Posted in Whathaveyou on November 21st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
As someone who spent roughly five minutes not-at-all-surviving in the corporate sector working in something loosely related to marketing, I’m sometimes interested in moves like this. Obviously it’s a play toward a wider appeal, right? More people will be interested in Oblivion Access than Austin Terror Fest, which sounds like an extreme metal festival exclusively. A name like Oblivion Access — taken from the 2015 album of Lil Ugly Mane, who’ll be part of the 2020 lineup — also opens up the possibility of tapping into the kind of modern American post-Coachella emergence of the “festival experience,” which sometimes extends to art and other stuff and sometimes just means that if you pay more you get more. “Oblivion” connotes danger and “Access” connotes exclusivity. You could sit a team down in a brightly lit open office space surrounded by MacBook Pros and they’d be hard-pressed to come up with a more suitable banner to fly.
Swans, Converge, Anna von Hausswolff, True Widow, Despise You and Primitive Man are confirmed so far, in addition to the aforementioned Lil Ugly Mane, and badges are available now.
Details follow via the PR wire:
AUSTIN TERROR FEST ANNOUNCES REBRAND AS OBLIVION ACCESS MUSIC FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 2020 RETURN WITH INITIAL LINEUP REVEAL FEATURING SWANS, CONVERGE, LIL UGLY MANE, ANNA VON HAUSSWOLFF, DESPISE YOU, TRUE WIDOW, & PRIMITIVE MAN
— FOURTH ANNUAL HEAVY METAL, EXTREME ROCK, & EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC FESTIVAL RETURNS JUNE 5-7 TO MULTIPLE VENUES ACROSS DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, TEXAS —
— FESTIVAL BADGES ON SALE NOW WITH FULL LINEUP DROPPING IN JANUARY —
The founders of Austin Terror Fest are proud to announce the music festival has recently rebranded to become Oblivion Access. The heavy metal, extreme rock, and experimental music festival is set to return to the Red River Cultural District of Austin, Texas, on June 5-7. Additionally, the festival has revealed some of the first acts added to the 2020 lineup, with three-day badges on sale now for just $200 through the festival’s official Facebook event page.
Oblivion Access is an annual celebration of underground music and rock culture, which will take place across a three-day weekend from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 7, 2020. Each night of the festival, Oblivion Access will take over some of the most popular music venues in the renowned Red River Cultural District of downtown Austin—including returning fan-favorites like Barracuda and Empire Control Room & Garage, as well as a new location at Mohawk—to offer attendees performances from some of the most in-demand metal and experimental acts from across the globe.
The new name, Oblivion Access, is meant to serve as an homage to Lil Ugly Mane’s 2015 album of the same title. Still ringing true to the festival’s original identity, Oblivion Access will continue to provide fans with some of today’s most sought-after heavy metal, experimental, and punk rock music performances. The festival will also expand into new genres and sounds, continuing the transition that began during last year’s festival to make the event a more inclusive and encompassing celebration of both counterculture and experimental music.
In celebration of the festival’s new name, as well as its expansion to now include Mohawk, the festival team has decided to unveil several acts in this year’s lineup, including a very special headlining performance from Swans as the band reunites for the first time after going on hiatus in 2017. The oft-labeled “world’s loudest experimental rock band” just released their latest album, Leaving Meaning, and continue to be heralded as pioneers in the industrial rock scene.
The 2020 bill will also feature Boston-based hardcore punk band Converge; Lil Ugly Mane, a critically acclaimed rap project from the mind of Travis Miller, whose last album in 2015 is the namesake for the festival; and Swedish singer/songwriter Anna von Hausswolff, as she embarks on her first-ever tour across the US. Other notable acts include Los Angeles-based hardcore punk band Despise You, best known for their power-violence sound that combines extremely dissonant and fast metal; and Texas’ own doom rockers True Widow, hailing from nearby Dallas. Lastly, sludge metal trio and Oblivion Access’ artist-in-residence Primitive Man will be returning to perform several sets featuring never-before-played deep cuts.
The current music lineup is listed below, with the full lineup being revealed in January 2020:
OBLIVION ACCESS 2020 – INITIAL MUSIC LINEUP Swans Converge Lil Ugly Mane Anna von Hausswolff Despise You True Widow Primitive Man
Three-day GA passes are on sale now for $200 through the festival’s official Facebook event page. Weekend GA passes guarantee access to all official festival shows at Barracuda, Empire Control Room & Garage, and Mohawk throughout the three-day festival weekend. These Weekend GA passes are in limited supply due to venue capacities, so those interested are encouraged to act fast. Single-show passes will also be made available for purchase online at a later time closer to the festival dates.
Oblivion Access (formerly Austin Terror Fest) was created in 2016 and continues to be independently produced by Austin-based entrepreneurs Dusty Brooks and Dorian Domi. Brooks and Domi are not only successful music talent bookers, but they are also metal enthusiasts who look to continue growing the new brand for years to come. Each year the event continues to grow, with last year’s festival hosting the largest number of attendees to date. The 2019 festival included 2,500 attendees and more than 30 music acts from Texas and around the globe, including Lighting Bolt, Pig Destroyer, Goatwhore, TR/ST, Alcest, Bongzilla, and more.
The official music lineup poster for Oblivion Access 2020 was designed and illustrated in collaboration with the talented Russ Goldston, an experienced calligrapher and digital artist based in Chicago. More of their work can be found on Instagram at @late.fate.
