Posted in Whathaveyou on March 20th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The first single from Crystal Spiders‘ upcoming third album Metanoia — they’re also three-for-three on one-word album titles that start with ‘m,’ so there — brings an intriguing sound and twist on the heavy vibes the trio has wrought before, flexible as that is between doom and classic heavy rock. As it happens, “Torche” speaks to both.
I’m pretty sure it’s not about the band Torche — you never know, I guess, but there’s no mention of it below if that’s the case and I’ve been through the songs a couple times and at no point does bassist/vocalist Brenna Leath seem to shout out Steve Brooks, rad as it might be if she did — but especially with the stark accompaniment of the video below, the song piques interest as to where Metanoia might go and how it might get there.
Info and side-of-your-boogie-van-worthy cover art came from the PR wire:
US heavy rock trio CRYSTAL SPIDERS unleash first track and video off upcoming new album “Metanoia”; out May 23rd on Ripple Music!
North Carolina’s fiercest hard’n’heavy rockers CRYSTAL SPIDERS return with their third full-length “Metanoia” on Ripple Music this May 23rd, and present the roaring “Torche” single and video.
Riding the tides of doom-laden riffs and intoxicating grooves, Crystal Spiders returns with their highly anticipated third album, “Metanoia” on Ripple Music. Known for their alchemical blend of heavy metal and psychedelic soundscapes, the North Carolina power trio delves deeper into the abyss, exploring themes of transcendentalism and expansion in a collection of gritty and beautiful tracks. On “Metanoia”, Crystal Spiders masterfully intertwines searing NWOBHM guitar solos, thunderous fuzzed-out basslines, and howling vocal harmonies.
The album’s title, derived from the ancient Greek word for a transformative change of heart, encapsulates a journey of transcending boundaries and venturing into uncharted territories while blending personal introspection and broader societal commentary into a dark, poetic and highly evocative imagery and lyricism. “Overall, “Metanoia” is a profound exploration of the human condition, using powerful imagery and introspective lyrics to invite listeners on a transformative journey. The song “Torche” sets the tone with its visceral depiction of a primal struggle, using fire and light as symbols of both conflict and illumination,” says bassist and vocalist Brenna Leath.
“Metanoia” will be issued on May 23rd in various LP formats, CD digipack and digital, with preorders available now from Ripple Music. It was produced at Volume 11 Studios by Mike Dean (Corrosion of Conformity) in Raleigh, NC, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Mastering Studios. Artwork by Tyler Pennington and graphics by Mark Aceves.
Posted in audiObelisk on February 12th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
North Carolinian heavy progressive cosmic rockers Voidward will release their new three-songer, Occult Symmetry, on Feb. 21. As the follow-up to their 2022 self-titled LP (review here), the 19-minute outing is of course less substantial in runtime, but as the premiering-A/V-below lead cut “Light Rider” (4:33) — followed immediately by “Dark Miracle” (4:49) with “Plowman (Transmission to the Limerent Object)” (9:50) rounding out — demonstrates, the band are continuing to grow and develop their sound. Worth noting is that Occult Symmetry, in addition to the self-titled, also follows the Nov. 2024 four-song outing, The Plowman 11th Anniversary Series Macro-Single, which took the original “The Plowman” from the band’s 2013 debut EP, Knives, and reinterpreted it across four different versions, the first and most limerent of which is shared with the new EP as well.
That all gets kind of complex, and even more so when one considers Knives‘ foundation in black metal and sludge, but in the ensuing 12 years, Voidward have become a different band. Tonally, Occult Symmetry is less metal even than was the self-titled, and the guitar is able to reach that much farther in “Plowman” or “Dark Miracle” for that, the latter an intended complement to “Light Rider” and the redux’ed former standing on its own in runtime and maybe on side B of an imaginary 10″, if you prefer to think of it that way. There’s still plenty of distorted buzz, but the vocals lean more toward heavygaze and spaceprog than the rasp of the original “The Plowman,” and the intention feels more toward fluidity and a Pallbearer-esque wistful vocal melodicism takes hold amid the post-midsection chug. To compare, “Light Rider” tells its story in start-stop declarations drawing from and mellowing-out classic metal with a gentle push of groove in the chorus. There’s plenty of presence, no shortage of tonal weight, but “Light Rider” could just as easily be named for the fashion in which it carries its hook across to the listener. Verse, chorus, verse, chorus, shred, chorus, end — it’s pretty straight-ahead in terms of structure, and though it has its own procession, “Dark Miracle” is a suitable companion piece, like weirder, more patient Danava on a trip of ’70s/’80s metallurgy. Catchy like Scorpions, it is.
