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Craneium Premiere “Victim of Delusion” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 14th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Craneium

Turku, Finland’s Craneium released their new single, ‘Victim of Delusion,’ on Sept. 2 through The Sign Records. The thus-far digital-only offering is the band’s first inkling of moving forward from their 2021 third album, Unknown Heights (review here), though to be fair it hasn’t even been a year since that came out. And the grainy look of the video below directed by Joni Tuominen isn’t an accident either, matching as it does the rough aesthetic edges that permeate in most of the song.

There’s a surprisingly doomed feel throughout “Victim of Delusion.” At the halfway point into the just-under-four-minute piece, they drop out to a proggier break that feels specifically drawn from the European retro set — now almost retro itself — but gives way to an organ-laced (unless I’m hearing things) and charged solo before guitarist/vocalists Andreas Kaján and Martin Ahlö bring the chorus back around for a final runthrough near the end. With Jonas Ridberg‘s bass and Joel Kronqvist‘s drums added to the march, and lyrics like the standout line, “Good things will never come to pass for you nor me,” I feel like the nod to doom noted above is justified on more than one level, and it pulls away from some of the more psych moments on Unknown Heights, but there’s still plenty of ethereal energy to coincide with their terrestrial, dirt-dance riffing.

I’m not ready at all to declare a twist in the direction of Craneium as a whole — standalone singles are their own beast anyway, sometimes — but the harder edges in “Victim of Delusion” hits as something of a surprise and it seems worth noting for anyone else who’s followed the four-piece since at least the last record. Where will 2023 take them? Shows would be my guess. They’ve been a well-kept-secret of heavy for heavy heads, even releasing through labels like The Sign and Ripple Music — no minor shakes, as far as this kind of thing goes — so hopefully as the air continues to clear in the post-pandemic age and the everybody-tours-this-Fall-yes-we-mean-everybody-even-you-get-going leads to a more evened-out live music sphere, Craneium will be able to get out and be a part of it. They usually work at a three-year clip between records, so I’m not expecting a new record, but certainly I’ve been surprised before and am willing to be again.

For now, I hope you enjoy the video. PR wire info and comment from the band follow below:

Craneium, “Victim of Delusion” video premiere

Stream the single:
https://orcd.co/victimofdelusion

Heavy fuzzrock outfit Craneium shares the standalone single ”Victim of Delusion”. The single is the first release from the Finnish four piece since their third studio album ”Unknown Heights” from 2021, and is released together with a music video.

Joel from Craneium comments:

“Our new single Victim Of Delusion is a straightforward rocker in true retro style. It’s fuzzy and it’s bluesy. Dare we even say it’s a bit proto metalesque? Lyrically the song talks about how nothing good comes out of trying to control people. Instead it’s easy to end up a delusional lonely person. To accompany the song we wanted to make a video that tips the hat to retro psychedelic filmmaking. We teamed up with music video maker Joni Tuominen who had an idea on a video with acid fried aesthetics. It turned out great and we had a blast doing it.”

Craneium’s latest studio album ”Unknown Heights” was released on The Sign Records during the autumn of 2021. The album is available on white/blue splatter vinyl, black vinyl, CD, and all streaming platforms.

Get the album:
https://craneiumband.bandcamp.com/album/unknown-heights
https://freighttrain.se/?s=craneium

Craneium has released two albums through California label Ripple Music, an independent cassette release and two split vinyls with 3rd Trip (FIN) and Black Willows (CH). Their third album “Unknown Heights” was recorded and mastered by producer Joona Hassinen (Studio Underjord) and released during the autumn of 2021 on The Sign Records.

Craneium:
Andreas Kaján – Guitars and Vocals
Martin Ahlö – Guitars and Vocals
Jonas Ridberg – Bass
Joel Kronqvist – Drums

Craneium on Facebook

Craneium on Instagram

Craneium on Twitter

Craneium on Bandcamp

The Sign Records on Facebook

The Sign Records website

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Quarterly Review: Dream Unending, Mud Spencer, Farfisa, Volcanova, Aiwass & Astral Construct, Doctor Smoke, Willowater, All Are to Return, Mountain Sides, Duncan Park

Posted in Reviews on January 21st, 2022 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

Last day. I guess we made it. There was never any doubt it would happen, but I wouldn’t call this the smoothest Quarterly Review ever by any stretch. Weather, canceled school, missed bus, The Patient Mrs. about to start a new semester at work, plus that day that had three noise rock records right in a row — who slots these things? (me) — it hasn’t all been easy. But, if you’ve ever read the QR you might know I’ve developed a tendency to load a bunch of killer stuff into the last day to kind of give myself a break, and here we are. No regrets.

Thanks for reading this week (and any other week if you’ve ever been on this site before). Here’s how we finish.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Dream Unending, Tide Turns Eternal

dream unending tide turns eternal

Beautiful and sad, this first collaboration between drummer/vocalist Justin DeTore (Solemn Lament, ex-Magic Circle, many more) and guitarist/bassist Derrick Vella (Tomb Mold, Outer Heaven) under the moniker of Dream Unending harnesses a classic early ’90s death-doom melancholy, but it’s not as raw as the image of My Dying Bride circa ’92 that might bring to mind. If you want to do mashups, think Novembers Doom meets Alternative 4-era Anathema. Tide Turns Eternal brings together seven songs in 46 minutes and is memorable in stretches like the guitar progression of “In Cipher I Weep” and the crushing chug of the title-track as the Massachusetts/Toronto duo harness the a true sense of classic death metal just ahead of the two-minute weepy guitar interlude “Forgotten Farewell” and the 10-minute closing title-track. Perhaps there’s some inspiration from Bell Witch in the making, but Dream Unending‘s atmosphere and patience are their own.