For more information, please visit the official Oblivion Access Facebook Event page and follow along on Instagram at @OblivionAccessFest for updates and special promotions. The Festival’s official hashtag is #OblivionAccess2020.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 14th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
David Eugene Edwards. Solo. Acoustic. Every year I’ve been fortunate enough to go, there’s been one keeps-you-alive-until-April Roadburn set, from Saint Vitus with Wino in 2009 and Garcia Plays Kyuss in 2010 to Sleep playing Sleep’s Holy Mountain this year. There’s always one. At least. In 2020, for me, that’s David Eugene Edwards of Wovenhand and 16 Horsepower playing by himself on stage. Whatever else gets added, whoever else is playing, hell, even if Wovenhand end up playing, this is the one that got me. Well done, Roadburn 2020.
Also featured in this massive lineup addition are PH (whose announcement I wrote), Elizabeth Colour Wheel, familiar faces Primitive Man and a host of other, of course widely varied, incarnations of badassery. I’m not trying to take away from anyone else or anything like that, or anything that might still come by saying the above, you understand. Roadburn 2020’s already primed to push well beyond the common bounds of heavy. It was before this announcement, frankly. But from here on in, my schedule already has its circle, and whether we do the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch or not (every year I kind of wait for the shoe to drop on that like it’s something we’ve been getting away with for the last six editions), I’m there, and I don’t care who he’s up against or who’s on next on what stage. If I have to sleep in the gutter of Weirdo Canyon in order to be there, I’m not missing a minute of David Eugene Edwards‘ set. Period.
From the fest:
Roadburn 2020: new announcements, more curator picks, and a showcase!
– Less than 10% of 4 day tickets remain – David Eugene Edwards joins Emma Ruth Rundle’s curated event – James Kent picks a special collaboration for his curation – The Flenser will present a label showcase
Less than 10% of 4-day tickets remain for Roadburn 2020, and single-day tickets will go on sale on December 10.
Artistic Director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments: “As we edge closer towards selling out Roadburn 2020, I am excited that we still have so much more to announce. This year we are putting an emphasis on the context and creativity of the artists we’re announcing and knowing that we have still more up our sleeves means I am delighted to see where Roadburn 2020 is heading.”
EMMA RUTH RUNDLE’S THE GILDED CAGE:
DAVID EUGENE EDWARDS At Roadburn, David Eugene Edwards has graced us with his presence on two occasions as part of Wovenhand. Each performance pulsated with energy and elevated the sets to be highlights of each respective edition of the festival – in no small part due to David’s electrifying presence. We’re delighted to bring him back to Roadburn, this time as part of Emma Ruth Rundle’s curation, The Gilded Cage. David will perform an acoustic, solo set that promises to showcase the diversity of his delivery and the nuances of his craft. Emma comments:
“It’s been a secret wish to see DEE playing solo and delivering his songs in their most bare forms. This was the very first thing that came to mind when I was asked to co-curate Roadburn and it’s going to be a rare and precious jewel of a performance.”
JAMES KENT’S CURATION: REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER A product of the burgeoning French underground scene that has produced so much incredible music in the past few years, over the course of two records so far, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber have used scraps from the most sinister subgenres, from black metal to sludge to build up truly frightening epics. Always apocalyptic in feeling, emotional and ruthless in equal measures, drenched in religious imagery and references, and creating a sonic depiction of the fall of mankind… and its subsequent rising to replace the cruelty of the established gods. Not only will we be expecting all of this maelstrom of fiery feelings, but also a healthy measure of the unexpected as well, since Regarde Les Hommes Tomber will be playing their new not-quite-announced-yet album in its entirety.
HANGMAN’S CHAIR X REGARDE LES HOMMES TOMBER Regarde Les Hommes Tomber will join forces with Hangman’s Chair for a collaboration at Roadburn 2020. Hellish, sludgy black metal will clash horns-first with cold, despondent doom, and the result will surely transcend even the most delirious of descriptions that we can come up with at this point. Originally commissioned by Red Bull, this unholy collaboration has occurred just once previously, in Paris. That performance lasted 45 minutes, but for Roadburn an additional 15 minutes of material will be debuted just for us.
PLEBEIAN GRANDSTAND Plebeian Grandstand are a band that have morphed from a core of quite technical, hardcore charged metal to be the hulking beast of black metal fury we see before us today. The creative journey they have been on has led to an infusion of influences from outside the black metal sphere, resulting in nuance and depth that can sometimes be hard to find within the genre. On top of that, they eschew the cartoonish elements of extreme black metal – you’ll find no burning churches here – in favour of something rooted more firmly in reality. After all, what’s more nightmarish than the real world?
TRUE BODY With a calculated sense of tension and just enough human touch to cut through their own cold post-punk atmospheres, Virginia’s True Body has built a following with their urgent and impassioned music. Instead of falling into melodramatic excess or disconnected affectations, the band manages to bring the best of each realm for something that leaves audiences rapt and thrilled. With this masterful take on such a beloved sound, we’re honored to announce that True Body will be performing at Roadburn 2020 as part of James Kent’s curation.
THE FLENSER SHOWCASE In 2020, The Flenser will celebrate the tenth anniversary of the label’s first release. The San Francisco based label has been committed to releasing experimental, avant-garde music for a whole decade – which – naturally – has not escaped our notice here at Roadburn HQ. To celebrate this milestone and to acknowledge the impact that The Flenser has had on our record collections and the broader musical landscape we have invited several of the label’s current artists to perform at Roadburn 2020.
