Posted in Questionnaire on October 3rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Nate Vaught of Brainvault Illustration
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’m a visual artist… an illustrator, specifically. As cheesy as it may sound, I don’t care… art is my life force. Obsessively trying to emulate Salvador Dali’s work, particularly, the towering animals found in works like The Elephants and The Temptation of St. Anthony ranks among my very first memories of artistic expression. I saw my crayon and pencil scribbles as masterpiece tributes to a genius. By my early teens, I’d discovered the likes of Frank Frazetta, Pushead, and Ed Repka, among others and virtually everything I’d put to paper was heavy on those influences. Those guys were officially my new heroes.
For years, I’d only draw for my own enjoyment, with the occasional praise from friends… or condemnation from people that didn’t “get it.” It wasn’t until I moved from my hometown hellhole of Martinsville, Indiana to Indianapolis in the early 2000’s that I began to finally get my name and work known as an artist. It was a relatively slow start, while I was attending college, but as recognition spread… so did clients and collaboration. Since then, I’ve gone on to work with the likes of The Gates Of Slumber, Transgression, Radiation Sickness, Boddicker, Demiricous, Mother Of Graves, Lavaborne, and Graveripper, among many others.
Describe your first musical memory.
I’d have to say it was the day my dad dragged out my parents’ record collection, and blew my mind with the contents. That afternoon was my official introduction to Black Sabbath, Kiss, David Bowie, Mott The Hoople, Montrose, Jethro Tull, Black Oak Arkansas… and Ted Nugent’s dumb ass. Haha! When my dad put on The Who’s Quadrophenia, I was much less interested in the music than the gritty photographs in the gatefold. I can’t understate the confusion I felt when I was staring at the cover of Kiss’ Alive II (with Gene all sweaty and dripping blood from a ravenous maw) while “Detroit Rock City” and “Christine Sixteen” totally vanquished any horrific visions the cover inspired in my impressionable brain. It was when my dad brought out the first two Sabbath albums that I lost my shit. The intro to “Iron Man” sent my pulse pounding and my mind reeling. Yeah, that was definitely the day that got me hooked.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
That would have to be the combination of all the best shows I’ve witnessed: Neurosis, Type O Negative, Life of Agony, Slayer, Judas Priest, King Diamond, Alice Cooper, The Rolling Stones, Ministry, L7, Gwar, Swans… all such immensely great experiences that I feel I’m beyond lucky to have had in this life.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I’m 45 years old, and just this year, I came out as bisexual. So, I guess my long-held belief that people should be able to unapologetically be who they are was stifled by my environment. I grew up in Martinsville, Indiana. I first recognized my orientation in high school, but kept it under wraps the best I could, because Martinsville’s reputation for bigotry is 100% legit. By the time I was a junior, I’d lost a good friend to suicide because her physically abusive dad couldn’t hang with the thought of having a gay daughter.
Rednecks and jocks called me and my friends various homophobic slurs every single day at school. Faculty even laughed it off. Things like that made me fearful of anyone knowing I went both ways, so to speak. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that I’d become obviously comfortable with my sexuality, but only then revealing it to my closest friends. Fast forward to just a couple months ago, when I finally thought, “enough is enough,” and shed that burden. The most liberating feeling I’ve experienced in my life. And it was super-interesting finding out how many friends and family already knew. Haha! I think I passed the test.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
I’ve always believed that constant practice and development only leads to greater things. Art’s subjective, right? The more in tune an artist is with themselves on a personal level, the more effective and vibrant their work will be in its execution. Whether it’s a cover art commission for a band, or some deeply personal piece, I always make it a point to somehow inject a part of myself into that work. Otherwise, it feels insincere. I’ve always taken pride in the fact that people know my work at first glance.
How do you define success?
I define success as simply being happy with one’s work, one’s life, and one’s self.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
In the late 90’s, my phase of browsing the likes of rotten.com and goregrish.com definitely did not serve me well. Violent death, mutilations, war atrocities… and I can’t even clean up my cat’s puke without gagging. Humans are disgusting.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’ve done album cover art for several bands, but it’s always been front and/or back cover illustration. I have yet to do something like a full vinyl gatefold. So, if anyone’s down, hit me up! I’m also always daydreaming about three dimensional versions of my illustrations coming to life. That’d be gnarly!
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Self-expression, first and foremost. It’s an artist’s lifeblood. Everything that comes after is just icing on the cake.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I’m a huge horror freak… and there are tons of new horror films I have in my sights. Terrifier 2, what? Haha!
