The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Garrett Garlington of Cosmic Reaper

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

It’s a release of energy, raw aggression transmitted through an instrument.

Outside of having fun with a group of people (what a band is really about).

This is pretty subjective, so I can only tell you what it’s like for me. People have compared being in a band to being in a marriage, but I think it’s closer to a gang. It’s a group of individuals acting with purpose and intent for a common goal, whatever that goal may be. Long surviving bands that last are on the same page with their goals, and seeing their bandmates as brothers/sisters. Going about it any other way, you’re likely to miss out on the best moments of being in a band.

Describe your first musical memory.

There was a band called Sukay, they were this high-energy folk music from the Andes of South America. At one point they were relatively known worldwide. My parents took me to see them  perform, beside the river in Sacramento, CA when I was probably 6 years old. Planned or by accident, I’m not sure.  That very well may have been the moment that set me on the path of chasing music my entire life. I highly recommend Sukay, not only is it a truly unique style of folk, but one album cover has them on top of a fucking mountain wearing robes and their holding instruments. Your average metal band dreams about doing stuff like that.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

We were lucky enough to perform in Joshua tree, CA as part of Heavy Psych Sounds Fest. Performing that far from home, (in the middle of a desert no less) was pretty surreal. It was also a really stacked bill with some staples of the genre. Windhand, Brant Bjork, Weedeater.  It  also just happened to be the first time my father had ever seen me play music of any genre.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Basically everyday, anything we were taught about our US government has turned out to be a fabrication or propaganda stretching back at least 100 years. See the lyrics to “Hammer” and “Wasteland II.”

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

It typically progresses with artists’ tastes, which of course change with time. Sometimes the progression comes from trying to fit into a certain mold, to achieve a certain level of success. Ultimately Progression leads to two things, simultaneously, gaining a new fan base and losing another one.

How do you define success?

Most people probably look at success as arbitrary numbers, data involving streams or monetary figures. To me, it’s always been much more about critical acclaim, and a lasting fanbase of whatever you do. Whether that makes money or not.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Children rummaging for food in the trash, in this country or any other. There’s no reason any human shouldn’t have access to the most basic necessity to survive.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I’d eventually like to get into some kind of leather working, creating physical objects that serve a purpose. Wallets, gun holsters, cool stuff of that sort.  It’s really just a matter of free time, and getting started.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

The most essential, is self expression. The secondary is having that (expression) resonate with another.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I’ve been trying to make a trip down to Key West, FL. I’ve never been and driving over the ocean that far seems like it would be really peaceful.

[Ed. Note 09/29: I don’t know who took the photo above. If it was you, I’m glad to give credit. Please let me know without being a dick about it.]

https://cosmicreaper.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/cosmic_reapernc/
https://www.facebook.com/cosmicreapernc/

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Cosmic Reaper, Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned (2025)

North Carolinian dark-arts riffers Cosmic Reaper will release their second album for Heavy Psych Sounds, titled Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned on Sept. 26. A lifetime from now, surely, but it will come, and those who caught their 2021 self-titled debut (review here) or their 2023 split with the likewise doom-rocking Endtime (review here) will know that’s good news. And it is news. I’m pretty sure this is the album announcement. Glad I remembered to include the date in the headline.

From the malevolent double-kick at the culmination of “Dwelling” and the noise-burst distortion that comes to top it to the way opening cut “Hammer” is invariably ‘dropped’ on the listener, landing hard as it does with a gradual, lurching riff from guitarists Thad Collis and (making his debut with the band) Peter Snasdell, methodically paced and giving space to Collis‘ vocals fluidly, the level of detail throughout the record bears appreciating. Even just the achievement of Monolordian-scale tonal mass, in “Hammer,” the later “Parasites,” and so on, or the thickened gallop in the seven-minute finale “Waiting by the Gallows,” warrant — as opposed to ‘begging for’ — repeat listens, but as the grungier construction of “Pot of Gold” (premiering below) demonstrates, there’s more going on here than riff-led lumberchucking.

