Posted in Questionnaire on March 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Nick Forkel of Turbid North
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Musician and Songwriter, plain and simple. I don’t play so I can just get real good at guitar or something like that, I play to write songs. That’s my passion and that’s what I love to do. It’s my creative escape. When I was 12 my parents took me to see Kiss on their first reunion tour, it blew my mind away. After that, there was a guitar under the tree for Christmas and I never stopped since.
Describe your first musical memory.
Probably hearing my uncle jam some 80’s hair bands. Motley Crue was the one that caught my ears and always loved as a rat tailed little kid.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
I got two. Getting to play Mayhem Fest, back when it was Slayer and Motorhead headlining, and our first show since we moved back in our hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska. The support of the crowd we had that night was amazing.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
A lot of times in this band, we tend to branch out and go to other places musically. One thing that unfortunately comes with the “metal scene” is that can be a big NO NO. There’s these boundaries set and people want you to stay in that lane. I always try to test that and see how far we can go.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
You get better for one! The longer you do this, the more risks you take, the more rewarding it is. You also feel more comfortable putting your stuff out there, especially the more personal stuff.
How do you define success?
Success is being happy doing what you love doing. I know I’m not gonna make money doing this, but that’s not what it’s about. Waking up, wanting to grab a guitar and feeling inspired to create is a success in my book
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Our van’s engine literally blow up on the way to the first show of a tour. Day 1 casualty.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’d like to do a really proggy 70’s style epic 12-minute jam. We’ve dabbled with that, but always with aggressive heavy vocals. I’d like to give it a go with all clean vocals, harmonies, etc. A tune that would wind up on a Yes album or something
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To make you forget all the problems you got going on and just take your mind somewhere else. To feel inspired and feel alive actually.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Traveling. I love the road, taking road trips or whatever it is. Seeing new places and new experiences.
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 Whathaveyou on December 12th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Some changes from Texas-based heavy psych rockers Gypsy Sun Revival since they made their self-titled debut (review here) last year via Nasoni Records. The band has become a five-piece with the addition of vocalist Mario Rodriguez and organist Tyler Gene Davis, and as they return with their second full-length, Journey Outside of Time, and a new recording helmed by Kent Stump of Wo Fat and mastered by wizard-of-all-things-psych John McBain (ex-Monster Magnet, Kandodo/McBain, etc.), those changes are apparent in the flourish even of relatively straightforward cuts like album-opener “Cadillac to Mexico,” let alone the later immersive trippery of the eight-minute “Pisces (Part 1).” Either way you go, there’s plenty to dig into.
And plenty to dig about it in the digging. Also pressed to vinyl by Nasoni, Journey Outside of Time is streaming in its entirety now via Gypsy Sun Revival‘s Bandcamp, and you’ll find it, of course, at the bottom of this post. I even used the big embed so you don’t scroll past by mistake.
Dig it:
Gypsy Sun Revival – Journey Outside of Time
Blasting through the airwaves to tickle your auditory senses, comes the sophomore release from these Texas psychedelic pariahs. Take a Journey Outside of Time and experience the weirdness that can only come from an unwavering sense of pushing the possibilities of musical instruments. Guaranteed to blow you out of reality into new sonic realms of enlightenment, this is a release that you do not want to miss. Growing on their debut album, this Texas trio has grown into a 5 piece with a new vocalist and organist, and produced a new, refined sound that will open up doors to previously unconscionable auditory ideas. So join the journey and hang on for the ride.
Engineered and mixed by Kent Stump (Wo Fat) at Crystal Clear Sound, Dallas, TX Mastered by John McBain (Monster Magnet) at JPM Mastering Album Design by Robin Gnista
We would like to dedicate this album to the memory of Hans-Georg Bier, founder of Nasoni Records, who was a crucial pillar for this band and a true believer in underground music. He will be truly missed.
