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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Marian Waibl of Torpedo Torpedo & TarLung

Posted in Questionnaire on June 7th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Marian-Waibl-of-Torpedo-Torpedo-&-TarLung

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: Marian Waibl of Torpedo Torpedo & TarLung

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

I’m a drummer in the Sludge band TARLUNG, and now in the Heavy Psych band TORPEDO TORPEDO as well. Plus, there’s a third project in the pipeline, named BLACK AIR, a more mellow instrumental Doom / Darkjazz / Post-Metal thing. So, I’m well occupied – but three bands is enough! But I’m fortunate to have found people I enjoy spending time with, and who inspire me with their ideas and their playing – everybody has their very own specific way of playing and feeling, and you feel that when playing with them.

Me, I’m just the drummer, and I like it that way: I see this as my role, to listen to and understand a riff, and support it in the best possible way with a drum pattern – which doesn’t necessarily mean to repeat every guitar or bass note on a drum, as the notes you don’t play are just as important as the ones you play. It’s about getting the intention, and bringing the idea to life. I like doing that, and while I might not be the best technician, I think I am a good listener and understander.

Describe your first musical memory.

I guess that would be banging on a little tambourine I had as a kid, and destroying it, the poor thing. And making makeshift string instruments with rubber bands… Apart from that, my parents’ house was always full of music, with my father playing the Spanish guitar and the accordion, later on the sax as well. Not much rock n’ roll, but the radio was always on with classical music, and here I am listening to the classical public radio quite a lot again, which is quite good in Austria.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Certainly the euphoria I experienced at some nice gigs with the crowd going wild… But also in the rehearsal room when it just clicks, and you get the feeling that this right here is something special. But also enjoying great concerts and just melting into the experience.

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

Oh, more than just one time… I might have been a rather edgy twen, I admit, with some rather stubborn and obviously false beliefs, like „music has to be fast and technical, otherwise it sucks!“ – But then, I enjoyed stuff like Electric Wizard, EyeHateGod and Crowbar already in my teens, so the tendency to value feeling over technicality was always there.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Referring to the last question: To value feeling over technicality. Of course, you need to know how to do things, but the technique is just a means, the idea / feeling is the goal. And also an important lesson, I guess: Limitation is good for creativity. Creativity means working with what you got, and making something out of it – instead of going „If I could, then I would…“ – Well, you are here now, and you have what you have. Now go and „work with the acre you are given“, to quote the fantastic song by Steve von Till.

How do you define success?

Being able to do what you love, basically. Having a job that allows you to pursue your musical interests, and as I’m self employed now I found a very nice balance in my life, and I enjoy this a lot.
Apart from that, it’s positive feedback – the quality, not the quantity. Who care’s about „making it big“, a few heartfelt nice reviews, and a few dozen people at a small gig really getting into it – that’s worth more than a big hall of rather indifferent people.

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

Lots of things I guess, didn’t need to witness a mayor pandemic and a new war in Europe, for example… but what can you do? One can’t change the winds, but only the sails on one’s boat, to quote Aristotle.

Also, in severe personal crises it certainly wasn’t nice looking at myself in the mirror, but everything leads to something else, and if you are ready to grow, admit mistakes, and leave bad patterns behind you, this can lead to something new and better. And it certainly has – the journey is only over when it’s over, but sometimes I stop and wonder and think: „This has gone waaay better than I ever hoped!“.

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

Uh, been thinking of writing some prose for some time now, but I have to admit that I’m still blocked in that respect, having build up expectations that seem to be counterproductive. I guess I’ll have to let that go completely, and then it might become possible… or not. And if I never do it, I’ll be happy with that too. See what I did there? Trying to demonstrate how much I’m letting it go . Showoff :)

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

Two thoughts on that:

„Nulla ars sine purgamine“ – no art without cleansing. A roman inscription I have as a postcard on my wall. Art always comes from some sort of cleansing process, so to put it in a more „metal“ way: from processing negativity. But here’s the rub: There is this huge misunderstanding of the suffering artist, this cliché that suffering is good for creativity. It. Is. Not! As everybody has enough negativity anyways, you don’t need to chase that. I love how David Lynch put this, in his squeaky voice: „There’s this misconception that artists should feel bad. No! You should feel very, very good!“ Paraphrasing here, but he’s so right… listen to the man!

And here’s the second one: Art as secular religion. If you are not into the organized religion thing, you still have the desire for transcendence, the other side, the world beyond, the portal into the parallel sphere… at least I am sure I have this desire. So, going to a concert, a museum, what are those? Houses where no one lives, free of everyday purpose. Temples, in a way. Art frees us from the command of everyday necessity. It is completely useless, in a very positive sense.