A dark atmosphere will be familiar to anyone who heard the first record, certainly, or, you know, anyone who is alive in 2025. There’s some distant-origin-type influence to be heard from Electric Wizard that comes through in the slower moments — though the march in “Bloodfeather” shouts out “Let us Prey” as well — but “Dwelling,” before it shifts into the aforementioned ending section, pairs subdued psych with tense drums, snare rolls and thudding kick, for a sub-three-minute diversion that’s more than an interlude and expansive in a different way than the trad-doomly “Perfect Organism,” which follows and feels perhaps that much darker in its plunge for the lead-in. While not unipolar in mood, Cosmic Reaper sure can sound monolithic at their heaviest, but throughout Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned, the four-piece of Collis, Snasdell, bassist Garrett Garlington and drummer Jeremy Grobsmith remind the listener that it’s worth keeping in mind the difference between the two.

They do this, somewhat magically, with no measurable pretense, and with a full commitment to their vibe that doesn’t cross the line into goofy theatrics or devil-worship (well, maybe a little), but that manifests its purposes in the songs themselves. To wit, the procession across what I presume is side B, from “Perfect Organism,” through “Bones” and “Waiting by the Gallows,” is gorgeous — and again, the lead-in from “Dwelling” is noteworthy — a shortest-to-longest immersion in plod, distortion, and the morose. This feels like it’s calling back to the start of the LP in “Hammer” and “Bloodfeather,” but is set up in its own way and so reinforces the character of Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned all the more vividly.

I do not know, or really respect, the whims of hype, so I can’t account for what sorts of plaudits may or may not be heaped upon Cosmic Reaper‘s sophomore outing between now and its release in two-plus months, but to bottom-line it for you, while staying true to what the debut laid out in terms of intentions and sound, Cosmic Reaper have pushed themselves forward in craft and the success of those efforts is all over Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned. The prevailing impression is of a band finding their way, and while I’m not convinced they’re done either with exploration or shaping their approach, that should be taken as good news when considering this as a landmark on their path.

“Pot of Gold” doesn’t speak for the whole album, necessarily. The songs are in conversation with each other and with aspects of genre in ways that call for front-to-back engagement, and again, repeat listens are advisable — however, these considerations come up against the actual release date being more than two months out and I’m not allowed to stream the entire LP for your front-to-back experience. Do like I do and take what you can get. As a first sampling, “Pot of Gold” is catchier in its doomed flow, and if you find yourself wanting to hear more after it’s done, that’s how these things work.

Please enjoy:

Cosmic Reaper, “Pot of Gold” track premiere

Cosmic Reaper on Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned:

“Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned is an album we poured our hearts into. With our sophomore LP, we wanted to take our sound to a new level, but also call back to the roots of doom, with a touch of 90s angst. Lyrically, it touches on everything from standing up to tyranny, to revenge, to sacrifice, to love, lust and betrayal- all wrapped in themes of horror, science-fiction, and history. For the best listening experience: light one up, and turn it up loud.”

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Cosmic Reaper’s self-titled debut, released in 2021 on Heavy Psych Sounds, announced their arrival with cataclysmic force—earning praise for its crushing atmosphere, hard rock influenced riffs, and psychedelic accents. Tracks like “Hellion” and “Planet Eater” showcased their ability to drift between galactic doomscapes and swamp-born grooves. 2022’s follow up Doom Sessions Vol. 7 saw a brief evolution in tempos and themes pulled from the remnants of the self titled record.

Since then, much has changed. With lead guitar duties being passed not once, but twice, Cosmic Reaper welcomed guitarist Pete Snasdell into the fold. A longtime stalwart of the UK heavy music scene, Snasdell brought an evolved sense of harmony and heaviness, expanding the band’s twin-guitar attack and deepening the commitment to the cult of heavy metal.

