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Notes From Freak Valley 2023 – Day 3

Posted in Features, Reviews on June 11th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Slift 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Freak Valley Festival 2023 – Day 3

Sat. – 12:34PM – Same tent as yesterday

Feeling moderately asskicked when I woke up, I headed to the hotel breakfast quickly to grab coffee. They had scrambled eggs and I didn’t have any, which was the wrong choice. My stomach was a little iffy. So maybe pounding seven espressos out of the machine wasn’t a hot idea either. I’d call these rookie mistakes, but I’m no rookie. Just a dumbass who can’t handle basic nourishment when left to his own devices.

Some light nausea and a not-nap later, it was back to the festival grounds for me. Today is supposed to be hotter than yesterday, so I’ll keep to my routine of refilling the water bottle at least once per band. I am a firm believer in the power of hydration, which is good because I think that’s what’s going to get me through the day. You can’t always count on stumbling into a yoga class at just the right time, sadly.

Before I go up to take pics of the start of the 10-act final day here, I would like to reiterate my thanks to Freak Valley for having me back. The vibe here is intimate and friendly and there are still however many thousand people, so that’s saying something. I am honored to be here, to have been here, to have met people and made friends here and seen and heard things I never knew I would. If you told me 15 years ago that I’d be living this life, even on intermittent weekends spread throughout the year, I’d probably have been like, “Wow that sounds exhausting, sure hope I don’t blow out a knee or some shit,” but underneath I’d be flabbergasted. I remain so, loving it.

My phone autocorrected “living” at the end of that last sentence. I’m leaving it as is. Some mistakes are on purpose.

Thank you again. Here we go. Day three of three:

Reverend Beat-Man

Reverend Beat-Man 1 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Before the show actually started, the good Reverend was to be found one-man parading around the merch/food area with a mini amp and bullhorn, hand-delivering scummer blues as he went. I didn’t even have the battery in my camera yet, so the above pic is from my phone. I don’t know what car battery he was huffing before going onstage, but I’d gladly take a hit off it. Dude was full-on, exclusively, there on his own doing weirdo blower blues, put his clergy collar on during his purposefully laughably long intro. Distorted vocals, some looped cello for good measure, a real performance piece, complete with sleaze, “Jesus Christ Twist,” boogie like he was born to do it, merch sold on the honor system, and a fest-day’s worth of shenanigans packed into a set that had the early crowd shouting for one more song when it was over. A hoot in the grand tradition of hoots.

Ritual King

Proper English heavy rock. You can hear aspects of original-era desert riffing, some Truckfighters as well in that rolling bass, but Ritual King’s 2020 self-titled debut (review here), issued through Ripple, had more progressive stretches too and that came through a bit in the shuffle jam amidst all the roll and richness of fuzz, the bass holding down the groove while the guitar trips out ever so slightly. It was almost like you could hear them growing as they played, and their first record was already a call to the converted. I’ll not go around making predictions, but they were tight, seemed to be just the right amount of not-sober to represent the UK ahead of Orange Goblin later, and made it clear that the next generation of heavy knows from whence it comes and is ready to make its own statement in the genre. That’s the hope, anyhow. They could break up tomorrow, you never know. If that happened, I’d be glad to have seen them today. Second record later this year. Don’t tell anybody. It’s a secret.

Food: With about 10 minutes before Gaupa went on, I very quickly inhaled the meat out of a sans-rice goulash, leaving most of the sauce, veggies, etc. Burned tongue for the effort. My self-imposed dietary restrictions at this point are laughable — I brought three (small, plastic) jars of almond butter with me, left the one I wanted to bring at the hotel, hence the improv. What my feelings on this matter tell me is I’m channeling other shit into disordered eating because it’s a way to exert control over some aspect of my life. Take care of your brain, kids.

Gaupa

Burner. If I hadn’t seen them in December in their native Sweden, I’d likely be blown away both by the band’s performance and the response from the crowd, but while I knew what to expect, Gaupa still set a high standard on the stage. Hair flying all over the place, and vocalist Emma Näslund’s sort of hard-hippie dance moves putting emphasis on the band’s psychedelic side even as the actual tones are doomly thick and their riffs are high-class Euro stoner. They’re on their way, and the only question is how far they’ll push it. And they’re young, which is crucial. Last year’s Myriad (review here) featured heavily and it was immediately apparent that those assembled were familiar. They were an early pull for the crowd — all of a sudden, the grass was packed — and their delivery more than justified that.

Tabernacle

All the way over from San Francisco, Tabernacle are a conceptual four-piece who make a point of only playing original arrangements of traditional English folk songs. And I guess on paper that kind of says covers, but that’s not quite the end of it. Technically, they’re songs that have been around and performed by many people — it’s fucking folk music; it’s for and of the folk — but the way they interpret the root material is their own, pairing ancient melodies with heavy warmth, languid, fluid nod. I guess the difference between Tabernacle and what I would generally think of as covers is the possibility of progressing in terms of sound. Their approach is open to growing, and between lead vocalist/synthesist Caira Paravel, bechapeaued guitarist/vocalist Walker Phillips, who are solo filk players as well, bassist Camilla Saufley (ex-Golden Void, The Assemble Head in Sunburst Sound, and a Freak Valley veteran) and drummer Adam Weaver (The Asteroid No. 4), they clearly have the range and reach to make that happen if they choose. They don’t have much out, just a few songs streaming, and so I think people didn’t know them that well — writing the announcement that they were playing here was how I learned about them too — but for a band writing around established foundations, they wanted nothing for originality. I’d listen to a record of this, happily.

