Posted in Whathaveyou on July 16th, 2019 by JJ Koczan
How’s your Latin? Mine stinks. Sweden’s Year of the Goat seem to have a handle on the grammar though, and that’s fortunate as regards the cult rockers naming their new album Novis Orbis Terrarum Ordinis. The offering will be made with the backing of Napalm Records on Sept. 6, and preorders and a new video for the song “Avaritia” are both up right now. The tracklisting is duly ending-in-vowels (opener “Subortus” aside), and one imagines the release itself carries no shortage of ensuing drama as the line between what’s cult and what’s goth seems to be blurring generally. These guys haven’t had the same hype as some plying their trade in the dark arts, but they’ve got that aesthetic pretty much down, as the video shows. I guess some people on the internets said the art looks like something Batushka did? I’m gonna go with “yeah not really” on that one, at least going by my immediate search results for that band’s album covers.
Here’s info from the PR wire:
Occult rock masters YEAR OF THE GOAT reveal album details, brand new video + kick off pre-order!
Novis Orbis Terrarum Ordinis coming this September on Napalm Records!
September 6th will see Swedish occult rock masters YEAR OF THE GOAT return with their brand new opus, Novis Orbis Terrarum Ordinis, on Napalm Records. Today the band is not only sharing the initial album details, spectacular album artwork, but also a brand new music video for the hard-hitting rock juggernaut Avaritia!
“Four years of neverending lust for creativity. For years of gluttony and decadence within our most sacred temple. For years of unspeakable boiling wrath. For years of greed filled wastefulness. Now, envy us in our moment of pride.” the band states.
Evoking a musically, sinister reality that surrounds us in this world with the majestic sound by YEAR OF THE GOAT, the occult rock collective adds a fire to the chaos with the band’s third studio album. In these times of global upheaval, the band’s upcoming record will celebrate your sins “[…] and rejoice in the perverseness of evil”, but one is definitely clear: The YEAR OF THE GOAT is now! Novis Orbis Terrarum Ordinis showcases YEAR OF THE GOAT’s roots in the darker sounds of the 60’s and 70’s, while they have never sounded so bracing before. Captivating tracks such as the just released Avaritia indulge in the finest occult rock full of blackened heart`s blood and elegiac melody lines that will haunt your dreams!
Novis Orbis Terrarum Ordinis Tracklisting: 1. Subortus 2. Acedia 3. Luxuria 4. Ira 5. Superbia 6. Gula 7. Avaritia 8. Invidia 9. Subicio
Coming September 6th 2019 with Napalm Records and available as LP, CD and digital formats, the pre-order has just started at THIS LOCATION!
YEAR OF THE GOAT is: Thomas Sabbathi – vocals, guitar Jonas Mattsson – guitar Linus Lundgren – guitar Daniel Melo – drums Joona Hassinen – bass Pope – mellotron, vocals
Posted in Bootleg Theater on December 5th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Swedish cultists Year of the Goat are getting ready to release their new seven-incher Song of Winter this Friday, Dec. 9, via Napalm Records. They made their debut in 2015 through the same imprint with their second full-length, The Unspeakable, and with the leadoff A-side of the single, they’re moving forward from that album toward their next one and an early-2017 push that will find them on the road in Jan./Feb. alongside countrymen/labelmate doomers The Order of Israfel and Norwegian heavy-hitters Tombstones, keeping their momentum going from the last few years and perhaps making sure the proper demons are exorcized and/or represented in new material before they hit the studio to bring their third album to fruition.
One can hear traces of the original version of “Song of Winter” in Year of the Goat‘s version. Released by Parisian singer/actress/model Francoise Hardy on 1969’s One-Nine-Seven-Zero, it has a duly haunting melody bolstered by the Norrköping six-piece’s arrangement of guitar and Mellotron and a light, poetic simplicity to the lyrics that speaks to the era from which it comes and resonates even now, the better part of half a century later. Or maybe I’m just a sucker for any song that features lines like, “I’m a misty rainbow.” In any case, “Song of Winter” earns its art deco cover, and if it’s offering a glimpse at where Year of the Goat might be headed, then the modern sensibility they bring to the classic structure bodes well to say the least. Presumably we’ll see how it all works out sometime before the end of 2017.
