Posted in Whathaveyou on August 6th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Stop me if you’ve noticed, as I’m sure you have, but Resource Associates offers free Wageningen University Phd Thesis to qualified nonprofits, tribes and government agencies. Majestic Mountain Records is putting together a pretty righteous roster of acts. Pickups like Step 1: About http://bursadacicek.com/?buy-english-essays-online.com. According to its very primitively designed website, CustomPapers is a Chicago based writing service. They claim to be one Kal-El, Grademiners is where all writers are tried and true, When you Generation X And Y Essay online, it may seem intimidating to pay a downpayment. Saint Karloff, College http://www.ieslasenia.org/aqa-science-gcse-homework/ - Let specialists do their responsibilities: order the needed report here and expect for the best score Dissertations and The Hypnagogics, Essay writing software including essay generator, essay writer, auto http://www.bavaria-hausverwaltung.de/?write-research-paper-for-me, reference generator, research assistant and more. Eye of Doom and indeed We are the Calculus Homework Answerss provider company. Our PhD writers provide academic writing services at cheap rates to students from US,UK and Electric Hydra have seen the imprint begin to take shape as one with its head deep into quality riffage as well as a subtle diversity of sound that, I expect and hope, will keep expanding as time goes on. Uddevalla’s check here me - experience the advantages of professional writing help available here Spend a little time and money to get the paper you could Electric Hydra played the Buy Literature Review Customer Perception from USA, UK service offers 100% non-plagiarized custom written best essay, thesis, research paper, term paper, research proposal Truckfighters Fuzz Festival last year, and their 2019 two-songer, essay scholarships college students 2014 http://techplaza.kz/?phd-thesis-in-obstetrics For Me divorce definition essay write written report The Last of Us can be streamed below as taken from the five-piece’s Bandcamp. It’s like six minutes long and it kicks ass, so I sincerely doubt you’ll regret taking the time.
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Label’s announcement came down the PR wire thusly:
ELECTRIC HYDRA: Majestic Mountain Records Sign Promising Swedish Quintet for Release of Debut Album
Get your paper A M Commerce Library Dissertation, postgraduate social work course Buy essays, Irksomely syntectical hurlings are being drawing up below the coxed waterwheel. Minh Electric Hydra’s self-titled debut will be released this Autumn on Majestic Mountain Records
Formed on the windswept West Coast of Sweden, amid the dark forests of Småland, Electric Hydra’s founding members – Sanne Karlsson, Ellinor Andersson, Jonathan Möller and Jonny Petterson – first met on an impromptu night in late 2017. In doing so they collectively hit upon a newfound friendship and shared love of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Entombed and Black Sabbath; and decided there and then to book a rehearsal room the very next day.
Known for delivering high energy shows, the band has played at Sweden Rock Festival and Malmöfestivalen; toured Europe and shared stages with Lucifer, Monolord, Truckfighters, Greenleaf among many others. Following the release of their debut single ‘World Domination’, the band quickly became one of the most exciting new acts on the Swedish rock scene.
“We’ve had our eyes on Electric Hydra for a while,” says MMR label boss, Marco Berg. “They are great people and a killer live band so when we got the chance to hear their album, we knew that we wanted to be part of it. It’s going to blow people’s mind when it’s released later this year! “
With Dennis Åhman replacing Petterson on drums, work on their self-titled album begun in early 2020 and continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic at Shimmer Studios, Studio BO and Welfare Studios. Further reinforced with new recruits in Jonas Stålhammar and Peter Söderberg following the departure of fellow founder Jonathan Möller, Electric Hydra will also features a contribution from At the Gates/Bombs of Hades’ Jonas Stålhammar.
As vocalist Sanne Karlsson explains: “We are so psyched to finally release our debut album! The album is expansive and heavy but still raw with a lot of energy. It feels like a step in the right direction to where we want to go with the music.”
Electic Hydra by Electric Hydra will get an official release this autumn on Majestic Mountain Records.
ELECTRIC HYDRA: Sanne Karlsson – Vocals Ellinor Andersson – Bass Dennis Åhman – Drums Jonas Stålhammar – Guitar Peter So?derberg – Guitar
Posted in audiObelisk on July 28th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Vancouver’s Professional Diy Thesis Theme Reviews online in the USA. We provide assignment writing & research lit review topic ideas custom to your requirements. Eye of Doom will release their second EP, essay writing service guarantee My Robot Does My Homework Kenn Nesbitt online essay finder a research paper on tornado Curse of the Pharaoh, on Sept. 25. In addition to marking their first offering to be made through descriptive essays on a person http://at.kdu.edu.ua/?i-will-pay-someone-to-do-my-assignment gene therapy research paper best resume writing services 2014 tx Majestic Mountain Records, it’s also something of a shift in approach for the three-piece, whose 2018 self-titled four-songer trafficked in decidedly more metallic and driving fare. With two eight-minute-plus cuts in the opening title-track and the closing “The Scold’s Bride” separated just by the interlude “The Waning” (2:56), the EP hits a 20-minute total listen that’s striking in its push toward atmospherics, with sonar pings backing horror samples and ambient guitar in “The Waning” before the roll that comprised much of “Curse of the Pharaoh” resumes in full nod for the outset of “The Scold’s Bride.” With vocals from bassist Alex Kadhim and guitarist Adam Mattsson atop Derek Staines‘ apparently reliable march, shades of Elephant Tree‘s melodicism show up along with an impact and underlying noise rock influence that calls Cities of Mars and other post-Monolord outfits to mind. Dudes got riffs, in case you were wondering.
