Posted in Whathaveyou on April 23rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Not that I would expect news about record labels collaborating to ‘break the internet,’ as they used to say in the 2010s, but I’m a little surprised not to have seen more hullabaloo about this one as Nuclear Blast and Magnetic Eye Records are partnering up to release a new ‘mini-album’ — I assume like an EP-plus? — from Swedish ethereal heavy psych rockers Gaupa.
Of course, it’s to the band’s credit that imprints are lining up to work with them, but the real kicker here is that Gaupa are already a Nuclear Blast band. So it’s not that the bigger metal label is reaching down to the smaller underground heavy label and plucking a band to add to its roster. That happens sometimes, but not here. The alignment with Nuclear Blast and Magnetic Eye puts the two entities on a similar level. I don’t know if Magnetic Eye (which is part of the Spkr Media family of labels) is handling US distribution while Nuclear Blast does Europe or what the details are, but if this is going to be a thing, it will be interesting to see how it plays out over the next few years.
Or it could be a one-off and that’s it. Hell if I know. In any case, new Gaupa is nothing to sneeze at even amid springtime pollen, so by whatever angle, the news is good. Here it is from socials, sans hashtags:
Tremendous news: MER will be collaborating with Nuclear Blast Records to release a new mini-album from the singular GAUPA this summer 😳🎸🧚
We’re massively stoked to be involved in bringing forth a new record from this heavy and ethereal Swedish band whose music has been described as “Björk meets Soundgarden,” and we’re confident that many of our longtime listeners and supporters are already huge fans of what they do 🤘💚
Posted in Reviews on January 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
So here we are. On the verge of two weeks, 100 records later. My message here is the same as ever: I’m tired and I hope you found something worthwhile. A lot of this was catchup for me — still is, see Gaupa below — but maybe something slipped through the cracks for you in 2022 that got a look here, or maybe not and you’re not even seeing this and it doesn’t matter anyway and what even is music, etc., etc. I don’t know.
A couple bands were stoked along the way. That’s fun, I guess. Mostly I’ve been trying to keep in mind that I’m doing this for myself, because, yeah, there’s probably no other way I was going to get to cover these 100 albums, and I feel like the site is stronger for having done so, at least mostly. I guess shrug and move on. Next week is back to normal reviews, premieres and all that. I think March we’ll do this again, maybe try to keep it to five or six days. Two 100-record QRs in a row has been a lot.
But again, thanks if you’ve kept up at all. I’m gonna soak my head in these and then cover it with a pillow for a couple days to keep the riffs out. Just kidding, I’ll be up tomorrow morning writing. Like a sucker.
Winter 2023 Quarterly Review #91-100:
Gaupa, Myriad
Beginning with the hooky “Exoskeleton” and “Diametrical Enchantress,” Myriad is the second full-length from Sweden’s Gaupa (their first for Nuclear Blast), and a bringing together of terrestrial and ethereal heavy elements. Even at its most raucous, Gaupa‘s material floats, and even at its most floating, there is a plan at work, a story unfolding, and an underlying structure to support them. From the minimalist start of “Moloken” to the boogie rampage of “My Sister is a Very Angry Man,” the Swedefolk of “Sömnen,” the tension and explosions of “RA,” with the theatrical-but-can-also-really-sing, soulful vocals of Emma Näslund at the forefront, a proggy and atmospheric cut like “Elden” — which becomes an intense battery by the time it hits its apex; I’ve heard that about aging — retains a distinct human presence, and the guitar work of Daniel Nygren and David Rosberg, Erik Sävström‘s bass and Jimmy Hurtig‘s drums are sharp in their turns and warm in their tones, creating a fluidity that carries the five-piece to the heavy immersion of “Mammon,” where Näslund seems to find another, almost Bjork-ish level of command in her voice before, at 5:27 into the song’s 7:36, the band behind her kicks into the heaviest roll of the album; a shove by the time they’re done. Can’t ask for more. Some records just have everything.
Six albums in, let’s just all take a minute to be glad Orango are still at it. The Oslo-based harmonybringers are wildly undervalued, now over 20 years into their tenure, and their eighth album, Mohican (which I’m not sure is appropriate to take as an album title unless you’re, say, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community) is a pleasure cruise through classic heavy rock styles. From opener/longest track (immediate points) “The Creek” twisting through harder riffing and more melodic range than most acts have in their entire career, through the memorable swagger in the organ-laced “Fryin’,” the stadium-ready “Running Out of Reasons,” the later boogie of “War Camp” and shuffle in “Dust & Dirt” (presumably titled for what’s kicked up by said shuffle) and the softer-delivered complementary pair “Cold Wind” and “Ain’t No Road” ending each side of the LP with a mellow but still engaging wistfulness, nobody does the smooth sounds of the ’70s better, and Mohican is a triumph in showcasing what they do, songs like “Bring You Back Home” and the bluesier “Wild River Song” gorgeous and lush in their arrangements while holding onto a corresponding human sensibility, ever organic. There is little to do with Orango except be wowed and, again, be thankful they’ve got another collection of songs to bask in and singalong to. It’s cool if you’re off-key; nobody’s judging.