It’s all part of a plan the Durham-based trio are unfolding. I won’t pretend to understand it; hell, on my first read of the press release below, I thought Occult Symmetry was a three-song full-length, so there’s my depth of knowledge for you. As you can see, it’s kind of cryptic, but whatever The Void Cycle might be, Occult Symmetry is positioned as a “prelude” to it, and what comes through clearly in these tracks is the ongoing growth and exploration being undertaken by the band. This is an evolutionary process playing out in their songwriting that’s audible across their releases to-date, and their willingness to revisit older material with a fresh emotion and perspective speaks to the open nature of their creativity that’s let them evolve in the first place. They have chased their sound to this point; I will not speculate where it might lead them from here, whether that’s a second album or not.
“Light Rider” premieres on the players below, audio and video, followed by more from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Voidward, “Light Rider” video premiere
Voidward, “Light Rider” track premiere
Hailing from Durham, NC, the mysterious Voidward embraces all that is heavy, wrangling relentless riffs against swirling rhythms through shimmering psychedelia. High concept/low brow guitar+bass+drum epics with vivid vocal melodies and harmonies.
‘Occult Symmetry’ is a fully realized composition, divided into two movements: Light Rider and Dark Miracle. Light Rider and Dark Miracle are two entities engaged in a timeless orbit throughout existence, forever compelled and eternally repulsed by the same desire: Completion in the presence of one another. The Void Cycle is an epic poem describing the culmination of The Void as we know it in the separation of LightRider and Dark Miracle. Occult Symmetry is the prelude to The Void Cycle.
Preceding Occult Symmetry, Voidward released The Plowman 11th Anniversary Edition including a special Desert Bloom edition!
This version of The Plowman is the second installment in the Voidward Macro-Single Series. This is a series of re-inventions on the theme of The Plowman from The knives EP, and when complete, 11 editions of the Plowman will be available through various formats. This is the 11th Anniversary Edition, made available for a limited time to commemorate the upcoming Micro-Album “Occult Symmetry”
The Plowman 11th Anniversary Edition is the response to the initial call of The Void. The mysteries of Occult Symmetry are ahead. The Plowman knows the way.
The Void is heavy, both as a concept and an entity. Voidward is the only way we can experience that heaviness in our current state of consciousness. Sound is the only medium we have access to that, like The Void, is both physical and metaphysical.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 22nd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Heralding bruiser sludge in follow-up to their 2024 split with Smoke, North Carolinian four-piece Doomsday Profit unveil the eponymous first single from their upcoming self-titled sophomore LP. I don’t see a release date yet for the album, but the record’s done and they posted a song from it, so, you know, the promotional cycle has begun. April? June? You never really know, of course.
There’s some outward harshness — nothing untoward if you heard the split — but a hook is a hook and that’s working in Doomsday Profit‘s favor. The affect isn’t quite the next-gen sludge party Leather Lung are calling for, but there’s a strong learning-from-the-past-and-moving-forward current in “Doomsday Profit,” and for sure that’s a thing to dig.
Info and the lyric video follow, as per the PR wire:
‘
New Single and Lyric Video from NC sludge/doom outfit DOOMSDAY PROFIT
Doomsday Profit (Durham, N.C.) is pleased to announce the release of “Doomsday Profit,” the first single pulled from a new full-length album of the same name, due out later this year.
Barely letting the dust settle on last year’s split with Virginia psych-doom titans Smoke (Olde Magick Records), Doomsday Profit is ready to showcase the next era in the band’s sound. Recorded in summer 2024, “Doomsday Profit” is a long-gestating thesis statement, with pointed lyrics giving life to the band’s moniker, and a monolithic, minimalist arrangement mining the purest ores of sludge and doom.
Regarding the song, the band offers the following statement:
“Doomsday Profit” was one of the first songs we wrote, and we always pictured it as a sort of thesis statement. Lyrically, at least, we were trying to marry the political vitriol of our favorite hardcore punk with the senses of dread and inevitability that course through the best doom metal. How else are you supposed to feel when you can watch, in-real time, as the string-pullers of global policy, the heads of major business and government, continue to casually ignore every warning of catastrophe, just so they can squeeze a little more blood and money out of the third stone from the sun? We’re all doomed, and they’re the reason.
