Last day, you know the drill. It’s been a pleasure, honestly. If every Quarterly Review could feature the quality of material this one has, I’d probably only spend a fraction of the amount of time I do fretting over it. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading and enjoyed the music as much as I have. If you haven’t found something here to sit with and dig into yet, well, today’s 10 more chances to do just that. Maybe something will stick at last.

See you in September.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Paradise Lost, Obsidian

It is impossible to listen to Obsidian and consider Paradise Lost as anything other than masters of the form. Of course, that they were one of the original pioneers of gothic death-doom helps, but even in the decade-plus since they began to shift back toward a more metallic approach, they have established a standard that is entirely their own. Obsidian collects nine tracks across a palatable 45 minutes, and if the hook of “Fall From Grace” is fan-service on the part of the band, then it is no less righteous for that. In atmosphere and aggression, cuts like “The Devil Embraced” and the galloping “Ghosts” deliver on high expectations coming off 2017’s Medusa (review here), even as side B’s “Ending Days” and “Hope Dies Young” branch into a more melodic focus, not departing from the weight of impact presented earlier, but clearly adjusting the approach, leading to an all the more deathly return on “Ravenghast,” which closes out. Their doom remains second to none; their model remains one to follow.

Paradise Lost on Thee Facebooks

Nuclear Blast webstore

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Vinnum Sabbathi, Of Dimensions and Theories

The narrative thread carried through the six tracks of Vinnum Sabbathi‘s Of Dimensions and Theories is a futuristic sci-fi tale about humanity’s first foray into deep space amid a chaos of environmental collapse and nuclear threat. The real story, however, is the sense of progression the instrumentalist Mexico City outfit bring in following up their debut LP, 2017’s Gravity Works (review here). Tying thematically to the latest Cegvera album — the two bands share personnel — pieces at the outset like “In Search of M-Theory” and “Quantum Determinism” maintain the exploratory vibe of the band’s jammier works in their “HEX” series, but through spoken samples give a human presence and plotline to the alternately atmospheric and lumbering tones. As the record progresses through the airier “An Appraisal” and the feedback-drenched “Beyond Perturbative States,” their dynamic finds realization in “A Superstring Revolution I” and the drum-led “A Superstring Revolution II.” I don’t know about humanity’s prospects as a whole, but Vinnum Sabbathi‘s remain bright.

Vinnum Sabbathi on Thee Facebooks

Stolen Body Records website

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Nighthawk, The Sea Legs EP

Composed as a solo outing prior to the founding of Heavy Temple, the Nighthawk solo endeavor (presumably she wasn’t a High Priestess yet), The Sea Legs EP, is plenty self-aware in its title, but for being a raw execution of material written performed entirely on her own, its four tracks also have a pretty significant scope, from the post-QOTSA heavy pop of “Goddamn” leading off through the quick spacegaze of “I’m From Tennessee Woman, All We Do is Honky Tonk,” into the deceptively spacious “I Can Haz” with its far-back toms, dreamy vocal melody and vaguely Middle Eastern-sounding guitar, and ending with the if-Ween‘s-country-album-had-been-weirder finish of “Stay Gold.” Nighthawk has issued a follow-up to The Sea Legs EP in the full-length Goblin/John Carpenter-style synth of The Dimensionaut, but given the range and balance she shows just in this brief 12 minutes, one hopes that indeed her songwriting explorations continue to prove so multifaceted.

Nighthawk on Bandcamp

Heavy Temple on Thee Facebooks

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Familiars, All in Good Time

Contending for one of the year’s best debut albums, Familiars‘ All in Good Time offers eight songs across 43 minutes that blend organic-feeling grit with more ethereal, landscape-evocative psychedelics. The Ontario three-piece have a few singles to their credit, but the lushness of “Rocky Roost” and the emergent heft of “Barn Burning,” the fleshy boogie of “The Dirty Dog Saloon” and the breadth of “Avro Arrow” speak not just to Familiars‘ ability to capture a largesse that draws their songs together, or the nuance that lets them brings subtle touches of Americana (Canadiana?) early on and echoing desert roll to the fuzzy “The Common Loon,” but also to the songwriting that makes these songs stand out so much as they do and the sense of purpose Familiars bring to All in Good Time as their first long-player. That turns out to be one of the most encouraging aspects of the release, but in that regard there’s plenty of competition from elements like tone, rhythm, melody, craft, performance — so yes, basically all of it.

Familiars on Thee Facebooks

Familiars on Bandcamp

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Mountain Witch, Extinct Cults

Mountain Witch‘s fourth album, Extinct Cults, brings the Hamburg-based duo of guitarist René Sitte and drummer/vocalist René Roggmann back after a four-year absence with a collection that straddles the various lines between classic heavy rock, proto-metal, ’70s heavy prog and modern cultism. Their loyalties aren’t necessarily all to the 1968-’74 period, as the chug and gruff vocals of “Back From the Grave” show, but the post Technical Ecstasy sway of the title-track is a fascinating and rarely-captured specificity, and the vocal melodies expressed in layers across the record do much to add personality and depth to the arrangements while the surrounding recording remains essentially raw. No doubt vinyl-minded, Extinct Cults is relatively brief at six songs and 33 minutes, but the Priestly chug of “Man is Wolf to Man” and the engrossing garage doom of closer “The Devil Probably” offer plenty of fodder for those who’d dig in to dig into. It is a sound familiar and individual at once, old and new, and it revels in making cohesion out of such contrasts.