The Flenser label manager, Jonathan Tuite comments: “Roadburn is my absolute favorite festival in the world. The lineup is always diverse, the audience enthusiastic, and the curation is second to none. I can’t think of a more appropriate place for The Flenser to celebrate our ten years of existence.”
GILES COREY For over ten years Dan Barrett has been cementing his role as a visionary in dark music history.Perhaps none of this work has resonated with more intimacy than Giles Corey, his acoustic guitar led, ghost noise-soaked songwriting vessel. While on paper an acoustic led-project sounds like a potentially low-key affair, Giles Corey is bursting with electric energy–recordings are awash in swirling organs, reverberating choirs, striking horns, and blown out drums. While Giles Corey has performed as a solo-act, Roadburn 2020 will mark the project’s first appearance as a full-band. Members of Have a Nice Life, including central figure Tim Macuga, will help bring the album’s haunted sounds to life: expect the stage and audience to be left in a scorched earth state of desolation.
ELIZABETH COLOUR WHEEL “Otherworldly” is a description often applied to artists that evoke the ethereal, and whilst that is occasionally applicable to Elizabeth Colour Wheel, the otherworldliness they invoke is more to do with the fact that it’s not always clear if they really inhabit the same world as we do. Their debut album, Nocebo, laughs in the face of genre descriptors, forging a new path that may be tricky to describe but that offers a wildly enticing prospect.
DROWSE Drowse is an outlet for Kyle Bates to explore his place in the world; his music echoes what he experiences on the varied paths of this internal-reflection. Sometimes those paths lead to extraordinary places – this year’s Light Mirror LP was inspired by an isolated trip to northern Iceland where he took up an artistic residency in 2018. The melancholic results are the sonic equivalent of a sliver of sunlight permeating an otherwise bleak and drizzly morning. The weight of Bates’ reflections is mighty, but it never quite succeeds in suffocating the shards of harmonious hope that glint in the winter sun.
MAMALEEK Mamaleek have been unearthing truly uncategorizable sounds from the catacombs of black metal since 2008. Founded by two anonymous brothers, the Bay Area project has become known for both its wild experimentation and aesthetic cohesion. The use of left-field samples threads their discography together, with sound sources growing more bizarre with each release. The current lineup mixes childhood friends and total strangers. Their participation is an outgrowth of the core duo, an experiment in a live setting, using instruments and sounds that highlight experimentation and flout genre conventions. Who knows how long this iteration will last before the next metamorphosis.
MIDWIFE As a multi-instrumentalist, Madeline Johnson AKA Midwife has sculpted a fuzzy take on experimental dream pop, drenched in melody and punctuated with distortion. Despite a central theme of “devastation” Midwife makes for nuanced and evocative easy listening that can’t help but feel like something of an audio honey trap. We’ll have to wait until April to find out exactly what lurks beneath the surface…
ALSO ANNOUNCED…
PRIMITIVE MAN It is with great anticipation that we’re delighted to announce that Primitive Man will be playing twice at Roadburn. One set will be a business-as-usual, throat-ripping, bone crushing display of what makes them a must-watch band. And one set will be a run through of their 2017 album, Caustic. This is the kind of endurance test we relish – an audio pummelling so intense that there’s no way to come out the other side without a shift in our worldview.
LANKUM When The Livelong Day – the latest offering from Dublin four piece, Lankum – passed over our desks, our ears pricked up and we knew we had to invite them to Roadburn next year. It’s not uncommon to find us feeling effusive about noise, drone and ambient projects in the Roadburn world, but it’s a much rarer prospect to find such tonal qualities on what is undoubtedly, most definitely a folk album. Uilleann pipes and harmonium come together to create a cinematic soundscape that many Roadburners will feel right at home with. The album makes for an appropriate gateway for those attending Roadburn, regardless of which side you’re approaching from – a folk fan heading towards darker territories, or a heavy music fan lured by the promise of a genre steeped in history and countless traditional flourishes.
HILARY WOODS Hilary Woods wrote her debut full length, Colt, alone – before before taking her recordings to Berlin to work with James Kelly (Wife, Altar of Plagues). The solitude is palpable, and listening to what she has made feels like a cautious invitation into a quiet place that she has created. Imagine a soft cocoon of sound, enveloping you as you step through into the netherworld of her making.
FÖLLAKZOID AND ATOM TM Spearheading Chile’s vibrant psych scene, Föllakzoid will transport Roadburn 2020 on an all-encompassing voyage. Joined once again by German electronic artist and producer, Atom TM, the band will make their Roadburn debut, aiming to, “modulate the gravitational waves in order to alter the temporality perception and get sucked into the timeless space continuum,” as guitarist/singer Domingæ Garcia-Huidobro aptly puts it.
TORPOR Rhetoric Of The Image showcases Torpor’s confidence; lengthy post-metal tracks smoulder whilst shorter, more experimental cuts punctuate the album. The three piece will expand a little for Roadburn in order to do justice to the full fifty one minutes that make up Rhetoric Of The Image as they perform it in full for us at Roadburn.