Musically, it took us a while to find the right way to deliver “Doomsday Profit.” It just didn’t feel complete, so we shelved it. When David Ruiz joined the band, we revisited it, and ended up paring down the arrangement. In keeping it a little simpler, it felt like it hit harder, and the lyrics could stand out a bit more. Another lesson from punk rock, it seems.
This is the version of “Doomsday Profit” we’re glad to present to you today, Inauguration Day in the USA. And as we send this, things are still looking pretty bleak. But one thing this band has proven to us, over and over again, is we’re not alone in our fear, or our anger, or our resolve to live the best lives we can while we can. This one’s for all of us.
Love, Doomsday Profit
—
There’s no time to waste. At least that’s how Doomsday Profit seems to be operating. After making their debut with the gritty stoner-sludge of 2021’s In Idle Orbit, the Durham, N.C.-based band issued 2024’s psych-leaning split with Virginia-based Smoke, and has kept the momentum going ever since. With their forthcoming self-titled album, Doomsday profit now has embedded an even wider array of influences into their acerbic, dystopian sludge. Particles of monolithic doom, grisly death ‘n’ roll grooves, driving punk rock and scathing black metal all flash in the band’s raw self-titled LP.
As ever, Doomsday Profit has a finger pointed squarely at the powers that be, but they’ve also learned to turn their ire inward, and balance their vitriol with melancholic nuance. This broader approach has turned their already dynamic performances into a must-see, with a live resume that includes Hopscotch Music Festival and Seismic Summer, as well as supporting slots with established acts like Thou, The Obsessed, Black Tusk, REZN, and Restless Spirit.
On this recording, Doomsday Profit is: Bryan Reed (rhythm guitar/vocals), Kevin See (lead guitar/vocals), Ryan Sweeney (bass/vocals), and David Ruiz (drums).
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 14th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
If you’re skimming through the below and find yourself a little crossed up, the deal is this: Voidward have a new release coming out. It follows their 2022 self-titled (review here), is called Occult Symmetry, and is being released Feb. 21.
In addition to this, they’ve also got a four-songer called The Plowman 11th Anniversary Edition (streaming below) that takes the opening track from the band’s original 2013 debut EP, Knives, and expands on it in multiple directions and with varied intent in atmosphere and volume. The band have said they want to do revisit the entire EP this way, which is kind of an otherworldly undertaking, but far be it from me to complain.
The ‘macro-single,’ as they’ve dubbed it, is a fascinating project, but don’t be confused into thinking that (presumably any of the versions of) “The Plowman” will make it to Voidward‘s eventual sophomore full-length. Even so, the spirit of adventure represented here does much to remind of what appealed about the first album ahead of the second, so everything works out one way or the other.
The PR wire has details:
PRESS RELEASE: NC heavy psych band VOIDWARD to release new album February 21st, 2025
Hailing from Durham, NC, the mysterious Voidward embraces all that is heavy, wrangling relentless riffs against swirling rhythms through shimmering psychedelia. High concept/low brow guitar+bass+drum epics with vivid vocal melodies and harmonies.
‘Occult Symmetry’ is a fully realized composition, divided into two movements: Light Rider and Dark Miracle. Light Rider and Dark Miracle are two entities engaged in a timeless orbit throughout existence, forever compelled and eternally repulsed by the same desire: Completion in the presence of one another. The Void Cycle is an epic poem describing the culmination of The Void as we know it in the separation of LightRider and Dark Miracle. Occult Symmetry is the prelude to The Void Cycle.
Preceding Occult Symmetry, Voidward released The Plowman 11th Anniversary Edition including a special Desert Bloom edition!
This version of The Plowman is the second installment in the Voidward Macro-Single Series. This is a series of re-inventions on the theme of The Plowman from The knives EP, and when complete, 11 editions of the Plowman will be available through various formats. This is the 11th Anniversary Edition, made available for a limited time to commemorate the upcoming Micro-Album “Occult Symmetry”
The Plowman 11th Anniversary Edition is the response to the initial call of The Void. The mysteries of Occult Symmetry are ahead. The Plowman knows the way.
