Posted in Whathaveyou on October 22nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
I swear one of these days — and one of these days soon — I’ll be putting up a vinyl review for Ripple Music‘s The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter One, which launched their series of underground-scouring splits earlier this year by righteously pairing Geezer and Borracho, with riffy results. Not that it’s hurt sales any. I think the thing was gone before it was actually out. But it will happen. And it will need to happen even sooner because Ripple‘s already got the follow-up installment, The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter Two, in progress.
The Joseph Rudell cover art for The Second Coming of Heavy: Chapter Two has been unveiled, and in addition to lining up with Chapter One when placed next to it, it shows off a lot more of the world in which it’s all set. This time around, Pittsburgh’s Supervoid and Minneapolis’ Red Desert will represent Heavy’s second coming, and much like the cover itself, it’s cool to see the series working quickly to expand stylistically.
Word on a release date? Not yet from what I’ve seen, but I’d guess not before December or early next year. I’ll let you know when I hear more:
Our “Second Coming of Heavy” series got off to a banging start with an instant sell out of all Editions of Chapter One. Now Chapter Two is heading our way. But before we get there, it’s time to release our “reserve” copies of Chapter One. These are copies we held onto in case of any lost postage or damages. Now we’ll let them go.
Sorry, no Resurrection Edition are left, but we have a scant few Risen OBI and Black Virgin Editions. This is your last chance to get onboard the Second Coming of Heavy series before Chapter Two comes out. And remember, all chapters in the series have interlocking spine art, which lines up to create one killer image!
I said back in March that I was going to try to make the Quarterly Review a regular feature around here, and once it was put out there, the only thing to do was to live up to it. Over the last several — like, five — weeks, I’ve been compiling lists of albums to be included, and throughout the next five days, we’re going to make our way through that list. From bigger names to first demos and across a wide swath of heavy styles, there’s a lot of stuff to come, and I hope within all of it you’re able to find something that hits home or speaks to you in a special way.
No sense in delaying. Hold nose, dive in.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
Foehammer, Foehammer
Relatively newcomer trio Foehammer specialize in grueling, slow-motion punishment. Their self-titled debut EP follows a well-received 2014 demo and is three tracks/34 minutes released by Grimoire and Australopithecus Records of doomed extremity, the Virginian three-piece of guitarist Joe Cox (ex-Gradius), bassist/vocalist Jay Cardinell (ex-Gradius, ex-Durga Temple) and drummer Ben “Vang” Blanton (ex-Vog, also of The Oracle) not new to the Doom Capitol-area underground by any stretch and seeming to pool all their experience to maximize the impact of this extended material. Neither “Final Grail,” “Stormcrow” nor 14-minute closer “Jotnar” is without a sense of looming atmosphere, but Foehammer at this point are light only on drama, and the lower, sludgier and more crushing they go, the more righteous the EP is for it. Stunningly heavy and landing with a suitable shockwave, it is hopefully the beginning of a long, feedback-drenched tenure in death-doom, and if the EP is over half an hour, the prospect of a follow-up debut full-length seems overwhelming. Easily one of the year’s best short releases.
It’s not like they were lying when they decided to call a song “Shroom Doom.” Melbourne double-guitar four-piece made their self-titled debut as Holy Serpent last year, and the five-track full-length was picked up for release on RidingEasy Records no doubt for its two-front worship of Uncle Acid’s slither and jangle – especially prevalent on the eponymous opener and closer “The Wind” – and the now-classic stonerism of Sleep. That blend comes together best of all on the aforementioned finale, but neither will I take away from the north-of-10-minute righteousness of “The Plague” preceding, with its slow roll and malevolent vibe that, somehow, still sounds like a party. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Scott Penberthy, guitarist Nick Donoughue, bassist Michael Macfie and drummer Keith Ratnan, the real test for Holy Serpent will be their second or third album – i.e., how they develop the psychedelic nodes of centerpiece “Fools Gold” along with the rest of their sound – but listening to these tracks, it’s easy to let the future worry about itself.
There are a variety of influences at work across Wicked Inquisition’s self-titled debut long-player, from the Sabbath references of its eponymous closer to the earlier thrashery of “In Shackles” and “Sun Flight,” but the core of the Minneapolis four-piece resides in a guitar-led brand of metal, whatever else they decide to build around it. Guitarist/vocalist Nate Towle, guitarist Ben Stevens, bassist Jordan Anderson and drummer Jack McKoskey align tightly around the riffs of “M.A.D.” in all-business fashion. Shades of Candlemass show up in some of the slower material, “M.A.D.” included as well as with “Crimson Odyssey,” but the start-stops of “Tomorrow Always Knows” ensure the audience is clued in that there’s more going on than just classic doom, though a Trouble influence seems to hover over the proceedings as well, waiting to be more fully explored as the band moves forward.
