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Skraeckoedlan Premiere “Doomedag” Video; Sagor Reissue out Now

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 14th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

skraeckoedlan doomedag

Progressive fuzz heavy hitters Skraeckoedlan originally released their second album, Sagor (review here), in 2015, and it was something of a special moment for the band. Foremost, it was a chance for them to prove decisively that their 2011 debut, Äppelträdet (review here), was no fluke, and further, it was a moment that allowed them to reach a wider audience by releasing through Razzia Records in their native Sweden. I guess it went well — they’re still a band, and they’ve only garnered more notoriety over the last five years since Sagor came out, touring and last year releasing the follow-up LP, Eorþe (review here) through Fuzzorama. Fair enough they might want to revisit that time, and The Sign Records, which previously reissued the first album in 2018 and is also doing another pressing, obliges with a subsequent Sagor LP reissue.

“Doomedag” as I understand it was a bonus cut on the original LP pressing of Sagor that’s never been digitally released before. The only version of it I could find anywhere was a live show from 2017, and while that looked like good fun, with the band in a small venue packed onto a stage, headbanging and all that kind of thing, it’s hardly the most representative of the track itself. All the better then, that here, on the day Sagor is being reissued — and that new pressing of Äppelträdet as well — comes a video for the studio version of “Doomedag”; something that hasn’t appeared online before to support an album initially put out five years ago. You’d almost think these things were planned in advance.

But anyhoozle, you’re gonna dig the track, which is on the shorter and less epic end of Skraeckoedlan‘s sound and has some pretty awesome push behind it from the drums. Plus the single has the art above, and that alone is worth the price of admission, which if you’re keeping up, is nothing. This premiere kind of came in last-minute, but hell, I dig the band and I dug Sagor when it came out, and I’ve legitimately never heard this song before, so I’ll take it. Doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that, really.

Enjoy the video:

Skraeckoedlan, “Doomedag” official video premiere

On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2aw0r5p6kOlpqWUE9HG84p

The Sign Records re-release the second album “Sagor” by Skraeckoedlan on colored vinyl August 14. The album, which turns five years old this year, will be released on 180g double LP with gatefold cover. The first pressing is limited to 1000 copies, and the vinyl is available today.

“Mountains. Colossal peaks stretch past the darkened clouds and further into the cosmos. In the leviathan’s towering shadow the landscape is left black, like the uncertainty of eternity. Only a pulse remains. A barely noticeable but steadily growing sensation, a promise of direction in the fangs of darkness. Through the dream we escape time, to the brink of infinity where love thrives.”

To celebrate the 5 year anniversary of their album Sagor, Skraeckoedlan is now releasing a song that previously only was to find as a bonus track on the original print of the vinyl. The song is called Doomedag, and is a song about finding yourself, to always look ahead and not to be scared about the unknown. The album was recorded in numerous studios with different technicians and producers during a two year period. The band collaborated with Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Meshuggah, El Caco) and Niklas Berglöf (Ghost) among others.

The artwork has been made by Johan Leion, who also designed the debut album, Äppelträdet.

Order the vinyl: https://freighttrain.se/skraeckoedlan-_-sagor-dlp/

“Sagor” will be available in 1000 copies of colored, 180g gatefold double LP. Besides the re-release of “Sagor”, The Sign Records will also release a new pressing of Skraeckoedlan’s debut album “Äppelträdet” in 500 copies of 180g purple vinyl.

