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Clarion Void Premiere Failure in Repetition in Full; Out Tomorrow

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on February 29th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

clarion void failure in repetition

Marked with a vital scathe and an unflinching capacity for staring into its own darkness, Clarion Void‘s second LP, Failure in Repetition, is being released March 1 through Lost Future Records. And between the failing referenced in the record’s title, the perhaps-tainted-but-still-a win cast in “Through Chaos We Succeed” and a alignment of opposites as “The Bottom” cycles through “The Top” in side B with the last of three industrial-ish drone interludes between them, one wouldn’t be wrong to feel pulled in different directions across the tumultuous 10-track/31-minute procession.

This is very clearly intentional on the part of the Colorado Springs four-piece, who embrace the caustic as a uniting factor from the outset of “Repetition I,” the minute-long machine-churn fade-in that immerses the listener with a ready tension that leads directly into the volatile, hardcore-informed extreme sludge that comes together with a corresponding black metal fervency on “Through Chaos We Succeed,” which lays out its harshness marked by harsh-toned lurch, vicious vocal bite from guitarist Greg Mullenax and an abiding current of noise. You would not call it friendly.

From the toying-with-fuzz-bass and the increasing insistence of chug in the instrumental first half of “Sisyphus Wept” clarion voidto the seeming complement of blastbeats in the mythologically-on-theme finale “Rolling Boulder,” Failure in Repetition functions as a multifaceted entirety, leaning to one side or the other at a given moment and actually resting too long in one place, however many walls of tone or noise — looking at you, intro to “This is the Water” — they may build and tear down throughout, Mullenax, guitarist Evan Courtland, bassist Bryan Webb and drummer James Ivy maintain a harsh, unsettled atmosphere with a focus highlighted in “Repetition I,” “Repetition II” and “Repetition III” but is consistent in even the rawest moments of scathe, whether that’s the what’s-the-use-of-anything nod beneath the solo in “This is the Water” or the instrumental “Lulu’s Interlude” that follows it, not quite giving the listener a break from the onslaught, but perhaps gathering itself for the next violent phase in the second half of the tracklisting.

Clarion Void‘s 2023 debut, Deafening Sounds of Mortality, followed a not-entirely-dissimilar ethic of world scorch, but Failure in Repetition feels stripped down — though certainly the Greg Wilkinson production wants nothing for density, space or impact — even at its most complex moments. The extreme nature of the vocals is part of that, but as “Repetition II” and “The Bottom” unfold into “Repetition III” and “The Top,” the band show refinement of their craft in the stylistic diversity and abiding crush, as well as the efficiency with which “The Bottom” lumbers and “The Top” sad-slogs, making the churn in the 5:20 longest track/closer “Rolling Boulder” feel like a point of arrival as it digs into itself to build tension before loosing the aforementioned blasts, which feel as though they were held in reserve for the finish and lead into a verse that feels like it’s consuming the band as well as the listener like some kind of destructive ouroboros, then hits into a mega-slowdown to tease an ending before resuming its prior course of punishment.

There are some differences in intent between the two halves of the LP — you might note looking at it below that two of the interludes are on side B while side A feels more compact with “Through Chaos We Succeed,” “Sisyphus Wept” and “This is the Water,” and I think the listening experience bears that out — but Failure in Repetition is cohesive as a whole work of scope that’s almost deceptive with the forward crush and flay. You can stream the record in full below, and if you’re up for it, the void indeed calls you.

Enjoy:

Colorado Springs, CO band Clarion Void today share Failure in Repetition, their forthcoming sophomore album and debut on Lost Future Records.

Failure in Repetition is the newest album from the Colorado Springs, CO based doom-metal quartet Clarion Void. Focused on themes of inevitability and the futility of progress, the album crushes the listener with detuned, sludgy riffs before exploding into a breakneck black metal onslaught. Not for the faint of heart.

Failure in Repetition was recorded with Grammy nominated producer Greg Wilkinson (High on Fire, Pallbearer) at his studio in Oakland, CA.

The album will be available on LP and digital on March 1st, 2024 via Lost Future Records. Pre-orders are available HERE: https://clarionvoidco.bandcamp.com/

CLARION VOID LIVE:
02/29 Colorado Springs, CO – What’s Left Records (album release show)

Artist: Clarion Void
Album: Failure in Repetition
Label: Lost Future Records
Release Date: March 1st, 2024

Tracklisting:
01. Repetition I
02. Through Chaos We Succeed
03. Sisyphus Wept
04. This Is The Water
05. Lulu’s Interlude
06. Repetition II
07. The Bottom
08. Repetition III
09. The Top
10. Rolling Boulder

Clarion Void are:
Greg Mullenax – Guitar/vocals
Bryan Webb – Bass
Evan Courtland – Guitar
James Ivy – Drums

