Posted in Whathaveyou on January 9th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
You can hear, ever, ever, ever so slightly, the tinge of metal in the guitar of Kadavermarch‘s new single “Golden Gates,” but if you’re looking for where, you have to wait for it. It’s just a little after four minutes in, as the Copenhagen-based heavy rockers are making their way toward the solo, right at 4:24-4:25. It’s a tiny twist, but it’s there.
It is also, however, surrounded by a sonic pantheon of heavy styles, from the Southern rock in that solo to the 1970s traditionalism of the organ to the modern-organic sensibility that emerges in the patterns and melodies of the melancholy, mostly-harmonized vocals. Tones are fluid and varied, which is refreshing, and though the song isn’t immediate — give it a bit to get going — it’s an enticing sample of Kadavermarch‘s self-titled sophomore LP set to release later this year through Vinyltroll Records.
One to keep an eye/ear for, I guess.
Kadavermarch Unveils Second Single ‘Golden Gates’ Ahead of Self-Titled LP Release
Danish stoner-metal fellows Kadavermarch are proud to announce the release of their second single ‘Golden Gates’ from their forthcoming self-titled LP, Kadavermarch. The new track, a depressive ballad evolving into fuzz-madness, will be available on all major streaming platforms starting January 8th.
Emerging from Copenhagen’s metal scene, Kadavermarch has built a reputation for their distinctive blend of heavy, melodic riffs, layered organ arrangements, and dual-vocal harmonies. Their second single serves to show another side of the bands new compositions, taking listeners on a profound journey through the depths of despair.
Known for their distinctive blend of heavy, melodic riffs, layered organ arrangements, and dual vocal harmonies, Kadavermarch has established themselves as a compelling force in Copenhagen’s stoner metal scene. This latest single offers a glimpse into the band’s evolution in arrangements, delivering an emotive and introspective exploration of despair.
The single serves as a preview of Kadavermarch, their self-titled LP set for release later this year through Vinyltroll Records.
Drums recorded by Peter Hove Olsen at Infinite White Studio Drumtech: Wolf Hove Olsen
Keys recorded by: Nikolaj Evilsen Guitar and vocals recorded by: Jacob Bredahl
Mixed by: Jacob Bredahl at Dead Rat Studio, Aarhus, Denmark
Mastered by: Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, Portland, Oregon Distributed through Vinyltroll Records
Danish post-metallers Late Night Venture will release their fifth long-player, V: Bones of the Extinct, on March 17 through Trepanation Recordings and Vinyltroll Records. The five-piece were last heard from with 2019’s Subcosmos, which completed a space-themed trilogy of albums, and it would seem that their return to earth has put them in a position of finding it wanting. To be fair, it has not been the planet’s best few years. Even before you get to the plague, it’s becoming easier every oddly-weathered day to believe we’re living through a climate apocalypse, and with jarring statistics about ecosystem collapse, a lack of moral or political will to do anything about it, and the cruelty inherent in the wealthy nations of the Global North telling the Global South essentially to eat (the North’s) shit, and then you have populism and social movements toward isolation and a closing of doors it once seemed so obvious needed to be open. “Hostile Nature” (premiering below) touches on some of these ideas, and it opens V: Bones of the Extinct with a blend of contemplative sadness and omnidirectional rage that, well, yes. You would be reasonable to call it a fit for the times.
The five-piece of guitarists Michael Falk (also vocals) and Søren Hartvig, bassist Jens Back, keyboardist/synthesist Jonas Qvesel and drummer Peter Falk make their sound all the more consuming for the incorporation of synth, as one can hear in the post-apocalyptic landscape survey in the midsection of the album opener and the swirls that top the inevitable return of the full volume onslaught. There’s some of Amenra‘s melancholy and an abidingly severe emotional mien that reminds of The Moth Gatherer and others who came up in the wake of Isis (Late Night Venture got their start in the mid-aughts), but the chug that caps “Hostile Nature” makes it plain that the intensity of V: Bones of the Extinct is a purposeful choice in direction, and as “Mammut” arrives with largesse enough to warrant the title, embodying the band’s stated move toward heavier, more crushing fare.
Shorter than the leadoff, “Mammut” has its own break/return, with a guitar solo twisting over the heavy finish, stainless despite all the dust and rust surrounding. It gives over to “Reappear” at the end of side A with a quieter rollout and some clean vocals from Falk, who will continue to showcase more than the barks that typified the first two tracks, and a tense but subdued build, coming slowly to its eventual payoff at 3:23 into the total 5:55, the full wash slow moving in the drums and melancholy in the guitars like the heavy post-rock of Red Sparowes, but darker and with an eventual return of vocals in the crash, a softer ending not quite mirroring the outset but bookending nonetheless.
At 8:10, the side B opener “Hate Speech” is the longest inclusion on the album — both sides start with their respective longest tracks; an effective play for listener immersion — and is quickly engaged in a tense chug offset by lead lines and punctuated with thud and crash alike, the at-first-absent synth/keys gets its moment as part of a wash that builds, recedes, then falls into a tense cinematic drone before slamming back into the initial chug at 5:35, the verse returning.
