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Quarterly Review: Horsehunter, Church, Corpse Light, Sunder, T-Tops, The Space Merchants, Etiolated, Blown Out, Les Discrets, Beast Modulus

Posted in Reviews on June 30th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk summer quarterly review

Day one down and feeling good so far. Day two continues the thread of mixing more known quantities with bands either self-releasing or putting out demos, etc., and I like that. More than last time around — last quarter, if you want to use the business-y sounding language for it — I tried to really get a balance across this batch of reviews, posted yesterday and coming up over the next couple days. We’ll see how it works out when it’s over. It remains a ton of stuff, and I hope you dig it. Day two starts right now.

Quarterly review #11-20:

Horsehunter, Caged in Flesh

horsehunter caged in flesh

Pushing their way to the fore of Melbourne’s heavy surge, double-guitar four-piece Horsehunter proffer oppressive tonal crush on the four tracks of their 2LP Magnetic Eye Records debut, Caged in Flesh. The story goes that, unsatisfied the initial recordings weren’t heavy enough, the band – guitarists Michael Harutyanyan (also vocals) and Dan McDonald, bassist/vocalist Himi Stringer and drummer Nick Cron – went back into the studio and redid the entire thing. Mission accomplished. By the time 16-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Stoned to Death” is done, lungs are suitably deflated, spines are cracked, skulls cleaved, and so on. They’re hardly the only ones in the world to conjure formidable tonal heft, but it’s the deft changes in vocals – clean here, shouts there, more abrasive at the start of the title-track – and the sense of atmosphere in the three-minute penultimate interlude that really distinguish Horsehunter, as well as how smoothly that atmosphere integrates with the pummel in the second half of closer “Witchery,” attention to detail and awareness of the need for more than just sonic weight boding well for future progression.

Horsehunter on Thee Facebooks

Magnetic Eye Records on Bandcamp

Church, Unanswered Hymns

church unanswered hymns

A staggeringly heavy debut full-length from Sacramento, CA, five-piece Church, Unanswered Hymns was initially released digitally by the band and quickly picked up for a cassette issue by Transylvanian Tapes and forthcoming LP through Battleground Records. One gets the sense listening to the three extended tracks – 19-minute opener “Dawning” being the longest of the bunch (immediate points) – that those won’t be the last versions to come. Psychedelic doom blends seamlessly with vicious sludge extremity, creating a morass engulfing in its tones, spacious in its breadth and unrepentantly heavy, making it one of 2015’s best debut releases, hands down, and a glorious revelry in bleak tectonics that challenges the listener to match its level of melancholy without giving into an impulse for post-Pallbearer emotive theatrics. As thrilling as they are plodding, expect the echoes of “Dawning,” “Stargazer” and “Offering” to resonate for some time to come, and should Church show any predilection for touring in the next couple years, they have the potential to make a genuine impact on American doom. Yes, I mean it.

Church on Thee Facebooks

Transylvanian Tapes

Battleground Records

Corpse Light, Without Form

corpse light without form

Recorded in a day and released by Grimoire Records, the four-track Without Form is slated as the debut from Baltimore atmospheric doomers Corpse Light, but the band have had tracks come out in drips and drabs since getting their start as Ophidian in mid-2012, even if this is their first proper release. Either way, “The Fool” sets up an immediate and grim ambience, the churning lurch from guitarists Keiran Holmes and Don Selner and bassist Aurora Raiten set to roll by Lawrence Grimes (The Osedax) and given earthy aggression by the vocals of Jim Webb. “Lying in State” fleshes out these morose aggro vibes, but it’s with the drop-everything-and-kill peak of the subsequent “R Complex” that Corpse Light hit their angriest mark. If Without Form was just about that, it would be the highlight, but the album’s 29 minutes have more to offer than pissed off tonally-weighted post-hardcore, as closer “Kenophobia”’s clever turns and deceptive forward momentum demonstrate, though a touch of that kind of thing never hurts either.

Corpse Light on Thee Facebooks

Grimoire Records on Bandcamp

Sunder, Demo

sunder demo

Heavy psych four-piece Sunder will make their debut this summer through Tee Pee and Crusher Records with a 7” for “Cursed Wolf,” so consider this notice of the tracks on their not-for-public-consumption demo a heads up on things to come. Their “Deadly Flower” was streamed here this past April, and the band’s previous incarnation, The Socks, released their self-titled debut (review here) on Small Stone in 2014, but with songs like the key-laced stomper “Bleeding Trees,” the ‘70s rusher “Against the Grain,” and the Uncle Acid-style swinging “Daughter of the Snows,” the Lyon, France, outfit continue to refine a style drawing together different vibes of the psychedelic era. “Deadly Flower” was also distinguished by its key work, and as for “Cursed Wolf” itself, the melody reminds of proto-psych Beatles singles (thinking “Rain” specifically), but the groove still holds firm to a sense of weight that’s thoroughly modern, and by that I mean it sounds like 1972. Keep an eye out.

