If the vibe of the second  The problems in the genre of descriptive essays. When students look for a place to Custom Written Papers writing services, Swarm of Flies single strikes you as having a different vibe from the first, that’s at least in part because it’s also got something of a different lineup. While project-spearhead/guitarist CT My Father Essay, Bayside, New York. 505 likes � 1 talking about this. Get your message or story out the way you intended when you hire CT Ghost... Ken Wohlrob and bassist  great post to read, Los Angeles, California: Rated 5 of 5, check 10 Reviews of Writer For Hire, Business Consultant Davis Schlachter make a return — they’re bandmates in  Thorsten, self-determined and without a crown, defrosts his images of mounds or whips in a resistant Personal Statement Mba manner. The most unpleasant End of Hope;  essay for scholarships http://www.bovec-sc.si/?essay-on-school Typing do my assighment writing a dissertation in 4 months Wohlrob also fronts  Top list of the great post to read is your key to success! We are glad to provide you with freshest proofreading services reviews and trustworthy Eternal Black,  a fantastic read - Essays & researches written by top quality writers. Learn all you need to know about custom writing Stop receiving bad marks with these Schlachter doubles (triples?) in get started phd thesis http://www.campingsolmar.com/?write-a-personal-statement-for-college help with application essay web resumes Reign of Zaius — they’re joined by a Philadelphia contingent of  We understand the importance of deadlines. When you say, �I need to Custom Resume Writing 50 in 2 days,� we will be happy to. Urgency is not a problem, and the quality will not suffer as a result. However, the longer you give us to produce it, the cheaper it is for you. Thunderbird Divine‘s  Simply tell us "Essay Writing Wiki!", and our experienced writers will be glad to provide you with professional services! We are at your disposal! Erik Caplan and  University Binding offers a quick,efficient thesis and dissertation binding & printing service. We only hire writers this link with Clamfight‘s  http://totaltheatre.org.uk/dissertation-design/. Only the best dissertations will let you get a higher grade and excellent marks enabling a successful future career in Andy Martin.

It’s  auckland university masters thesis Term Assignment Online best buy resume application louisville ky good essay prompts Martin to whom the vocal duties fall on “The Jaunt,” and he weaves a tale of sci-fi paranoia and conspiracy that’s only suited to whatever clever name history will someday give what we’re now calling “this moment” that we’re living through. It’s a spoken word piece, and the music behind is correspondingly atmospheric, which itself is a departure from the prior “Mine All Along” (posted here), but if the end-goal of  Need to see post? Do you find it difficult to write an essay for college? What about a research paper or a term paper? Why do you choose Swarm of Flies is to create an album’s worth of collaborations, the  Good Things About Homework, Andrew Carnegie Essay Paper & essay writing service most popular puzzle games of all �����������07.07.2009 � We are. Wohlrob and  Schlachter serve a vital function in tying it all together.

But really, what’s a guy gotta do to get an invite to do a track, huh? Is it ‘sit here and be jealous?’ Because that I can do.

Here’s info and audio:

Pandemic-project Swarm of Flies releases second single, “The Jaunt,” featuring members of Eternal Black, Clamfight, Thunderbird Divine, Reign of Zaius, and End of Hope.

A few words from Ken Wohlrob (Eternal Black, End of Hope):

Swarm of Flies is a collaborative musical project made up of musicians from well-established underground bands. The goal is to continue to release new music during the coronavirus pandemic. Our second single, “The Jaunt,” is now available as a name-your-price download on Bandcamp (swarmofflies.bandcamp.com) and is also available via online streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music.

The Song

As always, the S.O.F. lineup changes with each track. “The Jaunt,” features Andy Martin from Clamfight on vocals, Erik Caplan from Thunderbird Divine on guitar, drones, and harmonica, Davis Schlachter from Reign of Zaius and End of Hope on bass, synthesizer, and piano, and myself on guitar, Moog, and programming. This song is a strange one and the journey it went through from a somewhat minimalist dirge into a sort of space-rock epic speaks to the collaborative process. Erik is a flurry of creative ideas and threw so many layers at me that the challenge became finding the sonic bandwidth to make all the parts fit. The piano part added by Davis became an important counterpoint to all the electronic noise and his bassline anchors the whole thing in the Bad Seeds tradition. Andy had the idea for a spoken word part early on, but when we finally heard what he cooked up, we were stunned. It sets this dark tone and then builds to a great revelation. We handed it over to our good friend Joe Kelly, of Suburban Elvis Studios, to mix and master it, as well as add some additional percussion. It is a headphones song. You’ll keep hearing different layers every time you listen to it.

