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The Obelisk Presents: THE TOP 30 ALBUMS OF 2017
Posted in Features on December 28th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Please note: This post is not culled in any way from the Year-End Poll, which is ongoing. If you haven't yet contributed your favorites of 2017 to that, please do.
We're almost at the finish line for 2017, and if I'm honest, it's not a minute too soon. I think if one more record comes out this year my head is going to explode.
A perpetual onslaught of cool music is, of course, nothing to complain about. It just seemed like every time I thought I had a handle on where the year was going, some other announcement came through and knocked me on my ass. What's that? The Obsessed are putting out their first album in more than two decades? Oh and Monolord have a new one coming? Radio Moscow just signed to Century Media? Arc of Ascent are back? Samsara Blues Experiment are back? Causa Sui are putting out a live album and a studio album? Sasquatch are going to Europe and sneaking a record along with them? All of a sudden I'm out of breath feeling like I just ran a lap.
It's been madness this year. Between an emergent neo-psych movement in the wake of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and others, and the ongoing and constant reshaping of doom and heavy rock from practitioners new and old, I don't know how anyone could ever claim to keep up with any of it.
You know I do the best I can, so when you look through this list, please keep in mind that these are my picks and the result of applying my own standard, which if you've ever seen a list on this site before you probably already know is a combination of things like what I view as being important on a critical level and things like what kept me coming back as a listener. What were the year's biggest releases and what couldn't I get enough of? Sometimes those two things come together around one record and it's beautiful. That's usually your album of the year, or close to, anyhow.
No sense in delaying further. I hope if you haven't heard some of this stuff you'll give it a shot, and if you have something you felt strongly about it, you'll let me know in the comments. Thanks in advance for keeping it civil, and of course for reading.
30. Geezer, Psychoriffadelia
Released by Kozmik Artifactz and STB Records. Reviewed May 16.
Coming off of what was their strongest album to-date in their 2016 self-titled (review here), New York heavy psych blues trio Geezer decided it was time to take the groove for a walk. And so they did. Psychoriffadelia is the result — a looser collection of jams and willfully unrefined heavy blues, reveling in the politically incorrect on "Dirty Penny" only after basking in the post-Monster Magnet hypnosis of "Red Hook" and the earlier roll of the more straightforward "Hair of the Dog" and "Stressknots." Everything Geezer has done to this point has pushed their sound to new places. Psychoriffadelia is no exception.
29. Orango, The Mules of Nana
Released by Stickman Records. Reviewed March 27.
More than a touch of twang on opener "Heartland" sets a tone of Americana-infusion for Orango's sixth LP, The Mules of Nana, but the 10-tracker is ultimately much more about harmony-laced classic heavy smoothness than playing to prairie-minded sensibilities, though roots spread wide through a natural, dirty blues just the same. However they get there, "Hazy Chain of Mountains," the softshoe-ready funk of "Head on Down" and the peacefully progressive finish of "Ghost Rider" bring '70s-style thrills in songwriting and their precise, gorgeous execution. Underrated record from an underappreciated band.
28. Radio Moscow, New Beginnings
Released by Century Media. Reviewed Oct. 6.
Cali boogie kingpins and all-around marvelous frenetic bastards Radio Moscow were in top form on their Century Media debut, and if it was a new beginning they were searching for, they met it head on with a sound as classic and organic as ever. Arguably the most powerful power trio in their game, they tore through cuts like "No One Knows Where They've Been" and "Deceiver" while offering flourish in the trip-out "Woodrose Morning" and subdued blues-psych on the penultimate "Pick up the Pieces." Very much to form, but cast of a form that still manages to outclass all challengers.
27. Spaceslug, Time Travel Dilemma
Released by Southcave Records, BSFD Records and Oak Island Records. Reviewed Feb. 10.
And so here we have the first of what will no doubt be several records about which I'm going to say they should be higher on the list. Poland's Spaceslug have emerged from the moist ground created by their own tonality and on their sophomore full-length, they proffered warm depth of fuzz and a corresponding melodic and psychedelic reach that was resonant even before they brought in ex-Sungrazer bassist Sander Haagmans for a guest spot on the title-track. It's been out for 10 months and still delivers every time I put it on, which is often.
26. Mothership, High Strangeness
Released by Ripple Music and Heavy Psych Sounds. Reviewed March 7.
Three albums into a tenure marked by hard-driving riffs, scorching solos and relentless road work, there's little Texas trio Mothership need to do at this point to prove themselves to their audience. At the same time, High Strangeness brought considerable expansion to their range overall, whether it was the exploratory "Eternal Trip" or the semi-metallic insistence behind "Midnight Express," while staying tied together with lyrical and instrumental hooks. High Strangeness set a new standard for Mothership, plain and simple, and easily surpassed the considerable accomplishments of their 2012 self-titled debut (review here) and 2014's Mothership II (review here).
25. Eternal Black, Bleed the Days
Released by Obsidian Sky Records. Reviewed Aug. 1.
There was a lot about Eternal Black's Bleed the Days that chugged its way into the post-Wino oeuvre of US-style trad doom, but the gruff, lumbering and impeccably riffed outing was nonetheless one of 2017's best debut full-lengths, and it was the songwriting that got it there. Already sounding sure in the vibe captured, cuts like the plodding brooder "Sea of Graves" and "Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun" showed potential in mood and atmosphere as much as sheer sonic heft — though of course there was plenty of that to go around as well. Doomers missed it at their peril.
24. Kadavar, Rough Times
Released by Nuclear Blast. Reviewed Sept. 6.
It kind of feels like a slight to have Berlin trio Kadavar appear anywhere outside of at least a top 10 on any kind of list whatsoever, ever, but that's not my intention at all. Rather, their fourth album and third for Nuclear Blast found them at an important stage in their progression — past the novelty of the vintage feel in their early work, after having proven their songwriting could translate to a modern context, and embarking on a process of expanding their sound. Rough Times, which was as current as current could be, met that goal and beat it easily with a barrage of memorable choruses and a dark streak one could only consider suitable for our age.
23. Shroud Eater, Strike the Sun
Released by STB Records. Reviewed June 28.
The biggest surprise about Shroud Eater's long-awaited sophomore long-player was also its most encouraging aspect — namely how it found the Miami trio bringing together various impulses shown on a number of shorter releases over the course of the six years since their debut, ThunderNoise (review here), came out in 2011, and still managed to utterly crush when it so chose. With a swath from sludge to drone and back again, this was no minor feat, and that the songs they brought to bear were so memorable at their heart as well makes me hope all the more it's not 2023 before their third album arrives.
22. Enslaved, E
Released by Nuclear Blast. Reviewed Oct. 4.
What's left to say about Norwegian progressive black metal innovators Enslaved 14 records into their career? Plenty as it turns out. The introduction of new keyboardist/vocalist Håkon Vinje in place of Herbrand Larsen brought a new twist on a signature element of Enslaved's approach. Vinje utterly owned his role, and his performance alongside guitarist Ivar Bjørnson, bassist/vocalist Grutle Kjellson, guitarist Arve "Ice Dale" Isdal and drummer Cato Bekkevold resulted in a fresh urgency that made the band's sound even more potent and set their ongoing creative evolution on a new branch of its self-directed path.
21. Arc of Ascent, Realms of the Metaphysical
Released by Astral Projection and Clostridium Records. Reviewed April 6.
Some five years on from 2012's The Higher Key (review here) and seven out from their debut, Circle of the Sun (review here), and with bassist/vocalist Craig Williamson firmly entrenched in his always excellent Lamp of the Universe psych-drone-folk solo-project, I wasn't sure there would be another offering from New Zealand heavy psych-rock trio Arc of Ascent, but Realms of the Metaphysical took shape from an ether of riffs and echoes atop resilient underlying structures and revitalized the group with new drummer Mark McGeady in the lineup with Williamson and guitarist Matt Cole-Baker. Remains to be seen if this marks a priority shift for Williamson or it's a one-off, but its arrival was welcome either way.
20. Causa Sui, Vibraciones Doradas
Released by El Paraiso Records. Reviewed Oct. 20.
With the various glories already offered in 2017 on the Live in Copenhagen (review here) 3LP, one didn't necessarily expect a new studio outing from Danish instrumental psych masters Causa Sui, but Vibraciones Doradas found them as vibrant as ever, bringing forth a surprising amount of tonal weight on songs like "El Fuego," warm fuzz for the basking on opener "The Drop" and spaciousness on the closing title-track. Somewhat more straight-ahead in its rocking groove than 2016's Return to Sky (review here), the five-track/38-minute long-player showed yet again why Causa Sui are always welcome and that any news of a new release from them, live, studio, whatever, is good news. This was the kind of record that could make your day if you let it.
19. Telekinetic Yeti, Abominable
Released by Sump Pump Records. Reviewed April 10.
The Iowa-based duo of guitarist/vocalist Alex Baumann and drummer Anthony Dreyer, operating as Telekinetic Yeti, released what I considered to be the debut of the year, both for the fullness of its tonality and the accomplishment in songcraft it already showed. Powered by cuts like its lumbering title-track and the gloriously fuzzed runner "Stoned and Feathered," it could've been another band's second or third record for the level of cohesion on display and the obvious awareness on the part of the band of what they wanted to do with their sound and the just-as-obvious result of their bringing it to life.
18. Cloud Catcher, Trails of Kozmic Dust
Released by Totem Cat Records. Reviewed Dec. 9, 2016.
While I admit I'm still not 100 percent certain on whether to spell "kozmic" in the title with a 'k' or with a 'c' on the end, that question did nothing ultimately to diminish enjoyment of Denver emergents Cloud Catcher's sophomore outing. Topped off by one of the best album covers of the year, the follow-up to their 2015 debut, Enlightened Beyond Existence (discussed here), took the progressive casting of that record to a place entirely more raw and rock-driven, willfully roughing up the edges even as it showed marked creative growth on a relatively quick turnaround. The must-hear bass tone of "Beyond the Electric Sun" and "Super Acid Magick" was icing on a cake of choice riffing and Hendrixian lead swirl, and the shuffle they elicited was enough to make even the most stubborn of asses (i.e. mine) think about moving.
17. Ruby the Hatchet, Planetary Space Child
Released by Tee Pee Records. Reviewed Aug. 29.
After the neo-garage manifestations of their 2015 sophomore outing, Valley of the Snake (review here), it was clear Philly psych rockers Ruby the Hatchet were a force when it came to songwriting. What was less obvious was what they'd do with that going forward. On Planetary Space Child, at least, the answer is they'll take it to Freaktown. The melody-happy, organ-laced swirlmasters conjured presence kosmiche enough to justify the album's title, and around the cast-in-moon-rock structures of the swinging "Pagan Ritual" and the playfully doomed "Symphony of the Night," Ruby the Hatchet built a multifaceted weirdoist triumph the likes of which simply doesn't come along every year, establishing themselves as more reliable and less predictable than ever: an absolute win.
16. Alunah, Solennial
Released by Svart Records. Reviewed March 1.
It's been the case more or less all along with UK forest rockers Alunah that their nature-minded material and heavy rolling grooves have had their haunting aspects, but with the production of Conan's Chris Fielding behind it, Solennial — their fourth LP and first on Svart — brought this to new levels entirely. The songs, memorable like footprints in the woods, are somewhat bittersweet in context now, since founding guitarist/vocalist Sophie Day announced in September she was leaving the band, but as the group will move forward led by guitarist Dave Day and recently acquired new singer Siân Greenaway, intrigue remains high at what the future might bring and the impact of Solennial is undiminished.
15. Mindkult, Lucifer's Dream
Released by Transcending Obscurity Records and Caligari Records.
Virginia-based doomgazing garage cult solo-project Mindkult has thus far managed to keep some of the mystique around its sole inhabitant, Fowst, which is admirable in a way. As the multi-instrmentalist, vocalist and producer this year answered the promise of last year's Witch's Oath (review here) debut, he did so around a swath of purposeful miseries, loose devil worship and other dark thematics, casting an atmospheric darkness matched head-on by the tonal murk of his riffs. Through this, however, the songwriting was no less memorable than on the first offering, and as the project moves forward, one can only hope that Fowst will continue to use that as the core aspect buried six feet under his other, formidable stylistic achievements. That certainly was how it worked out on Lucifer's Dream.
14. Argus, From Fields of Fire
Released by Cruz del Sur Music. Reviewed Sept. 1.
Behold ye perhaps the most underrated band in heavy metal. Regardless of subgenre, style, strata, whatever, it's hard to listen to From Fields of Fire and think of Pittsburgh's Argus as anything else. The five-piece's fourth album continued to owe part of its sound to doom, but was much more encompassing than simply that, touching on aspects of classic metal with a command that left one wondering how they hadn't yet been tapped to open for Judas Priest on that band's next tour. Victory abounds on a per-song basis throughout the nine-tracker, and whether it was the emotional crux of "Hour of Longing" or the catchy fistpump righteousness of "Devils of Your Time" or the 11-minute progressive reach of "Infinite Lives/Infinite Doors," Argus once again crafted a work nigh-unmatched in poise and class.
13. Uffe Lorenzen, Galmandsværk
Released by Bad Afro Records. Reviewed Nov. 6.
For the first outing ever to be issued under his real name, Denmark's Uffe Lorenzen — aka Lorenzo Woodrose of garage-psych pioneers Baby Woodrose — danced between acid folk singer-songwriterisms like "Flippertøs" and more expansive jamming on "På Kanten Af Verden," all the while retaining his distinct structural and arrangement sensibilities and creating a flowing vibe that was nothing less than a pure joy of classic-form psychedelia. The most serene and pastoral freakout one was likely to witness in 2017, easily, Galmandsværk resounded in the Mellotron-laced "Høj Som Et Højhus" and was no less at home in the acoustic spaciousness of the earlier "Remits Tyranni," able to wander where it pleased and find steady ground in molten surroundings.
12. The Flying Eyes, Burning of the Season
Released by Ripple Music. Reviewed Oct. 11.
A welcome return from a viciously underappreciated band, The Flying Eyes' Burning of the Season marked the Baltimore four-piece's first offering for Ripple Music and first since 2013's Lowlands (review here), a four-year stretch during which the band kept busy touring Europe and South America, the latter also being where they recorded these songs with Gabriel Zander at Estudio Superfuzz in Brazil. The tonal depth resulting from that process was enough to make the collection a highlight, but it was the songs themselves that most stood out, benefiting from the band's expanded reach and legitimate, hard-won maturity. Especially for a group who've done so much work on the road over their years — to be fair, the US has been pretty low priority in that regard — they remain a secret kept too well.
11. Bell Witch, Mirror Reaper
Released by Profound Lore. Reviewed Dec. 27.
Doomed extremity simply unmatched in its scope. The song of the year for 2017. An accomplishment the likes of which is prone to happen maybe once or twice in a generation. None of this seems to really speak to the entirety of the achievement that is Bell Witch's Mirror Reaper — the single-song, 83-minute full-length issued by the Seattle duo like a challenge in the face of mortality itself. Beautiful, devastating and weighted like the grave, its sprawl utterly consumed the listener, and I firmly believe it will be years before its depths are fully processed. Some offerings are bigger than the year in which they're released. Mirror Reaper would seem to function on a scale of its own, and though it could easily be read as a litmus test for audience punishment, the truth of the listening experience is both more emotionally complex and more fulfilling than simple hyperbole can capture.
10. Monolord, Rust
Released by RidingEasy Records. Reviewed Oct. 26.
The story all along with Gothenburg's Monolord has been tone. Tone tone tone. Crush crush crush. Riffs riffs riffs. Nothing wrong with any of that, but their third album, Rust, proves once and for all that there's more to the trio than "cool riffs bro" and post-Electric Wizard nod. Catchy cuts like "Dear Lucifer" and rolling opener "Where Death Meets the Sea" brought a sense of space leading to the later sprawl of "Forgotten Lands" and "At Niceae," and the band settled into an individualized, lumbering psychedelia that moved forward from 2015's Vænir (review here), not leaving behind the heft that earned them their reputation, but not at all being limited by it either in scope or overall approach. Three records in, Rust brought forth Monolord's greatest sonic expansion yet and gave rise to the feeling that their true potential was just starting to come to fruition. Also, crush crush crush. Cool riffs, bro.
9. Vokonis, The Sunken Djinn
Released by Ripple Music. Reviewed June 5.
The Sunken Djinn is Vokonis' second full-length in as many years, and in addition to serving as their Ripple debut where 2016's Olde One Ascending (review here) landed via Ozium Records, it was a feast for hungry riff hounds. In defiance of its quick turnaround, it showed a firm evolution taking place within the upstart Swedish trio of guitarist/vocalist Simon Ohlsson, bassist/backing vocalist Jonte Johansson and drummer Emil Larsson, whose range overall was greater in tracks like "Rapturous" and the torrential "Blood Vortex" while nonetheless controlled in its delivery. Their Sleep-y origins still a factor sound-wise, Vokonis were able just the same to push themselves ahead into new sonic ground in fittingly lumbering fashion, and the character they brought to "The Sunken Djinn," "Calling from the Core" and the noise-caked "Maelstroem" seemed to speak to a burgeoning sense of atmospheric focus taking hold as well. Still so much potential here.
8. Electric Moon, Stardust Rituals
Released by Sulatron Records. Reviewed April 7.
Do I even need to remotely justify having Electric Moon's first studio album in six years on this list? Was it not just like a love-letter issued by the cosmos itself? What more explanation could possibly be necessary? Not that the German trio haven't dropped copious, glorious live outings all the while, but to have Dave "Sula Bassana" Schmidt, "Komet Lulu" Neudeck and Marcus Schnitzler follow-up 2011's The Doomsday Machine (review here) with four cuts culminating in the 22-minute sprawl of "(You Will) Live Forever Now" was high on the list of the year's most satisfying psychedelic journeys. Constantly exploring, their methods always seem geared toward finding the molten essence of space rock itself, and though the songs on Stardust Rituals were a little more crafted than some of their straight-up improv jams, they nonetheless showed there are many avenues one might take to get to the heart of the sun.