SUM OF R The current incarnation of Sum of R already sees Reto teamed up with Jukka Rämänen (Dark Buddha Rising, Hexvessel, Waste Of Space Orchestra), which has allowed them to forge even more adventurous paths from their dark ambient/drone of yore, but now yet another figure from that particular Finnish scene will be adding his own very particular twist to the proceedings and giving them a new voice, quite literally, as it is none other than vocalist Marko Neuman (Dark Buddha Rising, Waste Of Space Orchestra, Convocation, Ural Umbo).
PH Earlier this year, PH released Osiris Hayden, their second offering through Svart Records and fifth overall in their prolific decade together. Their latest work finds them embracing new reaches of the cosmic infinite, taking on electronic charge as they never have before and exploring the connection between organic and inorganic audio experiences.
MANY BLESSINGS Those of you familiar with Ethan McCarthy will know him as the formidable frontman for Primitive Man. Under the banner of Many Blessings, Ethan performs a much less frenzied kind of music – and yet somehow it manages to be no less disturbing and spine-chilling. Many Blessings has seeped into our consciousness – a slow, creeping threat of sonic menace. Whilst the ferocity we are are perhaps more accustomed to is not present, the wordless missives are brooding and visceral.
EYE FLYS After listening to their blistering debut album Context, and considering the fact that guitarist Spencer Hazard was already roped in for Roadburn 2020 as a member of one of our artists in residence, the wonderful Full Of Hell, how could we ever pass on Eye Flys? The Backslider rhythm section of Jake Smith – here on guitar and vocals – and Patrick Forrest plus Triac’s Kevin Bernsten complete the line-up.
ROADBURN 2020 TICKETS
Weekend tickets for Roadburn are on sale now (3-day tickets are sold out, 4-day tickets remain on sale). Single day tickets will be on sale on December 10. More information about tickets and accommodation options can be found HERE.
Already announced for Roadburn 2020 is: Emma Ruth Rundle and James Kent as curators, commissioned projects from James Kent & Johannes Persson, Jo Quail, and Vile Creature & Bismuth, the return of Julie Christmas, Red Sparowes, Russian Circles, Torche, Brutus, Bada, Dool, Health, Hide, She Past Away, and two Artists In Residence: Full of Hell and Lingua Ignota. Check the full line up HERE.
EUROPEAN FESTIVAL AWARD NOMINATION
Roadburn has been nominated in the best small festival category (less than 10,000 visitors) at the European Festival Awards 2019. Votes can be cast HERE. Votes and spreading the word are appreciated as it would be a huge honour for us to win such recognition.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 12th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Shadowfrost, the wintry incarnation of the Shadow Woods fest, has announced its initial lineup, cutting a cross-section through various sorts of heavy and varying degrees of extremity within that. Sounds neat, you say? It is. Alongside technical death metal and ambient this and that, one finds a good amount of doom and sludge, with Spiral Grave taking part to represent Frederick’s native doom scene and the likes of Asthma Castle and Yatra checking in on behalf of Baltimore. Primitive Man will bring their ultra-violent noise, and Magic Circle head south from Boston to herald a traditionalist approach to heavy metal that, as you can hear on their latest album streaming below, still sounds fresh and deadly in kind.
It’s a good lineup thus far, and they take pains to note that this isn’t everything. With such a swatch and a sense of reach, I’ll be curious to see who else gets added, geographically as well as stylistically, and I shudder to think of the poor cleaning staff at that hotel once this weekend is over.
Feb. 21 and 22 at the Clarion Inn in Frederick, Maryland, is the place to be.
Here’s info from the PR wire:
SHADOW FROST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL Issues Initial Lineup; Frederick, Maryland Two-Day Winter Gala To Feature The Chasm, Vastum, Primitive Man, Thantifaxath, Magic Circle, And Many More
SHADOW FROST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL, Frederick, Maryland’s exclusive indoor winter gathering coming February 21st and 22nd, 2020, is excited to announce a nearly complete lineup for its inaugural event.
Produced by Shadow Woods Productions, LLC (creators of Shadow Woods Metal Fest), this hotel-based gala features two days of metal, rock, industrial, and punk. Headliners include Chicago-based old-school death metallers The Chasm, who will share the stage with Oakland’s crushing Vastum, Denver’s oppressive Primitive Man, Toronto’s enigmatic Thantifaxath, and Boston traditional metallers Magic Circle. Also performing are California’s dark ambient industrialist Leila Abdul-Rauf, heavy psych throwbacks Alms and their stoner brothers from Asthma Castle (both from Baltimore), Detroit black metalists Fell Ruin, and up-and-coming doom maestros from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Yatra.
With two more acts still to be announced, the fest will feature twenty bands in total. The entire curated lineup thus far, in alphabetical order is listed below:
Arsantiqva — New York black metal Asthma Castle — Baltimore stoner rock Capitalist — New Jersey crust grind The Chasm — Mexico City/Chicago death metal Fell Ruin — Detroit blackened sludge Frost Giant — Philadelphia Viking metal Infinite Pizza — Baltimore pizza-themed punk/grind Leila Abdul-Rauf — Oakland dark ambient multi-instrumentalist Magic Circle — Boston traditional heavy metal Mo’ynoq — Raleigh depressive black metal Primitive Man — Denver blackened doom Radamanthys — Maryland tech death Spiral Grave — Maryland/Virginia heavy metal Thantifaxath –Toronto technical dissonant black metal Vastum — Oakland death metal Völur — Toronto ambient doom Yatra — Maryland Eastern Shore death doom
Additionally, SHADOW FROST MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL will offer gaming, workshops, vendors, and of course a pool party at the Clarion Inn Frederick Event Center, located near the interchange of I-270 and I-70 in Frederick, Maryland.