Comments from Erik:

“‘The Jaunt’ initially arrived as a sort of a puzzle challenge from Ken. The song is in an awkward key, and it’s in a janky time signature. It’s gloomy and moody. Once I figured out the progression, I had to figure out where I fit into the equation. This isn’t a song for guitar shredding, and it’s not a rocker or a doom jam. So I did a little Doors surf guitar and added some drone manipulations. I think the end result is simultaneously trippy, intense and organic.”

Comments from Andy:

“Lyrically, ‘The Jaunt’ was born of a collision between astrological alignments of Neolithic monuments, the Space Race during the Cold War, and the Repo Man soundtrack. The world we currently exist in is one that’s both isolated and unintentionally intimate. People are cut off from each other yet we can broadcast every moment of our lives to the those in our social circles. That made it easy to imagine being isolated from someone while having intimate access to their last moments.”

Who?

Here is a list of musicians who have participated in the Swarm of Flies project so far:
Andy Martin from Clamfight
Erik Caplan from Thunderbird Divine
Davis Schlachter from Reign of Zaius, Clothesline, and End of Hope
Earl Walker Lundy from Shadow Witch
David Richman from Witch Taint, St. Bastard, and End of Hope
Joe Kelly and Kol Marshall from Suburban Elvis Studios
And myself (if you don’t know who I am) from Eternal Black and End of Hope

https://swarmofflies.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/swarmoffliesband

Swarm of Flies, “The Jaunt”

Swarm of Flies, “Mine All Along”

It had been probably a decade since I put on World Coming Down, the fifth album from Brooklyn, New York’s Type O Negative, but I still knew every word to every song. That’s a special record.

Type O Negative — principal songwriter Peter Steele on bass/vocals, Johnny Kelly on drums, Kenny Hickey on guitar/some vocals and Josh Silver on those oh-so-essential keys — were coming off an absolute masterpiece in their prior offering, 1996’s October Rust (review here), which saw them transcend the goth metal stereotype to which they’d been lumped in part rightly and truly bask in the possibilities for what they might offer in their impossibly-individualized blend of Black Sabbath and The Beatles. In a time when metal was beating its chest to the Panteras of the universe, Type O Negative was apologetically sexually transgressive, and they defined their own course and their own career on October Rust.

Yeah, all well and good, but then you have to make another record, right? Throw that pressure, Steele‘s well-under-way cocaine addiction, various personal losses and traumas, and the result is probably the darkest work Type O Negative ever released. Sure, songs like “Who Will Save the Sane?” and “Creepy Green Light” and “All Hallows Eve” seemed to speak to some of the same post-goth elements as October Rust, but when you put those alongside “Everyone I Love is Dead,” “Everything Dies” — who the hell let both of those on the same record? — and the slog of an opening that the album gets with “White Slavery,” and the affect is just miserable from the outset. Type O Negative had certainly trafficked in downerism to this point, but World Coming Down — even its 11-minute title-track, which is high among the best songs this band ever produced — felt more real, more personal, and at times the weight it seemed to put on the listener could be a lot to take.

A product of its era, it runs 13 songs and 74 minutes long with a Beatles medley at its conclusion after “All Hallows Eve” and “Pyretta Blaze” — which one might accuse of being a cynical redux/answer to the likes of “My Girlfriend’s Girlfriend” or even “Be My Druidess” from the prior album — and is peppered with death in the three interludes “Sinus,” “Liver” and “Lung,” which of course allude to cocaine, drinking and smoking. If this was the band’s excesses catching up with them, then fair enough, but the difference on World Coming Down is that what was gallows humor is instead just misery. If that seems like a fine line, Type O Negative demonstrate clearly by the end of “White Slavery” that it isn’t. Of course, Steele was still a songwriter at heart, so the clever chorus, “Let me say, Pepsi Generation/A few lines of misinformation/Watch your money flow away oh so quick/To kill yourself properly coke is it,” is just that — clever. And catchy. But the underlying message isn’t lost just for being couched in an accessible package, and, even the uptempo piano lines of “Everything Dies” can’t mask the plainness with which Steele delivers, “Now I hate myself, wish I’d die.” This, right before the flatlining of “Lung.” A radio hit about hair dye, it ain’t.

There was no question that World Coming Down was informed by both the creative and the audience success of October Rust. From “Skip It” at the outset pulling a prank on the listeners to the lushness of melody in “Everything Dies” and “Pyretta Blaze.” The pre-medley closer “All Hallows Eve” seems to echo the sparseness (at least initially) of “Haunted” from the album before it as well. Each Type O Negative record was its own beast, from 1991’s Slow, Deep and Hard to 2007’s Dead Again, but neither were they ever shy about self-awareness, and that manifest throughout World Coming Down as much as anywhere. Even with the title-track as the centerpiece, it’s not a record I’d reach for before, say, 1993’s Bloody Kisses, October Rust, or maybe even Dead Again or 1992’s still-formative The Origin of the Feces, famous as much for its cover art as for any of the songs it actually contained. That’s not to say World Coming Down doesn’t have an appeal, just that, again, it can be a lot to take in. It is an album of meta-heaviness. They sound no less weighted down than the guitar or bass tones.

