Posted in Whathaveyou on June 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Colorado progressive black metal/doom/whatever outfit Dreadnought followed the 2022 release of their latest album, The Endless (review here), with coast-to-coast US tour, and in addition to celebrating that record — indeed a worthy cause — the band will mark their 10th anniversary with this jaunt along the West Coast and the Midwest, what one might think of as the Rocky Mountain circuit instead of the Appalachian circuit. In any case, I’ll happily tell you from experience that if they’re in a place where you either are or are going to be, that’s a gig worth attending. Not only are they stylistically unto themselves at this point, but they destroy live and a catalog-spanning set sounds like even more of a good time.
If you heard The Endless and you’re down with Dreadnought‘s particular take, then you’ve probably got all the info you need to move onto the list of dates, so I won’t keep you. If you didn’t hear the record though, I’ll remind you as a friend that you have nothing to lose by checking it out on the player at the bottom of this post. Worst that happens is it’s not your thing and you go listen to something else. Best that happens, I guess, is you end up going to a show. It’s pretty rad when that happens.
From the PR wire:
DREADNOUGHT ANNOUNCE NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES WITH IZTHMI AND IMMORTAL BIRD
Denver, progressive metal outfit DREADNOUGHT are set to co-headline their TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY TOUR with crust, black-sludge band Immortal Bird hailing from Chicago IL, with support from Seattle-based atmospheric black metal 5 piece Izthmi. Although this is DREADNOUGHT’S first tour since their August, 2022 full length release of critically acclaimed album “The Endless”, (Profound Lore) expect to hear songs from their full catalog.
About the tour, DREADNOUGHT vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Kelly Schilling shares:
“This year marks the decade anniversary of our first album release! To celebrate, we will be performing material that spans our entire discography, from ‘Lifewoven’ through ‘The Endless’.”
Full list of tour dates can be found below.
TOUR DATES 7/20 Denver, CO @ Hi Dive * 7/21 Salt Lake City, UT @ Aces High Saloon * 7/22 Las Vegas, NV @ Dive Bar * 7/24 Long Beach, CA @ Supply & Demand * 7/25 Albany, CA @ Ivy Room * 7/26 Crescent City, CA @ Enoteca * 7/27 Portland, OR @ High Water Mark * 7/28 Vancouver, B.C. @ Wise Hall 7/29 Seattle, WA @ Belltown Yacht Club * 7/31 Bozeman, MT @ Labor Temple 8/2 Des Moines, IA @ Lefty’s 8/3 Minneapolis, MN @ Mortimer’s + 8/4 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club + 8/5 St Louis, MO @ Red Flag + 8/6 Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle (matinee) + 8/7 Lexington, KY @ Green Lantern + 8/8 Asheville, NC @ Fleetwood’s + 8/9 Atlanta, GA @ Bogg’s Social + 8/11 Houston, TX @ Black Magic Social Club
* with Izthmi as support + with Immortal Bird co-headline
Posted in Radio on December 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
I wish I could say I planned it out ahead of time that the 100th episode of The Obelisk Show would coincide with both the final one of 2022 and the third of the three roundups of some of the year’s best in heavy, but I’m nowhere near that coordinated. Fortunate happenstance, then, and a killer show either way.
You might note the minor departure from the general format I use in that this one doesn’t end with an extended track. Fact is there was just more I wanted to include than there was room for, so I opted to pack in three or four shorter songs where there might otherwise be one. Nothing here tops 10 minutes long — CB3 is just over eight and that’s the longest — and I can’t remember the last time that happened.
Before I turn you over to the playlist itself, I’d like to extend my sincere thanks to Gimme Metal for allowing me to continue to do this show. Seems obvious to say, considering, you know, this site in general, but sharing music I dig is among my favorite things to do, and I value the opportunity to engage with Gimme’s audience as a part of that. Thank you to Tyler, Brian, Dean and the entire crew for having me and making this thing happen.
Thanks for listening if you do, thanks for reading if you are.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 12.23.22 (VT = voice track)
Church of the Cosmic Skull
Now’s the Time
There is No Time
All Souls
I Dream
Ghosts Among Us
Sasquatch
Live Snakes
Fever Fantasy
Sky Pig
Larva
It Thrives in Darkness
VT
Abronia
Night Hoarders
Map of Dawn
Ealdor Bealu
Way of the Sudden Storm
Psychic Forms
Valley of the Sun
Images
The Chariot
Nebula
Highwired
Transmission From Mothership Earth
Supersonic Blues
They See Me Comin’
It’s Heavy
Les Nadie
Del Pombero
Destierro y Siembra
Sun Voyager
Rip the Sky
Sun Voyager
Besvärjelsen
House of the Burning Light
Atlas
VT
Dreadnought
Midnight Moon
The Endless
Author & Punisher
Misery
Krüller
Messa
Dark Horse
Close
Somali Yacht Club
Silver
The Space
Lamp of the Universe
Emerald Sands
The Akashic Field
Toad Venom
Swirling Hands
EAT!