7. Sun Blood Stories, It Runs Around the Room with Us
Self-released. Reviewed May 1.
This one is personal, and by that I mean I love this fucking band. Similar to my experience with their 2015 sophomore outing, Twilight Midnight Morning (review here), the third record by Boise-based trio of Ben Kirby (vocals, guitar, synth, percussion), Amber Pollard (vocals, guitar, theremin, percussion) and Jon Fust (drums, keys, percussion, noise) was one that I simply could not put down. Even now, seeing the name of the record is all I need to have songs like "The Great Destroyer" and the immersive midsection in "Come Like Rain" and "Time Like Smoke" stuck in my head, let alone the ultra-brazen, searingly-pissed "Burn" noise assault that finished the album and in the span of 90 seconds turned all the psychedelic warmth and serenity on its face with a visceral anger completely unforeseen and jarring, turning it from a depth-laden execution of adventurous neo-psych and indie into a project of conceptual artistry with all the efficiency of the chemical reaction it sought to portray. If you missed it, your loss.
6. The Atomic Bitchwax, Force Field
Released by Tee Pee Records. Reviewed Dec. 7.
Songs like "Alaskan Thunder Fuck," "Humble Brag" and "Earth Shaker (Which Doobie U Be?)" assured that the defining character of Force Field, the sixth album from New Jersey's The Atomic Bitchwax, was pure scorch. That made the 12-cut outing a more than worthy follow-up for 2015's Gravitron (review here), which introduced this more speed-rock-minded, aggressive delivery from the tight-as-nails trio, and while they proved they could still lock in a slower groove on the organ-topped finisher "Liv a Little," head-spinners like the instrumental "Fried, Dyed and Layin' to the Side" and "Houndstooth" came across like the fruit of the band pushing themselves to the limits of their physical ability in terms of tempo, and their ride along the edge of that line brought thrills at every turn. And make no mistake, there were a lot of turns. Fortunately, bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik, guitarist/vocalist Finn Ryan and drummer Bob Pantella seemingly had a corresponding hook in their pocket for each one of them. This band is a national treasure.
5. Atavismo, Inerte
Released by Temple of Torturous. Reviewed Feb. 21.
Warm, fuzzy tones, rhythmic shifts right out of classic progressive rock, melodic intricacy and periodic excursions into glorious psychedelic drift: I'm not sure what wasn't to like about Inerte, Atavismo's second full-length behind 2014's Desintegración (review here). Comprising five tracks of unmistakable flow and jam-laden fluidity, it was immersive with landmarks along the way to keep the listener from getting too lost, and whether or not one spoke Spanish, the three-piece of Jose "Poti" Moreno (ex-Viaje a 800, Mind!), bassist/vocalist Mateo and drummer/vocalist Sandri Pow (also ex-Mind!) made it easy to follow along their purposefully meandering path, offering guidance no less skillful on the 11-minute fuzz-freaker "El Sueño" than the dream-toned linear build of "Belleza Cuatro." There were very, very few albums I listened to more this year than this one, which is precisely why it is where it is on this list.
4. Samsara Blues Experiment, One with the Universe
Released by Electric Magic Records and Abraxas Records. Reviewed May 4.
Four years between records isn't at all an unheard of stretch. It's not the longest on this list by any means. But with Berlin heavy psych rockers Samsara Blues Experiment, it really seemed like the band was done, so to have them come back with such force on One with the Universe was, as I know I said at several points throughout the last 12 months, one of the year's total highlights. Tracked by former bassist Richard Behrens, the group's fourth album answered the extended-track spread of 2013's Waiting for the Flood (review here) with a deeper sense of sonic variety, and while the 15-minute title-cut and opener "Vispassana" still had plenty of room for jamming out and even six-minute centerpiece "Glorious Daze" found room for some flourish of organ and sitar, guitarist/vocalist Christian Peters, drummer Thomas Vedder and bassist Hans Eiselt rightly featured the chemistry they've built as a trio live and brought to the songs a renewed sense of vigor, sounding — and hopefully being — truly inspired. Waiting for the Flood capped a period of marked productivity across several years. Fingers crossed One with the Universe begins that cycle anew.
3. Elder, Reflections of a Floating World
Released by Armageddon Shop and Stickman Records. Reviewed May 23.
You just can't consider Elder's Reflections of a Floating World outside the context of the progressive achievement that was their prior outing, 2015's Lore (review here). Where the trio — based now between Massachusetts and Berlin, Germany — took their first two outings, 2008's self-titled debut (discussed here) and 2011's Dead Roots Stirring (review here), to find their sound, which they began to showcase on the 2012 Spires Burn/Release EP (review here), it was Lore that brought to fruition the potential that had always been waiting to be unleashed by the trio of guitarist/vocalist Nick DiSalvo, bassist Jack Donovan and drummer Matt Couto, and Reflections of a Floating World had the daunting task of being the next further step from that landmark moment. To say the band rose to the occasion is perhaps to undersell the cohesion at work in consuming-but-cohesive pieces like opener "Sanctuary" or "Blind" or "Staving off the Truth," which brought together clear-headed psychedelia around a wash that seemed to stem as much from rhythm as melody. As they've matured stylistically and become a major touring presence, Elder have made themselves perhaps the most pivotal American heavy rock act going, and Reflections of a Floating World brings them to the discovery of yet another apex while at the same time giving zero indication it will be the last one they find.
2. Colour Haze, In Her Garden
Released by Elektrohasch Schallplatten. Reviewed March 9.
Of course, the bonus of writing about Colour Haze in just about any context is that you get to put Colour Haze on while you're doing it, and in the case of the 12th LP from these Munich heavy psych forebears, that's an even more appealing prospect. After stripping down some of the arrangement flourish with 2014's To the Highest Gods We Know (review here), the 13-track/73-minute 2LP In Her Garden brought a revitalized sonic expansion, but as ever, it wasn't just the horns or the strings or the blend of keys and acoustics that made In Her Garden the unbridled joy that it was and continues to be — it was the underlying performance from guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, bassist Philipp Rasthofer and drummer Manfred Merwald that gave the album the stem on which its garden grew. That's not to say Jan Faszbender's work on modular synth, Rhodes, and Hammond or the arrangements of strings, tuba, bass-clarinet and trombone throughout hurt anything, just that as Colour Haze have grown into incorporating these elements into their groundbreaking aesthetic, they haven't left behind the organic chemistry and necessary live feel that has helped them influence a generation of followers over their more than 20-year career. One came through as much as the other on In Her Garden, and that balance gave the overarching warmth of their self-recorded tonality yet another level on which to engage their audience. I'll be a sucker for Colour Haze for as long as I live, and I have absolutely no problem admitting to and owning that.
1. All Them Witches, Sleeping Through the War
Released by New West Records. Reviewed Jan. 27.
It was clear early on that Nashville four-piece All Them Witches were contending hard for Album of the Year with Sleeping Through the War, their fourth long-player and second for New West following the mellow vibes of 2015's Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (review here). What finally sealed it? The songs. Working with producer Dave Cobb, the each-member-essential lineup of bassist/vocalist Michael Parks, Jr., guitarist Ben McLeod, key-specialist Allan van Cleave (Rhodes, Mellotron, piano, organ, etc.) and drummer/graphic artist Robby Staebler solidified their approach in exciting new ways on early cuts like the grunge-crunching "Don't Bring Me Coffee" and the shuffling "Bruce Lee," which hit in succession following the fluid lead-in of opener "Bulls," an introduction of the organic psychedelia and heavy blues that the loose-swinging of "3-5-7″'s nigh-on-gospel chorus and subsequent, almost maddeningly catchy "Am I Going Up?" would continue to push outward, thereby setting a linear course into a consciousness-capturing side B with "Alabaster" and the jammier "Cowboy Kirk" and "Internet" playing between melodic nuance and mindful, go-with-it drift. The unflinching strength of the material was matched perhaps only by the understatement of its delivery, which was the more staggering considering how easily the arrangements of background vocals on "Am I Going Up?" or "3-5-7" could have come through as overblown or self-indulgent, and by the time they got down to the light weirdo-bluesy stomp of "Internet" — the key lyric and hook being, "Guess I'll go live on the internet" — there was no doubting the genuine nature of the realization Sleeping Through the War represented for All Them Witches. Coupling that feeling of achievement with the sheer repeatability of the listening experience itself left no doubt that 2017 belonged to these tracks and the marvelous way the band wove between them, and that whatever other sounds All Them Witches may go on to explore and whatever else they may accomplish as a result, Sleeping Through the War was a truly special moment in their evolution that, as with the best of offerings in any year, will continue to resonate long after the calendar page has turned.
The Next 20
You know, I used to feel like once you got past a top 20, the numbers were arbitrary. Then I felt that way about the top 30. This year, I think I agonized more about what to include in numbers 31-50 than I did between 30 and the album of the year. Put that in your "go figure" file while you chew on these picks:
31. Cities of Mars, Temporal Rifts
32. The Midnight Ghost Train, Cypress Ave.
33. Snowy Dunes, Atlantis
34. Rozamov, This Mortal Road
35. PH, Eternal Hayden
36. Sasquatch, Maneuvers
37. Young Hunter, Dayhiker
38. The Devil and the Almighty Blues, II
39. Ufomammut, 8
40. John Garcia, The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues
41. Paradise Lost, Medusa
42. Beastmaker, Inside the Skull
43. Arduini / Balich, Dawn of Ages
44. Primitive Man, Caustic
45. Motorpsycho, The Tower
46. Arbouretum, Song of the Rose
47. Hymn, Perish
48. Youngblood Supercult, The Great American Death Rattle
49. Pallbearer, Heartless
50. Dool, Here Now There Then
There's so, so much good stuff here. So much. The Cities of Mars debut was a treasure and the only reason it wasn't on my top debuts list was because I haven't had the chance to go back in and put it on. The Young Hunter record? Some of their best work yet. Hell, that Arduini / Balich album alone! Then you've got huge releases by Pallbearer, Ufomammut, Paradise Lost, Primitive Man, on and on. Like I said at the outset, one more album and my head was gonna explode this year. Way too much to ever hope to keep up with. One thing though I felt like I really wanted to emphasize including was Dool. They're in the last spot, but make no mistake, in atmosphere and songwriting that album was something really special and loaded with potential. It's not there because it came in last. It's there to highlight the point of how much it should be on this list.
What's that? More records? Okay…
In case you also weren't completely overwhelmed this year, maybe another batch of records will do the trick. Here's some presented alphabetically:
Anathema, The Optimist
Blackfinger, When Colors Fade Away
Child, Blueside
Cortez, The Depths Below
Demon Eye, Prophecies and Lies
Elbrus, Elbrus
Electric Wizard, Wizard Bloody Wizard
Ecstatic Vision, Raw Rock Fury
Five Horse Johnson, Jake Leg Boogie
Mirror Queen, Verdigris
The Obsessed, Sacred
T.G. Olson, Foothills Before the Mountain
Outsideinside, Sniff a Hot Rock
Queens of the Stone Age, Villains
Siena Root, A Dream of Lasting Peace
Six Organs of Admittance, Burning the Threshold
Steak, No God to Save
Summoner, Beyond the Realm of Light
Valborg, Endstrand
With the Dead, Love from With the Dead
Plus: Abronia, Lewis and the Strange Magics, Iron Monkey, Band of Spice, Puta Volcano, Galley Beggar, Heavy Traffic, Coltsblood, REZN, Green Meteor, Demon Head, Lord, Grigax, The Raynbow, Carpet, Norska, Les Lekin, Slow, Ixion, and I'm sure more that I'll add as the names continue to pop into my head.
I did this back in June as well, but I also want to draw attention to a swath of quality live albums that came out this year. The top pick should be no surprise if you've been hanging around the site of late:
Live Albums:
1. SubRosa, Subdued Live at Roadburn
2. Causa Sui, Live in Copenhagen
3. Slomatics, Futurians Live at Roadburn
4. My Sleeping Karma, Mela Ananda – Live
5. Wight, Fusion Rock Invasion
5. Death Alley, Live at Roadburn
It's been a hell of a year, obviously. Musically and otherwise. As always, I cannot possibly come close to thanking you enough for your incredible and ongoing support of The Obelisk, of what this site is, what it's become over its nearly nine-year run, what it will continue to become going forward from here. It is astounding to me and deeply humbling that you would possibly take time out of your busy day and your busy life to check out what's going on here, and words fail me continually when it comes to feeling like I can properly convey my appreciation for that. Thank you for reading. Thank you for reading. Thank you for reading. Tattoo it on my forehead.
Thank you to The Patient Mrs. for understanding how much I need to be doing this, to Slevin for keeping the site running on the technical end, to Behrang Alavi for taking over hosting earlier this year, to my family for their ongoing support, to The Pecan for sleeping late some mornings and giving me time to write, and to everyone who ever shared a link on social media or made a comment on a post or anything like that. To long-time readers and to newcomers alike — thank you so much. This year has seen a fair share of ups and downs, but the support this site gets sustains me in ways I never expected it could, and that would be impossible without you. Please know how crucial that is to me.
Well, that should do it. I know there are probably disagreements about where things landed on the list, what was included, what was left out, etc., as there always are. All comments are of course welcome — only thing I'd ask is you please keep it civil and respectful of the opinions of others. Otherwise, have at it. Please.
And one more time, thank you for reading.
Tags: 8, Abronia, All Them Witches, All Them Witches Sleeping Through the War, Alunah, Alunah Solennial, Arbouretum, Arbouretum Song of the Rose, Arc of Ascent, Arc of Ascent Realms of the Metaphysical, Arduini Balich, Arduini Balich Dawn of Ages, Argonauta Records, Argus, Argus From Fields of Fire, Armageddon Shop, Atavismo, Atavismo Inerte, Atlantis, Australia, Bad Afro Records, Baltimore, Band of Spice, Battleground Records, Beastmaker, Beastmaker Inside the Skull, Bell Witch, Bell Witch Mirror Reaper, Blackfinger, Blackfinger When Colors Fade Away, Blueside, Brume, Brume Rooster, Burning of the Season, Carpet, Causa Sui, Causa Sui Live in Copenhagen, Causa Sui Vibraciones Doradas, Caustic, Century Media, Child, Child Blueside, Cities of Mars, Cities of Mars Temporal Rifts, Cloud Catcher, Cloud Catcher Trails of Kozmic Dust, Colour Haze, Colour Haze In Her Garden, Coltsblood, Consumed by a Dying Sun, Copenhagen, Cortez, Cortez The Depths Below, Cruz Del Sur Music, Cypress Ave., Dawn of Ages, Death Alley, Death Alley Live at Roadburn, Demon Eye, Demon Eye Prophecies and Lies, Demon Head, Demon Head Thunder on the Fields, Denmark, Dool, Dool Here Now There Then, Drag City Records, E, Ecstatic Vision, Ecstatic Vision Raw Rock Fury, El Paraiso Records, Elbrus, Elbrus Self-titled, Elder, Elder Reflections of a Floating World, Electric Magic Records, Electric Moon, Electric Moon Stardust Rituals, Elektrohasch Schallplatten, Endstrand, Enslaved, Enslaved E, Five Horse Johnson, Five Horse Johnson Jake Leg Boogie, Force Field, From Fields of Fire, Futurians Live at Roadburn, Galley Beggar, Galmandsværk, Geezer, Geezer Psychoriffadelia, Gothenburg, Green Meteor, Green Meteor Consumed by a Dying Sun, Grigax, Heartless, Heavy Hound Records, Heavy Traffic, High Plains, High Strangeness, Hymn, Hymn Perish, Inside the Skull, Jake Leg Boogie, John Garcia, John Garcia The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues, Kadavar, Kadavar Rough Times, Kozmik Artifactz, Les Lekin, Lewis and the Strange Magics, Lord, Lord Blacklisted, Lucifer's Dream, Magnetic Eye Records, Maryland, Medusa, Mela Ananda Live, Melbourne, MIG Music, Mindkult, Mindkult Lucifer's Dream, Mirror Queen, Mirror Queen Verdigris, Mirror Reaper, Monolord, Monolord Rust, Mothership, Mothership High Strangeness, Mr. Peter Hayden, Mt. Mountain, My Sleeping Karma, My Sleeping Karma Mela Ananda Live, Napalm Records, Neurot Recordings, New Beginnings, New Jersey, New West Records, Norska, Nuclear Blast Records, Orango, Orango The Mules of Nana, OutsideInside, Outsideinside Sniff a Hot Rock, Pallbearer, Pallbearer Heartless, Paradise Lost, Paradise Lost Medusa, Pennsylvania, Perish, PH, PH Eternal Hayden, Philadelphia, Primitive Man, Primitive Man Caustic, Profound Lore Records, Prophecies and Lies, Prophecy Productions, Puta Volcano, Queens of the Stone Age, Radio Moscow, Radio Moscow New Beginnings, Relapse Records, REZN, RidingEasy Records, Ripple Music, Rise Above Records, Roadburn Records, Rough Times, Rozamov This Mortal Road, Ruby the Hatchet, Ruby the Hatchet Planetary Space Child, Rust, Sacred, Salt of the Earth Records, Samsara Blues Experiment, Samsara Blues Experiment One with the Universe, Seattle, self-titled, Shroud Eater Strike the Sun, Siena Root, Siena Root A Dream of Lasting Peace, Six Organs of Admittance, Six Organs of Admittance Burning the Threshold, Six Sigma, Six Sigma Tuxedo Brown, Slomatics, Slomatics Futurians Live at Roadburn, Small Stone Records, Snowy Dunes, Snowy Dunes Atlantis, Song of the Rose, Spaceslug, Spaceslug Time Travel Dilemma, Spidergawd, Spidergawd IV, STB Records, Steak, Steak No God to Save, Stickman Records, Strike the Sun, Subdued Live at Roadburn 2017, SubRosa, SubRosa Subdued Live at Roadburn 2017, Sulatron Records, Summoner, Summoner Beyond the Realm of Light, Sump Pump Records, Sun Blood Stories, Sun Blood Stories It Runs Around the Room with Us, Svart Records, Sweden, T.G. Olson, T.G. Olson Foothills Before the Mountain, Tee Pee Records, Telekinetic Yeti, Telekinetic Yeti Abominable, Temple of Torturous, Temporal Rifts, The Atomic Bitchwax, The Atomic Bitchwax Force Field, The Devil and the Almighty Blues, The Devil and the Almighty Blues II, The Flying Eyes, The Flying Eyes Burning of the Season, The Great American Death Rattle, The Midnight Ghost Train, The Midnight Ghost Train Cypress Ave., The Mules of Nana, The Obsessed, The Obsessed Sacred, The Raynbow, The Sign Records, This Mortal Road, Thrill Jockey Records, Transcending Obscurity Records, Uffe Lorenzen, Uffe Lorenzen Galmandsværk, Ufomammut, Ufomammut 8, Valborg, Valborg Endstrand, Verdigris, Vibraciones Doradas, Vokonis, Vokonis The Sunken Djinn, Washington, When Colors Fade Away, Youngblood Supercult, Youngblood Supercult The Great American Death Rattle
Quarterly Review: Alcest, Galley Beggar, Pontiak, White Light Cemetery, Fever Dog, Duel, Seven Nines and Tens, Automatic Sam, The Next Appointed Hour, Blown Out
Posted in Reviews on March 29th, 2017 by JJ Koczan
Always a special moment in the Quarterly Review when we pass the halfway mark. That's where today's batch brings us, and in rocking style as well. You might say I've been taking it easy on myself with the selections this time out — albums there's plenty to say on and generally good stuff — but the basic fact of the matter is even with 50 reviews in a week, this is still just a fraction of what's out there and still just a fraction of what I'd cover if I had the time. I couldn't in terms of my own sanity, but one could probably do 10 reviews a day every day of the year and still have room for more. I do the best I can. Picking and choosing is a part of that process. Let's get to it.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
Alcest, Kodama