Tickets: SHADOW FROST is an all ages event, however, tickets for those under 18 may only be purchased at the door with an adult or guardian present who is willing to sign a waiver of liability. Kids under 5 get in free with paid parent or guardian. All other weekend passes, single-day tickets, and tickets for extremely limited VIP packages may be purchased online at: https://shadowfrost2020.bpt.me.
Lodging: Special rates apply for festival attendees at the hotel. We encourage you to book a room to enjoy the full festival experience. To reserve a room, go to http://ow.ly/kVFL50uMWQp.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 5th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
You know, last year, when Psycho Last Vegas hosted the likes of Bell Witch and Wolves in the Throne Room at its Pool Party pre-show (review here) in the 100-plus degree heat, the “this I gotta see” factor was pretty high. The tone of spectacle that the Pool Party sets is in no small part a defining factor for what makes Psycho Psycho. And by that I mean it’s completely insane, front to back, concept to execution, and yet somehow it not only works, but works well. You’re gonna put Primitive Man — one of the most abrasive, filthiest-sounding, heaviest acts on the planet right now, on a stage used for poolside dance parties and techno nights? How does this even make sense?
It doesn’t need to. Corrosion of Conformity headline the newly-christened Psycho Swim — because you’re god damn right they do — and Lucifer, Danava, ASG, indeed, Primitive Man, Idle Hands, Howling Giant and Thrown into Exile will play. It’s the biggest Pool Party yet that Psycho has hosted, because duh, of course it is, and it seems that as the fest itself continues to scale upward on just about every level — creative scope, reach of the acts it pulls in stylistically and geographically, and the number of venues and attendees — it’s bringing the Pool Party along for the ride. All the better.
Lineup and ticket info follow. It’s going to be limited space, so keep that in mind before you get stoned and try to wander in late or something.
Dig:
PSYCHO SWIM 2019
Official Psycho Las Vegas 2019 pre-party Aug. 15. Daylight Beach Club, Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY LUCIFER DANAVA ASG PRIMITIVE MAN IDLE HANDS HOWLING GIANT THROWN INTO EXILE
limited to 1500 people, 300 vips get in for free and receive private cabanas and dipping pools as part of the psycho vip experience….tickets are only available online while supplies last. tickets are $35 & $55.
Posted in Reviews on March 18th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Let the games begin! The rules are the same: 10 albums per day, this time for a total of 60 between today and next Monday. It’s the Quarterly Review. Think of it like a breakfast buffet with an unending supply of pancakes except the pancakes are riffs and there’s only one dude cooking them and he’s really tired all the time and complains, complains, complains. Maybe not the best analogy. Still, it’s gonna be a ton of stuff, but there are some very, very cool records included, so please keep your eyes and your mind open for what’s coming, because you might find something here you really dig. If not, there’s always tomorrow. Let’s go.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
Stuck in Motion, Stuck in Motion
The classic style cover art of Swedish trio Stuck in Motion‘s self-titled debut tells much of the story. It’s sweet-toned vintage-style soul rock, informed by Graveyard to some degree, but more aligned to retroism. The songs are bluesy and natural and not especially long, but have vibe for weeks, as demonstrated on the six-minute longest-track “Dreams of Flying,” or the flute-laden closer “Eken.” What the picture doesn’t tell you is the heavy use of clavinet in the band’s sound and just how much the vintage electric piano adds to what songs like “Slingrar” with its ultra-fluid shifts in tempo, or the sax-drenched penultimate cut “Orientalisk.” Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Max Kinnbo, drummer Gustaf Björkman and bassist/vocalist/clavinetist Adrian Norén, Stuck in Motion‘s debut successfully basks in a mellow psychedelic blues atmosphere and shows a patience for songwriting that bodes remarkably well. It should not be overlooked because you think you’re tired of vintage-style rock.
Following up their 2015 sophomore outing, Nadir (review here), which led to them getting picked up by Ripple Music, Australia’s AVER return with the progressive shove of Orbis Majora, five songs in 50 minutes of thoughtfully composed heavy progadelica, and while it’s not all so serious — closer “Hemp Fandango” well earns its title via a shuffling stonerly groove — opener “Feeding the Sun” and the subsequent “Disorder” set a mood of careful craftsmanship in longform pieces. The album’s peak might be in the 13-minute “Unanswered Prayers,” which culls together an extended linear build that’s equal parts immersive and gorgeous, but the rest of the album hardly lacks for depth or clarity of purpose. An underlying message from the Sydney four-piece would seem to be that they’re going to continue growing, even after more than a decade, because it’s not so much that they’re feeling their way toward their sound, but willfully pushing themselves to refine those parameters.
Flourish of keys adds nuance to Massa‘s moody, heavy post-rock style, the Rotterdam-based trio bringing an atmosphere to their second EP, Walls, across five tracks and 26 minutes marked by periodic samples from cinema and a sense of scope that seems to be born of an experimental impulse but not presented as the experiment itself. That is, they take the “let’s try this!” impulse and make a song out of it, as the chunky rhythm of instrumental centerpiece “Expedition” or the melodies in the prior “#8” show. Before finishing with the crash-into-push of the relatively brief “Intermassa,” the eight-minute “The Federal” complements winding guitar with organ to affect an engaging spirit somewhere between classic and futurist heavy, with the drums holding together proceedings that would seem to convey all the chaos of that temporal paradox. Perhaps it was opener “Shiva” that set this creator/destroyer tone, but either way, Massa bask in it and find a grim sense of identity thereby.