Hypnos 69

Hard for me to say enough how much I was looking forward to Hypnos 69. Not something I ever dreamed could happen, even before the band broke up like a decade ago. They’re a band whose music I’ve listened to for 20 years — and that by no means makes me groundfloor, so please don’t think I’m saying it does — and when I was first learning about underground rock, my initial immersion in different styles and bands from all over, they taught me so much about what heavy music could do, about what ‘progressive’ meant in terms of influence and presence, about atmosphere and about how music can seem to chase itself in circles forever and have fun doing it. I was nervous before they went on. What if they didn’t live up to the expectation in my head? What if they were jerks on stage? What if what if what if a piano fell out of the sky on my head two minutes before they went on? They were better than I could have hoped. I guess the phrase “bucket list band” applies, but really it was just something I’d reconciled myself to missing and never being able to see. I’ve lived with those records for so long, to hear and at them brought to life in front of me — along with new material, no less — felt like a landmark. I am so grateful. Thank you Hypnos 69, thank you Freak Valley. And please, if you’re seeing these words and you’ve never heard this band, I implore you to listen. Start with 2010’s Legacy (review here), and work back through 2006’s The Eclectic Measure (discussed here), 2004’s The Intrigue of Perception (discussed here) and 2002’s Timeline Traveller (rules but hasn’t closed a week yet; keeping it in my back pocket; it’s on their Bandcamp with all the rest). At least check it out if you haven’t. Please.

The Obsessed

Dudes sounded great. More than 40 years on, The Obsessed came across with new life and brought the doom of the Chesapeake to this little alcove in Netphen with fervency and groove alike. Founding guitarist/vocalist Scott “Wino” Weinrich and drummer Brian Costantino have been playing together for about a decade straight at this point, and with Chris Angleberger on bass and Jason Taylor on guitar/backing vocals — last I saw them was 2019 in Boston with Reid Raley still on bass and just Wino on guitar; the more standard configuration as a trio through their history — they sounded more than ready to follow-up 2017’s Sacred (review here) and were locked in all the way with a trademark groove that has helped forge trad doom. There was a short rant between songs about biometric scans and money on bracelets and freedoms being taken away, but that’s who Wino is and is nothing new, even if the discourse around and promulgation of conspiracy theories has changed in the last 10 years. In any case, the songs sounded like I can only imagine riding a motorcycle feels, and that’s the idea when it comes to The Obsessed, so I’m calling it a win outright. New record later this year on Ripple, from which they aired “It’s Not Okay,” which was shouted out to “all these fucking keyboard warriors” typing all their words and something about showing up at their house with a baseball bat on a Sunday and having them run away. Fair enough.

The Great Machine

Somehow they played fast even when they were playing slow, but either way, Israeli trio The Great Machine ran circles around the stage, and out in front for a bit too, and were a sight to behold as they made sure to get their cardio in while playing. Good fun, great energy, and their new album, Funrider (review here), while aptly named, is just a whiff of what they do live in terms of forward charge. But in addition to running around stage, the sound was also right on, roll and shove and even the odd quiet moment playing off each other with killer stoner roll and density that they made move almost as much as they did while playing. And even more, their set happened to coincide with the first break in the heat of this very, very sunny day, so all the conditions seemed to apply for them to kick ass, which they did with marked thoroughness. They’ve been here before, in 2017 (I looked it up; I know a good place for that kind of thing), and I have a hard time imagining they wouldn’t be invited back again. Rarely in my experience is heavy rock so much fun and still has so much to offer musically. They brought out a guest screamer toward the end of the set and continued to lap the vast majority of everything as they pummeled riff after riff. Hypnos 69 were the band I knew I was waiting for. The Great Machine were the band I didn’t know I was waiting for.

Hällas

This wasn’t my first time encountering Swedish cosmic strutters Hällas — who rock proto-metallic ’70s space riffs and their capes with equal aplomb; not being sarcastic — but it was the melodies that got me this time. Such a smooth, classy style, between the up-to-three vocalists and the organ and guitars, giving them a sense of out-thereness in alignment with their stage presence. I don’t mind telling you I am beat. Truly. But the sun is on its way down as we head toward 21:30, and I’m happy to let “Star Rider” take me into the home stretch of Freak Valley 2023. Much like hope The Great Machine were more than just somebody’s ecercise video, so too were Hällas more than the sum of their stage costumes. I guess in terms of sound they’re vintage, but it’s retrofuturism if anything, and they’re masters of it at this point and reliable in that regard. And even if I was dragging ass — no yoga today, sadly, though I’ve done some stretching throughout and basic sustenance helped — they most certainly were not and they had people singing along, dancing, spontaneous clapping along, the whole thing. I found a not-quiet but also not-crowded spot to sit and watch, trying to soak in as much as I can of this festival because I know it’s going to be over soon. What a party it’s been. No wonder tickets sell out in like a day every year.