Clarion Void, “The Top” official video

Clarion Void on Instagram

Clarion Void on Bandcamp

Clarion Void’s Linktr.ee

Lost Future Records on Facebook

Lost Future Records on Instagram

Lost Future Records on Bandcamp

Lost Future Records website

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Clarion Void to Release ‘Failure in Repetition’ March 1; “The Top” Video Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 10th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

clarion void

I’m not always huge on aural char as an ingredient in a given band’s stylistic ooze, but Clarion Void incorporate black metal influences fluidly on “The Top,” which is the first single from their upcoming second album, Failure in Repetition, and I find the tonal bite that accompanies — you’ll note the Greg Wilkinson production mentioned below — satisfying in line with the shifts in tempo in a way that doesn’t always click.

And if you think Failure in Repetition might not live up to its intentions as regards slog, “The Top” is harsh and despondent enough to clear any confusion on the issue, but the tempo is fluid and they’re not afraid to lean into one side or the other of their sound. I guess that doesn’t mean much until you listen to the track. Fair enough. It’s at the bottom of the post as usual. I’ll look forward to getting to know the record.

The PR wire had the following:

clarion void failure in repetition

Clarion Void share “The Top” video from forthcoming album Failure In Repetition

Blackened doom & sludge band’s sophomore album produced by Grammy nominee Greg Wilkinson (High on Fire, Pallbearer)

Colorado Springs, CO band Clarion Void share the official video for “The Top”. “The Top” is the first single from Failure in Repetition, their forthcoming sophomore album, and debut on Lost Future Records. Stream the single on all DSPs HERE: https://songwhip.com/clarionvoid/the-top

Failure in Repetition is the newest album from the Colorado Springs, CO based doom-metal quartet Clarion Void. Focused on themes of inevitability and the futility of progress, the album crushes the listener with detuned, sludgy riffs before exploding into a breakneck black metal onslaught. Not for the faint of heart.

Failure in Repetition was recorded with Grammy nominated producer Greg Wilkinson (High on Fire, Pallbearer) at his studio in Oakland, CA.

The album will be available on LP and digital on March 1st, 2024 via Lost Future Records. Pre-orders are available HERE: https://clarionvoidco.bandcamp.com/

Artist: Clarion Void
Album: Failure in Repetition
Label: Lost Future Records
Release Date: March 1st, 2024

01. Repetition I
02. Through Chaos We Succeed
03. Sisyphus Wept
04. This Is The Water
05. Lulu’s Interlude
06. Repetition II
07. The Bottom
08. Repetition III
09. The Top
10. Rolling Boulder

CLARION VOID LIVE:
01/12/24 Denver, CO – Hi-Dive

https://www.instagram.com/clarion_void
https://clarionvoidco.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/clarion_void

Clarion Void, “The Top” official video

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Drew Patricks of Astral Construct

Posted in Questionnaire on March 21st, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Drew Patricks Astral Construct

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: Drew Patricks of Astral Construct

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

I push myself to create what I hear in my mind and continually find ways to communicate that vision to as many people as possible. I have always had a special connection to music that I attribute to my parents. My mother was a music teacher and both she and my father played piano. There was always music in our house. For the longest time, I tried to be other musicians and never ventured beyond to find out who I was as a musician and that brought me only limited happiness. When I made the conscious effort to discover my own voice and creativity, I realized the value that brought to my experience.

Describe your first musical memory.

I remember two experiences that started it for me. First, was a “concert” for my parents that I played on a makeshift drum kit to Beatles songs. The second was air guitar to KISS records with friends. “The hottest band in the land!!!”

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Without question, the best memory is releasing my first album, Tales of Cosmic Journeys last year. The people that I have met and the opportunities to become both a better person and musician have been immeasurable. It is encouraging to see how music brings people together.

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

Anytime you look at the world with a critical mind, you are tested. However, that habit helps us understand there are multiple ways to perceive the craziness around us and, hopefully, find a way through it to something better.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Artistic progression leads to higher understanding of ourselves and, ultimately, to a feeling of satisfaction. That seems to be a goal that is always so far down the road, though. I think that drives most musicians, the pursuit of that constant progression and the feeling of satisfaction when we share our creativity.

How do you define success?

Success is never straying from the process and continually reaching for better ways to communicate inspiration. It is being able say you have never accepted less than your best.

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

So far, my music expresses a need to escape. That says a lot about the amount of horrible things we wish we had not seen and it seems we need moments to get away so we can come back and deal with the things we can’t forever avoid.

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

I would like to create a live experience that transports people the way all good concerts do. We all have missed that over the time of the pandemic and it is an incredible feeling to go to a show again. My first one back was King Buffalo and it was amazing!! I am looking forward to many more shows in the coming months. Seeing these amazing bands put on their shows makes me want to put on my own someday.

