https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Nibiru Announce New Album Qaal Babalon Due Sept. 22

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 31st, 2017 by JJ Koczan

nibiru

Proffering noise-infused sludge ritualism over the course of its four extended tracks, Nibiru‘s forthcoming Qaal Babalon is a chamber of horrors worthy of headphone-and-closed-eye immersion. Its 57-minute stretch begins with the engulfing drone extremity of “Oroch” (19:07) and unfolds from there in manners deathly and churning, whether it’s the hammering “Faboan” that follows or the feedback-laden crashing recesses of “Bahal Gah” and the Ramesses-style altar-building of the instrumental “Oxex” that finishes out, all expansive guitar and echoing thud and ultra-creeper moodiness. It’s a weight as much ambient as it is tonal, but rest assured, it’s a weight all the same, and the Torino trio wield it in the manner of some kind of obscure medieval weaponry. Not that I’ve heard it or anything.

Qaal Babalon is available now to preorder via the near-ubiquitous Argonauta Records and follows a 2017 special edition of Nibiru‘s 2013 debut, Caosgon, that the same label released just earlier this month. No substitute for keeping busy.

From the PR wire:

nibiru qaal babalon

NIBIRU – Qaal Babalon

(Argonauta Records) Italian Ritual Sludgers new album! Their best to date, the natural continuation of the very first works CAOSGON and NETRAYONI. PREORDER NOW AND SAVE 20% – RELEASE DATE SEPT 22nd, 2017.

After their latest full length PADMALOTUS (2015), the impressive EP TELOCH (2016) and the Roadburn Documentary (2017), NIBIRU are today a consolidated strength of the international underground scene, thanks to their inexhaustible attitude both in composition and in live performances, a physically and mental experience.

QAAL BABALON is “the exact continuation of our first opus CAOSGON (2013, re-released in 2017) and NETRAYONI (2014)” the band says “Anger, uncontrolled psychedelia, and now the most sick, intense and suffering creation. ‘Qaal Babalon’ is the lacerating scream of a lost soul.”

TRACK LISTING
1 Oroch
2 Faboan
3 Bahal Gah
4 Oxex

Nibiru is:
Ardath | Guitars, Percussions and Vocals
Ri | Bass, Drones and Synthesizers
L.C. Chertan | Drums

https://www.facebook.com/nibiruritual/
https://nibiru666.bandcamp.com
http://www.nibiruritual.com/
http://www.argonautarecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/

Nibiru, Caosgon – 2017 Edition

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Nibiru to Reissue Debut Album Caosgon Next Month

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 5th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Italian hypnotists Nibiru released their Caosgon album in 2013 as their first outing. It’s a work of darkened swirl that doubtless owes some of its pulsating cosmic intensity to synth-sludge countrymen forebears Ufomammut but that set the three-piece on a course toward their own identity within atmospheric extremes that they’d continue to develop across offerings like 2015’s Padmalotus and last year’s Teloch, working as part of the diverse and perpetually-growing lineup of Argonauta Records. That same label has stepped forward and will reissue Caosgon next month in an expanded “2017 Edition” with a new tracklist, cover and master, including an unreleased song from the original sessions, “Invokation III : L.S.D.”

You can hear the original version of the record at the bottom of this post. It’s trippy as hell, and one expects the update wouldn’t be any less so given the work the band has done since. You’ll also pardon me, I hope, if as I take the time to dig into the blackened swirl of “Invokation IV: Heru, Khentan, Maati” I also pause to reflect in horror at the fact that the “next month” referred to in the headline above is July, and the implications of that for how quickly this year is going by so far. Doom is slow, time is fleeting. The madness is a lot to keep up with.

Speaking of madness:

nibiru caosgon

Thrilled to announce Argonauta Records will release an extended edition of the stunning 2013 album by Italian psychonauts Nibiru.

CAOSGON is actually a milestone of the ritual sludge scene, been praised by awesome reviews and by massive feedbacks all across the board.

