The first single from the third Vitskär Süden full-length, which is called Vessel, is the opening track “Vengeance Speaks,” unveiled the other day by the PR wire with the album’s announcement and streaming below. A space initially left open in the song amid ambient strings and the not-quite-standalone-but-definitely-a-focal-point vocals of Martin Garner — somewhere between Patrick Walker of Warning and David Eugene Edwards in his delivery — give focus ahead of a layer of non-lyric guest singing, a layered heavier chug and droning hum. It finds a flow of its own and is unhurried and progressive in kind. Given what the L.A.-based post-whatnot troupe had on offer with 2022’s The Faceless King (review here), one doubts this or any other cut among the seven included speaks for the record’s entirety — the word is ‘breadth’ — but at very least they’re giving the listener an opportunity to familiarize theirself with its initial immersion.

May 17 is the release date, and Vessel will be out through Ripple Music, which has preorders up and info to share about the making and intent behind it. I believe them when they talk about branching out in terms of arrangement and style, not the least because this too is something “Vengeance Speaks” manifests. They sound like they sweated out the details.

Approach with patience. The song is only five minutes long, but its depth of mix makes it feel bigger, and it’s best heard on its own level:

Los Angeles dark folk and progressive rock unit VITSKÄR SÜDEN to issue new album “Vessel” on Ripple Music this May; stream new single “Vengeance Speaks”.

Vitskär Süden announce the release of their third studio album “Vessel” on May 17th through Californian label Ripple Music. Stream the hypnotic debut single “Vengeance Speaks” on all streaming platforms now!

The opening track of Vitskär Süden’s new album “Vessel” begins with plaintive vocals and a solitary guitar. Hear our plea. Show your presence… “It’s essentially a prayer to the Elder Gods,” says vocalist Martin Garner. “‘Save us from ourselves.’ It’s stark. I’m exposed in a way I haven’t been vocally in our music before, but I wanted the despair of the text to come through. As the song progresses, this character who’s been begging for salvation begins to call for fire, wrath and revenge, and the build the guys created musically really illustrates that.”

The band’s first foray into live strings, “Vengeance Speaks” offers cellist Max Mueller and violinist Emily Moore adding heft and scope, as well as a soaring vocal solo by Kristi Merideth. “With dark angels descending from the heavens lyrically we needed a female voice in play to paint the full picture,” says Garner. “Kristi improvised this amazing solo in a couple of takes. We all heard it for the first time when we were mixing the record in Austin and our jaws were on the floor.”

Vitskär Süden’s new album “Vessel” contemplates the fragility of human life in the form of a weird fiction collection of sorts. From post-apocalyptic, rain-soaked forests and sunken Lovecraftian cities to turbulent seas and marshy battlefields, the record guides listeners through portals to seven distinctive soundscapes. They expand their sonic arsenal with the additions of strings, synth and electronic elements, leaning further into progressive rock territory while remaining singularly themselves all the while. “Sonically we wanted to go further with what we started in The Faceless King, using different instrumentation, more synths, piano, and strings,” says guitarist Julian Goldberger. “I think we all wanted to stretch out a bit and lean into the atmosphere and vibe that was emerging from these dark tales.”

The album continues the band’s collaboration with co-producer/mixer Don Cento and also features guest appearances from cellist Max Mueller, violinist Emily Moore and pianist Rich Martin as well as vocalists Kristi Merideth and Isabel Beyoso.

VITSKÄR SÜDEN – New album “Vessel”
Out May 17th on Ripple Music (vinyl/CD/digital)

International preorder: https://vitskarsuden.bandcamp.com/album/vessel

US preorder: https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/product/vitskar-suden-vessel-limited-edition-vinyl-and-cd-editions

TRACKLIST:
1. Vengeance Speaks
2. R’lyeh
3. Through Tunnels They Move
4. Hidden By The Day
5. Tattered Sails
6. Everyone, All Alone
7. Elegy

Vitskär Süden is:
Martin Garner – Bass/Vocals
Julian Goldberger – Guitar/Synths
Christopher Martin – Drums
TJ Webber – Guitar

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Vitskär Süden, Vessel (2024)

Merry Christmas! Oh wait, no. The other one. Happy Halloween! You humans and your celebrations.