Now armed with a sharpened lineup—Thad Collis (vocals/guitar), Garret Garlington (bass), Jeremy Grobsmith (drums), and Pete Snasdell (guitar)—Cosmic Reaper continues to burn slow, but ever blinding.

Their highly anticipated second full-length album will be released in September 2025 via Heavy Psych Sounds Records. A deeper descent into psych-doom’s haunted core, the record sees a big step away from older stoner elements. promising to push their sonic boundaries further into the void—heavier, stranger, and more apocalyptic than ever before.

Tracklisting:
1. Hammer
2. Bloodfeather
3. Pot Of Gold
4. Parasites
5. Dwelling
6. Perfect Organism
7. Bones
8. Waiting by the Gallows

All songs written and performed by Cosmic Reaper
Recorded and mixed by: Blake Hobson at Sense 2 Recording Studio
Mastered by: Esben Willems at Studio Berserk
Cover photograph by: Nona Limmen
Album art by Branca Studio
This album is dedicated to the memory of Zach Moss

Cosmic Reaper are:
Thad Collis – Vocals / Guitar
Peter Snasdell – Guitar
Garrett Garlington – Bass
Jeremy Grobsmith – Drums

Cosmic Reaper on Bandcamp

Cosmic Reaper on Instagram

Cosmic Reaper on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Gideon Smith of Galvanic Gypsies, Dixie Damned & Gods of Atlantis

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I define what I do in music and life by the good it brings. If I’m pure in my flow of the music everything is in harmony to become what it needs to for my life and for others who are affected by it. I came into music by natural attraction and excitement then as I grew, I wanted to make music too and give it.

Describe your first musical memory.

It would be difficult to name just one memory or the very first so I’ll name a few that stand out in early years. Listening to my folks play old records like the Allman Brothers, Doors, Beatles, Hendrix, stuff like that. I loved all those, hearing them ride into the air off vinyl was so magical for me. I was a forest running hippie child, climbing trees and swimming in rivers, magical times. My brother had an eight-track player in his car. We used to ride around and listen to Queen, Blue Öyster Cult, Led Zeppelin. I still get excited when I see vintage eight track tapes. The first records I bought were a Bowie and a Jethro Tull album.

My first concert was KISS and Nantucket which I think was in 1978. It was exciting and larger than life to see them rise up through the floor of the stage. Maybe the first real one that got to me was the Cult Love album when it came out in 1985. My friend had the record and we laid on the floor in his house listening to it. I was totally captivated with the sound. By the time it got to the song “The Phoenix” on the second side I was amazed. We listened to it like we had some secret thing, this band and the record. If I hear the opening riff and Billy Duffy’s wah-wah power I’m always in awe of the music. I saw The Cult and Billy Idol live in 1987, both were fantastic. Seeing early Guns ‘n’ Roses and Motley in ’87. As I look at my life now, I think Zeppelin is my favorite band. The Doors, The Cult, Sabbath and maybe Sisters of Mercy.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Again I’ll name many because I wouldn’t say exactly one. Over the years, recording the first EP for my GS&TDD band and the three Small Stone Records albums, especially. Such magical days. Especially playing with Phil Dürr, Mike Kelleher and Eric Hoegemyer. Shows I did with fun crowds, meeting people who enjoyed the music always means so much. It’s really rewarding and satisfying to see that music go from demo cassette decades ago to the albums to being all over the world.

In recent days my favorite and best is recording our new Galvanic Gypsies band with Crystal, I’m playing guitar and she’s ruling on vocals. It’s such a thrilling and exciting process, watching her sing and writing together. Being in the eye of the hurricane, hearing her vocals soaring on the holy Marshall doom riffage. Catching the lightning crackle of the chemistry and the pure excitement of our music. We call it our gypsy groove coven.

