Posted in Whathaveyou on November 8th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Comprised of Piotr Aleksander Nowak on nyckelharpa and vocals and drummer Katarzyna Bobik, who also adds vocals and various percussive whatnot, the Kraków-set two-piece Jarzmo have released their debut album, Antropocen through Interstellar Smoke Records, with an aim toward bringing together traditional Polish folk elements with the groove and tonal presence of heavy rock and roll.
It’s not an idea without conceptual precedent — I can’t think of another specifically Polish outfit who’ve done the same, but countries like Finland and Spain have certainly managed successful folk/heavy fusions, and there’s the entire genre of folk metal itself, if you want to talk about that — but the sound of the nyckelharpa brings an unique range of tones to Antropocen‘s dense-feeling 11-track/52-minute course, and Nowak and Bobik incorporate live sessions and guests into the proceedings, so in addition to their own ability to explore different ideas in songwriting — without which I expect the band wouldn’t exist in the first place; the whole idea is an experiment — and shifts between instrumental and periodic vocal arrangements and outwardly heavier distortion like “Court Dances” that makes for such a highlight, there are layers of change to be found throughout.
This makes Antropocen a work of scope as much as it’s proof-of-concept for what Jarzmo are doing aesthetically. Would you be surprised if I told you “Twin Peaks” reminded me a bit of the Melvins? Probably you shouldn’t be.
Info came down the PR wire, but it’s the audio you want here. If you don’t want the Bandcamp player, the streaming link is right under the headline below. Can’t miss it. If you’ve got thoughts on what you’re hearing and want to share in the comments, I’m curious to know for sure:
JARZMO – Debut Album of the polish stoner etno duo “Antropocen”
Emerging from a fusion of medieval resonance and modern grit, Jarzmo’s debut album, “Antropocen”, unveils 11 progressive compositions that blend stoner rock/metal with folk sounds.
This ethno-stoner duo Jarzmo is based in Kraków. They center their music around the unique tones of the nyckelharpa (or keyboard viola), played by Piotr Aleksander Nowak, who also provides vocals. The beat and pulse come from Katarzyna Bobik on drums, who completes the duo with her distinct vocal contributions.
With each track, “Antropocen” explores the pressing themes of today’s world, addressing issues like overproduction, overpopulation, and the climate crisis, encapsulating the challenges of our overstimulated, technology-dependent era.
Jarzmo’s sound takes listeners into a pre-apocalyptic realm—one that is foggy, cold, and heavy with electronic waste, yet echoing with the spirit of traditional folk.
This week marks the release date of Morpholith‘s Dystopian Distributions of Mass Produced Narcotics, the Icelandic cosmic doomers’ awaited debut album on Interstellar Smoke Records after the successful heraldry of two prior EPs. And while it’s true it’s been four years since the arrival of the second of those, the Null Dimensions EP (review here), they say that when you hang out so close to the singularity of a black hole time dilates in unpredictable ways, so those close to Morpholith may have experienced that wait as thousands of years, a few days, who the hell knows. Time is fun pretend to start with and gradually the whole universe will be eaten by the lug of “Dismalium” anyway, so I promise you it doesn’t matter. Long-term, nothing will. The arc of history bends toward oblivion.
Morpholith‘s first album — and it’s worth unpacking the title a little as they do below: we’re talking about a scenario in which some public actor, presumably a governmental body of some post-apocalyptic kind, has begun manufacturing and handing out drugs to a populace, one assumes as a salve for despair or escapism?; hard to know, but it’s not impossible they got the name of the record from the tv; people say all kinds of silly shit on there — isn’t an event in terms of advance-hype, but it stands as a cosmic doom testament to the physical presence of aural heft. The Ufomammut-circa-Eve-worthy combination of heavy and space in the payoff of 10-minute opener “Mountainous,” the plunge into wash that song takes before, gloriously, reemerging from an ether that would indeed consume so many other, many longer-tenured, bands, and the well justified bellow that accompanies tell you early on that the five-piece are onto something special, and yes, they are. The shorter “Narcofactory” becomes a kind of echo-laced gothic doomy volcano-produced obsidian rock and “Metabaron” resolves in lumber with a scorching solo for the transition, but starts out at a galloping pace that’s about as close as Morpholith come to rush, and “Psychosphere” makes it plain that runtime here is about more than just pace; as bombastic as it gets, it’s the slowdown that finishes it off.