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

The most essential function is to manifest feelings. For each individual, those feeling will be different and unique. As artists, we all have an idea of what emotions we are trying to communicate but once it is in the listener’s head, we cannot really control how they view it. We get to initiate that, though, and that is special.

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

Travel! To finally go places and experience new things.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068801797541
https://www.instagram.com/astralconstructproject/
https://astralconstruct.bandcamp.com/

Astral Construct, Tales of Cosmic Journeys (2021)

Aiwass & ASTRAL CONstruct, “Solis in Stellis”

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Quarterly Review: Dream Unending, Mud Spencer, Farfisa, Volcanova, Aiwass & Astral Construct, Doctor Smoke, Willowater, All Are to Return, Mountain Sides, Duncan Park

Posted in Reviews on January 21st, 2022 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

Last day. I guess we made it. There was never any doubt it would happen, but I wouldn’t call this the smoothest Quarterly Review ever by any stretch. Weather, canceled school, missed bus, The Patient Mrs. about to start a new semester at work, plus that day that had three noise rock records right in a row — who slots these things? (me) — it hasn’t all been easy. But, if you’ve ever read the QR you might know I’ve developed a tendency to load a bunch of killer stuff into the last day to kind of give myself a break, and here we are. No regrets.

Thanks for reading this week (and any other week if you’ve ever been on this site before). Here’s how we finish.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Dream Unending, Tide Turns Eternal

dream unending tide turns eternal

Beautiful and sad, this first collaboration between drummer/vocalist Justin DeTore (Solemn Lament, ex-Magic Circle, many more) and guitarist/bassist Derrick Vella (Tomb Mold, Outer Heaven) under the moniker of Dream Unending harnesses a classic early ’90s death-doom melancholy, but it’s not as raw as the image of My Dying Bride circa ’92 that might bring to mind. If you want to do mashups, think Novembers Doom meets Alternative 4-era Anathema. Tide Turns Eternal brings together seven songs in 46 minutes and is memorable in stretches like the guitar progression of “In Cipher I Weep” and the crushing chug of the title-track as the Massachusetts/Toronto duo harness the a true sense of classic death metal just ahead of the two-minute weepy guitar interlude “Forgotten Farewell” and the 10-minute closing title-track. Perhaps there’s some inspiration from Bell Witch in the making, but Dream Unending‘s atmosphere and patience are their own.

Dream Unending on Instagram

20 Buck Spin website

 

Mud Spencer, Fuzz Soup

Mud Spencer Fuzz Soup

The title don’t lie. French expat Sergio Garcia, living in Indonesia, concocts 11 instrumental tracks of fuzzy flood, and if he wants to call that soup, then yeah, that’s as good as anything I’ve got. “Razana” opens with two minutes of garage-style strut, while “Back to Origin” crunches and “Fuzz Soup” feels a bit more of a psych freakout with its lead guitar and drums that remind of Witch, all performed by Garcia, who adds organ to boot. “Quest for Fire” is probably more in homage to the movie than band, which is a little sad, but the song brings in some minor scales and droning atmospherics, and “Ride the Mammoth” pushes more straightforward into the languid wah whatnottery of “Argapura” at the presumed start of side B, which feels rawer in “The Shelter” and more chaotic in the buzz of “Surfin’ the Dune” before “The Cheating Mole” turns to nighttime darkjazz, “Tumulous” turns its acoustic start into a hairy march punctuated and grounded by the pop of snare, and closer “Narcolepsy” finishes with a duly zombified, organ-laced take on tape-trader doom. These experiments work well together throughout Fuzz Soup, united by weird and unpredictable as they are.

Mud Spencer on Facebook

Argonauta Records website

 

Farfisa, Gänger

Farfisa Gänger

Gänger is third in a purported series of four EPs by Manchester, UK, four-piece Farfisa, and its four songs solidify some of the more let-go aspects of 2020’s Bravado, taking the folkish shine of a cut like “My Oh My” and turning it into the dug-in garage prog rock of “Honey Badger” and riffing out dirty and fuzzed on “River Rash.” Frankly, I don’t know why, having once conjured tones like those of the penultimate “Clinton” here, which sound like something that would make Ty Segall start a new band, one would ever not do that again, but I won’t claim to know what the fourth EP in the series might bring. One can only hope that, when the series is wrapped, they compile it into some sort of offering — a double-tape or some such — and release the whole thing together. As it stands though, Gänger is my first exposure to the band, and they smash through “Limitator” with due prejudice. I can think of five record labels off the top of my head who’d be lucky to have these guys, but nobody asks me these things.

