Posted in Whathaveyou on February 20th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Heads up on a sick bill, though don’t take that to mean I’m claiming to break any news here, as Into the Void posted this lineup announcement for 2025 last week. I’m just always beihnd. In any case, it’s rad. It’s awesome to see Dutch-native bands like DOOL and Temple Fang ascending to headliner positions, most especially because it’s earned by the music/performance, and The Vintage Caravan are always, always, always a good time. Killer top three. In light of Molassesss announcing their ending, to see the Farida Lemouchi-fronted Gott taking part here would seem to signal a renewed focus on that project following their 2022 EP, To Hell to Zion. Curious of course what might be in the works there to be revealed hopefully by September. Hell a new record’s out and I probably missed it, for all I know. I’m doing my best folks. I never said I was good at this.
Cheers and happy travels to Sons of Arrakis, who’ll apparently be making their debut on the Europpean circuit this Fall. I saw them a couple weeks ago and they were great and are at a stage in their progression where every moment they can spend performing will help them grow. These plus Earthship, MR.BISON, Lowen, Haunted, Ggu:ll, Motorowl, Psychonaut, Hippotraktor and An Evening With Knives makes for one hell of a 14-band all-dayer.
From socials:
On September 27, Neushoorn will once again open the gates for Into The Void, where heavy riffs and dark spheres meet. This year, fourteen bands are set to take the audience on a journey through the universe of Doom, Stoner and Sludge.
đ¸ DOOL returns to Leeuwarden after a sold out club tour. With their melancholic, layered sound and immersive performances, they manage to leave a deep impression time and time again.
đ¸ The Vintage Caravan brings their signature mix of classic rock and heavy psych back to Into The Void. The energy of this Icelandic band always causes a party.
đ¸ Temple Fang presents new work. Known for their hypnotizing compositions, the band will take you on an intense musical trip.
đ¸ Psychonaut and Hippotraktor prove that Belgium is a breeding ground for heavy, progressive music. Both bands combine powerful riffs with deep dynamics and atmospheric elements.
đ¸ Gott the reincarnation of The Devil’s Blood, mixing occult rock and intense, bewitching melodies.
đ¸ Lowen a name to watch out for, hails from the UK and brings a combination of doom and atmospheric sounds.
In addition, HAUNTED , An Evening With Knives , Ggu:ll, Sons of Arrakis, Earth Ship, Mr. Bison and Motorowl complete the lineup.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 13th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I’ll be honest, I’ve been kicking around the idea of doing an Obelisk All-Dayer in Stockholm, Sweden, sometime in summer 2020. Basically whenever wouldn’t conflict with Sweden Rock, which as I understand it, is massive. Oddly enough, in Europe, Sweden is not the hugest market despite the glut of bands from there, and Debaser is a club that had come up in conversation. The thought that Truckfighters are doing a fest there — let alone one with Greenleaf involved — might just shoot that idea in the ass. We’ll see. Either way, even with half the lineup unveiled, what’s been dubbed Fuzz Festival #1 already looks like a damn good time. Truckfighters will headline playing Gravity X in full — back to front, as I understand it, so they can close with “Desert Cruiser”; only fair — and there’s the aforementioned Greenleaf, as well as Motorowl from Germany and Swedish hard rockers Deville, who’ll represent Truckfighters‘ Fuzzorama Records imprint well.
Speculation as to the rest of the lineup? I have to think Asteroid will be involved, schedule permitting, but I don’t know that. As to the rest, it’s pretty wide open. Maybe Skraeckoedlan, if they’re looking for more Swedish representation? We’ll see June 5 when they make their next announcement, I guess. In the meantime, I’d go. I’ll leave it at that.
From the PR wire:
Truckfighters presents Fuzz Festival #1, Stockholm
Get your ticket now! Early birds for just 330 SEK (ca 30 EUR)
You know what’s disheartening? When someone goes ‘thanks dudes.’ You know, I share a review or something, the band reposts and goes ‘thanks to the crew at The Obelisk blah blah.’ What fucking crew? If I had a crew, I’d put up 10 reviews every single day of the year. “Crew.” Shit. I am the crew. In the description of this site, the very first thing it says is “One-man operation.” It’s a fucking solo-project. That’s the whole point of it. It’s like me looking at your bass and going, “Sweet guitar, thanks for the solos brah.” I’m happy people want to share links and this and that, but really? It’s been nine years. Give me a break.
Oh yeah, that’s right. Nobody gives a shit. Now I remember. Thanks for reading.
And while we’re here, please remember the numbers for these posts don’t mean anything. This isn’t a countdown. Or a countup. It’s just me keeping track of how much shit I’m reviewing. The answer is “a lot.”
