Posted in Whathaveyou on March 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Please tell me if I’m crazy, but I don’t see a title here. I guess stranger things have happened, but with the unveiling of the new lyric video for “Raven Bones” and the announcement of their signing to Argonauta Records, Finnish doom rollers Orbiter nonetheless herald their upcoming debut album, whatever it’ll be called and whenever it’ll be issued, presumably sometime later this year.
Then a five-piece, the band released their debut EP, The Deluge (discussed here) early in 2020 and “Raven Bones” accounts for an element of grunge along with the weighted, doomed roll of their riffing, vocals carefully layered to accent mood along with melody. Whatever album details aren’t included — title as noted, also art, tracklisting, etc. — the song itself makes up for a lot, which is probably what you want, considering.
I’ll hope to have more on the record once we get closer to its TBA release date, and kudos to the band and label on the team-up in the meantime. Most of what follows is basic background — bio stuff — but it’s something to go on, at least, and it’s enough of an excuse to post the track, so there you have it. The promo plan works:
Finnish Psychedelic Doom Metal Act ORBITER Sign to Argonauta Records and Share New Song and Lyrics Video
“We’re thoroughly excited to be releasing our debut album with Argonauta Records. The label has exactly the kind of attitude we’re looking for, and it has a deep understanding of the doom, stoner, and heavy psych scenes. We’ve already been playing some of the new material at our live shows, and the audience responses have been thrilled, so we can’t wait to get these songs officially released!”
The sound of Orbiter is a unique brew of grinding riffs, atmospheric psychedelia, and hypnotically soaring vocals. The band is firmly rooted in doom metal and stoner rock, yet they adventurously take influences from a wide range of genres and even visual arts to create an approach that is truly their own.
Formed in 2014 in Helsinki, Finland, Orbiter spent their early years crafting their style and artistic direction. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when German singer-songwriter and filmmaker Carolin joined the band in 2019. Shortly thereafter they released their debut EP The Deluge, which received excellent reviews and established the band as a force to be reckoned with in the heavy music and doom metal underground scenes.
The current line-up consists of Carolin Koss (vocals), Alexander Meaney (guitars), Tuomas Talka (bass), and Sami Heiniö (drums). Orbiter have established a solid reputation as a great live act through their atmospheric shows on the club circuit and in festivals in Finland and Germany.
In 2022, Orbiter recorded their debut full length album with producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Apocalyptica). The album was mixed by Hiilesmaa and mastered by Ted Jensen (Alice In Chains, Mastodon). The upcoming record will be released via Argonauta Records in 2023 on VINYL, CD, and DIGITAL editions.
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 1st, 2022 by JJ Koczan
At some point between releasing 2020’s The Deluge and now, Helsinki psychedelic troupe Orbiter parted ways with guitarist Jere Remes — don’t worry, they’ve still got — Alexander Meaney — and it’s as a four-piece that they’ll embark on their first international showcases, playing at the Fuzz Jam Festival in Hamburg and Berlin’s Setalight Festival in successive nights in Germany this October. There are a few other Finnish dates on either side of that fest-centered weekender, but the important takeaway here is Orbiter are getting out and will likely look to do so more after this if all goes well.
I don’t know what their plans are as regards releasing their debut LP, but according to the info here, the record is done and has been since June. That makes me wonder if there isn’t a label involved, and the delay is up to aligning with pressing plants and promotional concerns, thereby pushing it to 2023. I don’t know that, mind you, but otherwise, why not just put it up on Bandcamp and have done with it? Anyway, don’t go quoting speculation, but whenever the album is announced, I’ll have an eye out for it.
From the PR wire in the meantime:
Orbiter announce tour dates for autumn 2022
Finnish psychedelic doom metal band Orbiter are playing six live shows in autumn 2022. These include four club shows in Finland and two festival performances in Germany at Fuzz Jam Festival in Hamburg and Setalight Festival in Berlin. The German dates will be the band’s first live performances outside Finland.
The Helsinki-based quartet made an impact on the heavy music underground scene with their 2020 debut EP The Deluge, which received excellent reviews. Orbiter’s sound is a melting pot of doom-laden riffs, atmospheric psychedelia, and hypnotic vocals, and the band has garnered acclaim for their atmospheric live shows.
In May-June 2022, the band recorded their debut full length album with legendary producer Hiili Hiilesmaa (HIM, Apocalyptica), to be released in 2023. Many of the new songs have been performed at recent live shows and have received a thrilled response from the audience.