But by the end of “Psychosphere,” and really by the start of it, Morpholith have masterfully subsumed the listener in their tonality, breadth and atmosphere. They’ve shifted through tempo — somewhat; remember that sounding monolithic is part of the point here — and showed the reach in the guitars of Hörður and Víðir‘s guitars, the density and roll of bassist Gestur and drummer Jónas and the ability of vocalist Snæbjörn to shift between morose crooning, lower shouts and full-on sludge metal growls to coincide with a given part. Like YOB, Morpholith are as much about the far-out as a sonic smother, and the scope of longer pieces continues to expand from where the opener leaves off, with “Hellscaper,” which is just as nasty as you please until it shows a sliver of mercy in the second-half payoff, or the closing pair of the aforementioned “Dismalium,” which has room in its cavernous mix to drop slow-rhythm bomb tones in its engrossing final nod and the 16-minute clearly-marked-exit “Exoportal,” which answers back to the noted reemergence-from-chaos in “Mountainous” and moves into the fade on its own, organ-topped — both songs feature guest keys from Arnaldur Ingi Jónsson, also of prog shufflers Lady in Blue and the only performer here to list a surname — finish backed by residual hum from the guitars and bass.
It’s not a minor undertaking at about an hour long, but Morpholith give the listener places to dwell in that time and have a dynamic that goes beyond me-likey-loud-band-play-slow. A lot of what makes Dystopian Distribution of Mass Produced Narcotics — and really, we should be so lucky; in the US they’d charge for them — so effective as a front-to-back listen is that its roil and churn define it while not actually being all the double-guitar five-piece does in terms of mood, ambience, whatever you want to call it. To be sure, we’re talking about Very, Very Heavy™-level heavy, the kind of heavy that becomes a calling card for an act as it has for some of those mentioned above, but I’ll tell you the truth of where I’m at with it: this is one of the best albums I’ve heard in 2024, in addition to being one of the best debut albums — it’s in my notes twice over, which doesn’t always happen — and it heralds what could become a significant presence in cosmic doom. And because I’d feel remiss if I didn’t pay this particular hyper-specific compliment: hearing it reminds me of how excited I was in 2013 when Mühr (from whence sprang Temple Fang) released their own debut, Messiah (discussed here). If you have any idea how I feel about that record even now, you’ll know that’s not something I say lightly or without reason.
A couple years in the making, you’ll find Dystopian Distribution of Mass Produced Narcotics streaming in full on the player below, followed by more background from the PR wire on the concept, recording credits, etc.
Please enjoy:
Album recording process started in Reykjavík in 2022 with most of the record being recorded in Studio Paradís with Ásmundur Jóhannsson (Sleeping Giant) with some alterations and overdubs done in Stúdíó Helvíti with Helgi Durhuus (Ottoman, Celestine) in 2023. It was mixed by Chris van der Valk (CXVIII and Grave Superior) and Mastered by Chris Fielding (Conan) at Foel Studios in the UK.
The album’s artwork was done by Ryan T Hancock and layout by Skaðvaldur.
The album’s theme explores the implications of a dystopian galactic empire and how psychoactive stimulants are manufactured on a planetary scale in such a society. Among other things.
The album is a continuation and a more evolved version of what we set out with our two previous EP’s, who both round up to half an hour each, the full length debut is a full hour in length and is the culmination of what we have learned as a band since we first started.
The album will be released on the 24th of October 2024 on Interstellar Smoke Records as a double LP gatefold record with two variants of pressing methods.
Starmonger will release their new album, Occultation, Nov. 29 through Interstellar Smoke Records. Technically speaking, “Black Lodge” — video premiering below — is the second single from it, following behind a standalone release last year for “Page of Swords” (premiered here) that established the new configuration of the trio, with guitarist Arthur Desbois taking over the frontman role and bassist Mathias Friedman joining the rhythm section with drummer Seb Antoine, both of them also adding backing vocals to Desbois‘ leads.
“Page of Swords” came out as the band were setting themselves to the task of recording the rest of Occultation to follow-up 2020’s debut long-player, Revelations (review here), and “Black Lodge” opens the second album with a vibrant chug and a vocal reach that that might make one wonder why Desbois wasn’t singing in the first place. Among the hints Starmonger are willing to drop as to where the album is headed is in the classic doom aspect of the main riff around which “Black Lodge” is built.
