Posted in Features on November 25th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Truckfighters‘ ascent to the forefront of European heavy rock is no accident. For over a decade, the Örebro, Sweden, natives have been nearly unparalleled in their efforts both to be heard and to compose and execute material worthy of the attention they’ve demanded for it. Their loyalty to fuzz tones and thick grooves has come packaged with an unflinching dedication to creative growth on the part of the core duo of bassist/vocalist Oskar “Ozo” Cedermalm and guitarist Niklas “Dango” Källgren, and their live performance remains among the most physically engaged in the genre. More than nearly any other current act, Truckfighters aspire to literally throw themselves into their music.
As their influence has continued to spread — there are an awful lot of bands jumping around Euro club stages these days, it seems — so has the range of their songwriting. This fall, they released V (review here) as their debut in licensed conjunction with Century Media after years working exclusively through their own Fuzzorama Records imprint on prior outings like earlier-2016’s live album, Live in London (review here), 2014’s Universe (review here), 2009’s Mania (review here), 2007’s Phi and their landmark 2005 debut, Gravity X (discussed here), and offered the latest chapter in their ongoing progression. More confident in the sometimes-brooding sensibility that came to fruition on Universe, songs like “Calm Before the Storm,” “The Contract” and “Storyline” nonetheless retained the memorable craftsmanship that has always been at root in Truckfighters‘ work, and only become broader in its emotional and sonic reach.
Like most good things in life, my conversation with Cedermalm happened outside a café in Oslo, Norway. It was the second night of the Høstsabbat festival, which Truckfighters would headline, and the band had finished soundcheck shortly before. We’ve met a few times over the years, but this was my first sit-down with him and I was grateful for the chance to talk about V, some of the controversy that had been stirred by the then-recently-released video for “Calm Before the Storm,” the particulars of the deal with Century Media, their apparent inability to keep a drummer in the lineup, and most importantly, about the creative partnership he shares with Källgren, since that is ultimately what has always been the center of the band.
Fortunately, he was open about all of these things and much more. Seemingly perpetual in their touring ethic, Truckfighters were out through parts of October and earlier this month and are once again on the road to finish off 2016. They’ll continue into 2017 to support V. Here are the remaining current dates:
Truckfighters with Deville & Dot Legacy:
Nov 25 Underground, Koln, Germany
Nov 26 Hublot, Nancy, France
Nov 27 Petit Bain, Paris, France
Nov 28 Le Ferrailleur, Nantes, France
Nov 30 Magasin 4, Brussels, Belgium
Dec 04 Mama Roux’s Birmingham, United Kingdom
Dec 05 King Tuts, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Dec 06 Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Dec 07 Thekla, Bristol, United Kingdom
Dec 08 The Ruby Lounge, Manchester, United Kingdom
Dec 09 Islington Academy, London, United Kingdom
Dec 10 Patterns, Brighton, United Kingdom
Dec 27 Sankt Hell Festival, Hamburg, Germany w/ Orange Goblin, Bullet and more
Full Q&A can be found after the jump. Thanks for reading.
Posted in Reviews on October 17th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
If you want to look at the trajectory of Swedish heavy rockers Truckfighters, it’s easy to read their catalog as a series of forward steps. There is a clear narrative arc to their work that can be traced right to its latest chapter in their new offering, V. Their 2005 debut, Gravity X, boasts a few tracks that even 11 years later tap into a timeless imperative of desert rock. It established them as a noteworthy presence within the sphere of European fuzz and set in motion a touring and promotion ethic that has gone largely unmatched within that sphere.
Working as a four-piece for Phi in 2007, the Örebro-based outfit began to branch out, but it was with 2009’s Mania (review here) that their progressive side really first showed itself as the path they would follow in songwriting. They hit the road hard in the years that followed, released a feature-length documentary, and began a seemingly endless round of changes in lineup, with the core duo of vocalist/bassist Oskar “Ozo” Cedermalm, guitarist Niklas “Dango” Källgren joined by an ongoing succession of drummers. On 2014’s Universe (review here), which was preceded by the EP The Chairman in 2013 and followed earlier this year by Live in London (review here), it was Andre “Poncho” Kvarnström, now of Blues Pills. For V, it’s Daniel “El Danno” Israelsson of Dexter Jones’ Circus Orchestra taking up the call, though my understanding is he too is already out of the band.