Posted in Questionnaire on September 19th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Corey Webb from Apostle of Solitude
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
For 19 years now, I have played the drums for Apostle of Solitude. It’s a passion, a labor of love, and a source of balance to other aspects of my life. Thinking back, it seems a bit surreal sometimes how far we’ve taken this idea since the beginning, and the experiences we’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy as a band. AoS is obviously just an underground doom metal band in a sea of other bands doing this on a much larger scale, but I remember when our goal was simply to record a demo and maybe play a show for a few friends, so I truly am grateful for the friends I’ve made along the way and anything we’ve been able to do beyond that. When I started doing this I never imagined I’d have the opportunity to do some of the things I’ve since done. I am forever grateful for the places this journey has taken me.
My own path that led me to play in this band started a bit later in my life than others. I pursued a degree after high school, met my wife, got a “career” sort of job, and got married and shortly after we had our first son. Like others at that age, I was still just sort of finding out who I was as a person. I suppose I had a bit of an identity crisis, where I loved my “at home” life, but more wholistically speaking I basically decided that I couldn’t just work a 9-5 corporate America job every day, come home, mow the lawn, eat dinner, go to bed, rinse and repeat. I quickly became disillusioned with all that and decided there had to be more to it.
There had to be more to me. I wanted something more; some sort of outlet for individual and artistic expression, self-identify, etc. Music had always been an important component in my life, and something that I deeply enjoyed. Tape trading, making mix tapes, buying albums, drawing band logos on my school folders; all that. I played drums / percussion in middle school concert band, and then later marching band in high school, and my dad had an old ‘60s Ludwig kit around the house that I’d play occasionally back then (he was in a wedding band when he was younger), and although I loved playing I never really took it very seriously.
So fast forward to my quarter-life identify crisis of 2003 or so. I’d always been a bit of an introvert and a lone wolf, so I started going to shows by myself. I took photos, started collecting flyers and handbills, and wrote a few reviews. Some I submitted to a few early online sites and local print music publications, but most I just kept for myself. I was just doing it for myself anyway; just sort of exploring. I started to make some friends in the local metal and punk scene here in Indianapolis, and then started helping with flyer distribution for certain bands that I liked. I wanted to be a part of this little scene that’s always been there, but I’d just discovered. Sure I went to bigger sort of actual “concerts” with friends when I was in high school, but otherwise was pretty much wholly unaware of anything closer to the ground than that.
At the time I certainly didn’t realize there was a thriving local music scene with some great bands right under my nose, but I was starting to make the connection. A few months later I bought a cheap Fender guitar and started to learn some chords and whatnot. I had a little 4-track Tascam recorder and started experimenting with recording (that didn’t last long). Sort of toyed with the idea in my head of maybe one day playing in a band, but never really seriously considered it until my friend Steve (Steve Janiak, who also, as fate would have it, happens to play in AoS now) suggested to my buddy Carl Arana and I that we should start a band. This was at a show at The Melody Inn, a small but famous Indianapolis rock club, at a show for Steve’s band Devil To Pay, who Carl and I were both big fans of. Carl and I both sort of laughed it off at the time, but I believe it was like the very next day when we were like “dude, yeah let’s give it a shot”.
Carl had recently moved to Indiana from California and was one of the first new friends I met going to local shows. We were both walking down an alley looking for the entrance to a show featuring Devil To Pay (from Indianapolis), Slow Horse (from New York), and The Rubes (from Ohio). Both Carl and I sort of recognized each other as having “the look” of someone looking for the show, so we introduced ourselves as we were looking for the club. Absolutely killer show, by the way, and “the club” ended up being a private studio (“Ventilator Studios”) with a sort of DIY “donation to drink from the keg” sort of deal. After that Carl and I became good friends and decided to start jamming together and see where it might take us.
I ditched the guitar (I think it currently still has the same set of strings on it as when I bought it, ha) and bought a cheap entry level Ludwig drum kit. We wrote a few songs together and made some rehearsal recordings under the moniker “Tri Power”. We also got together with Steve and recorded some of those same ideas with the 3 of us under the moniker “Arlorey Eve”. We were so proud of that little CD-R, and gave about 20 copies or so out to friends. That felt so good at the time. It was like “hey man, we can do this!”. Carl had a great ear for music (still does), and came up with some pretty killer guitar riffs. Then the bottom sort of fell out for me a few months later when Carl moved back out to California. I decided I still wanted to do something with this, but I was honestly a bit intimidated about playing with someone else.
Being new to all this, the notion of linking up with more seasoned musicians was definitely intimidating. I met up with Chuck Brown via a local “musicians wanted” message board, and we talked online a bit, and then decided to get together to jam. At the time, Chuck played drums in The Gates of Slumber, so Apostle of Solitude was more of a side project to him in that regard. He had some songs from a prior band that he had called The Keep, which sort of petered out and then he decided to regroup and call it Apostle of Solitude.
