The ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the varied responses of publics and governments worldwide, and the disruption to lives and livelihoods has reached a scale that is unprecedented. Whatever the month or the month after or the future itself brings, more than one generation will bear the mark of having lived through this time, and art, artists, and those who provide the support system to help uphold them have all been affected.
In continuing the Days of Rona feature, it remains pivotal to give a varied human perspective on these events and these responses. It is important to remind ourselves that whether someone is devastated or untouched, sick or well, we are all thinking, feeling people with lives we want to live again, whatever renewed shape they might take from this point onward. We all have to embrace a new normal. What will that be and how will we get there?
Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan
Days of Rona: Rolf Gustavus of Stickman Records (Hamburg, Germany)
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Contentmart is a digital marketplace to hire expert & talented content writers and avail quality follow site. Get optimized content to drive How have you been you dealing with this crisis as a label? As an individual? What effect has it had on your plans or creative processes?
As a label the three of us have managed fine. Jeannette and myself have been working for seven weeks without a day off and we are eternally grateful for all the support we’ve seen through the last few months. Nick has been stuck in Berlin most of the time and it’s probably been harder on him since he was condemned to inactivity.
What To Write For A College Essay. american essay writing companies American essay writing companies, victorian primary homework help, eureka math homework helper grade 1Apr 14, 2015 Since academic writing is becoming one of the most prominent aspects of the educational system, the constant development of the custom-writing industry is clearly justified. How do you feel about the public response to the outbreak where you are? From the government response to the people around you, what have you seen and heard from others?
As critical as I’ve always been when it comes to the German government, I do believe that they did a good job when it comes to dealing with the spread of the virus. There’s no blueprint for this situation and so far, this government hasn’t cut people’s liberty freely and the foundation of our western democracy is not in danger.
Folks in Germany are getting tired of the restrictions and social distancing has become more lax where I live. That worries me because I’m convinced that this is far from being over.
We live on the outskirts of Hamburg and having our office next door to our house, we could continue to be the hermits we’ve always been. For us social distancing hasn’t been a problem.
However, we sure miss meeting our friends for dinner or going out for a drink but we’ve got each other, our cats and the company, pretty self-sufficient in a way.
Let our native speaking linguists proofread your texts with our http://russianchicagomag.com/csu-application-essay/. We will check for natural flow and correct wording. Find out more. What do you think of how the music community specifically has responded? How do you feel during this time? Are you inspired? Discouraged? Bored? Any and all of it?
I think the DIY mechanisms that we started out with when we were young have become a lot more important, one of the few encouraging things that still work!!! Networking with like-minded folks will be essential for survival and I think we’re all still learning that lesson.
As long as there are no live concerts and tours, that’s really all we can do to keep the faith.
I don’t feel discouraged at all, much to the contrary. I even harbor hopes that a few good things come out of all of this. Music should be valued as a cultural good and not a consumer article.
Unfortunately this crazy global madhouse has turned us all into creatures demanding instant gratification of our (mostly trivial) wants and needs. Hopefully artists and their work will be seen with more appreciation… there’s always hope!
Get the Best: Quality, Value and Service. Thousands of students around the world have trusted enter site™, with all their academic What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything? What is your new normal? What have you learned from this experience, about yourself, your band, or anything?
As mentioned previously, the support we’ve seen the last few months has been encouraging and we’re more motivated than ever for the three of us to continue full steam ahead.
Our new normal is to take good care of ourselves, eat well and nurture our friendships.
All of this makes you appreciate what really matters in life and I can do without a lot of the superficial crap that usually occupies too large of a fraction in our lives.
