Posted in Whathaveyou on December 21st, 2017 by JJ Koczan
First announced in October when the Budapest-based band was signed to Ripple Music and unveiled the track ‘High Ride,’ the new album from Ozone Mama, Cosmos Calling, is set to arrive Jan. 19. More details have come out about the record, as well as the cover art, and a new track called “Doppelganger” that’s got a suitably raucous vibe. I’m hoping to set up some kind of stream or album premiere for this one before it comes out — always a tumult with the change from one year to another, so everything’s tentative — so maybe consider the song at the bottom of this post a precursor to that. Maybe. Fingers crossed.
The PR wire has all the info:
Introducing OZONE MAMA: Hungarian Hard Rockers to Release New Album on Ripple Music
Cosmos Calling is released worldwide on 19th January 2018 on Ripple Music
Featuring vocalist Márton Székely, guitarist András Gábor, bass player Gergely Dobos and drummer Máté Gulyás, Ozone Mama’s soulful and riff-heavy music gives a fresh facelift to the rock and roll of the 60s and 70s. What’s more, this January, the Hungarian quartet will release their brand-new studio album Cosmos Calling on one of the finest heavy psych, stoner and doom labels on the planet. Ripple Music.
Acclaimed for their electrifying live performances, cranking out a bristling brand of high-octane rock, Ozone Mama hail from Budapest with a vintage sound swaddled in a modern vibe.
Their debut album The Starship Has Landed won a Fonogram Prize at the Hungarian Music Awards in 2012 and their follow up, Freedom EP (2013), received major airplay across European, American and Canadian radio stations, as well as press plaudits from esteemed publications like Classic Rock Magazine (UK).
Their last album, Sonic Glory (2016) saw the band receive their second Fonogram Prize in the category of ‘Hard Rock/Metal Album of the Year’ and capped off what had been an extremely busy time for the band, sharing stages across Europe with International headliners such as Monster Magnet (USA), Airbourne (AU), The Darkness (UK) and Kamchatka (SWE).
Now joining forces with the industry leading heavy rock label Ripple Music and following the success of their lead-off single ‘High Ride’ – which is still available here – Cosmos Calling officially hits the streets on 19th January of 2018.
Tracklisting: 1. Evil Ways 2. Straight On Till Morning Light 3. Doppelganger 4. High Ride 5. Feel So Alive 6. Shout At The Sky 7. Cosmos Calling 8. Freedom Fighters 9. Cold Light Of Day 10. The Alchemist 11. Moon Pilot
Ozone Mama is: Marton Szekely – Vocals Andras Gabor – Guitars, Backing Vocals Gergely Dobos – Bass Mate Gulyas – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 12th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Hungarian heavy rockers Ozone Mama will release their new album, Cosmos Calling in January via Ripple Music. As a precursor, the band is giving an early download away for an edit of the track “High Rise,” kind of as an introductory single, complete with its own cover art and a showcase of the classic vibes and the modern presentation thereof that would seem to make up the core of their approach. The hook is on point and the vibe likewise, so if nothing else they picked the right song to pique interest in the record, which, you know, is the whole idea behind singles in the first place. Or at least it was at one point, when rock and roll was a thing. Which it is now. Again. For the first time.
You know what? Let’s start over: Hey folks, here’s a band Ripple just signed. If you wanna give ’em a shot, they’ve got a new song up for free download now. Here’s some info from the PR wire to go with, so feel free to dig in.
There. Glad we made that work.
Enjoy:
Hungarian Rockers Ozone Mama Sign to Ripple Music, Announce New Album and Free Download Single
Ripple Music is proud to welcome Hungarian rockers, Ozone Mama, to it’s growing family of best heavy psych, stoner and doom bands on the planet.