The first time we got together, it was Chuck, Brent McClellan on bass, and me. I’m not sure if those guys considered it an audition or not, but from my perspective we were just getting together to see how things would click. I think we played Saint Vitus’ “Born Too Late”, and three or four songs from a demo cd that Chuck sent to me. Maybe one or two of the songs that eventually ended up on the first AoS demo we put out? I don’t recall exactly. The short-term goal was just to record some songs and play a few shows, which was perfect for me and all I really wanted at the time. Nearly 20 years on, Apostle of Solitude continues to play doom metal from the heart and with absolute sincerity. Our music seems to connect with people on a very personal level, which is something we are pretty proud of.
Describe your first musical memory.
Probably my dad’s blue sparkle Ludwig kit set up in our living room. I grew up on ’80s heavy metal, but before that it was ’60s and ’70s “classic rock” from my dad’s record collection. Of course as a teenager it took some time before I realized that some of the music my dad listened to was actually good music. Like most kids, at the time I was thinking “that’s what my parents liked, so it couldn’t be cool, right? No way”. I gravitated at an early age towards the heavier, grittier, and darker sounds with BIG drums and loud guitars. I distinctly remember the day I first heard Zeppelin’s “When The Levee Breaks.”
I was in 4th or 5th grade, and my dad put the record on the hi-fi stereo in our living room. Referencing the posters from Hit Parader, Creem, etc. (then later on, Metal Maniacs, etc.) on my bedroom walls featuring spandex-clad androgynous rockers, he said something to the effect of “son, let me show you what REAL music sounds like”, ha. I reluctantly agreed and sat down in the chair as he proceeded to drop the needle onto the record. As corny as it may sound, that moment changed my life. Though I probably didn’t really openly admit it to him or myself at the time, that was the first time I realized some of the music my dad listened to was actually cool. But also, and more importantly, John Henry Bonham, right? I don’t think you can really call yourself a rocker if you hear the beginning of that song and don’t want to air drum. I knew then that someday I wanted to do something that captured that same sort of feeling, and that thought has never really left me.
Another early memory: Somewhere in Time was the first Maiden record I bought on the day it was released, and I can still remember that excitement. It seems to me it was a bit more exciting back then to buy a record on its release date. The thrill of going to the record store to pick the album up and then going home and listening to it as you poured through the liner notes and album art were all very tangible things.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
The first time Apostle of Solitude went to Europe was a real trip. By that time we’d already done multiple US tours primarily consisting of the Midwest, the east coast states, and the southern states; but this was our first time touring internationally, and it was so exciting. Everything was like a new frontier. We booked eight consecutive dates through six different countries culminating in a performance at the legendary Hammer of Doom festival in Wurzburg, Germany. The first stop on that tour and our fist time playing for an audience outside the US was at the Doom Over Vienna festival at the Viper Room in Vienna, Austria. Being totally immersed in another country and another culture like that is cool, regardless. Everyone was so friendly and appreciative, and in a way we really felt like we were doing something big; I know I did. We had a big touring van and a driver, and a guarantee for most nights with accommodations. Stuff we hadn’t really experienced yet on prior tours in the US.
Chuck had already been over to EU with The Gates of Slumber in 2004, but this was the first time for the rest of us. Our bass player Mike had just joined the band about a year prior to that so we finally felt like we were firing on all cylinders, and to be doing it in front of audiences in France, Belgium, Poland, The Netherlands, and Germany felt great. Playing on the big stage at the Hammer of Doom festival for the first time on that tour is something I’ll never forget. We’d played several US doom fests but Hammer of Doom is something on an altogether different scale. HUGE stage, and a crowd larger than we’d ever been in front of before. The “house kit” included my choice of like six different type of snare drums and multiple options for cymbal sizes and makes. We had our own separate green room with our name on the door, proper catering, fans asking for autographs, the whole nine. We were like “yeah, so let’s definitely do more of this.”.
