Posted in Whathaveyou on November 12th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
After releasing their Visioning (review here), Dan Lorenzo (Hades, etc.) and Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, etc.) return with a covers EP taking on tracks from the divergent likes of Motörhead, Peter Gabriel, Twisted Sister, Led Zeppelin and KISS. Invariably there’s some homage to influences in the proceedings across Covered in Black — you might say that’s at least part of the idea with covers generally — and as the band unveils the lead cut taking on Twisted Sister‘s chug-happy “Destroyer” with no less than Kyle Thomas (Exhorder, Alabama Thunderpussy, Trouble) sitting in on vocals, the pacing puts a lurching emphasis on the cyclical verses. They doom it out, in other words.
Fair enough. Perhaps for those picking up Covered in Black as an introduction to the band, they include “My Veneration,” the title-track from their 2023 album (review here) at the finish, which puts in light what Patriarchs in Black have done with all the input resulting from a lifelong love of classic metal and doom. I was wondering if they might have re-recorded it — they have a lot of guests, maybe it’s different personnel? — but it seems to just be the song itself. Plenty heavy regardless.
The EP is out Dec. 15 through Brutal Planet Records. Info follows from the PR wire:
PATRIARCHS IN BLACK – Covered in Black (CD Release by Brutal Planet Records)
Brutal Planet Records unveils Covered in Black, an EP by PATRIARCHS IN BLACK that redefines six classic tracks with a dark, riff-heavy twist. Limited to just 500 CDs, this release features five unique covers and one original song, blending doom, metal, and a touch of stoner rock to put a fresh, heavy spin on familiar favorites. With covers of Kiss’s “Rock Bottom,” Twisted Sister’s “Destroyer,” Peter Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers,” Motörhead’s “The Chase is Better than the Catch,” and Led Zeppelin’s “Friends,” each track brings the spirit of the original while immersing it in PATRIARCHS IN BLACK’s signature sound.
Founding members Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Non-Fiction) and Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Danzig, Quiet Riot) lead this project, with Lorenzo previously collaborating with Bobby Blitz on The Cursed. The EP’s lineup is rounded out by guest vocalists and bassists on each track, adding diverse and dynamic interpretations to the mix. An original song, “My Veneration,” offers a taste of PATRIARCHS IN BLACK’s own sonic vision, built on heavy riffage and dark atmospheres. Housed in a six-panel booklet jewel case, this EP is a must-have for fans of Black Sabbath, Hades and Type O Negative.
Covered in Black celebrates the power of reinvention, pulling these classics into new depths with grit, heaviness, and an unwavering respect for the originals.
TRACKS Destroyer (Twisted Sister) Featuring Kyle Thomas Exhorder/Trouble Games Without Frontiers (Peter Gabriel) Featuring Mark Sunshine Unida Rock Bottom (Kiss) The Chase is Better than the Catch (Motorhead) Friends (Led Zeppelin) Featuring Militia Vox My Veneration (Original / Patriarchs in Black)
Posted in Reviews on October 10th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Some of this stuff is newer, some of it has been out for a while. You know how it goes with these things. If I had a staff of 30, I’d still always be behind and trying to keep up. It rarely works, but when a given Quarterly Review is done and I’m on the other side of 50, 70, 100 records, whatever it might be, I can fool myself for a few minutes into thinking this site is remotely comprehensive. At least until I next check my email.
Ups and downs to that, I suppose. I wouldn’t swear to it all not being AI, but I wouldn’t swear to reality being ‘real’ by any human definition either, and I’m not sure a machine making you feel something invalidates the artistic statement. Seems to me all the more an achievement. I guess what I’m trying to say in my best Kent Brockman is, “I for one, welcome our new robotic overlords.” I hope the machines take into account that I liked their paintings when they’re crushing skulls like in Terminator 2 or handing out especially cushy seats in the Matrix.
