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APF Records Announces Showcase Lineup with 13 Bands

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 7th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

apf records amp logo

UK sludgedealer APF Records has announced the lineup for its second label showcase in Manchester, and well, it’s got almost everybody. It’s 13 of the 16 active bands on the roster, piled onto a single bill. Do you have any idea how hard that must be to make happen? The coordination involved? Imagine trying to plan lunch with a specific friend. You have to find a day, a time, a place that works. Now imagine doing what with upwards of 50 friends. It’s not just planning a party and saying “be here at this time.” There’s so much involved in making it happen, it’s a pretty clear indication of a mission at play. Kudos to APF for making it happen at all, let alone once.

The label has a busy 2019 planned to follow what was a busy 2018, and that’s fair enough. I myself have been enjoying the new Mastiff record, which will be out soon, and I’m dying to hear something new from the timely Tronald, though there’s been no confirmation of one in the works. Still, I’ve got my fingers crossed, and it seems like there’s plenty to come in the meantime as APF continues to provide the UK’s fervent and varied sludge scene the home it deserves.

Showcase announcement and links follow from the PR wire::

APF Records Showcase 2019

APF RECORDS SHOWCASE ALL-DAYER

Manchester, UK – 2nd February 2019

13 APF Records bands play a special one-off gig

APF Records is hosting a special one-off gig at The Bread Shed in Manchester UK on 2nd February, featuring all 13 of its current active signed bands playing across two stages.

Founded by Andrew Field in March 2017 APF Records has released albums, EPs and singles by Under, Diesel King, Blind Haze, Mastiff, The Wizards Of Delight, Tronald, The Hyena Kill, RedEye Revival, Ba’al, BongCauldron, Nomad, Desert Storm, Battalions and Barbarian Hermit during its first 18 months.

The label already has releases lined up for 2019 by Widows, Pist and Possessor as well as further releases from the bands mentioned above.

Due to the logistical challenges of getting so many APF bands in one place at once this is likely to be the last time so many of the APF Records roster will play in one place on one day. Thus advance tickets have been moving fast and the event (at the 400-capacity Bread Shed venue) is predicted to be a sell-out.

Doors open at 2pm with the first band performing at 2.30pm. The event will finish 9 hours later when BongCauldron headline the main stage.

Appearing at the APF Records Showcase:

Battalions
Barbarian Hermit
BongCauldron
Diesel King
Mastiff
Nomad
Pist
RedEye Revival
The Hyena Kill
Trevor’s Head
Tronald
Under
Widows

APF Records and Stonebaked Promotions presents: The APF Records Showcase All-Dayer
Venue: The Bread Shed, Manchester UK
Date: 2nd February 2018
Doors Open: 2pm
Tickets: £12.50 adv / £20 otd

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/162465091142797/
Ticket link: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/430503

https://www.facebook.com/apfrecords
https://twitter.com/apf_records
https://www.instagram.com/apfrecords/
https://apfrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/
http://www.apfrecords.co.uk/

BongCauldron, Tyke (2018)

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Review & Full Album Premiere: Nomad, Feral

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on May 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

nomad feral

[Click play above to stream Nomad’s Feral in full. Album is out May 31 on APF Records.]

Britain has become a sludge factory. Seems like every time one turns around, there’s another disgruntled collective shouting, screaming, riffing and crashing out their frustrations in an onslaught of raw, downtuned chug. Manchester’s Nomad, who release their debut album Feral through APF Records — which has boldly taken it upon itself to corral an increasing amount of the national scene — have been around since 2013 and precede their first record with a 2014 EP, The House is Dead, and a 2015 split with Wort. A straightforward guitar, bass, drums, vocals four-piece, their focus on the seven-track/42-minute Feral seems to be on honing as pure a pummel as possible, and they do so via a decidedly New Orleans-tinged sludge, with vocalist Drian Nash reminding of Kirk Windstein in his shoutier moments, and the riffs of Lewis Atkinson calling to mind the earliest days of sludge metal as it veered from the unhinged slowed-down hardcore punk of Eyehategod and became the more cohesive, songwriting-centered output of Crowbar.