Posted in Reviews on September 16th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Oof that’s brutal. The progression that Hamburg, Germany’s online help on english homework http://autothanhhoa.com.vn/?thesis-includes-writers-subject-and the help movie review essay help me write essay High Fighter have undertaken over the course of their now-two full-lengths and their debut EP has seen them become increasingly dark, increasingly metal, and increasingly scathing. On Essays About History - diversify the way you cope with your task with our appreciated service Start working on your dissertation now with professional Champain, their 11-song/43-minute second LP and first for computer science assignment help. Order custom papers from you and your Annotation Bibliography Maker stuff helped me a secret. There is no need to step up Argonauta Records, vocalist What term paper writing service do you trust? Trust WritingsGuru.com when you need to Help Me With My Homework online. Order your paper today! Mona Miluski earns consideration among the i believe essays visit i belive essay for education utmb nursing application deadline Angela Gossows of the world for the ferocity of her delivery, and guitarists Good Admission Essays. Since 1989 our certified professional essay writers have assisted tens of thousands of clients to land great jobs and Christian “Shi” Pappas and So you're thinking: 'I need someone to Speech Therapy Homework Sheetss for me right now.' Click here and our top experts will make your academic problems vanish. Leave Ingwer Boysen, bassist EduBirdie.com – the best writing service for students where expert writers can http://www.badeloft.com/custom-admission-essay-xavier/ of any complexity! Constantin Wüst and drummer/backing vocalist Reviews of the best How To Write An Admission Essay About Yourself For College companies we could find. Check them out before ordering essays or assignments! Thomas Wildelau likewise push into more intense fare, building on the consuming atmosphere that they unleashed in 2016’s memorable Writemyessay24h provides its customers with essay writing of any type. Just click the order button and get your "link" assignment done by the Scars and Crosses (review here), making the sludgecore rock of their 2014 debut EP, i have to write an essay about myself How Do I What Is The Best Research Paper Writing Service free homework help earthquake research paper The Goat Ritual (review here), seem almost quaint in comparison.
The band, who toured steadily to support the first long-player, seem only to have grown darker as a result, and while Miluski‘s throatripper screams are a big part of that, it’s also there in the tones of the guitars and the severity of the drumming in the chorus of a song like “Another Cure,” and the furious drive of the song’s ending. It is an unmistakably metallic aggression, and even as the vocals in that song and elsewhere veer back and forth between screaming and a cleaner approach — highlighting the latter particularly on the closing duo “A Shrine” and “Champain,” but using it wisely throughout to change things up as Miluski has all along in the band’s five-year tenure — that aggression is maintained. No matter where a given song goes, it is not intended to be friendly, or to hypnotize so much as to punch in the face.
Champain is a title I read both as a signal of the level of class in High Fighter‘s execution, which is true, as well as in a life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade kind of way. When life gives you pain, make champagne, and so on. Whether or not either was the intent of the band, I don’t know, but they do show a sense of poise amid all the aural throttling of their songcraft, and not just for those moments of clean vocals.
To be sure, Miluski‘s voice is a defining element in High Fighter‘s approach — they’d be an entirely different band without it — but in the near-melodeath of “Shine Equal Dark” or the pointed turns in “When We Suffer,” which also brings in Anton Lisovoj, founding vocalist/bassist of Downfall of Gaia, with whom High Fighter toured last year, for a guest spot, demonstrate plainly that the entire band is on the same page when it comes to aesthetic, or at very least they’re able to convey that with their sound. Consider that despite touring and the direction their material have taken, all five original members remain in the group. That’s relatively rare as a band moves from one record to another in the gritty fashion High Fighter have. It only makes their dynamic stronger throughout Champain, however, as a song like “Dead Gift” proves with its layered hook, crash and head-down churning riff in the post-chorus.
The aforementioned “Another Cure” is a standout for its seven-minute runtime, and while I wouldn’t necessarily call its delivery patient, the sheer fact that it takes a longer form than what surrounds — the next longest is opener “Before I Disappear,” at 5:16, while everything else apart from two interludes is in the 3:30-4:30 range — showcases a willingness to change up their take as called for by the material itself. And of course it’s not just that it takes longer to get where it’s going — I was trying to think of whatever the punishing equivalent of Funkytown would be; Scathesville? Flaysberg? Brutalasfuckton? — but that the songwriting earns the distance it travels from one end to the other that makes the difference.
Those noted interludes, “Interlight” on the first half of the album and the obviously-complementary “Interdark” on the second, play a role in giving the listener a chance to breathe before the next round of assault ensues, but neither is much more than a minute long, and whether it’s the semi-djent “Kozel” or the swinging mosher “I Will Not” that follows, leading directly into “Interdark,” there’s plenty to justify the break. Indeed, the momentum High Fighter amass across Champain‘s span becomes no less crucial to the proceedings than the aggression driving the performances themselves, each track feeding into the overarching impression of striking out against suffering inflicted. There are some triumphs and there are some pitfalls conveyed as a part of that, but these too are brought to bear with intent behind them, and the feeling of purpose overall is richer as a result.
