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: REZN

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

Whatever we’re doing is just a culmination of all of our musical tastes and creative energies. We love the atmosphere of cinematic and psychedelic music, but we wanted to add more of an edge to it. At the beginning, it was just Rob and Phil jamming together with the intention of making a blend of heavy and cosmic music. When Patrick and Spencer were brought into the mix, our combined writing styles and personal musical goals gave REZN a backbone that was stronger than all of us could’ve imagined. It’s very much based around an organic friendship that glues us all together.

Describe your first musical memory.

We all grew up digging through our parent’s record collection and their music taste, which was mainly just a mix of classic rock and country music. It seems like the one common thread we all shared was listening to Pink Floyd from a very early age. Who would’ve thought?

Describe your best musical memory to date.

This is impossible to answer, but playing our ‘Live at Ohmstead” collaboration record with Lume live on stage at The Empty Bottle was up there as our favorite. Simultaneously, there were two drummers, two guitar players, two bassists, two vocalists, and the sax and synth just swirling everything into a sonic milkshake. Transforming simple melodies into colossal walls of sound with the people that we love was unforgettable, not to mention the feeling of playing it live. The Bottle was the perfect finale to that tour we did with Lume, and the energy in the room that night was very, very good. Here’s a video taken by our good friend Austin that gives you a glimpse into that performance: https://youtu.be/0qT00rnLGZ4

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

We come in conflict with our own independence quite a lot, mainly because we’re a small team and have very limited outside help as a band. Although that comes with its own set of challenges, it has allowed us to act and change whenever and however we want. As with other bands, our biggest challenge was getting through the pandemic with our sanity and ambition intact. We still managed to release a record during that time, and although we weren’t able to tour it like we would have wanted, we realized that our independence is what fulfills us as musicians. So even when the responsibilities and band tasks can become overwhelming between the four of us, we can appreciate those moments because they’re founded on an independence that has allowed us to grow in our own direction as a band and as people.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

We don’t necessarily think artistic progression is a linear process. We believe our music grows with our own life paths. That includes our influences and what we continue to learn in regard to writing, our style, and what is going on in our lives while we are creating new art. One major tenant of ours is to try to not make the same record twice, so we always focus our efforts to reshape and reinvent how we make music as REZN.

How do you define success?

In the context of our band, we would love to keep being able to write music we are proud of and perform it in front of the world. As long as we can continue to do that, we would consider ourselves successful.

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

We wish we never saw the black mold on that guy’s carpet floor we slept on after a show one time. We also wish we never saw the uncensored cover of The Origin of the Feces… so we could see it for the first time all over again.

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

We would love to make a dark ambient noise record. It’s something we are all interested in, and it would be fun to see where our vision for it leads us. We would also like to help create a space in the music scene where heavy music can continue to be fused and transformed by other genres and sounds. If someone can hear our hybrid blend of “psychedelic doom” and take it further, then we know we’ve done something meaningful.

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

We believe it’s a connection between the creator and the observer. It’s a force that gathers, motivates, inspires, and provides pure enjoyment of life.

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

Disc golfing season. Everyone except Patrick loves it. Also excited to experience Chicago while Lori Lightfoot is no longer mayor. Lastly, we’re looking forward to camping and relaxing outdoors as much as possible once we’re done touring.

facebook.com/reznhits
instagram.com/rezzzn
rezzzn.bandcamp.com

Rezn, Solace (2023)

All of the music included in today’s episode of The Obelisk Show is new unless otherwise noted. There was some fresh-out stuff I knew I wanted to put in — REZN, Black Helium, Child, Edena Gardens, Santo Rostro, etc. — and then I kind of started digging back a little, and with the space of a year between went back to dig a few tracks out of 2021, the Thermic Boogie song from 2020, and so on, all with the semi-conscious aim of exploring the idea of what it means when one thinks of a band being ‘dug in.’

In the voice tracks, clever soul that I am, I call it “digging in to being dug in.” It’s not a special episode, really — apart from the odd deep-dive or memorial, getting to play new music someone might not’ve heard on a platform like Gimme Metal is pretty special already, as far as I’m concerned — but kind of an underlying semi-theme. At very least, something that was in my head when I put the playlist together.

So with the back and forth of new and old(er) material and longer songs generally, it’s a different episode for sure than the last one, but I wanted to see how this went and how it felt really picking tracks that unfold in their own way, letting them do that. I don’t know if it’ll work or not — if the chat is dead and nobody’s listening, I’ll have my answer — but it’s a little bit of an experiment on my end and I’m grateful for the opportunity to conduct it.

