The ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the varied responses of publics and governments worldwide, and the disruption to lives and livelihoods has reached a scale that is unprecedented. Whatever the month or the month after or the future itself brings, more than one generation will bear the mark of having lived through this time, and art, artists, and those who provide the support system to help uphold them have all been affected.

In continuing the Days of Rona feature, it remains pivotal to give a varied human perspective on these events and these responses. It is important to remind ourselves that whether someone is devastated or untouched, sick or well, we are all thinking, feeling people with lives we want to live again, whatever renewed shape they might take from this point onward. We all have to embrace a new normal. What will that be and how will we get there?

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Kyle Hulgus of Faerie Ring (Evansville, Indiana)

—

How have you been you dealing with this crisis as a band? As an individual? What effect has it had on your plans or creative processes?

We axed practices pretty early on, a few weeks before Indiana went on soft lockdown. It’s going on nine weeks since we’ve jammed together when we’re used to doing it every Monday. There weren’t any stringent orders put in place, just a lot of “Please don’t go outside…..well unless you need to….or you’re bored.” Admittedly, I didn’t accept the whole scope of how serious this was right off the bat. We were right in the middle of booking a tour through Canada, which would’ve been several of ours first time outside the country, and Covid-19 was threatening that. I just didn’t want to believe it. My roommate, who’s a paramedic, quickly whipped my ass into shape and the gravity of the situation really started to materialize in front of me. Without him, my dumb ass would probably be on a respirator.

Aside from all that, we’re still riffin’. Sending each other sound clips of potential songs and all that. We were about 70-ish percent done with the new album before all this started and I’m feeling good that we’ll be able to churn out the rest once we start getting back together, whenever that will be. At home, I’ve probably changed the strings and set up my guitars two times over. I’m in a lot of gear-swap groups on Facebook and have re-done my pedal board top to bottom. I’m wearin’ thin, JJ. If all this continues I might finally cave and start practicing playing in hopes of one day having passable skill.

How do you feel about the public response to the outbreak where you are? From the government response to the people around you, what have you seen and heard from others?

Indiana, along with much of the Midwest, against all odds, were quick to act. They closed schools before we even stopped practicing. Bars and sit-down restaurants soon after that.

I’m lucky enough to still be employed, so the mental anguish set upon some isn’t a card I have to pull. I sling pizza, so I’m in contact with 40-50 extra people a day and get to peek in to their situations. Some are in full hazmat, some are drunk and mad, some walk right up breathing in your mouth like a pandemic is ravaging the entire Earth. Out the door lines at Home Depot and Lowe’s (why are you even open?). Cars wrapped around fast-food restaurants. I drove through a makeshift tennis court in the middle of a neighborhood road last week and I got the stink eye from them! It’s mind boggling to me how crystal clear both ends of the spectrum are.

What do you think of how the music community specifically has responded? How do you feel during this time? Are you inspired? Discouraged? Bored? Any and all of it?

This can be said for many subcultures, but the underground Hard-Rock/Doom/Stoner community is one of the most supportive groups of people I’ve ever witnessed. In the middle of all this, we’ve had a new roll out of merch and a repress of our album that we’ve been sandbagging since winter. Since the Canada trip was canned and all our shows through June were canned, we were hit with it. “Are we dicks if we release this stuff?” People are struggling. Burning through their savings just to pay rent, and we expect them to buy our crappy album on top of that? Well, we did and to our utter surprise, they did too. We’ve had people supporting us since Day 1 that are still kicking us around and it’s outstanding, inspiring, unbelievable and all other things sports movies make you feel. Bandcamp doing the multiple fee waiving days is just icing on the cake that is the music community. All that being said, if your band is selling masks, know that every normal person thinks you’re corny.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything? What is your new normal? What have you learned from this experience, about yourself, your band, or anything?

