Posted in Whathaveyou on December 2nd, 2021 by JJ Koczan
You’ve been around the block. When I’m writing for this site — and I don’t do much writing otherwise these days, to my combined chagrin and elation — I do so from the general perspective that the person hopefully reading it, anyone, whoever it might be, is much, much cooler than I am and already knows what I’m about to tell them. I do this because, usually, that’s true. So when I say you’ve been around the block, please know I believe it to be true.
Thus, when I further say that you already know Polish heavy will mess you up, please know that I know that you know that. Nonetheless, enter Moonstone.
The Kraków-based four-piece release their new two-songer EP, 1904 — not sure why the year for a name; maybe something to do with Poland’s push for independence as part of the larger Russian Revolution? — tomorrow. Tomorrow’s a crowded release day, I know, but do yourself a favor and take about half an hour to dig into “Magma” and “Spores” and I wholeheartedly, sincerely doubt you’ll regret doing so. This is my first experience with the band, who also released a self-titled debut in 2020 through Galactic Smokehouse and Interstellar Smoke Records, and it’s awesome and heavy and it sounds like all it wants to do is turn your bones into powder and frankly I’m on board for that at this point.
So there. No audio yet, but just go ahead and put it on your radar, where I’m sure it already is, because you’re so much cooler than I am. See how that works?
From the PR wire:
MOONSTONE – 1904
Moonstone combines heavily distorted guitars, a gut wrenching bass, and thunderous drum beats. This mixture of atmospheric doom flavors with stoner fierceness will cause a sonic trance on an orbital scale. Hailing from Krakow, Poland, the band have already made their mark on the underground scene with their 2019 self-titled debut.
The upcoming EP, mysteriously titled “1904”, perfectly captures the Moonstone’s consistent evolution. The band expand their musical landscape, incorporating elements of metal fusion, sludge metal, progressive metal, and funk. Just under half an hour, the album is a real journey to the unknown, that will surprise even the most steadfast metal veterans.
Tracklisting: 1. Magma 2. Spores
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Misiek in May 2021, Krzęcin, Poland.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 9th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Legit move by Swedish trio Cavern Deep in following up their 2021 self-titled debut (review here) on Interstellar Smoke Records with something as offbeat and ‘other’ as a cover of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart. The album as you’ll recall was a deeply conceptual work, based around a coherent narrative structure that was expressed in music and lyrics alike. If the intent is to show listeners that that’s not what you’re going to do all the time coming off your first proper release, then yeah, this greatly broadens the trajectory of the band. The best way to let people know you’re going to do whatever the hell you want is to do that. So here we are.
The three-piece have another full-length in the can as they announced a bit ago, and they’ve done numerous videos to help spread word about the self-titled. I’m not sure if this cover means they’re done with that record entirely or not — seems early to be, despite the mileage they’ve gotten from it, in promo terms — but while they’ve changed the scope of the band here and demonstrated that they have more than just that one story to tell, they’ve remained consistent in their will to move forward and their abiding restlessness.
Cavern Deep‘s take on “Muffin Man” is out now and streaming. Audio and info follow, courtesy of the PR wire:
Cavern Deep Release Cover Of Frank Zappa’s “Muffin Man”
Doom Act Cavern Deep Release a cover of Frank Zappa’s legendary song “Muffin Man.”
Cavern Deep adds – “This is an homage to the great Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart’s masterpiece “The Muffin Man”. We came up with the idea of doing this cover late at night whilst inspecting some beverages, and it still felt like a good idea the day after, so we recorded it. The tone is not as serious as in our S/T debut album, which is the point. We aim to show that Cavern Deep will aim to be more than just a cave dwelling doom act.”
Posted in Questionnaire on October 26th, 2021 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: Sebastián Bruna of Ocultum
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
What we do is the sound of the edification of a crumble… we play a hard mix between sludge, doom and stoner, resulting in a very own way to play this music. We’re Ocultum, you wouldn’t find something like this easily out there.
