Swedish gruel-sludgers Walk Through Fire will self-release Till Aska on April 12. And, I mean, you can like the record if you want, but they’re not gonna take it easy on you. By design, Till Aska is extreme in sound and intense of purpose, with quiet stretches throughout like the intro to its opening title-track (and thus the record as a whole) and the first-five-minutes dirge reply of the finale “Rekviem” that are creepier than they are bludgeoning, but still carry a violent threat. With Andreas Olsson‘s low end punching you repeatedly about the head as the four-piece slog through churning wretched miseries made all the more monolithic by virtue of the lyrics being in Swedish — that is, the language barrier becomes part of the heavy — and delivered at the fore of the mix in harsh, mid-range, nodule-forming post-hardcore barks.
I’ll spare you the Ingmar Bergman comparisons, but yes, Till Aska‘s 53-minute/five-song stretch is plodding of tempo and seems to drain all the color from the world surrounding. It is either the band’s fourth or fifth album, depending on whom you ask, and follows the live-recorded 2020 outing Vår Avgrund, which, guess what, was also really, really fucking heavy and miserable, with longer songs and more noise. Lineup changes between the two releases have seen the band go from two guitars to just that of Ufuk Demir — who’s also the one self-flagellating those vocals — and brought Esaias Järnegard in on organ, while Olsson and drummer Juliusz Chmielewski give shape to the sad motion of the down, down, downer riffs in “Fall I Glömska” as the band conjure visions of being buried alive after tree roots pull you under the dirt by your ankles.
With the guitar so densely distorted, the bass chucking concrete throughout most of the proceedings and Demir‘s unipolar viciousness as a defining element, there are times like in the later reaches of centerpiece/shortest-track “Genom Sår” where Järnegard‘s organ is the only thing coming close to some kind of melody, and as that takes the form of sad notes floating and drawn out over the measures, even the idea of hope seems distant. They very clearly made it to be unsettling, and it is.
Till Aska is my first experience with Walk Through Fire — though they appeared here when announced for Desertfest London 2015, then supporting 2014’s Hope is Misery and sharing a stage with (among others) Noothgrush, which fits — and the spaces they leave open in the material, whether loud or subdued as they are building into the lurch of “Självförintelse,” are like traps for the listener. Some bands hook you with catchy choruses and uptempo movement, etc. Walk Through Fire, with an abiding bleakness of atmosphere and roiling aggression, feels as it plays out like you’re sinking deeper. The crash and feedback and scathe of “Självförintelse” gives way shortly before the nine-minute mark to a drone that’s not actually a sample of a cardiac monitor flatlining, but is evocative of one all the same, and it’s from there that “Rekviem” begins its instrumental course, mournful and disdaining.
Yeah, I was being glib above with ‘you can like it if you want,’ blah blah, but the truth is that Till Aska comes across as being precisely what Walk Through Fire wanted to make it, even unto the way the songs are laid out with the two longest pieces bookending and the others working toward the shortest in the middle. The seething, low, slow grind feels born of sludge but is darker, less punk and leant an almost gothic presence at times by the organ, and like a lot of extreme music across a spectrum of microgenres heavy or not, it’s not the kind of fare every listener is going to call accessible. That’s probably putting it mildly. “Resonates omnidirectional disgust” might be a better way to phrase.
But you know, sometimes that’s just what you need.
“Fall I Glömska” premieres below, followed by the preorder link and more info from the PR wire:
Walk Through Fire on “Fall I Glömska”:
This song was written on a piano and had the working title Nortt (referring to the Danish artist). The lyrics are a mantra repeating, “fall i glömska, fall isär, fall på plats” — “fall into oblivion, fall apart, fall into place.”
The Swedish avant-garde doom/sludge stalwarts Walk Through Fire are releasing their fourth full-length Till Aska on April 12, 2024. A monolithic portrayal of loss and grief, Till Aska – “To Ashes” in English – will first debut only on digital formats and streaming platforms. While physical releases aren’t currently planned, the band are open to label collaborations should the opportunity arise.
Representing the finest edge that their respective genres can offer on a global scale, Walk Through Fire has been steadily cementing themselves as a notable phenomenon over the past seventeen years. Blending down-tuned oppressive soundscapes with contemporary and classical music, the sonically unrelenting act has crafted a unique appearance for itself by means of uncompromisingly expanding the perimeters found in the more common understanding of what heavy music can be, resulting in an annihilating force to be reckoned with. Whether the black metal tendencies of their debut Furthest From Heaven or the dirges for life tones of Vår Avgrund, Walk Through Fire’s musical focal point has always been to become an aural catharsis – Till Aska being perhaps the most potent and poignant example of reaching that exact state.