Man, that’s a loaded question. I’ve realized stupid stuff. Like….I can just buy a new toothbrush whenever I want. I don’t have to wait till it’s nasty or…..that’s it’s ok to have more than one phone charger and I don’t have to bring it room to room. But on a more serious note, I’ve witnessed personality en masse to each extreme. One thing this pandemic has done has turned whatever type of person you are to 11. It’s like how you see someone treat a Server or a Dog and you get a glance into their soul. You’re now getting that experience at Walmart in line from some lady with 256 rolls of Charmin and she’s tailgating you with no goddamn mask on. I think Feb 29th was the last show I saw. Om in Louisville. There was one man in the crowd in a N-95 respirator. He had a Miller Lite , cracked and uncovered, and he kept lifting his mask to drink. I had been ripping doobies all night entranced by this magical man. It was both the funniest and wildest thing I could’ve seen. If blissful ignorance had a mascot, it’d be my boy here.

As for the band, we’ll get right back out there. As EVERYBODY is, we’re rescheduling. I think it’s gonna whip ass to see if the crowds pack. People who wouldn’t normally show, might show. I’m excited for the future. The first month back after everyone is comfortable is going to make this all worth it.

http://www.facebook.com/FaerieRingBand/
http://www.instagram.com/faerie_ring
http://www.faeriering.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/kingvolumerecords
http://www.kingvolumerecords.bandcamp.com
http://www.kingvolumerecords.limitedrun.com

Call two friends and tell them to tell two friends to tell two friends, because the Quarterly Review has returned. This time around, it’s 50 records front to back for Fall 2019 and there are some big names and some smaller names and a whole lot of in between which is just how I like it. Between today and Friday, each day 10 album reviews will be posted in a single batch like this one, and although by Wednesday this always means I’m totally out of my mind, it’s always, always, always worth it to be able to write about so much cool stuff. So sit tight, because there’s a lot to get through and, as ever, time’s at a premium.

Thanks in advance for keeping up, and I hope you find something you dig.

Quarterly Review #1-10:

Monkey3, Sphere

It’s a full-on Keanu Reeves “whoa” when opening track “Spirals” kicks in on Monkey3‘s sixth album, Sphere (released by Napalm), and that’s by no means the last one on the cinematic six-tracker. The long-running Swiss mostly-instrumentalists have been consistently, persistently underappreciated throughout their career, but whether it’s the aural scope of guitar and keys in “Axis” or the swaps between intensity and sprawl in 14-minute closer “Ellipsis,” their latest work is consuming in its sense of triumph. Even the four-minute “Ida,” which seems at first like it’s barely going to be more than an interlude, finds a thread of majestic cosmic groove and rides it for the duration, while the proggy immersion of “Prism” and the harder drive of “Mass” — not to mention that shredding solo — make the middle of the record anything but a post-hypnosis dip. I won’t pretend to know if Sphere is the record that finally gets the Lausanne four-piece the respect they’ve already well deserved, but if it was, one could only say it was for good reason. Blends of heft, progressive craft, and breadth are rarely so resonant.

Monkey3 on Thee Facebooks

Napalm Records website

—

 

Asthma Castle, Mount Crushmore

When you call your record Mount Crushmore, you need to bring it, and much to their credit, Baltimorean sludge-rocking five-piece Asthma Castle do precisely that on their debut full-length. Issued through Hellmistress Records, the 37-minute/six-track outing is a wordplay-laced pummeler that shows as much persona in its riffing and massive groove as it does in titles like “The Incline of Western Civilization” and “The Book of Duderonomy.” Trades between early-Mastodonic twists and lumbering sludge crash add a frenetic and unpredictable feel to pieces like the title-track, while “Methlehem” trades its plod for dual-guitar antics punctuated by metallic double-kick, all the while the vocals trade back and forth between growls, shouts, cleaner shouts, the odd scream, etc., because basically if you can keep up with it, Asthma Castle wouldn’t be doing their job. One shudders to think of the amount of Natty Bo consumed during its making, but Mount Crushmore is a wild and cacophonous enough time to live up to the outright righteousness of its title. If I graded reviews, it would get a “Fuckin’ A+,” with emphasis on “fuckin’ a.”