Describe your first musical memory.
My father’s vinyls: Pink Floyd, Chicago, ELP, etc.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
There’s more than one: to know that Residue (our last album) will be released on vinyl, have been play live with Belzebong and see Black Sabbath live twice.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I think that everyday is a test to what we thought, the world is very fucked up and changing every day, fortunately I don’t have a lot of beliefs, so I don’t have a lot to lose.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
I think time can mold what we do and find the very soul of our music. Just time and perseverance can sculpt this into his flawless form (or de-form).
How do you define success?
Nothing that have to do with money or people. Just being you as thou wilt, and achieve some heaviness that no one can deny.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
All I have seen has its own meaning and it have forged a sick mentality and understanding. We are all sick. We have to see more. Puke and then drink again, the trip never ends.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’m creating an horror tale album that will be released some day… is very sick and creepy, have a hallucinating atmosphere and dismal passages. Is in process of creation.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To keep you sane into insanity, to endure life inside an asshole society and to help to turn off your brain.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Yeah, I‘ll like to kill the president of Chile, plant a tree and write a book.
Posted in Reviews on September 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Today we pass the halfway point of the Fall 2021 Quarterly Review. It’s mostly been a pleasure cruise, to be honest, and there’s plenty more good stuff today to come. That always makes it easier. Still worth marking the halfway point though as we move inexorably toward 70 releases by next Tuesday. Right now, I just wish my kid would take a nap. He won’t.
That’s my afternoon, I guess. Here we go.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Sons of Alpha Centauri, Push
Never ones to tread identical ground, UK outfit Sons of Alpha Centauri collaborate with Far/Onelinedrawing vocalist Jonah Matranga and Will Haven drummer Mitch Wheeler on Push, their material given relatively straight-ahead structural purpose to suit. I’m a fan of Sons of Alpha Centauri and their willingness to toss out various rulebooks on their way to individualized expression. Will Push be the record of theirs I reach for in the years to come? Nope. I’ve tried and tried and tried to get on board, but post-hardcore/emo has never been my thing and I respect Sons of Alpha Centauri too much to pretend otherwise. I admire the ethic that created the album. Deeply. But of the various Sons of Alpha Centauri collaborations — with the likes JK Broadrick of Godflesh or Gary Arce of Yawning Man — I feel a little left out in the cold by these tracks. No worries though. It’s Sons of Alpha Centauri. I’ll catch the next one. In the meantime, it’s comforting knowing they’re doing their own thing as always, regardless of how it manifests.
The programmed drums do an amazing amount to bring a sense of form to Doctors of Space‘s ultra-exploratory jamming. The Portugal-based duo combining the efforts of guitarist/programmer Martin Weaver (best known for his work in Wicked Lady) and synthesist/keyboardist Scott “Dr. Space” Heller of Øresund Space Collective (and many others) have been issuing jams by the month during a time largely void of live performances, and their get-together on July 30 resulted in seven pieces, four of which make up the 62 minutes of Studio Session July 2021. It’s hard to pick a highlight between the mellower, almost jazzy flow and cosmic wash of the 19-minute “Nighthawk,” and the more urgent setting out that “They Are Listening” provides, the more definitively space-rocking “Spirit Catcher” closing and “Bombsheller” with what feels like layers upon layers of swirl with keyboard lines cutting through, capping with a mellotron chorus, but any one of them is a worthy pick, and that’s a good problem to have.
In its readiness to go wherever the spirit of its eight included pieces lead, as well as in its openness of arrangement and folkish foundation, River Flows Reverse‘s first offering, the semi-eponymous When River Flows Reverse, reminds of Montibus Communitas. That is a compliment I don’t give lightly or often. The hour-long 2LP sees issue as part of the Psychedelic Source Records collective — Bence Ambrus and company — and with members of Indeed, Lemurian Folk Songs, Hold Station, on vocals and trumpet and banjo, etc., and a variety of instruments handled by Ambrus himself, the record is serene and hypnotic in kind, finding an outbound pastoralism that is physical as much as it’s swirling in mid-air. “Oriental Western” taps 16 Horsepower on the shoulder, but it’s in a meditation like “At the Gates of the Perennial” or the decidedly unraging “Rain it Rages” that the Hungarian outfit most seem to find themselves even as they get willfully lost in what they’re doing. Beautiful.