Cranking out a bristling brand of high-octane rock n’ roll, Ozone Mama hails from Budapest with a vintage sound reminiscent of the 60’s or 70’s yet swaddled in a modern vibe. With their debut album (‘The Starship Has Landed’) they won a Phonogram Prize in 2012 . Their second release, ‘Freedom EP’, released in 2013 received major play across European, American and Canadian radio stations and their song ‘I Really Care’ was featured in Classic Rock Magazine. While their 2016 release “Sonic Glory” was awarded the Fonogram Prize in the category of “Hard Rock or Metal Album of the Year”
Comprised of Márton Székely (vocals), András Gábor (guitar, vocals), Gergely Dobos (bass guitar) and Gulyás Máté (drums), Ozone Mama has shared the stage with International headliners such as Monster Magnet (USA), Airbourne (AU), The Darkness (UK) or Kamchatka (SWE).
Now joining forces with industry leading heavy rock label, Ripple Music, the new album “Cosmos Calling” is due to hit the streets in January of 2018. As a prelude, Ripple is thrilled to release the special radio-edit version of the lead-off single, “High Ride” which is available as a FREE DOWNLOAD from the Ripple Music Bandcamp page and CD single/downloads at Ozone Mama Bandcamp.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 10th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Oh yes. Most definitely. I remain a sucker or Prophecy Productions and their proliferation of dark, otherworldly folk, this time arriving via Hungarian two-piece The Moon and the Nightspirit‘s fifth album, Metanoia, which will be released March 17. I’ll be honest with you, I got the promo download of the record two days ago and I saved it to listen to because I knew we’d be getting a snowstorm yesterday here on the East Coast and after sampling “Az Elsö Tündér Megidézése” — which you can hear below — I wanted the blizzard conditions to be my first experience with it.
Absolutely zero regrets on that one, though I doubt that track or any of the others surrounding it on Metanoia would be any less at home on a summer’s night, marked as they are by ritualized percussive thud and an ethereal presence. Did I mention “most definitely?” Good.
The PR wire takes it from here:
The Moon and the Nightspirit to Release New Album, ‘Metanoia’, March 17
Hungarian Pagan-Folk Champions Ready Release of Fairytalesque Fifth Album
THE MOON AND THE NIGHTSPIRIT is a Hungarian duo that creates enchanting and melancholic folk music enhanced by a bewitching pagan aura where threads of ancient mysticism combine with phantasmagoric atmospheres. The group will release its new LP, Metanoia, on March 17 via Prophecy Productions (Alcest, Darkher).
In advance of the record’s release, THE MOON AND THE NIGHTSPIRIT has released the new song, “Az Elsö Tündér Megidézése”.
Formed in 2003 by multi-instrumentalists Ágnes Tóth and Mihály Szabó, THE MOON AND THE NIGHTSPIRIT has released a string of magnetic albums, celebrated as imagination-opening tapestries of sound. The group’s new LP, Metanoia, builds on its alluring, whimsical explorations, delivering enveloping songs that are as gentle as they are powerful. Creating otherworldly music built on the backs of multitudes of traditional cultural instruments — such as the jaw harp — and the beautiful, ethereal vocals of Tóth –THE MOON AND THE NIGHTSPIRIT delivers its most impressive music to date and cements its place as frontrunners of the international folk music landscape. As with previous TMATNS albums, the lush, delicate artwork created by Tóth provides the perfect visual accompaniment to the duo’s sprite fairyworld.
Meaning “a return to the pristine and pure path of crystalline existence”, Metanoia is an initiation, a rebirth, an awakening of the higher self, and the rekindling of an inner flame.
Track listing: 1.) A Hajnal Köszöntése 2.) Az Elsö Tündér Megidézése 3.) Mystérion Mega 4.) Kilenc Hid 5.) A Fény Diadala 6.) Metanoia 7.) Kristálymezök 8.) Hen Panta Einai (Minden Egy)
Posted in Radio on December 5th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
I try to do these every week. I’d like to, ideally, but it seems to be more like when folders and zip files clog up my desktop enough to really get on my nerves. Fair enough. A full 20 records joined the playlist today, including a couple wintry classics from Anathema that either were overlooked by me or wrongly left out, plus the new Witch Mountain album, and some other recently-reviewed and otherwise-written-about stuff. It’s actually a pretty killer list. If you’re into it, or if you want to see what else has been added lately or what was played today, check out the Playlist and Updates Page. I spend an embarrassing amount of time there. Here are a few more reasons why.