When Type O Negative were at their most ‘goth,’ on Bloody Kisses, they were tongue-in-cheek about it. There are some moves made to have the same perspective on World Coming Down, but somehow the humor is undone by the surrounding sincerity. As Steele intones during a break in the the title-track, “It’s better to burn quickly and bright/Then slowly and dull without a fight,” paraphrasing Neil Young in the process, it’s hard to know whether he’s working to convince himself or the listener of what he’s saying. World Coming Down is a gorgeous record, make no mistake, but its beauty has the arduous task of finding expression through a range of pains that comprise the recurring themes: death, addiction, inability to cope, etc.

The Beatles medley, with pieces of “Day Tripper,” “If I Needed Someone” and “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” is fair enough ground for Type O Negative to tread, having made no bones throughout their career of being influenced by — or as they might put it, “ripping off” — that group at various points. They also did a number of Beatles songs live, including “Back in the USSR.” And their penchant for matching parts of different songs together could easily be seen as an extension of the individualized takes they brought to “Hey Pete” or their version of “Paranoid” earlier in their career. It’s a little out of place on the album, tacked onto the end, but if I’m not mistaken, Roadrunner Records had a mandate at one point that everything they put out had to have a cover on it. Fear Factory did “Cars.” Type O Negative did “Day Tripper.” Fair enough.

Thinking about Nine Inch Nails‘ The Fragile (discussed here) last week — which came out the same day as World Coming Down; Sept. 21, 1999 — prompted a revisit here, and while the context of Steele‘s death in 2010 adds a spin of tragedy to everything Type O Negative did, as someone who was a fan of the band at the probably-too-tender age of 11, and who called Q104.3 so many times to request “Black No. 1” that they knew my name, I’m glad for any excuse to listen to them when an excuse to do so happens along.

—

We’re in Connecticut, came up yesterday. I’ve got to wrap this up in like 10 minutes so we can hit the road. Dropping off The Patient Mrs. and The Pecan at her mother’s, then driving north into Rhode Island about an hour and a half to buy chicken from a farm up there, then back down to grab them and back down again to NJ, hopefully all by naptime, but we’ll see. It’ll be a busy day.

Next week — Quarterly Review. I’m supposed to watch the Candlemass live stream this afternoon and review that too. It starts at 2PM. That should be up Monday, but other than that, it’s QR all the way. Not much news lately, so it’s a good time for it. Of course I say that and next week will probably be flooded. Whatever.

But since I haven’t even managed to brush my teeth yet — already changed a poopy diaper, made the kid breakfast (admittedly half-assed), and got two posts up! — and there’s still packing to do, I’m gonna call it. The Gimme show is a repeat this week, but if you feel like listening, it’s always appreciated.

It’s 4th of July weekend. I don’t have much to say about it, but if you’re proud to be an American in 2020, you’re either fooling yourself or an asshole. We should hang our heads and mourn the unnecessary dead this year. Have fun at the fireworks.

Whatever you do with it, a day off is a day off. I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Enjoy yourself from a safe distance.

FRM.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

By now the ‘quarantine video’ is fast becoming a genre of its own, and one that will, when the planet has reopened to whatever new reality awaits our pitiful species — back to burning working class labor and fossil fuels we go, merrily cutting taxes and learning nothing — be a marker of this time and experience. It speaks to the simple need to create that, even isolated from each other, the members of bands can’t help but collaborate on projects like this new video from Kings Destroy. There are so many working on new material during this lockdown, and as we seem to be at least telling ourselves we’re through the worst of it — maybe we are, I don’t know — the baby-boom of records to come might indeed be another marker of COVID-19’s aftermath. So be it. In the meantime, locked in their homes in New York, Kings Destroy put together a clip for “Fantasma Nera” from their 2019 album of the same name (review here), which Svart delivered and you should’ve listened to if you didn’t. There’s time now, to paraphrase Burgess Meredith at the end of the world.

But whatever. The album’s fanatically melodic, and a boldly rock and roll reaction to the confrontationalism of their past work. More than anything, it was the record where they perhaps once and for all shrugged off the expectations of others and took the course they wanted to take. No two Kings Destroy releases have ever been the same — all the more reason to listen — so I wouldn’t count on them repeating this process next time, even should they return to work again with producer David Bottrill (Tool, King Crimson, etc.). But though I’m sure guitarists Carl Porcaro, who bursts into the room at one point in the video with his freshly-shaved head carrying his guitar like he’s on Smackdown, and Christopher Skowronski, who hates run-on sentences like this one and recently did a days of rona talking about his own plague experience, have been chipping away at new riffs and during their stuck-at-home time, the band as a whole aren’t probably there yet. It would probably help things along though if they could get in the same room. Remember when that used to happen?