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

It’s summer again, and I enjoy spending a lot of time on the shores of the old Danube, going for long swims, and laying in the sun, reading and listening to music. This is a very calm, pure state of being, and my personal paradise, so to speak. Eternity is in the moment. It’s all here, right now.

https://www.facebook.com/TorpedoTorpedoBand
https://torpedotorpedo.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/tarlungband
https://tarlung.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/electricfirerecords/
https://www.electricfirerecords.com/
https://electricfirerecords.bandcamp.com/

Torpedo Torpedo, The Kuiper Belt Mantras (2022)

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Chorosia Post “Seeds of Hate”; A Call to Love Out Oct. 22

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 24th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Chorosia (Photo by Joanne Marini)

Here come Chorosia out of Wien with a reminder of how fine the line can be between sludge, doom and post-metal when you have a band willing to screw with the formula. “Seeds of Hate” is the four-piece’s first single from the upcoming sophomore full-length, A Call to Love — and no, that contradiction isn’t being ignored — which is out Oct. 22 on Grazil Records as the follow-up to a 2018 self-titled debut, and by the time you’re ready to think you’ve got a handle on the dirt-coated roll they undertake with willful repetitiveness and the post-Scott Kelly raw-throat vocals that accompany, the Austrian outfit are already gearing up to smack you in the face with a NWOBHM-style guitar solo.

A Call to Love continues to play out in this somewhat unexpected stylistic blend, keeping one foot in ambience with cuts like “Dune Messiah” and “Hope Country” and the other foot on your throat with the opening title-track — don’t let me spoil it; I think it’s meant to be the biggest surprise of all — as well as extended pieces like “Innocence” and the closer “Star Veins.” There’s some metal in there for sure. Not always the friendly kind.

Bottom line? “Seeds of Hate” is more ‘heads up’ than ‘full summary’ when it comes to the rest of the album, but as it’s my first experience listening to Chorosia, it immediately made me want to investigate further. Perhaps you’ll find the same.

Background info and audio follows:

chorosia a call to love Cover-Art-Oliver-Haidutschek

Chorosia – A Call to Love – Oct. 22

Chorosia is a progressive sludge metal band from Vienna, Austria founded in 2017. The band is composed of Anto Pranjić (guitars/vocals), Florian Zeus (guitars), Christian Umkehrer (bass), and Gregory Reinig (drums). So far, Chorosia has released one album in 2018.

After doing a number of local dates to promote the album (which included playing with various well-known names such as Crowbar, Dopelord, Yob, Neurosis, Black Tusk, and the Skull), the band had decided to take their music on a tour in 2019. The self-organized tour consisted of five packed shows in eight days in central and southern Europe.

In 2020/2021, due to the global pandemic the band was stopped from going on another tour which had been planned for southern Germany. However, using the circumstances and the time on their side, Chorosia has written and recorded their second album which consists of 9 songs clocking in over 60 minutes of new music. “Seeds Of Hate” is the first single off the upcoming album called ‘A Call to Love’ coming out on October 22nd. Grazil Records will release the album on CDs and Tapes and digitally.

Chorosia:
Anto Pranjić – guitars/vocals
Florian Zeus – guitars
Christian Umkehrer – bass
Gregory Reinig – drums

https://www.facebook.com/chorosia/
https://www.instagram.com/chorosia.doom/
https://chorosia.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/grazilRecords//
http://www.instagram.com/grazilrecords
https://www.grazil.at/

Chorosia, “Seeds of Hate”

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TarLung Premiere “Horses of Plague” Video

Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 10th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

tarlung horses of plague

Vienna, Austria, sludge metallers TarLung released their third album, Architect (review here), this past June, and to save you the trouble of clicking that review link, I’ll say instead that, oh, it was ghastly affair. Punishing! Brutal! Heavy like the way you think of cinderblocks holding things in place underground. The riffs were baked until burnt, the tones extreme, the vocals that accompanied all set to harsh your mellow with only a minimum of courtesy’s advance notice. It was not an act of kindness. It was not out to do favors for your eardrums. It was sludge. And it was metal.

I’m kidding, of course, but the fact of the matter is that TarLung — the trio of Philipp “Five” Seiler on guitar/vocals, Rotten on guitar, and Marian Waibl on drums — don’t even need bass to get the crucial heft of their sound across. You can watch their video for “Horses of Plague” premiering below and in addition to finding the song prescient as only a track written about a plague in 2019 could be, and appreciating their use of silhouettes and lighting and video effects, no doubt you’ll find that if you had a box on your day’s to-do list that said, “get pummeled by killer riffs,” that box will emerge on the other side of the just-under-six-minute clip duly ticked. As regards mood, you might find yourself ticked as well. Something about the tension after the solo in this one just feels seething in its execution.

