Trondheim, Norway’s Spidergawd will release their second album, Spidergawd II, at the end of this month through Stickman Records (EU) and Crispin Glover Records (Norway). The special edition with poster, screened cover, etc., has sold out on preorders and it’s little wonder. Their first album (review here) was one of the best debuts of 2014, a self-titled out through the same labels that refined classic-style boogie rock with a progressive edge so that not only did the four-piece groove and shuffle their way through memorable tracks with natural sounding tones and a ’70s-inspired vibe, but they did it with a fresh take on what, in Europe for years and of late in the US as well, has become an established subgenre of heavy rock and roll. Their turns were blinding, but executed with a sense of class that was pervasive throughout the two-sided platter with its somewhat bizarre artwork.

Spidergawd II follows the theme, both in its cover — the idea seems to be to give us a sense of the artificial even as we engage something very real — and in the music contained within. The returning lineup of Per Borten, Rolf Martin Snustad, Kenneth Kapstad and Bent Sæther (the latter two also of Norwegian prog magnates Motorpsycho) push forward from what they were able to accomplish on the debut, and whether it’s the sax-laden jam of “Caereulean Caribou,” the Robert Johnson-style acoustic plucking that commences opener “…Is all She Says” or the near-KISS stomp of “Get Physical,” the album offers genuine, intelligent variety and a persistent flow that makes the shifts within and between songs not only believable — the bass-led “Our Time (Slight Return)” and Thin Lizzy strum-and-bouncer “Sanctuary” close out side B with little to no visible seams — but natural, while still keeping an element of the unexpected about them.

It’s an admirable accomplishment, if I haven’t made that plain enough, and Spidergawd II plays out its accomplishment early without relenting for its entire 42-minute span. The opener’s bluesy pulse gives way to “Tourniquet,” a catchy fuzz-blaster that’s an album highlight and should thrill newcomers and those who heard the self-titled alike. I have the pleasure today of hosting “Tourniquet” for streaming ahead of the record coming out later this month and Spidergawd embarking on a European tour in Feb. following an Jan. 16 performance at Eurosonic at Groningen in the Netherlands.

More info on the album and the band’s tour dates can be found under the “Tourniquet” player below. Please enjoy:

[mp3player width=480 height=200 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=spidergawd-tourniquet.xml]

Two years ago Spidergawd was a new entity. A band of veterans maybe, but a new band and a new sound for most people. Initially a laid back concern between friends Per Borten, Rolf Martin Snustad, Kenneth Kapstad and Bent Sæther (Motorpsycho), the music the quartet came up with soon proved itself too good to contain in a rehersal room. Starting out as a loose amalgam of blues and hard rock, the music evolved rapidly and the band soon found its own voice. Their self-titled debut album was recorded at their fifth rehersal in May 2013.

This year the Norwegian hard rock quartet is releasing their sophomore effort. Self produced and recorded at main man Per Borten’s own studio at Ler just south of Trondheim in September 2014, the album contains nine new songs that both continue and expand on the sound Spidergawd established on their first record: the blues stylings are more pronounced, the grooves are fatter, the light is lighter and the shade is deeper, and the songs are perhaps even better. One thing is for sure: the Spidergawd brand of boogie is if anything even fiercer this time around, and as their recording career gains momentum through the efforts of Crispin Glover and Stickman Records, promotors, hepcats and fans everywhere eagerly await another round of rock’n’roll goodness this spring. The web is woven, Spidergawd is on the prowl! Spidergawd brings the boogie to Norway in Ferbruary and to Europe in March. They’d love it if you gave their second album a listen while you’re waiting.

16/01 EUROSONIC, Groningen, NL
12/02 FOLKEN, Stavanger, NO
13/02 SKALA, Haugesund, NO
14/02 HULEN, Bergen, NO
19/02 LUNDETANGEN, Skien, NO
21/02 ROCKEFELLER, Oslo, NO
27/02 SAMFUNDET, Trondheim, NO
08/03 STROM, München, DE
09/03 LEGEND CLUB, Milano, IT
10/03 BAD BONN, Düdingen, CH
11/03 GASWERK, Winterthur, CH
12/03 FORUM, Bielefeld, DE
13/03 CAFÉ GLOCKSEE, Hannover, DE
14/03 SOJO, Leuven, BE
15/03 HEDON, Zwolle, NL
09/04 ROADBURN, Tilburg, NL

Spidergawd on Thee Facebooks

Stickman Records

Crispin Glover Records

Please note: These are not the results of the Readers Poll. That’s still going on. Please feel free to submit your list.