Sunder on Thee Facebooks

Tee Pee Records

T-Tops, T-Tops

t-tops t-tops

Granted not everyone is going to make this immediate association, but when I first saw the moniker T-Tops, I couldn’t help think of like C-grade generic stonerisms, songs about beer and pretending to be from the South and all that. If you experienced something similar in seeing the name, rest easy. The Pittsburgh trio of guitarist/vocalist Pat Waters (ex-The Fitt, Wormrigg), bassist Jason Orr (Wormrigg) and drummer Jason Jouver (ex-Don Caballero) are down with far more sinister punk and noise on their self-titled, self-released debut full-length, riding, shooting straight and speaking truth on cuts like “Wipe Down” and the catchy “Pretty on a Girl” after the tense sampling of “A Certain Cordial Exhilaration” turns over the power-push to “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’.” “Ralphie” is probably an inside-joke if not a Christmas Story reference, but point is these guys are way less about-to-sing-about-muscle-cars than the name implies and their tight, crisp rhythmic turns come accompanied by vicious tonal force and an utter lack of bullshit, which is a scenario far preferable to that which one might otherwise expect.

T-Tops on Thee Facebooks

T-Tops on Bandcamp

The Space Merchants, The Space Merchants

the space merchants the space merchants

Issued by Aqulamb in the imprint’s standard 100-page art book/download format, the self-titled debut from fellow Brooklynites The Space Merchants seeks to draw a line between psychedelic rock and country. And not pretend country like people with a Johnny Cash fetish because he covered that Nine Inch Nails song one time – actual, bright, pastoral, classic country. Call the results psychtwang and applaud the effort, which works oddly well in a thoroughly vintage context to come across on “Mainline the Sun” like something from a lost ‘60s variety show. Parts of “One Cut Like the Moon” and the later fuzz of “One Thousand Years of Boredom” give away their modernity, but The Space Merchants’ push toward a stylistic niche suits them well, and the intertwined vocal arrangements from guitarist Michael Guggino, bassist Aileen Brophy and keyboardist Ani MonteleoneCarter Logan drums to round out the four-piece – add to the rich, welcoming feel that remains prevalent even as the eight-minute “Where’s the Rest of Life” slips into wah-soaked noise to finish out.

The Space Merchants on Thee Facebooks

Aqualamb on Bandcamp

Etiolated, Grey Limbs, Grey Skies

etoliated grey limbs grey skies

The undercurrent of black metal coursing beneath the surface of Etiolated’s debut full-length, Grey Limbs, Grey Skies, eventually comes to the surface in 10-minute opener “Internal Abyss” and 16-minute eponymous closer, which bookends, but in part it’s the tension of waiting for those rampaging surges that keeps one hooked to the Armus Productions release. Guttural death growls echo up from dense tonal reaches, and tempo shifts, whether in those longer tracks or three-minute lumbering slice “Futility” are fluid, the North Carolina five-piece executing a slow-grinding chug in centerpiece “Exsanguinate,” which seems like a murk without end until the 1:47 “For Your Hell” kicks into a speedier, more blackened rush, guest vocalist Ryan McCarthy joining guitarist/vocalists James Storelli and Walls, bassist Cody Rogers and drummer Elliot Thompson in furthering the already prevalent sense of extremism before “Etiolated,” after a surprisingly peaceful if brooding midsection, plods the album to a close. To say “not for the faint of heart” would be putting it lightly, but if I had a vest and if Etiolated had patches, the two parties would definitely meet up at some point in the near future.

Etiolated on Thee Facebooks

Armus Productions on Bandcamp

Blown Out, Planetary Engineering

blown out planetary engineering

It has not taken long for the discography of UK psych jammers Blown Out to become a populated murky cosmos of its own. Planetary Engineering is released on Oaken Palace Records and finds the three-piece of guitarist Mike Vest (also Bong, etc.), bassist John-Michael Hedley (also Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs) and drummer Matt Baty (also the head of Box Records) exploring two mesmeric and sprawling instrumentals – one per side – that bend and flourish and hypnotize in organically-concocted swirl. Side A’s “Transcending Deep Infinity” tops 20 minutes and shifts from its spacey build to a low key groove at about 7:30 in, pulsing forward once more amid head-turning repetition, deep echoes and longform nod, culminating in a two-minute fadeout that brings forward “Thousand Years in the Sunshine,” an immediate bass groove and interstellar swirl no less trance-inducing than its predecessor. Cyclical drum fills morph over time behind the guitar and bass, and Planetary Engineering seems to push continually further out until, of course, it disintegrates, presumably as it crosses the galactic barrier.