Farfisa on Facebook

Farfisa on Bandcamp

 

Volcanova, Cosmic Bullshit

Volcanova Cosmic Bullshit

Fucking a, rock and roll. Reykjavik’s Volcanova aren’t through “Salem,” the lead cut from their righteously titled Cosmic Bullshit EP, before they’ve cadenced Uncle Acid in the verse and broken out the cowbell, so yes, it’s that kind of party. That cowbell comes back almost immediately for “Gold Coast,” which tramps out big riffs like Def Leppard used to make, and “Desolation” brings the bass forward effectively in its hook, the band having already built fervent momentum that will carry through the rest of the 26-minute mini-album. Not to pick favorites, but “End of Time” feels purposefully placed near the middle, and “No Wheels” — yup, more cowbell — splits that and closer “Lost Spot” well, giving a grounded stretch of pure shove before the finale hard-boogies and big-drifts its way to a surprising wash of an ending, organ included. You don’t call your release Cosmic Bullshit if you’re not looking to get attention, and Volcanova certainly earn that with these tracks.

Volcanova on Facebook

The Sign Records website

 

Aiwass & Astral Contruct, Solis in Stellis

Aiwass Astral Construct Solis in Stellis

The premier collaboration between Arizona’s Aiwass and Colorado’s Astral Construct — the latter also stylized as ASTRAL COnstruct — is a seven-minute single called “Solis in Stellis” that bridges terrestrial and ethereal heavy psychedelias. At a bit under eight minutes, its melodic flourish and weighted underpinning of low end, drifting guitar and fluid rhythmic progression sound like nothing so much as the beginning of an album that should be made if it’s not currently in the works between Drew Patricks (Astral Construct) and Blake Carrera (Aiwass), who both function as solo artists in their respective projects but come together here to show the complementary potential of each for the other. Lush in atmosphere, patient in its delivery and spacious without being overwrought, “Solis in Stellis” is hopefully the beginning of more to come from these two, who might just end up having to call themselves the Aiwass Construct if they keep going the way they are.

Aiwass on Facebook

Astral Construct on Instagram

 

Doctor Smoke, Dreamers and the Dead

Doctor Smoke Dreamers and the Dead

Seven years after 2014’s The Witching Hour, Ohio’s Doctor Smoke return with Dreamers and the Dead, a solid 10-song/42-minute run that makes up for lost time by reimagining ’90s-era Megadeth sneer as dark and catchy heavy rock and roll. The four-piece led by founding guitarist/vocalist Matt Tluchowski may have let a few years get by them — that’ll happen — but if the intervening time was spent hammering out these songs, the effort shows itself in the efficiency with which each cut makes its point and gets out, a song like “These Horrid Things” casting its mood in the verses before opening to the chorus, winding fretwork building tension into and subsequently through the solo. This is a revamp of the idea of a classic metal influence, the first instance of a generational shift I can think of that’s bringing this particular vibe to a heavy rock context — the pounding and sprinting of the title-track might’ve been thrash in the ’80s, but a decade later it was thicker and so it is here as well — and Doctor Smoke make it theirs, no question. One wonders what the next seven years will bring.

Doctor Smoke on Facebook

Ripple Music website

 

Willowater, Loyal

Willowater Loyal EP

Rebranded from their moniker of Sierra, Ontario progressive heavy rockers Willowater bring the four-track/14-minute EP as a quick hello to listeners new and old. Guitarist/vocalist Jason Taylor and bassist/drummer/vocalist Robbie Carvalho (also synth) chug out in early-Tool fashion on the opener “Ultimatum,” and the subsequent title-track answers back in kind with shared vocals and a bit of twisting, pulled squeals of guitar, and so on, while “Fly High” calls to mind Dio-style riffing with a bassline to bolster the classic metal vibe, and “Winter Now” builds a tension in its keyboard-laced 3:26 that, somewhat maddeningly, never pays itself off. Perhaps the message there is of more to come. Hope so, anyhow. Sierra were a quality band, and undervalued. Willowater seem to be taking another shot at catching as many ears as possible. A fresh start. Not so crazy different from what they were doing before, but sometimes a name can make all the difference.

Willowater on Facebook

Willowater on Bandcamp

 

All Are to Return, II

all are to return ii

This second EP from the anonymous Dutch outfit All Are to Return reignites the brutality of their 2020 self-titled debut short release (review here), while expanding the stylistic reach. Opener “Carceri” tips into industrial black metal before resolving itself in harsh screams and drones, while “Surveiller et Punir” feels even more experimental/art rock with tortured screams far back under noisy guitar. “Classified” is shorter and more beat-oriented, but the distorted wash of “Postscript on the Societies of Control” (bit of positive thinking there, almost in spite of itself) is abrasive as fuck, such that the quiet, minimal synth that starts “De Profundis” accompanied by more obscured screams seems almost like a relief before it builds to its own post-Godflesh industrialized crush. They finish atmospheric on “Desiring Machines,” blowing out conceptions of extreme music in about the time it takes for you to put on your shoes and jacket so you can go out, wander into the wilderness, and never be heard from again.