What were we talking about? Oh yeah, albums and such. Back to it:
Quarterly Review #31-40:
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Conan, DIY 10″ Series, Issue 1
In some ways, DIY 10″ Series, Issue 1 is the release Conan have been building toward. A DIY recording for Conan at this point meant recording with bassist Chris Fielding (who’s since left the band as a player but will continue to produce) and releasing through Jon Davis‘ Black Bow Records. That’s a DIY deal a lot of bands would take, and sure enough, the three songs on DIY 10″ Series, Issue 1 — the characteristically crush-galloping “Invinciblade,” “Time Becomes Master” and a cover of “Hate Song” by Fudge Tunnel — don’t sound like some half-assed thing made in the band’s rehearsal space or the living room when everyone else is out. They sound like Conan. So yes, they destroy. “Time Becomes Master” does so more slowly than “Invinciblade” and not before its intro turns feedback into cinematic artistry over the course of its first two-plus minutes, distortion eating the howl twice before Johnny King‘s drums kick in to answer what were those footprints that knocked over all the trees. Vocals don’t even kick in until four of the five minutes are gone; truly mastering time. And that drone is there the whole time. I’ll take more experimental Conan anytime.
Guitarist Dan Lorenzo (Hades) and drummer Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative) return with 12 new cuts across 43 minutes on Visioning. As with last year’s My Veneration (review here), the album features an assortment of guest singers, from Mark Sunshine (Unida) and Karl Agell (Legions of Doom, Lie Heavy), to Jason McMaster (Dangerous Toys, Watchtower) and Kyle Thomas (Exhorder, Trouble, Alabama Thunderpussy), and more besides. Bassists Dave Neabore (Dog Eat Dog) and Eric Morgan (A Pale Horse Named Death) hold down the low end as Lorenzo demonstrates the principles of applying quality riffing to an assortment of situations. It veers into nü metal more than once, but at least it’s taking a risk, and it’s just as likely to be a classic Sabbathian delve like “Empty Cup,” so you wouldn’t accuse the band of lacking scope, and Sunshine — who’s on the West Coast and plenty busy besides — might be the frontman Patriarchs in Black have been looking for all along.
Welsh melody heavy post-rockers Lurcher will have to find a new label home as Trepanation Recordings, which released Breathe, earlier this year and stood behind the band’s 2021 debut EP, Coma (review here), has ceased operations, but it’s hard to imagine Lurcher having much trouble finding a home for a sound as defined as it seems to be on “Breathe Out” and the more driving “Blister” here, which take the lush melodies one might hear from a band like Elephant Tree from an angle rooted more in post-hardcore, and a little more about shove than nod, but still able to get hazy and dreamy on opener “Never Over” or likewise mammoth and poppy on “Blink of an Eye,” though I’ll note that by “poppy” I mean accessible, melodic and professional. It wants neither for bombast nor impact, and the Mellotron before they turn “Blink of an Eye” back to the verse is just one among the many examples of why Lurcher are ready for a full-length. Or why I’m ready for one from them, at the very least.
A new configuration for some familiar players, as Alreckque‘s debut EP, 6PM, presents an initial four songs from guitarist/vocalist Jim Healey (We’re All Gonna Die, Blood Lightning, Set Fire, etc.), bassist/vocalist Aaron Gray (Hepatagua) and drummer Rob Davol (Cocked ‘n’ Loaded, Set Fire, etc.), each of whom would carry their union card for the Boston heavy underground if the city hadn’t busted the union to build condos. Healey‘s voice will be immediately recognizable to, well, anyone who’s ever heard it — it’s a pretty recognizable voice — and though “Sunsets” touches on some more metallic riffing in the vein of Blood Lightning, Alreckque is distinguished by what Gray brings to it in vocals, not only keeping up with Healey melodically (which is no small feat), but serving as an essential part of some of the EP’s most affecting moments. Yeah, the moniker is kind of a gag, but “Achilles’ Last Taco Stand (End of Man)” sets high stakes and has the reach to hit the mark in its apex. Projects like this come and go as everybody involved is usually doing more than one thing, but Alreckque sounds like the start of something worth pursuing.
Black Capricorn‘s second LP for Majestic Mountain behind 2022’s Cult of Blood (review here), the nine-song/43-minute Sacrifice Darkness… and Fire lets you know it means business immediately because not one, not two, but three songs have the word “night” in the title. To wit, “The Night They Came to Take You Away,” “Another Night Another Bite” two songs later, and “Electric Night” two songs after that. That doesn’t even count “The Moon Rises as the Immortals Gather” or “A New Day Rising,” both of which would presumably take place at least in part at night. Clearly the Sardinian cult doomers have upped their game. Your move, entire genre of heavy metal! Perhaps the highest compliment I could pay the record would be to say it earns its instances of “night,” which it does, but don’t let that keep you from “Blood of Evil” or the opener “Sacrifice,” which pairs drifting vocal incantations with an earthy groove and lays out the atmosphere for what follows. As expected and as one would hope, they dig into the songs like grainy VHS zombies into foam-rubber skulls.