Even amid the lumbering noise rock extremity of the penultimate “Heroin,” Kite manage to work in a willfully lunkheaded Melvins riff. Cheers to the Oslo bashers-of-face on that. The second long-player from the Oslo-based trio featuring members of Sâver, Dunderbeist, Stonegard and others sets out in moody form with “Idle Lights” building to a maddening tension that “Turbulence” hits with a brick. Though not void of atmosphere or complexity in its construction, the bulk of Currents is harsh, a punishment derived from sludge-thickened post-hardcore evidenced by “Ravines” stomping into the has-clean-vocals centerpiece title-track, but it’s also clear the band are having fun. Closer “Unveering Static” brings back the non-screaming shouts, but it’s the earlier longest track “Infernal Trails” that perhaps most readily encapsulates their work, variable in tempo, building and crashing, chaotic and raging and lowbrow enough to be artsy, but still given an underpinning of heft to match any and all aggression.
A sophomore full-length from the Chicago-based four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Jessie Ambriz and Jon Slusher, bassist/vocalist Alan Strathmann and drummer/vocalist Quinn Curren, Starless‘ Hope is Leaving You runs a melancholy gambit from the prog-metal aggression of “Pendulum” to “Forest” reimagining Alice in Chains as a post-rock band, to soaring escapist pastoralia in “Devils,” to the patient psychedelic unfurling of “Citizen,” all the while remaining heavy of one sort or another; sonic, emotional, whatever it might be. Both. Cellist Alison Chesley (Helen Money) guests on “Forest” and the devolves-into-chaotic-noise closer “Hunting With Fire,” and Sanford Parker produced, but the band’s greatest strengths are the band itself. Hope is Leaving You isn’t going to be the feel-good hit of anyone’s summer in terms of general mood or atmosphere, but it’s the kind of release that’s going to hit a particular nerve with some who take it on, and I think I might be one of them.
Some 15 years on from their landmark first album, Olympia, Washington’s Wolves in the Throne Room make their debut on Relapse Records with duly organic stateliness on Primordial Arcana, bringing their particular and massively influential vision of American black metal to bear across tracks mostly shorter than those of 2017’s Thrice Woven (review here) — exceptions to every rule: the triumphant 10-minute “Masters of Rain and Storm” — as drummer/keyboardist/vocalist Aaron Weaver, guitarist/vocalist Nathan Weaver, guitarist/vocalist Kody Keyworth and guest bassist/vocalist Galen Baudhuin readily draw together ripping blasts with cavernous synth, acoustic guitar, percussion and whatever the hell else they want across eight songs and 49 minutes (that includes the ambient bonus track “Skyclad Passage,” which follows the also-ambient closer “Eostre”) for an immersive aesthetic victory lap that’s all the more resonant for being the first time they’ve entirely produced themselves. One hopes and suspects it won’t be the last. Their sixth or seventh LP depending on what one counts, Primordial Arcana sounds like the beginning of a new era for them.
London heavy rockers Oak perhaps ultimately did themselves a disservice by not putting out a full-length during their time together. Fin, like the end screen of a fancy movie, arrives as their swansong EP, their fourth overall in the last six years, and is made up mostly of two five-plus-minute tracks in “Beyond…” and “Broken King,” with the minute-long intro “Bells” at the start. With the soaring chorus of “Beyond…” led by vocalist Andy Valiant with the backing of bassist/mellotronist Richard Morgan and guitarist/synthesist Kevin Germain and the shove of Alex De La Cour‘s drums at their foundation, the clarity of production by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse (Green Lung, Terminal Cheesecake, etc.) and the gang shouts that rouse the finish of “Broken King,” Oak end their run sounding very much like a band who had more to say. If their breakup really is permanent, they leave a lot of potential on the proverbial table.