Now the album will benefit of a completely new artwork, new master and a bonus track from the original recording sessions, previously unreleased!

NIBIRU “Caosgon – 2017 Edition” will be released in CD/DD and available from July 7th, 2017. Preorders run here: http://bit.ly/2rfb3su

TRACK-LIST:
1) Invokation I: the Acid skull
2) Smashanam, the Crematorium Ground of Kali
3) Aster Argos
4) Invokation IV: Heru, Khentan, Maati
5) Umbra Venefica
6) Invokation III : L.S.D

Argonauta Records | NeeCee Agency

Nibiru is:
Ardath | Guitars, Percussions and Vocals
Ri | Bass, Drones and Synthesizers
L.C. Chertan | Drums

https://www.facebook.com/nibiruritual/
https://nibiru666.bandcamp.com
http://www.nibiruritual.com/
http://www.argonautarecords.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords/

Nibiru, Caosgon (2013)

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Roadburn 2016 Audio Streams: Carousel, Crumbling Ghost, Zone Six, Night Viper, Nibiru, Lugubrum Trio, Green Carnation and Russel Haswell

Posted in audiObelisk on September 26th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

Zone Six at Roadburn 2016 (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Always one of life’s great pleasures to revisit Roadburn via the subsequent audio streams that emerge from each edition of the Netherlands-based megafest/underground gathering. I’ll admit that most of these acts I didn’t see at Roadburn 2016, but that hardly lessens the appeal at all. If anything, it gives me a chance to hear some stuff I missed like Pittsburgh natives Carousel — whose unceremonious breakup earlier this month was both a surprise and a bummer — playing a set with Alejandro Necochea of Tee Pee labelmates Worshipper filling in on guitar, or Green Carnation, whose adventurous progressive death metal was an unexpected addition and a callback to earlier days.

Of this round though, I did manage to catch Zone Six playing at the Cul de Sac, the second-smallest room at Roadburn 2016 behind Extase. They played late on the first night of the fest (review here) and were a psychedelic joy to behold, with Sula Bassana on drums and synth and Komet Lulu on bass and Rainer Neeff playing guitar. It was an immediately different personality than one might get from seeing Electric Moon, in which Sula and Lulu also play (the former on guitar/synth), but immersive and gloriously spaced out. Goes without saying I recommend you check out all this stuff, but that one for sure, speaking as someone who was there to see it. I’ve been hoping they press it to disc.

Pretty wide gamut covered here as well, so there should be something for everyone:

Carousel – Live at Roadburn 2016

Crumbling Ghost – Live at Roadburn 2016

Green Carnation – Live at Roadburn 2016

Russel Haswell – Live at Roadburn 2016

Lugubrum Trio – Live at Roadburn 2016

Nibiru- Live at Roadburn 2016

Night Viper – Live at Roadburn 2016

Zone Six – Live at Roadburn 2016

Thanks as ever to Walter for letting me host the streams, as I am perpetually honored to do. To hear the first batch of Roadburn 2016 audio streams, click here, to hear the second one, click here, to hear the third one, click here, to hear the third one, click here, the fourth one, click here, and for all of this site’s coverage of Roadburn 2016, click here.

Roadburn’s website

Marcel Van De Vondervoort on Thee Facebooks

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Roadburn 2016: Hexvessel, Astrosoniq, Skepticism, Gentlemans Pistols, The Poisoned Glass, Klone, Yodok III and Nibiru Added to Lineup

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 18th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

roadburn-2016-poster

I know that Hexvessel‘s return to Roadburn and Skepticism playing a fan-picked set of favorites from out of their groundbreaking catalog are probably more likely to grab the headlines, and I get it. I saw Hexvessel there in 2012 and it’s still a pleasant memory, and the thought of hearing Skepticism play something from Stormcrowfleet is enough to get the doomer in me to lift his depressive head from where it’s resting on his arms. That said, what’s really kicked my ass in this latest batch of announcements from Roadburn 2016, the much-venerable fest geared up for next April in its ritual home of Tilburg, the Netherlands, is the thought of seeing wildly underrated, largely inactive and unflinchingly badass rockers Astrosoniq play a set.