The sophomore full-length from Argentina’s Dios Serpiente, founded by bassist, programmer and vocalist Leandro Buceta, brings a collaboration with Sergio Chotsourian (Los Natas, Ararat, Soldati, etc.), who contributes guitar and keyboard, Duelo de Gigantes might be an appropriate title for such a thing, as surely the swell at the finish of “Ruinas Ancestrales” is of duly mammoth proportion, but there’s more happening than largesse as “La Espera” explores textures that feel born of ambient Reznorism en route to the slamming industrial doom of “Dinastia del Morir,” an aggressive centerpiece before “El Oraculo” shows brighter flashes and “El Ultimo Ritual” turns caustic, low sludge into inhuman megaplod before “Monolitos de Lava” drops the drums and thereby transcends that much more completely into atmospheric avant garde-ness. Those used to hearing Chotsourian‘s voice alongside his guitar will be surprised at Buceta‘s growls, but the harsher vocals suit the range of dark and aggressive moods being conveyed in the electronic/organic blend of the arrangements.
If you, like me, remember a time when a band called Swarm of the Lotus stalked the earth with an especially vicious blend of sludge metal, harsh hardcore bite, and doomly proselytizing, Swiss/Swedish trio Norna wield a lurch no less punishing on “Samsara” at the outset of their self-titled sophomore LP. Huge and encompassing, it and “For Fear of Coming,” which follows, feel methodical in the European post-metallic tradition (see Amenra), but Norna are rawer than most and more direct in their assault, so that “Ghost” comes across as punk rooted in its intensity more than metal, which is also what stops “Shine by its Own Light” from being Conan, despite the similar penchant for crush. The effect of the backing atmospherics in “Shadow Works” shouldn’t be understated, even if what tops is so all-out furious, and “The Sleep” slows down a bit for one last tonal offloading, harsh shouts cutting through every punishing stage. Norna don’t mess around. Call it sludge if you want. The truth is it’s more in style and dimension.
Having a couple seconds on either side of the start and finish of a song emphasizes the live-in-studio feel of Luto Sessions, but as it’s the first offering from Argentine psychedelic doom rockers Dead Fellows, it’s not like there’s a ton to compare it to. “Pile of Flesh” or its side-B-opening counterpart “Imminent” have some Uncle Acid to their swing, but even in the boogie of “The Ritual” and the last twists of “Hell Awaits,” Dead Fellows are chasing no sonic ideal so much as their own. Echoing vocals top riffs made more sinister by the lyrics applied to them, and as “Pile of Flesh” is both opener and the longest song (immediate points), everything after seems to build momentum despite mostly languid tempos, and the movement keeps hold right through the dark swirl of “Satan is Waiting for Us” and into the finale, which at last highlights the heavy blues that’s been underscoring the material all along. You already knew if you were listening to the basslines. I don’t know if it’s actually their debut album, but it’s engaging and quickly finds its niche.
You might call Troy, New York, four-piece experimental for all the noise and keys and drones and weirdo vibes they throw at you on their debut, Does the Heartbeat, but go deeper and it’s even weirder. Because it’s pop. Like 1960s Beatles-type pop. Check out “Real Life.” The organ line of “Does the Heart Beat.” The vocal pattern in “I’ve Been Hypnotized” is more Thin Lizzy, so a couple years later, but a lot of what Rabid Children are playing off of is notions of safe, suburban interpretations of rock, and some of it is about turning that on its head, like the Ramones did, but by putting their own spin on these ideas — and songs that are mostly one to two minutes long suits that frenetic approach — Rabid Children both undercut the notions of pop as something that can’t be ‘deep’ or ‘intelligent’ (that’s called “doing Devo‘s work”) and that “Messin Round” can’t coincide with a sprawler jam like “Other Dreams” or that the over-the-top wistfulness of “Teenage Summertime Dream” and the quirkier “FCOJ” (is that a Trading Places reference?) aren’t working toward similar ends.