Autumn Tour 2022: 03.09. Kenneli D.I.Y., Tampere, Finland 30.09. Ravintola Torvi, Lahti, Finland 01.10. Ravintola Ottopoika, Kuopio, Finland 07.10. Fuzz Jam Festival, Hamburg, Germany 08.10. Setalight Festival, Berlin, Germany 26.11. Uus Hoi Sie, Lappeenranta, Finland
Orbiter: Carolin Koss – Vocals Alexander Meaney – Guitar Tuomas Talka – Bass Sami Heiniö – Drums
Posted in Questionnaire on June 22nd, 2022 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: Tuomas Talka of Orbiter
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I am a songwriter and bass guitarist in Helsinki-based doom metal band, Orbiter. The story of how I became a bass guitarist goes back to 2013. By then I have had just played electric guitar since I was 16 (from 2006 on), mostly for my own fun and sometimes some covers of known metal bands with a friend of mine who played drums.
Then I moved to Helsinki for university in 2009 and I met Alexander Meaney around 2010 for the first time. It was a slowly developing friendship and during the first university years I had not even any play-for-fun type of music projects going on, but we started to talk more and more about music and the bands that we like, and I started to go to gigs of his alternative rock band of that time called Saturnalia. I was even sort of a roadie on one gig. Then one winter day of early 2013 Alexander called me and asked if I know how to play bass guitar, as the former bass guitarist had decided to leave the band. I said that I haven’t really played the bass guitar but I can learn. I started practising the songs several hours a day for the first weeks, and three months later we recorded an EP. By that time I did not even have my own bass guitar, yet.
The story of Saturnalia did not last long as in early 2014 the band broke up for good. Even though I was in Saturnalia only a year, it was really good school of band life in general. I learned about how studio recording sessions in professional studio happen, we had almost 10 gigs, and I composed my very first song to be played live. That re-ignited the sparkle for songwriting, which I had been doing in my teens but just for the songs to be buried in the drawer… well to be honest the quality was mainly on a level that it was still better that way. Anyway, Saturnalia died and we had for a few months some fierce and fast experiments on thrash and other aggressive and fast metal subgenres without any additional singer, but soon the drummer also left as he had another band which was taking more and more of his time. Then I and Alexander started to gather a new band around us which then became Orbiter.
The naturally increased artistic responsibility as a co-founding member gave me courage to write more and more material, so now I am in a situation of a main songwriter in the band alongside with Alexander.
During the pandemic my interest in making electronic and synthesizer-driven music has also increased, and I was very pleased when a friend of mine took me to do the soundtrack for his horror short movie. I hope this is also something I get to do more in the future.
Summarizing all this above, my songwriter identity is maybe stronger than that of a player of any instrument in particular. I compose at home with electric guitar mostly, play bass guitar in my band and recently experiment with synthesizers. It’s all about the passion for creating sounds that you enjoy.
Describe your first musical memory.
I don’t think I can reliably distinguish my very first musical memories from false memories. We listened to a lot of children’s music in my childhood while we were going somewhere by my family’s car. And I guess I and my sister mostly, at least sort of, selected that music which was put on. but I do remember clearly one of my very first memories of me choosing the music that I really liked and listened on repeat and felt the first feelings of true fascination towards music.
My family is not particularly musical as nobody played any instrument or sang. We had a some kind of CD collection home, which consisted mostly of easy listening compilation albums and some schlager albums. My dad, though, clearly had some kind of rock phase during his youth as there were some CDs that got my attention when I was at the stage of migrating away from children’s music. I remember that he had some compilation albums of C.C.R., Scorpions, Michael Jackson’s HIStory, and Queen’s Greatest Hits II. I remember that especially the last one was on constant repeat for me for quite some time and it had the kind of magic in it that was my true first love towards rock music.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
As the ball has got rolling really well with Orbiter recently, despite the pandemic and the challenges it has brought, my best musical memory is also quite recent. In 2020 we had the privilege to play our first ever summer festival gig on the very same day that the larger public events were again allowed in Finland after the first covid lockdown. This was on 1st of August at Jokelan Närkästysjuhlat (what a tongue-twister for non-Finns!). There were lots of big local names and also Skraeckoedlaen from Sweden as one of the headliners. The weather was nice, which is not something to take for granted in Finland even in summer! The gig went very well, we had a really good audience already for our afternoon slot, and the general atmosphere was just super great. I got lots of casual compliments about the gig from strangers when walking through the festival area. The whole experience left a big thirst for more!