After the bold departure presented in 2014's Shelter (review here) toward even-airier, more indie-hued fare, French post-black metal innovators Alcest make a no-less-bold return to their core sound – screams included, as they're quick to show on "Eclosion" – with 2016's Kodama (on Prophecy Productions). It's a less progressive move, and for that distinct in Alcest's discography, but one can't argue with their execution of a track like "Je Suis d'Ailleurs" and the immediately recognizable melodic wash they craft, as resonant emotionally as it is heavy in its tone. Most of the six cuts seem contented to have (re-)found their place, but "Onyx" finishes out with just under four minutes of layered guitar droning, and so Alcest seem to tease that perhaps they're not completely ready to settle the issue of their aesthetic just yet. One hopes that's the case, and in the meantime, the reorientation that Kodama brings with it should no doubt please those longtime fans who bristled at the turn they made their last time out.
Kodama by Alcest
Alcest on Thee Facebooks
Prophecy Productions on Bandcamp
Galley Beggar, Heathen Hymns
Galley Beggar's fourth offering and second for Rise Above, Heathen Hymns, brings 42-minutes of the traditional acid folk one has come to expect from them over the last half-decade plus, no less graceful in its melodies, harmonies and weaving into and out of psychedelia, Eastern inflections on the sitar-laced "The Lake" and cleverly rhythmic in the post-rocking electric flourish of "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme." Knowing what to expect, however, does nothing to diminish the joy of the listening experience. Rather, the return of Galley Beggar's fluid string and/or more rock-based arrangements, memorable songcraft and gorgeous vocal treatments is welcome, and perhaps most of all on closer "My Return," which draws their multiple sides together in a cohesive vision of futures past that only benefits from the maturity they've grown into. With poise as a defining feature as much as their British folk stylistic lineage, Galley Beggar remain a special outfit doing deeply individualized and satisfying work.
Galley Beggar on Thee Facebooks
Rise Above Records website
Pontiak, Dialectic of Ignorance
A steady foundation of low-end drone underpins songs like "Ignorance Makes Me High" and "Hidden Prettiness" on Pontiak's Dialectic of Ignorance (released via Thrill Jockey), and though they move away from it somewhat in the more active freakout "Dirtbags," the patience shown by the Virginian trio forms a key part of the album's personality. To wit, they open with "Easy Does It," essentially telling their listener their intention for what will ensue throughout the eight-track/46-minute offering. Brothers Jennings, Van and Lain Carney bring forth willful drift in that opener and across the percussive-but-still-shoegazing "Tomorrow is Forgetting," finding an organ-laced folkadelic middle ground later in "Youth and Age" and punctuating the dreamy harmonized gorgeousness of "Herb is My Next Door Neighbor" with fervent tom runs and ping ride before closer "We've Fucked this Up" starts out amid blistering chaos only to smooth itself as it goes. Serene and somewhat moody to the same degree their last outing, 2014's Innocence, was raw, Dialectic of Ignorance carries the feel of a personal journey undertaken, but is ultimately too warm in tone and melody not to welcome its audience to be a part of that as well.
Dialectic of Ignorance by Pontiak
Pontiak on Thee Facebooks
Pontiak at Thrill Jockey Records
White Light Cemetery, Careful What You Wish For
Nearing the mark of their first decade together, Louisiana Southern heavy four-piece White Light Cemetery issue their second full-length, Careful What You Wish For, through Ripple Music and keep a steady focus on songcraft throughout. Heavy riffs, a bit of boogie on "Sky River" and the stomping "Better Days," boozy Southern-isms on the directly countrified "On a Dime" and a cowbell-infused finish with "Bullet to Erase" – it's only fair to say White Light Cemetery hit all the marks. The beery post-Deliverance execution of "Looking Out (For Number One)" will likely ring familiar to many who take it on, but that's the idea, as vocalist/guitarist Shea Bearden, guitarist Ryan Robin, bassist Tara Miller and drummer Thomas Colley are clearly less concerned with reinventing rock in their own image than honoring the pantheon of those who've come before them in the style. Hard to argue with the ethic preached or the dual-guitar harmonies of "Quit Work, Make Music," though the record as a whole seems awfully "workingman's rock" for any such bohemian aspirations.
Careful What You Wish For by White Light Cemetery
White Light Cemetery on Thee Facebooks
Fever Dog, Mainframe
It's been three years since next-gen Californian desert trio Fever Dog released their last album, Second Wind (review here), which was long on potential, big on songwriting and resonant in vibe. I'd been hoping for a third long-player in 2017, but even the arrival of new single Mainframe – which of course doesn't preclude a subsequent album release – is fine by me, the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Danny Graham, bassist Nathan Wood and drummer/organist/synthesist/vocalist Joshua Adams digging into progressive vibes on the title-track and the subsequent, talkbox-inclusive "Let Me Out." I don't know if they're planning to press a 7" – somebody call H42 Records! – but the cover art certainly justifies one if the songs themselves don't (and they do), and the name-your-price download comes with the raw 19-minute classic heavy rock jam "Alpha Waves Medley Live at Club 5," which emits buzz like it's a bootleg from 1973. If Mainframe is the process of Fever Dog getting weirder, it bodes well. All the more reason one might keep their fingers crossed for a new full-length.
Mainframe (single) by Fever Dog
Fever Dog on Thee Facebooks
Fever Dog on Bandcamp
Duel, Witchbanger
"If you see him it's much too late/Close your eyes, girl, accept your fate." So goes the title-track hook of Duel's Witchbanger, the Austin-based rockers' second album for Heavy Psych Sounds. Released on a quick turnaround from last year's debut, Fears of the Dead (review here), the eight-track/34-minute swaggerfest delves into fantasy themes drawn from classic metal – hard not to look at six-minute closer "Tigers and Rainbows" and not think of Dio, at least thematically – but cuts like "Astro Gypsy" and "Heart of the Sun" in the record's midsection build on the '70s loyalism of the first outing and find guitarist/vocalist Tom Frank, guitarist Jeff Henson, bassist/vocalist Shaun Avants and drummer JD Shadowz clear in their intentions in that regard. Though it takes a sizable grain of salt to get over that title, Duel's heavy rock traditionalism comes complemented by efficient songwriting and a natural-sounding recording that's neither completely retro nor totally modern but draws strength and fullness from both sides. A worthy and rousing follow-up.
FEARS OF THE DEAD by DUEL
Duel on Thee Facebooks
Heavy Psych Sounds website
Seven Nines and Tens, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Slums
If the dates are to be believed, the second full-length from Vancouver's Seven Nines and Tens, cleverly-titled Set the Controls for the Heart of the Slums, has roots going back to 2014, when basic live tracks were recorded and subsequently built on for about two years. Indeed, the four-song offering – whose tracks "I Come from Downtown," "Metropolis Noir / Rigs" and closer "Rave Up" have been presented in the meantime as singles and/or on early 2017's Live at the Smilin' Buddha Cabaret – has plenty of layers in its heavy post-rock wash, and it's with depth and heft that guitarist/bassist/vocalist David Cotton and drummer Mario Nieva (the current incarnation of the band has a different lineup), make their prevailing impression, be it in the roll of 13-minute "Metropolis Noir / Rigs" or the loud/quiet trades of "Dope Simple," which follows. With a focus on atmosphere over structure, Seven Nines and Tens offer a quick 32-minute immersion that feels less pretentious than purposeful and would seem to have been worth the time it took to construct.
Set the Controls for the Heart of the Slums by Seven Nines and Tens
Seven Nines and Tens on Thee Facebooks
Seven Nines and Tens website
Automatic Sam, Arcs
With their third album, Nijmegen's Automatic Sam bring together a straightforward and coherent collection of well-intentioned semi-psychedelic heavy rock. Their past works, 2011's Texino and 2013's Sonic Whip, have been conceptual or at least thematic pieces, and it may be that the 13-track/38-minute Arcs (on Goomah Music) is as well, but if so, it would seem to find that theme in a vision of post-grunge '90s alt rock, cleanly and clearly executed and vibrant in the performance of vocalist/guitarist Pieter Holkenborg, guitarist/vocalist Rense Slings, bassist/vocalist Erik Harbers and drummer/vocalist Lars Spijkervet, who open with the five-minute "Ukiyo" (their longest inclusion; immediate points) and then run through a varied swath of shorter pieces from the attitude-laden "City Lights" through the uptempo post-punk of "This is Not a Holiday" and the fuller push of "Parnassia." Side B seems more flowing, with that song, "Tarantula," a complementary reprise, the title-track and drifting acoustic closer "So Long in E Minor," but Automatic Sam manage to hone a diverse approach across Arcs' span while skillfully directing themselves around choppier waters.
Sonic Whip by Automatic Sam
Automatic Sam on Thee Facebooks
Automatic Sam at Goomah Music
The Next Appointed Hour, Not the End of the World
Ambition may be the defining aspect of Not the End of the World. The 2016 self-released debut from Birmingham, Alabama's The Next Appointed Hour willfully refuses easy categorization, basking in bright psychedelic space rock harmonies one minute and digging into folkish melancholia the next in a way that one is left with no other option but to call "progressive." What ultimately makes songs like "Keeper's Heart" and the ethereal pop of "Back to You back to Me" work is an underlying cure of songcraft, and whatever ground the six-piece cover on the 10-track outing, from the fuzzy rush of "Drone Riot" to the trippy shimmer of the penultimate "Red Flame," that core is maintained, uniting the material and making Not the End of the World a work of scope rather than haphazard. It requires an open mind, but rewards open-mindedness with moments like the accordion on "Valley," or the rhythmic drift of "Any Who but Here," the nuance of which is no less gracefully held together than the overarching flow of the album as a whole.
Not the End of the World by The Next Appointed Hour
The Next Appointed Hour on Thee Facebooks
The Next Appointed Hour on Bandcamp
Blown Out, Superior Venus
Already sold out on preorders, the vinyl edition of Superior Venus from UK cosmic jammers Blown Out features two tracks – one per side – of space-wash heavy righteousness. "Impious Oppressor" and "Superior Venus" both top 15 minutes (and are accompanied by demo versions if you get the download), and proffer the kind of progressive improvisation-based flow that, indeed, might make one inclined to get an order in while the getting's good. Blown Out, with members of Bong and Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, have put out a slew of live and studio releases over the last three years, but as planets invariably revolve in cyclical patterns, so too does the regular frequency of their work become part of the expression itself. If you're going to jam, do it all the time. On Superior Venus, Blown Out once more bring this ethic to life, and the resulting material spreads itself wide over its still relatively brief span. A short trip to orbit, perhaps, but well worth the undertaking.
Superior Venus by Blown Out
Blown Out on Thee Facebooks
Riot Season Records on Bandcamp
Tags: Alabama, Alcest, Arcs, Austin, Automatic Sam, Automatic Sam Arcs, Birmingham, Blown Out, Blown Out Superior Venus, British Columbia, California, Canada, Careful What You Wish For, Dialectic of Ignorance, Duel, Duel Witchbanger, Fever Dog, Fever Dog Mainframe, Galley Beggar, Galley Beggar Heathen Hymns, Goomah Music, Heathen Hymns, Heavy Psych Sounds, London, Mainframe, Not the End of the World, Paris France, Pontiak, Pontiak Dialectic of Ignorance, Prophecy Productions, Ripple Music, Rise Above Records, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Slums, Seven Nines and Tens, Seven Nines and Tens Set the Controls for the Heart of the Slums, Superior Venus, Texas, The Netherlands, The Next Appointed Hour, The Next Appointed Hour Not the End of the World, Thrill Jockey Records, UK, Vancouver, Virginia, Warrenton, White Light Cemetery, White Light Cemetery Careful What You Wish For, Witchbanger
Roadburn 2016 Audio Streams: Black Moon Circle, Inverloch, Galley Beggar, Usnea, La Muerte, Dead to a Dying World & Kontinuum
Posted in audiObelisk on August 11th, 2016 by JJ Koczan
Sad as I was to miss Galley Beggar at Roadburn this year, I was just as thrilled to watch Black Moon Circle play later in the evening on Day Two (review here). The Norwegian outfit had made it to Tilburg supporting their third album, Sea of Clouds, and when the weekend was over, they'd be a highlight of the newest stage at the fest, making its first appearance as a part of Roadburn 2016, the Extase.
Actually, the Extase is a venue down the way from the 013 proper, which is still kind of home-base for Roadburn as the events tendrils spread outward into Tilburg. But it's a small club. Reminds me of places in Manhattan and Brooklyn — it's smaller than the Saint Vitus Bar, for example, especially in back where the bands are — and was suitably dark, but of course the shows there were top notch anyway. Black Moon Circle were joined onstage by Scott "Dr. Space" Heller, soon to be formerly of Øresund Space Collective, and his journeyman synth was a welcome addition to their already fervent swirl.
Their set is streaming in full below, as well as Galley Beggar's and full sets from Usnea, La Muerte, Dead to a Dying World, Inverloch and Kontinuum. Whether you were in the room when any of this was happening or not, please feel free to dig in and enjoy:
Black Moon Circle – Live at Roadburn 2016
Dead to a Dying World – Live at Roadburn 2016
Galley Beggar – Live at Roadburn 2016
Inverloch – Live at Roadburn 2016
Kontinuum – Live at Roadburn 2016
La Muerte – Live at Roadburn 2016
Usnea – Live at Roadburn 2016
Thanks as ever to Walter for letting me host the streams. To hear the first batch of Roadburn 2016 audio streams, click here, to hear the second one, click here, to hear the third one, click here, to hear the third one, click here, and for all of this site's coverage of Roadburn 2016, click here.
Roadburn's website
Marcel Van De Vondervoort on Thee Facebooks
Tags: Black Moon Circle, Dead to a Dying World, Galley Beggar, Inverloch, Kontinuum, La Muerte, Roadburn 2016, The Netherlands, Tilburg, Usnea
Roadburn 2016 Tickets on Sale Today; Massive Lineup Update
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 2nd, 2015 by JJ Koczan
At this point, you almost expect that sooner or later in the lineup-addition stage of any Roadburn, you're going to have to throw your hands up in the air and say, "Fucking hell, Roadburn," because the roster of bands has become that ridiculous and/or the scope of the thing has just become so overwhelmingly righteous that you're pretty much left with no alternative beyond staring in awe. Seems early in the season for it, but that's me, right now. Fucking hell, Roadburn.
Tickets are on sale today.
Before I get into how stoked I am on the Finnish takeover, let me say how awesome I think it is that Tau Cross will play — an exclusive, mind you — set on the same day as Amenra and Neurosis. Seems like maybe a similar feel that brought Enslaved into Wardruna into Skuggsja this year, the vibe building as the day goes on, leading to an inevitable apex that speaks to the whole and expands on it. I hold my breath and hope I get to go back, because that apex will be Neurosis celebrating their 30th anniversary in 2016.
Lee Dorrian adds Pentagram and Galley Beggar. Fucking a. Roadburn continues its affinity for creative black metal, adding Iceland's Misþyrming as what seems like a particularly daring artist-in-residence. Fucking a. Swedes Hills and reactivated German psych-jammers Zone Six get added, and I start to feel like the universe is doing me favors.
AND THEN we get around to the Finnish takeover. Dark Buddha Rising still haunt from the last time they played Roadburn. Hexvessel were already announced, but I'm particularly stoked at the mere possibility I might get to catch MPH — Mr. Peter Hayden — again or see Atomikylä, whose blown-out blackened psych extremity seems to be a direct summary of a lot of what Roadburn is about these days. Very cool band that I think have thus far flown under a lot of people's radar. Obviously not that of Roadburn 2016.
Like the headline says, it's a massive update. Have at you:
Further additions to ROADBURN FESTIVAL ahead of ticket launch
TAU CROSS to play their first European show at Roadburn 2016
PENTAGRAM and GALLEY BEGGAR are the first bands confirmed for Lee Dorrian's curation.
ROADBURN'S Artists in Residence are confirmed as Icelandic pioneers MISÞYRMING
Plus even more bands announced ahead of tickets going on sale today – October 2nd.
TAU CROSS, the veteran punk / metal collective, revolving around Amebix bassist/frontman Rob Miller, Voivod drummer Michel 'Away' Langevin, and members of cult crust outfit Misery, will be playing a one off show at Roadburn 2016, along with Neurosis and Amenra, on Saturday, April 16th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
"TAU CROSS are delighted to announce that we have been invited to play at the 2016 Roadburn Festival. This will be our only upcoming European show, we are all looking forward to playing at this very special event" – Rob Miller.
Having TAU CROSS on the main-stage is causing us joy of unbridled proportions. Miller and Langevin are not only mutual admirers and peers, but their bands have been a huge influence on all things Roadburn. With all of the seminal bands and great musicians taking part on Saturday, it's guaranteed to be epic.
To find out more about TAU CROSS at Roadburn, click HERE
LEE DORRIAN'S FIRST CURATED BANDS
When Lee was asked to curate part of Roadburn 2016, there was an expectation of great things. And his first choices do not disappoint.
On his choice to add the legendary PENTAGRAM – who will perform a special "best of" set – to the line up, he comments:
"They have been one of my all time favourite bands since first hearing them back in the mid 80's. I became an obsessive fan covering my old apartment with flyers and intensely collecting as many live tapes, videos, photo's and whatever else I could get my hands on back then.
I'm am completely honoured that they agreed to accept my invitation to appear at my curated event, Rituals For the Blind Dead! This greatest hits performance will be a big party in celebration of the bands long and treasured career. With Victor back flying out those riffs like flaming balls of fire it's going to be so relentless, I simply cannot wait."
Dorrian's second addition is London's GALLEY BEGGAR. The six-piece acid folk troupe released their third album earlier this year – a record that is sure to feature in Roadburn's album of the year lists. He comments:
"They are one of very few bands around today that understand the timeless beauty of acid-tinged folk-rock. In the true spirit of classic era Fairport, Trees, Spriguns, Mellow Candle and other contemporary kindred spirits their gentle, yet melancholic will act as the perfect refrain from all the dark, beastly heaviness surrounding the event."
To find out more about PENTAGRAM click HERE, and GALLEY BEGGAR click HERE
ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE: MISÞYRMING
Historically speaking, Roadburn's Artist in Residence is usually an older, established act or musician, one who's spent decades honing their skills and cultivating a worldwide reputation, but this year will be different. In 2016, Roadburn will welcome a new, young band that has exploded onto the international stage with the force of a neutron bomb, thanks to a crystal-clear, forward-thinking vision and the impeccable quality of their work.
During their residency, Misþyrming will play three shows at Roadburn.The first, Algleymi, (Thursday 14 April) will see the band debuting highly-anticipated new material. The second and most transcendent appearance is Úlfsmessa (Friday 15 April) Joined by the Icelandic black metal and black metal-influenced ritual drone bands Naðra, NYIÞ and Grafir, Misþyrming will present an intense, immersive collaborative performance, ten members strong, that will both reaffirm and redefine any devotee's commitment to black metal supremacy. The final chapter of their residency will be Söngvar elds go óreiðu (Saturday 16 April) which will comprise a performance of their earth-shaking first album in its entirety.