Clocking in at an hour flat, Sydney all-caps riffers AVER construct their second album, Nadir, largely out of familiar elements, but wind up with a blend of their own. Fuzz is prevalent in the extended nod of opener “The Devil’s Medicine” (9:46) which bookends with the longest track, finisher “Waves” (9:48), though it’s not exactly like the four-piece are shy about writing longer songs in between. The production, while clear enough, lends its focus more toward the low end, which could be pulling in another direction from the impact of some of Nadir’s psychedelia on “Rising Sun” second half solo, but neither will I take anything away from Jed’s bass tone, which could carry this hour of material were it asked. The vocals of guitarist Burdt have a distinct Acid Bathian feel, post-grunge, and that contrasts a more laid back vibe even on the acoustic-centered “Promised Lands,” but neither he, Jed, guitarist Luke or drummer Chris feel out of place here, and I’m not inclined to complain.
Sweet, classic and very, very British folk pervades the gorgeously melodic and meticulously arranged Silence and Tears by London six-piece Galley Beggar, released on Rise Above. The eight-track/40-minute album packs neatly onto a vinyl release and has near-immediate psychedelic underpinnings in the wah of opener “Adam and Eve,” and side B’s “Geordie” has some heavier-derived groove, but it’s the beauty and lushness of the harmonies throughout (finding satisfying culmination in closer “Deliver Him”) that stand Galley Beggar’s third offering out from worshipers of a ‘60s and ‘70s era aesthetic. The highlight of Silence and Tears arrives early in nine-minute second cut “Pay My Body,” a wonderfully swaying, patient excursion that gives equal time to instrumental exploration and vocal accomplishment, but to a select few who let themselves be truly hypnotized and carried along its winding course, the album’s entire span will prove a treasure to be revisited for years to come and whose sunshiny imprint will remain vivid.
With inspiration reportedly from the 1977 demon-possession horror flick Alucarda, Las Vegas doomers Demon Lung return with A Dracula, their second offering via Candlelight Records after 2013’s The Hundredth Name, and as the movie begins with a birth, so too do we get “Behold, the Daughter” following the intro “Rursumque Alucarda,” later mirrored by a penultimate interlude of the same name. Billy Anderson produced, so it’s not exactly a surprise that the slow, undulating riffs and the periodic bouts of more upbeat chug, as on “Gypsy Curse,” come through nice and viscous, but vocalist Shanda brings an ethereal melodic sensibility, not quite cult rock, but on “Mark of Jubilee” presenting momentarily some similarly bleak atmospherics to those of the UK’s Undersmile, her voice seeming to command the guitars to solidify from their initial airiness and churn out an eerie apex, which closer “Raped by the Serpent” pushes further for a raging finale.
Spirit Division’s self-titled debut full-length follows a 2014 demo that also hosted three of the tracks – opener “Spirit Division,” “Through the Rounds” and “Mountain of Lies” – but is fuller-sounding in its post-grunge tonality and doomly chug than the earlier offering, guitarist/vocalist Stephen Hoffman, bassist/vocalist Chris Latta and drummer/vocalist David Glass finding a straightforward route through moody metallurgy and weighted riffage. Some Wino-style swing shows up on “Bloodletting,” and “Cloud of Souls” has a decidedly militaristic march to its progression, while the later “Red Sky” revels in classic doom that seems to want to be just a touch slower than it is, but what ultimately unites the material is the strong sense of purpose across the album’s span and Spirit Division’s care in the vocal arrangements. The production is somewhat dry, but Spirit Division walk the line between sludge rock and doom and seem comfortable in that sphere while also sparking a creative progression that seems well worth further pursuit.
I was all set to include a different Space Mushroom Fuzz album in this roundup, but then I saw that the project was coming to an end and Until Next Time was issued as the band’s final release. The deal all along with the band headed by guitarist/vocalist Adam Abrams (also Blue Aside) has been that you never really know what he’s going to do next. Fair enough. Abrams brings it down in suitably bizarre fashion, a keyboard and guitar line backing “Class Onion” in direct mockery of Beatlesian bounce, where “The DeLorean Takes Off!” before compiles five-plus minutes of experimental noise and “Follow that DeLorean” answers with another round after. Elsewhere, opener and longest cut (immediate points) “Here Comes Trouble” resonates with its central guitar line and unfolds to further oddity with a quiet but gruff vocal, while “The Rescue” vibes like something Ween would’ve conjured after huffing roach spray (or whatever was handy) and closer “Back in ‘55” moves from progressive soloing to froggy singing and weirdo jangle. All in all a strange and fitting end to the band.