It has so many awesome influences from Duran Duran to Zeppelin. We recorded our first song for the album on Summer Solstice, on the way to the studio two ravens flew over us. In about 10 minutes it sounded unreal. It’s a new era of awesomeness that has dawned upon my life and I’m so grateful.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Honestly no there aren’t any, if I truly believe and hold onto something it’s never shaken. It shakes the problems around it and I hold on to it and keep onward. Through Paganism the Gods shine upon my path. Life is just a dream and the song belongs to the dancer. Beauty and magic show us all the way.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Progression always means to grow, learn and evolve so artistic progression would lead to higher understanding, abilities and perception of art. Art is elemental so it swirls around us and brings a brighter, wonderful journey. I think the progression of your writing, playing would lead to a soul expression of greater purity and a clear song writing flow. Your heart and spirit give with clarity as you grow to a higher level. The bigger the heart the more you are capable of generating.

How do you define success?

If you mean in a personal sense its being in the zone of what makes you happy. You’re successful of moving yourself into a place of happiness or joy. Success is best defined by the individual based on what gives their life meaning. It’s good to determine what’s successful within the boundaries of certain thing, then achieve that. Perception determines reality, you’re the captain and choose where to guide your ship. Success is achieving a good state within whatever holds meaning. The greatest success is to find peace of mind, joy and serenity in your life.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Too many examples over the years but all of them are teachers so the knowledge gives you power and wisdom. Disregard the bad after you learn from it and seize upon the good, bright things you see only. Don’t give the bad things that pass you by any lasting meaning to hang over the good things you see and take in. Walk on, the greatest adventure lies ahead.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

Many more records, books, shows, artistic creations. I never run out of ideas. I could easily make records, write books, paint pictures all year long. Creativity is a gift and it needs to run wild in freedom.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To give inspiration, healing, form a gift to others for soul expression. To bring emotional comfort and provide thrills, fun entertainment.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I have been keeping home like most people during the pandemic and haven’t been doing much. I really look forward to walking on the beach again one day and jumping in the ocean. Maybe I’ll see you there. Carry on friend, catch up with you again soon.

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Charlotte, North Carolina-based four-piece Cosmic Reaper offered up their self-titled debut just over two months ago, on March 19, through Heavy Psych Sounds. The album is a feast of nod, a celebration of the void, and catchy to boot, taking influence from the swirling lurch that Windhand built from the foundation of Electric Wizard‘s ultra-stoned crush, and bringing both a current of noise and a sense of underlying structure to all that swirling murk, so that even as “Heaven’s Gate” pushes directly out-out-out from where opener “Hellion” leaves off, there’s still a sense of direction amid all the resultant spaciousness.

And so there remains one. Cosmic Reaper‘s Cosmic Reaper — sadly no eponymous track, but maybe next time — runs seven songs and 44 minutes, and is largely unipolar as regards tempo. Sure, there’s enough room for some swing as “Stellar Death” picks up from the opening duo, or later in “Wasteland II” (hey, there’s a video for that song right down there!), but even this is relative to the crawl of “Hellion” or the nine-minute penultimate cut “Planet Eater,” which as something called “Planet Eater” will inevitably do, becomes a focal point. But whether slow or slower, Cosmic Reaper‘s songs by no means lack character. Tonally they are rich in the bass of Garrett Garlington and the guitars of Dillon Prentice and Thad Collis, and as shifts in solos or the level of fuzz bring crescendos like those in the midsection of the aforementioned “Stellar Death,” drummer Jeremy Grobsmith demonstrates malleability in propelling or giving space to what surrounds.

The album takes its time, and that’s to its credit. While the vinyl edition splits up “Wasteland I” and “Wasteland II,” in a linear listen brings that downerdelic instrumental centerpiece and the ensuing rollout of “Wasteland II” together in duly hypnosis-into-slapped-face style, and “Wasteland II” is both the most uptempo inclusion and the heaviest, with layered solos in the back end trading channels over still-massive riffs, doomed right to the finish. With more echo in its vocals and more room to let those echoes flesh out, “Planet Eater” moves along a different edge of dynamic, still well in line tonally with what surrounds, but working in such a way that I’d neither be surprised to find out it was the first song written for the album or the last. In any case, it sounds like it was fun to put together.