Asthma Castle on Thee Facebooks

Hellmistress Records website

—

 

The Giraffes, Flower of the Cosmos

Some day the world will wake up and realize the rock and roll powerhouse it had in Brooklyn’s The Giraffes, but by then it’ll be too late. The apocalypse will have happened long ago, and it’ll be Burgess Meredith putting on a vinyl of Flower of the Cosmos in the New York Library as “FAKS” echoes out through the stacks of now-meaningless tomes and the dust of nuclear winter falls like snow outside the windows. The band’s tumultuous history is mirrored in the energy of their output, and yet to hear the melody and gentle fuzz at the outset of “Golden Door,” there’s something soothing about their work as well that, admittedly, “Raising Kids in the End Times” is gleeful in undercutting. Cute as well they pair that one with “Dorito Dreams” on this, their seventh record in a 20-plus-year run, which has now seen them find their footing, lose it, find it again, and in this record and songs like the masterfully frenetic “Fill up Glass” and the air-tight-tense “Like Hate” and “Romance,” weave a document every bit worthy of Mr. Meredith’s attention as he mourns for the potential of this godforsaken wasteland. Oh, what we’ll leave behind. Such pretty ruins.

The Giraffes website

The Giraffes on Bandcamp

—

 

Bask, III

In the fine tradition of heavy rock as grown-up punk, North Carolina’s Bask bring progressive edge and rolling-Appalachian atmospherics to the underlying energy of III, their aptly-titled and Season of Mist-issued third album. Their foot is in any number of styles, from Baroness-style noodling to a hard twang that shows up throughout and features prominently on the penultimate “Noble Daughters II – The Bow,” but the great triumph of III, and really the reason it works at all, is because the band find cohesion in this swath of influences. They’re a band who obviously put thought into what they do, making it all the more appropriate to think of them as prog, but as “Three White Feet” and “New Dominion” show at the outset, they don’t serve any aesthetic master so much as the song itself. Closing with banjo and harmonies and a build of crash cymbal on “Maiden Mother Crone” nails the point home in a not-understated way, but at no point does III come across as hyper-theatrical so as to undercut the value of what Bask are doing. It’s a more patient album than it at first seems, but given time to breathe, III indeed comes to life.

Bask on Thee Facebooks

Season of Mist on Bandcamp

—

 

Faerie Ring, The Clearing

Listening to the weighty rollout of opening cut “Bite the Ash” on Faerie Ring‘s debut album, The Clearing (on King Volume Records), one is reminded of the energy that once-upon-a-time came out of Houston’s Venomous Maximus. There’s a similar feeling of dark energy surging through the riffs and echoing vocals, but the Evansville, Indiana, four-piece wind up on a different trip. Their take is more distinctly Sabbathian on “Lost Wind” and even the swinging “Heavy Trip” lives up to its stated purpose ahead of the chugging largesse of finisher “Heaven’s End.” They find brash ground on “The Ring” and the slower march of “Somnium,” but there’s metal beneath the lumbering and it comes out on “Miracle” in a way that the drums late in “Lost Wind” seem to hint toward on subsequent listens. It’s a mix of riff-led elements that should be readily familiar to many listeners, but the sheer size and clarity of presentation Faerie Ring make throughout The Clearing makes me think they’ll look to distinguish themselves going forward, and so their first record holds all the more potential for that.

Faerie Ring on Thee Facebooks

King Volume Records on Bandcamp

—

 

Desert Sands, The Ascent EP

Begun as the solo-project of London-based multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Mark Walker and presently a trio including Louis Kinder and Jonathan Walker as well, Desert Sands make their recorded debut through A Records with the three-song/half-hour The Ascent EP, a work of psychedelic existentialism that conveys its cosmic questioning even before the lyrics start, with an opening riff and rhythmic lurch to “Are You There” that seems to throw its central query into a void that either will or won’t answer. Does it? The hell should I know, but The Ascent proves duly transcendent in its pulsations as “Head Towards the Light” and 11:45 closer “Yahweh” — yeah, I guess we get there — bring drifting, languid enlightenment to these spiritual musings. The finale is, of course, a jam in excelsis and if drop-acid-find-god is the narrative we’re working with, then Desert Sands are off to a hell of a start as a project. Regardless of how one might ultimately come down (and it is, by my estimation at least, a comedown) on the question of human spirituality, there’s no denying the power and ethereal force of the kind of creativity on display in The Ascent. One will wait impatiently to see what comes next.