CB3
To Space and Away
Exploration
VT
Ecstatic Vision
The Kenzo Shake
Elusive Mojo
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Jan. 6 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Questionnaire on November 30th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
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: Kelly Schilling of Dreadnought, BleakHeart and Morningstar Delirium
—
How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’m a musician, composer and performer. I was introduced to music at a young age, piano lessons, music in school etc., and latched onto metal as a young teen. I was inspired and impressed by the massivity and culture of heavy music and eventually gravitated towards playing guitar. Going to shows was always so inspiring, I knew that music would be my forever home.
Describe your first musical memory.
My earliest musical memories are of listening to early ’90s “boy bands” and “girl bands”. I remember making up dance routines with my friends to the Spice Girls and Britney Spears for example. Christina Aguilera was the first concert I went to, I don’t remember what age, but I was very young. Aside from that, I remember taking piano lessons as a kid and hating practicing, which is funny to think about now.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
It is tough to pick one musical memory, but some of my best memories are from going to concerts when I was a young teen. My friend and I would wait in line for hours prior to the show in order to solidify a spot front and center. I remember everyone on stage feeling so giant and otherworldly and I loved rocking out during their performance. It definitely led to what I do today.
Years of touring have also brought me a plethora of wonderful memories and I’m incredibly grateful to be able to travel and perform with my bandmates.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I think there are many instances of being tested throughout life. I feel as if every time I get frustrated I am being tested on my kindness and patience, towards myself and others. I try my best to give others the benefit of the doubt and try to not draw conclusions too quickly.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Artistic progression can lead to a greater understanding of oneself, to an understanding of personal strengths and weaknesses and how to best use ones strengths and improve upon weakness, or when to ask for help. It can lead to a deeper connection with the world and people around us, and a deeper connection with oneself.
How do you define success?
My relationship with success has taken different forms throughout my life. Success has often meant the completion of a goal, of something that has not yet been obtained and then acquired. But I also think success is having gratitude for what one has already accomplished. I think there is a balance between chasing goals and having gratitude for the present. Otherwise success can become a carrot one is always chasing. I still fall into this trap, but try my best to not get lost in wanting more.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
In the grand scheme of the world I wish I didn’t have to see so much hate and suffering. I wish we could rise above the dark sides of our human form and build an existence that allows everyone to flourish.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I really love sad ambient piano music and would like to explore more with writing in that realm. I always have ideas for solo work, but that will come when time allows. Hopefully more work with Morningstar Delirium in the future too. I’d love to take classes on various crafts, such as jewelry making, painting, and ceramics, so when time allows I’ll explore some new creative paths.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
I think the most essential function of art is connecting to people and building community. Visual art and music for example are a language in itself that can connect people beyond words, by doing so it bridges language gaps, allowing many around the world to connect who otherwise would not be able to speak. It reminds me that we are all connected, experiencing many of the same emotions despite our different circumstances.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Autumn time with my partner, halloween, crisp air, the color changes and all that comes with this magical time of the year.
Posted in Features on August 20th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Early
You never have to wait long when you’re on the strip to see the next plane fly overhead. That’s part of the image of the whole thing. Movers and shakers, people going places. I don’t see myself that way. I’m more the wiggly type.
The Starbucks — there might be two — wasn’t crowded and tastes a bit like burning but I don’t care. I found some THC tablet things up at the dispensary the other night and because I’m 40 years old and someone who thinks and operates in precisely this manner, I budgeted them out for the next few days and will accordingly be mildly stoned from here on out. My original plan had been to come here, get ahold of a bunch of mushrooms and blow my brains out for the weekend, writing all the while in what I’m sure would be a fit on too-damn-long sentences that I’d think were brilliant until I read them later and realized they were all about dragons and tearing down the capitalist uberstructure that allows shit like this to exist in the first place, let alone me to get away with being here to see it. The singer from Uniform yesterday, between one pissed off song and the next, started talking between songs and then shut it down. “Never mind. You don’t want to hear what I have to say.” I kind of did.
Curious at least where the commentary might start. Making thongs and heels the apparently-mandatory pool attire for waitstaff? The $15 water bottle? This is a party town. Party don’t come cheap, and in terms of vibe I’ve never experienced anything else like where I am now. Divorcing the fest from the inherently predatory aspects of any casino experience for a moment — which I don’t think you’re supposed to do, but I have neither the cash nor inclination to gamble, so there it is; and there goes another airplane — because it’s all a fucking trap and we’re dancing around the edge of it, addled with drink and chemical reactions in reckless checked out bliss. Heard Cancer Christ ripped up a Bible in the Redtail last night after I went to bed. Somebody had to sweep that up.
I think I’d like another tattoo. Any ideas?
But again, to remove the fest from its surroundings, to try and separate ‘sub-‘ from culture, is nearly impossible. And the true innovation Psycho had made isn’t so much in getting GZA to come play chess — though that’s awesome too — but in taking the aesthetics of underground culture, mostly based around metal even when it’s not metal specifically, and using them as a means to infiltrate a broader cross-section of institutions. I heard “Lady in Red” on my way to Starbucks to get coffee. In about half an hour, Sanguisugabogg are going to take stage in what I’m pretty sure is a seated ballroom. Guess I’ll find out. That achievement, as well as the procuring of the significant financial backing to make it happen, isn’t to be understated. An accomplishment of scale and scope the results for which will manifest over the next three days.
