Posted in Whathaveyou on July 1st, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Not only something happening again that’s happened before, but also something new! Desertfest Belgium, with all due respect to the delta variant and yet-unforeseen circumstances, will be the first post-pandemic installment of Desertfest to take place, and in addition to announcing the beginnings of its lineup with Motorpsycho, Wolves in the Throne Room, Dool, Blood Incantation and Stygian Bough, they’ve also added a second city. A Ghent date will follow for the first time the three-day event in Antwerp. Desertfest Antwerp is Oct. 15-17, and Desertfest Ghent is Oct. 30. Belgian double-shot, and apparently it’ll be an ongoing thing. Pretty frickin’ cool.
Of course, there’s no guarantee it’s going to happen, but there’s no guarantee it’s not going to happen either, and that’s saying something at this point.
Tickets are available now and there’s more lineup announcements to come. This went to my spam folder for some reason, but rest assured I’ll be looking to sort out any technical kinks in the functioning of the PR wire, rerouting primary EPS conduits through the secondary couplings and so on.
Info:
FIRST NAMES FOR DFBE 2021: MOTORPSYCHO, WITTR & MORE
Tickets for Antwerp & Ghent are now available!
We’re back… bigger and better than ever.
Here’s the news you were waiting to hear: We will have a Desertfest Belgium edition at Trix Antwerpen on 15-16-17 October 2021.
BUT THERE’S MORE! We are adding a new festival edition in another esteemed Belgian club venue: Kunstencentrum Vooruit in Ghent. For this year, this event will be limited to one evening on 30/10, but you can expect a full-blown second festival weekend from 2022 onwards. Most of the lineup will be shared, but of course each venue will bring its own personal touch. We are most hyped for this new chapter in the Belgian DF saga!
As of 2pm CET today, the ticket booths for both our Antwerp & Ghent events are active. Just the sweet memories of past Desertfests should be enough to get your ass over there as we speak, but of course you’re also wondering what we have in store for you.
We have a few first names to share, and all of these will perform on both editions, Antwerp as well as Ghent. First up, we finally have the legendary MOTORPSYCHO headlining Desertfest! They definitely need no further introduction, so let’s move on to a killer two-punch of extreme metal favorites: WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM and BLOOD INCANTATION will bring their progressive take on blackened metal to the DF stage this year. On the slow end of the extreme spectrum, we have STYGIAN BOUGH, the moody folk dirge collab between BELL WITCH and AERIAL RUIN. And finally, from Holland we welcome DOOL and their unique blend of heavy psychedelia and gothic vibes.
If you have any questions about the tickets, get in touch: tickets@desertfest.be.
Of course, due to COVID still not entirely beaten we have a few restrictions and uncertainties to take into account. The lineup will be somewhat reduced, and we’ll probably have a few more local acts than usual. Still, we’re doing our best to make it worth your while, and we’re confident that you will all bring that precious Desertfest vibe that makes our festival the best in town, anytime and anywhere.
We hope this first batch of names gets you all hot and bothered for what’s to come – spread the word and see y’all in October!
Posted in Reviews on January 7th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
We begin Day Two of the Winter 2020 Quarterly Review. Snow on the ground fell overnight and the day ahead looks as busy as ever. There’s barely time to stop for sips of coffee between records, but some allowances must be made. It’s Tuesday after all. There’s still a lot of week left. And if we can’t be kind to ourselves in the post-holiday comedown of wintry gray, when can we?
So yes, pause, sip — glug, more likely — then proceed.