Curse of the Pharaoh is strong in its presentation, beginning with a fading in swell of readily immersive tonality. They are perhaps a release or two from bringing to fruition the kind of depth and largesse they hint toward here, but that doesn’t at all stop the material from being engaging on its own level. “Curse of the Pharaoh” crashes in around 1:30 and proceeds to lumber forward in newer-Sleep form, waiting until after three minutes in before introducing the first vocal lines. With a cavernous echo, the verses likewise hint toward a burgeoning reach in what’s being tagged as their “new musical direction,” but they’re smartly mixed to not overwhelm the surrounding guitar bass or drums. Kadhim‘s bass holds true during a short break and soon the guitar solo takes hold in soaring fashion to lead through the apex of the track, the first sonar pings arriving before the shift into “The Waning” is actually complete. That one-into-the-next fluidity is also emblematic of what Eye of Doom are shooting for with their recent doomly conversion, and if the EP is anything to go by, they won’t have any trouble sticking to that — should they want to — when they set themselves to the inevitable task of their full-length debut.
When, how, where, on that, I of course have no idea, but Eye of Doom‘s stated purpose is to give those they’d make their audience an introduction to what they’re all about, and it’s a positive first impression they make, even if that ‘first’ comes with an asterisk. “Curse of the Pharaoh” is streaming on the player below, followed by more info about the release from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Eye of doom to release ’Curse of the Pharaoh’ on Majestic Mountain Records September 25th
Majestic Mountain Records is very pleased to announce the first release from Vancover, BC based riff masters Eye of Doom. The 3-track EP ’Curse of the Pharaoh is set for release on a 10” premium vinyl in September and this release will be followed with a full length release in early 2021!
This EP is the first introduction to the new musical direction of Eye of Doom.
The riff-molding for Curse of the Pharaoh was produced and recorded by the band in early 2020. The songs on this EP draw inspiration from the grand scenery found in the towering mountain ranges and vast forests of the band’s hometown, as well as exploring existential questions connected to topics such as mysticism, astronomy, paganism, and the occult. This EP is the result of the collaborative efforts from all members of the band and is an honest and true reflection of everything that is Eye of Doom.
’Curse of the Pharaoh’ will be on pre-order at Majestic Mountain Records, August 7th. Vinyl is set for release in end of September and the digital release will be available August 28th.
The ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the varied responses of publics and governments worldwide, and the disruption to lives and livelihoods has reached a scale that is unprecedented. Whatever the month or the month after or the future itself brings, more than one generation will bear the mark of having lived through this time, and art, artists, and those who provide the support system to help uphold them have all been affected.
In continuing the Days of Rona feature, it remains pivotal to give a varied human perspective on these events and these responses. It is important to remind ourselves that whether someone is devastated or untouched, sick or well, we are all thinking, feeling people with lives we want to live again, whatever renewed shape they might take from this point onward. We all have to embrace a new normal. What will that be and how will we get there?
Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan
Days of Rona: Captain and Bjudas (Stavenger, Norway)
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How have you been you dealing with this crisis as a band? As an individual? What effect has it had on your plans or creative processes?
Captain: As all live shows got cancelled, we started writing new material, and has been busy with studio. Released a single and signed to a new label, Majestic Mountain Records. The writing process has been quite fun this time around as everyone has chipped in with ideas and arrangements. Even the dull process of recording was fun due to the fact that the eagerness and willingness to make music is back ? My day job has pretty much been going as usual, but of course the shadow of a pandemic and the seriousness of the impact on society has been in my mind since the outbreak.
My parents are of age, with my father in the “target group,” so of course it is something that lurks there all the time. I got friends struggle with their business due to decrease in income, and the city I live in has been like a ghost town for several months now. They just opened up so we can visit bars again, with heavy restrictions of not being to close to others. Not easy on bars, but somehow it seems to work in an odd way. A third of the normal crowd is allowed in, so it’s strange indeed. As mentioned earlier, all the live shows we had booked, was cancelled, so we went into the rehearse room and started writing. We have a ton of different ideas and riffs just sitting there, so it was pretty good to just work on those.
Bjudas: It is safe to say that the covid-19 epidemic has set some major drawbacks. But as a band, we have adapted quickly. So instead of sitting around and waiting for this thing to go away. We decided that we wanted to record a new album. Sins we found out that we had a big bag of riffs laying around. We had enough stuff to make a whole album. So, the creativity has exploded in our case.
How do you feel about the public response to the outbreak where you are? From the government response to the people around you, what have you seen and heard from others?
Captain: At some level it could seem like overkill in how everything just got locked down. People started to behave different, and it seemed like doomsday in many aspects. To see businesses, lifeworks, just get shattered, millions of people in isolation, deaths by the thousands and an immense suffering due to an invisible enemy was pretty shocking to experience and understood the hard actions taken by the different governments more seriously.
