I am woefully unqualified to talk about the occult, or about “alternative” spirituality (or spirituality at all, I guess), dark magic, or any of that kind of thing. I just never got there. I am far too mundane in my belief system. When I might otherwise have been reading Aleister Crowley and getting my beginner’s class in expanding my mind into the grim ether of our dimension, I was probably too busy getting drunk by myself and writing bad poetry. Not that the two necessarily need to be mutually exclusive, but in my case they seem to have been.
No doubt it’s my loss. I only bring it up because that sense of ritual, of reading dried-page books with symbols on them by candlelight, that spirit of invocation pervades everything Italian trio Nibiru does. It is writ large throughout their new album, Salbrox (review here), which was released in May as their first outing for Ritual Productions — rarely are a band and label more made for each other — as the follow-up to 2017’s Qaal Babalon (review here) on Argonauta. It is the Torino group’s fifth full-length overall, and at an encompassing 64 minutes long, it shows they’ve long since wormed their way into dark arts mastery. A bleak, psychological psychedelia pervades the wash of effects and course narration at the outset, but it’s in the repetition and the hypnotic effect thereof on the listener, as well as in the abyssal barks of the vocals, that Nibiru seem to dive ever deeper into their own spirit.
And it is very much an inward journey, even as much as it’s an outward sonic exploration on Salbrox. To listen to a song like “Exarp” or “Nanta,” for which they’re premiering a new video below, Nibiru seem to be challenging themselves as much as their listenership, crafting material that sounds excruciating to perform no less than it’s hard on the ear. The abrasive feedback laid overtop the roll of “Nanta” undercuts the notion of accessibility to its groove, and even that march seems to be directed permanently downward into some chaos waiting to be harvested.
Do they get to those depths of madness by the time 13-minute closer “Rziorn” is done? You know, the thing about endless pits of despair is they just kind of keep going, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Nibiru manage to push even further their next time out, but as “Nanta” shows, there’s plenty of insanity to be had. And not to shift back to real-world concerns or anything, but if you’re sensitive to flashing lights, you might want to tread carefully through the video, as both the performance footage and the handsy-torture-chamber scenes have some of that going on. Just fair warning.
And should you want to try your hand at some self-obliteration — now that I understand — I’ve included the full stream of Salbrox below, courtesy of Ritual Productions‘ Bandcamp. Dig in if you’re feeling like you need a litmus test for psyche destruction. Which we all do, frankly.
With love:
Nibiru, “Nanta” official video
‘NANTA’ taken from the Nibiru album ‘Salbrox’, out on Ritual Productions. Video directed by Marco Testa. ‘Salbrox’ available on LP/CD/DL at Ritual Productions.
Conceptually and spiritually, Salbrox is inspired by the continuous re-adjustment between disharmony and balance. Salbrox aims, via mysterious and enigmatic practices that reflect an ouroboros quality of death and rebirth, to explore the transmutation and regeneration of the human being that occurs at every level – spirit, soul and corporeality.
In turn, the alchemical practice of ‘Solve et Coagula’ – meaning to dissolve and coagulate – is the foundation of Salbrox. This ethos points towards the liberation of the self from impurities and the destruction of the Ego, bringing forth an alternative awareness and synthesis of the self. The rite is thus a magick process that follows the key principles of alchemy, merging deep, ancestral knowledge into sound voyages that awaken the darkest and most hidden chords of consciousness.
More computer bullshit this morning. I lost about 45 minutes because my graphics driver and Windows 10 apparently hate each other and before I could disable the former, the machine decided the best it could do for me was to load a blank screen. Hard to find the Pelican record on my desktop when I can’t see my desktop. The Patient Mrs. woke up while I was trying to fix it and suggested HDMIing it to the tv. When I did that, it didn’t project as was hoped, but the display came on — because go figure — and I was able to shut off the driver, the only real advantage of which is it lets me use the night light feature so it’s easier on my eyes. That’s nice, but I’d rather have the laptop function. Not really working on a level of “give me soft red light or give me death!” at this point. I may yet get there in my life.
Today’s the last day of this beast, wrapping up the last of the 60 reviews, and I’m already in the hole for the better part of an hour thanks to this technical issue, the second of the week. Been an adventure, this one. Let’s close it out.