Skraeckoedlan:
Robert Lamu – Vocals/Guitar
Henrik Grüttner – Guitar
Erik Berggren – Bass
Martin Larsson – Drums

Skraeckoedlan’s website

Skraeckoedlan on Instagram

Skraeckoedlan on Thee Facebooks

The Sign Records on Thee Facebooks

The Sign Records website

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Skraeckoedlan Announce Sagor Vinyl Reissue Due in August

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 1st, 2020 by JJ Koczan

skraeckoedlan

Swedish modern progressive heavy rock/metallers Skraekoedlan originally released their second album, Sagor (review here), in 2015 through Razzia Records, and I recall at the time thinking it was kind of a curious fit, as they mostly release pop and not stuff quite so hard-hitting as Sagor was. There was some relation to In Flames, if I remember right. I don’t know. Whatever it was, the album didn’t seem to get the love it deserved, so I’m glad to see it being reissued on vinyl through The Sign Records. The label also reissued Skraeckoedlan‘s debut, 2011’s Äppelträdet (review here), in 2018, and that’s being pressed again as well. The more the merrier.

Preorders are up. Here’s the info from the PR wire:

skraeckoedlan sagor

Skraeckoedlan to re-release second album “Sagor” on colored vinyl

The Sign Records will re-release the second album “Sagor” by Skraeckoedlan on colored vinyl August 14. The album, which turns five years old this year, will be released on 180g double LP with gatefold cover. The first pressing is limited to 1000 copies, and the vinyl is available for pre-orders today.

Skraeckoedlan’s second album “Sagor” was released in June 2015 on Razzia / Sony Music. The album was praised by both critics and fans, and the physical release has for long been difficult to obtain. This year, the album turns 5 years old. To celebrate this, Skraeckoedlan has partnered up with The Sign Records for a physical re-release of the vinyl. The band has previously collaborated with the label – in 2018, The Sign Records released a repress of Skraeckoedlan’s debut album “Äppelträdet”, and in the fall of 2019 Skraeckoedlan headlined The Sign Records’ traveling festival “The Sign Fest”.

Robert Lamu, vocalist and guitarist in Skraeckoedlan, states:

“We are very happy to finally be able to re-release our album “Sagor” on vinyl after 5 long years. This album means a lot to us, and it feels good to finally be able to offer it on the format it was meant for.”

“Sagor” will be available in 1000 copies of colored, 180g double LP. Like the original, the album will have a gatefold cover. In addition, the design of the cover artwork will have a few changes. Besides the re-release of “Sagor”, The Sign Records will also release a new pressing of Skraeckoedlans debut album “Äppelträdet” in 500 copies of 180g purple vinyl.

The re-release of “Sagor”, as well as the new pressing of “Äppelträdet”, will be out on vinyl format August 14. Both albums are available as pre-orders today.

Pre order “Sagor” and “Äppelträdet”:
https://freighttrain.se/preorder/

Skraeckoedlan:
Robert Lamu – Vocals/Guitar
Henrik Grüttner – Guitar
Erik Berggren – Bass
Martin Larsson – Drums

http://www.skraeckoedlan.com/
http://instagram.com/skraeckoedlan
https://www.facebook.com/SKRAECKOEDLAN/
https://www.facebook.com/thesignrecords/
http://www.thesignrecords.com

Skraeckoedlan, “El Monstro” official video

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Skraeckoedlan Premiere Video for “El Monstro”

Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 12th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

skraeckoedlan

Squidman’s ink is hardly dry on Skraeckoedlan‘s new album, Sagor (review here), but the Norrköping and Borlänge four-piece today premiere a brand new video for “El Monstro,” and it’s a title proportional to the fuzz wall Skraeckoedlan build in the song itself. Their second full-length, Sagor is a logical step forward from their 2011 debut, Äppelträdet (review here), but it pushes even deeper into the band’s world of massive riffing and suitably monstrous creatures. In addition to “El Monstro” and “Squidman,” we get “Mothra,” “Gigantos” and others, and all of these beasts seem to do battle as Sagor‘s high-impact 53 minutes play out in swells of triumphant tone and neo-progressive blood and thunder.

I’ve likened Skraeckoedlan to some combination of impulses garnered from Truckfighters and Mastodon before, and I stand by that in terms of what they bring tonally and in the sheer largesse of their groove, but as “El Monstro” ultimately demonstrates, they’re readily able to create something of their own from these core elements. Joining vocalist/guitarist Robert Lamu, guitarist/vocalist Henrik Grüttner, bassist/backing vocalist Tim Ångström and drummer Martin Larsson on the track in question is Matilda Mård, whose singing plays back and forth off a central riff in airier verses, the band showing themselves as capable of subtlety as well as pummel — though there’s plenty of that to go around.