To find out more about MISÞYRMING (with thanks to Kim Kelly and Noisey) at Roadburn, click HERE
THE FINNISH TAKEOVER.
With a clutch of such definitive and inventive bands all hailing from Finland, it's no surprise that we're giving over a corner of Roadburn to the amazing artists hailing from this beautiful country.
We recently announced HEXVESSEL to the Roadburn 2016 bill, but we're now excited to announce a second show. They will be joined on Friday 15 April on stage at Roadburn by the archaic elementals of Arktau Eos for a one-off performance of a rite featuring music and themes from Hexvessel's debut album Dawnbearer, and Arktau Eos' debut Mirrorion (which celebrates its tenth anniversary). Arktau Eos will also perform their own set on Thursday 14 April.
To find out more about HEXVESSEL & ARKTAU EOS, click HERE.
The other Finnish bands taking over Roadburn 2016 are:
Dark, droning psych-lords DARK BUDDHA RISING on Friday 15 April.
Experimental black metal innovators ORANSSI PAZUZU on Thursday 14 April.
Psych drone purveyors feat. members of Dark Buddha Rising and Oranssi Pazuzu – ATOMIKYLÄ will perform at Roadburn on Saturday 16 April.
Again featuring members of Dark Buddha Rising and Oranssi Pazuzu, ABYSSION are a coarse mix of punk, black metal and even post punk, they play on Thursday 14 April.
Specialising in dramatically drawn out cosmic doom – MPH play on Sunday 17 April.
To find out more about the Finnish takeover click HERE
FURTHER ADDITIONS TO THE BILL
In addition to the above bands we have also confirmed:
Cinematic Italian doomers, ABYSMAL GRIEF – click HERE for more information
Fellow Italian's EPITAPH – click HERE for more information.
Folk-tinged droners CRUMBLING GHOST – click HERE for more information.
Cosmic neo-krautrockers ZONE SIX – click HERE for more information.
Psychedelic Swedes HILLS – click HERE for more information.
Progressive black metallers TERZIJ DE HORDE – click HERE for more information.
Seven piece Texan metal horde – DEAD TO A DYING WORLD – click HERE for more information.
FURTHER TICKETING INFORMATION
Tickets to Roadburn Festival 2016 will go on sale October 2 2015. Ticket sales will start at 21:00 CET (20:00 GMT | 22:00 Finland, Greece | 3pm East Coast USA | 12pm West Coast USA). Three-day tickets will be available for 165 Euros (excl. service fees); four-day tickets will cost 185 Euros (excl. service fees). Sunday-only tickets will cost 39 Euros (excl. service fees). Camping tickets are also available through Ticketmaster.
Additional information for people who wish to buy their tickets in person: Sounds in Tilburg will be open for you to purchase tickets in person from 18.30 – 20.30, and showing your Roadburn ticket at the door will get you entry to two Roadburn-approved gigs in the city that evening.
Click HERE for all the details.
Roadburn Festival takes place at the recently upgraded, state of the art 013 venue, Tilburg, The Netherlands, between 14 – 17 April 2016. The line up this year includes Neurosis (30th anniversary), Paradise Lost (performing Gothic in full), curation by Lee Dorrian, Amenra, The Skull, La Muerte, Of The Wand And The Moon, and Green Carnation.
http://www.roadburn.com/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival
https://twitter.com/roadburnfest
Atomikylä, "Musta Kulta"
Tags: Abysmal Grief, Abyssion, Atomikylä, Crumbling Ghost, Dark Buddha Rising, Dead to a Dying World, Epitaph, Galley Beggar, Hills, Misþyrming, MPH, Mr. Peter Hayden, Oranssi Pazuzu, Pentagram, Tau Cross, Terzij de Horde, Zone Six
Quarterly Review: Foehammer, Holy Serpent, Wicked Inquisition, AVER, Galley Beggar, Demon Lung, Spirit Division, Space Mushroom Fuzz, Mountain Tamer, Ohhms
Posted in Reviews on June 29th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
I said back in March that I was going to try to make the Quarterly Review a regular feature around here, and once it was put out there, the only thing to do was to live up to it. Over the last several — like, five — weeks, I've been compiling lists of albums to be included, and throughout the next five days, we're going to make our way through that list. From bigger names to first demos and across a wide swath of heavy styles, there's a lot of stuff to come, and I hope within all of it you're able to find something that hits home or speaks to you in a special way.
No sense in delaying. Hold nose, dive in.
Quarterly Review #1-10:
Foehammer, Foehammer
Relatively newcomer trio Foehammer specialize in grueling, slow-motion punishment. Their self-titled debut EP follows a well-received 2014 demo and is three tracks/34 minutes released by Grimoire and Australopithecus Records of doomed extremity, the Virginian three-piece of guitarist Joe Cox (ex-Gradius), bassist/vocalist Jay Cardinell (ex-Gradius, ex-Durga Temple) and drummer Ben "Vang" Blanton (ex-Vog, also of The Oracle) not new to the Doom Capitol-area underground by any stretch and seeming to pool all their experience to maximize the impact of this extended material. Neither "Final Grail," "Stormcrow" nor 14-minute closer "Jotnar" is without a sense of looming atmosphere, but Foehammer at this point are light only on drama, and the lower, sludgier and more crushing they go, the more righteous the EP is for it. Stunningly heavy and landing with a suitable shockwave, it is hopefully the beginning of a long, feedback-drenched tenure in death-doom, and if the EP is over half an hour, the prospect of a follow-up debut full-length seems overwhelming. Easily one of the year's best short releases.
Foehammer by Foehammer
Foehammer on Thee Facebooks
Grimoire Records on Bandcamp
Australopithecus Records
Holy Serpent, Holy Serpent
It's not like they were lying when they decided to call a song "Shroom Doom." Melbourne double-guitar four-piece made their self-titled debut as Holy Serpent last year, and the five-track full-length was picked up for release on RidingEasy Records no doubt for its two-front worship of Uncle Acid's slither and jangle – especially prevalent on the eponymous opener and closer "The Wind" – and the now-classic stonerism of Sleep. That blend comes together best of all on the aforementioned finale, but neither will I take away from the north-of-10-minute righteousness of "The Plague" preceding, with its slow roll and malevolent vibe that, somehow, still sounds like a party. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Scott Penberthy, guitarist Nick Donoughue, bassist Michael Macfie and drummer Keith Ratnan, the real test for Holy Serpent will be their second or third album – i.e., how they develop the psychedelic nodes of centerpiece "Fools Gold" along with the rest of their sound – but listening to these tracks, it's easy to let the future worry about itself.
Holy Serpent by Holy Serpent
Holy Serpent on Thee Facebooks
RidingEasy Records
Wicked Inquisition, Wicked Inquisition
There are a variety of influences at work across Wicked Inquisition's self-titled debut long-player, from the Sabbath references of its eponymous closer to the earlier thrashery of "In Shackles" and "Sun Flight," but the core of the Minneapolis four-piece resides in a guitar-led brand of metal, whatever else they decide to build around it. Guitarist/vocalist Nate Towle, guitarist Ben Stevens, bassist Jordan Anderson and drummer Jack McKoskey align tightly around the riffs of "M.A.D." in all-business fashion. Shades of Candlemass show up in some of the slower material, "M.A.D." included as well as with "Crimson Odyssey," but the start-stops of "Tomorrow Always Knows" ensure the audience is clued in that there's more going on than just classic doom, though a Trouble influence seems to hover over the proceedings as well, waiting to be more fully explored as the band moves forward.
Wicked Inquisition by Wicked Inquisition
Wicked Inquisition on Thee Facebooks
Wicked Inquisition on Bandcamp
AVER, Nadir
Clocking in at an hour flat, Sydney all-caps riffers AVER construct their second album, Nadir, largely out of familiar elements, but wind up with a blend of their own. Fuzz is prevalent in the extended nod of opener "The Devil's Medicine" (9:46) which bookends with the longest track, finisher "Waves" (9:48), though it's not exactly like the four-piece are shy about writing longer songs in between. The production, while clear enough, lends its focus more toward the low end, which could be pulling in another direction from the impact of some of Nadir's psychedelia on "Rising Sun" second half solo, but neither will I take anything away from Jed's bass tone, which could carry this hour of material were it asked. The vocals of guitarist Burdt have a distinct Acid Bathian feel, post-grunge, and that contrasts a more laid back vibe even on the acoustic-centered "Promised Lands," but neither he, Jed, guitarist Luke or drummer Chris feel out of place here, and I'm not inclined to complain.
Nadir by AVER
AVER on Thee Facebooks
AVER on Bandcamp
Galley Beggar, Silence and Tears
Sweet, classic and very, very British folk pervades the gorgeously melodic and meticulously arranged Silence and Tears by London six-piece Galley Beggar, released on Rise Above. The eight-track/40-minute album packs neatly onto a vinyl release and has near-immediate psychedelic underpinnings in the wah of opener "Adam and Eve," and side B's "Geordie" has some heavier-derived groove, but it's the beauty and lushness of the harmonies throughout (finding satisfying culmination in closer "Deliver Him") that stand Galley Beggar's third offering out from worshipers of a '60s and '70s era aesthetic. The highlight of Silence and Tears arrives early in nine-minute second cut "Pay My Body," a wonderfully swaying, patient excursion that gives equal time to instrumental exploration and vocal accomplishment, but to a select few who let themselves be truly hypnotized and carried along its winding course, the album's entire span will prove a treasure to be revisited for years to come and whose sunshiny imprint will remain vivid.
Rise Above Records
Demon Lung, A Dracula
With inspiration reportedly from the 1977 demon-possession horror flick Alucarda, Las Vegas doomers Demon Lung return with A Dracula, their second offering via Candlelight Records after 2013's The Hundredth Name, and as the movie begins with a birth, so too do we get "Behold, the Daughter" following the intro "Rursumque Alucarda," later mirrored by a penultimate interlude of the same name. Billy Anderson produced, so it's not exactly a surprise that the slow, undulating riffs and the periodic bouts of more upbeat chug, as on "Gypsy Curse," come through nice and viscous, but vocalist Shanda brings an ethereal melodic sensibility, not quite cult rock, but on "Mark of Jubilee" presenting momentarily some similarly bleak atmospherics to those of the UK's Undersmile, her voice seeming to command the guitars to solidify from their initial airiness and churn out an eerie apex, which closer "Raped by the Serpent" pushes further for a raging finale.
A Dracula by Demon Lung
Demon Lung on Thee Facebooks
Candlelight USA's Bandcamp
Spirit Division, Spirit Division
Spirit Division's self-titled debut full-length follows a 2014 demo that also hosted three of the tracks – opener "Spirit Division," "Through the Rounds" and "Mountain of Lies" – but is fuller-sounding in its post-grunge tonality and doomly chug than the earlier offering, guitarist/vocalist Stephen Hoffman, bassist/vocalist Chris Latta and drummer/vocalist David Glass finding a straightforward route through moody metallurgy and weighted riffage. Some Wino-style swing shows up on "Bloodletting," and "Cloud of Souls" has a decidedly militaristic march to its progression, while the later "Red Sky" revels in classic doom that seems to want to be just a touch slower than it is, but what ultimately unites the material is the strong sense of purpose across the album's span and Spirit Division's care in the vocal arrangements. The production is somewhat dry, but Spirit Division walk the line between sludge rock and doom and seem comfortable in that sphere while also sparking a creative progression that seems well worth further pursuit.
Spirit Division by Spirit Division
Spirit Division on Thee Facebooks
Spirit Division on Bandcamp
Space Mushroom Fuzz, Until Next Time
I was all set to include a different Space Mushroom Fuzz album in this roundup, but then I saw that the project was coming to an end and Until Next Time was issued as the band's final release. The deal all along with the band headed by guitarist/vocalist Adam Abrams (also Blue Aside) has been that you never really know what he's going to do next. Fair enough. Abrams brings it down in suitably bizarre fashion, a keyboard and guitar line backing "Class Onion" in direct mockery of Beatlesian bounce, where "The DeLorean Takes Off!" before compiles five-plus minutes of experimental noise and "Follow that DeLorean" answers with another round after. Elsewhere, opener and longest cut (immediate points) "Here Comes Trouble" resonates with its central guitar line and unfolds to further oddity with a quiet but gruff vocal, while "The Rescue" vibes like something Ween would've conjured after huffing roach spray (or whatever was handy) and closer "Back in '55" moves from progressive soloing to froggy singing and weirdo jangle. All in all a strange and fitting end to the band.
UNTIL NEXT TIME by Space Mushroom Fuzz
Space Mushroom Fuzz on Thee Facebooks
Space Mushroom Fuzz on Bandcamp
Mountain Tamer, MTN TMR DEMO
Santa Cruz trio Mountain Tamer have been kicking around the West Coast for the last several years, and since they released a full-length, Liquid Metal, in 2013, and a prior EP in 2012's The Glad, it's tempting to try to read some larger shift sonically into their MTN TMR Demo, as though having completely revamped their sound, the trio of guitarist/vocalist Andru, bassist/vocalist Dave Teget and drummer/vocalist Casey Garcia trying out new ideas as they redirect their approach. That may well be the case, with "Satan's Waitin'," "Sum People" and "Dunes of the Mind" each standing at over five-minutes of neo-stoner roll, more psychedelic than some in the growing fuck-it-let's-skate oeuvre, but still plainly born after, or at least during, grunge. The finisher comes to a thrilling, noisy head as it rounds out the short release, and if Mountain Tamer are taking on a new path, it's one well set to meander and I hope they continue to follow those impulses.
MTN TMR DEMO by Mountain Tamer
Mountain Tamer on Thee Facebooks
Mountain Tamer on Bandcamp
OHHMS, Cold
Like their late-2014 debut, Bloom, OHHMS' sophomore outing, Cold, is comprised of two extended tracks. Here the Canterbury five-piece bring "The Anchor" (18:30) and "Dawn of the Swarm" (14:27), blending modern prog, sludge and post-metallic vibes to suit a melodic, ambitious purpose. Atmosphere is central from the quiet drone starting "The Anchor" and remains so as they lumber through a linear build and into an apex at about 13 minutes in, dropping out to quiet only to build back up to a striking melodic push that ends on a long fade. Side B, "Dawn of the Swarm" is more immediately post-rock in the guitar, the lineup of vocalist Paul Waller, guitarists Daniel Sargent and Marc George, bassist Chainy Chainy and drummer Max Newton moving through hypnotic sprawl into angular Isis-ism before finding their own way, the second cut pushing structurally against the first with loud/quiet tradeoffs in a well-timed back half. Clearly a band who arrived knowing their purpose, but not so cerebral as to detract from the heavy landing of the material itself.
Cold by OHHMS
OHHMS on Thee Facebooks
OHHMS on Bandcamp
Tags: A Dracula, Annandale, Australia, AVER, AVER Nadir, Boston, California, Candlelight Records, Cold, Demon Lung, Demon Lung A Dracula, Foehammer, Foehammer Self-titled, Galley Beggar, Galley Beggar Silence and Tears, Grimoire Records, Holy Serpent, Holy Serpent self-titled, Kent, Las Vegas, London, Massachusetts, Melbourne, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mountain Tamer, Mountain Tamer MTN TMR DEMO, MTN TMR DEMO, Nadir, Nevada, Ohhms, OHHMS Cold, Quarterly Review Summer 2015, RidingEasy Records, Rise Above Records, Santa Cruz, self-titled, Silence and Tears, Space Mushroom Fuzz, Space Mushroom Fuzz Until Next Time, Spirit Division, Sydney, UK, Unsigned bands, Until Next Time, Virginia, Wicked Inquisition, Wicked Inquisition Self-titled
Galley Beggar Announce Silence and Tears Release on Rise Above Records
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 30th, 2015 by JJ Koczan
UK acid folkers Galley Beggar will release their third album, Silence and Tears, on May 19. It's their label debut on Rise Above, which in itself is notable, but even more so is the six-piece's warm, melodic approach to classic folk ideals and how subtly they work in just a hint of modern revivalist psychedelia — not quite tonally weighted, but hinting in that direction and giving a sense of spontaneity and a broader stylistic reach to the material on the record. In short, it's a release worth keeping an eye on. A logical pick-up for Rise Above given some of the imprint's '60s fascinations of the last couple years, and it should be interesting to see how Silence and Tears is received by their audience. For what it's worth, I'm digging it so far.
Details follow, off the PR wire:
GALLEY BEGGAR to Release Silence & Tears May 19th via Rise Above Records
Unbelievably, it's almost 50 years since Fairport Convention and their followers – Steeleye Span, Trees, Dando Shaft, Mellow Candle and others – fashioned British folk-rock. Kent-based sextet GALLEY BEGGAR – who take their name from a mischievous spirit in English folklore – describe their mission as 'to imagine the next phase of English folk-rock' on their third album, Silence & Tears. "We've always loved English folk, but when we formed in 2009 it felt like nothing much was happening to carry the style forward," says guitarist Mat Fowler, "so we thought, we love listening to folk-rock and we love playing it – why not try to write something in that vein?"
The results can be heard on their earlier albums, Reformation House and Galley Beggar, and now on Silence & Tears. "Our first record was very folky," reflects Mat, "but since then we've moved towards a more electric rock feel." Indeed, the eight tracks on the new album span traditional song, Gothic balladry and peculiarly British acid rock, the mood alternately fragile and robust, with sweet vocal harmonies (led by Maria O'Donnell), lyrical guitar playing from Mat and his cohort David Ellis, and added texture from the violin of Celine Marshall (calling to mind Mr. Fox's Carolanne Pegg), all anchored by Bill Lynn's steady bass and Paul Dadswell's deft drumming. The material spans reworkings of the ancient classics Geordie and Jack Orion, brooding ballads like Adam & Eve and the otherworldy Empty Sky, and the intense 9-minute epic Pay My Body Home, which triumphantly recalls folk-rock's early 70s glory days.
Silence & Tears may echo centuries of folk tradition, but its crisp, punchy sound is resolutely modern, despite calling on retro flourishes such as phasing, wah-wah and backwards guitar. Much of that is down to the fact that it was recorded at the profoundly analogue Toe Rag studios, where White Stripes, Tame Impala, the Zutons and many others have also worked with renowned producer-engineer Liam Watson. "We made our first two albums ourselves," says Mat, "so this was the first time someone else has produced us. Recording at Toe Rag was just wonderful – to see all that incredible gear at work, and to have a tangible recording experience rather than staring at a screen, was amazing. And watching Liam at work is mesmerizing – the sounds he gets onto tape are better than they are in real life!"
In an era when bands such as Trembling Bells, Circulus and Wolf People have brought folk-rock to the fore again, the hypnotic interplay and inspired jamming on Silence & Tears is sure to find an enthusiastic audience. "We've already got a few festivals lined up this summer, including Leigh Folk Festival and Wessex Festival, and several other shows are still being arranged," says Mat. "It's an honour to be compared to other folk-rock bands – but we like to think we've got something of our own to offer too."
http://www.galleybeggar.com/
https://twitter.com/galleybeggar
http://www.riseaboverecords.com/
Galley Beggar, "Willow Tree" Live Dec. 7, 2013
Tags: Galley Beggar, Galley Beggar Silence and Tears, London, Rise Above Records, Silence and Tears, UK