Indeed, if the trail of pine needles following me in the door, the crisp, clear, almost breathable cool morning air outside and the typhoons of candy at the grocery store are anything to go by, it’s autumn. And while the Xmas decorations are also out, Halloween still gets a nod, both because you buy stuff — candy, costumes, schlock — and because there do exist people on this earth who know how to have fun. They’re called children, mostly.

But cheers to Vitskär Süden as the Los Angeles atmospheric heavy rockers have shown themselves to have titanium organelles by taking on a tune no less iconic than Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to get into the spirit of the season. It’s like trying to cover the bible.

I know you’re cool like that so that when I ask if you recall Vitskär Süden‘s 2022 sophomore LP and Ripple Music label-debut, The Faceless King (review here), the answer is a resounding “duh.” Fair enough. Their take on “Thriller” — a sort of goth-doom via earlier Nick Cave with electronic flair; they made it weird, it’s fun and takes off well near the end — was recorded at the same time as that album.

A bit of quick math tells you that the four-piece — bassist/vocalist Martin Garner, guitarist/synthesist Julian Goldberger, guitarist TJ Webber and drummer Christopher Martin — have thus been sitting on “Thriller” for two years, as The Faceless King was tracked in Spring 2021. One can only applaud their restraint not putting it out at some point between then and now and either undercutting their first record for a new label or wasting it somewhere else along the way. The time, in other words, is right now.

So here you go. New record from these guys next year, or so the PR wire tells me:

Vitskär Süden, “Thriller” video premiere

L.A. prog-doomers Vitskär Süden began experimenting with a cover version of Michael Jackson’s monumental “Thriller” a few years ago during the recording of their second album The Faceless King, although most of the band didn’t realize it. “I launched into my vocal/bass take on “Thriller” around Halloween during a jam session and the guys joined in but had absolutely no idea that’s what they were playing,” says Martin Garner. “They thought I was just improvising like I usually do when we’re writing.” Later, upon realizing what had emerged, the band decided to record the cover in proper Vitskär fashion as a Halloween treat for fans.

“We developed an approach to the track that was something along the lines of ‘a slo-mo trip to a seedy strip club with David Lynch,'” says Garner. “That told us everything we needed to know.”

Vitskär Süden’s third album, as yet unnamed, will be released in 2024 on Ripple Music.

Produced by Vitskär Süden and Don Cento
Mixed by Don Cento at CenTones, Austin, TX
Mastered by James Driscoll

Vitskär Süden is:
Martin Garner – Bass/Vocals
Julian Goldberger – Guitar/Synths
Christopher Martin – Drums
TJ Webber – Guitar

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Ripple Music website

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: Martin Garner of Vitskär Süden

—

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

I receive transmissions of unknown origin and make attempts to capture, process and export them in whatever medium seems appropriate. I’ve always had melodies, stories or images spinning in my head since as far back as I can remember. When I’m lucky, I’m able to transcribe bits and pieces. When I’m really lucky, I’m improvising music with my bandmates in Vitskär Süden and all of us happen to be tuned into that same staticky signal far off in the distance.

Describe your first musical memory.

I remember falling in love with playing records from a really young age. My parents weren’t super music afficionados and because of that weren’t overly precious with their vinyl. So as a kid I was putting their albums on the family turntable as often as I could get away with it. They owned a lot of Neil Diamond, some movie soundtracks – nothing I’m super connected to now other than for nostalgia’s sake. The first time I was allowed to walk into a record store with my own money I was probably nine. It was at the mall in our tiny Missouri town and was dark and smoky, filled with lava lamps and black light posters. I bought the 45 of Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2”. A few months later I bought my first full length, Queen’s The Game. I was hooked.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Soundgarden was playing our favorite little dive bar concert venue in St. Louis on the Louder Than Love tour. My friends and I were smashed up against the stage, the band sounding phenomenal, and Chris Cornell lobbed his mic up through the lighting grid hanging from the club’s low ceiling. As it looped through and swung back, he grabbed it again, doubling up the cable, and Tarzan-swung out over the crowd as Kim Thayil wailed an epic guitar solo. The music, the emotion, the energy… It was rock and roll. It was glorious.