Further along that same point, check out the song about 5:30 into the video’s total 6:33, the way it volume-swells in and out, almost like distorted tape, but obviously on purpose and with the intended (and successful) effect of adding nuance to what’s essentially repetition of that same central riff. Instead of just rolling through measures, Skraeckoedlan find a way to make their material do more work for them, and both “El Monstro” and Sagor as a whole are stronger for it.

Sagor is out now on Razzia Records. Please find “El Monstro” below, followed by some more info and comment from the band, and enjoy:

Skraeckoedlan, “El Monstro” official video

Swedish fuzz/sludge rockers SKRAECKOEDLAN are releasing the music video for “El Monstro”. The track is the second single from the band’s critically acclaimed album Sagor – released via Razzia Records – and features guest vocals from Matilda Mård. The video is directed by Mats Ek.

“We wanted to create a imaginative feeling and show the beauty of the Swedish evergreens. There is something very magical about our deep forest.”

Skraeckoedlan’s website

Skraeckoedlan on Instagram

Skraeckoedlan on Thee Facebooks

Skraeckoedlan on Twitter

Razzia Records

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The Obelisk Radio Adds: Sun Blood Stories, Skraeckoedlan, Mount Desert, Zaum & Shooting Guns and Merchant

Posted in Radio on November 2nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk radio

You already know, but it’s November as of yesterday. Last time I did a round of adds to The Obelisk Radio was June 5. Granted we’ve had two Quarterly Reviews since then, so not everything has fallen through the cracks in terms of being written up, but even some of that stuff has built up a backlog waiting to be added to the playlist.

Accordingly, there are over 130 records joining The Obelisk Radio today. You can see the full-list here.

That is a massive number for one shot, and some of it is new and some older stuff fills in gaps, mostly in the Black Sabbath catalog. but either way, after five months, it seems like a fair amount to come back with. I’m not sure I’ll be able to schedule a round of Radio Adds every week from here on out — I couldn’t before, if you’ll recall — but as ever, I’ll do my best. As you might expect, five months later, there are some really great records to talk about. We’ll start with the newest one.

The Obelisk Radio Adds for Nov. 2, 2015:

Sun Blood Stories, Samhain Variations

sun blood stories samhain variations

A special Halloween release, the complete title of the latest from Sun Blood Stories is Samhain Variations: In Flight Raid Wake up I Don’t Know, and sure enough at the beginning of “Samhain Variation 1” (15:30), lap steel guitarist/vocalist Amber Pollard gives a cabin announcement welcoming listeners aboard “Trip Airlines Flight 666 bound to your brain” as she and guitarist Ben Kirby set out an immediately experimental-sounding foundation of plucked notes, feedback, drones and other noises. What follows from there — mind you that’s about the first 10 seconds — across “Samhain Variation I” and it loop-drum-infused counterpart “Samhain Variation II” (26:50) is a twisted barrage of alternately hypnotic and assaulting sounds, feeling like an exponential expansion of some of the ambient back end of summer-2015’s Twilight Midnight Morning (review here) full-length, with which I remain enamored. The difference is that where those were smaller pieces that, at times, seemed to touch back down to solid footing reminding of the album’s more straightforward beginning movement, Samhain Variations is an ethereal wash that trades back and forth between melodic and amelodic, touching on the memorable “West the Sun” at the launch of “Samhain Variation II,” but ultimately shaping itself into an unrecognizable form. The second part is harsher than the first and substantially longer, but both reinforce the open creative process the band showed a couple months back on Live at the Banana Stand (posted here), and of course, on the album that preceded it. They remain a band to which more people need to get hip, and Samhain Variations is a flight worth taking. Sun Blood Stories on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