Coming right after the “Wasteland” two-parter, it makes one wonder if there isn’t an impulse toward longer-form material that will continue to develop in Cosmic Reaper‘s modus as they go forward — nothing on their four-song 2019 EP, Demon Dance, touched six minutes, though they came close — but one way or the other the sense of bookend with which “Infrasonic” caps, bringing the listener back to the rumbling ground “Hellion” laid out and finishing with a short stretch of the massive stomp the band have kept in their pocket all along, capably wielded, not overused. Maybe that restraint is worth noting as well in terms of potential, that Cosmic Reaper — however familiar their overarching aesthetic may willfully be — aren’t just blindly throwing riffs at each other or their listeners. But the fact that potential itself is a subject at all should be taken as a sign of the self-titled’s various merits and overall cohesion. They don’t sound like a brand new band, and indeed they’re not.

If you haven’t yet dug into Cosmic Reaper, it’s streaming in full at bottom of this post — age of horrors and wonders and all that — and you’ll find the video for “Wasteland II” premiering like two line breaks from here.

So enjoy:

Cosmic Reaper, “Wasteland II” official video premiere

WASTELAND II is a Cosmic Reaper track, taken from their self-titled debut album. The release is out on Heavy Psych Sounds !!!

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SAYS THE BAND:
“Wasteland II is an anthemic tribute to long nights of vices and the liberating days of the road. With driving riffs, soaring vocals, and explosive solos, it thunders through with a familiar head banging groove of years past. This video is a Kalediscopic Fever dream of exploitation films, Government propaganda and biker gangs. A collaboration between the band and longtime friend and film fanatic Reed Williams!”

Video credits: Reed Williams
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@reel_reedo
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user85686246

COSMIC REAPER IS:
Thad Collis — guitar/vocals
Dillon Prentice — guitar
Garrett Garlington — bass
Jeremy Grobsmith — drums

Cosmic Reaper, Cosmic Reaper (2021)

Cosmic Reaper on Facebook

Cosmic Reaper on Instagram

Cosmic Reaper on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

North Carolinian murk doomers Cosmic Reaper — who bring both sides of their name to bear in their sound — will make their debut on Heavy Psych Sounds with their self-titled first long-player on March 19. Preorders are up if that’s your thing. The PR wire cites Electric Wizard as an influence, and fair enough, can’t argue, but even more than that, I hear shades of later Windhand in the opening track “Hellion” that’s streaming now from the upcoming record. Having missed out previously on the band’s 2019 Demon Dance and 2010 Comes Knockin’ EPs, their affinity for cinematic themes comes through plainly in their work there (hit Bandcamp) and in the cover for Cosmic Reaper itself, which I’m inclined to take at its word in the self-assessed ‘R’ rating.

They bring a darker edge to Heavy Psych Sounds, building on what the label has accomplished over the last year with its Doom Sessions split series and, in some ways, tying the two sides together. Cool by me.

The PR wire has this:

North Carolina fuzzed-out doom unit COSMIC REAPER to release debut album on Heavy Psych Sounds; stream new single “Hellion” now!

Heavy Psych Sounds announce the signing of North Carolina’s fuzzed-out doom unit COSMIC REAPER, for the release of their self-titled debut album this March 19th. Get more details and stream their delightfully crushing new single “Hellion” now!

COSMIC REAPER enthuse: “This 6 minute song is a solid slab of pure, unadulterated doom that is sure to be your soundtrack to 2021’s apocalyptic start. With big Electric Wizard vibes and Cosmic Reaper’s signature sound, Hellion rips at the fabric from underneath.”