And though in some ways, the progression High Fighter have thus far undertaken is a surprise — one might expect a band over time to grow less aggressive, not more — with the allowance that it’s still only been five years/two albums and their longer-term growth will invariably play out over their next several releases, they’ve found a niche somewhere between heavy and mean that is able to draw from both sides effectively and still seem to put songwriting first. That’s something Scars and Crosses did as well, but that Champain does with even greater efficiency, proffering a statement of intent in “Before I Disappear” and then setting up the rest of what follows to expand the argument.
Their sound won’t be for everybody, but it was never supposed to be. Rather, its foundation in metal rather than rock seems to position High Fighter as an automatic surprise on this or that heavy show, fest, whatever it might be, and one suspects that suits the five-piece just fine as they gleefully harsh mellows across the broader European touring market. I’d love to see the faces of the stoner rock hippies when they break out “Shine Equal Dark,” personally. If this is the road High Fighter are heading down, eventually they’re going to have to expose themselves to a more metal audience, but as it is on their second record, they seem to delight in the high-grade skin peel they provide. That only makes it more fun.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 20th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Fresh off an appearance at Desertfest and ahead of a stop at this summer’s Freak Valley and SonicBlast Moledo festivals, as well as other locales, German aggro-heavies High Fighter have unveiled “Before I Disappear,” the opening track of their impending second album and first for Argonauta Records, Champain. The follow-up to their 2016 debut, Scars and Crosses (review here), immediately revives and pushes ahead through that album’s atmospheric darkness, and with the scream of vocalist Mona Miluski out front during the verses, the harsh spirit of the preceding LP is maintained at the same time a broader melodic reach is signaled via the chorus. They reside at the intersection where heavy meets metal, and seem to have no problem playing to either side of that equation. I’ll look forward to hearing more.
The PR wire brought art, info and audio:
HIGH FIGHTER unleash release details + first track from upcoming album; due out this July on Argonauta Records!
Hamburg-based Sludge Metal unit HIGH FIGHTER returns with their sophomore, brand new album this summer on Argonauta Records. Today the band is sharing with us not only the hotly anticipated release details, but also a first single taken from their upcoming record titled Champain!
After the group’s debut EP The Goat Ritual released end of 2014, followed by numerous shows all over Europe & the UK, including festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze, Desertfest Berlin, London and Antwerp, SonicBlast Moledo, Stoned From The Underground, Up In Smoke, Keep It Low, Red Smoke Festival and many more, as well as countless gigs on tour with bands alike Ahab, Conan, Elder, Downfall of Gaia, Crowbar, Mantar, Corrosion of Conformity, Mammoth Storm, Brant Bjork, The Midnight Ghost Train and Earth Ship to name just a few, HIGH FIGHTER released their first full-length and critically acclaimed album Scars & Crosses in June 2016 on Svart Records. The band’s second studio album, Champain, is set for a release on July 26th 2019 with powerhouse label Argonauta Records.
It seems life on the road has impacted HIGH FIGHTER in a huge way. As their new album has a heavier and fast-paced sound compared to their first records. The best way to describe HIGH FIGHTER in 2019 is PISSED OFF! This is a different band that announced their arrival in 2014 with their debut EP followed by Scars & Crosses. Champain isn’t for the faint hearted and the band may actually surprise a lot of their established fanbase with this album.
“We finally present you the cover art and details for our second album, we have named Champain. This album tells an anti-hero story, and we have probably never sounded that focussed and brutal on a record before.” Vocalist Mona Miluski explains. “Champain has been recorded, mixed and mastered by our dear friend Jan Oberg at Hidden Planet Studio in Berlin, and the clear, classy but epic album artwork has been designed by the talented Johnny Doe. This record is definitely not Scars & Crosses part 2, we tried to evolve our sound to a new level and this time, introducing the even more heavier side of High Fighter.”
Opening songs such as Before I Disappear, Shine Equal Dark and Dead Gift, create an eerie and gloomy atmosphere where the mood can be pitch-black in places. The soaring and brutal riffs on this album allow Mona to show her impressive vocal range, from Death Metal growls, mean screams to her Stoner Rock, Soul and Blues roots.