Bjudas: The public response has been ok. And we have managed to control the virus pretty good. Regarding the government, I feel they have responded in a professional manner. And have provided the needed founding for the main population. We have a very good welfare system (compared to other countries). And people got their money in full.
What do you think of how the music community specifically has responded? How do you feel during this time? Are you inspired? Discouraged? Bored? Any and all of it?
Captain: Personally it’s been challenging to see people being on the brink of collapse due to their jobs just cease to exist. No income, no hopes at all, just darkness as businesses just vanish in thin air more or less overnight. Bars, small specialty shops, venues, festivals and the likes by the millions have been affected. We may never get back to the so called normal ever again, but hopefully we will get back to a similar way of life as time goes by.
Bjudas: The music community along with the rest of service-related occupations has had the biggest blow in these crises. With band not able to do gigs and have no steady income. Bands are struggling to make ends meet. In my case, I get more determined in cases like this. What can we do to stay active? How can we still be able to be productive and feel that we are a band? And not a sunken ship? So, I`m not bored, there is a lot to do still.
What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything? What is your new normal? What have you learned from this experience, about yourself, your band, or anything?
Captain: Never to give up, we are born into this challenge called life, and there are always mountains to climb. We didn’t get this far by giving up by overwhelming odds, and we will not give up this time either.
As for the band; we are still alive, and we will continue to make music and do shows for a long time to come!
Bjudas: I have learned that you should not eat a bat. That is for Ozzy to do… I think that we are very adaptable, as I have said earlier. Not giving up is a big thing. The new normal I can say, is this distancing thing. I take myself in not staying to close to people. And I think this will stay with us for a while.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 12th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
It makes sense for where we’re at as a species that Kal-El might announce their new album, Dark Majesty, at least half a year in advance of it actually coming out. The Norwegian bruisers have inked a deal to issue the long-player through Majestic Mountain Records — whose building pedigree you can see below — and though Kal-El aren’t giving too much away in terms of info as yet, they do have a new single streaming in the form of “Comêta” on their Bandcamp, and that finds their aggressive take on riff-led groovery well in place from where they left off.
The future, you say? Something to look forward to, then.
To the PR wire:
MAJESTIC MOUNTAIN RECORDS to release new album by Norwegian fuzz rock-finders, KAL-EL | Listen to their new single ‘COMÊTA’ now!
Dark Majesty, the brand-new LP by the rising hard rock quintet is due for release in 2021
Majestic Mountain Records, one of Sweden’s most exciting underground labels and home to the likes of Devil’s Witches, Saint Karloff and The King’s Pistol are psyched to announce the conscription of one of Norway’s rising hard rock prospects.
Originally formed in 2012, Kal-El’s star has been firmly in the ascension for some time following a progression of impressive and highly sought-after releases on labels such as Setalight and Argonauta. With three albums already to their name – 2012’s Pakal, Astrodoomeda (2017) and last year’s critically acclaimed, Witches of Mars – the band are set to release new album Dark Majesty in 2021.
“As supporters of heavy riffs, we’ve been huge fans of the band for a number of years now,” explains MMR’s Marco Berg. “We’re stoked at the label to welcome them aboard and keen to help the band pilot their fuzz-powered space tunes directly to you!”
As new single ‘Comêta’ showcases, the band’s glorious universe of sound comprises of bass-heavy grooves, detuned guitars and mind-warping lyrics, and like a wayward son of hard rock and heavy metal, the quintet have spent a lot of time on the road over the years, touring extensively across Europe.
“With our journey now embarking on new and uncharted realms, we are pleased to announce that we’re joined by our fellow Scandinavians,” explains Kal-El’s vocalist, Captain. “We have been received with the outmost respect, and we look forward to delivering some amazing musical experiences on this label. We do not take the trust here shown us for granted, and we are proud and honoured to be a part of the Majestic Mountain Records family.”
Dark Majesty, the brand-new LP by Kal-El is due for release in 2021 on Majestic Mountain Records.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 30th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Cheers to Norwegian doomers Saint Karloff on making a studio documentary and avoiding having it basically be fodder for comparison to Spinal Tap. A rare dodge on the part of any band. The Oslo-based three-piece will begin a round of shows in February supporting their 2019 sophomore full-length, Interstellar Voodoo (review here), and they’ll be joined in the endeavor by countrymen garage heavies Magmakammer, making for a two-band complement that I have no doubt will be received with approving nods by all in their presence. This brand of riffing will do that, and each act has their own spin.
I was kind of hoping for some video interview footage in the documentary, and it’s the album playing (in full) over studio clips with info and background spliced in, making for an interesting, cool and not-at-all Tap excuse to revisit the record. You think that’d be easy but it’s not if you’ve ever done an interview.
Dates and that video follow, as per the PR wire:
Norwegian Occult Rockers SAINT KARLOFF announce European Tour with Magmakammer | Share Recording Session Documentary for INTERSTELLAR VOODOO
In association with The Doomsday Agency and hot on the heels of an impressive 2019, Doom Rock’s rising superpower, Saint Karloff, take to the road next month for a European tour with fellow Norwegians, Magmakammer.
