Posted in Questionnaire on February 9th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
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: Deven Andersen of Elk Witch
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I create music with the goal of being heavy and impactful. I came to being a musician through my obsession with music and wanting to make music that I like to hear, feel and play. I started playing guitar at around 12 trying to learn songs from Metallica, Megadeth, etc. A few years later I came across the Corrosion Of Conformity, Deliverance album. I think the sound of that album lies somewhere in the realm of stoner, doom and sludge. That set me off on the path that I am on today which is more rooted in Sabbath.
Describe your first musical memory.
My first musical memory or at least one that sticks in my head was my dad rocking some ZZ Top vinyl on his home stereo back in the 80’s. The album was Eliminator. I loved the sound of an overdriven guitar right from the start. Wasn’t too much longer when I got a walkman for my birthday. My grandfather was a jazz drummer in LA and was glad to see me getting into music. When he was up to visit he went to the local music store and asked them what was the “hip” rock music for a kid. I ended up with tapes from Van Halen, Starship, and REO Speedwagon from what I remember. Since then music has always been a constant in my life.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
My best musical memory was from last spring when we went out on our first regional tour. I’ll never forget all the venues, bands and good times we had. Other than that, I have been to some really good shows over the years. One band I love seeing live is Elder. I saw them at Stumpfest in Portland, OR a few years ago and again this year at Dante’s in Portland. Both times were epic.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I guess it would have been when I was 23 or so, I was into punk bands like Bad Religion and Pennywise which led to reading a bunch of Carl Sagan books. His writing advocates for skeptical thinking and the scientific method. After finishing several of the books I had a completely different view of religion
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
I feel like personally it leads to greater satisfaction and the ability to get ideas out of my head and through the speakers. I do feel sometimes it can be a double edge sword though. At least in heavy rock music, progression can take you off on a different path or sound that strays off your core sound.
How do you define success?
I define success by accomplishing the goals you set out to achieve. It’s a moving target as things progress. For me after I accomplish a goal I usually set a higher goal to see how far I can take things.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I once rolled up on a guy laying on the ground with his leg going in a direction that wasn’t normal. He had just crashed on a dirt bike, I’m assuming his tibia / fibula had full breakage.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I have been wanting to create a music video for one of our songs. Maybe it’s the 80’s kid in me but I love music videos. I wish old school MTV would make a comeback.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Making yourself or someone feel something as you listen or look at it. Art is being able to create and express something that you like, of course it’s cool if others like it as well!
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I’m rebuilding an engine for my Econoline van myself from the block up. I’m looking forward to wrapping up the rebuild then swapping in the new engine.
Also I have some off time that I’m looking forward to. I’ll be hanging with my family and kids for a few weeks.
The digital edition of Paralyzed‘s second album, Heavy Road, will be released this Friday, July 15, through StoneFly Records. The same date marks the opening of vinyl preorders ahead of a slated Oct. 15 arrival, which puts it precisely one year to the day since the Bramberg, Germany, heavy bluesin’ four-piece issued their self-titled debut (review here) on the same imprint. That in itself should tell you something about the classic-minded ethic under which the band work — one year, one record — but their vibe throughout the eight songs of Heavy Road is more than enough to get the point across in less subtle fashion. The swing of “Pilgrim Boots” like an organ-laced Rolling Stones discovering fuzz in its payoff. Or the opener “Devil’s Bride,” which may or may not be a sequel to “Lucifer’s Road (My Baby and Me)” from Paralyzed, unfurling across 7:38 as the longest track on the album (immediate points) and its anchor lyric, “I do believe she died by the sword,” over-the-top midsection and dramatically shredded finish.
As one would hope, Heavy Road was recorded live at least in its basic tracks, with engineering, mixing and mastering by Jörg Völker at Voelker Studio Bamberg, and it brings the band not only into conversation with the heavy ’70s and the retro-idolizations of various vintage amp hounds from Graveyard on down the line to today’s various practitioners, but also with themselves, building on the accomplishments of the first record in what sounds like a direct, wilful drive to move forward creatively.
This is evident in the songwriting from the outset. Though one might say lead guitarist Michael Binder lays it on a bit thick vocally in that midsection — and I think that’s the point — there’s no question “Devil’s Bride” sets the mood and tempo for the rest of what follows. Binder, along with guitarist/organist Caterina Böhner, bassist Philipp Engelbrecht and drummer Florian Thiele bring past and present together fluidly in their style, and the engagement with color in the lyrics throughout, whether it’s “Orange Carpet,” whatever’s purple in “Mayday,” or “Black Trees Pt. 1” and “Black Trees Pt. 2,” and contrasting closer “White Jar” broaden the Doorsy spirit of “Coal Mine,” which builds from its open beginning into one of Heavy Road‘s most satisfyingly shoved directives.
The vocals are a major unifying factor across Heavy Road‘s span, with Binder‘s throaty approach more forward perhaps than on the self-titled, but likewise more confident. In the strutting garage rock of “Mayday” and “Black Trees Pt. 1,” one is reminded particularly of Baltimore’s The Flying Eyes, while “Pilgrim Boots” meets its Morrisonian slurring of words with an expanse of guitar soloing, not as urgent as, say, “White Jar” at the finish, or the brazen boogie of “Black Trees Pt. 2,” but not far off either. Whatever else it may do or be, Heavy Road is a stomper, energetically wrought and conceived in connection with classic heavy but developing its own take within that, showing progression in the short time since the debut even in the increase in organ quotient, with Böhner taking on what were guest duties last time around and featuring keys on “Devil’s Bride,” “Orange Carpet,” “Pilgrim Boots,” and “White Jar” — half the record, at least.