All Are to Return on Bandcamp

Tartarus Records website

 

Mountain Sides, Mountain Sides

mountain sides mountain sides

Members of Mirror Queen, the just-signed-to-TeePee-proper Limousine Beach (really, I haven’t even had the chance to post the news yet), Zombi, Ruby the Hatchet and Osees coming together for three Mountain covers. Mountain Sides do “You Better Believe It,” “Dreams of Milk and Honey” and “Travelin’ in the Dark,” and they knock it out of the park accordingly. I don’t know that this would ever get to become a real band between the commitments of Morgan McDaniel, David Wheeler and Steve Moore, let alone Owen Stewart (Ruby the Hatchet‘s drummer) or Paul Quattrone from Osees and a geographic spread between New York, Philly, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, but as a quick outing to test the waters, these three songs want nothing for vibe. Of course, being Mountain songs helps, but it almost inevitably would. Still, I’d take a record of tunes they wrote themselves, even if it doesn’t happen for another decade because everyone’s busy.

Mountain Sides on Bandcamp

Tee Pee Records Digital Annex

 

Duncan Park, Invoking the Flood

Duncan Park Invoking the Flood

Serenity in experimentalist drone and psychedelia, marked by the interplay of organic folk and otherworldly elements of fluid aural adventures. The backward, swelling repetitions of “The Alluring Pool” answer the watery worldmaking of leadoff “Rivers are a Place of Power,” the backing chimes reminding of water moving the air, the acoustic guitar on centerpiece “Riverbank” furthering the theme in sweetly plucked notes while Duncan Park (who also collaborates with Seven Rivers of Fire) picks up the journey again on “The Winding Stream” with a current of melody playing beneath the main acoustic lines of the song, instrumental in its entirety. Invoking the Flood, apart perhaps from some warning that might be read into the opener, grows more peaceful as it goes, though Park‘s inclusion of vocals on closer “Over the River” speaks perhaps of other tributaries waiting to be explored. Still, it is a sweet and encompassing, if short, trip downstream with Park here, and if the flood comes, at least we had a good time.

Duncan Park on Facebook

Ramble Records on Bandcamp

 

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Aiwass & ASTRAL CONstruct Team for “Solis in Stellis” Single

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 23rd, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Two underground acts reaching across state lines to come together around an idea. Not the first time it’s happened, but I did immediately upon hearing “Solis in Stellis” for the first time tell Blake Carrera from Aiwass that I thought there was a full record to be made between him and ASTRAL CONstruct‘s Drew Patricks, and I stand by that. I already have the song slated in next month’s addendum to the Quarterly Review, so I’ll spare you reviewing it now, but if you get to check it out, it’s worth your time, and the proceeds from the digital sales will be donated to the Scleroderma Foundation, and who the hell is going to argue with that?

You can hear the song at the bottom of this post (as per usual; I feel like I don’t need to say that anymore and yet I keep doing so), and here’s more info on it courtesy of Carrera via the PR wire:

Aiwass Astral Construct Solis in Stellis

Aiwass & ASTRAL CONstruct – Solis in Stellis

Solis in Stellis. The Sun in the Stars. The newest track from Aiwass and Astral Construct is a collaboration meant to tantalize the ears, dancing between prog, psychedelia, doom, and stoner rock. The song, while following pop musical structures, is meant to challenge the listener, taking them on a journey of self-discovery, doubt, and exploration. Guitar solos dance between the left and right speakers, drums move from minimalism to bombastic explosions, and the bass carries the melody of the song. Haunting vocals only further hint at the darkness that inspired certain elements of the song.

Beyond just a collaboration between two emerging acts in the stoner/psych/doom underground, Solis in Stellis is also a song meant to raise money for the Scleroderma Foundation. Blake Carrera, the founder of Aiwass, lost his mother due to complications from scleroderma. With that in mind, Carrera and Drew Patricks (the guiding force behind Astral Construct) decided to donate all Bandcamp sales of the song directly to the Scleroderma Foundation in her honor in hopes that further research can be conducted into a cure for this autoimmune disease.

For more information about scleroderma and to donate directly to the foundation, please visit www.scleroderma.org.

https://www.facebook.com/aiwassbandaz
https://aiwassband.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/astralconstructproject/
https://astralconstruct.bandcamp.com/

Aiwass & ASTRAL CONstruct, “Solis in Stellis”

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Quarterly Review: Spelljammer, The Black Heart Death Cult, Shogun, Nadja, Shroud of Vulture, Towards Atlantis Lights, ASTRAL CONstruct, TarLung, Wizzerd & Merlin, Seum

Posted in Reviews on July 8th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-fall-2016-quarterly-review

We proceed onward, into this ever-growing swath of typos, lineup corrections made after posting, and riffs — more riffs! — that is the Quarterly Review. Today is Day Four and I’m feeling good. Not to say there isn’t some manner of exhaustion, but the music has been killer — today is particularly awesome — and that makes life much, much, much better as I’ve already said. I hope you’ve found one or two or 10 records so far that you’ve really dug. I know I’ve added a few to my best of 2021 list, including stuff right here. So yeah, we roll on.