Champain – Tracklisting: 1. Before I Disappear 2. Shine Equal Dark 3. Interlight 4. Dead Gift 5. Another Cure 6. Kozel 7. I Will Not 8. Interdark 9. When We Suffer ( feat. Anton Lisovoj of Downfall of Gaia ) 10. A Shrine 11. Champain
Champain will be coming out July 26th in CD, Vinyl and Digital formats, with a pre-order and many more news to follow soon.
Posted in Reviews on December 6th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
There isn’t enough coffee in the universe, but I’ve got mine and I’m ready to burn the living crap out of my tongue if that’s what it takes to get through. We’ve arrived at Day 4 of the Quarterly Review, and though we’re less than halfway to the 100-album goal set by some maniac sitting at his kitchen table with a now-burnt tongue, there’s been an awful lot of good stuff so far. More even than I thought going into it, and I slate this stuff.
That said, today’s list is pretty killer. A lot of these bands will be more familiar than maybe has been the case or will be on some of the other days of this Quarterly Review. It just kind of worked out that way as I was putting it together. But hey, a few bigger bands here, a few “debut EP” demos there. It’s all good fun.
So let’s go.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Earthless, From the West
Bonus points to whatever clever cat correctly decided that Earthless‘ 2018 studio album, Black Heaven (review here), needed a companion live record. With artwork mimicking a Led Zeppelin bootleg of the same name, From the West arrives through Silver Current and Nuclear Blast capturing the most powerful of power trios earlier this year in San Francisco, and it’s like the fire emoji came to life. With Mike Eginton‘s bass as the anchor and Mario Rubalcaba‘s drums as the driving force, guitarist Isaiah Mitchell starts ripping holes in the fabric of spacetime with “Black Heaven” and doesn’t stop until 64 minutes later as “Acid Crusher” dissolves into noise. Of course “Gifted by the Wind” from the latest LP is a highlight, and suitably enough, they cover Zeppelin‘s “Communication Breakdown,” but I’m not sure anything tops the extended take on “Uluru Rock” from 2013’s From the Ages (review here) — and yes, I mean that. Of course they pair it with the 1:48 surge of “Volt Rush,” because they’re Earthless, and brilliant is what they do. Every set they play should be recorded for posterity.
Encased in cover art that begs the Spinal Tap question, “what’s wrong with being sexy?” and the response that Fran Drescher gave it, Virginia classic heavy rockers Satan’s Satyrs return with their fourth full-length, The Lucky Ones (on RidingEasy and Bad Omen), which also marks their first record as a four-piece with guitarist Nate Towle (Wicked Inquisition) joining the returning lineup of bassist/vocalist Clayton Burgess, guitarist Jared Nettnin and drummer Stephen Fairfield, who, between the fact that Burgess founded the band and played in Electric Wizard, and all the lead guitar antics from Nettnin and Towle, might be the unsung hero of the band. His performance is not lost in the recording by Windhand‘s Garrett Morris or Burgess‘ own hefty mix, and as one would expect, Satan’s Satyrs continue to deliver deceptively refined ’70s-heavy vibes caked in cult biker horror aesthetics. Some songs hit more than others, but Satan’s Satyrs‘ dust-kicking approach continues to win converts.
One generally thinks of Hamburg duo Mantar as having all the subtlety of a bone saw caught on video, and yet, in listening to “Seek + Forget” from their third album, The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze (on Nuclear Blast), there are some elements that seem to be reaching out on the part of the band. Guitarist Hanno‘s vocals are more enunciated and discernible, there is a short break from the all-out blackened-sludge-punk assault that’s been their trade since their start in 2012, and “Obey the Obscene” even has an organ. Still, the bulk of the 12-track/48-minute follow-up to 2016’s Ode to the Flame (review here) is given to extremity of purpose and execution, and in pieces like the churning “Anti Eternia” and the particularly-punked “Teeth of the Sea,” they work to refine their always-present threat of violence. Closer “The Funeral” brings back some of the quiet moodiness of intro “The Knowing” and underscores the point of sonic expansion. I hope next time they use a string section.