It’s been a hot minute since the last time I wrote about the band, and even longer since their latest album, Quadrant (review here), was released in 2009, but even more than half a decade later I can still hear “Downfall Lover” and “As Soon as They Got Airborne” ringing in my head, and I made my way back through their catalog after that album — with some thoroughly appreciated help from the band — and interviewed drummer Marcel van de Vondervoort, also known for helming the audio recordings from each Roadburn, and have considered myself a fan ever since. And it’s even more of a killer prospect since Roadburn‘s artistic directer, Walter, will provide live visuals while they play. Anyone who watched The Heads this year on the Main Stage of the 013 and was hypnotized by the oozing colors and ’70s hotties knows that’s a special treat and not something that happens for just anybody.

So yeah, fucking Astrosoniq. Way down at the bottom of the post is the YouTube clip with Quadrant in its entirety if you’ve never had the chance to check it out. Consider it a win that they’re even playing again, whether or not you get to see it:

Roadburn-2016-Astrosoniq

SKEPTICISM

Finnish funeral doom pioneers SKEPTICISM have been long over due for a Roadburn appearance, so we’re excited to announce that the band will not only play on Saturday, April 16, along with Neurosis and Amenra, but that they will play a fan-favorite set exclusively for the festival to celebrate their oeuvre.

Over the next few weeks we will keep you informed about how to vote for your picks; whether it’s tracks from Stormcrowfleet – a genuine underground classic and the band’s innovative funeral doom touchstone; the stunning Alloy; or SKEPTICISM’s latest album, the much lauded, Ordeal. You can take your pick from their entire back catalogue.

To find out more about Skepticism at Roadburn, click HERE.

HEXVESSEL

Enigmatic “spirit-trafficking” Finnish forest-psych weirdos HEXVESSEL will play the main stage at Roadburn Festival 2016 on Thursday 14 April. They will be performing material from their forthcoming, folk-tinged, acid-rock opus, alongside selections from their last three seminal releases.

HEXVESSEL’s main man Mat McNerney comments: “We are so honoured to have been invited to play the main stage at 013 on Thursday at Roadburn 2016. We couldn’t think of a more fitting place to debut the new material from our forthcoming album. Releasing our third album just before our third visit to Roadburn feels like a cosmic sign, it was meant to be!”

Renowned Romanian artist, Costin Chioreanu, will be providing bespoke visuals to accompany HEXVESSEL’s Roadburn set.

To find out more about Hexvessel at Roadburn, click HERE.

GENTLEMANS PISTOLS

GENTLEMAN’S PISTOLS bring with them the promise of a good old fashioned Yorkshire knees up; a party long into the night, with the drink free-flowing and the riffs a-plenty. The raucous four piece have been packing out sweaty venues around Europe for years now, honing their rock’n’roll swagger into a not-to-be-missed, electrifying performance. We’re thrilled to have the retro-infused four piece bring their melodic grooves to Roadburn, on Sunday April 17. Gentlemen, hustlers – and everybody in between – are more than welcome.

To find out more about Gentleman’s Pistols at Roadburn, click HERE.

THE POISONED GLASS

Four-string subsonic drone wizard G Stuart Dahlquist and black-lunged banshee Edgy 59 surely need no introduction at this point – need we mention Burning Witch, Sunn O))) and Asva? – so you can imagine exactly how excited we were to discover that the gruesome twosome were once more working on music together under the name THE POISONED GLASS. With a debut album out via Ritual Productions in early 2016, we’re already looking forward to drinking deep from THE POISONED GLASS at Roadburn 2016 on Thursday, April 14.