Quarterly Review #51-60:
Pelican, Nighttime Stories
Split into two LPs each with its own three-minute mood-setter — those being “WST” and “It Stared at Me,” respectively — Pelican‘s Nighttime Stories (on Southern Lord) carries the foreboding sensibility of its title into an aggressive push throughout the album, which deals from the outset with the pain of loss. The lead single “Midnight and Mescaline” represents this well in directly following “WST,” with shades of more extreme sounds in the sharp-turning guitar interplay and tense drums, but it carries through the blastbeats of “Abyssal Plain” and the bombastic crashes of presumed side B closer “Cold Hope” as well, which flow via a last tonal wash toward the melancholy “It Stared at Me” and the even-more-aggro title-track, the consuming “Arteries of Blacktop” and the eight-minute “Full Moon, Black Water,” which offers a build of maddening chug — a Pelican hallmark — before resolving in melodic serenity, moving, perhaps, forward with and through its grief. It’s been six years since Pelican‘s last LP, Forever Becoming (review here), and they’ve responded to that time differential with the hardest-hitting record they’ve ever done.
Though the peaceful beginning of 13-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “The Heavy Seed,” for which the five-song album is named, reminds of Swan Valley Heights‘ Munich compatriots in Colour Haze, the ultimate impression the band make on their Fuzzorama Records debut and second album overall behind a 2016 self-titled (review here) is more varied in its execution, with cuts like “Vaporizer Woman” and the centerpiece “Take a Swim in God’s Washing Machine” manifesting ebbs and flows and rolling out a fuzzy largesse to lead into dream-toned ethereality and layered vocals that immediately call to mind Elephant Tree. There’s a propensity for jamming, but they’re not a jam band, and seem always to have a direction in mind. That’s true even on the three-minute instrumental “My First Knife Fight,” which unfurls around a nod riff and simple drum progression to bridge into closer “Teeth and Waves,” a bookend to The Heavy Seed‘s title-track that revives that initial grace and uses it as a stepping stone for the crunch to come. It’s a balance that works and should be well received.
Released in the wee hours of 2019, Mark Deutrom‘s The Blue Bird marks the first new solo release from the prolific Austin-based songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist through Season of Mist, and it’s a 50-minute run of genre-spanning outsider art, bringing ’70s folk vibes to the weepy guitar echoes of “Radiant Gravity” right before “O Ye of Little Faith” dooms out for six of its seven minutes and “Our Revels Now Are Ended” basks in 77 seconds of experimentalist winding guitar. It goes like that. Vocals are intermittent enough to not necessarily be expected, but not entirely absent through the midsection of “Hell is a City,” “Somnambulist” and “Maximum Hemingway,” and if there’s traditionalism at play anywhere, it might be in “They Have Won” and “The Happiness Machine,” which, toward the back end of the album, bring a sax-laden melancholy vibe and a straightforward heavy rock feel, respectively, ahead of the closer “Nothing out There,” which ties them together, somehow accounting for the 1:34 “On Fathers Day” as well in its sweetness. Don’t go into The Blue Bird asking it to make sense on any level other than its own and you should be fine. It’s not a minor undertaking at 50 minutes, and not without its indulgences, but even the briefest of pieces helps develop the character of the whole, which of course is essential to any good story.
Austin bringers of hard-boogie Greenbeard reportedly issued the three-song Onward, Pillager as a precursor to their next full-length — even the name hints toward it being something of a stopgap — but its tracks stand well on their own, whether it’s the keyboard-laced “Contact High II,” which is presumably a sequel to another track on the forthcoming record, or the chunkier roll of “WCCQ” and the catchy finisher “Kill to Love Yourself,” with its overlaid guitar solo adding to a dramatic ending. It hasn’t been that long since 2017’s Lödarödböl (review here), but clearly these guys are committed to moving forward in neo-stoner rock fashion, and their emergence as songwriters is highlighted particularly throughout “WCCQ” and “Kill to Love Yourself,” while “Contact High II” is more of an intro or a would-be interlude on the full-length. It may only be pieces of a larger, to-be-revealed picture, but Onward, Pillager shows three different sides of what Greenbeard have on offer, and the promise of more to come is one that will hopefully be kept sooner rather than later.
