Posted in Reviews on March 10th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
It’s almost as if Naxatras‘ V is reassuring the listener as it goes. The Greek four-piece offer a supporting hand through ground familiar and not as their seemingly ongoing evolution continues to flower, building outward in prog-psych fractals from the vivid declaration of 2022’s IV (review here) and bringing rare grace of flow across a collection of eight songs that appear to have been kept willfully brief compared to some of Naxatras‘ past work — they’ve always had longer and shorter tracks, and with all its songs on at about five-to-six minutes, V feels directed in the contrast — and that specifically carries over in a live feel.
With bright light overarching and periodic dives into dub and reggae-tinged jamming, krautrock and dream-synth serenity, Naxatras are grounded at the center of an expansive style, and no doubt part of the credit for that is owed to drummer/percussionist Kostas Charizanis, who from deep in the mix of opener “Celestial Gaze” underscores the sense of purpose in the band’s execution. Experimentation has been part of Naxatras‘ modus since their now-decade-old self-titled debut (discussed here), but that doesn’t come across necessarily in wacky arrangements or goofy vocalizing. The songwriting is the experiment, and where IV introduced keyboardist/synthesist Pantelis Kargas to the fold with Charizanis, bassist/vocalist John Vagenas and guitarist/vocalist John Delias, across the 42-minute span of V, Kargas‘ is all the more integrated and all the more crucial to the Mediterranean-style, maybe-that’s-an-actual-flute-hanging-out-with-that-guitar-solo build of “Spacekeeper,” an instrumental following the shimmering, vocalized leadoff that’s brought to a dramatic conclusion but and seems keen to remind the band’s listenership that this kind of thing — sans-voice prog-psych at its root, but Naxatras‘ interpretation — is still a part of who they are.
They’re not hand-holding, exactly — later on in the record, “Legion” hints at new wave; I don’t want to give the impression that Naxatras aren’t taking risks in their sound — but the way they’re doing it is calm even at its loudest, and as “Numenia” sets itself to a bit of bounce to remind that every now and then they like to get a little funky, as immersive as the first two songs have been, the dual-vocal verses describing crystal towers and impressions of a goddess’ garden are a purposeful contrast, but as fluid as “Numenia” gets with that returning flute and its hand percussion, maybe light Tuareg influence, and the undercurrent of prog pulling it all together, the focus with V is clearly on live energy in the performance and communion with their audience in the craft. Naxatras push “Numenia” to an outward heaviness not yet shown on the record, so as side A’s vocal/instrumental back and forth rounds out with the hypnotic, ultra smooth, barely-there-at-first underwater jam “Utopian Structures” — I can’t help but feel like the keyboard there sounds a little like Beverly Hills Cop, but that’s not necessarily a negative — the sense of intent in everything the band have done up to that point is underscored. Not only have Naxatras become a band capable of making a record like this, but they’ve done it with the specific will to bring their listeners with them.
Underneath it all is confidence. As dug in as they are, Naxatras don’t come across as pretentious on the record, but nothing here is an accident. These songs were worked on. Their arrangment carries meaning. You can hear how they came together in the finished product, the way “Breathing Fire” gives a sense of movement at the start of the second half of the LP with the guitar and keys echoing back to “Spacekeeper” while the vocals set themselves over a more terrestrially-toned riff before we’re all whisked away to another world — or at least someplace as hot as I understand Greece to be in the summer — before a slowdown basks in the vocal melody with effectively moody toms and crashes behind, dramatic and culturally informed, but organic above all. “Breathing Fire” gives over to “Legion,” which holds to the sense of rhythmic movement and opens into its verse with hints both of Gary Numan and Greek folk, the mood somewhat darker initially than, say, “Spacekeeper,” but not out of line by any means. The second half of the song is as close to a freakout as they come, but it’s momentary and they take the energy and immediately redirect it to a vocal chant that moves into a string-laced fadeout ending.
At 4:51, “Legion” is the shortest piece on V and it pairs with “Sand Halo,” the longest at 6:02, and as has been the case all along, the choice was purposeful. There are vocals, but the way “Sand Halo” uses repetition makes it feel all the more entrancing, and so it has the spirit of something jammier without entirely giving up notions of structure. This becomes doubly fortunate as a more weighted crescendo mirrors that of “Numenia” on side A before residual drone leads the way into the cymbals and far-off howls of synth at the outset of “The Citadel,” its first guitar notes stark against such a backdrop. The closer rises from that somewhat minimal beginning into a midsection of My Sleeping Karma-esque meditative heavy, overarching notes of chime sounds standing out from the denser shove, which they ride until giving over to silence and an epilogue of piano, foreboding but still warm at the end as the whole album has been.