Blown Out on Thee Facebooks

Oaken Palace Records on Bandcamp

Les Discrets, Live at Roadburn

les discrets live at roadburn

I was fortunate enough to have been in attendance at Het Patronaat in Tilburg when French post-black metallers Les Discrets took the stage at Roadburn 2013. As such, it’s with some trepidation I approach their Live at Roadburn recording on Prophecy Productions – the impression they made live wasn’t something I’d want potentially spoiled or brought to earth by a document proving it was just another set. With Neige of Alcest on bass with guitarist/vocalist Fursy Teyssier, Les Discrets proved to be something really special to those who, like me, were there to catch them, and the eight-track Live at Roadburn – fortunately – captures both the majestic lushness they brought with them and the underlying weight that seemed to add impact to the material. What might sound like post-production mixing on “L’Echappée” or the wash of “Chanson D’Automne” isn’t – it really was that beautiful and that perfectly balanced coming from the stage. A vastly underrated act and a document that reminds of how stellar they were without sullying the memory in the slightest.

Les Discrets on Thee Facebooks

Prophecy Productions

Beast Modulus, Beast Modulus

beast-modulus-beast-modulus

Brooklynite foursome Beast Modulus seem to care less about meshing with ideas of genre than sticking them in a meatgrinder and seeing what comes out. To wit the riotous chugging of “Cowboy Caligula,” and the blackened thrust of “WaSaBi!” on their self-released, self-titled outing, which leads to dueling growls and screams on the tonally weighted post-hardcore “Fabulous,” and the appropriately mathy turns of the thrashing “Tyranny of Numbers.” Inventive in their stylizations and in where the six songs included on the release actually go – hint: they go to “heavy” – the lineup of vocalist Kurt Applegate, guitarist Owen Burley, bassist Jesse Adelson and drummer Jody Smith have some post-Dillinger Escape Plan vibe in the calculated chaos of “Kalashnikov,” but closer “Killing Champion” is too impatient to even be held by that, the prevailing manic angularity of Beast Modulus ultimately crafting its own identity from the physical assault the music seems intent on perpetrating upon the listener.

Beast Modulus on Thee Facebooks

Beast Modulus on Bandcamp

 

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Blown Out Release Jet Black Hallucinations on Golden Mantra

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 8th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

So, on my desktop right now, along with about 50 other records and my standard-issue Hubble backdrop, there sits a two-track album by UK trio Blown Out called Planetary Engineering, that’s supposed to have a late May/early June issue on Oaken Palace Records. Then I see the news release below about a Blown Out album called Jet Black Hallucinations that’s out now on Golden Mantra after some delays, and things start to make even less sense. I suppose its possible that Blown Out, with the plant backed up, could have had two releases bump into each other, but the thing is that while Jet Black Hallucinations is up and streaming on their Bandcamp, Planetary Engineering is not, whereas that album is all over their Thee Facebooks page.

The upshot? I’m not sure which record is more current than the other. Either way, these guys jam the living crap out of space itself, and that matters more. To catch your eye, members of BONG, 11Paranoias, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs and so on, but the sprawl is really the star.

Here’s the info off the PR wire:

blown out jet black hallucinations

Blown Out – Jet Black Hallucinations (GOMA001) finally released.

Blown Out – Jet Black Hallucinations
GOMA001
Vinyl LP and Download
Released 4th June 2015 on Golden Mantra

Having faced post RSD plant delays and 3 sleeve misprints, Jet Black Hallucinations has finally landed.

The premiere release from Newcastle, UK label Golden Mantra sees Psych-rock power trio, Blown Out offer Jet Black Hallucinations; 40+ minutes of blissed out jams informed by the endlessness of space and Hendrix bootlegs.

Made up of Mike Vest, John-Michael Hedley and Matt Baty, the band utilise the modulated wailing of waster guitars over a constant flow of liquid basslines and hard landing drums. Hypnotic grooves layed on thick over 3 tracks recorded in Newcastle Upon Tyne in December 2014.

Featuring members of BONG, Haikai No Ku, 11Paranoias, Drunk in Hell, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs and Khunnt, Blown Out’s Jet Black Hallucinations follows their sold out LP on Riot Season.