As Desbois‘ vocal has a medieval tinge and a tendency toward epic stylizations that plays out in the subsequent, more angularly-rhtyhmic “Conjunction” and the generally quieter “Serpent” that finds itself in two larger swells of volume and dimmer-sun roll, Occultation resounds with doomly undertones, and the scream, riff and thud at the start of centerpiece “Mothra” aren’t exactly fighting the impression, but if it’s doom — and I’m not 100 percent it is; at least not exclusively — it is a deceptively individualized take, as Starmonger are just as comfortable in psychedelic expanse as in “Serpent” as they are crushing grandiose tales.
I’m well aware “psychedelic doom” isn’t a new idea, and if you want to put “progressive” somewhere in there too because the songs and arrangements are thought out and the band know what they’re doing even as “Page of Swords” takes classic mid-OzzySabbathian blues groove as its foundation and expands from there, fine. I honestly doubt Starmonger do much quibbling about genre one way or the other, and given the fluidity with which Occultation plays out, leaning into desert idolatry in he penultimate “Phobos” after dropping hints in that regard across “Page of Swords” along with everything else going on, their time is well spent.
“Phobos” is the longest track at just over seven minutes, and from its mellower-vibing outset, it unfurls with characteristic presence and isn’t necessarily in a rush, but like a lot of what surrounds, finds itself in a pocket of groove that feels right to let the melodies breathe and the distortion hit simultaneously. That the band are unwilling to be contained in a single microgenre is a thing to respect, and where in many hands, a blend like theirs might come off as disjointed in the listening experience, from “Black Lodge” through the memorable finale “Supernova,” with proggy shimmer-drift in its start and an intricate bounce en route to the cosmic declarations with which it caps, Starmonger bring cohesion of purpose and craft such that the material never gets away from them. It’s not chaos, or even controlled chaos, but it is their own, and it wouldn’t work coming from a lot of bands.
The video for “Black Lodge” premiering below finds Starmonger on a cave adventure. Directed by Antoine, the group find some paintings on the walls, a creepy contortionist, and hooded figures riffing out — as one will. Needless to say, a chase through the woods ensues, and everybody faces up to the horrible threat of… malevolent… bloody… bellydancing? Good luck getting out of that one, gentlemen. I won’t spoil who the hooded figures are, but either way, the clip is a good time and no less composed than the song it bears.
Album info follows the video below in the blue text. Please enjoy:
“One of our most ‘heavy rock’ tracks, built like an exquisite corpse alternating frenetic riffs, ghostly vocals, epic chorus and electric spins. The song went through a thousand versions and ideas before crystallising around a common energy. Evoking a pulp story with obvious Lynchian and Lovecraftian references, Black Lodge is the story of a character lured into a trap set by occult powers. Replaced by an evil doppelganger, he becomes a prisoner of his own conscience, condemned to be a powerless spectator for the rest of his life. The song symbolises the possibility of the worst in all of us, capable of profoundly transforming us with no turning back.”
Video directed & edited by Seb Antoine. Starring : Neko Hecate as the Explorer / the Priestres Cinematography and grading : Pierre-Emmanuel Leydet Band photo by Cécile Corbois
Space rock, doom, desert, classic rock.. STARMONGER’s new album ‘Occultation’ draws on the classics to compose their intergalactic epic soundtrack. This heroic stoner record with its charismatic vocals, embarks its audience on an occult sonic journey. Built like tales, the seven tracks illustrate a limitless imagination where strange shamanic hallucinations rub shoulders with an interplanetary class struggle.
“Each of the tracks on Occultation evokes a literal or inner struggle, and has a temporal and spatial progression. These themes are reflected throughout the album’s artwork, which we designed and created ourselves. The album cover is an abstraction of wisps of smoke, an unknown planet and an imperfect alignment. The tracks are linked together by a raw symbolism evoking mysticism and forgotten stories” comment the band.
TRACK LISTING ‘Occultation’ 1. Black Lodge 2. Conjunction 8. Serpent 4. Mothra 5. Page Of Swords 6. Phobos 7. Supernova
Recorded by Jéröme Richelme and Stoneriver Audio at DGD Studio, Pantin (France), except “Page of Swords”, recorded by Vincent Liard. Mixed and mastered by Jéröme Richelme. Artwork and layout: Starmonger.