That memory is probably at the top of my list, but prior to that holding our first demo in my hands, then later releasing our first album on vinyl and cd (on an actual record label!), playing our very first show outside the mini barn we used to practice in, the first proper tour we did (nine or 10 dates through the East Coast… one of them being for a crowd of two people at a tavern in New Jersey), playing our first doom metal festivals in those earlier days (Doom or Be Doomed in Maryland, Templars of Doom in Indiana, Born Too Late in New York, Born To Be Doomed in Maryland, Days of the Doomed in Wisconsin, Stoner Hands of Doom, then a bit later the first Maryland Doom Fest, etc.) are all also on the list.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
My marriage and thus my family are interracial, and this was a bit of a first for both my wife’s and my families. I’ve always subscribed to the notion that “love is blind”, and have never had any issue whatsoever with relationships outside one’s race or sex, etc. I grew up in a fairly diverse environment and it just wasn’t something I really thought about. And I’ll say my parents and immediate family have always been absolutely supportive of me, my wife, and our kids in that regard. When my wife and I first met and first started dating, I never really even considered that we might get static for being together. But we do live in a fairly conservative area of the country so I’ve since learned that being in an interracial relationship means sometimes ignorant people might be judgmental and might think it’s their business to let you know they don’t approve. Shortly before we got married I had an older, sort of old school extended family member that really acted like an ass about it, and went so far as to threaten to “remove my name from the family tree” (like that’s a thing). It was both hurtful and embarrassing to be honest, but I was angry more than anything. That person apologized to me years later on their deathbed at the hospital, but I carried that resentment around with me for a long time before that, and I probably still do a bit. I suppose I thought blood was thicker than water, but that’s not always the case.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Refinement of the things you do well and/or evolution and change from what you previously did. With art, its obviously subjective so sometimes this means the band or artist you like creates something you like even more; other times it means the band you once liked made an album you absolutely cannot stand to listen to. My opinion is that the best art, art that is true to it’s creator, is always deeply personal, so as the person creating art evolves so does their personal expression through their art. There’s nothing at all wrong with taking into consideration what others might like as an ingredient to your recipe, but ideally I think that notion should be a secondary ingredient to your creation.
That said I love AC/DC, so take all that with a grain of salt. What was that Angus Young quote?….”I’m sick to death of people saying we’ve made 11 albums that sound exactly the same. In fact, we’ve made 12 albums that sound exactly the same”. So in my opinion artistic progression is certainly a good thing, but it’s not necessarily a requirement.
How do you define success?
Happiness.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I was walking in the woods once with a friend, and we walked up on a deer that had gotten its leg caught in an old piece of farm fence and had either starved to death or gotten killed by something. The deer had obviously been dead for quite some time. It was summertime, and the carcass was swollen up like three times its normal size. The eyes looked to be gone and decay had set in. The hair had started falling off in clumps, and the skin was stretched around the bones like old leather in the hot sun. Absolutely smelled to high heaven (I can’t stress this fact enough, we actually smelled it before we saw it… so nasty). Well, as we got closer we noticed it was moving (!). And making this weird grunting / slurping noise. My friend and I both sort of froze in our tracks and just stood there trying to figure out if we were tripping or what. The grunting continued, and the carcass continued to move in these sort of jerky motions and just as we both were looking at each other like “dude wtf” a wild hog crawls out of the deer carcass, absolutely covered in guts from its rooter to its tooter. It just stood there blinking at us as it’s eyes adjusted to the sunlight outside of the deer carcass, and then it walked away casually. Looking back it’s a bit of a funny story, but it seemed to be the pentacle of “things that are not pleasurable to look at” at the time.
Oh and I also watched all the Faces of Death VHS tapes when I was younger. In retrospect I definitely wish I hadn’t done that, ha.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
The next Apostle of Solitude album. We also have some things we’re working on for a potential collaboration, but I need to keep a lid on those plans for now.
I’ve always been a “one band” sort of guy commitment wise, but someday I’d like to play drums in another project; possibly something much different than Apostle of Solitude. Maybe something along the lines of Grand Funk, Free, or Lynyrd Skynyrd? ;)
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
If an artist makes something that’s true to themselves, but someone else also connects with it on a personal level, that’s magic. If it changes the way the viewer or listener sees things, or the way they approach things, that’s even better. And if the viewer or listener hates it or are offended by it, that’s still good. There’s a connection there that’s specific to this human experience, and it’s a special thing in this world.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Probably our next family vacation, though I’m not sure where or when. Our oldest son graduated high school this summer and he’s working now and taking college courses, so it’s getting more difficult to coordinate that sort of thing. We went to the San Francisco area last October and absolutely loved it out there. We got to see some of the redwood trees in and around Muir Woods, but I’d really like to go further up the coast and inland a bit to see the Sequoia trees. It’s absolutely beautiful out there, and while I love my home state, California is definitely a bit of fresh air in more ways than one compared to the Midwest.