You never really know when a flute, a choir, or a digeridoo might show up, and that’s part of the fun with Onségen Ensemble‘s six-track Realms LP, which goes full-Morricone in “Naked Sky” only after digging into the ambient prog of “The Sleeping Lion” and en route to the cinematic keys and half-speed King Crimson riffing of “Abysmal Sun,” which becomes a righteous melodic wash. The Finnish natives’ fourth LP, its vinyl pressing was crowdfunded through Bandcamp for independent release, and while the guitar in “Collapsing Star” calls back to “Naked Sky” and the later declarations roll out grandiose crashes, the horns of “The Ground of Being” set up a minimalist midsection only to return in even more choral form, and “I’m Here No Matter What” resolves in both epic keys/voices and a clear, hard-strummed guitar riff, the name Realms feels not at all coincidental. This is worldbuilding, setting a full three-dimensional sphere in which these six pieces flow together to make the 40-minute entirety of the album. The outright care put into making them, the sense of purpose, and the individualized success of the results, shouldn’t be understated. Onségen Ensemble are becoming, and so have become, a treasure of heavy, enveloping progressive sounds, and without coming across as contrived, Realms has a painterly sensibility that resonates joy.
Chad Heille (ex-Egypt, currently also El Supremo) drums in this Fargo, North Dakota, three-piece completed by guitarist/vocalist/engineer Chris Ellingson and bassist/vocalist Mitch Martin, and the heavy bluesy groove they emit as they unfurl “Witch Lung,” their self-titled debut’s 10-minute opener and longest track (immediate points), is likewise righteous and hypnotic. Even as “Paranoid Humanoid” kicks into its chorus on Heille‘s steady thud and a winding lead from Ellingson, one wouldn’t call their pace hurried, and while I’d like to shake everyone in the band’s hand for having come up with the song title “Yeti Davis Eyes” — wow; nicely done — the wandering jam itself is even more satisfying, arriving along its instrumental course at a purely stoner rock janga-janga before it’s finished and turns over to the final two tracks, “The Good Ride” and “Stoned Age,” both shorter, with the former also following an instrumental path, classically informed but modern in its surge, and the latter seeming to find all the gallop and shove that was held back from elsewhere and loosing it in one showstopping six-minute burst. I’d watch this live set, happily. Reminds a bit of Geezer on paper but has its own identity. Their sound isn’t necessarily innovative or trying to be, but their debut nonetheless establishes a heavy dynamic, shows their chemistry across a varied collection of songs, and offers a take on genre that’s welcome in the present and raises optimism for what they’ll do from here. It’s easy to dig, and I dig it.
Blake Hornsby, A Collection of Traditional Folk Songs & Tunes Vol. 1
It’s not quite as stark a contrast as one might think to hear Asheville, North Carolina’s Blake Hornsby go from banjo instrumentalism to more lush, sitar-infused arrangements for the final three songs on his A Collection of Traditional Folk Songs & Tunes Vol. 1, as bridging sounds across continents would seem to come organically to his style of folk. And while perhaps “Old Joe Clark” wasn’t written as a raga to start with, it certainly works as one here, answering the barebones runs of “John Brown’s Dream” with a fluidity that carries into the more meditative “Cruel Sister” and a drone-laced 13-minute take on the Appalachian traditional song “House Carpenter” (also done in various forms by Pentangle, Joan Baez, Myrkur, and a slew of others), obscure like a George Harrison home-recorded experiment circa Sgt. Pepper but sincere in its expression and cross-cultural scope. Thinking of the eight-tracker as an LP with two sides — one mostly if not entirely banjo tunes between one and two minutes long, the other an outward-expanding journey using side A as its foundation — might help, but the key word here is ‘collection,’ and part of Hornsby‘s art is bringing these pieces into his oeuvre, which he does regardless of the form they actually take. That is a credit to him and so is this album.
Oof that’s heavy. Produced by guitarist/vocalist Nick Forkel, who’s joined in the band by bassist Chris O’Toole (also Unearth) and drummer John “Jono” Garrett (also Mos Generator), Turbid North‘s The Decline is just as likely to be grind as doom at any given moment, as “Life Over Death” emphasizes before “Patients” goes full-on into brutality, and is the band’s fourth full-length and first since 2015. The 2023 release brings together 10 songs for 43 minutes that seem to grow more aggressive as they go, with “Eternal Dying” and “The Oppressor” serving as the opening statement with a lumber that will be held largely but not completely in check until the chugging, slamming plod of closer “Time” — which still manages to rage at its apex — while the likes of “Slaves,” “Drown in Agony” and “The Old Ones” dive into more extreme metallic fare. No complaints, except maybe for the bruises, but as “The Road” sneaks a stoner rock riff in early and some cleaner shouts in late amid Mastodonny noodling, there’s a playfulness that hints toward the trio enjoying themselves while doling out such punishment, and that gives added context and humanity to the likes of “A Dying Earth,” which is severe both in its ambient and more outright violent stretches. Not for everybody, but if you’re pissed off and feel like your brain’s on fire, they have your back with ready and waiting catharsis. Sometimes you just want to punch yourself in the face.