Just two songs on this initial offering from German noise-doomers Ord Cannon, but that’s enough for the band — which traces its pedigree back through Bellrope into Black Shape of Nexus, thereby ticking any box you might have for off-kilter heavy-as-hell cred — to leave a crater behind. The Foreshots EP brings “Letting My Insides Out Into the Air” (10:35) and “I Need a Hammer” (9:41), and with them, Ord Cannon mark out what one suspects won’t at all be the limits of their ultimate breadth. A harsh experimentlism seems to put the studio on a similar plane to the instruments, and the mix, whether that’s pushing the vocals further back toward the end of “I Need a Hammer” or making “Letting My Insides Out Into the Air” sound like the end of the world more generally, further bolsters the true-horrors-in-three-dee vibe. I don’t know what the advent of Ord Cannon signals for Bellrope, who put out their debut EP in 2019, but this kind of malevolent worldmaking is welcome in any form.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 6th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Just five months out — to the day — from the Oct. 6, 2023, release of their second album, My Veneration (review here), Patriarchs in Black announce they’ve signed with Metalville Records (home to The Quill, Siena Root, and scores of others) to issue their third LP this summer. And even if that turned into Fall — note “should” below — that’s still just a year from the sophomore LP and a pretty quick turnaround for the project that has its core duo in guitarist/songwriter Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Vessel of Light, etc.) and drummer Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Danzig, etc.), as well as on-pace with their debut, Reach for the Scars, which came out in 2022.
Coordinating between Kelly and Lorenzo would be plenty, but the range of guest players and singers continued to expand on My Veneration, with Karl Agell (currently of Lie Heavy and Legions of Doom, also ex-C.O.C. for the Blind album) and Mark Sunshine (now also in Unida, once signed to Metalville with RiotGod) contributing vocals along with Darryl McDaniels from Run-DMC, and bass work from JD DeServio of Black Label Society, Dave Neabore from Dog Eat Dog, and others. Putting out a record every year when everybody lives in the same house is one thing. I know working remote has become easier, but there are a lot of threads to align in Patriarchs in Black, and man, email is a pain in the ass. You might be that doomed too if you were trying to digitally chase down bassists and vocalists from various continental corners.
But that oldschool urgency is part of who Patriarchs in Black are, so I have not the slightest doubt the follow-up to My Veneration will manifest sooner than later. The PR wire brought the signing announcement ahead of later details of the recording and release. My favorite part is when Lorenzo, in all-caps for emphasis, says it’s, “FUN FUN FUN.” No doubt that’s a very particular idea of a good time, but it’s one I share.
Dig:
PATRIARCHS IN BLACK sign with METALVILLE, prepare new album for summer – features members of DANZIG, TYPE O NEGATIVE, HADES
Today, Metalville Records announces the signing of Patriarchs in Black. The first fruit of this union shall be the band’s highly anticipated third album, which should see international release this summer.
Former Type O Negative / Danzig drummer Johnny Kelly and guitarist / riff writer Dan Lorenzo (Hades, ex-Non-Fiction) formed Patriarchs In Black at the end of 2021. The project included well-known guests on vocals and bass, including Karl Agell ( COC Blind / Lie Heavy) , Jimmy Gnecco, Dewey Bragg ( Kill Devil Hill / Bill Ward) among others. Their debut single “Demon of Regret” came out January 2022, and the debut album Reach For The Scars was released on July 1st, 2022. Their second album, My Veneration, was on October 6th, 2023 with multiple guest vocalists and bassists.
For the forthcoming third studio album (and first for Metalville), Dan Lorenzo has already written ten new songs. As always, Johnny Kelly on drums and lots of amazing singers and bassists will contribute. “It’s SO fun, and not putting too much pressure on singers to come up with one or two amazing lyrics and melodies a year. I write a LOT of riffs / music. Our third album came together very easily. FUN FUN FUN,” says Dan.
More Patriarchs in Black news to be announced shortly. For more info, consult the links below.
Posted in Reviews on November 28th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Day two and no looking back. Yesterday was Monday and it was pretty tripped out. There’s some psych stuff here too, but we start out by digging deep into metal-rooted doom and it doesn’t get any less dudely through the first three records, let’s put it that way. But there’s more here than one style, microgengre, or gender expression can contain, and I invite you as you make your way through to approach not from a place of redundant chestbeating, but of celebrating a moment captured. In the cases of some of these releases, it’s a pretty special moment we’re talking about.
Places to go, things to hear. We march.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
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Primordial, How it Ends
Excuse me, ma’am. Do you have 66 minutes to talk about the end of the world? No? Nobody does? Well that’s kind of sad.