Orange Goblin

On a planet marked by its paucity of guarantees, you can know in your heart that when Orange Goblin show up, it’s to destroy. Their second album, Time Travelling Blues (discussed here), was released in 1998 on Rise Above Records, which makes its 25th anniversary the occasion for playing it in full for the first time ever here, at Freak Valley, but I ask you in a spirit of friendship, would they really need an excuse? From fucking “Blue Snow” through the fucking title-track — god damn, that groove, and that ending — and fucking “Nuclear Guru,” that’s one of the best fucking sabbath rock records ever made to not actually be by Black Sabbath. The set was a celebration that felt like it applied to the whole weekend, and Orange Goblin absolutely hit that mark. Chris Turner on drums propulsive or swinging or both, Joe Hoare on guitar with blues shred, Harry Armstrong — the only member of the band now who wasn’t in it a quarter-century ago — with a stark reminder that ‘heavy’ lives in the bottom end, and Ben Ward jumping up and down and running point like the frontman he is, like a walking advertisement for his own sobriety and healthy living. Full of life. The night isn’t over yet, but this was a special set in more than just the songs being played. A highlight? Shit. These guys — and in no small part, this record — have inspired a generation and counting of English heavy. It is, and they are, a classic. And being here, with the trees lit up in back and the hey-hey-heys from the crowd almost as loud as the band itself, the band throwing in “Red Tide Rising” as a bonus track at the end. I hope I never forget it. Thank you.

Slift

Do we need to talk about Ummon? That record (review here) carried entire legions of weirdos through the pandemic, and I felt like I was overdue for seeing Slift live. Not in a the-moment-has-passed way, because it hasn’t, but just in that way I’m perpetually late to any and all parties. They brought the drums down front and set up in a line, had a video protection behind, and you could feel the bass in your chest on that side of the stage even when they were warming up, speaking from personal experience. They lit the galaxy on fire. They blew up the fucking Death Star. Slayer meet Hawkwind. Didn’t know space thrash was a thing? It was tonight for sure, but that’s really just the launch point for the Andromeda-bound FTL groove that Slift emit. People were saying their goodnights, me too, but after a long and busy few days since I took off from Newark an entire dimension ago, I was only too happy to be disintegrated by the pulsations of their cosmic noise. I can’t believe I’m here. I can’t believe it’s ending. I can’t believe how ineffective my earplugs were in the face of their dizzying assault. I could go on, easily, about them ripping holes in space-time, or I could start using treknobabble, which might be fun, but I’m not sure that would capture the overwhelming physical presence of Slift at Freak Valley. I can’t remember the last time I so badly wanted a band to not be a fluke. They’ve got nearly impossible expectations to meet. But, that tension, you can feel in your blood. This band might be the real deal, and I know I’m not the first to say so. At least some of what they played was new, so that bodes well. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’m hopeful. Do you know how good that feels?

Thank you again for reading. Thank you Freak Valley. Thank you Jens, Alex, Marcus, Felli, Roman, Juan, Pete Holland. I met friggin’ Komet Lulu! I was so nervous and awkward; totally embarrassed myself. Everybody who approached me to introduce themselves and say some words about this site or what I do. People are so impossibly kind. Friends I met last year and saw again. Sister Rainbow! I don’t think I knew how badly I needed this, but I bet The Patient Mrs. knew, and thanks to her most of all. Thank you, Wendy. I love you.

I wrote too much today. I took too many pictures. I guess some part of me was trying to cram in as much as I could while I could. No regrets. For mostly my own future reference, here’s the running order of the entire festival. I saw all of it.

Freak Valley Festival 2023 running order

More pics after the jump. You know the deal. Cheers from Freak Valley 2023, and all the love in the universe. I fly home tomorrow.

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Friday Full-Length: Hypnos 69, The Eclectic Measure

Posted in Bootleg Theater on March 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

hypnos 69 the eclectic measure

What a record. Formed in 1995, Belgian heavy psychedelic progressive rockers Hypnos 69 were at the vanguard of a revivalist sound, but by the time they got around to releasing their fourth album, The Eclectic Measure, in 2006 through Elektrohasch Schallplatten, their depth of arrangement, complexity of songcraft and melodic grace were their own. Running a sprawl across 10 songs and 48 minutes, the band — brothers Steve Houtmeyers (vocals, guitar, synth, theremin) and Dave Houtmeyers (drums, synth, percussion, glockenspiel, timpani), as well as bassist Tom Vanlaer (also synth, Hammond, Rhodes piano) and secret-weapon multi-instrumentalist Steven Marx (tenor and baritone sax, Mellotron, clarinet, Rhodes, Hammond, seemingly whatever else a given part called for) — surpassed even the scope of 2004’s The Intrigue of Perception (discussed here) and captured a warm-toned organic vibe that made each detail precious.

The interplay of acoustic strum and glockenspiel before the Mellotron leads the build in “Forgotten Souls,” that humble sweep there, or the lush but unassuming way in which “I and You and Me (II)” builds off the album’s intro “I and You and Me (I)” with a quiet flow, folkish vocal delivery, down-home electric guitar solo just past halfway into its 6:25 and subsequent sax-blast crescendo, or even the subdued melodic exploration in the sub-two-minute instrumental “My Ambiguity of Reality,” the hand-drums and blips behind the guitar and Vanlaer‘s Moog in “Halfway to the Stars.” Each piece on The Eclectic Measure was and is a showcase of progressive intent, but it’s the totality — the front-to-back experience — through which they made their declaration, whether that’s the title-track bursting to life out of the ending to “I and You and Me (I)” and giving an initial hook to ground the proceedings that seem to lift off the ground so casually, or the soft comedown of closer “Deus Ex Machina” (which does have a subdued payoff in Mellotron and timpani to finish) after the landmark culmination offered in the penultimate “The Point of No Return,” the initial weeping guitar lead of which signals the righteousness to come as it moves past its verses into what, in my mind at least, is a career-defining arc.