By the time Los Angeles’ Deep Tomb get into the stomp of the 12-minute finishing track on their four-song/29-minute self-titled, they’ve already well demonstrated their propensity for scathing, harsh sludge. Opener “Colossus” has some percussion later in its seven minutes that sounds like something falling down stairs — maybe those are just the toms? — but it and the subsequent “Ascension From the Devoured Realm” aren’t exactly shy about where they’re coming from in their pummel and fuckall, and even though “Endless Power Through Breathless Sleep” starts out mellow and ends minimalist, in between it sounds like a they’re trying to use amps to remove limbs. And how much of “Lord of Misery” is song and how much is noisy chaos anyway? I don’t know. Where’s the line from one to the other? When does the madness end? And what’s left when it does? The broken glass from tube amps and soured everything.
A band that, sooner or later, somebody’s going to refer to as “heavyweights.” Perhaps it’s happened already. Justifiably, in any case, given the significant heft Poland’s Grieving bring to their riff-led fare on their first LP, built on a foundation of traditionalist doom but not necessarily eschewing modern methods in favor thereof throughout its six component tracks — the three-piece of vocalist Wojciech Kaluza, guitarist/bassist/synthesist Artur Ruminski and drummer Bartosz Licholap are willfully Sabbathian even in the shuffle of “This Godless Chapel” but neither are they shy about engaging more psychedelic spaces on “Foreboding of a Great Ruin,” however grounding the clear-headed melodies of the vocals might be, and the riff at the core of the hard-hitting “A Crow Funeral” would in another context be no less at home on a desert rock record. Especially as their debut, Songs for the Weary sounds anything but.
Heavy blues is at the core of Djiin‘s second album, Meandering Soul, but the Rennes, France, four-piece meet it head-on with both deeper weight and broader atmospherics, and lead vocalist Chloé Panhaleux owes as much to grunge as to post-The Doors brooding, her voice admirably organic even unto cracking in “Red Desert.” With the backing of guitarist Tom Penaguin, bassist Charlélie Pailhes and drummer Allan Guyomard, Djiin are no less at home in the creeping lounge guitar stretches of “Warmth of Death” than in the bursts of volume in opener “Black Circus” or the what-the-hell-just-happened-to-this-song prog jam out that caps the erstwhile punk of finale “Waxdoll.” Clearly, Djiin go where they want, when they want, from the folkish harmonies of “The Void” to the far-less-hinged crushing aggro “White Valley,” each piece offering something of its own on the way while feeding into the immersion of the whole.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 28th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
The latest offering from Buenos Aires-based trio Ambassador is the aptly-titled 2020 live album, En Vivo, which was released through Bandcamp in a tape edition of — wait for it… — five copies. That, in case it didn’t sink in, is not very many copies. As they’ve aligned to Interstellar Smoke Records, more than that have been pressed of their 2016 self-titled debut. Specifically 241 more. They’ve also since followed that debut with 2018’s Ambassador 2 and a couple other short outings, but in ethic and style, it’s easy enough to understand what might’ve had the label come calling for the first record first.
Analog-loyal, Ambassador reportedly tracked the album live, to tape, in a single take. That is, they showed up, checked mics and hit it. A live-in-studio release is bold in any case — capturing in maximum fidelity all the warts along the way as it does — but for a debut it feels like an especially bold move. What’re the stakes? I don’t know, but one way or the other there’s no arguing with results.
For what it’s worth though, I did more than one take typing this.
From the PR wire:
Heavy Blues Rock trio Ambassador team up with Interstellar Smoke Records to release their brilliantly crushing debut album on vinyl!