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I can’t recall any firmly held beliefs being tested at all recently regarding music. I guess many people have had their phases of being quite absolute on the kind of music they SHOULD listen to and how music SHOULD sound like and how songs SHOULD be made. I had also had this phase during my teens, luckily for a short time.
When really thinking of a firmly held belief, that has had a huge effect on me as a person, the biggest thing coming to my mind is that avoiding conflicts in relationships at all costs would be healthy. This thought was something I most likely somehow adopted from my childhood. It was last time tested a few years ago when I finally started to understand the importance of giving a chance for conflicts to happen as part of human interaction, also and especially with the ones you love. All the uneasy, yet crucial conversations are not happening if one is afraid of disagreement. The realization of this took me some time but I am happy it dawned to me in the end.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
The best thing with the artistic progression in general, for Orbiter and for what I do outside of the band, is that I don’t really have any clear idea to which direction it is going. My songwriting and riff-writing process is not at all in control and is in that way chaotic that I just play the guitar without any ideas in my head and see if something comes up. If not, then I try it again the next day. Some people hear riff ideas in their head while they are taking a shower or so, but I am not that kind of a person. I just seem to create whatever flows through me so it’s always at least a bit of a mystery. The only somewhat controlled way is that if we are for example finalizing an album and we miss a song or two and start thinking of what kind of moods this album is still missing, then I try to push the songwriting to certain direction and see what comes out. Most of the time it is quite freely flowing, though.
Not to leave this answer to a boring ending I can of course start guessing what is the artistic progression of Orbiter. I know what the upcoming debut album is going to be like, and many old Orbiter fans might be a tiny bit surprised of it. But going beyond that, I feel that contrast of various light and heavy dynamics is going to play even larger role in the music. Orbiter is going to be very doomy but most likely quite far from stoner, in the sense of what stoner rock and stoner metal mean to me. Our music might also migrate to direction where it is very difficult to say if it is metal or rock or something else. What I can also sense is that the visual part of our presence and especially live shows is going even more to a direction of some kind of a holistic experience in addition to musical experience. This starts to be already quite a hazy vision in my head that I can’t fully verbalize, but something to this direction for sure.
When thinking of music I make outside of Orbiter, I need to see how I feel after the horror movie soundtrack once the movie gets its premiering night. I will be experimenting with synthesizers for sure in the future but time will show if it goes more to soundtrack direction after this one or to some dark electronic/ambient or something like that. The persisting issue is that I am such a popular music multi-enthusiast with my interests and there are only the few hours for each day to use, having a day job and all other things in life, as well.
How do you define success?
This question sounds like from some project planning meeting, defining the targets of the project that I sometimes face at work. Well, if I take this project aspect then, and let’s stay in music, as would make sense.
I can’t talk with everyone’s mouth in the band but we have had some discussions about goals for Orbiter and based on that I dare to say something. These are mainly something that I’d guess most bands have, so touring greatly abroad in the most important festivals of our scene, and touring abroad playing club gigs with some great bands. These would be definitely a dream come true. Oh! And then we have this one very tongue in cheek goal that we have set. As we intentionally play also with the sex appeal in our visual side, which to me is obvious and one of the core elements in rock music in general, we have set this target of being ”the sexiest doom metal band in the world”. So I guess that if some day some music media refers to Orbiter with these words, we have succeeded! :D
When defining success for me personally in music, I don’t have that specific or concrete thoughts on it. I think I have succeeded in music when it gives me rewarding feelings and meaningfulness to life. Being able to keep this throughout my life would be great and definitely a clear sign of success. I don’t dare to wish for more, as time will show then what shapes these hopefully rewarding and meaningful moments will take.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Even though, the war in Ukraine has been going on already since 2014, I really wish that nobody would have had to see the start of it, not to talk about the latest, shamelessly unjustified full-scale war and genocide commanded by Putin. Wars are always horrible but witnessing such monstrosities in Europe still these days, relatively near, makes it understandably extra overwhelming to deal with. All I can wish, is that this bloodshed ends as soon as possible. At the same time the brighter future for Europe and the whole world needs the collapse of Russia as we know it, the Russia which hasn’t dealt with their totalitarian past. Without that, It will always end up totalitarian and imperialistic, time after time, after some turmoil periods between dictatorships. This cycle needs to end.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I will keep this on a personal level and leave Orbiter out of it. So now that I have passed the threshold of thinking do I dare to publish some of my electronic/synthesizer music because of the upcoming movie and its soundtrack, I’d really take some elements of that further. During the last years I have got really fond of industrial electronic music taking the sound to extremes but still having strong songs. The best example and one of my favorite artists in this is Author & Punisher who is absolutely brilliant. Also modern darkwave has been something I enjoy listening to lately, especially Gost. It would be really interesting to take some influences from both darker corners of synthwave and some rhythms made of plain industrial noise and adding some of my own twist there. Let’s see how this idea develops, but for sure I cannot see any tracks to be published any time soon!
