Posted in Whathaveyou on November 15th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Usually for a fest lineup, I post one band’s player at the bottom of the post. Usually it’s a headliner, sometimes it’s a newer band on purpose, sometimes it’s just someone I check out who I haven’t heard before, etc. There are three players at the bottom of this post, and that’s probably too few. Take it as a sign of the uncommonly packed bill of Majestic Mountain Fest Oslo and the quality both of the work the imprint has been doing and its taste in general. Over the last two years, Majestic Mountain has emerged as a significant contributor to the underground sphere in Europe, especially Northern Europe, with a roster of talent varied in much but united in their ability to connect with their audience. One imagines it will be no different when so many of the label’s acts take the stage at the upcoming three-day festival next month.
This was originally supposed to happen in June, which, hey, sometimes a thing gets pushed back. Cool it’s coming together at all, given the scope of the lineup and the sheer logistics of getting so many schedules to align for three days (plus a pre-show) without the infrastructure of having already done so in the past. That is to say, I expect that if they do another fest like this, it’ll be easier the second time around.
Oh, and if you haven’t actually heard any of those records at the bottom of this post, you’re gonna want to do that.
The time has come, Majestic Crew- After what seems like an eternity of delays and silence, we are finally able to announce the rescheduled details and final lineup for Majestic Mountain Fest // Oslo 2022.
The festival will take place on December 1-3rd at the (in)famous Blitz Hus.
We will have a killer kick-off party on Wednesday 30th of November at our favourite chill spot Brewgata with a live gig and a rad tap takeover from the mighty Nøgne Ø
We will also have a beautiful appearance from a very special guest, Mika Häkki. More details on that to come!
Visit the event page for ticket links! There has been a bit of shifting to the lineup due to the new logistics so any previously scheduled bands you do not see on this year’s roster will appear in the next edition.
Thank you so much, from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support and excitement for this event.
Despite the challenges presented to us, we keep charging forward. This festival is truly a labour of love and will be one for the books.
We are absolutely psyched to see you all in Oslo next month and can’t wait to celebrate our incredible roster and you, our fantastic fans!
Majestic Mountain Records is psyched to invite you to the first edition of Majestic Fest Oslo 2022!
When & Where:
Pre-Party Gig & Nøgne-Ø Tap Takeover at Brewgata Oslo 30 November
Festival at Blitz, Oslo 1-3 Decmber
After a challenging year of what seemed like endless delays, we are finally able to let loose and run full steam ahead on a three-day riff fest of gargantuan proportions to commence the 1-3 December at Blitz.
PLUS a killer pre-party gig and tap takeover with the mighty Nøgne-Ø on Wednesday the 30th of November at Brewgata!
This is going to be a very special event with the best community vibes and killer performances by Majestic Mountain Records Roster bands.
We’re also proud to welcome a very special guest, Mika Häkki.
Join us in on the last day of November and the first weekend of December for heavy riffs, mega fuzz and all of the good times!
The MMR crew cannot wait to bang our heads and hang with you in Oslo!
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 4th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
There’s a halfway decent chance that by the time this post goes live, the Majestic Mountain Records Fest Oslo 2022 — which I got official permission to call the MMR Fest last time I wrote about it — will have announced more bands for its lineup on June 17-18. It’s been that kind of week, not sure what else to tell you.
In any case, whether this post ends up with five new additions or 10, the lineup is taking shape and growing more formidable as it goes, drawing from the festival’s home base in Norway, the label’s home base in Sweden, as well as Germany, the UK and even the US, which, hey, that’s where I live! Nice to see a nod every now and again.
More than that, it’s an impressive display of reach on the part of the festival, and I’m assuming that barring disaster this won’t be the last one or the only city in which it takes place, particularly the first time out. Bottom line? Looks fun. Would attend.
Here you go:
The Majestic Mountain Records newswire is here with a little boost. We’re cooking up some massive riff-shenanigans for Majestic Mountain Fest // Oslo and cannot wait to let all the cats out of the bag. Today we bring you glad tidings of yet FIVE more bands that you’ll be able to catch live during the weekend of 17-18th June.
Early Bird passes are sold out but regular tickets are available through the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/667812601039777/
Today, we are pleased to announce that:
KITE Wolves In Haze REDSCALE Laser Dracul Void Commander
Will join Jointhugger, Saint Karloff, Grand Cadaver, Kal-El, Old Horn Tooth, The Kings Pistol, MaMa Doom, Häxmästaren, Bogwife, Electric Hydra and more to come!