Thanks if you listen. Thanks for reading. Thanks in general. Your support is appreciated. I’m a real human being and it means something to me, genuinely.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 03.17.23 (VT = voice track)

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is March 31 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

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[Click play above to stream REZN’s Solace in its entirety. Album is tomorrow, March 8. US tour dates here.]

Serenity in and through heft, exploration of space and a space, creation of a parabolic world movement, and a bit of The Tempest to keep things classy; the fourth album from Chicago’s REZN, not coincidentally titled Solace, is revelatory as regards the band’s blend of cosmic doom, experimentalist ambience, drone and that-which-is-riffed-big. It is their most accomplished offering to-date. Though they’ve done between-LP releases before, collaborations, live records, etc. — and they’ll have more to come in a full-length PostWax collab with Mexico City instrumentalists Vinnum Sabbathi sometime later this year — it’s been three years since the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Rob McWilliams, bassist Phil Cangelosi (also rainstick), drummer Patrick Dunn and synthesist, flutist, pianist and saxophonist Spencer Ouellette (aka Catechism) — who shines throughout Solace in ‘secret weapon’ style whether it’s the flourish of synth after a minute into “Possession” or the sax in the penultimate “Faded and Fleeting” — offered their sprawling, hour-plus-long third full-length, Chaotic Divine (review here), and while the comparatively tidy six-track/40-minute Solace doesn’t spread itself across two 12″ platters the same way, its consuming tonality, patient but methodical execution and overarching music-as-narrative procession are both more pointed and more engrossing.

Recorded and mixed in 2021 by Matt Russell, who mixed Chaotic Divine, with an abiding lushness of tone and psychedelic, headphone-filling fullness, mastered by Zach Weeks and topped off with cover art by rightly-revered Oregonian painter Adam Burke, the album plays out across three discernible stages that run through and between the songs themselves, and quickly benefits from perhaps the most crucial decision REZN made in its construction, which is to open instrumental. “Allured by Feverish Visions” is by no means the longest cut on the album — four of the six tracks are between seven-and-a-half and eight minutes long, including the leadoff — but its transcendental sensibility is pivotal to setting the mood and atmosphere for everything that follows.

It is the point from which the band branch out, unfolding gradually with gentle ride cymbal taps, ethereal wisps of flute, solidified bass underneath prefacing the roll to come, and standout shimmers of guitar, likewise soothing and hypnotic. In addition to beginning Solace as a whole, it marks the start of the first of the three stages, chapters, parts, movements, etc., of the record as a whole, growing heavier as it nears five minutes with deeper distortion and feedback, calling to mind the drone-heavy triumph of Mühr (who roundabout begat Temple Fang and is not a comparison I make lightly) a decade ago.

This relatively peaceful, gorgeous, molten and meditative beginning continues as the guitar and synth ring out on a fade into silence ahead of the more active beginning of “Possession,” more immediate in the kick drum and bassline, guitar soon joining. McWilliams‘ first vocals arrive shortly after, echoing, gently melodic, unforced and soulful as they shift from channel to channel with each line, and the temperament of “Allured by Feverish Visions” is maintained, and that’s the key.

In some ways, Solace feels less about the individual splits between songs — though pieces like “Stasis,” “Possession” “Reversal,” and even the spoken word-inclusive closer “Webbed Roots” have their standalone impressions as well — than the whole-album spirit that seems to have been so purposefully harnessed and toward the emphasis of which those individual songs seem placed. As “Possession” unfolds and builds, the second verse becomes more of a call and response and they sound like they’re still moving slow but they’re not, and when they let go, that’s the beginning of the next stage. There’s a break four minutes into “Possession.” The drums cut short, Dunn‘s hand muting the cymbal, some residual guitar is maintained for ambience, and when they sweep in at 4:16 with the heaviest riff they’ve yet brought, that’s the start of Solace‘s second phase.

Had REZN been writing strictly for bombast, chances are they would’ve called the record something else, but Solace at its heaviest — which is in this second movement across the middle of the record starting in the latter part of “Possession” and moving through “Reversal” and until about 5:30 into “Stasis” — wants neither for crunch, as the bass chugging in the march of “Possession” demonstrates before crashing into the amp hum and feedback from whence the ready-to-go lurch of “Reversal” picks up, nor mass, as said lurch offers in plenty. With synth again peppering and enriching the totality, the initial roll breaks to make way for the first verse, McWilliams again turning an otherwise inconspicuous moment into a soft-touch highlight à la Sean Lennon, but will return as the low-end volume surge after three minutes takes hold, this time met by the vocals (in at least two layers) in a kind of chorus preceding a spread-out guitar solo and whale-song synth/effects that leads the way back to the quieter verse.