A third full-length in as many years from Roman four-piece Modern Stars — vocalist/guitarist/synthesist Andrea Merolle (also sitar and mandolin), vocalist Barbara Margani, bassist/mixer Filippo Strang and drummer Andrea Sperduti — Space Trips for the Masses is maybe less directly space rock in its makeup than one might think. The band’s heavy psychedelia is hardly earthbound, but more ambience than fiery thrust or motorik, and Merolle‘s vocals have a distinctly Mark Lanegan-esque smokiness to which Margani adds bolstering backing presence on the deceptively urbane “No Fuss,” after the opening drift of “Starlight” — loosely post-rock, but too active to be that entirely either, and that’s a compliment — and the echoing “Monkey Blues” first draw the listener in. Margani provides the only voice on centerpiece “My Messiah Left Me Behind,” but that shift is just one example of Modern Stars‘ clear intent to offer something different on every song, be it the shimmer of “Everyday” or the keyboard sounds filling the open spaces early in the eight-minute “Drowning,” which later takes up a march punctuated by, drums and tambourine, devolving on a long synth/noise-topped fade into the six-minute liquid cohesion that is “Ninna Nanna,” a capstone summary of the fascinating sprawl Modern Stars have crafted. One could live here a while, in this ‘space.’
Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships, Destination Ceres Station: Reefersleep EP
Those who’ve been following the progression of Nebraska’s Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships will find Destination Ceres Station: Reefersleep — their second offering in 2022 behind the sophomore full-length Consensus Trance (review here) — accordingly dense in tone and steady in roll as the three-piece of Jeremy Warner, Karlin Warner and Justin Kamal offer two more tracks that would seem to have been recorded in the full-length session. As “Destination Ceres Station: Reefersleep” open-spaces and chugs across an instrumental-save-for-samples 12:31 and the subsequent “Ice Hauler” lumbers noddily to its 10:52 with vocals incorporated, the extended length of each track gives the listener plenty to groove on, classically stonerized in the post-Sleep tradition, but becoming increasingly individual. These two songs, with the title-track hypnotizing so that the start of the first verse in “Ice Hauler” is something of a surprise, pair well, and Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships add a taste of slow-boogie to lead them out in the slow fade of the latter, highlighting the riff worship at the heart of their increasingly confident approach. One continues to look forward to what’s to come from them, feeling somewhat greedy for doing so given the substance they’ve already delivered.
The current of feedback or drone noise beneath the rolling motion of Borehead‘s “Phantasm (A Prequel)” — before the sample brings the change into the solo section; anybody know the name of that rabbit? — is indeed a precursor to the textured, open-spaced heavy progressive instrumentalism London trio have on offer with their aptly-titled second EP, 0002. Produced by Wayne Adams at the London-underground go-to Bear Bites Horse Studio, the three-song outing is led by riffs on that opener, patient in its execution and best consumed at high volume so that the intricacy of the bass in “Lost in Waters Deep,” the gentle ghost snare hits in the jazzy first-half break of “Mariana’s Lament” after the ticking clock and birdsong intro, and the start-stop declarative riff that lands so heavy before they quickly turn to the next solo, or, yes, those hidden melodies in “Phantasm (A Prequel)” aren’t lost. These aspects add identity to coincide with the richness of tone and the semi-psychedelic outreach of 0002‘s overarching allure, definitely in-genre, but in a way that seems contingent largely on the band’s interests not taking them elsewhere over time, or at least expanding in multiple directions on what’s happening here. Because there’s a pull in these songs, and I think it’s the band being active in their own development, though four years from their first EP and with nothing else to go on, it’s hard to know where they’ll head or how they’ll get there based on these three tracks. Somehow that makes it more exciting.
With song titles and lyrical themes based around Soviet space exploration, Kosmodrom is the ninth full-length from Parisian death-doomers Monolithe. The band are 20 years removed from their debut album, have never had a real break, and offer up 67 minutes’ worth of gorgeously textured, infinitely patient and serenely immersive death, crossing into synth and sampling as they move toward and through the 26-minute finale “Kosmonavt,” something of a victory lap for the album itself, even if sympathy for anything Russian is at a low at this point in Europe, given the invasion of Ukraine. That’s not Monolithe‘s fault, however, and really at this point there’s maybe less to say about it than there would’ve been last year, but the reason I wanted to write about Kosmodrom, and about Monolithe particularly isn’t just that they’re good at what they do, but because they’ve been going so long, they’re still finding ways to keep themselves interested in their project, and their work remains at an as-high-if-not-higher level than it was when I first heard the 50-minute single-song Monolithe II in 2005. They’ve never been huge, never had the hype machine behind them, and they keep doing what they do anyway, because fuck it, it’s art and if you’re not doing it for yourself, what’s the point? In addition to the adventure each of the five songs on Kosmodrom represents, some moments soaring, some dug so low as to be subterranean, both lush, weighted and beautiful, their ethic and the path they’ve walked deserves nothing but respect, so here’s me giving it.