Thankfully, that will mostly happen inside.
Later
The death growls of Sanguisugabogg are blending with the mall tunes, distortion underlying safe ’80s-ish synthpop, and I almost hate to say it, but it’s kind of working for me, sound-wise. I’m pretty sure this is what my nightmares sound like.
Watched enough of them — the ones with all the esses and gees, please don’t make me type it again — to know that they’re a good time musically. And that there are no seats up there. One way or the other, 11AM death mosh is perfect for Psycho Las Vegas. It should be a tradition if it already isn’t. More coffee called and I made my way out, but no regrets for having seen the Rose Ballroom, which is kind of just up in the corner of the third floor. I’ve come to understand this might just be what casino hotel resorts are, but I promise you I have no idea in that regard. Also watched enough of them to know that every dude in that band could and just might on a given day beat my ass. I’m sure they’re sweethearts though. They had Mike Gitter out at 11AM, which is all the endorsement you’ll ever need as far as I’m concerned.
I’ve lost just about all sense of time now. If not for my phone giving me minute-by-minute updates on the matter I’m pretty sure I’d be a goner. There’s a horn being played somewhere. It’s cutting through the echoing distorted noise from Sanguisugabogg and the bassy muzak and goodness gracious maybe I’m a goner anyway. Gotta hydrate.
Sitting outside the pizza place, where I’ve been a good portion of the morning by now. It’s almost a chair and it’s definitely free, so it gets the prize. Festival types are up and about by now, either getting food, outside smoking, whatever it is. I feel like I’m from another planet. Maybe everyone does? I look at people going about their business though, just living, and that’s not how I operate. Even in this weirdo microculture, in my most honest moments I never quite feel like I belong. Anywhere. There goes another plane.
In other words, it’s not the world with the problem, it’s me.
I wish that was new information.
Later again
Dreadnought and Stinking Lizaveta present dueling and likewise accurate visions of what constitutes salvation. Hippie Death Cult back this with unexpectedly metallic progressions; a bit of march from that expansive drum kit. This allows me to rediscover the antidote to that feeling, that so-in-my-own-head isolation, which of course is the fucking music. Granted, being unworthy is kind of my running theme of Psycho so far — underscored by various security personnel who’ve all been polite enough in telling me I can or can’t bring this or that to stages, or go here or there or take pictures or whathaveyou; my ‘I’ve got an email that says I can be here’ is getting a workout — but watching Dreadnought is pretty goddamned special. Even compared to seeing them here in 2018 — well, not here, but at Psycho — they played like a band who know they’re on fire, and they are. Don’t let me get all hyped up, but after missing them in NYC, to see them here is a boon.
Same goes for Hippie Death Cult, and Stinking Lizaveta I’ll watch any day of any week and call it a good day. The music radiates joy.
That one-two-three was my must-stuff for the day, which means that everything else is gravy. I sat for a while after Hippie Death Cult finished, found a chair in back of the Dawg House, then decided I’d pop up to the Event Center and see if I could shoot Wolves in the Throne Room. Somewhere along the way someone sent an edict about backpacks I guess.
There was some back and forth — got that email out again — and yeah, turns out I could shoot Wolves in the Throne Room, and they went on about 15 minutes late but that was still plenty of time to pretend I was in a forest for the second time of the day, pit stop back in my room, and make it to Great Electric Quest’s party back at at Dawg House. In addition to rocking, they did just about everything possible to engage the crowd short of handing out ice cream. Seemed to work for them though and they absolutely brought it. They played like there were 400 people in the room, which there weren’t, and played one more song when demanded by the crowd to do so. Rock and roll show. Pretty sure it’s my first time seeing them. And they used that space on the stage. Up on amps, waving a big green flag, turning classic heavy vibes into epics. They were easy to dig, so I did.
Later even than that was
A little disorienting? Good. That’s the idea. Time has passed, that’s all you need to know. If you want to know exactly what time it is, you should probably have a different pass. Or not. I’m not really clear on it.
I’m probably the wrong person to be discussing Emperor’s legacy, influence or anything like that, but hell’s bells, I own those records and I can appreciate it. My final three bands of the day were Sasquatch, Mothership and Emperor. So, you know, another night in Anytown USA. Sasquatch came through New York recently but I couldn’t go because let’s face it, my life is way more set up for leaving for a few days once every couple months than it is for going out on a given Friday night, and that’s just where it’s at right now. But to see them any night, anyplace, is a win. Band would seem to have spent the entirety of lockdown on absolute fire, since the second venues opened back up they hit it.
Their US tour is almost done, then Australia/New Zealand, then five weeks in Europe. That’s a working fucking band. They played like one. Keith Gibbs on guitar/vocals, Jason Casanova on bass and backing vocals that every time I hear them live I feel like should be used more, and Craig Goshdarn Riggs on drums and a bit more vocals, and they’re just electric. Even in the years since Riggs joined — what, five years ago now? — they’ve gotten tighter in a way that apparently two years without gigs hasn’t dulled so far as I can tell. Or maybe I’m just saying that because Riggs threw a drum stick and hit me with it and I’m worried if I don’t say nice things about the band he might do it again next show. He’s a madman, you know. They all are, those Sasquatch types.
