and see what we had to say as writers. We were discovering so much new music together at this time and weren’t sure what we wanted to sound like. We took our time, for sure. Ray ended up starting the band Crystal Myth with Tanner, who he had jammed with in another band briefly, and then Cody came along by suggestion of our good friend Autumn. Essentially, the members of Crystal Myth were coerced into backing the songs that we been working on, and lending their talents to the development of new ones. They both just wanted to play music, so it wasn’t too hard to convince them. We were eager to contribute to a heavy scene that seemed to be experiencing a sort of resurrection in Bellingham and it’s been really fun to do that.

Tell me about writing Kiss the Ring. How did the songs take shape? You’d done a version of “Dwell” earlier. Was that the first song you wrote together?

VV: The first song we wrote together was a song we don’t have recorded, called “Down” about a witch who employs a wizard to fight a dragon. Perhaps a little heavy handed on the DOOM elements in retrospect, and it was a bit too long admittedly at seven minutes, but I recall it fondly! As far as writing Kiss the Ring goes, we would bring the skeletons of ideas to practice and work it out. We jammed a lot, and some of the things we expected to go one way went another based off the input and style of our rhythm section. I think songs like “Dwell” became keepers because of this. Generally, though, we had really good chemistry in jamming and got a few ideas that way. Once I found a melody that I liked to sing, that jam became a song in progress and would take shape from there.

How long were you in the studio making the EP, and what was the recording process like? Is there anything different you’d like to do next time around? Anything you’d like to keep just the same?

Ray Blum: We took a weekend in July 2018 to go to a studio in Anacortes, WA, called The Unknown with hopes of nailing down a drum and vocal sound that we liked. Erik Wallace, our engineer, suggested the space because it’s an old church with great acoustics. To this point in the band’s life, every studio experience has been successively better than the last, as we gather knowledge and an increased understanding of what we think the project should sound like. It was probably a faster process than we would have liked it to have been, but we had drums essentially done on the first day, guitar and bass done the second and vocals on the third. As far as things I would change, I would have liked to have spent a little more time trying to vary tones from song to song, but I think that’s what every guitar player thinks about studio time. Working with our friend Erik Wallace of Shibusa Sounds (who recorded, mixed and mastered the whole thing) was a blast and definitely something I would like to keep the same. He pulled not only a good sound out of us; but good performances, which at the youthful stage the band was at, was integral to the positive response that the EP received. Next time, we’d like to really take our time and try to record more things live.

Of course, the Pacific Northwest is a huge hotbed for bands and all that. What influence do you take from your surroundings, whether it’s nature, other bands, whatever? What does being from the PNW mean to you?

VV: Mount Saturn would probably not be the band we are without the doom, the gloom, and Holy Grove. We love that band, they’ve inspired our inception in a way, truly. We love our often-gloomy surroundings, too, and there’s no doubt that fuels our moods and keeps us inside jamming or writing. Being from the PNW, we are also living in a pretty socially-conscious area, and I’d say I tend to definitely focus on those kinds of issues thematically. Half our songs are about issue of feminism and the fight for equality across genders, but issues of racism and classism are also on our minds, and on the minds of people we play with or those who come to our shows. Those themes, they’re not just fueling our lyrics, but our passionate performances, too. It’s a way to heal that pain and I think it’s why we’ve gotten a good response locally; people want to be healed and empowered by music.

You seem to have a good idea of what you’re looking for in terms of your sound and style. How do you see the band growing as you move forward?

RB: It’s tough to say how we think the band will grow musically moving forward at the moment. We’re in the process of replacing our drummer (Tanner left shortly after Kiss the Ring was recorded), and we can’t make any assumptions about future sounds until we have an understanding of what that new person may bring to the table. I would say that our influences have certainly shifted slightly away from purely doom metal and more towards psych rock but I would hesitate to guess how that will be reflected in the writing at such an early stage.

Will you tour? Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

VV: You know, we would love to. We’re in the process of looking for the right drummer to join us so we can start writing a full-length and at least go down the coast a bit before the end of 2020. Wish us luck! Also, keep your eye out for our pals in Dryland who are about to release their first full-length. They’re Bellinghamsters, too, and we can’t get enough of them.

Mount Saturn, Kiss the Ring (2019)

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I’ve had occasion to see Switchblade Jesus live twice now, and I can attest to the asskickery you’re about to see in the live video below. In particular, the Texans’ performance earlier this year at the Maryland Doom Fest (review here) stood out to me as bringing a new dynamic to their sound and showcasing the progression they’ve undertaken since the release half a decade ago of their self-titled debut (review here), an album that garnered pervasive hyperbole for its Southern metal groove and found them aligned to Bilocation Records and Ripple Music in succession, the latter of which also late last year issued The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter 7 (review here), a split that Switchblade Jesus shared with Fuzz Evil, which was only fitting as the Arizonans hosted the Corpus Christi outfit at the 2016 Borderland Fuzz Fiesta (review here).

It’s been a wild and bumpy few years for Switchblade Jesus, as guitarist/vocalist Eric Calvert attests, with a series of lineup changes leaving Calvert and drummer Jon Elizondo in limbo for a time before finding bassist Chris Black to round out a trio incarnation of the former four-piece. As their set at Doom Fest showed and the video below affirms, the arrival of Black and the turn to a three-piece has presented a likewise shift in the band’s mindset. They struck me as having a particular edge of noise rock, a surprisingly angular take considering what they’d done in the studio at the time. Even their tracks for the 2017 split only captured part of the story. Their second album, when it arrives next year, has the potential to surprise a lot of people, and it sounds like they know it, too. All the better.

The clip is a multi-camera shoot recorded on Nov. 10 in the band’s hometown at a room called The NASA with a screen behind and some cool wall designs. All I know about it is what I see, but Switchblade Jesus seem plenty comfortable on its stage. Here’s the set they played:

– Scorched
– The Red Plains
– Behind the Monolith
– Death Hymns
– Wet Lungs
– Take Off/Return
– Blackened Sun
– Heavy is the Mountain
– Who Was in Your Room Last Night

Of those, exactly none come from the first album, which is telling in itself. “Wet Lungs” and “Heavy is the Mountain” were on The Second Coming of Heavy, but otherwise, take it as a sign of how ready Switchblade Jesus are to move forward with their sound, and enjoy the preview of their second album due to land in 2019. I’m thrilled to be able to host it.

Calvert talked about the changes in the band and more, so please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions under the video premiere below:

Switchblade Jesus, Live at NASA, Corpus Christi, TX, Nov. 10, 2018

Six Dumb Questions with Switchblade Jesus

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Switchblade Jesus is five years removed from the first album and writing. In what ways do you feel the band has developed since the self-titled came out, and if it’s not too early to say, how does the new material represent that development?