Dream Unending on Instagram

20 Buck Spin website

 

Mud Spencer, Fuzz Soup

Mud Spencer Fuzz Soup

The title don’t lie. French expat Sergio Garcia, living in Indonesia, concocts 11 instrumental tracks of fuzzy flood, and if he wants to call that soup, then yeah, that’s as good as anything I’ve got. “Razana” opens with two minutes of garage-style strut, while “Back to Origin” crunches and “Fuzz Soup” feels a bit more of a psych freakout with its lead guitar and drums that remind of Witch, all performed by Garcia, who adds organ to boot. “Quest for Fire” is probably more in homage to the movie than band, which is a little sad, but the song brings in some minor scales and droning atmospherics, and “Ride the Mammoth” pushes more straightforward into the languid wah whatnottery of “Argapura” at the presumed start of side B, which feels rawer in “The Shelter” and more chaotic in the buzz of “Surfin’ the Dune” before “The Cheating Mole” turns to nighttime darkjazz, “Tumulous” turns its acoustic start into a hairy march punctuated and grounded by the pop of snare, and closer “Narcolepsy” finishes with a duly zombified, organ-laced take on tape-trader doom. These experiments work well together throughout Fuzz Soup, united by weird and unpredictable as they are.

Mud Spencer on Facebook

Argonauta Records website

 

Farfisa, Gänger

Farfisa Gänger

Gänger is third in a purported series of four EPs by Manchester, UK, four-piece Farfisa, and its four songs solidify some of the more let-go aspects of 2020’s Bravado, taking the folkish shine of a cut like “My Oh My” and turning it into the dug-in garage prog rock of “Honey Badger” and riffing out dirty and fuzzed on “River Rash.” Frankly, I don’t know why, having once conjured tones like those of the penultimate “Clinton” here, which sound like something that would make Ty Segall start a new band, one would ever not do that again, but I won’t claim to know what the fourth EP in the series might bring. One can only hope that, when the series is wrapped, they compile it into some sort of offering — a double-tape or some such — and release the whole thing together. As it stands though, Gänger is my first exposure to the band, and they smash through “Limitator” with due prejudice. I can think of five record labels off the top of my head who’d be lucky to have these guys, but nobody asks me these things.

Farfisa on Facebook

Farfisa on Bandcamp

 

Volcanova, Cosmic Bullshit

Volcanova Cosmic Bullshit

Fucking a, rock and roll. Reykjavik’s Volcanova aren’t through “Salem,” the lead cut from their righteously titled Cosmic Bullshit EP, before they’ve cadenced Uncle Acid in the verse and broken out the cowbell, so yes, it’s that kind of party. That cowbell comes back almost immediately for “Gold Coast,” which tramps out big riffs like Def Leppard used to make, and “Desolation” brings the bass forward effectively in its hook, the band having already built fervent momentum that will carry through the rest of the 26-minute mini-album. Not to pick favorites, but “End of Time” feels purposefully placed near the middle, and “No Wheels” — yup, more cowbell — splits that and closer “Lost Spot” well, giving a grounded stretch of pure shove before the finale hard-boogies and big-drifts its way to a surprising wash of an ending, organ included. You don’t call your release Cosmic Bullshit if you’re not looking to get attention, and Volcanova certainly earn that with these tracks.

Volcanova on Facebook

The Sign Records website

 

Aiwass & Astral Contruct, Solis in Stellis

Aiwass Astral Construct Solis in Stellis

The premier collaboration between Arizona’s Aiwass and Colorado’s Astral Construct — the latter also stylized as ASTRAL COnstruct — is a seven-minute single called “Solis in Stellis” that bridges terrestrial and ethereal heavy psychedelias. At a bit under eight minutes, its melodic flourish and weighted underpinning of low end, drifting guitar and fluid rhythmic progression sound like nothing so much as the beginning of an album that should be made if it’s not currently in the works between Drew Patricks (Astral Construct) and Blake Carrera (Aiwass), who both function as solo artists in their respective projects but come together here to show the complementary potential of each for the other. Lush in atmosphere, patient in its delivery and spacious without being overwrought, “Solis in Stellis” is hopefully the beginning of more to come from these two, who might just end up having to call themselves the Aiwass Construct if they keep going the way they are.

Aiwass on Facebook

Astral Construct on Instagram

 

Doctor Smoke, Dreamers and the Dead

Doctor Smoke Dreamers and the Dead

Seven years after 2014’s The Witching Hour, Ohio’s Doctor Smoke return with Dreamers and the Dead, a solid 10-song/42-minute run that makes up for lost time by reimagining ’90s-era Megadeth sneer as dark and catchy heavy rock and roll. The four-piece led by founding guitarist/vocalist Matt Tluchowski may have let a few years get by them — that’ll happen — but if the intervening time was spent hammering out these songs, the effort shows itself in the efficiency with which each cut makes its point and gets out, a song like “These Horrid Things” casting its mood in the verses before opening to the chorus, winding fretwork building tension into and subsequently through the solo. This is a revamp of the idea of a classic metal influence, the first instance of a generational shift I can think of that’s bringing this particular vibe to a heavy rock context — the pounding and sprinting of the title-track might’ve been thrash in the ’80s, but a decade later it was thicker and so it is here as well — and Doctor Smoke make it theirs, no question. One wonders what the next seven years will bring.

Doctor Smoke on Facebook

Ripple Music website

 

Willowater, Loyal

Willowater Loyal EP

Rebranded from their moniker of Sierra, Ontario progressive heavy rockers Willowater bring the four-track/14-minute EP as a quick hello to listeners new and old. Guitarist/vocalist Jason Taylor and bassist/drummer/vocalist Robbie Carvalho (also synth) chug out in early-Tool fashion on the opener “Ultimatum,” and the subsequent title-track answers back in kind with shared vocals and a bit of twisting, pulled squeals of guitar, and so on, while “Fly High” calls to mind Dio-style riffing with a bassline to bolster the classic metal vibe, and “Winter Now” builds a tension in its keyboard-laced 3:26 that, somewhat maddeningly, never pays itself off. Perhaps the message there is of more to come. Hope so, anyhow. Sierra were a quality band, and undervalued. Willowater seem to be taking another shot at catching as many ears as possible. A fresh start. Not so crazy different from what they were doing before, but sometimes a name can make all the difference.