#ISR066: AMBASSADOR “Ambassador” #ISR RED DOWN VINYL EDITION LTD. 250 COPIES
*Trans Violet Vinyl 180 grams, housed in standard LP-sleeve cover, comes in single-pocket cover, double-sided print insert and poster A3.
*Trans Violet Vinyl Hand-Crafted in 33 1/3 RPM, with new special audiophile mastering for vinyl edition to get the highest possible sound quality at Velozet Estudio by Dylan Lerner and Masterized at Delajungla Estudio by Hernan Asconiga
All analogic recorded(!)
This album was recorded live and in one take(!)
Heavy Blues Rock Trio in BEST POSSIBLE FORM ! ! !
Tracklist: 1. Blues del origen 05:07 2. Estado Natural 04:05 3. Arbol de la paz 03:54 4. Espejismo 03:57 5. Siniestro 06:11 6. Por los caminos 02:54 7. La amenaza del pombero 03:06 8. Donde pega el sol 03:58 9. Tiempo 01:32
Ambassador: Maxi Álvarez Guitarra y Voz Emiliano Arrettino Bajo Lucas Calabrese Batería
Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 24th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Swedish trio Cavern Deep made their self-titled debut (review here) in July on Interstellar Smoke Records, and in so doing, chronicled the story of an archaeological dig gone horribly wrong. “Fungal Realm,” the penultimate of the included eight tracks, is the point in the narrative at which that seems to happen. It is here that the Umeå-based three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Kenny-Oswald Duvfenberg, bassist/vocalist Max Malmer and drummer/backup vocalist Dennis Sjödin (also keys) present the tragedy this exposition finds on its journey into the titular deep cavern. Not to give it all away or anything, but the song is called “Fungal Realm.”
Maybe this is off-topic — and maybe not — but anyone remember that episode of The X-Files where Mulder and Scully go out to investigate whatever it is, somebody disappeared or something, and they find out that the entire hillside is actually a giant, living fungus that tries to trap them and make them think they got away by making them hallucinate while it digests them? So much goo and ’90s special effects of faces melting. It ain’t the Smoking Man or “Is your hair chemically treated?,” but it was an awesome one-off episode just the same. Cavern Deep and “Fungal Realm” particularly kind of remind me of that, except, you know, epic, melodic, ambient doom instead of Gillian Anderson in shoulderpads. Can’t have everything.
To this point, Cavern Deep have done an admirable job reaching out to establish a following for their work. This lyric video series, which boasts a chapter for each song on the record, follows a series of live performance clips and another video series. In the meantime, they’ve also taken it on themselves to record and finish a second album, though when it’ll be out, I have no idea. Not before the end of 2021, in any case. Still, it tells you this is a band who not only believe in what they’re doing, but are looking to show that to other people as well. Seems like such a straightforward idea, and I suppose it’s true of everyone to some degree — myself included — but not everyone does to the same lengths, and as ever, I respect the hustle.
Under the lyric video and accompanying info, I’ve also included the live-in-studio clip of “Fungal Realm” and the Bandcamp album stream. Happy excavating.
Enjoy:
Cavern Deep, “Fungal Realm” lyric video premiere
Cavern Deep releases the 7th lyric video in the process of releasing an entire long concept video for their debut self-titled album.
Fungal Realm is the 7th song on the Cavern Deep concept album released on Interstellar Smoke Records worldwide on vinyl and digital distribution the 23rd of July 2021.