Santa Cruz trio Mountain Tamer have been kicking around the West Coast for the last several years, and since they released a full-length, Liquid Metal, in 2013, and a prior EP in 2012’s The Glad, it’s tempting to try to read some larger shift sonically into their MTN TMR Demo, as though having completely revamped their sound, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Andru, bassist/vocalist Dave Teget and drummer/vocalist Casey Garcia trying out new ideas as they redirect their approach. That may well be the case, with “Satan’s Waitin’,” “Sum People” and “Dunes of the Mind” each standing at over five-minutes of neo-stoner roll, more psychedelic than some in the growing fuck-it-let’s-skate oeuvre, but still plainly born after, or at least during, grunge. The finisher comes to a thrilling, noisy head as it rounds out the short release, and if Mountain Tamer are taking on a new path, it’s one well set to meander and I hope they continue to follow those impulses.
Like their late-2014 debut, Bloom, OHHMS’ sophomore outing, Cold, is comprised of two extended tracks. Here the Canterbury five-piece bring “The Anchor” (18:30) and “Dawn of the Swarm” (14:27), blending modern prog, sludge and post-metallic vibes to suit a melodic, ambitious purpose. Atmosphere is central from the quiet drone starting “The Anchor” and remains so as they lumber through a linear build and into an apex at about 13 minutes in, dropping out to quiet only to build back up to a striking melodic push that ends on a long fade. Side B, “Dawn of the Swarm” is more immediately post-rock in the guitar, the lineup of vocalist Paul Waller, guitarists Daniel Sargent and Marc George, bassist Chainy Chainy and drummer Max Newton moving through hypnotic sprawl into angular Isis-ism before finding their own way, the second cut pushing structurally against the first with loud/quiet tradeoffs in a well-timed back half. Clearly a band who arrived knowing their purpose, but not so cerebral as to detract from the heavy landing of the material itself.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 22nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
One of the things that made Wolf Blood‘s 2014 self-titled debut (discussed here) so engaging was its complete unwillingness to settle on a genre or a unipolar sound. I can’t help but wonder if the Duluth, Minnesota, outfit will bring a similar restlessness to their onstage presentation when they head off on an East Coast tour next month. It’s a good round of dates, with a few still to be filled in — I’d say hit up The Depot in York, PA, but they’ve already got two dates in Pennsylvania, one in Philly, one in Pittsburgh — but wherever they wind up for those TBAs, they’ve got a few killer gigs spread throughout, some house shows and a stop in Brooklyn with Geezer, The Golden Grass and Bison Machine, so it should prove worth the road time.
To hear them tell it, they’ve got 30 copies of the debut left and they’ll have them on hand for the tour. Confirmation from the PR wire:
WOLF BLOOD East Coast Tour May 21-June 6th 2015
Duluth’s WOLF BLOOD (soon to be Minneapolis based) are hitting the road next month for 2 1/2 week tour to the East Coast. Starting in Duluth on a train(!) for “Blood on the Tracks” with The Black Eyed Snakes and culminating with a stacked show at Brooklyn’s Lucky 13 with Geezer, The Golden Grass and Bison Machine.
Also with less than 30 copies left this will be the last chance to grab a copy of their S/T debut on Burning World Records before it’s gone.
East Coast Tour Dates May 21 Duluth, MN @ Blood on the Tracks w/ The Black Eyed Snakes & more May 22 Des Moines, IA @ The Fremont w/ Druids & Glass Ox May 23 Kansas City, MO TBA May 24 Cincinnati, OH @ Tacocracy w/ Temple & tba May 25 Chattanooga, TN @ Sluggo’s May 26 Harrisonburg, VA @ House show May 27 TBA May 28 Baltimore, MD @ Side Bar May 29 D.C. @ The Pinch May 30 Brooklyn, NY @ Lucky 13 w/ Geezer, Bison Machine & The Golden Grass May 31 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie w/ Hellrad, Heavy Temple & Toke June 1 TBA June 2 Pittsburgh, PA @ House show June 3 Dekalb, IL @ house show June 4 Milwaukee, WI TBA June 5 Appleton, WI @ Xtra920 w/ Relentless, Attalla… June 6 Duluth, MN @ Luce w/ Gay Witch Abortion & Strange
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 31st, 2015 by JJ Koczan
Led by “Minnesota” Pete Campbell, who now counts Pentagram on his already formidable resume alongside Place of Skulls, In~Graved, and the ever-volatile The Mighty Nimbus, the trio Buzzard have signed a deal to release their debut album on Bilocation Records. Titled Sonic Renaissance, the full-length will be out later this year via the German imprint on CD and vinyl. No specific date given yet, but sometime later this year.
As you can hear in “Let’s Get Gone” below, the band kind of runs a middle-ground between heavy rock and doom, but riffs is riffs as they say, and Buzzard‘s got riffs. The PR wire brought word of the Bilocation alliance:
BUZZARD (Minnesota) are signing with Bilocation Records.