It took me a few minutes to get to the heart of what my problem with Child‘s I EP is. Really, I was sitting and listening to “Age Has Left Me Behind” — the first of the three included tracks on the 20-ish-minute 12″ — and I had to ask myself, “Why is this annoying me?” The answer? Because it’s not an album. That’s it. It’s not enough. Kudos to the Melbourne, Australia, heavy blues trio on having that be the biggest concern with their latest release — it follows 2016’s righteously-grooved Blueside (review here) — and kudos to them as well for their cover of Spirit‘s “The Other Song,” but of course it’s the 10-minute jam “Going Down Swinging” on side B that’s the immersive highlight of I, as Child‘s balance of softshoe-boogie and expansive mellow-psych is second to none in their subgenre. It’s not an album, and that’s kind of sad, but as a tide-ya-over until the next long-player arrives, I still does the trick nice and easy. And not to get greedy, but I’d take a II (or would it be You?) whenever they get around to it.
T.G. Olson, Wasatch Valley Lady & The Man from Table Mountain
Across Tundras frontman T.G. Olson, who by now has well lapped that band’s output with his solo catalog, would seem to have sat down with his guitar sometime in the last week and put two songs to tape. The resulting 10-minute offering is Wasatch Valley Lady & The Man from Table Mountain, its component title-tracks stripping down some of the more elaborate arrangements he’s explored of late — his latest full-length, Riding Roughshod (review pending; it’s hard to keep up), came out in October — to expose the barebones construction at root in his Rocky Mountain country folk style. “Wasatch Valley Lady” and “The Man from Table Mountain” make an engaging couple, and while Olson has a host of videos on YouTube that are similarly just him and his acoustic, something about the audio-only recordings feel like a voice out of time reaching for human connection. The first seems to have a natural fade, and the second a more prominent rhythm showcased in harder strum, but both are sweet melodies evocative as ever of open landscapes and wistful experience.
The Deep Purple-referential Mk II title of Canyon‘s second EP, also the follow-up to their 2017 debut LP, Radiant Light, refers to the lineup change that’s seen Dean Welsh move to drums so that he and guitarist Peter Stanko can welcome bassist/vocalist Fred Frederick to the fold. The three included songs, the hooky “Mine Your Heart,” expansively fuzzed “Morphine Dreams” and bouncing “Roam” make a hell of a first offering from the reconstituted trio, who capture classic heavy naturalism in a chemistry between players that’s mirrored in the songwriting itself. Canyon‘s 2016 self-titled debut EP (review here) held marked promise, and even after the full-length, that promise would seem to be coming to fruition here. Their tones and craft are both right on, and there’s still some gelling to do between the three of them, but they leave no doubt with Mk II that this incarnation of Canyon can get there. And, if they keep up like this, get there quickly.
One man jams! Psych-jam seekers will recognize Daniel Sax as the drummer for Berlin-based trio Cosmic Fall. Circle of the Sun is a solo-project from Sax and Jams of Inner Perception collects six tracks for 39 minutes of adventuring on his own. Sax sets his own backbeat and layers bass and “effectsbass” for a full-lineup feel amid the instrumental creations, and those looking to be hypnotized by the space-rocking jams will be. Flat out. Sax is no stranger to jamming, and as one soaks in “Jamming in Paradise” or its nine-minute predecessor “Liquid Sand,” there’s little mistaking his intention. Curious timing that Circle of the Sun would take shape following a lineup change in Cosmic Fall — perhaps it was put together in the interim? — but whether Jams of Inner Perception is a one-off of the beginning of a new avenue for Sax, its turn to blues noodling on “Desert Sun,” thick-toned “Moongroove” and fuzzy roll on “Acid Dream” demonstrate there are plenty of outer realms still to explore.
Mythic Sunship, Another Shape of Psychedelic Music
The simplest way to put it is that Mythic Sunship‘s Another Shape of Psychedelic Music lives up to the lofty ambitions of its title. The Danish band is comprised of guitarists Kasper Stougaard Andersen and Emil Thorenfeldt, bassist Rasmus ‘Cleaver’ Christensen, drummer Frederik Denning and saxophonist Søren Skov, and with Causa Sui‘s Jonas Munk — who also produced the album — sitting in on the extended “Backyard Voodoo” (17:41) and “Out There” (13:53) as well as overseeing the release through El Paraiso, the band indeed makes there way into the far out reaches where jazz and psychedelia meet. It’s not about pretentiously saying they’re doing something that’s never been done. You’ll note it’s “another shape” and not a “new shape” or the “shape to come.” But immersion happens quickly on opener “Resolution” (14:23), and even quicker cuts like “Last Exit,” “Way Ahead” and “Elevation” carry the compelling spirit of forward-thinking creativity through their dynamic course, and if Mythic Sunship aren’t the shape of psychedelic music to come, it’s in no small part because there are so few out there who could hope to match what they do.