The Void is heavy, both as a concept and an entity. Voidward is the only way we can experience that heaviness in our current state of consciousness. Sound is the only medium we have access to that, like The Void, is both physical and metaphysical.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 27th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
I’ve had a couple seconds to sit with Bronco‘s lead single “Ride Eternal” and their upcoming self-titled debut — out Feb. 28 on Magnetic Eye — and you can hear both the tradition they’re stepping into and the traditional nature in which they’re irreverently stomping all over it. Based in Cape Fear, North Carolina, the band not only press on from the unfortunate dissolution of Toke, who emerged as Southern sludge heroes in the back half of the 2010s, but would seem to inherit the disaffection of bands like Buzzov*en or Sourvein, acts for whom riffy fuckall is a kind of aural oxygen.
There’s time — February is a ways off — to dig in, but the first single is enticing in its aggression and groove, showing familiar patterns newly arranged in screamy sludge. The PR wire brought narrative a-plenty, so by all means, have at it:
BRONCO drop first video single ‘Ride Eternal’ taken from the forthcoming self-titled album “Bronco”
Sailing from the pirate coves of Cape Fear, North Carolina’s BRONCO unleash their crushing debut single ‘Ride Eternal’, a heavy blend of doom metal and Southern sludge molasses. The premiered track is taken from the newly signed Americans’ forthcoming Magnetic Eye Records debut full-length “Bronco”, which is set for release on February 28, 2024.
BRONCO comment: “The track ‘Ride Eternal’ came from a period of heavy rumination about going from living on tour to forced acceptance of that part of life being over”, vocalist and bass player Bronco writes. “It was inspired by classic baroque organ tales like Bach’s ‘Toccata and Fugue in D minor’ and also wanting to do some heavy drone riffing without falling over bored while playing it.”
Tracklist 1. Scourge Descent 2. Ride Eternal 3. Light of God 4. Night the Lights Went out in Georgia 5. Legion 6. Fades All 7. Damnation 8. T.O.N.S.
South of Wilmington, North Carolina at the estuary of the Cape Fear River, the prominent headland of Cape Fear stubbornly pushes back into the ever attacking waves of the ocean. Its treacherous waters, rugged rocks, massive undercurrents, and pirate coves are a part of the so-called Graveyard of the Atlantic and feared by sailors throughout the ages for the many ships and lives lost.
This is a fitting home for BRONCO. The sound of their self-titled debut full-length “Bronco” is deeply steeped in doom metal and Southern sludge. It is also as obstinate, rough and unpolished, yet also genuine, honest, forward-pushing and unfiltered as the rocky ground it grew from.
The musical confidence and audible experience in both execution and songwriting has not just fallen from the sky. BRONCO rose from the ashes of TOKE after guitarist Tim Bryan suffered a tragic motorcycle accident in 2021. Out of respect for his incapacitated band mate, vocalist and bass player Bronco along with drummer JP decided to continue with a newly formed trio. Joined by guitarist Vic, they picked Bronco’s artist’s alias for their name.
Crawling, heavy aggression, molasses riffs, and barbed wire vocals seem to come with the terroir of North Carolina. WEEDEATER, SOUR VEIN and others have been brewing the heaviest sludge there. Sharing stages with standard bearers such as BONGZILLA, ASG, and BLACK TASK quickly fermented BRONCO’s sound into a sonic projection of ash and bone.
“Bronco” bleeds out a mix of grinding horror and beat-down resignation. It’s a soundtrack to grim self-reflection and forced acceptance of life’s letdowns. BRONCO pick up where TOKE left off, and carry forward through successfully experimenting with new elements and approaches. “Bronco” is massive and brutal, and stands out in its defiant, unrelenting individuality.
Guest musician Chris “Scary” Adams – vocals on ‘Legion’
Recording & mix by Chris “Scary” Adams at Hidden Audio, Savannah, GA (US) Mastering by Dennis Pleckham at Comatose Studios, Chicago, IL (US)
Cover artwork by Tery Ramdhany Layout by Łukasz Jaszak
Posted in Reviews on December 12th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Day four of five for this snuck-in-before-the-end-of-the-year Quarterly Review, and I’m left wondering if maybe it won’t be worth booking another week for January or early February, and if that happens, is it still “quarterly” at that point if you do it like six times a year? ‘Bimonthly Quality Control Assessments’ coming soon! Alert your HR supervisors to tell your servers of any allergies.
No, not really.
I’ll figure out a way to sandwich more music into this site if it kills me. Which I guess it might. Whatever, let’s do this thing.