Each of the three songs on Mount Soma‘s densely-weighted, live-recorded self-released Nirodha EP makes some mention of suffering in its lyrics, and indeed, that seems to be the theme drawing together “Dark Sun Destroyer” (7:40), “Emerge the Wolf” (5:50) and “Resurfacing” (9:14): a quest for transcendence perhaps in part due to the volume of the music and the act itself of creating it. Whatever gets them there, the trajectory of Nirodha is such that by the time they hit into the YOB-style galloping toward the end of “Resurfacing,” the gruff shouts of “rebirth!” feel more celebratory than ambitious. Based in Dublin, the four-piece bring a fair sense of space to their otherwise crush-minded approach, and though the EP is rough — it is their second short release following 2016’s Origins — they seem to have found a way to tie together outer and inner cosmos with an earthbound sense of gravity and heft, and with the more intense shove of “Emerge the Wolf” between the two longer tracks, they prove themselves capable of bringing a noisy charge amid all that roar and crash. They did the first EP live as well. I wonder if they’d do the same for a full-length.
One might get lost in the unmanageable 64-minute wash of Nibiru‘s fifth full-length (first for Ritual Productions), Salbrox, but the opaque nature of the proceedings is part of the point. The Italian ritualists bring forth a chaotic depth of noise and harsh semi-spoken rasps of vocals reportedly in the Enochian language, and from 14-minute opener “EHNB” — also the longest track (immediate points) — through the morass that follows in “Exarp,” “Hcoma,” “Nanta” and so on, the album is a willful slog that challenges the listener on nearly every level. This is par for the course for Nibiru, whose last outing was 2017’s Qaal Babalon (review here), and they seem to revel in the slow-churning gruel of their distortion, turning from it only to break to minimalism in the second half of the album with “Abalpt” and “Bitom” before 13-minute closer “Rziorn” storms in like a tsunami of spiritually desolate plunge. It is vicious and difficult to hear, and again, that is exactly what it’s intended to be.
The gift of Cable was to take typically raw Northeastern disaffection and channel it into a noise rock that wasn’t quite as post-this-or-that as Isis, but still had a cerebral edge that more primitive fare lacked. They were methodical, and 10 years after their last record, the Hartford, Connecticut, outfit return with the nine-song/30-minute Take the Stairs to Hell (on Translation Loss), which brings them back into the modern sphere with a sound that is no less relevant than it was bouncing between This Dark Reign, Hydra Head and Translation Loss between 2001 and 2004. They were underrated then and may continue to be now, but the combination of melody and bite in “Black Medicine” and the gutty crunch of “Eyes Rolled Back,” the post-Southern heavy of the title-track and the lumbering pummel of “Rivers of Old” before it remind of how much of a standout Cable was in the past, reinforcing that not only were they ahead of their time then, but that they still have plenty to offer going forward. They may continue to be underrated as they always were, but their return is significant and welcome.
Originally released in 2003, the self-titled debut from Lima, Peru’s Reino Ermitaño was a beacon and landmark in Latin American doom, with a sound derived from the genre’s traditions — Sabbath, Trouble, etc. — and melded with not only Spanish-language lyrics, but elements of South American folk and stylizations. Reissued on vinyl some 16 years later, it maintains its power through the outside-time level of its craft, sliding into that unplaceable realm of doom that could be from any point from about 1985 onward, while the melodies in the guitar of Henry Guevara and the vocals of Tania Duarte hold sway over the central groove of bassist Marcos Coifman and drummer Julio “Ñaka” Almeida. Those who were turned onto the band at the time will likely know they’ve released five LPs to-date, with the latest one from 2014, but the Necio Records version marks the first time the debut has been pressed to vinyl, and so is of extra interest apart from the standard putting-it-out-there-again reissue. Collectors and a new generation of doomers alike would be well advised on an educational level, and of course the appeal of the album itself far exceeds that.
Though one hails from Helsinki, Finland, and the other from Adelaide, Australia, Cardinals Folly and Lucifer’s Fall could hardly be better suited to share the six-song Cruz Del Sur split LP that they do, which checks in at 35 minutes of trad doom riffing and dirtier fare. The former is provided by Cardinals Folly, who bring a Reverend Bizarre-style stateliness to “Spiritual North” and “Walvater Proclaimed!” before betraying their extreme metal roots on “Sworn Through Odin’s and Satan’s Blood,” while the Oz contingent throw down Saint Vitus-esque punk-born fuckall through “Die Witch Die,” the crawling “Call of the Wild” and the particularly brash and speedier “The Gates of Hell.” The uniting thread of course is homage to doom itself, but each band brings enough of their own take to complement each other without either contradicting or making one or the other of them feel redundant, and rather, the split works out to be a rampaging, deeply-drunk, pagan-feeling celebration of what doom is and how it has been internalized by each of these groups. Doom over the world? Yeah, something like that.