The band offers some insight on “Song of Winter” under the lyric video, which you’ll find below. Also down there are the dates for the aforementioned tour, should you happen to be or find yourself in that part of the world when it’s happening.
Please enjoy:
Year of the Goat, “Song of Winter” lyric video
Year of the Goat on “Song of Winter”:
“For many years Francoise Hardy has been part of our playlist while on the road. As soon as ‘Song of Winter’ played, the thought that we really should do a cover of it at some point always presented itself. Lyrically we find it going very well with the theme of our first album and also with the one we’re planning at the moment. The B-side on the other hand lyrically draws more towards our second album, The Unspeakable. One could probably say that the wonderful and talented Francoise Hardy is helping us build a bridge between our last album and the one to come.”
Year of the Goat, “Song of Winter” limited gold 7″ 1. Song of Winter (Side A 2. Strange Shadows (Side B)
Strictly Limited Napalm Records Mailorder Edition to 200 Copies in GOLDEN Vinyl. EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE VIA THE NAPALM RECORDS MAILORDER AND ONLINE STORE.
Year of the Goat European tour w/ The Order of Israfel & Tombstones: 28.01.17 DE – Berlin / Badehaus 29.01.17 DE – Osnabrück / Bastard Club 30.01.17 DE – Hamburg / Hafenklang 31.01.17 DE – Wiesbaden / Schlachthof 01.02.17 NL – Arnhem / Willemeen 02.02.17 UK – London / Underworld 04.02.17 TBA 06.02.17 CH – Olten / Coq D’Or 07.02.17 IT – Milano / Lo Fi 08.02.17 DE – Munich / Backstage 09.02.17 AT – Vienna / Viper Room 10.02.17 DE – Leipzig / UT Connewitz 11.02.17 DE – Siegen / Vortex
Year of the Goat is: Thomas Sabbathi – vocals, guitar Jonas Mattsson – guitar Don Palmroos – guitar Fredrik Hellerström – drums Joona Hassinen – bass Pope – mellotron, vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 11th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Lest a day should go by without a reminder of how frickin’ awesome Europe’s heavy underground is, Napalm Records sends word of an early 2017 co-headlining tour from Swedish acts Year of the Goat and The Order of Israfel to be supported by Oslo’s Tombstones. The run kicks off late in January and will go into the middle of the next month, and will be preceded by a new Year of the Goat single out Dec. 9, as The Order of Israfel continue to support their 2016 sophomore outing, Red Robes (review here), that found them refining their take on classic doom.
Particularly stoked for Tombstones opening this stint, as it seems like a prime opportunity for them to turn some heads with their brash, deeply-weighted groove, which should rest well alongside The Order of Israfel‘s traditionalism and the cultistry of Year of the Goat. Good mix all around, if you happen to be in that part of the world.
From the PR wire:
YEAR OF THE GOAT & THE ORDER OF ISRAFEL Co-Headlining Tour in 2017!
Now this is how a new year should start!
Two fantastic bands from the Napalm Records roster – THE ORDER OF ISRAFEL & YEAR OF THE GOAT – have teamed up with Tombstones as support to hit the road all across Germany, Netherlands, the UK, Italy, Austria and Switzerland!
THE ORDER OF ISRAFEL are already extremely looking forward to this tour:
“We are extremely happy to announce our next tour that will take place in January-February 2017. It is a Co-headlining tour with our friends and label mates Year Of The Goat! Support on this tour will be Tombstones!”
The band’s first steps might have been heavily influenced by genre icons such as Cathedral, Pentagram and Witchcraft, but the four piece has firmly established its very own brand of slow-motion magnificence in 2016 with their latest masterpiece Red Robes.
YEAR OF THE GOAT deliver finest and darkest occult doom rock! This is captivating, unique and majestic! Their latest effort The Unspeakable was released in 2015, so it’s time to hit the road again! By the way, the band will release a 7″ single “Song Of Winter” on December 9th.
YEAR OF THE GOAT states: “We are truly looking forward to be out on the European road again, this time with a package that we’re sure will provide many magical moments. Besides returning to countries and cities we love, we get to visit a few countries and places for the first time as well. We will put together a show of our favourite songs from our current catalogue and bring the uplifting gospel of Lucifer as well as a Lovecraftian gloom. Welcome to the sermon!”