STARMONGER: Arthur Desbois: lead vocals, guitar Mathias Friedman: bass, backing vocals Seb Antoine: drums, backing vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 2nd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
With a June 7 release date impending, preorders are open through Majestic Mountain and Interstellar Smoke Records for the third album from Sweden’s Void Commander, Alien Queen (review here). The Karlskrona-based trio will post the new single “Sweet Depression” tomorrow, May 3, but that’s hardly the first preview they’ve given of the record to come, having previously unveiled “The Night Took My Name” (premiered at the link above), “Dyke Blues,” and “Bloodred Knight Alright.” Following the seven-minute psych-doom transfixion of “To the Grave” at the record’s outset, “Sweet Depression,” with its turn toward harmonica-laced heavy blues nod, makes it four of the total seven tracks available for the digging.
A bit more directly fuzzed on average than, for example, reignited countryman outfit Mammoth Volume, as Void Commander celebrate their 10th anniversary in 2024, they remind a bit in their organic range and tonality of that troupe, which is to say don’t go into “Sweet Depression” after checking out “The Night Took My Name” below thinking you’re going to get the same thing twice. Tricks up sleeves and all that. Assorted mini-vibes, packed in a box marked ‘handle with volume.’ It’s an easy record to enjoy if you’re willing to follow where it leads.
The PR wire brought links and info:
Void Commander -“Alien Queen”
Single “Sweet Depression” out May 3 (Digital); “Alien Queen” LP out June 7 (Digital, Vinyl)
Sweden’s history of top-notch stoner rock is a well known one, and the latest addition to the country’s legacy is trio Void Commander’s new album, “Alien Queen”. Their third album, the band dig ever deeper into their blues and classic rock sound, creating a hazy, cosmic journey that drifts and drawls just right. If Creedence Clearwater Revival time traveled to the future, got their hands on some extra fuzzy pedals, and lit up with All Them Witches, Void Commander would emerge from the smoke, harmonicas held high.
From the throbbing low-end groove of “To The Grave” to the laidback, tasty southern blues of “Sweet Depression”, Void Commander navigate their breadth of sound on “Alien Queen” locked-in and wholly committed to the sonic world they’ve created.
Retro yet pushing their craft ever further, the band have created an album that oozes an easy confidence and undeniable identity front to back. Void Commander arrive on their flying saucer from the past to plant their flag in the murky stoner of today.
Their latest and final single, “Sweet Depression”, is out streaming May 3, and the full album “Alien Queen” lands June 7.
IN THE BAND’S OWN WORDS:
“Inspired by the mystique of space travels intertwined with the enigmatic allure of witchcraft and occultism, Alien Queen is more than just an album; it’s an expedition across the sonic universe, designed for those who dare to explore the edges of Stoner Metal and Hard Rock.
Dive into the cosmic depths with Void Commander as we unveil our latest creation, Alien Queen. This stellar journey is brought to you by the combined forces of Majestic Mountain Records and Interstellar Smoke Label, ensuring an otherworldly auditory experience.”
Tracklist: 1. To The Grave (7:46) 2. Sweet Depression (4:54) 3. Dyke Blues (3:22) 4. Bloodred Knight Alright (5:34) 5. Alien Queen (7:13) 6. Jam in C (8:17) 7. The Night Took My Name (5:45)
Void Commander is: Bobbie – Vocals, Guitar Jimmy – Drums Linus – Bass
Starting last May, Swedish jam-prone classic heavy rockers Void Commander began to trickle out singles ahead of their fourth full-length and first for Majestic Mountain Records. Marking their 10th anniversary in 2024, the three-piece will issue their yet-untitled next LP in the months to come through Majestic Mountain and Interstellar Smoke Records, and “The Night Took My Name” follows behind “Dyke Blues” and “Bloodred Knight Alright” in representing the band’s covers-all-bases sound, bringing a doomier roll to the beginning and an open-feeling swing later, broad but still rhythmically centered, and with plenty of room for a jam as it pushes toward six minutes.
The record is like that. The harmonica-laced blues of “Sweet Depression” and “Alien Queen,” the latter of which brings together Sabbath‘s “War Pigs” and “The Wizard” and complements with a massive slowdown at the finish, and the ultra-flowing “Jam in C,” which hypnotizes in such a way as to make “The Night Took My Name” feel all the more like an outward launch. They lean into grittier rock at what I’ll neither confirm nor deny is the outset with “To the Grave” — one is reminded of the bombast of a song like “Fucked Up” from 2021’s River Lord (discussed here) — but run a gamut across heavy subgenres, tipping into hugely fuzzed lumber from the Sleepy intro to “Bloodred Knight Alright” in such a way as to tie together the improv-minded with the structures of the pieces that (more often than not, at least going by the tracklisting) are evolved from the root jams, shifting as it does into a bassy boogie strut near the finish that just kind of works because it does and the context allows for it; riffs pieced together creatively enough that as “Jam in C” meanders into a lyrical pattern, it feels like it’s happening if not in realtime then close enough to it that it doesn’t matter if it isn’t.
