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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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Mean Green Announce Self-Titled Debut Out March 24

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 23rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Mean Green

Take a listen to the two streaming tracks from Mean Green‘s upcoming self-titled debut full-length, due out March 24, and it seems likely you’ll understand where the PR wire is coming from when it compares the Boone, North Carolina-based three-piece to the likes of Weedeater and Sleep. To those weighty comparisons, I might throw in a band like Beaten Back to Pure or even Johnny Weils era Alabama Thunderpussy, has Mean Green guitarist Jake Helms as a rough-throated sneer in the verses of album-opener “Law” before they break out the Sleepier lumbering density of “The Deal” and the Dixie Dave-ish phrasing of the lyrics there, about the open road, selling your soul — one assumes to Riff Satan, who is like Regular Satan, only better — and not coming back, etc.

Southern sludge kind of went out with the rebel flag. I wouldn’t at all mind it coming back if this is the gritty fashion in which it does so (still a pass on the stars and bars, though to be honest I’m not much for flags in general), and Mean Green feel like they’re dug right into the sludgy mud with no regrets except that you didn’t bring more gummies to the show. What’s that about, anyway?

You can stream the tracks at the bottom of this post. What follows was yoinked from the PR wire:

Mean Green self-titled

Doom metal trio Mean Green to release Self Titled Debut Album!

From the highest peaks of Boone, North Carolina, Sludge and Doom metal band Mean Green will release their debut self titled album on March 24th, 2023.

Mean Green is a 3-piece stoner doom band formed in early 2022 by Jacob Helms, Alex Wierback, and James Matthews who enjoy playing metal music as loud as possible and at a slower pace than most people are used to. Armed with much larger guitar and bass rigs than necessary for smaller venues, their tone and energy are a force to be reckoned with in the western North Carolina music community. From the start they knew they did not want to be just another cover band in their small college town of Boone North Carolina, they began writing their own music.

The highly motivated band are preparing regional shows in Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, Athens, Greensboro and an Album release show on March 24th in Asheville with Doomsday Profit and All Hell.

Mean Green’s self-titled first release is a full length album consisting of songs written in their first year of the band’s forming. Inspired by the likes of early Black Sabbath, Sleep, and Weedeater. Mean Green wrote this album to convey a stripped down and bare bones look at sludge, stoner, and doom metal. Relying heavily on tone and a slow moving freight train like tempo for most of their songs, they bring their own twist on common themes and ideas of the genre. With crushing guitar tone, wall shaking low end, bludgeoning percussion, and growling vocals this album is a first look into the roots and inspiration of Mean Green.

1. Law
2. Crow
3. Mean Green
4. Fiend
5. Last Bullet
6. Grease Monkey
7. The Deal

Mean Green is:
Jake Helms (Guitar, Vocals)
Alex Wierback (Bass)
James Matthews (Drums)

https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083281025433
https://instagram.com/mean_green_metal
https://meangreen.bandcamp.com/

Mean Green, Mean Green (2023)

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Weedeater Announce US Tour Dates in Southeast, West Coast & Midwest

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 10th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

You can’t kill Weedeater and you’d be a jackass for trying. The stalwarts of sludge the other day announced a UK run with Mars Red Sky and Telekinetic Yeti along for the trip and now the plot thickens as they add a stint out to and up the West Coast, hitting Heavy Psych Sounds Fest and more before they go. They’re Weedeater. That’s how they do. If you haven’t seen them before, first of all, it’s not too late to correct that oversight and someday it will be, and second, it’s not the band’s fault. Short of Tenacious D-style door to door rocking, they’ve done about as much roadtime as you can do.

Do you wanna take bets on whether or not I’ll mention how long it’s been since they put out a record? I don’t. And if you’d complain they’re not doing the East Coast, they were here in November.

Here’s dates and the ticket link from the PR wire:

WEEDEATER tour

WEEDEATER Announces Headlining U.S. Winter Tour

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

Cape Fear metal legends WEEDEATER have announced and extensive headlining tour of the U.S. as well as a U.K. headliner for 2023! The first leg of the U.S. trek will feature special guest Rebelmatic and will run from February 22 to March 3. After a very short break, the second trek will kick off on March 16 with special guests High Tone Son of a Bitch (3/16 – 4/02), Telekinitc Yeti (4/04 – 4/06) & Adam Faucett (supports all dates).