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

When I started playing bass as a teenager I thought playing more notes meant you were creating more music. At some point – I don’t remember the exact moment but it was way too far in to have not figured it out already – it finally dawned on me that the moments you choose not to play can be much more powerful, initiating the push and pull that fundamentally creates rhythm. At least that’s the way I started looking at it. Like sculpting in a way – selectively removing material with a chisel to breathe life into a block of stone. So a lot of times these days I’m trying to find ways to keep my playing simple, put some air into my bass parts, and just have an evolving conversation with our drummer, Christopher.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Hopefully to artistic freedom. The more tools you have in your kit, the more opportunity exists to execute your ideas and evolve. I constantly hear things in my head that I can’t articulate yet musically, but the thrill of the chase is what keeps it exciting.

How do you define success?

Knowing the music we’ve created has had an impact on someone else is really gratifying. I think we’d be making music whether anyone else listened or not, but putting it out into the world and getting a positive reaction is the best kind of success we could hope for. Our new album The Faceless King received a review where the writer conveyed that listening to the record for the first time made him feel 14 again, like he was discovering something cool that was going to open up a whole new world of music to teenage him. That’s success to me.

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

When I was in junior high I was helping out at a TV station and the older guys who worked there thought it would be amusing to show me some raw footage they had of a politician blowing his brains out at a live press conference. This was pre-internet, played back on videotape from some satellite feed they’d captured, and the footage of the aftermath seemed to go on forever. I couldn’t shake the images for a very long time.

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

The score to an animated film. I love the old Rankin/Bass Hobbit and Return of the King films, the Brothers Quay stop motion shorts… Recently the rotoscope-animated The Spine of Night was a huge favorite.

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

To evoke emotion.

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

Reading the next short story collection from Laird Barron. I’m a huge fan of his writing and it’s provided a lot of vibe-inspiration for my 25% of Vitskär Süden. Laird is a cosmic horror icon and we’ve had a cool back and forth going for a few years sharing appreciation for each others’ work. He makes a cameo in the RPG module we released with our album and also contributed a bit of text, which was really cool.

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Vitskär Süden, The Faceless King (2022)

Doubly-umlauted Los Angeles atmospheric heavybringers Vitskär Süden release their second long-player, The Faceless King, on Nov. 4 through Ripple Music, and from the weighted nighttime Americana gospel groove that takes hold as “The Way – Part 1” leads directly into “The Way – Part 2,” through the fuzzier psychedelic contemplation that unfurls in “Archdiocese of Worms,” the underlying acoustic strum of “Voices From Beyond the Wall,” the why-is-everything-so-massive-and-encompassing-and-kind-of-terrifying-and-also-vaguely-1979 “Shepherds on the Roadside,” the consuming swell and receding of “Bonedust and Dark” and the final melodic payoff of “The Broken Crown,” minimal and maximal, the album genuinely feels as narrative as it’s intended to be. The band today unveil both a new video for the eight-minute “Shepherds on the Roadside” — kudos to them on avoiding the word “preacher” in any of the record’s titles — and announce that the Ripple LP version of the album will come with a 24-page role-playing game module based on the story of the album written by the band and illustrated by none other than David Paul Seymour (who also did the art above).