Gypsy Sun Revival is: Mario Rodriguez – Vocals, Hand Drums Tyler Gene Davis – Organ Ben Harwood – Drums, Synth Lee Ryan – Bass Will Weise – Guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 3rd, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Last time ultra-respected German imprint Nasoni Records dipped its hands into the Texas heavy underground, it was to highlight the work of Wo Fat, so if Fort Worth’s Gypsy Sun Revival wanted to turn a couple heads with their self-titled debut, no doubt the company they’re keeping will help greatly. They issued the album, which it just so happens was engineered by Wo Fat‘s Kent Stump, this summer digitally — you can stream and download below — and Nasoni has pressed it up in an edition of 300 copies that one can only imagine will be short-lived in terms of availability. Because Nasoni, and rock and roll, and that’s how it goes.
Info on the release came down the PR wire for your perusal:
Get immersed in the vast immensity of endless soundscapes and penetrating psychedelia with this Texas trio. This self-titled, debut album takes listeners on a long-distance trip through mind-bending riffs, cosmic jams, and a full-blown guitar freakout. The hypnotic rhythms, groove, and general disregard for traditional song arrangement make this album unique and leave the listeners in anticipation, not knowing what is around the next corner. Embrace the journey and let Gypsy Sun Revival fill your mind.
Gypsy Sun Revival, a psychedelic rock band from Texas, released their debut album on June 14, 2016, which has been well received in the underground community. Their debut album consists of seven songs which contain heavy, spaced-out guitars, tight jams, and even a full-on freak out. This three-piece band wants listeners to “get immersed in the vast immensity of endless soundscapes and refined, penetrating psychedelia”.
Nasoni Records is a Berlin, Germany based record label that specializes in vinyl pressing of psychedelic and rock music from around the world. They have a 20-year history of providing mind-blowing underground releases to the general public, and have published albums from some of the most influential bands in the psychedelic rock scene. Gypsy Sun Revival is proud to be added to the list of Nasoni bands. Gypsy Sun Revival’s debut album will consist of 300 limited edition colored vinyl records with a mindbending artwork insert.
“With this release, the band’s aim was to take listeners on a trip to the outer reaches and have them fully enveloped in the experience of the music,” says multi-instrumentalist, bassist, and singer Lee Ryan. “We think that Nasoni Records will be a great medium for our listeners to get a high-quality pressing of our music “ says Will Weise, guitarist. The band continues to gain loyal followers by playing many gigs and proving their road-worthiness. There is even news of a follow-up release to be announced next year.
The crucial relationship involved in Bloodrock‘s self-titled 1970 debut is that between the band and Terry Knight, who at the same time he helmed these tracks was the producer and manager for Grand Funk Railroad. That band’s self-titled had been issued in Jan. 1970 and wound up going Gold, and so when Knight approached Capitol Records with Bloodrock‘s Bloodrock, which came out that March, he had some clout behind him. The Fort Worth five-piece would make more of a splash with their second outing, later 1970’s Bloodrock 2 — which Knight also produced — but by then the first of a slew of lineup changes for the band had taken place, putting Rick Cobb on drums so Jim Rutledge could concentrate on lead vocals, and while that was a plenty worthy endeavor for Rutledge, I’ve always dug the vibe of the first album, the way “Fatback” rocks and swings around its backward guitar and early Rainbow-style vocals, the keyboard work throughout from Steve Hill, Eddie Grundy‘s bass and Lee Pickens‘ and Nick Taylor‘s bluesy riffing on “Wicked Truth” and the strange, key-driven turn that song takes, the multiple singers on “Double Cross” and how deep side B seems to roll with “Fantastic Piece of Architecture” and “Melvin Laid an Egg” at the end.