Life affords very few moments of absolute perfection, and even fewer of those ever end up on records, but “The Point of No Return” is one of them. There’s the soft, almost sneaking around of the verse and the snap of snare before two minutes in as it shifts into a classic prog boogie — answering both the fuzz shuffle of the earlier “The Antagonist” and the jazzy runs and King Crimson‘ed distorted verse of “Ominous (But Fooled Before)” immediately preceding — before dropping to organ, bass and meandering-seeming electric guitar as the start of a build through an increasingly-adrenaline-fueled-but-still-controlled vibrant rush, the crash cymbal becoming propulsive past the four-minute mark as the song, which is the longest on The Eclectic Measure at 7:42, feels more and more like it’s about to live up to its title. In the spirit of Opeth‘s “Closure” as played on the 2003 Lamentations live video/album, the tension becomes maddening, except that Hypnos 69, instead of ending there push even further, turning at 5:28 to a series of hit-stops and Iberian-ish acoustic guitar in call and response, the weeping lead line coming back beautifully before minute six to underscore the thoughtfulness, plot and understated majesty of the entire arrangement. That they then return to the verse, contradicting the title, does nothing to diminish the spirit of how far out they’ve gone, instead reinforcing it with a rare sense of wholeness; a total, album-style flight compacted into one song. One complete, perfect moment.

The Eclectic Measure was produced by Hypnos 69 and Jean-Pierre Kerckhofs at Artsound Studio in Houthalen. Kerckhofs had also recorded The Intrigue of Perception and the band’s concurrent split with Colour Haze, but The Eclectic Measure remains a lesson in the power of attention to detail, be it in “The Point of No Return,” the ’60s psych-folk sunshine of the keys in “Halfway to the Stars” or the way the percussion in “Forgotten Souls” seems to foreshadow the ending of the album in “Deus Ex Machina.” Among the many strengths of the record is the fact that, in listening, one can immerse completely in these nuances and intricacies spread throughout the tracks like the treasures they are, or not. Especially if you’re new to the band or you don’t know this record, etc., you can put on “I and You and Me (I)” and trust that the material will carry you through, because yes, it will. And that’s true of “The Point of No Return” in itself, as well as “Deus Ex Machina” and “The Eclectic Measure” and “My Ambiguity of Reality,” taken as an entirety or as individual pieces.

Another thing about The Eclectic Measure? It can’t even be called the band’s crowning achievement. Four years later, in 2010, Hypnos 69 offered their to-date swansong, aptly-titled Legacy (review here), and dove even further into the reaches of progressive psychedelic rock, demonstrating again their distinctive approach that could be so encompassing and still cohesive, purposeful and expressive, with a scope even beyond the 2006 LP. It was an album that genuinely seemed like they put everything they had into it, and fitting, if sad, that they didn’t do another after it.

That’s not to say it couldn’t still happen. Following years of quiet and Dave Houtmeyers and Tom Vanlaer putting out two records with Hidden Trails, Hypnos 69 reunited in 2022 to play the 25th anniversary of Orange Factory in Belgium, and they opened that set with a new song called “And the Spirit Spoke.” They’ve been confirmed for Freak Valley 2023 in Germany this June and Down the Hill 2023 in Belgium this August, so while I don’t want to jinx it, the possibility of their keeping the reunion going and building toward a new release exists. However and whenever such a thing arrived, it would be welcome.

I could go on here, tell you about living with this album when it came out and the surprise it presented even after The Intrigue of Perception and 2002’s Timeline Traveller, or about how my first CD copy didn’t have a front cover and it would be more than a decade before I finally saw the Malleus cover art in person, or just how unrealistically stoked I am to say I’ll see Hypnos 69 at Freak Valley, on and on, but you get the idea, I’m sure. A band worth appreciating, with more than one masterpiece under their collective belt, who creep up on 30 years since their inception with a future that is unknowable in its potential.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

Went to sleep last night at 9PM. We had a kind of surprise-for-us party to celebrate my sister killing it as a realtor last night and so I was up what I consider late, though not much more so than the night before. I woke up at 3:15AM, which was an improvement over yesterday’s 2:30. I’m not even sure it matters anymore. The kid came downstairs at 5:05. I didn’t even have time to finish the above and send the three or four emails that have been hounding the back of my brain for the last week.

Tomorrow night, Church of the Cosmic Skull play NYC for the first time. I’m taking The Patient Mrs., because that’s something she should see, but the kicker is we’ll go after already making the trip during the day to Connecticut and back, decorating eggs because Easter, and kid, and so on. Show will be good, fatigue will suck, and New York feels pretty unpleasant to me at this point in my life, but sometimes you have to go. This is one of those occasions. I have an Iron Jinn premiere Monday, but if I can review the show at the show, I’ll post that as well with probably a few disappointing pictures.

That’s part of a busy weekend at end of a busy week. Not sure that matters either.

5PM Eastern is a new Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal. Playlist should be posted by the time this is — if not, maybe I just forgot because today is a 12-post day and that’s just stupid — but it’s a cool one either way, some old and new mixed together.

The rest of next week is full. Ditto week after and week after that. Time.

I’ve been punched and kicked and scratched this morning. I said rules exist. Yesterday while cleaning the house for four hours the popcorn maker fell on my face and I have a black eye. I just tried to stop the shower head from leaking and accidentally popped it off, spraying water all over the bathroom. No one will deliver weed, and even if they did, I’m fucking broke. So fuck everything. Today. Yesterday. Tomorrow. I feel like I’m about to have a fucking aneurysm and if we’re being honest with each other, if I did, it would be a favor to myself and those around me.