Not every song has room for those sustained organ notes — “Black Trees Pt. 2” walks by and waves — but where they fit, they fit well, and it demonstrates Paralyzed‘s interest in continuing to try new ideas, moods and atmospheres, which is something that Heavy Road further bears out in the builds of “Black Trees Pt. 1,” “Devil’s Bride” (is that you, Phantom of the Opera riff?) and the particularly hard-driving finish of “Coal Mine” ahead of “White Jar” closing out. The careening from one moment to the next, the way the album sets and knocks down its targets, the fact that there’s a plan underneath while it sounds like they just rolled up and let rip — it’s all testament to Paralyzed‘s conveyance of aesthetic and purposeful craft. These elements served the group well a year ago, they serve them well on Heavy Road, and one suspects that if they have another LP ready for Oct. 2023, they’ll do likewise then too. Some things are just timeless.
In advance of Heavy Road‘s release on Friday the album is streaming in full on the player below.
Please enjoy:
StoneFly Records is honored to announce the return of Bamberg, Germany based quartet PARALYZED for their newest album on 180g vinyl. Heavy Road is the highly anticipated follow up to their much-lauded self-titled album.
Paralyzed are proud to present you their brand-new full-length studio album called HEAVY ROAD. It´s a wild mixture of Heavy Blues Rock, 70´s Rock and Stoner with loads of shimmering straight organ and psychedelic wafting wah wah guitar sounds backed up with solid stamping bass lines and fogging drum sounds. The album was live recorded at the Voelker Studio in Bamberg. Recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by Jörg Völker.
Paralyzed – Heavy Road will be released digitally on July 15th, 2022.
Vinyl Pre-Order will go live at the same date on July 15th, 2022.
Vinyl will be officially released on October 21st, 2022.
Stonefy Records is very excited to give this album a spectacular vinyl treatment. The vinyl edition has been mixed and mastered by Jörg Völker. We open the doors for the vinyl pre-orders on July 15th, 2022, at 19:00 CET/1pm EDT/10am PDT/6pm BST.
Tracklisting: 1. Devil’s Bride 2. Orange Carpet 3. Mayday 4. Black Trees Pt.1 5. Pilgrim Boots 6. Black Trees Pt.2 7. Coal Mine 8. White Jar
PARALYZED is: Michael Binder – Vocals & Solo Guitar Caterina Böhner – Rhythm Guitar & Organ Philipp Engelbrecht – Bass Guitar Florian Thiele – Drums
I don’t know what day it is. The holiday here in the States has me all screwed up. I know it’s not the weekend anymore because I’m posting today, but really, if this is for Tuesday or Wednesday, I’m kind of at a loss. What I do know is that it’s 10 more records, and some quick math at the “71-80” below — which, yes, I put there ahead of time when I set up the back end of these posts so hopefully I don’t screw it up; it’s a whole fucking process; never ask me about it unless you want to be so bored at by the telling that your eyeballs explode — tells me today Wednesday, so I guess I figured it out. Hoo-ray.
Three quarters of the way through, which feels reasonably fancy. And today’s a good one, too. I hope as always that you find something you dig. Now that I know what day it is, I’m ready to start.
Quarterly Review #71-80:
MWWB, The Harvest
It’s difficult to separate MWWB‘s The Harvest from the fact that it might be the Welsh act’s final release, as frontwoman Jessica Ball explained here. Their synth-laced cosmic doom certainly deserves to keep going if it can, but on the chance not, The Harvest suitably reaps the fruit of the progression the band began to undertake with 2015’s Nachthexen (review here), their songs spacious despite the weight of their tones and atmospheric even at their most dense. Proggy instrumental explorations like “Let’s Send These Bastards Whence They Came” and “Interstellar Wrecking” and the semi-industrial, vocals-also-part-of-the-ambience “Betrayal” surround the largesse of the title-track, “Logic Bomb,” the especially lumbering “Strontium,” and so on, and “Moon Rise” caps with four and a half minutes of voice-over-guitar-and-keys atmospherics, managing to be heavy even without any of the usual trappings thereof. If this is it, what a run they had, both when they were Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard and with this as their potential swansong.
Look. Maybe it’s a fan-piece, but screw it, I’m a fan. And as someone who liked the second run of Corrosion of Conformity‘s Animosity-era lineup, this previously-unreleased LP from the three-piece that included C.O.C. bassist/vocalist Mike Dean and drummer/vocalist Reed Mullin (R.I.P.), as well as guitarist/vocalist Jason Browning, is only welcome. I remember when they put out the single on Southern Lord in 2010, you couldn’t really get a sense of what the band was about, but there’s so much groove in these songs — I’m looking right at you, “Hard Time Killing Floor” — that it’s that much more of a bummer the three-piece didn’t do anything else. Of course, Mullin rejoining Dean in C.O.C. wasn’t a hardship either, but especially in the aftermath of his death last year, it’s bittersweet to hear his performances on these songs and a collection of tracks that have lost none of their edge for the decade-plus they’ve sat on a shelf or hard drive somewhere. Call it a footnote if you want, but the songs stand on their own merits, and if you’re going to tell me you’ve never wanted to hear Dean sing “The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown),” then I think you and I are just done speaking for right now.
