Quarterly Review: Monkey3, The Quill, Nebula Drag, LLNN & Sugar Horse, Fuzzter, Cold in Berlin, The Mountain King, Witchorious, Skull Servant, Lord Velvet

Posted in Reviews on February 29th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

The-Obelisk-Quarterly-Review

Day four of five puts the end of this Quarterly Review in sight, as will inevitably happen. We passed the halfway point yesterday and by the time today’s done it’s the home stretch. I hope you’ve had a good week. It’s been a lot — and in terms of the general work level of the day, today’s my busiest day; I’ve got Hungarian class later and homework to do for that, and two announcements to write in addition to this, one for today one for tomorrow, and I need to set up the back end of another announcement for Friday if I can. The good news is that my daughter seems to be over the explosive-vomit-time stomach bug that had her out of school on Monday. The better news is I’ve yet to get that.

But if I’m scatterbrained generally and sort of flailing, well, as I was recently told after I did a video interview and followed up with the artist to apologize for my terribleness at it, at least it’s honest. I am who I am, and I think that there are places where people go and things people do that sometimes I have a hard time with. Like leaving the house. And parenting. And interviewing bands, I guess. Needing to plow through 10 reviews today and tomorrow should be a good exercise in focusing energy, even if that isn’t necessarily getting the homework done faster. And yeah, it’s weird to be in your 40s and think about homework. Everything’s weird in your 40s.

Quarterly Review #31-40:

Monkey3, Welcome to the Machine

monkey3 welcome to the machine

What are Monkey3 circa 2024 if not a name you can trust? The Swiss instrumental four-piece are now more than 20 years removed from their 2003 self-titled debut, and Welcome to the Machine — their seventh album and fourth release on Napalm Records (three studio, one live) — brings five new songs across 46 minutes of stately progressive heavy craft, with the lead cut “Ignition” working into an early gallop before cutting to ambience presumably as a manifestation of hitting escape velocity and leaving the planetary atmosphere, and trading from there between longer (10-plus-minute) and shorter (six- and seven-minute) pieces that are able to hit with a surprising impact when they so choose. Second track “Collision” comes to crush in a way that even 2019’s Sphere (review here) didn’t, and to go with its methodical groove, heavy post-rock airiness and layered-in acoustic guitar, “Kali Yuga” (10:01) is tethered by a thud of drums that feels no less the point of the thing than the mood-aura in the largesse that surrounds. Putting “Rackman” (7:13, with hints of voice or keyboard that sounds like it), which ends furiously, and notably cinematic closer “Collapse” (12:51) together on side B is a distinct immersion, and the latter places Monkey3 in a prog-metal context that defies stylistic expectation even as it lives up to the promise of the band’s oeuvre. Seven records and more than two decades on, and Monkey3 are still evolving. This is a special band, and in a Europe currently awash in heavy instrumentalism of varying degrees of psychedelia, it’s hard to think of Monkey3 as anything other than aesthetic pioneers.

Monkey3 on Facebook

Napalm Records website

The Quill, Wheel of Illusion

the quill wheel of illusion

With its Sabbath-born chug and bluesy initial groove opening to NWOBHM grandeur at the solo, the opening title-track is quick to reassure that Sweden’s The Quill are themselves on Wheel of Illusion, even if the corresponding classic metal elements there a standout from the more traditional rock of “Elephant Head” with its tambourine, or the doomier roll in “Sweet Mass Confusion,” also pointedly Sabbathian and thus well within the wheelhouse of guitarist Christian Carlsson, vocalist Magnus Ekwall, bassist Roger Nilsson and drummer Jolle Atlagic. While most of Wheel of Illusion is charged in its delivery, the still-upbeat “Rainmaker” feels like a shift in atmosphere after the leadoff and “We Burn,” and atmospherics come more into focus as the drums thud and the strings echo out in layers as “Hawks and Hounds” builds to its ending. While “The Last Thing” works keyboard into its all-go transition into nodding capper “Wild Mustang,” it’s the way the closer seems to encapsulate the album as a whole and the perspective brought to heavy rock’s founding tenets that make The Quill such reliable purveyors, and Wheel of Illusion comes across like special attention was given to the arrangements and the tightness of the songwriting. If you can’t appreciate kickass rock and roll, keep moving. Otherwise, whether it’s your first time hearing The Quill or you go back through all 10 of their albums, they make it a pleasure to get on board.

The Quill on Facebook

Metalville Records website

Nebula Drag, Western Death

Nebula Drag Western Death

Equal parts brash and disillusioned, Nebula Drag‘s Dec. 2023 LP, Western Death, is a ripper whether you’re dug into side ‘Western’ or side ‘Death.’ The first half of the psych-leaning-but-more-about-chemistry-than-effects San Diego trio’s third album offers the kind of declarative statement one might hope, with particular scorch in the guitar of Corey Quintana, sway and ride in Stephen Varns‘ drums and Garrett Gallagher‘s Sabbathian penchant for working around the riffs. The choruses of “Sleazy Tapestry,” “Kneecap,” “Side by Side,” “Tell No One” and the closing title-track speak directly to the listener, with the last of them resolved, “Look inside/See the signs/Take what you can,” and “Side by Side” a call to group action, “We don’t care how it gets done/Helpless is the one,” but there’s storytelling here too as “Tell No One” turns the sold-your-soul-to-play-music trope and turns it on its head by (in the narrative, anyhow) keeping the secret. Pairing these ideas with Nebula Drag‘s raw-but-not-sloppy heavy grunge, able to grunge-crunch on “Tell No One” even as the vocals take on more melodic breadth, and willing to let it burn as “Western Death” departs its deceptively angular riffing to cap the 34-minute LP with the noisy finish it has by then well earned.