And as the opening lyrics of the song say, “Remember when we were alive?/Neither do I.”

On that fun note, a few highlights: We see drummer Rob Sefcik‘s dog and child and he gives a good shrug in addition to a righteous performance on some pretend drums. At one point, vocalist Steve Murphy points at the camera. Bassist/backing vocalist Aaron Bumpus fades in with some ’80s metal effects on the harmonies and, later, enjoys a drink, as does much of the band. And of course, that Porcaro entrance. It’s a good one.

The video was edited by Skowronski and he offers some quick comment below, and the Bandcamp stream of Fantasma Nera is down there too. Have at it.

And please enjoy:

Kings Destroy, “Fantasma Nera” official video

Christopher Skowronski on “Fantasma Nera”:

“I was just looking for a project to keep me busy during the lockdown. I realized we never made a video for any song off of Fantasma Nera, so why not make one. Of course all of us being in isolation posed a problem. I also didn’t want to do one of those videos of a band playing “live” via Zoom or whatever. I mean, I’ve seen some cool ones, but it’s been done, and not all of us have the technology to pull that off anyway. So I just asked everyone to film themselves playing the song, as well as some footage of them in isolation doing whatever they chose. I got a ton of footage back from everyone, went through it, and cut it together. It wasn’t until I began making it that I realized the lyrics — especially the first few lines of the song — fit the overall situation so well. Anyway, it at least gave us all something creative to do.”

Fantasma Nera is out now on Svart Records: https://svartrecords.com/?s=kings+destroy

Kings Destroy, Fantasma Nera (2019)

Kings Destroy on Thee Facebooks

Kings Destroy on Instagram

Kings Destroy website

Kings Destroy on Bandcamp

Svart Records website

Svart Records on Thee Facebooks

Svart Records on Instagram

If idle hands are the devil’s workshop, then I guess we’re casting Eternal Black‘s Ken Wohlrob out of paradise — such as it is — this week. The guitarist/vocalist from the Brooklynite doom trio — also of the more hardcore-driven End of Hope is working toward assembling a rotating cast of misfits and ne’er-do-wells that includes familiar faces from the Northeastern Corridor like Erik Caplan from Philly’s Thunderbird Divine and Earl Walker Lundy from Shadow Witch, among a host of others that is still growing.

The project is called, somewhat self-effacingly, Swarm of Flies, and along with Davis Zaius and fellow End of Hope member David Richman, as well of course as Wohlrob himself at the helm of the riffs, the drive here is obviously to collaborate with others in a way that, during “normal” times, probably wouldn’t happen just for the sheer logistics of getting people in the same room, but that now seems all the more possible precisely because there’s no alternative.

Swarm of Flies‘ first single, which boasts Lundy‘s vocal contribution, is called “Mine All Along.” I don’t know what the longterm plan is, whether these singles will eventually add up to an album or what, but It’s a cool idea manifest in at least one killer tune so far, so well worth sharing as far as I’m concerned. You’ll find “Mine All Along” at the bottom of this post, and Wohlrob offers the particulars on Swarm of Flies below.

Dive in:

Members of Eternal Black, Shadow Witch, End of Hope, Witch Taint, St. Bastard, Reign of Zaius, Thunderbird Divine, and Clamfight join forces as Swarm of Flies to release new music during the coronavirus pandemic. The first single, “Mine All Along,” is available now.

A few words from Ken Wohlrob (Eternal Black, End of Hope):

What?

Swarm of Flies is a new collaborative musical group. The goal is to continue to release new music during the coronavirus pandemic while our other bands are on hiatus. So far, the group includes members of Eternal Black, Shadow Witch, End of Hope, Witch Taint, St. Bastard, Reign of Zaius, Thunderbird Divine, and Clamfight. Our first single, “Mine All Along,” is now available as a name-your-price download on our Bandcamp page (swarmofflies.bandcamp.com) and is also available via online streaming services including Spotify and Apple Music. We will release each new song as it is ready. Every song will feature different musicians or new members who have joined the fold.

Why?

As the world ground to a halt, I didn’t want to stop making music. Even though my other bands were sidelined temporarily, I still wanted to find a way to release new music. The more I thought about it, the more I saw it as an opportunity to change the whole damn approach. Not only the type of music I made, but how it was created -— play different styles, play different guitars, hell, play different instruments. And why not get some friends involved, including people I admired from bands that I was lucky enough to share a bill with at one time or another? Once we started sending files back and forth and everyone kept adding their own layers, it got really interesting. I think people who know us will be surprised by what they hear.