The rhythm section of bassist John Carberry and drummer Hayley McIntyre are, naturally, responsible for the foundation on which this aural homage takes place, and do well anchoring and rolling songs like “Swarm,” which take the ferocity of eight-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Curse of the Sun” and the subsequent title-track and push it in a bluesier, lead-topped direction. Though both their moniker and the album’s title evoke a sense of something wild, Nomad themselves are never out of control, and as they blend punk, metal, hardcore and doom on 2:53 centerpiece “The War is Never Over” — chugging mosh-part and all — they present their most intense moment with no less poise than anything preceding or following.

That’s not to say Nomad are staid by any measure, only that they know what they’re doing from the opening hum and fading up toms of “Curse of the Sun” through the long fadeout of the finishing riff to closer “Shallow Fate,” which even brings back — briefly — that same hum that opened the album. And they know which side of the genre they want to play to. Is ‘classic sludge metal’ a thing yet? If not, Feral makes an argument that maybe it should be. Of course, it has its varying sides and modes of expression — “Culture of Ruin” opens with a lightly strummed acoustic guitar to set the mood before moving into its full tonality, etc. — but the root of what they’re doing, and specifically in Atkinson‘s guitar tone, is that early/mid-’90s sludge metal, which is given an even angrier sensibility by Nash‘s vocals moving smoothly between gruff shouts and harsher screams.

nomad

There are moments — the riff that emerges in “Culture of Ruin” just past the halfway point, or the huge wash of crash about six minutes into “Curse of the Sun” before the staccato chugging takes hold — where Nomad give a sense of how they might progress from their debut and what they might bring to their sound over the longer term, but as a statement of who they are, Feral is less wild than it is cohesive in its presentation — which, of course, only works to its advantage. To wit, as the tracklisting plays out, the band moves between longer and shorter songs, alternating one then the other to effectively keep the listener off balance and to highlight the subtle diversity in their presentation and the fluidity with which they execute the structures of their songs. The end effect is to give Feral some of the madness its title brings to mind, even though it’s clear that NashAtkinsonCarberry and McIntyre are actively, consciously steering the material as they go.

In some cases, that might lessen the impact. It doesn’t here, because ultimately it’s a part of the aesthetic. Some early sludgers might have been out of control, but Crowbar never were, and as they’re a chief influence, it’s only fair that Nomad shouldn’t be either. The chugging slam of “The War is Never Over,” the bassline underscoring the title-track, the groove and build of “Shallow Fate” — all of these things arrive with a sense of purpose that makes the overarching listening experience of the album feel focused and all the more intense for the mindfulness at work behind it. These songs didn’t just happen; they were built. As a uniting factor, that purposeful delivery has as much to do with making the album work as the consistency of tone or mood, and in thinking ahead to what Nomad might do over the longer term, it’s among the most encouraging aspects of Feral, which may not ultimately be running wild and completely out of its mind, but certainly gnashes its teeth all the same in a manner that can only help them distinguish themselves from the UK’s crowded sludge underground.

Nomad on Thee Facebooks

Nomad on Twitter

APF Records on Thee Facebooks

APF Records webstore

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Nomad and Mower Announce UK Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 25th, 2016 by JJ Koczan

With five dates, it’s more than a weekender — one even tends to think of a long-weekender as three or four shows — but still under the full-week tour, but Nomad and Mower will head out together either way from their home-base in Manchester, England, playing in London, Nottingham, Coventry and Sheffield as well as finishing with a gig in their native city. Both go supporting EP releases — Nomad‘s latest having come out last year and Mower‘s debut earlier in 2016 — and both promise one thing for which the UK scene is becoming increasingly known: Riffs. It’s a pretty riffy time over there. Bands gots riffs. Only fair to spread that love around a bit.

Also, this is the press release that taught me the word “Mancunian,” which apparently means “of or related to the city of Manchester, England.” I’ve had plenty of conversations about Manchester — Lee from The Sleeping Shaman comes from there — and never heard that word before. Thanks, the PR wire. I learned something today.

Dig it:

nomad-mower-tour-poster

Sludgers Nomad announce UK tour with fellow Mancunians Mower

Mancunian underground heroes Nomad have announced a UK tour for this September and are taking relative newcomers Mower with them. Since forming in 2012, Mancunian sludge four-piece Nomad have shared stages with the likes of EyeHateGod, Conan and Bongripper. Metalheads in the north west of England are under no illusions as to the ferocity of their live shows.

Frontman Drian Nash is known for tempering his confrontational performances with a self-deprecating Manc sense of humour, firmly establishing Nomad at the heart of Manchester’s burgeoning stoner/doom scene. This tour will be an opportunity for rifflovers from across the UK to see how Nomad have achieved their unrivalled reputation within such a competitive scene in England’s north west.

