Posted in Whathaveyou on December 11th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Fucking. Doom. Metal. You know you did something right when a label like Listenable comes knocking to put out your debut album after only releasing one EP, and quite frankly, it doesn’t take more than about two minutes into the opening track from King Witch‘s 2015 Shoulders of Giants three-songer — streaming below courtesy of the Edinburgh-based four-piece’s Bandcamp — to get a sense of what the appeal was. Classic-style doom metal fronted by the powerful and creatively arranged vocals of Laura Donnelly ensues, grandiose and righteously irony-free. My only hope is the album follows suit, because if it does, look out for this one. It could be an absolute beast.
They’ve got copious album info here from the PR wire, but make sure you dig into that EP audio too if you haven’t heard them before. I’ve hand Candlemass on the brain lately, granted, but King Witch are scratching that itch for epic doom quite nicely as well.
Right on:
KING WITCH: Edinburgh-Based Metal/Doom Rockers To Release Under The Mountain Via Listenable Records This February; Artwork And Track-By-Track Breakdown Revealed
Scotland-based metal/doom rockers KING WITCH will release their debut full-length, Under The Mountain, via Listenable Records early this February.
Under The Mountain was recorded and produced by guitarist Jamie Gilchrist at their underground studio in their home city of Edinburgh, mixed and mastered by Tom Dring at Vagrant Recordings (Dragged Into Sunlight, Acolyte) in Southport and comes swathed in artwork created by vocalist Laura Donnelly. The record serves as KING WITCH’s follow-up to their debut EP, Shoulders Of Giants, and boasts nine riff-laden tracks offset by the powerful yet bewitching vocals of Donnelly. Influenced by everything from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin to Mastodon and High On Fire, Under The Mountain is as melodic as it is monolithic, taking its listener on a journey from soulful doom to full-tilt metal mayhem.
Formed in early 2015 in a dark cavern beneath the streets of old Edinburgh, KING WITCH manifests a potent and heavy brew of old school metal and the meatiest of ’70s classic rock. In a time where many seek to stick rigidly within the confines of their chosen genre, KING WITCH simply writes the songs they want to play.
Under The Mountain is scheduled for a February 9th, 2018 release via Listenable Records. For preorders visit listenable.net. A track-by-track guide to Under The Mountain as described by the band can be found below.
Under The Mountain Track Listing: 1. Beneath The Waves 2. Carnal Sacrifice 3. Solitary 4. Under The Mountain 5. Approaching The End 6. Ancients 7. Hunger 8. Possession 9. Black Dog Blues
“Beneath The Waves” – This is inspired by stories such as Moby Dick and explores man’s need to destroy anything and everything beautiful, dangerous, and unfamiliar… and the retribution dealt in return.
“Carnal Sacrifice” – A homage to all the old Hammer horror films, particularly To The Devil A Daughter, an innocent born for the sole purpose of being a sacrificial vehicle of hell – topped off with some fake tomato sauce blood!
“Solitary” – This song is about Mother Earth birthing the human race only to be sucked dry and left barren. It’s about a vast loneliness that can be felt even when surrounded by life.
“Under The Mountain” – An upbeat classic metal song! It reeks of adventure. The lyrics have been inspired by stories such as Conan The Barbarian and Lord Of The Rings.
“Approaching The End” – A song about the moments before death and the feeling you’ve not achieved everything you wanted/needed to. It’s about the creeping fear that it’s not all white lights and glowing tunnels and about the not knowing where we go and what happens to us after death.
“Ancients” – This track focuses on the majesty of the Mountain. Breathtakingly beautiful yet treacherous to all. Inspiration comes from our home of Scotland which is filled with ancient mystery and awe inspiring mountainous landscapes.
“Hunger” – “Hunger” is about man’s greed and the feeling of never being satisfied with life, which further drives humankind to destroy and consume relentlessly.
“Possession” – This can either be about demonic possession or insanity. In both you are not yourself – like someone or something else trying to get out.
“Black Dog Blues” – Something most of us can relate to: This is about depression and how it feels like something that is always with you like an old acquaintance. It lurks and waits, then, when you least expect it, it slides on in and makes itself at home.
KING WITCH: Laura Donnelly – vocals Jamie Gilchrist – guitars Lyle Brown – drums Simon Anger – bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 29th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Edinburgh heavy prog pummelcrafters DVNE issued their Asheran full-length earlier this year and they’re set to hit mainland Europe to support it in October. Keeping company with France’s Crackhouse, the Scottish four-piece will his Germany, France, the Netherlands and territory closer to home as they go, and as you can see on the list of shows below — dutifully and probably incorrectly typed out from the poster by yours truly — there are still a few dates to be filled in, including one that DVNE will look to play on Oct. 28 before they meet up with their tourmates in Toulouse. I don’t necessarily believe in karma, but science and folkloric wisdom alike tell us that good things happen to people who help cool bands find gigs in time of need. That’s just an indisputable fact.