Grump grump grump.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Lucifer, Lucifer II
Recorded as the trio of vocalist Johanna Sardonis (ex-The Oath), guitarist Robin Tidebrink (Saturn) and guitarist/drummer Nicke Andersson (Death Breath, ex-Entombed, ex-TheHellacopters), Luciferâs second album, Lucifer II (on Rise Above), follows three years after its numerical predecessor, Lucifer I (review here), and marks its personnel changes with a remarkable consistency of mission. Like Mercyful Fate gone disco, the formerly-Berlin/London-now-Stockholm group bring stage-ready atmospheres to songs like âPhoenixâ and the riff-led âBefore the Sun,â while unleashing a largesse of hooks in âDreamerâ and the boogie-pushing âEyes in the Sky.â âDancing with Mr. Dâ brings nod to a Rolling Stones cover, and âBefore the Sunâ reaffirms a heavy â70s root in their sound. I canât help but wonder if the doomier âFaux Pharaohâ is a sequel to âPurple Pyramid,â but either way, its thicker, darker tonality is welcome ahead of the bonus track Scorpions cover âEvening Wind,â which again demonstrates the ease with which Lucifer make established sounds their own. Thatâs pretty much the message of the whole album. Lucifer are a big band. Lucifer II makes the case for their being a household name.
Lifa is the audio taken from the live video that brought Denmarkâs Heilung to prominence. Captured at Castlefest in The Netherlands in last year, the impression the expansive Viking folk group made was all the more powerful with elaborate costuming, bone percussive instruments, antlers, animal-skin drums, and so on. Their debut studio album, Ofnir, came out in 2015 and like LIFA has been issued by Season of Mist, but the attention to detail and A/V experience only adds to the hypnotic tension and experimentalist edge in the material. Does it work with just the audio? Yes. The 12-minute âIn Maijanâ and somehow-black-metal âKrigsgaldrâ maintain their trance-out-of-history aspect, and the 75-minute set blends multi-tiered melodies and goblin-voiced declarations for an impression unlike even that which Wardruna bring to bear. Whether itâs the drones of âFylgija Futhorckâ or the chants and thuds of âHakkerskaldyr,â LIFA is striking from front to back and a cohesive, visionary work that should be heard as well as seen. But definitely seen.
Eight years after their founding, an EP and several splits, Chico, California, atmosludge extremists Amarok make their full-length debut with Devoured on Translation Loss. If itâs been a while in the making, itâs easy enough to understand why. The album is rife with brutalist and grueling sensibilities. Comprised of just four tracks, it runs upwards of 70 minutes and brings a visceral churn to each cut, not forgetting the importance of atmosphere along the way, but definitely focused on the aural bludgeoning theyâre dealing out. Tempos, duh, are excruciating, and between the screams and growls of bassist Brandon Squyres (also Cold Blue Mountain) and guitarist Kenny Ruggles â the band completed by guitarist Nathan Collins and drummer Colby Byrne â Amarok make their bid for Buried at Sea levels of heft and rumble their way across a desolate landscape of their own making. Eight years to conjure this kind of punishment? Yeah, that seems about right. See you in 2026.
Hereâs a curious case: T.G. Olson, founding guitarist and vocalist of Across Tundras, is a prolific experimental singer-songwriter. His material ranges from psychedelic country to fuller-toned weirdo Americana and well beyond. Heâs wildly prolific, and everything goes up on Bandcamp for a name-your-price download, mostly unannounced. Itâs not there, then it is. Olsonâs latest singe, Ode to Lieutenant Henry, was there, and now itâs gone. With the march of its title-track and a complementary cover of Townes van Zandtâs âSilver Ships of Andilar,â I canât help but be curious as to where the tracks went and if theyâll be back, perhaps in some other form or as part of a different release. Both are plugged-in and coated in fuzzy tones, with Olsonâs echoing vocals providing a human presence in the wide soundscape of his own making. The original is shorter than the cover, but both songs boast a signature sense of ramble that, frankly, is worth being out there. Hopefully theyâre reposted at some point, either on their own as they initially were or otherwise.
If space is the place, Sun Dial feel right at home in it. The long-running UK psychedelic adventurers collect two decadesâ worth of soundtrack material on Science Fiction, their new release for Sulatron Records. Made with interwoven keyboard lines and a propensity to periodically boogie on âMind Machine,â âAirlock,â âInfra Red,â etc., the experimentalist aspect of Science Fiction is all the more remarkable considering the album is compiled from different sources. One supposes the overarching cosmos is probably what brings it together, but with the samples and synth of âSaturn Returnâ and the lower end space-bass of pre-bonus-track closer âStarwatchersâ â that bonus track, by the way, is a 15-minute version of opener âHangar 13â â and though the vast majority of the Science Fiction relies on synth and keys to make its impression, itâs still only fair to call the proceedings natural, as the root of each one seems to be exploration. Itâs okay to experiment. Nobodyâs getting hurt.