That too is part of what feels reassuring about V — how much Naxatras remain identifiably themselves as they again revise what that means — but also the sureness of the craft. The sense that there’s a reason behind every choice that’s been made in music, production, the Chris RW art on the front cover and everything else around the release. More than ever, the stage feels like the focus. If Naxatras got on stage and played V front-to-back with that piano playing as they took their leave, it would seem to be what the record was written for. It is a direct communication from the band to their audience, and reconfirms Naxatras among Europe’s most forward-thinking heavy psychedelic purveyors.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 20th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I took today off for good reason: because after spending four full writing days hacking away at the Best of 2024 year-end coverage, my brain is even more goo than usual and could stand the day to recover (even though the truth is I was writing for much of yesterday afternoon). Then Naxatras come along and wake me from my Cave-Trollian slumber with the sassy-pants ending on the sprawling lead single “Spacekeeper” from their new album V — it’s followed consecutively by the sweet-ass flute funk of “Numenia” and the harder-distorted cosmic riffing of “Utopian Structures,” so, you know, the record goes places — and, by simple virtue of their kickass nature, consigning me once again to Clacky-Clacky Keyboard Time.
However, some vague, immeasurable sliver of one’s attempt at preserving wellbeing is a small price to pay for the bliss Naxatras have on offer with V. The four-piece are pretty fresh in mind, having last month posted a killer full-set live video recorded earlier this year in Hungary, perhaps in part to stir followers ahead of this announcement. In any case, I’ve heard the record, and whether you dig the synth-driven progressive lean of 2022’s IV (review here) or the jammier spirit presented in their earlier work, the answer for V is a big yes. Never quite still, Naxatras explore and entrance like no one else, and so their material is as expansive as it is immersive. Open world, in the parlance of the age. Colorful. Bursting with light by the time you get to the meditative “Legion.”
Look out for “Breathing Fire” when that one hits too. I already put in a request to stream the album Feb. 27. I’ll let you know how that goes. It’s out Feb. 28, as the PR wire tells it:
Greek psychedelic rockers NAXATRAS share first track off upcoming new album “V”, out February 28th on Evening Star Records.
Greek psychedelic rock powerhouse NAXATRAS announce the release of their anticipated fifth studio album “V” on February 28th, and unveil the hypnotic cosmos-coveting new single “Spacekeeper” on all streaming platforms today.
Naxatras has spent over a decade forging a distinctive presence in the hard psych scene. With four critically acclaimed albums under their belt, they have evolved from a predominantly jam-oriented band into one that balances spontaneity with deliberate craftsmanship. This transformation is the natural result of years of touring, artistic exploration, and a steadfast commitment to their unique sound.
In the band’s ever-present mindset of constant experimentation and evolution as a creative process, bits and pieces of ideas and patterns were brewing, waiting for the right time to surface. Now, those fragments have come to life, enriched by the band’s matured approach to songwriting. With a line-up that includes a keyboardist and an expanded percussion arsenal, Naxatras has embraced a multi-layered production, blending their analog warmth with a newfound clarity and complexity.
Their new album “V” represents a bold leap forward. The ingredients of the Naxatras sound have been multiplied and their influences broadened, incorporating not just the classic touchstones of 70s progressive rock but also world music and electronic elements, delivering songs that are both tightly constructed and daringly expansive. “V” balances the direct and the adventurous, taking listeners on a journey that is as grounded as it is cosmic. Exploring the saga of the world of Narahmon with the introduction of the Spacekeeper as a new chapter in their mythical lore, the album’s concept narrative reflects a band at the height of its creative powers, pushing boundaries while crafting music that resonates deeply.
This is more than an album: it’s a defining moment for Naxatras. With their vast array of influences and years of expertise converging, “V” signals a new chapter, reaffirming their place as one of the most visionary acts in the progressive rock landscape.
NAXATRAS – New album “V” Out February 28th on Evening Star Records (LP/CD/digital)
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 26th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I will tell you honestly this live video of Naxatras‘ full set from the Ozora Festival — also stylized O.Z.O.R.A. as an acronym for I don’t know what — this past summer in Dádpuszta, Hungary, isn’t what I was planning on writing about today. I was all set to review something else, an album that’s been hanging over my head for a bit and that I kind of feel obligated toward for various reasons, and along comes a Bandcamp update from the Greek jammers/progressive psychedelic rockers, a clip to check out, and there goes the next 75 minutes of my life. I ended up watching the thing on my laptop while I emptied the dishwasher and made breakfast. Things like that make me feel like I’m exist in an alt-definition of “lifer.”
And I might have gone back to that record — there’s a lot to like about it — but in the spirit of a band following where their creative will leads, here I am with this Naxatras video. It’s pro-shot and the lights are gorgeous, so even if you end up putting it on while you do chores or work or whatever you’re up to, it’ll be worth glancing over at, and the sound is correspondingly fantastic. A live recording that can harness any sense of breadth and be about more than just the spirit of here’s-album-tracks-performed is a thing to treasure, and if Naxatras were to release the audio from this set in some form, I’d be here telling you to listen to it anyway. As it is, the audio/visual impression here does a lot to convey how and why Naxatras have amassed such a reputation on the Euro circuit, rising to the fore of the admirably varied Greek heavy underground alongside current bands like 1000mods and Planet of Zeus.