Seven Nines and Tens, Over Opiated in a Forest of Whispering Speakers
I agree, it’s a very long album title. And the band name is kind of opaque in a kind of opaque way. Double-O-paque. And the art by Ahmed Emad Eldin (Pink Floyd, etc.) is weird. All of this is true. But I’m going to step outside the usual review language here, and instead of talking about how Vancouver post-noise rock trio Seven Nines and Tens explore new melodic and atmospheric reaches while still crushing your rib cage on their first record for the e’er tastemaking Willowtip label, I’m just going to tell you listen. Really. That’s it. If you consider yourself someone with an open mind for music that is progressive in its artistic substance without conforming necessarily to genre, or if you’re somebody who feels like heavy music is tired and can’t connect to the figurative soul, just press play on the Bandcamp embed and see where you end up on the other side of Over Opiated in a Forest of Whispering Speakers‘ 37 minutes. Even if it doesn’t change your life, shaking you to your very core and giving you a new appreciation for what can be done on a level of craft in music that’s still somehow extreme, just let it run and then take a breath afterward, maybe get a drink of water, and take a minute to process. I wrote some more about the album here if you want the flowery whathaveyou, but really, don’t bother clicking that link. Just listen to the music. That’s all you need.
In March 2021, T.G. Olson, best known as the founding guitarist/vocalist for Across Tundras, released a self-titled solo album (review here). He’s had a slew of offerings out since — as he will; Olson is impossible to keep up with but one does one’s best — but II would seem to be a direct follow-up to that full-length’s declarative purpose, continuing and refining the sometimes-experimentalist, sometimes purposefully traditional folk songwriting and self-recording exploration Olson began (publicly, at least) a decade ago. Several of II‘s cuts feature contributions from Caleb R.K. Williams, but Olson‘s ability to build a depth of mix — consider the far-back harmonica in “Twice Gone” and any number of other flourishes throughout — is there regardless, and his voice is as definitively human as ever, wrought with a spirit of Americana and a wistfulness for a West that was wild not for its guns but the buffalo herds you could see from space and an emotionalism that makes the lyrics of “Saddled” seem all the more personal, whether or not they are, or the lines in “Enough Rope” that go, “Always been a bit of a misanthrope/Never had a healthy way to cope,” and don’t seem to realize that the song itself is the coping.
Issued on limited blue vinyl through StoneFly Records, Freebase Hyperspace‘s first full-length, Planet High, is much more clearheaded in its delivery than the band would seem to want you to think. Sure, it’s got its cosmic echo in the guitar and the vocals and so on, but beneath that are solidified grooves shuffling, boogieing and underscoring even the solo-fueled jam-outs on “Golden Path” and “Introversion” with a thick, don’t-worry-we-got-this vibe. The band is comprised of vocalist Ayrian Quick, guitarist Justin Acevedo, bassist Stephen Moore and drummer Peter Hurd, and they answer 2018’s Activation Immediate not quite immediately but with fervent hooks and a resonant sense of motion. It’s from Portland, and it’s a party, but Planet High upends expectation in its bluesy vocals, in its moments of drift and in the fact that “Cat Dabs” — whatever that means, I don’t even want to look it up — is an actual song rather than a mess of cult stoner idolatries, emphasizing the niche being explored. And just because it bears mentioning, heavy rock is really, really white. More BIPOC and diversity across the board only makes the genre richer. But even those more general concerns aside, this one’s a stomper.
Not calling out other reviews (they exist; I haven’t read any), but any writeup about Melt Motif‘s debut album, A White Horse Will Take You Home, that doesn’t include the word “sultry” is missing something. Deeply moody on “Sleep” and the experimental-sounding “Black Hole” and occasionally delving into that highly-processed ’90s guitar sound that’s still got people working off inspiration from Nine Inch Nails‘ The Downward Spiral even if they don’t know it — see the chugs of “Mine” and “Andalusian Dog” for clear examples — the nine-track/37-minute LP nonetheless oozes sex across its span, such that even the sci-fi finale “Random Access Memory” holds to the theme. The band span’s from São Paulo, Brazil, to Bergen, Norway, and is driven by Rakel‘s vocals, Kenneth Rasmus Greve‘s guitar, synth and programming, and Joe Irente‘s bass, guitar, more synth and more programming. Together, they are modern industrial/electrionica in scope, the record almost goth in its theatrical pruning, and there’s some of the focus on tonal heft that one finds in others of the trio’s ilk, but Melt Motif use slower pacing and harder impacts as just more toys to be played with, and thus the album is deeply, repeatedly listenable, the clever pop structures and the clarity of the production working as the bed on which the entirety lays in waiting repose for those who’d take it on.
Moongazer is the second full-length from Bologna, Italy-based heavy psychedelic blues rockers Tenebra, and a strong current of vintage heavy rock runs through it that’s met head-on by the fullness of the production, by which I mean that “Cracked Path” both reminds of Rainbow — yeah that’s right — and doesn’t sound like it’s pretending it’s 1973. Or 1993, for that matter. Brash and raucous on its face, the nine-song outing proves schooled in both current and classic heavy, and though “Winds of Change” isn’t a Scorpions cover, its quieter take still offers a chance for the band to showcase the voice of Silvia, whose throaty, push-it-out delivery becomes a central focus of the songs, be it the Iommic roll of “Black Lace” or the shuffling closer “Moon Maiden,” which boasts a guest appearance from Screaming Trees‘ Gary Lee Conner, or the prior “Dark and Distant Sky,” which indeed brings the dark up front and the distance in its second, more psych-leaning second half. All of this rounds out to a sound more geared toward groove than innovation, but which satisfies in that regard from the opening guitar figure of “Heavy Crusher” onward, a quick nod to desert rock there en route to broader landscapes.
Doom Lab, IV: Ever Think You’re Smart... And Then Find Out That You Aren’t?