These shifts around Cedermalm and Källgren seem to have done little to ultimately slow the progression or momentum of Truckfighters, who as well as being one of the heavy underground’s most kinetic live acts have established one of its most immediately identifiable sounds — you know when you’re listening to Truckfighters — have taken another step forward in inking a deal with Century Media for the distributing of the seven-track/47-minute V, licensing through their own Fuzzorama Records, which has been home to each of their prior outings. A shift in profile, if not necessarily aesthetic, but noteworthy all the same in showing the multi-tiered evolution of the band, whose songcraft continues to grow as well. To listen to V front to back from opener and longest track (immediate points) “Calm Before the Storm” to the finisher “Storyline,” the larger portion of what the trio does in the span will be recognizable to those who heard Universe.
Certainly, in tone, their penchant for fuzz has remained consistent. It’s what they do with that fuzz that has changed over time, and a steady development in vocal confidence from Cedermalm combined with an increased comfort with complex modes of expression overall, which on the first two albums simply wasn’t there and in hindsight was only beginning to emerge on Mania, that results in such fluidity throughout V. Credit in setting the mood has to go to “Calm Before the Storm” as well. While V has plenty of upbeat moments of push in “Hackshaw,” “The 1,” “Gehenna,” and “Fiend” — and indeed the opener increases thrust as it builds through its hook — “Calm Before the Storm” is an especially bold choice to lead off for its brooding sensibility, which seems to find complement and emphasis even in the most raucous of moments that immediately follow, be it the winding chorus of “Hackshaw” or the thick-fuzzed push that begins “The 1.”
To an extent, this was true of Universe as well, and with half as much time between Universe and V as there was between Mania and Universe, it’s not surprising the two would share some characteristics, whatever Truckfighters have been through over the last couple years. But the scope has once again broadened, and one can hear that in how smoothly centerpiece “Gehenna” ebbs and flows, how the momentum of “The 1” seems to subside only to rise again, in the melodic reach of the chorus to “The Contract,” which might be V‘s standout moment, and in the poise with which Truckfighters claim such breadths and depths as their own. As much of their persona — which is not to say “brand” — is defined by onstage acrobatics, Källgren‘s madman energy running back and forth, jumping up and down, spinning in circles, etc., on record they seem even more daring how deeply they plunge into contemplative stretches.
The verse to “The Contract” is spacious, the bridge in the second half of “Hackshaw” dizzying but precisely executed, and the interplay of acoustic and electric guitar in “Storyline” a new level of emotional crux entirely. That Truckfighters can be patient and that band who are such a force in a live setting, and that they can ultimately do so without contradicting themselves and having their foundation collapse under them, makes them all the more special as a group contributing to the expansion of their genre. Even the subtlety that shows itself in the midsection of “Fiend,” teasing those acoustics that play a more prominent role after the blown-out push that starts “Storyline,” stands as an example of the delicate balance Truckfighters strike.
And though they then seem to delight in stomping all over that balance, it emerges unscathed. It might be fair to call this the triumph within V itself were it not for the level of songwriting Cedermalm and Källgren bring forth. Fifteen years on from their first getting together and with countless miles under their collective belt, they’ve become one of heavy rock’s most crucial teams, and more encouragingly, while they’ve clearly established a working modus, they refuse to sit still from one release to the next, to rest on past laurels, or to give in to the expectations of others. It is a rare band who, five albums in, can remain defined by their forward potential, and Truckfighters have worked hard to hold true to that reality.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 20th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
I had occasion this past weekend to revisit the third and latest full-length from Finnish forest-progressives Hexvessel, When We are Death (review here) — also their debut on Century Media — and I gotta tell you, the songs hold up. All of them. I listened to this record a lot leading up to reviewing it, was genuinely surprised by the turn the band took from the folkishness of their prior two LPs, and it took a while for that to sink in, but the more I put it on, the more the hooks stuck with me, and they still do. I know it’s only been a few months, but you’ll have to believe me when I say that’s more than many, many albums last in rotation on my mental jukebox (it’s an old fashioned one, with neon), particularly front-to-back in such a manner as When We are Death.
