Quarterly Review: Khanate, Space Queen, King Potenaz, Treedeon, Orsak:Oslo, Nuclear Dudes, Mycena, Bog Monkey, The Man Motels, Pyre Fyre

Posted in Reviews on July 19th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

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Ah, a Quarterly Review Wednesday. Always a special occasion. Monday starts out with a daunting look at the task ahead. Tuesday is all digging in and just not trying to repeat myself too much. Wednesday, traditionally, is where we hit the halfway point. The top of the hill.

Not the case this time since I’ll have 10 records each written up next Monday and Tuesday, but crossing the midpoint of this week alone feels like an accomplishment and you’ll pardon me if I mark it as such. If you’re wondering how the rest of the week will go, tomorrow is all-business and Friday’s usually a party one way or the other. My head gets so in it by the middle of next week I’ll be surprised not to be doing this anymore. So it goes.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Khanate, To Be Cruel

Khanate To Be Cruel

Who among mortals could hope to capture the horrors of Khanate in simple words? The once-New York-based avant sludge ultragroup end a 14-year hiatus with To Be Cruel, a fourth album, comprising three songs running between 19-21 minutes each that breed superlative hatefulness. At once overwhelming and minimalist, with opener “Like a Poisoned Dog” placing the listener in a homemade basement dungeon with the sharp, disaffection-incarnate bark of Alan Dubin (also Gnaw) cutting through the weighted slog in the guitar of Stephen O’Malley (also SunnO))), et al), the bass of James Plotkin (more than one can count, and he probably also mastered your band’s record) and the noise free-jazz drumming of Tim Wyskida (Blind Idiot God, etc.), they retain the disturbing brilliance last heard from in 2009’s Clean Hands Go Foul (discussed here) and are no less caustic for the intervening years. “It Wants to Fly” is expansive and wretched death poetry set to drone doom, a ritual made of its own misery, and the concluding title-track goes quiet in its midsection as though to let every wrenching anguish have its own space in the song. There is no one like them, though many have tried to convey some of what apparently only Khanate can. As our plague-infested, world-burning, war-making, fear-driven species plunges further into this terrible century, Khanate is the soundtrack we earn. We are all complicit. All guilty.

Khanate on Facebook

Sacred Bones Records store

 

Space Queen, Nebula

Space Queen Nebula EP

Though plenty atmospheric besides, Vancouver heavy fuzz rockers Space Queen add atmosphere to their nine-song/26-minute Nebula EP through a series of four interludes: the a capella three-part harmonies of “Deluge,” the acoustic-strummed “Veil” and “Sun Interlude,” and the finishing manipulated space-command sample in “End Transmission” after the richly melodic doom rock of “Transmission/Lost Causemonaut.” That penultimate inclusion is the longest at 6:14 and tells a story in a way that feels informed by the three-piece of drummer/vocalist Karli MacIntosh, guitarist/vocalist Jenna Earle and bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Seah Maister‘s past in the folk outfit Sound of the Sun, but transposes its melodic sensibility into a heavier context. It and the prior garage-psych highlight “When it Gets Light” — a lighter initial electric strum that arrives in willful-seeming contrast to “Darkest Part” immediately preceding — depart from the more straight-ahead push of opener “Battle Cry” and the guitar-screamer “Demon Queen” separated from it by the first interlude. Where those two come across as working with Alice in Chains as a defining influence — something the folk elements don’t necessarily argue against — the Nebula EP grows broader as it moves through its brief course, and flows throughout with its veering into and out of songs and short pieces. This is Space Queen‘s second EP, and if they’re interested in making a full-length next, they sound ready.

Space Queen on Facebook

Space Queen on Bandcamp

 

King Potenaz, Goat Rider

king potenaz goat rider

Fasano, Italy’s King Potenaz debut on Argonauta Records with Goat Rider, which conjures raw fuzz, garage-doom atmospherics, and vocals that edge toward aggression and classic cave metal, early Venom or Celtic Frost having a role to play even alongside the transposition of Kyuss riffing taking place in the title-track, which follows “Among Ruins” and “Pyramids Planet,” both of which featured on the trio’s 2022 Demo 6:66, and which set a tone of riff-led revelry here with a sound that reminds of turn-of-the-century era stoner explorations, but grows richer as it moves into “Pazuzu (3:33)” — it’s actually 5:18 — with guest vocals from Sabilla and the quiet three-minute instrumental “Cosmic Voyager” planet-caravanning into the 51-minute album’s second half, where “Moriendoom (La Ballata di Ippolita Oderisi)” and the even doomier “Monolithic” dig into cultish vibes and set up the bleak shuffle of nine-minute closer “Dancing Plague,” departing from its central ’90s-heavy riff into a mellow-psych movement and then returning from that outward stretch to end. Even at its most familiar, Goat Rider finds some way to harness an individual edge, cleverly using the mix itself as an instrument to create the space in which the songs dwell. It may take a few listens to sink in, but there’s real potential in what they’re doing.