Both they and Mothership brought people into the Dawg House, and fair enough. Neither is an unknown quantity, here or otherwise, but honestly they both killed it dead. Took Mothership about 30 seconds to warm up and they were gone after that. I’d say good luck keeping up, but their grooves make it easy enough to follow where they’re headed, and Kelley and Kyle Juett out front while Judge Smith holds it all together behind. I suppose the kicker there is there’s no real danger of it coming apart, right? These guys are pro-shop heavy rock and roll. They know their sound and their songs inside out, and for all the fucking around, there’s not much actual fucking around, even in jams and introducing the band, saying hi to the members of Rifflord in the crowd and so on. Fuck else do you want to know? They’re a great live act and they played like one. It was not a surprise, but it was a blast.
That’s it. Put Ihsahn from Emperor looking like a black metal Robert Fripp on top — not intended at all as an insult; Fripp just about anything and you’re doing it right — and that’s my evening. I don’t know when the last time Emperor played in the States was, but I’m reasonably sure it was more than a decade ago. And if you’ve ever seen them, they’re basically the reason why black metal both rips and thinks it’s smarter than you. The Event Center/main stage tent is huge. You go outside and then back inside and there’s like a hangar and a massive thankfully air conditioned space that I’m not sure is permanent and I’m not sure isn’t. But I’d been there for Wolves in the Throne Room so knew at least what to expect in that regard.
I won’t say I stayed the entire time for Emperor; it’s just not where I’m at. But I did stay longer than I intended to, and I probably could’ve stuck around for more, but dinner and sleep and that’s-enough-of-that were calling, and I am nothing if not attuned to all of those things.
Kind of terrifying to think this is just day one. Not only is there a whole other day tomorrow, there’s one after that too. Holy shit. It’s not even really the weekend yet.
Posted in Reviews on August 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
When it’s not busy being both at the same time, Dreadnought‘s fifth full-length, The Endless, is alternatingly beautiful and destructive, the Denver progressive-black-metal-and-then-some outfit weaving genres together toward an individual expressive purpose in craft and reach. It is comprised of six songs that don’t quite run directly into each other across two vinyl sides (three tracks per), each leading off with the longest piece for its half followed by two shorter cuts, so that “Worlds Break” (8:28) and “Liminal Veil” (9:09) are responsible for leading the listener into and through an atmospheric procession winding enough to make one wonder at times if there’s a path underneath at all, but guided by skillful enough hands that the answer is always yes.
Guitarist/vocalist Kelly Schilling, bassist Kevin Handlon, drummer Jordan Clancy and keyboardist/vocalist Lauren Vieira — recently replaced by Emily Shreve — have precious little to prove at this point in their tenure. A decade from their inception and nine years out from their 2013 debut, Lifewoven, they are able to bring “Worlds Break” from the mountain folk of its beginning build through post-metal lushness into scathing, volcanic aural char and ultimately into something that is neither and both and definitively Dreadnought‘s own as much of the record that follows will continue to be — hanging chimes and all — whatever whiffs of influence one might get along the way from Isis or Enslaved, Alcest, or any number of post-rock acts, jazz cats, classical pianists and so on that I’m nowhere near cool enough to know.
That their expansive approach is unified at all is impressive; it was on 2019’s Emergence and 2017’s A Wake in Sacred Waves (review here) as well, but there’s a shift in production in The Endless that pulls Clancy‘s kick down in the mix and feels less directly tied to metal than was the last album. Pete de Boer at World Famous Studios in the duly mountainous Breckinridge, Colorado, produced, mixed and mastered, and the resulting collaboration seems to adjust the balance between fluidity and impact so that as far as “Worlds Break” goes, it never feels any more disjointed than the band wants it to — when the album’s first scream and surge hits at 2:52 into the opener, that shift is supposed to be and to feel sudden, for example — and the aurally poetic rhythm that backs the melodies in the guitar, bass, keys and shared vocals between Schilling and Vieira on “Midnight Moon” is hypnotic without feeling overwrought.
Likewise, one might find throughout that some of the most intense moments aren’t necessarily when they’re blasting out throatrippers and accompanying squibbleriffs, but as with the bassy midsection of “Midnight Moon,” that beginning stretch of “Worlds Break” and the slowdown finish for side A in the title-track that will find a correspondingly doomed complement in side B’s aptly-named capper “The Paradigm Mirror,” it is the tension in their builds, the sometimes manic interplay of (largely clean) vocals and the dynamic nature of what they do that makes The Endless hit as hard as it does. It is a record you feel physically as much as you hear, and even in its moments of release — “The Endless” slowing down for an echoing-scream roll and wash that gives way to residual guitar drift — the ambience is taut.