It’s been a lot of growth and loss, for a bit we weren’t sure where we were going. I hate that it’s been five years, but for a moment we weren’t sure if we were going to continue, honestly, after Jason left. He was the last of the original lineup. Billy [Guerra] pretty much left three months after the Borderland Fuzz Fiesta and then Jason [Beers] followed at the end of the year, which Jon [Elizondo] and I fully supported. They wanted to focus on their family. We were in the process of writing the upcoming during then but it came to a halt in the studio because we couldn’t get the sound from that engineer that we felt captured us, so that let into some stress with everyone as well. So me and Jon sat in a limbo of sorts trying to figure out how we wanted to move forward, we almost went the Black Cobra route with me playing bass all fuzzed and distorted. We’ve tried out members before and weren’t sure if we wanted to deal with someone that wasn’t either on their game or just didn’t mesh well, ’cause dudes on the road can get to each other, so we had good hiatus (unannounced) and just wrote new stuff back and forth. During that time Jon and I recorded the split for Ripple, that was done at Ancient Sound with Chris Darlington who recorded the first album, three of the songs originally for the sophomore [LP] were used on that pressing.

After that was said and done we decided to keep rolling forward and started trying out bassists, one of the was Chris Black who is our current (and permanent). Chris has a lot of passion for black metal, early hardcore, post-metal and everything hateful, he’s also one of the best bassists in Texas let alone the southern hemisphere, so the addition of him brought something we’ve been wanting in Switchblade, a heavier, faster and more technical side of the spectrum. We reconfigured what we were doing when he joined to fit his playing style a little more as his basically a lead guitarist in a bassist’s body, which helps because I can drop out with a solo or just stop playing for depth and he keeps the train rolling. The first song we wrote with him was “Scorched,” which will start the new album off and the pace of where Switchblade Jesus is now. Also as a side note, when I saw Chris‘s Boba Fett tattoo and we discussed Neurosis I knew he was a perfect fit for us. I have no problem southern metal honestly, while I do like it, everyone and their mother is playing it and it’s hard to stand out, so this new material is more of leaving it all behind and carving your own path and not chasing someone’s coattails but setting them on fire.

You took part in Ripple’s The Second Coming of Heavy split series earlier this year. How much were those songs indicative of where the new album is headed?

That album is more of a bridge that will connect the two, uptempo songs like “Snakes and Lions” were the main focus but we still wanted to incorporate the heavy crushing feel of stuff like “Heavy is the Mountain,” so even though its a brutally fast paced album, the groove has never left. Something we wanted to make sure when we recorded “Wet Lungs” on that split plus another similar on this new one, we’re still that heavy groove laden obnoxiously loud band, just a lot angrier. Another focus on the split was to bring to light my vocals and see how well they sat with the people that like our music. I’m more of a Lemmy/Pike shouter than something soulful that was Pete on our first album, while I do sing at times the shouting felt more comfortable with the new music to convey the angst better, luckily it has gone over well and we’ve had a lot of good response to what I bring vocal-wise to the sound.

Do you know yet when or where the album will be recorded? What are you looking for in a studio sound? Any idea on a timeframe for the release?

We had a few setbacks but it’s in the final stages actually and being to be sent to Zach [Weeks] at GodCity to master it. During that hiatus Jon and I decided to build a studio and that’s where it was recorded, we where able to take our time and really focus on this new songs and get them really dialed in to the pace we liked. We wanted a harder, sharper sound than previous more of a modern feel than a vintage feel. We’re planning for early-mid next year.

I was fortunate enough to catch Switchblade Jesus at Maryland Doom Fest 2018 earlier this year. What was that experience like for you? How has the response to newer songs been live?

Maryland Doom Fest was one of our highlights this year, not just because what the event is but how welcomed we were there. It was our first time in that area and we’ve never met so music-focused people in our lives, we sold more merch and spoke to more people there than we did when we opened for Behemoth four days earlier. People on the East Coast bleed music and I love it. For me the best was able to bring Chris to that event as we’ve played together with his old band, so it was a new element for him. I had him do the merch while I packed his gear up and he was able to talk and just have a blast of a time. Also it was amazing to have people tell us they drove three-plus hours to an event because they wanted to catch us as it was our only set there. The East Coast made a lasting impression on us. The new songs seemed to have been received well, a few individuals at the Doom Fest said they were hoping to get some of the first album songs that day but really loved the new stuff and nothing negative was said so I take that as a plus. That seems to me the consensus from everyone which we love as it can be hard to grow and make sure you don’t leave your roots and original fans behind.

Texas of course has a massive history of heavy rock and roll across a wide swath of decades and bands. Who are some of your favorites to play with and for those of us not in the Lone Star State, what are the most essential names to know?

In Texas our favorites are always Hellfury, The Well, Destroyer of Light, Funeral Horse, Mothership, Doomstress, plus more than escape me at the moment. You need to get locked on Hellfury for sure, some of my best buds making some of the most angry sounds. We’re actually looking for more growth on that as well, we were booked for a fest earlier this year with Unsane, L7, Zeke and others and that’s where we’d like to focus on as well, not as many retro metal/rock sets but more progressive and modern so if anyone reading this books like that, hit us up.

You have a weekender booked for January. Any other touring plans or closing words you want to mention?

We’re planning to focus on central in 2019 to support the new release and would like to start in Colorado and do a nice tour around that area glancing a little on the East Coast as well, so if any readers would like to put their two cents in where to hit up we’re game. We’re just very fortunate to still have some kind of impact on this scene still and love all the support we’ve received. Thank you to Ripple Music, you for having us on this interview and all of the dudes that dig what we do, y’all are amazing.

Switchblade Jesus & Full Evil, The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter 7 (2017)

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You’ll see Turku, Finland’s Mansion referred to as ‘cult rock’ a lot. It’s kind of true the way abbreviations stand in for words. The truth of what Mansion do and have done since their 2014 premiere EP, We Shall Live EP (review here), and its soon-after follow-up, Uncreation  (review here), is much more complex. Their awaited debut album, First Death of the Lutheran, is out this week on I Hate Records, and it pushes to new ground in both the conceptual framework and actual songwriting approach on the part of the band. As 12-minute summary/closer “First Death” starts out with psychedelic flourish and effects en route to a sax-inclusive tumult of experimentalist noise, it is as affecting in atmosphere as in impact, and though I’ll have a review of the album in the coming weeks, I was given the opportunity to ask the band some questions, and it wasn’t one I was going to pass up.

For those who didn’t hear Uncreation, 2015’s Altar Sermon (review here), or any of the other short releases they’ve had out along the way, Mansion follow a theme not just of vague, generalized occult thematics, but actually take on Kartanoism as their working foundation. The doomsday-obsessed post-WWI breakaway Protestant group followed leader Alma Kartano and her strict interpretations of the Bible and rules for everyday life. That kind of severity shows up in every whip-crack of the snare drum on opener “Wretched Hope” (premiered here) and in the grueling forward march and unremitting low-light claustrophobia of “Lutheran” and “The Eternal,” which follow. With mysterious “1933” ahead of the finale, First Death of the Lutheran is an appropriate endgame for the style of cult heavy as a whole, but at the same time, it works against genre convention in its sound and the overarching harshness of its production. Not raw — it’s clear-sounding — but sharp.