Thank you all so much for your support and enthusiasm for this event. We cannot wait to bang our heads with you in June!
Posted in Reviews on October 1st, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Welcome to Friday. I’m glad to have come this far in the Quarterly Review, and even knowing that there are two days left to go — next Monday and Tuesday, bringing us to a total of 70 for the entire thing — I feel some measure of accomplishment at doing this full week, 10 reviews a day, for the total of 50 we’ll hit after this batch. It has mostly been smooth sailing as regards the writing. It’s the rest of existence that seems intent to derail.
But these are stories for another time. For now, there’s 10 more records to dive into, so you’ll pardon me if I do precisely that.
Quarterly Review #41-50:
Carcass, Torn Arteries
The original progenitors of goregrind return in gleeful fashion with their first full-length since 2013’s Surgical Steel. They’ve toured steadily over the intervening years, and Torn Arteries would seem to arrive timed to a return to the road, though it also follows the 2020 EP, Despicable, so make of that what you will. One way or the other, the 10-track/50-minute offering is at very least everything one could reasonably ask a Carcass record to be in 2021. That’s the least you can say of it. Point of fact, it’s probably much more. Driven by Bill Steer‘s riffs and solos — which would be worth the price of admission alone — as well as the inimitable rasp of bassist Jeff Walker, Carcass sound likewise vital and brutal, delighting in the force of “Kelly’s Meat Emporium” and the unmitigated thrash of “The Scythe’s Remorseless Swing,” while scalpel-slicing their way through “Eleanor Rigor Mortis” and the 10-minute “Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited,” which, yes, starts out with acoustic guitar. Because of course it does. After serving as pioneers of extreme metal, Carcass need to prove nothing, but they do anyway. And bonus! Per Wiberg shows up for a guest spot.
Some concerned citizen needs to file assault charges against Copenhagen crushers LLNN for the sheer violence wrought on their third full-length, Unmaker. Comprised of 10 songs all with single-word titles, the Pelagic Records release uses synth and tonal ultra-heft of guitar and bass to retell Blade Runner but starring Godzilla across 39 minutes. Okay so maybe that’s not what the lyrics are about, but you’d never know it from the harsh screams that pervade most of the outing — guitarist Christian Bonnesen has a rare ability to make extreme vocals sound emotional; his performance here puts the record on another level — which renders words largely indecipherable. Still, it is their combination of whiplash-headbang-inducing, bludgeoning-like-machines-hitting-each-other, air-moving weight and keyboard-driven explorations evocative enough that LLNN are releasing them on their own as a companion-piece that makes Unmaker the complete, enveloping work it is.
I’m not sure it’s fair to call something that was apparently recorded five years ago forward thinking, but Smiling‘s melding of post-punk urgency, violin flourish, the odd bit of riot-style aggression, psychedelia and poppy melodic quirk in varying degrees and at various points throughout the debut album, Devour, is that anyway. Fronted by guitarist/songwriter Annie Shaw, Smiling makes a cut like even the two-minute “Other Lives” feel dynamic in its build toward a swelling-rumble finish, immediately shifting into the dreamier psych-buzz of “Forgetful Sam” and the melancholy-in-the-sunshine “Do What You Want.” Yeah, it goes like that. It also goes like the rager title-track though, so watch out. The earlier “Lighthouse” swings like Dandy Warhols, but the closing trilogy of “FPS,” “Take Your Time” and “Duvall Gardens” — also the three longest songs included — showcase a more experimentalist side, adding context and depth to the proceedings. So yeah, forward thinking. Time is all made up anyway.
The track itself, “Flood,” runs all of three minutes and 18 seconds, and I do mean it runs. The Taunton, UK, four-piece of guitarist/vocalists Charlie Dowzell and Tim Kazer, bassist/harsh-vocalist Kynan Scott and drummer Tom Coles offer it as a standalone piece and the track earns that level of respect with its controlled careening, the shouted verses giving way to a memorable clean-sung chorus with zero sense of trickery or pretense in its intention. That is to say, “Flood” wants to get stuck in your head and it will probably do precisely that. Also included in the two-songer digital outing — that’s Flood, the release, as opposed to “Flood,” the song — is “Flood (Young Bros Remix),” which extends the piece to 4:43 and reimagines it as more sinister, semi-industrial fare, but even in doing so and doing it well, it can’t quite get away from the rhythm of that hook. Some things are just inescapable.