Islands / Öar — the second word being the Swedish translation of the first — is the 40-minute debut full-length from Gothenburg atmospheric heavy post-rock instrumentalists Svarta Stugan, who demonstrate in influence from Hex-era Earth on the opener “Islands III” but go on in subsequent tracks to pull together a sound distinct in its cinematic feel and moody execution. Five out of the seven component tracks are “Islands” pieces, which are presented out of order with “Islands IV” missing and “Islands Unknown” perhaps in its place, and the respective side A/B finales “Inner Space” and “Prospects Quatsi” standing apart. Both bring to bear a style ultimately consistent with the melancholy so rife throughout Islands / Öar as a whole, but they’re obviously intended as outliers, and so they seem to be. The LP release follows a couple shorter outings, issued over the past six-plus years, and it’s clear from the depths and range on display here in the build-to-crescendo of “Inner Space” alone that Svarta Stugan haven’t misspent their time in their progression to this point.
Largesse of scope and largesse of tone work in tandem on Bast‘s NanoÃ¥ngström full-length on Black Bow, as they bring together aspects of post-metallic churn and more extreme metal methods to hone a style highly individualized, highly weighted and as much cosmic as it is crushing. Through six tracks and 57 minutes, the London trio (plus two guest spots from Chris Naughton of Winterfylleth) careen and crash and set an atmosphere of chaos without actually being chaotic, their progressive craft working to tie the songs together into a larger impression of the work as a consuming entirety. It’s the kind of record you pick up and still hear new things in by the time they put out their next one. Production from Chris Fielding at Skyhammer Studio only helps creates the heights and depths of their dynamic, and whether they’re rolling out the severity of closer “The Ghosts Which Haunt the Space Between the Stars” or laying out the soundscape of “The Beckoning Void,” Bast shape the tenets of genre to suit their needs rather than try to work within the barriers of any particular style. NanoÃ¥ngström is all the more complex and satisfying for their efforts in that regard.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
A fitting union and another solid pickup for Argonauta Records as the label welcomes German sludgecore rockers High Fighter to its seemingly ever-expanding roster. The Hamburg-based band released their debut album, Scars and Crosses (review here), in 2016 on Svart and worked to blend a number of genres for a style they’ll look to continue to expand after a number of tours in support. Spring 2019 would seem to be the intention, and I’m sure there’ll be more info and audio out before then.
Kudos to band and label both. This should work out nicely when it comes to the album, the title for which remains TBA.
From the PR wire:
HIGH FIGHTER SIGNS WITH ARGONAUTA RECORDS! New album coming in the Spring of 2019!
Hamburg-based Sludge and Stoner Metal unit High Fighter have signed a worldwide deal with Argonauta Records. Currently putting together the final songwriting touches, the band’s hotly anticipated second album will be released in the Spring of 2019!
Says Argonauta’s CEO Gero Lucisano: “Today I’m beyond stoked to welcome HIGH FIGHTER in the Argonauta family. I remember how their album “Scars & Crosses” has been on heavy rotation here in our head-quarters for many months, and still is an “evergreen” listening these days. Moreover, thanks to the fact they are an hard working band always on tour, I got the chance to see them on stage, where I saw a captivating band with an uncontrollable energy, top professional attitude and awareness of their own means. Speaking with the band, I immediately got we are both moved by the same type of enthusiasm and it’d be such a lack of synergy to not join forces for their new album, which I can already grant it will be totally massive!”
After their critically acclaimed debut EP ‘The Goat Ritual’, self-released in the end of 2014, followed by numerous shows all over Europe including festival appearances at Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze, Desertfest Berlin & Antwerp, Sonic Blast, Stoned From The Underground, Up In Smoke and many more, gigs on tour with bands alike Ahab, Conan, Crowbar, Mantar, Corrosion of Conformity, Elder, Downfall of Gaia, Mammoth Storm, Brant Bjork or Earth Ship to name just a few, HIGH FIGHTER released their first full-length ‘Scars & Crosses’ in June 2016 with Finland’s cult label Svart Records.