Zaum & Shooting Guns, Himalaya to Mesopotamia

zaum & shooting guns humalaya to mesopotamia

Moncton ritualizers Zaum will reportedly have a new full-length out in 2016 to follow their impressive 2014 debut, Oracles (review here). In the interim, they’ve partnered with freakout-prone Saskatoon heavy psych rockers Shooting Guns for a split titled Himilaya to Mesopotamia that is out on vinyl this week. With one track from Zaum, the extended “The Serpentshrine” (19:07), and three from Shooting Guns all over six minutes, it’s well substantial enough for a 12″ and gives its audience plenty to dig into from each act, the two-piece Zaum gracefully and gradually unfolding Eastern inflections and immersive drones on “The Serpentshrine” across a hilltop-shaped, parabolic build that swells to greater impact in the middle and recedes to chants and drones at the end from the psychedelic doom march that emerges. Their work remains fluid and progressive, and “The Serpentshrine” fits well alongside Shooting Guns‘ “Super Himalaya,” “Dirty Needle” and instrumental closer “Ultimate Nullifier,” which between them establish an album-style flow that goes from far to farther out, melding space rock, noise, and psych fuckall into the potent nod of “Dirty Needle,” casting a wide cosmic berth of echoing guitar and thrusting rhythm. Shooting Guns tip hat to “War Pigs” in “Ultimate Nullifier,” but by then the vibe is so lysergic that it’s really just one more ingredient in the cauldron. Might get under general-public radars, but a gem of substantial pulsation. Zaum on Thee Facebooks, Shooting Guns on Thee Facebooks, Zaum on Bandcamp, Shooting Guns on Bandcamp.

Skraeckoedlan, Sagor

skraeckoedlan sagor

The awaited follow-up from Swedish stonerplodders Skraeckoedlan on Razzia RecordsSagor answers the big riffing of the band’s 2011 debut, Äppelträdet (review here), with a more progressive realization of some similar ideas, the tones still post-Truckfighters, the largesse still post-Mastodon, but the band impressively carving out their own dynamic within their not-quite-metal-but-still-viciously-weighted approach, songs like the post-intro “Gigantos” (7:27) and “El Monstro” pummeling out melodically conscious heft (the latter with guest vocals) while pieces like “Awen” (1:08), the structurally forward “Flod” (2:46) and even the longest cut here, “Squidman” (8:09) managing not to lose track of a consistent atmosphere amid all the unbridled feel. At 53 minutes, Sagor is not a minor undertaking, but somehow, for an album about giant monsters and built on top of likewise proportioned riffs and grooves, it makes a kind of conceptual sense, and I won’t fight against the sway of “Epos” (5:47) or the poise that “Odjuret” (6:39) seems to showcase in the vocals, switching between full-sounding shouts in the chorus and a Greenleaf-style verse, duly fuzzed and engagingly heavy. Originally titled Gigantos and recorded at various different studios, Sagor seems to have been an adventure in the making, but however daunting the process may have been, Skraeckoedlan have come out of it with a sophomore outing that answers the potential of their debut and finds them refining a sound that one hopes only continues to become more their own from here. Skraeckoedlan on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp, Razzia Records.

Mount Desert, Mount Desert

mount desert mount desert

Based now in San Francisco with roots in Maine, two-piece newcomers Mount Desert impress on their debut two-song demo with the spaciousness they bring to their tracks. What feels like a 7″ in the making, the pair of “Blue Madonna” (4:45) and “Fear the Heart” (6:36) showcase stylistic cohesion on the part of guitarist/vocalist Scott and drummer Jordan, an overarching reverb seeming to take hold on the first song and continue into the second. These are initial explorations — demos by any other name — but Mount Desert tap into psychedelia with a corresponding earthiness that reminds of the first Sigiriya record in its blend, and feels neither nostalgic nor like it’s trying overly hard to position itself within the West Coast heavy psych sphere’s jammy infatuations. It will not feel out of place genre-wise to first time listeners who take it on, but neither are Mount Desert completely familiar. “Blue Madonna” and “Fear the Heart” work quick and efficient, but retain atmospheric resonance as well, and while their real tests are ahead of them, the molten beginnings of “Blue Madonna” and the crunching finish of “Fear the Heart” give an encouraging sense of range, and while exciting for how Mount Desert might build on them, that excitement comes from what the duo have already accomplished here. Mount Desert on Thee Facebooks, Mount Desert on Soundcloud.