Austin’s Holy Death Trio have the distinction of being the first band signed as part of the collaboration between Ripple Music and Rob “Blasko” Nicholson (bassist for Ozzy Osbourne, etc.), and Introducing…, the three-piece’s debut, is enough of a party to answer any questions why. Gritty, Motörheadular riffs permeate from post-intro leadoff “White Betty” — also some Ram Jam there, I guess — underscored by Sabbathian semi-doomers like “Black Wave” and the near-grim psychedelia of closer “Witch Doctor” while totaling an ultra-manageable 33 minutes primed toward audience engagement in a “wow I bet this is a lot of fun live” kind of way. It would not seem to be a coincidence that the centerpiece of the tracklist is called “Get Down,” as the bulk of what surrounds seems to be a call to do precisely that, and if the bluesy shuffle of that track doesn’t get the job done, something else is almost bound to.
Having put Samsara Blues Experiment to rest following the release earlier this year of the swansong End of Forever (review here), relocated-to-Brazil guitarist/vocalist Christian Peters (interview here) debuts the instrumental solo-project Fuzz Sagrado with a three-song self-titled EP, handling all instruments himself including drum programming. “Duck Dharma,” “Two Face” and “Pato’s Blues” take on a style not entirely separate from his former outfit, but feel stripped down in more than just the lack of singing, bringing together a more concise vision of heavy psychedelic rock, further distinguished by the use of Mellotron, Minimoog and Hammond alongside the guitar, bass and drum sounds, complementing the boogie in “Pato’s Blues” even as it surges into its final minute. Where Peters will ultimately take the project remains to be seen, but he’s got his own label to put it out and reportedly a glut of material to work with, so right on.
It’s 10PM, do you know where your head is? Wolves in Haze might. The Gothenburg-based three-piece of vocalist/guitarist Manne Olander, guitarist Olle Hansson and drummer/bassist/co-producer Kalle Lilja set about removing that very thing with their second record, Chaos Reigns, working at Welfare Sounds with Lilja and Per Stålberg at the helm in a seeming homage to Sunlight Studios as reinvented in a heavy rock context. Still, “In Fire” and “The Night Stalker” are plainly sinister in their riffs — the latter turning to a chorus and back into a gallop in a way that reminds pointedly of At the Gates, never mind the vocals that follow — and “Into the Grave” is as much bite as bark. They’re not without letup, as “Mr. Destroyer” explores moodier atmospherics, but even the lumbering finish of the title-track that ends the album is violent in intent. They call it Chaos Reigns, but they know exactly what the fuck they’re doing.
They work a bit of NWOBHM guitar harmony into the solos on “Rehash” and “At Wit’s End,” and the centerpiece “Interlude” is a willful play toward strum-and-whistle Morricone-ism, but for the most part, Louisville’s Shi are hell-bent on destructive sludge, with the rasp of guitarist Bael — joined in the effort by guitarist Jayce, bassist Zach and drummer Tyler — setting a Weedeater-style impression early on “Best Laid Plans” and letting the rest unfold as it will, with “Lawn Care for Adults” and “We’ll Bang, OK?” and the chugging fuckery of the title-track sticking largely to the course the riffs lay out. They make it mean, which is exactly the way it should be made, and even the sub-two-minute “Trough Guzzler” finds its way into a nasty-as-hell mire. Sludge heads will want to take note. Anyone else will probably wonder what smells like rotting.
Oh, that’s just disgusting. Come on now. Be reasonable, Churchburn. This third LP from the Providence, Rhode Island, extremists brings them into alignment with Translation Loss Records and though it’s just five songs — plus the intro “Toll of Annihilation” — and 33 minutes long, that’s plenty of time for guitarist/vocalist Dave Suzuki and company to pull you down a hole of blistering, vitriolic terrors. Where does the death end and the doom begin? Who gives a shit? Suzuki, bassist/vocalist Derek Muniz, guitarist Timmy St. Amour and drummer Ray McCaffrey take a duly mournful respite with “Unmendable Absence,” but after that, the onslaught of “Scarred” and the finale “Sin of Angels” — with Incantation‘s John McEntee sitting in on vocals — is monstrous and stupefyingly heavy. You’ll be too busy picking up teeth to worry about where the lines of one microgenre ends and another begins.