Info on the run and the poster came down the PR wire. Dig it:
Dvne & Crackhouse November Tour
Edinburgh based DVNE has announced European tour dates thoughout October and November in support of their latest album Asheran.
The band will be touring with French post-metal trio Crackhouse (Argonauta Records) from the 27th of October until the 18th of November. Both bands will be performing shows in France, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK.
DVNE & Crackhouse European Tour: 27.10 Tours, ESP, Gentiana, FR* 28.10 TBC** 30.10 Toulouse, Pavillons Sauvages, FR 31.10 Poitiers, Le Zinc, FR 01.11 Rennes, Bar’Hic, FR 02.11 Paris, Olympic Cafe, FR 03.11 Rouen, 3 Pieces, FR 04.11 Lille, Le Biplan, FR 05.11 TBC 06.11 TBC 07.11 TBC 08.11 Amsterdam, The Winston, NL 09.11 Tubigen, DE (TBA) 10.11 Muflingen, QL Tour Raum, DE 11.11 TBC 15.11 Edinburgh, Banshee, UK 16.11 Glasgow, Nice and Sleazy, UK 17.11 Newcastle, UK (TBA) 18.11 Sheffield, The Lughole, UK *Crackhouse only **DVNE only
Asheran is out now on 2xLP and digital via Wasted State Records, available HERE.
Asheran is a 60 minute tapestry of music, an epic narrative following the tale of the rise and fall of civilisations, the return of an empire thought millennia lost, and the world-spanning events that unfold as a consequence.
DVNE is: Victor Vicart – Guitar, Vocals, Keys Dan Barter – Guitar & Vocals Dudley Tait – Drums Allan Paterson – Bass
Posted in Reviews on September 29th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Here we are, gathered for round four of the Fall 2017 Quarterly Review. After the technical issues with the site for the last couple days, I’m glad to have everything back up and running, and one more time I thank Slevin and Behrang Alavi for making that happen. Though I have no idea what it might actually entail, I don’t imagine switching hosts on the fly for a site with as much content as this one has is easy, but they of course killed it and it is thoroughly appreciated. We move forward, as ever, with 10 more records. So let’s go.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Hallatar, No Stars Upon the Bridge
Finland’s Hallatar was formed after the passing of Trees of Eternity vocalist Aleah Starbridge, life partner of guitarist and songwriter Juha Ravio (also Swallow the Sun). In the new outfit, Ravio pays homage to Starbridge with the debut long-player No Stars Upon the Bridge (on Svart) by using her poems as lyrics, samples of her voice reading on “Raven’s Song,” “Spiral Gate” and the piano-backed centerpiece “Pieces,” and by bringing in Amorphis vocalist Tomi Joutsen and ex-HIM drummer Gas Lipstick to complete a trio playing nine tracks/40 minutes of deeply mournful/beautiful death-doom. The extremity of lurch in “The Maze” late in the record is matched by the gorgeousness of the chants and shimmering guitar on closer “Dreams Burn Down,” and from the opening strains of “Mirrors,” the emotion driving No Stars Upon the Bridge is sincere and affecting. Cuts like “Melt” and the mostly-whispered-until-it-explodes “My Mistake” have a sense of the theatrical in their delivery, but that makes them no less genuine, and though one wouldn’t wish the circumstances leading to the band’s formation on anybody, there’s no question that with Hallatar, Ravio turns tragedy into a lush, resonant catharsis.
Cultish echoes pervade Black Magic, the debut album from Swedish doom-rolling four-piece Alastor, and it’s not so much that the initials-only four-piece of guitarists H and J, bassist/vocalist R and drummer S take influence from Electric Wizard and Black Sabbath, it’s what they do with that influence that’s most striking. Black Magic is made up of three extended tracks – “Enemy” (11:51), “Nothing to Fear” (7:42) and “Black Magic” (14:27) – and with a deep tonal engagement, each one embarks on a huge-sounding sprawl of doom. Yes, the guitars owe the swirl in “Nothing to Fear” to Jus Oborn, but the echoes behind R’s voice there and the melody have an almost New Wave-style feel despite the “all right now!” drawn right from the Ozzy playbook. In other words, Alastor are preaching to the converted, and that holds true in the snowblinded Luciferian spaciousness of the title-track’s early going as well, but the converted should have no problem finding the gospel in what they’re hearing, and as “Black Magic” rounds out with its chanted feel, Alastor affirm the potential to progress within this sound and to continue to develop it into something even more their own than it is now. Familiar superficially, but sneaky in the details, so watch out.