Upon the North American tour’s conclusion on April 8, WEEDEATER will then cross the pond for a UK/Ireland tour with special guests Mars Red Sky & Telekinitic Yeti! The run will kick off on April 30

The full itinerary can be found below! All tickets can be found at THIS LOCATION: https://weedmetal.com/tour.html

WEEDEATER U.S. Tour (w/REBELMATIC):
02/22: Carborro, NC @ The Station
02/23: Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
02/24: Savannah, GA @ Underground Weekend Fest
02/25: Cape Coral, FL @ Nice Guys
02/27: Orlando, FL @ Wills Pub
02/28: Melbourne, FL @ Pineapples
03/01: Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits
03/02: Piedmont, SC @ Tribbles
03/03: Asheville, NC @ Asheville Music Hall

WEEDEATER U.S. w/ Adam Faucett (all dates), High Tone Son of a Bitch (3/16 – 4/02), Telekinetic Yeti (4/04 – 4/06):
03/16: Charleston, SC @ Trolley Pub
03/17: Atlanta, GA @ Sabbath Brewing
03/18: New Orleans, LA @ Poor Boys
03/19: Little Rock, AR @ Whitewater Tavern
03/20: Austin, TX @ The Lost Well
03/22: Mesa, AR @ Nile Theatre
03/23: San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
03/25: Joshua Tree, CA @ Heavy Psych Sounds Fest
03/26: San Francisco, CA @ Heavy Psych Sounds Fest
03/27: Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial
03/29: Portland, OR @ Bossanova Ballroom
03/30: Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
03/31: Boise, ID @ Shredder
04/01: Salt Lake City, UT @ Aces High Saloon
04/02: Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
04/04: Sioux Falls, SD @ Icon
04/05: Rock Island, IL @ Wake Brewing
04/06: Chicago, IL @ Reggies
04/07: Murfreesboro, TN @ Hop Springs
04/08: Knoxville, TN @ Brickyard

WEEDEATER UK & Ireland Tour (w/special guests Mars Red Sky & Telekinetic Yeti):
04/30: Bournemouth (UK) @ The Bearcave
05/01: Cardiff (UK) @ The Globe
05/02: Dublin (IE) @ Grand Social
05/03: Glasgow (UK) @ Cathouse
05/04: Sheffield (UK) @ Corporation
05/05: Manchester (UK) @ Factory 251

https://www.facebook.com/weedmetal/
https://weedeater.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
http://www.season-of-mist.com/

Weedeater, Goliathan (2015)

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Quarterly Review: Gaupa, Orango, Onségen Ensemble, Gypsy Wizard Queen, Blake Hornsby, Turbid North, Modern Stars, Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships, Borehead, Monolithe

Posted in Reviews on January 13th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

quarterly-review-winter 2023

So here we are. On the verge of two weeks, 100 records later. My message here is the same as ever: I’m tired and I hope you found something worthwhile. A lot of this was catchup for me — still is, see Gaupa below — but maybe something slipped through the cracks for you in 2022 that got a look here, or maybe not and you’re not even seeing this and it doesn’t matter anyway and what even is music, etc., etc. I don’t know.

A couple bands were stoked along the way. That’s fun, I guess. Mostly I’ve been trying to keep in mind that I’m doing this for myself, because, yeah, there’s probably no other way I was going to get to cover these 100 albums, and I feel like the site is stronger for having done so, at least mostly. I guess shrug and move on. Next week is back to normal reviews, premieres and all that. I think March we’ll do this again, maybe try to keep it to five or six days. Two 100-record QRs in a row has been a lot.

But again, thanks if you’ve kept up at all. I’m gonna soak my head in these and then cover it with a pillow for a couple days to keep the riffs out. Just kidding, I’ll be up tomorrow morning writing. Like a sucker.

Winter 2023 Quarterly Review #91-100:

Gaupa, Myriad

Gaupa Myriad

Beginning with the hooky “Exoskeleton” and “Diametrical Enchantress,” Myriad is the second full-length from Sweden’s Gaupa (their first for Nuclear Blast), and a bringing together of terrestrial and ethereal heavy elements. Even at its most raucous, Gaupa‘s material floats, and even at its most floating, there is a plan at work, a story unfolding, and an underlying structure to support them. From the minimalist start of “Moloken” to the boogie rampage of “My Sister is a Very Angry Man,” the Swedefolk of “Sömnen,” the tension and explosions of “RA,” with the theatrical-but-can-also-really-sing, soulful vocals of Emma Näslund at the forefront, a proggy and atmospheric cut like “Elden” — which becomes an intense battery by the time it hits its apex; I’ve heard that about aging — retains a distinct human presence, and the guitar work of Daniel Nygren and David Rosberg, Erik Sävström‘s bass and Jimmy Hurtig‘s drums are sharp in their turns and warm in their tones, creating a fluidity that carries the five-piece to the heavy immersion of “Mammon,” where Näslund seems to find another, almost Bjork-ish level of command in her voice before, at 5:27 into the song’s 7:36, the band behind her kicks into the heaviest roll of the album; a shove by the time they’re done. Can’t ask for more. Some records just have everything.