Temple of the Fuzz Witch, Temple of the Fuzz Witch
A strong current of Electric Wizard runs through the self-titled debut full-length from Detroit’s Temple of the Fuzz Witch (on Seeing Red Records), but even to that, the outfit led by guitarist/vocalist Noah Bruner bring a nascent measure of individuality, droning into and through “Death Hails” after opening with “Bathsheba” and ahead of unveiling a harmonized vocal on “The Glowing of Satan” that suits the low end distortion surprisingly well. They continue to offer surprises throughout, whether it’s the spaciousness of centerpiece “329” and “Infidel,” which follows, or the offsetting of minimalism and crush on “The Fuzz Witch” and the creeper noise in the ending of “Servants of the Sun,” and though there are certainly familiar elements at play, Temple of the Fuzz Witch come across with an intent to take what’s been done before and make it theirs. In that regard, they would seem to be on the right track, and in their 41 minutes, they find footing in a murky aesthetic and are able to convey a sense of songwriting without sounding heavy-handed. There’s nothing else I’d ask of their first album.
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 15th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
I feel like the conjoined logos of the tour poster tell a lot of the story here. Tons and Deadsmoke might be considered outliers of the packed Heavy Psych Sounds label roster, but they definitely have some commonality between them. Namely, they crush. Deadsmoke might be the nastiest band on the imprint, and Tons aren’t far behind in that regard, so yeah, pairing them up for a tour makes sense in that they’ll be able to share gear if they want and just absolutely break everything that belongs to everybody that way. Both bands will feature at all three nights of the road-show Heavy Psych Sounds fest in the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands alongside Black Rainbows and others, and they’ll stomp their way as well through their native Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Looks like a heavy time. Details from the PR wire:
DEADSMOKE AND TONS TEAM UP FOR EUROPEAN TOUR THIS MARCH!
Down-tuned monolithic guitar riffs scraping the soil down to the core of the earth; slow, hypnotic and dissonant cadences recall the eternal need for isolation and the atavistic fear of nothingness. Your soul will be burned, and smoke is what remains after a memorable show on this exciting tour: HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS RECORDS & BOOKING is proud to get heavy weights DEADSMOKE on the road this March! Kicking off on March 20th in Italy with dates in Switzerland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, the Italian power Doom and Sludge foursome has teamed up with no one less than label mates, Turin-based Doom masters TONS.
„Tons and Deadsmoke can’t wait to hit the road again, this time together as a monolithic combo touring the most noisy smoky buried venues of Europe and taking their deafening spaghetti Doom to the big audience. A blaspheme haze of corrosion is flowing up north, spreading curses, illness and tons of smoke.“ the bands are excited to hit the road together soon.
The atmosphere around both groups is not only so devilish, mesmerizing and noisey, but will take the entire crowd on a ride through the heaviest soundwalls in psychedelic doom landscapes. Make sure to catch this heavy touring package live at the following dates this March:
22.02.19 UK London | HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST ** 23.02.19 BE Brussel | HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST ** 24.02.19 NL Deventer | HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST ** 20.03.19 IT Bologna | Freakout Club ** 21.03.19 IT Torino | Blah Blah ** 22.03.19 CH Kreuzlingen | Horst Klub 23.03.19 DE Mannheim | 7er Club 24.03.19 NL Utrecht | Db’s 26.03.19 DE Berlin | Toast Hawaii 27.03.19 DE Leipzig | Zoro 28.03.19 DE Dresden | Chemiefabrik 29.03.19 AT Salzburg | Rockhouse 30.03.19 CH Basel | Hirscheneck ** Deadsmoke only
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 11th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Italian cult sludgers Nibiru released their gruesome Qaal Babalon (review here) album last year on Argonauta Records, and the news has come in that their next offering will be made, suitably enough, through Ritual Productions. They’re the second roster addition to Ritual in the last week or so behind Brazil’s Basalt (info here), and if the UK-based label is on a binge, they certainly know what they’re looking for in terms of bands who, indeed, bring a sense of ritual to their sound. That’s basically been Nibiru‘s thing all the more on each of their releases, and with a new one due sometime next year, I wouldn’t at all expect that to subside.