With a drum machine backing, Doom Lab strums out riffs over the 16 mostly instrumental tracks of the project’s fourth demo since February of this year, Doom Lab IV: Ever Think You’re Smart... And Then Find Out That You Aren’t?, a raw, sometimes-overmodulated crunch of tone lending a garage vibe to the entire procession. On some planet this might be punk rock, and maybe tucked away up in Anchorage, Alaska, it’s not surprising that Doom Lab would have a strange edge to their craft. Which they definitely do. “Clockwork Home II (Double-Thick Big Bottom End Dub)” layers in bass beneath a droning guitar, and “Diabolical Strike (w/ False Start)” is a bonus track (with vocals) that’s got the line, “You’ll think that everything is cool but then I’ll crush your motherfucking soul,” so, you know, it’s like that. Some pieces are more developed than others, as “Deity Skin II” has some nuanced layering of instrumentation, but in the harsh high end of “Spiral Strum to Heaven II” and the mostly-soloing “Infernal Intellect II,” Doom Lab pair weirdo-individualism with an obvious creative will. Approach with caution, because some of Doom Lab‘s work is really strange, but that’s clearly the intention from the start.
What you see is what you get in the sometimes manic, sometimes blissed-out, sometimes punk, sometimes fluid, always rocking Medicine by White Fuzzy Bloodbath, which hearkens to a day when the universe wasn’t defined by internet-ready subgenre designations and a band like this San Jose three-piece had a chance to be signed to Atlantic, tour the universe, and eventually influence other outcasts in their wake. Alas, props to White Fuzzy Bloodbath‘s Elise Tarens — joined in the band by Alex Bruno and Jeff Hurley — for the “Interlude” shout, “We’re White Fuzzy Bloodbath and the world has no fucking idea!” before the band launch into the duly raw “Chaos Creator.” Songs like “Monster,” “Beep-Bop Lives” and “Still” play fast and loose with deceptively technical angular heavy rock, and even the eight-minute title-track that rounds out before the cover of Beastie Boys‘ “Sabotage” refuses to give in and be just one thing. And about that cover? Well, not every experiment is going to lead to gold, but it’s representative on the whole of the band’s bravery to take on an iconic track like that and make their own. Not nearly everybody would be so bold.
With the vocal melody in its resonant hook, the lead guitar line that runs alongside and the thickened verse progression that complements, Secret Iris almost touch on Euro-style melancholic doom with the title-track of their debut 7″, What Are You Waiting For, but the Phoenix, Arizona, three-piece are up to different shenanigans entirely on the subsequent “Extrasensory Rejection (Winter Sanctuary),” which is faster, more punk, and decisively places them in a sphere of heavy grunge. Both guitarist Jeffrey Owens (ex-Goya) and bassist Tanner Grace (Sorxe) contribute vocals, while drummer Matt Arrebollo (Gatecreeper) is additionally credited with “counseling,” and the nine-minutes of the mini-platter first digitally issued in 2021 beef up a hodgepodge of ’90s and ’00s rock and punk, from Nirvana grunge to Foo Fighters accessibility, Bad Religion‘s punk and rock and a slowdown march after the break in the midsection that, if these guys were from the Northeast, I’d shout as a Life of Agony influence. Either way, it moves, it’s heavy, it’s catchy, and just the same, it manages not to make a caricature of its downer lyrics. The word I’m looking for is “intriguing,” and the potential for further intrigue is high.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
As they’ve shown a wont to do on occasion, Pittsburgh four-piece ZOM have announced their intention to head abroad for a short stint of select dates. Heralding their 2022 album, Fear and Failure, on StoneFly Records, the band will perform select UK shows in the company of The Velvet Queens from Lincolnshire in England, beginning in Newcastle before heading further north into Scotland for a stop at the famed Bannerman’s in Edinburgh — where once upon a time Conan recorded a live album — and looping back down to Rotherham, which is one of the not-insignificant drives on the stint.
Perhaps this is kindergarten-level insight, but I’m happy tours like this can happen again. I’m glad US bands can get out to where the action is — nothing against the creativity of the States’ underground, but the audience is in UK/EU and if you’re reading this you already know it — and that the possibility at least exists for Euro acts to come over here for festivals and so on, even if the reality of that is ridiculously and needlessly more difficult. But at least it’s possible. At least you can leave the fucking house. Isn’t that in itself enough reason to do so? I’m asking as someone who just had (kinda still has but let’s not talk about it) covid. Is this not the stuff of life?
Dates from the PR wire:
ZOM announce 2022 UK Tour
Pittsburgh, PA (USA) groove-heavy rockers, ZOM (StoneFly Records), are headed to the UK in late August, 2022.
ZOM initially had a UK tour booked in 2020 but we all know what happened that year.
Gero: “Yeah, it was a drag. We didn’t even get to announce it because we were watching this new virus thing like everybody else. You know how the rest went. Marc Walsh (booking agent – Rock the Foundry) has been a huge help. He had to start from scratch this year but put together a helluva run for us in the UK, where we’ve never played. Only Matt (guitar) has ever even been there.
“Obviously there’s so much rock n’ roll history there, never mind the geography and architecture. The four of us always dive into new cultures and local history so we couldn’t be more stoked to be going to England and Scotland. Most of all though, we can’t wait to play for some of our fans over there and make new ones. England’s been good to us. The Velvet Queens are going to be joining us on the road and it’s gonna be a blast.”