Posted in Questionnaire on September 12th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Chris Latta of Lavaborne and The Skyspeakers
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’m the lead singer for Lavaborne, bassist/vocalist for The Skyspeakers, and the everything-I-can-get-my-grubby-hands-on player for my solo projects. I’ve also written articles for a couple different websites, most notably Indy Metal Vault and Ghost Cult Magazine, though I’m currently unaffiliated beyond Facebook takes and sporadically uploading reviews to the Metal Archives.
Music has been my life since I was fourteen years old, but I would describe myself as a writer first and foremost. I drew comics when I was a kid, my degree is in Creative Writing, and I was reviewing bands years before I was ever actually playing in any. I don’t have a lot of training as a vocalist beyond my time in school choir and my musicianship is just solid enough for me to know how to put a song together. I’ve never had much interest in being a technical player or getting a bunch of flashy gear unless it’s to service what I’m already working on.
Describe your first musical memory.
I started with piano lessons when I was younger, around six if I remember right. According to my mom, my teacher was initially skeptical about how I’d do at that age, but I took to it well and even had a couple talent show spots. Unfortunately, said teacher moved a couple years later and I lost interest in playing. It’s a shame since I could’ve been a keyboardist for a sweet prog band or making some whacked-out dungeon synth all this time, but I managed to find other ways.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
The release show that Lavaborne played to celebrate Black-Winged Gods last October is probably my favorite. There were so many family members and friends across different social circles who came out for it, and I spent so much of the time running around like a headless chicken trying to see everybody. I was stoned off my ass, so I came in early a couple times during our set, but the energy was there, and we even managed to compile a music video from all the clips that friends sent us of the performance. Overwhelming in the best way.
Releasing new music in general is deeply satisfying to me. There’s nothing like tracking an entire album and hearing it play back through a set of extra-fancy studio speakers, just basking in the accomplishment. I still remember getting the masters for the first Spirit Division album and listening to them three times in a row; I was switching songs around so I figure out a good track order but there was also just the thrill of making a legitimate recording that I could call mine.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
My first serious band had a falling out between the other two members shortly after we recorded our first demo, which was done in an incredibly tense weekend session. I was caught in the middle and trying to figure out whose side I should take for the sake of continuing the band. In hindsight, we should’ve just called it a day and moved on to other projects. Especially since the band split up the following year anyway despite getting our first gigs with another guitarist. It was a toxic situation but one that I had to learn from. That’s what your early twenties are for, right?
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
As tacky as it sounds, I tend to look at my artistic trajectory as a sort of ongoing narrative with different arcs. I like to see where I can go to that I’ve never gone creatively or how I can do something that I’ve already done differently. Every project I start is rooted in me wanting to try out a new idea and every new release from a band is usually a reaction to the one before it.
Lavaborne is the doom/power metal hybrid that I wanted to hear when I was seventeen and The Skyspeakers was started because I’d been wanting to play in a band with a saxophonist for years. The first Spirit Division album was me combining Danzig vocals with Saint Vitus riffs, No Rapture added in some High on Fire, and Forgotten Planet was a whole bunch of Pink Floyd and Black Flag.
I think it also helps to have a healthy bucket list. I spend a lot of time wondering if the current batch of projects I’ve got in the works could be my last but then I remember some other random style that I haven’t tried out or a friend who I’ve wanted to collaborate with but haven’t had the chance to yet. Sometimes there’s actively seeking things out and other times there’s just seeing what happens.
How do you define success?
I define success as making a connection with someone through your art. Even if making art for a living is something that seems reserved for the aught-one percent of the population anymore and hustle culture is going to kill us all through seemingly mandatory burnout, there’s something to be said for seeing somebody talk about something you made whether it be a review, a random commentor, or somebody just directly telling you what something means to them.
But at the end of the day, I think there’s something to be said for having accomplished something and letting the universe know that you were here. I may have a couple crappy demos and there are some songs that I could’ve gone about doing differently, but I’ve yet to say that I regretted making something.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Every single fundamentalist shitlord who would accost me and the other folks I volunteered with at my local women’s health clinic asking why we didn’t have anything better to do on a Saturday morning than safely escorting patients when they were the ones standing out on the sidewalk, holding grotesque signs, and spewing harassments disguised as sermons and half-hearted cries of concern to anyone in earshot. The scariest part is knowing that lunatics like them have had the eager ears of several people in power for decades, as we have all seen with the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade.
What do you believe is the essential function of art?
I think the two biggest purposes of art are self-expression and to be part of the larger conversation that we call the human condition. I still haven’t figured out which of the two is the more important.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Going down to Georgia this Thanksgiving to see my mom and brothers. I’ve been overdue.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 30th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Also known for his work in Rat King, Indianapolis-based Bram the Bard would steps forth with the self-titled debut EP from Wizard Tattoo, which, yes, is about a wizard tattoo. An apparently evil one at that. Bolstered by the jazzy flourish of “A Wizard’s Lie,” the four-tracker offers gritty fuzz and melodic experimentation in the sense of seeming to feel out where it wants to go while relying on an underlying foundation of songwriting and narrative.