King Potenaz on Facebook

Argonauta Records store

 

Treedeon, New World Hoarder

Treedeon New World Hoarder

With the release of their third album, New World Hoarder, German art-sludgers Treedeon celebrate their first decade as a band. The combined vinyl-with-CD follows 2018’s Under the Manchineel (review here) and proffers raw cosmic doom in “Omega Time Bomb,” crossing the 10-minute line for the first time after the particularly-agonized opener “Nutcrème Superspreader” and before the title-track’s nodding riff brings bassist Yvonne Ducksworth to the fore vocally, trading off with guitarist Arne Heesch as drummer Andy Schünemann crashes cyclically behind. “New World Hoarder” gives over to side B opener “Viking Meditation Song,” which rolls like an evil-er version of Goatsnake, and “RHV1,” on which Heesch and Ducksworth share vocal duties, as they also do in 12-minute closer “Läderlappen” — a shouting duet in the first half feels long in arriving, but that’s how you know the album works — as the band cap with more massive chug following an interplay of melody and throatier fare. They’re right to ride that groove, as they’re right about so much else on the record. Like much of what Exile on Mainstream puts out, Treedeon are stylistically intricate and underrated in kind.

Treedeon on Facebook

Exile on Mainstream site

 

Orsak:Oslo, In Irons

Orsak Oslo In Irons

There are a couple different angles of approach one might take in hearing Orsak:Oslo‘s In Irons full-length. The Norway/Sweden-based instrumental troupe have been heretofore lumped in with heavy post-rock and ambient soundscaping, which is fair enough, but what they actually unveil in “068 The Swell” (premiered here), is a calming interpretation of space rock. With experimentalism on display in its late atmospheric drone comedown, “068 The Swell” moves directly into the more physical “079 Dutchman’s Wake (Part I),” the languid boogie feeling modern in presentation and classic in construction and the chemistry between the members of the band. The drums sit out much of the first half of “069 In What Way Are You Different,” giving a sense of stillness to the drone there, but the song embraces a bigger feel toward its finish, and that sets up the feedback intro to “078 The Mute (Part II),” which veers dreamily between amplifier drone and complementary melodic guitar flourish. Taking 17 minutes to do it, they close with “074 Hadal Blue,” which more broadly applies the space-chill of “068 The Swell” and emphasizes flow and organic changes from one part to the next. Immersive, it would be one to get lost in if it weren’t so satisfying to pay attention.

Orsak:Oslo on Facebook

Vinter Records website

 

Nuclear Dudes, Boss Blades

Nuclear Dudes Boss Blades

Fuck. Yes. As much grind as sludge as electronics-infused hardcore as it is furious, unadulterated noise, the 12-song/50-minute onslaught that is Boss Blades arrives via Modern Grievance at the behest of Jon Weisnewski, also of Sandrider, formerly of Akimbo. If Weisnewski‘s name alone and the fact that Matt Bayles mixed the self-recorded debut LP aren’t enough to pull you into the tornado of violence and maddening brood that opener “Boss Blades” uses to open — extra force provided by one of two guest vocal spots from Dave Verellen of Botch; the other is on “Lasers in the Jungle” later on — then perhaps the seven-minute semi-industrial march of “Obsolete Food” or the bruising intensity of “Poorly Made Pots” or the minute and a half of sample-topped drone psych in “Guitart,” the extreme prog metal of “Eat Meth” or “Manifest Piss Tape” will do the trick, or the nine-minute near-centerpiece “Many Knives” (which, if there’s a Genghis Tron influence here generally — and there might be — is more the last record than the older stuff) with its slow keyboard unfolding as a backdrop for Dust Moth‘s Irene Barber to make her own guest appearance, plenty of post-everything cacophony mounting by the end, grandiose and consuming. I could go on — every track is a new way to die — but suffice it to say that this is what my brain sounds like when my kid and my wife are talking to me about different things at the same time and it feels like my skull is on fire and I have an aneurysm and keel over. Good wins.

Nuclear Dudes on Instagram

Modern Grievance Records website

 

Mycena, Chapter 4

mycena chapter 4

Sometimes harsh but always free, 2022’s Chapter 4 from Croatian instrumentalist double-guitar five-piece Mycena — guitarists Marin Mitić and Pavle Bojanić, bassist Karlo Cmrk, drummer Igor Vidaković and synthesist/noisemaker Aleksandar Vrhovec — brings three tracks that are distinct unto themselves but listed as part of the same entirety, dubbed “Dissolution” and divided into “Dissolution Part 1” (17:49), “Dissolution Part 2” (3:03), and “Dissolution Part 3” (18:11), and it may well be that what’s being dissolved is the notion that rock and roll must be confined to verse/chorus structuring. Invariably, Earthless are a comparison point for longform instrumental heavy anything, and given the shred in “Dissolution Part 1” around five minutes deep and the torrent rockblast in the first half of “Dissolution Part 3” before it melts to near-silence and quietly noodles its way through its somehow-dub-informed last 11 or so minutes, building in presence but not actually blowing up to full volume as it caps. While totaling a manageable 39 minutes, Chapter 4 is a journey nonetheless, with a scope that comes through even in “Dissolution Part 2,” which may just be an interlude but still carries a steady rhythm that seems to reorient the band ahead of their diving into the extended final part, the band sounding natural in making changes that would undo acts with less chemistry.