North Carolina’s COSMIC REAPER comes crashing through the speakers with their self-titled debut album. Dripping with a classic 70’s attitude, mixing sci-fi oriented lyrics, brief but satisfying moments of prog exploration, all while keeping one foot firmly planted in modern doom, you start to get an idea of the interstellar journey that awaits. The heaviest elements are there and are guaranteed to move planets. The stars align and engines ignite as Cosmic Reaper claws at the soul of the genre.

Debut album ‘Cosmic Reaper’ will be issued on March 19th, 2021 and available to preorder through Heavy Psych Sounds in:

– 15 Ultra Ltd Test Press Vinyl
– 150 Ultra Ltd Half – Half Green Fluo + Black Vinyl
– 400 Ltd Orange Transparent – Splatter Black Vinyl
– Black Vinyl
– Digipak
– Digital

COSMIC REAPER Debut album ‘Cosmic Reaper’ Out March 19th on Heavy Psych Sounds

TRACKLIST:
1. Hellion
2. Heaven’s Gate
3. Stellar Death
4. Wasteland I
5. Wasteland II
6. Planet Eater
7. Infrasonic

Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, psych-doom outfit COSMIC REAPER delivers classic doom & stoner metal elements dipped in psychedelia. In its infancy, bass player Garrett Garlington and guitar player Dillon Prentice, together in Garrett’s kitchen, mixed heavy and fuzzy harmonies with crushing riffs. Not long after, the duo added Thad Collis. His ethereal vocals and impassioned guitar harmonies are what built the band’s foundation. Jeremy Grobsmith, a Colorado Springs metal veteran (The Great Redneck Hope, Matterhorn and Worry) had recently moved to The Queen City, befriended the guys and was quickly asked to join. His hard-hitting and eclectic drum style rounded out the Cosmic Reaper sound and the band was born.

In September of that same year, they recorded the ‘Demon Dance’ EP at Greensboro’s recording studio The Parliament House, along side owner and maverick Jacob Beeson. Noteworthy exposure from doom metal focused podcasts and web-zines helped in the success of their first offering. Following the release, the band continued to perform regionally and then capitalized on the time afforded by the unfortunate shutdown of venues and they began writing their first full length album.

The band returned to Beeson’s studio in the summer of 2020 to start recording. Laden with droning riffs and down tempo walls of monolithic sound, they completed their crushing self-titled debut full length. The start of 2021 ushers in a new and monumental era for the guys as COSMIC REAPER becomes part of the Heavy Psych Sounds family.

COSMIC REAPER IS:
Thad Collis — guitar/vocals
Dillon Prentice — guitar
Garrett Garlington — bass
Jeremy Grobsmith — drums

https://www.facebook.com/cosmicreapernc/
https://www.instagram.com/cosmic_reapernc/
https://cosmicreaper.bandcamp.com/
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Cosmic Reaper, “Hellion”

Cosmic Reaper, Demon Dance (2019)

[Click play above to stream Ether / Return to Earth by From Oceans to Autumn in its entirety. Album is out today, May 5, via Argonauta Records.]

After debuting in 2013 with the full-length A Perfect Dawn, North Carolinian heavy post-rock outfit From Oceans to Autumn return with the sophomore outing Ether / Return to Earth on Argonauta Records — a broad-scoped two-disc vision of experimentalist textures and weighted progressive crunch. Led by founding multi-instrumentalist and engineer Brandon Helms, the band seeks to convey precisely what it references in the two-part title, which is the duality between the nonphysical and the physical, the ether and the earth.

