Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 16th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Finnish death-doomers Swallow the Sun issued their new triple-album, Songs from the North I, II and III, this past Friday on Century Media. Counting the new clip below for “Rooms and Shadows,” which comes from the first of the offering’s three component parts, I’ve now posted four videos from the release. This one, as well as lyric videos for “Heartstrings Shattering” (posted here), “Pray for the Winds to Come” (posted here) and “Abandoned by the Light” (posted here).
Each new clip has come with a reminder of the six-piece’s upcoming European tour, which starts Nov. 26, and each has gotten roughly zero response. Like, none. I know death-doom is primarily an underground form even compared to some of what’s posted about on here, but I mean like not even a thud at the landing. Actually, after the first time, I thought about not even putting up the second clip because it’s not like the band — who I think are much bigger in Europe than the US — need my press and with such a definitive lack of interest, I might as well skip it. But no, I went ahead and put up the second one. Same (lack of) reaction. And by then it was just funny.
Having a pretty strong sense that the third clip would be met with the same apathy, I eagerly anticipated its release. Aside from liking the band — which I do — I wanted to see how the post would do. A little better, I guess, but still pretty meh in the grander scheme. So now the record is out and they have a new not-lyric video for “Rooms and Shadows,” and well, I suppose it seemed like it was time to bring anyone whose eyes might happen to catch this post in on the thing. I do dig this band, and I will at some point be posting a review of Songs from the North, but yeah, I’m also interested to find out if anybody who reads this pays any mind to start with.
We’ll see:
Swallow the Sun, “Rooms and Shadows” official video
SWALLOW THE SUN launch video for “Rooms and Shadows”; New triple album “Songs from the North I, II & III” out now!
Melancholy death-doom masters SWALLOW THE SUN have released their eagerly awaited new triple full-length album, Songs from the North I, II & III, today!
The band also launched a brand-new video for the song “Rooms and Shadows”, taken from Songs from the North pt. I. The video was directed and produced by ex- SENTENCED and THE MAN-EATING TREE drummer Vesa Ranta. You can watch it now at:https://youtu.be/0_veG-Hv4I8
All physical formats of “Songs from the North I, II & III” as well as shirt bundles can be purchased here: http://smarturl.it/sftnCMDISTRO
In continued support of “Songs from the North I, II & III”, SWALLOW THE SUN will perform their signature brand of gloom, beauty, and despair live throughout Europe on headlining dates beginning later this month. They will be accompanied by fellow countrymen Wolfheart. Complete list of dates below.
SWALLOW THE SUN live: 11.26. Berlin, K17, DE 11.27. Hamburg, Headcrash, DE 11.28. Rotterdam, Baroeg, NL 11.29. Apeldoorn, TBC, NL 11.30. Paris, Glazart, FR 12.4. Valencia, Rock City, ES 12.5. Barcelona, Apolo 2, ES 12.6. Madrid, Caracol, ES 12.8. Montpellier, Secret Place, FR 12.9. Pratteln, Z7, CH 12.10. Brescia, Circolo Colony, IT 12.11. Ljbubljana, Orto Bar, SL 12.12. Budapest, Dürer Kert, HU 12.13. Kosice, Colosseum Club, SK 12.14. Krakau, Club Rotunda, PL 12.15. Vienna, Viper Room, AT 12.16. Munchen, Backstage, DE 12.17. Weinheim, Café Zentralbar, DE 12.18. Vosselaar, Biebob, BE 12.19. Bochum, Matrix, DE
SWALLOW THE SUN is: Juha Raivio – guitar Markus Jämsen – guitar Mikko Kotamäki – vocals Matti Honkonen -bass Aleksi Munter – keys Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 9th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Finland’s Swallow the Sun issue their new three-part album, Songs from the North I, II and III, this week via Century Media, and as anticipated, they have a corresponding final installment in their series of lyric videos preceding the record’s arrival. First came “Heartstrings Shattering” (posted here), which basked in the band’s well-honed, emotionally potent death-doom style. Then there was the mostly-acoustic “Pray for the Winds to Come” (review here), which showcased the melodic side of their sound.