From the most profound hellish depths to the soaring heights, the five tracks of Till Aska contain the very essence of Walk Through Fire while stretching the spectrum wider than ever before. The over fifty-minute endeavour is equally captivating as it is difficult, guaranteeing an immersive and rich experience to anyone willing to place themselves under its crushing weight. Walk Through Fire are no strangers to the transcendence of dread and its multiple manifestations, and while Till Aska crawls around its listener’s spine as a fiery serpent, it also offers resolve and spiritual consummation unlike ever heard before.
Walk Through Fire – Till Aska 1. Till aska (11:39) 2. Fall i glömska (10:50) 3. Genom sår (7:24) 4. Självförintelse (11:43) 5. Rekviem (12:09)
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Linus Andersson at Elementstudio, Gothenburg Original artwork Frau mit totem kind (1903) by Käthe Kollwitz
Ufuk Demir — Guitars & Vocals Andreas Olsson — Bass Juliusz Chmielewski — Drums Esaias Järnegard — Organ
As they’ve now established their own label in Bonebag Records and overseen the release of last year’s sophomore LP, Part II – Breach (review here), as well as an outing from Troy the Band and one impending from Terra Black — the news of which I haven’t even had a second to post here yet — it likely won’t be super-duper long before Swedish conceptualist epic doomers Cavern Deep start the gears grinding to issue their next album. Since their 2021 self-titled debut (review here), they have shown a creative urgency well-suited to the increasingly DIY ethos with which they operate.
Nonetheless, whatever shape their next record takes — and the reason I’m even talking about such a thing is because they finished recording it a month ago — in continuing the creepy, dark and engrossing narrative, there’s a decent chance it could be out before the end of 2024. You wouldn’t hear me complain. Likely recorded during those same recent album-three sessions, “The Peeler” arrives as a standalone single with an accompanying stop-motion animated video by Bob in Dope — might be like a stoner-doom Flat Stanley, if you have any idea what that is? — and is duly unsettling in its vibe. Stately in the manner of traditional doom, Cavern Deep‘s sound resonates an exploratory feel all the more as the band introduces Johannes Behndig (Sarcophagus Now) as their now-full-time synthesist.
You can certainly hear Behndig adding to the drama as “The Peeler” culminates, finding new breadth in the grim surroundings of the atmosphere cast around it, pushing deeper into the subsurface-horror narrative that has threaded through Cavern Deep‘s work to-date (a couple of covers notwithstanding). Behndig played on Part II – Breach as well, but it seems reasonable to expect him to become more of a presence in the songs by virtue of, you know, he’s actually in the band now rather than doing a guest spot. Being in the room when the song is written makes a difference.
I wouldn’t call myself early on posting it by any stretch, but if you haven’t seen it out there yet on the big wide internet, enjoy the “The Peeler” clip below. PR wire info follows after:
Cavern Deep, “The Peeler” official video
Swedish Doomsters CAVERN DEEP Hunt Monsters on Gripping New Single ‘THE PEELER’
Hailing from Umeå in Northern Sweden, the trio have carved out a name for themselves in recent years with hulking doom that has got the underground listening… ‘The Peeler’, the brand-new single from Cavern Deep is out now via Bonebag Records
Founded in 2019 by Max Malmer and former members of Swedish death metallers, Zonaria, and retro rockers, Gudars Skymning; Sweden’s Cavern Deep has established itself as one of the Scandinavia’s finest new doom metal bands.
Having released their first album in 2021 on the Polish label Interstellar Smoke Records, the band has since formed and issued music under their own Bonebag Records imprint, most recently releasing their latest record, Part II – Breach, to critical acclaim across Europe.
Returning this month for a one-off release, new single ‘The Peeler’ was originally intended to be a bonus track on the band’s forthcoming album. But while all good things come to those who wait, some things are too awesome to not share immediately. For those impatient souls itching for new material from the Umeå trio, this sleeping giant of a track focuses its attention on a lost mythical monster who resides in the deep cavernous realms of a long-lost civilisation. A hideous beast that hypnotises and oozes slime from its jaws, peeling skin from its still-stirring victims, and feeding off them piece by piece.
Towering guitars and drums soundtrack the ensuing chaos and seek to capture the creature using stark riffs and crushing strokes of colossal doom metal. Coupled with fantastic stop motion footage – assembled, and animated by artist, “Bob” – for the single’s visualiser video, ‘The Peeler’ is out now via Bonebag Records –bonebagrecords.com
Cavern Deep is: Kenny-Oswald Duvfenberg – Guitars and Vocals Max Malmer – Bass and Vocals Dennis Sjödin – Drums, Backup Vocals and Keys Johannes Behndig – Synth
Posted in Reviews on February 27th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
A word about the image above. ‘AI art’ has become a thing people argue about on the internet. Like everything. Fine. I made the above image with a prompt through whatever Microsoft is calling its bot this week and got what I wanted. I didn’t have to talk to anyone or pay anyone in anything more than the personal data you compromise every time you use the internet for anything, and it was done. I could never draw, but when I finished, I felt like I’d at least taken part in some way in making this thing. And telling a computer what to make and seeing what it gets right and wrong is fascinating. You might feel a bit like you’re painting with words, which as someone who could never draw but could construct a sentence, I can appreciate.