In itself, that might seem unlikely, but it’s essential to Dreadnought‘s approach here, and it allows the band to continue exploring with sound as they make their way through the linear course of their material, introducing staticky synth at the outset of “Liminal Veil” to answer Schilling‘s vocal belting and the avant garde weighted guitar strums, atmosphere central but not at all void of emotion. “Liminal Veil” has more breadth in its nine minutes than many bands do in their entire career, but the same could be said of “The Endless” before it, which is about half as long, or the penultimate “Gears of Violent Endurance,” which follows.
As side B unfolds, the second of its three tracks brings The Endless‘ most immediate and outright blackened thrust, but refuses to be tethered just to that, turning to airy, progressive strum for a verse before digging back in, hinting at thicker tonality, then breaking altogether as Vieira and Schilling harmonize a capella to introduce and Opethian guitar figure and lead into the triumphantly melodic build of the song’s second half, not quite embodying the violence of the title but perhaps the aftermath of those gears’ grinding, immersive in a way Dreadnought aren’t always willing to be but consistent in its will to serve no gods stylistically more than it serves the interests of its own craft. That is to say, Dreadnought have an idea of who they are as a band and they’re no less able to work against it as with it and still carry their audience with them.
It is important to note that, as with any kind of extreme music, that audience needs to be willing to go. The Endless is not without its sense of challenge, either for the band challenging themselves or for their challenging their listenership to keep up with them. But the return on the investment of repeat visits is significant, and just as “Worlds Break” brought an encapsulation of what was to come — a closer’s summary slotted as the opener — so too does “The Paradigm Mirror” end the album with an underscoring of the plan that’s been at work all the while, and not just in the return of those chimes (which have been peppered here and there en route), but also the heavy post-rock wash of guitar and keys through which Schilling‘s voice cuts over a beat stark enough to feel reminiscent of Author & Punisher, a final lyric about howling at the moon leading into the last minute of wash, the chimes, and various other mountain-woods-lost-to-time communions.
Progressive music can take any number of forms, and The Endless reminds that something harsh can also be inviting. Those woods, while gorgeous, can surely kill you. Still, the command Dreadnought wield over their songs and their ability to convey uncertainty without actually being uncertain ensure that the chaos is thematic without hindering the delivery of the material itself. Something so dug in and its-own-thing is never going to be universally accessible, and there are likely those with whom The Endless won’t resonate, but in its force and fragility, coil and strike, it is cohesive to such a degree and of such a scope that it can only be called the work of masters.
Well, in the aftermath of reviewing 100 albums over the span of 10 days, there was just about no way I wouldn’t have enough to fill out a Gimme Metal playlist, and hey guess what? I was only like six days late turning it in! At least the playlist. Voice tracks I think I cut on Tuesday. I honestly have no idea.
But in any case, it didn’t feel as late as last time because it wasn’t, and I’m glad to be featuring a smattering of some of what stood out to me from the finished-today QR, plus a new Dreadnought track that I got excited about because the album announcement came in while I was putting the playlist together and I couldn’t not include it. Probably won’t be the last time.
But if you see/hear/want to dig more on any of this stuff, you can either look for the review or just tap and Google that shit. I think there were maybe two (maybe) bands who weren’t on Bandcamp easily accessible, so everyone else, it’s all right there for you. Plus here, all newly written up in my typical turnt-brain-to-goo Quarterly Review style.
Thanks if you listen and thanks for reading.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 07.08.22 (VT = voice track)
Witchfinder
The Maze
Endless Garden
0N0
Clay Weight
Unwavering Resonance
Church of the Sea
Odalisque
Odalisque
Dreadnought
Midnight Moon
The Endless
VT
Faeries
Fresh Laces
Faeries
My Diligence
Celestial Kingdom
The Matter, Form and Power
Supplemental Pills
Freedom March
Volume 1
Kaleidobolt
Ultraviolent Chimpanzee
This One Simple Trick
Black Lung
Hollow Dreams
Dark Waves
The Cimmerian
Silver and Gold
Thrice Majestic
Astral Pigs
Our Golden Twilight
Our Golden Twilight
Carson
Dirty Dream Maker
The Wilful Pursuit of Ignorance
Kadavermarch
1,000 Yard Stare
Into Oblivion
Electric Mountain
A Fistful of Grass
Valley Giant
VT
Øresund Space Collective
Deep Breath for the EARTH
Oily Echoes of the Soul
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is July 22 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Not sure as to the accuracy of the photo above, as Denver soundspanners Dreadnought posted just a few days ago about bringing second guitarist Ryan Sims into the lineup to help them bring their new material to life on tour with Elder and Ruby the Hatchet later this summer, but it’s nothing if not atmospheric, and so too is the new streaming track “Midnight Moon” that you’ll find at the bottom of this post. That song, which runs a bit under seven minutes long and is thus a perfect lead single for Dreadnought, runs between doom and post-black metal with a keenly directed ambience, thoughtful vocal arrangement, and affectingly wistful close.
The album is available to preorder on CD/LP/DL though Profound Lore — vinyl to be out later this Fall; hazards of the age — and though I don’t see it on the list of dates below, Dreadnought had previously confirmed they were playing Psycho Las Vegas, and I’m perfectly willing to assume that’s happening. What follows here isn’t even a press release, really. I just snagged the info off Bandcamp, but it’s got the info you need just the same, which is song and the preorder link. Aug. 26 is the release date.
