Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 26th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
The track “Monastery of the Seven Sages” opens Breath‘s Fall 2025 Argonauta-released sophomore LP, Brahman (review here), and its opening riff is a fittingly Sabbathian call to prayer. The nod that ensues is meditative in style, and the Portland outfit — who were joined by Rob Wrong of Witch Mountain for the album — continue to delve into Cisnernos-esque fluidity, but if Om‘s vaguely spiritual communion is a factor here, it’s not the sum total of what either the song in question or the record it comes from have to offer. It is a beginning, in other words. A shocking observation for the start of an album, right? Stay tuned to The Obelisk for more hard-hitting, in-depth insights like this.
My point — I know I had one when I started — is that Breath are distinguished by what they build around this recognizable core. Their first full-length, 2021’s subsequently-revamped Primeval Transmissions (review here; discussed here), was rawer in its construction even after the 2023 remix/remaster, and I wouldn’t exactly call Brahman lush with the way the band use negative space in the mix to create a sense of humility that one finds visualized in the pilgrimage portrayed in the video below, but no question they’re exploring and fleshing out their sound with synth, guitar and so on. That’s a process one hopes will continue, because it distinguishes Breath from other practitioners and because the further out they go the more they seem to discover is within their creative reach.
It’s obviously early to talk ‘next record.’ It’s only been months since Brahman came out — it’s relevant enough that they just made a video for it, you could say — but to my ears, “Monastery of the Seven Sages” emphasizes the intentional growth on the part of the band, their willingness to push their own for-the-moment limits, and since that inherently leads to the question of where they’re headed and how they might get there, one can’t help but think of them even five years on from their debut as still just beginning to tap into the potential of their sound. I don’t mean to make it seem like they’re in pursuit of a thing, which goes against the whole Buddhist aesthetic overlay, but however you want to frame it, their songwriting is so forward-thinking, so here’s me, accordingly looking forward to what might come.
The clip below came down the PR wire:
Breath, “Monastery of the Seven Sages” official video
Portland’s meditative doom collective BREATH unveil the official music video for “Monastery of the Seven Sages”, a standout track from their critically acclaimed album Brahman, released via Argonauta Records. The song and video exemplify the band’s signature blend of atmospheric doom, post-metal depth and psychedelic heaviness, combining massive riffs, hypnotic basslines, ritualistic rhythms and textured cinematic layers that draw the listener into a meditative sonic journey.
The band comments:
“Monastery of the Seven Sages peers into a distant proto-bronze age landscape obscured by the fog of time. The power and bond of ‘as above so below’ is conveyed through filmmaker Erik Meharry’s vision. His inspiration from the song birthed a whole outline of Lynchian depth that made us all too eager for him to be at the helm. A song following steps like Oannes, looking to the wild horizon of space and Earth and finding connection.”
Posted in Reviews on October 6th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Day two. Normally this is time for hubristic gibberish about how easy the QR will be, the overconfidence of one whose trees rarely appear as forests. But we persist anyhow, and today looks pretty good from where I’m sitting now, so despite the ‘Day 2 on a Monday’ weirdness, which I’m pretty sure makes no one other than myself even raise an eyebrow, things are rolling and one hopes will continue to be fluid. I wouldn’t say Day 1 came together easily, since it took me like two and a half days to get done, but neither was out unpleasant. Hoping for more of the same here, plus efficiency.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Queens of the Stone Age, Alive in the Catacombs
Something of an identity crisis in Queens of the Stone Age perhaps that sees the long-running highest commercial export of desert rock shift from the cloying pop of their last two albums to a comparatively stripped down live recording in — you guessed it — catacombs, where apparently the acoustics are pretty sweet. Anybody remember when Tenacious D went into ‘the cave’ on the Tribute EP? No? Didn’t think so. Frontman Josh Homme, who carries the minimal arrangements on vocals largely with ease, and his ever-ace band filmed the whole thing; it’s all sepia, all very artsy, and they do “Kalopsia” and dip back 20 years to finish with “I Never Came” after “Suture Up Your Future,” which is the second inclusion by then from 2007’s Era Vulgaris. All told it’s five songs and 27 minutes, and whether you hear it as a cringe hyperindulgence of unaware self-parody or as an expression of human artistry in organic form surrounded by memento mori probably depends on how deep you run with the band. But they’re not hurting anybody either way.
Between recording and then remixing/remastering their 2021 debut Primeval Transmissions (review here) and signing to Argonauta Records, Portland meditative duo Breath, comprised of Ian Caton and Steven O’Kelly, expanded the lineup with Lauren Hatch on keys and their second album, Brahman, brings Rob Wrong (Witch Mountain) into the fold on guitar as well as helming the recording. The sense across the eight songs/42 minutes is still of exploring the reaches of consciousness, very post-Om in the foundational basslines and dry vocals, but having Wrong rip out a solo in each break of “Awen” sure doesn’t hurt, and hearing the full band come together around the culmination of “Hy-Brasil,” keys, guitar, bass, drums all-in tonally, is emblematic of their expanding horizons. As for those, “Sages” pushes toward its own vision of psych rock in conversation with the opener, and “Cedars of Lebanon” demonstrates malleability and balance that one hopes portend more to come as the band continues to grow and gel.