That’s a pretty big deal, frankly. Seymour doesn’t screw around, which is part of why his work is so much in demand among heavy outfits and other related concerns, but the fact that Vitskär Süden — bassist/vocalist Martin Garner, guitarist/synthesist Julian Goldberger, guitarist TJ Webber and drummer Christopher Martin — are putting themselves out there like that, investing conceptually and practically in their work as they are, tells you about the level of passion and commitment to the project. I think you can hear that listening to the patient manner in which “Shepherds on the Roadside” plays through its meditative course — plus if you missed the first single (posted here), consider Garner‘s bass tone more mandatory reading — but that they’re reinforcing the message as they are is likewise mirrored in the multifaceted nature of the songwriting and aesthetic at work. In other words, there’s a lot going on with The Faceless King, and only more it seems as we get closer to its actual arrival.

Video follows here, accompanied by all the preorder links and PR wire whatnot and band quotes that your heart — bless it — may desire.

Enjoy:

Vitskär Süden, “Shepherds on the Roadside” video premiere

Ripple Music is thrilled to have signed Los Angeles based progressive-space-rock quartet, Vitskär Süden, for their sophomore full-length album. Doubling down on the strength of their self-titled debut from early 2020, the band have put together a truly phenomenal concept album – “The Faceless King” – which has some pretty incredible surprises that fans are sure to enjoy. Out November 4th on Vinyl/CD/Digital via Ripple Music!

Sink your teeth into the video for the second single – “Shepherds On The Roadside” – and then pre-order your copy of the album at the links below:

Grab your physical copies @ https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/
Or snag a digital/physical copy @ https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/music

Video features 3D visuals by Andrew Jarvis (www.andrewjarvis.art)

About the track, Guitarist Julian Goldberger says:
“Shepherds is my favorite track on the album. Each of our unique skillsets are on full display as we collectively perform a summoning… As a band, you can hear how we’re all speaking to one another musically. Like a good conversation, it’s balanced and everyone is engaged. It also has a moving emotional aspect that resonates as it builds. It’s a great intro as to who we are as a band.”

Bassist/Lyricist Martin Garner adds:
“Shepherds guides the story toward the record’s climax, both literally and musically. The necromantic rites to resurrect our story’s antihero have taken a dangerous turn. Reckless desire for power is unleashing much darker forces that can’t be controlled. A malevolent rebirth is taking place.”

One of the aforementioned surprises that the band has up it’s sleeve comes in the form of a full-on RPG Module that immerses the player/listener into the depths of the concept behind the album.

Vinyl editions of The Faceless King purchased directly from Ripple Music will ship with a retro-styled 24-page adventure module for the ‘world’s greatest roleplaying game’ which expands on the concept album’s story and world. Written by and featuring the band, Ascension of the Faceless King was illustrated by David Paul Seymour and serves as both a fully-playable adventure for RPG fans and incredibly unique collectible and lyrics insert for listeners who may not own 20-sided dice.

Vitskär Süden is:
Martin Garner – Bass/Vocals
Julian Goldberger – Guitar/Synths
Christopher Martin – Drums
TJ Webber – Guitar

Vitskär Süden on Facebook

Vitskär Süden on Instagram

Vitskär Süden on Twitter

Vitskär Süden on TikTok

Vitskär Süden linktree

Ripple Music on Facebook

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Ripple Music on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

Approach Vitskär Süden‘s new streaming single with a bit of patience and you won’t regret it. “The Broken Crown” is the closer — leading with the finale!; much respect — from the Los-Angeles-not-Sweden-based atmospheric heavy rockers’ upcoming second album, The Faceless King, which they’ll release on Nov. 4 through Ripple Music, and its eight-minute course is rife with underlying neo-folk influence, but presents this alongside a psychedelic post-rock drift of guitar, drums that are hard-hit, but pushed further back in the mix so that they’re just on the other side of the hill you’re climbing, and a lyrical narrative that delivers the record’s title line and balances fluidly between storytelling and songwriting. Though honestly, given the instrumental contemplations surrounding, flow wouldn’t be an issue either way.

This news came in toward the end of last week and I wanted to sit with the song since this is my first exposure to the band — throw another one on the list of records I missed in 2020; yes, there is an actual list — and I feel justified in letting it percolate a while. If you’ve got headphones, you won’t regret that either.