I’m a big supporter of human creativity, and yes, corporations who already hold creative professionals — writers, editors, graphic designers, etc. — in such outward contempt will be only too happy to replace them with robots. I was there when magazines died; I know how that goes. But instead of being reactionaries and calling for never-gonna-happen-anyway bans, isn’t it maybe worth acknowledging that there’s no going back in time, that AI art isn’t going anywhere, and that it might just have valid creative uses? I don’t feel like I need to defend myself for making or using the image above, but I did try to get a human artist first and it didn’t work out. In the hard reality of limited minutes, how much should I really chase when there’s an easier way to get what I want? And how much can people be expected to live up to that shifting moral obligation in the long term?
The future will laugh at us, inevitably, either way. And fair enough with the world we’re leaving them.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
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Lord Dying, Clandestine Transcendence
While bearing the tonal force of their roots in doom, Portland’s Lord Dying have nonetheless willfully become a crucial purveyor of forward-thinking death metal, driven by extremity but refusing to subdue its own impulses to fit with genre. At 12 songs and an hour’s runtime, Clandestine Transcendence neither is nor is supposed to be a minor undertaking, but with a melodic declaration in “Unto Becoming” that’ll elicit knowing nods from Virus fans and a mentality of creative reach that’s worthy of comparison to Enslaved, Lord Dying showcase mastery of the style the four-piece of guitarist/vocalist Erik Olson, guitarist Chris Evans, bassist/vocalist Alyssa Maucere and drummer Kevin Swartz explored with vigilance on 2019’s Mysterium Tremendum (review here), and an ability to depart from aggression without losing their intensity or impact on “Dancing on the Emptiness” or in the payoff of “Break in the Clouds (In the Darkness of Our Minds).” They may be headed toward too-weird-for-everybody megaprogmetal ultimately, but the challenges-to-stylistic-homogeny of their material are only part of what gives Clandestine Transcendence its crux, and in fostering the call-and-response onslaught of “Facing the Incomprehensible” alongside the epic reach of “A Bond Broken by Death,” they cast their own mold as unique within or without of the heavy underground sphere.
The late-2023 self-titled debut from Black Glow marks a new beginning for Monterrey, Mexico, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Gina Rios, formerly of Spacegoat, and something of a creative redirect, taking on a sound that is less indebted to boogie and classic doom but that has clearly learned the lessons of its influences. Also credited with producing (Victor “KB” Velazquez recorded, mixed and mastered, which doesn’t invalidate the credit), Rios is a strong enough performer to carry the five-song EP/short-LP on her own, but thankfully bassist Oscar Saucedo and drummer Octavio Diliegros bring tonal fullness to the breadth of atmosphere in the rolling closer “Obscured Jail,” reaching past seven minutes with fluidity that adds to Black Glow‘s aspects of purpose and craft, which are significant despite being the band’s first outing. As a vehicle for Rios‘ songwriting, Black Glow sound immediately like they can evolve in ways Spacegoat likely couldn’t or wouldn’t have, and that prospect is all the more enticing with the accomplishments displayed here.
Between the leadoff of “Into the Chronosphere” and “The Glowing Sea,” “Return to Antares,” “Burning Mountain” and “Desert Haze,” UK instrumentalists Cracked Machine aren’t short on destinations for the journey that is their fourth full-length, Wormwood, but with more angular texturing on “Eigenstate” and the blend of tonal float — yes, even the bass — and terrestrial groove wrought in the closing title-track, the band manage to emphasize plot as well as a sense of freedom endemic to jam-born heavy psychedelia. That is to say, as second cut “Song of Artemis” gives brooding reply to the energetic “Into the Chronosphere,” which is loosely krautrocky in its dug-in feel and exploratory as part of that, they are not trying to pretend this material just happened. Layers of effects and a purposeful reach between its low and high ends in the solo of “The Glowing Sea” — with the drums holding the two together, as one would hope — and subsequent section of standalone guitar as the start of a linear build that spreads wide sonically rather than overpowering with volume speaks to a dynamic that’s about more than just loud or quiet, and the keyboard holding notes in the culmination of “Burning Mountain” is nothing if not purposeful in its shimmering resonance. They may be headed all over the place, but I think that’s just a sign Cracked Machine know how to get there.