Who?

Here is who has jumped on board so far:
Earl Walker Lundy from Shadow Witch
David Richman from Witch Taint, St. Bastard, and End of Hope
Davis Schlachter from Reign of Zaius, Clothesline, and End of Hope
Erik Caplan from Thunderbird Divine
Andy Martin from Clamfight
Joe Kelly and Kol Marshall of Suburban Elvis Studios will be mixing and mastering
And myself (if you don’t know who I am) from Eternal Black and End of Hope

The Song

The first single, “Mine All Along,” features Earl Walker Lundy on vocals, Davis Schlachter on bass and keyboards, Dave Richman on drums, and myself on guitar. The sound is more akin to Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. I think Earl’s vocal performance is spectacular. For my money, he’s one of the most dynamic frontmen in heavy music and he’s got so much soul in his voice. Dave Richman is a rock. He anchors any band he plays in. Songs rise to a whole new level once he’s added his parts. Davis is the utility player. He can play so many different instruments and so many different styles. But his sense of what works for a song is always spot on.

What’s Next?

The next single, “The Jaunt,” will feature Andy Martin (Clamfight) on vocals, Erik Caplan (Thunderbird Divine) on vocals, guitars, drone noises, and other strange contraptions, Davis Schlachter on bass and keyboards, and myself on guitar, Moog, and programming. It’s out there. Way out there.

More music soon…

https://swarmofflies.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/swarmoffliesband

Swarm of Flies, “Mine All Along”

The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Dana Schechter of Insect Ark (Berlin, Germany)

—

How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

Luckily our health is good so far. Everything besides getting sick or caring for those who are seems relatively unimportant. I suppose we’re dealing the same as many bands — waiting to see how, if, and when things will fall back into place. Andy and I are across the world from each other right now — I’m in Berlin, he’s in Salt Lake City — and on a normal day we’re across the country anyway. We’ll hopefully tour this Fall, but it’s too soon to say. Yes it sucks. Our new album came out just as the virus was hitting.

It’s hard for smaller bands to recover from something like this, since we left for the Europe tour on Feb 29 and had to pull the plug after four shows and go home. Getting Andy back to the US on short notice wasn’t easy, and I decided to stay in Berlin. A year of planning, ultimately with a massive loss of money/time… I haven’t really moped or licked my wounds re: how we’ve been so unlucky, because all people everywhere are feeling the same. Of course it’s massively disappointing, at best. But so many people are struggling much harder than I am, harder than ever before, and it’s on a massive scale — I know that I am lucky, relatively speaking. No kids, no house or car payments, etc. I’ve gotten by on almost nothing for a long time, so I can adapt to some extent.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

Here in Berlin — at least so far [April 16] — it’s less strict than in other EU countries, like Italy, Greece or France, where you need a letter to leave the house or risk hefty fines by the police. Here, I can take a bike ride or walk, food shop, i.e., the basics. No public gatherings of any kind over two people. Keep six feet away from others when in public. People here are pretty compliant. I’m glad I’m not home (NYC) though, and it’s heartbreaking to watch the US struggling from afar. Some days it is beyond comprehension how we will all get past the challenges we are facing. And I’m utterly ashamed and furious at the USA’s reckless handling of the situation.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

I’ve been seeing many creative friends saying that they’re having trouble being creative or productive. Even with the sudden luxury of free time, it’s hard to feel motivated when the day has no shape and making plans is such a questionable pursuit. And of course there are the thousands of events and tours that were canceled or are being rescheduled. I was supposed to do three consecutive Swans tours starting next week, which have mostly been pushed to next year now. It’s like a full year of our lives is being chopped out and a black box fills the calendar for days and days and days. There is a massive amount of uncertainty and the whole “business model” of touring and releasing albums feels extremely unstable and questionable right now.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

We will make it back somehow. We live on the margins anyway, so with any luck this will be just a waiting game. I hope we can all try to be grateful for what we have… hold onto the good memories to get us through, don’t lose hope, and vote the bastards out of office before they get us all killed.

http://www.insectark.com
http://www.facebook.com/InsectArk
http://www.instagram.com/insectark/
http://www.insectark.bandcamp.com
http://www.profoundlorerecords.com
http://www.facebook.com/profoundlorerecords
http://www.profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com

The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Adam Kriney of The Golden Grass & Rattlesnake (New York, New York)

—

How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

Well the situation has been quite upsetting for my two main groups, The Golden Grass and Rattlesnake. The nature of being collaboratively artistic and practicing regularly are very core to our collective life paths, and so the loss of the regular creative commitments left us with a void. The being said, it is not lost on me whatsoever just how privileged we were to be able to engage in this world of music/subculture/records/touring/festivals etc.