So, as the band head out on a quick run through Germany starting tonight and concluding at the Reeperbahn Festival, their new video for “Drugged up on the Universe” lands with welcome. The clip — which seems to feature a lot of the regular kind of drugged up, in addition to the universe — brings to life the track’s nigh-on-maddening hook, duly otherworldly and tripped out, hippie-tastic, but still weird enough to be of Hexvessel‘s own stock. This is the third video from When We are Death behind ones for “When I am Dead” (posted here) and “Cosmic Truth” (posted here), and I think if you want to get a glimpse at the deep variety Hexvessel display throughout, look no further than each of them, as sure enough, those are three very different videos. Hopefully they keep going, as there honestly isn’t a track on the record not worthy of highlight.
Frontman Mat McNerney has some comment on the clip via the PR wire below, where you’ll also find Hexvessel‘s upcoming live dates.
Enjoy:
Hexvessel, “Drugged up on the Universe” official video
HEXVESSEL’s singer Mat McNerney comments: “The video references the death of the hippie movement, with a Manson-like shamanic figure, or malevolent spirit. Bringing to life 60s/70s counter culture in an Eyes Wide Shut orgy of drugs, the Alice-like central character takes a spiritual journey. Enticed by the spirit, who has entered her expanded consciousness, her mind expands. She is lead outside and discovers there is a wider universe than the one she knows.
It’s a nature mystic metaphor for how that era has influenced the environmental movement which Hexvessel feel a part of. If you let it in, the spirit of nature will find you and expand your consciousness. You don’t need drugs to get high on the nature of the universe! It was directed by Frenchman David Fitt who has previously worked on videos for King Dude for example.”
HEXVESSEL live 09.20.2016 Bamberg (D), Weinstube Pizzini 09.21.2016 Hannover (D), Chez Heinz (w/ Dead Meadows) 09.22.2016 Cologne (D), MTC (w/ Dead Meadows) 09.23.2016 Osnabrück (D), Bastard Club 09.24.2016 Hamburg (D), Reeperbahn Festival 11.04.2016 Dortmund (D), Tapir Media (pre-Leafmeal Festival show) 11.11.2016 Athens (GR), Gagarin (w/ Ornassi Pazuzu)
HEXVESSEL line-up Mat McNerney – Vox & guitar Marja Konttinen – Vox & percussion Jukka Rämänen – Drums Simo Kuosmanen – Lead Guitar Niini Rossi – Bass Guitar Kimmo Helén – Keys/Trumpet/Violin
Swedish fuzz forerunners Truckfighters will release their fifth album, V, on Sept. 30 through their own Fuzzorama Records in conjunction with Century Media. The trio of vocalist/bassist Oskar “Ozo” Cedermalm, guitarist Niklas “Dango” Källgren and drummer Daniel “El Danno” Israelsson begin the record with “Calm Before the Storm,” and it’s a track that emphasizes the kind of duality that has come to take root in the band’s approach.
On the one hand, you have their stage show. Truckfighters live are like the human embodiment of an exclamation point. They are rightly known for holding nothing back: zero irony, all-in, 100 percent go. I’ve seen them play and been exhausted afterwards just from watching.
On the other hand, you have their albums. Really since 2009’s staggering Mania (review here), but certainly even more on 2014’s Universe (review here), the songcraft of Cedermalm and Källgren has taken on an increasing scope in texture and emotion. It’s true on V as well that while they still have their raucous moments, they’re just as likely to bring out a melancholy progressive feel, and no less at home in doing so.
“Calm Before the Storm” — its video with an oddly and offputtingly violent narrative — starts V and is the longest track on it (immediate points), and I think it emphasizes what I’m talking about pretty well in terms of the band Truckfighters have become and the multifaceted aspects of their approach. They will, of course, tour heavily to support the new long-player, and you can find the dates for that run under the video below.
Please enjoy:
Truckfighters, “Calm Before the Storm” official video
YEAHHH the new video for “Calm before the Storm” is out!
The new album “V” will be released worldwide through Fuzzorama in cooperation with Century Media Records on September 30th, 2016.