Quarterly Review #31-40
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Sergeant Thunderhoof, The Ghost of Badon Hill
A marked accomplishment in progressive heavy rock, The Ghost of Badon Hill is the fifth full-length from UK five-piece Sergeant Thunderhoof, who even without the element of surprise on their side — which is to say one is right to approach the 45-minute six-tracker with high expectations based on the band’s past work; their last LP was 2022’s This Sceptred Veil(review here) — rally around a folklore-born concept and deliver the to-date album of their career. From the first emergence of heft in “Badon” topped with Daniel Flitcroft soar-prone vocals, Sergeant Thunderhoof — guitarists Mark Sayer and Josh Gallop, bassist Jim Camp and drummer Darren Ashman, and the aforementioned Flitcroft — confidently execute their vision of a melodic riffprog scope. The songs have nuance and character, the narrative feels like it moves through the material, there are memorable hooks and grand atmospheric passages. It is by its very nature not without some indulgent aspects, but also a near-perfect incarnation of what one might ask it to be.
The stated objective of Swallow the Sun‘s Shining was for less misery, and fair enough as the Finnish death-doomers have been at it for about a quarter of a century now and that’s a long time to feel so resoundingly wretched, however relatably one does it. What does less-misery sound like? First of all, still kinda miserable. If you know Swallow the Sun, they are still definitely recognizable in pieces like “Innocence Was Long Forgotten,” “What I Have Become” and “MelancHoly,” but even the frontloading of these singles — don’t worry, from “Kold” and the ultra Type O Negative-style “November Dust” (get it?), to the combination of floating, dancing keyboard lines and drawn out guitars in the final reaches of the title-track, they’re not short on highlights — conveys the modernity brought into focus. Produced by Dan Lancaster (Bring Me the Horizon, A Day to Remember, Muse), the songs are in conversation with the current sphere of metal in a way that Swallow the Sun have never been, broadening the definition of what they do while retaining a focus on craft. They’re professionals.
Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships, The Mind Like Fire Unbound
Where’s the intermittently-crushing sci-fi-concept death-stoner, you ask? Well, friend, Lincoln, Nebraska’s Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships would like to have a word, and on The Mind Like Fire Unbound, there’s a non-zero chance that word will come in the form of layered death metal growls and rasping throatripper screams representing an insectoid species about to tear more-melodically-voiced human colonizers to pieces. The 45-minute LP’s 14-minute opener “BUGS” that lays out this warning is followed by the harsh, cosmic-paranoia conjuration of “Dark Forest” before a pivot in 8:42 centerpiece “Infinite Inertia” — and yes, the structure of the tracks is purposeful; longest at the open and close with shorter pieces on either side of “Infinite Inertia” — takes the emotive cast of Pallbearer to an extrapolated psychedelic metalgaze, huge and broad and lumbering. Of course the contrast is swift in the two-minute “I Hate Space,” but where one expects more bludgeonry, the shortest inclusion stays clean vocally amid its uptempo, Torche-but-not-really push. Organ joins the march in the closing title-track (14:57), which gallops following its extended intro, doom-crashes to a crawl and returns to double-kick behind the encompassing last solo, rounding out with suitable showcase of breadth and intention.
Planet of Zeus make a striking return with their sixth album, Afterlife, basing their theme around mythologies current and past and accompanying that with a sound that’s both less brash than they were a few years back on 2019’s Faith in Physics (review here) and refined in the sharpness and efficiency of its songwriting. It’s a rocker, which is what one has come to expect from these Athens-based veterans. Afterlife builds momentum through desert-style rockers like “Baptized in His Death” and the hooky “No Ordinary Life” and “The Song You Misunderstand,” getting poppish in the stomp of “Bad Milk” only after the bluesy “Let’s Call it Even” and before the punkier “Letter to a Newborn,” going where it wants and leaving no mystery as to how it’s getting there because it doesn’t need to. One of the foremost Greek outfits of their generation, Planet of Zeus show up, tell you what they’re going to do, then do it and get out, still managing to leave behind some atmospheric resonance in “State of Non-Existence.” There’s audible, continued forward growth and kickass tunes. If that sounds pretty ideal, it is.