Last week we brought you a simple primer on what gin is all about — today we're asking the question, what is rum?
Rum has a long, long history. Sugar cane was brought to the Caribbean by Columbus and others in the 1500s, and it didn't take long before they began to distill the fermenting leftovers of the sugar making process: molasses. You'll find rum wherever sugarcane is grown throughout the world. There is some suggestion by David Wondrich and others that rum distillation actually goes back further still.
The story of sugar itself starts some 10,000 years ago. Temperatures were warming, and the conditions were right for people in Papua New Guinea at the time to begin the domestication of sugarcane; they'd chew on the reeds, releasing the sweet juice inside and getting a calorie kick. From there, sugar spreads around the Pacific and Indian oceans about 3,500 years ago, before making its way to India where it is first refined.
And it is in India that Wondrich believes that sugarcane was first distilled to make a rum-like spirit. He believes there is evidence that rum distillation goes back to at least the 600s AD if not earlier, with there being evidence of some kind of distilling going back as early as the 5th century BC. Click here to dive deep into the weeds on the history with Wondrich.
There's one key takeaway to remember, though, and that is that harvesting sugar in the early days of rum was very much a manual task. And the cheapest manual labour? Slave labour. Read more on that — and Australia's own shameful past — here.
There are two types of base materials: molasses, or fresh sugar cane juice (used in agricole rum production). These are fermented with either wild yeasts or proprietary yeast strains and it is these yeasts which can contribute a rum's fruity flavours. The yeasts create esters: the longer the ferment, the higher the number of esters.
Distillers will use a mix of pot stills and column stills, and typically pot stilled rums have a richer flavour whereas the column still wil have a lighter, more pure and more refined character. But some producers will use a mix of the two types of stills to create two distillates, which are then blended.
Rums are then aged — the minimum time that the spirit must mature in a barrel for rum in Australia is two years, otherwise it cannot be called rum.
The Cuban Style: a lighter, crisp style of rum informed in part by the use of column distillation, the fermentation process is conducted relatively quickly (compared with styles like Jamaican rum).
The Agricole Style: the chief identifier of these rums are the grassy, vegetal notes that are present. This is down to the fact that rhum agricole is made from sugar cane juice, rather than molasses. Distilled in a single-column still to between 65% and 70% ABV so that the flavoursome congeners and esters remain.
The Navy Style: these rums were rich, powerful rums with a lot of pot still character and a blend of rums from Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados.
And of course, there was the strength: bottled at 50% abv and above, so that should some rum spill over gunpowder the powder would still light. Also, the higher proof alcohol meant that you were able to transport more bang for your buck.
Jamaican Style: the hallmark of the Jamaican style is a big, aromatic rum with an ester count up of up to 500 (rhum agricole, for instance, has around 350 esters). This means that the rums show fruity characters thanks to the esters. The style is derived in part from the slow fermentation and the use of dunder in the distillation. Dunder is the spent lees from previous fermentations that has been collected and allowed to mature outside in open air dunder vats, which are rich in esters.
Rum is so versatile a spirit that it depends on the rum: you can sip them neat or on the rocks if it's a richer, aged variant; you can have them mixed drinks and the cocktail options they offer up are endless. But first, can we interest you in a Daiquiri?