That tension never completely releases — nor should it, considering the apparent subject matter — but “Hate Speech” has its payoff moment and fades into quiet ahead of the synthier “Armed Warrior,” a semi-spoken verse over horror chug and keyboard, then just keyboard and guitar, floating away, coming back of its own accord, the structure familiar by this time but executed with a particularly open, canyon-esque echo before a few measures of that original chug finish out, the song about as barebones as Late Night Venture get here and efficient at less than four and a half minutes. This leaves “Prognosis Negative” to summarize the point of view of V: Bones of the Extinct, which it does even before the full-volume lumbering kicks in and the consuming nod of the verse, more extreme in the vocals with keyboard flourish as a subsequent counterpoint, takes hold.
Back‘s bass gets a standout moment in the quieter stretch, seeming to lead while the guitars explore the atmosphere surrounding, and though it’s never a question that they’re coming back for a last blowout surge of energy, getting there is satisfying as Falk‘s voice and the dense tones work to complement each other until that last roll begins in earnest. Even in the ‘big finish,’ there’s an air of post-rocking contemplation, a patience of delivery that lets the listener know Late Night Venture, if they so chose, could easily let their material spill over into chaos, but as one would expect and hope given their maturity as an outfit, they don’t.
Expressive drive is maintained even when marching into oblivion, which, when they get there, turns out to be not so bad after all. There is more persona on display throughout V: Bones of the Extinct than mourning for a better world that might’ve been, and the precision that underlies the weight of their tradeoffs in actual sound and mood alike is not to be glossed over. Their reach is as broad as the ending of “Prognosis Negative” is dire, and if the abiding message of the collection is that we as humans did it to ourselves, to each other, then the only question left to ask if perhaps we aren’t the bones referred to in the title.
The “Hostile Nature” video premieres below, followed by some more comment from the band and info on the album.
Please enjoy:
Late Night Venture, “Hostile Nature” video premiere
Michael Falk on “Hostile Nature”:
“I guess we’re trying to say something about human nature’s encounter with the elements. About how we are trying to convince ourselves that we can tame the forces of nature with ideas. But it seems that neither mankind nor the planet will respect any warnings. Reality is overshadowed by concepts.”
Out March 17 2023 on Trepanation Recordings / Vinyltroll Records
LATE NIGHT VENTURE was formed in 2006 and released its eponymous debut album the same year. In 2012, the band commenced on its ‘cosmic trilogy’ with the sophomore album ‘Pioneers of Spaceflight’, followed by ‘Tychonians’ in 2015 and completed with ‘Subcosmos’ in 2019. Along the way, LATE NIGHT VENTURE has refined its post-metallic sound rounded off by the band’s poetic, Scandinavian clinging expression while playing more than 400 shows all over Europe.
While creating ‘V: Bones Of The Extinct’, LATE NIGHT VENTURE deliberately labored towards making the music more direct than before. This approach has resulted in six sharply cut compositions, where the post rock elements are downplayed and songwriting and riffs are the focal points. The band’s vivid and gritty aesthetics are intact and as always the band recorded the music live. As a whole, the album presents itself as the band’s most heavy, angry and focused work to date.
‘Bones Of The Extinct’ is a text excerpt establishing a framework for the album and its songs, which individually are images of unforeseen occurrences with irreversible consequences. The lyrics cast their gaze upon the world and can be characterized as grounded doomsday stories about conditions, which more or less concern all beings on the planet. This gaze is directed towards mankind and its nature, all our efforts in this world – and the consequences of our urge. ‘Bones Of The Extinct’ is an image of us watching the bones of ourselves; watching the consequences of our emotions, words and actions. One day, our history will lay scattered as the bones of the extinct – not least, if we remain on the current path determined by the greedy, prideful and vain.
‘V: Bones Of The Extinct’ is produced by Patrick Fragtrup in Sweet Silence Studios (Metallica, Morbid Angel, Mew), mastered by Brad Boatright in Audiosiege and carries artwork by Morten Grønnegaard.
LATE NIGHT VENTURE – V: Bones Of The Extinct Track list: 1. Hostile Nature 2. Mammut 3. Reappear 4. Hate Speech 5. Armed Warrior 6. Prognosis Negative
LATE NIGHT VENTURE will play four March dates alongside fellow Danes sludge metal trio Dirt Forge and post hardcore-combo Kollaps\e, including shows in Denmark, Norway and Germany.
LATE NIGHT VENTURE Live 2023: 22.03.23 – Vaterland, Oslo (NO) 23.03.23 – 1000Fryd, Aalborg (DK) 24.03.23 – Frølageret, Odense (DK) 25.03.23 – Tommy-Weisbecker-Haus, Berlin (DE)
Music: Late Night Venture Lyrics: Michael Falk & Jonas Qvesel Producer: Patrick Fragtrup / Wolf Rider Sound Production & Late Night Venture Mix: Patrick Fragtrup / Wolf Rider Sound Production Mastering: Brad Boatright / Audiosiege Artwork: Morten Grønnegaard
Late Night Venture is: Michael Falk: Guitar & Vocals Jonas Qvesel: Synth & Keys Peter Falk: Drums Søren Hartvig: Guitar Jens Back: Bass