At 28 years’ remove from their first record, 1995’s Imrama, and now on their 10th full-length, Dublin’s Primordial are duly mournful across the 10 songs of How it Ends, which boasts the staring-at-a-bloodied-hillside-full-of-bodies after-battle mourning and oppression-defying lyricism and a style rooted in black metal and grown beyond it informed by Irish folk progressions but open enough to make a highlight of the build in “Death Holy Death” here. A more aggressive lean shows itself in “All Against All” just prior while “Pilgrimage to the World’s End” is brought to a wash of an apex with a high reach from vocalist Alan “A.A. Nemtheanga” Averill, who should be counted among metal’s all-time frontmen, ahead of the tension chugging in the beginning of “Nothing New Under the Sun.” And you know, for the most part, there isn’t. Most of what Primordial do on How it Ends, they’ve done before, and their central innovation in bridging extreme metal with folk traditionalism, is long behind them. How it Ends seems to dwell in some parts and be roiling in its immediacy elsewhere, and its grandiosities inherently will put some off just as they will bring some on, but Primordial continue to find clever ways to develop around their core approach, and How it Ends — if it is the end or it isn’t, for them or the world — harnesses that while also serving as a reminder of how much they own their sound.
With a partner in drummer Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative, Danzig, etc.), guitarist/songwriter Dan Lorenzo (Hades, Vessel of Light, Cassius King, etc.) has found an outlet open to various ideas within the sphere of doom metal/rock in Patriarchs in Black, whose second LP, My Veneration, brings a cohort of guests on vocals and bass alongside the band’s core duo. Some, like Karl Agell (C.O.C. Blind) and bassist Dave Neabore (Dog Eat Dog), are returning parties from the project’s 2022 debut, Reach for the Scars, while Unida vocalist Mark Sunshine makes a highlight of “Show Them Your Power” early on. Sunshine appears on “Veneration” as well alongside DMC from Run DMC, which, if you’re going to do a rap-rock crossover, it probably makes sense to get a guy who was there the first time it happened. Elsewhere, “Non Defectum” toys with layering with Kelly Abe of Sicks Deep adding screams, and Paul Stanley impersonator Bob Jensen steps in for the KISS cover “I Stole Your Love” and the originals “Dead and Gone” and “Hallowed Be Her Name” so indeed, no shortage of variety. Tying it together? The riffs, of course. Lorenzo has shown an as-yet inexhaustible supply thereof. Here, they seem to power multiple bands all on one album.
Just because it wasn’t a surprise doesn’t mean it’s not one of the best debut albums of 2023. Bringing together known parties from Boston’s heavy underground Jim Healey (We’re All Gonna Die, etc.), Doug Sherman (Gozu), Bob Maloney (Worshipper) and J.R. Roach (Sam Black Church), Blood Lightning want nothing for pedigree, and their Ripple-issued self-titled debut meets high expectations with vigor and thrash-born purpose. Sherman‘s style of riffing and Healey‘s soulful, belted-out vocals are both identifiable factors in cuts like “The Dying Starts” and the charging “Face Eater,” which works to find a bridge between heavy rock and classic, soaring metal. Their cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Disturbing the Priest,” included here as the last of the six songs on the 27-minute album, I seem to recall being at least part of the impetus for the band, but frankly, however they got there, I’m glad the project has been preserved. I don’t know if they will or won’t do anything else, but there’s potential in their metal/rock blend, which positions itself as oldschool but is more forward thinking than either genre can be on its own.
Based in Oakland and making their debut with the significant endorsement of Small Stone Records and Kozmik Artifactz behind them, atmospheric post-heavy rock five-piece Haurun tap into ethereal ambience and weighted fuzz in such a way as to raise memories of the time Black Math Horseman got picked up by Tee Pee. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. With notions of Acid King in the nodding, undulating riffs of “Abyss” and the later reaches of “Lost and Found,” but two guitars are a distinguishing factor, and Haurun come across as primarily concerned with mood, although the post-grunge ’90s alt hooks of “Flying Low” and “Lunar” ahead of 11-minute closer “Soil,” which uses its longform breadth to cast as vivid a soundscape as possible. Fast, slow, minimalist or at a full wash of noise, Haurun‘s Wilting Within has its foundation in heavy rock groove and riffy repetition, but does something with that that goes beyond microniche confines. Very much looking forward to more from this band.