Cinematic in its portrayal, Le Premier Soleil de Jan Calet positions itself as cosmically minded, and manifests that in sometimes-minimal — effectively so, since it’s hypnotic — aural spaciousness, but Paris’ Human Teorema veer into Eastern-influenced scales amid their exploratory, otherworldly-on-purpose landscaping, and each planet on which they touch down, from “Onirico” (7:43) to “Studiis” (15:54) and “Spedizione” (23:20) is weirder than the last, shifting between these vast passages and jammier stretches still laced with synth. Each piece has its own procession and dynamic, and perhaps the shifts in intent are most prevalent within “Studiis,” but the closer is, on the balance, a banger as well, and there’s no interruption in flow once you’ve made the initial choice to go with Le Premier Soleil de Jan Calet. An instrumental approach allows Human Teorema to embody descriptive impressions that words couldn’t create, and when they decide to hit it hard, they’re heavy enough for the scale they’ve set. Won’t resonate universally (what does?), but worth meeting on its level.
There are two epics north of the 10-minute mark on Caged Wolves‘ maybe-debut LP, A Deserts Tale: “Lost in the Desert” (11:26) right after the intro “Dusk” and “Chaac” (10:46) right before the hopeful outro “Dawn.” The album runs a densely-packed 48 minutes through eight tracks total, and pieces like the distortion-drone-backed “Call of the Void,” the alt-prog rocking “Eleutheromania,” “Laguna,” which is like earlier Radiohead in that it goes somewhere on a linear build, and the spoken-word-over-noise interlude “The Lost Tale” aren’t exactly wanting for proportion, regardless of runtime. The bassline that opens “Call of the Void” alone would be enough to scatter orcs, but that still pales next to “Chaac,” which pushes further and deeper, topping with atmospheric screams and managing nonetheless to come out of the other side of that harsh payoff of some of the album’s most weighted slog in order to bookend and give the song the finish it deserves, completing it where many wouldn’t have been so thoughtful. This impression is writ large throughout and stands among the clearest cases for A Deserts Tale as the beginning of a longer-term development.
I find myself wanting to talk about how big Liminal Escapism sounds, but I don’t mean in terms of tonal proportion so much as the distances that seem to be encompassed by Greek progressive instrumentalists Anomalos Kosmos. With an influence from Grails and, let’s say, 50 years’ worth of prog rock composition (but definitely honoring the earlier end of that timeline), Anomalos Kosmos offer emotional evocation in pieces that feel compact on either side of six or seven minutes, taking the root jams and building them into structures that still come across as a journey. The classy soloing in “Me Orizeis” and synthy shimmer of “Parapatao,” the rumble beneath the crescendo of “Kitonas” and all of that gosh darn flow in “Flow” speak to a songwriting process that is aware of its audience but feels no need to talk down, musically speaking, to feed notions of accessibility. Instead, the immersion and energetic drumming of “Teledos” and the way closer “Cigu” rallies around pastoral fuzz invite the listener to come along on this apparently lightspeed voyage — thankfully not tempo-wise — and allow room for the person hearing these sounds to cast their own interpretations thereof.
One could not hope to fully encapsulate an impression here of nearly three and a half hours of sometimes-improv psych-drone, and I refuse to feel bad for not trying. Instead, I’ll tell you that Grand Fractal Orchestra — the Psychedelic Source Records 3CD edition of which has already sold out — finds Budapest-based guitarist Ákos Karancz deeply engaged in the unfolding sounds here. Layering effects, collaborating with others from the informal PSR collective like zitherist Márton Havlik or singer Krisztina Benus, and so on, Karancz constructs each piece in a way that feels both steered in a direction and organic to where the music wants to go. “Ore Genesis” gets a little frantic around the middle but finds its chill, “Human Habitat” is duly foreboding, and the two-part, 49-minute-total capper “Transforming Time to Space” is beautiful and meditative, like staring at a fountain with your ears. It goes without saying not everybody has the time or the attention span to sit with a release like this, but if you take it one track at a time for the next four years or so, there’s worlds enough in these songs that they’ll probably just keep sinking in. And if Karancz puts outs like five new albums in that time too, so much the better.
It probably goes without saying — at least it should — that while the classic folk fingerplucking of “Whispering Waters” and the Americana-busy “Laurel Creek Blues” give a sweet introduction to Blake Hornsby‘s A Village of Many Springs, inevitably it’s the 23-minute experimentalist spread of the finale, “Bury My Soul in the Linville River,” that’s going to be a focal point for many listeners, and fair enough. The earthbound-cosmic feel of that piece, its devolution into Lennon-circa-1968 tape noise and concluding drone, aren’t at all without preface. A Village of Many Springs gets weirder as it goes, with the eight-minute “Cathedral Falls” building over its time into a payoff of seemingly on-guitar violence, and the subsequent “O How the Water Flows” nestling into a sweet spot between Appalachian nostalgia and foreboding twang. There’s percussion and manipulation of noise later, too, but even in its repetition, “O How the Water Flows” continues Hornsby‘s trajectory. For what’s apparently an ode to water in the region surrounding Hornsby‘s home in Asheville, North Carolina, that it feels fluid should be no surprise, but by no means does one need to have visited Laurel Creek to appreciate the blues Hornsby conjures for them.