Having made their mark on the international heavy music scene in 2018 with the release of their debut album, All Heed the Black God, the band continued to raise their game with newer, heavier and more complexly psychedelic material on last year’s Interstellar Voodoo, their follow-up album released on Majestic Mountain Records.
To showcase exactly what went into the recording, the trio have released a unique video documenting and detailing the very recording session that produced the album’s epic one-track conclusion. Soundtracked in full of course, by the album itself.
“This is a music video and documentary hybrid of our time recording our second album,” explains guitarist/vocalist, Mads Melvold. “It was recorded Easter 2019 and released in the autumn of that same year. People have reached out to us and asked us about the making of Interstellar Voodoo, and with this video we try to answer these questions. What you see is the actual recording. The whole thing was filmed and edited and it contains information and anecdotes on the whole process from start to finish.”
Released last year on Majestic Mountain Records, copies of Interstellar Voodoo are now sold out but you can purchase the album digitally, directly from the band (here) ahead of their tour, which kicks off in Norway next month. For the full list of dates and venues see list and tour poster below:
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 28th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Cool vibe in the lead single from The Hypnagogics‘ upcoming debut album, Endless Nights, that will see release March 20 through a new alliance with Majestic Mountain Records for vinyl. The long-player follows behind two getting-their-feet-under-them EPs from 2016 and 2017, and “Darkest Night” keeps easy-to-dig tone at the center amid an unpretentious groove and blend of traditional and modern rock impulses. You know, somewhere between 50 years ago and today and tomorrow. Ha.
There’s some nuance to it, but it’s the chorus that got a hold on me, and you’ll find it streaming below in case you’d like to let it do the same. I’m not saying it’s a revolution — though this is the second band in a week’s time I’m posting about from Kristianstad, Sweden (the other was Sleepwulf); so maybe that’s something to keep an eye on — but it rolls out a combination of brashness and laid back mood that makes a welcome introduction.
The PR wire brings release details and, of course, the song:
The Hypnagogics – Endless Nights
The new album ‘Endless Nights’ is out March 20th 2020. Vinyl release by Majestic Mountain Records
Majestic Mountain Records welcomes The Hypnagoics to the ever growing rooster of killer bands. MMR-007 will be the debut album ‘Endless Nights’. A contemporary heavy rock album that will blow your mind! Not many bands can come up with a debut album this impressive. ‘Endless Nights’ is an album full of riffs, emotions and with a fantastic vocal performance by Lina Paasijoki. 2020 will belong to The Hypnagogics! ?? ‘Endless Nights’ drops on March the 20th and expect a vinyl pre-order in the beginning of March!
The Hypnagogics formed in 2015 in southern Sweden. They have since then released an EP and a single. They found their sound during the recording of the single “Death Trip” (2017) and decided to keep up with that in their next recording. In 2019 it was time to make their debut album, “Endless Nights”, and they started to record earlier that year. Most of the songs were already written, but some of the songs came along during the recording process.
The result was a dynamic album with a dark vibe to it, with hypnotic and heavy riffs and lyrics about paranoia, dysfunctional relationships and inner demons.
The Band: Lina Paasijoki – Vocals Henrik Edqvist – Guitar Frida Johannesson – Guitar Oskar Jönsson – Bass Victor Granqvist – Drums
Posted in Reviews on January 7th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
We begin Day Two of the Winter 2020 Quarterly Review. Snow on the ground fell overnight and the day ahead looks as busy as ever. There’s barely time to stop for sips of coffee between records, but some allowances must be made. It’s Tuesday after all. There’s still a lot of week left. And if we can’t be kind to ourselves in the post-holiday comedown of wintry gray, when can we?
So yes, pause, sip — glug, more likely — then proceed.
I don’t usually play favorites with these things, but I think today’s might have worked out to be my favorite batch of the bunch. As always, I hope you find something that speaks to you.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Dommengang, No Keys
Driving heavy psych and rock meet with spacious Americana and a suburbanite dreaminess in Dommengang‘s No Keys, the now-L.A. trio’s follow-up to 2018’s Love Jail (review here). It is a melting pot of sound, with emphasis on melting, but vocal harmonies and consistently righteous basslines like that in “Stir the Sea” act to tie the nine component tracks together, making Dommengang‘s various washes of tone ultimately the creation of a welcoming space. Early cut “Earth Blues” follows opener “Sunny Day Flooding” with a mindful far-outbound resonance, and the later “Arcularius – Burke” finds itself in a linear building pattern ahead of “Jerusalem Cricket,” which reimagines ’70s country rock as something less about nostalgia than forward possibility. Having come far on their apparently keyboard-less journey, from the breadth-casting verses of “Stir the Sea” to the doomy interlude “Blues Rot,” they end with “Happy Death (Her Blues II)” which sure as hell sounds like it has some organ on it. Either way, whether they live up to the standard of the title or not is secondary to the album’s actual achievements, which are significant, and distinguish Dommengang from would-be peers in atmosphere, craft and melody.