Debut album release in 2015.
We are proud to announce that Minnesota’s riff-rockers BUZZARD signed with Bilocation Records for their upcoming debut ‘Sonic Renaissance’ on CD & limited vinyl.
BUZZARD is a down-tuned juggernaut of heavy riffs, groovy beats and a melodic low end. Fans of such bands as: Down, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Queens of the Stone Age, Robin Trower, Mountain, Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Spirit Caravan, and Black Sabbath will find homage in Minnesota’s BUZZARD!
Formed in 2009, singer and guitar player Minnesota Pete Campbell (The Mighty Nimbus, Pentagram, Place of Skulls, Victor Griffin’s Ingraved, and Sixty Watt Shaman) and bass player Gene Starr (The New Suns) put this monster on hiatus until the fall of 2012 when Big Andy Campbell (The Mighty Nimbus) added his take on drum duties. Since then, the power trio has found their path and has been spreading the word playing shows & writing songs for their debut album, scheduled for release in early 2015. Leaving no stone unturned, BUZZARD will carry the torch of rock and roll and reintroduce metal fans to the power of the riff!
BUZZARD: Pete Campbell – vocal & guitar Andy Campbell – drums Gene Starr – bass
Posted in Reviews on January 1st, 2015 by JJ Koczan
I thought last night about changing the name of this feature to “First Licks 2015,” but on further reflection, that’s just too much licking. It’s bad enough as it is. All the same, Happy New Year to you and yours, wherever you and they may be. I hope in 2015, your reviews pile never gets so backed up that you think about doing something so absolutely insane as tackling them all at once to wipe the slate clean. Then again, being completely inundated with music has its upsides. The music, for one.
We press on today with the fourth installment in the “Last Licks 2014” series. These are reviews 31-40. I passed the halfway point yesterday with barely so much as an inward breath to appreciate the moment, and I can only hope the pile of discs before me goes so smoothly. I’ll let you know when I get there. Until then, no need to dally, let’s get underway with the first reviews of 2015.
Thanks for reading:
Seven that Spells, The Death and Resurrection of Krautrock: Io
Reportedly second in a series of three albums from Croatian heavy psych rockers Seven that Spells, The Death and Resurrection of Krautrock: Io follows a first installment subtitled Aum released in 2011 and brings forth heady, mostly instrumental progressions of extended runtimes and a satisfying blend of weighted tones and stylistic clarity. The three-piece who released their first album in 2003 alternate between three shorter pieces and two longer ones across the 47-minute Sulatron Records outing’s five tracks, and while I’m not entirely sure what is the narrative that’s taking place across them, there’s definitely a plotted course and concept at work behind the material – it does not come across as haphazard in any way. When they arrive, vocals do so as chants coinciding with sweeping passages, as on “Burning Blood,” the culmination of which is worthy of being the apex of a trilogy in progress. Io takes the off-the-cuff authenticity in heavy psych and gives it direction and purpose beyond simply being. No small feat, no small results.
Some metal isn’t doom, some doom isn’t metal, but Texas trio Elliott’s Keep play doom metal, and make no mistake. Their third long-player, Nascentes Morimur, comes after 2008’s In Medias Res (review here) and 2010’s Sine Qua Non (review here), and like them, it was produced and mixed by J.T. Longoria, so that their darkened, metallic chugging is presented with a crisp bite. The three-piece of Kenneth Greene (bass/vocals), Jonathan Bates (guitar) and Joel Bates (drums) toy with the balance between death and doom effectively across Nascentes Morimur’s nine tracks, making highlights of early moments like the double-kick-laden “Now Taken” and the chorus of the proceeding “Days of Hell.” Later cuts like “Tale of Grief” and “Omen” follow suit, with Jonathan riffing out classic metal vibes while Greene switches between clean singing and a rasping, almost black metal in places, scream. Their command never wavers, though, and while there have never been many frills about their approach, Elliott’s Keep have come to offer a fist-pumpingly heavy, sharp-edged push.
Bluesy Minneapolis double-guitar four-piece The Lone Crows show an affinity for classic rock stylization on their World in Sound second full-length, Dark Clouds. Produced modern, with lead guitar front and center, there’s more rock to Dark Clouds than heavy rock, but the vocal style of guitarist Tim Barbeau – joined in the band by guitarist Julian Manzara, bassist Andy Battcher and drummer Joe Goff – has some ‘90s inflection to it, and every now and then they get into a bit of bounce, as on the title-track and “The Dragon.” The penultimate “Midnight Show” would seem like the peak of the album, and sure enough it has one of its best hooks, but the recording doesn’t allow for the same push one imagines the material would carry live, and the quiet ending of “On that Day” feels flat compared to some of The Lone Crows’ bluesy peers. I chalk it up to the difference between blues rock and heavy rock and my own expectations, rather than some fault in the band.
