Quarterly Review: Agusa, Octoploid, The Obscure River Experiment, Shun, No Man’s Valley, Land Mammal, Forgotten King, Church of Hed, Zolle, Shadow and Claw

Posted in Reviews on October 7th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Oh hi, I didn’t see you there. Me? Oh, you know. Nothing much. Staring off a cliffside about to jump headfirst into a pool of 100 records. The usual.

I’m pretty sure this is the second time this year that a single Quarterly Review has needed to be two weeks long. It’s been a busy year, granted, but still. I keep waiting for the tide to ebb, but it hasn’t really at all. Older bands keep going, or a lot of them do, anyhow — or they come back — and new bands come up. But for all the war, famine, plague and strife and crisis and such, it’s a golden age.

But hey, don’t let me keep you. I’ve apparently been doing QRs since 2013, and I remember trying to find a way to squeeze together similar roundups before it. I have no insight to add about that, it’s just something I dug back to find out the other day and was surprised because 11 years of this kind of thing is a really long gosh darn time.

On that note, let’s go.

Quarterly Review #1-10:

Agusa, Noir

agusa noir

The included bits of Swedish dialogue from the short film for which Agusa‘s Noir was written to serve as a soundtrack would probably ground the proceedings some if I spoke Swedish, admittedly. As it is, those voices become part of the dream world the Malmö-based otherwise-instrumentalist adventurers conjure across 15 at times wildly divergent pieces. In arrangement and resultant mood, from the ’70s piano sentimentality of “Ljusglimtar” to the darker church organ and flute workings of “Stad i mörker,” which is reprised as a dirge at the end, the tracks are evocative across a swath of atmospheres, and it’s not all drones or background noise. They get their rock in, and if you stick around for “Kalkbrottets hemlighet,” you get to have the extra pleasure of hearing the guitar eat the rest of the song. You could say that’s not a thing you care about hearing but I know it’d be a lie, so don’t bother. If you’ve hesitated to take on Agusa in the past because sometimes generally-longform instrumental progressive psychedelic heavy rock can be a lot when you’re trying to get to know it, consider Noir‘s shorter inclusions a decent entry point to the band. Each one is like a brief snippet serving as another demonstration of the kind of immersion they can bring to what they play.

Agusa on Facebook

Kommun 2 website

Octoploid, Beyond the Aeons

Octoploid Beyond The Aeons

With an assembled cast of singers that includes Mikko Kotamäki (Swallow the Sun), his Amorphis bandmates Tomi Koivusaari and Tomi Joutsen, Petri Eskelinen of Rapture, and Barren Earth bandmate Jón Aldará, and guests on lead guitar and a drummer from the underappreciated Mannhai, and Barren Earth‘s keyboardist sitting in for good measure, bassist Olli Pekka-Laine harnesses a spectacularly Finnish take on proggy death-psych metal for Octoploid‘s first long-player, Beyond the Aeons. The songs feel extrapolated from Amorphis circa Elegy, putting guttural vocals to folk inspired guitar twists and prog-rock grooves, but aren’t trying to be that at all, and as ferocious as it gets, there’s always some brighter element happening, something cosmic or folkish or on the title-track both, and Octoploid feels like an expression of creative freedom based on a vision of a kind of music Pekka-Laine wanted to hear. I want to hear it too.

Octoploid on Facebook

Reigning Phoenix Music website

The Obscure River Experiment, The Ore

The Obscure River Experiment The Ore

The Obscure River Experiment, as a group collected together for the live performance from which The Ore has been culled, may or may not be a band. It is comprised of players from the sphere of Psychedelic Source Records, and so as members of River Flows Reverse, Obscure Supersession Collective, Los Tayos and others collaborate here in these four periodically scorching jams — looking at you, middle of “Soul’s Shiver Pt. 2” — it could be something that’ll happen again next week or next never. Not knowing is part of the fun, because as far out as something like The Obscure River Experiment might and in fact does go, there’s chemistry enough between all of these players to hold it together. “Soul Shiver Pt. 1” wakes up and introduces the band, “Pt. 2” blows it out for a while, “I See Horses” gets funky and then blows it out, and “The Moon in Flesh and Bone” feels immediately ceremonial with its sustained organ notes, but becomes a cosmic boogie ripper, complete with a welcome return of vocals. Was it all made up on the spot? Was it all a dream? Maybe both?