I think if you look at it and even go beyond the bands who are directly trying to mimic a ’70s sound in terms of their production or presentation, there are a lot of parallels between the boom of the early ’70s and now. Heavy rock and roll is certainly a less commercially viable property than it was at that point, but it seems like as rock was turning away from the psychdelia of the mid and late ’60s and toward something rawer in sound — what would gradually become metal, heavy rock and punk — there was a seemingly endless string of acts adopting the mode of expression, and substitute words like “private press” for “limited edition” and the situation isn’t really much different today. You could listen to brand new records every day for a year and still not hear everything that’s come out. It’ll thin out over time, but I think if the continued proliferation of ’70s rock shows anything, it’s that stuff like Bloodrock‘s Bloodrock never really goes away. Shit, look at Texas today. The state is huge and I still don’t think you can go five feet and not walk into a heavy band of one stripe or another. I like the thought of, 40 years from now, someone finding that stuff and being able to explore a world they didn’t really know about, or if they did, had only touched the surface. An awful lot of stuff has been dug up over the last decade or so, including Bloodrock, which was put out last year on vinyl by Kotay, but however much seems to come out, there always seems to be more underneath.
Not a hardship at all, especially when stuff like this record winds up experienced by and influencing another generation of heavy rock and rollers, even if it’s just influencing them to hunt down an original copy. A call to action. Ha. I hope you enjoy.
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I’m traveling next week, going out to San Francisco for a conference for work. I know I’ll be able to do some record shopping while I’m out there — Amoeba Music and Aquarius Records, I’m comin’ for you — but not sure how much else. In any case, I’ll be in town from Monday night to Thursday night. If you’re around, hit me up and we’ll figure something out. I’d be happy to talk rock and roll over some iced tea or a nice caesar salad, all responsible-like.
I absolutely mean that, by the way.
A lovely bit of genius on my part: Traveling next week, I’ve lined up a premiere for every day Monday through Friday. Look out for new audio from Agusa, Yellowtooth, Wildlights and Pastor and a new video from Atavismo, because god damn it, if I sleep, I lose.
Don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet, but I also joined Instagram last week and have been posting stuff there, if you’re into that kind of thing: https://instagram.com/hptaskmaster/
Still kind of figuring that one out.
Work is going well, if you’re wondering. It’s been an adventure to say the least, but I feel like I’m at the point where I’m starting to get settled in and but for the hour-plus it takes me to get to or from the office, I have no real complaints. The people here are nice and seem willing to kind of let me do my thing so long as the work is done, which as far as I’m concerned is the best-case scenario. I’m pretty lucky, all in all. Just got business cards today. They have my name as “J. J.,” but other than that, are fine. Somehow Massachusetts doesn’t really know what to make out of “JJ Koczan.” I should’ve told them to put H.P. Taskmaster on there. Ha.
Have a great and safe weekend. I’m heading down to Connecticut for the next couple of days, which is always a good time, and may or may not put together a new podcast while I’m down there. We’ll see how it all shakes out. In any case, thanks for reading, and please check out the forum and the radio stream, which has been absolutely killing it today.
Posted in audiObelisk on June 23rd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
“Let’s get into something heavy,” croons Fogg bassist/vocalist Brandon Hoffman to begin “Mountain,” though by the time they get around to that organ-infused cut at the start of side B to their sophomore outing and Tee Pee Records (tape and LP also through Under the Gun Records) debut, High Testament, the chilled-out Fort Worth, Texas, power trio — Hoffman, guitarist Chase Jowell and drummer Ethan Lyons — have long since covered that ground. The follow-up to their late-2013 debut, Death, the new LP stands strong at 40 solid minutes of trippy neo-fuzz, all air push on the low end in Hoffman‘s tonal glory, the Geez running strong in his fills, and righteously swinging in Lyons‘ jam-propelling cymbal work while Jowell tears into solos with that young-dude-about-to-embarrass-a-bunch-of-old-dudes-by-playing-old-dude-music-the-way-young-dudes-play-it vitality. Opening duo “Joy of Home” and “You are Welcome” on side A live up to their names, preaching clear to the converted with just enough acid in their pH that when they shift into acoustic/Mellotron vibing with “The Garden” it’s still easy to follow along.
