Posted in Whathaveyou on June 6th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Multi-continental two-piece Zaraza are set to press their first record in more than a decade next month. The CD is called Spasms of Rebirth, which seems appropriate enough both for thinking of the band as a returning entity given how long it’s been since their last long-player and in terms of the visceral, primal kind of violence from which the material on the album is derived. Released for streaming in May, Spasms of Rebirth finds its semi-industrialized main comparison point in Godflesh, but as you can see in the video below for opening track “Church of Gravity,” there’s plenty of experimentalist bite of its own to go around as well from the pair of Jacek Damaged and Brain Damage, whose last full-length was 2003’s No Paradise to Lose.
The PR wire brought the following:
ZARAZA to unearth new album after nearly 15 years
ZARAZA are a Canadian/Ecuadorian duo and have been around for almost 25 years. Despite that and their innovative music, they’ve been very underground and largely overlooked. After a gap of around 15 years, they’ve finally come up with a new full length album. Fans of DRUG HONKEY in particular should dig this.
ZARAZA, the Canadian/Ecuadorian industrial sludge/doom band announce their latest full length after a gap of almost 15 years. Having been around since 1993, they were among the pioneers in the creation of this kind of bizarre yet forward-thinking sludge/doom metal, merging the aesthetics of bands like GODFLESH, SWANS, CORRUPTED, UNHOLY, DISEMBOWELMENT and SKEPTICISM to create a sound that’s unique. Over the years, they’ve only tried to establish their identity by expanding upon their groundbreaking template by including elements of crushing sludge and sonic dissonance, and despite innumerable struggles and distance-related issues, the duo have released an album that’s worth the wait. It’s gargantuan in its scope and revolutionizes the method to go about playing sludge/doom with this pensive, electrically-charged atmosphere.
Line up: Jacek Damaged – vox, guitars, bass, programming Brian Damage – keyboards, samplers, vocals
Track list: 1. Church of Gravity 06:11 2. Maskwearer 07:03 3. Inti Raymi 05:10 4. Blood.ov.Psychiatrists 05:20 5. Roadkill to You 06:45 6. Wulkan 08:00 7. [BONUS] Wulkan (Brian Damage Remix) 05:58
It’s been five years since Summoner released their debut album, Phoenix, and nearly 10 since they first got together. In that span of time, the Boston-area four-piece have undertaken a willful creative development that’s led to the construction of material that cascades, careens, lands hard when it wants to or seems to float and drift away of its own volition. Their second long-player, Atlantian (discussed here), arrived in 2013, and after a four-year stretch of writing and playing shows, they follow it with the new, third full-length offering, Beyond the Realm of Light, and reach a fresh stage in terms of both craft and maturity.
Delivered like its predecessor through Magnetic Eye Records, the six-song Beyond the Realm of Light stands as proof that modern heavy need not choose between sonic weight and a progressive sensibility. Working in the model of thoughtful composition pioneered by the likes of Baroness and Mastodon, the foursome of bassist/vocalist Chris Johnson, guitarists A.J. Peters and Joe Richner and drummer Scott Smith create a full-album fluidity between songs like “The Huntress” and “Beyond the Realm of Light,” or between the crashing “The Emptiness” and the ambient beginning of “Skies of the Unknown,” the latter almost hopeful in its thrust as befitting a lyrical narrative playing out across the record’s span.
With considerable road-time under their collective belt and more to come — including a stop later this summer at Psycho Las Vegas (info here) — the still-fresh release of Beyond the Realm of Light provides Summoner their best reason yet to get out and spread their high-energy performance and writing style to as many ears as they can. In the Q&A that follows, Peters — with a quick contribution from Johnson as well — discusses the band’s writing processes, the recording of Beyond the Realm of Light, their upcoming plans and more.
Please enjoy the following Six Dumb Questions:
Six Dumb Questions with Summoner
Tell me how the songs came together for Beyond the Realm of Light. You were pretty assiduous in documenting the writing process for Atlantian. Was there ever any consideration toward doing the same kind of thing this time around?
The new album actually came together quite quickly as far as the writing was concerned. Our writing process hasn’t really changed much over the years. Sometimes we have bouts of writer’s block, but when things start happening they happen quickly. We didn’t really consider documenting the writing process too much with this one. Most of the time it’s just the four of us standing around noodling and then going, “so what about this?” Other times we write solo at home and bring what we have to table when we get together. Honesty it’s not that interesting of a process, haha.
It’s been four years since Atlantian came out, whereas it was only a year between Phoenix and Atlantian. You were doing shows, I know, but was there a reason for the longer stretch between albums? Do you feel the span affected the outcome of Beyond the Realm of Light at all? If so, how?