Lima-based four-piece The Dead-End Alley Band aren’t far into opener “Red Woman” before the dark-psych vibe and languid groove have properly emphasized just how much the guitar of Leonardo Alva and the organ of Sebastian Sanchez-Botta (also vocals) complement each other. Propelled by the rhythm section of bassist/vocalist Javier Kou and drummer Jafer Diaz, Storms is the third album from them behind 2015’s Odd Stories (discussed here) and 2013’s debut, Whispers of the Night (review here), and it continues to blend fuzz and classic garage doom impulses on songs like “Headstone Fortress” and the shuffling “Thunderbolts and Lace,” the latter of which wah-trips to the max around a stirring boogie before “The Clock has Stopped” weirds out on extra vocal echoes and nine-minute closer “Waiting for the Void” brings in the progressive touches of pan flute and percussion. Even in the earlier, shortest track “Need You (It’s Enough),” The Dead-End Alley Band bring no shortage of personality to the proceedings, and confirm that the rough edges of their early outings have matured into essential aspects of who they have become as a band, completely in control of their craft and able to conjure an atmosphere both classic and individual.
Making their debut on Kozmik Artifactz, Scottish trio Hair of the Dog give their guitar-led compositions plenty of time to flesh out on This World Turns, their third album, as they demonstrate quickly on the nine-plus minute titular opener and longest track (immediate points), but one would hardly call their songwriting indulgent there or anywhere else as “This World Turns” flows easily into the following seven-minute push of “Keeping Watch over the Night” in a resolute one-two punch that soon gives way to the shorter and more driving “Ctrl-Alt-Del,” touching on influences from Thin Lizzy and Scorpions en route as well as modern practitioners like Kadavar, whose stamp can also be heard on side B launch “The Colours in Her Skin.” That’s not to say Hair of the Dog — guitarist/vocalist Adam Holt (interview here), bassist Iain Thomson and drummer Jon Holt – don’t leave their own mark as well, just that their blend stems from multiple sources. A bit of Lynottism surfaces in the penultimate “In Death’s Hands” as well, which has a more subdued feel despite fervent rhythmic movement underlying, and closer “4AM” soars with enough vigor and soul – and a little falsetto – to give This World Turns a suitably smooth and vibrant finish.
With ties to Motorpsycho through guitarist Hans Magnus “Snah” Ryan, Soup issue their sixth long-player in the five-track lush melodicism of Remedies, which feels particularly aptly named for the immersion the wash that opener “Going Somewhere” is able to elicit. That is, of course, just the first of the spacious, semi-folk-infused progressions, and it’s with the longer-form “The Boy and the Snow” (11:33) and the psychedelic purposeful meandering of “Sleepers” (13:35) that Remedies truly unveils its considerable breadth, but the Crispin Glover Records release holds a sense of poise even in the two-minute centerpiece church organ interlude “Audion,” and the harmonies of “Nothing Like Home” bring to mind peak-era Porcupine Tree patience and fluidity while holding fast to the bright, orange-sunshiny warmth of the atmosphere as a whole, instruments dropping out just before three minutes in to showcase the vocals before returning to embark on the march to the final crescendo, not at all overblown but with just a touch of extra volume to let listeners dive deeper into the moment. Remedies feels quick at 42 minutes, but turns out to be just what the doctor ordered.
Prolific psych-progging Stockholmers Kungens Män return with Dag & Natt, a 2CD/2LP issued through Kungens Ljud & Bild (CD) and Adansonia Records (LP) that overflows with jazzy fluidity and gorgeous immersion. The band’s last studio outing was late-2015’s Förnekaren (review here), and whether it’s 13-minute pieces like opener “Morgonrodnad” and the even-more-krautrocking “Aftonstjärnan” or the seemingly complementary inclusions of the kosmiche-minded “Dag” and wonderfully drifting “Natt,” the album as a whole is a joy and a boon to anyone looking for an extended psychedelic meander. The saxophone of Gustav Nygren on the aforementioned leadoff and “Natt” makes a particularly striking impression, but with a steady, languid wash of guitar, synth and warm bass throughout, Dag & Natt wants nothing for flow, and the gentle, classy spirit is maintained even as the penultimate “Vargtimmen” ups the sense of thrust leading into the finisher payoff of “Cirkeln är Slut.” As of now, Kungens Män should be considered a too-well-kept secret of Scandinavia’s psych underground, though listening to Dag & Natt, one wonders just how long they’ll stay that way.