Making and releasing a first full-length album is a special moment in the life of any band, and that’s why I wanted to single out some of the best debuts of the year. I’ve never done this before, and so maybe with a top 10 I’m testing the waters a bit, but it seemed a worthwhile project anyway. It was a long (inner) debate about whether or not to include EPs and singles here too, but in the end, it just seemed to work better with albums.

Not to take anything away from shorter releases, but putting out a debut EP is much different than a debut LP. First of all, a debut LP can come after several EPs or singles or demos or whatever and still be considered first. What a first album says to the listener is, “Okay, we’ve come this far and we’re ready to take this step.” Some bands, once they start putting out albums, never go back to EPs. Others who’ve been around for 30 years still release demos every now and then, but even so, a group only ever gets one crack at their first album, and it can be one of the most important things we ever do.

Compared to how many come out any given month, year, century, etc., very few debut long-players ever wind up being classics, and who knows what the future might hold for any of these acts on this list, but that not knowing and that excitement are part of the fun.

Let’s get to it:

The Top 10 Debut Albums of 2014

1. The Well, Samsara
2. The Golden Grass, The Golden Grass
3. Spidergawd, Spidergawd
4. Atavismo, Desintegración
5. Blues Pills, Blues Pills
6. Steak, Slab City
7. Comet Control, Comet Control
8. Elephant Tree, Theia
9. Black Moon Circle, Black Moon Circle
10. Temple of Void, Of Terror and the Supernatural

A couple honorable mentions. First to Valley of the Sun‘s Electric Talons of the Thunderhawk, which I still didn’t know what to do with the release date for. Officially 2014, but kinda released in 2013 too. I was back and forth on it. Also Wasted Theory‘s burly debut, Monolord‘s Empress Rising, Child‘s Child, the Silent Chamber, Noisy Heart sprawling one-song LP from Sylvaine.

Some notes: Actual time spent listening played a big role in the structuring of this list. More so than the Top 30 of 2014, I would say. The Well‘s Samsara and the self-titled debut from The Golden Grass featured pretty high on that list as well, and that’s because both of them were records that I continually went back to and found satisfying after they came out. In both bands I think there’s significant stylistic potential, but more importantly, they both came out of the gate with their mission solidified and ready to roll.

With Spidergawd‘s Spidergawd, the progressive take on classic heavy rock boogie was blinding, but righteous. Their second album is due early next year on Stickman and I’ll have more on it to come in the weeks ahead. Atavismo‘s Desintegración hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. Just four songs, but the atmosphere was gorgeous enough that after listening I went back and asked the band if I could host a stream in hopes that more people would hear it. Fortunately for anyone who listened, they were kind enough to comply.

On sheer impact alone, I think Blues Pills‘ Blues Pills warrants inclusion on this list, but in my own listening, I put on the top four so much more often that I couldn’t really justify placing it any higher. But in terms of a first album coming out and really propelling a band to the next level, I think for a lot of people it’s probably the debut of the year. Fair enough. Steak‘s Slab City found the London four-piece physically and stylistically right in the heart of the California desert and their passion for that place and its sound came across heartfelt on the recording, which only heightened the appeal.

And while I’m still sorry to see Quest for Fire go, the debut from offshoot Comet Control helped ease that sorrow neatly with a blend of driving heavier space rock and psychedelic vibing. Cool album, bodes well. You could say the same for Elephant Tree‘s Theia, I suppose. Their take on psychedelia melded with screamy sludge successfully where I think a lot of bands would’ve fallen flat trying the same thing, and that’s definitely something noteworthy in an initial offering, particularly one not preceded by an EP or other kind of release.

To round things out, two very different records. Black Moon Circle‘s self-titled took a popular stylistic course — melding heavy rock and psychedelic jamming — and showed the trio beginning to make it their own. That’s something I hope will continue on their second outing, which, like that of Spidergawd, is coming on quick early in 2015. And finally, Temple of Void‘s extreme, deathly take on doom courted genres smoothly and delivered its punishment with efficiency while holding together a coherent atmosphere of darkness and aggression. It was a sadistic joy to behold.