Bassist and intermittent vocalist John Vagenas — most of the set and the band’s work more broadly is instrumental, but a couple songs have singing on them, including the multi-movement “Ent” from their 2015 self-titled debut (discussed here), which closes — posted the clip with the comment quoted below, and those who take particular note of the part where he says “…shortly before our new music comes out,” will definitely want to check out the video, which features two new songs in succession, with “Space Keeper” and “Utopian Structures” representing their latest batch of tunes, the actual release of which has yet to be announced. So a sneaky preview as a reward for those who’d take the plunge to find it. He says on stage they recorded “about two months ago,” which since Ozora is held at the end of July would’ve been sometime in Spring 2024. I know nothing about when it’ll be out, but if it’s done, that’s certainly an important step along the way.
The chilled-out-but-not-lazy jam is at the heart of what Naxatras — who performed at Ozora as a five-piece, including Vagenas, keyboardist Pantelis Kargas, guitarist John Delias, drummer Kostas Charizanis and percussionist Dimitris Kavoukidis — do as a band, but as demonstrated on 2022’s IV (review here), the totality of their scope is broader and reaches into different modes of songwriting. I don’t necessarily have an idea what to expect beyond broad strokes for their next album, but after IV, I have high hopes that they’ll continue to move forward as they’ve been doing for the last 10 years. Unless an announcement comes in the next week or so, or they decide to do a fancy, no-advance-promo surprise album drop in the next month (always possible), it’ll likely be 2025 before we find out. Fortunately, that’s still not too far off.
An unexpected pivot brought me here. The resonance of Naxatras turned out to be what I needed, and below, you’ll find the video in its entirety, shared with the hope that it might also connect with you one way or the other.
Please enjoy:
Naxatras, Live at Ozora Festival 2024
John Vagenas on Ozora Festival:
“It’s no secret that I have a weak spot for Ozora, it is after all a mothership of psychedelic culture as it exists right now in the world. So, I believe this show is really a milestone of our journey as a band until now, the evolution of our sound just shortly before our new music comes out! Stay tuned people, cool things are coming up really soon…”
We’re so happy to share with you our full show at the Dragon Nest stage of Ozora Festival 2024.
Directed and Colored by Ben Kirschenbaum An Eyechant Production Filmed by Daniel Vogman, Shira Houminer, Shaked Gorbatt, Ben Kirschenbaum Edited by Daniel Vogman and Ben Kirschenbaum Recorded by Konstantinos Ragiadakos Mixed and Mastered by World Frequencies
Tracklisting (Courtesy of @PlaylistMaker434) 00:00 On The Silver Line 07:50 Omega Madness 15:05 Journey To Narahmond 21:55 Space Keeper 27:00 Utopian Structures 33:18 Waves 40:35 Garden Of The Senses 49:13 I Am The Beyonder 1:00:35 The Great Attractor 1:07:20 Ent
This video was created to celebrate the human experience, with the utmost respect for the people lensed, we hope this resounds and spreads joy.
Naxatras at Ozora Festival: John Delias – Guitar John Vagenas – Bass & Vocals Kostas Charizanis – Drums Pantelis Kargas – Keyboards Dimitris Kavoukidis – Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 13th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Not gonna hear me arguing with the lineup for Up in Smoke 2024, the 10th anniversary edition of the Pratteln, Switzerland-based festival appearing early in the Fall circuit alongside the likes of Desertfest Belgium, Keep it Low, Lazy Bones, Høstsabbat and others. It’s done — the lineup, that is — with the final additions of Masters of Reality, Naxatras and The Machine, although you can see the “and more” remains on the poster, so there may indeed yet be more names to come. With Monster Magnet, Greenleaf, Lowrider, Pentagram (debuting a new lineup even on their “retirement” tour, apparently), Monolord, Slomosa, Messa, Samavayo, Valley of the Sun and Daevar, among others, you wouldn’t say it’s hurting for righteousness either way.
Even unto its final acts announced, the spread of geography and styles emphasizes how easy it is to take these things for granted. Masters of Reality, the long-tenured outfit led by Chris Goss, make the trip from California. Naxatras, who shifted from open jams to synth-laced prog-psych with their last record, will head north from Greece. The Machine, with tone for days and a readiness to either blast out noise rock or jam, jam, jam, will pop over from the Netherlands. The entire bill is a swath of countries and styles drawn mostly from Europe with a few US acts worked in, and while with so much going on across the continent it’s easy to think of it as just another weekend, the fact is it’s an anchor for a lot of Fall tours and, 10 years later, a communion unto itself. I’ve never been, but if invited, I’d be there in a snap. Or however long the flight is, anyhow. It’s never actually a snap.
The point, though, is don’t take it for granted. I remember when events like this didn’t exist, let alone exist every weekend in a linear succession of countries. That Up in Smoke happens at all is a thing to celebrate, never mind that it’s been going on for a decade now.