I feel like we had a lot more going on individually between Atlantian and BTROL than we did between Phoenix and Atlantian. Jobs, family… life in general, really. From our perspective everything was pretty evenly spaced, since Phoenix was pretty much written in full long before we ever went into the studio with it. We had been playing most of the songs off of Phoenix live for way too long before we recorded it. Once Phoenix was recorded, and even before the record was done we had started writing Atlantian.
After Atlantian we fell into a groove of gigging on those tunes. Eventually we got bored with them and decided to start writing the new one. When you lay it out according to each actual release date/year it seems almost hard to believe it was that long between the last two albums. I don’t think the span between albums had too much of an effect on BTROL, other than the fact that we all grew a little more musically and brought those influences to the table.
How do you feel the band has grown over the course of the three Summoner albums? You’ve always struck me as very purposefully pushing yourselves forward in terms of sound. Where do you feel this progression is leading?
We’ve definitely taken a more concise approach to our music lately and it shows on the new album. We work with a “cut the fat” mantra. BTROL, being only six songs, definitely shows this. There were many riffs and ideas that died horrible deaths on their way to becoming finished songs. One day we would be messing around with an idea and just stop and look at each other and say “this sucks.” We’d all kind of nod in agreement, let out a sigh of relief and move on. Why waste your time on a song you’re not proud of just to fill time? Doesn’t make any sense.
We do make a conscious effort to push ourselves musically, but are careful not to step too far away from makes us Summoner. I wish I could tell you how, or in what way, we’ll grow in the future but it’s really hard to tell. I know we want to focus more on the driving and energetic segment of our sound, but that doesn’t mean we won’t write another “Let the Light In” or “Reclaimer.”
Is there a narrative arc to the lyrics on Beyond the Realm of Light? What theme or themes are the songs exploring, and ultimately, what’s the story being told?
I’m actually going to step aside and let Chris answer this one. There is a very definite theme to the lyrics that Chris came up with. He’s much better suited than I to answer…
Chris Johnson: Well, Beyond the Realm of Light is essentially a concept album at its core. It’s a little far out there, so bear with me…
In the somewhat distant future, we find the Earth in a state of emergency and decay due to man’s exploitation of our resources, forcing humanity to seek another planet capable of sustaining life. (Sounds familiar, right?) We find something suitable in the depths of space which seems to have had a previous civilization inhabiting it. Were they humans? Did they leave that planet for Earth or kill themselves off somehow? We may never know.
From there, we return to Earth to “gather the masses” to relocate humanity to this new/old planet. Some governments are on board, some aren’t, and those not down have threatened the people who chose to stay behind with nuclear devastation. In the end, we launch our vessels and are peering down through the windows of the great ships at “the Earth below, awash with flame” and, with heavy hearts, begin our long journey towards our new home in skies of the unknown.
Summoner’s work in the studio always sounds so clean, so sharp in its delivery. How do you feel Beyond the Realm of Light represents what Summoner do live compared to its predecessors?
This is something we really focused on when recording this one. We wanted BTROL to be a much better representation of us live than the previous two albums. We’ve always tracked the meat and potatoes of our songs live as a band, but sonically we wanted something completely different. We really changed it up in the studio this time, from mics and mic placement to layering and production. We took a more stripped-down approach. One thing that really bothered us about Phoenix and Atlantian was that they didn’t sound like us live. They were tracked, mixed and mastered more like doom records and less like rock and roll albums. We wanted BTROL to be in-your-face and aggressive and I think we did pretty well achieving that.
You’ll play Psycho Las Vegas in August. Any other plans or closing words you want to mention?
Well, we are really excited to be playing Psycho this year. The bill has shaped up to be quite impressive and we are truly humbled to be sharing the stage with all of those amazing bands. We only have one show in Boston lined up before that, with Mutoid Man, Helms Alee and Primitive Weapons, but there are some other things in the works for June/July.
In late September, we are playing Forge Fest in Providence which will be a blast also. Other than that we are anxiously awaiting the release of The Planet of Doom, which we contributed a yet to be released tune to, and also recording our song for the Magnetic Eye Records release of Pink Floyd’s The Wall [Redux]. We have also started putting together some ideas for our next release, so we’ll see…
It’s been almost a year to the day since Massachusetts death-doomers Conclave unleashed their debut album, Sins of the Elders (review here), on an unsuspecting New England doomscape. What was without a doubt one of 2016’s finest first records, the nine-tracker proved to be an onslaught of lurching extremity, as vicious in its intentions as it was cohesive in its executions. That is, it knew it wanted to kill you, it knew how it wanted to kill you, and it knew why. With roots in death metallers Desolate as well as outfits like Warhorse and Grief — one could not ask for richer names than those when it comes to slow-motion New England extremity — Conclave‘s force of delivery arrived backed by a landmark pedigree, but ultimately stood on its own when it came to oppressiveness of atmosphere and assault.