For their fifth full length “The Endless”, Denver, CO genre-defying progressive metal outfit DREADNOUGHT present their most spellbinding musical feature yet. With riveting vocal performances, ferocious grooves, and soaring synthesis, the quartet offers a familiarity to the melodic awe of previous records “Lifewoven” (2013) and “Bridging Realms”(2015) as well as the dark complexities within “A Wake In Sacred Waves” (2017) and “Emergence”(2019), but with a beautifully fresh perspective in writing, production, and performance.
At its inception in 2012, Dreadnought’s four members, including guitarist/vocalist Kelly Schilling, drummer Jordan Clancy, bassist Kevin Handlon, and keyboardist/vocalist Lauren Vieira, strove for a project laser-focused on creativity and exploration, pulling from all aspects of their musical backgrounds to craft something exciting and unique. Joining in the common ground of extreme metal, the quartet explores a blend of prog, doom, folk, jazz, classical, black metal, and post rock.
Thematically, “The Endless” departs from the familiar abstract of Dreadnought’s first four albums and dives into a relatable character arc about the human divide of light and suffering. It is an overture to the complexities of the proliferation of life, exploring the trail of choices that shape our world and our lives. It invites the question, can we overcome our nature and make higher minded choices to better humanity and our planet? Or are we lost in a never ending cycle of shadow?
The album opener “Worlds Break” begins in a post-apocalyptic landscape, heeding our need for guidance in the direst of times. “Midnight Moon” leads the listener in trance, through depths of manipulation and fear. As we reach the title track “The Endless”, lush textures and crooning vocals place us among the pits of despair, shock, and loss. “Liminal Veil” offers a vast landscape of celestial drones and enthusiastic grooves, while “Gears of Violent Endurance” reminds us of our primal nature through great ferocity.
In reaching the album closer “The Paradigm Mirror”, the dust begins to settle yet a great tension remains, inviting us to reflect upon vicious cycles of the human experience and how we can escape them.
Tracklisting: 1. Worlds Break 2. Midnight Moon 3. The Endless 4. Liminal Veil 5. Gears Of Violent Endurance 6. The Paradigm Mirror
Produced, mixed, and mastered by Pete de Boer at World Famous Studios. Artwork by Reza Afshar. Design by Shane McCarthy and Kelly Schilling.
Dreadnought w/ Elder & Ruby the Hatchet 8/3 Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere 8/4 Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts 8/5 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Funhouse 8/6 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery 8/7 Charlottesville, VA @ Championship Brewing 8/8 Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House 8/9 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl 8/10 Orlando, FL @ Will’s Pub 8/12 Houston, TX @ White Oak 8/13 Austin, TX @ The Ballroom 8/14 Fort Worth, TX @ Tulips 8/16 Albuquerque, NM @ Sister Bar 8/17 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge 8/18 Las Vegas, NV @ Psycho Swim ** Elder only ** 8/22 Boise, ID @ Neurolux 8/23 Portland, OR @ Dante’s 8/24 Seattle, WA @ Substation 8/26 Oakland, CA @ Starline Social Club 8/27 Los Angeles, CA @ Catch One 8/28 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick 8/31 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive 9/2 St Paul, MN @ Turf Club 9/3 Chicago, IL @ Reggies 9/4 Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary 9/5 Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground 9/6 Montréal, QC @ Les Foufounes Électriques 9/7 Quebec City, QC @ L’Anti 9/8 Portland, ME @ Geno’s Rock Club 9/9 Brattleboro, VT @ The Stone Church 9/10 Boston, MA @ Middle East / Downstairs
Hey, how was your weekend? You won’t be surprised to learn mine was full of tunes, which I mark as a win. While we’re marking wins, let’s put one down for wrapping up the longest Quarterly Review to-date in a full 11 days today. 110 releases. I started on July 5 — a lifetime ago. It’s now July 19, and I’ve encountered a sick kid and wife, busted laptop, oral surgery, and more riffs than I could ever hope to count along the way. Ups, downs, all-arounds. I hope you’ve enjoyed the ride.
This day was added kind of on an impulse, and the point I’m looking to emphasize is that you can spend two full weeks reviewing 10 albums a day and still there’s more to be had. I’ve learned over time you’re never going to hear everything — not even close — and that no matter how deep you dig, there’s more to find. I’m sure if I didn’t have other stuff scheduled I could fill out the entirety of this week and then some with 10 records a day. As it stands, let’s not have this Quarterly Review run into the next one at the end of September/beginning of October. Time to get my life back a little bit, such as it is.
Quarterly Review #101-110:
King Woman, Celestial Blues
After the (earned) fanfare surrounding King Woman‘s 2017 debut, Created in the Image of Suffering, expectations for the sophomore outing, Celestial Blues, are significant. Songwriter/vocalist Kris Esfandiari meets these head-on in heavy and atmospheric fashion on tracks like the opening title-cut and “Morning Star,” the more cacophonous “Coil” and duly punishing “Psychic Wound.” Blues? Yes, in places. Celestial? In theme, in its confrontation with dogma, sure. Even more than these, though, Celestial Blues taps into an affecting weight of ambience, such that even the broad string sounds of “Golgotha” feel heavy, and whether a given stretch is loud or quiet, subdued like the first half of “Entwined” or raging like the second, right into the minimalist “Paradise Lost” that finishes, the sense of burden being purposefully conveyed is palpable in the listening experience. No doubt the plaudits will be or are already manifold and superlative, but the work stands up.
