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Zoroaster Interview with Will Fiore: A Red Hot Burning Sensation from Down South

Posted in Features on July 6th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Today, Atlanta‘s Zoroaster release their third album in the head-soaked form of Matador. It is the band’s first release through E1 Music, and it comes as the latest brick in a tower of momentum that can be traced back across last year’s Voice of Saturn full-length and its 2007 predecessor, Dog Magic, both of which the band put out through their own Terminal Doom Recordings.

But, as guitarist/vocalist Will Fiore informs from sunny Hollywood, California, there are just some things you need a label for. As an example, the band are currently embroiled in an extensive US tour with fellow Georgian upstarts Black Tusk and Florida‘s Dark Castle that’s been dubbed the Summer Southern Burn Tour. I’m sure it’s way more comfortable than it sounds.

Of course, Zoroaster are no strangers to the road. Fiore, bassist Brent Anderson and drummer Dan Scanlan have been hitting it hard since the inception of the band in 2003, and as they release the Sanford Parker-produced (longtime engineer Ed Rawls also worked on it) Matador, it seems their work touring is beginning to pay off. They are among the best doom bands of their generation, and more and more, they’re being recognized as such. Not a bad platform on which to issue a new album.

After the jump, you’ll find my recent Q&A with Will Fiore as the Summer Southern Burn Tour was getting started. Since he was in Hollywood, I began the interview with the most important question of all…

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Zoroaster on an Odyssey

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Whathaveyou on July 2nd, 2010 by JJ Koczan

The whole “promoting by not promoting on The Obelisk” bit is tired and sad, so I’m going to let it rest this time. Zoroaster‘s new video for the track “Odyssey” made a premiere well-timed for the release of the Matador album next week on some website that takes ads. Here’s the clip, directed by Chad Rullman:

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An audiObelisk Not-So-Exclusive: Zoroaster Have a New Track for Streaming

Posted in audiObelisk, Whathaveyou on June 4th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

I know you’ll all be surprised and devastated to learn that when Atlanta doom mavens Zoroaster were looking for a place to stream “Black Hole” from their forthcoming E1 Music debut, Matador, they did not come to The Obelisk. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when you’re a band looking to promote a new release, there’s nothing quite like not The Obelisk to get it done.

At least I can take solace from my irrelevance in the fact that it was the good people of Brooklyn Vegan who got the premiere. Matador is out July 13, and Zoroaster hit the road middle of this month to promote the album with the oh-so-hot-right-now Black Tusk and underrated Floridian purveyors Dark Castle. Stream “Black Hole” below.

And in case you were wondering whether or not it’s metal, just look at that dynamic range. No other genre has such oppressive waveforms.


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Matador: Zoroaster Recraft Doom in Their Own Image

Posted in Reviews on May 25th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

It has been an evident conscious decision by the band Zoroaster that each of their albums should sound different from the one before it. They are, in terms often heard, “trying something different” each time. Certainly 2009’s Voice of Saturn showed marked growth from 2007’s Dog Magic, and their third and latest full-length, Matador, follows the same ethic, pushing the Atlanta trio’s psychedelic doom in yet another surprisingly complex direction.

Matador is Zoroaster’s first album for E1 Music (High on Fire, In Flames, Hatebreed), the first album they aren’t releasing through their own Terminal Doom Records, but I don’t think that accounts for any of the sonic changes the band has undergone. One might expect that, having moved from an entirely independent method of operation to a label of reach as considerable as E1’s, Zoroaster would come across, either consciously or unconsciously, as more commercial, but that’s not – repeat, not – what’s happening on Matador. Rather, it seems guitarist/vocalist Will Fiore, bassist/vocalist Brent Anderson and drummer Dan Scanlan have gone even further out than ever before, incorporating a mutated brand of desert rock riffing into their arsenal while at the same time meshing it with increased use of highly-reverbed and delayed clean vocals that makes a song like opener “D.N.R.” sound spacious even more than what is commonly thought of in doom as heavy. The feel is that Zoroaster have moved beyond the confines of genre, and with the help of producer Sanford Parker, are working on their own progressive definition thereof.