Whether it’s through the striking and gruesome cover art or through the lumbering post-Sabbath, post-Cathedral stoner-doom nod contained within, Smoke Wizzzard’s five-song self-titled debut LP thoroughly earns its third ‘z’ – and, for that matter, its second one – with played-to-form thickness and a tonal push that starts with 10-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) “Astro Lord” and continues to swagger and swing with due viscosity through “Reptiles” after the minute-long punker curveball “Soul Train.” The highlight of the Pittsburgh trio’s first outing might be “The Pass,” which has a hazy patience and some rightly-featured bass tone, but as “Run with the Wolf” moves from its early Electric Wizard muckraking to cap with piano and included howls for a doomier feel, it becomes clear Smoke Wizzzard have yet to play their full stylistic hand and the real highlights may still be yet to come. Fair enough. Something tells me getting stranger is only going to be a boon to Smoke Wizzzard’s approach on the whole, so bring it on.
If you hit up Highburnator’s Bandcamp and download their name-your-price Keystoned State EP, you might note the fifth and final inclusion is the entire live-recorded, 28-minute release presented as a single track. No doubt the Pennsylvania three-piece intend the four-song outing to be taken just that way. They begin with the “mad as hell” speech sampled from the 1976 film Network and from there unfold a potent riffly brew met head on with harsh East Coast hardcore-style vocals and more metallic growls. That’s nine-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “The Brass Rail,” and it sets the tone for what follows on the eponymous “Highburnator” before “Desert Funeral” and the Sleep-style nod of “Peaking at the Coffin” push into even more stonerly vibes. This melding of pissed-off disaffection and mid-paced heavy rock groove is particular to the sludge of the Eastern Seaboard – think of it as regional fare – but Highburnator find space for themselves in the rawness of their riffs and the charm of their puns, and by the time they’re through the four songs, it makes sense why they might want to present the full onslaught as a single entity, essentially giving it to their listeners on one overflowing platter. Got the munchies? It’s right there waiting.
Greek psych-doomers The Curf made their debut in 2007 with I and then went radio silent until last year’s Royal Water EP. Their sophomore full-length, Death and Love, then, arrives via Fuzz Ink Records with some amount of intrigue behind it, but either way, the sans-pretense heavy roll the band unfurls on “Dark Hado,” and the more uptempo “Smoke Ring,” the dig-in low end of “Lunar Lair” and the scream-topped start-stoppery of “California” present a varied take brought together through heft as well as the crispness of production and delivery, such that when it wants to, Death and Love can bite down hard, but as on the closing title-track or the earlier “Order ‘n’ Sin,” it can rumble out spaciousness as well. Whatever might’ve taken The Curf so long to put together a second album beats the hell out of me, but if they were looking to make an argument for a third one, they do so convincingly across these nine songs, which hold firmly to their overarching flow despite the emergent stylistic range.
For now, Ulls is the solo-project of Barcelona-based David Trillo, formerly guitarist/vocalist for the heavy progressive trio Lord Summerisle, but the hope seems to be to build a full band at some point in the future. The I EP might rightly be called a demo, then, but for the professionalism and cohesiveness of sound with which its three songs are presented and the clarity of intent behind them. With Trillo rumbling away on bass beneath, six-minute opener “Inhumat” fleshes out its arrangement with organ alongside guitar swirl and sets up the classically swinging strut of “Llot Convuls,” on which the drums post-midsection lead the way through starts and stops à la a restless King Crimson and the guitar joins with no less angularity. Eight-minute closer “L’Emersió de l’Executor” brings about a thicker overall tone, but holds to a similar mood through its first half, Trillo finding room after about the four-and-a-half-minute mark for a standout solo executed with the bass running fluidly alongside that carries the song to its fading finish just before seven minutes in, at which point a residual drone takes hold to lead the way out. That ending is telling when it comes to various impulses that might show themselves in Ulls going forward, but as an initial demonstration, suffice it to say that I makes it plain Trillo shouldn’t have much trouble finding other players to come aboard the band with him.
Across a skillfully constructed six-track course, Edinburgh trio Hair of the Dog smoothly brought together influences modern and classic on their third album, This World Turns. Released through Kozmik Artifactz this past July, it’s an unpretentious 41-minute rocker that comes out swinging with the semi-garage riff of its nine-minute opening, longest and title-track (immediate points), opening to a rolling groove that’s just the first of many by the time the record is done — its emphasis on sonic clarity as much as organic chemistry, songwriting as much as execution.