Willowater on Facebook

Willowater on Bandcamp

 

All Are to Return, II

all are to return ii

This second EP from the anonymous Dutch outfit All Are to Return reignites the brutality of their 2020 self-titled debut short release (review here), while expanding the stylistic reach. Opener “Carceri” tips into industrial black metal before resolving itself in harsh screams and drones, while “Surveiller et Punir” feels even more experimental/art rock with tortured screams far back under noisy guitar. “Classified” is shorter and more beat-oriented, but the distorted wash of “Postscript on the Societies of Control” (bit of positive thinking there, almost in spite of itself) is abrasive as fuck, such that the quiet, minimal synth that starts “De Profundis” accompanied by more obscured screams seems almost like a relief before it builds to its own post-Godflesh industrialized crush. They finish atmospheric on “Desiring Machines,” blowing out conceptions of extreme music in about the time it takes for you to put on your shoes and jacket so you can go out, wander into the wilderness, and never be heard from again.

All Are to Return on Bandcamp

Tartarus Records website

 

Mountain Sides, Mountain Sides

mountain sides mountain sides

Members of Mirror Queen, the just-signed-to-TeePee-proper Limousine Beach (really, I haven’t even had the chance to post the news yet), Zombi, Ruby the Hatchet and Osees coming together for three Mountain covers. Mountain Sides do “You Better Believe It,” “Dreams of Milk and Honey” and “Travelin’ in the Dark,” and they knock it out of the park accordingly. I don’t know that this would ever get to become a real band between the commitments of Morgan McDaniel, David Wheeler and Steve Moore, let alone Owen Stewart (Ruby the Hatchet‘s drummer) or Paul Quattrone from Osees and a geographic spread between New York, Philly, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, but as a quick outing to test the waters, these three songs want nothing for vibe. Of course, being Mountain songs helps, but it almost inevitably would. Still, I’d take a record of tunes they wrote themselves, even if it doesn’t happen for another decade because everyone’s busy.

Mountain Sides on Bandcamp

Tee Pee Records Digital Annex

 

Duncan Park, Invoking the Flood

Duncan Park Invoking the Flood

Serenity in experimentalist drone and psychedelia, marked by the interplay of organic folk and otherworldly elements of fluid aural adventures. The backward, swelling repetitions of “The Alluring Pool” answer the watery worldmaking of leadoff “Rivers are a Place of Power,” the backing chimes reminding of water moving the air, the acoustic guitar on centerpiece “Riverbank” furthering the theme in sweetly plucked notes while Duncan Park (who also collaborates with Seven Rivers of Fire) picks up the journey again on “The Winding Stream” with a current of melody playing beneath the main acoustic lines of the song, instrumental in its entirety. Invoking the Flood, apart perhaps from some warning that might be read into the opener, grows more peaceful as it goes, though Park‘s inclusion of vocals on closer “Over the River” speaks perhaps of other tributaries waiting to be explored. Still, it is a sweet and encompassing, if short, trip downstream with Park here, and if the flood comes, at least we had a good time.

Duncan Park on Facebook

Ramble Records on Bandcamp

 

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Quarterly Review: Sergio Ch., Titanosaur, Insect Ark, Never Kenezzard, The Kupa Pities, Warpstormer, Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez, Children of the Sün, Desert Clouds, Gondhawa

Posted in Reviews on January 19th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

Getting to the halfway point of a Quarterly Review is always something special. I’m not trying to say it’s a hardship reviewing 50 records in a week — if anything it’s a relief, despite the strain it seems to put on my interpersonal relationships; The Patient Mrs. hates it and I can’t really fault her for that since it does consume a fair amount of my brain while it’s ongoing — but some days it comes down to ‘do I shower or do I write’ and usually writing wins out. I’ll shower later. Probably. Hopefully.

But today we pass halfway through and there’s a lot of killer still to come, so plenty to look forward to either way. The day starts with an old favorite I’ve included here basically as a favor to myself. Let’s go.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Sergio Ch., La Danza de los Tóxicos

Sergio Ch La Danza de los Tóxicos

Comparatively speaking, La Danza de los Tóxicos is a pretty straightforward solo offering from Soldati/Ararat/ex-Los Natas frontman Sergio Chotsourian, whose ealrier-2021 full-length, Koi (review here), featured both of his children, one rapping and one joining him on vocals for a Nine Inch Nails cover. Perhaps it’s in reaction to that record that this one feels more traditionalist, with Chotsourian (aka Sergio Ch.) still finding 11 minutes to drone out instrumentalist style on closer “Thor Hammer” and to sample Scarface at the start of “Late Train,” but in his guy-and-guitar ethic, a lot of this material sounds like the roots of things to come — Chotsourian has shared songs between projects for years — while keeping a balance between exploratory vibe and traditional structures on pieces like “Skinny Ass,” “La Esquina” and “88.”

Sergio Ch. on Facebook

South American Sludge Records on Bandcamp

 

Titanosaur, Absence of Universe

Titanosaur Absence of Universe

Coated in burl and aggressive presentation as well as the occasional metaphors about stellar phenomena and hints/flourish of Latin rhythm and percussion, Titanosaur‘s fourth long-player, Absence of Universe, sees multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist Geoff Saavedra engaging with aggressive tonality and riff construction as well as the various instabilities of the moment in which the album was put together. “Conspiracy” feels somewhat self-explanatory from a lyrical standpoint, and both opener “The Echo Chamber” and “Shut Off the Voices” feel born of the era in their theme, while “So Happy” seems like a more personal perspective on mental health. Whatever a given song’s subject throughout the nine-track/42-minute offering, Saavedra delivers with a heavy rock born out of ’90s metal such that the breakdown in “So Happy” feels natural when it hits, and the rush of finale “Needed Order” seems like an earned expulsion of the tension so much of the record prior has been building, incluing the chugging force of “I Will Live Forever” immediately prior.