Mountain Witch on Thee Facebooks

This Charming Man Records website

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Disastroid, Mortal Fools

You might find San Francisco trio Disastroid hanging out at the corner of noise and heavy rock, looking disreputable. Their first record for Heavy Psych Sounds is Mortal Fools, and to go with its essential-bloody-essential bass tone and melodic semi-shouted vocals, it brings hints of angularity rounded out by tonal thickness and a smoothness between transitions that extends to the flow from one song to the next. While for sure a collection of individual pieces, Mortal Fools does move through its 43 minutes with remarkable ease, the sure hand of the three-piece guides you through the otherwise willfully tumultuous course, brash in the guitar and bass and drums but immersive in the overarching groove. They seem to save a particular melodic highlight for the verses of closer “Space Rodent,” but really, whether it’s the lumbering “Hopeless” or the sharper-toothed push of “Bilge,” the highlight is what Disastroid accomplish over the course of the record as a whole. Plus that friggin’ bass sound.

Disastroid on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds website

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Stonegrass, Stonegrass

I don’t know when this was first released, but the 2020 edition seems to be a remaster, and whenever it first came out, I’m pleased to have the chance to check it out now. Toronto duo Stonegrass brings together Matthew “Doc” Dunn and Jay Anderson, both of a markedly psyched-out pedigree, to dig into experimentalist acid-psych that pushes boundaries stylistic and national, tapping Afrobeat vibes with closer “Drive On” and the earlier 13-minute go-go-go jam “Tea” while “The Highway” feels like a lost psychedelic disco-funk 45, “The Cape” drones like it’s waiting for someone to start reading poetry over-top, and mellow hand-percussion and Turkish psych on centerpiece “Frozen Dunes.” The whole thing, which runs a manageable 39 minutes, is as cool as the day is long, and comes across like a gift to those of expanded mind or who are willing to join those ranks. I don’t know if it’s new or old. I don’t know if it’s a one-off or an ongoing project. I barely know if it’s actually out. But hot damn it’s rad, and if you can catch it, you should.

Cosmic Range Records on YouTube

Cosmic Range Records on Bandcamp

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Jointhugger, I Am No One

Norwegian half-instrumental trio Jointhugger have already captured the attention of both Interstellar Smoke Records and Ozium Records with their four-song debut long-player, I Am No One, and as the follow-up to their 2019 Daemo, it leaves little question why. The more volume, the merrier, when it comes to the rolling, nodding, undulations of riff the band conjure, as each member seems geared toward bringing as much weight to bear as much as possible. I’m serious. Even the hi-hat is heavy, never mind the guitar or bass or the cave-echoing vocals of the title-track. “Domen” slips into some shuffle — if you can call something that dense-sounding a shuffle — and underscores its solo with an entire bog’s worth of low end, and though closer “Nightfright” is the only inclusion that actually tops 10 minutes, it communicates an intensity of crush that is nothing if not consistent with what’s come before. There are flashes of letup here and there, but it’s impact at the core of Jointhugger‘s approach, and they offer plenty of it. Don’t be surprised when the CD and LP sell through, and don’t be surprised if they get re-pressed later.

Jointhugger on Thee Facebooks

Ozium Records webstore

Interstellar Smoke Records webstore

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Little Albert, Swamp King

Stepping out both in terms of style and substance from his position as guitarist in atmospheric doomers Messa, Little Albert — aka Alberto Piccolo — pronounces himself “swamp king” in the opening lines of his debut solo release of the same name, and the mellow ambiance and psychedelic flourish of tone in “Bridge of Sighs” and “Mean Old Woman” and the aptly-titled “Blues Asteroid” offer an individualized blend of psychedelic blues that seems to delight in tipping the balance back and forth from one to the other while likewise taking the songs through full band arrangements and more intimate wanderings. Some of the songs have a tendency to roll outward and not return, as does “Mary Claire” or “Mean Old Woman,” but “Outside Woman Blues” and the closer “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues” hold tighter to the ground than some of what surrounds, so again, there’s a balance. Plus, as mellow as Swamp King is in its overarching affect, it’s neither difficult nor anything but a pleasure to follow along where Piccolo leads. If that’s off the psych-blues deep end, so be it. Only issue I take with him being king of the swamp is that the album’s domain hardly seems so limited.

Little Albert on Thee Facebooks

Aural Music on Bandcamp

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Parahelio, Surge Evelia, Surge

Beautiful, patient and pastoral psychedelia fleshes out across the three tracks of Parahelio‘s debut full-length, Surge Evelia, Surge. Issued on vinyl through Necio Records, the three-song offering reportedly pays homage to a mining town in the band’s native Peru, but it does so with a breadth that seems to cover so much between heavy post-rock and psych that it’s difficult not to imagine places decidedly more ethereal. Beginning with its title-track (12:33) and moving into the swells and recessions of “Gestos y Distancia,” the album builds to an encompassing payoff for side A before unveiling “Ha’Adam,” a 23-minute side-consuming rollout that encompasses not only soundscaping, but a richly human feel in its later take, solidifying around a drum march and a heavy build of guitar that shouldn’t sound strange to fans of Pelican or Russian Circles yet manages somehow to transcend the hypnotic in favor of the dynamic, the immersive, and again, the beautiful. What follows is desolation and aftermath, and that’s how the record ends, but even there, the textures and the spirit of the release remain central. I always do myself a favor with the last release of any Quarterly Review, and this is no exception.

Parahelio on Thee Facebooks

Necio Records on Bandcamp

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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: Jose Maldonado of 3 Wheeler Band (Monterrey, Mexico)

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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?

As a band we have been really close using video calls and social media to connect, uploading some old tracks on Bandcamp and recently went back to rehearsal but only 2 of us, so it’s kind of hard right now to be all 3 of us in the same room jammin’ some tunes.

As an individual, I’ve been taking care of my Family, staying in touch with Friends and Family via video calls and I’m very fortunate to be able to work from home, so just trying to keep my mind busy.