Naturally we will hit the road again to play an extensive European tour following the new album release. Support bands for first half will be We Hunt Buffalo and Witchrider, and the second half it will be Deville and Dot Legacy. Here are the tour dates confirmed so far:
20.10.2016 Berlin (Germany) – SO36 21.10.2016 Chemnitz (Germany) – AJZ 22.10.2016 Vienna (Austria) – Fuzzfest 23.10.2016 Munich (Germany) – Backstage Halle 25.10.2016 Milan (Italy) – Lo-Fi 27.10.2016 Bologna (Italy) – Freakout 28.10.2016 Puget (France) – Le Rats 29.10.2016 Bron (France) – Le Jack Jack 02.11.2016 Bilbao (Spain) – Stage Live 03.11.2016 Barcelona (Spain) – Razz 3 04.11.2016 Madrid (Spain) – Chango 05.11.2016 Lisbon (Portugal) – Stairway Club 06.11.2016 Porto (Portugal) – Cave 45 09.11.2016 Amsterdam (The Netherlands) – Melkweg Oude Zaal 10.11.2016 Groningen (The Netherlands) – Vera 11.11.2016 Tilburg (The Netherlands) – O13 12.11.2016 Hengelo (The Netherlands) – Metropool 25.11.2016 Cologne (Germany) – Underground 04.12.2016 Birmingham (UK) – Rainbow 05.12.2016 Glasgow (UK) – King Tuts 06.12.2016 Nottingham (UK) – Rescue Rooms 07.12.2016 Bristol (UK) – Thekla 08.12.2016 Manchester (UK) – Ruby Lounge 09.12.2016 London (UK) – Islington Academy 10.12.2016 Brighton (UK) – Green Door Store 27.12.2016 Hamburg (Germany) – Sankt Hell Festival
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 7th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
One never knows at the start what a day will bring. Today, Swedish fuzz forerunners Truckfighters announce that they’ve signed to Century Media and they’ll release their new album, V, through the label in conjunction with their own Fuzzorama Records on Sept. 30. The signing is a surprise, not because either of the quality of Truckfighters‘ work or the diligent road time they’ve put in over the last decade, but because they’ve been so committed to self-releasing over that same period of time, right up to their 2016 live album, Live in London (review here), which came out just weeks ago.
And what does this mean for the rest of the bands on Fuzzorama? Is it a deal for the whole label? Select acts? Remains to be seen, but either way, it’s a quicker turnaround to V from Truckfighters‘ last studio outing, 2014’s Universe (review here), and word of a new record is most certainly welcome.
From the PR wire:
TRUCKFIGHTERS sign deal with Century Media Records!
The mighty TRUCKFIGHTERS’ own label, Fuzzorama Records, and Century Media Records team up to floor the gas and fuzz pedal. The Örebro, Sweden based band was formed in 2001 by Oskar “Ozo” Cedermalm (vocals & bass) and Niklas “Dango” Källgren (guitar). Since that time, they have released four studio albums and several more releases through their own label Fuzzorama Records – including the 2011 DVD documentary (Fuzzomentary) featuring guests such as Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age) and more friends from bands Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Witchcraft, Graveyard and more.
“Signing to Century Media Records is like kicking in the fuzz pedal with all knobs turned to 11 – maximum energy, maximum output and totally out of control!”, comments the band.
The new album “V” will be released worldwide through Fuzzorama in cooperation with Century Media Records on September 30th, 2016. To celebrate the band’s 15th anniversary and nearly 700 shows around the world, we’ve created a new website which allows fans to mark a TRUCKFIGHTERS show they have attended in the past. All gig dates and the names of the fans who sign in and mark their show will be printed in the special edition of the album. To join in and find more info please head over tohttp://truckfighters.centurymedia.com.
Shortly after the album release, the TRUCKFIGHTERS will hit the road again to play an extensive European tour. Exact tour dates and further plans to play the rest of the world will be announced soon. Expect something big. Super fuzz big!