DATES: 08.31 Trillians Newcastle 09.01 Bannermans Edinburgh 02.09 The Hive Rotherham 03.09 Tap ‘n’ Tumbler Nottingham 04.09 The Metal Monocle Leicester
ZOM is: Gero Von Dehn: Vocals/Guitars Sam Pesce: Bass Ben Zerbe: Drums, Percussion Matthew Tuite: Guitar
Tomorrow, May 13, marks the digital release and vinyl preorder launch for Greenseeker‘s debut album, The Wish. Set to release through StoneFly Records at the end of the month, the 2LP offering is relatively straightforward in its arrangements — guitar, keys, bass, drums, vocals — and earlier-Sabbathian in its loyalties, but not at all void of ambition. Harnessing its tale-telling sensibilities from folk-leaning ’70s heavy prog and bringing them together with classic doom vibes, the seven-song/53-minute undertaking — upwards of 58 if you get the vinyl with their 2020 cover of “Lucifer” by Axas on side D — the record presents a story beginning in opening track “The Iron Tree” that’s both grandiose and organic, mystical and real, maybe an allegory about power corrupting as a High Priestess seeks the magical stone that will supposedly make wishes come true.
And yes, if your head is already spinning thinking about what you’d wish for, I think that’s part of the point. But for second track “The Wheel and Stone,” which is shorter at 4:52 even with that King Crimsony chase in its midsection, every cut is over seven minutes long and closer “The Wish” culminates at 11:41, so there is no shortage of room for the four-piece of keyboardist/vocalist Lauren Hatch, guitarist Max Siegfried, bassist Selina Cleary and drummer Shea Gegan, to flesh out, go to exploring, and most of all, to take their time, which is precisely what they do throughout most of the record.
To wit, “The Iron Tree” begins with the melodic hum of organ and gradually unfurls toward its chorus, keys prominent alongside the softer guitar. There’s a tempo pickup by the end of the song, but not before a chorus that reminds of Patti Smith meets that increasing urgency head on. And “urgency” is relative, since even at its most intense — in the gallop of the second half of “The Wheel and Stone,” the distinctly proto-NWOBHM riff that begins “Return to the Mortal Plane” or the key-led bouncing progression that ends it, in the guitar solo-driven apex of “The Wish,” and so on — The Wish remains fairly laid back, not so much making a point of its patience since the movement within each piece is dynamic in how it works between one end of the song and the other.
That is to say, while the payoffs of “Diviner/Charmed Apprentice,” “The Iron Tree,” “Uncharted Realms” and “The Wish,” etc., are reliably in the back end of the songs, Greenseeker‘s debut is at least as much about voyage as destination, if not more. The penultimate “Master of the Storm” brings this into emphasis, with Hatch‘s keys again setting the fantasy atmosphere at the very start soon met by Gegan‘s far back drum thuds, which mark out a tension that the song mostly dares to leave hanging. Forward movement happens, but it’s not intended as a build in the same way as much of what comes before — there’s no specific point at which it “gets heavy.” It simply is.
Between that, the “Diviner” portion of “Diviner/Charmed Apprentice,” various breather-breaks throughout and the resonant jam that takes place in the title-track — something one hopes Greenseeker do more of from here on out; that blend of vital exploration and methodical, structured delivery is one rarely pulled off with such a natural feel for a band that has any relation to doom of any stripe, even plotted as it may be — The Wish is both understated in its presentation and notable for the breadth of its material. It is true to its willful engaging with ’70s roots in its vinyl-ready sound, and while it may be a first outing for the band with only their 2020 self-titled EP/demo prior, the hold it keeps on the listener is emblematic of Greenseeker‘s progressive drive. They are going to grow from here, refine the processes by which The Wish was made, which is as it should be. At least that’s one of the things I’d hope for if I had that stone. Also cash.
StoneFly has a release announcement following the full stream of the album below with more background on Greenseeker and the impending vinyl.
Please enjoy:
FROM PORTLAND, OREGON, HEAVY PSYCH / PROTO-METALLERS GREENSEEKER SIGNS TO STONEFLY RECORDS FOR A WORLDWIDE VINYL RELEASE OF THEIR ALBUM THE WISH ON MAY 27th, 2022.
StoneFly Records is very excited to announce the signing of Portland, OR Heavy Psych / Proto-Metallers Greenseeker and look forward to releasing their album The Wish on 180g vinyl. This album will be the 6th one released by StoneFly Records.
It hat was back in June 2021 when I was approached by Max Siegfried, axe wielder for Greenseeker to see if I was interested to release their new album The Wish. I was already familiar with the band. I loved their self-titled album they previously released in March 2020. I won’t lie, the perspective of releasing a 2LP was something putting me a bit on the fence. However, the fact that this album is so good and the willingness of the band to work me vanquished all my doubts! I would have been simply a fool to pass over that gem! A deal was cut between us. The fans of bands like Blood Ceremony, Uriah Heep, Rainbow or even Uncle Acid will most certainly by appealed by the evocative power of Greenseeker.
So, after few discussion with the band, we decided to lay down the album on the first 3 faces of the vinyl. Since it would have been a shame to waste a side, we decided to include on the fourth face, as a bonus song, the cover they released digitally in May 2020 of the song Lucifer by Axas. For those not familiar with Axas, they were a legendary Hard Rock/Psychedelic band hailing from the state of Indiana operating from the mid to the late seventies.
The Wish artwork was made by Jodie Beechem and the songs were mastered for digital and Vinyl by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Mastering.
Greenseeker’s The Wish will release digitally on May 13, 2022. Vinyl Pre-Order will go live at the same date. Vinyl will officially release on May 27th, 2022.
“The Wish” takes the listener on a journey through a fantasy universe filled with dark magic and mysterious characters. The High Priestess rules over the inhabitants of this realm through coercion and subterfuge, but fear of her own mortality and weakness leads her to seek an even greater power.
Several tales are told throughout the album, but the primary arc is played out in three acts: In The Wheel and the Stone, the High Priestess sends an adventurer out to find an enchanted stone believed to grant wishes, which she believes will sate her desire. In Uncharted Realms, an observer with the power to travel between worlds witnesses the Priestess unleash terror across the land and its citizens as her crusade for the stone wages on. Finally, in the title track, the Priestess holds the stone in her possession – but will it truly grant her wish?