Johan Langquist The Castle, Johan Langquist The Castle
Kind of an awkward moniker grammatically for the solo-band fronted by original/once-again/maybe-erstwhile Candlemass vocalist Johan Langquist. Is it possessive? Is he The Castle? I don’t quite understand, but from the operatic complement of Emelie Lindquist‘s backing vocals on opener “Eye of Death” through the litany of compiled singles Johan Langquist The Castle dropped over the course of 2024, there’s no mistaking the classic nature of the doom. “Castle of My Dreams” flows keyboardier on balance, while “Where Are the Heroes” gives riffers shelter in its chug, while “Raw Energy” and “Revolution” toy with the balance between the two sides, with “Freedom” as a classic-metal epic and “Bird of Sadness” as the comedown epilogue. Langquist, absent decades between fronting the first Candlemass LP in 1986 and rejoining the band circa 2011, would seem to be making up for lost time, and the ideas he’s exploring here warrant the investigation. I’m curious where this leads, which I think I’m supposed to be, so right on.
From Joshua Tree, California, Maliciouz is the solo-outfit of Michael Muckow, who handles guitar, bass and drums for the molasses-thick instrumentalist proceedings. Tortoise arrives beating you over the head with its tone and metaphor alike; eight songs and 58 minutes of lumbering density wrought with dug-in purpose, harnessing heaviness-of-place as riffs and often melancholic drone metal crash. It’s an art project, but without pretense of being anything other than it is, and Muckow — who makes a point of noting his age (67) in the press material — composes for flow and immersion as each slow march gives way to the next, culminating in the semi-acoustic “The End,” which is no less on-the-nose than calling the album Tortoise to start with. No grand reflections, no sweeping statement. Tortoise lets the riffs do the talking and they say plenty about the grit and expanse Muckow is trying to conjure. Be careful out there. He makes it easy to get lost.
The former co-guitarist/vocalist of Neurosis has come a long way since his guy-and-guitar beginnings as a solo artist, and Alone in a World of Wounds reaps the textural fruit of Steve Von Till‘s willful artistic progression in a piece like the leadoff “The Corpse Road” or “Distance,” which caps side A fluidly with the only use of drums on the record, reminiscent of The Keening‘s awareness of sonic weight and atmospheric sidestep. The cello, synth and field recordings build out what would be minimalist arrangements without them and remain early-morning quiet, the piano on the spoken-word-topped “The Dawning of the Day (Insomnia)” and flirtations with lushness on “Horizons Undone” softly shaping the album’s world with the electronics of “Old Bent Pine” ahead of the guitar-based “River of No Return,” which closes with what feels like an updated take on Von Till‘s earlier woodsfolk craft, reminding that ‘heavy’ is just as much existential as it is aural.
Solitude Over Control is as much a confrontation as an album, and that’s very clearly the intention behind Glasgow’s Mrs Frighthouse for their Lay Bare-issued debut LP, Solitude Over Control. Its 11 songs foster a bleak gamut of industrial sounds, portraying dark and inflicted sexual violence as part of the band’s expression. Slaying rapists, then, and fair enough. Intertwining layers of vocals and experimentalist pieces like “Seagulls (Part 1)” give an avant-garde air to the crush of “DIY Exorcism” and the lurching, abrasive finish of “White Plaster Roses,” soprano vocals and electronic noise externalizing the unsettled in a way that can only really be thought of as ‘extreme’ in a musical sense. “My body has never been mine,” confess the lyrics of “Our Culture Without Autonomy” with horror-style keyboard behind them; there’s a show being put on here, but it’s visceral just the same, and the later “My Body is a Crime Scene” turns the accusation direct: “My body is a crime scene/He did this to me/My body is a crime scene/You did this to me” in a moment that lands powerfully unless you’re a fucking sociopath.
A joint release between Majestic Mountain and Copper Feast Records, Eroded Forms/Inertia presents as a double-EP split release between Melbourne, Australia, melodic heavy post-metallic rockers Droid, who dare toward aggression on “Reverence” and the sludgier shouts of “Ruin” after leading off with “Khaki” without giving away the plot such that the blastbeats of “Resonance” still hit as a surprise, and Sweden’s I Am Low, who answer the fullness of tone with careening on “Sweet M16” before the grunge melody of “Greed” makes that song a highlight, “Waves” flows with less emotional baggage and a subtle hook, and “Inertia” wraps as a landing point with duly vibrant crash. Grunge and a hairy kind of fuzz are shared between the bands, but each has their own purpose. I don’t know if it’s a release of convenience to make it a split, but it makes for an engaging showcase, and if you’ve never come across either of them, the best arguments for digging in are right there in the songs.