To find out more about The Poisoned Glass at Roadburn, click HERE.

ASTROSONIQ

Cleverly named the “Wizards of Oss” after their hometown, ASTROSONIQ have the musical prowess to blend genres and easily transcend any given sound, as captured on their four stunning and much-lauded albums.

It was heartbreaking to witness ASTROSONIQ’s inactivity over the past few years, but being able to announce the band’s return to Roadburn 2016 for a very rare performance on Saturday, April 16, is more than we could ever hope to do. The fact that the band will plunge deep into full blown space-rock territory is beyond our comprehension.

To find out more about Astrosoniq at Roadburn, click HERE.

KLONE

In keeping with the tradition of treading a fine line between progressive rock and (post-)metal, we’re excited to announce that French quintet metallers KLONE will be playing on Sunday, April 17. The band’s latest, seventh, full-length albumHere Comes The Sun, the follow up, to 2012’s Dreamer’s Hideaway, heads in a more progressive direction – KLONE excels at pairing prog-rock with atmospheric metal and bringing in a delicate ambience to create an ethereal yet visceral sound.

The band’s rich, passionate and accessible tapestry is brilliantly executed, and those who enjoyed Opeth and Anathema at previous editions of Roadburn, will be sure to find a new favorite band in Klone.

To find out more about Klone at Roadburn, click HERE.

YODOK III

Primarily a study in avant-garde, YODOK III, comprised of guitarist Dirk Serries, drummer Tomas Järmyr and Kristoffer Lo (tuba), is bridging genres like ambient, free jazz, drone, shoegaze, post-rock, and even classical into a mind bending tapestry. YODOK III is certainly from the jazz school of thought, but jazz this is not! We can’t wait for the band to discard all musical boundaries at Roadburn 2016.

To find out more about Yodok III at Roadburn, click HERE.

NIBIRU

Transformative, terrifying and a journey to the most unstable shores of consciousness, Turin, Italy’s NIBIRU are the sonic equivalent of the sense-overload torture scene in A Clockwork Orange, only meted out to your third eye. “Harmony, sacrifice, fury, passion. Music is our life expression. Playing at Roadburn will give us an incomparable emotive force. It’s a truly honour to be part of a huge and intense event like this”, declares NIBIRU frontman Ardath.

To find out more about Nibiru at Roadburn, click HERE.

FURTHER TICKETING INFORMATION
In addition to the information sent out last week regarding the Roadburn 2016 ticket on sale date – October 2 for those who missed it – we have some additional information for people who wish to buy their tickets in person. Sounds in Tilburg will be open for you to purchase tickets in person from 18.30 – 20.30, and showing your Roadburn ticket at the door will get you entry to two Roadburn-approved gigs in the city that evening. Click HERE for all the details.

Roadburn Festival takes place at the 013 venue, Tilburg, The Netherlands, between 14 – 17 April 2016. The line up this year includes Neurosis (30th anniversary), Paradise Lost (performing Gothic in full), curation by Lee Dorrian, Amenra, The Skull, La Muerte, Of The Wand And The Moon, and Green Carnation.

Roadburn Festival takes place at the 013 venue, Tilburg, The Netherlands, between 14 – 17 April 2016.

Tickets for the festival will be on sale from October 2 2015

http://www.roadburn.com/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival
https://twitter.com/roadburnfest

Astrosoniq, Quadrant (2009)

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Argonauta Records Releases Devouring the Mountains Vol. II Label Compilation

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

Argonauta Records went ahead and made you a mixtape. And they put Christopher Lee on the cover, so, you know, right on. Devouring the Mountains Vol. II includes 12 tracks from bands on the Italian imprint’s growing and increasingly diverse roster, including the likes of DenizenKayleth and Witch Charmer. A little all over style-wise — or if not all over, at least some — maybe, but you get a good sense of what’s driving the label’s taste from it and what’s underlying to bring all these bands together in the first place.