There are three songs on Lucid Graveâs first outing, the aptly-titled Demo 2018, and the first of them is also the longest (immediate points), âStar.â It presents a curious and hard to place interpretation of psychedelic sludge rock. It is raw as a demo worthy of its name should be, and finds vocalist Malene Pedersen (also Lewd Flesh) echoing out to near-indecipherable reaches atop the feedback-addled riffing. Quite an introduction, to say the least. The subsequent âDesert Boysâ is more subdued at the start but gets furious at the end, vocals spanning channels in an apparent call and response atop increasingly intense instrumental thrust. And as for âRide the Hyena?â If I didnât know better â and rest assured, I donât â Iâd call it doom. Iâm not sure what the hell the København five-piece are shooting for in terms of style, but I damn sure want to hear what they come up with next so I can find out. Consider me enticed. And accordingly, one canât really accuse Demo 2018 of anything other than doing precisely what itâs supposed to do.
Comprised of four-tracks of heavy psychedelic vibes led by the scorch-prone guitar of Belwil, Domadoraâs third album, Lacuna, follows behind 2016âs The Violent Mystical Sukuma (discussed here) and taps quickly into a post-Earthless league of instrumentalism on opener âLacuna Jam.â That should be taken as a compliment, especially as regards the bass and drums of Gui Omm and Karim Bouazza, respectively, who hold down uptempo grooves there and roll along with the more structured 14-minute cut âGenghis Khanâ that follows. Each of the albumâs two sides is comprised of a shorter track and a longer one, and thereâs plenty of reach throughout, but more than expanse, even side Bâs âVacuum Densityâ and âTierra Last Homageâ are more about the chemistry between the band members â Angel Hidalgo Paterna rounds out on organ â than about crafting a landscape. Fortunately for anyone whoâd take it on, the Parisian unit have plenty to offer when it comes to that chemistry.
Thatâs a big âfuck yes, thank you very muchâ for the debut album from Indonesian stoner metallers Klandestin. Green Acid of the Last Century arrives courtesy of Hellas Records and is THC-heavy enough that if they wanted to, they could probably add âBongâ to the bandâs name and it would be well earned. Eight tracks, prime riffs, watery vocals, dense fuzz, stomp, plod, lumber, shuffle â itâs all right there in homegrown dosage, and for the converted, Green Acid of the Last Century is nothing short of a worship ceremony, for the band itself as well as for anyone taking it on. With the march of âDoomsday,â the unmitigated rollout of âBlack Smoke,â and the swirling green aurora of âThe Green Aurora,â Klandestin wear their holding-back-a-cough riffage as a badge of honor, and couldnât be any less pretentious about it if they tried. From the hooded weedian on the cover art to the Sleepy nod of closer âLast Century,â Green Acid of Last Century telegraphs its intent front-to-back, and is all the more right on for it.
You get what you pay for with âRockânâRoller,â which leads off the self-titled debut EP from Bern, Switzerland-based Poor Little Things. Around the core duo of vocalist Tina Jackson and multi-instrumentalist Dave âTalonâ Jackson (also of Australiaâs Rollerball) on guitar, bass, synth and percussion is Talonâs The Marlboro Men bandmate Fernando Marlboro on drums, and together the band presents five tracks of remember-when-rock-rocked-style groove. Fueled by â70s accessibility and a mentality that seems to be saying itâs okay to play big rooms, like arenas, cuts like âDriveâ seem prime for audience participation, and âBreak Another Heartâ gives a highlight performance from Tina while âAbout Loveâ showcases a more laid back take. They close with the 6:37 âStreet Cheetah,â which struts appropriately, and end with a percussive finish on a fadeout repeating the title line. As a showcase of their style and songwriting chops, Poor Little Things shows significant promise, sure, but itâs also pretty much already got everything it needs for a full-length album.
Every now and then you put on a record and itâs way better than you expect. Hello, Motorowlâs Atlas. The German troupeâs second for Century Media, it takes the classic stylizations of their 2016 debut, Om Generator, and pushes them outward into a vast sea of organ-laced progressive heavy, soaring in vocal melodies and still modern despite drawing from an array of decades past. The chug in âThe Man Who Rules the Worldâ would be metal for most bands, but on Atlas, it becomes part of a broader milieu, and sits easily next to the expansive title-track, as given to post-rocking airiness in the guitar as to synth-laden prog. That mixture of influences and aesthetics would be enough to give the five-piece an identity of their own, but Atlas is further characterized by Motorowlâs ambitious songwriting and benefits greatly from the melodic arrangements and the clear intention toward creative development at work here. Those who take on its seven-track/45-minute journey will find it dynamic, spacious and heavy in kind.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 18th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
The fall festival season kicks off in Europe before fall even starts. It’s like car companies rolling out next year’s models before we’re halfway through this year (though we are that now as well; you get my point). It seems like between August and November there isn’t a week when one if not multiple nations is playing host to a swath of quality bands, and Setalight Festival 2016 throws itself into the heart of the fray on Oct. 21 and 22, hosting an already-packed two-day lineup at the these-are-German-words Zukunft am Ostkreuz venue in Berlin.