On band plans, this coming August we are going to turn 10 years as a band and we were planning the anniversary gig and this covid crap hit us hard, so that’s on standby right now but we have uploaded music to our Bandcamp and are talking about making a video. Regarding the creative process this lockdown has helped us in working on some riffs for new tracks so we have been busy doing that. We try to stay positive about all of this and eager to get back on stage and have a good time.

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?

I live in Monterrey, Mexico, an industrial city northeast of the country (a two-hour drive from Texas). At first people were kind of freaking out and being really afraid of the virus and nobody was going out for anything except groceries and basics. Now, two and a half months later, people are tired of staying indoors, local government closed the Heineken brewery which makes, of course, Heineken but also Tecate beer and the people just freaked out, panic beer shopping until we ran out of beer. The brewery remains closed and currently there is no beer in the city and folks are just losing it. Besides, local and federal government communications are not clear and people are starting to go out a bit more. We hear similar stuff happening in Texas, so we are taking care of each other but we had enough of the lock down really.

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?

The local music scene has responded great by doing a lot of online collaboration through videos and creating songs from the distance so yeah, the local scene has been busy, very creative and active on social media. And inspired? Yes, we and other band friends have been doing our homework, my side band Artesano de Piedra also uploaded unreleased tracks to Bandcamp, members of 3 Wheeler Band, Moonwatcher and Tres Cabrones created a new acoustic venture named Moon Dweller Trio and some other friends are taking advantage of the time they have on their hands to be creative. So we’re good, we all will come back stronger.

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?

As a band 3 Wheeler Band will continue to work on new riffs and turn them into new tracks, we will be busy doing that and staying in touch with Friends/Fans and placing some CDs out for distribution in the States, so stay tuned for that.

Regarding our situation as a City and Country, we basically are not doing that bad regarding the virus, some government agencies are tricking numbers and giving out fake info. If you have Friends and Family in Mexico reach out to them and ask them directly, do not fall for the info shown in the media, they are just creating panic and fear.

Personally, just take care of you and yours. Do not lose touch with Friends, use technology to connect with them and don’t fall for the news in the media. Try to stay positive as much as you can. We will get through this and heavy music and live music will be back stronger than ever. And if you are enjoying some cold beer send some our way! Salud!

https://www.facebook.com/3WheelerBand/
https://www.instagram.com/3wheelerband/
https://3wheelerband.bandcamp.com/

Preorders are up now for Here and Beyond, the new split LP between Sydney, Australia’s Comacozer and Mexico City, Mexico’s Vinnum Sabbathi. Issuing through Tasmanian imprint Psychedelic Salad Records, the release carries just three tracks, comprising Comacozer‘s sprawling 19-minute “Sun of Hyperion” and two companion pieces from Vinnum Sabbathi on side B, “HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath” (6:50) and “HEX V: X-15 Research Project” (9:55). If the pairing seems odd on paper given the disparate geography, in context it’s not actually much of a surprise the bands would be aware of each other, considering the international nature of the underground, social media, and bands being listeners as well as creators in a noted style.

That style as it plays out across Here and Beyond is a marked take on instrumental heavy psychedelia with roots in stoner rock jamming and a sense of purpose beyond simply that. Both groups use samples to provide a human voice — for Comacozer, the introductory drift of “Sun of Hyperion” comes accompanied by obscure dialogue about LSD, while Vinnum Sabbathi‘s live-recorded “HEX” tracks are laced with what sounds mission control communications and clips snagged from the public domain. “HEX” is an ongoing series for the trio/four-piece (depends on the show, I think) and these tracks arrive on the heels of their recently-issued Of Theories and Dimensions full-length on Stolen Body Records and a late-2019 live three-songer that featured other “HEX” pieces en route to their stated goal of 16 total. Comacozer, meanwhile, issued their fourth album, Mydriasis (review here), last summer.

It’s noteworthy of course that Vinnum Sabbathi are continuing a series that at this point dates back five years to their 2015 split with Bar de Monjas (review here), because Comacozer are as well. A 10-minute cut called “Helios Hyperion” featured on their 2014 Sessions EP and “Sun of Hyperion” — one suspects the use of “sun” there is a play on the horror-genre convention of “son of…” as well as the actual translation of “helios” — revises that formative jam. The central guitar figure, languid and building across the first half of the piece, is roughly the same as that which defined “Helios Hyperion” and if anything the feel of “Sun of Hyperion” is that Comacozer took the demo and fleshed it out across a broader reach.

It still keeps its foundation but uses it to spread itself farther out into the spaciousness and the spaciness of its own making, and is all the more hypnotic for both the reach and depth it conjures along the way. While it was recorded at the same time as Mydriasis, it works entirely as a standalone on side A of Here and Beyond, emphasizing a bit of both sides of the title in a way that Vinnum Sabbathi have no problem answering back with their two inclusions, though for their shorter runtimes, “HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath”  and “HEX V: X-15 Research Project” are obviously more contained in themselves.

They also utilize samples to a broader degree than did “Sun of Hyperion,” lacing them throughout the proceedings rather than just at the start. “Cassini’s Last Breath” hits its mark — as did the Comacozer track — near its halfway point, and takes off with its full weight accordingly, rolling out a huge-sounding crunch with no hesitation, then recedes as the sample returns with a post-script congratulating the NASA crew on Cassini’s accomplishments. In terms of incorporating the samples and recording live, the timing is exceptional enough that one wonders if the samples weren’t overlaid later, but it’s certainly possible that the band timed it out during the tracking process, whether it was with hand signals or just playing together with headphones on.