Portland five-piece doomly flamekeepers Tar Pit begin their second full-length (on Transylvanian) with the 10-minute three-parter “Dagon, Dark Lord Dwelling Beneath,” the longest inclusion (immediate points) at 10:15 and bookended with the title-cut at the record’s end. Between, from the more rocking aspects of “Coven Vespers” to the downtrodden roll of “Blessed King of Longing,” the five-piece remind of doom at the turn of the century, when ‘traditionalism’ in doom metal was something of a defiance against modernity instead of an aesthetic unto itself. More than 20 years, The Gates of Slumber, Reverend Bizarre, and what was then the Church of True Doom would seem to have evolved into Tar Pit‘s Eldritch Doom Syndicate, and that’s nothing to complain about as “Blue Light Cemetery” accounts for Candlemass and Cathedral after the dim-blues of “Jubilee” secures the band’s place in the heavy morose. If you were just getting into doom, this kind of thing might make you want to start a band, and yes, that’s a compliment.
Dirt-coated riffing leads the way on GRGL‘s Horror-Bloated Ouroboros six-song EP, as Jake‘s guitar, Hal‘s bass and Nick‘s drumming in the first-names-only Salt Lake City trio align around a chug in the opening “Horror-Bloated Ouroboros (An Overview),” that, despite the dry-throated barks that top it, remains among the more accessible moments of the churning sludge-doom outfit’s 23-minute outing. To wit, “Born Again” and the even more gurgley (hey wait a minute!) “My Skeleton” takes roughly the same elemental formula and slows it the frick down, thereby becoming immediately more tortured. The overarching impression is unipolar — raw, heavy, miserable — and the vocals are part of that, but the dynamic between those first two songs is answered for in the uptick of pace that arrives with “My Pie Hole” and the angularity of the shorter instrumental “Absorption/Secretion,” while the plodding reprise “Born Again (Again)” closes so as to make sure everybody ultimately gets where they need to be, i.e., hammered into the ground. Eat dust shit sludge. Hard to get away from thinking of this as the true sound of our times. Maybe it’s the title.
It’s a clear and classic style across Grusom‘s aptly-titled third album, III, which arrives some seven years after they were last heard from with 2018’s II (review here), the band who’ve become a low-key staple of the Kozmik Artifactz roster demonstrating in no uncertain terms what’s gotten them there. Vintage-heavy heads will find plenty to dig in the organ-laced flow of “Shadow Crawler,” “Hell Maker,” the later “Fatal Romance” and the more open finale “Mortal Desire,” and while “Le Voyage” has many of the same aspects at work, it shows the Danish six-piece as flexible enough in their approach to convey a range of emotions, ditto the wistful Graveyard-y “Memories” and the interlude “Euphoria,” making sure that among the places III might take a given listener, there’s nothing to remove them from the procession carried along by the band.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 2nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Portland’s meditative explorers Breath announced in March they’d signed with Argonauta Records for the release of their next album. Already the growth of the project beyond the founding duo of Ian Caton and Steven O’Kelly was well signaled when their 2021 debut, Primeval Transmissions (discussed here), received a remix/remaster in 2023 (review here), and the new record, Brahman, finds them expanding in terms literal and figurative. They’ve added members to the project and, accordingly, become a more encompassing outfit. The second single from Brahman, “Sanliurfa,” is streaming at the bottom of this post and serves as a ready example.
There’s a fair amount of info below that I’ve included because I’ll probably want it later. If you want takeaways, the release date is Oct. 24, I’m pretty sure preorders are coming if not up now, and that you should approach with an open mind. Those are mine, in case you’d like to share them. From the PR wire:
US Meditative Doom Metal Band BREATH Unveil Brahman Album Details; New Single Out Now
Portland’s meditative doom band BREATH will release their new album, Brahman, on October 24th via Argonauta Records. In anticipation, the band shares their second single, “Sanliurfa,” out today and streaming here: https://album.link/breath_sanliurfa
“An exploration into the feeling of metaphysical communion among peers. Doorways between vast celestial ocean above and worlds within. A page less tome in vault of mind. Carved faces in stone relief, tethered to a time. Behind their eyes lie long memory, patient in waiting to arise. Frozen sleep undone by sheer will on tireless wings.
This song was given great care by collaborators Rob Wrong (guitar), & Lauren Hatch (Keys) in concert with Breath’s Bass and Drums. Building on the atmosphere of a cold pre dawn setting, the serpentine sonic route a meditative mind treads.” – says the band
Alongside the new single, the band present the full tracklist and artwork of their upcoming record.