Posted in Reviews on January 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
We roll on in this new-year-smelling 2023 with day two of the Quarterly Review. Yesterday was pretty easy, but the first day almost always is. Usually by Thursday I’m feeling it. Or the second Tuesday. It varies. In any case, as you know, this QR is a double, which means it’s going to include 100 albums total, written about between yesterday and next Friday. Ton of stuff, and most of it is 2022, but generally later in the year, so at least I’m only a couple months behind your no doubt on-the-ball listening schedule.
Look. I can’t pretend to keep up with a Spotify algorithm, I’m sorry. I do my best, but that’s essentially a program to throw bands in your face (while selling your data and not paying artists). My hope is that being able to offer a bit of context when I throw 100 bands in your face is enough of a difference to help you find something you dig. Some semblance of curation. Maybe I’m flattering myself. I’m pretty sure Spotify can inflate its own ego now too.
Winter 2023 Quarterly Review #11-20:
Antimatter, A Profusion of Thought
Project founder, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mick Moss isn’t through opener “No Contact” — one of the 10 inclusions on Antimatter‘s 54-minute eighth LP, A Profusion of Thought — before he readily demonstrates he can carry the entire album himself if need be. Irish Cuyos offers vocals on the subsequent “Paranoid Carbon” and Liam Edwards plays live drums where applicable, but with a realigned focus on programmed elements, his own voice the constant that surrounds various changes in mood and purpose, and stretches of insularity even on the full-band-sounding “Fools Gold” later on, the self-released outing comes across as more inward than the bulk of 2018’s Black Market Enlightenment, though elements like the acoustic-led approach of “Breaking the Machine,” well-produced flourishes of layering and an almost progressive-goth (proggoth?) atmosphere carry over. “Redshift” balances these sides well, as does fold before it, and “Templates” before that, and “Fools Gold” after, as Antimatter thankfully continues to exist in a place of its own between melancholic heavy, synthesized singer-songwriterism and darker, doom-born-but-not-doom metal, all of which seem to be summarized in the closing salvo of “Entheogen,” “Breaking the Machine” and “Kick the Dog.” Moss is a master of his craft long-established, and a period of isolation has perhaps led to some of the shifting balance here, but neither the album nor its songs are done a disservice by that.
There was a point, maybe 15 years ago now give or take, when at least Manhattan and Brooklyn in New York City were awash in semi-retro, jangly-but-rough-edged-to-varying-degrees rock and roll bands. Some sounded like Joan Jett, some sounded like the Ramones, or The Strokes or whoever. On Salvation, their second LP, Mick’s Jaguar bring some chunky Judas Priest riffing, no shortage of attitude, and as the five-piece — they were six on 2018’s Fame and Fortune (review here) — rip into a proto-shredder like “Speed Dealer,” worship Thin Lizzy open string riffing on “Nothing to Lose” or bask in what would be sleaze were it not for the pandemic making any “Skin Contact” at all a serotonin spike, they effectively hop onto either side of the line where rock meets heavy. Also the longest track at 4:54, “Molotov Children” is a ’70s-burly highlight, and “Handshake Deals” is an early-arriving hook that seems to make everything after it all the more welcome. “Man Down” and “Free on the Street” likewise push their choruses toward anthemic barroom sing-alongs, and while I’m not sure those bars haven’t been priced out of the market and turned into unoccupied investment luxury condos by now, rock and roll’s been declared dead in New York at least 100,000 times and it obviously isn’t, so there.
Long live Finnish weird. More vintage in their mindset than overall presentation, Sammal return via the ever-reliable Svart Records with Aika Laulaa, the follow-up to 2018’s Suuliekki (review here) and their fourth album total, with eight songs and 43 minutes that swap languages lyrically between Finnish, Swedish and English as fluidly as they take progressive retroism and proto-metal to a place of their own that is neither, both, and more. From the languid lead guitar in “Returning Rivers” to the extended side-enders “On Aika Laulaa” with its pastoralized textures and “Katse Vuotaa” with its heavy blues foundation, willfully brash surge, and long fade, the band gracefully skip rocks across aesthetic waters, opening playful and Scandi-folk-derived on “På knivan” before going full fuzz in “Sehr Kryptisch,” turning the three-minute meander of “Jos ei pelaa” into a tonal highlight and resolving the instrumental “(Lamda)” (sorry, the character won’t show up) with a jammy soundscape that at least sounds like it’s filled out by organ if it isn’t. A band who can go wherever they want and just might actually dare to do so, Sammal reinforce the notion of their perpetual growth and Aika laulaa is a win on paper for that almost as much as for the piano notes cutting through the distortion on “Grym maskin.” Almost.
Former Hades guitarist Dan Lorenzo continues a personal riffy renaissance with Cassius King‘s Dread the Dawn, one of several current outlets among Vessel of Light and Patriarchs in Black. On Dread the Dawn, the New Jersey-based Lorenzo, bassist Jimmy Schulman (ex-Attacker) and drummer Ron Lipnicki (ex-Overkill) — the rhythm section also carried over from Vessel of Light — and vocalist Jason McMaster offer 11 songs and 49 minutes of resoundingly oldschool heavy, Dio Sabbath-doomed rock. Individual tracks vary in intent, but some of the faster moments on “Royal Blooded” or even the galloping opener “Abandon Paradise” remind of Candlemass tonally and even rockers like “How the West Was Won,” “Bad Man Down” and “Back From the Dead” hold an undercurrent of classic metal, never mind the creeper riff of the title-track or its eight-minute companion-piece, the suitably swinging “Doomsday.” Capping with a bonus take on Judas Priest‘s “Troubleshooter,” Dread the Dawn has long since by then gotten its point across but never failed to deliver in either songwriting or performance. They strut, and earn it.