Psychedelic Source Records on Spotify

Psychedelic Source Records on Bandcamp

Shun, Dismantle

shun dismantle

Way underhyped South Carolinian progressive heavy rockers Shun arrive at the sound of their second LP, Dismantle, able to conjure elements of The Cure and Katatonia alongside Cave In-style punk-born groove, but in Shun‘s case, the underlying foundation is noise rock, so when “Aviator” opens up to its hook or “NRNS” is suddenly careening pummel or “Drawing Names” half-times the drums to get bigger behind the forward/obvious-focal-point vocal melodies of Matt Whitehead (ex-Throttlerod), there’s reach and impact working in conjunction with a thoughtful songwriting process pushed forward from where on their 2021 self-titled debut (review here) but that still seems to be actively working to engage the listener. That’s not a complaint, mind you, especially since Dismantle succeeds to vividly in doing so, and continues to offer nuance and twists on the plot right up to the willful slog ending with (most of) “Interstellar.”

Shun on Facebook

Small Stone Records website

No Man’s Valley, Chrononaut Cocktail Bar/Flight of the Sloths

No Man's Valley Chrononaut Cocktailbar Flight of the Sloths

Whether it’s the brooding Nick Cave-style cabaret minimalism of “Creepoid Blues,” the ’60s psych of “Love” or the lush progressivism that emerges in “Seeing Things,” the hook of “Shapeshifter” or “Orange Juice” coming in with shaker at the end to keep things from finishing too melancholy, the first half of No Man’s Valley‘s Chrononaut Cocktail Bar/Flight of the Sloths still can only account for part of the scope as they set forth the pastoralist launch of the 18-minute “Flight of the Sloths” on side B, moving from acoustic strum and a repeating title line into a gradual build effective enough so that when Jasper Hesselink returns on vocals 13 minutes later in the spaced-out payoff — because yes, the sloths are flying between planets; was there any doubt? — it makes you want to believe the sloths are out there working hard to stay in the air. The real kicker? No Man’s Valley are no less considered in how they bring “Flight of the Sloths” up and down across its span than they are “Love” or “Shapeshifter” early on, both under three minutes long. And that’s what maturing as songwriters can do for you, though No Man’s Valley have always had a leg up in that regard.

No Man’s Valley on Facebook

No Man’s Valley on Bandcamp

Land Mammal, Emergence

Land Mammal Emergence

Dallas’ Land Mammal defy expectation a few times over on their second full-length, with the songwriting of Will Weise and Kinsley August turning toward greater depth of arrangement and more meditative atmospheres across the nine songs/34 minutes of Emergence, which even in a rolling groove like “Divide” has room for flute and strings. Elsewhere, sitar and tanpura meet with lap steel and keyboard as Land Mammal search for an individual approach to modern progressive heavy. There’s some shades of Elder in August‘s approach on “I Am” or the earlier “Tear You Down,” but the instrumental contexts surrounding are wildly different, and Land Mammal thrive in the details, be it the hand-percussion and far-back fuzz colliding on “The Circle,” or the tabla and sitar, drums and keys as “Transcendence (Part I)” and “Transcendence (Part II)” finish, the latter with the sounds of getting out of the car and walking in the house for epilogue. Yeah, I guess after shifting the entire stylistic scope of your band you’d probably want to go inside and rest for a bit. Well earned.

Land Mammal on Facebook

Kozmik Artifactz store

Forgotten King, The Seeker

Forgotten King The Seeker

Released through Majestic Mountain Records, the debut full-length from Forgotten King, The Seeker, would seem to have been composed and recorded entirely by Azul Josh Bisama, also guitarist in Kal-El, though a full lineup has since formed. That happens. Just means the second album will have a different dynamic than the first, and there are some parts as in the early cut “Lost” where that will be a benefit as Azul Josh refines the work laying out a largesse-minded, emotively-evocative approach on these six cuts, likewise weighted and soaring. The album is nothing if not aptly-named, though, as Forgotten King lumber through “Drag” and march across 10 minutes of stately atmospheric doom, eventually seeing the melodic vocals give way to harsher fare in the second half, what’s being sought seems to have been found at least on a conceptual level, and one might say the same of “Around the Corner” or “The Sun” taking familiar-leaning desert rock progressions and doing something decisively ‘else’ with them. Very much feels like the encouraging beginning of a longer exploration.

Forgotten King on Facebook

Majestic Mountain Records store

Church of Hed, The Fifth Hour

Church of Hed The Fifth Hour

Branched off from drummer/synthesist Paul Williams‘ intermittent work over the decades with Quarkspace, the mostly-solo-project Church of Hed explores progressive, kraut and space rock in a way one expects far more from Denmark than Columbus, Ohio — to wit, Jonathan Segel (Øresund Space Collective, Camper Van Beethoven) guests on violin, bass and guitar at various points throughout the nine-tracker, which indeed is about an hour long at 57 minutes. Church of Hed‘s last outing, 2022’s The Father Road, was an audio travelogue crossing the United States from one coast to the other. The Fifth Hour is rarely so concerned with terrestrial impressionism, and especially in its longer-form pieces “Pleiades Waypoint” (13:50), “Son of a Silicon Rogue” (14:59) or “The Fifth Hour” (8:43), it digs into sci-fi prog impulses that even in the weird blips and robot twists of the interlude “Aniluminescence 2” or the misshapen techno in the closing semi-reprise “Bastard Son of The Fifth Hour” never quite feels as dystopian as some other futures in the multiverse, and that becomes a strength.