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
The most essential function of art is that it exists and is available for people. Art is one of the core elements of culture, which is one of the few distinguishing factors between humans and other animals. If we ever encounter another species or form of life which has culture and ability to communicate with us, our art is definitely one of the very first things, if not the first, to be introduced to them. Art holds absolute value as it provides meaningfulness to people and its importance cannot, or at least shouldn’t, be valued by money. In my opinion, art reflects us as individuals and as society, telling the story of who we are, where we come from, and where are we going to. Art is also in interaction with our ways of thinking and seeing the world so it has a very complex and large importance.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I was first about to say to this that I am looking for seeing this short film on big screen that I was working with but that is, of course, a musical thing as I worked on the soundtrack. There are lots of musical things that I am looking forward to but I guess the biggest non-musical thing would definitely be my upcoming summer vacation. Seeing some friends I haven’t had time to see in a while, going to a summer cottage and just chilling in general after the hectic spring and early summer. I try to maintain my good practise, that I do not plan the vacation too much. I try to leave half of it empty to keep it interesting, yet actually relaxing. There is a busy fall ahead, so charging the batteries at this point is absolutely needed.
Posted in Radio on January 31st, 2020 by JJ Koczan
As I sit and type this, I just recorded (on my phone, because professionalism!) the voice tracks for this episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio, and in the first of them I tried and probably failed to explain that the show’s moving. Instead of every other week on Friday at 1PM Eastern (which it is now), it’s going to be every week, Friday 5PM Eastern. New episodes will still be every other week, but it’s a dedicated spot to The Obelisk Show and that’s that. The Sunday replays will still air. Bullet points:
– Starting Feb. 14.
– Airing every week, Friday 5PM, plus Sundays at 7PM
– New episodes every other week
– Listen to The Obelisk Show at Gimmeradio.com or on the app.
– Thank you
Probably should’ve written that out before I tried explaining it off the cuff on the show itself. So it goes.
There’s a ton of killer, killer, killer new music in this episode, so, you know, business as usual. I know I’m biased. Anyone who says they’re not is playing pretend. I was glad to include new Goblinsmoker here, which I haven’t had the chance to write about yet, as well as Insect Ark, The River, Grandpa Jack and Godthrymm. Look out for a full stream of the OZO record next Tuesday, if you like what you hear in the title-cut.
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Feb. 14. Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 22nd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Following up on their announcement last November of the single Bone to Earth, Finnish heavy five-piece Orbiter have now put out word that their debut EP, a four-tracker titled The Deluge, will be out on Jan. 29. Rest assured, I have no frickin’ idea what day it is as I write this, but when I take the millisecond to glance downward at the calendar, it says that’s next week, so there you go. Quick turnaround.
“Bone to Earth” will lead off the EP, and its rolling groove is welcome to be sure. Orbiter‘s take is in a place between heavy rock and doom, and Carolin Koss‘ vocals highlight an edge of psychedelia in the guitar, but that only makes the overall outing richer in sound. The Deluge‘s scope might be familiar to experienced heads, but that does nothing to make it less enjoyable, particularly in the righteously atmospheric eight-minute closer “In Echoes.” Admittedly, I’m still digging into the release, but that’s an immediate standout.
One to keep an eye on. Maybe mark your calendar. Set a reminder. Do the thing. Get involved. Make your way. Blah blah blah. Whatever, it’s right on. You like music, right?