Word came from Sound of Liberation via socials:
UP IN SMOKE 2024 – FINAL BAND ANNOUNCEMENT
We’re stoked to announce the last bands for the Up In Smoke festival 2024!💥
The line up is now complete!🔥
*** PLEASE WELCOME ***
MASTERS OF REALITY NAXATRAS THE MACHINE
*** FULL LINE UP ***
MONSTER MAGNET MASTERS OF REALITY PENTAGRAM TRUCKFIGHTERS MONOLORD LOWRIDER GREENLEAF SLOMOSA NAXATRAS MESSA WOLVENNEST SCORPION CHILD VALLEY OF THE SUN GNOME PSYCHLONA THE MACHINE SAMAVAYO DJIIN DAEVAR TAR POND PREAMP DISASTER NORNA NO MUTE GLUE
Posted in Features, Reviews on August 12th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
08.11.23 – Fri. – Press trailer
Before show
Hot one in Âncora today. I walked over via the beach, crossing from one boardwalk to the other on the sand instead of going by the river as I did yesterday. No regrets. Waves crashing in, a humid haze in the air reminding of home, summer, that feeling where you want to swim instead of walk. Swimming sounds pretty good, actually. I may have to settle for soaking myself in one of the sinks I’ve been using to refill my water bottle.
Rolled in like I knew where I was going. Day one down, I’m an expert now. Ha. I ran into the Temple Fang dudes and Jack from Elder, saw Weedpecker setting up to open the day on the third stage, said a quick hi to Ricardo. It’s that kind of thing. See people, say hi, and then I usually feel that pull to go sit by myself somewhere and write. The press shack is air conditioned. It is a mercy. Actually cooler here than in New Jersey, where I live, but I’ve got more resources at home to stay cool, and I’m not running back and forth all day taking pictures and writing. Not usually, anyhow. Sometimes we all have those days.
Got to bed a little after three, woke up at 9AM, showered first, coffee second. Sorted pictures to go with the review of day one, which considering how much I saw took some time, quick check-in with the family — everybody’s fine; they said don’t come home (no, not really) — and had an hour left over to sneak in a nap before getting heading over here from the crash spot.
By the course of my history with festivals today will be the hardest day. Tired from a late night last night with the prospect of another full day tomorrow, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. I’m doing a lot of slow breathing. Too bad I haven’t run into anyone running an impromptu yoga class. Maybe I’ll start one later if I have 10 minutes to spare and am feeling like making a spectacle of myself, which is how you know it won’t happen.
A lot of water, coffee until I get the jitters, which I’m approaching with the usual lack of caution like I’m trying to burn a hole in my stomach, and food somehow some way. The latter is my only real goal today beyond survival. And a big part of that, I suppose. It’s gonna be a good one. You can see the lineup above. I don’t need to tell you.
I don’t know if you’ve been keeping up or what — that review of day one was a beast; I don’t imagine anyone reading it front to back, and if they do, I’m sorry about the typos; more to come! — but what a time this is, and what a place. Maybe I’ll be invited back and maybe not — not sure what I add except jamming the backstage espresso maker — but if this is actually a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I’m lucky it’s my life it’s happening in.
Conan, Clutch and Stoned Jesus over the P.A. Thinking of you, Igor, and the war on the other side of this continent. Stay safe.
Here’s the day:
Weedpecker
Clearly SonicBlast knows how to pick its leadoff acts. The fest is three-for-three with Plastic Woods, Desert’Smoke and now Weedpecker coming all the way from Poland. Stratospheric in lush and proggy three-part harmonies at the start, a calming entry to the day that will unfold in its wake, and solidified from there around a few more terrestrial riffs and big finishes. Immediate vibe, well received. The growth this band has undertaken throughout the last 10-plus years shouldn’t be discounted, and if I was going to see them at any point, I’m glad to do so after their late-late 2021 album, IV: The Stream of Forgotten Thoughts (review here), which as you might expect is the pinnacle of their evolution to-date. But the thing about the trajectory they’ve had that I want necessarily expecting was how fluidly their heavier rock stuff fit with the ’70s melodies and the echo in the guitar that it’s hard to imagine can’t be heard in Spain from here. Not a band I expected to see, but they packed the third stage like it was much later in the day and closed with “Nothingness” from their second LP, II (review here) with one more engaging mellow-heavy flow that I watched from a little spot on a bench in the shade. That was pretty much perfect.