I don’t usually play favorites with these things, but I think today’s might have worked out to be my favorite batch of the bunch. As always, I hope you find something that speaks to you.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Dommengang, No Keys
Driving heavy psych and rock meet with spacious Americana and a suburbanite dreaminess in Dommengang‘s No Keys, the now-L.A. trio’s follow-up to 2018’s Love Jail (review here). It is a melting pot of sound, with emphasis on melting, but vocal harmonies and consistently righteous basslines like that in “Stir the Sea” act to tie the nine component tracks together, making Dommengang‘s various washes of tone ultimately the creation of a welcoming space. Early cut “Earth Blues” follows opener “Sunny Day Flooding” with a mindful far-outbound resonance, and the later “Arcularius – Burke” finds itself in a linear building pattern ahead of “Jerusalem Cricket,” which reimagines ’70s country rock as something less about nostalgia than forward possibility. Having come far on their apparently keyboard-less journey, from the breadth-casting verses of “Stir the Sea” to the doomy interlude “Blues Rot,” they end with “Happy Death (Her Blues II)” which sure as hell sounds like it has some organ on it. Either way, whether they live up to the standard of the title or not is secondary to the album’s actual achievements, which are significant, and distinguish Dommengang from would-be peers in atmosphere, craft and melody.
Though they don’t do it nearly as often as they did between 2012 and 2015, every now and then Boston’s Ice Dragon manage to sneak out a new release. Over the last few years, that’s been a succession of singles, but Passage of Mind is their first LP since 2015’s A Beacon on the Barrow (review here), and though they’ll always in some part be thought of as a doom band, the unassuming organic psychedelia of “Don’t Know Much but the Road” reminds more of Chris Goss‘ work with Masters of Reality in its acoustic/fuzz blend and melody. The experimentalism-prone outfit have been down this avenue before as well, and it suits them, even as members have moved on to other projects (Brass Hearse among them), with the seven-minute “One of These Days” basing itself around willfully simplistic-sounding intertwining lines of higher and lower fuzz. There are moments of serenity, like closer “Dream About You” and “Sun in My Eyes,” but “The Sound the Rain Makes” is more of a blowout, and even the darker vibe of “Delirium’s Tears” holds hits melody as top priority. Hey guess what? Here’s an Ice Dragon album that deserves more attention than it’s gotten. I think it’s the 12th one.
Oslo’s Saint Karloff squash the high standard they set for themselves on their 2018 debut, All Heed the Black God (review here), with the 41-minute single-song long-player Interstellar Voodoo, basking in bluesy Sabbathian grandeur and keeping a spirit of progressive adventuring beneath without giving over entirely to self-indulgent impulses any more than one could as they careen from one movement to the next in the multi-stage work. With vinyl through Majestic Mountain Records, tape on Stoner Witch Records and CD through Ozium Records, they’re nothing if not well represented, and rightly so, as they veer in and out of psychedelic terrain in exciting and periodically elephantine fashion, still making room for classic Scandi-folk boogie on side A before the second half of the track stomps all over everything that’s come before it en route to its own organ-laced jammy meandering, Iommi shuffle and circa-’74 howl. As a new generation of doom rock begins to take shape, Saint Karloff position themselves well as earlier pursuers of an individualist spirit while still drawing of course on classic sources of inspiration. The first record was encouraging. The second is more so. The third will be the real tell of who they are as a band.
The jangling guitar strum in centerpiece “Lucid” on Witch Trail‘s The Sun Has Left the Hill (Consouling Sounds) has the indelible mark of classic rock and roll freedom to it. One wonders if Pete Townshend would recognize it, or if it’s too far blasted into oblivion by the Belgian trio’s aesthetic treatment across The Sun Has Left the Hill‘s convention-challenging 29-minute span, comprising seven tracks that bring together a heavy alternative rock and post-black metal vision marked by spacious echoes and cavern screams that are likewise tortured and self-assured. That is to say, there’s no mistaking the intent here. In the early intensity of “Watcher” or the shimmering and more patiently unfolding “Silent Running,” the Ghent three-piece mark out their stylistic terrain between bursts of noisy chaotic wash and clearheaded execution. The six-minute “Afloat” hisses like a lost demo that would’ve rewritten genre history some 25 years ago, and even in closer “Residue,” one can’t help but feel like Witch Trail are indeed looking to leave some lasting effect behind them with such forward-thinking craft. Sure to be a shock for those who take it on with no idea of what to expect.