Nebula Drag on Facebook

Desert Records store

LLNN & Sugar Horse, The Horror bw Sleep Paralysis Demon

LLNN Sugar Horse The Horror Sleep Paralysis Demon

Brought together for a round of tour dates that took place earlier this month, Pelagic Records labelmates LLNN (from Copenhagen) and Sugar Horse (from Bristol, UK) each get one track on a 7″ side for a showcase. Both use it toward obliterating ends. LLNN, who are one of the heaviest bands I’ve ever seen live and I’m incredibly grateful for having seen them live, dig into neo-industrial churn on “The Horror,” with stabbing synth later in the procession that underscores the point and less reliance on tonal onslaught than the foreboding violence of the atmosphere they create. In response, Sugar Horse manage to hold back their screams and lurching full-bore bludgeonry for nearly the first minute of “Sleep Paralysis Demon” and even after digging into it dare a return to cleaner singing, admirable in their restraint and more effectively tense for it when they push into caustic sludge churn and extremity, space in the guitar keeping it firmly in the post-metal sphere even as they aim their intent at rawer flesh. All told, the platter is nine of probably and hopefully-for-your-sake the most brutal minutes you might experience today, and thus can only be said to accomplish what it set out to do as the end product sounds like two studios would’ve needed rebuilding afterward.

LLNN on Facebook

Sugar Horse on Facebook

Pelagic Records website

Fuzzter, Pandemonium

fuzzter pandemonium

Fuzzter aren’t necessarily noisy in terms of playing noise rock on Pandemonium, but from the first cymbal crashes after the Oppenheimer sample at the start of “Extinción,” the Peruvian outfit engage an uptempo heavy psych thrust that, though directed, retains a chaotic aspect through the band’s willingness to be sound if not actually be reckless, to gang shout before the guitars drift off in “Thanatos,” to be unafraid of being eaten by their own swirl in “Caja de Pandora” or to chug with a thrashy intensity at the start of closer “Tercer Ojo,” doom out massive in the song’s middle, and float through jazzy minimalism at the finish. But even in that, there are flashes, bursts that emphasize the unpredictability of the songs, which is an asset throughout what’s listed as the Lima trio’s third EP but clocks in at 36 minutes with the instrumental “Purgatorio,” which starts off like it might be an interlude but grows more furious as its five minutes play out, tucked into its center. If it’s a short release, it is substantial. If it’s an album, it’s substantial despite a not unreasonable runtime. Ultimately, whatever they call it is secondary to the space-metal reach and the momentum fostered across its span, which just might carry you with it whether or not you thought you were ready to go.

Fuzzter on Facebook

Fuzzter on Instagram

Cold in Berlin, The Body is the Wound

cold in berlin the body is the wound

The listed representation of dreams in “Dream One” adds to the concrete severity of Cold in Berlin‘s dark, keyboard-laced post-metallic sound, but London-based four-piece temper that impact with the post-punk ambience around the shove of the later “Found Out” on their The Body is the Wound 19-minute four-songer, and build on the goth-ish sway even as “Spotlight” fosters a heavier, more doomed mindset behind vocalist Maya, whose verses in “When Did You See Her Last” are complemented by dramatic lines of keyboard and who can’t help but soar even as the overarching direction is down, down, down into either the subconscious referenced in “Dream One” or some other abyss probably of the listener’s own making. Five years and one actual-plague after their fourth full-length, 2019’s Rituals of Surrender, bordering on 15 since the band got their start, they cast resonance in mood as well as impact (the latter bolstered by Wayne Adams‘ production), and are dynamic in style as well as volume, with each piece on The Body is the Wound working toward its own ends while the EP’s entirety flows with the strength of its performances. They’re in multiple worlds, and it works.

Cold in Berlin on Facebook

Cold in Berlin website

The Mountain King, Apostasyn

the mountain king apostasyn

With the expansive songwriting of multi-instrumentalist/sometimes-vocalist Eric McQueen at its core, The Mountain King issue Apostasyn as possibly their 10th full-length in 10 years and harness a majestic, progressive doom metal that doesn’t skimp either on the doom or the metal, whether that takes the form of the Type O Negative-style keys in “The White Noise From God’s Radio” or the tremolo guitar in the apex of closer “Axolotl Messiah.” The title-track is a standout for more than just being 15 minutes long, with its death-doom crux and shifts between minimal and maximal volumes, and the opening “Dødo” just before fosters immersion after its maybe-banging-on-stuff-maybe-it’s-programmed intro, with a hard chug answered in melody by guest singer Julia Gusso, who joins McQueen and the returning Frank Grimbarth (also guitar) on vocals, while Robert Bished adds synth to McQueen‘s own. Through the personnel changes and in each piece’s individual procession, The Mountain King are patient, waiting in the dark for you to join them. They’ll probably just keep basking in all that misery until you get there, no worries. Oh, and I’ll note that the download version of Apostasyn comes with instrumental versions of the four tracks, in case you’d really like to lose yourself in ruminating.

The Mountain King on Facebook

The Mountain King on Bandcamp

Witchorious, Witchorious

WITCHORIOUS SELF TITLED

The self-titled debut from Parisian doomers Witchorious is distinguished by its moments of sludgier aggression — the burly barks in “Monster” at the outset, and so on — but the chorus of “Catharsis” that rises from the march of the verse offers a more melodic vision, and the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Antoine Auclair, bassist/vocalist Lucie Gaget and drummer Paul Gaget, continue to play to multiple sides of a modern metal and doom blend, while “The Witch” adds vastness and roll to its creeper-riff foundation. The guitar-piece “Amnesia” serves as an interlude ahead of “Watch Me Die” as Witchorious dig into the second half of the album, and as hard has that song comes to hit — plenty — the character of the band is correspondingly deepened by the breadth of “To the Grave,” which follows before the bonus track “Why” nod-dirges the album’s last hook. There’s clarity in the craft throughout, and Witchorious seem aware of themselves in stylistic terms if not necessarily writing to style, and noteworthy as it is for being their first record, I look forward to hearing how they refine and sharpen the methods laid out in these songs. The already-apparent command with which they direct the course here isn’t to be ignored.