The result of both bands together is a wondrous, mystical piece of art featuring unforgettable vocals and ten-ton riffing that will haunt you for aeons and especially on their upcoming co-headlining tour!
Find all dates listed below & don’t miss this power package including co-headlining THE ORDER OF ISRAFEL and YEAR OF THE GOAT with support of Tombstones live on tour!
28.01.17 DE – Berlin / Badehaus 29.01.17 DE – Osnabrück / Bastard Club 30.01.17 DE – Hamburg / Hafenklang 31.01.17 DE – Wiesbaden / Schlachthof 01.02.17 NL – Arnhem / Willemeen 02.02.17 UK – London / Underworld 04.02.17 TBA 06.02.17 CH – Olten / Coq D’Or 07.02.17 IT – Milano / Lo Fi 08.02.17 DE – Munich / Backstage 09.02.17 AT – Vienna / Viper Room 10.02.17 DE – Leipzig / UT Connewitz 11.02.17 DE – Siegen / Vortex
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 12th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
I don’t know, part of me feels like maybe we shouldn’t even talk about it, but Swedish cult rockers Year of the Goat will release their second album on July 31 through Napalm Records. Dubbed The Unspeakable presumably in honor of their behavior at last year’s Napalm office holiday party — shameful and not to be discussed — or, you know, the devil or something like that, the album will follow-up on 2012’s Angels’ Necropolis, and will be available in a host of editions, including a limited-to-100 gatefold 180g 2LP that comes with a backpatch and a 200-made six-panel CD digipak that scales the patch down to your standard woven-patch size. Because if you’re going to do something called The Unspeakable, damn it, make it worth talking about.
The PR wire brought the news and put it on an altar all in slow motion, ritual-like:
YEAR OF THE GOAT RELEASE FIRST TEASER OF UPCOMING ALBUM!
YEAR OF THE GOAT invite us to celebrate their second full length album The Unspeakable which is chock full of conjuring tone and with sinister knells. Painfully beautiful guitar work and Hammond infusions build the foundation for Thomas Sabbathi`s forceful vocals and merge true 70s spirit with a pure ritual for the masses. The Unspeakable goes one step further than its predecessor Angels` Necropolis (2012) and offers airy, proggy tunes taking turns with epic darkness: captivating, unique, majestic!
The Swedes indulge in occult doom rock full of blackened heart`s blood and elegant melody lines that will haunt your dreams. With the brand new album teaser you can check it out for yourself HERE!
Tracklisting: 1. All He Has Read 2. Pillars of the South 3. The Emma 4. Vermin 5. World Of Wonders 6. The Wind 7. Black Sunlight 8. The Sermon 9. The Key And The Gate (Alternative Version – Bonus Track) 10 Riders Of Vultures
Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 18th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Heralding the release of their debut album, Angels’ Necropolis, Swedish cult rockers Year of the Goat (featuring ex-members of House of Aquarius, whose album was recently reissued on Electric Magic Records) have unveiled their new video for the song “Spirits of Fire.” Fans of the newly-departed The Devil’s Blood and of Jess and the Ancient Ones should take note, as Year of the Goat get down with some similarly classic Lucifer loving on the LP. Judging by his smile at the end, Satan is pleased as ever with the arrival of the nudie lady.
The clip came down the PR wire earlier today, followed by the info in blue:
Blazing with over fifty minutes of supreme, metallic occult rock, Angels’ Necropolis, the infernal debut album from YEAR OF THE GOAT, has been claiming mass praise from heavy metal fans and critics alike, elevating this new act in the ranks of the scene quickly.
A brilliantly infectious album highlighting classic metal/occult rock harmonies Östergötland/Norrköping, Sweden-based quintet seemingly permeate the air around them with, rather than “perform” or “execute,” the atmospheric permeation of the eight rituals which comprise their Angel’s Necropolis offering form the proper conditions to transport the listener to another plane of existence; a meditative state in tribute to Lucifer and his legions. The album was released on CD, LP and digitally worldwide via Ván Records, also liable for bringing The Devil’s Blood, The Ruins Of Beverast, Nagelfar and others into the cult spotlight over the last decade.
YEAR OF THE GOAT will hit the stage sporadically and continuously through the year, having just announced the acts first confirmed performances of 2013. Stay tuned for further updates as more shows are confirmed.