The stated concept for the album being to show where the band is sonically and parse the dual light/dark aspects of that sound, then the only thing left to show off is the harsh, extreme deathliness in what they do, and “Abandoned by the Light” certainly hits that mark. It’s worth pointing out that neither it nor “Pray for the Winds to Come” is completely separate from the other — that is, there’s a bit of synth on “Abandoned by the Light” that adds melody even to its grueling nine-minute crawl, and likewise, the acoustic track had its underlying sense of foreboding.
Might seem like a long way to go for Swallow the Sun to prove their versatility, but if you don’t know them as a band willing to go a long way, you’re missing the point.
Euro tour starts Nov. 26. Video and dates follow. Enjoy:
Swallow the Sun, “Abandoned by the Light” lyric video
SWALLOW THE SUN just premiered their new lyric video for the track “Abandoned By The Light.”
The single “Abandoned By The Light” comes from the third album which is said to be the most extreme offering in the triple album series, a complete ride into SWALLOW THE SUN’s most horrific abyss of finely-crafted, conscience-crushing funeral doom.
“Abandoned by the Light is a prime example of how heavy the third album is. It is – like the rest of the album – long, menacing and relentless, with occasional glimmer of something that could be mistaken for hope. Enjoy!” states Aleksi Munter of SWALLOW THE SUN.
Songs from the North I, II & III from SWALLOW THE SUN will be released worldwide on November 13, 2015 and is available for pre-order now at:http://smarturl.it/sftnCMDISTRO
In continued support of the forthcoming release, SWALLOW THE SUN will perform their signature brand of gloom, beauty, and despair live throughout Europe on headlining dates beginning later this month. They will be accompanied by fellow countrymen Wolfheart. Complete list of dates below.
SWALLOW THE SUN live: 11.26. Berlin, K17, DE 11.27. Hamburg, Headcrash, DE 11.28. Rotterdam, Baroeg, NL 11.29. Apeldoorn, TBC, NL 11.30. Paris, Glazart, FR 12.2. Lissabon, RCA Club, PT 12.3 Porto, Hard Club, PT 12.4. Valencia, Rock City, ES 12.5. Barcelona, Apolo 2, ES 12.6. Madrid, Caracol, ES 12.8. Montpellier, Secret Place, FR 12.9. Pratteln, Z7, CH 12.10. Brescia, Circolo Colony, IT 12.11. Ljbubljana, Orto Bar, SL 12.12. Budapest, Dürer Kert, HU 12.13. Kosice, Colosseum Club, SK 12.14. Krakau, Club Rotunda, PL 12.15. Vienna, Viper Room, AT 12.16. Munchen, Backstage, DE 12.17. Weinheim, Café Centraal, DE 12.18. Vosselaar, Biebob, BE 12.19. Bochum, Matrix, DE
SWALLOW THE SUN is: Juha Raivio – guitar Markus Jämsen – guitar Mikko Kotamäki – vocals Matti Honkonen -bass Aleksi Munter – keys Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 19th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Hey, wait a minute! I think I see what’s happening here. I’m onto you savvy marketing types. About two weeks ago, Finnish death-doomers Swallow the Sun unveiled a lyric video for the track “Heartstrings Shattering” (posted here) that came from the first chapter of their upcoming three-part full-plus-length album, Songs from the North I, II and III, which is due out Nov. 13, 2015, via Century Media. Now here we are, edged just a little bit closer to the release date, and there’s a lyric video for “Pray for the Winds to Come,” which is taken from the second part of the same record!
See where I’m going with this? I’m willing to wager that if all goes according to plan, about a week and a half or two weeks from now we’ll see another Swallow the Sun lyric video coming down the PR wire, this one for a cut from the third, final and most extreme portion of the Songs from the North triptych. I’ve got no confirmation of that, so it’s entirely possible Century Media will throw a curveball, but it seems fair to think of “Pray for the Winds to Come” as part of a whole series rather than a standalone entity unto itself, which of course is true of the album from whence it comes, the second part being where the band indulges more of their atmospheric side, acoustics and lush arrangements common throughout its tracks, as opposed to the third part, which is entirely deathlier, or the first, which draws from both sides in Swallow the Sun‘s heretofore underappreciated standard modus.