Church of Hed on Facebook

Church of Hed website

Zolle, Rosa

Zolle - Rosa artwork

Like the Melvins on an AC/DC kick or what you might get if you took ’70s arena rock, put it in a can and shook it really, really hard, Italian duo Zolle are a burst of weirdo sensation on their fifth full-length, Rosa. The songs are ready for whatever football match stadium P.A. you might want to put them on — hugely, straight-ahead, uptempo, catchy, fun in pieces like “Pepe” and “Lana” at the outset, “Merda,” “Pompon,” “Confetto” and “Fiocco” later on, likewise huge and silly in “Pois” or closer “Maialini e Maialine,” and almost grounded on “Toffolette e Zuccherini” at the start but off and running again soon enough — if you can keep up with guitarist/vocalist Marcello and drummer Stefano, for sure they make it worth the effort, and capture some of the intensity of purpose they bring to the stage in the studio and at the same time highlighting the shenanigans writ large throughout in their riffs and the cheeky bit of pop grandiosity that’s such a toy in their hands. You would not call it light on persona.

Zolle on Facebook

Subsound Records website

Shadow and Claw, Whereabouts Unknown

Shadow and Claw Whereabouts Unknown

Thicker in tone than much of modern black metal, and willing toward the organic in a way that feels born of Cascadia a little more to the northwest as they blast away in “Era of Ash,” Boise, Idaho’s Shadow and Claw nonetheless execute moody rippers across the five songs/41 minute of their debut, Whereabouts Unknown. Known for his work in Ealdor Bealu and the solo-project Sawtooth Monk, guitarist/vocalist Travis Abbott showcases a rasp worthy of Enslaved‘s Grutle Kjellson on the 10-minute “Wrath of Thunder,” so while there are wolves amid the trio’s better chairs, to be sure, Shadow and Claw aren’t necessarily working from any single influence in or out of char-prone extreme metals, and as the centerpiece gives over to the eponymous “Shadow and Claw,” those progressive aspirations are reaffirmed as Abbott, drummer/backing vocalist Aaron Bossart (also samples) and bassist/backing vocalist Geno Lopez find room for a running-water-backed acoustic epilogue to “Scouring the Plane of Existence” and the album as a whole. Easy to imagine them casting these songs into the sunset on the side of some pointy Rocky Mountain or other, shadows cast and claws raised.

Shadow and Claw on Facebook

Shadow and Claw on Bandcamp

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Dreadnought Release Emergence May 10; Tour Dates Announced

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 4th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

dreadnought

I was lucky enough to have occasion to see Colorado’s Dreadnought last year at Psycho Las Vegas (review here) as they supported their earlier-2018 third album, A Wake in Sacred Waves (review here). To be honest, I thought it could go either way. They’re an interesting band. Stylistically, they’re incredibly nuanced, and their progressive method of songcraft on the third album found them mashing together subgenres like a mile high hadron collider, but doing that in the studio and doing it live are two very different things. Fortunately for me and everyone else at Psycho to witness it, they underscored their creative scope with an intensity of delivery that only built on the impact of their studio presence. It was a thing to behold.

They have a few dates scheduled for the Spring — a stop at the Psycho Smokeout follows up on the Vegas appearance — and in summer, they head out on a tour that will bring them to the East Coast as they spread the good word of their new album, Emergence, which is out May 10 on Profound Lore. They have a song from it streaming now that you can and should check out at the bottom of this post, particularly if you’re one of those people who argue nobody’s doing anything anymore to push boundaries and wish to be proven wrong.

From the PR wire:

dreadnought emergence

DREADNOUGHT: Progressive Doom Bringers Announce US Summer Tour Including Dates With Big|Brave; Emergence Full-Length To See Release Via Profound Lore

Denver progressive doom bringers DREADNOUGHT have confirmed a stretch of US live dates to kick off the summer season. Set to commence on June 21st and run through July 7th, the trek includes eight shows supporting Montreal’s Big|Brave, and follows several previously-announced performances this spring including an appearance at Psycho Smokeout in Los Angeles, California alongside Elder, Monolord, Belzebong, Amenra, Uada, and more. See all confirmed dates below.