Composition composing may be daunting and depleting. An essay needs to generate responses. It's not a guide function. Returning to answer individual essays. Inside this course we'll think about the article as an effective small genre in its own right. They begin with delicate elements, and work again through the composition for a complete. In a genuine essay, you do not have a position and defend it. Are you really spending hours attempting to write an essay.
Select the metropolis that you would like to post you advertising in.
If you don't wish to over-pay for composition, our crew of professionals is prepared to assist you. Along with contemplating and investigating this issue, we are going to be studying quite a few essay types along with designs which you will adopt for a sequence of duties in an effort to research these problems on your own. Below are a few exceptional composition subjects that kids may discover easy to write. Paper is crucial for careful research and authorship. Teachers also needs to provide the children proper guidelines for every form of article they need to write. Essays are obtainable in assorted forms. Method and significance should be linked in an essential essay! To create the essay effective, sentence configuration really shouldn't be overly lengthy or extremely short. Today envision your topic is all about counter point in poems.


Bio: Dogs could be our finest friends, some pets could end up being aggressive and also attack someone. internet A dog bite falls under the law in the injury group. Each state has various legislations pertaining to the responsibility of the pet's owner. Complying with are points you should do if you are attacked by a pet dog. The pet's type is only one variable and also doesn't whatsoever times suggest that the pet will certainly be aggressive as well as vulnerable to biting. You may well discover a pet dog that has been healthy and balanced prior to and also without offending behavior. However, now the canine has actually struggled with a health and wellness ailment such as rabies. Rabies can create pets to end up being dizzy and also eyelash out by biting people. A timeless indicator of rabies is salivating as well as foaming of the mouth. If you are attacked it's essential that you simply have your bite had a look at at the healthcare facility as soon as possible. Canines can be a host to numerous microbial and also viral infections that you can contract such as ring worm. Make certain on the other hand, that you keep in mind the type of breed to aid a doctor assess the degree of the injury. List the contact information of the dog's proprietor, should you need to submit a claim. Dog bite legal actions arise when the canine bite is major enough to trigger injury, mental worry, and also healthcare facility expenses. It was advantageous that you jotted down the pet dog type and the canine proprietor's contact information mainly since you will require it when filing a pet dog bite legal action. Ought to you opt to file a pet dog bite suit, you will certainly need to call a legal representative to recognize your legal rights and demands for filing. A Canine Attack Lawyer will discuss the particular dog bite legal action laws in your condition. It's excellent to know that most of states hold the dog's proprietor accountable for any canine bites. It'll similarly require to be figured out if the proprietor had previous understanding of the pet's aggressiveness. This is named "hazardous tendencies". Did the proprietor recognize ahead of time that their pet was of a particular breed that's at risk to biting? Did they give the needed safeguards to control this unwanted actions in their pet? On the other side of the coin is to see this from the dog proprietor's viewpoint. Let's state the pet owner had anticipation that their canine may threaten or may bite a person. The owner then took safety actions to keep his pet dog in a protected location. He additionally had put "Be cautious of Canine" signs on his residential property and also has actually alerted others not to approach his dog as the dog might strike. The proprietor had actually done all this, however someone did not pay attention and even prompted the pet on objective. If you deal with a canine bite, you can rest somewhat much easier understanding that several health insurance plans cover expenditures related to pet attacks. Ideally, you won't ever need to manage a canine bite and also canine bite claim. Totally grasp, however, that if you're bitten by a dog, you have legal cases. The level as well as nature of the legal insurance claims vary from one state to another, yet the basic guidelines are currently discussed in this short article. Speak with a lawyer who has actually worked with dog bite legal actions in the past to figure out the best program of action by a Canine Bite Lawyer.


