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Stevie Floyd of Dark Castle to Release Split/Collaboration with Aerial Ruin

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 3rd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

It had been a while since we last heard from Stevie Floyd, guitarist/vocalist for Dark Castle, whose last album was 2011’s underappreciated Surrender to all Life Beyond Form (review here). After releasing the Life two-track full-length with Taurus last July, Floyd finds herself now teamed with Erik Moggridge aka Aerial Ruin for a split/collaboration that finds the two players guesting on each other’s material and featuring solo material in a folkish vein. Not necessarily new territory for Moggridge, whose work was vehemently recommended by Dylan Desmond of Bell Witch/Samothrace last year, but it should be interesting to hear what Floyd can bring to that style and if the experimental edge that showed up on the last Dark Castle rears its head here as well.

The PR wire never takes a holiday:

STEVIE FLOYD: Dark Castle/Taurus Priestess To Release Split With AERIAL RUIN

Dark Castle/Taurus priestess STEVIE FLOYD and AERIAL RUIN, the gloom-trodden solo outfit featuring former Old Grandad/ Drift Of A Curse/Epidemic mastermind Erik Moggridge, recently joined creative forces for an eclectic split release.

A wholly absorbing, folk-centric offering, the collaboration finds Floyd and Moggridge posing as guest vocalists on select songs off their separate solo recordings with an additional guest appearance from Leviathan/Lurker of Chalice sorcerer Wrest. At once moody, atmospheric, and psychologically crushing, the self-released recording delivers twelve decaying hymns that will be available on vinyl/free download with handmade artwork by Floyd via their official BandCamp Pages.

Elaborates Floyd: “This was something very raw and honest for me to record myself in solitude. Aerial Ruin is a huge inspiration for me, and I feel so blessed to have shared a record together.”

Preorders are currently available via http://StevieFloyd.Bandcamp.com and http://www.AerialRuin.BandCamp.com.

Aerial Ruin/Stevie Floyd Track Listing:
1. Stevie Floyd-you scathed the sun
2. Stevie Floyd feat. Aerial Ruin-failure
3. Stevie Floyd feat. Wrest-wrest in natur
4. Stevie Floyd-dissapear
5. Stevie Floyd-ungod reappear
6. Stevie Floyd feat. Aerial Ruin-this has gone
7. Aerial Ruin-where the shadow stands
8. Aerial Ruin-november
9. Aerial Ruin feat. Stevie Floyd-less than decay
10. Aerial Ruin-blood for fall
11. Aerial Ruin feat. Stevie Floyd-ascending
12. Aerial Ruin-the only road

http://StevieFloyd.Bandcamp.com
http://AerialRuin.BandCamp.com

Aerial Ruin, “The Twist in the Chain”

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Live Review: YOB and Dark Castle in Manhattan, 07.13.11

Posted in Reviews on July 13th, 2011 by JJ Koczan

I can’t remember the last time I felt so glad to be in the city. With Batillus opening for them (who I unfortunately missed) at Le Poisson Rouge on the venerated and expensive Village stretch of Bleecker Street, YOB and Dark Castle each stormed through a monstrously doomed set of riff-based communion. The sharing of drummer Rob Shaffer only added to the sense of camaraderie and community, and though it was some of the heaviest, darkest, thickest tonality I’ve heard in a live setting this year, I couldn’t help but smile, and by no means was I the only one.

Hard to know what to say about this kind of night without getting bogged down in hyperbole, because even the next afternoon, I still feel charged up from it — and while we’re talking about after effects, my ears are also still ringing (or at least the left one; the right doesn’t so much do that anymore) — but it was like everything came together. Dark Castle have already released one of 2011’s most complex albums, and YOB‘s Atma has yet to leave my CD player since going in. Both bands have an obvious and spiritual connection to their music, and last night, it was like they stood on stage and held their arms out and invited everyone else in. Who wouldn’t go?