Great and safe weekend. Don’t forget to hydrate.

FRM.

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Down the Hill 2023 Makes First Lineup Announcement

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 5th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Very little says ‘vibe’ as directly as having a reunited Hypnos 69 and Kanaan at the top of a bill, except maybe for the word itself. Down the Hill in Belgium looks immediately like a good time, and I don’t expect the lineup is done either, so all the better. They’re later in the summer than some of the other European events being announced now, so I’d imagine there’s still some things that are too bad confirmed — and I’m not playing coy or anything, I actually don’t know — but it’s cool to see what started as a one-off for Hypnos 69 becoming a real thing, and Gnome seem primed for a pretty big 2023. Fair enough. Their record is doing pretty well in the year-end poll here too, so good for them.

Gonna try to keep up with this one as it comes together closer to the two days next August when it actually takes place, but they’re off to a good start.

Dig it:

down the hill 2023 first poster

Here they are! The first 5 bands that will crash the wooden stage at the Down The Hill Festival on August 25 & 26 2023 in Rillaar, Belgium!

For the Early Birds out there, a limited amount of tickets are going on sale the 5ft of december at 10.00pm.

More info&tickets》www.downthehill.be

HYPNOS 69

Hypnos 69 is a space rock/psychedelic rock quartet based out of Belgium. Forming in 1994, this band would draw heavily from 1960s and 1970s psychedelic and space rock. In a career spanning nearly twenty years the band would release five studio albums all the while performing all over Europe as a marquee act.

The band’s final shows would be a short tour in 2011 and a string of shows the next year, sharing the stage with the likes of Glowsun, Sungrazer and Lonely Kamel. Hypnos 69 would ultimately disband in 2012.

In September 2022 Hypnos 69 reunited for the 25 Years OrangeFactory happening in Leuven, Belgium. And they played a more than epic set at Desertfest Antwerp 2022.

It seems Hypnos 69 is back from a 10 year hibernation!

The name was taken from the ancient Greek god of Sleep and Subconsciousness. The number 69 stands for equilibrium and stability; properties that can be retrieved in the marked sound of the band.

KANAAN

Kanaan – Band is a Norwegian power trio that has been playing their own form of free-flowing psychedelia, heavy stoner-rock and jazz-influenced krautrock for the last few years. They´ve released six albums since 2019 and have played over 100 concerts in ten different countries since they emerged as a powerful live act on the European music scene in 2019. This spring they won the Norwegian grammy awards for their heavy stoner-rock album “Earthbound” and recently released the experimental album Diversions vol 1: Softly Through Sunshine. The latter features the talented Norwegian jazz keyboardist Håvard Ersland and is a document of a fruitful musical collaboration.

As a live act Kanaan are known for their fiery, intense and loud performances, and their gig at Down The Hill will not be an exception.

GNOME

Belgium’s hardest rocking creatures, Gnome are back with their majestic second outing, King.

After the sucses of 2018 debut Father of Time, demonstrating their talent for stacking riffs like lego blocks, and conquering stages across Europe with their shin-kicking live sets, the power trio from Antwerp raise the bar for their second album, sounding bigger, catchier and heavier, with more room for vocals (including special guest Oskar Logi from The Vintage Caravan) but never losing sight of the quest for the golden riff.

This silly looking, greasy smelling, small but heavy three-headed being packs abigger punch then the name suggests: combining sing-along hooks, wall-of-sound guitars booming drums and thundering bass with adventurous rhythmic twists they brew their unique and ultimately satisfying potion of sludge, prog and stonerrock.

GRANDMA’S ASHES

Grandma’s Ashes is a female power trio of alternative / progressive rock.

For almost 5 years, the band has been inviting people to an introspective and transcendent musical journey on the roads of France. Their first EP, “The Fates”, released in January 2021 has shown a singular vision of a modern and narrative rock. On the dark, sometimes sarcastic texts, the voices of the three musicians intermingle. The clear and melodic lead vocals are sublime in contact with a heavy and meticulous instrumentation. If it constitutes a first piece to the edifice or rather, to the gothic cathedral that Grandma’s Ashes is building, the Grandma’s Ashes, the group has not however finished to enchant you.

MOJO AND THE KITCHEN BROTHERS

A 5-headed omnium gatherum of eclectically inspired music freaks from Belgium cooking up a late 60’s early 70’s minded mix of heavy progrock soaked in psychedelia. The smells emanating from our kitchen recall bands like Black Sabbath, Wishbone Ash and Pink Floyd. However, M&TKB is more than a nostalgia trip. Firmly tuned into the spring of our contemporary psych rockers, Mojo & The Kitchen Brothers’ catchy tunes, proggy riffs, deafening drums, roaring basslines and spacy, triple-guitar jams take the listener on a Janus-faced journey through the limbo between past and present.

https://www.facebook.com/DownTheHillFestival/
http://www.downthehill.be/

Down the Hill 2023 playlist

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Freak Valley Festival 2023 Announce Orange Goblin, Melvins, Hypnos 69, King Buffalo, Seedy Jeezus and More to Play

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 3rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan

A whopping 15 names dropped in the first announcement from Freak Valley Festival‘s 2023 edition, which also happens to be its 10th anniversary. I was fortunate enough to be there for it in 2022 and hope very much to follow suit next year, having fallen in love with the place, the people, the time. It’s a special thing happening between those German hillsides. If you’ve been, you already know. If you haven’t, tickets go on sale next week, and they’ll be gone. If that makes your FOMO kick in a little bit, good, go with it.