GREENSEEKER IS: Lauren Hatch: Keyboard, Vocals Selina Cleary: Bass, Vocals Shea Gegan: Drums Max Siegfried: Guitar
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 26th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The 2020 debut album from Hammada, Atmos, has been picked up for vinyl release by StoneFly Records and will be available to preorder later this week. It’s damn near May already, which surprises me to realize, but I guess, you know, time and all that. Hammada join the roster of the burgeoning imprint, which already includes the likes of Paralyzed, Elk Witch, ZOM and No Stone, and if you didn’t hear Atmos at the time, one can hardly even call you late considering the journey the record’s had from its digital release until now. Just saying. Time means nothing. Did you know it’s almost May?
Get them tones warm’d up, vibe out, and dive in. The hype was pretty significant when the record came along, at least on that social-media-this-is-a-cool-thing-on-Bandcamp kind of way, but I can’t argue with that, since it is a cool thing, and indeed, it is on Bandcamp. Hype away, internet. I think that’s how vinyl releases happen in the first place these days.
StoneFly offers the following:
GERMAN PSYCHEDELIC DESERT ROCK BAND HAMMADA SIGNS TO STONEFLY RECORDS FOR A WORLDWIDE VINYL RELEASE OF THEIR ALBUM ATMOS ON MAY 6th, 2022.
StoneFly Records is stoked to announce the signing of Freiberg, Germany Psychedelic Desert Rockers Hammada and look forward to releasing their first album ATMOS on 2 x 180g vinyl. This album will be the 5th album released by StoneFly Records.
I recall back in 2020 that Atmos made a strong impression on me; you know that’s the kind of album you need to own on wax… But the album was only available digitally… So, when HAMMADA reached me, I didn’t think about it for too long, I knew this album deserved a vinyl release and I accepted quickly to help them do it.
ATMOS is the debut album by German Psychedelic Desert Rock band Hammada. The basic tracks have been recorded live in October 2018 at Barren Rock Studios in Freiberg, Saxony. Guitar Overdubs, Solos, Organ, Synth and Vocals have been recorded between November 2018 and September 2019 at Barren Rock Studio and with The Eden Project in Freiberg. Mixed by Lukas Jonscher at The Eden Project Studios in Dresden. Mastered by Yeti Cave Sounds in Leipzig.
Hammada’s ATMOS released digitally on June 26th, 2020. Vinyl officially releases on May 6th, 2022. Vinyl sales will go live on April 29th, 2022.
BAND BIO
The project HAMMADA was brought to life in 2012 by guitarist Christian Döring. Together with drummer Sönke Tautorus, who joined at the end of the same year, work began on own songs. In 2013 singer and organist Kristian Schulze and bassist Lenz Fiedler completed the quartet. In this line-up HAMMADA is active until today.
After releasing two EPs SFAIRA and Monument (both 2017), the band released their debut album ATMOS digitally in 2020. The sound of ATMOS is characterized by the alternation between fuzzy and psychedelic guitars, a deep bass and driving drums. In addition, there is a powerful, but for the genre rather unconventional voice, as well as the use of organ and synthesizer. The following year HAMMADA signed with the Canadian label StoneFly Records to release ATMOS on vinyl.
Lukas Jonscher (Eden Project): Recording, Mixing Tom Bretschneider (Barren Rock Studio): Recording Nathan Jonscher (Yeti Cave Sounds): Mastering Christian Döring (Sun Is Burning Visuals): Artwork
Hammada are: Kristian Schulze: Vocals, Organ Christian Döring: Guitars, Synthesizers Lenz Fiedler: Bass Guitar Sönke Tautorus: Drums
Here we are in the Spring 2022 Quarterly Review. I have to hope and believe you know what this means by now. It’s been like eight years. To reiterate, 10 reviews a day for this week. I’ve also added next Monday to the mix because there’s just so, so, so much out there right now, so this Quarterly Review will total 60 albums covered. It could easily be more. And more. And more. You get the point.
So while we’re on the edge of this particular volcano, looking down into the molten center of the Quarterly Review itself, I’ll say thanks for reading if you do at any point, and I hope you find something to make doing so worth the effort.
Here we go.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
Spidergawd, VI
Like clockwork, Spidergawd released V (review here), in 2019, and amid the chaos of 2020, they announced they’d have a new record out in 2021 — already the longest pause between LPs of their career — for which they’d be touring. The Norwegian outfit — who aren’t so much saviors of rock as a reminder of why it doesn’t need saving in the first place — at last offer the nine songs and 41 minute straight-ahead drive of VI with their usual aplomb, energizing a classic heavy rock sound and reveling in the glorious hooks of “Prototype Design” and “Running Man” at the outset, throwing shoulders with the sheer swag of “Black Moon Rising,” and keeping the rush going all the way until “Morning Star” hints toward some of their prior psych-prog impulses. They’ve stripped those back here, and on the strength of their songwriting and the shining lights that seem to accompany their performance even on a studio recording, they remain incomparable in working to the high standard of their own setting.
The first Eight Bells full-length for Prophecy Productions, Legacy of Ruin comes six years after their second LP, Landless (review here), and finds founding guitarist/vocalist Melynda Marie Jackson, bassist/guitarist/vocalist Matt Solis, drummer Brian Burke, a host of guests and producer Billy Anderson complicating perceptions of Pacific Northwestern US black metal. Across the six songs and in extended cuts like “The Well” and closer “Premonition,” Eight Bells remind of their readiness to put melodies where others fear tread, and to execute individualized cross-genre breadth that even in the shorter “Torpid Dreamer” remains extreme, whatever else one might call it in terms of style. “The Crone” and other moments remind of Enslaved, but seem to be writing a folklore all their own in that.
