https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Wykan Premiere Brigid: of the Night EP in Full

Posted in audiObelisk on June 6th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

wykan-band-photo-credit-jeremy-perkins

With a beginning of mellow guitar, Montreal blackened psych-sludge — and if such a thing was going to come from anywhere, it would come from a city with such a history of genre-meld — four-piece Wykan set the atmosphere for the centerpiece of their new EP, Brigid: of the Night. Issued by the band tomorrow with cover art from none other than David Paul Seymour, the release comprises three tracks and stands out for the short-album concept centered around the Celtic goddess named in its title. “Breo-Saighead (Triple Goddess)” is the second of the three slices, with “Imbolc (The Cleansing)” before and “Reul-Iuil Bride (Star of Brigid)” serving as the finale after, and its push into doom and black metal is underscored by a heft of tone and groove that makes the post-midpoint slowdown at about 4:30 into the total 7:31 a turn consistent with what’s come before.

That is, by that point, Wykan — vocalist Barrie Butler, guitarist Jeremy Perkins, bassist Corey Thomas and drummer Dug Kawliss — haveWYKAN BRIGID OF THE NIGHT set a pretty broad range for themselves through the opener and into the centerpiece and are as much focused on dwelling without as within the bounds of genre. Butler‘s vocals unquestionably provide a charred spin to the proceedings, but they’re by far the only forward element at play, as Perkins‘ guitar leading from one part to another in classic riff-based fashion. The band made their debut in 2018 with the Solace EP (review here), but what Brigid: of the Night and the conceptual frame in which it arrives signal is clear growth in just a year’s time and the desire to use aesthetic to tell a story as well as to be blisteringly heavy in terms of sonics. Not every band gets there at all — or wants to, I suppose — but even the ambition lends a progressive edge to Brigid: of the Night, and like the first three-tracker before it, gives Wykan another foundation to build from as they go forward toward, you know, the next one.

Perhaps clearest of all is the signal this offering sends that they will indeed go forward, and that they’re only becoming a more complex outfit as they do so.

Enjoy the full EP stream below, followed by comment from the band:

Wykan, “Breo-Saighead (Triple Goddess)” official track premiere

Jeremy Perkins on Brigid: of the Night:

To add a little bit more detail about the inspiration for this album; it’s based on the thematic for Wykan originally – a ceremonial get together – keeping in mind and heart, an atmospheric take on those three major genres I write with. Being Doom, Blackened whatever you wanna call it death or doom and Rock. This album has a deep representation in regards to my roots personally and musically touches various genres which are my inspirations. Being older Sabbath, Floyd, Hendrix, and bands like Immortal and Mayhem.

To expand on my writing for this album I used an older Ovation acoustic for the intro, a 1992 Fender Stratocaster Ultra I’ve had for 23 yrs for the intro for Song 2 and all solos and a 2018 Ibanez Prestige with high-end Dimarzio pickups for all the rest, cranked through my 15 pedals-pedalboard into a newer 5150’s head.

The transitions from the darker heavier blackened doom into soft rock and vice versa were done smoothly. I wrote most on acoustic beforehand and build. The progressiveness of Wykan continuously evolves and it feels together, feels even though you’re going from like some really soft atmospheric 70s rock beginning with an acoustic then transitioning to the black and death metalesque parts came out amazing to me on this EP and edible for the soul.

Anyone will notice, especially those reviewing this album, that its kind of a trip in itself which is what I want to do with Wykan and which is the idea a story an atmosphere a soundscape for a ceremony, in this case summoning Brigíd.

I was pleased with the overall outcome and look forward to another EP this fall.

“Brigid: Of The Night” EP is slated for release on June 7, 2019, and will be available on Bandcamp as a $1 EP or more Pay-What-You-Want download.