1. Monastery of the Seven Sages 2. Awen 3. Sanliurfa 4. Sages 5. Cedars of Lebanon 6. Hy-Brasil
BREATH had this to say about the album:
“BRAHMAN is an ode to the unchanging all pervasive true reality. It exists in and is the connective thread shared by all living things. The Trimurti in chorus, you and I, all one awareness. Music in service to the mirror of nature, to what can arise through stillness.
These songs were originally written as a three-piece opened to an expanded potential from our two-piece beginning. First enlisting fellow Portlander and peer musician Lauren Hatch on Keys. After recording, Rob Wrong (Witch Mountain, The Skull) was struck with inspiration to write and record guitar for the entire album. This unforeseen development and synchronicity continued, folding in new aspects like the appearance of TJ Minnich (Spitalfield) on Djembe in tracks 2 & 5.
Fed by a magnetic fascination to the mystery schools and Shamanic rites of ancient peoples. Emerging reborn, a mediator of this world and the other. Singing to trees, speaking with animals, imbued with the secret lore. At a cost they overcame with the treasure they sought. It’s losing ourselves in the woods or meditation and transmuting those experiences into the vibrational feeling and space our musical fingerprint holds.”
—
The beginnings of Breath can be traced back to childhood friends Steven O’Kelly and Ian Caton, who began playing music together during High School in the suburbs of Portland OR. The culmination of a search for their own voice, being an inseparable rhythm section for hire through many projects. The fruit of O’Kelly’s magnetism to solo songwriting and spiritual seeking coalesced into their debut Primeval Transmissions released in 2021 by Desert Records. Their album was recorded by Rob Wrong at his home studio Wrong Way Recording in March of 2020, and mastered by the great Tad Doyle. Wrong (also of Witch Mountain) played guitar on a couple tracks on their debut, including the ceremonial Halls of Amenti as part of Primeval Transmission’s remixed & remastered 2023 release by Desert Records.
Taking their inspiration from other heavy hitters such as Earth, OM and Grails, as well as classic mentors Black Sabbath & Ravi Shankar, Breath’s musical tapestry runs deep. Both Caton and O’Kelly learned eastern styles of music playing in Portland’s Gamelan Wahyu Dari Langit from 2016 to 2020. Traditional Indonesian song structure that helped expand their writing beyond the guard rails of western convention. Growling high decibel distortion to restrained incense laden marches influenced by Geddy Lee, Al Cisneros, and earth-shaking rhythms of John Bonham. Portland Oregon’s Breath continue to paint outside their canvas with new additions Lauren Hatch on Keys in 2023 & Justin Acevedo joining on Guitar in 2024.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 26th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Well, the headline tells you what you need to know. Congrats to Portland, Oregon’s Breath on signing to Argonauta Records for a presumed full-length to come. Formerly a duo, the now-four-piece were last heard from with the semi-redux of their debut LP, Primeval Transmissions (Remixed and Remastered) (review here), in 2023. That second look at a first record broadened the scope in a way the band have obviously been chasing as they’ve added members in the last couple years around the core bass-and-drums configuration. The willingness to think beyond themselves shows in the audio as well, as you can hear at the bottom of this post.
More on the album if and when there is an album on which to have more. The signing announcement came down the PR wire:
Portland’s Meditative Doom Seekers BREATH Sign with Argonauta Records
Portland, Oregon’s meditative doom seekers BREATH have found a new home with Italy’s Argonauta Records! Their sound is a cultivated vehicle of stillness, riding the churning white water of doom metal flow. Beginning with a solid foundation of bass and drums, the duo is joined by keys and guitar, with collaborator Rob Wrong of Witch Mountain engineering the project, ushering in a new dawn of verdant growth.
Known for their immersive and transcendent take on doom metal, BREATH crafts a sound that merges meditative stillness with crushing sonic waves. They draw inspiration from bands like Earth, OM, Grails, as well as the timeless influence of Black Sabbath and Ravi Shankar.
Founded by childhood friends Steven O’Kelly and Ian Caton, BREATH evolved from years of collaboration as an inseparable rhythm section. This bond led them to explore their own unique voice. Their debut album, Primeval Transmissions, was originally released in 2021 via Desert Records, featuring the masterful engineering of Rob Wrong (Witch Mountain) and mastering by the legendary Tad Doyle. Wrong also contributed guitar work to key tracks, including Halls of Amenti, which was re-released in a remixed and remastered edition in 2023.
With an expansive musical vision that blends high-decibel doom, hypnotic Eastern influences, and dynamic rhythmic textures, BREATH has continued to evolve, incorporating Lauren Hatch on keys in 2023 and Justin Acevedo on guitar in 2024.
Now, as they embark on the next chapter of their journey with Argonauta Records, BREATH is ready to bring their unique sonic meditations to a global audience. Stay tuned for more details on their upcoming releases!