In terms of vibe, Void Commander make striking a difficult balance sound easy, and their sound on the whole reminds of some of the older-school Northern European troupes of the turn of the century, and no, I’m not just talking about Dozer, but bands like older Mustasch or Abramis Brama, maybe even Dead Man at least in terms of range, who brought together sounds from the ’70s and ’90s and helped shape heavy rock as we know it. That work has already been done, of course, but Void Commander are playing in that sandbox of decades of heavy rock influences, and whether it’s “The Night Took My Name” with a push that would be more straightforward from a lot of bands than it is here — and that’s a compliment — to the catchy stops of “Alien Wizard” (who presumably serves at the behest of the “Alien Queen”), Void Commander present a cohesive and individualized take on heavy tenets with a punker’s lack of pretense and an underlying groove that is welcoming even at its most dug-in.
I don’t have a release date for the album, and I don’t know if this will be the last advance track released as a standalone single from it, but it exists somewhere and between “Bloodred Knight Alright,” “Dyke Blues” and now “The Night Took My Name,” you’ve got three of the seven or eight tracks that will end up on the finished product, and that’s pretty good to go on. The other two, as well as the aforementioned River Lord, stream below, because MAXIMALISM.
Have fun, because you just might:
Void Commander, “The Night Took My Name” visualizer premiere
Vinyl will be a co-release with Majestic Mountain Records & Interstellar Smoke Records.
“- Another handful of stoner metal from the southern forests of the cold north arrives in the form of “The night took my name ”. A story of endless wake and sleep, a thin line between sleeping and being dead, The night took my name.” – Lee Noose, Void Commander
Void Commander was formed in 2014 by Bobbie (Vocals, Guitar) and Jimmy (Drums). After a long search and using many bass players, Linus (Bass) joined the band in 2016.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Ukrainian heavy rockers Risin Sabotage swung through Odessa earlier this year on tour and recorded the below video as part of what’s called ‘Carpet Sessions’ for reasons that will become apparent enough in the area ruggery of the clip when you see it. Included in the video that the trio was kind enough to let me premiere below are two songs from their 2023 Interstellar Smoke Records album, Macabre (discussed here), first is “Macabre” itself, followed by “Silence Queen,” which the band — guitarist/vocalist Vitya Panchishko, bassist Valerii Skorzhenko and drummer/vocalist Igor Nedyuzhiy — performed in tight quarters as captured by someone known to me only as sAn, who offered some comment on the process below.
All told, the clip is eight minutes long and it’s a ride that’s easy to take from the first hard guitar strum forward. In “Macabre,” Nedyuzhiy and Panchishko trade vocals during the verses as the camera twists and turns around them and Skorzhenko, the former in a kind of semi-spoken but clean delivery, the guitarist a bit grittier, in the vein of Mastodon‘s Brent Hinds. The pair took over lead vocals after Risin Sabotage parted ways with frontman KirillChepilko, who appeared on 2017’s Nasoni Records-issued Planet Dies LP (discussed here) and it’s encouraging to see them working purposefully to make the vocal arrangement, the patterning, etc., a big part of the song as presented here. No doubt whatever they do next to follow Macabre will take progressive steps forward in that regard.
But the point here isn’t progression, it’s a band in a box rocking out a couple tunes live being taped by a friend who apparently has it in for Skorzhenko‘s work on bass. Fair enough. The break between the two songs is short and right around four and a half minutes into the video, and some of their punker undertones come across in “Silence Queen” as transmuted onto heavier boogie, but you should know going into this that it’s the band in the raw and that’s the intention behind it. It’s not a fancy studio thing, or some multi-camera shoot. Dudes in a room, hitting it. It’s about as organic as you could possibly ask it to be and still be powered by electricity.
Of course, the war in Ukraine drags on. For over 650 days as my country waffles on support because we’re only set to spend 880-something billion dollars on the military next year and apparently we need all of it. I don’t have anything positive to say about it. It’s a fucking tragedy and humans don’t deserve to live on a planet so beautiful, but at least there’s rock and roll, and at least as their home is battered in ways from which it will take generations to recover, these guys can still get out and play shows domestically and do something like this, which looks like it was a great time. You find your solace where and when you can.