But the tension is there where it hadn’t been until “Possession” established it, and through a willfully meandering stretch of echoing almost Morricone-style guitar, through the subsequent verse, stop and final plucks, it’s still there in the drums, waiting for payoff not in itself but to come with the rolling “Stasis,” which follows. I’ll put this in bold because it’s important: This interaction is what it’s all about. It’s not just the songs; it’s the way the material converses with itself, the way the songs interact and complement each other. On the vinyl, “Stasis” is the start of side B, but even as they capitulate to the needs of format, REZN maintain the linear trajectory begun with “Allured by Feverish Visions,” which “Stasis” brings to its most outwardly intense point.

One might liken its celebration of nod to Monolord, but “Stasis” is consistent atmospherically and speaks to Ufomammut‘s Eve in its larger-than-some-of-parts aspect. More forward vocally and swirling its heaviness as it goes, “Stasis” is a slow careen until nearly four minutes into its total 7:40, when it moves to a stretch of calmer guitar and verse that begins “Feels like I’ve been here before…,” and fairly enough so, but it’s something of a misdirect since at 4:54 the full brunt of the distortion lands punctuated by the thud of the drums, and all else seems to stop. It is the darkest moment of Solace and the topmost point of its whole-album parabolic sequence, with a light guitar strum and bright-shine of keyboard announcing the arrival at the third stage, which begins with the comparatively minimalist ambient guitar-and-keys-together-into-drone-oblivion end of “Stasis” and into and through the penultimate “Faded and Fleeting,” also the shortest single piece here at 3:32, and beyond, to “Webbed Roots” at the finish.

But just as “Allured by Feverish Visions” was more substantial than an intro, so too is “Faded and Fleeting” more than an interlude. For the moment at about 1:40 alone with McWilliams‘ voice and Ouellette‘s sax transition from one to the other on the same note alone, it is a high point of REZN‘s career to-date, and its mellow-heavy acid flow, feeling all the more there and gone for its relatively brief runtime, encapsulates the fluidity of Solace‘s entire articulation.

This third and final-with-an-asterisk movement of Solace concludes as “Webbed Roots” begins with a foreboding current of distorted drone beneath the floating figure of guitar, the drums pushing along and the bass tense. Over the first three-plus minutes, “Webbed Roots” follows a linear build, and gives it due crescendo with the synth-topped heft of the riff that emerges, but the feedback gives way to otherworldly drone and the drums announce the redirect about to take place with a quick fill, so that when Marie Davidson begins the recitation of Prospero’s monologue/soliloquy from Act V of The Tempest — “we are such stuff as dreams are made on,” etc. — and McWilliams returns for a last verse leading to a final heavy surge, the sense of arrival is palpable.

They’re at the end and REZN unrepentantly give the occasion its due, following an ascending heavy nodder progression to a logical peak and then stopping, leaving just an epilogue of standalone guitar to mirror “Allured by Feverish Visions” as the final element to depart.

In part because of that last stretch of guitar, “Webbed Roots” most makes sense in thee context of Solace as a whole, but that’s precisely the point. I don’t know when it was composed in relation to the rest of the album — the band has said that “Reversal” was one of the earliest written, so perhaps they worked from the middle out in terms of the movements across the span — but its intent as closer is as much to cap as to summarize the depth of what’s come before, and the incorporation or Shakespeare near the end feels as much like an underscoring of the record’s play-in-three-acts structure (despite the fact that The Tempest had five; similar shape, different application) as a suitable conclusion for this particular midwinter night’s dream.

It is further evidence to support Solace as intended to be taken in full, and invariably positions REZN among the US’ most resonant purveyors heavy psychedelia. In every turn and contemplation, it is ‘next level’ craft, concept and performance — no minor achievement, considering their first three long-players — and offers a progressive stylistic path forward that others hopefully will follow, using heft and repetition and scope and melody as tools toward the greater purpose of its expression, rewarding those who take it on through the internalization of its magnitude and the comfort complete panorama.

Solace wants to become a part of you. Let it.

REZN on Facebook

REZN on Instagram

REZN on Bandcamp

Split up into two runs, REZN’s newly announced US tour is still pretty extensive. On March 8, they release their new album, Solace, which, if you’re not hyped for it, I’ll tell you flat out you should be. It’s not the kind of record every band gets to make.

The Chicagoan troupe start in May, break in June, pick up in July. I wonder if they’ll go back to Europe for the Fall — I was lucky enough to be at last year’s Høstsabbat (review here) when they played, but I’m pretty sure that was the only stop of their trip — as that would certainly be a next logical step, considering this is their second US stint of the last year.