I’m not sure if it would be appropriate to call Krautzone an offshoot of Zone Six, of which all four members – guitarist Rainer Neeff, synth-providers Modulfix and Sula Bassana, and percussionist Komet Lulu (the latter two also of Electric Moon) – take part, plus bassist Onkel Kaktus, but either way, the sound is nebulous, brilliantly textured for a meditative, slow-motion churn, and utterly engrossing. Their Sulatron debut, Kosmiche Rituale, is comprised of three lengthy explorations, tones washing in and out of each, smoothly offset by Neeff’s flight-taken guitar, minimal but earthy percussion and an improvised sensibility. “Liebe” (12:46) and “Kosmiche Rituale” (9:09) comprise side A and “Only Fools Rush In” (20:41) consumes side B entirely, a wash of synth and cymbals announcing its arrival as it sets about unfolding its long course, every bit living up to the album’s title in the process. Krautzone also released a split with Lamp of the Universe in 2014 (review here), but on their own, they shine with the chance to really stretch out.
Italian instrumentalists L’Ira del Baccano offer their second full-length with the lushly conceived Terra 42, a six-track, 57-minute outing that works in three overarching “phases.” The first of them includes tracks one through three and is dubbed “The Infinite Improbability Drive,” and it makes up more than half the album’s runtime, the first, 13-minute part standing alone while the two subsequent nine-minute stretches feed one directly into the next in a psychedelic wash of open guitar building to a raucous heavy rock finish. Phase II, “Sussurri… Nel Bosco di Diana” is the next two cuts, and moves smoothly from a Yawning Man-style jam to more riff-based thickness. The longest individual part, Phase III, is the 14-minute “Volcano X13,” track six, on which the band move fluidly through their heavy psych and rock impulses, synth and guitar intertwining well as L’Ira del Baccano affirm their more-than-burgeoning stylistic breadth. It’s an interesting, somewhat familiar blend, but they put it to good use on Terra 42 and engage with the spaciousness created.
Reactivated Montreal noisemakers Lae enlisted the help of their producer, Today is the Day’s Steve Austin, in handling lead vocals for their debut, Break the Clasp, which is a move fitting for their anti-genre approach to noise, drone, doom, post-everything, and so on. A Battleground Records/The Compound release, Break the Clasp reworks unheard material from Lae’s original run in the mid-‘90s – an album that never came out, essentially – but the vitality in the 13 tracks (yes, even the crushingly slow ones) is fresh to the point of its newness, and even the parts meant to be abrasive, opener “Sexy Sadie” or pieces of “17 Queen,” for example, hold onto a wonderful depth the mix and a feeling of texture that feeds Break the Clasp’s otherworldly spirit and brings you along its path of consuming strangeness. Austin is a presence, but by no means the star, and the whole band Lae shines across Break the Clasp’s fascinating span. A debut no one knew they were awaiting, but they were.
Psychedelia implying such a colorful sound, and black metal implying essentially the absence of that color, the two have rarely been paired well, but Finnish four-piece Atomikylä display a resounding space on their five-song debut full-length, Erkale (released by Future Lunch), and they’re not through the 13-minute opener, “Aluaineet,” before I think they might have mastered the balance between effects wash, unmitigated thrust and far-back screaming that most others have left too far to one side or the other. The four-piece with a lineup half from Oranssi Pazuzu and half from Dark Buddha Rising don’t stay in one place stylistically – the title-track has an almost krautrock feel, while the subsequent “Ihmiskallo” is more resolved to doom – but they keep a consistency of blinding bleakness to Erkale that results in a decidedly individualized feel throughout the 48 minutes. Droning and jazzy guitar experimentalism prevails in “Who Goes There,” and 10-minute closer “Musta Kulta” both broadens the atmosphere and underscores Atomikylä’s vicious stylistic triumph, capping Erkale with a mash of squibblies and screams, effects and distortion that’s so filthy it can’t help but be beautiful.
Freiburg, Germany, trio Deaf Proof – guitarist/vocalist J. Fredo, bassist JP and drummer Pedro – released their first demo in 2013, but the three-song/34-minute EP (it’s more like an album, but I won’t argue) Death Sounds Angry is a decidedly more assured, professional affair. The vibe is loose and, in the reaches of 18-minute middle cut “Origin of Pain,” jammy, but the three-piece still seem to have some idea of where they want their material to go, even as they feel their way toward those ends. A Colour Haze influence? Maybe, but less than one might think given the current climate of European heavy psych. JP’s bass has a tendency toward darker undertones, and when they hit the payoffs for “Death Sounds Angry and Hungry for More,” “Origin of Pain” and “The Sense,” they reveal themselves to be in search of something heavier and less peaceful. J. Fredo’s vocals are a little forward in the mix, but Death Sounds Angry still offers plenty to chew on for the converted.