Quarterly Review #31-40:

Spelljammer, Abyssal Trip

spelljammer abyssal trip

To envision an expanse, and to crush it. Stockholm three-piece Spelljammer return five years after Ancient of Days (review here), with an all-the-more-massive second long-player through RidingEasy, turning their front-cover astronaut around to face the audience head on and offering 43 minutes/six tracks of encompassing largesse, topping 10 minutes in the title-track and “Silent Rift,” both on side B with the interlude “Peregrine” between them, after the three side A rollers, “Bellwether,” “Lake” and “Among the Holy” have tripped out outward and downward into an atmospheric plunge that is a joy to take feeling specifically geared as an invite to the converted. We are here, come worship with us. Also get crushed. Spelljammer records may not happen all the time, but you won’t be through “Bellwether” before you’re saying it was worth the wait.

Spelljammer on Facebook

RidingEasy Records website

 

The Black Heart Death Cult, Sonic Mantras

The Black Heart Death Cult Sonic Mantras

A deceptively graceful second LP from Melbourne’s The Black Heart Death Cult, Sonic Mantras pulls together an eight-song/45-minute run that unfolds bookended by “Goodbye Gatwick Blues” (8:59) and “Sonic Dhoom” (9:47) and in between ebbs and flows across shorter pieces that maximize their flow in whether shoegazing, heavygazing, blissing out, or whatever we’re calling it this week on “The Sun Inside” and “One Way Through,” or finding their way to a particularly deadened meadow on “Trees,” or tripping the light hypnotic on “Dark Waves” just ahead of the closer. “Cold Fields” churns urgently in its 2:28 but remains spacious, and everywhere The Black Heart Death Cult go, they remain liquefied in their sound, like a seemingly amorphous thing that nonetheless manages to hold its shape despite outside conditions. Whatever form they take, then, they are themselves, and Sonic Mantras emphasizes how yet-underappreciated they are in emerging from the ever-busy Aussie underground.

The Black Heart Death Cult on Facebook

Kozmik Artifactz store

 

Shogun, Tetra

Shogun Tetra

Tetra is the third long-player from Milwaukee’s Shogun, and in addition to the 10-minute “Delta,” which marries blues gargle with YOB slow-gallop before jamming out across its 10-minute span, it brings straight-shooter fuzz rockers like “Gravitas,” the someone-in-this-band-listened-to-Megadeth-in-the-’90s-and-that’s-okay beginnings of “Buddha’s Palm/Aviary” and likewise crunch of “Axiom” later, but also the quiet classic progressive rock of “Gone Forever,” and the more patient coming together of psychedelia and harder-hitting movement on closer “Maximum Ray.” Somewhat undercut by a not-raw-but-not-bursting-with-life production, pieces like “Buddha’s Palm/Aviary,” which gives over to a sweeter stretch of guitar in its second movement, and “Vertex/Universal Pain Center,” which in its back end brings around that YOB influence again and puts it to good use, are outwardly complex enough to put the lie to the evenhandedness of the recording. There’s more going on in Tetra than it first seems, and the more you listen, the more you find.

Shogun on Facebook

Shogun on Bandcamp

 

Nadja, Luminous Rot

Nadja Luminous Rot

Keeping up with Nadja has proven nigh on impossible over the better part of the last two decades, as the Berlin-by-way-of-Toronto duo have issued over 25 albums in 19 years, plus splits and live offerings and digital singles and oh my goodness I do believe I have the vapors that’s a lot of Nadja. For those of us who flit in and out like the dilletantes we ultimately are, Luminous Rot‘s aligning Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff with Southern Lord makes it an easy landmark, but really most of what the six-cut/48-minute long-player does is offer a reminder of the vital experimentalism the lazy are missing in the first place. The consuming, swelling drone of “Cuts on Your Hands,” blown-out sub-industrialism of “Starres,” hook of the title-track and careful-what-you-wish-for anchor riff of “Fruiting Bodies” — these and the noisily churning closer “Dark Inclusions” are a fervent argument in Nadja‘s favor as being more than a sometimes-check-in kind of band, and for immediately digging into the 43-minute single-song album Seemannsgarn, which they released earlier this year. So much space and nothing to lose.