Its point of view long established by the time they get around to the filthy lurch of “Hesher” — track three of seven — Cabin Fever is the first full-length from cultish doomers Wicked Trip. The Tennessee outfit revel in Electric Wizard-style fuckall on “Cabin Fever” after the warning in the spoken “Intro,” and the 11-minute sample-topped “Night of Pan” is a psych-doom jam that’s hypnotic right unto its keyboard-drone finish giving over to the sampled smooth sounds of the ’70s at the start of “Black Valentine,” which feels all the more dirt-coated when it actually kicks in, though “Evils of the Night” is no less threatening of purpose in its garage-doom swing, crash-out and cacophonous payoff, and I’m pretty sure if you played “No Longer Human” at double the speed, well, it might be human again. All of these grim, bleak, scorching, nodding, gnashing pieces come together to craft Cabin Fever as one consuming, lo-fi entirety, raw both because the recording sounds harsh and because the band itself eschew any frills not in service to their disillusioned atmosphere.
There’s an awful lot of sex going on in Splinter‘s Role Models, as the Amsterdam glam-minded heavy rockers follow their 2021 debut, Filthy Pleasures (review here), with cuts like “Soviet Schoolgirl,” “Bottom,” “Opposite Sex” and the poppy post-punk “Velvet Scam” early on. It’s not all sleaze — though even “The Carpet Makes Me Sad” is trying to get you in bed — and the piano and boozy harmonies of “Computer Screen” are a fun departure ahead of the also-acoustic finish in closer “It Should Have Been Over,” while “Every Circus Needs a Clown” feels hell-bent on remaking Queen‘s “Stone Cold Crazy” and “Medicine Man” and “Forbidden Kicks” find a place where garage rock meets heavier riffing, while “Children” gets its complaints registered efficiently in just over two boogie-push minutes. A touch of Sabbath here, some Queens of the Stone Age chic disco there, and Splinter are happy to find a place for themselves adjacent to both without aping either. One would not accuse them of subtlety as regards theme, but there’s something to be said for saying what you want up front.
Beginning with its longest component track (immediate points) in “Asteroid,” Terra Black‘s All Descend is a downward-directed slab of doomed nod, so doubled-down on its own slog that “Black Flames of Funeral Fire” doesn’t even start its first verse until the song is more than half over. Languid tempos play up the largesse of “Ashes and Dust,” and “Divinest Sin” borders on Eurometal, but if you need to know what’s in Terra Black‘s heart, look no further than the guitar, bass, drum and vocal lumber — all-lumber — of “Spawn of Lyssa” and find that it’s doom pumping blood around the band’s collective body. While avoiding sounding like Electric Wizard, the Gothenburg, Sweden, unit crawl through that penultimate duet track with all ready despondency, and resolve “Slumber Grove” with agonized final lub-dub heartbeats of kick drum and guitar drawl after a vivid and especially doomed wash drops out to vocals before rearing back and plodding forward once more, doomed, gorgeous, immersive, and so, so heavy. They’re not finished growing yet — nor should they be on this first album — but they’re on the path.
Sometimes the name of a thing can tell you about the thing. So enters Musing, a contemplative solo outfit from Devin “Darty” Purdy, also known for his work in Calgary-based bands Gone Cosmic and Chron Goblin, with the eight-song/42-minute Somewhen and a flowing instrumental narrative that borders on heavy post-rock and psychedelia, but is clearheaded ultimately in its course and not slapdash enough to be purely experimental. That is, though intended to be instrumental works outside the norm of his songcraft, tracks like “Flight to Forever” and the delightfully bassy “Frontal Robotomy” are songs, have been carved out of inspired and improvised parts to be what they are. “Hurry Wait” revamps post-metal standalone guitar to be the basis of a fuzzy exploration, while “Reality Merchants” hones a sense of space that will be welcome in ears that embrace the likes of Yawning Sons or Big Scenic Nowhere. Somewhen has a story behind it — there’s narrative; blessings and peace upon it — but the actual music is open enough to translate to any number of personal interpretations. A ‘see where it takes you’ attitude is called for, then. Maybe on Purdy‘s part as well.
A heavy and Sabbathian rock forms the underlying foundation of Spiral Shades‘ sound, and the returning two-piece of vocalist Khushal R. Bhadra and guitarist/bassist/drummer Filip Petersen have obviously spent the nine years since 2014’s debut, Hypnosis Sessions (review here), enrolled in post-doctoral Iommic studies. Revival, after so long, is not unwelcome in the least. Doom happens in its own time, and with seven songs and 38 minutes of new material, plus bonus tracks, they make up for lost time with classic groove and tone loyal to the blueprint once put forth while reserving a place for itself in itself. That is, there’s more to Spiral Shades and to Revival than Sabbath worship, even if that’s a lot of the point. I won’t take away from the metal-leaning chug of “Witchy Eyes” near the end of the album, but “Foggy Mist” reminds of The Obsessed‘s particular crunch and “Chapter Zero” rolls like Spirit Caravan, find a foothold between rock and doom, and it turns out riffs are welcome on both sides.