Shortly before Love Gang are halfway through the opening title-track of their debut album, Dead Man’s Game, just when you think you might have their blend of organ-laced Radio Moscow and Motörhead figured out, that’s when Leo Muñoz breaks out the flute and the whole thing takes a turn for the unexpected. Surprises abound from the Denver foursome of Muñoz (who also handles organ and sax), guitarist/vocalist Kam Wentworth, bassist Grady O’Donnell and drummer Shaun Goodwin, who find room for psychedelic airiness amidst the gallop of “Addiction,” which doesn’t seem coincidentally paired with “Break Free,” though the two don’t run together. Love Gang‘s 2016 self-titled EP (review here) had a cleaner production and less aggro throb, and there’s some of that on Dead Man’s Game in the peaceful melody of “Interlude,” but even seven-minute closer “Endless Road” makes a point of finishing at a rush, and that’s ultimately what defines the album. No complaints. Love Gang wield momentum as another element of inventive arrangement on this encouraging first long-player.
‘Tis the stuff of battle axes and severed limbs, but it’s worth noting that three of the six inclusions on Firebreather‘s second LP and first for RidingEasy Records, Under a Blood Moon, have some reference to fire in their title. The follow-up to their brazen 2017 self-titled debut (review here) starts with its longest track (immediate points) in the nine-minute “Dancing Flames,” then follows immediately with “Our Souls, They Burn” and launches side B with the eponymous “Firebreather,” as the Gothenburg trio of Mattias Nööjd, Kyle Pitcher and Axel Wittbeck launch their riffy, destructive assault with urgency that earns all that scarred land left in its wake. The High on Fire comparison remains inevitable, perhaps most of all on “Firebreather” itself, but Firebreather have grown thicker in tone, meaner in approach and do nothing to shy away from the largesse that such a sound might let them convey, as “Our Souls, They Burn” and in the volume surges of closer “The Siren.” Under a Blood Moon is a definite forward step from the first LP, showing an evolving sound and burgeoning individuality that one hopes Firebreather continue to hunt down with such vigilance.
Presented through Stolen Body Records, the debut long-player from French trio Karkara purports to be “Oriental psych rock,” which accounts for an Eastern influence in the overall sound of its seven-track/41-minute run, but there are perhaps some geographical questions to be undertaken there, as “Camel Rider” and others show a distinctive Mideastern flair. Whatever works, I guess. At its core, Crystal Gazer is a work of psychedelic space rock, brought to bear with a duly open sensibility by guitarist/vocalist Karim Rihani (also didgeridoo), bassist Hugo Olive and drummer/vocalist Maxime Marouani as seemingly the beginning stages of a broader sonic adventure. That is to say, the stylistic aspects at play here — and they are very much “at play” — feel purposefully used, but like the foundation of what will be future growth on the part of Karkara as a unit. Will they progress along a more patient and meditative path, as “The Way” hints in some of its early roll, or will the frenetic winding of closer “Jedid” set their course for subsequent freakouts? I don’t know, but Karkara strike as a band who won’t see any point to standing still creatively any more than they do to doing so rhythmically.
Information is limited on Circle of Sighs, and by that I primarily mean I don’t have any. They list their point of origin as Los Angeles, so there’s that, but as to the whos and whats, wheres and so on, it’s a mystery. Something tells me that suits the band, whose four-track debut EP, Desolate, gracefully executes a blend of melodic downerism with more extreme elements at play, melodic vocal arrangements offset by screams in the closing title-track after the prior rolling groove of “Burden of the Flesh” offered a progressive and synth-laden take on Pallbearer-style emotive doom. Acoustics, keyboard, and a clear use of multiple singers give Circle of Sighs‘ first outing a kitchen-sink feel, but one can only admire them for trying something new at their (presumed) outset, and the catchy chug of “Hold Me, Lucifer” speaks to more complex aesthetic origins than the simplistic subject matter might lead one to believe. The outlier is the penultimate nine-minute cut “Kukeri,” which broods across its first three minutes in a manner that would make Patrick Walker proud before unfolding the breadth of its lumber and arrangement, harmonies and screams and the first real showcase of more extreme impulses taking hold in its second half — plus strings, maybe — which “Desolate” itself will build upon after a bookending acoustic close. There’s some sorting out to do in terms of sound, but already they show a readiness to push in their own direction, and that’s more than it would seem reasonable to ask.