And if the world is turning — spoiler alert: it is — so too is the craftsmanship of Hair of the Dog, who fluidly transition between the parts and pieces of the follow-up to 2016’s The Siren’s Song and play between classic guitar-led impulses, the near-metallic shuffle of cuts like “Ctrl-Alt-Delete” — where Scorpions and Iron Maiden come together at last — and the key-laced-but-still-post-Thin Lizzy low-end groove of “In Death’s Hands,” unfolding a deceptive breadth of approach that ties together easily via clean production value courtesy of an ongoing collaboration with engineer and obviously benefits from the band’s work since making their self-titled debut in 2014. An ongoing collaboration with producer/engineer Graeme Young of Chamber Studios is only bolstered by the mixing work of James Atkinson of Gentlemans Pistols, and as they make their way toward the classy, smoothly realized crescendo of closer “4AM,” the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Adam Holt, bassist Iain Thomson and drummer Jon Holt continue to easily draw a line between rocker soul and heavier push, resulting in a style that’s timeless in its refusal to belong to any single era or another.
With a performance slated for next month at the potentially-lethal-sounding-or-at-very-least-liver-taxing Riffs and Rum 5 in Manchester, England, a live album upcoming, and work already started on a fourth long-player to answer the growth on display throughout This World Turns, Adam took some time out to discus Hair of the Dog‘s mission on the record, the progression across their three outings to-date and the writing and recording processes from which This World Turns‘s righteous, heavy-rock-for-heavy-rockers moments in songs like “Keeping Watch over the Night” and “The Colours in Her Skin” resulted.
Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:
Six Dumb Questions with Hair of the Dog
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You’ve said that these songs are more personal for you than The Siren’s Song or the self-titled. What kind of experiences are you expressing on This World Turns, and now that the album has been released and you have a little distance from it, how do you feel about that expression? What is This World Turns ultimately saying about Hair of the Dog as a band and as people?
I wouldn’t say they are more or less personal than our other songs. All of our songs stem from our life experiences, from a real place — but with This World Turns, the subject matter is definitely more mature in nature. This is just a reflection of where we are in our lives as three men. Jon is married and has two young children. Iain is now married and has a cottage out in the countryside. And I am soon to be married this October. These things — especially bringing new life into the world — force you stop and view your life in a new light, as well as the world around you, which I’m sure we can all agree, is a fucked up mess right now!
Before I had the lyrics and title for This World Turns, I had the idea for the cover. The reaper staring out over the sea towards earth. I liked that image, to me there is as sort of comfort in that image which reflected the ideas I had floating about for the lyrics. I’m the reaper looking at the world, you the listener are the reaper looking at the world – is this how you want your life to be? Is this how you want your world to be like? You never know when that scythe will swing, so would you be happy with what you have if it did, right now? And I think that’s ultimately what This World Turns is about. It’s a record about reflection.
This World Turns — tomorrow is a new day, don’t take your life for granted, life can change – but the world will always continue to turn regardless.
Tell me about opening with the title-track. When did you know that was the one you wanted to leadoff the record, and was that before or after you had named the album? How did that song come together?
“This World Turns” was the first song we wrote for this album. I think we started jamming the various riffs for it very soon after The Siren’s Song was sent off to Kozmik. We even premiered it and “Ctrl-Alt-Delete” at Roadburn Festival in April 2016, so that gives you an idea as to how far along we were with the record even by then!
Like most bands, we have our own “pet names” for our songs so we can identify them – “This World Turns” was naturally called, “The Big One” and remained that way right up until the week before we recorded it, when I wrote the lyrics. I am pretty shit when it comes to writing my lyrics, often leaving them to the very last moment – I like to worry the other two, keep them on their toes! But sometimes it just takes longer for me to hear and feel what the lyrics should say.
The music itself was very natural, I think we wrote it over the space of a few jams – each riff just seemed to naturally lead to the next. It is such a fun song to play from a musician’s point of view. It definitely set the bar for how we wanted the rest of the record to sound, which is why I felt it should be the song to kick the whole album off, set the tone sort of thing – it just had that feel to it, and we always go with what feels right to us.
Talk about your experience in the studio making This World Turns. How long were you recording? What was it like working with Graeme Young again to get the songs down and then bringing in James Atkinson from Gentlemans Pistols to handle mixing? Was that the result of something specific you wanted to do differently coming off of The Siren’s Song?
