Posted in Whathaveyou on June 5th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Swedish heavy progressive rockers Hällas will tour major markets in the US along the East Coast and up into Canada for dates in Montreal and Toronto this November. They make the journey supporting 2022’s Isle of Wisdom, released through Napalm Records as the follow-up to 2020’s Conundrum. It’s not the band’s first time in the States, as they did the West Coast in March in the company of Danava, but their organ-laced melodic retro-futurism comes east (or in their case, still west) with Freeways supporting, having also toured Europe last Fall after the album’s release last Spring.
They’re an act I haven’t covered as much as I’d like to, so when I get the chance on something like tour dates the algorithm generously put in front of my eyes, I’m glad to do it. I still fondly recall seeing them in 2018 at Høstsabbat (review here) in Oslo, and as I’ll catch them this coming Saturday at Freak Valley as well, this seemed like an excuse to dive into Isle of Wisdom, and as I suspected I wouldn’t, I don’t regret it. Patient and proggy but not lacking movement, they will be a fitting complement to the cool autumn air and actually-dark-at-nighttime of early November on the Eastern Seaboard, and as they’ll go as far inland as Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Chicago, the tour covers a pretty sizable chunk of ground too.
Dates follow from social media:
ANNOUNCEMENT!
In November we will return to North America for a new adventure — This time we’re bringing the fantastic Freeways
Ticket sales are opening Friday 10AM EST
2023-11-03 Cambridge, MA – Sonia 2023-11-04 Brooklyn, NY – The Meadows 2023-11-06 Philadelphia, PA -Underground Arts 2023-11-07 Montreal, QC – Fairmount 2023-11-08 Toronto, ON – Horseshoe 2023-11-09 Grand Rapids, MI – Pyramid Scheme 2023-11-10 Chicago, IL – Reggies 2023-11-11 Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups 2023-11-12 Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery 2023-11-14 Raleigh, NC – The Pour House 2023-11-15 Greenville, SC – The Radio Room 2023-11-16 Atlanta, GA – Boggs Social & Supply
Posted in Reviews on September 19th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Oh hello. I didn’t see you there. What, this? Oh, this is just me hanging out about to review 100 records in 10 days’ time. Yup, it’s another double-wide Quarterly Review, and I’m telling myself that no, this isn’t just how life is now, that two full weeks of 10 reviews per day isn’t business as usual, but there’s an exceptional amount of music out there right now, and no, this isn’t even close to all of it. But I’m doing my best to keep up and this is what that looks like.
The bottom line is the same as always and I’ll give it to you up front and waste no more time: I hope you enjoy the music here and find something to love.
So let’s go.
Quarterly Review #01-10:
Yatra, Born into Chaos
The partnership between Chesapeake extremists Yatra and producer Noel Mueller continues to bear fruit on the band’s fourth album and first for Prosthetic Records. Their descent from thick, nasty sludge into death metal is complete, and songs like “Terminate by the Sword” and “Terrorizer” have enough force behind them to become signature pieces. The trio of Dana Helmuth (guitar/vocals), Maria Geisbert (bass) and Sean Lafferty (drums, also Grave Bathers) have yet to sound so utterly ferocious, and as each of their offerings has pushed further into the tearing-flesh-like-paper and rot-stenched realms of metal, Born into Chaos brings the maddening intensity of “Wrath of the Warmaster” and the Incantation-worthy chug of closer “Tormentation,” with massive chug, twisting angularity and brain-melting blasts amid the unipolar throatripper screams from Helmuth (reminds at times of Grutle Kjellson from Enslaved), by now a familiar rasp that underscores the various violences taking place within the eight included tracks. I bet they get even meaner next time,. That’s just how Yatra do. But it’ll be a challenge.