Though they don’t do it nearly as often as they did between 2012 and 2015, every now and then Boston’s Ice Dragon manage to sneak out a new release. Over the last few years, that’s been a succession of singles, but Passage of Mind is their first LP since 2015’s A Beacon on the Barrow (review here), and though they’ll always in some part be thought of as a doom band, the unassuming organic psychedelia of “Don’t Know Much but the Road” reminds more of Chris Goss‘ work with Masters of Reality in its acoustic/fuzz blend and melody. The experimentalism-prone outfit have been down this avenue before as well, and it suits them, even as members have moved on to other projects (Brass Hearse among them), with the seven-minute “One of These Days” basing itself around willfully simplistic-sounding intertwining lines of higher and lower fuzz. There are moments of serenity, like closer “Dream About You” and “Sun in My Eyes,” but “The Sound the Rain Makes” is more of a blowout, and even the darker vibe of “Delirium’s Tears” holds hits melody as top priority. Hey guess what? Here’s an Ice Dragon album that deserves more attention than it’s gotten. I think it’s the 12th one.
Oslo’s Saint Karloff squash the high standard they set for themselves on their 2018 debut, All Heed the Black God (review here), with the 41-minute single-song long-player Interstellar Voodoo, basking in bluesy Sabbathian grandeur and keeping a spirit of progressive adventuring beneath without giving over entirely to self-indulgent impulses any more than one could as they careen from one movement to the next in the multi-stage work. With vinyl through Majestic Mountain Records, tape on Stoner Witch Records and CD through Ozium Records, they’re nothing if not well represented, and rightly so, as they veer in and out of psychedelic terrain in exciting and periodically elephantine fashion, still making room for classic Scandi-folk boogie on side A before the second half of the track stomps all over everything that’s come before it en route to its own organ-laced jammy meandering, Iommi shuffle and circa-’74 howl. As a new generation of doom rock begins to take shape, Saint Karloff position themselves well as earlier pursuers of an individualist spirit while still drawing of course on classic sources of inspiration. The first record was encouraging. The second is more so. The third will be the real tell of who they are as a band.
The jangling guitar strum in centerpiece “Lucid” on Witch Trail‘s The Sun Has Left the Hill (Consouling Sounds) has the indelible mark of classic rock and roll freedom to it. One wonders if Pete Townshend would recognize it, or if it’s too far blasted into oblivion by the Belgian trio’s aesthetic treatment across The Sun Has Left the Hill‘s convention-challenging 29-minute span, comprising seven tracks that bring together a heavy alternative rock and post-black metal vision marked by spacious echoes and cavern screams that are likewise tortured and self-assured. That is to say, there’s no mistaking the intent here. In the early intensity of “Watcher” or the shimmering and more patiently unfolding “Silent Running,” the Ghent three-piece mark out their stylistic terrain between bursts of noisy chaotic wash and clearheaded execution. The six-minute “Afloat” hisses like a lost demo that would’ve rewritten genre history some 25 years ago, and even in closer “Residue,” one can’t help but feel like Witch Trail are indeed looking to leave some lasting effect behind them with such forward-thinking craft. Sure to be a shock for those who take it on with no idea of what to expect.
Shortly before Love Gang are halfway through the opening title-track of their debut album, Dead Man’s Game, just when you think you might have their blend of organ-laced Radio Moscow and Motörhead figured out, that’s when Leo Muñoz breaks out the flute and the whole thing takes a turn for the unexpected. Surprises abound from the Denver foursome of Muñoz (who also handles organ and sax), guitarist/vocalist Kam Wentworth, bassist Grady O’Donnell and drummer Shaun Goodwin, who find room for psychedelic airiness amidst the gallop of “Addiction,” which doesn’t seem coincidentally paired with “Break Free,” though the two don’t run together. Love Gang‘s 2016 self-titled EP (review here) had a cleaner production and less aggro throb, and there’s some of that on Dead Man’s Game in the peaceful melody of “Interlude,” but even seven-minute closer “Endless Road” makes a point of finishing at a rush, and that’s ultimately what defines the album. No complaints. Love Gang wield momentum as another element of inventive arrangement on this encouraging first long-player.
‘Tis the stuff of battle axes and severed limbs, but it’s worth noting that three of the six inclusions on Firebreather‘s second LP and first for RidingEasy Records, Under a Blood Moon, have some reference to fire in their title. The follow-up to their brazen 2017 self-titled debut (review here) starts with its longest track (immediate points) in the nine-minute “Dancing Flames,” then follows immediately with “Our Souls, They Burn” and launches side B with the eponymous “Firebreather,” as the Gothenburg trio of Mattias Nööjd, Kyle Pitcher and Axel Wittbeck launch their riffy, destructive assault with urgency that earns all that scarred land left in its wake. The High on Fire comparison remains inevitable, perhaps most of all on “Firebreather” itself, but Firebreather have grown thicker in tone, meaner in approach and do nothing to shy away from the largesse that such a sound might let them convey, as “Our Souls, They Burn” and in the volume surges of closer “The Siren.” Under a Blood Moon is a definite forward step from the first LP, showing an evolving sound and burgeoning individuality that one hopes Firebreather continue to hunt down with such vigilance.