Progressive, mostly instrumental and hypnotic, Zagreb, Croatia, trio Jastreb released their self-titled debut as a single 36-minute song in 2012, and the follow-up, Mother Europe (on HauRucK), is no less ambitious. Vocals appear here and there, both from the core three-piece and a guest spot, but the heart of what Jastreb do is rooted in their ability to craft movements that pull listeners in without falling into lulls of unconsciousness – to wit, the repetitions of “The Black Mountain” seem still but are constantly building and moving forward – as well as in arrangement flourishes like synth, Hammond, sitar and violin among the shades of post-metal in “Haemmer” or the bleary, drone-backed opener “North,” which comes companioned by the subtle churn of “South” to end the album. Not necessarily psychedelic in a loose or jammy sense, but immersive, and purposeful in its variety; the sitar and guest vocals on “The Silver Spire” arrive just at the moment when one thinks they might have heard it all. Could say the same of the record itself, I suppose.
Passage of Gaia is the sixth album from progressive melo-doomers Arctic Sleep. A four-piece from Milwaukee including bassist/drummer/cellist/vocalist Keith D, guitarist Mike Gussis and vocalist Emily Jancetic (John Gleisner plays drums live), one is reminded both of the Floydian consciousness of mid-period Anathema (my go-to comparison point for this kind of stuff, admittedly) and the drama in Katatonia and some of Novembers Doom’s clean sections, but ultimately, Arctic Sleep emerge from the eight-track/54-minute DIY long-player with their own personality, measured out in the careful vocal collaboration between Keith D and Jancetic, songs like “Terra Vindicta,” “Green Dragon” and “Passage of Gaia,” and the varied structures between the more rocking “Terra Vindicta” and the build of “Solar Lament.” Through it all, nothing’s out of balance, and Arctic Sleep execute Passage of Gaia with the poise demanded by the style and the fact that it’s their sixth album, accomplishment suiting them as well as the melancholy of closer “Destroy the Urn,” which almost loses its restraint at the end. Almost.
Posted in Reviews on October 25th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
As advertised, Mill City Nights was a legit room. The exposed brick walls were lined with soundproofing, but you could still hear the bands from outside. Doors were at 7PM or somewhere thereabouts, people soon started milling in slowly. It turned out to be a five-band night, with locals Vulgaari joining the bill, effectively splitting the touring lineup in half, with Kings Destroy opening, then Bang, then Vulgaari, Radio Moscow and Pentagram. They were obviously anticipated to pull a good crowd and they did just that. Apparently one or more of the dudes in the band is involved in the Surly Brewing Co., who are putting on a big fest this weekend to release a Russian Imperial Stout collaboration with Three Floyds. The Midwest likes its craft beer.
Kings Destroy went on at 8:15, just about on the dot. It was early on a five-band Friday night, but the place wasn’t empty, and it was big enough that you’d have noticed if it was. The balcony was closed off, but there were people up there for most of the night, myself included for part of Bang‘s set, and Mill City Nights was professional all the way. Pro sound, pro lights, pro atmosphere. It’s the kind of joint that would exist everywhere if the US government subsidized artists, or maybe I’m just saying that because the tiered balcony reminded me of the 013 in Tilburg. Either way, cool space to see a show in a very different way than was Reggie’s in Chicago, where the grit was half the appeal. I’ll take it either way, I guess
The set was switched up from the first night of the tour, with “The Toe” brought in instead of “The Mountie.” “Old Yeller” was kept as the opener and it’s hard to argue, that song sort of mirroring the lurching to life of any given set Kings Destroy play. It was the same story in Minneapolis it always is: Band plays, people stare, then get it, then get into it, then it ends. I wonder how it would be if they opened with a faster song like “Mr. O” or even “Smokey Robinson,” which has its quicker parts mixed in there, if that would affect the immediacy of it, but it seems like people would just be scratching their heads by the time the band got around to a closer like “Blood of Recompense,” and I like that at the end of the set, which is where it was at Mill City Nights, with “Smokey Robinson” before it, and “W2” from the new record before that.
It was a pullback on the overall thrust to go from “Mr. O” into “W2,” as the latter song has its groove but is less energetic, but it’s that way on the album too, so I’ve gotten used to it. Hard to believe it was just the second night of this run. Last time around, it took three or four shows before things really felt like they were rolling along. This time everything has locked in quicker, and I’d extend that to the other bands as well. Radio Moscow and Pentagram have been out recently, but even Bang, who, again, haven’t toured in 40 years, seem to have smoothed out rough edges if they had any. They came on after Kings Destroy in an immediate stylistic shift that I think I’m only going to enjoy more as this tour goes on, and gave the same set as Chicago a once-over, including the ballad “Last Will and Testament” — when bassist/vocalist Frank Ferrara hit the line about a “private whore” in the song, someone shouted back, “whore!” I think just to be happy to use a semi-dirty word — and “Questions,” which rounded out in suitable fashion, emphasis on the smooth ’70s-style groove and of course the lead work of guitarist Frank Gilcken.