They announced a European tour with the last video, but in case you don’t feel like clicking back, those dates follow here as well with more info on Songs from the North I, II and III. Enjoy:
Swallow the Sun, “Pray for the Winds to Come” lyric video
SWALLOW THE SUN posts new lyric video for “Pray for the Winds to Come”
SWALLOW THE SUN just posted a brand new lyric video for their song “Pray for the Winds to Come”, taken from the second part of their upcoming triple album!
Songs from the North I, II & III will be released on November 13, 2015 via Century Media Records.
Incorporating dark menace and gradations of death, black and funeral doom, each of the three albums of Songs from the North I, II & III embodies the band’s unofficial band motto, “Gloom, Beauty & Despair”
Songs from the North I continues in the vein of the albums before it – first-rate death-doom in the typical style of SWALLOW THE SUN.
Songs from the North II is a beautiful, acoustic foray representing the group’s ability to unplug and revel in the darkness.
Songs from the North III is the most extreme album, a complete ride into SWALLOW THE SUN’s most horrific abyss of finely-crafted, conscience-crushing funeral doom.
In support of the new album(s), SWALLOW THE SUN will embark on a European headline tour for November/December 2015 accompanied by fellow countrymen Wolfheart and further support bands that will be announced soon. See below for the complete list of dates!
SWALLOW THE SUN live: 11.26. Berlin, K17, DE 11.27. Hamburg, Headcrash, DE 11.28. Rotterdam, Baroeg, NL 11.29. Apeldoorn, TBC, NL 11.30. Paris, Glazart, FR 12.4. Valencia, Rock City, ES 12.5. Barcelona, Apolo 2, ES 12.6. Madrid, Caracol, ES 12.8. Montpellier, Secret Place, FR 12.9. Pratteln, Z7, CH 12.10. Brescia, Circolo Colony, IT 12.11. Ljbubljana, Orto Bar, SL 12.12. Budapest, Dürer Kert, HU 12.13. Kosice, Colosseum Club, SK 12.14. Krakau, Club Rotunda, PL 12.15. Vienna, Viper Room, AT 12.16. Munchen, Backstage, DE 12.17. Weinheim, Café Zentralbar, DE 12.18. Vosselaar, Biebob, BE 12.19. Bochum, Matrix, DE
SWALLOW THE SUN is: Juha Raivio – guitar Markus Jämsen – guitar Mikko Kotamäki – vocals Matti Honkonen -bass Aleksi Munter – keys Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Posted in Reviews on October 12th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
It was only about an hour and a half to the Casino Ballroom in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, from my office, which felt like something of a miracle. Maryland heavy rock kingpins Clutch last played the venue about two years ago, but between it being the beginning of what will no doubt be a comprehensive touring cycle in support of their newly-released 11th album, Psychic Warfare (review here), and their partnering with the reunited four-piece incarnation of Corrosion of Conformity with SoCal heavy skaters The Shrine opening, it was an easy sell as far as I was concerned. Clearly I wasn’t the only one. I walked into the venue a little before The Shrine went on, and the place was already fairly packed. A large room, the prevailing mood was celebratory and ready to blow off steam. I think people were just looking for a good time.
And in kicking off the evening with a classic-rocking-but-somehow-still-punker boot to the ass, The Shrine seemed only too ready to get that good time moving. I had wondered how their very-Californian sound would translate to a chilly autumn night in New Hampshire — even one right across the street from a beach — but the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Josh Landau, bassist Courtland Murphy and drummer Jeff Murray have busted their collective ass on the road the last couple years, and if they were out of their element, you never would’ve known it watching them on stage. Last I saw them was in early-2013 with Graveyard (review here) in Philly, and it was plain to see at the Casino Ballroom how much they’ve come into their own since. Their second album, Bless Off, was released by Tee Pee last year (I didn’t review it, but should have), following up their aptly-titled 2012 debut, Primitive Blast (review here), and their new one, Rare Breed, is out at the end of this month in Europe and in Jan. here in the States as their first in Century Media.