Issued on tape through UK imprint Dub Cthonic, the four-extended-tracker Way of the Pilgrim is the second 2022 full-length from South African solo folk experimentalist Seven Rivers of Fire — aka William Randles — behind September’s Sanctuary (review here) and March’s Star Rise, and its mostly acoustic-based explorations are as immersive and hypnotic as ever as the journey from movement to movement in “They are Calling // Exodus” (11:16) sets up processions through the drone-minded “Awaken // The Passenger” (11:58), “From the Depths // Into the Woods” (12:00) and “Ascend // The Fall” (11:56), Randles continuing to dig into his own particular wavelength and daring to include some chanting and other vocalizations in the opener and “From the Depths // Into the Woods” and the piano-laced finale. Each piece has an aural theme of its own and sets out from there, feeling its way forward with what feels like a genuinely unplanned course. Way of the Pilgrim isn’t going to be for everybody, as with all of Seven Rivers of Fire‘s output, but those who can tune to its frequencies are going to find its resonance continual.
Leeds-based psychedelic doomers Amon Acid channel the grimmer reaches of the cosmic — and a bit of Cathedral in “Hyperion” — on their fifth full-length in four years, second of 2022, Cosmogony. The core duo of guitarist/vocalist/synthesist Sarantis Charvas and bassist/cellist Briony Charvas — joined on this nine-tracker by the singly-named Smith on drums — harness stately space presence and meditative vibes on “Death on the Altar,” the guitar ringing out vague Easternisms while the salvo that started with “Parallel Realm” seems only to plunge further and further into the lysergic unknown. Following the consuming culmination of “Demolition Wave” and the dissipation of the residual swirl there, the band embark on a series of shorter cuts with “Nag Hammandi,” the riff-roller “Mandragoras,” the gloriously-weird-but-still-somehow-accessible “Demon Rider” and the this-is-our-religion “Ethereal Mother” before the massive buildup of “The Purifier” begins, running 11 minutes, which isn’t that much longer than the likes of “Parallel Realm” or “Death on the Altar,” but rounds out the 63-minute procession with due galaxial churn just the same. Plodding and spacious, I can’t help but feel like if Amon Acid had a purposefully-dumber name they’d be more popular, but in the far, far out where they reside, these things matter less when there are dimensions to be warped.
The original plan from Germany’s Iron & Stone was that the four-song Mountains and Waters was going to be the first in a sequence of three EP releases. As it was recorded in Fall 2020 — a time, if you’ll recall, when any number of plans were shot to hell — and only released this past June, I don’t know if the band are still planning to follow it with another two short offerings or not, but for the bass in “Loose the Day” alone, never mind the well-crafted heavy fuzz rock that surrounds on all sides, I’m glad they finally got this one out. Opener “Cosmic Eye” is catchy and comfortable in its tempo, and “Loose the Day” answers with fuzz a-plenty while “Vultures” metes out swing and chug en route to an airy final wash that immediately bleeds into “Unbroken,” which is somewhat more raucous and urgent of riff, but still has room for a break before its and the EP’s final push. Iron & Stone are proven in my mind when it comes to heavy rock songwriting, and they seem to prefer short releases to full-lengths — arguments to be made on either side, as ever — but whether or not it’s the beginning of a series, Mountains and Waters reaffirms the band’s strengths, pushes their craft to the forefront, and celebrates genre even as it inhabits it. There’s nothing more one might ask.
To be sure, there shades of are discernible influences in DRÖÖG‘s self-titled Majestic Mountain Records first long-player, from fellow Swedes Graveyard, Greenleaf, maybe even some of earlier Abramis Brama‘s ’70s vibes, but these are only shades. Thus it is immediately refreshing how unwilling the self-recording core duo of Magnus Vestling and Daniel Engberg are to follow the rules of style, pushing the drums far back into the mix and giving the entire recording a kind of far-off feel, their classic and almost hypnotic, quintessentially Swedish (and in Swedish, lyrically-speaking) heavy blues offered with hints of psychedelic flourish and ready emergence. The way “Stormhatt” seems to rise in the space of its own making. The fuller fuzz of “Blodörn.” The subtle tension of the riff in the second half of “Nattfjärilar.” In songs mostly between six and about eight minutes long, DRÖÖG distinguish themselves in tone — bass and hard-strummed guitar out front in “Hamnskiftaren” along with the vocals — and melody, creating an earthy atmosphere that has elements of svensk folkmusik without sounding like a caricature of that or anything else. They’ve got me rewriting my list of 2022’s best debut albums, and already looking forward to how they grow this sound going on from here.