Swiss four-piece Blue Rumble bring organically-produced, not-quite-vintage-but-retro-informed heavy psych blues boogie on their self-titled debut full-length, impressing with the sharp edges around which the grooves curve, the channel-spanning, shred-ready solo of the guitars, and the organ that add so much to where vocals might otherwise be. The five-minute stretch alone of second cut “Cosmopolitan Landscape,” which follows the garage urgency of opener “God Knows I Shoulda Been Gone,” runs from a mellow-blues exploration into a psych hypnosis and at last into a classic-prog freakout before, miraculously, returning, and that is by no means the total scope of the album, whether it’s the winding progressions in “Cup o’ Rosie (Just Another Groovy Thing),” the laid back midsection of “Sunset Fire Opal” or the hey-is-that-flute on the shorter pastoral interlude “Linda,” as if naming the song before that “Think for Yourself” wasn’t enough of a Beatles invocation. The strut continues unabated in “The Snake” and the grittier “Hangman,” and closer “Occhio e Croce” (‘eye and cross,” in Italian) shimmers with Mellotron fluidity atop its central build, leaving the raw vitality of the drums to lead into a big rock finish well earned. Heads up, heavy rock and rollers. This is hot shit.
It’s palindrome time on Mainz, Germany’s The Mountain King‘s WolloW. Once the solo-project of guitarist/vocalist/programmer Eric McQueen, the experimentalist band here includes guitarist Frank Grimbarth and guest bassist Jack Cradock — you can really hear that bass on “II In Grium Imus Noctem Aram et Consumimur Igni” (hope you practiced your conjugations) and through five songs, they cross genres from the atmospheric heavygaze-meets-Warning of “I Bongnob” through the blackened crunch of the above-noted second cut to a gloriously dreamy and still morose title-track, and the driving expanse of “V DNA Sand.” Then they do it backwards, as “V DNA Sand” seems to flip halfway through. But they’re also doing it backwards at the same time as forward, so as The Mountain King work back toward album finale “bongnoB I,” what was reversed and what wasn’t has switched and the listener isn’t really sure what’s up or down, where they are or why. This, of course, is exactly the point. Take that, form and structure! Open your mind and let doom in!
Berlin trio Sheev prove adept at skirting the line of outright aggression, and in fact crossing it, while maintaining control over their direction and execution. Mind Conductor is their debut album, and it works well to send signals of its complexity, samples and obscure sounds on “The Workshop” giving over the riffs of immediate impact on “Well Whined.” The channel-spanning guitar pulls on “Saltshifter,” the harmonies in the midsection of “All I Can,” the going-for-it-Danny–Carey-style drums on the penultimate “Baby Huey” (and bonus points for that reference) — all of these and so much more in the nine-song/53-minute span come together fluidly to create a portrait of the band’s depth of approach and the obvious consideration they put into what they do. Closer “Snakegosh” may offer assurance they don’t take themselves too seriously, but even that song’s initial rolling progression can’t help but wind its way through later angularities. It will be interesting to hear the direction they ultimately take over the course of multiple albums, but don’t let that draw focus from what they accomplish on this first one.
Dudes got riffs. From Medford, Oregon, Elk Witch draw more from the sphere of modern heavy rockers like earlier The Sword or Freedom Hawk than the uptempo post-Red Fang party jams for which much of the Pacific Northwest is known, but the groove is a good time just the same. The six tracks of Beyond the Mountain are born out of the trio’s 2021 debut EP — wait for it — The Mountain, but the four songs shared between the two offerings have been re-recorded here, repositioned and sandwiched between opener “Cape Foulweather” and closer “The Plight of Valus,” so the reworking feels consistent from front to back. And anyway, it’s only been a year, so ease up. Some light burl throughout, but the vocals on “Coyote and the Wind’s Daughters” remind me of Chritus in Goatess, so there’s some outright doom at work too, though “Greybeard Arsenal” might take the prize for its shimmering back-half slowdown either way, and “The Plight of Valus” starts out with a seeming wink at Kyuss‘ “El Rodeo,” so nothing is quite so simply traced. Raw, but they’ll continue to figure out where they’re headed, and the converted will nod knowingly. For what it’s worth, I dig it.
If “evocative” is what New Hampshire post-metallic mostly-instrumentalists KYOTY were going for with their third full-length, could they possibly have picked something better to call it than Isolation? It’d be a challenge. And with opener “Quarantine,” songs like “Ventilate,” “Languish,” “Faith,” and “Rift,” “Respite” and closer “A Fog, A Future Like a Place Imagined,” the richly progressive unit working as the two-piece of Nick Filth and Nathaniel Parker Raymond weave poetic aural tapestries crushing and spacious in kind with the existential dread and vague flashes of hope in pandemic reality of the 2020s thus far. Still, they work in impressionist fashion, so that the rumbling crackle of “Onus” and the near-industrial slog of “Respite” represent place and idea while also standing apart as a not-quite-objective observer, the lighter float of the guitar in “Faith” becoming a wash before its resonant drone draws it to a close. At 70 minutes, there’s a lot to say for a band who doesn’t have lyrics, but spoken lines further the sense of verse, and remind of the humanity behind the programming of “Holter” or the especially pummeling “Rift.” An album deep enough you could listen to it for years and hear something new.