—
Monarch
Heavy, progressive, and not laid back but not forced in its push, Monarch were more rooted in original-era heavy than Weedpecker just prior, but on a different wavelength. Big early ’70s vibes, but modernized, and they’ve been through a few lineup changes, but if there were hiccups, I didn’t hear them, and I watched the full set while writing, which I also take as a sign of genuinely enjoying a thing as well as appreciating where it’s coming from. I’d love a new record from these guys, after 2019’s Beyond the Blue Sky (review here) — issued through no less than Causa Sui’s label, El Paraiso Records — and I have to feel like if Mondo Drag can do it, so can they. Keyboards complementing a bassline that had the earplugs vibrating in my head, they were remarkably well suited to the atmosphere here, with the beach over that way, sometimes languid but not lazy, melodic and drifty but filled out with a heft and the keyboards that make them even more their own thing. SoCal and Portugal seem to mesh well. Sun and breeze, beach and the ocean. Complementary West Coast vibes. Hey man, it doesn’t even snow anymore where I live. I can get down.
—
Naxatras
Speaking of bands I never thought I’d see who’ve made strikingly proggy turns, here come Naxatras heralding 2022’s modus redirect, IV (review here). The Greek outfit made an impact in Europe almost from their very beginning, or so it seemed to me across an ocean, and the chemistry of their jammier early work provides an easy explanation why. They mixed instrumentals and vocalized pieces, and were serene in a manner that was their own, creating the space while also inhabiting it. Like I said, this is my first time watching them play, so I can’t speak to how the presence of the keyboard on stage has affected their live show one way or the other, but they were hypnotic, and I found myself standing out front in the crowd for a few minutes, near the sound booth, just kind of drinking it in, because that’s what Naxatras’ music does to me. Those times when you feel like your blood is moving too fast — that’s what they’re there for, to put you back in a place that feels less combustible. It wasn’t a surprise that their sound was so gracefully enveloping, but it was a pleasure to experience in-person, and their subdued space ambience and subtle push of bass were more than I might reasonably have asked for. Bonus extra trippy, lightly funked, smoothly grooved.
—
Temple Fang
You never quite know what’s coming with Temple Fang, and they seem to like it that way. They’ve replaced their drummer I think since I saw them at Freak Valley last year (review here), and the single-song set they played there was put together as a last-minute change from their original plan that worked so well they ended up releasing it as a live record (review here). The kind of band who don’t think twice about playing a full show comprised solely of new material, and a treasure for that as well as for the soul they bring to their expansive heavy psychedelia. They opened with “Gemini” and set themselves on a course of ultra-patient ebbs and flows, proffering the kind of cosmic rock that reminds you that the universe is so big human brains lack the capacity to fathom it. Guitarist/vocalist Jevin de Groot and bassist/vocalist Dennis Duijnhouwer have a creative partnership that goes back more than a decade, and Temple Fang is more its own thing with time. I couldn’t find a shady spot anywhere, so meandered a bit, digging the jam as it unfolded. Whatever these guys do next — live-recorded studio LP with a solidified lineup? — just count me in already. Their songs build worlds. Vast, heavy, soulful, spontaneous, immersive, always with the chance of a freakout looming. They’ve got a thing, to be sure, but the thing is everything.
—
Greenleaf
Fuuuuuuuuck. Greeeeeeeeenleaf. They light fires, fortunately not literally, with the sheer physicality of their delivery. And I’m dying to hear what they do after 2021’s Echoes From a Mass (review here), since the longer they proceed with the current lineup of founding guitarist Tommi Holappa (also Dozer), vocalist Arvid Hällagård, bassist Hans Frölich (“everybody say hi to Hans, it’s his first time here”) and drummer Sebastian Olsson becomes more established with each passing LP and subsequent touring cycle, the latest album rife with emotive heavy blues that was neither culturally appropriated from Black American culture nor masculine caricature. As someone who’s heard a decent amount of heavy blues, this is a feat to be appreciated. They played “Bury Me My Son,” which made me feel ways, and hard-boogied from there into the stomp of “Good Ol’ Goat” followed by “Needle in My Eye,” also from the latest record and one I had kind of forgotten about. “Bound to Be Machines” from 2014’s Trails and Passes (review here), ignited a sing-along, and they jammed on it a bit, emphasizing how very badly they need to put out a live record. I stood up front for their whole set, planted my feet and ignored my aging back (I tried to write ‘aching’ there, but my phone autocorrected, and really, that’s more honest, so I’m leaving it) as they built up the start of “Tides” — Arvid noting that he’s an astronaut in the video; dude’s between-song banter was on point in a sarcasm that might’ve been too dry for some of the crowd but was twice as hilarious for that — playing that song through like the condensed epic it is and then pushing right into the finale, which was “Let it Out” from 2018’s Hear the Rivers (review here). I’d been trying not to get my hopes up for a new song in the set. That didn’t happen, but if you think I’m sad about it, you severely underestimate how much of a dork I am for this band. Hands in the air, the day’s first crowd surfer that I saw — hold onto that phone, guy — and the convincing shove from the band that made it all happen. Great fucking band.