The full stream of Architect is down near the bottom of the post, and I thank TarLung sincerely for the depth of thought they put into their quote. I mean that. Sometimes you ask a band for a quote and you get back either “can’t wait to share the song!” or “it’s a song I dunno.” TarLung not only explain their reasoning for picking the single — it’s heavy! — but they talk about how the clip was made, when, when the song was made, and note the fact that the record will be distributed in the US through Ripple Music. Actual information! Maybe their more courteous than I initially gave them credit for being.

Enjoy the clip (and quote), both of which follow here:

TarLung, “Horses of Plague” official video premiere

TarLung on “Horses of Plague”:

We wanted to do something special for our first video. The intention was to create something that has not been overdone within music videos yet. We came up with the idea of some sort of a “shadow theater” style video, mixed with different stock clips and a doomish vibe all around.

A distinctive inspiration was the fight scene from Kill Bill Vol. I where the lights go out and you can only see the shadows and silhouettes of the action. Mix in a video like Wilma’s Rainbow by Helmet and you get the rough idea what we were going for.

We chose to work with Schrankenstein Media, as he created a great video for the song “Past Recovery” by fellow Austrian heavyweights UGF. We heard he is very chill and easy to work with, and we can definitely confirm that. Working with Schrankenstein was great and we recommend to hit him up if you need a music video made in Austria or Germany.

The video was shot on location at Ann & Pat’s (a small but very nice venue in Linz, Upper Austria) using a big white screen and some background lighting. You can find some behind the scenes pictures and videos on our Instagram page if you are interested in the making of the video.

The song ‘Horses Of Plague’ was chosen because it’s one of the more powerful and hard-hitting songs on our new record. The lyrics are also quite fitting to the whole pandemic situation we are currently living in, as they were inspired by Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece 12 Monkeys. Strangely the song and lyrics were finished in Oktober 2019, just a few months before the world got turned upside down by the virus.

The latest TarLung album ‘Architect’ has been released in June, to great critical and public acclaim. “Horses of Plague” is the penultimate track on this record. Check it out and get a copy pressed on transparent vinyl, featuring the great artwork of Alex Eckman-Lawn, via our bandcamp page: https://tarlung.bandcamp.com

We are also working on a distribution with Ripple Music for our fans based in the USA . So if you want to save some shipping costs, our vinyl will be available via Ripple Music very soon.

Horses Of Plague is written and performed by TARLUNG. https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/tarlung/architect

TARLUNG is:
Philipp “Five” Seiler – Guitars and Vocals
Marian Waibl – Drums
Rotten – Guitars

recorded, mixed and mastered by Lukas Haidinger at DeepDeepPressure Studio

Music video shot and edited by Schrankenstein, shot on location at Ann & Pat (Linz) June 2021.

TarLung, Architect (2021)

TarLung on Facebook

TarLung on Instagram

TarLung on Bandcamp

TarLung website

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Hypnotic Floor Premiere “Toxo” Video; Odd Conjectures Due in Sept.

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 3rd, 2021 by JJ Koczan

hypnotic floor (photo by Lukas Sukal)

Vienna quirk rockers Hypnotic Floor will release their second full-length, Odd Conjectures next month through StoneFree Records. The first single from the outing is the bouncing, fuzzy-but-mathy “Toxo,” premiering below in a video that’s suitably weirdo in its vibe, with a claymation storyline playing out that’s probably a metaphor for something about violence but I’m not even sure what and I think that might be the point to start with. It goes like that.

I’m a fan of not knowing things sometimes, and the proggy underpinnings here, the sense of control Hypnotic Floor exhibit as they hop from one measure to the next, the vocals of Julian Streit recalling some lost krautrock incantation about traveling inside your brain, lets you know they’re in charge of the procession, thoughtful about the song’s movement and indeed that of the clay accompanying. I don’t know who in the band — whether Streit, guitarist Jonas Biesenbender, bassist Andreas Gnigler or drummer Serafin Eiter — is down with stop-motion photography, but the “Toxo” clip is, like the song itself, a work of very specific skill and precision. It reminds me of an old Sesame Street interlude, except longer, and instead of spelling out letters the clay alien creatures seem to kill each other and lay eggs on corpses. Okay, so maybe not Sesame Street. You get what I’m saying though.

So what does the rest of Odd Conjectures hold? I don’t know that either. Haven’t heard it. But based on “Toxo,” I’d expect it to be aptly named, since the spirit in which the song is brought to bear seems very much forward-looking and is, as noted at the outset, in no small part defined by its quirk. But we’ll see when we get there.

Until then, enjoy the video:

Hypnotic Floor, “Toxo” Video Premiere

Toxo is the first single from the upcoming album “ODD CONJECTURES” which will be release via StoneFree Records early September.