Please enjoy:
Risin Sabotage, Carpet Sessions premiere
sAn on Risin Sabotage, ‘Carpet Sessions:
I’ve known the Risin Sabotage crew for a long time, but I really got to know the guys in the winter of 22-23, and during their summer visit to Odessa we recorded a large-scale live on the picturesque expanses of the Kuyalnitsky estuary. You can easily find it on our channel. So the next stage of rapprochement was the mixing of this live, during which I was penetrated by every song of their new album, listening to it again and again, time after time. Now, God forbid I hear their song – then I go and hum it for a few days, and at their concerts I’m blown to pieces and yell in my voice some kind of their lyrics, some gibberish, but on time and in the notes. What does it matter, because nobody can hear me (but they can see me, and let them!).
Our friendship grows stronger with each visit, in direct proportion to my desire to steal their bassist Valera. Because I fell in love with his playing style and the whole range of grimaces during his playing. Valera, sooner or later I will steal you!
Let’s move on. Before their last visit by invitation to a special concert on the occasion of Generic Doom Band Name’s return in a new line-up, it was suggested to shoot a special acoustic live, but gods decided differently and having arranged all the equipment beautifully in my small but homey and cozy studio we recorded four songs. Please rate two of them in this video! Enjoy!
Finishing 2023 with a tour in Ukraine, after a gig in Odessa we made a live video for sAn live channel. We play some tracks from or new album Macabre during this Carpet Session. If you like it don’t forget to like and comment this vid.
A little bit about the channel: sAn live prod is a production studio, they make live videos for UA underground scene bands such as GDBN, White Ward, Heavenphetamine
UK heavy psych fuzz rockers Josiah will release a new EP, titled rehctaW, on Dec. 1 through Interstellar Smoke Records. The band returned last year through Blues Funeral with the full-length We Lay on Cold Stone (review here), following a dearth of activity in the 2010s as founding guitarist/vocalist Mathew Bethancourt explored new spaces in Cherry Choke and began to feel out the experimentalist foundations of the solo-project Mathew’s Hidden Museum, which made its own self-titled debut (review here) earlier this year, also on Interstellar Smoke. With rehctaW — and yes, that’s ‘watcher’ backwards; sit tight, we’ll get there — Bethancourt, newcomer bassist Andy Shardlow and drummer Dan Lockton offer four songs that each have their own basis, style and function in the linear, 21-minute whole but that flow together with a kind of bruised grace in addition to the fuzz and vibe veering into the psychedelic at even its most straightforward moments, like the intro of second cut “By My Left Hand,” which peppers its repeating riff with right-channel wisps of lead guitar from Jack Dickinson (also Stubb), for whom Shardlow took over on bass.
Or the blowout buzz in the guitar of titular opener “rehctaW,” which takes peak-era Queens of the Stone Age bounce and sets it against garage boogie vibes for a swing that’s heavy and fluid in kind, lyrics tossing out references to mind control and machine-induced hypnosis around the kind of hook that, once written, was likely the impetus for the release in the first place. Since his early days roaming the pre-social-media English underground proffering riffs to a then-receding ’90s-generation audience around the turn of the century, and even through his contributions to other outfits, on We Lay on Cold Stone, etc., etc., as a defining feature of his work, Bethancourt has had an ability to lend accessible songs an element of danger through the looseness of their groove. It’s not that Josiah are pushing themselves so hard physically that “rehctaW” or anything else on the EP might come apart — much as “Become” is ‘together’ in any traditional sense to start with — like their hands would fall off or something, but in the internalized classic-heavy influence the band so ably wields, in the way they take a willfully simple idea like garage rock and use it as a vehicle for more complex craft, they’re less predictable than it seems.
Both “rehctaW” and the seven-minute “By My Left Hand” reinforce this, the latter starting gradually before it gets to the chic wub of its verse with Dickinson‘s second guitar distinct from Bethancourt‘s holding down the riff, building up and rolling forward an instrumental procession further bolstered by the piano guest spot from Morgan Sol, who complements the rise in rhythmic tension moving higher on the keyboard until a sudden cut to a lower thud ends a subtly fervent push. “By My Left Hand” further highlights the chemistry of the band as a whole as they sleek into and through a short and dreamy break at the start of that last build, and certainly their willingness to mess with form and the flexibility of their approach are on display in “Become,” which as alluded above departs from structure toward ambient ends. Echoing fills of drums at the start feel loosely ritualized, and when Bethancourt begins singing, his voice is in full incantation mode. The line, “scratch out your eyes and see no more,” arrives early in the piece, and becomes a defining point for the EP as right around 1:20 into the song, Bethancourt repeats the “no more” portion of that lyric in a delivery precisely drawn from a track written during his time in Leicester’s The Kings of Frog Island.