Titanosaur on Facebook

The Swamp Records on Bandcamp

 

Insect Ark, Future Fossils

insect ark future fossils

Future Fossils would seem to take its name from the idea of bringing these tracks together in some effort toward conservation, to keep them from getting lost to time or obscurity amid the various other works and incarnations of Insect Ark. The first three songs are synth-only solo pieces by Dana Schechter, recorded in 2018, and the final piece, “Gravitrons,” is a 23-minute live improvisation by Schechter and then-drummer Ashley Spungin recorded in New York in 2016. The sense that these things might someday be “discovered” as one might unearth a fossil is fair enough — the minimalism of “Gypsum Blade” has space enough to hold whatever evocations one might place on it, and while “Anopsian Volta” feels grounded with a line of piano, opener “Oral Thrush” seems more decidedly cinematic. All this of course is grist for the mill of “Gravitrons,’ which is consuming unto itself in its ambience and rife with experimentalist purpose. Going in order to have gone. As ethics go, that one feels particularly worth preserving.

Insect Ark on Facebook

Consouling Sounds website

 

Never Kenezzard, The Long and Grinding Road

Never Kenezzard The Long and Grinding Road

Sludge and grind come together on Denver trio Never Kenezzard‘s The Long and Grinding Road, and through what seems to be some modern metallurgical miracle, the album sounds neither like CarcassSwansong nor Dopethrone. After the pummeling beginning of “Gravity” and “Genie,” the interlude “Praer” and the subequent channel-panning-screamer “Ra” expand an anti-genre take as bent on individuality of sound as they apparently are on clever wordplay. “Demon Wheel” has a genuine heavy rock thrust, and “Slowburn” and the looped clock noise of “11:59:59” provide buffers between the extended cuts “Seven Statues” (11:31) and “The Long and Grinding Road” (14:55) itself, which closes, but by then the three-piece have established a will and a way to go wherever they want and you can follow if you’re up for it. So are you? Probably. There’s some underlying current of Faith No More-style fuckery in the sound, something playful about the way Never Kenezzard push themselves into abrasion. You can tell they’re having fun, and that affects the listening experience throughout the purposefully unmanageable 57 minutes of the album.

Never Kenezzard on Facebook

Never Kenezzard on Bandcamp

 

The Kupa Pities, Godlike Supervision

The Kupa Pities Godlike Supervision

There’s a thread of noise rock that runs throughout Godlike Supervision, the debut full-length from Munich-based four-piece The Kupa Pities, and it brings grit to both the early-Clutch riffing of lead cut “Anthology” and the later, fuzz-overdose “Queen Machine.” It’s not just about aggression, though there’s some of that, but of the band putting their own spin on the established tenets of Kyuss-style desert and Fu Manchu-style heavy rocks. “Black Hole” digs into the punkish roots of the former, while the starts-and-stops of “Dance Baby Dance” and the sheer push of the title-track hint toward the latter, even if they’re a little sharper around the edges than the penultimate “Surfing,” which feels like it was titled after what the band do with their own groove — they seem to ride it in expert fashion. So be it. “Black Hole” works in a bit of atmosphere and “Burning Man” caps with a fair-enough blowout at the finish, ending the album on a note not unfamiliar but indicative of the twists The Kupa Pities are working to bring to their influences.

The Kupa Pities on Facebook

The Kupa Pities on Bandcamp

 

Warpstormer, 1

warpstormer logo

A newcomer trio, London’s Warpstormer brings together guitarist Scott Black (Green Lung), drummer Matthew Folley and bassist/vocalist Richard J. Morgan (ex-Oak), and their aptly-titled first EP, 1, presents four bangers of unrepentantly brash heavy rock and roll, channeling perhaps some of earlier Orange Goblin‘s boozy-wrecking-crew vibes, but on “Ride the Bomb” digging into post-hardcore and metal as well, the abidingly aggro sense undercut by a quiet stretch holding its tension in the drums as well as the drunken quiet start of “Devourer,” which gets plenty bruising by its finish but is slower in procession certainly than were “Here Comes Hell” and “Storm Caller” at the outset. They’re in and out and done in 19 minutes, but as what otherwise might be a demo, 1 gives a look at where Warpstormer are coming from and would seem to herald future incursions to come. I’ll take it. The songs come across as feeling out where the band wants to be in terms of sound, but where they’re headed, they’re headed with due charge.

Warpstormer on Facebook

Warpstormer on Bandcamp

 

Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez, Génesis Negro

Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez Génesis Negro

Génesis Negro perhaps loses something in the audio-only experience. To wit, while Ricardo Jiménez Gómez is responsible for all the music on the album, it’s the illustrations of Antonio Ramírez Collado, bringing together in Blake-esque style mysticism, anatomy, and ideas born of research into early Christian gnostics, that serve as the root from which that music is sprung. Instrumental in its entirety and including a reprint of the article that ties the visuals and audio together and was apparently the inspiration for exploring the subject to start with, its 43-minute run can obviously offer the listener a deeper dive than just the average collection of verse/chorus songs, and no doubt that’s the intention. Some pieces are minimal enough to barely be there at all, enough to emphasize every strum of a string, and others offer a distorted tonal weight that seems ready to interpret any number of psychedelic spiritual chaos processes. If you want to get weird, Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez are way ahead of you. They might also be ahead of themselves, honestly, despite whatever temporal paradox that implies.