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 11th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Bands change configuration all the time. Four-pieces lose a member to become a trio. A double-guitar five-piece wants Hammond. Whatever. What makes Breath bringing synthesist Lauren Hatch (also Greenseeker) on board as a full-time bandmate remarkable is how pointedly they were a duo before. Bassist/vocalist Steven O’Kelly and drummer/percussionist Ian Caton had flown the two-piece flag pretty high, but thinking back, even their 2021 debut, Primeval Transmissions (discussed here) tapped third-party participation, namely from guitarist Rob Wrong (Witch Mountain), who also recorded it. Last year’s reworking Primeval Transmissions (Remixed and Remastered) (review here) fostered an even richer sound, so maybe this isn’t actually so outlandish an expansion. Sometimes a band grows and wants something else. It’s not like they’re breaking up with you; they’re breaking up with being a duo.
Hatch plays her first show with the band tonight, July 11, and will play on their second record. Wrong will also reportedly feature on Breath‘s next LP as well, again on guitar, though I’ve no idea when such a thing might be coming. Hey man, I’m doing my best, alright?
I hit up O’Kelly and Hatch for comment and they offered the following to go with the original social post. Dig:
Greetings to you! Our flame burns brighter now with our new mate on Keys. We found kindred vision through collaboration and the steps ahead are now illuminated. Please welcome Lauren to Breath!
Says Steve O’Kelly: “Contemplative walks lead me to hear a third voice in Breath. In the throes of erratic thought when we were deep in the creative phase,, doors swung open to a new path that we gladly stride. Lauren brings thoughtful collaboration and energy to our music. We’re grateful to have her adept hand of Synthesizers pull us up into a new area.”
Says Lauren: “I started out as a fan of Breath. When Steven asked me to play on a song, I was surprised because the band is so strong as a two-piece. One song turned into three songs, which turned into live performances, and here we are. I’ve been having a blast coming up with synth parts to add a new element to these songs and am so excited to explore more sounds with these guys.”
Come see the new incarnation Live! 7 / 11 The Midnight Portland 7 / 14 M & J Tavern Bend 7 / 15 The WOW Hall Eugene
[Click play above to stream Primeval Transmissions (Remixed & Remastered) by Breath. Album is out Friday on Desert Records.]
A do-over? Sort of. Based in Portland, Oregon, bassist/vocalist Steven O’Kelly (also some guitar) and drummer/percussionist Ian Caton released their debut album, Primeval Transmissions (discussed here) in Feb. 2021 through Desert Records, having recorded on March 20, 2020, tracking the five songs that make up the album live at Rob Wrong of Witch Mountain‘s Wrong Way Recording. In trying to think of what might have been the impetus for the two-piece to go back and have Wrong completely remix (and subsequently to have Justin Weis at Trackworx remaster) Primeval Transmissions, the prospect inherently carries some dismissal of the original edition of the record. Like, what was wrong with it the first time around?
Not much, the way I heard it. Basking in a meditative doom style heavily influenced by Al Cisneros and the first and second albums he and Chris Hakius did together as Om, the original Primeval Transmissions was certainly raw, but that was an essential facet of its sound. It’s right there in the title! As Breath‘s first release — not just their first full-length; their first anything — it left space open in the mix as if to allow the listener a place to put themselves within it, and despite its rawness, it still offered headphone-worthy atmospherics and a palpable sense of mood. This, fortunately, is something Primeval Transmissions (Remixed and Remastered) maintains.
At the same time, the changes in the mix are palpable as the sample of waves — could also be cars on a road, but waves are more soothing so that’s the assumption given the surrounding context — at the outset of opener “Evocation” is more forward, and the wah-bass jam that moves into the second half before the crashout at 9:10 into the 14-minute “Dwarka,” which follows, feels more vibrant in much the same way the cover art by Tyler Wintermute has had its coloring enhanced, while remaining very much dedicated to earth-tones, but brighter and more vivid. The ethic would seem to apply across the entire 45-minute span.
Answering the inevitable question, the band has catalogued the changes and, for those who’d do a side-by-side, kept the original Primeval Transmissions — which they should maybe consider calling the “extra primeval version” or “original edition” or some such — available for listeners. Part of the explanation includes new equipment in Wrong‘s studio, which is fair enough. Wrong Way opened in late 2019, so that — as many producers do perpetually — Wrong would be bringing in different and upgraded gear over time makes sense.
This has allowed for digital versions in Dolby Atmos Surround and Apple Spatial Audio, neither of which I’ll pretend to understand beyond the assumption of higher audio resolution and richer frequency depth — they say that “anomalous noise” has been removed from the drum tracks as well, and sure enough they sound cleaner — which suits a piece like the rolling 12-minute “Battle for Harmonic Balance/Halls of Amenti,” the latter part of which also includes a new extra-bluesy guitar solo from Wrong where Caton‘s shaker percussion previously stood alone on a kind of hypnotic march into the closer “Evocation (Reprise).” Wrong also contributes a lead to centerpiece “Observer,” the jangle of his guitar surprising in its first strum at 2:27 into the song’s total 5:14 but (still) not unwelcome in complementing and filling out the trance rhythm carried over by O’Kelly and Caton.