As “Cassini’s Last Breath” lolls toward its end, there’s a final push of volume, but it’s just a few hits that fade soon enough, naturally bringing to mind the cut communication from the satellite named in its title. Though the voice describing it sounds remarkably like Keith Carradine, the X-15 was a real research aircraft, meant for high speeds and altitudes, and the sample Vinnum Sabbathi use comes from a documentary clip about it that one can find easily enough on archive.org. There are other voices throughout the piece, but by then the band have launched a flight of their own, lumbering out the progression that defines the piece without looking back. They hold to it well, as Comacozer did to “Sun of Hyperion,” and it’s not until after seven minutes in that they seem willing to meander elsewhere, the drums still anchoring that initial crash that propelled them forward.

But the first finish is a fake-out, as Vinnum Sabbathi surge to life again in the last minute-plus of “HEX V: X-15 Research Project,” with a faster, more urgent burst than Here and Beyond has yet presented in its 39-minute course. They end with a sudden flash of feedback and are gone in a snap — not quite mach six, but it gets the message across.

From the beginning trance induced by Comacozer to that somewhat blindsiding shove from Vinnum Sabbathi, Here and Beyond is a journey that should be familiar enough to the experienced heads who will take it on, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any less enjoyable. As both groups maintain a sense of control over the proceedings — at least as much as they want to — they’re able to bring the listener along with them on their outward course, and whether they’re mourning for Cassini or celebrating the star of another world, their complementary nature comes through in the split in a way that emphasizes the strengths of each. It’s an easy one to dig if you’re up for the digging.

Below, to mark the occasion of preorders going live from Psychedelic Salad, you’ll find the premiere of Comacozer‘s “Sun of Hyperion,” along with the album info and one of the two Vinnum Sabbathi contributions (previously posted).

Please enjoy:

Comacozer, “Sun of Hyperion” official premiere

“Here & Beyond” a split Album between Comacozer (Sydney) and Vinnum Sabbathi (Mexico) coming on May 20th on digital and on vinyl format via Psychedelic Salad Records (Tasmania).

Australian heavy psychedelic space rockers Comacozer are back, this time with a new nineteen-minute journey that continues on from their debut track, ‘Helios Hyperion’, written and recorded in 2014. A regular feature of their live shows, ‘Sun of Hyperion’ was recorded at the same time as their last album, ‘Mydriasis’ and therefore sees them operating as a four-piece once again. As is always the case with Comacozer, this track will take you exactly where you need to go, this time in the comfort of your own
home – perfect for the current climate!

These two new tracks from Mexico’s Vinnum Sabbathi form part of the band’s HEX series, from the Base 16 or hexadecimal numeral system. The goal is to write 16 HEX songs in total for split collaborations such as this. Musically-speaking, HEX IV is quite different to the band’s usual approach – a relatively short song with little distortion – while HEX V sees a return to their classic riffing. Just like every other track in the HEX series, both songs were recorded in a single take, with only samples being added in later.

Pre orders go live on May 14th

1. Sun of Hyperion (Comacozer)
2. HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath (VS)
3. HEX V: X-15 Research Project (VS)

Art by Six. D. Six
Mastered by Kent Stump at Crystal Clear Sound

Vinnum Sabbathi, “HEX IV: Cassini’s Last Breath”

Comacozer on Thee Facebooks

Comacozer on Instagram

Comacozer on Bandcamp

Vinnum Sabbathi on Thee Facebooks

Vinnum Sabbathi on Instagram

Vinnum Sabbathi on Bandcamp

Psychedelic Salad Records webstore

The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Gerardo Arias of Cegvera & Vinnum Sabbathi (Chapingo, Mexico)

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How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

Despite playing in the same band Vinnum Sabbathi (Juan, Roman and Sam) and Cegvera (Matt), we are all close friends. Though we cannot even practice as a band, we are always in close contact through social media. That is clearly helping everyone out. There is not much we could do as a band but to promote our recent releases again through social media (VS – Of Dimensions and Theories; CGV – The Sixth Glare). As a musician, I have also been writing new riffs (more laid back than I normally like playing them) and that is because I think that’s what I need right now, to remain positive in the middle of this havoc, ’cause it has already taken few things down. Also I have been working on some papers left from my degree, which I hope to finish and publish before this year.

Both bands already had big summer plans including some festivals as well as a tour of 30+ dates in EU and UK. All of it had to be postponed. In Mexico, Vinnum Sabbathi had scheduled a release party for the 4th of April in Mexico City. That one had to be postponed too. From afar, one might think it is easy task to set up a tour. But I have been working on this with my mate Juan for MONTHS. It ain’t easy. We were all looking forward to it so much, cause that would mean not only playing gigs, but also to visit all the friends that we have made along the way. It is really sad to see all of it vanishing so fast. We know that it will happen, we don’t know yet if later in the year or summer next year, but we know that it will definitely happen and that’s what keeps us up. Eternally grateful to all the people that have supported us during this crisis and full of joy to see that they are enjoying themselves with the music that we have recently released. At the same time, a little bit intrigued to see how the current global situation matches largely with the story that is narrated in both releases TSG and ODAT.

Feel really fortunate to say that everyone’s health is very good so far. Roman (VS) has already been sent home to do work from there, while Sam (VS) is still going to his job as the place where he works for hasn’t closed yet. Juan (VS) is crafting guitar cabs from home (The best guitar and bass cabs around – Tamayo amp). Jumping all the way to UK, Matt (CGV) has been sent back home as the place where he was working has already shut down. I was working in a vet clinic, but had to suspend activities already (the clinic is still working though). Luckily I have the support of my family and right now I am with them during the quarantine.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

Although the situation in Mexico is not as bad as in some other countries, there has been a swift response in terms of isolation rules. For example, all academic activities at all levels have been suspended since the 20th of March till the 20th of April. Also, in drug stores you are not allowed to do bulk shopping. Some people have already been sent back to their homes from their jobs. Some others, not as lucky, have already lost their jobs. Where I live right now (Chapingo, Mexico) there is a truck driving through the streets with a megaphone saying: “Please stay at home, do not expose yourself. Please stay at home.” Feels like if we were living in a dystopian fiction. The truth is that, mostly in developing countries like Mexico, it is nearly impossible for some people to stay at home. Especially people that live from hand-to-mouth. Whenever there is a chance always try to offer them some help or even supplies.