From the PR wire:

L.A. dark psych-prog goldsmiths VITSKÄR SÜDEN sign to Ripple Music and unveil new album details; stream new single “The Broken Crown”.

Los Angeles dark psych and prog rockers Vitskär Süden sign to Ripple Music for the release of their sophomore album “The Faceless King” on November 4th. Their towering and hypnotic first single “The Broken Crown” is available now on all streaming platforms!

The captivating Californian foursome returns after their acclaimed 2020 self-titled debut with their brand new full-length “The Faceless King”, a fascinating 7-track collection of mystique-laden rock spells, the soundtrack of a not-so-distant future when the sun rises no more. Weaving progressive rock, heavy psychedelic and gothic folk into towering and intensely beautiful soundscapes enhanced by Martin Garner’s deep-toned commanding vocals, Vitskär Süden explores the eerie fringes of the rock world, meeting at the crossroads of Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Wovenhand, Lord Vicar and Jaye Jayle.

Get compelled by Vitskär Süden’s new single “The Broken Crown.”

Says Vitskär Süden bassist and vocalist Martin Garner about this new song: “‘The Broken Crown’ was one of the first tracks we developed for the album and it guided us toward the understanding that we had a dark fantasy concept album on our hands. The album tells the story of the rise, fall and return of a vile king, and I was drawn to the idea of crafting a record around the mythological beginnings of a true antihero — subverting the classic ‘hero’s journey’. I’ve always loved concept albums and the epic rock opera-ness of them all. ‘The Faceless King’ allowed me to take my childhood love of albums like KISS’s ‘The Elder’ or Maiden’s ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’ and run them through the very different sonic circuitry of Vitskär Süden. We get to bring the vastly varied influences of my bandmates into play and I think it’s resulted in something uniquely our own.”

Their new album “The Faceless King” was recorded and produced by Vitskär Süden and Don Cento at Studio 64 in Los Angeles, mixed by Don Cento at CenTones, Austin, TX, and mastered by James Driscoll. The artwork was created by Samuel Araya. It will be released on November 4th, 2022 on various vinyl formats, CD, and digital through Ripple Music, with preorders coming soon.

Vitskär Süden “The Faceless King”
Out November 4th on Ripple Music

TRACKLIST:
1. The Way (Part I)
2. The Way (Part II)
3. Archdiocese Of Worms
4. Voices From Beyond The Wall
5. Shepherds On The Roadside
6. Bonedust And Dark
7. The Broken Crown

It’s clear that Los Angeles-based quartet Vitskär Süden operates from a shared musical consciousness. Having previously played together over the course of two decades, bassist/vocalist Martin Garner and drummer Christopher Martin unite effortlessly for a no-discussion-required, half-time-heavy rhythm section approach. Guitarists Julian Goldberger and TJ Webber bring their own distinctive influences, touching on both the ambient and melodic but unified in an appreciation of layered sonic texture. Their 2020 self-titled debut drew on elements of psych and prog rock, as well as “weird fiction” lit inspired by the likes of Robert W. Chambers and Laird Barron — a quality equally embodied in the album’s cover art by Samuel Araya (Elvenking). Tracks like “Dawn of the Monolith” and album opener “War Machine Crimson” nod directly to that melting pot of fantasy, science fiction and horror; evoking imagery of malevolent forces at play in our universe, while “Painted Faces” and “Ice & Haze” offer glimpses of light in the darkness.

Vitskär Süden is now ready to embrace its destiny, as the foursome recently signed to Californian powerhouse Ripple Music for the release of their anticipated sophomore album “The Faceless King”, due out on November 4th, 2022.

Vitskär Süden is:
Martin Garner – Bass/Vocals
Julian Goldberger – Guitar/Synths
Christopher Martin – Drums
TJ Webber – Guitar

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Vitskär Süden, “The Broken Crown”