Dig:
Finnish doom metal band Orbiter to release debut EP “The Deluge” on January 29, 2020
The Finnish doom metal band Orbiter will release their debut EP The Deluge on Wednesday, 29 January. The four-song EP is a blend of heavy riffing, atmospheric psychedelia, and soaring vocals. The central theme of the record is human nature and its contradictions: over and over again people’s aspirations towards wisdom are in danger of being drowned under the waves of their own greed. The EP has been mastered by Brad Boatright (Audiosiege), one of the most renowned mastering engineers in the industry worldwide.
Orbiter released a pre-single Bone to Earth in late November. In addition to the Finnish media, the song also received international attention in Germany, Spain, France, and America.
Founded at the turn of the year 2014-2015, the band has been influenced by the genre’s founder Black Sabbath, 90s stoner bands like Kyuss, and 21st century doom bands. Additional influences have been drawn from psychedelic and progressive rock.
Orbiter’s new vocalist Carolin Koss joined the band last April. She’s an artist, filmmaker, and singer originally from Germany, and now residing in Finland. This is Orbiter’s first record with Koss. The band has previously released three singles, most recently Anthropocene in early 2019.
Upcoming gigs (in Finland) 6.2. Lepakkomies, Helsinki 10.4. Ravintola Cactus, Helsinki
Orbiter: The Deluge 1. Bone to Earth 2. Astral Racer 3. Orchids 4. In Echoes
Orbiter Carolin Koss – Vocals Alexander Meaney – Guitar Jere Remes – Guitar Tuomas Talka – Bass Sami Heiniö – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 27th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Not the kind of thing I usually say when I put up a track with a news post, but the song at the bottom here, which comes from Orbiter‘s 2019 split with Roadog (review here), doesn’t really do much to represent where the Helsinki five-piece are coming from on their new single, “Bone to Earth.” Sure, the new cut still has some of those haze-doom underpinnings — a feeling of psychedelic immersion set to big-feeling riffly-roll derived in part from “Witchcult Today” but transmogrified into something less willfully cartoonish, but with vocalist Carolin Koss making her debut in the band, it’s nonetheless a significant change that’s taken place, and it has an effect on their sound of course. For what it’s worth, I’ve heard the new song — it’s out tomorrow, so you know, not really so much advance listening there — and it’s awesome. Also of note is the uptick in the production of the drums. The snare sounds right on in the new track.
Promises of good things to come? Here’s hoping. We’ve got a whole new decade arriving in a little over than a month. Time to start filling it with killer tunes.
From the PR wire:
Orbiter – New single ‘Bone to Earth’ out on November 28!
Founded at the turn of the year 2014-2015, the band has been influenced by the genre ancestor Black Sabbath, 90s stoner bands like Kyuss, and 21st century doom bands. Additional influences have been drawn from psychedelic and progressive rock.
Now Orbiter is releasing new music! Bone to Earth single will be released on Thursday 28 November. The song is a pre-release from the band’s upcoming debut EP The Deluge, which will come out on January 29.
Bone to Earth is a song about the duality of human nature, which is self-destructive and yet longing for wisdom. The song’s unhurried and heavy riffing blends hypnotically with the voice of the new vocalist, Carolin Koss, who joined the band in April. Koss is an artist, filmmaker and singer originally from Germany, and now residing in Finland.
The upcoming four-song EP contains previously unrecorded material from the band’s earlier days as well as newer songs composed with Koss. Orbiter has previously released three singles, most recently Anthropocene in early 2019.
Upcoming gigs (in Finland) 30.11.19 Ravintola La Barre, Joensuu 11.1.20 UUS HOI SIE, Lappeenranta 10.4.20 Ravintola Cactus, Helsinki 23.5.20 Henry’s Pub, Kuopio
Orbiter Carolin Koss – Vocals Alexander Meaney – Guitar Jere Remes – Guitar Tuomas Talka – Bass Sami Heiniö – Drums
Posted in Reviews on March 21st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Day four of the six-dayer. Head’s a little reeling, but I’m not sure any more so than, say, last week at this time. I’d be more specific about that, but oddly enough, I don’t hook my brain up to medical scanners while doing reviews. Seems like an oversight on my part, now that I think about it. Ten years later and still learning something new! How about that internet, huh?