The Obelisk Radio Adds for Dec. 5, 2014:
Burning Saviours, Unholy Tales from the North
The unheralded heroes of Sweden’s retro heavy movement return with their first full-length since 2007. Their fifth outing overall, Burning Saviours‘ Unholy Tales from the North follows a series of four singles released between 2012 and 2013 (recently compiled by I Hate Records and released under the title Boken Om Förbannelsen) and finds the Örebro four-piece reveling in ’70s-style doom once more, albeit with a rawer and less directly ’70s-style production. That is, it’s not as directly fuzzed as their self-titled debut was nine years ago, when it was pretty much them and Witchcraft digging on classic Pentagram alone, but still presented in the same spirit, a strong opening trio of “They Will Rise Tonight,” “And the Wolves Cried Out” and “Your Love Hurts Like Fire” creating a lasting impression somewhere between early metal (think Rocka Rolla-era Priest) and the heavy rock that preceded it. Two Swedish-language tracks, “Ondskan” and “Lyktgubben,” end each side, and at 28 minutes, it’s a quick runthrough, but shows easily that Burning Saviours — since 2010 the lineup of guitarist/vocalist Mikael Monks, lead guitarist Jonas Hartikainen, bassist Fredrik Evertsson and drummer Martin Wijkström — remain vital in their approach, cuts like “Inside My Mind” and “The Sons of the North” exploring metal’s roots effectively and organically while crafting something new, if familiar, from them. Burning Saviours on Thee Facebooks, at Transubstans Records.
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Soldat Hans, Dress Rehearsal
Swiss newcomers Soldat Hans seem to be embarking on an admirably ambitious journey with their self-released debut, Dress Rehearsal, the title of which hints at their thinking of it as a demo, but for which the extended four tracks included serve to craft a sense of ambience that marks it unmistakably as a full-length. Engrossing in its atmosphere, patient in its construction and impeccably conceived, Dress Rehearsal plays out lengthy builds fluidly and takes listeners from minimalist drone and slow unfolding to massive, feedback-caked sludge, and then back again, sounding natural in the process and brilliant for both its pummel and restraint. None of the four cuts — “Meine Liebste; Sie zerbricht sich” (15:21), “Esthère (im bronzefarbenen Licht)” (13:34), “Zikueth! Zikueth!” (18:25) and “Liefdesgrot” (15:08) — really departs from a bleak, moody feel, but there are shifts throughout, as “Esthère (im bronzefarbenen Licht)” moves from the linearity of the opener to brooding post-rock and jazzy exploration before hitting its own wash of viciousness. To have a band take such control of their sound on their first outing is remarkable, and the longest and farthest ranging of the tracks, “Zikueth! Zikueth!” provides Soldat Hans their shining moment, theatrical but not overdone, melodic early and raging late, hypnotic in the middle, as classic as it is avant garde. They close out with another maddening payoff in “Liefdesgrot,” and while in the future I’d be interested to hear them take on structures as wide-ranging as what they bring sonically to Dress Rehearsal, if this is just practice, I can’t wait for the show to start. Soldat Hans on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.
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Olde, I
If you were to go by their sound alone, I don’t think there’s any way you could come out of hearing burly five-piece Olde‘s Hypaethral Records debut long-player, I, and not imagine they were from Virginia. In fact, they come from Toronto, but the aggro Southern metal they purvey on the album’s eight bruising tracks would be right at home in the heart of sludgeland, full as it is of steady rolls — Sons of Otis drummer Ryan Aubin provides trailmarking thud — the from-the-chest growling from Doug McLarty and lumbering riffs, songs like “Heart Attack” and “Changelings” in the tracklist’s midsection readily crossing the line between sludge and doom, all mudhole stomp, metallic affiliation and violent groove. There’s atmosphere at work, but it comes out through the aggression portrayed, and ultimately, I has about as all the ambience of having your teeth kicked in. And yes, that counts the variation on the theme in the closing “Perimeter Walk,” the more echoing guitar, farther back vocals, and so on. With a crisp production behind it, Olde‘s debut knows precisely the kind of beatdown it wants to deliver and sets about its task with brutal efficiency. Olde on Thee Facebooks, Hypaethral Records on Bandcamp.