Currently also of Kamchatka and Spiritual Beggars and maybe Switchblade, the career arc of Per Wiberg (also ex-Opeth, live work and/or studio contributions for Candlemass, Grand Magus, Arch Enemy, mostly on keys or organ) varies widely in style within a heavy sphere, and it should be no surprise that his solo work is likewise multifaceted. Following on from 2021’s EP, All Is Well In the Land of the Living But for the Rest of Us… Lights Out (review here), the six-song and 41-minute (seven/47 with the bonus track Warrior Soul cover “The Losers”) finds cohesion in a thread of progressive styles that allows Wiberg to explore what might be a Gary Numan influence in the verses of “The Serpent’s Here” itself while emerging with a heavy, catchy and melodic chorus marked by a driving riff. The eight-minute “Blackguards Stand Silent” works in movements across a structural departure as the rhythm section of Mikael Tuominen (Kungens Män) and drummer Tor Sjödén (Viagra Boys) get a subtle workout, and “He Just Disappeared” pushes into the cinematic on a patient line of drone, a contemplative departure after the melancholic piano of “This House is Someone Else’s Now” that allows “Follow the Unknown” to cap the album-proper with a return to the full-band feel and a pointed grace of keys and synth, clearly working to its creator’s own high standard.
Bremen, Germany’s Swell O released their apparently-recorded-in-a-day debut album, Morning Haze, in Feb. 2023 and followed with a vinyl release this past Fall on Clostridium Records, and if there’s anything clouding their vision as regards songwriting, it didn’t make it onto the record. Proffering solid, engaging, festival-ready desert-style heavy rock, “Hitchhiker” sweeps down the open highway of its own riff while “Black Cat” tips hat to Fu Manchu, the title-track veers into pop-punkish uptempoism in a way “Shine Through” contrasts with less shove and more ambience. The seven-minute “Summit” extrapolates a lean toward the psychedelic from Kyussian foundations, but the crux on Morning Haze is straightforward and aware of where it wants its songs to be aesthetically. It’s not a revolution in that regard, but it’s not supposed to be, and for all its in-genre loyalism, Morning Haze demonstrates an emergent persona in the modernized ’90s fuzz-crunch semi-blowout of “Venom” at the end, which wraps a salvo that started with “Hitchhiker” and lets Swell O make the most of their over-quickly 31-minute first LP.
Accounting for everything from goth to post-hardcore to the churn of Godflesh in an encompassing interpretation of post-punk, London outfit Cower could fill this space with pedigree alone and manage to nonetheless make a distinct impression across the nine songs of Celestial Devastation. Organic and sad on “We Need to Have the Talk,” inorganic and sad on “Hard-Coded in the Souls of Men,” electronic anti-chic before the guitar surge in “Buffeted by Solar Winds,” and bringing fresh perspective to Kataonia-style depressive metal in “Aging Stallions,” it’s a album that willfully shirks genre — a few of them, actually — in service to its songs, as between the software-driven title-track and the downer-New-Wave-as-doom centerpiece “Deathless and Free,” Cower embark on an apparent critique of tech as integrated into current life (though I can’t find a lyric sheet) and approach from seemingly divergent angles without losing track of the larger picture of the LP’s atmosphere. Celestial Devastation is the second album from the trio, comprised of Tom Lacey, Wayne Adams (who also produced, as he will) and Gareth Thomas. Expect them to continue to define and refine this style as they move forward, and expect it to become even more their own than it is here. A band like this, if they last, almost can’t help but grow.
Boston’s HORSEN3CK, who’ve gone all-caps and traded their second ‘e’ for a ‘3’ since unveiling the included-here “Something’s Broken” as a debut standalone single this January, make a rousing four-song statement of intent even as the lineup shifts from piece to piece around the core duo of Tim Catz and Jeremy Hemond, best known together for their work as the rhythm section of Roadsaw. With their maybe-not-right-now bandmate Ian Ross adding guitar to “Something’s Broken” and a different lead vocalist on each song, Heavy Spells has inherent variety even before “Haunted Heart” exalts its darker mood with pulls reminiscent of Alice in Chains‘ “Frogs.” With Catz taking a turn on vocals, “Golden Ghost” is punk under its surface class, and though “Haunted Heart” grows in its crescendo, its greater impact is in the vibe, which is richer for the shift in approach. “Thirst” rounds out with a particular brashness, but nowhere HORSEN3CK go feels even vaguely out of their reach. Alright guys. Concept proved, now go do a full-length. When they do, I’ll be intrigued to see if the lineup solidifies.
New Jersey doom rockers Troll Teeth‘s stated goal with Sluagh Vol. 1 was to find a sound the character of which would be defined in part by its rawer, retro-styled recording. The resultant four-song outing, which was their second EP of 2023 behind Underground Vol. 1, doesn’t actually veer into vintage-style ’70s worship, but lives up to the premise just the same in its abiding rawness. “3 Shots for a 6 Shooter” brings a Queens of the Stone Age-style vocal melody over an instrumental that’s meaner than anything that band ever put to tape, while nine-minute opener “1,000 Ton Brick” feels very clearly titled in honor of its own roll. It might be the heaviest stretch on the EP but for the rumbling low distortion spliced in among the psychedelic unfolding of 16-minute closer “Purgatory,” which submerges the listener in its course after “Here Lies” seems to build and build and build through the entirety of its still-hooky execution. With its title referencing the original name of the band and a focus on older material, the rougher presentation suits the songs, though it’s not like there’s a pristine “1,000 Ton Brick” out there to compare it to. Whether there will be at Sluagh Vol. 2 at any point, I don’t know, but even the intentionality of realizing his material in the recording process argues in favor of future revisits.
