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Days of Rona: Stephan Möller of Iron & Stone

Posted in Features on May 29th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

The ongoing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the varied responses of publics and governments worldwide, and the disruption to lives and livelihoods has reached a scale that is unprecedented. Whatever the month or the month after or the future itself brings, more than one generation will bear the mark of having lived through this time, and art, artists, and those who provide the support system to help uphold them have all been affected.

In continuing the Days of Rona feature, it remains pivotal to give a varied human perspective on these events and these responses. It is important to remind ourselves that whether someone is devastated or untouched, sick or well, we are all thinking, feeling people with lives we want to live again, whatever renewed shape they might take from this point onward. We all have to embrace a new normal. What will that be and how will we get there?

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

iron-and-stone-stephan-moller-(Photo-by-Andre-Gross)

Days of Rona: Stephan Möller of Iron & Stone (Hildesheim, Germany)

How have you been you dealing with this crisis as a band? As an individual? What effect has it had on your plans or creative processes?

The most obvious thing is we haven’t been able to rehearse for almost 2 months now. It is easy to practice the songs at home, but you simply cannot recreate the dynamics of five dudes in a rehearsal space playing music at full volume. So this is something that we really miss. Fortunately we found out that rehearsals in our space are possible so we will be able to start rehearsing again.

Otherwise things have not changed that much. We stay in touch via Whatsapp or phone. Pretty much everyone of us is able to work on the music at their home, so the writing process goes as usual and we are working on another EP (the first in a series of three) which we are planning to record in the summer.

We had to cancel a couple of shows and since nobody knows when the clubs will be able to open again it is hard to get any new shows for the future. Some local festivals we were to play this summer have been moved to 2021 and we stay in contact with promoters.

How do you feel about the public response to the outbreak where you are? From the government response to the people around you, what have you seen and heard from others?

I think the government did a pretty good job so far, especially in the beginning. Of course, there are a lot of ways it could have been better, but overall we have a rather low number of deaths and the number of infections is developing in a positive way too. During the early days of the pandemic it looked like fighting of the different parties stepped back a little and everybody was working for the greater good. So we can only hope that this will continue (which does not seem to be the case right now).

As in almost all countries there is a good amount of “woke” people rubbing their bullshit-theories into everyone’s face and they seem to become more and more stupid by the hour. Much more alarming is that some far-right groups try to undercut the otherwise un-political corona-critical-groups. This may turn really ugly.

On a personal level it (strangely) feels like something has changed for the better. Henning (our singer) and me are neighbours and we live in a very small village in a rather rural region. Me and my wife work from home and through those last weeks life has decelerated a good amount. We drive to the city once a week to shop groceries and the other days we enjoy the countryside and hike the woods and fields or work in the garden. Everything is quiet and more peaceful since there are less cars driving through our valley. If there weren’t people dying off the virus it would be a beautiful time around here.

Christopher and Torsten on the other hand work at hospitals so they are affected by the whole situation in a much more direct way.

What do you think of how the music community specifically has responded? How do you feel during this time? Are you inspired? Discouraged? Bored? Any and all of it?

By what I have seen so far the scene reacted quite well. From streaming live-shows to those Bandcamp-Fridays there has been a lot of creative actions and it seems like people are working together to get through this.

We all have our regular jobs so we do not depend on the band financially. But as a band the whole situations is surely frustrating to a certain degree, since we cannot rehearse and had to cancel or postpone some of the few shows that we are able to play each year. But on the other hand we are highly motivated to return to the stage and we are working on new material to record later this year. So no time for boredom, we are highly motivated.

The clubs and venues however are in real danger of not making it through the crisis as well as the bands that are doing music as a full-time job.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything? What is your new normal? What have you learned from this experience, about yourself, your band, or anything?

I feel like this whole situation is chance for us all to focus on the really important aspects of life. We will get through this together and we will not fall victim to all those loudmouths preaching their hate and anger and conspiracy bullshit. Our scene will get through this, there will be live shows again, I am confident about this. We’ve got to be careful and reasonable so we can all stay healthy. Support each other, we’re in this together. Peace.

https://www.facebook.com/ironandstoneband/
https://ironandstone.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/handofdoomrecords/
https://handofdoomentertainment.bigcartel.com

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Iron & Stone Premiere “Shadow on Your Neck” Video; You Can’t Stop What’s Coming out Sept. 27

Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 18th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

iron and stone

For the last seven years, German outfit Iron & Stone have plied their trade in straightforward heavy rock vibes, touching on desert-style here and there but keeping a rougher edge to the proceedings generally that’s allowed them to maintain a distinct feel to what they do. Their upcoming four-song EP, You Can’t Stop What’s Coming, is out Sept. 27 through Hand of Doom Records and finds the band working around a conceptual narrative for the first time, taking a theme derived from the Coen Brothers film No Country for Old Men — adapted from the novel by Cormac McCarthy — to embark on a discussion of character and plot. That’s a fair amount of ground to cover in four tracks, and I think even the band would admit they’re not really delving into the full details of every twist and turn that story takes — if you’ve seen the film or read the book, you know there are a few — but as they follow-up their 2017 debut LP, Petrichor (review here), 2015’s Old Man’s Doom EP (review here) and sundry other offerings put together over the course of their early transition from working just as the duo of vocalist Hennig Lührig and multi-instrumentalist (now just guitar) Stephan Möller, Iron & Stone have arguably never sounded more like a complete band than they do here.