The success of an event comes first of all, from the setting in which it takes place. WE Concept has selected for you the most beautiful locations to add value to your event, whatever it may be, and make it unforgettable. Villas and palaces, from Visconti's Gattopardo style, to the romantic, nostalgic atmospheres reminiscent of the Liberty epoch, secular parks and gardens, hotel ballrooms bringing back to Grand Tour times and the famous travellers of the eighteen hundreds … to the country estates for a sophisticated setting with rural charm.


text:
Geocache: Harwich - Sound Mirrors
MetalCulture · Harwich Sound Mirrors - England's Creative Coast
Click the play icon to listen to 'Harwich Sound Mirrors', an audio work reflecting on the sounds of Harwich, made by people with a connection to the town.
It was written and performed by Simon Cole, Sue Taplin, Jake Thorne and Annette Fry, during a workshop led by the artists Dot Dash (Lawrence Bradby and James Wilkes). Audio production by Ed Prosser. The work was commissioned by Metal and made in collaboration with Harwich Festival.
There are five more Sound Mirrors geocaches hidden around the Essex coast, and 29 geocaches in total as part of England's Creative Coast's GeoTour across Essex, Kent, and Sussex. Can you find the others? Follow GeoTour GT4A5.
Dot Dash developed this work in response to HELLO RETREAT by Katrina Palmer, an England's Creative Coast Waterfronts co-commission by Turner Contemporary and Metal, one of seven new artworks and the world's first art GeoTour treasure hunt, that connect and celebrate the distinct, creative coastline across Essex, Kent and East Sussex.
HELLO RETREAT is also part of Estuary 2021 and can be viewed on East Beach in Southend-on-Sea, from 22 May to 7 November 2021.
Votre entreprise n'apparaît pas dans nos itinéraires ?
Nous aimerions connaître votre avis.
© Go To Places, England 2022. Tous droits réservés.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
This is a [Next.js](https://nextjs.org/) project bootstrapped with
[`create-next-app`](https://github.com/vercel/next.js/tree/canary/packages/create-next-app)
using [react-md](https://react-md.dev) as the component library.