I’ll have a proper review of the album up in the coming weeks, but on the occasion of the release, I’m flat-out honored to host the premiere of its entirety below. It’s one I’ve been waiting a while for, and its reach only exceeds what I imagined they’d come up with for it.

Please enjoy the stream and the following Six Dumb Questions:

Six Dumb Questions with Mansion

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It’s been five years since We Shall Live was released and First Death of the Lutheran is the band’s debut album. How do you see Mansion as having grown in that time? Were there specific goals you wanted to accomplish with the LP?

Our musical expression has progressed from a traditional retro approach to a more experimental direction. With time the congregation has grown both spiritually and in number. The album was released as a reminder for the sorrowless that the endgame has begun. For the most of them salvation is out of reach.

Tell me about writing First Death of the Lutheran. Over how long a period were the songs put together? Was it a different frame of mind writing for an album instead of an EP or a single? Beyond their theme, how do the songs fit together for the band? How much of the song placement and the progression of the record was mapped out before you went into the studio?

The first song on the album, “Wretched Hope,” was written right after We Shall Live EP was released, while the last song, First Death was written during the recordings of the debut album. The songs on the album might span over several years but it doesn’t mean that those were the only ones we have written so far. We have songs ready or half-ready for at least three albums. The songs you hear on First Death of the Lutheran are picked from our vault based on how they fit together. We recorded seven songs but decided to cut two as they didn’t fit in with the others.

The Uncreation EP was supposed to be our debut album. Due to some technical issues we had to cut two tracks off the album. Those were re-recorded later and released as the Altar Sermon EP.

The whole album seems to lead to “First Death.” Did you know in writing that song that it would be the finale? What is happening there to summarize the album?

As soon as the song was starting to find its form we knew that it would be the finale. In ”First Death” we simply state that there is a difference between us and you. We will be saved and you will burn in the everlasting fires of hell while we bathe in glory in the Kingdom of Heaven by His side. Pretty much what we want to say with the whole album.

What were the circumstances of the recording? There’s so much a blend of harsh noise and melody throughout, and it seems real attention was paid to the details of tone and effects. How long were you in the studio?

We recorded most of the album at our secret cottage in Huittinen. That only took a week. The mixing, though, was a different story. We had to change the mixing engineer after the first version of the album was done. There were too many details that got buried in the mix and so we had to start all over again to get it right.

How would you explain the central philosophy of Kartanoism? What’s the significance specifically of the year 1933?

We believe that most of the sorrowless wretches roaming the earth haven’t got a clue how mighty God is and how powerful his wrath is. Judgement Day will be a merciless slaughter of man and only the chosen few will be saved for eternal agony in the afterlife. We believe sex is a mortal sin and that there should not be an organisation between man and God.

Blasphemous churches will fall, mark our words. We in Finland are surrounded by Lutherans, whose way of life is hypocritical and untrue. They have lost their connection to the Lord Almighty tempted by greed and their vain egos. They will be surprised when their days are done. 1933 is the year when these losers released a sacrilegious translation of the Holy Bible.

Will Mansion tour in 2019 to support the release? Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

We have live sermons and festivals booked for 2019. Book us. Today!

Merry Christmas!

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I’ve always thought of the difference between modernism and post-modernism as being that modernism says, “There is no god. So what?” and post-modernism takes the form of Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack and answers, “So what? So let’s dance!” and the presses a play button on its golf bag and starts the party. In their own way, Megaton Leviathan are cutting a post-modern rug on their third album, Mage, which is released Oct. 26 through Blood Music. Led by founding vocalist, guitarist, synthesist, etc.-ist Andrew James Costa Reuscher, the experimentalist progressive drone outfit were last heard from in 2014 with the particularly weighted Past 21: Beyond the Arctic Cell (discussed here), following up on 2010’s evocative and spacious debut, Water Wealth Hell on Earth (review here), and with Mage, Reuscher and creative partner Mort Subite, whose name translates from French to “sudden death” and who handles keys, vocals, recording, and so on, revamped the lineup of the band, filling out a drone sextext ready to hold sway and any chamber of the damned that might have them. One expects a few will.

The album is five tracks and 41-minutes of whatever-the-fuck-it-wants-to-be, post-all composition, following a narrative line from the forward march of opener “Wave” deep into hypnotic immersion like a spirit-seeking Godflesh before “Take the Fire” brings Floydian acoustic strum to the mix as an earth center for the surrounding ethereal moodiness. Moving into a wash of a finish with Reuscher‘s vocals and those of violinist Andrea Morgan staying resolute and calm at the center, “Take the Fire” comes apart like ashes thrown off a cliff before drums and low synth rumble begin the centerpiece title-track, marking a return of the dual-vocal approach and a beat that holds steady until about four of the six minutes have passed, at which point the loops and strums begin a resonant dirge march soon enough active again in its slow progression downward. This leads to the twist of the Eno Moebius Roedelius (aka Eno & Cluster) track “The Belldog” from 1978’s After the Heat, unveiling a krautrock-derived spread given a darker edge through undulations of lower-end synth rising up behind the belted-out verses.

It is gorgeous and consuming both, a brave take on an obscure original, and when the beat kicks in at about halfway through, the piano line that’s run throughout is only enhanced by the rhythm-making around it. At eight minutes, “The Belldog” is longer than anything before it, and in that, it doubles as a bridge to “Within the Threshold,” the 15-minute, largely instrumental finale to which all the marching on Mage seems to have been leading. Its unfolding is methodical and happens in at least three stages: the first four minutes dedicated to a tense buildup, the next eight-plus given to crafting a beautiful, nigh-incomprehensible wash of synth, guitar, violin and — somewhere in there — Morgan‘s vocals, and the last three a quiet, acoustic-inclusive ending that’s more resolution than epilogue. There’s something of a “what just happened?” effect when it’s over and the final line of keyboard fades gracefully away, but one thing Megaton Leviathan — Reuscher, Subite, Morgan, drummer Jon Reid, bassist Trejen, Russ Archer and maybe guitarist Travis Hathaway on the album (?) — never lose sight of is the flow between the varied stretches in the material. That is the thread running through Mage and the foundation from which is makes its outward sonic reach.

Reuscher was kind enough to discuss some of the makings of Mage and the personal context for him in which the album was composed, as well as essentially the remaking of Megaton Leviathan around himself and Subite. Before the Q&A, you can click play on the embed below to hear the debut of “The Belldog,” which I’m thrilled to be able to host.

Please enjoy the following track premiere and Six Dumb Questions:

Megaton Leviathan, “The Belldog” official track premiere

Six Dumb Questions with Megaton Leviathan

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Over how long a period was the material on Mage written? The songs have such a diverse range. How did they come together?