Desert Sands on Thee Facebooks

A Recordings on Thee Facebooks

—

 

Cavalcade, Sonic Euthanasia

Say what you want about New Orleans or North Carolina or wherever the hell else, Midwestern sludge is another level of filth. To wit, the Carcass-style vocals that slice through the raw, dense riffing on “Aspirate on Aspirations” feel like the very embodiment of modern disillusion, and there’s some flourish of melodic guitar pluck there, but that only seems to give the ensuing crunch more impact, and likewise the far-back char of “Freezing in Fire” as it relates to the subsequent “Dead Idles,” as Cavalcade refute the trappings of genre in tempo while still seeming to burrow a hole for themselves in the skull of the converted. “Noose Tie” and “We Dig Our Own Graves” tell the story, but while the recording itself is barebones, Cavalcade aren’t now and never really have been so simple as to be a one-trick band. For more than a decade, they’ve provided a multifaceted and trickily complex downer extremity, and Sonic Euthanasia does this as well, bringing their sound to new places and new levels of abrasion along its punishing way. Easy listening? Shit. You see that eye on the cover? That’s the lizard people staring back at you. Have fun with that.

Cavalcade on Thee Facebooks

Cavalcade on Bandcamp

—

 

Restless Spirit, Lord of the New Depression

Long Island chug-rockers Restless Spirit would seem to have been developing the material for their self-released debut album, Lord of the New Depression, over the last couple years on a series of short releases, but the songs still sound fresh and electrified in their vitality. If this was 1992 or ’93, they’d be signed already to RoadRacer Records and put on tour with Life of Agony, whose River Runs Red would seem to be a key influence in the vocals of the nine-track/39-minute offering, but even on their own, the metal-tinged five-piece seem to do just fine. Their tracks are atmospheric and aggressive and kind, and sincere in their roll, capturing the spirit of a band like Down with somewhat drawn-back chestbeating, “Dominion” aside. They seem to be challenging themselves to push outside those confines though in “Deep Fathom Hours,” the longest track at 7:35 with more complexity in the melody of the vocals and guitar, and that suits them remarkably well as they dig into this doomly take on LOA and Type O Negative and others from the early ’90s NYC underground — they seem to pass on Biohazard, which is fine — made legendary with the passage of time. As a gentleman of a certain age, I find it exceptionally easy to get on board.

Restless Spirit on Thee Facebooks

Restless Spirit on Bandcamp

—

 

Children of the Sün, Flowers

An eight-piece outfit based in Arvika, Sweden, which is far enough west to be closer to Oslo than Stockholm, Children of the Sün blend the classic heavy rock stylizations of MaidaVale, first-LP Blues Pills and others with a decidedly folkish bent. Including an intro, their The Sign Records debut album, Flowers, is eight track and 34 minutes interweaving organ and guitar, upbeat vibes and bluesier melodies, taking cues from choral-style vocals on “Emmy” in such a way as to remind of Church of the Cosmic Skull, though the aesthetic here is more hippie than cult. The singing on “Sunschild” soars in that fashion as well, epitomizing the lush melody found across Flowers as the keys, guitar, bass and drums work to match in energy and presence. For a highlight, I’d pick the more subdued title-track, which still has its sense of movement thanks to percussion deep in the mix but comes arguably closest to the flower-child folk Children of the Sün seem to be claiming for their own, though the subsequent closing duo of “Like a Sound” and “Beyond the Sun” aren’t far off either. They’re onto something. One hopes they continue to explore in such sünshiny fashion.

Children of the Sün on Thee Facebooks

The Sign Records on Thee Facebooks

—

 

Void King, Barren Dominion

Having made their debut with 2016’s There is Nothing (discussed here), Indianapolis downtrodden heavy rock four-piece Void King come back for a second go with Barren Dominion (on Off the Record Label), a title of similar theme that finds them doom riffing through massive tonality on “Burnt at Both Ends,” asking what if Soundgarden played atmospheric doom rock on “Crippled Chameleon” — uh, it would be awesome? yup — and opening each side with its longest track (double immediate points) in a clearly intended vinyl structure hell bent on immersing the listener as much as possible in the lumber and weight the band emit. Frontman Jason Kindred adds extra burl to his already-plenty-dudely approach on “Crippled Chameleon” and closer “The Longest Winter,” the latter with some harmonies to mirror those of opener “A Lucid Omega,” and the band around him — bassist Chris Carroll, drummer Derek Felix and guitarist Tommy Miller — seem to have no trouble whatsoever in keeping up, there or anywhere else on the eight-song/46-minute outing. Topped with striking cover art from Diogo Soares, Barren Dominion is deceptively nuanced and full-sounding. Not at all empty.