Worth noting that the first Devouring the Mountains comp was issued in May 2014, and there are no bands repeated between the two. Not one act appears on the second one who also appeared in the previous. Pretty impressive that Argonauta would not only have that many groups on its roster, but would have enough fresh material from them not to have to double up. Not even once. Wild.

It’s a free download, which is even better. For the digging:

devouring the mountains vol ii

Argonauta Records presents Devouring the Mountains vol.2

Today we celebrate another twelve months spent together, with 12 great bands and awesome albums! This new sampler is our gift to thank you for the continued support: DEVOURING THE MOUNTAINS VOL.2 features tons of heavy riffs from our Stoner, Sludge, Doom, Drone, Post Metal roster. FREE DOWNLOAD, make sure to not miss it! 12 songs also featuring a previously unreleased track by Italian Psych Sludgers NIBIRU, directly from “Padmalotus” recording sessions.

Cover artwork by Argonauta Records, our personal tribute to legendary Christopher Lee in the movie The Wicker Man.

TRACKLIST:
1. BANTORIAK – Entering the Temple 02:19
2. WITCH CHARMER – A Watching of Wolves 06:47
3. DEAF EYES – Black Canvas 04:30
4. TOVARISH – Call of the Kursk 05:40
5. DENIZEN – Whoresmoker 04:59
6. THEE MALDOROR KOLLECTIVE – Mariguanda 08:31
7. KAYLETH – Lies of Mind 04:40
8. [‘selv?] – Persistent 06:46
9. LAST MINUTE TO JAFFNA – Chapter DCCXV 08:08
10. OBESE – Down the Gauntlet 04:18
11. MAGI – A Million Questions 06:28
12. NIBIRU – Carma Geta (previously unreleased) 10:35

More info:
https://argonautarecords.bandcamp.com/album/v-a-devouring-the-mountains-vol-ii
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords
www.argonautarecords.com

VA, Devouring the Mountains Vol. II (2015)

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Nibiru, Kayleth, Varego and More Confirmed for Argonauta Fest 2015

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 27th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

The first Argonauta Fest is set for May 10 at Live23 in Alessandria, Italy. Confirmed for the lineup are NibiruInfection CodeVaregoLast Minute to JaffnaDeaf Eyes and Kayleth, and there’s free CD samplers to be on hand and much more slated for the inaugural event, which is put on by Argonauta Records, who explain their motivations as bringing their taste in music — from vicious sludge to far-ranging psych — to life on stage. Probably getting everyone together and turning the volume all the way up and partying and all the rest of it don’t hurt either, but you know, it doesn’t necessarily need to be one or the other.

Info for the fest came down the PR wire, if you’d care to peruse the links and so on:

argonauta fest 2015 poster

ARGONAUTA Records present: ARGONAUTA FEST first edition!

From the label: “We are proud to announce that May 10, 2015 will take place the first official Argonauta Records Fest! An event created primarily as a need to represent “on stage” our musical taste, giving a “live” vent to our first years of life as a label, enhanced by many feedbacks both nationally and abroad. Six bands of our roster will create an evening that will move into Stoner, Post Metal, Noisecore and Sludge territories. A fine opportunity to share with us what will be a feast made of extreme sounds and great bands. Stay tuned on our official sites (www.facebook.com/argonautarecords www.argonautarecords.com) for more details about the bands on the program and on further initiatives related to the event to be held in Alessandria (Italy) at LIVE23”.