Spoke to Matt (CGV) about the UK rules, and apparently up there they are only allowed to leave home, only for food shopping or pharmacies. Everything is closed and the streets are empty. It was meant to be only for a couple more weeks but probably gonna be a few months like this sadly.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

I think this has already pretty much affected everyone in the scene and outside: Labels, musicians, venues, promoters, graphic artists and even the audience in general. Local shows cancelled, venues shutting down, cancelled or postponed tours and, sadly, I’ve seen people getting annoyed about all these imminent cancellations.

Not everything is gloom though. I’ve seen that artists haven’t surrendered and are striking back with incredible livestream performances. Take as an example Mike Scheidt (Yob), Kadavar or the good pals from Kurokuma. This is really inspiring and I think artists should try and cheer up the scene with ideas like this one, of course if there is the chance and the resource. I really hope we do one with Vinnum in a near future.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

Don’t surrender to panic and/or depression, be patient, keep the spirits up. Everyone has been affected already. Always keep it positive. After I was away for four years from my family and bandmates to finish a degree, I am really close to them again. The only thing for me to do is to chin up, tell them how much I missed them and how happy I am to have them close when all this mess is happening. Keep in touch with your close friends/family. Personally, I always find myself with a giant smile on my face whenever a friend from abroad reaches out.

Support your artists, the best way to do it is buying them music and merch. You think buying a digital record does not make a difference, but trust me it does (BANDCAMP, please Bandcamp – Not Spotify!). At the same time think about the people around you. Today, actually, a guy emailed us asking if he could buy a record through Bandcamp, but kindly asked us to save it for him until the storm calms down, that way we reduce the exposure of the social workers. These ideas will definitely make a great difference. Encourage your favourite artists to do livestreams! A band always cheer up whenever we see people wanting to see us playing music even through a monitor. If you have a lot of spare time then it is the moment for your ears to give a chance to listen to that one local band that you never really wanted to check out. You might be surprised by it!

Protect the ones yourself and the ones you love, follow the sanitary indications. This is not a fake situation. It has been proved scientifically that the virus is not lab-made or genetically manipulated (type and search in your browser ‘Andersen 2020 nature medicine’ if you want to know more about it). Try to keep it as local as you can, specially providing support to small shops and producers in your area. And again, please don’t panic. ALWAYS verify the source of information! We are a society that is incredibly vulnerable to mediatic manipulation, specially with all this flood of fake news around us. Always double-check where the information is coming from.

CHIN UP, KEEP THE SPIRITS UP!

https://www.facebook.com/cegueraUK
https://cegvera.bandcamp.com/
www.facebook.com/VinnumSabbathi/
https://vinnumsabbathi.bandcamp.com/
https://stolenbodyrecords.co.uk/
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Monterrey, Mexico’s Spacegoat released their debut full-length, Superstition, in late 2016 as a self-issued digital outing comprised of 10 songs running over 50 minutes long, and set about building a following on stages in their home country to support. The release follows a well-received self-titled 2012 EP that introduced the classic-style sound of the four-piece and in particular the powerful vocal presence of guitarist Gina Rios, whose work indeed acts as a feature across Superstition as well, highlighted once more on a March 2020 limited vinyl issue — purple LP; 300 pressed — through Germany’s Electric Magic Records, the imprint helmed by Christian Peters of Samsara Blues Experiment.

The two bands shared the stage in 2018 in Monterrey, and obviously Spacegoat made an impression. Reasonably so. The LP edition of Superstition drops the track “Astral” from the digital release in order to obtain a more vinyl-ready 46-minute runtime, but its nine-song stretch is still more than enough opportunity for the band to showcase their craft, as guitarist Miguel Rios, bassist Rigo Vigil and drummer Rey Fraga back Gina‘s soulful approach to construct tracks of well-made classic-style heavy, fluid in its unfolding but largely straightforward despite some flourish of psychedelia and a jaunt like “The Wooden Path,” which calls to mind the lucid strum of acoustic Zeppelin.

Less cult rock than one might expect given the cover art and the title hinting at things-not-quite-on-kilter, Superstition packs a healthy dose of doom rock into its proceedings, beginning with the the rolling midtempo groove led by the two guitars on “Doomensional,” which is almost surprising in how fuzzy it isn’t. Not that Spacegoat don’t have distortion or tonal presence, but it comes through much clearer in the recording than one might expect, playing up the band’s classic rock roots rather than any strict adherence to heavy-style genre tenets or even doom itself, though they remain undeniably a heavy band in style and purpose.

At the same time, neither are they retro or overly stylized when it comes to “performing” classic rock — they don’t attempt a vintage production, and their tones, while not unnatural, brim with a modern fullness. It may be that the Rioses, Vigil and Fraga are using this collection in order to search out a niche for themselves in terms of sound, to find some place in between the intersection of one microgenre and another, either consciously or not, but I’d suspect it comes simply from an impulse of wanting to sound more like themselves than any other single band, and that in itself is admirable. They shift into a speedier tempo on second track “Transmuta” and are no less at home than in the comfortable “Doomensional,” and finish their opening salvo with “As We Land,” with the drums holding back during the verses to kick in with the arrival of one of the record’s more memorable hooks and the build that caps.