Rare is a record so thoroughly screamed that is also so enhanced by its lyrics. Hello, Remember the Earth but Never Come Back. Based in Montreal — home to any number of disaffected sludgy noisemakers — Grales turn apocalyptic dystopian visions into poetry on the likes of “All Things are Temporary,” and anti-capitalist screed on “From Sea to Empty Sea” and “Wretched and Low,” tying together anthropocene planet death with the drive of human greed in concise, sharp, and duly harsh fashion. Laced with noise, sludged to the gills it’s fortunate enough to have so it can breathe in the rising ocean waters, and pointed in its lurch, the five-song/43-minute outing takes the directionless fuckall of so many practitioners of its genre and sets itself apart by knowing and naming exactly what it’s mad about. It’s mad about wage theft, climate change, the hopelessness that surrounds most while a miserly few continue to rape and pillage what should belong to everybody. The question asked in “Agony” answers itself: “What is the world without our misery? We’ll never know.” With this perspective in mind and a hint of melody in the finale “Sic Transit Mundus,” Grales offer a two-sided tape through From the Urn Records that is gripping in its onslaught and stirring despite its outward misanthropy. It’s not that they don’t care; it’s that they want you to pick up a molotov cocktail and toss it at your nearest corporate headquarters. Call it relatable.
Energetic in its delivery and semi-progressive in its intentions, Half Gramme of Soma‘s second album, Slip Through the Cracks, arrives with the backing of Sound of Liberation Records, the label wing of one of Europe’s lead booking agencies for heavy rock. Not a minor endorsement, but it’s plain to hear in the eight-song/42-minute course the individualism and solidified craft that prompted the pickup: Half Gramme of Soma know what they’re doing, period. Working with producer George Leodis (1000mods, Godsleep, Last Rizla, etc.) in their native Athens, they’ve honed a sound that reaches deeper than the deceptively short runtimes of tracks like “Voyager” and “Sirens” or “Wounds” might lead you to believe, and the blend of patience and intensity on finale-and-longest-song “22:22” (actually 7:36) highlights their potential in both its languid overarching groove and the later guitar solos that cut through it en route to that long fade, without sacrificing the present for the sake of the future. That is, whatever Half Gramme of Soma might do on their third record, Slip Through the Cracks shouldn’t. Even in fest-ready riffers “High Heels” and “Mind Game,” they bleed personality and purpose.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 9th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Sweden’s Gaupa will release their second full-length next year as their first offering through Nuclear Blast Records. That’s a monumental pickup on a number of levels, and I’m wondering if the label has perchance had an opportunity to sample some of Gaupa‘s new material, touting as they are the band’s genre-spanning ways. The follow-up to 2020’s Feberdröm (discussed here) won’t be out until 2022, but I wouldn’t be surprised either to find Gaupa joining some labelmate act on tour before then, plague permitting. Who and when is the question, though, and if Nuclear Blast is putting Gaupa forth as a potential cross-genre appeal, it might be cool to see them hit the road with Meshuggah in Europe. Note too that their new single is a live track.
In the meantime, cheers to the band on getting picked up, to the label on the pickup, and to Kozmik Artifactz, who had the good sense to issue Feberdröm in the first place.
The PR wire has this:
SWEDISH PSYCHEDELIC HARD ROCK BAND, GAUPA, SIGNS WITH NUCLEAR BLAST
NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS are happy to announce the signing of exciting young psychedelic hard rock band GAUPA from Falun, Sweden.
With surreal lyrics, an energetic, very unique singer, and an addictive sound that combines progressive stoner rock with doom, folk and psychedelic rock influences, GAUPA released their self-titled debut EP in June 2018 and have since made a name for themselves in the international underground rock scene. The “GAUPA” EP was well received and led to the band playing one of their first live performances at Scandinavia’s biggest rock festival, Sweden Rock. GAUPA then got a chance to release the EP on vinyl via German label Kozmik Artifactz in October 2019 and went on to playing a good number of shows and festivals. Critics were impressed not only by the studio recordings and their diverse & complex arrangements, but also by the level of intensity the band displayed live.
In April 2020 GAUPA, which means “lynx” in Swedish dialect, followed up to release their first full length album, “Feberdröm,” gaining even more attention from both the underground scene as well as NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS, who will release their next album in 2022.
Jens Prüter, Head Of A&R at Nuclear Blast Records Europe comments: “While most newcomer bands struggled during the Corona pandemic, GAUPA managed to grow by quality. Their unique sound hasn’t remained unnoticed and word of mouth spread fast. Once we had seen their live stream show and had some video conferences, we knew they would sit well in an artist roster that contains the likes of Graveyard, Opeth, Earthless and Meshuggah who appear to be some of their favorite bands, even if GAUPA isn’t very metal at all. But it’s that attitude to tear down boundaries between genres – just for the sake of art. We are proud to welcome them in good company.”
GAUPA’s vocalist Emma Näslund adds: “We’re all still nurturing dreams of working more with our music and playing larger shows. One could argue that it would be time to shake those dreams and grow up. We don’t. If you’re doing something you love, keep going! We are beyond humbled to find ourselves among the giants and we’re very happy to announce our signing with Nuclear Blast!”