—
Mondo Generator
I haven’t heard their new record yet — it’s out in Oct. 13 and called We Stand Against You — but they played some stuff from it, and it sure does have that brain-collapsing punk-born intensity one should expect from the Nick Oliveri-fronted three-piece, with Mike Pygmie on guitar and Mike Amster (who wore a Saint Vitus Bar shirt) drumming. I saw them last summer, so knew to expect selections from the Oliveri back catalog — “13th Floor” by Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss’ “Green Machine,” and so on — and there’s little debating he’s contributed to, not just played on, some of the most crucial heavy albums of all-time. More than two, which is not something a lot of people can say. I paused to grab a quick bite to eat — meat and cheese as I’m in survival mode and they didn’t have any spinach or other salad stuff that I saw — and to do battle once more with one of the backstage coffee makers, which I’ve now jammed twice. Because incompetence. So Oliveri, Pygmie and Amster are on stage tearing whatever track from the new record a second (or first, as it were) asshole, and I’m trying to pick which button to push and trying not to be in the way, not really successful at either. By the time that coffee was gone, I realized just how much my ears were ringing despite the plugs, so clearly SonicBlast meets whatever ‘loud enough’ quota you’ve got. “Allen’s Wrench” led into Queens’ “Millionaire,” and that was it. Where the hell would you go after that anyway?
—
Bombino
Led by the group’s namesake, Nigerian guitarist and songwriter Omara “Bombino” Moctar, they might not have been the first Tuareg jammers on the SonicBlast bill this year, but they were perhaps even more danceable, and the crowd was ready for it. Onstage as a three-piece, guitar, bass, drums, they took that nothing-too-fancy approach and unfurled sweet desert grooves without a care in the world for what heavy means or to whom. But coming through the SonicBlast P.A., the bass couldn’t help but add weight, smooth as those lines were, and when Moctar took a solo, well, you knew it. He’s had Hendrix comparisons, which is a very nice thing to say about somebody who plays guitar, and I guess in some of the held-out solo notes and brash sweeps it’s there, but the namedrop isn’t really adequate to describe what Bombino does or how it relates to the musical and political history of Niger and the rock and roll therefrom, never mind the West African roots of rock music more broadly, or reggae, jazz, blues, etc. Bombino put out a record earlier this year called Nomad that was produced by Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys, so I guess that’s something. He could shred or bounce or vibe out make the guitar run in dizzying circles, sometimes in succession, and was clearly a master of his craft. There was one sing-along early in the set that didn’t take I think mostly because of the language barrier, but they did try it twice, and they got a better result the second time, as well as again later on. I think maybe I missed it happening, but when they were done it was nighttime.
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Scowl
A few firsts here. First Negative Approach hat I’ve seen. First cover of “99 Red Ballons.” First bit of onstage skanking. Second blacklight-responsive hair, as it happens. Scowl, from Santa Cruz, California, did OFF! proud in terms of hardcore punk, but would occasionally break into cleaner, more rock-based parts too, making them unpredictable as well as sonically volatile. I won’t pretend to be familiar, but they’ve got one record that came out before the end of the world and they accomplished the energy-change that the punkier side of SonicBlast has pulled off a couple times in the last two days, and vocalist Kat Moss shouted out Bombino from stage, which was cool, but from the noise assault before they even started, it was clear that Scowl’s would be an entirely different kind of dance party. A very fast, very angry, stomping and gnashing song was dedicated to those who feel like they don’t fit in, so while I didn’t come into their set knowing much about them, I got to learn a bit, including that stuff about their album, the singer’s name, and that they seem like nice kids who mean well. Go get ’em, you wholesome hardcore slaughterers.
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Thurston Moore Group
I saw Sonic Youth I’m pretty sure on the Sonic Nurse tour, and duh, they were Sonic Youth. And when it comes to Thurston Moore solo, I still have my Psychic Hearts CD from 1995 or whenever it was, and so yeah, I’m down for Thurston Moore Group’s lightly noisy, floating cosmic shoegaze exploding into blastbeats from its otherwise peaceful beginnings in “Hashish” from his 2020 album By the Fire and the subsequent “Hypno Brain.” I’m not sure what else one might expect. Between the two guitars, bass and keys, that assault was significant, but “Siren,” the 12-minute By the Fire track from whence that blast comes, has a sweet comedown on the other side of that, a subdued indie sway no more afraid to be pretty than caustic. Feedback and noise rang out as it started misting, and Moore and company dropped hints of space rock and psych fuzz along with all that ready scorch, and it seemed like by that point the band was warmed up, drumstick at the ready for guitar manipulation shenanigans that helped make Moore the kind of figure who might headline a festival like this, creating a kind of wave of noise and riding its crest to see where they might end up. The answer there os more noise, and that’s just fine. They were in and out of it for the duration, and the mist held too, never really becoming rain, thankfully, but ambient droplets on the breeze were refreshing as evening became night and the Thurston Moore Group wrapped with one more dive into noise and feedback, no less at home there than the verse they left behind. Fun moment: when I was getting food in back, I went to sit down at a table outside the trailer where you get the food and when I asked, “mind if I sit here?,” I looked up and sure enough, Thurston Moore Group band meal. I can’t confirm or deny, but the words “ah shit you’re Thurston Moore” may have left my mouth.