I started writing them in winter of 2015/’16. I had just moved into a one bedroom apartment after my home of 10 years where we had hosted many shows in the basement was demoed. A neat lil side note is Capitalist Casualties played the last show at the house so that was kind of a nice farewell. I was pretty depressed and had some interpersonal things going on at the time on top of this and I had put on a LOT of weight and experiencing some health issues. I was pretty fed up with the bullshit that comes along with doing the band thing. The Past 21 tours where literally a death march and after writing an album when I got back and kind of trying to get a band together, Ford Tennis (yes, that’s his real name) let me know he was leaving. He did the session drums for Past 21 and we tapped him since our touring drummer just kinda ghosted us.

I was fed up with EVERYTHING. People would tell me oh you need to to tour more… I’m like I toured a lot man, I hired PR, we played direct support slots with Wolves in the Throne Room several times, and they even said themselves if this isn’t helping you not much else can be done, so going back a little further that was the basis of beginning of the end for Chris bagging out.  But that’s a whole other story. So yeah, just years of near-misses failures and getting our asses handed to us. So I shelved that album I did after Past 21, I folded the band and told Mort Subite that I was fucking done. He however knew I wasn’t and waited me out patiently. Anyway I got into this one bedroom apartment and set up all my studio gear in the living room.

Then one day I got the itch. I started laying down all these synth tracks and came up with some hooks and whatnot. I compiled three or four songs. I knew I wanted to hang up the doom hat — that shit bored me at this point from a songwriting perspective. I wanted to explore, so I got me a Moog Voyager.  I ended up getting a new house in the middle of the peak of the housing crisis here in Portland as well, nicely situated on the other side of the freeway so no one fucks with us. Anyway I was also listening to a lot of Chrome at the time and I think some of that leaked into it. I guess more than just leaked, since I essentially met Helios Creed and ended up filling in for the synth master himself Tommy L. Cyborg (Farflung). Mort and I ended up helping with Chrome‘s album Techromancy and THEN  I toured Europe with Chrome. Helios and Lou Minatti where around quite a lot around this time. So it went from a total bummer to all this awesome stuff happening by the end of 2017.

Tell me about “Within the Threshold.” How did writing that song happen and what is it expressing for you in its lyrics and in the music itself?

This was the last song I had written for the album I knew I wanted to pay homage to the Kosmische Kraut gods. So I went there with it, busted out the Moog and tasty analog arp’d synth and did my best Tangerine Dream/Klaus Schulze with some German psych-folk in there to possibly make Julian Cope proud heh heh heh… It just came together effortlessly, I mapped it out and did the bottom tracks and then brought Mort and Andrea in to fill it out.  The process was actually fun. The album Mage itself is obviously themed and this song is the completion of the lyrical concepts. It’s not a secret to many that I am a Esoteric Freemason and a member of a Hermetic Fellowship. I had been doing a lot of work and this album reflects that. I try to keep this stuff very simple because it can get very complicated very fast and at that point you may lose the meaning. I also try to keep a childlike wonder about these things — growing up is for losers. Music and magick are creative things that rely on it, in my opinion. So the song, it’s about being within the pillars of hidden knowledge, vision coming to form and being very clear after diligently trudging a dark path with very little to light the way except trust in faith, THEN that moment of “AH!… it all makes sense now,” I hear my song and know it is a gift. To sum it up, Order Ab Chao.

Tell me about the recording process. You basically rebuilt the band going into this album. Were you nervous at all about how it would all work out? What did each player bring to the project that let you know it was going to all fit?

I came at this from the perspective [of how] my Masonic Lodge and etc. goes about bringing in new initiates. They have to want it. I’m not going to waste all my time and effort on curiosity seekers. I want to know that you’re in it, that you know what you want and this is it. My lodge prides itself on their commitment to the craft and are some of the best esotericists (of many different backgrounds) I have ever met, I wanted my band to reflect the same in the capacity of music.

So yeah I had to start from scratch with the exception of Mort Subite — who for those of you who know French might glean that he has impeccable timing, which he does. He is my ace. Though the moment that I realized that I might want to continue was when Jon Reid reached out to me and offered his drumming skills. I knew he played on that first Lord Dying record and I had seen them play several times around town, but I had no idea he knew about ML and that he was a fan. His enthusiasm and his ability as a musician sealed it for me. From that point on I think Mort Subite and I decided to just commit fully and make this a band. Slowly we kept getting together bringing in different people essentially trying them out to fill out the band. Andrea Morgan came into the picture. Mort knew her from “back in the day” and so did a few others we knew. So I was like, “huh don’t know if I need like six people in this band… what can she do?” Mort was quick to inform me that she was extremely talented and plays violin in the Vancouver Washington symphony. I reflected on the work Chris Beug did with string arrangements on the first album, and the stuff we did on Past 21… if we could pull it off in the context of new works that would be great.

So we brought her in she clicked right away and it was a match. At this point we started rehearsing regularly and I was teaching everyone the material off of the Repeating Patterns of Love demo.  We had a few people come in and out but things where kinda gelling so  I was like, “guys! we are going to finish this album I wrote, I want you all to collaborate with me on it.” So we did that and somewhere in there I was talking to Trejen who I used to be roommates with at a Fourth of July party and telling him what I was up to. He was like well you know I play bass as well as art. I mean this dude is a really damn good artist and I knew he was a straight shooter. He also toured with Dystopia as a roadie on their very last tour so I also knew for fact he had the right stuff. So I was like, “you’re in dude, let’s meet next week.” The next day he called me and was like, “hey so I was drunk last night… Did I? did I just join Megaton Leviathan?” I was like, “yeah man – you sure did.  You in?” He said, “yeah lets do this.” So we got it together and played a few local shows to seal the deal over the summer of 2017. In between all of that we worked on the album, getting together in my studio and laying down tracks. I felt that process created a strong bond between us which I knew was needed if we were going forward as a six-piece band.

Our most recent player Russ Archer is rad too. He is a quick study, gets it and has a great sense of humor which is needed. Russ has played in SubArachnoid Space and a bunch of other great bands. I’m looking forward to collaborating with him and everyone on future works for sure.

How are the songs connected for you? Can you expand a bit on how they tie together in theme and purpose and what drew you to fleshing them out in different ways? How do “Mage” and “The Belldog” happen next to each other?

I mean as far as writing them it was pretty much sequentially.  Then when the time was right I kind of catherted and got the lyrical content. I’m telling a story which is kind of reminiscent of a hymn. First song I kinda talk about my process. I was in a dark place and I was looking for some healing. And it kinda goes from there to how I get over it and find my footing again. I go over the dualistic nature of life the tragedy the glory getting in touch with your higher purpose. Listen to the album.