YEAR OF THE GOAT Live Rituals: 3/01/2013 John Dee – Sankt Hanshaugen, Norway 3/09/2013 Dynamo – Norrköping, Sweden 3/22/2013 Harry’s Rock Night – Linkoping, Sweden 5/24/2013 Club Destroyer – Sundsvall, Sweden 7/27/2013 Skogsröjet – Rejmre, Sweden 8/29/2013 Beyond The Gates – Bergen, Norway 11/16/2013 Hammer Of Doom Festival – Würzburg, Germany
Posted in audiObelisk on January 25th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Even as we gear up for the 2013 edition of Roadburn, the archive of 2012 audio streams continues to grow, this time with sets from Ancient VVisdom (they’re the spooky ones above), Huata, Kong, Necro Deathmort, The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation and Year of the Goat. I like when these things come out on a Friday because that way I get to check them out over the weekend. Hopefully you get some time to take a listen, and thanks as always to Walter, Marcel and the entire Roadburn crew for making these and the life-changing festival from whence they come happen:
Ancient VVisdom – Live at Roadburn 2012
Anekdoten – Live at Roadburn 2012
Huata – Live at Roadburn 2012
Kong – Live at Roadburn Festival 2012
Necro Deathmort – Live at Roadburn 2012
The Mount Fuji Doomjazz Corporation – Live at Roadburn 2012
Posted in Features on April 12th, 2012 by JJ Koczan
04/12/12 — 23.24 — Thursday — Hotel Mercure
It was utter madness, but I suppose that’s to be expected. At this point, that’s part of what makes Roadburn the festival it is and has become. And on the day that 2012 kicked off and it was announced that Electric Wizard will curate 2013 and that Godflesh will play Pure in its entirety, I’ll say this already feels like the most crowded edition I’ve ever been to, though they’ve all been sold out. The lesson of 2012 is “get there early,” folks, because if you wait, you’re screwed. If there’s a band on stage, the room is full. Hell, even half the time bands aren’t on stage, it’s still full of people either waiting for who’s on next or still glowing after what they’ve just seen. Both the 013 and Het Patronaat were packed from the time I walked to the time I walked out. As I said: Madness.
True, The Icarus Line technically were the first band to go on, but it was d.USK doing their set of d.ISEMBOW LMENT material on the main stage that really got Roadburn started, and in telling fashion. The semi-reunited Australian outfit straddled the line between death/doom and black metal and seemed to relish in playing the one side off the other. They were oppressively dark, which is no small feat for the middle of the afternoon, and in that they were doing something special (the d.ISEMBOWELMENT set), were from a long way away, and made it hard to classify their sound, they were the perfect selection for a fest opener, because that’s exactly what this is: Bands from all over the world in a one of a kind gathering that’s not in the slightest bit limited by genre. I watched Ulver do a set of obscure ’60s psychedelic covers tonight. These things simply don’t happen anywhere else.
However, because there’s so much of it happening — at any given moment, all three stages of the 013 and the stage at Het Patronaat could and probably do have someone on them — Roadburn also requires hard choices be made. I left d.USK/d.ISEMBOWELMENT to go next door into the Green Room and catch the start of Horisont‘s set, and it was the first of several hard choices on the day. The Green Room being the midsized spot (with Stage01 the smallest; I tried twice to get in today, for Year of the Goat and La Otracina, and no luck), it filled up quick with people eager for Horisont‘s take on the current Swedish retro sound. Someone standing next to me at the front of the stage was telling his buddy, “Yeah man, if you like Graveyard, you’ll like these guys.”
And it’s true. That’s pretty much what Horisont have going on, sound-wise, but I’m not about to start complaining about that. I’ve been through their new album, Second Assault, a couple times in advance of a review, and after seeing them live, I get it a little more. Yeah, they’re in the vein of Graveyard, but they’re not quite as boogie rock as Graveyard can be sometimes. If you’re looking for a retro Swedish comparison point, Burning Saviours might work, but at that point, you’re really nitpicking. As the room filled up (and filled up, and filled up, and so on), it also got warmed with each body, so I fought my way out of the crowd — not easy — and made my first attempt to get to Stage01, to check out Year of the Goat, but it was too packed to even get close to the door, let alone through it.