Witchorious on Facebook

Argonauta Records website

Skull Servant, Traditional Black Magicks II

skull servant traditional black magicks ii

Though their penchant for cult positioning and exploitation-horror imagery might lead expectations elsewhere, North Carolinian trio Skull Servant present a raw, sludge-rocking take on their second LP, Traditional Black Magicks II, with bassist Noah Terrell and guitarist Calvin Bauer reportedly swapping vocal duties per song across the five tracks while drummer Ryland Dreibelbis gives fluidity to the current of distortion threaded into “Absinthe Dreams,” which is instrumental on the album but newly released as a standalone single with vocals. I don’t know if the wrong version got uploaded or what — Bauer ends up credited with vocals that aren’t there — but fair enough. A meaner, punkier stonerism shows itself as “Poison the Unwell” hints at facets of post-hardcore and “Pergamos,” the two shortest pieces placed in front of the strutting “Lucifer’s Reefer” and between that cut and the Goatsnake-via-Sabbath riffing of “Satan’s Broomstick.” So it could be that Skull Servant, who released the six-song outing on Halloween 2023, are still sorting through where they want to be sound-wise, or it could be they don’t give a fuck about genre convention and are gonna do whatever they please going forward. I won’t predict and I’m not sure either answer is wrong.

Skull Servant on Facebook

Skull Servant on Bandcamp

Lord Velvet, Astral Lady

lord velvet astral lady

Notice of arrival is served as Lord Velvet dig into classic vibes and modern heft on their late 2023 debut EP, Astral Lady, to such a degree that I actually just checked their social media to see if they’d been signed yet before I started writing about them. Could happen, and probably will if they want it to, considering the weight of low end and the flowing, it’s-a-vibe-man vibe, plus shred, in “Lament of Io” and the way they make that lumber boogie through (most of) “Snakebite Fever.” Appearing in succession, “Night Terrors” and “From the Deep” channel stoned Iommic revelry amid their dynamic-in-tempo doomed intent, and while “Black Beam of Gemini” rounds out with a shove, Lord Velvet retain the tonal presence on the other end of that quick, quiet break, ready to go when needed for the crescendo. They’re not reinventing stoner rock and probably shouldn’t be trying to on this first EP, but they feel like they’re engaging with some of the newer styles being proffered by Magnetic Eye or sometimes Ripple Music, and if they end up there or elsewhere before they get around to making a full-length, don’t be surprised. If they plan to tour, so much the better for everybody.

Lord Velvet on Facebook

Lord Velvet website

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Lie Heavy Premiere “Burn to the Moon” Video; Album Preorder Available

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Whathaveyou on January 30th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

lie heavy

Lie Heavy will issue their debut album, Burn to the Moon, through Heavy Psych Sounds on April 19. The well-pedigreed North Carolinian outfit comprised of guitarist Graham Fry (ex-Confessor), vocalist Karl Agell (The Skull/Legions of Doom, Patriarchs in Black, Leadfoot, Blind-era Corrosion of Conformity), drummer Jeff “JD” Dennis (Hank Sinatra and the Backsliders) and bassist TR Gwynne self-released the 12-song bangerfest last year and will now see it issued through Europe’s foremost heavy purveyor in its first physical editions.

An interesting passage-of-time aspect to how Lie Heavy are presented, since around lie heavy burn to the moonthe time Agell was were in Leadfoot (you’ll know it’s them because they drink for free) there was little talk of “throwbacks to another era” or this kind of dudely, straight-hitting sound as primal, with the implication of course that more complex ideas have come along since. That happens to be true. You can’t deny that heavy music has developed in the last two decades and that Lie Heavy are intentional in sticking to their guns updating their own versions of ‘the classics’ while themselves being cast with a classic sound.

This is a good thing, distinguishing among generations. You and I will live to see the first generation who made rock and roll die out. It is uncharted territory for the art form, and the narratives of the history of heavy will be made not by those who were there when the first riff was strummed but those who look back after and decide what was ‘classic’ or otherwise worthwhile in terms of influence. If Lie Heavy are a voice from the past stylistically, fine — heavy’s all about speaking to its own beginnings — but let’s also keep in mind that two decades (-plus) will has happened to Agell and company as well, and Lie Heavy are a stronger, fresher band for that.

Their video for “Burn to the Moon” — not a terrible-sounding idea — premieres below to coincide with the opening of preorders for the album from Heavy Psych Sounds. Info below comes from the PR wire.

Please enjoy:

Lie Heavy, “Burn to the Moon” video premiere

US heavy rock supergroup LIE HEAVY: Debut album “Burn To The Moon” out April 19th on Heavy Psych Sounds

Raleigh, North Carolina’s Lie Heavy is one of the few, true throwbacks to another era. They feature the vocals of Karl Agell, best known for Corrosion of Conformity’s BLiND album and Leadfoot. Heavy, heavy-ass blues that would have fit on the Man’s Ruin label back in the 90s, around the time that Orange Goblin was making waves. This is primal stuff: not quite Stoner, not quite Metal, and not quite giving a shit.