Their set felt quick, but it was enough to give a sense of the new album in songs like “The Vulture,” “Savage Skulls and Nomads,” which Landau told the crowd was about 1970s street gangs in New York, “Coming Down Quick” and “Death to Invaders” (don’t quote me on that last one, but I think that was it), running from the initial uproariousness of their first record to the thicker grooves of the second. This was the fifth night of the tour, which will run through Oct. 23 with the same three bands, and The Shrine were duly locked in, Murray keeping some bounce in the drums while also adding gallop to some of the more Motörheady riffing from the guitar while Murphy added backing vocals and a steady foundation in the low end. They finished with “Nothing Forever,” the longest cut from Bless Off, which emphasized some of the complexity in their approach — not t0 mention the tightness of their execution — that I think gets lost sometimes in how they present the band. Not that they should be stoic prog rockers, what they’re doing clearly works, but they’re tough to ignore after you watch them play. I’ll hope to get the chance to hear Rare Breed.
I was trying to think of the last time I saw the Pepper Keenan-fronted incarnation of Corrosion of Conformity, and I think it was in 2005. They would have been out supporting that year’s In the Arms of God, which got a mixed reception on its arrival but in my estimation remains underrated, and I believe it was Irving Plaza in New York.Weedeater and Alabama Thunderpussy may or may not have also played. Either way, it’s been a while. With the lineup of Keenan plus bassist/vocalist Mike Dean, guitarist/vocalist Woodroe Weatherman and drummer Reed Mullin — who’ve been playing as the “Animosity-era” trio the last several years and released an EP and two also-underrated albums in 2014’s IX (review here) and 2012’s declarative Corrosion of Conformity (review here) through Candlelight — C.O.C.have been playing shows throughout Europe and the UK since earlier this year, but to my knowledge this marks their first US run, at least on the East Coast, and it will preface a headlining tour set to start next month. A practice run? Maybe, but they hardly seemed rusty.
Set-wise, they dipped as far back as “Vote with a Bullet” from 1991’s Blind — which was Keenan‘s introduction to the band as vocalist/guitarist — and as far forward as the uptempo “Paranoid Opioid” from In the Arms of God, but the focus was on their two ’90s landmarks, Deliverance (1994) and Wiseblood (1996), and as someone who’s been rooting for the trio lineup the last several years sort of as underdogs working against the expectations of that portion of their audience dug deep into the heavy Southern Sabbathisms of those records, I had forgotten just how special that material actually is — songs like “Long Whip/Big America,” “Heaven’s Not Overflowing,” with which they opened, “Wiseblood” and “Seven Angels.” Hearing Dean and Mullin and Weatherman all switching off in backing vocal roles, or better, leading a sing-along all at once, was exhilarating, and Keenan, who’s spent the last several years in Down‘s descent into post-Kirk Windstein caricature machismo, is a frontman of undeniable charisma. There were some sound issues — a chirp of feedback when everyone got on mic during “Albatross,” etc. — but there was very little that would’ve been able to hold C.O.C. back, and even in the slower “13 Angels,” which was the sole representation from 2000’s America’s Volume Dealer, their last album as this four-piece (Stanton Moore of Nola jammers Galactic played drums on In the Arms of God), they were dead on in serving a refresher of just what a substantial portion of their fanbase has been clamoring for pretty much since they stopped playing circa 2006.
Keenan thanked Clutch from the stage for bringing them out and letting them, “Get their shit back together,” but the bigger news was when he announced that C.O.C. were in the process of signing to Nuclear Blast and that they’d have a new album out with this lineup in 2016. I had no official word, but I’d assume John Custer, who’s helmed all their records since Blind, will produce. Once he said it, which was I believe before “Vote with a Bullet” preceded “Albatross” and “Clean My Wounds” at the end of the set, my mind immediately flashed to the possibilities for what it might sound like, the balance of songwriting, who does vocals where — does the hardcore punk track still get relegated to the end of the tracklist? — and so on. Two months out from the New Year, a landmark for 2016 may have just been revealed.