Mycena on Facebook

Mycena on Bandcamp

 

Bog Monkey, Hollow

bog monkey hollow

Filthy tone. Just absolutely nasty. Atlanta’s Bog Monkey tracked Hollow, their self-released debut LP, with Jay Matheson at The Jam Room in South Carolina, and if they ever go anywhere else to try to capture their sound I’d have to ask why. With seven cuts totaling 33 minutes play-time and fuzz-sludge blowouts a-plenty in “Facemint,” the blastbeaten “Blister” and the heads-down largesse-minded shove-off-the-cliff that is “Slither” at a whopping 2:48, Hollow transposes Conan-style shouted vocals on brash, thickened heavy, the bass in “Tunnel” and forward-charging leadoff “Crow” with its thrash-riffing hook is the source of the heft, but it’s not alone. Spacious thanks to echoes on the vocals, Hollow crushes just the same, and as the trio plunder toward the eight-minute “Soma” at the end, growing intense quickly out of a calmer intro jam and slamming their message home circa 3:40 with crashes that break to bass and guitar noise to establish the nod around which the ending will be based, all you can really do is look forward to the bludgeoning to come and be glad when it arrives. Don’t be fooled by their generic name, or the silly stoner rock art (which I’m not knocking; it being silly is part of the point). Bog Monkey bring together different styles in a way that’s thoughtful and make songs that sound like they just rose out of the water to fucking obliterate you. So go on. Be obliterated.

Bog Monkey on Facebook

Bog Monkey on Bandcamp

 

The Man Motels, Dead Nature

The Man Motels Dead Nature EP

Punkish in its choruses like the title-track or opener “Sports,” the four-song Dead Nature EP from South Africa’s The Man Motels is the latest in a string of short releases and singles going back to their 2018 full-length, Quit Looking at Me!, and they temper the urgency of their speediest parts with grunge-style melody and instrumental twists. Bass and drums at the base of “Young Father” set up the sub-three-minute closer as purely punk, but sure enough the guitar kicks in coming out of the verse and one can hear the Nirvana effect before it drops out again. Whether it’s a common older-school hardcore influence, I don’t know, but “Sports” and “Young Father” remind of a rawer Fu Manchu with their focus on structure, but “The Fever” is heavier indie rock and culminates in a tonally satisfying apex before cutting back to the main riff that’s led the way for… oh, about three minutes or so. All told, The Man Motels are done in 15 minutes, but they pack a fair amount into that time and they named the release after its catchiest installment, so there. Maybe not the kind of thing I’d always reach for in my own listening habits, but I’m not about to rag on a band for being good at what they do or showcasing their material with the kind of energy The Man Motels put into Dead Nature.

The Man Motels on Facebook

Mongrel Records website

 

Pyre Fyre, Pyre Fyre

pyre fyre pyre fyre

With a couple short(er) outings to their credit, Bayonne, New Jersey, three-piece Pyre Fyre present seven songs in the 18 minutes of their self-titled, which just might be enough to make it a full-length. Hear me out. They start raw with “Hypnotize,” more of a song than an intro, punkish and the shortest piece at 1:22. From there, the Melvins meet Earthride on “Flood Zone” and the range of shenanigans is unveiled. Produced by drummer/noisemaker Mike Montemarano, with Dylan Wheeler on guitar, Dan Kirwan on bass and vocals from all three in its hithers and yons, it is a barebones sound across the board, but Pyre Fyre give a sense of digging in despite that, with the echo-laced “Wyld Ryde” doled out like garage thrash, while “Dungeon Duster/Ice Storm” sounds like it was recorded in two different sessions and maybe it was and screw you if that matters, “Don’t Drink the Water” hits the brakes and dooms out with stoner-drawl vocals later, “Arachnophobia” dips into a darker, somehow more metal, mood, and the fuzzy “Cordyceps” ends with swagger and noise alike in just under two and a half minutes. All of this is done without pretense, without the band pausing to celebrate themselves or what they just accomplished. They get in, kick ass, get out again. You don’t want to call it an album? Fine. I respectfully disagree, but we can still be friends. What, you thought because it was the internet I was going to tell you to screw off? Come on now.

Pyre Fyre on Instagram

Pyre Fyre on Bandcamp

 

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Orsak:Oslo Premiere “068 The Swell” AI Video; Announce New Album In Irons Out April 27

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Whathaveyou on March 2nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Orsak Oslo (Photo by David Holmqvist)

On March 9, atmospheric post-rockers Orsak:Oslo will release “068 The Swell,” the first single from their upcoming second long-player, In Irons, which will be released April 27 on Vinter Records. The band were last heard from in 2021, when their Vemod/Skimmer LP came out through Kapitän Platte, and the new song offers a not-insignificant sampling of where they’re at these two years later. The drift and meditative sensibility of their last work is intact — “068 The Swell” is hypnotic in its lulling — and no, I don’t mean meditative as in-genre code for an Eastern influence. But while the serenity is consistent, there’s a definite current of movement amid that flow and the song as a whole feels more active as a result, evocative of the watery nature of its title.