1. Nothing To Steal
2. In The Shadow
3. Burn To The Moon
4. Drag The World
5. The Long March
6. Lie Heavy
7. When The Universe Cries
8. Chunkadelic
0. Pontius Pilate
10. Unbeliever
11. Diabolik
12. End the World

Karl Agell – Lead Vocals
Jeff JD Dennis – Drums & Percussions / Vocals
TR Gwynne – Bass / Vocals / Acoustic Guitar
Graham Fry – Guitars / Vocals

Lie Heavy, Burn to the Moon (2023)

Lie Heavy on Facebook

Lie Heavy on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds on Instagram

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Heavy Psych Sounds website

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Kabbalah and Crystal Spiders Announce Co-Headlining European Tour

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 14th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

At the end of last month when the lineups were announced for Ripplefest Germany in Berlin and Köln, we found out that North Carolina’s Crystal Spiders would be making the trip abroad, and since they were going forth on their first performances in Europe, it didn’t seem unreasonable to think they’d at least make a short stint of it.

Indeed they’ll do precisely that, co-headlining on a run alongside Spanish heavy cult rockers Kabbalah, who’ll do 10 shows while Crystal Spiders accompany for seven of them, including the two nights at Ripplefest. Kabbalah reissued their 2017 debut, Spectral Ascent, through Ripple earlier this year, and in 2022 took part in Spinda Records‘ mega-compilation Grados. Minutos. Segundos. (review here), following on from their 2021 second album, The Omen (review here), which came out through Ripple imprint Rebel Waves.

As of last month, Crystal Spiders had six songs written for the follow-up to 2021’s Morieris (review here), and when that’s done, it will be their third record overall, and one assumes it’ll show up sometime in 2024. But new material on the road could certainly happen, and that’s always fun.

The PR wire sent the dates as part of an ongoing glut of Ripple-based news this week:

kabbalah-crystal-spiders-tour

Occult doom rock trio KABBALAH announces co-headlining European tour with US heavy rockers CRYSTAL SPIDERS this fall!

Spanish occult doom rockers KABBALAH and US heavy rockers CRYSTAL SPIDERS are set to embark on their co-headlining European tour this fall, including appearances at Ripplefest in Berlin and Cologne.

After a remarked performance at Motocultor Festival this summer and opening slots for The Obsessed and Lucifer in Spain, all-female trio Kabbalah are back on the European roads to grace heavy and occult rock fans with their dark and magnetic spells. On this special occasion, they will be joined by their Ripple Music labelmates and fast-rising heavy rockers Crystal Spiders and will both appear at Ripplefest in Berlin and Cologne.

KABBALAH & CRYSTAL SPIDERS European tour 2023
23.11.23 FR – Paris – L’International*
24.11.23 DE – Mannheim – 7er Club*
25.11.23 DE – Berlin – Ripplefest
27.11.23 AT – Linz – Kapu
29.11.23 DE – Jena – Rosenkeller
30.11.23 DE – Gottingen – Vinyl-Reservat
01.12.23 BE – Diest – Hell
02.12.23 DE – Cologne – Ripplefest
04.12.23 FR – Chambery – Brin de Zinc*
05.12.23 FR – Toulouse – Mécanique des Fluides*
*Kabbalah only

https://www.facebook.com/Kabbalahrock
https://www.instagram.com/kabbalahband/
https://kabbalahrock.bandcamp.com/

facebook.com/crystalspidersinmymind
https://www.instagram.com/crystalspiders_/
crystalspiders.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

Kabbalah, “Night Comes Near” official video

Crystal Spiders, “Septix” official video

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Firelight Recordings Launches With Debut Album From The Magpie

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 5th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

You can put ‘Running a label’ high on the list of thankless jobs, which I think is why there’s so often a direct reason when someone does so. In the case of Firelight Recordings, the someone is Erik Sugg, whom one might recall from his time in Demon Eye and Lightning Born. His new band is The Magpie, and The Magpie‘s self-titled debut album will be the first release on Firelight Recordings. Kinda nice when things come together like that. In corporatespeak, they call that synergy. First single? Yeah that’s out. Also the whole record is streaming, so stick that in your marketing rollout.

These days, an artist issuing their own work on their own imprint isn’t always news, but I’ll argue that Sugg partnering with players from Crystal Spiders, Double Negative, etc., and making a record with Mike Dean (C.O.C., Lightning Born, and this orbit generally) wants nothing for relevance here, especially if Sugg is going to look at signing outside projects to Firelight, which may or may not be the case or is yet undetermined, I have no idea. But I do get asked once or twice in the average week for label recommendations, so having another name in my back pocket to float is nearly always welcome. Certainly so in this case.

From the PR wire:

Firelight Records logo on black

Firelight Recordings: A New Home for Incredible, Heavy Rock, Psychedelia, and Experimental Darkness

Erik Sugg, (ex- Demon Eye, Lightning Born) is thrilled to announce Firelight Recordings. This new label brought to you from North Carolina, USA explores heavy rock, psychedelia, dark folk, and other sonic offerings of the ambient underground is just now ramping up. If those genre terms are relevant to you, Firelight Recordings is your next destination for new and upcoming great, original heavy music. Please, read on!

Our Firelight Recordings journey begins with Sugg’s latest project, “The Magpie,” dropping on Friday, September 8, 2023. The band’s Mike Dean-produced, self-titled album blends elements of heavy metal, post hardcore, noise, and vintage psychedelia in ten electrifying tracks. The band has Erik joining up with iconic punk artist, Brian Walsby (Snake Nation, Double Negative) and Mike Deloatch (Crystal Spiders.) Get a taste by checking out The Magpie lyric video for “Juice Glass” now, or streaming the full album via Hear Now. You can also listen to the full glory of the album on the Magpie Bandcamp and purchase a download, order a CD, or better yet a vinyl pre-order with an instant complimentary download. Vinyl copies are expected in early December and are limited to 100 copies. If you dig what you hear, please follow The Magpie and Firelight Recordings on social media, and stay tuned for all of their unforgettable musical developments.

Produced and Engineered by Mike Dean (Corrosion of Conformity) and Mastered by Pete Weiss at Jade Crow Music. Album Art courtesy of Kristen Walsby.