This comes through in a methodological split between the two sections of Ether / Return to Earth, the first disc of which is comprised of four tracks, three of which are over 13 minutes long, that conjure a patient and often drumless ambient wash, resonant drones emerging, existing, subsiding in succession as each piece develops, culminating with the 19-minute “Stratus/Vapor” as a singular moment of immersion that cuts on the second part of the record like “Visible Light” and “Isle” seem to directly counteract with their heavier thrust. Of course, there’s still plenty of atmospheric depth to Return to Earth as well, as From Oceans to Autumn show in “Reconnect” or even the latter stages of opener “Arrival,” but there can be no question they’re working from a foundation that is, fittingly enough, more grounded in creating it.

All told, this huge undertaking of mood and exploration comes close to hitting the two-hour mark, so it’s safe to say it’s legitimately two albums put together. I wanted to talk to Helms about how the concept fed into the construction of the material itself and get a sense of some of his motivations in the making — namely whether where he lives in North Carolina played a role in how Ether / Return to Earth ultimately took shape. As you make your way through the full-album stream above, you’ll find the results of the short Q&A below. How’s that for duality?

Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:

Six Dumb Questions with From Oceans to Autumn

Tell me about the recording process for Ether / Return to Earth. It’s been four years since your debut. Was there anything specific you were trying to accomplish here to follow-up on that?

We are always trying to push ourselves in the writing and recording process with each release. We also really wanted an album that had two identities, one more experimental and free flowing with the other more focused and straightforward, at least for us. And I think we accomplished this goal on Ether / Return to Earth.

At over an hour and 45 minutes long, Ether / Return to Earth is massive, but that hardly captures the sprawl of the tracks themselves. What goes into writing a song like “Stratus/Vapor” for you? How much is based on studio experimentation as opposed to being thought-out or planned beforehand? What about “Visible Light II” or “Keep a Watchful Eye?”

Honestly a lot of Ether was experimented while in the studio recording. “Stratus/Vapor” is a perfect example of studio experimentation. “Visible Light II” was recorded very much like “Visible Light” on our last album, A Perfect Dawn. It’s more heavy noise/distortion than anything else on the album. “Keep a Watchful Eye” was actually written a few years ago and revamped and rerecorded for this album. It was never released prior to now. Funny thing is we recorded an entire album in 2014-2015 that featured this song that was never released!

What is the difference in mindset for you between the two discs of the album? How do you feel each represents its title, and how intentional was that going into the project?

Ether is more ambient/experimental in nature. The songs are more drawn out and free flowing. Return to Earth is heavier, more straightforward in nature. Together they are opposites of each other.

Tell me about where you’re from in North Carolina. For music so atmospheric, did the physical landscape surrounding you play into the songwriting at all? Do you take inspiration from your surroundings, or is it more just about the musical exploration?

We are from Charlotte, NC, right between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, hence our name. Both landscapes offer a huge amount of inspiration while writing and coming up with ideas. It also inspires us musically to experiment more with different sounds.

Where do you see From Oceans to Autumn developing from here? Will you continue the Pareto Analysis series, and what is the concept behind that? Do you see future works developing along a thematic line like Ether / Return to Earth?

Pareto Analysis series is now complete and available for download on our Bandcamp page. We are currently working on rerecording parts, remixing and remastering our last album, A Perfect Dawn. We also are mixing and mastering an album we recorded last fall, some of it has been released in the form of demos but the final version will sound nothing like it!

Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?

Thanks for having us!

From Oceans to Autumn on Thee Facebooks

From Oceans to Autumn on Twitter

From Oceans to Autumn on Bandcamp

From Oceans to Autumn at Argonauta Records

Argonauta Records on Thee Facebooks

First announced late last year, the double-disc sophomore outing, Ether / Return to Earth, from North Carolinian post-rockers From Oceans to Autumn has been given a firm May 5 release through Argonauta Records. To give a sampling of the kind of sprawl on offer, the band have made opening track “Quintessence / Core” — clearly somebody has a thing for multifaceted titles — available to stream in its 13-minute entirety. One of four cuts on the first of Ether / Return to Earth‘s two discs, it enacts a suitably immersive wash over the course of its stretch, and showcases considerable patience in the execution thereof.