Nadja on Facebook

Southern Lord Recordings website

 

Shroud of Vulture, Upon a Throne of Jackals

shroud of vulture upon a throne of jackals

Welcome to punishment as a primary consideration. Indianapolis death-doom four-piece hold back the truly crawling fare until “Perverted Reflection,” which is track three of the total seven on their debut full-length, Upon a Throne of Jackals, but by then the extremity has already shown its unrepentant face across the buried-alive “Final Spasms of the Drowned” and the oldschool death metal of “The Altar.” Centerpiece “Invert Every Throne” calls to mind Conan in its nod, but Shroud of Vulture are more about rawness than sheer largesse in tone, and their prone-to-blasting style gives them an edge there and in “Halo of Tarnished Light,” which follows. The closing pair of “Concealing Rabid Laughter” and “Stone Coffin of Existence” both top seven minutes and offset grueling tension with grueling release, but it’s the stench of decay that so much defines Upon a Throne of Jackals, as though somebody rebuilt Sunlight Studio brick for brick in Hoosier Country. Compelling and filthy in kind.

Shroud of Vulture on Facebook

Wise Blood Records website

Transylvanian Tapes on Bandcamp

 

Towards Atlantis Lights, When the Ashes Devoured the Sun

Towards Atlantis Lights When the Ashes Devoured the Sun

Ultra-grueling, dramatic death-doom tragedies permeate the second full-length, When the Ashes Devoured the Sun, from UK-based four-piece Towards Atlantis Lights, with vocalist/keyboardist Kostas Panagiotou and guitarist Ivan Zara at the heart of the compositions while bassist Riccardo Veronese and drummer Ivano Olivieri assure the impact that coincides with the cavernous procession matches in scope. The follow-up to 2018’s Dust of Aeons (review here), this six-track collection fosters classicism and modern apocalyptic vibes alike, and whether raging or morose, its dirge atmosphere remains firm and uncompromised. Heavy lumber for heavy hearts. The kind of doom that doesn’t look up. That doesn’t mean it’s not massive in scope — it is, even more than the first record — just that nearly everything it sees is downward. If there’s hope, it is a vague thing, lost to periphery. So be it.

Towards Atlantis Lights on Facebook

Kostas Panagiotou on Bandcamp

 

ASTRAL CONstruct, Tales of Cosmic Journeys

ASTRAL CONstruct Tales of Cosmic Journeys

It has been said on multiple occasions that “space is the place.” The curiously-capitalized Colorado outfit ASTRAL CONstruct would seem to live by this ethic on their debut album, Tales of Cosmic Journeys, unfurling as they do eight flowing progressions of instrumental slow-CGI-of-the-planets pieces that are more plotted in their course than jams, but feel built from jams just the same. Raw in its production and mix, and mastered by Kent Stump of Wo Fat, there’s enough atmosphere to let the lead guitar breathe, certainly, and to sustain life in general even on “Jettisoned Adrift in the Space Debris,” and the image evoked by “Hand Against the Solar Winds” feels particularly inspired given that song’s languid roll. The record starts and ends in cryogenic sleep, and if upon waking we’re transported to another place and another time, who knows what wonders we might see along the way. ASTRAL CONstruct‘s exploration would seem to be just beginning here, but their “Cosmos Perspective” is engaging just the same.

ASTRAL CONstruct on Instagram

ASTRAL CONstruct on Bandcamp

 

TarLung, Architect

TarLung Architect

Vienna-based sludgedrivers TarLung were last heard from with 2017’s Beyond the Black Pyramid (discussed here), and Architect continues the progression laid out there in melding vocal extremity and heavy-but-not-too-heavy-to-move riffing. It might seem like a fine line to draw, and it is, and that only makes songs like “Widow’s Bane” and “Horses of Plague” all the more nuanced as their deathly growls and severe atmospheres mesh with what in another context might just be stoner rock groove. Carcass circa the criminally undervalued Swansong, Six Feet Under. TarLung manage to find a place in stoner sludge that isn’t just Bongzilla worship, or Bongripper worship, or Bong worship. I’m not sure it’s worship at all, frankly, and I like that about it as the closing title-track slow-moshes my brain into goo.

TarLung on Facebook

TarLung on Bandcamp

 

Wizzerd & Merlin, Turned to Stone Chapter III

ripple music turned to stone chapter iii wizzerd vs merlin

Somewhere in the great mystical expanse between Kalispell, Montana, and Kansas City, Missouri, two practicioners of the riffly dark arts meet on a field of battle. Wizzerd come packing the 19-minute acoustic-into-heavy-prog-into-sitar-laced-jam-out “We Are,” as if to encompass that declaration in all its scope, while Merlin answer back with the organ-led “Merlin’s Bizarre Adventure” (21:51), all chug and lumber until it’s time for weirdo progressive fusion reggae and an ensuing Purple-tinged psych expansion. Who wins? I don’t know. Ripple Music in releasing it in the first place, I guess. Continuing the label’s influential split series(es), Turned to Stone Chapter III pushes well over the top in the purposes of both acts involved, and in that, it’s maybe less of a battle than two purveyors joining forces to weave some kind of Meteo down on the heads of all who might take them on. If you’ve think you’ve got the gift, they seem only too ready to test that out.