The Vienna quartet HYPNOTIC FLOOR combines influences of Psych-, Kraut- and Progressive Rock. Their music is shaped by fuzzy riffs, spaced out synths and changing timesignatures and covers a varied range of sounds. The contrast between complex melodic lines and hypnotic and repetitive grooves is predominant throughout their meandering songs.

In February 2020 they released their debut album „Foggy Bog Eyes“ via “Ultraviolence Records”.

Members:
Jonas Biesenbender – Guitar
Julian Streit – Guitar, Vocals
Andreas Gnigler – Bass
Serafin Eiter – Drums

Hypnotic Floor on Bandcamp

Hypnotic Floor on Facebook

Hypnotic Floor on Instagram

StoneFree Records on Thee Facebooks

StoneFree Records website

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Quarterly Review: Spelljammer, The Black Heart Death Cult, Shogun, Nadja, Shroud of Vulture, Towards Atlantis Lights, ASTRAL CONstruct, TarLung, Wizzerd & Merlin, Seum

Posted in Reviews on July 8th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-fall-2016-quarterly-review

We proceed onward, into this ever-growing swath of typos, lineup corrections made after posting, and riffs — more riffs! — that is the Quarterly Review. Today is Day Four and I’m feeling good. Not to say there isn’t some manner of exhaustion, but the music has been killer — today is particularly awesome — and that makes life much, much, much better as I’ve already said. I hope you’ve found one or two or 10 records so far that you’ve really dug. I know I’ve added a few to my best of 2021 list, including stuff right here. So yeah, we roll on.

Quarterly Review #31-40:

Spelljammer, Abyssal Trip

spelljammer abyssal trip

To envision an expanse, and to crush it. Stockholm three-piece Spelljammer return five years after Ancient of Days (review here), with an all-the-more-massive second long-player through RidingEasy, turning their front-cover astronaut around to face the audience head on and offering 43 minutes/six tracks of encompassing largesse, topping 10 minutes in the title-track and “Silent Rift,” both on side B with the interlude “Peregrine” between them, after the three side A rollers, “Bellwether,” “Lake” and “Among the Holy” have tripped out outward and downward into an atmospheric plunge that is a joy to take feeling specifically geared as an invite to the converted. We are here, come worship with us. Also get crushed. Spelljammer records may not happen all the time, but you won’t be through “Bellwether” before you’re saying it was worth the wait.

Spelljammer on Facebook

RidingEasy Records website

 

The Black Heart Death Cult, Sonic Mantras

The Black Heart Death Cult Sonic Mantras

A deceptively graceful second LP from Melbourne’s The Black Heart Death Cult, Sonic Mantras pulls together an eight-song/45-minute run that unfolds bookended by “Goodbye Gatwick Blues” (8:59) and “Sonic Dhoom” (9:47) and in between ebbs and flows across shorter pieces that maximize their flow in whether shoegazing, heavygazing, blissing out, or whatever we’re calling it this week on “The Sun Inside” and “One Way Through,” or finding their way to a particularly deadened meadow on “Trees,” or tripping the light hypnotic on “Dark Waves” just ahead of the closer. “Cold Fields” churns urgently in its 2:28 but remains spacious, and everywhere The Black Heart Death Cult go, they remain liquefied in their sound, like a seemingly amorphous thing that nonetheless manages to hold its shape despite outside conditions. Whatever form they take, then, they are themselves, and Sonic Mantras emphasizes how yet-underappreciated they are in emerging from the ever-busy Aussie underground.

The Black Heart Death Cult on Facebook

Kozmik Artifactz store

 

Shogun, Tetra

Shogun Tetra

Tetra is the third long-player from Milwaukee’s Shogun, and in addition to the 10-minute “Delta,” which marries blues gargle with YOB slow-gallop before jamming out across its 10-minute span, it brings straight-shooter fuzz rockers like “Gravitas,” the someone-in-this-band-listened-to-Megadeth-in-the-’90s-and-that’s-okay beginnings of “Buddha’s Palm/Aviary” and likewise crunch of “Axiom” later, but also the quiet classic progressive rock of “Gone Forever,” and the more patient coming together of psychedelia and harder-hitting movement on closer “Maximum Ray.” Somewhat undercut by a not-raw-but-not-bursting-with-life production, pieces like “Buddha’s Palm/Aviary,” which gives over to a sweeter stretch of guitar in its second movement, and “Vertex/Universal Pain Center,” which in its back end brings around that YOB influence again and puts it to good use, are outwardly complex enough to put the lie to the evenhandedness of the recording. There’s more going on in Tetra than it first seems, and the more you listen, the more you find.