It’s been out since last Friday, so yes, the internet has already foisted heaps of hyperbole at its feet, but that will happen. Constantly. As you approach, think of Wizard Tattoo as an initial salvo more than a fully-developed end product and you might be able to get more of a sense of where Mr. The Bard might ultimately take the project, laying claim as the songs do to garage doom, a bit of more extreme sludge rock on the righteously titled “Wizard Knife Fight (At a Bar)” (where else?) and atmospheric organ cinematography on the closer “No Return.”
If Bram is in it for a longer haul, there’s at very least no shortage of directions laid out here along which the band might move forward.
That’s the deal, here’s the art, info, links and audio via the PR wire:
Wizard Tattoo Unleash Enchanting Self-Titled EP
Wizard Tattoo is an Indianapolis based rock band by multi-instrumentalist Bram the Bard that summons catchy riffs with progressive and heavy elements. Wizard Tattoo is the self-titled debut concept EP which tells the story of a man who starts hearing a dark voice shortly after getting a tattoo. Throughout the four tracks, listen to his musical journey of delusion. Is he really becoming a wizard or is he just going mad?
“Wizard Tattoo is a culmination of influences from classic rock to doom metal. It takes two played-out concepts “tattoos of wizards” and bands with the name “Wizard” in their name and mashes them together. It’s meant to be tongue-in-cheek but came about from a midlife crisis that I went through during the pandemic. I think everyone gets to a certain point in their life where they evaluate their accomplishments, choices, and their very existence. Some people push through and keep going, and others end up self-destructing. Unfortunately, our protagonist in the EP chooses the latter and goes off the deep end. It’s a journey, and I hope everyone comes along for the ride!”
Conjuring up a storm, the title track delivers a captivating heavy doom sound with distorted guitars and groove rhythms. Transitioning into a spellbinding progressive bridge of orchestration and electronics, the narrative of Wizard Tattoo emerges through the eerie atmosphere. ‘A Wizard’s Lie’ ventures into realms of jazz influences with non-standard time signatures and intricate guitar leads, interspersed with necromantic manifestations of heavy fuzz. Bringing a touch of magic to the barroom brawl, ‘Wizard Knife Fight’ explores in greater detail the actions of the protagonist with a touch of humour and epic guitar riffs. Accompanied by the soft patter of rainfall, a bewitching acoustic guitar and folk harmonies divines a serene but sombre mood.
Wizard Tattoo is not your conventional fairy tale. See what happens when ink goes wrong in this not-so-enchanting story of dark sorcery, told through dynamic guitars, ghostly vocals and genre-crossing instrumentation.
Credits:
All music by Bram the Bard Mixed and Mastered at Garage Fire Recordings, Indianapolis, IN Album artwork by Zi F. Tam
Track-list:
1. Wizard Tattoo 2. A Wizard’s Lie 3. Wizard Knife Fight (At a Bar) 4. No Return
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Simple motivations here. I dug the last Mother of Graves album, In Somber Dreams (discussed here), and so want to keep an eye out for the next one from the Indianapolis-based death-doomers. What follows isn’t really a release announcement for Where the Shadows Adorn, the band’s impending second outing through Wise Blood Records, so the details are fairly light, but I’ll take an artwork-reveal as a heads up that the record is happening, even without the corresponding info that might otherwise accompany such a thing.
Especially since the art rules. I didn’t have anything against the last album’s cover, but this is definitely an upgrade. Album’s out in October and preorders start Aug. 15, which is either this week or so far in the future my mind can’t comprehend it. I’m not sure which.
From the PR wire via Bandcamp, or the other way around:
Today we reveal the artwork for the upcoming Mother of Graves LP, “Where the Shadows Adorn.” This cover is just half of the amazing gatefold painting commissioned from the extraordinarily talented Paolo Girardi. You have seen his work on the cover of Power Trip’s “Nightmare Logic.” I also love his covers for recent albums by Bewitcher, Runemagick, and Yatra. This artwork is a perfect glimpse into the mood and atmosphere of the coming record. We will share the first track and launch pre-orders in 2 weeks, on August 15th. “Where the Shadows Adorn” will emerge from the crypt on October 14th.