We recorded the music for This World Turns in four days, then I took a two-week break to write the lyrics – an approach I haven’t used before. This was partly because I didn’t have any solid lyrics by the time we started recording, but also because I wanted to really take time to let the songs settle with me and see if that brought something new to my writing – which it did.
I always write my lyrics in my local pub. I sit with my headphones in, with the songs on repeat and basically wait until one or two words, perhaps even a phrase, comes to me. Once I get that starting point, I just go with them and the rest of the song follows. For example, with the song “This World Turns,” I kept hearing this phrase “keeps you safe inside its lies,” I’d sing it over and over all day. It’s hard to describe, there’s a definite click moment with my lyrics, when everything just comes together and flows.
Working with Graeme is awesome. I’ve known G as a friend for many years and worked with him on various bands. We call G the secret fourth member of HOTD because, as well as working with us on all of our records, he is the man that plays any keys or synth on the records. He is an extremely skilled recording engineer and as a musician himself, has a great ear for music. He pushes us really hard and always gets the best performance from us. Not to mention he also puts up with a lot of shit from us — mostly me — during the recordings too. We like to drink in the studio and this can often lead to the recordings taking back seat to our antics.
As for James, that was really just to bring something fresh into the fold, try something new. I had got chatting to James after we both played Roadburn 2016, and I asked him if he’d like to mix the album. I’m a big Gentlemans Pistols fan, and really love his work on their albums, so I knew he’d bring some magic to our record – and he didn’t disappoint.
One of the aspects I find most striking about This World Turns is the classic feel of the riffs and the construction of the songs still has a deeply modern sound. Three albums in, do you feel like you know what you want to get out of a recording experience with Hair of the Dog? What were your goals for the sound of This World Turns?
That’ the HOTD sound… We take pride in that, so when people pick up on that it’s rewarding. We love those bands, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Cream, Deep Purple, Hendrix. Our parents and teachers introduced us to these bands — one of the first songs I ever learned on a guitar was “Hey Joe.” But we also grew up on a diet of Pantera, Rage Against the Machine, C.O.C., Down, Metallica. The list goes on.
When we started, over 15 years ago, we just jammed songs by all of these great bands we liked – extending riffs, adding in parts, making songs heavier — and from these jams, we eventually started to write our own songs. We never sat down and decided we’d sound like this or that… we just developed this sound over many years jamming together. We just wish the audience was there for us when we started, because back in 2001 nobody wanted to hear our music!
In terms of recording, we love it, it’s like a holiday for us – time to hang, have some beers, do what we love and annoy Graeme as much as we can. We didn’t have any goals as such for This World Turns, as I have mentioned, we record live for the most part and we always enter the studio with the songs polished – so it’s just about having a good time, enjoying it, letting the creativity flow and make something we are proud of.
We like the spontaneity and experimentation that only manifests in the studio. Sometimes the best parts of our records come from stupid jokes and conversations we have after a few beers: “This song needs an orchestra; The Beatles had an orchestra, why can’t we?” Next thing you know, we’re dialing up some string sounds and adding them in. The studio is a musician’s toy box. Once you have those songs recorded, you start to hear all the melodies and counter-melodies hidden within the song that you couldn’t hear in the practice room – it’s a magical time.
How do you feel about what you’ve accomplished across your three records to-date, and is there anything in particular you’ll look to change next time?
We are incredibly proud of the three records we have put out so far, and we are extremely humbled by the positive response each record has received around the globe. With each album we grow as a band, as does our fan base. We love to play our music and doing so with that support and encouragement from our fans is a dream come true.
Next time? Well here’s an exclusive for you, we already have around three songs for our fourth album. We are going a bit heavier on this one. It will still have that HOTD sound to it, but we are experimenting with darker, heavier riffs.
You’re playing Riffs and Rum 5 in Manchester in Oct. with Pist, 1968 and others. Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?
Yeah we are looking forward to that show, we haven’t played England that much, which is shameful considering it’s right on our doorstep. But we will certainly put on a killer show, that’s for sure – free rum all night and three Scotsmen?! What could go wrong!
Plans, plans, plans… we have quite a lot coming up actually…
Our track “My Only Home” which had to be dropped from the vinyl version of The Siren’s Song is being featured on an up-and-coming double-vinyl project between several prominent independent labels – think that’s all I can say about that at the moment.
We are putting out live album in between This World Turns and our next studio album. I’ve had the pleasure of hearing it and it rocks, definitely one for the HOTD super fans! More on that to come soon.