Part of the fun of a new Sula Bassana release is not knowing what you’re going to get, and Nostalgia, which is built from material recorded between 2013-’18 and finished between 2019-’21, is full of surprises. The heavy space grunge of lead cut “Real Life,” which along with its side A companion “We Will Make It” actually features vocals from Dave “Sula Bassana” Schmidt himself (!), is the first here but not the last. That song beefs up early Radiohead drudgery, and “We Will Make It” is like what happens when space rock actually gets to space, dark in a way but expansive and gorgeous. Side B is instrumental, but the mellotron in “Nostalgia” — how could a track called “Nostalgia” not have mellotron? — goes a long way in terms of atmosphere, and the 10-minute “Wurmloch” puts its well-schooled krautrockism to use amid melodic drone before the one-man-jam turns into a freakout rager (again: !), and the outright beautiful finisher “Mellotraum” turns modern heavy post-rock on its head, stays cohesive despite all the noise and haze and underscores the mastery Schmidt has developed in his last two decades of aural exploration. One wonders to what this sonic turn might lead timed so close to his departure from Electric Moon and building a Sula live band, but either way, more of this, please. Please.
Continuing a streak of working with highly-respected imprints, Finland’s Garden of Worm release their third album, the eight-song/43-minute Endless Garden, through Nasoni Records after two prior LPs through Shadow Kingdom and Svart, respectively. There have been lineup changes since 2015’s Idle Stones (review here), but the band’s classically progressive aspects have never shone through more. The patient unfolding of “White Ship” alone is evidence for this, never mind everything else that surrounds, and though the earlier “Name of Lost Love” and the closer “In the Absence of Memory” nod to vintage doom and the nine-minute penultimate “Sleepy Trees” basks in a raw, mellow Floydian melody, the core of the Tampere outfit remains their unpredictability and the fact that you never quite know where you’re going until you’re there. Looking at you, “Autumn Song,” with that extended flute-or-what-ever-it-is intro before the multi-layered folk-doom vocal kicks in. For over a decade now, Garden of Worm have been a well kept secret, and honestly, that kind of works for the vibe they cast here; like you were walking through the forest and stumbled into another world. Good luck getting back.
Untethered by genre and as unorthodox as ever, Sevilla, Spain, weirdo doom heroes Orthodox return with Proceed after four years in the ether, and the output is duly dug into its own reality of ritualism born more of creation than horror-worship across the six included songs. “Arendrot” carries some shade from past dronings, and certainly the opener before it is oddball enough, with its angular riffing and later, Iberian-folk-derived solo, but there’s a straigter-forward aspect to Proceed as well, the vocals lending a character of noise rock and less outwardly experimentalist fare. “Rabid God” brings that forward with due intensity before the hi-hat-shimmy-meets-cave-lumber-doom “Starve” and the lurching/ambient doomjazz “The Son, the Sword, the Bread” set up the 10-minute closer “The Long Defeat,” which assures the discomforted that at least at some point when they were kids Orthodox listened to metal. Righteously individual, their work isn’t for everyone, and it’s by no means free of indulgence, but in 42 minutes, Orthodox once again stretch the limits of what doom means in a way that most bands wouldn’t dare even if they wanted to, and if you can’t respect that, then I’ve got nothing for you.
Fifty years from now, some brave archivalist soul is going to reissue the entire catalog of Lima, Peru’s Matus and blow minds far and wide. A follow-up to 2013’s Espejismos (review here), Espejismos II brings theremin-laced vintage Sabbath rock vibes across its early movements, going so far as to present “Umbral / Niebla de Neón” in mono, while the minute-and-a-half-long “Los Ojos de Vermargar (Early Version)” is pure fuzz and the organ-laced “Hada Morgana (Early Instrumental Mix)” — that and “Umbra; / Niebla de Neón” appeared in ‘finished versions on 2015’s Claroscuro (review here); “Summerland” dates back to 2010’s Más Allá Del Sol Poniente (review here), so yes, time has lost all meaning — moves into the handclap-and-maybe-farfisa-organ “Canción para Nuada,” one of several remixes with rerecorded drums. “Rocky Black” is an experiment in sound collage, and “Misquamacus” blends acoustic intricacy and distorted threat, while capper “Adiós Afallenau (Version)” returns the theremin for a two-minute walk before letting go to a long stretch of silence and some secret-track-style closing cymbals. The best thing you can do with Matus is just listen. It’s its own thing, it always has been, and the experimental edge brought to classic heavy rock is best taken on with as open a mind as possible. Let it go where it wants to go and the rewards will be plenty. And maybe in another five decades everyone will get it.