Have riffs, will plod. Voidscapes, the three-song second EP from Las Vegas’ Sonolith lets the listener know quickly where it’s coming from, speaking a language (without actually speaking, mind you) that tells tales of amplifier and tonal worship, the act of rolling a massive groove like that central to nine-minute opener “Deep Space Leviathan” as much about the trance induced in the band as the nod resultant for the listener. Close your eyes, follow it out. They complement with the shorter “Pyrrhic Victory,” which moves from a subdued and spacey opening line into post-High on Fire chug and gallop, effectively layering solos over the midsection and final payoff, and “Star Worshipers,” which slows down again and howls out its lead to touch on Electric Wizard without being so overt about it. At about three minutes in, Sonolith kick the tempo a bit, but it’s the more languid groove that wins the day, and the concluding sample about traveling the universe could hardly be more appropriate. Asks nothing, delivers 21 minutes of riffs. If I ever complain about that, I’m done.
Posted in audiObelisk on August 4th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Sweden’s Wolves in Haze release their second album, Chaos Reigns, on Sept. 3 through Majestic Mountain and Tvåtakt Records. Preorders are live as of this Friday. The new single from the outing is “Way in Haze” (premiering below) and it is both the second track unveiled and the second track on the record, behind opener and prior single “Green River Speaks.” Together, the pair of songs give about a seven-minute glimpse at what the follow-up to the band’s 2016 self-titled debut holds, foreshadowed by 2018’s All or Nothing (premiered here) single but quickly finding their own space to occupy in pulling together the sounds of countrymen past and present, as well of course as themselves.
Brash and blustering, “Way in Haze” rolls out thick riffing and unabashed shred later in its procession, the vocals of guitarist Manne Olander rough but not entirely amelodic in their shout. With fellow guitarist Olle Hansson and drummer Kalle Lilja — who also played bass and co-produced/mixed with Per Stålberg at Welfare Sounds in Gothenburg, of which they’re also co-operators — behind him, they may not yet have hit full-throttle as they will somewhere throughout the subsequent tracks, but they’re probably not far off. As the self-titled showed, they had plenty of shove when they wanted it. But the one-two of “Green River Speaks” into “Way in Haze” is telling, since the leadoff cut begins with an nigh-on-Monolordian spaciousness in its hook and more melodic echoing vocal, thereby allowing “Way in Haze” to come in after like a suckerpunch of post-Entombed aggression which will be familiar to those who heard the first LP or the single that followed.
Could well be that the trio-or-maybe-four-piece are signaling growth or a blossoming in their approach to coincide with the pummel one might see coming but be no less thrilled to undertake for that. And if so, right on. I can’t speak for the entirety of Chaos Reigns because I haven’t heard it, but they’re giving a full-sounding, righteous showcase for how the album begins in these two tracks, and as they make their way down to the title-track that closes, if this is the journey they’re on, they make it easy to get excited at the prospect of following along. In teasing that prospect as a single release is supposed to do, they win this round. I’d expect them to take the next as well.
“Way in Haze” can be heard on the player that follows. Please enjoy:
Gothenburg-based ‘Wolves in Haze’ will drop their new album ‘Chaos Reigns ‘ on digital, cd, and vinyl on Majestic Mountain Records Sept. 3. The vinyl release will be a collaboration with the kickass label Tvåtakt Records!
Wolves in Haze Drags you down a filthy path of raucously raw, death metal infused rock and bloody roll. Power riffing straight into the heaving pits of hell fire and brimstone with the super charged new album CHAOS REGINS.
Produced, recorded & mixed by Kalle Lilja & Per Stålberg at Welfare Sounds Assisting engineering by Olle Björk Mastered by Daniel Johansson at Welfare Sounds Mastering Music arrangements by Wolves in Haze Released by Majestic Mountain Records & Tvåtakt Records
Wolves in Haze are: Olle Hansson – Guitar Manne Olander – Vox & guitar Kalle Lilja – Drums & bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 8th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Summer is going to be busy. Summer’s always busy — truth is every time is always busy except maybe the last couple weeks of December and the first two of January — but I have the feeling that the over the course of this month we’re going to see a lot of announcements for records due in August, September, even July, as the world collectively dares to peak out from under the Covid-19 pandemic. Between stuff that was delayed and/or pushed back to allow for a return to touring, pandemic-era projects, and those who pushed forward in spite of the reigning chaos, the field is already becoming increasingly crowded.