How does that apply to the impending record as a whole? Fair question. I haven’t heard it so can’t comment, but if you’ve heard the band before, the grace that lured you in in the first place is well accounted for here, as Orsak:Oslo continue to explore the peaceful moments within moments through audio. While I’m not speculating about things I don’t know, I won’t presume to say how you feel about that kind of thing, but I sure as shit am looking forward to this album.

Here’s PR wire info, followed of course by the video, which was made using AI animation as I suspect an increasing number of videos will be soon enough:

orsak oslo 068

ORSAK:OSLO: Watch/Share ‘068 The Swell’ Video From Norway and Sweden Located KRAUTROCK/POST-ROCK Band; Sophomore Full-Length ‘In Irons’ To Drop Aril 27th Through VINTER RECORDS

Orsak:Oslo is one of those hidden gems, always grinding, always perfecting the imperfections. The four piece has been lurking around the underground for years, steadily pawing its way with a mellow, laidback, but yet intense sound. «068 The Swell» starts off with an Orsak:Oslo benchmark-groove. And they don´t let go. They never do. Orsak:Oslo takes you on a journey right off the bat, and the trip feels delicious.

First single «068 The Swell» off their upcoming full length «IN IRONS», is out March 9th on Vinter Records.

Says the band: “The Swell captured the essence of Orsak:Oslo in just minutes. After being separated by borders for nearly 3 years, these seven minutes of music is what came to life after we finally met again.

“The fact that three years of bottled up creative energy ended up with this slow, churning and almost anticlimactic groove is perhaps a mystery to some, but it is immensely unveiling of how we fashion songs: We do this first and foremost to make meaningful musical conversations and expressions.

“The steady ebb and flow from the guitars in combination with the heavy, but almost loitering drum beat gives us a feeling of rising waters. It’s like the oceans reclaiming their old territories, taking back the land that was once part of the ocean floor.”

https://www.facebook.com/orsakoslo/
https://www.instagram.com/orsakoslo/
https://orsakoslo.bandcamp.com/
https://www.orsakoslo.com/

https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
http://vinterrecords.com/

Orsak:Oslo, “068 The Swell” AI video premiere

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Gøran Karlsvik of Damokles

Posted in Questionnaire on November 3rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Damokles-(Photo-by-Al-x)

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: Gøran Karlsvik of Damokles

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

That’s always a tough question. And there’s never a short answer for it. Just recently a friend firmly stated that I was “an artist”, and I had problems accepting that, but let’s just say I took it as a big compliment. I’ve always been very creative, while also extremely curious. Guess I’m a multimedial multitasker. I do a little bit of this, and a litte bit of that.

I’m the vocalist and lyricist in three bands; Damokles, This Sect and Endtimers, and have an electronic solo project where I play around with my analogue synths and drum machines; Contrarian. I’ve been in touring bands since I was 14, so the band life has always been my “backbone”, I guess it’s time to consider myself a musician.

I’m a published author, currently working on new books. I direct music videos for bands and labels, plus do illustration and graphic design. I translate comics and books for children and young adults. I do creative content for an arcade bar; Tilt. The place is packed with pinballs and arcade games, so to me it’s geek heaven, as I basically grew up in arcades. I’m the co-director/creator of a TV and web comedy series, ZAP, which debuted on the national TV channel back in 2014. The project has an upcoming album, over 30 tracks both old and new from the show. ZAP has basically turned into an art project for my co-creator and I. Also co-run a DIY record label; Sect Appeal Records.

So I keep busy. I’m fortunate in the sense that I get to exclusively do creative work. It’s helped me grow, learn and be unafraid, kept me on my toes, and also kept me humble even though I can be a complete bad cop if you rub me the wrong way. Lately, I’ve mostly worked on music. Mainly preparing for tours with Damokles and recording the 2nd album, as well as putting the finishing touches on Contrarian album four.

How did I come to do all of this? That’s not a short answer either, so bear with me.

I started out as a journalist in my early teens, for local newspapers. Mainly culture content. Had to cover the occasional soccer match, which I know zero about, so those articles turned out super weird yet I somehow got away with it. Always carried a camera while on jobs, that led to getting photographer gigs. At the time I was also in two active bands that did DIY tours, and usually got into trouble with the locals.

I did a year of film school, then moved to the capital in Norway; Oslo. Through being an avid comic book customer of a dude selling stuff out of his mom’s basement, I had somehow landed myself a job as the manager of the comic books department in a newly opened geek store. Was surrounded by comics, sci/fi, horror & fantasy literature, RPG games, cult movies, miniatures, collectible cards and a crazy amount of merch and toys. The shop was a success, and gradually turned into a national chain of stores.

While managing the store, I got a job as a writer, photographer and illustrator for a pop culture magazine. That led to similar gigs. These jobs eventually turned into permanent editorial roles. By then it got hard to combine the writing and the store, so I became a fulltime writer and editor. Music editor in some magazines, concert editor in others, covered soundtracks and cult movies in a film mag, had regular columns here and there, plus did feature articles that basically were gonzo travel journalism.
There were also many odd jobs, one-offs; like doing voiceovers for a cartoon series and singing on their jingle tracks, writing the script for an episode of a soap opera, running a short film festival or acting as a football hooligan in an ad for a gambling firm, ironically, since I as previously mentioned, know nothing about soccer. Or gambling.