Wizzerd on Facebook

Merlin on Facebook

Ripple Music website

 

Seum, Winterized

Seum Winterized

“Life Grinder” begins with a sample: “I don’t know if you need all that bass,” and the answer, “Oh, you need all that bass.” That’s already after “Sea Sick Six” has revealed the Montreal-based trio’s sans-guitar extremist sludge roll, and the three-piece seem only too happy to keep up the theme. Vocals are harsh, biting, grating, purposeful in their fuckall, and the whole 28-minute affair of Winterized is cathartic aural violence, except perhaps the interlude “666,” which is a quiet moment between “Broken Bones” and “Black Snail Volcano,” which finally seems to just explode in its outright aggression, nod notwithstanding. A slowed down Ramones cover — reinventing “Pet Sematary” as “Red Sematary” — has a layer of spoken chanting vocals layered in and closes out, but the skin has been peeled so far back by then and Seum have doused so much salt onto the wounds that even Bongzilla might cringe. The low-end-only approach only makes it more punishing and more punk rock at the same time. Fucking mean.

Seum on Facebook

Seum on Bandcamp

 

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Bog Wizard & Dust Lord Team Up For Four Tales of the Strange Split

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 7th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Bog Wizard and Dust Lord both made their debuts last year, the former with From the Mire and the latter with Machine Cult. Both records — because it’s the future — can be streamed below. Now, under normal circumstances, it’d be easy to imagine that two bands with first albums out from vaguely the same part of the country (that is, the Middle part) teaming for a split probably met playing a show together somewhere as they each supported their album. Well, obviously that’s not the case here, so how exactly Bog Wizard met Dust Lord — like When Harry Met Sally, but with riffs — I have no idea.

It is a formidable pairing though, and the two bands complement each other well on the four-tracker split, suitably enough dubbed Four Tales of the Strange. Dust Lord are nastier in terms screaming and general sludgy harshness, and Bog Wizard are a little more doomed but rawer in production value, so they hit with a sludge vibe as well that way. One way or the other it’s 36 minutes of mess-up-your-afternoon distortion and downward vibes, united by legitimate disaffection.

No audio yet, but it’s out March 5 and the PR wire brings forth the following:

bog wizard dust lord four tales of the strange-2000

Dust Lord & Bog Wizard – Four Tales of the Strange

Four Tales of the Strange was created with publishing help from The Swamp Records and The Cosmic Peddler. Put together out of love and appreciation for both bands successful 2020 full length album debuts. The album weaves a blend of sludge, doom, and psychedelic material including some of the heaviest, sludgiest, fuzzed-out riffs created by either band.

The split will be released on CD, cassette, and vinyl pressing in transparent blue with light blue splatter, and transparent red with gold splatter. Releasing with help from The Swamp Records and The Cosmic Peddler.

Album art by Marinko Milosevski, most well known for his work on the cover art for the game Red Dead Redemption 2, among many other widely known games, shows, and movies.

Bog Wizard is a three-piece West Michigan based doom/ sludge/ stoner metal band, inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and fantasy literature. Dust Lord hails from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is a heavy stoner rock band in the vein of Bongzilla, Weedeater, Eyehategod, Buzzoven.

Bog Wizard is Ben Lombard (guitar/vox), Harlen Linke (percussion, synth, vox), and Colby Lowman (bass)

Dust Lord is Spike Whirley (guitar/ vox), Peter Low Frequency (bass), Rob Deadraiser (percussion)

Bog Wizard vs Dust Lord
Four Tales of the Strange
Out March 5th 2021
Published with help from The Swamp Records & The Cosmic Peddler
Bog Wizard: West Michigan, US
Dust Lord: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Track Listing:
1. Dust Lord – Not Men, Not Women, Not Beasts (6:38)
2. Dust Lord – Career Opportunities (9:37)
3. Bog Wizard – Paladin of Death (9:12)
4. Bog Wizard – Gelatinous Cube (10:26)
Run time: 35:53

Album art by Marinko Milosevski https://marinkoillustration.com/

https://bogwizard.bandcamp.com/
https://twitter.com/bogwizardband/
https://www.facebook.com/BogWizardBand/
https://www.instagram.com/bogwizardband/
https://www.youtube.com/bogwizard
https://bogwizard.bigcartel.com/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0mooueq4AqCcD9cZ6yfV2B

https://dustlordpartydoom.bandcamp.com/
https://facebook.com/dustlordpartydoom/
https://www.instagram.com/dustlord_official/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1AcNF4c7i4GuekqeTZadQ1

Dust Lord, Machine Cult (2020)

Bog Wizard, From the Mire (2020)

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