The closing “Sex on a Grave” reminds of the slurring bluesy lasciviousness of Nick Cave‘s Grinderman, and that should in part be taken as a compliment to the setup through “Black Cat” — which toys with 12-bar structure and is somewhere between urbane cool and cabaret nerdery — and the centerpiece “Bad Day,” which follows a classic downer chord progression through its apex with the rawness of Backwoods Payback at their most emotive and a greater melodic reach only after swaying through its willful bummer of an intro. Last-minute psych flourish in the guitar threatens to make “Bad Day” a party, but the Louisville outfit find their way around to their own kind of fun, which since the release is only three songs long just happens to be “Sex on a Grave.” Fair enough. Rife with attitude and an emergent dynamic that’s complementary to the persona of the vocals rather than trying to keep up with them, the counterintuitively-titled second short release (yes, I know the cover is a Zeppelin reference; settle down) from Bandshee lays out an individual approach to heavy songwriting and a swing that goes back further in time than most.
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
With the duo of guitarist/songwriter Dan Lorenzo (Cassius King, Hades, Non-Fiction, etc.) and drummer Johnny Kelly (ex-Type O Negative, Danzig, Silvertomb, apparently Quiet Riot, among others) at their core, Patriarchs in Black return with their impending second album, My Veneration, set to arrive on Oct. 6 through MDD Records. The new release follows 2022’s Reach for the Scars and in addition to returning vocalist Karl Agell — whose new band Lie Heavy have their first record out and who sang on C.O.C.‘s Blind LP — and no less than the king Darryl McDaniels (DMC from Run DMC) showing up, there’s John “JD” DeServio from Black Label Society and a guest-singer spot from Mark Sunshine, who used to be in New Jersey’s own RiotGod and is currently holding down frontman duties in Unida where once John Garcia dared to tread.
Those aren’t it, either. Johnny Araya (younger brother to Tom, now retired from Slayer), Kelly‘s brother Danny Kelly and Dog Eat Dog‘s Dave Neabore (his band has a new album coming out too; pretty productive group of individuals here) also take part, and if that sounds like it’s gonna be one big ol’ metal-dude party tied together with Lorenzo‘s ever-choice doomly riffs — the KISS cover aside — then yeah, I think that’s probably what they’re shooting for.
There’s a teaser up but I haven’t seen a single yet, so will keep an eye out for that. The PR wire has the following to offer:
Second Album ‘My Veneration’ by Patriarchs In Black To Hit The Stores This October (with Johnny Kelly and Dan Lorenzo)
Patriarchs In Black, a unique collaboration of acclaimed musicians Johnny Kelly (Type O Negative/Quiet Riot) and Dan Lorenzo (Hades/Non-Fiction), are thrilled to announce the completion of their second album, “My Veneration”. Much like their debut album “Reach For The Scars”, the upcoming album brings together multiple singers and bassists. The album will be officially released on October 6, 2023, through MDD Records.
Returning artists include Karl Agell (Corrosion of Conformity Blind/Lie Heavy) and Rob Traynor from Black Water Rising. New collaborators like Mark Sunshine (Riotgod/Unida) have joined the project, contributing their unique vocal stylings. The album also features a song with hip-hop legend Darryl DMC from RUN/DMC and guest appearances from John “JD” DeServio (Black Label Society), Dave Neabore (Dog Eat Dog), and Johnny Araya. The album includes a rendition of Kiss’ hit “I Stole Your Love”, featuring Johnny Kelly’s brother, Danny Kelly. “My Veneration” will also be the project’s first to incorporate violin and keyboards, expanding the musical horizons of Patriarchs In Black.
Teaser of the “My Veneration” album is already available, offering a taste of the extraordinary collaborations and music to come.
The album is now available for pre-order on Amazon and MDD Records:
Posted in Questionnaire on December 26th, 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: Dan Lorenzo of Cassius King, Patriarchs in Black, Vessel of Light, Hades, & Non-Fiction
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’m a salesman in the tattoo business who considers himself a mediocre musician who is also one of the most prolific riff writers in heavy music.
Describe your first musical memory.