Later this month, Conclave will take part in this year’s Maryland Doom Fest, sharing a bill on Saturday, June 24 with Bang, Wo Fat, Earthride, The Watchers, Serpents of Secrecy, King Bison, Heavy Temple, The Well, Witches of God and Black Tar Prophet. Formidable company, to say the least. And no doubt that with their brutal ways, Conclave will stand out even performing early in the day as they are, but they bring a sense of darkness and hopelessness to their material that no one they’ll be sharing the stage will even attempt to match, and in starting the afternoon off, they’ll do so with arguably the most doomed doom of a remarkably doomy day. That’s not to take anything away from what anyone else is doing — because that bill frickin’ rules, make no mistake — but ain’t nobody offering the kind of abyss Conclave are offering.
Seriously. This post is here because they have a video for the track “Mammut,” and hey, that’s super — even with the vague glorification of war and whatnot that accompanies — but I’ve also gone ahead and included the Bandcamp stream of the full Sins of the Elders album at the bottom of the post, because if you haven’t lost yourself yet in its grim plod, you should take the time to do so.
Either way you go, I hope you enjoy the trip:
Conclave, “Mammut” official video
Video for the song Mammut by Conclave from New England off of the full length album Sins Of The Elders released in 2016. This video was inspired by the brutal German tank called the Mammut and is footage from WW2 taken from the perspective of the Germans.
Sins Of The Elders was recorded and mixed November 2015 through January 2016 at Ravens Head Studio in Allston, MA with “Tall” Eric Braunschweiger and Conclave. The album was mastered in February of 2016 at New Alliance East in Cambridge, MA with Nick “Z” Zampiello.
Jerry Orne: Bass/Vocals Jeremy Kibort: Rhythm & Lead Guitars/Backing Vocals Terry Savastano: Rhythm & Lead Guitars Dan Blomquist: Drums & Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 6th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
I don’t know about you, but when UK newcomers Green Lung call their debut single Green Man Rising, my head immediately goes to Type O Negative. I acknowledge not everyone is from the New York area, so that association might not be universal, but given how both “Green Man Rising” and “Freak on a Peak” take flight in their hooks, I can’t help but wonder if the London-based outfit aren’t looking to be in conversation with October Rust-era Type O, among other, more directly stonerly influences. It’s an engaging mix, either way.
And I’d be remiss too if I didn’t consider the nature-worship and rolling grooves of Alunah as a point of reference along with Steak and the godfathers in Orange Goblin, but Green Man Rising — as one might expect for a debut single — hits with a bit of a rawer take. Cool vibe in any case, and the solo in “Freak on a Peak” and a name-your-price download only sweeten the pot for Green Lung as one to watch in springing from London’s seemingly-perpetually-fertile underground.
Art, info and audio follow:
Green Lung Release Debut Single ‘Green Man Rising’
Formed in March 2017, GREEN LUNG play heavy psychedelia that is more attuned to wild woodlands than desert dunes. Made up of current and former members of stoner heavies Oak, occult doom trio Tomb King and instrumental sludge minimalists Deadbox Radio, the London-based four-piece have combined strengths to record an opening salvo that balances gargantuan heaviness with intricate melody.
‘Green Man Rising’ gallops from lysergic guitar freakouts to megalithic breakdowns and will soon have the listener frenziedly worshipping at the altar of its titular leaf-adorned deity. B-side ‘Freak on a Peak’ is no less potent, a cosmic paean to wilderness that couples soaring vocals with a riff that’s as ruggedly magnificent as any mountain range.
Recorded at Vatican Studios with engineer Steve Good, these two monumental tracks announce Green Lung as one of the freshest and most dynamic new bands on the UK heavy scene.
Tracklisting: Side A: Green Man Rising Side B: Freak on a Peak
Green Lung is: Vox: Tom Killingbeck Guitar: Scott Masson Bass: Andrew Cave Drums: Matt Wiseman
Gigs
The band will be playing a launch show with Wychhound and Purple Kong at Surya on Wednesday, June 7th.