Presented through Stolen Body Records, the debut long-player from French trio Karkara purports to be “Oriental psych rock,” which accounts for an Eastern influence in the overall sound of its seven-track/41-minute run, but there are perhaps some geographical questions to be undertaken there, as “Camel Rider” and others show a distinctive Mideastern flair. Whatever works, I guess. At its core, Crystal Gazer is a work of psychedelic space rock, brought to bear with a duly open sensibility by guitarist/vocalist Karim Rihani (also didgeridoo), bassist Hugo Olive and drummer/vocalist Maxime Marouani as seemingly the beginning stages of a broader sonic adventure. That is to say, the stylistic aspects at play here — and they are very much “at play” — feel purposefully used, but like the foundation of what will be future growth on the part of Karkara as a unit. Will they progress along a more patient and meditative path, as “The Way” hints in some of its early roll, or will the frenetic winding of closer “Jedid” set their course for subsequent freakouts? I don’t know, but Karkara strike as a band who won’t see any point to standing still creatively any more than they do to doing so rhythmically.
Information is limited on Circle of Sighs, and by that I primarily mean I don’t have any. They list their point of origin as Los Angeles, so there’s that, but as to the whos and whats, wheres and so on, it’s a mystery. Something tells me that suits the band, whose four-track debut EP, Desolate, gracefully executes a blend of melodic downerism with more extreme elements at play, melodic vocal arrangements offset by screams in the closing title-track after the prior rolling groove of “Burden of the Flesh” offered a progressive and synth-laden take on Pallbearer-style emotive doom. Acoustics, keyboard, and a clear use of multiple singers give Circle of Sighs‘ first outing a kitchen-sink feel, but one can only admire them for trying something new at their (presumed) outset, and the catchy chug of “Hold Me, Lucifer” speaks to more complex aesthetic origins than the simplistic subject matter might lead one to believe. The outlier is the penultimate nine-minute cut “Kukeri,” which broods across its first three minutes in a manner that would make Patrick Walker proud before unfolding the breadth of its lumber and arrangement, harmonies and screams and the first real showcase of more extreme impulses taking hold in its second half — plus strings, maybe — which “Desolate” itself will build upon after a bookending acoustic close. There’s some sorting out to do in terms of sound, but already they show a readiness to push in their own direction, and that’s more than it would seem reasonable to ask.
Way out west, Chris Allison of the band Lord Loud is taking on psychedelic shimmer under the ostensible solo moniker of Floral Fauna, but the situation of the project’s 11-tracker debut LP, Pink and Blue is more complicated in personnel and style than that, melding fuzzy presence, classic ’60s surf-tone, rampant hooky melody and ready-to-go-anywhere-as-long-as-it-works pop experimentalism together in a steaming lysergic cauldron of neo-yourface-ism that’s ether blissed enough to tie funk and ancient R&B to cosmic flow together in a manner that feels like an utter tossoff, like, hey, yeah man, this kind of thing just happens all the time here. You know, no big deal on this wavelength. Mellow dreams in “Great White Silence,” a spacey ramble in “Velvet and Jade” and the echoing leadwork of “Red Anxiety” continue the color theme from the opening title-track, and the record caps with “Herds of Jellyfish,” which at last brings forward the vocal harmony that the whole album seems to have been begging for. Cool debut? Shit, man. It’s 36 minutes of straight-up psych joy just waiting to bring you on board. Legal psilocybin now.
There are a couple things you can figure on in this wacky universe, and one of them is that German imprint World in Sound knows what it’s doing when it picks up a classic heavy rock band. Silhouettes is the second long-player the label has released from woefully-monikered Aschaffenburg-based four-piece Vvlva, and indeed in the upfront boogie of “Cosmic Pilgrim” or the more progressive unfolding of pieces like “Tales Told by a Gray Man,” the centerpiece “Gomorrah,” or the longer “Night by Night/The Choir” and “Dance of the Heathens,” which seem to bring the two sides together, there’s enough vintage influence to make the case once again. Like the more forward thinking of their contemporaries, Vvlva have brought this modus into the present when it comes to production value and clarity, and rather than sound like it’s 1973, they would seem to be making 1973 sound like them. Whether one dives in for the early hooks in “Cosmic Pilgrim” or “What Do I Stand For?” or the fuzzy interplay between the solo and organ in the maddeningly bouncing “Hobos,” there’s plenty in Silhouettes to demonstrate the vitality and continued evolution of the style.