Finding that out alone would’ve made my night. Even without a show. I mean, if I read that on Facebook or some shit, I’d have been like, “Well, my evening can end now, I feel like I’ve hit a satisfactory quota of awesome.” But there was still a gig going on, and Clutch were headlining! Similar to what they did after releasing Earth Rocker (review here) in 2013, and really going back further than that as well, the set was highly focused on the new album. Their stated method of one band member between vocalist Neil Fallon, guitarist Tim Sult, bassist Dan Maines and drummer Jean-Paul Gaster picking an evening’s setlist always leaves me guessing who’s responsible for what show, but in any case, between “X-Ray Visions” opening, “Firebirds,” “A Quick Death in Texas,” “Sucker for the Witch,” “Your Love is Incarceration,” “Our Lady of Electric Light,” “Noble Savage,” “Behold the Colossus” and “Son of Virginia,” the only song from Psychic Warfare unrepresented was the penultimate “Decapitation Blues.” Otherwise, they played the whole record, which coming from them is just what the crowd both expected and wanted.
“Son of Virginia,” which closed the regular set before a three-song encore, got a particularly vehement response, but “The Face” from Earth Rocker had me pulling my earplugs out to sing along, and “Elephant Riders” from 1998’s The Elephant Riders and “Dragonfly” from that same album felt like something special tossed in for longer-term fans, particularly the latter, which is a rarer inclusion. Their presence and delivery something of a given, Clutch seemed in likewise good spirits to the crowd, Fallon picking up the guitar more than he did when they were out for Earth Rocker to join Sult even on a faster cut like “Your Love is Incarceration.” They’re still tightening up some of the new material — other songs have been around for more than a year already and included in sets — but one assumes that by the time they get around to the inevitable live album sometime in 2016 or 2017, it will be no less second nature (or first, I guess) than “Cypress Grove” from 2004’s Blast Tyrant, which has become a perennial favorite and was clearly known to the packed Casino Ballroom, readily aware of that black plastic bag in the back of a jacked-up Ford.
Who could argue with an encore launched by “The Wolfman Kindly Requests…” from Earth Rocker? From its “Party’s over you all got to go” chorus to the bigger nod of its ending, the song feels hand-constructed to appear near the finish of a set, and joined by the more raucous “The Mob Goes Wild” from Blast Tyrant, for which Bryan “Uzi”Hinkley from Never Got Caught and formerly of Tree joined in on guitar, Clutch seemed geared to cap the night in high-octane fashion, but they cut back and let the more spacious “Electric Worry,” the highlight of 2007’s From Beale St. to Oblivion and an unmistakable precursor to a song like “Son of Virginia,” finish, with the uptempo kick of “One Eye Dollar” tacked on, which is nothing new but still feels like a bonus each time. One felt as though the entire venue, which was built and originally opened in 1899, was caught in the around-the-horn swirling rhythm.
By the time I managed to make my way out, the sidewalk was already flooded with weirdos, working-types and the other such and sundry who’d attended, the off-season windchill not drawing much of a shoreline crowd. I had about another 90 minutes to get home still ahead of me, so didn’t hang around long, but got to see a couple old friends and that’s always restorative, even if brief. Same could be said of the show as a whole, I suppose.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 10th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Grief, Come to Grief (1994)
Boston outfit Grief weren’t the first sludge band, but they might have been the first extreme sludge band. The really insane thing is that by the time they got around to putting out their sophomore album, Come to Grief, in 1994 — on Century Media, no less — their rawest work was already behind them. Their debut long-player, Dismal, had hit a year earlier, preceded by an EP of the same name, as well as the band’s first short release, 1992’s Depression. Between those and the couple splits between the first album and the second one, Grief‘s catalog had already forged some of its meanest output, and while I won’t take away from the grueling misanthropy that still pervaded their later work, albums like Miserably ever After (1996) and Torso (1998), Come to Grief seemed to be the perfect balance between regressive chaos and stylistic forward-thought that it’s the source of much of their enduring legacy to the point that when putting together a short-lived semi-reunion earlier this year, guitarist Terry Savastano (currently of Conclave) did so under the moniker Come to Grief.
