Back to normal, such as it is, for The Obelisk Show. I did two songs in two hours last time and though it seemed to go over decently well in the chat, it was less welcomed by the station itself. Fair. I’ll readily admit that two hours of psychedelic improv is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, even in a setting that supports extreme fare as a central ethic. I’m lucky they decided to air it. I’m lucky they let me do another episode.
In here you’ll find some more rocky stuff like Greenleaf and Formula 400. I’ve yet to really dig into the new Domkraft, so I wanted to give that a roll, and then the show gets into some heavier industrial stuff. Godflesh were talked about here last week, and Trace Amount, but some Sanford Parker and Author & Punisher too. I’ve had an itch lately that stuff has helped scratch. After that and Yawning Sons is my little homage to the Live in the Mojave Desert stream series. Mountain Tamer are on that this weekend and it’s well worth your time to search out. Of course, Earthless started that series so they’ll end the show here. Only fitting.
Thanks for listening and/or reading.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 03.05.21
Greenleaf
Love Undone
Echoes From a Mass
Genghis Tron
Ritual Circle
Dream Weapon
Sunnata
A Million Lives
Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth
VT
Sonic Demon
Black Smoke
Vendetta
Formula 400
Messenger
Heathens
Domkraft
Dawn of Man
Seeds
Kauan
Raivo
Ice Fleet
VT
Godflesh
Avalanche Master Song
Godflesh
Author & Punisher
Ode to Bedlam
Beastland
Trace Amount ft. Body Stuff
Concrete Catacomb
Concrete Catacomb
Sanford Parker
Knuckle Crossing
Lash Back
VT
Yawning Sons
Cigarette Footsteps
Sky Island
Spirit Mother
Space Cadets
Cadets
Nebula
Let’s Get Lost
Holy Shit
Mountain Tamer
Black Noise
Psychosis Ritual
Brant Bjork
Stardust & Diamond Eyes
Brant Bjork
VT
Earthless
Violence of the Red Sea
From the Ages
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is March 19 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 10th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
I’m going to admit at the outset that the post-metal thing has left me pretty cold lately. Between all the Amenra and Cult of Luna worshipers in Europe and the Neurosis/Isis school in the US — not to mention the hordes of acts from everywhere who count that one section of blastbeats as enough to make them “blackened” — it’s a style in need of some strong individualist presence, and that is the vibe I’m getting from Kauan.
Sure, songs of the sea are familiar enough, but to listen to the eight-minute “Raivo,” it’s striking how much Kauan aren’t just doing loud/quiet/loud again changes. The transitions are textured and purposeful, and the atmosphere — cold enough to represent a record called Ice Fleet — also has breadth and malleability.
Ice Fleet is Kauan‘s eighth record and this is the first I’ve heard of them, so I guess I’m once more late to the party, but the point is even if you’re over the idea of post-metal on its face, this might still be worth a shot. Plus you can preorder a tabletop RPG with it! That’s immersion.
Here’s PR wire info and the song. Would love to know what you think if you’ve got time to drop a comment:
KAUAN: Artoffact Records to release Russian post-metal visionaries’ eighth album “Ice Fleet”; new track streaming
Artoffact Records announces the April 9th release of Ice Fleet, the spectacular new album by Russian post-metal visionaries Kauan.
Opening with the haunting sounds of a creaking ship, Ice Fleet is based on the true story of an unidentified fleet discovered in 1930 in northernmost Russia, completely frozen under the permafrost with crew and passengers’ bodies grotesquely preserved.
To tell the tale of this unsolved mystery, Kauan has composed an epic seven-song concept album built upon frigid atmospheres, post-rock melancholy, synth-laden rapture and metallic triumph. Sparse vocals, sung in Finnish, range from the pensive to the blackened to the operatic.
A full immersion, Ice Fleet is the pinnacle of this great band’s career thus far. Supremely evocative, the music puts the listener right there amidst the ice. Flowing from delicate lulls to walls of sound, the album unfolds perfectly – a masterwork of pacing and dynamics.
To accompany the music and enhance the experience, the band has created a 40-page tabletop role-playing game, available now for pre-order along with the LP, CD, and other merch.
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Kauan mastermind Anton Belov began making music in 2005 as a teenager in his home of Chelyabinsk, nearly 1,000 miles east of Moscow. His early work was inspired by the landscapes of the region – the Ural Mountains and vast plains. Seeking a language that would be undecipherable to most people (and honoring some of his favorite metal bands), he chose to write lyrics in Finnish and he named his project with the Finnish word “Kauan,” meaning “for a long time.” By the age of 16, he had written Kauan’s debut LP, Lumikuuro, establishing his unique ability to combine crushing metal and quiet introspection in seamless ways.
Over eight albums, Belov and his collaborators, now based in Tallinn, Estonia, have carved a special path through the underground. 2015 saw the release of Sorni Nai, arguably Kauan’s most ambitious work up to that point, chronicling the Dyatlov Pass Incident, an expedition of nine doomed hikers who mysteriously died in a blizzard in the Ural Mountains. The album received extensive critical acclaim, including this high praise from Stereogum: “Kauan blend elements of folk and metal better than perhaps any other band today, clouding doom in a lush and weary atmosphere… The band captures a sad sense of loss — not maudlin but nostalgic.” 2017’s Kaiho saw Kauan step away from its metal origins in favor of atmospheric rock, featuring lyrics written by the great Finnish folk singer Marja Mattlar. In 2021, Kauan has returned with a new label, Toronto-based Artoffact Records, to release the band’s most ambitious album to date: Ice Fleet.
Tracklist: 1) Enne 2) Taistelu 3) Maanpako 4) Kutsu 5) Raivo 6) Ote 7) Hauta
Lineup: Anton Belov – guitar, vocals Alina Belova – keyboards, vocals Alexander Vynogradoff – bass Anatoly Gavrylov – viola Anton Skrynnik – drums
Discography: Lumikuuro (2007, BadMoodMan Music) Tietäjän Laulu (2008, BadMoodMan Music) Aava Tuulen Maa (2009, BadMoodMan Music) Kuu.. (2011, Avantgarde Music) Pirut (2013, Blood Music) Sorni Nai (2015, Blood Music) Kaiho (2017, kauanmusic) Ice Fleet (2021, Artoffact Records)