Among the big questions I have as regards it is how representative it will be of the record as a whole, or if the band, whose last full-length arrived four years ago — though they also posted Pareto Analysis : Volumes I?-?III Endings in December as the first installment of a “concept series”; rest assured I have no idea what that means — will head in different directions across the subsequent 11 pieces. As ever, we’ll find out when the album arrives.

If you’re the preorderin’ type, those are up now from Argonauta. Art, links, info and audio follow, as per the social medias:

North Carolina Post Rockers From Oceans To Autumn release cover artwork and new single from their highly anticipated new album, the first in four years.

The song “Quintessence/Core” can be heard here.

The album is a colossal “2 disks” work, where ethereal and dreamlike atmospheres collide at best with psychedelic and dramatic interludes made of vast landscapes and sidereal distances.

“Ether/Return to Earth” will be released in Double CD and Digital Download by Argonauta Records and available from May 5th, 2017.
Preorders run here: http://bit.ly/2oytmX8

TRACKLIST
DISC 1 “ETHER”:
1. QUINTESSENCE/CORE
2. MEDIUM
3. AIR/ELYSIUM
4. STRATUS/VAPOR

DISC 2 “RETURN TO EARTH”:
1. ARRIVAL
2. LIVE AGAIN
3. VISIBLE LIGHT II
4. KEEP A WATCHFUL EYE
5. ISLE
6. 211 SOUTH
7. RECONNECT
8. THROUGH THE AGES

http://www.argonautarecords.com/shop/music-/196-from-oceans-to-autumn-etherreturn-to-earth-2cd.html
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http://www.twitter.com/oceanstoautumn
https://fromoceanstoautumn.bandcamp.com/
www.argonautarecords.com

From Oceans to Autumn, “Quintessence / Core”

Most recently heard from with late-2014’s Advent studio sessions recording, which was released digitally just days after it was completed, North Carolina post-rockers From Oceans to Autumn have announced that their second official full-length, titled Ether / Return to Earth, will be out in 2017 on Argonauta Records. It’s a double-CD, so presumably one is Ether and the other is Return to Earth, and while we’re speculating, it doesn’t seem unlikely either that the titles perhaps give some clue as to the sounds contained in each of the album’s two parts — as in, maybe the second is where From Oceans to Autumn come across more grounded sonically than the first. Just guessing here, folks. Just guessing.

No word on a definite, nailed-down release date yet, but Argonauta had the following pretty picture and verbiage on the subject, and if you wanted to check out Advent, it’s name-your-price from the Bandcamp player at the bottom of the post:

FROM OCEANS TO AUTUMN, new “double album” to be released in 2017!

North Carolina based outfit FROM OCEANS TO AUTUMN return after their last album “A Perfect Dawn” of 2013 and several digital EPs released in 2014/2015.

Being a perfect blend of Post Rock / Ambient and Instrumental Post Metal sonorities, this will be a massive effort by the band, a stunning double album where huge landscapes typical of a band as JAKOB meets the impressive “wall of sound” of ROSETTA.

From Oceans to Autumn’s Brandon Helms (also in MAGI and MOUNTAINS AMONG US) says: “Writing and recording of this double album has been going on for 2 years off and on. Mainly in the fall months. We wanted something a little different, yet was still us at heart. The songs are more airy, with the guitars seemingly drift in and out of consciousness.”

“Ether/Return to Earth” is a sound experience where ethereal and dreamlike atmosphere of the first part is in opposition to the darker and “otherworldly” feel of the second one.

FROM OCEANS TO AUTUMN come-back has been scheduled in 2017 and will be released as 2CD/DD by ARGONAUTA Records.

www.facebook.com/fromoceanstoautumn
http://www.twitter.com/oceanstoautumn
https://fromoceanstoautumn.bandcamp.com/
www.argonautarecords.com

From Oceans to Autumn, Advent (2014)