As far as “Mage,” I wrote that one. I kinda went off on tokens in life that kinda signal change and was kind of incorporating more of a worldview with the wacky shit that is happening in our at least American culture anyway. I grew up as a kid in the ’80s having an actor as a president and playing G.I. Joes and Transformers then took a bunch of acid in the ’90s… and now we have this really augmented warped reality that seems too absurd to be real… It’s like I’m living in a dream, “yo dawg is this shit real? We have some reality show host playing G.I. Joes and Transformers but hes presumably in charge of the free world…” Anyway what can I do? This seems really bizarre, man. I feel kinda helpless but I’ve done enough acid to know that this shit will pass and you gotta take the lesson man. Do what you can. Weave your truth into the narrative. Hack it by radiating love on the micro cosmic level, it will grow, etc. In the meantime duck and let the shit wash over you.

“The Belldog” is a cover of a Cluster & Eno track. So I was telling you about Mort Subite and his great timing. We were about done and he came in ad was like, “oh I have this track…” He had arranged it all himself and brought it to Andrea and I to do strings and guitars. So I did my best Micheal Rother. I figured if there was any guitarist that would jam with those dudes it was him first and foremost (Harmonia). All of us in the band where floored by it, and I we knew this had to go on side two and stand as a massive homage to the Kraut masters. Mort Subite and I actually got to see Hans-Joachim Roedelius live in Portland right after we finished tracking and it was this beautiful moment of the vision being realized for that song in particular, having Adam Stacy (Secret Chiefs 3) do the piano on that was the best call we could have made. I just shook Roedelius‘ hand and thanked him after the set.

It’s been four years since Past 21: Beyond the Arctic Cell. Aside from the lineup, how do you feel the band has grown in that time? Was there something specific you wanted to do differently on Mage?

I mean what line up? it was me stumbling around with a guitar while Mort did sound… although we had a drummer on the US tour so there’s that. I didn’t have a band, not at that point. It had broken up by 2010. I was just trying to keep doing a thing and see the album through and it felt like a burden at that point. I had to re-record it three times save for the drum tracks and the collab tracks which kinda saved that album from being a total waste.

I feel like now I have what I always wanted with Megaton Leviathan anyway. I had always felt like we put the cart before the horse starting out. I wanted live synths, and there is of course things that you gain merely from experience which I lacked 10 years ago. So it is as it should be.

We kind of touched on the doom thing with our first two albums. Past 21 is the heaviest we will ever get. We went out of our way to make the heaviest album we could, and for better or worse, I did it. It’s time to move on. Yeah, with Mage I just wanted to do what felt right musically. The electronic and post-punk elements have always been there so I wanted to expose that more with this output. I have endless roads to travel and I plan on taking that pilgrimage.

Will Megaton Leviathan tour? Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

Yeah we plan on it, timing is everything and we hope to finally make it to EU sooner than later.  Buy our album, support your local record stores and if you like a band go see ’em live when they come to your town.

Megaton Leviathan, “Wave”

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Megaton Leviathan on Instagram

Megaton Leviathan on Bandcamp

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The extensive back catalog of UK drone ritualists Bong can be as foggy as the band’s sound itself. Between studio full-lengths, they have a history of EPs, splits, periodic compilations of EPs and splits, and no fewer than 23 live albums that goes back over a decade. Still, they’ve been pretty quiet since issuing We Are, We Were and We Will Have Been in 2015, with just two live recordings that followed. All the more reason to approach their 2018 long-player, Thought and Existence (previously discussed here), with a marked curiosity. What have the trio been up in what one assumes is a bunker deep below the surface of their hometown in Newcastle? From whence does the new album, delivered appropriately through Ritual Productions — with whom the band has worked since 2011’s Beyond Ancient Space (review here) — arrive?

As ever, Bong present more questions than answers. With the lineup of guitarist Mike Vest, bassist/vocalist David Terry and drummer Mike Smith explore a textural range that spreads out across two massive, immersive, compulsive tracks in “The Golden Fields” (17:31) and “Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius” (19:01), emitting a slow moving swirl that draws the listener in with its well-honed patience and fluidity. You’re hypnotized. They’re hypnotized. That’s kind of the whole point. Not to say it isn’t expressing a sonic idea, but that idea is to get lost in it. That’s the interaction Bong are seeking with Thought and Existence. It’s a communion between performers, audience and sound. Take that how you will — and some simply won’t — but it’s a journey one refuses to their own detriment.

Having been fortunate enough to see Bong perform most recently at Oslo’s Høstsabbat in 2016 (review here), I can recall vividly (or, you know, vaguely) the fog-drenched drone they brought to life on that stage, with Terry gurgling out his vocal parts as Vest and fill-in drummer Rich Lewis went exploring by oozing forth in any number of directions at once, taking the room through a massive, voluminous plunge into brain-melting tonal resonance. It was astounding to watch, and in the chants of “The Golden Fields” and the far, far-gone “Tlön Uqbar Orbis Tertius,” Thought and Existence captures the same sensibility and feeling of journey. It’s not just a willful slog in the front-to-back listen — actually, at 36 minutes, it’s a quite-manageable single LP, as was their last one; 2014’s Stoner Rock was their last 2LP, sort of — turn it up and it’s a physical manifestation of a near-opaque ethereality. Their methods well set at this stage in their career, Bong continue to explore places that most bands dare not tread and atmospheres from whence many a lesser act simply would not return.

In the relatively brief interview that follows, the band talks about some of the makings, processes and concepts behind Thought and Existence. Since rhythm and flow play so much of a role in what Bong does, I’ve left the Q&A largely untouched, and you’ll find it below only really changed from how it came in in terms of format, putting titles in italics and that kind of thing. The rest is as it showed up to preserve the integrity of it, and I sincerely hope it does just that.

Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:

Six Dumb Questions with Bong

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What is the interaction between volume and ritual for Bong at this point? Where does one end and the other begin?

Playing live. To create the great sustain live, everything must be cranked. Everything! This is a major part of the ritual. A forced meditation for the audience. Even when we are in the studio, this rule need to be enforced. Textures and tones are really important and can only be achieved through high volume. Capturing that in the studio is a challenge but can be ultimately rewarding.

Why Thought and Existence? What is the album exploring and what do you feel it says about the title ultimately? Is there a conclusion reached through the material?

Exploring metaphysical inner space, the past is a present memory and the possibility that all time has expired. The inward expansive nature of the mind and our senses. The brain is actually part of the external world, it is only through our senses that we can truly see or feel the mind. The title itself is expansive and cannot be summed up, but can be perceived in many different ways.

Tell me about writing “The Golden Fields” and “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.” When did you start putting them together and how did they begin to take shape?

“Tlön” was written over time, we played various different versions of this track over the shows we were at early last year. It formed over time, the main riff was then extended and tightened up at practice sessions before we went into the studio. “Golden Fields” was roughly planned, with certain stages. Lining up the vocals with the tempo, gaps in the percussion. All our tracks are formed over time, the more we play, the clearer the arrangement seems to be.

How malleable are Bong songs over time? If I went to a Bong show three years from now and heard “The Golden Fields,” would it be the same as on the album? How set are the movements of a given piece? How do you know when writing a song that it’s done?

The arrangements, if any, will stay the same.

When changes or intensities begin, they are totally improvised.