Since I don’t think I’ve said it in a couple days, I’ll remind you that the hope here is you find something you dig. There’s a lot of cool stuff in this batch, so that should at least make skimming through it fun if you go that route. Either way, thanks for reading if you do.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Electric Octopus, Smile
It’s been about two months since Electric Octopus posted Smile, so they’re about due for their next release. So, quick! Before this 82-minute collection of insta-chill jams is out of date, there’s still time to consider it their latest offering. Working as the four-piece of Tyrell Black and Dale Hughes — both of whom share bass and guitar duties — drummer Guy Hetherington and synthesist Stevie Lennox, the Belfast improv jammers rightfully commence with the 25-minute longest track (immediate points) “Abberation” (sic), which evolves and devolves along its course and winds up turning from a percussive jam to a guitar-led build up that still stays gloriously mellow even as it works its way out. You can almost hear the band moving from instrument to instrument, and that’s the point. The much shorter “Spiral,” “Dinner at Sea, for One” and closer “Mouseangelo” bring in a welcome bit of funk, “Moth Dust” explores minimalist reaches of guitar and ambient drumming, and “Hyperloop” digs into fuzz-soaked swirl before cleaning up its act in the last couple minutes. These cats j-a-m. May they do so into perpetuity.
Onto the best-albums-of-2019 list go San Marcos, Texas, trio Crypt Trip, who, sonically speaking, are way more Beto O’Rourke than Ted Cruz. The three-piece have way-way-upped the production value and general breadth from their 2018 Heavy Psych Sounds debut, Rootstock, and the clarity of purpose more than suits them as they touch on ’70s country jams and hard boogie and find a new melodic vocal confidence that speaks to guitarist Ryan Lee as a burgeoning frontman as well as the shredder panning channels in “To Be Whole.” Fortunately, he’s backed by bassist Sam Bryant and drummer Cameron Martin in the endeavor, and as ever, it’s the rhythm section that gives the “power trio” its power. Centerpiece “Free Rain” is a highlight, but so is the pedal steel of intro “Forward” and the later “Pastures” that precedes six-minute closer “Gotta Get Away,” which makes its transport by means of a hypnotic drum solo from Martin. Mark it a win and go to the show. That’s all you can do. Haze County is a blueprint for America’s answer to Europe’s classic heavy rock movement.
A bit of Tull as Love Gang‘s flute-inclusive opener “Can’t Seem to Win” skirts the line of the proggier end of ’70s worship. The Denver outfit and Dallas’ Smokey Mirror both present three tracks on Glory or Death Records‘ Split Double EP, and Love Gang back the leadoff with “Break Free” and “Lonely Man,” reveling in wall-o’-fuzz chicanery and organ-laced push between them, making their already unpredictable style less predictable, while Smokey Mirror kick off side B in particularly righteous fashion via the nine-minute “Sword and Scepter,” which steps forth to take ultra-Sabbathian ownership of the release even as the filthy tone of “Sucio y Desprolijo” and the loose-swinging Amplified Heat-style megashuffle of “A Thousand Days in the Desert” follow. Two bands in the process of finding their sound coming together to serve notice of ass-kickery present and future. If you can complain about that, you’re wrong.
Very much a solid first album, Heavy Feather‘s 11-song Débris & Rubble lands at a run via The Sign Records and finds the Stockholm-based classic heavy blues rockers comporting with modern Euro retroism in grand fashion. At 41 minutes, it’s a little long for a classic-style LP if one measures by the eight-track/38-minute standard, but the four-piece fill that time with a varied take that basks in sing-along-ready hooks like those of post-intro opener “Where Did We Go,” the Rolling Stones-style strutter “Waited All My Life,” and the later “I Spend My Money Wrong,” which features not the first interplay of harmonica and lead guitar amid its insistent groove. Elsewhere, more mellow cuts like “Dreams,” or the slide-infused “Tell Me Your Tale” and the closing duo of the Zeppelinian “Please Don’t Leave” and the melancholy finisher “Whispering Things” assure Débris & Rubble never stays in one place too long, though one could say the same of the softshoe-ready boogie in “Hey There Mama” as well. On the one hand, they’re figuring it out. On the other, they’re figuring it out.