But a new mix and a fancy hi-fi representation, and even the added solo, are just part of it. O’Kelly re-recorded vocals as well on “Evocation” and “Battle for Harmonic Balance/Halls of Amenti,” and that’s a stark change that enhances the listening experience overall, since as one might expect he’s more confident in his approach to the tracks some two-plus years after they were first put to tape. He’s somewhat less coated in echo as well, and his voice stands up to the forward position it’s now given, like he’s leading the meditation practice before his bass swells with distortion shortly before the six-minute mark, Caton‘s drums fluid and almost jazzy in their fills for the lead cut’s still-spacious crescendo.
The feeling of space — open space, particularly; not just the largesse of the bass tone or drum sounds — was crucial to Primeval Transmissions before and is too in the remix and remaster, which comes across as a purposeful decision. As enjoyable as high-volume listening is, part of the affect of Breath‘s material is its far-back sensibility, the feeling that the band are bringing their audience with them for this sojourn away from the mundane into ethereal not-quite-minimalism. And in comparing the redone vocal track on “Battle for Harmonic Balance/Halls of Amenti” to the earlier “Dwarka” — the two longest inclusions at 12 and 14 minutes, respectively — the change in sound isn’t so jarring as to remove one from the overarching flow of the material.
So perhaps not a do-over, but definitely an upgrade, making sure to keep what was working in sound, chemistry and ambience from the original while bolstering clarity and incorporating new ideas. The added guitar on “Battle for Harmonic Balance/Halls of Amenti” is smoother in its entry over the quiet stretch of shaker in the last two minutes of the song, a strummed layer that might be O’Kelly or might be Wrong backing himself on guitar behind the wistful psych-blues notes that emanate, creating a standout moment for side B in a space that was left open previously, making the turn into the back-t0-business bass and drums at the start of “Evocation (Reprise)” very much a re-grounding leading into the final instrumentalist procession outward; the cymbals brighter and more ceremonial in their impression circa 3:30 than they were, the bass that much warmer as the pair move toward the residual doppler noise that caps in mirror to the beginning of “Evocation” proper.
Ultimately, the revisit to (now somewhat less) Primeval Transmissions feels reasonable and rationalized given the changes that have been made, despite any kneejerk “why go back” reaction one might have on initial approach. It’s a fuller, more consuming sound, and one that comes across like a more complete realization of what Breath intended the record to be. To anybody who’d wonder why not move forward and make another record instead, I’ll point out that I have no idea the status of Breath‘s ‘next album’ or new material generally, and for all I know they could have songs in the works and ready to go; it doesn’t actually have to be one or the other, and more likely isn’t.
There are arguments to be made for the original’s barebones, live feel, but to be frank, that they sound better doesn’t hurt these songs, and in the redone vocals, the adjusted balance of the mix, the added guitar and the fine attention to detail throughout, Primeval Transmissions (Remixed and Remastered) still offers a sense of progression on the part of the band, and listeners who didn’t encounter it the first time around are given that much more depth to dig into as they travel along with Caton and O’Kelly (and Wrong) on this peripatetic exploration. Can’t really call it anything but a win.
The shamanic, Rickenbacker-shaped elephant in the room when Breath‘s Primeval Transmissions begins to unfold with “Evocation” (7:38) is Om‘s 2005 debut, Variations on a Theme (discussed here). Part of that is aesthetic, sure, as the Portland, Oregon outfit dig into heady vibes and spiritual exploration through “Evocation” and “Dwarka” (14:08), but part of it is also owed to the basic construction of the band as a bass-and-drums two-piece, which, well, if you’re going to be a meditative doom band with bass and drums, there’s a decent chance some schmo on the internet is going to come along and tell you you sound like Om.
Breath is the we’ve-been-friends-much-longer-than-we’ve-been-a-band duo of bassist/vocalist Steven O’Kelly and drummer Ian Caton (also of The Misery Men), and the Desert Records-issued Primeval Transmissions runs five tracks and 44 minutes of open-spaced hypnotic realization, but the other thing you need to know about that Om comparison is that it dissipates by the time they’re halfway through “Dwarka” as that song builds gradually from the suitably patient end of “Evocation” and rumble-lumbers into its own slow groove. The repetitions are on purpose, of course, and all part of the craft, Caton more on the bell of his ride than the crash for time-keeping, punctuating the roll with subtly vital fills as the bass tone surges in “Evocation” and comparatively mellow in the beginning of the subsequent track, though as O’Kelly‘s vocals find their way toward a rougher, more individual delivery, Caton complements that march well, captured and mixed with a due sense of open space by Witch Mountain guitarist Rob Wrong at his Wrong Way Recording studio.