If you missed it, there were a couple debuts included on the Top 20 Short Releases of 2014 list as well — Gold & Silver, Wren, Death Alley, and so on — so if you’re looking for more of that kind of thing, you don’t have to look too far. I hope if there was a debut album this year that particularly caught your attention, you’ll let me know in the comments.

A spirit of reverence is immediate, even before you put on the self-titled debut full-length from Norway’s Spidergawd. The vinyl — now in its third pressing, as I understand it — comes courtesy of Crispin Glover Records, and is presented in bright red, 180g form, housed in a blue transparent plastic sleeve. Already we see the interplay of color that the album itself will proffer. Its striking, thick-glossy-stock pagan-futuristic cover art follows suit, the tracklisting and recording info hidden inside, waiting to be found, and the whole package, which also includes a CD, is housed in a clear plastic sleeve that boasts the band’s logo for a layered-over effect when the put together. Spidergawd‘s music is as intricate a take as I’ve heard on ’70s-style boogie, with at-times manic progressive rhythmic turns matched to upbeat, classic heavy forward motion, and clearly the 12″ was meant to be a multi-sensory experience. Even unto how the texture of the sleeve feels in your hands, it offers more than just the audio.

The name Motorpsycho won’t be as immediately familiar to Americans as to Europeans, but the rhythm section of the long-running prog pioneers features here, bassist Bent Sæther and drummer Kenneth Kapstad joining guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Per Borten and saxophonist Rolf Martin Snustad in the Trondheim-based Spidergawd, the self-titled also boasting pedal steel from Roar Øien and trumpet from Kim Alexander Eriksen. The horns are used well beginning from side A opener “Into Tomorrow,” accenting the chorus of the album’s shortest cut without being overdone, adding to the excitement of the song itself, Borten‘s vocal command — readily on display throughout — and the instrumental chemistry between the guitar, bass and drums. “Into Tomorrow” is a forward, driving heavy rock song with an ear toward ’70s rock, but nothing on Spidergawd‘s Spidergawd is particularly retro-sounding, the production clear and full and not necessarily geared toward playing up a vintage style, though “Blauer Jubel” or “Southeastern Voodoo Lab” definitely lean more into that influence stylistically.

Even aside from Kapstad‘s gonna-put-on-a-clinic-and-still-sound-like-I’m-having-fun drumming, there’s a lot about the LP that’s easy to get into. Borten‘s guitar jangles and swaggers over Sæther‘s twisting fuzz jam, and though Spidergawd obviously have the chops to pull off the blinding shuffle of “Blauer Jubel,” technical prowess isn’t shown off at the expense of songwriting. “Master of Disguise” sees fit to out Graveyard Graveyard, a tense verse opening to a raucous, full-speed-ahead chorus of classic pursuit, and even if they hadn’t built such momentum over the course of “Into Tomorrow” and “Blauer Jubel,” the play of guitar and bass in the solo section — that low end tone — is a firm signifier these cats mean business. Still keeping a modern production, they update the best aspects of classic heavy rock and deliver a style both familiar and their own wrapped in virtuosic performance and variability, the horns returning on “Southeastern Voodoo Lab” to help round out side A in swinging fashion, pushing toward a guitar-led blues-solo apex with Kapstad pulling back to a half-time crash before once more joining the air-tight rush for a return to the verse.

A flip to side B brings more surprises in the form of the 14-minute “Empty Rooms,” an extended heavy psychedelic jam that begins with a solid minute-plus of Snustad‘s echoing sax before the guitar and bass begin to swell into the mix. Fuck, it’s righteous. They bring the volume up and hold a ringout as Kapstad‘s snare drumrolls a quick build, and Borten starts the vocals of the first verse about four minutes after the song began, backed by Sæther‘s bass. They take off from there, once again at barnburner speed, and a solo at around eight minutes in brings a tempo change to a more languid groove, the bass and guitar fuzzed out in a descending progression toward what would seem to be a finish before start-stop chugging revives the movement, bass once more serving as the foundation for the guitar and Soundgarden-gone-psych compressed vocals that carry past the 10-minute mark. A jazzy, airy, unhurried solo caps over the last couple minutes, the sax gone, pedal steel buried deep in the mix but there enough to be in conversation with Borten, and the jam gradually fades out past its 14th minute, a jarring last minute swell signaling the shift into closer “Million Dollar Somersault,” its title and its initial bassline reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age but ultimately working on a different plane, like the embodiment of everything hyper-stylized indie rockers fall short of conveying, ultra-swinging and poised even as its noisy apex approaches, fittingly grounding after “Empty Rooms” but still way, way out there, coming to a sudden finish as the needle returns, daring you to go another round.