Lead or layered octave guitar harmonies will drift in and out of any track live. Wenever play the same track exact, however you can still distinguish between which track is actually being played.

Our songs are never finished, as long as we keep playing the song live it will always change. Tracks on our albums are recorded moments, they have no real set parameters.

Take me through the recording process for Thought and Existence. Of course you know what you want out a studio experience at this point, but how did these tracks come together during the recording? What’s most important for you to capture in a studio recording process?

It’s all about the initial live takes in the studio.

We play all together to set the right tempo, we try to use the second or third take of a track as a final version to keep the feel, playing a track over and over in the studio can bleed it dry. However, using the first take as a reference point it can make it easier to create dynamics, place vocals and possible arrangements. We spent a lot of time playing these tracks, so we knew the arrangements. So we allocated a lot of time for experimentation adding bowed cymbals, more stereo guitars and Harmonium/Melodeon drones.

Any plans or closing words you want to mention?

Thought and Existence is out on May 4th on Ritual Productions We are currently booking shows for Europe and UK right now, so get in touch with us, we want play more shows this year. We [played] London at the end of June. More are being confirmed.
Also thanks to everyone who has picked up an LP/Tape/CD/t-shirt or just came to one of our shows. Means a lot to us. We never thought we would get this far.

Bong, Thought and Existence (2018)

Bong on Thee Facebooks

Ritual Productions website

Stylistically ranging and definitively of the Pacific Northwest, Camera Obscura is the striking debut album from Portland, Oregon, five-piece Hound the Wolves. It is comprised of just four songs — and one could really argue that two of them are intros feeding into the other two; one flowing work per intended vinyl side — and runs 32 minutes of soundscaped spaciousness and aggressive outbursts manifest in the screams of guitarist Juan Carlos Caceres, and given an underlying sense of Americana through Tim Burke‘s lap steel. With Cory DeCaire of Mane of the Cur on bass, Ryan McPhaill (Sioux) on drums and Nate Wright providing Moog and additional percussion, the band presents a complete ambience in the six-minute “Omnia in Numeris Situ Sunt,” which in turn gives way to the complementary “Everything Lies Veiled in Numbers” at the end of the record.

That last piece, passing the nine-minute mark and putting the capstone on the album as a whole, is obviously a pivotal moment for Hound the Wolves, and they more than live up to the task. An even greater impression, however, might be made on side A in the interplay between four-minute opener “If Lost in Mind” and the subsequent “Masquerade,” which is 13 minutes long and takes hold following the hypnotic chants and echoes an drones of “If Lost in Mind” with a sudden progressive metal turn that, rhythmically, calls to mind Kylesa at their best. Caceres, melodic on the opener, offers a harsher take in the early going, rounding out with the lines “It’s all a masquerade/It’s all in your head/If the illusion was real/We would not exist,” at about three and a half minutes in before Burke‘s lap steel comes to the fore to lead the transition into a quieter space. Backed by the slow build in McPhaill‘s drums, the track oozes through a long middle section stretch of open-feeling atmospherics. Vocals aren’t absent, but echo in semi-spoken proclamations layered with shouts in places, and it isn’t until about 11 minutes in that the payoff hits, with a fuller-toned, undulating riff; some great Cascadian beast lurching to consciousness.

Intensity builds for the next couple minutes before they crash out, and “Omnia in Numeris Situ Sunt” arrives, its ritual bell atop a resonant and semi-foreboding drone, and it may indeed be that some kind of ritual has begun, as “Everything Lies Veiled in Numbers” shows surprising patience in its execution, never really launching into the same kind of payoff as “Masquerade,” but still reveling in ambient heft for the duration. Equal parts earthy and psychedelic, it’s a resounding finish to a record that’s earned nothing less, even if it’s not the loudest moment to be found in the tracklisting.

The process of putting together Camera Obscura was begun in 2015, so it’s safe to say it’s been a while in the making. In the Q&A below, Tim Burke attributes some of that to holdups in the mixing process — which, given the layering at work in these songs, I’m inclined to believe — and of course the ever-present financial concerns. Burke also discusses how the band came together, their recent tour around the album release, their plans going forward, and more.

Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:

Six Dumb Questions with Hound the Wolves

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Tell me about how Hound the Wolves got together? How much of your sound was thought out as a goal beforehand, and how much was just how it worked out when you started playing? What was the impetus behind starting the band in the first place?

The band started because Juan and I had bonded on our love of U.S. Christmas, and how we both thought they were underappreciated. Juan found out I played lap steel, and we got together to jam. We had three songs written within a few hours based on skeletons Juan had already. I don’t know that we really had an idea of the sound in mind, we didn’t even really start out with the idea of starting a band; both Juan and I had other projects at the time. But the things we were coming up with were ear-opening, so to speak. The next time Juan and I got together, we talked about auditioning drummers.

We auditioned several drummers we knew, and Ryan (Salvador, Sioux) was one of them, and we asked him to join the band. We had quite a time finding a bassist however, but eventually Cory (Mane of the Cur), whom I had known for a while, joined on bass. Nate (Tigers on Opium, A//TAR) was the final piece of the puzzle. I had reservations about adding Nate at first, because I didn’t want someone who would come in and play a bunch and overcrowd the sonic space, which in my experience is a problem for a lot of people. But Nate has a great musical sensibility, and added just the right amount of Moog embellishments and percussion additions, and it was the icing on the cake. This was the point where we started thinking about what Hound the Wolves would be as a band.

What was the writing process like for Camera Obscura? The breadth of influences is pretty vast. Does everyone contribute to the songwriting? How does a piece like “Masquerade” come together in the first place?

Organically. I can’t really remember how we wrote “Masquerade.” It was not difficult in the sense that I don’t remember struggling on this song, it was almost as if it came out practically fully formed. There was a skeleton of some of the parts that Juan had originally. But the song just came together, let’s try this, what if I do this, how long should this section be, and the pieces all fell into place without much struggle.

Everyone contributes their own parts. We tend to take rough ideas or outlines, then develop and arrange them as a group. There are other times when we just jam on a riff, and just see where it goes. Sometimes you find gold by panning through some improvisation. One thing I can say is we do not use formulas or rules to write our songs.

Camera Obscura seems to be broken into two sides, with two pairs of tracks related to each other. Can you talk about the flow of the release from front to back and how the songs are meant to interact? Tell me about the relationship – other than linguistic – between “Omnia in Numeris Sita Sunt” and “Everything Lies Veiled in Numbers.”

“If Lost in Mind” is meant to be an intro. It is a stripped-down song that actually materialized late in the recording process, but when we started to talk about putting out an album, we had to decide what songs and in what order. We talked a lot about some different options for songs and orders. After “If Lost in Mind,” “Masquerade” takes a very different direction, going heavy and starting a musical ride that covers a lot of ground. Musically, we are all over the place from heavy to light to drones, etc., and the first two songs really capture the essences of Hound the Wolves music currently. So those two songs are really an introduction to the band.