And finally, the wheels are in motion to get the Dog back over to Europe in 2018. We hope to play a few of the summer festivals and dot a few headline shows around those.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 25th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Edinburgh-based four-piece DVNE have been playing shows steadily around the UK since the 2014 release of their last album, Aurora Majesty, so they haven’t been completely absent or anything like that. Their name tends to pop up in all-dayer lineups and things like that. Still, with three years between that record and the forthcoming Asheran, which the band touts as being an hour-long concept piece set to a story about a lost empire (about which you can read more below), the sense I get is that maybe this record took longer to come together than the standard “well, we’ve got eight songs and here they are”-type release might. Call me crazy.
With just over two months to go before the July 28 release through Wasted State Records, there’s no audio unveiled as yet, but you can see the Eli Quinn cover art and the tracklisting here, courtesy of the band’s Bandcamp page, where both Aurora Majesty and the prior Progenitor EP (review here) are streaming. Dig it:
DVNE – Asheran
Asheran is a 60 minute tapestry of music, an epic narrative following the tale of the rise and fall of civilisations, the return of an empire thought millennia lost, and the world-spanning events that unfold as a consequence.
Rich with themes of science fiction, environmental issues, and both dystopic and utopic visions for the future of humanity, listeners can expect the album to bring the pure heaviness vaunted during Aurora Majesty, whilst at the same time being tempered by the combination of more mature progressive, genre-spanning, and often at times melodic song-writing the band are quickly making their hallmark approach.
Releases July 28, 2017.
— I — The Crimson Path Viridian Bloom
— II — Thirst Descent Of The Asheran
— III — Sunsets Grace Rite Of Seven Mournings
— IV — Edenfall Scion
Recorded and produced by Graeme Young at Chamber Studios chamberstudio.co.uk
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 30th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
No exact release date as yet, but following up on the chat had in the early hours of 2017 with Hair of the Dog‘s Adam Holt about the band’s next album, This World Turns, and work the Edinburgh three-piece did with James Atkinson of Gentlemans Pistols in bringing it to life, the title-track of the record has been posted as a free download. Now, the tentative issue date through Kozmik Artifactz is “summer” — in case you missed it in the headline above — so whenever it actually surfaces in the season, it’s a while off from right now, but one can hardly begrudge Hair of the Dog wanting to give listeners an early glimpse. They’ve been playing the song live for a time too, so it seems all the more reasonable they’d be eager to get the finished version out to the public.
Free tuneage awaits:
Hair of the Dog – “This World Turns”
Returning this summer with their third studio album, “This World Turns” is Scottish riff rockers, Hair of the Dog – today releasing the title track as a FREE downloadable single!
Recorded and produced with Graeme Young of Chamber Studios (Hair of the Dog, The Siren’s Song) and mixed by James Atkinson of the Gentlemans Pistols (Nuclear Blast), This World Turns is easily the trio’s most experimental and adventurous album to date. As always, “This World Turns” snapshots the bands progression and journey through life – this time focusing on themes of maturity, responsibility and reflection.
Speaking exclusively to The Obelisk, Adam Holt said:
“This World Turns is an album of reflection, taking a pause to view the world through aged eyes. When we started HOTD, we didn’t have many responsibilities in our lives, I certainly didn’t. Now I’m engaged and due to be married later this year, Iain is also now married and Jon has had two awesome kids – making me a pretty cool uncle! These things naturally cause you to stop, reflect and re-access your life. I always write from a personal point of view, every song acts as diary entry for me, so you can see and hopefully identify with a lot of these themes within “This world Turns”.
On the sound of “This World Turns”:
“Musically our sound has also matured. At the core we retain the HOTD sound that our fans have come to know, but we set out to create a record that truly showcases where we are NOW as a band; as well as push us forward in terms of where we are going.”
On working with James Atkinson:
“One of the biggest changes to our sound, was enlisting the skills of James Atkinson (Gentlemans Pistols). This was the first time we have ever worked with anyone other than Graeme, but it felt right to bring in some fresh ears and experiment. I had seen the Gentlemans Pistols play whilst we were over playing Roadburn 2016, and when I found out James had his own studio, I was extremely keen to get him on board with “This World Turns”. I am so glad I went with my gut because the finished record is beyond what I had imagined”
This World Turns will be released on digital, CD and Vinyl via Kozmik Artifactz this summer.
“This World Turns” is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD single from the band’s Bandcamp page, follow the link below to download today:
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 1st, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Next month, as the world turns its attention toward the coming onslaught of spring and summer festival season, UK sludgers Kurokuma and DVNE will head out together on a short round of dates to herald new releases. In the case of Kurokuma, it’s a single, a cover of Kraftwerk‘s “Radioactivity,” which I won’t even pretend to be familiar with, and for DVNE, it’s an impending full-length to follow-up on their 2014 two-songer, Aurora Majesty, and the preceding 2013 EP, Progenitor (review here). Bands, obviously, have toured for less reasonable causes.