Orange Goblin doing Time Travelling Blues is a hoot, and it’s been more than a decade since I last saw Melvins, so probably time to punch my card there — I’ve been down on them the last however many years, but have the utmost confidence they’ll deliver live — and of course the thought of seeing King Buffalo on that stage, and the likes of Pontiak and Seedy Jeezus and Besvärjelsen for the first time (also a bunch of the others) is exciting. But the name that’s really got me here is Hypnos 69, the reunited Belgian Elektrohasch veterans whose albums Timeline Traveller, The Intrigue of Perception (discussed here), The Eclectic Measure and Legacy (review here), should be commonly regarded as classics and will hopefully get another look as a result of their starting to play again. I mean that. They were incredible. I hope they do another record, too.

A little bit of a different format to the writeup, which I wrote, than in past years, but I think it gets the point across. This is going to be incredible. If it’s at all possible for you not to miss it, don’t. Like they say: “no fillers, just killers”:

freak valley festival 2023 first announcement names

Time to start daydreaming about June 2023 and the return of Freak Valley Festival! Come join us for our 10th anniversary and the best FVF yet!

Tickets go on sale next week (Nov. 7 local, Nov. 8 online). We expect once again to be completely sold out, and we hope you agree that the lineup we’ve been putting together is worthy of your great faith in us.

Gather ‘round, fellow freaks, it’s time for the first names of Freak Valley 2023!

If you’re gonna go, go big. We start our season by announcing that the lords of weirdo crunch riffing themselves, the MELVINS, will play FVF for the first time ever! They mark their 40th anniversary in 2023 and remain some of heavy rock’s most lovable oddities. We’re thrilled to have them and know it will be something special.

It will have been seven years since we last hosted ORANGE GOBLIN – far too long – and we’re bringing the London doom ‘n’ roll kingpins over to play a special ‘Time Travelling Freak Valley Blues’ show to celebrate 25 years since their classic 1998 album, Time Travelling Blues!

Two very special returns for us in KING BUFFALO and SEEDY JEEZUS. Since KB last played in 2019, they’ve released three incredibly special albums in their pandemic trilogy and become a household name among heads in the know. We haven’t seen Seedy Jeezus since 2015, but we can’t wait to welcome Mr. Frumpy and company back once again! Hugs and riffs both will happen.

Joining us for the first time are Wino-fronted doom legends THE OBSESSED in their new four-piece incarnation, Appalachian psychedelic craftsmen PONTIAK, French heavy rockers KOMODOR, and the reunited Belgian progressive psych trio HYPNOS 69!

Speaking of reunions, Sweden’s ASTROQUEEN come to Netphen as part of theirs, and their countrymen in the classically bluesy KAMCHATKA, and the ever-vibing BESVÄRJELSEN will further blur the boundaries between genres as they make it sound so easy to do, both also first-timers at FVF.

Berlin’s EARTH SHIP, featuring Jan and Sabine Oberg (also Grin and Slowshine, etc.), are also set to make their first appearance!

PSYENCE – if you don’t know them, take four minutes and get introduced, but be ready to buy the record after: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_RCDiXuoX8 – come to us from the UK, as part of a contingent that thus far includes the sludgier TUSKAR and righteous up and coming riffers RITUAL KING. Expect that contingent to grow before June.

We’re doing our best as always to bring you the greatest and biggest Freak Valley Festival to-date. Who are you most excited for here? Who do you want to see on our stage? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to get your tickets for Freak Valley Festival 2023 while you can!

Freak Valley Festival // No Fillers – Just Killers
June 8-10, 2023

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Hypnos 69, “The Great Work” live at Het Depot, Sept. 24, 2022

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Friday Full-Length: Hypnos 69, The Intrigue of Perception

Posted in Bootleg Theater on March 4th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

If one person reading this — just one person — who has never heard Hypnos 69 checks out this record, then I feel like I will have done a good thing today. Of course, that that person will have his or her mind and/or ass blown to smithereens by The Intrigue of Perception goes without saying. It’s Hypnos 69. The Belgian heavy proggers never ceased to amaze — until, of course, they did — and while I just as easily could’ve posted the album that followed this one, 2006’s The Eclectic Measure, with its brilliantly twisting title-track, or snuck in another posting for their to-date swansong, 2010’s Legacy (review here), but I have special attachment to this 2004 outing, as it was my first exposure to the band. It is their third album behind 2001’s Timeline Traveler (also reissued in 2006) and 2003’s Promise of a New Moon, as well as their first for Elektrohasch Schallplatten, and as we currently live in an era where heavy bands are trying to out-prog each other, it seems only fair to present a record like this one, which already dominated the sphere more than a decade ago.

To wit, the opening trio. The memorable winding lines of “The Endless Void.” The ultra-cool lounge stoner of “Good Sinner/Bad Saint” — and that hook! The build and sprawl of “Third Nature.” Oh yeah, and then they go space rock on “Twisting the Knife.” The Intrigue of Perception has more scope in its first three (four, five…) songs than most bands have in their career, and they only continue to expand the palette from there, ranging far into Floydian heavy on “Islands in the Sun,” exploring ambient spaces in “The Next Level” and meditating melodically on “A Castle in the Sky” while introducing and fleshing out the instrumental line that, for me at least, defines the record and the impulses the band would continue to follow on their subsequent offerings, somewhere between jammy heavy psych and delicately woven classic prog. Oh yeah, and then the watery electric and acoustic guitar of “Absent Friends” sets the bed for a sweet, emotionally resonant and still lush finish. Seriously, one person, and this site will have done its job for today. I can take the rest of the afternoon off.