The album’s longer stretches prove particularly sure-footed despite a ranging breadth of boogie, “Joy of Home,” “Seasons,” “Mountain” and closer “Grass in Mind” all cruising at over six minutes and the latter approaching 10. “Seasons” serves as the centerpiece of the tracklisting and finds the three-piece rooted deep in Witch-y rolling and Fuzzy turns, but Hoffman‘s vocals keep a keep a shoegazing echo to them that ensures the laid back feel holds together no matter how active the material actually gets, “Seasons” getting plenty active in its name-brand Sabbath-worship tightness of swing in the second half, that momentum carrying over to the calmer start of “Mountain,” which has a build of its own and stands out all the more thanks to the organ guest spot from Ryan Lee, not that High Testament was hurting for a classic feel as it was. I’m not sure it’s fair to call this stuff ’70s-style or retro anymore since it’s also so much the sound of right now, and Fogg are warm-toned but not especially “vintage”-sounding, but whatever tag you might want to lay on them, the tracks hold up in performance and construction, and the flow across each side of the record is seamless.
With “Hand of the Lord” serving as a companion piece to the acoustics of “The Garden,” that leaves “Grass in Mind” with the task of drawing the various sides and elements at work throughout High Testament together, and apart from a second organ appearance, the song does precisely that, with a rolling groove given a sense of chaos through Lyons‘ drums and an especially blown-out fuzz from Hoffman and Lee. Quick-turning rhythms betray some of the band’s youth, but it’s worth noting how crisp Fogg are while sounding so loose. “Grass in Mind” rumbles through three stages, opening with a verse and chorus feel like the bulk of its predecessors before moving into a less-structured but still plenty swinging proto-prog jam and finally turning around the seven-minute mark to sweeter acoustic minimalism to end a mostly raucous outing on a fairly contemplative note. Maybe they’re hinting at further complexity to develop in their sound, or maybe that’s just the only place that part fit. I wouldn’t want to speculate. Either way, as a first outing for Tee Pee and thus a first exposure to many who’ll take them on, myself included, High Testament boasts striking cohesion in its purpose and the methods by which that purpose is executed. Harder to believe than how together these cats are is that they’re not from San Diego or Santa Cruz, as their sound seems primed for California’s current psych revival.
One can only assume they’ll get there eventually and find welcome when they do. Regardless of geography, however, Fogg‘s vibe and immediate chemistry remains palpable. The album is out today on Tee Pee and can be heard in full on the player below.
Hope you dig it:
Fort Worth, Texas power trio FOGG will release its new album, High Testament, June 23 via Tee Pee Records. The record is the follow-up to the group’s 2014 debut, Death. High Testament will drop on cassette via Under the Gun Records, who will co-release the LP version of the album in conjunction with Tee Pee.
FOGG worship at the altar of the almighty riff, conjuring leaden tombs of amp-destroying sound. The warped riff-riders — who have been burning up the southern heavy music scene — crank howling psychedelic? metal and 70’s biker doom topped with gnarly shredding and strangely unique vocals that hover distantly over landslides of chest-rattling bass and drum tumble. High Testament deals heavy quantities of hazy hooks and woozy timbres, which combine to paint a dreamy aesthetic; a hazy, neon form that sounds like metal chords trapped in a never-ending film dissolve.