As a side note, Kurokuma‘s Joe Allen was recently announced as having a new drone project with Jon Davis from Conan called DOS. Info is sparse as yet, but there’s a Thee Facebooks and that’s a place to start. Kurokuma also have a few killer live dates before the tour that you can see in the update below.
Dig it:
Kurokuma and DVNE, two imposing figures in UK sludge join forces for five dates in April this year. The trail starts off with two dates in Scotland before rolling down to England for three shows there.
DVNE will be playing tracks from their upcoming album, Asheran, which will see the light of day this summer – the band’s first release since 2014’s Aurora Majesty.
Kurokuma’s next output is set to be a prodigious cover of Kraftwerk’s “Radioactivity” along with fitting visuals. Kurokuma will also feature heavily in the upcoming documentary on UK doom, The Doom Doc (www.facebook.com/thedoomdoc).
Kurokuma live dates: Saturday 4th March – Star & Garter, Manchester supporting Slomatics Friday 17th March – Plug, Sheffield supporting Crowbar Friday 31st March – Chameleon Arts Cafe, Nottingham supporting Alunah Saturday 8th April – Ritual Festival, Leeds w/ Ihsahn, Anaal Nathrakh, Bossk, Serpent Venom and more
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 4th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Comprised of brothers Adam (guitar/vocals) and Jon Holt (drums) as well as Iain Thomson (bass), Edinburgh trio Hair of the Dog have set a Summer 2017 release for their third album, This World Turns. Set for issue through Kozmik Artifactz, it follows 2015’s The Siren’s Song and their 2014 self-titled and finds the three-piece working once again alongside engineer Graeme Young — if it ain’t broke — as well as with vocalist James Atkinson of UK heavy rock magnates Gentlemans Pistols, who came aboard to mix the tracks after meeting the band at Roadburn 2016 in the Netherlands.
It’s a bit of a story, and Adam Holt was kind enough to offer to tell it, as well as to grab some word from Atkinson about working with Hair of the Dog, and you’ll find all of that below, as well as a live clip for the title-track to This World Turns, about which I hope to have more as we get closer to the release.
Dig it:
Hair of the Dog – This World Turns
Back in April 2016, we were honoured to be invited to play Roadburn Festival. Whilst there my fiancee and I had the opportunity to watch Gentlemans Pistols perform; a UK band I really dug, but had not yet managed to see live. On return to Scotland, I got chatting to James Atkinson (singer of GP) and mentioned that we were going to be recording a new album that summer and if he would be interested in taking a listen to our previous material to see if mixing the new record would be something he would be interested in — we were delighted when he keenly agreed.
I am a big fan of the Gentlemans Pistols album, “At Her Majesty’s Pleasure”, I loved the honest solid rock’n’roll sound captured on that record and to have someone like James, who is a true fan of the music and genre work with us, has been a huge privilege.
That summer, we re-entered Chamber Studios with Graeme Young who has worked with us on the recording of both previous albums, only this time around we sent the tracks to James where they have been being mixed.
“It’s an absolute pleasure to be working on the mix of the new Hair of the Dog album. When Adam asked me to work with the band, I was very keen as they have released some quality rock music and their last album, The Siren’s Song only served to increase the quality of the band’s output. After initially listening to the latest album, I am happy to confirm that the band have excelled themselves and have created a very cool, well crafted rock ‘n’ roll album that I’m very happy to be working on and I’m sure people will be excited to hear.” — James Atkinson.
On the 23rd of December we announced that our new album will be titled “This World Turns”. The album focuses around the theme of viewing the world through aged eyes. We’ve been playing for over 15 years now, and as such have grown from boys into men who now have our own young families to look after, this naturally causes anyone to pause and reflect on their life, and this album acts as an audible snapshot of that point in our collective lives. Musically, we have also grown, so “This World Turns” is a much more progressive album overall, with many more adventurous riffs packed into each track, and a stronger focus on musical dynamics and overall song direction, whilst still maintaining that classic Hair of the Dog sound that our fans have come to expect. One of the most notable differences from the last record to this record is a new found confidence in my own ability to sing, I think a lot of people will be surprised by the vocal range and styles that I explored on this record.
As well as teaming up with James, we will be reuniting with Dominic Sohor who created the phenomenal artwork for our last record, “The Siren’s Song.”
We are extremely proud of the record we have created and cannot wait for it to be released summer 2017 via our label, Kozmik Artifactz.