Gaupa on Facebook

Nuclear Blast Records store

 

Orango, Mohican

orango mohican

Six albums in, let’s just all take a minute to be glad Orango are still at it. The Oslo-based harmonybringers are wildly undervalued, now over 20 years into their tenure, and their eighth album, Mohican (which I’m not sure is appropriate to take as an album title unless you’re, say, a member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community) is a pleasure cruise through classic heavy rock styles. From opener/longest track (immediate points) “The Creek” twisting through harder riffing and more melodic range than most acts have in their entire career, through the memorable swagger in the organ-laced “Fryin’,” the stadium-ready “Running Out of Reasons,” the later boogie of “War Camp” and shuffle in “Dust & Dirt” (presumably titled for what’s kicked up by said shuffle) and the softer-delivered complementary pair “Cold Wind” and “Ain’t No Road” ending each side of the LP with a mellow but still engaging wistfulness, nobody does the smooth sounds of the ’70s better, and Mohican is a triumph in showcasing what they do, songs like “Bring You Back Home” and the bluesier “Wild River Song” gorgeous and lush in their arrangements while holding onto a corresponding human sensibility, ever organic. There is little to do with Orango except be wowed and, again, be thankful they’ve got another collection of songs to bask in and singalong to. It’s cool if you’re off-key; nobody’s judging.

Orango on Facebook

Stickman Records website

 

Onségen Ensemble, Realms

Onségen Ensemble Realms

You never really know when a flute, a choir, or a digeridoo might show up, and that’s part of the fun with Onségen Ensemble‘s six-track Realms LP, which goes full-Morricone in “Naked Sky” only after digging into the ambient prog of “The Sleeping Lion” and en route to the cinematic keys and half-speed King Crimson riffing of “Abysmal Sun,” which becomes a righteous melodic wash. The Finnish natives’ fourth LP, its vinyl pressing was crowdfunded through Bandcamp for independent release, and while the guitar in “Collapsing Star” calls back to “Naked Sky” and the later declarations roll out grandiose crashes, the horns of “The Ground of Being” set up a minimalist midsection only to return in even more choral form, and “I’m Here No Matter What” resolves in both epic keys/voices and a clear, hard-strummed guitar riff, the name Realms feels not at all coincidental. This is worldbuilding, setting a full three-dimensional sphere in which these six pieces flow together to make the 40-minute entirety of the album. The outright care put into making them, the sense of purpose, and the individualized success of the results, shouldn’t be understated. Onségen Ensemble are becoming, and so have become, a treasure of heavy, enveloping progressive sounds, and without coming across as contrived, Realms has a painterly sensibility that resonates joy.

Onségen Ensemble on Facebook

Onségen Ensemble on Bandcamp

 

Gypsy Wizard Queen, Gypsy Wizard Queen

Gypsy Wizard Queen self-titled

Chad Heille (ex-Egypt, currently also El Supremo) drums in this Fargo, North Dakota, three-piece completed by guitarist/vocalist/engineer Chris Ellingson and bassist/vocalist Mitch Martin, and the heavy bluesy groove they emit as they unfurl “Witch Lung,” their self-titled debut’s 10-minute opener and longest track (immediate points), is likewise righteous and hypnotic. Even as “Paranoid Humanoid” kicks into its chorus on Heille‘s steady thud and a winding lead from Ellingson, one wouldn’t call their pace hurried, and while I’d like to shake everyone in the band’s hand for having come up with the song title “Yeti Davis Eyes” — wow; nicely done — the wandering jam itself is even more satisfying, arriving along its instrumental course at a purely stoner rock janga-janga before it’s finished and turns over to the final two tracks, “The Good Ride” and “Stoned Age,” both shorter, with the former also following an instrumental path, classically informed but modern in its surge, and the latter seeming to find all the gallop and shove that was held back from elsewhere and loosing it in one showstopping six-minute burst. I’d watch this live set, happily. Reminds a bit of Geezer on paper but has its own identity. Their sound isn’t necessarily innovative or trying to be, but their debut nonetheless establishes a heavy dynamic, shows their chemistry across a varied collection of songs, and offers a take on genre that’s welcome in the present and raises optimism for what they’ll do from here. It’s easy to dig, and I dig it.