Drummer Jake Leger is largely hidden behind his kit, but even so, it was easy to get a sense of how crucial he is to what Bang are doing at this point. He’s not an original member, obviously, but he fits in exceedingly well with Ferrara and Gilcken, and his drums sounded fantastic at Mill City Nights. I feel like most of the time a snare sound isn’t something that really makes you stop and appreciate it, but Leger‘s snare had this rich, almost resonant clap that was just perfect, even if the ghost notes didn’t really get picked up by the mic. When he came down on it, you knew it. I guess the same could be said of his whole kit, but the snare stood out, particularly in watching from the balcony, the bird’s eye view allowing for a different perspective as the band continued to look like they were genuinely having a good time being back out on the road. It can’t be easy after so long away to just hit it for 10 dates or whatever it is, but they’re carrying it with class and the crowd ate it up, which of course is what matters.
Another real stylistic turn when Vulgaari took the stage. A triple-guitar five-piece, they lumbered out a deathly take on doom and sludge, vocals coming on in growls over riffs that in another context probably wouldn’t be so far off from Pallbearer, a current of instrumental melody running through what you’d still definitely call brutal metal. They were well received by the hometown crowd — even the guy up front who yelled “fuck you!” to the guitarist was clearly joking — and I intended to buy a CD but didn’t get the chance, but like Iron Reagan in Chicago, they were the odd men out in having the most metallic influence at play. Didn’t really matter one they got going. No dissension among the audience that I saw, and I think particularly a lot of the younger attendees — the show was all ages, so there were a few kids around — had no trouble getting into it.
I didn’t either, for whatever it’s worth, but with a drive to Grand Rapids ahead, it was decided that Kings Destroy would split early. I’d seen Pentagram soundcheck earlier in the evening, and yesterday, and I will again today, and Radio Moscow too, so I got it. Grand Rapids is a nine-hour ride from Minneapolis around Lake Michigan, and that’s with no stops. Even with putting in two-plus hours last night, it’s a bit of a crunch. Not really worried, though. Plenty of open spaces to stare at in the interim.
More pics from last night after the jump. Thanks for reading.
“…some cherry candies for desert.” [sic] — Carl Porcaro
Little things make a huge difference. Some cold water on the face. A protein bar when you’re hungry. Washing your hands. A private bathroom. Some fresh air and sunshine. Advil for sore feet or just general existential soreness. Talking to your significant other. It was a long drive today from where we stopped in Wisconsin last night to Minneapolis — and as I understand it, tomorrow is longer; there was some back and forth on cutting out of this show early, but I have my doubts it will actually come to that — but a good day overall. Part of it is stir-craziness from being in the van, part of it I think is the band getting the first show of the tour over with — also beer — but the mood was pretty relaxed today even with the hours put in.
We stopped outside Minneapolis at Hammerheart Brewing, which is run by Austin Lunn of the black metal band Panopticon — his most recent album, Roads to the North, was reviewed here. Lots of very Norse and Viking imagery around the place, bare wood, various smoky smells, elaborately conceived brews. The antlers-on-Mjölnir logo summed up a lot of the aesthetic. A poster for a forest-worship black metal fest said no hate and if you couldn’t behave you should stay home, which I thought was fucking awesome. Some asshole will probably still screw it up, but righteous of them to put it on the show poster anyway. I didn’t drink any, but the consensus was that the beer was quality stuff, and it was cool to see Lunn and company passionate about what they were doing at the place. He was kind enough to give the band three growlers with the stipulation that nobody would “drive tired.” It’ll be about three hours back the way we came to where we’re staying tonight — Steve pointed it out as we passed it on the way here. Pretty sure I’m slated to drive later, and pretty sure I’ll be tired when I do it, but I won’t be drunk, and I think that’s what the euphemism was aiming at. A fair trade in any case.
The land on the way to Minneapolis was beautiful and sparse. We got into Wisconsin from Chicago last night, so there was a lot that I couldn’t see — and, presumably, not a lot to see since there were no lights on — but houses dotting rolling hillsides, distant looming smokestacks, gas stations, trucks, intermittent sun and cloud cover, even just enough of a rain splash to give the windshield of the Sprinter a needed once-over, intermittent Heartland porno shacks and fireworks stores, KISS’ Hotter than Hell emanated from the back seat forward as we rolled along, and it was a good time, even if a long trip to Hammerheart and, by extension, here. Different trees up and around here than were in Illinois and Indiana and Ohio and Pennsylvania. I haven’t spent a lot of time in the Midwest, but even the people who randomly said hi at the gas station this morning were incredibly nice and conversational. I think I’m too much of a prick to live with it on a more permanent basis, but it’s nice to visit.