Way out west, Chris Allison of the band Lord Loud is taking on psychedelic shimmer under the ostensible solo moniker of Floral Fauna, but the situation of the project’s 11-tracker debut LP, Pink and Blue is more complicated in personnel and style than that, melding fuzzy presence, classic ’60s surf-tone, rampant hooky melody and ready-to-go-anywhere-as-long-as-it-works pop experimentalism together in a steaming lysergic cauldron of neo-yourface-ism that’s ether blissed enough to tie funk and ancient R&B to cosmic flow together in a manner that feels like an utter tossoff, like, hey, yeah man, this kind of thing just happens all the time here. You know, no big deal on this wavelength. Mellow dreams in “Great White Silence,” a spacey ramble in “Velvet and Jade” and the echoing leadwork of “Red Anxiety” continue the color theme from the opening title-track, and the record caps with “Herds of Jellyfish,” which at last brings forward the vocal harmony that the whole album seems to have been begging for. Cool debut? Shit, man. It’s 36 minutes of straight-up psych joy just waiting to bring you on board. Legal psilocybin now.
There are a couple things you can figure on in this wacky universe, and one of them is that German imprint World in Sound knows what it’s doing when it picks up a classic heavy rock band. Silhouettes is the second long-player the label has released from woefully-monikered Aschaffenburg-based four-piece Vvlva, and indeed in the upfront boogie of “Cosmic Pilgrim” or the more progressive unfolding of pieces like “Tales Told by a Gray Man,” the centerpiece “Gomorrah,” or the longer “Night by Night/The Choir” and “Dance of the Heathens,” which seem to bring the two sides together, there’s enough vintage influence to make the case once again. Like the more forward thinking of their contemporaries, Vvlva have brought this modus into the present when it comes to production value and clarity, and rather than sound like it’s 1973, they would seem to be making 1973 sound like them. Whether one dives in for the early hooks in “Cosmic Pilgrim” or “What Do I Stand For?” or the fuzzy interplay between the solo and organ in the maddeningly bouncing “Hobos,” there’s plenty in Silhouettes to demonstrate the vitality and continued evolution of the style.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 11th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Why, it was only one month ago today that Belgian heavy rock four-piece Fire Down Below took the stage in West Flanders at the Alcatraz Festival, and I know we live in an age of insta-nt bootleggery and all that, but to have a pro-shot and edited live video done in a couple weeks and ready to post is pretty killer. “Saviour of Man” comes from the Ghent-based outfit’s 2018 sophomore album, Hymn of the Cosmic Man (review here), which came out on Ripple Music, and for those of us who don’t get the chance to pop over the Belgium for shows, the clip provides a cool opportunity to see what Fire Down Below are all about when it comes to what they do on stage. In the case of drummer Sam Nuytens particularly, they’re about having a badass Monster Magnet t-shirt (Euro merch, man), but as regards his work and that of the band surrounding, think the uptempo kick of earlier Red Fang with Kyuss-style brashness and you won’t be far off.
While a host of big names took stage at Alcatraz this year — suspects like Opeth, Meshuggah, Voivod, Amenra, etc. — Fire Down Below shared a space in ‘La Morgue’ with compatriot outfits in The Spirit, Glowsun, Wolvennest and Cowboys & Aliens, keeping killer company as they brought an energetic burst to the proceedings. Like much of the album from which it comes, “Saviour of Man” is a pretty straightforward affair, but its hook and drive demand little by way of flourish, standing their ground instead based on their sheer quality of craft. That is to say, you’re not gonna hear it and think something’s missing, and especially in the live setting as they are here, it’s clear to see that engaging an audience from the stage is where Fire Down Below‘s heart lies. How could it not? What’s better than that?