“Omnia in Numeris Sita Sunt” and “Everything Lies Veiled in Numbers” are linked together, as you may note from the titles, as well as musically. “Omnia” is a song that started an intro to our live sets, a way to ease an audience to what we are doing, and to get the people at our shows into a headspace. The song starts and builds to a crescendo and then you are ready for “ELVIN.” “ELVIN” is a moody, mellower track that also builds in similar fashion, but it doesn’t cover the same kind of ground as “Masquerade,” which makes more sense at the end of the album. The observant may also notice that these song will fit perfectly as pairs on a vinyl release. We hope that we will be able to get Camera Obscura out on vinyl at some point.

How long were you guys in the studio making Camera Obscura and what was that process like?

The initial tracking took place over a weekend in May of 2015. We self-funded the recording process, and there are a lot of choices for recording studios and engineers in Portland. Juan had worked with his friend Jeanot Rolland-Lewis previously, and Jeanot had been taking over more engineering work from Ian Watt (Ape Machine, High Watt Booking) owner of the Magic Closet Studio in Portland. So we set up for two days of tracking at Magic Closet. We got all the drums tracked, as well as bass and Juan’s guitars over that weekend.

Over the next few months, we went in individually with Jeanot at his studio to track slide, Moog, vocals, bells, and the aux percussion. From there we went through a very long process of mixing. It was quite a process, but we do have a lot going on in these recordings, and we are all experienced at recording, so we listen close and want to get all the details just right. This can be difficult when recording on a budget, because sometimes you have to look at what you want, and the cost it would take to achieve that result, and weigh that against how big of a deal the problem part is. I mean, I don’t want to spend $1k to fix a relatively minor issue with the recordings. There were a few compromises we had to make because we are recording on a budget.

We did get a bit bogged down in the mixing process, and not the least of which was how to pay for the recording we were doing. Most of the band members do not have a bunch of extra money after meeting expenses to chip into the band, and we don’t play shows enough (nor make enough from them) to fund recording, though what we do make does help. We also had no merch at that time to help fund the band, so it was all out of pocket.

Eventually, we were able to work things out though, and the final step recording-wise was taking the album to Ryan Foster of Foster Mastering. Ryan is amazing and took the album, and really made it sound awesome no matter what device I listened on. Of course, once the album was done, there was another major question, how to release this album and get people to know it exists? We had the recordings ready to go for a while before we figured out the rest of the parts of the release. In retrospect, we should have started the planning earlier, while we were in the mixing phase. Every time I go through this process, I learn new lessons.

How were the release show and the other regional shows in the PNW? How much touring will you do generally, and how much does the album represent what Hound the Wolves do live? What’s the relationship between the band on stage and the band in the studio for you?

The release tour went fantastically! You never know how things are going to play out when you book a tour. But we played with some amazing bands for our first time playing in Washington. We took a new-to-us van on the road (‘82 Ford Prospector), and while we did have some issues with starting the van a few times, it was fixed on the second day by cleaning the battery terminals. Highlights from the tour would be when we opened for Year of the Cobra at The Funhouse in Seattle. Upwell, a band Jack Endino plays bass for was also on the bill, and Mr. Endino ended up buying a CD from us, which was pretty cool.

Our release show in Portland was fantastic, we played with our friends in Young Hunter (go check them out, they have a new album, Dayhiker, out), and Mammoth Salmon. It turned out that this show was to be Mammoth Salmon’s last show, but that happened after we booked the show. I have been playing shows with Paul [Dudziak] and Mammoth Salmon for over five years, and after seeing them open for Earthless last fall, I felt Mammoth Salmon had really become a force to be reckoned with. It was great to see the community show Mammoth Salmon some love at their last show. All the bands we played with on this tour were fantastic.

After doing this tour, we were wishing it was longer, it felt like we were just hitting our stride. As far as how much touring we plan to do, it depends much on how things go for the band. It is difficult for us all to take time off work financially and go tour, since we are in a startup phase of the band. That being said, we really want to tour more, and we are talking to some people about some West Coast festivals in the fall, we have another album and more videos in the works. I would like to do another longer tour of the West Coast in the fall, built around festival dates, but we will have to see how that comes together. We basically are taking things one step at a time, and figuring out what we can do next.

The stage show is an experience of sight and sound. We intend our shows to be a coming together of people who want to focus on the present. We live in a world of constant distraction and information overload, and we try to make our shows about living in the moment, without distractions, without consideration for the past or future, but just focusing on the now.

In the studio, we simply try to capture our sound, and translate it into a recorded format. I remember having a conversation with Jeanot about a few areas of the mix where we were discussing our options. Jeanot has come to see us live, and he commented that we sounded on the recordings exactly like we did live. Ultimately, that is what we were trying to capture on these recordings, what we sounded like as five people playing music together in a room. We want to hold onto the ability to perform what we record live, and have been talking about how we can add elements and still maintain them during live performance. We want to add more visual elements as well. We have a way that we are confident will work for us.

Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

We are meeting soon to discuss our next steps and make sure we have alignment with our plans. Currently the general outline would be to release videos for the other tracks on Camera Obscura, and then to figure out the new release targeted for the Fall. We have a number of tracks that we have written and arranged. Optimally we would be doing releases on a six month to one year schedule, with videos coming out regularly. We will see if we can make that happen.

It takes a lot of dedication in the form of time, energy, and money to create music with a band, so if your readers enjoy what we are creating, their support would be greatly appreciated. We are on all the major digital platforms, but we are fans of Bandcamp, and suggest those interested in supporting us shop there first. You can find links to all our social media at houndthewolves.com. There is a newsletter sign up at the bottom of the page that is a great way to keep up with what the band is doing.

Hound the Wolves, Camera Obscura (2018)

Hound the Wolves, “If Lost in Mind” official video

Hound the Wolves website

Hound the Wolves on Bandcamp

Hound the Wolves on Facebooks

Hound the Wolves on Twitter

Hound the Wolves on Instagram

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Those familiar with the vocal work of Columbus, Ohio-based vocalist Jeff Martin will find his presence recognizable in everything but context when it comes to the newcomer five-piece Akula. Known of course for his work fronting (from behind the drums) the fuzz-laced heavy rocking Lo-Pan, Martin brings his soulful melodicism to Akula as part of a lineup that includes bassist Scott Hyatt, guitarists Sergei Parfenov and Chris Thompson (the latter now also of Lo-Pan) and drummer Ronnie Miller, and the group’s self-titled first full-length incorporates a swath of atmospheric textures derived from progressive metal as ’90s alternative, post-rock and more beyond.

The album, Akula was given a digital self-release by the band in January in somewhat quiet fashion almost testing the ground to gauge an initial reception that, sure enough, came back in a positive response to the sharp chugging turns of 12-minute closer “Predators,” the open-spaced rolling groove of “Force Me Open” (10:07) the weighted ambient pulsations of opener “A Pound of Flesh” (9:19) and the post-doomer crash of “Born of Fire”‘s (9:27) blend of sonic reach and earthen nod. These four extended tracks would be all Akula needed to make that strong first impression, and in terms of both memorable songwriting and a stylistic ambitiousness, the self-titled indeed sounds like only the beginning of where the band might go in terms of ground they explore and just the first demonstration of a nuance of craft set to grow even more across subsequent outings.