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Holy Grove, Live at Jooniors
Recorded at some point between then and now at Joonior Studios in Seattle, Washington — I’m guessing more toward “then” — the 2014 outing Live at Jooniors from Portland four-piece Holy Grove is only two songs, but even one would be enough to serve notice of their warm tonality and the bluesy vocals of Andrea Vidal, who pushes her voice to its reaches on “Holy Grove” and still manages to nail the emotional crux. Honestly, that would probably be enough to carry “Holy Grove” and the following “Nix” on its own — sold; I’m on board — but I won’t discount the fuzz in Trent Jacobs‘ guitar or bassist Gregg Emley‘s fills in “Nix,” or the seamless shift drummer Craig Bradford leads between subdued verses and the tense chorus of “Holy Grove.” As far as serving notice goes, Live at Jooniors does so and then some, and without sacrificing sound quality as so many underground live recordings do. Seems to me a 7″ release wouldn’t be out of order, but Holy Grove seem more intent on getting together their full-length debut, which if they can bring to the studio the vibe they create in just 13 minutes on stage, is going to be something to look out for indeed. Learn the name, because you’ll hear it again. Holy Grove on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.
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Persona, Persona
Buenos Aires instrumental four-piece Persona formed in 2004/2005, but their newly-released self-titled appears to be their first LP, preceded by a 2012 EP. If the better part of the intermittent decade was spent jamming, it doesn’t seem to have hurt the band, who present nine plotted but flowing tracks that keep some loose sensibility to them while following a course of classic heavy and fuzz rock. The lineup of guitarist/bassists Lucas Podestá and Santiago Adano, guitarist Gustavo Hernández and drummer Esteban Podestá touch here and there on more metal tendencies, as on “Los Perros” and the brief “Cortina,” but that’s no more out of place than the proggy exploration of “Cuna de Fantasmas,” a King Crimson-style noodling underscored by subtly engaging snare work and giving way to a heavier push. The lead guitar on “Cazador” provides a particularly engaging moment of payoff for the album’s first half, but there’s enough variety throughout that Persona‘s Persona offers a range of satisfying moments. Still room for the band to develop their style, but they obviously have the will and chemistry to do so. Persona on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.
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Dungaree, Climb out of the River
I’ll give it to Hungarian four-piece Dungaree based on their moniker alone. It’s simple, fun to say, and it evokes the rebelliousness of a bygone time. Their debut release, a three-song EP dubbed Climb out of the River, is likewise sharp-dressed, with a grunge-style production that pushes the dudely vocals of László Gergely to the fore ahead of Horváth T. Zoltán‘s guitar, Balogh Attila‘s bass and Dencs Dominik‘s drums to result in a sound that comes across to my American ears more akin to commercial hard rock than underground heavy, though in my experience the line in Europe and particularly Eastern Europe is both less distinct and less relevant. The tracks are short, straightforward, hard-hitting and catchy, with “Climb out of the River” a strong opening hook, “Dream Again” pushing into metallic guitar chugging in its breakneck chorus, and “Right Words” toying with a lounge boogie — snapping fingers and all — that assures the listener that although Dungaree have their sharp corners, they’re not about to take themselves too seriously either. Might not be for everyone, but shows a strong foundation of songwriting, and I wouldn’t ask any more of a first outing than that. Dungaree on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.
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Six releases, and a pretty varied bunch at that. It’s still really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what went up to the server. I always like putting stuff on there — it’s like casting a fishing lure, except maybe without killing? I don’t know. More like tossing a fish in the ocean maybe and not knowing when it will swim by the boat again. Or maybe I just (re)watched Jaws recently and have aquatics on the brain.
Either way, we’ve passed the two-year mark since the stream went online and I’m very happy with how The Obelisk Radio has turned out. Special thanks to Slevin for all the work he’s put in over that time in helping me with hosting and making it go, and thank you as always for reading and listening.