We are also playing the Stone Frequency All Dayer alongside Mammoth Wizard Weed Bastard, Desert Storm and Sigiriya at the Black Heart on the 22nd July.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 6th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Desertfest Athens 2017 continues to take shape on its own terms, adding to its quality-plus-quantity lineup with Japanese/American doomers Church of Misery, Ukrainian trio Stoned Jesus and hometown metallers Mahakala. The three acts vary pretty widely between them, as does the bill of the second Desertfest Athens overall, with the legendary doom of Saint Vitus, the boogie-thrust of Radio Moscow (who’ll have a new album out, remember), the groundbreaking heavy psych of Colour Haze, the hooch-swilling pummel of Orange Goblin and the revamped soul of Graveyard at the top of the lineup, but one could hardly accuse it of not making sense. The more the merrier, and with Greek outfits like Puta Volcano, Sadhus and Allochiria already included, it seems like the fest as a whole is only getting bigger this time around.
Which, if you’ve been paying attention for the last half-decade or so, you already know is how it goes with Desertfests. That’s been the tale of Berlin and London all along, and Belgium too. As the youngest incarnation of the festival, Athens has its work cut out for it in getting to the point where the others find themselves, but Greece has one of the most active heavy undergrounds in Europe right now and I’ve no doubt that with a lineup as strong as this one already is, they’ll absolutely get there.
Fest is set for Oct. 6 and 7. Here’s the latest:
2ND DESERTFEST ATHENS
ACRO 06-07.10.2017
Graveyard Colour Haze Orange Goblin Radio Moscow Saint Vitus Church of Misery Stoned Jesus Mahakala Sadhus: The Smoking Community Allochiria Puta Volcano
Stoned Jesus are back in Greece!!!! They will join this year’s edition of Desertfest Athens!! Here come the Robots!!
Mahakala, Satan’s finest, will deliver their sophomore album, “The Second Fall”, in front of the Desertfest Army!!! Beware!!
Church of Misery Official live at Desertfest Athens!!! The Japanese Doomsters are the last announcement for today, but at the same time one of the most exciting additions to this year’s line up!!!
Early-bird tickets are exhausted. Now only two-day tickets are sold for 50 euros.
Leading up to the release this Friday of their second album, Morning — also their debut on Sailor Records — Colorado progressive heavy trio Abrams have thus far issued two videos. The first was for “Burned” (posted here), and then there’s the one you’ll find below for “Worlds Away.” Two. One never knows, but I doubt they’ll sneak in a third before the end of this week, and the reason I bring it up is because both video releases have arrived with impeccable timing.
In the case of “Burned,” it was the announcement that the band will hit the road on an extensive West Coast tour starting on — wouldn’t you know it? — the album’s release date. With “Worlds Away,” the occasion is of course the record itself coming out. This matters because it’s emblematic of the way Abrams work overall throughout the 10 included tracks. They are deeply purposeful. Their songwriting functions the same way in how it is measured, thought-out, and crisply executed. Captured on the recording so as to maximize its overall impact, yes, but geared in its intent toward building a momentum that, by no coincidence I’m sure, begins with “Worlds Away” itself.
That’s right. What’s effectively the last step Abrams take before unveiling the album as a whole is posting a video that introduces listeners to how it starts off. Even this would seem to be the result of the precise manner in which they operate, which one can hear too in the balance of turns and drive in “Worlds Away.” Aside from looking like it was filmed on a really nice sunny day — maybe in the morning? — the clip finds the band outside in the open air performing the track in a spacious environment. You might recall that for “Burned,” they were indoors. Once more, one doubts that’s happenstance.
Enjoy “Worlds Away” below. Morning is out on Friday, and the tour starts the same night. Dates and more info follow:
Abrams, “Worlds Away” video
With new album Morning set to be released June 9th, and with a US tour kicking off that same night, Denver trio Abrams drop the brand new music video for its song “Worlds Away,” off Morning.
Look for Abrams on tour all summer. Zach Amster says, “As always, we are excited to head back to the West Coast! Come out and show us a good time. East Coast, see you in August.”