I’m no stranger to watching sets through the door at Roadburn. I saw some of Quest for Fire that way last year and wound up staying put to see a bit of La Otracina‘s free jazz freakout psych-prog this evening, but it’s not a long-term solution. Watching a band through the door, I don’t think I could honestly feel like I’d seen them. You want to at least be in the room. I can catch La Otracina in Brooklyn easily enough, since that’s where they’re from, but when it came to watching Sigiriya tonight at 00.00, I knew there was no way it would work out, and that was a bummer, since what I saw of them at Desertfest was fantastic. Nevertheless, one keeps moving. I made my way over to Het Patronaat for the first time after not getting to see Year of the Goat (still bought their record, since I liked what I heard through the doorway), and caught a couple minutes of Virus, whose dramatic experimental metal seemed to relish its own inaccessibility.
One thing Het Patronaat has over the Midi Theatre, which was Roadburn‘s initial “fourth stage” — i.e., the other large venue to complement the main stage — is that it’s gorgeous. Midi Theatre wasn’t ugly by any stretch, but it was a pretty normal theater-type venue. Het Patronaat is a converted church. It has stained glass windows (behind a protective plane, of course), and a high angular vault in its ceiling with big wood rafters that really provided atmosphere for the bands who played there. I think it’s smaller than the Midi Theatre was, but there’s also a room downstairs where bands set up their merch, and beer and food were sold. A little getaway spot, I guess, if you need to just chill for a while and drink a beer. Not a bad idea, but I didn’t really have time. Agalloch were set to hit the main stage at 17.15, and I knew that if I wanted to be there, I wanted to be there well before they went on.
I’ve been looking for an excuse to like Agalloch for a while now. The vehemence and consistency with which they’re recommended to me is nigh on overwhelming. It’s not just, “Oh, you should check this out, it’s pretty cool.” It’s, “Oh my god, you have to hear this band right now.” I’ve given their records a shot, and I even bought their The White EP, to hear if maybe them doing something different would sit any better. As turtlenecked guitarist/vocalist John Haughm set mini-cauldrons of incense on blocks made of tree trunks at the front of the stage, which also just happened to be eye level for the photo pit, I did not find my excuse to become a fan of the band. I can still smell that shit. So much for daytwoing it in my Saint Vitus shirt tomorrow. I’m starting to run out of clothes.
Once they got going, they were as I’ve always found them to be: an American band doing a decent job at playing indulgent European-style artsy black metal. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. I smelled it for a while and then I went back to the Green Room for Swedish cult doomers Saturnalia Temple, who are a bit more my speed, literally and figuratively. Michael Gira from Swans was doing a solo set at Het Patronaat, which would’ve been awesome to see, but like I say, tough decisions have to be made every year, and since I dug the hell out of Saturnalia Temple‘s Aion of Drakon after buying it last Black Friday in Connecticut, I took the chance to see them as something special I’d probably only get to do at Roadburn. So off I went.
Saturnalia Temple were low end in extremis — a brutal wash of tone that vibrated the front of the stage as I stood there. Big, big riffs. I couldn’t really hear the vocals from where I was standing, but they were relatively sparse anyway for the first couple songs. Basically, Saturnalia Temple were throwing down a gauntlet of heft, daring the rest of the Roadburn lineup to match what they had to offer. Even if you take away the Lovecraftian thematics and the crushing grooves of the riffs themselves, the sheer force with which they were delivered was an act of physical violence. I knew Om was getting ready to go on the main stage, so I once more pushed my way out of the Green Room — much to the delight of my fellow 013 patrons — and made sure I was there for the start of the trio’s set.
That’s right, the trio. I don’t know what the official status of Robert A. Lowe (aka Lichens and not to be confused with Robert Lowe of Solitude Aeturnus/Candlemass fame) is, but the dude at this point is a big part of their sound, and they showed that right from the start with the new material they played off the upcoming Advaitic Songs, but even on “Meditation is the Practice of Death” from 2009’s God is Good (semi-review here), Lowe made his presence known, and throughout the set, whether it was beating himself with a tambourine in time to drummer Emil Amos‘ rhythm, adding synth, or playing guitar alongside Al Cisneros‘ bass, he’s more a member of the band now than he was when they started touring together and it was kind of a novelty thing. The novelty has worn off, and Om make for a pretty formidable trio, though part of me misses the sweet minimalism of their earlier work. Price of progress, I suppose.