The title-track follows as the first of four inclusions over six minutes long spaced out over the remainder of Superstition, initially quiet but foreboding in a way that telegraphs the kick in sonic heft that arrives shortly before two minutes in. That quiet/loud tradeoff plays out again and the more voluminous spirit carries Spacegoat through the end of the song, with fading residual tones giving way to silence and “Purple Sand” at the presumed end of side A. At 6:06, it is a highlight of Miguel Rios‘ guitar work, with semi-psychedelic spaciousness that adds to the depth provided by the bottom end of bass in the mix, a solo starting at about 4:15 echoing out in soundscape fashion effectively ahead of a final chorus.

Indeed, “The Wooden Path” has an organic feel made all the more resonant by its foundation of acoustic guitar, and its placement before “Erase the Sun” — arguably the heaviest and inarguably the most Sabbathian of the riffs to be had on Superstition can only be purposeful. There’s a bit of that solo echo in “Erase the Sun” as well, if perhaps not as emphasized as on “Purple Sand” as the vocals soon return to top it, but adds to the Iommi vibe as the longest song on the album moves into its second half, a bit of effects treatment on Gina‘s vocals too putting one in mind of earlier Alunah‘s forest worship, especially with “The Wooden Path” immediately preceding.

The two songs, as the start of side B, would seem to indicate a shift in purpose from some of the first half of the album’s more rocking fare, and even without “Astral” to further the cause, that’s how the rest of the offering plays out to some degree, even as “Sacred Mountain” finds itself nestled into Graveyardy swing operating at a tight, concise 3:39 in a seeming echo to the mission of “Transmuta” earlier, Fraga‘s drums shoving the song through its first minute-plus before a temporary slowdown allows everyone to catch their breath ahead of the next verse.

They finish quick and unfold the doom-blues of “Sleeping Hours” (6:48) as the closer to pay off all prior hints toward atmosphere in the songwriting, with a quiet and patient initial progression shifting gradually toward its first volume surge (just after two minutes in) and a satisfyingly soulful lead once that distortion has receded. Vocals in layers and a final thrust of tone brings the last march of “Sleeping Hours” to a head, and it’s another surprise that Spacegoat have in store for those who make their way through the LP, considering how much of the band’s focus throughout is on straight-ahead execution. With that in mind, their departure at the finish offers one more means by which to glimpse their potential, the abundance of which is the underlying message of the album as a whole.

It’s been over three years since Superstition was initially released, and Spacegoat haven’t been idle in that time in terms of playing shows. I haven’t seen word of a follow-up to this debut, but if such a thing might be in the works on any level, the Electric Magic LP only gives those who heard it digitally and those who didn’t a chance to get introduced ahead of that inevitable next step from the band, and with the quality of the work and performances they bring to it, it’s likely to find fervent welcome among the listeners who chase it down.

Spacegoat, Superstition (2016)

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The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Juan Alberto Tamayo of Vinnum Sabbathi (Mexico City, Mexico)

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How are you dealing with this crisis as a band? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

Like a lot of other bands, we had no choice but to stop all our plans for this year which included a 3-month Euro tour that’s gone by now, but we’ll try to make it happen when the situation gets better. Everyone is healthy, we stopped rehearsals to stay home with our families.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

On March 20th our government closed schools for 20 days as well as the US border for non-essential operations and now they told everyone to stay home as much as possible, but to be honest some people around just don’t care. There was a huge party last night nearby my home. People think this is just a conspiracy of some kind and that’s scary because we don’t have anything near the health systems from the US or Europe so if this goes out of hand it’ll be Mad Max around here quick.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

Like everywhere, this has affected local venues and businesses, after the pandemic situation exploded the US dollar skyrocketed for us and seems like it’s not going to go down soon. Some big music festivals had to cancel, but others like Vive Latino took place just a few weeks ago like nothing happened.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

We’ll see you on a show near you after this, but now look after the ones you care, don’t be a dick and help others when you can.

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I’m not saying I backloaded the Quarterly Review or anything — because I didn’t — but maybe subconsciously I wanted to throw in a few releases here I had a pretty good idea I was gonna dig beforehand. Pretty much all of them, as it turned out. Not a thing I regret happening, though, again, neither was it something I did purposefully. Anyone see A Serious Man? In this instance, I’m happy to “accept the mystery” and move on.

Before we dive into the last day, of course I want to say thank you for reading if you have been. If you’ve followed along all week or this is the only post you’ve seen or you’re just here because I tagged your band in the post on Thee Facebooks, whatever it is, it is appreciated. Thank you. Especially given the global pandemic, your time and attention is highly valued.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Ocean Chief, Den Tredje Dagen

The first Ocean Chief record in six years is nothing if not weighted enough to make up for anything like lost time. Also the long-running Swedish outfit’s debut on Argonauta Records, Den Tredje Dagen on CD/DL runs five songs and 59 minutes, and though it’s not without a sense of melody either instrumentally or vocally — certainly its guitars have plenty enough to evoke a sense of mournfulness at least — its primary impact still stems from the sheer heft of its tonality, and its tracks are of the sort that a given reviewer might be tempted to call “slabs.” They land accordingly, the longest of them positioned as the centerpiece “Dömd” seething with slower-Celtic Frost anxiety and the utter nastiness of its intent spread across 15-plus minutes of let-me-just-go-ahead-and-crush-that-for-you where “that” is everything and “no” isn’t taken for an answer. There’s respite in closer “Den Sista Resan” and the CD-bonus “Dimension 5,” but even these maintain an atmospheric severity consistent with what precedes them. One way or another, it is all fucking destroyed.