Celebrating their own dark side in the opener “Wicked Voice,” German heavy rockers Black Ocean’s Edge keep the proceedings relatively friendly on Call of the Sirens, their debut long-player behind 2022’s Dive Deep EP, at least as regards accessibility and the catchiness of their craft. Vibrant and consistent in tone, the Ulm four-piece find room for the classic rock of “Leather ‘n’ Velvet” and the that-might-be-actual-flute-laced prog-psych payoff of “Lion in a Cage” between the second two of the three parts that comprise the title-track, which departs from the heavy blues rock of “Drift” or “Cold Black Water,” which is the centerpiece and longest inclusion at 7:43 and sets its classic-heavy influences to work with a forward-looking perspective. At 42 minutes and nine tracks, Call of the Sirens feels professional in how it reaches out to its audience, and it leaves little to doubt from Black Ocean’s Edge as regards songwriting, production or style. They may refine and sharpen their approach over time, and with these songs as where they’re coming from, they’ll be in that much better position to hit the ears of the converted.
Note: this album is out in April and I couldn’t find cover art. Band photo above is by Matija Kasalo.
If an album could ask you, musically, why you’re in such a hurry — and not like hurrying to work, really in a hurry, like in how you live — the mellow psych and acid folk proffered by Adelaide, Australia’s SONS OF ZÖKU on their second full-length, ËNDLËSS, might just be doing that. Don’t take that to mean the album is still or staid though, because they’re not through “Moonlight” after the intro before the bass gets funky behind all that serene melody, and when you’re worshiping the sun that’s all the more reason to dance by the moon. Harmonies resonate in “Earth Chant” (and all around) atop initially quiet guitar noodling, and the adventures in arrangement continue in the various chimes and percussion instruments, the touch of Easternism in “Kuhnoo” and the keyboard-fueled melodic payoff to the pastoralism of “Hunters.” With flute and a rhythmic delivery to its group vocal, “O Saber” borders on the tribal, while “Yumi” digs on cosmic prog insistence in a way that calls to mind the underappreciated Death Hawks and finds its way in a concluding instrumental stretch that doesn’t lose its spontaneous feel despite being more cogent than improv generally comes across. “Lonesome Tale” is a melancholy-vibe-reprise centered around acoustic guitar and “Nu Poeme” gives a sense of grandeur that is unto itself without going much past four minutes in the doing. Such triumphs are rare more broadly but become almost commonplace as SONS OF ZÖKU set their own context with a sound harnessing the inspiration of decades directing itself toward an optimistic future.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 20th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
What I can’t get over here is how glad I am that Gothenburg’s Cities of Mars put out their 2022 self-titled (review here) before they put the band to bed, seemingly for good. What will now serve as the swansong from the big-riff conceptual/sci-fi themed trio was without a doubt the pinnacle of their progression up to the point of its release, following 2019’s The Horologist (review here) with a marked intentionality in their songwriting and a collection of tracks that reached boldly into new spaces. I’m sorry Cities of Mars won’t get its own foll0w-up, but nine years out from 2015’s initial single, Cyclopean Ritual/The Third Eye (review here), set their plotline in motion beneath the rusty Martian surface, fair enough to consider the tale as told as it’s going to be.
I’ll take a second to wish the band the best, and to say thanks for the work they did and the concrete-sledge-upside-the-head their grooves fostered. They’re very much stating the announcement below as a farewell — “we will miss you all, great people of the heavy underground…,” which does not say to me, “look for our new bands in two weeks” — but whatever they get up to, whether it’s different heavy projects or nothing at all, what they did together as Cities of Mars remains. From my standpoint, they were a joy to write about from the first offering to the last.
Their message is below, and duly up front in its point of view. I bought a shirt on Bandcamp as my own little goodbye. Here you go:
Even good things come to an end.
Following a shared decision between all band members, Cities of Mars is now dissolved.
We had a good run where we achieved more than we ever expected: we made four beautiful vinyl albums, we toured the underground scene in twelve countries, made so many new great friends and had mostly good times (and some bad times too, as it goes). We’ve had the opportunity to visited so many amazing cities and have played cool festivals.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who came to any of our shows, shared a beer, bought a tee, helped us book a gig, promoted a show, gave us food or shelter or in many other ways became a part of our humble journey. Thanks to all the great bands we shared the stage and laughs with and whose company we’ve really enjoyed.