I’m considering REZN in a different league of bands, I guess is what I’m saying. So there’s that. I can’t wait to dive into this one for a review.

From the PR wire:

REZN: Chicago Heavy Psych Outfit Announces Solace North American Tour; New LP To See Release Next Month

Chicago-based ethereal heavy psych outfit REZN today announces their Solace North American Tour. Set to commence on May 20th and run through July 22nd, the tour will feature special guests Oryx and Grivo on select dates throughout the full US and Canada journey.

The tour comes in support of REZN’s upcoming new full-length, Solace, set for release March 8th. Their fourth studio offering and follow-up to the critically lauded Chaotic Divine finds REZN once again blurring the boundaries of their psych and doom labels. Solace was recorded in July of 2021 at Earth Analog in Tolono, Illinois, engineered, mixed, produced, and reduced by Matt Russell, and mastered by Zach Weeks at God City Studio in Salem, Massachusetts. The album art and tour poster features work by the prolific painter Adam Burke/Nightjar Illustration.

Tickets for all shows can be found at REZN’s website HERE or the REZN Bandcamp page HERE where first Solace single, “Possession,” can be streamed.

REZN – Solace North American Tour 2023:
5/20/2023 Lincoln Hall – Chicago, IL
5/25/2023 Black Circle – Indianapolis, IN **
5/26/2023 Portal – Louisville, KY **
5/27/2023 Sabbath Brewing – Atlanta, GA **
5/28/2023 The Pour House – Raleigh, NC **
5/29/2023 The Camel – Richmond, VA **
5/30/2023 Pie Shop – Washington, DC **
5/31/2023 Silk City – Philadelphia, PA **
6/01/2023 The Broadway – Brooklyn, NY **
6/02/2023 O’Brien’s – Boston, MA **
6/03/2023 Turbo Haus – Montreal, QC **
6/04/2023 The Garrison – Toronto, ON **
6/05/2023 Bug Jar – Rochester, NY **
6/07/2023 Spacebar – Columbus, OH **
6/08/2023 Sanctuary – Detroit, MI **
6/09/2023 Pyramid Scheme – Grand Rapids, MI **
6/10/2023 Cactus Club – Milwaukee, WI **
7/05/2023 7th St Entry – Minneapolis, MN ^
7/07/2023 Hi-Dive – Denver, CO ** ^
7/08/2023 Aces High Saloon – Salt Lake City, UT ^
7/09/2023 The Shredder – Boise, ID ^
7/11/2023 Substation – Seattle, WA ^
7/12/2023 High Water Mark – Portland, OR ^
7/13/2023 John Henry’s – Eugene, OR ^
7/14/2023 Eli’s Mile High Club – Oakland, CA ^
7/15/2023 Permanent Records Roadhouse – Los Angeles, CA ^
7/16/2023 Yucca Tap Room – Tempe, AZ ^
7/17/2023 Sister Bar – Albuquerque, NM ^
7/19/2023 Mohawk – Austin, TX ^
7/20/2023 Club Dada – Dallas, TX ^
7/21/2023 Gasa Gasa – New Orleans, LA ^
7/22/2023 Drkmttr – Nashville, TN ^
** w/ Oryx
^ Grivo

REZN are:
Rob McWilliams: Guitar + Vocals
Phil Cangelosi: Bass + Rainstick
Patrick Dunn: Drums + Percussion
Spencer Ouellette: Sax + Synth + Piano + Flute

facebook.com/reznhits
instagram.com/rezzzn
rezzzn.bandcamp.com

Rezn, Solace (2023)

Yeah, I realize that I say the same shit every time I post a Gimme Metal playlist, but this is a good god damn show. New Simple Forms to start, new Sandrider, Merlock, Acid King, Polymoon, REZN, some WyndRider and Strider — both reviewed in the last week or so — then on to Enslaved as a shift into meaner fare with Tribunal, These Beasts, They Grieve, Fuzzy Grapes and Mammoth Caravan touching on various points in gruff doom and sludge before I come on again to mouthfart or whatever it is I do around saying ‘thanks for listening’ and turn it over to an 18-minute finish from Clouds Taste Satanic, who’ll head to Europe this Spring to support the 2LP record they released today on Majestic Mountain. Good god damn show.

