Mos Generator & Di’Aul Premiere Split LP in Full
Posted in audiObelisk on September 23rd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Port Orchard, Washington’s Mos Generator and Milan, Italy’s Di’Aul will release a split LP this Friday through Argonauta Records. It’s a vinyl-only, limited-to-250 copies pressing, and if the pairing of bands seems random or at very least plucked out of the ether, the story behind how it came together could hardly be simpler. Reportedly, members of Di’Aul went to see Mos Generator on tour a few years back and hit up guitarist/vocalist Tony Reed about making something happen. Couple years after the fact, here we are. The life lesson is you lose nothing by sending that email, and maybe you get to put out a split with Mos Generator.
The Pacific Northwest heavy rock institution offer three tracks on side A of the quite-manageable 32-minute outing, and bring forth an installment of their ‘Plundering of the Vaults’ series with demos recorded between 2014 and 2018. As self-sufficient as they are in the studio with Reed working as producer as well as helming mixing and mastering, it’s hard to imagine the vaults aren’t overflowing at any given time, but the three inclusions here run shortest to longest and feel particularly choice.
“I Spoke to Death” opens in Sabbath-rock fashion while also invoking Americana folk, while “The Paranoid” rolls at a lumbering pace in contrast to its own obvious reference while the lyrics nod to The Stooges‘ “TV Eye” and vocal lines intertwine behind one of the most outwardly doomed progressions I’ve heard from the band. Somehow fitting, a cross-lineup (explained below) cover of Pink Floyd‘s “Fearless” — also recently taken on by Seattle/Los Angeles heavies Snail — caps Mos Generator‘s portion of the release with clarity cutting through psychedelia and a kick of energy bolstering the mellow vibe of the Meddle original while still ending with a crowd chant, maybe backwards in this case.
Meanwhile, in Milan, Di’Aul crush it. The four-piece of vocalist MoMo, guitarist LeLe, bassist Jeremy Toma and drummer Diego Bertoni celebrate 10 years of the band’s existence in 2020, and their two assembled cuts — “The House on the Edge of the World” (8:47) and “Three Ladies” (7:56) — stand in immediate contrast to side A in their focus on sheer tonal heft and impact. Beginning with two minutes-plus of ambience and stark guitar, “The House on the Edge of the World” builds into a massive and righteous nod without losing its hook in the ensuing fray.
It is H-E-A-V-Y, and harsher in its approach than Mos Generator, but makes a better complement for the fact that each act brings something different to the release. There’s sludge underlying what Di’Aul are doing, and some jabs and turns of riff in “The House on the Edge of the World” remind of YOB, but as the track chug-stop-chugs to its end, its gravity is its own. More immediate, “Three Ladies” starts out with bass and drums and is underway soon enough with its own stomp and drawl, a solo break as it heads into its midsection proving only a brief respite from the willful repetition and concrete-on-skull vibe that surrounds.
If you think you can hang, you probably can. Splits like this often become a footnote in the respective catalogs of the bands that take part in them. Mos Generator always have a slew of things going on, and Di’Aul are two years removed from their second LP, Nobody’s Heaven (review here), but for an offering that asks next to nothing of the listener beyond the time involved in hearing the thing, and for the quality of work put in by both groups, you can’t really go wrong, whether either band is new to you or not. The relatively few physical copies that exist create some urgency around it, so I’m that much more appreciative of being able to host the full stream of the split for you to check out in advance of the proper release this Friday.
More PR wire info follows under the player.
Please enjoy:
Mos Generator & Di’Aul, Split official premiere
Heavy rock icons, Mos Generator, have teamed up with Italy’s doom and sludge rock heavy weights Di’Aul for the release of a 5-track split vinyl-only LP, coming out on September 25th, 2020, via Argonauta Records!
Preorder here: www.argonautarecords.com/shop
Mos Generator’s plundering of the Vaults continues with three demos recorded between May 2014 and June 2018. Says Tony Reed, “All three of these songs were recorded live in our rehearsal space and then layers were added later in the studio. There are a few interesting things about these songs. First, they are loosely arranged ideas that were only played two or three times before we recorded them, and I think that is what helps give them the raw edge that they have. And two, there is a crossover of band line-ups. On the Pink Floyd cover “Fearless”, original drummer Shawn Johnson is playing with second line-up bassist Sean Booth. That has happened before with other configurations and I enjoy it. Someday I would like to record with both rhythm sections at once.”
After a decade of shows across Europe and four albums to date, Di’Aul have grabbed the chance to team up with one of the best rock bands of our time: Mos Generator. “We saw them live with Saint Vitus during their European tour, completely astonished from their sound, MoMo and Rex decided to write a message to Mr. Tony Reed and ask him to make a record together. And so it is!”
Di’Aul recorded two brand new songs in a one day session with longtime friends and producers Federico Lino and Alessio Massara of the Iron Ape Studio in Vigevano (Pavia – Italy), mastered at HeavyHead Recording Co. by Tony Reed himself.
Tracklist:
A Side Mos Generator – “Plundering of the Vaults : Vol II”
1. I Spoke to Death
2. The Paranoid
3. Fearless ( Pink Floyd Cover )
B Side Di’Aul
1. The House on the Edge of the World
2. Three Ladies