Offset by interludes like the classical-minded “Aversion” or the bass-led “Reprobation,” or even the build-up intro “S.Z.,” the ritual doom nod of Swiss five-piece Shrooms Circle‘s The Constant Descent is made all the more vital through the various keys at work across its span, whether it’s organ or mellotron amid the lumbering weight of the riffs. “Perpetual Decay” and its companion interlude “Amorphous” dare a bit of beauty, and that goes far in adding context and scope to the already massive sounding “The Unreachable Spiral” and the subtle vocal layering in “The Constant Descent.” Someone in this band likes early Type O Negative, and that’s just fine. Perhaps most of all, the 11-song/48-minute The Constant Descent is dynamic enough so that no matter where a given song starts, the listener doesn’t immediately know where it’s going to end up, and taking that in combination with the command shown throughout “Demotion,” “Perpetual Decay,” the eight-minute “Core Breakdown” and the another-step-huger finale “Stagnant Tide,” Shrooms Circle‘s second album offers atmosphere and craft not geared toward hooking the audience with catchy songwriting so much as immersing them in the mood and murk in which the band seem to reside. If Coven happened for the first time today, they might sound like this.
I’m gonna tell you straight out: Don’t write this shit off because Goatriders is a goofy band name or because the cover art for their second album, Traveler, is #vanlife carrot gnomes listening to a tape player on a hillside (which is awesome, by the way). There’s more going on with the Linköping four-piece than the superficialities make it seem. “Unscathed” imagines what might have happened if Stubb and Hexvssel crossed paths on that same hill, and the album careens back and forth smoothly between longer and shorter pieces across 50 engrossing minutes; nature-worshiping, low-key dooming and subtly genre-melding all the while. Then they go garage on “The Garden,” the album seeming to get rawer in tone as it proceeds toward “Witches Walk” and the a capella finish in “Coven,” which even that they can’t resist blowing out at the end. With the hypnotic tom work and repeat riffing of the instrumental “Elephant Bird” at its center and the shouted culminations of “Goat Head Nebula” and “Unscathed,” the urgent ritualizing of “Snakemother” and the deceptive poise at the outset with “Atomic Sunlight,” Traveler finds truth in its off-kilter presentation. You don’t get Ozium, Majestic Mountain and Evil Noise on board by accident. Familiar as it is and drawing from multiple sides, I’m hard-pressed to think of someone doing exactly what Goatriders do, and that should be taken as a compliment.
At the tender age of 80, bizarrist legend Arthur Brown — the god of hellfire, as the cover art immediately reminds — presents Long Long Road to a new generation of listeners. His first album under his own name in a decade — The Crazy World of Arthur Brown released Gypsy Voodoo (can you still say that?) in 2019 — and written and performed in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Rik Patten, songs like “Going Down” revisit classic pageantry in organ and horns and the righteous lyrical proclamations of the man himself, while “I Like Games” toys with blues vibes in slide acoustic, kick drum thud and harmonica sleazenanigans, while the organ-and-electric “The Blues and Messing Round” studs with class and “Long Long Road” reminds that “The future’s open/The past is due/In this moment/Where everything that comes is new,” a hopeful message before “Once I Had Illusions (Part 2)” picks up where its earlier companion-piece left off in a manner that’s both lush and contemplative, more than a showpiece for Brown‘s storytelling and still somehow that. His legacy will forever be tied to The Crazy World of Arthur Brown‘s late-1960s freakery, but Long Long Road is the work of an undimmed creative spirit and still bolder than 90 percent of rock bands will ever dare to be.