TRUCKFIGHTERS is: Oskar “Ozo” Cedermalm (vocals & bass) Niklas “Dango” Källgren (guitar) Daniel “El Danno” Israelsson (drums)
Day Two of The Obelisk’s Summer 2016 Quarterly Review — that’s an awful lot of capital letters. I’m not sure if it’s quite such a formal occasion, but perhaps that’s just an effect of staring at some of the names in this particular batch, who from classic heavy rock to post-black metal to stoner riffs, drone, doom and beyond offer a pretty vast range and more than a small measure of profile throughout. It’s a substantial swath, is what I’m saying. If you can’t find something here to dig on, well, I’d say look again, but of course there’ll also be another 10 reviews tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, and there were 10 yesterday as well, so I’m sure something will turn up if it hasn’t yet. Here we go.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Spiritual Beggars, Sunrise to Sundown
More than 20 years on from their self-titled debut, Sweden’s Spiritual Beggars release their ninth LP, Sunrise to Sundown (on Inside Out Music). They seem to have set themselves to the sole task of making the records that one wishes Deep Purple were making, full of righteous organ-laced classic heavy thrust, driven by top tier songwriting and performance on every level. Founding guitarist Michael Amott (also Carcass) has assembled a lineup of masters, and since 2010’s Return to Zero (review here), frontman Apollo Papathanasio (also Firewind) has provided the soaring voice to add to the keyboard majesty of Per Wiberg (ex-Opeth, Candlemass) on songs like “I Turn to Stone.” The album’s 11 cuts are catchy, universally structured, and varied in their feel enough to carry the listener through fluidly, bassist Sharlee D’Angelo (Mercyful Fate) and drummer Ludwig Witt (ex-Firebird) locking in weighted grooves and underscoring the flow of what comes across like an increasingly collaborative songwriting process. Sunrise to Sundown is the sound of a band knowing what they want to do and how they want to do it and then doing precisely that.
How many records does Ode to a Black Hole make it for Danish improve spacelords Øresund Space Collective? I honestly don’t know. Their Bandcamp lists 52 releases. Granted, not all of them are full-length studio LPs, but they jam whether they’re live or in the studio, so after a point it’s kind of moot. However many in the ultimate tally, Ode to a Black Hole is somewhat unique among them, exploring the darker side of the cosmic reaches in a bleaker, droning psychedelia spread across two instrumental tracks put to tape at the same time as 2015’s triple-LP Different Creatures (review here). Of course, it’s Øresund Space Collective, so there is still plenty of synth and effects swirl to be had, but it’s a slower galaxial movement as “Ode to a Black Hole Part 1” feeds directly into “Ode to a Black Hole Part 2.” Whatever their method of getting there, Øresund Space Collective prove once again how apparently boundless their scope has become with nuance of guitar and key flourish beneath the surface of the mix to let the listener know there’s life out in the expanse.
Phoenix, Arizona’s Goya continue their forward march with The Enemy EP (on STB Records). Still fair to say Electric Wizard are a primary influence, but as shown on their last full-length, 2015’s charmingly-titled Obelisk (review here), the trio are increasingly able to put more of themselves into their sound. In “The Enemy,” “Last” and “Light Years,” that shows in tighter songwriting, some vocal harmonies on “Light Years,” and a harder overall tonal impact than the tenets of post-Witchcult Today doomery might lead one to expect, reminding in parts of the raw in-room feel that Egypt have come to proffer, burly but more about groove than attitude. The EP closes with a nine-minute take on “The Enemy” itself, adding more harmonies, some screams at the end, and a lengthy midsection jam to flesh out its extra four minutes. Goya have been and still are a bright spot (existentially, if not in mood) in up-and-coming US doom, and The Enemy might be a stopgap coming off of Obelisk, but it reminds listeners of their growth very much still in progress.
In a universe full of pretenders to the throne of Eyehategod, German six-piece Black Shape of Nexus prove there’s room for genuine creativity in sludge. Their fourth offering, Carrier (on Exile on Mainstream), finds them past the 10-year mark and lumbering their way through five varied originals, from the cavernous opener “I Can’t Play It” through the droning “Lift Yourself” and the utter spacecrush that ensues in “Facepunch Transport Layer” before the villainous laughter at the end of “Sachsenheim” leads to a 12-minute take on Hellhammer’s “Triumph of Death,” which closes. It feels like no coincidence that of the Black Shape of Nexus-penned inclusions “Sand Mountain” is the centerpiece; the tortured screaming, claustrophobic riff and blend of rawness and lush depth speak to the originality at the core of their approach. There’s a firm sense of fuckall here, and my understanding is making Carrier was something of a trial, but the results are perhaps only more vicious for that, and thus stronger.