There was a global underground infrastructure that we were both a part of and that supported what we do, but every single element of that infrastructure has been shaken, halted and possibly even shut down, in the worst cases, due to the pandemic. It is surreal, devastating and quite traumatic what we are going through, and I mean ALL of us. It especially pricks deeply in our little subcultural world though because as outsiders to the populace, there is an amazing feeling to be part of this living, breathing, exciting and functioning world of ours, and it was a safe place of sorts, that even when the regular world was falling apart and full of garbage, we AT LEAST had this…but now, everything is frozen, and the delicate fragility of our little world has been revealed, and I don’t have any idea what the future will hold for us weirdos and this secret universe we loved so much…

On a personal level, I am very fortunate the both bands had a very light schedule of live performances planned so far this year, so the cancellations of tours/gigs etc has barely affected us, but i can’t even imagine what all my buddies are feeling, on all sides of the live music world such as bands/booking agencies/promoters/logistics, who’ve had to cancel their plans, especially those whose incomes are significantly connected to the underground music industry, it’s really awful.

And then there is the record labels/album release situation that also affects many friends, and this connects with me a bit more. The Golden Grass was about halfway done writing our new album and Rattlesnake was already about 20 percent done with recording/mixing our debut LP when we had to quarantine, so both of those projects are frozen at the moment. And the Marmalade Knives LP that I produced has just been given a delayed release date on Electric Valley Records due to vinyl plant closures. But these are all slight inconveniences, the situation at large is a bit more worrisome, and last but not least, it really puts in to perspective that maybe all this privileged stuff we do is merely a luxury, and can we really bitch about it when tens or hundreds of thousands of people are about to innocently die because of this? What a mess…

Beyond that, everyone is healthy in the bands but about half of us are unemployed by the situation.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

We are all based in NYC so we’ve been hit first and hardest by this and have been in quarantine on various levels for about three weeks [as of April 5]. Obviously there have been no rehearsals, no hangs, and everyone is just focusing on their own little worlds taking care of their situations. Everyone is in touch on various social media platforms all the time, so we’re all staying connected but the overall mood is solemn.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

As far as my neighborhood, it’s eerily quiet, and to be in NYC and see this level of constant non-activity only adds to the weird vibe. We’ve been social distancing for weeks now, and for the past week everyone has masks and gloves on, it’s being taken quite seriously here.

The NYC music scene is obviously devastated. I had so many friends active and working in nightlife, as DJs, bartenders, promoters, performers, etc, I can’t even think about what the outcome will be for venues that were already fighting for life in this town, it’s terrifying.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

I’m frightened. I’m confused. I’m exhausted. I’m getting better with keeping a schedule, and giving myself a plan every day to stay focused. Some days I am super upbeat and others i go very low. I allow myself to go through all of these emotions. This is an absolutely alien traumatic experience. No reaction to this is normal or abnormal, and to be honest I think as a species we’re kinda doin’ OK, so far anyway….

So (mostly) every day I do my stretching and yoga, I eat super well, mostly vegetarian, and am not doing any substances except smoking grass through this. I know it’s LITERALLY a matter of survival, this is the reality sci-fi movie we get, it’s here and now, and wow holy shit, will I be a survivor on this show? will I thrive?!

What about my music? Since the bands are all mostly at a standstill, I am going hard with practicing drum techniques and rudiments every day and actually developing a pretty cool community of drummers who are sharing exercises, posting videos and tips with each other and that’s been a nice warm twist in this chaos. I miss my bandmates and my drum kit (I can only play my pad in my NYC apt) but I just try to stay in musical shape and use the time to get better at things I never had time for before. I’m also trying to use this time for a massive archival digital release schedule, as there are dozens of unfinished, unmixed, or just never finalized albums I’ve made with various bands/projects over the past 10-15 years that I can finally find the time to clean up and issue. This archival project actually started with the release of a 2013 album from Zoned Out, my since-disbanded jazzy, proggy Krautrock group. There’s so much more to come (you can follow my label page at http://www.facebook.com/inforthekillrecords to see the action).

But at the same time, I am constantly faced with the insignificance of this all. Such privilege and luxury to have even in this moment. Is it pointless? Who cares if I finish the album or get really good at flam rudiments? Will there be an other side? what will it look like, are there bands there, or shows, gigs, a scene? Or are we going to be living in bombed out bunkers in some post-WW3-like dystopia, ready to kill anyone/thing that comes near us?! Are all my friends going to die? Is everything going to be fine in two months, one year, 10 years?