Sentencia Records on Facebook

Sentencia Records on Bandcamp

 

Children of the Sün, Roots

Children of the Sün Roots

Tracks like “Leaves,” “Blood Boils Hot,” and “Thunder” still rock out a pretty heavy classic blues rock vibe, but Swedish outfit Children of the Sün — as the title Roots would imply in following-up their 2019 debut, Flowers (review here) — seem to dig deeper into atmospheric expression, emotive melodies and patience of craft in the 13-track/44-minute offering. From the the mellow noodling of “Reflection” at the start, a piano-led foreshadow for “Eden” later on, to the acoustic-till-it-ain’t “Man in the Moon” later on, the spirit of Roots feels somewhere between days gone by and days to come and therefore must be the present, strutting accordingly on “The Soul” and making a pure vocal showcase for Josefina Berglund Ekholm, on which she shines as one has come to expect. There are moments where the vocals feel disconnected from the instrumental portions of the songs, but where they go, they go organically.

Children of the Sün on Facebook

The Sign Records on Facebook

 

Desert Clouds, Planexit

desert clouds planexit

Is that flute on “Planexit,” the opener and longest track (immediate points), on Planexit, the latest outing from London-based grunge-informed heavy rockers Desert Clouds? It could well be, and after the somewhat bleaker progression of the riffs prior, that escape into melody comes across as well-placed. The band are likewise unafraid to pull off atmospheric Nick Cave-style storytelling in “Wheelchair” and more broodingly progressive fare in “Deceivers,” leaving the relatively brief “Revolutionary Lies” to rest somewhere between Southern heavy, early ’90s melodicism and a modern production. Throughout the 45-minute LP, the band swap out various structural ideologies, and while I can’t help be immersed in the groove and bassline of “Deceivers,” the linear build and receding of the penultimate “Pearl Marmalade” feels no less essential to the impact of the record overall. Behold a band who have found their niche and set themselves to the task of refining its parameters. As ever, it works because songwriting and performance are both right on.

Desert Clouds on Facebook

Mandrone Records website

 

Gondhawa, Käampâla

Gondhawa - Käampâla

Comprised of Clement Pineau (drums, kamele n’goni, vocals, percussion), Idriss Besselievre (vocals, guitar, sanxian), Paul Adamczuk (bass/guitar, keyboard) and Margot GuilbertGondhawa bring forth a heavy psychedelic cultural sphere throughout the still-digestible six tracks and 37 minutes of Käampâla, with the French trio’s penchant for including instrumentation from Africa or Asia alongside the more traditional guitar, bass, drums, keys and vocals resulting in a lush but natural feeling psychedelia that seems to be all the more open for their readiness to jam outside whatever box expectation might put them in. The title-track feels like Mideastern prog, while the subsequent “Assid Bubu” shreds out an echoing lead over a slow-roller of a stoner-jam nod. Their willingness to dance is a strength, ultimately, and their inclusion of these arrangement elements, including percussion, comes across as more than dabbling in world music. They’re not the first to look beyond their effects pedals in manifesting psych rock, but there’s not a lot out there that sounds like this.

Gondhawa on Facebook

Stolen Body Records website

 

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Volcanova Announce Cosmic Bullshit EP & Tour Dates with The Vintage Caravan; New Song Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 10th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Don’t front, you’ve got two minutes to check out something new today. I know everybody’s busy — hey, me too — but Iceland’s Volcanova aren’t asking the world with their new single “No Wheels,” and I’m underselling it by saying it’s worth the time it takes to listen. The three-piece made their debut last year with Radical Waves (review here) and hit the right marks in their classic stoner rock worship, and I don’t know much about anything, but when you call your next release Cosmic Bullshit, it’s safe to say you’re looking for some attention. It’s likewise probably safe to assume they’ll get some doing an 18-date stretch alongside countrymen frontrunners-of-form The Vintage Caravan.

After you take that entire two minutes to listen to “No Wheels,” should you want to dig back to Radical Waves before you’re subsumed in the forthcoming Cosmic Bullshit, you’ll find the Bandcamp player down at the bottom of the post.

Info came down the PR wire:

volcanova

VOLCANOVA Release New Single “No Wheels” & Announce Tour with The Vintage Caravan

Icelandic stoner rock outfit Volcanova are back with their first new music since the band’s highly acclaimed 2020 debut album, ‘Radical Waves’. The trio has launched their new single, titled ”No Wheels”, on streaming services. A super-groovy, fuzz-rock explosion featuring Volcanova’s signature three-layer vocal harmonies, thick riffing, and spaced out lyrics. The new single is the first taste of the power-trio’s upcoming EP ‘Cosmic Bullshit’, which will see a 2022 release. In addition to the new single, Volcanova have also announced an 18-date European tour supporting The Vintage Caravan.

‘Radical Waves’ was finally celebrated successfully in October 2021 and played in its entirety, to a nearly sold out venue Húrra in Reykjavík, after countless cancellations due to Covid19. Volcanova has recorded their second album, an EP by the name of ‘Cosmic Bullshit’ consisting of 6 songs. The EP was recorded and mixed by Helgi Durhuus of Studio Helvíti in August and September 2021, mastered by Esben Willems of Studio Berserk and released via The Sign Records in early 2022.

Volcanova’s drummer Dagur Atlason on “No Wheels”:
“Doesn’t it feel good to cruise around and be free? Whether your ride is a crusty old camper van, an electric scooter or a skateboard, just you and the open road. But what if you didn’t have to depend on roads? What if your ride could take off, to anywhere you want? Because in this case, our ride has no wheels. Hoverboarding into outer space with nothing left to lose and only the groove as your sidekick.”

”No Wheels” is out now on all streaming platforms via The Sign Records.