Jun. 9 — Santa Fe, NM @ The Underground Jun. 10 — Bisbee, AZ @ The Quarry Jun. 11 — San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar Jun. 12 — Long Beach, CA @ Blacklight District Lounge Jun. 13 — Los Angeles, CA @ Five Star Bar Jun. 14 — Ventura, CA @ The Garage Jun. 15 — San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern Jun. 16 — San Jose, CA @ The Caravan Jun. 17 — Santa Cruz, CA @ Caffe Pergolesi Jun. 18 — Sacramento, CA @ Starlite Lounge Jun. 19 — Reno, NV @ Shea’s Tavern Jun. 20 — Medford, OR @ Johnny B’s Tavern Jun. 21 — Eugene, OR @ Old Nick’s Pub Jun. 22 — Portland, OR @ The Kenton Club Jun. 23 — Missoula, MT @ Monk’s Bar Jun. 24 — Billings, MT @ The Railyard Jun. 25 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Club X Jun. 26 — Cheyenne, WY @ Ernie November Jun. 27 — Rapid City, SD @ West Dakota Improv Jun. 28 — Minneapolis, MN @ Triple Rock Social Club Jun. 29 — Chicago, IL @ Reggies Jun. 30 — Des Moines, IA @ The Fremont Jul. 1 — Denver, CO @ The Hi Dive
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 5th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
One tends to bristle at the prospect of a ‘last’ anything when it comes to rock and roll, but with the 2014 passing of frontman Terry Jones, it does seem likely that Pagan Altar‘s forthcoming Room of Shadows will be their final studio outing. Completed by guitarist Alan Jones behind Terry‘s vocal tracks with bassist Diccon Harper and drummer Andy Green, the record is set to arrive Aug. 24 via Temple of Mystery Records, which will launch preorders in July. Still, maybe they’ll have a live record or some lost recordings or something else out at some point. A ‘last’ album is pretty rare, even if this is the last ‘new’ one.
Jones, Harper and Green will subsequently team with Magic Circle frontman Brandon Radigan and Cauchemar guitarist Andres Arango as Time Lord — also the name of the EP by which Pagan Altar made their initial return in 2004 — at the Wings of Metal Festival in Montreal. The PR wire has details:
PAGAN ALTAR to release long-awaited final album through TEMPLE OF MYSTERY, unearth rare video
Legendary NWOBHM/doom band Pagan Altar will release their long-awaited final album, Room of Shadows, on CD, cassette, and vinyl through the Canadian label Temple of Mystery Records on August 24th, 2017.
Originally set to be out in 2014 as Never Quite Dead, this brilliant album will feature exquisite unreleased Pagan Altar material with Terry Jones on vocals. Having being heavily postponed for various reasons, the recordings were completely redone with Alan Jones on guitar, and former Pagan Altar members Diccon Harper on bass and Andy Green on drums.
The band, reformed in 2004, was put to a halt in 2014 with the tragic passing of its beloved frontman Terry Jones, who had been bravely battling cancer for a year prior. The album will thus be released in homage to this true gentleman, who was well loved by his treasured family and fans.
Room of Shadows, which will feature artwork by painter Adam Burke, is certain to delight fans who enjoyed the band’s previous timeless work with its epic riffs and enchanting, poetic macabre lyrics of olde.
Release party at Wings of Metal Festival
Alan Jones, Diccon Harper, and Andy Green – under the moniker “Time Lord” – will be paired with session members Brandon Radigan (vocals – Magic Circle) and Andres Arango (second guitar – Cauchemar, Metalian) to play a special release party/tribute to Terry in Montreal at the Wings of Metal show on September 9th, 2017.
Pre-orders for Pagan Altar – Room of Shadows (TEMPLE-005) will be offered in early July atwww.templeofmystery.ca.
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 5th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Prog-tinged Parisian heavy rockers Abrahma have announced their intention to enter the studio this fall to record their third full-length. It’ll be in October with the release itself following in 2018. Their last outing, 2015’s Reflections in the Bowels of a Bird (review here), offered a significantly expanded sonic palette from its likewise-cumbersomely-titled 2012 predecessor, Through the Dusty Paths of Our Lives (review here), and the four-piece will no doubt look to move forward this time out as well.
So that’s this October. Last time we heard from the band was last October, as it happens, and at that point guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Sebastien Bismuth and guitarist Nicolas Heller, were welcoming bassist Guillaume Theoden and drummer Sacha Viken to the Abrahma lineup and setting to work on the record, the tentative name for which was given as In Time for the Last Rays of Light. In the update that follows here, Bismuth doesn’t use that name or any other, so it may well be that they’ve opted for something else or a final decision has yet to be made in that regard.
Still, progress is progress, and it’s good to know work has continued on the outing, whatever it winds up being called when it’s done. Here’s what Bismuth had to say on the subject:
ABRAHMA will enter ORGONE STUDIOS in October with Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Cathedral, Ghost, Pallbearer,..) to record our third album.
This new album will go a little bit far away from what we’ve done before. We have added many influences we were scared to add on our previous works. We’ll have been through difficult times those last years and we have chosen to use music to heal our wounds…
The result needed to enlarge our influences and the addition of Sacha Viken and Guillaume Theoden made it all really natural. We can’t wait to share those new songs with you!