Recorded, by the way, in a day. Specifically on March 20, 2020. It would not see release until Feb. 2021 — being mastered by Tad Doyle and topped by Tyler Wintermute artwork in between — but the date tells you a lot. Primarily, I have to think that some portion was tracked live. If not, kudos to the band on rolling into a studio, setting up their gear, getting drum sounds — which in many cases is a day unto itself — bass sounds, vocal sounds, then pushing through all their material one piece at a time, a process that most likely would be drums first, bass, then vocals, then other percussion like the shaker at the end of the 12-minute penultimate cut “Battle for Harmonic Balance/Halls of Amenti” (the latter portion of which is not to be confused with the Cephalic Carnage doom-minded EP of the same name). No. The fluidity throughout Primeval Transmissions, even as Wrong steps in to donate guitar to the centerpiece “Observer” (that may well have been added later) or the drums seem to be searching for the path forward around the three-minute mark’s pickup in closer “Evocation (Reprise)” is such that if it wasn’t recorded live at least in the basic tracks, that would have been one long-ass day.
And what a day it was. Oregon was already in a state of emergency for the covid-19 pandemic, and three days later, the full stay-at-home order would be issued. Kudos to Breath for sneaking in under the wire, not that they necessarily knew that order was coming at the time. Listening to it now, it’s tempting to read some kind of restlessness or anxiety into Primeval Transmissions, like somehow the nod in “Battle for Harmonic Balance/Halls of Amenti” know that the next two years were going to be an unprecedented, multi-tiered shitshow with ramifications that will likely define a generation of humans worldwide, never mind just current bands or artists in general. But it’s not really there. And even if you wanted to call “Evocation” rushed — you’d be incorrect, but people say incorrect crap all the time — wouldn’t that more likely be traced to that whole recorded-in-a-day thing?
Further, this seems to be something Breath themselves acknowledge right up front with the title of the album. If these five songs are their ‘primeval’ stage, it leaves one wondering just what they might have in mind for future sonic expansion. There are paths forward, certainly, as Om and outfits like Zaum, Experiencia Tibetana or Centrum have found ways to own the drone and make it theirs in the wake of Om‘s stylistic innovation, though given the chemistry between O’Kelly and Caton and the nascent willingness they show to broaden the palette either with percussion, that guitar inclusion on “Observer,” or even just the emotive vocal shifts throughout, one suspects that if they’re seeking a way, they’ll seek their own. Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but with the jazz that Wrong brings to “Observer” — some tambourine in there too — and the fact that they include “Evocation (Reprise)” as a trance-inducing instrumental bookend already familiar from the beginning of the album, the impression left is of a band beginning to feel out their approach and looking to grow rather than a definitive this-is-who-we-are declaration. Hence Primeval Transmissions.
And maybe the band would tell you the process is simple — write songs, show up, record, wait 11 months through don’t-breathe-in-public virus hell, release — but that doesn’t make the material on Primeval Transmissions any less engaging, though it should go without saying that not every listener is going to be able to get on board. There’s melody in O’Kelly‘s bass that can be heard in clean and distorted tones on “Dwarka,” and whether it’s the lower-register post-Cisneros vocal of later in that song or “Evocation” before it, nothing feels so staid as to say for sure this is what it is, this is what it will be. The elements are there and solid in their respective places, but there’s an overarching amorphousness as well that makes it seem like whatever their next ‘transmission’ might be, the shapes made from those elements might change. That, by making Breath a less predictable band on their first long-player release, can only be called a strength.
Whatever will come, the wanderings of Primeval Transmissions resonate like paintings on a cave wall, speaking to some universal inward and outward flow that, if it speaks to you at all, will land deep.
As always, I hope you enjoy.
Thanks for reading.
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So, for the better part of at least the last five years, I’ve been taking 40mg of Citalopram — an SSRI; generic for Celexa — daily as a treatment for depression. For the last five days, I’ve halved that dose with a mind toward stopping the meds altogether. I still have Xanax that I take as needed — half a whatever dose the little oval pill is at a time — and I’m content to try to roll with that at least for a bit. Since it’s a pretty regular thing and has been shown to regulate mood and mental health as well, I’ll mention my end-of-day-only THC intake.
This is either a great idea or a terrible one. I do not expect much room for middle ground between those two, because that’s kind of how my brain operates anyway. I don’t know if I’ve been more irritable this week — I’m always irritable — or any more miserable than I usually am (again, pretty fucking constant), but if you can’t perform science experiments on yourself what’s the point of even being human and if I suddenly feel the urgent desire to throw myself into oncoming traffic, well, that’s pretty much every day around 2:30PM at this point anyhow, so yeah. There are “no known” longterm side effects of Citalopram, so that’s something, but neither do I really trust the company that makes money off selling pills through my insurance to tell me if there were, because contrary to what my lies-about-snitching-ice-cream-from-the-freezer son thinks, I’m not actually that fucking stupid.