Grief at the time was Savastano, guitarist/vocalist Jeff Hayward (now of Morne), bassist Randy Odierno and drummer Rick Johnson. Eric Harrison, who supplied Come to Grief‘s manic cover art, would later play bass in the band, and a full 21 years after its release, the album itself remains no less challenging than that cover. It is a slog, plain and simple. Single-minded in its disgruntled fuckall and deeply indebted as is much of sludge to hardcore punk, some of its riffing is no less akin to the death metal of the time — the key difference separating the two on a song like “Hate Grows Stronger” would be the swing in Johnson‘s drums — but even more than that, the album’s extremity is one of perspective. It would still be half a decade before Sleep belted lines about dropping out of life, bong in hand, but Grief give a way more accurate depiction of what mindset might actually lead someone to do that. Whether it’s “I Hate You” or “Stricken” or “Come to Grief” or “Fed Up,” which is almost Black Flaggian in how straightforward its lyrics are, Grief‘s pill-popping depressiveness is writ large front to back across the album, and being as it was the CD era, that’s a significant span at 54:32. I feel like anyone could take 36 minutes of this stuff, but then, Grief never seemed all that interested in making it easy for their audience.
Hope you enjoy, such as it is.
—
Rough day at work. I don’t think one breaks out Grief otherwise. I won’t go into it, but suffice it to say, I really, really, really wish I could do this for a living.
Went and saw Clutch, C.O.C. and The Shrine tonight. All three were killer. More expansive review on Monday. Yeah, I know it’s a holiday. Writing for this site is a treat for me at this point. It’ll be like fucking Xmas.
Also next week, a Snail review, and a Monster Magnet review, or maybe All Them Witches, depending largely on mood. Also hope to write up that Admiral Browning tape. Because it’s Admiral Browning, dang it!
It’s headed toward three in the morning, so I’ll leave it there. There’s other stuff coming up this week, but it’ll just have to be a surprise because it’s too late for me to think of it. We’ll be surprised together.
Please have a great and safe weekend, and please check out the forum and the radio stream. Especially the forum. The forum is fucking awesome. That’s the knowledge I have to share.
My immediate question on seeing that Swallow the Sun had a new lyric video for the track “Heartstrings Shattering” from their upcoming Songs from the North I, II and III full-length was to which of those three parts the cut belonged. The Finnish death-doom six-piece will release the album on Nov. 13 through Century Media, and the triple-disc outing follows the format of playing toward their particular style both in its whole and in the parts that make it up, the first chapter being their typical approach, the second an acoustic outing and the third a more extreme, presumably death metal, vision.
I’ve noted a couple times already the ambitiousness of the project and that I’m looking forward to hearing how it’s all turned out. “Heartstrings Shattering” comes from the first of the three parts, and sure enough, it blends melancholic, melodic passages — in this case using a guest vocalist and all — with the band’s post-Peaceville take on doom, shades of classic My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost cast over more modern chug and fluid transitions from one modus to another. Ultimately, it’s as lush as it is pummeling, and that’s no doubt why it was chosen to be the first audio to be made public from the work as a whole. I don’t imagine it was easy to pick a track with three records’ worth of material on-hand.
Swallow the Sun have also announced a European tour for next month, and you can find those dates under the lyric video below, courtesy of the PR wire:
Swallow the Sun, “Heartstrings Shattering” lyric video
SWALLOW THE SUN launch lyric video for “Heartstrings Shattering”
SWALLOW THE SUN have just launched a lyric video for their brand new song “Heartstrings Shattering”, taken from the first part of their upcoming triple album!
Songs from the North I, II & III will be released on November 13, 2015 via Century Media Records!
Incorporating dark menace and gradations of death, black and funeral doom, each of the three albums of “Songs from the North I, II & III” embodies the band’s unofficial band motto, “Gloom, Beauty & Despair”:
Songs from the North I continues in the vein of the albums before it – first-rate death-doom in the typical style of SWALLOW THE SUN.
Songs from the North II is a beautiful, acoustic foray representing the group’s ability to unplug and revel in the darkness.
Songs from the North III is the most extreme album, a complete ride into SWALLOW THE SUN’s most horrific abyss of finely-crafted, conscience-crushing funeral doom.
In addition to the launch of the new lyric video, SWALLOW THE SUN have also announced a European headlining tour dates for November/December 2015! They will be accompanied by fellow countrymen Wolfheart and further support bands that will be announced soon. See below for the exact dates!