Le Poisson Rouge is a medium-size room. Not a bar (though there is one), but not a bigger venue. Short ceiling, but I knew from seeing Shrinebuilder there in 2009 that that would only mean the sound had no choice but to pummel your skull. I’d never seen Dark Castle before, which is kind of hard to believe considering how much they tour, but I knew enough from hearing Surrender to all Life Beyond Form that I didn’t want to miss them now. Following a sushi dinner with The Patient Mrs., I made my way to Bleecker and got in a bit before they went on.

One thing about Dark Castle — and I consider it an admirable thing about them — is it’s just the two of them on stage. The recently-interviewed Stevie Floyd on guitar and vocals and double-duty trooper of the night Rob Shaffer on drums. Where on Surrender to all Life Beyond Form, the songs are filled out by the synth/Moog/noise contributions of producer Sanford Parker and several guest vocalists, including YOB‘s own Mike Scheidt, that kind of thing just can’t be replicated in a live setting without excessive sampling or time spent in front of a laptop and not actually playing the songs.

I won’t say one approach is better or worse than the other, because when it came down to the material itself last night, Dark Castle killed it. The sound may not have been as full as on the record, but “Surrender to all Life Beyond Form” was one of the highlights of the show, and the rawer feel was a big part of why. That Floyd and Shaffer would be on the same page in their presence isn’t necessarily surprising — because, again, they tour all the time — but the power in their delivery was readily apparent and picked up most if not all of the slack in the noise department. Even without YOB following, it would have been well worth the trip for their set alone.

But YOB was following, and having seen them before at the Planet Caravan fest in North Carolina, I had some idea of what to expect. I parked myself up front while they were setting up and stayed there for most of their show, which — and I say this with all the nerdy glee I can muster — was amazing. It’s not that you listen to those records and think to yourself, “Wow, I bet this band sucks live,” but until you actually see it, until you actually feel the rumble of Scheidt‘s guitar and of Aaron Reiseberg‘s bass. Scheidt played with a full stack of Emperor cabs behind him and neither Reiseberg nor Shaffer (filling the role of Travis Foster for the tour) were lacking in volume or presence. It being YOB‘s first time in New York in more than half a decade — oh, the story I could tell you about the show they did at the Pyramid way back when — as a fan, I wanted everything to sound perfect, and it did.

They opened with “Quantum Mystic” from The Unreal Never Lived, an album the influence of which is only beginning to be felt six years after its release. Immediately, the crowd was on board, fists were raised, toasts were made, and heads — including my own — banged with abandon for the neck stiffness that might ensue this morning. I pulled my earplugs out. Worth it. “Quantum Mystic” led into “Prepare the Ground,” the opener from Atma, and that in turn to “Burning the Altar” from 2009’s The Great Cessation. One imagines that with a couple more albums under their belt, YOB will be able to do a full set of nothing but the killer tracks they start their records with. Certainly it was a welcome opening trio and a half-hour well spent. The crowd pressed and shifted and stumbled and loved it and I did likewise. I haven’t seen a set with that kind of impact since Neurosis at Roadburn.

Their ethereal space elements showed up in “The Great Cessation,” the titular closer of the album, which followed Atma‘s title cut — a little more complicated than the opener and thus not as immediately grasped by the audience who doesn’t have the record yet — and YOB shifted the tone of the show from planetary aural crush to dark matter drift. That album was my favorite of 2009, but I still feel like I got a new appreciation for “The Great Cessation” hearing it live. Reiseberg and Shaffer ran into some trouble during one of its drawn-out, patient instrumental passages, but were able to recovery swiftly enough. I don’t think anyone was about to complain, anyway.

For a finale, Scheidt called Floyd up to the stage for a scathing rendition of “Grasping Air” from The Unreal Never Lived, and (if I remember correctly; I might have this order wrong and if I do, I hope someone will correct me) rounded out the night with “Ball of Molten Lead” from 2004’s The Illusion of Motion. Considering the mass of pulp that YOB had by then beaten Le Poisson Rouge into, I can’t think of a more fitting conclusion. Like the rest of the show, I was just really, really glad to have been there to see it.

It’s a rare performance that pulls you out of everything else, that commands not only full attention, but a kind of dedication to it. When YOB finished, I felt like I’d been to the end of the universe and back. I don’t want to make it more than it was, because what it was was enough. If you were there, you know, and if not, hopefully next time you’ll find out.