Gypsy Wizard Queen on Facebook

Gypsy Wizard Queen on Bandcamp

 

Blake Hornsby, A Collection of Traditional Folk Songs & Tunes Vol. 1

blake hornsby A Collection of Traditional Folk Songs & Tunes Vol 1

It’s not quite as stark a contrast as one might think to hear Asheville, North Carolina’s Blake Hornsby go from banjo instrumentalism to more lush, sitar-infused arrangements for the final three songs on his A Collection of Traditional Folk Songs & Tunes Vol. 1, as bridging sounds across continents would seem to come organically to his style of folk. And while perhaps “Old Joe Clark” wasn’t written as a raga to start with, it certainly works as one here, answering the barebones runs of “John Brown’s Dream” with a fluidity that carries into the more meditative “Cruel Sister” and a drone-laced 13-minute take on the Appalachian traditional song “House Carpenter” (also done in various forms by Pentangle, Joan Baez, Myrkur, and a slew of others), obscure like a George Harrison home-recorded experiment circa Sgt. Pepper but sincere in its expression and cross-cultural scope. Thinking of the eight-tracker as an LP with two sides — one mostly if not entirely banjo tunes between one and two minutes long, the other an outward-expanding journey using side A as its foundation — might help, but the key word here is ‘collection,’ and part of Hornsby‘s art is bringing these pieces into his oeuvre, which he does regardless of the form they actually take. That is a credit to him and so is this album.

Blake Hornsby on Facebook

Ramble Records store

 

Turbid North, The Decline

Turbid North The Decline

Oof that’s heavy. Produced by guitarist/vocalist Nick Forkel, who’s joined in the band by bassist Chris O’Toole (also Unearth) and drummer John “Jono” Garrett (also Mos Generator), Turbid North‘s The Decline is just as likely to be grind as doom at any given moment, as “Life Over Death” emphasizes before “Patients” goes full-on into brutality, and is the band’s fourth full-length and first since 2015. The 2023 release brings together 10 songs for 43 minutes that seem to grow more aggressive as they go, with “Eternal Dying” and “The Oppressor” serving as the opening statement with a lumber that will be held largely but not completely in check until the chugging, slamming plod of closer “Time” — which still manages to rage at its apex — while the likes of “Slaves,” “Drown in Agony” and “The Old Ones” dive into more extreme metallic fare. No complaints, except maybe for the bruises, but as “The Road” sneaks a stoner rock riff in early and some cleaner shouts in late amid Mastodonny noodling, there’s a playfulness that hints toward the trio enjoying themselves while doling out such punishment, and that gives added context and humanity to the likes of “A Dying Earth,” which is severe both in its ambient and more outright violent stretches. Not for everybody, but if you’re pissed off and feel like your brain’s on fire, they have your back with ready and waiting catharsis. Sometimes you just want to punch yourself in the face.

Turbid North on Facebook

Turbid North on Bandcamp

 

Modern Stars, Space Trips for the Masses

Modern Stars Space Trips for the Masses

A third full-length in as many years from Roman four-piece Modern Stars — vocalist/guitarist/synthesist Andrea Merolle (also sitar and mandolin), vocalist Barbara Margani, bassist/mixer Filippo Strang and drummer Andrea SperdutiSpace Trips for the Masses is maybe less directly space rock in its makeup than one might think. The band’s heavy psychedelia is hardly earthbound, but more ambience than fiery thrust or motorik, and Merolle‘s vocals have a distinctly Mark Lanegan-esque smokiness to which Margani adds bolstering backing presence on the deceptively urbane “No Fuss,” after the opening drift of “Starlight” — loosely post-rock, but too active to be that entirely either, and that’s a compliment — and the echoing “Monkey Blues” first draw the listener in. Margani provides the only voice on centerpiece “My Messiah Left Me Behind,” but that shift is just one example of Modern Stars‘ clear intent to offer something different on every song, be it the shimmer of “Everyday” or the keyboard sounds filling the open spaces early in the eight-minute “Drowning,” which later takes up a march punctuated by, drums and tambourine, devolving on a long synth/noise-topped fade into the six-minute liquid cohesion that is “Ninna Nanna,” a capstone summary of the fascinating sprawl Modern Stars have crafted. One could live here a while, in this ‘space.’