When I left Om, I went and tried to watch La Otracina through the doorway of Stage01 and then went over to Het Patronaat, with the intent of getting there early enough to get a spot up front for Ancestors. That was my goal. Ancestors, whom I’ve missed more times than I really care to count (I think it’s twice, but that’s too many, anyhow), including just last weekend, were my one absolute must of the day. I figured I’d get there super early and work my way up as people were coming and going. Thing was, I was early enough that Red Fang was still on, and they killed the place. They’re tighter now even than they were at Metalliance last year, and songs from both their self-titled and last year’s Murder the Mountains (review here) incited whatever the burly beardo equivalent is to squeals of pleasure from the crowd. Up front, there was even good old fashioned heavy metal slam-dancing, which earned some hard stares from those who did not want to be involved.
You could hardly blame them, though — the dancers, that is — because Red Fang legitimately showed that they’ve stepped up their live show to match the profile of the touring they’ve done in the past. Whether it was bassist Aaron Beam‘s nailing the vocal shifts in “Human Herd” (not to mention his snazzy new haircut) or guitarist/vocalist Maurice Bryan Giles throwing a bit of pinache into the opening lead of “Throw Up,” or the whole band locking into the punky groove of “Hank is Dead,” they were excellent across the board and absolutely owned the stage. If they can bring that same kind of energy to their next record, then all that “the next Mastodon” buzz that’s been swirling around them these last few years won’t just be hyperbole. They sound like a band right on the cusp of something really special. And by “special,” I don’t mean “slow.”
Though if they wanted to play slow, that’d be alright too. I could live with that.
Sure enough, when they were finished, I proceeded to insert myself at the very front of the stage, just to the right side of the center, where I would stay for the duration of Ancestors‘ set. Normally I’d stay there for a few songs, then push back and let other people in — because I’m a big guy, it seems like the right thing to do — but once Ancestors got started, I knew there was no way. Anyone who’s bemoaned their progression since they released Neptune with Fire in 2008 as somehow forsaking heaviness has clearly never seen the band live. They were so. Fucking. Heavy. And so fucking loud, too. Bassist Nick Long had to keep chasing down his “Depth Charge” pedal because the stage was shaking so much from his playing that it was wandering off. At one point, I noticed guitarist/vocalist Jason Maranga‘s glass of tea was vibrating close to the end of the side of the stage and pointed it out to the dude working the board so it didn’t tip over and spill on the sound equipment. Drummer Daniel Pouliot — a relative newcomer to the band who nonetheless destroyed everything in his path — started out with one brick in front of his drums to hold them in place but wound up with three before they were finished. And as for organist/vocalist Jason Watkins, I’m surprised the keyboard didn’t come apart in his hands. Yes, they were that loud.
Not only that, but crazy melodic too. The highlight of the whole set was when they closed with the 19-minute finale of their new album, In Dreams and Time (review here). Maranga had said the entire band was sick — see, that’s why you pack a pharmacy — and his vocals toward the end were a bit rough, but everything else in “First Light” was spot on, and both musically and vocally, the melody was as powerful as the rumble in Long‘s bass. I recognized that opening riff immediately and had a Pavlovian-drooling-dog response at the treat I knew was coming. Sure enough, they made their way methodically through every part of the song, Maranga taking a long solo at Pouliot accented perfectly, building tension with each measure until finally the massive payoff arrived. It was unreal, and if I was going to see Ancestors at any point in their career, I’m glad it was now just for that. Just when you think he’s got nowhere else to go on the guitar, out comes the slide and the solo becomes a noise-fest working up past the neck; raw squibblies that would’ve made Agalloch jealous. Best part about it was there was feeling in every note, and you knew it just from watching. One hundred percent the highlight of my night, those dudes were. No doubt about it.
They ended with Maranga kicking aside his pedal board, putting his foot up on the monitor and headbanging at the front of the stage, until “First Light” crashed to its sudden finish. No shit, I’ve listened to the song three times through since coming back to the hotel to start this writeup. And it’s 19 minutes long! No regrets. I wasn’t exactly lacking in appreciation for what Ancestors do (click the review link if you don’t believe me), but this was something totally different. Unreal, how good they were. I was so glad to have finally seen them.