I do get momentarily paralyzed by these thoughts throughout every day lately. But then somehow this energy comes to me from somewhere, I pack my bong, grab my sticks and run through my drum rudiment exercises yet again, taking great care to feel and learn deeper, maybe just to be hot and ready for the next gig when the world is reborn…

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The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Christopher Skowronski of Kings Destroy & Killing Time (Brooklyn, New York)

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How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

As far as health goes, I just got over my own brush with what was probably the virus. I didn’t mention it at all on any social media, so outside of my family and close friends, I haven’t let anyone know until now. I began feeling sick with a fever and dry cough on the evening of St. Patrick’s Day. I had some close contact with someone who had gotten pretty sick, so I was kind of expecting it. For a few days it just felt like a mild cold, but by the weekend, I was in bed for about 17 hours a day. I felt like I had been run over by a truck. My entire body ached, I was completely exhausted, and I had a fever that wouldn’t quit. I also lost my sense of smell and taste. By that point, they weren’t testing anyone in New York unless you were hospitalized, and since the system here in NYC was already being overwhelmed, they didn’t want you to go to the hospital unless it was an absolute emergency. So my doctor basically told me to ride it out at home unless I couldn’t breathe. It got a little dicey for a few days, but I slowly got better. At this point, I’m feeling pretty close to normal. As of today, it’s been three full weeks. I guess I got lucky.

Everyone else in Kings Destroy and Killing Time is okay health-wise so far. We all seem to be finding a way to deal and stay relatively sane. Some have been lucky enough to keep their day jobs; I and a couple others have been laid off.

Neither band is doing any practicing, and some plans changed. Kings Destroy was set to play a gig with Monster Magnet here in Brooklyn on March 20th, which obviously was cancelled. We were also working on some tour plans which had to be scuttled. Killing Time mostly plays one-off festivals and fly dates, but we had a New York show booked for early May that we had to postpone. We were talking about a possible European run, but that wasn’t going to happen until 2021 anyway, and hopefully, this will be a distant memory by then.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

The rules here in NYC are all non-essential businesses are closed, unless work can be done from home. Restaurants can stay open, but take-out only. I guess there is loophole that dictates that a bar that serves any kind of food call stay open to sell take-out drinks, so some bars in my neighborhood are serving drinks to-go.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

Overall, it’s definitely much quieter here in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which is normally a pretty active neighborhood. You do see people out walking dogs and going to the grocery store, etc., but it’s nothing like normal. Also, I’d say about 9/10 are now wearing masks. It’s great that people are taking it seriously, but it makes for a creepy vibe for sure. And of course all this is set against the backdrop of what is happening in the hospitals here. New York is just getting hammered by this virus, and there is a palpable sense of anxiety.

As far as businesses are concerned, there are so many that are taking a huge hit and probably won’t survive. Some of the bars and restaurants are trying to hang on just doing the take-out thing, but many have just shuttered. It’s pretty bleak.

I think the reaction in the music scene has actually been pretty inspiring, for the most part. I know a lot of guys are taking the time to hunker down, write, and trade ideas with bandmates over the Interwebs. I certainly feel worst for the bands that had whole tours booked and ready to go. That’s just a gut-punch. Then there are all the sound people, bartenders, bookers, etc. who are out of work. Once you start thinking about all of it, it gets really depressing. But from everything I’ve seen online, everyone seems to be tackling it with humor, positivity, and creativity.

I joked on Facebook that this situation would probably bankrupt me, but at least my guitar chops would be sick. And that’s pretty much how it’s turning out. I had to file for unemployment for the first time in my life, but I have been playing more guitar than ever. I’ve sat in bed and played guitar for hours, which is not something you normally get to do on a regular basis. In a way, it is a luxury. I have already written and recorded a brand new song for a side-project I was working on before this all happened, and I’m building up a pretty impressive strategic stockpile of riffs. I’ve also been recording some videos of me teaching Kings Destroy songs which I’ve been posting to our Instagram. That’s actually been a lot of fun. In the end, I think this whole situation is going to make people a little more stoked when we’re all finally able to get out there and play. So in that sense, maybe it’ll turn out to have a small silver lining. At least I hope so.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

As much as this situation sucks, I am incredibly lucky. I’m out of a day job, but my wife is still working. I had some gigs cancelled, but it isn’t my entire livelihood as it is for some bands and most venues. I know there are people out there that are truly in desperate times. But it’s going to pass one way or another. So I try to stay as positive as possible. I mean, when I started getting really sick, I was absolutely terrified. I’m just stoked to still be here.

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[Click play above to stream “Neo Dog” from River Cult’s Chilling Effect. Album is out May 1 through Nasoni Records (LP) and Tee Pee Records Annex (DL).]