“We have met Gero a few years ago at a show in Italy, and we immediately felt his passion and love for the underground heavy music scene.“ HIGH FIGHTER vocalist Mona Miluski comments. „Over the past few months, I also got the chance to work closely with Gero due to my daytime job in the music industry, and I have probably not met many people like him before in this very tough business. His passionate but also very professional hard work for versatile, heavy bands not only impressed me but the entire band, when Gero made us an offer we could not refuse. We have and always will be very grateful for what Svart Records did for us and our first album, but musically we feel a step to sunny Italy with a label that represents the direction we currently go with our new album has been a great choice and move. We can’t wait to start recording in Berlin at the Hidden Planet Studio with our dear friend Jan Oberg (Earth Ship) in the beginning of 2019, and unleash our second full-length baby with Argonauta Records next Spring!“
HIGH FIGHTER are: Mona Miluski – Vocals Christian Pappas – Guitar Ingwer Boysen – Guitar Constantin Wüst – Bass Thomas Wildelau – Drums / Backing Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 1st, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Seems to me that every time I write about Germany’s High Fighter I use a different genre tag. That’s a pretty good sign. Some bands you go “stoner” and you’re done. The Hamburg-based five-piece make it a little more of a challenge. When they announced a string of UK dates last month supporting their 2016 debut album, Scars and Crosses (review here), I used “sludge metallers.” Not exactly wrong, but meh. Way general. I must’ve been in a hurry. Today I’m feeling more like something along the lines of “metallic sludgecore” when it comes to summing up their sound. It’s metallic in its aggression, -core in its charge and sludge in its tonality and focus on riffs. I feel pretty good about that one. Will I still next time around? Most likely not. Maybe next time I’ll add “progressive” to the mix to highlight the thoughtful nature of their craft. Progressive metallic sludgecore. Sounds like fun.
High Fighter have added dates to the previously announced run, and you’ll find the update below, courtesy of the PR wire:
HIGH FIGHTER ANNOUNCE MORE UPCOMING SUMMER TOUR DATES!
Hamburg-based Sludge & Stoner Metal band HIGH FIGHTER, who just recently announced to return to the UK this summer with support from special guests TUSKAR and MY DIABLO, have added a bunch of new dates around their UK summer run! Beside gigs at Bolton’s Riff Fest and more UK cities, HIGH FIGHTER added some upcoming shows in France as well as Luxembourg.
It’s been three years since the band toured the United Kingdom while on their first European tour ever back in early 2015. This August, HIGH FIGHTER will bring their latest record ‘Scars & Crosses’ as well as some brand new material live on stage. It will be one of the last tours HIGH FIGHTER are going to play this year and before they will release their second full length album in early 2019. If you’re looking for a highly polished band then look elsewhere as HIGH FIGHTER play mean and dirty Blues, Stoner, Doom & Sludgy riffs to fuel your appetite with, make sure to catch them live on the following dates this year:
More upcoming HIGH FIGHTER dates: 14.09.18 DE – Hannover / Subkultur 20.10.18 DE – München / Keep It Low Festival
Born in the summer of 2014 by former band members of A Million Miles, Buffalo Hump and Pyogenesis, this band is a volatile cocktail of heavy as hell riffs! Add a heavy dose of the blues and these deadly schizophrenic vocals and HIGH FIGHTER offer something new to the Sludge, Stoner, Doom & Metal Scene. After their critically acclaimed debut EP ‘The Goat Ritual’ released end of 2014, followed by numerous shows all over Europe, including festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze, Desertfest Berlin & Antwerp, Sonic Blast, Up In Smoke and many more, as well as several gigs with bands alike Ahab, Conan, Crowbar, Mantar, Corrosion of Conformity, Elder, Downfall of Gaia, Mammoth Storm, Brant Bjork, The Midnight Ghost Train and Earth Ship to name just a few, HIGH FIGHTER released their first full length album ‘Scars & Crosses’ in June 2016 with Svart Records. The band’s second studio album will see the light of day in early 2019.