Their debut EP (released in 2014 by renowned underground label When Planets Collide) was followed by a split EP with Wort released by Red Valley Records the following year. Nomad frontman Drian: “It’s always a blast playing with the Mower guys so this tour should have enough planet-sized riffs and carnage to be lasting us. We are sharing the stage with some of our favourite bands along the way? Elephant tree, Iron Swan and Kurokuma. Also Stoked to get to finish it all off with a huge party in our hometown. That’s if we don’t crash into a mountain in a big ball of fire blasting Toto and sipping cocktails.”

Relative newcomers Mower are a doom/noise trio from nearby Wigan whose debut EP “Meathead”, released at the start of this year, is already turning heads. As a live presence they’ll be known by attendees of MammothFest, Tombstones all-dayer and RiffFest as a band not to miss on what will be their first gigs in a number of cities outside of Manchester.

Vocalist Jay says of the tour: “This will be our first tour, and what a way to pop the cherry, making this fine pilgrimage around the U.K, with Nomad! We’re all buzzin’ to go make some Mower-flavoured noise in other parts of the country. We also get to play some new venues with some other amazing bands, a proper privilege indeed. We shall be providing the White Russians and obscene sexual favours as thanks. Riffs await.”

With such a strong stoner/doom scene in Manchester, this tour will be an opportunity for rifflovers from across the UK to see how this scene’s stalwarts have achieved their unrivalled reputation alongside with one of the area’s most exciting new prospects.

14th September The Unicorn London
15th September The Chameleon Arts Cafe Nottingham
16th September The Phoenix Coventry
17th September Mulberry Underground Sheffield
18th September Rebellion Manchester

https://www.facebook.com/Nomaddoom
https://www.facebook.com/mowerdoom
https://nomaddoom.bandcamp.com
https://mower13.bandcamp.com/

Nomad & Mower tour promo video

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BongCauldron Touring UK with Nomad Next Month

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 25th, 2014 by JJ Koczan

bongcauldron

Leeds aggro sludgers BongCauldron, who made their debut with a blistering EP earlier this year on Superhot Records — speaking of things I should’ve reviewed a long time ago… — will hit the road next month alongside Nomad from Manchester in what’s sure to be a feedback-drenched, tube-blowing showcase of lumbering riffery. The stint is five shows, and the pair are playing with some cool other bands as well — nice to see the name Obiat again, as it’s been a minute — and both will be touring on relatively new material.

In the case of Nomad, who I’m just going to assume take their name from the planet-destroying malfunctioned probe from the original Star Trek, their The House is Dead EP came out in May. BongCauldron themselves have a new song called “Bigfoot Reigns” (what else?) that was released a few days ago and which you can hear below.

Info and links and such, off the PR wire:

sea bastard with bongcauldron

BONG CAULDRON – NOMAD UK TOUR

Leeds sludge trio BONG CAULDRON are joining forces with Manchester’s very own worshippers of the riff NOMAD for a 5 date tour of the UK this September.

Bong Cauldron are a 3 piece Doom/sludge band from Leeds. Their debut E.P. Us out now via Superhot Records and was met with critical acclaim. They have had the opportunity to play alongside such bands as, Corrosion of Conformity, Windhand and Desert Storm.

Nomad are a four piece sludge band from Manchester and have just released their debut E.P. “The House is Dead” Via When Planets Collide. Over the past year they have shared the stage with genre giants Church Of Misery, Bongripper and Conan amongst others.

The tour will see them bring their brand of depravity and chaos to the following cities.

September
10th The Fenton – Leeds (W/ OMSQ + Mausoleion)
11th Banshee labyrinth – Edinburgh (W/ Dune)
12th Scruffy Murphys – Birmingham (W/ General and Obiat)
13th Moonclub – Cardiff (W/ Sea Bastard + Hogslayer)
14th Maguire’s Pizza Bar – Liverpool (W/ Wort + Berserkowitz)

BongCauldron (Superhot records)
https://www.facebook.com/bongcauldron
http://superhotrecords.bandcamp.com/album/bongcauldron

Nomad
https://www.facebook.com/Nomaddoom
www.nomaddoom.bigcartel.com
www.nomaddoom.bandcamp.com

BongCauldron, “Bigfoot Reigns”

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