Three was a point at which I was in touch with guitarist/vocalist Steve Houtmeyers — I think it might’ve been through MySpace — but as I recall, the conversations mostly consisted of me nerding out about his band being awesome. The band was him, drummer Dave Houtmeyers, bassist Tom Vanlaer and saxophonist Steven Marx, and they remain criminally underrated. Hard to imagine that if Hypnos 69 came back and put out a record of any strike, whether that’s the sprawl/depth of Legacy or something more kin to their early work, that they couldn’t spend the rest of their days delighting crowds of hundreds and thousands at various Euro festivals, but I’ve heard no such murmurings of a reunion or return to activity. Dave Houtmeyers and Tom Vanlaer are currently two-thirds of the Diest trio Hidden Trails, and there was some talk of Steve Houtmeyers joining Californian desert jammers Ten East with Gary Arce from Yawning Man, Scott Reeder, Greg Ginn and I think whoever else happened to be around that day, but I don’t know if anything came of it. Either way, Hypnos 69 have a Bandcamp up and do for my soul what a good night’s sleep is said to do for the human brain, so please, consider digging in heartily recommended.

If you do, I hope you enjoy.

Feels a little weird to have not closed out the week last Friday while I was out at Borderland Fuzz Fiesta 2016 in Arizona. So, uh, how was your week? Mine was… well… yeah. I don’t know, to be honest with you. Part of me feels like I haven’t yet recovered from that trip — no sleep on a redeye from Phoenix to Boston on Sunday night into Monday morning is not the way to start a productive work week — but then another part of me is like fuck that, you’re a miserable bastard anyway whether you’re tired or not, and that part of me is a total dick but he’s got a pretty valid point. Been a rough couple months. Work, personal shit. I don’t know how anything is going to shake out at this point, but I know it was really good for me to get out for a couple days, see good bands play good music, hang out with cool people and be out of my own narcissistic headspace for a minute or two. I wish it was something I could do more often. Sometimes these days just feel like I’m putting in time and I don’t even know why. Not the site, but you know, everything else. Music still sounds good. Still have my wife.

So yeah, was a bit of a comedown early this week, immediate headfirst dive into work bullshit followed by what, more. I don’t know. Doesn’t matter. I got some cool records sent to me over the last few days and that’s what I’d rather think about as this Hypnos 69 winds down. You have to redirect yourself sometimes, put your head where you want it to be.

I’m traveling for work starting on Sunday, which should be interesting. Headed down to Atlanta for something called Pittcon. I don’t know, but I’m going. The reason I say it should be interesting is because I already have a bunch of stuff slated for the week, including a Mancub video premiere on Monday, and tracks for The Golden Grass and Grifter on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Not sure when I’m gonna get any of that done, but I will. It’ll happen. It worked out when I was in San Francisco and I still had time to go record shopping. Atlanta will sort itself out.

Also have gotten a couple interviews in the can this week. Hope to have one posted with Jay Fortin from Scissorfight before the end of next week, so keep an eye out. Dude had some cool stuff to say about that reunion, which kicks off with a hometown show in New Hampshire later this month that I’m hoping to attend though am a little terrified at the prospect. They’ve got a weekender in July with Gozu and Backwoods Payback as well and I dropped Gozu a line this week and basically invited myself along for the trip. Only New York and Philly, but still. Sounds like fun to me.

I’ll keep you in the loop on that and everything else as we get there. Also going to have another band announced for The Obelisk All-Dayer this month, coming out from the West Coast to play. That’s all the hint you’re getting from me for now.

Thanks for reading, please have a great and safe weekend, and please check out the forum and radio stream.

The Obelisk Forum

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The Debate Rages: What are the Best Songs of the Last Five Years?

Posted in The Debate Rages on July 10th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

what are the best songs from the last five years

Mostly around here I concentrate on albums. Best albums of the year. Best albums of the decade. Still, kind of on a whim this morning I was thinking about the shape of heavy of the last half-decade — or rather, the shapes of it.

Different scenes moving in various directions, the emergence of the Pacific Northwest as a hotbed, the growth of West Coast psych and how in-conversation that seems to be both with California’s skater past and the current European market, itself branched out between heavy psych and ’70s traditionalism, which has also begun to take root throughout the US while, at the same time, a new generation has come up to embrace full-on stoner riffing and/or desert rock ideals.

While I have my album lists going back six years to refer to, this time around, I was wondering specifically about individual songs from the same era. What are the best songs from the last five years?

It’s not always the best album that has the best single piece of work on it, so it seemed worth asking the question separately.

Me, I go in for epics: YOB‘s “Marrow” (2014), Ancestors‘ “First Light” (2012), Colour Haze‘s “Grace” (2012), Hypnos 69‘s “The Great Work” (2011), Witch Mountain‘s “Can’t Settle” (2014), Elder‘s “Lore” (2015) definitely is worth having in the conversation, Solace‘s “From Below” (2010), Grayceon‘s “We Can” (2011), and so on.