DREADNOUGHT will release their anticipated new full-length, Emergence, on May 10th via Profound Lore. For their fourth long player, DREADNOUGHT follows up their 2017 A Wake In Sacred Waves acclamation with an album that takes their singular multiplex and pictorial sound to new sonic realms even more heavily textile, complex, and vastly designed. Emergence sees the four-piece – vocalist/guitarist/flute player Kelly Schilling, drummer/saxophone player Jordan Clancy, keyboardist/vocalist Lauren Vieira, and bassist/mandolin player Kevin Handlon – delving more into heavier and darker sonic territory as well, an aspect that was evident with A Wake… but has become fully realized with Emergence.

Engineered and mixed by Andy Patterson (Subrosa) and mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate), with art and design by Mark Facey, Emergence will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats via Profound Lore with preorders to be available in the weeks to come.

DREADNOUGHT Live:
4/17/2019 Hi-Dive – Denver, CO w/ UADA, Cloak, Wormwitch
4/20/2019 Psycho Smokeout @ Catch One – Los Angeles, CA
4/21/2019 Club Red Mesa – Mesa, AZ w/ Monolord
4/22/2019 Sister – Albuquerque, NM w/ Monolord
5/26/2019 The Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO w/ Alien Weaponry
6/21/2019 Triple Nickel – Colorado Springs, CO *
6/22/2019 Hi-Dive – Denver, CO *
6/24/2019 Cactus Club – Milwaukee, WI *
6/25/2019 Subterranean Downstairs – Chicago, IL *
6/26/2019 Sanctuary – Detroit, MI *
6/27/2019 Hong Kong – Boston, MA *
6/28/2019 Kingsland – Brooklyn, NY *
6/29/2019 Geno’s – Portland, ME *
7/01/2019 Cafe Nine – New Haven, CT
7/02/2019 Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
7/03/2019 Metro Gallery – Baltimore, MD
7/04/2019 Wonderland – Richmond, VA
7/05/2019 Cosmic Charlie’s – Lexington, KY
7/06/2019 Fubar – Saint Louis, MO
7/07/2019 Riot Room – Kansas City, MO
* w/ Big|Brave

“Emergence” track listing:
1. Besieged
2. Still
3. Pestilent
4. Tempered
5. The Waking Realm

DREADNOUGHT are:
Kelly Schilling – Guitar, Flute, Clean and Harsh Vocals
Jordan Clancy – Drums, Alto/Tenor Saxophone
Kevin Handlon – Bass, Mandolin, Lyrics
Lauren Vieira – Keys, Clean Vocals

http://www.facebook.com/dreadnoughtband/
http://www.instagram.com/dreadnoughtdenver
http://www.profoundlorerecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/profoundlorerecords
http://www.instagram.com/profoundlorerecords
http://www.twitter.com/profound_lore

Dreadnought, “Beseiged”

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Mars Red Sky Tour Starts Tonight

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 22nd, 2012 by JJ Koczan

French trio Mars Red Sky will begin their next round of tour dates tonight. The band did a few shows in September, mostly in France, but as of tonight, they’ll be hooking up with the likes of Samsara Blues Experiment and Kadavar and playing gigs in advance of their next recording, about which they’ve let slip some more info. The plan seems to be to lay down some songs in November for an EP that’ll come to light early next year. Something to look forward to for sure.

Hopefully I’ll have more on that when the time comes. Until then, the band sent the following news down the PR wire:

We’ll be in studio in november to record a couple of new song for a new EP early 2013 !!!

We just received our 3rd vinyl album pressing (500 each) and we got some new tote bags and T Shirts with “the bird” on it available on our shop online : http://marsredsky.bigcartel.com

MARS RED SKY – Fall 2012 (booked with SOL)
october
10.22. (D) MUNICH Felerwerk + Samsara Blues Experiment
10.23. (CH) PRATTELN  Galery + Samsara Blues Experiment
10.24. (CH) MARTIGNY Les Caves du Manoir + The Black Willows
10.25. (A) LINZ (A) Kapu + Kadavar
10.26. (SI) MURSKA SOBOTA  Mikk + Y [:why]
10.27. (A) VIENNA  Arena + Samsara Blues Experiment
10.28. (A) SALZBURG Urban Keller + Go Bananas
10.29. (F) METZ  La Chaouée + guest
10.30. (F) TROYES  Festival Off Off Off
10.31. (F) STRASBOURG Hall des chars + LDDSM
december
11.01. (F) LYON Kraspek Myzik + The Black Willows
11.02. (CH) LAUSANNE Le Bleu Lézard + The Black Willows
11.21. (F) PARIS La Mécanique Ondulatoire + Towers
11.22. (B) BRUXELLES  Madame Moustache
11.23. (F) VILLENEUVE D’ASQ Festival Tour de chauffe + Die! Die! Die!
11.30. (F) BIARRITZ L’Atabal
more infos on www.facebook.com/marsredskyband
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