Listen to GAUPA’s new single, a live version of the track “Mjölksyra”, taken from their most recent full-length “Feberdröm”:
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 6th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Swedish heavy rockers Gaupa issued their debut album, Feberdröm, last Spring on Kozmik Artifactz, and while sadly last Spring was no fever dream — unless, of course, you had the plague — the record touched on classic-style heavy and doomly sensibilities of sneaky depth. Their new single, “Mammon,” is unabashed in its progressive metal influences, and longer (by about half a minute, but still) than anything the preceding album had on offer, with vocalist Emma Näslund successfully tapping her inner Björk for a breathy and idiosyncratic delivery that only enhances the nuance and atmospherics surrounding.
The track’s up on Bandcamp, or if you’re looking for something less convenient, Spotify, as well I’m sure as all those other places people stream music. I hear YouTube is a thing?
I’m not sure about letting it lick my ears, but I certainly appreciate the offer. It’s not one I get a lot.
Here goes:
Gaupa – “Mammon”
It’s alive!!!! Let the beast of our new single “Mammon” lick your ears and ring in the New Year!
Our most heart filled greeting goes out to ALL OF YOU who listen to our music. We hope to see you out in the real world as soon as possible. Here’s to a better year: 2021!
The song “Mammon” is written by GAUPA. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Erik Berglund at Massiv Musik. Produced by GAUPA and Erik Berglund with amazing support from Dalapop. Released by Valley Music and Dalapop. Artwork by Joan Belda!
Special thanks to Dalapop and Record Union.
GAUPA (lynx in swedish) is a rock band from Falun, Sweden. With surreal lyrics, an energetic singer, and a sound of progressive stoner rock with doom/folk/psychedelic influences, they released their debut EP in June 2018 and have already established an international name on the underground scene. “GAUPA” – their self titled debut EP – was well received and the band did one of their first performances on Scandinavia’s biggest rock festival, Sweden Rock, and have been aired on different radio shows all over the world.
GAUPA signed with german label Kozmik Artifactz and released the EP on vinyl in October 2019. GAUPA released their first full length album ’Feberdröm’ digitally and on vinyl through Kozmik Artifactz in April 2020 and are planning to hit the road in Europe.
Gaupa is: Jimmy Hurtig – Drums Daniel Nygren – Guitars Erik Sävström – Bass Emma Näslund – Vocals David Rosberg – Guitars
Posted in audiObelisk on July 2nd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Svärd — or Svaerd, if you’re not up for typing the accent, make their debut tomorrow through Argonauta Records with The Rift. The five-track/25-minute offering is a legitimate jump in style for founding guitarist/vocalists Tim Nedergård and Björn Pettersson, both also of In Mourning. That act over its 20 years has developed into a progressive melodic death band from its more morose beginnings, but with Svärd, the two axe-handlers start fresh and explore a more heavy-rocking mentality. While their foundation is still in a crisp, decidedly metal sound that comes through beneath the weighted riffs on The Rift — thinking particularly in the post-intro trio of cuts “A Rift in the Green,” “Palaeocene Flames” and “The Burning Asylum” — Nedergård, Pettersson, bassist/vocalist Pierre Stam and drummer Cornelius Althammer (also of Germany’s Ahab) make nods toward classic metal in the twin leads and heavy rock in the driving push of their groove. There’s aggression in the barking vocals of “A Rift in the Green,” and maybe even in the careening riff that starts “Palaeocene Flames” — certainly in the verse chug that follows — but it meets with a purpose distinctly separate from the guitarists’ other unit.
First and foremost, that purpose seems to be to have a good time. I’m sure playing In Mourning is plenty satisfying on any number of levels — a band doesn’t last 20 years if it isn’t — but listening to the lines of “Palaeocene Flames,” one can almost hear the smiles on Svärd‘s faces as they deliver the lyrics. The same goes for the twisting “The Burning Asylum,” which touches on sludge metal but boasts gang shouts and a straightened-out hook that’s part hardcore in its origin. It’s fun. They’re having fun. That’s not to say the songs are a goof, because they’re not — “The Burning Asylum” also has clean vocals bordering on harmonies in its chorus and a deeper sense of arrangement than either of the two cuts before it — but the band are clearly enjoying the recording process as they’re taking part in it, and that comes through The Rift as crisply as Althammer‘s snare or any guitar lead that might accompany.
That’s not the extent of Svärd‘s ambitions, however, as the band finish out The Rift with the nine-minute “The Portal” which is a more consuming and atmospheric undertaking that begins with ambient guitar noise and cymbal washes before its quiet and spacious unfolding of guitar, bass and drums takes hold. It’s a different vibe, of course, than anything the band has presented up to that point, but seems also to connect somehow to the obscure and ethereal intro “Hallowed Grounds” at the outset of the release, at least in apparent narrative, if not the direct audio. As it rolls through, it has its moments of fury and expanse, to be sure, but there’s a heavy progressive edge that is carried alongside that, so that even the swirl winding around the apex riff seems to be intentionally placed as the four-piece work their way toward the inevitable final thud. They cap with a spiral of guitar noise and break the trance that those last repetitions induced, snapping the listener back to reality in a fashion that highlights just how far out “The Portal” has gone.