2022 Monuments Tour – The Vintage Caravan and Volcanova
25.02 Turock – Essen (DE)
26.02 Q-Factory – Amsterdam (NL)
27.02 Das Bett – Frankfurt (NL)
01.03 Cassiopeia – Berlin (DE)
02.02 Headcrash – Hamburg (DE)
03.03 Little Devil – Tilburg (NL)
03.03 Het Bolwerk – Sneek (NL)
05.03 AB Club – Bruxelles (BE)
06.03 Artheater – Cologne (DE)
07.07 Backstage Halle – Munich (DE)
09.03 Orpheum Extra – Graz (AT)
10.03 PMK – Innsbruck (AT)
11.03 OKH – Vocklabruck (AT)
12.03 Papiersaal – Zurich (CH)
13.03 CCO Villeurbanne – Lyon (FR)
14.03 Backstage BTM – Paris (FR)
15.03 Le Grand Mix – Tourcoing (FR)
16.03 Le Ferrailleur – Nantes (FR)

Volcanova:
Samúel Ásgeirsson – Guitar and vocals
Þorsteinn Árnason – Bass and vocals
Dagur Atlason – Drums and vocals

https://www.facebook.com/volcanova
https://www.instagram.com/volcanovaofficial/
https://volcanova.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thesignrecords/
http://www.thesignrecords.com

Volcanova, “No Wheels”

Volcanova, Radical Waves (2020)

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Vokonis Release New Single “Null & Void”

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 13th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Never mind its the breadth of its melodic verses, the corresponding crush of its hook, or the driving finish to which it’s all headed, Vokonis‘ new single “Null & Void” is entirely justified as a standalone release by its artwork. Look at that cover. Anyone see Arrival? Kind of reminds of that, but swampier. True, the Swedish outfit’s 2021 outing, Odyssey (review here), already boasted one of the best covers I’ve seen so far this year, if not the best — I can’t think of anything off the top of my head that’s better; if you’ve got a contender, let me know — but the sentient-swamp-fungus-root-legged-insectoid is truly something unto itself. It’s so good I didn’t even include a band picture with this post because I didn’t want to distract from it. Shit, I’ve got pics of Vokonis archived since before they were Vokonis. This was a conscious decision. Look at that thing!

And the song, which was a holdover from the aforementioned record, provides an efficient encapsulation of where Vokonis‘ take on heavy progressive rock/metal. They’re a band who can be as spacious as any and then bring that space crashing down on your head at a moment’s notice, as they do with the turns here. Having the esteemed Per Wiberg grace the organ as he does also on Odyssey is a bonus that only helps bolster their purpose. I don’t know where he lives in relation to the band’s native Borås, but he’s essential personnel on this single and on the album, and at least in my mind by now is pretty much a member of the group.

This song came out on Friday and is five minutes long and killer. You won’t regret listening if you haven’t yet:

vokonis null and void

Vokonis launch “Null & Void” stand-alone single featuring Per Wiberg

Stream the single: https://orcd.co/nullvoid

Swedish prog metal trio Vokonis launch “Null & Void”. A stand-alone single, and the continuity of the band‘s latest, fourth studio album “Odyssey”. Dynamic and experimental, the single further explores the depths of Vokonis‘ sound. The single features Per Wiberg (Spiritual Beggars, Opeth) on organ.

Simona Ohlsson, vocalist and guitarist of Vokonis, comments:

“Null & Void is a track we unfortunately had to leave out from ‘Odyssey’ due to the constraints of the LP-format. When we had to select which tracks that made it onto the album we all agreed on that it’s one of our favorite songs from the album sessions. We liked it so much we decided to make it a stand-alone release to continue the lore of ‘Odyssey’. It continues with storytelling and the experimentation with dynamics. The ending of the song is one of our favorite moments where Per Wiberg really let loose with the organs. It’s going to be a real staple in our live-set for years to come.”

“Null & Void” is out on all streaming platforms September 10, 2021. The single is released on The Sign Records.

Get Vokonis’ latest album “Odyssey”:
https://vokonis.bandcampcom/album/odyssey

Vokonis:
Simona Ohlsson – Guitar and Vocals
Jonte Johansson – Bass and Vocals
Peter Ottosson – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/OfficialVokonis/
https://www.instagram.com/vokonisofficial/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3DZoit5R0ahZQCNLbDnNxr?si=eh0iJ7YHQQOblw_ztadm1Q
https://www.facebook.com/thesignrecords/
http://www.thesignrecords.com

Vokonis, “Null & Void”

Vokonis, Odyssey (2021)

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Craneium Premiere “Shine Again” Lyric Video; Unknown Heights Out Oct. 15

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Reviews on August 18th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Craneium

Finland’s Craneium release their third album, Unknown Heights, on Oct. 15 as their label debut on The Sign Records. The Turku-based four-piece were last heard from with late-2018’s The Narrow Line (review here) on Ripple Music, and they’ve quite clearly learned a few lessons from one to the next. With a consistent lineup of guitarist/vocalists Andreas Kaján and Martin Ahlö, bassist Jonas Ridberg and drummer Joel Kronqvist — somebody’s also playing keys, or something that sounds like them on “Somber Aeons,” and the Mellotron contributed by Axel Brink to “Weight to Carry,” also elsewhere — the band present a sharpened take on their particular sonic meld that is able to be both heavy and fluid as it will. Among their three LPs to-date, the confidence with which they execute their melodies and the tightness of their songcraft across the six tracks of Unknown Heights is striking, and to call it anything other than their finest hour is underselling it.

Each side of the album opens with a big hook, with “A Secret Garden” putting to immediate use the Kaján and Ahlö arrangement dynamic — this will come up again on the closing title-track — and side B’s “Shine Again” (premiering below) offering a six-minute summation of many of the album’s strengths in its volume shifts, overarching patience of delivery, exceptional pacing, depth of mix, flowing progression and, when it’s ready, outright heft. “A Secret Garden” is very much the traditional rocking opener transposed to suit Craneium‘s purposes, running a focused four and a half minutes that establishes the tones, melodic reach and underlying psychedelic drift of the proceedings to follow.

“Somber Aeons” and “Weight to Carry” are both longer at six and seven minutes, respectively, but effectively hold onto the clarity of structure that “A Secret Garden” lays forth, the former surging with fuzz in rolling fashion after a more subdued opening, making the most of Ridberg‘s bassline for the ensuing thickness that will seem to swallow the song even as a spoken-word sample about darkness cuts through at the finish, shifting easily into “Weight to Carry,” with a more forward guitar solo later, the aforementioned Mellotron flourish and its own structural presence highlighted by the chorus.

Craneium Unknown HeightsIn launching the second half of Unknown Heights, “Shine Again” pulls together many of the strengths of the first, taking the directness of “A Secret Garden,” the volume trades of “Somber Aeons” and the instrumental gracefulness and ending build-up of “Weight to Carry” and putting them to a single purpose. This is offset by the righteously bassy and brazenly hooky “The Devil Drives,” which follows and is the shortest inclusion on the album at 4:22. It wouldn’t be appropriate to call anything Craneium present here stripped-down — the sound remains lush and the melodies, rhythms and structures thoughtful — but “The Devil Drives” is as straightforward as they get in the offering, with verses and choruses going back and forth setting up dual-leads in the back end of the song that should, must and inevitably do make their way back to a final run through the chorus to finish out.

Needs to happen, has to happen, happens, and like the best of heavy rock songcraft, it’s no less satisfying because you know what’s coming. Momentum carries into “Unknown Heights” itself, making the opening hits feel somewhat impatient, but the chill that comes with the first verse sets its own atmosphere and allows the track to unfold in its own manner.

Is that slide guitar just past the midpoint drifting over the quieter stretch? I don’t know, but it works as a proggy nuance, hypnotic and wistful in kind, and helps the transition to an even more subdued stop before the shove that will consume the last minute and a half of the song takes hold, eventually fading out in such a way that underscores the vague ’80s metal underpinnings of “The Devil Drives” — someone in this band likes NWOBHM — and that feels quick given the flow they’re leaving behind, but ultimately makes sense considering the overall efficiency they’ve wrought throughout. They’re simply not willing to waste the time, and at a crisp 36 minutes, Unknown Heights is that much more able to offer spaciousness without indulgence for the decisions the band have made.

This album is a realization for which Craneium have worked hard over the last half-decade-plus — and a mention for Joona Hassinen (MaidaVale, Domkraft, Skraeckoedlan, many others) at Studio Underjord in Norrköping, Sweden, is only appropriate as well — and the payoff is in the songs waiting to be heard.

“Shine Again” premiere follows, with PR wire info after.

Please enjoy:

Craneium, “Shine Again” lyric video premiere

Craneium on “Shine Again”:

This is the third time we collaborate on a video with our friend Oliver Webb from the awesome band Sunniva. This time we talked a lot about that we wanted to bring the artwork to life. About what it would look like if you were to step through the keyhole and into the world of the artwork to the single. We think Oliver did an amazing job and he really has an eye for weird symbolism and trippy storytelling. We think it suits this song, an ode to freedom and solitude, perfectly.

”No friends but the mountain…”

Pre-order ‘Unknown Heights’: https://craneiumband.bandcamp.com/album/unknown-heights

Lyric video for “Shine Again”, the second single from Craneium’s 2021 album “Unknown Heights”. Video by Oliver Webb.

Finnish fuzz-rock outfit Craneium have released their new single ”Shine Again”. Shifting from massive, distorted passages to blissful, psychedelic soundscapes, ”Shine Again” highlights the dynamic and experimental nature of Craneium, while presenting a new musical dimension of the band. The group explains:

”No friends but the mountains…With ‘Shine Again’, it really feels like we’ve taken our songwriting to the next step. This is the direction we want to take Craneium in from now on. We are quite happy with the vocal harmonies and lyrics, as it turned out to be both a love song and an ode to freedom. In the studio our producer and engineer Joona Hassinen from Studio Underjord got us to perform at a level we feel we haven’t reached before. The mellotron strings added by Axel Brink (our former bass player and forming member) really gave it that little extra kick.”

Craneium is:
Andreas Kaján – Guitar & Vocals
Martin Ahlö – Guitar & Vocals
Jonas Ridberg – Bass
Joel Kronqvist – Drums, Percussion

Craneium on Facebook

Craneium on Instagram

Craneium on Twitter

Craneium on Bandcamp

The Sign Records on Facebook

The Sign Records website

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Sami Mustonen of Velvets

Posted in Questionnaire on July 16th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

velvets

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: Sami Mustonen of Velvets

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Velvets is an individual take on classic rock. We mixed together a lot of elements from blues, schlager, pop, funk and many different styles of rock’n’roll to get the sound right. The band started in January ’21 when me (Sami) and Sakke had some spare time on our hands while our other band Rokets couldn’t rehearse since our drummer got injured. The first idea for Velvets was to do love songs and along the way we added a bit more ingredients to it.

Describe your first musical memory.

As a kid I didn’t really listen to music that much. My parents didn’t listen to records, so everything I heard was on the radio, TV and movies. My first significant musical memory was when my older brother had just returned from a holiday in the US. I was 10 years old and he brought me a CD as a gift. The album was Cypress Hill’s “Black Sunday”. He had a CD player and we started listening to it. I was hooked. From then on I started exploring music and have been on that journey ever since. I never played any instruments, I just loved to sing, but it wasn’t something I was planning on doing in a band. It just happened when my best friends started a heavy metal band called United Seafood and needed a singer, so they asked me to try it out. Happy that they did!

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I don’t think I have a single best musical memory, but the best ones are from any packed shows we played with Rokets or Seafood. Doesn’t get much better than that. Looking forward to getting on stage with Velvets too, we have a boogie woogie band we really want you to hear and see!

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

I grew up in a suburb that was a relatively safe place. As a kid the world didn’t seem that big and scary when it feels like your surroundings are constantly giving you hugs and kisses. When I started skateboarding and exploring other cities, it really showed me the world for what it could actually be like. People, places, music, culture, food – of all of these I learned through skateboarding while making a lot of friends doing it. It really opened up the world to me and I couldn’t be more grateful for it!

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Towards better outcomes. Starting off with an idea of how you should do something and then learning different approaches, new ideas and techniques along the way to get the best out of you.

How do you define success?

Being happy with yourself and what you do. Feeling proud of and standing behind something that you have created. Sharing your life with someone you love and appreciate.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

David Cronenberg’s The Fly at age nine. Couple of nightmares was had after that. Learned to appreciate the film a bit older though. Gotta love the genius of Cronenberg!

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I’m studying cultural management and have a dream of running my own venue here in Helsinki. Would love to offer a space for up-and-coming bands as well as bigger names and to create an atmosphere for everyone to enjoy.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

For me it’s the freedom to create. It also works as a therapy of some sort. For the explorers of art, I think its purpose is to bring joy and understanding to people’s lives.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

Getting married in a couple of weeks! Love you Siri!

https://www.facebook.com/velvetshelsinki
https://www.instagram.com/velvetshelsinki/
https://velvetshelsinki.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thesignrecords/
http://www.thesignrecords.com

Velvets, Velvets (2021)

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Skraeckoedlan Premiere “Kaktus Galaxus” Remastered Demo from Äppelträdet Anniversary Edition LP

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on May 25th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

skraeckoedlan

Skraeckoedlan will release the 10th anniversary edition of their 2011 debut, Äppelträdet (review here), on June 11 through The Sign Records. Ten years ago, Äppelträdet (“apple tree” in English) was an electrified blend of heavy elements, bringing together weighted fuzz and the impact of progressive metal’s rhythmic turns, like a spliced-gene monsterlizard crafted by pulling together elements of Mastodon and Truckfighters, and it remains precisely that. Led by the clarion riffing of “Världarnas Fall,” it was prone to even more massive ready-to-be-called-“slabs” of stomp like the instrumental “Chronos,” and as “Arise the Sun” or the title-track or the duly careening “Universum” demonstrated, there was always more to the Norrköping, Sweden-based outfit’s approach than tonal novelty. Even at their outset, they were songwriters first, and the fact that they had such a clear idea of what they were doing only furthered their cause.

The 3LP edition of Äppelträdet is duly huge, and you can see the details below. If you’ve been keeping up, the band — now comprised of guitarist/vocalist Robert Lamu, guitarist Henrik Grüttner, bassist Erik Berggren and drummer Martin Larsson — haveÄppelträdet 10 årsjubileum been posting re-recorded tracks from Äppelträdet ahead of the release of the box set. They’ve unveiled two of three intended thus far, with “Arise the Sun” (posted here) last month following “Universum” (posted here) in February, but also included in the comprehensive offering is a remastered version of Skraeckoedlan‘s two demos, Flykten Från Tellus and Världarnas Fall, both originally released in 2010. And it was a different Skraeckoedlan before they hit the studio with Truckfighters‘ own Oskar Cedermalm to record the debut full-length. By and large, the songs are longer, dirtier, and rawer, with “Skräcködlan” and “Från Havet Dom Kommer” forming a one-two of surging low-end and spacey melody that presages some of what the band would soon become, but still presents it in nascent fashion, bolstered by the energy of the band’s youth and the sheer excitement of playing that comes from the fact that, at the time, what they were playing was new to them as well as to the listener.

“Kaktus Galaxus,” which would become “Cactus” on Äppelträdet proper, is in its Flykten Från Tellus form a blast of fuzzy push and cymbal crash, its chugging verse and nuanced drums allowing the vocal melody to come through in a ready showcase of potential furthered by the chorus. These demos were compiled together on a tape in 2012, but the remaster brings new clarity to the speedy development that took place going from Flykten Från Tellus to Världarnas Fall and finally into Äppelträdet, and as a way to mark the passage of 10 years since the latter first arrived, the totality of the release is more about telling the story of who Skraeckoedlan were and how they got their start than it is simply putting a record back into print — although between you and me, even if it was just about getting Äppelträdet back out there, the album holds up now as it has seeing periodic represses. I actively remember when it came in the first time around and I’d still be stoked to have it show up as a brand new outing from a brand new band. A decade after the fact, I can’t think of anything more to ask of it. It tells the story it wants to tell and puts emphasis on the early growth of the band, which, if you’ve followed the course of their career — their most recent LP was 2019’s Eorþe (review here) — you know has not abated in the time since.

So, as a lead-in for Äppelträdet‘s 10th anniversary edition, let’s go back to the start with the demo of “Kaktus Galaxus” mentioned above. You can dig into the track on the player below, and Lamu was kind enough to offer some words about it beneath that.

Please enjoy:

skraeckoedlan appeltradet

Robert Lamu on “Kaktus Galaxus”:

You are riding along in your space craft through a sandless desert, the world is coming to an end and everything seems lost. That’s when you see her. A giant space cactus, your savior.

“Kaktus Galaxus” is without a doubt our most important recording to this date. Both the writing and recording of that song showed us our sound and a way to play together. That demo made us re-record it for our debut album, and the song “Cactus” was born. That song has become our anthem.

“Äppelträdet” will be released as an anniversary vinyl box on June 11 via The Sign Records. The box will be available in 500 copies and includes:

– 3 X 180g Gold-colored LPs in a black box with Gold Foil
– “Äppelträdet” (10th anniversary edition)
skraeckoedlan appeltradet– “Äppelträdet” (Original)
– Demo recordings “Flykten från Tellus” and “Världarnas fall”
– 3x Inner sleeve (black with Gold Foil)
– 2x Posters (size A2)
– Lyric sheet and story from the band

Skraeckoedlan’s debut album ”Äppelträdet” was produced by Truckfighters’ bass player Oskar Cedermalm and released on Transubstans Records in 2011. In 2015 they teamed up with Razzia/Sony for the release of their sophomore album ”Sagor”, and in 2019 they launched their third and latest studio full length, ”Eorþe”.

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

Skraeckoedlan’s website

Skraeckoedlan on Instagram

Skraeckoedlan on Facebook

The Sign Records on Facebook

The Sign Records website

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