Vocalist Brandon Howe on the artwork: “I had a bit on an existing idea when I first approached Paolo, but I didn’t want to strain his creativity and not let him express himself in his own manner. First I had sent him a couple of the songs with lyrics attached as a mood setter. I had found a cool, random piece of abstract art online while surfing that was exactly that and nothing more. It gave me a vision in the way it was done. It reminded me of some sort of really distorted waterfall that had shadow figures in it, almost as if they blended in and were a part of the descending stream. He added his wildly surreal and dreamy touch to it, and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! The deep blue colors, the mood, all top notch and perfectly fitting for this record.”
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Eight shows, eight nights, no breaks. Cheers to Indianapolis doom-plus-sludge rockers Void King on getting out while the getting’s good to promote their 2019 offering, Barren Dominion (review here), and herald the coming of new music that, as they tell it, will hopefully be available at least digitally before they go. Does that mean a new album? I’d think probably not, if only because if there was a full-length on the way, the “brand new music for you to have digitally” would probably say “brand new album” instead, but as they head through this run of Midwestern and Southeastern tour dates between the end of Sept. and the beginning of Oct., I’m not one to quibble with an independent band doing a stretch on their own terms in 2022. We’re lucky this shit is happening at all.
This past weekend, Void King shared the stage with Wolftooth and Hudson Hill for what was apparently a banger at the Hi-Fi in their hometown, and that would seem to be what they’re talking about below when they reference “one of the best shows we’ve ever played,” just FYI. If they’re in the studio between now and the Sept. 24 start of these shows, one hopes they can carry some of that momentum with them.
From social media:
Void King – Midwest Live Dates
Ladies and gentlemen. To celebrate one of the best shows we’ve ever played, Void King is happy to announce our fall run of dates in the Midwest, west, and south parts of this lovely country.
Our goal is to have some brand new music for you to have digitally, and support that music through this humble tour of our wonderful countryside.
The dates can be found on the flyer. We will post specifics about bands and venues as the dates get nearer. If you live in one of these areas, please keep an eye out for those events.
Couldn’t be more excited to spread the word of the Void once more, and to start our cult in some new towns.
Void King live: 09/24 Tolono, IL 09/25 Lawrence, KS 09/26 Tulsa, OK 09/27 Ruston, LA 09/28 Memphis, TN 09/29 Atlanta, GA 09/30 Lexington, KY 10/01 Lafayette, IN
VOID KING is: Derek Felix – Percussion Chris Carroll – Bass Jason Kindred – Vocals Tommy Miller – Guitar
Today, July 28, marks the release of Lafayette, Indiana, rockers The Heavy Co.‘s new single, Wormweed (Live at Foam City). The single-song outing follows behind their last single, “Shelter” (premiered here), for which Rock Freaks Records has pressed up a 7″ to be issued Oct. 8 through Bandcamp and at gigs — they had them at Freak Valley Festival in Germany, I noted; the fest and imprint are affiliated — the song having earned a bit of fanfare with a guest spot from a pre-recorded solo by Earthless‘ Isaiah Mitchell. And, just to tie everything together, The Heavy Co. will support Earthless at their tour stop in Indiana on Sept. 13, with records on hand.
You’re what my grandmother would call ‘a smart cookie,’ so I’m going to assume you’ve got all that and just keep going. Good? Good.
I don’t know if the below stream of the track counts as a premiere, really, but the band called it one even though the song will be publicly available and I’m not one to argue so long as the point gets across that “Wormweed (Live at Foam City)” is available now. The song runs a bit under six minutes and is instrumental in its entirety. Recorded by the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Ian Daniel, now-guitarist Jeff Kaleth, bassist Eric Bruce and drummer TR McCully, it’s live and recalls self-titled-era Clutch in its middle after starting out with more of a ’70s strut — something from which the band in any incarnation has never shied — interchanging a fluid verse and spacier groove before pulling up circa 3:45 to make way for the slowdown roll that more than earns its place consuming the rest of the track. A winding solo overtop — the things you can do with two guitarists — gives further sense of life to the live recording, and even over the last feedback and drum crashes there’s a palpable and purposeful sense of motion.
“Wormweed (Live at Foam City)” was, yes, tracked entirely live. That’s easier to do sans vocals, but one way or the other, The Heavy Co. succeed in getting their dual-edged point across, emphasizing the budding chemistry in the new lineup and the lack of pretense that has heretofore defined their work. It’s been a bumpy few years for the group, who came back from a six-years-no-new-material-out hiatus with 2020’s single “Phoenix” (posted here) as the duo of Daniel and Kaleth — the latter then on drums — and have since gone on to expand the lineup. But that reconstruction as a double-guitar foursome and hit-record-and-go studio ethic can only speak of a desire to play live, which, as noted, they’re doing as well. So much the better.