I eventually got a job in publishing, as an editor for comic books. Stayed in that biz for a long time. Worked on properties such as The Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, Dilbert and other humor comics, Conan, various Scandinavian projects and my favourite; Marvel Comics. In that job I also worked on scripts, developed new titles and did translations, mainly for Marvel and certain comedy books. After over a decade in the comics business, the economy collapsed, the publishing industry got severely affected, and I just removed myself while I could. Cashed in a severance check.

That led to freelancing again. An editor job for an international film festival. Translated video games. Worked as an advisor in an author’s association, securing creative rights for non-fiction writers. Acted in a TV promo for a doomed reality talent show featuring Dee Snider trying to find the Scandinavian singer of Twisted Sister. Freelanced for publishing houses as a translator, script consultant and proof reader. Got small directorial gigs, like documentaries for another author’s guild. My music connections led into videos, promos, graphic design and illustration for labels and bands. Got text jobs in advertising. The show ZAP was accepted by a TV channel. I wrote my first book; “Grim Justis – Svartebok om dødsstraffens historie i Norge”, non-fiction about the history of capital punishment in Norway. Became a creative potato for an arcade. Parallel to this weird “career,” I kept on doing music, and gradually joined more and more bands, while also doing guest spots. And here I am, in 2022, basically working on whatever I want. You can safely say I’ve lived a rich life.

Sorry for the not-so-short answer.

Describe your first musical memory.

Difficult to pin down the very first memory, I’ve always listened to so much different stuff. But I guess my first musical phase was at a young age, glued to the TV set watching MTV and recording compilations of music videos onto VHS tapes. Sat through all the heavy rotation videos, at the time what was en vogue was synth pop and New Wavey things like Devo, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Gary Numan, Human League, Wall of Voodoo, Oingo Boingo and more. Got heavily into that style of music. Still am! Devo’s video for “Whip It” made a lasting impression, and left me a lifelong fan of the band. In a general way, music videos mesmerized me – the combination of abstract visuals set to catchy sounds, then ordered into a cryptic internal logic… Still feels like magic to me. Around the same time, I got “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie on cassette and I played that tape to shreds, literally.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Difficult to pin down also, but my best musical memories are connected to live shows and getting to see some of my heroes in a concert setting. Best show ever? DEVO, hands down. Twice, hehe. But I’ve had so many epic live experiences. Here are some. David Bowie, Fugazi, The Cure, Nomeansno, Anthrax, Converge, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Slayer, City of Caterpillar, Sebadoh, Dillinger Escape Plan, Kraftwerk, Built to Spill, Neurosis, Afghan Whigs, Einstürzende Neubauten, Motorpsycho, The Locust, Cursive, Modest Mouse, Today is the Day, Pavement, Shellac, PJ Harvey, Mr. Bungle, Unsanse,Tool, Melvins, Gary Numan, Eyehategod, New Model Army – those stand out to me, to name a few. And I’m sure I’ve forgotten tons. The discovery of bands in a live setting is also very appealing to me, like when I first saw Future of the Left, or Man or Astro-Man plus their side-project Servotron, or Modern Life is War supporting Converge in a tiny all-ages venue, then coming back next year to headline the same venue… That list of excellent memories is endless.

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

Uh, my faith in humanity is tested several times daily. I have to block out news outlets or social media for periods of time, it can bum me out heavily, and that’s something I don’t need. Sometimes I wonder if reality has shifted slightly, and we’ve ended up in a parallel Twilight Zone dimension. We are living in absurd times. A human cheeto served as the President for four years and egged up some morons to storm the Capitol at the end of his tenure. We just got done with a global pandemic that completely changed the fabric of society. We now have a war in Europe, complete with imperialistic genocidal tactics and the potential of a nuclear disaster. When I was a kid I used to have nightmares about utter complete nuclear holocaust, and that primal fear is certainly tingling at a very rapid pace these days. Also, hiding explosives in toys in order to blow up kids? Disgustingly evil. Give me an hour alone with Putin. Or less, I can work it into my schedule. Repeated school shootings, like the one in Texas recently, also severely tests my faith in humanity, get some gun laws goddammit. What else bums me out? The environment is collapsing. There’s an unsustainable food industry going on. We treat beautiful creatures as granted commodities. Hate crimes, no matter where it’s directed, whether it be towards race, gender, sexual orientation or creed, seems to be on the rise, even the cops are in on it. Teenage incels get terrorist training courses in toxic reddits; instant indoctrination into the next edgelord hate hype where child murderers are the heroes.