There are also a lot more songs on Matador than in the past. With their third outing, Zoroaster gives us nine full-tracks, where Dog Magic had six and Voice of Saturn had five if you discount the intro and outro (which, in the case of the latter, also takes 14 minutes of runtime off the album and may not be an entirely fair move). Of course, the track lengths here are shorter, with cuts like the heavily rhythmic “Ancient Ones,” “Trident,” “Black Hole” and “Odyssey II” all under four minutes and only “Old World” and closer “Matador” over seven, but if bursts of rocking energy like “Trident,” with Fiore’s righteous and classically-styled soloing, are going to be the tradeoff, I’ll take it, as Zoroaster prove more than capable of handling the style. “Trident” is a surprisingly catchy highlight, tighter with more aggressive vocals, than “Odyssey” before it, but it really is the soloing that sets the song apart. It’s yet another move Zoroaster have made to distinguish Matador from its predecessors.

So naturally, on the next track, which is “Firewater,” they go in the complete opposite direction. The song is 4:14 of noise, feedback, soloing, effects and a Clutch-style bass and drum groove underneath, basically Scanlan and Anderson giving Fiore a little freak-out time. Gone is the structure, the memorable hook, the fleetness of finger (well, I guess that’s still there, but coming from another dimension). Take that, expectation.

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Zoroaster Post Teaser Clip of New Album

Posted in Bootleg Theater, Whathaveyou on May 14th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

Last week, Atlanta doom titans Zoroaster rolled out the info on their new album, Matador, and they’re following it up today with a 34-second preview clip of the heaviness to come courtesy of the PR wire. Matador is out July 13 on E1 Music. I don’t know about you, but I’ve got half a minute to kill, so let’s do this thing:

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Zoroaster Avoid the Bull, Feel the Burn

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 4th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

I think, if events play out according to their normal course, Zoroaster will be the first band to have been interviewed twice on The Obelisk. When/if it happens (the subject hasn’t even yet been broached, so who knows, they might decide not to do press at all), the topic of discussion will inevitably be their new album, Matador.

With production from Sanford Parker, mastering by Collin Jordan, artwork by Brian Mercer and a release via E1 Music — this is the first Zoroaster album the band isn’t releasing on their own — Matador is high-profile right out of the gate, and from what I hear there are some sonic shifts the band has undergone to complement. As a fan of the band, I can’t wait to hear how it all plays out. Here’s some info from the PR wire:

Celebrated Atlanta, GA psych metal band Zoroaster has completed work on its sophomore album. Entitled Matador, the record is set for a July 13, 2010 North American release date via E1 Music.

With Matador, Zoroaster dares to defy genre-classification and proves that the band’s formidable reputation precedes it for a reason. Matador is a magnetic tour-de-force, blending vivid rhythms and radiance with the band’s classic use of dynamics and power. Creative, distinct, graceful and strong, Matador features the traits of a benchmark release. From the cosmic march of album opener “D.N.R.” [one assumes it’s not a Testament cover – ed.] through to the leviathan-like closing title track, it is immediately evident that Zoroaster has joined friends — and fellow Atlanta natives — Mastodon and new label mates High on Fire as a unit determined to push modern heavy music into new and uncharted realms.

Matador track listing:
1.) D.N.R.
2.) Ancient Ones
3.) Odyssey
4.) Trident
5.) Firewater
6.) Old World
7.) Black Hole
8.) Odyssey II
9.) Matador

Zoroaster tour dates:
Brooklyn Vegan
and Roxwel present:
The Summer Southern Burn tour
Featuring Zoroaster, Black Tusk and Dark Castle
June 15 Birmingham, AL The Nick
June 16 Memphis, TN Hi Tone Café
June 17 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory
June 18 Dallas, TX The Lounge on Elm St.
June 19 Austin, TX Emo’s
June 21 Albuquerque, NM Burt’s Tiki Lounge
June 23 Ramona, CA Ramona Mainstage
June 24 W. Hollywood, CA Viper Room
June 25 Oakland, CA Oakland Metro
June 26 San Francisco, CA Thee Parkside
June 28 Portland, OR Satyricon
June 29 Seattle, WA Funhouse
July 1 Salt Lake City, UT Club Vegas
July 2 Denver, CO Larimer Lounge
July 3 Kansas City, MO Riot Room
July 4 St. Paul, MN Turf Club
July 6 Chicago, IL Empty Bottle
July 7 Newport, KY Southgate House
July 8 Pittsburgh, PA 31st St. Pub
July 9 New York, NY The Studio at Webster Hall
July 10 Philadelphia, PA The Khyber
July 17 Atlanta, GA The Earl (*Matador CD release show!)