Ultimately, whether one ends up calling Green Sky Accident‘s Daytime TV progressive psychedelia, heavier post-rock or some other carved-out microgenre, the reality of the 10-song/50-minute Apollon Records release is intricate enough to justify the designation. Richly melodic and unafraid to shimmer brightly, cuts like “Point of No Return” and the later dancer “Finding Failure” are sweet in mood and free largely of the pretense of indie rock, though “Insert Coin” and the penultimate piano interlude “Lid” are certainly well dug-in, but “Sensible Scenes,” opener “Faded Memories,” closer “While We Lasted” and the ending of “Screams at Night” aren’t lacking either for movement or tonal presence, and that results in an impression more about range underscored by songwriting and melody than any kind of tonal or stylistic showcase. The Bergen, Norway, four-piece are, in other words, on their own trip. And as much float as they bring forth, “In Vain” reimagines heavy metal as a brightly expressive terrestrial entity, a thing to be made and remade according to the band’s own purpose for it, and the title-track similarly balances intensity with a soothing affect. I guess this is what alt rock sounds like in 2022. Could be far worse, and indeed, it presents an ‘other’ vision from the bulk of what surrounds it even in an underground milieu. On a personal level, I can’t decide if I like it, and I kind of like that about it.
Pure Land Stars, Trembling Under the Spectral Bodies
With members of Cali psych-of-all explorers White Manna at their core, Pure Land Stars begin a series called ‘Altered States’ that’s a collaboration between Centripetal Force and Cardinal Fuzz Records, and if you’re thinking that that’s going to mean it’s way far out there, you’re probably not thinking far enough. Kosmiche drones and ambient foreboding in “Flotsam” and “3rd Grace” make the acoustic strum of “Mountains are Mountains” seem like a terrestrial touch-down, while “Chime the Kettle” portrays a semi-industrial nature-worship jazz, and “Jetsam” unfolds like a sunrise but if the sun suddenly came up one day and was blue. “Lavendar Crowd” (sic) turns the experimentalism percussive, but it’s that experimentalism at the project’s core, whether that’s manifest in the nigh-on-cinematic “Dr. Hillarious” (sic) or the engulf-you-now eight-minute closer “Eyes Like a Green Ceiling,” which is about as far from the keyboardy kratrock of “Flotsam” as the guitar effects and improvised sounding soloing of “Jetsam” a few tracks earlier. Cohesive? Sure. But in its own dimension. I don’t know if Pure Land Stars is a ‘band’ or a one-off, but they give ‘Altered States’ a rousing start that more than lives up to the name. Take a breath first. Maybe a drink of water. Then dive in.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
This post started out as a pretty standard band-signs-to-label thing, and nothing wrong with that at all. Majestic Mountain Records put out work that it had picked up Sweden’s Goatriders to release their upcoming second album, Traveler — something announced on its own before a single premiere and preorders go live, in much the same way Heavy Psych Sounds handles these things; an announcement of the coming announcement — and I’m perfectly happy to get that together as news. Easy peasy, especially as they’re relatively fresh in mind since Stoffe recently took The Obelisk Questionnaire.
The plot thickens, however, as Majestic Mountain Records will handle the vinyl along with Ozium Records, also doing the CD, and Evil Noise Recordings the cassette, making the impending release triply-backed and available on any format save for that one T-Bone Burnett claims to have invented, though I’m sure if it comes to it they’ll do a reissue should that actually become a thing. Point? Album happening, and not one, not two, but three imprints are willing to back it. Most bands are lucky if they can get one.
First single later this week, as MMR told it on social media:
Majestic Mountain Records – Goatriders
In 2020, a motley group of fuzz laden, distortion drenched goats magically appeared from the blues-rock, desert jam pastures of Linköping Sweden, capturing our hearts and minds with their debut album ‘The Magician’s Keep.’
The album garnered massive praise from notable review platforms reaching repeat play status at HQ and beyond. Ranked amongst the top 100 albums of 2020 from The Doom Charts, ‘The Magician’s Keep’ promptly sold out and the rumblings for a follow up have been rowdy.
We are pleased to answer those raucous calls for more and announce that in cooperation with Ozium Records, MMR will be giving Goatriders sophomore release, ‘Traveler’ the full Majestic Treatment this spring.
Presale information to come very soon and look out for their first video and single ‘Witches’ Walk’ next week on Friday the 13th!
Stoffe (Christofer Johansen/Vox) explains that “‘Traveler’ is the continuation of the journey started on our debut into the vast deserts of space; a deep dive into both the infinity of the universe and the shallowness of man. It’s a paradox of metaphor with inspirations split between interstellar space travel and witches gathering for black mass. The result being an explorative sonic experience drawing from the jam-rock vibes of 70’s prog and the harder riffs of modern stoner. To do this part of the journey with our friends at Majestic Mountain record feels great. MMR has grown to be a real powerhouse within the stoner and doom community, and to be picked up into their roster for this release means a lot. With Majestic on the road ahead, we hope to lure more souls into damnation trough our noisy jam-rock. Long story short- Grab your coven, let’s ride.