There’s a flow to it that I like, from the Pacific Northwestern takes of Simple Forms and Sandrider at the outset to the lumbering of Mammoth Caravan before that last voice track, it has a groove. Because it airs at 5PM on a Friday evening, I’m not always able to blast out the show while I try to keep up with the chat — that’s Sesame Street time, these days, and all volume conflicts are resolved by my being yelled at and turning down the music, putting my phone on the lowest volume and holding it to my left ear or stepping out to the back yard to get stoned and listening there for a bit — but Dean Rispler, who actually assembles the thing from the playlist I turn in, is a genius and I always know that he’s got it down when it comes to conveying the flow from one song to the next. I rely on that, and he nails it every time. It honestly makes me look forward to these Fridays more.

If you listen, I hope you dig it. Thanks for reading either way.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 02.03.23 (VT = voice track)

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Feb. 17 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

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Before, during Kanaan soundcheck

Almost three years to the day since I was last in Norway for Høstsabbat. Some things are different, some are not. I slept almost the entire flight. Blessed by Apollo (or whoever) with an empty seat next to me in a two-person row, I was able to lie down if not stretch out, and that second airline pillow is key.

I remembered to go to the right at Oslo airport to get to the trains even before I saw the sign not quite screaming in my face to do so, and got into town with enough time to crash for another hour before showering and trying to make myself look human enough to be in public for a while. One does one’s best, anyhow. We must acknowledge some causes long since lost. I’ve always thought of myself as more bridge than cave troll, but even that’s perhaps more romantic than “doughy suburban dad.”

In any case, people are busily busying themselves with busy-looking stuff. Laptops are out. I got told to remove my ass from the balcony a brief moment after taking a picture of the church itself — the venue,  Kulturkirken Jacob, is an old church repurposed as an arts/performance space, which is about the best fate one could ever hope for concerning a religious institution — so came downstairs to write, get more coffee and see who’s where. I have a press pass, so I think I can wander a bit. With an hour and a half till showtime, I should probably do that.

My expectations are high here based on prior experience with Høstsabbat, but more than anything I am humbled to be here at all among these incredible people and the likewise incredible event they’re about to make happen. One hopes to stay out of the way, will likely fail. Fair enough.

Kanaan just started playing full volume. Only for a minute, but it was a welcome reminder: Everything’s going to be okay once the music starts. One more coffee before then, maybe.

HØSTSABBAT 2022 NIGHT ONE

Kanaan

Says something that even as Oslo’s own Kanaan celebrate their 2021 Earthbound (review here) LP by performing it in full, they’ve got two newer works out there as well in the 27-minute piece “Beyond” included on a four-way split through Worst Bassist Records and the forthcoming album, Diversions Vol. I: Softly Through Sunshine on Jansen. They are ascendant as well as prolific, each outing offering something new or at least a broadened take on what came before. I feel like I have a better understanding having seen them live, even if a full-album set isn’t the most representative of their work on the whole, their range was by no means absent from that material, however terrestrial it may be on relative terms. Drums, guitar/bass/synth, and guitar all in a line near the front of the stage, Kanaan pulled a packed house early crowd and the audience clearly were not showing up by happenstance. All hall the next generation. Capital-‘h’ Heavy needs this turnover to happen desperately in the next few years, and if Kanaan are among the vanguard for it, so much the better for the intricacy of what they play and the obvious heart with which they play it. They killed and sound like they’re only getting better. Now I get to say both I’ve seen them and that I ‘prefer the live version’ of Earthbound. Ultimate snobbery.

Kosmik Boogie Tribe

My camera fell out of my bag before their set. Full height, cosmic backpack betrayal. Imagine seeing the nicest thing you own bounce off a cement floor. I said a very loud, very much in English “fuck!” but it turned out okay. Might be time for a new camera bag, but will be extra careful in the meantime. Fortunately Kosmik Boogie Tribe were a salve for such concerns, blowing the dust off soul and floor alike with their classic, somehow punk-ish heavy rock and roll. This was riffs, beer, maybe the odd bit of what they call ‘flower’ now that it’s legal where I live. Good vibes, high energy, and no screwing around despite all the screwing around. Aside from my relief and not, you know, needing a new camera, I was pulled in by Kosmik Boogie Tribe’s infectious energy and shut-up-and-go, 1-2-3-4-play verve. Rock and roll can be an outright blast when you do it right. I was only passingly familiar before, so relished the chance to see them open in the crypt, which was immediately full. I hate to think of Høstsabbat outgrowing that space — they say to show up early, and I did — but they had a line of people waiting to get into the space in front of the not-quite-a-stage, and reasonably so. It was packed in there. Better show up early next time too. Kosmik Boogie Tribe had a couple live LPs for sale, and seemed well on board for sonic shenanigans, leaving me with the best kind of homework to do later on.