Modern Stars on Facebook

Little Cloud Records store

 

Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships, Destination Ceres Station: Reefersleep EP

trillion ton beryllium ships destination ceres station reefersleep

Those who’ve been following the progression of Nebraska’s Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships will find Destination Ceres Station: Reefersleep — their second offering in 2022 behind the sophomore full-length Consensus Trance (review here) — accordingly dense in tone and steady in roll as the three-piece of Jeremy Warner, Karlin Warner and Justin Kamal offer two more tracks that would seem to have been recorded in the full-length session. As “Destination Ceres Station: Reefersleep” open-spaces and chugs across an instrumental-save-for-samples 12:31 and the subsequent “Ice Hauler” lumbers noddily to its 10:52 with vocals incorporated, the extended length of each track gives the listener plenty to groove on, classically stonerized in the post-Sleep tradition, but becoming increasingly individual. These two songs, with the title-track hypnotizing so that the start of the first verse in “Ice Hauler” is something of a surprise, pair well, and Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships add a taste of slow-boogie to lead them out in the slow fade of the latter, highlighting the riff worship at the heart of their increasingly confident approach. One continues to look forward to what’s to come from them, feeling somewhat greedy for doing so given the substance they’ve already delivered.

Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships on Facebook

Trillion Ton Beryllium Ships on Bandcamp

 

Borehead, 0002

Borehead 0002

The current of feedback or drone noise beneath the rolling motion of Borehead‘s “Phantasm (A Prequel)” — before the sample brings the change into the solo section; anybody know the name of that rabbit? — is indeed a precursor to the textured, open-spaced heavy progressive instrumentalism London trio have on offer with their aptly-titled second EP, 0002. Produced by Wayne Adams at the London-underground go-to Bear Bites Horse Studio, the three-song outing is led by riffs on that opener, patient in its execution and best consumed at high volume so that the intricacy of the bass in “Lost in Waters Deep,” the gentle ghost snare hits in the jazzy first-half break of “Mariana’s Lament” after the ticking clock and birdsong intro, and the start-stop declarative riff that lands so heavy before they quickly turn to the next solo, or, yes, those hidden melodies in “Phantasm (A Prequel)” aren’t lost. These aspects add identity to coincide with the richness of tone and the semi-psychedelic outreach of 0002‘s overarching allure, definitely in-genre, but in a way that seems contingent largely on the band’s interests not taking them elsewhere over time, or at least expanding in multiple directions on what’s happening here. Because there’s a pull in these songs, and I think it’s the band being active in their own development, though four years from their first EP and with nothing else to go on, it’s hard to know where they’ll head or how they’ll get there based on these three tracks. Somehow that makes it more exciting.

Borehead on Facebook

Borehead on Bandcamp

 

Monolithe, Kosmodrom

Monolithe Kosmodrom

With song titles and lyrical themes based around Soviet space exploration, Kosmodrom is the ninth full-length from Parisian death-doomers Monolithe. The band are 20 years removed from their debut album, have never had a real break, and offer up 67 minutes’ worth of gorgeously textured, infinitely patient and serenely immersive death, crossing into synth and sampling as they move toward and through the 26-minute finale “Kosmonavt,” something of a victory lap for the album itself, even if sympathy for anything Russian is at a low at this point in Europe, given the invasion of Ukraine. That’s not Monolithe‘s fault, however, and really at this point there’s maybe less to say about it than there would’ve been last year, but the reason I wanted to write about Kosmodrom, and about Monolithe particularly isn’t just that they’re good at what they do, but because they’ve been going so long, they’re still finding ways to keep themselves interested in their project, and their work remains at an as-high-if-not-higher level than it was when I first heard the 50-minute single-song Monolithe II in 2005. They’ve never been huge, never had the hype machine behind them, and they keep doing what they do anyway, because fuck it, it’s art and if you’re not doing it for yourself, what’s the point? In addition to the adventure each of the five songs on Kosmodrom represents, some moments soaring, some dug so low as to be subterranean, both lush, weighted and beautiful, their ethic and the path they’ve walked deserves nothing but respect, so here’s me giving it.

Monolithe on Facebook

Monolithe on Bandcamp

 

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Adrian Zambrano of Brujas del Sol

Posted in Questionnaire on November 24th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Adrian Zambrano of Brujas del Sol

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: Adrian Zambrano of Brujas del Sol

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

I guess I’d just simply say I’m a guitarist. It’s been something I’ve been in love with since I was a kid. My dad is a huge rock and roll guy. Like most of my peers, I’m sure, I was raised on Floyd, Zeppelin, The Doors, ZZ Top. I suppose it just always looked cool to me. (Insert photo of Zeppelin in front of their plane)… How could that not be cool?

