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Review & Track Premiere: Comacozer & Vinnum Sabbathi, Here and Beyond Split LP

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on May 14th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

Comacozer Vinnum Sabbathi Here and Beyond

Preorders are up now for Here and Beyond, the new split LP between Sydney, Australia’s Comacozer and Mexico City, Mexico’s Vinnum Sabbathi. Issuing through Tasmanian imprint Psychedelic Salad Records, the release carries just three tracks, comprising Comacozer‘s sprawling 19-minute “Sun of Hyperion” and two companion pieces from Vinnum Sabbathi on side B, “HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath” (6:50) and “HEX V: X-15 Research Project” (9:55). If the pairing seems odd on paper given the disparate geography, in context it’s not actually much of a surprise the bands would be aware of each other, considering the international nature of the underground, social media, and bands being listeners as well as creators in a noted style.

That style as it plays out across Here and Beyond is a marked take on instrumental heavy psychedelia with roots in stoner rock jamming and a sense of purpose beyond simply that. Both groups use samples to provide a human voice — for Comacozer, the introductory drift of “Sun of Hyperion” comes accompanied by obscure dialogue about LSD, while Vinnum Sabbathi‘s live-recorded “HEX” tracks are laced with what sounds mission control communications and clips snagged from the public domain. “HEX” is an ongoing series for the trio/four-piece (depends on the show, I think) and these tracks arrive on the heels of their recently-issued Of Theories and Dimensions full-length on Stolen Body Records and a late-2019 live three-songer that featured other “HEX” pieces en route to their stated goal of 16 total. Comacozer, meanwhile, issued their fourth album, Mydriasis (review here), last summer.

It’s noteworthy of course that Vinnum Sabbathi are continuing a series that at this point dates back five years to their 2015 split with Bar de Monjas (review here), because Comacozer are as well. A 10-minute cut called “Helios Hyperion” featured on their 2014 Sessions EP and “Sun of Hyperion” — one suspects the use of “sun” there is a play on the horror-genre convention of “son of…” as well as the actual translation of “helios” — revises that formative jam. The central guitar figure, languid and building across the first half of the piece, is roughly the same as that which defined “Helios Hyperion” and if anything the feel of “Sun of Hyperion” is that Comacozer took the demo and fleshed it out across a broader reach.

It still keeps its foundation but uses it to spread itself farther out into the spaciousness and the spaciness of its own making, and is all the more hypnotic for both the reach and depth it conjures along the way. While it was recorded at the same time as Mydriasis, it works entirely as a standalone on side A of Here and Beyond, emphasizing a bit of both sides of the title in a way that Vinnum Sabbathi have no problem answering back with their two inclusions, though for their shorter runtimes, “HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath”  and “HEX V: X-15 Research Project” are obviously more contained in themselves.

They also utilize samples to a broader degree than did “Sun of Hyperion,” lacing them throughout the proceedings rather than just at the start. “Cassini’s Last Breath” hits its mark — as did the Comacozer track — near its halfway point, and takes off with its full weight accordingly, rolling out a huge-sounding crunch with no hesitation, then recedes as the sample returns with a post-script congratulating the NASA crew on Cassini’s accomplishments. In terms of incorporating the samples and recording live, the timing is exceptional enough that one wonders if the samples weren’t overlaid later, but it’s certainly possible that the band timed it out during the tracking process, whether it was with hand signals or just playing together with headphones on.

As “Cassini’s Last Breath” lolls toward its end, there’s a final push of volume, but it’s just a few hits that fade soon enough, naturally bringing to mind the cut communication from the satellite named in its title. Though the voice describing it sounds remarkably like Keith Carradine, the X-15 was a real research aircraft, meant for high speeds and altitudes, and the sample Vinnum Sabbathi use comes from a documentary clip about it that one can find easily enough on archive.org. There are other voices throughout the piece, but by then the band have launched a flight of their own, lumbering out the progression that defines the piece without looking back. They hold to it well, as Comacozer did to “Sun of Hyperion,” and it’s not until after seven minutes in that they seem willing to meander elsewhere, the drums still anchoring that initial crash that propelled them forward.

But the first finish is a fake-out, as Vinnum Sabbathi surge to life again in the last minute-plus of “HEX V: X-15 Research Project,” with a faster, more urgent burst than Here and Beyond has yet presented in its 39-minute course. They end with a sudden flash of feedback and are gone in a snap — not quite mach six, but it gets the message across.

From the beginning trance induced by Comacozer to that somewhat blindsiding shove from Vinnum SabbathiHere and Beyond is a journey that should be familiar enough to the experienced heads who will take it on, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any less enjoyable. As both groups maintain a sense of control over the proceedings — at least as much as they want to — they’re able to bring the listener along with them on their outward course, and whether they’re mourning for Cassini or celebrating the star of another world, their complementary nature comes through in the split in a way that emphasizes the strengths of each. It’s an easy one to dig if you’re up for the digging.

Below, to mark the occasion of preorders going live from Psychedelic Salad, you’ll find the premiere of Comacozer‘s “Sun of Hyperion,” along with the album info and one of the two Vinnum Sabbathi contributions (previously posted).

Please enjoy:

Comacozer, “Sun of Hyperion” official premiere

“Here & Beyond” a split Album between Comacozer (Sydney) and Vinnum Sabbathi (Mexico) coming on May 20th on digital and on vinyl format via Psychedelic Salad Records (Tasmania).

Australian heavy psychedelic space rockers Comacozer are back, this time with a new nineteen-minute journey that continues on from their debut track, ‘Helios Hyperion’, written and recorded in 2014. A regular feature of their live shows, ‘Sun of Hyperion’ was recorded at the same time as their last album, ‘Mydriasis’ and therefore sees them operating as a four-piece once again. As is always the case with Comacozer, this track will take you exactly where you need to go, this time in the comfort of your own
home – perfect for the current climate!

These two new tracks from Mexico’s Vinnum Sabbathi form part of the band’s HEX series, from the Base 16 or hexadecimal numeral system. The goal is to write 16 HEX songs in total for split collaborations such as this. Musically-speaking, HEX IV is quite different to the band’s usual approach – a relatively short song with little distortion – while HEX V sees a return to their classic riffing. Just like every other track in the HEX series, both songs were recorded in a single take, with only samples being added in later.

Pre orders go live on May 14th

1. Sun of Hyperion (Comacozer)
2. HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath (VS)
3. HEX V: X-15 Research Project (VS)

Art by Six. D. Six
Mastered by Kent Stump at Crystal Clear Sound

Vinnum Sabbathi, “HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath”

Comacozer on Thee Facebooks

Comacozer on Instagram

Comacozer on Bandcamp

Vinnum Sabbathi on Thee Facebooks

Vinnum Sabbathi on Instagram

Vinnum Sabbathi on Bandcamp

Psychedelic Salad Records webstore

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