The Magpie is:
Erik Sugg: Guitar and vocals
Brian Walsby: Drums and percussion
Mike Deloatch: Bass and vocals

https://www.facebook.com/firelightrecords
https://www.instagram.com/firelightrecordsnc/
https://www.youtube.com/@FirelightRecordsnc

The Magpie, “Juice Glass” lyric video

The Magpie, The Magpie (2023)

Firelight Records announcement

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Jeff “JD” Dennis of Lie Heavy

Posted in Questionnaire on July 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Jeff JD Dennis of Lie Heavy

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Jeff “JD” Dennis of Lie Heavy

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I create music w/ other people. I use my musical instincts and drums as a vehicle to do that.

Describe your first musical memory.

My Mom spinning records on our console stereo.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Signing my first record deal. Recording that first record & touring to support it.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Becoming aware of the true nature of organized religion changed my whole worldview & understanding of what it means to be a good human. And, how that can be accomplished without the presence of religion in my life.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Artistic progression leads to a sense of accomplishment. And, a realization that there’s so much farther you can go.

How do you define success?

In younger years success meant something different than it does now. Now, success just means accomplishing a goal.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

The death of my Mom because of cancer.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I would like to create a drum-centric piece of music utilizing loops of live tracks in different time signatures.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To push boundaries and make people think.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I always look forward to my next fly fishing trip.

https://facebook.com/lieheavy

Lie Heavy, “Lie Heavy”

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Weedeater Announce East Coast & Midwest Touring

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

weedeater

In honor of the fact that Weedeater tour like bastards, I mean, they just go and go and go, I decided I would take the last tour announcement I put up — it covered from February to May of this year — and copy the post to remake it here. Drop in the new text and see what happened. Did I save myself any time? Nah. The images still needed to be placed and then I decided to chase down the Instagram links for the band and the label because, well, relevance, but yeah, no time saved. I wasn’t being cheeky or anything, like I would somehow try to make fun of the band for CONTINUING to work hard. I was trying something out, and I learned a thing.

I also learned about the Slower and Harder Fest that Weedeater are playing on this upcoming East Coast/Midwest stint, alongside appearances at Burque Rock City, RPM Fest and Full Terror Assault Fest. I hadn’t heard about it, because I guess I don’t hear about everything because frankly I’ve never been that cool, but the lineup is right on, with Weedeater (duh), BongripperPortrayal of GuiltDorthia Cottrell and a bunch of others. All the ticket links below are active, I hope, and all come from the PR wire.

All glory to the PR wire:

WEEDEATER EAST COAST MIDWEST TOUR

WEEDEATER Rolling Through the Northeast and Midwest

GET TICKETS: https://weedmetal.com/tour.html

WEEDEATER are loaded up and ready to ride.

The sludge-stoned cowboys are blazing the ol’ dusty trail later this summer with 10+ shows across the Northeast and Midwest. Along the way, they’re hitting a couple festivals, including headlining spots at Albuquerque’s Rock City Fest and Slower & Harder Fest in Atlanta.

Joining Weedeater is the grindin’, frashin’ punk rock wrecking machine King Parrot.

God Luck and Good Speed.

Tour dates
08/05 Albuquerque, NM @ Rock City Fest [TICKETS]
08/30 Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor [TICKETS]
08/31 Washington, DC @ Black Cat [TICKETS]
09/01 Brooklyn, NY @ Meadows [TICKETS]
09/02 Montague, MA @ RPM Fest [TICKETS]
09/03 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place [TICKETS]
09/04 Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary [TICKETS]
09/06 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme [TICKETS]
09/07 Cave In Rock, IL @ Full Terror Assault Fest [TICKETS]
09/08 Champaign, IL @ Loose Cobra (On Sale 07/15)
09/10 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Utility Works @ Slower & Harder Fest [TICKETS]
09/11 Greensboro, NC @ Hangar 1819 [TICKETS]

https://www.facebook.com/weedmetal/
https://www.instagram.com/weedeaterband/
https://weedeater.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
https://www.instagram.com/seasonofmistofficial/
http://www.season-of-mist.com/

Weedeater, Goliathan (2015)

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Jay Ovittore of Holyroller

Posted in Questionnaire on June 1st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Jay Ovittore of Holyroller

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Jay Ovittore of Holyroller

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Music is life for me. Playing, discovering, learning or listening to music. Music has always been in my blood. I started playing drums around 6 years old. My Dad was a Bass Player before I was born and was always supportive of me and my music, so maybe it was in my genes. I was lucky to have that supportz most aren’t as lucky.

As far as defining what I do, me personally, I beat the shit out of my drums to express emotions I am feeling. It is the best stress relief. The band gets a lot of labels, Doom, Stoner, Psych,etc…I like to think we are a rock n roll band, and if it fits into a niche that you enjoy then great, but the reality is we strive to write good rock n roll songs.

Describe your first musical memory.

I used to spend summers in Mount Vernon, NY (home of Lou Albano and Denzel Washington) with my grandparents. My Uncle Ronnie lived there too. We would hang out and he would play me some of his vinyl. The one that changed my life was The Police- Reggatta de Blanc. I was air drumming to Stewart Copeland and my Uncle caught that and called my Dad and said, “You have to get this boy a drum kit”. Rest is history.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I got to open for Clutch on their Robot Hive/Exodus tour on New Year’s Eve here in NC. I would describe more but I was in the moment and not so sober.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Religion seems to be a good one…I am an Atheist and it seems a challenge to some who do have different beliefs to test my “lack of faith”. I believe in those I surround myself with and they believe in me….I do good things and treat folks like I want to be treated. I don’t need organized religion to justify who I am or what I do. I’m also not going to judge you if you need it your life, because it’s really none of my business.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I think artists are always growing, or they should be. It seems that most bands debuts are always golden, but those follow up albums always seem to lack. We strive to not jump off the cliff with our writing. We changed a lot from our self titled EP to our debut label release Swimming Witches. I feel like we push each other to be better, write better and I just wish the world could see the magic when it happens, because sometimes it’s hard for me to believe that we just wrote that. It’s natural to mature as an artist, experiment and explore. It’s healthy for you.