SWALLOW THE SUN live: 11.26. Berlin, K17, DE 11.27. Hamburg, Headcrash, DE 11.28. Rotterdam, Baroeg, NL 11.29. Apeldoorn, TBC, NL 11.30. Paris, Glazart, FR 12.4. Valencia, Rock City, ES 12.5. Barcelona, Apolo 2, ES 12.6. Madrid, Caracol, ES 12.8. Montpellier, Secret Place, FR 12.9. Pratteln, Z7, CH 12.10. Brescia, Circolo Colony, IT 12.11. Ljbubljana, Orto Bar, SL 12.12. Budapest, Dürer Kert, HU 12.13. Kosice, Colosseum Club, SK 12.14. Krakau, Club Rotunda, PL 12.15. Vienna, Viper Room, AT 12.16. Munchen, Backstage, DE 12.17. Weinheim, Café Zentralbar, DE 12.18. Vosselaar, Biebob, BE 12.19. Bochum, Matrix, DE
SWALLOW THE SUN is: Juha Raivio – guitar Markus Jämsen – guitar Mikko Kotamäki – vocals Matti Honkonen -bass Aleksi Munter – keys Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 18th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Finnish death-doomers Swallow the Sun have posted more details concerning their previously-announced triple album, Songs from the North I, II & III. The rather massive undertaking will be released Nov. 13 via Century Media as the follow-up to the band’s 2012 fifth LP, Emerald Forest and the Blackbird (track stream here), and along with the artwork and tracklistings for each of the three parts, the intent of each individual chapter has been made public. The first will be sort of the standard Swallow the Sun blend of extreme doom and melodic melancholy, the second acoustic and the third heavier, so that the band presents a different personality on each outings that then feed off each other to form the whole.
I’m interested to hear how it all turns out, but it looks like we have a while to go yet before we get there. Here’s the total four album covers and the latest details off the PR wire:
SWALLOW THE SUN reveal details for new triple album ‘Songs from the North I, II & III’
Melancholy death-doom masters SWALLOW THE SUN bring us a bold, adventurous and characteristically dark triple full-length album entitled Songs from the North I, II & III, which will be released on November 13, 2015 via Century Media Records!
Incorporating dark menace and gradations of death, black and funeral doom, each of the three albums of Songs from the North I, II & III embodies the band’s unofficial band motto, “Gloom, Beauty & Despair”:
Songs from the North I continues in the vein of the albums before it – first-rate death-doom in the typical style of SWALLOW THE SUN.
Track-listing: 1. With You Cam e the Whole of the World’s Tears 2. 10 Silver Bullets 3. Rooms and Shadows 4. Heartstrings Shattering 5. Silhouettes 6. The Memory of Light 7. Lost & Catatonic 8. From Happiness to Dust Total playing time: 59:20
Songs from the North II is a beautiful, acoustic foray representing the group’s ability to unplug and revel in the darkness.
Track-listing: 1. The Womb of Winter 2. The Heart of a Cold White Land 3. Away 4. Pray for the Winds to Come 5. Songs from the North 6. 66°50´N,28°40´E 7. Autumn Fire 8. Before the Summer Dies Total playing time: 42:33
Songs from the North III is the most extreme album, a complete ride into SWALLOW THE SUN’s most horrific abyss of finely-crafted, conscience-crushing funeral doom.
Track-listing: 1. The Gathering of Black Moths 2. 7 Hours Late 3. Empires of Loneliness 4. Abandoned by the Light 5. The Clouds Prepare for Battle Total playing time: 51:57
Songs from the North I, II & III will be available as Special Edition 3CD Box containing 3 Digipaks and a booklet, Ltd. Deluxe Edition 5LP+3CD Box with each album in a gatefold sleeve & as digital album.
Main songwriter and guitarist Juha Raivio comments on the triple album concept: “Making a triple album in this godforsaken digital and modern day and age…Many will say it’s madness. I say it is to bring worth, heart and respect back into the music and to the album format where it belongs. This should never turn into a shallow fast food industry where music is only downloaded one song at a time. These albums hold life, death, gloom, beauty and despair in their deepest levels and forms. The three chapters are different but connected, one long journey through these songs written up here in the North. Music is holy, albums are holy. See you on the other side friends.”
