Starmonger Occultation Archives

Starmonger Premiere “Black Lodge” Video; Occultation Out Nov. 29

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Reviews on September 25th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Starmonger will release their new album, Occultation, Nov. 29 through Interstellar Smoke Records. Technically speaking, “Black Lodge” — video premiering below — is the second single from it, following behind a standalone release last year for “Page of Swords” (premiered here) that established the new configuration of the trio, with guitarist Arthur Desbois taking over the frontman role and bassist Mathias Friedman joining the rhythm section with drummer Seb Antoine, both of them also adding backing vocals to Desbois‘ leads.

“Page of Swords” came out as the band were setting themselves to the task of recording the rest of Occultation to follow-up 2020’s debut long-player, Revelations (review here), and “Black Lodge” opens the second album with a vibrant chug and a vocal reach that that might make one wonder why Desbois wasn’t singing in the first place. Among the hints Starmonger are willing to drop as to where the album is headed is in the classic doom aspect of the main riff around which “Black Lodge” is built.

As Desbois‘ vocal has a medieval tinge and a tendency toward epic stylizations that plays out in the subsequent, more angularly-rhtyhmic “Conjunction” and the generally quieter “Serpent” that finds itself in two larger swells of volume and dimmer-sun roll, Occultation resounds with doomly undertones, and the scream, riff and thud at the start of centerpiece “Mothra” aren’t exactly fighting the impression, but if it’s doom — and I’m not 100 percent it is; at least not exclusively — it is a deceptively individualized take, as Starmonger are just as comfortable in psychedelic expanse as in “Serpent” as they are crushing grandiose tales.

I’m well aware “psychedelic doom” isn’t a new idea, and if you want to put “progressive” somewhere in there too because the songs and arrangements are thought out and the band know what they’re doing even as “Page of Swords” takes classic mid-Ozzy Sabbathian blues groove as its foundation and expands from there, fine. I honestly doubt Starmonger do much quibbling about genre one way or the other, and given the fluidity with which Occultation plays out, leaning into desert idolatry in he penultimate “Phobos” after dropping hints in that regard across “Page of Swords” along with everything else going on, their time is well spent.

“Phobos” is the longest track at just over seven minutes, and from its mellower-vibing outset, it unfurls with characteristic presence and isn’t necessarily in a rush, but like a lot of what surrounds, finds itself in a pocket of groove that feels right to let the melodies breathe and the distortion hit simultaneously. That the band are unwilling to be contained in a single microgenre is a thing to respect, and where in many hands, a blend like theirs might come off as disjointed in the listening experience, from “Black Lodge” through the memorable finale “Supernova,” with proggy shimmer-drift in its start and an intricate bounce en route to the cosmic declarations with which it caps, Starmonger bring cohesion of purpose and craft such that the material never gets away from them. It’s not chaos, or even controlled chaos, but it is their own, and it wouldn’t work coming from a lot of bands.

The video for “Black Lodge” premiering below finds Starmonger on a cave adventure. Directed by Antoine, the group find some paintings on the walls, a creepy contortionist, and hooded figures riffing out — as one will. Needless to say, a chase through the woods ensues, and everybody faces up to the horrible threat of… malevolent… bloody… bellydancing? Good luck getting out of that one, gentlemen. I won’t spoil who the hooded figures are, but either way, the clip is a good time and no less composed than the song it bears.

Album info follows the video below in the blue text. Please enjoy:

Starmonger, “Black Lodge” video premiere

First single from the album “OCCULTATION”, out Nov. 29th via Interstellar Smoke Records (vinyl LP / CD / Digital) https://interstellarsmokerecords.bigcartel.com/

Starmonger on “Black Lodge”:

“One of our most ‘heavy rock’ tracks, built like an exquisite corpse alternating frenetic riffs, ghostly vocals, epic chorus and electric spins. The song went through a thousand versions and ideas before crystallising around a common energy.
Evoking a pulp story with obvious Lynchian and Lovecraftian references, Black Lodge is the story of a character lured into a trap set by occult powers. Replaced by an evil doppelganger, he becomes a prisoner of his own conscience, condemned to be a powerless spectator for the rest of his life. The song symbolises the possibility of the worst in all of us, capable of profoundly transforming us with no turning back.”

Video directed & edited by Seb Antoine.
Starring : Neko Hecate as the Explorer / the Priestres
Cinematography and grading : Pierre-Emmanuel Leydet
Band photo by Cécile Corbois

Space rock, doom, desert, classic rock.. STARMONGER’s new album ‘Occultation’ draws on the classics to compose their intergalactic epic soundtrack. This heroic stoner record with its charismatic vocals, embarks its audience on an occult sonic journey. Built like tales, the seven tracks illustrate a limitless imagination where strange shamanic hallucinations rub shoulders with an interplanetary class struggle.

“Each of the tracks on Occultation evokes a literal or inner struggle, and has a temporal and spatial progression. These themes are reflected throughout the album’s artwork, which we designed and created ourselves. The album cover is an abstraction of wisps of smoke, an unknown planet and an imperfect alignment. The tracks are linked together by a raw symbolism evoking mysticism and forgotten stories” comment the band.

TRACK LISTING ‘Occultation’
1. Black Lodge
2. Conjunction
8. Serpent
4. Mothra
5. Page Of Swords
6. Phobos
7. Supernova

Recorded by Jéröme Richelme and Stoneriver Audio at DGD Studio, Pantin (France), except “Page of Swords”, recorded by Vincent Liard.
Mixed and mastered by Jéröme Richelme.
Artwork and layout: Starmonger.

STARMONGER:
Arthur Desbois: lead vocals, guitar
Mathias Friedman: bass, backing vocals
Seb Antoine: drums, backing vocals