But then you have Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats‘ “I’ll Cut You Down,” which has had a massive influence since it came out in 2011. And what about a cut like Clutch‘s “D.C. Sound Attack,” or Goatsnake‘s “Grandpa Jones,” or Graveyard‘s “Ain’t Fit to Live Here,” or Mars Red Sky‘s “Strong Reflection?” Does a track have to be long to make an impact? What if there’s a perfectly-executed two-minute verse/chorus trade? Shouldn’t that also be considered?

I guess that’s the question.

We haven’t done one of these in a while, so I’m hoping you’ll take the time to add your answers and picks for the best songs of the last five years 2010-2015 in the comments to this post. I know we’re not through 2015 yet, but we’re just trying to have some fun anyway.

Thanks to all who take the time to leave a note in the comments below.

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Friday Full-Length: Hypnos 69, Legacy

Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 27th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

Hypnos 69, Legacy (2010)

This is one of those albums that earned every second of its 2LP length. Brilliant front to back over the course of its seven tracks, I got to the point with Hypnos 69‘s Legacy where it wasn’t so much that I wore the record out as much as it wore me out. The Belgian heavy prog rockers conjured such textures and crafted such gorgeous spaces for their songs to happen in, I still kind of feel unworthy in listening.Elektrohaschreleased this album and I think it’s one of the best things the label ever put out — and if you know anything about this site, you know that’s saying something coming from me.

No real word on if they’re still a band. It was four years between their prior outing — 2006’s also excellent The Eclectic Measure — and Legacy, so even if they were going, it’s entirely possible they wouldn’t be making much noise. There seemed to be mumblings both ways a while back and then things got quiet. I prefer to live in a reality in which there’s a chance for a follow-up to Legacy, and if that reality doesn’t reflect the real reality, so be it. People force beliefs on themselves all the time. It’s how religion happens. Let me and my altar to “The Great Work” have our little moment.

And I said it at the time as well, but man, if Legacy is it for Hypnos 69 for real, what a note to end on. Just a dream of a record. I know capping the week with the expectation that you’re actually going to sit and listen to all 72 minutes of an album is probably a ridiculous thought, but even if you just get a taste now and check out the rest later, I hope you’ll listen, and of course, that you’ll enjoy.

Kind of a non-week, this one. Having the holiday right in the middle there more or less shot the whole thing. I’ll die happy knowing I didn’t miss Wino Wednesday though just because it also happened to be Xmas. I was down in New Jersey at that point; The Patient Mrs. and I drove down Tuesday night after having dinner with her grandmother in Connecticut and stayed there until last night, family stuff front to back over those days — hence the general lack of posts — then back up to Massachusetts last night. We rolled in just before 12:30AM. Tomorrow we’re back to Connecticut for more family whathaveyou. I shouldn’t complain. I’m happy these people want to spend time with me (mostly they want to spend time with my wife, but I can’t argue with their point — she’s the draw for sure), the road time just adds up is all.

Even though next week is New Year’s, things should be a little bit closer to normal at least in terms of posts. I’m not traveling, so there’s that. New Year’s Day I might take it easy, but otherwise there’s still stuff I want to do to wrap up the year that I didn’t get to do this week — song of the year, comeback of the year, Top 20 EPs, singles, etc. — and I’ve got an Obelisk Questionnaire waiting to go up from Acid King‘s Lori S. and that rules, so I’m looking forward to it as well. I like that feature. I hope to keep it going indefinitely. The pace will probably slow somewhat over time, but at this point I’ve got a decent backlog to get up, so we’ll do at least one a week for now.

Next week I’m either going to review the new Truckfighters or the new Alcest, or maybe both if I’m feeling fancy, and I’ve got a tape from We are Oceans to check out and some vinyl in the stack waiting for a writeup as well, so in addition to that year-end silliness, the format wars will continue unabated.

I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Entirely likely you don’t give a crap, but this week I finished watching the entire original series of Star Trek and there were recaps on the forum that were good fun, if you have the chance to check them out. Please also hit up the Radio stream.

The Obelisk Forum

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Santa Psychedelica to Come to Germany Next Month with Hypnos 69, Sungrazer and Electric Moon

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 28th, 2011 by JJ Koczan

You know, I was listening to Hypnos 69‘s Legacy just yesterday, by coincidence, and I still feel like that record is lightyears beyond me. Maybe I wouldn’t feel that way if I was ever so fortunate as to see the band live, but that doesn’t do me much good now. As it stands, Legacy is one of probably two records (I can’t think of another, but will allow for the possibility) that I’ve reviewed since starting this site that I still feel like I’m learning more about with every listen. Simply brilliant.

And if you’re lucky enough to be in Germany for the end of 2011, you can catch those Belgian prog wonders with Dutch fuzz upstarts Sungrazer (whose Mirador is pretty high on my list for this year) and Glowsun from France, whose split with Electric Moon was recently reviewed. Brash German hardcore punkers DxBxSx will guest on the first three of the four “Santa Psychedelica” tour dates, which Sound of Liberation was kind enough to send over. Behold:

Xmas is coming soon and we have some sweets for you as well…

Hypnos 69 (BEL), Sungrazer (NL) and Glowsun (F) combining their psychedelic spirits to deliver you some outstanding After-Xmas–Shows!

Special Guest for the “Punkedelica” After Show Parties in Cologne, Munich and Dresden are DxBxSx from Berlin… well know for their wild Party Rock n Roll!

Santa Psychedelica Vol. 1
27.12 Cologne Underground w/ DxBxSx
28.12 Munich Feierwerk w/ DxBxSx
29.12 Dresden Sektor E w/ DxBxSx
30.12 Berlin Lido

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