Merchant, Seismic

merchant seismic

Together for just about a year at the time of its release in May, Aussie sludge-plus four-piece Merchant make their presence felt with “Seismic” (9:36), an initial single released as a name-your-price download that seems geared toward announcing their arrival on the fertile ground of Melbourne’s heavy scene. They’re not without their psychedelic flourish, but vocalist Mirgy offers throaty growling — here reminding of New Zealand’s Beastwars, there delving even further into gutturalisms — to top the rolling undulations of guitarist Ben, gotta-hear-this-tone bassist Wilson and drummer Nick and that ensures Merchant never stray too far from the muck toward the cosmos. Ben takes a fuzzy solo in the back half, but Merchant bring their first sally to a crashing finish, lumbering out a few final hits before the amp noise squeezes the last air out of the room. Melbourne heavy is about as multi-faceted as a scene gets — see also Portland, Oregon — but Merchant show also that it’s still growing and that there are those within the city limits looking to push the boundaries of extremity beyond their breaking point. For being just under 10 minutes, “Seismic” tells us an awful lot about Merchant and their intentions over the longer term, and it seems like a warning listeners will want to heed. Merchant on Thee Facebooks, on Bandcamp.

Thanks for reading. I hope you find something you dig, and if you want to see the full list of the 130-plus records added to the server today, check out The Obelisk Radio Playlist and Updates page.

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Skraeckoedlan Post “Flod” Video; New Album Sagor Due June 10

Posted in Bootleg Theater on May 26th, 2015 by JJ Koczan

skraeckoedlan

It won’t take long into Skraeckoedlan‘s “Flod” for the point to sink in. The song, which comes from their awaited second album, Sagor, boasts Truckfighters-style fuzzy smoothness, and a densely-weighted roll, melody and catchy vibe. My impression from what they say about working with different producers is that the record is actually pretty varied, but in giving a first impression, “Flod” — the title of which translates to “river” — seems to get things off to a solid start.

When the Swedish four-piece decided to change the title of their upcoming LP from Gigantos to Sagor, I’m not sure, but they’ve aligned themselves to Razzia Notes, a label headed by In Flames vocalist Anders Fridén, so they’ve no doubt gotten a bit of a push leading up to the June 10 release. Sagor will be the follow-up to 2011’s Äppelträdet (review here), and no doubt the complexity of the recording process will turn out to have been a factor in its somewhat delayed arrival.

Better late than never, though, and even if you didn’t hear the first outing, “Flod” should still be able to find solid footing. The video shows off a predilection toward classic sci-fi — they’ve begun to use the phrase “fuzzience fiction” — and spaced out themes, and that only adds to the charm of the song itself.

Clip follows here. Please enjoy:

Skraeckoedlan, “Flod” official video

Skraeckoedlan is ready to release their new album, titled “Sagor”. It was recorded in multiple studios during a two year period and features collaborations with several technicians and producers such as Daniel Bergstrand (In Flames, Meshuggah) and Niklas Berglöf (Ghost, Den Svenska Björnstammen). Erik Berglund has done the mixing and has been an integral part in finding the sound of the album.

When working with “Sagor”, Skraeckoedlan got in contact with Anders Fridén and his record label Razzia Notes, who will release the record.

The album “Sagor” will be released June 10th.

Skraeckoedlan’s website

Skraeckoedlan on Thee Facebooks

Razzia Records

Razzia Records on Thee Facebooks

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