Some extra thanks are required: Roger Andersson, Gero Argonauta, Todd Severin, Ripple Music, Esben Willems, Kent Stump
For us it’s time to move on and do different things but we will miss you all, great people of the heavy underground, where the love of music is real. Be kind to another and be a part of the good fight that is needed in our bleak times.
All the best wishes and again, thank you! /Daniel, Chris & Johan
Cities of Mars: Danne Palm – lead vocals, bass, synths Christoffer Norén – lead vocals, guitar Johan Aronstedt – backing vocals, drums & percussion, sound FX
Next Friday, Feb. 23, marks the arrival of the first album from Swedish endtimes drone duo Skrckvldet. Titled 1:23:40 and issued by Majestic Mountain Records into the digital ether, it is the combined ambient efforts of Alex Stjernfeldt (Grand Cadaver and the recently-featured Young Acid) and Peo Bengtsson of poetic dark-ambient droneweavers Beckahesten, and accordingly able to offer a sort of divergence from a perceived normative ‘heavy’ without straying so far as to be out of place. Sternfeldt‘s other acts being Majestic Mountain denizens and Beckahesten — whose 2020 debut, Vattenhålens Dräpare is a consuming tapestry of human horrors — being so immersive creates a kind of balance that leads you, well, right into the abyss.
While one might look at the image of two dudes in hoods and read ‘drone duo’ en route to an immediate Sunn O))) association, this is the part of the post premiering their video for the single “Aftermath” where I cite some specific example to counteract that. Fortunately, although they’ve got me guessing at which vowel sounds go where in their moniker, Skrckvldet readily distinguish themselves in sound with “Aftermath,” whether it’s the busier layer of guitar deep in the mix or the post-industrial rhythm that repeats as a thread through the six-minute entirety. Repetitive by nature of the style, Skrckvldet are by no means at rest, and amid mounting swells of feedback, a monolithic tone feels declarative of intention. If you find yourself hearing throatripper screams buried in the aural rubble so vividly mourned, it’s an illusion but you’re not alone. Pretty sure there’s real birdsong in there though near the end.
And you know I’d love to tell you about the (likely) crushing claustrophobia and why-is-everyone-wearing-scary-masks chamber of malevolent secrets the entirety of 1:23:40 — which I can’t confirm but have no trouble believing is named after a coincidentally semi-sequential runtime, especially as a digital release — but the single’s all that’s out so it’s all I’ve got. And while it’s the nature of any extreme work that some will be able to find a place for themselves in its reaches and some won’t, both the conceptual exploration behind “Aftermath” and the palpable mood of the reality in listening offer more than the basic ‘here’s something that’s not just riffs’ differentiation, while yes, also that. Frankly, I don’t believe either need more justification for being than their being.
1:23:40 lands a week from today, and PR wire info follows the premiere of the “Aftermath” video below. I’m not sure if ‘enjoy’ is the right word here, but at very least be willing to immerse with an open mind.
So, to that:
Skrckvldet, “Aftermath” video premiere
Majestic Mountain Records is here to usher along the endtimes, and dredges from the depths the apocalyptic drone of Skrckvldet and their debut album ”01:23:40”.
The duo of hooded doombringers from Gothenburg, Sweden is Alex Stjernfeldt, of bands including Novarupta, Grand Cadaver, and Young Acid, and Peo Bengtsson of Beckahesten. Combining their cross-genre experience in heavy, malevolent sounds, the two birthed Skrckvldet, an exercise in droning, ambient chaos that soundtracks the dark and downward path of humankind.
Like some terrible, ancient presence, across five longform tracks SKRCKVLDET crunches and echoes, creeping forward with atonality and distortion. The thread is never lost amid the mix of noise and quiet, building towards an inevitable, crushing end.
SKRCKVLDET’s take on drone is, paradoxically, a dynamic one, balancing a suffocating use of silence with piercing squalls and lumbering distortion. Experience awe and apprehension in the keening tones of ”REVERBERATION III”, while tinkling keys provide brief respites from the colossal, looming weight of final track ”CHAOS”.
The end is nigh, and SKRCKVLDET have succeeded in the dismal task of giving Armageddon sonic form.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 9th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
And when I say hint above, they’re kind of smacking you in the face with it. Fair enough that the Swedish conceptual doom storytellers would bring a full-time keyboardist into their lineup. Atmosphere and mood-setting has been a big piece of what they’ve done across their two-thus-far long-players, 2023’s Part II – Breach (review here) and the prior 2021 self-titled debut (review here), and no doubt they’ll put those keys and expensive looking whatnots in the picture they posted to their socials to foreboding use on the upcoming collection, which will be out… well…
Pardon me if I don’t hazard a guess, but it was more than a year from me posting about the recording being done to the actual release date. A big difference between 2024 and 2021 in that regard is that now the band have their own label in the form of Bonebag Records — they released their own second record and just put out Troy the Band‘s Cataclysm (review here) like a week ago — and pandemic-era vinyl pressing times have returned to something approaching normalcy. So I’m not being coy. It might be six months, it might be tomorrow or the next Bandcamp Friday and it might be never. I’m just a caveman, as Phil Hartman occasionally said in the ’90s.