Speaking of, Fire Down Below have a few killer gigs booked for this Fall, including dates with Valley of the Sun and Gozu and a stop at Desertfest Belgium, where they’ll also join a selection of some of the country’s finest underground acts. Those dates are listed on the banner which you’ll find under the video itself, which of course follows here. I’m sure you’ve already clicked play, and rightly so.
Either way, please enjoy:
Fire Down Below, “Saviour of Man” live at Alcatraz Festival
Fire Down Below on “Saviour of Man”:
We had the opportunity to play this gig at Alcatraz Hard Rock and Metal festival, one of Belgium’s biggest festivals for headbangers and devil worshippers. This year they installed a new stage, called La Morgue, reserved for some of the best underground bands in the country. We were extremely happy to be part of this great initiative and we had a blast on stage, as we hope you can tell from this video.
Fire Down Below live at Alcatraz festival in Kortrijk, 11 August 2019, playing Saviour Of Man from the album Hymn Of The Cosmic Man. Recorded and edited by Lars Grote Audio.
Fire Down Below is: Jeroen Van Troyen – guitar and vocals Kevin Gernaey – guitar Sam Nuytens – drums Bert Wynsberghe – bass
Posted in audiObelisk on August 20th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
The idea of ‘burning clean’ could hardly be more appropriate for the second Von Detta EP, which is out Sept. 13 through Polderrecords, since that’s essentially what they do for the 32-minute runtime of the six-song release. At that length, one might question whether or not Burn it Clean is actually an album, but it’s not an argument I feel like having with myself right now, so I won’t. Either way, it’s with the crisp, indeed clean, production of the outing through which the Ghent, Belgium, outfit’s tracks seem to land their blows. Beginning with a brief piano intro — a possible reference to 2016’s Exit Grand Piano debut EP — there’s no lack of flow throughout, and their tones are rich, but there’s no hiding behind distortion here. The vocals are forward on opener “Reach Out” and the subsequent “Thanks for Your Time,” and with an undercurrent of metal resting beneath, Von Detta execute their material with precision and purpose, layering elements over each other in a way that feels delicately or at least intentionally arranged, sometimes reminding my US East Coast ears of The Giraffes for the amount of tension they build in their verses and choruses and the volatility that seems to be at root beneath their sharp-edged exterior.
That might come through most on “Devil’s Child” when the screams let loose, but it’s there in the guitar of “Thanks for Your Time” and the swaggering “Reach Out,” as well as the confrontational “Little Man Big World,” which unfurls a bruiser riff met with one of Burn it Clean‘s most resonant hooks. “The Vault” brings in either some guest or some falsetto vocals in the midsection before a bluesy solo, and again, true to title, it all seems to be leading to the nine-minute finale “Masterplan,” which sees the band embrace a more patient but still linear execution, working from a quiet opening toward first a driving apex and then a residual comedown that cuts out to a return of the piano from the EP’s intro, bookending and adding a sense of completion that expands on the initial movement. Even the finish, then, is clean, classy, clear. It’s not to say Von Detta are somehow lacking impact. If anything, the fact that their sound pulls so few punches in terms of production only makes them seem all the more confrontational, particularly amid the periodic screams — Von Detta have a new frontman; he fits well — and other harder-hitting elements. Again, the sense is very much that they’re not trying to hide anything, not trying to obscure anything in a wash of effects.
Naturally, I wouldn’t argue that everyone who uses effects is or that doing so has no aesthetic value, but for Von Detta‘s songwriting method on Burn it Clean, burning it clean makes sense. You can hear it for yourself with the premiere of “Thanks for Your Time” on the player below, which is followed by some more background from the PR wire, because one likes to be thorough.