And really, that was the cap on my night. It came early, at least as regards the fact that there was still plenty of the lineup to go, but I knew Sigiriya wasn’t going to work out, Voivod played tonight after Ulver, but they’re also doing a set tomorrow at their curated Au-delà du Réel event in which they’re doing all of Dimension Hatröss, so I figured I wouldn’t want to miss that, and though I like Justin Broadrick‘s noisemaking as much as the next guy, I clearly had a bit of writing ahead of me. I went back to the 013 after Ancestors, carrying my melted brains in my photo bag, and planted myself in the photo pit in front of where it looked like would have a good view of Krystoffer Rygg‘s braided beard. As usual, my guess was meh.
I didn’t hear Ulver‘s 2011 album, Wars of the Roses — though I loved 2007’s Shadows of the Sun — but it didn’t matter anyway, because like I said way up at the top of this post, they were doing obscure psychedelic covers from the ’60s. An odd choice, maybe, but it sounded pretty good. One thing Ulver was more than anyone else today, though, was elaborate. Two guitars, bass, drums, a Rhodes, a mellotron, a Hammond, bongos, congas, timpani, shakers, a gong, and then an electronic setup on a table in front of Rygg that no one even wanted to turn on to soundcheck. It looked — in a word — expensive, and they went on 10 minutes late because it took so long to make sure everything was hooked in properly to the 013 P.A., but again, it’s hard to find any fault in Ulver‘s execution. They made it work, though they also took the songs and put them in a more Ulverian context, so that it was more of an interpretation of Jefferson Airplane than an outright cover.
But it was one more cool, weird happening that’s only going down at Roadburn, and those who got to see it — packed in as they were — were lucky, and I count myself lucky as well. I hit the Het Patronaat merch area one more time, saw Pouliot and told him the set was killer, and then resigned myself to coming back to the Mercure and getting to work.
Tomorrow Wino & Conny Ochs open Het Patronaat at 15.00, and I’m going to try again to get into Stage01 to see Conan before YOB do The Unreal Never Lived front to back and further insanity plays out. There are fewer bands I’m outright dying to check out tomorrow, so maybe I’ll get to stick around for some more full sets, but I wouldn’t put it past myself to be back and forth like I was today either. No rest for the restless.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 16th, 2011 by JJ Koczan
It seems like only Monday I was posting a kickass Roadburn update. Oh wait, that was only Monday. Well, here’s the next batch: More classic doom and in the true tradition of the fest, a couple European bands I don’t know but will no doubt soon be drooling over and touting as the future of Heavy. So it goes.
Dig it:
We’re thrilled to announce that legendary US doomsters Internal Void will be making a rare European appearance at Roadburn Festival Afterburner on Sunday, April 15 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.
“We are thrilled to be a part of Roadburn, says the band, “Internal Voidcan finally achieve our goal of playing overseas, after numerous attempts that sadly fell through this is the best way we can imagine making it happen.”
“Internal Void will be bringing it to Roadburn in 2012!!”
We’re are excited to announce that occult rockers Saturnalia Temple and Year of the Goat have been added to the lineup for Roadburn Festival 2012.
Saturnalia Temple‘s latest album, Aion of Drakon, is far out, mesmerizing and just might be your new favorite slo-mo metal album. Come my fanatics, join the coven, and freak out over Saturnalia Temple on Thursday, April 12 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.
Just like Saturnalia Temple, Sweden’s Year of the Goat are creating quite a buzz in the rock underground with the release of their much acclaimed debut EP, Lucem Ferre (Latin for The bringer of light / The son of desert fire).
Year of the Goat are inspired by the occult rock bands of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, however, the inspiration is not so much musical as it is about the subject matter of the lyrics and the picture they paint of pagan rituals, Satanism and the dark arts. Year of the Goat don’t really recreate the musical stylings of that era. Instead, the band adds a modern feel to their ‘70s flavored occult rock, with an almost prog rock or even indie rock approach to it.
Year of the Goat are currently working on their debut full-length, which will be released on VanRecords next year.
Both Year of the Goat and Saturnalia Temple will play on Thursday, April 12at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.