Available to purchase via www.goldenmantra.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/blownoutnoise/
https://blownout.bandcamp.com/album/jet-black-hallucinations

Blown Out, Jet Black Hallucinations (2015)

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Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs’ Psychopomp EP out Now

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 14th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

Pigs Live

UK five-piece Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs issued their new two-track release, Psychopomp, first as a cassette in an edition of 50 copies, and, somewhat unsurprisingly, they’re gone. Just 48 hours after they came, they went. Fair enough. For the rest of us who let slip their chance to dig into “Psychopomp” or its foreboding, drone-fueled Joseph Curwen remix — each of the two tracks clocking in at 20 minutes, which makes for one hell of a cassingle — Box Records has made it available to stream and download in its freaked-out entirety.

Both “Psychopomp” and its remix — which one would hardly recognize were they not right next to each other — serve as a reminder to pay closer attention next time, as the cumbersomely-named band’s blend of heavy psych, noise and post-rock is one I’d certainly rather not miss. Lesson learned.

This from the PR wire:

pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs pigs psychopomp

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Psychopomp Available Now

Following their sold out 2013 split 12″ with The Cosmic Dead, Newcastle based psychedelic rocking composers Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs (members of Ommadon, Blown Out, Khünnt) return with their sophomore opus – Psychopomp. The band once again meld their take on doom, psyche, stoner and classic to offer up 20 plus minutes of solid riffage and towering carnage. Citing so many genres may be cause for concern, but anyone familiar with their acclaimed debut ‘The Wizard and The Seven Swines’ will be aware of the band’s inexplicable ability to emphatically rock out through many styles whilst serving up a completely congruent and engaging listen.

True to form Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs adhered to the mysticism surrounding their band by presenting ‘Psychopomp’ on Box Records without fan fair on a run of 50 cassettes which sold out in just 2 days. There will be a second run of cassettes released when the planets fall freely through the cosmos and align when random probability dictates. Until then ‘Psychopomp’ is available as a digital download through Box Records which includes a completely mangled remix by Lovecraft inspired droner Joseph Curwen.

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs photo by Jose Ramón Caamaño, on Flickr here.

https://www.facebook.com/PigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigs
https://boxrecordsshop.bandcamp.com/album/psychopomp
http://box-records.com/

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Psychopomp (2014)

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Duuude, Tapes! Bong, Another Dose

Posted in Duuude, Tapes! on August 8th, 2013 by JJ Koczan

They’ve released no fewer than six live records since last year’s Mana-Yood-Sushai studio outing, and still, it would be hard for Bong to work any slower. I don’t recall exactly what the post was from the UK psych-drone mystics that led me to pick up a copy of their latest cassette, Another Dose (released on Washy Tapes), but chances are it was something along the lines of, “Hey, we’re Bong and we have a new tape.” Yeah, probably something like that.

For anyone yet uninitiated into the consuming aural fog Bong emit, the Newcastle upon Tyne outfit have been pumping out live recordings, EPs, splits, demos, and yes, even the occasional full-length studio album, since 2007 or thereabouts, and while their stuff is tonally heavy, the crux of its challenge is in the hypnosis of its drone and repetitions. You will wander into part of a Bong song — let’s take the 22-minute title-track that comprises Another Dose (program repeats on both sides), since it’s the topic at hand — and come out on the other end with little to no idea of how you or the band got there.

There are points at which it’s not unlike Tuvan throat singing with guitars, but there is movement taking place, a build being constructed at the root of “Another Dose.” The drums are a clue, and vocals — or at very least a steady hum/chant that sounds human in its origin — do come in after the progression has been brought to a certain point of psychedelic cacophony. You’ll hear a lead guitar before the five-minute mark, and that’s another signal. But in all my experience with Bong — you’ll absolutely never hear me say I’ve heard everything they’ve put out — it’s the patience and steadiness of their hand that makes what they do most impressive, like they’re right in the trance with you. By the time the 22 minutes of “Another Dose” are up, you might find yourself wondering why the band decided to stop there.

It’s head music for the headiest of heads, drone for the shamans among the converted, but if you can get down, Bong offer much to be dug — and often. The Another Dose tape comes in a hand-screenprinted package with the tape itself and two cards. One has the title on one side and Bong‘s logo on the other, and the other card has pictures of a fuzzy nugget on one side and mushrooms on the other. The cover of the tape itself, on the opposite of the logo side (shown above), is also mushrooms. Let that be a stand-in representative of Bong‘s general point of view. Drug in, drone on. They may just operate on a wavelength all their own for as long as they continue to operate, but if the rate at which they issue output is something to judge by, that suits them well. By the time it’s run its course, Another Dose has gone full-on stunning cosmic doom, and it rounds out just in time to start again on side two.

Bong, Another Dose (2013)

Bong on Thee Facebooks

Washy Tapes

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