I don’t know, man. It seems to me that everyone is getting dumber and less educated in the facts of life. This is pretty close to the movie Idiocracy, and that was directed by the Beavis & Butthead creator – seems like a cosmic joke, right? A lousy one. We’re regressing rather than progressing. My favourite band Devo was right all along: de-evolution is real. We’ve reached peak mankind, it’s all downhill from here. We were promised jetpacks, hoverboards, astronaut superfood in toothpaste tubes, and now the space race is in the hands of a Richie Rich manchild, plus a bunch of warmongers.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Down a rabbit hole, probably? Us artistic types tend to go into some sort of hyperfocus for periods of time whenever we chase an idea. It will hopefully lead to a better place, both creatively and personally.

How do you define success?

That’s something I don’t spend much time thinking about. Who knows? Envy? Bitterness? False expectations? Fake friends and Yes People? It’s all in the eye of the beholder, I guess. One person’s success is another person’s failure. There’s so much pettiness going on, I wish we could lift one another up whenever fortune strikes rather than tear each other down. You won an award? Struck a new deal? Landed a neat gig? Great! Pats on the back and high-fives from me.

Maybe success means getting too comfortable and resting on your laurels. I wouldn’t know how that feels, don’t think I want to. I’ve always felt hungry and on the move, a mode that suits me fine.

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

My brother’s stitched up corpse in a morgue. But on a less serious note: U2. I used to live near an outdoors stadium. Was able to see the stage and big screens from the balcony. Not that I love Bruce Springsteen or Michael Jackson, but it was nice to crack a cold one, put out a camping chair and see a show from the porch. There was also a hill near the flat where you could see most of the stage and screens. I was coming home from work one day, completely exhausted. Heard an ungodly racket and wondered what the fuck it could be. Went up the hill to see, and of course it was U2. They had these giant mechanical lemons that would transport the band members to the stage and open up. The lemons seemed to be malfunctioning, and opened in a completely jerky manner, making it difficult for these douchebags to exit from their yellow monstrosities. Total Spinal Tap vibe. Wish those lemons had remained closed forever, like plastic tombs.

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

Haha, #lifegoals style? Also, not a thing I spend much time thinking about. I’ve got enough projects. Right now I’m focusing on Damokles. Finishing album two, studio time recording, setting up plans for album three and some surprise releases. Plus, rehearsals for gigs and tours are time-consuming. In the small off-periods for Damokles, I’m playing around with analogue synths, drum machines and beatboxes in my Contrarian project. Album four TBA soon. My good old band of post-punk weirdos, This Sect, are having its 20-year anniversary next year. A new album is materializing, as well as a few shows and a retrospective collection of rarities; live tracks, remixes, demos, outtakes. We’ve always recorded our rehearsals and jams, there are harddrives and CD folders stacked with hidden lo/fi gems.

If there’s one thing I’d really like to do; is to write and illustrate my own comic book. I’ll certainly give it a try. I have a little motto: I never get bored. That’s kept me afloat thus far.

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

To be able to be elevated and transported into a different realm? Sometimes it’s nice to be able to escape from the reality you’re stuck in.

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

My fave author, Bret Easton Ellis, is releasing a new novel early next year; The Shards. The blurb sounds awesome: “It’s 1981 and Bret Ellis is an aspiring writer beginning his senior year of high school in Los Angeles. A serial killer, The Trawler, begins targeting teenagers throughout the city – just as a mysterious new student joins Bret’s class.”
Hoping for a Patrick Bateman appearance!

https://www.facebook.com/therealdamokles/
https://www.instagram.com/damoklesband
https://therealdamokles.bandcamp.com/
bit.ly/damoklesspotify
bit.ly/damoklesyoutube

https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
http://vinterrecords.com/

Damokles, Nights Come Alive (2022)

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MoE Post “The Crone” Video; Album Due in 2022

Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 25th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

moe

Norwegian duo MoE will release their new album, The Crone, next year on Vinter Records. Accordingly, the two-piece — who I gather also served for a time as the backing band for Årabrot; certainly not nothing as far as feathers in the cap of their CV go, along with various awards and critical nods and thisses and thatses — have a video out for the title-track. It’s a little under 10 minutes long and thusly tells you much more than the prior-posted teaser that accompanied first word of the signing, but a big part of what’s happening here is atmospheric anyway, so if you’ve got brain capacity for mood-heavy, MoE — who were also the first act that Vinter picked up — have plenty of heavy mood on offer.

Also, creepy stuff in the woods. MoE is bassist/vocalist Guro S. Moe and guitarist Håvard Skaset — plus others or so it would seem, but in the video, the look is less about here’s-the-band than kind of an art film building on the underlying theme of the track. Hey, if you’ve got trees, use ’em. By the time all the spinning around is done late in the clip, I too am ready to fall over.

Would love to tell you all about the album and its sundry creative intricacies and probably the contemplative nature of the work met with an element of individual expression, living through hard times through carving one’s own outlet — at least I assume that’s what we’d be talking about; I suppose there’s always the weather instead — but I haven’t actually heard it yet in its entirety. Will I eventually? Probably. Always a chance I’ll get hit by a bus or I’ll get JUST ONE MORE email addressed to “hey dudes” coming through the contact form and scrap the site entirely, but barring that, yeah, I’ll probably check that out. The video certainly argues in its favor.

Enjoy:

MoE, “The Crone” official video

First single and title track from the upcoming album “The Crone”, by avant-garde sludgers MoE.