With members in other concurrent bands, it’s hard to know how Svärd will ultimately fit into the bigger picture — one expects it depends in no small part on the response to the EP and unavoidable first full-length — but there’s charm here in addition to impact, and The Rift‘s coming from a metallic place brings a rare sense of character even as it obscures genre lines. It is refreshing both in its energy and aesthetic, so whatever comes next, if anything, will have a standard to meet.
At that, I’ll turn you over to the full stream of the EP, which you’ll find on the player below. PR wire info follows.
Please enjoy:
Svärd, The Rift EP official stream
It’s been a longtime and common, creative dream of both members in AHAB and IN MOURNING, when they got together in 2017 to start a new band project. Tim Nedergård and Björn Pettersson (both in IN MOURNING, SWE) teamed up with their former bandmate Pierre Stam, when drummer Cornelius Althammer of German doomsters AHAB, who has been connected to the Swedish guys in a 10 years friendship, joined this new and heavy music adventure that is SVÄRD. The Rift, a tasty appetizer for a first full-length album to come in the not so distant future, is slated for a release on July 3rd in digital formats, while a Vinyl edition will follow via Argonauta Records as well.
SVÄRD is: Tim Nedergård – Guitars, Vocals Björn Pettersson – Guitars, Vocals Pierre Stam – Bass, Vocals Cornelius Althammer – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 20th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
The world may be a chaostream of virus panic and canceled shows, tours and festivals, but album releases seem at least to be proceeding on some level, and I don’t know about you, but hell, I appreciate the consistency. Take what I can get at this point. Swedish heavy rockers Gaupa issued their 2018 self-titled debut EP through Kozmik Artifactz last year and they’ll reportedly follow-up in a couple weeks with Feberdröm, their first full-length. Sadly, they seem to have an entire tour planned around the release — I didn’t see a note that they’d canceled it, but neither am I posting the dates because, well… — but one hopes they’ll either be able to do at least some of the shows or re-book it for sometime after our species has recovered from whatever the hell it ultimately needs to recover from when all of these known-unknowns and unknown-unknowns shake out.
Speaking of shaking out, Gaupa have a new song streaming now that’s got “shooting blanks” in its title, so hey, trigger warning for yours truly, amirite? That’s always a fun place to go mentally. Like, every day of my life.
Album’s out April 3, as you can apparently see on the cover art:
Gaupa “Feberdröm” Out 3rd April on Kozmik Artifactz
Swedish stoner act GAUPA continue breaking new ground with their unique blend of doom, psychedelia and folk. Hot on the tail of their highly revered self-titled debut, their new full length album ‘Feberdröm’ will not disappointed fans old and new. Eight killer new songs containing forceful tempos, as well as epic soundscapes coloured with pitch-black melancholy.
Feberdröm will be released on limited edition heavyweight vinyl & CD on the 3rd of April on Kozmik Artifactz.
VINYL FACTZ – Plated & pressed on high performance vinyl at Pallas/Germany – limited & coloured vinyl – 300gsm gatefold cover – special vinyl mastering
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 11th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Bookended by two seven-minute sprawlers, Gaupa‘s five-track 2018 self-titled EP is set to see vinyl reissue this month through Kozmik Artifactz. As one might expect, the band give multiple looks throughout the release, from the mystical grunge of “Febersvan” and “Bergatroll” to the strutting “Gryt” and the punkish “The Drunk Autopussy Wants to Fight You.” With “Kartan” in the middle, it seems for a bit like the Swedish outfit are veering into and out of the ethereal — and maybe they are, to a degree — but with vocalist Emma Näslund showcasing a strong Björk influence and a strong sense of weight in the guitar and bass, they seem to have no trouble whatsoever with that complex navigation.
I hadn’t heard the EP before or I’d probably have written about it one way or the other, so if nothing else, I’m glad the news of the reissue gave me a chance to take a listen. I’ve included the Bandcamp stream of the thing — though the vinyl’s been remastered by Tony Reed, so take that into consideration as well — for you to check out in case you’d like to do the same.
Dig:
Gaupa Release Special Edition Debut EP On Vinyl!
GAUPA (lynx in Swedish) is a rock band from Falun, Sweden. With surreal lyrics, an energetic female singer, and a sound of progressive stoner rock with doom/folk/psychedelic influences. GAUPA released their debut EP in June 2018 to much praise and excitement throughout the underground scene.
Now this great five track EP has been spiced up with 2 live tracks which were recorded at Sweden Rock Festival 2018, resulting in a full-length vinyl release carefully remastered by the incredible Tony Reed (Mos Generator) for the best possible sound on heavy wax!
Gaupa will be released on limited edition heavyweight vinyl on the 25th of October on Kozmik Artifactz.
VINYL FACTZ – Plated & pressed on high performance vinyl at Pallas/Germany – limited & coloured vinyl – 300gsm gatefold cover – special vinyl mastering
TRACKS 1. Febersvan 2. The Drunk Autopussy Wants To Fight You 3. Kartan 4. Gryt 5. Bergatroll
Gaupa are: Emma Näslund – Vocals David Rosberg – Guitars Daniel Nygren – Guitar Erik Jerka Sävström – Bass Jimmy Hurtig – Drums