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Frankie and the Witch Fingers
Okay, so it turns out that the bassist of L.A.’s Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Nikki Pickle, was sitting in last night with Death Valley Girls, whose singer was stuck in California, and of whom she is a former member. Learning new things every day here. With guitarist/vocalists — Josh Menashe and Dylan Sizemore — flanking either side of the stage and an urgency born of mathier punk but which is most definitely not that thing, Frankie and the Witch Fingers translated some of the intensity of the hardcore acts who’ve played this far into a heavy rock context. They had some keyboard going, the occasional slowdown into a funkier groove, and they were loved by the SonicBlast crowd (it’s not their first time here), but by and large their trade was forward thrust, and while it may have appeared otherwise, they weren’t screwing around. I’ve had no fewer than eight espressos today. The one I had after dinner could’ve been nine. At their fastest, in the frenetic first part of their set, I felt like maybe that wasn’t enough. So I grabbed another and went back out front. By then the mist was becoming genuine rain. Less convenient. Frankie and the Witch Fingers shuffled back into speedier fare and I started thinking about my camera getting wet, or my phone, even, which I’ve been writing on all weekend. Might end up leaving earlier than planned, which, since it’s 12:30, is still not actually all that early, at least for me. Portugal goes late. Rock and roll. I still got to see Frankie and the Witch Fingers close with a cover of “Now I Wanna Be Your Dog,” which was fun and made sense in a mathematically extracted way.
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Elder
This is the first time I’m seeing them since they put out Innate Passage (review here) late last year, so it was a particular joy when they followed “Compendium” from 2015’s Lore (review here) with “Merged in Dreams/Ne Plus Ultra” from the new album. The space in front of both stages was full, and even though it was raining, it didn’t look like folks were in a hurry to seek shelter. Thousands of people. Jack doing backing vocals with Nick on the new stuff, Mike swapping guitar for keys, then back, that kind of groove that so much of progressive heavy has tried to emulate in the last 10 years or so but that no one’s gotten quite right or at least not at the level Elder to it. Maybe the rain lightened up. Maybe it didn’t, but standing there watching perhaps the foremost heavy band of their generation still exploring after 15 years and continuing to outdo themselves; it wasn’t the kind of thing you easily walk away from. Or walk away at all. They are exceptional. Another level. And then another. And another. And everything they do has heart, sincerity and a sense of evolution from where they’ve been in the past. It was humbling to witness. This is the biggest crowd I’ve seen them play for, and there’s not a doubt in my mind they can still push further, grow broader in sound, keep chasing whatever ideal version of their approach they’re after. At least I hope they do. I don’t have enough hyperbole for it. Closing out as they will with “Gemini,” it’s like they were up there inventing colors.
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After show/next morning
I had already apologized to one of the dudes from Acid Mammoth for not seeing his set, and I’ll extend those apologies to Black Bombaim, who at least I’ve seen before. I guess next time I’m buying a camera bag it’ll be made of rubber? I don’t know. I felt bad leaving, but it was coming on 2AM and I had no trouble hearing Black Bombaim jam from my room, so at least there was that. Sounded cool from a distance.
For what I expected to be a rough day — the middle of three days is always a little adrenaline comedown as compared to the first or last — it wasn’t. I put my head down, worked, and pushed ahead, which is what you do. I was haggard by the end, but a video chat with The Patient Mrs., some sleep, a shower, some more coffee and almond butter for breakfast and I feel like a new person… who’s spent 24 of the last 48 hours having his ears blown out by the coast in Portugal. Sometimes it’s weird to realize these things.
One more day to go, and it’s a big one, as I might be prone to say about Jupiter or this or that blue supergiant star (the scale of those being completely different, both are nonetheless unfathomably huge). I’ll be ready. Thank you for reading.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 16th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Portugal’s SonicBlast Fest will mark its 11th go in 2023 with a massive, still-more-to-be-announced lineup that spans styles and geographies, from Norway to Greece to Japan and New Orleans to San Diego, Poland and Los Angeles and New York and sludge to psych-jazz and on from there into however many ethers of prog and rock. It’s easy to admire even from across an ocean what SonicBlast has built over its years, and the photos that emerge from each edition — just a bunch of awesome bands playing in paradise, no big deal — are enviable to say the least, and while I don’t want to be engaging too deeply in promo speak or trying to tap anyone’s FOMO, if you’re thinking of making the trip, however far it may or may not be, it’ll probably sell out.
Check out OFF! hitting the heavy fests, huh? Not quite what I’d expect there, but cool to see Acid King getting out, and good to know Naxatras will be back on the road as well next summer along with a host of others. Over the last couple weeks, a lot of the Spring and Summer 2023 festival season in Europe has taken shape, and with the promise of so much more to come, it looks like it’s gonna be a good one. Call it revelry well earned, and let’s all appreciate it whether or not we can actually be there.