More pics after the jump. As always, click any photo to enlarge.

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Dark Castle Interview with Stevie Floyd: The Ritual of Renewal

Posted in Features on June 24th, 2011 by JJ Koczan

Four years later, I remember getting Dark Castle‘s Flight of the Pegasus demo in the mail after hitting them up via MySpace to review it. The disc was a labeled CDR that came packaged between two taped-together pieces of cardboard. Its front cover was a sticker by guitarist/lead vocalist Stevie Floyd with the band’s logo on top and the name of the EP below. And the music was a live-recorded half-hour that boasted a Led Zeppelin cover and raw sounds that only gave the faintest hint of what was to come.

And when Dark Castle released Spirited Migration on At a Loss in 2009, the Floridian duo outdid themselves in terms of growth over the course of their time together. Floyd and drummer, sampler and vocalist Rob Shaffer arrived with a coherent vision of what they wanted their band to be, incorporating influences from world music and managing to balance the varying elements in their approach in such a way as to maximize both the aural brutality and atmospheric weight.

They toured hard for Spirited Migration, and that work is evident in their 2011 Profound Lore label debut, Surrender to all Life Beyond Form. It’s a record densely-packed with turns and musical twists — this second doomed to the point of cruelty and the next embroiled in ritualistic chanting or industrial beats — but what’s most staggering about it is Dark Castle has managed to take all of these things and turn them into one coherent statement of purpose. Teamed with Sanford Parker and seamlessly incorporating guest appearances from next-gen-heavy luminaries such as Nate Hall (U.S. Christmas), Mike Scheidt (YOB) and Blake Judd (Nachtmystium), Floyd and Shaffer proved able to maintain consistency in the face of a devastating creative scope.

Away in the mountains from her new home in the Pacific Northwest, when I talked to Floyd for the interview that follows, she was working on several art projects, including a Dark Castle shirt and finalizing the cover art for the new YOB record. Nonetheless, she took time out to discuss the breadth of Surrender to all Life Beyond Form, working closely with Parker in the studio, some of the musical concepts behind the writing for the album and a lot more. Her passion and existential connection to her work shone through in her honesty and openness regarding these processes, and I hope you get a sense of that reading.

Full 3,750-word Q&A is after the jump. Please enjoy.

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Dark Castle, Surrender to all Life Beyond Form: Enlightenment through Volume

Posted in Reviews on June 7th, 2011 by JJ Koczan

It’s short at just a bit under 34 minutes, but in that time, Floridian duo Dark Castle’s second full-length, Surrender to all Life Beyond Form, demonstrates dense atmospherics and a leap in creative expanse from their last offering, 2009’s Spirited Migration. That’s not to discount the progressive mindset of the debut (even their 2007 demo EP, Flight of the Pegasus showed their potential for covering a wide breadth), but even if you compare the titles of the two LPs, it’s clear Dark Castle were going for something farther reaching with their latest, which also serves as their Profound Lore debut. To aid them in the cause, guitarist/vocalist Stevie Floyd (also bass and piano on the record) and drummer/vocalist Rob Shaffer (also guitar and bass on the record) enlisted the help of producer Sanford Parker, who contributes Moog, synth and samples throughout Surrender to all Life Beyond Form and a formidable trio of guest vocalists in Nate Hall (U.S. Christmas), Blake Judd (Nachtmystium) and Mike Scheidt (YOB).