Shogun on Facebook

Shogun on Bandcamp

 

Nadja, Luminous Rot

Nadja Luminous Rot

Keeping up with Nadja has proven nigh on impossible over the better part of the last two decades, as the Berlin-by-way-of-Toronto duo have issued over 25 albums in 19 years, plus splits and live offerings and digital singles and oh my goodness I do believe I have the vapors that’s a lot of Nadja. For those of us who flit in and out like the dilletantes we ultimately are, Luminous Rot‘s aligning Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff with Southern Lord makes it an easy landmark, but really most of what the six-cut/48-minute long-player does is offer a reminder of the vital experimentalism the lazy are missing in the first place. The consuming, swelling drone of “Cuts on Your Hands,” blown-out sub-industrialism of “Starres,” hook of the title-track and careful-what-you-wish-for anchor riff of “Fruiting Bodies” — these and the noisily churning closer “Dark Inclusions” are a fervent argument in Nadja‘s favor as being more than a sometimes-check-in kind of band, and for immediately digging into the 43-minute single-song album Seemannsgarn, which they released earlier this year. So much space and nothing to lose.

Nadja on Facebook

Southern Lord Recordings website

 

Shroud of Vulture, Upon a Throne of Jackals

shroud of vulture upon a throne of jackals

Welcome to punishment as a primary consideration. Indianapolis death-doom four-piece hold back the truly crawling fare until “Perverted Reflection,” which is track three of the total seven on their debut full-length, Upon a Throne of Jackals, but by then the extremity has already shown its unrepentant face across the buried-alive “Final Spasms of the Drowned” and the oldschool death metal of “The Altar.” Centerpiece “Invert Every Throne” calls to mind Conan in its nod, but Shroud of Vulture are more about rawness than sheer largesse in tone, and their prone-to-blasting style gives them an edge there and in “Halo of Tarnished Light,” which follows. The closing pair of “Concealing Rabid Laughter” and “Stone Coffin of Existence” both top seven minutes and offset grueling tension with grueling release, but it’s the stench of decay that so much defines Upon a Throne of Jackals, as though somebody rebuilt Sunlight Studio brick for brick in Hoosier Country. Compelling and filthy in kind.

Shroud of Vulture on Facebook

Wise Blood Records website

Transylvanian Tapes on Bandcamp

 

Towards Atlantis Lights, When the Ashes Devoured the Sun

Towards Atlantis Lights When the Ashes Devoured the Sun

Ultra-grueling, dramatic death-doom tragedies permeate the second full-length, When the Ashes Devoured the Sun, from UK-based four-piece Towards Atlantis Lights, with vocalist/keyboardist Kostas Panagiotou and guitarist Ivan Zara at the heart of the compositions while bassist Riccardo Veronese and drummer Ivano Olivieri assure the impact that coincides with the cavernous procession matches in scope. The follow-up to 2018’s Dust of Aeons (review here), this six-track collection fosters classicism and modern apocalyptic vibes alike, and whether raging or morose, its dirge atmosphere remains firm and uncompromised. Heavy lumber for heavy hearts. The kind of doom that doesn’t look up. That doesn’t mean it’s not massive in scope — it is, even more than the first record — just that nearly everything it sees is downward. If there’s hope, it is a vague thing, lost to periphery. So be it.

Towards Atlantis Lights on Facebook

Kostas Panagiotou on Bandcamp

 

ASTRAL CONstruct, Tales of Cosmic Journeys

ASTRAL CONstruct Tales of Cosmic Journeys

It has been said on multiple occasions that “space is the place.” The curiously-capitalized Colorado outfit ASTRAL CONstruct would seem to live by this ethic on their debut album, Tales of Cosmic Journeys, unfurling as they do eight flowing progressions of instrumental slow-CGI-of-the-planets pieces that are more plotted in their course than jams, but feel built from jams just the same. Raw in its production and mix, and mastered by Kent Stump of Wo Fat, there’s enough atmosphere to let the lead guitar breathe, certainly, and to sustain life in general even on “Jettisoned Adrift in the Space Debris,” and the image evoked by “Hand Against the Solar Winds” feels particularly inspired given that song’s languid roll. The record starts and ends in cryogenic sleep, and if upon waking we’re transported to another place and another time, who knows what wonders we might see along the way. ASTRAL CONstruct‘s exploration would seem to be just beginning here, but their “Cosmos Perspective” is engaging just the same.

ASTRAL CONstruct on Instagram

ASTRAL CONstruct on Bandcamp

 

TarLung, Architect

TarLung Architect

Vienna-based sludgedrivers TarLung were last heard from with 2017’s Beyond the Black Pyramid (discussed here), and Architect continues the progression laid out there in melding vocal extremity and heavy-but-not-too-heavy-to-move riffing. It might seem like a fine line to draw, and it is, and that only makes songs like “Widow’s Bane” and “Horses of Plague” all the more nuanced as their deathly growls and severe atmospheres mesh with what in another context might just be stoner rock groove. Carcass circa the criminally undervalued Swansong, Six Feet Under. TarLung manage to find a place in stoner sludge that isn’t just Bongzilla worship, or Bongripper worship, or Bong worship. I’m not sure it’s worship at all, frankly, and I like that about it as the closing title-track slow-moshes my brain into goo.