Please enjoy:
Hailing from Ghent, Belgium, VON DETTA started out in 2013, as a riff based groove quintet. While celebrating their love for old school rock ‘n roll, the 2016 EP ‘Exit Grand Piano’ release came soon after, as the band’s first piece of recorded work.
To make things clean, one must burn away the filth… with ‘Burn It Clean’, VON DETTA are set to release an EP to captivate your musical senses and stir up the groove. Being both raw and elegant, rough and sublime, ‘Burn It Clean’ comes with a soulful lasting echo. The six songs are one rip-roaring episode after another straight from each the band members’ lives. A soundtrack reminiscent of the battles of between your inner angels and demons.
‘Burn It Clean’ Tracklist: 01. Reach Out 02. Thanks For Your Time 03. Devil’s Child 04. Little Man Big World 05. The Vault 06. Masterplan
Von Detta is: Jonas Verhelst Ief de Deurwaerder Jeroen Vandamme Koen De Borle Manuel Remmerie
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 8th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Belgian heavy rockers Fire Down Below have set a June 8 release for their new album, Hymn of the Cosmic Man. Their new video for the track “Saviour of Man” finds them basking in influences from the likes of Kyuss and 1000mods in following-up 2017’s Viper Vixen Goddess Saint, and even if their theme takes them to outer space as the PR wire notes below and the video reaffirms, their riffs and grooves still sound awfully sandy to my ears.
The Ghent four-piece have a couple dates booked around the LP release and some other shows in the months coming up, and you’ll find that info below, once again, courtesy of the PR wire, which also sent the cover art for Hymn of the Cosmic Man, which I’m not posting because cartoon tits depress the shit out of me.
Info follows; video at the bottom:
FIRE DOWN BELOW: Belgian fuzz rock quartet to release Hymn of the Cosmic Man | New video for ‘Saviour Of Man’ premiered
Hymn of the Cosmic Man by Fire Down Below is released worldwide on 8th June via Ripple Music
This June will see the official worldwide release of Hymn of the Cosmic Man, the brand-new studio album from Belgian progressive rock quartet, Fire Down Below.
Following on from last year’s hugely successful rerelease of Viper Vixen Goddess Saint, the Ghent-based foursome are back with yet another exceptional melee of fuzzed-out stoner rock, heavy psych and grunge on Ripple Music, home to some of the finest acts in recent years to emerge from the underground.
On Hymn of the Cosmic Man, Fire Down Below trade the hot desert winds of their debut for the cold desolation of outer space. With a storyline that pitches a single soul against an unnamed threat to mankind, the band express fear, hope, defeat, surrender and courage across seven tracks, making for one truly compelling journey.
“We had this background story that guided us in the songwriting process,” explains bassist Bert Wynsberghe. “Yet we left it somewhat vague so that it wouldn’t limit us and we could still pursue ideas that were more ‘out there’. That really worked for us, we got to explore new sonic territories and we’re excited to see what reactions we might get.”
As a glowing endorsement and belief in their sheer quality, Fire Down Below’s second full-length not only plants a flag into the earth’s crust, it endeavours to propel the band into orbit. Never ones to mess with a winning combination, after the critical acclaim of their debut, Fire Down Below teamed up again with Tim De Gieter at Much Luv Studio in Belgium for recording and mixing, with Brad Boatright at Audiosiege in Portland on mastering duties.
“We were happy to be able to work with Tim again. We’d raised the bar for ourselves for the new album and we were thrilled to see that he had done the same thing for his studio work. And then of course we’re super excited that Ripple Music is releasing this album. To be part of a family with bands such as Wo Fat and Mothership is just beyond anything we had ever considered possible.”