Six years and the ascent of an entire movement of similarly-minded acts later, Cough ooze back to activity with Still They Pray (on Relapse), their dirt-caked third full-length. That movement, by the way, includes fellow Richmonders Windhand, with whom Cough now share bassist Parker Chandler and whose Garrett Morris recorded here along with Jus Oborn of Electric Wizard, who remain a major influence in Cough’s grueling, nodding filth, brought to bear over eight tracks and a purposefully unmanageable 67-minute runtime. Stylistically it’s not so far from where Cough were on 2010’s Ritual Abuse (review here), the bleak anarchistic lurch and tonal immersion still very much at the fore of “Possession,” “Dead Among the Roses” and the organ-inclusive “The Wounding Hours,” but though they can play slow enough to make “Masters of Torture” seem positively thrashy by comparison, they never lose their sense of atmosphere, as the acoustic-led closing title-track makes plain in fashion no less heavy than the punishment meted out before it.
It feels factually inaccurate to call something so wilfully charred “vibrant,” but Oranssi Pazuzu’s fourth long-player, Värähtelijä (on Svart and 20 Buck Spin), not only finds light in its overarching darkness, but makes it a pivotal aspect of the album’s 69-minute course. Open structures, an enviable depth of mix between far-off guitar, keys, organ, various layers of screams, etc., songs like 12-minute opener “Saturaatio” and the later 17-minute chaoswirl of “Vasemann Käden Hierarkia” offer stylistic breadth as much prog as they are psychedelia or black metal, perhaps the next phase of the latter’s cosmic wing come to fruition. Relatively speaking, the more straightforward “Havuluu” offers listeners a moment to catch their breadth, but the organ-led experimentalism of 10-minute closer “Valveavaruus” gurgles in an exploration of ambient downward plunge. One of the most adventurous black metal releases of 2016, if you can still even tag a genre to it, which I’m not sure you can. A band doing pivotal and forward-thinking work.
Though they just got off a lengthy US run, the fact that Karma to Burn’s webstore offers their new Mountain Czar EP in euro instead of dollars could easily be taken as a sign of where the band’s general priorities lie. I don’t know if founding guitarist Will Mecum is actually living abroad or remains in West Virginia, but their label, Rodeostar Records, is European, they maintain a close relationship with German artist Alexander Von Wieding, and their tour schedule keeps a definite continental focus. So be it. Mountain Czar brings five new cuts, three by-the-numbers Karma to Burn instrumentals, the highlight of which is patient, jangly-guitar closer “63,” and “Uccidendo un Sogno,” an Italian-language cover of Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ down a Dream” sung by guest vocalist Stefanie Savy and featuring Manuel Bissig of Switzerland’s Sons of Morpheus on guitar. Karma to Burn very much remain Karma to Burn throughout, Mecum joined by drummer Evan Devine and bassist Eric Clutter, but they’re changing what that means in interesting ways.
Comprised solely of guitarist/vocalist Sleaze and drummer Izz, German Southern metallers Black Mood begin their seven-song sophomore outing, Squalid Garden (on Daredevil Records) with a sample of Cornelius from Planet of the Apes quoting the Lawgiver to “shun the beast man,” and so on. By the time they get around to the chugging and warbling “Ohh, save my soul” in second cut “IWNAR,” the Down/Crowbar vibe has been laid on so thick that it’s unmistakable. It’s been seven years since Black Mood made their self-titled debut in 2009 – they had an EP, Toxic Hippies, out in 2012 – but their chestbeating, dudely vibes are easily sourced, even in faster, more Pantera-style moments in “Reflected,” “100 Squalid Garden” or closer “Side,” making the album ultimately a matter of taste for anyone who’d take it on. For me, some aspects ring derivative, others show flashes of individualism, but it’s a very specific vision of Southern metal at work here, and it’s not going to be for everyone.