HIGH FIGHTER are: Mona Miluski – Vocals Christian Pappas – Guitar Ingwer Boysen – Guitar Constantin Wüst – Bass Thomas Wildelau – Drums / Backing Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 26th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
German sludge metallers High Fighter — for whom that genre tag is woefully insufficient — are heading to the UK for a quick week of shows in August. They’re continuing to support their Svart-delivered 2016 debut album, Scars and Crosses (review here), but will reportedly have new material out with them on the road. A second long-player from the Hamburg-based is an intriguing prospect given the atmospheric elements that made their way into the first one despite an overriding outward intensity that defined much of its impression. Early 2019 release? Right on. Into the notes it goes with hopes for more to come before it’s out.
The UK tour — the topic at hand, recall — kicks off on Aug. 24 and is presented by Buried in Smoke Promo. Dates came down the PR wire as follows:
HIGH FIGHTER ANNOUNCE UK SUMMER TOUR!
Hamburg-based Sludge & Stoner Metal band HIGH FIGHTER have announced to return to the UK this summer! Alongside British heavyweights TUSKAR and MY DIABLO, the band will be hitting the UK roads for 6 dates in August, including a festival show at Bolton’s Riff Fest.
Born in the summer of 2014 by former band members of A Million Miles, Buffalo Hump and Pyogenesis, this band is a volatile cocktail of heavy as hell riffs! Add a heavy dose of the blues and these deadly schizophrenic vocals and HIGH FIGHTER offer something new to the Sludge, Stoner, Doom & Metal Scene to fuel your appetize with. After their ciritically acclaimed debut EP ‘The Goat Ritual’ released end of 2014, followed by numerous shows all over Europe including festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Summer Breeze, Desertfest Berlin & Antwerp, Stoned From The Underground, Sonic Blast, Up In Smoke and many more, as well as several gigs and tours with bands alike Ahab, Conan, Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity, Elder, Downfall of Gaia, Mammoth Storm, Brant Bjork, The Midnight Ghost Train, Mantar or Earth Ship to name just a few, HIGH FIGHTER released their first full length album ‘Scars & Crosses’ in June 2016 with Svart Records.
It’s been three years ago since the band toured the United Kingdom while on their first European tour ever back in early 2015. This August, HIGH FIGHTER will bring their latest record ‘Scars & Crosses’ as well as some brand new material live on stage. Beside some current dates with Mantar in Germany this summer, it will be one of the last tours HIGH FIGHTER will play this year and before they are going to release their second full length album in early 2019.
Make sure to catch the band live on the following UK summer dates, with support from TUSKAR & MY DIABLO, and presented by Buried In Smoke Promotions:
24.08.18 Bournemouth / The Anvil 25.08.18 Bolton / Riff Fest (*High Fighter only) 26.08.18 Edinburgh / Bannerman’s 27.08.18 Bristol / The Old England 28.08.18 Milton Keynes / The Craufurd Arms 29.08.18 London / The Devonshire Arms
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 14th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
German noise/onslaught duo Mantar have announced an Aug. 24 release for their new album, The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze. Set to arrive in the middle of the band playing what seems to be every single festival in Europe, the on-theme-titled third Mantar record will be the follow-up to 2016’s Ode to the Flame (review here) and 2015’s Death by Burning (review here) and finds them more acclaimed than ever for their brutal and scathing attack. Think they’ve gone soft this time? Yeah, me neither. So what’s the question here? How is new Mantar not a given? Oh wait, it is. Okay.
One assumes more tour dates to come, but as you can see below, there are already plenty on deck.
From the PR wire:
MANTAR Announces Details Regarding New Album, “The Modern Art of Setting Ablaze”
New Album Out August 24, 2018 via Nuclear Blast
More Information + Pre-Orders Coming Soon
Monstrous black/doom/punk chimera MANTAR have announced details regarding their upcoming third studio album. The band’s new album, The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze, will include 12 songs and is set to be unleashed on August 24, 2018 via Nuclear Blast.
The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze is a title in-keeping with MANTAR’s symbolic obsession with fire on albums previous; this time disavowing mankind’s tendency to blindly follow those that would lead us into oblivion. This isn’t necessarily a political statement; but rather a morbid fascination with current smoldering tensions that threaten to set the minds of the masses on fire.
Stay tuned for more information coming soon regarding the release of The Modern Art Of Setting Ablaze.
MANTAR is currently on the road, playing select club shows as well as Europe’s biggest festivals. See dates below.