To wit:
We’re so psyched to announce the first bands to join us at SonicBlast Fest’s 11th edition: OFF!, Acid King, A Place To Bury Strangers, Earthless, KADAVAR, Elder, EYEHATEGOD, Death Valley Girls, Church of Misery, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Weedpecker, Mondo Generator, Naxatras, Kanaan, BLACK RAINBOWS, Acid Mammoth, Monarch, Spirit Mother and El Altar Del Holocausto!
Posted in Radio on November 11th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Doing an all-Greek episode was so blindingly obvious that I actually had to check to make sure I hadn’t already done one somewhere in the last four years or so that I’ve been doing The Obelisk Show for Gimme Metal. Like, duh. And the playlist? One of the easiest times I’ve ever had putting one together. So many bands, so many vibes, so much to choose from.
Lotus Emperor’s new record, which was reviewed yesterday, was the impetus for the entire thing, so it seemed only fair to start with that, but I wanted to make sure to include a fair bit of landmark acts — 1000mods, Villagers of Ioannina City, Planet of Zeus, Naxatras, Nightstalker, Puta Volcano — alongside up and comers like Bus, Supermoon, Lotus Emperor, Acid Mammoth, Honeybadger, Half Gramme of Soma, and so on, in order to give some sense of the scope of the Greek underground, which for my money is one of the strongest in the world and an ecosystem of bands and fans unlike any other happening right now in Europe (if you want to expand to the rest of the world, Australia would rival).
Before I turn you over to the playlist, I’ll give the inevitable disclaimer that this represents but a fraction of Greece’s vibrant heavy creative community, and that there’s basically a planet’s worth of bands in Athens alone, never mind anywhere else in the country. I say in one or another of the breaks that I consider Greece at least as strong a scene as Sweden and Germany in terms of everything but broader recognition, and I stand by that. If you hear this show and want to dig further into any of these acts or find others, that’s the ideal.
Thanks if you listen and thanks for reading.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 11.11.22 (VT = voice track)
Lotus Emperor
Petra
Syneidesis (2022)
Villagers of Ioannina City
Dance of Night
Age of Aquarius (2019)
Acid Mammoth
Black Dust
Caravan (2021)
VT
1000mods
Navy in Alice
Super Van Vacation (2011)
Half Gramme of Soma
Muck & Cheese
Slip Through the Cracks (2022)
People of the Black Circle
Alchemy of Sorrow
People of the Black Circle (2022)
Seer of the Void
Lysergus Mons
Revenant (2020)
The Same River
Weight of the World
Weight of the World (2022)
Church of the Sea
No One Deserves
Odalisque (2022)
Supermoon
Mantra
Supermoon (2020)
VT
Planet of Zeus
All These Happy People
Faith in Physics (2019)
Burn the Sun
A Fist for Crows
Le Roi Soleil (2022)
Naxatras
The Battle of Crystal Fields
IV (2022)
Honeybadger
Laura Palmer
Pleasure Delayer (2020)
Nightstalker
Sad Side of the City
Great Hallucinations (2019)
Bus
Moonchild
Never Decide (2020)
VT
Puta Volcano
Black Box
AMMA (2020)
Last Rizla
Dive
Mount Machine (2018)
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Nov. 25 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
A few different tours coming together here, right? Stoned Jesus, Greenleaf and Somali Yacht Club on the road together. Elder, Pallbearer and Irist. Hippie Death Cult out there on their own now that their would’ve-been-tourmates High Reeper dropped off. Naxatras making the rounds. Sasquatch doing like they do on a stretch with Orange Goblin before continuing a longer European run (you should always stretch first; ain’t nobody getting younger). Electric Citizen out with Fu Manchu. All of this is organized, mapped out ahead of time, and a lot of it is starting this weekend at Up in Smoke 2022 in Pratteln, Switzerland, as though to save you the time, money and effort necessary to hit up all these individual tours, which may or may not be routed everywhere to start with.
You can see the final lineup below with Fu Manchu, Orange Goblin and Elder getting top billing, and as the first of Sound of Liberation‘s Fall festivals in Europe — Keep it Low in Munich and Desertfest Belgium will follow in the coming weeks, and there’s a bunch of others besides — Up in Smoke is distinguished by vibe even more than timing. I’ve always been curious what it would feel like to sleep in the venue after a show. Indoor camping. Are there showers? Could be a pretty smelly affair by the third day; Up in Stink Lines, if you will. But more about the mindset. Are you so locked into the experience at that point that you wake up, find breakfast and are ready to roll as a part of the thing? I’m not sure I’d ever actually be brave enough to do it — not exactly the camping type in any context — but it could be interesting. Sound of Liberation has also posted the time-table, if you’d like to know more about what time to wake up.
The lineup below is final final final, and the day splits make it look like one hell of a festival. If you’re going to be there, I hope it’s a blast. I’d love to hear about it:
UP IN SMOKE 2022 – DAY SPLIT & DAY TICKETS – UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL Z7 Pratteln 2022