Newcomers Nebula Drag join the ranks of a crowded heavy psych scene in their native San Diego via their self-titled, self-released debut, but the trio distinguish themselves immediately with a solidified underpinning of punkish intent, so that the airy vocals of “Sano” float over an insistent, noisy crunch. That blend is toyed with in one direction or another throughout the release, the five-minute “So Low” finding some middle-ground in grunge push, but as the subsequent “Up and Down”’s Melvins-style roll and the hardcore-style drive of “Lost Time” play out, Nebula Drag seem far less tied to any single approach. It’s a dynamic that serves them well throughout the album’s 10-track/37-minute run, and they maintain a sense of rawness in the almost thrashy breakdown of “I Can Not Explain” that speaks to a lack of pretense to go along with their potential for development. Will be curious to hear if one side or the other wins out in their sound over the long-term, but in a town where so many bands are geared on being the most laid back, it’s refreshing to hear a group with a more forceful tack.
After a series of numbered full-lengths, Glasgow consciousness-stompers Ommadon offer their self-titled sixth album through Dry Cough Records, Burning World Records and Medusa Crush Recordings. Doubtless the three labels were needed in order simply lift the 41-minute, single-song release, which is so unspeakably and ridiculously heavy as to warrant comparison to Buried at Sea’s Migration. Its retching lumber is superlative, and in giving it their name, Ommadon signal (and say outright) that it’s the work they’ve been driving toward all along. Fair enough. There is no moment of relenting from the abysmal intentions of “Ommadon” itself, and if this is to be the piece that ultimately defines the band, it’s one worthy of consideration for the outright extremity it brings to doom, sludge and drone, as well as the methodical nature in which it unfolds. Whatever its ultimate impact, Ommadon have pushed themselves forward and crafted an excruciating contribution that feels like a monolith bent to their will.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 15th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Next-gen German fivesome Motorowl first issued their debut full-length, Om Generator this past April. You can stream it in full below. The band have been picked up by Century Media to give the album an official release on Aug. 26. Their style is pretty fluid in its play between doom and classic metal and heavy rock, but between the band’s relative youth and the obvious performance potential shown in the record — look out, every Euro metal fest in 2017 — there’s little mystery in why Century Media might pick Motorowl as their next foray into the heavier end of the spectrum behind the rocking The Shrine and the weighted gloom-pop of Hexvessel‘s latest. Plenty of possibilities here.
The PR wire made it official:
MOTOROWL sign worldwide deal with Century Media Records!
True talent can be found anywhere: from black metal in China, NWOBHM worship in Peru, to crushing death in Indonesia. However, brilliant psychedelic doom rock that easily competes with today’s high international standards from Thuringia, a state in eastern Germany, is still quite a surprising discovery though the region is renowned for its diverse music scene. Now, Century Media Records proudly presents the young quintet, MOTOROWL! Formed in 2014 when most of its band members were not even twenty years old, MOTOROWL quickly developed a heavy sound blessed with fabulous riffs, great vocal melodies, and a grinding Hammond organ on top. Think SPIRITUAL BEGGARS or Uriah Heep on a bad acid trip. Think 70’s inspired, damn heavy hard rock with a contemporary, gloomy twist.
Created with pure passion and incredible, mature song-writing skills, the band’s debut, Om Generator was co-produced by Fabian Hildebrandt (of label mates DESERTED FEAR) and the mighty Dan Swanö handling mix and mastering duties.
Dan Swanö: “Amazing mixture of stoner and 70’s hard rock executed with finesse. I had an amazing time mixing their songs, that always seemed to take a turn towards the unexpected.”
Fabian Hildebrandt: “Congratulations to my buddies from Motorowl! It does say something, when a band goes from a rancid rehearsal room in Gera straight away to touring with Bombus, and even manages to convince a label as renowned as Century Media . I still remember vividly, how they asked me to record their album. Initially, I was rather critical, but after I saw them live I immediately knew that I HAD TO. Stunning… extremely young, no idea about nothing, yet insanely talented! Motorowl are a true rock band and I am curious to see, where the future journey of Daniel, Martin, Max, Tim and Vinz will take them.”
MOTOROWL has shared the stage with Jex Thoth, Path Of Samsara, and toured with Sweden’s BOMBUS, perfecting their unique live experience and even catching the attention of Germany’s Visions Magazine who predicted early on it would not take long until they got signed.
Om Generator will be released worldwide through Century Media Records on August 26th, 2016.
More updates including live tour dates will be announced soon!