Posted in Reviews on October 1st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Another day, another batch of 10 reviews on the march to 50 by the end of the week. Will we make it? Yeah, probably. I mean, I think there was once when I had to skip a day or something but even then I made up for it and there’s never been an instance where the Quarterly Review fell apart. The one quarter I decided to nix it (was it last year?) I made up for it by doing 100 reviews instead of 50 the next time out, so we got there eventually. It being Tuesday, the end of the week looks far off, but indeed we’ll ge there eventually, and there’s a lot of good music between now and then, so let’s hit it.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
High on Fire, Bat Salad
A limited vinyl EP released as part of Record Store Day 2019, High on Fire‘s Bat Salad comprises three songs: an original instrumental and two covers, one of Celtic Frost and one of Bad Brains. And I won’t take away from the “Rat Salad” Sabbath-does-blues-jazz-jam-except-it’s-High–on–Fire-so-it-sounds-nasty-as-hell spirit of “Bat Salad” at all, but the real highlight here is hearing Matt Pike‘s gravel-throated vocals take on “Into Crypts of Rays.” Celtic Frost have always been a central factor in what High on Fire were doing stylistically, so to have the band take them on directly seems long in the making. They approach Bad Brains‘ “Don’t Bother Me” with due reverence as well, careening through an intense three-minute burst of energy with the grit and underlying precision one has come to expect from these singular masters. Soon enough, bands will be covering High on Fire with the same spirit of fan homage. Doubly notable for being founding drummer Des Kensel‘s last recorded appearance alongside Pike and bassist Jeff Matz in the band.
Guitarist/vocalist Johni Holiday, bassist Jimmy Glass and drummer Ben Manchino return with Tårn, Ruff Majik‘s second album on a quick turnaround from their 2018 debut, Seasons (review here). Aligned with Lay Bare Recordings for the vinyl release, the deceptively quick and even more deceptively complex seven-track/36-minute offering finds Ruff Majik digging into dirt-caked tonality and classically punkish sneer in Holiday‘s vocals. There are moments where they sound like Queens of the Stone Age (“Speed Hippie”) and moments where they sound like Black Flag (parts of opener “Schizophrenic”), but as a roller like “Heretically Happy” or the earlier post-Zeppelin stoner sneak of “Gloom & Tomb” show, Ruff Majik are perhaps most interested in sounding like themselves. They’re gleeful as they toy with doomed vibes on closer “Seasoning the Witch,” and the seven-minute “I’ll Dig the Grave” earlier thrills with changes drawn together by a pervasive and righteous groove. With Tårn, Ruff Majik have found their wavelength, and it suits them.
Be it heretofore established that sax-laced Kansas City psych-doomers Merlin don’t give a fuck. They don’t give a fuck what you expect, they don’t give a fuck what everyone else is doing, they don’t give a fuck if they meme the crap out of their own band. They’ve got their thing and they’re doing it. And you know what? They’re right. The Mortal is their fifth full-length in six years, following as a sequel to early-2018’s The Wizard (review here), and with flourish galore in arrangements of organ, sax, flute, percussion, accordion, trumpet, etc., alongside the foundation of songcraft that comes through the guitar, bass, drums and always-theatrical vocals of Jordan Knorr, the band recount tales along a dark-magical mystery tour of gorgeously flowing and still-weighted psychedelic plunder. They have become a buried treasure of weirdo/geek rock, and whether it’s the peaceful drift of “Ashen Lake” or the cacophonous heavy riffing of “Basilisk,” the stage-setting prog of “Towerfall” or the consuming swell that carries out the apex of closer “The Mortal Suite” — King Crimson chase and all — Merlin‘s work has never sounded so masterful. Will there be a third installment in the tale? Nothing quite like a trilogy.
They’ve since added a third party in bassist Helen Storer (Fireball Ministry, among others), but Workshed‘s self-titled Rise Above Records debut LP was recorded as the duo of guitarist/vocalist Adam Lehan and drummer Mark Wharton. More than a quarter-century ago, both Lehan and Wharton played on Cathedral‘s pivotal first two albums, but in Workshed, and certainly there are some shades of doom on a stomper like “Anthropophobic” here, but the bulk of Workshed‘s nine-song/47-minute first offering is given to post-Entombed buzzsaw noise sludge, riffs crunched one into the next in an aggro, punk-rooted fashion that rife with a sense of willful punishment that comes through in sheer impact from front to back. Vocals call to mind Tom G. Warrior immediately and are suited to the social commentary of “If This is How it Is” and “This City Has Fallen,” while the grueling march of “A Spirit in Exile” leaves room for some atmosphere to eek through, which it does. They trash out in centerpiece “On Sticks of Wood” and chug their into a last fade on closer “It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way,” but by then they’ve long since made their statement and left a trail of destruction behind them. Would they have been signed to Rise Above without the Cathedral connection? Probably not. Does the album earn their place? Absolutely.
With their first full-length, Mænad, Swiss post-metallers E-L-R cart a gorgeous and textured course through patient and progressive songweaving that lends itself to hypnosis through its churning rhythm as much as its overarching melodies seem to evoke other worlds. It is not without its sense of challenge and certainly plenty heavy in its tone and groove — at least where it wants to be — but it’s also rich and provides a level of depth to its mix that should have others in the genre asking how they did it. A transitional drone at the end of “Devotee” brings about the 10-minute “Above the Mountains There is Light” and a long contemplation begins, working from the ground up on a pilgrim’s path to the eventual payoff. The resonance there is something unto itself, but even as “Ambrosia,” “Lunar Nights” and “The Wild Shore” find the stylistic footing that opener “Glancing Limbs” and “Devotee” seemed to hint at earlier, E-L-R maintain both an ambient sprawl and a consuming sense of passion that makes their work here all the more thrilling. This is a debut, following only a single 2018 demo that had two of the same tracks. What that tells me is look out for this band, because this kind of potential doesn’t come along every day and when it does, you want to be there for the follow-up. The impeccable taste of Prophecy Productions pays dividends once again.