With such a slew of appearances across its tracks, one might expect Surrender to all Life Beyond Form to come off choppy or like a haphazard song-collection rather than a complete album idea, but nothing could be farther from reality. Surrender to all Life Beyond Form is so much an album that it’s easy to lose track of which cut you’re in at any given moment, and the appearances, be it from Parker, Hall, Judd or Scheidt, are so seamlessly interwoven with Floyd and Shaffer’s sound that one might miss them altogether if disinclined to explore the liner booklet to see Floyd’s visual artwork (Relapse Records artist-in-residence Orion Landau also contributed to the layout) or the lyrics to the songs and find the names listed there. Dark Castle’s sound on Surrender to all Life Beyond Form is as inclusive as it is expansive, touching on industrial elements, misanthropic drone metal and Eastern scales, Floyd’s guitar still finding room to work in memorable riffs amid her also-developing vocal style on the album’s opening title-track. Where Spirited Migration felt comprised mostly of growls vocally, even in the song “Surrender to all Life Beyond Form,” Floyd displays the fruits of Dark Castle’s hard road labor in cleaner, still vaguely tortured moans and wails, enhancing the bleak atmospherics of the track while also floating above them. The affect isn’t wholly unlike what Laura Pleasants sometimes brings to Kylesa (the crunch of the opener’s riff aids that comparison), but Dark Castle is altogether more doomed and lumbering sonically.

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Frydee Dark Castle

Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 29th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Thanks to all who commented for your podcast suggestions. I kind of like the one about the new Southern stuff, but I’d have to find out if I actually have enough material for it. We’ll see. In the meantime, we close out this week with Dark Castle, in honor of that idea.

This weekend is Halloween, and I’m going as “The Guy Who Spent His Whole Weekend Doing Homework.” Seriously, it feels like every week I do all this homework and then another week comes and there’s just more. What the hell is that about? Enough already.

I’m going to try to make it out to Brooklyn tomorrow night to catch Moth Eater, The Resurrection Sorrow, King Giant and Solace. More info on that show here. It’s getting awfully exhausting driving into Brooklyn for shows every weekend for what feels like and might actually be the past month, but I guess until anyone in Jersey starts giving a shit about good music, I’m stuck. Stupid lack of convenience.

Whatever your plans are, I wish you well. Have a happy and safe whathaveyou and we’ll see you back here next week to wrap up October’s numbers, get that new podcast up and — if I’m feeling fancy and have time to transcribe an hour-long phone conversation — maybe even my interview with Chris Goss from Masters of Reality. Either way, stay tuned. More fun to come.

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Dark Castle: SXSW and Beyond

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 22nd, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Floridian doom duo (or doomuo, if you’d prefer) Dark Castle have announced a slew of new dates, including several showcases at this year’s SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, for the likes of Chronic Youth, 20 Buck Spin/Profound Lore and the fine folks at Brooklyn Vegan. The PR wire has more:

Dark Castle have also secured a supporting slot on Kylesa‘s Spring European tour, which plows through France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, Greece, Finland and Norway, with appearances at several festivals including Metalorgie (France), Impetus (Switzerland) and AsymetryFestival (Poland). The tour will share the stage with Shrinebuilder, Eyehategod, Nachtmystium, Electric Wizard and more along the way.

Dark Castle SXSW 2010 shows:
3/17/2010 Emo’sAustin, TX
Brooklyn Vegan showcase w/ Torche, The Atlas Moth, Skeletonwitch

3/18/2010 East End TattooAustin, TX
Chronic Youth showcase w/ The Atlas Moth

3/19/2010 Headhunter’sAustin, TX
Profound Lore/20 Buck Spin showcase w/ White Mice, Liturgy, Salome, Coffinworm, Yakuza, The Atlas Moth, The Endless Blockade and more

3/20/2010 PlushAustin, TX
Giant Steps Productions showcase w/ Irepress, Battlefields, Caspian and more

Dark Castle European tour w/ Kylesa:
4/07/2010 TrixAntwerp, Belgium
4/08/2010 Nantes, FranceMetalorgie Festival w/ Baroness
4/09/2010 Santana 27Bilbao, Spain
4/10/2010 Porto RioPorto, Portugal
4/11/2010 Ritmo & CompasMadrid, Spain
4/12/2010 Be CoolBarcelona, Spain
4/13/2010 Le Confort ModernePoitiers, France
4/14/2010 Le Grand MixLille, France
4/16/2010 L’autre CanalNancy, France
4/17/2010 Impetus FestivalLausanne, Switzerland w/ Eyehategod
4/18/2010 Grnd Zero VaiseLyon, France
4/20/2010 La MaroquenerieParis, France w/ Shrinebuilder
4/21/2010 SubstageKarlsruhe, Germany w/ Shrinebuilder, Eyehategod
4/22/2010 CovoBologna, Italy
4/23/2010 BloomMezzagoItaly w/ Shrinebuilder
4/24/2010 KapuLinz, Austria
4/25/2010 Sfentona ClubAthens, Greece
4/27/2010 TavastiaHelsinki, Finland
4/28/2010 The GarageOslo, Norway
4/30/2010 Asymetry FestivalWroclaw, Poland w/ Electric Wizard, Shrinebuilder, Zu, Nachtmystium
5/01/2010 UchoGdynia, Poland
5/02/2010 ArchivPotsdam,Germany