TarLung on Facebook

TarLung on Bandcamp

 

Wizzerd & Merlin, Turned to Stone Chapter III

ripple music turned to stone chapter iii wizzerd vs merlin

Somewhere in the great mystical expanse between Kalispell, Montana, and Kansas City, Missouri, two practicioners of the riffly dark arts meet on a field of battle. Wizzerd come packing the 19-minute acoustic-into-heavy-prog-into-sitar-laced-jam-out “We Are,” as if to encompass that declaration in all its scope, while Merlin answer back with the organ-led “Merlin’s Bizarre Adventure” (21:51), all chug and lumber until it’s time for weirdo progressive fusion reggae and an ensuing Purple-tinged psych expansion. Who wins? I don’t know. Ripple Music in releasing it in the first place, I guess. Continuing the label’s influential split series(es), Turned to Stone Chapter III pushes well over the top in the purposes of both acts involved, and in that, it’s maybe less of a battle than two purveyors joining forces to weave some kind of Meteo down on the heads of all who might take them on. If you’ve think you’ve got the gift, they seem only too ready to test that out.

Wizzerd on Facebook

Merlin on Facebook

Ripple Music website

 

Seum, Winterized

Seum Winterized

“Life Grinder” begins with a sample: “I don’t know if you need all that bass,” and the answer, “Oh, you need all that bass.” That’s already after “Sea Sick Six” has revealed the Montreal-based trio’s sans-guitar extremist sludge roll, and the three-piece seem only too happy to keep up the theme. Vocals are harsh, biting, grating, purposeful in their fuckall, and the whole 28-minute affair of Winterized is cathartic aural violence, except perhaps the interlude “666,” which is a quiet moment between “Broken Bones” and “Black Snail Volcano,” which finally seems to just explode in its outright aggression, nod notwithstanding. A slowed down Ramones cover — reinventing “Pet Sematary” as “Red Sematary” — has a layer of spoken chanting vocals layered in and closes out, but the skin has been peeled so far back by then and Seum have doused so much salt onto the wounds that even Bongzilla might cringe. The low-end-only approach only makes it more punishing and more punk rock at the same time. Fucking mean.

Seum on Facebook

Seum on Bandcamp

 

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Mothers of the Land Stream Live at Deer in the Headlights Studio Session in Full

Posted in audiObelisk on February 1st, 2021 by JJ Koczan

mothers of the land session

Austrian double-guitar instrumentalists Mothers of the Land found themselves in what will by now be a familiar pickle circa last summer. They had their sophomore full-length, Hunting Grounds (review here), set to release on June 19, and there was of course no way to make a release gig or any others supporting it happen. They did what a lot of those in similar situations did — they went into a studio and recorded themselves playing live. You’ve heard this story before? Good. Like I said, it should be familiar by now.

That doesn’t however, change just how much 2020 absolutely blew ass for bands, big and small. Consider a group like Mothers of the Land. Their debut album, Temple Without Walls, came out in 2016, and got a favorable response. So the entire planet shuts down just as you’re putting together the follow-up for release, and what the hell do you do? Shows are out, but do you even bother issuing the album? Should you wait, and until when? Facing the situation of not knowing when the pandemic was going to end, Mothers of the Land — like many others — put out their record. mothers of the land live at deer in the headlightsAnd to listen to Hunting Grounds, its heavy NWOBHM-inspired grooves are delivered with an energy that deserves to be heard.

But putting the album out could only replace one frustration with another, because you can’t go and put it in a crowd’s ears directly anymore. Here we are, going on eight months later, and Live at Deer in the Headlights Studio, which brings three songs from Hunting Grounds and one from its predecessor, is being issued, not to take the place of live shows — how could it? — but at least to give some representation of the band’s dynamic in that setting. As “Queen of the Den” flows into the guitarmonized unfolding of “Harvest,” the nobility of their intent is plain to hear and their melodies engage with a spirit of triumph through adversity. If you can relate to such a thing, chances are you’re a human being and alive.

“Nightwalk Blues” is the only cut included from Temple Without Walls and it soars in classic form, giving way to “Showdown,” which capped Hunting Grounds, as if to bring to emphasis the progression the years between the two LPs brought forth in their dynamic and style. Fret not, there’s still plenty of groove to go around, and go around it does.

Live at Deer in the Headlights Studio was recorded by Markus Matzinger (who also mixed) and Paul Bacher. You’ll find it streaming in full below, followed by the story as told by the band.