Mythic Sunship are a hopeful vision for the future of progressive psychedelic music. Their fifth album and first for Tee Pee Records, Wildfire offers five tracks/45 minutes that alternates between ripping holes in the fabric of spacetime via emitted subspace wavelengths of shredding guitar, sax-led freakouts, shimmer to the point of blindness, peaceful drift and who the hell knows what else is going on en route from one to the other. Because as much as the Copenhagen outfit might jump from one stretch to the next, their fluidity is huge all along the course of Wildfire, which is fortunate because that’s probably the only thing stopping the record from actually melting. Instrumental as ever, I’m not sure if there’s a narrative arc playing out — certainly one can read one between “Maelstrom,” “Olympia,” “Landfall,” “Redwood Grove” and “Going Up” — and if that’s the intention, it maybe pulls back from that “hopeful vision” idea somewhat, at least in theme, if not aesthetic. In any case, the gorgeousness, the electrified vitality in what Mythic Sunship do, continues to distinguish them from their peers, which is a list that is only growing shorter with each passing LP.
I said I was going to preorder this tape and I’m glad I did. Morningstar Delirium‘s half-hour/four-song debut offering is somewhere between an EP and an album — immersive enough to be the latter certainly in its soothing, brooding exploration of sonic textures, not at all tethered to a sonic weight in the dark industrial “Blood on the Fixture” and even less so in the initial minutes of “Silent Travelers,” but not entirely avoiding one either, as in the second half of that latter track some more sinister beats surface for a time. Comprised of multi-instrumentalists/vocalist Kelly Schilling (Dreadnought, BleakHeart) and Clayton Cushman (The Flight of Sleipnir), the isolation-era project feeds into that lockdown atmosphere in moments droning and surging, “Where Are You Going” giving an experimentalist edge with its early loops and later stretch of ethereal slide guitar (or what sounds like it), while closer “A Plea for the Stars” fulfills the promise of its vocalists with a doomed melody in its midsection that’s answered back late, topping an instrumental progression like the isolated weepy guitar of classic goth metal over patiently built layers of dark-tinted wash. Alternating between shorter and longer tracks, the promise in Morningstar Delirium resides in the hope they’ll continue to push farther and farther along these lines of emotional and aural resonance.
Somewhere between spacious goth and garage doom, Russia’s Lunar Funeral find their own stylistic ground to inhabit on their second album, Road to Siberia. The two-piece offer grim lysergics to start the affair on “Introduce” before plunging into “The Thrill,” which bookends with the also-11-minute closer “Don’t Send Me to Rehab” and gracefully avoids going full-freakout enough to bring back the verse progression near the end. Right on. Between the two extended pieces, the swinging progression of “25th Hour” trades brooding for strut — or at least brooding strut — with the snare doing its damnedest by the midsection to emulate handclaps could be there if they could find a way not to be fun. “25th Hour” hits into a wash late and “Black Bones” answers with dark boogie and a genuine nod later, finishing with noise en route to the spacious eight-minute “Silence,” which finds roll eventually, but holds to its engaging sense of depth in so doing, the abiding weirdness of the proceedings enhanced by the subtle masterplan behind it. Airy guitar work winding atop the bassline makes the penultimate “Your Fear is Giving Me Fear” a highlight, but the willful trudge of “Don’t Send Me to Rehab” is an all-too-suitable finish in style and atmosphere, not quite drawing it all together, but pushing it off a cliff instead.
Sludge and narcosadistic doom infest the six-track Espectrofilia from Mexico City four-piece Satánico Pandemonium, who call it an EP despite its topping 40 minutes in length. I don’t know, guys. Electric Wizard are a touchstone to the rollout of “Parábola del Juez Perverso,” which lumbers out behind opener “El Que Reside Dentro” and seems to come apart about two minutes in, only to pick up and keep going. Fucking a. Horror, exploitation, nodding riffs, raw vibes — Satánico Pandemonium have it all and then some, and if there’s any doubt Espectrofilia is worthy of pressing to a 12″ platter, like 2020’s Culto Suicida before it, whether they call it a full-length or not, the downward plunge of the title-track into the grim boogie of “Panteonera” and the consuming, bass-led closer “La Muerte del Sol” should put them to rest with due prejudice. The spirit of execution here is even meaner than the sound, and that malevolence of intent comes through front-to-back.