Given what I’m hearing here, they could make an album in this manner, recording live and so on. I’d probably want a couple songs with vocals — Daniel has an interesting voice and it’d be a lot of guitar solos otherwise; if that’s a pain while recording live, they might be forgiven for overdubbing live vocals later; that’s a pretty standard approach these days — but that just provides another opportunity to change things up from one song to the next. A new debut for 2023, some 15 years after their initial start in 2008? No doubt weirder things have happened.
When/if I hear of such a thing, I’ll let you know. Today, enjoy the new single. They certainly make that easy enough to do.
Dig:
The Heavy Co. will release their new single, Wormweed (Live at Foam City) July 28th. It will be available on the band’s Bandcamp and all of the regular streaming platforms.
This is the first release to feature their revamped line up with TR McCully on drums and Eric Bruce on bass. Jeff Kaleth has moved from behind the kit to guitar.
The track was recorded 100% live in one take at their Foam City recording studio. What you hear is exactly what happened.
The single comes right in time with the announcement of their October 8 release date for their 7 in. single with Rock Freaks Records, Shelter ft. Isaiah Mitchell of Earthless. The vinyl will be available at live shows and a limited number will also be available in the US through their Bandcamp.
Speaking of Earthless, THC will be opening for the San Diego power trio, September 13, in Ft. Wayne, IN. A limited number of the 7 in. will be available along with a newly designed line of merch.
The second full-length from Indiana-based solo artist Roy Waterford, aka Watchman, is titled The End of All Flesh, and it’s being released on vinyl and digitally this coming Saturday through Wet Records and Glory or Death Records. The project has worked quickly across the last two years, issuing the debut EP, Behold a Pale Horse (review here), in 2020 before following up with last year’s Doom of Babylon debut long-player. The sophomore outing begins with its longest track (immediate points) in the just-under-six-minute “Pour Out the Vials,” and the hazy psych-driven stoner lurch is palpable in the nodding undulations, like if Electric Wizard decided momentarily to give it a rest on watching old VHS horror tapes and mellowed out a bit on the cultistry. Not to say that “Fire and Brimstone,” the hookier drawl of “Death is Coming” — a roughed-up take on doomgaze made more vital by the solo performance — or the fuzz swinger “The Smoke,” which appears right ahead of the closing title-track as The End of All Flesh wraps in suitably melancholic, misanthropic fashion, the drums barely there behind the gruel-fed guitar and slow lurching groove.
All told, the album runs seven songs and 36 minutes. It is largely unipolar in its point of view, willfully dug in to its own riffing and able accordingly to convey a due sense of trance. There are full-band progressions happening, mind you. These are songs, constructed and executed in layers and put together at the behest of one person, but it’s Waterford‘s vision that most unites the material throughout. What if Six Organs of Admittance was also Sleep at their most miserable? It is a somewhat troubled sonic blend, but that’s very obviously the intention, to bring that sense of bedroom folk intimacy to something no less personal but manifest in an outwardly heavier way. Familiar elements resound, but Waterford‘s doom is ultimately his own.
And if you can’t hang with a half-hour-plus of wretchedness and riffs, I humbly suggest that perhaps doom isn’t the thing after all and that The End of All Flesh may be overwhelming despite and in part because of its empty and manipulated spaces. What I’ll say though is that while this second Watchman album was clearly designed or at least arranged after the fact to maximize an overarching flow, the individual songs that comprise it nonetheless are pointed in the impressions they make. The only thing stopping Waterford is nothing, and left to his own devices, one wonders how much deeper into the doomed psyche he might plunge as a forward step coming off this release. Eventually there’s a floor down there, you know.
Enjoy the album and thanks for reading:
Watchman, The End of All Flesh album premiere
After the very well-received “Doom Of Babylon”, the creation of multi-instrumentalist and producer Roy Waterford (Indiana), Watchman returns once again with his second album “The End Of All Flesh”.
Through its slow and mesmerizing riffs, and distant and mysterious vocals, listeners are pulled into a mystical and chaotic journey.
Watchman echoes a dark and outstanding atmosphere. Roy tells us that he taps into the gritty, fuzzy 70s sound, combined with his Stoned Doomed inspirations mentioning the names Electric Wizard and Sleep. Amidst the monolithic riffs, we are engulfed in strong psychedelic touches.
The fantastic Album Art for “The End Of All Flesh” was created by Enrico Zappalà Castorina (MontDoom)
About vinyl:
Watchman is teaming up with Wet Records once again to bring their second album, “The End Of All Flesh” into this world on vinyl and digitally. Which happens next Saturday, June 11th.