Needlepoint

I suppose it would be too unsuitable to their ultra-mellow, vibe-minded style to say Needlepoint made waves with 2021’s Walking Up That Valley (review here). Gentle waves, then, to coincide with the melodies with which they and you while listening seem to be taking a casual pleasant stroll that then turns into the kind of conversation about life that changes the way you think, ever so slightly, but more than you realize. I would be willing to bet actual kroner that every single guy in this band was at some point the best player in another band. They’re technical enough to be a showcase, but that melody highlights an utter disinterest in that particular kind of indulgence. Instead, Needlepoint, who are from here, focus on the organic,  a kind of particularly Scandinavian folk moving in along with the jazzy drums, smooth, smooth, smooth basslines and interweaving progressions of keys/organ and finger-plucked guitar, Bjørn Klakegg’s likewise soft vocal delivery reinforcing the intent without over-selling it or coming across as hackneyed. I went upstairs to the balcony to watch the full set and they were done before I even knew it was time. Bonus kudos, as the dudes from Kanaan were down the front the whole set. One can only imagine the drummer-chat that will ensue likely a respectable amount of time after Needlepoint’s gear is off stage. These guys are classy, no need to bother immediately.

U-FOES

I must’ve listened to U-FOES before but could not tell you when. In any case, their noise, sludge-more-in-tone-than-mindset take on hardcore-bred riffing was a hilarious enough contrast to Needlepoint immediately prior that it felt like everyone was in on the gag, which is how it should be if you’re going to do that kind of thing. I didn’t stay long, wanted to grab more coffee, check in at home, etc., but I could hear them through the floor up in the chapel a few minutes later and they sounded duly caustic. Hey, I’m from the Northeastern corridor of the United States, ergo, it’s not my first time hearing hardcore and metal and sludge get slammed together for the sake of aural and artistic release, and while they weren’t really my thing, rest assured that’s on me, not them. Dressed all in white with strobe a-plenty for lighting, they balanced a raw sound of guitar, drums, vocals against a markedly severe atmosphere and hit into some hard grooves along the way.

The Moth Gatherer

Stockholm’s The Moth Gatherer had me by the time they were halfway into “The Drone Kingdom” from 2019’s Esoteric Oppression, and that opened the set. Best bit of post-metal I’ve seen on this stage since Amenra, and I remembered seeing The Moth Gatherer here in 2018 (review here), the difference between that set and this one is this time they were upstairs and absolutely owned the room. Barking vocals, undulating nod, atmospheric sludge-style riffing, lurch, immersion, the whole nine. Some clean vocals changed things up fluidly, but the lesson learned is that clearly I should go back an album or two and give them another shot. Not too many surprises — and to be fair, they’re not really playing to a style that offers them once you know what you’re looking for, but their stage presence was unquestionable and they found a place between the destructive and restorative that made them hypnotic to watch even before the video projections or strobe effects were factored in. Høstsabbat has expanded enough that it’s impossible to see all of it — that’s freeing, in a way, since one feels less obliged to do so — but I felt no doubt in watching The Moth Gatherer that I was at the right place at the right time.

Orkan

Jetlag and boogie do not historically mix, but Orkan are infectious just the same. With the Swedish five-piece taking the floor in the Crypt, Høstsabbat enters the sax-inclusive portion of the evening, and Orkan put theirs to good use, incorporating the brass as part of their classic-heavy-derived sound while leaving room for the dual guitars and the harmony-prone, just-about-everybody-sings-at-one-point-or-another vocal arrangements. Zero complaints whatsoever, except perhaps the lack of room with the crowd press behind me to give their songs the softshoe they deserved. Also I did something to my knee, because I am old. The point is that Orkan, who were had all the ’70s in their sound you could possibly ask for without actually being 70 years old, were a band I’d probably just about never get to see, and that’s worth cherishing, softshoe or no. I scuttled off to the side of the room and sat for a few, just kind of taking in that vibe, and as with everything else I saw at Høstsabbat night one, they were united to the rest of the lineup by a broadly-defined sense of what makes music heavy. In this case, it was their ability to make their sound move, and to make it fun. They seemed pretty serious about what they were doing, but loosened up as they went on, and sure enough, it was a party.