1. Imbolc ( The cleansing )
2. Breo-Saighead ( Triple Goddess )
3. Reul-Iuil Bride ( Star of Brigid )

Wykan is:
Guitars : Jeremy Perkins
Vocals : Barrie Butler
Drums : Dug Kawliss
Bass : Corey Thomas

Featuring guest drummer :
Simon McKay ( The Agonist ) Track 3

Wykan on Thee Facebooks

Wykan on Bandcamp

Tags: , , , , ,

Wykan Premiere “Wykan (The Shamanic Trance)” from Debut EP Solace

Posted in audiObelisk on March 28th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

wykan

Montreal riff metallers Wykan make their debut April 13 with the Solace EP. It is not intended for background listening. Even at three tracks/24 minutes, it’s not the kind of thing you “just put on” while you’re picking up around the house or working or whatever you might be doing. It demands attention and demands it early. Wrapped together in a shroomy, ritualistic thematic, its component pieces are presented shortest to longest — “Lahppon Olmmos” opens at 6:50 with a guest appearance from Cryptopsy‘s Matt McGachy (because Montreal), “The Gathering” (8:00) follows, and “Wykan (The Shamanic Trance)” (9:17) rounds out — and seems to move toward ever more extreme fare as it goes. The opening movement of “Lahppon Olmmos?” It has more in common with Alabama Thunderpussy than anything vicious or brutal, but Wykan get there one way or the other.

One might think of it as a new face of sludge, but the sound is too clean, too calculated for that. Sludge is fucked up and just kind of happens — this material has been thought out. For example, the Opeth-gone-black-metal scream along of “The Gathering” carefully melds a post-metallic plod to its raw-throated cruelties, and likewise, “Lahppon Olmos” keeps itself willfully in two wykan solaceworlds in terms of sound, its chug never quite reaching the mathy complexity for which Montreal’s extreme underground is known (one more time: hello, Cryptopsy), but clearly solving its own stylistic equation as it goes. Likewise, “The Gathering” plods through its scream-topped midsection with a particularly charred-sounding lumber, but keeps room for answering back with classic elements like squigglies and a more chug-happy, sample-inclusive ending movement.

The semi-eponymous “Wykan (The Shamanic Trance)” might be the EP’s crowning achievement, however, beginning with sampled spoken word over ambience before a build of quiet guitar starts in, vocalist/guitarist Jeremy Perkins leading bassist Daniel Paras and drummer Morgan Zwicker toward an Ensalved-esque movement of progressive black metal that fleshes itself out with marked flow over the next several minutes as an instrumental before the vocals finally join in following a midpoint slowdown, turn toward chugging plod and shift back into blastbeaten rush just before the six-minute mark. Raspy vocals again scorch the ground before them and at about 7:45, Wykan move into the kind of chug that might, say, have one headbanging in front of one’s laptop, before another speedy verse takes hold and they finish at their rawest and most extreme point.

This linear movement across Solace‘s three tracks might speak to the mindset of Perkins (also of black metallers Eohum) and company when it comes to a full-length release. The hard work before them will be to continue to integrate disparate stylistic elements into a cohesive whole, but they’ve clearly begun that process here, and the results are enticing even in their most purposefully abrasive stretches.

You can listen to “Wykan (The Shamanic Trance)” and get a closer look at the EP’s David Paul Seymour artwork below. PR wire info, as ever, follows.

Please enjoy:

Wykan, “Wykan (The Shamanic Trance)” official track premiere

Hitting the jam space and recruiting some special guests Matt McGachy (Cryptopsy) and Barrie Butler (Eohum), WYKAN’s debut EP “Solace” features three punishing tracks full of atmosphere and mystery where you can hear black metal rage meet the finest components of blues and harsh psych stoner riffs. The theme of the EP follows inspiration of Ethnobotany and magic along with a tribal take on ritual and ceremony. More specifically with the Northern European Tribes known as the Saami from Finland/Norway/Sweden areas of today and their usage of Amanita Muscaria mushroom for Shamanic practices. Overall, the EPs concept is a reminder of the brisk realities of our lives in relation to the spirit world.

“Wykan (The Shaman Trance) is the short-story / poetic take on the ceremony of drinking the brew of clarity (Amanita prepared brew) among the shaman’s hut and the trip commencement under influence of the Amanita Muscaria,” says band founder Jeremy Perkins.

Produced by Sowilo Arts
Written by Jeremy Perkins
Lyrics and Thematic by Jeremy Perkins
Artwork by David Paul Seymour

Recorded & Mixed at Silverwings Studios in Montreal Feb 2018 by Jonathan Lefrancois-Leduc.

Wykan is:
Vocals (intro) and Guitars: Jeremy Perkins
Drums: Morgan Zwicker
Bass: Daniel Paras

Featuring guest vocalist: Barrie Butler ( Eohum )

Wykan on Thee Facebooks

Wykan on Bandcamp

Tags: , , , , ,