Describe your first musical memory.

I’ve always had a love for Guns ‘n’ Roses. I used to wear my dad’s cut off G’N’R shirt around the house as a little kid singing and air guitaring.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

My time in Lo-pan, forcibly short as it was due to family health issues, was so incredible. When Brujas del Sol started, we looked up to them so so much… We still do. Best dudes. Best band.

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

Oh man, one half of my family is from Mexico. Where do I start?

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Hopefully a path of happiness… fulfillment. That can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people.

For me personally, it’s knowing my bandmates feel challenged, open to express themselves.

How do you define success?

People feeling eager to listen to our music or come see a show is enough for me.

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

Halloween Resurrection.

Fuck… maybe I’m lying. Busta Rhymes yelling “Trick or treat, mother fucker” is pretty mint.

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

An all synthesized record. Something I’ve been messing with for a few years now.

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

This is probably a boring answer… but, for me, to get people to think.

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

Hmmm. I’ve gone out on my own professionally and started a finish carpentry company in North Carolina. So, between that and three bands, I reckon I’ve got my hands full.

https://www.facebook.com/BrujasdelSol/
https://www.instagram.com/brujasdelsol/
https://brujasdelsol.bandcamp.com/

http://kozmik-artifactz.com/
https://www.facebook.com/kozmikartifactz

Brujas del Sol, Deculter (2022)

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Bryan Reed of Doomsday Profit

Posted in Questionnaire on October 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Mr. Reed. Thank you for the individual picture.

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: Bryan Reed of Doomsday Profit

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

In the context of Doomsday Profit, I’m a guitarist and vocalist. It still feels strange to use words like “guitarist,” “vocalist,” or “musician,” though, since I’ve spent the vast majority of my life interacting with music as a fan and critic rather than a performer.

I started writing about music for my college newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, in probably 2005 or so. By the time I graduated, I’d moved on to freelancing reviews and profiles as much as I could manage. But beyond dabbling with some friends in high school, I’d never really been in a band of my own.

I don’t buy into the notion that “those who can’t do, criticize.” Writing and criticism are their own skills, and don’t seem to be affected all that much by whether you have experience on the other side of the process. But for me, playing was something I’d always wanted to do, so as I approached my mid-30s, I decided to give it another shot. I picked up guitar with more focused intent than I ever had, took some online lessons and started jamming with Ryan Sweeney (Doomsday’s bassist). Soon enough, we’d come up with a few riff ideas that we wanted to try to build upon. That’s where Tradd Yancey (drummer) and Kevin See (lead guitarist) entered the picture.

The other guys are all more experienced and skilled than I am, but we found a chemistry that seems to work for us, and we all like hanging out and playing together, so that’s what we’ve been doing and what we plan to keep on doing.

Describe your first musical memory.

Apart from, like, Disney sing-along video tapes and the James Taylor and Carole King tapes my parents played in the car growing up, I came to music kind of late. I was well into high school before I started discovering the punk bands that would reshape my mind as it relates to music. All the usual suspects: Minor Threat, Misfits, Ramones, The Clash. That stuff opened a whole world of possibility, and I more or less disappeared into the music-nerd wormhole from there.

In terms of first, though, I’ll have to go with the first CD I ever bought for myself: Seal’s self-titled album — the one with “Kiss From A Rose.” I was in probably fourth grade, and loved Batman Forever. That song stuck with me so I had to hear more. I think I bought that album and the Space Jam soundtrack (which also ruled, and which also has a Seal song) at roughly the same time.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

So much of my life has been spent in the thrall of records and shows, it’s honestly hard to pinpoint any one memory. A lot of them blur together, and there are still too many standouts. Some moments stand out just for being amazing, intense shows, like seeing Pig Destroyer at Gwar-B-Q. Some are hazy in detail, but vivid in recalling the bonds forged between certain friends and myself, like the first few Hopscotch Music Festivals in Raleigh. Discovering bands like Boris as a student and having my mind reshaped, yet again, by experiencing new sounds. These are all cherished memories.
As a band member, though, it’s much clearer. The first taste of validation for what Doomsday Profit would become was after one of our first practice sessions. Tradd, Ryan and I stopped off at the local brewery, Hugger Mugger, for a couple pints after jamming, and Tradd introduced us as “musicians.” As I said before, it’s still a label that feels awkward to use, but to hear it come from the mouth of someone I respect so much was immensely flattering.