ARGONAUTA Fest 2015 features the following bands:

NIBIRU (Psych Ritual Sludge)
https://www.facebook.com/nibiruritual
INFECTION CODE (Noisecore)
https://www.facebook.com/infectioncode
VAREGO (Post Metal/Stoner)
https://www.facebook.com/varego
LAST MINUTE TO JAFFNA (Post Metal)
https://www.facebook.com/jaffnatominutelast
DEAF EYES (Instrumental Post Metal)
https://www.facebook.com/deafeyesband
KAYLETH (Space Stoner Rock)
https://www.facebook.com/KAYLETHBand

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1376440029345838

For more infos:
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords
https://www.facebook.com/argonautafest

Varego, “Hesperian” official video

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Nibiru Reveal Padmalotus Album Details

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 27th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

nibiru

Freakout prone Italian psych rockers Nibiru will release their third album, Padmalotus, via Argonauta Records on May 18. Their blend of sludgy aggression and heavy psychedelia has carried them across two records to-date varying in their levels of improvisation, and their third promises further expansion. No audio yet, at least not that I can find, but the PR wire brings copious details theoretical and practical.

Is it just me or has just about every new record I’ve posted about this week got a May release date? Shaping up to be quite a month. Well, add Nibiru to the list. Somehow I doubt they’ll be the last to come.

Have at you:

nibiru padmalotus

NIBIRU: cover artwork and tracklist revealed

Ritual Psych Sludge masters NIBIRU reveal cover artwork and tracklist of their highly anticipated new album. Following the great feedback received across the board by their works “Caosgon” and “Netrayoni”, NIBIRU are now ready with their new beast “Padmalotus”, to be released by ARGONAUTA Records on May 18th 2015.

Tracklist:

1. Krim
2. Ashmadaeva
3. Trikona
4. Khem

PADMALOTUS was recorded at Aadya’s Temple, then mixed and mastered by Emiliano “Pilloplex” Pilloni at Soundlab Studio. The Italian trio created its own Art focusing all the energies on the songs’ structure, instead of following the improvisation as they did in the previous albums.

NIBIRU have explored territories never visited before, also in terms of melodic research and songwriting. They aimed at standing out from the nowadays psychedelic acts. “In our opinion, psychedelic research is seeing the world as it is, speaking without preconception, being a storm’s breath”, states Ardath, band’s singer and guitarist.

The 4 tracks off PADMALOTUS (plus a ghost track) were written between September 2014 and January 2015. According to the previous albums, CAOSGON (2013) and NETRAYONI (2014), also PADMALOTUS is connected to occult themes of Eastern Orient. NIBIRU loves exploring the Left-Hand Path (Vama Marg), Kuala rituals, Aghori rituals, and Kundalini awakening.

“PADMALOTUS does not represent a step forward compared to NETRAYONI or CAOSGON, but a move to a higher level. As the lotus grows out of mud, blossoms above the water and rises to the sky, our latest album is a real elevation compared to our previous ones. We stayed true to our roots, but at the same time we stepped into a new territory”, explains Siatris, drummer and guitarist.

Since their inception in 2012, NIBIRU gave vent to their ritualized improvisation urge. They totally refused the concept of ordinary song form, leaving their energy flow, and channelling that into live recordings. “The first 2 years of NIBIRU were a time of empathic creativity. We used to communicate in a roundabout way. Improvisation was instinctive during the making of CAOSGON. Some kind of song structure was there, but in fact we went through an explosion of freedom in writing and playing. NETRAYONI is the zenith of NIBIRU’s improvisation. Maybe those times have been unique, most likely they are”, states the bassist RI.

In Fall 2014 NIBIRU signed to Argonauta Records, and CAOSGON and NETRAYONI (originally self-released) were reissued by the label in January 2015.

Following their philosophical path, the band crafts PADMALOTUS (“padma” means lotus in Tibetan language). Once again, the lyrics are in Enochian language. “We have chosen to reveal our invocations using this ancient language, in order to express ourselves in many different ways. Our lyrics are very personal and can’t be compared to traditional patterns. Enochian language allows phonetics to take space, so that our feelings can be expressed without being trivialized by constrictive words”, explains Ardath.

Through PADMALOTUS, NIBIRU reach their artistic peak. Or at least until the next expressions of their invocations.

For more infos:
https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords
https://www.facebook.com/nibiruritual

Nibiru, “Kshanika Mukta”

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