“After all this time Traveler is finally happening. And to be doing this together with not one, not two but three great friends is truly humbling. With a vinyl release by Majestic Mountain and Ozium, a Cd release by Ozium and a cassette release by Evil Noise. A lot more news, release dates and fun stuff will come in the coming weeks. It will be one hell of a trip.”
We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Ozium on this stellar release and to have Goatriders amongst the MMR crew. Unapologetically serving up their very own, special tincture of desert rock and space worship with a fierce DIY spirit and noisy jam-rock energy, the bluesy, desert fuzz vibe is strong with these guys and we’re pleased to announce the second coming of Goatriders with ‘Traveler.’
Posted in Questionnaire on March 18th, 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: Stoffe from Goatriders
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I sing in a band called Goatriders and have been doing that since, well around 2018, I guess.
Goatriders have been around for quite some time, in a few different variations. I think Jimi, who plays bass, and Daniel, who plays drums, have been in the band since around 2015. Robin, who is actually Jimi’s brother, joined the band in 2019 to play guitar.
I come from a background of hardcore/punk and I have been in a few different bands either playing guitar or shouting but had been without a band for some time. I saw an ad on Facebook that a psychedelic, stoner jam-band was looking for a singer and was like “I hardly know anything about stoner-rock. I better throw them a dm!” After a few rehearsals I was asked to join and figured out a way that my singing-style would fit in what we tried to accomplish musically.
And then when Robin joined and took over on guitar we really had to start over and find a new way of writing songs. So ever since then the “jamming” has become a real essential part of our music. A lot of the songs we write we hardly know how they go. They can be constructed of one or maybe two riffs and then play around with the vibe and feeling of the riffs rather than counting how many times a verse goes. It is a real fun way of playing music together, but it can get really infuriating when you are recording or if someone in the band have really set idea of what should happen next in a song.
Describe your first musical memory.
Wow. My first musical memory… would probably be singing Christmas songs with my mom by the piano. When I was a kid me and her used to put on a mini Christmas-concert every Christmas. I hardly remember anything from my days as a young kid, but I do have a distinct memory of me and her singing “I saw mummy kissing Santa Claus”.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Without a doubt seeing The Chariot playing live at some random festival in Örebro, Sweden. The Chariot plays some kind of chaos-hardcore-metal-thing and I can hardly stand them on tape and really didn’t have that much interest going to that festival to begin with. But the guitarist in the band I played in was a huge fan and pretty much made everyone come along.
But they (The Chariot) killed it on stage. It was such a good vibe, good mosh, stagedives and the band was playing so tight it was almost humorous. But at the end of the concert their drummer stood up and pushed all his drums off stage into the crowd. And in a heartbeat, he had pulled them together again and finished the set sitting in the middle of the mosh pit beating his heart out on those drums.
After the set everyone in the band sat down on the edge of the stage and was talking with everyone in the crowd and was being super humble. It really set the tone of how I want to be and act as a live performer whenever I play my music.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Well, I’ve been Straight Edge for about 16 years. I know being SXE in the doom and stoner-community is not exactly kosher… But doing my military-service there was a lot of drinking and bullshit whenever we were on leave. So just that feeling of being a part of this really tightly knit crew and everyone, and I mean everyone was on my back about drinking a beer or tasting a shot. “Just one little beer won’t hurt”. But that whole experience being in my early twenties and standing by that promise. It really set the tone and cemented that this whole being sober thing is something that will last.
And just to make it clear, I don’t give a shit about other people’s personal choices, as long as they don’t hurt others, or they are made solely on the base of standing on others. So, if you want to smoke or drink or skip around the garden dressed as a goblin? You do you and I’ll do me.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
Well hopefully to something more interesting… Since I’m a big fan of punk and hardcore I live by the creed that “the demo and the first 7inch is still be best thing they ever did”. So, I am a big fan of simplicity and “underproduction”. But that being said playing the same seven songs over and over takes its toll. I guess artistic progression makes it more fun to play together as a band and it makes it more interesting and challenging.