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Dark Castle and Touring — Two Great Tastes that Go Great Together

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 26th, 2009 by JJ Koczan

There's a drummer back there somewhere. He seems like a decent guy.Straight out of the “Why the hell haven’t I interviewed this band yet?” file, Floridian duoomo (that’s a doom duo; ? The Obelisk, 2009) Dark Castle are hitting the road with Black Cobra-esque regularity. Well, maybe not quite that much, but they’ve still done a good bit of touring this year and as the PR wire informs, it ain’t over yet. Looks like they’re playing with some pretty good bands too, so right on. Here are the dates:

9/05/2009 *TBA – Charlotte, NC
9/06/2009 The TripleRichmond, VA w/ Windhand, Akris
9/07/2009 Lit LoungeNew York, NY w/ The Body, Orphan, Malkuth
9/08/2009 Machines with MagnetsPawtucket, RI w/ The Body
9/09/2009 Daniel StreetMilford, CT w/ The Body, Sea of Bones
9/10/2009 Evacuate WarhouseRoxbury, MA w/ The Body, Gigan, Lecherous Nocturne, Closed Casket
9/11/2009 Geno?sPortland, ME w/ The Body
9/12/2009 *TBA – Amherst, MA w/ The Body
9/13/2009 Lost and Lulu Gator BarBrooklyn, NY w/ The Body, Tournament, Ramps
9/14/2009 Basement ShowPhiladelphia, PA w/ The Body, Bubonic Bear
9/16/2009 *TBA – Louisville, KY
9/17/2009 Wise GuysSomerset, KY w/ Old One, Alegionnaire, Eyelid Conspiracy
9/18/2009 Little HamiltonNashville, TN w/ Salome, Hull, Sacaea
9/19/2009 *TBA – Fayetteville, AR w/ The Unbeheld, Sons of Tonatiuh
9/20/2009 Buccaneer Memphis, TN w/ The Unbeheld, Sons of Tonatiuh, Supercollider

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Dark Castle Show Some Spirit

Posted in Reviews on April 13th, 2009 by JJ Koczan

Stevie painted this.As time rolls on and the extreme by necessity has to become more extreme and, in doom, the frequencies get lower and slower and the use of synth noise to flesh out songs is increasingly commonplace, it’s possible for a duo like Saint Augustine, Florida‘s Dark Castle to be a full band. The songs are thick and rich, viscous, heavy and — as much as I know several bassists who won’t want to hear it — don’t sound like they’re missing anything, despite the character and diversity that another instrument can bring to a given track or movement. Of course, with studio technology one person can make an entire record alone (Sweden‘s Forest of Shadows comes to mind as an example of it in the doom world, though of course there are a ton of one-man black metal acts), but those albums rarely feel complete and are often on the other side of the line between brilliance and self-indulgence.

Whereas, as in the case of Dark Castle‘s full-length debut, Spirited Migration (At a Loss), guitarist/vocalist Stevie and drummer/vocalist Rob, who also handles synth, the band achieves an entirely developed atmosphere that borders on prog ambience with instrumental centerpiece “Weather the Storm,” while maintaining a stripped-down aesthetic that confidently snarls in the direction of Oceanic-era Isis and younger, rawer Crowbar. Their demo, Flight of Pegasus (still available for purchase on their MySpace page) feels underdeveloped in comparison to the album, which given the amount of touring the duo has done since its release is exactly the way it should be. Stevie and Rob are a solid unit writing solid songs, even if the title of their album reminds me of “Spirit Journey Formation Anniversary” from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

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