Ocean Chief on Thee Facebooks

Argonauta Records store

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Barnabus, Beginning to Unwind

Come ye historians and classic heavy rockers. Come, reap what Rise Above Relics has sown. Though it’s hard sometimes not to think of the Rise Above Records imprint as label-honcho Lee Dorrian (ex-Cathedral, current With the Dead) picking out highlights from his own record collection — which is the stuff of legend — neither is that in any way a problem. Barnabus, who hailed and apparently on occasion still hail from the West Midlands in the UK, issued the Beginning to Unwind in 1972 as part of an original run that ended the next year. So it goes. Past its 10-minute jammy opener/longest track (immediate points) “America,” the new issue of Beginning to Unwind includes the LP, demos, live tracks, and no doubt assorted other odds and ends as well from Barnabus‘ brief time together. Songs like “The War Drags On” and “Resolute” are the stuff of ’70s-riff daydreams, while “Don’t Cry for Me My Lady” digs into proto-prog without losing its psych-folk inflection. I’m told the CD comes with a 44-page booklet, which only furthers the true archival standard of the release.

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Rise Above Relics store

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Helen Money, Atomic

To those for whom Helen Money is a familiar entity, the arrival of a new full-length release will no doubt only be greeted with joy. The ongoing project of experimental cellist Alison Chesley, though the work itself — issued through Thrill Jockey as a welcome follow-up to 2016’s Become Zero (review here) — is hardly joyful. Coping with the universality of grief and notions of grieving-together with family, Chesley brings forth minimalism and electronics-inclusive stylstic reach in kind across the pulsating “Nemesis,” the periodic distortion of her core instrument jarring when it hits. She takes on a harp for “Coppe” and the effect is cinematic in a way that seems to find answer on the later “One Year One Ring,” after which follows the has-drums “Marrow,” but wherever Chesley goes on Atomic‘s 47 minutes, the overlay of mourning is never far off.

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Thrill Jockey Records store

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Elder Druid, Golgotha

Belfast dual-guitar sludge five-piece Elder Druid return with seven tracks/39 minutes of ready punishment on their second album, Golgotha, answering the anger of 2017’s Carmina Satanae with densely-packed tones and grooves topped with near-universal harsh vocals (closer “Archmage” is the exception). What they’re playing doesn’t require an overdose of invention, with their focus is so much on hammering their riffs home, and certainly the interwoven leads of the title-track present some vision of intricacy for those who might demand it while also being punched in the face, and the transitional “Sentinel,” which follows,” brings some more doomly vibes ahead of “Vincere Vel Mori,” which revives the nod, “Dreadnought” has keys as well as a drum solo, and the penultimate “Paegan Dawn of Anubis” brings in an arrangement of backing vocals, so neither are they void of variety. At the feedback-soaked end of “Archmage,” Golgotha comes across genuine in its aggression and more sure of their approach than they were even just a couple years ago.

Elder Druid on Thee Facebooks

Elder Druid on Bandcamp

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Mindcrawler, Lost Orbiter

I know the whole world seems like it’s in chaos right now — mostly because it is — but go ahead and quote me on this: a band does not come along in 2020 and put out a record like Lost Orbiter and not get picked up by some label if they choose to be. Among 2020’s most promising debuts, it is progressive without pretense, tonally rich and melodically engaging, marked out by a poise of songcraft that speaks to forward potential whether it’s in the coursing leads of “Drake’s Equation” or the final slowdown/speedup of “Trappist-1” that smoothly shifts into the sample at the start of closer “Dead Space.” Mindcrawler‘s first album — self-recorded, no less — is modern cosmic-heavy brought to bear in a way that strikes such a balance between the grounded and the psychedelic that it should not be ignored, even in the massively crowded international underground from which they’re emerging. And the key point there is they are emerging, and that as thoughtfully composed as the six tracks/29 minutes of Lost Orbiter are, they only represent the beginning stages of what Mindcrawler might accomplish. If there is justice left, someone will release it on vinyl.

Mindcrawler on Thee Facebook

Mindcrawler on Bandcamp

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Temple of Void, The World That Was

Michigan doom-death five-piece Temple of Void have pushed steadily toward the latter end of that equation over their now-three full-lengths, and though The World That Was (their second offering through Shadow Kingdom) is still prone to its slower tempos and is includes the classical-guitar interlude “A Single Obulus,” that stands right before “Leave the Light Behind,” which is most certainly death metal. Not arguing with it, as to do so would surely only invite punishment. The extremity only adds to the character of Temple of Void‘s work overall, and as “Casket of Shame” seems to be at war with itself, so too is it seemingly at war with whatever manner of flesh its working so diligently to separate from the bone. Across a still-brief 37 minutes, The World That Was — which caps with its most-excellently-decayed nine-minute title-track — harnesses and realizes this grim vision, and Temple of Void declare in no uncertain terms that no matter how they might choose to tip the scale on the balance of their sound, they are its master.

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Shadow Kingdom Records store

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Lunar Swamp, Shamanic Owl

Lunar Swamp have spawned as a blusier-directed offshoot of Italian doomers Bretus of which vocalist Mark Wolf, guitarist/bassist Machen and drummer S.M. Ghoul are members, and sure enough, their debut single “Shamanic Owl,” fosters this approach. As the band aren’t strangers to each other, it isn’t such a surprise that they’d be able to decide on a sound and make it happen their first time out but the seven-minute roller — also the leadoff their first EP, UnderMudBlues, which is due on CD in June — also finds time to work in a nod to the central riff of Sleep‘s “Dragonaut” along with its pointed worship of Black Sabbath, so neither do they seems strictly adherent to a blues foundation, despite the slide guitar that works its way in at the finish. How the rest of the EP might play out need not be a mystery — it’s out digitally now — but as far as an introduction goes, “Shamanic Owl” will find welcome among those seeking comfort in the genre-familiar.