How do you define success?
Probably by happiness. I have no interest in working as a musician. Music for me is tightly knit with the feeling of joy and acting as a way to explore and express feelings and thoughts that otherwise would be hard to get in touch with. So, success would be the middle way of keeping music equally joyful for me and listenable for others.
If people are interested in what we do and want us to play music for them, maybe even asking us to come and play for them, I guess that would be success.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I’ve always worked with people, a long time, almost 17 years, I worked with people with mental illness or disabilities. Not going into any details I’ve seen my share of people not wanting to live. And that is without a doubt something I could be without.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
Hard question… probably I would like to record something real that I’ve done completely on my own. With the help of some friends of course, since I can’t play drums for shit and don’t own any recording equipment. But I’d really like to do something on my own musically, just for the hell of it and to challenge myself in a way.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To be an outlet for the things this bullshit world throws at us. We walk around life being told what to feel and how to act. Art should question that… Art should make us look at ourselves and feel. It opens a gate to a lot of thing we otherwise would get in touch with.
Not all art of course. But sometimes you don’t need to get in touch with yourself, you just need to hear someone talk shit over a beat or something to keep you from falling asleep on a long drive home.
But the most essential function should be to open that gate and let us feel and explore thing that the world tells us not to.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Since I live in Sweden and it’s like the fucking artic right now. I’m looking forward to spring. I’m so over this snow and cold and wet socks every time you come inside and the fucking electrical bill going through the roof. No! Give me spring and nice weather so you can go outside and not freeze your ears off. I want to sit outside and drink coffee. I want the sun to stay up after five o’clock. Give. Me. SPRING!
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 3rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Swedish heavy/prog traditionalists Hällas will head out on a round of European touring starting March 12. Their new album, Conundrum, is already out in Scandinavia — was released the other day — but will see broader issue through Napalm Records this Spring. They’ve a fair amount of road time since issuing 2017’s Excerpts from a Future Past, and it was hard not to be struck by their stage show and general presentation when I saw them at Høstsabbat 2018 (review here) in Oslo. They are not a band who take what they do lightly and I don’t think they’re kidding around when they call it “adventure rock.”
I haven’t heard the new album yet — if you’re wondering why not (and you’re not in Scandinavia), click play on the Spotify player below — but it’s one more worth looking forward to once we get through the doldrums of winter. Here’s news and tour dates in the meantime:
Swedish Adventure Rock Pioneers HÄLLAS Sign Worldwide Contract with Napalm Records (excl. Nordics)!
European Tour Starts On March 12, 2020!
The mind-bending retro fantasy of Swedish adventure rock pioneers HÄLLAS has just reached a whole new frontier. The band has taken the next step of their collective journey by signing a worldwide contract with Napalm Records (excl. Nordics).
Founded in the northern parts of Småland, Sweden in 2011, HÄLLAS saw their initial breakthrough with their highly-acclaimed most recent album, Excerpts From A Future Past, and the hit single “Star Rider”. Now, the quintet invites everyone into their cosmic adventure accompanied by music forged on tales of sorcery and courage.
After supporting stoner rock phenomena KADAVAR on their massive European Tour in 2019, HÄLLAS is ready to conquer Europe with a headliner tour starting in March 2020. Hitting major cities, they’ll draw their listeners into an energetic, 70’s inspired mix of psychedelic art rock with progressive influences. This intoxicating, dynamic fusion is nothing less than their very own trademark which they call adventure rock!
Fans outside of the Nordic countries – don’t fret! After the album’s release in Scandinavia on January 31, Conundrum will be available internationally via Napalm Records. The release is currently planned for spring 2020.
HÄLLAS on the signing: “We are excited to announce that Napalm Records will be responsible for the release of our new album Conundrum outside of Scandinavia. We look forward to working with a team with their kind of knowledge and we truly believe this might be a successful partnership. This is a special album which has meant hard work for us and we really can’t wait to share this adventure with you.”