The first full-length from Swedish doomplodders Alastor and their debut on RidingEasy Records, late 2018’s Slave to the Grave is the four-piece’s most expansive offering yet in sonic scope as well as runtime. Following the 2017 EPs Blood on Satan’s Claw (review here) and Black Magic (review here), the seven-song/56-minute offering holds true to the murk-toned cultism and dense low-end rumble of the prior offerings, but the melodic resonance and sense of updating the aesthetic of traditional doom is palpable throughout the roller “Your Lives are Worthless,” while the later acoustic-led “Gone” speaks to a folkish influence that suits them surprisingly well given the heft that surrounds. They make an obvious focal point of 17-minute closer “Spider of My Love,” which though they’ve worked in longer forms before, is easily the grandest accomplishment they’ve yet unfurled. One might easily say the same applies to Slave to the Grave as a whole. Those who miss The Wounded Kings should take particular note of their trajectory.
If Norwegian space-psych outfit Seid are feeling weary of the world, the way they show it in Weltschmerz, Baby! is by simply leaving it behind, substituting for reality a cosmic starscape of effects and synth, the odd sample and vaguely Hawkwindian etherealism. The centerpiece title-track is a banger along those lines, a swell of rhythmic intensity born out of the finale of the prior “Satan i Blodet” and the mellow, flowing “Trollmannens Hytte” before that, but the highlight might be the subsequent “Coyoteman,” which drifts into dream-prog led by echoing layers of guitar and eventually given over to a fading strain of noise that “Moloch vs. Gud” picks up with percussive purpose and flows directly into the closer “Mir (Drogarna Börjar Värka),” rife with ’70s astro-bounce and a long fadeout that’s less about the record ending and more about leaving the galaxy behind. Starting out at a decent clip with “Haukøye,” Weltschmerz, Baby! is all about the journey and a trip well worth taking.
A good record tinged by the tragic loss of drummer Erik Herzog during the recording and finished by guitarist/vocalist Andrew Giacumakis and bassist Joe Fuentes, the 10-track/39-minute Trough demonstrates completely just how much Moab have been underrated since their 2011 debut, Ab Ovo (discussed here), and across the 2014 follow-up, Billow (review here), as they bring a West Coast noise-infused pulse to heavy rock drive on “All Automatons” and meet an enduring punker spirit face first with “Medieval Moan,” all the while presenting a clear head for songcraft amid deep-running tones and melodies. “The Will is Weak” makes perhaps the greatest impact in terms of heft, but heft is by no means all Moab have to offer. With the very real possibility this will be their final record, it is a worthy homage to their fallen comrade and a showcase of their strengths that’s bound someday to get the attention it deserves whenever some clever label decides to reissue it as a lost classic.
Well of course it’s a massive wash of doomed and hate-filled noise! What were you expecting, sunshine and puppies? Colorado’s Primitive Man and Brooklyn’s Unearthly Trance team up to compare misanthropic bona fides across seven tracks of blistering extremity that do Relapse Records proud. Starting with the collaborative intro “Merging,” the onslaught truly commences with Primitive Man’s 10-minute “Naked” and sinks into an abyss with the instrumental noisefest “Love Under Will,” which gradually makes its way into a swell of abrasive drone. Unearthly Trance, meanwhile, proffer immediate destructiveness with the churning “Mechanism Error” and make “Triumph” dark enough to live up to its most malevolent interpretations, while “Reverse the Day” makes me wonder what people who heard Godflesh in the ’80s must’ve thought of it and the six-minute finishing move “418” answers back to Primitive Man‘s droned-out anti-structure with a consuming void of fuckall depth. It’s like the two bands cut open their veins and recorded the disaffection that spilled out.
Progressive New Zealander two-piece Into Orbit — Paul Stewart on guitar and Ian Moir on drums — offer up the single Shifter as the answer to their 2017 sophomore long-player, Unearthing. The Wellington instrumentalists did likewise leading into that album with a single that later showed up as part of a broader tracklist, so it may be that they’ve got another release already in the works, but either way, the 5:50 standalone track finds them dug into a full band sound with layered or looped guitar standing tall over the mid-paced drumming, affecting an emotion-driven atmosphere as much as the cerebral nature of its craft. Beginning with a thick chug, it works into more melodic spaciousness as it heads toward and through its midsection, lead guitar kicking in with harmony lines joining soon after as the two-piece build back up to a bigger finish. Whatever their plans, Into Orbit make it clear that just because something is prog doesn’t mean it needs to be staid or lack expressiveness.
Noise-punk intensity pervades Eating Alone in My Car, the not-quite-not-an-LP from Austin four-piece Super Thief. They call it an album, and that’s good enough for me, especially since at about 20 minutes there isn’t much more I’d ask of the thing that it doesn’t deliver, whether it’s the furious out-of-mindness of minute-long highlight “Woodchipper” or the poli-sci critique of that sandwiches the offering with opener “Gone Country” immediately taking a nihilist anti-stance while closer “You Play it Like a Joke but I Know You Really Mean It” — which consumes nearly half the total runtime at 9:32 — seems to run up the walls unable to stick to the “smoke ’em if you got ’em” point of view of the earlier cut. That’s how the bastards keep you running in circles, but at least Super Thief know where to direct the frustration. “Six Months Blind” and the title-track have a more personal take, but are still worth a read lyrically as much as a listen, as the rhythm of the words only adds to the striking personality of the material.