Comments the band: “‘The Crone’ represents a cry from within from a voice that has seen, and continues to see. Who observes the challenges that have simple solutions, and the solutions that make impossible demands.”

The Crone is an uncompromising journey into a realm of feverish and taunting dreams. Through driving rhythms, and Guro’s lulling and tantalizing vocals, you are drawn into a world formed by hidden narratives and broken realties.

And though soft, and almost comforting at times, you are quickly hurled back into a harsh and diverged soundscape. It is a steady and compelling ride through anger and pain to absolution. The Crone judges you, and The Crone lets you judge. This is the first new single from the resolute, free, and chaotic force that is MoE.

Since the beginning, back in 2009, MoE has dedicated their craft to international partners and the global touring circuit. They have visited almost every corner of the world, playing places most bands can only dream of, counting Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, Mexico and all over Europe. Alongside the extensive traveling MoE has challenged and experimented with both the album and live-format, giving them an extraordinary foundation as a unit.

The Crone is the title track of MoE’s 4th album which is scheduled to be released on Vinter Records early 2022.

Hailing from the outskirts of Oslo, the prolific avant-garde machinery that is MoE have toured the corners of the world continuously for years with their uncompromising take on noise infused experimental sludge. Those who have witnessed them as either a two piece, a three piece, as theater composers or as Årabrot’s backing band, know that MoE surpasses all expectations, leaving their audiences completely overthrown.

Now they are ready to take on new territories with their most ambitious album to date, The Crone.

MoE, The Crone teaser

MoE on Facebook

MoE on Instagram

MoE on Bandcamp

Vinter Records on Facebook

Vinter Records on Instagram

Vinter Records website

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Norna Post “The Truther”; Star is Way Way is Eye Coming Next Year

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 22nd, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Details about the forthcoming debut album from Swedish/Swiss post-sludge trio Norna are much like their promo picture below: dark grey and vague. For example, I know that Vinter Records will release the album, but I’ve heard both that it’s coming this Fall and that it’ll be out sometime early in 2022 — you can see the latter in the PR wire headline below, so that’s what I’m rolling with — but as to what it’s called, where/how/when it was made, all that stuff, I haven’t the foggiest.

This is obviously a purposeful choice, and it’s consistent from when it was announced that Norna had signed to Vinter and basically all that went with that was a teaser. It, was, however, a very heavy teaser. “The Truther,” an initial single from the yet-untitled long-player, follows suit in that “very heavy” regard, and one will find some commonality with the Euro school of more extreme post-metal, but the atmosphere rings especially harsh here and is all the more satisfying for that.

Again, info is establish-some-mystique sparse, but I actually just got the title. The album will be called Star is Way Way is Eye.

Here’s the rest of what I’ve got:

norna

NORNA: First Single From Swedish/Swiss Post-Metal Collabo With Members Of BREACH, ØLTEN and THE OLD WIND Streaming; Debut Full-Length To Drop Early Next Year via VINTER RECORDS

Norna, the new and devastatingly punishing outfit with members from Breach, Ølten and The Old Wind, will release their debut album via Vinter Records.

Hailing from the cold north of Sweden and the epic vastness of the Swizz alps, the band consists of Swedish hardcore pioneer Tomas Liljedahl (Breach, The Old Wind) and Swiss underground troopers Christophe Macquat and Marc Theurillat (Ølten). Formed merely a year ago, the three piece is now ready with their debut recording – a thunderous onslaught of bleak, cold and desperate heaviness.

Band:
Guitar/Vox. Tomas Liljedahl (ex Breach ,The old wind)
Guitar/Moog. Chris Macquat (Ølten)
Drums/Moog. Marc Theurillat (Ølten)

https://www.facebook.com/Nornaband
https://www.instagram.com/norna_band/
https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
http://vinterrecords.com/

Norna, “The Truther”

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Damokles Sign to Vinter Records; Nights Come Alive Due in 2022

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 9th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

If you think about the generational trajectory of decades, a revival of aughts-era post-hardcore — born in the ’90s but flourished after the turn of the century — makes sense. Consider acts that are older now, have been around for a few years, based on ’90s grunge and heavy rock and roll. They started in the 2010s, were informed by the 1990s, which in turn was informed by the 1970s. It’s the 2020s now. Bands are exploring things like post-hardcore from the 2000s and electronic sounds that came around in the 1980s. This creative conversation happens across borders and across time. It is a generalization, of course, but sometimes it can be useful to think in general terms.

Specifically, Oslo’s Damokles come to Vinter Records in furtherance of the label’s stated mission to bring together a sonically diverse lineup. They join Norna, MoE and Dig Deeper on the Høstsabbat-adjacent imprint, and offer a rawness of approach that’s weighted in first impression — you can stream “Ms. Misanthropy” below; one of several singles on their Bandcamp — without losing its harder impact edge. Their debut album, Nights Come Alive, will see release in 2022.

Also fun? Pronouncing their name “damo-kles” like “ankles” instead of Damokles, which is likely intended as “damo-kleeze” as in “sword of Damocles.”