Please enjoy:

„Live Session at Deer In The Headlights Studios 2020“
We had a new album coming in mid June and there was no chance to play any shows to promote „Hunting Grounds“ due to the lockdown measures in Austria. So we did what we thought would be the closest thing to a live show – a live session.

“Deer In The Headlights Studio” has a tradition to do live sessions and have an amazing team of sound engineers. They told us we could only do three songs, but luckily we could convince them to add another one, since one of them was so short – like just three minutes or so.. The only criterium for choosing the songs was the amount of fun we have playing them – we hope you enjoy it as much as we did and still do!

The recording took place at “Deer In The Headlights Studios” Linz, Austria on May 30, 2020.
Engineering: Markus Matzinger and Paul Bacher
Mix: Markus Matzinger

Tracklisting:
1. Queen of the Den 05:04
2. Harvest 03:48
3. Nightwalk Blues 05:11
4. Showdown 09:17

Mothers Of The Land:
Georg Pluschkowitz (guitar)
Jack Jindra (guitar)
Johannes ‘Jon’ Zeininger (bass)
Jakob Haug (drums)

Mothers of the Land, Harvest (2020)

Mothers of the Land website

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Mothers of the Land on Bandcamp

Mothers of the Land on Instagram

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StoneFree Records website

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Mothers of the Land Stream Hunting Grounds in Full; Out Tomorrow on StoneFree Records

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on June 18th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

mothers of the land

Vienna-based instrumentalists Mothers of the Land will release their second album, Hunting Grounds, tomorrow through StoneFree Records. The vinyl arrives as the follow-up to their 2016 debut, Temple Without Walls, and brings six tracks across 37 minutes of dual-guitar-led heavy rock and roll, mostly straightforward particularly in its early going until it gets to the longer pair of cuts across side B in the two eight-minute tracks “Sanctuary” and “Showdown.” Even there, however, there’s little by way of pretense or masking of intention, and one finds likeness to what might happen if Karma to Burn had at some point joined forces with Valkyrie, though whether it’s the lead-in given to the record by opener “Harvest” or the swaggering title-track that takes hold from there, the material contains a good bit of NWOBHM influence as well, more Iron Maiden gallop and Priestly chug than Thin Lizzy swing, despite the decided foundation in classic heavy rock.

There are a number of general modes in which an instrumental act might operate, and as one might expect with the two guitars of Jack Jindra and Georg Pluschkowitz as forward in the sound as they are ahead of Johannes Zeininger‘s bass and Jakob Haug‘s drums, the method of choice for Mothers of the Land is to fill the space where vocals would otherwise be with leads and standout riffs. No complaints there, as “The Beast” shows them all the more able to twist around dynamic changes in volume and mothers of the land hunting groundsmeter and melody without having to adhere to the inherent structure of lyrics. At the same time, each of these songs is working according to a plan, and where so much of the current instrumental heavy wave is based around jamming and improvisation — especially but not exclusively throughout Europe — Mothers of the Land go another way and instead make a showcase of their craft, so that when “The Beast” returns to its central progression to finish out, the listener is able to follow along with the change and internalize it as all the more memorable.

Hunting Grounds is traditionalist enough to be readily familiar to heavy rock heads who might take it on, but it’s not at all void of personality, and the stomp and strut of “Queen of the Den” gives a fittingly regal impression as though to underscore the point, with the bass jutting out from beneath the winding guitars punctuated by the snare and crash in a build of tension that settles into more harmonized leads acting in a semi-chorus fashion. At just under four and a half minutes, “Queen of the Den” makes a relatively quick impression and then ends quietly in a shift to the soft and relatively patient start of “Sanctuary,” which takes hold with a more linear feel in its construction, not just enacting a build from quiet to loud necessarily, but using that as part of a greater expressive ideal. “Showdown” might be titled for the battling solo lines that take place as and after it passes the midpoint, but whether it’s that or there’s some other narrative at work across Hunting Grounds, the central purpose in summarizing what’s come before and expanding on it comes through with no less clarity than the notes themselves.

The upfront nature of their style might give one a superficial first impression of what Mothers of the Land are doing on their second album, and to a point, it’s hard to argue with that. It’s double-guitar instrumentalist heavy rock — not reinventing the form, but making it their own. Fine. But subsequent listens unveil changes and shifts in mood and/or approach that do affect a sense of atmosphere that, while straightforward, seems to be working toward finding its own place within the established aesthetic grounds it occupies. Ultimately, for the minute indulgence asked on the part of the band, the reward is plenty substantial.

You can hear for yourself with the full premiere of Hunting Grounds below, ahead of the release tomorrow.