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

I don’t know about a single incident, but I feel like my whole coming-of-age was hugely affected by disillusionment with all of the major social institutions and organizations that we’re all taught to believe in. In my lifetime, I’ve seen endless war under dubious pretenses, utterly vile abuse and cover-ups committed by churches and academic institutions, and the absolute failure of our leaders to do anything to address persistent issues like gun violence, policing, drugs, and the climate crisis. All of the “generally accepted” beliefs that I’d love to have have been broken by the many betrayals committed by those figures of power.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Hopefully artistic progression leads to some sort of self-improvement. I don’t mean that in an esoteric way. In the most literal sense, developing skills and techniques is artistic progression, so it should lead to more dexterity or a bigger arsenal of techniques to employ. For me, that’s a big part of it, but the skill is really in service of being able to articulate my ideas. I would imagine a lot of artists view their progression as a journey to better capture the sounds or visions that live in their heads.

How do you define success?

Success is having the freedom to operate on your own terms. There’s certainly a material component to that, but it’s a much broader concept for me. When I imagine what success looks like, it’s more about having the time to pursue my interests than in accumulating wealth. But, I mean, the bills still gotta get paid.

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

On a road trip when I was 15, I was staring idly out of the backseat window when we passed the scene of either an accident or worse. Beyond the yellow tape and through the splashes of red and blue light, a dead and mangled body slumped against a tree on the side of the highway. It was only a moment as we passed, but I’ve never been able to forget it.

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

We’ve been kicking around the idea of doing a goofy concept album, all based on a pun. It’s about beer, but because it’s Doomsday Profit, it’s also about the apocalypse. And now that I’ve put it in print, I guess we’re going to have to follow through on it.

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

Communication. And especially communication that transcends words. Whether it’s a political message, or an emotional expression, or even something designed purely for entertainment and escapism, when art is effective, it’s communicating something. Even the most escapist, superficial art is creating a shared fantasy with its audience. As artists, we’re trying to express ideas that we can’t otherwise express. And as fans, we’re always looking for art that resonates on a personal level. It’s a bit of alchemy that is absolutely one of the best things about being human.

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

I recently started skateboarding again after about 15 years away from it, and it’s been very humbling trying to relearn everything. So I’m looking forward to getting my ollie back, hopefully.

https://www.facebook.com/doomsdayprofit
https://www.instagram.com/doomsday_profit
https://www.twitter.com/doomsday_profit
https://doomsdayprofit.bandcamp.com/
https://www.doomsdayprofit.com/

Doomsday Profit, “Consume the Remains” video

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Weedeater Announce November Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 18th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Some day, Weedeater aren’t going to be a band anymore, and you’re going to be sorry you only saw them 10 or 15 times. In all seriousness, there are few news stories that, on my end coordinating, putting together the back end, SEO — all that useless bullshit I do for this site, probably incorrectly, that isn’t actually the writing — are as easy to put together as Weedeater announcing a tour. I don’t know how many times this exact story has lumbered down the PR wire like the band’s still-worth-showing-up-to-see-live riffage in the last seven years since their last record came out, but I sure remember the last couple years when it didn’t, and I’m glad as hell it can do so once more.

Telekinetic Yeti are returning tour partners for the North Carolinian sludge mainstays — Tone Deaf Touring pairs its acts well — and Donnie Doolittle will open the shows. You can see the singularly badass poster art by Brian Mercer below — it was a deciding factor in my putting this together at all, even with the convenience of being able to cut and paste links and all that — followed of course by the dates themselves, which find the three-piece heading up and back down the East Coast around a stop at Snowblind Fest in Atlanta, with which I’d like to be friends.

Goes like this:

weedeater nov 2022 tour

WEEDEATER Announces Headlining U.S. Tour

Cape Fear metal legends WEEDEATER will be hitting the road again across the East Coast U.S. next month with support from TELEKINETIC YETI + DONNIE DOOLITTLE! The trek will kick off on November 10 in Johnson City, TN and will conclude in the band’s home-state of North Carolina in Chapel Hill on December 10!