To wit:

damokles

Founded late 2019, DAMOKLES might be a fresh edition to the Oslo rock scene, but its members are hardly any greenhorns. With deep roots stemming from metal, experimental rock, sludge and and dark electronica, they have all blown minds in different parts of the underground for decades. Now, in the heart of Oslo, the new found five piece is vigorously carving a sonic path on the intersection between ’90s post-hardcore, obscure indie rock and dystopian 80s post-punk – a path filled with toxic hooks and creative madness, wrapped in ferocious intensity.

As a results the band has already released five acclaimed singles, which instantly caught the ear of fans from both sides of the rock and metal spectrum, as well as Norway’s national radio broadcaster NRK.

Damokles will release their debut album, Nights Come Alive, on Vinter Records in 2022. Welcome to the Vinter family!

And yeah, first single coming soon!

Damokles: Kristian Liljan, Ronny Flissundet, Gøran Karlsvik, Fredrik Ryberg, John Birkeland

https://www.facebook.com/therealdamokles/
https://www.instagram.com/damoklesband
https://therealdamokles.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
http://vinterrecords.com/

Damokles, “Ms. Misanthropy”

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Dig Deeper Sign to Vinter Records

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 12th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Even as the test pressing for the label’s first release comes in, Norway’s Vinter Records continues to add to its roster. The latest is Dig Deeper from Oslo, whose pedal-steel-inflected melodic twang rock can be heard on their third album, 2017’s In Central European Time, streaming on the Soundcloud player below. I’m only excited to admit the four-piece are new to me, but their psychedelia shimmers with tonal brightness and the intent toward warmth and organic spirit of what they do comes through pretty immediately. They haven’t had anything out since this record, so far as I can tell, but their follow-up will presumably arrive in 2022, and that’s something to look forward to.

While we’re talking about digging, I dig the fact that Dig Deeper come across like a polar opposite of Vinter‘s prior signing, Norna, whose bleak ritualization would seem to be far, far removed from the whimsical conversational interplay of lead and backing vocals on “Stars Tonight (Have You Seen).” Of course, the underlying message there is that this isn’t a label looking to do just one thing, even as their first several pickups — MoE (whose test pressings have arrived), Norna and now Dig Deeper — are all Norwegian countrymen. Gotta start somewhere, and fortunately there’s plenty of sonic diversity to work with.

To wit, do my ears hear a little bit of All Them Witches in Dig Deeper‘s In Central European Time? I’m on board with the vibe either way.

Announcement follows:

dig deeper

We’re really excited to share the signing of Oslo´s finest hippie cult. The mighty fine addition of groove rockers Dig Deeper, sparkle our roster with drips of californian lifestyle rock, mixed with a sweet touch of modern americana!

Dig Depper is already a household name all over Norway and we hope that this collaboration will make them reach new heights, and we assure you that their next album is gonna be lit!

https://www.facebook.com/DigDeeperNorway
https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
http://vinterrecords.com/

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Norna Sign to Vinter Records for Debut Album

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 7th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Normally, one might not necessarily think of 40-plus seconds of spliced-together audio as much to go on, but in Norna‘s case, that 40 seconds comes coupled with the endorsement of the recently-formed Vinter Records, about which you can read more here. Now, making the narrow-minded assumption you actually clicked that link and that, accordingly, I don’t need to recount for you why I might be so readily on board with a relatively new label’s picks, I’ll just say I’m happy we can agree on a thing. Plus, if you take the 40 seconds to look at the teaser, I think you’ll find it’s disturbing enough to warrant interest. Not sure if I’m getting Nibiru vibes because of ultra-dark atmosphere or clumped-together hair, but one way or the other, there seems to be some dreary ritualizing going on here, and that’s just fine by me.

Album releases this Fall, and I’ll hope to have more to come before then. For now, the PR wire takes it:

Norna

VINTER RECORDS Announce The Release of Debut Album From Post Metal Heavy Hitters NORNA

Norna, the new and devastatingly punishing outfit with members from Breach, Ølten and The Old Wind, will release their debut album via Vinter Records this fall.

Hailing from the cold north of Sweden and the epic vastness of the Swizz alps, the band consists of Swedish hardcore pioneer Tomas Liljedahl (Breach, The Old Wind) and Swiss underground troopers Christophe Macquat and Marc Theurillat (Ølten). Formed merely a year ago, the three piece is now ready with their debut recording – a thunderous onslaught of bleak, cold and desperate heaviness.

“We are stoked to announce the release of our debut album. ‘Star is way way is eye.’ Super excited to join VINTER RECORDS for the ride! We are blown away by these guys young hearts and passion for music, hopefully a long and beautiful collaboration. The album will be released this fall so stay tuned for more important dates and drops and when the world let’s us we will definitely take this Swiss/Swedish three piece freight train on the road. We can’t wait to share this with the world.”

Band:
Guitar/Vox. Tomas Liljedahl (ex Breach ,The old wind)
Guitar/Moog. Chris Macquat (Olten)
Drums/Moog. Marc Theurillat (Olten)

https://www.facebook.com/Nornaband
https://www.instagram.com/norna_band/
https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
http://vinterrecords.com/

Norna, Debut Album Teaser

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