How do you define success?

Some define success in dollars or album sales. As those would be nice, I see it a bit different. Not every band can go out and make a living doing this thing. So for me it is those moments with fans we make…when they tell us how they feel because of what we play. If I change one person’s life with the music we put out, I am successful.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Can I just list our some of my ex’s here?

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A solution to all this hatred in the world. People of different political beliefs, religions, color, lifestyle just flat out hating each other and there is no room to discuss things like adults and get shit done. Smoke some weed and have a conversation. Maybe if weed was legal in more places we would have as many fucked up mass shootings that seem like just every day normal events now because we have become numb. I certainly don’t have the answer to solve all of it, but violence and hatred has to stop.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Art is a historical document of the time we live in. It tells a story of a certain time and be it music or paintings or tattoos, the story lies within.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

This is the toughest question here, because everything in my life is musical in some way. I guess I can say eventually going to Italy (but I’m really hoping that it is part of a tour). It’s the one place on the world I want to see more then any other. Hell, I might not come back.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100047348095331
https://www.instagram.com/holyrollerrocknroller/
https://twitter.com/HolyRollerband
https://holyrollernc.bandcamp.com/

https://www.blackdoomba.com/
https://blackdoombarecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/blackdoombarecords/

Holyroller, Swimming Witches (2022)

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Quarterly Review: Yakuza, Lotus Thrones, Endtime & Cosmic Reaper, High Priest, MiR, Hiram-Maxim, The Heavy Co., The Cimmerian, Nepaal, Hope Hole

Posted in Reviews on May 10th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-qr-summer-2020

Coming at you live and direct from the Wegmans pharmacy counter where I’m waiting to pick up some pinkeye drops for my kid, who stayed home from half-day pre-k on Monday because the Quarterly Review isn’t complicated enough on its own. It was my diagnosis that called off the bus, later confirmed over telehealth, so at least I wasn’t wrong and shot my own day. I know this shit doesn’t matter to anyone — it’ll barely matter to me in half an hour — but, well, I don’t think I’ve ever written while waiting for a prescription before and I’m just stoned enough to think it might be fun to do so now.

Of course, by the time I’m writing the reviews below — tomorrow morning, as it happens — this scrip will have long since been ready and retrieved. But a moment to live through, just the same.

We hit halfway today. Hope your week’s been good so far. Mine’s kind of a mixed bag apart from the music, which has been pretty cool.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Yakuza, Sutra

Yakuza sutra

Since it would be impossible anyway to encapsulate the scope of Yakuza‘s Sutra — the Chicago-based progressive psych-metal outfit led by vocalist/saxophonist Bruce Lamont, with Matt McClelland on guitar/backing vocals, Jerome Marshall on bass and James Staffel on drums/percussion — from the transcendental churn of “2is1” to the deadpan tension build in and noise rock payoff in “Embers,” the sax-scorch bass-punch metallurgical crunch of “Into Forever” and the deceptively bright finish of “Never the Less,” and so on, let’s do a Q&A. They still might grind at any moment? Yup, see “Burn Before Reading.” They still on a wavelength of their own? Oh most definitely; see “Echoes From the Sky,” “Capricorn Rising,” etc. Still underrated? Yup. It’s been 11 years since they released Beyul (review here). Still ahead of their time? Yes. Like anti-genre pioneers John Zorn or Peter Brötzmann turned heavy and metal, or like Virus or Voivod with their specific kind of if-you-know-you-know, cult-following-worthy individualist creativity, Yakuza weave through the consuming 53-minute procession of Sutra with a sensibility that isn’t otherworldly because it’s psychedelic or drenched in effects (though it might also be those things at any given moment), but because they sound like they come from another planet. A welcome return from an outfit genuinely driven toward the unique and a meld of styles beyond metal and/or jazz. And they’ve got a fitting home on Svart. I know it’s been over a decade, but I hope these dudes get old in this band.

Yakuza on Facebook

Svart Records website

 

Lotus Thrones, The Heretic Souvenir

Lotus Thrones The Heretic Souvenir

The second offering from Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist Heath Rave (Altars of the Moon, former drums in Wolvhammer, etc.) under the banner of Lotus Thrones, the seven-song/38-minute The Heretic Souvenir (on Disorder and Seeing Red) draws its individual pieces across an aural divide by means of a stark atmosphere, the post-plague-and-the-plague-is-capitalism skulking groove of “B0T0XDR0NE$” emblematic both of perspective and of willingness to throw a saxophone overtop if the mood’s right (by Yakuza‘s Bruce Lamont, no less), which it is. At the outset, “Gore Orphanage” is more of an onslaught, and “Alpha Centauri” has room for both a mathy chug and goth-rocking shove, the latter enhanced by Rave‘s low-register vocals. Following the Genghis Tron-esque glitch-grind of 1:16 centerpiece “Glassed,” the three-and-a-half-minute “Roses” ups the goth factor significantly, delving into twisted Type O Negative-style pulls and punk-rooted forward thrust in a highlight reportedly about Rave‘s kid, which is nice (not sarcastic), before making the jump into “Autumn of the Heretic Souvenir,” which melds Americana and low-key dub at the start of its 11-minute run before shifting into concrete sludge chug and encompassing trades between atmospheric melody and outright crush until a shift eight minutes in brings stand(mostly)alone keys backed by channel-swapping electronic noise as a setup for the final surge’s particularly declarative riff. That makes the alt-jazz instrumental “Nautilus” something of an afterthought, but not out of place in terms of its noir ambience that’s also somehow indebted to Nine Inch Nails. There’s a cough near the end. See if you can hear it.