Spidergawd have a couple singles under their belt on Crispin Glover, but this is their first full-length. One doesn’t want to get into they’re-gonna-be-huge kinds of hyperbole, both because it’s useless and because it ultimately detracts from conveying the actual value of the album, but there’s nothing Spidergawd sets out to do that its six tracks don’t accomplish, and front to back, the record breathes life into ’70s influenced heavy, showing there’s more to be done than simply trying to ape the sound as best as possible. I’ll say flat out it’s a hell of a record. If you don’t take my recommendation to heart, I hope it finds you some other way.

Spidergawd, “Into Tomorrow”

Spidergawd on Thee Facebooks

Crispin Glover Records

Click Here to Download

[mp3player width=480 height=150 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=aot40.xml]

This one’s beamed in from a universe of all good times. I don’t want to walk around tooting my own horn like I actually did anything, but you’ll pardon me if I say that once you get on board here, you might not want to jump back off. The flow is up and down, alternately drawn out and rushing, and right up to the last song which is a bit of a return to earth, the second hour is the most spaced out it’s ever been around these parts. I’m way into it. I hope you’re way into it.

Like last time, I tried to get a mix of excellent stuff upcoming with other recent items you might’ve missed. One of these days I’m gonna do another one of these where I talk, but this is straight-up track into track the whole way through and I think it moves really well that way. Please feel free to grab a download or hit the stream and dig in and enjoy.

First Hour:
The Melvins, “Sesame Street Meat” from Hold it In (2014)
Fever Dog, “One Thousand Centuries” from Second Wind (2014)
Lo-Pan, “Eastern Seas” from Colossus (2014)
Witchrider, “Black” from Unmountable Stairs (2014)
Alunah, “Awakening the Forest” from Awakening the Forest (2014)
Craang, “Magnolia” from To the Estimated Size of the Universe (2014)
Slow Season, “Shake” from Mountains (2014)
Lucifer in the Sky with Diamonds, “Guillotine” from The Shining One (2014)
The Proselyte, “Irish Goodbye” from Our Vessel’s in Need (2014)
Flood, “Lake Nyos” from Oak (2014)
Lord, “Golgotha” from Alive in Golgotha (2014)

Second Hour:
My Brother the Wind, “Garden of Delights” from Once There was a Time When Time and Space were One (2014)
Spidergawd, “Empty Rooms” from Spidergawd (2014)
The Myrrors, “Whirling Mountain Blues” from Solar Collector (2014)
Witch Mountain, “Your Corrupt Ways (Sour the Hymn)” from Mobile of Angels (2014)

Total running time: 1:54:28

Thank you for listening.

Download audiObelisk Transmission 040

Lo-Pan playing Roadburn has been a while coming, or at least that’s how it feels to me, but it’s good that the Ohio fuzzsome foursome will head to Roadburn 2015 on the heels of their most accomplished album yet. The forthcoming Colossus presents Lo-Pan‘s sound much the same way a steamroller is presented to what will soon be a parking lot, and I’ve no doubt they’ll kill it in Tilburg in the fine tradition of Gozu, Freedom Hawk and Wo Fat in representing Small Stone Records‘ brand of heavy rock.

Also today comes the news that the lineup is complete for the Enslaved/Wardruna curated main stage and that Bast and Motorpsycho-offshoot Spidergawd have also been added. Good times all around.

Goes like this:

Houses of the Holistic, Roadburn 2015’s Curated Event: Line-up Main Stage Complete

Spidergawd (ft. Motorpsycho’s Bent Sæther & Kenneth Kapstad), Lo-Pan and Bast confirmed for 20th edition Roadburn Festival

Roadburn Festival 2015 Ticket Pre-Sales Start Thursday, Oct 16th 2014 at 21:00 CET; Pre-Sales Party at The 013 Venue (NL)

Roadburn’s special curated events put a unique spin on the already eclectic nature of the festival, and are also accurate reflections of the influences and interests of the guest curators. In 2013 Jus Osborn (Electric Wizard) turned the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands, into ground zero for the world’s most cutting-edge doom and acid rock, while 2014 saw Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) offer up a master class in some of the greatest progressive rock ever created.