River Cult feel like a band-in-waiting for the hype machine to take notice. They are as yet likewise underrated and loaded with potential. Chilling Effect is their second LP behind 2018’s righteous debut, Halcyon Daze (review here), and a well-received 2016 EP, and the three-piece use it as an opportunity to organically present a sound that spans decades as fluidly as it spans tracks. Uniting through an overarching loose and psych-prone tonality and vibe, they conceive a vision of heavy that’s adherent to a ’70s-style power trio ethic of putting the live performance to tape in as meaty fashion as possible, while 11-minute opening title-track and longest inclusion (immediate points) could hardly feel more modern, with guitarist Sean Forlenza offering a vocal pattern that calls to mind All Them Witches even as the massive jam that ensues sets the stage for the thickened, slowed Fu Manchu roll of “Left Hand Path,” the Nebula-esque strut through “Neo Dog” and the heavy psych instrumentalism of the penultimate “Red Return” ahead of “Fool’s Gold,” which rounds out with a surprising post-punk-goes-grunge shimmer.

Concerning their overall craft and range, they are likely a few years ahead of their time, but with the sure presence of groove from bassist Anthony Mendolia and drummer Tav Palumbo behind Forlenza‘s riffing and airier leads, there is never a misstep when it comes to transitions within and between the songs. This is true even as “Fool’s Gold” hits the brakes on its swirling solo and moves into a doomier slowdown before shifting back toward more molten fare and ultimately capping Chilling Effect not much with a scorching apex — which they’d be well within their rights to do, given the proceedings as a whole — but with an expanse of residual amp noise and hum, hypnotic in its drone, a lower-end echo and complement to the keyboard flourish that begins the outing in the title cut. One way or another, the name of the record would seem to be no coincidence.

So be it. If the measure of River Cult‘s sophomore full-length is to be the record’s ability to have an effect of the mood of the listener or at very least its own atmosphere in terms of how one might relate to it, then Chilling Effect can only be considered a success. At the same time, it’s hardly void of movement, even if one counts the most basic level of tempo alongside the shifts from one element of style to another. As “Chilling Effect” emerges from that initial keyboard line, it does so around a fuzzy groove that’s comfortably paced and makes a fitting bed for Forlenza‘s proclamations. A doubtful influence, but there’s some of the natural density that drove defunct North Carolinian acts like Caltrop and Black Skies in the aughts, picking up on a nascent heavy Americana that came to fruition in this past decade at the behest of other acts. River Cult never quite touch that line either, but in the wailing guitar and spoken lines that set up the solo as “Chilling Effect” oozes through its midsection, there’s a bluesy shade being drawn just the same.

In River Cult‘s hands, however, it becomes the foundation of the aforementioned jam, an instrumental outward motion that brings into emphasis the bolder ideology of putting the longest song first on the record — the safe thing to do would be otherwise. As it is, the feedback of “Chilling Effect” fades seamlessly into the creeping opening progression of “Left Hand Path,” which unveils its sludgy sleeze early and holds to it for the duration. Mendolia makes it a high point of low frequencies. Even as the noisy guitar solo arrives late and the drums pick up in kind, the bassline is a repetitive and hypnotic joy, giving further credence to the laid back delivery of the verses before. The rumble resumes after the solo and a cold stop brings to the digital version the arrival of “Neo Dog,” which is something of a departure in being about half as long as the shortest of what surrounds at just 3:11, but makes up for runtime in attitude and its alternating between swing and push, neither refusing to give ground as it winds to a stylized, stage-ready bop of a conclusion.

With that, River Cult put themselves to the task of pushing deeper and deeper into side B. Leads are layered in “Red Return” and the song forms around welcome returns to a drifting line of guitar, quiet and nodding all the more as it starts to meander in blues fashion after four minutes in, coming to a full stop before a snare snap from Palumbo brings the three-piece into a faster closing section, this one marked by a wash of noise that continues in abrasive fashion even after the drums and bass cut out as the guitar seems intent on breaking whatever manner of amplified conveyance it’s being run through.

The initial turn of “Fool’s Gold” is rightfully jarring coming out of that, but as River Cult shift into more densely-toned riffing — recalling the heft of “Left Hand Path” — they do so around a particularly Sleep-y progression, which soon gets translated into a floating lead that becomes the ground for the Forlenza‘s last solo, returning to guide the band through their final quiet stretch ahead of one more dose of mega-fuzz before the last 90 seconds or so drone into an oblivion that comes not with the long fade one might expect, but a sudden, cold finish that stands in defiance of much of Chilling Effect‘s chilling effect. Perhaps that’s the band’s way of shocking their audience out of the trance they’ve incited, but in any case, the prevailing sentiment throughout the 35-minute stretch is one that, even in its most thrillingly savage moments, exudes a casualness and a raw chemistry that can only help earn the attention River Cult are proving to be due.

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River Cult on Instagram

River Cult on Bandcamp

Nasoni Records website

Tee Pee Records Annex website