It’s been a really long time since the last time Wino Wednesday was a guest spot track. Since January, actually (unless you count Probot), and that was live, not studio. To help make up for lost time, I thought we’d hear from Hungarian traditional doomers Wall of Sleep, who had Scott “Wino” Weinrich contribute a guitar track on the song “From the Bottom of These Days” from their 2005 outing, Sun Faced Apostles.
Though I more or less permanently mix up Wall of Sleep (who are named for a Sabbath song) with Well of Souls (who are named for a Candlemass song), “From the Bottom of These Days” is nothing if not a standout track, Wino making his presence felt early with a ripping lead to set up the vocal line from Gábor Holdampf (also formerly of Mood) in the verse. The band’s second album, Sun Faced Apostles was released by PsycheDOOMelic, and Wall of Sleep have two records since then, the latest being 2010’s When Mountains Roar on Nail Records.
So while you contemplate playing four albums’ worth of catch-up with Hungary’s trad doom scene, check out “From the Bottom of These Days” below, and as always, have a happy Wino Wednesday:
Posted in audiObelisk on July 28th, 2011 by JJ Koczan
Traditional doom heathens will recognize the names Gábor Holdampf and Kolos Hegyi, or at least the formidable Hungarian outfits from which they come — Wall of Sleep and Mood. Re-teamed in the four-piece Magma Rise, they follow last year’s Lazy Stream of Steel full-length with the track “Five” on a multi-continental split 7″ with North Carolinian rockers The Asound.
And while we’re talking familiarity, The Asound should ring bells with anyone who stops by this site regularly, since they’ve been reviewed twice now (here and here). It’s seems like a curious pairing at first — a Hungarian doom outfit and American heavy rockers — but both bands make off with some righteous riffery, and The Asound even slow their tempos a bit from their past offerings and match Magma Rise for doomly stomp. Seriously, “The Baron” pretty much marches.
The split is a joint release between Tsuguri and PsycheDOOMelic, and since I have reviewed The Asound twice in the span of 13 months, I thought hosting the tracks for streaming might be time well spent for anyone who hasn’t yet checked them out. If you’ve missed Magma Rise too up till now, you’ll definitely want to hit up “Five” on the player below, as it also rules. Dig it:
The Asound/Magma Rise split is out now in a limited edition of 500 7″ vinyl. Special thanks to Tsuguri Records (website here) and PsycheDOOMelic (website here) for letting me stream the tracks.
Posted in On the Radar on January 12th, 2011 by JJ Koczan
Lurking deep within the awfulness that is the new MySpace layout (which I’m convinced they’ve introduced only so they can revert to the original and call it “MySpace Classic”), there’s an instrumental Hungarian rock unit called Urania riffing out odes to deserts so far away they might as well be on the other side of the planet — because they are — and running a gamut of stonerisms from the expansive psychedelia of “Space Coffee” to the nod-worthy low end/reverb interplay of “Bar in Desert.”
I’m always a fan of stoner rock from unexpected places, whether it’s the burgeoning Australian doom movement of bands like Adrift for Days and The House of Capricorn or the Polish rock boom as heard in Elvis Deluxe and Fifty Foot Woman, so to hear Urania come out of Budapest with the quality fuzz of “Stonerose” is a thrill. Their hearts and distortion pedals are in the right place, as you can hear, and with guitarist Aiwass leading the charge on most of the material, a down-to-earth track like “Corrosia” gets no less largess than does the massively-riffed “Carpathian Woodoo.”
Urania, who take their name from the Greek muse of astronomy, aren’t really doing anything that hasn’t been done before, but this is how a scene begins. There were a couple parts on the 10 MySpace tracks that I thought could have used vocals, and the bongos that pop up later into “Carpathian Woodoo” were mixed too high, but it’s not at all realistic to expect perfection from Urania when they’re just getting started. Instead, I’d advise you put on the warm fuzz of the drum-machined “Desert Melancholy” (conveniently located in the clip below) and enjoy.
of bands like Adrift for Days and The House of Capricorn or the Polish rock boom as heard in Elvis Deluxe and Fifty Foot Woman, so to hear Urania come out of Budapest with the quality fuzz of “Stonerose” is a thrill. Their hearts and distortion pedals are in the right place, 