As to whether or not it’s a coincidence of concurrent pickups or Ritual Productions is actively building a roster and more announcements are to come, I don’t know and won’t speculate at this point. Two bands in a week is a lot. If there’s another in the next month or so, I’ll be ready to call it a boom. Keep an eye out.
Info from the PR wire:
RITUAL PRODUCTIONS INITIATE NIBIRU INTO THEIR ROSTER; LIVE RITUALS INCOMING THIS WEEK
With immense pleasure Ritual Productions amplify its roster with the addition of grim psych alchemists Nibiru, with UK rituals imminent!
The Italian three-piece immerse listeners within their terrifically hypnotic realm of mind-altering heavy psychedelic sonics, where deep Enochian chants seamlessly infuse with phenomenally sublime ritualistic tones. The result induces an entrancing and magick ambience that simultaneously conjures awe and wonder with foreboding danger and terror, speaking profoundly to your subconscious. Extreme in all elements, Nibiru continue to reach higher musical prowess with each aural offering.
Nibiru are equally excited to join Ritual Production’s prolific roster – with their first rite for the label scheduled for 2019 – saying:
“It’s hard to find words that express how thrilled and proud we are to announce this signing. It goes without saying that Ritual Productions represents our philosophy. We needed a label who would understand us and our music, so we are happy to have found our new home with them. Joining their incredible roster of artists who we love is simply a dream come true. We are grateful for this opportunity and are looking forward to this collaboration which feels like the beginning of a new, exciting chapter in the history of Nibiru!”
For those uninitiated to Nibiru’s sound, the band formed in 2012 with shared spiritual and emotional knowledge existing between the three members. This knowledge transmuted, and every energy concentrated, into a totally impetuous creative approach with their subsequent sonic sorcery conjuring a ritualistic psychedelia. To date, Nibiru has four releases that have met exceptional praise from the worldwide press – Caosgon, Netrayoni, Padmalotus and Qaal Babalon, respectively. The band have also hosted a string of soaring gigs across Europe, including an excellent performance at the 2016 edition of the highly esteemed Roadburn Festival.
Nibiru play four live UK rituals commencing at the Black Heart, London on October 11th – do not miss these shows! Dates below:
NIBIRU – RITUALS OVER UK TOUR 2018 11/10 – The Black Heart, London 12/10 – Star and Garter, Manchester 13/10 – Hammer and Anvil, Birmingham 14/10 – The Old Salutation Inn, Nottingham
Cryptic, stimulating, progressive and expansive, Nibiru will entrance you into their ever-imploding yet tremendous cataclysm. Join the ritual and stayed tuned for news and offerings, with the band’s first rite for Ritual Productions incoming during 2019. NIBIRU ARE: Ardat – Guitars, Percussion & Vocals Ri – Bass, Drones & Synthesizers L.C. Chertan – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 12th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Torino-based sludgers Tons have the distinction of being the first band to sign to Heavy Psych Sounds in 2018, and considering the Italian label’s swath of pickups last year, from Cachemira to The Lords of Altamont, Turn Me on Dead Man, Avon, Mother Engine and High Reeper (did I forget anyone? probably), one sincerely doubts they’ll be the last. Still, the four-piece will offer up their second album, Filthy Flowers of Doom, via the respected imprint this Spring, with an April ballpark date listed ahead of a tour set to begin in May.
Though Tons first got together in 2009, their only full-length to-date was 2012’s Musineè Doom Session Vol. 1, which you can hear in its entirety at the bottom of this post. They also had a split with Lento in 2013, but the forthcoming LP will be the debut for a new lineup and their first outing in half a decade.
The PR wire brings background and the promise of more details to follow:
Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking is really proud to present the signing of TONS
The band is coming back with a great new album that will be released in April 2018 via Heavy Psych Sounds.
More info coming soon.
BIOGRAPHY:
TONS is an italian doom sludge band formed in Turin in October 2009 from the ashes of three popular hardcore bands of the city. The band consists of Steuso on guitar (rock poster artist and guitarist of The Redrum) Marco on drums (drummer of Noinfo and Medusa) and Paolo on bass/vocals (singer of Lamatematica). The aim of the band is to remain close to the hardcore influence of the city where they were born but they decided to move on to sludge and doom. In June 2009 with the help of Danilo Bottocchio (Last Minute to Jaffna guitarist and a closer friend of the band) they recorded a first demo of four songs in which we can find the first features of the band: a powerful stoner rock trio, sludge riffs, psychedelic landscapes and doom sessions.