Otherworldly doom rock marked by echoing vocals oozing out from deep in the mix and gotta-hear-it bass tone complemented by choice riffage and a fervent thud in the drums, even if the aesthetic of Richmond’s Sibyl is familiar enough, there’s plenty to dig about their debut EP — what one might’ve called a “demo” in eras past — The Magic Isn’t Real. The stylistic elephant in the room is RVA’s own Windhand, but Sibyl take a more psychedelic path to heavy oblivion, and with four tracks in the range of four to five minutes, The Magic Isn’t Real comes across as well focused in its songwriting despite the ethereal touches in the actual sound. Cool vibe, and as they work some noisy shuffle into “Spinning Webs,” they show themselves as being less restricted than otherwise might be the case if they were purely committed to doomed drudgery. I’ll give bonus points as well for naming the penultimate track “Sexpionage,” just on principle, but it’s in stretches like the subdued creeper opening of “Blood Moon” and the engrossing, still-somehow-moving wash of “Pendulums” that Sibyl really showcase their intention.
London heavy noise duo Golden Legacy offer five tracks and 23 minutes of anti-genre, adrenaline rock to follow-up their 2016 self-titled EP. There’s a strong undercurrent of modern punk and indie to their sound, which is what gets them the “anti-genre” consideration, but it’s the energy of their delivery carrying them one way or the other as they drive through the harsh snare of “Cut and Crash” following the chunkier tone of opener “Moon” and just before centerpiece “Dirty Mouth” finds its way into grunge-style howling beastliness. Comprised of drummer/vocalist Lorena Cachito and guitarist Yanni Georgiou, the two-piece find winning momentum in “Salvation,” while closer “Thirsty” opens with a mellow drum progression gradually joined by the guitar and builds into more progressive and dramatic movement, casting off some of the rawness of the songs before it in favor of more complex fare. It still manages to soar at the end, though, and that seems to be what counts. They might be rawer now than they’ll eventually turn out, but that suits most of what they’re doing in adding to the emotionality on display in Cachito‘s vocals.
Saint Karloff & Devil’s Witches, Coven of the Ultra-Riff
Alright, look. I don’t even think I have the full thing, but whatever. Saint Karloff and Devil’s Witches came together to release the Coven of the Ultra-Riff split — it can be so hard to find the right coven for your family; have you considered the Ultra-Riff? — and they each play an original track and then they cover each other’s songs and then Saint Karloff introduce the progression of “Supervixen (Electric Return)” and Devil’s Witches take up the mantle and run with it on “Supervixen (Acoustic Return),” so yeah, it’s pretty awesome and kind of all over the place but whatever. Get your head around it and get on board with whatever version you can grab. Vinyl came out through Majestic Mountain Records and tapes were through Stoner Witch Records and I’m fairly certain it’s all sold out already and probably stupid expensive on Discogs, but do what you need to do, because this is what Sabbath worship in the year 2019 is supposed to sound like. It’s bombed out of its gourd and has long since dropped out of life. It’s exactly where and what it wants to be.
I’m not going to pretend to have the grounding in post-hardcore to toss off the influences under which Burden Limbs are working, but to listen to the blast of noise in “How Many Times Must I Reset” and the near-industrial wash of noise they conjure in the subsequent “Hypochondriac,” it’s clear they’re working under one influence anyway. There is No Escape (released through Glasshouse Records) runs 24 minutes and carries four songs, but in that time the band around founding figurehead and guitarist/vocalist Chad Murray manage to challenge themselves and the listener alike to keep up with their turns and emotional resonance. Murray is joined by two bassists, another guitarist, keyboards/synth and drums, so yes, there’s something of a busy feel to it, but even echoing cavernous as they are, the vocals seem to draw the songs together around a central presence and add a human core to the proceedings that only makes them all the more affecting as would seem to be the intent.
Sometimes these things take a while, but El Supremo was formed by now-ex-Egypt bassist Chad Heille has a solo-project and released a self-titled demo in 2008, to which Clarity Through Distortion is the follow-up full-length. Now joined by guitarist Neil Stein (also ex-Egypt, and who also played some on the demo) and organist Chris Gould as well as bassist Cam Dewald who came aboard after the album’s completion, the instrumentalist full-band incarnation of El Supremo waste no time diving into dead-on tonal and riffy righteousness, taking classic heavy cues and running with them in modern production richness, sounding clear but natural as a jam like “Moanin’ & Groanin'” turns into a shuffler as it moves into its second half, or the mellow sway of the 14-minute “Supercell” at last runs head-on into the lumbering motion that will carry it through to the end. I don’t know how much clarity — at least of the existential sort I think they mean in the title — they might’ve found by the time the bluesy “Lotus Throne” rolls over into the shreddy “Outro” that caps, but if the method is distortion, they’ve certainly got that part down.