MOTOROWL live: 07.08.2016 – Halle, Germany – MACH Festival
MOTOROWL is: Max Hemmann – Guitar/Vocals Vinzenz Steiniger – Guitar Martin Scheibe – Drums Tim Camin – Bass Daniel Dettlev – Keys
If you don’t already have the chorus of this song stuck in your head, then you probably haven’t heard it yet. Doesn’t take much more than that for Hexvessel‘s “When I am Dead” to work its bizarro-prog, goth-folk, six-or-seven-other-genres-blended-but-still-catchy-as-hell magic on the listener. The track, taken from the Finnish unit’s latest offering, When We are Death (review here), is a highlight hook from that record, but ultimately one of many spread throughout the front-to-back, richly-varied experience of the album. It isn’t the first video they made from When We are Death — that was the far more subdued “Cosmic Truth” (posted here) — but it’s definitely high on the list of the strongest impressions the record makes, taking the forest folk template of the band’s earlier work and throwing it out the window in favor of something less stylistically rigid but no less organic in its execution.
And if you want an example of the kind of variety When We are Death offers, look at the two clips. “Cosmic Truth” played out its languid hook amid grand and flowing scenes of fog rolling over hills and mountains, aerial views of uncorrupted serenity. “When I am Dead” has the band playing their instruments and singing along to the song — shades of Wayne’s World, for those who might remember — as their Cadillac leaves orbit and explores outer space. It’s called charm, folks. The outward enjoyment they display in the video is no less infectious than the chorus of “When I am Dead” itself or its classic-prog gallop, and though things don’t seem to end well for Hexvessel in the story arc — unless you look at dying and supporting fungal growth as a positive; there’s a case to be made there — they certainly seem to be having a good time on the ride.
Hexvessel are on tour in Europe now, keeping Floydian company with New Keepers of the Water Towers, and the run will finish out in the middle of next month at Roadburn in the Netherlands, where I’m very much looking forward to seeing them. The remaining tour dates, some comment from vocalist/guitarist Mat McNerney and other info follow, courtesy of the PR wire.
Enjoy the clip:
Hexvessel, “When I am Dead” official video
HEXVESSEL post new video, new digital single announced; on tour across Europe now.
Finland’s psychedelic folk rock shooting stars HEXVESSEL have posted a new video for the song “When I’m Dead”, taken from their highly praised third studio album When We Are Death, released on Century Media in January.
Singer Mat McNerney comments on the new video and the tour:
“Nature prevails. We never die, we just change our form. We’re billion year old carbon on a journey through space on an ancient rock. As we leave our beloved Finland, heading out into Europe on tour, this video represents our view of the universe and our strong connection to the cycle of life and death. It’s an existential question that only the forest can answer. You must go on a journey into space to know this. Where will you be when I am dead?”
Catch HEXVESSEL on tour across Europe with New Keepers Of The Water Towers. All dates below.
HEXVESSEL live: Mar 22 Copenhagen, Denmark – Beta * Mar 24 Cologne, Germany- Underground * Mar 25 Hamburg, Germany- Rock Cafe * Mar 26 Dresden, Germany – Beatpol * Mar 27 Berlin, Germany- Musik & Frieden * Mar 29 Poznan, Poland – Minoga* / TICKETS Mar 30 Prague, Czech Republic- Cross Club * Mar 31 Vienna, Austria- Chelsea * Apr 01 Budapest, Hungary – A38* Apr 02 Club Napoca, Romania – Shelter * Apr 03 Bucharest, Romania – Control * Apr 04 Sofia, Bulgaria- Live & Loud Apr 05 Belgrade, Serbia- TBA Apr 06 Ljubljana, Slovenia – Channel Zero * Apr 07 Stuttgart, Germany – 1210 * Apr 08 Karlsruhe, Germany- Alte Hackerei * Apr 10 Antwerp, Belgium – Het Bos * Apr 11 Leeds, United Kingdom – Brudenell Social Club * Apr 12 London, United Kingdom – 100 Club * Apr 13 Brighton, United Kingdom – The Prince Albert Apr 14 – 15 Tilburg, Netherlands – Roadburn * With New Keepers of The Water Towers
HEXVESSEL line-up: Mat McNerney – Vox & guitar Marja Konttinen – Vox & percussion Jukka Rämänen – Drums Simo Kuosmanen – Lead Guitar Niini Rossi – Bass Guitar Kimmo Helén – Keys/Trumpet/Violin