Catch HÄLLAS on their European Tour! HÄLLAS European tour: 12.03.20 DE – Hamburg / Knust 13.03.20 NL – Amsterdam / Melkweg 14.03.20 BE – Aarshot / De Klinker 15.03.20 NL – Tilburg / Hall Of Fame 16.03.20 FR – Paris / La Maroquinerie 17.03.20 FR – Lyon / Rock’n’Eat 18.03.20 DE – Stuttgart / Club Zentral 19.03.20 DE – Berlin / Musik & Frieden 20.03.20 DE – Leipzig / UT Connewitz 21.03.20 DE – Munich / Strom 22.03.20 AT – Vienna / Arena 24.03.20 CZ – Prague / Klub 007 Strahov 25.03.20 DE – Nuremberg / Der Cult 26.03.20 DE – Cologne / Club Volta 27.03.20 DE – Wiesbaden / Schlachthof 28.03.20 DE – Hanover / Chez Heinz
HÄLLAS are: Tommy Alexanderson: vocals / bass Marcus Peterson : guitar Kasper Eriskon: drums / percussion Nicklas Malmquist: organ / synthesizer Alexander Moraitis: guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 15th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I had a couple crucial learnings at this year’s Hostsabbat Festival in Oslo. Among them? Patchy pants are all the rage in Norway. I guess it’s a post-apocalyptic kind of thing? Like acknowledging that the dystopia is already here? Anyway, by the time I left town two days later, I wanted a pair. Still do.
More relevant: Hällas do not screw around on stage. Their set opening the fest in the Kulturkirken Jakob was likewise pro-shop and raucous; hot rock delivered with a cool hand but not at all staid or boring to watch. I felt fortunate to be able to catch them, and they more than stood up to the task of the high ceiling under which they played.
In addition to being one of the first bands announced for Desertfest Berlin 2019, they’ll be out for more than a handful of Scandinavian dates alongside kingpins Graveyard starting in early November and finishing up just before the holidays.
Don’t forget your patchy pants:
Hällas Announces Tour supporting Graveyard
Hällas announces a Scandinavian tour supporting Graveyard. These dates will provide a perfect mixture of Swedish rock during eleven dates. Tickets to the tour is running low on several dates. Secure your tickets through Ticketmaster.
Hällas Tour supporting Graveyard 2018.11.02 – SE – Nöjesfabriken – Karlstad 2018.11.03 – SE – Nordfest – Sundsvall 2018.11.09 – SE – Frimis Salonger – Örebro 2018.11.10 – DK – Pumpehuset – Copenhagen 2018.11.22 – SF – Tavastia – Helsinki 2018.11.23 – SF – Lutakko – Jyväskylä 2018.11.24 – SF – Klubi – Tampere 2018.12.14 – SE – Pustervik – Göteborg 2018.12.15 – SE – Pustervik – Göteborg (Sold Out) 2018.12.21 – SE – Cirkus – Stockholm
Hällas album “Excerpts from a future past” was released in October 2017 by the Sign Records. The band have toured all over Europe upon the release. The band have played festivals as Høstsabbat (NO), Devilsstone (Lit), Fusion Fest (De), Roadburn (NL) and Muskelrock (SE) during the last couple of months. The bands just released their hit single ‘Star Rider’ as a flexi seven inch as the band once again heads out on tour, this time in Scandinavia.
Hällas is: Tommy Alexandersson (bass/vocals) Alexander Moraitis (guitar) Kasper Eriksson (drums) Marcus Pettersson (guitar) Nicklas Malmqvist (keys)
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 10th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
I don’t care if each one was five copies — and rest assured, each one was substantially more in this case — getting through two full album pressings and releasing a third in the span of eight or nine months is pretty impressive. Such is the cast for Swedish heavy rockers Hällas, whose Excerpts from a Future Past came out last October through The Sign Records to wide-ranging “ooh”s and “aah”s. Good on ’em, what with the rock and roll and all. They’ll start taking it to the people — the people! — this week in support of the album, heading out for a weekender in Finland and Lithuania ahead of more fest dates later on. Much to do, much to do. The five-piece have been a steadily growing presence in the European heavy underground, and even as they seem to be gearing their summer toward hitting as many eyes as possible each time out, I wouldn’t be surprised if they kept up the festival appearances going into the busy Fall season, unless other plans should interfere. One never knows.