Lotus Thrones on Facebook

Seeing Red Records store

Disorder Recordings website

 

Endtime & Cosmic Reaper, Doom Sessions Vol. 7

endtime-cosmic-reaper-doom-sessions-vol-7-split

Realized at the formidable behest of Heavy Psych Sounds, the seventh installment of the Doom Sessions series (Vol. 8 is already out) brings together Sweden’s strongly cinematic sludge-doomers Endtime with fire-crackling North Carolinian woods-doomers Cosmic Reaper. With two songs from the former and three from the latter, the balance winds up with more of an EP feel from Cosmic Reaper and like a single with an intro from Endtime, who dedicate the first couple of minutes of “Tunnel of Life” to a keyboard intro that’s very likely a soundtrack reference I just don’t know because I’m horror-ignorant before getting down to riff-rumble-roll business on the righteously slow-raging seven minutes of “Beyond the Black Void.” Cosmic Reaper, meanwhile, have three cuts, with harmonized guitars entering “Sundowner” en route to a languid and melodic nod verse, a solo later answering the VHS atmosphere of Endtime before “Dead and Loving It” and “King of Kings” cult-doom their way into oblivion, the latter picking up a bit of momentum as it pushes near the eight-minute mark. It’s a little uneven, considering, but Doom Sessions Vol. 7 provides a showcase for two of Heavy Psych Sounds‘ up-and-coming acts, and that’s pretty clearly the point. If it leads to listeners checking out their albums after hearing it, mission accomplished.

Endtime on Facebook

Cosmic Reaper on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds website

 

High Priest, Invocation

High Priest Invocation

Don’t skip this because of High Priest‘s generic-stoner-rock name. The Chicago four-piece of bassist/vocalist Justin Valentino, guitarists Pete Grossmann and John Regan and drummer Dan Polak make an awaited full-length debut with Invocation on Magnetic Eye Records, and if the label’s endorsement isn’t enough, I’ll tell you the eight-song/44-minute long-player is rife with thoughtful construction, melody and heft. Through the opening title-track and into the lumber, sweep and boogie of “Divinity,” they incorporate metal with the two guitars and some of the vocal patterning, but aren’t beholden to that anymore than to heavy rock, and far from unipolar, “Ceremony” gives a professional fullness of sound that “Cosmic Key” ups immediately to round out side A before “Down in the Park” hints toward heavygaze without actually tipping over, “Universe” finds the swing buried under that monolithic fuzz, “Conjure” offers a bluesier but still huge-sounding take and 7:40 closer “Heaven” layers a chorus of self-harmonizing Valentinos to underscore the point of how much the vocals add to the band. Which is a lot. What’s lost in pointing that out is just how densely weighted their backdrop is, and the nuance High Priest bring to their arrangements throughout, but whether you want to dig into that or just learn the words and sing along, you can’t lose.

High Priest on Facebook

Magnetic Eye Records store

 

MiR, Season Unknown

mir season unknown

Its catharsis laced in every stretch of the skin-peeling tremolo and echoing screams of “Altar of Liar,” Season Unknown arrives as the first release from Poland’s MiR, a directly-blackened spinoff of heavy psych rockers Spaceslug, whose guitarist/vocalist Bartosz Janik and bassist/vocalist Jan Rutka feature along with guitarist Michał Zieleniewski (71tonman) and drummer Krzystof Kamisiński (Burning Hands). The relationship to Janik and Rutka‘s other (main?) band is sonically tenuous, though Spaceslug‘s Kamil Ziółkowski also guests on vocals, making it all the more appropriate that MiR stands as a different project. Ripping and progressive in kind, cuts like “Lost in Vision” and the blastbeaten severity of “Ashen” are an in-genre rampage, and while “Sum of All Mourn” is singularly engrossing in its groove, the penultimate “Yesterday Rotten” comes through as willfully stripped to its essential components until its drifting finish, which is fair enough ahead of the more expansive closer “Illusive Loss of Inner Frame,” which incorporates trades between all-out gnash and atmospheric contemplations. I won’t profess to be an expert on black metal, but as a sidestep, Season Unknown is both respectfully bold and clearly schooled in what it wants to be.

MiR on Facebook

MiR on Bandcamp

 

Hiram-Maxim, Colder

Hiram-Maxim Colder

Recorded by esteemed producer Martin Bisi (Swans, Sonic Youth, Unsane, etc.) in 2021-’22, Colder is Hiram-Maxim‘s third full-length, with hints of Angels of Light amid the sneering heaviness of “Bathed in Blood” after opener/longest track (immediate points) “Alpha” lays out the bleak atmosphere in which what follows will reside. “Undone” gets pretty close to laying on the floor, while “It Feels Good” very pointedly doesn’t for its three minutes of dug-in cafe woe, from out of which “Hive Mind” emerges with keys and drums forward in a moody verse before the post-punk urgency takes more complete hold en route to a finish of manipulated noise. As one would have to expect, “Shock Cock” is a rocker at heart, and the lead-in from the drone/experimental spoken word of “Time Lost Time” holds as a backdrop so that its Stooges-style comedown heavy is duly weirded out. Is that a theremin? Possibly. They cap by building a wall of malevolence and contempt with “Sick to Death” in under three minutes, resolving in a furious assault of kitchen-sink volume, that, yes, recedes, but is resonant enough to leave scratches on your arm. Don’t let anyone tell you this isn’t extreme music just because some dude isn’t singing about killing some lady or quoting a medical dictionary. Colder could just as easily have been called ‘Volcanic.’