On Friday, April 11, 2015 the main stage at 013 will become a gathering place for heathen spirits, as Houses Of The Holistic will feature six acts that vividly reflect the epic grandeur of heavy music, and most vitally, Scandinavia. In addition to performances by Enslaved and Wardruna, featuring curators Ivar Bjørnson and Einar Selvik respectively, as well as the special Enslaved/Wardruna collaboration Skuggsjá, Norwegian avant-garde act Virus and Icelandic post-metal favourites Sólstafir, highly influential UK gothic innovators Fields Of The Nephilim will make an exclusive special guest appearance.

In related news, Spidergawd is a Norwegian sort-of supergroup featuring Motorpsycho’s Bent Sæther (bass), Kenneth Kapstad (drums) and Per Borten of Cadilac-fame – the only Trondheim band that ever got close to Norway’s much revered rock titans.

However, Spidergawd is a band in its own right, and on their bludgeoning S/T debut, the band, completed by Rolf Martin Snustad on saxophone, proffer a bulldozing, fuzzed out post-boogie assault, which owes equal debts to ZZ Top, MC5, Foghat or even Savoy Brown.

Yes, this is full-on heavy 70s worship, delivered with relish by a bunch of Hard Rock aficionados that are currently creating quite a buzz in Norway, and will capture the 20th edition of Roadburn Festival by storm when they hit Het Patronaat on Thursday, April 9.

For the better part of the past five years, Ohio fuzz rockers Lo-Pan have been on tour in support of their 2009 sophomore outing, Sasquanout, and 2011’s Salvador, turning them into one of the underground’s hardest touring bands.

Salvador was a pinnacle for Lo-Pan’s blend of their 70s rock heritage shot through with 80s metal fire, a fluid groove, and soulful vocals, pushing the band beyond the confines of the stoner rock genre.

Hot on the heels of the their forthcoming album, Colossus – the band’s fourth overall and second full-length for Detroit’s Small Stone Records – Lo-Pan will kick a good deal of ass at the 20th edition of Roadburn Festival on Sunday, April 12 at the 013 venue.

Colossus marks a meaner, more precise Lo-Pan with the band a tighter and more efficient-sounding unit than they’ve ever been!

London-based blackened doom triad Bast have also been confirmed for Roadburn 2015. Over the last year Bast have managed to staunchly hold their own on stages shared with such behemoths as Primitive Man and Coltsblood and next year will see them upping their game yet more and bringing the hammer down at Roadburn in the Green Room on Sunday, April 12.

Tickets for the 20th edition of Roadburn Festival, set for April 9 – 12 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands, will go on sale on Thursday, October 16, 2014. Set your alarm and get ready to score your tickets at 21:00 CET!

We are pleased to report that there will be NO price increase this year. Three-day tickets will be available for 165 Euros (excl. servicefees); four-day tickets will cost 185 Euros (excl. service fees). Afterburner-only tickets will cost 32.50 Euros (excl. service fees). Please note that one-day tickets are not available for the Thursday, Friday or Saturday Roadburn dates. Online buyers can order a maximum of four tickets.

For everyone in the Netherlands and Belgium: we are aware that your local ticket outlets will not be open when pre-sales start, which is why we are throwing another pre-sales party at the 013 venue in Tilburg (NL). From 19:00 CET – 20:30 CET you will be able to purchase a maximum of four paper tickets for Roadburn Festival 2015. Guaranteed!

In addition to making it easy to get tickets, the pre-sales party is going to be a blast! This year, we have invited The Machine and Radar Men From The Moon to provide the soundtrack. More info HERE.

Curated by Ivar Bjørnson (Enslaved) and Wardruna‘s Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik, Roadburn Festival 2015 (including Skuggsjá, Enslaved, Wardruna, Fields of the Nephilim, Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin performing Dawn of The Dead and Susperia in its entirety, Zombi, Sólstafir, White Hills, Bongipper, Floor and The Heads as Artist In Residence among others) will run for four days from Thursday, April 9 to Sunday, April 12 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival
https://twitter.com/roadburnfest
roadburn.com

Lo-Pan, “Regulus”