Recorded in 2016, released on CD in 2018 and snagged by Cursed Tongue Records for a vinyl pressing, Absent‘s Towards the Void casts a shimmering plunge of cavernous doom, with swirling post-Electric Wizard guitar and echoing vocals adding to the spaciousness of its four component tracks as the Brasilia-based trio conjure atmospheric breadth to go along with their weighted lurch in opener “Ophidian Womb.” With tracks arranged shortest to longest between eight and a half and 11 minutes, “Semen Prayer,” “Funeral Sun” and “Urine” follow suit from the opener in terms of overall approach, but “Funeral Sun” speeds things up for a stretch while “Urine” lures the listener downward with a subdued opening leading to more filth-caked distortion and degenerate noise, capping with feedback because at that point what the hell matters anyway? Little question in listening why this one’s been making the rounds for over a year now. It will likely continue to do so for some time to come.
A few episodes ago, I played Graven and floated the idea of doing a whole episode that was super-aggressive. At the same time, I thought a show that went totally the other way would be cool too; all acoustic or near-acoustic stuff and nothing really aggro about it. Well, then my silly brain got started wondering why not do both? So here we are. The first hour? Oh that’s mad. Lots of sludge, lots of screaming. When you start off with YOB’s “Nothing to Win,” you know you’re throwing down some anger. I probably won’t play Primitive Man that often. This time, it felt important to make the point. So it’s there next to Coltsblood. Point made.
Second hour? Well, it starts with Lamp of the Universe, so things get pretty trippy and pretty mellow and they basically stay that way with T.G. Olson, Conny Ochs, No Man’s Valley, The Book of Knots — because god damn, I love that song — and Scott Kelly and the Road Home — ditto — getting progressively moodier as they go. From there, it’s time to jam to the end of the episode with WEEED and Träden, who I recently saw have a show coming up at Rough Trade in New York. No way I’ll be cool enough to be there, but it’s an awesome idea anyhow.
All told, I’m happy with how this one came out, and for being kind of a hodgepodge conceptually, I think it’s worth exploring different kinds of heaviness and what makes a particular song or moment feel that way. If you listened last night or hear the replay, thanks.
Here’s the full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 03.17.19
YOB
Nothing to Win
Clearing the Path to Ascend
Mastiff
Vermin
Plague*
Swarm of the Lotus
From Embers
When White Becomes Black
Sadhus, The Smoking Community
Sobbing Children
Big Fish*
BREAK
Horsehunter
Bring out Yer Dead
Horsehunter*
Primitive Man
Sterility
Caustic
Coltsblood
Snows of the Winter Realm
Split with Un*
Lamp of the Universe
The Leaving
Align in the Fourth Dimension*
T.G. Olson
Backslider
Riding Roughshod*
Conny Ochs
Hammer to Fit
Doom Folk*
No Man’s Valley
Murder Ballad
Outside the Dream*
The Book of Knots
Traineater
Traineater
Scott Kelly & the Road Home
The Field that Surrounds Me
The Forgiven Ghost in Me
BREAK
WEEED
Carmelized
You are the Sky*
Träden
När lingonen mognar (Lingonberries Forever)
Träden
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Radio airs every other Sunday night at 7PM Eastern, with replays the following Tuesday at 9AM. Next show is March 31. Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 22nd, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Primitive Man, who are about the most unfortunately appropriate soundtrack to our times one could ask, are doing a quickie run of West Coast shows this week — they already played Calgary this weekend — culminating in a gig at Brick by Brick in San Diego with Relapse labelmates -(16)-. That’ll be a good show, provided anyone’s able to walk out of it. The Colorado bringers-of-destruction will spread their chaotic end-days preach to Japan, Australia and New Zealand this Spring, and that run on the other side of the planet will follow a split due next month with Hell that of course follows their split with Unearthly Trance, follows their split with so on and so forth. You get the idea. Like the concrete post-apocalyptic firescape they convey in their consuming assault of noise, they are nothing if not productive.
The PR wire plots the storm’s path:
PRIMITIVE MAN: Announce Spring 2019 World Tour Dates
Denver’s PRIMITIVE MAN announce Spring 2019 World headlining tour dates including trips to Japan, Australia & New Zealand. The tour begins in Japan from April 11-14 with Bell Witch & Coffins, continues in Australia from April 18-21 then ends in New Zealand from April 24-27 with Heresiarch. All confirmed tour dates are available below.
Additionally, PRIMITIVE MAN kick off four exclusive West Coast tour dates this Saturday, January 19 in Calgary, AB and ends January 25 in San Diego, CA with -(16)-.
PRIMITIVE MAN’s recent full-length Caustic is out now on CD/2xLP/CS/Digital via Relapse Records. Physical Packages are available via Relapse.com HERE and Digital Downloads / Streaming Services AT THIS LOCATION.