With a sensibility in some of the synth of “Hacamat” born of space rock, Congulus have no trouble moving from that to the 1990s-style alt-rock saunter of “Diri Bir Nefes,” furthering the momentum already on the Istanbul-based instrumentalist trio’s side after opener “İskeletin Düğün Halayı” before “Senin Sırlarının Yenilmez Gücünü Gördüm” spaces out its solo over scales out of Turkish folk and “Park” marries together the divergent chugs of Judas Priest and Meshuggah, there’s plenty of adventure to be had on Göçebe. It’s the band’s second full-length behind 2019’s Bozkır — they’ve had short releases between — and it moves from “Park” into the push of “Zarzaram” and “Vordonisi” with efficiency that’s only deceptive because there’s so much stylistic range, letting “Ulak” have its open sway and still bash away for a moment or two before “Sonunda Ah Çekeriz Derinden” closes by tying space rock, Mediterranean traditionalism and modern boogie together in one last jam before consigning the listener back to the harsher, decidedly less utopian vibes of reality.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 3rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Granted it wasn’t the first time in Corrosion of Conformity‘s more than four decades that they did so, but it was a surprise nonetheless in September when the band bid farewell to founding bassist/vocalist Mike Dean, announcing they’d be continuing on with someone new. The someone has turned out to be Bobby Landgraf, who solidifies the lineup around guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, guitarist/backing vocalist Woodroe Weatherman, and onstage drummer (I think it’s still) John Green.
The band didn’t make an announcement as such — it was the holidays, you know how it is — but Landgraf posted the photo-collage and brief confirmation on his socials. If you’re not familiar, his pedigree includes shenanigans-laced heavy rockers Honky, playing guitar alongside Keenan, fronting Snakes of Central Texas, teching for Pantera and a bunch of others, and so on. And of course, there’s video of him doing the thing filmed at Headbangers Boat a few weeks back (the photos below would seem to have originated there as well). It’s bootleg sound, but it’s also “Albatross,” so even if they weren’t showing off a revamped dynamic, really it’s its own excuse for being.
Last I heard, C.O.C. were still in-progress on the follow-up to their 2018 album, No Cross No Crown (review here), working with drummer Stanton Moore (who last appeared on the band’s 2005 outing, In the Arms of God) in the studio with Warren Riker producing. Videos go up periodically of this or that being recorded, but you wouldn’t accuse them of rushing it, and fair enough. No doubt the proceedings will be different without Dean there, but change is the order of the universe, so there you go.
2025 release? Surprise album and tour drop sometime in Spring? That’d rule. I, of course, know nothing. Ever. About anything. You get used to it after a while. A stupid kind of zen.
From socials:
Absolutely Thrilled to be in Corrosion of Conformity. Onwards and Upwards
Posted in Questionnaire on November 26th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
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: Hellfire 76
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
We do a fuzzed out type of Southern Stoner Metal. Simply came about from the ashes of another band. I was sitting on a bunch of riffs and wanted to do something heavy and stripped down. I reached out to Mike whom I’ve known for a minute. Seeing we like the same stuff and he got the direction right away. We started writing what has become HELLFIRE 76.
Describe your first musical memory.
Oddly enough, my older sister had a record by Cliff Richards. It had a song on it called “Devil Woman”. I used to play that song over and over. I guess it gave me a lasting impression.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Seeing Siouxsie and the Banshees when I was a kid. I knew at that moment I would be a musician.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Hmmmm….seems my beliefs are constantly being tested!
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
To an output of creative greatness. As we keep creating, we keep progressing!
How do you define success?
Doing what we want. As far as band/ music, etc., every show we play where people came out – Success! Every time we sell an album or merch – Success! Great press – Success! Being relevant and continue to inspire others – Success!
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Jail……
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
A concept album… but just might one day.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To challenge opinion, make one think differently.
Say something positive about yourself.
I keep my word!
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I help with a dog/ cat fostering network. Getting as many dogs/ cats into new homes. ADOPT-Don’t buy!!!