Can you guess the song? Well it’s “The Watcher,” of course, from 2008’s II (discussed here), and that meta-reference — just a tiny easter egg of a thing — brims with purpose no less in light of the context in which rehctaW places it. It is the juncture at which rehctaW reveals its full intention in engaging the scope of Josiah‘s work at this point, supplying on-theme introduction and even a last-second horror-style jump-cut while opening the door to the dark dimension for their reworking of “Black Annis (The Evocation Of),” originally by Cherry Choke. And what’s funny about that is when Bethancourt and Cherry Choke released the song on 2015’s Raising the Waters (review here), sure it was fleshed out with organ and had a similar sneak to its groove, but it was shorter and the character in the evocation’s jam is perfect for being tucked into the closer position on the EP, maintaining the ultra-weird of “Become” in a context of the band’s signature, swirl-prone class-ic heavy rock. Like each of the three songs before it, “Black Annis (The Evocation Of)” represents a different side of who Josiah are — the power trio, in the jam space, maybe freaking out — and after its done, the fading-in vocal echoes come forward just long enough for Bethancourt to once more advise, “Scratch out your eyes and see no more,” tying the closer to “Become” right before and bringing to light the expanses Josiah are able to reach in terms of atmosphere while remaining at their essence a rock and roll band.
Be it in the strange and eerie vocal layering, backward this-and-that, various whispers, shakers, and so on that finish “Become” or the catchy midtempo swing of its title-track, rehctaW draws together elements from the past of Josiah and other Bethancourt-inclusive or -led outfits — and that’s not to minimize the contributions of Lockton, Shardlow, or even Dickinson or Sol, but Josiah begins and ends at the say-so of its founding principal — and in so doing moves the band forward from where they were even a year ago. And they were plenty weird a year ago too, but the message being sent to the listener on rehctaW is that they’ll continue to push creatively in this state, reignited after nearly a decade’s absence and transitioning from ‘reunion band’ to ‘active band’ as many others have done before them. And where they likely could rest on the laurels of their first three records and do shows in London forever pumping out the same riffs to the same heads each year, that they’re choosing a more challenging (and ideally more fulfilling) creative path is the most essential display of character Josiah could make as a statement of who they are. They’ll do something after this. I have no idea what it’ll be in terms of sound, and that mystery is whole lot of fun.
Bethancourt was kind enough to offer a track-by-track breakdown of the EP to go with the premiere, discussing the folkloric background of “Black Annis” and “Become” — tying into the release’s definitely-NSFW cover art by Sara Koncilja; gorgeously detailed if perhaps wanting subtlety in concept — and the impetus behind “rehctaW” and “By My Left Hand.” You’ll find it after the player below, followed by release particulars for the EP.
Please enjoy:
Josiah, “rehctaW” track premiere
Josiah, Rehctaw EP track-by-track with Mathew Bethancourt:
1. rehctaW
Written and demo’d early January 2023. This track dropped like a fully formed ear worm. rehctaW was the driver for the EP, as it couldn’t wait for an album and almost felt at odds with everything else I’ve been writing lately. Lyrically based on the ideas of the inspiration that is Austin Osman Spare. Among many things AOS believed rehctaW was the symbol of reaching backwards in time to infinite remoteness by the mechanism of intense nostalgia. He also felt otherworld energies flowed through him when he reached this state of bliss. A creative force using the flesh to manifest its intent. Whilst not directly leaning on any AOS texts, rehctaW embodies the idea of a force within and without. The watcher within and without. Who’s really in control of your mind. Are you the one that’s always driving. Why did the Kozmik soup present me this fully formed track, did I write it – or…
2. By My Left Hand
This was originally written and recorded for Mark Lannegan. I wrote 6 tracks during the winter/spring of 20/21 for inclusion on what would have been his latest album, if it wasn’t for his sad and untimely death. I decided to keep it instrumental for the EP as I couldn’t get past the notion of Mark singing over the music. It was written for Mark with love and respect for a great artist. Another track that dropped into my mind fully heard. Like an old familiar friend. By My Left Hand speaks to those who take the other way.