It’s my first time in Minneapolis, and by extension at Mill City Nights. I didn’t see any mills, or at least not current mills — unless The Old Spaghetti Factory counts — but a lot of office buildings, some pretty interesting architecture. The whole town looks new and clean, as if the snow every winter melts and takes the grime with it. The venue is huge on the same scale of Summit Music Hall in Denver, but like the city itself, it seems very new, very recently constructed. Smells like nothing. There’s a balcony that’s crazy deluxe with a full bar, a Red Bull bar, tvs broadcasting the stage, seats and whatnot, and the stage has to be about six feet high in the cavernous space, P.A. speakers hanging on the sides from the ceiling on supported chains. I’m sure it will be plenty loud when the time comes. Not too long from now, actually.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 9th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
Twin Cities duo Bloodnstuff have released their self-titled debut album digitally through Fuzzorama Records, the increasingly active imprint helmed by members of the always-active trio Truckfighters. I’m not sure when the album was first issued, or if it was self-released at all — they have a video for “Oh You Pretty Failures” that dates back to 2012 — but in listening to Bloodnstuff it’s easy enough to discern why the label picked up the band, whether it’s the swaggering stomp of the eponymous “Bloodnstuff” or the waltzing “The Cow People.” There’s a touch of fuzz to the tone of guitarist/vocalist Ed Holmberg, but the two-piece have a jagged side as well that drummer Dylan Gouert does well in emphasizing on the start-stop “One Day Roses,” which seems to tie together duo minimalism with Torche-style sludge pop.
Bloodnstuffwill tour Europe beginning later this month with none other than Fu Manchu. Dates and info follow, care of the PR wire:
BLOODNSTUFF – NEW SIGNING TO FUZZORAMA!
DIRECTSUPPORT FOR FU MANCHU IN EU!
The high energy rock-duo from Minneapolis, MN, is the newest addition to the “fuzzfamily”! For being a two piece this group really sounds like a massive wall of fuzz and great melodies! In September and October they will also tour together with Fu Manchu in Europe!
Bloodnstuff is a high energy dynamic rock duo from Minneapolis, MN. Ed Holmberg and Dylan Gouert have been playing in various local groups for over decade. In 2010, Bloodnstuff was formed. The group did not appear publicly until the summer of 2011. After an onslaught of shows, hype started to grow and the group’s live performances kept audiences coming. At the end of 2011, Bloodnstuff was voted “best rock band of 2011” in the Minneapolis City Pages. In April of 2012, they independently released a long awaited full-length album, titled “Bloodnstuff”.
Ed and Dylan spent the next year opening for national acts as they came through town. In April 2013, Bloodnstuff went on a US tour as direct support for Fu Manchu. Shortly after, they did a 5 show tour opening up for Alice in Chains, on their “The Devil put Dinosaurs Here” tour. Since then, Bloodnstuff has been writing and opening for such bands as Bush, Deerhoof, Japandroids, Royal Blood, Truckfighters, 400 Blows, Cloud Nothings, and more. You can also find Bloodnstuff music in Vans, Oakley, and Ford Racing videos. As of now, the band has signed with Fuzzorama Records and you can see Bloodnstuff open for Fu Manchu’s upcoming 2014 European tour.
BLOODNSTUFF LIVE (as direct support to Fu Manchu): SEPT 24 London o2 Islington Academy, UK SEPT 25 Sheffield Corporation, UK SEPT 26 Brighton Concorde 2, UK SEPT 27 Lille La Peniche, FRA SEPT 28 Osnabruck Rosenhof, GERMANY SEPT 30 Wiesbaden Alter Schlachthof, GERMANY OCT 1 Karlsruhe Karlsruhe Substage, GERMANY OCT 2 Lausanne Le Romandie, SWITZERLAND OCT 3 Pratteln Up In Smoke Festival, SWITZERLAND OCT 4 Romagnano Sesia Romagnano Sesia Arena, ITALY OCT 6 Vienna Flex, AUSTRIA OCT 7 Warsaw Proxima, POLEN OCT 8 Erfurt HSD Gewerkschaftshaus, GERMANY OCT 9 Luxembourg Den Atelier, LUXEMBOURG OCT 11 Deventer Burger Weeshuis, NETHERLANDS OCT 12 Antwerp Desertfest, BELGIUM OCT 13 Copenhagen Pumpehuset, DENMARK OCT 14 Stockholm Kagelbanan, SWEDEN OCT 15 Oslo Vulkan Arena, NORWAY OCT 17 Helsinki Nosturi, FINLAND