Already, the band has garnered some truly remarkable comparisons with bands like Truckfighters, Red Fang and Soundgarden, and now with Hymn of the Cosmic Man, from the swelling, space swallowing opening of ‘Red Giant’ and ‘Ignition/Space Cruiser’, to the spectacularly progressive closer ‘Adrift In A Sea Of Stars’, we will at last see them step up, take flight and traverse the universe powered by hard rock, stellar riffs and their own, breathtaking volition.
Hymn of the Cosmic Man by Fire Down Below is released worldwide on 8th June via Ripple Music
FIRE DOWN BELOW: Bert Wynsberghe – Bass Jeroen Van Troyen – Guitar and Vocals Kevin Gernaey – Guitar Sam Nuytens – Drums
LIVE DATES: 15 June – Album Release Show (Venue TBC) – Ghent, Belgium 16 June – Album Release Show (Venue TBC) – Bruges, Belgium 6 July – JH ‘t Slot – Wortel, Belgium 1 September – Café Gonzo – Ninove, Belgium
TRACKLISTING: 1. Red Giant 2. Ignition / Space Cruiser 3. Saviour of Man 4. The Cosmic Pilgrim 5. Nebula 6. Ascension 7. Adrift In A Sea Of Stars
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 17th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
As we head inexorably toward the darkest day of the year, what better time to indulge a bit of full-on string-based melancholy. Enter the contemplative solo work of Ghent, Belgium’s PJ VA, operating under the moniker of Innerwoud. The one-man outfit’s new outing, Mirre, has been newly released and is four tracks of experimentalism that seems to be actively eschewing “classical” tags in favor of more modern evocations. Consouling Sounds is at the helm of the release, which brings to mind a more staid version of the layering and drones Helen Money brings to the cello, and it’s available right now, sunrise or sunset.
The PR wire had this to say:
Innerwoud’s Mirre Out Now Via Consouling Sounds
Consouling Sounds is thrilled to present the debut full length album of Innerwoud. This lone man and his double bass have already made some heads turn. His very own way of playing and layering bass drones makes up for truly unique listening experience. Innerwoud live is impressive: trying to subdue his unleashed instrument, battling it into submission, and exploring the vastness of the drone spectrum. His practice is rooted in the contemporary classical music, but Innerwoud is a far cry from a classical musician. Constantly shifting between contemporary classical music, moody drones, and haunting soundscapes, he captivates his audience across genres and conventions. His debut captures the essence of his live shows, augmented with sparse and well-aimed arrangements, resulting in an album that crawls deeply under the skin.
Mostly deep drone harmonies, accompanied by a subtile and dark melody. Creating a lyrical sound without lyrics, in the warm shade of Icelandic and Canadian predecessors. Not an overtrained musician but a connoisseur of african cultures. Former member of Ghent based quartet Zura Zaj, participating in different projects such as neoclassical between-whiles-band Ana Barii.
Posted in audiObelisk on October 20th, 2011 by JJ Koczan
Hard-luck Belgian trio SerpentCult got together in 2006, following the unsightly demise of Thee Plague of Gentlemen, who weren’t bad except for the fact that it turned out their lead singer was a pedophile. Reasonably wanting to distance themselves from that, guitarist Frederic Caure, bassist Steven Van Cauwenbergh and drummer Frederik “Cozy” Cosemans stuck it out as SerpentCult and successfully released Weight of Light through Rise Above in 2008.
That record was fronted by Michelle Nocon, who also now is out of the band. So, on their new album, Raised by Wolves, SerpentCult have basically reinvented themselves — again — as a mostly-instrumental three-piece of sprawling and atmospheric doom. Raised by Wolves is SerpentCult‘s most honest and accomplished album yet, and it’s a testament to how strong the connection is between Caure, Van Cauwenbergh and Cosemans that they’d persist after losing two vocalists.
Raised by Wolves is out now on Listenable Records, who were kind enough to let me stream the all-instrumental and longest track from the album, “Longing for Hyperborea.” The song skillfully shifts through varied movements, but remains consistently morose throughout. It’s the sound of the defeat to which the band simply refuses to succumb. Hope you enjoy:
