The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.
Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.
Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan
Days of Rona: Tana Haugo Kawahara of Eternal Elysium (Japan)
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How are you dealing with this crisis as a label? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?
All three members live in completely different locations inside Japan. From this year, with the new lineup, we meet once a month for a two-day rehearsal in Nagoya, at Okazaki’s Studio Zen. February’s and April’s rehearsals were both cancelled due to virus concerns regarding travel to and from different parts of Japan. We have a few gigs scheduled during the second half of this year, and so far no cancellations have been made. All of us are in good health.
What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?
Japan declared a formal state of emergency for the entire country on April 16, but because of the way the Japanese Constitution is written, the government doesn’t actually have the power to enforce any kind of quarantine or lockdown. It’s “suggested” or “recommended” for people to limit their movement, work from home when possible, etc. I live in a small village deep in the mountains so the situation is completely different from the big cities — lots of space and few people is normal around here. Even still, people are concerned, so more folks are wearing masks than usual, and the local restaurants, including mine, are doing take-out only and/or limiting operation hours. This also reduces the number of tourists coming out to the countryside from the cities.
How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?
Everyone agrees, it’s a weird time. Difficult and uncertain on so many levels.
Events and gatherings of all kinds have been cancelled, lots of people are either out of work or told to stay home, so there’s financial worry and additional stress for many. And for some other people, they don’t seem to care about it or comprehend the situation at all.
What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?
Earth has spoken, we need to listen. Looking forward to the day we can gather to make and enjoy music with our brothers and sisters again!
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 2nd, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Seen above with a friendly birthday clown, Japanese doom institution Church of Misery will return to US shores next year to embark on a special tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band. In addition to this righteous news — tickets are on sale now for most shows, with more going up tomorrow; you know how to find shit online, so you don’t need me to barrage you with the links — is the news that in addition to Black Wizard for part of the tour, they’ll also have along Forming the Void and they’ll meet up with Truckfighters and Valley of the Sun along the way. I don’t care how many acts do or don’t wind up on the bill, if you’ve got Church of Misery and Truckfighters playing a show, those two alone make it a festival. But fortunately the rest of the bill also kicks ass.
As a bonus, Church of Misery have posted recent live videos of two new songs, titled “Hungerford Massacre” and “Unabomber,” the former bridging out from serial killers to mass shootings for subject matter. Certainly there’s plenty of material to be mined there. More all the time, in fact.
Dates follow:
Church of Misery – 25th Anniversary North American Tour 2020
Tickets are on sale now!
Church of Misery 25th Anniversary North American Tour 2020 02/05 San Diego, CA Soda Bar * 02/07 Mesa, AZ Club Red * 02/09 Austin, TX Barracuda ** 02/11 Wilmington, NC Reggies # 02/12 Washington, D.C. Rock & Roll Hotel # 02/13 Philadelphia, PA Underground Arts # 02/15 Brooklyn, NY Kingsland # 02/16 Boston, MA Middle East # 02/17 Montreal, QC Bar LeRitz ** 02/18 Toronto, ON Hard Luck ** 02/19 Chicago, IL Reggies ** 02/20 Minneapolis, MN Skyway Theatre ** 02/21 Milwaukee, WI Cactus Club ** 02/23 Winnipeg, MB The Garrick * 02/25 Edmonton, AB Starline * 02/26 Calgary, AB Dickens * 02/28 Vancouver, BC Venue * 02/29 Seattle, WA Substation ## 03/01 Portland, OR High Water Mark ## 03/03 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill ## 03/04 Sacramento, CA Harlows ## 03/05 Santa Cruz, CA Catalyst ## 03/06 Los Angeles, CA Hi Hat ##
* w/ Black Wizard Feb 5th, 7th & Feb 23rd – 28th ** w/ Black Wizard & Forming The Void Feb 9th # w/Truckfighters, Valley Of The Sun, Black Wizard & Forming The Void Feb 17th – Feb 21st ## w/ Black Wizard & Wizard Rifle Feb 29th – Mar 6th
Church of Misery features Tatsu Mikami (bass), Junichi Yamamura (drums), Yasuto Muraki (guitar) and Hiroyuki Takano (vocals).
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 16th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
2LP and digital release only for the new Boris record, Love and Evol. Fair enough, I guess, as CDs prove historically to more and more be the bastard-child of physical formats as tapes at least earn some kind of revisionist hipness. I’ll still take a tiny plastic platter if one’s on offer, but I’d be lying if I said didn’t say that more often than not it’s digital files I’m actually listening to these days, and if you’re having one or the other sit on a shelf, the vinyl is more impressive. For those of us who buy in bulk, however, there’s something to be said for saving every bit of space possible.
Either way, new Boris is nothing but good news, whatever format restrictions may apply, and even better that they’ll tour to support it. I’ll look forward to seeing them in… Jersey City?
Time does strange things to us all.
From the PR wire:
BORIS ANNOUNCE ‘LOVE & EVOL’ & NORTH AMERICAN TOUR IN CELEBRATION
LOVE & EVOL will be released via Third Man Records in August. Re-issues of Boris’s Akuma no Uta and Feedbacker are forthcoming.
Boris have never been one for sentimentality—they simply wave goodbye to old worlds in favor of new horizons. That’s exactly the logic behind the band’s two forthcoming reissues of Akuma No Uta and Feedbacker, which will be released via Third Man Records this year, marking a new partnership between the band and label. The batch of reissues also makes way for Boris’s first new album in two years: L?VE & EV?L, due out this August on Third Man. The pioneering, monolithic trio will also be hitting the road with NYC industrialists Uniform this fall – tour dates are listed below.
L?VE & EV?L exist as two independent works, encapsulating conflicting connotations that interweave and become intricately entangled with one another, gradually eroding before becoming utterly singular. Continuing to tinker and toil with their sound since the release of DEAR, Boris have pivoted onward a more organic, non-grid literary style that L?VE & EV?L showcases.
Boris was formed in 1992, culminating in the current lineup of Takeshi, Wata, and Atsuo just three years later. Even in their infancy, the members of Boris boldly explored their own vision of heavy music, where words like “explosive” and “thunderous” barely do justice. Using overpowering soundscapes embellished with copious amounts of lighting and billowing smoke, Boris has shared with audiences across the planet an experience for all five senses in their concerts, earning legions of zealous fans along the way.
L?VE & EV?L will be released this August on double LP and digital formats via Third Man Records, with the reissue details to follow. Stay tuned for more news to come.
Boris is: Takeshi — Vocal, Bass & Guitar Wata — Vocal, Guitar & Echo Atsuo — Vocal, Drums, Percussion & Electronics
L?VE & EV?L — Track Listing: Disc [L?VE] Side A 1. Away from You 2. Coma
Side B 3. EVOL
Disc [EV?L] Side A 1. uzume 2. LOVE
Side B 3. In The Pain(t) 4. Shadow of Skull
BORIS — On Tour w/ Uniform: August 19 San Diego, CA @ Casbah August 20 Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar August 22 San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger August 23 Austin, TX @ Barracuda August 24 Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves August 25 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall August 28 Mexico City, MX @ Galera * August 30 Tampa, FL @ Orpheum August 31 Gainesville, FL @ High Dive September 1 Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade September 3 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In September 4 Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel September 5 Raleigh, NC @ Hopscotch Festival * September 7 Washington, DC @ Black Cat September 8 Jersey City, NJ @ White Eagle Hall September 10 Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere September 11 Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club September 12 Portland, ME @ Port City Music Hall September 13 Montreal, QC @ Theatre Plaza September 14 Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace September 15 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme September 17 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall September 18 St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall September 20 Denver, CO @ Marquis Theater September 21 Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall September 23 Seattle, WA @ Neumos September 24 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge September 26 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall September 27 San Jose, CA @ The Ritz September 28 Camarillo, CA @ Rock City September 29 Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 5th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Japan’s leading purveyors of riff-led mayhem Church of Misery will return to US shores this Spring to appear at Maryland Deathfest. That slot will act as the springboard for an American tour that hits the West and East Coasts and more than a few stops in between, and finds the band joined by Mondo Generator, The Atomic Bitchwax and Toke in alternating patterns. It’s the most Church of Misery has played in the States in at least the last five years, though they certainly led all of the Hard Rock to the slaughter at Psycho Las Vegas 2018 (review here). Their particular brand of madness only seems to win them more favor as years pass by, as though the world itself is finally losing its mind enough to catch up to their insanity.
Shows are presented by Tone Deaf Touring and came down the PR wire thusly:
Church of Misery Announces U.S. Headlining Tour
Rare Stateside Live Dates from Pioneering Doom Metal Pacesetters to Include Special Festival Appearances in Austin, Baltimore
Highly respected Japanese doom metal band Church of Misery has announced a spring U.S. headlining tour. The scheduled three week trek will kick off on May 25 in Detroit, MI and run through June 16 in Cambridge, MA. Church of Misery will advance the 22 city major market tour run with an appearance at the 2019 Maryland Deathfest on May 23 and will also perform as one of the featured acts at the 2019 Austin Terror Fest on June 7.
Formed in 1996 by bassist Tatsu Mikami, the Tokyo-based Church of Misery’s formidable sound melds early-era Black Sabbath style doom with powerful psychedelic rock. Major players in Japan’s underground music scene, the celebrated quartet dwells obsessively on the topic of infamous serial killers; the subjects-at-hand are both the focus of the band’s lyrics and its overall sweeping thematic. Merging disturbing lyrical imagery and macabre news reel sound bites with infectious, wah-wah-driven acid metal, Church of Misery is a proven treat for fans of early 70’s hard rock and traditional doom metal alike.
Support on the Church of Misery U.S. tour will be provided by a rotating cast of today’s best UG rock acts including The Atomic Bitchwax, Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator and Toke.
Church of Misery tour dates: May 23 Baltimore, MD Rams Head Live (as part of Maryland Deathfest) * ! (tickets + info. HERE) May 25 Detroit, MI The Sanctuary * $# (tickets + info. HERE) May 26 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle * $# (tickets + info. HERE) May 27 Rock Island, IL Rock Island Brewing Company * $# (tickets + info. HERE) May 28 Kansas City, KS Riot Room * $# (tickets + info. HERE) May 29 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge * $# (tickets + info. HERE) May 31 Seattle, WA El Corazon * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 1 Portland, OR Dante’s * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 2 Oakland, CA Oakland Opera House * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 3 Los Angeles, CA Echoplex * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 4 Tempe, AZ Club Red * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 5 Albuquerque, NM Sister * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 6 Oklahoma City, OK 8th Street * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 7 Austin, TX Empire Control Room (as part of Austin Terror Fest) * ! (tickets + info. HERE) June 8 Houston, TX White Oak Music Hall * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 9 New Orleans, LA Santos * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 10 Nashville, TN Little Harpeth Brewing * $# (tickets + info. HERE) June 11 Atlanta, GA The Earl * # (tickets + info. HERE) June 12 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 * # (tickets + info. HERE) June 13 Pittsburgh, PA Cattivo * %# (on sale Wednesday, March 6 at 12 pm EST) June 15 Brooklyn, NY Saint Vitus * # (tickets + info. HERE) June 16 Cambridge, MA Middle East * %# (tickets + info. HERE)
$ = w/ Mondo Generator % = w/ The Atomic Bitchwax # = w/ Toke ! = Church of Misery ONLY
Church of Misery features Tatsu Mikami (bass), Junichi Yamamura (drums), Yasuto Muraki (guitar) and Hiroyuki Takano (vocals).
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 1st, 2019 by JJ Koczan
Emetic Records has posted the news that Sonic Flower will release a second full-length before the end of 2019. Any news about the Tokyo, Japan-based psych/stoner project is somewhat surprising when one considers their self-titled debut (reissue review here) came out in 2003 through the long-defunct Leaf Hound Records, and that bassist Tatsu Mikami spends most of his time these days celebrating psychosis in Church of Misery. Unsurprisingly, Tatsu is joined by a different lineup than that which appeared on the original Sonic Flower offering — which Emetic put out in 2011 — and and it looks somewhat like they’ll follow a structure not dissimilar from Church of Misery‘s last couple outings in including originals as well as a heavy ’70s-era cover, in this case, of Savoy Brown.
He’s not the only Church of Misery veteran involved in the band either though, with guitarist Yasuto Muraki and vocalist Kazuhiro Asaeda taking part alongside original Sonic Flower drummer Keisuke Fukawa. I won’t pretend to know what the future might hold for Sonic Flower or what the album might sound like — or be called, for that matter — when it arrives, but when Tatsu Mikami plays bass, the thing to do is pay attention, so here we are and here’s looking forward to more on a record that I don’t imagine I’m the only one who thought would never happen.
Emetic has the news like this:
Towards the end of 2019 we’ll be releasing the long awaited 2nd full-length from Sonic Flower.
Here’s a statement from the band:
Sonic Flower rises again! We’ve been preparing for new album recording. It includes 7 new songs and Savoy Brown cover. All songs written by Tatsu Mikami & all lyrics by Kazuhiro Asaeda.
SONIC FLOWER: Vo: Kazuhiro Asaeda ( ex.C.o.M “vol.1”, Scarlet Garden) G: Yasuto Muraki ( Church of Misery) B: Tatsu Mikami ( Church of Misery, Skull Pit) Dr: Keisuke Fukawa (Skull Pit, ex.Desperate Corruption)
Posted in Reviews on January 11th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Day Four of the Quarterly Review! Welcome to the downswing. We’re past the halfway point and feeling continually groovy. Thus far it’s been a week of coffee and a vast musical swath that today only reaches even further out from the core notion of what may or may not make a release or a band “heavy.” Is it sound? Is it emotion? Is it concept? Fact is there’s no reason it can’t be all of those things and a ton more, so keep an open mind as you make your way through today’s batch and we’ll all come out of it better people on the other end. Alright? Alright. Here we go.
Quarterly Review #31-40:
Iron Monkey, 9-13
I’ll admit to some level of skepticism at the prospect of an Iron Monkey reunion without frontman Johnny Morrow, who died in 2002, but as founding guitarist Jim Rushby (now also vocals), bassist Steve Watson (who originally played guitar) and new drummer Brigga revive the influential UK sludge outfit with the nine songs of 9-13 on Relapse, it somehow makes sense that the band’s fuckall and irreverence would extend inward as well. That is, why should Iron Monkey find Iron Monkey an any more sacred and untouchable property than they find anything else? Ultimately, the decision will be up to the listener as to acceptance, but the furies of “OmegaMangler,” “Mortarhex,” “Doomsday Impulse Multiplier” and the nine-minute lumber-into-torrent closer “Moreland St. Hammervortex” make a pretty resounding argument that if you can’t get down with Iron Monkey as they are today, it’s going to be your loss and that, as ever, they couldn’t care less to see you stick around or see you go. So welcome back.
Mountain Legacy, which is the second Deadsmoke album for Heavy Psych Sounds, might be the heaviest release the label has put out to-date. For the band, it marks the arrival of keyboardist Claudio Rocchetti to the former trio, and from the lumbering space of aptly-titled post-intro opener “Endless Cave” to the later creeping lurch of “Wolfcurse,” it’s an outing worthy of comparison to the earlier work of Italian countrymen Ufomammut, but still rooted in the gritty, post-Sleep plod the band elicited on their 2016 self-titled debut (review here). The central difference seems to be an increase in atmospheric focus, which does well to enrich the listening experience overall, be it in the creepy penultimate interlude “Forest of the Damned” or side A finale “Emperor of Shame.” Whether this progression was driven by Rocchetti’s inclusion in the band or the other way around, it’s a marked showing of growth on a quick turnaround from Deadsmoke and shows them as having a much broader creative reach than expected. All the better because it’s still so devastatingly weighted.
To call Somnuri a formidable trio is underselling it. The Brooklynite three-piece is comprised of guitarist/vocalist Justin Sherrell (Blackout, ex-Bezoar, etc.), bassist Drew Mack (ex-Hull) and drummer Phil SanGiacomo (Family), and the noise they make on their Magnetic Eye-released self-titled debut is as progressive as it is intense. Recorded by Jeff Berner and mixed my SanGiacomo, cuts like “Kaizen” and “Same Skies” land with a doomed heft but move with the singular fury of the Northeastern US, and even as eight-minute closer “Through the Dead” balances more rock-minded impulses and seems to touch on a Soundgarden influence, it answers for the ultra-aggro tumult of “Pulling Teeth” just before. A flash of ambience in the drone interlude “Opaque” follows the plodding highlight “Slow Burn,” which speaks to yet another side of Somnuri’s potential – to create spaces as much as to crush them. With an interplay of cleaner vocals, screams, growls and shouts, there’s enough variety to throw off expectation, and where so much of New York’s noise-metal history is about angry single-mindedness, Somnuri’s Somnuri shows even in a vicious moment like “Inhabitant” that there’s more ground to cover than just being really, really, really pissed off.
Time to get weird. No. Really weird. In the end, I’m not sure Mumbai semi-improvisationalist troupe Daira did themselves any favors by making their sophomore LP, Vipreet Buddhi, a single 93-minute/16-track outing instead of breaking it into the two halves over which its course is presented – the first being eight distinct songs, the second a flowing single jam broken up over multiple parts – but one way or another, it’s an album that genuinely presents a vibe of its own, taking cues from heavy psych, jazz, funk, classic prog, folk and more as it plays through its bizarre and ambient flow, toying with jarring stretches along the way like the eerie “Apna Ullu Seedha” but so dug in by the time it’s jammed its way into “Dekho Laal Gaya” that it seems like there’s no getting out. It’s an overwhelming and unmanageable offering, but whoever said the avant garde wasn’t supposed to be a challenge? Certainly not Daira, and they clearly have plenty to say. Whatever else you listen to today, I can safely guarantee it won’t sound like this. And that’s probably true of every day.
Chest-compressing groove and drive will no doubt earn Hamburg four-piece Kavrila’s second album, Blight (on Backbite Records), some comparisons to Mantar, but to dig into tracks like “Gold” and “Each (Part Two)” is to find a surprising measure of atmospheric focus, and even a rage-roller like “Abandon” has a depth to its mix. Though it’s just 24 minutes long, I’d still consider Blight a full-length for the two-sided flow it sets up leading to the aforementioned “Gold” and “Each (Part Two),” both being the longest cut on their respective half of the record in addition to splitting the tracklisting, as well as for the grinding aspects of songs like “Apocalypse,” “Demolish” and “Golem” on side B, the latter of which takes the rhythmic churn of Godflesh to a point of extremity that even the earlier thrust of “Lungs” did little to foretell. There’s a balance of sludge and hardcore elements, to be sure, but it’s the anger that ultimately defines Blight, however coherent it might be (and is) in its violent intent.
Employing the session violin services of Jess Randall, the Melbourne-based two-piece of Brodric Wellington (drums/vocals) and Joseph Pap (guitar, bass, keys) – collectively known as Ivan – would seem to be drawing a specific line in the direction of My Dying Bride with their take on death-doom, but the emotionalist influence goes deeper than that on Strewn Across Stars, their second LP. Shades of Skepticism show themselves in opener and longest track (immediate points) “Cosmic Fear,” which demonstrates a raw production ready for the limited-cassette obscurism the band conjured for their 2016 debut, Aeons Collapse, but nonetheless fleshed out melodically in the guitar and already-noted, deeply prevalent string arrangement. The subsequent “Ethereal” (12:41), “Hidden Dimensions” (12:25) and “Outro” (8:18) dig even further into plodding shattered-self woefulness, with “Hidden Dimensions” providing a brief moment of tempo release before the violin and keys take complete hold in “Outro” to give listeners one last chance to bask in resonant melancholia. A genre-piece, to be sure, but able to stand on its own in terms of personality and patience alike.
Toronto singer-songwriter Clara Engel pays ambient folk homage to the Mexican surrealist painter/author with the five-tracks of Songs for Leonara Carrington, fleshing out creative and depth-filled arrangements that nonetheless hold fast to the intimate human core beneath. Engel’s voice is of singular character in its melding of gruff fragility, and whether it’s the psychedelic hypnosis of opener and longest track (immediate points) “Birdheaded Queen” or the seemingly minimalist drift of the penultimate “The Ancestor,” her confident melodies float atop gorgeous and sad instrumental progressions that cast an atmosphere of vast reaches. Even the more percussively active centerpiece “Microgods of all the Subatomic Worlds” feels informed by the gradual wash of guitar melody that takes hold on the prior “Sanctuary for Furies,” and as Engel brings in guest contributors for drums, bass, guitar, theremin and choir vocals alongside her own guitar, pump organ, flute and singing, there seems to be little out of her reach or scope. It is a joy to get lost within it.
I don’t know whether the title-cut of Blood on Satan’s Claw, the new two-songer EP from dirge-doomers Alastor, is leftover from the same sessions that bore their 2017 debut album for Twin Earth Records, Black Magic (review here), but as it’s keeping company with a near-11-minute take on Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising,” the four-piece’s return is welcome either way. Unsurprisingly, not much has changed in their approach in the mere months since the full-length was issued, but that doesn’t mean the swing of “Blood on Satan’s Claw,” the central riff of which owes as much to Windhand as to Sleep as to C.O.C.‘s “Albatross” as to Sabbath, isn’t worth digging into all the same, and with psychedelic vocals reminiscent of newer Monolord and flourish of creeper-style organ, its doom resounds on multiple levels leading into the aforementioned cover, which drawls out the classic original arrangement with a wilfully wretched tack that well earns a nod and raised claw. Alastor remain backpatch-ready, seemingly just waiting for listeners to catch on. If these tracks are any indication, they’ll get there.
Give it a couple minutes to get going and Fueltronaut, the debut full-length from French four-piece Deadly Vipers, is more than happy to serve up energetic post-Kyuss desert rock loyalism that’s true to form in both spirit and production. Shades of earliest Dozer and the wider pre-social media older-school Euro heavy underground show themselves quickly in “Universe,” but in the later mid-paced reach of “Stalker,” there’s more modern bluesy vibing and as the mega-fuzzed “Meteor Valley,” the driving jam of “Supernova,” and the let’s-push-the-vocals-really-high-in-the-mix-for-some-reason “Dead Summer” shove the listener onward with righteous momentum toward pre-outro closer “River of Souls,” each track getting longer as it goes, the melody that emerges there indeed feels like a moment of arrival. My only real complaint? The intro “Fuel Prophecy” and (hidden) outro, “Watch the Road End.” Especially with the immediacy that strikes when “Universe” kicks in and the resonant finish of “River of Souls” at its six-minute mark, having anything before the one and after the other seems superfluous. A minor quibble on an impressive debut (one could also ramble about cartoon tits on the cover, but what’s the point?) and showcase of potential from an exciting newcomer outfit clearly assured of the style for which they’re aiming.
Tokyo duo Storm of Void make their full-length debut with the nine-track/48-minute War Inside You, a full-length that might first snag attention owing to guest vocal spots from Napalm Death’s Mark “Barney” Greenway and Jawbox’s J. Robbins, but has no trouble holding that same attention with its progressive instrumental turns and taut execution. Released by Hostess Entertainment, it’s instrumental in bulk, with eight-string guitarist George Bodman (Bluebeard) and drummer Dairoku Seki (envy) coming together to deliver brisk and aggressive prog metal centered around chugging riffs and a tension that seems to take hold in “Into the Circle” and let up only for the momentary “Interlude” in the midsection before closer “Ghosts of Mt. Sleepwalker” finally allows for some exhalation. As for the guest spots, they’re nothing to complain about, and they break up the proceedings nicely placed as they are, but if Storm of Void are going to hook you, it’s going to be on their own merits, which are plentiful.
Posted in Reviews on November 30th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
To be sure, if you’re looking to start a collection of underrated and ripe-for-broader-appreciation riffage, there are probably few better ways to kick off than with Eternal Elysium. The long-running Nagoya-based outfit trace their stoner rocking Sabbathian loyalties back more than 20 years at this point, and they have a discography chock full of memorable songs that have gone rampantly undervalued in their time. Accordingly, one can only applaud the efforts of Ukrainian imprint Robustfellow Productions in giving due homage to Eternal Elysium‘s 2005 fourth album, Searching Low and High, which from the initial boogie of “Reefer Happiness” through the Hendrixian strut of “Twilight High” and into the depths of 16-minute jammer finale “Green Song” makes just about a perfect lead release for what’s been dubbed the Robust Relics Series.
Given new cover art by Yura “xNinja” Nagorniy and a complete 2017 remix and remaster courtesy of Eternal Elysium founding guitarist/vocalist Yukito Okazaki, the new version of Searching Low and High is comprised of 10 songs and runs a suitably robust 73 minutes thanks in part to the inclusion of two bonus tracks, “Eternal Elysium” (13:53) and “The Spiral Conclusion” (6:59), but even without these, it’s a substantial work of heavy rock idolatry, digging into the roots of the style and focusing less on nuance of presentation than quality of songcraft. That’s not a tradeoff you’re ever going to hear me complain about, and indeed, the band works it to their advantage even for a weirdo interlude like “Approaching Stranger on the Electric Trail of Dreams,” efficiently bringing a sense of atmosphere to the otherwise straightforward attack of the subsequent post-grunge of “No Isolation.”
Following their 1996 debut, Faithful, the next two Eternal Elysium records — 2000’s Spiritualized D and 2002’s Share — were released by MeteorCity, marking their introduction to North American audiences. They’ve had a number of EPs and splits out along the way, including one in 2007 with Black Cobra, and have issued two full-lengths since Searching Low and High in 2009’s Within the Triad and last year’s excellent return, Resonance of Shadows (review here).
Originally issued on Diwphalanx Records with a follow-up vinyl through Hydro-Phonic in 2011, Searching Low and High finds Eternal Elysium at an interesting point in the arc of their overarching progression, confident enough four records deep to throw a little country swing into “Before the Morning Comes” as might a Pepper Keenan-fronted C.O.C. or to play off acid folk on the 1:42 aside “Hazy Sublime” earlier, but well aware that the core of their approach lies in the thickened groove of a song like second cut “Not So Far,” which answers the faster initial rollout of “Reefer Happiness” by unfolding a doomer nod before turning at its halfway point to madcap stoner punk that here jumps from one channel to the other as it makes its way through its careening course toward a solo-topped bookending slowdown.
The opening salvo, followed immediately by the aforementioned “Hazy Sublime,” represents the very roots of what works best about Searching Low and High, but Eternal Elysium aren’t content to rest on that alone, and the substance of the album proves more varied and more satisfying than it would if they stuck to the same ideas across the span. And it’s precisely there that the band’s experience as songwriters becomes most relevant and, frankly, easiest to discern.
Earlier outings showcased no shortage of fervent stonerism and were righteous in doing so, but with Searching Low and High, Yukito, bassist/vocalist Tana Haugo and drummer Antonio Ishikawa move fluidly between a more varied swath of influences in a way that, in context, seems to provide a model they’d follow even on Resonance of Shadows, planting their feet firmly and moving outward from there. As the organ-laced “Before the Morning Comes” jives into the psychedelically languid “Green Song,” the trio effectively draw the listener along this path as they go, and the final act of immersion into drift is made all the more satisfying by its dynamic ebbs and flows throughout, guitar leads taking the fore of the new mix with a steady rhythmic foundation behind.