The songs synopsis is as follows:
“I am alone.. Traitors! They could not endure.. Out of sight.. Engulfed.. I am abandoned.. The spores burn.. Burn my lungs. The pulsating mass is limitless.. layers of layers.. The triangular gate.. The bridge.. I can see it.. I must reach it! Before this horrid, rotting organism takes hold of my mind completely.. ”
Cavern Deep is: Kenny-Oswald Duvfenberg – Guitars and Vocals Max Malmer – Bass and Vocals Dennis Sjödin – Drums, Backup Vocals and Keys
Cavern Deep, Cavern Deep (2021)
Cavern Deep, “Fungal Realm” live at Malmer Productions
Posted in Questionnaire on September 8th, 2021 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: Wojciech Kaluza of Grieving
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I like to think of myself as an amateur singer in a number of bands but then again I’m not entirtely sure that defines me as a person. There’s a lot more than just one quality to all of us, don’t you think? But when it comes to singing, it all started with watching music videos as a kid and thinking “Yeah, I could do that!” And over 25 years later, it’s going surprisingly well.
Describe your first musical memory.
It definitely isn’t the first but I do recall my dad buying me Guns ‘n’ Roses tapes when I was a kid, not knowing that in fact he’s creating a monster. :) Back in the ’90’s most of the music we got in Poland was on tapes and these were usually not licensed, meaning that we got all sorts of wacky “albums” such as “Guns N’ Roses: The Best Ballads” and whatnot. Still have some copies back at home. Good times.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
I guess I’ve had a few of those but as always, it’s hard to pick just one. Supporting Philip Anselmo on a show in Warsaw and having the man himself watch us from the side of the stage and nod with appreciation would definitely be one of the highlights. Hell, every time I put any of the albums I’ve recorded on my shelf, that’s a rad memory right there.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I guess in my college years when I was still sort of Catholic and actually believed in God. That changed in the course of maybe two years and I’ve never looked back since. Happy that burden’s off my chest, life without faith and religion is so much more rewarding and fulfilling.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Better art? Or perhaps a better understanding of your abilities? Either way, always bet on progress, you can’t go wrong.
How do you define success?
Being happy with your life. Simple as that.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Pretty much every Dream Theater video or concert. But to take matters more seriously — I think that the worst thing to see and then wish you didn’t, is your friends or loved ones acting like assholes. That includes myself of course.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I guess writing a book was always up there somewhere. Definitely a horror novel but I have this unsettling feeling that all the best ideas have already been discovered. Wouldn’t mind recording a proper hardcore album at some point too.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Give joy. Make us think. Make us feel.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 19th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Respect to Umeå, Sweden’s Cavern Deep, who it would seem aren’t wasting any time whatsoever. Less than a month out from releasing their self-titled debut (review here) on Interstellar Smoke, and just two weeks from launching a series of lyric videos for its narratively-constructed tracks, the trio have nonetheless announced their follow-up long-player is recorded. Doom that works at a space rock pace? Sure, that works for me.
Bassist/vocalist Max Malmer posted about this in The Obelisk group on Facebook and noted that it would be a while before it was released — they’re apparently making a video game of some sort to go with; before you ask, yes, I advocated for a classic SNES Final Fantasy-style turn-based battle system; “You spoony bard!” for life — but if the songs are already in the can, how long will it be before they start on a third full-length? They’ve already shown themselves to be the restless type as a unit. Will they have a backlog of material waiting to be released by the end of this year?
And have I ever told you I used to daydream about writing ridiculous RPG plots? Also children’s books. Also Star Trek fanfic. Also poetry. Also pretty much anything. Alas, time.
I digress. To the PR wire:
Doom Metal Act Cavern Deep Are Back In The Studio!
Doom act Cavern Deep has just finished recording their second album. It continues the tale of the archeologist of the first album with 6 crushing new songs. All engineering, mixing and mastering is done DIY, same as the first album. More news to come very soon!
Cavern Deep is a slow, heavy band, founded 2019, by members from Zonaria and Swedish retro riffsters Gudars Skymning.
The debut self-titled album is about one archeologist and his crew of ambitious henchmen and their descent into the cavernous realm below the crust of the earth. Learn about their fate and listen to some heavy, gloomy riffs along their slow path downwards.
Cavern Deep is: Kenny-Oswald Duvfenberg – Guitars and Vocals Max Malmer – Bass and Vocals Dennis Sjödin – Drums, Backup Vocals and Keys