I guess I’m writing this down for myself, so I can keep track of where I’m at, but it’s better to talk about mental health shit than not. I’m 40 years old. I went to therapy for the first time at 16, started meds for the first time in college, have been on and off both since. Family history of anxiety, depression, whatever the fuck combo of OCD/on-the-spectrum/traumatized-by-his-kicked-the-shit-out-of-him-mother/utterly-broken-human-being my father was. But he was never strong enough to do anything about it, to take any steps to make his life more livable for himself. And I’m not saying I don’t get it now. I do. I’ve woken up and had my first thought of the day be, “I wish I was dead,” any number of times. But the point is you keep going, you put it into perspective with the things you’re grateful for, you take your fucking pill and your march on. You remember that music sounds good. And fuck stigma, too.
Took a pill this morning, have the other half I’ll take tomorrow, then I’ll probably let that be it for a while. I still have a bunch of the Citalopram left if I find I’m in a rough spot, but I’m going to try to let it go for a couple weeks and see where I end up. If I’m really lucky, I’ll be in crisis just in time for Psycho Las Vegas. That’d make for some solid reading, I expect. Cut my ear off and mail it to the riff from Monolord’s “To Each Their Own.”
The Patient Mrs. left a bit ago — it’s after 9AM now, I woke up at 3:30 and started this post a little after four — to go see friends in Massachusetts. I’ve got a couple people up there I wouldn’t mind visiting, but it’s an up-and-back-tomorrow kind of thing and I wouldn’t ask The Pecan to make the trip. We’re going back to the Land of Make-Believe today instead to ride the rollercoaster. Last time, we did four runs in a row on the tilt-a-whirl and I thought I was gonna die after, so we’ll see how today goes. I may or may not get to shower before that happens.
But the kid’s been a jerk all morning because he knows she won’t be around today and tomorrow and that’s how he shows his feelings which is a totally healthy pattern to be in, right? He’s sad about a thing, so throwing stuff and pinching me and, indeed, running into the street without looking is where we’re at? My best hope is to wear him out and at least if he’s super-tired, he’s easier to catch. We went for a bike ride up the big hill before. Gotta get out early in the Summer of Pivot. Camp starts never, since he got kicked out.
Though he did tell me yesterday that he wanted to go back to that camp. I think now that he’s potty trained (look at me with the bold declaration of A THING accomplished) he could probably handle it, but I told him that there was no way I’d send him back to that camp because the guy who ran it was a “baddie” who said not nice things and we’d find a different camp for next year. Until then, the not-babysitter who comes most days — she’s here now, which is how I’m finishing this — and I are pretty much camp, minus the crafts, plus more Thomas the Tank Enginewhich he watches on her phone. Alas. Summer of Pivot.
New Gimme show today, 5PM Eastern. I’m pretty sure nobody listens, but if you do, golly I appreciate it. http://gimmeradio.com
Next week, Birth interview goes up on Monday — haven’t done a video interview since March; something had to give [EDIT: I looked and actually it was May, so not that bad.] — and at some point I’ll review the Dreadnought album.
By the way, heads up, the new Caustic Casanova is a serious album-of-the-year contender in my book. Everybody’s feeling Chat Pile right now, and that’s cool too in that like it’s the band that Black Flag would be if Black Flag were just happening for the first time right now, but there’s so much scope in the CC record that it’s dizzying. Just letting you know. Their past work will not prepare you for it, even though it has clearly prepared them.
Great and safe weekend. Hydrate, watch your head, stay in the shade, all that. I’m gonna go shower.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 28th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Tenth one, huh? And final? Why, I remember when the first Ceremony of Sludge was announced, put together at the ambitious behest of members of Lamprey, who played, and Captain Couch Records. Well, even with the lost year in 2021 — they got to sneak one in for March 2020 before lockdowns happened — doing anything like putting together a festival 10 times, even an intentionally small one, is an accomplishment of which to be proud. I wish them nothing but the best in February, and I hope that this is actually able to happen as scheduled.
There are no bands shared between the first and last lineups for Ceremony of Sludge — and here I should say that the usual never-say-never applies here as with most things concerning rock and/or roll — though that would be fun. There are veterans though in Witch Mountain, Glasghote, and Mane of the Cur, and I think Lord Dying might’ve played at some point too, as well as members of A//tar in other bands. And while we’re talking about it, these bands rule. I’d be well into seeing Breath and ILS and Maximum Mad. Ceremony of Sludge always knew what was good in Portland, not the least because it was a part of making it happen.
Congrats on 10 editions and a job well done. Maybe this is it, maybe not, but if it is, all the more reason to celebrate.
Lineup follows:
CEREMONY OF SLUDGE X – Feb. 25 & 26
This is the end, friends: the tenth and FINAL Ceremony Of Sludge! It’s been a blast celebrating Portland’s (and beyond) heaviest bands with you all this past decade – we hope you’ll join us one last time.