Void King on Thee Facebooks

Off the Record Label BigCartel store

—

 

Sometimes I get on kind of a high-horse around here and talk about bands like they’re shifting paradigms for all eternity and hyperbole this and that and whatever. I know it. I get excited. It’s part of the thing, if the thing is being passionate about music. And I try to curb it when I can. But something comes along like the streaming Faerie Ring track “Lost Wind” and it’s a reminder of what it’s really all about. It’s not furthering some grand aesthetic vision or whatever. It’s having a good time. And I don’t mean that like whoa-brah party rock like it’s cool-kids thing and you’re not invited if your Instagram brand isn’t super-hot right now. I mean like it’s about getting together with friends, creating something that, yes, is art, but that is also a personal expression of where you’re at and, occasionally — just occasionally — can also be a lot of fun. I hear “Lost Wind” in its unabashed appreciation of volume and tonal weight and think, not about it changing the universe, but about how much fun that shit must be to play on a stage in front of some friends and whoever else has shown up. I like that thought. I like this song.

That’s it.

Album is out June 7. It’s their first, and called The Clearing. King Volume has the release, and their taste is reliable. Preorders are up, as per the PR wire:

FAERIE RING: Indiana Fuzz Rock Alchemists To Release The Clearing Debut Via King Volume Records June 7th; New Track Streaming + Preorders Available

Evansville, Indiana-based fuzz rock alchemists FAERIE RING will release their debut full-length, The Clearing, June 7th via King Volume Records.

Recorded and mixed at Hickory Sound Recording by Aaron Travis and mastered at Cauliflower Audio, over the course of seven tracks, FAERIE RING effortlessly combines various influences from the pantheons of stoner rock into a singular vision. Expanding on the green haze of Sleep and the rocking, desert grooves of Kyuss, FAERIE RING is clearly rooted in the art of riff worship. Still, there exists the freshness of spring and new growth within their psalms; the mushrooms on the forest floor bursting forth and reaching towards the light above. Here we see the boldness of youth and passion re-visioning the perceived limits of the genre. Coalescing all that is heavy and psychedelic into a single breathing ecosystem, FAERIE RING’s compositions evoke a sense of wonder, like wandering through a towering forest displaced from time; being present and respectful towards the old growth and rejoicing in the new life that is teeming below the surface.

In advance of the release of The Clearing, FAERIE RING is pleased to unveil “Lost Wind” for public feasting. Issues the band simply, “‘Lost Wind’ is the slow sonic immersion into the psychic depths of the FAERIE RING sound.”

The Clearing will be released on digital and vinyl formats via King Volume Records. For preorders, visit the King Volume Bandcamp page at THIS LOCATION.

FAERIE RING will bring their riffs to the stage at the Buzz/Cut Queer Music Fest in Indianapolis this September with additional live dates to be announced in the weeks to come.

FAERIE RING:
9/07/2019 Buzz/Cut Queer Music Fest – Indianapolis, IN

The Clearing Track Listing:
1. Bite The Ash
2. Lost Wind
3. The Ring
4. Somnium
5. Miracle
6. Heavy Trip
7. Heaven’s End

What started out as an after-work jam in 2016 between guitarist Kyle Hulgus and drummer Joey Rhew quickly bloomed into a full-fledged project with the addition of guitarist/vocalist James Wallwork and bassist Alex Henderson. Shortly thereafter, FAERIE RING employed the help of local recording savant Aaron Travis to pick up what was recorded in a small room and make it sound like it was being blasted out of the Earth itself. There are no gimmicks involved in what FAERIE RING manifest; no need to fly to some rustic cathedral in a far away land for recording aesthetic. The band simply put big amps in a tiny room with linoleum floors and drop ceilings and hit the “Record” button. Tune in; drop out.

http://www.facebook.com/FaerieRingBand/
http://www.instagram.com/faerie_ring
http://www.faeriering.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/kingvolumerecords
http://www.kingvolumerecords.bandcamp.com
http://www.kingvolumerecords.limitedrun.com

Faerie Ring, The Clearing (2019)