Five full-lengths deep into a tenure spanning a decade thus far, Faith in Jane have officially entered the running to be one of the best kept secrets of Maryland heavy. Their late-2018 live-recorded studio offering, Countryside, clocks in at just under an hour of organic tonality and performance, bringing a sharp presentation to the chemistry that’s taken hold among the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Dan Mize, bassist Brendan Winston and drummer Alex Llewellyn, with Mize taking extended solos on the Wino model throughout early cuts “All is All” and “Mountain Lore” while the trio adds Appalachian grunge push to the Chesapeake’s flowing groove while building “Blues for Owsley” from acoustic strum to scorching cacophonous wash and rolling out the 9:48 “Hippy Nihilism” like the masters of the form they’re becoming. It’s not a minor undertaking in terms of runtime, but for those in on what these cats have been up to all the while, hard to imagine Countryside is seen as anything other than hospitable.
Lafayette, Indiana’s The Mound Builders last year offered a redux of their 2014 album, Wabash War Machine (review here), but that was their last proper full-length. Their self-titled arrives as eight bruiser slabs of weighted sludge/groove metal, launching with its longest track (immediate points) in the 7:30 “Torchbearer,” before shifting into the outright screams-forward pummel of “Hair of the Dogma” and the likewise dry-throated “Separated from Youth.” By the time they get to the hardcore-punk-via-sludge of “Acid Slugs,” it’s not a little heavy. It’s a lot heavy. And it stays that way through the thrashing “Star City Massacre” and “Regolith,” hitting the brakes on “Broken Pillars” only to slam headfirst into closer “Vanished Frontier.” Five years later and they’re still way pissed off. So be it. The four-formerly-five-piece were never really all that gone, but they still seem to have packed an extended absence’s worth of aggro into their self-titled LP.
It’s a fluid balance between heavy rock and progressive metal Terras Paralelas make in the six inclusions on their debut full-length, Entre Dois Mundos. The Brazilian instrumentalist trio keep a foundation of metallic kickdrumming beneath “Do Abismo ao Triunfo,” and even the chugging in “Espirais e Labirintos” calls to mind some background in harder-hitting fare, but it’s set against a will toward semi-psychedelic exploration, making the giving the album a sense of refusing to play exclusively to one impulse. This proves a strength in the lengthier pieces that follow “Infinito Cósmico” and “Do Abismo ao Triunfo” at the outset, and as Terras Paralelas move from the mellower “Bom Presságio” and “Espirais e Labirintos” into the more spaciously post-rocking “Nossa Jornada Interior” and the nine-minute-plus prog-out title-track that closes by summarizing as much as pushing further outward, one is left wondering why such distinctions might matter in the first place. Kudos to the band for making them not.
The Black Heart Death Cult, The Black Heart Death Cult
Though one wouldn’t accuse The Black Heart Death Cult of being the first cumbersomely-named psych-rocking band in the current wave originating in Melbourne, Australia, their self-titled debut is nonetheless a gorgeous shimmer of classic psychedelia, given tonal presence through guitar and bass, but conjuring an ethereal sensibility through the keys and far-back vocals like “She’s a Believer,” tapping alt-reality 1967 vibes there while fostering what I hear is called neo-psych but is really just kinda psych throughout the nodding meander of “Black Rainbow,” giving even the more weighted fuzz of “Aloha From Hell” and the distortion flood of “Davidian Dream Beam” a happier context. They cap with the marshmallowtron hallucinations of “We Love You” and thereby depart even the ground stepped on earlier in the sitar-laced “The Magic Lamp,” finding and losing and losing themselves in the drifting ether probably not to return until, you know, the next record. When it shows up, it will be greeted as a liberator.
I’m pretty sure the Sami who plays drums in Orbiter is the same dude playing bass in Roadog, but I could easily be wrong about that. Either way, the two Finnish cohort units make a fitting complement to each other on their two-songer 7″ single, which presents Orbiter‘s six-minute “Anthropocene” with the hard-driving title-track of Roadog‘s 2018 full-length, Reinventing the Wheels. The two tracks have a certain amount in common, mostly in the use of fuzz and some underlying desert influence, but it’s what they do with that that makes all the difference between them. Orbiter‘s track is spacier and echoing, where “Reinventing the Wheels” lands more straightforward in its three minutes, its motoring riff filled out by some effects but essentially manifest in dead-ahead push and lyrics about a motorcycle. They don’t reinvent the wheel, as it happens, and neither do Orbiter, but neither seems to want to do so either, and both bands are very clearly having a blast, so I’m not inclined to argue. Good fun and not a second of pretense on either side.