But progress is progress and I feel pretty safe trusting Cavern Deep‘s next full-length will continue their forward creative push and progression, and whenever it shows up is fine so long as it does.
A quick blurb from the social media:
Part III is done and recorded! It is the most ambitious album we’ve done so far.
We also might have a new member in the band. Any ideas about what instrument he might be playing?
Today’s the day, kiddos. Swedish jammers Kungens Män release their latest collection, För samtida djur 1 (review here), through Majestic Mountain Records as the first of two chapters with the next to be unveiled later this year. And when I say a phrase like “Swedish jammers” in that prior sentence, rest assured what I mean is that the warm-toned, organic-vibes-only-yes-even-in-the-synth six-piece head ever closer toward the heart of the creative spark itself, endeavoring with the ethic of harnessing a moment of creation as it happens — the proverbial lightning in the bottle. This is an ideology held by a lot of improv-based outfits, some of whom write three-minute pop songs, which even as Kungens Män refine their own approach and dig into crafting material more across this nine-song/45-minute outing, remains open, experimental, righteously weird, and very much its own kind of fun.
The title För samtida djur 1 translates to English as ‘For contemporary animals 1,’ and fair enough. I played it for the dog and she didn’t seem to mind, but I take the ‘animals’ more in the sense of an outsider cast. Maybe that’s you, maybe that’s them, I think it’s probably everybody at some point or another, but as you immerse in the album stream below, maybe something to hold onto in the back of your head while perusing the track-by-track that the band has generally offered, giving insight into their methods, the circumstances of the album’s making (as well as that of the video for the title-track that premiered here and you can see near the bottom of the post), and revealing some of the little things — a guitar that sounds like a cat, some cellphone interference — that made the experience from the band’s own point of view. I can’t help but feel like for an album that starts off basking in anachronism with the dialing of a rotary phone, the phrase, “Confusion is what we like,” posited below by the band, is a fitting summary. See also, “Perhaps not to reach a goal but to feel alive.”
So jump in and maybe let yourself be confused a bit. För samtida djur 2 will reportedly be more of a stretch-out in terms of longer songs and such, but if maybe you’re new to the band as a result of their being picked up by Majestic Mountain or other happenstance, this initial För samtida djur installment should make for a rousing introduction.
I beg of you, enjoy yourself. Thanks to the band for the time and words. Thanks to the label for letting me host the stream. Thank you for reading.
Here we go:
Kungens Män: För Samtida Djur 1 Track-by-Track
”Framtidens start” (The start of the future)
Mikael: The hotline to Moderskeppet, Aspudden.
Indy: …which is where we hang out to create our stuff.
”För samtida djur” (For contemporary animals)
Mikael: This is from a session without Indy, so Peter brought out the drum machine instead. Everything is steady, but slightly off like it should be. Someone from another timezone in the real world is eager to get in touch while we keep on dreaming about androids getting eaten by ancient fish.
Gustav: When we shot the video for this song, video director Patrik Instedt thought his cat was meowing – three times in a row! “The cat” is me playing the pointy guitar. We also have some classic cell phone disturbances somewhere in all the mess. Confusion is what we like.
”Tycka rakt” (To think straight)
Mikael: Me and Gustav are wearing our Sonic Youth worship on our sleeves in this song, though in a very mellow way. A threatening slow, dark undercurrent is flowing in the bass and synth department giving the song very interesting temperament layers.
Gustav: Micke is 100% right. I still haven’t gotten over Sonic Youth not being an active band, and it’s been a few years now.
”Grovmotorik” (Gross motor skills)
Mikael: The main riff is invented by Gustav, followed by a catchy synth riff, the rest of us chugging away while Hans paints a floating landscape. Then gradually falling apart until the song enters a completely different headspace in the tail end.
Gustav: An example of an occasion when everyone makes their own musical decision, sticking to it while trying to find their place among the rhythms and riffs. The mood shifts by the end, the music falls apart.
”Motarbetaren” (The opposer)
Mikael: This is probably my favorite song on this album. I have never quite heard anything like it. To me it sounds like The Velvet Underground making music for a 1970:s children’s tv show. Distorted steam train awakening.
Gustav: The organ grinder from Rabbalshede market is here and he cranks and he cranks.
”Virvelresan” (The vortex trip)
Mikael: Serenity among the spikes. Once again an interesting conversation full of information, but still the space remains open and open ended.
Gustav: Another mood swing! A conversation, just like Micke says. Things are constantly happening on all fronts, and even if we talk over each other’s mouths sometimes it’s more like we’re filling in each other’s speech.