Capped with a fadeout and feedback, “Green Song” gives Searching Low and High a fitting conclusion — gone with no return — but the bonus tracks assure that the proceedings aren’t done yet. The eponymous “Eternal Elysium” appeared on the band’s demo in 1992 and “The Spiral Conclusion” featured on their 2012 split with SardoniS, but both were also on the Hydro-Phonic vinyl as well, so they’re hardly out of place here, and if you’re prone to complain about an extra 20 minutes spent with Eternal Elysium coming out of your speakers, you’re probably not taking on a reissue of Searching Low and High in the first place. Another jam. More nodding riffs. Zero argument.
It will be fascinating to see where Robustfellow takes its Robust Relics Series from here. Of course, I’ve discussed on numerous occasions the treasure trove of pre-social media heavy rock and roll that exists both in and out of current print, so there’s no shortage of fodder for the imprint to dig through and stand behind for reissue should it choose to do so, but in beginning with Eternal Elysium, a clear signal and a high standard have been set, and whether Searching Low and High will ultimately mark a departure point into the discographies of other acts or a series of revamped offerings from the Japanese rockers on their own, its arrival is as welcome as its riffs are timeless.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 23rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Fresh off the heels of releasing their Man is Myth – Early Demos collection on Napalm Records, UK rifflords Conan have announced a run of Japanese dates in March 2018. Support will come from UK compatriots Kurokuma and Tokyo’s Granule, and the tour is being presented under the banner of ‘Doomed Japan,’ which, if you can think of something better to call it, you’ll just have to let me know because from where I sit that about sums it up. Conan do not often go to a place and leave it unflattened, and as they look to hit Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo, they’ll also be perhaps on the heels of a new album release expected sometime early next year, so all the more reason to watch out.
The PR wire brings copious info about that and more background on the tour in general:
Doomed Japan – Conan, Kurokuma & Granule Japan Tour 2018
UK attack extends to Japan as caveman battle doom trio, Conan announce three shows in the Land of the Rising Sun in March 2018. They will be supported by psychedelic sludge crew, Kurokuma and Tokyo blackened sludge project, Granule.
Conan (UK) are as heavy as interplanetary thunder amplified through the roaring black hole anus of Azathoth. Remember that sentence, for it is writ large in virgin blood on the walls of the forgotten temple of Bol-Krastor, deep in the steaming forests of forgotten Lemuria. Conan, a monumentally brutal three piece (in the grand tradition of all the hallowed three pieces through time) hold a sinew-tight line and an iron-grip command over the uber-synchronised powerchord changes and tempo-shifts of the anti-holy trio of bass, drums and guitar.
Two weary yet defiant men have the task of vocalising wretched thoughts over the turgid weight of Conan’s metalized bombast. They bear it well, for the task is immense. Hear the roar of battle. Smell the stench of spilt blood. A thousand heads piled high like a grim mound of suffering – a blasphemy to nature. Hail Conan!
Forming in 2006, Conan released their earth-flatteningly heavy debut, Horseback Battle Hammer in 2010. Having revitalised the UK’s slow/heavy scene, they are now signed to Napalm Records and currently recording their fourth album set for release in 2018. They released the Man Is Myth demos earlier this year.
Masters of shamanic, hypnotic sludge, Kurokuma (UK) is Jacob Mazlum (guitar/vocals), George Ionita (bass/vocals) and Joe Allen (drums).
After spending a year in the cold reaches of northern Japan and inspired by his time playing the taiko drum, Joe returned to the UK to start a shadowy three-piece that combined the unassailable power of doom with exotic percussion and an enchanting energy. Taking their name from Kurokuma Falls in Aomori, Kurokuma was born.
Kurokuma’s 2014 demo and the 2016 EP, Advorsus (Medusa Crush Recordins) along with savage live performances have been enough to see them establish a reputation as one of metal’s most potent new forces. In 2018 they will release their Dope Rider concept EP, as well as playing Brutal Assault festival in Czech Republic.
Featuring former members of legendary Tokyo band, BOMBORI, Granule formed in 2017. The five piece soon released AURORA on cassette (w/ zine), this being a rapid crystallisation of the band’s cutting, oppressive sludge sound. More recently they released DEMO #2, an all-out, raw, auditory assault representative of the band’s live show. Granule head up the booking/organisation of the Doomed Japan tour.