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Zoroaster’s New Album is a Multi-Studio Affair

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 10th, 2010 by JJ Koczan

It’s the first Zoroaster album they won’t be releasing on their own, and expectations are high as the band have definitely proven in both the studio and live arenas they’re ready for that elusive next step on the path to world dromination. Voice of Saturn was eminently killer, and I see no reason why Matador shouldn’t be the same. Here’s hoping, and here’s a boatload of PR wire info:

Critically acclaimed “psych metal” band Zoroaster has entered Atlanta’s Living Room Studios (Mastodon, The Black Lips) to begin the recording of its hotly anticipated new album, Matador. A July release via E1 Music is expected.

Zoroaster is working with producer Sanford Parker (Pelican, The Gates of Slumber) on the new album, which will be mastered by Collin Jordan (Black Moth Super Rainbow, Nachtmystium) at The Boiler Room in Chicago, ILMatadors drums and bass are being laid to tape at Atlanta’s Glow in the Dark Studios. Housed in the former location of the renowned Cheshire Sound Studios — the first dual 24 track facility in the Southeast – the recording complex has been home to projects featuring Prince, The Georgia Satellites, Steve Walsh and more.  Zoroaster’s new material is said to be “more direct, more intense and absolutely enveloping.”

Zoroaster will debut a number of new songs at its upcoming SXSW live performances which kick off on Wednesday, March 17 as part of the Action! PR SXSW Showcase (@ Mohawk: 912 Red River St., Austin, TX).  The all ages event will be open to the public as well as SXSW badge and wristband holders.

When asked for comment on Matador, Zoroaster guitarist / vocalist Will Fiore dished, “As a whole, these are the strongest songs we’ve ever put together and they really encompass everything we’ve done until now as a band.  There are some really heavy, slow creepers and some of the faster, more driving songs.  The new material ranges from really aggressive to more melodic and trippy.”  “It’s going to be a pretty straight-forward rock album and I think it’s what we wanted to create with both Dog Magic and Voice of Saturn rolled into one,” offers drummer Dan Scanlan. “There will be a lot of shorter tracks that are very straight forward and hard-hitting — it’s a lot less of a droning record than what people are expecting. The album title Matador sums up the feel of the album perfectly.  It’s an ‘epic’ sort of title; strong and powerful, but graceful.”

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E1 Makes Zoroaster a Deal They Can’t Refuse

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 2nd, 2009 by JJ Koczan

This is at Mo Daddy's in Asheville.I guess it’s a good thing, though I’d be lying if I said something in me didn’t really enjoy Zoroaster as a totally independent act doing it all through their own Terminal Doom label. Cool for them, though. I’m sure signing to E1 (formerly Koch) will do wonders for their distribution, and the more people who hear Zoroaster, the better. Here’s the news in PR wire form:

Critically acclaimed psych metal band Zoroaster has signed a worldwide recording deal with E1 Music. The celebrated avant-garde trio will enter the studio in early 2010 with producer Sanford Parker (The Gates of Slumber, Pelican) to record its label debut and follow up to 2009?s Voice of Saturn.? A summer 2010 release is expected.

?The first time I saw Zoroaster live, I was blown away and knew we had to add them to the growing E1 roster,? comments E1 Music VP of Metal Scott Givens.? ?They push the limits of the metal genre with their music and are unlike any other act out there now.? We are honored to be their partners.??? The signing of Zoroaster comes on the heels of E1 inking the like-minded High on Fire and sees the band join a first rate family of artists that includes such revered names as Satyricon, In Flames and Hatebreed.

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