Please enjoy:

Mothers of the Land, Hunting Grounds official premiere

Riff-Smiths “Mothers of the Land” are an instrumental Heavy Psych Rock band from Vienna, Austria founded in 2012. Known for crafting powerful vintage rock epics, centered around the spiraling psychedelia of their twin lead guitars. In June 2016, they released their live recorded DIY Debut-Album ‚Temple Without Walls‘ and gained a great international reception from listeners, artists and bloggers, resulting in fruitful collaborations around the globe.

Introducing a new era of 70‘s inspired Rock, they deliver heavy twin guitars mounted on a protometal body, rejuvenated by numerous influences reaching from NWOBHM to Stoner Rock. Having played dozens of concerts with international headliner acts like Asteroid, Elder or Red Fang, the band provides powerful performances that lure in the audiences deeply through the surreal worlds they create.

All those experiences were used to forge the new material, which finally formed their second album. “Hunting Grounds” will be released physical and digital via StoneFree Records on June 19th pressed by the state of the art pressing plant “Austrovinyl”.

Recorded and Mixed by Nino Del Carlo
Mastering by Lukas Wiltschko at LW Sonics

Members
Georg Pluschkowitz (Guitar)
Jack Jindra (Guitar)
Johannes Zeininger (Bass)
Jakob Haug (Drums)

Mothers of the Land on Bandcamp

Mothers of the Land on Thee Facebooks

Mothers of the Land on Instagram

Mothers of the Land website

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Weddings Release Debut Album Haunt This Week; Streaming Now

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 26th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

weddings

Fair enough for the Vienna-based three-piece Weddings calling their first album Haunt, since they’ve pretty obviously named it after the atmosphere they’re shooting for. The trio have already posted the record for streaming, and you’ll find that below, but they’ll also have vinyl out with a slightly different version of the cover at the end of the week through StoneFree Records, which is also behind the CD pressing for those of you (I think it’s me and Jose Humberto, probably one or two others) who still like discs in compact form. Any format you go with, the spaciousness comes across as a key component of what Weddings do, and to read that the band members’ origins go back to Spain, Canada and Sweden is fascinating. Wonder how they all wound up in Austria in the first place.

They’ve got a few dates in Austria and Germany lined up, and you’ll see those here courtesy of their Bandcamp, along with some background and the release info.

Dig it:

weddings haunt

Weddings – Haunt – StoneFree Records

Weddings is an explosive and moody rock power trio indebted in equal parts to grunge, desert rock, psych rock, punk and doom. The brainchild of Canadian Jay Brown (Vocals/Guitars), Spaniard Elena Rodriguez (Vocals/ Drums) and Swede Phil Nordling (Bass), the band was created in 2017 after the 3 met while living in Salzburg, Austria.

The band member’s cultural differences helped to forge and fuel Weddings’ uniqueness. Brown’s upbringing on the prairies of Canada, Rodriguez’ childhood in southern Spain and Nordling’s experiences in Gothenburg, Sweden have contributed an impressive diversity to the distinctive songs. A mutual love of bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Monster Magnet and Alice in Chains helped to unify their creative direction – one that takes many left turns away from conventional rock trappings, while in pursuit of fearless creativity.

Their first single Labyrinth showcases all of their strengths – male/female vocal harmonies, powerful riffs, propulsive bass and pounding drums.

Getting caught in this maze of mesmerizing chord structures and tempo changes is equally adrenalizing and haunting. A fitting lead off for the band’s upcoming debut album entitled Haunt released digitally on Bandcamp February 20th, 2020. Vinyl and CDs available Feb. 28th on StoneFree Records.

Weddings signed with Austria’s respected rock label StoneFree in early 2020. Their album release tour will take them through Austria and Germany in Feb/March opening for heavy-hitters like Swan Valley Heights, Great Rift and Vodun.

They’ll perform almost anywhere.. except weddings.

Tracklisting:
1. Pyramids 03:20
2. Acid Heart 02:58
3. Labyrinth 04:10
4. Broken Bones 04:10
5. Trail of Blood 03:56
6. I Can’t Say No To You Anyway 04:31
7. Laughing Our Way To The Grave 04:04
8. Hidden Message 04:18

Weddings live:
Feb 28 Rockhouse Salzburg, Austria
Feb 29 Kramladen Vienna, Austria
Mar 02 Sixty Twenty Innsbruck, Austria
Mar 03 Kulturlounge Leipzig, Germany
Mar 04 Goldener Salon Hamburg, Germany
Mar 06 Tief Berlin, Germany

http://www.facebook.com/weddingstherockband
https://www.instagram.com/weddingstherockband
https://weddingstherockband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.weddingstherockband.com/
https://www.facebook.com/stonefree.co.at/
http://www.stonefree.co.at/

Weddings, Haunt (2020)

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