”Bra moln” (Nice cloud)
Mikael: Meditation music. Watch the thoughts/clouds passing by. Chimes and horns – breath in, breath out.
Gustav: “Thank you, if you appreciated the tuning so much I hope you will enjoy the playing more”. Like the famous quote from Ravi Shankar, it’s more like we are tuning than playing here. Sometimes it’s the most basic things that hit you the hardest.
”Tyska ninjor” (German ninjas)
Mikael: Relentless hi-hat beauty by Indy. Sometimes we have to run with this machinelike state of mind. Perhaps not to reach a goal but to feel alive.
Gustav: Get up! Time to shake your hips! One thing that Micke sometimes does while he’s mixing is to have the “riff guitar” up front in the mix while the “lead guitar” is a little more in the background. This creates a certain atmosphere, and it sharpens your ears.
”Nu eller aldrig” (Now or never)
Mikael: The Pharoah Sanders vibe is strong here, what is there not to love? This was an exciting space to be in, with everyone adding dots, splashes, mirrors and shades, painting a loud whisper.
Gustav: As a completely subjective observer, I can conclude that “För samtida djur 1” is a very diverse and very good album. This track sums it all up very well.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 8th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Boasting familiar faces from the likes of Greenleaf, Domkraft, Besvärjelsen, The Moth Gatherer and Grand Cadaver, obviously the newcomer five-piece’s lineup will be a draw, and Young Acid meet pedigree-born anticipation with an absolute blast of electric heavy punk on their debut album, Murder at Maple Mountain, which arrives in the coming thaw courtesy of Majestic Mountain Records. Oh, and also all the lyrics are about Astrid Lindgren, who wrote Pippi Longstocking (also The Tomten, which I love but my daughter hates I think because it makes her feel feelings, and a ton of others) and is rightly revered for that. As a believer generally in the power of books written to and for children to help shape minds and frame perspectives on the world, from Lindgren to Mo Willems and the not-racist Dr. Seuss books and Curious Frickin’ George, if I’m honest, most of my favorite books ever are probably picture books from when I was a kid. I even wrote a couple over the years.
So the concept, right on. I’m down. But what’s going to hit you most on first impression with “Run, Boy, Run” more than the theme of the lyrics, which requires a deeper dive generally, is the energy with which guitarists Alex Stjernfeldt and Andreas Baier, bassist Martin Wegeland, drummer Svante Karlsson and vocalist Arvid Hällagård — who all don the first name Mio in honor of Lindgren’s 1954 novel, Mio, My Son, as you can see in the lineup listing in blue text below — hurl forth this lusty, fuzzy, sometimes bluesy, inevitably-heavy-grooving-regardless-of-tempo, we-gotta-make-our-own-good-times blowout vibe. There is no pretense here toward being anything other than what the album is even as closer “2002” dares to cross the four-minute mark and turn all that punker restlessness into voluminous, shimmering, gorgeous expanse. At 34 minutes, they could hardly make it easier to get on board if they came to your house and handed you a copy of the LP.
I might be streaming the full album before the release — definite maybe at this point — but will hope to have more on it either way before it’s out. Until then, “Run, Boy, Run” premieres below, followed by more from the PR wire:
Young Acid, “Run, Boy, Run” visualizer premiere
Introducing Young Acid, the new kickass garagerock powerhouse! Young Acid is a new super group with members from Greenleaf, Grand Cadaver, Besvärjelsen, The Moth Gatherer and Domkraft! With blistering guitar riffs, raw energy, and rebellious lyrics celebrating the legacy of Astrid Lindgren, this fierce fivesome is here to ignite the stage!
What happens when you combine members from Greenleaf, Domkraft, Grand Cadaver, Besvärjelsen and The Moth Gatherer? Well… disappointment happens. Disappointed in the sense that it does not sound the way you think!
Young Acid plays Punk infused Rock with great storytelling influenced by a famous Swedish author. But is it any good? Of course it is! At least if you ask some members of the band.
Young Acid was formed around the motto: Nobody can ruin our day, ‘cause we’re probably going to ruin it ourselves!
The polarising debut album will be out early 2024 via Majestic Mountain Records!
‘Run Boy Run’ is the second singel from the upcoming debut album ‘Murder at Maple Mountain” to be released on Majestic Mountain Records in Spring 2024!
Recorded at Welfare Sound, CrookedTeeth and Midlake Production Mixed by Per Stålberg & Kalle Lilja at Welfare Sound Mastered by Johan Reivén (Audiolord)
chucking concrete throughout most of the proceedings and Demir‘s unipolar viciousness as a defining element, there are times like in the later reaches of centerpiece/shortest-track “Genom Sår” where Järnegard‘s organ is the only thing coming close to some kind of melody, and as that takes the form of sad notes floating and drawn out over the measures, even the idea of hope seems distant. They very clearly made it to be unsettling, and it is.