All told, You Can’t Stop What’s Coming — the title a particularly memorable line from the film — is about 18 minutes long, so again, it’s not like Iron & Stone are making major demands on anyone’s time. What they do instead is offer a gruff take on riffy iron and stone you can't stop what's cominggrooves, with Lührig‘s voice adding an Acrimony-style sense of throaty melody amid the riffs from Möller and fellow guitarist Christopher Petersen and the locked-down swing of bassist Matthias Bormann and drummer Torsten Hoffmann. This Mannly rhythm section isn’t to be undervalued, as they show early in driving forward the fuzz of “Hand of Fate,” which either has an organ on it or an effect that sounds like one, or emphasizing the crunch in “Shadow on Your Neck.” And amid the touches of Truckfighters-style fuzzoleads there and in the verses of the slower “Old, Bitter and Out of Touch,” indeed the bass and drums hold the songs together on structural terms, making sure the mission is completed in the fashion it ultimately is: without pretense and with plenty of weight behind its push. As the band digs into its heaviest crunch on closer “1958,” there’s no doubting they’re all on the same page — a bit of cowbell emerges as the icing on a proverbial cake baked in classic European stoner rock.

That foundation, inherently, is familiar enough, but there’s little about You Can’t Stop What’s Coming not to dig provided one enters the fray knowing ‘what’s coming.’ One way or the other, Iron & Stone make a fervent argument for vitality in such a heavy modus, and listening to them ride out the groove of “1958” with the guitars intertwining over flowing undulations of crash, I’m not inclined to fight them on the point. Changing the world? Nope. Kicking ass and having a good time doing it? Clearly. Seems like if it’s one or the other, they’re making the right choice of where to end up in terms of ambition.

Below you’ll find the video premiere for “Shadow on Your Neck,” followed by more about the EP. I hope you enjoy:

Iron & Stone, “Shadow on Your Neck” official video premiere

Hand Of Doom Records is proud to release Iron & Stone’s new EP „You can‘t stop what‘s coming“ on September, 27th, 2019. The successor to Iron & Stone‘s 2017 album „Petrichor“ (released on Hand Of Doom mother-label Backbite Records) features 4 tracks, all of them lyrically inspired by the Coen brothers movie-adaption of Cormac McCarthy‘s novel „No country for old men“. Three of them explore certain characters of the story while „1958“ recounts a key moment of the story.

It is the first time for Iron & Stone to lyrically work with concepts of another artist. Musically the band adds a nuance of blues to the overall sound, while staying firmly rooted in the doom- and stonerrock genres, keeping the guitars fuzzy, the tuning low and the grooves heavy.

In typical Iron & Stone fashion all songs were recorded DIY at their rehearsal space near Hannover, Germany. Tracking took place from May to September 2018. The mix was done by the band as well while the mastering was done by Andreas Brunke, a close friend of the band, who mastered all earlier Iron & Stone releases so far.

The cover was drawn by tattoo-artist Mark Schankath of PMA Tattoo, Hannover.

Pre-order is live now. The orange/black, one-sided 12” vinyl (with a screen-printed b-side) is available in an edition of 300 copies and as digital download.

1. Hand Of Fate
2. Shadow On Your Neck
3. Old, Bitter & Out Of Touch
4. 1958

Iron & Stone are:
Hennig Lührig – vocals
Christopher Petersen – guitar
Stephan Möller – guitar
Matthias Bormann – bass
Torsten Hoffmann – drums

Iron & Stone on Facebook

Iron & Stone on Bandcamp

Hand of Doom Records on Facebook

Hand of Doom Records webstore

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Iron & Stone to Release You Can’t Stop What’s Coming EP in May

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 15th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

iron and stone

My first thought when I read the title of Iron & Stone‘s new EP was, “Oh sweet, O Brother Where Art Thou.” Then I remembered I had the wrong Coen Bros. movie. Actually, the title derives from one of the many memorable lines spoken in No Country for Old Men, which seems on the surface like it would be the directing duo’s most morally nihilistic film, except that they followed it up with Burn After Reading, which was all the more sinister for couching its lack of faith in humanity in comedy. Anyhooze, You Can’t Stop What’s Coming is the follow-up to Iron & Stone’s 2017 full-length, Petrichor (review here), and it’ll be out in May through Hand of Doom Records with each track based in some way on No Country for Old Men. I guess that’s probably way easier to get doom from than “Man of Constant Sorrow.”

The following announcement came down the PR wire:

iron and stone you can't stop what's coming

Karlsruhe‘s Hand Of Doom Records presents Iron & Stones new EP “You can‘t stop what‘s coming.”

The successor to Iron & Stone‘s 2017 album „Petrichor“ (released on Hand Of Doom sister-label Backbite Records) features 4 tracks, all of them lyrically inspired by the Coen Brothers movie-adaption of Cormac McCarthy‘s „No country for old men“.

In typical Iron & Stone fashion all songs were recorded DIY at their rehearsal space near Hannover, Germany. Tracking took place from May to September 2018. The mix was done by the band, the mastering was done by Andreas Brunke, a close friend of the band, who mastered all earlier Iron & Stone releases so far.

The cover was drawn by tattoo-artist Mark Schankath of PMA Tattoo, Hannover. (https://www.facebook.com/PMATattoo/, http://www.pma-tattoo.de/)

“You can‘t stop what‘s coming” will be released on one-sided vinyl (with an etched b-side) in an edition of 300 copies and as digital download. There is no concrete release-date yet, but Hand Of Doom are shooting for a release in late May 2019.

Tracklist:
1. Hand Of Fate
2. Shadow On Your Neck
3. Old, Bitter & Out Of Touch
4. 1958

https://www.facebook.com/ironandstoneband/
https://ironandstone.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/handofdoomrecords/
https://handofdoomentertainment.bigcartel.com

Iron & Stone, Petrichor (2017)

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