Stay tuned for more news about Songs from the North I, II & III coming soon!
SWALLOW THE SUN is: Juha Raivio – guitar Markus Jämsen – guitar Mikko Kotamäki – vocals Matti Honkonen -bass Aleksi Munter – keys Juuso Raatikainen – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 25th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
I have to admit, folks, I’m kind of scratching my head on this one. Don’t get me wrong, Hexvessel are a very cool band. I’ve dug the stuff they put out on Svart and I went out of my way to catch them when the opportunity presented itself a couple years back at Roadburn. But they’re not exactly what I’d consider a commercial property, and if you look at the bulk of the roster for Century Media, that does seem to be where the heart of their interest lies these days. Finnish psychedelic folk rock? Will that sell? Is Kerrang gonna cover that?
Also, is Kerrang still in print?
Hexvessel mark the second time in 2015 that Century Media have gotten their hands dirty to pluck a band up from the underground. You might recall they picked up skate rockers The Shrine a bit ago. Could be the label’s had a change of approach, or could be a freak thing. I guess we’ll find out over the next few months if the trend continues.
For now, here’s the Hexvessel announcement off the PR wire:
HEXVESSEL announce signing with Century Media Records and release Tiamat “Gaia” cover version
HEXVESSEL and Century Media Records are proud to announce a worldwide deal for the upcoming releases of the Finnish psychedelic folk rock band.
Vocalist and guitarist Mat McNerney (also singer in Grave Pleasures) comments: “In many ways the new Hexvessel songs are a new beginning for the band. The time we have invested in this next album has been very carefully spent. So we have become very focused in what we want to do and want to deliver something really special for our fans when it comes to releasing the next record. It’s very important music for us, close to the bone and nestled right up next to our hearts. We were looking for a relationship with our record label to be the same as our bond with each other in the band. It has to be real and it has to be a shared experience! The way we met Jens and the wonderful people at Century Media was at a very special time for us and them, and we felt a unique connection that has grown ever since. That they totally understand and truly feel for what we’re doing is really important. After all this is magic art we are creating and is from a personal place. We believe that with Century Media we will have the support and encouragement to take our music further than ever before. Deepest thanks to all our fans and friends without whom we are nothing, our publisher and friend Andy Farrow at AMF for his good faith, the guys at Svart Records for bringing us up and holding our hands from our inception, and hails to the good folks at Century Media for believing in Hexvessel and heralding a new dawn for us. It’ll be a bright a blessed future. Shine on!”
Jens Prueter, Head of A&R Century Media Records Europe: “I was already a fan of the previous Hexvessel albums but I got truly addicted to the band after seeing them live in early 2014 supporting Alcest. It was an ill-fated day as we had just received the bad news about the passing of Oliver Withöft, co-owner of Century Media. We found solace in music and that’s probably the greatest thing music can achieve – to quote the US free-jazz legend Albert Ayler: “Music is the healing force of the universe”. Afterwards, I met Mat a couple of times and we discovered being kindred spirits in our taste of music. There are not too many people I know who like Ultimate Spinach as much as Albert Ayler and Tiamat. Hexvessel’s cover version of “Gaia” was originally intended to be released on a 20th anniversary edition of Tiamat’s “Wildhoney” but unfortunately the project never came into being. Since “Wildhoney” is still one of the most successful Century Media releases, it’s a perfect opportunity to release the cover now and celebrate a new chapter in Hexvessel’s career that hopefully will be as successful. It certainly will include some amazing music.”
Hexvessel Live: 11.27.2015 Leafmeal Festival, Dortmund, Germany (w/ Crippled Black Phoenix, Long Distance Calling, Dead Lord, ’77 and more) www.facebook.com/leafmealfestival
Hexvessel Line-up: Mat McNerney – Vocals & guitar Jukka Rämänen – Drums Simo Kuosmanen – Lead guitar Niini Rossi – Bass guitar Kimmo Helén – Keys, trumpet & violin. Marja Konttinen – backing vocals & additional percussion