Kudos to Van Groover on their know-thyself tagline: “We’re not reinventing the wheel, but we let it roll.” The German trio’s 10-track/51-minute debut, Honk if Parts Fall Off, hits its marks in the post-Truckfighters sphere of uptempo heavy fuzz/stoner rock, injecting a heaping dose of smoke-scented burl from the outset with “Not Guilty” and keeping the push going through “Bison Blues” and “Streetfood” and “Jetstream” before “Godeater” takes a darker point of view and “Roadrunner” takes a moment to catch its breath before reigniting the forward motion. Sandwiched between that and the seven-minute “Bad Monkey” is an interlude of quieter bluesy strum called “Big Sucker” that ends with a rickity-sounding vehicle — something tells me it’s a van — starts and “Bad Monkey” kicks into its verse immediately, rolling stoned all the while even in its quiet middle stretch before “HeXXXenhammer” and the lull-you-into-a-false-sense-of-security-then-the-riff-hits “Quietness” finish out. Given the stated ambitions, it’s hard not to take Honk if Parts Fall Off as it comes. Van Groover aren’t hurting anybody except apparently one or two people in the opener and maybe elsewhere in the lyrics. Stoner rock for stoner rockers.
There is not much to which Buenos Aires-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sergio Chotsourian, aka Sergio Ch., is a stranger at this point. In a career that has spanned more than a quarter-century, he’s dipped hands in experimentalist folk and drone, rock, metal, punk, goth and more in varying prolific combinations of them. Koi, his latest full-length, still finds new ground to explore, however, in bringing not only the use of programmed drum beats behind some of the material, but collaborations with his own children, Isabel Ch., who contributes vocals on the closing Nine Inch Nails cover, “Hurt,” which was also previously released as a single, and Rafael “Raffa” Ch., who provides a brief but standout moment just before with a swirling, effects-laced rap tucked away at the end of the 11-minute “El Gran Chaparral.” If these are sentimental inclusions on Chotsourian‘s part, they’re a minor indulgence to make, and along with the English-language “NY City Blues,” the partial-translation of “Hurt” into Spanish is a welcome twist among others like “Tic Tac,” which blend electronic beats and spacious guitar in a way that feels like a foreshadow of burgeoning interests and things to come.
Less than a year removed from their debut full-length, At the Bottom of the Sea, Croatian five-piece Achachak return with the geological-opposite follow-up, High Mountain. With cuts like “Bong Goddess,” “Maui Waui,” they leave little to doubt as to where they’re coming from, but the stoner-for-stoners’-sake attitude doesn’t necessarily account either for the drifty psych of “Biggest Wave” or the earlier nod-out in “Lonewolf,” the screams in the opening title-track or the follow-that-riff iron-manliness of “”Mr. SM,” let alone the social bent to the lyrics in the QOTSA-style “Lesson” once it takes off — interesting to find them delving into the political given the somewhat regrettable inner-sleeve art — but the overarching vibe is still of a band not taking itself too seriously, and the songwriting is structured enough to support the shifts in style and mood. The fuzz is strong with them, and closer “Cozy Night” builds on the languid turn in “Biggest Wave” with an apparently self-aware moody turn. For having reportedly been at it since 1999, two full-lengths and a few others EPs isn’t a ton as regards discography, but maybe now they’re looking to make up for lost time.
It’s almost counterintuitive to think so, but what you see is what you get with mostly-instrumentalist South African western/psych folk duo Rise Up, Dead Man‘s self-titled debut. To wit, the “Bells of Awakening” at the outset, indeed, are bells. “The Summoning,” which follows, hypnotizes with guitar and various other elements, and then, yes, the eponymous “Rise Up, Dead Man,” is a call to raise the departed. I don’t know if “Stolen Song” is stolen, but it sure is familiar. Things get more ethereal as multi-instrumentalists Duncan Park (guitar, vocals, pennywhistle, obraphone, bells, singing bowl) and William Randles (guitar, vocals, melodica, harmonium, violin, bells, singing bowl) through the serenity of “The Wind in the Well” and the summertime trip to Hobbiton that the pennywhistle in “Everything that Rises Must Converge” offers, which is complemented in suitably wistful fashion on closer “Sickly Meadow.” There’s some sorting out of aesthetic to be done here, but as the follow-up just to an improv demo released earlier this year, the drive and attention to detail in the arrangements makes their potential feel all the more significant, even before you get to the expressive nature of the songs or the nuanced style in which they so organically reside.
Yeah, that whole “silence” thing doesn’t last too long on Moving Through Silence. The 51-minute debut long-player from Brugge, Belgium, instrumentalists Atomic Vulture isn’t through opener “Eclipse” before owing a significant sonic debt to Kyuss‘ “Thumb,” but given the way the record proceeds into “Mashika Deathride” and “Coaxium,” one suspects Karma to Burn are even more of an influence for guitarist Pascal David, bassist Kris Hoornaert and drummer Jens Van Hollebeke, and though they move through some slower, more atmospheric stretch on “Cosmic Dance” and later more extended pieces like “Spinning the Titans” (9:02) and closer “Astral Dream,” touching on prog particularly in the second half of the latter, they’re never completely removed from that abiding feel of get-down-to-business, as demonstrated on the roll of “Intergalactic Takeoff” and the willful landing on earth that the penultimate “Space Rat” brings in between “Spinning the Titans” and “Astral Dream,” emphasizing the sense of their being a mission underway, even if the mission is Atomic Vulture‘s discovery of place within genre.