The PR wire sent the dates along, as follows:
Hällas Announces Summer Tour!
Today, Hällas announces their summer tour. The band will play 8 show between July and August in Finland, Lithuania, Germany and Norway.
Hällas just released the third press of their album “Excerpts from a future past” that was originally released in October 2017 by the Sign Records. The band has reached great success with their single “Star Rider”, and are now ready for the European festival summer.
Since the release of their debut album back in 2015, Hällas has gained a lot of popularity amongst rockers all over the world. With a sound that crosses the borders between the future and the past, between experimentation and catchiness, all wrapped together by spacey storytelling lyrics, the band has created something totally unique – by themselves referred to as “Adventure Rock”.
Summer Tour Dates: 12/7 Klubi -Tampere, Finland 13/7 Devilstone -Anyksciai, Lithuania 14/7 Uleaborg Psych Fest -Oulu, Finland 21/7 Chaos Descends Festival -Crispendorf, Germany 3/8 Kaupungin Aanet -Lahti, Finland 10/8 Aquamaria Festival -Plattenburg, Germany 11/8 Void Fest -Sinzendorf, Germany – SOLD OUT 25/8 Beyond The Gates -Bergen, Norway
Hällas is: Tommy Alexandersson (bass/vocals) Alexander Moraitis (guitar) Kasper Eriksson (drums) Marcus Pettersson (guitar) Nicklas Malmqvist (keys)
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 1st, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Swedish heavy rockers Oblivious are just weeks removed from the release of their A Storm in the Distance EP, but on Feb. 9 they’ll issue their fourth long-player, När Isarna Sjunger, on Gaphals. No big surprise the two releases are closely related. In addition to sharing artwork, the EP translates the opener “Det Brinner I Fjärran” from the album into English as the catchy, NWOBHM rocker EP title-track. Pretty nifty trick there, and it’s hardly the only one Oblivious have up their collective classic-rocking sleeve when it comes to När Isarna Sjunger.
To wit, they’ll support the album — and, I suppose, the EP — by hitting the road late next month in Germany. The band sent the poster through the PR wire and you’ll see that along with the dates and more background on the record below.
Like such:
Oblivious – A Storm Over Europe
A storm is coming! In february we’ll head down to Germany again. Poster made by the amazing Blodpest. Rock!
Oblivious on Tour: 24/02 Uelsen U.J.T. 25/02 Oldenburg MTS Records 27/02 Osnabruck Dirty + Dancing 28/02 Leipzig Black Label 01/03 Dresden Chemiefabrik 02/03 Hamburg Bambi Galore 03/03 Munster Rare Guitar More Dates TBA
Oblivious 70´s hard rock makes you stomp your feet and hum melodies for days. Heavyness, groove, vocal arrangement and a southern rock sound are the cornerstones in the fourth album from Swedens Oblivious. Forging even stronger melodies, based on the foundation of four harmonizing voices the album pinpoints the very things that made all those classic albums memorable. “När Isarna Sjunger” is released the 9th of February on Gaphals.
”När Isarna Sjunger” is Oblivious fourth studio album. The band released it´s first two albums ”Goons and Masters” (2009) and ”Creating Meaning” (2013) on Transubstance. Oblivious signed with Gaphals and released ”Out of Wilderness” (2015) and is releasing a pre-qual EP ”A Storm In a Distance” the 15th of January. The EP contains three tracks including ”A Storm In a Distance” that is a language version of the opening track ”Det Brinner I Fjärran” from ”När Isarna Sjunger”. ”När Isarna Sjunger” holds eight tracks and is highly recommended for fans of Swedish hard rock as November, Abramis Brama and early Witchcraft. All in all the album offers insight into several different elements of the Oblivious sound, ranging from strong chorused proto heavy metal to in-your-face attitude and speed, to gloom-ridden homages of the old giants of hard rock.
Oblivious will release their fourth album ’När Isarna Sjunger’ the 9th of February on Gaphals.
Oblivious is: Isak – Vocals Böris – Guitar, backing vocals Andy – Bass, backing vocals Jocke – Drums, backing vocals