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Lunar Swamp on Bandcamp

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Huge Molasses Tank Explodes, II

The nine-track/42-minute second LP, II, from Milano post-this-or-that five-piece Huge Molasses Tank Explodes certainly finds the band earning bonus points based on their moniker alone, but more than that, it is a work of reach and intricacy alike, finding the moment where New Wave emerged from out of krautrock’s fascination with synthesizer music and bring to that a psychedelic shimmer that is too vintage-feeling to be anything other than modern. It is laid back enough in its overarching affect that “The Run” feels dreamy, most especially in its guitar lines, but never is it entirely at rest, and both the centerpiece “No One” and the later “So Much to Lose” help continue the momentum that “The Run” manages so fluidly to build in a manner one might liken to space rock were the implication of strict adherence to stylistic guidelines so implicit in that categorization. They present this nuance with a natural-seeming sense of craft and in “High or Low,” a fuzzy tone that feels like only a welcome windfall. Those who can get their head around it should seek to do so, and kudos to Huge Molasses Tank Explodes for being more than just a clever name.

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Retro Vox Records on Bandcamp

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Emile, The Black Spider/Det Kollektive Selvmord

Set to release through Heavy Psych Sounds on the same day as the new album from his main outfit The Sonic Dawn, The Black Spider/Det Kollective Selvmord is the debut solo album from Copenhagen-based singer-songwriter and guitarist Emile Bureau, who has adopted his first name as his moniker of choice. Fair enough for the naturalism and intended intimacy of the 11-track/39-minute outing, which indeed splits itself between portions in English and in Danish, sounding likewise able to bring together sweet melodies in both. Edges of distortion in “Bundlos” and some percussion in the second half’s title-track give a semblance of arrangement to the LP, but at the core is Emile himself, his vocals and guitar, and that’s clearly the purpose behind it. Where The Sonic Dawn often boast a celebratory feel, The Black Spider/Det Kollective Selvmord is almost entirely subdued, and its expressive sensibility comes through regardless of language.

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Heavy Psych Sounds store

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Saturno Grooves, Cosmic Echoes

Sonic restlessness! “Fire Dome” begins with a riffy rush, “Forever Zero” vibes out on low end and classic swing, the title-track feels like an Endless Boogie jam got lost in the solar system, “Celestial Tunnel” is all-thrust until it isn’t at all, “Blind Faith” is an acoustic interlude, and “Dark Matter” is a punk song. Because god damn, of course it is. It is little short of a miracle Saturno Grooves make their second album, Cosmic Echoes as remarkably cohesive as it is, yet through it all they hold fast to class and purpose alike, and from its spacious outset to its bursting finish, there isn’t a minute of Cosmic Echoes that feels like happenstance, even though they’re obviously following one impulse after the next in terms of style. Heavy (mostly) instrumentalism that works actively not to be contained. Out among the echoes, Saturno Grooves might just be finding their own wavelength.

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LSDR Records store

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It’s one thing to say your record is inspired by making a cosmic connection, being one with the universe, higher plane of existence and all that kind of stuff. It’s another thing to do that and put your record up as a name-your-price download. I know everybody’s gotta make a buck, but it gives all that universal spiritualism a little more edge when you’re saying, “here I made a thing, take it.” Just a tip.

Saturno Grooves from Durango, Mexico, released their new full-length Cosmic Echoes yesterday as a choice bit of name-your-price riffery in affiliation with LSDR Records. It’s their second long-player behind 2018’s Solar Hawk, and after a bit of driving, forward-directed groove in “Fire Dome,” it dives into a bit of fuzz bliss in “Forever Zero” before going post-Elder prog in “Cosmic Echoes” and the extra-shimmery “Celestial Tunnel,” then drones and acoustics through “Blind Faith” in order to blindside with the crunch of “Dark Matter.” All told, you’ve got six tracks/31 dynamic, pretense-free minutes of spacious heavy to soak your head. Plus it’s a bargain.

Here’s hoping they do a CD at some point:

Saturno Grooves – Cosmic Echoes

Cosmic Echoes is inspired by the human connection with the cosmos, its attempt to know and understand its nature, the use of psychedelics as a bridge of communication, all reflected in six compositions based on improvisation exploring different styles and addressing different themes, which in turn they intertwine the close relationship between the higher self and the universe.

Saturno Grooves is a Mexican band formed in Durango in early 2013 by Oscar Cisneros on bass, José Peyro on guitar and Adolfo Solís on drums. The band was born thanks to the common interest of its members to explore psychedelic sounds and develop them within instrumental rock.

In May 2018 comes to light Solar Hawk through LSDR Records composed of six themes inspired by discourses and nature-related events translated into ancient mythologies and urban legends, which in turn are reflected in the continuous exploration of sounds under the influence of psychoactives. This material has been the work of compositions that through 2016 and 2017 were restructured and modified giving this result, is music in order to be enjoyed with high volume and away from distractions.

Tracklisting
1. Fire Dome 05:04
2. Forever Zero 07:15
3. Cosmic Echoes 08:10
4. Celestial Tunnel 07:25
5. Blind Faith 01:45
6. Dark Matter 02:06

All music by Saturno Grooves.
Lyrics: José Peyro, Oscar Cisneros.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by KB in Testa Estudio
León, Gto. México. Jan. 19-20 2020.

Saturno Grooves are:
Adolfo Solis – Drums, Vocals and Acoustic Guitar in “Blind Faith”
José Peyro – Guitars, Vocals
Oscar Cisneros – Bass

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Saturno Grooves, Cosmic Echoes (2020)