Andalusian storytellers Red Eye make it plain from the outset that their ambitions are significant, and the seven songs of their third full-length play out those ambitions across ultra-flowing shifts between serenity and heft, working as more than just volume trades and bringing an atmospheric sprawl that is intended to convey time as well as place. In 46 minutes, they do for doom and various other microgenres — post-metal, some more extreme moments in “Beorg” and the morse-code-inclusive closer “Æsce” — what earlier Opeth did for death metal, adding shifts into unbridled folk melody and sometimes minimalist reach. Clearly meant to be taken in its entirety, The Cycle functions beautifully across its stretch, and the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Antonio Campos (also lyrics), guitarist/vocalist Pablo Terol, bassist Antonio Muriel and drummer Ángel Arcas, bear weight of tone and history in kind, self-aware that the chants in “Tempel” brim with purpose, but expressive in the before and after such that they wherever they will and make it a joy to follow.
Originally recorded to come out in 2013, what would’ve been/is the Stoned Horses‘ self-titled debut full-length runs 12 tracks and swaps methodologies between instrumentalism and more verse/chorus-minded sludge rock. Riffs lead, in either case, and there’s a sense of worship that goes beyond Black Sabbath as the later “Scorpions Vitus” handily confirms. The semi-eponymous “A Stoned Horse” is memorable for its readiness to shout the hook at you repeatedly, and lest a band called Stoned Horses ever be accused of taking themselves too seriously, “My Horse is Faster Than Your Bike” is a sub-two-minute riffer that recalls late-’90s/early-’00s stoner rock fuckery, before everyone started getting progressive. Not short on charm, there’s plenty of substance behind it in “Le Calumet” like a northern Alabama Thunderpussy or the last cut, “The Legend of the Blue Pig,” which dares a bit more metal. Not groundbreaking, not trying to be, it’s a celebration of the tropes of genre given its own personality. I have nothing more to ask of it except what happened that it sat for nearly a decade without being released.
Antwerpen’s Gnome make it a hell of a lot of fun to trace their path across King, their second full-length, bringing in The Vintage Caravan‘s Óskar Logi early for “Your Empire” and finding a line between energetic, on-the-beat delivery and outright aggression, letting “Ambrosius” set the tone for what follows as they careen though cuts like the instrumental “Antibeast,” the swinging and catchy “Wencelas” and the crunching “Bulls of Bravik.” How do they do it? With the magic of shenanigans! As King (which “Wencelas” was) plays out, the suitably hatted trio get up to high grade nonsense on “Kraken Wanker” before “Stinth Thy Clep” and the 11-minute we-can-do-whatever-we-want-so-let’s-do-that-yes closer “Platypus Platoon” buries its later march amid a stream of ideas that, frankly, kind of sounds like it could just keep going. They are adventurous throughout the eight songs and 42 minutes, but have a solid foundation nonetheless of tone and consciousness, which are what save King from being a mess. It’s a hard balance to strike that they make sound easy.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 1st, 2022 by JJ Koczan
On March 11, StoneFly Records will start taking preorders for the vinyl edition of Elk Witch‘s debut full-length, Beyond the Mountain, ahead of a April 15 release. A week later, on March 18, the album will see its digital release, so if you’re not dead-set on hearing it on vinyl first, you’ll have a chance to dig in ahead of time to the natural follow-up built off of the Medford, Oregon, trio’s first EP, 2021’s The Mountain. And if you’re the CD type, well, I just got one in the mail about 10 minutes before writing this, so I know that exists too.
Comprised now of six songs that together run 37 minutes, the new release harnesses vibes from the Freedom Hawkish opener “Cape Foulweather” to the jazzier launch and more grandiose spaciousness of “The Plight of Valus” at the finish, bringing riffs and fuzz a-plenty in between, Deven Andersen‘s vocals pushed under the guitar to emphasize largesse and give a more immersive feel. It works, and that opening and closing bookend, as it happens, are also the two tracks that make the difference between The Mountain and Beyond the Mountain. All the material has also been re-recorded with Andersen helming, so it’s not like there’s a radical shift in sound between the “new” stuff and the “old,” which, mind you, still came out less than a year ago.
Tall trees, lots of rain, heavy riffs. Have at it:
OREGON-BASED STONER ROCK RIFFCRAFTERS ELK WITCH SIGNS TO STONEFLY RECORDS FOR A WORLDWIDE VINYL RELEASE OF THEIR NEW ALBUM BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN ON APRIL 15th, 2022.
StoneFly Records is stoked to announce the signing of Medford, OR stoner rock riffcrafters Elk Witch and look forward to release their first album Beyond The Mountain on 180g vinyl. This album will be the 4th album released by StoneFly Records.
Back in March 2021, I came across Elk Witch first EP called The Mountain. I really loved it and I saw a great deal of potential in this trio. I decided to approach the guys to see if they would be interested in remodeling their EP into a full LP by adding few more songs. They happened to be working on 2 new songs at that moment. A contract was shortly signed between us.
So, for this extended release they went back to the studio for an entirely new production of all the songs from their debut release The Mountain with the addition of two new songs. The songs were recorded in May 2021 and mixed in June by Deven Andersen at Vortex Studios. Later, in July, the songs were mastered for digital, CD and Vinyl by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering.
Elk Witch’s Beyond The Mountain will release digitally on March 18, 2022.
Vinyl will release on April 15th, 2022. Stonefly Records is excited to give this album a blistering vinyl treatment. The vinyl will be available in both Fly-High and Set-In-Stone edition.
We open the doors for the vinyl pre-order on March 11, 2021.
BEYOND THE MOUNTAIN TRACK LISTING: 1. Cape Foulweather 2. The Woodsmen 3. Llao’s Island 4. Coyote and the Wind’s Daughters 5. Greybeard Arsenal 6. The Plight of Valus
Elk Witch is: Deven Andersen: Guitar/ Vocals Darren Wostenberg: Bass Joe Coitus: Drums