In addition, the band will also be appearing at Snowblind Fest in Atlanta, GA on November 12. The full itinerary can be found below! All tickets can be found at THIS LOCATION: https://weedmetal.com/tour.html

WEEDEATER w/special guests Telekinetic Yeti and Donnie Doolittle
11/10/2022 Johnson City TN @ The Hideaway
11/11/2022 Charlotte NC @ Snug Harbor
11/12/2022 Atlanta GA @ Snowblind Fest – no Telekinetic Yeti, Donnie Doolittle
11/14/2022 Baltimore MD @ Ottobar
11/15/2022 Boston MA @ Crystal Ballroom
11/16/2022 Brooklyn NY @ St Vitus
11/17/2022 Rochester NY @ Bug Jar
11/18/2022 Philadelphia PA @ Kung Fu Necktie
11/20/2022 Richmond VA @ The Canal Club
12/10/2022 Chapel Hill NC @ Local 506 – w/ASG only

All of WEEDEATER’s albums are now available at fine record stores nationwide and online at the WEEDEATER Bandcamp page: https://weedeater.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/weedmetal/
https://weedeater.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
http://www.season-of-mist.com/

Weedeater, Goliathan (2015)

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Endtime and Cosmic Reaper to Release Doom Sessions Vol. 7 Jan. 13

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 13th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Bringing together Swedish cinephiles Endtime with North Carolinian psych-doom purveyors Cosmic Reaper, the latest installment of Heavy Psych Sounds‘ ongoing series, Doom Sessions Vol. 7, will see release on Jan. 13. I have no problem admitting that I’ve basically whiffed on this entire stretch of releases over the last two years, which has featured some awesome bands putting out some killer music. I’m sorry, I do my best, but there’s only so much capacity and it’s not like the label is lacking for other output, including from these bands, both of which have been covered in the last couple turns. I’m not gonna make excuses, I’m just one person. If I could write about more music, I would.

Maybe I’ll get to review this, maybe I won’t, but Endtime‘s Devo cover sounds right on, so if I can at least get that posted below, that’s something anyhow. Right? Desperately clinging to some kind of relevance amid a changing internet landscape and generational evolution of communication technology and band emergence? Sure. Right.

From the PR wire, while that’s still a thing:

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

Heavy Psych Sounds announce ‘Doom Sessions Vol. 7’ split EP with ENDTIME and COSMIC REAPER; stream debut single “Tunnel Of Life” now!

Heavy Psych Sounds Records announce the release of ‘Doom Sessions Vol.7’, the seventh chapter of their revered split series featuring Swedish nihilist doom unit ENDTIME and US stoner doom merchants COSMIC REAPER, to be released on January 13th. Listen to the first single with Endtime’s gloomy cover of DEVO’s “Tunnel Of Life” now!

Listen to Endtime doomy rendition of DEVO’s “Tunnel Of Life”

Says ENDTIME about the song: “This is the stuff that dreams are made of! The collective hard work of exposing nihilism and negativity to the masses has paid off. The fruits of our musical and televisionary labor will finally be available on Doom Sessions Vol. VII. We’re here to set the record straight by bringing you a cover of the legendary band DEVO and their track ‘Tunnel of life’. On this, we brought in Gottfrid Åhman from In Solitude, No Future, Invidious and Pågå on the Mellotron. Devo was right! Devo knew! All those crazy prophecies came true!”

Since their ignition in 2020, the ‘Doom Sessions’ series have been delivering steamroller after steamroller, packing together earth-shattering collaborations between the loudest stoner and doom acts of this world. From Conan to Bongzilla, Acid Mammoth, -(16)- and Grime, each ‘Doom Sessions’ EP presents previously unreleased tracks from both bands involved while being wrapped in a devilish artwork design by Branca Studio. ‘Doom Sessions Vol.7’ makes no exception, and the grim and unearthly synth-laden songs of Endtime match perfectly with the evil, slow and low spacey doom of Cosmic Reaper.

Endtime / Cosmic Reaper ‘Doom Sessions Vol. 7’ split EP
Out January 13th on Heavy Psych Sounds: https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS247

TRACKLIST:
1. Endtime – Tunnel of Life
2. Endtime – Beyond The Black Void
3. Cosmic Reaper – Sundowner
4. Cosmic Reaper – Dead and Loving It
5. Cosmic Reaper – King of Kings

ENDTIME is:
Joppe Ebbeson – Guitar
Daniel Johansson – Guitar
Nicke Björnör – Drums
Afshin ‘Affe’ Piran – Bass
Christian Chatfield – Vocals

COSMIC REAPER IS:
Thad Collis — guitar/vocals
Dillon Prentice — guitar
Garrett Garlington — bass
Jeremy Grobsmith — drums

https://www.instagram.com/endtimedoom/
https://www.facebook.com/Endtimedoom/
https://endtimedoom.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/cosmic_reapernc/
https://www.facebook.com/cosmicreapernc/
https://cosmicreaper.bandcamp.com/

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/
https://www.instagram.com/heavypsychsounds_records/

Endtime, “Tunnel of Life” (Devo cover)

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