Posted in On Wax on November 11th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
There is a stark contrast between the A and B sides of The Cosmic Trigger‘s new, self-released 7″, The Cosmic EP. The Fort Worth four-piece’s release, pressed to thick vinyl and arriving in a quality-stock matte-finish gatefold sleeve with righteous vertical cover art by Michael Sturrock, is two songs, “Voltaire” and “Catharsis,” totaling just over 11 minutes, and they vary their sounds widely from one to the next. “Voltaire” owes some of its rocking bounce to Thin Lizzy, the guitars of Spenser Freeman and Tyrel Choat meshing along a running, winding course, while Choat‘s vocals growl out a kind of drawn-back Metallica gruffness in the verse, only to open to a cleaner shout in the chorus, given steady punctuation by drummer Josh Farmer‘s sharp snare and a low-end foundation for the guitars by bassist Dustin Choat. It’s catchy, and the recording — by Wo Fat‘s Kent Stump at Crystal Clear Sound in Dallas — is clear and crisp. It seems initially that perhaps too much so, and like The Cosmic Trigger would benefit from being roughed up a bit, but particularly for those who didn’t hear their 2012 debut full-length, The New Order of the Cosmos, “Catharsis” goes a long way toward explaining where the band is coming from.
Not to be confused with the YOB song of the same name, “Catharsis” works its way around a prog-metal bassline from Dustin and, though Tyrel works in largely the same vocal style, the lyrics (printed on the inside of the vinyl gatefold) give a different take, a severe narrative of betrayal and a murderous chorus of, “You ain’t going home tonight/You’ve seen my face/I’ll see the light drain from your eyes/But you ain’t going home tonight,” blindsiding with its violent intent. By contrast, “Voltaire”‘s lyrics call out the philosopher and question the prospect of modern mortality, but if they’re concerned with death, it’s certainly not death by the speaker’s own hands directed at what seems like an ex-girlfriend. Maybe I’m reading too much into metaphor, but it comes on pretty strong in the song itself, the tapped guitar and basslines building to a head before launching into a riffier closing section after the lyrics, “You’ve made your choice and/Now you’re dead to me.” Fair enough. It may be that The Cosmic Trigger enjoy toying with these ideas as much as they clearly enjoy pitting subgenres against each other, but if you were to take on The Cosmic EP unawares, it could easily be jarring. I guess, if you’re going to take a listen, just be warned. Someone might get hurt.
The full-length, though it featured a different guitarist alongside Tyrel, worked in a similar stylistic vein on the border between heavy rock groove, metallic aggression and progressive intricacy. Listening to The Cosmic EP, it seems the band are still figuring out where on that spectrum exactly they want to position themselves, or at least which stylistic basis from which they want to explore outward. Performance-wise, they’re tight and cohesive enough that there’s nothing to make me think they wouldn’t be able to arrive at that point, and both of these songs are well constructed, it’s just a very ambitious aesthetic they’re trying to capture and they have work to do before they get there.
I thought we’d close out this week with a new clip from ballsy Ft. Worth stoner metallers Orthodox Fuzz. They posted the link on the forum. It’s a new song called “Village of the Widows,” and it’s reportedly the first time they played the song live and with their new drummer, so in addition to making for a cool, professional-looking video, it’s a bit of an occasion. Hope you enjoy it.
At a little after 5PM, I left my office and came back to the valley here to meet up with The Patient Mrs. for an active Friday night out. Two and a half hours of naptime later, the night’s pretty much over as regards going out to dinner or anything like that, but no regrets. I wouldn’t have crashed so hard if I didn’t need it. Sometimes that’s the only way to go.
Thanks to everyone who stopped in this week. If you haven’t yet, you really should check out the Suplecs interview that went up this morning. Danny Nick has a pretty crazy story to tell, and he’s a super-cool guy in the process of telling it, so it’s doubly worth the read. And between the Nether Regions record, Indian track and Thinning the Herd song, there’s a lot of music on the page at the moment too. Hope you dig the sounds.
If you’re in the area, don’t forget that Kings Destroy are playing with Winter (and Wormrot and Deathcycle) this coming Sunday in Brooklyn. Should be a killer show. I’m relatively sure it’s sold out, but maybe you can get in if you show up. Info is here.
However you spend your weekend, I hope it’s a good one. You know where to find me if you need me. Be safe and we’ll see you back here on Monday.