REZN

I’ve written a fair amount about Chicago’s REZN, and as soon as I hammer out the liner notes for their upcoming PostWax collaboration with Vinnum Sabbathi from Mexico I’ll have written more, but I don’t think I ever really got it until seeing them play. They hit the Chapel stage with little to no ceremony and set about unfolding a droney, psychedelic reach that felt like it was going for miles — kilometers, if you’d rather. Peppered with sac and synth, further distinguished by soft-delivered soulful vocals that brought an entirely serene spirit to even the heaviest moments, they were powerful in the sense of making air move from and around amps, but there’s just so much to hear in their sound. Sometimes it’s Dead Meadow offset by Chicagoan post-metallic crunch, and sometimes it’s the bounce and melodymaking of Mars Red Sky with synth filling out what might otherwise be empty spaces in the sound, but any angle you want to take, their set was gorgeous and I feel like I better appreciate what they do having witnessed it in person; a clarification of who they are on record and a singular impression on the day. I went up and watched from the balcony and as they mood-drenched the whole church. Preach, dudes. They just announced a new record, too. I won’t say I wasn’t looking forward to it before, but only more so now.

MoE

They were awesome. Signed to the fest-associated Vinter Records label — see also Norna tomorrow — MoE, just to be clear, have nothing to do with the US jam band of the same name. They’re homegrown Norwegian, and with killer art-rock-via-Melvins-crunch, they were indeed a wondrous abomination to behold. The room was packed well in advance of their start. Between the push — all these humans — and the fact that if I hung out there much longer I was going to topple over the stage monitor, which would help nothing, I backed out quick and with not much mercy or apology. I guess you get to a certain point in the evening and there you go. I sort of hobbled to the back and stayed there for a while, the dual-vocal all-onslaught lumbering like a reminder that, yes, Indian were soon enough to go on upstairs. Another stark shift in style to suit the theme of the day of Høstsabbat gleefully refusing to only be one thing. MoE actually made the point pretty well, since they too were unhindered by whatever self-imposed rules might’ve otherwise held them back. Oh, and also? They were fucking loud. Don’t mistake me — everyone’s been loud. Needlepoint were loud. This was another kind of loud though. Your-earplugs-mean-nothing loud. Brutal without the death. Today was Bandcamp Friday. Next one I know where to put some money.

Indian

There are very few bands who are able to sound so specifically violent. Never mind the fact that they seem not so much to play their songs as to punch them, the scathing guitar noise, visceral screams and each and every crash-and-kick-drum combo hit all feel more like punishment than just about anyone else I can think of in any genre. They’re an emdgame for this thing that they do. There could not be anyone more extreme without it losing something from one side or another. Playing under plain white light that they demanded be brighter before starting, the Chicago four-piece set immediately about physically punishing the crowd and themselves alike with their music, an act of apparently empty catharsis otherwise surely they would’ve stopped by now. They are a tonal force, but it’s not even that, or the feedback, or the screaming or the floor took echoing through the church hall like it’s beating out a march to slaughter, it’s the way in which all of it bus so overwhelming as to trigger this fight or flight panic, like you either need to protect yourself from it or get the fuck out. I’ve seen a lot of bands. A stupid number; I couldn’t even guess. But Indian are their own nightmare. There’s blood and sharp things and I think someone’s crying somewhere? You’ll remember it when you wake up. An infliction of a band and more. Fuck it. None nastier.

—

More pics after the jump.

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In my head it’s still August, if not June, so seeing an album announcement for March 2023 is a little jarring, but in light of the traditional music-industry slowdown over the winter, it makes sense, and certainly a new REZN album is going to be anticipated. The band, who are also taking part in PostWax in collaboration with Vinnum Sabbathi — gotta get those liner notes done — have toured West and East Coasts since things opened back up, supporting 2020’s Chaotic Divine (review here), are due for a trip to Europe, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least to find them headed over for next Spring’s festival season, though that’s pure conjecture on my part. The usual disclaimer: I know nothing.

Except that the new song rocks. You can stream “Possession” now as a well-in-advance preview of Solace to come. Obviously March 8 is a ways off, but I’d be very surprised if this is the last glimpse they give of where they’re at before the release. Though, to that end, it’s worth noting that these recordings will be well over a year and a half old by the time the vinyl arrives. I’d be itching to get a single out too. That’s a long-ass time to sit on a release, though somewhat par for the course of the age we’re living through.

The following comes from Bandcamp, where LP preorders are already up:

REZN – Solace

“Our new album ‘Solace’ will be release March 8, 2023. Until then, stream the single and check out the pre-order edition vinyl. See you on the road ✌️ ~REZN”

Pre-order, streaming links, and tour dates can be found here: linktr.ee/rezzzn

TRACK LISTING:
1. Allured by Feverish Visions
2. Possession
3. Reversal
4. Stasis
5. Faded and Fleeting
6. Webbed Roots

Releases March 8, 2023.