The atmosphere around the band is devilish, but ironic as we can see from some song titles such as “The Rime of the Ancient Grower”, “Tangerine Nightmare”, or “Once Upon a Tentacle…”, that suggest the passion of the guys for H.P. Lovecraft and in a more general way for esotericism. The mystery of the city of Turin and the magical and esoteric places around it fascinate the band as we can notice from the title and the cover of the first album “Musineè Doom Session Volume 1”. Mount Musinè is situated in Val Susa and has always been surrounded by local myths such as witchcraft and alien life.
In July 2011 the band recorded the six songs on the album “Musineè Doom Session Volume 1” (CD – CD LTD screenprinted – LP) with the help of Danilo and Paolo Paganelli (Woptime, Linea 77, Muddy Mokes, Rock-a-Hula) and the master session has been done by Lorenzo Stecconi (sound engineer for Ufomammut, Lento, ZU, Grime, Amen Ra). The album includes the four songs of the old demo and two more new songs “Ketama Gold” and “At War with Yog-Sothoth” that clearly suggest the direction of the band. The album, released by Heavy Psych Sounds and Escape from Today, is available from March 2012. In 2013 the band recorded a couple of songs for a split-album with Lento, released by Heavy Psych-Sounds, with the help of Danilo and Paolo Paganelli, while the master session has been done by Lorenzo Stecconi. Luca T. Mai, member of ZU, Mombu, played baritone saxophone with Tons on “Dark Medieval Skunk”.
They shared the stage around Europe with bands like Bongzilla, Weedeater, Church Of Misery, Unsane, Napalm Death, Karma To Burn, Big Business, Kylesa, Lesbian, Pentagram, Naam, Fatso Jetson, Yawning Man, between Italy, Austria, Netherland, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, France and Switzerland. In 2014 Tons played at Duna Jam festival in Italy and at Incubate Festival in Tilburg (NL). In 2016 Marco left Tons and Andrea Peracchia (Slaiver, Dogs for Breakfast) joined the band as a new drummer; in the same year Paolo Paganelli, a longtime friend, who already collaborated with the band, became a permanent member too.
In 2017, with the new line-up, Tons finally recorded the second full length album “Filthy Flowers of Doom”, which will be released by Heavy Psych Sounds in April 2018. In May 2018 Tons will be on tour across Europe.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 31st, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Proffering noise-infused sludge ritualism over the course of its four extended tracks, Nibiru‘s forthcoming Qaal Babalon is a chamber of horrors worthy of headphone-and-closed-eye immersion. Its 57-minute stretch begins with the engulfing drone extremity of “Oroch” (19:07) and unfolds from there in manners deathly and churning, whether it’s the hammering “Faboan” that follows or the feedback-laden crashing recesses of “Bahal Gah” and the Ramesses-style altar-building of the instrumental “Oxex” that finishes out, all expansive guitar and echoing thud and ultra-creeper moodiness. It’s a weight as much ambient as it is tonal, but rest assured, it’s a weight all the same, and the Torino trio wield it in the manner of some kind of obscure medieval weaponry. Not that I’ve heard it or anything.
Qaal Babalon is available now to preorder via the near-ubiquitous Argonauta Records and follows a 2017 special edition of Nibiru‘s 2013 debut, Caosgon, that the same label released just earlier this month. No substitute for keeping busy.
From the PR wire:
NIBIRU – Qaal Babalon
(Argonauta Records) Italian Ritual Sludgers new album! Their best to date, the natural continuation of the very first works CAOSGON and NETRAYONI. PREORDER NOW AND SAVE 20% – RELEASE DATE SEPT 22nd, 2017.
After their latest full length PADMALOTUS (2015), the impressive EP TELOCH (2016) and the Roadburn Documentary (2017), NIBIRU are today a consolidated strength of the international underground scene, thanks to their inexhaustible attitude both in composition and in live performances, a physically and mental experience.
QAAL BABALON is “the exact continuation of our first opus CAOSGON (2013, re-released in 2017) and NETRAYONI (2014)” the band says “Anger, uncontrolled psychedelia, and now the most sick, intense and suffering creation. ‘Qaal Babalon’ is the lacerating scream of a lost soul.”