Hiram-Maxim on Facebook

Wax Mage Records on Facebook

 

The Heavy Co., Brain Dead

The Heavy Co Brain Dead

Seeming always to be ready with a friendly, easy nod, Lafayette/Indianapolis, Indiana’s The Heavy Co. return with “Brain Dead” as a follow-up single to late-2022’s “God Damn, Jimmy.” The current four-piece incarnation of the band — guitarist/vocalist Ian Daniel, guitarist Jeff Kaleth, bassist Eric Bruce and drummer TR McCully — seem to be refocused from some of the group’s late-’10s departures, elements of outlaw country set aside in favor of a rolling riff with shades of familiar boogie in the start-stops beneath its solo section, a catchy but largely unassuming chorus, and a theme that, indeed, is about getting high. In one form or another, The Heavy Co. have been at it for most of the last 15 years, and in a little over four minutes they demonstrate where they want their emphasis to be — a loose, jammy feel held over from the riffout that probably birthed the song in the first place coinciding with the structure of the verses and chorus and a lack of pretense that is no less a defining aspect than the aforementioned riff. They know what they’re doing, so let ’em roll on. I don’t know if the singles are ahead of an album release or not, but whatever shows up whenever it does, The Heavy Co. are reliable in my mind and this is right in their current wheelhouse.

The Heavy Co. on Facebook

The Heavy Co. on Bandcamp

 

The Cimmerian, Sword & Sorcery Vol. I

the cimmerian sword and sorcery vol i

The intervening year since L.A.’s The Cimmerian made their debut with Thrice Majestic (review here) seems to have made the trio even more pummeling, as their Sword & Sorcery Vol. I two-songer finds them incorporating death and extreme metal for a feel like a combined-era Entombed on leadoff “Suffer No Guilt” which is a credit to bassist Nicolas Rocha‘s vocal burl as well as the intensity of riff from David Gein (ex-The Scimitar) and corresponding thrash gallop in David Morales‘ drumming. The subsequent “Inanna Rising” is slower, with a more open nod in its rhythm, but no less threatening, with fluid rolls of double-kick pushing the verse forward amid the growls and an effective scream, a sample of something (everything?) burning, and a kick in pace before the solo about halfway into the track’s 7:53. If The Cimmerian are growing more metal, and it seems they are, then the aggression suits them as the finish of “Inanna Rising” attests, and the thickness of sludge carried over in their tonality assures that the force of their impact is more than superficial.

The Cimmerian on Facebook

The Cimmerian on Bandcamp

 

Nepaal, Protoaeolianism

Nepaal Protoaeolianism

Released as an offering from the amorphous Hungarian collective Psychedelic Source Records, the three-song Protoaeolianism arrives under the moniker of Nepaal — also stylized as :nepaal, with the colon — finding mainstay Bence Ambrus on guitar with Krisztina Benus on keys, Dávid Strausz on bass, Krisztián Megyeri on drums and Marci Bíró on effects/synth for captured-in-the-moment improvisations of increasing reach as space and psych and krautrocks comingle with hypnotic pulsations on “Innoxial Talent Parade” (9:54), the centerpiece “Brahman Sleeps 432 Billion Years” (19:14) and “Ineffable Minor States” (13:44), each of which has its arc of departure, journey and arrival, forming a multi-stage narrative voyage that’s as lush as the liquefied tones and sundry whatever-that-was noises. “Ineffable Minor States” is so serene in its just-guitar start that the first time I heard it I thought the song had cut off, but no. They’re just taking their time, and why shouldn’t they? And why shouldn’t we all take some time to pause, engage mindfully with our surroundings, experience or senses one at a time, the things we see, hear, touch, taste, smell? Maybe Protoaeolianism — instrumental for the duration — is a call to that. Maybe it’s just some jams from jammers and I shouldn’t read anything else into it. Here then, as in all things, you choose your own adventure. I’m glad to be the one to tell you this is an adventure worth taking.

Psychedelic Source Records on Facebook

Psychedelic Source Records on Bandcamp

 

Hope Hole, Beautiful Doom

Hope Hole Beautiful Doom

There is much to dig into on the second full-length from Toledo, Ohio, duo Hope Hole — the returning parties of Matt Snyder and Mike Mulholland — who offer eight originals and a centerpiece cover of The Cure‘s “Sinking” that’s not even close to being the saddest thing on the record, titled Beautiful Doom presumably in honor of the music itself. Leadoff “Spirits on the Radio” makes me nostalgic for a keyboard-laced goth glory day that never happened while also tapping some of mid-period Anathema‘s abiding downer soul, seeming to speak to itself as much as the audience with repetitions of “You reap what you sew.” Some Godflesh surfaces in “600 Years,” and they’re resolute in the melancholy of “Common Sense” until the chugging starts, like a dirtier, underproduced Crippled Black Phoenix. Rolling with deceptive momentum, the title-track could be acoustic until it starts with the solo and electronic beats later before shifting into the piano, beats, drift guitar, and so on of “Sinking.” “Chopping Me” could be an entire band’s sound but it’s barely a quarter of what Hope Hole have to say in terms of aesthetic two records deep. “Mutant Dynamo” duly punks its arthouse sludge and shreds a self-aware over-the-top solo in the vein of Brendan Small, while “Pyrokinetic” revives earlier goth swing with a gruff biker exterior (I’d watch that movie) and a moment of spinning weirdo triumph at the end, almost happy to be burned, where the seven-minute finale “Cities of Gold” returns to beats over its gradual guitar start, emerging with chanting vocals to become its own declaration of progressive intent. Beautiful Doom ends with a steady march rather than the expected blowout, having built its gorgeous decay out of the same rotten Midwestern ground as the debut — 2021’s Death Can Change (review here) — but moved unquestionably forward from it.

Hope Hole on Facebook

Hope Hole on Bandcamp

 

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