I’d like to pretend it was hearing Kiss Rock and Roll Over and being floored, but the truth is I was born in 1963 and my first “musical” memory was watching The Partridge Family and thinking David Cassidy looked cool and that I should grow my hair.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Pantera’s Phil Anselmo singing one of my songs ( Non-Fiction’s The My Way) to me in a hotel in Los Angeles to prove he remembered who I was.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I love this question, but I don’t think any of my beliefs have ever been tested personally.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
For me it leads to retiring about two years later than I could. Even though all my bands have record deals I dump a large amount of my own money into marketing and promotion. Want a free Patriarchs In Black hoodie JJ?
How do you define success?
The ability to eat whatever food I want every day. I moved out of my home in 1983 and for about ten years meals were not guaranteed. I didn’t eat every day.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
A few years ago, I was in my car at a railway crossing after eating breakfast. The gates were down and I heard the train coming. I was distracted by something, and I looked down for a moment
When I looked up, I saw a 23 year old woman with a hint of a smile in front of me. She had earbuds in and was scrolling on her phone just 6-8 feet in front of me crossing the railroad tracks. Before I could yell or honk my car horn she was gone. Her death fucked me up for months.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
My 23rd album. A second with Patriarchs In Black. It’s already in the beginning process. It’s just another album, but it still keeps me energized and excited as “the next album” always should.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Providing people with a strong emotional feeling.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
Summer 2023. The winters in northern New Jersey blow chunks.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 6th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Kudos to drummer Johnny Kelly on putting it about as succinctly as it can be put — “All roads lead to Black Sabbath.” He’s not wrong, at least as regards any and all things heavy. The former Type O Negative and longtime Danzig basher has joined forces with Vessel of Light‘s Dan Lorenzo in the new band Patriarchs in Black — because what’s been getting a lot of good press lately if not patriarchy? — and signed to MDD Records for an impending debut release.
The project will feature a number of singers, which is cool and all, though after listening to Karl Agell — you know him from fronting Corrosion of Conformity‘s Blind LP save for “Vote With a Bullet” — on the first single “Demon of Regret,” I’m not sure why they need anyone else. I’m not arguing with the prospect of Rob Dukes from Exodus fronting a doom track, just saying this sounds pretty cohesive as it is and if the full record followed the same pattern, I’d be unlikely to fight it.
A positive first impression, then, if not necessarily one that stands for the entirety of what’s to come. Will keep an eye out.
Info and audio from the PR wire:
Patriarchs In Black release single Demon of Regret
Brooklyn native Johnny Kelly and NJ guitarist Dan Lorenzo have both played in more than a handful of bands. Lorenzo was the founding member of both Hades and Non-Fiction and most recently Vessel Of Light and Cassius King. He even wrote the music with Bobby Blitz’ first foray outside of Overkill in 2007 with The Cursed. Kelly first came into prominence with Type O Negative and has also sat behind the kit for Danzig for nearly two decades. Kelly has also performed with Black Label Society, A Pale Horse Named Death, and currently Quiet Riot and Silvertomb. Before now the two have never recorded anything together.
“I honestly don’t remember how I first got in contact with Johnny”, Lorenzo stated. “I know we’ve had some email contact together for a while, and I remember originally being flattered that Johnny even know who I was.”
Kelly stated, “I liked the riffs that Dan sent me and it’s a great opportunity to get to play with different people.” When Kelly was asked what he brings to the table for Patriarch In Black he came back with, ” I’m not really sure. I consider myself to be an average drummer at best. It must be my charming personality!”
The duo have named this project PATRIARCHS IN BLACK. Lorenzo wrote the music and plays guitar, Kelly is behind the kit.
PATRIARCHS IN BLACK will have multiple vocalists. Karl Agell (former COC) , Dewey Bragg (Kill Devil Hill) Rob Dukes (former Exodus), Rob Traynor (Black Water Rising) and John Kosco (Dropbox) have each already agreed to sing at least one song.
When pressed for a description of how the music sounds Kelly said, “All roads lead to Black Sabbath!”.
The first single Demon of Regret features Kelly, Lorenzo, Karl Agell on vocals and Dave Neabore (Dog Eat Dog) on bass.
Demon Of Regret is the very first song Lorenzo and Agell ever wrote together. Lorenzo wrote the music. Lyrically Agell said the track is, “About choices made and paths not taken, and our inability to go back no matter how much we wish we could. Consequences. Guilt. Anguish.”