I’m not sure if this is the complete lineup or not. It could be, easily. As of now, jam-prone Dutch trio The Machine, and Germany’s own Mother Engine — veterans of Freak Valley and Desertfest Berlin, no doubt among others — will also take part, as well as East-meets-West groovers Samavayo (based in Berlin), French mostly-instrumentalists Glowsun, uptempo rockers Phiasco and a host of others, some familiar — looking at you, Motorowl — and some less so. A couple names to investigate below, since if Setalight Records — which of course is putting on the festival — knows anything it’s how to pick bands.
The particulars came down the PR wire:
The Berlin based music label SETALIGHT presents the 4th time bands out of Stonerrock, Heavy & Hard Rock, Doom, Noise and Psychedelic Rock. Beside known bands of the scene, we will also present new or unknown bands.
For the lineup, we picked some great bands out of the dust, such as:
THE MACHINE MOTHER ENGINE SAMAVAYO NEUME OUZO BAZOOKA PHIASCO GLOWSUN THIEVES BY THE CODE BALG MOTHERBRAIN SWEDENBORG RAUM KALAMAHARA MOTOROWL and many more.
When / where:
The SETALIGHT FESTIVAL will take place from 21st to 22nd of October 2016 in Berlin, (Club: Zukunft am Ostkreuz). The pre-sale just started. Get more information at the links:
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 15th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Next-gen German fivesome Motorowl first issued their debut full-length, Om Generator this past April. You can stream it in full below. The band have been picked up by Century Media to give the album an official release on Aug. 26. Their style is pretty fluid in its play between doom and classic metal and heavy rock, but between the band’s relative youth and the obvious performance potential shown in the record — look out, every Euro metal fest in 2017 — there’s little mystery in why Century Media might pick Motorowl as their next foray into the heavier end of the spectrum behind the rocking The Shrine and the weighted gloom-pop of Hexvessel‘s latest. Plenty of possibilities here.
The PR wire made it official:
MOTOROWL sign worldwide deal with Century Media Records!
True talent can be found anywhere: from black metal in China, NWOBHM worship in Peru, to crushing death in Indonesia. However, brilliant psychedelic doom rock that easily competes with today’s high international standards from Thuringia, a state in eastern Germany, is still quite a surprising discovery though the region is renowned for its diverse music scene. Now, Century Media Records proudly presents the young quintet, MOTOROWL! Formed in 2014 when most of its band members were not even twenty years old, MOTOROWL quickly developed a heavy sound blessed with fabulous riffs, great vocal melodies, and a grinding Hammond organ on top. Think SPIRITUAL BEGGARS or Uriah Heep on a bad acid trip. Think 70’s inspired, damn heavy hard rock with a contemporary, gloomy twist.
Created with pure passion and incredible, mature song-writing skills, the band’s debut, Om Generator was co-produced by Fabian Hildebrandt (of label mates DESERTED FEAR) and the mighty Dan SwanĂś handling mix and mastering duties.
Dan SwanĂś: “Amazing mixture of stoner and 70’s hard rock executed with finesse. I had an amazing time mixing their songs, that always seemed to take a turn towards the unexpected.”
Fabian Hildebrandt: “Congratulations to my buddies from Motorowl! It does say something, when a band goes from a rancid rehearsal room in Gera straight away to touring with Bombus, and even manages to convince a label as renowned as Century Media . I still remember vividly, how they asked me to record their album. Initially, I was rather critical, but after I saw them live I immediately knew that I HAD TO. Stunning… extremely young, no idea about nothing, yet insanely talented! Motorowl are a true rock band and I am curious to see, where the future journey of Daniel, Martin, Max, Tim and Vinz will take them.”
MOTOROWL has shared the stage with Jex Thoth, Path Of Samsara, and toured with Sweden’s BOMBUS, perfecting their unique live experience and even catching the attention of Germany’s Visions Magazine who predicted early on it would not take long until they got signed.
Om Generator will be released worldwide through Century Media Records on August 26th, 2016.
More updates including live tour dates will be announced soon!
MOTOROWL live: 07.08.2016 – Halle, Germany – MACH Festival
MOTOROWL is: Max Hemmann – Guitar/Vocals Vinzenz Steiniger – Guitar Martin Scheibe – Drums Tim Camin – Bass Daniel Dettlev – Keys