Recorded in July of 2021 at Earth Analog in Tolono, IL

Engineered, Mixed, Produced, & Reduced by Matt Russell

Mastered by Zach Weeks at God City Studio in Salem, MA

Album art by Adam Burke/Nightjar Illustration

Written and Performed by REZN

REZN FALL 2022 SHOWS

Sep 16: Taos, NM @ Monolith on the Mesa

West Coast w/ Russian Circles
Sep 17: Englewood, CO @ The Gothic Theatre
Sep 18: Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
Sep 20: Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile Showroom
Sep 21: Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
Sep 23: San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
Sep 24: Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall
Sep 25: Los Angeles, CA @ The Regent
Sep 26: Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Sep 29: Austin, TX @ Empire Garage
Sep 30: Dallas, TX @ Amplified LIve
Oct 1: Memphis, TN @ Growlers

Exclusive European appearance
Oct 7: Oslo, Norway @ Høstsabbat

East Coast & Canada w/ Russian Circles
Oct 27: St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
Oct 28: Louisville, KY @ Headliner’s
Oct 29: Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
Oct 30: Orlando, FL @ The Social
Nov 1: Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle
Nov 2: Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Nov 4: Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Nov 5: Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
Nov 6: Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw
Nov 8: Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
Nov 9: Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount
Nov 10: Toronto, ON @ The Opera House
Nov 11: Detroit, MI @ El Club
Nov 12: Chicago, IL @ The Metro

Rob McWilliams: Guitar + Vocals
Phil Cangelosi: Bass + Rainstick
Patrick Dunn: Drums + Percussion
Spencer Ouellette: Sax + Synth + Piano + Flute

Marie Davidson: Spoken Word on Webbed Roots

facebook.com/reznhits
instagram.com/rezzzn
rezzzn.bandcamp.com

offtherecordlabel.bigcartel.com
https://www.facebook.com/Off-The-Record-1558728014411885/
https://www.offtherecordshop.nl/index.php/off-the-record-label

Rezn, Solace (2023)

Scorched Tundra XII will be held in Chicago on Sept. 1-3, and its three-night duration looks admirably not-totally-overwhelming, bigger on quality than filler and seems to use its time well in tapping the Myopia collaboration between Thou and Mizmor that made its debut at Roadburn for a first-time-in-the-US set headlining the final night. I’m starting to get annoyed that I haven’t seen REZN yet and Monolord put out their second best-album-of-their-career-so-far in a row last year, so yes, now would be a good time to catch them as well. Oh and whoever Earthless are, I’m sure they’re fine too.

That’s a joke of course. Someone on social media called it a request for Dorthia Cottrell and Monolord — who are touring together — to collaborate and I’ve had trouble getting the idea out of my head since then. Just about no way that wouldn’t be worth hearing. Let them cover Nina Simone or something. Or maybe have her sit in on “Your Time to Shine” if you want to keep it simple. Make an album if you don’t.

Good times in Chicago:

SCORCHED TUNDRA XII TICKETS ON SALE: FEATURING MONOLORD, EARTHLESS, THOU + MIZMOR COLLAB SET, REZN & MORE (9/1 – 9/3)

Tickets: https://scorchedtundra.com/scorched-tundra-xii-tickets-on-sale-featuring-monolord-earthless-thou-mizmor-collab-set-rezn-more-9-1-9-3/

Tickets are now on sale for Scorched Tundra XII taking place on Thursday 9/1, Friday 9/2 and Saturday 9/3/22 at The Empty Bottle in Chicago. ST XII features newcomers and veterans of the festival, a number of first plays in the market, a North American debut, and a return to the three day format.

Thursday September 1st:
Monolord
Earthless
Dorthia Cottrell (Windhand)

Friday September 2nd:
REZN
Thou
Friendship Commanders
Huntsmen

Saturday September 3rd:
Thou + Mizmor Collaboration Set
Mizmor
Ready For Death
DJ Heather Gabel (Hide)

“Collaboration has driven the development, articulation and curation of this event series over the last ten years and twelve editions,” states organizer Alexi D. Front. “Putting collaboration at the forefront is not only my way of sharing one of the most exciting convergences of talent in heavy music, but also nods to those who have stood by and supported Scorched Tundra over the last two years. This lineup is focused and charts a new course for the curation of this intimate event series.”

We anticipate tickets moving fast, so plan accordingly.

This year’s Scorched Tundra Poster was created by Bryn Gleason.

More details about beverage and food collaborations will be revealed as the festival draws nearer.

https://www.facebook.com/ScorchedTundra/
https://www.instagram.com/scorchedtundra/
http://scorchedtundra.com

Thou & Mizmor, Myopia (2022)

Monolord, Your Time to Shine (2021)