Whether Martin‘s voice is the draw or you happen upon Akula through some other means — frankly, the pop in Miller‘s snare, Hyatt‘s tone on the low end and the fluidity with which Thompson and Parfenov lead transitions between claustrophobic riffing and broad-spaced soundscapes all make valid arguments in the 41-minute LP’s favor — the clearly-intended-to-be-two-vinyl-sides offering is immersive from the outset and rich in both sprawl and impact. I would not at all be surprised to find a physical pressing or two in the works for later this year, but in the meantime, Martin was kind enough to take some time to discuss the origins of the band and how the record came together in writing and recording, and whether or not Akula should be considered a side-project. Some of those responses might surprise you.

Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:

Six Dumb Questions with Akula

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Tell me about Akula getting together. What was the impetus behind starting the band, and how much did you guys know going into the project what you wanted it to sound like?

Akula started when Lo-Pan had some downtime. I was feeling an overabundance of creative energy and I thought jamming with some different people and different styles might be a good way to channel some of that. This was before Chris [Thompson, guitar] joined Lo-Pan. I knew who he was and had seen a few of his previous bands play. I had been listening to a lot of heavier psychedelic stuff in the vein of Yob, Neurosis, and even some Mastodon. I knew Chris could do pretty much anything from seeing him play. I contacted him and asked if he would be interested in getting some people together for a purely fun project. He was all for it. I told him what I was thinking in terms of style and he said he actually already had some part ideas he had been messing around with that might be a fit.

We talked about bass players and drummers and rhythm guitarists and invited some guys to meet up and discuss. It all went pretty smoothly. And stylistically, everyone seemed to understand what we were looking for. A darker, heavier psychedelic sound with melodic vocals. Longer format and prog shifts seemed like a natural thing for everyone. So we got to work.

Talk about that sound for a bit. The album has such a sense of space to it, everything sounds very open and atmospheric, but still heavy. Was there something in particular you were looking to capture in terms of mood on the album?

I think there was a nebulous direction we were all going, but it’s always a mystery how it will actually shake out when you start playing. We all come from various genres of heavy music but also a mix of other types of music as well. Atmospheric was definitely where I wanted it to go. Chris brings that off-time heavy lead mentality to the songs and that was new for me. It was a challenge for me to add vocals to that. I am used to having very standard time signatures which allows me to weave in and out as much as I want to. In that feel, I can really add to the swing of a song. I really love heavy music that swings. But with Akula it took me a bit of effort to learn where the swing was. It’s definitely there. But with the off-time parts, I wanted to make sure that my swing wasn’t too hindered by the guitar parts. It’s not always easy. But I do enjoy the challenge of incorporating my vocal and lyrical style into a heavier format.

How does Akula’s songwriting process work? How does a track like “Force Me Open” come together, and what does each member of the band bring to it? When did you begin writing for the record?

Usually it all starts with a part idea from either Chris or Sergei. Those two will get together and work out a sort of skeleton format for a song. Then Scott and Ronnie will jam with them to build the rest. Adding parts. Changing parts. Removing parts. This will all happen over the course of a few weeks. Maybe even a month or two. “Force Me Open” probably took five months or more to reach a record-ready state.  And some of that is just time delays. Chris joined Lo-Pan about a year after we started Akula. Before we even had a name for Akula, actually. So Lo-Pan’s schedule definitely has an effect on the Akula writing process when it comes to time allocation for myself and for Chris.

Also everyone else in the band has quite a bit going on as well. Scott, our bassist is in a few different bands, mainly Bridesmaid, but also occasionally Horseburner and Siouxplex. He also has a career and a wife. Ronnie, our drummer is in another band (Artillery Breath) and travels quite a bit. Sergei, our rhythm guitarist has a family and runs a business. It all just takes time. We began writing the first record from the very first jam sessions. But I think it took around a year before we had our first two songs completed. All before we even discussed a name for the band.

We didn’t even play a show until around the 18-month mark. That was important for us when we started out. We wanted everything to happen in its own good time. No shows until we felt it was all ready to be played out. No recording until we have an album worth of material we all liked. No rushing whatsoever. It’s done when it’s done. And in the meantime we just have fun playing music and hanging out together. That was the first thing I said to everyone when we first got together. Those were the marching orders. No stress. Just fun.

No hassles. It’s done when it’s done. And we have really seen that through. It really is like that. We don’t fight. We all get along and we have a blast together. We play the shows we want to play. We go the direction we all decide is best.

Tell me about recording. It’s just four tracks, but they’re four pretty significant tracks. Where was the album done, how long were you in the studio and as your first release, how do you feel the outcome represents the band at this stage?

Recording could not have been a better process for us. We recorded this record at Sonic Lounge here in Columbus, Ohio. It’s a really killer studio with some outstanding equipment and it’s all run by Joe Viers. Chris had worked with Joe multiple times in other projects like Sleepers Awake. I worked with Joe on the last Lo-Pan release (In Tensions), and Scott had worked with him in his band Bridesmaid. Joe was our first choice and for me our only choice really. He just gets music and he’s a fantastic collaborator. He becomes like another member of the band. He makes strong suggestions and will hold you accountable when he knows you can play a part better or if you’re out of tune. And even vocally, I have found Joe to be an invaluable resource for ideas on harmonies and execution. I can’t say enough good things about the guy.

We did the entire album and mixing over the course of two weekends at Sonic Lounge. It was a real blast to make this album. I think as a first effort it reflects the entire timeline of the band to this point. You can hear the maturation of the songs. Or at least I can. “Born of Fire” was our first completed song. “Force Me Open” was the second completed song. Even between those two songs, I think you can hear a quantum shift. It’s pretty rewarding to see that growth as a group.

Of course, you’ve done plenty of touring over the years in Lo-Pan, but how much will Akula play out? Will you guys tour to support the album? How much is the band a side-project for you or anyone else involved?

As far as playing out goes, I think Akula takes a very methodical approach to things. We love to play live but we want live shows to be an addition to our experience, and not just a maintaining of status quo. So we are selective about frequency and overall makeup of shows. We are discussing a summer run to support this release.

I would say when we first started out this was definitely a side-project for all of us. And as it’s progressed it has really become an important project for everyone. I don’t know that I would still classify Akula as my side-project. It’s just a different project with a different sound and its own process.

Any plans or closing words you want to mention?

Akula is currently in talks to sign with an indie label to release our self-titled in physical format including vinyl. More to follow on that. We are also continuing to write new material which we will start road testing soon. Our next show is April 6 at Spacebar in Columbus with Royal Thunder and Pinkish Black.

Akula, Akula (2018)

Akula on Thee Facebooks

Akula on Bandcamp