Space is the place where you’ll find Boston improvisationalists Hhoogg, who extend their fun penchant for adding double letters to the leadoff “Ccoossmmooss” of their exclamatory second self-released full-length, Earthling, Go Home!, which brings forth seven tracks in a vinyl-ready 37 minutes and uses that opener also as its longest track (immediate points) to set a molten tone to the proceedings while subsequent vibes in “Rustic Alien Living” and the later, bass-heavy “Recalled to the Pyramids” range from the Hendrixian to the funkadelicness he helped inspire. With a centerpiece in “Star Wizard, Headless and Awake,” a relatively straightforward three-minute noodler, the four-piece choose to cap with “Infinitely Gone,” which feels as much like a statement of purpose and an aesthetic designation as a descriptor for what’s contained within. In truth, it’s a little under six minutes gone, but jams like these tend to beg for repeat listens anyway. There’s some growing to do, but the melding of their essential chemistry is in progress, and that’s what matters most. The rest is exploration, and they sound well up for it.
Posted in audiObelisk on February 27th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Oslo-based heavy rockers Orbiter are set to make their full-length debut on March 1 — two days from now — with Resist, Submit, Repeat on Negative Vibe Records. The offering runs a brisk 28 minutes, and for most of its seven tracks, the operative word there is “runs.” The album’s promo materials, part of which you can see below, tag Clutch and Motörhead as key influences, and listening to the sprinting verse of opener “To the Crows” give way to a more weighted groove in the chorus, I can hardly disagree, but there’s a metallic underpinning of chug in the bridge of “To the Crows” before the gallop resumes that not only foreshadows what will cap the record and serve as its crescendo in the mammoth stomp of the instrumental “Voyage,” but hints toward some of the aggression heard in punkish centerpiece “Dave” or in the brisk 2:44 rush of “Fratican Shitty,” which would seem to be about more than a downer tourist experience. It’s only hard to say for sure because by the time you’ve caught up to the hook, the track is already en route to beating you over the head with the next verse.
Even the vocal patterning there, though, could be argued as derived from Clutch, but that comes more forward in mid-paced swing-rockers like “Six Line” as guitarist Kim Rune Johansen complements the riffing with a gruff, dudely shout that stays on rhythm and ultimately helps set the brash mood of Resist, Submit, Repeat on the whole. In the only two songs that top five minutes long, “Misery Season” and “Mt. Fuzzo,” there’s a little more room to flesh parts out, but that dynamic serves Orbiter well — particularly as “Mt. Fuzzo” directly precedes “Fratican Shitty” — and the overall burl factor is well met by Ivan Reigstad‘s bass and Pål G Sivertzen‘s drumming, which provide the bounce that makes cuts like “Six Line” and “Misery Season” the highlights that they are, as well as being a bit of a drawback from the all-go spirit of the faster material. It’s not an unfamiliar blend on the whole, but Orbiter bend it effectively to suit their purposes, and the chug they dig into periodically throughout becomes a kind of secret weapon waiting to be fully unleashed in the finale.
The stated theme of the album is the process of coping with — or at least losing to — one’s demons, and whether that’s substance abuse, mental illness, etc., it’s fair enough ground for them to trod. Still, listening to the fueled shuffle of “Dave,” I wouldn’t call Resist, Submit, Repeat a downer in the slightest. Its brazen take hints at future melodicism in their sound and it’s less than a half-hour of absolutely pretense-free, high-energy riff-led heavy rock. There’s plenty to get down with if you’re up for it, and really, the bass alone on the closer is right there in gotta-hear status. I’m a sucker for rumble anyway, but that’s the good stuff.
Before that, however, there’s there punch in the face of “To the Crows,” which you can hear premiering on the player below, followed by the aforementioned PR wire info.
Have at it, and please enjoy:
Negative Vibe Records has announced the March 1st album release of Resist, Submit, Repeat. This is the debut full-length from Norwegian muck-rock merchants, Orbiter. Composed of Kim Rune Johansen (guitar/vocals), Ivan Reigstad (bass) and Pål G Sivertzen (drums) this trio splits the difference between the stoner grooves of bands like Clutch and the amphetamine riff fury of Motorhead.
In the three years between their debut EP Crooked and the new full-length the band has become a super-tight live fixture on the Oslo music scene. Practicing and refining some of the new tunes through years of rehearsal and performances. Johansen said of the difference between releases “there’s a filthy rawness to much of the music which we draw in from the nature around us, however the energy is much more refined on this release, the riffs are bigger and the production is huge!”