And hey, it just so happens Chaos Reigns is the title of the second LP by Wolves in Haze. How about that. The Gothenburg now-trio — last heard from with 2018’s single “All or Nothing” (premiered here) — have parted ways with bassist Vicke Crusner and handed those duties to drummer Kalle Lilja (also of Långfinger and Welfare Sounds Studio) at least for the time being, and signed with Majestic Mountain Records for the release, which will be in collaboration with Tvåtakt Records and out sometime this summer.
One assumes more details are forthcoming, but the basic signing announcement and some comment from the band follow here, as hoisted from social media:
Welcome Wolves In Haze to Majestic Mountain Records!
Gothenburg-based ‘Wolves in Haze’ will drop their new album ‘Chaos Reigns ‘ on digital, cd, and vinyl on Majestic Mountain Records later this summer. The vinyl release will be a collaboration with the kickass label Tvåtakt Records! If you’re the slightest familiar with them and their previous releases, you know that the album will be riff-filled!
“We are happy to announce that we now are a part of the Majestic Mountain Records family,” says the band. “The new album ‘Chaos Reigns’ will be out later this year in a co-release with the awesome Tvåtakt Records. Vinyl, compact disc and digital streaming stuff, yeah you know it’s gonna be amazing!”
Let there be riffs!
Give Wolves a follow!
Wolves in Haze are: Olle Hansson – Guitar Manne Olander – Vox & guitar Kalle Lilja – Drums & bass
Posted in audiObelisk on November 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Swedish grit-worshipers Wolves in Haze release their new single, All or Nothing, on Dec. 13. Comprised of two tracks, the 10-minute offering taps into a vibe that directly calls out the Sunlight Studio sound of nearly 30 years ago, as bands like Entombed, Grave and Dismember brought a new and raw shape to death metal with a strong influence from rock and roll as an undercurrent. Wolves in Haze tip that balance the other way, and while the guitar tones of Manne Olander and Olle Hansson carry some no shortage of severity in their distortion, the Gothenburg four-piece completed by bassist Vicke Crusner and drummer Kalle Lilja (also of Långfinger) are still definitively working from a heavy rock foundation. “All or Nothing” and “Leave Your Head” follow behind the band’s 2016 self-titled debut full-length — which they recorded and mixed themselves and Esben Willems of Monolord mastered — and find the band with a clearheaded approach to what they want their sound to do, starting with the compressed riff that begins “All or Nothing” and unfolding through the hook and darker exploration of “Leave Your Head.”
The first song is the shorter of the two at 4:09, and its presentation bears the hallmark crispness of sound that added such a lurking cavernousness to the classic Sunlight records, and the jabbing impact of that riff in “All or Nothing” seems to draw a direct line to Entombed‘s To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth from 1997, as that band began to move out of the death metal style and into their “rock period” before ultimately circling back. Wolves in Haze to well with the marked influence, peppering the forward intensity with dual vocals from Olander and Hansson and a headbang-ready pounding chorus leading to a chugging verse before a post-midsection break of creeper bass leads to a minor-key lead line, the capstone solo and chug that seems to round out before a quick return to the central riff. A sample begins “Leave Your Head,” which thrashes harder initially but still has the same root in filthy low end despite a cleaner vocal in its aforementioned hook. Piano accompanies the break around the halfway point to add an eerie vibe and as they did with the prior track, they pick back up into an instrumental finish, this time with a bookending sample at the close.
For those who, like me, didn’t catch the first album when it was released, All or Nothing makes a quick opportunity to sample Wolves in Haze‘s wares while also showcasing the progression they’ve undertaken since that debut came out. They are working their way into a niche that, frankly, is right there waiting for them, and finding a stylistic blend that not only speaks to some of the most essential extreme records Sweden has ever produced, but still allows the band room to grow into their own take on it as well. It’s a fucking cool single. That’s what it comes down to. And Wolves in Haze bend that Sunlight sound to their will with a natural-sounding ease that only makes me look forward all the more to what they do next.
Enjoy “All or Nothing” followed by some words from the band below:
Wolves in Haze, “All or Nothing” official track premiere
Wolves in Haze on “All or Nothing”:
“All or Nothing” draws inspiration from actual events involving a serial killer in a small southern suburb of Gothenburg, Sweden. As there were many restless nights for the inhabitants of the area, these malicious acts dated to the summer of 2018 when Wolves in Haze started working with new material.
Wolves in Haze is: Manne Olander – Voice, Guitar, Bass Olle Hansson – Guitar, Bass, Voice Victor Crusner – Bass, Grand Piano, Organs Kalle Lilja – Drums, Moog, Organs, Bass, Guitar