PRIMITIVE MAN Tour Dates:
Jan 23 Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records Jan 24 Los Angeles, CA @ Catch One Jan 25 San Diego, CA @ Brick by Brick (w/ -(16)- )
— All Dates Apr 11-14 w/ Bell Witch & Coffins —
Apr 11 Yokohama, JP @ El Puente Apr 12 Tokyo, JP @ Bushbash Apr 13 Tokyo, JP @ Nine Spices Apr 14 Osaka, JP @ Hokage
— Primitive Man Australia Headline Tour Apr 18-21 —
Apr 18 Brisbane, AU @ Crowbar Apr 19 Melbourne, AU @ Bendigo Hotel Apr 20 Sydney, AU @ Crowbar Apr 21 Hobart, AU @ Brisbane Hotel
— All Dates Apr 24-28 w/ Heresiarch —
Apr 24 Dunedin, NZ @ The Crown Hotel Apr 25 Christchurch, NZ @ Darkroom Apr 26 Wellington, NZ @ Valhalla Apr 27 Auckland, NZ @ Thirsty Dog
PRIMITIVE MAN: Ethan Lee McCarthy – guitars, vocals Jonathan Campos – bass Joe Linden – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 6th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Every now and then, two bands being labelmates works out well for everyone. And by everyone, I don’t just mean the bands. To wit, uniting Brooklyn’s reignited post-doomers Unearthly Trance with Denver everything-crushers Primitive Man? Yeah, that’s just a win all around. I hope whoever made that pairing happen got a promotion, or at least a bonus, or maybe one of those awesome Relapse Records hoodies that you always see the staff wearing around Philly and get mad jealous. Also, in that scenario, you is me. I mean, we’re all one anyway, but specifically there I’m talking about myself.
Anyway, the point here is that Primitive Man and Unearthly Trance getting together for a split seems like it would be far less likely to happen were it not for the fact that they’re both on Relapse Records, and if that’s what it takes, to manifest that kind of devastation, then all the better. If you missed them, both bands released records last year — Primitive Man assaulted the senses with Caustic (review here) while Unearthly Trance marked a return from a long hiatus with Stalking the Ghost (review here) — and if the ultra-quick teaser for the joint intro to the split is anything to go by, the new outing is going to be noisy as hell.
Primitive Man and Unearthly Trance both will play Psycho Las Vegas next month, and Primitive Man have further touring in Europe set for Aug./Sept. alongside also-labelmates -(16)-. Nothing like keeping good company.
From the PR wire:
PRIMITIVE MAN & UNEARTHLY TRANCE Announce Split LP Coming August 17th Via Relapse Records; Trailer Posted
One year after each releasing two of 2017’s heaviest albums, Denver’s PRIMITIVE MAN and New York City’s UNEARTHLY TRANCE unite for an exercise in complete and total suffering, coming this August via Relapse Records. Across seven apocalyptic tracks,both bands tap into some of the most uncomfortable, vile realms of blackened doom and dissonant, harsh noise put to tape in the new millennium.
Watch the official split album trailer featuring opening track “Merging,” recorded by both bands, HERE. New music from each band will be available in the near future.
PRIMITIVE MAN & UNEARTHLY TRANCE’s split LP is due out August 17th on CD, LP and digital formats through Relapse.com. Physical packages, digital downloads, and streaming services are available HERE.
Additionally, PRIMITIVE MAN has recently announced a European headlining tour with labelmates -(16)-. The tour begins August 29th in Dortmund, Germany and ends September 15th at Bloodshed Festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands. PRIMITIVE MAN will perform at various Summer festival appearances such as Psycho Las Vegas, Electric Funeral Fest, and Temple Of Ascension Vol. 1. All confirmed tour dates are available below.
PRIMITIVE MAN & UNEARTHLY TRANCE Split LP Track Listing: 1. PRIMITIVE MAN & UNEARTHLY TRANCE – Merging (Intro) 2. PRIMITIVE MAN – Naked 3. PRIMITIVE MAN – Love Under Will 4. UNEARTHLY TRANCE – Mechanism Error 5. UNEARTHLY TRANCE – Triumph 6. UNEARTHLY TRANCE – Reverse The Day 7. UNEARTHLY TRANCE – 418
PRIMITIVE MAN: 7/12/2018 Bluebird Theater – Denver, CO w/ Yob, Bell Witch 8/17/2018 Temple Of Ascension Vol. 1 – Edmonton, AB 8/18/2018 Psycho Las Vegas @ Hard rock Hotel And Casino – Las Vegas, NV w/ -(16)- : 8/29/2018 Junkyard – Dortmund, DE 8/30/2018 IFZ- Leipzig, DE 8/31/2018 KB18 – Copenhagen, DK 9/01/2018 1000fryd – Aalborg, DK 9/02/2018 Hafenklang – Hamburg, DE 9/03/2018 Magasin4Brussels, BE 9/04/2018 Tiefgrund – Berlin, DE 9/05/2018 Poglos – Warsaw, PL 9/06/2018 Fuga – Bratislava, SK 9/07/2018 Desszert Feszt Budapest Opening Party – Budapest, HU 9/08/2018 Reflektor Venue – Timisoara, RO 9/09/2018 Something For The Core VII – Bucharest, RO 9/10/2018 Mocvara – Zagreb, HR 9/11/2018 Circolo Magnolia – Milano, IT 9/12/2018 Sunset Bar – Martigny, CH 9/13/2018 Gaswerk – Winterthur, CH 9/14/2018 Jubez – Karlsruhe, DE 9/15/2018 Bloodshed Fest 2018 – Eindhoven, NL