3. Become
The rebirth of an idea under the spell of local Leicester folk legend Black Annis. Designed as the prefix to Black Annis. Become lets her spirit back into the band, back into our lives. Both Dan and I grew up with her legend and now we both live metres away from her bower. We live the folk lore that impregnates all our traditions and rituals. Annis is a bittersweet character that we have once again chosen to evoke. Obviously a woman of great power, hence her subsequent horrific action.
4. Black Annis (the evocation of)
There’s a few Cherry Choke tracks that could quite easily have been Josiah works. I felt we never quite did this song justice on Raising The Waters and the revisiting and ultimate reworking of the track felt right for this EP. It’s something I like the idea of. Revisiting your own work over and over. We will do it again in the future. Something common in jazz and blues but so well utilised in rock. We love the outcome though. There’s a ghost in the machine for sure and it’s thick with the scent of folklore. Sounds can be heard that none of us made. It’s a strange one to listen to.
You may pre-order the exclusive band edition of 75 black/gold hand numbered vinyl & gold CD via Josiah bandcamp store and limited label edition of 225 red/gold vinyl & gold CD via Interstellar Smoke Records from October 31st.
EP Release date: December 1st 2023 via Interstellar Smoke Records Single streaming date: October 31st 2023
1. rehctaW (4:47) 2. By My Left Hand (7:02) 3. Become (3:31) 4. Black Annis (The Evocation Of) (6:00)
The Makers:: Dan Lockton – Drums Andy Shardlow – Bass Mathew Bethancourt – Voice, Guitar & Keys
By My Left Hand features additional musicians Morgan Sol on piano & Jack Dickinson on acid guitar. Recorded & mixed by Mathew Bethancourt with the assistance of Kev ‘The Druid’ Lloyd at Ivy Road June 2023. Mastered by Satanic Audio.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 19th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
NSFW, obviously.
It’s not dismemberment, it’s memberment! Newburgh, New York, sans-guitar atmospheric doom rockers Mama Doom will release their new album, Blood Salt Sacrifice, through Interstellar Smoke Records in the coming months. You might recall their 2021 debut, Ash Bone Skin & Stone (discussed here), was released through Majestic Mountain Records, and the band has been around in various incarnations, haunting the two-lane-highway woods of Orange County for well over a decade. I don’t have a release date yet on the new album, but they sure have a single ready to go.
The video premiering below for “Man Parts” is sub-two-and-a-half-minutes of pure horror kitsch. A gory short film in which the three-piece — vocalist D.Lolli, bassist Chuckie Rumbles and drummer Anne Terror — piece together Rumbles à la Mary Shelly. It’s a fun twist on the classic, and the song is a quick sample from Blood Salt Sacrifice that bodes well in its melody, atmosphere and hook. It looks like it was probably a good time to put together, and I’m not sure if James Cromwell (Star Trek‘s own Zefram Cochrane) actually saw it, but according to the below it did feature at a film fest that he hosted. Also fun.
As regards the record, it’s not the most substantial sampling; a short video and shorter song. But it’s an early glimpse, a guts-on-the-table teaser. More info on Blood Salt Sacrifice when I get it, for now, enjoy the clip responsibly and expect more heavy, languid groove to come.
Dig:
Mama Doom, “Man Parts” video premiere
Interstellar Smoke Label will be putting out our third album “Blood Salt Sacrifice”, preorder information coming soon.
Gratuitous Productions created a fun-filled bloody Frankenstein-esque video, Man Parts serving as our first single. Gratuitous Productions is a production company run by Anne Terror and Grave Dave. The video for Man Parts was showcased at the Hudson Valley Film Festival hosted by James Cromwell.
It started with a little light and was burning and burning. Mama Doom was summoned from the fire like a phoenix resurrecting itself yet keeping its old bones. Mutating into three because there is power and strength in the number 3. We’ve kept things simple yet complex with only the booming presence of bass guitar, haunting keyboards, and complex drumming. Vocally we take you on a journey of dark humor with an undertone of satanic references. Hailing from Newburgh NY, Mama Doom has been together since 2016 and finally discovered the perfect combination of sounds.
Track listing: 1. Love ‘n Dead 2. Ring the Bell 3. Devil in the Sky 4. Lovely Home 5. Bleeding Garden 6. Bury Your Bones 7. Man Parts 8. Nosferatu (Witches Worm) 9. Burned into Nothing
Band Members: D.Lolli – Vocals Chuckie Rumbles – Bass Anne Terror – Drums