## What's Included

This example will setup an example Next.js + ReactMD app that has the following
features:

- [jsconfig.json](./jsconfig.json) to allow absolute imports instead of relative
  imports from the `"src"` directory
  - `import MyComponent from "components/MyComponent"` instead of
    `import MyComponent from "../../components/MyComponent"`
- [\_everything.scss](./src/_everything.scss) to override the default `react-md`
  theme and feature toggles
- a custom [\_app.jsx](./src/pages/_app.jsx) that imports the Roboto font from
  [Google Fonts](https://fonts.google.com)
- a reusable [Layout.jsx](./src/components/Layout/Layout.jsx) that:
  - updates all the icons to use `SVGIcon`s instead of `FontIcon`s
  - initializes the `Layout` component from `react-md` with navigation items
- a simple [robots.txt](./public/robots.txt)

## How to Use

Since this example is not within the Next.js repo, you will need to download
this example manually instead of using `create-next-app`:

```bash
curl https://codeload.github.com/mlaursen/react-md/tar.gz/main | tar -xz --strip=2 react-md-main/examples/nextjs
cd nextjs
```

Install it and run:

```sh
npm install
npm run dev
# or
yarn
yarn dev
```

Finally, initialize the git repo and create your first commit:

```sh
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"
```

## Learn More

To learn more about react-md and Next.js, take a look at the following
resources:

- [react-md Documentation](https://react-md.dev)
- [Configuring your Layout](https://react-md.dev/guides/configuring-your-layout)
- [Next.js Documentation](https://nextjs.org/docs) - learn about Next.js
  features and API.
- [Learn Next.js](https://nextjs.org/learn) - an interactive Next.js tutorial.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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BEVERLY HILLS – Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian said Tuesday he is considering cutting his stake in MGM Mirage, whose earnings are being hammered in real estate downturn, as the casino company said it will take a nearly $1 billion charge because it had to slash condo prices at its CityCenter development.
Tracinda, Kerkorian's investment vehicle, said it is "exploring the possibility of strategic partnerships or other alternatives" for its 37 percent stake in MGM.
However, Tracinda also said in its statement that it will not engage in a transaction until its CityCenter development in Las Vegas is complete. CityCenter, a 50-50 joint venture of MGM and Infinity World Development Corp. a subsidiary of Dubai World, is a 67-acre project that includes a 4,000-room casino-resort, condominiums, convention space, hotels and a retail mall. The development, slated to open in December, has been plagued by delays due to MGM's heavy debt load. Adding to MGM Mirage's troubles, people have been gambling less during the recession.
"Tracinda believes there is substantial unrecognized value in MGM Mirage and CityCenter that is not reflected in the market value of MGM Mirage's stock," the company said in a statement.
This isn't the first time Tracinda has signaled that it might seek alternatives for its MGM stake, but this time, investors are more likely to believe something will happen, BMO Capital Markets analyst Jeffrey Logsdon said in a note to clients.
"We think the market is more likely to believe the probability of a transaction is higher than other times given the decline in the equity stake held by Tracinda as the company has recapitalized in the wake of its liquidity needs," Logsdon said.
Kerkorian's disclosure that he is mulling alternatives came minutes after MGM's announcement that it will take a nearly $1 billion charge against third-quarter earnings because it had to slash condo prices at CityCenter – in some cases by as much as 30 percent.
CityCenter is expected to recognize a third-quarter, $348 million non-cash impairment charge related to its residential real estate under development. MGM Mirage said it will recognize its 50 percent share of that charge, or about $200 million pretax.
MGM Mirage share rose 6 cents to $11.86 in midday trading.