TRACK LISTING 1 Oroch 2 Faboan 3 Bahal Gah 4 Oxex
Nibiru is: Ardath | Guitars, Percussions and Vocals Ri | Bass, Drones and Synthesizers L.C. Chertan | Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 5th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Italian hypnotists Nibiru released their Caosgon album in 2013 as their first outing. It’s a work of darkened swirl that doubtless owes some of its pulsating cosmic intensity to synth-sludge countrymen forebears Ufomammut but that set the three-piece on a course toward their own identity within atmospheric extremes that they’d continue to develop across offerings like 2015’s Padmalotus and last year’s Teloch, working as part of the diverse and perpetually-growing lineup of Argonauta Records. That same label has stepped forward and will reissue Caosgon next month in an expanded “2017 Edition” with a new tracklist, cover and master, including an unreleased song from the original sessions, “Invokation III : L.S.D.”
You can hear the original version of the record at the bottom of this post. It’s trippy as hell, and one expects the update wouldn’t be any less so given the work the band has done since. You’ll also pardon me, I hope, if as I take the time to dig into the blackened swirl of “Invokation IV: Heru, Khentan, Maati” I also pause to reflect in horror at the fact that the “next month” referred to in the headline above is July, and the implications of that for how quickly this year is going by so far. Doom is slow, time is fleeting. The madness is a lot to keep up with.
Speaking of madness:
Thrilled to announce Argonauta Records will release an extended edition of the stunning 2013 album by Italian psychonauts Nibiru.
CAOSGON is actually a milestone of the ritual sludge scene, been praised by awesome reviews and by massive feedbacks all across the board.
Now the album will benefit of a completely new artwork, new master and a bonus track from the original recording sessions, previously unreleased!
NIBIRU “Caosgon – 2017 Edition” will be released in CD/DD and available from July 7th, 2017. Preorders run here:http://bit.ly/2rfb3su
TRACK-LIST: 1) Invokation I: the Acid skull 2) Smashanam, the Crematorium Ground of Kali 3) Aster Argos 4) Invokation IV: Heru, Khentan, Maati 5) Umbra Venefica 6) Invokation III : L.S.D
Argonauta Records | NeeCee Agency
Nibiru is: Ardath | Guitars, Percussions and Vocals Ri | Bass, Drones and Synthesizers L.C. Chertan | Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 28th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
I still count the last Shabda record, Pharmakon / Pharmakos (review here), as one of the most pleasant surprises that hit my ears in 2015, so the news that the Italian ritual drone outfit are working on a follow-up is definitely well received. Whenever it lands, Vishnu Sahasranama – 10 STUDI — they’ve apparently got a real thing for complex names — might not have the same surprise factor this time from the Torino-based group, but if the difference is I can look forward to hearing what they’ve come up with this time, that seems like a fair trade for not being blindsided. And who knows? They’re weird enough that I might just end up blindsided anyway.
The new Shabda, like Pharmakon / Pharmakos, will be issued through Argonauta Records when it’s ready. The band and the label both posted the following on the subject, listing it as an early autumn release:
Shabda working on new album!
After the 2 tracks long celebration of Pharmakon / Pharmakos, released a year and half ago by Argonauta Records, Shabda are back in the studio recording their fourth album which will see the light in early autumn 2017. “Vishnu Sahasranama – 10 STUDI” – this is the title – is inspired by the traditional Indian Vaishnava text commented by Sankara and representing the model of the garland of a thousand names, the practice of meditation on the metaphysical qualities of god Visnu conceived as the absolute principle.
A group of exceptional musicians and friends plays the ten compositions written by Anna Airoldi and Marco Castagnetto, painting a fresco that encompasses Western classical music and kosmische musik, Eastern tradition and psychedelia, pursuing and cultivating the exploration of the link between East and West, between continuity and innovation.
An album living of contrasts among contemplation and instinct, composition and improvisation, between electronic and acoustic music, leaving it open to interpretation and diversity of listening experience. Traveling from Europe to Varanasi and back, with an ear to the legacy of Popol Vuh, Dead Can Dance and Nils Frahm.
Deep listening and repetition are the keys around which the identity of the project is built, and the channel to direct the search for timeless and spaceless dimension of being. Ideally channeling Marco Castagnetto and Anna Airoldi spiritual research, supported by a bunch of talented musicians and friends, Shabda explores the fil rouge that holds the Tradition in its Western and Eastern currents, primarily referring to Hermeticism, Vedanta, Taoism and Sufism.
